our exclusive report tonight from nbc's ron allen. >> reporter: central high is an 82-year-old historic building with a once grand facade. inside, some 1800 students and teachers work in shocking conditions. they call the stairwell the waterfall. during heavy rain, it pours. a secretary protects herself from the stench and grime in this file room. near a cooking class, caution signs. the court of appealing in this adjoining room collapsed. bridget's rugiano's arts class is beneath the a rest room. >> whenever the boys bathroom floods or leaks, i start to hear the pitter-patter, and i know to brace myself. >> reporter: and then there is the storage area. >> i can smell the dead mice in the wall. >> you can smell dead mice in the wall? >> yes. >> reporter: recent charges show repeat violations, leaks, falling plaster, exposed electrical outlets and fixtures. over 100 violations in recent years according to court complaint. repairs have been made, but teachers like annie coleman insists the mold problem in her classroom keeps coming back. she took these pictures in september. >> it was rea

and also ron allen in philadelphia. thanks to both of you. dylan, first of all, let's talk about what's going on up there in massachusetts, where you have had absolutely the worst of it. terrible cold and winds. >> reporter: cold and wind. that's right, andrea. and right now, this is really one of the very few spots still dealing with this heavy blowing snow. and it's all ocean effect. we awl tatalk a lot about lake snow. we have a very cold north wind crossing over the relatively warmer waters of the atlantic. and we are stuck with this band of ocean effect snow right over us. and you can see just how much it reduces visibility when these winds kick out. we've had winds up near 40 miles per hour at times. it reduces visibility down to around zero. and it also blows and drifts the snow all over the place, which is what we've been dealing with here. we've had these snow drifts, and the snow just kind of floats around. so the road crews are trying to clean things up. but then the snow rides right back over the road. so we are certainly dealing

joining me now is ron allen from chicago where public schools are closed for a second day in a row. and from new york, wnbc meteorologist rafael mir an da. thank you very much. ron, first to you out there in the cold. it is brutal. any relief in sight? >> reporter: there has been, andrea. we were having a spirited discussion with the crew because one of the producer was insisting that the temperature has reached 1 degree. i have negative 2 and everybody else -- yesterday it was negative 15 to 16 and of course there's a lot of snow around. they had record snowfall, 8 inches. it continues to be bad but it is improving. see the flags flying over the bridge. the windchill is do you know around negative 20 or so, 20 to 30, but the trend is in the right direction. the river obviously still frozen. you can see there's some more signs of life as you look around. a lot of people tried to make it to work today and that created a lot of travel problems because commuters wsh -- the system wasn't quite ready to handle the volume, perhaps and there were a lot of reports of traffic accidents and ra

ron allen, nbc news, new york. >>> what is the recent controversy done to chris christie's popularityegs, for crossing. ♪ feet...splashing. better things than the joint pain and swelling of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. if you're trying to manage your ra, now may be the time to ask about xeljanz. xeljanz (tofacitinib) is a small pill, not an injection or infusion, for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz is an ra medicine that can enter cells and disrupt jak pathways, that comes with ra. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers have happened in patients taking xeljanz. don't start xeljanz if you have any kind of infection, unless ok with your doctor. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz, and routinely check certain liver tests. tell your doctor if you have been to a region where certain

the midwest is getting hit a lot harder than we are and that's where my colleague, ron allen, is standing by in chicago. >> reporter: you certainly can't complain. we may have some huge breaking news to report here soon because the temperature is actually perhaps soon going to get above zero. we have a number of thermometers here. we have a couple readings that put it at 2. i think officially it's still below zero. negative 1 or 2. that's an improvement because yesterday it was minus 15. we still have really intense windchill and one measure of that is the flags over there whipping around. today in chicago, things are still very deserted. there are not a lot of people out because it's still brutal conditions here. more people trying to get to their offices this morning. that was noticeable. there were many more problems on the roadways and with mass transit because of that. one of the worst problems here facing people in chicago is an amtrak problem. several trains from as far away as los angeles and san francisco were stranded in a snow bank and the passengers, hundreds of them, had to s

