>> mr. partin had a tattoo on his body that said "live free or die," and that was his motto that he went by, either let me free or kill me. and, ultimately, i think it and, ultimately, i think it speaks for itself. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com death toll rising as the east coast digs out from this monster winter storm. this morning, snow's still falling, roads an icy mess, thousands waiting at the airport for their flights to finally get off the ground. we have live team coverage of just how horrible it is outside right now and what to expect. good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm christine romans. >> and i'm john berman. it is friday, february 14th. happy valentine's day! >> yeah. >> it's 5:00 a.m. in the east. and we do begin this morning with this monster storm. >> shoveling out for your valentine. >> right. what is more romantic than

shoveling snow? and there is a lot of it. this storm affecting millions and millions of people up and down the east coast. the problems stretch all the way from the south up to maine. look at this map. look at these snow totals. there's more snow and more trouble in the forecast. >> this morning if you're planning to travel anywhere on the east coast, be sure to call your airline. more than 1,000 more flights grounded today. that's on top of nearly 7,000 canceled yesterday. crews racing to clear runways so they can get the planes moving again, and travelers are scrambling to find new flights, some even heading to the airport because they can't reach anyone on the phone. >> i don't know what to do. we were supposed to go to miami. >> i kept calling the last two days trying to rebook because i thought this was likely to happen, and they said that there was nothing available to be booked. >> i took time off from work. i'm going down to san francisco, valentine's day, and it's pretty much over with, you know. i'm being optimistic. lucky for me, i have travel insurance, so if it doesn't work out, i get my money back, but

it's still a big inconvenience, it's a hassle. i wasn't even informed of the cancellation until i was pretty much outside the airport. >> proof that travel insurance can be romantic. in new jersey today, the worry more roof collapses like this one in jersey city. the heavy, wet snow is building up and taking down that maintenance garage building. wow. three workers were hurt and authorities actually used dogs to search for victims. near atlantic city, the issue is flooding. the storm brought more rain than snow there, meaning streets were just full of water. the flooding could get worse as the temperatures rise and the snow starts to melt. >> so, the death toll from this storm now at least 16, including a pregnant woman killed in brooklyn when she was hit by a snowplow. her child was delivered by emergency c-section and is now in critical condition. in boston, the roads so bad, some were forced to rely on the kindness of strangers to get their cars moving. got to push a little harder than that, a little harder, a little

harder. there you go! there should be a brief break today from the snow and the rain that fell late into the night. but guess what? it's all going to pick up again. in connecticut, state workers are being told to come in late this morning as crews try to clear the roads and move the snow that's piled up. some cities are actually trucking snow away. they have run out of places to put it! >> welcome to my driveway. some parts of maryland were buried under more than 2 feet of snow. these pictures are from near baltimore. even more snow, i can't believe i'm saying this, could be coming tonight, leading to more fears of trees snapping and power lines that could still come down. the storm has moved on from the carolinas, but it's still causing problems like this frightening roof collapse at a store in east charlotte. the roof could not support the weight of all that snow. there were employees inside at the time. thankfully, no one was hurt. and talk about dedication, this corrections officer rode his lawnmower the eight miles to get to work at a state jail. the trip took about two hours.

that's ingenuity! >> that is ingenuity. you say roof, i say roof. >> i know. it's a regional difference we have, one of the many. right now, nearly 500,000 customers are without power from arkansas to maine, most of the customers in georgia and the carolinas. problem is, they're not used to the heaviness on the power lines and it could be at least a week before the electricity is on for everyone there. >> indra petersons is live in white plains, new york, just north of new york city. indra, how are things looking for you there this morning? >> reporter: happy valentine's d day. yeah, we definitely are still seeing some of the light snow out here this morning. we're now on the back side of that system. we're still seeing a little bit of it as the system tries to make its way out, but let's talk about these totals. what an impressive storm that we did see. we talk about places like d.c. seeing about 13 inches of snow, guys. four years ago, a system that had 5 inches was what they were calling impressive. we've almost tripled that system, because that's just d.c. proper itself. farther west, higher amounts,

