making news in america this morning, city at a standstill. highways turned to parking lots, abandoned cars everywhere. the south still reeling from a minor winter storm, and now the blame game begins. pop star problems. the legal troubles are mounting for justin bieber after turning himself in to police just hours ago. plus, his deportation petition getting white house attention. and mid-air rescue, a skydiver gets knocked out at 12,000 feet. his fellow divers jump into action while hurling towards the ground. caught red-nosed, bad dog gets busted by his owner in a must-see video.

good thursday morning, i'm marci gonzalez. >> and i'm ryan smith. john and diana are off. and one of the country's largest metropolitan areas is still at a standstill following a winter storm. >> this is the scene around atlanta. abandoned vehicles littering major highways, helicopters took to the sky to search for stranded drivers following 2 inches of snow. abc's mary bruce has the latest. >> reporter: after two days of cold chaos, the cleanup is finally under way after much of the south was paralyzed by a rare winter storm. >> it's pretty bad. we were not expecting it. >> reporter: just 2 inches of snow fell in atlanta, but the city was blanketed in slick ice bringing it to a screeching halt. >> i was on ice, and it just kept slipping, and i thought i was going to tumble over. >> reporter: crashes, some deadly, blocked the interstate, cars jammed for miles with no way out. frustrated drivers stranded,

many for almost 24 hours. one mother-to-be stuck miles from the hospital gave birth on i-285 to a baby girl named grace. today, more drivers will return to cars they were forced to abandon. >> i was going to the airport. >> oh, my god. >> and we got stuck behind a couple of trucks. >> and you ran out of gas. >> and we ran out of gas. >> reporter: the national guard has been called in to help. >> you always want to make sure that the kids are taken care of. we'll put them in the humvee just so they can warm up. >> reporter: the freeze, no match for classic southern hospitality. good samaritans eager to lend a hand. across the south icy misery from florida to virginia beach. residents sheltered in place. hundreds of children in georgia and alabama were trapped at school. the roads too dangerous for them to leave. >> i want to go home. >> reporter: back in atlanta, many asking why officials weren't better prepared. >> i've been on the road for 16 hours. someone needs to be held accountable. >> reporter: the governor admits mistakes were made.

>> we all have some lessons we need to learn here. >> reporter: mary bruce, abc news, washington. we'll check the forecast in just a moment, but first new legal drama overnight for justin bieber and this time facing an assault charge in his native canada. >> bieber surrendered to toronto police hours after answering to another charge in miami beach. more now from abc's jason nathanson. >> did you attack the limo driver? did you attack the limo driver? >> reporter: 19-year-old justin bieber pushed his way through a crush of media and screaming fans turning himself in to toronto police on an assault charge. officials there saying it's all related to an alleged attack on a limo driver back in december. bieber's attorney claims his client is innocent. >> we're here to support him. we're his family. like you want to go with your family when they get arrested. you want to be with them supporting them when they get out of jail. >> reporter: bieber's legal day began in miami. his american attorneys there pleading not guilty to charges of driving under the influence.

police say bieber repeatedly cursed at the arresting officer while admitting to drinking, smoking marijuana and taking prescription drugs. but there are other legal ramifications. the singer's not an american citizen, and a petition on the white house we the people website now has more than 100,000 signatures. calling for his deportation. on top of these recent charges, he's still under investigation for felony vandalism in l.a. over an egg tossing incident january 14th. jason nathanson, abc news, los angeles. >> and bieber's attorney released this overnight, "we anticipate that this matter will be treated as a summary offense, the equivalent of a misdemeanor in the united states. our position is that mr. bieber is innocent." and now to the economy. president obama travels to wisconsin today where he'll be on tour of a general electric plant in milwaukee, and then he later goes to nashville. now, mr. obama is on the road trying to sell the economic ideas presented in the state of

the union, and yesterday the president spoke about raising the minimum wage to workers at a maryland costco, but it's not getting much traction back in washington. >> give america a raise. making work pay means doing more to help americans all across this country. >> listen, i used to be an employee. when you raise the cost of something, you get less of it. >> the president also signed an order to create starter retirement accounts that could be opened with as little as $25. a new york lawmaker learned the hard way the power of social media. we showed you the video of congressman michael grimm threatening a reporter. well, it went viral in just moments. at first grimm refused to apologize blaming the reporter instead. but after a barrage of criticism, the congressman saw the error of his ways and said he was sorry. now to another republican known to speak his mind, chris christie, that bridge flap seems to have taken a toll. just 35% of americans now view

him favorably according to a new abc news poll. that is down significantly from another poll back in june, and compared to hillary clinton, the democrats' top presidential possibility, christie trail, 53%-41%. and bayonne, new jersey, is where that royal caribbean ship on hups of people got sick is as we speak. the "explorer of the seas" arrived home yesterday, and the company says it's being completely sanitized as they got off the ship to continue their journeys home. passengers recalled days of misery because of a suspected norovirus outbreak. >> really that, yeah, it was, i mean, you never felt pain until you did this. it was violent for about 24 hours. >> i thought it was a lovely cruise, but, unfortunately, the virus wasn't part of the package i had signed up for. >> nearly 700 people were sickened on board, and royal caribbean says the ship is scheduled to start its next cruise, a nine-day trip to the caribbean tomorrow afternoon. next to the big news in

