>> jeff: tonight brutal cold. temperatures that haven't been seen in decades descend on the midwest and beyond. we'll have more on the dangers, the delays and how many days this will last. >> proceed to the downed aircraft. >> jeff: a plane crash in aspen, colorado. the private jet with three on board went down while landing this afternoon. jeff pegues has more. congress returns this week ready for fights over the minimum wage and unemployment insurance. plus can republicans win the senate in 2014? john dickerson will join us. and the resolution, give up diet soda. don dahler on why sales are going flat. >> this is the captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley.

>> jeff: good evening, everyone, i'm jeff glor with a western edition of the broadcast. the weather is awful. for millions of americans, there is no other way around it. windchills 60 below in spots. we have just entered the worst of it and it's not going away for days. here's a look at a map of windchill watch,s warnings and individualsries across the country. 115 million people are affected. some of them are inside lambeau field in greenbay, some even showed up hours early for an nfl play-off game even though it was 5 degrees. in st. louis the arch was barely visible as a lone pedestrian trudged through the snow. the coldest weather, however, can be found in north dakota. this is bismarck where it's supposed to reach 26 below overnight. we begin with jamie yuccas of our minneapolis station wcco. >> reporter: in chicago officials warn residents to prepare for heavy snow and brutal temperatures that are expected to last through

tuesday. dr. bech ara choucair is with chicago department of public health. >> the cold temperatures we are expecting this coming week are more than an inconvenience, they are serious and they can cause a serious health threat. >> reporter: by midday city residents cleesed out grocery stores. >> yesterday we did double our normal saturday it was kind of unexpected, to tell you the truth. but we hung in there. we had all hands on deck and everybody worked real hard. >> reporter: hazardous conditions involved a crash involving 7 trucks shutting down a major highway in missouri a a couple tractor-trailers jacknifed on indiana highways. the cause for the extremely cold air, a polar vortex, a counterclockwise rotation of dense arctic air that has piled up in the north pole. that cold air is then pushed south traveling as far down as the gulf coast. so far the winter storm has been blamed for 16 deaths, and it's so cold in north

dakota frigid temperatures and high winds have become life threatening for anyone who walks out the door. officials are pleading with res didn'ts to remain inside. lance is with the bismarck police department. >> if you can hold off on getting groceries or if you can hold off without the necessities, don't go on the road. because there's no need to leave the house if it doesn't warrant an emergency. >> reporter: here in minneapolis the temperature will drop to 25 degrees below zero overnight, classes are cancelled, trash pickup also cancelled. and parks are closed. and jeff, we may not get above zero until wednesday. >> jeff: wow, jamie, thank you very much. all of this is happening during one of the busiest travel weekends of the year. as millions return from christmas and new year's break. that is making for a continuing mess at airports across the country. >> there were long lines all day at boston's logan international. jetblue spokesperson told us clearing up the logjam of flight cancellations and

getting people to their destinations may take days, not hours. at chicago's o'hare and midway airports crews work to deice planes and in new york signs at jfk warn travelers that the airport was closed after this delta connection plane carrying 35 people slid off a runway. no serious injuries were reported but the airport was shut down for more than two hours. airlines say all the delays and cancellations have been made worse by new rules mandating longer breaks and capping flying times for pilots. >> for more on the extraordinary temperatures this weekend we're joined from green bay by chris schuller from our affiliate wfrv. >> in green bay right now at the game it's 5 in green bay, windchill minus 12 but for the 80,000 people in front of lambeau field they don't care, this is perfect football weather in wisconsin. people staying warm today using lots of hand warmers

handed out at the gates, also dressing in layers, up to four layers, the team even doing their part to help out the fans, handing out free cocoa and coffee at the concessions. >> thank you. >> we turn now to chris shaffer from wcco, chris, how long does this weather last for? >> i would try to have some indoor plans for at least the next three days. it's a strong cold snap and you can tell by the forecasted highs, these are not overnight lows here in the midwest, minneapolis, st. paul lucky to get to 15 below for a high, chicago to nine below. you can see that bitter cold air, that subzero air stretches as far south as st. louis where folks might be lucky to get to 2 below for a high tomorrow. >> jeff: even farther south below that, what does that mean. >> jeff, it's bad enough that the air is cold, the other factor we have to deal with, strong winds. we have a windchill warning if play for pretty of all of the upper midwest but watch how far south this stretches, warnings all the way down to alabama and georgia and the

windchill advisories push all the way to the coast. if you want to put salt in the wound too it looks like folks in alabama could be dealing with rain changing over to snow and perhaps a light accumulation in parts of northern georgia. >> jeff: chris shaffer, thank you very much. weather does appear to have played a role in the fatal crash today of a private jet in aspen, colorado. our transportation correspondent jeff pegues has details. >> reporter: by the time fire crews arrived on scene, the private jet was upside down on the tarmac. smoke billowing from the fuselage. signs of trouble were visible from several miles away. the plane a 1994 canadair challenger twin engine business jet had taken off from tucson, arizona, on a flight scheduled to be just over two hours. but the landing proved difficult. >> and to another. >> reporter: according to audio recordings between air-traffic control and the pilot, the weather was a factor. >> we had a wind of 30 knots. >> 115, wind 330 at 1-6.

