power lines down, people left in the cold u. could hear the rumble and then the snap of the power. >> and this storm is creating a nightmare in the skies. thousands of flights cancelled, even more delayed, and no relief is in sight. >> four to six more inches on top of what we've got tonight with temperatures in the 20s. we are definitely not out of the woods yet. >> we're live throughout the storms on everything you need to know. good morning. welcome to "new day." it's thursday, february 13th. 6:00 in the east and we're beginning with breaking news. another monster outside your window paralyzing the south and now pounding the northeast. this system is massive and deadly. ten have lost their lives so far. the pictures, as always, tells story. take a look. this is chaos in north carolina. epic traffic jams forces thousands to abandon their cars on icy roads, of course. and lessons learned in atlanta. no one on the roads after the

crippling storm a couple weeks ago, everyone seemed to stay home. ice snapped tree limbs and power lines. look at this home near atlanta. the tree in their front yard now in their living room. almost 800,000 people are without power with thousands of flights cancelled and schools shut down from all the way from alabama to maine. let's begin our storm coverage with meteorologist inger peterson in white plains, new york, where they've been getting the worst of it right now,. >> hoping everyone is indoors. i saw snow plows come through. here in the northeast it seems they're prepared but it's not necessarily the case as many are affected by the storm from main all the way down to the gulf. developing into a full-fledge nor'easter overnight --

more than 100 million people in the path of a catastrophic winter storm now pounding the eastern seaboard. the crippling blast dumping over a foot of snow some places. in virginia, the governor declares a state of emergency as hundreds of accidents riddle the roadways. one man died from a head-on collision. the national guard, on the move. >> we'll have a lot of downed tree, and helping people and getting nurses and doctors where they need to go. >> reporter: in pennsylvania, philadelphia closed its doors for all non-essential personnel as snow and freezing rain will make travel treacherous. >> certain parts of the district we're getting heavy snow, up to 14 inches. >> reporter: sleet, ice and sfoe suspending some amtrak trains in the northeast. smoke caking the doors of this train headed to new york. a disastrous mix for air travel. thousands of flights cancelled again today. in maryland, grocery store shelves laid bare as the rest of the east coast up to new england

braced for the worst. >> this has just been a brutal winter where it's never really gotten warmer. >> reporter: we're still talking about ice in the southeast. they could see another half inch of ice. now it's all about this nor'easter that's developed. we're seeing snowfall rates almost two inches an hour. d.c., baltimore already seeing six to nine inches of snow. definitely a devastating storm in that region making its way to new york city. it's the wet stuff that makes you feel miserable. soon as the sun comes up later, we'll see a switch towards sleet, unfortunately. be prepared. once the sun goes down again tonight, more snow on the back side of this. >> indra, thank you very much. stay warm. be careful with the cars behind you. to the south, a state of emergency in the carolinas.

the national guard on standby helping stranded drivers lining the roads. tens of thousands finding themselves in the dark and cold wait are for power to come back on. our live coverage continues. what are we seeing down there? >> reporter: a light snow in the metro, atlanta area. kind of out of the woods as far as that sleet and freezing rain is concerned, but when you go in to the woods, the wooded neighborhoods in this area, you can see the problem. look back there. you see tree that brought down a power line. one of many neighborhoods that's been affected by think, and it could take a long time. it could take days before the power's restored. late in to the night the south reeled from the chaos created by the storm. especially in the carolinas. crews desperately tried to clear the streets covered in snow and littered with abandoned cars.

parts of the south once again an icy gridlock. a major ice and snowstorm blasting georgia and the carolinas. in some areas, falling at least one to two inches per hour. resulting in yet another traffic nightmare. >> it came on so fast and furious. it just happened so quickly. that is why so many of us were caught. >> a lot of cars were abandoned. they just left. next thing you know, i see planes. >> trying to outrun the storm, drivers in charlotte and raleigh found themselves on the highways and skidding off the streets. those who had no choice but to be on it's roads took hours to get home. or simply abandoned their cars. and in south carolina, more than 200,000 people and climbing are still in the dark. energy crews were forced to call in reinforcements to help repair the fallen lines. in georgia, trees toppled under heavy coatings of ice, bringing

down power lines and destroying homes. >> terrifying. hearing the tree crack and watching it fall from my window and landed on my daughter's room. >> reporter: this tree darted through the ceiling of a house in mcdonough, barely missing a 19-year-old man in his bed by inches. 86-year-old leila greer was sleeping inside her atlanta home when an ice-covered tree crashed down on her roof. >> just laying in the bed and i hear all of this noise and all of this stuff is on top of me. >> reporter: so a live picture here back at my feet. it's not my incredible moon-walking ability but i'm standing on what is a sheet of ice, really. you can't even get down to the pavement and you find this all over the metro atlanta area. so what the officials are saying, what the local affiliates, tv stations are saying, stay at home. people did that the other day. they're hoping that happens again, because it will take some time, guys, for all of this ice to melt.

>> no kidding. nome the power line problem behind you, but the problem under your feet. this is going to be days before this gets back to normal. george, thank you very much. be careful. good news. the d.c. area has been also getting hammered all morning. you can see up to ten inches of snow potentially. right now federal offices and d.c. public schools are closed. the latest on its looking at the nabil mall. beautiful behind you. not say it's not dangerous, erin. >> reporter: well, kate, that's right, and the mayor of d.c. did declare a state of emergency here, as did the governor of maryland, and the governor of virginia. now, in d.c., 200 snow plow was deployed overnight. however, this is third street behind me, and it's still a mess. also the bus system is totally shut down. the subway system, however, still is operational, but that is subject to change. but i would say this, though -- that snow brings out the best in washington. we saw already a snowball fight at the lincoln memorial

overnight and i'm sure we'll see much more of that, because all of the major universities in the area are closed including, you know, georgetown. my alma mater, american university, cancelled chases for the day, and kate bolduan's alma mater also closed. that only happened one time, kate and chris, when i was in school. this is a rarity here in washington. >> i don't remember when it happened at g & w, fwhaut might be for another reason, lack of memory. thanks, erin. >> a developing situation there. now to philadelphia, and remember, they are already suffering from the last storm, many of them just starting to get power back right now. now they're forced in areas around philadelphia to brace for another foot of snow, and maybe losing their power again. thousands and thousands of families are at risk again of having no heat and no electricity. let's go to margaret connelly reporting from abington, pennsylvania, just north of

philadelphia. margaret, people have to be on edge there? >> reporter: that's right, chris. people here have feared another snowstorm. lots of snow coming down, as you can see right now. we're into abington township. this area had a near complete blackout last week because of power outages. we were out in town yesterday, last night, talking to people. there is an other than of chicken time, a restaurant, out of power seven straight days. when we talked to him he just started to get back up and running and is worried about this storm. there's a bagel shop owner also out of power last week. she was just working overtime to get more bagels stocked up, because she stored them in her basement refrigerator. all of those went to waste. now she has to work to stock up because people are going get extra food and water. she's working overtime to make back her business. peek pico, the big power company,

flew in help from canada. everything so far seems to be okay, but it is early. chris and kate? >> margaret, keep us updated. you look like you're getting hit yourself. thank you so very much. we'll continue to follow the weather, of course. another big story that broke overnight. a blockbuster media merger in the works. comcast striking a $45 billion deal buy time warner cable. it would combine the two biggest cable companies in the united states. chief business correspondent christine romans is here to break it down for us. what more are we learning about this merger? >> it's a very big, big merger. it's interesting, a combined comcast/time warner essentially providing television channels, internet connections in roughly one in three homes in america. most in new york, l.a., philly and washington, d.c. customers may like comcast's next generation software and set-top boxes but not the cable bill. often seeing less competition means higher prices. when it comes to cable bills,

already customers are paying sky-high prices. according to a research group, cable bills increasing at a rate of 6% each year forecast to reach $200 on average by the year 2020. pricing and competition are, of course what regulators will look for when scrutinizing this deal. charter the other company pursuing time warner cable appears to be stepping aside now that comcast has come forward with this deal. you may write a dhocheck to a different company when it comes to time warner. >> and even though they're merging it will help cable bills go down. because as you say, it keeps going up and up. >> i want not more blackouts, pay for what i want and not more than $200. can you fix that for us? >> we'll have to talk to the authorities. thanks, christine. a potential crisis averted or finally focusing on you. pick the headline you want, but here is the fact. the senate voted to raise the nation's borrowing limit another

year. the vote full of suspense, of course, because of the political game going on there including a filibuster overcome by a rare show of bipartisanship. jim acosta is at the white house. how do you play it? jim? both sides coming together or they just have to do this? >> reporter: oh, i think this is just a cease n-fire in the battles, legislative battles near washington. the president want add clean debt ceiling bill, no stricks attached and that's what he got and released a statement last night thanking lawmakers for passing this increase to the nation's debt ceiling but also said in the statement he hopes this puts an end to what he called the politics of brinkmanship. something this town has been dealing with the last three years at least on budget matters. as you saw yesterday, senate republicans managed to defeat a threatened filibuster by texas senator ted cruz who wanted budget cuts in exchange for this bill to raise the nation's debt limit and defiant move on the part of republicans because of a lot of conservative and tea party groups saying, do not vote

for this bill. after what they saw, their poll numbers in what happened to their poll numbers last fall, they were not about to let that happen again. they feel it they're holding pretty good political cards heading into the mid-term elections because of the rocky rollout of obamacare. as for the white house, officials are optimism perhaps the brack throueak through will others, perhaps on immigration and with the mid-terms drawing closer that is going to get tougher and tougher. just looks like this may be one shining moment in what could be a gloomy year between the white house and capitol hill. >> jim acosta. thanks. and look at the snow coming down there. stay warm. take a look at more headlines happening right now. a live look at a massive gas line explosion in southern kentucky about two hours from louisville. local media reporting three homes, two bars and four vehicles are on fire. one person has been taken to the

hospital. we are hearing, though, their injuries are not severe. we'll bring you any more information as it arrives here at our newsroom. 65 suspected tell ban fightefigh taliban fighters released from prison. many that killed american troops. 9 release pose as threat to nato and afghan forces. the move comes as tensions build over president hamid karzai's refusal to sign a bilateral security agreement. more than 3 million people have now signed up for health insurance under obamacarefigure enrollment. signing up on state and federal health care changes. more promising, the number of young people enrolling in care jumped 3% last month. and spoilers for the olympics. team usa back on top in the

medal count. tying with norway! nailing a clean sweep. look at that. a clean sweep of the podium. in the first-ever men slope style skiing event. how about that at olympics? the trio, josh christenson, kenworthy and nicholas took gold, silver and bronze. and how about that music right there? do you have a secret handshake? >> get them mittens. >> now on the flip side -- let you enjoy it for a second. enjoy, enjoy, enjoy, now to stuff a little mahwah mahwah mahwah failed to get a gold, didn't medal finishing eighth. the same place american skier's bode miller and julia mancuso landed despite being favored. can we look at the medal count one more time? let's just do it. come on. it's right there. >> exceeding our technical capabilities. >> no.

it's right there. >> there we go -- ah, yeah. after the american slope style sweep, team usa pulled in a tie with norway at the top. 12 overall medals followed by canada, the netherlands and russia. all very sunny locations, by the way. the medal event -- the next medal event, my dad, is just after 7:00. the ladies 500 meter speed skating. that's another one that's -- there's a bit of a battle between two u.s. skaters i think people are ready to watch. >> and for perspective, remember, shaun white, shani davis, trying to do something that's never been done. these three-peat golds. you see it in the summertime, it was unlikely, even though they were favored. >> when you're on top, a whole bunch of people are coming at you. they're like, let's knock them off their -- >> they still have a lot to be proud of. >> absolutely. just making it to the olympics is amazing. how are those mittens doing for

you? >> they're great. i feel good. >> no reason to make a show of it. u.s. on top, i'm not surprised. >> what? >> i'm not surprised. >> i love rubbing it in. on "new day," act like you've been there before. we're used to being on top. the latest on the storm and front as conditions continue to change throughout the morning. the north southeast now getting smothered. we'll be showing it to you. the south already paralyzed. the national guard mobilized in north carolina. we're going to speak with the mayor of durham, where the situation turned dire. also ahead, a verdict could come this morning in the so-called loud music murder trial. testimonychael dunn's own girlfriend convinced the jury that his story does not line up. that's correct. cause i'm really nervous about getting trapped. why's that? uh, mark? go get help! i have my reasons. look, you don't have to feel trapped

