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 power outages in this storm than

sandy. >> this morning the big dig begins. >> down on the ground we have a lot of ice. this bottom layer that will be very tricky for you this morning. >> plus -- >> we seriously need to look that. >> the new goliath, comcast/time warner. will it drive up your bill. you're right. this from comcast, we're certainly not promising that customer bills will go down or increase less rapidly. >> and the fabulous jonny wer his hot pink jacket his leather leggings, his sassiness in sochi now controversial. >> talk to st. francis the pope pulling out cupid's arrow and offering advice to young couples.

>> good morning. i'm carol costello. thank you so much for joining me. happy valentine's day. for millions of americans good luck getting flowers too or from your sweetheart. the east coast is slogging through this week's nor'easter and a new storm is hours away. let's start with indra petersons in white plains, new york. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. oh, yeah new york city we definitely got a lot of snow. just want to tell you how much snow we've seen. just yesterday 12 1/2 inches. that's official that was reported in central park. we've seen 54 inches this season making it the ninth snowiest season since we've been starting to keep records. unbelievable. easy to see why. take a look at all the snow. if you haven't cleared out you're dealing with feet of it still on the ground. here's the problem. remember yesterday we transitioned to rain for a while then back to snow.

at the bottom of all this if you take the time to plow you're left this very thick coating of ice. you can see so many people this morning struggling to get through this last inch. they are trying to drive on the streets, a lot of people getting stuck. so what are we dealing with? this morning we still have a little bit of the remnants of the system we have left now. that's going to vermont, new hampshire, maine. that's not the system we're worried about. but we're going to be left with some strong winds. a lot of snow still on the ground. you heard it already, valentine's day, yes another system a clipper is out there currently in the midwest. this snow maker bringing several inches not as big but either way making its way through the ohio valley tonight for those valentine's day dinner plans and then after midnight in these big cities and metropolitan areas tonight again starting to see more snow lasting into your saturday, leaving on sunday. i tell you what when we look at piles like this no one wants any more snow. >> no they don't but at least

there's extra reason to cuddle tonight, right? >> that's true. indra petersons, thanks so much. this morning there are power outages to tell you about in 16 states and the district of columbia. the good news the number of homes and businesses without electricity keeps falling. at least check the number was down to 520,000 and that want include most of the east coast. david mattingly is in charlotte as the southeast battles back from its worst storm in years. morning, david. >> reporter: good morning, carol. some good news from the state highway department. they say across north carolina the roads are pretty much open with some slick spots so they are still telling motorists to keep an eye and be careful. but after a tough couple of days the sun is out. and the big thaw is under way. the storm may be over but the clean up is still a major work in progress. after two straight days of heavy snow in north carolina, crews are trying to dig out. and re-open roads.

one aggravating lesson learned there was no repeat of a gridlock. north carolina governor using the national guard to make sure no one is stranded in the cold. >> what we didn't want was to have those delays of people abandoned overnight like occurred in other states during other storms. >> reporter: it was a dig at the city of alabama, paralyzed two weeks ago when two inches of snow trapped thousands overnight in schools and on jammed highways. this time this storm there were no surprises. thursday the sun came out in atlanta for the first time in days. melting ice on trees and power lines. people getting outside to play. while state officials expressed relief. >> the fact that we were able to keep many people from being involved in the mix, i think has made it not nearly as dramatic and traumatic as it might otherwise have been. >> reporter: the good news after three days the snow seems to be

over in the southeast. but overnight freezing is once again making roads treacherous for hundreds of miles. and throughout the south recovery is only beginning. more than an inch of ice brought widespread damage to homes, trees and power lines in georgia and south carolina. making last night a dark and cold one for the many people still without electricity. 91,000 was the number they were saying here in the carolinas for the people without electricity. we're told today that most of the lights will be back on today. the rest will have to wait until sometime this weekend. >> i must say, david, yesterday when the sun came out in atlanta, you saw people on the streets looking up saying, what is that? they were kind in a zombie like state but happy. david mattingly, many thanks.

controversy at the olympics over hi-tech mach 39 suits. american speed skaters are wearing those suits and they are losing. okay. so there was cool sound with that but you see the suits are really cool and very hi-tech. still for the skaters wearing them in the olympics let's just say this is the worst olympic showing for this american skater since 30 years. shani davis was expected to win the gold he came in eighth. heather richardson a world record holder did not medal. and wearing those suits designed by under armor and lockheed martin. rachel nichols is in sochi. tell us more about this controversy. >> reporter: these special new suits were supposed to make our athletes faster. they have a new venting system

in the back. the idea was to allow heat to escape. but what it sounds like maybe happening, look they are not 100% sure what's happening what it sounds like may be happening is air is getting caught in those vents and creating drag. remember this is a sport where people within and lose by hundredths of a second. little pockets of air can make a huge difference. you mentioned two of the u.s. hopefuls. after shani davis came in eighth in an event that he won two olympic medals, heather richardson before her race went to the seamstress of under armor and said you got to help me out. they insert a special rubber flap under the vents to try to prevent this drag problem but apparently it didn't work. she came in seventh place. she came into this event as the number one overall in the world. the u.s. team hasn't had a finish better snaent place for any of the speed skating long track races. remember they won four medals

tevan cover games in speed skating. so it's a huge, huge drop off and they are looking for the problem here. >> i hear some skaters want uniforms that they wore in the past where they have been winners and trying to ship them to sochi in a hurry for future competitions. >> reporter: any athlete wants what they are most comfortable with. nobody wants any extra factor contributing to what could be a loss for them. it's unclear how much the suits are a factor but even if it's a tiny factor they want to change. >> while team usa is not doing well in a traditional olympic sport like speed skating it is medaling in newer extreme sports. that's a good thing, right? >> reporter: yeah. you know i talked with this about kelly clark. she's the most decorated snowboarder, the most decorated woman in all of snowboarding history. she's the female shaun white as it were and i asked her about

this idea that her sport when she first started in the olympics, because she just medaled by the way in her third straight olympic games it was the rogue outsider the kid that was stashed to the corner. now it's the american success story at these games. take a listen to what she told me. >> i think it's so successful because it's relatable, it's something people watch and people are able to go couldn't the weekends and do with their families. >> your sport has become associated with what the americans are good at at the olympics what do you think? >> that's what we should be known for. snowboard cigarette one of the most amazing sports. there's a culture, there's a community. there's creativity. there's room for individuality. it's a unique sport that i think it should be on the forefront of our culture. >> reporter: kelly points out this creativity is an american way of looking at things. it's why the americans have dominated these kind of sports. they are proud that they are

