A touchdown. And College Football frenzy the top four teams in the country facing off overnight in the firstever playoffs. Oregon flying past defending champ Florida State in a big blow out. And the other game coming down to the final play. Ohio state stunning alabama for a chance at the title. And good morning, america. Happy new year. I know many of you are still enjoying a long holiday weekend. In fact its one of those weeks where i cant remember what day it is. Its thursday, i think. Its friday. I dont know. Did everybody have a great new year . Of course. What did you do ginger . Worked and then hung out with friends. Well go around the horn. Me and sara were together and had a fun evening. We dont have newborn babies at home. I had a week ole baby at home i was at home with spitup on my shirt. We should say that millions the americans returning home from vacation this weekend. Flying or driving in very dangerous conditions. Check this out, dozens of cars crashing on snowy or icy roads. Stretching from coast to coast. Ginger is tracking it all for us. At this point, california arizona, parts of the states have more snow than new york city this season. Look at the beautiful picture. As pretty as it is in the grand canyon roads have been so icy. This morning, more sleet and freezing rain. The winter storm warnings from west texas up through Oklahoma City. January in full effect this morning. Freezing rain snow and bonechilling cold sweeping the nation. In Oklahoma State troopers dealing with dozens of crashes. Ice from freezing rain sending semis spinning. And take a look at this wild accident in oklahoma. A truck standing on its front bumper. The rear tires lodged in the power line. Officers say he was going too fast trying to get across a bridge covered in ice. A lot of smashed cars. But none on power lines. Reporter bursting pipes, damaging homes. Water rushing underneath almost four garages wide. Reporter in arizona, up to 20 inches of snow in the last two days. Even some snow on the cactus in tucson. And in pasadena wednesday, rose bowl fans witnessing whipping winds, tearing through fanfest. Huge debris flying. People running, four people were injured. And check this out, its a steam devil on clinton lake in illinois on wednesday. The cold air over the relatively warm lake spinning, whipping the fog across the water. Ice storm warning for Oklahoma City. Some of the heftest going to fall, and a quarter inch or more bad for power lines. On the backside the panhandle of texas, up to des moines and chicago. What it means on the front . Storms. They could become severe. Tomorrow in new orleans over to parts of mississippi. And look at the warm front. For the northeast, starts as a cold mix, and then becomes warm. And im talking 60s from washington, d. C. Up to new york city. Wrap around a little snow in chicago. Dan. I like the sounds that have. Thank you. Well continue to cover the forecast on abc news and throughout the weekend. But move on now. Because this morning america lost a political giant. The former governor of new york cuomo, dying just hours after his son, andrew was sworn in for the job he once held. He flirted with running for president several times and david wright has more. Mario cuomo was the silvertongued patriarch of a political dynasty in new york. A liberal lion who might have been president , except he never sought the job. Mr. President , you ought to know that this nation is more a tale of two cities than it is just a shining city on a hill. Reporter best remembered for the keynote speech at the 1984 president ial convention he begged to differ with the president on the gogo 8dss, insisting there was an america he didnt see. If you saw the woman who could not feed her children because you needed the money for a tax break for a millionaire or for a missile we couldnt afford to use. Reporter he upstaged the partys nominee, walter mondale. And in 1988 and 1992 he disappointed democrats, refusing to run. I accept the chairman that it would be in the best interest of the Democratic Party that i abandon any such effort now. Reporter still he remained a force in the party and lived long enough to see his son, andrew sworn in twice for the job he himself held for three terms. My father is in this room. Hes in in the heart and mind of every person who is here. Hes here and hes here. So lets give him a round of applause. Reporter you know i grew up here in new york state at a time when mario cuomo was governor and would have loved to see him run for president. He could be spellbinding. 82 years old,ed pay try yark of a political family. The son is the Current Governor of new york and the friend and former news anchor david cuomo. Thank you david. Now on the latest for the search for airasia flight 8501. More pulled from the water as they battle the rough weather. The investigation turning to the ocean floor. And Muhammad Lila has the latest from indonesia. Good morning. Reporter good morning, amy. So far a total of 30 bodies have been pulled out of the water. But recovery teams today face yet another hurdle. This morning, another setback, more Stormy Weather threatening to derail the Recovery Mission again. The search area is massive, with more aircraft and ships arriving today equipped with sonar and metal detecters to scour an area of 13,000 nautical miles. Still missing, the fuselage and the people on board. The important question is where are the bodies of the people recovered . Where were they