A huge part of the country in its grip as the dreaded polar vortex moves south. Parts of 16 states will see temperatures below zero and windchills that make it feel a lot colder. Yes, its winter. Its february, its supposed to be cold, but as weve come to know cold snaps of this extreme can be deadly, and in this case tens of millions of people are bracing for the biggest chill so far this season. In a moment, al roker, but we begin with nbcs ron mott in boston. Reporter 65 million americans bundled up against the brutal cold as the ever present polar vortex unleashes winters harshest bite yet. The winds are like knifecutting into your friend. Reporter today the snow brought a burst of snow as far south as tennessee and the carolinas causing trouble for commuters. Commuters also stranded in new york where cold weather likely contributed to train delays during rush hour. In pennsylvania, a broken water pipe left this home frosted over, and in chicago extra care with their valentines day deliveries. Its terrible for flowers. If they are frozen, they are gone. Reporter here at fenway park the red sox are heading south to florida for spring training, giving up their home to skiers and snowboarders who are literally jumping for joy. And further north in maine the biathlon world cup left competitors with frozen faces. Record low temperatures are possible from minnesota to the midatlantic. Buffalos forecast for saturday, 2 degrees. Bostons looking at 4 below sunday morning and new york city is bracing for zero, toppling a 100yearold record, so cold in fact that saturdays annual central park ice festival cancelled. You should take this weather very, very seriously. We dont see these temperatures very often, and they can be lifethreatening. Reporter here in the boston area, the windchills are forecast to dip down to 20 to 30 below zero over the weekend, even colder in some places, as low as 40 below zero and obviously at those temperatures frostbite becomes a real concern. Long, as little as ten minutes. Lester. Ron mott, thanks very much. Al roker is here. Al, walk us through this. So lester, the beginning of this cold air is way up in greenland. Were talking temperatures of 60 below across the Greenland Ice sheath. Youve got low pressure over quebec and this strong low pressure system with the clockwise, counterclockwise flow around it it brings that cold air, brutally cold air into the continental united states, so low temperatures tomorrow morning, burlington minus 12, 5 in cleveland and 10 chicago and 17 in charlotte and 21 in atlanta. Highs tomorrow, 19 in new york, 13 cleveland and 14 chicago but as ron mentioned those windchills are brutal. Minus 6 in new york and minus 4 in cincinnati and minus 13 in chicago, and then we bottom out on sunday morning, but the good news, lester, by tuesday temperatures rebound into the 50s and 30s. Everybody either at or above normal. All right. Al roker, thanks very predictions its getting nasty on the campaign trail in South Carolina as donald trump lobbed another socalled birther attack today threatening to sue ted cruz for, quote, not being a natural born citizen. If cruz doesnt as trump clean up his act and that battle is just one of several fronts opening up as the gop candidates sharpen their attacks on each other. Nbcs Gabe Gutierrez is on the trail in greenville, South Carolina. Reporter fresh off autographing a baby in louisiana, republican frontrunner donald trump is now leaving a new signature on this race, threatening to sue his closest rival ted cruz for not being a natural born citizen. On twitter the billionaire calling the texas senator a liar for running negative ads against him. Theres more than a little irony in donald accusing anyone of being nasty given the amazing torrent of insults and obscenities and vulgarities that come out of his mouth. Reporter these voters have serious concerns about trump repeated a vulgarity and described him this way. Leader. Flashy. Alpha dog. Rich. Dogmatic. Narcissistic. Inspirational. Reporter cruz himself is mocking his opponent in a series of new ads, this one against marco rubio backfired. Makes me feel dumb for trusting them. Maybe you should vote for more than just a pretty face next time. Reporter Cruz Campaign yanking it after the revelation that actress had appeared in adult films. We would not have cast her had we known of that history. Reporter rubio today firing back in an exclusive interview. The bottom line is they were actor, and i think thats part of a bigger problem that ted has, and that is he tries to act like the only consistent conservative in this race. Its just not true. Hes a recalculated political operative. Reporter all this as several gop hopefuls try to court crucial evangelical voters. Faith is the most important influence in my night. One night reading the bible i just got a reporter tonight amid a flouriflurry of attacks serenity in this race is hard to find. The republican candidates are set to face off in another