menace on the highways. thousands of people trapped overnight. no heat, no food, no way out. plus, our team heads to the icy coastal flflooding. mandatory evacuations and rescues under way. wild race. donald trump's latest boast. >> i could stand in the middle of fififth avenuand shoot someone and i wouldn't lose any voters. >> and he's also going after former first lady barbara bush. plus will there be a march surprise? rerts that michael bloomberg is considering a third party run. and, jailbreak. three fugitives on the run, includining an alleged torturer and a man accused of murder. so why did it take 16 hours to notice they were gone? tonight we take you inside the manht. and good evening. thanks for joining us on this saturday. i'm tom llamas. cecilia is on the campaign trail tonight.

hour, a winter storm is raging. disrupting lives and turning deadly. 60 million people in the storm's path. the storm coming down at 4 inches an hour. a the coast hit. take a look at the ice and not a soul at reagan airport. major highways sut down in several states. thousands of people stranded in cars and trucks, some people overnight. in new jersey, a man snowboarding down the empty roads. had is a live look right now at the white house. bru it's new york being hit especially hard. this is times square. only police cars the. and tatake aook at this image from space. you see the orange lights? those are major cities buried under snow and clouds from the massive storm. from space to the center o of the storm, we are covering it all.

in hard-hit w york. >> reporter: tonight, the nation's largest city in the bull's-eye of a blizzard of epic proportions. howling winds and driving snow creating near white-out conditions, forcing an extraordinary trel ban. >> unless it is truly an emergency, you should not be on the road.. travel is now banned, and the reason we're doing that is to protect people. >> reporter: the snow, still coming down strong tonight, exceeding expectations -- on track to become one of the top five snow storms on record here in new york city, and no let up expected for hours. >> one of the worst blizzards, worst winter storms that i've seen in new york. oh, yeah. no fun. >> no fun at all? >> no, it's not a winter wonderland. >> reporter: many roads eerily empty in the middle of the day. also ordered shut down commuter rail lines and parts of the subway, new york city's transportation lifeline. no flights coming in or going out of new york's three major airports.

10,000 cancellations spanning friday through sunday. even broadway shows shuttered. meteorologist indra petersons out in the thick of it. >> if new york city gets more than 21 inches of snow, this will be the third greatest snowfall of record. forget what two feet of snow looks like. it's a blizzard out here. you're going to be talking about winds producing drifts as high as 5 feet! >> reporter: to battle the snow, the city called out an army of snowplows and salt spreaders. no match for this monster storm. tom, i'm in normally bustling times square. very few vik vehicles out here. only a fraction of the people that would normally be out here on a saturday night. so far, until the storm, the new york city had only gotten a trace amount of snow. now, in less than 24 hours, the city has gotten an entire winter's worth. tom. >> the cross roads of the world now a winter wonderland.

hit the jersey shore since superstorm sandy. tonight, powerful winds, high tide and the full moon sending icy water in the street, damaging homes and sending people to higher ground. linzie janis from wildwood, new jersey, linzie? >> reporter: good evening, m. up and down the new jersey coasast, theres severe flooding with barrier eyelands like this one the hardest hit. virtually every street here is under water. night, the jersey shore getting slammed by a massive nor'easter. roads flooded, chunks of ice passing by this front yard in ocean city. the storm surge up to 8 feet. these streets are still flooded and it is low tide. look at the water just coming into this home. let me show you high tide it was waist high. it carried the picnic table to the center of the street. emergency workers rescuing residents trapped in their homes. some families trying to evacuate

what are you doing out here? >> trying to get to my mother. >> reporter: in wildwood, new jersey the water up to this man's knees. wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour enough to keep this ferris wheel spinning. >> oh, ms horrible. it's cutting you up. the sand and the rain. > reporte wav reaching almost 20 feet off the coastline. in atlantic city, the flood lines up to this home's windows and submergeing this car. governor chris christie warning residents to stay inside. >> i don't care where you have a four-wheel drive vehicle or not, it's very slippery out there right now. >> reporter: most residents worried about a repeat of super storm sandy. >> the water level is higher than sandy. >> reporter: tom, the wind is fierce here. and at high tide, the water was waist deep. we have another high tide tonight and tomorrow morning, residents very concerned the flooding is going to get worse. tom?

the biggest danger in the monster storm. travel officials pleading with drivers to stay off the roads. crews working arnold the clock. snowplows struggling to keep up. more than 1,000 accidents in five states just today. david kerley is in washington, d.c., where the blizzard is still hitting tonight. >> reporte tonight, washington, d.c. is buried. up to two inches of snow an hour -- piling up. > i didn'expect to be caught in the middle of snowzilla. >> reporter: the nation's capil, its roads, monuments. quiet. and covered in at least a foot and a half o of snow. >> go back a little bit. go back. >> reporter: the weekend timing -- the ghost town appearance. a huge advantage for crews trying to clear roads. but even firetrucks and ambulances needed help in the deep snow. the d.c. police chief lending a hand on some stuck patrol cars. so much snow, each road, each h siwalk cleared numerous times. so you've already shoveled this sidewalkhat four or five or six times?

