Trees and power lines and destroying at least one mobile home there. We have reporters and meteorologists up and down the eastern seaboard this morning. We start with nbcs luke russert, who is in washington, d. C d. C. ,. Luke, at last check, the Nations Capital was expected to get, i believe, 2 1 2 feet of snow, correct . Reporter that is accurate, craig. This is a storm of epic proportions. Its going to be historic from what weve seen in these forecasts. Could be the largest storm to hit d. C. In over 95 years. Its because of those readings were getting from the meteorologists that this storm is being taken very seriously by the mayor. Take a listen. We want people to hunker down, shelter in place and stay off the roads. We need people to be in a safe place today just as soon as they can for their own safety and for the safety of our Public Safety personnel and our first responders. Reporter so, craig, what the mayor would like and local officials would like is for everybody to get off the roads by 3 00 p. M. Now, if you see behind me, there is some traffic, but it is about a fourth of what you would ordinarily have here on a friday. Most people taking heed of what the officials have said. A lot of businesses are already closed. A lot of people planning to go home early. Schools are closed, the local governments closed. The federal governments going to close soon. Now, there are a few events going on. The march for life, the prolife rally. Organizers declined to cancel it. Its still going on. They say they will use their own discretion about how long that should proceed. The National Hockey league game scheduled for 7 00 moved up to 5 00. That is still on. However, local officials telling the nhl they would like to see that postponed because having thousands and thousands of people in downtown d. C. Is not a good idea. However, the most important thing, craig, is this real fear because of the high winds that are going to be generated from this storm for Power Outages. You know d. C. Very well. A lot of homes, a lot of businesses built around trees. We have a lot of parks here in washington. The worry is those old trees fall on the lines and then people are stranded without power for quite some time. So, that is what the worry is more than anything is the power. A lot of folks taking heed. Metros closed until sunday. Come 11 00 p. M. Tonight. A lot of the bus service is reduced, taxis are reduced. They want you to stay home, but if you stay home, be very careful during the Power Outages. Check on the elderly. Thats their main concern at this point. A buddy of mine in d. C. Said pepco is already calling folks to give them a headsup that they will likely lose power, so. Reporter yeah. Luke russert for us there in the Nations Capital. Luke, thank you. Nbc meteorologist dylan dreyer is in virginia right now, western virginia, specifically. Youve been on the road for several hours. What are you seeing . Hows it looking . Reporter well, craig, weve been on the road since about 8 30 this morning once we gassed up. We started in christiansburg, virginia, which is southwest of roano roanoke. I would say now were about 30 miles north of roanoke. Its been a slow go, but look at what were driving in. This is the first time weve been slowed down, and the only reason were slowed down i think is because of these trucks that are finally starting to plow and salt the roads. Most of our drive weve been just really driving through the snow. Theres not a lot of activity from the plows, and were finally seeing them on the roads and it is slowing things down, but thats all for good reason. We prefer to drive on fairly clear streets as opposed to the slush and the heavier snow we were driving in earlier. We are in the bluemobile on i81 right now trying to make our way to washington, d. C. We are in a very heavy vehicle, a fourwheeldrive vehicle, so were obviously being safe on this drive and taking it easy. Its been great that there have not been many people on the roads. Looks like everyone is really paying attention to all the alerts to just stay indoors, let the trucks get out, let the trucks plow the streets, because thats going to be their biggest concern is they want to get their job done and not have to maneuver around any cars that might get stuck in this type of weather. So, were in the heart of it right now. Its heading east. And once it does, winds will become more of a factor. By the time this storm strengthens off the midatlantic, we could see winds gusting up near 60 Miles Per Hour. Thats whats really going to reduce visibility and create those blizzardlike conditions when visibility drops to under a quarter of a mile. For us, visibility has been okay because were not dealing with those very strong winds, but it is still a slow go. Slow and steady wins the race, right, craig . Indeed, my friend, indeed. Dylan dreyer there on i81 making her way to d. C. Good to see that 18wheeler in front of you taking it nice and slow with its emergency flashers on. Jay gray also in virginia, roanoke, virginia, specifically. Jay, what are you seeing there in roanoke, sir . Reporter craig, were seeing snow and we have for the last several hours here. Its picking up in intensity. And dylan talked about the crews out on the roadways. You can see them behind us here stopping to gas up and clean their windshields, make sure that theyre safe as they get back out and try and scrape the snow and ice away as best they can. 500 vehicles used to try and make things passable here in virginia over the last 24 hours. Officials saying if you dont