twitter. on our broadcast tonight, high alert. the national weather service is using words like potentially historic, crippling and catastrophic to describe the approaching ice storm across the south. suffice to say, we have a dangerous situation tonight affecting millions. also, too hot to handle here in sochi. on track to be the warmest winter olympics on record. feels more like spring sometimes. tonight the problems with the snow and a day of surprises for team usa. and america's sweetheart, one of the greats is gone. a child star turned public servant and diplomat. tonight we remember the legendary shirley temple. "nightly news" begins now.

good evening. and from here at the olympic winter games we begin back home tonight with an enormous winter storm. here's how forecasters at the national weather service describe what is sliding up from the south and west to the north and east. quote, confidence is increasing in an event of historical proportions. prepare now for this potentially crippling event. here is the map tonight of the individual counties that are under watches and warnings. it's a rain, snow and ice event. but it's the ice they really fear will be crippling. tonight they're sending up hurricane hunter aircraft to look at it from aloft. 93 million americans in the path of this one. there are states of emergency in five different southern states, including georgia, so hard hit by that last snowfall. we have it all covered for you tonight. al roker is here with us. but first, to mark potter in atlanta to start us off. hey, mark, good evening.

>> reporter: good evening, brian. the bad weather is now expected to hit atlanta sometime early tomorrow morning. the only good news, is that allows officials and residents just a little more time to prepare. late this afternoon, trucks loaded with salt and gravel hit the roads to get ahead of the upcoming storm. part of a massive effort to avoid what happened two weeks ago when 2.6 inches of snow brought this city to a grinding halt. atlanta is on high alert and is being warned the storm hitting early tomorrow morning and throughout the day could be long remembered. >> travel is going to be impossible. and this is going to be a catastrophic event for the areas in purple. >> reporter: in a city known for its hilly neighborhoods and many trees, ice is the major threat. >> this is one of mother nature's worst kinds of storms that can be inflicted on the south. >> reporter: when ice accumulates, it can topple trees on to power lines, causing major outages. repair crews have already been brought in from around the

country. >> this is a little more sophisticated spreader -- >> reporter: richard mendoza, the atlanta public works commissioner says heavy ice on the roads is especially dangerous. >> it makes driving treacherous. you cannot get traction, you can't control the vehicle. >> reporter: in a tweet, the atlanta mayor said, we are strongly advising our residents to stay off the roads and telecommute where possible today. todd hackett is doing just that, after spending seven hours stuck in his car during last month's paralyzing storm. >> i'd rather be at my house and not on the highway, or a side road in my truck. >> reporter: others here are filling up and stocking up, emptying grocery store shelves as they plan to hunker down. >> the power goes off, i'm going to be at worst huddled up in front of my gas log fireplace. >> reporter: elsewhere in the south, the dangerous winter weather has already arrived. a string of crashes on icy roads around dallas causing at least four fatalities. in mississippi, snow and ice drove trucks off the roads. in north and south carolina,

parents took their kids home after heavy snow forced schools to close. classes are also dismissed in georgia, where snow in the northern counties temporarily forced the closure of i-75, a major highway. and here in atlanta, as can you see, not that many people are on the roads as they heed the warnings. they're also being urged to stock up on things such as heating fuel, batteries for radios and flashlights, and medications. enough to ride out this storm. brian? >> all right. mark potter setting the scene in atlanta. mark, thanks. as i mentioned, al roker here with us working the evening shift tonight. did someone say a foot of snow in washington, d.c. by friday night? >> it's very possible, brian, once this thing gets finished with the south. in the meantime, we're looking at brutal conditions. from dallas/ft. worth all the way up to new england, we have a wide swath of ice storm warnings

from atlanta into south carolina. and this winter storm watch and warnings all the way up into new england. here's what we have setting up. basically, we've look looking at low pressure developing along the stationary front. both double barrel low in the gulf and cold out of the north. and along that battle line, we're seeing ice already. south carolina, some places already picking up a third of an inch of ice. this ice mixture will continue. so here is what we're looking for as far as accumulations. and this is critical. look at this between atlanta and macon, up to 2 inches of ice. it extends all the way down through central georgia on into the carolinas. continues up into south carolina. this is going to cause power outages, major airport delays. we're telling people stay off the roads. as the system continues up the coast, if you look at this blue line in the futurecast, that's the rain/snow line, the freezing rain/snow line. and depending on where this is going to set up, we could be looking at massive amounts of snow.