becoming what u.s. athletes represent. it's not the traditional chiselled olympic athlete. it's somebody like kelly or sage who says shred it and dude all the time. they are withining the gold medal. those are our olympians. >> i love hit they make mistakes and at the end of the run they go sorry, i tried. they have good spirits about them. rachel nichols, many thanks. an international security national agency memo is giving insight how edward snowden got access to the agency's huge database. the memo first reported by nbc news says a civilian employee has resigned after being reprimanded for giving snowden access to his password. acdorgd the memo, snowden tricked his fellow worker by getting him to enter his password at his computer terminal. general motors issuing a recall for hundreds of thousands of its older cars after six

deaths were linked to crashes. a faulty ignition switch that can cause the engine to shut off. alison kosik is live at the new york stock exchange to tell us more. >> reporter: this recall involving 778,000 vehicles specifically chevy cobalt and pontiac g 5s that were made between 2005 and 2007. true we've seen bigger recalls but here's what's scary about this one. six people died because of the problem with the ignition switch that causes two potential problems here. the engine can unexpectedly turn off because of the faulty ignition switch and air bags they don't deploy in accidents. gm says certain things trigger this like when the car is off loading or the switch is being jarred. another potential trigger, really heavy key rings meaning tons of keys weighing down the key chain. gm says what's been happening is those heavy key chains are jarring that ignition switch. also gm saying some people were

not wearing seat belts and that alcohol may have also been a factor in some of these accidents. carol, the cobalt pontiac g 5 those cars not made any more. these are older low cost cars valued at less than $4,000. people looking for a deal who bought them important to be aware of these problems. if you own one of them the dealer will replace the ignition switch, take knit to a dealer. >> alison kosik, many thanks. still to come a tennessee couple is dead after a package bomb explodes inside their house. now the police have charged their son in law in connection with their deaths. jean casarez is following the story for us. good morning. >> reporter: there's no other way to say it. it happened in the home. this elderly couple retired. they were blown up by this package bomb. the grand jury returns an inditment and it was a shocker. we'll have more right after this. ♪

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a shocker in fn. a setzers who died as a result of a letter bomb were killed by their son-in-law. 49-year-old richard parker lived with his wife in a house behind the victims. so far no motive in this case. john setzer retired attorney died instantly when the bomb exploded. his wife died at the hospital two days later. the bomb went off at their house lebanon, tennessee 30 miles east of nashville. jean casarez is following the story from new york. she joins us with more. >> reporter: this has been an investigation that's been going nonstop since monday. you got the fbi, the atf, homeland security, tennessee bureau of investigation along with state authorities and

finally they called a press conference because they said we've got information. federal and state law enforcement officials announced they have charged this man, 49-year-old richard parker in the alleged package bomb murders of retired tennessee couple jon and miriam setzer and then a bomb shell. parker is their son-in-law. >> after hearing that evidence, they returned a two count indictment, a felony first degree murder, two count indictment premeditated. >> reporter: parker and the victim's daughter live in a house right behind the setzers. they share a common driveway. parker allegedly placed the package somewhere in front of the main house on monday. another source told cnn parker left a note. >> it was clearly a functioning

disruptive device and killed those two people. >> reporter: the bomb exploded after 74-year-old john setzer a retired civil lawyer brought it inside. he was killed instantly. his wife 72-year-old miriam died later. the family pastor said no one could understand why parker would allegedly do this. >> his own wife of more than 20 years did not nor did his children, you ask all the questions in your own mind how. why? all of those things. and there's no answers at this point for those questions. >> reporter: so that is right, the man that's charged with these crimes, richard parker is married to the daughter of the retired couple that he allegedly blew up. carol, he's on $1 million bail right now awaiting his first court appearance. may i remind you in tennessee they have the death penalty and this is a double homicide. >> does this guy have a clean record? >> reporter: he has an arson

conviction from 1993, which very interesting. he was on probation for a number of years. that in a sense shows the mindset. remember he's innocent until proven guilty of these crimes. but the pastor in his interview last night on anderson cooper talked about a confession that he had made. we've not yet confirmed this. authorities will not talk about the investigation. but that's what possibly helped authorities to then go to the grand jury late yesterday afternoon. >> jean casarez reporting live from new york. thank you. still to come, comcast is selling its proposed deal with time warner to customers and congress. >> reporter: good morning, carol. this will be a big sell for consumers. customer satisfying is low. cable bills already sky-high. i'll tell you what this merger means to you and whether it will really happen after the break. [ male announcer ] this is the cat that drank the milk... [ meows ] ...and let in the dog that woke the man

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the proposed sale of time warner cable to comcast is proving a tough sell to customers. many are calling the merger evil. consumer groups were the first to blast the deal. now senator al franken is stepping into the fray slamming the proposed sale on "new day". >> 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 federal regulators to take at

that look at this and expressed my deep concerns. 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. >> and it seems the deal isn't being in handled so smoothly from inside the company either. according to a tweet by an "l.a. times" reporter on a conference call, comcast executive vice president said quote, we're certainly not promising that customer bills will go down or increase less rapidly. he actually said increase less rapidly. seriously? you're trying to sell me a deal by promising i'm not going to safe any money now and i won't save any money in the future. joining me now to discuss, christine romans. this just does not sound like a good deal for consumers even from comcast. >> reporter: on that same conference call the ceo called it pro consumer, pro competitive

and strongly in the public interest but he wouldn't promise that customer bills are going to go down or rise less rapidly. that was the big topic of conversation. look the average bill has been rising already for basic cable climbed from $39 a bill in 2000 to $78 in 2013. those fees are forecast to reach $110 by 2020. that's basic cable. before tacking on costs for premium channels and the internet. there are more and more bells and whistles to the services you're getting and providers would say it costs more to deliver them. this merger could limit your choices when you're shopping for cable providers especially like florida and north carolina they dominate. regulators could make comcast agree to certain conditions to prevent the kind of behavior that senator franken is talking about as they did in the comcast nbc universal deal.

regulators have to look hard that. this is a very big cable provider with a lot of power and leverage. cable bills are going up. no one in there is making any promises this will halt the rise of your cable bill. >> comcast has hired many, many lobbyists who are lobbying members of congress, right? >> reporter: that's the way it works. >> like the deck is always stacked against the consumer. >> reporter: so you always hear about people cutting the cord. we'll cut the cord. we'll use some other services. when you look at it the average person is still spending four hours a day in front of the warm glow of the television set. people like their tv. they like -- they want their cable service. more and more they are doing the triple bundle of phone and internet. >> write them as much as you can. >> reporter: it's a huge part of your budget and that part of your budget is rising just about anything else. health care, cable bills are two

things that don't seem over to go down and there's no question that in consolidation, as they get bigger and bigger, no sign that that's going to prevent them from going up or even going up more quickly. that's what -- this is -- this ball is in the court of regulators now to make sure they design a deal. >> i should tell people to call their congress person. that's all you can do, right? >> about all you can do and know your congress person success lobbied by a whole bunch of other people with a lot more money than you. carol, i call it like i see it. >> still to come, day three of jury deliberations in the loud music murder trial. why the jury was barred from viewing a key piece of evidence next.

