coming out from the cold. while much of the country will feel frozen today, the polar vortex that delivered record low temperatures starts to move out and the coast-to-coast cold starts to break. a parting shot from the former chief of the pentagon. ex-defense secretary robert gates takes aim at the president and vice president in a new memoir. and more than a hundred people are arrested, including dozens of new york law enforcement officers and firefighters accused of faking disabilities in order to receive federal benefits. captioning funded by cbs this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, january 8th, 2014. this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, january 8th, 2014. good morning. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. well, if you are one of millions

of americans suffering in a brutal record-setting arctic air mass, take heart. the worst of the deadly polar vortex should be over in the next few days. at least 21 cold-related deaths have been reported nationwide, including seven in illinois. several victims were homeless. chicago schools that were closed because of the freezing temperatures will open today. yesterday most of the midwest and east were colder than much of antarctica. and a 130-mile stretch up through rochester, new york, was closed overnight because of blizzard conditions. over the past four days, over 11,000 airline flights have been canceled because of the weather. single-digit temperatures were recorded from the north to south. this fountain in atlanta, georgia, was frozen solid. atlanta hit a record low of 6 degrees. marlie hall is here in new york with the latest. marlie, good morning. >> reporter: anne-marie, very few parts of the country have been spared these abnormally low

temperatures, but the good news is there's an end in sight. every state in the continental u.s. is expected to see at least one city with below freezing temperatures this morning, but the now infamous polar vortex which brought the bone-chilling cold will soon be heading back where it belongs. the storm can't leave soon enough. >> i want it to end, like i'm done with winter. >> reporter: dozens of cities broke record lows tuesday including pittsburgh and new york, which were set more than a century ago. temperatures are expected to be in the 50s this weekend in new york, but here in central park, we still started the day in the single digits. even cities used to the cold are having problems. near buffalo, new york, the niagara river is freezing over, causing flooding. >> it's a lot scary. like i said, i've never seen it

before. >> i've had seven flights cancel. >> reporter: on jetblue alone, over 150,000 passengers have had their flights cancel in the last week. now the deep freeze started last weekend in the midwest and move aid cross the eastern half of the country, and many won't be sad to see it go. anne-marie? >> so true. marlie hall here in new york. thank you very much, marlie. meteorologist eric fisher of our boston station wbz has the latest on the frigid weather and the coming warmup. >> we look about 30 days back. that's when all this cold really started to get going. and in general over the last 30 days the biggest departures from average across the upper midwest. however, anywhere in these blue shades, below average temperatures in the past few days is down toward florida and the west coast. this is where all the warmer air has been. in terms of the bitter windchills, not quite as bad as it has been but still looking at close to 30 below. close to zero in chicago.

single digits for much of the northeast. by the time you head home from work, still feels like the freezing mark in charlotte, 25 in cinci, 15 in new york city. the cold air, though, is going to start to retreat, head back from whence it came. but by the time we get into thursday, the 50s are creeping a little farther north ward, the subzeros move well back into canada. you see the line retreating right to the border. temps 50s in the south. keep in mind it's jan. keep in mind it's january. it is supposed to be cold. i'm eric fisher, cbs news. there has been a deadly avalanche in colorado. the grandson of one of vail's founders was killed. anthony seibert was killed along with three others. the avalanche happened yesterday morning in an area that was known to be dangerous. the three injured skiers are expected to recover. and this morning u.s. officials are investigating the deadly crash of an air force helicopter in england. the chopper crashed last night during a training mission near

the coast of eastern england. all four crew members were killed. alphonso van marsh is in london. alphonso, good morning. >> good morning, anne-marie. the u.s. military helicopter was based as a royal air force station that is host to the united states air force units and personnel about 130 miles north of london. police cordoned off the area where the pave-hawk helicopter crashed, killing four u.s. air u.s. officials say the helicopter was on a low level training mission over england's coast north of london when it went down in marshland. local police say at the time, a second helicopter from the same military base set down in the area to try to help the crew. the concern now is the safety of those investigating the crash. >> we believe that there is some ammunition on board the helicopter. >> local residents pete and sue mcnesbii think they saw one of

