this hour on msnbc saturday, would you look at that? they're slip sliding away in the south. the eastern two-thirds of the nation is in the grips of an arctic blast and there is a second wave coming. 85,000 jobs lost in december. what does it mean for the president's approval rating? we'll have more ahead on that. also, more trouble for the white house party crashers. you're going to find out what

they face ahead. and good saturday morning, everyone. i'm alex witt. those stories and a whole lot more including new video of the man suspected of killing seven cia agents in afghanistan. but first, we're beginning this morning with the frigid temperatures gripping most of this country. in bismarck, north dakota, it is expected to reach 34 degrees below zero. that's when you factor in the windchill. new low temperatures are expected as far south as florida, across the midwest, and out west. we're going to have the forecast in a moment. snow and ice were a dangerous combination in atlanta. we can't get enough of looking at this video. can you imagine being at the top of that hill, that incline and seeing a sheet of black ice below you and cars to boot? yeah. fortunately we can report there were no serious accidents other than the damage done to the cars there. a lot of insurance adjusters being called today. and over two dozen car crashes reported overall. bill karins has more. bill, good morning. >> good morning, alex. a historic morning in central

florida. we're getting reports of snow and sleet from areas in tampa, just outside of downtown orlando. this just doesn't happen. i lived there for five years myself, never saw anything like this. look at the temperature. orlando international airport, a temperature of 32 degrees. and we're getting rain and sleet and snow mixed in all through central florida. look at the winter radar, the white is showing where the snow is, mostly in the northern edge of the precip shield, around ocala and the villages, even areas toward days tonia beach are getting a wintry mix. just an incredible morning. this is going to be followed by the arctic blast. so, you know, this morning slowly warming up, change over, wintry mix to mostly rain showers. then tonight, the cold air pushes in. and this is where the danger is for the strawberries and the orange crops. tonight in orlando, 26 degrees. tomorrow morning, 29. so this is going to be a two-day blast of cold air. even miami is going to be down in the mid to low 30s tomorrow morning. so there is a lot of concern in

the state of florida. we also talked about how bitterly cold it is, all through the eastern half of the country. and for the first time, alex, that cold air made it to the east coast and new england. windchills are very cold this morning in new england. it is going to be this way all night. alex, incredible, snow being reported in florida this morning. back to you. >> can't believe it. we'll take your word for it. we'll have more from you later, bill. thank you very much. more on the deep freeze across the south entirely, again, more excuse to show this video. it is pretty scary stuff. reports from georgia for you. we'll also take you to minnesota for the arctic-like temperatures there. well, the 23-year-old nigerian man accused of trying to blow up that detroit bound plane on christmas says he's not guilty. yesterday in detroit umar abdulmutallab pled not guilty. the charges include attempted murder and the attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction to bring down a plane carrying 289 people. also, the man believed to be behind that security breach in newark was arrested last night and released a little while

later. 28-year-old jiang faces a trespassing charge and a fine up to $500. you'll remember that security breach shut down an entire terminal at newark stranding thousands. here with me to talk about all this, michael sheehan, good morning. should we call out the rocket scientists upstairs working on stuff in the studio. you might hear some noise in the background, it is not beepers going off. >> no terrorist activities. >> we have rocket scientists upstairs drilling. to the christmas day plot now. according to one fbi official this man talked his head off. the administration says he stopped answering questions, but after like 30 hours he did not ask for a lawyer. so what he tells us is that credible, prior to getting the lawyer? >> it is hard to say, alex. i think personally young, inexperienced, he's not a hardened terrorist. he's rambling on. probably a lot of the stuff in there is good information, the

early on stuff. my experience is after they get going for a while, they start spitting all kinds of stories, telling the investigator what they want to hear. there is probably good nuggets in there that will be followed up on. >> let's talk about the president's address and he said we need to address the unique challenge of lone recruits. one person, lone recruits. how do you stop that? >> this is difficult, especially a guy from the west who travels around the world, have a valid visa to the u.s., one guy not communicating with anybody once he leaves the camps in yemen. very difficult to find. normally people are found like zazi, runs into an nypd informant and the whole cell is unraveled. one guy operating with discipline is difficult to find, like finding a needle in a hay stack. >> you had his well respected father, a nigerian banker, going to authorities previously and saying i'm worried about my son, believe he's being radicalized in yemen. in this case, we had the heads up. so what happened?

