making news in america this morning -- polar blast. millions of people in the grip of brutally cold temperatures that are shattering records. we're tracking the dangerous conditions moving across the country. deadly crash. a plane burst into flames after going down at an airport. how weather likely played a role. and the celebrities who witnessed it all. mystery solved. why one family's prayers are answered after this image of a homeless man made its way to a newspaper. 16 feet long and 10 feet high. creative kids use a lot of snow to create an epic snow sculpture.

good morning, i'm muhammad lila in for john muller. >> and i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. we begin with the brutal cold. that is sweeping across much of the continent. the latest weather map shows the polar vortex pushing superfrigid air from the north pole as far south as louisiana. >> highs today across a wide swath of the midwest will be well below zero. in chicago, where the schools today will be closed, overnight temperatures at minus 20 degrees. st. louis, heavy snow is falling with forecasters calling for up to a foot of snow. some folks in st. louis are resorting to ditching their shoes in favor of cross-country skis, as you see right there, like this man in university city. we have more from mary bruce in washington. >> reporter: there's cold and then there's this. bitter, bone-chilling, freezing air sweeping across half of the continental u.s.

an arctic blast plunging temperatures to lows not felt in decades. >> it was just getting nice and balmy, 7 below. >> reporter: wind chill warnings. 8 below in cleveland, 12 below in pittsburgh. it's so cold in chicago, residents bracing for the big chill now calling their city chi-beria. the brutal freeze is downright dangerous. in minneapolis, so cold, frostbite can occur in just five minutes. midwest cities including chicago and all of minnesota canceling classes. the blinding snow, ice, and freezing rain have made roads treacherous. airport runways are a slick hazard. at chicago o'hare, this plane slid off the runway. inside the airport, stranded passengers are frustrated. airlines warning it could take days to get people to their final destinations. >> i just want to go home. i just want to get back settled

in. we've been cooped up for two days. >> reporter: but the brutal cold is not stopping everyone. green bay packers fans turned blue sunday, braving 5-degree weather for a sold out game against the san francisco 49ers. >> i have four layers of long johns. two sets of snow pants. four shirts, a sweatshirt, and a coat. >> reporter: mary bruce, abc news, washington. >> abc's mary bruce in washington, thank you so much. forecasters are keeping an eye on this extreme cold. >> accuweather's marja martinez continues our coverage. >> it will be bone-chilling and blustery in the north central region and the upper midwest. on this monday. temperatures will only climb up to negative 26 in minneapolis. around sioux falls, negative 34. negative 36 is the high in grand forks. this cold weather is shifting over to the northeast, the

southeast, and south central. there's a storm system that will usher the cold in. before it does, we'll have rain, we'll have freezing rain on some roadways along i-95 toward i-81. and some heavy lake-effect snow in the wake of the system in the lee of the lakes. the southeast will get some of the coldest weather they have had in years. now back to you, marci and muhammad. >> accuweather's marja martinez, thank you. elsewhere, rain showers up and down the southeast coast all the way into florida could cause problems with black ice. as the temperatures drop. >> rain showers for the pacific northwest. across the southwest, sunny and mild. 77 for the high in l.a. it appears weather may have been a factor in a deadly plane crash at the aspen airport. investigate nrs colorado say the pilot was forced the abort the first landing because of gusty winds. on the second try, the private jet crash-landed and burst into

flames. as horrified eyewitnesses looked on. >> it came that way to this way, it was moving. then it was doing this. it hit and flipped and there was smoke and it had a big ball of flames. >> and some of the witnesses included celebrities. kevin nealon and leann rimes took to social media to share photos and comments. the pilot was killed and his two passengers were critically hurt. all of the victims were mexican citizens. meanwhile, new developments overnight in the case of the california teenager at the center of the emotionally-charged story. over her care. the body of jahi mcmath has been turned over to her family. the 13-year-old was declared brain dead after routine surgery last month. her mother fought in court to keep her daughter connected to life support. the girl is expected to be taken to a long-term care facility. and there's a major political story breaking overnight. liz cheney is dropping out of the u.s. senate race in wyoming. cheney, whose father is the

former vice president, could make the announcement as soon as today. the campaign has faced major obstacles, including a well publicized fight with her sister over gay marriage. the latest polls show her 30 points behind. after another violent day in iraq, secretary of state john kerry says the u.s. is concerned about the fighting in iraq. he made it clear that american troops will not be sent in to help. kerry continues his mideast tour this morning. back in israel after a quick trip to saudi arabia and jordan. he indicated yesterday that iran might be allowed to participate in talks on syria set for later this month. pope francis will also be heading to the middle east. while giving his weekly blessings at the vatican, he announced plans to travel to israel, the west bank, and jordan in may. he said the trip will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the meeting in jerusalem between pope paul vi and the spiritual leader of the orthodox christians at the time. here at home, it's back to

work for president obama and back to school for the first daughters. on this first monday of the new year. the president will receive his daily briefing with vice president biden and later meet with advisers. the first lady is extending her vacation. sticking around hawaii for a few extra days with friends to celebrate her birthday. she turns 50 on january 17th. dennis rodman and a group of former nba stars are in north korea ahead of their exhibition basketball game there. before leaving beijing this morning, rodman said the trip was meant to show that quote, not every country in the world is that bad, especially north korea. rodman's team will play a north korean team on wednesday. the game is in celebration of kim jong-un's birthday. well, turning the page into the future. wait until you see what this country's newest library doesn't have. and deadly fire. smoke and flames high above the

streets of manhattan. the dramatic video and live tweeting from a person trapped inside. and the playoff picture. a wild sunday full of freezing football fans and a game that went right down to the wire. we'll have all of your highlights coming up from espn.

