An historic storm causes chaos up and down the east coast. From the south to new england, heavy snow ice, making travel treacherous. More than 770,000 customers do not have electricity in 15 states. The storm barrelled into the carolinas. Drivers got caught in massive traffic jams. Isnt this a fourwheeldrive car . Its not doing anything. Thousands of taliban prisoners walk out of a prison. This is an enormous slap in the face to the United States. Two largest Cable Tv Companies in this country are merging. Comcast is buying time warner cable. The u. S. Has swept the podium in mens slope style skiing. And the russians won two gold and silver russian pairs back on top of the world. Kaitlyn farrington americas newest golden girl in the house. I cant believe i came out on top. Im really just speechless. Congress passed a bill to raise the federal debt limit, allows the government to borrow all of the money it needs to pay its bills. 16 people had to be rescued after they became stuck on a roller coaster at Busch Gardens in tampa. All that. Eight corvettes swallowed by a sinkhole. Cars plunged into the earth. I hope they have insurance. Two seconds hell get the shot off got it he hit it he hit the shot goodness gracious. Syracuse is still undefeated. And all that matters. Hollywood loses a legend. Sid caesar considered the pioneer of comedy. Its a wonderful feeling when the audience laughs. Oh, thats thats the payoff. On cbs this morning. The firstever olympic winner gold for slovenia. The slovenian woman who won is also a pop star in her country. So Justin Bieber is not the only pop star going downhill fast. [ laughter ] this mornings eyeopener is presented by toyota. Lets go places. Welcome to cbs this morning. Good morning norah. Good morning, charlie. My home state of South Carolina is getting hard hit. Yes. As you wake up to sun in the northwest, more than 100 million americans are dealing with a new winter blast. It is snowing all along the east coast. Ice in the south is blamed for at least a dozen deaths and widespread power outages. We have correspondents in the hardesthit areas from new jersey to georgia, and we begin with Wyatt Andrews in raleigh, North Carolina, which is at a standstill this morning. Wyatt, good morning to you. Reporter norah, charlie, good morning. Behind me are just some of the hundreds of cars that have been abandoned by drivers who were stuck in yesterdays midday rush hour nightmare. Officials tried to ask people to stay home, but many people came to work downtown. The problem in raleigh is that employers released thousands of workers right around noon, which was right at the height of the storm. The gridlock began when the heavy snowfall turned the roads into an icy glaze. Thousands of drivers hoping to beat the storm instead found themselves trapped for hours. Other has trouble just getting on the road. Put it in reverse. Reporter we saw several cars that needed a boost right right, right. Reporter but many drivers abandoned their vehicles altogether. I couldnt even imagine how many there are. Reporter on wednesday night, we rode along with Quintin Stanton of the North Carolina highway patrol. Your job tonight will be, what . It will be to check every stretch of highway, every abandoned vehicle we see, shine a flashlight making sure no one is in the vehicles. Reporter youre afraid there may be someone still in a vehicle . And there are. Thats why were here checking every vehicle as quick as we can. Reporter state troopers responded to more than 2,000 accidents. This car even burst into flames. But across the region there were also neighbors helping neighbors. Daniel smith found shelter at the Midway Baptist Church after his car got stuck on an icy hill. It was something out of like, a zombie movie or something, all of the abandoned cars on the side of the road. Reporter like many here, smith had heard all of the warnings, but the speed and the power of the storm caught him by surprise. We knew the forecast, we knew it would be bad. But we thought, you know, just once it starts to come down, well head home and be fine. Reporter and this is not over. A third wave of this ice storm is in the forecast for raleigh again today, but it wont have the intensity of wednesdays storm. Norah and charlie . Wyatt andrews, thank you. Conditions are almost as bad in South Carolina. Officials there are asking residents to stay off the road for another day, and Metro Atlanta is facing its second major weather crisis in just two weeks. Mark strassmann is in atlanta where Officials Say this time preparations are paying off. Mark, good morning. Reporter good morning, norah and charlie. It started snowing again here in atlanta and i want to show you something that should not be possible, but it is. Im walking in the middle of a street in midtown atlanta during what should be the beginning of rush hour. But its possible because everybody has been told the same message by schools, businesses, and emergency officials, and the message was stay home. Downtown atlanta could stay deserted for a thirdstraight day today as almost everyone here has hunkered down at home. Emergency officials were sounding the alarm again last night. This storm is predicted to have a good deal of ice still, and we feel like it will be treacherous to drive the rest of tonight and tomorrow. Reporter this is gema the Georgia Emergency Management Agency desperately trying to avoid the chaos that paralyzed the city two weeks ago. This time no ones taking any chances. 