this morning on world news, a powerful winter storm is barrelling up the east coast right now. snow and ice paralyzing parts of the south, and the storm is gaining strength as it moves north. the morning commute promises to be treacherous for millions. we're tracking this monster storm. also happening this morning, new reaction from the president's lawyers to the bombshell comments by former chief strategist, steve bannon, those comments coming in an explosive new book, a look inside the trump white house. and this half hour, the search for two missing sisters now finally over. ending just hours ago. the girls had been missing since

discovered on new year's eve. the very latest on their condition and their alleged kidnapper. and new details about the dating life of one mr. brad pitt, how he's moving forward in life as a single dad and sometimes he's not going by the name "brad." that's in "the skinny" on this january 4th. from abc news, this is "world news now." >> his name, i was just busy looking at the big news. the big breaking news, whether it's snowing outside or whatever, you still have to go back to work. nobody actually won last night's powerball jackpot. >> yeah. >> just for the record, just so you know what the winning numbers are. here they are, 2, 18, 37, 39, 42 and the powerball 12. again, no one had all six of them on a single ticket. >> i think i had one. i think i had number two. so that means now saturday's estimated jackpot will be about

$550 million. and remember, tomorrow's the megamillions jackpot, $418 million at least. >> so nearly $1 billion in these combined lotteries on the line in the next few days. >> i learned from our erielle reshef that the odds of winning them both is something like one in 88 quadrillion. >> is that a real word? >> it's a real word. let's move on to the other big story. the nasty storm pounding the east coast with heavy snow, hurricane-force winds and bone-chilling temperatures behind it. >> officials have declared the southeast in declaring states of emergency. >> and schools are closed up and down the atlantic coast including boston, philadelphia and many parts of the d.c. area. more than 3,000 flights have been canceled so far with more likely as the storm worsens.

blame for the derailment of three cars on an amtrak passenger train in savannah. 311 passengers on board were not injured, just anxious to get going. >> and the southern tip, or you can see it there, that storm system, the radar shows the storm roaring into the northeast where blizzard warnings are in effect. more snow will accumulate with 18 inches possible in parts of maine. and on the southern tip of new jersey is cape may. you're looking at it. it's usually a great place to go in the summer. they're under a blizzard warning with six to nine inches expected before it's all over with. steve osunsami begins our coverage. >> reporter: the storm they're nicknaming the bomb is shutting down highways, airports and cities, turning lives literally upside down from florida to maine. >> we're asking you, if you don't have to be out, please

don't be out here right now. >> reporter: already 17 people have died in the bitter cold and now this. roads so slick in the carolinas they're pulling drivers like this one out of ditches. crews responding to this multi-car pile up. >> everyone is freaking out. as you can see, the town shut down. >> reporter: in south georgia where snowplows are as rare as snowflakes, police report more than 222 people have been hurt in accidents near savannah alone. this is our slippery trip there. it's just ice. we're on top of ice. this is the most snow this region has seen in more than 30 years. victor oquendo in florida. >> shutting down both directions of the interstate. the bridges frozen over. >> reporter: stacy pelosi and her husband are trying to fly home to new york, but all flights are canceled, and now the storm is heading where they want to be. in massachusetts, they're bracing for a nor'easter.

which is great. >> reporter: more than 50,000 people in florida and georgia will be in the dark, and that number is expected to rise as the storm pushes north. another concern on this end of the storm is that all of this ice is expected to ice and then refreeze, which means days of icy roads. steve osunsami, abc news, savannah. >> those are many places that aren't used to those conditions. rough days ahead. we're going to turn to president trump who is locking horns with former top adviser, steve bannon, saying he lost his mind. >> the president's lawyers sending a cease and desist letter. after excerpts from a new book surfaced. this tell-all is packed with personal details and embarrassing allegations that infuriated the president. abc's arlette saenz has more. >> reporter: bombshell allegations made by president trump's forme

steve bannon are rattling the white house. in an explosive new book, bannon describes that infamous 2016 trump tower meeting between jared kushner, don jr., paul manafort and a russian lawyer as treasonous and unpatriotic. president trump has defended his son. >> i think from a practical standpoint, most people would have taken that meeting. it's called opposition research or even research into your opponent. >> reporter: mr. trump insists he knew nothing of the meeting during the campaign. but bannon argues that's not true. he says the chance donald trump jr. didn't walk the attendees up to his father's office was quote zero. and bannon predicts members of mueller's team will crack don jr. like an egg. he says steve bannon has nothing do with me or my presidency. when he lost his job he lost his mind.

