Experts say the use of the inflatable could be intended to send a message to Washington.

Musa Hasahya Kasera has so many children he can't remember most of their names."The challenge is I can only remember the name of my first and the last born but some of the children I can't recall their names," he said as he rummaged through piles of old notebooks looking for details about their births.

As hundreds of thousands remain without power in Texas on Thursday amid frigid temperatures and icy roads, the Northeast is bracing for a blast of bitterly freezing air that forecasters say could be the coldest felt in decades.