., they just and we're going to see some heavy rain in baltimore, washington, d.c., back through west virginia. flood watches are posted for this rain. marching up the eastern seaboard. all snow from buffalo back through western pennsylvania and some severe weather across parts of south florida. there's a massive, massive storm. as you mentioned, all sorts of wild swings. a difficult commute this morning and this afternoon. back to you. >> you could feel the difference when you came to work this morning. >> a big difference. >>> we move on to the race for the white house. the focus on south carolina, the gop primary just four days away, jeb bush brings in his big brother to take on donald trump. as trump doubles down on his attacks against bush, ted cruz, the entire republican establishment. mr. trump will join us live after this report from abc's tom llamas in south carolina. >> reporter: george, good morning to you. that crowd last night loved seeing president bush. voters i spoke to afterwards said it added a layer of legitimacy to jeb bush's campaign. but donald trump saying it's

chris took himself down when he did the george washington bridge. and when he's rated 50 out of 50 in jersey. new jersey is the 50th worse meaning it's the last. he shouldn't be talking like that. i'm surprised he would talk like that. because i know him. i guess he used to be a friend until this all happened. no, i think it's been just the opposite. i would be very surprised. he's got enough problems and he's doing very poorly in the polls. i'm surprised that he would have said that. my life has been a life of success, it's been a life of winning, it's been a life of making great deals. it's been a life -- i have achieved tremendous success in so many different ways. for somebody to say that, obviously, isn't doing really well right now is pretty unusual, i think. >> you'll be facing the voters for the first time tonight. we'll be talking to your sons in the next half-hour. thank you for joining us this morning. we'll be talking to you later as well. >> thank you very much. >>> donna brazile. and matthew dowd and when we see what's going on here, i

all right, martha, thank you very much and george is in washington, as well. george. >> that's right. we'll get to president obama's final state of the union right now. pretty punchy and passionate defending his record, optimistic overall but the president also showed a rare flash of regret and he was not shy about faking on the republicans hoping to replace him. abc's jon karl has covered the obama presidency from the start and joins us from the white house now. good morning, jon. >> reporter: good morning, george. the president said one of the few regrets is failing to overcome the bitter partisan divide in washington but his critics are just plain wrong, america under his leadership is booming. >> anyone claiming that america's economy is in decline is peddling fiction. >> reporter: in his final state of the union address, president america on his watch is in decline. >> the united states of america is the most powerful nation on earth, period. [ applause ] >> reporter: obama pitched optimism for the future and a case for a democrat to succeed him taking a

five americans, trapped behind bars for years in iran, finally on their way home, including this "washington post" reporter. family members elated. >> i'm proud of saeed for having stood up for his faith as a christian. >> was the surprise release tied to that landmark nuclear deal? >>> and the escalating feud. between donald trump and ted cruz, now holding nothing back. trump got booed during this attack. >> didn't report his bank loan. say whatever you want. it's okay. their big debate tonight. with the polls tightening, does hillary clinton have to sharpen her attack? >>> and caught on camera. nascar racing legend tony stewart goes after a fan in the stands.l, as the star is facing a ongful death lawsuit over is. so, what fueled the new fight? >>> good morning. paula is off today. we're very happy to have the extraordinary cecilia vega at the desk. >> i told him to say that. >> and cecilia, as you well know, as one of our chief campaign reporters, things keep getting hotter out there on the trail. what donald trump told our george stephanopoulos in a sit-down interview. his war of words w

sarah palin has not commented but the washington times reports that the palin family attorney says they appreciate the respect for the family's privacy as track receives the help that he and many of our returning veterans need so much. george. >> and, tom, switching gears, a real tragedy on the campaign trail yesterday. >> reporter: so sad. a volunteer for dr. ben carson has died. in a car accident. three other campaign workers were injured when their van hit a patch of ice and flipped over. last night dr. carspoke outside the hospital. >> life is so fleeting and we have to make the most of every bit of it that we can, but if every one of us could just think about how we can make somebody braden. >> reporter: the carson campaign immediately suspending all campaign activities to deal with this tragedy. our thoughts and prayers with the carson campaign this morning george. >> boy, they sure are. thanks very much. >>> as you mentioned there's big news for democrats this morning. that stunning new poll showing bernie sanders with a nearly 30-point lead over hillary clinton in new hampshire.

memorial in washington, d.c. as the birthday this morning and we are up. >> hope you're enjoying your day. hillary clinton and bernie sanders back at it on the campaign trail after last night's face-off. their final debate before the iowa caucus. they're going head to head on health care guns and wall street. tom brady and the patriots will take on the broncos. the fifth time those two superstars face each other in the playoffs. the panthers are taking on the game. both great games. speaking of football everybody, take a look at this 7-year-old, his mom says if you can believe it he was bullied for being a seahawks fan living in south carolina. well the team may not have won this weekend but that little guy got a pretty amazing surprise. guess who is coming to his defense? jesse will have his story. >> he got the last laugh. an amazing story and the seattle seahawks came through for him, >> that is coming up. we begin with sean penn. he is setting the record straight about his secret interview with the druglord.