let's go live to nbc's ron allen in hard-hit philly. we hear 14 inches, at least you got some sun there, ron. how are the roads and how cold is it? >> yeah, i got some sun here. that's about the minimal thing i've got here. the wind just started gusting up as we were standing here waiting for you to come to us. we're standing on the steps of the old famous art museum and you can perhaps see the wind gusting. i don't know if we can pan up and see it, but there's -- the temperature is about 4 or 5 degrees, wind chill takes it below zero. that's center city in the distance. you can see the roads are barren, bit of a ghost town, there's nothing happening here. the school is closed, government is closed, most businesses have told people to work from home if they can. >> watch out behind you, you have runners coming your way. >> hearty souls doing the rocky run up the stairs. i'm not sure what they've been on this morning or eating this morning, but they have a lot of energy. more energy than certainly i do. >> you should have grabbed them. >>

nbc's ron allen is live for us in chicago, which has already hit a record low for this date of minus we talk about chicago, we know that this is a city that is used to hard winters but this one is really catching everybody by surprise at just how extreme these temperatures are. >> reporter: it's stunning how cold it is out here. as you can see here in the center of chicago, it's pretty much deserted. normally there are thousands of people here. one of the busiest parts of town. people have been heeding the advice to stay home and work from home or don't come out unless they absolutely have to. michigan avenue in this direction is just nothing happening there. we do hear a couple sirens going by, ambulances and emergency vehicles going by because obviously there's a lot of concern about people who are vulnerable, the homeless, elderly and so forth. the governor said stay indoors if at all possible. as for temperatures, 15 below, windchills of 30. once you get in the certain range, it feels the same. we stand by the chicago river so we have felt the wind coming at us since we've been ou

next we move to ron allen in philadelphia where they received a record 13.5 inches of snow at the airport during the storm. today the big dig is on in the midst of a big chill. ron, how are you holding up there in the city of brotherly love? >> reporter: ha, brotherly love and sisterly affections as they say here. yep, we've had records of 13.5 inches at the airport. there were 14 inches reported in the city by the philadelphia emergency management office out in some suburbs with up to 16 inches. and to go log into the record books, you have to go back to 1917 or so before you see that. and there have been record numbers of snowfalls, three of them, leading up to february 1st. that's the first time that's happened here. so a lot of snow in an urban area. so what do you do? these are the famous rocky steps leading up to the art museum here. as you can see there, it's a carnival, a festival, a sledding fest as every manner of sled that you can see here, they are made of plastic, they are made of plastic tubs, they are even made of cardboard. going down these steps on cardboard is something

thank you, ron allen, get in from the cold. going from bad to worse, a lake-effect snowstorm could drop five to six feet of snow in upstate new york. more from the town with the unlikely name of mexico. katie, good morning. >> reporter: hey there, chris, we are here in a very windy and snowy mexico, new york. that's mexico, new york. not mexico down south where it's presumably very beautiful and warm right now. it is negative 1 degrees out here right now. about negative 25 with the wind chill, and the wind is really the issue. it's that frigid wind coming off lake ontario and it's the snow around. we would have quite an accumulation if not for the gusts going from 35 to 40 miles an hour. any time in the next few minutes, it will pick up and you'll see it kind of knock me around. in fact, i was hiding behind this tree earlier. new york state is under a state of emergency right now because of this weather. highway 90 in buffalo is shut down. there's a blizzard there. it's the first time that has happened since 1993. highway 89 by

ron allen, some great reporting.s going to wrap up this hour of "jansing and co." alex witt is up next. [ sneezes ] [ coughs ] i've got a big date, but my sinuses are acting up. it's time for advil cold and sinus. [ male announcer ] truth is that won't relieve all your symptoms. hmm? [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer plus-d relieves more symptoms than any other behind the counter liquid gel. thanks for the tip. [ male announcer ] no problem. oh...and hair products. aisle 9. [ inhales deeply ] oh what a relief it is. ♪ want to play hide and seek? yeah! 1... 2... 6... 10! [ female announcer ] piÑa colada yoplait. it is so good when you need a little escape. [ mom ] still counting. purina dog chow light & healthy when you need a little escape. is a deliciously tender and crunchy kibble blend. with 20% fewer calories than purina dog chow. isn't it time you discovered the lighter side of dog chow. purina dog chow light & healthy. like a ramen noodle- every-night budget. she thought allstate car insurance was out of her

