that's all for now. i'm lester holt. thanks for joining us. good monday morning. here's what's coming up on "early today." polar vortex. life-threatening, dangerously cold weather is descending across much of the u.s. today. record-setting cold could last the week. people are told to remain indoors and avoid exposure that could quickly lead to hypothermia and frostbite. aspen crash. at one of colorado's most exclusive airports. football frenzy. the wildcard winners as fans embrace everything that mother nature can throw at them. it's monday, january 6th, and "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm veronica de la cruz. get ready for an arctic blast of

dangerous and life-threatening proportions. in most parts of the u.s., it hasn't been this cold for almost two decades. 32 below zero expected in fargo, north dakota. minus 21 in madison, wisconsin, 15 below zero in chicago, indianapolis. nbc sarah dallof joins us live in the thick of it in chicago. temperatures one thing, but windchill, windchill could drop below 60? >> reporter: yeah, that windchill is where the weather really gets you veronica. and resident it's here haven't these kind of cold in years, officials warn conditions not only dangers, it could be deadly. a bitterly cold wake-up for millions this morning as an arctic front causes temperatures

to drop to record blows. 30 to 50 degrees below average in the midwest. 25 states with thermometers sitting at zero and below. in indiana sunday, up to 2 inches of snow fell every hour throughout the day. the mayor of indianapolis warning residents to stay indoors. >> we will have temperatures that are potentially deadly or certainly life altering. >> reporter: in st. louis, snow and high winds made it nearly impossible to see. >> pay attention to your neighbors, see what they need and take care of them. >> reporter: schools were closed in chicago where a half foot of snow is expected. and in minnesota, the first public school closure there in nearly two decades. officials are pleading with people to stay off the streets. already. there have been problems. black ice covered roads in maryland and pennsylvania. >> it's a sheet of ice. cars are just spinning out. >> reporter: to the runways in new york where a plane slid into snow at jfk international on sunday. nationwide, thousands of flights have been canceled or delayed. officials are expressing great concern about the elderly and

the homeless, saying frostbite can happen within minutes of exposure. cities have emergency workers on standby and outreach teams on the streets to help people find shelter. >> bring people into houses, temporary rehab, an effort bus seat or back. >> reporter: as the brutal winter weather gets even more extreme. and forecasters don't believe the weather will warm up until late this week. meanwhile, officials are urging people, if they can, to stay indoors. veronica, back to you. >> all right, try to stay warm if you can. now to nbc meteorologist bill karins. bill, 30 to 50 degrees below zero, that's not a joke. >> and it's not just one state it's widespread. this is a massive storm outbreak. if you're 25 years or younger you never experienced anything like this 1986 and 1994, we had huge arctic outbreaks.

it's just huge in scope it's going to sweep from the rockies all the way to the east coast over the next 24 hours. we have ohm states with windchill warnings or advisories. any state colored in here. in total, 25 states have windchill warnings. 32 states have windchill advisories. the coldest spot on the map, negative 55 windchill in langdon, north dakota. in kansas city, minus 30 in indianapolis. i feel for people in the ohio valley because they had that big snowstorm yesterday. and now they have the life-threatening windchills on top of it, and there's a lot of people without power still. >> that windchill makes a difference. new overnight, the 13-year-old girl declared brain-dead after a tonsillectomy is out of the hospital and back in the custody of her mother. >> jahi mcmath has been taken from children's hospital, and brought to a place where they will use her name, instead of calling her a body. and where she can get to the starting line, instead of where

children's has left her for the past power weeks almost at the finish line. >> and while the family's attorney would not reveal where jahi is headed, he said the place will allow her to have procedures done as soon as possible. one of those procedures would be to fit her with a feeding tube something that oakland's children's hospital refused to do because it ruled jahi brain-dead. her family believes she is alive. now to several scares in the air over the weekend. first to aspen, colorado, where a pilot of a small plane was killed after his jet crashed on the runway. two other people were on board as pilots were injured. at least two celebrities were at the airport and saw it all happen, including country singer leann rimes who witnessed the crash and actor kevin nealon who tweeted seeing the plane crash and in flames upon landing. an american flight boeing 757 carrying 215 passengers was

on its way from san francisco to new york, it was diverted to kansas city, after someone found a flash drive taped to the inside of a bathroom. the fbi is investigating. and everyone is okay after a delta jet skidded off the runway at jfk airport early sunday. flight 4100 had just landed from toronto when it slid off the tarmac and into a snowbank. it prompted the airport's closure, but it has since reopened. moving on now to some breaking news that is sure to dominate political headlines, nbc confirming that liz cheney the eldest daughter of former vice president dick cheney will drop her bid to upset wyoming in the senate. she never got much traction and put a deep divide in the gop. she suffered a series of setbacks including labels of a carpetbagger after becoming a resident in 2012.

