box, where the cold on top of all that snow is now making road travel even more treacherous, also making it tough for folks to dig out in places like minneapolis, which you can see in the bottom box, now this fierce storm is heading east. jenna: that's not all, jon. as far as the west, it has its very own weather woes, not a whole lot of snow out there but heavy rain pounding oregon, washington, flood watches now in effect in parts of those two states, as incredible flooding sparks mudslides and fears that more could be on the way. we're all in it together. steve brown is live in illinois with a report on that. steve, what are we hearing about, stranded motorists, in indiana. any ideas on how many? >> reporter: that's the problem, they don't know how many. we're talking about la port county n. the northwest corner of the state, which is traditionally an area that gets pounded by lake effect snow off lake michigan and the sheriff says don't know how many they have stranded but many who were stranded along roadsides in northwest indiana may have been there all night, temperatures certainly weren't very comfortable. we're talking about temperatures in the teens and the windshield factors much lower that. we're told that there are -- they are frantically trying to get folks out of vehicles that might have been in them all night in this minty mix of extremely cold temperatures, high winds and blowing snow, jenna. jenna: that can be a dangerous, scary situation, steve. it looks like as far as air travel, though, what are we seeing in the air? >> it won't be much better traveling by air, and here's why. yesterday, because of wind gusts up to 50 miles an hour yesterday, o'hare international airport, which is kind of weather-prone to closing, canceled almost 1400 flights yesterday, so they're going to be scrambling to get those on board, it wasn't any better south of the city at mid weigh, where they had 300 flights canceled there. because they are major hubs for a number of different airlines, southwest, american airlines, united, that means they're going to have an awful time today trying to get those flights caught up. so if you're heading to the airport for a flight, you might want to check and see if your plane is on time. jenna: steve, how many layers are you wearing out there! >> upper body, four. and i've got more if i need them. gen jen still pretty cold, right? oh man, it looks like the wind is blowing out there. >> yeah, the wind is blowing. i mean, it's tolerable in short stretches but if you're outside for a long time it's not a good idea and that's what they're recommending here, if you're going outside, make it a brief visit outside, or as short as possible. it's not comfortable at all. jenna: thank you for your report and we look forward to seeing some of the stranded drivers get out of the cars and get into some warm spaces in the south. steve, thank you very much, we'll be back to steve as this story doals. wow. jon: tell him to get inside! for more on this powerful storm, let's check in with our meteorologist janice dean in the fox weather center. j. drk, it's not even winter yet and we have to deal with this. >> the next time i see steve, i need to see his hood on and his hat covering his ears because it's freezing out there, steve, i'm going to send you an e-mail and i want to see that hood! you got a good hood on that coat! let's take a look at some of the astonishing totals across the upper midwest, close to 2 feet in parts of minnesota, wisconsin, 22 inches, minneapolis, 17 inches. i want to point out minneapolis, that is a record for any day in december, okay? and i don't know, you guys have seen this video already, but i can't get tired of it. it was -- we're so thankful no one was hurt. have you seen this video of the roof collapse in minneapolis? this is the metrodome. two big holes in this roof on sunday. of course, the vikings were supposed to play. unbelievable. the vikings were supposed to play the giants, and obviously, they can't play, so they're going to be playing in detroit, which has its own weather woes, but i mean, that's just incredible. we're just so glad no one was hurt. and of course, our producer, rachel, says this is god's way of trying to preserve brett farve's regular season running. [laughter] jenna: everyone has a theory, j.d. it looks like pretty my snow there. >> reporter: we're thankful for one was hurt. -- no one of the hurs. they are feeling lake effect snow so it goes on and on and just a tease, guys, we're watching one of the computer models, that kind of forecasts what's to come. we could have a major winter storm hitting the northeast this time next monday. so we're going to keep an eye on that. there's the relate naves of the storm, certainly not the snow total that is we saw over the weekend, and i want to point out that storm across the northwest, bringing flooding concerns. so we've got snow as far south as kentucky and tennessee, atlanta hartsfield, we