Dangerous and lifethreatening proportions in most parts of the u. S. It hasnt been this cold for almost two decades. 32 below zero expected in fargo, north dakota. Minus 21 in madison, wisconsin, and 15 below zero in chicago, minneapolis and indianapolis. Indianapolis mayor greg ballard tweeting he raised the travel warning to red, making it illegal to be on the road except for emergencies or seeking shelter. Nbc sarah dallof joins us live in the thick of it in chicago. Good morning, sarah. Good morning. Officials say this is not only dangerous, the temperatures could be deadly. A bitterly cold wakeup for millions this morning as an arctic front causes temperatures to drop to record lows. 30 to 50 degrees below average in the midwest. 25 states with thermometers sitting at zero and below. In indiana sunday, up to 2 inches of snow fell every hour throughout the day. The mayor of indianapolis warning residents to stay indoors. We will have temperatures that are potentially deadly or certainly life altering. Reporter in st. Louis, snow and high winds made it nearly impossible to see. Pay attention to your neighbors, see what they need and take care of them. Reporter schools are closed in chicago, and in minnesota, First Public School closure there in nearly two decades. Officials are pleading with people to stay off the streets. Already there have been problems. Black ice covered roads in maryland and pennsylvania. Its a sheet of ice. Cars are just spinning out. Reporter to the runways in new york, where a plane slid into snow at Jfk International on sunday. Nationwide, thousands of flights have been canceled or delayed. Officials are expressing great concern about the elderly and the homeless, saying frostbite can happen within minutes of exposure. Cities have emergency workers on standby and outreach teams on the streets to help people find shelter. Bring people into houses, temporary rehab, an empty bus seat or back of a medic. Reporter as the brutal Winter Weather gets even more extreme. And forecasters say the weather wont warm up until late this week. Meanwhile, Officials Say if you can stay inside, do so. Betty, back to you. All right, sarah, try to stay warm if you can. Now to nbc meteorologist bill karins. The bad news it is going to continue, right . It is moving east. It is not going to be long lasting in areas that are horrible this morning. Just the size of the arctic outbreak is impressive on its own and the intensity makes it so much worse. Now the cold air is headed all the way down to dallas, ft. Worth, down to new orleans, even. Sweep to the east. The rockies kind of stopped it. It hasnt made it through much of inner mounten west. Thats good for the west coast. We have everywhere in blue windchill warnings, purple windchill advisories. 27 states with windchill warnings. 34 states with advisories. And the coldest temperatures are found here in north dakota, minnesota, wisconsin. Minus 45 in minneapolis. Compare that to l. A. At 54. About 100 degree apparent temperature difference between l. A. Right now and minneapolis. That sounds crazy. Just looking at it, it is almost surreal. Dallas, 2 degrees. My parents are freezing. I know. Thank you, bill. New overnight, the 13yearold girl declared brain dead after a tonsillectomy is out of the hospital and back in the custody of her mother. Jahi mcmath has been taken from Childrens Hospital and brought to a place where we will use had her name, instead of calling her a body and where she can get to starting line instead of where childrens left her for the past four weeks almost at the finish line. And while the familys attorney would not reveal where jahi is headed, he said the place will allow her to have procedures done as soon as possible. One of those procedures could be to fit her with a feeding tube, something Childrens Hospital refused to do. They argued jahi is brain dead and means she is legally dead. But her family feels she is still alive. Now, to several scares in the air over the weekend. First, in aspen, colorado, where the pilot of a small private plane was killed after his jet crashed on the runway. Two other people were on board, also pilots. They were injured. The cause remains under investigation. And at least two celebrities were at the airport and saw it all happen including Country Singer leann rimes who witnessed the crash and kevin nealon who tweeted, seeing the plane explode into flames upon landing. Meanwhile, though, a suspicious discovery forced an American Airlines flight to make an emergency landing. The boeing 767 carrying 215 passengers was on its way from San Francisco to new york. It was diverted to kansas city after someone found a flash drive taped to the inside of a bathroom. The fbi is investigating. And everyone is okay after a delta jet skidded off the runway at jfk airport early sunday. Flight 4100 had just landed from toronto, when it slipped off the tarmac and into a snowbank. It prompted the airport to close, but has since reopened. Now to breaking news that is sure to top the political headlines. Liz cheney, the eldest daughter of former Vice President dick cheney, is dropping her bid to represent wyoming in the senate. In a Statement Released just hours ago, she says Family Health concerns were behind her abrupt decision. But her campaign challenging a fellow republican never really got much traction and put a deep divide in the gop. She suffered a series of initial setbacks including labels as a carpetbagger after having just become a resident of the state in 2012. Her exit clears the way for incumbent senator mike enzi to win a fourth term. Wyoming has not elected a democrat to the senate since 1970. The baseball world is mourning the death of a legendary player and broadcasting icon. Jerry coleman died sunday at the age of 89 following a brief illness. Coleman spent his entire pro career as a new york yankees infielder, helping the bronx bombers to