making news in america this morning, historic storm. parts of the deep south could see their first snowfall in a century. >> we're encouraging people to stay off the roads. >> right now the states of emergency in effect. the rare school closings and where the morning commute will be the slickest. nuclear taunt. president trump tweets about the size and power of his nuclear button being larger than kim jong-un's but just hours later a new move by north korea to open a line of communication with the south. a youtube star with millions of followers who are children apologizing for his shocking video showing an apparent suicide victim. this morning the new questions about why the

removed earlier and what's being done to protect kids online. megajackpot. the new headline overnight about the jumbo lottery prize jumping even higher this morning. plus, the wild video of an owl attacking a woman and her dogs and why the chickens cross the road, bringing this freeway to a halt. we do have a lot of wild animals and wild weather on this wednesday and say good morning. i'm kendis gibson. >> and i'm erielle reshef in for diane macedo. we begin with the storm that's being called a winter hurricane taking shape in florida and will spread snow, sleet and ice all the way up to the canadian border by the end of the week. >> you see georgia right there. fountains are frozen with temperatures 30 degrees below average. houston, texas, opened warming centers overnight. areas that haven't seen this kind of weather in

bracing for a dangerous wintry mix. a monster winter storm taking aim at the entire east coast. >> this is not something that we experience on a regular basis. >> reporter: this morning parts of florida under a rare winter storm warning. schools closing today in ta tallahassee and the airport canceling flights. >> these are conditions we're not accustomed to. we're encouraging people to stay off the roads during those drive times. >> reporter: georgia, areas could see snow for the first time in a century. the storm is expected to hug the coastline, dumping snow from the carolinas to maine. it comes as a blast of arctic air shatters record lows across the country. >> i can't even describe it. it's unbearable. i'm wearing two hats, two pairs of gloves. i don't know. >> reporter: windchills 50 below zero in

minnesota. in chicago crews lighting fires to keep rail switches from freezing. and overnight in brooklyn firefighters battling this massive apartment fire in 18-degree weather. three firefighters suffering serious injuries and in western new york state -- >> miles of traffic. miles. >> reporter: a whiteout causing havoc on the roads. a stretch of interstate 90 near buffalo shutting down after this chain reaction crash involving more than 20 vehicles. quite a scene there and behind this winter storm temperatures, can you believe it, will be dropping even lower. the gory details on the forecast in just a few minutes. a bold new tweet from president trump is stoking fears of a nuclear standoff. the president fired back at north korean leader kim jong-un, boasting about the size of the u.s. nuclear arsenal. the fiery rhetoric comes as north and south korea take a new step clearing the way for the first formal talks in two years. abc's stephanie ramos joins us live from washington. good morning

>> reporter: erielle and kendis, good morning. this nuclear war tweet is getting a lot of attention and that's because before president trump, no u.s. president had bragged so openly about the power they hold that can actually obliterate another country. president trump and the man he's called little rocket man north korea's leader kim jong-un are squaring off on whose nuclear button is bigger. this back and forth prompted by kim jong-un's threat against the u.s. in his new year's day speech. he says, the u.s. should know that the nuclear button is on my desk. the entire u.s. mainland is within our nuclear strike range. president trump responding on twitter posting, i too have a nuclear button, but it is a much bigger and more powerful one than his and my button works. but before the president's latest tweet he seemed open to talks between south korea and the north after kim made a surprising proposal to talk with

olympics. this morning, that key cross border hotline between the north and south is now open. >> north korea can talk with anyone they want but the u.s. is not going to recognize it or acknowledge it until they agree to ban the nuclear weapons that they have. >> reporter: while the president's secretary of state and defense secretary have said over and over again they're taking the diplomatic approach with north korea, the former chairman of the joint chiefs offered this dark assessment over the weekend. >> we're actually closer in my view to a nuclear war with north korea and in that region than we've ever been and i just don't see how -- i don't see the opportunities to solve this diplomatically at this particular point. >> reporter: u.s. ambassador to the u.n. nikki haley says if north korea carries out another missile test which they're expected to soon she said they could face even more sanctions. >> much more to

