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. now the bad news, a hundred

million americans are waking oup on this valentine's day to misery. the back end of this massive nor'easter still battering the northeast. at least 16 deaths, one of them in new york where a pregnant woman was run over and killed by a bob cat snowplow in a grocery star parking lot. maryland is buried under 2 feet of snow and more on the way. >> power is still out for a half million people from arkansas all the way to maine. just look at the video. nearly 8,000 flights have been canceled since yesterday. and then there's this. as we speak, there is snow on the ground in 49 of the 50 states if you can believe it. we have a team of reporters covering the extreme weather this morning beginning with indra petersons. what are we looking at today?

>> reporter: perfect description or name, right, white plains. that is what we're dealing with today. still snowing right now. dave, we have known him since yesterday. he comes out every hour and has been shoveling. he is not the only one. remember, take a look here behind me as well. ted is also shoveling this morning. this is a tough morning because we have good 3 to 4 foot berms out here. by the time you try and get up and go to work this morning, things should be a lot better. you look all the way down the street, you're going to see a lot of people out here this morning still shoveling. here's the problem. you have a lot of snow on top. down on the ground, we have a lot of ice. so it's this bottom layer that's going to be very tricky for you this morning. a hundred million people this

morning are going to be dealing with the effects of winter weather. the monster nor'easter slammed the north coast again. >> we keep getting hit over and other. >> along with the pummelling snow, flashing light. thunder snow caused by thunderstorms producing snow instead of rain. the first roupd of snow, sleet and ice making travel nearly impossible on thursday. cars sliding, tires spinning and people unable to dig out. >> come to get a couple things from the store, and we got truck. >> reporter: in maryland tractor trailers jackknifed sprawling across the highway. officials say this monster nor'easter arrival passed epic storms in new york. the crippling last proving deadly from texas to connecticut. in new york, a pregnant woman was fatally struck by a small

snowpl snowplow. rushed to the hospital, her baby delivered by c-section. in connecticut, record breaking snowfall up to 6 inches an hour causing whiteout conditions. >> what's going on right now is a very serious band of snow. >> reporter: in new jersey, the weight of snow collapsed the roof of this parking lot. >> i think three guys got a couple scratches. >> reporter: topping the fifth snowiest winter on record. some seeing upwards of 24 inches of snow. take a look at these berms behind me. the last thing anyone wants is more snow. and unfortunately, that is the case. we are still going to be talking about a couple flurries until about 10:00 or so in the

morning. still looking for the system making its way and exiting out the northeast this morning. we're going to get a little bit of a break in these big cities today, but tonight again, we're talking about the next clipper. there's a system already in the midwest already producing snow today. more snow, several inches, in towards the east coast. >> can't believe there's more coming. great demonstration showing how people are already out there. 490,000 customers still without power in the eastern u.s. why? wet snow and ice means too much weight for power lines. they go down. the roads are slick. it's nasty out there. that means repair crews are delayed. even worst in the southeast. people are in the cold and the dark. what's the status, ed?

>> reporter: well, two main things people will be thinking about in the southern part of this storm system is traffic this morning and also those power outages. just under 200,000 people left without power in the state of georgia. remember the city of atlanta paralyzed by that ice storm two weeks ago will be heading back out this rush hour morning. they've been off the roads for the last three days because schools and businesses have been shut down. this morning will be their first time back out on the roads in a few days. as if the east coast hasn't gotten the memo by now, winter is still here. big time. icy roads, snow piling up, power lines down by fallen trees all making havoc in the storm weary southern states. >> can't see. >> reporter: hundreds of thousands are still cold and in

the dark with that electricity. as crews work to get things back up and running. this atlanta resident was one of the first to lose power. >> it's almost as cold as everywhere in the house but the main hallway. it's as cold inside as it is out right now. >> we're still expecting hazardous road conditions. >> reporter: officials in the carolinas and georgia sending that message loud and clear yesterday wanting to avoid wednesday's gridlock in raleigh. >> my mission today is to try to get home. >> reporter: hoping to proef lessons. this time people seeming to take the warnings seriously. >> it's not worth getting out there. i think the governor said it pretty clearly. just stay home. >> reporter: luckily for the south, the temperature is warming.

there are even signs of sunshine, but not before providing at least a few with a little fun. and it was quite a scene yesterday on the roads. as soon as that sun broke through and people here in the georgia area had seen that sunlight for the first time in three days headed out onto the roadways. augusta georgia really one of the hardest hit areas. they have the most downed trees and power lines starting to be cleaned up today. >> a lot to look for ward to in terms of cleanup. >> the snow just now ending in new york city, but there was chaos and a lot of confusion and now backlash for the big city mayor and school chancellor. they're now pushing back themselves. we're in midtown manhattan with much more on this. what happened?

>> reporter: let me check with the temperature right now, kate. it's about 30 degrees with a feel like temperature in the 20s. the wind sometimes just slaps you in the face. here's that commuters are dealing with today. take a look. lots of slush. i can say they're probably one of the best plowed streets here in new york city, but this is what folks have to deal with. deed pulled ls. the advise is, keep your nice shoes at home. about the schools here in new york city, lots of controversy involving mayor bill de blasio because he opened the schools yesterday when the governor declared a state of emergency. and it was coming from parents saying wait a minute you're sending mixed messages here. you're telling people that the roads are not safe to be on but a lot of students have to get on buses which are on the roads to get to school. the schools of course today are open.

that is not the controversiment as you can see, the conditions are a lot better. the people in new york city are definitely used to this winter weather. yesterday, however, was a different story. happy valentine's day. >> happy valentine's day to you. and you get a special one because you're out there in the real bad stuff this morning. >> the point about schools and whether or not to close them. that's a pretty hot debate. it's not as cinch -- simple as it seems for a lot of people. breaking overnight, a federal judge once again forcing equal protection rights striking down virginia's ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional. the judge however, did stay her decision. that means it can be appealed. same-sex couples won't be able to marry right away. >> potentially a huge legal

moment in the south for supporters of the marriage equality movement. an eloquently written opinion going to the heart of the constitutional question on same-sex marriage that's been left undecided by the united states supreme court. the words on the page that our constitution declares all men are createsed equal, surely this means all of us. here ruling declares state laws against same-sex marriage in virginia unconstitutional. the judge stayed her decision pending appeal and there will be an appeal. opponents are expected to take this all the way to the supreme court if necessary. important for a bunch of reasons. first, because it comes in the fourth circuit which would apply to the carolinas, west virginia. the case is two men from norfolk who tried to get a license and were denied.

and two women who were legally married in the state of california but have failed in getting the state of virginia to recognize their marriage. there was another case called loving versus virginia that led to enter racial marriage back in the 1960s. >> yoe, thank you so much for that, and happy valentine's day. i like that red tie. it's strong. >> it's strong. >> let's take a look at headlines. ap is reporting the obama administration may be willing to wait a little longer to get a security agreement signed with afghanistan. the white house wanted a deal by this spring before president karzai leaves office. now, they may be willing to wait for whoever replaces karzai. >> three people have been killed by a volcano eruption in indonesia. 75,000 people have been told to evacuate. the eruption has caused buildings to collapse and

flights at area airports to be canceled. questions about motive this morning in a deadly bombing at a rural tennessee home. we told you this story here on "new day." investigators being tight-lipped about the murder case against 49-year-old richard parker. they did reveal they found a note that may have been attached to the package bomb, but they would not discuss what it said. the bomb killed his inlaws. veteran character actor ralph waite has died. he played in the 1970s tv series the waltons. >> there was a million men killed there. one of them was my best friend. that's a lot of suffering no matter how you look at it. >> the waltons ran for nine seasons and really made waite a

star. he was list third on a list of all-time television dads by tv guide. ralph waite was 85 years old. pope francis playing cupid this wednesday helping thousands of engaged couples at the vatican. he is not only speaking, he is expected actually to answer some of the couple's questions. it is called the journey of yes, forever. >> pretty cool. i like that he's taking it on. >> i have been both sides on valentine's day. >> i'm both sides ever day. >> love it hate it. love chocolate. the interesting thing is that -- >> that's a whole blog entry by the way. >> no, no, no, no. i have a lollipop right here. i'm definitely down with it. you google valentine's day, it's got a great history that goes

way beyond the sugary oh mant sim. it's roots aren't that at all. it's about friendship and recognizing people who are good to you. >> let's take that then. >> if you don't have enough going on already. >> it's 6:15 so you can have sugary whatever you can get your hands on. >> when we come back, we're going to take on some big issues for you today. self defense or cold-blooded murder. that is the question that it comes down to. we're beginning day three of deliberations. we have a rare opportunity. you're going to hear the case from the defense counsel and we're going to test it and you can decide. also ahead, oscar pistorius speaking out. exclusive new pictures of the couple and we're going to tell you what the track star is saying about that deadly day.

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welcome back to "new day." in less than three hours, jurors return for a third day of tlib rations in the so-called loud music murder trial. they are grappling with the question of whether the defendant, michael dunn is guilty of first degree murder of michael davis or if the shooting was self defense. e we're in jacksonville. >> reporter: this is the hardest part usually of a trial, waiting for a verdict. that's what both sides are doing right now as they wait for this jury of five men and seven women

to reach a unanimous decision. the first day of deliberations ended without a verdict and it started with this. the surveillance video capturing the sound of gunfire, the night 47-year-old michael dunn shot and killed jordan davis at this jacksonville gas station. it was the first of several requests made by the jury. >> they're definitely being methodical. it usually means they're working through every piece of evidence. >> can you get that dummy with the sticks. >> reporter: that was the jury's next question referred to both the defense and the prosecution to show the path of the bullets through davis' body. that request was denied. >> we cannot send that back to you as it was a demonstrative exhibit. >> that was a big point on both sides. i thought he really sort of brought some questions to bear

on that science. they might want to test that back in the jury room. >> reporter: this is what an actual jury room looks like inside the courthouse. there's not much in it. there's a table, some chairs and even a bathroom. when they have a request or a question, they'll write it on a piece of paper and hand that request or question to the bailiff. they also had questions about details of a letter wrote to family and friends sharing his version of events and they asked for an easel. >> either they're going to be reenacting or maybe they're listing the pros and cons. the fact that there's still a jury and the jury's out means that this is an arguable case. >> reporter: this jury has now been deliberating for about 12

hours. they're scheduled to back at it today. >> thank you. most often you can't tell what it means as deliberations extend. more often than not, it means that you wind up having divided jury. we'll bring in experts to discuss it, but more importantly, we'll bring in michael dunn's attorney. we'll test it, you can be the judge. it matters here administer than a lot of -- more than a lot of cases. this case is going to have implications after the verdict. today marks one year since south african athlete oscar pistorius shot and killed his model girlfriend. now we're getting a look at some of the last pictures ever taken of the couple. we're live in johannesburg. robin, you have been following this case. what's the latest?