four world series titles. His playing career was put on hold during world war ii and the korean war when he served as a decorated marine corps pilot. But perhaps coleman will be best remembered as the voice of the san diego padres. He served as the teams radio announcer for more than four decades, becoming famous for phrases like oh, doctor and you can hang a star on that one, baby. Hell be missed. Now for a look at the national weather, once again, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins. Youve been a busy man. An active weather pattern. A lot of times we get cold outbreaks, alaska tends to be warmer when the midwest and Central Plains are very cold. It is 11 in fairbanks this morning. Almost 11 degrees in dallas. Thats how extreme that were talking some of the weather is. Now, as we go throughout the new year, one of our resolutions was to get some of the rainfall into california. Were not going to do it today, but we will get some rain into the pacific northwest. Not a ton of rain, a third of an inch there around portland, olympia, 4500 estimated on our computer. A little more there towards bellingham and seattle. Not a lot will make it over the mountains towards spokane, but to keep that in mind, wet weather heading your way. Thats why there is some rain in the forecast. Temperatures mild in the west. Big area of High Pressure is continuing to protect you. It keeps you mild and it keeps the middle of the country frigid. 77 in l. A. 70 in phoenix. Vegas, a little cooler there, 58. Little chilly salt lake city. Rest of the nation, some of the warmest weather found in southern cal. Thats your san diego looking all right. That looks like a vacation right now. Beach weather. Exactly. I want to live in san diego. Thats a heat wave is what that is. All right. Thank you, bill. Straight ahead, the answer to just what this crop circle is all about. Plus, Dennis Rodman arrives in north korea today where the former nba star is to play for kim jonguns birthday. We have those details next. R. Welcome back, everybody. Iraqi troops are battling for two key cities overrun by al qaeda militants in anwar province, fallujah and ramadi. At least 34 people were killed sunday. Secretary of state john kerry said the u. S. Will help iraq with the offensive, but made it clear that no u. S. Troops will be sent in. German chancellor angela americaler cracked her pelvis during a skiing accident in the swiss alps. Her Spokesman Says the fracture will require her to rest for three weeks and to use a walker. Dennis rodman is at it again. Hes arrived in pyongyang with a squad of dozen basketball stars for an expedition game for leader jonguns birthday. Rodman calls the trip basketball diplomacy, although u. S. Officials have criticized his efforts. We learned over the weekend that 50s and 60s rock icon phil everly died at the age of 74 from pulmonary disease. Phil and his brother don made up the Everly Brothers who sang hits as wake up little susie, byebye love and all i have to do is dream. The duo broke up in 1973 after a falling out but were reunited a decade later. A woman at an annual bull festival in costa rica, check it out, she had a Main Attraction seeing red. Thats going to hurt. Video shows the bull catapulting her several feet into the air. During an interview later, she appeared to be in good condition. Thats remarkable considering the blow. Now for business news, we turn to courtney reagan. Good morning, courtney. Good morning, betty. The latest gadgets will be on display this week at the Consumers Electronics show in las vegas. It is not just about big tvs and tiny smartphones. Automakers and Health Care Companies will be showing off their latest products. Internet firms featured prominently with keynote speeches by Marissa Mayer and dick costello. Jpmorgan will reportedly pay 2 billion to settle charges it failed to warn about Bernie Madoffs ponzi scheme. Jpmorgan was madoffs primary bank for years. Reports say the bulk of the fine go to his victims. The market saw the first negative start to the year since 2008. The big focus will be fridays u. S. Jobs report. Look for data today on Services Sector and factory orders. Betty . Thank you, courtney. This crop circle, check it out, in california, managed to confuse and mystify the curious, but actually a ruse by the company novidia to show off a new processor making its debut at ces. Just ahead, nfl action and how silence can actually cost you. Plus, taking the scare out of catching air. Thats next. Well, coming up this morning on today, the squadron behind marine one. A rare inside look at the exclusive handpicked team responsible for flying the president of the United States. All right. Lets get to some sports action. It was just five degrees at kickoff and felt like minus ten with the windchill. But somehow the fans didnt seem to mind. Yeah, they took their shirts off anyway. Milwaukees Colin Kaepernick in the fourth, packers leading when kaepernick connects with vernon davis to take back the lead. Tied 2020 with three seconds left. It is good. The niners win 2320. The chargers capitalizing on cincy qb andy daltons multiple mistakes. He runs for first down, slides untouched, but fumbles the ball. Chargers get it. Pick six by dalton. He had three turnovers in the second half as the bengals fell apart. Then san diegos Philip Rivers seals deal with the handoff to ronnie brown. Chargers win 2710. And check out the fans braving the elements in philly. Thats one way to do it. Tailgaters relaxing in a hot tub of all things ahead of the eagles saints game. The saints won it, 2624. Next weeks games look like this on saturday, the seahawks host the saints. Patriots host the colts. On sunday, the panthers host the niners and broncos host the chargers. They say silence is golden n this case, silence is very costly. Seattle seahawks running back Mar Shawn Lynch is being fined 50,000 bucks by the nfl for failing