Of americans suffering in a brutal recordsetting arctic air mass, take heart. The worst of the deadly polar vortex should be over in the next few days. At least 21 coldrelated deaths have been reported nationwide, including seven in illinois. Several victims were homeless. Chicago schools that were closed because of the freezing temperatures will open today. Yesterday most of the midwest and east were colder than much of antarctica. And a 130mile stretch up through rochester, new york, was closed overnight because of blizzard conditions. Over the past four days, over 11,000 Airline Flights have been canceled because of the weather. Singledigit temperatures were recorded from the north to south. This fountain in atlanta, georgia, was frozen solid. Atlanta hit a record low of 6 degrees. Marlie hall is here in new york with the latest. Marlie, good morning. Reporter annemarie, very few parts of the country have been spared these abnormally low temperatures, but the good news is theres an end in sight. Every state in the continental u. S. Is expected to see at least one city with below freezing temperatures this morning, but the now infamous polar vortex which brought the bonechilling cold will soon be heading back where it belongs. The storm cant leave soon enough. I want it to end, like im done with winter. Reporter dozens of cities broke record lows tuesday including pittsburgh and new york, which were set more than a century ago. Temperatures are expected to be in the 50s this weekend in new york, but here in central park, we still started the day in the single digits. Even cities used to the cold are having problems. Near buffalo, new york, the Niagara River is freezing over, causing flooding. Its a lot scary. Like i said, ive never seen it before. Ive had seven flights cancel. Reporter on jetblue alone, over 150,000 passengers have had their flights cancel in the last week. Now the deep freeze started last weekend in the midwest and move aid cross the eastern half of the country, and many wont be sad to see it go. Annemarie . So true. Marlie hall here in new york. Thank you very much, marlie. Meteorologist eric fisher of our boston station wbz has the latest on the frigid weather and the coming warmup. We look about 30 days back. Thats when all this cold really started to get going. And in general over the last 30 days the biggest departures from average across the upper midwest. However, anywhere in these blue shades, below average temperatures in the past few days is down toward florida and the west coast. This is where all the warmer air has been. In terms of the bitter windchills, not quite as bad as it has been but still looking at close to 30 below. Close to zero in chicago. Single digits for much of the northeast. By the time you head home from work, still feels like the freezing mark in charlotte, 25 in cinci, 15 in new york city. The cold air, though, is going to start to retreat, head back from whence it came. But by the time we get into thursday, the 50s are creeping a little farther north ward, the subzeros move well back into canada. You see the line retreating right to the border. Temps 50s in the south. Keep in mind its jan. Keep in mind its january. It is supposed to be cold. Im eric fisher, cbs news. There has been a deadly avalanche in colorado. The grandson of one of vails founders was killed. Anthony seibert was killed along with three others. The avalanche happened yesterday morning in an area that was known to be dangerous. The three injured skiers are expected to recover. And this morning u. S. Officials are investigating the deadly crash of an air force helicopter in england. The chopper crashed last night during a Training Mission near the coast of eastern england. All four crew members were killed. Alphonso van marsh is in london. Alphonso, good morning. Good morning, annemarie. The u. S. Military helicopter was based as a Royal Air Force station that is host to the United States air force units and personnel about 130 miles north of london. Police cordoned off the area where the pavehawk helicopter crashed, killing four u. S. Air u. S. Officials say the helicopter was on a low level Training Mission over englands coast north of london when it went down in marshland. Local police say at the time, a second helicopter from the same military base set down in the area to try to help the crew. The concern now is the safety of those investigating the crash. We believe that there is some ammunition on board the helicopter. Local residents pete and sue mcnesbii think they saw one of the helicopters through their window before it crashed. It didnt seem right to me. It looked like two headlights to me but it was going pretty fast. The pavehawk chopper is a version of the black hawk chopper. Its used in aircraft as well as humanitarian issues. Police say the investigation into the cause of the crash could take several days because the chopper carried ammunition and went down in such a rural area. Now, annemarie, the police say the debris field of the crash is about the size of a football field. The names of the federal airmen killed in crash will be available 24 hours after the families have been notified. Now to a scorching critique of the Obama Administration by the former secretary of defense robert gates. In his new memoire, secretary of war, gates writes about his frustration over u. S. Policy in afghanistan and slams joe biden. Susan mcginnis is in washington with more on this. Good morning, susan. Good morning, annemarie. Robert gates, a republican, served as the secretary of defense under the last two years of the Bush Administration and under the first two years of the Obama Administration. Now, in this memoir he takes president obama to task for what he calls a lack of passion in his pursuit of the war in