Good evening. Today it was below freezing, at least somewhere in each of the 50 states. That doesnt happen often, and yes, even hawaii where it was 25 this morning near the summit of a volcano. In new york, it hasnt been this cold since 1896. In cleveland, youd have to go back to 1884. In asheville, north carolina, the old record was set in 1879. Again tonight its not just the 25 below zero temperatures in minnesota making news, its the dangerous cold in the deep, deep south making news, like 6 degrees in atlanta, georgia. Its been record shattering cold, straining power grids, cancelling thousands of flights and forcing people to find warmth. We have it covered again with Kevin Tibbles in chicago. Kevin, good evening. Reporter brian, it is day two here in chiberia. And across the frozen Chicago River behind me, and across most of this nation, this arctic grip is not letting go. Subzero, bone chilling wind whipping cold. Stomping down on much of the lower 48 for another frigid day. From the air, chicago blanketed in arctic splendor. On the ground, javier pushed through his first day as a courier in the windy city. You cant play with this weather, youll literally die. Reporter just one of tens of thousands braving the elements to make a living. Even keeping others warm. I have to provide a city with electric. Reporter black ice in minnesota got the best of this car, toppling off a bridge. The driver escaped without serious injury. Still, there have been dozens of wrecks across the country, and officials are urging folks to take it easy out there. Hundreds of truckers are stranded in indiana, forces off highways, too dangerous to navigate. Aaa facing a tsunami of calls. Today the job was breathing new life into frozen engines. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Airports not faring any better. Thousands of delays and cancellations, deicing the order of the day. Arriving passengers at washingtons Reagan National this afternoon, found baggage claim to be a soggy business. A burst pipe released hundreds of gallons of water, flooding the American Airlines claim area. In toronto, canada, the airport was shut down completely. Stranding thousands with mountains of luggage and lots of frustration. Hundreds of amtrak passengers were bussed to chicago. After spending the night aboard a train stuck some 80 miles from the station. It was safer to leave passengers on the train with full hotel systems, trying to transfer people through a trench in the snow at minus five temperatures. Reporter as the sun came up in atlanta, the temperature didnt. In the sunshine state, people bundled up, donning their northern gear. And the cold helped nab a fugitive in kentucky, as escaped inmate robert vick turned himself in. Too cold on the lam. This picture of hell, michigan says it all, yes, its frozen over. Good news tonight for parents, if not for kids, gradually warming temperatures means that schools will be open here in chicago, and many other places tomorrow. As for jet Blue Airlines that grounded all its flights in the northeast yesterday, those planes were back in the air today. Brian . A cold Kevin Tibbles along the cold Chicago River to start us off tonight. Thanks again. Now to upstate new york we go, on the banks of the oswego river, where they are feeling the effects of that cold tonight. Katy tur is there for us. Good evening. Katy, good evening. Reporter its also very cold up here, brian, 7 degrees, negative 13 with the windchill. The wind has really been the story out here. 35 to 45 mile an hour wind gusts, all day long coming off of lake ontario, just to the right of me. One man described it as blowing like the devil out here. And it certainly was. Its not snowing in oswego right now, but just a little to our north it is, up in watertown. Thats where theyre getting the heaviest lake effect snow bands. We tried to get up there a little earlier today, but we were not able to do so. We were met by a whiteout on the roads, zero visibility and a block that wouldnt allow us to go through. They made us turn around. Its no secret its cold out here, and its so cold you can take a look at this video right here, this is the salmon river falls. All but a trickle of water and it is completely frozen over. Just a solid block of ice. Back out here live, no accumulation on the ground out here, even though it has been snowing, because the winds are just too strong, the snow has not been able to even hit the ground. Brian . Katy tur, alongside the ice flow in oswego, new york tonight. Katy, thanks. Al roker is at the map again tonight with the forecast and a status update for us. The good news is, weve seen the worst of it, its just about over. 24 hours ago, temperatures were 42 degrees warmer in caribou. The polar vortex is finally starting to break its grip, we have one more dangerous morning of bone chilling windchills. Chicago it will feel like 13 below. You get to new york city minus 8 below. No windchill in washington, d. C. , and if we head to the south, can you see temperatures not so bad. It will feel like 17 in atlanta, 20 as you make your way into further parts of the south. The good news is, that arctic air will be retreating, the polar vortex moves away, and we get more of a zonal flow by friday. 