and, in fact, we're going to be continuing to tweak these amounts as we go on during the day, over the next 24 hours. an inch in atlanta, 8 inches in charlotte. as we get to the north, washington, d.c., possibly seven inches to a foot, brian. and some areas even to the north and west of that, up to a foot and a half of snow. >> this is going to be a tough one. we'll stay on it. we'll see you in the morning. >> yes, sir. >> al roker, thanks for being here with us tonight. now to these games. and while you will see some of this in prime time coverage tonight, this next result was blasted around the world as urgent news earlier today. snowboarder shaun white will go home from his third olympic games without a medal this time in the men's halfpipe. in fact, it's a team usa shutout in a sport invented in the u.s. just part of the news from here. anne thompson is up at the mountain top ski venue for us tonight. anne, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. you know, today the winter olympics felt like the spring games. forcing officials to cancel the practice runs for the women's downhill and creating a backdrop for one of the biggest upsets at these games so far.

at the mountain olympic venues today, the weather was the toughest competitor. the cross country free sprint at times was more like a demolition derby than a race. skiers stumbling on snow turned so mushy by 40 degree temperatures, it was described as mashed potatoes. snow conditions and design complaints plagued the men's snowboard halfpipe. one fan struck gold when after making the finals, shaun white climbed over the barrier to greet 10-year-old ben hughes. make-a-wish sent the cancer survivor to the olympics with his family. can you stay up until the very end? >> yes. >> reporter: and now hughes wants to grow up to be an engineer or a snowboarder. what are you going to tell your friends about this experience when you go back to st. louis? >> i got to meet shaun white and hopefully see him win a gold medal. >> reporter: that didn't happen. white left empty-handed. but the u.s. did have a reason

to celebrate today. erin hamlin earned america's first medal ever in singles luge, a bronze. women's ski jumping made its olympic debut, and the first skier to jump, park city's sarah hendrickson. >> standing at the top, we all knew this was an historical moment. and just to be a part of it is something to be proud of. >> and he goes for it. >> reporter: olympic moments don't get any more golden than this. canadian skier alex bilodeau pulling his brother fedric over the barrier after winning his second consecutive gold medal in moguls. >> another wonderful moment for the brothers bilodeau. >> reporter: fedric, who has cerebral palsy, is alex's inspiration. >> i want him as close as to believe to me when it's a big moment like that in my career and live that moment with him. >> reporter: as for tomorrow, it looks like the weather will continue to be a big story. temperatures could climb as high as 50 degrees on the mountain. brian? >> anne thompson up at the mountain top venues with all

things winter games. anne, thanks. we have an update tonight on what was our lead story last night, this dangerous evacuation going on in the embattled syrian city of homs. today the head of american intelligence said the war and the humanitarian crisis had created what he called an apocalyptic disaster there. the evacuation effort is expected to resume tomorrow. we learned of a big loss today and perhaps the best way to put it is this. somewhere right now someone is ordering a shirley temple. we learned today that shirley temple has died at the age of 85. she was america's favorite movie star during the depression years of the 1930s. a little girl who gave her country a big lift when it really needed it. she was congratulated by the president for it. in later years, she became shirley temple black and became a public servant and a pioneer. we get a look back tonight from nbc's kate snow. ♪ on the good ship lollipop

♪ it's a sweet trip to a candy shop ♪ >> reporter: it's that one irrepressible song we all think of -- ♪ on the sunny beach of peppermint bay ♪ >> reporter: -- among so many. ♪ animal crackers in my soup >> reporter: 59 motion pictures in all, most before she was just 12. ♪ everybody wants to know who's that great big handsome romeo ♪ >> reporter: shirley temple with her golden ringlets was the ante dote to depressing times, giving america a reason to smile. ♪ look at the funny side and have your fun ♪ >> here came this cheerful irresistible little girl who could sing and dance and do everything, seemingly, and she made people feel good. she lifted their spirits. >> reporter: she was precocious. >> thank you very much. may i go home now. >> reporter: often playing the little girl who seemed wiser

