Good evening. Im ann curry in for brian who is in sochi starting tomorrow. And tonight is just a mess outside for a lot of americans. A second major storm in three days. This one bringing ice and freezing rain and affecting 115 Million People in 32 states. Here are the numbers. At least a Million People are without power when the day began. Nearly 5,000 flights were canceled or delayed. And the storm numbers predicted for this weekend, one in four americans is under a storm watch. Nbcs ron mott joins us from westminster, massachusetts who got at times 2 inches of snow an hour today. Ron, good evening. Reporter hey, ann. Good evening to you. It started snowing here a little after 4 00 this morning. Its been coming down almost nonstop. The last of the flakes are falling now. Theyve got a lot to clean up here, but millions of people to our south are dealing with a lot more than just the snow. The second blast of Winter Weather this week packed a more potent punch than the first. You cant even get out and enjoy this. Its miserable. Reporter heavy snow and ice on power lines. Plunging more than a million customers into the dark, causing nightmares on the roads from the midwest to maine, its a sloppy mess. Its coming down quick. I dont know if im going to be able to keep up. You need to shovel, do it now. This stuff is going to turn into cement. Reporter in and around philadelphia, more than 700,000 lost electricity. Pennsylvania by far the hardest hit out of many states suffering outages today. Yet another blow to another region where winter blues are growing. I think its five or six right now in southeastern pennsylvania that are not on generator. This winter storm has had a direct impact all across the state of pennsylvania. Reporter in indiana, it wasnt ice that posed the biggest threat to drivers. Fast falling snow made roads treacherous. Folks digging out cars on some streets, spinning out on others. In new jersey an elderly couple had to be rescued when their car stalled in three feet of water. Those on mass transit faced a different set of problems. New york citys subways and commuter trains have long delays and some cancellations leaving trains overcrowded and passengers frustrated. Im just jammed into here with everybody else. My god. This is worse than ive ever seen. Reporter slushy, slippery streets made it tough to get around. Pedestrians worked together to navigate flooded intersections. Its a real pain in the neck. But i guess if we pull together, we can get through it. Reporter airlines are still limping after mondays northeast storm. Nearly 5,000 disruptions posted nationwide. In detroit two delta jets got stuck on the tarmac. Backtoback storms are sending road treatment supplies in many cities. One ohio town has run out completely. But in milwaukee, relief. Two ships carrying 50,000 tons of salt arrived to fortify stockpiles around wisconsin. Here in new england, the story is simply snow, lots of it. Especially north and west of boston. Now, boston today got about 10 inches of snow. Thats 45 inches of snow for the season. Well above average. A lot of folks heeded that advice and stayed home today meaning the roads should be in pretty decent shape for the morning commute, ann. All right, ron mott get indoors. Thank you so much. And for more now on this storm and the next one coming down the pipe, we turn to our friend meteorologist janice huff in the weather center. Janice, what are we looking at . Ann, the snow and ice from this storm has stopped in new york city, but its still snowing in places like boston bangor, near burlington. Also near albany and syracuse. This storm is winding down though. But these were the totals from today. Over a foot, 15 inches in waverly, new york. Boston with almost 10 inches, buffalo with 7. 4. New york city with 4 inches. Speaking of ice, philadelphia, we saw the pictures of all the Power Outages and trees down. A third of an inch of ice coating on the trees and branches and power lines. Temperatures will stay cold over the next several days. So all that became slush today will become ice tonight. Black ice will be a problem. Roads that havent been treated and sidewalks. This is through saturday. The temperatures remain pretty cold. Even though the sun will be out over the weekend. Then theres that weekend storm were talking about. Itll start to develop over in the southwest between thursday and friday. As energy moves in off the pacific coast. Theyll be getting snow here across the rockies up towards denver. Then that energy moves into the Central Plains and the midwest. Snow will begin in st. Louis and chicago on saturday morning. And then it will start to move eastward. Now, youve probably heard talk about a big storm with three feet of snow in the northeast. There will be a coastal low forming along the carolinas, but our computer forecast models are saying right now thats going to move off shore. And the northeast will get this part of the storm. So those totals you heard about that were really false reports will be a lot less than three feet. But there will be snow that will spread from the midwest into the northeast saturday into early sunday, ann. A tiny bit of good news. All right, janice huff, thank you so much. One day before the start of the competition at the Winter Olympics in sochi, there is a new warning from the u. S. Government tonight about possible