tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. ♪ show off to the world. ask your eczema specialist about dupixent. >> gio: good morning, america. wild weather weekend. nearly every state on alert for extreme weather. blizzard warnings in the heartland. life-threatening windchills from a major arctic blast. flood watches in the east, all of this wreaking havoc on road and air travel. team coverage now on the conditions and ahead. >> whit: countdown to the caucuses. the weather threatening to be a major factor for iowa voters as some candidates cancel

appearances. our political team looks at the state of the race and whether there could be any surprises come monday. >> rhiannon: new overnight, escalating tensions as the u.s. carries out more air strikes against yemen's houthi rebels following ship attacks in the red sea. the militant group vowing to respond raising the prospect of a wider conflict in the region. >> gio: new video showing the terrifying moments after an alaska airlines' door plug flew off, leaving that gaping hole in the fuselage. passengers just feet away from the open air. the faa's latest moves. >> whit: and don't call them musicals. >> oh, i don't think i want to hear that. >> too late. >> whit: is hollywood shying away from advertising singing in the cinema? the new releases trying to be in tune with the audiences. ♪ give me something ♪ >> whit: and good morning, america.

so great to have you with us and great to have rhiannon ally back to the desk with us this morning. >> rhiannon: why, thank you. >> whit: welcome. we are already in a busy weekend, extreme weather, more u.s. strikes in yemen, and the presidential campaign. also ahead, the biden justice department for the first time seeking the death penalty in a criminal case. the mass shooting at the supermarket in buffalo, new york in 2022. >> rhiannon: plus, the unemployment rate is at a 50-year row, but that's not stopping some major companies from announcing rounds of layoffs. workers at giant tech firms seem to be being hit the hard effort. what's behind these job cuts is coming up. >> gio: and we're going to look at the big nfl wild card weekend matchups. at least one of those games, the dolphins versus the chiefs, could be one of the coldest games on record as that blast of artic air bears down on the plains, and that's exactly where we begin this morning, the extreme weather hitting the nation. alex presha is in des moines, iowa, where monday's voting could also be affected. good morning, alex. >> reporter: hey, gio.

the temperatures aren't the only thing plummeting. by kickoff it will be negative 20 something degrees and the windchill and because of that, the ticket prices have also gone down. $50, the lowest ticket prices of the season there as this arctic blast rolls through much of the country. this morning, severe weather wreaking havoc from snow to high winds to dangerously low temperatures across the country. >> every time i see a snow, i was like, oh, my god. here you go again. >> reporter: in fact, every state except arizona is under some sort of extreme weather alert. a major arctic blast threatening millions with below zero temps. up to 100 record lows across the country over the next several days. the first major snowfall of the season in michigan striking at the height of rush hour. >> i was in traffic for about an hour and 15 minutes, and i only was able to travel about a quarter mile. >> reporter: in wisconsin snowstorms knocking out power to 67,000. >> the biggest concern is the

house is freezing, so it is -- so it mean it's 32 or less right now because it's snowing, but the house when i woke up was 66 degrees. >> reporter: the midwest getting up to a foot of snow. in places like iowa, they're still digging out from storms earlier this week. >> two snow storms back-to-back feels like a little much. usually i'm used to just one a week so this feels like extra. >> reporter: schools canceled in chicago due to whiteout conditions and high winds. in little falls, new jersey, still suffering flooding from the last storm, the mayor saying the new rainfall could turn a crisis into a catastrophe. >> and we are really concerned that it may cause an extreme prolonged flooding event. >> reporter: and overnight, the southeast dealing with isolated tornadoes, damaging winds, and hail. in floyd county, georgia, a huge gust of wind sent this 100-year-old tree crashing into two homes. thankfully, no one was hurt, and here in iowa we're just a couple of days from the all-important caucus but the

weather is quickly becoming the headline. it feels like negative 19 right now. if you look down here, you see the slick roadways. they have been shoveling, but they are very, very slippery. officials say if you have to get out for any reason to make sure that you are very, very careful. whit. >> whit: all right. i'll join you out there tomorrow, alex. not looking forward to it. thank you so much. we appreciate it. now to the travel picture here. the extreme weather forcing airlines to cancel hundreds of more flights today. that's on top of more than 2,000 cancellations yesterday. abc's morgan norwood has more for us from laguardia airport. morgan, good morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning to you, whit. yeah, these massive winter storms already causing travel headaches for millions, and, look, this morning we're already starting to see travel disruptions. more than 400 delays, quadruple that when it comes to the number of cancellations, all of this according to flightaware. as this day goes on, that number only expected to climb. let's talk about it. the number of travel disruptions really piling on in the midwest,

