>> like swing, it's like the groove. >> reporter: i've never had a 12-year-old try to explain to me about groove. >> oh. >> reporter: just listen to him groove on this song "mob blues." he wrote it when he was 10. what's most remarkable is that joey is already a master of improvisation. most of what he plays he makes up as he goes along. do you know how you're going to

do it? have you planned it all out? >> when i'm on stage, i never plan i'm going to do this. but of course, you have the concept what you're going to do, but you don't really plan it. >> so every time it might be different? >> yeah. >> it sounds really hard. [ laughter ] >> it is kind of hard. >> reporter: and yet, joey makes it look so easy. winston marsales, one of the biggest names in jazz, has seen a lot of talent in jazz over the years. >> i've never heard no one that can play like him. no one has heard a person that can play like him. >> reporter: he has genius? >> no question about that to any of us. >> reporter: genius? this is what he means. >> let's take a traditional hymn like "just a closer walk with thee."

with basic chord changes, this is with noel provization. >> oh, the song. now put improvise on it. [ laughter ] >> that was cool. >> somebody 12 playing like that.

be undeniable, but no one can explain where it comes from. >> why? we don't know why. sound. sound. sound just is. ability. they are. >> reporter: they just are. >> they are. he plays that sets him apart, it's from he's from. bali, the tiny indonesian island better known for palm trees than piano players. he was a hyperactive kid, so one day when he was 6, his parents brought home a keyboard, hoping to channel all that restless energy. focus him? >> yeah. at the same time, we wanted to find out whether he's musical or not, because we have a musical family. >> reporter: that was the first time he started playing with the keyboard? >> yeah. >> reporter: here he is one year later at age 7.

to play like this. he just picked it up listening to his dad's albums of duke ellington and charlie parker. just listening to your records -- >> right. >> reporter: and playing along. >> right. >> reporter: they did hire a piano instructor, but he tried to teach joey classical music. it didn't go well. joey wanted to improvise? >> yeah. even just a little bit. embellish it. >> reporter: and the classical teacher didn't like it being embellished? >> no, no. >> reporter: what did they tell you? >> he wants to be free. >> reporter: and jazz allows that freedom? >> uh-huh. to express himself. >> reporter: joey began expressing himself on stages across indonesia. videos of him playing went viral

who is managing and artistic center in new york. he was so impressed by what he heard, he invited joey to perform at their annual gala, their biggest event of the year. and even though it was his new york debut and his first time performing for such a crowd, joey decided to play one of the toughest songs in jazz "round midnight." and when he was done, the orchestra rose, the crowd rose, and joey, who was 10 at the time, he didn't know what to do. >> don't go, joey. >> reporter: he tried to walk off the stage. >> joey, don't go. evening was billy crystal. >> take it in, man, take it in. >> reporter: joey had arrived. >> joey alexander.

>> thank god for that. >> reporter: thank god for that? >> i mean, i didn't expect to have a standing ovation. >> reporter: that concert changed joey's life. his parents sold what they had in indonesia and moved the family to new york. he started playing gigs, touring the country, winning fans, and learning the rhythm of a very different world. how do you like new york? >> new york's great. i love it. >> and you can see anderson cooper's full report on our website, cbsnews.com. the "overnight news" will be right back. e are a lot of different kinds of yucky germs. but not all disinfecting wipes... are approved to kill the same number of them. lysol wipes are approved to kill more types of germs than clorox. this cold and flu season

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each year, hundreds of thousands of air travelers take to the skies with their pets. some fly in the cabin, but a lot of bigger animals have to be checked in. now the rules for checking your dog in are changing. kris van cleave has the story from reagan national airport. >> reporter: you have a big dog like buddy here and you want to fly with him, you used to be able to go to the ticket counter. but increasingly the airline will send you here. this is the cargo terminal, and it is nowhere near that second counter. >> come on in. >> reporter: for peter harold and his wife jan, shanty is part

which means when they fly their golden doodle does, too. but she is too big for the cabin, so she has to be checked. typically, airlines require carry-on pets to fit under the set in front of you. >> it is not the easiest thing. it takes a long time, you have to go to your vet within a week of the flight and get a health certificate each time that you do it. so yeah, it adds about an extra hour to your arrival time. >> reporter: starting in march, delta will no longer allow larger pets to be checked on their owner's flight. instead they'll have to be handled as fright. pets will have to arrive tree hours before the flight, then dropped off and picked up in the cargo section and the pooch could fly on a separate flight and arrive at a different time. >> we don't do it on the cargo

we just don't have the confidence and it would be too traumatic for us to think of the dog being handled as cargo. >> reporter: delta's change followed united. >> we really have a better equipped facility at cargo and we can properly keep the animals in a safe environment and have professional staff to look after them when they have a connection or a layover rather than just leaving them out on the tarmac. >> reporter: programs like pet safe where animals are monitored by employees mark a course correction for airlines. >> airlines have done a terrible job for over 40 years in transports plants in the cargo hold of passenger planes and the and the airlines just didn't want to play that game anymore. >> reporter: through november, 33 pets died, 23 injured and 3 more were lost while in an airline's possession in 2015. >> the real issue is connecting

