making news in america this morning, commuter chaos. >> it's nuts back there. it is absolutely chaos. >> you have to put salt on the street. >> a deadly and record-breaking winter storm slams the northeast at the height of rush hour. the busiest bridge in america, shut down. the bus station closed because of overcrowding. commuters spending the night unable to get home, and it's not over yet. the nationwide impact and the updated forecast ahead. breaking overnight, the justice department charges wikileaks founder julian assange with a firm tie to the edward snowden case and the alleged russian hacking during the presidential campaign. this morning, the shocking details about how the feds accidentally revealed the charges. the mistress comes forward. this morning new revelations

about the colorado man charged with killing his wife and their two daughters before making a plea on tv for their safe return. what his mistress is now revealing about their affair before the killings. those stories, plus housekeeping exposed. what hidden cameras found in some of the world's most popular hotels. a long lost disney film from the days before mickey mouse finally found. and good morning, everyone. i'm kendis gibson. >> and i'm lynda lopez. we begin with that historic storm blasting the country with up to a foot of snow, ice and freezing rain. >> the early season nor'easter moved in with intensity from the midwest to the carolinas and up to new england where rain, sleet and snow is causing havoc again this morning. the timing couldn't be worse for

cities like new york. wall-to-wall commuters cramming into the port authority bus terminal there waiting hours for delayed buses to take them home and more chaos expected today. abc's kenneth moton has the latest. good morning, kenneth. da. you guys know it, quite a mess throughout the northeast here. it took people hours to get home. the day is starting out with more travel problems after this storm wreaked havoc. overnight, that nightmare november nor'easter. >> watch out. >> reporter: causing treacherous conditions and emergencies up and down the coast. new york city paralyzed caught off guard by the early season winter storm which took down trees and caused gridlock for hours right at the height of the evening rush. >> i don't know if anybody was quite prepared. it's not even thanksgiving. >> reporter: transportation hubs filled with thousands of stranded and frustrated passengers. >> they're telling people to find alternative methods, but if you look at an uber, it's $300 to get home. >> reporter: a multivehicle

accident on the george washington bridge and abc's gio benitez there. >> we've been stuck on the road for hours. that's the george washington bridge into new york city. no cars moving. >> reporter: roads in the storm zone barely drivable blanketed with several inches of snow and hundreds of accidents reported in maryland. st. louis, cars spun out of control. the bad roads in arkansas to blame for at least four deaths. and at airports de-icers working overtime. 2,200 flights canceled in the past 24 hours. nearly 8,000 delayed. the severe weather moving into new england overnight. in boston cars and people slid all the way home. >> so, it's just -- aah. >> oh, geez. oh, my gosh. are you okay? >> do you mind giving me a hand. >> reporter: our friends at wcvb in boston helping that woman out. we should tell you, she's okay. a lot of people needing a hand. by this afternoon this storm and this nor'easter is expected to move out. lynda, kendis. >> wow, it's crazy seeing that

video of that woman, and our thanks to kenneth. we'll have a closer look at today's forecast in just a moment. and we turn now to the breaking news overnight about wikileaks founder julian assange who has now been charged by federal prosecutors. assange had been holed up inside ecuador's embassy in london for years while wikileaks was caught up in a number of scandals including the edward snowden leak and alleged russian hacking during the 2016 presidential campaign. the charges against assange were disclosed accidentally by the justice department as part of a separate case, but they haven't revealed the exact charges. an attorney for assange says it's inexplicable he'd be charged without prior notice. the next step remains unclear. a disturbing new report from the wildfire disaster in northern california. there's word this morning that more than 600 people are unaccounted for and overnight the death toll from the camp fire in that town of paradise rose to 63 with 7 more bodies recovered. president trump will visit the state to meet with fire victims

tomorrow. in the meantime, the air quality is so bad most school and colleges in the san francisco bay area, that's more than 150 miles away, will be closed today. abc's maggie rulli is in the fire zone again this morning. >> reporter: as thousands return home in california, they're left reliving those terrifying moments that began one week ago. >> i'm talking a wall of flames. it was a wall of flames. >> reporter: kristen thames says she fled with just the clothes on her back. >> you don't think that it's going to happen to you, but seriously the next time, i don't care how far away the fire is, when they say evacuate, we're getting out. >> reporter: up and down california entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble. in paradise, a town leveled, many without homes have built a new community. >> this is going to be a while that people are out here probably, you know, trying to get their lives back together. >> reporter: california's governor and secretary of the interior ryan zinke saw more of the extensive and