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jury deliberations are about to resume in the loud music murder trial. during closing arguments, a blunt message from prosecutors. use your common sense. their key point was a question. if michael dunn killed 17-year-old jordan davis in self-defense, why did he flee? dunn's lawyers raised the hot button stand your ground. the question is, will it work on jurors think time? cnn's alina ma chat so in jacksonville. >> reporter: the jury deliberated about three hours before breaking for the night and got the case after each side presented very different reasons why michael dunn started shooting that night. >> -- by his actions. >> reporter: in closing arguments prosecutors took them back to the night michael jun shot and killed 17-year-old jordan davis, the recording played in court one more time. >> oh, my god. somebody's shooting. >> reporter: prosecutors argue each shot is evidence that dunn was deliberate and acted in

anger, not in self-defense. >> that is premeditation. knowing when he pulled that gun out he had it ready to go. he didn't pull a gun out just to brandish it, try to back him off. he pulled it out and immediately started firing. >> reporter: dunn claimed he saw what he thought might be the barrel of a gun pointed at him before opening fire, but prosecutors told the jury that davis and his three friends were unarmed when an argument over loud music turned violence. >> there was no gun or weapon ever found. and that wasn't because it's shoddy police work. that was because there wasn't one. the boys didn't have a gun. they didn't have a stick. >> reporter: the defense used silence, three minutes of it. >> one minute. two minutes. there was no weapons found in that truck in that three minutes. >> reporter: to suggest that the teen sped away from the jacksonville gas station where the shooting happened, and got

rid of the weapon dunn claims he saw. arguing that just because police never found a weapon, that doesn't mean the teens were unarmed. >> never checked the bushes. never checked the dumpsters, but you know when the detective alleges they it five days later. >> reporter: davis' father appeared visibly distraught as the prosecution talked about his son telling the jury while the living deserve respect, the dead deserve the truth. >> this is the dead. physical evidence that cannot be explain pd away. that cannot be refuted. >> reporter: now, the jury has asked to see the surveillance video from inside the gas station convenience store. the one where you can actually hear the gunshots and likely be able to see that video when deliberations resume later this morning. chris and kate? >> thank you. much more coverage of this trial later in the show. coming up next, though, on

"new day" -- a state of emergency in the south where hundreds of thousands are without power this morning. epic traffic jam, cars abandoned. we're going to talk live to the mayor of durham ahead for the very late effort on how it's going. and we're going to be talking about rand paul and here's why. first he was harshly going after democratic foes, specifically the clintons. right now he's making a big deal of suing the president over the nca's phone surveillance. is this a tactic and will it work for the kentucky senator? we'll take you through it. the truck is everything. and when you put them in charge of making an unbeatable truck, good things happen. this is the ram 1500. the 2014 motor trend truck of the year. ♪ and first ever back-to-back champion. guts. glory. ram.

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welcome back to "new day." what a mess. we are tracking the breaking news overnight. you're taking a live look right now at the snow coming down on the roads in both new york and washington, d.c. this beast of a winter storm barreling through the northeast right now. it's already done significant damage in the south. it's pure chaos throughout the carolinas. look at this video of the roads. thousands of drivers forced to abandon cars on icy highways. some of them having to walk home. >> atlanta once again shut down. ice up to one inch thick taking down trees and power lines all over the city. that gets compounded by how hard it is to get to the lines to fix them. latest count, three quarter of a million neem the south without power. the number will continue to climb and the time it will take to get fixed will extent the

weather continues. indra peterson is tracking extreme weather from white plains, new york, just outside manhattan. a little north of us there where conditions are considerably different than we saw here this morning. indra, how's it now? >> reporter: yeah, right now you can see in white plains, we're starting to see the heavy snow really coming oun and the difference between this system and the last of the season, it is that wet snow. it makes you feel so miserable out here. this storm crippled the southeast the last several days. talk about the numbers. look at totals. the amount of i say they saw. talking half an inch to even three quarters of an inch of ice. what they saw in the southeast and more syce expect eice expec the snow. five inches to even a foot of snow in the southeast and now that storm is making its way up the eastern seaboard. that is the problem today. let's talk about the totals we're expecting. they've already upped the totals. boft boston, four to eight inches. d.c., six to nine inches.

four years ago that huge storm only brought them six inks. potential for a foot of snow especially the western portions. why? if you're on the right side of the system, the temperatures are warming. we'll transition to sleet and some places rain. the farther west, getting colder air, seeing snow throughout the day and get heavier amounts. what are we looking for? yes. eventually transition, more miserable. more potential icing and sleet and then again it will transition back to snow in these overnight hours. so once again, don't think it's going to be over with as we go through the evening hours. we'll see some of the heavy snow especially in through new york city and boston. even for your morning commute tomorrow, still talking than snow out there, but eventually tapering off by tomorrow. i want to point out quickly, heavy winds out there also. be careful. visibility, very poor out there, guys. >> it literally looks like somebody's throwing handfuls of snow at your face while you're doing the live shot. >> reporter: feels like it. >> thanks for sucking it up out

there, indra. better you and that me. just starting to develop here in the northeast. north carolina, already one of the hardest hit areas because of the combination of snow and ice. joining us by phone, durham, north carolina's mayor william bell. can you hear us? >> yes, good morning. >> what can you tell us about the current conditions and challenges in terms of power outages and number of distress calls? >> fortunately, we haven't had very many outages in durham. we don't have the precipitation but are expecting that to happen again. yesterday was really bad for us. a lot of snow. getting the roads cleared, delays on the highway. persons stranded. this has ban bad day. >> absolutely. nip way you look at it. 100 wrecks before rush hour. had to deploy the national guard to help motorists there. did the national guard get the job done? was that the right move? >> i think everybody worked well in trying to deal with a real bad situation. the state, local government.

everybody was working well. we even had our shopping centers to stay open for stranded travelers. so everybody was pulling toeshgs b together, but it was really a mess. >> one of the signs thousand stopped life, had you to postpone the duke/unc basketball game last night. that matters. the first time anything that epic has been done. what did you see? students throwing snowballs together instead? >> we didn't get that far. i'm sure people were disappointed but in the best interests of all. they're going to play it again. hopefully things will work out a lot better. >> showing the motorists, dealing with it poorly. not used to it. ice. underneath snow, deceptive to people. it's hard. the cars aren't set up for it. what about government, mr. mayor? what were the challenges, what did you respond to well and what surprised you in terms of how hard it was? >> well, what surprises me and a lot of people, we expecting the snow. but it just seemed to come down all of a sudden. it wasn't a gradual. about 1:00 looked like the skies fell in. normally a drive that takes

about 15 minutes from duke's campus took me about three hours to get back from duke to my home. but i've declared a state of emergency. so we are entucouraging people stay off the roads, at least until 12:00. we'll make a assessment. >> state of emergency, frees up resources that you don't usually have access to. is there anything else that you need? do want to take the opportunity here on cnn to say there are things that you need or are you in good shape? >> what we really need is for feel stay off the roads. we understand people have jobs and et cetera. it really isn't a time for anybody to be out. if they can stay off the roads, it makes it easier for us to get things cleared out. >>ened employers to be understanding about that as well, right, mr. mayor? >> exactly. that's very important. >> all right. mayor william bell, down there in durham, i hope it gets bet brer it gets worse to be sure. thank you for joining us on cnn. stay safe. >> thank you, take care. a look at your headlines right now. half past the hour. president obama is praising a

senate vote to raise the u.s. debt ceiling. 12 republicans crossing the aisle wednesday breaking a filibuster mounted by a member of their own party. it would raise the nation's borrowing limit for another year. that bill now moves to the white house where the president is expected to sign it. new developments in the boston marathon bombing. a federal judge setting a november 3rd trial date for suspect dzhokhar tsarnaev. a lot sooner than the defense requested. they asked for a september 2015 trial. the two sides will exchange a possible change of venue for the trial in june. two people are dead after being trapped in an avalanche, part of a group of eight skiers. four uninjured. two rescued a day after the tragedy. those two each have broken legs. eight people have now been killed in avalanches in just the last few days in oregon, colorado and in utah. former you're leens mayor ray nagin appeals his

construction conviction, so says his lead attorney as they left the courtroom wednesday. of the 21 counts against him, a federal jury convicted him of 20. prosecutors successfully argued nagin was at the center of a kickback scheme in which he took hundreds of thousands in bribes and other favors from businessmen looking for a break. the national kcorvette musem set to reopen in kentucky. hard to believe, it was cringe-inducing moment when you saw a massive sinkhole swallow eight beautiful collector cars. new surveillance video showing some of the most iconic speedsters plummeted. nearly 30 feet. the value of the damage is not known yet, but we do understand that some of these vehicles were one of a kind cars. some of them estimated to be worth millions. this is the big takeaway. no injuries were reported, and that is a miracle. if it had been busy, people had been there, this could have been catastrophic on a human scale.

>> good point. >> we're all car lovers here. there a 1962 core sflet there. a couple on loan from gm. that's a tough phone call to make. >> yeah. guys -- >> so the floor just -- fell in. >> remember the cars you lent us? >> and you know what the problem is? >> can we keep them? >> exactly. >> you can insure the money, but you can't insure the uniqueness of them and you saw. you're right. give me some of that on the '62. black wit red interior. a rare color combination. so it's one of a few could be gone. it's a big part of american culture and history. >> it really is. supposed to be celebrating their 20th anniversary, that museum this september. fingers crossed. they're reopening today. >> they are? >> yeah. >> they better figure out what the stress status is underneath. >> seen it in florida. kentucky -- >> youty you've figured it out but you haven't. >> there's been really unusual weather there. one of the things they're going through. >> middle earth. >> ar chief space correspondent.

>> i'd like that one and that one. just saying. >> really have to -- bring that voice. >> the '62 on the discount. work on it over the summer. >> i'd still take t. a group project. you'd look good in that. >> going to take a break. coming up next on "new day," he's suing president obama over nsa surveillance, but does the lawsuit from this guy, senator rand paul, have more to do with 2016 ambitions than the nsa. plus, one of the breakout stars at the sochi olympics. slopestyle snowboarder sage kotsenburg. right there, in the house, with the medal and the board, and the wave. spoice it! ameriprise asked people a simple question: can you keep your lifestyle in retirement? i don't want to think about the alternative. i don't even know how to answer that.

