story. "nightly news" begins right now. good evening. the massive late winter storm that swept up the northeast coast today grounding air and rail travel to a halt is still pounding parts of new england with blizzard conditions as we come on the air tonight. millions are digging out from the storm that dumped blowing snow and sleet along the washington, d.c. to boston corridor from several inches in big coastal cities like philadelphia and new york to close to two feet in many inland cities. the storm packing winds up to 70 miles an hour, left hundreds without power and impacted the entire country as 6,000 flights today to, from and through the region were cancelled. miguel almaguer is in massachusetts with the latest. >> reporter: tonight across new england, the white out and the wipe out. a blizzard wreaking havoc across eight states. >> it's really bad outside. >> reporter: 70 million caught in the cross hairs of this danger winter wallop six days before spring. >> everyone wishes it was spring right. that's what i wish. >> reporter: across much of the northeast. >> one week it's warm. next week, blizzard. >> reporter: the roads, railways and waterways crippled by blinding snow and whipping winds. >> seen a couple of accidents. i've only been walking for five minutes. >> reporter: from pounding waves and flooding along the northeast coast to the mid-atlantic states. this nor'easter taking aim. up to 30 inches of driving snow from pennsylvania to new jersey. this time lapse showing the snowfall in upstate new york. lower totals in coastal cities where instead there was a sloppy mess of snow and sleet. d.c. prepared for seven inches of snow but saw less than two. philadelphia expected up to 14 but got six. new york prepared for up to 18 inches. so far just about seven have fallen. massachusetts wasn't as lucky. an army of snow equipment scrambling to clear roads before they turned deadly. too many spin outs to count. even the snowplows having trouble. >> i advise anybody to stay home. if possible, stay home. don't come out unless it's an emergency. >> roads are that bad? >> if it's an emergency call us. we'll come help you. >> reporter: in some areas the wind may be more treacherous than the snow. hurricane gusts ripping across the region. in this bone chilling temperatures, this could be a killer cold for the nearly 150,000 who lost power or heat. >> the combination on the coast of high winds, wet snow and freezing rain could result in some significant power outages. >> reporter: with up to two feet snow expected in massachusetts, schools are shut down in boston tomorrow. tonight this storm was hit or miss. for those in the bulls eye, this is the misery of a direct hit. tonight to give you some perspective we have launched our drone over one neighborhood. what a white out all across this area. with more snow in the forecast when neighbors wake up, they'll have to dig out of several inches of snow just to make it outside of their front doors and once they do, lester, they'll have to dig out their cars. meanwhile in pennsylvania, late tonight there was an 80 mile escort by the national guard to get a nearly 2-year-old child to the hospital for an emergency operation. what a day. lester. >> what day. just a few days until spring. miguel almaguer, thanks. the most dramatic impact from this storm may be on travel both in the air and tracks. amtrak suspended train sf service as the airline cancelled 6,000 flights today. another 900 already cancelled for tomorrow. tom costello is track it for us. a major effort to get things moving. >> reporter: at new york's big three, an all day effort to clear thousands of tons of snow with nearly every incoming and out going flight cancelled. the busiest air space in country last week and today emptied out. chinese student was walking the airport terminal. >> how long have you been stuck in new york? >> three days. >> three days. how many more days until you can get out? >> three days more. >> reporter: how rare is this? outside curb check in empty. inside, same story. no one at the airline kiosks, at the counter or the terminal. the gaites to tsa, check point also closed. all waited out the storm here at charlotte, atlanta and outside the storm zone. the ripple effect stretching nationwide. stuck at miami international, gene tried to flow north after a vacation in the caribbean. >> we had to get a hotel. some people here can't afford hotels. >> reporter: in los angeles, sylvia waiting to fly east. >> going to hang out at the beach. >> reporter: from planes to trains as amtrak worked to reopen its lines. >> looks like i'll be heading out on one tomorrow morning. >> reporter: by midday flights were starting to land again inguardia, the vargas family gave up choosing to drive 20 hours to miami. maybe there they can catch a flight home. not a lot of movement in northeast today. take a look at the flight aware misery map. gives you a realtime indication of what's going on. a lot of red, boston, new york, philly, washington recovering but chicago has struggled today. the airlines are hoping that tomorrow they can jump start operations. back to you. >> thanks. al roker is out in snow covered central park. some areas just got clobbered. others were spared the worst. break it down for us and what's next? >> just like we told you yesterday. difference of 100 miles east or west made all the difference. the storm started hugging the coast and if you follow on our map, i-95, that's the line in red. it brought in warm air from the atlantic. along the coast you see the rain. behind and to the north and to the west of i-95 all snow. this evening, boston you'll have light snow. new york