>> that's right, alex. that's why it is so important and the president is talking about following up, having responsibility for every single lead that has some degree of credibility to it because if in fact he's a lone wolf or lone operator it will be difficult to find this guy as he operates out there. that's why is so important to take every threat seriously, sort through the priority and follow up. >> which, of course, we did with regard to the newark liberty international terminal cpit mak. we'll have to tighten up all the way around.

we have to make sure we're closing all the potential loopholes, using technology, in the case of the tsa agent, he goes on a break, things open up, have to use technology and tighten it up. >> michael sheehan, you can go upstairs and kick a little terror to those guys. thank you very much. for more on the investigation into the christmas day plot and how some experts say terror watch lists have limited use, you can head to our website, michael is going right now. thank you very much. president obama is working to change the political conversation in washington away from the christmas day terror attempt and back to the economy. as a labor department report released friday shows the economy shed ten times more jobs than expected in december. mike vicaro joins me now from the white house. the president says the overall trend in job loss, pointing in the right direction. a lot of americans who might disagree with that. how does he plan to reassure

them? >> the president says, yes, the job loss picture is getting better, but there is no hiding the sense of disappointment at the white house yesterday. they thought the december numbers were going to get better. let's look at the numbers. the unemployment picture for december. 85,000 jobs lost in december. the u.s. jobless rate remains at 10%, alex. that's the same tass was it was november. the u.s. underemployment rate, this is the figure that they calculate where people who have doctor we -- were looking for jobs quit looking for jobs, 17.3%, that's staying steady as well. the president under considerable pressure from his democratic allies in congress to pass a second stimulus package, but they don't want to call it that, another jobs bill very politically sensitive issue as well as, of course, a matter of policy. no one wants to see the unemployment rate continue in double digits. the white house continues to say, however, they do expect

positive net job growth within the first quarter of this year. the so-called jobless recovery, however, continuing for now. although there is optimism both within the white house and among economists that there is going to be some hiring done in the spring as temporary workers, a lot of businesses, alex, are hiring temporary workers. that's seen as a sign that businesses are going to start rehiring people, temporary workers being hired at a very rapid pace. >> you know, how much does this have to be the focus of this president given this is a midterm election year and if you stick with the old adage that people vote their wallets and no money getting into that wallet, you'll vote for change. how much of this is a priority? >> it is a very big concern among democrats on capitol hill as republicans continue to hammer the president on the unemployment rate. that's why the house is taking a lead in pushing this job bill. as far as the white house is concerned, alex, he's the president of the united states, the world keeps intruding. we have been riveted here, have

policymakers, and administration officials, by the christmas day attempted bombing, by the fallout over that. that two-week review, rather rapid review conducted, the president coming out, hoping to put that behind them now as a matter of public perspective and starting to refocus on jobs, they hope to have the health care bill done by the state of the union address, but that date keeps getting pushed back as well because house and senate democrats need all the time they can to work out a compromise between those bills. so a lot is on the plate. but the primary focus as far as the political focus here and the public relations focus, democrats really want to start focusing on jobs, alex. >> okay, mike, thank you as always. sunday on "meet the press," david gregory will speak with arnold schwarzenegger and dnc chairman governor governor tim kaine and michael steele. rudy giuliani says it was a slip of the tongue when he said there had been no terrorist attacks on american soil during

the bush administration. he said president obama needs to follow the former president's lead on how to take on terrorism. joe biden's mother has died. gene bide n had fallen ill in recent days. she was 92. and governor arnold schwarzenegger declared a budget emergency in california. the golden state has a $19.9 billion budget deficit. the man who caused thousands of passengers to be stranded for hours is arrested and released. you'll find out why ahead. the wild ride caught on camera. the guy who drove his car while sticking his head out of the sunroof at top speed. no kidding. we'll show you on msnbc saturday. male announcer ] let's talk about putting our best square foot forward. then let's do more than talk about it. let's turn picturing it into planning it, thinking it over into making it happen. let's say out with the old and in with the new. let's create some wall-to-wall "wow." [ man ] ♪ oh! [ male announcer ] more saving. more doing.

