South to new lows not seen in decades or longer. The four degrees in new york city and nine below in pittsburgh broke records that were set more than a century ago. And in the south, atlanta hit six degrees, breaking a record that had stood for more than 40 years. This is what the welldressed man was wearing in chicago today. The cold and wind made it both painful and dangerous to be outside. In baltimore, a water main break left a car frozen in place. More flights were canceled today, but relief is on the way. We have a team of correspondents covering the deep freeze. First, well go to jim axelrod in new york. Jim . Reporter well, its not just that new york city broke a 118 yearold record this morning scott, when the temperature hit 4 degrees; its the swing thats so stunning. It was 50 degrees here yesterday. But that was before the polar vortex swept in. The arctic air pushed into the northeast just in time for the morning rush and forced new york city firefighters to thaw frozen hydrants with steam and sledgehammers. Just yesterday, new yorkers like lizzy gifford could have walked their dogs in shorts. Not today. Ive got probably 11 layers going on here. But this is stupid. Reporter pittsburgh, philadelphia, and trenton were among 45 places setting records. In cleveland, where it was ten below, hanging ice blocked the train tracks. But buffalo, new york, may have set the frigid standard for misery. Never mind the five below temperature, which tied a 72 yearold record; it came with a blizzard that closed the new york state throughway and may dump more than three feet of snow before its all over. New yorkers have made more than 200,000 cold weatherrelated calls to the citys help line in the last 24 hours. Rocky robinson commands the bedfordstuyvesant volunteer ambulance corps in brooklyn. On a day like today, are there extra difficult challenges you face . Certainly is. First of all, were human so its cold as hell out there reporter here in new york, its about as cold as its going to get, at least for this weather cycle, but those wild swings will remain. Temperatures for this weekend are forecast to be in the mid 50s, scott. Pelley jim, thanks very much. Well, folks head south to avoid weather like this, but there was no escaping. Demand for heat put a strain on the power grid there. Mark strassmann is in asheville, north carolina. Mark . Reporter scott, it was one below here in asheville, which is a record. And because most people here rely on electric heat, the surge in demand for power caused outages on a day when many towns set record lows. More than 20,000 customers lost power in Western North carolina. Jason walls is a district manager with the duke energy company. Early this morning, because of cold load conditions, we lost a critical piece of equipment that helps provide electricity to customers, and those customers have been without power most of the day and our crews are working as quickly and safely to get that power restored. Reporter while duke energy set a record, the Tennessee Valley authority averted one by asking customers to limit demand and unplug unnecessary appliances. There were few outages in the sevenstate region t. V. A. Serves, despite average temperatures there of just four degrees. It sounds like an old joke, but it was so cold in ken ] 9va prison inmate who had escaped turned himself in rather than face a second freezing day on the run. Where he was, scott, the wind chill was 20 below. Pelley any harbor in a storm mark. And that is apparently what about 300 manatees in florida were thinking today, too. They crowded close to a tampa area power plants warm water discharge. The temperature in that part of florida didnt get out of the 40s today. We made some calls around owen, wisconsin, where it was six below today. Chief Deputy Jim Backus told us, if i cursed, i would curse. Thats how cold it is. Youve got to love wisconsin. A lot of people today did not have deputy backuss good manner, however. They were swearing a blue streak at the airlines. More than 2,500 flights were canceled today, bringing the total since january 2 to more than 17,000. Jeff pegues says one airline in particular was singled out. Reporter over the last six days, 150,000 jetblue passengers had their flights canceled, some late yesterday, when the company shut down operations completely at four major northeast airports. In a conference call, the airlines chief operating officer denied it was bad planning. Reporter in extreme cold, reporter in extreme cold, everything in the Airline Industry slows down. Planes have to be deiced, runways cleared of snow. Bigger airlines with more equipment are generally able to adjust faster. And with planes more booked than ever, there often arent enough seats to rebook passengers. But so far, jetblue is the only Major Airline to say new rules requiring a shorter flying day for pilots contributed to canceled flights. Mark rosenkerr is a cbs news aviation consultant. In fairness, the weather certainly did not help the