that was a good call.good job. making news in america this morning, double edge storm. heavy winds and torrential rains in the east leave thousands without power overnight and communities in the south are stunned by the deadly destruction as the midwest is hit hard by whiteout conditions. we have the latest on the storm track. privacy fight. ceo tim cook telling abc news that apple is standing firm against the government despite that order to access a terrorist's iphone. >> this is not about one phone. this is about the future. >> the abc news exclusive interview just ahead. fighting the flu in the depths of the season. some encouraging news about this year's vaccine. why you should consider getting one if you haven't. and, oh, boy, pants on fire. a small explosion in a store

no, that is not money burning a hole in his pocket. well, good thursday morning. millions of americans are reeling from the vicious storms hammering the eastern two-thirds of the country. >> along the mid-atlantic, virginia is under a state of emergency this morning where tornadoes and thunderstorms have left at least four people dead. tens of thousands are still without power, and roadways are flooded. >> and in the midwest blizzard-like conditions left a huge mess. nearly a foot of wet, heavy snow blanketed roads and knocked out power. drivers planning to head out this morning need to be careful of dangerously icy conditions created by frigid temperatures overnight. >> the impact, nearly 1,200 flights in and out of chicago airports have been canceled so far, which is likely to impact air travel across the country today. and on the ground the full effect of the devastating storms

are just starting to unfold. overnight, millions of americans hit hard as a deadly winter storm continues its march north. torrential rains flooding the mid-atlantic to the northeast. the downpours creating flash floods, washing away cars and creating a mess for the d.c. area. >> i thinking like i called god to help me and prayed. >> reporter: in new york heavy winds overturned this truck on the george washington bridge. this time lapse shows the storm moving into charlotte, north carolina. strong winds toppling trees, homes and power lines there. more than 160,000 people without power across 7 states. it's the same system that spawned terrifying twisters. in virginia, a state of emergency in effect. a deadly tornado shredding homes, among the victims, a young child. >> the only thing we heard was a 2-year-old baby was found in the woods. >> reporter: that baby and two others pronounced dead. >> this is devastating.

more than 30 tornadoes in the last day alone, first tearing across louisiana destroying this rv park. >> god let us be okay. let us get through this. >> reporter: and on the back side of this massive storm, blizzard conditions across the midwest. >> if you don't need to make the trip, don't make the trip today. illinois and indiana, nearly whiteout conditions making and that area, by the way, is in for more snow today. take a look, but it's not expected to be quite as heavy with the snow showers continuing around the great lakes and temperatures will move back up into the 30s. >> in the mid-atlantic and northeast plan on mostly dry conditions although temperatures will be a bit cooler. well, to politics now, the republicans preparing to face off in houston tonight. their final debate before super tuesday. >> after his landslide victory in nevada, donald trump is now tangling with mitt romney over his tax returns, but he's also trading jabs with the other gop candidates who are struggling to

>> it's "your voice, your vote." we get the latest from abc's kenneth moton. good morning, kenneth. >> reporter: good morning, reena and kendis. it is a case of irony. millionaire mitt romney was criticized in 2012 about his own tax returns but now he's making similar attacks against billionaire donald trump. hours before severe weather ripped through virginia overnight, donald trump was on the ground rallying supporters, talking running mates. >> do want somebody that's political because i want to get lots of great legislation that we all want passed. >> reporter: trump was a no-show for a republican town hall on fox news hosted by megyn kelly who had a very public feud with the gop front-runner. the candidates lined up as they worked to take down trump. >> we are not going to allow the conservative movement to be defined about i a nominee who isn't a conservative. >> reporter: all four promise to release tax returns this week after mitt romney called on them to do so. the 2012 gop nominee even said he believes there's a quote