california, rain. in sacramento, they dusted off those umbrellas after a record-setting 52 days without rain during the rainy season. the old record was 46 days set all the way back in 1884. >> forecasters expect a little over half an inch before the rain ends tomorrow morning. but that little won't make a dent in the state's terrible drought. and that california storm stretches up to the northwest and delivers snow across the rockies. gusty wind in the southwest. cold and icy in the south. warming up this afternoon. snow in the upper midwest, minneapolis expecting half a foot. clear in the northeast. a cold start there warming up to the 20s and the teens and 20s in the upper midwest, the 40s in the northwest and heartland and upper 60s to 80s across the southwest. and one final weather item, check out the lovely dusting of snow there at the gates of the augusta international golf club in georgia. of course, it's going to look a lot different now 71 days from now, right, when the masters

golf tournament begins there. spring, it's not that far away, right? >> ah, fingers crossed. i'm ready for it to be here any day now. come a little early, please. all right. coming up, drive-through drugs, a mcdonald's employee is accused of serving up more than burgers and fries in her happy meals. and air scare. a daring rescue for a skydiver in serious trouble and all of it caught on camera. plus, oscar shocker. someone is no longer in the running. we'll tell you why the academy revoked the nomination.

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welcome back. and it has been a rough overnight session for most foreign markets following the latest sell-off on wall street. all the major averages here in the u.s. were down about 1% yesterday. the selling came after some disappointing earnings reports and confirmation of more cuts to the fed's economic stimulus program. one stock more than likely to soar today is facebook after the market closed yesterday, the company reported earnings that surpassed wall street expectations for the third consecutive quarter. facebook shares jumped more than $6 in after-hours trading. target says it is learning how it was hacked. they say thieves stole passwords from one of its vendors that enabled them to enter target's computers and installed malware and stole information from 40 million customers and permanent data from 70 million more. here's an unfortunate story about people looking for love in all the wrong places, it comes

from the discreet dating site victoriamilan.com. >> extramarital activities at work cost employers some $17 million a day in lost productivity and they say that is probably a lowball estimate. wow. all right, a mcdonald's employee from western pennsylvania is now charged with dealing drugs in happy meal. >> she was arrested yesterday after police got a tip that she was selling heroin in happy meal boxes. cops say buyers used the phrase "i'd like to order a toy" to start the transaction which was done through the mcdonald's drive-through window. and next on this thursday, wicked winter. snow drifts so high it's trapping people this their homes. plus, super bowl surprise. a son gives his mom tickets for the big game and gets a priceless reaction.

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take a look at this cottage on lake erie in canada. the wind from the lake blew so much snow that the drifts buried them inside for four days. fortunately, they had power, water, food and some booze, so they were okay. finally the husband climbed out through the back, dug a path to the door but they say it was like living in a cave and that's what it looks like. >> you see him raise his hands like touchdown. i finally got out. a terrifying accident 12,000 feet above earth. >> and you could see it unfold in this video. just after james lee jumped out of the plane one of his fellow skydivers hit him in the head knocking him out then you see the camera goes wobbly as he tumbles unconscious towards certain death. but then his friends were able to grab his body, put it in the right position and pull his chute. >> well, it's pretty incredible.

when somebody is unconscious and tumbling, it's virtually impossible to catch them. >> well, james lee regained consciousness on the way down and doesn't remember a thing. he says the accident won't stop him from jumping again. amanda knox and her family will be watching this afternoon when an italian appeals court is expected to deliver a verdict on whether knox is guilty or innocent of killing her roommate seven years ago. she was convicted of the crime in 2009 and spent four years in prison before that verdict was overturned. whatever today's verdict is, it is expected to be appealed to italy's supreme court. now to a rare move ahead of the academy awards. an oscar nominee suddenly yanked out of the running, the title song from the faith-based movie "alone yet not alone" was up for best original song but the academy revoked it over a rule violation. the person who wrote the music is an executive committee member who allegedly e-mailed other

members about his song submission during the voting period. he says he did nothing wrong. >> i did not ask somebody to vote for it. i didn't do any campaigning for the film. i didn't do anything that i didn't read in the rules, frankly. >> the academy says brute broughton's actions created the appearance of an unfair advantage. no new song will be named leaving only four nominees in the category. to health news now. a new study finds the road to obesity starts well before the 5th b kids who became obese by eighth grade were already overweight when they started kindergarten. researchers from emory university say the window of opportunity to prevent obesity must be pushed back to an earlier age. researchers at the national institutes of health want to make you sick, yeah, they're looking for 100 volunteers to be infected with the virus through a nasal spray. participants will be quarantined for at least nine days while doctors observe them.

