this morning on "world news now," going nowhere fast. a traffic nightmare in d.c. as cars and trucks slide all over the beltway. the roads an absolute mess and only an inch of snow and now two feet could be on the way. we're live from the capital. >> and the january stock slump continues. the average 401(k) losing thousands nearly every day this month. but can americans find relief elsewhere as investors hope for a turnaround. >> and new this half hour, cracking down on hoverboards. >> yeah, absolutely. we've seen the dangers of the popular toys which have burst into flames. now the government wants to take drastic action. >> and "star wars" fans will have to wait a little bit longer for their next intergalactic fix as the release date for episode

8 is pushed back. the whole story is ahead in "the skinny." it is thursday, january 21st. "world news now.", this is >> good morning. i'm marci gonzales in for reena ninan. >> i'm kendis gibson. of course, we've been talking about the big winter storm that is coming up. but d.c. had barely a trace and it is crippled even at this hour. that is our big story. we're starting with the winter weather bearing down on the east coast. about 50 million people you mentioned will be impacted this weekend. >> but as you said, washington, d.c. already got a taste with a smaller storm during evening rush hour. the 1.6 inches brought traffic on area highways and city streets to a standstill. residents complained the public works department got a late start on treating the roads and then its trucks couldn't get around all of those stuck cars. >> and look at this. the president's marine one helicopter was grounded. the presidential entourage had

to drive back to the white house and even that took more than an hour. >> oh, my goodness. the limos and vans added to the mess. but the accidents and problems were all over the washington area as this app showed late last night. all those red lines all the places where there are backups and accidents. >> all those dots indicative of accidents in the d.c. area. tom roussey of our station in washington, wjla, joining us now. taup, good morning. how's it looking? >> good morning, kendis. unfortunately, it is still looking bad. evening rush hour essentially has not ended in the washington, d.c. area. the d.c. beltway, the big interstate that goes in a circle around the city is still a mess in many places. interstate 95 in virginia south of d.c. still a mess. other interstates throughout the area still bad, as well. slowly but surely things are better. but in just a few hours evening rush hour is going to bleed into morning rush hour.

and what happened, as you said earlier, their crews were caught totally unawares. a lot of roads were untreated. even though it was a very small snowstorm, the cars drove over the snow, turned it into ice, that caused a huge amount of accidents and then firefighters and ambulances, they couldn't get to the accidents to clear them. so it just turned into a giant mess. there are stories of folks who have been sitting in their cars for six, seven hours and have barely moved an inch. >> and yeah. >> this is something nobody really expected either. so they weren't prepared. people probably didn't have water and the things they would need to be able to sit in their cars for that long. >> yeah. >> they weren't prepared at all. i mean, everybody's been talking about the big storm that's supposed to be coming for the weekend and it's almost like people, including the crews that are supposed to treat the roads kind of overlooked this one. yeah, it's been an absolute mess. obviously if people had known this was coming, they would have left work early. nobody knew it was coming. p.m. rush hour hit and all of a sudden it was the worst thing

ever. this will go down as one of the worst evening rush hours ever around here and again, it's still not over. >> tom, this doesn't bode well. we're talking 1.6 inches that fell overnight or fell late during rush hour. this doesn't bode well for the nearly two feet of snow that's expected in the next 24 to 48 hours. >> no, that's what a lot of folks have been saying. i mean, if you can't handle a little over an inch, how on earth is d.c. going to handle two feet? i will say though over the course of growing up around here and reporting around here, it's always the ones that catch you unaware that are the worst. i've seen very large snowstorms in the past and generally as long as people have ample warning they stay off roads. this one is going to hit on the weekend mostly. so they'll definitely be staying off the roads. and also the crews are ready when you know about it in advance. tonight neither the people who drive regular folks or the crews were ready. i think that's why it was so bad. i actually think this weekend, hopefully, it may not even go as