>> when people decide they don't want to give you their taxes it's usually because there's something they don't want you to see. >> reporter: trump went on the attack and tweeted mitt romney who totally blew an election that should have been won and whose tax returns made him look like a fool is now playing tough guy. >> well, hello. alpha kappa alpha. >> reporter: fewer fireworks from the democratic side. hillary clinton made her case at the sisters of aka ahead of saturday's south carolina primary. bernie sanders who is struggling with black voters there moved on to super tuesday states drawing 9,000 people to his rally in tulsa, oklahoma. as for trump's taxes he says there is no bombshell other than he pays a lot. the republicans will debate tonight on cnn in the super tuesday state of texas where the governor just endorsed his senator, ted cruz. reena and kendis. >> all right, it's coming down to the wire definitely for them.

for us this morning, thank you. new developments this morning now in the standoff over president obama's pick for the supreme court. sources tell abc news the president is considering a republican. nevada governor brian sandoval as the nominee. sandoval is a former federal judge who supports abortion rights. his nomination could be seen as an overture to republican lawmakers who vowed to block the president's choice. top senate republicans will meet with the president next week. and access to abortion clinics may soon be limited in louisiana. a federal appeals court has refused to block a new law which advocates say will force clinics in the state to close. that law requires doctors who provide abortions to have admitting privileges at hospitals within 30 miles. a group supporting abortion rights says it will take the case to the supreme court. moving overseas now to syria where a cease-fire in the civil war is set to take effect saturday morning. it allows aid to reach remote

here at home there are growing calls to establish a so-called safe zone in northern syria if the cease-fire fails. john kerry told top lawmakers that such a zone would require up to 30,000 u.s. ground troops to maintain. a new isis video in the meantime threatens the lives of and jack dorsey, the head of twitter. the 25-minute video is too disturbing to show. it includes pictures of the two men covered in bullet holes. isis says it is responding to efforts by facebook and twitter to suspend accounts and remove posts that promote terrorism. well, still ahead, our exclusive with apple ceo tim cook speaking for the first time about apple's legal showdown with the fbi. but first tearful testimony as erin andrews' father says she's a shell of her former self after nude photos leaked online. and america, we're no longer home to the most billionaires so

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because with humira clearer skin is possible. those charging elephants in africa were chasing arizona senator jeff flake and some others during their trip to africa. last week during a boat ride a hippo showed off teeth. the purpose of his trip was to learn more about wildlife poaching. well, new details in kesha's legal battle. abc news has obtained video denying that she ever had sexual relations with music producer dr. luke. kesha is suing claiming he sexually abused her and she wants out of her recordi contract. the video was taken during a deposition five years ago. a judge ruled friday that kesha must follow through on the contract but she doesn't

kesha has garnered support from other top singers including taylor swift, lady gaga and just last night adele. well, emotional testimony from the father of sportscaster erin andrews. andrews choked up as her dad tearfully told the court that his daughter was a shell of her former self. he said all she did was cry after discovering a stalker had posted videos of her online. andrews is suing david michael barrett and the marriott for $75 million. they're mourning a loss of nate kerrigan, a veteran law enforcement officer who died while carrying out a high-risk eviction. two other deputies were hurt which killed the homeowner. it was considered high risk after that homeowner posted online rants against the police. and in austin, texas, a police sniper who shot and killed an armed suspect will not be charged.

ago shows 27-year-old sawyer flash repeatedly firing at a police helicopter as it hovered over his house. that's when the officer moved in and shot him in the head. his two young daughters were sleeping inside. well, the u.s. is no longer home to the most billionaires in the world. that distinction now goes to china now. according to a newly released annual list, 90 new chinese billionaires moved to china -- moved china into first place by a margin of 33 billionaires. beijing is the city with the most billionaires with 100. that's five more than new york. >> see, donald trump is going to it's china. >> china. well, when we come back, the exclusive interview with apple's ceo tim cook arguing that their battle with the fbi isn't just over privacy, but securityas well. and promising new information regarding this season's flu vaccine. what you need to know. to pay a mortgage, and i've also got a brain. life's short, talk is cheap. i'll be working while you sleep. still don't think i've got a brain?