and with her same-sex marriage made national headlines. her exit clears wait for incumbent senator mike enzi to win a fourth term. wyoming has not eelected a democrat to the senate since 1970s. >> the baseball world is mourning the death of a legendary player in broadcast icon. jeremy coleman died after a brief illness. he spent his entire career as a new york yankees infielder helping the bronx bombers to four world series titles. his career was put on hold in the korean war when he served as a decorated pilot. coleman will best be remembered as the voice of the san diego padres. he served as the team's radio announcer for four decades becoming famous for the phrase, oh, doctor, and you can hang a star on that one, baby." nbc meteorologist bill karins, i cannot get over how cold it is outside. >> you're about to find out and

realize it because it's coming to the east coast. that's what's next. we talked about where it's hitting hard now. let's talk about who is going to have the changing weather through the day today. our storm system dumped all the snow yesterday, now exiting up into canada. we've had freezing rain on and off up through new england in the last 24 hours and now the arctic blast is heading your way. the cold front, begin be of the arctic air is making its way through ohio and kentucky. the next stop will be the northeast. no problems, morning commute at 995, as the day moves on, the arctic air moves in through central pennsylvania by 6:00 p.m. by the time we get to tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m., notice the negative 5 windchill in washington, d.c. so this arctic outbreak not just in the middle of the country but sweeping to the east coast today. that's your national forecast, now here's a look at the weather outside your window. hi temperature today in kansas city, missouri, 2 degrees. we've been talking a lot about

the windchill. but the actual temperature, the thermometer temperature will be impressively cold, especially in areas like chicago and the midwest. in chicago, by the way, their cold oft all half time daytime high is negative 11. >> oh. >> they're supposed to be right around that. >> yikes. >> they have a chance for an all-time coldest day. >> good day to stay indoors. thanks, bill. straight ahead, the answer to just what this crop circumstance is all about. plus, dennis rodman arrives in north korea today with former nba stars to play for leader kim jong-un's birthday. we're going to have details on that next.

well, good morning and welcome back. iraqi troops are battling for two key cities overrun by al qaeda militants, fallujah and ramadi. at least 34 people were killed sunday. secretary of state john kerry said the u.s. will help iraq with the offensive, but made it clear that no u.s. troops will

be sent in. dennis rodman has arrived in pyongyang with a dozen basketball stars for an expedition game for leader jong-un's birthday. we learned over the weekend that '50s and '60s rock icon fill everly died at the age of 74 from pulmonary disease. phil and his brother don made up the everly brothers who sang hits as "wake up little susie," bye-bye love and all i have to do is dream. they reunited a decade later. a woman at an annual bull festival in costa rica, a video showing catapulting several feet in the air. during the interim she appeared to be in good condition, thank goodness. it's the first full day of trading with many investors

looking forward to friday's employment numbers. the research organization reports this is the first successful flight of an indian-built rocket. metlife stadium is expected to generate $15 million in revenue for the new york metropolitan area through the hundreds of events planned. and speaking of electronics, this crop circle in california, we're talking about this crop circle which managed to confuse and mystify the curious. it was actually a ruse by the company to show off the design of a new processor making its debut at the electronics show in las vegas. just ahead, sports with betty nguyen and how silence can cost you. plus, take the scare out of catching air. it's coming up next.

well, coming up this morning on "today," the squadron behind marine one. a rare inside look at the exclusive handpicked team responsible for flying the president of the united states. all right. let's go ahead and get the latest in sports from my good friend betty nguyen. big, big weekend in football. >> oh, tell me me about it. in fact, we're going to tell you about it. it was 5 degrees at kickoff, and it felt like minus 10 with the windchill somehow, though, the

fans didn't mind. he doesn't even have a shirt on. neither did milwaukee-born colin kaepernick, though. they had lee when kaepernick connects with vernon davis to take back the lead. and then tied, the win, it is good. the niners win 23-20. the chargers capitalizing on andy dalton's mistake. dalton runs for the first down, untouched but fumbles the ball. chargers get it near the end of the third almost pick six by dalton. then san diego's philip rivers seals the deal to ronnie brown. chargers 27-10. and now the fans facing the elements in philly. that's one way to do it. tailgaters were relaxing in a hot tub. saints won it. next week's game, seahawks

host the saints. and sunday, the panthers host the niners and the broncos host the chargers. >> you know they say silence is gold. but in this case, costly. marshawn lynch is being fined $50,000 by the nfl for failing to talk to the media during the regular season. next, college football's godaddy bowl. arkansas state with this trick play. r.j. fleming behind the line. as ball state runs the other way. then arkansas, when he making a run for it. a 27-yard gain. and tonight, the championship game, number 2 auburn takes on number 1 florida state. in the nba, during a free throw, new york's j.r. tries to untie the shoe of dallas marion, really? it didn't affect the free throw, but the knicks did win. well, the olympics in sochi, they're just one month away, if

you're not quite linebackolympir but want major air, there's an answer. snowboard participants were able to soar 20 feet off a ramp landing safely on a big old bag of air. that's one easy way to do it. i'd say. >> kind of scary, i'd say. >> no, it's an air bag down there. you're all good. >> pretty gnarly, thanks, betty. just ahead, the late paul walker's fate in the "fast & furious" has been decided. we'll have details.