both in washington and on the campaign trail. jon karl is at the white house with that side of the story. >> reporter: good morning, george, this is a battle that's likely to extend throughout this presidential campaign and into the first months of the next presidency. the battle over replacing justice antonin scalia came fast and furious. less than an hour after the supreme court announced his death on saturday, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell declared the vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president. senator marco rubio told george, the senate shouldn't start the process no matter who president obama nominates. >> within the last few months of the president's term we court justices. now the president can nominate whoever he wants. the senate shouldn't move forward until after the election. >> reporter: president obama called scalia a brilliant legal mind, made clear he would move forward anyway. >> i plan to fulfill my constitutional responsibilities to nominate a successor in due time. >> reporter: they're

the washington area expected to be hardest hit. could be the biggest snowstorm in nearly a hundred years. >> the radar and it shows how big the storm is sweeping across the south. dozens of reports of severe weather overnight including a tornado and massive hail. we do have full team coverage this morning from all across the storm zone. and abc's steve osunsami starts us off in asheville, good morning, steve. >> reporter: good morning to you, george. as you can see it is really coming down. in downtown asheville. when we arrived it was clear as day but look at it now. snow that is piling up on the streets here. the streets are quite, quite slick. authorities are trying to keep people off the road. it's as pretty as can be but underneath is ice overnight the storm refused to take a break. the threat of more severe weather is spreading to florida this morning. in arkansas drivers are sliding off the roads. this satellite shows the size of the snow storm sweeping through the east and south. at least 70 million people are sitting right

runners in washington, d.c., ditching the coats. all the cold weather gear. check that out. well, nearly nothing. this year's cupid's undie run. some runners admitted they could barely feel their legs. others said they put hand warmers in other strategic places. make up your own mind what that means. >> their shoes, for example. the run raises money for the children's tumor foundation. at game time. at run time, temperatures, imagine this, were in the teens. running in your underwear in temperatures in the teens. >> that's why the hand warmers in strategic places. >>> it's still not as cold as where indra is. >> she's tough. >> but she's also not wearing a bikini. or a speedo. >> what is she not wearing? >> where are you going with this? >> she may have strategic hand warmers. >> we have -- i'm grateful for the layers i have on. the danger is real out here. you're talking about wind chills here in central park, 20 below. how towards boston as low as 40 below possible this morning. there is another threat looming out there. let's get right to it. we have the threat for anothe

martha raddatz is tracking that from washington. martha, let's begin with that jared curb kushner, reporting in "the wall street journal" he may come into the white house in a formal position, but there will be real legal questions about that. >> reporter: as you know, he has been extremely influential and could take a white house job with sources telling abc news he's currently looking at options but it would clearly be in some sort of senior adviser role, and the trump team has asked that kushner get a security clearance during the transition, which makes complete sense because classified information could be discussed. now, there are federal nepotism rules for federal agencies, but that may not apply to the white house. either way, its would be very doubtful that kushner would take a salary, george. >> okay, martha. and a also on this national security front, there's talks about maybe having general michael flynn come in as national security adviser, the president-elect meeting with henry kissinger today, also nikki haley who is

washington's public schools are open but not those in northern virginia or baltimore. and take a look at this image, the only people at the capitol yesterday to convene the senate one senator said, it may speak to the heartiness of women to get to work in all that snow. >>> and a health alert this morning. an influential panel says all adults should be screened for depression, especially pregnant women and those who have just given birth. studies have then that at least one in eight such women and possibly one in five develop depression or other mental health issues. >>> the founder of popular bikram yoga will have to pay a massive penalty in a sexual harassment suit. los angeles jury hit bikram choudhury with nearly $7.5 million in damages to his former legal adviser. however, the eccentric yoga guru testified he is nearly bankrupt now. >>> finally a photographer is best known for his portrait of celebrities is getting a lot of buzz for something he. kevin absoch usually gets half a million dollars for portraits of someone famous like malala yousafzai or even yoko ono

abc's pierre thomas is in washington with that story for us. good morning, pierre. >> reporter: good morning, robin. in a blunt press conference the attorney general accused the city of ferguson of stonewalling attempts to right the wrongs of a police department she flatly described as racially biased. >> all: this is what democracy looks like. >> reporter: this morning the justice department firmly agreeing with african-american residents of ferguson saying their complaints of unfair and racially biased police enforcement are, in fact, true. >> the ferguson police department's violations in particular were expansive and deliberate, stopping people without reasonable suspicion. by arresting them without cause and by using unreasonable force. these violations were not only egregious, they were routine. they were driven at least in part by racial bias. department now suing the city of ferguson less than 24 hours after the city council rejected a deal to reform the police. >> i think the things that we've asked for are very reasonable. we're not t

. >>> as we have been saying, they're digging out in washington, d.c., as well. take a look at the nation's so deserted. deer running through the streets. >> that's fun. >> but this morning, all eyes in that town on the race for the white house, now entering its crucial final week before the iowa caucuses. just seven days to go. we have team coverage for you as the candidates make their pitch to voters. cecilia vega has the latest. >> reporter: robin, good morning to you. what a busy weekend it was here in iowa. hillary clinton and bernie sanders clocking in a lot of miles. going all over this state. right now it's crunch time and it comes down to this -- who can excite voters? and who can get them out to caucus come monday? this morning, hillary clinton and bernie sanders both waking up in the hawkeye state with one goal -- trying to convince iowans to pick them. >> i know some of you are still shopping. zigzagging around the state. each logging hundreds of miles. clinton making five campaign stops just this weekend. sanders, seven. over the past two days, more

