that's what's making news in america this morning. making news in america this thursday morning -- winter woes for tens of millions of people across the country. airlines taking steps to help travelers all while that arctic blast right there dips into the washington as president-elect trump reportedly plans to restructure the cia. we're live in washington with breaking details. in chicago, growing outrage over a video posted on social media of a man being tortured and beaten. the question this morning, was it politically motivated? and round and round he rode. setting a world record for riding a bike at his age. your morning motivation coming up.

people do a lot just to warm up. with these temperatures. good morning, everybody. millions of americans venturing out this morning into the extreme weather. intense winds, snow, ice, blanketing much of the country. >> we covered everything. take a look at the giant swath of white on this map. only those of you in hawaii and florida will escape this one. blizzard conditions are making road travel virtually impossible. airlines have already cancelled or delayed doeszens already. that storm that has already dumped more than 2 feet of snow in parts of oregon and northern california has made its way into utah and rockies. >> some areas are positively glacial. take fargo, north dakota, where it was minus 6 degrees overnight. it's not expected to climb above zero until some time tomorrow. >> for more on that, let's go to accuweather's justin povich. justin, good morning. >> diane, kendis, good morning

to you. we're tracking snow throughout the day and into the overnight. not a lot, but an inch or two. can produce some travel delays. expecting that later on along interstate 95 corridor along with some low visibility. next storm system continues out west, pummelling portions of california with heavy flooding rains and heavy mountain snows that will continue well into midweek. >> our thanks to justin. from that frigid outlook to the cold war-type tensions between the obama administration and russia. today, the president receives the report that he requested on russian hacking. >> the briefing comes on the heels of the president's last-ditch effort to save obamacare with the incoming administration bent on repealing it. janai norman with details. >> reporter: the most polarizing political issue of the past eight years.

trump administration plans to repeal obamacare. it's the clash on capitol hill that stands to impact about 20 million americans. >> we're going to get rid of obamacare. >> reporter: days after president-elect donald trump doubled down on his promise to take down obamacare, president obama rallied democrats to defend his legacy. >> what's your advice for democrats on how to fight? >> look out for the american people. >> reporter: vice president elect mike pence is working on executive orders. >> lower the cost of health insurance. >> reporter: to this point, they have voted to repeal the health care law more than 60 times but still can't agree on an alternative. house speaker paul ryan with no real answer when asked why not? >> we have plenty of ideas to replace it. and you'll see as the weeks and months unfold what we're talking about. >> reporter: in the meantime another brewing showdown in washington. trump at odds with the intelligence community over

russian hacking. tweeting support of fugitive wikileaks founder julian assange. continuing to take shots at intelligence officials. a move that the country's leading democrat warns could lead to serious payback. >> take on the intelligence community, they have six ways from sunday of getting back at you. even for a practical hard-nosed businessman he's being really dumb to do this. >> reporter: today, president obama will receive the first briefing on that classified report he requested about russian cyber attacks during the election. trump will be briefed tomorrow. an unclassified version of that report will be made public on monday when congress is briefed. >> abc's janai norman in washington, thank you. president-elect is reportedly planning to shake things up at the cia. he wants to cut staff at cia headquarters in virginia.

and move more agents into the field. he's also reportedly looking into scaling back the office of the director of national intelligence. now to the other major story we're following this morning and it's a disturbing one. the shocking torture of a mentally disabled man and live-streamed on facebook. >> police in chicago have arrested two men and two women in what they say appears to be a hate crime. we warn you, this video is sickening to watch. >> reporter: a video so disturbing most of it has to be blurred out. a man beaten and tortured in chicago as the alleged attackers stream the attack on facebook live. >> i've been a cop for 28 years and i've seen things that you shouldn't see in a lifetime and it still amazes me that you see things that you shouldn't. >> reporter: four people are in custody in connection with the video. police say an adult man with mental health challenges is believed to be the victim. he was found walking around the city's west side disoriented. >> he was traumatized fairly

good. like i said, it took most of the night for him to calm down for him to talk to us. >> reporter: the video shows his him bound. his clothes and hair cut. >> if you looked at that video they were just -- stupidity. >> police say someone in that group attacking the man shouted anti-white messages. they're considering hate crime charges. after being treated for his injuries the victim is back home this morning. turning our focus to overseas right now and the american-led coalition is accelerating the effort to retake the iraqi city of mosul from isis. u.s. military spokesman confirms that american advisers at times have entered the city. they've also doubled the number of those advisers to 450. and a former buckingham palace guard is in the news