terrorism. Not at the games, but on flights going into russia. Our justice correspondent Pete Williams has the details from our washington newsroom. Pete, good evening. Reporter ann, good evening. U. S. Officials emphasize this is focused entirely on Airline Flights to russia, not on flights to or inside the United States. And its partly result of extra scrutiny in advance of the olympics. Those familiar with the advisory say its based on very recent intelligence, whats often called chatter, that specifically refers to toothpaste tubes and similar containers that could be used to smuggle explosives onto flights to russia. Most of those originate outside of the u. S. Though airlines hear charter flights have also been notified. No word so far on any plans to impose new restrictions on checked bags or carryons. The russians earlier banned all liquids from carryons. U. S. Officials say there is no indication of any specific plot or target. They say this instead comes under the category of being extra caution, ann. All right. Thanks so much, Pete Williams tonight. And in sochi where russian authorities insist the games will be safe, there is a final push to get things ready before the start of the competition tomorrow and the Opening Ceremony on friday. Also today, a surprise announcement from one of the team usas biggest stars. Nbcs Chris Jansing is in sochi with more on all of this. Chris, good evening. Reporter good evening, ann. A lot going on here in sochi. Shaun white announcing today hell pull out of one of his two events. We also learned that billie jean king, one of only three gay members of the official u. S. Delegation, said she wont be coming because of her mothers failing health. And within days before the start of competition, the question is still being asked tonight, is sochi ready . To waving flags and cheers, the olympic torch arrived in sochi today and america named its flag bearing. The only sixtime winter olympian, nordic skier todd lodwick. A lot of excitement, but drama too. One of the biggest stars of the game, snowboarder shaun white dropped out of the new slope style event. He hinted at it in a morning news conference, wanting to focus on his other event instead. Its tough juggling both events. Its not easy. Its something that has been talked about quite a bit. Reporter white fell and jammed his wrist on the slope style course just yesterday and may not have wanted to risk serious injury. If he did go down, he could potentially jeopardize a third gold medal straight in halfpipe. I think hes really weighing the odds and what am i going to do good at . Reporter the slope style course was modified and it was announced that the moguls are undergoing tweaks too. But overall the olympic venues are ready for their closeup. Gorgeous from the air. Even if theres still Unfinished Business on the ground. In Town Construction workers and equipment everywhere. And a volunteer told hed have a room in town arrived to find there wasnt one. Im staying in a seaside resort that is very far away, to say the least. Reporter how long does it take you to get here . Two and a half hours. Reporter but Officials Say the vast majority of hotel rooms are now done. Less than 3 arent ready. Clearly there are still some issues and those need to be sorted out. But i can assure you that we are barely a moment goes by where we arent pushing on this one. Reporter maybe never in history have so many businesses opened in such a short span. So much accomplished, russians will tell you. A city on the sea where there was none. Reason enough to dance. The Opening Ceremony is friday, but several events kick off tomorrow with preliminary competitions and they include two very closely watched new events. That slope style that you just saw and team figure skating. Ann . All right, chris. Thank you so much. And we want to let you know that with just hours to go before the games begin, there is much more reporting on the olympics on our website tonight. The all new nbcnews. Com. Turning now to what was behind the major announcement today by a National Pharmacy chain that it will stop selling tobacco even though it will mean losing billions in sales. The announcement caught the attention of a lot of people today including the president and the first lady. We get our report now from nbcs tom costello. Reporter the news out of cvs today could represent a water shed moment. Breaking news right now. This is big. Cvs caremark this morning reporter the biggest pharmacy chain in the country getting out of the business of selling tobacco in all 7,600 stores by october 1st. This positions us really towards where health care is going. Because we know the sale of tobacco is extremely inconsistent with being a health care provider. Reporter its a big victory for the nations Biggest Health organizations who for years have called on pharmacy chains to stop selling cigarettes and chewing tobacco. Any business thats selling health care should not be selling a product that kills half of the people who use it. Reporter but at its core, this is a business decision. Cvs has a massive mail order and instore pharmacy business. And its minute clinics have provide Nurse Practitioners who can check sore throats, ear infections, or bronchitis. From cvs customers today, the reaction was mostly positive. It would be nice to completely not smoking, so maybe that will help me. What a great way for a store to make a stance on improving peoples health. Reporter the decision isnt without cost. Cvs says it will lose 1. 