heartbreaking damage up close in southern california. >> next we got to recover and that recovery will happen. we got to get on the side of nature. we can't just fight it. >> it's unsustainable to have this happen year after year. >> reporter: we're now seeing the cleanup begin. many burned out cars are getting towed away and homes that are now just lots are getting checked for dangers like gas leaks. for many of these hard hit areas it's going to take months, if not years, for them to fully rebuild. kristen thames returned to calabasas to find she did have something to come home to. thankfully those winds are dying down and we're told to expect more moisture in the air today. firefighters say they have the upper hand on this fire here in southern california. well now the focus turns on to how to rebuild. in many cases rebuilding a new home, getting new cars and sometimes even rebuilding an entirely new neighborhood. lynda, kendis. >> our thanks to maggie rulli in the fire zone. four of the military's most elite warriors are now charged with the murder of a green

beret. army staff sergeant logan melgar died last year during a deployment in the african country of mali. navy prosecutors claim two members of the navy's s.e.a.l. team 6, well-known in s.e.a.l. team 6, and two marines killed melgar after restraining him with duct tape and choking him. the s.e.a.l.s have said they attacked melgar after a perceived slight, but no other details were given. the men also face hazing and obstruction of justice charges. if the case moves to a court-martial, they could face life in prison. authorities in rural alabama are trying to determine the motive for an ambush attack on a district attorney. police say d.a. greg griggers was shot in his car by a former state trooper then killed at the scene by a nearby police officer. amazingly the d.a. was released from the hospital. >> it can happen anywhere. now, we're shocked it happened in demopolis. the suspect was no stranger

to law enforcement. he was questioned after someone fired shots into a judge's home back in 1996. but no one was ever charged in that case. back to our top story and a closer look at your weather for this friday morning. good morning. it's going to be a messy commute for many along the i-95 corridor as we continue to see rain and snow. this system is moving very quickly off to the north and east and as we get towards about the midmorning hours, most will have improvements, could even get some late day sunshine to fill in, however, farther back to the north and west we are still watching for lake-effect snow. it's going to be a cold and blustery day otherwise. i'm meteorologist julia weiden with your accuweather forecast. coming up, the new breakfas. but first the bombshell $70 million lawsuit filed against an ivy league college claiming

professors targeted female students. and later, hotel housekeeping in the spotlight. what hidden cameras found at

♪i am beautiful in every single way♪ ♪words, can't bring me down♪

we're back with history on the move. that's the statue of liberty's old torch. it was replaced in 1985 and since then it's been kept in a museum at the base of the statue but now the 3,600-pound torch is being moved to a new museum which opens in the spring. women who attended dartmouth college are now speaking out about what they describe as an animal house-like atmosphere created by three professors. they're suing the ivy league school for $70 million. they say officials at dartmouth ignored sexual harassment and

assaults by three science professors. one woman says she was victimized while she was a grad student by professor william kelley. >> it's not even that i don't remember what happened that night. i don't even remember waking up the next morning. it was after that point that bill kelley told me we had sex and i was clear with him that i didn't want that to ever happen again. >> the action that they took was too late and too little. >> well, the school says it took steps to revoke the tenure of kelley and the other two professors accused in the lawsuit. all three left the school just this year. the senate race in florida is still too close to call and is now headed for a recount by hand. republican governor rick scott is leading incumbent democrat bill nelson by fewer than 13,000 votes. in the chaos of the machine recount, broward and palm beach counties missed thursday's deadline. but in the governor's race

republican ron desantis appears to have a big enough lead over andrew gillum to avoid a manual recount. and some good news about gas prices with thanksgiving approaching prices have dropped 22 cents in the last month as global oil prices plummet. some states are now seeing prices drop below $2 a gallon. okay, so forget what your parents said about no candy for breakfast. sour patch kids cereal will debut next month. who is with me? >> no. >> crickets. it'll be available on a limited basis at walmart starting the day after christmas. early reviews say it tastes like sour patch kids mixed with fruity pebbles. >> please don't forget what your parents said about no candy for breakfast. >> sugar overload. all right, well, coming up, the surprise at a grocery store. an otter goes shopping. but first, go scam me? new details on the pennsylvania couple and the homeless man accused of scamming generous people across the country into giving them $400,000. >> as opposed to gofundme, i see. and later, a long lost disney film finally found. nally found.