>> i think furious, disgusted would fit when you make such outrageous claims. >> reporter: the book "fire and fury" is due out next week. abc news obtained an advanced copy of the book by veteran journalist michael wolff. who had unusual access to the west wing. among the claims, many on team trump, including the candidate himself, didn't think he would win. even melania trump didn't want her husband to win and was in tears when he did. the white house is dismissing the book as tabloid fiction. a spokesperson for the first lady says she was confident he would win and was very happy about his victory. >> here's the thing about this. if the white house is dismissing a lot of what they're saying about the book, then why bother filing this cease and desist to try to shut up steve bannon if what you allege that he's saying is not true at all. >> well, i think possibly president trump just doesn't

like that he's saying it or making allegations. he doesn't like them repeated. i'm just thinking aloud here. >> i'm saying that the white house is kind of going against their own argument there by filing this. >> some of their revelations like the president and first lady sleep in separate bedrooms, i feel like that's not so shocking. >> that's called marriage. >> not so shocking. for some. >> it's called relationships. all right, there's so much there about that book. in the meantime, there was stuff that took place at the white house. the president disbanded the commission he convened to investigate voter fraud in 2016's election. the president has repeatedly claimed millions voted illegally, allowing hillary clinton to win the popular vote, but the commission never produced any such evidence. the white house blames a decision to dissolve the panel on states refusing to turn over personal data on voters. breaking overnight, good

news about a pair of sisters from texas. they've been found safe after being missing for days. they had not been seen since last saturday near austin, texas where they live. their mother was found dead and their roommate, terry miles was named a person of interest in her death. police received tips about sightings of the girls in colorado, that's where they were pulled over by police. >> the two girls were located inside the vehicle. they both were unharmed. and safe at that time. the girls will be transported to the hospital and checked medically. >> terry miles is in custody pending charges. the girls are turned over to child protective services and will be reunited with family in texas. today wall street hopes the bulls keep running towards another record. the dow is inching toward 25,000. it starts the day, get this, at 24,922.

record highs. they set new highs thanks in part to tech stocks. one company that did not have a good day was intel. it lost 3% amid news its computer processors have major security flaws. the weather gripping much of the country has brought snow to places that haven't seen snow in years, in decades. >> and some people are taking advantage of the rare blast of old man winter. these kids are making snow angels in tallahassee. >> when you really, really want to make snow angels and you live in the south. >> exactly. the capital is seeing its first measurable snowfall since 1990. >> in georgia, that is the fire chief of valdosta making his own snow angel. a little more snow there. they haven't seen snow since 1989. >> doesn't matter that it's a dusting and it's great. >> it's a big deal.

>> there were plenty of crimes happening in valdosta, but hey, the chief was making snow angels at the time. all right, coming up, truth and lies. and waco. nearly 25 years after that incident, the siege there on the compound, what we're just now finding out about what really went on inside. and the new year's surprise from lady gaga, what she shared yesterday that nearly broke twitter. but first, you have to look at it. here's a look at today's forecast. [000:11:35;00] forecast. ♪harry's meeting clients...♪ ♪...from far away. but they only see his wrinkles.♪ ♪he's gotta play it cool to seal the deal.♪ ♪better find a way to smooth things over.♪ ♪if only harry used some... ♪...bounce, to dry. ♪yeah!

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here's pepto bismol! ♪nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea!♪ ♪ all right, so this morning we're getting a look at a disturbing chapter of american history. many of us will recall that deadly siege of the branch davidian complex. >> it happened nearly 25 years ago after a 51-day siege, a fbi

tear gas attack, and fire engulfed the 76 people died, including the group's leader, david koresh. >> it's the subject of an abc special airing tonight. >> the branch davidians are an offshoot of the 7th day adventist church. >> they had a doomsday prophecy. they believed there would be an end of the world, and when this time came they would die. >> one of the things about being a branch davidian under david koresh is you're supposed to separate yourself from the world. >> there was no running water, no heat, no electricity of any kind. we had to go to bible study three times a day. >> why did you come here? >> because i heard there was something here that i wanted to listen to. >> he was polarizing because he's, what he's doing is so radical. he truly believed he had a mission from god. he told him where to sleep, who to sleep with, what to do, he's the lord of the manor in every sense of the word. he had absolute, absolute authority over the air they breathed, over the literally, the food they ate. >> he taught that we should not eat any dairy products.

and his reasoning was dairy products are made from milk, which is baby food. milk is what you eat when you're a baby, and we're adults now. >> could you have apples and bananas but not bananas and oranges together. there were a lot of food combining rules. you couldn't eat fruit and vegetables together. >> my wife got into trouble once for telling somebody it was okay to eat cheese. she was put out of camp. >> so it's almost like he was sitting around thinking of really wacky ways to manipulate people. but the idea was to test people, to see if they really believed and would really obey when the time came. >> such an interesting story. the two-hour documentary, you can see there, it airs tonight on abc at 9:00 eastern time, 8:00 central. when we come back, is brad pitt on tinder and bumbler? a new development on his dating life. and do you remember snoop dogg's gin and juice? you haven't heard it until

you've heard it on the banjo, "the skinny" is up next. you haven't heard it until you've heard it on the banjo, "the skinny" is up next. proven cough medicine. with 8 hours of vapors. so he can sleep. vicks vaporub. goodnight coughs. tha...oh, burnt-on gravy?ie. ...gotta rinse that. nope. no way. nada. really? dish issues? throw it all in. cascade platinum powers through even burnt-on gravy. nice.