need to get out in it, obviously, do not. Heres the situation here right now, snow thats been falling and will continue through saturday evening. In some areas, they expect 30 inches or more. It hasnt stopped since it started around 5 30 this morning. So, not hard to believe it could accumulate like that. The National Guard is on the ground here. Every available state Police Officer in virginia is a part of the Response Team here right now. They could call in more troops, 500 right now. And power crews, weve seen them staging throughout the morning here. Really, the only people weve seen on the roadways here. And theyre getting into place because, as you guys have been talking about, Power Outages could be a serious problem, even after the snow stops, craig. Jay gray, roanoke, virginia. Thank you. Well come back to jay later. Al rokers joining us now. Al, more than 85 Million People in 20 states under an advisory of some sort. It appears as if this thing has gone from bad to worse. It is, and we are not even close to worse yet, craig. And weve also got a severe side to this system. Weve got a severe thunderstorm watch for Central Florida until 5 00 this afternoon and then you can see to the north, thats where the heavy snow starts. So, lets give you an idea what were going to be looking at. Lets look at the western end of the storm, which the snowfalls going to stretch about 1,100 miles. Nashville will pick up 4 to 8 inches. I talked to a friend in nashville this morning. It is paralyzed. The city is paralyzed. Lexington, kentucky, 8 to 14 inches of snow. These are cities that dont have a lot of snow removal equipment. Theyre not usually expecting it. Now, lets get to the Nations Capital and the baltimore area. As youve heard, anywhere from 18 to 26 inches of snow, but the western portions of this could see up to 30 inches of snow. Snow will begin about 4 00 this afternoon, wind gusts to 50 Miles Per Hour. Snowfall rates at the height of this about 2 to 4 inches per hour. Now lets head to southern new jersey, Central New Jersey and the philadelphia area. Snow will start about 11 00 tonight. Wind gusts about 40 Miles Per Hour. 12 to 18 inches of snow, and its just going to keep going. Lets get into the new york city metropolitan area and long island. 6 to 12 inches of snow. Thats actually up a little bit from yesterday evening. Snow will start later, about 4 00 a. M. Saturday. Wind gusts to 55 Miles Per Hour by saturday afternoon. And ice is going to be a huge concern. Charlotte being really almost epicenter of that, upwards of almost an inch of ice. You have 0. 1 inches, you start to lose traction on the ground, theyll start icing planes. This is going to be a big problem. Charlotte, theyve shut down the airport for the most part. They have not officially. Theres not going to be much going on. Heres all the icing and the Power Outages from washington down to charlotte. But you have the threat from boston all the way to memphis. And craig, ironically, in a reverse of last winter, bostons Power Company sending crews to help out down south. Huh. Al roker, snow stretching 1,100 miles, wow. Thank you, sir. Well come back to you later. Well also check in with our reporters who are fanned out across the country as well. Much more coverage on this historic storm in just a bit. However, right now lets turn to politics for just a moment. With ten days to go before the first president ial primary contest, there is new controversy this morning and some new signs of the deep divisions within the Republican Party. Overnight the conservative National Review was disinvited as a sponsor of next months republican debate. Heres why. The magazine published its new issue last night devoted entirely to defeating donald trump. The issue titled against trump included a scathing editorial calling trump a menace to conservatism. It also included essays by some 22 conservative thinkers, including Erick Erickson and glenn beck. Trump responding on twitter, of course, calling the National Review a failing publication that has lost its way. Amid the conservative onslaught, trump has also just released his first negative attack ad of the campaign, targeting the primary conservative candidate, ted cruz. It uses cruzs own words against him on the topic of immigration. Here it is. Sounded like you wanted the bill to pass. Of course i wanted the bill to pass, my amendment to pass. What my you said the bill. Is take citizenship off the table, but it doesnt mean it doesnt mean that i supported the other aspects of the bill. On the other side, ted cruz also out with a new ad hitting donald trump on the issue of Eminent Domain. Eminent domain, fancy term for politicians seizing private property to enrich the fat cats who bank roll them, like trump. I think Eminent Domain is wonderful. It made him rich, like when trump colluded with Atlantic City insiders to bulldoze the home of an elderly widow. During Campaign Events last night, both men continued to hammer each other over the establishment with cruz continuing his attack, pinning trump as the establishment choi choice, while trump fired back with this. If you want someone to continue the cronyism, to continue the corporate welfare, to continue the corruption of washington, from washington picking winners and losers, then were seeing the washington establishment run behind donald trump. Ted is getting very, very nervous. He should get nervous because a lot of polls are coming out. Theyre not looking good for ted. Theyre not looking good. You know, his new line of attack is that ive become