for something that could have put him in the headlines. he told the times of london that he nearly shot queen elizabeth. this happened years ago, her majesty was walking the grounds at 3:00 in the morning because she couldn't sleep. luckily he called out and the queen identified herself. after being told she was almost shot, the queen reportedly responded next time i'll call beforehand so you don't have to shoot me. also ahead -- the searching for a missing helicopter in california. and trump's pick for secretary of state, rex tillerson, new details about his golden parachute when he leaves exxonmobil. high drama on the seas in tennessee. tennessee. we'll tell the apartment building where the fire was. when things like this happen, i think you find a new perspective on life. hi. red cross put us in a hotel

so we were able to stay together. we're strong and, if we overcame that or if we can overcome that, we can overcome anything, so. [ sniffle ]

and i take my job seriously. while i'm busy watching the game, i need your help keeping an eye on the stands. if you see something that doesn't look quite right, tell a law enforcement official. we all play an important role in protecting our communities, and you can help. if you see something suspicious, say something to local authorities. [ crowd cheering ]

rescuers have been combing the pacific ocean off the coast of los angeles after cruise ship passengers reported seeing a helicopter go down. no contact has been made with the missing chopper. which was registered to a tour company and was reportedly on a photo shoot at the time. no victims or debris found so far. the ntsb is looking for the cause of a train crash at a major new york hub. it derailed at brooklyn's atlantic terminal yesterday morning. more than 100 people suffered minor injuries. the train's engineer has been drug-tested but the results haven't been released. in michigan, two more homes have been condemned near that 250-foot sinkhole in the city of fraser. however, two dozen families in the rest of the neighborhood should be able to return home next week. sinkhole believed to have been caused by a failing sewer line.

one former official blames a lack of maintenance. macy's said it's moving forward with plans to close 68 stores, cutting more than 10,000 jobs as well. it comes after a disappointing holiday sales season. the retail giant points to more consumers shopping on line. secretary of state nominee rex tillerson is getting a massive retirement package. as he cuts ties with exxonmobil. reached an agreement to shift his nest egg to a trust. a move aimed avoiding a conflict of interest with the company. tillerson is apparently not letting all that money go to his head. someone tweeted this picture doing his own grocery shopping at a safeway in washington. thin is really in with lg is new smart tv. the signature comes in 6-inch and 7-inch sizes. the screen is just 0.2 wide. so, get this -- that's

about as wide as three quarters stacked together. the cost is expected to be pretty hefty. when we come back -- the gun-toting grandmother who wasn't letting this burglar get away with anything. and college hoops getting hot, even in january. number one villanova finding itself in a big battle overnight. the highlights coming up. overnight. the highlights coming up. ♪ with advil, you'll ask what sinus headache? what stiff joints? what time of the month cramps? what nighttime pain? make all your pains a distant memory with advil the world's #1 choice what pain? advil. ( ♪ )

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to south carolina now, more relatives of the charleston church massacre victims will tell their stories today. >> the president phase of the moves its second day. the jury won't be hearing much more from the killer himself. steve osunsami. >> reporter: strange, awkward, upsetting the only describing see this admitted racist acted as his own attorney. he's now hoping jurors will spare his life. in his opening statements he tried to explain why he's going against all legal advice. and refusing to argue that he's insane. the point is, i'm not going to lie to you. there's nothing wrong with me psychologically. while there's still a few with god's mercy roof should be forgiven -- >> he took something very precious away from me. but i forgive you. >> reporter: -- the feeling now is very different. >> you have to be sentenced to the ultimate penalty and that's

death. >> reporter: on the witness stand the wife of the reverend killed first told beautiful stories from their marriage. jennifer pinckney told stories about she and her daughter called 911 from a locked office down the hall. prosecutors asking for the death sentence pointed to a jailhouse journal that roof wrote after the murders. steve osunsami, abc news, charms. some new video showing what happened when two police officers responded to a trespassing call. and ended up in a shootout. it all happened in walmart in chandler, arizona, the officers talking with the suspect when suddenly he opens fire. he hits one officer three times. luckily that second officer was hit in his bulletproof vest and he managed to quickly return fire, killing the suspect. this is fascinating. a pistol-packing grandmother singlehandedly scared off a

an armed intruder. she was about to watch the news sunday night when a masked gunman broke into her home. what she did next caught the man by surprise. >> when i started to get up, he was aiming the gun right to my face. western he did, i swerved around i pointed at him and when i did he ran. >> i would have ran, too. >> don't miss with her. >> all of this not before she fired off a round of shots. investigators believe the suspect got away unharmed. authorities say she had every right to defend herself. >> she'll work on her aim a little bit more. now, to henry county, tennessee, which is in the northwest part of the volunteer state, a unique problem that called for a unique solution. >> we'll let the henry county sheriff take it from here.

