and we are behind scenes at the national weather service issuing live alerts at all times. >> the biggest snowstorm in years makes its way in. >> well, it is 4:00, thank you very much for joining us on this huge weather day in the bay area. up and down theeast coast as well. right now, things are really improvingweather wise in our area. >> this was a live look outside

itis actually sunny in some places. some people are sayingwhere did the severe weather guy? >> we are here of course this morning on the air keeping up up to date on this severe storm as it rolls through as well as social media as everything is moving through with dangerous storms rolling through the tampa bay area. >> we shut down about an hour because of the high wins that ivan was talking about. >> this was happening here. this thing was moving about 45 or 50 miles per hour. atthis point, we are on the backside of it here and we are talking about the severe weather threat has diminished. weare not quite done. we'll be talking about this over hours. we have showers andline of thunderstorms here.

pinellas and we were into southern parts of a tampa as well with severe weather. that's by the board at this point here, you notice all the clouds on the backside here? the rainfall is not done. not severe weather but we'll see more rainfall. by the way, this is apart of the major system that's coast. it is snowheavily and it will continue to do so for the next couple of days. snow heading into the weekend. here we are, someshowers already by 11:00. i will let you know how that's going to impact your weekend and the big gasparilla children's parade tomorrow when i see you in a minute. i want to show you this, this is 6000 flights cancelled. >> ashley found some people who were actually stranded.

laura, one man, this is his first trip to the united states. he arrived here for hisflht that was taking off today and the airline automatically booked him on a fliekt for tomorrow. here iswhy. take a look at that board, you can see all of that red, those cancelled and delayed flights. will they getthe brunt of the winter weather up north? we are seeing damage here at tampa bay. take a look at this. in south ta, a tree crashed into the roof of the house and now is in their living room. thankfully, no one was hurt and only the dog was home and he was not hurt. the homeowner is onedge and looking at all this damage. >> shocked and very surprised that all this happened. road ahead of us to clean this up. >> reporter: they say they'll

insurance company figuring out if it is safe to stay in the house. back here at the airport, many travelers arethankful the only thing they'll lose in this storm is time. coming up at 5:00, you will hear from more travelers that are in a limbo here at the airport. reporting live, i amashley yore, "the now" tampa bay. 75 million people in the way of this record storm. >> this is picture of west virginia and a hint of what's coming up. >> it is incredible. they'll be piling up here as far asfeet. that's what we are talking about now. people in thesoutheast now heading north and the storm is anyway, we are taking a big hit across the mid atlantic and expecting several feet of snowfall here. this afternoon, we arealready snowing at a pretty good clip and that's going to continue. we'll have pictures from up above in space, youcan see the storm from space, incredible sight there.

>> check out that snow >> it is going to be--that's the beginning of it. todd,you are getting ready for a couple of feet and further to the west. how is it looking? >> reporter: yeah, laura and ivan, the virginia d.o.t. is telling its plow and salt drivers to expect up to 40 inches of snow. once this storm is all set and done and finally stop snowing on sunday, here on washington 1:00 this afternoon, we got about a quarter of an inch so far and plenty more to go until we are done here. dc does not do snow well. they have been preparingfor day and hunkering down for even more. it was pretty clear most of dc have been stocking up on grocery for a few days and those who did not have yet, did not have much to choose from. >> the only reason i am here is because of cat food. >> i realized it this morning

>> i am going this morning to get milk and my wife is like, you are going to the store this morning. i am not going,you are going by yourself. i am here and i got what i needed. >> outside of the city plows are staging. for many, thiskind of storm is a family affair. >> we have what we call legacy families. so fathers ands or grandfathers who have worked and sons going through >> more than 5000 contractors have been brought into work around the clock. this is the salt line and it is been going since last night and it is going to continue until the snow stops. up. going to be making pass after pass. >> the federal government closed at noon today. >> we freak out usually. it is like a you know the sky's that created an unxeblthed lunch

planned on leaving when the snow started plowing up. >> we got inches of snow and schools are closed and nobody knows what they're doing. >> reporter: now, once this snow stops on sunday, if you ever been on washington dc, you know there are those houj huge round abouts in the middle of logan circle. they are trying to make the best of it. how long is the nation'scapitol is going to be shut down. of the white house and i canterburynot barely see it. >> reporter: that's a good into the weekend, they're hoping that plows and salt truck could get things going. >> the city was shut down for a better part of five days. who knows. we are live in washington, i am

bay. >> ahead, what changes to protect our hometown from terror attacks. right now, the billy joel concert starts tonight at 8:00 and is expected to draw some huge crowds. wechecked and it looks like the only tickets that's left are those resale tickets. that also starts at 8:00. >> if you need to go downtown, leave yourself a little extra time. we are back in just three

so cool, the last couple of hours the bucs making it official. lynch is the ninth player adding to the team. >> in april, they'll let everyone know what game they'll honor him as. >> we'll learn who actually gets into that in just a few weeks. that's going to be in february before the super bowl. the department of homeland security is not just tracking people in the u.s. illegally. they're alsofollowing up on people who are clear to be here but over stayed their welcomes. 45 million people visited the u.s.last year, more than 400, 000 are still here.