cleared to land. one minute average, 32014, gusts 25. >> 115. >> and then word from the tower. >> proceed to the downed aircraft. >> experienced pilots say flying into the airport tucked in the middle of two rocky mountain peaks is a challenge particularly when you have strong winds. aspen is a vacation destination for the rich and famous. among the reported witnesses to the crash, singer leanne reims who tweeted so sad, horrible plane crash we just saw happen at the aspen airport. actor and comedian kevin nealon also tweeted about the crash. horrible plane crash here at aspen airport. exploded into flames as it was landing. >> according to investigators there were a total of three people on board the plane. one person died, two others had been injured. aspen is about 100 miles southwest of denver. jeff, because of weather conditions, commercial flights from denver to aspen were cancelled. >> jeff: jeff pegues, thank

you very much. the senate returns from its holiday break tomorrow with mid-term elections just under ten months away. on "face the nation" this morning bob schieffer asked senate majority leader harry reid whether the american people would be right expecting this year's session to be as unproductive as last year's. reid said the other side is to blame. >> unless the republicans in congress decide they should do something for the american people, i'm sorry to say that's true. waiting congress is down, if somebody called me in a pole i would vote with them. this is awful what is going on. >> jeff: for more on all of this we turn to john dickerson, john, good to see you, happy new year. so in the new year more of the same in congress? >> well, usually when people return from vacation they have a sunnier outlook but the senate majority leader was bleak. at the end of last year there was a flicker of bipartisanship when the house and the senate agreed to a modest budget agreement but senator reid said this year little would happen if congressional republicans didn't break with their tea

party supporters. republicans brushed off that rhetoric and pointed out that when bob schieffer asked if democrats facing re-election should run as proud sponsors of obamacare reid avoided answering. the senator also would not rule out changing senate filibuster results to pass certain pieces of legislation with a simple majority. extending unemployment benefits is one example. that would enlarge the filibuster changesing reid pushed through last year that angered republicans so much. >> jeff: john, not hard to tell that mid-terms are coming up soon, right? >> that's right. if republicans win six seats currently in democrat you can hands, harry reid will no longer be majority leader and republicans will control the chamber. historically the president's party loses seats in the mid-term elections and the landscape looks favorable for republicans. seven vulnerable seats currently held by democrats and up for re-election are in states mitt romney carried in 2012. six of those seven seats are in states are wrom romney won by double digits. now

odds like this before in the last two senate elections and they've overcome them, one survivor was harry reid. and he didn't win by playing nice. >> jeff: john dickerson in our washington bureau, thank you. >> well, to the middle east appear to be unraveling. in iraq the government is losing significant ground to al qaeda militants. today fighting in anbar province killed 22 iraqi soldiers and 12 civilians. this as syria's civil war is spilling into lebanon. here's allen pizzey. >> reporter: ongoing chaos in the middle east is creating what horrors and fanatics love, a power vacuum. al qaeda affiliated gunmen have taken over the streets of fallujah, a resurgence that the civil war that the u.s. invasion of iraq sparked off. in what now looks like a wasted effort, more than 100 u.s. marines lost their lives in fallujah in 2004 in a fight to drive the militants out and hand control to the shiites who

now run iraq. today the u.s. has no leverage other than backing the iraqi government. secretary of state john kerry mired in the increasingly problematic israeli-palestinian peace deal offered the iraqis moral support. >> we're not contemplating putting boots on the ground. in their fight but we're going to help them in their fight. this is a fight that is bigger than just iraq. >> reporter: that's a diplomatic understatement. jihaddists have plunged into the carnage in syria as a step towards establishing an islamic state. neighboring lebanon has also been sucked in. the intervention of the powerful hezbollah movement on the side of syria has been met with car bombs and assassinations. the jihaddists proclaimed goal is a unified islamic fundamentalist state encompassing iraq, syria and lebanon. but the real issues are much murkier and far more complex, according to former u.s. ambassador edward rocker. >> this fight is much bigger than iraq. it is something that has got

its depth in history, it's got its depth in religion. it is far broader than just a question of borders or of national pride. >> and nobody seems willing more able to fill the gap between them. perfect opening for the jihadist. allen pizzey, cbs news, rome. >> jeff: pope francis did announce today he plans to vit the mid eel-- middle east in may, to israel, the west bank and jordan. later heat wave in australia. temperatures reach new heights down under. for than 70 eruptions in an indonesian volcano sends villages racing from their homes. and if you resolve to give up diet soda for new year's, you're not alone. those stories when the "cbs evening news" continues. legs, for crossing. ♪ feet...splashing. better things than the joint pain and swelling of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis.

