The country in a deep freeze. The polar vortex stretch frts dakotas to the atlantic. Its cold icy conditions stopped amtrak trains carrying passengers to chicago overnight. Canceled thousands of flight. The flight is five days from now. Reporter Vice President biden offering u. S. Support to iraq in the fight against al qaeda as they offer missiles and drones to help fight those militants. Florida state rules the bcs. We wanted to win. And my team got on my back and went the whole way. Lindsey vonn says she will not compete in sochi olympics saying her knee is not stable injuring it several times. A gas station employee is nearly killed as an elderly driver loses control behind the wheel. All that and National Zoos panda. Things are freezing on my body which i didnt even know were possible to freeze. Oh, my gosh look at you i do appreciate you being with us. And all that matters. Press secretary jay carney came out sporting a beard. My wife says she likes it so there. This is actually an hommaage to demonstration in a designated area. Putin says. Announcer presented by toyota. Lets go places. Welcome to cbs this morning. Gayle king is off. Good morning, norah. Good morning, charlie. Its nipe begin there. More than half the population of the United States is waking up to brutally cold weather. Windchills make it feel much colder than the official temperatures. In fact, it feels like 40 below in minneapolis and detroit. Atlanta feels like minus 5. And the windchill in new york is 13 below. Mayor of indianapolis said yesterday in ten minutes you could be dead without the proper clothes. We have reporters around the country covering the impact of this dangerous cold snap. We begin with Dean Reynolds in chicago. Dean, good morning. Reporter good morning. Temperatures here are expected to inch above zero today. But right now here at navy pier the thermometer is reading 10 below. And the consequences of this cold spell are adding up. As subzero temperatures took hold of chicago, more than 500 passengers spent the night stranded on three amtrak trains headed for the city. The trains were stopped by blowing and drifting snow. The restrooms are on the first floor. And if you go down to the restrooms looking out the window there im about 57 and its about to my chin. The snow tunnel that were in. Reporter its all part of the deep freeze that swept across much of the nation. Its rough. Its a fight. I mean, its literally a fight. Reporter the mercury plunged to a record minus 16 degrees in chicago monday. So cold steam could be seen rolling off lake michigan. Shelters overflowed with people looking to keep warm. You would think people would normally not come in even on cold days the hardy folks are coming in, 1,500 individuals. Reporter threatening to push the power grids to the brink. Pjm interconnection, the operator for 16 Million People in 13 states and washington, o cf1 o d. C. Is asking the public to conserve electricity, while many are hunkering down many others have no choice but to venture out. Face mask three pairs of gloves. My mustache keeps freezing. Reporter the relentless cold snap has some residents thinking it may be time for a change. Makes me feel like i want to move to San Francisco or somewhere room or cancun somewhere else. Reporter now were hearing that those stranded amtrak passengers are being transferred on to buses to complete their journey to the chicago area. And when they do they will face windchills of 30 degrees below zero. Charlie, norah . Teen thank you. And the deep south is now suffering a second day of bonechilling temperatures. Hard freeze warnings are in effect this morning throughout the reason. Rebekka schramm of our affiliate wgcl is in atlanta. Good morning. Reporter good morning, norah and charlie. The frigid temperatures we are feeling here in atlanta and across the south this morning are much colder than our viewers on the west coast are experiencing. It is 7 degrees right now here in atlanta. But with the wind blowing, it feels more like its negative 5 degrees. These are the coldest temperatures in atlanta in nearly two decades. Many Metro Atlanta schools are closed today because officials didnt want children exposed to the dangerous temperatures as theyre outside, waiting for the bus. Also close to 30 of flights were delayed yesterday out of hartfieldjackson international because of the weather. There is an end in sight to this brutal cold here in the south. The temperatures could climb to the mid 40s by wednesday and could reach the 60s by this weekend. Norah, charlie . Rebekka, thanks. Extreme cold is tripling air travel for many flying. 