making news in america this morning, polar express. cars frozen to the ground, trains trapped by snow and whipping winds creating dangerous conditions. when is the deep freeze moving out? freeway scare. a car goes over an overpass crashing down below and it's the low temperatures that likely saved the driver's life. bizarre outburst. dennis rodman lashes out on live tv. >> what the hell you thinking. >> what the former nba star is saying to defend his current trip to north korea. and intense and adorable performance. the toddler's version of a miley

cyrus hit quickly going viral. ♪ you came in like a wrecking ball i never -- nice music to start your day with. good wednesday morning, i'm muhammad lila. john muller is off today. >> i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. the dangerous deep freeze across the country is leaving its mark with record temperatures and deadly conditions. >> so far there are at least 21 deaths confirmed related to the cold. all 50 states dipped below 32 degrees at some point yesterday. even hawaii, where it was 25 at the top of a volcano and records have fallen in dozens of cities. our coverage begins with abc's mary bruce. >> reporter: merciless unrelenting cold is paralyzing the u.s. you have been spared the frigid wrath of this jarring deadly

arctic cold snap. >> it hurts. it hurts. >> freezing. freezing. can't feel my face. >> numb and i'm pregnant so we're both numb. >> reporter: the polar express making much of the u.s. look like the north pole, blinding blizzards, lake-effect snow, walloping buffalo and upstate new york. the icy niagara river looking more like a glacier. >> looks like something out of national geographic. >> reporter: lake michigan is steaming cold. the water far warmer than the freezing air. it's called a polar vortex and it's wreaking frozen havoc on the nation's airports, rails and roads. cars in pennsylvania frozen to the ground when a nearby water main break met the icy air. >> my first thoughts were, oh, my god. >> reporter: drivers in indiana stranded by whipping winds and blowing snow. >> they said right now we cannot send anyone out to get you. they declared a state of

emergency and i'm sorry but good luck. >> reporter: 500 amtrak passengers trapped by snow made their way home after a hellish night. >> sitting on a train was rough. >> reporter: after more than 7,000 flights were canceled in the last two days, finally signs of a thaw. >> available outside if you want to check in much the lines are not long. >> reporter: for now, officials continue to urge residents to stay indoors, but relief is on the way. temperatures are expected to rise above freezing by the end of the week. mary bruce, abc news, washington. >> thank goodness some optimism from mary about those rising temperatures. >> of course, the question is is that optimism here to stay? the forecast right now and for that we're joined by accuweather meteorologist jim dickey. good morning, jim. >> good morning, marci and muhammad. another cold one this morning. these are expected early morning lows down to 1 in pittsburgh. minus 2, detroit. not nearly as cold as we were this time yesterday. minus 16, though, still frigid in minneapolis down to minus 33

in bismarck but the pattern changing. warm things up. this was the pattern yesterday and today as well. it will be lifting its back northward. significant warm-up that continues till the end of the week. by the weekend many spots back to the 50s. marci and muhammad, back to you. >> we haven't had too many positive things to say about these frigid conditions. in the case of a minnesota woman the teps may have saved her life. >> keep your eye on the overpass where a surveillance camera caught the woman's pickup track crashing into the guardrail then plunging dozens of feet below. she and her truck landed on a pond that had completely frozen. it was so solid that it didn't even break when she hit it and she was able to come away with only a few minor injuries. >> glad she made it out okay. another deadly avalanche in the rockies. this time one was killed and three injured while skiing in vail, colorado. the victim was 24-year-old anthony seibert, the grandson of

the man who founded the vail mountain. the three skiers rescued from the back country slide are expected to recover. this latest death is the fifth in the rockies in just the last two weeks. and we are following a developing story from canada. not far from the u.s. border, a train carrying hazardous materials has derailed and caught fire in a sparsely populated area of new brunswick. 16 cars went off the tracks including four carrying crude oil and four carrying propane. crews have not been able to get close enough to the derailment to figure out exactly what happened. and this latest derailment comes more than a week after a train carrying crude oil in north dakota derailed and exploded. new york senator chuck schumer is joining a growing number of politicians demanding more federal scrutiny over railcar safety. four crew members have been killed in a helicopter training depth in england. the helicopter assigned to the

