good evening. and we begin with the dangerous deep freeze. 160 million americans, and tonight, 23 states under wind chill advisories and freeze warnings. and now homeowners and new worries about those pipes bursting. tonight, we have more on what insurance does and does not cover. over the next 12 hours, a massive surge of arctic air moving east and further south, possibly shattering records from cincinnati to new york, down to miami. the view inside this home in new york, playing out in so many homes. water coming in through the ceiling. and the rescues tonight. even the animals. trying to get to this dog in massachusetts. this is the view flying over chicago today. and in kentucky tonight, they're using landfills now for the snow. we have the new storm moving in behind it, but we're going to start tonight with abc's matt gutman in louisville. >> reporter: tonight, extreme cold bringing an expensive epidemic. burst pipes. watch. this student at michigan's oakland university narrowly misses that icy deluge. this family helpless as their ceiling begins to rain. thousands of emergency calls around the country. 4,000 in washington, d.c. in the last ten days alone. it's crucial for homeowners to know where and how to shut off the water when there's a freeze danger, as our alex perez found out. >> reporter: why is it important to know where the water main is in a situation like this? >> if you get to it quick, you can save your house from flooding and save you thousands of dollars. >> reporter: keeping your faucets dripping will keep water moving and prevent freezing. across the country, this epic cold is creating epic scenes. from lake michigan, to this icy outline of a jeep in north carolina. and tonight, more trouble on icy roads from virginia, to michigan. two people surviving this crash. their car pinned underneath a semi. all of kentucky's salt is stored in 25 giant vaults like this one. but when the temperature sinks below 20 degrees, all of this becomes ineffective. here in louisville, where it was minus 3 today, concerns of frostbite. >> it hurts your face and nose and everything. >> reporter: for perspective, we went to the coldest place in america. cotton, minnesota. negative 43 degrees. where megan's the postmaster. >> any skin that's exposed feels like pins and needles. your eyes start to water. your toes are numb. it's hard to even take a breath, it hurts. >> reporter: in conditions like these, the early signs of frostbite can begin in seconds. to protect yourself, limit your skin's exposure. drink plenty of fluids and stay hydrated. so cold, david, that folks have been fishing chunks of ice this thick off of the ohio river here. it's only going to get worse for millions of americans. tonight's forecast here for louisville, 13 degrees colder than the previous forecast set back in 1885. david? >> matt gutman leading us off again tonight. matt, thank you. and now, to the north. roofs collapsing. ice breakers now being used on major rivers tonight. and look at the american side of niagara falls this evening. abc's gio benitez with the coast guard now moving in to help. >> reporter: tonight, the northeast is frozen over. north of philadelphia, the coast guard has to use special ice breakers to keep 140 miles of the delaware river flowing. and just look at lake erie. the great lakes are usually 50% frozen this time of year, but today, the great lakes are over 80% frozen. some of that ice ending up right here at the niagara falls. mother nature creating extraordinary ice sculptures. what you're looking at right now is part of the niagara falls, totally frozen. we're told there's so much ice here, it won't melt until may. people here say they haven't seen this much ice in decades. >> you get the ice buildup every year, but the last two years have been extraordinary. >> reporter: meanwhile, in the boston area, quite the scare. an avalanche of sorts at the ice rink. >> i heard something and then it just -- like, it just fell on me. and i was stuck underneath the snow. >> reporter: tonight, she's okay and so are these two dogs and their owner in revere, rescued from the ice. and back here in western new york, you can see those powerful niagara falls. but one thing's for sure. if these frigid temperatures keep up, visitors here can expect to see a lot less water than they hoped for. david? >> it is rare you see that amount of freezing on the american side of the falls. thank you, gio. let's get right to ginger now. it's not the ice at the falls, but the ice across much of this country tonight. >> reporter: correct. you don't have to be at the falls to get ice. wind chill advisories, freeze warnings and hard freeze warnings all the way into florida. daytona beach in that hard freeze warning, which means we worry about crops, outdoor plants. and you say, well, i'm worried about myself when you see these temperatures. a third, fourth, fifth day in a row for a lot of people being sub zero like louisville there at 13 below. detroit, 12 below. pittsburgh, 8 below. those record-breaking temperatures will move to places like washington, d.c. and new york city. >> and these temperatures before you factor in the wind. >> reporter: correct. >> in the meantime, the storm moving in. and you have the line where the driving is going to be most difficult this weekend. >> reporter: yes. if you are going along i-80 in pennsylvania this weekend, please watch this. because there will be strong storms in the south, but that warm front is going to lift north, bringing snow to detroit and, again, that pink line is what you're looking at. that's the freezing line. i think it moves through pennsylvania at a horrible time. saturday night through early sunday morning. anyone going out and about, even into north jersey, going to have to look out. so the snow on the north side of it. you can see the snow totals there. the title at the