passenger cargo plane hold or a cargo plane hold, it gets down to the chain of custody, who is watching that animal, who is caring for that animal. it's a liability issue. >> reporter: southwest and jetblue won't let you check a pet. american still does but only on certain types of aircraft but not when it's too hot or cold. an aircraft change delayed harold's trip to florida for two days until seats on a pet friendly airliner were available. >> i think she's a bit excited. >> reporter: on the return to washington, weather delays baggage, leaving peter pacing. >> yeah, there she is. >> reporter: but from the looks of it, the wait was well worth it. >> oh. >> reporter: delta says the change will ensure that we have a high quality consistent service for pets when owners choose to ship them. service animals of all sizes are allowed in the cabin, and travel experts say they think that

who want to take advantage of that instead of checking their pets. the "cbs overnight news"

faced with an aging population and a lot more men than women, china has changed its long-standing policy of one child per family. now married couples can have two children if they want. seth doane visited one family that fought for this change. >> reporter: this policy was deeply unpopular and the change is welcomed by many. shares of companies selling baby items, everything from formula to strollers, went up with the news. but the question remains, how many more chinese couples will really have a second child? 10-year-old wong always wished she had a sibling. "it's lonely," she told us. "since i was little there haven't be many kids to play

for years her parents fought to have a second child. even publicly protesting for the right. when i heard the news i couldn't believe it, she said. i read the official document over and over. it was always in our dreams, but also beyond our dreams. china's rubber stamped parliament still has to formally approve the change to this controversial policy. my husband works for a state-owned company. if we had a second baby, he would have been fired or forced to quit, she said. the fine could have been nearly $50,000. cbs news videotaped these beijing bill boards in the 1980s. one child policy was designed to combat the booming population, and to lessen the financial burden on families and the state. health officials claim at least 400 million births were avoided, but enforcement could be draconian, sometimes including forced abortion and sterilization.

children and aborted female fetuses. today there are 33 million more men than women in china. china's workforce is shrinking, the population ageing. and chow worries about the stress on her daughter. when we get old, she'll be the only one taking care of us, she said. they're ready to start trying to have another child and their 10-year-old has already given thought to the brother versus sister question. why a little sister? >> because little brother is very naughty. [ laughter ] >> reporter: so you would rather have very a little sister? >> yes. >> reporter: in recent years, china has been experimenting with allowing some couples to have a second child. but not as many have been taking the government up on the offer as the government would have liked. so the question now, this change may be too little too late. >> that is the "overnight news"

d.c. deep freeze going nowhere fast in the ice capital of america as the east stocks up for the blizzard of 2016. >> they've run out of organic carrots, which is a terrible thing. also tonight, residents of flint say rip 'em out. >> will you ever trust the water coming through these pipes? >> not until they're replaced. >> the west looks ahead to the inevitable tsunami and takes preparations to new heights. and 88 keys to living past 100. >> i love to play the piano and make people happy. >> this is the "cbs overnight news."

weekend blizzard. airlines are canceling flights, washington, d.c., will close the subway after the district struggled with just a dusting wednesday night. some places could get two and a half feet. more than 77 million people are in the path, including our team of correspondents. first kris van cleave in d.c. >> reporter: it wasn't congress that created gridlock in washington. it was a rush hour burst of snow that froze the untreated roads and turned cars into out-of-control projectiles. neighboring virginia reported 767 crashes in just 24 hours. >> it is crazy out here. >> reporter: normally short commutes turned into eight-hour, slow-speed marathons of misery, stretching the drive home well into the morning. aaa rescued nearly 6,500 drivers from the mayhem, and this was a small storm before the main event comes tomorrow. d.c. mayor muriel bowser. >> we are very sorry for an inadequate response.

night's debacle say about the city's ability to handle the type of storm that's coming at it now? >> we should have been out earlier with more resources. if we had gotten out earlier and had more resources, we may have seen a difference. >> reporter: today crews were getting their equipment ready and starting to treat area roads. of particular concern are power outages from wind gusts as high as 55 miles per hour. and people were stocking up, leaving store shelves bare as residents prepared to be snowed in for days. >> it's the same way you prepare for a natural disaster or armageddon. >> they've run out of organic carrots, which is a terrible thing. they're running out of lots and lots of things. >> reporter: d.c. police chief cathy lanier urged people to stay home once the storm starts. >> don't take this storm for granted. this is 36 hours of a major storm. >> reporter: are we talking life-and-death potential from this storm? >> absolutely. >> reporter: most of the schools

tomorrow, but the district's 544 trucks and plows as well as 39,000 tons of salt are ready to battle the storm. >> kris, thank you very much. well, it will be a battle to travel tomorrow on the roads, rails and in the air. here's david begnaud. >> reporter: marge varre is one of thousands of people who thought they were getting out ahead of the storm. she was supposed to fly to the caribbean tomorrow for a two-week vacation. >> they just said charlotte airport is closed tomorrow. there goes our plan. we have to come up with a new plan. >> reporter: so far more than 1,000 flights scheduled for friday have been canceled. at least eight major airline carriers have issued travel waivers, allowing passengers have flights at over 50 airports to rebook and avoid getting stuck or charged a change fee. philadelphia international is no stranger to travel nightmares. thousands of bags were misplaced after a blizzard in 2007. keith bernie is deputy director of operations. >> we're prepared for the worst.