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what is this place? where are we? this is where we bring together the fastest internet and the best in entertainment. we call it the x1 entertainment operating system. it looks like the future! we must have encountered a temporal vortex. further analytics are necessary. beam us up. ♪ that's my phone. hey. [ female announcer ] the x1 entertainment operating system, only from xfinity. tv and internet together like never before.

back to washington now. senator rand spa suing the president and intelligence leaders over nsa phone surveillance. now he's the one that's also coming under fire. overnight accusations the kentucky republican hijacked the lawsuit from its rightful author. cnn's joe johns has much more on this. >> reporter: senator rand paul's lawsuit joined by the tea party umbrella group freedom works, the latest to put the heat on president obama and security agency over telephone collection data. the numbers times and calms but not the content. >> this, we believe, will be a historic lawsuit. we think it may well be the largest class action lawsuit ever filed on behalf of the bill of rights. >> reporter: an unusual lawsuit paul hopeless gain public support going after the president and the director of national intelligence of the nsa and the fbi on behalf of millions who have been customer, users and subscribers of phone

service since 2006. paul wants the federal courts to declare the meda data unconstitutional, shut it down and purge the information from its systems. the administration insists it is legal. >> found to be lawful by multiple courts and receives oversight from all three branches of government, including the congress. >> reporter: is the lawsuit a good idea? >> our information, i think it should be private. >> the idea that anybody could be listening to my private life, that kind of -- it's a little creepy. >> i think it's kind of a stunt to get attention. i doubt anything will actually come of the lawsuit. >> reporter: there were already cases in the federal courts involving the same legal question. whether the program violating your constitutional right. >> there's no question that the underlying legal question is going to have to be resolved by the federal courts sometime soon. it just doesn't seem like senator paul's suit will be the vehicle through which the courts do it. >> reporter: complicating the legal issues is a behind-the-scenes spat over the

alleged hijacking of a prominent washington attorney's work. sources said conservative legal scholar bruce fein worked on the lawsuit since december, but when released publicly, his name was not on the document and former virginia attorney general ken cuccinelli who left office in january was featured as the lead lawyer. when cnn asked cuccinelli who authored the document, cuccinelli stead was a legal team including fein and that fein would participate in the litigation. fein told cnn he looks forward to working with the others with transparency and no ulterior motives. joe johns, cnn, washington. >> joe, thanks. we're going to take a short break and, boy, a treat next up on "new day." stokes about the super border sage kotsenburg. is he standing behind me? >> the staircase to nowhere. >> here to talk about that wild ride and what life is now now

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what is this place? where are we? this is where we bring together the fastest internet and the best in entertainment.

we call it the x1 entertainment operating system. it looks like the future! we must have encountered a temporal vortex. further analytics are necessary. beam us up. ♪ that's my phone. hey. [ female announcer ] the x1 entertainment operating system, only from xfinity. tv and internet together like never before. you have to be insane to do these jumps. >> we have probably one of the keeflt opportunities right now. sage catsikotsenburg. first-ever gold in slopestyle in so muchy. did it landing a trick, pay attention to this, he had nerve are tried before. that gold winning run included a

trick he invented himself called the holy crail. sage kotsenburg joins us, just arriving back in the states two days ago with that gold medal. >> it's pretty heavy. getting tired of wearing this thing. >> please, stop. congratulations. >> thanks so much. thanks for having me. >> how are you feeling right now? >> really tired. definitely tired. straight off the plane. definitely jet lag. never been to new york before. perfectly fitting to just come back and a really warm welcome here. >> i'm sure it's hard to even describe how you're feeling now. dealing with everything that you're dealing with, but can you take us back to the moment. take us back to the moment when you were just about to start your run. you're just ready to -- just ready to ride. what were you thinking? what's going through your head? >> i was just kind of thinking of my run. you go through a run before the drop in. i just take it feature to feature. i don't think about anything, like the trick i'd never tried. i wasn't really thinking of that

at the top. >> when did you make that decision? >> about 20 minutes before i dropped in. yeah. and then in practice i kind of -- >> you recognize that sounds a little crazy? >> sounds weird, but it made total perfect sense to me. >> it was your first run. >> yeah. first run down. so -- yes. it was strange, but ended up working out pretty good, obviously. >> were you thinking in your head, in terms of the expectations of what you wanted to achieve, you had good second place finishes and things before, good, strong finishes, good ranking, but were you thinking gold at all until you saw the score from that first one? >> no. i was never really thinking of gold at the olympics. i thought maybe a medal would be cool. i'm not one to claim getting a gold or even -- i don't want to think about it because i don't want to jinx it. so i mean, not like low expectations but kind of having fun with it, and when that score came up i was like, whoa. this could happen. this is weird. >> just got real. >> it just got real. >> a lot of people are making a lot about the fact that you're

not a typical looking, sounding olympian. one thing i know about snowboarders, you look at me and say we've got a lot in common. i am a snowboarder on the granny slope, but the fact is -- those that ride just go to do it because they love it so much. there isn't necessarily a competitive nature in the sport. so how do you bring that a-game when you're at something like this venue? the olympic games? you have to change the whole purpose of snowboarding. doesn't it? >> at the end of the day we're all snowboarding and all got into it to have fun and i made a lot of friends over the years competing, and although, like, we are really competitive when we drop in. when you're in your run you're not just fooling around, really. you're definitely here for a purpose, but you're having fun with it, and there is a, like, really competitive nature when you're in the course, but once you're out, at the top everyone's high fiving each other. at the bottom, i don't know if you watched. hugging each other.

throwing me up in the air. it was like -- something a lot different than other sports. >> people have also fallen in love with your terminology, i guess. it's kind of taken off. right? i mean, we've been wondering, and i want to get your take. what is spoice and what is spoicy? but you've got to take a little listen. this is our little gift to you. >> awesome. >> reporter: spice. >> spoice. >> spoice. >> spoice. >> spoice! >> that was one crispy jump, man. >> super crispy, like, super crispy. >> when you shredded that narr through that sick pile. >> it was the most spoice thing i've ever seen. >> if you're not going to hook it big, just go home. >> much more hostile when nancy says it. >> when nancy grace says it, you're in trouble.

i thought she was going to say, bring in the lawyers, and you're going to be in a lot of trouble. >> oh, my goodness. that was awesome. i don't think twice about that stuff, because i mean, we grow up saying it. we always just come up with different lingo and none of us even understand each other anymore. you know? it's like -- the spoice and -- just so much terminology going on that we dopt even know what we're saying either. >> one of the topics early on in the games, i don't know if it us in the media, the weather condition in sochi. concerned about the course, extra dangerous. you came home with gold obviously, but were you concerned about it ghoog? >> i wasn't concerned at all. the course was definitely big and needed a couple minor changes on the slopestyle course. we had it easy. they made the changes in the first night or two and then the snow conditions only got better for us. when it's really warm and the

way the sun was setting was all the lifts were hard in. not icy, but landings were soft. nice lip on the landing, you fall on your back. real nice. it's not nice, but it's better. yeah. it's not as good as -- >> one of the nice things about watching your success here, not only did you break out at the olympics, we love to see. someone coming to their best when it matters the most. the idea as an 8-year-old, olympics in salt lake city, your backyard, where you live. look at this snowboarding, i want to be like that and start taking giant steps with your life that you watch the olympics, got inspired, now living the dream. that's really what it's all about. >> when it came to salt lake city, my parents immediately got snowboard halfpipe tickets, men and women's. we went there. i was really stoked. i didn't watch competitive snowboarding. i didn't know it existed. we saw it, whoa.

snowboarding at the olympics. crazy. i had no idea. i just watched snowboard movies. that's all i knew about it. so it really opened up my eyes to the whole competitive side of snowboarding and seeing, like, snowboarding at the world stage where i really had no idea. >> a beautiful thing. >> now your entire life is changed and i was reading one place, so overwhelming. you are looking for a chance to chill. hopefully you get that. >> put that board in the garage a bit. >> get some dust on it, i guess. >> exactly. sage, thank you so much. we're going to have to steal your medal in a second. hang out with us a little. >> a federal crime. >> it might be a federal crime. i'll take the risk. continuing to talk about snow nap deadly dangerous winter storm slamming the northeast we're talking about already pounded the south and creating chaos. how much more damage could we be looking at today? we're tracking it all for you. ♪ ♪

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good morning, and welcome back to "new day." this thursday, february 13th. 7:00 in the east, starting with our news blast. the most news you can get anywhere. let's go. i've never seen anything to this scale. >> came on so fast and furious. >> the crippling blast marching up the i-95 corridor. >> when we say stay home, this is really the one. stay home. >> that is premeditation. when he pulled that gun out he it ready to go. >> it may well be the largest class action lawsuit ever filed on behalf of the bill of rights. >> it was a sweeping one, two-three victory for team usa this morning.

a first, let's deal with the obvious. the wicked storm barreling through the northeast leaving death and destruction in its path. the south hardest hit already. system enormously dangerous blamed for ten deaths so far. a lot of time yet to go. >> and a state of emergency in north and south carolina. hundreds abandoned their kags. in raleigh, north carolina, roads like skating rinks, cars sliding into each other and off on to sidewalks. and causing a fiery wreck on an interstate in raleigh. >> look at this. the storms let power lines coated with thick ice, and has snapped giant trees. a lot of people will wake up to no power, most in georgia and south carolina. employers, be smart. people think before you leave the home. here's why. a freaky sight in atlanta. a walmart rig jackknifed on a stretch of highway that was

plowed and treated by the d.o.t. that's important to remember. state troopers saying the truck was traveling at 45 miles an hour, that was way too fast for the conditions. think before you drive. >> and proving in times of need, neighbors still help neighbors. in suburban atlanta, people used kitty litter, scrapers and hot water to free an ambulance that got stuck in ice as it tried to make it up a hill. the ambulance which had a patient inside, finally got rolling with their help. >> incredible pictures out of virginia. one person inhave youred after a piece of heavy equipment fell off a semi slamming into a car on i-95 in richmond. the state deployed more than 2,500 transportation workers and thousands of trucks and plows, and the national guard we're told is on standby. >> it's not ending. what happened in the south is hitting the northeast. the top story, of course. we've got the extreme weather covered like no other. beginning with meteorologist indra petersons live in white

plains, new york, just north of us, indra, but much harsher conditions. >> reporter: yeah. up know, definitely tough. that snowstorm, ice storm, in the southeast finally has made its way up the mid-atlantic and now into the northeast this morning. places like baltimore, d.c., all right reporting six to nine inches of snow. out here in white plains, easy to see now that the sun is up. getting a very wet and heavy snow. it feels miserable out here, guys. by the time we get to maybe 10:00 or so, see some of this shift over to more of a wetter snow, sleet and ice mixing in. some places along the immediate coastline could be seeing just some rain. so definitely mifr frabl you're throughout today but keep in mind, there's two sides to this system. on the back side of it, once the sun goes down again, we should see the switch back over to snow. as far at totals, d.c., new york city a foot up towards boston upping to about eight inches. >> thanks so much, indra. turning to the atlanta area where two ice storms tell could very different stories. people heeded warnings from

forecasters who rightly predicted this would be an historic store. the streets now eerily quiet as many stayed home. a far cry from two weeks ago when a similar storm effectively shut down that city, you remember. straight to george howell in the atlanta city of forest park where a lot of people are without pow perp looks like a mess behind you, george. >> reporter: kate, good morning, it is a mess. here's the thing. half an inch. just half an inch of ice as it coats on this power lines, 500 pounds of extra pressure perp look what that means back here. you see a tree brought down a power line. the power line itself already under a great deal of pressure. the extra ice on the tree certainly didn't help. this community overnight, kate, basically had to sleep in the cold. they didn't have power. the hope is that power will be restored soon, but there are many, many communities throughout this area in the same situation. the other thing that we're watching right now is the ice. the fact we're walk, really. i mean, if you look down here,

i'm standing on what is, really, a bed of ice. you find it on the side streets. you also find it on the highway systems. so officials are telling people to stay indoors until the ice melts and we should see some clearing today. >> all right. hoping for that for you, and for the folks there. thanks so much, george. right now, north and south carolina are under a state of emergency. tens of thousands of people there, not only without power, they are also now trying to figure out how exactly to retrieve the cars they were forced to abandon on the ice-covered roads. bianca spanosa. how are you doing there, bianca? >> reporter: may, michaela, good morning. we're actually here in raleigh, in north raleigh. this is a major road behind meep this is six forks road here, and it has only really been plowed once, but it is extremely icy. if you look over here, it had rained earlier this morning, but it's only 30 degrees. so all of this has kind of iced