39 cleveland. D. C. 45, atlanta 47. On saturday, near 60 in washington, 55 in new york city. Temperatures actually a little warmer than what they should be at this time. Chicago will be its a veritable heat wave with a temperature of 37 degrees. Al roker, thank you for being with us again tonight. We have late word tonight of a fatal avalanche near vail, colorado. At least one person was killed, several others injured, when the slide broke loose in the back country outside of the vail skiing area. Five people have been killed in avalanches in just the last two weeks in the states of colorado, wyoming and montana. More breaking news tonight from overseas. Four american airmen presumed dead after a specially equipped u. S. Air force black hawk helicopter crashed along the coast of england. Defense officials sayed chopper was on a Training Mission when it went down. No word yet on a cause or the identities of those on board. In a story that broke late today in washington. Robert gates, the republican, former cia chief and defense secretary who president obama held over from the Bush White House has just landed a devastating critique of the current president S National Security policies, this is making news in washington and beyond tonight. Our chief Foreign Affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell in our d. C. Newsroom tonight with more on this. Sources who have read bob gates book have confirmed those public accounts in three major newspapers tonight. It is causing heartburn in the white house. When bob gates left the obama cabinet, the president surprised his defense secretary with the medal of freedom, the nations highest civilian honor. Youre not only one of the longest serving secretaries of defense in american history, its also clear youve been one of the best. Im deeply honored and moved but in his sensational new memoir, gates talks about the president , joe biden and tom donilon for their handling of the war in afghanistan and the military. Gates says suspicion and cers by senior white house officials, including the president and Vice President became a big problem for me. After a march 2010 National Security council meeting, gates writes, i thought the president doesnt trust his commander, cant stand karzai, doesnt believe in his own strategy and doesnt consider the war to be his. For him, its all about getting out. This although gates had told matt lauer. I think were all on the same page. But in his book he accuses biden of poisoning the well of military leadership. While praising hillary clinton, gates expresses dismay at hearing clinton tell the president she only opposed the iraq war because she was running against him in the iowa caucuses. Gates writes the president in turn conceded his opposition to the iraq surge was political. Still, despite his unusually Harsh Criticism of obama, gates calls the president s approval of the raid against osama bin laden, one of the most courageous decisions i had ever witnessed in the white house. But the gates book is arming critics of iraqs strategy as well. 90 some Young Americans died in fallujah, 600 were wounded. Now we see people driving around with black al qaeda flags, thats so sad. What do we tell their families. The white house says the president deeply appreciates bob gates service, welcomes differences of view. But disagrees with his assessment, in particular, though, joe biden has been one of the leading states men of his time, the president relies on his good council every day. Brian . Andrea mitchell in our washington newsroom tonight, thanks. The lid has just been blown off a high profile crime that went uninvolved. And, in fact, the case was closed a long time ago. Now, some of those involved in a breakin at an Fbi Field Office are coming out of the shadows. The story tonight from our justice correspondent pete williams. Reporter Bonnie Raines spent years developing child care centers, john raines retired university professor, Keith Forsythe engineer and teacher, all hiding a secret for more than four decades. The parts they played at a daring breakin at an fbi office outside philadelphia. Stealing thousands of files that exposed fbi dirty tricks against the antiwar and civil rights movements. We called ourselves the Citizens Commission to investigate the fbi. We were going to investigate the investigators. They tell their stories in a new book by former Washington Post reporter betty medsger, who wrote the first accounts of the documents they stole. These files opened the door into the secrets of the fbi. Reporter and they tell nbcs Michael Isikoff how they did it. Bonnie