. >> we have sent a message that we'll echo from wall street to washington. the government of our great country belongs to all of the people. and their super pacs. >> reporter: hillary clinton conceding defeat. >> i want to begin by congratulating senator sanders and his victory tonight. >> reporter: with bill and chelsea standing on stage >> it's not whether you get knocked down that matter, it's whether you get back up. particularly with young people. and here's what we're going to do, now we take this campaign to the entire country. we are going to fight for every vote in every state. >> reporter: and clinton concedes bernie sanders managed to tap into a real sense of anger among voters but her camp is telling us this morning they are shifting their focus now to those upcoming states south carolina and nevada, robin, where they hope she can tap into african voters. >> cecilia, what are we hearing about these reports of a possible shake-up within the clinton campaign? >> reporter: well, for now, robin, there is adamant denial inside the clinton team saying

>>> let's bring that question to jon karl in washington. you just saw that targeting that cecilia put up for bernie sanders. he's got to find a place to get some wins tuesday. >> reporter: that's right, and they see several possibilities on super tuesday to get some wins. you have bernie sanders' home state of vermont, neighboring massachusetts, minnesota, colorado, all states the sanders camp thinks they can win and single state for the democrats the delegates are awarded proportionally. even in states sanders loses to clinton he will still gather delegates. >> so hard to read. it's a relatively new caucus there but you got some firsthand evidence yesterday of the republican establishment really closing ranks behind marco rubio. >> reporter: oh, absolutely. you saw several united states senators, several congress -- members of congress, governors, former governors, all coming out and endorsing marco rubio yesterday. really quite a list including bob dole, the 1996 republican nominee. but, george, dole told me, i talked to him about this. h

storm. >> a live look at a highway in washington right now. less than 2 inches of snow but it's causing chaos and get ready because two feet is on the way. >> they are getting ready right now and rob is in alexandria, virginia. you are right in the middle of all the preparations. that's a lot of salt behind you. >> can you believe it, george? it's incredible. this is three times the normal size of a salt pile you'd see on a typical highway. 22,000 tons of this will be spread across northern virginia using 4,000 trucks in anticipation of this storm. bull's-eye, we think, for the most snowfall as we go through time and with the snow beginning here in earnest on friday but they certainly could have used this last night. it was less than two inches of snow that brought d.c., baltimore and virginia to a crawl. david kerley has that part of the story. david. >> they could have used it. i was in it last night but maryland didn't put down some treatments. they didn't think it was going to be that big of a storm. just a few hours ago this interstate wa

they're trying to keep warm in washington state. apparently the most googled search for a valentine's gift, bearskin rugs. >> really? >> in mississippi, romantic mix tapes. what is it, the 1980s? >> hey, i'm from mississippi. easy, easy. >> when is the last time you made a mix tape, robin? >> are we allowed to ask followups? >> massachusetts is looking for cooking classes. >> i think it was idaho or montana. adam and eve not romantic? >> yeah, not biblical. >> yeah, what was that about. >> i don't know. there's a lot of head-scratchers. montana was searching for lobster tails. >> i'm sticking with the mix tapes. when you made somebody a mix tape, that was love, baby. that was love. >> oh, yes, it was. >> it was. thank you, amy. >>> to lara with a look ahead. >> thank you, robin. >>> here's what's coming up on our "gma morning menu." lamar odom back in action. kanye west rocking the fashion world. all the details from the huge event last night. >>> our big "10 dates in 10 states" finale. one of these guys is getting a big date. which

washington to boston, severe weather and up to a foot of snow in some areas followed by a blast of bitter cold air. a siberian express bringing temperatures more than 25 degrees below zero as a rare winter hurricane churns in the atlantic right now. pour ball mania. who can it be? the search for the winners this morning. is one of them holed up in this house? and the california nurse who thought she struck it rich? was it all just a prank by her son? the race to find the newest multimillionaires. >>> we do say good morning, america. we have a lot to get to on this busy friday morning. we'll begin with the breaking news as we come on the air in the west. the two military helicopters colliding off hawaii. six passengers. right now and abc's gloria riviera starts us off. >> reporter: the coast guard dispatched a helicopter and airplane after reports two downed aircraft two miles off the cost of hawaii. rescuers in the fire department arrived at the scene just after midnight local time. the marine corp says two helicopters, those are the largest helicopters in the u.s. military collided late

as long as washington is bought and paid for, we can't build an economy that works for people. >>> "good morning america" is brought to you by volvo. >> so did you get those travel tips from jesse? >> yeah. >> do not -- what not to do on a trip. trip.this happened near lamb and stewart just before 11 p-m last night. when almost 30 fire fighters arrived the house was fully on fire. it took 15 minutes for crews to put out the fire and forutnately no one was injured. the first time this house caught on fire was in november. one person was killed...three critically injured and two people found tied up and burned inside. concerns near the mountain's edge neighborhood this morning. recent violence is shedding light on the need for more police. robbery and shooting on good morning las vegas. it happened in this area near cimarron and blue diamond. crime mapping dot com reveals a lot of problems in that area. "we ended up moving out of this area just because it's been extremely scary. like every other day there's a break-in or a robbery or a shooting outside my work." "it's supposed to be a comm