bad as tonight has. >> what a mess it is, even in the early morning hours in the washington, d.c. area. crippled, people still stuck on highways there. tom, thank you, my friend. appreciate it. >> and that really big snowstorm that we've been talking about begins moving into that area later today and then wallops the rest of the east coast. >> let's get all the grizzly details from justin povick at ac accuweather. >> good morning to you. as we go throughout the next 24 hours, we will start to see our storm system off the southeastern coast really organize, pull back some moisture and within a very cold air mass, we are concerned about very heavy snow from southwestern virginia all the way into coastal portions of central new england. how much? well, over a foot of snow florida excess of 18 inches the possible toward baltimore and also d.c. heavy amounts down interstate 81, as well with significant amounts all the way toward boston. the potential there of up to 6 inches of snow and pounding surf, dangerous surf conditions along the eastern seaboard along

with gusty winds, beach erosion possible, as well. kendis, marci, back to you. >> thank you. on the campaign trail, another day, another positive poll for republican donald trump. the new figures show trump with 34%. his biggest lead yet in new hampshire. ted cruz is a distant second at 14% followed by a slightly surging jeb bush, tied with marco rubio at 10%. on her first full day as trump supporter in chief, sarah palin was at last -- was a last-minute no show at a morning rally in iowa and rejoined the campaign later in tulsa where she talked about war veterans and problems adjusting to civilian life alluding to her son track adjust calling it the elephant in the room. >> i can certainly relate with other families who feel these ramifications of some ptsd and some of the woundedness that our soldiers do return with. it is now or never for the sake

of america's finest that we have that commander in chief who al respect them. >> no word yet from the trump campaign why palin missed that earlier event in iowa. >> hillary clinton didn't waste any time using an image of trump and palin hoping to fire up her supporters. the question this morning is, will that be enough to surpass the surging bernie sanders? here's abc's cecilia vega. >> are you ready for a commander in chief? >> the clinton campaign hoping to raise big bucks from that big endorsement. sending out this plea. donate to make sure this is nothing more than a bad "snl" skit come to life. >> but it is no laughing matter for hillary clinton. especially with the new poll showing bernie sanders with his biggest lead yet in new hampshire. bill clinton right there the assessing the mamage. >> we're on a home fie disadvantage here. >> the implication? sanders from neighboring vermont

has a leg up in the granite state. >> you've been good to me. you've been good to our family. i trust you. >> in a new ad, hillary clinton highlighting her experience. >> the secretary of state who stood up for america and stared down hostile leaders around the world is the one candidate for president who has everything it takes to do every part of the job>> but sanders says experience isn't everything. the candidate who promised to run a positive campaign now says this. >> experience is important. dick cheney had a lot of experience. >> reporter: in the homestretch, clinton hoping to capitalize on president obama's popularity with the democratic base writing a personal essay. and that essay accomplish published on wednesday when exactly one year from then, a new president will be sworn in. cecilia vega, abc news, des moines. >> analysts are hoping wall street has turned a corner. the dow was down 565 points at one point yesterday, but then

turned the corner and ended the day only losing 249. the latest wave affair was triggered by the biggest drop in oil prices in months. crude is now selling below $27 a barrel which some see a sign of slowing economic growth. there could soon be drastic new action over the safety of hoverboards. some of those boards under investigation of course, after they caught on fire. the latest in northern california just this week. the head of the consumer product safety commission is now calling for a suspension of all online sales of all hoverboards till there's better testing and proof of safety of the devices. he is calling into question the safety of all hover boards even those not actually under investigation. well, president obama is already getting pretty emotional about an upcoming major milestone for first daughter malia. >> the president told his lunch companions in detroit that he turned down an opportunity to speak at malia's high school graduation. malia's high school

graduati graduation >> malia is a senior at the private sidwell friends school in washington, d.c. and expected to start college this fall. we still don't know where she's going to go. she's still deciding. >> not as yet. very cute though of the president. coming up an impromptu concert by john legend. >> why the grammy winner joined colombian rock star juanes to sing outside of a detention center yesterday. we'll give you an exclusive look. >> but first, why a tennis player stopped the match to help a ball girl in distress. the good deed on the court going viral. you're watching "world news now." >> announcer: "world news now" weather, brought to you by airborne dual action. weather, brought to you by airborne dual action. music throughout