sitting on the airplane . Reporter of the bodies six were pulled out of the water by the uss sampson. Another ship the uss fort worth is in the area. Ready to deploy with an official request from the indonesian government. Theres no question they will find the wreckage, they need to do it rapidly. Reporter but the clock is ticking. It disappeared on sunday with 162 people on board. Last communication was a request from the pilot to climb to a higher altitude to avoid a storm system. The only way to know what happened next is to find the planes bax black box. Its water proof and indestructible indestructible but only a battery for 30 to 45 days. With six days gone, no telling how much longer the search could take. And recovery teams found more debris believing it came from inside the plane. Thats important, that means they could be inching towards finding the body of the plane itself. Amy and dan. Of course the black boxes. Thank you so much. And now to ryan smith with the other top developing stories. Good morning, happy new year to you folks. We begin with new gas taxes threatening to drive prices back up in some states. Prices have been steadily marching downward. The gallon of regular is below 2 in some areas. But the new tax could be a speed bump. We turn to Rebecca Jarvis for more. Reporter good morning. And first the good news as of this morning, gas prices drop dropped for 99 days straight. Its the longest streak of price declines ever. We have saved 14 billion at the pump last year. Thats about 115 in savings for the average family. The price drops this is the best news expected to continue this year. Analysts predicting they will fall 10 cents nationally over the next two weeks, except in a handful of states that raised the gas taxes yesterday. Filling up in virginia maryland North Carolina pennsylvania or michigan you might notice that prices are up a few cents more at the pump. In pennsylvania though, the new tax means prices are up 10 cents at the pump following a 9. 5 cent increase last year or the year before. Its the new year. And still on track to see lower gas prices. Price this is year will be 23 lower than they were in 2014. A happy new year for all. Absolutely, rebecca. Happy for so many at the pump. Appreciate that. Another major recall for General Motors because of defective ignitions. Nearly 100,000 fullsize pickup trucks and suvs could have ignition lock problems in hot weather. A wide variety sold since 2007 are being recalled chevy, gmc and cadillac models. And tracking down a robber after a wild shootout. Tried to hold you have a gas station, but the owner opened fire on the suspect the suspect shot back missed. He was injured and managed to get away. And an illinois man gets a car part removed from his body. That had been in him for more than 50 years. The 7inch turn signal level lodged in his arm in an accident in 1963. Dr. Richard besser saying what . He didnt notice it because he had a hip injury. It never bothered him until recently. And finally this video going viral this morning. Were having trouble figuring out which side the gas tank is on. Pulls up no luck not there. Drives back around not there, wrong side. Okay lets try again, nope not there . Wait fourth go round, not there. Okay and finally no excuse me, fifty go around she manages to line it up with the tank. What state is she . She owned the car. And sometimes, dan we forget, you know . Your other right. Thats right. Its the other side. No that side no this side. Thank you. Im sure dans done it before. More questionens that answers. And move on we have information about the flu. The cdc will release information today. 32 states have high flu activity. And doctors are taking steps to protect themselves and their patients. Dr. Richard besser is here to talk about this. What do you expect from the new cdc numbers . Its like following gingers weather maps starts in the northeast, the midwest, spreads out from there. We will see high flu activity the holiday vacation, people spread the flu. If youre experiencing symptoms should you be going to seat doctor . Thats peoples Natural Inclination inclination. But i dont want to see my waiting room filled up with people with flu. Doctors are practicing te he medicine. I may be able to diagnosis you over the phone and treat you. But in a high risk group, over 65 children under 5, pregnant women, those with medical conditions. Call your doctor right away. Antiflu medications only work in the first two days. This could be a particularly nasty flu season its not too late to get the flu shot. Thank you, over to you, amy. Thank you. And now to the Georgia Police chief under investigation this morning. He shot his wife in the Early Morning hours of new years day in their bedroom. She is in Critical Condition this morning. He says it was just a horrible accident. Lindsey days has the latest. This falls into the category of one of the worst ways to start the new year. Peachtree police chief William Mccollum is used to responding to 911 calls, but he was the one placing the call. The police chief in a small town outside of atlanta, under investigation by the Georgia Bureau of investigation. Police chief William Mccollum calling 911 after shooting his 58yearold wife, margaret in their bedroom after 4 00 wednesday morning. The initial reports were that the chief had shot his wife cincinnatily twice. As a result of our preliminary interview, we have found that he only shot her one time. Reporter this morning