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forget the cleanup in aisle 5. this was otter madness. an otter ran through the open door of this grocery store in ireland, and that was his proudest moment, that dude running away from it. workers tried to corner him, though. eventually rescuers from an animal charity came to get him. >> i'd be running myself. we turn to new details about the gofundme campaign being called an elaborate hoax. the pennsylvania couple and the homeless man involved are all facing charges. >> investigators say the three of them may have gotten away with it if they hadn't started fighting. abc's whit johnson with the details. >> reporter: it was the good samaritan story that captivated the nation seeming almost too good to be true, and authorities now saying it was. >> i was driving down 95 and ran

out of gas, so i pulled over onto the side of the road. >> reporter: kate mcclure stranded on the outskirts of philadelphia when homeless veteran johnny bobbitt jr. came to her rescue spending his last $20 to buy her gas. >> you know, she needed the help. and she took the help. >> reporter: the gofundme page and the story of bobbitt's selflessness went viral. the couple's original goal of $10,000 quickly ballooned to more than 400,000. >> the entire campaign was predicated on a lie. >> reporter: authorities say all three of them were in on the elaborate hoax. >> d'amico, mcclure and bobbitt conspired to pass off a fake feel good story that would compel donors to contribute to their cause. and it worked. >> the amount of money at stake is why the crime got elevated to the level that it's at. >> reporter: as the money poured in, mcclure and d'amico stipulated the funds would go to

buy bobbitt a new home, which johnny will own, and the dream truck he always wanted but this august the bubble began to burst when bobbitt accused the couple of stealing his money. >> i have to ask them for everything. it was kind of -- in the beginning it was a joke like they were my parents. but the joke stops being funny after a while. >> reporter: of the 400,000 plus dollars, he says he only got 75,000, claiming the couple spent the rest on themselves, money that allegedly went into funding a lavish lifestyle, one that they flaunted on social media going to vegas, visiting the grand canyon, on a private helicopter tour, mcclure seen here with a louis vuitton bag, gambling. bobbitt filing a civil suit against mcclure and d'amico eventually igniting a criminal investigation. but when the judge ordered the couple to return any remaining money into escrow, their attorney said there is nothing left. the next day police executed a search warrant on the couple's home towing away this bmw and taking out bags of evidence. >> if they hadn't started

fighting over the money, would they have gotten away with it? >> there's a good chance they might have. >> reporter: i'm whit johnson in mount holly, new jersey. the mistress of the colorado man who pleaded guilty to his pregnant wife and two young kids is now speaking out. nichol kessinger says investigators arrested chris watts hours after she contacted police about their relationship. kessinger tells "the denver post" newspaper she soon realized that watts had lied about being in the final stages of his divorce and she never doubted that he killed them. watts will be sentenced on monday. and several luxury hotels are apologizing this morning after hidden camera video exposed some gross cleaning practices. the video shot in china shows housekeeping staff using dirty towels and sponges to wipe cups and glasses until they appear to be clean. in some cases that same towel was used moments before to clean the toilet. the video was posted on a chinese social media site. hilton and marriott are among the hotel chains that have apologized for the actions that

violate their standards. >> is it safe to look again? >> it is safe to look. in sports, the seahawks needed a late touchdown to beat the packers on thursday night football, and they got it. russell wilson, he's not that bad. he's pretty good. he found ed dixon who ran into the end zone. seattle winning its, 27-24. up next in "the pulse," the winners from this year's funny animal photo contest. also ahead, the boy who became known across the country as batkid reveals he is now cancer-free. his family's inspiring message. and skip breakfast? how about some edible slime next. dible slime, next. held her. i found my tresiba® reason. now i'm doing more to lower my a1c. once daily tresiba® controls blood sugar for 24 hours for powerful a1c reduction. tresiba® is a long-acting insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults with diabetes. don't use tresiba® to treat diabetic ketoacidosis, during episodes of low blood sugar,

or if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. don't share needles or insulin pens. don't reuse needles. the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause dizziness, sweating, confusion, and headache. check your blood sugar. low blood sugar can be serious and may be life-threatening. injection site reactions may occur. tell your prescriber about all medicines you take and all your medical conditions. taking tzds with insulins like tresiba® may cause serious side effects like heart failure. your insulin dose shouldn't be changed without asking your prescriber. get medical help right away if you have trouble breathing, fast heartbeat, extreme drowsiness, swelling of your face, tongue or throat, dizziness or confusion. i found my tresiba® reason. find yours. ask your diabetes care specialist about tresiba®.