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smoke? nah, i'm good. [ male announcer ] celebrate every win with nicoderm cq, the unique patch with time release smartcontrol technology that helps prevent the urge to smoke all day long. help prevent your cravings with nicoderm cq. good morning, again. i'm carol costello. it's 32 minutes past the hour. let's head out to the pennsylvania turnpike outside of philadelphia because there's a terrible accident right now. 75 or more cars involved in this. you'll see the front of this accident very soon and what caused it was a jackknifed tractor-trailer. it's across the turnpike. of course that caused other cars to slide into truck and as you can see caused many other cars to come to a sheet stop. now, driving conditions on the turnpike were so dangerous yesterday that authorities

actually had to close down parts of the turnpike. but as you can see they did a pretty good job in clearing off all of the snow but there's still black ice involved -- there's still black ice on the highways this morning. and that's probably why that tractor-trailer jackknifed. but right now, 75 cars or more on the pennsylvania turnpike at a complete standstill. there's another accident on the turnpike not far from this, that accident involves 30 cars. so if you plan on driving today, please, please be very, very careful. all right. let's talk about travel by air. because air travellers take heart today cannot be as bad as yesterday. today about 1300 flights are cancelled and that's just a fraction of yesterday's tally. more than 71 hunting flights were grounded from the south to the northeast. that made for the worst day for cancelations so far this winter. ashleigh banfield has trgone in

the mess. >> reporter: it's sunny it's beautiful, 35 degrees. but you know something that statistic you just read 7100 wasn't that right? 7100. so i'm just trying remember back to superstorm sandy and 7400 was that one day record. so we're real close in our cancelations yesterday with this storm. this massive storm. basically besting to hurricane sandy's cancellation it's been awful for anybody that needed to travel really anywhere. if you're in california, nevada, washington state, this northeast storm affects you because the planes and equipment you use come out of these hubs that have been affected. it's statistic day. carol look at it. statistics. you won't believe this. we're at 75,000 flights cancelled in 2014. if you want to know what that means to your pocketbook, you the viewer, somebody who actually flies or deals with all of the domino effects of these cancellations it's a cool $3 billion you take into your

wallet to the national wallet. $3 billion. as far as the airlines are concerned, u not so bad. only $200 million in lost flights that people didn't rebook. not so bad for them. pretty bad for them make no mistake but really bad for us. we really got jammed on this one. but i mention this to you, this is the morning after in new york city where we're involved into a hot mess. it's melting, wet and slushy. we're expecting yet another snowstorm couple of inches anyway but the temperatures are going to plunge to 16 degrees tomorrow and 11 degrees on sunday which means a lot of this can end up as black ice. it can get dangerous and yuki yet again. >> all i can say is spring is right around the concern. baseball catchers have reported to spring training. >> easy for you to say.

spring is around the corner, sister. get your butt up here. it hasn't been so great here. we're dealing with our own slushy mess. we're all in this together. spring is around the corner. >> happy valentine's day, beautiful. >> that's more like it, ashleigh banfield. happy valentine's day. thanks so much. we got to get serious. jurors return in florida today for a third straight day of deliberations in the so-called loud music murder trial. defendant michael dunn said he was afraid for his life when he fired his gun ten times on a parked suv full of teenagers killing 17-year-old jordan davis. three of those shots were fired while the suv was driving away. dunn is facing first degree murder as well as three counts of attempted murder. yesterday the jury asked to see a mannequin depicting jordan davis' wounds but the judge denied that request. earlier dunn's attorney spoke with chris cuomo about that request. >> the reason we were against the mannequin.

originally we didn't object. the problem was when the state removed benny, the rods, the dowels were taken out and then reinserted by the state attorney's own people and then they wanted the doctor to come in and readjust it. if you saw my cross-examination of the doctor there was no way i was going to allow this witness to try to re-enact that dummy. we did object. >> sunny hostin live in jacksonville. you've been there following this case. i would suppose that the jurors want to see this mannequin because they are trying to figure out whether jordan davis got out of that suv? >> reporter: absolutely. i think that this case is coming down to michael dunn's credibility, michael dunn's version of events. he testified which is very rare for a defendant to do in a first degree murder case. really almost in any case. i think they are dissecting his testimony. if they believe that jordan davis, if they believe michael dunn and jordan davis stepped out of that car with a shotgun,

tried to attack him, they may acquit in this case. i think this is going to be the crucial day. most juries do come back on a friday, they don't want to spend the weekend in sequestration. they have a lot of work ahead of them. i think they are almost done. when the judge released them for the night they don't look tired. they don't look like they are not cohesive. they look like they are prepared to continue doing some hard work. >> deliberations under way. we'll keep our eye on it. still to come, former olympian johnny weir known for those over the top outfits. he's not holding back. some people are confused about johnny wer. they say he's not doing enough to support gay rights. talk about that next.