especially the chicago area de-icing planes, we saw, hard at work after a groundstop was issued at chicago o'hare's airport for most of friday. more than 650 flights canceled just as a precaution. the roads, one-word, treacherous. snow-covered highways. look, traffic on i-90 near chicago brought to a halt after this semi truck jackknifed and the whiteout conditions leading to half mile visibility with illinois state officials urging drivers to reconsider travel. similar story over in iowa. let's take you to the west coast. portland officials warning people to stay put through sunday, but if you must drive, the advice this morning is snow means slow. of course, your best bet is to stay home unless it is an emergency, rhiannon. >> rhiannon: all right, morgan, thank you for that. a lot want to do that, stay home. let's get the latest on the forecast from somara theodore. somara, a lot going on with playoff games, we've got the iowa caucuses, but a lot of people just want to stay indoors. >> somara: i don't blame them. it's absolutely cold out there. we have this snow in the great

lakes from this system, rain throughout the northeast. one storm moving out. one storm moving in. that means the entire united states of america outside of arizona is under some type of weather alert. it's the windchill warning that i'm really concerned about. if you take a look, the coldest air of the season is getting ready to dive deep. there are parts of montana that the national weather service says could feel like 70 degrees below zero. we'll talk more about that later. for now, gio, back to you. >> gio: incredible to see those negative windchills. all right. somara, thank you. and we're going to turn now to the escalating conflict overseas after another round of u.s. strikes on yemen's iran-backed houthi rebels, and the houthis are vowing to retaliate. abc's jay o'brien is at the white house now following this one. good morning, jay. >> reporter: gio, this is the latest u.s. attempt to turn up the heat on this iran-backed militia group. not just defending commercial ships from their attacks, but striking the militants in their own territory. overnight, another u.s. air strike targeting houthi militants in yemen responding to

an anti-ship ballistic missile, the iran-backed rebels fired towards a commercial vessel yesterday, the latest in a wave of attacks in the red sea. u.s. central command releasing a statement saying, missiles fired from a navy ship targeted a radar site, and the strike was designed to degrade the houthis' ability to attack maritime vessels including commercial vessels. it comes after a massive joint u.s. and uk strike on the militant group earlier this week. a wave of 80 tomahawk cruise missiles launched from navy ships and a submarine and backed by fighter jets, the largest u.s. strike in the middle east in years. new video showing the aftermath. british forces releasing these images of explosions destroying houthi facilities. in all, more than 60 houthi targets hit. the pentagon saying weapons depots, radar, and surveillance systems and facilities for attack drones were all targeted. thousands of protesters taking to the streets in yemen's capital to condemn the assault,

burning american and israeli flags. houthi leaders vowing revenge. the retaliatory strikes in response to an escalating series of attacks since the start of the israel-hamas war by houthi militants on commercial ships in the red sea, a vital global shipping lane. military officials reporting at least 28 incidents since mid-november. at least four oil tankers diverting course away from the red sea after the strikes earlier this week according to shipping data. president biden saying he sent a message to the militants and their backers in iran. >> i've already delivered the message to iran. they know not to do anything. >> reporter: president biden saying that while the administration does not want a wider war with the houthis, he's not ruling out taking additional measures if these attacks on commercial ships don't stop. whit? >> whit: alarming developments there. jay, thank you. to politics now, and the last days of campaigning before the first voting of the 2024 presidential race. the weather, as we mentioned, also likely to be a major factor

in monday's iowa republican caucuses. abc's maryalice parks is in des moines with the latest. maryalice, good morning. >> reporter: whit, good morning to you. we are just two days away from these first caucuses, and you're right, it is a major question here, whether or not that big snowstorm that threw a wrench in the campaign's plans will impact who comes out on monday. snowed in, but not entirely stalled out. >> i'm really impressed that so many people came out given the weather. >> reporter: just days before the first republican primary contest, florida governor ron desantis trudging through winter weather. he's bet big on iowa, holding more events here than any other top tier candidate reminding voters in this small state that they get a big say. >> you're never going to have an opportunity to have your vote count more, pack more of a punch than on monday night. >> reporter: candidates bracing for the coldest caucus potentially on record. so, whose voters are most

