especially the weather. time now for "newsroom" and carol costello. >> reporter: good morning guys. "newsroom" starts now. happening now the "newsroom" on ice. >> there's no way you can deal with ice. >> it's the ice. it's the ice. >> a fast-moving paralyzing storm forecasters calling it catastrophic. >> we're not kidding. we're not just crying wolf. >> in what could be the worst ice storm to hit the south in ten years, power outages that could last for a week. >> this is going to be a challenge for all of us. >> also, avalanche danger. amazing video, a snow mobiler swept away and carried 100 feet. >> it felt like i was flying through taxpayer. >> avalanches in colorado, oregon and utah.

emergency situation and a dire warning to skiers this morning. plus another chemical spill in west virginia. >> i can smell an odor. >> kraex turnicreeks turning bl. people there fed up. >> i don't believe half of what they say. glamour, glitz and the white house state dinner. steven colbert, bradley cooper, mary j., you're live in the cnn "newsroom". good morning. i'm carol costello. thank you so much for joining me. for millions of americans, especially in the south, a brutal mix of ice and snow sweeps in bolstered by words just as chilling, historic, catastrophic and very unpredictable. the screaming headlines speaks volumes, bracing for the worst.

flights are cancelled. homes and businesses have lost power. officials worn those power outages could be widespread and last for days. more than 50 salt trucks converged on to a truck stop in augusta, georgia overnight the area facing a potential catastrophic winter storm slamming the southeast stretching from texas to the eastern seaboard. freezing rain causing what may be the worst ice storm in a decade, forcing georgia and virginia into states of emergency. >> there's no doubt that this is one of mother nature's worst kinds of storms that can be inflicted on the south. >> up to an inch of ice could make travel treacherous. the national guard on the move preparing to rescue anyone sliding off the road. >> i'm going to go out there on the highways and patrol and make sure all of our citizens okay. >> sleet, ice and snow suspending some amtrak trains and cancelling flights.

atlanta's airport delta employees had to sleep in planes because there aren't enough hotel rooms. in north carolina a truck crashed into the guardrail as the popular i-95 corridor is becoming a dangerous icy roadway. the potentially catastrophic ice accumulations already pummelled texas on monday, riddling roadways with accidents. a firefighter after stopping to check on one spun car died when another driver lost control on the icy bridge. knocking him off the overpass on to the ramp below. for much of the southeast, temperatures will continue to below freezing for another 24 hours. officials are bracing for the worst. >> wherever you are, you need to plan on staying there for a while. >> sadly that is true. cnn is covering this storm like no other network can. indra petersons is tracking this storm, david mattingly is in charlotte, north carolina, george howell is outside in atlanta. we begin with nick valencia.

he's in atlanta's oldest neighborhood and the reason you're there, icy trees. >> reporter: icy trees, freezing temperatures p- 28 degrees. freezing rain has been picking up all morning long. i want to give you a sense how cold it was overnight. this isn't a trash bag. it's a child's coat that was left here. completely frozen. you can snap that thing in half. come on back here. this is how big of an issue the freezing rain has been. starting to accumulate ice on this table. when we got here about 5:00 a.m. this morning there was nothing on this table. the roads were year. the roads were nice to drive on. that's not the case right now. decatur, just outside of atlanta, if you are good at making snowmen, i'm not. i'm from los angeles. you could, if you could make a snowman you could make one with the ice that's accumulated here all across the city. but the real concern as you mentioned those power lines, those downed power lines i'm not sure if you can see behind me here there's a power line there.

frozen power lines. 50,000 people without power all throughout the state of georgia. majority of that concentrated in metro atlanta and believe it or not, carol, officials saying it could get much worse. carol. >> nick valencia, thanks so much. let's head out to charlotte, north carolina. motorists there beware. officials say if you leave your home now you may not get back there any time soon. ice and up to a foot of snow expected in north carolina. cnn david mattingly joins us live from charlotte to tell us more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, carol. no snow falling in downtown charlotte right now but that's about to change in a very big way. this snow actually fell last night here. but the city is bracing for what they expect to be worst snowfall they've seen in a long time here about eight to ten inches here in downtown charlotte. to the north of the city possibly a foot of snow. to the south of the city a crippling ice storm that is sure to plunge thousands of people

into darkness as those power lines start coming down and everyone very much taking those warnings very seriously. this is a big banking center for the southeast. normally very busy this time of day. just a few cars on the road right now this morning. schools are closed. most people staying home. hunkering down for what's coming. believe me, carol, take a good look at these year streets and these dry sidewalks because 12 hours from now it's going to be a very different story here. >> we'll check back. david mattingly reporting live from charlotte, north carolina. here's a live look at road conditions in metro atlanta. people are staying off the ice covered roads. it looks like a ghost town. definitely heeding the warnings as well they should. indra petersons is here to look how long this storm will last. >> travel delays. what a nightmare, carol. let's talk about the delays. airports, you don't see delays,

flights are cancelled. atlanta, georgia, 1600 flights cancelled. charlotte, north carolina, over 700. raleigh, almost 150 flights. we know the problem. it's this. we were out there. the freezing rain is there. the icing is now accumulating and people go who cares, a quarter inch, half an inch of ice doesn't sound like much. wrong. that's all it takes to bring those power lines down. they weigh 30 times heavier as much as 500 pounds. that's the concern this ice storm is under way. the second wave of the system we saw starting questioned that's expected to be even stronger and for that reason historical. that's hat the national weather service is calling it as now you see that ice making its way into georgia and southern carolina. look at the numbers we're expecting from the second wave. way above that half an inch threshold. as high as an inch of ice. catastrophic results. you could be without power for a week. also the second wave of this

will be the heavy snow. places like d.c. that haven't seen snow as heavy as this be since four years ago, february 2010. we could be talking eight, ten inches of snow. the snow maker into the northeast, carol. >> indra petersons, thanks for the update, i think. two. >> mobilers in two separate states buried by avalanches. the one you see happened off the trails north of salt lake city. these are pictures of travis's friends digging him out from three feet of snow. travis was able to stick his handout of the pile of snow. he was under that pile for a full five minutes. the snowmobilers said avalanche vest and rescue beacons saved him. the other happened in colorado. cody was snow mobiling off trail when out of where an avalanche threw him off his snow mobile.

