good morning. breaking news. a massive earthquake strikes chile this morning with a magnitude of 8.8. tsunamis have been triggered and there deaths, injuries and destruction to report. we will have the latest. snowed in after a record busting winter storm clobbers the northeast. it's a weekend of digging out with the threat of another storm on the way. a polo 8 disqualified and bounces back in another and extending his mark as the most decorated winter olympian this february 27th, 2010.

>> announcer: this is a special edition of "today" at the winter games with lester holt live from vancouver, british columbia and amy robach live from studio 1 a in rockefeller plaza. good morning. covering the final weekend of the winter olympics. >> i'm amy robach here in new york at studio 1 a. a major story unfolding in chile. a magnitude 8.8 earthquake in the middle of the night forcing people from their beds and taking cover. >> we are also hearing word of tsunamis. we should point out here covering this final weekend of the games, there was tremendous interest in what happened. we will visit with the athletes, but the big story will remain

this earthquake in chile and the aftermath. >> they declared atate of catastrophe and early reports put the death toll at over 70. they fear the number will keep growing as daylight takes over and they can assess the damage and what they are facing. buildings have collapsed as far away as santiago, 200 miles from the epicenter. there have been 25 aftershocks from 5.2 to 6.9. the quake triggered a tsunami, warnings have been issued along the coast of south america and hawaii is under a tsunami warning as well. it's affecting a tremendous amount of people. >> the anchor of telemundo has been following developments. good to see you. looking at the pictures, it looks like the old buildings have been damaged. i know you have been to santiago. can you give us a sense for the

construction, modern versus older buildings? >> good morning to you. the best way of comparing santiago, the capital about 136 miles north of where this city of concepcion. it's similar to a paris or london, an old city with monumental buildings. the city was founded in 1550. that gives you an idea of how long people have been living in these areas. concepcion is a city known as being the college town of chile. four universities are there and a number of different programs and universities throughout the world with exchange students and i was speaking to a source about five minutes ago telling me they

have been able to speak with family in the capital of santiago and some of their family, young people were heading in a car to concepcion overnight and they haven't been able to reach them. it's not unusual in an earthquake. the president declared an area of disaster. chile sits smack dab in the middle of the circle of fire. the reason it's called that is about 80% of all of the earthquakes that occur day in and day out around the world occur in this area. santiago and chile had a number of earthquakes in their history. some larger than others. the largest recorded in recent times in 1960, a 9 on the richter scale. they are used to earthquakes, although nobody can get used to an earthquake. the fact is that the newer construction is all been handled under a strict code.

for example, the earthquake in january in haiti which was a 7 on the richter scale killed 200,000 people. so far it's 78 deaths. this number, trust , is going to grow. >> these are very early pictures, most of them before the sun came up. we expect to learn a lot more quickly. thank you for checking in. amy, back to you in studio 1 a. >> lester, thanks. jen ross is based in santiago and felt the earthquake and the many aftershocks and joins us on the phone. you are from the epicenter and felt the impact of the earthquake. me where you were and what happened. >> we live here in the capital and santiago got about 7.5. the epicenter was further south

in the city of concepcion where it was about 8.5. it was quite strong. we were asleep in bed and it hit at 3:34 in the morning. the bed started to shake and tremors are quite usual. santiago is a seismic city. i thought it was a tremor and soon my husband said oh, my god, it's an earthquake. we could hear things falling in the living room and i ran out of the room to my daughter's room to pick her up and we stood in the door frame which is the emergency plan that you are always taught about and we never had to use. it was really scary at that point because you are in a door frame and the whole apartment is shaking and the walls are moving and the floor is moving and you can hear things falling all-around you. everything is dark because the electricity went out and it

lasted a long time. for an earthquake it was about three minutes of shaking. >> i can't imagine what that must be like living through three minutes probably felt like three hours. i know daylight is just breaking, but have you had a chance to assess the damage in and around where you live? >> yes. the first thing we could see because we have emergency lights in the apartment in case of something like this. ere were cracks in the walls of our apartment. downstairs in the lobby, there chunks of ceiling that has fallen on to the floor and cracks in the wall, but pieces of concrete. all buildings here are made with concrete and are built to with stand earthquakes. that doesn't mean there won't be damage. there is structural damage, but our building is fine and withstood the last earthquake in

1985. other buildings around the city in santiago we have been hearing had more danger than have actually completely collapsed. that's not usual. particularly in a country that is built for strong earthquakes. further south of course the damage increases. two hours further down from santiago there is a city that is about halfway between the capital and the epicenter. downtown core has been shaken to the ground essentially. >> i want to ask you about the aftershocks. i know there have been dozens. how bad are they and how is your family faring? i know you said you have a baby. how is your family handling this? >> my daughter was obviously really shaken during the earthquake itself. she was talking and talking

about things falling and we were able to get her back to sleep. she just woke up now so she slept through the aftershocks. there has only been one stronger and that he was recently in the last half hour or so. the rest of them you kind of wait. you feel it shaking and we say it's shaking and look at each other to see if this is one where we have to make a dart for the door frame or our daughter's room. it's really monto have a lot of anxiety about shaking after an earthquake. it will keep shang for the next few days. we know that. in fact, it's pretty common that after a major earthquake you can feel like it's shaking even after it isn't. >> we wish you and your family the best. thank you for talking with us. we are glad everybody is okay. >> thank you. >> let's turn to ginger we have.

