>> reporter: it's not just a grunt? >> definitely not. this is the "cbs evening news" with jeff glor. include some at the white house, the bannon mocked the exprt his family and aaccused donald trump jr. of treason for his june 2016 meeting with russians who had offered incriminating information on hillary clinton. bannon said, "even if you thought that this was not treasonous or unpatriotic-- and i happen to think it's all of that-- you should have called the f.b.i. immediately." he then speculated that trump jr. had also involved his father in the meeting, a claim that white house press secretary sarah sanders denied. >> i think furious, disgusted would probably certainly fit when you make such outrageous claims and completely false claims against the president, his administration, and his family. >> reporter: sanders point out that bannon contradicted his characterization of the russia probe to "60 minutes" in september. >> there's nothing to the russia investigation. it's a waste of time. >> reporter: according to the book, the investigation will focus on money laundering and trump jr. will "crack like an egg" under scrutiny from the special counsel. bannon was campaign c.e.o. and chief strategist in the west wing, a position the white house called equivalent to the chief of staff. >> i like mr. bannon. he's a friend of mine. >> reporter: today, mr. trump blasted bannon saying he had "very little to do with our historic victory. steve bannon doesn't represent my base. he's only in it for himself." as for election night, the book's author reports that the trump team actually expected defeat, and as election results rolled in showing trump on the path to victory, don jr. told a friend, "he looked as if he had seen a ghost." the white house called this trashy tabloid fiction. jeff. >> glor: margaret, thank you very much. we turn now to john dickerson, our cbs news chief washington correspondent. and fairchgor the "face the nation." john, quite a statement today from the president. what do you make of >> you know, well, the start of the statement that starts, "steve bannon has nothing to do with me or my presidency." it's like saying you're not married to your ex-wife. it's true at the moment, but it doesn't erase the marriage. the president was responding to the comments in the book by michael wolff, and that book paints a picture of a campaign and a white house and a president unexpreepped in chaos. so the over-the-top statement by the president of the united states today about steve bannon doesn't really refute that picture, and in a way, may affirm it. >> glor: john, steve bannon has insisted he's going to play a large role in this big midterm election year. so where does this leave the administration and the republican party? >> you know, well, he is a searing critic of the republican establishment, much like donald trump was. and he has promised to help dethrone senate majority leader mitch mcconnell-- republican senate majority leader, that is-- on behalf the grass roots. and today, mcconnell's twitter account posted a short clip of the senate majority leader smiling. shortly after the president issued his denunciation of bannon in which he mcconnell's team seems to think it is good for the paerpts, because it is diminishing candidates who trump doesn't think can get elected, but steve bannon has talked about being a street fighter so there are likely to be more rounds of in-fighting. >> glor: john dickerson, thanks very much. the president former campaign chairman sued special counsel robert mueller and the justice department today. paul manafort said mueller exceeded his authority by charging him for conduct unrelated to the russia investigation. manafort was indicted in october on charges of money launderrering stemming from political work in ukraine. the deep freeze that went across the south today, daytime temperatures more than three dreez below normal down into the teens and 20s, across mississippi, alabama, florida, georgia, and the carolinas. more than 2,000 flights are already canceled for tomorrow. here is manuel through brunswick, georgia, and while it isn't rare to see a massive backup here, the cause of this one was-- ice on the road if that are south. dozens of long-haul drivers decided it was time to pull over. even lee church, who is from indiana, put it in park. >> trying to get up to at least somewhere in south carolina because i knew it was supposed to start snowing. didn't work out that way. >> reporter: why not? >> well, i'd say there's about a quarter inch of ice on the road, and it's icing everything up, and just snow on top of it is a real bad situation. >> reporter: hundreds of accidents littered roadways from georgia to the carolinas. sem trucks flipped over, and cars lost control. those who didn't heed the warnings to stay off roads found themselves stuck. georgia state patrol captain chris wright. >> this is not something that our people are accustomed to dealing with, so we want