had snow reported overnight, as well as yesterday, and the cold air is going to be the story, once the storm exits. just want to point out, a bit too warm across the coastal areas of the northeast, with the snow, with you once -- but once the cold air moves eastward, things are going to get mightily chilly. so winter weather advisories across the ohio river valley, blowing snow, wind chill advisories as far south as the gulf coast. these are current temperature, minus 12 international malls, minus three in minneapolis, ten in chicago, nine in green bay. you factor in what it feels like with the wind f. you're not protected, steve! get that hood on" minus 16 is what it meals like, minus four in indianpolis, freeze advisories, i'm not sure why they're not coming up but they extend across portions of texas, all the way across the gulf coast, as you can see there and down into florida, much of florida under a freeze advisory. tonight's lows across florida, it's so cold the temperatures are not coming out, but let me tell you, 23 degrees overnight in orlando, 22 -- 21, rather n. jacksonville. i'm sorry, i got that mixed up. twenty-nine in orlando, 20 in tallahassee, some of the coldest air they've seen thus farks and we're worried about the crops, the oranges and strawberries and all the fun fruits, we're a little concerned about. this is going to continue for the next several nights. jon, back to you. jon: j.d., two things: first of awcialtion rachel our producer says she has to credit one of the vikings with that farve comment, somebody that -- something that somebody tweeted, it wasn't rachel's original thought. and gwen says you look nice. >> that's nice. eight months. jon: and we have you in the studio where it's nice and warm and you don't have to wear a hood. >> i'm on him! he needs that hood up next step. jon: steve, pay attention. j.d., thank you. we love it when our viewers help us tell the stories we are covering. take a look at this photo of the monster storm, this comes from ellen in lacrosse, wisconsin, a pretty cool shot there, cleaning up after the storm. the maybe is probably happy he has his snow blower. if you have video or pictures, send them our way, click on the you report link on the foxnews.com page, e-mail them, also, to you report, at foxnews.com. just remember, keep your hood up! stay safe. do not put yourself in any danger to get a photo or shoot any pictures. jenna: we certainly don't want to cross j.d. with that one, right? no, no. let's check the temperatures in d.c. in just a few hours senators get their very first chance to vote on the tax cut deal. some democrats remain staunchly opposed to the compromise which comes up for its first procedural vote in the senate today but majority whip dick durbin says he has enough votes to move the bill forward, this, as we know, the clock ticks on, a massive tax hike for all americans is set to kick in january 1st if there's no compromise from both the house and senate. today's power play, cries stierwalt is the digital politics editor. we've been talking about hypothetics, without a real bill coming to the fore anywhere. how does being able to see a bill surface in the senate change the dynamics of the conversation for this week? >> well, you're exactly right, jenna, because what we were talking about before was the acstract, made i'd oppose that, maybe i'd oppose that. about 3:00 today, the united states senate, a piece of legislation is going to come forward for a cloture vote which is where you need 60 votes to advance it and let the legislation get going and it looks like not only are there going to be enough democrats from dick durbin's side but enough republicans, too. this legislation is expected to get maybe -- get maybe 75 votes, that is a huge number, a huge consensus for such a -- i would say a controversial vote but in the senate it hasn't proven to be very controversial. what that means in the house, where it is still very controversial, they are going to have to start chewing on this thing and i don't think it's a meal many are looking forward to. jenna: let's say hypothetically they get the bill by later in the week, chris, is this the timeline we're looking for that? >> i think that's right. by thursday, i think the house will probably have to start dealing with this legislation, and they will already know what shape it is today. jenna: so we're getting two different messages, it seems, from house democrats, and the one side, you see some talk of insisting that they modifyo on the bill modifies the estate tax and a few other issues, on the other hand, you also hear from the white house, though, and other high ranking democrats that the bill will eventually pass. so which is it? >> well, you know, it can be both. it can be both. and sometimes, symbolism counts. sometimes, political theater, as pointless as it may seem, counts for how people feel about stuff. you know, what the senate is going to put forward today, jenna, is