January 6th, 2014. Announcer from nbc news, this is today. Well be back at 7 25 with a e people are standing right now. Al, fast forward 24 hours, what will they be dealing with . About 8 degrees air temperature. Itll be about 15 degrees below zero wind chill. Thats whats headed in our direction. Its heading this way. This extreme cold is todays top story. Records could be set in some two dozen major cities from texas to the midwest. Lets get to nbcs dylan dreyer. Shes braving the elements in green bay, wisconsin. Good morning to you. Reporter oh, good morning, savannah. I can say with 100 certainty, i have never experienced cold like this in my life. It is 10 below here in green bay. But with this wind, it feels like its 40 degrees below zero. This is a deep freeze we havent seen in decades. And its only getting colder. And this is just miserably cold and extremely dangerous for anyone to be outside. The big question, how low can we go . Sub zero temperatures shattering records sending us into the big chill. These temperatures out there will be lower than whats in your freezer. In many states, officials are warning people to stay inside and off the roads unless absolutely necessary. Over the next couple of days, cities in the midwest and along the east coast could see temperatures drop 30 to 50 degrees with wind chills hitting 50 to 60 degrees below zero. If you must get out on the roads this arctic blast makes deicing your car almost impossible. Real slippery, icy. People falling, we almost fell. Reporter the threat of dangerously cold temperatures forced minneapolis Public Schools to close for the first time in 17 years. Weve never experienced weather this cold ever. Reporter classes are also canceled in chicago, nicknamed chiberia because of the brutally cold conditions there. Air travel is already a nightmare in many regions and getting worse with thousands of Flights Canceled or delayed. A few hearty souls are finding alternative ways around. Easier to get around on this than in a car or truck. Reporter and here in green bay, tailgaters found ways to keep warm in the frozen tundra. Two grills going. One for warmth. One for the feet, one for the food. Reporter now the bitter cold did lead to a bitter end for the packers. They lost here to San Francisco at Lambeau Field. We are seeing mild temperatures out east, but this cold is headed that way. Al, what is most interesting is how far south this arctic blast is going to stretch. Thats right. All the way down atlanta, down into florida. Dylan, make sure you get inside really quickly. Thanks so much. So far, over 26 states have wind chill warnings or advisories or watches. From the dakotas to texas into the new england area. This is part of what is known as the polar vortex. This vortex is normally up around the north pole. It is an arctic hurricane that cold air funneling down all the way as far south as florida and it is dangerously cold. We are going to continue to watch. Look at the current temperatures. It feels like it is 43 below in minneapolis. 41 below in chicago. Cincinnati, 21 below. New york, 55. Not so fast. By tomorrow, it will be9. 43 below in chicago. Marquette, 39. Memphis will feel like 11. Atlanta at 6 below. Temperatures start to moderate a bit, but good news is we will get a bit of a break as the arctic air and the polar vortex moves up to the north. The good news is the arctic air will retreat and we get more of a seasonal jet stream from west to east. Cleveland, 39. Chicago, 36. New york, 41. Charleston, looking at a temperature of 69. Minneapolis, warming up to 35 degrees. Thats good news, savannah. But a while to get there, al. Thank you. There are important things to protect your family. Lets turn to dr. Nancy snyderman. Nancy, good morning. Were talking about it being this cold. Exposed flesh in a matter of minutes can result in frostbite. Within a few minutes, youll start to see skin changes. Al said within 7 to 10 minutes, you can get frost bite. You think its going to happen to somebody else. First, dress appropriately. The elderly and children are most at risk because they dont thermoregulate as well. Dress in layers. That traps in warm air and heat. Loose layers. Not tight things that will constrict blood vessels. Expose all the areas in your body, fingers, im a big believer in mittens, get the warmers, and men, put something on your head. Little kids, too, cover your head. And hypothermia, real concern with the wind chills in the midwest and the northeast. This isnt just getting cold. This is when your core body temperature drops. If your normal temperature is 98. 6, were talking about temperatures dropping to 95, 96 degrees. And thats when you start to see organs slow down. People can have slurred speech, be confused, almost intoxicated or having a stroke. If thats a concern, you get someone to a warm area, but then to a hospital because sometimes it takes warm, intravenous fluids to warm up the whole body. People about to get in their car and commute to work. Safety tips for that. Think like a girl scout. Blankets, flashlights. You can flash down people if you need it. Water, that sounds counter intuitive. No alcohol because that dilates blood vessels. A bag of kitty litter you can throw on the back of a tire if you get stuck. Plan like youre going camping except you arent. Put it in a tub thats safe. If you plan ahead, youll be fine. If you dont have to go out, dont go out. Thank you so much. Over to matt. All right. Thanks very much. Theres new developments in the bitter fight over a young girl declared brain dead but kept on a ventilator. Overnight, she was released into the care of her mother. Nbcs Miguel Almaguer is in california with more. Hi, miguel. Reporter matt, good morning. After she was admitted to the hospital back on december 9th, she was moved from here late last night. Her family has chose not to release the name of the new facility. Instead saying she has a Second Chance at life. Reporter declared brain dead for a