. >> i feel like a need washington to english dictionary converter. ted can change his mind. marco can change his mind. stop the washington bull and let's get things done. >> reporter: hoping to rise in iowa before monday's first in the nation caucus, marco rubio talked tough on foreign policy and also took on the democrats. >> i think bernie sanders is a good candidate for president of sweden. >> reporter: cruz at center stage for the first time failed to take over the spotlight left open by trump's absence. his tangle with the moderators falling flat. >> chris, i would note that the last four questions have been, rand, please attack ted, marco, please attack ted, chris, please attack ted, jeb, please attack jeb. [ booing ] >> let me just say this -- >> it is a debate, sir. >> gosh, if you guys ask one more mean question, i may have to leave the stage. >> well, don't worry, i'm not leaving the stage no matter what you ask me. presence or nonpresence was felt even after the debate was over. take a look at this photo i shot at almost midnight as i was leaving. these guys dress

officer ashley guindon responded in woodbridge, virginia, south of washington, d.c., respond to a call about an altercation at a home when shots rang out. this was on saturday. fatally wounded her and wounded two others. a suspect has been arrested. >>> violence erupting at a ku klux klan anti-immigration rally. in california. the group gathered in a park in orange county to protest illegal immigration. and muslims. they were confronted there by counterprotesters. members of the two groups clashed. three people were stabbed. 13 arrested. >>> and day two of the cease-fire in syria. the truce seems to be mostly holding. no russian air strikes since the agreement between the syrian government and rebel forces went into effect friday night. the terrorist group isis, not a party to the cease-fire, launched a surprise offensive in a northern syrian town and carried out a suicide truck bombing. say a drag race on a freeway in los angeles ended in this. a deadly inferno. three people were killed in the crash. one of the speeding cars lost control, hitting a big rig, sending the tractor trailer

abc senior justice correspondent pierre thomas has the latest and joins us from washington. good morning, pierre. >> reporter: overnight the fbi making two more isis-related arrests with suspects taken down in sacramento and houston. while there's no evidence yet the men were plotting an attack inside the u.s., authorities are deeply concerned about their association with isis and the potential for future threats. both suspects are iraqi refugees and political leaders in texas immediately raised concerns about the administration's efforts to bring in more refugees including thousands from syria. the men are among at least seven suspects here at home accused of ties to isis in less than a month including a maryland man who was allegedly given more than $8,000 from an overseas operative for a u.s.-based attack. the terror concern is so high officials including the fbi director are expected to meet with tech leaders in silicon valley today to discuss encryption, the isis use of social media to recruit right here at home. robin. >> very important meeting today, all right, pierre

. >> reporter: earlier in the day sanders was back in washington traveling to the white house to meet with the man he hopes to replace. >> the president and i discussed this morning a number of issues. >> reporter: sanders emerged from the 45-minute meeting predicting he can pull off an iowa upset over clinton. >> if there is a large turnout i think we win. >> reporter: while president obama's pledged he'll remain doing everything she can to >> i don't think president obama gets the credit he deserves. >> thank you all. >> reporter: but there are signs of bernie sanders' momentum everywhere in iowa even at this clinton event in a bowling alley. >> 60% bernie, 40% hillary right now. >> reporter: the clinton campaign is hoping for a boost from bill clinton. the former president will look like a candidate himself. he has 13 campaign events in iowa between now and the caucuses. that's even a busier schedule, george, than hillary clinton. >> my goodness. that's what he loves. jon karl, stand by. i'm here with matt dowd, our political analyst. yesterday you posed the question on donald trum

as long as washington is bought and paid for, we can't build an economy that works for people. two people had to rescued after a crash at 95 and charleston. chopper 13 bringing you breaking news fast and first... we watched the dramatic scene unfold this morning. two people inside a white pickup became trapped and had to be pulled out by rescue crews using the jaws of life. both people were put into an ambulance and taken to nearby hospitals. there's no word on their condition, but the crash caused a huge backup on both the 95 and charleston. join us for good morning las vegas tomorrow beginning at 430am... for the latest weather, traffic and breaking news... coming up - real housewife teresa giudice speaks out for headlines coming up in one half hour here's a look at today's top stories from good morning las vegas.. an overnight burglary at an >>> good morning, america. i voted for donald trump. >> good morning, america. >> good morning, america. i voted for bernie sanders. >> those are just some of the voters here in new hampshire primary. you see a polling place right now, t

. >> reporter: nicole lovell's mom telling "the washington post" that police believe the 13-year-old met eisenhauer online. active on kik, a messaging app which offers users eisenhauer, a track star, his high school principal remembering him as goal driven and focused. >> it's just very difficult to i don't want to speculate at this point. just very concerned. >> reporter: the second student, natalie keepers, an engineering student who once interned at nasa, accused of helping eisenhauer get rid of the girl's body. >> i was really shocked to see her face as one of the suspects for the murder because i didn't know she was like -- she didn't seem like that type of person. >> reporter: her parents say lovell pushed a dresser up against her bedroom door before climbing out her window. thousands joining the search for her but, on saturday, police discovered her body 80 miles away in north carolina. neither student was charged with using a gun and neither has entered a plea but eisenhauer however making this statement, quote, i believe the truth will george. >>> let's get more on this from