determined to come out could make all the difference. former south carolina governor nikki haley canceling all of her events in person friday, holding telephone town halls and doing interviews instead. >> yes, the weather is a concern. i'm concerned because i want people to be safe on caucus day. it's going to be negative 28 windchill. >> reporter: the front-runner former president trump canceling all but one of his events this weekend. >> you have the worst weather, i guess, in recorded history, but maybe that's good, because our people are more committed than anybody else, so maybe it's actually a good thing for us. >> reporter: a campaign volunteer of his telling us, the snow will not deter her. >> i'm definitely going to be there, and, you know, and we pray that all the people will show up too regardless of the weather, because this is an important cause, and we need to win this race. >> reporter: now, vivek ramaswamy, he also held events here yesterday despite the snow, and former president donald trump is headed back here to the state. he actually chose to step away from the campaign trail this week and appear voluntarily in

court on two of those cases that he's facing, one related to his business, and the other to his time in office. rhiannon? >> rhiannon: all right. maryalice parks, thank you for that reporting. now to the high-stakes presidential election in taiwan. abc's britt clennett joins us now from taipei as the votes are being counted up. good morning, britt. >> reporter: good morning, rhiannon. you can hear the celebrations at the ruling party's headquarters, because it's looking like a comfortable win for the candidate. china has called this an election decision between peace and war, remember, taiwan is a self-ruled thriving democracy, and we've seen that ourselves being here watching the vibrant election campaigning take place. the very fact that these elections are even being held aggravates china, which considers taiwan a breakaway province that will be brought under its rule by force, if needed. president xi in his new year's speech calling the reunification of taiwan inevitable.

beijing warning this week that taiwan's future is at a crossroads, so the question next is, now that it looks like lai will be taiwan's leader, how will china respond? will there be military ramifications, more economic sanctions? taiwan is also a major flash point in tensions between the u.s. and china, and so the election result will test those ties even further. we also know the u.s. will send an unofficial delegation here after the election. but we don't know who will be involved in that or when it will take place, but that decision may also trigger a chinese reaction. gio? >> gio: a consequential election there. all right. britt, thank you for your reporting from taiwan. now to the mounting pressure on boeing following the in-flight blow-out of a door plug on that alaska airlines flight a week ago. the faa promising tighter oversight of boeing production while some passengers are already suing. abc's jaclyn lee has more on this. good morning, jaclyn. >> reporter: hey, gio, good morning. we're now getting new insight into what it was like for the passengers who were sitting near the gaping hole in the plane as the faa investigation continues

on. this morning, a frightening new close-up look of that harrowing incident on an alaska airlines flight. the stunning video filmed from the middle seat behind the row where the door plug detached. a passenger lost his shoes, socks, cell phone suffering the injuries shown in these photos. he told abc news he thought he'd get sucked out feet first. and this 15-year-old boy had his shirt torn from his body as he was sitting across the aisle. the new look inside the cabin comes as the flight's door plug arrived at ntsb's lab in washington, d.c. where it will undergo testing to figure out what went wrong. faa administrator michael whitaker told reuters friday, it's pretty clear to us it is a manufacturing issue. nearly 200 boeing 737 max 9 jets have been grounded since last saturday. the faa now asking boeing for

more data before it improves final inspection protocols to return those planes to the skies. >> these new faa actions point to just how concerned the faa is about the quality control here, that something so small, something that's so basic about installing bolts properly could have been overlooked and possibly led to a tragic mishap. >> reporter: the new requirements come as six of the passengers on that plane are now suing boeing filing a complaint alleging, the event physically injured some passengers and emotionally traumatized most, if not all, aboard. >> i mean, this is a lifelong memory that is not a good one, and that many will be carrying with them for a long time. they also want answers. they want answers as to how this happened. >> reporter: alaska airlines says they provided a full refund to passengers and an additional cash payment of $1,500 to cover any incidental expenses. alaska airlines is not listed as a defendant in the complaint.

boeing and subsidiary spirit aerosystems say they will fully cooperate with the faa investigation. whit? >> whit: okay, jaclyn, thank you. we turn now to a first for the biden administration. the department of justice seeking the death penalty for the buffalo supermarket mass shooter. abc's senior investigative correspondent aaron katersky has more from buffalo. >> reporter: this morning the families of the ten black people shot and killed at their neighborhood grocery store are preparing for a trial that could end with an execution. the justice department is seeking the death penalty for the killer, payton gendron, who who was 18 when he singled out black shoppers in a premeditated massacre, including pearl young. >> whatever decision they make, that wasn't going to help with my healing or not healing. >> just another step in the process. >> it's just another step in the process, and that's what's important to me. >> reporter: relatives of the victims came to court to hear federal prosecutors announce, we filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty. >> to me it was a gut blow.