that's more than 3000 people that agents picked up. the report finding 93, 000 canadians who came to the u.s. in 2015 are still here. people coming from mexico legally are the next worse over staying their legal welcomes. >> italy and brazil rounded off the top of those likely never left. there are new rules who could visit the united states after the terror attack. changes that just went into effect. >> to keep out potential terrorists. the department ofhomeland security has announced changes for travelers visiting the u.s.. those changes to the u.s. waiver program. citizens from 38 countries. the u.s. deems lowrisk can travel up to the states for 39 days. now,citizens of those countries

in iran or iraq or sudan on or after march 1st 2011 or nags nationals of iran, eye rock >> travelers going into the country as journalists or aid worker business can apply for a waiver. >> thesers from news-y, remember you can watch your favorite tv with our streaming device. the woman involved for cosby did not prove her claim. >> this was a video when he was there just last month. he's charged with state's court with aggravated in decent assault. more than 50 women accused of

them. >> the case has just been tossed out and say they'll appeal. some of you have shoe boxes and containers of pressure treasuries. now, a new way to preserve them. it is calladd life chest. whether it is a young life like harper's. >> that stands for great grandma. >> or one great history like eye net. ynett. >> that's what these life chests are all about. >> you have so many styles >> we do. >> we have 34 of them. >> there are life chests for those in the military. theseare called the patriots. >> there is the par three life chest for golf lovers and the more classic looking heirloom chests and there is those

and a new baby. >> it is a place to keep special mementos and a chance for families to come together to drop in what's important to them to preserve their legacy. >> our goal is a million life chests impacted millions of families and how these families really start to learn more of each other. . that's a busy place in this world >> that's actually justin with his grandma, they have been sending pictures and stories. this is who i am and what iam and as a family, through the generations chlts >> it was donna's husband who was the ceo midwest largest furniture store who came up with the idea of the life chest chests when he was just 19 years old.

permissive donated many. >> i kissed president bush's cheek. >> harper may not understand this today. our hope is forher to take it to her home and maybe share it with her kids one day and start to put herself in it, too. >> from "the now", i am joanne. >> life chest costs about $250. >> if you would like to purchase one or learn more. rightnow a look at the white house, a few hours difference of what we saw earlier about 11:00. really no snow out there. now, what we are seeing is almost white out conditions. all of this is happening right now in our capitol city and the same system going up and down the eastern coast. >> indeed, look at it. here is storm right now getting going. the actual coastal low has not developed yet. wehave a low inland here

the coastal. that's when the winds will pick up and we'll get the band going through. let's focus in on our local weather and talk about how all of this is tied in together. >> that area of low pressure has a cold front extending out of it. that's the one that brought us severe weatherearlier this morning. we have sdhours thunderstorms showers and thunderstorms rolling through. rainfall that i mentioned earlier, isgoing to be with us. we have a strong, northwesterly flow. you see the clouds beginning the lift here awe cross the gulf. what's going to happen is that cold air is going to roll over the relative warm water, kind of like a lake effect here. we are going to continue to see some showers on the backside of this front, usually we clear things out. not with this kind of pattern here. watch on future cast,these are not going to be torrential downpours.

as we begin to roll infrom the gulf there you see through the morning hours, we'll dry it out. the winds are going to be an issue but by tomorrow amp, we should be begin to see some drying here with that north wrest flow continuing. that's going to beexcellent news. the winds are going to be howling. let'stake a look at that on our future cast here. this is wherewe are starting here. winds is 20 to 25 miles per hour. by saturday afternoon, perhaps, 25 to 30, gusting higher than that and that's going to continue. the issue withthat by the way, this subsides on sunday. sunday is looking much better. that combination of the wind and thetemperature tomorrow 40s and 50s in the morning. >> by the afternoon, not much of change. we'll stay in the50s. at 11:00 some showers in the 40s and cloudy in the morning with a couple of showers left