. >>> well, it's a big day for a zoo in washington. it welcomed the first male aurangutan in half a century and it's orangutan is near extinction in the wild. >> labor was four minutes and zookeepers are optimistic the newborn will thrive. the mama giving kisses, the baby's been nursing and clinging closely to mama, and so far they are bonding quite nicely. >> i think they are. look at those pictures. mama's like labor was not long, come, let's hang out. >> so little. >> the habitat is disappearing as it's cleared for plantations. >>> all right. coming up, what we learned from last year's frightening accident laguardia airport and what the ntsb says is the probable cause why this delta jet liner nearly landed in the water and what they say the pilots did wrong. >>> what one school bus driver in maryland did. that was very, very frightening. putting her own life on the line to save the lives of 20 student passengers. you're watching "world news now." >>> "world news now weather" introducing new k-y touch gel cr?me. for massage and intim

pierre thomas from washington this morning, and speaking of washington, do not forget to watch "this week with george stephanopoulos." george is going to be one-on-one with presidential candidates marco rubio and bernie sanders. that's later this morning right here on abc. >> well, on this sunday morning stories and we turn things over to ron beginning with politics this morning. >> that's right. donald trump, he hasn't been into the news much. stepping up the birther attacks against his rival ted cruz although he stopped short of saying that cruz who was born in canada is ineligible to be president. >> you can't have a person running for office even though ted is very glib but goes out and he says, oh, well, i'm a natural born citizen. the point is, you're not. >> trump was stumping in iowa just three weeks with the caucus coming up there, three weeks from now, ted cruz maintaining there's no problem with his canadian birth because his mother was a u.s. citizen. >>> and overseas now and a show of force by the u.s. aimed at north korea's leader kim jong-un. an american b-52 swooping

this is video from the area near washington and nellis... fire investigators say a shed caught fire --- and someone inside suffered minor burns. no one inside the main house was hurt. this morning, we're getting a look at a valley mother accused in the death of her own toddler. 23-year-old diana eldridge was apartment complex near maryla they say the 2-year-old girl had been neglected for an extended period of time before she died. eldridge is also facing neglect charges for her other two children. if you're looking to beat the lines before election day...today is your last day to vote early. more than 6-hundred-17-thousand people have already voted early in nevada. over 30-million early votes have been casted across 38-states. weather, traffic and breaking news... join us-- four-30 to seven.. we'll be back in a half hour with more local news and weather. >>> good morning, america. it's 8:00 a.m. final sprint. the brand-new poll this morning, candidates neck and neck as they charge into the battleground states. >>> and new questions resurrec

abc's pierre thomas in washington has the latest for us. >> reporter: good morning, robin. while rallies in support of apple across the country off with both sides digging in, this morning, as you said the fbi director is getting personally involved in a very public debate. releasing a letter calling on apple to comply to help unlock the iphone of san bernardino killer, syed farook. we can't look the survivors in the eye or ourselves in the mirror if we don't follow this lead. fbi director james comey said, we don't want to break anyone's encrypiton. or set a master key loose on the land. i hope thoughtful people would take the time to understand that. but apple is taking to the air waves to challenge the fbi's reasoning. saying that the privacy and security of millions of his customers are at risk. >> no limit on what the government could require apple to do if it succeeds this way. >> reporter: to make the case, apple has hired ted olson whose wife died on one of the planes in the 9/11 attack and this is pandora box. we can't surrender our civil terrorists a victory. >> r

a car and an motorcycle collided near washington and jones. officers aren't sure yet who is at fault. the the motorcyclist was killed. the 19 year old driver wasn't injured. good morning las vegas is live every weekday with all of your weather, traffic and breaking news... join us-- four-30 to seven.. coming up ? a new important sleep report from the cdc! what state is the most well rested? and what state gets the least amount? find out next.. and how to improve the quality of your own sleep. gma is straight ahead. we'll be back in a half hour with more local news and < > the strip shut down this morning right outside the cosmopolitan hotel and down we're continuing to learn more about this scary sit one of the areas that i've been particularly interested in is the area of children. we intend to be sure that everybody in this room and every child in this state is somebody. no matter where they're born, no matter to whom they are born. i want to make sure that every child has a chance to live up to his or her god-given potential. i've spent my

it's warming up a bit here in the east but big cities like baltimore and washington still digging out this morning. the federal government closed for a second day and here you see rfk stadium -- those are the streets of d.c. but that's rfk stadium. they're actually dumping the snow from the streets into the parking lot and abc's david kerley is live in alexandria, virginia, with the latest. good morning, david. >> reporter: good morning, george. three days after the storm and neighborhoods like this one are still stranded. they haven't seen a plow yet. now i'm going to give you a sense standing in the middle of the road. take a look. actually been busy shoveling their driveways and sidewalks. 16 of the 42 deaths so far related to this storm have been from shoveling. overnight, firefighters struggling through unplowed streets to reach some baltimore row houses going up in flames. fortunately no one injured. it's now more than 55 hours since the blizzard ended and the washington, d.c., area still partially crippled. much of the trouble in the surrounding suburbs. some homeowners trapped