top, three to six inches. but let's put on that ice forecast. i'm concerned about western new york, down to nashville, back to little rock. >> all right, this is going to be tough right through the weekend. ginger, thank you. in the meantime, to the scare at a major hospital in southern california. ucla medical center. two dead, 179 exposed to a dangerous superbug. and now, a new national warning to doctors and hospitals from coast to coast about a piece of medical equipment that may be to blame. abc's cecilia vega in california. >> reporter: tonight, an investigation under way into how nearly 200 people who came to this hospital for a common medical procedure may have been exposed to a potentially deadly bacteria. >> we're very sorry about some of the anxiety and concern that this situation has posed for our patients, as well as our community. >> reporter: the drug-resistant superbug known as cre likely transmitted through contaminated medical scopes. thin tubes inserted down a patient's throat. a microscopic camera on the tip allowing doctors to examine organs. the procedure most often performed on very sick patients. >> the symptoms for the patients were immediate and patients developed fever, chills and severe infections right after undergoing the procedure. >> reporter: ucla says it followed manufacturer guidelines in sterilizing the scopes and is now going above and beyond the manufacturer and national standards. but tonight, the fda is warning doctors and hospitals across america to meticulously clean equipment. >> so, there's literally no antibiotic that can be used to treat these infections. >> reporter: contaminated medical scopes also to blame for superbug outbreaks in seattle, pittsburgh and chicago. and it's not just cre. a number of superbugs are now on the rise. and this hospital sent test kits home to all the patients exposed here to determine whether or not they are infected. ucla also apologizing tonight to those patients and this community. david? >> cecilia, thank you. and now, to las vegas tonight, and the dramatic developments in that road rage case. making national headlines. late today, s.w.a.t. teams, squad cars and a standoff in that quiet neighborhood, just blocks from where that mother of four was shot and killed. abc's kendis gibson is on the scene. >> reporter: tonight, this shirtless suspect taken into custody by police in the alleged road rage murder of las vegas mom tammy meyers. >> right now, we are in the fact call tactical phase of attempting to take a suspect into custody who we believe to be involved in the homicide of mrs. meyers. >> reporter: the arrest follows a wild scene. only one block from where meyers and her four children live. meyers' husband rushing to the scene. >> there's the animal, a block away! >> turn the cameras off! >> reporter: the suspect's mom visibly shaken, arriving during the standoff. police with guns drawn surrounded the house of a young suspect, asking him to come out. >> all of a sudden, i heard the bull horns and people yelling and helicopters came in. he's like, they're looking for the kid next door. >> reporter: this comes exactly one week after meyers was shot in the head following an alleged road rage incident. police saying after an encounter with an angry driver near her home, meyers grabbed her oldest son, who brought his handgun, to go in search of that driver. only to return home where the driver shot her in the head in front of her own house. late tonight, the shooter being identified at erice ikic noth. police say there is another suspect on the loose. david? >> kendis, thank you. and now, to texas this evening, and breaking news in the "american sniper" trial. tonight, the defense resting their case after a dramatic day in court. a new look at the man accused of killing navy s.e.a.l. chris kyle. the defense presenting images of him, right there in uniform with his mother. far different than that other image in the backseat of a police cruiser. and now comes word that he will not take the stand. abc's ryan owens with late developments from texas. >> reporter: the jury taking a twisted trip into the mind of a killer, guided by a defense psychiatrist who just last year diagnosed the marine veteran with severe schizophrenia. dr. mitchell dunn says while "american sniper" chris kyle is a war hero to many -- >> i just want to get the bad guy. >> reporter: -- to eddie routh on the day he killed them, kyle and his friend chad littlefield were "pig assassins" sent to execute him as part of "pigs taking over the earth." dr. dunn testifying routh was so paranoid at this texas gun range, he thought shooting the two men in the back was self-defense. "he thought he was going to die" and had to "neutralize the threat." routh doesn't look up as the doctor says he was insane and didn't know right from wrong. chris kyle's widow taya shakes her head in disbelief. on cross examination, prosecutors point out the defense is paying this expert $400 an hour and that routh is a fan of the pig-hunting reality show, "boss hog." and may have just cooked up this elaborate story to try to get away with murder. the defense briefly called routh's mother back to the stand so the jury could see this picture of a decorated young marine with his mom. prosecutors took the chance to show a very different picture taken years later with his girlfriend. late this afternoon, eddie routh raised his hand and waved his right to testify. with that, his defense rested, relying, remarkably, on the medical testimony of just one doctor. david? >> ryan owens from texas. thank you. and now, to the white house, and president obama making headlines tonight for his choice of words when it comes to describing isis. the president will not call this islamic terror and here's what he said today. >> we are united against the scourge of violent extremism and terrorism. >> so, let's get