welcome back. overnight, we learned that j.p. morgan chase has reached a $2 billion settlement in the bernie madoff case. the bank ignored warning signs that madoff was running a ponzi

scheme. a portion of the $2 billion will be set aside for madoff's victims. meanwhile, a historic vote set to take place in the senate today. janet yell len en is expected t become the first woman to chair the federal reserve. if confirmed, he woushe would s ben bernanke. at&t paying up to lure customers. at&t is offering t-mobile users up to $450 in credit to switch providers. analysts call it a preemptive strike. they say t-mobile is planning a similar announcement this week. and launching a preemptive strike on airplane boarding chaos. a new study shows that airlines could cut board lg time by boarding passengers based on the number of carry ons, rather than

where they're seated. large carriers like delta could save up to $10 million a year in time savings. frozen appears to be the theme outside and inside movie theaters this weekend. disney's animation retook the box office top spot this week end. paranormal activity -- "the marked ones" debuted in second place. with the how about, the desolation of smaug coming in third. and a first in san antonio, texas. the new face of the public library. >> the nation's first bookless library looks less like a library and more like an apple store, featuring rows of glossy imacs, instead of stacks of books. the library yans had matching shirts and hood dis. >> one 19-year-old complained that staring at a tablet and a computer screen hurts her eyes. when we come back,

widespread worries. cases of the flu on the rise. new information about which states are most affected. and holiday miracle. a photographer documenting the bitter cold takes this picture and unknowingly solves one family's mystery. ♪ [ cellphones beeping ] ♪ [ cellphone rings ] hello? [ male announcer ] over 12,000 financial advisors. good, good. good. over $700 billion dollars in assets under care. let me just put this away. [ male announcer ] how did edward jones get so big? could you teach our kids that trick? [ male announcer ] by not acting that way. ok, last quarter... [ male announcer ] it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. ♪ but real meat will bring them into yours. sheba® pates start with real meat as the first ingredient.

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you can use splenda® no calorie sweetener. ♪ splenda® lets you experience the joy of sugar without all the calories. it's a very good reason to enjoy something sweet with the ones you love. think sugar, say splenda™ you're looking at video from jefferson city, missouri. where the state's department of transportation has issued a no travel advisory for the duration of the latest snowstorm. they're asking everyone to stay off the roads unless it's a real emergency. parts of missouri expected to get a foot of new snow. now for a look at morning road conditions. icy conditions and snow make the roads dangerous across the northeast and midwest. slick across the southeast coastline because of rain.

look out for black ice with the falling temperatures 37. and if you're flying, airport delays are possible in new york, boston, philly, d.c., charlotte, at lalanta and chica. investigators are trying to find the cause of a deadly fire that ripped through the new york high-rise. >> the flames could be seen blocks away. one man was killed and another critically injured as frantic tenants scrambled to get out. people had to be rescued. >> is smoke is so intense and silent. and we put right away wet towels inside our door. that was really the moment where i was seriously scared to death. >> the man who died has been identified as daniel mcclung, a 27-year-old newly wed. firefighters say he might have survived if he waited inside his

armt. the search continues for the killer behind a terrifying road rage incident if pennsylvania. timothy davidson was shot near the maryland border. he made several desperate 911 kals saying he was being fold by a pickup and someone was shooting at him. the other drive ran his suv into the median, got out of his truck, and shot him. >> he was on 911 for the majority of this incident. so we are reviewing the tapes right now. rooer hoping to get more information that might help us find out what happened. >> and davidson was on his way home to maine after visiting relatives in florida over the holidays. the nation's frigid temperatures come as flu season kicks into high gear. the centers for disease control say there are outbreaks in all parts of the united states. at least six children's death are being blamed on the flu along with dozens of adult

deaths. texas, south carolina, and utah are the states most affected. a missing man from upstate new york has been reunited with his family thanks to an amazing coincidence. nick simmons disappeared last week. his friends and family immediately launched a search for the 20-year-old. >> then they happened to see this photo in a local paper. it was a picture of nick taken in washington, d.c. they managed to track down the photographer and eventually nick was found. wonderful reunion. now to sports. and at this time of the year, sports really means one thing. football. >> the nfl is down to eight teams with super bowl dreams. highlights now from sunday's wild card games from espn. good morning, america. i'm john buccigross. aaron rodgers faced off against colin kaepernick. temperature at game time was a balmy five degrees.