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we have new developments this morning. that security breach at newark

liberty international airport including an arrest in the case and it all started when a man walked right through a security checkpoint last sunday, leading the tsa to shut down one of the airport's main terminals for several hours and that incident stranded scores of passengers. it caused major delays and headaches. nbc's michelle franzen joins me with the latest. good morning to you. what kind of details have you learned? >> we know that the man accused of that security breach is 28-year-old haisong jiang of piscataway, new jersey. he slipped past a security checkpoint rope because he wanted to say good-bye to his girlfriend. so far he's been charged with defiant trespass, a disorderly persons offense. he is a post doctoral student at rutgers university and was arrested last night at his home. he was released shortly after midnight. the security breach shut down newark liberty international airport for six hours, creating chaos for 16,000 travelers last sunday and well into monday. authorities say surveillance

cameras captured jiang ducking under a security rope at an unmanned post and reuniting with the woman said to be his girlfriend who was catching a flight. new jersey senator frank lautenberg pressed for the surveillance video to be released and says the arrest sends a message. >> there is a message that goes out there, don't try it. don't try it, because if you will, we're going to catch you. >> the video also shows a tsa agent apparently leaving his post. a union spokesman says he's been rated a model employee and they're reviewing reports he was called from his post to investigate a disturbance right before the breach. the worker is now on administrative leave and could face disciplinary charges. jiang may, though, only face a $500 fine and a possible 30 days in jail for the defiant trespassing charge. >> michelle, is anything being done to make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again? >> certainly on many levels.

senator lautenberg says he'll address a few of the issues at upcoming congressional hearings and airport cameras were not working at first. it took more than an hour before officials could get backup cameras from continental airlines. that showed the breach. then there is concern over the tsa agents and their posts. senator lautenberg says he wants all to learn from this expensive lesson so it doesn't happen again. >> i'll bet, michelle franzen, you're right on that. thank you so much. two more security incidents involving air travel to share with you this morning. british police have arrested three people on board a passenger jet at london's heathrow airport for allegedly making verbal threats to staff. a police spokesman says all three were removed from the emirates plane yesterday before takeoff and british authorities searched that jet and say they didn't find anything dangerous. and an unruly passenger on board an airtran flight forced the pilot to make an unscheduled stop in colorado. that flight was on its way from atlanta to san francisco when it diverted to colorado springs because a passenger had locked himself in the plane's bathroom.

officials say the passenger was intoxicated. he was taken into custody after the plane landed. ice turning many roadways around atlanta into virtual skating rinks. the latest blast of wintry weather is blamed for dozens of car accidents there on friday. here we go again with this, heading downhill, on the black ice, and, wham. the air temperatures could be sending temperatures to new lows as far south as miami. but, again, this video. can you imagine being at the top of the hill and thinking, oh, no, i can't stop? we have nbc's ron mott in atlanta for us where it is just lots of snow behind you. you look so cold, but nonetheless, a good morning. >> reporter: good morning, alex. it is a balmy 13 degrees right now with the windchill of zero. and they have the nerve to nickname this place hotlanta. as you can imagine, a lot of folks getting a little dicey with things get icy here. that's exactly what happened here and far beyond. >> look out! >> reporter: the dangerous

frosty weather stretched from coast to coast, menacing planes, trains and automobiles. and in the south, bumper cars, minus the amusement, as icy conditions turned many roadways into slippery slopes, triggering wreck after wreck. like this 27-vehicle pileup friday morning in atlanta. >> there is nothing we can do to stop the cars. you just watch one, boom, he comes up, the next one, you see it coming and there is another one and there is another one. >> reporter: no one died here, though a handful of weather related fatalities were reported elsewhere. in the pacific northwest, wind was the big culprit. >> it is just painful. >> reporter: with hurricane force gusts reaching 100 miles an hour, along the columbia river gorge, separating oregon and washington state, sending a tv reporter and colleague tumbling. >> i'm going to miss my mother's funeral. >> reporter: in chicago, amtrak passengers emernled fr s emerge station irate after numerous delays including snow drifts in nebraska hampered a cross country trip. >> we own this train eight