welcome back. just a little fun fact from the national weather service in minneapolis. had a negative 35 windchill. your hands or your face, any exposed flesh will freeze in ten minutes. that was just their little safety advice for what is expected and what is happening now throughout the region. you notice that negative 35 windchill is found pretty much everywhere throughout the northern plains all the way from chicago back to iowa. the in-g news is, it's short lived. we're going to have not a long lasting outbreak. >> it's going to be 3? oh, my goodness. wow. >> i know. jimmy fallon is giving us our first look as he prepares to take the 60-year juggernaut that

is "the tonight show." >> a guy i'm very fond of hosting "the tonight show" jimmy fallon tonight. >> are you ready for this? >> this february -- >> jimmy fallon! >> -- the tradition continues. disney's frozen took the top spot with $20.7 million. thriller paranormal activity came in second with $18.2 million. congrats to alexa vega married carlos pena. this is vega's second marriage. justin timberlake sold the most records for 2013. 2.2 million. this is the lowest sales figure since nielsen began reporting those results in 1991. after announcing that paul walker's character will remain

in "fast & furious 7" they will rewrite the script that he retires rather than beagle killed in the story line. off the record, sandy bullock learned a valuable lesson don't google yourself. she said she was aware of comments about her age and who she was dating some were true and some she'll never admit to. she reportedly was dating george clooney there. she was supposed to be in some feud with julia roberts. >> don't google yourself. i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "early today." we hope it is just your first stop of the day on nbc.

a dangerous cold tightening its grip on parts of the country this morning. things are so bad, one city has declared it illegal to be out on the roads. the impact these bitter temperatures will have on us over the next 24 hours. plus, fighting to make sure your kids get more sleep at night. the school district that's letting you weigh in on a plan to push back the start of the schoolday. good morning, everyone, it's 4:26. i'm aaron gilchrest. >> i'm eun yang. welcome to "news4 today" for this monday, january 6th, 2014. much of the country in a deep freeze. the upper midwest feeling the coldest air in 20 years. public schools are closed today in cities including chicago and st. louis, as well as the entire state of minnesota.

people are being told to stay indoors as temperatures in some places could touch 32 below zero, and that is not counting the windchills. >> i tell you, we are above freezing here in the d.c. area also this hour. but you need to get yourself ready for a dramatic drop in temperatures. in fact, we could see a 40-degree drop in the next 24 hours. storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein is here with what we need to get ready for. good morning. good morning. you need an umbrella now. dense fog, but a lot of the fog is beginning to break up. right now temperatures around the region are 40s around the metro area. we have some rain here in montgomery, howard county, into fairfax county, down 95. prince william, down to stafford and spotsylvania. the area of light rain is going to be passing through washington. over the next half-hour or so. wet roads and streets and sidewalks farther west getting snow showers in the mountains now. temperatures, wide variety. it's 60 degrees at patuxent

river. over in salisbury, 64 degrees now, while it's 20 degrees colder in washington. 44. frederick, 37. martinburg, west virginia, 26. most locations well above freezing, but the big cold change coming later today. and look who's back -- danella is with us. welcome back. >> thanks, tom. great to be back. here's what's happening in our area. first, we'll start with the beltway. i drove past this myself. outer loop just before the exit for georgia avenue. there's some sort of debris in the roadway. looks like a thin metal rod. you'll want to avoid. the lane is open. you don't want to drive on that. it's also in the shoulder lane on your right shoulder lane. to 395, northbound here, nice and clear, southbound had an earlier accident. this one was at edsall. it is nice and clear both directions. i am back at 4:31. back to you both. >> i am so happy to see you. welcome back. now 4:28. we're getting ready for a winter blast. temperature are about to take a tumble here in our area.

many of you aren't wasting any time stocking up. we saw plenty of people last night in northern virginia getting plenty of supplies at grocery stores and hardware stores. most people we talked to have the same idea about what they're going to do during this deep freeze just to stay home. >> i'm absolutely ready now. stay home. that's what everybody should do. >> lots of water, wine, bread. you know, just stuff that you can stay warm and cozy. >> meantime, homeless shelters say they're getting treated accommodate more people. the winter shelter in arlington is staying open all day both today and tomorrow. one big problem when it get so cold is the risk of having your pipes freeze. there are some things you can do now to prevent that. montgomery county fire and rescue says you can leave your cabinet doors open so heat can circulate. leave the thermostat no lower than 55 degrees, and this is a big one -- if your pipes freeze, call a plumber first. using a hair dryer or torch to

thaw the pipes could electrocute you or cause a fire. stay with us for continuing coverage of the winter blast. we're bringing you weather & traffic on the 1s all morning. we're also constantly updating our website with the latest details as this cold weather moves in. new this morning, investigators trying to determine what caused a house fire in northern virginia. the fire broke out before 11:00 last night on a house on lake jackson drive off prince william parkway in manassas. firefighters say they saw the fire coming from the chimney. these are pictures posted on the manassas volunteer fire department's facebook page. the fire is out. no word on any injuries. two high-profile trials begin in our area today. one is a manslaughter trial for the man charged in the death of a prince george's county police officer. prosecutors say kanan neil led police officers on a chase. the man behind the wheel of adrian morris. he lost control and crashed and later died from h