>> have a great day. making news in america this making news in america this morning, a major snowstorm bearing down from the nation's capital to new england. more than a foot of snow possible in some of the biggest cities. schools closed. flights canceled. we have the time line, plus, the flooding threat on the west coast bracing for the strongest storm of the season. thousands evacuated. breaking news in austin, texas. a police involved shooting in the hunt for a serial bomber. the suspect reportedly shot detonating a device hours after a sixth bomb was found. the latest on the investigation with a city on edge. a former "playboy" model launches a legal battle hoping to break her silence about her alleged affair with president trump. this as we learn the results of porn star stormy daniels' lie detector test. plus, a shocking discovery at the scene of the florida

school shooting. a sheriff's deputy asleep on the job. agents raid the headquarters of bmw as the car company faces serious new allegations. and forget the hops, the new flavor brewing in the beer industry. a good wednesday morning to you all. we begin with extreme weather on both coasts this morning. thousands of people are evacuating their homes in california bracing for the strongest storm of the season. >> and on the east coast, more than 72 million people are in the path of a major snowstorm. the fourth nor'easter in three weeks could dump more than a foot of heavy, wet snow. >> philadelphia is one of the big cities preparing with travel expected to be treacherous today. >> abc's stephanie ramos is about a two-hour drive south of there. she begins our coverage in washington, d.c. good morning, stephanie. >> reporter: kendis and diane, good morning. it'll be tough getting around today. thousands of flights have been canceled, most in the northeast.

amtrak is scaling back train service, and some states have banned certain trucks from driving on major highways because of the strong winds. we are watching two seasons collide. a large storm system packed with snow and wind is expected to hit the northeast today. it's the fourth major storm in just three weeks. and, oh, by the way, it's officially spring. >> we do still have snowblowers, plenty of salt. i believe we still have some pet-friendly salt as well. we've got plenty of snow shovels. >> reporter: overnight light snow mixed with sleet and freezing rain falling in maryland, virginia and d.c. heavier snow moving up north to pennsylvania. widespread power outages are expected with wind gusts blowing up to 35 miles per hour. >> the rain/freeze line could change. a 50-mile difference could mean the difference between 13 inches of snow or 2 inches of slush. >> reporter: new jersey's governor declaring a state of emergency across the state.

>> we're recommending residents stay home at this time. >> reporter: some schools on the east coast like in philly, d.c. and new york city closing ahead of the storm. >> you know what, we got the whole day planned, we got breakfast already planned for the kids and a lot of indoor activities, and we're ready for it. i mean, hopefully this is the last one, but who knows. >> reporter: but how about school on saturday to make up for all those snow days? it might actually happen for some school districts in massachusetts. >> between 16 strains of the flu and four nor'easters, it's been the longest winter of anybody's life. >> reporter: here in d.c. some roads are slick, but the wet snow, it stopped for now but is expected to be on and off throughout the day. kendis, diane, back over to you guys. >> but already the federal government closing offices in d.c. as a result. stephanie, thank you. and, meanwhile, in the west, more than 60,000 people in southern california have been told to evacuate ahead of flooding rains. >> up to ten inches of rain could fall triggering mudslides in the areas recently scorched

by historic wildfires. let's get a closer look at your forecast for this wednesday morning. good morning. it looks like snowy conditions becoming dangerously snowy throughout the mid-atlantic as well as the southern new england states. look for cold air to follow behind this very dangerous and potent low pressure system and nor'easter. 12 to 18 inches along the southern border of pennsylvania going into maryland. at least 6 to 12 throughout the d.c., philadelphia, new york up towards the boston area. mainly snow, travel disruptions. windy along the coast with several gale wind warnings. then to the west, the next big storm will continue to create problems with the heaviest rain with an atmospheric river that is going to provide localized flooding. burn scar mudflows and heavy rain potential because of this subtropical moisture is going to inundate tremendously along the west coast causing flash flooding. i'm accuweather meteorologist paul williams.