>> reporter: it was an avalanche. >> i felt i was flying through the air like i mean like i felt like impact on me and everything. >> reporter: cody was swept away in an avalanche. he said the snow ripped him off his snow mobile and was taken 100 feet. >> it ended up being like a freight train that took me away, and as fast as i said that, it was done and over with. see it. you can't see anything. you feel your body going through notions and it's done and over with. >> reporter: once the panic stopped and he saw his friends were okay he took a minute to let everything happen sink in. >> we survived an avalanche. could it have been worse than it was. >> yeah. could it have been. cody says he'll be more cautious

from now on and will take an avalanche safety course. just when you thought we had reached bipartisan bliss senator ted cruz reappears as the spoiler. cruz said he'll filibuster a house passed bill to raise the debt ceiling. his plan is at odds with his fellow republicans. they want to avoid a filibuster and any accusations of obstruction that could come with it. cruz's vow came after the measure passed through a narrow vote. house speaker john boehner spoke about his party's frustration with the process and president obama. >> listen, you all know that our members are not crazy about voting to increase the debt ceiling. our members are also very upset with the president. he won't negotiate. he won't deal with our long term spending problems without us raising taxes. won't even sit down and discuss these issues. he's the one driving up the debt and the question they are asking why should ideal with his debt

limit. so the fact is we'll let the democrats put the votes up, we'll put a minimum number of votes up to get it passed. >> they did and it passed. the nation faces a february 27th deadline to raise the debt ceiling or risk a technical default. the bill now goes the senate. the president putting pen to paper on the federal minimum wage today signing an executive order that will raise the minimum wage for federal contract workers to $10.10 an hour. right now they make $7.25 an hour. the increase will kick in on january 1st, 2015 and will only apply to new contract. the debt ceiling, minimum wage and other issues faded to the background at the white house last night where french president francois hollande was honored with a state dinner. the first lady donning a dress in black.

hollywood celebrities enjoyed the facilities. also to come in the "newsroom" michael dunn answers tough questions on stand as the jury gets ready to take the case. so did dunn's testimony help him or hurt him? our panel of legal experts weigh in. can i help you? hey, is it true we can get four lines, unlimited talk and text and 10 gigs of data to share for 160 a month? yep. at&t's new family pricing. that's 100 bucks cheaper than us. i know. are you guys with verizon? what makes you think that? oh. just her nametag. and i see you guys at the food court every day. can we go back now? yeah. [ male announcer ] introducing our best-ever pricing for families. 10 gigs of data to share. unlimited talk and text. and 4 lines for $160 a month. only from at&t.

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don't forget about i'm having brunch with meagan tomorrow. who? seriously, you met her like three times. who? geico. closing arguments set to begin in the next hour trichin trial of a white man accused of killing a black teenager over loud music. michael dunn took the stand telling the jury why he had to

shoot at jordan davis. >> i'm looking out the window and they said you're not going to kill me you son of a bitch and i shot him. >> reporter: michael dunn took the stand in his own defense telling the jury he had no choice but to fire his gun during a confrontation with a group of teenagers over loud music. >> it kept escalating to the point where i had no choice to defend myself much it was life or death. >> reporter: 17-year-old jordan davis was killed in the 2012 altercation. dunn spent three hours on the stand telling the jury about the night of the shooting. >> i asked for a common courtesy. >> reporter: his demeanor mostly calm and controlled but he became emotional several times when talking about his puppy. >> what was his name? >> charlie. >> reporter: when he discussed

his fiancee rhonda who was with him that night. >> it wasn't just my life i was worried about. >> reporter: dunn says he and rhonda had stopped at this jacksonville gas station to buy wine after hisson's wedding when they pulled up next to this red suv. dunn said he noticed thumping music coming from the vehicle. >> body panels on the suv were rattling. my rear view mirror was shaking. my ear drums were vibrating. this was ridiculously loud music. >> reporter: dunn said he asked the teens to lower it and at first they did but then things turned quote ugly. dunn testified he saw a barrel of what he believed was a shotgun, sticking out of a window in the suv. >> through the continued threat of you're dead bitch. now the door opens and this young man gets out. and as his head clears the

window frame, he says [ bleep ] going down now. >> reporter: according to dunn he grabbed his gun and started shooting, nine shots were fired. when rhonda came out of the store and got back in the car they quickly drove off. investigators say they never found a firearm in the suv. on the stand, dunn said he told his fiancee the teens had a gun. >> you told her they had a weapon of any kind. >> yes i did. >> you did. what did you tell her? tell the jury the term you used to describe the weapon. >> i don't know what i said but i told her they had a weapon, they threatened my life and they were, he advanced upon me. >> reporter: but rhonda had a different story. >> did the defendant ever tell you he saw a gun in that red suv? >> no. >> did the defendant ever tell you he saw a weapon of any kind in that suv? >> no. >> there was no mention of a stick? >> no. >> there was no mention of a shotgun? >> no.

>> there was no mention of a barrel? >> no. >> there was no mention of a lead pipe? >> no. >> reporter: dunn explained to the jury why he didn't call the police that night. >> that didn't go through your had i just shot somebody because they point ad gun at me i should call the police. >> you're right. that sounds crazy. i can't tell you what i was thinking when this happened. i just can tell you i didn't do it. let's bring in our legal experts right now. welcome to all of you. thanks for being here. so danny, did dunn help his case? >> did dunn make his case? he had to because this is an unusual self-defense case. very different from zimmerman. he's the only one that can establish his reasonable apprehension of imminent serious bodily harm. there's really no other way he can establish it. so he will either talk himself into prison or into an

acquittal. and i think he didn't go very far in establishing that necessary imminent fear of serious bodily harm. two big factors. number one he fired ten shots. number two he fled the scene and flight may be considered as consciousness of guilt. >> there was also this. he cried when he talked about his puppy. but he said in killing jordan davis it just worked out that way. how will the jury take that, paul? >> you know, i thought the green sweater was a nice touch. sort of like the menendez brothers. his behavior is so odd for somebody who fired that many shots and killed a human being that that is what's going to do him in at the end. if he hadn't fled the scene, act inappropriately and have the girlfriend bury him as well a lot of things will go against

him. >> mark, dunn said davis got out of the car and this is going down and this is when dunn went to his glove box, removed his weapon and started firing. does that sound logical? >> not necessarily. remember what the real standard is and it's getting lost in this case. in effect, in order for dunn to get acquitted he has to put reason doubt in the jury's mind as to whether or not he was acting in self-defense. sort of that reverse standard. he doesn't have to convince them beyond a reasonable doubt he's innocent. he has to be able to say to that jury, do you have a doubt that dunn acted in what he felt was reasonable to save his life. let's not forget the alternative is mr. dunn for whatever reason for the first time in his life decided to become a potential mass murderer and just decided to waste one if not four young black males he had never seen before. if they can make that kind of

dichotomy although i agree with what was just said the real issue is can he put reasonable doubt in the jury's mind as to whether or not he was acting in self-defense. i think he was way too coached. it looked that way. people don't use the word imminent or mention the word waking nightmare three times unless a lawyer tells him too. >> thanks so much for being with me this morning. i appreciate it. >> thank you, carol. >> still to come, shocking results in sochi. rachel nichols is in russia this morning with a tie. >> reporter: yeah, carol. we have something that never happened before at the olympics. stay tuned. i'll tell you what it is. it says here that a woman's sex drive