if you're trying to manage your ra, now may be the time to ask about xeljanz. xeljanz (tofacitinib) is a small pill, not an injection or infusion, for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz is an ra medicine that can enter cells and disrupt jak pathways, that comes with ra. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers have happened in patients taking xeljanz. don't start xeljanz if you have any kind of infection, unless ok with your doctor. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz, and routinely check certain liver tests. tell your doctor if you have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common, and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take,

and if you are pregnant, or plan to be. taken twice daily, xeljanz can reduce the joint pain and swelling of moderate to severe ra, even without methotrexate. ask if xeljanz is right for you. [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. [ m'm... ] great taste. [ tapping ] sounds good. campbell's healthy request. m'm! m'm! good.® [ coughs ] i've got a big date, but my sinuses are acting up. it's time for advil cold and sinus. [ male announcer ] truth is that won't relieve all your symptoms. hmm? [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer plus-d relieves more symptoms than any other behind the counter liquid gel.

than for the tip. [ male announcer ] no problem. oh...and hair products. aisle 9. [ inhales deeply ] oh what a relief it is. ♪ over the pizza place on chestnut street the modest first floor bedroom in tallinn, estonia and the southbound bus barreling down i-95. ♪ this magic moment it is the story of where every great idea begins. and of those who believed they had the power to do more. dell is honored to be part of some of the world's great stories. that began much the same way ours did. in a little dorm room -- 2713. ♪ this magic moment ♪ >> jeff: after searching surging if popularity for decades diet sodas are losing fizz, concerns over the chemicals they contain and doubts they help lose weight have lead many toward

a renewed taste for water. here's don dahler. >> reporter: at the mid-city gym in manhattan ben roman is closing in on his fourth mile on the treadmill and he's ready for a drink. but not the kind he used to crave. do you find that you drink less soda now than you used to. >> oh, yeah, i don't drink soda at all, more water now. >> reporter: all water. >> no diet soda at all. >> andre guilino was on the brench press next to you. what do you think about diet sodas, do you think they are healthier. >> diet soda is-- i start drinking water. >> reporter: more than ever before plane old h2o is muscling in on the $61 billion a year soda industry. over the past year sales of nondiet sodas have declined 2.2% while diet sodas have declined 6.8%. harry balzer analyzes eating trends. >> there has been a negative

attitude about artificial sweetereners growing over the years. >> reporter: to stop the sliding sales the beverage industry is looking to replace artificial sweetens with those derived naturally from the stevia plant. >> 20 years ago it was about avoiding harmful substances, avoiding calories, sugar, fat, cholesterol. this generation looks at halt as what can you add to my diet. where are the whole grains, anti-oxidants, diet tear fiber. natural foods in general have increased in popularity. ten areas ago diet and nondiet soft drinks were the second most popular food item. today they have fallen to fourth place behind sandwiches, fruit and vegetables. back at the gym andre guilino drinks a toast to that trend every day. his company is about to launch a new bottle design, for water. don dahler, cbs news, new york. >> jeff: explosion from a very active volume dan owe in karo, indonesia isn't the town's residents running for cover earlier today.

mount sinabung exploded just after midnight spewing a firestorm of gas and lava 13,000 feet into the air and up to three miles away. the volcano has erupted more than 77 times since yesterday. up next high-tech, you can wear. the hottest fashions at the consumer electronics show. od. [ 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. so here's to the bride and... [ coughs ] [ all gasp ] [ male announcer ] robitussin dm max now comes in a new liquid-filled capsule. nothing provides more powerful cough relief. robitussin. don't suffer the coughequences.

nothing provides more powerful cough relief. she'and you love her for it.ide. but your erectile dysfunction - that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than 4 hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use

and a 30-tablet free trial. pressure points on my tired, achy feet. i had no clue i was putting this kind of stress on my feet. i have flat feet. i found this out at the free dr.scholl's foot mapping center at walmart. in less than two minutes, i got my foot map and my custom number. i'm a 440. i'm a 210. 340. that number matched the dr.scholl's custom fit orthotic inserts with just the right support to help relieve stresseet. i'm a believer. find a walmart with a foot mapping center at drscholls.com i'm a believer. before those little pieces would get in between my dentures and my gum and it was uncomfortable. [ male announcer ] just a few dabs is clinically proven to seal out more food particles. [ corrine ] super poligrip is part of my life now.