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the fabulous johnny weir isn't competing at the winter olympics but still putting on quite a show in sochi with his attire. look at the outfits. leather leggings. hot pink jacket. he wears braids sometimes. broachs and wear this on television as an nbc analyst. johnny weir refused to call for a boycott of the olympics over russia's anti-gay laws. he explained why in an interview with keith olberman. >> it's a slap in the face to people who made me who i am. before a gay man, before a white man, i'm an olympian. a boycott would negate all that. we have to be here. we have to show putin what we're

about. my opinion being gay while i'm over the top and i'm a fob laws skater at the end of the day i'm a person. that's all i want to be a normal equal part of society >> he said that in his russian military outfit. that interview upset some gay rights activist saying johnny weir is only concerned about johnny weir about his own am big. others say his flambouyance is critical in itself. welcome, gentlemen. >> thank you. >> glad you're here. john i want to start with you because you've been critical of weir. why? >> because to paraphrase just because you're gay doesn't make

you and expert on lgbt reits. in that interview with keith olbermann he's comparing the lgbt society in russia to those in america. those people are being persecuted he's not doing the lgpt movement any favors. he needs to speak out against vladimir putin's laws. >> some people might say the way he dresses on national television, international television is a statement in itself. it? >> absolutely. i couldn't be more proud of johnny both as the editor of the newspaper where he writes a column, a friend and long time gay activist myself. he is demonstrating as he always has, even as a figure skater, when he won three u.s. championships and appeared in the olympics twice, by his

manner, by his behavior, by his way he carries himself and especially in these olympics where he's used his dress to make such an important statement, i mean just poking the russian system right in the eye by the way he's presented himself on camera and he's going to be on camera in about 15 minutes with today's free skate and can't wait to see what he's going to be wearing today. >> i'm sure a lot of people are with you. i want to pose this question to you. is there pressure for every gay person or lesbian at the olympics to make a strong statement against russia's politics? >> there probably is pressure but there shouldn't be. johnny weir is johnny weir and just because he's gay, i think john is right. i think just because he's gay doesn't make him a gay activist shore should he have to be a gay

activist just because he's gay. just because everybody who is african-american doesn't have to be an activist. i had this conversation with a friend about johnny weir and other people who have, who are out and proud. no one likes a gay minstrel show. >> what do you mean by that? >> somebody who is over the top those are the people who get day tension but they don't represent all of gay america and there's nothing bad about those people. but johnny weir doesn't have to represent all of gay people. johnny weir is fabulous. he is flamboyant. he is who he is. i met him several times. i like him. we should be happy that johnny weir is johnny weir and leave people like john becker if they want to be gay activists to be gay activists, people who do a

good job at it and let johnny weir be johnny weir. >> i want to pose this question to john. in that interview, johnny weir said i want people to see me as normal. and, you know, what is normal these days. no one really knows the answer to that question. but if you want to be accepted by a white audience is there a danger that your sending out a stereotypical image of gay america when you're too flamboyant. >> that's what i meant by gay minstrel show, carol. >> far be it for me johnny weir should be anything less than johnny weir. it's hard for me to accept the argument by dressing flamboyantly and being over the top he's taking a bold stand against vladimir putin and his government. he has not spoken out about these laws. >> i don't think he's saying that. that's not what he's saying. he's telling you i'm not take acbold stand. what i'm doing i'm going there

showing up and being myself and for him that's enough. for most people that should be enough. if he chooses not to be a gay activist he has every right as an american to do that. he has every right to come to it from his particular point of view. you have the right to criticize him. >> wait, wait. let john have his say, gentlemen. go ahead. >> i'm not disputing his right to do and say whatever he wants. i'm appealing to his conscience. silence in the face of that agree is at that lit agreement with that law. he's enabling putin's anti-gay law is to silence lgbt. you're staying silent and furthering the goals of that law. >> nicholas, last word. >> would you put that pressure on the hetereosexual athletes who are not standing up? that's a lot of pressure on every single gay athlete that

has a lot of pressure to governor there and perform. >> johnny's dress as an announcer in these olympics the way he's dressed his costumes when he was actively figure skating, this is not just him trying to draw attention to himself. he made it clear many times that he sees his doing this as a model for other people, for young kids around the whole country and the world to be able to look at him and look at how he's dressing and how he carries himself and say that, you know, if it's good for him, it's good for me. that he's trying to set an example that anybody should be the way they want to be. and be accepted and judged on their merits. i think johnny says he just wants to be normal he wants to be judged on his merits. he's a fabulous announcer, by the way. he and tara have done a terrific job at the olympics. brought more information and commentary and humor to their

announcing than i've seen in a very long time. and he was fabulous as a figure skater. >> so, you were right about that. i wish i could go on. this has been a fabulous conversation. i appreciate all of your opinions. it's been really enlightening. happy valentine's day to you guys too. >> . . . we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] this is jim.

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this valentine's day marks one year ago where oscar pistorius shot his girlfriend. he said he mistook her as an intruder and he issued this on his website. no words can adequately capture my feelings about the devastating accident that has caused such heartache for everyone who truly loved and continue to love. the loss of reeva and the complete trauma of her loss i will carry with me for the rest of my life. >> reporter: these exclusive pictures from a source close to oscar pistorius appeared to show

a young couple in love, intimate and personal. these would be some of the last photographs they would take together because on valentine's day morning, exactly one year ago it all ended. ois scar mioscar miss tore yas . >> i thought someone had been shot. they said, no, no, no, reeva has been shot. paraolympic and olympic star, oscar mipistorius has allegedly shot his girlfriend. he was arrested and charged with murder. he denied the murder charge. he says it was a tragic mistake,

that he thought she was an intruder. in just a few weeks, a high court judge will hear the case now. oscar pistorius murder trial will take place in this courtroom. it begins on the 3rd of march. the state has listed 107 witnesses. not all of them are expected to be called. we do expect to hear testimony from oscar pistorius' family, some of his ex-girlfriends as well as police forensics experts. they have their own forensic evidence. >> i think the state does want to get this case over with. they have booked the court for three weeks, i believe. they should be able to present at least the state case in those three weeks. >> after staying away from pistorius' previous court appearances reeva's mother and other family are expected to

attend the trial. they are looking for closure. here is what's all new in the next hour of "newsroom." ♪ >> as if that barbie song wasn't enough to make every mother cringe. now, "sports illustrated" has sparked a new backlash. coming up, barbie's new swimsuit edition. we'll talk about that in the sec hour of "cnn newsroom" after a break. i'm justine clark and this is heart health beat. ♪