we begin in chicagoland with ron allen who is covered up to the chin. are you all right? >> reporter: i'm doing just great. how are you doing? it's not bad. you come out here. you get bundled up and it's fine. believe me, this is nothing. it's deserted. chicago is like a ghost town. this is the center of town. people have heeded advice to stay indoors. wise thing to do. temperatures are -- last time i looked it was negative 15. windchills 35, 40 and of course once you get in those numbers it all just is like that woman said, it's just crazy. if you look over here, there's nothing. usually there are thousands of people out here. that's a good thing. it's dangerous out here. there are traffic accidents. public transportation is in many cases having a lot of problems here. the governor and others, emergency officials, are saying to people stay inside unless you have to. schools have been closed. universities have been closed. things are just -- it's a day to sort of chill out and wait for tomorrow. the temperatures are supposed to get a little bit higher tomorrow into the si

so it --i.q. >> bishop ron allen was on our show a short while ago.nt seems to either be ill, misinformed or flat out ignoring the vice of his policy and prevention experts. mr. president, i'd like to ask you a question, sir: is this the legacy that you want to leave the youth of this nation, a drug riddleed nation for our youth? >> you go -- he was a former crack addict, started out with marijuana and right up to crack. if you go to white house.gov and look up the drug problem in the country, they list marijuana as a major drug. they list four major drugs. cocaine, heroin, meth, and marijuana. so when the president says one thing and his own web site says something else, you kind of got to wonder what's going on there. >> it's the definition of integrity, right? having that consistency. >> let's toss over to heather who tested positive for coffee this morning. >> always. lots of coffee. >> don't deny it. >> you might be over the limit of caffeine. >> for sure. good morning to you. we start with a fox news alert. 23 people have been injured after a gr

nbc's ron allen is live in new jersey. n this ship, supposed to be a ten-day cruise. much of that eight days seems like a nightmare. >> reporter: it does, tamron. the officials are still trying to determine how many people were sick over the course of the eight days the ship was away. probably close to 700. a lot of them got sick in the beginning and it tailed off. but still, that's a huge number. about 3,000 people on the ship. that's a significant percentage. it would be one of the biggest outbreaks on a ship like this in a long, long time. we were talking to some of the passengers. they've all gotten off the ship for the most part now. and they're making their way through customs and getting their bags and going on home. some are going to hotels because officials have said to them, don't try to make the journey home they're from all over the country. people will be staying in local hotels until they're feeling better. we talked to one couple who spent most of the past six or seven days in their cabin. they were feeling t

joining me now, nbc's ron allen from a frigid chicago and wnbc meteorologist rafael miranda in new york. ron, first to you in chicago. it's brutal out there. >> reporter: it is. i can't remember being this cold many other times in my life, ski trips and mountains and things like that but this is brutal. as you can see it's pretty desserted, this is the center of chicago. most people have been told by employers to work from home. usually this area is packed with people. there's nothing here now. there's snow on the ground because there was a record snowfall yesterday, about 8 inches or so, now we have record freezing temperatures minus 15 or 16 or so, we're near the chicago refer over that direction, you can feel this windchill thing happening. it's what, 30, 40 below. it's incredible, the numbers. it feels -- it just feels very, very raw. i took my gloves off for a moment to make an adjustment and exposing skin to the elements is what really gets you in trouble. we're prepared for this. the crew certainly as well. michigan avenue is pretty much deserted. there's public transportation an

and that's where nbc's ron allen joins me live. good morning, how's it looking there?ss extremely frigid than yesterday. it's

ron allen, nbc news, new york. >> such an interesting case. >>> let's get a check now of the weatherm dylan, who is back outside on the plaza. it's still cold, huh? >> it is cold, but you know what? this crowd is keeping us warm. we want to make sure we get everybody in this morning, because they are troopers being out here since the start of the show. so, it's a half hour standing outside in the cold, but we are going to see some snow showers in this area later today, so it's good that they're here now. you don't want to stand out in the cold and the snow. we've got most of our snow right now back through the great lakes, where we are going to see some enhancement from the great lakes, producing up to perhaps a foot of snow in some areas. it's even snowing down in kentucky right now. these are those clipper systems that raced through the area. they're in, they dump some snow and then move right back out. we will see snow later this evening in new york city. then the next storm system moves in, bringing more snow to chicago as we go into tonight and into the day on sunday. but what a