debate tomorrow. The stakes may be highest for marco rubio. Hes expected to take some of the heaviest fire, especially from his mentor and fellow Floridian Jeb bush. Lester. All right, gabe, thank you. Attacks are flying dontic side of the race with Bernie Sanders accusing Hillary Clinton of hitting him with a, quote, low blow on the debate stage last night, and a heated battle over the Different Directions they take on health care in this country. Lets get more from nbcs andrea mitchell. Reporter trying to reboot her campaign, Hillary Clinton accused Bernie Sanders of being disloyal to president obama who is hugely popular with minorities in the primaries and caucuses to come. The kind of criticism that weve heard from senator sanders about our president i expect from republicans. Madam secretary, that is a lo below. Reporter and she proposed medicare for all, birthtodeath Government Health care sglan with health care, this is not about math, this is about peoples lives. The numbers dont add up, and i think once im in the white house we will have enough Political Capital to be able to do that. Secretary clinton, youre not in the white house yet and let us be clear that every proposal that i have introduced has been paid for. Reporter sanders would combine all Government Health plans into one, medicare, medicaid, veterans benefits, Childrens Health insurance and replace employerbased health care and private insurance. How to pay for it . Sanders would tax the rich. He says the middle class would pay 500 a year more in taxes, but average family would save 5,000 a year by eliminating insurance premiums. Who is correct here . There are a lot of tax increases but its certainly not clear that they would be expenses. Reporter nonbudget partisan experts say sanders hasnt given enough details and in canada and Great Britain which have Health Care People wait months for procedures, a form of rationing. There will be want to save money youll have to understand that your may be limited. Reporter and then the political costs, Getting Congress to pass his Health Care Plan with the most bruising fight of the Bernie Sanders is calling for a political revolution, a grass roots army he believes would compel congress to accept his vision. Lester . All right, andrea, thank you. The fbi is investigating a vicious attack that took place inside a restaurant in ohio. It happened when a man pulled out a machete and went on a ramp average, slashing and stabbing people as customers made panicked calls for help. The questions investigators are trying to answer why did he do it and could it have been an act terrorism . We get the late forest our justice correspondent pete williams. Reporter police restaurant around dinnertime, asked some questions and came back a short time late we are a machete. Some guy pulled out a machete and started stabbing people i ran out with my kids. There are several people injured here. Reporter some of those inside threw chairs to fight back. He ran out, drove away and was stopped after a fivemile chase. Police say he was shot and killed when he lunged holding a knife at one of them. The fbi immediately began searching the home of the man identified as the attacker, 30yearold mohammed barrie. Radical comments four years ago brought a brief look from the fbi and then moved on. Restaurant employees say when he first came in he asked where the owner is from. The owner is from israel, a christian arab. Investigators are looking at whether barrie may have mistakenly thougug he was jewish. Im a 50yearold man and been crying like a baby for the last 12 hours. Reporter four people were hurt, the foley who sings at the restaurant now in critical but stable condition. Were very grateful that our victims that sustained wounds last night are all expected to recover. Reporter investigators say they dont know why barrie attacked now and shows that target, no known connections with isis. It may be one Law Enforcement official says a blend of factors, a long simmering interest in radicalism and all the attention given to terror attacks worldwide. Pete williams, nbc news, washington. The city of glendale, arizona is in shock and mourning after the shooting deaths of two 15yearold girls o o a high school campus. The girls, both sophomores, died of single gunshot wounds at independence high school. A gun found beside their bodies. Police say they are not pursuing any suspects, but they could not yet confirm if it was murder or suicide. Within a week a temporary crease fire in syria brokered with the help of the u. S. Is schedule to take effect, but key parties have been left out of the agreement our keir simmons now with a rare look inside syria where theres much skepticism over whether the deal will end the bloodshed. Reporter a little boy is pulled from rubble after an air strike. The video said to be in aleppo province was posted on facebook last week. Tonight there is little signs those air strikes will end, even with World Leaders including