unbelievable. new york city saw about 9 inches, boston just several inches, but those are just the big cities. i want to show you these big totals. look at this. you're talking about virginia, places in maryland seeing over 2 feet of snow, guys. that is the problem that so many of us are going to be dealing with this morning. let's take a look at the radar right now. what are we left with? remember, we talked about that transition yesterday. a lot of us saw rain, but that was just as the warm air made its way closer to the coastline. you can still see some of that rain in portions of massachusetts. but on the back side of this low, as it starts to pool off towards the northeast, we're still seeing that light snow this morning. when we talk about the timing of all this, don't worry, as we wake up, it will start to kind of lift out of here. so, 10:00 a.m. or so, should be out of most of new england. but of course, in the northeast, places like vermont, connecticut, we're going to be talking about, especially into maine, still some showers as we go throughout the day. there they could definitely see several more inches, but that's not the big story. here's the problem, there is another system out there. it's the last thing anyone wants to hear, guys. first thing, before i say that, i want to tell you we're going

to have strong winds out there. don't forget, a lot of blowing snow will be out there, 20, 30-mile-per-hour winds. there is another system, a clipper expected in the midwest and ohio valley today. this guy's going to slide right to the coastline by tonight, so more snow after midnight tonight in towards the northeast, places like mid-atlantic, d.c. another several inches on top of what you've already seen. new york city also about 1 to 2 inches of snow expected, lasting, again, after midnight tonight in throughout the day tomorrow. and then finally exiting out of here by sunday morning. so, if your question is the snow on the ground expected to stay, i'd say yeah, and add a little bit more to it. definitely not good news on this valentine's day. >> nowhere to put it. there is just nowhere left to put it. all right, indra, thanks so much. as you said, happy valentine's day. >> the only people smiling, really, are children. i will just say, they love all this snow. >> my kids don't remember what school is! >> i know. >> they're like, what's school? and they have vacation next week. >> they'll be at it after fourth of july, too.

all right, the roads in new york really, really bad, covered with this slushy snow, and then when it freezes, it turns to ice. it is just such a mess. rosa flores live here in new york city on the streets. how bad is it trying to get around this morning, rosa? >> reporter: let me just start by saying that i'm getting a lot of moisturizer courtesy of mother nature this morning. it is just awful out here, i've got to say. it's cold, it's slushy, the streets are really slushy, so it's really hard to commute this morning. i want you to take a look behind me, because this is what a lot of commuters are going to be dealing with. they are going to be dealing with a lot of very slushy roads. so, even if you find a cab, which i did not have a lot of luck this morning, you're going to have to cross the streets on this. the advice, keep your good shoes at home, folks, because there's a lot of slushy mess out here. now, the city, of course, doing its part. they have about 2,300 pieces of

equipment out clearing the streets and the roads. i've seen them firsthand, lots of front loaders and plows. so, they're getting all of that work done, but people are just going to have to be really patient. christine and john, i'm going to go out on a limb and say that mother nature on this valentine's day is single, and she wants to share all of the misery with all of us. back to you. >> mother nature single and will remain so after what she is doing today. all right, rosa, appreciate it. >> reporter: yes. all right, other news now. new word that the u.s. may be willing to wait a little longer to secure a long-term security agreement with afghanistan. the white house insisting a deal needed to get done by this spring before president hamid karzai leaves office. now officials say the obama administration may be willing to wait for whoever succeeds karzai to hammer out an agreement. they may have more luck, frankly, a successor. u.s. combat operations in afghanistan end in december, but they want to leave troops in

place for counterterrorism missions. john kerry hopes china can help ease nuclear tensions with north korea. the secretary of state is in beijing today after meeting with south korea's president and foreign minister. he'll be asking chinese leaders to turn up the pressure on north korea to end its nuclear weapons program. this morning more fallout from edward snowden's theft of classified information from the nsa. three people who worked at the spy agency have now been disciplined. one civilian employee has resigned, this after giving snowden a digital key. the former nsa contractor used it to gain access to some of the classified documents. the two others, an active-duty service member and a contractor, have seen their access to the nsa revoked. president obama set today to travel to california, visiting fresno to discuss the drought and then palm springs, where he'll meet with jordan's king abdullah. the pair likely to talk about the middle east, including the war in syria. the president expected to spend the weekend in the palm springs area, far from the snow that is pounding d.c.