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big surprises in sochi. a tie for the gold. and a historic medal for the united states. here's the medal count. the united states is currently in sixth place, germany has the most medals so far, norway has the most total medals. germany had the most gold medals. missing from the medal count is probably the best known american man in these games and that's shaun white. he failed to medal. rachel nichols joins us from a warm and beautiful sochi, russia. good morning. >> reporter: yeah, carol. you guys are all in parkas it topped 61 degrees here today, one of our cnn photojournalists was running around in a pair of shorts. while it's nice for spectators up in the mountains those

temperatures mean they have to supplement the natural snow with some manufactured snow and also some snow from last winter that they've been keeping in cold storage here for a year. now organizers pointsing out, hey, at past winter olympics they've had to postpone some events by a few days because there's been too much snow. that's certainly not the problem here they've been able to go ahead with all the competition and hey what great competition it's been. take a look. it's a tie. for the first time in olympic history. slovenian and swiss skier clocking in at the same time, both embracing their victory. in another major surprise the halfpipe left shaun white empty handed. the games most iconic snowboarder coming down hard, in the end falling short of not only his goal of three straight gold medals but short of the

podium. the 27-year-old was disappointed after coming in fourth. overand the by 25-year-old yuri or ipod as he's nicknamed the charming swiss snowboarder with russian roots won proving you do, indeed only live once. while white might be singing the blues on the slope he now says he'll channel that energy into his band, bat things. there was a major vick foretore team usa on luge track. erin ham len grabbed the bronze becoming the first american to ever medal in singles luge. and in the women's ski jump while the u.s. didn't clinch a medal america's sarah hendrickson soared into history. the first woman to ever compete in ski jumping in the olympics. in pairs figure skating the russians nicknamed the dream team took the lead with the short program, catapulting

themselves into the record books. with the best ever scores for a short program. at the cross country venue russian skier taking a nasty spill. but helped by canadian coach justin wadsworth the ultimate day of sportsmanship two countries coming together on trail. atop the podium a very olympic day indeed. what a nice, nice moment there. we've had a few nice moments, the canadian and women's hockey teams are battling it out right now and the american men with a bunch of professional nhl players came in to support the american women so that was great. unfortunately, we did get some bad news up on the slopes there in the snowboard halfpipe. american 17-year-old aerial gold who was favored to win she had to withdraw because of a hurt wrist. can you imagine making it all the way over here and not able to compete. that's the news from the

halfpipe. >> i can't imagine. heartbreaking. what about shani davis. he's going for his third straight gold medal. >> reporter: as we speak right now. shani is trying to do something that nobody has ever done in speed skating, win an olympic gold in three straight games. there's a big target on his back. in fact one of his main rivals beat him in a lower level race last year and the state government there just gave him a two bedroom apartment. kusin joked if he beat davis today he would get the whole country of kazakhstan. i don't know if the mayor of chicago will give him any real estate but davis says he wants the medal. he's kpeegt in the 1,000 in just a few minutes from now and later competing in the 1500. he joked hey i have two hands. i can come away with two medals.

that's just fine with me. >> rachel nichols thanks so much. still to come, snow falls and tension rise. thousands now without power. george howell is in atlanta for what threatens to be one catastrophic winter storm. >> the sleet continues to come down but the good news out here, hardly anyone is on the roads and many of the highways have been salted and sanded. we'll show you what we're finding here as the cnn "newsroom" rolls along. [ male announcer ] this is jim.

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no known dietary restrictions. for more information and savings options, call 1-888-xarelto or visit goxarelto.com. and his new boss told him two things -- cook what you love, and save your money. joe doesn't know it yet, but he'll work his way up from busser to waiter to chef before opening a restaurant specializing in fish and game from the great northwest. he'll start investing early, he'll find some good people to help guide him,

and he'll set money aside from his first day of work to his last, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. good morning, i'm carol costello. thanks so much for joining me. markets are trying for a fifth straight dave gains this morning. this will be wall street's first five day winning streak this year. markets may be pushed to a higher open today on news that the white house voted to raise the debt ceiling, actually the house of representatives voted to raise the debt ceiling and that new fed chief janet yellen has no plans to change currents monetary policy. back to the weather now.

snow and freezing rain has been falling all morning long in parts the of the southeast. streets are covered in ice. officials are urging people to stay home. and just this bit of info before we get to you, george howell who is in atlanta. it's 29 degrees right now in atlanta remember georgia and look at what it is in sochi, russia where the winter storm olympics are. there's a man in shorts. it's 59 degrees. this seems unreal, george. >> reporter: what's happening, carol, why is that? look, it's pretty cold here in atlanta right now and we are seeing very, very few people on the roads. william if we can switch over to show this camera that we have on interstate 85. you can see people who are on the roads right now are all going at a snail's pace. that's the best way to handle this if you're traveling through the city right now. carol, the good news is officials did get out ahead of this, the warnings were put out to people to stay home.

people did that. we're talking about what should be the, you know, aftermath of rush hour traffic, you would expect a lot of people on the roads. that's not the case today. and here's the other thing. so there is. >> to the north us in the counties to the north. there's concern about ice to the south of us. sleet here coming down in the city of atlanta where we are. as the ice and snow compile upon itself, when we get on the overpasses talking about slick spots, when we talk about the power lines, could bring power lines down and also on trees. these older trees, many residents are concerned that trees could fall, so it's a multiday event, we're watching it as it plays out. we're in the beginning of it. people are just following the warnings as best they can. >> you're right. the worst is yet to come. george howell driving around in atlanta this morning. the governor of south carolina has also declared a state of emergency and right now 2,000 road workers are out and about rushing to treat the roads

before the worst of the storm gets there. 500,000 have already power. >> how is your day so far? >> long. it started monday. the concern is ice and snow that's falling in south carolina and the biggest questions we have are how long will it stay? how much will we get? how cold will it remain throughout the week? >> are people cooperating? >> we're looking at our statewide traffic system right now and we're seeing a lot of empty roads and that's what we want to see. this situation is too, there's too many variables associated with this winter storm. the best thing people can do in south carolina is stay home and stay warm. >> derrick becker, thanks so much for joining me. still to come in the

"newsroom," toddlers stuck in their car seats. parents cutting out those kids with scissors. christine romans is here to tell us about a popular car seat being recalled. >> reporter: ten versions of popular graco car seat that the government said a child could get stuck in there in an emergency. i'll tell you what graco is saying and what you need to do if you own one of these right after the break.