5 billion in tobacco sales. Another half billion on sales on what people pick up when they come in to shop tobacco. President obama said cvs caremark sets an example. While rj reynolds tobacco said we respect their decision. Clearly from a dollars and cents perspective, the longterm bet is on health care, not the cigarette business. Reporter but will other retailers follow the cvs lead . Today walgreens said its been evaluating this product category for some time to balance the choices our customers expect from us with their Ongoing Health needs. While most cigarettes are bought in convenience stores, not pharmacies, the pressure may be on the others to follow the leader. Tom costello, nbc news, bethesda, maryland. Tonight a scathing report by United NationsHuman Rights Group has slammed the vatican and the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. It accuses the church of allowing decades of sexual abuse of children by priests and continuing to protect the perpetrators through what it called a code of silence. Nbcs mike taibbi has our report. Reporter pope francis greeting the faithful in st. Peters square today had already been taking steps to deal with what he called the shame of the church. But the report was unsparing saying the church imposed a code of silence over decades of priestly sexual abuse, moved abusers from parish to parish to cover up such crimes, and the policies have led to the continuation of the abuse. They have replaced the preservation of the reputation of the church and the protection of the perpetrators above childrens best interests. Reporter distorted and unfair, the vatican responded. Saying the u. N. Had failed to consider measures the church has introduced to protect children. The report also requested the release of all vatican records on abuse claims by thousands of children so more perpetrators can be held accountable. Victims like Barbara Doris assaulted as a child for years by a local priest, are encouraged. This isnt a moral failing. This isnt a mistake. This is crimes against children. And they need to be investigated by law enforcement. Reporter will the u. N. Report trigger further action by this hope . The pope is on board in implementing the policies that Pope Benedict put into place that every priest whos been involved in abuse is thrown out. Reporter but the u. N. Report went beyond priestly sexual abuse. It also criticized the vatican for its positions on contraception, abortion, and homosexuality. The vatican called that criticism an attempt to interfere with Catholic Church teaching and the exercise of religious freedom. But holding priests accountable for the abuse of children, the vatican was told today, is not an issue of belief, but a criminality. Mike taibbi, nbc news, london. Well take a break, and still ahead tonight, drug raid. Overnight arrests and fastmoving developments into the investigation of the death of Philip Seymour hoffman. And later, the Monuments Men. One of the real life heroes behind a Daring Rescue mission. Were back with new developments tonight into the investigation into the death of actor Philip Seymour hoffman. Four people have been arrested in an Apartment Building in new york city where hundreds of bags of heroin were found. We get more tonight from nbcs katy tur whos outside the criminal court building. Katy, good evening. Reporter good evening, ann. Four were arrested, three will likely be arraigned and charged tonight. All of this because a tipster walked into a precinct and told cops there was a connection between the alleged dealers and Philip Seymour hoffman. And today sources say there was. They were walked into a new york city precinct in handcuffs. 57yearold Robert Vineberg and 22yearold Max Rosenblum and Juliana Luchkiw were arrested in a raid last night. I heard sirens, but i just assumed it was normal neighborhood noise. Im very surprised to hear. Its an extremely quiet block. Its im really prized it would happen to close to us. Reporter police say they were working off of tip when they busted into three Lower Manhattan apartments. Officials say inside they found 296 envelopes of heroin, but none had the same stamps or dealer logos that were on the more than 70 bags found in hoffmans apartment. However, authorities did recover cell phones and sources close to the investigation tell nbc news on one of those phones was Philip Seymour hoffmans phone number. Investigators say theyre confident. Theres a phone record, theres a witness who pointed them to these suspects. And now the question is if they sold the heroin, was it the batch that resulted in his death . Reporter lab tests showed the heroin found with hoffman did not contain fentanyl that has been linked with multiple deaths. And autopsy results on the actor were released wednesday afternoon but were inconclusive pending the toxicology report. Those findings could take weeks. And although four were arrested, sources they the manhattan d. A. Will decline to prosecute one of the men. The arraignment for the 22yearold woman has just wrapped up. Shes been charged with misdemeanor possession. Her lawyer says shes not guilty. Ann . All right, katy tur tonight. To be continued. Thank you so much. And we are back in a