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good morning. i'm carol costello. happy valentine's day. good luck getting flowers to or

from your sweetheart. right now on the pennsylvania tush pike, motorists venturing out are discovering travel can be pretty darn treacherous. as many as 100 vehicles have become entangled in this pileup. the east coast slogging through the slushy sloppy remnants of this week's nor'easter and americans wake up to a sobering statistic. in the 49 states, only florida is spared. the northeast power coming on, air travel lurching back from the worst day of cancellations. a new storm is winding up and heading east. you can put down the snow shovel but you can't put it away. >> i wish the winter would stop. we keep getting hit over and over. >> it has been very, very cold, one of the worst winters i have seen in a lot of time. >> cold, a lot of snow. it is coming down a little bit hard. >> i am so ready for spring to

come and summer and everything else. >> oh, aren't we all. ashleigh banfield is in the middle of the mess. she joins us live from new york. >> reporter: i'm an outdoorsy girl but this is ridiculous. it may look like a beautiful day and that the sun has come out, which it has. it is 35 degrees in new york city. with all this melt going up to 40 degrees today, there is a big risk of black ice. down to 16 tomorrow and 11 degrees on sunday. this risk and this danger, this threat isn't over yet sadly enough. very deceiving when you see this pretty image behind me in new york city. all told, 75,000 flights have been canceled in 2014. this is only valentine's day. what's your card and what's your gift? >> i know that you and i have probably joked at some point amid the flurry of blizzard-like

conditions that al roker, over in beautiful, balmy sochi had taken on the new york mayor over not closing the schools. as it turned out, only about 45% of the kids even showed up anyway. the "new york post," one of my favorite new york newspapers, i will put it up in the wind for you. it is really skewering the chance lors of the schools, guess what she said? it is absolutely a beautiful day out there. i am living proof that it was anything but a beautiful day out here yesterday. it was troublesome. this is still going on. i don't know if al roker and mayor de blasio are still going to have at her but this is still an issue. 1.1 million kids in the school district, all told to go to school. still an issue. today, what are we, 1200 flights? piece of cake. we are so used to seeing massive

flight closures or cancellations that 12 hundred doesn't seem that bad unless you are one of the people that have to fly today, steven, me producer. >> good luck, steven zv. thank you, ashley. >> reporter: sure thing as ashleigh mentioned, fewer flights have been canceled today. 1300 today compared to 7100 canceled on thursday. rosa florez is at new york laguardia airport. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, carol. i am convinced that mother nature is single. her boyfriend lives in new york city and he is trying to get out of laguardia. there are about 200 flight delays. we checked the mezry map. it has newark at the very top. we checked with the faa with about 200 delays coming out of there. in laguardia, about 139.

it makes flying quite miserable, specially, like you mention, if it is you who is stuck at the airport. thank goodness for things like this, our cell phones. i know i always get little updates on my cell phone. i always check before heading out to the airport. that's what a lot of people are doing. a lot of people are asking their airline, checking on line, to make sure they don't get stuck at the airport. instead, they are stuck at home. carol, again, lots of delays around the country. people have to pack some patient and cupid probably needs deicer on his wings for valentine's day. rosa florez, many thanks. we are all suffering together, right? lots and lots of people suffering, specially those stuck in the massive traffic jam. at least 100 vehicles are involved in this crash. in what we could see from earlier pictures, a

tractor-trailer jackknifed and that caused this massive traffic jam. it doesn't appear there are any serious injuries. i cannot say that for sure. it just looks like traffic has come to an absolute stand still. yesterday, i know authorities closed parts of the pennsylvania turnpike due to the weather and because of heavy snow. today, it is really cold outside of philadelphia. so you have black ice. that's probably what caused that tractor-trailer to jack knife. look at that backup. wow. my heart goes out to all of those people. it's bad enough to be driving on the turn bike, the most boring drive ever. you just want to get to where you are going. other top stories, an internal national security agency memo is

giving new insight into how edward snowden got access to the agency's huge database. it says a civilian employee has resigned after being reprimanded forgiving snowden access to his password. he tricked his co-worker by getting her to use it at his terminal. >> in tennessee, the son-in-law of a retired couple killed by a package bomb has been charged with their murders. police say richard parker left a note with the bomb but they are not revealing what that note said. friends of the retired couple are in shock. >> they were true christians and honorable people that i would trust to the end of the earth. what doesn't make sense. when i've heard it said that it was targeted, i thought, well, they must have targeted the wrong person. >> john setzer was killed

instantly. his wife died a few days later. some of america's wealthiest are at it again telling everyday americans to quit complaining about being poor. this is the ceo of fashion label, nicole miller. listen to what he said on cnbc. >> what is it that we make that anybody needs? nothing, nothing. so we've got a country that the poverty level is wealth in 99% of the rest of the world. we are talking about how woe is me and woe is us. >> our 99% are the 1% in the rest of the world. >> the figure is even bigger than that. >> i agree. >> thank you. >> so here we are incredibly wealthy. money is all over the place. the guy that's making oh, my god, he is make $35,000 a year. why don't you try that out in india or some countries we can't

even name, china. he is wealthy. >> christine, i'm just digesting that for a second. i'm a little gnaw nauseated. >> maybe he should live on $35,000 a year and maybe he can do it with a wife and four children and see what it is like. >> there is this drumbeat. this conversation among the 1% right now. you are hearing it a little bit more playing out in public, that there is this maligning of the top 1% and that it is not fair. now, we talked last week about sam zal a billionaire self-made millionaire. he said the 99% should emulate the top 1%. we heard last night a venture

capitalist. he said it is unfair that maligning of the top 1%. he said, when you have 47% of americans that don't pay taxes, that's a real problem. listen to what he says. >> the tom perkins system is, you don't get to vote unless you pay $1 of taxes. what i really think is that it should be like a corporation. if you pay $1 million in taxes, you should get 1 million votes. how is that? >> he later said, you know, people were expecting an outrageous answer from him and he believes it. you are starting to get this drumbeat from the top 1%, from the wealthiest americans who are saying, look, it is not fair to be somehow telling us that we are not paying our fair share. we are actually creating a lot of things. warren buffett does not share that view. he has said there is class warfare and the top 1% is winning the war. they have taken over.

the top 1% has caktaken 95% of income in the recovery. it has gone to the top 1%. some of these voices are saying it is not fair to malign them for it, carol. >> i find it fascinating that they are willing to come out and say these things. >> you haven't heard it. you are hearing it now more than you have even in the past year. these are kind of -- privately, people would say, to the victor go the spoils. work harder. there are too many people that aren't -- there is somebody in congress who said, too many people are in the wagon, not enough people are pulling the wagon. that's not good for america. you heard the makers versus takers conversation during the election. it is coming back here in the idea that there is this assault on the 1% from some people in the 1% who think they are being unfairly scrutinized for being the winners in the economy.