i wasn't expecting that. never did i ever wish that he would have the death penalty. >> reporter: the shooter has been serving a life sentence after pleading guilty to state charges last year when a man lunged at him. he was not in court to hear federal prosecutors announce their intent to see him die by lethal injection. defense attorneys said they were deeply disappointed, but prosecutors pointing out the attack came after substantial planning and premeditation, was livestreamed to incite violent action by others, and reflected the shooter's bias, hatred, and contempt toward black persons. there is still a federal moratorium on carrying out lethal injections, but gendron is expected to go on trial before the end of the year. aaron katersky, abc news, buffalo. >> rhiannon: our thanks to aaron katersky there. the cdc says the pace of respiratory infections appears to be slowing in recent weeks, but health officials warn it is still that time of year, so there could be more cases to come. this week, 35 states, plus washington, d.c. saw high or very high levels of respiratory illness activity.

so, that includes flu, rsv, covid-19, and also the common cold. covid hospitalizations also rose for the ninth straight week. >> gio: >> reporter: rhiannon, the new year is not starting off on a happy note for workers at some of the country's largest tech companies with more layoffs just announced. abc's alexis christoforous is here with those details. good morning, alexis. >> reporter: that's right, gio. good morning. some companies kicking off the new year by tightening their belts as the once red hot job market gradually cools off. this week alone, about a dozen major companies announced job cuts including amazon and google's parent, alphabet. the two tech giants are reversing the hiring sprees they went on during the pandemic and cutting hundreds of jobs across multiple divisions. citigroup is eliminating 20,000 jobs over the next two years as part of a restructuring plan, and xerox announced over 3,000 layoffs or about 15% of its workforce. other companies announcing layoffs so far this year include blackrock, universal music group, duolingo, and

the messaging platform, discord. for some companies, these job cuts are on top of larger layoff announcements that began last year. while inflation is coming down, many businesses are still dealing with persistently high prices for things like manufacturing, materials, and shipping. despite the layoffs, there are signs the job market is solid. unemployment at 3.7% is near a 50-year low, and economists say it looks like we'll avoid a recession. still, some businesses are committed to doing more with less in the new year, and american workers are paying attention. the great resignation appears to be over. workers are now quitting their jobs at the lowest rate in three years. gio? >> gio: all right. that's so interesting. alexis, thank you so much for that. time now for another check of the weather, somara theodore, and the word we are looking at, snow. >> somara: snow. that's right. so, this last cross-country storm has brought nine inches of snow to germantown, wisconsin, this is just north of milwaukee. this made for crippling driving conditions.

crippling driving conditions. the snow is moving through the great lakes bringing them snow there. on the back end cold air. what will happen, we will get lake-effect snow. usually it's unusual to see it this late in the season, okay, and the lakes are normally frozen over. but it's been so warm late so with that warmer water and colder air driving over it we're in for anywhere from 3 to 6 inches near jamestown, watertown could see one to three feet of snow. if you are headed to the buffalo bills game tomorrow, temperatures will be around 20 degrees. western new york is under a state of emergency. they're in for a ton of snow. that's a l

>> somara: that's a look at your local forecast. and, you know, we have the dolphins taking on the chiefs. that air downright cold there. it's going to be feeling like 20 below zero in some spots. that's why tickets are so cheap. >> gio: her chiefs, my miami dolphins. >> rhiannon: you were supposed to bring the heat, gio. somara, thanks. well, after parting ways with head coach, bill belichick, the patriots have named his successor. jerod mayo, the team's linebacker coach will be taking over. he is the team's first ever black head coach, and at just 37 years old, he will be the youngest head coach in the league, and on the college scene the former washington head coach, kalen deboer, has a new job leading alabama. >> whit: so many coaching changes this year. >>. >> rhiannon: and tom brady's post to bill belichick had me in tears.

still ahead here on "gma," the iowa caucuses in focus in our political rundown, is it really a race for second place for republicans? >> gio: music, what music? why hollywood keeps producing hit musicals but you wouldn't know it from watching the movie ads. >> rhiannon: a preview of the nfl's wild card weekend including a potential for one of the coldest football games on record in, yes, my hometown, k.c. we'll be right back. for the things you touch, nothing kills more viruses on more surfaces than lysol disinfectant spray. [girl coughs] and when it comes to your laundry, adding lysol laundry sanitizer kills 99.9% of illness-causing bacteria detergents leave behind. lysol. what it takes to protect.

