blake mccoy chicago. >> he looks bundled up and still looks cold. right. >> gives me chills. >> i was going to say, his head has to be warm with that hat. >> this is the kind of weather >> it's pretty painful. especially in the morning hours wind chill below zero. but the good news is tomorrow morning we won't be seeing those type of wind chills. but it will still be cold. we'll still be in the teens but compared to what today brought us this morning, it's not going to be as bad. so we'll just say it like that, not as bad. but another day today with high temperatures below freezing. we will only be in the mid to upper 20s for much of the area. middle of the week, we are talking early night into thursday, still snow chance, south and east of the district. after that the arctic air does return and looks colder than what we had this morning, believe it or not. current temperatures in the middle to upper teens. the wind is still up. there is sustained anywhere from 10 to 15-mile-per-hour. still making a big difference what our feels like temperature. wi

blake mccoy with the latest. >> reporter: tonight 19 degrees and snowing in buffalo. a massive pileup is snarling interstate 90, a foreboding look at what's to come with a major snowstorm set to move up the coast. much of the country under a brutal deep freeze. contributing to at least 15 deaths. in chicago, fourth day in a row below zero temperatures. >> it's just cold. no way around it. i don't think you can really prepare. >> reporter: more than half the u.s. population, 200 million americans, saw temperatures below freezing today. from the north at niagara falls, down south to savannah. 23 people hurt in bronx, new york, including a firefighter as they battled elements, fire and ice. hoses and ladders frozen. frozen pipes a common site in midwest. illinois house caught fire when homeowner tried tried to thaw pipes with blow torch. >> i wouldn't recommend that. this is professional use only. >> reporter: check out close call near dallas, a police officer slipped and fell on icy highway as car nearly slid into him. not all bad, crisp air ideal viewing for tonight's

nbc's blake mccoy has the latest from chicago. blake? >> reporter: frances, good morning. this will be the fourth morning in a row that chicago wakes up to temperatures below 0, even colder when you factor in the wind chill. and it's not just here in chicago. much of the country is being impacted by this arctic blast. >>> a bitter freeze gripping the country. >> it's unbearable. >> i feel it every second in my bones. >> reporter: now turning deadly with at least five suspected cold weather deaths. the latest in detroit where a man was found frozen in front of a church. this is dangerous whiteout conditions caused a massive pile up in michigan, an indiana woman had to be rescued after her car plunged into an icy pond trapping her as it sank. it was the coldest ball drop in 100 years, just 9 degrees at midnight in new york's times square. >> we're freezing and we had no idea it was going to be this cold. >> it's as cold as i've ever been. >> reporter: much of the country begins 2018 in this prolonged deep freeze. 90% of america waking up below freezing. 35% below 0. new reco

we begin tonight with nbc's blake mccoy in chicago. >> reporter: a bitter freeze gripping the country. >> it's unbearable. >> i feel it every second in my bones. >> reporter: now, turning deadly with at least five suspected cold weather deaths, the latest in detroit where a man was found frozen in front of a church. this, as dangerous whiteout conditions caused a massive pile-up in michigan. an indiana woman had to be rescued after her car plunged into an icy pond, trapping her as it sank. overnight, it was the coldest ball drop in a hundred years, just 9 degrees at midnight in new york's times square. >> we're freezing, and we had no idea it was going to be this cold. >> it's the coldest i've ever been. >> reporter: much of the country begins 2018 in this prolonged deep freeze. 90% of america waking up below freezing today. 35% below zero. new record lows set in places like omaha, des moines and buffalo. for emergency crews, the bitter cold is presenting a challenge. >> we've got two trucks froze up right now. we're in the process of trying to get them back to the station so they can

let's start with blake mccoy in frigid chicago. utally cold morning here in chicago, after people go to school and work after the holidays. it is minus 5, minus 20 when you factor in the windchill. look at the chicago river, totally iced over. beautiful but cold. this is now the fourth morning in a row that chicago is waking up to temperatures below zero. we aren't alone. huge portions of the country under a sustained deep freeze. 20 or 30 degrees below normal. dallas, new orleans, atlanta, they're all below freezing. those are places not used to the temperatures. some schools this morning in the midwest have decided to cancel class. indianapolis and cedar rapids, for example, with the holiday now over, a lot of people do not have the option to stay home. they have to go out and brave this brutally cold weather. savannah, back to you. >> make, thank you. >>> al is here to tell us how long the bitter cold is going to hang around. hey, al. >> it's going right into the weekend. bismarck will be 24. 11 in green bay. temperatures startin