establishment. Oh, give me a break. [ laughter ] msnbcs beth fouhy is here with me now. Lets start with this National Review against trump issue here. Heres another snippet of the editorial, reading in part donald trump is a menace to american conservatism who would take the work of generations and trample it under foot in behalf of a populism as heedless and crude as the donald himself. It is the largest conservative magazine in circulation in this country. Nothing appears to have hurt Donald Trumps campaign so far. Is there any reason to believe that its going to be different this time around . I guess they wanted to go down shouting and thats what they did. Yeah, this is significant, craig, i would argue. I mean, these are not just, you know, intellectuals sitting up in their ivory tower. These are people that the conservatives listen to, on both sort of the demographically lower end of the scale as well as people on the upper end of the scale. People like Erick Erickson that you mentioned. So, yeah, this is significant that these guys are coming out this way. Whats just so confusing is, though what does it even mean to be establishment anymore . Trumps the establishment, cruz is the establishment, neither one is establishment, the establishment is against trump, may be for trump. Bob dole came out saying he would vote for trump over cruz. Its very confusing. This is perhaps my favorite sound bite from yesterday, from South Carolina senior senator Lindsey Graham. This is what he said. Take a listen. If you nominate trump and cruz, i think you get the same outcome, you know, whether its death by being shot or poisoning, does it really matter . I dont think the outcome will be substantially different. Heres my take dishonest, which is Hillary Clinton in the eyes of the american people, beats crazy. I gather that Lindsey Graham is calling both ted cruz and donald trump a little nuts, but is that what were looking at here . I mean, is this the fight inside the Republican Party now, which candidate is the crazeyest that we can tolerate . Dont you miss Lindsey Graham . I wish he were still in the race so do i. Because hes so fun. Look, hes representing a certain strand of the establishment Republican Party. Hes the mccain strand. Hes best friends with john mccain, the 2008 nominee. They are as establishment as they can come. Lindsey graham made no bones about it throughout his entire shortlived campaign that those guys were a menace, and he said so at every opportunity. So, yes, he is representing a certain strand of washington republicanism, which is exactly what trump and cruz are pushing back on. Beth fouhy, thank you, appreciate your insight. Now to the democratic race. Hillary clinton and Bernie Sanders are both campaigning in New Hampshire today. And with ten days until the iowa caucuses, Hillary Clinton is going after the vermont senator, trying to avoid a twostate sweep in iowa and New Hampshire, campaigning in the Hawkeye State yesterday. Clinton made her most aggressive case yet against the senator, describing his policies as unrealistic and accusing him of being naive on foreign policy. Now, in theory, theres a lot to like about some of his ideas, but in theory isnt enough. A president has to deliver in reality. Sometimes it can sound like he hasnt really thought it through. For example, he suggested we invite iranian troops into syria. That is like asking the arsonist to be the firefighter. Sanders pushing back, citing some new polls showing that he fairs better than clinton does in headtohead matchups against republicans. Secretary clinton defeats mr. Trump by nine points. We beat him by 23 points. All of which reaffirms my love for the smart people in the state of New Hampshire. All of this as a new poll shows that clinton is trailing sanders by eight points in iowa. Thats that cnn orc poll. Nbcs Kristen Welker joins me now from our washington bureau. Kristen, some stark numbers for clinton in that new iowa poll. The airwaves in iowa also heating up. The clinton camp out with a new ad this morning. I want to play just a snippet of it for our viewers and listeners. Here it is. The world a president has to grapple with. Sometimes you cant even imagine. Thats the job, and shes prepared for it like no other. A tireless secretary of state standing up against the abuse of women and girls, negotiating a ceasefire in gaza, leading the diplomacy that keeps us out of war. Kristen, how does this play into clintons strategy, her current strategy in iowa . Reporter well, its a lot like that 3 00 a. M. Phone call ad back in 2008, right, craig . And it speaks to her experience, and shes also making an argument about electability, making the case that shes the most battletested, she has the wounds to prove that shes gone head to head against republicans in the past. But the big question for secretary clinton, is it going to work this time . It didnt work back in 2008, but of course, Bernie Sanders, barack obama, two very different candidates. Barack obama had the support of a number of establishment republicans. You talk about the establishment. He certainly had that, and thats something that Bernie Sanders doesnt necessarily have, whereas secretary clinton has really shored up support among that part of the electorate. Where she struggles right now, though, craig, are among younger voters, that part of the Obama Coalition thats really fired up right now around Bernie Sanders. The question for sanders is, are those voters actually going to turn out when its time to caucus and during the primary in New Hampshire . So, those