good morning. >> good morning, everyone. when you have an earthquake there is often tsunamis and warnings. warnings now for hawaii. it's close to home here. all shores will be affected. the estimated arrival time just after 11:00 hawaiian standard time. when you have a warning in any type of weather, it is imminent. we will be watching that. advisories issued for the california coast. this is going to reach all the way up and create havoc. moving on, we will of course track the indicators throughout the morning, but it's good to know how this happens. after an earthquake starts, the energy pushes up and the earth goes like this. it moves and energy rushes up to the surface. you don't see a wave first, but

once it hits the incline in the beach, that's where the huge wave comes from. that's a brief explainer and we will be tracking moron the tsunami and the earthquake too. >> let's head to the news desk where melissa francis has more headlines. good morning. >> good morning, everyone. we begin with the latest on the record-setting storm that pounded the northeast on friday. nbc is live in new york's central park with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, melissa. record-setting snowfall amounts throughout the region here in central park as well. 20 inches. it's all very pretty and it's also a burden, making life around here for millions vy difficult. it's the 4th major snowstorm in a month and one more the region didn't need. across the new york area, people struggle to keep up with the falling snow. in the north, heavy snowfall took out power lines across the

northeast, leaving more than a million without electricity. travel was treacherous. a 20-mile stretch of i-84 was at a stand still for hours, strappeding hundreds of motorists in their cars. >> we haven't moved an inch and it's over 15 hours. >> you never know what to expect. you always have to be openor anything. >> the major airlines were in business, but more than 1,000 flights were canceled at new york and new jersey's three airports n. hampton, new hampshire, firefighters continued at the scene of a blaze fuelled by winds gusting up to 60 miles per hour. it destroyed an entire block. no one was injured. all this comes at a huge cost for cash-strapped towns and cities with snow removal budgets in the millions. >> we anticipated $11.5 million. we will easily go over $15

milli million. >> some meat the best of it. back here in new york, more than a million school kids got a head start on the weekend. >> i just want it to snow for two weeks long. >> reporter: the 4th time in six years new york public schools were closed. today it's all about the clean up, but with the record-setting snowfall aims it could take some people days to clean up and get back to normal. melissa? >> it is beautiful at least. thank you so much. seaworld will reopen their killer whale show for the first time since a trainer was killed on wednesday. animal handlers will no longer swim with the orcas until an investigation into what happened complete. the funeral for dawn brancheau will be held on monday. a week after announcing he would run for reelection, david paterson is calling it kwits. a newspaper repor criticized involvement in a domestic abuse

case with an aide. he said he did nothing wrong. he took office when eliot spitzer resigned in a prostitution scandal. now back to amy and ginger. >> ginger sze is back with a check on the forecast. you have a lot to talk about. >> i have been blessed in the weather world, but not for everyone else. this storm is put down by the earthquake and tsunami warnings, but we had a storm and it's sitting on top of the tri-state area. it is not producing that much. we have scattered showers and the breeziness will give us a break on monday. believe it or not, another storm headed this way by the time we reach wednesday. mountain snows and rain going to be a problem with the tsunami advisories for southern outhern good saturday morning. i'm news 4 meteorologist, chuck bell. we are off to a cloudy and cold

start. a couple of light snow showers across parts of southern pennsylvania. they will pinwheel their way down here through the mid and late morning hours. cloudy start. a passing snow flurry or snowshower. temperatures in the near 30-degree range. windchills in the 20s. cloudy and cold today. snow showers this morning. clearinga high. in the northeast, breaks of sun between the snow showers. 41 for new york city. we will continue to watch the storm in the northeast and we will continue to give you earthquake and tsunami warnings. >> lester here in vancouver and we'll cover that, but there is other news we are watching. a lot of americans following a big night for team usa in vancouver. bring us up to date, jim. >> only two days of real competition left. the race for the medals is on and once again american short track speed skater a polo ohno

was making history. >> he is racing for his 8th and he is in the 3rd. >> ohno anchored the relay team into 3rd place for the bronze behind south korea. earlier ohno could have won another silver in the 500 meter race and was disqualified by judges who ruled that the american caused this crash, pushing the canadian in front of him. he disagrees, but accepted it. >> my hand is up to protect myself from running into the back of him. it's like a cushion. the usa tied the winter olympics record by germany in 2002 in salt ke. with records, he broke his own record as the most decorated o limp yen in u.s. sports.

the race for gold is a four-way battle between canada, germany, the u.s. and norway. the athlete everyone is still talking about only won the bronze. canadian figure skater joanny pulled off the skate of her life days after her mother died of a heart attack. she said her mother would have been proud. >> she raised me to have that strength and go through anything in life and proved it to me by what happened here this week. >> in men's hockey, the brushed finland and canada held on to set up the dream gold medal final, canada versus the united states on sunday. >> one nation conspicuously ab cent for a gold is russia way down the tables list with only three gold medals so far,

triggering rage from russian politicians and fans back home. >> thank you very much. we have special guests here who have stopped by in the shadow of the cauldron. the short track relay and they won bronze earlier this week. good morning to all of you and congratulations. this is the first time you have seen the cauldron. how does that happen? >> it's a lot of away, but this is the best view you could ask for. being this close is incredible. it lights the olympic spirit. >> let me mention to you, you have two medals. you won the silver in the 1,000 medal. incredible race. what were your thoughts? >> i was so ex-static that it worked out the way it did. i felt like it was the first time in the olympics and i felt in ctrol like i was racing my race. >> let's talk about the relay.

you guys finally medaled in a sport that has been difficult. >> it is hard to medal in the relay because everything is at your top speed. any passes made they have to be perfect or else there is a good chance something can go wrong. >> things do go wrong. you thought you were in 4th place. me what happened. how did you end up with the bronze? >> korea ended up getting disqualified and they crossed the line first. when the race was done, we had our heads down and thinking what just happened? this past year we have come away with silvers and bronze and then we went to our coaches afterwards and we were sitting there waiting for the final standings and they called that korea was disqualified and usa got bronze. i cried and i laughed and --

>> what's that like? the south koreans weren't happen. there was controversy, but that happens. >> that's definitely the sport. that's the nature of the sport. we have been in races where we have fallen and gotten disqualified, but i think every country feels at times they get call and disqualified for something they didn't think was a good call. >> give me a senz of what in the village is like. 32 medals is incredibly well. is it big party? >> it is. it's amazing. everyone has a medal almost. everybody worked so hard and we are all excite and worked hard for it. we are all very happy and everybody is very supportive and it goes up and down and training and back and forth. it's all very supportive. >> are you coming back in 2014. >> yes, definitely. >> listen, congratulations. will you be here for the

closing? >> yes. >> we will see you. congratulations again. >> thanks. >> let's go back in studio 1 >> t white house social secretary is stepping down. rogers was criticized in november ann uninnovated couple managed to crash the first state dinner. savannah guthrie has more. >> reporter: 14 months after making a glamorous entrance, white house social secretary desiree rogers is exiting. >> desiree came to the president and the first lady to give them her decision. >> reporter: a long time personal friend from chicago, rogers was an accomplished business woman and harvard mba when tapped to run the social office, telling the "wall street journal," we hav the best brand on earth. the obama brand. the possibilities are endless.