word for word, the deal that was struck with the white house. there have not been additions including all of the christmas tree ornament that is went on about subsidies and tax extenders and all that other stuff, that was all hashed out with the white house, that's part of the original deal, so the house has to either swallow the whole thing, or, and this is where it gets very interesting, or they can pass their own version. and then force another round of negotiations between the house and the senate. now, we know from talking to senate republicans, if anything is changed, if a hair on the head of this bill is changed, there are plenty of senate republicans who will walk away from the package. so this is high stakes negotiation and like you said, everybody knows there's a huge tax increase looming if they don't get it done. jenna: we'll see what happens as, again, we watch that clock tick down. thank you very much. >> thank you. jenna: you can see chris' power play by logging on to our great politics blog, foxnews.com/aehq. jon: crisis on the korean peninsula. new military drills from south korea beginning this week as the north threatens nuclear war. what it means for our troops who literally are caught in the middle. plus, tragedy for the family of bernie mado. the latest developments on his eldest son's suicide. just ahead. jon: more tension today on the korean peninsula. this is the scoon as the south begins five days of live fire drills and north korea warns the naval exercises could trigger nuclear war on the peninsula. so what does this mean for tens of thousands of u.s. troops who are right there, serving on the border between the two countries? let's talk about it with fox news security analyst former deputy secretary of defense under president reagan, k.t. mcfarland. this is about as belligerent as i've heard north korea, yet. why? >> this is as bad as it's been in the entire 50 years that we've had an armistice agreement. the north koreans are going through a number of things, they've got a general leadership succession it's it's going to be shaky. what this probably is in part the north korean man that's been designated, the young manage, the son of kim jung-il he's trying to show the military generals look, i've got the stuff it takes to be a leader, the other thing, they're probably trying to divert domestically from a disastrous economy and starve oition. what has changed is the relationship of china to north dea. in north korea, they are acting more provocative but china is letting them get away with it. china seems to have their back. this is something that hasn't happened before, and the only country that has any ability really to influence these events is china and china seems either unable or unwilling to step up and keep north korea in check. jon: dennis blair, the director of -- former director of national intelligence, said he predicts a war, a hot war, i mean, some -- the north will keep getting belligerent and south korea, next time they launch shells, south korea is going to have to strike back. >> south korea is in a different position than it was even three weeks ago. it's had a measured response. remember, they sunk the ship, they've had the live fire, the north koreans have. they are pinging and trying to test south korea in a number of different ways. the south korean president has lost 40 percentage points of popularity since this crisis began, the defense minister of south korea was fired in effect, so south korea can't turn the other cheek for this, they have to respond, and the problem is, it's like watching a train wreck in slow motion, jon. we, the united states, we have a mutual defense treaty with south korea. the chinese have more or less the equivalent with the north. so what you could potentially see is a crisis that starts out, knot r north korea, south korea. jon: with a couple of artillery shells. >> that brings in the united states and china. remember, i've been in that zone between north korea and south korea, it's 30 miles from the capitol of seoul. jon: and if the north wants to unload artillery shells on seoul, they've -- >> there's nothing to stop them. jon: they've got it targeted, bracketed, ready to go. >> targeted, bracketed, and it happens in minutes. this could quickly be a train wreck that's in slow motion that could quickly speed up and the terrible thing is that the united states doesn't really have a lot of influence to -- ability to influence events. we've gone to china, we sent someone last week, doesn't seem the chinese want to do anything to calm this down. historically china has been very happy to have this be at a low boil, but what it worries everyone in the region is that it boils over. jon: k.t. mcfarland, good to have you on, thank you. jenna: new details on a failed terror attack in stockholm, why swedish investigators say this could have been far worse and what it means for the future of terrorism as well. missing 12-year-old