>> we got a calf going down the middle of the highway. we're going to try to rope him right there. >> yes, indeed, that calf was roped by the guy riding on the hood of the sheriff's car. the animal was brought back to where it belongs safely. from the highway to the hardwood. >> here are last night's hoops highlights from espn. we would start with the number one college basketball team being upset but our producer is from the bay area, so here are the warriors. >> this is kevin durant. that was kevin durant. draymond green found him. this is against the blazers from the great northwest. steph curry, the warriors were down two at the half. they went on an 11-0 to open the second half. never looked back. k.d. for there.

he had 30. curry had 35. the warriors won. here's the number one team in college basketball losing. butler -- >> you gave it already. >> i know. villanova had won 20 straight games going back to last season. butler is up three. savage with the defense. he's going end to end. butler fans feeling upset, up by six points. just more than a minute to play. bulldogs up four. baldwin misses inside. but look at the defense. hustles back. the layup to finish. time the storm the court. butler wins it, 66-58. one final note, my nephew got married in vancouver last weekend. >> this is dedicated to the hta and all the folks at murphy's on merchant street. >> wow, guys. so, now it's been five days since mariah carey's epic new

year's meltdown. this mascot took to the floor complete pretending to belt out music. >> but someone cuts his mike. but in true diva fashion he storms off the court. >> he's not happy with the sound guy. and just like in the real show the dancers keep on going. >> the dancers are like i don't know her. up next in the pulse, the ride of his life and this guy has had a long, long life. our congrats to him. >> and speaking of riding, how about this for your little one? we'll spin into "the pulse" when we come back. >> what is that? anyone with type 2 diabetes knows how it feels to see your numbers go up, despite your best efforts. but what if you could turn things around? what if you could love your numbers?

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♪ time to check "the pulse." beginning with the new gadget that will exercise your preschooler's body and mind. >> it's the latest smart cycle with a tablet that's mounted on the front that offers learning apps and games. >> it's designed for kids from ages 3 to 6. the only way to power those apps is for the kids move those pedal and that's one to get them to do it. >> so, none of us have any excuse to be a couch potato. meet the frenchman who just set a new cycling record and he's 105 years old. he rode 14 miles in an hour. 92 laps altogether. the record was created for him due to his age and he said he can actually ride faster than that. he just needs a challenger in his age group. >> so, bring it on.

and a pro wrestling legend is showing that age is just a number. >> we're talking about wwe superstar ric flair who has come a long way from his glory days. >> now he's posted a video of himself dead-lifting 450 pounds. he's 67 years old. since the 1970s, he's gone by the nickname nature boy. he added a caption retire. >> no doubt that flair has raised the bar for quite a few new year's resolutions. i can't even lift my phone up. helps ease fibromyalgia pain. he also prescribed lyrica. fibromyalgia is thought to be the result of overactive nerves. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. for some, lyrica can significantly relieve fibromyalgia pain and improve function, so i feel better. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions

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. it is friday eve. >> i'm natasha zouves alongside jessica castro and alexis smith, who is bucking the color trend this morning. always got to stand out, alexis. >> that was my main goal today. >> you look great. >> mission accomplished. mike's doing purple too. >> he is doing purple. mike, is this the dry day? >> the dry day. yes. absolutely. form, a little bit also but today the day to take those holiday decorations down. look at this. live doppler 7, pretty much dry, there's a little bit of drizzle out there and even if it's not raining, there's wetness of the streets. here's a look from our roof camera and those temperatures much cooler this morning, 35 to

48, lot of sunshine this afternoon back in the 30s and 40s at 7:00, in fact, temperatures up to 20 degrees cooler this morning. good morning, mike. obviously a lot better driving conditions this morning. we are seeing a little bit of that sheen on the pavement. here's a look at the bay bridge toll plaza but nothing like yesterday's commute that was just so treacherous. so maybe astri sprinkle or two that's about it. we do have a little bit of fog up on north bay so and you're traveling along the 101 corridor, it is looking pretty dense. service changes today for san francisco bay ferry. >> alexis, thank you. work to prepare for this weekend's major soaking we're experiencing has to happen now and that is especially true in the santa cruz mountains. >> flooding could be a real problem and abc7 news reporter matt keller is watching that for us this morning. matt? >> good morning, natasha and reggie. this town gets more rain than

any other town in the santa cruz mountains and this weekend it is going to be very, very wet. and a lot of people are working hard to get ready for the rain that is coming this weekend. we got crews that are working to clear mud slides off of roadways. also working with pg&e and the rising water of the san lorenzo river has residents concerned. >> it's coming pretty close to my mom's porch right there and we expect it to be almost right up at our house this weekend because it's going to get pretty bad. >> make sure the property is okay. i have a couple trees that are pretty scary. >> reporter: there have been and will be plenty of road closures because of flooding. this example is in gilroy. u.s. creek overflowed, closing christmas hill park. on the santa clara county side of the mountain this morning, i was driving up and there was a lot of following out there. the