if you had a choice, palm springs over d.c. would work. >> some people remember, king abdullah was in washington this week. the two could have hooked up in d.c. near the snow, but instead, chose palm springs. understandable, i suppose. the house is in recess today ahead of the presidents' day holiday, but democrats are already making plans for how they say they want to try to force a vote to raise the federal minimum wage and create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers. to do it, they want to use a procedural move called a discharge petition. it requires 218 congresspeople to sign on, meaning some republicans would have to support the measures. i think there's almost a 0% chance it will work, but democrats say they want to keep the pressure on republicans to try to bring the bills to the floor. all right to markets now, stock markets overseas mixed today. japan closing with a loss of 1.5%. ouch. other markets, though, in asia closing slightly higher. at this moment in europe, you've got stock markets digesting better-than-expected data on eurozone growth in that region. data just came out.

stocks slightly higher across europe, showing growth, and that's an important thing in the eurozone because we've been talking recessions in many of these countries. little movement in premarket trading in the u.s. stock market so far this morning. stocks gained a little bit on thursday. but you know what? trading has been very light, and a lot of folks are saying, you know, the focus has been on this winter storm blanketing the east coast. you've had washington shut down, you know, shut down the testimony from the new fed chief. so, really not a lot going on. stocks, surprisingly little reaction yesterday to a worse-than-expected report on retail sales for january. i expect trading to be pretty quiet here again this morning. there's been breaking news overnight. before i get to the breaking news, i do want to tell you, we'll talk about this a little later in the show, but the best story today. valentine's day, big problems with valentine's day because the flowers aren't able to get where they need to go because of the bad weather and travel issues up and down the east coast. so, you know, sorry, honey. just saying. i'm just saying, just want to get out there. it's the weather. >> can't wait to see what you

come up with next. what's your plan "b"? >> it's the weather. 11 minutes after the hour. a new ruling in the ongoing battle over same-sex marriage. what one virginia judge decided late last night and what comes next. and could soda be as dangerous as smoking? the new push to label your favorite drink, label it like a pack of cigarettes, next. [ female announcer ] you know the little song he'll hum as he gets dressed... you know the shirt he'll choose... the wine he'll order. you know him. yet now, after exploring vineyards in the hills of italy, he doesn't order the wine he always orders. he asks to be surprised... and for that moment, he's new to you. princess cruises, come back new. ♪

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breaking overnight, a federal judge in virginia has thrown out that state's ban on same-sex marriages. the judge writing that the state cannot justify denying gay couples the right to marry any more than it can ban interracial marriage five decades ago. the decision the second in a southern state after a ruling in kentucky, but it was stayed pending appeal. the state attorney general is no longer defending the law. now it's unclear who might be able to appeal that ruling. >> what does seem clear is that all these cases state by state will end up in the supreme court, and the supreme court will sooner or later take up the

definitive issue of whether same-sex harmarriage should be allowed everywhere in the country. that should be decided sooner or later by that court. breaking developments in the death of a couple in tennessee after a bomb went off. their son, richard parker, has been indicted for their murder. he lived in a house behind john and mary ann stetser with their daughter. police are not discussing the motive but say the bomb was placed at the home, not delivered through the mail or shipping service as originally thought. >> we still have a lot of the bomb debris at our laboratory and we are still investigating any possibilities that anybody else may be involved, although we're confident we have the person who was involved in this. we still want to close out some loose ends and then try to determine if there's any chance anybody else was involved. >> parker is now being held on $1 million bond. court records show a previous conviction in an arson case, though he served no jail time. in a few hours, a florida

jury resumes deliberations in the trial of this man, michael dunn. he's accused of murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old jordan davis after an argument over loud music. on its first full day of deliberations, the jury made several requests, including to see again surveillance video from the gas station where the sooting took place. dunn's lawyer calls waiting for the verdict the hardest part of this case. >> he's in good spirits. he's holding up. i can tell you, from day one, his attitude has been we have the truth, we have the law, it will prevail. and now it's in the jury's hands and i have to respect that. >> dunn insists he was acting in self-defense when he fired his gun at four teenagers in an suv. prosecutors say dunn picked up his gun out of anger. >> a lot of people thought the jury would reach a quick decision in this case. the fact it did not makes people wonder whether it will be a hung jury. a health warning in northern california. students at the university of california at berkeley has been diagnosed with measles, and officials are concerned he may have infected others, including