cascade. ♪ so skinny all right, time for "the skinny," and i meant bumble. brad pitt possibly on bumble? not really, he is apparently back on the prowl. >> nearly 16 months after wife angelina jolie filed for divorce and they went their separate ways, the oscar winner now slowly adjusting to life as a single dad, you know what that means, dating. according to e! news, he's dating. >> he's been on a few dates but nothing serious, and finding love in a hurry is not a huge priority in his life. but the source adds he can be flirty by nature, and that he's also the nicest guy in the world. >> and the new york post's page six is reporting that when brad is out cruising, i don't know if he's cruising, but flirting with women, he sometimes goes by his

real name, william. >> does brad pitt need to flirt? >> or hide his name? they walk up to them and they don't know? >> hi, i'm william. >> no, you're not. next to a new year's surprise from lady gaga. >> lady gaga returned from a ten-day break from social media to usher in the new year with this. >> wow. >> she posted this photo to her twitter account, sporting a white bikini and tattoos and not a lot else out there. >> amazing. she captioned the photo, happy new year to happiness, love and simplicity of beautiful, unforgettable nature life. >> all right. in less than 24 hours, it's racked up some 71,000 likes. one fan commented the photo belongs in a museum. >> i want those tattoos.

>> she looks good. >> wouldn't look the same on me. next, to a brand-new take on snoop dogg's infamous gin and juice. >> i love this song. ♪ my mind's on my money and my money on my mind ♪ >> snoop doggy dog from his album "doggie style." ♪ down the street ♪ laid-back ♪ like my money on my mind and my mind on my money ♪ >> that's when they used to bleep out what he was smoking. >> yeah. >> now a cover of the song in bluegrass, played on the banjo, do we like this, folks? ♪ rolling down the street ♪ smoking ♪ sipping on gin and juice ♪ laid-back with my mind on my

money and my money on my mind ♪ >> it's amazing. i am here for this. >> i'm lovin' this. >> laid-back. ♪ laid-back ♪ with my mind on my money and

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crest. healthy, beautiful smiles for life. ♪ ♪ well, anyone with a school-aged child in their life knows all about those school fundraisers. >> yeah, but at a middle school north of boston, one group of sixth graders managed to raise more than a million dollars for a pretty good cause. here's david muir. >> reporter: it was just last month we first introduced you to talia, and her sixth grade classmates in massachusetts. selling jars of cookie dough, they helped one of their own.

she was born with a disease similar to als, doctors racing to start a clinical trial, but they needed $1 million to take it to the next phase. the children first raising $55,000 selling those jars, then performing for sports teams and the video they hoped would go viral. and after you heard talia's story right here, so many of you giving, $65,000 overnight, and to start this new year, those sixth graders were suddenly summoned to the middle school gym with talia's mother joslin delivering the new total. >> over $1 million! [cheers and applause] >> reporter: with the help of yet another donor, those kids now surpassing the $1 million mark for talia. and they're still going. >> i'm so happy that we finally made it to $1 million.

and that we can go into funding a cure for talia. >> talia's mother grateful. >> you showed the world what you would do for a friend. >> reporter: and you can hear there in her voice and see it in her face how much it means to them. our david muir with that report. >> thanks for that beautiful report. in the meantime, we've been watching captivated by the scene out of southern jersey, just as we've been on the air in the half hour, the house has disappeared. >> they were under a blizzard warning. >> they are under a blizzard warning in cape may, new jersey. >> and this storm is pounding that area. >> six to nine inches in that area itself. the storm system called a megamonster, giant, hurricane, bomb, typhoon. i think those are meteorological terms. >> the storm is the bomb. >> it is moving its way up behind, no matter how much snow

you get, it's the cold. >> be careful out there. >> yep. ♪

♪ across the region as a winter storm moves in. snow falling right now, impacting roads, airports, and schools. good morning washington.. i'm larry smith. and i'm autria godfrey. lets get right to this winter weather-- impacting everything in our area. first up -- delays and cancellations on amtrak. northeast regional service between d-c and newport news and norfolk is completely cancelled today! amtrak is also operating a modified schedule between new york and boston. and the board at reagan national is showing more and more red. it's a similar story up and down the east coast. about 3-thousand flights are