and breaking news from austin, texas. local media reporting the suspect in the serial bombings case is dead after a police-involved shooting. he reportedly as detonated a device near interstate 35 in the suburb. >> this comes after six bombs were found in the austin area. the last two were found at fedex facilities. matt gutman is on the scene where the suspect was reportedly killed. what do we know. >> reporter: this seems to be more complicated. there are eyewitness reports of an explosion at the scene as well. we believe that police may have been cornering the suspect. we do know that whatever happened along i-35 here, one of the busiest routes here outside of austin leading to dallas, the police were there. they were ready to go and this was connected to the serial austin bombing. we're getting these reports that there was an explosion there, so

we're trying to get to the bottom of that as well. again, we believe this is connected to the austin bomber. >> matt, you spoke with a witness that described that sort of explosion, all of this taking place right near i-35, the main thoroughfare. any idea on where that explosion might have happened based on what that eyewitness is telling you. >> reporter: it was right south of the red roof inn hotel apparently not far from a pool store of some sort. it is an enormous number of police officers, state troopers, as well as the atf. we have multiple reports of sounds of explosions. police are saying there was some sort of officer-involved incident linked we are told from federal officials to the austin bombings and that is confirmed.

>> a lot of questions left to be answered. matt gutman near the scene in austin, texas. thanks so much for the update. >> reporter: thanks, diane. president trump is facing criticism from members of his own party after he called vladimir putin and congratulated him on his re-election. "the washington post" reports the president ignored warnings from his top advisers who wrote in capital letters, quote, do not congratulate putin. senator john mccain issued this rebuke saying, an american president does not lead the free world by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections, and press secretary sarah sanders took issue with that criticism. >> we don't get to dictate how other countries operate. what we do know is that putin has been elected in their country, and that's not something that we can dictate to them how they operate. >> well, during the call with putin, the president also reportedly ignored aides who had urged him to condemn the recent

poisoning of a former russian spy in england. he told reporters that he'll meet with putin in the not so distant future. facebook is facing multiple investigations this morning amid a growing data scandal tied to the 2016 election. the ceo of the british consulting firm cambridge analytica has now been suspended after reports that the firm improperly obtained the personal data of 50 million facebook users. new undercover video also shows ceo alexander nix bragging about using that information to help the trump campaign. >> we did all the research, all the data, all the analytics, all the targeting. we ran all the digital campaign, the television campaign, and our data informed all the strategy. >> cambridge analytica says they destroyed the data as soon as they realized how it was obtained. meanwhile, federal regulators and prosecutors in at least two states now want to question facebook. ceo mark zuckerberg has yet to publicly address the scandal. his company has lost $50 billion in value in the last two days. well, coming up, another possible data breach, this time

involving credit cards and a major travel website. also ahead, the possible motive for tuesday's school shooting in maryland and new questions about whether enough is being done to protect students. and later this half hour, america's new love affair with

if you don't think thi if you don't think this can't happen at your school, you are sadly mistaken. >> that's the school superintendent in st. mary's county, maryland, speaking shortly after his district became the scene of the country's latest school shooting. he called it the worst fear that he's ever had after a 17-year-old opened fire on two fellow students at great mills high school. >> the victim who suffered the most serious injuries is in critical condition. the alleged shooter died after exchanging fire with a school resource officer.

police say the attacker and teen victim had a prior relationship. now, shortly after the shooting in southern maryland, education secretary betsy devos spoke to members of congress about school safety. she promised that president trump's new commission on school safety will meet very soon. meanwhile, in florida at the scene of the recent school shooting in parkland, a deputy assigned to stoneman douglas high school has now been suspended. a student allegedly found that deputy sleeping on the job. a consumer alert this morning. if you've booked travel through orbitz.com, hackers may have accessed the credit card numbers of more than 800,000 users. the data that may have been compromised was submitted between october and december of last year, and another breach may have exposed customers booking travel with american express dating back to january of 2016. authorities have raided the headquarters of bmw as part of an investigation into an emissions cheating scandal. the automaker is suspected of using illegal emissions control

software that can manipulate exhaust levels. an engine factory in austria was also targeted. bmw says it's cooperating with the investigation. well, when we come back, the dramatic collision at sea involving two massive ships. also ahead, why a "playboy" model is taking legal action after saying she had an affair with president trump. and the new way the fda is considering regulating cigarettes. cigarettes. i go with anoro. ♪go your own way copd tries to say, "go this way." i say, "i'll go my own way" with anoro. ♪go your own way once-daily anoro contains two medicines called bronchodilators, that work together to significantly improve lung function all day and all night. anoro is not for asthma . it contains a type of medicine that increases risk of death in people with asthma. the risk is unknown in copd. anoro won't replace rescue inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than once a day. tell your doctor if you have a