classmates and bort commuters. they say he spent time on campus and on trains for three days. he likely contracted the illness on a trip overseas. california could soon be moving beyond calorie counts for sugary drinks. a state lawmaker now proposing putting health warnings on cans, bottles and drink dispensers, saying beverages with added sugar can lead to obesity, diabetes and tooth decay. the california medical association supports the law. the drink industry doesn't, says it's misleading to blame health problems on sugary drinks. all right, under armour isn't going to like this. >> i think this is the most interesting story out there right now. u.s. speed skaters, some of them are wondering whether their slow performance at winter games so far may be because of their uniforms. joe carter here with that in the "bleacher report." hey, joe. >> hey, good morning, guys. there was a lot of pub going into the olympics about these high-tech uniforms.

under armour actually teamed up with lockheed martin to make these high-tech suits, but according to a report in the "wall street journal," some of the people close to the u.s. speed skating team say that their struggles so far are being blamed on these high-tech unis. they say the vents on the back of the suits designed to let the heat out are instead letting air inside the suit and creating drag, sort of like a parachute or a sail, if you will. reps from under armour say the company has received nothing but positive feedback about the suits. well, so far, team usa has zero medals in speed skating. shani davis was favored to win, but he finished eighth. heather robinson was favored to win, but she finished seventh. now both of those speed skaters have one more shot at a medal this weekend. now, our hockey team is off to a great start. yesterday they won 7-1 against slovakia. team usa scored six goals in the second period alone. this is exactly the kind of performance that the u.s. men need in preparation for their clash with russia on saturday afternoon. now, the winner of that game,

usa/russia, will almost certainly earn a top spot in their grouping and put themselves in a much stronger position heading into elimination play next week. this is a story that's trending on bleacherreport.com this morning. swedish skier henrik harlow, known for wearing pants way too big for his tiny frame, well, he let it all hang out, literally. he crashed in the slopestyle course and showed the world his underpants. he said afterward, though, don't worry, because he always wears spenders, so he knows that his pants can only fall down so far. well, america's hope for gold in the men's figure skating took a big hit yesterday. u.s. champion jeremy abbott crashed hard. he did get up and finish his routine to the delight of the crowd, but now all eyes are on jason brown. jason brown is the dynamic newcomer, and he has a chance for bronze. his river dance free skate program is so popular, the video has 3.7 million views on youtube. and here's your latest medal count. norway leads the charge with 13 total medals.

the usa tied for second with the netherlands with 12 medals, guys. so, that is your "bleacher report"/olympic update, and a happy valentine's day to both of you in new york. stay warm. >> thank you so much, joe carter. we always feel the love from you. appreciate it. >> wore the pink for you today, guys. heart's coming through the screen. >> thank you so much. coming up, the blade runner accused of killing his girlfriend in a fit of rage. a year later, oscar pistorius finally breaking his silence. we're live with what he had to say. what does everything mean to you? with the quicksilver cash back card from capital one, it means unlimited 1.5% cash back on everything you purchase, every day. it doesn't mean, "everything... as long as you buy it at the gas station." it doesn't mean, "everything... until you hit your cash back limit." it means earn 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every place, every occasion, all over creation. that's what everything should mean. so consider... what's in your wallet?

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it was a year ago today that oscar pistorius went from olympic competitor to accused murderer after shooting his longtime girlfriend at his home in south africa. he claims it was all a tragic accident. and this morning we are hearing from him and getting a new look at the couple in what were fairly happier times. rob robin kernow is live in johannesburg. you have these new pictures of pistorius and his girlfriend. when were they taking? >> just remember, reeva steenkamp and oscar pistorius only dated for months before the shooting, so this was a new relationship. and you can see in the photographs they're very intimate, very personal, taken on holiday. one of them, you can see they're standing in front of the sea. in all of these photographs, they're hugging, they're