moment with the giant celebration tonight in a Great American city. The scene in seattle today as that city celebrated the victory of the seahawks in the super bowl. Officials estimate that about 700,000 people poured into the downtown. That is more than the entire population of the city. It may have been the biggest gathering in seattles history. And because so many people were using their cell phones, the city asked people to stay off of them because 911 calls were not going through. Confirmation tonight about something that happened during the super bowl that just didnt look right to millions who were watching. The frequently shirtless base player for the Red Hot Chili Peppers who calls himself flea confirms that they were not playing their instruments live. A lot of people noticed they werent plugged in. Well, now flea has admitted that while performing for perhaps the largest u. S. Tv audience of all time, they faked it. Flea said the nfl didnt want to take the chance of something going wrong with the audio and asked them to prerecord it. He is now getting credit on social media for being honest. And a victory at sea for a 34yearold plumber from london on the coast of portugal. Anthony cotton managed to catch this 80foot wave and was able to stay up for ten seconds. It may have been one of the biggest waves ever surfed. Cotton wore an inflatable vest to bring him back to surface. And take a look at this. High surf as well in neighboring spain where a giant wave all but consumed a lighthouse on and island in the atlantic off the northern coast. Look at that. When we come back, remembering the unlikely heroes of a Daring Rescue mission during world war ii. Finally tonight, a fascinating footnote to World War Ii History will be showcased starting this friday with a release of a new film called the Monuments Men. Its about an Unlikely Group of soldiers who brought their expertise to a Daring Rescue mission and in their own way became heroes. Our nbcs rehema ellis. Reporter its called the greatest Treasure Hunt of all time. Part of the great treasure stolen by the nazis. Reporter the search for masterpieces including works by da vinci and michelangelo stolen by the nazis. 5 million objects, irreplaceable art, religious artifacts, and personalal possessions were recovered by an unlikely band of brothers. We have been tasked to find and protect art that the nazis have stolen. Reporter about 350 middle aged museum directors, artists, and architects who became known as the Monuments Men. What is all this . Peoples lives. Reporter its now a major hollywood movie based on the book by robert edsel. The story of all hitlers men plundered europe packing their loot into salt mines and castles. Theres never been more on this premeditated looting by the nazis. Reporter Harold Ettlinger is one of the few survives Monuments Men. In 1945 he was 19 years old and on his way to the battle of the bulge. A german jew whose family had escaped to the United States before the war. He went back as an american soldier and became a translator. Recruited to help search through 40,000 cases of hitlers stolen art. He stole things. We returned them. Reporter his work ironically was helped by the nazis themselves because of their meticulous records. Even today the codes they used are still visible. On this painting, we see r94, the nine is somewhat obscured. But that means rothchild object number 94. Reporter what about this print in here . The recovery of so many treasures for ettlinger was also personal. It was one of your grandfathers prints and you were able to retrieve it. Thats right. Reporter he was able to find his own familys art collection. What are you most proud of about that time that you served with the Monuments Men . Im proud to as an american that we adopted this policy of saving culture. Reporter a monumental achievement by unlikely heroes who saved some of the worlds most extraordinary art. Rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. Thank goodness. And that is our broadcast for this wednesday evening. Brian will be back with you tomorrow night from sochi. Im ann curry, and for all of us here at nbc news, thank you and good night. Its dry now but the rain is on the way. Im raj mathai. Im jessica aguirre. A live look outside the live camera network. Dark clouds in san francisco, oakland and san jose, the start of two powerful storms headed to the bay area. If youre not seeing rain yet, just yet. Chief meteorologist jeff ranieri is tracking the storm now. The moisture moving into the storm system beginning to produce a few rain drops over the past 15 minutes. Radar beginning to show light areas of rainfall beginning here in the North Bay South down to san firefighter yell. Its beginning to get wet here. There is green on the radar but taking a lot of moisture in the mid levels to actually get this to hit the surface. Its drier in the lower levels, a few spotty showers to palo alto and here toward the the bay bridge areas of green. I want to take you to the live sky camera network. You can see slickness on the road ways. Its wet at the toll plaza. Traffic backed up winds five to ten miles per hour. Thats the start of what is to come with two systems lining up. It will keep rain chances in the forecast over the next five days. You should know rain tonight through tomorrow morning and a shea heavier round with totals that