hours, sit in the yard, waiting on the snow blower to come. that was a train from -- that was a nightmare. >> reporter: similar frustration affected the not so friendly skies as hundreds of flights were canceled since thursday. back on the ground, in milwaukee, residents had their hands and shovels full cleaning up from a storm system that dumped a record 10 inches of snow in some neighborhoods, what might have been a nuisance for homeowners was good quick business for work crews. >> we do about anywhere from 10 to 20 houses when it snows. this driveway here behind us, took me about five minutes to do with the proper equipment. >> reporter: now it is not the snow here in atlanta that we need removed, it is the ice underneath it. you see a big chunk here, it is 13 degrees. work crews are having a hard time getting rid of the ice because below 22 degrees that mixture they put down on the road doesn't work as well. a lot of folks are probably going to be sliding into one another here again today as we mentioned yesterday. it was one accident after

another yesterday. so hopefully today people will either stay home or use extra caution when they get behind the wheel. back to you. >> how big a chunk is that ice? how thick is it? if that's what you're picking up from coating on the ground, show that again. a couple of inches? >> reporter: yeah this is probably a good two, two and a quarter inches here. this is what is on the roads here. as i said, that mixture they put down, it melts it and it refreezes. so the work crews are working as hard as they can to keep up with it. fortunately it is the weekend, hopefully a lot of people will stay home today, alex. >> what you need is warmer temperatures to help melt it. otherwise you got to break it up. ron mott, thanks. later, a live report from minnesota where the high is expected to be a balmy 12 degrees. wow. coming up, what's on the menu? why restaurants across the country are paying close attention to the health care bill, which is making its way through congress. plus, a very different kind of warning for those driving across canada. that story ahead here on msnbc saturday.

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there is a side effect to the new health reform legislation making its way through congress that could affect your eating options. if it passes, restaurant chains with more than 20 locations will have to post the calorie content of their offerings in a clear and conspicuous manner and they'll be required to give you complete new trigs information for any item if you ask for it. if passed, the law may not go into effect for years, but already some popular chains are tinkering with their offerings. jane black is a food reporter for "the washington post." good morning to you. >> good morning. >> this is interesting stuff. i read that starbucks has had a 6% caloric drop in what their -- those people who eat the foods and drink the lattes and stuff consume. do you think this is a healthy trend for folks? do you think it will stick? >> i think it is. there has been a lot of debate. and the starbucks study that came out is one of the largest ones that has been done. it is only about starbucks and starbucks has a certain type of

consumer that goes to visit there. i think what happens is you start to see it, you think i'll grab that muffin, and then you see, oh it has 500 calories and you think, maybe i'll skip it, maybe i'll get something else. one of the interesting things at starbucks is that people really didn't change what they were drinking. they still got the latte, they still got the, you know, regular coffee, but they went a little bit less on the food or changed what they were getting to something with a lower calorie count. >> it makes sense. i remember going to an appleby's and i thought something that was healthy, can't remember the dish, i said are you kidding me? it had like a thousand calories. i said there are three of us at the table, we'll all split it. in economic times, there is something to that. >> yeah. it is truly amazing, though. i think people would be really shocked. one of the restaurants that has done a really good job trying to put healthier offerings to prepare for this kind of legislation is uno chicago grill, famous for that big deep dish pizza. their signature pizza, an

individual sized pizza, is -- goodness, sorry about that. is -- had 1920 calories, that's the amount you're supposed to have in a day. >> that's -- you bring up a good point, jane, because it could say a thousand calories for a dish, but are restaurants going to be required to say here is what a recommended daily amount is? people may not be able to put this in perspective. where will they get that info? >> they won't have to say that. they'll tell you what the total amount is. one of the confusing things about this is if you go on uno's website it says that's divided into three servings. but, of course, on the menu it says it is an individual size. how much of it are you supposed to eat? there are all kinds of ways this will be more confusing but i think that just having the calories and seeing them will change the way people order and will also change what the restaurants offer. i mean there is a bakery chain called la pan and they went from offering the regular size brownie, over 500 calories to