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sierra. we have an update on the palisades tahoe resort, where a bay area man was killed in an avalanche on wednesday. the ski run where that avalanche happened is now back open. crews spent the past couple of days taking measures to prevent another one. that includes using controlled explosions. there was another avalanche at palisades tahoe thursday, but thankfully no one was trapped or hurt. across the bay area, we're tracking a level two storm. lisa has the latest. good morning. good morning stephanie. >> the heaviest rain will be in the north bay. you can see all the rain from eureka to ukiah. it's lighter rain in southern marin, the east bay and the peninsula. but we're going to see the gusty winds and the passage of the cold front late tonight. this is pre-frontal warm frontrillionain. and so temperatures are in the upper 50s near an inch of rain north of santa rosa. >> thank you lisa. thank you all for joining us. the news continues right now with good mornin but we need an atm from our bank unless you want to spend a small fortune in fees.

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♪ let it go ♪ ♪ let it go ♪ ♪ can't hold it back anymore ♪ ♪ let it go ♪ ♪ let it go ♪ ♪ turn away and slam the door ♪ ♪ i don't care ♪ >> gio: whit is singing along. >> whit: hey, girl dad right here. >> gio: elsa and anna sang their way into our hearts. and coming up, will ganss takes a new look at the new wave of

movie musicals that are taking over the big screen. >> rhiannon: i love a good musical. >> gio: yeah, why not. >> whit: if i had a dollar every time my daughters turned away and slammed the door while singing that line, i would be a rich man. all right. let's take a look at the other big stories we're following on this saturday morning. the severe weather wreaking havoc from snow to high winds, dangerously low temperatures across the country, every state except arizona is under some sort of extreme weather alert. a major arctic blast threatening millions with below zero temps. up to 100 record lows are expected across the country over the next several days. these massive winter storms also causing travel headaches for millions. >> gio: also right now, quaker oats is expanding its recall of some granola bars and cereals because of possible salmonella contamination. the company adding two dozen more products to the recall including quaker chewy granola bars, some gatorade protein bars, and additional cereals and snack bars. >> rhiannon: and actor peter crombie, who played crazy joe on "seinfeld," do you remember him? he passed away and appeared in

five episodes back in the hit series back in season 4. he also acted in a lot of movies including "born on the fourth of july." he was 71 years old. he was kind of the arch-nemesis is jerry seinfeld. great actor. >> gio: great actor. and we are going to start this half hour with a closer look at the political headlines with the iowa caucuses right around the corner. joining us now, abc white house correspondent maryalice parks there in iowa and abc news political director, rick klein in washington, d.c. welcome to you both. maryalice, let's go ahead and start with you. monday, monday is the big day there in iowa. just two days away from the caucuses. it's truly when this presidential election begins. on the republican side, donald trump way ahead in the polls, we know that. so, is this really a race for second place here? >> oh, gio, that is exactly for the voters to decide, and i do think that there could be some surprises, but, look, i've talked to a lot of state officials and voters that tell me that they respect trump's big lead, like you said, commanding

lead in the polls. they do, of course, think it will be hard for someone to overtake him here in iowa, but that they say the margins will matter, and who exactly comes in second could really send a message to the rest of the country and whether or not trump meets 50% or not. could he fall victim to that expectations game? i mean, he has been out there telling everyone that he is going to win by huge margins, and it's been interesting to me too, i will say, a lot of state officials telling me that they've been very impressed with florida governor ron desantis' ground game and organization here in iowa. they wonder if that's been a little underestimated. >> whit: let's dig in deeper and go to rick klein, who has the big board up, so you know he means business today. iowa, so critical in 2016 for republicans. people forget it was ted cruz, right, who beat donald trump. but what are you looking at this time around for how things could play out? >> yeah, and if you look at that 2016 map, it is instructive for how the campaigns are game-planning things for monday. ted cruz did win the state, and actually marco rubio won a lot

of the big urban areas. just take the county that des moines is in, polk county, marco rubio won big in that state and did well in the eastern part of the state, in davenport and suburbs around des moines. that's nikki haley country. she is the same kind of candidate this time around and she's trying to run up the numbers in counties like that. for ron desantis, it's a bit of a different strategy. he has visited all of iowa's 99 counties, and he is counting on the evangelical vote to come in big for him. take the northwest corner of the state, sioux county, donald trump actually came in fourth in that county. so, if ron desantis can replicate that kind of map and that kind of math, that's how he runs close, but, of course, as we've discussed, it's going to be hard to beat donald trump. the state looks different, and there's a lot more republicans in the state than there were eight years ago, and many of them, if not most of them, are trump republicans. >> rhiannon: maryalice, we have to, of course, look ahead. january 23rd after iowa, just eight days is new hampshire. so, how are the voters and issues different between these two states? >> reporter: republican voters