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it is "pulse" time on a friday starting with the discovery of a lost mickey mouse cartoon. >> it's an animated short film created in 1927 featuring oswald the lucky rabbit, a precursor to mickey mouse. most copies of the film had disappeared over the years. >> in the late '40s a student in japan bought a copy for less than 5 bucks. just recently he realized what he had been holding on to all these decades later. we have an update on the boy who became known as batkid. >> five years ago san francisco turned into gotham city so that a sick little boy could realize his dreams while becoming a superhero. miles was suffering from leukemia and the make-a-wish foundation made his dreams come true. >> and now we just learned that miles is cancer-free, 10 years old and healthy. next we have the winners of the comedy wildfire photography awards. the funniest pictures of animals taken around the world. >> that's right, and the winner is this squirrel caught stealing an acorn. a woman from tampa took that photo. i think the acorn is under the bottom. >> others that made the cut

include this photo of a brown bear in finland saying hi apparently having a bad day. >> face palm. and there was this curious polar bear in norway looking into the camera. what did it see? >> and we got a hoot out of this owl who appeared extra alert that day. >> a little bit extra. and finally, the food that you can actually play with. >> jell-o has introduced two flavors of edible slime. >> my daughter will be thrilled. >> you just add water and each can makes two batches of slime. >> the unicorn slime is strawberry flavored. monster slime is lime flavored. thrilled. >> you knunicorn is strawberry flavored.

hi there. good morning. it is friday, november 16th. we have made it to friday. >> we have. >> a tough road. it's been a difficult week. >> of course the caveat is we feel so bad for all the people who have lost their homes and their lives. we are still looking at our weather companies, which is a threat to people's health. >> we are suffering in a different way. 12 hours we have had up healthy air. you can see the visibility. down to 2 and 3 miles. the area is thick with smoke once again. look at the purple. it's from about sfo all the way up to the golden gate bridge. there's pockets around san leandro, san lorenzo, and

highway 4 from richmond to antioch. that is all unhealthy. if you are stepping outside right now, dress for the mid-30s to mid-40s. we'll take a look at the microclimates coming up next. >> good morning, mike. taking a look at our traffic maps. you can see heavy smoke all throughout the bay area. it will be part of your commute today. if you are driving through the east bay, northbound 880, shut down once again at 23rd for work on that overpass demolition. they should be done by 5:00. stick to 580 if possible. a live look outside, southbound 680, light through the walnut creek stretch. no significant blocking issues so far there. another bad day of bad air quality. once again, schools will be closed in several different school districts. >> that's right. cornell bernard live at vista

point on the golden gate bridge. >> reporter: good morning to you. another tough day for air quality. another day to wear the mask. we can see the golden gate bridge from where we are but it is totally shrouded by smoke here at vista point. because of that, most schools have closed due to the smoke hazard. it was pretty heavy in berkeley. this was 6:00 p.m. last night. the air quality was 334, which means very unhealthy for everybody. oakland unified and other school districts canceled school for today after getting complaints from students and staff about headaches and breathing problems. parents say they will keep their kids inside today. >> i want my kids inside where there is filtration of the air so they can breathe easier.

they're kids. >> their lungs aren't developing and all that. >> are you sad school is closed tomorrow? >> no. i'm real excited. >> reporter: you knew that was coming. best advice, stay indoors, keep your windows and doors shut if you can. if you have to be outside, limit your exposure. by all means, keep wearing that mask. we have ours. core knowingly bernard, abc 7 news. cornell, thank you. some school districts won't decide until this morning whether they will be closed or not. >> we have a full list on the crawl at the bottom of your screen and abc7news.com. as soon as we get any additional word of closures, we will let you know. we have a list of events being canceled because of the bad air quality. but still happening tomorrow is the big game between cal and stanford. and the holiday lighting ceremony in san francisco