48th fighter wing was flying low over a salt marsh. it was based at a royal air forcetation not far away. it may have been hit by a bird while flying over the marsh. and upcoming vote by former defense secretary robert gates unloads some especially harsh criticisms of the white house. gates is taking aim at president obama over afghanistan but saves his most cutting words for vice president joe biden. here's abc's jonathan karl with all of the details. >> reporter: for two years he was the president's point man on the most important national security decisions, the end of the war in iraq, the escalation of the war in afghanistan. he was there in the situation room the night bin laden was killed. but it turns out robert gates had deep misgivings about the president he served. in a soon-to-be published book now leaking out gates writes that during one white house meeting on afghanistan "i thought the president doesn't trust his commander, can't stand karzai. doesn't believe in his own

strategy and doesn't consider the war to be his. for him it's all about getting out." his harshest criticism is of vice president biden, a man of integrity but "i think he has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades." in response to all this the white house put out a statement saying that the president deeply appreciates bob gates' service to our country and that he welcomed differences of opinions among his national security team but that when it comes to vice president biden, the president strongly disagrees with gates' assessment calling biden, "one of the leading statesmen of our time." jonathan karl, abc news, the white house. all right, back to the weather now. we want to show you some more stunning images from all of the deep freeze we've been feeling. >> take a look at this. this car is not going anywhere any time soon. in baltimore, maryland, a water main busted right next to this parking spot. the water quickly froze leaving a layer of ice covering the car.

>> and this image from down the shore. a member of a police department on long beach island, new jersey, took this picture showing a frozen barnegat bay along with an ice covered bench. >> take a look at this picture. an area photo of chicago taken from a plane and posted to twitter showing the windy city encased in ice. >> wow. >> yeah, well, say it ain't so. a shortage of a super bowl party staple may result in fewer dips. and busted. the fraud connected to the 9/11 attacks is nothing new but wait till you see who is accused in this latest case. plus a high-profile homicide. a beauty queen's murder is bringing a big problem in her country to light.

welcome back. those frigid temperatures we told you about have had a harsh effect on some industry. one example, jetblue, which lost nearly $1.5 billion because of all those canceled flights, and the cold has hurt oil production, which could ultimately hit you right in the wallet. analysts say decreased production may lead to higher gas prices down the road. the nation's largest bank will have to pay a heavy price for its role in bernie madoff's ponzi scheme. jpmorgan chase has agreed to pay a record $2.6 billion to settle criminal charges and civil claims for ignoring obvious and ongoing signs of fraud. marriott has officially opened the tallest hotel in the

western hemisphere, and it's right here in new york city. the 68-story tower is home to a courtyard hotel and residence inn and reaches 753 way up into the sky. from the top, they say you can look west and see all the way to pennsylvania. >> very cool. and finally with another weekend of nfl playoffs just days away, brace yourself for this. kraft says some customers may not find any velveeta cheese on store shelves. >> the company is blaming the, quote, nature of manufacturing for any shortage that velveeta lovers might be experiencing, but some major supermarket chains say they aren't experiencing any shortages. skeptics say it is a, ba dum dum, cheesy attempt at publicity. >> all right, stay with us. when we come back, diet drug crackdown. federal regulators are going after a popular product that they say doesn't work at all. and can you spot the problem here?