>> jeff: another issue for yahoo!, weeks after a huge e-mail outage, its servers have been hit by a malware attack, you pate have been affected if you visited yahoo! the past few day, been 27,000 computers an hour were reportedly infectioned. yahoo! says it is aware of the problem. the annual consumer electronics show ces for short opens tuesday in las vegas. this year many of the new products take the notion of personal computing to a whole new level. carter evans has a preview. >> the big stars of the consumer electronic show this year are tiny computers, not on your desktop but just about everywhere else. cnet's lindsey turrentine.

>> wearables will be big at the show, last area was just the beginning and we saw the fit fit, the smart watches, this year they will be everywhere. >> if it sounds futuristic, this is state of the art, the ultimate in electronic wizardry. >> this was the wave of the future 25 years ago. >> we set out for the consumer electronics show in las vegas. >> as reported by steve kroft on the cbs news series west 57th. >> and after 1989 consumer electronic show, vcrs with onscreen programming are all the rage. >> you plug in the vcr and it tells what to do on the screen. >> the rate of change is extremely quick and anything that you might have imagined 20 years ago could exist in the future probably does. >> among the current future offerings are cars that drive, with or without someone behind the wheel. and homes that think for themselves. >> this year we're going to see gadgets you might not expect, things in the kitchen, small devices,

talking over the internet to you when you're not at home so the sky is the limit this is sort of the jettison home of the future coming to ces this year. >> more than 150,000 people are expected to attend. carter evans, cbs news, los angeles. >> in northern china more than a million people are expected to visit the world's largest ice festival. it started this weekend. take a look called the harbin international ice and snow sculpture festival. it lasts for a month. within arctic freeze is gripping big porks of the u.s., in australia it's been scorchingly hot. 2013 was australia's hottest year on record. so hot the australian bureau of meteorology had to add a new color to their heat index purple on the map indicates 129 degrees fahrenheit. still ahead, emergency landing, how did a small private plane end up on a new york city highway.

picking him up and holding him against me. it wasn't just about me anymore. i had to quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. chantix didn't have nicotine in it, and that was important to me. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these, stop chantix and see your doctor right away, as some could be life threatening. tell your doctor if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, or if you develop new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. i had to quit smoking to keep up with this guy. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you.

eating healthier,tion bying to keep up with this guy. drinking plenty of water, but still not getting relief? try dulcolax laxative tablets. dulcolax is comfort-coated for gentle, over-night relief. dulcolax. predictable over-night relief you can count on. imany cold medicines may raisee your blood pressure.

that's why there's coricidin hbp it relieves cold symptoms without raising blood pressure. so look for powerful cold medicine with a heart. coricidin hbp. the day building a play set begins with a surprise twinge of back pain... and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪ >> finally tonight so much attention has been on air travel this weekend we told you about the crash in aspen, also thousands of delays and

cancellations. in the middle of all that there was also what happened in new york city yesterday afternoon. when a small plane made an emergency landing, not on a runway but on a highway. terrell brown has more. >> may day, may day, 0 nine 0 air we're losing. >> michael schwartz was pilotting a sightseeing tour when his plane lost power. he and his passengers were going down. air-traffic control tried to divert him to laguardia. >> at 3:20 p.m. the tower lost radio contact. >> he had taken off from connecticut earlier in the day and circled around the statue of liberty it was on his way back when the plane's engine failed and schwartz was forced to land in the only place he could find, one of new york's busiest highways. >> be advised the aircraft we're hearing is down on the deegan expressway. >> the hero was a department of transportation employee, 55-year-old miguel lopez. he saw the plane coming down

and his quick thinking may have averted disas ter. he and his crew used their truck to block traffic on the highway. >> we started slowing down the traffic so nobody would go and the plane doesn't get hit by the cars. >> all three passengers walked away. no one on the ground was injured, not even a contrary car on the highway was scratched. all considered the mayor of new york called it a bit of a miracle. terrell brown, cbs news, new york. >> that is the "cbs evening news" tonight, later on cbs, "60 minutes." i'm jeff glor, cbs news in new york. scott pelley will be here tomorrow. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

fans screaming down to the last 2 seconds. how the 49erss managed to send the packers packing and move -- 49ers managed to send the packers packing and move on. no shortage of excitement for fans in the bay area. why they say weather does not matter to them. a rocky road lately for b.a.r.t passengers, now, another bump. price hikes. kpix-5 news is next ,,,,,,,,

games in n-f-l history comes down to the last 2 seconds. with that field goal --- the n --- and advance [cheers and applause] >> it is good. one of the coldest play off games in nfl history comes down to the lt