>> these jobs are tiring. no one can put a time limit on how long is enough time. >> reporter: organizing 300 events including an awards ceremony at the white house, she gets a high profile, posing for vogue after arriving and attending new york fashion week and the state dinner was poised to be her greatest success story. until -- the saga of uninvited guests accidentally admitted by the secret service exposed her in social office procedures. testifying none of her staff were at the check points that night. >> if somebody at the office did it the way they had in the past, they wouldn't have gotten in. >> washington counts society pages, calling for her resignation noting she attended as a guest. >> she had come to washington with sleeves rolled up, but not

anticipating the rough treatment. >> reporter: the contenders to replace rogers is the chief of staff to the trade representative. for today, savannah guthrie, nbc news, the white house.

apolo an ton ohno

it is 7:26. taking a live look xdoutside. you may be waking up to a dusting of snow on your windshield. reports of very slippery roads this morning. good morning. i'm kimberly suiters, saturday, february 27th, 2010. here is a look at what's making news this morning. we forling breakingñr news out south america. the death toll growingñi to at least 64 after a massive earthquake in chile. theñi magnitude 8.8 quake hit 2 miles southwest of the capital early this morning. the president has declared a state of catastrophe. it is still too early to determine the extent of the

damagqnz hawaii is under açó tsunami warning. a tsunami advisory is in effect in california and alaska. officials in japan and australia are warning a tsunami is likely to hit asian shorelines within the next 24 hours. chuck will join us in just a moment with your weekend weather forecast. stay with us.

meteorologist, chuck bell joining us. >> gd morning, everybody. your weekend under way. skies are cloudy. we have snow flurries and showers to show you on radar. another area of light snow across southern portions of pennsylvania is swinging down to the south. so as a result, you folks already into northern maryland are seeing light snow. that whole patch of light snow will be coming down through washington and east over the bay and the eastern shore. might be enough to whiten the ground. temperatures later on today should climb into the upper 30s and low 40s. the snow showers shouldn't stick around for too much longer. windy and chilly weather for the

rest of the weekend. kimberly? coming up on "news4 today," more reports on the situation in chile after a record-breaking we are back on this saturday morning, this 27th day of february, 2010 with a look at the name burning brightly in downtown vancouver. i'm amy robach in studio 1a. coming up on today, we have breaking news. a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck central chile early saturday, shaking the capital for over a minute. buildings have collapsed and phone lines and electricity are down. people are wandering the streets right now. at least 78 people were killed, but the number is expected to grow. there tsunami warnings as far

away as hawaii, the south pacific, australia, and asia. we will talk with an eyewitness to the earthquake this a bit. >> reporter: it has been a tsunami so be on the rning for it. we are trying to figure out where it will hit. my youngest son is studying in santiago. anxious moments. we heard from him and he is on a weekend trip north of there, but they left where they were on a beach side place and they went to a bus station because of the world of tsunami and then told it was okay to go back and i told him there still warnings. a lot of communication is down. we are concerned about all those in santiago and areas near the epicenter. we will be covering that extensively over the next hour and a half. we want to talk about what's happening in vancouver. apolo ohno basked in the cheers of a crowd of a final night of

competing at the games. the 27-year-old bounced back from disqualification in the 500 to anchor the u.s. to a bronze medal in the relay team. we will meet the team fresh from the olympic win. happy to have them here. amy? >> a correspondent with time magazine is in santiago and joins us on the phone. good morning. you were outside the time that the earthquake hit. me what happened. >> reporter: i was in a bar in a popular nightclub in santiago. the earth started moving and there was a scramble for the door of the bar. i was outside on the patio and people were getting up to the window as well. there was a lot of broken glass and what could have turned into a stampede towards the exit was

gated. a young man recognized the situation and that people might get crushednd told everyone it was locked and everyone turned around and moved in a different direction on to the street. that was my initial experience. >> how long did the actual earthquake last in you recollection? >> it felt like an awfully long tile. certainly enough time to think what's going on. this is an earthquake. it's not stopping. at least four or five seconds, but as you can imagine, it felt like a lifetime. >> i imagine you have gone back to where you are living. have you seen damage? initially you didn't see the damage, t have you seen any since then or what's it like where you are living? explain to me what you are living initially? >> i'm seeing the hotel and

financial center was evacuated. no major cracks through the walls being but they had an m l engineering team and guests were huddled in the lobby and there was a strong aftershock and that sent us topsy turvy towards the exit to the street. as i was trying to make my way back to the hotel, dirun into a banker in santiago on business. he was in a cab on his way back to the hotel. a church collapsed and the debris shattered the bonnet of his cab and cut him on the face. he then got out of the cab and said he couldn't see anyone injured, but started moving away from the scene.

several other people were talking about a church collapsing. that's it for an earthquake of this magnitude. >> we wish you the best as you make your way through this tough time in chile. thank you for joining us and giving us your account of what you experienced. >> thank you. now for a look at the weather and ginger we have from wmaq who is following this tsunami indicator after the quake this morning. good morning. >> good morning, everyone. along the california coast and through hawaii is where we have warnings. in hawaii. if california as if that's not enough, you have thunderstorms moving through southern california where we have the bare land. problems in the works as far as mudslides and the tsunami advisories. look up northeast. people are getting afraid of the snow. they are saying no more! the storm is still on top of us, but will drop light is now shores approximately one to three itches on top of what you

have depending on your location. that moves out as the weekend progresses. it will be cold and breezy and sunshine there down to texas. it's stationary and it will bring more excitement to the northern plains soon. heavy rains in southern california today possible. an interesting mix of weather throughout the nation. you look in florida and you get an idea of the rai good saturday morning. a mostly cloudy sky. there are some light snow showers across southern pennsylvania, moving into northern maryland. snow flurries and snow showers are not at all out of the question here for the mid to late morning hours. temperatures are just at or slightly above the freezing mark right around town. windchills, mid-20's. forecast, cloudy and cold. isco to make it to about 60 and the mountai are in the 40s. you will get snow eventually as

