abc's marci gonzalez is braving the elements in massachusetts. marci, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, reena and muhammad. as you mentioned, it's not just the snow and strong winds creating such a big problem. forecasters say a storm like this, paired with temperatures as low as 30 below zero in some places, with the windchill, is almost unheard of. a nasty nor'easter, bearing down this morning. bringing bone-chilling, sub zero temperatures and significant snowfall. >> it's like a blizzard. >> reporter: blizzard warnings in place for some areas, including southern massachusetts, where as much as two feet of snow is expected. >> 18 to 24 inches of light, fluffy snow, it's still 18 to 24 inches of shoveling. >> i think it's crazy. it came so fast. >> reporter: the storm impacting 22 states and 100 million people, started yesterday in the midwest. priming chicago neighborhoods for some cross country skiing. and making a mess of the roads. >> this is bad. this is bad. >> reporter: three, major interstates near new york city, closed to traffic

we are welcoming marcy gonzalez to the anchor desk. e will be here the next few weeks while diana is off on maternity leave. marcy, warm welcome back to you. >> thank you, thank you. >> here is your clans to tell us all about yourself. >> oh boy. how much time do we have? >> we have photos of you, i think, that we dug up. >> there is also a rather embarrassing clip. there you go. >> who is that? >> do they have the audio on this? an so i'm born in new jersey. i had the strongest accent. i talked like this. took a very long time to get rid of it. this is where my parents said when the would teach my sister, younger than me, to talk. because i talk enough for two children. my poor parents had to put up with this a lot, with that. i think there are pictures. >> here is a picture. who is that? >> okay, so this tv thing doesn't work out for me, my mother and i are hitting the road with our sonny and cher impersonations. that's halloween this year. doesn't my mom make a great sonny. >> you were in haiti. >> yeah. >> i went to haiti four times

i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. >> i'm john muller. k you for joining us on this tuesday morning. how are you, marci? >> i'm good. are you caught up with the jet lag yet? >> i was in asia and it is 12 hours different. so i don't feel like i have no jet lag. it is upside down from there. so if that makes sense, i feel pretty good. >> whatever works for you. >> whatever works. >>> new jersey's embattled governor makes his first news conference today. >> the governor is facing new scrutiny, not just about the george washington bridge scandal but also a high profile ad campaign. here is abc's jim avila. >> reporter: chris christie the unabashed political hero of hurricane sandy hugging victims, walking the beach with a democratic president but this part of the sandy relief is now under federal investigation. $25 million of federal money used to create the stronger than the storm ad campaign, featuring christie, his wife, and kids. >> we're stronger than the storm. >> they aired in the middle of the governor's reelection campaign. and now, a

i'm muhammad lila in for john muller. >> i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez.e up with something. >> there's an idea. >> first, we begin with the chemical spill in west virginia. it's contaminated the water supply to more than 100,000 customers and triggered a state of emergency. >> and that means no drinking tap water, no cooking, washing or bathing or doing any of those things this morning. >> nine counties in the western part of the state, including the capital charleston, are effected. here's what happened. a massive storage tank filled with a chemical used to wash coal impurities leaked into the elk river. officials don't know how much of the chemical leaked or how long it will take to flush it out. >> it may change for the good, it may change for the bad, but we're trying to get the information out in a timely manner and not to alarm the people. >> emergency supplies of water are being trucked in, but the run on bottled water was immediate. restaurants, schools, day care centers and other health facilities will be closed today. >>> the first lawsuits have

i'm john muller. >> i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez.is telling residents in his drought-stricken state to conserve as much water as possible. the drought is so bad that rural areas could run dry within 100 days. full details on the crisis straight ahead. >>> the justice department says it will seek the death penalty for the surviving suspect in the boston marathon bombing. the attorney general says the russian immigrant portrayed his adopted the country with the terrorist act. >>> the caribbean princess has return the to houston last night after an apparent norovirus outbreak on board. the cruise ship will be sanitized after 200 passengers fell ill. that's after a larger outbreak on another ship this week. >>> mcdonald's is ramping up what they call the coffee wars with starbucks. an internal memo admits starbucks are winning the war because americans are spending less on eating out for breakfast these days. those are our top stories on this friday, january 31st. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." >>> morning, everyb

i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. >> i'm john muller. marci, are you ready to bundle up again?there's not so many lucky places. classes being canceled as far south as houston as record cold weather spreads. they're getting ready for a significant snowstorm in the carolinas, georgia and virginia. >> it's much worse for people living in the northeast and midwest. chicago could hit a record 16 below this morning. here's abc's alex perez. >> reporter: this is the battle millions are facing across a frozen midwest. blowing snow and dangerous whiteout conditions are shutting down roads, making cars just disappear. in kankakee, illinois, this bus sliding right off the road. in parts of colorado, pileup after pileup. 27 states are coping with brutal, dangerous windchills. in chicago the public schools' 400,000 students told to stay home today. across minnesota, schools closed due to plunging temperatures. snow-covered minneapolis feels like 26 below zero. >> i don't like it. >> reporter: in rural minnesota, the propane that ron expected would keep his house warm until march, nearly fin

i'm marci gonzalez in for diana pez.