>> reporter: in these photographs given to cnn by a source close to oscar pistorius, you see what appears to be a couple very much in love, quite happy. in all of them, oscar and riva are touching or hugging. obviously this doesn't give any bearing into his innocence or guilt, but it does pabt a picture of the state of their relationship praps and also their shared experiences. meanwhile, you referred to that statement that oscar pistorius made on this anniversary of her death. in it, he said the pain and sorrow, especially for her 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.

of course it is getting repeated over and over again. the murder trial starts on march the 3rd. >> thank you so much. from what robin has been telling me, it's been a very confusing pretrial to this point. i think it's going to be a very confusing trial when it begins. so many witnesses that they're considering bringing on. >> let's take a break right now. the northeast as you know is getting pummelled and it's happening right now. we already see the most flight cancellations already this winter. this is a holiday weekend. are people going to be able to get out, more snow is on the way, we'll follow it all for you. >> also ahead, a new cause for senator ted cruz. he is taking on gay marriage but for a measure that is sure to go nowhere in the democratically controlled senate. is this still a winning issue for republicans?

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come on! [ female announcer ] watch live tv anywhere. the x1 entertainment operating system, only from xfinity. welcome back to "new day." look at that. suck in progress as the blowers are out trying to get people back to work, back to normal life here. it's going to be a long time because millions of people are still digging out from a deadly winter storm. parts of new york still getting hit. nearly half a million people without power this morning. most of those people in georgia and the carolinas. airports socked in close to -- ready? 8,000 flights canceled in the last 24 hours. that's the most we've seen.

snow and ice still coming. let's look at the status and bring in erin mcpike. what are you dealing with there? >> reporter: well, chris, last night, this area got freezing rain on top of everything elsement so as you can see, a lot of the ground here today is really slick. that's another headache today. now, they got about 19 inches here. you can see it behind me. this whole region of maryland got about a foot and a half of snow. parts of maryland have huge heaps of snow just like this. we're looking at another 1 to 3 inches tonight. so this is not over yet. >> thank you very much. you're next no the snow cone truck right there. i'm sure it will be open today. all right. let's talk about travel which you know is always the first problem. it's been a week of chaos and

frustration for air travelers. more than 10,000 flights canceled since monday. airports from washington to new york have been paralyzed as we head into a very busy holiday travel weekend. renee marsh is looking at that. >> reporter: snowplows on the runways instead of planes. this week's winter storm battering the east coast led to the worst single day of air travel this winter. more than 6,500 flights were canceled thursday making it one of the first worst air travel days in recent years. a february 2011 snowstorm beat this one out, so did super storm sandy and hurricane eye reason. >> we brought tickets and our flight just got canceled. now, we just have to wait and wait and wait. >> reporter: the delays leaving frustrated passengers stranded

at airports all over from new york's laguardia. >> they're crying because they were excited about seeing their grandparents. >> reporter: to charlotte and philadelphia international airport. >> we've been bumped about -- this will be the second or third time. >> reporter: now, airlines are trying to dig out in the face of a big holiday weekend. >> if you were scheduled to get out of philadelphia today, you probably can't get rebooked until sunday or monday. >> reporter: crews still busy de icing planes and trying to get the runways ready. >> you got to get rid of that slush. you don't want an airplane sliding off the runway. >> reporter: and it's not just the east coast impacted. the cancellations could have impact on nationwide travel. >> if you have a flight crew originating out of the east coast or connecting through any

of those hubs, it could impact a flight as far away as phoenix. >> bottom line, it's a mess. let's take a look at more of your headlines right now. families divided between north and south korea will go ahead as planned this month. in the meantime, secretary of state john kerry sat down with china. he's hoping they'll help calm the north's behavior. president obama heading to palm springs. the two leaders will discuss middle east peace and the civil war in syria. the president is also planning to spend time in the fresno area. the body of a missing world travel letter has been found in the woods behind a home in south texas. leanne bearden and her husband

spent 22 months traveling the world when she went for a walk last month. it's unclear how she died. bearden's family obviously says they miss her greatly. breaking overnight, a federal criminal investigation now underway after massive amounts of coal ash spilled into a north carolina rir. enough coal ash to fill 32 olympic-sized swimming pools spilled into the river when a dam pipe broke. check out this very odd takedown caught on tape. he's a would be burglar who got trapped inside a jewelry store. couldn't smash through the bullet proof front door, though. the police couldn't do it for the same reason. nobody could get in, get out. police arrested him when the

store manager arrived and unlocked the door. >> what? >> he got in, couldn't get out, police couldn't get in to get him, so he just chilled. >> how did he get in? >> he probably broke in through the roof or a window or something. >> a dumb criminal and the police probably need to work on their capabilities. talk to me. american luger. >> they need the american bobsledder. >> the bob ledder. my bad. i got misleading sports confused. >> don't play like that. coming up on "new day," wave of court decisions striking down gay marriage laws, ted cruz is taking down the cause in congress. we're going to debate it with the political experts.

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which will cause me to miss the end of the game. the x1 entertainment operating system lets your watch live tv anywhere. can i watch it in butterfly valley? sure. can i watch it in glimmering lake? yep. here, too. what about the dark castle? you call that defense?!

come on! [ female announcer ] watch live tv anywhere. the x1 entertainment operating system, only from xfinity. welcome back to "new day." new this morning, a federal judge striking down virginia ban on same-sex marriage. this is the latest case among dozens being argued in federal courts. but as southern states seem to be chipping away at such bans, a new challenge is arising. let's talk about this. on the left, he's a cnn political commentator. and in washington this morning, kevin madden. good morning you guys. >> good morning. >> good to be here. >> kevin, let me start with you

on this. we have another major court decision with regard to same-sex marriage. virginia overturning a ban on same-sex marriage in that state. the legal battle is far from over, but let's talk about the near term political implications. does this show you that this is becoming more and more of a problem issue for republicans? >> i don't think is a problem issue. the trend line though is clearly is with the court decisions and some of the battles have taken place in states, clearly we are seeing gay marriage support for it has been on the rise. it's an important debate that folks are having within the party. you have seen a number of republicans come out and make the conservative case for recognition of gay marriage. so i do think it's something that's going to continue as a debate in the party. and as we see now with ted cruz,

up on capitol hill as well. >> mark, kind of counter intuitive thought on this. when you look at -- let's talk about some democrats who are in tough reelection battles. this might put them in a tough spot. >> it could. again, if you're in a state where the opposite is happening, where the tied is shifting, you seem like you're against -- >> she knows where her state is on this. that's tough. >> it's ethical on the one hand, but also pragmatic on the other. so they're wrestling with this constantly. the public time for gay marriage has doubled since 1996. to kevin's point, ted cruz positions himself, when you're driving ahead for a small basis.

>> kevin what do you make of this latest move by ted cruise? he is taking on -- he's moving forward with a bill that effectively give the definition of marriage to the states. he says this is a states' rights issue. that is argued in various topics we discuss. but clearly we can all acknowledge and ted cruise would probably acknowledge as well that this is going nowhere in a democratically controlled senate. >> first it's the policy and the second part is the politics. this is essentially a reaction to what many conservatives and social conservatives see as an overreach by the federal government. the announcement the other day that they were going to recognize same-sex marriage even in states where marriage is defined along more traditional terms. so i think you have that is the

policy reaction here. and then i think there's the politics of it. essential conservatives are -- social conservatives are looking for a vase and ted cruise is now stepping up. i think he sees it as an opportunity to become a social conservative champion. i think he has put together a pretty strong profile in other debates. >> mark, does this seem like a case that maybe a more moderate republican would argue what is good for ted cruise may not be good for republicans? when you look at the polls, more and more americans are supportive of same-sex marriages and rights. >> he's moving against public tooid and sentiment, it makes republicans look once again they are out of step with the american people. >> the short history with ted cruz is not much. >> there's not much you can do

with him threatening another filibuster. ted cruz seems to be uncontrollable by the republican party. he seems to be moving in the wrong detection there too. against someone like a mike huckabee who is moving up largely because people are upset with ted cruz. >> it also seems that we are seeing at least the latest example with the debt ceiling of senate republicans standing up to ted cruz on his threat and saying we just cannot play this game. >> i would disagree that the party is defined by any one person. there are a lot of voices within the party. ted cruz does have an ability to drive a lot of headlines and get a lot of attention. i think that is something that the senate conference and i think they'll continue to -- they'll continue to see as a challenge. but, you know, ultimately, this

is a bill that's probably not going to go far, but the debate we can be sure will probably continue. >> it's a debate to be had. great to see you guys. >> great to be with you. coming up on "new day," we're going to go live to sochi to see if the team usa can up its medal count. skiing and figure skating. two big events today. we'll check in with it all. this is interesting. it says here that a woman's sex drive increases at the age of 80. helps reduce the risk of heart disease. it seems that 80 is the new 18. grannies, bless your heart, you are bringing sexy back! eat up. keep heart-healthy. live long. for a healthy heart, eat the 100% natural whole grain goodness of post shredded wheat. doctors recommend it. we are the thinkers. the job jugglers.