the helicopters through their window before it crashed. >> it didn't seem right to me. it looked like two headlights to me but it was going pretty fast. >> the pave-hawk chopper is a version of the black hawk chopper. it's used in aircraft as well as humanitarian issues. police say the investigation into the cause of the crash could take several days because the chopper carried ammunition and went down in such a rural area. now, anne-marie, the police say the debris field of the crash is about the size of a football field. the names of the federal airmen killed in crash will be available 24 hours after the families have been notified. now to a scorching critique of the obama administration by the former secretary of defense robert gates. in his new memoire, "secretary of war," gates writes about his

frustration over u.s. policy in afghanistan and slams joe biden. susan mcginnis is in washington with more on this. good morning, susan. >> good morning, anne-marie. robert gates, a republican, served as the secretary of defense under the last two years of the bush administration and under the first two years of the obama administration. now, in this memoir he takes president obama to task for what he calls a lack of passion in his pursuit of the war in afghanistan. president obama announced the december of 2009 that he was sending an additional 30,000 u.s. troops to afghanistan. in his book gates writes he never doubted the president's support for the troops but that mr. obama had doubts about the plan. the president, writes gates, doesn't believe in his own strategy, and doesn't consider the war to be his. for him it's all about getting out. >> he says that he believes that the president never had a passion for pursuing the war in afghanistan.

>> sunday morning correspondent rita braver interviewed gates about his book. >> he said this is important because it's one thing to say you support the troops. it's another thing to really let them know how important it is to you that they must succeed, that their cause is just. >> gates was highly critical of the president whom gate calls a man of integrity but writes that biden was constantly wrong on foreign policy. major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades, writes gates. >> he highlighted what he believed was biden's distrust of the military, especially the military generals. >> in a statement supporting the vice president, the white house national security council said the president disagrees with secretary gates' assessment. but gates also had some praise for the president in this memoir. in it he said the president's decision to order the raid on osama bin laden's hiding place was one of the most courageous decisions he ever witnessed in the white house. anne-marie? >> whether you agree with him or

not, it certainly has a lot of people talking and the book is just about to be released. susan mcginnis in washington. thank you. well, you can see rita braver's interview with robert gates on this weekend on sunday morning. coming up on the go "morning news," fake disability scam. former nypd officers living it up claiming they're too sick to work. velveeta may put a kink in your super bowl party plans. this is the "cbs morning news." in your super bowl party plans. this is the "cbs morning news." choice of soup or salad. r chili's lunch break combos, starting at 6 bucks. more life happens here. [ female announcer ] neutrogena® pore refining cleanser. alpha-hydroxy and exfoliating beads work to clean and tighten pores so they can look half their size. pores...shrink 'em down to size! [ female announcer ] pore refining cleanser. neutrogena®.

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wendy gillette is at the new york stock exchange with that and more. good morning, wendy. >> good morning, anne-marie. the senate battles to renew unemployment benefits for more than a million americans today. on tuesday they passed the first hurdle. republicans want the cost of the bill paid for with cuts in the federal budget. democrats say they're receptive to the idea if the gop agrees to extend benefits for three months without preconditions. jpmorgan chase will pay for bernie madoff's crime. the bank will shell out more than $2 billion for charges on the madoff ponzi scheme. jpmorgan was the largest bank used. this is the largest forfeiture of bank in u.s. history. asian stocks got a boost from the decline in the u.s. deficits. tokyo's nikkei rose 2%. hong kong's hang seng added 1%.