well. that's a wrap up of the weather. lots to talk about. >> thank you. coming up next the dramatic finish to the men's speed skating relay. we will meet the bronze medallist. first these messages. chilled. sweet! [ female announcer ] just about anywhere you use sugar you can use splenda® no calorie sweetener. more ways than you ever imagined. [ male announcer ] flakes. shakes. cakes. sweet! [ female announcer ] splenda® starts with sugar. tastes like sugar. but it's not sugar. it's... [ male announcer ] savory. crunchy. yummy. sweet! [ female announcer ] splenda®. america's favorite no calorie sweetener. ♪ a little encouragement changes everything. molly es muy muy intelligente. and right now, hallmark's got a whole new way to do i

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sore throat, sebleeds and coughing. ask your doctor about symptom relief with nasonex. and save up to $15 off your refills. go to nasonex.com for details, terms and conditions. back here in vancouver, a wild night and short track full of disqualifications and spills and suspense, everything that makes it is sport akin to roller derby on ice. the men skated brilliantly to a bronze medal. good morning and congratulations to all of you. i was there last night, j.r. it looks like organized chaos out there. does it feel like that? >> it wasn't supposed to be that crazy as it was last night. usually it's pretty calm. >> pushing off to the next 1 and

trying to figure it out. they were strong relay teams. how did you gain this? >> the goal was trying to get to the front. we wanted to get out of the way. we got a tough starting position being 4th. we had to play it from the back and tried to save ouregs and made sure we had good exchanges at the end and save legs for the end. it worked out well. >> i have become a short track fan since torino and jordan, i'm curious when you guys decided to make the moves. it's 45 laps. this is a marathon. >> it goes by much quicker than you think and you are like oh, crap, it's done. we weren't the ones who made the move. it was the canadians. we had to be dealt 4th place and make our move into 3rd and tie

for 2nd place and put our man in the right position. >> you guys all did individual races as well. how often can you train in the relay? >> back when we were training in salt lake, we tried to practice every day. coming to vancouver, we have to share the practice time with the other countries. we haven't had the opportunity to practice in the relay like we did back in our own facility. i feel like we adjusted well to training times and facilities. >> returning back to you, you have two bronze medals too. apolo is not with us today, but you added bronze to his silver. what were your thoughtss we may have seen his final race as an olympian? >> it was awesome to be part of that and share that as a team. we are all satisfied with our performance and happy to take one home for the usa game.

>> when you came to the olympics, what is it about being here that changes the game? we don't see the sport all year. you guys are doing this month in and month out. >> trying to find peace amidst the chaos. they are trying to find rhythm and peace. the craziness that's happening around us. >> i blame all of you guys as my voice is crack. we are back after these messages. strip? ok. absolutely! where's the music? ♪ i have a lot of uffiness at nht. lergies. i was just diagnosed with a deviated septum. here's how it works... [ female announcer nasal congestion limits air flow but breathe right's patented reflex action gently lifts open nasal passages to help you get more air. oh, yeah. yeah, you're right. i'm getting more a oh, wow! that's pretty nice. [ woman ] if your nose could talk right now, what do you think it would say i think it's sing, "i'm open for business!" [ female announcer ] for 2 freeamples,

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kellogg's makes fiber fun. >> we are back in vancouver.

usually associated with soring high above the mountain tree tops, but vancouver brought the great outdoors to an urban setting six stories high and 500 feet across. [ screams ] it's hard to know if her ear-shattering scream was out of fear or relief, considering she waited in line for eight hours all with 18 seconds of pure adrenaline rush. >> it was an awesome experience and i loved every second of it. >> what is typically experienced in wilderness settings has gone urban.

a zip line. smack in the middle of the action in downtown vancouver. >> first time we have done it in urban landscape. i think from day one, people showed up to lineup. >> this is for my bucket list. >> they and night, rain and shine, people are coming out in droves to be part of this olympic insurance. no ticket is required, just a lot of patience. >> we have been here for 3 1/2 hours. >> we have 6 more hours to go. >> the average wait time is somewhere in the seven-hour range. passing the time is an olympic challenge of its own. ♪ >> they play cards and read and eat. 15 minuting about the room breaks are allowed and they get giddy as they wait for their

turn. >> the stairs were the worst part. there is no right or wrong way to zip. you can spin, turn upside down, two hands, one hand. no hands. anything pretty much goes. the only thing you have to remember is to keep your eyes open because unlike this line -- the ride is over before you know it. while it won't earn you a medal, you may feel like a winner. if you listen carefully, you might hear the screams. would you do that? >> i get upset when i wait for 15 minutes at the grocery store. i have zip lined in costa rica and i didn't have to wait. >> i wanted to do it about but i

wasn't going to jump in line and i wasn't going to wait seven hours. there is always next time. a lost other cool things. we will take a

coming up, we have the latest on the 8.8 magnitude earthquake tt hit chile. >> the last full weekend of the olympic games comes to an end, but first these messages. ominat. i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. it was very interesting that you could smoke on the first week. (announcer) chantix is a non-nicotine pill. in studies, 44% of chantix users were quit during weeks 9 to 12 of treatment, compared to 18% on sugar pill. it is proven to reduce the urge to smoke.