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french tennis star wilfried tsonga is a huge hit on social media this morning after coming to the aid of an ailing ball girl at the australian open. he stopped play and escorted her off the court after noticing that she wasn't feeling well. he says he appreciates the accolades but says offering a helping hand is just the normal thing to do. and temperatures in melbourne were upper 80s. pretty warm to be playing tennis. another sports celebrity is being credited with coming to the rescue of a woman involved in a three-car accident. new england patriots reserve linebacker dareus fleming says that he got 22 stitches in his right leg as a result of the rescue last week. he says he saw the woman struggling inside her smoking car and when he couldn't open the doors he kicked his foot through a window to pull her to

safety. and the actor who turned into a good samaritan got a visit from the father of the man he rescued. >> hollywood hero jamie foxx, saving the day in real life. he was given an emotional thank you. here's abc's kayna whitworth. >> got to move your car. got to move your car. >> after this violent, fiery crash outside his home, oscar winning actor jamie foxx playing the role of real life hero. >> he was inside on fire. we pulled him out. you need to send an ambulance please. when i get here the truck is over on its side and it's in flames. i just had to do something. >> reporter: foxx rushing down his driveway to find the 32-year-old driver trapped. >> we pulled him out and as we pulled him out within five seconds later, the truck goes up. >> you saved my son's life. because he could have burned up right here. >> reporter: that driver's father, just thankful foxx was there. >> just the idea that someone would do that is so much more than i could fathom.

so i just -- it's all tears of joy. >> reporter: his son is in the hospital but alive. jamie foxx saying god had his arms wrapped around all of us. no heroes, just happy fathers. >> kayna whitworth, abc news, los angeles. >> very humble about the whole thing. when we come back, john legend's impromptu concert outside a detention center. >> and you'll have to wait a little longer to see the next "star wars" movie. "the skinny" is next. e to wait a little longer to >> announcer: "world news now" continues after this from our abc stations.hw

♪ skinny, so skinny >> well, topping our headlines for "the skinny" this morning, music legend john legend lends his powerful voice to a controversial issue. >> the grammy award winning singer joined forces with colombian rock star juanes to perform outside of the eloy detention center in arizona yesterday. their aim to raise awareness of the connection between mass deportations and the disproportionate incarceration of people of color in the u.s. ♪ these thoughts of freedom is all i ever had ♪

♪ all i ever had >> well, the eloy immigration detention center is located about 100 miles from the mexican border and holds an estimated 1500 people. >> right next to some disappointing news for star wars fans. >> you're going to having to wait an additional six months for the next movie episode 8 was the originally slated to debut in may of next year. now it's not going to be released till december of 2017. >> insiders within our parent company disney say the decision comes after the blockbuster's success of "the force awakens" over the year end holidays say they have decided to give episode 8 the same christmas treatment. that makes sense. >> it gives more breathing room to "rogue one" about the heist of the original death star plans. that comes out on december 16th of this year. >> i have no idea what you're talking about. totally lost me. >> a lot of people too who are looking forward to all of those, yes. next, controversy is brewing

for "trainwreck" star amy schumer. >> the comedienne is accused of joke theft by someone who compared her jokes to the gags an of other comedians like kathleen madigan and wendy lieberman. she took to the airwaves on sirius xm to vigorously deny the accusations. >> and she thinks that i in 2006, again, that i saw that or that i saw wendy's joke in the '90s and thought okay, if i just wait this out or that i referenced old sets, that's so crazy. >> so schumer says "i'd literally take a polygraph" to prove her innocence. >> i see a whole bit being made out of this. >> and it's going to be very off-colored language i'm sure from amy schumer. >> absolutely. i'd be interested to hear the jokes that they're saying are similar. >> whether they were worth it if they were plagiarized jokes. >> or if it's maybe just a similar theme or i don't know. we'll see.