than the grownups around her. >> a little girl shouldn't be raised in this kind of environment. >> reporter: at a time when segregation was still the norm, she shared the screen with bill "bojangles" robinson and called him her favorite co-star. as a child star she made millions, but as she grew up, her movie career faded. setting the stage for a remarkable second act. >> i want to help. >> reporter: though her bid for congress failed, president nixon made her his u.n. representative. in 1972, she spoke bluntly about her own breast cancer. >> the recommendation was that the entire breast should be removed, which is called a simple mastectomy. >> reporter: from her hospital bed she urged women to have mammograms. >> if they have strange lump in their breast or any symptoms, to not be afraid to go to the doctor. >> reporter: she won high marks as a diplomat. ambassador to ghana and later

check check check slovakia. a public servant, an advocate, and married for 50 years. >> stardom is stardom, and star quality is timeless. and that's what she is, she's timeless. >> reporter: and the most famous child actress of all time. kate snow, nbc news, new york. and when we come back here tonight, vladimir putin's big show, the most expensive olympics ever. how a president who rules with something of an iron fist transformed a city by the sea, say nothing of his country.

back here in sochi. for the first few days of these games, we had the luxury of being able to travel around here with one of the leading american experts on russia. and tonight, with his help, we have a look at this bold move, what really is a $50 billion bet by vladimir putin, that he could pull off this event and welcome the world to this place. like a lot of past olympics, this is really two olympics at different altitudes.

there's the stadium events beneath the flame, down along the black sea in what's called the coastal cluster of venues. then about 25 miles away, there are the skiing events in the mountain cluster. none of it up top or down below existed seven years ago. to get between the two, the most expensive stretch of road in the world, an estimated $7 billion worth of new highway with a new rail line running alongside. and everywhere you look, there are hotels and restaurants and stores, a riverside promenade. and it's all brand new. these days david remnick is the editor of "the new yorker magazine", but he lived here for years. he speaks the language. and his book on russia won the pulitzer. we travelled up to the mountain venues with him to assess vladimir putin's olympic games. what does the world need to know about vladimir putin and how should americans view this

russian leader who's going to be around it appears, a good long time. >> he's been around a long time already. he's an authoritarian leader, no question. but at the same time that we criticize and rightly so, human rights issues, matters having to do with gay rights and all the rest, we should understand the context historically of what's going on here. in 1991 this place collapsed. it collapsed as an ideology, it collapsed as an empire. and its self-confidence was shot. and that lasted for years. and there were democratic movements, but accompanying it was a long period of chaos. vladimir putin is a man of an iron hand. and he's all about stability and development. that's his appeal to russians, and it's very popular even to this day. >> so a guy like this can spend $50 billion openly and get away with this in this country? >> not only get away with it,

it's the way of doing business. these are his pyramids. this is his great display to his people, his grand construction. and it may be criticized enormously by the west and by the dissident younger critics in russia today, but it's of great appeal. >> when the games are gone, putin wants this to remain as an international ski resort. he said recently he's hoping for tourists from the europe and the u.s., even china. and just like holding the games here, it's something of a gamble, given the threat of terrorism across the mountains from here. >> i think vladimir putin has enormous confidence in his ability to keep the peace. let's put it that way. it looks like a ski resort, and it certainly is for the moment. but this is a tough neighborhood. >> reporter: remnick knows the media coverage of toilets and hotel rooms and sochi glitches is not going over well with the russians. and if these games go off without incident, putin will get what he wants and label them a success, knowing the whole world is watching. >> putin wants respect more than

anything else in the modern world. what he sees is us being hypocritical and mocking, it makes his angry. remember how down this country was a generation ago. how humiliated it was by the end of the cold war. putin is the reaction to that. >> our thanks to david remnick. and by the way, sochi has other big events coming up after this, a g-8 summit, world cup soccer and a formula 1 grand prix. there will be 24,000 brand new hotel rooms awaiting guests. another break. we're back in a moment, with what the noise is all about here in sochi.

as we are talking, you may hear what sounds like the dull roar of a jet dryer in the background when we're on the air. the noise is coming from the olympic torch, and the russians are clearly making something of a torch statement. it's the most powerful we have ever seen at any games. it sounds more like a soyuz rocket blasting off. and speaking of space, the flame is indeed visible from space. our friends on board the international space station took this photo of the whole complex on their last pass above us from 220 miles above the earth. we have some news tonight about an important member of our family. tonight specifically, the long-time former anchor of this broadcast and very good friend of ours. tom brokaw is undergoing

treatment for multiple myeloma, a form of cancer affecting blood cells in the bone marrow. he was diagnosed this past summer at the mayo clinic. tom and his doctors are very encouraged about the progress he's been making. and he's kept working all the while. in a public statement released tonight by our network, tom said, quote, the support of my family, medical team and friends, i am very optimistic about the future and look forward to continuing my life, my work and adventures still to come. i remain the luckiest guy i know. i am very grateful for the interest in my condition, but i also hope everyone understands i wish to keep this a private matter. on a personal note, in the life goes on department, the williams and brokaws were at the movies together the night before my flight to russia. and in terms of tom's continuing work load, we'll be airing some of tom's reporting as part of our coverage later this week.

