find us at nbcbayarea.com. see you at 6:00. on our broadcast tonight, no end in sight, a relentless surge, parts of all 50 states again below freezing. and tonight, concerns over the skyrocketing price of natural gas used to heat about half of all american homes. danger zone tonight. richard engel with rare access inside the place that is called one of the most dangerous places on our planet, the center of all of those threats to the olympic gas. romney revealed. a fascinating look behind the scenes like we've never seen him before. all the private highs and lows, including the moment they learned it was all over. and trading places. tonight at home with my own in-laws. how they decided thanks to a local program and with the help of volunteers that the best retirement home is their own. "nightly news" begins now.

good evening. it happened once before this season, but it's still rare to be able to report that during the day today it was below freezing somewhere in each of our 50 states, and yes, that includes hawaii. it's further proof that the winter of 2014 is proving unusually cold. and again tonight the story is how far south it's spreading, like snow in louisiana, single digits in north carolina. there are states of emergency in the south tonight as a lot of places are preparing for prolonged cold. janet shamlian starts us off tonight from houston. good evening, janet. >> reporter: hi, brian. it was a dose of winter this area has little experience with, ice and snow, and it hit this region hard. we have at least two weather-related deaths and it brought cities like houston to a stand still. the arctic blast dipped deep

into texas with a rare snowfall, heavy sleet, and in houston, freezing rain that crippled the city. >> it's been real slippery, a lot of crashes, a lot of people losing control. >> reporter: despite warnings to stay off the roads, accidents topped 500 by late morning. >> 29 west road? >> reporter: the area's emergency center was activated. it's staffed normal i will only for hurricanes. >> it's still a serious situation, as you see, because you see all the traffic backed up one way. >> reporter: dozens of icy roads were closed. overpasses like this turned to sheets of ice. it's where hundreds of accidents have happened. ice blanketed san antonio, and further east, baton rouge. cities where plows and salt trucks are seldom needed and in short supply. almost 700 flights were cancelled today, more than 2,000 delays. in indiana, i-94 reopened this morning, 20 hours after whiteout conditions triggered a deadly crash of more than 40 vehicles, 18 of them semis.

three people died, more than 20 hurt. in blinding snow, the rescue took hours. >> with a crash scene like that we had people that not even the first responders could get to. at some point. frozen the waterways in pittsburgh and new york. in several areas single digits, including new jersey, where firefighters in union city were forced to battle a massive six-alarm blaze with frozen hydrants and nozzles. the deep free has pushed natural gas prices soaring. used by most households like the ramirezs, it's 50% higher this time than last year. miguel ramirez is using space heater and blankets to keep the thermostat down. >> that is it, maybe 30 or 20% higher than the year before, same time this year. >> reporter: and he knows there are more gas bills and winter weather still to come. and with propane prices spiking, lawmakers in missouri are now

calling for an investigation. they want to know if there has been any price-fixing, brian, in this time of high demand. brian? janet shamlian in the cold in houston, texas. janet, thank you very much. and more on what will be a cold weekend for millions, meteorologist janice huff. hey, good evening, janice. >> hi there, brian. not just a cold weekend, but a cold week ahead. yes, it's the same reason why they had snow in mississippi and texas and louisiana, why california can't get any rain or snow. it's that arctic jet stream. it's not shifting. the upper-level wind pattern remains the same. we talked about the polar vortex about a week ago. this is not the entire vortex, but chunk after chunk after chunk is breaking off. and while that's not unusual during the winter to have those kinds of scenarios, it's unusual for this pattern to persist for so long. these are the temperatures for saturday morning. look at birmingham and in atlanta too. it does warm up across the southern states by monday, but

then the cold air comes right back by tuesday morning. minus 25 in minneapolis, and that's not the windchill, brian. back to you. >> janice huff thanks in the weather center. having nothing to do with the weather, it was an ugly day here on wall street, all indexes finished way down as investors worry about slow economic growth in china and a dim outlook for corporate growths in this country. the dow closing out its worst week since 2011. there are obvious concerns now about which way it goes come the opening bell on monday morning. overseas today, something we haven't seen until now. a series of deadly and apparently coordinated bombings in cairo, which until now have been spared that kind of sophisticated programmed assault. 19 people were killed in the attacks and the protest that followed. tonight it's causing a lot of concern in a country that has now seen three years of upheaval. we get our report tonight from nbc's ayman mohyeldin.