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of pure michigan. your trip begins at michigan.org are confusing quilted northern for robes. they're both cushiony, comforting, and add elegance to your home. but quilted northern is not a robe. it's just really nice toilet paper. you're looking at some video of two container ships colliding. one vessel slammed into another docked in pakistan spilling its expensive cargo. those containers that fell into the water had cars inside them. the navy is now helping to recover them. we're going to turn now to the president's mounting legal battles. images have been released showing porn star stormy daniels in 2006 taking a lie detector test about her alleged relationship with president

trump, a test that she passed. meanwhile, a former "playboy" model is now filing a lawsuit hoping to talk about her own alleged affair with trump. abc's linsey davis has details. >> reporter: former "playboy" model karen mcdougal is suing the publisher of "the national enquirer" saying she was tricked into signing an agreement to keep quiet about an alleged affair with president trump. mcdougal said she met trump in 2006 when "the apprentice" taped an episode at the playboy mansion. >> come on over. wow. beautiful. >> reporter: she claims what came next was a ten-month romantic relationship. mcdougal has never told her story publicly. in 2015 at the time of the republican debate, she tweeted this old photo. just before the election, she sold the rights to "the enquirer's" publisher american media inc. owned by a close friend of the president. she says she was told they were buying her story in order to bury it, a tactic known as catch and kill. she says she was promised $150,000, two magazine covers

and 24 months of articles or columns and claims her lawyer urged her to sign the deal saying it would kick start and revitalize her career given that she was old now. she was 45 at the time. she insists many of those promises never materialized and that it was only recently that she learned her own lawyer had reportedly discussed the deal with trump's personal lawyer michael cohen, the same michael cohen who acknowledged paying another woman, adult movie actress stormy daniels, to keep quiet about her own alleged affair with trump. >> do you have a nondiclosure agreement? >> do i? >> reporter: today her attorney released this picture of a polygraph she took in 2011. when asked, did you have unprotected sex with donald trump, she responded, yes. ami tells abc news the suggestion that they tried to silence mcdougal is completely without merit. in the meantime, former "apprentice" contestant summer zervos, who claims that trump groped her in 2007 -- he called that a lie -- well, on tuesday, a judge ruled that that defamation case against the

president could move forward. linsey davis, abc news, new york. well, first lady melania trump has held her first public event in her campaign against cyberbullying. mrs. trump hosted a technology summit at the white house with representatives from google, facebook, amazon and twitter. she was quick to respond to critics who pointed out that her own husband is notorious for his sharply worded tweets. >> i'm well aware that people are skeptical of me discussing this topic. i have been criticized for many commitment to tackling this issue, and i know that will continue, but it will not stop me from doing what i know is right. >> by the way, there is no federal law that applies to bullying, cyber or otherwise. an autopsy today could reveal some answers about the death of a pennsylvania college student in bermuda. authorities say the body of 19-year-old mark dombroski was found at the base of a significant drop, and he still had his phone and wallet with him after leaving a bar. he was in bermuda for a rugby

tournament. the fda is now considering whether to restrict flavors used in tobacco products including menthol in cigarettes. it's the agency's second move in a week to try to make smoking less enjoyable. regulators are especially concerned about e-cigarettes that entice kids with flavors like strawberry and cotton candy. just last week the agency took the first step toward possibly lowering nicotine levels in cigarettes. the wreckage of a military ship that sunk during world war ii has been located by a team of explorers. nearly 700 men were aboard the "uss juneau" when it was hit by a japanese torpedo in 1942. it was discovered on saturday by a team led by billionaire paul allen near the coast of the solomon islands in the south pacific. among those killed on the ship were the five sullivan brothers from waterloo, iowa. they all wanted to serve together. up next in "the pulse," why your craft beer could soon be a lot cheaper. also ahead, a new twist in