5,000 utility crews restored power in neighborhoods where lines toppled under the weight of ice and falling trees. Atlanta mayor kasim reed pressed for caution. People are starting to get cabin fever and theyre starting to make their way out and run errands and get out on the streets a bit. Im personally asking you not to do that. Reporter but a couple hundred thousand georgians who listened and rode out the storm at home will wake up in the dark and cold. Theres no heat. Its freezing. Were dressed from head to toe. Reporter Brittani White lost power in the middle of the night. We have no lights, we have no food. We have nothing. Reporter many georgians are growing restless. Sick of being home all day. So we decided to go outside and walk around, because i was going crazy. Reporter most of the streets in and around atlanta are sort of like this one they have not been plowed and probably wont be for sometime. Theres not enough equipment. Storm supplies like shovels also in short supply. And heres the issue. If you dig into the snow, there is ice underneath. Theres not enough ice melting equipment either. The ice is going to stay here until the weather warms, which should be sometime tomorrow. Temperatures in the 50s the kind of winter atlantans much prefer. Thanks mark from atlanta, North Carolina, we move north to washington, d. C. , the Nations Capital could see its biggest snow and ice storm in four years. Federal government offices are closed for the day. Chip reid is in washington on the national mall. Chip, good morning. Reporter well, good morning, charlie and norah, and good morning to our viewers in the west, where i suspect youre not getting weather like this. This is the worst snowstorm weve had in d. C. Since snowmageddon four years ago. This major commuter artery here 14th street almost empty. Over here, you have the Agriculture Department closed just like the rest of the federal government. The Smithsonian Castle and all of the museums that line the mall closed. And all the way down there, the u. S. Capitol, nothing happening there. They passed the debt limit, and they got out of town. At least the ones who could catch a plane, because National Airports is now closed. In washington, we got about 11 inches of snow. Out in western maryland and virginia, they got more like 16, and its still snowing in some areas. One thing of concern, though its raining lightly now, and the snow is a bit wetter. Its possible it could cling to trees and to power lines and bring them down. Of course, they are hoping that does not happen. Charlie and norah . Chip reid, thank you. And heavy snow is disrupting the commute all around philadelphia and new york. New jerseys governor Chris Christie declared a state of emergency. Thats where we find Terrell Brown, in rutherford, west of new york city. Terrell, good morning. Reporter good morning to you. This wet, heavy snow starting to come down now and its picking up. And even as you have these plow trucks moving through, theyre having a tough time keeping up. These are accumulations this is just overnight into this morning. And theres been so much snow that has fallen with the backtoback snowstorms that these are some of the sights that you see along the roadways here in new jersey. This is basically a Snow Mountain. This is where the snow is ending up, about 100 to 150 yards long about 20 to 25 feet high, and there are literally chunks of ice in here. So this is going to be here for quite sometime. The department of transportation in new jersey is spending about 70 million on snow removal. That is a record. The previous high last year, that was about 62. 5 million. Theres also a shortage of salt and sand in this state. And this storm is moving through during the morning rush today, through the evening rush tonight, and also through the morning rush tomorrow morning. Much more heavy snow on the way. When it is all said and done we could be possibly talking about 10 inches of snow in the area and there is definitely going to be a concern for traffic and travelers the next few days. Charlie and norah, back to you. Terrell, thank you. Heres what it looks like in new york city where snow is accumulating. This storm is expected to last another 24 hours in the northeast. Meteorologist megan glaros is from our cbs station wbbm but the storm is affecting so many people nationwide we brought her here to studio 57. Good morning to you both. Good morning again. I think the storm will be remembered in two fashions its going to be the ice storm to the south and the snow from the northeast. And at this point, you know, that is where we go because we look at the storm as it continues to push off the northeast. Let me show you what its doing right now. You can see theres still freezing rain some sleet, some snow impacting parts of the deep south out here. But now the storm stretches to the north. Lets take a closer look at the radar and show you what we anticipate seeing here. New york being hit very hard right now. It goes all the way down to washington, and the future cast well show you where it goes. Right up the coastline. The major cities of washington of new york of boston will all be under the rain snow line. But there are watches and warnings that extend from alabama all the way up to maine at this point. And what we anticipate with this system, very heavy accumulations inland generally. So youll find 12 to 18inch swath if you head just a few hundred miles inland. But closer to the coast where we see more of a rain snow mix, were likely to see it not be quite as high accumulationwise, and also intense winds which could create a coastal flooding threat, too. Charlie, norah . Megan glaros thank you. The storm is causing huge travel problems across the United States. Nearly all of the major east coast airports are barely running. So far this morning, airlines already cancelled more than 5,000 flights. New york city is seeing the most disruptions, followed by airports in the d. C. Area. The faa command center in Northern Virginia keeps up with the changes as they happen. Officials say dont expect much improvement until probably this weekend. It could be a few days, depending upon exactly how long the airports are shut down or how quickly they can recover and clean up the tarmac and the runways. So it could be a two or threeday event. 