reports tonight on the impact and the effort to stop the epidemic in its tracks starting with nbc's gabe gutierrez inside an emergency room in brooklyn. gabe? >> reporter: good evening, lester. this is now the worst flu season here in new york since 2009. more than 19,000 reported cases so far. and because of that escalation, today the governor decided to make the flu vaccine more accessible to children. for at least the next 30 days, pharmacists, not just doctors and nurses in new york state, will be allowed to give flu shots to patients older than 6 months. before they could only vaccinate adults. the governor's order comes after the death of 20 children across the country, since its flu season began a month earlier than usual. at the medical center er in brooklyn, one in three kids has been showing up with flu-like symptoms. this morning, it was the last place young mom ashley carasquillo wanted to be. >> i'm sick of the flu. >> reporter: she first got sick three weeks ago and then her 8-year-old aaron and now her 2-year-old chloe. as a mom, what is the toughest part about seeing your kids sick

nbc's gabe gutierrez has more now from us from a hospital in brooklyn. gabe?eporter: just declared a public health emergency for new york state and that means over the next 30 days, commercial pharmacists will be allowed to administer the flu vaccine to patients between 6 months and 18 years of age. the flu activity may be leveling off in parts of the south, but across the country in e.r.s like this one doctors aren't sure when it will stop. clearly, there's nothing fun about the flu. but now it's officially an epidemic. the disease widespread in 47 states, up from the week before. so for, at least 20 children have died. >> everyone in my office is sick right now and everyone seems to have gotten it. flu season lasts for about three months and the cdc says we're not even half way through. >> it's expected most parts of the country will continue to see influenza activity for several more weeks. >> while health officials think the flu might have peaked in some spots like the south, interest is high. the blue dots on this match show the rising google searches for

>> nbc's gabe gutierrez, thanks so much. continue to follow that story and bring you more details as it unfolds. an incredible picture for you when a motorist and a passenger in maryland have had to be rescued after being trapped in their car due to heavy rains. it's all part of a severe storm system which made landfall in the east coast early this morning. in southeast, at least two people are dead after high winds and a tornado ripped through parts of georgia and tennessee yesterday. the severe storm system is responsible for more than 400,000 power outages in the northeast after these heavy rains and the high winds that they experienced last night. we go back to our special coverage of the chuck hagel confirmation. that hearing continuing as we speak. we take you back now, a live look on capitol hill where the former senator is answering questions from senator claire mccaskill right now. it's going into its second hour. joining me by phone is bob kerrey of nebraska, a hagel supporter. sir, it's good to have you here. you

. >> gabe gutierrez with the latest on that story out of alabama. our "news nation" gut check is up next. duvall patrick should have picked barney frank as the interim replacement in the senate? a lot of you weighed in. we will get the rest of you to tell us. you can join the "news nation" on facebook. facebook.com/"news nation." abby needs everything to throw a big party for the big game. let's see if walmart's low price guarantee can make you the mvp of savings. look at that price. wow! walmart lowers thousands of prices every week. if you find a lower advertised price, they'll match it at the register. no way! yeah! touchdown! ready? get out! that's the walmart low price guarantee! see for yourself! bring in your last receipt, see how much you can save. see for yourself! get great prices on everything you need for your game time party. like oreo cookies and kellogg's special k popcorn chips backed by walmart's low price guarantee. >> per there is a lot going on today. things we thought you should know. self depp riication from john mccain at the

gabe gutierrez has details. [ snoring ] >> reporter: it's a constant battle in bedrooms. >> roll overw a wake-up call. snoring is serious. >> it affects my sleep patterns. it affects how i perform at work. >> reporter: jim kelly broke his nose in high school and hasn't slept well since. just ask his wife. >> you can hear it through the walls. and it reverberates, and it's the really deep, throaty snore occasionally. and so, yeah, it -- it can be a nuisance. [ snoring ] >> reporter: a new study shows it's just the beginning. doctors at henry ford hospital in detroit examined 54 patients. turns out those who snore head thicker carotid arteries, that could slow blood flow to the brain, putting snorers at greater risk for heart disease than being overweight, smoking, or having high cholesterol. how significant is the study? >> i think it actually has a fairly great deal of significance. >> reporter: dr. scott liebovitz is a sleep specialist at the piedmont heart institute in atlanta. he says this is evidence that heart problems could be linked to isolated snoring. long before someone is d

>> gabe gutierrez, tnk you. >>> time for a check of the morning pfsz other top stories.ou guys. good morning, everyone. in what could be his first public admission, lance armstrong is planning to admit to doping in an interview next week with oprah winfrey. "usa today" says armstrong plans to tell oprah he used performance enhancing drugs throughout his career. there's been no confirmation from armstrong or his attorney. >> there's a warning from the department of homeland security, one that effects hundreds of millions of people. it advises people to temporarily disable the java software on their computers. >>> an army sergeant from north dakota will become only the fourth living service member ever to be given the nation's top haner for courage in iraq or afghanistan. he will be given the medal of honor by president obama next month. he's been praised for ignoring his own battle wounds to rescue the injured and retrieve the dead in an ambush in 2009 with 300 fighters in afghanistan. >> robert f. kennedy jr. was convinced it was not one lone gunman responsible for the d

. >> nbc's gabe gutierrez in brooklyn.> next week the president will celebrate his second inauguration and the country will also mark martin luther king, jr., day. another event is generating quite a bit of buzz and controversy. gun appreciation day and the right to bear arms and the organizers are encouraging gun owners to show up at their local gun store and gun range with a constitution, and the hands off my guns sign. obviously, there are timing and sensitivity issues around the day and the weekend it's being marked. it's barely been a month from sandy hook elementary in connecticut and it's also a weekend when the nation erms martin luther king, jr., who was assassinated by a gunman and the president's inauguration as well. so what is the purpose of the date of the weekend that you've chosen for this? >> the purpose of the day of the weekend, quite frankly, was not selected to be on anybody's birthday. every day is somebody's birthday, but it was, you know, selected simply because the first day of the 113th congress t

gabe gutierrez is there this morning. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. up the road behind me, police have been working more than 40 hours to free this 5 year old. so far, he's unharmed. police have been able to bring him medicine and even a coloring book. today we're learning more about his alleged kidnapper. hostage negotiators have been talking to the suspect through a pvc pipe attached to what's described as a tornado bunker. a police source identifies him as 65-year-old jimmy lee dice, a survivalist who distrusts the government. neighbors say he's a loner, always menacing. >> this man has exhibited, for years, signs of instability. >> did he scare you? >> he terrified me. he was, basically, a ticking time bomb. >> reporter: on tuesday afternoon, the police source says the gunman boarded a stopped school bus near this church and demanded a few random children come with him. it's not clear why. the bus driver, 66-year-old charles poland jr., refused to let children go, that's when dice shot poland multiple times, killing him. as officers closed in, wit