margaret is in Critical Condition but alive. Were interviewing the chief. When his wife Margaret Mccollum is able to be interviewed, well being interviewing her. Reporter mccollum is on administrative leave as they look at the circumstances of the shoot. Any time a Police Officer is involved in a shooting we look at their background. Our role is wait and see. There are a lot of things we dont know yet about what took place we need to know before we can make any decisions. Reporter mccollum has been the chief of police for just over 5 months earning the trust and respect of his colleagues. The department is hurting. A wellloved chief. Reporter the thoughts of the small georgia town with maggie mccollum, trying to recover in the hospital this morning. Maggie is a wonderful person. Were concerned for her health. Hope she gets better. My kids are all worried about her. Reporter investigators would not say which part of her body was struck. The police chief has not been charged. No explanation has been offered in the case. Was he cleaning his gun . At 4 00 in the morning. It could be possible the key is when they interview her. Yes. Waiting to hear what happens if shes able to be interviewed. Thank you. And now switch gears to the firstever playoff for College Football. Fans were treated to two games to decide which teams would play for the National Championship. Those games did not disappoint. Oregon and ohio state coming away with wins. Now set to face off for the title on january 12th. And gio benitez is here covering the historic postseason. Good morning. Reporter good morning. College football fans now are treated to another ten days of anticipation. Football titans taking the field overnight for a series of games generating major cash. Spencer to the end zone touchdown. Reporter overnight the four top teams in the plan taking center stage in the firstever College Football playoff, leading to a National Championship game. Side steps a man and scores. Reporter oregon destroying defending National ChampsFlorida State in a battle of the heisman winners. This years winner, marcus mariota, leading the ducks to a nearly 40point victory in the rose bowl sunday. Last years winner Jameis Winston and the seminoles unable to hold on to the ball turning it over five times in just the second half. After the game many Florida State players refusing to shake hands. Thats disappointing that 70 of the Florida State team is in the locker room. Reporter the second matchup, more of a nail biter. Off to the races, can they catch him . No. Reporter ohio state sprinting past top seed alabama in the sugar bowl 4235. After a Fourth Quarter filled with big hits and hold your breath moments. Floats in the air. And almost caught. Reporter but in the end hail mary. Not answered. Intercepted. Ohio states going to win it. Reporter the football friendsfrenzy bringing in big bucks. Its unpapered in college athletics. Reporter and taking an additional 25 grand with the win, and ohio states coach, 50,000 in bonus. The real winners are the fans they say. Indeed they are. And again, oregon and ohio state battle it out at the National Championship game on january 12th in arlington, texas. So much excitement on both fields overnight. And let me amplify that you can catch the championship game oregon versus ohio state on espn. And move on thank you. Move on to the cold morning in the southwest. And ginger were waiting for you to verify the january warmup i have been predicting. If you havent been watching dans been lying for the last three days. Hes wrong. I wish i could tell you something different. Aside from sunday in new york city which will be mild its going to get cold again. It has been cold. This is arizona, just northwest of tucson. Tucson woke up to snow on new years day. Thats just how we start. Guess what . Of course the timing that im going to the weather conference in the southwest is when its this cold. Waking this morning with freeze warnings and frost advisories. L. A. X. A record low of 36. Here is a quick warmup. The chilly cities brought to you by burlington. Reporter hello everybody david murphy here with an update from accuweather. Nothing showing on Storm Tracker 6 live double scan. In fact as we take a look outside, a portion of the region is looking at clear skies. Well get a fair amount of sunshine throughout the airport. The farther south you are the better chance of a cloud cover. 44 is the high partly sunny better than yesterday. Rain arrives tomorrow it could start out a wintersy mix in the northern and western suburbs enter changing over. 54 sunday new york could be warmer. Im eager to hear about the weather conference. Sounds like a barrel of laughs. Its going to be good. Hang out and talk cumulonimbus. Thank you very much. We have a lot to get to here on good morning america. Coming up next the texas man shot dead trying to get into his neighbors home. Why the victims family says its a tragic misunderstanding, he was actually sleep walking. The weather outside is frightful but the fire is so delightful [ male announcer ] nothing melts away the cold like a hot delicious bowl of chicken noodle soup from campbells. Let it snow, let it snow esurance was born online. Which means fewer costs, which saves money. Their Customer Experience is virtually paperless which saves paper, which saves money. They have smart online tools so you only pay for whats right for you which saves money. 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