are the key question marks. And will this question about electability and experience work for secretary clinton a Second Time Around . Lets talk about New Hampshire for a second here. Sanders holding a strong lead there in recent polls. Whats the clinton strategy in that state specifically . Reporter well, in addition to the electability and experience argument, you notice that former president bill clinton made his first stop in New Hampshire. They are making the case to New Hampshire that, look, we have a strong connection to you as well. That is the state where bill clinton proclaimed that he was the comeback kid, when he came in second place during his first election, and thats the place where secretary clinton won back in 2008, really revived her hopes for winning the nomination. So, theyre trying tap into that part of the electorate that knows them, that trusts them. And then shes also reaching out to independents and a lot of undecided voters, a lot of voters in New Hampshire make their decision at the last minute, craig, and thats what theyre betting on. Kristen welker from d. C. For us this morning. Kristen, thank you. Hillary clinton will be holding a town hall in rochester, New Hampshire, in the next hour, the first of three Campaign Events today in the Granite State for the former secretary of state. With the New Hampshire primary now just 18 days away, a new cnn wmur poll out this week shows that clinton is trailing Bernie Sanders in New Hampshire by a whopping 27 points. Another recent monmouth poll shows sanders with a smaller but still significant 14point lead. I want to bring in New Hampshire senator jeanne shaheen, who endorsed Hillary Clinton way back in august. Senator, good to see you. Thanks for being with me on a friday. Nice to be here in sunny New Hampshire and not in washington. Hillary clinton said yesterday that she is not interested in any ideas that will never happen in the real world. I want to play some clips for you and get your reaction. First, Hillary Clinton campaigning against barack obama back in 2008. Its followed by what she said yesterday. Here it is. You are not going to wave a magic wand and have the special interests disappear. I wish that we could elect a democratic president who could wave a magic wand. Similar language there. Senator, is Hillary Clinton, is she the establishment candidate, in addition to being the experienced candidate whos negotiated foreign governments . Is she the establishment candidate . Well, as you all just pointed out earlier on your program, whos the establishment candidate and who isnt is really depend upon whos talking. So, i think the question is, which of these candidates in the race is in it for the long haul, understands what we need to do in this country to continue the progress of the last eight years under barack obama. Hillary has been around New Hampshire for not only months in this campaign, but for years. Shes listened to New Hampshire families, shes listened to families across this country, she understands that what they want to see is a Strong Economy where they can get good jobs with a living wage. They want to be able to send their kids to good schools. They want to have a secure retirement. And she not only understands that, but she understands how to make that happen. She doesnt need any onthejob training. Why is she trailing by so much in your state . You know, the polls are going to go up and down. Ive worked in president ial primaries since jimmy carter, and i can tell you that about a month out in 2004, when i was supporting john kerry, howard dean was ahead 4613, so so, the polls are bad. Theyre going to go up and down. But one of the things this poll showed that was interesting was that fully 49 of people said that they had not definitely made up their mind about who they were going to support. Bernie sanders appears to be connecting with a number of voters who are angry about the economic disparities in this country. This is the senator talking about Goldman Sachs this week on the campaign trail. Here it is. A huge and powerful Financial Institution functions illegally, destroys the economy. Nobody gets charged with anything. This same Financial Institution provides huge amounts of money in Campaign Contributions and in speaking fees to unnamed candidates. That is what a corrupt system is about. I think the unnamed candidate probably Hillary Clinton, safe to say there, senator. The New York Times reporting yesterday Goldman Sachs has paid Hillary Clinton 675,000 for three speeches in recent years. She was paid millions more by other wall street firms along with her husband, theyve been paid more than 125 million for paid speeches since 2001. That is, of course, not the kind of money that most americans can relate to. Were the speeches a mistake, senator . Listen, voters are angry, and i dont blame them, because theyve been watching a washington that has been divisive, that hasnt worked together. And i believe we need a candidate whos not going to further divide this country but whos going to unite it. But thats not my question, senator. Thats one of the reasons im supporting hillary. Well, your first question was, are voters angry, and i would say yes. No, i never asked that question. I think thats well established. The question was, are the speeches, were the speeches a mistake . Did it make sense to accept close to look, it doesnt matter whether you support that or not. The fact is, thats in the past, just as bernies socialism, he claims, is in the past. So, the question is, what do voters want to see now