2,000 flights are canceled across the United States sixth consecutive day of widespread travel problems. Elaine quijano is live at the airport this morning. Reporter good morning, charlie and norah, this is what it looks like at Laguardia Airport at this hour. In one line alone hundreds of people are waiting to get to the ticket counter. This scene is being repeated throughout the northeast as travelers try to deal with cancellations from the cold. The deep freeze on the heels of Winter Weather is hitting air travelers with delays and cancellations for another day. Ticket counter lines are getting longer and travelers patience are getting shorter. Its aggravating. Everyone is waiting for hours. Everyone is really frustrated. Reporter jetblue will start flying a limited schedule again later this morning after essentially calling it quits in four major northeastern airports at 5 00 last night, stopping all flights in and out of jfk, laguardia, newark and bostons logan. The airline said in a blog post the plan allows the crews to rest for 17 hours and protects the service plane. It goes on to say with planes already full with previously booked holiday travelers, some customers arent seeing available seats for nearly a week. Thats what happened to this woman. Shes been trying to leave new york since saturday. I decided to get a refund on half my airline ticket. And rent a car and drive back to flchlt i florida. I have doctors appointments. I cant wait till thursday or friday. Reporter jet fuel and deicing fluid actually froze and ground crews could only be out on the tarmac for a few minutes at a time. One in ten flights was canceled across the country. The Airlines Hope to make progress reducing those numbers in the next 24 to 48 hours. Charlie, norah . Elaine thank you. On top of the wind and cold buffalo is dealing with lakeeffect snow. Some parts of upstate new york could see up to six feet of snow. Meteorologist megan glaros of our chicago station wbbm says the bitter cold will end. Good morning, norah and charlie. Yet another day of the polar plunge as the vortex continues to shift down to the south and east today. Now invading the east coast and all the way down into florida. Places like minneapolis and chicago, while technically a few degrees warmer today, windchillwise well still be in the dangerous range. Windchill warnings and advisories go from minnesota all the way down to florida this morning and all the way off to the east coast. By the way for the south and east records set in the 1800s for record lows could be broken today. The freeze will go all the way down to central florida. The high in orlando today, just 50 degrees. Atlanta only 28. New york went from the 50s and 60s yesterday to the teens today. Chicago will settle for about 7 degrees. Good news is the polar vortex lifts up to the north over the next few days in chicago and minneapolis. You may see the 30s by friday. Charlie, norah . Megan, thank you. From the cold we turn to colleges Football Hottest TeamFlorida State seminoles are National Champions this morning, fsu beat the auburn tigers in the thrilling victory in the bcs matchup. Triumph after a challenging year off the field. Out of the backfield. Reporter after pounding Florida State early on in the bcs championship it seems like auburn might have literally run away with the game. Touchdown, Auburn Reporter the seminoles were losing 2110 after two quarters the first time they have been down at half time all season. But in the final five minutes of the game fsu mounted an astonishing comeback. A 100yard return. Reporter scoring two touchdowns that put them ahead 3431. With just 13 seconds left in the game. Touchdown reporter despite the luck auburn has had with other historic comebacks this season oh, my god, davis is going to run it all the way back. Hes going to win the football game. At the end of the final drive, Florida State stunned their opponent fighting through their toughest contest yet to win College Footballs most coveted trophy. Fsus remarkable victory comes on the heels of a season over shadowing. Sexual complaint filed against winston, though charges were never formally filed. After last nights unbelievable finish, winston said he reminded his teammates no matter what was going on inside or outside the locker room they were destined to overcome adversity. We control our own destiny. We got this thing. And i said are you strong . They said im strong if youre strong. We are champions together. Named offensive mvp of the game, giving him something to remember on his 20th birthday. For cbs this morning, John BlackstoneSan Francisco. Senate holds an important procedural vote on extending Unemployment Benefits. It comes a day late. Weather kept many senators from returning to washington, d. C. On monday. Major garret is at the white house. Major, good morning. Reporter good morning, charlie and norah. Good morning to our viewers in the west. In just a matter of moments, the senate will conduct that key procedural vote. 60 votes are required to break the republican filibuster. The white house and Senate Democrats are bracing for a narrow defeat maybe losing by a couple of votes and not seeing debate proceed on a move to proceed three months of emergency longterm Unemployment Insurance benefits. That costs about 6. 5 billion over three months. Republicans want those costs offset for the budget costs. Drts want republicans to simply extend those benefits three months and discuss the costs on a longterm basis, but solve this crisis here and now. If, in fact republicans defeat the White House Initiative president obama, just before 9 00 pacific time will come here in the east room of the white house and hammer those republicans saying those americans who have been unemploy ed for more than six months, about 1. 