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which will cause me to miss the end of the game. the x1 entertainment operating system lets your watch live tv anywhere. can i watch it in butterfly valley? sure. can i watch it in glimmering lake? yep. here, too. what about the dark castle? you call that defense?! come on! [ female announcer ] watch live tv anywhere. the x1 entertainment operating system, only from xfinity. the word haunted often comes up in these situations. do you find yourself haunted by

memories of that night? >> no. >> because? >> i don't know. >> are you a killer? >> i have killed, yes. >> all right. so those are two big pieces of sound from an interview that we've been waiting for here. as we're watching the dunn trial now becomes even more relevant because of what happened with george zimmerman. the victim of course in that case trayvon martin. we had a chance to sit down with george zimmerman and go through all the big questions. it means so much because the issues involved both at trial and external to the trial. it's important to hear from the man at the center of it. he had more than i expected him to have about what the issues involved are, how he's perceived, what life is like for

him. >> it's going to be a very interesting conversation. >> he gave us a lot of time. he wanted to deal with everything there given that there is still a federal investigation going on. so the details about that night. but it wasn't about retrying the case. we have a verdict. we know what that isment what it means, how it goes forward, what motivating him. we will air it here on news on "new day." if you want to see the main part of it, that's the day to watch. tuesday, here on "new day." all right let's talk olympics. action well underway in so much. we have early results coming in. back away if you don't want to hear. we're following american favorites bode miller and tedly getty. figure skating all so on the agenda. a devastating injury to hometown favorite there. we're live with more.

a lot of people can't believe poe chen koe is out. >> reporter: yeah. and jeremy abbott also had a rough night. took a nasty fall on the ice. lot of people thought they need to bring a stretcher out for him. not only did he get up, but he finished his routine. he had to do most of it by improv because his music had continued on. he certainly won over the hearts and minds of the russian crowds that were cheering for him like crazy. another great moment in this action-packed and, well, very warm winter olympics. in the hockey arena, team usa's fiery opener against slovakia was almost a shutout. the americans dominating on the ice for a 7-1 win.

made it look more like a scrimmage round. their power house performance was certainly a show of show of strekt to russia. it was a heart break injury to ploshenko. he said it felt like a knife in his back. the four-time olympic medalist bowed out, then announced his retirement, ending his career before the event even began. but his curtain call opened the stage for a 19-year-old and a competition littered with falls. the rising star soared landing each jaw-dropping jump, spin, and twist. his scores shattering the olympic world record. up in the mountains, sirens and a scare.

this track worker was airlifted to a local hospital after being struck by a bob led. they say the worker broke both legs, but is stable after surgery. and on the slopes, yet another injury with a story. but this time, it only underscored triumph. she fractured her foot last month, yet skied past the pain in the 10 kilometer classic. not tears of agony but of joy and the glory of grabbing gold. well, one more note about that 10 k. these women are not used to racing in 65 degree weather. one of the norwegian competitors was asked about wearing a short

sleeved shirt. when asked, she said i would have race naked if they'd let me. that's how hot it was. they also had to shorten the downhill course because the snow was so mush chi at the bottom. that takes away a competitive advantage for someone like bode miller. >> who knew weather would be such a story line in sochi. tell us about sitting down with kelly clark. >> yeah, you know, it's so interesting. it's been the story for the olympic games from an american perspective. it's becoming our u.s. team story and the u.s. not really doing that well in the more traditional sports. kelly just medaled in her third

straight olympics. her sport has gone from this outsider to being the main success story. >> it's really relatable. it's something that people watch and people are able to go out on the weekends and do with their families. >> reporter: your sport has become associated with what the americans are good at in the olympics, what do you think about that? >> it's one of the most amazing sports out there. there's a culture, there's a community, there's creativity. it's such a unique sport that i think it should be on the forefront of our culture. >> reporter: so her take is that this created element of all these extreme sports really speaks to the american character. we should be good at this stuff. and that she of course thinks it's fantastic that that's becoming what we're known for in the winter games. >> rachel, great stuff for us from sochi. thanks so much. coming up on "new day," the

storm continues to punish and the race is onto restore power and normal life for 100 million people. we're going to show you the worst and the timing for when it gets better skpchlt there is news about what comes next. yep, it ain't over. and still no verdict for the man that shot and killed a teenager following an argument over loud music. we'll talk with michael dunn's defense attorney live. [ sneezes, coughs ] i've got a big date, but my sinuses are acting up.

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the more you know, the better you can plan for what's ahead. talk to farmers and get smarter about your insurance. ♪ we are farmers bum - pa - dum, bum - bum - bum - bum♪ good morning. welcome back to "new day." it is friday, february 14th. happy valentine's day at this 7:00 hour in the east. we're going to start out with our news blast.

let's go. more damage, more power outage in this storm than during sandy. >> conditions to deteriorate very rapidly. >> the worst single day of air travel this winter. >> we've just been waiting in line. >> i don't know what to do. >> the first full day of tlib rations ended without a verdict. >> strong enough to fall 3,500 feet and live. >> the american's power house performance was certainly a show of strength to russia. it is valentine's day, but there is no love for some 100 million people affected by the catastrophic storms. a relentless nor'easter dumping snow on the coast. the forecast this weekend calling for even more. 16 deaths reported. here in new york thursday, a pregnant woman killed by a snowplow that accidentally backed over her in a grocery

store parking lot. doctors were able to save her baby. and look at this video out of boston. cnn i reporter captured two men giving it their all. eventually it works. boston will get a brief respite before the storm picks up once again tomorrow. >> in connecticut, whiteout conditions on the road. mother nature, she was persistent. check out the scene in new haven. more than a foot of snow. >> more incredible pictures of snow damage. this new jersey. too much for the roof on this verizon facility. three people were inside when a building section caved in. they were treated for minor injuries. parts of the state also had to deal with flooding. right now, nearly half a million people without power

from arkansas all the way to maine. most are in georgia and the carolinas still this morning. electricity more many isn't expected to come back on until sometime next week. >> many people got a little extra something. thunder snow. we were going to let you hear a boom, but that particular boom you were supposed to here was in philadelphia. also reported in new york city and parts of new jersey. >> heard it last night and saw lightning. air travel therefore of course terrible. thousands stranded. half a million americans from new england to arkansas. no power. indra petersons begins our snow coverage in white plains new york. they got hit very hard there. indra? >> reporter: it's unbelievable. we're talking about a good 10 inches of snow. some of the neighbors around

here definitely been out early this morning shoveling out, but not everyone did. we're talking about a good couple of feet of snow. but that's what we're talking about. with the last several storms you got several feet. once you get past all the snow, it's what's underneath it. on the ground, pure ice. we keep seeing a lot of cars sliding up and down this hill this morning trying to make their way to work. yes, the snow has now stopped here in new york. also now exiting out of the northeast, but there is another system out there. keep in mind, we've had a foot, if not 2 feet of snow here in the northeast. ohio valley seeing snow towards dinner time on valentine's today. by tonight, several more inches of snow expected on the ground right on top of this. >> so from the new york area to the washington area, parts of

maryland they're digging out from more than 2 feet of snow. erin mcpike is live. good morning again erin. >> reporter: good morning to you. the national weather service is urging drivers to be careful once again today because of the freezing rain that fell last night that's making roadways very slick. we did get about 19 inches here yesterday. we're looking at more tonight, but look at some of these snow heaps. huge, heavy to deal with. you can see the red cross vehicles, they're sort of parked in the snow banks. again, another 1 to 3 inches tonight. >> meanwhile, nothing but frustration and confusion this week for air travelers. more than 10,000 flights have been scrubbed since monday. washington and new york in a virtual standstill. renee marsh is live in

arlington, virginia. how are things there? >> reporter: well, look a lot better than it looked yesterday. yesterday, a bad day. we had more than 6,500 cancellations nationwide. reagan was a really hard-hit airport. runways were shut down. if you walked about the airport yesterday, you really didn't see anyone. it was a ghost town. but take a look, it looks a lot different today. people actually lined up to try to get on flights. wow. flights are actually taking off. we can also tell you though, don't get too excited. there will still be delays and cancellations. so not everyone in the clear just yet. and today, we do know airlines are ramping things back up trying to get those planes back in the air. of course, that will take a lot of coordination. they have to make sure there's enough space on the runways for

all of the plaebs to get -- planes to get back to their destination. really good news for passengers like that one. that guy's using a fedex box as his pillow. one could joke he may get there faster using fedex than air travel. >> don't ask him. he's sleeping. it is the big thaw now after the deep freeze. at least 525,000 customers now still without power. the encouraging news, people heeded warning. let's get to ed live in atlanta for us. what are you seeing? >> reporter: well, you know two things people are thinking about this morning here in the southeast are those power outages and how long it's going to take to get electricity back and also the condition of the

roads. about 500,000 people still without power. about 200,000 of those in the state of georgia. east of atlanta is really a town that took the brunt of all this. you look at the morning commute, these were roadways that two weeks ago were completely paralyzed by the last ice storm. and these conditions have improved vastly. the morning commute you will see as they head into work this friday morning will be vastly improved. still some pockets on the roadways of black ice and ice have been pushed off to the side. but all in all, vast improvement from what we've seen the last two-days. >> much needed good news. the white house may hold off on finalizing a stalled security packet with afghanistan waiting for the country's next president to complete the freemt. tensions have been high between the two countries after karzai

allowed the release of more than 60 militants. elections for karzai's successor are set for april. the security agreement will impact how many u.s. troops remain in afghanistan in 2015. breaking news overnight. a volcano erupted on the main island in indonesia. it's being blamed for building collapses that killed two people. flights at area airports have been canceled because of ash. families divided in north and south korea will go ahead as planned this month. in the meantime, john kerry sat down with china's foreign minister. kerry's hoping china will help calm the north's behavior and rhetoric. a massive spill in a north carolina river is now the subject of a federal criminal investigation. enough coal ash to fill 32

hymn-sized swimming pools spilled into the river. as much as 27 million gallons of waste water also reached the river. california health officials say thousands of people in the bay area may have been exposed to measles when an unvaccinated college student attended class last week and rode commuter trains. officials are warning anyone who roded area's bart system from february 4th to the 7th may have been exposed. hillary clinton offering advice to young women. >> it's important to learn how to take criticism seriously but not personally. i mean there's that old, you know, saying that your critics can be your best friends if you listen to them and learn from them, but don't get dragged down

by them. and that again is hard for anybody. but it is particularly hard for young women just starting out. >> the former secretary of state appeared at the forum with her daughter. happening this valentine's day, pope francis is playing cupid. he's hosting thousands of engaged couples for a special general audience at the vatican. we're following it from london. i should say since we're talking italian. >> that's right. love is in the air at the vatican. some say this is part of pope francis' effort to trigger a sort of marriage renaissance if you will inside the church. there was comedy, singing, music as well as testimonials from married couples. and then of course pope francis