no sleeves for kaepernick. his team down, 17-13, makes a beautiful pass to vernon davis for a touchdown. it gives the niners a 20-17 lead. now it's 20-20. trying to drive for the game-winning field goal. the big play of the game on third down, scrambles for a first down. they get closer and closer for phil dawson. 33-yarder, just sneaks inside the right upright and the niners move on to play the carolina panthers next sunday. earlier in the day on sunday in cincinnati, philip rivers and the chargers in town. a beautiful pass to green. rivers, 12 of 16, 128. andy dalton, melvin ingram. perfect reading of the route. bengals had four turnovers, the chargers zero. the chargers move on and face the broncos next. college football's national championship game is tonight. number one florida state.

number two auburn in pasadena. you can see the game, of course, on espn. coverage begins at 8:00 eastern. part of the megacast that includes coverage on every espn network. >> that's a lot of football. we mentioned eight teams still left. here's what they're getting ready for this coming saturday. the saints face off against the seattle seahawks. the indianapolis colds visit new england to take on the patriots. >> then on surngsd as espn mentioned, it's the 49ers against the panthers in north carolina. and the chargers travel to denver. up next, "the pulse" where everyone has the blues. today is considered the most depressing day. and the tip of a lifetime. just wait until you hear what a waitress received from a very generous customer.

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♪ welcome back. time now to check "the pulse," the stories you'll be talking about today. we start with a warning. be wear are of the blues. >> today is the most depressing day of the year. analyzing the first monday back to work drives home the grim realities after the holidays. >> most of the worries predictable. worrying about the sleep, the weather, and will power. folks already cheating on their new year's resolutions. >> are you keeping up with yours? >> i didn't make any. next up, "the bachelor" it starts for real tonight right here on abc. this season, the star is juan

pablo galliviste. his turn as the bachelor has our network calling this month juan-uary. clever, right? >> he's a 32-year-old single dad w who was born in the u.s. and grew up in venezuela. his family told him to wait 15 minutes and brush his teeth between make yoout sessions. three brothers have put the weather to creative use. check out the snow sculpture. the snow shark stands about ten feet tall. >> it took nearly 100 hours to put together. the fins and tail took about ten hours in total. most people shoveling snow. those guys doing that. it's shaping up to be happy new year for a waitress if

lincoln, neb member. she got the tip of a lifetime. we'll show you what she got coming up. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia... thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can significantly relieve fibromyalgia pain. for some, as early as the first week of treatment. now, i can do more with the ones i love. lyrica is not for everyone. it may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, changes in eyesight including blurry vision, muscle pain with fever, or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. with less fibromyalgia pain, i'm feeling better with lyrica. ask your doctor about lyrica today.

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while i was on a combat patrol my c in baqubah, iraq,nned out. a rocket-propelled grenade took my arm off at the shoulder. when i came home, i felt alone. my family was around me, but i couldn't talk to them about what i'd seen and what i'd done. i remember just thinking, man, the way i am right now, i don't want to live. i was discharged from the army, and i've been working with the wounded warrior project since 2007. warriors don't have to be severely wounded to be with the wounded warrior project. we do have a lot of guys that have post-traumatic stress disorder. being able to share your story, i guess it kind of helps you wrap your mind around what did happen over there. just because you've left the military doesn't mean your life is over, because when these guys are coming home, i'm kind of leading and training them, instead of for combat, i'm leading and training them to heal. and if i come away with anything from the wounded warrior project, it's them giving my life back. my name is norbie, and yes, i do suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, but i'm okay.

live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. good morning, everyone, happy post holiday monday. >> it is 2014, isn't it? wow, i missed the week. here i am and here is mike with the forecast. everyone else is going back to work today? >> and school. >> not too soon. >> live doppler 7 hd shows increase in high clouds. there is no rain. clear air. from east bay hills to san francisco, probably not record temperatures but above average, temperatures in the low-to-mid 60. she is back. with the traffic. ladies and gentleman, leyla gulen. >> thank you for the introduction, mike. good morning, everyone. very happy new year.

we have video, a police pursuit and c.h.p. involved through lafayette with a lot of law enforcement activity. you can see there was a pursuit that ended here. it looks like an old are four-door car crashed with some people in there and they ended up running. they are looking for suspects. as the information is available, this is where it is off of highway 24 not causing any traffic. the top speed use make the drive from walnut creek to lafayette. 4:29. developing news, the 13-year-old oakland girl who was left brain dead after a routine operation is en route to a new care facility this morning. jahi mcmath was released from children's hospital oakland last night. amy hollyfield is in the

newsroom with that story this is what the family wanted? >> the family is delighted. her uncle tweeted jahi mcmath is free from children's hospital oakland. he shot the video of ambulance carrying her away from children's hospital oakland. the family will not say where she was taken only saying another facility has agreed to care for her and she will have a feeding tube inserted this morning. her family believes she is still alive although doctors have declared jahi mcmath and the coroner issued a death certificate but the family is still praying for her recovery. >> if i can help her through another 10 years or on years or 40 years or 50 years, i would rather have that then see her taken away from the hospital in a bag the. >> the cause of death is pending. i asked that specific question of the coroner, what happens if and when