a warning for the parents of young children, graco is recalling nearly 4 million child car seats because little ones get stuck when the safety latch won't unbuckle. some parents say they had to cut their kids out of the seat. christine romans is here with more details. good morning, christine. >> reporter: the government would like to recall even more

of these seats, quite frankly so there's a little bit of, i would say, a disagreement between graco and the government. let me tell you about these more popular brands. nautilus, nautilus elite, sure seat. the government says that because the way the latch gets stuck, because of food and drink we think and because of wear and tear it may be difficult to remove the child from the restraint, increasing the risk of injury in the event of a vehicle crash or fire or other emergency in which a prompt exit from the vehicle is required. there are parents that have complained to the government about this and said look it was hard to get the kid out. if there were some kind of an emergency what would we do here. graco is saying these 3.8 million get a call and get a replacement set to replace this particular kind of buckle. but it gets stuck down there because of food and debris and graco has issued guidance before about how to clean the buckles

there. but the government says no that's a foreseeable conclusion of using a car seat it gets sticky in there. they should have known about that. >> christine romans thanks for the warning. in alabama some areas could get between six and 12 inches of snow by the time the storm end. let's go to alabama now. what's it like there, tiffany? >> reporter: we're in the city of oxford, about five miles outside of anniston and the rain has slacked up but turned to a wintry mix. we're starting to feel that cold air coming in from georgia. and take a look. the wind is picking up. those flags behind me hasn't been at rest for a few hours now. just as short as 18 miles farther east of here we're getting reports that the park is closed because of icy conditions, ice on trees, downed

power lines and downed power outages. farther northeast of here we are seeing icy roads develop in counties that are just on that alabama/georgia line. so we are really starting to see what's going on in georgia. slowly creep up on his here in alabama. >> a question for you. were the people of alabama watching when atlanta had that, you know, terrible traffic jam in the last storm we had and were they planning with that in consideration? >> reporter: they were watching then and they are watching now. folks are really keeping an eye on what has been going on in georgia. and we're taking lessons from what happened here just two weeks ago. the county sheriff here in calhoun county is very well prepared. i interviewed him earlier this morning and he came here in a humvee and they have several more of them to get to folks if they just happen to be on the road when ties and snow heads our way. >> keep warm. thank you so much.

still to come in the "newsroom" one of the hottest tickets in washington, that's the state dinner. jim acosta is in washington with more. good morning, jim. >> reporter: good morning. the winter storm waited long enough for the white house to pull off a star stud tribute to the french president, francois hollande . i'll have details in just a moment. ? hey, is it true we can get four lines, unlimited talk and text and 10 gigs of data to share for 160 a month? yep. at&t's new family pricing. that's 100 bucks cheaper than us. i know. are you guys with verizon? what makes you think that? oh. just her nametag. and i see you guys at the food court every day. can we go back now? yeah. [ male announcer ] introducing our best-ever pricing for families. 10 gigs of data to share. unlimited talk and text. and 4 lines for $160 a month. only from at&t.

and 4 lines for $160 a month. it says here that a woman's sex drive. increases at the age of 80. helps reduce the risk of heart disease. it seems that 80 is the new 18. grannies, bless your heart, you are bringing sexy back! eat up. keep heart-healthy. live long. for a healthy heart, eat the 100% natural whole grain goodness of post shredded wheat. doctors recommend it. i've quit for 75 days. 15 days, but not in a row. for the first time, you can use nicorette... even if you slip up... so you can reach your goal. [ male announcer ] now, quit on your own terms

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hollywood for ugly people. not so. the first lady dazzled in a blue dress, sung. liberty blue and it actually had sleeves. mrs. obama towered over the guest of honor at the state department, french president francois hollande . . . . . bradley cooper came with his lady love. julia luis dreyfus came with her father. stephen colbert was there, who sat next to president obama since president hollande went stag. jim acosta has more. >> reporter: for at least one night, it was out with the gridlock and in with the glitz and glamour. star, stephen colbert, bradley cooper, julia marie dreyfus and mary j. blige arrived at the white house. to mix with washington's own headliners at the state dinner honoring french president,

francois hollande. >> reporter: while president obama's french only went so far, he paid sure his toast to one of america's allies, wasn't lost in translation. >> to our friend and partner, president hollande, viva la france and god bless america and long live the aalliance between our nations. >> reporter: it swept off two days of diplomacy sweeping over two issues as nsa surveillance overseas. a practice the president announced was widespread. at the leaders joint news conference, he warned companies against following the lead of a group of french corporate executives that tried to do business in iran as the world is trying to reign in the country's nuclear program. >> they do so at their own peril right now. we will come down on them like a ton of bricks. >> reporter: both presidents

expressed frustration over the bloody war in syria but agreed there is no military solution, at least not for now. with the two leaders getting along famously, one french reporter asked mr. obama if france could replace great britain as america's closest ally. >> first of all, i have two daughters and they are both gorgeous and wonderful and i would never choose between them. that's how i feel about my outstanding european partners. >> reporter: speaking of partners, it is no secret the newly single hollande went stag to last night's state dinner e was seated between the president and mr. obama. because of his status, there was no dancing at last night's state dinner. as for one other seating arrangement, vice president, joe biden, seated next to julia luis

dreyfus. still to come in the "newsroom," senator rand paul taking aim at president obama, filing a lawsuit over the nsa. why he says the american people will win the battle over privacy. ♪ [ chicken caws ]

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senator rand paul is on a roll calling bill clinton a predator, not worthy of female support and now he is suing the obama administration over nsa surveillance. he says the national security agency infringes on american civil liberties and violates the

constitution. our chief washington correspondent and host of the league, jake tapper, is here to tell us more. good morning, jake. >> reporter: good morning. senator rand paul of kentucky, a republican who is thought to be seriously entertaining hopes of running for president in 202016. he will be there with the former attorney from virginia who lost a governor's race. he will file a class action lawsuit against the obama administration, including the director of the national security agency, general alexander asking them to halt the meta data collection program. he is doing this on behalf of all americans that might be affected. he wants the collections stops and any storage of the records to be erased.