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it's 7:56 right now. if you are just waking up, it is breezy outside, roads are slick, a dusting of snow on your car windshields. good morning. i'm kimberly suiters. saturday, february 27th. one of the worst earthquake hits south america this morning. 8.8 earthquake hit chile, 200 miles southwest of the capital. the chilean president declared a state of catastrophe. she says, several buildings have collapsed. she also says it is too early to determine the extent of the p r(t&háhp &hc% you should know, hawaii is also now under a tsunami warning, a

tsunami advisory is in effect in california, alaska. also, officials in japan and australia are warning a tsunami from the earthquake isikely to hit asian shorelines within the next 24 hours. chuck will have your weekend week-long weather forecast after this short break.

good saturday morning. i'm chuck bell, meteorologist. snow showers across southern pennsylvania and to the northeast of downtown washington. light coating of snow is a possibility. temperatures are at or slightly above freezing in many spots. windchills, mid-20's. highs in the high 30s and low 40s. any little snow first thing this morning will not last.

that is welcome news. coming up on "news4 today" at 9:00 a.m., awful hour and a half of more news, weather and sports. we are back on a saturday morning, february 27th 2010. >> i'm amy robach in rockefeller plaza in new york. we have been talking about it all morning. bricking news this morning. a massive earthquake in haiti overnight, lester. >> this was so big, i understand it's 500 times the energy of what we saw in port-au-prince in january. just to give you an idea, more modern buildings in santa yago, but the damage will be great.

>> it was a magnitude of 8.8 at the epicenter. that was in south central chile that was 200 miles southwest of the capital. a tsunami hit the easter islands and there were warnings as far away as hawaii, australia and asia. the warnings are still in effect. the quake killed at least 78 people and they expect the number to go up throughout the day. the damage is heavy and buildings collapsed. there have been strong aftershocks. the president declared a state of catastrophe. >> communications have been difficult out of there. the worst earthquake ever was in chile in 1960. we are covering the olympic games. this will continue and we will be monitoring throughout the hour. >> we top the turn to a former

"american idol" contestant who joins us from chile 90 miles from santiago. you were up when the quake happened on the 6th floor of the hotel. what did it feel like? >> that's right. it felt surreal. one minute i'm on the computer typing away and the next there was a very abrupt shaking and rumbling that started. it was more like a swaying kind of shaking and it turned into an up and down all-around shaking and things were falling off the walls and the hotel was really shaking. >> what did you do? had you been in an earthquake before and did you know where to go to find safety? >> i did. i grew up in l.a. half my and i

have been back there for the past years. we are used to tremors and things like that. i knew immediately to go to the doorway. luckily in my room there is a double doorway. i went to the room to the doorway. with my door open, i was shouting to anyone who would listen, get if the doorway and get out! earthquake! the shaking subsided for a second. there was no one else in the hall ways except my neighbor and i saw him come out and look behind me so it looked back at me. he took off and dartd towards the stairs. i did the same. i tried to wait to see if people came out of the rooms, but they were evacuated by then. i made a mad dash and got out

safely and unscathed. >> you are located 90 miles southwest of santiago. are there concerns about any possible tsunamis. have you heard about a warning following the earthquake? >> yes. many warnings main low from the states. we have been tuned into the radio and the warnings that they had for tsunamis here have been lifted. we are only a mile and a half inland from the beach. we are relatively close to the water. the tsunami warning has been lifted. things are relatively calmer now. >> we certainly wish you the best, elliott. thank you for sharing your story with us. elliott yamin. for a along at other stop stories we go to melissa francis. >> good morning. today is clean up day from the

record snowstorm that slammed the east coast. live in central park with more, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, melissa people are busy digging out after the noreaster that dumped record snowfall throughout the region. they are counting it in feet, not inches. up to feet in upstate new york. crews have been working to restore power to up to a million people who lost electricity during the storm. after hundreds of flights were canceled, airports are getting back to normal. if you are flying in or out of this region today, you will do well to check with your airline to make certain your flight is not delayed. back to you. >> thanks so much. embattled south carolina governor mark sanford is closer to a divorce. a judge said she will grant jenny sanford's request. they split after the governor admitted an affair with a woman.

the social secretary desiree rogers resigned who was criticized for handling of the administration's dinner where a virginia couple crashed the party. tiger woods losing another big endorsement. the maker of gatorad. he apologized for infidelity. now back to amy and ginger. >> ginger we have of wmaq is here with a check of the forecast. good morning. >> good morning, everyone. we can turn to the forecast away from the earthquake for a moment. ohm for a moment because the storm on top of us. it is over for the most part and you can see the heavy snow is over. the this was the 4th largest snowstorm since 1869. very impressive. you may get to three inches and the spin still over the northeast and it will loosen and go off into the atlantic.

west to the coast and go oh, wow. tons of rain and snows. mudslide action there and still the tsunami advisory. there the warn suggest back for hawaii. if you want more rain you have to go south to florida. temperatures only in the 60ss a good saturday morning. i'm news 4 meteorologist, chuck bell. skies are mostly cloudy. one or two breaks of sunshine getting through. there is a view from our city camera view. plenty of clouds out there. a check of live doppler. a couple live snow showers and flurries. a few down into portions of southern maryland. more snow showers across far northern maryland. we will continue to see añi scattering of snow flurries and snow showers through this morning and into the early afternoon. temperatures a 60s and going into the minnesota area for th coolest weather and 31. that is a look at the forecast. lester?

>> ginger, thanks from here in vancouver. a big night for the americans as the winter games enter their final weekend. we have the latest from jim. good morning. >> with two full days of competition left, the race is on for the most medals. american short track speed skater apolo ohno was making history. . >> ohno anchored the 500 meter relay for 3rd place in the bronze behind south korea. earlier ohno could have won another silver in the 500 meter race. but was disqualified by the judges who ruled the american caused this crash, pushing the man in front of him. ohno disagrees, but accepts it. >> my hand is up to protect

myself. it's more of a cushion. >> team usa is guaranteed at least 36 medals, tying the cord from germany in salt lake city. with eight medals, he broke his own personal record as the most decorated olympian in the sport. the race is a four-way battle between canada, germany and norway. canada is talking about the who won theronze. joannie rouchette fount the way to pull off the skate of her after her mother died of a heart attack. she said her mother would have been proud. >> she raised me to go through anything in and she proved it to me by what happened here this week. >> in men's hockey, the american

squad crushed finland. they set up the gold medal final, canada versus the united states on sunday. meanwhile, that was absent was russia. three golds so far that. triggered rage from russian politicians and fans back home. some politicians are calling for a complete revolution of russian sports. that sports machine that has been so famous in the past to avoid embarrassment of this kind in 2014. >> those of us of a certain age remember the rivalry. you have been here all this time. what stands out as the memorable moments? >> it am cans as no surprise that joannierouchette. years from now people will be talking about this extraordinary performance of a woman who managed to find days after fining out her mother suddenly

died of a heart attack, finding the strength to pull off two performances, a short and long form and we saw her brick down after the first reaction. the first attempt and the 2nd time she went around and managed to control her emotions, but still even at the press conference, she said her mother was present with her. she wasn't sure how, but she felt the strength and felt her pride in having performed so well. >> sheer felt during the moments it wasn't about canada or the u.s., but people understanding and feeling and empathizing. appreciate your report here. we have a big weekend ahead. want some coffee? >> i do. usa. >> still to come, bob costas after these messages. okay, sweetie, open wide and say "ahh."