7,000 u. S. Flights were cancelled or delayed yesterday. Were just getting the pictures of a freight derailment in snowy western pennsylvania. 15 cars jumped the track when the train hit a building outside pittsburgh. Sme people were forced to leave the building. The train was carrying crude oil. No injuries are reported, and there is no sign of a fire. Well take you to more hardhit areas across the country. Thats coming up. We turn now to afghanistan, the country released 65 prisoners this morning despite strong objections from the United States. The men were being held at a former american detention facility north of kabul. The pentagon says the detainees are actually taliban fighters and will return to the battlefield. Afghans president , hamid karzai ordered the release several weeks ago after his government took over the prison. And major news this morning for 12 million cable tv customers. Comcast is buying time warner cable. Paying 45 billion in stock. The deal would bring the nations two largest cable providers together. The boards of each Company Approved the merger. If the government okays the plan, the new company will have a total of 30 million subscribers. This morning, a milestone for the Government Health insurance marketplace as they finally met their monthly enrollment targets. The Obama Administration reports 1. 1 Million People signed up for insurance in federal and state programs in january. Since they opened in october, nearly 3. 3 Million People have signed up for coverage. Theres also a surge in the number of young people enrolling enrolling. Those 18 to 34 years old now make up 25 of the applicants. And the mayor who served new orleans during Hurricane Katrina is a convicted felon this morning. Mayor ray nagin will be sentenced in june after he was found guilty of taking bribes fraud, and money laundering. In all, he was convicted of 20 federal criminal counts. Prosecutors say nagin took bribes to help people in the Business Community win city projects. He faces up to 20 years in prison. We have new olympic results this morning. If you do not want to know, please turn away. The United States team is celebrating a clean sweep. And the usa is now second in the medal count. Norway still leads with canada and the netherlands tied for third. I was just checking the results and alfonso van marsh is in sochi with the story. Alfonso, great news. Good morning. Reporter it is good news. Good morning charlie. Good morning norah. Records are being won and lost here in sochi, but the americans, team usa, theyre not letting the warm temperatures stand in their way. Team usa continued to Gain Momentum sweeping the mens slope style skiing event to win all three medals earlier today. The victory came just a day after snowboarder kaitlyn faring ton won gold in the womans halfpipe. She is just nonstop right now. Reporter while teammate kelly clark took home the bronze. The pipe was in the best condition that it has been all week. To have the gold medal under my belt, i cant even believe it still. Reporter a little more time lost for mancuso. For the rest of team usa, the news was not as uplifting. Out of the medal picture. Reporter in womens hockey a controversial call gave canada a 32 win over the american team. The game winner was decided after this goal was upheld for the canadians. And it goes in. Did the wlisle blow . Reporter in speedskating grutis became the oldest gold medallist in the 1,000 meter, delivering a devastating blow to american shani davis. There will be no threepeat. Reporter cutting short his dream of a third consecutive gold. History was also made on the slopes. In an olympic first, two women, geesen of switzerland and slovenia shared the gold medal in the womens alpine downhill. This is almost surreal. To share it with somebody else. Reporter russia reclaimed its dominance in pairs figure skating after a humiliating loss in vancouver four years ago. The host country took home gold and silver, bringing the russian crowd to its feet. Now, the temperatures here have climbed up close to 70 degrees. With all of the melting snow team usa might have more to deal with than just the competition. Charlie, norah . 70 degrees. Thats incredible. Alphonso thank you. Sid caesar is being remembered this morning at the greatest sketch comedian of all time. Caesar died yesterday at the age of 91. In 1950 he was a pioneer of Television Comedy with his groundbreaking program show of shows, on the 50th anniversary of that series we spoke on my pbs program about how he connected with castmates. You never used a teleprompter. No. No cue cards . No cue cards, no teleprompter. Because you wanted to be . Because when you are working with somebody, you have to look in their eyes. If im talking to you, and i tell you what im going to do now, you go there and you tell them what i think, think, yes, and then theres no contact. The eyes are the contact. When we talk yeah, right, right, im always looking. Sure. Thats where and, also, you have to listen. A lot of actors wait for the cue. And then they go. But if you listen you get into the mode, and you develop a rhythm between you. Incredible interview. Yeah. Time to show you some of the mornings headlines. Politico says the Senate Passed a bill wednesday raising the countrys debt limit through march of next year. But it only happened after lastminute drama. Republican ted cruz attempted a filibuster. Gop leaders Mitch Mcconnell and john cornyn blocked the move. The bill now heads to president obama for his signature. Usa today says the Obama Administration announced Cyber Security guidelines. Theyre the framework for banking, defense utilities, and the industries to stop hackers. The plan involves identification i