>> they seek an injunction. all of the telephone meta data related to the communications of plaintiffs and class members. >> does the suit have any chance of winning? >> i don't know. a lot of these cases have been adjudicated and the justice has fallen on the side of the administration. it seems likely that this case and those like it will continue to go up the judicial ladder until it reaches the u.s. supreme court. >> jake tapper, thanks for stopping by. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> next hour of "cnn newsroom" starts now. >> good morning. i'm carol costello. thank you so much for joining me. we are following two major

stories unfolding right now. at any moment, closing arguments will get underway in the so-called loud music murder trial. a florida man faces life in prison for shooting into a carful of teenagers. they had been blaring loud rap music. we have to begin with weather this morning. for millions of americans, specially in the south, a brutal mix of ice and snow is sweeping in bolstered by words just as chilling, historic, catastrophic and very unpredictable. this screaming headline you are about to see speaks volumes, bracing for the worst. minutes ago, we learned that more than 93,000 homes and businesses are without power across the southeast. 73,000 in georgia alone. even with an army of utility crews ready to scramble, power outages could last for days and days. state's governor warns georgians that this storm is deadly serious. >> i would simply say to them, we north kidding.

we are not just crying wolf. it is serious business. it is something that the greatest cooperation we can receive from the public will be our best asset. >> cnn is covering the storm like no other network can. indra peterson, david mattingly and george howell. we begin with nick valencia in one of atlanta's oldest neighborhoods. >> reporter: believe it or not, there are some people enjoying this snow day off. some kids sledding down the hill. others aren't as fortunate. freezing rain has caused a huge issue across the state of georgia. tens of thousands this morning without power. as the storm bears down bringing that dangerous mix of snow and ice and wind, officials across georgia are scrambling to get in place. preparing for a day's long battle to keep the power on. >> this is going to be a

challenge for all of us. >> officials say once you get passed a quarter inch of ice, power lines are in big trouble. the forecast this time, 3/4 to over an inch of ice. >> we're not kidding. wooer n we're not just crying wolf. it is serious business. >> reporter: inside this storm command center, georgia power officials are making plans, martialing the troops and asking for help from other states calling in trucks from as far away as florida and pennsylvania. atlanta's big challenge. the bulk of its power lines are above ground and aeasily taken down by ice and wind. a problem that wasn't rectified in 2000 when half an inch of ice left more than 3,000 without electricity. wind gusts today up to 30 miles per hour combined with thick ice adding to the danger of falling trees. >> we are going to do all we can to get our focus to the outages and get the power on as quickly

as possible. >> reporter: live pictures in decatur, georgia, outside of atlanta. they are a major concern. it is cold, about he low freezing, about 29 degrees. take a look at this table. when we got out here, it was clear. all the freezing rain is starting to turn into ice. officials are warning people to stay inside and specially stay off the roads. carol? >> look at you with your boots. i like those for that little tiny place. just as a precaution. the worst part is that slushy snow is going to turn to ice and become dangerous. nick va lvalencia live in decat. let's head to south carolina where david mattingly is. >> reporter: snow starting to fall within the last half hour. now, they are expecting about 8-10 inches here in downtown

charlotte, maybe a foot or more to the north of the city and ice from here south of the city that will no doubt plunge thousands of people into the cold and dark tonight when the electricity finally goes out. but right now, you can bet that officials here at the state and local level are paying very close attention to what happened in atlanta earlier. they have been very proactive in preparing for the storm. you notice just in a little bit of snowfall we've got, we have got a little bit of a dusting here on the sidewalk. look at the street. nothing is sticking to the street right now. that's because for the last two days, city and state crews have been outputting salt solution on the streets. that's 48 hours of preparation for this storm so they could get out in front of this as much as they possibly can. a lot of people staying home today. this is a big financial center. very quiet. down here in downtown charlotte. everyone watching the snow and preparing for the worst. carol?

>> you know what's kind of ironic. they are doing a great job in charlotte, north carolina. don't get me wrong. people have probably been ordered to stay off the roads so they can clear the snow. for the next 24 hours, they are still ordering people to stay you have athe roads. they wonder, why aren't they treating the roads? >> reporter: they are treating the roads just to stay proactive here. they also have snowplows parked strategically along the interstate. we saw them assembling before down. they are going to get out there and start working on the snow and ice. they want to try and keep the roads as open as possible. it is going to get bad tonight. the harder they work now, the more they are going to have to be -- the less they will have to worry about it tonight. with that ice, there is really nothing you can do about it once it starts to stick. so everyone is being well-prepared, well-warned in advance here to make sure you hunker down, because you are not going to see any relief here probably until sometime this

weekend when the temperatures start going back up. >> david mattingly, thanks so much. i didn't mean to imply they didn't need to remove the stuff from the road. they absolutely do and they are doing a great job. david mattingly, thanks so much. two snowmobilers in two separate states buried by avalanches. the one you are about to see happened in the back country of utah mountains north of salt lake city. these are pictures of travis's friends digging him from out from under three feet of snow. he was able to stick his hand out of the pile. he was underneath the snow for five minutes. snowmobilers say avalanche vests and snow beacons saved him. the other avalanche was in colorado. cody was snowmobiling out of nowhere, a surge of snow threw him off the snowmobile. this shot from his helmet cam. >> i honestly felt like i was just literally flying through the air. i felt impact on me and everything. it ended up being literally a

freight train that just took me away as fast as i said that, it was done and over with. see it, you can't see anything, you feel your body going through motions and it is done and over with and you are stopped. >> cody says he will be much more cautious from now on. he will even take an avalanche safety course. "newsroom" is back in a minute.

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he thanked his counterpart for his service and for the gift of french food. >> it is true that we americans have grown to love all things french, the films, the food, the wine, specially the wine. most of all, we love our french friends, because we have stood together for our freedom for more than 200 years. tonight, i again want to pay tribute to president hollande for the leadership and personal friendship and courage he has shown on the world stage. thank you, francois. some of the big name celebs were julia luis dreyfus and stephen colbert. new spill in west virginia has locals worried about this drinking water again. after a slurry spilled six miles in a creek, unlike the earlier

spill in nearby charleston. it does not contain mchm but it does contain a less harmful one. >> propyline glycol, we don't believe it will have an impact that far away. >> residents are still very concerned. a retired lawyer in rural tennessee has been killed after a package bomb delivered in the mail to his home exploded. 74-year-old john stetzer died. his wife was critically injured. the fbi, the department of homeland security and atf are investigating. neighbors say they are nervous to check their own mailboxes the president putting pen to paper on the federal minimum wage signing an executive order that will raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. right now, they make $7.25 an

hour. it will kick in on january 21st, 2015. it will only apply to new contracts. still to come, prosecutors and defense attorneys have one final chance to sway the jury in the loud music murder trial. will the defendant, michael dunn's testimony, change what they decide. talk to our legal experts next. [ female announcer ] a classic macaroni & cheese from stouffer's starts with freshly-made pasta, and 100% real cheddar cheese.