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this morning on the medal count, team usa leads with 34 and germany 27 and canada in 3rd place with 21. as the vancouver olympics move towards the finale, i sat down with bob cost'ses to talk about

his favorite 2010 olympic moments. >> a long history of women's medals at the platform and ladies's figure skating ended. we saw alpine combined. is that the headline? >> i think the headline is likely to be the largest medal haul in u.s. olympics history, exceeding the 34 that were won in salt lake city. america really had no contenders and they came close to macing out. >> who are the dominant athletes? >> if i had to pick one athlete, i would pick kim yu-na, the figure stater. >> one of the greatest performances i have ever seen. >> it was a tremendous performance, but this one automatically immediately vaulted her into the greatest

female figure skaters of all time. >> with the category he wins it on his 2nd and the 2nd run is something he didn't have to. >> he is head and shoulders over the competition and he is inventing the sport. he did not just compete the competition, but he pushes the sport forward. that doesn't have a lengthy history. kim yu-na put herself in a discussion that goes back the better part of the century. >> all the memorable moments of the olympics, what are the things you stand out? >> unfortunate ly it's the man dying in the luge practice. a lot of these sports are by definition dangerous. you need a high level of brave skpree it crosses the line into recklessness. that's one of the things that will stand out. the other thing is the canadians

were wonderful hosts. there always things and glitches where one arm doesn't come up. >> it feels like old news. >> it does. the weather didn't cooperate at times and they had trouble with the ice and the speed skating. overall i thought they stamd wonderful games and the character of the people, the people are so kind and genuinely proud. >> what do you take away from the lindsey vonn story? she won the bronze and ces away with that and yet there is this controversy as julia mancuso does well. has it diminished either? >> they each did well. every olympics has a handful of athletes that are built up beyond others to create interest. it's a business. lindsey vonna because of

excellence and she is photogenic. >> hockey is the undercurrent of the games. we are in canada. first usa and the canada showdown and the ladies. for canadians, is hockey going to divide the games? >> common knowledge if they can have one gold, as much as they applauded the in women's hockey is the 1 in men's. to get it they had to beat the united states in the loss from earlier this week. that would be the one event in which a silver would feel like a defeat. they had the players around town with the silver medals. especially in a home olympics. >> we will see that gold medal game of course on nbc tomorrow. i should point out when they were watching ladies's figure skating, it's amazing h we

become experts every four years. judging the sports. you were a gymnast for a while andou had expertise. >> it is one of the things where i'm amazed at how effortless they make it look. look at that triple axel. you do become an expert when you listen to the experts talk about what's phenomenal. i don't think it was a hard thing to figure out there were no mistakes on the ice by the women. that was tremendous to perform under such pressure. >> it makes me want to get back into the gym. i feel so out of shape. we will take a

>> still to come on today, the

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taking a live look outside, it is breezy and cold out there, slippery in some spots and a little bit of snow on your car windshield if you haven't headed outside just yet. good morning. i'm kimberly suiters. it is saturday, february 27th, 2010. one of the worst earth quakes hit south america in chile, 8.8. it impacted an area 200 miles southwest of the capital. the chilean president has declared a state of catastrophe. hawaii is under a tsunami warning. a tsunami advisory is in effect

for california and alaska. they are warning a tsunami from the earthquake is likely to hit asian shorelines within 24 hours. here in d.c., riding metro will cost you more beginning tomorrow. a fare hike goes into effect sunday, most rides go up ten cents. fares revert back to current rates on june 27th. metro is projecting a bigger fare hike for the next fiscal year beginning in july. chuck has your weather coming up

pete meet, chuck bell joining us now a few breaks of sunshine from time to time. more clouds than sunshine. a check of radar. you can see more light snow showers aoss parts of southern pennsylvania. these are moving southbound. they will be coming down over the next 30-40 minutes. we have a couple of light snow showers around southern portions of maryland. a few snowflakes flying in baltimore county. a few more up towards hagerstown. temperatures above the freezing mark around town. any snow that does fall will not really have much of a chance to accumulate before it melts away. cloudy and cold today. passing snow showers and snow flurries this morning. highs today, upper 30s and low 40s. more sunshine and less wind tomorrow. another chance of wintry weather

by tuesday night and wednesday. kimberly? coming up on "news4 today" at nine, a live report an an abduction in arlington. we will see you at 9:00. we are back on this saturday morning, february 27th, 2010. thank you for coming out on this cold winter day. i'm amy robach. lester is in vancouver the last full weekend of the 21st winter olympic games. coming up, we will have the latest from chile and the 8.8 magnitude earthquake. it caused a lot of damage and cost quite a few lives as well. >> i think one of the most horrible things is the tsunami warnings that went as far as ant artica and hawaii and we are

continuing to get more information. we will talk about american flyers as we shift our attention in vancouver. vonn, bode, mancuso and some of the alpine team coming up. we will look back at the team usa athletes and how they expired and a record number of medals here in vancouver. >> it's quite an olympic game. the games are officially coming to an end with closing ceremony tomorrow night. we will take a look back at the sites of previous games and find out what happens to all of the venues once the olympic name goes out. i thinthe answer will surprise you. city figured out how to do it well and make it lucrative. >> some of the follows they built have worked backwards. what would it be afterwards. they are taking playbooks in the other cities. they looked at that report coming up. >> some have done them well and? sm not so well. we will see the right way of going about making the city

