0 are not going to want to hear this. >> and the site of the winter olympics is in the midst of a winter thaw. talk about a yolo flip. and i heard a rumor that matt lauer was wearing a tank top? >> and come back to spin about a thaw of sorts in american politics and a potential storm for speaker boehner. i'm ari mel ber in washington. and democrats are asking what can we get this guy to do? >> plus in the guest spot, who let the dogs out? the moderate middle is unleashed right here on the cycle. i'm abby huntsman, tune in today for my one-on-one with utah democrat jim mathison. good afternoon, everyone. and for the sake of about 100 million americans, i suppose i will use that term a bit loosely. we are waiting here in new york for our fourth big storm of this crazy winter season, and a certain ground hog recently told me we have beweeks to go. snow and ice are making a mess of things in the south. it's not just a nuisance, the national weather service has thrown around the terms catastrophic and historic. we know the scene on the interat a times outside atlanta proper, but the governor is trying not to let the situation repeat itself. but the big concern is it may well be out of his hands. >> i think the real danger is people look out the window and say it doesn't look too bad. maybe get on the roads or go to work or do other things. we shouldn't be deceived by that. this storm has come in waves. there is another wave in the process of coming toward us now. and from the standpoint of the danger, it may be even more dangerous than the other because it's primarily ice. >> the governor is prepared for something big, ased it mayor of atlanta. and we have rebecca from our nbc station there, and what's happening out there right now? >> reporter: well, i can tell you, this weather just can't make up its mind. it's going from slush to ice, ice to slush. but we have had about a half inch of ice in atlanta. about an inch further north. look at the tree limbs off to my left, you can see the weight of what is falling starting to take its toll. these are the tree limbs that power crews are most concerned about. we have about 132,000 people without power in the state of georgia. most of those here in atlanta. but this is a very different situation than two weeks ago. the d.o.t. has been out here actively treating the roads. you can see a drastic difference between the road that is treated and the sections that are not. crystal. >> and in an icy atlanta. thank you. we are concerned about the southeast, but it's posing a major threat to the mid-atlantic states that see snow from time to time. but when they get a storm this size, they are slammed. look at greenville, south carolina, we checked in with mike seidel yesterday. now they have blowing snow and at times whiteout conditions. conditions have gone downhill in north carolina, where the governor is urging the state's nearly 10 million residents to take the storm seriously. >> the next 48 hours are going to be tough in the carolinas, from the coast all the way to the mountains. as you know, this is the second major storm we have had in two weeks that has covered the carolinas, which is very rare. >> nbc's erica edwards is in the largest city. what's going on there? >> reporter: it is very cold and very windy. the snow is falling hard here in pull out of maine until friday. let's get more from weather channel meteorologist paul goodloe, manning the maps inside the weather channel's world headquarters. >> that's right. you talk about the big, slow-moving storm. with the reports from atlanta, we're about halfway through, there's more to come. but it's pushing into virginia, but the back end, the ice storm is underway, and we have maybe 24 more hours, plenty of snow on the backside. the snow right now, here's the push on through the carolinas. remember the scene from atlanta? you're seeing a repeat of that, cars stuck on the highway, people walking in charlotte, it's coming down so fast. and the snow creeping into roanoke, virginia. d.c., the snow is coming in tonight. here's our forecast. snow for you at times, whipped by the wind. and towards the coast, the wintery mix. and pushing to new york in the midnight hour and boston as well. so, yeah, your thursday is snowy. basically from virginia all the way into new england, and the snow continues there as we head into your friday as well, which is valentine's day. and the cape and the islands seeing some rain. look at the snow here. parts of just outside of d.c. could see a foot or a foot and a half of snow. and that swath, just west of philadelphia, just west of new york city. that's the big target for the heavier snow around new york, also western mass and new hampshire and maine. as you mentioned, they might not get out until late on your valentine's day, which is this friday, by the way. a couple of cities to highlight, the first is d.c. leesburg and frederick, we could see a foot or a foot and a half of snow. meaning kids off for your friday as well. you were trapped in the house. you can't do anything without slipping and falling. it's crazy. you can't drive anywhere, you can't walk anywhere. it was one of the more depressing times of my life. >> but the ice storm is an amazing movie. what have you got? >> i haven't seen the ice storm. in washington, it's the closest thing to a school context. people love a snow day, they love closing the federal government. i'm supposed to have meetings on the hill tomorrow. >> really. >> and more than one, right? >> aiding -- >> sorry, go ahead? >> you got it, ari. >> go on, my friend. >> go on. well, yeah, i hope the meetings don't get cancelled, people love to close it down. and basically what we have around washington, as the meteorologist mentioned, a foot and a half of snow will be huge. the only good news for the cycle is if it's a foot and a half or two, i may not make it back on the train tomorrow night. >> oh, man. that's not good news. >> too bad. >> don't lie. >> all right. well, we will be watching this to see what develops. and up next, when no news is good news. please note the absence of a debt doomsday countdown clock today. why john boehner's role in the latest debt standoff is like a lead in an alexander payne movie. he will be here as the cycle rolls on. >> come on, i'm gng to take you home. >> i'm going to lincoln, that's the last thing i do. >> you didn't win anything, it's a complete scam. >> i'm running out of time. if i can impart one lesson to a new business owner, it would be one thing i've learned is my philosophy is real simple american express open forum is an on-line community, that helps our members connect and share ideas to make smart business decisions. if you mess up, fess up. be your partners best partner. we built it for our members, but it's open for everyone. there's not one way to do something. no details too small. american express open forum. this is what membership is. this is what membership does. ♪ [ male announcer ] bob's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack, be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. oh, there's a prize, all right. 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