finally, kylie jenner has broken her silence about that omnipresent cartier love bracelet. >> she says she's been wearing it with everything because she's been locked inside of it for four years. what? the 18-year-old jenner revealed on snapchat that one of her many love bracelets has been stuck on her wrist forcing her -- >> oh heavens. >> -- to head to a cartier store to get it pried off. the $5,000 bracelets are designed to be opened and closed with a small screwdriver. >> but do not worry, people. i know you are so concerned. she has more where those came from. in all she has three 18 karat yellow gold and three white gold versions of the bangle. that's a whole lot of love and a whole lot of i don't care. >> you pretty much summed it up. >> we tell you all about it. you're welcome. >> coming up from motown to off the wall.

>> that's the title of the new documentary about how the king of pop first spread his solo wings. you're watching "world news now." your clever moves won't stop the cold and flu. but disinfecting with lysol can. because lysol wipes and spray are approved to kill more types of germs than clorox. including those that can make you sick. for a healthy home this cold and flu season... lysol that. and there's moving with move free ultra. it has triple-action support for your joints, cartilage and bones. and unlike the big

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so your love for dark clothes will never fade. woolite darks. ♪ ♪ i want to love you, pretty young thing ♪ >> oh, we're on camera. >> "pyt" was -- you look great -- was the sixth single from michael jackson's record breaking album "thriller" in 1982. >> the pop sensation managed to navigate the war between disco and rock and now a new documentary by spike lee takes a closer look at just how he did it. here's abc's chris connelly. ♪ >> even before "thriller," those sensational dance skills, those special songs and that spectacular voice. it already made michael jackson's pop's premiere entertainer. now director spike lee is

shining a spotlight on michael's early 20s in his documentary spi michael jackson's journey from motown to off the wall." this 1981 performance from the triumph tour just one example of the never before seen stuff that spike's found. ♪ >> like michael's impossibly soaring original demo of "don't stop till you get enough," recorded at the jackson family compound in ensign know. bringing viewers back three and a half decades. with michael first spreading his solo wings ready for superstar dom as a man. >> what i do, i don't want it labeled black or white. >> i want it labeled as music. this music, rocking, soulful and sophisticated. dance floor dynamite that sold 30 million copies worldwide and influenced so many of today's biggest names from john legend to quest love. >> that's the first time we heard that iconic yell.

that's his free at last, free at last. >> artists sharing how michael's talents helped them find their own. >> i always use michael first and foremost as a vocal inspiration. "off the wall" was definitely the one that made me feel like i could sing. i found my falsetto because of "off the wall," "don't stop till you get enough." >> timeless music still brimming with the youthful excitement of its time. chris connelly, abc news, los angeles. >> and kendis has now abandoned me for the "world news now" dance floor. >> it's my medley of michael jackson dances. ♪ >> that's crazy. >> i'm not going to grab my crotch. >>it's after midnight. you can get away with it. >> i'll just moon walk off this. how long is this break? >> we'll be right back. >> we'll be right back. iyou can >> i'll just moon walk off this. how long is this break. >> we'll be right back. tyou can

>> i'll just moon walk off this. how long is this break.

making news in america this morning, winter weather. light snow overnight crippling washington, d.c. a traffic mess across the nation's capital. even impacting president obama, plus, the megastorm on the way. feet of snow expected. we're going to have the latest track. pulling away. donald trump with a bigger lead in the newest poll as sarah palin stumps for the front-runner firing up trump's supporters. even addressing her son's recent arrest. historic hire. the first female hired as a full time coach in the nfl. and postponed. the next "star wars" movie pushed back far, far away.