america and russia agreeing to a cessation of hostilities within one week and humidian aid to communities end siege suffering starvation. And what we have here are words on paper. What we need to see in the next few days are actions on the ground, in the field reporter Major Players in the fight, including syrian president Bashar Al Assad and the rebels fighting him are not part of the deal. Neither is isis. And today assad is vowing to retake the whole country. Very visibly in control of the capital damascus while outside the city his forces are clearly on the offensive. The syrian army advancing, backed by russian air strikes. They have gained momentum, the upper hand. Why would they stop now . While in damascus few people the fighting will stop. Do you believe there will be peace now. I dont think so. I think nobody nobody knows when the peace is gone. 6yearold ayas lex were broken while she was out buying cookies. Shes one of tens of thousands who have fled. Those still here losing hope. Keir simmons, nbc news, damascus. A major announcement from three federal agencies about a possible danger that nbc news first reported on nearly a year and a half. The government will investigate the potential health risks from a type of turf that Children Play on nbcs Stephanie Gosk has more. Reporter these soccer players, all goalies, all diagnosed with cancer, sparked a battle over the use of foam rubber, ground up car and truck tires in tens of thousands of turf field around the country. Today three federal agencies, including the epa, announced a new Research Plan to analyze the safety of crumb rubber. The existing studies do not comprehensively evaluate the concerns. Nbc news first reported on crumb rubber in october 2014. This is the stuff everybody is talking about. Reporter woman soccer coach amy griffin started asking questions after two of her goalies developed cancer, a conversation with Austin Everett who would later die of nonhodgkins lymphoma haunted her. She said i just have a feeling it has something to do with those block dots. Reporter coach started a list of goalies with cancer which grew from just a handful to now 75 following nbcs reports. There is no research linking crumb rubber and the industry points to dozens of studies as proof that their fields are safe, but the federal government today says more reacher is needed. The three agencies will analyze chemical compounds in the crumb rubber, measure exposure to those chemicals and reach out to concerned parents, scientists and Industry Leaders. Parents like this who now thehe use of crumb rubber hope that communities will hold off in installing new needs. Why not pause, use alternatives until this thing gets figured out because our children are certainly worth it. Reporter today Industry Leaders say they welcome the new research. In their words they hope the federal government can settle this matter once and for all. Lester . All right. Stephanie, thank you. Still ahead tonight, thieves after your medical records. Why you could be at risk without even knowing it, and one experts say you should never share with your Doctors Office in order to protect your identity. And the cost of of reach for those in this kindergarten class by the time they are old enough, b with the pain and swelling of my moderate to severe Rheumatoid Arthritis. Ordinary objects often seemed. Intimidating. Doing something simple. Meant enduring a lot of pain. If ra is changing your view of everyday things orencia may help. Orencia works differently by targeting a source of ra early in the inflammation process. For many, orencia provides longterm relief of ra symptoms. Its helped new ra patients and those not helped enough by other treatments. Do not take orencia with another biologic medicine for ra due to an increased risk of serious infection. Serious side effects can occur including fatal infections. Cases of lymphoma and lung cancer have been reported. Tell your doctor if youre prone to or have any infection like an open sore, the flu, or a history of copd, a chronic lung disease. Orencia may worsen your copd. If youre not getting the relief you need. Ask your doctor about orencia. Orencia. In a different way. The flu virus hits big. With aches, chills, and fever, theres no such thing as a little flu. And it needs a big solution an antiviral. So when the flu hits, call your doctor right away and up the ante with antiviral tamiflu. Prescription tamiflu is an antiviral that attacks the flu virus at its source and helps stop it from spreading in the body. Tamiflu is fda approved to treat the flu in people two weeks of age and o oer whose flu symptoms started within the last two days. Before taking tamiflu, tell your doctor if youre pregnant, nursing, have Serious Health conditions, or take other medicines. If you develop an allergic reaction, a severe rash, or signs of unusual behavior, stop taking tamiflu and call your doctor immediately. Children and adolescents in particular may be at an