morning america." morning america." making news in america this morning -- the winter storm emergency in the northeast. more than 2 feet of snow in some areas, downing trees, power lines and trapping drivers on major highways. >> this ridiculous, we have been here for hours and we still have no idea what's going on. >> the big digout under way right now, as yet another storm sets eyes on the area. the legal fight with an adult film star. >> did your client stormy daniels have sex with president trump? >> yes. >> why the president's legal team received a temporary restraining order against stormy daniels just last week. what did the president know about a payout to her. mystery solved? a prominent professor is convinced he knows what happened to amelia earnhart. what's his evidence.

plus, alexa creeping its users out by randomly laughing. why mcdonald's is turning its golden arches upside-down. and buying under the influence. how big of a problem is shopping online while drunk? good thursday morning. i'm lynda lopez in for diane macedo. >> and i'm kendis gibson. the monster storm that's been pounding the northeast. is proving to be a giant headache for commuters, disabled big riggs stranding huns of drivers in their cars for hours overnight along two highways in northern new jersey. >> and a live wire sparked this house fire in new jersey, where more than 300,000 customers are without power this morning. our coverage begins with arlette saenz. >> reporter: a second nor'easter is pounding the east coast.

whiteout conditions for much of the day. up to 3 inches an hour from new york city to philadelphia. in some areas -- thundersnow. in philadelphia, members of the northeastern women's basketball team used their muscles to push their bus out of the snow. commuters at a standstill. drivers on several new jersey highways were stranded for hours, including an abc news sound technician. >> what i heard was that it was a tractor-trailer jackknifed. i don't know if they had to unload it. >> reporter: nearly 3,000 flights were cancelled. another 2100 delayed. >> are you able to fly out of here today? >> no, not at all. >> reporter: trains ground to a halt. >> we're stuck because there's no power west of new haven. >> reporter: high winds howled across the northeast. downed power lines engulfed in flames. customers already without power for days, hit a second time.

>> now with this second storm we just lost power again. i am tired of this. >> folks are frustrated. count me among them. we have to figure out how we can still have 20,000-some outages. and then of course have this hit us. >> that storm still swirling in new england. on the radar, you can see snow covering parts of massachusetts and maine. we'll have the latest forecast in just a few minutes. we turn now to president trump's battle with porn star stormy daniels, accusing him of trying to silence her. daniels is suing the president over a nondisclosure to keep her from talking about the alleged affair. trump's lawyer michael cohen said it violates the temporary restraining order he received last week. tom llamas with the details. >> reporter: the white house in damage control. porn star stormy daniels suing president trump, arguing her nondisclosure agreement is null

and void. daniels claim that she and president began an intimate relationship in the summer of 2006 in lake tahoe. a relationship that included at least one meeting in a bungalow at the beverly hills hotel. i spoke with her lawyer. did your client stormy daniels have sex with president trump? >> yes. >> there's no doubt about that? >> no doubt in my mind. >> reporter: in the complaint, daniels acknowledges signing what she calls a hush agreement. something she's not done before. >> do you have a nondisclosure agreement? >> do i? >> reporter: trump's lawyer michael cohen admitted paying stormy daniels $130,000 of his own money just days before the election. but said in a statement, neither the trump organization nor the trump campaign was a party to the transaction. daniels' attorney says the president must have been aware. >> the suggestion or any suggestion that he didn't know about it is quite honestly absurd. we believe he knew about it.

>> reporter: the white house pressed on this. >> i have had conversations with the president about this, and as i outlined earlier, this case had already been won in arbitration and that there was no knowledge of any payments from the president and he's denied all of these allegations. >> in her lawsuit daniels now claims the nda is invalid, why? >> there is a signature line for mr. trump on the agreement, he was obligated to sign it and he never signed it. it's really that simple. >> reporter: daniels claimed they used aliases in the agreement. president trump was referred to as dennis dennyson and she was peggy peterson. right here, you can see a space where daniels said mr. trump would have signed but it's blank. tom llamas, abc news, new york. >> and daniels' attorney has dismissed the arbitrators' restraining order as bogus. he said the president's attorney continues to make legal threats against daniels and they say they won't be intimidated. president trump has reportedly spoken to key witnesses about what they discussed with special counsel robert mueller's team.

sources say the president asked former chief of staff priebus about his interview with investigators. priebus reportedly didn't share any information. that encounter is seen as just one example of the president ignoring the advice of his attorneys to avoid any action that may create the appearance of interfering in the ongoing probe. sources say outgoing white house communications director hope hix told lawmakers that her e-mails were hacked. not clear if it was a personal or a campaign account. no word on who was behind the hack or what information was exposed. >> terrible new development in missouri where police now say an officer who was shot and killed was sent to the wrong address following a 911 call. when police arrived at that wrong address, a man inside opened fire, killing one officer and injured two others. a s.w.a.t. team later found the gunman dead.