>> i'll just wrap this up by saying this again. it is not that people are jealous of the very well think's money. it is not that. it is like they feel that the system is stacked against those who are not making lots and lots of money. that's really it. >> the income games for the people in the middle have been going like this. the income games at the top have been going this. you feel that if you're in the middle. you really feel it. >> christine romans, thanks so much. i have to get back to our breaking news on the pennsylvania turnpike. there is the tractor-trailer that jackknifed. that's causing, oh, my goodness, hundreds and hundreds of cars. at least it looks like that. there are cars backed up all the way down the turnpike outside of philadelphia. margaret conley, we have you on the phone. are you in the middle of all this mess? >> yes. hi, carol. we were driving from abington.

we are near exit 343. it happened around exit 350. there are many injuries, no fatalities. the state troopers are saying 12-20 vehicles are involved, maybe more. they cannot confirm that at this moment. they are not going to get exact numbers until the weekend. there are two other accident areas near to where we are. again, no injuries, less cars involved there. two to three in one, three to five in another. there was a med i vac helicopter that did pull out somebody from one of those areas that person is in nonlife threatening conditions. we did ask if any of these accidents were weather related. as you know, there has been so much snow and ice. the state troopers say, no,

these are not weather related. just people driving too fast and following too closely. he is advising everybody on the roads to be very careful out there, carol. >> it is not weather related just driver irresponsibility. >> that's what the state trooper is saying. i asked him that several times. we saw all the weather that we had here. we are seeing a little bit of ice on the road. the sun is melting it. so i'm sure we will get more information soon. we are now sitting here. they do estimate in our area, we will be waiting here for three to four hours at least. >> 30 vehicles directly involved in that accident. as you might imagine, traffic backed, backed, backed way up from there. many drivers involved in this mess. we'll have much more when we come back. they lived. ♪ they lived.

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it's 17 minutes past the hour. they have worried that a college student with measles may have affected train riders. the university of california at berkley says the student likely contracted the highly contagious respiratory virus while traveling overseas. it can linger in the air for up to two hours aft infected person leaves the area. general motors recalling 750,000 of its older mod compact cars. it affects chevrolet cobalts and pontiac g-5, 2005-2007. drivers who have those cars can have their ignition fixed at a gm dealership. a federal judge in virginia has ruled the state's ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional.

they cannot tie the band yet. the rule is on hold. last mop last month, the new democratic governor promised he would not defend the marriage ban alfred white called his wife to say he was having car trouble and needed someone to pick him up. when his parents showed up to help, he was nowhere to be found. >> they led a search but called it off after only four days. his body was found a few days later. his family said he was the victim of foul play saying his throat was cut and other parts of his body were mutilated. the sheriff still will not call it a homicide. the justice department is taking over the investigation. here is cnn's debra feyerick. >> reporter: alfred wright's body was found less than 150 yards from where sheriff deputies had originally set up their search command post. >> how was he so close? we didn't find him.

it's not like he was miles away. he was right there. >> reporter: saying there was no foul play, sheriff tom maddox called off the search after only four days leaving family and friends to find the body on their own. >> his spirit spoke out to me and said, daddy, i knew you were going to find me. >> reporter: just as the sheriff had for seen, an autopsy did find drugs, three kinds, including meth. though his family insists they had never seen alfred do any drugs. >> i still know and believe wholeheartedly that someone did this to my husband. >> debra feyerick joins us live with more. >> you are going to have a special report this weekend? >> yes. saturday at 11:30 and again on sunday. there are so many questions involving how he disappeared and why he ran from his truck, his

truck after it had broken down right next to a gas station. most of all, the question is, why did the sheriff give up looking so quickly and why did he determine this was, in fact, drug related when there was no evidence suggesting that. the family has so many questions. they believe that alfred write was tortured and the drugs were pumped into his body sometime during his disappearance. all of that is being watched very closely by the justice department and having researched this story and gone down there a couple of times. you are not sure who is in charge. right now, the texas rangers have the investigation, the sheriff punted over to a different agency. the district attorney has recused himself. the attorney jgeneral has said e is not taking the case. right now, you have the rangers and the just department trying to see what they come up with. >> you can catch the cnn special, mysterious deaths at

7:30 and on sunday at 11:30 eastern. more on the 100-car pileup on the pennsylvania turnpike. bill capone, the chief of communications for the pennsylvania turnpike commission is on the phone. welcome, sir. >> hi, carol. >> from what i'm seeing, it looks terrible. what reports are you getting into your office? >> i didn't hear that. >> what kind of information are you getting about this accident? >> we don't have a whole lot of information from the scene. initially, we had an accident at about 8:25 this morning. it involved about ten cars and four or five tractor trailers and then obviously there was a series of secondary accidents coming in behind that accident that resulted in multiple chain reaction accidents. i heard you say 100 vehicles. i have not been able to confirm that in terms of total number of vehicles involved. some people are assuming it is more, because when you look at the camera views from some of the local affiliate tv station

helicopters, it shows all the traffic that's backed up behind it but many of those vehicles were not involved in the accident. they are just stuck in traffic behind the various accident scenes. >> it just looks unbelievable. how do you go about clearing this? >> obviously, our first priority is to attend to the injured. we had three minor injuries in the initial accident and they have all been transported by ground ambulance to local hospitals. now, we are trying to assess any injuries in some of these secondary accidents. we have personnel walking through the entire back lot checking on folks that may have been injured, people that may have special needs, medical or otherwise. state police is trying to sort out all the details. we're in the process of trying to remove some of the tractor trailers at the front of the accident to begin opening this up to traffic. it is going to be a long-term closure because of the sheer number of vehicles involved.

>> when you say long-term closure, what do you mean? >> it has been closed for almost two hours. given the vehicles that have been damaged, many cannot be repaired and it will be some time before they can be removed to open up the roadway. i don't have an estimated time of when the turnpike may be reopened but it is going to be probably several more hours before that can be done. we are -- we have closed traffic eastbound. so people have to exit at the turnpike prior to this event. >> tell me exactly where this is so people can avoid it. >> well, it is at the easte easternmost portion of the turnpike, nine or ten miles from the pennsylvania/new jersey line, the initial accident occurred at miles post 350 in bucks county, pennsylvania. the backlog goes back toward

willow grove which happens to be in montgomery county. it is eastern montgomery, western bucks county, 9 or 10 miles from the new jersey/pennsylvania line. >> bill capone, thank you. we appreciate t. >> thank you, carol. we'll be right back. ♪ [ chicken caws ] [ male announcer ] when your favorite food starts a fight, fight back fast with tums. heartburn relief that neutralizes acid on contact and goes to work in seconds. ♪ tum, tum tum tum tums!