>> reporter: ten times? >> yeah. >> reporter: by afternoon, another problem. abc's eva pilgrim is in philadelphia. >> the wind and continuing snow are the major issues right now. as you can see the roads are still snsnow cover, the moment the snow plows are able to clear the roads, more falls on the ground. >> reporter: at least 11 deaths attributed to the storm, most of them car accidents. and hundreds of motorists are stuck. 500 vehicles on the pennsylvania turnpike going nowhere. including 31 members of the duququesne unirsity basketball team -- in a bus since yesterday afternoon. some even walking for pizza. >> i just want to get home! >> reporter: jeremy hanawalt escaped that turnpike after 15 hours. >> they could have gotten people out of here a long time ago. or at least used that as an option. >> reporter: in kentucky water dropped off to stranded motosts there. an ohio family traveling home from a funeral spent all night inheir car. >> and they tell us we're going to get you out of here. very soon. that was nine hours ago. >> reporter: they did finally

but with the storm still et drdropping sw it will be some time before everyone is dug out. so much snow to remove. the crews are building hills, mininimountainand it's snowing and blowing. making it hard to see the u.s. capitol. tom? >> david kerley for us tonight. david, thank you. the massive snowfall is burying buildings and homes. power lines as well. look how fast it piled up outside this pennsylvania home. by dawn, everything in the backyard buried. but the weight of all that snow can cause dangerous stress. abc's gloria riviera with the threat at home. >> reporter: tonight, the massive snowfall pushing neighborhoods to their b breaking point. in suburban virginia 30 inches and counting. this emergency snow removal crew -- stuck. i'm 5'6". you can see the snow is past my knees. when you get out to the suburb, this is what you see, house after house blanketed.

here. experts say a foot of heavy, wet snow on a 1,600-square-foot home weighs as much as 14 tons. for the first time here, residents like the shaft family are anxious. you have about 18 inches of snow on your roof. right now, it's light and fluffy. but is that a concern? >> i am not going to dance up there for sure. >> i just don't know what once you get past 24 when you get to 30, you wonder how much your roof can hold. >> reporter: the snow so heavy, this gas station roof caved in. this historic theater in virginia destroyed. to protect your home look for early warning signs, creaking sounds and cracks in the ceiling. up and down the coast heavy snow and winds downing powerlines. our phillip mena is in north carolina. >> here is raleigh, ice is the issue on trees and opower lines. crews are woworking toestore power. more than 100,000 people tonight without electricity throughout the state. >> reporter: officials there warning people to steer clear of lines which could be live.

monoxide. with so many struggling under so much snow, safety experts say remember to clear your car's exhaust pipe before warming up the car. and make sure to keep snow drifts from covering furnace and drier vents outside. city officials still telling residents here like so many other places to stay inside for safety. many of the people we spoke to said they have given u up on getting out until the snow starts to melt. tom? >> thank you. let's turn to someone who will not be spending a lot of time indoors. b marciano joining us from junior station in washington, d.c. you are almost buried there in the snow. but the big question tonight, how much longer will the storm last? >> we are still under blizzard warnings. it's still coming down sideways here and winds over 35 miles per hour and the visibilities remain low. the low itself is still veryy close. take a look at the radar.

still rotating in. 19 inches and counting in new york city. 18 inches and counting in philadelphia. 21 and counting here in d.c. number two on the list and just outside of d.c. to the west, nearing 40 inches of snow. a tremendous amount of coastal flooding earlier today. another high tide psych toll go through and the winds are going to don't crank near the coast over 50 miles an hour through the overnight period and then things begin to end from west to east as far as snow is concerned. all done by midnight but the winds will don't crank throughout the day. tomorrow it's going to make cleanup a real nightmare, tom. as far as travavel goes,oing by train there is a limited amtrak schedule, the only way to get around. >> it's going to be a rough few days ahead. rob, tnk you. we turn to politics now and a major day on the campaign trail. donald trurp with a new controversial, a violent joke