arrived and took prescripted questions from couples in the crowd. he's currently in the process of answering those. they said that the number of young people that turned out for this event illustrates their belief that love will last forever in a perhaps skeptical world where divorce rates are rising. >> i'll take it here. we always have to remain hopeful. let's take a look at what's in the papers this morning. we'll start with the los angeles times. a big victory for guns owners. striking down rules that allow individual counties to restrict the right to carry a concealed weapon in public. it overturns restrictions now in place in los angeles, san francisco and san diego. they say it violate the second amendment's guarantee of the right to bear arms. interesting new research identifying when and where major

populations have mixed genetically in the last 4,000 years. and slavely all of which led to populations mixing around the world. the goal of this work, to provide a new source of information for history januarys. and who's to blame for the underwell ming forms of u.s. ski skaters sochi? some are saying the under armor suits have a design flaw. they a hah had a hard time staying in that low position. >> it's proving to be very comfortable underneath my suit however. we have early results from sochi, if you don't want to hear, get your coffee. bode miller unable to salvage

his time in sochi. his slalom run strong, but just moments ago, eliminated from contention. ted ligety tried to rebound, but it also was not enough for a medal. >> china taking the gold in the women's 500 meter short track race. in speed skating she was in last place in the final before a chain reaction crash that caused the other skaters to fall and then she was first to cross the finish line. >> take a look at this swedish skier nearly losing his pants. good thing he has very festive undies on. he also finished sixth in the event. he said he wasn't too worried about his baggy ski pants come with suspenders.

>> also one more spoiler alert. update to the medal count. men's 15 kilometer chase in the books. norway still on top overall with 13 following closely by the netherlands, then the united states of america. >> check out germany. let's take a look at what is trending at this hour. we know what president obama plans to do this weekend after he meets with the king of jordan. it says tomorrow at house of cards, no spoilers please. 13 new episodes of the netflix political drama premier tonight. we know the president is a big fan of the show. he likes the way kevin spacecy's character gets stuff done. >> the son of former ups executive arrested after

allegedly using fake e-mails and bank statements to fraudulently get more than $8 million and try to secure another 20 million. his attorney and his father not commenting. >> i'm not surprised. big change to facebook going beyond male and female. the social network is adding new gender options for peoples' profiles. they now have 50 choices. the facebook post on its diversity page says they want people to feel more comfortable about being their true, authentic self. >> this should warm your soul. not one but three ladies grace the cover of the swim suit edition. they shot the cover off the cook islands. this is a slight change from last year's cover. and this is the first time since 1994 that three women have been

on the cover and this is the 50th anniversary swim suit edition. >> i don't see swim suits, though. >> is that a friend of yours? >> no, no. >> it actually show their dare yars. one of my girlfriends ear her swim suit line is featured on the cover. >> so they have your friend's line on? >> yes! >> it's not often the swim suits that people are focusing on. i don't know why. i could be a proud friend. >> i got that for you for a gift just so you could read the article. >> he needs to work on his reading. >> >> yes, i don't read so good. >> a story we've been following closely. this blew our minds that this texas teenager was able to survive this. she is lucky to be alive this morning after a terrifying

plunge to earth last month. this morning we're hearing for the first time what it was like when she jumped out of that plane and into a free fall. cnn's nischelle turner has this story. we're finally hearing from her. >> sometimes we throw that word incredible around, but in this case, it really is incredible. it's remarkable. her father says she jumped out of a plane, but she fell into god's hands. a 3,500-foot fall. now we are hearing from mcken si wethington for the first time. >> i know i was scared and i know that there was something very wrong. >> in her own words, 16-year-old is speaking out for the first time since last month's horrific sky diving mishap in oklahoma that sent her plummeting a terrifying 3,500 feet to the

ground. it's a story she lived to tell. >> i remember jumping out of the plane and looking up and seeing that there was a complication with the parachute. i started kicking my feet like i was taught in the classment i looked up and still wasn't fixing. so i tried to pull the toggles apart, and i just was not strong enough to fight off the wind. so i just remember screaming and then i blacked out. >> all this as her father joe looked on in terror. >> i'll never forget the look on her face and how she looked when i run up on her when she was on the ground. >> the sky dive office gift to the texan teen for her 16th birthday. it was her first jump and a dream she always wanted to fulfill. but it left the teen with a fractured back and bones and bleeding in her brain. her strong spirit though is one thing that can't be broken.

>> strong enough to fall 3,500 feet and live. >> her doctor says she's making a full recovery and she's lucky to be alive. >> it's an amazing story. she'll be walking on her own very soon. >> it has given the 16-year-old a new outlook on life. i think that god has a lot to do with it and he has plans for me in the future. >> as for sky diving again -- >> as much as i would like to, i think that my parents and the rest of my family would die if i did. >> i would agree. now she does still struggle with cognitive ability. physically she does understand this is a process. mentally she's had tough days. she burst into tears because she just couldn't understand a math problem and she couldn't grasp why she didn't know it because she's always known it better. >> when you consider how far she fell -- >> there's no explanation for

that. sometimes you just got to throw up her hands and say thank you. >> even her surgeon acknowledged that when we interviewed him. >> there's always an explanation. it's about what you decide to believe. one thing's for sure, that family has been a beautiful example of how to deal with adversity and show that there's always hope. >> can i represent real quick. >> happen l singles awareness day for all you solos out there like me. we are celebrating ourselves today. >> it's interesting you say that. >> come on. >> as a joke this morning, i have my own little go usa mit tens. so i say, come on, give me a little -- all of a sudden there is this wave of power and fury and i am grabbing with both hands and mickey has this canadian lumber jack strength or

something going on. >> i have to give it to canada. >> when did this occur? >> you were -- >> you were doing like actual news. >> i do not recall this fight happening. >> you were walking around doing visitization exercises. she was killing me. killing me. my arm still hurts. >> that's what happens. >> well done. >> i was going to say look at that sweet face. don't let it fool you. >> thought i was leaning in for a valentine's day hug. she's like hey, go find your rotator cuff. we're on verdict watch here in florida. you know the story. michael dunn said he shot and killed the teen because his life was in danger. will the jury agree? this decision has implications beyond the case. dunn's attorney is here. >> also ahead, the forecast was clear, a bad storm was on the way. why are some officials saying

that they didn't know what it coming? new york's mayor among several officials under fire for their storm response. we'll have a look. [ park sounds, sound of spray paint ] ♪ we asked people a question, how much money do you think you'll need when you retire? $500,000. maybe half-million. say a million dollars. [ dan ] then we gave each person a ribbon to show how many years that amount might last. ♪ i was trying to like pull it a little further. you know, i was trying to stretch it a little bit more. [ woman ] got me to 70 years old. i'm going to have to rethink this thing. [ man ] i looked around at everybody else and i was like, "are you kidding me?" [ dan ] it's just human nature to focus on the here and now. so it's hard to imagine how much we'll need for a retirement that could last 30 years or more. so maybe we need to approach things differently, if we want to be ready for a longer retirement. ♪

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and that their homeowners insurance protects them. [ thunder crashes ] it doesn't. stop pretending. only flood insurance covers floods. ♪ visit floodsmart.gov/pretend to learn your risk. welcome back to "new day." jury deliberations continue today in the michael dunn loud music murder trial. the jury watched surveillance video from the night of the shooting and requested a mannequin that was used to depict jordan davis' wounds. how about the case? why would it be an acquittal, why might it be a prosecution? because of the implications of this case extending beyond the

facts and the law, joining us now from jacksonville is michael done's attorney, attorney cory strolla. let's begin with your overall opinion about why the trial has been fair do you believe it was fairly charged? >> i don't believe it was fairly charged. we picked a great jury. i think they've got a tough road ahead of them. it was, i believe, eight or nine days of testimony and a lengthy jury selection that took three days. but i think the charges were a little too much. i think the premedation just wasn't there. >> we'll talk more about zimmerman in a second and the comparisons being made. that came down to second degree and manslaughter charges, lesser charges. the timing of the jury, how long they're deliberating, why were were against them getting the mannequin, explain your take. >> the first day was a short

deliberation. by the time they got the case, it was about 5:00 and we called it at 8:00. they went all day yesterday. originally, we didn't object to the mannequin. the problem was when the state removed what they called benefitdy, the dowels were taken out and reinserted by the state attorney's own people and they wanted the doctor to come in and readjust it. there was no way i was going to allow this witness to try to reenact that dummy to dpo back there. under the law, nothing that was not admitted in evidence should go back once there's an agreement. >> all right. let's take a look at what you believe to be the strength of the case and length start with the larger context of the george zimmerman trial because of the comparisons. it seems to me on the face of what i've seen in the record that george zimmerman has a much

stronger self defense case than your client. >> well, and i would agree in a sense. george zimmerman was a completely different scenario. you had a physical altercation. zimmerman was given the stand your ground immunity from the police. they actually had to bring in angela corey as an outside prosecutor because they refused to prosecute. you had injury. this case is a lot different. it was a lot harder. this was a case where my client did not wait to become that victim. my client did not wait to either get assaulted with the weapon or have somebody potentially pull a trigger. so there are similarities because of the self-defense used. with george zimmerman, it's hard when the police say we're not going to prosecute him and the prosecutor comes in and says, no

we're going to. they had a judge sign an arrest warrant for murder before they talked to my client. there was no question in my mind they were going to charge my client with murder from day one. >> let's talk about why. with all the evidence that's come forward about the defendant and how he felt about people like this and what he thought about the music and what he did and what his girlfriend has had to say and how quickly he came to violence, what can you point to that show it was was self defense, that it was reasonable in the face of a threat. >> if you look at it and you watched the trial, it wasn't quick. when the alleged individual started cursing at my client, he didn't respond. when he started calling him racial slurs, my client didn't respond. my client actually rolled down his window to say hey listen, i