least half of the day and very raw and very nasty here with strong winds and some showers as well. we'll be back to talk more about the east coast blizzard. i will have details of how much snow we are really expecting up north. >> still ahead here on the tampa bay, how all constructions going on at tia can put money in your pockets starting on monday. what the voters think of sarah palin's endorsement of donald trump. in light of the controversy, well, the film academy is making new promises. one is doubling the number of femaleand minority members by 2020 as well as diversifying leadership beyond the board of governors and adding new key members to decision making and committee and voting status. this is the second year in a

this weekend, get your resume ready, tampa bay is looking to hire 125 people. >> there are shifts for all different hours, seven days a week. maybe you need a second job and this is the start of the higher hire hiring explicit. it goes until 4:00. now to what we can call the sarah palin effects. herdonald trump's endorsement may not have any impact at all.

him which essentially cancels it all out. it is a similar story among voters whoconsiders themselves conservative. voters now think it is likely trump will get the party's nomination for president. the first chance of voters to have an official say is more than a week. >> it is not actual election, the iowa's caucuses is monday. we have to share this dying wish with you in the pittsburgh post gazette. it says jeffery would ask in lieu of flew flou flowers, please, do not vote for donald trump. he had agreat smile and all of his teeth were still his. >> [ laughter ] >> abc action news, anchor

the candidates may want to start betting on the broncos. >> they are playing the patriots this sunday in denver. manning verses brady. a big game and a big political deal. the outcome could impact the turn out for the new hampshire primary. >> that's right. if the patriots win, the super bowl isjust two days before the primary. that's the time campaignstaff are typically doing their last minute push. then fthe patriots win the super bowl, there is also a chance that the victory parade could be in boston on the same day of primary which could impact turn out. >> laura. >> speaking of new hampshire, jeb bush speaking there right now. last night he got ahead of himself announcing his mother, former first lady barbara will be in a tv ad airing in new hampshire.

up live with bernie sanders. just today, a scam uncovered and stealing your tax dollars. it is so sophisticated thateven the police chief is the victim. >> what to come this weekend at the gasparilla children's

east coast. path and especially the white house. >> it will be white and treacherous for them over the forfeit of snow. i am not surprisethat some

>> for us, much improved weather. if you are out during lunch hours, storms was pounding. seriously. warning in effect for pinellas and portions south tampa. things at this point as far as thesevere weather threats are done. we don't have anymorewarnings as a result. i think we are looking much betterfor the remainder this evening. however, as i have beentalking about, we are not done with the uncomfortable weather. we'll have some issues weather wise. of course,this week is the big children's gasparilla parade. >> we are going to go live to the national weather service, ernie is joining us live there. this is a big thing andthe kids

>> reporter: well, to be honest with you, it looks a little bit on the windy side. >> we'll have west north wind some where around 30 miles per hour or 35 miles per hour. we'll have higher guststhan that. >> so as far as the winds is going to be gusty tomorrow. warm clothing here. what onthe backside of the big push of the northwest winds off the gulf. how about the showers, do you think it will dry autoby 3:30 at bay shore boulevard? >> reporter: i think there will still be moistures off the gulf. we cannot rule out lighter showers still moving across. >> yeah, maybe take an umbrella there. >> ernie wilson is joining us live here.

feel like in the 40s even though it is in the 50s. >> we'll send it back to laura and i will send it back to us in a few minutes. >> thank you, ivan. >> it is part of a new marketing campaign from visit the parade will be streaming inside of it. visittampa bay says right now london is gray and cold and seeing about two hours of sunshine. why not make them wish theycan go to a place like tampa. >> more local event that you want to note. the tampamuseum of art is opening a major exhibit by an internationally claimed artis . >> this is a gorgeous stop. admission surprise price

you can see some of the works there are gorgeous. these sculptures are outside so you can walk around. tomorrow isgoing to be windy for you but by the time we get shape and officially it starts off on the 24th, we could get there. right now they are setting up tampa bay. going to start on january 24th. the last two hours, two women went to the cops turning themselves in connection of an edt car scam. >> stealing from people who needed to most. the taxpayers,basically, the cops say there could be count less victims out there. one of them in particular, the davenport policechief whose identity was stolen. >> they have arrested 11 people all for credit card fraud. the detectives have been

last year. >> one person was caught stealing a man's information in polk county and that person led detectives to the bad guys. chelsea williford is one of them using one of the edt cards that she got from stealing from others. >> these 11 individuals who were taking advantage of it and obviously committing a lot of crime. >> polk county sheriff's office telling us, the best advice for all of us is to make sure that you check your mailbox everyday. don't just let it sit there so someone can go through it and stay vigilant and continue to check your credit score regularly so you can check for id theft. ahead here, a car seat handle that breaks and putting people at risk of dropping their babies.