city and boston wind gusts 35 to 40 miles an hour. we'll see snow showers throughout the region. as far as further accumulations, we're basically looking at a few inches of snow in upstate new york. as you get into northern new england you could see anywhere from eight to ten inches of know. lester. >> thank you. shock waves are being felt from something of an earthquake by the nonpartisan congressional budget office. it would result in 24 million fewer people. the white house is pushing back as millions of anxious americans wonder what to believe about what will happen to their health coverage. here is peter alexander. >> reporter: less than 24 hours after an independent analysis dealt a punishing blow to the republican plan to replace obamacare, the white house is trying to resurrect it. >> this is it. if we don't get this through the goal of repealing obamacare and instituting a system that will be patient centered will be unbelievably difficult. >> reporter: the strategy mocking the report itself. >> good morning from washington where you can see akording to the congressional budget office it's sunny and 74. >> reporter: the nonpartisan estimate that says 14 million more people will be uninsured next year undermines president trump's promise of insurance for everybody. >> i think the president's goal is to make insurance available to everybody. that's what he intended to do. >> reporter: the white house says the bill is the first in a three-part process. democrats say it only helps the rich and some republicans are skeptical. >> why house members would want to vote for this bill and pay the political price for voting for this bill if it's doomed o failure in the senate. >> reporter: the fight is raising questions about the relationship between paul ryan and the president. >> i am not going to defend donald trump not know, not in the future. >> reporter: that recordedly ryan's response to his access hollywood scandal last fall. the timing of the release could deepen any divide. breitbart is taking aim at the health care plan dubbing it ryancare. >> republicans have built this up as such a big deal. they made it too big to fail. the problem they have when something is thought of as too big to fail and it's in danger of failing, you've got a problem. >> reporter: also republican lindsey graham is warning the fbi had better respond to the request for any information that backs up president trump's wiretapping claims. the white house tonight says it's extremely confident those allegations directed at president obama will be proven. lester. >> peter, thank you. while the debate rages in washington, many across the country are trying to calculate the personal impact of the proposed plan. we went to arizona. a state that voted for president trump and now some fear the gop's answer to obamacare could cost them their coverage. we have more. >> you still hear a bit of congestion. >> for a lot of people this could be a life or death situation. >> yes, it could be. >> reporter: at the health center in mesa, arizona, fear about the republican plan to freeze the expansion of medicaid. >> for our patients that anticipate losing their benefits, they are really scared. >> reporter: arizona was one of 31 states to expand medicaid under obamacare. more than 400,000 people in the state gained coverage including working mom. >> if you were to get sick, hospital bills are through the roof. if i didn't have insurance when i had him, god knows where i'd be. >> reporter: many seeking change after obamacare premiums spiked dramatically and health insurance companies fled the market. kim, a small business owner if phoenix met with president trump yesterday. >> we have a lot of people in arizona paying a big penalty? >> yes. not only with the premiums go up and the cancellation letters keep coming but my deductibles will go up. >> reporter: the republican plan would mean higher cost for many needing to by insurance especially those older and low income. the plan replaces direct subsidies to buy insurance with tax credits and those tax credits would average 71% less than the current subsidies for someone in arizona who is 60 years old making $40,000 according to the keiser family foundation. for some patients in this red state, the future of their health care is uncertain. nbc news, mesa, arizona. let's turn now to the heated moments in our nation's capitol. the marine corps top brass took incoming fire from senators over the nude photo scandal rocking the military and faced tough questions about how something so shocking could happen under their commend. we have details. >> reporter: >> reporter: country's most powerful marines under fire on capitol hill. >> denigrating female marines who will give their life to this country in the way they have with no response from leadership. i can tell you your answers today are unsatisfactory. >> reporter: testifying why he didn't know about nude photos circulating online without their consent. the photos posted to a 30,000 member group, marines united. they say roughly 500 members accessed the images. >> we haven't just fact with all marines arefais facing a skeptical audience. >> when you say to us it's got do be different, that rings hallow. >> i don't have a good answer for you. i'm not going to sit here and duck around this thing. i'm not. i'm responsible. >> reporter: senators calling for more discipline. >> degrading a fellow marine needs to be increased when that fellow marine is a woman trying to serve the kcountry. >> reporter: calling for my to speak out. >> victim blaming and the excuse that some are giving boys will be boys need to stop. >> reporter: it's necessary and