>> reporter: it was all caught on a security camera, the video posted online. a truck pulls up. the driver gets out and flees the scene. and then -- [ siren ] -- an attack targeting cairo security headquarters. chaos, confusion as the wounded scramble to escape. the blast also damaged egypt's iconic islamic museum. across the city this morning, three more bombs in what appeared to be a coordinated attack. at the scene of the first bombing, a crowd gathers, rallying behind the government and angry at the muslim brotherhood. "they're the enemy of god", this woman says. the muslim brotherhood condemned today's violence, that it was not responsible. but the brotherhood is at war with egypt's military government. morsi supporters clashed with security forces in several cities across egypt on friday. three years ago tomorrow, pro-democracy demonstrators crowded into tahrir square and forced out hosni mubarak.

only to see morsi and the muslim brotherhood elected and removed by the muslim brotherhood. >> going their own direction. first of all, we have lots of hope when we start in 2011. then turned out like a nightmare. >> reporter: with violence increasing and more attacks hitting the capital, egypt's nightmare may now be getting worse. ayman mohyeldin, nbc news. >> just secretary of defense chuck hagel said today if the u.s. needs to rescue americans and extract them from sochi for any reason, the military will have that arranged with the russians. hagel says he has discussed u.s. assistance and protection of american citizens with his russian counterpart, but the russians have not requested any specific assistance or technology. an administration official said today diplomatic security officers will be accompanying american athletes to their

events. and has been the case in some past olympic games, americans attending the games are being urged to tone down the usa logo wear when in public areas. as concern over these olympic threats continues, tonight nbc news has gained rare access to one of the most remote and dangerous places on the planet, dagestan, a center of terrorism not far from sochi and the center of many of the threats to these games. we get our report tonight from our chief foreign correspondent richard engel inside dagestan. >> reporter: the bombers who pulled off those attacks in volg stand last month, the missing black widows, even the boston marathon attack all trace back to dagestan. but why has this remote republic become the heart of extremism in russia? our first impression of dagestan is of a drab, poor place.

soviet architecture, no jobs. they used to make caviar from the caspian sea. no more. kick boxing is a common sport. and the young preach al qaeda's radical message. this mosque is where boston bomber tamerlan tsarnaev came to pray. the imam here didn't know tamerlan he says, but he told us the mosque is now watched by police, and the men who worship here sometimes just disappear. they joined terrorist groups or are snatched by police. jana's son rasheed a suspect in a terrorist bombing in 2012 is among the missing. and where is he now? "i don't know," she says. "there is a rumor he is alive, but i don't know for sure." jana took us to where she said men in masks drove off with her son. and they were shooting as they were running? all of these mothers have sons

who are missing. they accuse president putin of sending young muslim men to the ghoul lack. it is from this anger that black widows are made. while the russian government denies it is responsible for the disappearance of people in dagestan, human rights groups say there is no other explanation. some of the detainees are never seen again, but others end up in jail after having confessed to terrorism. and who, but the government, the groups say, could arrange that? human rights groups have documented more than 50 suspicious abductions in dagestan last year. the security services just don't want to work properly, he says, they prefer to abduct people rather than bring them to court. the man responsible for security in dagestan denies that. what would be the point of kidnapping someone and keeping them hidden, he asks, when hundreds are being detained legally? whoever is responsible, dozens of young men are missing, caught up in a dragnet, their families say, to cleanse russia's most

dangerous region before the sochi olympics. richard engel, nbc news, dagestan. still ahead for us tonight, mitt romney as we have never seen him, behind the scenes, unprecedented access for six years, two presidential campaigns, a side of the candidate hidden from the world until now. and later, our series of trading places, the program, helping the in-laws convert their own home into a retirement home and allowing them to stay put.