and in an e-mail tonight, tom mentioned at least the possibility of joining the springsteen tour in australia, just to give bruce a bump of some added publicity. we're back with more right after this.

finally for us here tonight, american speed skater shani davis takes to the ice tomorrow to defend what has been his for the last two winter olympics. he will try for a third consecutive gold medal in the 1,000 meter event. nbc's lester holt spent some

time with davis, who is living a dream that started as a kid back in chicago. >> just waiting to hear the gun blow to send you on your way for the race. >> reporter: shani davis describes the perfect race. >> you hit your first few strides really good, you feel good, you're not very tired. you can just skate, you're not worrying about technique. >> reporter: twice he says he skated the perfect race, but never at the olympics. it's not stopped him, however, from winning gold in the 1,000 meter in torino and vancouver. >> and he's got another gold medal! >> reporter: and if the experts are right, he's likely to do it again in sochi. >> you want to have more of the underdog approach, because those are just words, you know? >> reporter: at 31, davis has raced past lots of critics and drama, as someone who once distanced himself from his team, while carving out his solo career. today, along with his speed and form, he brings something else to sochi nearly as valuable,

maturity. >> it was really hard to overcome some of those things, adversity, the controversy, things like that. but i'm really thankful for those things at the same time, because it made me a really strong person. >> reporter: the only child of a single mom who he credits for most of his success, davis became the first african-american to win a medal in an individual event in the winter olympics. >> it doesn't make sense to me. because i grew up on the south side of chicago, went to an all black grammar school. there's no rinks in the area, not even close. >> reporter: davis inspired a nonprofit called ice, which stands for inner city excellence. a skating and mentoring program for inner city youth in washington, d.c.. >> when i skate really fast, i feel like i'm flying. >> reporter: this year, the program plans to expand to three more cities, including davis' hometown of chicago. >> got to get as low as you can, and use your arms. >> reporter: much like the youth he mentors, shani davis is playful.

his constant smile belies the fierce competitor inside of him. >> you can see the look on his face, grimacing. >> reporter: and still smarts over the silver medal finish in the 1,500 meter in vancouver. >> davis with the silver. >> reporter: it still sticks in your craw, doesn't it? >> i can't let it go. i love that 1,500 meter race. >> reporter: he'll get his shot again, and a chance to become the most decorated u.s. male long track speed skater in olympic history. >> everything just falls into place, and the race is over a lot sooner than you thought it would be. that's the perfect race. >> reporter: lester holt, nbc news, sochi. and that is our broadcast on a tuesday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. a quick note about prime time coverage tonight. that's at 8:00, 7:00 central. bob costas took himself out of the lineup for tonight as he deals with that eye infection. matt lauer will be your substitute host for this evening. for bob, we must say it ends a ripken like ironman streak of

157 straight prime time olympics broadcasts that goes back to barcelona in '92. he assures us he'll be back in the game shortly. we hope to see you back here tomorrow evening. good night. that breaking news in the east bay, our nbc chopper over the scene. this is a live look at a safeway store. a teenage girl and elderly man was kidnapped. an amber alert has been issued. i'm raj mathai. >> i'm jessica aguirre. a teenage girl and elderly man was outside safe way when a man with a knife approached the car and forced them to drive off. >> a massive search is intensifying by the hour. jodi hernandez joins us from this command center where the

clues police are looking at tonight, jodi? >> reporter: raj, oakland police say they are doing all they can to locate the car and the victims. now this is where it started, right inside this safeway store where we have been told the suspect tried stealing some lobster tails before allegedly making off with much more than that. helicopters used their loud speakers to announce an amber alert as they scouringed the skies above this oakland safeway store where police say the man seen in this surveillance video kidnapped and carjacked a girl and elderly man this afternoon. >> once the suspect left the store s store, he did approach a vehicle. information indicated to us the occupants in that vehicle did not know him. >> reporter: the search for the