power right now. that number is going to grow. this storm is roux el wieally j getting started. >>. >> reporter: this is the first quarter of the super bowl. we are going to get more of this. 13 more hours of this exact weather all day long. it will not stop until well after midnight tonight. what you are seeing as ice on the ground is covered up with snow. we are going to get black ice. it is going to be another mess. i know we talk about atlanta. this is augusta, columbia, south carolina, parts of north carolina and as it turns up to the northeast, a snow event for charlottesville, richmond, washington, d.c., new york city and philadelphia. they are not going to see the ice. it is going to be a snowstorm for you tonight and tomorrow. >> both chad and nick, we appreciate both of you, braving the elements out there, letting us know, at least we know that folks this time heeding the warnings and planning in
ladies that happened to be in the white house. >> they just happened to be there. >> i think president obama was playing valentine and trying to fix him up. you had julia luis dreyfus was there and mary j. blige. >> she is married. >> well, it wouldn't matter. >> robin leach, great to have you on. please come back and visit us at this hour any time. i do want to say the american view has changed a little bit. we keep electing politicians, mark sanford, who acknowledged he had an affair. bill clinton, one of the most popular politicians in america, of course, something went on there. >> it is not just politicians. men in position of power have been known to do this in america. we'll leave it at that. there is some big news affecting a huge swath of the country right now. the power outages climbing throughout the south. this is historic, catastrophic
it could grow by a lot as this storm continues to move north. it will shut out the lights, the modem, stoves, everything. >> you can bet that is going to happen. as it moves north, we are going to see it up here in the northern part of the country. it is about to happen. here is the question. it is 2014. haven't power companies figured out how to protect their lines from mother nature? we wanted to discuss this with retired general russell honore. how are you, sir? >> doing great. it looks like everybody has weathered the storm a little bit better this time. >> why is it we can't have the power lines burying the lines. we look at our countries, taking germany. they have buried power lines and inclement weather and they don't
weeks ago when so many people got caught by surprise when the storm came in during the rush-hour. this time, the storm came in overnight. there was a lot of preparation and people were told to stay off the roads. that's what they are doing. what we're on the hunt for right now, we're going through one of these areas where the power is out, looking to see if we can find power crews to do their job. keep in mind, so many people are coming from so many different states to basically help restore power. many of these power lines just weren't prepared for. many of the trees were not prepared for all of the ice, all of the snow that will accumulate over the next several days. the big concern right now again, guys, is the power being out. more snow and more sleet coming. >> george howell for us on the roads down south. be careful there. i appreciate it. >> he is only, rather, the second black justice ever to serve on the supreme court. now, clarence thomas, raising all sorts of eyebrows with some
the ts the south. a rare storm is dumping ice, sleet, and snow. >> the power outage is growing by the minute as ice brings down trees. it brings down power lines. 143,000 people without power at this minute. you are looking at live pictures from the roads right there. you can see not many people out. that's a good thing, not like the historic traffic jams that we had two weeks ago. most people listened up. they stayed home. thank goodness. >> they had advanced warning and listened to it. this time, at least, they listened to it. joining us from outside the cnn center in atlanta is chad myers. nick valencia joins us from decatur in georgia. chad, this ice sounds really, really bad. how unusual is this down south? >> we typically get ice storms. my son wants it to snow so he can get on his sled. it doesn't really ever get to the snow. we always get sleet or freezing
when i apologized to him, i said, i have been he was in prison for 27 years, a lovely person to be around, he was sunny and he was a happy warrior and it's very hard to be out of his presence once you've been with him for a long time. >> i want to talk about the notion of the practical politician, great ideas, a freedom fighter, but on a very practical level in terms of the freedoms and rights that he wanted for his people, some of the trash pickup, a breakfast that morning for a young boy he encountered. >> right. when i was with him early in the morning and he had run into young people, i loved children, he loved babies and any time he saw a young boy or young girl his first question was "and what did you have for breakfast today?" he was very concerned. he was a practical politician. he wanted to deliver those services but the other reason that he wasn't a saint is we compare him to gandhi. we compare him to martin luther
north central texas without power and that number could rise if this continues. michaela? >> we'll be watching that with you. stay warm. we are going to return to our coverage of the storm and, of course, nelson mandela's passing. first, let's bring you up to date on your other headlines. president obama spoke out in defense of healthcare.gov in a wide-ranging interview with msnbc. the president says the website is now working and there's no reason for people to go without insurance. he defended his management of the rollout saying he is holding every cabinet member accountable. no claim of responsibility yet in the shooting death of an american teacher in libya. ronald thomas smith was killed in a drive-by shooting in benghazi on thursday. his death comes days after al qaeda called for libyans to attack u.s. interests as revenge for october's capture of a suspect off the streets of tripoli. american officials are pushing authorities in libya for a vigorous investigation. secretary of state john kerry meeting with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu
they have a threat for a category 5 ice storm, which means that is catastrophic. the power is on behind me. although that could all change as the storm moves into memphis here over the next few hours. >> you've been telling us how quickly the power lines can get loaded up with ice. then they fall and you lose power. we're watching that. we also know many many states accidents are piling up. the ice storm is expected to cripple much of north texas as a result. in dallas, district schools are closed, weekend events canceled. from wednesday's high of 80, a low of 20 forecast for later tonight. cnn's alina machado is in dallas. >> reporter: good morning, chris. we are seeing some light sleet coming down right now here in downtown dallas. the danger is not gone. take a look at these bushes. you get a sense of just how much ice we're talking about here. these bushes are frozen. you can see that clearly here.
anger, but it's what you do with it. very sorry for your loss. >> thank you very much. as a leader, nelson mandela was inspiring but also quite a sense of humor as you heard sir richard say. you'll hear from him in his own words. we'll also hear from those who knew him well and interviewed him often. kate? turning back here to home right now, let's bring you up to date on that large and severe storm that is bearing down on much of the country. winter advisories are under way from texas to the ohio valley as sleet and freezing rain are creating dangerous ice conditions. several states are declaring states of emergency and airlines have canceled hundreds of flights, many schools also closed for the day. we have team coverage of what could be the biggest winter storm in recent memory, beginning for us indra petersons live in memphis, tennessee this morning. good morning, indra.
classes at the dallas independent school district, one of the largest in the state, are also canceled friday and on thursday, flight cancellations started popping up on departure boards inside dallas-ft. worth international airport, the hub for american airlines. american alone nixed nearly 500 flights ahead of the storm. >> you took an earlier flight. >> out of las vegas, yes. >> because of the weather? >> because of the weather. >> they're comparing it to what happened to us about three years ago. >> reporter: that's what happened during super bowl week back in 2011 after a winter storm slammed the area and brought the city to a standstill. residents now are bracing for what could be yet another wintry mess. >> probably pack it in for the worst and hopefully try to keep safe. >> reporter: you are looking at a live look at the roads here. it will be a very slow and treacherous commute this morning. by the way, more than 100,000 people are waking up today in