starting today, netflix subscribers can see a new documentary that especially for political junkies offers something we have never quite seen before. mitt romney and his family granted a camera crew unprecedented and up close access for the past six years. that means not one, but two romney campaigns for president. there have been positive reviews

for the documentary and for the man viewers will see depicted. we get our report tonight from nbc's peter alexander, who logged so many miles for us covering the romney campaign. >> reporter: it's a candid, intimate look at the man who would be president. >> a year ago we told you we would love you no matter how things turned out. >> and now you're not so sure. >> now we're not so sure. >> reporter: this just released documentary, "mitt", it's called, reveals romney and his family in personal and often painful moments. after failing to get the nomination in 2008, romney's wife ann agonizing over another run. >> if you attempt it, the answer is no. it's too much. >> reporter: the romneys praying together as a family. >> we acknowledge all the blessings god have given us in our lives. >> reporter: over six years, filmmaker was granted almost unheard of access, like this wrenching scene from election night inside the family's hotel room with the race slipping away. >> what is going on? >> we're writing a concession speech.

>> it's finished? >> yeah. >> yeah, okay. that -- i don't think it is a time for soothing and everything is fine. thing is a time for this is really serious, guys. >> my rule was i wasn't going to stop filming unless someone named romney told me to stop. and over six years, no one named romney told me to stop. >> reporter: was it difficult to relive those moments? >> i wasn't uncomfortable, but it's not like i wanted to relive those moments again. it's great how the family came together and supported a guy in the middle of the tough campaign. it's not a hollywood ending. i did not win. >> reporter: a tough reality for a man used to success. >> i have just called president obama to congratulate him on his victory. >> i have looked, by the way, at what happens to anyone in this country who loses as the nominee of their party, who loses the general election, they become a loser for life. there's no denying that. it's over. >> reporter: you joked michael dukakis can't even get a job mowing lawns.

how is your lawn mowing business? >> i'm not very good at mowing lawns, i got to be honest with you. i'm allergic to it so i stay away from it. >> a very rare look at romney, conveying his warm side, i can tell you is better. ultimately what they failed to accomplish, talking about seeing another side of romney. tonight, he sits down, or in this case, stands up with jimmy fallon, where he will slow jam the news. brian, this is not quite the governor romney that we saw during the course of the campaign. >> i'll say. something to look forward to tonight. peter alexander, thanks for revisiting the candidate and the topic for us. and as for the rest of the party, the rnc is meeting this in d.c. this week. and in addition to calling for a more condensed and less grueling primary season in 2016, they're take bids for host cities including las vegas, kansas city, ohio, and phoenix. the mayor of columbus went out on a limb and said if his city gets the nod and hosts the

convention, he will guarantee the republicans carry ohio. another break for us. we're back in a moment with a big surprise waiting outside the door for one couple. it was all caught on video.

we have a pair of anniversaries we want to note tonight. ten years ago today, the u.s. landed on mars. nasa's opportunity rover touched down back in '04. it was supposed to last only 90 days, but the resilient little dynamo is still chugging along now a decade later. and 30 years ago today the mac was introduced to the world. its arrival was heralded by that iconic 1984 commercial that only aired once on the super bowl commercial. computing has never been quite the same since. and speaking of prominent politicians of the republican party in the news, house speaker john boehner went on "the tonight show" with jay leno last night. and when jay asked the top ranking republican in washington if he would ever want to be president, the answer was an emphatic no.