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later this hour, closing arguments are expected in florida. in the loud music murder trial,

michael dunn could face life in prison if convicted of the murder of jordan davis at the gas station. he took the stand telling the jury he told his fiancee, rhonda rouer, that he saw a weapon. prosecutors brought rouer right back to the stand to challenge that. >> did you tell her they had a weapon of any kind? >> yes, i did. >> what did you tell her? >> i don't know what i said but i told her i had a weapon and they threatened my life and he advanced upon me. >> did he ever tell you he saw a weapon of any kind in the suv? >> no. >> there was no mention of a stick? >> no. >> there was no mention of a shotgun? >> no. >> there was no mention of a barrel? >> no. >> cnn legal analyst, danny

savalis and mark o'mara. is that part of the charge? >> i think dunn was his own best witness and the fiancee was the state's best witness. they have to convince this jury they should not believe anything that dunn says. if they don't believe what dunn says, they can sort of build this question as to whether or not he acted reasonably. we know he didn't act reasonably afterwards by not calling the cops. they need to back that up and say he didn't act reasonably by taking shots. dunn couldn't come up with a good answer. he needs to explain it away. that flight is consciousness of guilt. he wants to explain it as if he had fear of safety. the other thing that dunn has

said on the stand is, i didn't believe i did anything wrong. that is problematic. he just shot up the place like it was the okay corral. he has to believe police are going to want to fill out a couple of forms and take a couple of statements. they don't believe he did anything wrong, i do not believe will resonate with the jury. as mr. o'mara has pointed out, he has been well-prepared. you see the word imminent into his testimony. whether it comes across well remains to be seen. >> the other thing thing during his testimony, he seemed to show emotion in strange places. he cried over his dog but he showed no emotion when it came to talking about the man he killed or the teenager he killed. >> he has got to come across to that jury as a reasonable person, acting reasonably that day. when we see him choke up with

the dog and we see him choke up with his fiancee, all that is very, very reasonable. it truly is. he comes across as a human. the failing, as you mentioned, was when he doesn't emote having taken the life of a 17-year-old, the traumatic event of being in a shooting. that lack of emotion both suggests coaching and just that he didn't really or wasn't concerned about having to take a life. that's not going to play well with any of those jurors. >> danny, closing arguments are about to begin. the lawyers will have one last shot. is there any way during those closing arguments that defense attorneys can convince the jury mr. dunn felt in danger of his life? >> for the defense, this is where his being prepared factors in. because he put in those words imminent and because he said fear and death, now, his attorney can argue that in closing and hopefully for the defense at least, the jury will connect dunn saying imminent and

bodily harm and death with the argument and then ultimately with the jury instructions and hopefully, they can pull off a jedi mind trick and have them think, it is imminent, because he said it was imminent. that's what he testified to. there is consistency. therefore, self-defense was reasonable. but this is an uphill battle. without question. >> we'll see what happens. danny and mark, thanks so much for being with me this morning. i appreciate it. >> thank you. on capitol hill, the fight over the debt ceiling is not over. ted cruz, the republican senator, is vowing to filibuster a measure to lift the limit when it cops to the senate. the measure barely passed the house where less than three dozen republicans joined the democrats in voting to raise the debt ceiling. senate majority leader, harry reid, applauded their efforts while taking a swipe at republicans w republicans who would stand in the way of passing that legislation. >> it is encouraging, some of my

republican colleagues are gaining their grip on sanity. i believe many would like to be reasonable. i really do believe that. if they weren't so beholden and afraid of their tea party overlords. >> chief congressional correspondent, dana bash, joins me now. why is chris doing this? >> reporter: well, he told our own ted barrett last night that he simply cannot stand up for the idea of allowing this debt ceiling increase to go through with the simple majority, without having a symbolic fight. let's be honest here, it is a symbolic fight. the 60-vote threshold is all he is demanding. you are not going to see an all-night filibuster. you are not going to see him standing and using every single trick that he knows to try to stop this. it is pretty clear it is not stoppable. the problem that cruz is facing once again within his own party is he has some hard feelings.

here is the reason, carol. republican leaders wanted to allow this to go through with a simple majority. the reason is because that could pass with just democratic votes. all republicans would be able to vote against it. now, if there is a 60-vote threshold, they are only 55 democrats in the senate. five republicans are going to have to walk the political plank and vote for an increase in the debt limit, which could very well hurt them and will hurt them within their own party b s base. depending on where they are, prompt a primary challenge. this won't hurt senator cruz. does he care? he has made his name as somebody who likes to stand up as a principal? he seems pretty clear in observing his interaction with other senators, which stung a little bit after he got so much backlash from within his senate

republican ranks after the shutdown that many people blamed him for in the fall. this is sort of putting him back on track to be a skunk at the garden party within the senate republican caucus. republicans that aren't necessarily going to vote for this, they understand like john boehner did in the house, the republican party does not want to be in a position to be blamed for the debt ceiling, for def t defaulting on the debt. they are going to try to figure out where the five republicans are. they are not going to be happy about it politically. dana bash, live from washington. thanks so much. snow and ice are building up on roads throughout the southeast and thousands are without power this morning. george howell is live in atlanta. good morning. >> reporter: unlike last time

when millions were caught off guard, take a look. hardly anyone on the roads. we are tracking it all here on the roads. we will show you what we find as the "cnn newsroom" continues. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ told ya you could do it. (dad vo) i want her to be safe. so, i taught her what i could and got her a subaru. (girl) piece of cake. ♪ (announcer) love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. it's not the "juggle a bunch of rotating categories" card. it's not the "sign up for rewards each quarter" card. it's the no-games, no-messing-'round, no-earning-limit-having, do-i-look-like-i'm-joking, turbo-boosting, heavyweight-champion- of-the-world cash back card.

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wolf. >> an ice storm pelting the southeast. >> it is real slushy, not a lot of tracks, real slick. >> it is only going to get worse. >> millions of car seats taken off the shelves in what could be the biggest recalls of it's kind because kids are getting stuck. and -- >> we will build things, build families and build dreams. >> mike roe taking fire from critics who say he sold out to walmart by voicing this ad. the tv star is firing back on social media. all coming up in the "newsroom." good morning. i'm carol costello. thank you so much for joining me. checking our top stories at 28 minutes past. we start with something just in from our white house correspondent. benjamin netanyahu will be

coming to the united states to visit president obama. they will talk about iran and if there is any progress in palestinian/israeli negotiations. it should be an interesting meeting because the two men don't have the best of relationships. we'll keep you posted. graco is issuing a recalling for nearly 4 million carseats, because children can become trapped when the buckles won't unlatch. it covers 11 models made between 2009 and 2013. if you have one of these, contact graco for a free replacement buckle. a brutal storm pounding the southeast. for much of the region, it could be the worst storm in a decade. a little army of utility repair crews has masked and in georgia, officials warn the outages will grow more widespread. that snow and freezing rain has been falling all morning too in other parts of the southeast.