increased risk of seizures, confusion, or abnormal behavior. The most common side effects are mild to moderate nausea and vomiting. Hand now a warning about your most personal information as risk. Medical records being hacked, stolen and sold for fraud. Up 11,000 last year, roughly one out of every three americans has been hit, whether they know it or not, giving criminals a wealth of information that unlike compromised credit card numbers can last forever. What you can do to protect yourself. For john coon it was a simple xray after a snowboarding accident that turned into an accounting nightmare when the hospital billed him 20,000 for surgery he never had. I had to go down in front of the Billing Department no less and pull up my shirt and show them that i did not have any major scarring on my stomach at all. Reporter it turns out the hospitals hard drive h h been stolen along with johns medical records. Just one of the 100 Million Health care records stolen last year alone. Many of those records show up for sale on the dark web where hackers openly advertise themselves stolen. This site offers fresh health care profiles stolen last april in california boasting you can use those profiles for normal fraud stuff or to get a brand new Health Care Plan for yourself. This looks very user friendly, and this is designed for crooks. This is where information from big as xhomd tis are being stole. Reporter stolen credit cards going g for 1 to 3 each and Social Security numbers 15, but complete Health Care Records are a gold mines going for 60 bucks because criminals can use them to order prescriptions, pay for treatments and surgery and even file false tax returns. You basically own a person, have all the information and can you create a new account and fake his whole identity. Reporter to avoid getting hacked ibm Security Pros advise using following good work practices, dont use the same passwords and avoid giving out your Social Security numbers, even the last four digits to hospitals and Doctors Offices. You really need to push back on those situations and say, look, can i give you a p. I. N. Or some piece of information that can i change on a regular basis. Reporter if your Health Records are compromised, your Financial Life can be, too. Tom costello, nbc news, new york. Surfs up, way up. 50foot waves supercharged by el nino are making one of the worlds most intense com im billy, and i quit smoking with chantix. I had a lot of doubts going in. I was a smoker. Hands down, it was, thats who i was. After one week of chantix, i knew i could quit. Along with support, Chantix Varenicline is proven to help people quit smoking. Chantix definitely helped reduce my urge to smoke. Some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. Some had seizures while taking chantix. If you have any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. Tell your doctor about any history of Mental Health problems, which could get worse or of seizures. Dont take chantix if youve had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. If you have these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away as some can be lifethreatening. Tell your doctor if you have heart or blood vessel problems, or develop new or worse symptoms. Get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. Decrease alcohol use while taking chantix. Use caution when driving or operating machinery. Most common sideaffect is nausea. Ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. 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. Your path to retirement may not always be clear. But at t. Rowe price, we can help guide your retirement savings. So whehever your Retirement Journey takes you, we can help you reach your goals. Call us or your advisor t. Rowe price. Invest with confidence. You have moderate to severe Rheumatoid Arthritis like me, and youre talking to a rheumatologist about a biologic. This is humira. This is humira helping to relieve my pain and protect my joints from further damage. This is humira helping me reach for more. Doctors have been prescribing humira for more than ten years. Humira works for many adults. It targets and helps to block a specific source of humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to arere where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Talk to your doctor and visit humira. Com. History in cuba today as pope francis arrived on the island ahead of a trip to mexico. There he met with the head of the Russian Orthodox church, kissing each other on the cheeks and embracing at the havana airport, a major step towards bridging a schism thats divided christianity for a thousand years. Its one of the most dangerous surfing events in the world and this years titans of mavericks competition in Northern California is living up to its reputation with 50foot waves supercharged by el nino, barreling in at 40 Miles Per Hour just 15 seconds apart. 