this morning on "world news now," the blizzard moving in. more than 2 feet of snow set to dumpb on the mid-atlantic region. and major flooding expected along the coastlines. schools closed today and government offices shutting down early. we're live with the latest storm predictions. the war of words heating up on the republican campaign trail. donald trump calling his nemesis a nervous wreck and ted cruz is suggesting that trump's priorities are all wrong. and new this half hour, flying while drunk. >> a former alaska airlines pilot has been arrested after landing his plane at an l.a. area airport. conviction on the charge could mean 50 years in prison. the full story straight ahead. and it's apparently official. miley cyrus and liam are now re-engaged after taking a break

from each other for more than two years. those details straight ahead in "the skinny." it's friday, january 22nd. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." 75 million people are being affected by the powerful winter storm. you prepared? are you ready? >> i'm almost ready. i have to do some shopping. a lot of people are prepared. many of the shelves are empty. >> good luck. >> we'll have some images on that later on. in the nation's capital, of course, already reeling from wednesday night's mild snowstorm. well, it is now getting ready. the city government there promising to do a better job at clearing the streets but schools, well, they're out today in washington. and some of its suburbs as well. the metro system, it's not going to run this entire weekend. federal offices will close today at noon. >> here in new york city, they are ready to keep the big apple, 6,000 miles of roads open during the storm. the sanitation department

already placing plows and salt spreaders around the city for a quick response. new york city schools are open. the storm is not expected here until tomorrow morning. so many people are anxious. >> we talk about 75 million. it's a wide-reaching storm. many in the tennessee area that's going to expect a lot of snow as well. new jersey, by the way, is actually expected to get more snow than new york city. but also a major worry are flooding and beach erosion. you see this. there's a voluntary evacuation under way in at least one jersey shore community. crews have been building up the dunes to help keep them safe. >> this storm system already pounding the south with heavy rain and sleet. there are even tornado watches along the gulf coast overnight. >> it's going to be a miserable day to travel. we'll get more from abc's steve osunsami. >> reporter: the storm everyone

is watching on the east coast is frightening those in the south, with tornado watches, across texas, louisiana, and mississippi. >> we have two threats here. the first is the chance of severe weather. >> reporter: on the roads, people are getting hurt. in north carolina, several ambulances responded to this accident on a slippery highway that put at least one driver in the hospital. on the way home in the light snow wednesday night, two drivers died in crashes. and police don't think either of them were speeding. >> awful. almost wrecked. >> reporter: parents are still furious that schools weren't closed after a school bus filled with students nearly slid slew a river. everyone is okay. >> it just kind of started going sideways down the hill. >> i kind of screamed a little bit. my heart was a little in my knees, in my feet. >> reporter: the storms are already forcing airlines to scramble. 945 flights are canceled today. that number could grow to 2,000. at least 200,000 passengers will have to figure it out over the next three days. most of the major airlines are showing sympathy for passengers.

delta, for example based here, is allowing passengers to chang their tickets for free and offering refunds for cancellations or flights that are delayed. steve osunsami, abc news, atlanta. >> you rarely see airlines doing that when weather is the reason for delays. >> when it's this much of an impact, they've got to do it. >> who gets how much will depend exactly on which path the storm follows. >> let's get the latest from accuweather justin povick joining us live right now. good morning, justin. >> good morning to you. this is a very, very intense storm. a dangerous storm that is already starting to convert. we are concerned more in the short term about severe weather and heavy rain but later on this afternoon, later on this evening, it starts to creep up the coast. d.c., richmond, we're now concerned about heavy snow, especially as we get toward the latter half of the day. as you can see on the snow map, we're talking 1 to 2 feet.

again, this could be a system that rivals the '96 blizzard, rivals the super storm of '93, at least in some areas, in coastal impacts. those will be quite severe as well. some of the most severe impacts we have seen since sandy. >> justin, it does seem as if the models are changing a little bit or coming into fine-tuning. it seems as if the impact on the nation's capital could be bigger than we expected at the start of this week. >> you know, that's right, exactly. we are looking at a storm system that will be feeding off the really warm atlantic waters and throwing back a ton of moisture from richmond to d.c. again, i would not be surprised if somebody receives over 2 feet of snow before it's all said and done. that's gridlock, enough to shut down many areas. >> that's incredible. justin povick at accuweather. we really appreciate it. thank you so much. he will keep us posted again in our next half hours. it's really remarkable. there's always a joke saying, don't eat the yellow snow. >> yeah. >> apparently they're saying, don't eat the white snow, too. >> what's in white snow?