>> breaking news this afternoon, the philadelphia police officer who was ambushed by the man pledged allegiance to the islamic state is released from the hospital. the 33years old officer, jesse harnett is being shot three times. the suspect, 30 years old archer is charged for murder. the fbi is investigating the shooting as a terrorist attack.

right now, your child or grandchild maybe sitting in one of these car seats. take a look at your screen, thereis a big problem with them. you can be carrying the seatby the handle and it suddenly

the company isrecalling a couple of different models. here is a catch. they don't want you to return it and get a refund, they'll send you a kit to fix it. in the meantime, you are stuck carrying it from the bottom as you may know it could be extremely heavy. we posted a link on the website so youcan check to see if your car seat is part of the recall. the last hours, the twelve marines killed off the coast of hawaii are being remembered at the memorial service at their base. one of those marines from fort myers and just 22 years old. >> their bodies were never found. crews suspended the search after five days. a shooting in a movie theater. a woman in the hospitalright now, the doctor hopes that she will make it.

drunk and he was fumbling the gun in his hand and for whatever reason, it went off. >> she's pretty calm about it. i mean obviously, she was in a lot of pain. she was able to speak to us. >> hansen says the man left the theater as if nothing happened. the cops finally caught up to him. >> we'll show you how googles are cracking down on these bad ads. >> the latest tools, sex traffickers are using.

about that weather we have been talking about much of the hour. people are saying atmy facebook page, why are you talking about weather in other states. well, so many people here are stranded now. >> a lot of cancellations here. this is a big impactstorms here. this is going to be an epic blizzard for the mid atlantic. everything is tieing in here air travels here. we have a way to go before this is over. this isgoing to snow heavily there over the next 24 or 48 hours. it is going to to be quite a storm. let's take a look at what's happening here as far as the snowfall. the stormstill has yet to intensify. we continue to track this low that's inland here. eventually, we have a coastal lowthat's developing in the northeast. that's the one that's going to crank up the snow. >> you will have snow up to

the mriblizzard warning to virginia and all the way up to massachusetts. there it is. blizzard warning for us, agood chunk of real estate here. you will have winds andexcess of 35 miles per hour. you will have snow blowing around and we are going to be talking about coastal flooding as well as the tides come in. look at this, twoor three feet potential here to the west of washington dc. books. the model has been inpretty several days. as we takeyou outside from what's going on. brought us the cold front this thunderstorms that developed as a result, we have this severe thunderstorm warning. that was issued forellis and across the bay and headed into parts of south tampa. we had some significant roof

not retating winds thatis. just straight line winds coming in. at this point, itis done. severe weather is over and we don't have to worry about that. now, it is all about this very strongnorthwesterly flow that's going to bring us cold temperatures and strong winds. the seas are going to be incredible heading into tomorrow and no boating. we callit mostly cloudy and showers redeveloped and behind the front with the northwest flow. >> we'll stay in the 50s. the thermometer is going to get stick. it is not going to move. we'll feel like in the40s throughout the day. i have better feeling about the parade here. by 3:30. we'll get dry enough that we shouldpush the shower to the south and east. >> gasparilla parade, certainly

yourself. the story tomorrow is cold and windy out there. and then, it is going to be plain cold without the wind on sunday. we are waking up with 39 degrees and 57 by sunday afternoon and we'll a gradual warm up through monday. itwas busy today at the national weather service, our local offices located in ruski n. and now christie post is spending the day there. >> in a matter of minutes the weather could change from this >> we are expecting this band of thunderstorm to move through >> the national weather service is tracking it around the clock. >> south tampa, basically the important south is kind of- -following the latest storms over night and into the

>> it can be chaotic at times. >> today, five meteorologists are working to give us updates. >> yes, they do look at a lot of screens. >> yes, all looking at screens. >> those monitors showing rain moving through the area, lightning strikes and possible spouts. >> the winds increase later today. before it happens, youget the information. >> we have a number of different ways to communicate from telephone to twitter and facebook. >> in the two hours i have been here, . >> a lot of high winds report. >> another marine warning. another ten minutes and it is over for most of the yaer. area. >> anything behind that is pretty much severe weather. >> now, these guys are headed home and the next crew is onto watching the cold temperature expected for this weekend.