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♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ the east coast slogging through what's left of this week's nor'easter. more storm is on the way after the latest storm dumped more than 2 feet in some places. erin mcpike is in walkersville,

maryland. >> reporter: good morning. the national weather service is urging drivers to be careful again today because of all of the freezing rain that came last night after the snow. this is really slick. that's making for another headache here today. look at how high this snow is. we have got about 19 inches here in walkersville. because of that freezing rain, this is really tough to get through. we do have somebody shoveling across over here today. there are lots of snow heaps today. i did see five people shoveling at 4:00 in the morning. this problem is not going away any time soon, carol. >> erin mcpike, thanks so much. after all this nasty weather, we hope you get your flowers oen that valentine's day. as you might imagine, the snowstorm that rolled up the east coast, it is a disaster for florist. they depend on a $2 million payday. flowers are delayed and shops

are scrambling to get flowers where they need to be. >> this is actualitily super bowl for florists. with the weather it just adds another element that we have to deal with. in virginia, we had a delivery where the snow had covered all the area and we couldn't identify the street. >> asking them to cooperate with us. we don't have any control over the weather. >> one florist tells "the washington post" that because of delayed delivery, some people may not get their flowers until sunday. he is calling it valentine's day weekend. that's the spirit. i'll be right back. are you flo? yes. is this the thing you gave my husband? well, yeah, yes. the "name your price" tool. you tell us the price you want to pay, and we give you a range of options to choose from. careful, though -- that kind of power can go to your head. that explains a lot. yo, buddy! i got this. gimme one, gimme one, gimme one!

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up. find out if your business can qualify at start-upny.com back to breaking news on the pennsylvania turnpike. this is bucks county, pennsylvania, kind of where this is but this goes on for miles and miles. cnn's margaret conley is stuck in the middle of this. >> reporter: carol, okchaotic i how the state trooper described this. we are on the pennsylvania turnpike headed east towards nuke. there are three accident areas. we are by exit 343. the accident area is near exit 350. the state trooper says there are 12-120 vehicles involved. there are no fatalities at this time but there are many injuries

in the first accident area. the second area is westbound between exit 351 and 343. two to three cars involved there. there are injuries but they are not life threatening at this time. the third area is about 10-15 miles behind us. there was a medvac helicopter that pulled out one person. there is that one injury is not life threatening. we understand we are going to be sitting here for three to four hours. we have been here for one hour at least already. we have seen ambulances heading in the opposite direction and ahead of us. there are official cars that have tried to squeeze by. which are watching a couple cars pull out in the opposite direction on the highway where we are. cars behind us are trying to turn around to get out of this area. the police are saying this was not because of slippery roads. i just talked to someone in the

pennsylvania turnpike conditions. he said, basically, the accidents were caused when three or four tractor trailers jackknifed suddenly. he said it was irresponsible drivers driving too fast. >> we have seen so much weather here causing all these pour out annals in some of the hardest hit areas in the country. the sun is out today. a lot of the ice is melt the down. we did see some ice on the roads early this morning. around 8:00 is when this accident occurred. the state trooper is saying, no, this is not weather related. he says, like you were saying, people are just driving ir sponlly. they a irresponsibly. >> margaret conley, thanks so much. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] this is the cat that drank the milk... [ meows ]

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in jacksonville, florida, michael dunn is on trial for killing a teenager in self-defense. they have been dlieliberating. they have asked the judge to see key pieces of evidence by he has refused but granted other requests. ashleigh banfield is following this story. >> we are over 13 hours of deliberations. a lot of people will say, don't read into the tea leaves. it is only 13 hours. i would tend to agree a lot of times in a lot of cases.

this case had only a week of testimony wechlt are not talking about the five-month phil specter murder trial. we are talking about a case that had very few days in the evidentiary case. i am surprised they are deliberating this long. that said, it is friday. it is often verdict day or hung jury day. i think we will probably get some kind of movement of some sort. they don't want to be there any longer than they have to but they also work saturday. maybe it is the friday before the saturday. one thing i find really interesting. they have a lot of material to go over from the judge, 40 pages of verdict form and then, of course, the jury instructions were up in the dozens and dozens, somewhere around 80 pages if i remember correctly. they have made some requests of this court as well. one in particular that was denied. it was a very visual request. we want the dummy. they worded it, we want the dummy with the sticks.

the mannequin with the dowling. they weren't allowed to get it. the defense attorney showing them what the m.e. had to say. that's a demonstrative piece of evidence. it is not entered into evidence. juries are only allowed to take actual real entries back there. they actually disputed this for a while. the judge came up on the bench and said, do you have some case law? it is up to y'all if you both agree. the dowling and dummies didn't go back into the jury room. this many hours, i don't think it bodes well in terms of the trial. i think this possibly could be a hung jury. certainly, there is a lot of discussion going on. >> we'll see. ashleigh banfield, many thanks. we'll be right back. [announcer] word is getting out.

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♪ i finally found the right snack ♪ ameriprise asked people a simple question: can you keep your lifestyle in retirement? i don't want to think about the alternative. i don't even know how to answer that. i mean, no one knows how long their money is going to last. i try not to worry, but you worry. what happens when your paychecks stop? because everyone has retirement questions. ameriprise created the exclusive confident retirement approach. to get the real answers you need. start building your confident retirement today. president is speaking right now in maryland. some democrats are up for re-election. they have been wary about being tied to the president, specially those from areas where the president's health care law is highly unpopular. let's listen to the president's remarks. >> she is putting in more miles than just about anybody i know

and all of you. it is great to see you. we just saw each other at the white house fairly recently. so i'm not going to give a long speech. let me make a couple observations since we saw each other. first of all, i stated in our state of the union that the single most important thing we have to do, not just as a party but as a country, is to make sure there is opportunity for every single person, that we are focused every single day in this town or in washington on making sure if you are willing to work hard and take responsibility, that you can get ahead. it doesn't matter where you live, what circumstances you were born into, what you look like, who you love, you should be able to make it here in

america. as i said at the state of the union, i want to work with congress to make that happen. i am not going to wait, because there is too much to do. american does not believe in standing still. america insists on going forward. we laid out some very specific ways we can move the country forward. breaking them down into a few categories. number one, creating more good jobs that pay good wages. number two, making sure that folks are trained to fill those good jobs. number three, making sure our kids have the best education in the world. number four, making sure that hard work pays off. that people aren't poor if they are working full-time. that they have some assemblage

of retirement security and they can count on health care if heaven forbid, something happens to them. already, we have put forth a range of executive actions that are going to make a difference. yesterday, for example, i had a chance to be with a group of minimum wage workers. for federal contractors. these are folks that are washing dishes and cleaning clothes on our military bases and facilities. sometimes the debates on capitol hill get so abstract. to be next to folks, average age, by the way, 35. these aren't teenagers, these are folks who are looking after families, trying to raise kids, and to see what it would mean to them for us to have a federal

minimum wage of $10.10 an hour, how much relief that would give them. how committed they were to the american dream and getting ahead and hoping somebody was standing up for them. it reminded me of why i'm a democrat. it reminded me of why i'm so proud of this caucus, because you are standing up on behalf of them. so we signed the executive order. these folks are going to get a raise. what i said yesterday is that now it's time for congress to act because america deserves a raise. i pointed out yesterday that the majority of low wage workers are women, which is why we are going to keep on pushing that we have equal pay for equal work and sensible family policies.

