making news in america this morning, the massive snowstorm with major east coast cities in its bull's-eye. more than a foot expected in some locations. the latest track and thousands of flights already canceled. a decision could come down today in the battle over president trump's travel ban. and the president is now at odds with his own supreme court nominee as the country's new attorney general is confirmed. we're live in washington. ejected, a former nba player pulled from the stands after a fight with security. what exactly set him off? and see what happens when a leopard leaps from a tree and heads right for a film crew. the last-second decision by a cameraman that likely saved the group.

and we do say good morning to you on this thursday. it is a busy one, especially here on the east coast. the strongest winter storm of the season. >> that's right. >> just started actually behind us. >> check out the radar. major cities are expected to see significant snowfall. philadelphia, new york, boston, more than 32 million people will likely get more than 6 inches. >> a look at the current advisories right now. winter storm warnings stretching from southern new jersey all the way to portland, maine. even blizzard warnings in parts of new york and massachusetts. and the storm is causing a ripple effect at airports across the country. airlines have already canceled nearly 3,000 flights. most of them at newark international in new jersey, boston's logan airport and new york's laguardia and jfk airports. so, the timing is really important in all of this and could make for a terrible morning commute. the storm will hit during the morning rush hour. >> accuweather's justin povick has the timing and the snow totals. justin, good morning.

>> kendis and diane, thanks, and good morning to you. a very high impact snowstorm working its way to the north and to the east throughout the day. major impacts in terms of heavy snow and howling winds along 95 especially from new york city north and eastbound toward boston. some of those effects going into the evening hours further off to the north into northern and also central portions of new england. here's what we're expecting when it's all said and done, 6 to 12 inches of snow in and around boston. notice that stripe of dark blue stretching back to the south and to the west. locally over a foot of snow and, again, near blizzard conditions expected out on the cape. lighter amounts of snow further southbound toward baltimore and philadelphia. kendis, diane, back to you. >> all right, justin, thanks. we move on to the morning's major headlines from washington. first up president trump's supreme court nominee is offering some sharp comments about the president's fight with federal judges. >> also jeff sessions is officially the nation's next attorney general after a fierce fight in the senate. abc's maggie rulli is in washington with the details. maggie, good morning. >> reporter: kendis and diane,

good morning. as president trump watches the fate of his travel ban hang in the balance, his administration did get one big win, a new attorney general. >> the nomination is confirmed. >> reporter: senators vote to confirm jeff sessions as attorney general despite fierce opposition from democrats over his record on civil rights and immigration. it's a win for the trump administration, and it comes as the president finds himself in the middle of more drama with the country's judicial branch including president trump's supreme court pick, judge neal gorsuch. he describes the president's recent criticism of judges as, quote, demoralizing and disheartening like tweeting that the federal judge who put a temporary hold on his immigration ban is a so-called judge and saying he's to blame if anything happens. wednesday morning trump seemed to criticize the three federal judges currently deliberating the appeal of that ruling. >> i don't ever want to call a court biased, so i won't call it biased, and we haven't had a

decision yet, but courts seem to be so political. >> reporter: the judges from the ninth circuit court of appeals have not yet reached a decision on whether to reinstate the travel ban. that court will continue to deliberate, and a decision is expected this week. kendis and diane. >> and it could come as soon as today, in fact. maggie rulli there in washington for us, thank you. the president has made a sharp turn from his predecessors when it comes to talking about the threat of terrorism. >> in comments that he made, he seemed to drop a hint about what he has learned in his classified briefings since becoming president. listen. >> believe me, i've learned a lot in the last two weeks, and terrorism is a far greater threat than the people of our country understand. >> some context here, past presidents have urged americans to always be vigilant but not afraid. it's unclear if the president's comments were a way of pushing the need for his executive order travel ban to be reinstated.