over, and people have been sliding continuously. now, last night, several people had to abandon their cars, because they simply couldn't get through some of the roads. there was just total gridlock, because clouds had not been able to come through, and the other issue, as you mentioned, are power outages. with all that ice, if you look at the power line, the ice is accumulating up there, and can you can see it on the trees. where we've been we have seen power flicker and transformers making noises clout t s through morning. roads only plowed once because it's been extremely difficult to get out on to the roadways. just a very, very icy situation here. this is a tleed would taroad th you right into the parking lots here. a very dangerous situation. chris, back to you. >> beankhia, thank you for the reporting. ice more of a problem than snow. linging it in the d.c. area,

hammered all morning. could see its heaviest snow nall four years. federal offices, public schools closed protectively. get to the national mall with the latest. erin, how are you doing? >> caller: chri-- >> reporter: career, we're doing okay here in washington, d.c. as well as maryland and virginia. in d.c. they deployed about 200 snow plows. in virginia the situation is much worse. there are 2,500 crew members out on the roads. more than 12,000 pieces of equipment the national guard has also been staged there. there are about 300 service members who are in staging areas are to the national guard. also about 9,000 power outages so far in virginia, but the situation getting worse. i want to show you by. this is kind of heavy. we're looking at a mix of snow and freezing rain, and it's supposed to get worse, just be complete freezing rain later in the day. obviously, it's going to be a

very long day in the d.c. area. >> certainly. pack your patience, we like to say that because we mean it. needless to say, air travelers are out of luck once again. cancelled flights reaching record numbers. many of them preemptively as the storm churns through the northeast. cnn's chief business correspondent christine romans has a look at the situation with the airlines and i'm expecting going to be tough today? >> it is really tough. come on. this is craziness. i've stopped counting how many of these storms we've had. right now d.c. is virtually at a standstill this morning. all runways at both reagan international and washington dulles are closed. in total, you've got about 4,500 flights that have been cancelled coming in and out of the u.s. that number is rising. also, a mass of delays. more than 1,800 and counting. pack your patience. a map from flight explorer. all the planes in the sky now. look at the blank areas along the east coast. that's right. from the carolinas up to new

york, into massachusetts, the number of cancellations is staggering. this should be clogged at this time of day, and it is not. i want you to look at this misery index, too. short of delays, highlights delays here, you can see in red, the more miserable parts kuchbt. misery hitting cities like atlanta, charlotte, d.c., new york. nearly 70% of flights cancelled at philly. nearly 60% at newark, liberty international, raleigh-durham, approaching 60% of flights cancelled there. just a snapshot, really, of the mess this morning. the number of cancellations and delays is still growing, and so far this year, 71,000 flights have been cancelled since january. all of those changes are costing you. they're costing the airlines big time. the cost of january's snowstorms, just january to passengers out of your pocket as a traveler, $2.5 billion. lost work time, added expense for hotel rooms and meal, cost of all the storms for the airline so far, almost $150 million and growing.

it's really an expensive, ugly winter, and you're in the thick of it again today, guys. >> you cannot put a price on what it's causing everybody. thank you for accounting it for us. news happening right now. a live look at a massive gas line explosion in south central kentucky just outside of louisville. local media reporting two cars, one barn on fire currently. one person taken to the hospital. more information as it develops. the country's biggest cable company could get big fer a merger between comcast and time warner cable is approved. this morning, comcast will formally announce its intent to buy time warner cable in a $45 billion deal. it still needs a thumbs up from government regulators taking a close look at the merger's potential impact on consumers. time warner cable not affiliated with cnn parent company time warner. in a rare show of bipartisanship, the senate pass add bill to raise the

12345igs-o12345ig nation's debt ceiling. no dr. seuss this time's in all 12shgs republicans crossed party lines to squash the filibuster. check out these jaw-dropping pictures of people stuck 60 feet in the air on a roller coaster. stranded on busch gardens cheetah hunt drive for three hours in the rain wednesday. firefighters used aerial ladder trucks to rescue them. tampa fire and rescue says 16 people were evacuated. park officials are looking into what caused the roller coaster, of course, to malfunction. >> yikes. more scary news if you're a yankee fan and, of course, you are. get ready for the derek jeter farewell tour this morning. the yankee captain announcing on facebook, 2014, his final season in pinstripes. the shoo-in for the hall of fame, knows in his heart it's time to walk away. hope he has a change of heart. he's just the best. breaking news this morning. 65 afghan priner ins considered

dangerous insurgents by the united states have been set free this morning. u.s. military officials in afghanistan condemned their release saying the group includes suspected taliban fighters, some directly linked to deadly attacks on americans. cnn's barbara star is live in washington with much more on this. what do we know, barbara? >> kate, just about as bad as it gets between the united states and afghanistan. overnight, cnn has obtained 23 pages of u.s. military evidence against these people. evidence that the u.s. says they were involved, many of them, in attacks on u.s. troops, on afghan troops, in afghanistan. 65 of them walked out of an afghan prison today. the u.s. military absolutely furious at this. they say that if these people return to the fight, as they believe they will, they will move to capture or kill them again. this is -- this is being called a breach of trust. there are 34,000 u.s. troops

that put their lives on the line every day in afghanistan. the u.s. military's view is many of them, of course, directly have risked their lives over time for the afghans, 2,000 u.s. troops killed in that war. 20,000 wounded. this really is a very, very tough situation for the u.s. military right now. ma cl ma clay-of- -- michaela. >> thanks, barbara starr. more than million people signed up for health insurance plans last month, exceeding amounts. also a pickup in the number of young people who enrolled. 3.3 million americans signed up for coverage now under obamacare. and daring escapes freeing hundreds of militants, operating in neighboring syria and inside iraq. that's a concern to u.s. officials and a troubling reminder of the breakdown in

authority since americans left in 2011. more than 600 inmates are believed to have escaped in one of the largest prison breaks. in the "wall street journal," scientists at the u.s. department of energy say they've rep pla cased the poub epower o sun, for a fraction of a second. the size of a pea triggering a fusion reaction that generated a massive amount of energy. the hope is that nuclear fusion will one day provide cheap and unlimited energy right here on earth. chris? got a spoiler alert pap proud moment for team usa at the olympics this morning. if you don't want to hear it just yet, a good time put on your pants or see why the kids are screaming or do something else. ready? clean sweep for team usa in the first men's slopestyle skiing at the olympics. a continuing trend for the americans who are just owning the slopestyle course. other sports haven't proven to be as dominant for america as much as slopestyle. here to explain, cnn's rachel

nichols live from sochi. rach? >> reporter: well, chris, yeah. for every disappointment, right what we love about the olympics. there's a sweetheart story that comes up in its place. these athletes have just seconds in a lot of cases to distill down decades of training. sometimes it doesn't go well, but then sometimes it goes better than expected. that's what happened to the american men this morning. take a look. it was a sweeping one, two, three victory for team usa this morning. american skiers joss christensen, gus kenworthy and nick goepper graping t igoepper the gold, silver and bronze. meanwhile, the snowboarding halfpipe seems to be the epicenter of surprises here in sochi. just a day after shaun white's surprising miss for a three-peat gold, american snowboarder kaitlyn farrington shocked in

the other direction. pulling off a gold for team usa. >> i can't believe it! slert was on fire wednesday treading her way to a winning run that beat out three past gold medal winners. the 24-year-old was so excited she did an dance before grabbing the gold, and veteran american kelly clark rallied back from a bad start to claim bronze. >> now just to be here, like, i was excited just being an olympian, and now to have the gold medal under my belt, i can't even that believe still. >> reporter: down at the skating venues, the rest of the world's turn to shine. in a big upset, the overwhelming favorite speed skater shani davis placed eighth in the 1,000 meters, well behind racer stephane from the netherlands. davis won the event the previous two olympics. just like shaun white, the third time was not the charm. afterwards, the 31-year-old chicago native seemed crushed, saying, there's no excuse. cheers and flying flags for

team's usa and canada nent was game on for the heated rivalry. canada won way 3-2 final score. while this is just a preliminary game, bragging rights were high as the two teams are expected again facing off on thursday. figure pair skating, the russian dream team pulling off a spectacular high-flying routine. the gold medal was an acts of redemption after russia's 2010 floss vancouver. taking back their top stop atop the podium where they had proudly stood the previous 12 straight olympics. huge news, that figure skating win here in russia, and i also got to go back to the second place finisher in the skiing this morning. the american gus kenworthy. he's become a little of a hero, guys, in the athlete's village. he is understandably upset, like many others, about the government's here policy of trying to rid the streets of

stray dogs by killing them. he found four or five. ies when out on a walk, and he's actually trying to make arrangements to bring them back to the states. already gotten them vet appointments. volunteers for help or twitter and trying to get them on the plane pap good soul and good skier now, he placed second today. >> second. nothing to bark at. especially at the olympics. you mentioned farrington, did that little dance there, wound up becoming a moment. what did you think of that? and are you seeing more of those start to be generated? where it becomes like a culture around the winner? >> reporter: yeah, absolutely. she's got a great story. doesn't come from a snowboarding family, per se. her dad own as ranch in idaho. and when she used to want to travel to snowboarding competitions, he would have to sell a cow to pay for her travel expenses for each competition. so she said after her win, she said, i don't think he misses those cows now. i think he's happy with that decision.

>> that became quickly a very fair trade, i believe. thanks so much, rachel. bringing us great stories from sochi. there really are a lot. lots of highs and lows as we can see. norway now in the lead. we just in the lead. pulling back in front. united states, thanks to a bronze in the ladies 10 kilometer cross-country last hour. the u.s. is next with 12 medals followed by canada, the nernlg netherlands and russia. a look what is trending at this hour when social media meets sochi. gold medal winning snowboarder said olympic athletes are pairing up. there are cuties on there. and shonn to delete her account on tinder to focus on the games. gay aequivalent grinder shut down in sochi by hackers. >> that's the back story in sochi. newly tapped "late night" host seth meyers scoring a major

player, vice president joeed bn will appear on the former "saturday night liv "saturday night live" host. and could this be a preview of apple the iphone 6? a mysterious twitter using, pictures of possible prototypes. apple not commenting, but rumors suggest the next generation will actually include three sizes. a 4 inch, 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch screen. expected to be revealed in san francisco in june. you can always do that with a flourish, too. >> i still have the iphone 4 and no siri. i know. i need to catch up. some of the worst weather hit the water. surfers riding waves off the coast of new england more than 30 feet. participating in the red bull storm chase final. competition can only be held in

storm force conditions with winds up to 80 miles an hour. i file that in the never in a million years would i do it story. >> that might deserve a sage katzenberg reaction of that is spicy. just saying. we don't even know what it means. like, crazy. >> need a new word. coming up next on "new day," rand paul versus barack obama. suing obama over an essay surveillance. how far will this case go? we'll talk about it. and on verdict watch in the so-called loud music trial. we're going to tell you what the jurors were given in closing arguments. a decision could come down anytime this morning. could have huge implications for the community down there. we'll break it down for you with the latest. ♪ [ chicken caws ] [ male announcer ] when your favorite food starts a fight, fight back fast with tums. heartburn relief that neutralizes acid on contact and goes to work in seconds. ♪ tum, tum tum tum tums!