said thank you because they did after they turned the music down. this is not an rgment over -- argument over music. all three men in that car there all testified on cross-examination that mr. dunn never raised his voice, never cursed, never used derogatory words, racial slurs or showed a sign of anger. it was actually jordan davis that escalated it. when dunn went to talk to him, that's when it escalated. >> what weapon? what weapon counselor? who says he grabbed a weapon? what proof is there there was a weapon? >> you're asking us now to disapprove there wasn't. the suv drove over a hundred yards away, was gone for over three minutes. we have independent witnesses that saw them get out. then they drive all the way back

to the gas station and allege we drove back just to call for help. meanwhile, they're in a safe plaza apparently with witnesses around them. they had no idea that people were on the phone with 911 watching them. >> i get the scenario of possibility. i'm not stopping you to be unfair. >> that's okay. go ahead. >> you're the one playing on the possibility here, not the prosecution. they didn't find a weapon. there were no bow list iks evidence. nobody says there was a weapon. nobody saw them hide a weapon. it was never found. so you're the one who's saying pause there's no -- because there's no weapon found, we'll suggest it was lost. the fact is there was no gun found and -- and your client's girlfriend says he never mentioned a weapon to me in all that time afterwards. why wouldn't your client mentions weapon if it was so fundamental to his reasonable fear for his life? >> well, let me go back to the

first part because you're completely wrong in what you're saying. it's not our burden to say it's a possibility. the evidence shows that the police never checked the plaza. they didn't even look for a weapon that night anywhere at any time for five days. and i proved it with their own records. of course, they looked in a truck where we know that that truck left. we know that the witnesses instead of calling 911, the alleged victims in the truck decided to call their friends and family. i asked, who did you call. i can't remember. i can't remember. apparently calling your friends to come down to the scene was more important than calling 911. >> did anybody see a gun? >> who's going to say they had a gun? none of the boys in the car would even admit that they heard was jordan davis said. apparently the music was so loud. i asked, is it possible jordan

davis threatened michael done's life, yes it's possible, but i didn't hear it. >> talk is cheap, right? >> talk is not cheap because under the law if you have a reasonable imminent fear that someone is about to commit a felony against you or try to hurt you, you do not have to wait to be a victim. in this case, you're asking us to disapprove a negative. if somebody hides a gun in the parking lot and a friend picks it up, how am i supposed to prove that. >> you're saying the possibility is you didn't find it because they hid it, but there's no proof of that either. which then takes us to the girlfriend saying he didn't mention a gun to me. the man fires ten shots, knows he hits somebody, never contacts 911. how do you explain that in a positive way? >> let me go back to your first point of his fiance. if you watch cross-examination, she even testified on the night of the shooting, her mental

state was worse off than when she testified on the stand. she was so hysterical on the stand, she had to be escorted by a bailiff out of the courtroom just to stand up. how on earth is she going to hear and remember everything my client said? is it possible he did have a gun and you don't remember it, is it possible he made that phone call. she said yes, that's possible. in that mental state of being in that situation, she was so fragile that of course she's not going to remember everything clearly. and the state wants to play on that. she didn't hear it. she didn't hear it. now, on the second point, of course my client has a right to defend himself. and unfortunately he didn't call the police and he was in a panic. he even testified -- he told the police the next morning when he was in a federal law enforcement officer's house calling the police, they called him to come outside for the arrest.

the jacksonville sheriff's office knew where he was and was contacting police. they said go arrest him right now because they wanted to show that he never tried to turn himself in which is completely fabricated. even the sheriff's office said yes, he was on the phone with our agency. >> how often in your experience have you heard of an innocent man firing ten shots, knows he hits somebody, goes has pizza, has a drink, doesn't contact authorities? >> first of all, he never had pizza. that was for his fiance. i got the information for that. i was sick to my stomach. i hadn't eaten. mr. dunn never even touched it. they couldn't stop shaking, so they had a drink. does it sound irrational? of course it sounds irrational?

has anyone ever pulled a weapon on you, chris, and said you're dead, mfer? there is no way any of us can sit there and say, that's how i would react, this is what i would do. it's very cheap to say that you didn't do that and i would. you know what, someone put a gun in your face and threaten you and then tell me what you would do. >> better be a gun though. >> it doesn't matter. it doesn't matter. under the law if it's a weapon -- of course they didn't find a weapon. they didn't certainly, chris, for five days. >> they searched the vehicle. >> right, and the vehicle -- oh, chris come on. as an attorney, you know better. the vehicle left. they had plenty of time to ditch the weapon. they called their friends instead of the police. family members were on scene.

he knew he was in violation. guess what you can't have on felony probation? a weapon. did he get punished for violating probation? no. they didn't prosecute mr. storns. they gave him a free pass. how many people are sitting in prisons across the country right now because they violated anything. he got to walk free because he was a state witness. plain and simple, chris. >> last point and then i'll let you go. obviously i'm playing the prosecution -- >> that's okay, chris. i'm okay. >> do you think it's going to be prejudicial that the statements your client made about how he feels about thugs and thugs culture, what does this tell you about the mind set of this man when he went into the situation. >> he was just coming from his first born son's wedding.

he told the police in the interview, i have everything good to live for. this is the last thing i ever wanted to happen. his mind set was the music. there are a dozen of letters that were not introduced. my client repeatedly said this is not brak and white. this -- black and white. this is a subculture of young kids who listen to very violent music, watch very violent movies and they try to emulate what they see. >> it southbounded like he was -- sound like he was blaming thug culture and he thinks more people should act against them. that's what it sounded like. >> no and i understand that. again, it was one letter out of dozens. what he's conveyed to me personally is if you're going to go around and grab a weapon, whether it's a firearm, a stick, a screw driver, and you're going to threaten another man or

woman's life, you better be willing to forfeit your own. it is better to be judged by 12 than carried by six and that was his mentality that night. >> thank you very much for taking the opportunity this morning. thank you for doing it. it's helpful to people. this jury is going to make their decision. we'll talk to you after the verdict. >> you're welcome. thank you. coming up next on "new day," forecasters said the recent winter storms would be bad. why are some officials blaming the forecast for lack of preparation? we'll discuss. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three types of good bacteria. i should probably take this. live the regular life. phillips'.

welcome back to "new day." let's take a look at your headlines. obviously, we begin with winter and this weather. a one-two punch has the northeast reeling. new yorkers buried by more than a foot of snow. more than a half million people from arkansas to maine are without power this morning. major airports from d.c. to the big apple at a virtual standstill. 8,000 flights canceled in just the last 24 hours. it might be the strongest rejection to date on a voter approved ban on same-sex marriage. the judge issued a stay of her order pending appeals. it prevents stam-sex couples from marrying immediately. more in the forecast for the

uk today. towns close to the river are already flooded and the third major atlantic storm to hit the region could make things every worse today. the river now at record levels that they haven't seen in six decades. >> got to show you what one illinois man tired of sending the old flowers and chock lacks for his special valentine. he created this gigantic message by shuffling his feet through the snow. it reads, i love you, will you be my valentine. i don't know if he got the chopper. that's extra charge right there. >> that is quality. >> very nice. happy valentine's day. a break here. the forecast was clear a bad storm was on the way. so why -- why did some officials say they didn't know what was coming? who's to blame for this storm response? ♪

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many thought thursday's winter storm was a guaranteed snow day, but not in new york city. now mayor bill de blasio is under fire for not closing city schools before the storm. al roker called out de blasio on twitter. saying this, new york city's mayor's office says snow was faster, heavier than expected. no, it came as predictedme. don't blame weather. >> i respect al roker a lot. it's a different thing to run a city than to give the weather on tv. >> there you go. but it's not just new york city. many city and state officials have been slammed for their weather response recently, and

they in turn seem to be blaming the weather. why? let's bring in eril lewis as long as indra petersons. i want to start first with you indra. we've talked a lot about this on air as well as off. the forecast is never an exact science and things can change, but how on point was the forecast this time around? >> reporter: there you go. you are so on the money. that's the thing i want to establish. there is no such thing as really one forecast. you have several water models and people constantly seem to misunderstand this. you have some forecasts gave 5 inches, other gave even 15, 20 inches of snow. it was the rate of snow. let's just say, the forecast one of them did have high amounts of snow. but he was talking about how fast the snow came down in the hour. we had snowfall rates of 4 to 5

inches per hour. they need to understand the extreme case as well as the minimal cases and be prepared for all of it. in fairness to the mayor, let's say an extreme case didn't happen, they get blamed for using tax dollars and then not having the storm happen. they don't want anyone to miss a free lunch in case it doesn't happen as well. it's really a battle. >> the interesting thing here is the blame game going on very publicly. what is going on with city and state officials? are they getting that information or are they just making excuses? >> they're getting good information. the thing is, it's uncertain information and then you put on top of that the response model. do you have enough salt, enough personnel. you add it all up, and a disaster can happen.

the snow fell exactly as predicted. except all of the snow as you pointed out, fell at 5 inches an hour for two hours. and it was the worst two hours. it was at 7:00 in the morning. the mayor was delta bad we did the best we could with the information we had. sorry it didn't work out but we had to do it this way for a lot of different reasons including the free lunch. >> it does matter to so many people. it makes me wonder whether it's extreme heat out west, drought conditions or there's a lot of rain and flooding or snow. maybe there needs to be an option seat. instead of closing schools or opening them, the schools stay open so kids do come have a modified program and lunch available. for families feel it's not safe those kids won't be penalized

for having missed class. >> it's a great idea. in new york state kids have to be in school 180 days out of the year. because of the diversity we take off a lot of days because of religious holidays. more than most people in the country would recognize. new york only has about three snow days. one of which we already use. we don't close very often. there's been 11 snow days called since 1978. >> that came out of the mayor's office. we checked. that seems to be right. the point you're touching on still isn't getting enough attention with all due respect to al roker who is a friends and knows what he's talking about but there's ignorance in terms of what goes into the decision. was there any injury done to a child because of yesterday's storm? the answer is no. no kid got hurt. that matters too. can't be well he got lucky. nobody got hurt. and, there are families who have to go work. employers are inflexible.