nonnegotiatable. turning overseas where north korea is threatening merciless attacks over joint exercises with north korea. a warning as rex ti tillerson is set to arrive there for a four-day tour. andrea mitchell has late details from tokyo. >> reporter: tonight with fighter jets taking off on joint military exercises with south korea north korea is issuing stark warnings that they will unleash attacks if those ships stray into north korean territory. the navy calling these routine military drills. >> the purpose of the exercise is to reenforce our alliance with the south korean republic. >> reporter: all of this as secretary of state rex tillerson is said to arrive in japan tomorrow. tensions rising ke ining quickly. in addition to a new missile defense system. all after the young unpredictable dictator kim jong-un firing missiles into the sea of japan. 50,000 u.s. troops are based in japan. 28,000 more in south korea. the white house is working on a north korea strategy including those military steps and cyber attacks to try to sabotage north korea's missile launches as this is shaping up as the first major foreign policy test for the new administration. lester. >> thank you. still ahead, trouble getting a plo mortgage or car loan? help is on the way. the big change that could send your credit score climbing to new heights. score climbing to new heights. when you have moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, score climbing to new heights. the unpredictability of a flare may weigh on your mind. thinking about what to avoid, where to go, and how to work around your uc. that's how i thought it had to be. but then i talked to my doctor about humira, and learned humira can help get and keep uc under control... when certain medications haven't worked well enough. 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 you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. raise your expectations and ask your gastroenterologist if humira may be right for you. with humira, control is possible. or is it your allergy pills? holding you back break through your allergies. introducing flonase sensimist. more complete allergy relief in a gentle mist you may not even notice. using unique mistpro technology, new flonase sensimist delivers a gentle mist to help block six key inflammatory substances that cause your symptoms. most allergy pills only block one. and six is greater than one. break through your allergies. new flonase sensimist. ♪ fun in art class. come close, come close. ah. when your pain reliever stops working, your whole day stops. awww. try this. for minor arthritis pain, only aleve is fda approved to work for up to 12 straight hours with just one pill. thank you. come on everybody. aleve. live whole. not part. check this sunday's newspaper and save over $20 on products from aleve. we're back with news about what's the key to making life's big purchases, a credit card. it helps you buy a home, get credit cards. anyone with a bad score can tell you convincing a bank to lend you money can be difficult. now comes word that credit scores for millions are about to shoot up. we explain why. >> reporter: small business owner katy brown says she has a near perfect financial record but she can't get a mortgage to buy a home. >> i have a consistent income. i pay my bills on time but because i don't have several lines of credit, if i wanted to buy a home, i would have to pay for it in cash. >> reporter: brown may soon ben it from a program from fico that will use cell phone and cable bill history to provide a flu type of credit score. >> your credit scores will go up. >> reporter: there's another change for americans that want to boar borrow money. the big three are dropping criteria for your credit score. they will no longer evaluate or consider tax liens or civil judgments. beginning in july, 12 million consumers will see their score go up. >> it's good news for the consumer. >> are we going to see more people buying houses and buying cars? >> well, what i'm seeing is humongous spent from people who have liens because they realize they don't have to sit there and wait seven plus years for these things to age off a credit report. >> reporter: brown is hopeful she can democrat she is worth the risk. she is taking off a credit card to prove she can pay off a loan. >> at my age i'm looking forward to buying my first home in the next few years. >> reporter: new changes giving many americans credit where credit is due. nbc news, atlanta. we're back in a moment with a very striking image and a for my constipation, my doctor recommended i switch laxatives. stimulant laxatives make your body go by forcefully stimulating the nerves in your colon. miralax is different. it works with the water in your body to hydrate and soften. unblocking your system naturally. miralax. when a fire destroyed everything in our living room. we replaced it all without touching our savings. yeah, our insurance won't do that. no. you can leave worry behind when liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance when liberty stands with you™. it's about moving forward not back. it's looking up not down. it's feeling up thinking up living up. it's being in motion... in body in spirit in the now. boost. it's not just nutrition. it's intelligent nutrition. with 26 vitamins and minerals and 10 grams of protein. all in 3 delicious flavors. it's choosing to go in one direction... up. boost. be up for it. except when it comes to retirement. at fidelity, you get a retirement score in just 60 seconds. and we'll help you make decisions for your plan... to keep you on track. it's your retirement. know where you stand. lergies with nasal