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welcome back to "new day." after spending the last few weeks attacking the clintons, another target now. president obama. paul announced wednesday he's suing president obama and top officials in the national security agency over surveillance. joining us to talk more about this is the chief political correspondent for the "new york times" magazine, nim rutenberg. thank you so much for coming in. >> good morning. >> you have covered rand paul extensively. written extensively about him. what do you make of this lawsuit, and rand paul's motivations here? >> well, it's a brilliant combination of policy and politics. so rand paul is, as we've written, hails from the first family of libertarianism, very much against big government. the nsa program is seen as, by the likes of libertarian movement, as a kind of big government out of control. so for rand paul it definitely

is in his wheelhouse policy wise and politically putting him front and center. >> is there any indication it is working for him or more noise coming from senator rand? >> this, what's working -- talking in the context of 2016 and a potential presidential run, yes, this is what's working for senator rand paul. whether it ends up being noise, we'll wait and see. >> that's a really good point. i mean, you know, you have covered him ex-tebsively. i'm sure that means you've been in kentucky covering him. his future ambition seems clear. headed to new hampshire, iowa, south carolina. what do you think of this strategy leading up to what is an inevitable run in 2016? how is he different, how is he approaching this differently than his father? >> well, his father's brand of libertarianismism really has passionate fans across the country, young, old. it's quite striking in that way,

and rand paul wants to have a lot of that, but his father's brand of libertarianism also is, has alienated some people and isn't as accessible to mainstream, average voters just trying to get through the day. rand paul is trying to bridge that gap. he's tamping down some of the more sort of inyour face aspects of this father's style. >> let's talk about the tea party in a different headline. in a different context this morning. got to get your take in talking about the recent fight or non-fight over the debt ceiling. the senate passed it yesterday. but what was most, i think, surprising and interesting is the fact that dozen senate republicans including mitch mcconnell and jon cornyn stood up to silence ted cruz, and filibuster. unappall jet is as he often is, but is this a turning point for republicans, and the real divisions that we've seen within the republican party?

because mitch mcconnell and jon cornyn are both facing very tough tea party challenges in their party now? >> senator cruz achieved what no one's been able to achieve, bipartisanship in the senate. but i think that leader mcconnell hopes it's a turning point in that he doesn't want to have these big, messy fights on his senate floor while he's got this primary. at the same time, senator cruz pushed him into a vote that makes himvulnerable to a tea party vote back at home. >> desfins fiance is no longer premium. do you believe there's a change terms of what the appetite for even the far right? >> funny you say that. i've been thinking the same them. republicans, stopping obama a

great strategy but can't be the strat tegy forever. they have to show the party, that leaves action. if that leaves them vulnerable or cutting deals, for 2016, you're right and the party is starting to realize that. >> it is unusual in politics that you continue to win by saying the other side sucks. at some point you have to offer something better. >> it has been effective to this point, though. >> we'll see what happens going into the midterm what kind of agenda they can put together. i look forward to having you back here with us. i know you'll be all over it. >> hopefully not in the snow. >> thanks for making it in. coming up on "new day," the damage is mounting from this wild weather that's crushed the south, now moving up the east coast. obviously power lines, a critical concern. we're showing you the cars. lawmakers, all over the place, having people to stay home if they can. this is why. ho do you even get out of an abandoned vehicle? we'll tell you the story as it

happens. also the fate of a moon shot a teenager now in the hands of the jury. he says he feared for his life. prosecutors don't agree. we'll bring you the latest on how things stand. [ sniffles, coughs ] shhhh! i have a cold with this annoying runny nose. [ sniffles ] i better take something. [ male announcer ] dayquil cold and flu doesn't treat all that. it doesn't? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast-acting antihistamine. oh, what a relief it is!

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welcome back to "new day." we're continuing to follow breaking nugz this morning. a monster storm slamming the northeast after paralyzing the south. thousands of flights cancelled at this point. schools closed from alabama to maine, and now ten deaths being blamed on the storm. there is a state of emergency right now in the carolinas. that means the governments can use special assets like the national guard which has raced

to the rescue of thousands forced to abandon their cars on ice-choked roads there. even a bigger problem, about three quarters of a million people without power this morning. this will be harder and take longer to fix. icy roads, slow crews to these downed lines, thick with ice, all over the south. brian todd, who is driving through the snow in the d.c. area. not recommended, brian, but realistic. what are you seeing there? >> reporter: chris, seeing a steady down pouring of snow, sleet, freezing rain. it's been pretty steady all morning causing real problems on the road. we're going to switch the camera from me to the camera out the frond windshield here so you can see what we're looking at. this is i-95 looking north into d.c., about 12 miles south of the district line. some traffic starting to back up here. now, the state of virginia says it has deployed 2,500 crew members, 12,000 pieces of equipment, snow plow truck,

assau salt strucks. what you can see we're up against on a major highway, i-95. trucks are deployed but they can't keep up with the rate of snow and sleet and freezing rain that is falling, and it has been steady all day. it's slow going here on i-95, but people are moving, but, again, with the rate of snowfall and everything, it's going to be tough to keep up, and question come across a gentleman who had spun out. he did a 180 right off i-95, and we were able to hook him up and pull him out of his jam. edward martinez. he was grateful we were able to get him out. that's the kind of thing year seeing across the region as we get into the heart of rush hour, chris. >> i like you knowing how to locate the tow loop on the back of that ford and help the guy out. good for you, brian, and good placement with the cnn logos all over the place in the vehicle. be safe. >> thanks, brian.

>> reporter: got to show the flag. >> that's right, buddy. straight over to meteorologist indra petersons tracking the extreme weather in white plains, new york, she's live. what should people be looking out for? it came overnight for some and is still heading this morning to others. what should people be looking out for, indra? >> reporter: what people need to realize, we'll start to see a transition going in through late morning. you can see out here in white plains now, no shortage of snow plows. seems like every 15 or 20 minutes another plow comes on by. that's the good thing there, prepared in this area. i mentioned, around 10:00 or so, so close that freezing line. we're going to start to transition more into a sleet. what you're dealing with now is very heavy, wet snow. it will start to be more of that sleet kind of snow and evenship rain. what i'm concerned about, people will think the storm system is winding down. not the case. at times the sleet and rain could be heavy and on the back side of the system you'll see even more snow make its way through. it you're in the d.c. area, talking about two inches per hour. that's what we saw this morning.

heavy snow in new york city now. even boston looking for upwards of four eight inches of snow. higher amounts inland. coastlines shift back. strong winds throughout. talking about 30 even 40 mile-per-hour gusts out there. definitely not the day to be driving. you do note want want to be oue roads. at this point likes like everybody is staying indoors. >> two inches per hour is the number that stuck with plea right now. incredible. a look at other headlines now. despite serious objections from the u.s., afghanistan released 65 alleged taliban fighters from jail. many of the former prisoners have linked to attacks that killed american troops, and the u.s. says releasing them pose as serious threat to allied forces. tensions between the u.s. and afghanistan escalating over president hamid karzai's refusal to sign a security agreement. and a better idea how edward

snowden accessed classified documents. now unclassified and obtained by nbc say he use add co-worker's password. he input his password into snowden's computer at snowden's request. that employee recently resigned. nbc reports an active duty member of the u.s. military and a contractor no long verify access to nsa facilities after they were implicated in actions that may have helped snowden. another league victory for supporters of same-sex marriage. a federal judge striking down part of kentucky's same-sex marriage ban. the judge ordering kentucky to recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in some other states. kentucky's attorney general says his office is still reviewing the ruling. u.s. attorneys are dropping a citation against the husband of a utah woman who died base jumping over the weekend. bellows plummeted 2,000 feet her death when her parachute failed to open. her husband also jumped but was

unable to reach her body. he had to hike two hours to notify officials. the citation was for prayer sho parachuting in a national park but prosecutors refused to prosecute. newly released video of a 10-year-old colorado girl crashing her mom's suv into a dmv. the video obtained by our affiliate in denver. the mother tells police she left her 12 and 10-year-old daughters inside the parked car. the younger girl has been ticketed for careless driving. thankfully, no one was injured. scary moments there, chris. >> that was. something. this morning, the jury resumes deliberations in the loud music trial. wednesday both sides gave passionate closing arguments. the prosecution hammering home the point that there was no gun found in the car carrying victim jordan davis. the defense counters by saying, well, you could not stand silent for three minutes to prove the teens had time to stash any weapons. so this is going to be a complicated case.

much more than people think. let's bring in legal analyst sunny hostin joinsing us from jacksonville. sunny, the first point, sitting in the courtroom, tell us, looking at that jury what do you think resonating for the prosecution and the defense? >> reporter: i can tell you, chris, that closing arguments both from the prosecution and the defense were very, very strong yesterday. the jury was paying wrapped attention, but the big moments of the day did come when assistant state attorney john guy gave his rebuttal closing argument. he's a very passionate advocate. we saw that in the zimmerman case. we certainly saw it again yesterday. he talked about jordan davis. he put the victim in this case just dead center, and said that to the dead we owe the truth there wasn't dry eye in the courtroom. jordan davis' parents were crying. their family member, friends

also crying, and i did see several of the jury members put their notes down, put their pens down and look directly into the gallery, directly at the family. i think that was the big moment yesterday. >> strong reporting. important and inciteful and understanding where the jury's mind is. talk about the jury one more beat before we place sound of actual arguments. a diverse jury. two african-american females in their 20s, an asian female, hispanic male. the rest of white. seven women, five men. a complex makeup, as a former prosecutor, how does this jury play, do you think, in terms of the sympathies involved? >> reporter: this is the jury that you want for a case like this. i think if you're the prosecutor. i mean, certainly you have two african-american women. they're about in their late 20s, perhaps early 30s. there was a doctor, female doctor, on the jury. she is one of the alternates. i thought she would have been a very good juror for this jury, but the mix, nevertheless, is

very good. it's very different from the zimmerman jury. we keep comparing that case to this kashgs bcase, but there ar similarities. in zimmerman, only six jurors, not very diverse. 12, because this is a first-degree murder case, and i think, really, this is a very diverse juror, not in terms only of race and also gender, but age. age is going to be an important factor here. >> strong point. now, i believe if there's a shocker verdict in this, the shocker verdict would be an acquittal. if that happens, it's going to come down i believe through this shadow of a possibility being used. reminds us in frightening fashion of the former case there with casey the mother, where jose baez stood up at the beginning of that trial and said, you will see that there was abuse and that the father was involved and there was never any proof put on but it plant add seed with the jury and sure enough, the defense in this

kashgs like case, like in the casey case, saying there was no gun. they was a gun. they never found it. listen to the defense at the closing, because this could be the shadow of a possibility that may plant a seed with the jury. take a listen. >> how many times did the state ask their witness, was there a weapon in that truck? was there a gun in that truck? was there a weapon -- truck -- truck -- truck. never asked about the plaza. never asked about underneath the cars in the plaza. never checked the bushes. never checked the dumpsters. but you know when the detective alleges they did it? five days it laer. >> called a shadow of a possible in the law in respect is no proof there was a gun, but they're saying, maybe there was, and it was just a botched investigation. the pross chugs to counter strongly here, because it's all about planting doubt. listen to what the prosecutor did to counter. >> let me be very clear. on november 23rd, 2012, when this defendant shot and killed jordan davis, there was no gun.

in that durango. in was no stick. there was no bat. there was no lead pipes. there was no gun. what was in that durango -- >> sunny, let me leave you with this. we're expecting a verdict here in this case probably today. it's been a fairly quick trial. if this is an acquittal, how big a decision will this be for the community? the it doesn't have the wassage zimmerman did. benefits somewhat from being the snekd a line of these cases in some places but what do you think happens if dunn walks? >> it is going to be significant. i can tell you that while i've been in the courtroom, there have been pastors here. the courtroom is packed. many, many people from the community. one gentleman told me yesterday, what do you think, sun ji what do you think is going to happen? i just really don't know. he said, we can't go 0-2. we can't go 0-2. the community cannot withstand that. i think that speaks volumes.