and the president is slamming nordstrom for dropping ivanka trump's fashion line. he tweeted, my daughter ivanka has been treated so unfairly by nordstrom. she is a great person, always pushing me to do the right thing. terrible. >> but nordstrom contends it dropped the line because of the poor sales, not politics. the retailer's stock dipped but rebounded later in the day. now, ivanka trump resigned from her brand after her father's election. an indictment in what's being called the largest heist of secret government documents ever. former nsa contractor harold martin is accused of spending years collecting large amounts of classified information and storing it in his home. the government hasn't said what he did with the stolen data. he faces decades in prison if convicted. and in arizona a man has been sentenced to 30 years behind bars for providing support to isis. abdul malik abdul kareem is an american born convert to islam. authorities say he helped two isis followers with the

attempted attack outside an anti-islam event in texas back in 2015. he's the second person in the u.s. convicted of supporting isis. and we're learning new details about an incident involving air force one. sources tell abc news that another plane flew closer to air force one than it should have on friday. the president was on board and was heading to his florida resort. the other plane was flying parallel to air force one as it approached palm beach. now, the planes were never at risk of a collision but the faa is now investigating. louisiana residents are picking up the pieces this morning after several devastating tornadoes. the destruction is visible as you can see here for miles with entire neighborhoods destroyed. parts of new orleans ravaged by hurricane katrina were hit yet again this time by the tornadoes. powerful winds flipping tractor trailers. look at that one go. it knocked down trees and toppled power lines. dozens of people were injured but so far no deaths reported. still ahead, a major american bank is opening new branches that have no employees inside. and dragged out of the

stands. fight night at madison square garden for a knicks player, a former knicks player. what caused this altercation with security at the game. new details on the charges he's now facing. plus, two tons of drugs disguised to look like limes. see this massive bust at the border.

protests erupted in phoenix overnight over fears a local woman is about to be deported to mexico. she went to the immigration center for a routine annual check-in and was arrested. activists say it may be the result of president trump's recent executive order on immigration. officials say the woman was detained because she was arrested ten years ago during an immigration raid. authorities are trying to

figure out what caused a deadly explosion at a packaging plant in louisiana. three people were killed and seven others injured. look at the scene there. that was the explosion. now, all those killed were contractors working in the pulp mill area. now, some people suffered chemical burns. two tanks exploded, but it's unclear what they contained. construction of the controversial dakota access pipeline is back on track. the u.s. army approved completion of the nearly $4 billion project. it could now be finished within three months. supporters say the pipeline is needed to transport oil safely and will create jobs. opponents fear the pipeline will hurt the environment and are promising a legal challenge. and president trump is praising intel's plan to spend $7 billion to complete construction of a plant in arizona. the computer chipmaker says it could create 10,000 jobs in the state. construction of the plant actually dates back to 2011 when president obama touted the factory, but intel pulled the

plug in 2014 amid declining computer sales. the company now says it's moving ahead because of a brighter economic outlook. new bank of america branches may be completely automated. the nation's secondest biggest bank is testing three such branches in denver and minneapolis. they have atms and video conferencing equipment so customers can actually ask questions to someone. the branches only have one employee to help use the equipment and are much smaller than traditional bank branches. >> one of the questions you might want to ask the computer, can i get more money out to buy the new iphone, because prices for the iphone 8 reportedly will start at more than $1,000. another report says it may have facial recognition and a 3d camera. this is the tenth anniversary of the iphone, and there's also a rumor that apple might push the new addition's announcement up to june in order to mark the anniversary. >> and i'm one of those who just got a new one and will get the new one as soon as -- >> i'm the opposite. i would still have the startech flip phone. >> if you could.

>> if it still worked. when we come back, the high-wire act that went wrong. a well-known performer among those involved in a frightening fall. and a leopard pounces on a film crew. see how a cameraman's last-second decision saved them from serious injury. sion saved them from serious injury. ♪ this valentine's day... ...one store is the store ...to get your romantic on. ♪ and get your unexpected on. kay jewelers. where right now, you'll save up to 30% on select diamond fashions... ...including spectacular, shimmering, diamonds in rhythm. so go to kay... the number one jewelry store in america... ...and get your kiss on. ♪ every kiss begins with kay. befi was active.gia, i was energetic. then the chronic, widespread pain drained my energy. my doctor said moving more helps ease fibromyalgia pain.