touching. she's sitting on his lap in a kitchen in one of them. so, they really paint a portrait of a couple very much together. remember, oscar pistorius has maintained all along they were very much in love and that it was an accident that he shot her. police, of course, saying that it was murder. but i think what is key about these photographs, which were given to cnn by a source close to oscar pistorius, i think even though they don't prove his innocence or his guilt, i think they give a clearer indication of the status of their relationship in the weeks before she was killed, and they clearly paint a picture of a couple who shared experiences and who seemed to be quite intimate with each other and happy with each other. >> as you said, they were given to cnn by the pistorius team, clearly meant to show an image of this couple in love. what is oscar pistorius saying in general this morning? >> well, just remember, in the year since the shooting, oscar pistorius has not spoken, and he's issued one or two very

terse statements through his team, essentially. but today he tweeted a link to his website, and on that website was quite a heartfelt, remorseful statement. i'm going to read some of it to you, because it's quite powerful, essentially the first time we're really hearing from him since the shooting. he said, "no words can adequately capture my feelings about this devastating accident that caused such heartache for everyone who truly loved and continues to love reeva." he continues, "the pain and sadness, especially for reeva's parents, family and friends consumes me with sorrow. and the loss of reeva and the complete trauma of that day i will carry with me for the rest of my life." so, he's obviously trying to reach out to those who love her, say sorry. and of course, the trauma of that day is going to be replayed over and over again. he's expected to face that murder charge. the trial starts on third of march. so, we'll definitely also get more indications from both his team and the state on exactly

what happened that fateful valentine's day. >> just weeks away from the troil. robyne curnow, thanks for being with us. the big story in the states, snowing on the east coast, but not for long. this monster winter storm has paralyzed parts of the country for days is finally ending, until a clipper comes through and dumps more snow on us! i'm going to tell you what to expect and why you shouldn't put your snow shovel away, right after the break. ♪

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this morning the snow is still falling on the east coast. the deadly, monster storm that crippled the country for days, leaving this trail of destruction. roads so dangerous and undrivable, airports just seas of chaos and more than 500,000 people without power right now, and it could stay that way for days. we are live with the damage. and the worst news? this storm and another one, not done. there's more in store for today. >> well, thank for that. i feel happy on a friday morning. >> happy valentine's day, everyone. welcome back to "early start," everyone. i'm john berman. >> eat your doughnut before you shovel out the driveway. i'm christine romans. it's 32 minutes past the hour. this morning it's not over yet. you've got what, 100 million people along the east coast who have been feeling mother nature's fury. the snow, the ice, the rain, it's moving north, and the problems remain, with more snow, more trouble still to come. >> it is still a mess this

morning at the airports. another 1,300 flights canceled today on top of the nearly 7,000 that were grounded yesterday. crews are racing to clear the runways so they can get the planes moving again, as travelers scramble to find new flights. some are actually heading to the airport, because they say they can't reach anyone on the phone. >> i don't know what to do. we were supposed to go to miami. >> i kept calling the last two days trying to rebook because i thought this was likely to happen, and they said that there was nothing available to be booked. >> i took time off from work. i'm going out to san francisco, valentine's day, and it's pretty much over with, you know. i'm being optimistic. lucky for me, i have travel insurance, so if it doesn't work out, i get my money back, but it's still a big inconvenience, it's a hassle. i wasn't even informed of the cancellation until i was, like, pretty much outside the airport. >> the flight statistics since the beginning of the year, 42 million people affected by flight delays, 42 million. and you look at what's going on in new jersey. what happens when you pile snow

on top of snow on top of snow? well, you can see the roof just can't take it, and they collapse! this is what happened in jersey city, new jersey. a maintenance garage building giving way. three workers are hurt. authorities used dog to search for victims. near atlantic city, the storm brought more rain than snow, meaning streets are full of water. and the flooding could get worse as temperatures rise and that snow that's piled up elsewhere starts to melt. >> this storm has been deadly. at least 16 people have been killed, including a pregnant woman in brooklyn. >> so sad. >> she died when she was hit by a snowplow. her child was delivered in an emergency room by c-section in critical condition now. in boston it was snowing overnight and the roads were so bad, some were forced on rely on the kindness of strangers to get their cars moving. this should be a brief break today for some cleanup before the storm hits. >> that's boston strong right there! pushing a car. >> look it! >> no, no, he does it. keep going, keep, keep, keep