we want to bring in jonathan karl in washington. i know you're prepping for a big edition of "this week." thanks for taking a couple of moments out of your busy day. we want to first and foremost, exit polling shows clinton has serious issues. empathy. distrust. how does she repair that? if not, how vulnerable does she remain? >> first thing is to move on to where every single public poll since the beginning of this campaign has had her with a big, double-digit lead over bernie sanders. she's hoping back-to-back victories will put the distant she does have significant vulnerabilities. not just the ones you mentioned. also, she still hasn't connected with young democrats. still overwhelmingly in the exit polls, the young vote, under 45, goes significantly overwhelmingly to bernie sanders. she needs to find a way to get that obama coalition back together. she hopes by racking up wins, she can start doing that. >> let me ask about sanders. he, as mary pointed out, a pretty strong showing against minority voters -- among minority voters

of emergency to five counties and there are now more than 50 cases of the virus across 13 states and washington, d.c. abc's linzie janis has the latest. >> reporter: this morning florida preparing for the worst, declaring a public health emergency in five counties, there are now 12 travel-related cases of zika reported governor rick scott calling on the cdc to provide at least 1,000 zika antibody test kits for pregnant women to see if they contracted the virus in the past and thousands more kits to test for active cases. >> the mosquito that causes zika virus is common in florida. >> reporter: the spread of the virus a growing concern for the estimated 20 million tourists expected to visit florida in the spring break months and at miami international airport, hundreds of flights a day coming in from the 30 high-risk countries flagged by the cdc. over 100 of them just from brazil. this morning, 2 million people are flocking to the streets of rio for the start of carnival where now mosquitoes aren't the only concern for spreading zika. health authorities there saying a man was infected with the v

. >> abc's arlette saenz has more from washington. good morning. >> reporter: it's a moment in many in this country never managed, psi welcoming donald trump to the oval office as the next president. the white house admits this won't be an easy meeting. it's well documented president obama thinks donald trump is unfit to be commander in chief while donald trump has promised to undo much of president obama's legacy. but today, president obama will put aside those differences. here he was in the rose garden yesterday. >> we are now all rooting for his success in uniting and leading the country. the peaceful transition of power democracy. over the next few months, we are going to show that to the world. >> reporter: now part of the transition involves intelligence briefings. as president-elect, donald trump can now receive the exact same daily intelligence briefings as president obama. meeting in the residence of the white house today, first lady michelle obama and future first lady, melania trump. over the summer, the campaign said mrs.

the washington airport shut down today. up and down the east coast, a similar story as they try to bring the planes back. and these trucks have to clear the roads to the airports. already, 600 flights have been cancelled tomorrow. it's going to take a couple of days to get everything running again. paula? >> they have done already a great job. and the real work begins today. david, thank you. fearing a repeat of hurricane sandy. suffering a one, two, three punch. the blizzard, snow, powerful winds and surging sea water left entire towns flooded. our team coverage continues with linzie janis. in ocean city for us this morning. hi, linzie. >> reporter: good morning, paula, the misery is not over yet for the jersey shore. here in ocean city, where rushing floodwaters were several feet deep, carrying those icebergs down the street. you can see the water has receded quite a bit. but high tide is on its way. it's going to rise again very quickly. this morning, the jersey shore bracing for another round of flooding. out at sea, th

bazi kanani, abc news, washington. >> well, there wasn't much of a race in washington last night. a surprise snowstorm coated the city with more than an inch and a half of snow and ice. traffic came to a standstill even on major roads and highways. and even for the presidential motorcade bringing mr. obama back to the white house from andrews joint base andrews. suburban maryland authorities said they were getting more than one emergency call a minute. accidents and at least one >>> and it wasn't any better from are the busy -- from the busy city streets. there were many accidents in west virginia including at least six chain reaction pile-ups. in another accident a car slid into a storefront shutting the businesses. luckily there were no injuries to report here. experts say a light snowfall like this is more dangerous than the big one because drivers are overconfident. >>> drivers in west virginia and washington will get a chance to find out if that's really true because a big one is on the way. >> let's get the details from accuweather's justin povick. good morning. >> we are fo

dead on arrival and that replacing scalia should wait until a new president in 2017, writing in "the washington post," the american people, rather than a lame-duck president, should be afforded the opportunity to replace justice scalia. and among the attendees, vice administration. justice clarence thomas will deliver a scriptural reading. and at least one presidential candidate will be in attendance, senator ted cruz of texas, says he'll attend today. >> devin, thank you. >>> we want to move now to battle between two giants. the government and apple. apple still refusing to unlock a an iphone of a san bernardino terrorist. the battle, however, has now moved into the political arena and abc's eva pilgrim joins us with more on what's becoming a very fierce battle. good morning, eva. >> reporter: the fight continues -- personal privacy versus national security. tech giant apple versus the department of justice. both sides arguing over accessing the san bernardino shooter's iphone. this morning, neither side is backing down. in a new federal filing prosecutors slamming apple for publicly repudiati

she joins us from washington this morning. mary, good morning to you. >> mary, we don't expect the candidates come out and holding hands and singing kumbaya. we want to know who has the most on the line and the most incentive to come out swinging? >> i think donald trump and ted cruz are in good position in south carolina. they're going to be fighting on the trail and trump -- cruz laid off trump in the last debate. but i think he'll be looking to differentiate this time around. i think rubio has the most to lose or gain here, because his last slip was on the debate stage. now, he has the chance to prove himself again. >> he has said -- he has told his supporters, it will not happen again. as we know trump is coming in as the front-runner here, but mary mentioned just a few moments ago, mary bruce, that he's swearing off swearing. i just got -- i wonder, in a state that's heavily evangelical, is his use of profanity from the podium actually going to hurt him? even if he stops doing it henceforth. >> two things at work here. af