from the candidates, and who can deliver . And thats what i believe the difference is between the candidates in this race. On both, on the democratic side and on the republican side. Senator jeanne shaheen. Well have to leave it there. Senator, thank you so much. Coming to us from a balmy New Hampshire. Thank you. A sunny New Hampshire. A sunny New Hampshire. Right. The governor of michigan speaking out exclusively to msnbc this morning in his first tv interview on the flint water crisis. Republican Governor Rick Snyder says he is frustrated and angry. There are a number of failures there that these people this was a terrible tragedy that these people work for me and thats why it was important to accept responsibility. And my focus is on fixing this problem. This comes as researchers say there is a connection between flints toxic tap water and a deadly spike in legionnaires disease. Were live in flint with several new developments this morning, and we, of course, continue to track this monster winter storm. A live look right now. I believe this is roanoke, virginia. There it is. Weve got lots more live reporting from up and down the east coast. This is msnbc live. To folks out there whose diabetic nerve pain. Shoots and burns its way into your day, i hear you. To everyone with this pain that makes ordinary tasks extraordinarily painful, i hear you. Make sure your doctor hears you too i hear you because i was there when my dad suffered with diabetic nerve pain. If you have diabetes and burning, shooting pain in your feet or hands, dont suffer in silence step on up and ask your doctor about diabetic nerve pain. Tell em cedric sent you. With roc® multi correxion® 5 in 1. Proven to hydrate dryness, illuminate dullness, lift sagging, diminish the look of dark spots, and smooth the appearance of wrinkles. High performance skincare™ only from roc®. dog mmm, beneful healthy weand lowcalorie. Keeps me looking good. Hey, i get some looks, i hear the whistles. vo beneful healthy weight, a delicious, lowcalorie meal your dog will love. With wholesome rice, real chicken, and accents of vegetables and apples. So what about this . Your old technology. 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What is so frustrating and makes you so angry about the situation is you have a handful of experts that were Career Civil Service people that made terrible decisions, in my view. And we have to live with the consequences with that. Governor snyder there blaming the experts in michigan. Meanwhile, the epa calling the city and states response to the crisis inadequate. Also giving Governor Snyder one day to respond to an emergency order requiring officials to take several steps to restore clean water and the publics trust. Meanwhile, an epa official who overseas the region that includes flint has announced that she is resigning effective february 1st. Msnbcs Tony Dokoupil has been on the story for weeks. Tony, what else did Governor Snyder have to say, and what more do we know about that emergency order . Reporter well, Governor Snyder on morning joe this morning said, look, im sorry, but im going to fix this. And what the epa said in their very strongly worded letter that came out late yesterday is we dont trust you to fix it, we dont think youve done enough so far and dont trust the people underneath you to do the right thing this time. So, theyve issued an order under the Safe Drinking Water act. The first part is to create a website for all water tests in flint since 2013 to be posted and revealed. Under scrutiny there. Two, to continue to add Corrosion Inhibitors to the water. Thats important. Thats the reason lead leeched into the water and got into the bodies of the people here in flint. So, the epa saying please do that now. Were not sure you are doing it yet. And number three, work with a panel of independent experts. Clearly, the epa is saying to the governor and to the state of michigan, you didnt do it right the first time, were not going to trust you to do it right this time. Well put our people on it and make sure this is done right, craig. Tony dokoupil continuing to follow the story in flint, michig michigan. Tony, thank you. Coming up could there perhaps be a Silver Lining of sorts with this monster storm thats blanketing much of the country . Msnbcs Olivia Sterns is going to talk about the economic benefits of snow. Why fit in when you were born to stand out. The 2016 Nissan Altima has arrived. They represent blood cells. And if you have afiban irregular heartbeat that may put you at five times greater risk of stroke they can pool together in the heart, forming a clot that can break free and travel upstream to the brain, where it can block blood flow and cause a stroke. But if you have afib thats not caused by a heart valve problem, pradaxa can help stop clots from forming. Pradaxa was even proven superior to warfarin at reducing the risk of stroke, in a Clinical Trial without the need for regular blood tests. 