eat these little bite size brownies, about 100 and they have seen sales of those skyrocket because all people want is that one little bite. >> it is absolutely true. share desserts, that's true. jane black, a great article at "the washington post." thanks so much for sharing it. >> thank you. coming up, new video of the man suspected of being a double agent for al qaeda and killing seven cia agents in afghanistan. did the president move fast enough after news of the attempted christmas day attack broke? if his detractors are right, how this could hurt his administration. here's an easy way you can enjoy the convenience of steam-in-the-bag vegetables and the great taste of sauce. try green giant valley fresh steamers. each bag microwaves in minutes, steaming the vegetables until they're cooked to perfection. try green giant valley fresh steamers. why was i hit with this thunderbolt? at 43. when i try to eat right and take care of myself. now i'm on an aspirin regimen because it helps me live the life i want to live. so i can continue to do the things that i love. it's so simple.

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welcome back to msnbc saturday. i'm alex witt. here is what's making headlines this hour. much of this nation is under a deep freeze. the windchill is as low as 25 below and have whipped across the planes while already hard hit crops in florida are expected to be further hindered by the freezing temps. the nigerian man charged with trying to blow up a u.s. bound flight on christmas day pleaded not guilty.

he appeared before a judge in detroit on friday. outside that courthouse, about 50 detroit area muslims marched to denounce terrorism. they chanted we are americans and carried u.s. flags and signs with messages such as not in the name of islam. new this morning, pakistani television station is airing a video of a man it claims is the double agent who killed cia agents in afghanistan. al jazeera says this footage shows human abu balawi delivering a message to jihadists. jim maceda joins us me from kabul, afghanistan. good evening, your time. let's get to the significance of this tape. let's talk about it. >> reporter: right, well, it is very significant indeed if it is real. i think i have to stress yet again that we're saying this is allegedly al balawi, we haven't independently confirmed that yet. you see on the tape, as you say, a man standing next to the current leader of the pakistani

taliban that is hakimullah mehsoud. the fact they're together would suggest the pakistani taliban claim of responsibility in the -- in the actual incident. al balawi speaking in arabic at one point in that 90-second video, says the true jihadist will never bargain or sell out his religion. perhaps mockingly suggesting that he never was flipped by either the jordanian or u.s. intelligence agencies as had been suggested in some previous reports. he also goes on to say in that video that one must never forget, quote, our amir or commander baitullah mehsoud, the other mehsoud, the former leader of the pakistani taliban who was killed in a cia run air strike in waziristan last august. alex? >> now, jim, i understand that human abu al balawi's father is

selling people that is his son in the video and he's blaming the u.s. for his son's death? >> reporter: absolutely. just hours after the first posthumous video came out, reuters released video of the father, khalil al balawi, lives in the eastern part of iman, confirming the person on the video, the taliban video, though we never see him actually looking at it, was indeed his father. he goes on to say how helpless and how devastated he felt. and, yes, he blames u.s. policy in the middle east for the actions of his son. i quote here, he said, the american oppression against the muslim world and injustice could turn anyone to this sort of thing. just to remind everyone, december 30th attack at the operating base killed seven cia employees and it was considered to be the worst single attack on the cia in decades. >> all right, from kabul, afghanistan, nbc's jim maceda,

thank you, jim. new jersey officials say a man accused of causing a security breach is facing a trespassing charge as well as a $500 fine. the 28-year-old doctoral student was arrested last night and released shortly after midnight. he allegedly took advantage of a tsa agent's brief absence last sunday, sneaking past a checkpoint to embrace a woman said to be his girlfriend who was on her way to catch her flight. and that prompted an evacuation of the entire terminal causing major delays. joining me live from washington, tom blank, former head of tsa policy and currently with wexler and wallace public associates. first your reaction to the arrest in the case? >> well, first of all, it is like retro tsa. it is a throwback to 2002 and 2003 when terminal dumps were a pretty routine event. and over the years, with the installation of cameras, and training of individuals that guard the exit lanes, this has