and news from michael bloomberg. cecilia vega has it all from iowa. >> reporter: the controversial remark this time came in the form of a drag. >> i could stand in the middle of fifth avenue and shoot somebody and i couldn't lose any voters. it's incredible. >> reporter: donald trump under fire once again. >> i will let donald speak for himself. i can say, i have no intention of shooting anyone in the campaign. >> reporter: but the brash billionaire may not be the only billionaire in the race for long. abc news confirming new york city former mayor michael bloomberg is contemplating a third party run. despite promises he would not enter the race, he instructed advisers to run as an independent. trump telling george stephanopoulos, he would welcome a bloomberg bid. >> i wou love to have michael join the race. first of all, he's a friend of mine. he's a great guy. he could take a lot t of votes

to be hillary. >> reporter: the former mayor reportedly troubled from all of the front-runners from trump on the right to hillary clinton and bernie sanders on the left. trump rivaled ted cruz in the hawkeye state too, raking in endorsement from glenn beck. >> if donald trump wins, it's going to be a snowball to hell. >> reporter: but the biggest battle du jour, over a jeb bush video featuring his mother. >> jeb has real solutions. >> reporter: trump taking to twitter. saying -- just watch jeb's ad where he needed mommy to help him. jeb, mommy can't hem you can isis or the chinese. and tonight -- >> be careful, donald. you know my mom. i'm putting my money on barbara bush on that. >> reporter: and another big endorsement coming in just right now.

newspape its pick for the race, m marco rubio on the gop side. hillary clinton for the. sed democrat side. michael bloomberg believes he has until march to get in the race. he have could miss the caucuses here nine days away. >> thank you so much. we have so much more on "world news tonight." up next, escaped murders and torturer escaped from jail. tonight, we take you to the man hunt. andd latest zika virus, we will tell you where it's turned up here in the u.s. guys, it's just the two of you. the setting is just right. there's something in the air. but here's the thing: out half of men over 40 have some degree of erectile dysfunction. well, viagra helps guys with ed get and keep an erection. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex.

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wloo's incredible, it went down steps away from the sheriff's department. it's one of the biggest diamond rings on the planet. can you guess which celebrity is sporting this 35-carat diamond engagement ring? >> kids aren't the only ones having fun in the snow. the adorable scene that played out today at the national zoo. song: "that's life" song: "that's life" song: "that's life" that's life. you diet. you exercise. and if you still need help lowering your blood sugar... ..his is jardiance. along with diet and exercise, jardiance works around the clock to lower blood sugar in adadults with type 2 diabetes. it works by helping your body to get rid of some of the sugar it doesn't need rough urination. this can help you lower blood sugar and a1c. and although it's not for weight loss

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the cdc has released an updated map showing 22 country, most in latin america and the caribbean where they have outbreaks. it can cause fever, rash and joint pain. the real danger is pregnant women where it can cause severe dearth defects. and a low nation of more than 100,000 bottles of water for the flint, michigan cities. theyey have relied on bottled water from distribution sites. the biggest rock in hollywood. mariah carey says yes to australian billionaire james packer and his 35 carat diamond engagement ring. it's estimated to be worth $7.5 million. that is serious bling. and the national zoo posting this adorable footage of its

frolicking at the zoo. his cub bei bei? yeah, not so much. he couldn't get enough of the white powder. and don't worry. his thick woolly coat is designed to keep him warm in the mountas of china. >> when we come back, the blizzard from south carolina to new york. once in a while, we can all use a snow day. yoyour treatnt plan may too. know your options. once-daily toujeo is a long-acting insulin from the makers of lantus . it releases slowly to provide consistent insulin levels for a full 24 hours. toujeo also provides proven full 24-hour blood sugar control and significant a1c reduction. toujeo is a long-acting, man-made insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults with diabetes. it contains 3 times as much insulin in 1 milliliter as standardnsulin. don't use toujeo to treat diabetic ketoacidosis,

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snowfall and it belongs to other species who try to keep out of the way. so they went for a stroll down an empty avenue last night. yes, this was washington. but people came out too, plunging in, playing. when not plowing. and this set of threkids all dressed up. will they even remember this day? and the silence a big snowfall brings. with the sound trackurned down, everything pops in a different way. and the respect shown by a guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier, not even a shake of his head. sure it's cold outside when the world looks like this. but reminded that something bigger than this can get us all to stop and listen why we wait for the sun. john donvan, abc news, new york. we thank john for that story and thank you for watching. gma in the morning and i will see you here tomorrow.

good night."you're watching local 5 news at 6 in hd. we are iowa's most accurate weather team and we start with your forecast first." bree/wxwall: weather adlib: put script here in green the clouds will hold steady overnight and the skies will remain dry. central iowa will stay locked under the clouds through the day tomorrow as well with light southerly winds and melting temperatures just above that freezing mark. it might finally be the day to take down those leftover christmas decorations outside! nikki also coming up

twenty hours and counting...