Good morning, everyone. Im alex witt. The first day of the sochi Olympic Games is marked by a disturbing new terror threat. The feds warning terrorists could try to smuggle explosives on to planes inside toothpaste tubes. U. S. Officials emphasize the warning is focused entirely on flights to russia, not on flights to or within the u. S. Those familiar with the advisory tell nbc news, it is based on very recent intelligence. There is no word so far on any plans to impose new restrictions on checked bags or carryones. The russians have already banned all liquids from carryones. U. S. Officials say there is no indication of any specific plot or target. Instead, this is an exercise of caution, and officials did not reveal the source of the intelligence. Meanwhile, the u. S. Navy warship taylor entered the black sea. Defense officials tell nbc news it will join the u. S. Command ship mt. Whitney. Both will remain on stand by during the games and offer assistance if athletes are forced to e
white house s own assessment that there is not evidence of corruption here, backing up their own independent investigation as well. but in the conservative media bubble and in this case it s a bubble, this is a severe controverciy that will never go away. in part because it is very easy to describe and to convey to viewers. whether the facts are entirely there or not, it s a kind of thing that gets people angry and outraged and of course it involves the irs. everybody likes to hate the irs. it s one of things that is too good to be true. we will watch for you on sunday morning. thank you, sir. now to this. the hottest stories in a flash. we call it rapid fire. roll it. here s this video we promised the jail break in florida. watch this. take a look. the suspect is running away right past security. willie hollis escaped from the orange county jail on monday.
exams. take a look at the moment that willie hollis literally runs by the security desk. look at that. they said he ran from a holding area, hopped into awaiting car, and hasn t been seen since. new this morning, clay aiken announced this morning on his website that he will run for congress. he is already shaking up the democratic primary. he reportedly plans to a withdraw from the race today, barns. another race to watch. very interesting, a kid, now a man. made his name being edgy and different. he s starting to morph into much more of what we re used to see. we re going to take a break here.
0 two days to go until the games. the torch arrives in sochi. they now say there have been specific threats detected. four people arrested in connection with the death of actor philip seymour hoffman. we re live with the latest. your new day starts right now. good morning. welcome to new day. it s wednesday, february 5th, 6:00 in the east. welcome also to the winter that just won t quit. another monster storm is dumping ice and snow on 120 million people in 32 states. it is just not good enough to know about what s going on outside your window. the eastern half of the u.s. is exposed to weather systems that will come in waves and dump a foot or snow or more in parts of new england. the midwest already reeling. look at the whiteout conditions in southern illinois. conditions so bad in kansas city, this southwest airlines jet wound up stuck in a snow drift after it landed. if you re flying today, pack plenty of patience. nearly 3,000 flights already scrubbed since tuesday. how
0 immigration chief treated him to a haircut and a shave. all that like a memory, castaway. cnn, new york. that s it for me. thanks for watching. i will be back at 5:00 eastern in the situation room. newsroom continues right now with brooke baldwin. thank you very much. great to be with you all on this wednesday. i m brooke baldwin. we start the hour with this. nearly one million customers in the northeast without power as this harsh winter storm 2ku678ed heavy sn heavy snow and rain. ice coated power lines are causing huge problems there. nearly 600,000 people are without power. crews are working on those downed lines. they are expected to rise. that s an issue. the northeast getting socked with up to one foot of snow. this doesn t look fun. trying to push this car. state of emergency declared for new york. 2700 flights are canceled across the united states and in boston specifically, about two inches of snow falling there per hour. look at this. just to explain to you how rough