in new hampshire generally seen as a little bit more moderate with that libertarian streak. it's the live free or die state. so, some of those cultural issues that ron desantis has championed, the fact that he's signed that six-week abortion ban in florida, how he talks about taking on corporations and schools over gender issues, those issues don't really land the same in new hampshire. both candidates, though -- all the candidates, i should say really, of course, eyeing the 40% of new hampshire voters, who are registered independents. they're going to decide that state. they, of course, can participate in the gop primary if they want, and we are watching closely the fact that west virginia senator joe manchin, he was in new hampshire too yesterday giving political speeches. he, of course, has not closed the door on running himself. >> gio: so much to watch for. and, rick, let's go back to your big board there, because you've been watching the polling in iowa and new hampshire. what are you seeing? >> yeah, this is the latest fivethirtyeight polling average in the state of iowa, and you

see, donald trump up there big, 30, 35-point lead over his closest rivals. what's interesting there is that just in the last couple days, there's been a number of polls that have nikki haley pulling ahead of ron desantis, so if you look, ron desantis has been a strong second place this entire campaign. now he is in a dog fight to maintain that position and might actually slip to third place, but donald trump far and away the leader. new hampshire, a much different story. donald trump's lead there is only 10, 11 points on average recently, and we've seen some major changes in that race. of course, chris christie just left the race a few days ago, so those 11, 12 points christie was due to get are up for grabs, and polls suggest they are more likely to be nikki haley voters or desantis or trump voters. so it could be that margin tightens more, but i'll tell you, guys, even if nikki haley is able to pull an upset in new hampshire, the national portrait different. donald trump would still probably be the overall favorite. >> whit: if haley is able to beat desantis in iowa, that raises questions about desantis' future going on from there. rick klein, maryalice parks, as

always, thank you so much. we appreciate it. let's turn now and get another check of the weather. somara theodore, the weather is going to be a big issue for turnout as people are going to caucus in iowa. >> somara: that's right. one thing for certain, two things for sure, the year 2024 is keeping the same energy. >> whit: okay, there we go. ramping it up. >> somara: windchill warnings, we talked about this earlier. in montana, we could see some areas feel like 70 degrees below zero. that is just disrespectful. we have a ton of winter alerts in the northwest. you can see the snowfall forecast as this next storm system is entering, so in parts of the rockies, and then you had up into seattle, portland, anywhere from one to two feet certainly possible. we could see higher amounts between two to three feet. this same system then does that dive deep down through the rockies into the heartland, into the middle of the country. by monday at 5:00 a.m., if you live in dallas, if you live in texas, we are in for a wintry

mix, a little snow and ice, and then that same system could bring some snow to the northeast on tuesday. right now not looking like a >> somara: that's your local >> somara: that's your local forecast. and i know all the buzz around has been about the next snowstorm moving in tuesday, folks in the northeast victim concerned about that, but my focus is on the cold. i can't. >> whit: believe me. [ laughter ] >> rhiannon: definitely, somara. >> whit: layers and layers and layers for iowa. i'll be wearing a full sleeping bag for live shots, yeah. >> rhiannon: coming up on "good morning america," why hollywood movie promoters may be shying away from using the "m" word, "m" as in musical. >> my name is willy wonka. >> my name is willy wonka.

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everywhere you look beautiful people. oh my gosh! eva. eva, love the dress. -thank you. -what do you think? mommy's going to steal the show, right? she steals everything especially money. she steals my friends. she steals from everyone. it's dice dreams. i don't steal, you know. dice dreams, attack your friends and steal their coins. play now. results or just rhetoric. californians deserve a senator who is going to deliver for them every day and not just talk a good game. adam schiff. he held a dangerous president accountable. he also helped lower drug costs, bring good jobs back home, and build affordable housing.

now he's running for the senate. our economy, our democracy, our planet. this is why we fight. i'm adam schiff, and i approve this message. >> rhiannon: welcome back to >> rhiannon: welcome back to "gma" and a look at a recent slew of musical movies hitting the big screen, yet hollywood appears to be downplaying the singing for some reason. abc's will ganss has a look at what may be behind it.