they have no one to take care of their kids. more families like that than we want. the meal is two meals for their best chance of nutrition. that's not getting enough attention. >> you're right. there's 20,000 kids in new york city who are under the age of 18 who are in homeless shelters. that trip to school is not a small thing. it's food, it's comfort, it's shelter, it's a chance to do something other than stay in a homeless shelter. >> if you're going to judge it, if somebody got hurt, god forbid we would talk about it. the fact that nobody got hurt should be factored. >> good point. your forecast is always on point. we always listen to you. >> making sense. >> erol thank you very much. new york won. big time politics. coming up on "new day" an arrest

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. welcome back to "new day". there's no piling up all over. what if you could shovel your driveway from the comfort from your own living room. months months introduces us a remote control snowbot. >> reporter: you can shovel or use a snow blower, but wouldn't you rather make heads spin with

your very own remote controlled snowplow? >> we don't really have a fancy name. >> reporter: let's call it the plow that wows. >> look at that. doing 360s. >> reporter: it maid its debut this week not on the home shopping channel but on the weather channel. a roomba that plows instead of vacuums. it doesn't make on youtube with a cat on top dressed as a shark. the remote controlled snowplow lets you plow inside from your toasty warm house, six we'll drive, runs for two hours on two car battery, an air compressor lowers and raises the blade with a new mattic hiss. charlie's company made it as a novelty product. usually they build search-and-rescue robots or s.w.a.t. team robots for police

and fire department. to prove the plow's strength it performs feats like pushing pallets or picking up a pickup truck. the meteorologists on the weather channel seemed smitten. >> that's beyond awesome. >> i want one. >> i know what i'm asking for christmas next year. >> reporter: you need some income to afford one. the price tag is $8,500. but like charlie's wife says what's $8,500 bucks compared to a hospital bill for a wrenched back or a heart attack. in a big storm you have to use it a few times every three or four inches. actually the remote controlled snowplow isn't their weirdest creation. this is. super droid created the remote controlled golf cart as a prank. >> we were racing the golf cart around and lost control of it a couple of times and went through the chain link fence.

>> reporter: so they are not actually selling it. as for the snowplow, imagine what the dog would make of it and what it would make. probably walk all over it. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> in a word genius. >> coming up on "new day" a bus driver seen on tape fighting with a high school student. loses his job. right call? we're talking with the union rep pleading the driver's case. you decide. i quit smoking. i've quit for 75 days. 15 days, but not in a row. for the first time, you can use nicorette... even if you slip up... so you can reach your goal. [ male announcer ] now, quit on your own terms with nicorette or nicoderm cq.

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...and let in the dog that woke the man who drove to the control room [ woman ] driverless mode engaged. find parking space. [ woman ] parking space found. [ male announcer ] ...that secured the data that directed the turbines that powered the farm that made the milk that went to the store that reminded the man to buy the milk that was poured by the girl who loved the cat. [ meows ] the internet of everything is changing everything. cisco. tomorrow starts here. it's snow on steroids. >> happening now, the monster

storm that dumped more than two feet of snow in areas is finally moving on. now comes the mad rush to get the airports back up and running and the power back on for hundreds of thousands before the holiday weekend. day three the jury in the so-called loud music trial still deliberating today. many thought it was an open and shut case but now what does it mean? caught on tape. the bus driver who left the wheel while it was still moving to fight back against a teen who hit him ultimately crashing the bus. should he lose his job? his colleagues are defending him this morning. your "new day" continues right now. good morning and welcome back to "new day". it is friday, february 14th. what does that mean? >> happy valentine's day. >> happy valentine's day everyone. 8:00 in the east. over 100 million americans waking up to more misery this morning. right now the back half of a

bruising nor'easter is battering the northeast yet again. the relentless snow and ice is being blamed for 16 deaths at this point. at this hour parts of maryland are buried under two feet of snow and more on the way. >> under the snow is ice which is heavy and dangerous and a big reason why power is out for half a million people from arkansas to maine. most of the outages were reported in georgia, arkansas and pennsylvania. there's snow on the ground in 49 of the 50 states. can you imagine that? our storm coverage begins with meteorologist indra petersons in white plains, trying desperately to dig out of the situation there. >> reporter: dig out would be the perfect example. by the way, to let you guys, new york city now the official 12.5 inches of snow. we had 54 inches of snow in new york city making it the ninth snowiest since we've been keeping records. definitely a tough winter for you out there.

notice glen out here has convinced me to do some shoveling. we have so much snow out here but even tougher is ice left at the bottom. it's this last inch everyone has to deal with thanks to the snow and ice that came through last night and that's 100 million of us dealing with it today. overnight the back side of the monster nor'easter slammed the east coast again. >> crazy. i wish the winter would stop. we keep getting hit over and over. >> reporter: along with the snow flashing lights. portions of the east hit by what's called thundersnow. the first round of snow, sleet and ice making traffic nearly impossible on thursday. cars sliding, tires spinning and people unable to dig out. >> get a couple of thing in the store. >> reporter: in maryland tractor-trailers jackknifed near the i-95 corridor losing traction, crashing into guardrails and sprawling across

the highway. officials say this monster nor'easter rivalled past epic storms in upstate new york. the crippling blast proving deadly from texas to connecticut. in new york, a pregnant woman was fatally struck by a small snowplow, rushed to the hospital her baby delivered by c section. >> she was just going the supermarket. >> reporter: in connecticut record breaking snowfall up to six inches an hour combined with winds up to 45 miles per hour causing white out conditions. >> what's going on right now is a very serious ban of snow. >> reporter: in new jersey the weight of nine inches of snow collapsed the roof of this parking lot. >> it was double the amount of vehicles in there. three guys got a couple of scratches. >> reporter: this nor'easter topping philadelphia's fist snowiest winter on record. some areas seeing up to 24 inches of snow. in white plains a lot of neighbors have been shoveling.

total four or five hours to keep their drys cleared. if you didn't shovel these snow drifts are a good four, five feet tall. we just had a driver get stuck behind us. good news for them they got away. unfortunately still a lot of clean up under way. >> you have been excellent with the weather but terrible with your shovel. put your back in it. no cocoa for you from your new friend over there. a big problem is not just digging out but getting out. flying. over 10,000 flights cancelled by storms this week. it's been nothing but chaos at major airports and with the back end of the nor'easter causing all kinds of havoc still this morning, airports from washington to new york are virtually at a standstill heading into what is of course a very busy holiday weekend. we are live at reagan national airport in arlington, virginia. >> reporter: if you were here yesterday at reagan national it

was empty. with the exception of a few passengers sleeping on chairs, but what a difference a day makes. take a look. this line of people, this is a good sign people getting rebooked and planes finally getting back up in the air. snowplows on the runways instead of planes. this week's winter storm battering the east coast led to the worst single day of air travel this winter. more than 6,500 flights were cancelled thursday according to a flight tracking website. making it one of the five worst air travel days in recent years. a february 2011 snowstorm beat this one out so did superstorm sandy and hurricane irene. >> we bought tickets and our flight just got cancelled. now we just have to wait and wait and wait. >> reporter: the delays leaving frustrated passengers stranded at airports all over. from new york's laguardia --

>> the kids are crying because they are excited about seeing their grandparents. >> reporter: to hartsfield jackson international airport. >> we've been bumped. second or third time. i'm trying to quit counting. >> reporter: airlines are trying to dig out in the face of a busy holiday weekend. if you were scheduled to get out of philadelphia today you can't get rebooked until sunday or monday. bye-bye holiday weekend you're not getting anywhere. >> reporter: crews still busy deicing planes and getting the runways ready. >> you have slush on the runway and you got to get rid of ice. >> reporter: it's not just the east coast impacted. the cancelations could have impact on nationwide travel. >> you have a flight crew originating out of the east coast or a plane it could impact a flight as far away as phoenix.

>> reporter: back out here live at reagan, people getting rebooked, getting excited that they are finally going to get to their destination. but although things look better today it's still not smooth sailing. we still have cancelations. more than 1,000 cancellations today. it usually takes a couple of days before airlines can really catch up to themselves. >> that's the problem. is that chain effect. thanks for look at that for us. more of your headlines on this hour. breaking overnight a federal judge in virginia ruling the state's ban on same sex marriage is unconstitutional. it is the first voter approved ban on same sex marriage to be overturned. the judge ordered a stay. it prevents same sex couples from marrying immediately. to indonesia three people are dead. 75,000 people evacuated in indonesia. a huge volcano is erupting there, spewing up to two inches of ash over the island of java.

it's blanketing entire communities. most of the local airports are closed. there's hope they may be able to reopen tomorrow. veteran character actor ralph waite has died. he was known as the loving father of john boy in the popular series "the waltons." he was 85. breaking fuse from the sports world. former major league baseball manager and player jim fregosi has died. he suffered two strokes on board a cruise to grand cayman. he was a six time all-star shortstop. led the chicago white sox, the phillies and the toronto blue jays over a 15 year managerial career. he was best known for being

traded by the mets. he was 71. we're on verdict watch in the loud music trial. jurors are weighing the fate of michael dunn. dunn claims he saw a shotgun inside the vehicle, no weapon was ever found. let's vet the case. we had the defense case on. we have sunny hostin. she's been in the courtroom. she's been a federal prosecutor and joining us from jacksonville. and cnn senior legal analyst jeffrey tubin. let's do this as a speed round lady and gentleman. let's go through the hot points since we got to hear the defense counsel. on the first one, what do you make of the timing of deliberations with this jury. >> it's not relevant. this was a fairly complicated case, they only have been deliberating for a day. if they don't have a verdict today then you might have a concern about some sort of disagreement among the jurors.

so far it's going very smoothly. >> the amount of time what they are asking for routine. >> very much. >> next issue, this case overcharged, looking at zimmerman which was second-degree murder, manslaughter this one first degree murder not death penalty, overcharge? >> no, i don't think so at all. having been in the courtroom for so much of the testimony, i think it's pretty clear that the prosecution had enough evidence to go forward on first degree. but let's remember that there's also attempted first degree, attempted second-degree, manslaughter. there are a lot of possibilities in front of this jury, so no i don't think an overcharge at all. >> big basket of charges. staying with you sunny, the idea of bias the amount of evidence that got in from the prosecution side that shows where dunn's head was, what he thought about kids like this. his attorney argued it's not about color it was about culture. your take. >> yeah. you know, i don't really think that that's accurate.