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radar. the storm will affect most of the northeast. these are blizzard condition or warnings at least in parts of massachusetts. boston could get over a foot. and ahead of the storm, speaking of boston, some scenes here, not fun driving. it's hard to stop your car when it's sliding down a steep hill sideways bouncing off your neighbor's vehicle like a billiard ball or as a neighbor said bumper cars. amazingly no one was hurt in that incident yesterday and driving in the northeast will be tough sledding today because of that massive snowstorm. roads may also be snowy in northern minnesota and the western mountains. watch out for flooding along the west coast. and if you're flying, airport delays are most likely in san francisco, philadelphia, new york and boston. now to a serious accident that put several circus performers in the hospital. it all happened while they were practicing a difficult part of a routine. >> one of the famed wallenda family members was among those in that routine. abc's mara schiavocampo with more. >> reporter: circus disaster. five high-wire performers in

sarasota, florida, losing their balance during practice plummeting 25 feet to the ground below. >> we have a total of five rescues. >> reporter: legendary daredevil nik wallenda, one of the performers on that wire, though he didn't fall and says he is not injured. but his sister was hurt. two others are in critical condition, and one is suffering a traumatic brain injury. >> they're extremely lucky given the height of the fall that they survived. >> reporter: the group was rehearsing a complex never before performed eight-person pyramid that would have set a world record similar to this one with seven performers. circus officials say the wire rigging was fine, they simply lost their balance. mara schiavocampo, abc news, new york. federal agents in texas made a surprising drug bust along the u.s./mexico border. it was inside a truck. a load of key limes like these, well, inside those they found nearly 4,000 pounds of marijuana. special imaging technology and

drug-sniffing dogs allowed them to find this. the pot was separated into almost 35,000 separate packages. it's said to be worth nearly $800,000. a film crew member's quick thinking saved them from a vicious attack. look at this video. the bbc crew was shooting the wildlife series "spy in the wild" when that young fellow decided to make a run for it. this was in botswana. they spotted the leopard in the tree, and then this happened. >> then it happened. the leopard jumps onto the vehicle to grab richard. >> oh, heck no. when the leopard pounced, the cameraman actually threw his hat that you saw there at it. that gave another crew member a few seconds to hop in the driver's seat and take off. the film will appear on pbs next month.

>> if i have a leopard running at me, i want to be armed with more than a hat. >> exactly. >> throw the camera at it. >> but who knew that that's all it took? whoa. here in new york a bizarre scene played out at madison square garden. during last night's knicks game against the clippers, a former knicks player, charles oakley, was ranting against the team's owner, but then he gets in a shoving match with security guards before they finally eject him from the game, and then he gets arrested. oakley was charged with three counts of assault and then was released. there was a basketball game that broke out at that fight last night. it involved the knicks and the clippers. >> that's right. let's get some highlights now from our guys at espn. it's "sportscenter" from los angeles. stan verrett here along with neil everett. we're going to talk basketball. you're up first. >> kristaps porzingis has issues with the rim right there. john mcenroe, spike lee, chris rock, the stars are out and the guy next to chris rock.

carmelo anthony for the tie. blake had over 30. clippers win. cavaliers and pacers, indiana. 72 apiece at this point in the third. kyrie irving, it's going to be a foul ball. myles turner. but check it out. >> this is a top play. >> shot still goes. cavaliers go up after a 40-18 third quarter and then kyle korver knocking down a three. cavaliers go up 13 and then korver again. korver, 6 for 6 on three-pointers off lebron james passes. >> 8 for 9 overall no matter who passes. >> yeah, james, 25, 6 and 9, and the cavaliers win on the road. >> yeah. i'm going to oregon/ucla. i've already checked out. >> that's it from here. now back to you. >> when were they checked in? >> all right, thanks, fellas. up next in "the pulse," the radical change to extra innings being tested by major league baseball. and why this strawberry cost