. >> if you see a candidate who washington embraces, run and hide. >> reporter: while his rivals crisscross the state of iowa, donald trump was in new hampshire unleashing a new attack on canadian born ted >> ted cruz may not be a u.s. citizen, right? ted cruz is an anchor baby in canada. >> reporter: cruz's camp fired back with a statement overnight. "the only anchor here is the one being dragged behind the ss new york values causing donald trump's campaign to stall out." those jabs were traded after the final debate before the iowa caucuses, which drew over 12 million viewers. that's slightly more than the last republican debate and many more viewers than saw trump's veterans rally during the debate. trump relished skipping this one and mocked cruz for his first debate at center stage. >> i'm glad i wasn't there. because i guess all of that, he got pummeled. wow. >> reporter: the front page of "the des moines register" which endorsed rubio declared it a rough night for cruz. the texas senator was unfazed. am not the mainstream media's favorite candidate. i am working to be the candidate >

we know one of our producers in the washington, d.c. bureau sent an e-mail yesterday afternoon saying his 25-minute commute to virginia took him something like 2 1/2, 3 hours. >> yeah, during the massive 2-inch snowstorm they had. you know, one good thing, there's a little silver lining, talking about the district to all these storm clouds, for the first time in decades sledding is again allowed on capitol hill. >> oh, i didn't know you weren't allowed to do is that. >> yeah. apparently it was against the law. >> did they send someone out to regulate that? >> the capitol police. >> that's right. >> now they've been told not to enforce it. >> wow. and they said the change hasn't happened in washington, d.c.? >> there you go. >> change has happened. >> it did take an act of congress, literally -- >> to allow that. >> to instructions to the police force to look the other way, are included in an appropriations bill. >> that's hilarious. democrats and republicans working together. >> there must be pork attached to that. someone is getting an

we start our coverage this morning with abc's mary bruce right in washington. hi, mary. >> reporter: hi, paula. good morning. well, this is a potential game changer in this roller coaster campaign. donald trump getting his first major endorsement from a card republican establishment just as he heads into super tuesday. his former rival showed up unannounced and dropped a bombshell on donald trump's campaign. >> we need a first class president, and we're going to have it in donald trump. >> reporter: new jersey governor chris christie this morning is lending his credibility to trump's runaway campaign. >> i can guarantee you that the one person that hillary and bill clinton do not want to see on that stage come next september is donald trump. >> reporter: they weren't always so friendly. >> we're going to do it. i'm going to get it done because i make deals and i get deals and i'm doing deals. >> reporter: now united christie and trump are taking aim at a common enemy, marco rubio. >> desperate people in campaigns do desperate things flailing punches in the last

california up to washington state. snow and freezing rain in western new york. >> 30s in boston and new york. 50s in chicago. great falls and minneapolis. 60s in los angeles and atlanta. and 70s in albuquerque and miami. >>> well, two rare white tiger cubs are now calling australia home. the little cuties, look at them, just arrived 15 weeks old. arrived earlier this week from a zoo in japan. they don't have official names yet but are called red and yellow for now. >> because they look red and yellow. it's hoped that the sisters will world theme park. the tigers are born white when their parents share the right combination of special genes and that causes a lack of pigment in the fur. >> so it's a pretty good deal because australia zoo actually trades koalas to other zoos. >> apparently there are only 3200 tigers left in the wild. >> let's hope they're not that angry. >> simmer down. >>> coming up in the "insomniac theater," two new movies that might scare you. the reviews are coming in. >> we've heard of therapy pets

will echo from wall street to washington, from maine to california. >> reporter: hillary clinton, who won here in 2008, conceding but still confident. >> now we take this campaign to the entire country. we are going to fight for every vote in every state. >> reporter: john kasich now projected by abc to come in second on the republican side. >> there's magic in the air with this campaign. >> reporter: with ted cruz, jeb bush and marco rubio in a close battle for third. >> i did not do well on saturday will never happen again. >> reporter: two-thirds of voters in abc exit polls calling recent debates an important factor in their decision. >> i made up my mind this morning at coffee. >> reporter: it all came down to those undecided voters and a big turnout at the polls. with the last of my -- last-minute line of traffic to get in two miles long. and with the gop candidates now focused on south carolina, chris christie says he's going home to decide whether he'll stay in the race. kendis and reena. >> so many decisions that need to be made. we've heard hillary clinton possibly changing m

stephanie ramos, abc news, washington. >>> in other news this morning, there were at least three more arrests at the oregon wildlife refuge. the scene of a militia standoff. the group's leader, amon bundy, issued a statement, asking the government to allow the people to remain at the refuge to depart without being prosecuted. bundy is asking them to stand down, go home, hug your families. the fight he says is now in the courts. so please go home. jason patrick is one of those still holding out hope. >> they told us th safely leave. well, the group that was leaving has a dead man in it. there's another man who left and was in arizona and he's in custody. they've said peace and resolution the whole time. it depends on what you believe. >> bundy along with six others court. judge denied bail calling the group a flight risk and a danger to public safety. >>> more arrests are expected in connection with that high-profile prison escape in southern california. five people have been taken into custody so far. it's been nearly a week since three men disappeared from a maximum security jail. he