afghanistan. President obama announced the december of 2009 that he was sending an additional 30,000 u. S. Troops to afghanistan. In his book gates writes he never doubted the president s support for the troops but that mr. Obama had doubts about the plan. The president , writes gates, doesnt believe in his own strategy, and doesnt consider the war to be his. For him its all about getting out. He says that he believes that the president never had a passion for pursuing the war in afghanistan. Sunday morning correspondent rita braver interviewed gates about his book. He said this is important because its one thing to say 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. Gates was highly critical of the president whom gate calls a man of integrity but writes that biden was constantly wrong on Foreign Policy. Major Foreign Policy and National Security issue over the past four decades, writes gates. He highlighted what he believed was bidens distrust of the military, especially the military generals. In a statement supporting the Vice President , the white house National Security council said the president disagrees with secretary gates assessment. But gates also had some praise for the president in this memoir. In it he said the president s decision to order the raid on osama bin ladens hiding place was one of the most courageous decisions he ever witnessed in the white house. Annemarie . Whether you agree with him or not, it certainly has a lot of people talking and the book is just about to be released. Susan mcginnis in washington. Thank you. Well, you can see rita bravers interview with robert gates on this weekend on sunday morning. Coming up on the go morning news, fake disability scam. Former nypd officers living it up claiming theyre too sick to work. Velveeta may put a kink in your Super Bowl Party plans. This is the cbs morning news. In your Super Bowl Party plans. This is the cbs morning news. Choice of soup or salad. R chilis lunch break combos, starting at 6 bucks. More life happens here. [ female announcer ] neutrogena® pore refining cleanser. Alphahydroxy and exfoliating beads work to clean and tighten pores so they can look half their size. Pores. Shrink em down to size [ female announcer ] pore refining cleanser. Neutrogena®. [ fem e announcer ] pore refining cleanser. [ male announcer ] with smuckers Natural Fruit spreads, every day can be truly extraordinary. Spread a little sunshine, with naturally delicious smuckers natural. And irresistible aroma of Nescafe Clasico stir whats inside of you. [ engine revving ] [ tires screech ] [ male announcer ] that was bold. Real bold. [ ding ] losing your chex mix too easily . Time to deploy the boringpotato chip decoy bag. Then no one will want to steal the deliciousness. [ male announcer ] with a variety of tastes and textures, only chex mix is a bag of interesting. A Freight Train derailed in canada last night near the border of maine. About 15 cars jumped the track. Several are filled with propane and crude oil. Officials say there is a fire but havent confirmed the cars are burning. About two dozen homes in the area have been evacuated and there are no reports of injuries. On the cbs moneywatch now, Unemployment Benefits advance in the senate, and a velveeta meltdown. Wendy gillette is at the New York Stock Exchange with that and more. Good morning, wendy. Good morning, annemarie. The Senate Battles to renew Unemployment Benefits for more than a million americans today. On tuesday they passed the first hurdle. Republicans want the cost of the bill paid for with cuts in the federal budget. Democrats say theyre receptive to the idea if the gop agrees to extend benefits for three months without preconditions. Jpmorgan chase will pay for Bernie Madoffs crime. The bank will shell out more than 2 billion for charges on the madoff ponzi scheme. Jpmorgan was the largest bank used. This is the largest forfeiture of bank in u. S. History. Asian stocks got a boost from the decline in the u. S. Deficits. Tokyos nikkei rose 2 . Hong kongs hang seng added 1 . The new year slump on wall street has ended. The wall street had dropped for three straight sessions, but on tuesday the dow jumped 105 points while the nasdaq added 39 points. Fireworks at the big Consumer Tech conference in las vegas. John legere was escorted out by security after a photo appeared on twitter. Get ready for what some are calling a cheesepocalypse. Velveeta says there may be a shortage. There is a shortage of the orange yellow product. They say the demand is high this time of year as people gear up for the super bowl. So far its short term. Annemarie, say it isnt so. I think it has more do with the deep freeze that everybody is sort of under, right . What do you want . Comfort food, grilled cheese, tomato soup. Thats probably what its all about. Thats right. As long as they recover. Wendy gillette with the New York Stock Exchange. Thank you, wendy. Straight ahead, your wednesday morning weather. And in sports, a miami heat fan gets a oneofakind souvenir from lebron james. Treat more. Play more. Go more. Now. Save more at the petsmart stock up save sale. Find great deals like 5 cans for 10. Plus, get more savings on all your favorite wet brands. At petsmart®. Youve got to try this sweet sour chicken helper. I didnt know they made chicken. Crunchy taco or four cheese lasagna . Can i get another one of those actually . [ superfan ] hey, america, were here to help. [ female announcer ] now your most dazzling accessory can be your smile. With colgate optic white dual action toothpaste. Its dual action formula shines and whitens over two shades more than a leading whitening toothpaste. So with colgate optic white dual action the only accessory you need to shine is your smile. Colgate optic white dual action. Whiter teeth in one