the new year slump on wall street has ended. the wall street had dropped for three straight sessions, but on tuesday the dow jumped 105 points while the nasdaq added 39 points. fireworks at the big consumer tech conference in las vegas. john legere was escorted out by security after a photo appeared on twitter. get ready for what some are calling a cheesepocalypse. velveeta says there may be a shortage. there is a shortage of the orange/yellow product. they say the demand is high this time of year as people gear up for the super bowl. so far it's short term. anne-marie, say it isn't so. >> i think it has more do with the deep freeze that everybody is sort of under, right? what do you want? comfort food, grilled cheese, tomato soup.

that's probably what it's all about. >> that's right. >> as long as they recover. wendy gillette with the new york stock exchange. thank you, wendy. straight ahead, your wednesday morning weather. and in sports, a miami heat fan gets a one-of-a-kind souvenir from lebron james. treat more. play more. go more. now... save more at the petsmart stock up & save sale. find great deals like 5 cans for $10. plus, get more savings on all your favorite wet brands. at petsmart®. you've got to try this sweet & sour chicken helper. i didn't know they made chicken. crunchy taco or four cheese lasagna? can i get another one of those actually? [ superfan ] hey, america, we're here to help. ♪ [ female announcer ] now your most dazzling accessory can be your smile.

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in sports american skier lindsey vonn won't compete in next month's winter olympics. vonn needs more surgery on her right knee. she had reconstructive surgery after injuring herself last february. vonn was hoping to make a comeback in time to defend her gold medal in the downhill. she said she is devastated but in no shape to compete. dennis rodman's team of former nba players is tuning up for a game in north korea today. it's believed to be north korean leader kim jong-un's birthday and he's expected to attend. rodman and his team worked out with the north korean team yesterday. the nba says it has nothing to do with rod mman's trip or the game. the hall of famer has made three previous trips to north korea. rodman said he won't mention kenneth bae, the detainee being held there.

david lee scores 22 points and grabs 18 rye bounds. the warriors top the bucks, 101-80. that tops the franchise record. they'll try to set a new mark tonight in brooklyn. and sometimes the miami heat just make it look so easy. after making a layup against new orleans, lebron james hits the floor and when he gets up, he spots an elderly fan in the front row and gives her a bit of a smooch. lebron finishes with 32 points and the heat knock off the pelicans, 107-88. two of college basketball's best teams squaring off in conference play. number 3 ohio state visiting number 5, michigan state. the spartans fans getting pumped up at halftime by their rose bowl's football squad, and it seems to work. keith appling hits a go-ahead hitter. michigan state wins, 72-68. when we return, caught red-handed. dozens of former new york city

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or training for a run... find your balance. every delicious balance bar® has 40-30-30 balanced nutrition to give you energy that lasts. balance bar®, have you found your balance? the game that may have been behind the attack. california lawmakers launch a new effort to stop the n-a from spying on you. the new proposal on the table. and a serious health warning this morning -- why health officials are so concerned t this season's strain of the flu. join us for kpix 5 news this morning... beginning at 4:3 ,,,,

here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country. washington, d.c., sunny today, atlanta, sunny as well. snow in st. louis. denver will see sunshine, and seattle will be cloudy today. for the first time in spain's modern history, a royal could be put on trial. princess cristina, king juan carlos's youngest daughter, has been charged with tax fraud and money laundering. her husband has been accused of embezzling about $8 million in public funds. princess cristina has been ordered to appear in court on

march 8. and new york prosecutors have charged more than a 00 people with u.s. disability fraud, many of them retired police officers and firefighters. some claim they had disabilities linked to the 9/11 attacks. the scam cost taxpayers as much as $400 million. jeff glor reports. >> reporter: prosecutors say that louis hurtado was starring in instructional videos as a sixth degree black belt all while telling the new york police department he was disabled with neck injuries and psychological problems. he's accused of taking over $470,000 in 24 euros. richard cosentino received $274,000 while claiming he was too depressed to go outside. glen lieberman, $175,000, also too depressed to go outside. he said after the attacks on 9/11. new york city police commissioner bill bratton. >> as a new yorker, as a u.s. citizen, i can only express disgust at the actions of the individuals involved. >> reporter: in all, more than