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Go with pradaxa, the only blood thinner that lowers your risk of stroke better than warfarin and has a specific reversal treatment. Talk to your doctor about pradaxa today. Everything kids touch during cold and flu season sticks with them. Make sure the germs they bring home dont stick around. Use clorox disinfecting products. Because no one kills germs better than clorox. Weinto a new american century. Born with a hunger to fly and a passion to build something better. And what an amazing time its been, decade after decade of innovation, inspiration and wonder. So, we say thank you america for a century of trust, for the privilege of flying higher and higher, together. We are back now with our continuing coverage of the monster blizzard that is hitting the eastern third of this country. We just got word from North Carolinas governor that, sadly, three people have been killed so far in accidents on snow and icecovered roads there in North Carolina. Nbcs Gabe Gutierrez joins us live now from charlotte, North Carolina, with more. Gabe, what can you tell us . Reporter hi there, craig. Good morning. Its been an absolute mess throughout the morning. We saw snow, we saw freezing rain, weve seen sleet. Thank flae thankfully, a small break right now, but the roads have had dangerous conditions all morning, plenty of accidents, and now a big concern is Power Outages. Weve already had reports of several thousand already. Charlotte is expected to get possibly about as much as a half inch or so of ice, and that could be very dangerous. Back two years ago, an ice storm then paralyzed this city. Bus service is closed, schools are closed here in charlotte, and as you can see from some drone video we shot earlier, it was just an absolute mess on the roadways this morning. Now, another thing thats been canceled, later today there had been a pep rally scheduled for the Carolina Panthers. That, again, has been canceled. The panthers are set to play, of course, this sunday in the huge nfc championship game. The team tweeting out this morning that we will be ready. Now, this is part of that system that youve been talking about. Its heading towards the northeast. There have been many Flight Cancellations here in charlotte. American airlines has canceled all of its flights into and out of charlotte. That is a major hub. Around the country, cancellations are piling up and will have a Ripple Effect over the next couple of days. As you look at the misery map right now from flight aware, you can see that there will be plenty of travel problems over the next few days. Here in charlotte, again, were expecting Power Outages throughout the day and ice is the major concern here, craig. You mentioned the nfc championship game on sunday. What about the cardinals coming from arizona to charlotte . Is there a concern that the team may not make it . Reporter well, its all a real big question right now. I know there is a major concern about the fans that are trying to get here from arizona and from other parts of the country. It will be very difficult to get here. As i mentioned, American Airlines shutting down service here to charlotte. Right now, the earliest that they expect to open the airport back up might be some time tomorrow. But craig, as you know and as weve been hearing about, the rest of the northeast, this could take days to sort out, and this Ripple Effect will make it very difficult for these fans to get here. Right now, though, there is no talk of canceling the game, postponing the game or anything like that. Again, the Carolina Panthers tweeting that we will be ready. In fact, theyre practicing today for it, and the team holding a News Conference with officials to discuss that in just a little bit. So, craig, certainly a lot at stake here for that game, but right now, more immediate, people here are dealing with very dangerous conditions on the roads. Sure. Reporter officials here in charlotte are urging people that if they dont have to be out today to stay home. Craig . Gabe gutierrez for us in charlotte, North Carolina on this friday morning. Gabe, thank you. The blizzard heading to the northeast this hour also generating some political headlines as well. New york citys mayor has called on new jerseys governor to get off the campaign trail and come home. Woah father, why cant we have directv like the macgregors do . Were settlers, son. We settle for things. Like having cable instead of directv. Hey, jebediah, hows it going . Working the land. Hoping for a fertile spring. All right. So we have to live with lower Customer Satisfaction . Im afraid so. Now go churn us some butter, boy, and then make your own clothes. Yes, sir. vo dont be a settler. Get rid of cable and upgrade to directv. Call 1800directv. Theand to help you accelerate,. Weve created a new company. One totally focused on whats next for your business. 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And the effects of the historic blizzard are starting to play out on the campaign trail as well with new york city mayor bill de blasio slamming new Jersey Governor Chris Christie for remaining in New Hampshire, where hes campaigning. This is what he said during an appearance on cnn a short time ago. I think he needs to come back. Look, a day or two ago, it might have been a question mark. Right now its not a question mark anymore. And obviously, we are being warned that it could even be worse. And we find this out with each storm. Sometimes its less than we expected, sometimes its more. So, for any governor, its time to come home. Msnbcs beth fouhy is back. Let me play devils advocate here. What business is it of bill de blasio what new jerseys governor is doing on a friday or saturday . I think hes trolling him a little bit. But lets face it, we do have like a regional weather control issue around here, so its not that surprising that de blasio would want his counterpart in new jersey running that big state to be around to talk to. I mean, look, weve seen this before with the governor of new jersey. He actually made a lot of people very upset a few years ago when he actually stayed in disney world rather than coming