going, oh, here we go. yeah, you have to wait, you have to let the shot resolve itself right there. all right, there the car goes, finally. we know that car gets going. state workers in connecticut getting to come in late this morning to give crews more time to clear the roads. some cities are actually starting to truck away the snow because they've run out of places to put it when this plow. >> maryland was among the worst hit from the snow, buried underneath 2 feet in some places. these are pictures from towson near baltimore. authorities there worry that the trees simply cannot handle all this and they may start to snap. there's even more snow -- i'm sorry, there's even more snow in the forecast for this weekend. >> stay tuned for more of that bad news. in north carolina, the weight of the snow has been hard on buildings, like this store in east charlotte. part of the roof collapsed. there were employees inside at the time. luckily, no one inside there was hurt. power out this morning to nearly 500,000 customers from arkansas to maine. most are in georgia and the carolinas. those areas not used to heavy

ice. the crews there scrambling to reconnect downed lines. it may be well into next week, next week, folks, before the electricity's back on for everyone there. all right, we mentioned that there might be more snow on the way. let's find out exactly what is going to happen. indra petersons is live in white plains just a little bit north of new york city for the forecast this morning. indra, what does it look like? >> reporter: first task at hand, right? let's stop this system. yes, we know there's a second one, but right now i'm still getting light snow here on the back side of the original system. let's talk about some of these snow totals, because they are impressive, guys. and new york city, overnight, actually added to the total we just gave you this morning, so we have a new official total, definitely higher. almost a foot of snow out there towards central park, just right outside your window, guys. then look at d.c.! look at these amounts! boston didn't see a lot, but either way, we were all really impacted by this system. these are the big cities. let's talk about some of the bigger totals, though, because the farther inland you were, you

saw some of those heavier snow bands, and some of those snowfall rates are 4, even 5 inches per hour, especially in those early-morning hours. look at this, almost over 2 feet of snow in places like maryland and even out towards virginia. unbelievable. let's talk about what is left right now. easy to see, yes. in new york, we are still seeing a little bit of snow, but some places like massachusetts right now also still seeing some of the rains. remember, closer to the coastline still seeing some of that warm air, but of course, as this low starts to push off towards the northeast, we're going to see more of those snow showers kind of filter in, should exit out of there and maybe another several inches, of course, out towards vermont, connecticut, also towards maine today. some higher amounts out towards maine. that's system one, clearing out for most of us by 10:00 a.m. or so today, left for them throughout the evening. now, let's talk about the winds, because that is the problem. we have all this snow on the ground, about 3, 4-foot berms out here, and every time a gust kicks through it feels like it's snowing, regardless. visibility goes down. wind is going to be a problem for us today. and then here comes the next

system. we get a break. it's valentine's, so if you're maybe in d.c., new york city, at least for dinner time, you should be fine, but another system in the midwest is expected to make its way through. several inches of snow for them. then by the evening, ohio valley, unfortunately, during dinner time, could see some snow showers for valentine's. then after midnight tonight, right in the big metropolitan cities, again, starting to see more snow. look at those totals. another several inches on the ground, adding to what we already have. good news, by sunday morning, guys, it should be out of here, but not good news for a lot of people without power to think of another system making its way through for us. >> i don't think my gutters are going to be able to survive this. i'm serious. they're full of snow and ice and are hanging precariously and every house on my block is like it. at least we have power. >> reporter: but the kids have a big snowball fight, right? >> make a big igloo. it appears the u.s. government is backing off on its demand that the afghan government sign off on a new long-term security agreement before president karzai leaves office. now the obama administration may be willing to wait for whoever

succeeds karzai to hammer out a deal. u.s. combat operations in afghanistan end in december, but the white house wants to leave 10,000 troops in place for counterterrorism missions. secretary of state john kerry in beijing today with north korea on his mind. this is a day after meetings with south korea's president and foreign minister. the secretary is asking china to help ease nuclear tensions in the region and calling on chinese leaders to turn up the pressure on north korea to end its nuclear weapons program. all right, news this morning that the eurozone, the recovery's picking up speed. stocks in europe higher, the first annual growth for the european economy since 2011. but japan's stock market took another dive today, losing 1.5%. other asian markets closed slightly higher. u.s. stocks set to open slightly higher after yesterday's 60-point gain for the dow and six straight days of gains for nasdaq. the vast majority of us are planning to save this year's tax return rather than spend it. did you know this, we're going to save it? 61% say they'll save or invest