investigators say the 911 call actually came from 20 miles away. we return now to the weather and the forecasters are keeping a close eye on yet another powerful storm that could impact the northeast early next week. so, now, a closer look at your weather for this thursday morning. good morning. the nor'easter still tearing its way along the east coast, starting wednesday, continuing for right now, major travel disruption, power outages. how much snow fell, nearly 27 inches throughout portions of new jersey, and 24 inches throughout massachusetts. and we're looking for at least 2 feet more to push its way into portions of new hampshire, as well as maine, and the winds will continue to stay feisty at 40 miles an hour. i'm accuweather meteorologist paul williams. >> those winds are feisty.

still ahead -- why mcdonald's flipping its double arches to form a w. also ahead, a health scare for tens of thousands of cheerleaders. possibly exposed to mumps. the parents of 5-year-old skier dangling from a ski lift openin

schoolteachers across west virginia greeted by enthusiastic students as lawmakers ended their statewide strike. but momentum is building in other states for similar protests among public schoolteachers, including oklahoma and arizona. and walk-in rallies planned for today in kentucky. florida governor rick scott

isn't saying whether he's going to sign a school safety bill into law. lawmakers gave the bill their final approval yesterday. it raises the minimum age to buy all guns to 21. it establishes a three-day waiting period for most firearm purchases. it doesn't ban assault-style rifles. the bill also allows certain teachers and school employees to arm themselves on a voluntarily basis. the suspected gunman in the florida high school shooting has been formally charged with 17 counts of first degree murder. he's also facing the same number of attempted murder charges. if convicted he could be sentenced to death. harvey weinstein's lawyer is denying a report that weinstein's arrest is now imminent. the website the daily beast reports that the new york police department is preparing to arrest the movie mogul on felony sexual assault charges. the report say the investigators are waiting for the district attorney to sign off on the arrest.

weinstein's attorney have said he denies any claim of nonconsensual sex. and reacting to the report of a possible arrest, his attorney went on to say, i've been assured that the filing of criminal charges against mr. weinstein has not been authorized and his arrest is not imminent. the man who allegedly swiped frances mcdormand's oscar, has plead not guilty. to grand theft charges. the attorney for 47-year-old terry bryan says they will forcefully and aggressively resist these charges because they say his actions don't rise to the seriousness of felony grand theft. bryan could face up to three years behind bars. today, mcdonald's flipping its golden arches upside-down. the m as a w in honor of international women's day. at least one restaurant has actually changed its sign the location in southern california has been owned by a woman for three decades. when we come back -- is the best buy's geek squad working with the fbi?

also ahead -- why a professor is convinced he knows what happened to amelia earhart. and a bus slams into an suv, the dramatic scene. we'll tell you where this all played out. the toothpaste that helps prevent bleeding gums. if you spit blood when you brush or floss you may have gum problems and could be on the journey to much worse. help stop the journey of gum disease. try parodontax toothpaste. ♪ one hero was on a mission to save snack time.

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six people were injured in chicago after this happened. the driver of that suv tried to make a left turn in front of that city bus. witnesses say the impact felt like an earthquake. five people on the bus were injured. the driver of the suv is hospitalized. in stable condition. he faces charges for failure to yield and for driving without an license and without insurance. more than 15,000 cheerleaders from 39 states and 9 countries are being warned this morning they could have been exposed to the mumps last month. texas health officials say one person with a confirmed case of the mumps attended that event as

well. they're warning parents that childhood vaccinations don't always protect against it. >> it's 10% to 12% who, for whatever reason, their immune system doesn't respond fully. >> everyone was ultimately shocked -- we were at a cheer event and something like this would happen. >> so far, there haven't been any reports of new cases but since the incubation period could last a month parents should be on the look out for symptoms. including fever, headaches, muscle aches. newly obtained documents that show some of members of best buy's geek squad have been acting as paid informants for the fbi. a digital rights group said it all came to light a few years ago the geek squad found child pornography and called the fbi and the problem is, they did that without a warrant. so the evidence was thrown out and the charges were dropped. the mystery behind the

disappearance of an aviation pioneer amelia earnhart may have been solved. a for fes so at the university of tennessee says he's 99% sure that bones found on a remote island in 1940 belonged to amelia earhart. he's convinced earhart died after her plane went down. a relieved mother is speaking out this morning after watching helplessly as her 5-year-old daughter dangled from the ski lift. she was on the ski lift with her instructor. she slid off the icy seat. the instructor grabbed the hood of her jacket. the mother was riding three chairs ahead when she heard the terrifying screams. >> there she is, dangling from a chair and, you know, it's so high up and, you know, it was so horrible. i kept hearing commotion and yelling and screaming.