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jane's always on the move. luckily her light & fit protein smoothie can keep up with her. packed with 12grams of protein and no added sugar. so she can watch her calories and where she's going. light & fit feel free to enjoy. so, a passenger on board a plane captured this dark image of turbulent storm clouds swept up by a tornado that hit louisiana. the twister was part of that bigger deadly storm that's been tearing up parts of the south and mid-atlantic states. that same system is creating dicey conditions for this morning's commute. watch out for icy or wet roads from the great lakes stretching south to northern tennessee. and if you're flying, likely to find airport delays today in detroit and boston. well, now to that abc news exclusive. apple's ceo tim cook's first

cook tells david muir that doing so would make hundreds of millions of customers vulnerable to hackers. >> yes. the only way we know would be to write a piece of software that we view as sort of the software equivalent of cancer. we think it's bad news to write. we would never write it. we have never written it, and that is what is at stake here. >> the fbi though says it believes that syed farook used that phone to communicate with his wife his accomplice and i'm curious, do you struggle at all with the possibility there could be information on that phone that could reveal other plot, other people who were involved in planning the san bernardino attack? >> david, if we knew a way to get the information on the phone that we haven't already given, if we knew a way to do in that would not expose hundreds of millions of other people to issues, we would obviously do it. >> i want to get to what the fbi director james comey said.

slippery quote but 14 were slaughtered and many more had their lives ruined. many the phone holds the clue but we can't look the survivorses in the eye or ourselves if we don't follow any possible lead out there. do you understand where he's coming from. >> i do and this is an incredibly complex issue to place a back door in the iphone. we believe it does put hundreds of millions of customers at risk. there's probably more information about you on your phone than there is in your house. our smartphones are loaded with our intimate conversations, ow financial data, our health records, they're also loaded with the location of our kids in many cases and so it's not just about privacy, but it's also about public safety. >> but this your quiet moments do you have any concern that you might be able to prevent a terrorist attack by breaking into that phone? >> david, some things are hard and some things are right and

this is one of those things. >> and in this case you believe there are some things that just should never be created. >> correct. >> apple has until tomorrow to file its legal response to the case. in response to cook's comments the senior government official tells us the fbi wants apple to develop a way into the phone that will only be known to the company itself and no one else. as for cook's suggestion congress resolve the dispute the official claims that would take too long. now to some encouraging news about this year's flu vaccine. it's doing better than last year's vaccine. preliminary information from the centers for disease control finds it is 59% effective. a big improvement over last year's results showing only 20% effectiveness. health officials say that we've had a milder flu season this year, but they warn it has not peaked as yet. to a frightening scene caught on camera at a gas station in kentucky.

in a man's pocket. josh hamilton was shocked when his pants burst into flames as he ran from the store in panic. a clerk followed him with a fire extinguisher and put out the flames. hamilton suffered serious burns on his leg, but he is expected to be okay. >> good to know he'll be all right. police in ohio are on the lookout for a man they've dubbed the rogaine robber. the bald bandit is accused of stealing the hair growth drug from store shelves across the buckeye state. cops say it's likely he's trying to resell the stolen rogaine either online or at flea markets. they don't believe he's using any of the products on himself despite his bald head. >> okay, well, coming up, coming back down to earth astronaut scott kelly ready to come home but not without helping us take a giant leap towards mars. fresh reaction to the news facebook reaction to our favorite options that didn't make the cut.ness. but i really love it. i'm on the move all day long...