>> i think that's a strong point to end it on sunny. we'll see what happens. obviously, the interest is always in seeing justice prevail, but this case has a lot of overtones for sure. i know it's cold out there. thanks for suffering through it for us. speak with you later on. coming up next on "new day," a violent fight between a wisconsin bus driver and high school student cost the driver his job. now he wants it back. was a self-defense, or was the driver being reckless? also ahead, a second chance for the queen of southern cuisine, paula deen, getting a big boost trying to get her brand back on track. will it work? [bell rings]

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now scotty wells, that's the bus driver, fighting to get his job back. the incredible video shows the bus still moving as the driver fights it out with a 15-year-old. the bus hitting several parked cars. was it self-defense or reckless? jean casarez is here to look more into this case. >> this is really serious, because this young teen is facing criminal charges and could have a record from this and the bus driver saying, i need and i want my job back. the devil may be in the details. watch this. >> reporter: a wisconsin bus driver is out of a job after a violent fight with a passenger on board his bus. the whole thing was caught on tape. the shocking video shot inside a bus packed with high school students shows the heated moments before a violent altercation between the bus driver scotty wells and a teen passenger last month. the video seems to show the

testy encounter was not the first time the two had exchanged words. >> i know it's you. i've been waiting to see you. that's for your mouth. [ inaudible ]. >> no. when you got off the bus the last time. >> reporter: reported edledly t authorities he asked for their identification. the teen is seen in the video taking a seat, but a few moments later, he approaches the front of the bus, and pulls the first punch. >> when that border goes, that bus pass is no longer any good. [ bleep ] -- >> get the heck out of here. >> reporter: more shock, watch here. as the bus still moving with no one behind the wheel, crashes into three parked cars, one with people still inside.

the teen is facing felony charges for assaulting wells and reckless endangerment. wells declined to comment. >> you can talk to my union representative. >> reporter: his union rep is fighting for him to get his job back. >> my issue with the bus drive sir that, when he defended himself, he put others at risk, and he put them at peril by defending himself while the bus wasn't in park. >> reporter: and the other side of that story is, as the bus driver, he had to ensure the safety of all the other students on the bus, and let's look at the facts, because that's important here. all of the kids had gotten on the bus. it looks like he put the bus in drive, and then he was attacked. we know his glasses were broken when the student attacked him. he, then, attacks back, but forget to put the bus in park. so, chris, and kate, the bus just keeps going at a very slow rate, but we do know there was one person in that parked car.

no injure jyinjuries, though at point. >> i say superveening cause in the law meaning something happens that changes the analysis of what's reasonable under the situation. of course he forget to put the car reasonable. of course he forgot to put the car back in park. he was in the middle of an altercation. should he have participated in that early banter, no. it's a problem. won't change the legal analysis in terms of him defending himself. i think he has a really strong case for getting his job back. >> he had a duty to take care of the other students on that bus. >> absolutely. that's going to be the balancing test. feel free to teet us with the hash tag about this as well. paula deen. her multimillion-dollar recipe for a career comeback. y how the celebrity chef plans to find her way back into the kitchen and into your hearts.

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welcome back to "new day." paula deen is cooking up a comeback. the celebrity chef lost her food network show and sponsorship deals after the lawsuit that accused her of racism. now her once tarnished brand is getting a huge multimillion-dollar boost. cnn's initial turner is here. explain for us. >> we all remember what happened. but paula deen has been laying low since the summer after a lost from a former employee after which she admitted she used the "n" word.

the question is, is it too soon for a comeback, or is it just the right time for her to mix up something new. >> here we go. how is this, y'all? >> paula deen has things her way, she'll soon return to being known for cooking up delicious southern meals. >> is that heaven, kids, or what? >> and not for cooking up controversy. private investment firm najafi media is reportedly investing between $75 million and $100 million into paula deen ventures which will encompass deals on all things deen. >> paula deen has a brand. she has a very loyal audience. so i think that investing in her, assuming nothing else is unearthed, i think it's a pretty safe bet. >> do you mind if i double dip? >> no, ma'am. >> her image suffered a devastating blow last summer during a lawsuit from a former employee who accuse her of racism and discrimination. deen was on the defense after it

was revealed she used the "n" ghord the past. many endorsers quickly dropped her. >> the food network pulled the plug on her shows and other deals including qvc, walmart and sears were quickly canned as well. the lawsuit was dismissed after an agreement by both sides but the damage was done. deen still apologizing. >> it was an opportunity to learn. i learned a lot about myself and i've certainly learned a lot about my business. >> reporter: but experts say enough time has passed that the public may be ready to embrace her once again. >> look at any celebrity who has come back after disaster, they've apologized. they've appeared contrite and gone on tv to express their apologies. they've gone away and then they come back. we tend to welcome them with open arms.

>> hi. i'm back. >> what paula deen has going for her is that incredibly loyal fan base. more than 1 million followers on twitter. more than 4 million on facebook. her company says her magazine subscriptions have gone up by 40% in the last year. so many of her fans have stood by her side all this time and they could likely embrace what her next steps are. >> on that question, can she come back, according to her fans, she already has. >> they never left her. so we'll have to see. it was the sponsors but it wasn't the people who support her. >> thanks, nischelle. coming up, that monster storm, winter storm slamming the northeast after hurling through the south. power lines were down. 800,000 people in the dark. everything you need to know coming up at the top of the hour. [ park sounds, sound of spray paint ]

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our biggest concern going forward is that people continue to heed the warnings. >> breaking news. the catastrophic storm that battered the south now hitting the northeast as a full-blown nor'easter. 100 million people grappling with its effects. nearly 1 million out of power. and it's far from over. >> blockbuster deal. a giant merger breaking overnight. comcast moving to buy time warner cable, creating a giant in cable television. what does this mean for your cable bill? awaiting his fate. the jury in the so-called loud music murder trial resumes deliberations in a few hours. will michael dunn walk? your "new day" continues right now. >> this is "new day" with chris

cuomo, kate baud win and michaela pereira. >> millions of people in the northeast will be slammed by the deadly winter storm. let's take a look at this system that's already being blamed for ten deaths. also look at the chaos it left behind in the carolinas. a state of emergency there. monumental traffic jams forcing hundreds of drivers to abandon their cars on ice-packed roads. >> in atlanta, obvious story line because of what happened there just weeks ago. streets impassable but they seem to have done a better job preparing and thinking about whether to leave the house. a lot of people staying home. streets much more empty there. all the ice is taking down tree limbs and power lines. the roof on this house near atlanta, no match for a tree that once stood in the front yard. well over 4,000 flights canceled. so let's kick off our extreme weather coverage. meteorologist ingrid peterson is

in white plains, new york. >> a lot of people keep asking, are you cold out there? the answer is, no. i've taken a layer off, which is a big deal if you know me. that sounds like it would be a good one. that's exactly the problem. we're right at the freezing line. it's the reason we're getting this very heavy, wet snow. a half an inch to even an inch of ice. a crippling ice storm and now heavy snow affecting the northeast. developing into a full pledged nor'easter overnight, more than 100 million people in the path of a catastrophic winter storm now pounding the eastern seaboard. the crippling blast marching up the i-94 corridor. in virginia, the governor declaring a state of emergency as hundreds of accidents riddled the roadways. one man died from a head-on collision. the national guard on the move. >> we'll have a lot of downed

trees and helping people out of the ditch and getting nurses and doctors where they need to go. >> reporter: in pennsylvania, philadelphia closed its doors for all nonessential personnel as snow and freezing rain will make travel treacherous. >> certain parts of the district will be getting heavy snow up to 14 inches. >> sleet, snow and ice suspending amtrak trains in the northeast. snow. thousands of flights canceled again today. in maryland, grocery store shelves laid bare. >> this has just been a brutal winter where it's never really gotten warmer. >> what a different type of brutal winter. before we were talking about just really cold temperatures. these storm that were bringing temperatures with windchill 40 below. this storm, again, i keep talking about the temperature line because that freezing line is making all the difference. in the southeast, half an inch to an inch of ice has been seen.

more icing expected. and now we're talking about what's going to happen as we go throughout the day. once we go past late morning, we're going to see a lot of places closer to the coastline transition from this wet snow to sleet and in some places, even some rain. that's on the front side of this system. then the sun goes down tonight. everyone transitions back to snow. you'll see more of this heavy, wet snow. winds picking up as the low makes its way closer. if you are in the d.c. area, look for that snow to taper off by late evening tonight. new york city about midnight. still lasting in through boston through your morning commute. boston, 4 to 8 inches. still the potential of upwards of a foot of snow. higher amounts inland. >> indra, thank you. the combination of snow, then ithen more snow is really going to create chaos on the roads. we're seeing it already. hurnd hundreds forced to evacuate their cars.

our coverage continues with david mattingly in south carolina, taking a look at the situation there. >> yesterday the problem we were having here was snow. lots of it. falling very fast. in some parts of the state, too fast and catching motorists by surprise. that's why we saw the gridlock in raleigh last night. that's been cleared up. the problem now is ice. all of this precipitation coming in overnight and this morning. now freezing and causing new problems. hit hard by the winter storm, the carolinas are digging out this morning. emergency crews working to clear snow-covered streets. motorists reclaiming abandoned cars. ice and heavy snow hitting some areas at one to two inches per hour resulting in travel chaos. >> it came on so fast and furious. it just happened so quickly. that is why so many of us were

caught. a lot of cars were abandoned. they just left. next thing you know, i see planes. >> drivers stuck on highways in raleigh. cars skidding off streets. some people simply aband ong their vehicles. and more than 200,000 people in south carolina are right now in the dark. energy crews calling in reinforcements to help repair fallen power lines. and there are signs of hope this morning. we woke up this morning in charlotte to find the road we were on last night, which was covered with snow, now plowed and open. but the word of the day is for everyone to stay home and not be out on these roads if they absolutely do not have to be. kate? >> it is not over yet as you are showing us. david, thank you very much. and in atlanta, they are coping with the second major storm to hit the city in just two weeks. you'll remember hundreds of thousands of people are without power in the state as heavy snow and ice downed power lines

across georgia. our storm coverage will continue with george howell who is live in forest park outside of atlanta. george, you've been slip sliding all morning. >> kate, good morning. i have. take a look at why. if we can go down here and show you. the nice coat of ice, or the snow but you look down below the snow and it's just a bed of ice. you see this everywhere. on the side streets especially. on some highways. the concern is that if people go back on to the roads, they could find themselves in major problems. so again you hear the officials warning folks. and also the local tv affiliates warning fe ining people to stay. stay inside. you are also hearing complaints from folks they want to get outside. they have cabin fever. the best advice is to stay in. we're dealing with the ice event right now. a little snow coming down. no sleet. no freezing rain. though the effects you can see, this tree that fell on a power line you see this all over, really. that tree fell over and this community for the last several

hours has been sleeping in the cold. it could take several days before power is restored. but again, the good news is this was a situation here in atlanta where millions of people, unlike a few weeks ago, millions of people were trapped on the highways. this time that didn't happen. >> all right, george. thank you very much. at least they are getting it right this time, it seems. >> and that problem behind george is what we'll see in so many areas. the ice comes, weigh s down the power lines and then breaks. d.c. is facing some of their heaviest snowfall in years. as much as ten inches expected. federal offices, d.c. public schools are closed. let's get to erin mcpike on the national mall. >> we already had a state of emergency here in d.c. also in maryland and virginia. here in d.c., bus service has been completely suspended. as you know, washington is a heavy commuter city. a lot of people come in and do business here all week long. however, a lot of them aren't

going to be able to get out today because all of the runways at dulles airport are shut down. all of the runways at reagan national airport shut down. baltimore-washington international airport, the runways are open but most of the flights have been canceled. it's easy to see why. take a look at this really heavy, heavy wet snow. so we actually already have 11 inches of it in some parts of washington. so this is the worst snowstorm we've seen in four years. kate, you were right out here covering it then. >> i bet you are a fierce competitor when it comes to a snowfall fight. that looks like snowball fight snow right there. thanks, erin. very serious. and folks need to be staying off the road. we also have high drama going on in washington that doesn't have to do with the snow. the senate voted to raise the debt ceil bug not before a big challenge from republican senator ted cruz. no dr. seuss reading this time because his party leaders crossed the aisle to stop his threatened filibuster.