become a pretty rare occurrence. in this particular instance, i think there is a lot of people to blame. the post should not have been left unguarded. the cameras should not have been in a nonoperative state and i think the student bears a lot of blame too for not having the kind of situational awareness to figure out what the atmosphere is securitywise in airports these days. >> one of those who thinks all the rules apply to everyone but me. can you talk about the incident with the tsa screener or a guard on duty? report is, tom, he left for a minute and 25 seconds, went to answer a cell phone call. why he couldn't answer it while standing at the guard desk, i'm not sure. but what about policy being in place such as it is here at nbc, when we come in and all come in the early morning and there is only one security guard on duty, if i have something that needs to be handled at security desk, they have to walkie-talkie call for someone to come and stand at the elevator post, go over to the security desk. it is a nuisance, but it is understandably done the right

way. that's not being done at the tsa? >> well, first that post should never have been left unguarded. when the airport is an operational mode, exit lanes are supposed to be covered. there is many ways that that can be done. oftentimes there is revolving doors in place. but sometimes the physical geography of an airport simply won't permit it and you have to have sort of an open -- an open patch there. but this fellow should not have been on a cell phone, and that post should not have been left unguarded. >> are there rules you can't take cell phone calls during your tenure at the post or -- >> well, you can probably have the cell phone at your post. i think they're trying not to be as completely absolute as to say that if you're on your post, you can't be -- take a brief cell phone call. that may change and be reviewed as a result of this incident. >> yeah. what about the fact that the cameras weren't working, tom, and the video that we're showing people actually comes from continental airlines, which

operates the majority of terminal c there? >> well, that's an error, that's a lapse in management by tsa at newark international airport. that is not supposed to happen. and i'm sure that they're reviewing precisely why it did, how long a gap they had, and they'll take corrective actions. but i would expect to see a reprimand of tsa personnel. >> tom blank former head of tsa policy, now with wexler and walker, thank you very much, tom. a new political ad is taking aim at the president and his handling of the christmas day terror attempt. it is paid for by the group keep america safe which counts liz cheney among its board member and reports to take an hour by hour look at the president's response to the bomb attempt in the style of the tv show "24." >> but what already is apparent is that there was a mix of human and systemic failures that contributed to this potential catastrophic breach of security.

>> how long did it take you to realize the system failed? >> john decker is a washington correspondent for reuters. good morning, again. >> good morning again to you, alex. >> how damaging do you think an attack like this is? did the president's actions leave him vulnerable on this issue? >> well, it left him vulnerable among those americans for whom national security, homeland security is a very important issue. certainly with the folks like rudy giuliani who is critical of the president and his reaction to what happened on december 25th, and over the past two week, it tapped into those concerns that he's had. but i think that overall the president is moving forward. he's been in front of the camera six times over the past two weeks since the christmas day incident, talking about this, his language has gotten to the point where it sounds very much like former president george w.

bush when he said we are at war, we are at war against al qaeda. i think that certainly nullifies those people who want to hear that type of language from president obama. >> do you think it mollifies people because in part of the absolute anger in his tone. it was very thinly veiled. he thought this was inexcusable and point blank said so and he's taken steps and directed home l homeland security janet napolitano to go through retreads of how we run things. will that appease his critics? >> i think there are critics for whom no matter what the president says or does, it will never appease those people. i think that his message more importantly is just overall to the american public. making certain that they understand that he gets it, that there are things that are being done as it relates to screening at airports, as it relates to those watch lists that we have heard so much about, that there is -- there are efforts being undertaken by national security and homeland security officials