great for tourists. let's get a check of the weather from ginger we have from our chicago station wmaq. good morning, ginger. >> good morning, everyone. we have a plethora of birthdays. a pair here. young ladies 18 and 50. you are obviously 18, right? >> i'm 50. >> you are from? >> brookfield, ohio. >> right on the line close to pennsylvania. birthdays all the way down. thank you for being brave to come out here on this chilly day in the northeast. it will be chilly weather-wise. the storm on top of us although it will release the pressure so to say and move off into the atlantic. you can see numbers and from yesterday, we had inches and inches of snow. speaking of weather, we had vancouver and things are going on untilclosing ceremonies. in whistler morning snow showers

and then cloudy as they wrap up the games. a big birthday here on the plaza. more big yea from everybody. i am so happy to be out here. very much loved in this ch thisy a good saturday morning, everyone. hopefully your weekend is off to a quiet but cold start out there. temperatures just at or slightly above the freezing mark. here is a check of local doppler. not a lot of snow around the area. more snow showers up across parts of northern pennsylvania. those will be coming down in the next couple of hours. don't be surprised to see snowflakes around. windchills in the teens. highs this afternoon, upper 30 way up. 40s and it will feel like the 30s if not the 20s. a bit of a wind chill. one last one. i'm giving you guysxtra time.

>> as we told you, is you and-a-halfy warnings have been sued for hawaii and beyond. live from honolulu where they have a tsunami warning for the entire state. good morning. give us a sense of what authorities are telling residents and tourists to be prepared for in the coming hours. >> it is 3:30 here and they are just starting to get the word out that people need to get prepared. the big thing is at 6:00 a.m., we have a statewide emergency siren that will go off on all the islands that reaches most of the state. we have air patrol planning to fly over to let campers know they need to head to higher ground at 6:00 a.m. the first wave is expected to hit at about 11:20 this morning. we have some time to try to

clear out everywhere along the coast. >> you had tidal surges in the past, but no major warnings like this. the last major is you nam to hit the big island was in 1960. is hawaii ready and prepared for this? >> that's the big question. it will be the big test. the civil defense has been preparing for something like this for sometime. they do all kinds of drills and training, but we haven't had a state-widesunami alert of warnings since 1964. the last tsunami that hit hilo in 1960 killed 61 people and it's very isolated just to hilo. just time around, thinking the tsunami could wrap around the state and not just the south-faying shores, but the way the tsunami works to the north. even waikiki and the tourists are feeling they may have to head up to the 3rd floor. >> i know you have been working

around the clock. it's 3:30 in the morning and we will let you get back to your job. we appreciate it. we'll be right back, but first these messages. priority. i mean i got a family, too. i got a mother, a grandmoth, kids, nd we all drive in tse cs. i am 100% confident in the product. male announcer ] we're grateful to technicians like ronny who are helpings provide you with fe and reliae vehicles. for mo information, please visit toyota.com. provide you with fe and reliae vehicles. when your eyes are smiling... you're smiling. and when they're laughing... you're laughing. be kind to your eyes... with transitions lenses. transitions adapt to changing light so you see yr whole day comfortably... and conveniently while protecting your eyes from the sun. ask your eyecare professional which transitions lenses are right for you.

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back in vancouver, they are fast, disciplined and dedicated. from the downhill tote slalom and nordic, these athletes have won a record number of medals in vancouver. joining us from the road in whistler fm the athletes who are pushing the limits. >> good morning and nice to visit with you. it has been a dominating performance for alpine skiers in the games. consider this fact. the american alpine skiers have eight medals to this point, more than twice as many as this country. more than they had in torino, salt lake and nagio combined. team usa skiers know they have big personalities.

they now have big performances to match. >> you have depth and insurance and they were ready to rock. >> led by bode miller, lindsey vonn and jaulia mancuso. they brought new records. bode's was good enough for hat trick, medal of each. bronze, silver and gold. vonn captured a pair of medals including the downhill before failing to finish in other events. breaking up along the way. her long time teammate and rifle julia mancuso beat the games with t silvers as an encore to torino gold. andrew ranked 41st and stunned the first with a bronze if his olympic debut. nordic has been around for a

long as the games themselves. this courageous band of brothers snapped that streak. >> the united states has never been here. >> earning an historic silver as a team. he got a silver as an individual and finishes and two in the individual events. how did the americans achieve such staggering success in many invested in the teams, including a state-of-the-art training center? utah open just last spring. >> it takes a goal to get a gold. that's a fact in sports and in business. >> as these games wind to a close, the americans have reasserted their place with the best in the world. how is this for olympic perspective. so far the americans have 34 medals.

compare that to calgary where they had just six through the entire games. weather permitting, bode miller could be back on the podium today in the men's slalom. >> here's amy. >> lester, thank you. this morning on eat this, not that, frozen dinners were made to make our lives easier, but not necessarily healthier. the author of eat this not that is here to show us what to look for in the frozen section of your grocery store. let's start with the most important of the day, breakfast. i never know which 1 to pick. they never seem like any are good for you. >> nothing like a snowstorm to get to you appreciate a well-stocked freezer. we have two delicious breakfast sandwiches from jimmy dean. he is going through the dual personality disorder. you have to canadian bacon and honey wheat sandwich. just a couple hundred calories

and a few grams of fat. you come over here to this sausage, egg, and cheese and you are getting 420 calories. you are getting 29 grams of fat and a half a day of saturated fat. when you see sausage, that means we don't know what the heck is in it either. don't eat it. >> it tastes so go. that's the problem. >> if you make this one slop every day for breakfast, you will lose 20 pounds this year. >> that's all i need to hear. let's go to frozen entrees. they are not all created equally. >> we have the stouffer's baked chicken breast with mashed potatoes and gravy and has 250 calories. now you come over here to healthy choice and only don draper can come up with a chicken dish, namely healthy choice for a dish that is as much sugar as what you get in a butter finger candy bar.