raines got a look inside the fbi office by posing as a College Student working on a paper. Careful to leave no trace behind while meeting the agent in charge. What he didnt notice during the whole interview, was that i never took my gloves off. Keith quickly picked the locks during the breakin, but made a loud noise using a crowbar to pop a dead bolt. My heart was racing, i literally held my breath to see if i could hear any sounds. Reporter john raines drove a getaway car. I was sitting by myself in the Station Wagon at night, and i was getting very, very scared. Reporter the stolen documents forced j. Edgar hoover to end the abuses and led carl stern to expose even more fbi secrets. Forged blackmail letters and threats of violence were used to try to stop antiwar marches. Reporter the time when the burglars could be prosecuted has long passed. Why come forward now . It would seem like if you said no, that you were somehow ashamed of it, which im definitely not. Im proud of it. Pete williams, nbc news, washington. Still ahead for us tonight, the story from health news about binge drinking. An eye opening new look at how Many Americans are keeping a major secret. And later, u. S. Hopes go downhill with the crushing news that arrived today about lindsey vonn. That arrived today about lynsay vohn. To a goal of under 100. Way to go, crestor yeah getting to goal is a big deal, especially if you have high cholesterol plus any of these risk factors. Because you could be at increased risk for plaque buildup in your arteries over time. 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That began much the same way ours did. In a little dorm room 2713. This magic moment this magic moment pressure points on my tired, achy feet. I had no clue i was putting this kind of stress on my feet. I have flat feet. I found this out at the free dr. Scholls foot Mapping Center at walmart. In less than two minutes, i got my foot map and my custom number. Im a 440. Im a 210. 340. That number matched the dr. Scholls custom fit orthotic inserts with just the right support to help relieve stress on my feet. Im a believer. Find a walmart with a foot Mapping Center at drscholls. Com im a believer. As we said earlier, our health news tonight has to do with drinking. A new report from the cdc about how many millions of americans drink too much. And how rarely their doctors talk about it. We get our report from our chief medical editor dr. Nancy snyderman. Reporter journalist Gabrielle Glazer admits she used to unwind every night with two or three glasses of wine. You just knew you were going down a road you didnt like . I was going down a road that was rendering me less effective. Reporter she managed to cut back on her own and then wrote a book about women and their relationship with alcohol, called her best kept secret. Too Many Americans are able to keep the secret, because their doctors simply dont ask about their drinking habits. At least 38 Million People in the United States drink too much and most are not alcoholics. Yet three out of four binge drinkers say their doctors never discussed alcohol with them. Binge drinking is defined as consuming four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men within a twohour window. Cdc guidelines encourage moderation. No more than two drinks a day for men, no more than one drink a day for women. Never during pregnancy and never by anyone under the age of 21. What is a drink . Five ounces of wine a day, 12 ounces of beer a day, and no more than 1. 5 ounces of 80 proof liquor a day. The report is a call to action directing Health Care Professionals to have this discussion with their patients. It doesnt have to take more than five, ten or 15 minutes, whats remarkable is that brief interview can result in a substantial reduction of problem drinking for a long period of time. These conversations are crucial because drinking too much can lead to heart disease, dementia, breast cancer, unintended pregnancy. All kinds of violence, domestic problems. You do not have to be an alcoholic to have a problem. That is the take home message, tonight, brian. As always, dr. Nancy snyderman here with us. Were back with a tough call by a tough young woman. Ernight . Like, really big. Then expanded . Or their new product tanked . Or not . Snyderman, thanks for being with imagine a companys future with the future of trading. Company profile. A Research Tool on thinkorswim. From td ameritrade. I took medicine but i still have symptoms. 