to make certain that something like this does not happen again. >> and despite the president spending yesterday, the day after he addressed the nation on the terror incident, talking about jobs creation, how long will the terror incident have to occupy the president really being front and center? will he ever be able to turn away from that? >> it is always going to be out there. and certainly, alex, over the next few weeks there are going to be a number of hearings in congress, i think at least seven committees are going to be taking up the issue of what happened on december 25th. and looking into what should have been done and what should be done going forward. so it is going to be in the news. but as you mentioned, these job numbers, which came out yesterday, which the white house called disappointing, that will pretty much dominate what the president will be talking about going forward. certainly over the next few months. >> all right, john decker, as always, a pleasure. thanks so much, john. >> great. thanks a lot, alex. a federal grand jury is investigating whether the so-called white house party crashers lied to a government

official. two stylists that worked on them have been subpoenaed in the case. they spent several the salahis on the 24th. the stylists are set to testify on tuesday. starting monday, there is a new lineup at msnbc. 9:00 a.m. eastern, right after morning joe, it is the premiere of "the daily rundown" with white house correspondents chuck todd and savannah guthrie. they'll have exclusive interview with rahm emanuel. also starting monday, "the dylan ratigan show," all of it here, only on msnbc. how is this for crazy, richard anthony forest jr. arrested in arizona on two counts of reckless driving and one count of speeding. not only was he allegedly driving over 90 miles an hour, but as you can see in this video, yeah, he was standing through his open sunroof while driving. mm-hmm. picture tells a story right there. canada declares war. well, really canada's national

parks declared war on moose. there was apparently a moose population explosion in the eastern part of the nation. moose collisions with vehicles in two national parks are happening more frequently so officials say they're going to thin the herd. you know what that means. i'll be right back. listen to this story. i love hosting the holidays... especially for my adorable grandchildren. but after all the rich, heavy food, i was irregular, sluggish. so my friend recommended the activia challenge. activia, with bifidus regularis is clinically proven to help regulate your digestive system. and it worked. i don't know what i like better-- how it makes me feel... or the great taste. take the activia challenge. it works or it's free. ♪ activia!

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that's a closet. you know what, guys? take the afternoon off! we can't. that is why i hired you. world's proudest boss. [ male announcer ] we understand. you can never have too much help. fedex office. a reality tv show mom gets a major makeover. how will fans respond to the new makeover of one of america's big shows? kim serafin, senior editor for "in touch" magazine joins me. kate gosselin got a big makeover. what happened there. >> kate gosselin, people have seen the photos floating around, new hair extensions, apparently it took 20 hours to do these hair extensions. >> oh, my gosh. >> thousands of dollars. definitely not the clip-on ones you buy at the beauty star. i've done those and those look fine for me but i'm not kate gosselin. >> look at the hair stastyle sh

had, that was kate gosselin. remember at halloween, they had the wigs. >> people were trying to find it, could not find it anywhere. she was so known for that hairstyle. this is a big deal, the fact she's starting this new year, her and jon got divorced in december, finalized. new kate, new hairdo, new year. >> and jon's got a new girlfriend. >> yeah. apparently jon met a girl while skiing over the holidays and certainly jon needed a new girlfriend for 2010, because he hasn't had enough women in his life so -- >> jon needs a lot of new stuff. let's go to the new season of american idol. it will have a brand new look. how will fans take to this? >> this is a big season. there is always a reason to watch "american idol," i'm a big fan. but we know ellen is coming in, paula is not on. ellen will not appear until hollywood week. we'll see the initial auditions, when they brought in the guest judges, mary j. blige, joe jonas, katy perry, celebrity

guest judges but paula not there. the first season we'll see no paula on the panel. we're waiting to see the fireworks maybe between ellen and simon. ellen said simon, she thinks is mean, they get along but everyone is waiting to see that dynamic. this might be simon's last season. lots of rumors floating around he wants to brit x factor his show from the uk over to america. he's in negotiations now. so nobody really knows. lots of rumors about this might be his last season and will "american idol" be popular without him. >> a lot of people will be tu tuning in, including you. brand new details about the brutal cold blanketing 60% of the country today. blowing snow is making did it difficult for motorists in the planes. several highways were shut down due to poor visibility. minus 22 degrees without the windchill in waterville, minnesota, today. the weather channel's janelle kline is there for us today. oh, wow, i can't even imagine 22