temperatures in the low 50s tomorrow. >> in ruskin from "the now", i am christie post. >> breaking today, north korea is detaining an american college studen right now. his name is otto. he's fromcincinnati and attends the university. north korea accuses him a hostile act against the government. today, ohio'sgovernor tweeting the arrest is unexcusable and he should be released immediately. the state department is getting involved. it is not the first time north korea had done something like this. six americans have been detained andreleased the last five years. flint michigan water crisis

bottled waters delivery. >> in an emergency administrative order, the epa blames the state of michigan for not doing enough to public the public health. federal government is pledging $80 million to helpthe state fix the water infrastructure in flint which is contaminated with led. a medical mystery. >> a partner at newsy breaks down of what is not done. >> more and more babies born with intense tins born outside of their body. >> it is a rare berth defect from which a newborn intes intestines are out of the umbilical cord. >> increases in the condition for every demographic for over the last 18 years.

casesmore than doubling babies borned to teenage african- american mothers as well as a the condition is treatable through surgeries. a report from the cdc did say it was more common on babies born to mothers with a poor body index and those who uses alcohol or smokes. >> remember you can watch newsy on tv with your favorite streaming device. some of you may know the groups let this serve as a warning. there is a group on facebook calls the single meet and group. it is not a dating group but it appears to be a sex trafficking group and it is probably not

us from number to call, candy or crystal but not for any specific reason. >> there is no solicitation. there is no case just lookingat it hey, this is sex trafficking. >> and that's what makes this a gray area in the police. right now florida is third in the country for human trafficking. >> all the pictures on facebook and birthday and maybe where you are exactly at that time. jackie calloway ishere with the big control. we lost control because of online access. here ace shocking statistic, companies use our personal information online. after more than 2 yearsof looking at thousands of people. >> most of us think onlinetizerss the worse advertisers putting our

>> more than 60% of us say we would like to do more to keep our information secure but we are not sure how. what wecan start to do is start asking questions like when a business ask for your social security number, is it worth giving it to them and what happens if you don't share those numbers. we know they are long and complex. you shouldconsider checking out companies privacy policies before you do business with them. that way, you got a clear idea andwhat kind of information they are using about you and what they're going to do about it. >> we live in the digital age. thatst the problem here and that's the problem here. google is ramping up efforts to stop ads that don't seem legit. andy choi is explaining why the search enjoin is doing it engine is doing it.

once in a while runs into strange ads of anything from weight loss to malware. >> i think we kind of assume that's going to happen. >> it is why google has been busier than ever shutting down the bad ads of the web. >> last year, google blocked more than 700 million of these bad ads. >> it is a 49% increase from 2014. >> if you watch every single ad from last year blocked by google one second each, it takes you 25 years. >> these pops up with killing me. >> yes, certainly it is nice less to manage. the companyshuts down 7000 website that went to fishing personal information. >> he's glad that google is doing its part to further protect the online experience. >> for the now, i am andy choi.

plan to shut down automay activity bot . the company says now, they have a thousand of 60, 000 employees that deal with advertising. >> taking a look at our pet to the vet. >> it tresses on you both, your dogs and cats. wechslerfound an effort to make the whole experience fear free. >> anthony do you need loves his deed loves his two pounds bundle of joy. >> he does not trust his baby girl with anyone. >> kensington hospital is part of the trend for pets. >> it produces stress and that changes the the body chemistry and not good for them.

gets stressed. keeping these animals calm makes for a better exam. >> everybody just gets on the >> big dogs want to be athlete feet off the ground. >> some of the other changes are subtle. many of the vetswill spray themselves with they are pheromones. >> that makes it easier to treat the animal and give them treats. >> we ask animal owners not to give their pets treat so we can butter them up. >> if your pets is anxious, come in and get a treat and leave.

next trip fear free >> it is gin win here and it is not a business and it is not about work or money. >> it is truly about your pets, taking care of them and every way possible. >> from "the now". i am rl wechsler. >> live from the station taking action for you. >> this is abc action news. right now at 5:00, a major winter storm. mark koebrich nature has her sites on thebay area as high winds shuts down the sunshine sky way bridge and the cold snap on the way. good eveningeveryone. >> i am wendie. >> tonight, dozens of cancellations at tampa bay's international airport. >> reporter ashley yore is live right now with a look at all those travel delays. >> a lot of people are out here

here is why. >> take a look at that board, you can see half of those flights in red, that means cancelled or delayed. >> earlier, i spoke with some people asking me to pray that their flights make it out. otherss embracing here in tampa bay. >> will i make it back? >> a question that many travelers are asking today especially when you heading out. >> i am hopeful that it should be a non echt full flight. >> this man is scheduled to leave today. >> and it takes--he was automatically rebooked tomorrow thanks to the weather. >> he was the first american welcoming on his first trip to the u.s.. >> i cannot do anything.