month, jahi was first released to the coroners sunday night. The 13yearolds body then handed over to the custody of her mother only after a death certificate was issued. The hardest thing for my sister to do, for any parent to have to do, which is to go up there and fill out an application for a death certificate for your child. Especially when your child is living. After undergoing a complex tonsillectomy in oakland, jahi fell into cardiac arrest. A team of doctors said she was gone. With her heart still beating with help from a ventilator, her mother believes jahi is alive. A court order gave her family until tomorrow to move her to a longterm care facility. Now they must find a doctor to insert a breathing and feeding tube. Procedures Childrens Hospital said it would not perform because it would be unethical, they say, to operate on someone who is deceased. In a statement, Childrens Hospital says, our hearts go out to the family as they grieve for this sad situation, and we wish them closure and peace. A little girl who doctors have declared dead, but whose family says is still very much alive. Jahis family says they are not releasing the name of the new facility for privacy and safety concerns. But in a few hours, they say she should be receiving permanent care. Matt, savannah . Miguel, thank you very much. Now we move to a story breaking in the world of politics this morning. Liz cheney, the eldest daughter of former Vice President dick cheney, has abruptly dropped out of the wyoming Republican Senate primary. Nbcs capitol hill correspondent, kelly odonnell, is following this story. Good morning to you. Reporter good morning, savannah. Her campaign was brief and divisive. The reason shes giving is not political. In a statement, liz cheney says to nbc news, Serious Health issues have recently arisen in our family, and under the circumstances, i have decided to discontinue my campaign. Cheney goes on to reference her children saying their future and wellbeing is her overriding priority. Her famous name and fierce ambition were not enough. Sources tell nbc news that liz cheney will drop out of wyomings Republican Senate primary. Im announcing today that i am indeed going to be a candidate for the United States senate for wyoming in 2014. Reporter the 47yearold is a married mother of five, former state Department Official and loyal defender of her father, the former Vice President. Will get out and campaign for her . Ill do all i can. Reporter liz cheney rattled wyoming politics by attempting to knock out a wellliked conservative, senator mike enzi, running for a fourth time. I believe it is necessary for a new generation of leaders to step up to the plate. Reporter the states gop establishment did not back her, cheney was accused of being a carpetbagger, moving her family in wyoming in 2012 after decades in the d. C. Suburbs. Then her campaign exposed a stunningly public family feud over samesex marriage. When sister mary cheney and marys wife, heather poe, criticized lizs opposition to gay marriage, saying she had supported their union in the past. The rift so damaging that dick and lynn cheney released a Public Statement saying that liz cheney has always believed in the traditional definition of marriage. And in a statement, liz cheney does not explain the details of this Serious Health issue. She and her husband, phil, thank their supporters and say that they will continue to fight for wyoming and its future. But the campaign will end today. Back to all of you. Thank you very much. Well go to natalie with a story tied to iraq. I think a lot of people in this country will find this disturbing and troubling and outrageous, as well. Thats right. A lot of outrage in the u. S. A lot of concerns this morning about iraq now that Al Qaedalinked fighters have overrun two key cities. The Iraqi Government is facing a major test as it battles to regain control. Nbcs Jim Miklaszewski is joining us with the latest. Reporter fallujah was considered so critical to the war in iraq, American Forces launched two assaults to take it back from militants. As of this morning, all of those games hard fought and costly gains gains hard fought and costly gains have been wiped out. Islamic militant with direct ties to al qaeda celebrated the takedown of fallujah. Armed fighters freely roam the streets. As their commanders pledge to punish anyone who supports the government in baghdad. For the first time today, iraqi forces have launched a counterattack. Go reporter fallujah saw the bloodiest battles of the iraq war. 146 americans were killed liberating the city. In the past year, al qaeda has struck back with a vengeance. Al qaedaled bombings have killed nearly 8,000 iraqis, highest death toll in six years. The u. S. Withdrew all combat forces from iraq two years ago. Secretary of state john kerry declared sunday they would not be going back. Not contemplating putting boots on the ground. This is their fight. Were going to help in their fight. Reporter instead, the u. S. Could speed up delivery of weapons to the iraqi army like missiles and surveillance drones. Thats not good enough for two republican senators, john mccain and lindsay graham, who accuse the Obama Administration of abandoning iraq. But in what sounded like a policy statement, the white house shot back saying its not in americas interest to get bogged down in openended wars in the middle east. Natalie . Jim miklaszewski at the pentagon. Thank you. Weather may be to blame for a fiery plane crash in aspen, colorado, sunday that killed a pilot and injured two others who were also pilots. The twinengine private jet slipped and then burst into flames as it tried to land at the airport. Officials say all three people who were on board were from mexico. Winds were gusting up to 35 Miles Per Hour at the time of the crash. Former nba star Dennis Rodman is once again back in north korea. Rodman arrived in pyongyang this morning. He and other former nba players are scheduled to take part in an