again having been in the courtroom we're hearing a lot of this sort of code word, thug, subculture, that kind of thing. i don't think that's been lost on the jury. a lot of folks have been saying this is different from the george zimmerman case. i don't think so. this is very much about the fear of the inherent criminality of the black kid, black teens, four black kids in a car listening to what this defendant has described as rap crap or thug music and felt threatened. i think race is pretty front and center in this case. >> anything on that? >> i think that's right. his state of mind, dunn's state of mind is a crucial issue in this case. what he's thinking, what he's thinking about people like those people in the car is relevant, and, look, i don't think you can see why he shot these kids other than the context of the music and who they were. it's just relevant evidence. >> the take off box compared to zimmerman much more proof of

bias than in the zimmerman case, much more proof of a need for self-defense than in the zimmerman case than here. much better actions by the defendant before and after the incident than here. >> george zimmerman stood there and talked to the cops right away, gave lots of interviews. perhaps the most incriminating evidence seems to me in the dunn case is that he took off. he fires ten shots in a gas station and then leaves, doesn't call the police because he says he has to walk his dog? i mean it's absurd. >> the defense wanted to bring in an expert on what kind of psychological stress could explain that behavior and the judge wouldn't entertain it. the last big issue, gun or not? the defense counsel argues very strenuously the investigation was botched they didn't take opportunities to search for the gun and the kids hid it. sunny, how do you think that is played at trial? >> it's such a red herring.

that is because dunn as jeffrey just said ran from the scene. didn't report this until days later and didn't mention a gun until days later. never mention ad gun to his fiancee who was in the car with him right after this shooting and so to suggest somehow that the police botched by not looking for a gun that no one had ever mentioned is really, really very nuanced but it's a red herring and i can't imagine that the jury missed that. the prosecution in rebuttal honed in on that and said there was no gun. if there's no gun found it's the fault of michael dunn not the kids or the cops. >> this is where fiancee's testimony buries dunn. here they are in the car after the shooting and she says he never said anything about a gun. >> on cross the counsel says for the defendant i asked her is it possible he mentioned it and you don't remember because you're so distraught. >> no. how could you not remember if

someone said they had a gun. the defense lawyer has to say what he has to do help his client. there are some facts that are bad for the defendant and that's a very bad fact. >> sunny hostin thank you so much. you've been brilliant down there. giving us the perspective from the courtroom. jeffrey, always value. appreciate it. coming up next on "new day". a mega merger involving two cable giants, comcast buying time warner for $45 billion. what does that mean for your cable bill? we're going to ask senator al franken one lawmaker with very big concerns about this big merger. look at this fight. does the bus driver trading punches with a 15-year-old teenager deserve to get his job back. we'll talk with a union representative who says absolutely yes, he should be back at work. ♪

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welcome back. your cable bill could be hanging in the balance after comcast announced it's going to buy time warner cable in a $45 billion deal. this is a mega merger. so what does this mean for your cable bill, anyone's cable bill, really? joining us to discuss senator al franken of minnesota who is raising serious concerns about the potential of this deal. senator, it's great to see you. thanks for coming in. >> great to be here. >> you seem unsure about that but i appreciate you for standing by anyway. >> there's no other activity here so i'm happy to come in. >> at least you're working this morning. you're concerned about this merger. why? >> yes. well i am like you said i'm worried about consumers' cable

bills. this is the biggest cable provider in the country, comcast. acquiring the second biggest time warner, there's not enough competition in this space as it is, and i'm concerned what this will do for consumers' cable bill, for their -- are they going to get worse service than they are already getting? are they going to get less choice? so, yesterday i sent a letter to the federal regulators to take a look at this and express my deep concerns. >> comcast seems to be saying look this is just business. yesterday when speaking to reporters they say that this will in the end benefit consumers because it's going to offer access to faster broadband, more video offering, even saying this to reporters, once you get through the hysteria, this is pro

competitive. they are working to fight any opposition. do they have a point? >> they have a lot of lobbyists, that's true. they said yesterday, reuters quoted them saying we're not promising that your consumers' cable bills won't go up even faster than they already have been going. we can't promise that. look, when you have monopolies very often you get with less competition you get less innovation. this is something we very much have to look at. this is the number one, the biggest cable provider. they also in broadband, comcast is the number one internet provider, hard line internet provider in the country. this is going to hurt in that space as well. this is not -- we want to look at this to see whether it's going to be good for consumers. >> when we say on capitol hill

we want to look at this, that means that you're not concerned that it is, you clearly as you're saying you're not sure it's going to be good for consumers in the end even though you're clearly leaving open the possibility of listening to the argument from the cable companies. that's what i want to know from you. year-over-year cable bills are going up, some 6% in recent history year-over-year. is this just inevitable they will go up? i wonder what can you hear from comcast and time warner cable that would make you support this merger going forward? >> well, yes, they have been going up at many times the rate of inflation. and during that time there's been a consolidation of media. so, this just continues that consolidation, and i was against comcast acquiring nbc universal because there's not just the horizontal issue of monopoly, there's a vertical.

comcast owns nbc and all of nbc's cable networks. there's dozens of cable networks, it's not just nbc, it's not just cnbc and msnbc, it's bravo, telemundo. so now comcast and time warner can charge more for, if this merger goes through or this acquisition goes through, can charge more for the olympics. if you're another cable provider you have to have the olympics. and if they charge more for nbc content, comcast has to pay itself the same price but they are taking the money out of their right pocket and putting it in their left. there's not enough competition in this space. we need more competition. this is going in the wrong direction. >> can i ask you one quick question on a different topic. you said there's not a lot of work going on in the capitol because congress is on break.

before you guys left there was described a break through in the senate. senate republicans standing up to a threatened filibuster by ted cruz over the debt ceiling, allowing the debt ceiling measure to go through and allowing the debt ceiling to be raised. do you see this as a turning point in the dynamic of the senate or when you guys come back more of the same? >> we've had a number of these. we had a two year budget agreed to. that's very good. and this is after, of course, the shutdown and the american people saw the shutdown and said don't ever do that again. please. and so then we had the budget pass, patty murray, paul ryan. we then passed an omnibus appropriations bill, large majorities in both houses. now we got passed the debt ceiling without a threat of defaulting on our debt. that's really -- that should be basic. and we got that done.

so at least we're not lurching from terrible crisis to terrible crisis. that's good for business. they cho we have some certainty. in all those respects we're much better off. >> all right. well thanks for coming in and happy valentine's day, senator. >> oh, well thank you and to you too. oh, i took that wrong. okay. no. i'm seeing my wife tonight. >> give franny our best. happy valentine's day. >> i will. >> chris? >> ever polite, kate. happy valentine's day to the senator as well. coming up on "new day," a teenager attacks a bus driver. it's all caught on video. we'll show it to you again. the teen was charged but the driver was fired just for fighting back. the question is should he have been fired. we're going to debate the explosive story. team usa looking to get back on track on the slopes. did bode miller medal in the

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no, that can't happen. that's the thing, you don't know how long it has to last. everyone has retirement questions. so ameriprise created the exclusive.. confident retirement approach. now you and your ameripise advisor can get the real answers you need. well, knowing gives you confidence. start building your confident retirement today. people are angry, george. they are angry. this case became a metaphor. your face became the face of this is a guy who gets away with killing a black kid. what do you do with that? >> there are a lot of questions people have for george zimmerman. he was at the center of a trial that divided the country. we're seeing it played out again in the dunn trial, the issues remain and the george zimmerman case we had a verdict of not guilty, obviously. not accepted by a lot of people. there are presumptions about

what went into george zimmerman's actions, what's gone into them since that he's never spoken to. for basis of opinion and obviously the guy is relevant as news those questions get put to him. we'll hear what he has to say and keep the dialogue going. >> he's been in the headlines since the verdict. >> we talked to him about why that is as well and what his life is. has there been fame and fortune. has he benefitted. what's his life. we talked to him about that. why he got into trouble. >> i'm curious how he sees himself too. that's going to be very interesting. >> what matters to him. why he is still around. so we asked him all those things, relevant because of the story and how big it was and how it goes on with this new trial in dunn. we'll play it for you on tuesday. time now for five things you need to know for your "new day". parts of the northeast buried under two feet of snow, some 8,000 flights cancelled in just the last 24 hours. half a million people from

arkansas to maine are still without power. virginia same sex marriage ban has been thrown out by a judge, a federal judge ruling that the state has no legitimate reason for preventing same sex nuptials. we're on verdict watch on the so-called loud music trial. jurors returning for a third day of deliberations deciding whether michael dunn killed 17-year-old jordan davis in cold blood or in self-defense. president obama heading to palm springs, california today for a meeting with the king of jordan. two leaders will discuss middle east peace and syrian civil war. number five six medals will be handed out today not to americans in men's super combined after disappointing runs from bode miller and tim

ligety. i want to show you this surveillance footage again because it made headlines. what does it show. we see the bus driver. now one of the drivers comes up, a juvenile, hits the driver, a fight, hits him. the bus driver versus the student. footage shows the driver leaving the wheel of the vehicle which was moving. eventually crashes into three parked cars. one of those three cars had people in it. the driver scott wells was fired. he's now in a fight of a different kind trying to get his job back. that leads us to our guest, the acting president of wells' union local 998. thank you for joining us. >> you're welcome, chris. >> now we understand why the driver himself has let you speak for him because he's party to this situation, and he's obviously worried as well. so, let me ask you first, with how is he doing? what do we know about the condition of the driver? >> well, scotty is in

counselling right now and he's in therapy. he has a torn rotator cuff and a bulging disk beside the trauma he sustained to his head. >> why do you think he was fired? >> because according to what transit says is that he left the bus unsecured, and he did punch the guy. you can't deny that. it's on the tape. he did punch him. that's what he's being discharged for. >> you left the vehicle. that's really your main obligation, your responsibility to the passengers, not your own personal beef with this one rider and it was moving and bad things happen. that's not doing your job, you're fired. >> well, chris, i guess there's a different aspect to that and that is when the guy came up and hit him, at that point all