jim acosta is at the white house where the president is expected to sign the bill. jim? >> that's right. a thaw in some of the frosty relations between the hill and democrats and republicans. we have a snowman here built by our white house crew as we've been working here this morning. but, why the president did release a statement last night thanking lawmakers for passing this debt ceiling bill saying that he hopes it's an end to the politics of brinksmanship here in washington. as you saw yesterday, senate republicans led by their minority leader mitch mcconnell, managed to overcome a threatened filibuster by texas republican ted cruz. and it was also a victory for the president because he got this debt ceiling bill with no strings attached, and that is what he got in the end. so white house officials are optimistic because of what happened with the debt ceiling bill that perhaps they might get some other legislative victories on the minimum wage and immigration reform. but, guys, as this midterm

election cycle gets very, very close, the prospects of those bills getting to passage and getting to the president of getting gloomier. >> they certainly are. your snowman, however, is not getting gloomier. >> no, he's very happy. >> the fact you can pick him up and move him around. he's feeling manhandled. i don't know how i feel about that. >> we can't get too ambitious out here. maybe later on we'll -- oh, my gosh. i just dropped him. >> the snowman -- >> of course it had to happen. >> ruined the snow day. >> we can rebuild him. >> always hopeful. thanks so much. let's take a look at our headlines. 65 alleged taliban fighters have been freed from jail in afghanistan despite objections from the united states. american authorities say the move poses a threat to afghan and nato forces still in the region. many of those released prisoners have links to attacks that killed americans. tensions have already escalated over president hamid karzai's

refusal to sign a security agreement. more than 3 million people have now signed for health insurance under obama dcare. a surge in enrollment during january. more than a million americans signing on. the number of young people enrolling has risen 3% last month. new developments in the case against boston marathon bombing suspect dzhokhar tsarnaev. a november 3rd trial date has been set. the defense wanted a september 2015 trial. the next hearing is scheduled for june and they'll discuss a possible change of venue. check out some jaw-dropping pictures of people stuck 60 feet in the air on a roller coaster. they were stand on the cheetah hunt ride for three hours in the rain on wednesday. firefighters end up having to use an aerial ladder truck to rescue them. tampa fire rescue said 16 people were evacuated from the ride.

park officials are now looking into what caused that coaster to malfunction. and check this out. it's a mysterious fireball in the sky over maine captured last weekend on a guy's mobile phone. it's gone viral online. folks wondering what it could be. an astronomer said if he had to guess, he'd say it's space junk, pieces of a satellite falling to the earth. if you were driving along, that's scary. >> space correspondent, what do you think? >> i might pull over. i would get out my cell phone and fumble with it and wouldn't take the picture because that's what i do. >> you'd have a good story. we have a spoiler alert for you. we always have to give. it's very important. we don't get to spoil it ourselves. for ourselves. we're going to share a big

result from sochi. if you don't want to know, turn away for just a second. team usa taking all the medals in the first ever slopestyle skiing event. was gold, silver and bronze for joss christiansen, gus kenworthy and nicholas gopher. congratulations. rachel nichols is back with us from sochi. so that's great news. now what else can we look forward to? >> the u.s. men's hockey team is on the ice. these are collections of nhl players and the canadiens and russians hold that favorite title. 13 of them were on the 2010 team in vancouver. they are even patching up rivalries. a few of the players got in a fight on the ice a few months ago and they are patching that

up. a more serious story on the bobsled track. we are watching a bobsled that hit a worker on the track. delayed some of the qualifying event there. that worker was taken away in an ambulance. we don't have the update on his condition from the russian officials yet but we'll keep an eye on that. >> you have to keep us updated on that. looking back at the games, we've been talking about it this morning. the u.s. team seems to be doing really well in halfpipe but especially slopestyle. what is it about the americans? i would just say it's because we're american that makes it that we're doing so well in these extreme sports, do you think, rachel? >> yeah, five medals in a 16-hour stretch. not bad, right? and the sayings around sochi are the russians are good at figure skating and the americans are good at snowboarding and slopestyle. not things you would have heard come out of anyone's mouth in 10, 15 years ago. but the americans had the early

parks, the early training parks, american ski resorts adapted early and that's why the americans are so good at this. it also fits the american character, right? a little more creativity. a little bit more style. and something that is really grown up. and the americans who are medaling in these events love that they are the new face of the american athlete at the winter olympics. when those three american men went one, two, three in slopestyle this morning, that's only the third time in winter olympics history that americans have swept the podium. happened once in the '50s, once in 2002 with the halfpipe in salt lake, and today. so they are making a huge statement. >> more olympic history. man, is it fun to watch, too. thank you, rachel. let's give you another update on the medal count. it's been changing as the hours have ticked by. norway remains in the lead with 13 followed closely by the united states, canada, netherlands and russia. other medals will be hand out

today in biathlon, luge and women's speedskating. rand paul is suing president obama and other government officials over government surveillance. is the lawsuit more about presidential ambition than the nsa. plus, big deliberations going on in florida. jurors about to resume in he so-called loud music murder trial. the verdict very well could be coming today. we'll give you the latest from jacksonville. the decision will have a big impact on that community. 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 with nicorette or nicoderm cq. ♪ ♪ where you think you're gonna go ♪ ♪ when your time's all gone? [ male announcer ] live a full life. the new lexus ct hybrid with an epa estimated 42 mpg.

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a big story we're following that's breaking overnight. huge media merger. comknaft to announce a $45 billion deal to buy time warner

cable. it would combine the country's two largest cable tv providers. chief business correspondent christine romans is here to break it down. this is -- did you take these two companies, this is a big deal. >> and they've announced it. their press release has come out. they've announced at $45 billion stock deal. this is a very big -- would be a very big merger if regulators allow this to happen. putting the sixth and seventh in terms of customer satisfaction on one survey out of seven together. so comcast and time warner cable. they have a lot of market in new york, los angeles, philadelphia and washington, d.c. it would be roughly one-third of the nation's pay tv channels under one roof. you would be writing a check likely to a different cable provider. the big question this morning from the consumer advocates is will there be better customer service? what's in it for the consumer. three things customers care about. ease dealing with the cable guy. these rank sixth and seventh out

of customer service. a lot of conversation about, you know, hating the cable guy on this. also people don't want blackouts. would this bigger entity have more leverage with content providers to prevent blackouts. and will their bills rise. bills have been rising 6% every year for a long time. and it looks like you'll have probably a $200 cable bill on average by 2020. no sign that your cable bill is not going to go up, too. very big merger. a lot of people involved. >> big merger. we'll continue to search for what the up side is for cable tv. for all of us. >> viewers, thank you, christine. new questions about senator rand paul's lawsuit against president obama. the tea party conservative is arguing the nsa phone surveillance is unconstitutional. but is this suit more about politics and ambition, namely his own. this morning, new assertions that paul plagiarized the lawsuit.

can that be sghn does it matter? cnn's joe johns has details. >> reporter: senator rand paul's lawsuit joined by the tea party group freedom works is the latest legal effort to put the heat on president obama and the national security agency over collection of telephone meta data. the numbers, dates and times of calls but not the content. thingets we believe will be a historic lawsuit. we think it may well be the largest class action lawsuit ever filed on behalf of the bill of rights. >> an unusual lawsuit that paul hopes will gain public support. it goes after the president and the director of national intelligence. of the nsa and the fbi on behalf of millions who have been customers, users and subscribers of phone service since 2006. paul wants the federal courts to declare the meta data collection program unconstitutional, shut it down and order the government to purge the information from its systems. the administration insists the program is legal. >> it's been found to be lawful

by multiple courts and it receives oversight from all three branches of government, including the congress. >> is the lawsuit a good idea? >> our information, i think it should be private. >> the idea that anybody could be listening to my private life, i kind of -- it's a little bit creepy. >> i think it's a stunt to get attention. i doubt -- >> reporter: there are already suits involving the same legal question blp it violates your constitutional right. >> the underlying legal question will have to be resolved by the federal courts some time soon. doesn't seem like senator paul's suit will be the vehicle through which the courts do it. >> reporter: complicating the legal issues is a behind the scenes spat over's the alleged hijacking of a prominent washington attorney's work. sources said conservative constitutional scholar bruce skin worked on it but his name was not on the document and ken

cuccinelli who left office in january was featured as the lead lawyer. when cnn asked cuccinelli who authored the document, cuccinelli said it was a legal team, including fein and fein would particinate the litigation. fein told cnn he looks forward to working with the others with transparency and no ulterior motives. >> joe tied it up nicely there. the plagiarism issue goes away because fein saying he's part of the team. that goes away. but on its face, it's inherently a political tactic. the issue may make its way there but this lawsuit will not be the way it gets reviewed. the underlying issue is very important. it's going to get supreme court review but this is not the case that gets it there. tweet us #newday. the sneenortheast is in the throes of a northeaster. in one place, thousands of people who just got their power

back are facing new outages. we'll take you there and show you that community on age. here's a good story for you. she took silver in women's slopestyle with her unbelievable cork 7 trick. no, we don't know what that means but she's going to tell us and join us live from the olympics. you can always do something better for yourself. and better is so easy with benefiber. fiber that's taste-free, grit-free and dissolves completely. so you can feel free to add it to anything. and feel better about doing it. better it with benefiber.

welcome back to "new day." we're tracking breaking news. look at the live pictures. that's snow coming down in new york, and just outside d.c. the northeast is getting blasted this morning by a winter storm. it's already knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people. we show these pictures as a caution to you to think before you drive. indra peterson begins our coverage in snowy white plains.

i've been watching the scene behind you change all morning. it now looks like you're up in the mountains. it was a suburb to start the morning. >> it's truly an unbelievable difference out here. we're talking about really heavy snow. we're so close to that freezing line. it's a very heavy, wet type of snow. definitely accumulating very quickly out here. some snowfall rates at an inch, if not two inches per hour. d.c., baltimore, having reported 6 to 9 inches of snow. think about that. just four years ago, the big snowstorm everyone remembers was only five inches. they've already almost doubled that storm and we're still talking about snow falling throughout the day. in the southeast, we've already seen half an inch to an inch of ice. a crippling ice storm. more ice still expected on the way. plus they've seen the snow. 5 inches to a foot of snow in the southeast. all that continuing to make its way into the northeast. that low is still making its way up the coastline. as it does so you'll not only be talking about heavy snow but strong winds.