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♪ hotwire.com book with our app for an additional... $25.00 off your next hotel. all right, welcome back. plan on another morning of treacherous road conditions. be on the lookout for ice everywhere in the midwest stretching into the northeast, and expect whiteout conditions around buffalo and syracuse. but, hey, guess what, if you're flying, you're in luck. only one airport expecting some delays today, and that airport is miami. well, here in new york a shocking case of fraud involving dozens of retired officers, firefighters and jail guards. prosecutors say the retirees faked illnesses in order to get millions in disability benefits. >> many are accused of falsely claiming that their conditions arose after the 9/11 attacks. they were allegedly taught how to fail memory tests and how to act like people suffering from depression or ptsd. >> i can only express disgust at

the actions of the individuals involved in the scheme. >> one retired police officer who told the government he was too psychologically damaged to work ran a martial arts studio, prosecutors said. another shown in this photo sitting aboard a jet ski making obscene gestures. well, new this morning, u.s. officials reportedly believe a man released from guantanamo bay played a role in the benghazi attack. "the washington post" reports that men under the command of abu sufian bin qumu played a role in the assault that killed ambassador chris stevens and three others. the u.s. sent qumu to libya where he was detained, but then libya released him. meanwhile, in venezuela a former beauty queen and soap opera actress is being mourned. monica spear and her ex-husband were shot and killed after their car's tires were ruptured in an isolated road. they were murdered by robbers in an apparent ambush. spear competed in the miss

universe pageant in 2005, and she was miss venezuela the previous year. her daughter was also wounded in the attack. the niece of fashion designer ralph lauren is expected to plead guilty today after an air rage incident on an international flight. jenny lauren is accused of being dangerously drunk, threatening and verbally abusive. the 41-year-old jewelry designer was arrested after the new york bound flight from barcelona was forced to land in ireland. she was released on bail and due in court today. and makers of the weight loss additive sensa have been ordered to refund customers $26 million. the federal trade commission said the company used deceptive advertising claiming it only takes a sprinkle of sensa on your food to curb your appetite and lose weight. sensa is also accused of using bogus clinical studies and paid endorsements.

the company says it stands behind the product. dennis rodman and his team of american basketball players held a final practice with north korean players this morning ahead of an exhibition match which rodman called a birthday present to north korean leader kim jong-un. the plan to hold the game has been highly criticized. rodman responded to that criticism on cnn. >> i'm saying to you, look at these guys. look at them. >> yeah, but, dennis, don't put it on them. don't use them as an excuse for the behavior that you're putting on yourself. >> they came here. they came here. >> rodman also defended the north korean leader during the interview saying, "i love the guy. he is my friend forever and ever." >> what do you say to that? all right, time for sports. ohio state's basketball team loses their first game of the season in a wild one. >> here are neil and stan, you know, the guys at espn with all the highlights. >> good morning, america. this is the los angeles "sportscenter" desk. he's stan verrett. i'm neil everett. we're not wax figures. >> you say that with such sincerity. >> i mean it. big game in college

basketball tuesday night in east lansing. >> show us. >> tom izzo and michigan state taking on ohio state, the buckeyes came in undefeated. aaron craft trying to keep them that way. he misses. amir williams get s the putback there. 20-3 run to erase a 17-point deficit. so the buckeyes in the second half, they couldn't get that shot to go, though. that could have won it. instead they go to overtime. 30 seconds to go in overtime, it's 66 apiece. keith appling, he had 20 points. michigan state hangs on. ohio state with its first loss of the season. you know, the warriors are trying to finish the season undefeated, and we're not even to the all-star break. they're in milwaukee where david lee went 9 for 9 -- made his first nine shots. he had 22 points, 18 rebounds. it's not a warrior highlight without steph curry, circus shot, good. he had 15 points. warriors win, 101-80. that is their tenth straight

win. >> so you're saying they're on a roll. >> i am. i am. you know what else is on a roll, my hair, seriously. it looks good. well, one important detail apparently got lost in the excitement over florida state's national championship in football. we know the seminoles beat the auburn tigers, 34-31 monday night. >> but the problem was that for a time yesterday fans could buy a t-shirt on florida state's website which reversed the score making fsu the losers. >> wow. >> yeah. they fixed that one pretty quickly after the error was noticed. and coming up next, "the pulse" and some big baby news at abc. >> and no more chips and candy. just wait until you see what one vending machine is serving up in california. to severe plaque psoriasis... the frustration... covering up. so i talked with my doctor. he prescribed enbrel. enbrel is clinically proven to provide clearer skin.