as i said at the state of the union, when women succeed, america succeeds. i still believe that. we have traveled to manufacturing plants in wisconsin to talk about how we can continue to accelerate and advance manufacturing and technology this this country. we have great possibilities to create hubs that keep us on the cutting edge. we signed executive orders to advance the kind of job training that is going to help people get trained for the jobs that actually exist and link up businesses with our community colleges. we have already, through executive action, set up a new retirement account, my ira, that

allows folks to get a start retirement, because a whole lot of people don't have 401(k)s to save. across the board, we're moving. but, as i said, at the state of the union, i want to repeat today, we can get a whole lot more done if we've got congress working with us. this caucus has shown time and time again, under the most difficult circumstances, the kind of courage and unity and discipline. >> i was just talking to nancy before i came out here. the fact that we are no longer going to see, i believe, anybody try to hold our government hostage and threaten the full faith and credit of the united states of america in order to contract policy concessions. the fact that we were able to pass a clean debt limit is just

one example of why when you guys are unified, you guys stick together, this country is better off. i could not be more thankful and more appreciative and prouder of what you are doing. a couple more points. number one, you have seen reports over the last couple of days that we actually slightly exceeded our targets for aca signups and enrollments this past month, in the month of january. we now have well over 3.5 million people who have signed up and are getting insurance through the marketplace for the first time. that does not count the close to 7 million folks who have signed up for medicaid because of a law that you passed or the 3 million young people that are staying on their parents plans. we are starting to see day that that the uninsured rate is coming down. we are going to keep on pushing on this to make sure that here in america, everybody can enjoy

the kind of financial security and peace of mind that good quality health insurance provides. i want to say thank you for all of you hanging in there tough on an issue that i think ten years from now, five years from now, we are going to lock back and say, this was a monumental achievement. it could not have happened had it not been for this caucus. finally, there are some big things that we have to do that i cannot do through executive action where we have to get congress and where the american people are on our side a federal minimum wage law is one of them. another, though, is making sure we have a smart immigration policy that gross our economy, if gets people out of the shadows, makes sure that our businesses are thriving. that's got to be a top priority. we are going to have to keep working on that. i believe frankly that there are folks on the other side of the

aisle who genuinely want to see this done but they are worried and they are scared about the political blowback. look, everybody here is an elected official. we can all appreciate the maneuverings that take place, particularly in an election year. when it comes to immigration reform, we have to remind ourselves that there are people behind the statistics, lives being impacted. punting and putting things off for another year, another two years, another three years, it hurts people. it hurts our economy. it hurts families. part of what i would like to think makes us democrats is not simply some abstract idealogical set of beliefs but the fact that we're reminded every single day that we're here to help a whole

bunch of folks out there, our neighbors, our friends, our communities, who are struggling still and need our help. they are counting on us. the good thing is, they have got some outstanding members of congress who are willing to fight for them regardless of the political cost, starting with your leader, nancy pelosi. i am grateful for you and i'm looking forward to making sure that this year we keep on making progress even if we continue to get a little resistance from the other side. it is important for us to lead that process. thank you very much. all right. thank you.

>> we would ask that the media leave, please. apparently, the president is going to take questions from the democratic lawmakers not in the presence of the media. you heard the president talk about income equality. joining us, jim acosta and peter hamby. >> jim, let's start with you. why did the president choose to go is there and then speak? >> well, at least before they kicked us out, they referred to us as the friends in the media. we can be grateful for that, carol. the president is not on the ballot this year. he is not running for re-election. his name might as well be. that's why you heard the president at this house democratic retreat in maryland sort of package these democratic ideas for the upcoming mid-term

elections. talking about raising the minimum wage, talking about immigration reform. interesting that the president also sort of took a victory lap there on the debt ceiling bill. he got what he wanted. he got a clean debt ceiling bill. this was very much according to white house officials about the president's agenda for the coming year, an opportunity agenda as they call it. he is going to be using those executive actions when congress won't go along with him. interesting to point out what vice president joe biden said. he ripped into republicans. sounded like a guy thinking about unarirunning for presiden. >> there isn't a republican party. i wish there was. i wish there was a republican party, one person you could sit across the table from, make a deal, make a compromise and know

when you got up from that table, it was done. that's what nancy is able to do. that's what the president is able to commit to. >> interesting to hear the vice president pull out the partisan knives at the same retreat earlier this morning. you were mentioning at the top of all of this that there are some candidates on the balance lat that don't necessarily want the president out there with him campaigning. we did hear that from a democratic source last week. it will be interesting to see if he says the same thing at the retreat in maryland. they are saying that the president is going to be doing a lot of campaign fund-raisers. if they don't want him on the stump, they want him raising money. >> what kind of questions, peter, will lawmakers ask of the president? >> these house retreats are for messaging points, talking

points. they want to know how they should talk about and frame these issues as they go out on the campaign trail. i am interested once we talk to house members after this meeting what sort of things leak out. democrats are not confident that they are going to take back the house this year. they are pretty clear that reclaiming the house is pretty much not an option this fall. i want to -- i'm anxious to hear how optimistic the president is in talking to house members about that, carol. >> peter hamby, jim acosta. thank you for joining me. at this hour with berman and michaela after a break. humans -- even when we cross our "t's" and dot our "i's," we still run into problems. that's why liberty mutual insurance offers accident forgiveness with our auto policies.

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having sex a little less lately. maybe you are asking your husband to do household chores. we are going to try to get to the bottom of it on valentine's day. hello, everyone. i'm john berman. >> i'm michaela pereira. so glad to have you with us. those stories and more. this is the winter that keeps on giving in a bad, bad way. the snow days, the flight delays, the flight cancellations. they are adding up costing the economy millions, and millions of dollars. >> a third day of jury deliberations in the so-called loud music trial is underway. jurors are deciding right now whether michael dunn killed jordan davis in cold blood or self-defense. dunn is a 47-year-old white man. davis was black and 17. he was shot dead in a dispute