week. Try optic white mouthwash. To whiten more, use the whole line from colgate optic white. And better is so easy withrning you cabenefiber. O Something Better for yourself. Fiber thats tastefree, gritfree and dissolves completely. So you can feel free to add it to anything. And feel better about doing it. Better it with benefiber. Heres a look at todays forecast in some cities toward country. New york, sunny today, 23 degrees. Miami, expect showers. Chicago will be cloudy and 14. Dallas will be cloudy as well. And sunshine in los angeles. In sports american skier lindsey vonn wont compete in next months winter olympics. Vonn needs more surgery on her right knee. She had Reconstructive Surgery after injuring herself last february. Vonn was hoping to make a comeback in time to defend her gold medal in the downhill. She said she is devastated but in no shape to compete. Dennis rodmans team of former nba players is tuning up for a game in north korea today. Its believed to be north Korean Leader kim jonguns birthday and hes expected to attend. Rodman and his team worked out with the north korean team yesterday. The nba says it has nothing to do with rod mmans trip or the game. The hall of famer has made three previous trips to north korea. Rodman said he wont mention kenneth bae, the detainee being held there. David lee scores 22 points and grabs 18 rye bounds. The warriors top the bucks, 10180. That tops the franchise record. Theyll try to set a new mark tonight in brooklyn. And sometimes the miami heat just make it look so easy. After making a layup against new orleans, lebron james hits the floor and when he gets up, he spots an elderly fan in the front row and gives her a bit of a smooch. Lebron finishes with 32 points and the heat knock off the pelicans, 10788. Two of College Basketballs best teams squaring off in conference play. Number 3 ohio state visiting number 5, michigan state. The spartans fans getting pumped up at halftime by their rose bowls football squad, and it seems to work. Keith appling hits a goahead hitter. Michigan state wins, 7268. When we return, caught redhanded. Dozens of former new York City Police officers who claimed they were too sick to work accused in a massive disability benefits scheme. [ woman ] ring. Ring. Progresso. I just served my motherinlaw your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much. I told her it was homemade. Everyone tells a little white lie now and then. But now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] shes right behind me isnt she . [ male announcer ] progresso. You gotta taste this soup. [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] shes right behind me isnt she . Hey, buddy . Oh, hey, flo. You want to see something cool . Snapshot, from progressive. My Insurance Company told me not to talk to people like you. You always do what they tell you . No. Try it, and see what your good driving can save you. You dont even have to switch. Unless youre scared. Im not scared, its. You know we can still see you. No, you cant. Pretty sure we can. Try snapshot today no pressure. Or training for a run. Find your balance. Every delicious balance bar® has 403030 balanced nutrition to give you energy that lasts. Balance bar®, have you found your balance . The game that may have been behind the attack. California lawmakers launch a new effort to stop the na from spying on you. The new proposal on the table. And a Serious Health warning this morning why Health Officials are so concerned t this seasons strain of the flu. Join us for kpix 5 news this morning. Beginning at 4 3 ,, heres a look at todays forecast in some cities around the country. Washington, d. C. , sunny today, atlanta, sunny as well. Snow in st. Louis. Denver will see sunshine, and seattle will be cloudy today. For the first time in spains modern history, a royal could be put on trial. Princess cristina, king juan carloss youngest daughter, has been charged with tax fraud and money laundering. Her husband has been accused of embezzling about 8 million in public funds. Princess cristina has been ordered to appear in court on march 8. And new york prosecutors have charged more than a 00 people with u. S. Disability fraud, many of them retired Police Officers and firefighters. Some claim they had disabilities linked to the 9 11 attacks. The scam cost taxpayers as much as 400 million. Jeff glor reports. Reporter prosecutors say that Louis Hurtado was starring in instructional videos as a sixth degree black belt all while telling the new York Police Department he was disabled with neck injuries and psychological problems. Hes accused of taking over 470,000 in 24 euros. Richard cosentino received 274,000 while claiming he was too depressed to go outside. Glen lieberman, 175,000, also too depressed to go outside. He said after the attacks on 9 11. New York City Police commissioner bill bratton. As a new yorker, as a u. S. Citizen, i can only express disgust at the actions of the individuals involved. Reporter in all, more than 100 are charged, including 72 former members of the nypd. More than half the cases came from those claiming the events of 9 11 left them unfit to work. Prosecutors say that ring leaders coached the men on how to act when examined by doctors and how to apply for benefits. The operation funneled by excops Joseph Esposito and john minerva as well as raymond lavallee, a former fbi agent, and thomas hale, a pension consultant. The attorney. The mention of this indictment is that if youre considering falsifying or bilking any Administration Service for disability benefits, you shouldnt and if you do, youre going get caught. Reporter Joseph Espositos attorney is brian griffin. Mr. Esposito proudly served this city as a new york city plifb and he came to court today and said two very important wor