right to our chief white house correspondent, jonathan karl tonight. and jon, the president's being careful with his words, but causing some controversy in doing so. >> reporter: yes, he is, david. there is no question that the terrorists who make up isis and al qaeda are islamic extremists. they claim to be waging a war in the name of the koran. but the president wants to make it clear to the world that the united states is not at war with islam. in fact, today, he said the notion that the west is at war with islam is a, quote, ugly lie. as the president himself put it, quote, we are not at war with islam, we are at war with people who are perverting islam. so, the bottom line, david, don't look for the president to change the way he is talking about this terrorist threat. >> all right, jon karl live at the white house again tonight. jon, thank you. now, to an abc news exclusive. nascar superstar kurt busch preparing for this weekend's daytona 500. the super bowl of racing, of course. his ex-girlfriend breaking her silence to "good morning america." her allegation of a violent outburst. the restraining order against him. his legal team now fighting back tonight. and here's abc's steve osunsami. >> reporter: patricia driscoll says that her ex-boyfriend, nascar champion kurt busch, assaulted her inside his motorhome at a speedway in delaware. >> he popped up out of bed and grabbed me by the throat with one hand and with the other hand, he grabbed my face. and he smashed my head into the wall three times. >> reporter: in an interview with "good morning america's" michael strahan, she claims there was one previous incident. something he denies. after arguing the issue in family court, a delaware judge this week found a preponderance of evidence that busch has exited an act or repeated acts of domestic violence. for the next year, he's ordered to stay away from her, and get a mental health evaluation, quote, for problems related to anger control and impulse control." he's scheduled to race in daytona this weekend, and driscoll has something to say about it. >> why not take that as an opportunity to say, "no more." like the nfl has, and say, "we are not going to accent the domestic violence in our sport." >> reporter: tonight, busch is appealing the order and his lawyers tell a different story. that he was trying to end the relationship, and that there was no assault. >> this is all an orchestrated campaign to ruin the guy who decided he no longer wanted to be with her. >> reporter: in a reality show driscoll was pitching, she does know her way around a shooting range. >> i really don't care if people hate me for who i am and what i do, because i'm not going to change it. >> reporter: no one can know for sure what really happened behind closed doors, but how this plays out in public could have a serious impact on his career. david? >> steve osunsami tonight. steve, thank you. now, to the economy and a big change for some american workers. tonight, this country's biggest employer, walmart, announcing they are giving half a million workers, 40% of their employees, a raise. on average, for full-time workers, up to $13 an hour. for part-time workers, $10 an hour. that's well above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. walmart has been criticized in the past for low wages. there is still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this thursday. so much attention on eddie murphy and why he didn't perform at that "snl" reunion. you saw him walking through those doors, but little more? tonight, a possible explanation, and bill cosby is applauding him. the new medical guidelines today when it comes down to your coffee, right down to the number of cups tonight. and a made in america quiz for you tonight. what's behind the curtain at the oscars that's made in america? our team with the american workers tonight. >> made in america! how much money do you have in your pocket right now? 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>> reporter: and now, "snl" alum norm macdonald is offering his account as to what happened behind the scenes during the 40th anniversary show. according to macdonald's tweets, murphy had been asked by writers to play bill cosby, an impression he'd done before. >> man, if you start drinking beer now, by the time you're 9, you'll be drinking like a 37-year-old. >> reporter: but macdonald says in the 11th hour, murphy backed out, feeling uncomfortable about mocking the embattled comedian who is facing allegations from numerous women who say cosby drugged or assaulted them at the peak of his career. macdonald tweeting, "eddie decides the laughs are not worth it. he will not kick a man when he is down." bill cosby releasing a statement earlier today, saying, "i'm very appreciative of eddie and i applaud his actions." still, the sketch went on as planned. >> potent potables. >> reporter: macdonald later tweeting, "eddie does not need the laughs. eddie murphy is the coolest, a rock star even in a room with actual rock stars." lindsey davis, abc news, new york. when we come back tonight, the doggy daycare van stolen yesterday. all of those dogs inside. we have a development tonight. and a new medical headline about your coffee. right down to the number of cups every morning. headline about your coffee. right down to the number of cups every morning. for more than 145 years, pacific life has been helping families achieve life-long financial security with innovative tools and strategies. talk to a financial advisor to protect your family and plan today. pacific life. the power to help you succeed. pacific life proudly presents "humpback whales", a whale-sized movie for giant screen theaters. i have the worst cold with this runny nose. i better take something. dayquill cold and flu doesn't treat your runny nose. seriously? 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