washington dulles airport. the problems in the east affect flights all across the country as planes and crews are stuck in the wrong places. >>> there's a new ruling in the legal battle between detroit and its teachers. teachers protested outside the courtroom where a judge later denied the system's request for a restraining order to keep teachers from participating in sickouts. strikes are illegal but teachers have staged several sickouts to draw attention to poor conditions and low pay. a new hearing is set for february. >>> elsewhere in that state, the governor of michigan may be forced to reveal more details about his handling of the water crisis in flint. governor rick snyder's e-mails and other communications have been subpoenaed as part of a class-action suit. abc's alex perez reports on the investigation into the crisis is heating up. >> reporter: the michigan attorney general announcing an independent team is now leading an investigation into the mishandling of the water crisis in flint. water, he admi

benson competes as and is the only wheelchair body builder in the washington, d.c. area. >> it's tough. that's the thing with wheelchair body building, every athlete's got a condition to overcome, an. you got to think out of the box with your training. >> reporter: yep, that's hard. from the pull down rope to rowing and lifting weights, benson here is not letting his injury confine him. not going to interrupt you. last march, benson came in second in his weight class. he says the sport not only gave him the confidence he lost after the accident, but a new lease on life. >> you have to look at it as a gift god gave me to live my life and to carry on, to have a second chance, just it's more than myself. >> reporter: stephanie ramos, abc news, washington. >> man, in fact, he says it inspires him because he was suicidal at some point after the accident. >> great to find an outlet like that, but i just find it hard enough just doing a pullup, let alone a pullup with a wheelchair attached to you, too. that's amazing. >> absolutely incredible. that's the news for this half

knocking off washington last night. you were for the underdogs. >> i was. didn't do me any good. >>> the playoff championship. rob and jesse standing by in arizona, getting ready for a big day and night. >>> we begin this first half hour with the murder mystery in italy. an american artist found dead in her apartment. the search is on for her killer. alex marquardt is in florence with the latest. good morning, alex. >> reporter: good morning. this is the apartment building where ashley olsen's body was found. people leaving flowers and messages of condolence. she was a fixture in the neighborhood. seen out and about with her dog. her death has left many stunned. this morning, an urgent search for the killer believed to have strangled 35-year-old american ashley olsen. olsen, who had done modelling, was found on saturday in the studio apartment on the couch in florence's historic center. bruises and scratches on her neck. >> i can't imagine a person who she's a gentle, kind, beautiful, friendly, lovely girl. it's an awful shock. >> reporter: a few days befor

pierre thomas, abc news, washington. riot turns deadly killing at least 49 and injuring a dozen. it starred as a brawl between rival drug gangs in an overcrowded penitentiary. the prison has 3800 inmates. that's more than twice its capacity. authorities say no inmates escaped. the riots took place on the eve of pope francis' arrival for a six-day visit. >>> u.s. officials say the military is expanding the number of air strikes it is launching against isis. sources claim there have ever been about 20 american strikes against targets in eastern afghanistan. that's only in the past three weeks. those strikes took place after president obama authorized the pentagon to attack isis in afghanistan where its numbers are growing. >>> secretary of state john kerry is in munich working with other diplomats on stopping syria's civil war. early this morning they agreed on a temporary truce set to begin next week. kerry said the test of that truce is whether syria's that would set the stage for a full cease-fire as well as peace talks. >>> that would be such a big deal. >>> in new york city, f

pierre thomas, abc news, washington. >>> well, naval authorities in san diego have lifted the lockdown imposed after reports that shots had been fired after completing a full sweep of the base and at nearby schools, the navy says it found no sign of a gunman and no evidence of any shooting. an unidentified employee reported hearing three shots early yesterday morning, prompting a full-scale lockdown that lasted nearly six hours. >>> six cleveland police officers have been fired and six others suspended for their roles in a police chase and shooting which left two unarmed people dead. the officers fired a total of 137 shots during the incident. abc's elizabeth hur has more. >> reporter: timothy russell and melissa williams were inside this car riddled with bullets. in all, 137 shots fired. russell and williams were unarmed. it all started with a high-speed chase, involving 62 police cars over more than 20 miles. the chase sparked by a backfiring car, believed to be gunfire, and officers mistakenly thinking the suspects were shooting at them. >> it was obvious that a rush to judgment was

. >> stop the washington bull and let's get things done! debate here last night. the dueling events were apparently a little too much to resist for mike huckabee and rick santorum. shortly after their undercard debate, they packed things up and ended up going to the trump rally, reena and kendis, and standing with donald on stage. >> yeah, it was even kind of weird to see santorum standing near the trump sign in front of him. i guess it was a party they couldn't miss. brandi, any truth to what trump said, that fox news made a last-minute effort to try to get him there? >> reporter: yeah, according to fox news, in a statement they released yesterday, they had three conversations with donald trump leading up to last night's debate, and according to the network, they claim that trump asked them for $5 million to contribute to his charities for him to then show up. and fox news' roger ailes said, no, we can't exchange money for you to show up to a debate. this is not going to happen and they copied to say they stick by megyn kelly and think she did a great job last ni