congestion? find fast relief behind the counter with claritin-d. [ upbeat music ] strut past that aisle for the allergy relief that starts working in as little as 30 minutes and contains the best oral decongestant. live claritin clear, with claritin-d. what bad back?gels work so fast you'll ask what pulled hammy? advil liqui - gels make pain a distant memory nothing works faster stronger or longer what pain? advil. we're back now with a bolt from above. take a look at the scene caught on camera. lightning striking this baptist church in georgia blowing a hole right in the side leaving $30,000 in damage. thankfully no one was hurt. the winter storm new york city officials urge many people to stay off the road as possible. some on staten island didn't heed that order. two run away ponies escaping from their owners and leading police on a rather slow speed chase. cops caught up with them placing the pair on horse arrest. i don't think that's a thing. from one extreme to another. it's called a bloom blowing in the unlikeliest of places. recent plains have brought wild flowers back in southern california in extreme drought. their video cracked occupy tens of millions of people ♪ fifty years ago, humpback whales were nearly extinct. they rebounded because a decision was made to protect them. making the right decisions today for your long-term financial future can protect you and your family, and preserve your legacy. ask a financial advisor how retirement and life insurance solutions from pacific life can help you plan for your future. you may sometimes suffer from a dry mouth. that's why there's biotene. and biotene also comes in a handy spray. so you can moisturize your mouth anytime, anywhere. biotene, for people who suffer from dry mouth symptoms. anyone ever have occasional y! constipation,diarrhea, gas or bloating? she does. she does. help defend against those digestive issues. take phillips' colon health probiotic caps daily with three types of good bacteria. 400 likes? wow! try phillips' colon health. that just tastes better. with 10 times more vitamin e. and twice the omega 3s. because why have ordinary when you can have the best. only eggland's best. better taste. better nutrition. better eggs. essential for him, but maybe not for people with rheumatoid arthritis. because there are options. like an "unjection™". xeljanz xr. a once daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz xr can reduce pain, swelling and joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. don't start xeljanz xr if you have an infection. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz xr, and monitor certain liver tests. tell your doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. needles. fine for some. but for you, one pill a day may provide symptom relief. ask your doctor about xeljanz xr. an "unjection™". finally tonight, you've probably seen it tonight. the viral video that's been viewed over 84 million times and counting. people just can't stop laughing at these kids interrupting their dad at the worst possible moment. now the family is speaking out about what you didn't see behind the scenes. >> reporter: tonight professor robert kelly says he won't go near heat advisory phone. >> put them in airplane mode. i've turned off twitter alerts and facebook alerts. i'm not going near youtube. >> reporter: the viral fall out from that video. kelly, in his home office, trying to explain south korean politics live on the bbc when his daughter comes in and then his son, then his frantic wife spawning copy cats from italy to "the tonight show". today the professor was bravely back on camera trying to explain how it went down. >> i've been doing tv for a while. >> most of the time he locks the door. >> reporter: 4-year-old marion's adorable swagger. she said she was in a great mood after her birthday after school. >> once my son came in in the little roller then there was nothing i could do. >> reporter: the family wasn't prepared for worldwide fame. >> calm down. >> most are interested in this fading to a manageable level. >> reporter: marion might have other plans. >> now she wants to talk to you. want me bring her in? this is my life, man. >> reporter: his expertise may pay the bills but a moment with marion. >> what did you do for your birthday at school, honey? i don't know, man. >> reporter: priceless. nbc news. >> i feel a reality tv show in their future. that's going to do it for us on this tuesday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. bracing for a new threat. first we saw snow and ice and severe flooding. >> i'm dropping branchs in my backyard right and left. >> now time for the reprieve. which will impact the rest of your night. >> if you feel your house is in danger, get out of your house. >> and your morning commute. >> there is a layer of ice down on the road. >> tonight, first alert team is all across the region in pennsylvania, new jersey, and delaware. keeping you prepared for what's next. >> you're watching continuing winter storm coverage on nbc 10, count on it. >> tonight, digging out after a day of snow. even the biggest trucks were no match for mother nature today. >> flooding drubl down the shore. tonight's streets are closed. cars are left strand aid long the coast. >> tonight a blanket of white is covering much of the viewing area. here is a live look at center city. now time to get ready for the refreeze we've been telling you about. >> we'll be with you for the next hour bringing you weather coverage. the winter storm and freeze coming next. now the biggest issue facing our area, icy roads and sidewalks will cause problems just about everywhere. in past few minutes, we