eight snow melters that can melt 250 tons of snow every hour. >> i consider it a very cheap insurance policy. we'll have people here. we'll be staffed up and ready to go. >> reporter: inside terminal d tonight at philadelphia's airport, it is very, very quiet. come saturday there won't be any flights in or out of philadelphia. and scott, the same scenario is expected at other airports, including reagan national in d.c., dulles in virginia and baltimore-washington in maryland. >> david, thanks. eric fisher is our chief meteorologist at the cbs station wbz. eric? >> reporter: scott, the storm is really just starting to get geared up across the deep south here, digging into louisiana we've had tornado warnings in parts of mississippi, gathering a lot of that gulf moisture. then it runs into the cold. blizzard watches out include parts of new york city as well as philly. blizzard warnings in baltimore and d.c., and a huge area under winter storm warnings, a very broad area that will see one to two-foot snows. we track this to the east coast friday. we're deepening friday night,

the evening hours, into new york city by saturday morning. and just grazing southern new england as we head into saturday night. so in dark blue, one to two-foot snow totals covering a huge area. right now it looks like six to 12 inches in new york, probably the toughest forecast across the board. 18 to 24 in d.c. that is an historic level storm. and 18 to 24 in roanoke, virginia. not just the snow, but we also have a significant ice storm to deal with, especially in north carolina, and, scott, of course, having a big impact on daily life, a chance for power outage, but also watching the impact for the nfc championship in charlotte this weekend. >> eric, thank you. there is breaking news tonight in the flint water emergency. the epa's regional administrator who covers michigan, resigned this evening. also president obama says the state will have $80 million in federal funds by next week. flint has started a chemical process that it hopes will eventually stop the lead that has poisoned its water.

elevated lead in their blood, which can cause damage to the brain. adriana diaz has been looking into how this happened and how the city intends to get the lead out. >> i had to put in a shower filter. >> reporter: the outrage continues for flint resident desiree dwell. she's a single mother trapped in a home she can't sell because of the lead emergency. >> how do you deal with knowingly poisoning yourself because that's all there is to drink? >> reporter: flint is like many american cities with lead pipes in their water system. usually harmless chemicals are added to the water that protects the pipes from corrosion, but in 2014, flint tried to save money by switching from detroit's water system to drawing water from the flint river. the city did not add the protective chemicals, so the lead pipes started coming apart. >> water filter! >> reporter: state officials say the water can be made safe by

guard is handing out. those anti-corrosion chemicals are back in flint's water. public health experts we talked to say the only way to make sure the watter is lead free is to replace those lead pipes. the problem is, it could take at least a decade to replace the pipes. he's in charge of a new effort to mask the city's lead pipe network. what kind of undertaking would it be to replace the pipes? >> massive. it would be over $100 million. we've been neglecting our infrastructure for so long in this country, it will take a paradigm shift to get people to think about what i call real homeland security. >> reporter: this is where the

flint's water treatment center. it's not currently in operation,

flint connects to a new pipeline well, 11 days to iowa and new hampshire just eight days after that. we have two reports on the cordes. nancy? >> reporter: scott, the former secretary of state, hillary clinton, went after bernie sanders' commander-in-chief credentials today, calling him naive for wanting to normalize relations with iran, and she claims the long-time lawmaker hasn't thought his ideas on diplomacy through. >> senator sanders doesn't talk very much about foreign policy, but when he does, it raises concern. >> reporter: in new hampshire, sanders challenged clinton on entitlements.

opinion on social security. i believe we should expand benefits. >> get everybody you know to come out and caucus for me, okay? thank you. >> reporter: with just 11 days to go, both campaigns are turning their attention to turnout. >> do you know what candidate you'll be supporting? bernie? awesome. that's really good to hear. >> are you folks signed in? >> reporter: at a clinton event, every supporter was asked to sign a pledge to vote. james follows up with a phone call. >> in our precinct we have to have 250 supporters. we're working on that 250 right now. we're not -- we know exactly who they are. >> reporter: so you're now trying to convince the undecideds. you're just making sure your supporters vote? >> well, if things get hot, those people will show up. >> reporter: i'm major garrett in new hampshire where ted cruz responded to 1996 gop nominee bob dole's declaration that "nobody likes him" and that donald trump could work better