will, why so secretive? >> that's the question of the morning, rhiannon. by now you know wednesdays we wear pink and obviously on some saturdays too. you know what the burn book is but you might not know that this burn book, you guys, actually is a popcorn tin because "mean girls" is back in theaters. you might also not know this iteration is a musical. so, why so hush-hush? don't tell anyone, but regina george can sing. >> that's why her hair is so big. it's a secret. >> reporter: the 2024 "mean girls" adaptation is actually a musical. ♪ i don't care ♪ >> reporter: but some audience members had no clue until that first downbeat. ♪ blockbusters like "mean girls" and timothee chalmaet's "wonka" leaving the music out of their trailers. >> allow me to refresh your memory. >> oh, i don't think i want to hear that. >> reporter: so, why the musical mute button?

one running theory says, it's elsa's fault. ♪ let it go ♪ >> reporter: "frozen" wasn't originally marketed as a musical in 2013. its songs catching fire only after the film racked up more than a billion dollars at the box office. >> for a trailer, which is an advertisement for the film, you want to appeal to the broadest possible audience. chances are, they aren't going to walk out of the theater once the cast breaks into song, but you've gotten them in there with a trailer that has a much broader appeal. >> reporter: "the color purple" movie musical hitting all the right notes at the box office. ♪ give me something ♪ >> reporter: with the second biggest christmas day opening of all time. so, can we stop pretending musicals aren't musicals? based on the box office numbers, they're more than ken-enough. ♪ i'm just ken ♪ >> reporter: "barbie" with its musical numbers up to 1.4 billion with a "b" at the

box office, and now "mean girls" is projected to win the hollywood weekend and fetch -- see what i did there -- 30 million bucks, which for a movie that only cost 36 million to produce is a lot of money, money, money. >> gio: i knew you were going to make fetch happen. >> fetch, a little bit of singing, you know. >> rhiannon: will, thank you. coming up on "good morning america," it's also nfl's wild card weekend. anything can happen and espn's sam acho sizes up the matchups. . anything can happen and espn's sam acho sizes up the matchups. . and who doesn't love a good throwback? ( ♪ ) ( ♪ ) emergen-c crystals. chances of a plane crash -- 1 in 11 million. you're not gonna finish those salted nuts, right? never waking up from anesthesia -- 1 in 185,000. validate your parking or just see how it goes? what? why stress about the unlikely? does a killer clown worry about being struck by lightning

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bring good jobs back home, and build affordable housing. now he's running for the senate. our economy, our democracy, our planet. this is why we fight. i'm adam schiff, and i approve this message. dude, what're you doing? i'm protecting my car. that's too much work. weathertech is so much easier... laser-measured floorliners up here, seat protector and cargoliner back there... nice! out here, side window deflectors... and mud flaps... and the bumpstep, to keep the bumper dent-free. cool! it's the best protection for your vehicle, new or pre-owned. great. but where do i---? order. weathertech.com. sfx: bubblewrap bubble popped sound. >> whit: we are back with the busy wild ca >> whit: we are back now on "gma" with a busy wild card weekend for the nfl. this morning we are focusing on

the afc matchups, and joining us with a preview is espn football analyst sam acho, also former nfl player. sam, good morning to you. it's great to have you. >> glad to be with you, whit. >> whit: all right. let's jump right into it. the weather brutal for the dolphins heading to kansas city to take on the chiefs. could be the coldest game ever for both franchises. how could that impact the matchup? >> well, it will be a huge impact. i played -- one of the teams i played for were the chicago bears. we played in weather like this, negative 20, 30 with the windchill. so, you think about teams like miami that wants to throw the ball deep, wants to make it a track meet. it can prove difficult to run routes, to catch passes when the weather can be so frigid. negative 20 or maybe even negative 30 with the windchills. so, that's going to be interesting. on the other side, kansas city has struggled to find their offense, so to get that going on the ground and maybe running the ball in this weather could be a huge advantage for the chiefs. >> whit: never count out mahomes either. that's for sure. let's talk about joe flacco, went from being part of an elementary school drop-off carpool, nothing against that, i'm part of that team for sure

but now starting on yet another team, the cleveland browns, but could the 38-year-old get past some young stars on the houston texans? what do you think? >> yeah, i think he can. joe flacco has been one of the comeback stories of the year this year. obviously 38 years old, but he is a former super bowl champ and also super bowl mvp, and he's played outstanding, threw for over 300 yards in all but one of his game. but also, here's the thing, the browns have the number one defense when it comes to yards given up. so cj stroud and the houston texans have to go not only against joe flacco but also they're going to have to go against that cleveland browns defense. cj stroud likely will win offensive rookie of the year. this team had to win to get in, and they did. so, it will be exciting to see how the texans match up. i think it's flacco but against that cleveland browns defense. >> whit: all right. quickly i want to get your take on the buffalo/steelers game. the bills really getting hot at the right time. what do you think? >> they won five in a row and