exhibition game to celebrate kim jonguns 30th birthday. Rodman says his goal is to form a connection between the United States and north korea. Not every country on the planets that bad. Especially north korea. People say so many negative things about north korea. I want people, the world to see its not that bad. Well, north koreas human rights record, though, has been described as one of the worlds worst by north korean defectors and the u. S. State department. And how is this for a sneaky play . Take a look. The refs didnt catch the incident we were about to show you, but the camera did. During a free throw, look to the left of the screen as New York Knicks guard j. R. Smith reaches down and unties the shoelaces of Dallas Mavericks forward shawn marion. He saw what happened, kind of unfazed, kept on with the play through the next play. Eventually he did lace back his shoes. The knicks did actually go on to win it 9280. Dirty play and all. Kind of known for that, i guess, the untying the laces. Then when he ties them together, both shoes yeah. Thats bad. Natalie, thank you very much. Mr. Roker, wed better batten down the hatches. Our friends in the upstate area dealing with lakeeffect snow. You can see whats going on. Weve got icing up in northern new england. Snow to the west. A lot of heavy rain in the northeast. Heres that arctic low. Its bringing in the cold air across the great lakes. Ahead of it, warm air. Thats where we have temperatures in the 50s. Look what happens during the day today into early tomorrow morning. The winds come across the great lakes which is not frozen over yet. Theres still plenty of moisture. So look at some of these snowfall totals. Generally along the lake superior, looking at three to four, maybe six inches of snow. Heres the big winner or loser if you will. Lakes, 24 inches of snow. Up to three feet between syracuse and watertown, new york. Thats a lot of snow. Were going to get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. We have a situation. What . Were out of dunkin. [ gasps ] emergency backup. Awesome. One taste, and youll understand. Where would you be without me . Where are my keys . Enjoy delicious Dunkin Donuts coffee anytime. Pick some up where you buy groceries. America runs on dunkin. 7 17. Good monday morning to you. A lot of people headed back to work. Look at this beautiful sunrise. Right now were mostly in the 30s but were headed toward a reaching day, temperatures finishing up. 63 in San Francisco, 67 in the east bay. The clouds increasing. As we progress throughout the afternoon. Tracking a slight chance for rain. Well get deeper in that in a few minutes. And thats your latest weather. All right, al. Thanks very much. Busy morning for you. The new movie wolf of wall street is one of the early darl darlings of the awards season. Nbcs craig melvin is here with more on that. Good morning to you. Good morning. The movie is based on the graphic autobiography of a new york stockbroker. And it is classic scorsese. But for some, its too over the top. My name is jordan velfer. The year i turned 26, i made 49 million. From penny stock pusher to millionaire mogul. Making a name for ourselves. The wolf of wall street is a rise and fall film about a stockbroker filled with greed, drugs and prostitutes. But the cursing is historic. It shatters the Box Office Record for fbombs dropped in a movie, 506. For some, its too much. I wanted to crawl out the theater. Thats how it made me feel. On the street and online. Strong opinions, twitter search for walked out on wolf, scores of disappointed moviegoers who simply left like this person. So shockingly obscene my friends and i walked out. Its an embarrassment. Its a very entertaining and wellmade movie. Its also three hours of sex, drugs, bad language and people just treating each other horribly. Thats not what some people want to see, particularly from a christmas movie. Besides the excess, theres another question being raised. Is all this legal . Absolutely not. And does this film condemn or glorify bad behavior . A ruthless, greedy guy who did whatever he could to get to the top. Leonardo dicaprio does not play a likable guy in this movie. Not hurting ticket sales or awards chances. Raked in 63 million since it opened and two golden globe nominations. Many critics contend its oscar worthy. Good fellas, casino, hes not the kind of director who makes films that people are indifferent about, they elicit strong opinions and wolf is no exception, matt. No question about it. Three hours of cursing, like our show, apparently. But enough about what happened who actually counted the fbombs . Somebody sat there. You get to 500, just quit. But on the flip side of that, what was the number one movie this weekend . Frozen. I love that movie. Always bringing it back to weather. Yeah. And an uplift. Oh, i loved it. Coming up, were a month out. The massive Security Operations secured sochi ahead of the winter Olympic Games. This morning, bob costas on the athletes to watch. And much more on the bitter and dangerous cold being faced by tens of millions of americans this morning. And carson . Yes, thank you very much. Obviously, thats the big story. According to al, were being attacked by a polar vortex. You can send pictures where you are. Also coming up, the story of this 20yearold young man. Its a great one. He was reunited with his family with the help of social media. Thats on the way. But first, this is today on nbc. All right. Coming up, were going to kick off our yearlong initiative to give ba [bell rings] [prof. Burke] at farmers,we make you smarter about your insurance,because what you dont know can hurt you. What if you didnt know that Home Insurance can keep your stuff covered,even when its not at home . Or that collisions with wildlife on the road may not be covered. And what if you didnt know that you could be liable for any accidents on your property . The more you know,the better you can plan for whats ahead. Talk to farmers and get sma