COSTELLO: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. Checking our top stories at 27 minutes past the hour, New York's governor has declared a state of emergency as another gigantic winter storm pounds the state with snow and ice. In Philadelphia, nearly a third of the city's population is without power due to this latest winter storm. Officials expect that number to grow as the storm continues. Snow and ice on much of the country stretching from Wyoming to Maine. It is the seventh storm to push through the northeast. Today, parts of the northeast could see 12 inches of snow. The Boston area is getting buried under a pile of wet, heavy snow. It could stack up at the rate of an inch or two an hour. In Philadelphia, as I said, nearly 500,000 people are without power due to the storm. Officials expect that number to grow as the storm continues to push through the country. A new report from the united nations is demanding the Vatican take action against child abuse. They are urging the Catholic Church to remove all suspected abuseers and amend church law so the violation of children will be considered a crime. The number of U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan is dropping. "The Washington Post" is out with a controversial reason why. They claim the Pakistani government asked the U.S. to stop the strikes while officials pursued peace talks with the Taliban. Today, White House officials tell CNN that is absolutely not true. Jim Acosta is live at the White House with the story. Tell us more, Jim.</s>JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. That's right. There is no question there has been a reduction in drone strikes used in Pakistan since last December and that "Washington Post" article that you mentioned, Carol, suggests that one of the reasons might be or that is, is because the Pakistani government has gone to the White House and said, we would like to see that use of drone strikes reduced as the Pakistani government starts to meet with the Taliban for peace talks. The White House is saying, that is just not the case.
New Storm Hammers 120 Million Americans