situation. But the reality of life is they should have been able to do a better job of managing their crew to make the compliance of these new rules and regulations appropriate. Reporter jetblue says theyve hired extra pilots to prepare, but they said its far less forgiving these new rules are when it comes to how long pilots can stay in the cockpit, so going forward, fliers should expect more delays. Pelley jeff pegues at washingtons reagan national. Jeff, thank you very much. The cold is also blamed for at least five deaths, including a homeless man found in an empty lot in columbus, georgia. In chicago, Dean Reynolds has more about the struggle to survive. Reporter in chicago, at 1 00 p. M. , the thermometer climbed back to zero for the first time in 36 hours. But in his nook under michigan avenue, Stephen Bryant wasnt celebrating. Its rough. Its really, really rough. Its getting cold. Reporter bryant has lived on the street for 11 years and is weathering this winter under nine blankets. I havent been able to go out there and try to really get nothing to eat because its just too cold. Reporter he says he feels safer on the street, but others, motivated by selfpreservation, are flocking to shelters. Last night, we had 1,081 individuals, which, in our history, weve never had before. Reporter Phil Kwiatkowski runs the pacific garden mission. Theres certain Homeless Individuals that may try to brave it outside under a bridge or in a car, but when elements are like they were last night, it is life and death and it forces them to come into a shelter. Reporter have you been in shelters before . Yeah, about two years ago. Reporter Floyd Pilkington just arrived in chicago from mississippi, looking for work and a place to stay. Did you spend the night in the car . We spent two nights in the car when we first got here. Reporter when it was seriously cold . Saturday night and sunday night. Reporter and authorities here in chicago are allowing the shelters to stay open 24 hours a day instead of the usual 12, and right now, scott, theyre operating at 95 capacity. Pelley dean, thanks very much. There is another important story breaking tonight. Were just getting word of a terrible accident involving a u. S. Air force helicopter along the east coast of england. Clarissa ward is in london. Shes following this for us. Clarissa, what do you know . Reporter the pentagon is now saying the crew of four on board that helicopter is presumed dead. The u. S. Air force bay hawk, which is similar to a black hawk crashed along the coast of norfolk in u at about 6 00 p. M. Local time. The chopper was based at an air force base and was on a low level Training Mission when it went down. So far, we dont know what caused the crash. These types of Training Missions are quite common and the weather was reportedly fine. A large number of Emergency Services are now on the scene, scott, and have cordoned off the area. Pelley more on this on cbs this morning tomorrow. Clarissa, thanks very much. Tonight, sunday morning correspondent rita braver is here to tell us about an interview shes done with former defense secretary robert gates, an interview making a lot of news tonight. In a new memoir, gates is critical of president obamas handling of the war in afghanistan. Mr. Obama inherited both the war and secretary gates from president george w. Bush. Rita, what did secretary gates tell you about president obama . Reporter well, the most important thing i think is that, while he praises president obama for ordering more troops in afghanistan, against the wishes of his own party and even others within the white house, he says that he believes that the president never had a passion for pursuing the war in afghanistan. And he says this is important because its one thing to say that you support the troops, its another thing to really let them know how important it is to you that they must succeed, that their cause is just. He says that he saw president bush do that, but he says he did not see president obama do it and it disturbed him. Pelley and gates, in your interview, is critical of Vice President biden . Reporter well, hes critical of Vice President biden in his memoir. At one point, i think he even says something to the effect of its impossible not to like the guy, but he was wrong on almost every issue. In particular, when i talked with the secretary, he highlighted what he believed was bidens distrust of the military, especially the military generals, and the fact that gates believed that biden was constantly telling president obama that he had to watch out for these guys, that they were asking for more resources, and that, in gates words, they were constantly trying to jam the president. Pelley rita braver in our washington newsroom. You can see ritas interview with robert gates this coming weekend on sunday morning. A short time ago, the white house released a statement saying that the president disagrees with secretary gates assessment of Vice President biden. That statement calls biden one