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♪ i say, oh, what a beautiful morning yeah ♪ ♪ yes what a wonderful day ♪ y'all look out at that i've got a beautiful feeling ♪ ♪ i got everything i got everything ♪ ♪ whoo everything is going my way ♪ good morning, america. a lot of news to get to this morning. ♪ we're going to start your thursday morning "pulse" with something that might get the baseball purists all worked up. a change in the rules for extra innings. >> so, here's the deal. when those extra innings start,

a runner will automatically be placed on second base. the new rule is going to be tried out this season at the lowest level of the baseball's minor leagues and then they'll see if they want to adopt it to the major. >> yeah, if it is adopted to the majors, it will likely be several years before the new rule is implemented but there was one inning in the playoffs last year that lasted an hour. so, you can understand what they're trying to do, make things a little bit quicker. >> yes. not that she needs the money but oprah just had a windfall in the art market. she recently sold a work of art for $150 million. that is 62 million more than what she paid for it. the painting was by austrian artist gustav klimt. >> now, bloomberg news calls it one of the biggest art deals of 2016. a source says winfrey had lent the work to the museum of modern art in new york anonymously, and the offer from china was made while it was on display there. that's how it works. and speaking of china, hong kong, a supermarket there is facing some backlash for selling

a single strawberry for $22. the berry is tucked away here in this fine pink styrofoam and a pile of fake hay inside a box wrapped in beautiful plastic. >> it is shipped from japan and then marketed as a rare strawberry with the perfect balance of acidity and sweetness. more than 8,000 people have signed a petition calling it wasteful, but the supermarket says the price is warranted given how rare the strawberry is. i guess they're not a fan of dipping it in sugar technique. >> you don't do that to a fine strawberry from -- >> no whipped cream? >> no, this is a fine piece of work. >> okay. >> from japan. >> o. fine. fine piece of work from japan. always there. your parking space. [ car alarm chirps ] seriously? girls' night -- always there. and avocados from mexico -- they're always there for you because they're fresh all year 'round. indeed, that is something worth celebrating. ♪ ♪ avocados from mexico

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it is 4:30, and get ready for round 2. live doppler 7 is going to show us the latest storms sliding into the bay area this morning and this is going to be powerful, so prepare. >> good morning to you. on this thursday, february 9, i'm natasha zouves. >> i'm reggie aqui. jessica castro, mike nicco, alexis smith, it's going on a busy day for both of you. >> it has been a busy week. >> it really has been. the key to this is the timing and the heavier rain is going to come in right as the morning rush hour is ending. so, let's take a look at what's going on right now. if you're one of our early risers, i zoomed out to show you from dylan beach to fort ross and over to santa rosa and st. helena, light rain. let me show you all of our neighborhoods. you can see the wall of water

coming at us from the south. let me time it out for you. you can see it's going to be heaviest in the north at 7:00, heaviest everywhere at noon, heaviest outside of the north bay at 4:00 and then starting to taper by 7:00. i had dry streets this morning, alexis. how's the commute starting? >> i did too. we can take a live look outside at the bay bridge toll plaza. little bit of sheen on the pavement but pretty nice driving conditions so if you're up and moving and about to head out the door, you're one of the smart ones. we're looking okay at the moment. no major incidents to talk about right now. and i quickly wanted to show you our traffic maps with live doppler 7 added on ton. you can see that rain, especially pushing in the north bay, but most of us dry for now. speaking o. north bay, many communities still cleaning up. >> they barely had time to breathe and now they're getting hit again. abc7 news reporter matt keller is live with the preparations in place ahead of today's storm. >> reporter: we are here in san francisco. we've got a light drizzle.

the grod is wet out here. cool temperatures as well, but we know that storm is heading our way, and beknow it could be a very rough day, so crews are hoping a little preparation will go a long way, especially there in the north bay. they took advantage of the light rain yesterday to put up a large tarp on a hillside that had collapsed earlier in green bray. emergency crews are expecting a lot rain we've seen creeks flood and mudslides forcing evacuations. marin county administrators met to discuss a plan of action in the event of more mudslides and flooding. >> mudslides or water rescues so we can keep our 911 system available and active for anyone that needs it. >> reporter: one of the major concerns is the roads. emergency crews are keling people to just stay home if they can. that's good advice for many people across the bay area, because it is going to be dangerous out there during the day. reporting live in san francisco, matt keller, abc7 news. thank you, matt