them to stay home, stay off the roadway, and stay safe and stay warm. >> reporter: tipped as far as tallahassee, florida, which hadn't seen much of any snowfall in nearly three decades. and while it wasn't a whiteout, it was an unusual sight for tourists in the pal mato state. >> it's pretty wild. i've never seen palm trees with snow on them before. >> reporter: heading into tonight, winds could cause more power outragages along south coastal communitys. ice that's formed on trees and power lines threatens to weigh down and snap them. the savannah area received anywhere from one to 4.5 inches of snow, amounts not seen in decades. and even though it's tapered off, you can tell by this partly frozen fountain behind me, the threat remains. roads could refreeze overnight and below-average temperatures are expected to last in the southeast through the weekend. joaf. >> glor: many, thanks very much. could be a very tricky commute. for kids in louisville, kentucky, hockey is generally played indoors, but they are getting a rare area. folks in chicago are used to cold weather, but this is a long stretch even for them. if the temperature does not rise above 20 degrees by saturday, chicago will tie a record for 12 consecutive days below twernt. that has happened just twice before, in 1936 and 1895. out on cape cod in massachusetts, the famous beaches and basis look more like an arctic tundra. and the so-called slurpee waves are back-- salty slush is washing ashore. this is all setting the stage in the east for what weather experts are calling, a bomb cyclone or bombogenesis. for more on this let's bring in eric fisher from our cbs station in boston. whais the preferred term and wht does it mean? >> i would go old school. i would go with bombogenesis. bomb cycle is the way of saying the same exact thing. it's something that happens every year. this will be notable because of how deep this storm will get in a very short amount of time. we take a look at 2:00 in the afternoon, 104 millibars. run of the mill. tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 as it moves off the new england shoreline, we're down around 955 millibars. that is a tremendous drop, almost 50 millibars in 24 hours. that's bombogenesis. has to be at least 24 in 24 hours. why does it matter to anyone on the ground? the faster that pressure drops, the more the wind respond in kind, and this is going to be a big wind maker across the coast, especially in new england. here's the timeline, snowing in north carolina this evening, moving up across the mid-atlantic coast. heavy snowfall confined close to the coastline as we head to the overnight, and scirgt the big cities like philly and new york. the heaviest snowfall falls in new england throughout the day tomorrow. all wrapped up, this is a storm that will likely have an eye fiewter tomorrow. if you're, looking on satellite, the featurees of a hurricane. boston a foot or a little more is very back edge of the snowfall. now, this is going to drag in another blast of the really impressive cold. these are mainly all record cold temperatures for highs as we look into friday and saturday, and at night, widespread subzero readings. this may be the coldest blast of the entire stretch we have seen here, jeff, since dating back on christmas. there is a little bit of relief as we head closer to the middle of the month. it's going to take a while to get here but a january thaw may be in the offing. >> glor: all right, eric. and bombogenesis it is. in lask today it was 40 and raining in juneau. steve bannon is not the only target of the president's ire. last night, mr. trump mocked kim jong-un and north korea's nuclear capabilities in an extraordinary tweet. david martin at the pentagon has more on this. >> reporter: no american president has ever made such a blatant nuclear threat. responding to kim jong-un's boast that he has a nuclear trump tweeted, "i, too, have a nuclear button that is bigger and more powerful, and my button works." we don't know what kim thought of the tweet, but it was unsettling to former vice president biden who once had the authority to hit the button if something happened to president obama. >> this is not the stuff to be tweeting about. it is a very, very, very difficult problem. >> reporter: it's not an actual button but a briefcase called "the football" carried by an aide who follows the president everywhere. it containtz codes the commander in chief would need to order the use of newly weapons. whatever you call it, american nuclear forces are incomparably more powerful than north korea's. this one submarine carries more warheads than kim jong-un has in his entire arsenal. so the president's tweet is not an empty boast, but would he really use nuclear weapons against north korea? former senator sam nunn is founder of an institute posed by weapons of mass destruction. >> no, i think it's a throwaway remark that is callous, but i don't think it signals a change in nuclear policy. >> reporter: american policy has long been to use nuclear weapons only in extreme circumstances, such as a nuclear attack against the united states. nuclear war remains all but unthinkable, and according to nunn, making threats about it should be unspeakable. >> i think it increases the risk of miscalculation, or what i call "war by blunder." to me, that's the greatest danger here, and the heated rhetoric on both sides creates a whole lot more risk in that regard. we could easily have a war nobody intended and nobody wanted. >> reporter: if it comes to war, the u.s. should be able to destroy the north korean regime without resorting to nuclear weapons, which could spread radioactive fallout over allies like japan and south korea, not to mention china and russia. ff now a look at some of the other stories we're following in tonight's evening newsfeed. vice president mike pence swore in two new senators today, alabama democrat doug jones, who won a special election for the seat once held by attorney general jeff sessions; and minnesota democrat tina smith. she was appointed to replace al franken who resigned over allegations of sexual misconduct. a 25-year-old man accused of setting up a deadly swatting prank appeared in a los angeles courtroom today. tyler barris will not fight extradition to kansas. the police say he made a bogus 911 call last week that sent them to a house in wichita where an officer mistakenly shot and killed an innocent man. gas prices will go up again this year, according to gasbuddy.com, a gallon of regular will average $2.57 in 2018, the highest since 2014. rising oil prices are to blame. there is much more ahead on tonight's cbs evening >> reporter: there's dressed to kill and dressed not to be killed. i'm talking about armored clothing. >> glor: a passenger forgot to pack his patience. >> reporter: could elephant seals know each other by name? researchers studying the animals on the california coast say that could be the case. so that's not just a grunt? >> you know, definitely not, no. nick was born to move. 3 toddlers won't stop him. and neither will lower back pain. because at a dr. scholl's kiosk he got a recommendation for our custom fit orthotic to relieve his foot, knee, or lower back pain, from being on his feet. dr. scholl's. born to move. that $100k is not exactly a fortune. well, a 103 a long time. then it's a fortune. i told you we had a fortune. get closer to your investment goals with a conversation. do i use a toothpaste thati had whitens my teeth or one... ...that's good for my teeth? now i don't have to choose! my dentist told me about new crest whitening therapy. so, i tried it! from crest 3d white comes new whitening therapy. it's our best whitening technology. plus, it has a fortifying formula to protect your enamel. now i get a whiter smile and healthy teeth, all in one. the 3d white collection from crest. healthy, beautiful smiles for life. with advil's fast relief, you'll ask, "what pulled muscle?" "what headache?" nothing works faster to make pain a distant memory. advil liqui-gels and advil liqui-gels minis. what pain? advil liqui-gels and advil liqui-gels minis. ♪ you ready, babe? how do you become the most trusted brand of suvs? you make it for those who are running a bit late. run into a little trouble... or might just be running low... alexa, tell starbucks to start my usual order. so that the morning routine stays routine. that's ford, and that's how you become the most trusted brand of suv. >> glor: after a year that saw two of the deadliest mass shootings in u.s. history, some are finding an extra layer of security in bullet its proof clothing. mark strassmann has more on this. >> not too snug. >> reporter: this virginia clothing store sells "dressed to kill," but in the back, its tailors sew soft armor into soft fabrics for another reason: dressed not to be killed. >> we're in business to offer that security and protection for davis and abbas hillsider launched their clothing line. an armored t-shirt cost almost a grand. an armor's manned's suit costs $8,000. repeatedly stopped bullets fired pointblank from a ..9-millimeter hand gun. j.j. wood tried on armored jacket, part of a clothing line developed as a defense against drug cartels. >> it's comfortable and you have, i guess, that paefs mind. >> reporter: 85% of their customers work for u.s. government agencies, but they also sell to foreign v.i.p.s, oil executives, and everyday or a vegas shooting, does business go up? >> unfortunately yes. >> sadly, yes. >> reporter: is it a dramatic increase zoo yes. we had a grandma that contacted us and wanted a ballistic sweatshirt. >> reporter: it's illegal for convicted felons to buy armored clothing. background checks aren't required by law, but espeto runs them anyway, in a business where taking precautions has come into fashion. mark strassmann, cbs news, fredricksburg, virginia. >> glor: when we come back here, an update on a charity that's become a winner after a