iran is bracing for a seventh day of violent anti-government protest. at least 21 have died and hundreds have been arrested amid outrage over soaring unemployment inflation and corruption. the u.s. government is calling for an emergency meeting of the united nations security council to try to address the demonstrations. iran's supreme leader is blaming so-called enemies of iran for meddling. now, the trump administration called accusations of u.s. involvement in the protests complete nonsense. the president is threatening to cut off aid to the palestinian authority saying that palestinians are no longer willing to talk about peace. the threat comes after he recognizes jerusalem as a capital of israel. a decision that palestinians said disqualified the u.s. from the peace process. in the meantime, pakistan is now responding to the president's tweet in which he said the u.s. has foolishly given pakistan billions in aid and has gotten nothing in return but lies and deceit. pakistan's government calls the tweet incomprehe

of the longest serving republican in the u.s. senate could open the door for a run by mitt romney. orrin hatch won't seek an eighth term. romney would be the favorite to replace hatch. romney has been an outspoken critic of trump. one possible hint about his plans yesterday his twitter location was changed from massachusetts to utah. former republican congresswoman michele bachmann says she is considering a run for al franken's former senate seat. bachmann ran for president in 2012 but dropped out early. franken's replace many tina smith will be sworn in today. franken announced his resignation amid allegations of sexual misconduct. a look at your weather for this wednesday morning. good morning. for the deep south we have a harsh freeze warning still in effect for most of the deep so

pipes, people, one to three inches in savannah, charleston, myrtle beach, possibly into wilmington. for the northeast the cold eases slightly but that's just before we're hit with a haymaker of snowstorms that will bring with it 12 to 24 inches in some areas and at least 3 to 6 down towards the philadelphia area. i'm accuweather meteorologist paul williams. coming up, the nurse who commutes 2600 miles to work to keep his paycheck and quality of life. also ahead, the megaheadline overnight about the mega millions jackpot. growing once again. and a different type of reveal from chip and joanna gaines, the big announcement from the stars of

new video from the scene of a bus crash in lima, peru, that killed at least 48 people. the bus plunging off a cliff and onto a rocky beach you see here. police say a tractor trailer hit the bus on a narrow stretch of highway called the devil's curve sending it plunging down that cliffside. so this is an interesting update that canadian man held hostage with his american wife for five years in afghanistan, well, he is now under arrest and facing serious charges. joshua boyle is accused of sexual assault, unlawful confinement and other offenses allegedly committed after he was rescued from the taliban along with his wife and three children who were born in captivity. no other details about the charges or the victims have been released. his wife says the trauma he was forced to endure has affected his mental state. if you need to ship something today, you will likely have a lot of company. u.p.s. has dubbed the day national returns day. the shipping giant expects to set a record by

1.4 million returns thanks to all those unwanted holiday gifts. more than a quarter of online purchases are sent back. three times the rate for items bought in the stores. influential technology analyst is making a bold prediction. amazon will buy target this year as the company looks for more ways to shake up the retail industry. other experts have strong doubts about this but target's stock rose 3% after the prediction. neither company, though, has commented. >> that's interesting. to anyone who's complained about a long commute has never met this guy, take a look. tom foiks is a first that travels 2600 miles to get to work. he lives in pennsylvania but his job is in san francisco in that area and insists the cross-country flight four types a month is worth it. i'm making california money and i live very nice and he's been doing it for nearly a decade. if you're planning to retire thanks to a mega millions jackpot y

ready for work. it was worth $361 million but there were no big winners overnight. friday's jackpot will now be worth at least $418 million. the fourth largest jackpot in the game's history. in the meantime, though, toni t tonight's powerball is worth 440 million. a lot of money on the line. coming up the new headline about autism rates in america. also ahead an apology from a youtube star who posted a video apparently showing someone who had committed suicide. the growing concern about what children can see online. the wild video. a woman fends off an owl that is attacking her dog. a disaster. my bargain detergent couldn't keep up. it was mostly water. so, i switched to tide pods. they're super concentrated, so i get a better clean. i mean, i give away water for free. i'm not about to pay for it in my detergent.