streets covered in ice. officials are urging people to stay home. so emergency crews can clear the roads. george howell was driving around atlanta this morning. good morning. >> reporter: carol, good morning. so to the north, we're getting snow accumulations. to the south, it's that freezing rain. the concern for ice and here in the city of atlanta, right now, we're seeing the sleet come down less than we've seen earlier in the morning but it is still coming down. want to show you the situation right now on the roads. we can switch you over. it is a slushy mess right now. no one is on the roads. when you this i about the timing of this. last time, two weeks ago, we saw a storm basically affect people, caught people off guard before they started to head home. millions of people were caught on the roads in that situation. this time, the storm came in overnight. there was a lot of preparation, unlike last time. people were told to stay home. that's exactly what they did. so right now, we are watching as

the sleet continues to come down here in the city. the concern is this is a multi-day event as layer upon layer starts to ice over, specially on trees and specially on power lines. we will see more of the trees and power lines come down. again, carol, it one of those things where if you don't have to be on the road, it is best not to be. what we are seeing are very few people who are on the roads here in atlanta. >> few people. i'm seeing no one. the interesting thing. schools have been closed in the greater atlanta area since mon. they are going to be closed again tomorrow. so georgia and the city of atlanta taking absolutely no chances with this storm. george howell, thanks so much. indra petersons has a look at travel delays and where this storm is heading next. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. you saw it yourself. you are looking at the ice in atlanta. freezing rain is still out there. sean, our weather producer, sent this in this morning.

plenty of flights are canceled. why are we so concerned with ice? remember, guys. .25 or .50 of ice. so many people are saying, what is the big deal? there is way more snow. it is the ice that takes down the power lines and inundates the roads with the black ice driving conditions and makes it impassable. still seeing freezing rain in toward atlanta and portions of south carolina, i should say. here is the problem. you saw that first wave yesterday. it is only about .25 of an inch. here comes the second wave. we have the potential of a catastrophic ice storm. even upwards of an inch of ice out there. that could bring power lines down for weeks at a time. let's hope we don't get there. it looks like that ice storm currently is underway. it is just one part of the system. first, we had the icing in the southeast and then we have the snowmaker. what we are going to watch is a lull cruising up across the

coastline wech coastline. we could see places around d.c. we could monitor how much snow we are going to get. what are we tracking right now and where is that cold air, how far south it goes? you will see rain, ice, sleet, snow. you kind of transition between the two. it is only a couple of degrees of a difference that can really change the type of precipitation you get out there. still looking for the icing throughout the day today. as we go through the overnight tonight in through tomorrow, we start tracking this guy, the low, as it makes its way up the coastline. exactly where it goes closer to the coastline itself, heavier snow to the coastline. we will see the heavier snow amounts farther in. wednesday night in through thursday. a lot to track. a lot of dangerous conditions out there. >> we are not dealing with it alone. >> about 80 million of us. >> many thanks to you, indra peterson. much more in the "newsroom" after this.

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all these brutal winter storms and frigid temperatures are take ing a toll and it ain' cheap. senate committees are looking into how much it costs when cities and states are not prepared for severe weather events. acena jones is covering this for us. >> we all know big storms like this snowstorm moving in the southeast and heading our way, toward the east coast and mid-atlantic and other storms like superstorm sandy, floods, droughts, these extreme weather events can cost people's lives and a lot of money. the government's national climatic data center said there were seven extreme weather events that cost 100 lives and more than $1 billion each. today, in this hearing that's already underway, we are going to be hearing from homeland security officials, state

government officials and private industry officials, like the insurance sector, talking about the cost to communities of not being prepared. look can at the ways the government can help these communities become more resilient and be better prepared. we expect a lot of focus on climate change. there is a lot of disagreement. they want to talk about how much it will cost when communities and individuals are not prepared for extreme weather events like this. we have already heard at least one mention of this coming storm. that's from the chairman of this homeland security committee, tom harper, from delaware. >> athena jones, reporting live from washington. thank you. checking other top stories at 38 minutes past the hour. tom brokaw has revealed he has multiple myeloma, a cancer affecting blood cells in the bone marrow. doctors are optimistic. for his part, he told his former

employer he remains the luckiest guy i know. >> this week, at least six people have been killed in avalanches in the united states. on monday, a colorado man was skiing with friends when he was swept away by an avalanche just outside keystone ski resort. rescuers found his body the next morning. in utah, a student from byu was buried by an avalanche sunday while snowshoeing. she was eventually rescued but later died. on average, nearly 30 people were killed in avalanches every year. what can you do to survive if you are caught up in one? gary tuchman takes a look. >> reporter: a back country ski outing in switzerland that is about to turn into a horrifying experience. christopher carlson, who was wearing a helmet cam, came very close to documenting his own death. it is an avalanche. he is buried about five feet under the snow, unable to move.

carlson is hoping the skiers he was with find him before he suffocates. and they do. he is a very lucky man. on the average, in the u.s., 28 people die each year from avalanches. often with hundreds of tons of snow plummeting down the mountain. i ski at colorado's copper mountain with one of the top avalanche experts in the united states. >> how are the conditions? >> good for skiing. >> reporter: ethan green is the director of the colorado avalanche information center. his state agency's responsibility in part to forecast the probability of avalanches. this is may flower gulch. >> reporter: he takes me away from the resort and into the back country where most avalanches occur to learn about the three essentials for back country skiers. >> beacon, probe and shovel. >> reporter: the beacon. >> we all turn these on so they

are transmitting. they are signaling out a signal. later in the day, if you get buried, i will be able to set mine to receive, pick up your signal and locate you. >> reporter: the probe and the shovel. >> this is a three-meter probe pole. what this allows me to do, once i get your general location with the beacon, i can pinpoint you with this probe and then use the shovel to dig down to the tip. >> reporter: there is this fourth item that can keep you above the rampaging snow threatening to bury you, the air bag pack. we dug a three-foot deep hole in the snow to simulate where an avalanche victim might be trapped. our plan, to send ethan green up the mountain with his beacon and receive mode to try to pick up my signal from a hole where i will wait for a rescue. our producer, chris liable, puts the finishes touching on my snow

cave and i wait in the dark underground. i am turning on to receive. no signal right away. quickly, got a signal. it tells him how close he is getting. 16 meters, 13 meters. the beacon works like a charm. i'm less than a meter. i have a strike. >> wow! that was quite unsettling under there. >> i'm glad your beacon worked. >> me too. >> thanks. >> >> reporter: of course, i was always safe in my controlled environment. a victim may not have a chance. >> sometimes you can't expand your lungs to breath. >> reporter: if you are alive after the snow stops moving, having the right equipment can mean the difference between life

and death just like it did for christopher carlson. gary tuchman cnn, copper mountain, colorado. >> gary tuchman is a brave man. i don't know if i could have done that. still to come, from beloved to berated, they face an online firestorm after voicing an ad for walmart. we'll talk about the controversy next. could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