24 of the worlds elite surfers are competing for a 120,000 prize and bragging rights. When we come back, why this whole kindergarten class is already college bound. A 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. And, in the rare event of an emergency, pradaxa is the only oral blood thinner other than warfarin with a specific reversal treatment to help your body clot normally again. Pradaxa is not for people who have had a heart valve replacement. Dont stop taking pradaxa without talking to your doctor. Stopping increases your risk of stroke or blood clots ask your doctor if you need to stop pradaxa before any planned medical or dental procedure. Pradaxa can cause serious, and sometimes, fatal bleeding. Dont take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding. And seek immediate medical care for pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if youre 75 or older, have kidney problems, stomach ulcers, a bleeding condition, or take certain medicines. Side effects with pradaxa can include indigestion, stomach pain, upset or burning. Dont just go with the flow. 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. Abdominal pain. Urgent diarrhea. It could be ibsd new prescription xifaxan is an ibsd treatment that helps relieve your diarrhea and abdominal pain symptoms. Do not use xifaxan if you have a history of sensitivity to rifaximin, rifamycin antibiotic agents, or any components of xifaxan. Tell your doctor right away if your diarrhea worsens while taking xifaxan, as this may be a sign of a serious or even fatal condition. Tell your doctor if you have Liver Disease or are taking other medications, because ese may increase the amount of xifaxan in your body. Plan on becoming pregnant, or are nursing. The most common side effects are nausea and an increase in liver enzymes. If you think you have ibs with diarrhea, ask to your doctor about new xifaxan. If you have high Blood Pressure like i do, many Cold Medicines may raise your Blood Pressure. Thats why theres coricidin hbp. It relieves cold symptoms without raising Blood Pressure. So look for powerful Cold Medicine with a heart. Coricidin hbp. Finally tonight, a golden opportunity for an entire class of 26 kindergarteners all from lowincome families and saving for a College Education is a struggle, but as our reports those worries about the future are now over thanks to a 1 million gift from a man making a difference. Reporter today is College Friday inside mrs. Ashtons kindergarten class. Thats where christian is going to go to college. Reporter most of her 26 students come from lowincome singleparent homes where the price of lunch, much less college, is out of reach, but not anymore. Youre going to be a teacher . Reporter Marty Burbank wants to pay for every student here to go to college. Im going to put off retirement a few years. Reporter a lawyer who met his wife on a boat and got married on a yacht was ready to bay his dream cruiser. Times 12. Reporter when he realized there was a better way to spend his money. Our pastor gave a severalon about charity and giving and sacrifice and and at that point i really felt like i could invest in this boat or i could investn 26 kids and hopefully their lives. The gift and the offer is lifechanging. Their future literally is different because of this. Reporter isabella celadon couldnt believe the generosity. Oh, my gosh. Reporter the seamstress says her son jason can now be anything he wants. Doctor. Reporter every year these kids will need to draw a picture or write a letter about college to Marty Burbank who is investing over 1 million in their future. Im grateful for the opportunity to do this because it brings me so much joy helping kids. Reporter one couple giving up so much but getting back in return a gift thats priceless. Miguel almaguer, nbc news, anaheim, california. And thats going to do it on this friday night. Im lester holt. For all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching. And good night. Molineaux. Republican president ial candidates are calling on voters to defend their faith from attacks. Theyve been spelling out their ideals and taking questions at the faith and family forum at Bob Jones University in greenville. Jack kuenzie is there live right now. The forum put together by attorney general alan wilson, the conservative leadership project and the Palmetto Family Council is now wrapped up after appearances by four gop candidates. We heard today from dr. Ben carsonformer Florida Governor jeb bushsenator Marco Rubioand late this afternoon ted cruz. The candidates all asked similar questions on topics including same sex marriage, national security, guantanamo and the administrations latest action on the mox Plant Project at the Savannah River site. The candidates all critical at various times of the president and the democratic candidates. Bush also again on the attack with a couple of jabs at front runner donald trump. Rubio taking aim at Bernie Sanders, saying if you agree with him, move to a socialist country. All the candidates asked a