below. seriously, that's what it is like? what does it feel like? >> reporter: i know. it feels awful. but thank goodness for no wind. without the windchill, it is at least bearable. with that wind, i don't know how we would ever be able to be out here. it has been a tough week in the midwest. last weekend, international falls, minnesota, the self-proclaimed ice box of the nation, hit negative 37, breaking a 30-year record that was without the windchills. today, negative 34, no windchills. there has been wind this week, 40-mile-an-hour gusts. you can imagine what it has been like to be out. and storms along with it, some bad enough to close interstates and highways. interstate 90 along the southern edge of minnesota closed for a time this week and prompted governor tim pawlenty of minnesota to activate the national guard. it has been a tough week throughout the midwest. despite that, people here are coming out today. we're seeing skiers, people on

sleds, people on snowmobiles. and you see a few people out ice fishing. as you can imagine, no problem with the frozen lake with these temperatures. and obviously frozen well enough that we can drive cars and things on them. so all of those shacks out there, people who have ventured out in this awful weather. and they say it is possible to do it. you to add a few extra layers. >> yeah. i get nervous anytime i see cars on a frozen overlay. but they must know what they're doing. nanuk of the north there, all covered up and talking through a mask, way to go, girl. janel kleiin, thank you very much. tv goes 3d, but do you need it? who cares it cool. more from the electronics show. you heard so much bad news about the effects of cell phone radiation. there may be some benefit as well. more ahead on that on msnbc saturday. cy. cy. straightforward is the way td ameritrade does business.

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so the tech junkies are buzzing about the world's largest consumer electronics show this week in las vegas. it is where the latest and greatest in everything from smart phones and even 3d televisions are being unveiled. joining me now, caroline mccarthy, reporter for cnet.com. what are the big standouts this week? >> what everybody is talking about above all are the 3d televisions. it has some novelty to it. it sounds like the sort of things they talked about in the '50s that we would be using now. after "avatar," they're thinking that technology can now be moved to the home theater. it is a gamble. they don't know whether consumers will catch on. >> i'm thinking for the sports junkies, absolutely. like the sports bars, great. >> espn is launching a 3d channel, not 24 hours, but big sporting events like some of the world cup soccer stuff in south africa this summer, that is going to be broadcast in 3d. you will need glasses to see it.

and those will be expensive too. that's one of the pratfalls to this all of the various accessories involved like the stereo system, the glasses, that is going to add up to quite a pricey home entertainment system. >> even if the sports bars, if you want to watch the super bowl in 3d, great, eventually at some point, but the glasses, that's a logistics nightmare and expensive. >> yes. >> do you see ever a point where what we watch right now, the flat screens and the plasmas and all of them, becoming obsolete? could this be a 3d future? >> do you want to see 27 dresses or the latest ca ess esst kate in 3d, i don't think so. >> what about the news? >> i guess if it is eye catching. >> maybe. we keep hearing that it is super energized, that there is a new sense to everything this year. >> there is such a consumerist

vibe to the -- a consumer vibe to the show every year that, you know, this is what you want to buy, this is what you want to get. i think that that last year was dampened a little bit by the economy and things still are pretty rough for many, many, many consumers. but there is a very energetic vibe, based on some of the stuff out there, the tvs and ebook reader and tablets, a lot of those. >> tablets, apple's new thing that's coming out when? >> apparently, obviously apple never confirms anything, but january 26th, they're having an event related to mobile devices, widely speculated, basically confirmed that it will be the launch of a tablet pc which, you know, maybe -- you never know what apple will do. >> so cryptic that way. >> maybe compete with the kindle or some of the other various ebook readers we saw debuting at ces this week. >> we'll see what happens on that. caroline mccarthy, thank you. coming up, treacherous temperatures across the nation and it is not over yet. the man whose actions shut

down one of the nation's busiest airports for six hours is getting arrested and then released. that's the guy right there in the second tan coat. his story ahead on msnbc saturday. for strong bones, i take calcium. but my doctor told me that most calcium supplements... aren't absorbed properly unless taken with food. he recommended citracal. it's different -- it's calcium citrate, so it can be absorbed with or without food. citracal.

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