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Lindsey vonn says she is devastated but has to skip the olympics to have knee surgery. Our report tonight from nbcs chris jansing. Reporter it had all the makings of a comeback story. Lindsey vonn going for gold in sochi, just one year after a heartstopping crash. And she is down. Reporter off the slopes for nearly seven months, recent signs have been promising. Last month, she had an impressive fifth place finish. In the super g. Im happy to be back. Reporter but at her next race, just over two weeks to go in france, the surgically repaired knee she worked so hard to rehab, buckled. With boyfriend tiger woods in the crowd, vonn was visibly in pain. Unfortunately my knee just gave out on me. I tried to make the turn but i just didnt have a chance. Reporter the anterior cruciate ligament was not only torn, but gone. And so was her dream of an olympic comeback. In a statement, vonn said, i am devastated to announce i will not be able to compete in sochi, i did everything i possibly could to somehow get Strong Enough to overcome having no acl. The reality has sunk in that my knee is just too unstable to compete at this level. Shes consulted with a lot of people on it. She knows her body, and the demands of her support. Reporter vonn is famously fearless. Even after crashing head first into a fence in september, she remained optimistic. Theres a lot of time before sochi, and things are going to turn around. Reporter she would have likely been the face of these games with glamorous looks and formidable talent. Sponsors loved her. Last year, forbes estimated she earned 3 million. Please welcome lindsey vonn. Reporter she charmed late night talk show hosts from letterman to leno. Lindsey is big, i mean, as big as it could possibly get in the world of professional sports. What lindseys absence is going to do is give an opportunity for somebody else to step up. Reporter but for vonn, another trip to the olympic podium will have to wait will word arrived from the west coast today that larry mann has died. Hes better known as the voice of a key character in an annual Christmas Television tradition. Larry mann was the voice of yukon cornelius. Didnt i ever tell you about bumbles . Bumbles bounce. [ laughter ] the canadian born actor had small film roles in the sting, the heat of the night, but mostly he was the great but fallible prospector and explorer in rudolph the red nosed reindeer. Larry mann was 91 years old. The son of a hollywood legend who started out following in his fathers footsteps until a life changing event inspired him to make a difference. I love to eat. I love hanging out with my friends. I have a great fit with my dentures. I love kiwis. Ive always had that issue with the seeds getting under my denture. 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A. Has a wide range of Investment Choices to help you finetune your personal economy. Call today, and well make it easy to move that old 401 k to a fidelity i. R. A. Finally tonight as promised, our making a difference report about the son of a Hollywood Screen legend. Unlike his father for most of his life, he stayed as far from the limelight as possible. Choosing instead to make a difference for tens of thousands of veterans for americas wars. His story tonight from nbcs mike taibbi. Reporter steven peck started out following in the footsteps of his famous father, the great actor gregory peck. But the son had been to war. His war, vietnam. When he came home and made a couple documentaries about veterans and their post war struggles to survive, he abandoned hollywood. Were focusing a lot of our energy these days on housing. Reporter no glitz and glamour here, just long l. A. Days with military vets who have all hit rock bottom. I have been living out of my car. I couldnt get any work. Reporter all in this room and 11 u. S. Vet service centers, have a chance to come back because of the role steven peck has philled for decades. What we try to do here is to get them to work together. Get them to help each other. Its grown into a 35 million a year operation that houses 5,000 vets a night, and finds jobs for 84 of those who want one. One of gregory pecks lesser known rules was as captain neumann m. D. , an army medic who was among the first of three who was afflicted with ptsd. You guys seem a bit depressed this morning. Reporter steven peck says when he quit the movie business, his dad, old captain neumann, was proud of him. He was very, very pleased that i was doing something that was so satisfying and helpful to other people. He does it as the head of a Big Organization now. Not the guy scouring the streets for homeless vets. Theres the boss, now. Anything you want, you have to ask him right now, this is your window. They are getting what they want. A bed, a job, a rediscovered future. If it wasnt for u. S. Vets, i dont know where i would be right now. Hollywood endings for veterans who thought they had reached the end of the line. Mike taibbi nbc news, los angeles. And thats our broadcast on a tuesday night, thank you for being here with us. Im brian williams, and, of course, we hope tocke tomorrow. Good night. Let me do this. What the hell you think. I shame you. You to you understand that. I would have to say no. Im billy bush. So what setoff loose cannon Dennis Rodman in north korea this time round