30, 40-mile-per-hour winds. gusts could be even higher. that's going to bring visibility down. the closer you are to the coastline this will transition over to sleet. some places, rain during the day. but as temperatures drop back down you'll see more of this heavy, heavy snow for those evening hours. definitely a lot still in store for many of us. tough to think about when so many people are without power this morning. >> thank york indra. they are bracing for a foot of snow or more in the philadelphia area where they are under a state of emergency right now. even worse as indra was pointing out, thousands of people in the area just got their power back from previous storm and will very likely lose it again today because of the conditions. margaret conley is live this morning from abington, pennsylvania, just north of philadelphia. how is it looking now? >> kate, the sleet or the snow, it's coming down bat two to three inches per hour. i don't know if you can hear it

hitting the microphone here, hitting my jacket. it's coming down hard. emergency workers are standing by just in case there are any more blackouts. just days after pennsylvania was hit with crippling power outages across the state, residents are bracing this morning for yet another storm. heavy snow fell overnight threatening blackouts in some counties here that were hit harder last week than during superstorm sandy. emergency workers from as far away as canada have stayed in town to help residents face the storm. >> it was very eerie in the town last week. every street was blocked off and there was trees laying everywhere. >> residents have had to restock or get new supplies from last week. >> are you worried about this next storm coming up? >> yes, my husband is buying a generator now. he tracked one down somewhere on the internet. >> some residents just got their power turned back on. this restaurant owner was out of business for seven straight

days. >> a little hard. $6,000 or $7,000 of business lost for the week. >> reporter: his fear, along with many others here, is another round of outages too soon. as they wait to see what this storm will bring. >> getting up tomorrow morning. see what i got. get my truck and drive here. that's all i can do. >> reporter: now we've talked to the authorities here. the emergency service group, red cross, all the shelter areas. they say that so far all the reports have been normal. chris and kate? >> good. the key is for them to stay that way. margaret, appreciate the reporting. from the midwest to new england, it seems as though there's been no let-up in the snow. new york and chicago have been pummelled. we keep talking about record snowfall. let's look at the numbers and see if we're talking the truth. new york has received 4 .5 inches of snow. that's almost double the yearly

average of 26.7. chicago, 51.9 this year. average 38. it's not just hype. it's history. the numbers are big and bad and they're going to continue. >> thanks for that visual. time for the five things you need to know. number one, on that weather story close to 5,000 flights have already canceled today because of that catastrophic winter storm. and as we always tell you, check with your airline provider if you need to travel. 65 prisoners with links to deadly attacks on american troops have been released in afghanistan. the jury in the so-called loud music murder trial set to resume deliberations this morning. jurors requesting late wednesday to view surveillance video from the night of the shooting. safety on america's rails will be the subject of a senate committee hearing this afternoon. this follows a series of deadly derailments. a house panel will hold a second hearing on the issue later this month. at number five, big day for

americans in sochi. a clean sweep in men's slopestyle skiing. joss christensen, kenworthy and goepper won gold, silver and bronze. we're always updating the five things to know. coming up next on "new day," a verdict could come this morning in the so-called loud music murder trial. did testimony from michael dunn's own fiance convince jurors his story doesn't line up? here's a good way to beat the cold. dreams of fishing. the return of wicked tuna. it's coming. we'll take you behind the scenes of this huge cable hit. even you get to see me there with some of the big stars. a couple of the captains here on the show. it's going to be great. stick with us. look at the size of that tail. honestly? my kids were always on my laptop.

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all right. take a look at this. let's get to brian todd on the scene of a tractor trailer accident on the d.c. beltway outside maryland. brian, you just came upon this accident. most importantly, is the driver snook is anybody else involved? >> chris, no one else involved. the maryland state police tell us that the driver of this vehicle suffered minor injuries. i'll kind of move you back. we literally just came upon this scene. this is the beltway heading southbound. three of the lanes are closed off. state police on the other side of this. this driver suffered minor

injuries. but there's another accident almost identical to this one just south of here where there's an active rescue going on. a driver is trapped. we don't know how close we'll be able to get to that accident. we'll leave here and head toward there. see if we can get close. i can get up here to the cab and show you you can see that the hood of the truck just split open. the engine is exposed. i looked in the cab. nothing in here. they pulled this gentleman out. and we are told he suffered only minor injuries but there san active rescue. almost an identical accident for this one just a few miles south of here. we'll head over there now. >> brian, thank you very much. people wonder how it happened. you have to remember, looks like snow. if there's ice underneath, when you brake you actually can accelerate. that's why big vehicles like that can tip over. >> if you do not need to get on the roads, do not this morning. it's not over yet. we'll continue to follow that. also another big story we're tracking this morning.

deliberations are about to resume in the loud music murder trial. prosecutors say michael dunn killed a 17-year-old just for having in their view, a big mouth. dunn's lawyers, though, say it was self-defense. and this morning, we're learning about a late night request coming from the jury. alina has been tracking the latest on this. what's the latest? >> reporter: the jury last night asked to see the surveillance video where you can actually hear the shooting the night that michael dunn shot and killed jordan davis. that was a request that came after they deliberated for about three hours yesterday. they got the case after a full day of closing arguments. and the defense, as expected, argued that michael dunn shot in self-defense. that he was fearful for his life. they raised again the issue that the teens were armed. even though no gun was ever found at the scene. the prosecution turned the attention to jordan davis calling him a victim. reminding the jury that he died

in this confrontation. and also raising questions about where dunn went right after the shooting. why he didn't dial 911. a lot of what we saw throughout the trial. what's next today? the jury is stoet to come back this morning and they'll probably look at that surveillance video they requested before continuing deliberations. chris and kate? >> see if you get that verdict today. coming up, the hit show "wicked tuna" is back. we'll take you behind the scenes. you can see how we stacked up when we tried to fish with the big boys. there he is himself, captain dave cararo italiano. ings. you stopped by the house? uh-huh. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life. personalized home security and automation. get professionally monitored security for just $29.99 a month.

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right here. right here. to my left. >> i don't want to talk. i want to watch. how amazing that is. look at the size of that fish. look how many guys are on that boat. look how many it takes to safely secure something that size. and the obvious celebration of something that's so many nours the making even a rottweiler gets it. what are we watching? like you need me to tell you. welcome back to "new day." you are looking at a scene from one of the hottest shows on television that's back on the hook. "wicked tuna." the stakes are higher, the captains are smarter and their battles to hook the biggest fish even more dangerous. high drama on the high seas.

catch enough tuna often weighing 1,000 pounds or more and you are set for the season. fail and more than just your pride is at stake. we have with us, captain dave carraro from the infamous tuna.com, top of the earnings list last year. will he stay there? that's the big battle. >> you'll have to watch. >> he'll tell us what happens this season. i'm a fisherman myself. i thought maybe if i hitch a ride with captain dave i can get even better. you tell me what happened. we set out early, even for a morning news guy. by 3:00 a.m., we were already on the water. captain dave carraro clued us in to the simple secret of these big beasts. >> only two things on their mind. tuna and sex. >> right up to the time of day to go out. slowly picking up on the tricks of the trade. >> going to put out three rods at various depths and wait.

>> but by wait, captain dave means work. over 12 hours, carraro and his mate were in a variable frenzy of checking bait, preparing bait, cleaning lines. i tried to help with bait fish and didn't help much. >> sandro said i'd be perfect for this because i have unusually weak wrists. >> all of this northwest the hopes of that magical win. >> oh, yeah, baby. we are on. whoo-hoo! >> tuna. now carraro comes alive going from tactician to tow truck. >> a 300-pound, 400-pound fish under the boat. >> a bluefin that could be five times his size. >> chris, get in there. >> nail-biting seconds turn into minutes. minutes can turn into agonizing hours. snap a line on the side of the boat or pull a hook. it's all for nothing. >> power in reverse. but do everything right and -- >> got him! >> wow. what a beautiful and big beast.

some 7 feet long and north of 350 pounds. ironically to these guys, it's called a rat. an early season tuna that could bear some fattening up. it was just one day but enough to appreciate that this is a hard life. but a pure life. living by the eternal rule that if you work hard and try your best, sometimes you get lucky. >> see you tomorrow? >> although one of the first things the captain will tell you it ain't about luck is it? >> no, it's not. >> there's a reason a guy like you catches more than me. and that's one of the things we get to see. >> sometimes there's luck but when you are consistently catching fish, it's skill. you are doing something that somebody else is not. >> you don't have to sell me. i'm already a diehard fan. why is this season the best yet for the show? >> this season is going to be the most competitive steen date out of the three seasons. this is it. and then paul running his own boat. that's going to add to the competition. >> tension. drama. >> absolutely.

two new boats. tommy on the hot tuna. and we also have billy hollywood on the lily. also a well competent fisherman. >> how much work is this about? you have to focus on the glory twh when it comes, the highs and the lows. how much of it is grinding it out? >> you had to change your strategy. you had to adapt, adjust. and that's exactly what we had to do this year. we had to grind. you had to live throughoout the catch fish. that's what we have to do this year. we got it done. >> one of the reasons i love your show, so many reality shows are exploiting a certain thing. you guys are so consientuous about saying catching a ton of fish is wrong. we do it one fish at a time. long liners, the commercial industry. we have to think about how to

sustain this population. it's very important. >> i want to do this for another 20 years until my health no longer allows. i want to keep fishing the way we do. one fish at a time. it's a sustainable way. this could last for future generations to come if it's done properly. >> that's a big message. a lot of breaks in the show to remind people about the fishery. so many of us don't even know fish this size exist, let alone trying to take them on. how much of that dealing with weather, the seas, the size of the fish. the danger element of it? >> there's a lot of danger involved. we're in little boats. 35 to 45 feet. they are fiberglas, very light. going 180 miles offshore. we do fish in rough weather. we don't fish in very rough weather. sometimes we get stuck throughout in unforecast weather. that can be a problem. windows blow out. we take waves over the side. a lot of boats sink. this year that happens out there. a boat actually goes down and somebody doesn't make it. >> of course, the big question is whether the tuna.com is able to stay back on top.

the infamous black boat. a lot of pressure on you. a lot of people want to see you go down. >> everybody wants to see the winner go down. i welcome the competition. >> you do. nobody seems to love getting after it. nobody has less ability on the show to hide the competitive nature. >> it's there. trust me. it's there. >> i love when you hear that someone else has a fish on how much dit disgusts you. >> i'm happy for them but deep inside, it kills us. >> it was great for you to bring us out with you. amazing to see. even though i've been fishing so long to see the pros like you do it at a different level. did i have any chance of getting it done when i'm out there? do i have any of the skill? >> absolutely. anybody can catch these fish. we live out there. we're throughout 24 hours a day. we know when to go, where to go, what bait to use. for somebody coming out for that one day, a month, it's going to be tough. >> i'm that guy. captain dave carraro. i look forward to the season.

i got a little advance from you guys. i want to watch it as it unfolds. "wicked tuna" is great. make sure you watch it. just a great show. kate? >> i'm still blown away by the size of that fish and that's considered a small one? i don't understand. i'm having a hard time here. all right. let's take a break. coming up next, 20-year-old devin logan, a young athlete working past a knee injury to become a silver medalist in the first ever olympic slopestyle event. logan joining us next from sochi with all the details on her historic run. ♪

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birthday in las vegas. but this olympian has something even more impressive to celebrate this morning. she's a newly minted silver medalist grabbing a podium spot for the first ever olympic slopestyle skiing event. quite an event it is. devin is joining us live from sochi. we'll say it right off the bat. we're dealing with a tough delay from here to russia but we'll work through it together. silver medal, fabulous. not only that, the first ever, the inaugural slopestyle skiing event in the olympics. does that make it that much more sweeter for you? >> it definitely make it that much sweeter. i am so happy to have made history, and it's such an honor to be here representing my country and so glad to be able to stand up on that podium. >> why is the u.s. so good at this event? sage, you, the others that keep winning. why do you think it is?

>> i don't know what it is about the u.s. we're very competitive and we want to be the best in our sport. and i think we showed that here with sage's win and then jamie anderson's win and my second and then today all the boys swept the podium so that was an awesome viewing of the new slopestyle sport. >> her mom got her into snowboarding, or into skiing, into the snow sports, which is just so cool. a lot of kids watching right now, probably because of snow days, this is a way you can -- she's turning 21 next week. what an amazing amazing voyage it's been for her. >> absolutely. real quick, what are you going to do for your birthday? can you top this? >> yeah, i'm planning on going to vegas and celebrating my 21st with a bunch of good friends. >> good way to celebrate that birthday.

congratulations. you are making the u.s. proud out there. thank you so much. >> what better coaster to have for your first legal drink. >> not a coaster. it's a silver medal. >> well, that's all for us at "new day." a lot of news this morning. obviously monitoring the ongoing situation with the nor'easter. let's get you to the "newsroom" and miss carol costello. >> we're turning into a nation of hibernating bears. "newsroom" starts now. >> happening now in the "newsroom," frozen nation. >> the snow started with a fury. >> 100 million people in the path of another catastrophic storm. the south socked in and stuck under snow and sleet. >> a lot of people had abandoned their cars. >> an epic traffic jam with flashbacks to atlanta. >> i don't think we were quite as prepared as we should h