3 million now, more than 200,000 in california for example, need these extended Unemployment Benefits as an economic lifeline and if they dont get it the economy will suffer as will those americans. The president bracing for a defeat. Charlie, norah . Major, thank you. Janet yellen was confirmed in a 5626 vote. She will be the first woman to lead the central bank in its 100year history. Her term begins february 1st. She replaces ben bernanke finishing eight years as fed chair. Iraqi troops are around fallujah attempting to retake the city. Al qaeda militants captured the city. Vice President Biden to call iraqs Prime Minister in a show of support. Elizabeth palmer is in amman, jordan. Good morning, elizabeth. Reporter good morning, charlie. There will be no boots on the ground, american boots on the ground in iraq. However, he did say america is willing to help. The Iraqi Government has been active in anbar fighting Islamist Groups like al qaeda. The army moved in to break up a protest camp that had been established by sunni tribesmen, who feel theyre not getting their fair share of services. As it does expand they may not be attacked simply have a beef with their politician. America, as i said has said it will help and that help extends at the moment to accelerating a shipment of arms. 100 hellfire missiles that had been promised to arrive by the summer will now arrive this spring. Not immediate. And also surveillance drone aircraft. Charlie, norah . Elizabeth, thank you. In afghanistan, a 10yearold girl was sent on an aborted suicide mission. She is in custody this morning. Police in Helmand Province say she turned herself in. She claims her brother, a taliban commander, forced her to wear a bomb vest. She returned home unable to get her target. She ran away and went to police to escape beatings from her father. One man is in custody this morning for the new years eve arson attack on the chinese consulate in San Francisco. Yan feng was arrested at his home after he called police. He claims he torched the consulate because of voices in his head. He makes his First Court Appearance monday. Blamed on the Winter Weather, after an underground transformer shorted out because of melting snow and salt. It happened outside the Time Life Building near radio city music hall. Thick smoke and Carbon Monoxide forced 1,500 people in a nearby building to get out. Some of this mornings headlines. Usa today looks at a backlash by the federal government intoxicated drivers. Data collected through interview with his motorists at voluntary checkpoints using local police in uniform. Some offices now are refusing to take part. They say its because of growing criticism of the government in the wake of the nsa surveillance scandal. Salt lake tribune says the Supreme Court halted samesex marriages in utah. Hundreds of samesex couples who were married in the last two weeks are now in legal limbo. The Chicago Tribune says a federal judge stripped away key parts of the citys gun law, bang the sale of firearms in chicago is unconstitutional. Hes not sure it would help with gun violence but put the ruling on a hold while the city decides on a challenge. The Los Angeles Times says sheriff lee baca announces his retirement, after filecharges were filed against 18 officers. He won officers when his rival incumbent died days before the election. New york times, sundays fire broke out on the 20th floor. One man was killed. Another man hospitalized in serious condition. The Fire Department says multiple appliances were connected to the power strip. And the Atlanta Journal constitution says a man who slapped a crying baby on a plane will spend eight months in prison. Joe huntley apologized in court. He was seated next to the toddler and his mother on a delta flight when the baby wouldnt stop crying he used a racial slur for the boy and slapped his face. Huntley also lost his job after the incident. Southwest britain is bracing for new flooding monster waves yesterday, some measuring 30feet high. Key homes and businesses were evacuated. It is part of a storm system that brought heavy rain and wind to large parts of england. The extreme weather is linked to the same winter storm that hit the u. S. Last lot of clouds right now. Not much in the way of rain and thats the way its going to stay for now at least if youre headed out the door. The temperatures staying fairly mild mainly in the 40s right now. Plenty of clouds early on. That throughout the day today. In the afternoon the temperatures going to be down a bit. More of a sea breeze kicking in. 50s and low 60s towards the coastline and about 63degrees in san jose and 61 in san rafael. Looks like the next couple of days partly cloudy skies. Chance of showers on thursday. A better chance of rain on saturday. Announcer this National Weather report sponsored by usaa proudly serving the financial needs of current and former military members and their families. An nfl player tells us why he thinks his views on samesex marriage cost him his job. Chris kluwe defends calling one coach a announcer this portion of cbs this morning sponsored by walmart. Save money. Live better. [ female announcer ] the secret to luminous, shiny color . Innovative cc cream from nice n easy. Our advanced treatment helps keep highlights and lowlights shiny and luminous. Cc cream, find it in every box of nice n easy. The most natural shade of you. [ simpson ] remember how simple life was when we were little . 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