>> little do you know. scientists say there are a lot of exhaust fumes from cars that now seep into the environment and can actually be, you know, impacted -- affect the snow you eat. so they're telling children, don't go out and eat the white snow. some people do that. they like to do that. >> this is an important health alert. >> that's why we keep you up at night. give you the health alerts everyone else misses. >> i just got done eating the yellow snow and now you're telling me i can't do the white snow either? >> and also there's pink snow. seriously, pink snow is red algae in the environment that goes in and they said it can actually -- how can i put this politely. give you the runs. you should never. it causes diarrhea. any sort of colored snow, red, white or yellow, do not eat or consume. >> boy, you're a buzz kill. next you'll say white castle does that to me, too.

how about a war of words between two bffs we know so well, donald trump and ted cruz. it sounds like a trash-talking match at a wrestling game. >> trump says cruz had his moment and now he's going down. the latest polls back that up, actually, showing trump still holding a solid lead. but cruz is firing his own shots suggesting to our george stephanopoulos that trump's priorities are all wrong. >> is he qualified to be commander in chief? >> that's a determination the american people are making. i would suggest the next commander in chief, instead of living or dying by the daily polls or latest twitter storm, should focus on identifying our enemies, listening to the expert advice of generals and admirals and national experts and doing whatever is necessary to keep this country safe. >> you can hear more from george's interview with cruz later on "good morning america." well, the department of

homeland security is making major changes to the visa waiver program, cracking down on europeans with ties to four countries -- iran, iraq, sudan and syria. under the new rules, europeans who have dual citizenships with one of those countries or have visited in the last five years will be under increased scrutiny. the changes prompted by the paris attacks. former pilot has been arrested for flying a plane while drunk. david arntson has been released on bail and ordered back to court next month according to court documents, he was randomly tested for drugs and alcohol when he landed in orange county. he has since retired from the airline. conviction on this charge could mean 15 years behind bars. federal officials say a record number of airline passengers were caught last year trying to take guns on planes. most of the weapons were loaded. the tsa says more than 2,600 firearms were found in carry-on

bags. that's a 20% increase over the previous year. dallas/ft. worth airport led the list with 153 guns discovered there. >> wow. and here's something every beginning musician's parents can relate to, the first recital. it's music to their ears, right? but this boy brings something special to. >> look at this kid and listen to him there. you got to love that. you know, however he sounds. he's like, i owned that. yes! on top of that, he makes a good exit off stage. >> this is awesome. >> then what happened was -- >> no. oh, my goodness. >> we don't know who the kid is, but it is starting to go viral. >> it's like, i love the confidence. >> the confidence. >> it's like, fist pump. now! michael jackson moonwalk, moonwalk. >> and then face plant. >> oh! >> i assume the kid is okay. >> i know.

>> his ego, not so much right now. >> that's the horrible thing about social media, that video will be there foer. >> yes. therapy bills. coming up, police in south florida are on the hunt for -- oh, yeah. caught on video. we'll tell you who they say drugged and robbed two men they met at the bar. coming up, "the skinny," the rumors have been confirmed. it's back on between miley cyrus and liam hemsworth. first, another look at the forecast map. it's not pretty. what is that face? >> it's just not happy weather. >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by woolight darks. woollight darks. everyone loves the way dark clothes make them feel.

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police in south florida releasing this surveillance tape of two women they say drugged and robbed two men. the suspects and their alleged victims met at a bar and went back to one of the victim's homes. the women allegedly made the men a drink. they woke up the next morning to find their rolex watches missing along with five other watches that were supposedly kept in a safe. >> wow. well, add one more hollywood a-lister to the growing list of critics taking aim at what necessity see as racial bias in this year's class of oscar nominees. >> actor will smith sat down with our own robin roberts saying he will honor his wife's call for a boycott of this years academy awards. here's abc's linsey davis. >> reporter: will smith, known for smashing box office records is now using his stardom to shake up hollywood.

>> it's a systematic bias that needs to be addressed across the industry. >> reporter: smith says his decision to not attend the oscars this year isn't about his being snubbed for his role in "concussion." in fact, he told robin roberts he initially didn't know his wife jada pinkett smith posted a video saying she planned not to attend. >> i will not be at the academy awards. >> this is not about a couple not going to a party. you know, this is about children that are going to sit down and they're not going to see themselves represented. >> reporter: smith says the all-white acting nominees up for oscars for the past two years is the by-product of nearly all white executives at the major hollywood studios. >> there's very few people of color in the room when the decisions are made for what films get the green light. >> reporter: the academy plans to meet next week to discuss what measures to take in response to all the criticism.