to talk to the media during the regular season. On to college football, go daddy bowl, Arkansas State with this trick play. Fleming behind the line with the ball as the ball goes the other way. Then makes a run for it. A 27yard gain. Arkansas state goes on to win it 2320. And tonight the championship game, number two auburn takes on number one florida state. In the nba, playground rules here. During a free throw, he bends down and unties the shoe of dallas shawn marian. It didnt affect the free throw but the knicks win 9280. Come on, guys. The olympics in sochi are one month away. So if youre not quite olympic caliber, but you still want to get some major air like these pros, we have the solution. At arizona snow bowl, participants were able to soar 20 feet off a ramp, landing safely on to a big old air bag. Now, that looks like a blast. Just ahead, the late paul walkers fate has been decided. We have the details when we return. Welcome back. Good monday morning to you. Were watching a storm system now off the california coast. Unfortunately it is heading up towards the northeast. This is going to move into Washington State and also areas around portland as we go throughout the day. Unfortunate we will see some rain. Have the umbrella with you. Not a ton. Maybe a third to maybe half an inch in most areas. The forecast for today, showery weather in the northwest. We keep that threat of showers as we go into tomorrow. No complaints because they need the rain. A lot of areas do. They need the snow pack high elevations. Thank you. Jimmy fallon giving us our first look as he prepares to take over the 60year television juggernaut that is the tonight show. From a guy im very fond of, jimmy fallon. You ready for this . This february jimmy fallon the tradition continues. Disneys frozen took the top spot with 20. 7 million. Thriller paranormal activity came in second with 18. 2 million. Congratulations to alexa vega. The 25yearold married big time rush singer carlos pena. This is vegas second marriage. Justin timberlake sold the most records for 2013. 2. 4 million. This is, though, the lowest sales figure of any yearly chart topper since nielsen began reporting results in 1991. After announcing that paul walkers character will remain in fast furious 7 they will tweak the script so that walkers character retires rather than being killed from the story line. Singer kesha checked into rehab for the next 30 days for what is being described as an eating disorder. Sandra bullock, she learned a valuable lesson. I tell you this all the time, dont google yourself. I know. I cant stop. She was aware of some comments like her age, but others like who shes dating actually caught her by surprise. She said that some are true and some are, quote, ones she would never admit to. Im betty nguyen. This is early today. We hope it is your first stop of the day, right here on nbc. Leading the news in the daily mail tiger mom accused of being a fullblown racist. As her new books names the superior races and religions that make better parents. Amy chau said that the eight races include jewish, indian, chinese, iranian, lebaneseamericans, nigerian, cuban exiles and mormons. And check this out, this partial cliff collapse in southern england. Wow. Rough seas along the coastline with heavy rains, storms and high tides all combined for an aweinspiring sight captured by visitors in this park. Now some stories you might have missed. Pope francis calling for reassessment of how the Catholic Church deals with children of gay couples and divorced parents. He acknowledged a growing number of kids today come from nontraditional families. A man missing since wednesday is found all thanks to a photo that ran in usa today. 20yearold Nicholas Simmons disappeared from his familys home in upstate new york. Four days later a photographer took this photo in washington as he warms himself on a steam grate. Simmons parents saw the photograph and theyve since been united with their son. And theyre going to the doughnut shop and going to get married. Thats what one colorado couple did on january 4th. It is the first wedding at the Voodoo Doughnut shop in denver. But apparently they are a doughnut a dozen at the stores first location in portland. Thats one way to bring people together. Good doughnuts. Well, the winter is in full stwin swing, we know this. The United States is not the only nation locked in a deep freeze. Yesterday marked the opening of the 30th annual harbin ice festival. Massive structures made out of completely clear ice created a new skyline for the chinese city. You can even slide down it. Over 1 million visitors are expected to visit these intricately lit crystal castles. Congress is back in session today following the holiday recess. The senate is expected to vote on extending longterm unemployment benefits. Those benefits ended for 1. 3 Million People three days after christmas. On this day in 2001, congress certified republican george w. Bush the winner of the close 2000 president ial election as reported by nbc nightly news. George w. Bush of the state of texas has received for president of the United States 271 votes. Al gore of the state of tennessee has received 266 votes. May god bless our new president and our new Vice President and may god bless the United States of america. And this is earl new questions this morning surrounding the sudden transfer of a 13yearold girl declared brain dead. Why jahi mcmaths family is not releasing the name of the new facility. Arctic blast causing chaos for people across 25 states. The blizzard conditions and freezing temperatures could impact your travel plans. There is a chance the 49ers could play one last game at candlestick park. The series of events to make that happen. A live look from oakland toward San Francisco and it is a misty morning. Christina loren will take care of that in weather. Its monday, january 6, this is today in the bay