last-minute touchdown pass. . >> glor: a passenger tired of waiting to exit a plane in spain decided to wing it. he climbed out an emergency exit andon to the ring of a ryan air jet after it arrived from london. the plane had been sitting at the gate for about half an hour. the donations keep pouring in to andy dalton's foundation. on sunday, the quarterback threw the touchdown pass that eliminated baltimore and put buffalo bills into the play-offs. since then, fans have contributed about a quarter of a million dollars to dalton's charity which helps special needs children. and every kid who has played a sport has dreamed of going to the olympics, so it was a very special moment when bobby butler told his dad he'd be selected for the u.s. hockey team. >> yeeeaah! wooo! >> glor: butler, who is 30 has played all over the world but now he gets to wearlet red, white, and blue in south korea. up next, the love call of the elephant seal. ♪ video-game dance music [burke] abstract accident. seen it. covered it. we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ if you could see your cough, you'd see all the sickness you're spreading. robitussin cf max. nothing lasts longer and treats more symptoms for your cough, cold and flu. (elevator bell ringing) robitussin cf max severe. because it's never just a cough. you or joints. something for your heart... robitussin cf max severe. but do you take something for your brain. with an ingredient originally found in jellyfish, prevagen is the number one selling brain-health supplement in drug stores nationwide. prevagen. the name to remember. depend silhouette briefs. feature a comfortable sleek fit. as a dancer, i've learned you can't have any doubts. because looking good on stage is one thing. but real confidence comes from feeling good out there. get a coupon at depend.com i tabut with my back paines, i couldn't sleep and get up in time. then i f >> glor: we end this winter night with a search for love along the shores of california. it is meating season for the elephant seal. here's john blackstone. >> reporter: watching epifants seals resting laysly on a california beach, it can be hard to imagine unseen far out in the ocean, they're athletes. >> they're really the olympians of the diving world. >> reporter: researchers in dan costa's lab at the university of california sanda crews put tracking devices on elephant seals to follow them thousands of miles across the pacific. >> each white line here is the trajectory of an animal that we have tagged. >> reporter: each white line. this becomes solid in there. >> there are a lot of animals. >> we had no idea they were diving to 2,000 feet or more, and doing it routinely. >> reporter: rea elephant seals do right here on the beach. does that guy send a message to the other one coming in here? >> yeah, he sure did. >> reporter: that message, says researcher carolyn casey, is surprisingly scientis sophis. >> reporter: so that's not just a grunt? >> definitely not, no. >> reporter: elephant seals are the only animals known to recognize and remember each other through the unique rhythm of their call. in effect, the elephant seal is shouting its name. >> so, for example, if he interacted with sam, and he can actually hear sam's call and say,ings oh, sam, i remember sam. he beat me last time. i'm not going to mess with him again." >> reporter: what can be aica fof me on the beach makes sense in the lab. >> this is from a male, and he has kind of like a gallup-- ba-ba-dup. this one is aing because these pulses are so short and super staccato. >> often you sit there and see-- we call them sleeping slugs. and when you really understand when they do-- their diving behavior, their on-the-beach behavior-- they're a pretty amazing animal. >> reporter: their looks may leave something to be. >> glor: that is fantastic, and that is the cbs evening news tonight. i'm jeff glor. good night. small business, internet providers promise you a lot. let's see who delivers more. comcast business offers fast gig-speeds across our network. verizon doesn't. we offer more complete reliability with up to 8 hours of 4g wireless network backup. verizon, no way. we offer 35 voice features and solutions that grow with your business. verizon, not so much. get internet on our gig-speed network and add voice and tv for $34.90 more per month. call 1-800-501-6000. ♪[ music ] it's pretty wild, i've never seen palm trees with snow on them before. >> the first time in some 28 years, snow fell in tallahassee, florida. some kids seeing snow for the very first time. all part of a major winter storm headed our way tonight as most of the country battles freezing temperatures. this is an image we haven't seen in a while. winter storm warnings issued alacross the east coast. at one point, it included warnings from florida all the way up to maine. topper, when is the last time we saw a winter storm impact this much of the east coast? >> i think you have to go back to the '90s bruce.