scotty could do -- at first when i saw the tape and i've watched the tape a number of times myself. it first appeared he hit him twice. after watching this tape this stunt hit him more than twice. the bus driver is sitting up on a little bit of a pedestal. what scotty did, he's a big guy, he held him. when he held him it was very easy for the guy to take him and pull him out of his seat. scotty was just starting to move the bus at the time. no way scotty could have secured the bus because the kid pulled him out of his seat. they both fell into the aisle. >> if you don't believe it was reasonable for the driver to immediately secure the safety of the vehicle as the altercation continued and we see he follows the kid to the back of the bus do you think that was a reasonable point he should have turned around, knew the bus was moving and stop the bus? >> no. no, i don't, chris. because of the fact that when you're hit and you have head

trauma and what scotty told me is all he could think about was his safety. he feared for his safety. when he was pulled out of the seat and a tussle ensued and on the ground fighting and scotty did punch him twice and he's reasonable to do that because you don't know if this kid will get back up and go back after him again. scotty had to figure out a way to subdue the kid. you don't turn your back and walk away on somebody. if you do, you don't know what happens happen we're not law enforcement people. we're not corrections people. what scotty did after having trauma being hit in the head he subdued the kid the best way company that the kid wouldn't come up and hit him again causing severe damage to his safety or whatever else that might be. >> do you think that the company moving to fire your union member is not the right way to deal with the problem and that this is really about driver safety and that they get attacked all

the time and these situations happen? >> oh, yeah. i mean in milwaukee, that's our biggest property. that's where i'm in right now is milwaukee, wisconsin. we represent milwaukee which is our biggest property. we have so many assault in milwaukee that we have safety shields coming on your buses. every bus coming from the manufacturer has them on. we're retrofitting the safety shields on our current fleet. we had severe assault on our buses. we had assaults where people have -- we had somebody come up and actually hit a driver while he was driving and hit a tree. the latest incident we had is one that we had a driver got hit once, one punch in the head and right now he can't speak very well any more. he stutters, he can't speak with one punch and his career is basically over. we don't know at this point whether he's ever going to be able to work again. driver safety is huge. safety shields, the good thing about them some drivers when we first got them in in milwaukee they are uncomfortable, they

don't like them. our saying is if you can protect just one life, one person from being assaulted the safety shield are worth it. since "the shield" have been put in we have not had one assault on a driver once the safety shields are closed. >> an important point if for no other reason how wrong it can go and how quickly everyone's safety can come in to play. thank you for arguing the point of the driver and please let us know what happens. we know there's an upcoming process. >> we will. thank you. coming up next on "new day" it's one of the most touching arguably the most fabulous moments from the olympics. gold medal winner embracing his brother who has cerebral palsy. we'll talk with alexis live about that amazing moment and their amazing relationship.

. saving the moment. makes me feel like a champion and then i could never compete. welcome back. spoiler alert. from the olympics big news american favorites bode miller and ted ligety looking for medals in the super combined this morning. how did they do? let's get straight to rachel nichols who is live in sochi with the very latest. >> reporter: kate they did not medal, bode finished sixth and ted finished 12th and some

controversy here as we're seeing weather not just be a cute side story but affect the outcome of these events. because the downhill course had such mushy snow they had to cut off the course because the bottom of the mountain they couldn't get enough snow to finish competing. instead the course was shorter, it was simpler. that gives downhill specialists like bode miller a disadvantage. he can't maximize the best part of the event. so elves the weather really has made him not medal in this event, he's been complaining about it. controversy with warm weather and well a whole lot more at these olympics. take a look. spectators are basking in the 60 degree rays here at sochi but that's not all that's heating up. in the hockey arena team's usa fiery opener against slovakia was almost a shutout. the americans dominate on the ice making what was supposed to be a fierce face off make being

it took more like a scrimmage round. it was a show of strength to russia as the two rivals prepare for this weekend's much anticipated showdown. at the figure skating rink it was a heartbreaking injury to russian legend plushenko. he fell resulting in pain he says felt like a knife in his back. the four time olympic medalist bowed out of the men's short program and then announced his retirement ending his career before the event even began. but his curtain call set the stage for the elegant 19-year-old from japan in a competition littered with falls. the rising star soared. up the mountains sirens and a scare. this track worker was airlifted to a local hospital after being

struck by a bobsled. russian officials said the worker broke both legs but is stable after surgery. they are investigating why he was on the track after an alarm did go off warning of on coming sleds. on the slopes yet another injury was the story. this time it only unscored triumph. polish athlete fractured her foot last month yet skied past the pain in the 10 kilometer classic. after crossing the finish line she collapsed breaking down crying. not tears of agony but joy and the glory of grabbing gold. you saw in that package four time u.s. figure skating jeremy abbott crashing down. it's worse than it looks. he was clutching his ribs. it looked like they might need to get a stretcher to get him off ties. he got up and finished his program. the music continued. he had to improve the whole rest

of it get in all of his required elements. scores weren't great but he won over the russian crowd. they were cheering like crazy and he said afterwards this was my olympic moment. there's no way i was letting it go. so good proof you can win in more ways than one here in sochi. >> at least he kept his head up. that was quite a fall. i can imagine the gasps. >> time for cnn heroes. ice skating is taking center stage but there's a group of girls from harlem, new york who are just as passionate about the sport and never have been given the chance to experience it without our first cnn hero of 2014. take a look. >> i love the crispy feeling of the air. the sound of my skate crunching on the ice. skating relieves me from everything. i just want to fly. i heard there were some girls who wanted to figure skate in harlem. growing up i was a competitive

figure skater and i knew skating wasn't a diverse sport. there wasn't access for kids in low-income communities. they were so eager to get started. i began touching them and it was inspiring to me. now we serve over 200 girls a year. the best part of skating is that it gives you qualities that you use for the rest of your life. they gain discipline, perseverance. it's a building block. skating is the hook but education comes first. before they even get on ties they have to get their homework done, they get tutoring. a minimum of three as a week. one girl who believes they know they can do anything they put their hearts and minds to. >> it's not all about skating. miss sharon is teaching us to be the best we can be.

>> i love that. >> makes me so happy. >> always good to see people making the world a little bit better. >> next up on "new day," this is going to make you feel something for sure. a heart warming moment from the winter games in sochi gold. medal winner, alexis bilodeau and his brother who has cerebral palsy sharing that victory. we'll talk with alexis live from sochi about that unforgettable moment. honestly? this deal was way too good to believe.

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you cannot help but smile when you see that picture, the joy is literally contagious. after winning the gold medal in the men's moguls, canadian skier alexis bilodeau, first thing he had to do was hug his older brother federic. he has cerebral palsy and alexis says he's his inspiration. alexis bilodeau joins us live from sochi this morning. first of all, congratulations to you, my friend. this is wonderful. what a moment. i want to ask you why is it that that was the first thing you needed to do. why dew point to share that moment about your brother federic? >> my brother lives his dream through my eyes and for me it's priceless when i see his smile at the bottom and my family is so important to me and my brother is such an inspiration that i need to share these

moments with him so i was looking for him in the crowd. >> i think so many people want to thank you for saying that and doing that. because the world fell in love with you the last winter olympics because we were introduced to this beautiful man and your beautiful relationship with your brother. at this point are you okay with the fact that your celebration at the bottom of the run hugging your brother has the effect it has. you have a killer run and you won a gold. >> yeah. i mean it's part of the olympic dream. and it's amazing to see that we're able to have them close and to share that moment. there's a lot of people that worked hard for me and to allow me to succeed and my family is part of it. >> first, i would like to say i agree you're a beautiful man and i wish you a happy valentine's day. and i love that this moment has become a little bit bigger because family and the bond here

certainly matters more even more than an olympic sport. what did your brother say to you about these olympics and encouraged you to do your best? >> the first thing he told me at the bottom of the course, same thing that he told me in torch rino in 2006 and 2010 in vancouver, i love you. you did it. and it's -- i mean that's all you need to say. and he's so proud of the work we've done together. and he lives his dream through me. so it's very fun for me to see that. >> alexis, you know, as a fellow canadian we can relate to this notion we get teased for being canadian, people think we're apologizing and we get the joke a minute too late. but there's something beautiful that's happening there in sochi, the canadian spirit on the olympic team has been seen time and time again. the moment you had with your brother. the beautiful moment we saw with the three sisters in snowboarding. and perhaps most of all the

coach who went out and gave that fallen russian skier a new ski when he broke his ski. can you explain what it that's going on at olympic house canada? >> what makes canada so great? >> maybe that's what i was asking. >> i mean there's a great spirit right now in the team, and you get inspired and you get to become the best. we got the best team in the world right now and we're really going for the medal count. so, yeah, i mean it's been a great inspiration to be around those great athletes and greater persons in the village and it's been hopefully going to stay for a long life friendship. >> we think it's fantastic. we jokingly will say that look there's not a lot else going on in canada. you got to take up a winter sport. you got to learn how to skate, ski, tobaggon.

alex bilodeau, congratulations my friend. please send our love to your brother federic and your entire family. >> congratulations! >> a round of applause. >> all right. when you see a moment like that i think we're all canadians. >> absolutely. it's about the spirit of the games. i want really is. we'll have a lot more going on. snow not enough in sochi, too much here. enormous storm and what you can expect this weekend. we'll tell you about it. pay my bill. phone: your account is already paid in full. oh, well in that case, back to vacation mode. ♪boots and pants and boots and pants♪ ♪and boots and pants and boots and pants♪ ♪and boots and pants... voice-enabled bill pay. just a tap away on the geico app. ♪ huh, 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. yup, everybody knows that. well, did you know that some owls aren't that wise.

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♪ everybody is working hopefully you're not. welcome back to "new day". team usa faces off against russia in men's hockey and who better to talk about it than the

captain of the 1980 miracle on ice team. he'll be live at 7:00 tomorrow morning on "new day" saturday. don't miss that. >> a lot of weather news for you. the developing situation being so bad for literally 100 million people. 49 out of 50 states having seen snow. unbelievable. let's get you to the "newsroom" with carol costello for the latest. >> at least we're all in it together, right? happy valentine's day. thanks so much. "newsroom" starts now. happening now in the "newsroom". >> it's crazy. i wish winter would stop. >> from louisiana to massachusetts ice, snow and wind. some areas pummelled with up to 18 inches. then this thundersnow. >> we saw more damage, more