>> i like to play golf. i like to cut my own grass. >> right. >> i do drink red wine and i smoke cigarettes. and i'm not giving that up to be president of the united states. >> that's right. that's not worth it. >> on the political front, boehner conceded the gop got the blame for the government shutdown a few months back and says he warned his house colleagues not to do it. finally, we go to a front porch in pasadena, where a couple from scotland were visiting relatives, completely unaware they were joined all the while by a bear. it was all captured on home security camera. once they did notice the bear cub, bob mccune quickly helped his wife irene into the car, and then he rushed back into the house to call 911. it edmontoned with a nick to his leg, a tetanus shot, and a heck of a story to tell folks back home in scotland. when we come back, trading places. the special program that is helping my in-laws and a loot of other aging couples stay put right where they want to be.

finally here tonight, our periodic series of reports called "trading places," where we look at our own families and caring for our own aging

parents, or in this case, in-laws. in the case of my mother and father-in-law, they have paid to join a group that allows them to grow old in their home. it's called staying put, and it's made up of a movement that decides that the best retirement community is staying at home. pat and hud stoddard have been married 60 years, most of them spent in new canaan, connecticut, where they raised three children, including a daughter named jane whom i married 27 years ago. pat was a teacher, hud, a television executive and over the years they put down deep roots in this town. she is 83 and he is 91. they live in a comfortable home all on one floor and see no reason to move anywhere else. >> you have a lot of friends who have moved into other places. they have left their homes and they have gone to assisted living. they're happy there. but you must be very happy having your things, your clothes, your books, your memories, your television.

you can stay here. >> it makes such a difference to have everything that you treasure that way and remember that way and wish to use again that way. >> reporter: the stoddards are among the 300 members of a mostly volunteer organization called staying put. and true to its name it allows seniors to do just that, kind of an assisted living for living right at home. >> it is a one phone call away for a resource for whatever. >> you don't have to apologize for what your problem is. and your need, they're used to that kind of thing. >> reporter: that kind of thing can mean a volunteer offering rides for my father-in-law who no longer drives himself. >> this is pat stoddard calling from staying put. >> pat volunteers at staying put headquarters. the town's first responders are in on it, too. the first aid squad instructs staying put members to have a

list of their meds and medical history at the ready. >> we're working together to make it easier for us and easier for them when they need us. >> police, fire, ems know your address. the local carpenter knows you're here, and has helped out doing work. it takes a village. >> it takes a village to raise a child and it takes a village to take care of two elderly people. >> the village concept started in beacon hill village in boston, and when the families and friends read about it, they started their own chapter. >> so this is tripartid thing for you. you are a founder, you are a volunteer, and you're a customer. >> you bet because it's a damn good idea -- scram that damn. >> that is all right, times have changed. >> maybe they go at the bottom. >> a 2013 aarp study found most seniors prefer to stay put in their own homes if they possibly can. and it can be way more

affordable than paying for assisted living. the stoddards' neighbor, lisa livingston lives alone in subsidized housing where staying put volunteers deliver her medicine and provide her with some company. >> i think we have to put the pine needle groupings here. even for those seniors with family living right nearby, staying put still offers peace of mind. you have three loving children and a whole big extended family, and grandchildren. >> and you, babe. >> we aren't here 24 hours a day. there are going to be gaps. and so this is a -- almost a big blanket insurance policy for them. >> yes, it is, yes, it is. >> and we have put more information on the "staying put" program on our website for you tonight. that is our broadcast on this friday night. and for this week, thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. lester holt will be here with you this weekend. we, of course, hope to see you

right back here on monday night. in the meantime, please have a good weekend. good night. p. right now at 6:00 a south bay city shattered by police cuts. a councilman wants to know if residents are willing to open their wallets to put police back on the streets. i'm janelle wang in for raj mathai. >> i'm jessica aguirre. some facing a public safety crisis. now one san jose councilman running for reelection is proposing a half cent sales tax to hire more police officers. some argue the move is more politics than policy though,

damian trujillo is there. >> reporter: jessica, they will decide whether to put this issue before the voters on the june ballot. residents of one new high crime area tell me anything to stop the violence. it's a trendy place to window shop or grab a bite, but over the past couple years, burglaries and robberies are also on the menu in san jose's willow glen neighborhood. >> it's out of control. >> reporter: president of the neighborhood association hears about it in every meeting. >> people come from the bay area and outside to rob san jose and commit all kinds of crimes because we don't have the resources. >> reporter: 300 officers have retired or resigned, forcing the department to close the burglary and vice unit among others. >> you can't make the cut to the police department and not expect, you know