of the leading statesmen of his time. President obama, of course, withdrew u. S. Forces from iraq, but the war there never ended. Fighting continued today in anbar province, where al qaeda rebels have seized the city of fallujah. Its part of a growing battle between two main branches of islam a battle thats also being waged in syria and in lebanon. Elizabeth palmer spoke with a top jordanian official today about whats at stake. Reporter jordans crown prince hassan bin talal, elder statesman of arab politics, told cbs news hes been watching the escalating violence in neighboring iraq with great concern. Iraq is fragmenting and i think the overspill of that is the fragmentation of the region as a whole. Reporter he blames religious extremists fighting in syria for the spill over. These are cruel, sadistic people, and i cannot rely on the revenge of the desert, but the time has come to follow the money trail. The governments should be told to pull them back. Reporter easier said than done, with iran supporting the regime and saudi arabia funding the other side. If it continues, says the prince, this proxy war could engulf the whole region. What can the United States possibly do now that it has left militarily . It has created a vacuum, but at the same time, there are seven military bases and naval bases there. Reporter so . So we go back to that if that is required, and that means the occasional cruise missile. Reporter but that, of course scott, is a very tough political sell in america, which is still coming to grips with the more than 2 trillion cost of the iraq war. Today, j. P. Morgan chase settled up with the victims of bernie madoff. And gold medal skier lindsay vonn makes a big announcement when the cbs evening news continues. [ male announcer ] thats why theres ocuvite to help protect your eye health. As you age, your eyes can lose vital nutrients. Ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. Ocuvite is a vitamin made just for your eyes from the eye care experts as bausch lomb. 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Today, the sheriff of Los Angeles County suddenly announced his retirement. Lee bacchus has been sheriff for 15 years. He is leaving amid investigation of abuse of inmates in his jails. I dont see myself as the future. I see myself as part of the past. Reporter after four terms at Los Angeles County sheriff, lee bacchus said he is going out on his own terms. Im not going to seek a reelection for a fifth term as sheriff, and i will retire at the end of this month. Bacchus reelection was far from certain. Last month federal prosecutors filed criminal charges against 18 current and former sheriffs deputies. They are accused of beating jail inmates and visitors inside the nations largest jail. Unnamed highranking officials were accused of covering it up. In 2012 Gabriel Oreal said he was handcuffed and beaten after visiting his brother. I was in pain and blacked out and received more punches to my head. Reporter other photos gathered by the aclu show gashes on inmates foreheads, broken teeth and breugz. The sheriff has not opinion accused of any crime and said today the department is cooperating with the investigation. To the people of the county, i extend my deepest gratitude for allowing me to serve you the past 48 years. It has been a dream come true. When reporters asked if he feared being indicted he said he only fears if he doesnt tell the truth and said part of the reason for retiring is to allow the department to move beyond these scandals. Cbs news, los angeles. Today, j. P. Morgan chase agreed to pay 1. 7 billion to avoid criminal prosecution in connection with Bernie Madoffs ponzi scheme. Prosecutors say that chase madoffs main bank failed to report evidence of his massive fraud. The money will go to madoffs investors who lost 18 billion. We will be right back. But with copd making it hard to breathe, i thought those days might be over. So my doctor prescribed symbicort. 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Pelley today, a threemonth extension of Unemployment Benefits for the longterm jobless cleared a key hurdle in the senate. Six republicans joined Majority Democrats in voting to keep the measure alive. The bill faces a tough battle, however, in the republican controlled house, where Speaker John Boehner insists that any extension of benefits be paid for with cuts in the budget. Today, a chinese ice breaker that got stuck in the ice off antarctica finally broke free. Last week, the snow dragon sent one of its helicopters to rescue dozens from a stuck research vessel. They were put on to another ship, then the snow dragon got trapped in ice a yard thick. But it kept pushing and pushing, and today, it broke free. Also today, american skier lindsay vonn said she will miss the sochi olympics. She needs more surgery on her right knee. She tore ligaments last february, then hurt the knee twice more while training this past fall. Vonn is 29. 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