back for another big snowstorm in 2010. This year hes running for president up there in New Hampshire. Hes not leaving. He made very clear yesterday that he wasnt going to go. Hes got a robust schedule of events today, also tomorrow, although he did say apparently earlier in New Hampshire that he is rethinking his decision to stay up there and might come back if things get bad. Coming up, a run on shovels, snow shovels, supermarket shelves. Up next, updates from citizen journalist coming into our newsroom. Well look at that. Also, stay with us for more coverage from the first major winter storm of the year, impacting some 88 million folks. A live look right now at roanoke, virginia. We saw them shoveling some snow, plowing some snow a short time ago. It appears as if all of that snow has returned. Everyones lookin red carpet ready. My man, lemme guess who youre wearing. Toenail fungus . Whaaat . . Fight it with jublia. Jublia is a prescription medicine. Used to treat toenail fungus. Use jublia as instructed by your doctor. Jublia is workin it most common side effects include. Ingrown toenail, application site redness,. Itching, swelling, burning. Or stinging, blisters, and pain. Oh fight it with jublia now thats a red carpet moment ask your doctor if jublia is right for you. Visit our website for savings on larger size. Arent moving in the right direction,bers it can be a burden. But what if you could wake up to lower blood sugar . Imagine loving your numbers. Discover oncedaily invokana®. 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Back now with new numbers on Power Outages, Flight Cancellations and how people are sharing their experiences online. Msnbcs cal perry has been looking at all of this for us. What are you seeing, buddy . A lot coming in as the storm gets stronger it starts to move faster. Let me start with the new viral image thats sort of making its way online. This is nasas image of the storm taken last night. You can see it is massive. You can barely make out the states on the map. Its just fairly absurd. You mentioned Power Outages. Let me take you to the state of georgia, where were seeing Power Outages grow. Right now theyve got 5,245 customers, they say, that are being affected. This is coming from the georgia Power Company. We are seeing a run on almost everything in the stores, craig, all of the essentials bread, milk and snow shovels as well. Weve got some video. This is from a home depot in gaithersburg, maryland, just outside of washington, d. C. , where there are no more snow shovels. Rock salt has also been something that people are making a run on. And in fairfax county, weve been sent a new photograph of the plow trucks lining up ready to go. They are staging in areas around the city. You can take a look at that there. Thats actually from my wife, whos out driving around looking for milk, of which there is none in any of the stores. The last thing i want to show you is the nowinfamous misery map. This is airports around the united states. Charlotte is completely shut down. Thats a nogo area. D. C. And new york starting to feel the misery. This is chicago where if youre trying to fly west, youre not going to get anywhere, not anymore. Miami is dealing with the tail end of this storm. So, miami, atlanta and new york the major airports in this country now starting to really feel the effects of the storm, craig. All right, cal perry. Cal, thank you. Coming up, what might be the Silver Lining to the blizzard thats blanketing much of this country. Up next, the economic benefits of snow . Well take a look at that. Theres only one egg that just tastes better. Fresher. More flavorful. Delicious. With more great nutrition. And 25 less saturated fat. Only egglands best. Better taste. Better nutrition. Better eggs. The 88th southern parallel. We had traveled for over 850 miles. My men driven nearly mad from starvation and frostbite. Today we make history. Bienvenidos welcome to the south pole if youre dora the explorer, you explore. Its what you do. What took you so long . If you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. Its what you do. You did it, yay i am totally blind. I lost my sight in afghanistan. If youre totally blind, you may also be struggling with non24. Calling 8448442424. Or visit my24info. Com. We have been covering the monster blizzard that is hitting the eastern third of this country. Nbc news meteorologist dylan drier still on the road for us in virginia, i81. Mount crawford, is that right . Is that where you are . Mount crawford, virginia, yes, in western virginia. We have been traveling along i81 for a long time now. Its been a slow go. But we have been driving into some lighter batches of snow. We are kind of driving out of the heart of the meat of the storm and driving into where the storm is headed so we are certainly going to see everything that we already passed and drove through head now towards washington, d. C. Right along with us. You can see on the front camera, we are in the bluemobile. Very heavy truck, it handles very well in these types of conditions. You can see that the road was recently plowed. Because temperatures are so cold, its been this light fluffy snow thats been blowing around. You should see the snow dust, i guess, tossing back behind us. You can actually see this vehicle thats about to go. Does reduce visibility. Thats going to be the main concern when this storm makes its way to washington, d. C. Because its going to be this light fluffy snow at first, and we are also going to see winds gust up near 60 Miles Per Hour. That