nbc's blake mccoy takes a look at other problems blamed on this weather. >> reporter: in northwest washington, an ice storm toppled power lines. officials urging people to stay home. texas, which is ill prepared for this frigid weather is coated in ice. a spatula doubling as a window highway as a car nearly slides into him. >> talk about a close call there. >> he was fast. he moved his hands. wow. >> doug, we haven't had to deal with the ice or scraping the windshields just yet. is that to come, thursday, friday, saturday? >> i don't think so. thursday will be the interesting day snow wise. the factor is the cold. it is absolutely freezing across our area. so cold the potomac river is freezing. we told you this -- i told enthuse, i don't know if you remember, a week-and-a-half ago we would see the potomac frozen over. you saw people on the canal doing ice skating there. take a look at all that ice along the potomac. chopper4 was out there earlier today looking at that. this is going to get thicker as we move on through the weekend. i don't see us -- we may go above freezing in parts of the re

nbc's blake mccoy is following that story for us. he has the latest. hi, blake.d morning. after two weeks out of the public eye the governor emerged before cameras ready to put this behind him and get back on message. he quickly found it won't be easy. this morning missouri governor eric brighton is resuming his public schedule while introducing a state budget monday, he was unable to shake questions of an extramarital affair he had nearly three years ago before becoming governor. >> we dealt with it privately, we dealt with it openly and it was hard but with loving family and a lot of player and tremendous support, we've made it through. >> reporter: the governor denying allegations he tried to black mail the unnamed woman with audio he says is a see cred recorded conversation with her. we've altered her voice. >> i saw a flash through the blindfold and he said, you're never going to mention my name. >> adding. >> he said you're not going to mention my name, are you? and then he asked me again, i said, no. >> there is no threat of using a photograph for black ma

let's start with blake mccoy in frigid chicago.ng to you, savannah. a bitterly cold dose of reality for people returning to school and work today. 5 below in chicago right now. 20 below when you factor in the windchill. i want to pan off here on the chicago river. you can see the effect of this cold. the river, completely frozen over. a beautiful sight. man, a cold one. this is the fourth morning in a row, that chicago is waking up below zero. we aren't alone. a huge portion of the country in a deep freeze. temperatures 20 to 30 degrees below normal. we're talking dallas, texas, new orleans, atlanta. they're all waking up below freezing. that's a part of the country that doesn't have the proper some schools in the midwest have decided to cancel class today. indianapolis and cedar rapids, for example. but most of us will not be able to avoid this bitter cold, as we step out the door this morning. guys? >> blake, thank you. >>> al is here to tell us how long the bitter cold is going to hang around. hey, al. >> it's going right into t

and blake mccoy is in jefferson city missouri for us this morning. >> good morning. the governor here is defiant. admitting to the affair but insisting he did not try to blackmail the woman. now the tawdry details of the affair are threatening to take him down. >> this morning, missouri's governor is under fire. and fighting back. denying allegations he tried to blackmail a woman he had an affair with using a naked photograph of her. >> this was a consensual relationship. there was no violence. this was all consensual. >> st. louis' fox 2 ktvi landed the first tv interview with governor eric greitens since news of the affair broke two weeks ago. just hours after his state of the state speech -- >> thank you guys. >> tv station kmov aired the bombshell report with the ex-husband of the other woman, greitens' hairdresser. the husband revealing secret recordings he says he made of their counseling sessions detailing the 2015 affair before greitens was elected governor. nbc news has not verified the tape, and we've altered her voice. vernor. nbc news has obtained the tap