100 are charged, including 72 former members of the nypd. more than half the cases came from those claiming the events of 9/11 left them unfit to work. prosecutors say that ring leaders coached the men on how to act when examined by doctors and how to apply for benefits. the operation funneled by ex-cops joseph esposito and john minerva as well as raymond lavallee, a former fbi agent, and thomas hale, a pension consultant. the attorney. >> the mention of this indictment is that if you're considering falsifying or bilking any administration service for disability benefits, you shouldn't and if you do, you're going get caught. >> reporter: joseph esposito's attorney is brian griffin. >> mr. esposito proudly served this city as a new york city plifb and he came to court today and said two very important words. he said "not guilty." >> proposition cuters say the

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mornhere's another look at this here's another look at this morning's tom stories. the deep freeze is still gripping much of the nation. yesterday much of the east and midwest were colder than antarctica but temperatures are expected to get warmer over the next few days. and a u.s. military helicopter crashed in england, killing all four crew members. officials say it was on a training mission when it went down 130 miles north of london. the cause is under investigation. in washington, a new exhibit features dozens of stunning images from a world far away. chip reid spoke with the man who put it together. >> reporter: it was ten years ago that two mars rovers, spirit and opportunity, after a journey of seven months, bounced onto

the martian surface and began to explore while beaming hundreds of thousands of photos back to earth. so this one over here is one of your favorite photographs? >> it is. >> what is it? >> it's an empty corner showing the tracks coming from the distance into the foreground and it's a very desolate plain showing how the rover is moving by itself across the surface of mars, really reminiscent of a ship out in the ocean. >> reporter: john grant is the curator at the air & space mum in washington. what is the impetus of doing this? >> we're celebrating the tenth anniversary of the operation of the rover. it was supposed to only last three months. >> reporter: three months. >> three months. but what we're really trying do is portray not only the excitement of the discoveries made by the rovers but also the beauty that is mars. >> reporter: some make the visitors feel like they're standing on mars, like this one of a sunset.

>> it's created an image that's iconic in the sense that everyone has seen a sunset. a little bit alien but a little bit similar. it's something no one has ever seen before, no human being. >> reporter: grant hopes this exhibit will help pass along his passion for discovery to a new generation of sciences. >> when the kids come in here, i want them to look at these images and say i i can do that. i want to do this. i want to go to mars and be that person that stands on the planet. >> reporter: a planet that is even more photogenic than the mars of science fiction. chip reid, cbs news, washington. they are stunning. well, coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," reaction to robert gates' new book. we'll hear from president obama's former chief of staff bill daley. plus we'll take you to a town of arkansas that's become one of the top growers of the

soybean edamame. and actor william stops by the studio. that's the "cbs morning news" for this wednesday. thanks for watching. i'm anne-marie green. have a great day. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

your realtime captioner is mrs. linda m. macdonald good morning, everyone. it's wednesday, january 8. i'm michelle griego. >> we always make it. i'm frank mallicoat. get you out the door.

>> we are seeing some precipitation outside! haven't been able to see much of that. it's just some drizzle but making the roads a little slick if you are headed out the door. we could see a little rain coming our way. we'll talk about that coming up. >> that's right. something is brewing outside. in fact, there are some slick conditions reported slippery when wet a little bit across the san mateo bridge so you can see it in our camera just past the toll plaza. so we'll have a full look at your morning commute. there's a lot of overnight roadwork, as well. have your travel times and mass transit. >> sounds good. thank you. it is 4:30. as we begin, a woman now recovering after being sucker punched at a strip mall. kpix 5's betty yu reports, los gatos police are wondering if it was all part of a dangerous "knockout game." >> i screamed, ah! >> reporter: that scream came from a woman outside this los gatos dance studio. she may be the latest victim of a disturbing "game" that's gaining popularity across the country.