their playoffs for the bills started in december. they had to win, the 11th ranked team in the nfc and five straight wings over teams like the chiefs and the cowboys and the dolphins got them into the playoffs. they talk about they remember what you do in december. the chiefs are undefeated in december, and their playoff journey has already started a few weeks ago. >> whit: and two teams that know how to play in the cold too. sam acho, thank you so much. we truly appreciate it. good to have you. again, wild card weekend goes through monday when the eagles take on the buccaneers at 8:00 eastern on abc and espn. we'll be right back with our "play of the day." and espn. we'll be right back with our "play of the day." more with less asthma... tou ...thanks to dupixent. dupixent is not for sudden breathing problems. it's an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma. and can help improve lung function for better breathing in as little as two weeks. dupixent helps prevent asthma attacks... and can even reduce or eliminate oral steroids.

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results or just rhetoric. californians deserve a senator who is going to deliver for them every day and not just talk a good game. adam schiff. he held a dangerous president accountable. he also helped lower drug costs, bring good jobs back home, and build affordable housing. now he's running for the senate. our economy, our democracy, our planet. this is why we fight. i'm adam schiff, and i approve this message. ♪ >> gio: all right. we're back now with our "play of the day." you just got to watch this one. this is a beachside wedding proposal that's now going viral for the wrong reasons, though. take a look, you see what's happened there. mom puts down her daughter. daughter spots the camera right there on the sand. look what's going on. the whole thing is happening behind her. he's popping the question, but,

you know, she just grabs the camera, but, look, she still catches the moment. she said yes. so all is well. >> rhiannon: props for trying to catch it on camera. >> gio: isn't that great? >> whit: she's feeling herself. you know, i look good today. that's great. congratulations, by the way, on the happy engagement. coming up on "gma" in our second hour, the stormy winter weekend bringing snow, rain, frigid temperatures all across the country. >> rhiannon: our "gma" cover story, more teenage girls are using diet pills and laxatives for weight loss. we'll tell you what parents really need to know. >> gio: and then it's "deals & steals" with all sorts of items to help you get a good night's sleep. look at that. we'll be right back on "gma."

in walnut creek overnight. contra costa fire responded to a home on countrywood court, right near bancroft road. fire officials found two people trapped inside. they were rescued and rushed to the hospital. officials say both victims were injured and their condition is unknown. right now. today, tesla workers and trade unionists are expected to rally, demanding an end to alleged systemic racism and sexism at the fremont plant. they claim there's been numerous cases of harassment, bullying and discrimination. they say they're also showing support for more than 100 swedish mechanics who have been on strike for over two months. ceo elon musk has said in the past he disagrees with the idea of unions to weather. now it's raining in some areas. lisa is tracking a level two storm. good morning. good morning stephanie. >> rainfall will increase in coverage and intensity throughout the day. you can see this latest image here showing the heavier rain offshore. and

it has been lightrillionain all morning long. you can see from penn grove highway 101 out to vallejo, looking at a wide area of lightrillionain from san ramon, 580 in dublin and back along the peninsula into the coastal ranges of around davenport. so here are the raindrops on the lens here. san francisco. we're looking at temperatures in the upper 40s to near 50. south winds will accompany the passage of the cold front this evening. that's going to bring heavier downpours, winds to 20 and 30 miles an hour right now it is milder out there due to the warm front in the area. so here's a look at the rest of the afternoon. notice by seven 8:00 the rain gets heavier, the winds get gustier and we'll look for some minor flooding, perhaps up in the russian river. stephanie, a lot to track. >> lisa. thank you and thank you all for joining us. the news continues right now with good morning america results or just rhetoric. californians deserve a senator who is going to deliver for them every day and not just talk a good game.

adam schiff. he held a dangerous president accountable. he also helped lower drug costs, bring good jobs back home, and build affordable housing. now he's running for the senate. our economy, our democracy, our planet. this is why we fight. i'm adam schiff, and i approve this message. my dry eye's made me a burning, stinging, 5-times-a-day,... ...makeup smearing drops user. i want another option that's not another drop. tyrvaya. it's not another drop. it's the first and only nasal spray for dry eye. tyrvaya treats the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease fast by helping your body produce its own real tears. common side effects include sneezing, cough, and throat and nose irritation. relying only on drops? not me. my own real tears are my relief. ask your eye doctor about tyrvaya. (vo) at wells fargo, direct deposits come up to two days early with early pay day. what if everything came two days early?

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