blake mccoy is there for us this morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. the governor is defiant, admitting to that affair but insisting he did not try to blackmail the woman. now, the tawdry details of the affair are threatening to take him down. this morning, missouri's governor is under fire and fighting back. denying allegations he tried to blackmail a woman he had an affair with using a naked photograph of her. >> there was no violence. this was consensual. >> reporter: since news of the affair broke, he gave an interview. just hours of his state of the state speech -- >> thank you, guys. >> reporter: tv station kmov aired the bombshell report with the ex-husband of the other woman, greitens' hairdresser. he had recordings of their counseling sessions, detailing the affair, before greitens was governor. nbc news has obtained the tape. and we altered her voice. >> he stepped back and i saw a flash through the blindfold. and he said, you're never going to mention my name. >> there was no blackmail. there was no threat of blackmail. there was no threat o

blake mccoy, good morning. >> reporter: hoda, good morning to you.ping up to be problematic. tradition would have made him a presenter this year, putting the academy in a tough spot, as the me too movement takes center stage on hollywood's biggest night. from oscar winner to academy awards no-show, this morning a rep for casey affleck confirms the actor will not attend this year's ceremony. affleck, who won best actor last year for his role in "manchester by the sea" has dogged by old, sexual misconduct allegations. he was sued by two women in 2010, who worked on his film "i'm still here," both claimed he made unwelcomed sexual advances, charges he denies. he settled out of court. affleck's presence at this year's ceremony could have made for an uncomfortable moment since traditionally best actor winners present the award for best actress next year. >> everyone was around town waiting to see how the academy was going to handle this. were they going to ignore it, were they going to address it? was casey going to bow out? it was kind of the question on

shawn mccoy looking for the first season win buffalo jackson tight end of the third, blake touchdownrs up seven, last shot for the bills nathan peter man. kicked off. jacksonville hangs on to win 10-3, first playoff in ten years, the steelers next. >>> ice cold to red hot like that the flyers are out of last place and in the 16 goals in theee games. fans are d neuvirth since the end of november first, they're down one nothing not for thrown shane gostisbehere makes r tied at one. a minute later. flyers again on the power play, shawn gusty tore yeah. flyers hang ton win third straight, they're off now for the next six days. >> build momentum and it's a big win, we haven't been successful ainst this yea being able to g trust. >>> college hoops, temple basketball is beat up and beat up badly. the owls score 39 points against central that is it. 39 years today, against central florida. first half. bad luck.half left it wide temple loses 60-39. sixth straight loss, dead last in the conference. temple really needs to figure this out. last place in that conference's they should be in first

game of the weekends, former eagle motorcycle mccoy and buff will he bills in jacksonville for the afc wild-card game, thirds quarter tied at three, blakeds ben, for 1 yard score. jacksonville takes the lead, that's all they would need, the jaguar defense, one of the best in the business, nathan peter man in for the injured tie rod taylor, picked off by jaylen, that would seal the deal. ten-three your final. it is jags-steel nerves pittsburgh next sunday. >> georgia bulldogs and alabama crimson tide face-off tonight in the college football national championship game. georgia is ranked number three , alabama number four, alabama has won four of the last eight titles, while georgia hasn't won national championship since 1980. the flyers, they're off until saturday when they take on the devils, playing pretty well, michael got the start first action since late november, rhino riley would see one up here, beat the sane ers, take the lead. later flyers on the attack. shane, beating robin, fosh ninth goal the season, we are tied, still in the second, flyers power play captain claude giroux, passed to sean, 22 goals, five in the last three gam

nbc's blake mccoy iinscitua with >> reporter:blew in quickly. for blizzard conditions al high winds and waves battering homes. >> this is our house. oh my god. >> reporter: misery and danger for so many who l water. >> thisivingry crashing over the sea wall behind her scituate home. in cape cod water spilled on to roadways. snow plows struggling to get through. >> let's go. >> reporter: further north in rockport the weather channel's jim cantore and his crew helping this driver out of danger. >> where should i go? >> out of the water. just keep going. just keep going up into the street please. the calling card here storm surge, three feet of storm surge. back out of but actually bringingwater i actually ht on hand not mix. boston rare snow. the storm surge cutting a path right through the heart of def el the city. >> streets. >> the city's well handle the snow and a blizzard. the tidal surgest a little tentially t catastrophic blizzard tonight massachusetts' governor urging people to stay home. scitate, that's where linda vegan will be. what's t