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topping our look at the "the pulse" our conversation with the man who spent nearly a year in space. >> astronaut scott kelly is wrapping up his visit to the international space station and returns to earth next tuesday. >> okay, so among the insights he shared with our david kerley who covers transportation for us the monotony of being cooped up day after day, but there are the incredible sunsets and he doesn't mind the foo but misses sitting down at a table to eat. he also talked about the possibility of a trip to mars. >> think absolutely i feel -- i feel great, but, you know, there are challenges especially with radiation between the earth and mars that we need to work on, overcoming but it's something i hope to see in my lifetime. >> i love his passion. by the way, nasa scientists are exploring the possibility that

the red planet to just three days. >> wow, very cool. when kelly lands he and his twin brother mark of course, a retired astronaut will face a battery of tests to see how scott's body held up to 11 months of space compared to mark who's been down here on the ground. >> it'll be a huge homecoming. reactionng to reactions getting used to the new button options. >> those are them. the social media giant has completely revamped its feedback system revamping its like button and expanding by adding the ability to love and you can also use a series of emojis including ha, ha and wow and sad face and what is sure to be the new favorite one, an angry reaction. >> i'm just glad there's no dislike button. i like the positivity than the negativity. there are some suggestions floating around ever since facebook made the move like this one that apparently says you are insufferable.

>> how about cringe. this would work well for some of the things iee on my feed every day or how about simply drunk. >> drunk. >> i've been drinking. somebody's been drinking with that one. okay, so we all have those favorite foods that we really don't like to share. maybe a plate of french fries you plan to consume till the last one is gone. >> that includes this panda. enjoying a fist food of bamboo root. the small one is thinking i'd like to take a bite of that. try snatching it away. clearly that won't happen. see the foot that went up there. so the bigger one doesn't miss a beat fighting off the younger's advances. >> wow. he's going to smack him away. doesn't want to share. >> wow. that is one panda smackdown. >> that is how i am about pizza. get your own. >> your bamboo root is pizza. >> yes.

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taking a look at our top story, donald trump firing back at mitt romney after romney challenged him to release his tax returns. romney believes there may be a bombshell in trump's taxes. the republicans debate tonight in houston. a new isis video threatens mark zuckerberg and jack dorsey, the head of twitter. isis says it's responding to anti-terror efforts by the two tech giants. nasty storms leave a path of destruction. tornadoes killing at least four people in virginia while nearly a foot of wind and snow cause flight cancellations and impassable roads in the midwest. looking at today's weather, dry and warming up in the west. snow showers around the great lakes. mostly dry in the east and deep down in the south it looks like it's going to be kind of nice. >> not bad at awe. finally this morning as we count down to sunday night's oscars we take a glimpse behind the scenes.

it it revolves around what's in the envelope. brandi hitt. >> reporter: they are the best secret keepers in hollywood. martha ruiz and brian cohen set to carry those famous briefcases. >> and the oscar goes to -- >> reporter: holding the names. has there ever been a mistake. >> no. >> reporter: price waterhouse coopers has counted the oscar ballots. 6,261 sent out on paper and online. >> we control everything from the time they go out indicated with security codes and those come back to us. we then have those in an un undisclosed location. >> reporter: inside that secret un undisclosed location security is tight. there's a specialized alarm system by joe metyoejoe biometric locks, no internet access and they're counted by hand. >> we make sure we're going through their pile, counting that and recounting that.

close it, seal it with the red. >> reporter: those 24 winning envelopes and a duplicate set are then loaded into two brief briefcases like this, both are locked in a vault until oscar sunday when ruiz and cohen enter their code and take their briefcase. each then traveling a different route to the oscar red carpet escorted by los angeles police. >> no matter what happens, at least one of us will get there. >> reporter: do you feel like 007 a little bit? >> i little bit. >> reporter: last year as a spoof they carried a third briefcase used by host neil patrick harris and backstage they only hand the envelope to the presenter just seconds before the announcement. is this the hardest secret to keep? >> it's a big important secret. the reality is, there's a secret we keep forever and that is who got second. >> reporter: brandi hitt, abc news, los angeles. >> very intriguing. abc is the place to be on oscar

time, good morning columbia. thanks for joining us. i'm eric weisfeld. and i'm