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hey julie, i know today's critica...a sick day. need... dads don't take sick days... dads take dayquil severe. the non-drowsy, coughing, aching, fever, sore throat... ...stuffy head, no sick days medicine. there'that only uses 100% american oranges.and simply orange and tropicana ship in juice from overseas. only florida's natural grows all of our oranges in florida. great taste. naturally. we're back with an airline passenger tired of waiting so he took matters into his own hands. see if you can see it. he opened the emergency exit on a ryanair flight and escaped from the plane in spain but he had second thoughts about jumping down off the wing,

right there. youtube star logan paul is facing serious backlash after posting a controversial video. that video was recorded in what's known as japan's suicide forest and included images of what's appearing to be a person who had committed suicide. paul has apologized calling the video a severe lapse in judgment. >> for my fans who are defending my actions, please don't. they do not deserve to be defended. >> paul took down the video as criticism intensified. many critics are asking why youtube failed to take down the video immediately. >> i think youtube was probably blindsided because they didn't take down the video themself and it seems to have slipped through their moderation and safeguards. >> youtube issued a statement expressing sympathy for the family of the person in that video. many critics are demanding that paul be removed from the site altogether. well, it appears autism rates in the u.s.

stabilizing. about 2.4% of children have autism spectrum disorders with practically no change during a three-year period. more than 30,000 children were surveyed. researchers aren't sure why autism appears to be leveling off or if it actually is and still affects 1 in 41 children. the criminal investigation into hollywood mogul harvey weinstein are expanding. the los angeles district attorney is reviewing two sex crimes cases from the beverly hills police. the d.a. established a task force and the prosecutors are considering charges against weinstein. a new comment from tonya harding has some asking whether she knew about the 1994 attack on her rival nancy kerrigan. in an upcoming interview with amy robach harding says she knew something was up. a month or two before the attack. harding also says she overheard her former husband and then accomplice saying maybe we should take somebody out so we ma

she being harding, of course, the full interview airs january 11th on abc. in other sports headlines, isaiah thomas made his season day but for the cavaliers. he hadn't played since last may when he suffered a hip injury as a member of the celtics. thomas scored 17 points in cleveland's win over portland. and in college football the university of arizona has fired football coach rich rodriguez. the school announced his departure amid claims that he ran a hostile work place. rodriguez says the case involves his former assistant who had threatened a lawsuit alleging harassment. and the cincinnati bengals coach marvin lewis is sticking around for awhile. insiders thought he would be fired after the second straight losing season but lewis signed a two-year extension keeping him with the team through 2019. a woman in georgia is sharing details of a scary encounter with an owl. debra johnson says her two dachshunds were in the yard when the bird swooped in and

on one of the dogs. johnson says the owl was several feet tall. when she tried to protect her pet the owl moved in to attack her. johnson says the owl knocked her down on the ground. she kicked and screamed trying to escape. finally a man comes out of the house and shooed the bird away. quite a bird fight there. in california it was chickens that were causing traffic problems. they were running loose on a freeway after the cage fell from the back of a truck and chh officers had to stop traffic to collect them. the driver didn't know they had fallen and didn't stop. up next in "the pulse," the warmest place in america may not be what you expect. also ahead, big news overnight from "fixer upper" couple chip and joanna gaines. plus, melting into extinction, one scientist says the world's chocolate supply may be gone. my mind. my 30-year marriage... ...my 3-month old business...

the hospital, but wondered, was this the best treatment for me? so i made a point to talk to my doctor. he told me about eliquis. eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots and reduces the risk of them happening again. not only does eliquis treat dvt and pe blood clots. eliquis also had significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. eliquis had both... ...and that turned around my thinking. don't stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. if you had a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away if you have tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness. while taking eliquis, u may bruise more easily... and it may take longer than usual for bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots. plus had less major bleeding.

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♪ hot hot hot >> does it put you in the mood at all? >> no, not at all, all right. we're looking to escape bone-chilling temperatures. you may want to consider a trip to alaska. warm and all that. yes, alaska, yeah, while most of the nation is freezing, alaska is feeling hot, hot, hot with balmy conditions, temperatures hovering between 44 and 50 degrees. that's about twice as warm as the normal high of 24 degrees. >> i'm coming for you, alaska. several parts of northern and central alaska had their warmest december on record. forecasters attribute the warm weather to high and low pressures pushing tropical air to the north. buying my tickets tomorrow. >> there are actually parts of the u.s. colder than the surface of mars at this hour. >> like new york right now. america's most famer fixer uppers areak