this is 28 grams and the stouffer's has two grams. on top of that you are getting 440 calories. if you go with the baked chicken over here to eat this, you save 200 calories and 26 grams of sugar than if you go with the healthy choice. >> i would think the healthy choice and the broccoli and the mashed potatoes and gravy this one would be wo hould you name it weet and sweeter. >> pasta dishes, you make them at home and they are easy. >> not all pasta is bad. if you use your noodle and control your portions. have the bird's eye e. three-cheese chicken. this is great with under 400 calories. 377 and 11 grams of fat and five grams of saturated. you go with the chicken alfredo and fettuccine, you are getting 630 calories and 30 grams of fat and almost a day's worth of

saturated fat. alfredo, remember it's bad. it's choice and oil and cream. do not invite alfredo to dipper. . >> let's talk about frozen pizzas. >> they are doting digiorno. one is traditional and is thin and crispy. here you are getting 30% more fat and 30% more saturated fat than with the thin crust. you denitely want to go with something like this. salt the roads to this or serve it to an enemy. >> dessert. i never thought you could get a healthy dessert. >> you have a klondike bar with 22 times more saturated fat. the breyers has 140 and this has

250 calories. this is 11 grams of saturated fat and this has a gram and a half of fat and a half gram of saturated. fewer ingredients means it's better for you when it comes to dessert. >> great information and i will pick one of these up. it doesn't look so bad. up next, what happens to the olympic venues after the name goes out? you has bee

the olympic games from los angeles and sydney to seoul, atlanta and the name burned brightly. once the games leave, what happens to the venues left

behind? in their shadows, torches ow. within their walls, magic moments. and on their grounds, historic feats. but after the closing ceremony and the name goes out, olympic gold can lose its luster. >> for the 17 days, this is really sort of a global epicenter. >> many of the stunners become an eyesore, taking up space in cities trying to recover from hosting the game. >> the host cities take major financial burdens that can take decades to pay off. >> the bird's nest, a tourist attraction after the games is struggling to make money. >> it costs upwards of $10 million a year to run the

stadium. >> stadiums from montreal to athens are working to find the after and many are falling in disrepair. >> there is a big price to be paid and lots of problems to have a stadium sit around. >> city had success lding on to the olympic glory and made money in the process. >> the venue is continually bringing athletes and the economy is built arod that. >> lake placid, home of the 1932 and 19 winter olympics has become a model of success for other host cities. >> what kind of olympic experience do they get? >> lake placid's legacy is that one of t things is they keep the venue in operation. >> it's a training ground for the serious competitor. >> we have 10 or 11 athletes and

some of them have an excellent opportunity. >> an opportunity for the rest of us to steal a piece of olympic magic. that has to be an amazing thing for the athletes skating on the same place. >> the speed skaters and they get a shot at skating or eric hiden who won a medal or a hockey player. >> to them, that's as good as gold. >> lester is thinking ahead about the venues. the host will be made into a community rengration center with basketball and other facilities. they got ahead of this. what can be a pblem for many sites and many cities. >> i had a chance to visit and it's a great facility. a funny story which a lot of people may not know. when they were building it, the architects and the construction

people and the oanizers may throw in gold-colored $1 coins to wish good luck to the canadian teams. that will be a part of the laughing legacy. >> we will see if that helps them tomorrow night. we'll be right back, but first these messages. i had chronic muscle pain all over. and i was so tender to the touch-- but i didn't know why. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia. and then he recommended lyrica... fibromyalgia is thought to be the result of over-active nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is fda-approved to help relieve the unique pain of fibromyalgia.

so now, i'm learning what a day is like with less pain. lyrica is not for everyone. tell your doctor about any serious allergic reaction that causes swelling or affects breathing or skin, or changes in eyesight including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. lyrica may cause suicidal thoughts or actions in a very small number of people. some of the most common side effects of lyrica are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs, and feet. do not drink alcohol while taking lyrica. you should not drive or operate machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. could your pain be caused by fibromyalgia? ask your doctor about lyrica today. outside: light, crispy, zero grams trans fat. inside: juicy, tender, white meat chicken. golden indeed. that's what we're made of. ♪ ba da ba ba ba announcer: there's an easier way. create your own business site

with intuit websites. just choose a style, then customize, publish and get found. sweet. get a 30-day free trial at intuit.com. [ woman ] nine iron, it's almost tee-time. time to face the pollen that used to make me sneeze, my eyes water. but with new zyrtec® liquid gels, i get allergy relief at liquid speed. that's the fast, powerful relief of zyrtec®, now in a liquid gel. zyrtec® is the fastest 24-hour allergy medicine. it works on my worst symptoms so i'm ready by the time we get to the first hole. and that's good because the competition's steep today. new zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air.™ >> that's going to do it for us. thanks to melissa francis and ginger we have. jay leno returns to the tonight show and we will find out what to expect his first night back

on the air. >> plus apolo ohno reflects for the first time in the vancouver games. i will be back for nightly news and complete coverage of the massive quake in chile. until then, so long, everybody. #

good morning, everyone. welcome to the saturday morning edition of "news4 today." it is 8:56 right now. state of catastrophe, one of the biggest earthquakes in history. a live report coming up on the situation in chile. also, coming up, a situation at arlington to tell you about. there has been an alleged abduction. we have a live report coming up from arlington. that breaking news is just ahead after this break. chuck? thanks, kimberly. yes, incompete

yes, indied, a little more wintereather coming our way. the snow showers aren't going to last too long or cause too much in the wayxd of travel troubles. a look down into the rest of your weekend and the week ahead coming up. thanks, chuck, your news, traffic and weather for an hour and a half coming up at 9:00.

state of catastrophe, one of

the biggest earthquakes in history rocked chile touches off a tsunami warning that stretches to hawaii, the west coast, asian coastlines andxd australia on we are hearing reports of damage ujuj could grow much more dire as information comes in. good morning, everyone. welcome to the 9:00 edition of "news4 today." more localñr breaking news t of arlington, virginia. police are looking for a man who they say abducted a woman early% this morning. it happened at wilsonçó bouleva and north george mason drive. news 4 derrick ward is there live with the latest. good morning, derrick. what do you know? >> reporter: good morning, kimberly. this happened at about 4:00 a.m. a 23-year-old female taken from the 600 block of north wakefield. now, she has since been located. with more details joining me is crystal with the arlgton