these people are going to get paid about $3,000 and the experiment aims to create a better flu vaccine. >> 3,000 for nine days of sickness. a southern california schoolteacher is facing animal cruelty charges after more than 400 snakes were found in his home, many dead. >> they were kept along with rats and mice and stacked all over william buickman's five-bedroom house. arrested after neighbors complained about the stench. it was so filthy workers had to wear masks and other protective gear. okay, time now for some sports. >> yeah, this morning that means both pro and college hoops. highlights now from our friends at espn. good morning, america. i'm wearing a jerry gar ya tie in honor of bill walton who called the arizona/stanford game tonight but first stan will lead us off with oklahoma city/miami. >> if you see this segment often, good move. you know that we talk about kevin durant a lot because he always gives us something to talk about.

in miami to take on the heat, serge ibaka finding durant, shot clock winding down but he hits the three to put the thunder up three in the second quarter. they were down 18-2 early in this game. lebron james, he had 34 points. he did all he could. next under possession durant, how about three more. oklahoma city, 16 for 27 on threes. miami, 3 for 19. that was really the big difference in addition to the oklahoma city bench outscoring miami, 39-21 and durant, 12 straight games with 30 or more. thunder won nine in a row, 112-95. arizona looking to remain unbeaten. stanford hasn't beaten a one at home since 19 8 when chasson randle hits that. stanford is up 5. but aaron gordon, he is from san jose, the fabulous freshman for the cats. he didn't have a fab game but big dunk there. nick johnson, the fate of the world hanging right there in the balance. >> is that a waltonism? >> of course, it is and then

randle, can we have overtime? no. and the cats win it, 60-57. any more waltonisms? >> we could go all night. >> coach wouldn't have allowed that! back to you. all right, thanks, guys. now to the super bowl and a great story no matter if you're cheering for the broncos or the seahawks. >> oh, i love this. it's why we think it's such a great story we made it our "play of the day." and the star is a woman who has been a big seahawks supporters for decades. >> just listen to her and her son. >> what are you talking about? >> those are super bowl tickets. >> no. >> yeah. >> no, they're not. >> they're row 10. they're in the end zone. >> no way. >> uh-huh. >> we can't do this. >> we can. we fly out on saturday. >> no. no. no. >> oh. i love that. i love that. >> she is in such disbelief. >> she is but we can't do that. oh, got to love it. the woman's son says the tickets

are his way of making up for being the reason she couldn't help the seahawks home from -- the playoff victory in 1984. she was actually pregnant with him at the time. >> he's making up for that. >> what a son. oh, that's so cool. all right, coming up next, "the pulse" where christie brinkley is fit and fabulous at 60. so what is her secret to staying young? and bad doggie. a four-legged friend gets caught red-handed in this video going viral. it. run your entire business h get paid however you want with it. get real work done wherever with it. make all your numbers play nicely with it. say "buh-bye" to the old way with it. run payroll with your finger with it. scan receipts with it. sync this stuff with that stuff and that stuff, with it. maintain your sanity with it. this is your business on the all-new quickbooks. run with it.

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supermodel christie brinkley showing the world what 60 can look like. >> wow. >> wow, and that's right. that's right, christie brinkley is making the big 6-0 this weekend, and she's gracing the cover of "people" magazine right there and in a swimsuit. how about that? she looks great. briskly said the only reason she didn't wear a bikini, her kids would have been too embarrassed. >> ma, come on. she has three kid, 28, 18 and 15 and she says keeping up with them is her secret to staying young. >> ha, chasing the kids around. madonna isn't quite 60 but she is still sizzling and showing off her moves on mtv. >> that's right. she joined miley cyrus for a couple of songs last night, both ladies rocking the cowboy look with some intergenerational grinding going on. >> okay, madonna and miley also did the tongue thing. >> all right, and next, take a look at this. a dog caught red-handed or is it red-headed. the owner says she heard a strange sound coming from her son's nursery and found the

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live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. >> good thursday morning. thanks for joining us. >> i am katie marzullo. >> i am kristen sze. >> very good news. it is raining. mike nicco, our meteorologist is next. >> i will show you where it is picking up the radar. the yellow and orange over san francisco could be overdone. we have light rain. but no reports of anything heavier than that. our rainfall amounts have been on the lower threshold of what i forecast around .1". we have more moving through. we are going to have a go chance of light rain through 10:00 this morning. some areas that did not receive so much overnight could get

another shot this morning. we have a stray shower possible but mostly dry with clouds and cooler weather in the 50's to low 60's. leyla? >> good morning, everyone. it is wet. that means the roads are going to be slick. it hasn't rained in a while. the dry roads have collected a lot of oil creating slippery conditions. you can see where we have the areas indicated in green where there is light rain, drizzle, sprinkles falling. in san jose we have had a few accidents this morning but you can see san jose is affected by the weather. we have an accident on the on-ramp southbound 280 but other than that at top speed. 580 from tracy interest -- into livermore is good. >> the roads are wet so if the

rain has not hit you yet it is likely to. amy hollyfield is in walnut creek of the what do you see, amy? >> we are getting a break in the action. we have wet streets. how long has it been? it is welcome. the rain dances have paid off. this is the rain we shot pictures of that happened last night in san francisco. john is on track to be the driest ever recorded in northern california. this is a welcome sight. it will not do everything we need. it will not be enough to get us back on track. we will welcome it. we are planning on going around the east bay all morning to give you a look of what you can expect and what you can prepare