project as they prepare to exit their famous show. >> rumors rampant for awhile when chip and joanna gaines told fans this would be their last season. now they've announced they're expecting baby number five. >> the couple said they wanted their kids to grow up out of the spotlight and they'd like to spend a little bit more time with family and the family will be bigger now. >> they made that announcement as their final season premiered. now we have alarming environmental news. >> yeah, scientists warn that chocolate, chocolate, folk, may be extinct by the year 2050. the cacao plant that chocolate comes from only grows in a few area, mostly rain forests which are disappearing. >> a little ray of hope. researchers may be able to be able to genetically modify the plant but this, i tell you is a complete horrible thing if it goes away. >> it really is. we started stockpiling here at

queen elizabeth is about to make a rare appearance in a documentary and she will talk about her coronation. >> she says she's attended two coronations, one for her father and her own and she talks about the four-pound crown that she briefly wore when she took the throne back in 1953. she hasn't worn it since that day. the film airs on the smithsonian channel on january 13th. hard to believe she's been on the throne for so long. >> i'm excited for the royal wedding. >> oh, yeah, next may, may 19th. prince harry and meghan. washington is following breaking news in south korea. in the last 2 hours-- the country says it began preliminary contacts with north korea on a reopened cross-border communication system. this comes as north korea kim jong un continues heated threats with president donald trump. the president tweeting last night-- that he, too, has a nuclear button... and it is a much bigger

at least 46 people are dead in peru where a bus tumbled off the side of a cliff. the bus was traveling along a narrow stretch of highway known as the "devil's curve", when it went over the side with 57 passengers onboard. firefighters say 6 people survived and are being treated for serious injuries. former presidential candidate, mitt romney, may be readying a new campaign... this time for the senate. it comes after utah senator orrin hatch announced that he won't seek re-election this year. some are speculating mitt romney could run to fill his seat. hatch is the senate's longest serving republican -- and as president pro tempore, is third in line for the presidency. good morning washington. toss to eileen - briefly above freezing this afternoon - snow late tonight east of i-95; highest accumulations

coastal storm - windy from a powerful nor'easter thursday/friday - another reinforcing shot of cold air late week (highs in the teens) - 40s return early next week today: becoming cloudy. cold. highs: 31-35 winds: se 5 mph tonight: cloudy and cold. snow developing east of i-95. lows: 19-25 winds: n 5-10 mph thursday: early morning snow east of i-95. windy and cold. highs: 25-30 winds: nw 10-20 g 30+ mph

happening in the day ahead-- a d-c middle school happening in the day ahead-- a d-c middle school will be back open after a broken pipe shut it down tuesday. firefighters say

water in the basement at kramer middle school in southeast. they also detected gas in the building. school officials say the building has been treated and will be open for students returning from winter break today. temperatures dropped into the teens overnight - and most of us cranked up the heat, to stay warm. but - doing that too often, can lead to a massive heating bill. there are a few ways you can chip away at that bill. lower your thermostat just one degree. it can save you five percent on heating costs. a kit will cost you about 15 dollars. you can also consider weather-proofing your doors and windows. and important information if you use a fireplace to keep the house warm. this week - we went inside a potomac home that was seriously damaged, when ashes caught fire. the homeowner says he placed ashes in a plastic bag. the problem is - fire officials say ashes can retain heat for days. you should always put ashes from your fireplace in a metal container, splash

outside and away from your home. new information this morning about the ongoing issues... with i-phone batteries! apple admitted to slowing down some devices... and recommended buying a new battery at a discounted price - but how do you know if you need a new battery? simply looking at the battery percentage on your phone isn't much help. you need to download a "battery checker" app that can tell you the life of your battery. the apple store in georgetown tells seven on your side - buying a replacement battery can take up to a week if they don't have your model in the store. they also urge you to make an appointment - walk-ins can take two hours. it's xx and we're just getting started. coming up-- another day-- another freezing morning waiting for

how this brutal cold is impacting roads, and infrastructure, with a winter storm heading this way. good morning washington. - briefly above freezing this afternoon - snow late tonight east of i-95; highest accumulations over southern md from coastal storm - windy from a powerful nor'easter thursday/friday - another reinforcing shot of cold air late week (highs in the teens) - 40s return early next week today: becoming cloudy. cold. highs: 31-35 winds: se 5 mph tonight: cloudy and cold. snow developing east of i-95. lows: 19-25 winds: n 5-10 mph thursday: early morning snow east of i-95. windy and cold. highs: 25-30