britney mae smith of virginia, found safe, clear across the country in san francisco. the latest had not her suspected aabductor and his possibly connection to the murder of britney's mom. as we wait for the senate test vote on the tax deal, america is asking what the outcome will mean for your wallets and families, what if it pass, what if it doesn't, what is -- which is not likely but you never know. we want to put your questions to the tax panel later this hour, get on the live chat by clicking the link on the foxnews.com home page or shooting us an e-mail, happening now at foxnews.com. jon and i will see you on the chat during the break. jon: a fox news alert and the top u.s. military officer, admiral mike mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff is in baghdad but he is speaking about the possibility of war on the korean peninsula and he says the danger of war or some kind of hostilities there is on the increase. once again, back to k.t. mcfarland, our national security expert here at fox news channel. you said that the location of where north korea decided to provoke these hostilities last time around is very interesting. >> if you look at the map, if you get the map up again, north korea has provoked this crisis in the sea, in an island between korea and china, an area that china claims, like we do have the monroe doctrine, they claim that yellow sea is their territory. north sea could have provoked in the sea of japan, they didn't, they provoked it in the yellow sea. this is forcing china's hand, where is china going to be in all of this. the reason china is important, admiral mullen fingered china and said it's about china's ability to pressure north korea, then the chinese gave north korea more than 75 percent of their fuel, their heating oil and their food, so northie ca -- korea is shivering and starving as they head into the winter months without china's help so the fact that china isn't using that pressure and leverage it has over north korea i think is interesting. the other thing that i would point out is that the chinese have acted more adepressively throughout the world. jon: once again, the danger of war rising on the korean peninsula, so says our top military officer. k.t. mcfarland, again, thank you. jenna: -- >> breakingnous, virginia police are in california at the moment, this after police in san francisco discovered this girl missing roanoke county teen brtny mae smith in california on friday. witnesses there spotted smith outside a store with the man accused in her abduction, 32-year-old jeffrey scott easley. patti an brown is at the breaking news desk with more. >> reporter: that's right, this 12-year-old girl was missing from the east coast and later found on the west coast with her murdered mother's boyfriend. she was interviewed by police yesterday in san francisco. britney mae smith lived with her mother, tina smith, and tina's boyfriend, jeffrey easley, in virginia but on december 6th, the 41-year-old mother was found dead inside her home in ron oak county, her daughter britney and 32-year-old jeffrey were gone. after a nationwide search, jeffrey easley and britney smith were spotted three days ago panhandling outside a safeway in san francisco. easley was arrested and police say they consider him a very good suspect in the death of britney's mother, tina. britney's great aunt, lois chaukette, told local reporters she met jeffrey for the first time on thanksgiving and did not like his behavior around the 12-year-old girl, she said, quote, he was touching her hair and hands and just gazing at her. it was just gross. the aunt says she actually called child protective services and an abuse hotline multiple times but no one called back. she also says she expressed concerns to tina. easley is now charged with felony abduction, attempted credit card fraud and credit card larceny, but detectives say with britney is safe, they will now turning their attention to the murder investigation of her mother, tina smith, for whom services were held over the weekend. police are giving no details about their investigation or attempts to extradite easley to virginia or arrangements for where britney will live once she comes home to the east coast but her father and her relatives say they are le -- reef lead she's live and healthy after fearing the worst for a week, jon. jon: patti an brown at the breaking news desk, thank you. jenna: police now say hum cried bomber who blew himself up in stockholm was carrying explosives. the swedish citizen intended to hit a crowded area like a train station or maybe even a department store, about one of the bombs went off by mistake before he actually reached his target. that's what they say now. well, last night british police searched a louse in luden, outside of london where the bomber lives, but no hazardous materials were found at the property, so the story is continuing to develop. peter newman is a terrorism expert at king's col