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let's talk about mike roe, the guy who hosts dirty jobs and the hat and the flannel shirt. he has become more than a pitch man but a symbol for the american worker, someone who stands up for the little guy, beloved by his hundreds of thousands of facebook followers until he voiced this ad for walmart. >> at one time, i made things, i opened my doors to all and together we filled pallets and trucks. i was mighty and then one day, the gears stopped turning and i'm still here. i believe i will rise again. >> you see walmart pops up at

the end. this sparked an incredible backlash. fans called him a sellout and a trader. this post pretty much sums up what people are saying. it is hypocrisy. walmarts products are all made in china. they contribute to those empty factories. what's so powerful about an ad that makes absolutely no sense. >> joining me to talk about this brian s techtelter and christin romans. >> walmart ran this ad during the olympics to get the word out it was doing all of these good things. in the end, was it effective? >> i think the ad is actually very effective. we just saw part of it. it is emotional, evocative and mike roe is an excellent figurehead for them. i am a big fan of mike. he went to the same school i did in maryland. he has always stood up for the little guy.

i understand why people think this is hypocritical. this is a path we have seen a lot of celebrities take. the ad itself from a p.r. point of view is very effective. >> it is true, steven, that walmart is spending $250 billion to buy american products to sell in their stores and they will have to be made in american factories. that should be a good thing. so why isn't it for so many people? >> well, everybody loves to bash walmart because the unions hate walmart, because the workers are not unionized. many of the products that walmart sells at its everyday low prices are made outside of the united states in countries like china. it is a major employer in this country. there are hundreds of thousands of americans who work for walmart. the other interesting thing is, when a new walmart store opens up, everybody says those are low-paying jobs. nobody wants those. people circle around the block to sign up to enroll for those

kinds of jobs. on balance, walmart has been a very positive thing for the american economy. i agree. i think this ad touches your sort of sense of patriotism. i liked it. >> mike roe says, look, i'm not advocating for walmart. at least it is doing something. i am here to help create american jobs. if this creates just one, that's okay. >> walmart sort of walked right into it. so many people have said isn't it rich that walmart is proposing to buy $250 million of american made goods over ten years when walmart is the one who drove those factories overseas in the first place. walmart is a huge employer of other country's labor making all the stuff we love to pay really cheap prices for. that's what those critics are so upset about. they see him as a champion for the little guy, the manufacturing worker who has been outsourced, the worker working with his hands.

they are lining up around the block to sell the things someone else is making. that's what they are so angry about. it is $250 billion over ten years. walmart sold $475 billion worth of stuff last year. they buy so much stuff. a walmart representative told me the kinds of factories they are hoping to get started, it is taking ten years, because you don't have enough factories in this country to provide the stuff they are promising to buy. it is the things that don't take a lot of human hands to make them, socks, hosiery and things that are highly automated. >> steven, should walmart help build the factories? >> christina is right, a lot of the products are made overseas. i am a big believer in trade. that's one of the reasons we have those low prices at walmart, you can get dam near anything i want for 99 cents, because things come in from other countries.

don't forget, there are tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of trucking jobs, warehousing jobs that are related, even if those products are not made in the united states. a lot of spinoff jobs from the trade develop. >> you are right. >> those jobs don't pay so much, right, christine? >> look, you can quibble about the different pay. some of the trucking jobs pay very, very well. we have a shortage of skilled truckers in this country here. with the critics on the micro facebook page are so upset about is the idea we don't make stuff in america. we move it around and sell other people's stuff. there is this race to the bottom. because we all want cheap stuff, the jobs pay less. you have a middle class that's sort of been gutted and fewer people going after the higher paying jobs. the jobs we are creating are lower wage jobs.

the numbers show it. the mid-wage and high-wage jobs lost in the recession are being replaced by lower wage jobs moving stuff around the country. >> this is a case study for the use of facebook and social media. i'm glad the critics responded and that he engaged. rather than ignoring the critics, he spoke and responded and defended himself. good on both sides for doing that. >> it is interesting to go to his face and read how he defended himself. he comes up with great points. thank you so much, brian, christine and steven. still to come, he was once known as the flying tomato, shaun white's olympic dreams have come crashing down. rachel nichols is in sochi. >> reporter: shaun pulled out of a different event to focus on the half-pipe. that didn't go so well. we'll tell you all about it after the break.

just as quickly as olympic dreams rise, some come crashing down. the best known american man in these games, shaun white, finds himself leaving sochi without a medal. the united states, by the way, is in sixth place in the medal count. germany has the most gold medals so far. norway has the most total medals. they have the most medals. rachel nichols has more from sochi. >> reporter: and it's a tie for the first time in olympic history. two athletes are bringing home the gold in alpine skiing, slovenia skier, tina maze and domin dominic giesen. in another major surprise, the

half-pipe left shaun white empty handed, coming down hard, falling short of not only his goal of three straight gold medals but short of the podium. the 27-year-old was disappointed after coming in fourth. overtaken by 25-year-old yuri pavlochikov or i-pod as he is known. while white might be singing the blues on the slope, he says he is going to channel that energy into his band, "bad things." there was a major victory onle luge, 27-year-old erin hamlin chasing her dream and grabbing the bronze becoming the first american to medal in singles luge. in the women's ski jump, american sarah hendrickson soared into history. the 19-year-old becoming the first woman to compete in ski

jumping at the olympics. in pairs figure skating, the russians nicknamed the dream team took the lead with the short program that left the crowd wanting more, catapulting themselves into the record books. with the best ever scores for a short program. at the cross-country venue, russian skier, anton garafvov taking a nasty spill but helped by the coach for canada. two countries coming together. atop the podium, a very olympic day indeed. >> a nice moment there with the olympics are all about. there was heartbreak at today's games as well. one of america's olympic hopefuls in the half-pipe, because the women's half-pipe is going on as we speak, carol, 17-year-old ariel gold, she hurt her wrist during practice. she had to withdraw from the event. can you imagine coming all wait

to sochi and not being able to compete the day of the event. heartbreaking for her. however, the other american medal hopefuls are through to the finals. so we will have to see how they do tonight. how warm is it there today? >> reporter: a dreadfully chilling 54 degrees now. >> rachel nichols, many thanks. thank you for joining me today. i'm carol costello. at this hour, john berman and michaela pereira starts now. > a catastrophic ice storm with power outages that could last for a week. as you sit there in the dark, why on earth aren't power lines buried underground to begin with? >> a great question. the second black justice to ever serve on the u.s. supreme court is tng