explains the blizzardlike conditions that we are likely to see. Thats when visibility is reduced to under a quarter of a mile for a threehour period of time with winds gusting over 35 Miles Per Hour. Those are no doubt the conditions we are going to see as we see this thing strengthen off the midatlantic. There are still a lot of vehicles on the roads right now, a lot of tractor trailers. For anyone in the washington, d. C. Area or baltimore or philadelphia or new york city, hang on one second, you will lose we should be coming back right about now. Okay. Its that overpass thing. Yeah, this is all headed towards those major cities so get done what you need to get done now, because once this starts, you do not want to be out driving in it. All right. The unflappable dylan for us on i81 making her way to our Nations Capital. Thank you. Heres an interesting twist to this weather story. This monster storm could actually be good for the stock market. Msnbcs business and tech correspondent Olivia Sterns is with me. Explain this. How is this good for the market . Since the start of the year, the stock market has been falling as the price of oil has been plunging but because of this cold snap and this pending storm, demand for heating oil right now is actually surging and as you can see, that is helping spark a bit of a rally on wall street. This is what happened to the price of crude today. West texas intermediate, our american benchmark, trading above 31. To give you some perspective, we are still down about 16 since the start of the year but this is a huge move higher, up 6 . Right now i think its actually up about 7 . Today alone, because everybody is realizing we are actually going to have to use some fuel this winter to actually heat our homes, because it is indeed going to get a little bit colder. This sounds like correlation, not necessarily causation. Yes. Everything i say is correlation, not causation. Im not giving financial advice. We appreciate the candor. Thank you. While i do have you here, can we bring you back really quick . Update on the markets for folks who i would love to. Another thing, causing a lot of optimism out there, some really good numbers coming out of the housing sector this morning. Lets see if we can show you existing home sales. A record increase in the number of existing home sales, up 14. 7 in the month of december, to 5. 5 million, this is really good news because another thing thats been happening over the past couple of weeks is investors are getting worried about signals they are seeing coming out of the economy but this is really good sign, a real sign of strength in the housing sector. One of the big drivers of the economy. So we have this, we have 5 unemployment and a booming car sector so maybe down below 16,000 is actually oversold. Look at that. The dow now up just over 16,000. Correlation. Correlation. Not causation. Olivia, thank you. A big thanks to you as well. Of course, the big story of the day continues to be that massive winter storm that is walloping and is set to wallop for the next 36 hours much of the eastern seaboard. Some 85 Million People in this country right now are under a watch, a warning or an advisory of some sort. A live look at i81 in virginia. You can see the roads not packed. We expect this to be the case in many of the major cities up and down the eastern seaboard on this friday into saturday as well. That does it for this hour of msnbc live. Im craig melvin. Up next, Andrea Mitchell reports. Why blend in with the crowd . Why shy away from the extraordinary . Why fit in, when you were born to stand out . The 2016 Nissan Altima has arrived. Ive had moderate to Severe Plaque Psoriasis most of my life. But that hasnt stopped me from modeling. 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In a medical study, most stelara® patients saw at least 75 clearer skin and the majority were rated as cleared or minimal at 12 weeks. Stelara® helps keep my skin clearer. Ask your doctor about stelara®. Right now on Andrea Mitchell reports snowed in. A massive winter storm moving up the east coast. Already, the Charlotte Airport is a ghost town. Others are following. The federal government closing this hour as the storm barrels north. We have seen snow, we have seen sleet, we have seen freezing rain. We are certainly in the thick of the snow right now. We have a forecast that i dont think weve had in 90 years. This storm will be deadly. We need people off the streets. We do a lot of things well in washington, d. C. , but snow is not one of them. Stronger than the storm . Chris christie says he can still do his day job despite his full Campaign Schedule today in New Hampshire. I think the fact that governor christie is not here is a real problem. Governor christie should be here and declaring a state of emergency. We know hes not going to win so you know, he should be here. And cold shoulders. Ten days to the first president ial contest and it is getting brutal out there. We are saying the washington establishment abandoning marco rubio. Ted is getting very very nervous. He should get nervous. They are rushing to support donald trump. I have become establishment. Give me a break. They said hes someone we can make a deal with. You know what . Theres a point at which lets get to be a little establishment. Im not interested in ideas that sound good on paper. Secretary clinton is saying is that Bernie Sanders is unelectable. We are not just picking a president. We are also choosing a commander in chief. She just cannot defeat a republican candidate in a general