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♪ beautiful beautiful beautiful boy ♪ well, john lennon's timeless tune, very appropriate because we're starting "the pulse" with two special birth announcements. >> not one, but two new babies, first our co-anchor diana perez with her new bundle of joy, dylan mack. diana and her husband ducis who is a sports anchor at our philadelphia station welcomed baby dylan yesterday. >> devin getting a better look. >> congratulations to diana and her family. >> in a wonderful coincidence, former anchor of this show paula faris was also in the maternity ward yesterday. here's mom with little landon. >> this little guy makes three for paula, older sister caroline and here's landon with his big brother j.j. now, of course, we know people are asking. you can see all these pictures

at atmfans.com. and speaking of babies, i want you to check out this little guy, apparently getting a head start for a future on the stage. >> yeah, have a listen. he perks up at the sound of "wrecking ball," adorable kid-friendly version of the miley cyrus hit. ♪ i will always want you i came in like a wrecking ball ♪ ♪ i never ever -- >> ah, such emotion. no telling what he would do if he weren't confined to that car seat. i love the hand -- fist pump. >> too young to be twerking. if the usual chips and candy from the vending machines are looking a little too tired, how about some burritos? >> wow. yeah, the world's first all natural burrito vending machine is now up and running at a mobile gas station in west hollywood. the burrito box serves up six varieties. of the hot burritos. >> and if you pony up extra, you can customize it with hot sauce, sour cream and/or guacamole.

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the intense ache made it hard to do the things that i wanted. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia -- thought to be the result of over-active nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. so now, i can do more of the things i enjoy. 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 pain, i'm feeling better with lyrica. ask your doctor if lyrica is right for your fibromyalgia pain.

laying ) ask your doctor if lyrica is right - ( snaps, clatters ) that sounds awful. ( music stops ) but a lot better than last week. ( rock music playing ) ♪ we weren't born to follow. ♪

live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. good morning on wednesday at 4:28. first up, a look at the weather. you saw precipitation on the way in and i saw fog. mike? >> i saw fog and drizzle. low clouds are back. good morning, everyone. not much in the way of heavy rain. what we dealing with is the run of the marine layer. it is kind of a summer like morning with the clouds. as we head into the afternoon hours the moisture will start to thin out and it looks like we are going to have mostly clouds and sprinkles. what you will notice is it will be cooler today with mid-50's along the coast and mid-50's to 64 for the rest of us. leyla gulen has the traffic.

good morning, everyone. here is a look at our traffic as we head over to the amount pass, we have a car fire in the westbound direction 580. it is blocking one lane. it is causing slowing in the eastbound and westbound direction. into livermore you will be in the cheer. it will take 25 minutes from tracy to dublin. highway four, antioch to concord is 16 minutes. the san mateo bridge is moving noosely across the peninsula. thank you, leyla gulen. >> a deadly spike in flu cases in california including two here in the bay area. doctors say the h1n1 strain is sweeping through half the country. our reporter is in the newsroom with more. katie? >> >> in california we are talking about 12 deaths, the latest, a

48-year-old woman who lived in contra costa county. she had underhighing health officials. in northern california: three people who lived in sacramento county died of the strain and a woman in santa clara. all were under the age of 65. 9 flu has killed 28-year-old orange county woman and three people who died last month. the take home from this news is it is not too late to get the flu shot. the season for flu in california is january through march. >> everyone should be vaccinated. flu is circulating and people know people who have been hospitalized. we had a death in contra costa, and the best protection and this flu vaccine will protect you against it. >> unlike other years this is no shortage this year. the vaccine was scarce during the