refunds. 21% say they will pay off debt, a good idea. another 18% will spend money on necessities. according to a survey by td ameritrade, here's an interesting wrinkle, millennials, those most likely to save their refund checks. millennials. interesting, right? maybe because they're living in their parents' basement with imported beer and they don't have -- >> they need money for the xbox. >> just teasing, millennials, just teasing. 20 minutes to the hour now. we have breaking news. valentine's day is in jeopardy. no joke here. here's the deal. it could be tough to get your hands on roses or flowers. wine? because of the weather. it's now heading north through new england. it hit at the exact worst time in the worst possible places. so, flowers going north from florida were delayed because travel was so difficult. packages packed with valentine's gifts were also slowed. and now the florists are scrambling.

>> this is actually the super bowl for florists. so, with the weather, it just adds another element that we have to deal with. >> we had a delivery where the snow had covered all the area and we couldn't identify the streets. >> we're just asking to kind of cooperate with us. we don't have any control over the weather. >> super bowl for florists. that's valentine's day. along with apologies you might be getting for not getting the flowers or a warning, you may not see your flowers until tomorrow or early next week, but many florists are promising they'll do everything they can to get them to your loved one today. you know, may i suggest valentine's doughnuts? sweet in their own way and fragrant as well. >> or maybe you could just do all the shoveling for your honey. >> my wife had to clear it for me yesterday. she did. >> you are in trouble! no flowers and your wife does all the shoveling, and you're just going to give her a

doughnut. >> there was like a foot and a half of snow. i didn't touch it. >> oh, i'm so sorry. >> romance. all right, the winter olympics are really heating up -- >> kind of like my marriage. >> like the snow and the ice in your marriage, melting. 65-degree temperatures expected today, having a big effect on the games. we are live after the break. i take prilosec otc each morning for my frequent heartburn. because you can't beat zero heartburn. woo hoo! [ male announcer ] prilosec otc is the number one doctor recommended frequent heartburn medicine for 8 straight years. one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn. you raise her spirits. we tackled your shoulder pain. you make him rookie of the year. we took care of your cold symptoms. you take him on an adventure. tylenol® has been the number 1 doctor recommended brand of pain reliever for over 20 years.

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♪ all right, this morning, not just the competition that's heating up in sochi. the temperatures are, too. it could hit 65 degrees today, leading to the obvious question, aren't these supposed to be the winter olympics? all right, nick paton walsh is live in sochi. tank top weather there, nick, which is lucky for you. are these temperatures causing any problems for the games? >> reporter: well, john, i'm gracing you with sleeves today,

but yes, it's causing serious issues in the snow. we are talking about athletes complaining about the slushiness of the slopes they're on. some like it, some aren't used to it. it's been remarkable, though, to drive into the mountains and see literally a place that used to be icy completely baron with snow. remarkable. the ski slope itself, the ski jump sat there, a singular line of white and surrounded by brown trees, completely on its own there. now, they're pledging that by monday, we should start seeing the weather get cold and perhaps even snow come in again, but it's been remarkable to see organizers struggle with this issue. one of the key questions many had about sochi, the only place, really, in russia, where you aren't guaranteed snow at this time of year. a couple of inches sticking on the ground. and organizers admitting, too, they've had to start dipping into last year's reserves of snow that they've put aside, because many actually feared this could possibly happen. john? >> yeah, nick, we have a lot here they could use, if they need any extra.

nick paton walsh in sochi. they're pulling the games off, but it doesn't look like it's supposed to. it looks, you know, you want to see the flakes falling and the ice and the hats and everything else. i think it takes away from the ambiance. >> it's so interesting to see the pictures of people who are watching the games in shirt sleeves or not even wearing a coat. crazy. let's look at what's coming up on "new day." chris cuomo. hi, chris. >> does this make you feel better? >> usa. >> see the mittens? feel like you're in the olympic spirit now? >> they're very small, though. >> small gloves. this morning we'll obviously be talking about the storm, but we're also getting to the heart of the matter for you. we'll tell you what the storm's done, what is still to come. and the question that's popping up, when do you close schools? when do you not? the analysis is not as simple as you think. there are a lot of families in need, a lot of aspects that go into the decision. we'll debate it. then, the so-called loud music trial. we have the defendant's attorney on with us today. he will make the case for why he