linsey davis, abc news, new york. >> i do think this bodes well for the movie that's coming out this halloween, "boo! a madea halloween" by tyler perry. tyler perry movie could get a nomination. best makeup? >> oh. you know, it's such a serious issue. to the heart of the matter, a lot of people criticize stars like george clooney who have come out, been very vocal speaking out against this but also said, is it possible you could stand up a little more and maybe, you know, tell hollywood, let's do this role with a minority in the lead as opposed to somebody who's white. but at what point can you really push that? is that something -- >> will and jada have a lot of money, have a lot of influence and they have their own production company, so why not make some quality movies? >> i don't think people realize

how hard it is, though, to get to that level. even though they are at that level to push and get things into theaters. >> they have a lot of money. >> you think money buys everything. >> "boo! a madea halloween," oscar nominee. when we come back, miley and liam make it official. wait until you see what j. lo wore for her concert kicking off her los angeles residency. "the skinny" is next. >> announcer: "world news now" continues after this from our ab

♪ skinny so skinny ♪ coming up on "the skinny." topping our headlines this morning, the wedding back on for miley and liam. >> after weeks of speculation, the rumors have been confirmed. miley cyrus and liam hemsworth are officially engaged again. the couple hasn't exactly gone public but they were spotted together as australia music festival over the holiday. since then, cyrus has been seen wearing the engagement ring that she and hemsworth co-designed back in 2012. that face, though. >> they called off their engagement back in september of 2013 after dating since early 2009. a source tells e! online miley never got over liam and hopes they can pick up right where they left off. we wish them good luck. >> yeah, good for them. wedding bells, not wrecking balls, will soon be ringing for

mariah carey. >> after what's being called a described fairytale romance, she is now engaged to billionaire william packer. no date has been set but we're hearing her engagement ring weighs in around 35 carats. that's roughly the size of a ping pong ball, kendis. >> wow. the couple has been dating for about a year they first met at a movie premiere in aspen. this will be the third marriage for both of them. their blended family will have five children. >> wow. a lot of christmas stockings. >> that's a lot of carat from them. good for her. >> wish her good luck. jennifer lopez kicked off her headlining las vegas residency. >> she's been preparing it for a month at planet hollywood resort and casino. she performed before a sold out star-studded crowd that included

j.b., receipt rita wilson and ryan seacrest. ♪ if you had my love would you comfort me ♪ ♪ and if somehow you knew >> by the way, if you're blinded by all that bling, there's good reason. 260,000 swarovski crystals were used on her versace pieces alone along with crystals used on the stage in nine-set pieces. >> she'll be there until june 12th. it looks like playboy may have a buyer for the iconic party mansion in las vegas. >> larry flynt expected to make an offer on the 20,000 tudor mansion built in 1927. reportedly asking for $200 million. here's the stipulation, heff comes with it. he gets to keep his residency for the rest of his life. >> hustler executives are

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♪ ♪ so, it's been quite a week for news and surprises from hostages freed in iran to poison water in michigan to a heated controversy over this year's oscar nominations. >> but there were some good surprises as well. here now your weekly "friday rewind." we're united in welcoming 's like being born again and just really feel proud to be an american. >> he committed a crime. he knew what he was doing. >> i'm sorry. most of all that i let you down. you deserve better. >> he has voted with the nra,

with the gun lobby numerous times. he voted against the brady bill five times. >> she has received $600,000 in one year as speaking fees from goldman sachs. if that's not true, i will apologize. >> i don't come from wealth. unlike donald, i didn't inherit millions of dollars. >> he's a nasty guy. nobody likes him. nobody in congress likes him. nobody likes him anywhere once they get to know him. >> are you ready to stump for trump? are you ready for a commander in chief who will let our warriors do their job and kick isis' [ bleep ]! not a politician. can i get a hallelujah? >> i won't be at academy awards and i won't be watching. >> we are working inside the academy in order to make sure we have inclusion. >> this is super cool. this is the best day of my life. i also want to thank my parents. i love them very much. and i know where to put this. right on the shelf right beside

my >> i don't look at it like heroic. i just look at it like i had to do something. and, you know, and it all just worked out, man. without going too far into it, it all worked out. ♪ can't get no life from a dollar bill ♪ ♪ can't get no life from no dollar bill ♪ ♪ don't give me no life from the tv screen ♪ ♪ oh no no no >> a couple of important events coming up in the week ahead. on thursday, the next republican debate. the last one. >> that's right. >> before the caucuses. i should point out in great falls, montana, the cabbage roll sale is taking place on monday. >> cabbage roll sale? >> yes. all day. at the methodist church. >> don't miss our updates. on facebook, wnnfans.com. >> announcer: this is abc's "world news now." informing insomniacs for two decades. rming insomniacs for two decades.

making news in america this morning, breaking right now, the massive storm lashing the south overnight. a tornado causing damage with major u.s. cities preparing for blizzard-like conditions as the system barrels down the eastern seaboard. plus, preparing for the worst. thousands of flights already canceled and unprecedented move in washington, d.c., shutting down the transit system and the government closing early. pilot arrested at the controls of a passenger plane accused of flying drunk. and fighting back with a club. would-be robber picking the wrong woman to mess with. >> we do