0 disclose classified information, we will not be able to keep our people safe or conduct foreign policy. moreover, the sen sagsal way it game out shed more heat than light. good morning to you kristen. >> reporter: good morning, alex. president obama is hoping the changes he's announced to the government surveillance program will reassure critics at home and abroad. this morning, some argue the president punted on reform speaking at the justice department, mr. obama announced several reforms saying the government should no longer store mass phone records and calling on the attorney general to recommend and alternative method. records can only be accessed through court order and banned spying on foreign allies. reaction was swift. house speaker john boehner accused the president of failing to adequately explain the necessity of the programs. they called for more restraint on the nsa. some of the intelligence community, including former nsa director, michael hayden expressed concerns security could be weakened. the data was put in place after the september 11th attacks. as a candidate in 2008, mr. obama was a critic of the program. now, he's learning how hard it is to reign in such techniques. meantime, edward snowden supporters say the president's announcement is an indication. snowden brought more heat rather than light to the debate and he defended the surveillance program saying change is necessary to prevent the possibility of future abuse. alex? >> kristen at the white house, thank you so much. also new this morning, president obama calling for both parties to work together to expand opportunities for the middle class. >> prime to bring back more good jobs claimed by the e session and lost to competition in recent decades. that requires a year of action. i want to work with congress on proven ways to create jobs like building infrastructure and fixing the broken immigration system. >> president obama signed the 1.1 trillion dollar spending bill that funds the government. he signed it one day before federal funding would have run out. we are learning more details into the george washington bridge scandal that went to the heart of governor chris christie's administration. they release add list of 20 individuals and offices that received subpoenas in the last two days. joining me with the story is michael isikoff. michael? >> hi, alex. chris christie travels to florida on a political fund raising trip to put bridgegate documents be turned over in two weeks, by february 5th. that's just a start. the lawmakers expect there will be subpoenas for testimony. some called would take the fifth amendment. one that could stretch on for some time. alex? >> okay, michael isikoff in washington. thank you michael. florida congresswoman is trailing chris christie. we are going to ask why democrats are so interested in the governor of new jersey. what's being called the worst drought in nearly a century prompted jerry brown to take swift action. >> i'm declaring a drought emergency in the state of california. because we are facing perhaps the worst drought that california has ever seen since records began being kept about 100 years ago. >> this announcement comes as more than 1,000 firefighters continue to battle this fast-moving blaze. this is east of los angeles. joe is out there with the latest. joe, you have this draught. that means a water crisis as well, right? >> that's rilgt. it's a big concern right now. the reservoirs are down low. the governor started urging residents of california to cut back on their water use by 20%. it's not a mandatory order. if things continue to get worse, you could see something more mandatory and already states and municipalities are putting strict water restrictions on their residence. this comes as firefighters continue to battle the stubborn fire outside los angeles. a rare january wildfire. it's really a symptom of this larger problem. the extreme dry weather that's affecting a number of states in the west, but especially california. the draught's impact is felt by farmers and ranchers. we have spoken with some ranchers who say because there's so little rain, there's no grass to feed their cattle. they are forced to sell part of their herd in order to stay afloat. with no rain coming in the future, they need a lot of precipitation to help get back on track. in the end, of course, the big problem is that the jet stream is stuck up north. they are not getting any snow or rain down here. really, right now, the snowpack in the sierra nevada provides a lot of water to a good chunk of california. that snowpack is incredibly low. >> in regard to the fires, are they getting under control? i have a friend that lives there sending me text pictures. they are horrific. the entire mountain behind her ablaze in flame. >> last night at the news conference, they said they are making progress. the winds have died down a bit. the conditions are making it easier to fight the fire. last check last night, it was 30% contained. they felt they were getting ahead of it. the fire is in a better situation. the santa ana winds fueling the fire have died down. >> at least mother nature is helping out that way. joe friar from los angeles. there are two other weather extremes. dangerous surf in paradise. beach goers had to be rescued. from the beach to the bitter cold, the polar vortex is expected to come back next week. dylan dreier is here with the forecast. good morning. >> good morning, alex. we are talking about another polar vortex. this one is not as intense as the last one. we are going to see things cool down over the course of the next couple days as we get into next week where we see temperatures below average. not as far below as it was when we had the big cool down and the arctic air mass last time. we are going to notice a chill. right now, 39 degrees in new york city. it's cold in minneapolis and chicago. right now around 11, 12 degrees. the rest of the country is seeing temperatures above average this morning. it is going to stay above average through this afternoon. a couple spots of wintry weather. in the northeast, central and northern new england we see most of the accumulating snow in massachusetts. it is mostly rain at this point and starting to lift to the north. eastern pennsylvania and parts of up state new york see snow. minneapolis and rochester, minnesota, we will see snow. we are looking at three to six inches. they are quick, move in and move out of here. we have seen quite a few of those recently. scattered snow showers in and around boston. temperatures around 40 degrees. it mixes with rain. 22 in chicago with one to three inches of snow. 43 in atlanta. dallas looks nice at 63 degrees today. the warm air moves up to denver by sunday. 60 for a high. 59 in kansas city. cool in the northeast. the coldest air holds off before that moves in. alex? >> thank you for that. other headlines, police say a driver struck a pedestrian in a parking lot as she tried to flee after a hit and run accident. it was caught on tape in a parking lot there in a walmart in arizona. the car being chased spins out of control, hits a shopper returning to a parked car. it was take ton the hospital with serious, but not life-threatening injuries. there is word this morning the security breach that compromised credit cards for target customers is part of a larger scam. a cyber security firm that works with the secret service said other retailers were probably hacked as well. the malware was at six other addresses. we don't know which ones. neiman marcus said their customers rr compromised s. ax chemical spill that left hundreds of thousands of people without water is filing bankruptcy. many lawsuits by businesses forced to shut down for days. it was tainted after a chemical leaked and wound up in the river contaminating the state's largest water system. a new jaw dropping comment from vladimir putin with less than a month to go before the sochi games. is comparing bridgegate to watergate fair? 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