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didn't seem right to me, and, you know, i left it with my wife. i said, you know, help choose something. the next thing that i quite frankly heard about it was that this $31,000 table had been bought. i said, what the heck is that all about. >> so, carson says he's not really big into decorating, and if it was up to him, his office would look like a hospital waiting room. >> all right. >> they do not have $31,000 dining sets there. >> no. now for some news that beer lovers are sure to cheer. scientists have found a way to brew beer without hops. craft beers are a time-consuming and expensive process. >> yeah, researchers say this new method could ultimately reduce the industry's reliance on hops making craft beers cheaper. >> whoo-hoo. >> tasters found that the engineered beer tasted more hoppy than the traditional one actually. >> more hoppy without the hops. >> yeah, exactly. >> interesting. we go now from hops to pops, the cork. >> americans are now buying more champagne than anyone else in the world.

the united states has now passed britain in both volume and value consumed. perhaps it's the popularity of brunch and all those mimosas. >> yeah, so the british economy has struggled recently, so sales there aren't necessarily sparkling. >> ah, i see what you did there. and finally a game everyone is hungry to play. >> so this video is from a festival in the philippines. people are lowered into a pool of snacks while attached to a harness, and they act as a human claw. >> whatever you grab you keep. >> oh, that's awesome. awesome.

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suspect wanted for the deadly bombs in texas. the man detonated a device in his car as a s.w.a.t. team moved in. we're not done with the rain. you're looking live at the richmond-san rafael bridge and the golden gate bridge. >> good morning to you on this wednesday, march 21st. never more than seven minutes away from your accuweather forecast. hey mike. >> let's jump into it. everybody is wondering about the rain. i've got the weather window open in walnut creek. soggy 680 this morning. heaviest shower right now is heading towards san leandro, alameda and oakland. so watch out for a brief downpour there. for the rest of us, drizzle and

light rain through the morning commute. temperaturewise, remember how mild we talked about it was going to be. look at that, low to upper 50s this morning. we'll take a look at your soggy accuweather 12-hour planner next. let's get to alexis and look at the commute. >> a handful of crashes as you would imagine, mike. here is the bay bridge toll plaza. showers moving through the area. the wipers will be on high. road spray and definitely standing water in places this morning, too. one of a handful of crashes currently working westbound 24 before wilder and the orinda area. a vehicle went off the center divide. the shoulder is blocked. slow down and drive for conditions today. >> announcer: now breaking news. that breaking news here at the live desk. the man suspected to be behind the package bombings in austin, texas, is dead. authorities found his car parked at a hotel in round rock.

about 20 minutes north of austin. the police chief there says they were waiting for a tactical team to arrive when he started to drive away. officers then followed him, pulled him over and as the s.w.a.t. team moved in, police say he detonated a device in his car. at the same time, police opened fire. he was found dead and authorities have not released any information about the suspect. only his age. he was 24 years old. he's responsible for the bombing in austin over the past three weeks. the motive is unclear. the chief says it's important people stay vigilant this morning. >> because we don't know where this suspect has spent his last 24 hours and, therefore, we still need to remain vigilant to ensure that no other packages or devices have been left through the community. >> one officer was hurt when the suspect blew up his car. another veteran of the force opened fire and has been placed on administrative duty. >> thank you, jessica.

it's 4:30. if you're just joining us to get a quick update on weather and traffic, you don't need to wait at all. hi mike. >> we'll jump in and look at the storm impact scale. you can see for today and tonight, we've got light to moderate showers. it's going to be a little breezy in spots today. could gust up to 40 miles per hour in higher elevations along the coast. there's a chance of thunder roll in today through tomorrow. here's the 12-hour planner. drizzle and rain this morning with areas of rain at noon. we've got a chance of rain all day with heavier rain during the evening hours. look at the temperatures, much warmer than yesterday. we'll push the 60s away from the coast. here's alexis with another update. good morning, mike. a live look at emeryville camera. we've got soggy driving conditions westbound 80. we've got typical volumes there. boy, we've had several incidents pop up via chp. eastbound 580 before 150.