believes that this deliberation process that's going on longer than many expected is a sign of a potential acquittal and why that is the right decision. we will put him to the test and you get to decide for yourself. then, also, the big cable deal between comcast and time warner. we have senator al franken here. he's going to talk about whether or not he thinks it's good for you. is your cable bill going to go up? is that supposed to be the up side of a merger for us? i thought it was supposed to make things easier for us. christine romans would know more about that, of course. we'll take it all on on "new day" this morning. that's what i have for you. happy weekend, happy valentine's day. >> thanks, chris. appreciate it. >> all right, thanks. now to another story we've been following this morning, a couple blown up at their home. a bomb blast creating a murder mystery. the new arrest and what's happening today in this case. that's next. dad, why are you getting that? is there a prize in there? oh, there's a prize, all right. [ male announcer ] inside every box of cheerios are those great-tasting little o's

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breaking news overnight from virginia, where a federal judge has thrown out that state's ban on same-sex marriages. the judge writing that the state cannot justify denying gay couples the right to marry any more than it could justify banning interracial marriage five decades ago. the decision was stayed pending appeal. the state attorney general is no longer defending the law, so it's unclear who might be able to appeal the ruling. someone will certainly step in. and this state's situation and so many others will ultimately end up in the supreme court. in tennessee this morning, a couple's son-in-law is in jail facing murder charges after a bomb went off in their home, killing both of them. richard parker was married to jon and marion setzer's daughter and lived in a house behind theirs. police aren't discussing the motive, but they now say the bomb was placed at the home, not delivered through the mail or a shipping service as originally thought.

>> we're still have a lot of the bomb debris at our laboratory, and we are still investigating any possibilities that anybody else may be involved, although we're confident we have the person who was involved in this. we still want to close out some loose ends and try to determine if there's any chance anybody else was involved. >> parker now being held on $1 million bond. court records show he had a previous conviction in an arson case, although he served no jail time. >> i spoke to the family's pastor overnight, and he said that family right now is just simply in shock, dealing with so much tragedy of losing, you know, the elderly couple and having the son-in-law now being the suspect. and they just had no idea this would ever happen. they see no sign of any motive. all right, just a few minutes before the hour right now. coming up for us, general motors recalling more than 700,000 cars because of a problem that could just shut them off in mid-drive. everything you need to know about this in "money time," next. the conversation about his

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♪ happy friday morning. welcome back to "early start." it's "money time."

there's not much love in the markets this valentine's day. stock futures right now little changed. the dow gained 60 yesterday. the nasdaq is on a six-day winning streak. six people have died in accidents tied to faulty ignition switches in some general motors cars. gm now recalling more than 700,000 cars in north america to fix this problem. the bad switches can cause the engine to shut off unexpectedly and airbags not to deploy. the cars in question are chevrolet cobalt and the pontiac g-5 cars made between 2005 and 2007. all right, billionaire tom perkins speaking again about unfair maligning of the top 1% in this country. he's the businessman whose letter to the editor to the "wall street journal" last month compared the modern movement against america's top 1% to nazi germany's treatment of the jews. now perkins, co-founder of the venture capitalist firm aclina, perkins, caufield and byers,

says the rich should get more votes and that only taxpayers should have the right to vote. >> the tom perkins system is you don't get to vote unless you pay a dollar of taxes. but what i really think is it should be like a corporation. you pay $1 million in taxes, you get a million votes. how's that? >> those comments during a talk last night on income inequality at san francisco's commonwealth club. and you know, coming against the backdrop against, i think, some people in the 1% are saying we are unfairly being blamed for income inequality in this country. >> he's it's crazy. i wish the winter would stop. we keep getting hit over and over. >> break overnight. the storm that just won't quit. some getting more than 2 feet.

chaos at the airports as hundreds of thousands struggle in the dark down south and there may be more to come. also breaking overnight, overturned. a federal judge strikes down virginia ban on same-sex marriage. we're live with the latest. inside the jury room. we're heading into day three of deliberations in the so-called loud music trial. are we heading for a hung jury? >> your "new day" starts right now. good morning. happy valentine's day. >> happy valentine's day. >> how lucky am i. and to you as well. happy valentine's day. it is friday of course, february 14th. no