i turned around and i was scanning the crowd to see what was going on and i saw my daughter dangling from the chair. and i started screaming, that's my daughter. >> her daughter dropped to those rescuers below. her parents say the resort is not providing them with a medical report. but the resort says they have no control over that medical report. now to sports, and some late-night hoops action going on. >> our guys at espn have the highlights. >> good morning, morning people. oregon just beat washington state in the first round of the pac-12 tournament. i'm happy inside, where it counts. houston rockets, they have been happy with their results from 16 straight games. look taking on the milwaukee bucks. parker had problems guarding james harden. then again, who doesn't? harden, knocking down the deep three. rockets up 12 at the half.

fourth quarter, under a minute to go, rockets up 5. the bucks just kept coming back on them. in the end, the rockets win again. they head to toronto friday for a showdown with the raptors. >> you said the raptors? >> i did. raptors/pistons. demar derozan, he went the length of the court right there. everybody got out of his way. at the other end, blake griffin, one of the guys who got out of derozan's way. here we are in overtime and derozan to van. raptors are number one in the east. >> pelicans win again, too, ten in a row for new orleans. >> did i mention oregon beat washington state? >> you did. >> back to you. >> coming up next in the pulse, how drunk shopping is becoming a real problem.

and also ahead -- the real rbg, a different look at supreme court justice ruth bader ginsburg. plus, why alexa is literally laughing at some of its users. literally laughing at some of its users. risk of stroke due to afib, a type of irregular heartbeat not caused by a heart valve problem. but no matter where i ride, i go for my best. so if there's something better than warfarin, i'll go for that too. eliquis. eliquis reduced the risk of stroke better than warfarin, plus had less major bleeding than warfarin. eliquis had both. don't stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a stroke. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily... and it may take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical

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orangutans was caught smoking. >> you can see here in this video. a visitor tossed a cigarette to the orangutan who knows exactly what to do with it. he picks it up and start puffing away. he blows the smoke out of his nose. >> there's a warning against giving the animals food or cigarettes. >> you have to tell people not to give them cigarettes. we're getting a first look at a new documentary about ruth bader ginsburg. it's called rbg. >> it features interviews with ginsburg about her life and a look at her sense of humor. >> all i ask of our brethen, the they take their feet off our necks. i'm 84 years old and everybody wants to take a picture with me. >> i think she needs better comedy writers. the film opens nationwide may

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good morning. 4:27 on this march 8 pt. never more than seven minutes away from your accuweather forecast. good morning, mike. >> we have drizzle and showers out there. the drizzle will hang around through the morning commute. we'll keep a 1 on the storm impact scale for just this morning. a few hundredths of an inch is possible. look at the broken line of showers that moved through earlier. temperatures very mild. 39 in morgan hill. cloverdale and ukiah, in the 40s. hi alexis. let's check on the commute. >> several crashes this morning. not looking like much on the radar on live doppler 7, not

looking threatening. could be tough driving conditions. do have a spinout crash to southbound 60 aught the core deal a junction. they got the pole cleared off to the shoulder and the vehicle landed in the ditch. definitely use caution in the area. there's a live look outside. richmond-san rafael bridge. not many vehicles. we'll drive for conditions. we'll look at the bay bridge commute coming up. a rally at visa headquarters regarding gun sales. >> some groups are pressuring credit card companies to stop charging for assault weapons. >> reporter: you've heard of the big retailers like dick's sporting goods or walmart changing their policies. now some groups are trying to put pressure on companies who help people pay for the firearms. in fact, they've started a lot of online petitions and they have a lot of signatures. today they'll deliver the petitions with more than 144,000

signatures to visa's red quarters in foster city. they're holding a rally today demanding major credit card companies like visa and master card stop doing business with retailers who sell assault rifles. this comes after the school shooting in parkland, florida, where they've put pressure on private companies to change gun selling policies. payment processors like paypal and apple pay have banned using their services to there's a letter written by survivors who -- other acts of terror using guns in the u.s. today's rally is scheduled to start at 11:00 a.m. reporting live in fobser city, matt keller, abc 7 news. happening today, three bay area lawmakers will announce a bill raising the minimum age to legally purchase long guns in california.

they're proposing raising the minimum age from 18 to 21. they're set to make the announcement in sacramento later this morning. warriors head coach steve kerr will take time off the court next week to talk about gun violence. he's scheduled to speak with ro khan khanna. the town hall is set for monday at 3:45. kerr is an outspoken advocate for gun control. >> let's get an update of weather and traffic where you live. >> you're never more than seven minutes away from your accuweather forecast. hey, mike. >> the fog could be an issue. the lowest visibility is 3 in half moon bay. 5 in santa rosa. we'll keep an eye on that. we don't want wet streets and reduced visibility. we'll be in the upper 40s near 50 degrees. heading from noon to 4:00, you can see temperatures in the 60s for most of