i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. >> i'm muhammad lila in for john muller. re you feeling? >> i'm feeling great. i'm especially happy because it is friday eve. >> friday eve. that's what we call it here. one day closer to friday. >> we almost made it. >> no morning sickness yet? >> oh, gosh. you're so stuck on this. i know. >> i'm surprised. been a long time, you know. >> the past two female anchors on the show had babies, but no, i'm holding strong. no babies on this end. >> there will be photos of babies. we'll show you those photos again. some of the most popular photos we put on the facebook site are those two babies born yesterday. we will show that you later on in the show. >> that's right. but we begin with latest details on the scandal that could threaten the political future of new jersey's outspoken governor. >> chris christie is denying he knew anything about orders to back up traffic on the nation's busiest bridge. the governor says people will be held responsible. >> newly released e-mail and text messages suggest top christie aides engineered th

i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. >> i'm john muller.his morning on "world news now." >>> california fire crews on high alert. and they expect to remain there throughout the day because of the extremely dry and windy conditions. it's far from over as we see in our top story in a moment. >>> the retired florida police captain charged with shooting a fellow moviegoer to death has been denied bail. police say curtis reeves shot and killed chad oulson after the two men argued over oulson's refusal to stop texting. >>> senators are deadlocked to reinstate benefits for the unemploy unemployed. nearly 1.3 million americans were cut off in december and now republicans and democrats are at odds over how to pay for an extension for them. >>> legal trouble for justin bieber. he's accused of vandalizing a neighbor's home and when police searched his mansion, drugs were discovered. investigators say the drugs belonged to one of bieber's house guests. and those are some of our top stories on this wednesday, january 15th. >> announcer: from abc news, t

i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. >> i'm muhammad lila in for john muller. our viewers will be noticing a couple of faces they're not used to. do you know this is a big anniversary today. >> it is. a little celebration in store. >> oh, celebration? i would never say no to a celebration. it's the 22nd anniversary of this show being on the air. that deserves a round of applause. >> all right! >> and i think as you say, we are going to have a celebration in just a few minutes. first of all, we want to begin with the dangerous cold that's gripping much of the nation right now. >> and the numbers are frightening. a polar vortex of cold, dense air will plunge half of the u.s. into subzero temperatures. >> in some places, actual temperatures of minus 31 with windchills into the minus 60s. we begin with abc's gio benitez in chicago where schools will be closed today. >> reporter: another major snowstorm pummels the midwest. almost a foot of snow falling. up next, the coldest arctic air in decades. a subzero cold snap hitting america's heartland. monday's forecast, 8

i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. so happy to be sitting next to john muller. on. >> thank you. great to be back. great to sit next to you, marci. great to be back, everyone. i kind of missed it. a little bit. every now and then i'd day dream on the beach -- >> oh, come on -- >> -- with a mai tai saying, i miss that "world news now." i heard i missed crazy weather. freezing cold temperatures. i picked the right time. >> great time to head to the beach. we were all jealous of you. >> i'm glad to be back and we will get going on the weather. you have some for us. >> the rain is finally over but now the danger in many states is from flooding. >> rivers that froze in the arctic blast are finally thawing out and water has no place to go. with more on all this extreme weather, we have linzie jan janis. >> reporter: the big thaw causing a big mess. from washington, to oregon. wind gusts of up to 85 miles per hour, sending trees crashing into homes. cars. cutting power to tens of thousands. >> the crash was the trees taking my gutters off my garage. >> reporter: you've

i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. >> good morning, i'm john muller.e week. >> i'm holding up. i like this schedule. how about you? >> i'm holding up good. i got a lot of sleep this week, so i'm doing good. >> all right. >>> we begin with new ripping video from the asianic flight that crashed last year and the death of a teenager who initially survived the impact. >> why was the young victim hit by two fire trucks after emergency crews spotted her on the ground? abc's brandi hitt has the details. good morning, brandi. >> reporter: good morning john and marci. the parents of the teenager run over by first responders are suing the city of san francisco claiming those crews were poorly trained. and they believe this video helps their case. in the chaos following the crash asiana flight 214, new video shows emergency workers warning others of a victim found on the ground. >> can you do me a favor? >> yeah. >> can you grab me something next to that body right there? >> reporter: we know the 16-year-old survived the impact but later died after being run over

i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. >> i'm muhammad lila in for john muller.this morning on "world news now" -- the polar vortex has plunged half the nation into a brutal deep freeze with 187 million americans facing windchills as low as minus 60 degrees. cold weather warnings and advisories stretch from north dakota to georgia. we will have the update in a few minutes from accuweather. >>> a key house vote on renewing unemployment benefits for more than a million americans had to be postponed after the bad weather kept lawmakers from getting to the nation's capital. >> a frightening ride for a dozen passengers on a city bus in boise, idaho. the driver lost control, ran into a building and ended up dangling on a ledge after over a parking garage. the driver says the brakes failed. no one was seriously hurt. >>> and with a virtually last-second touchdown, the florida state seminoles are college football's new national championships. they came from behind against auburn, winning a classic game 34-31. null and those are some of our top stories on this tuesday, ja

i'm marci gonzalez, in for diana perez. >> i'm john muller. of a football game-watcher. but you have to watch the super bowl for the halftime show and commercials. >> i will. i watch just for that. >> what do you like better? halftime show or commercials? >> well, i like the commercials. >> that arnold commercial seems pretty strange. >> looks good, i think. >>> an arctic blast is blowing in from the north. settling on a big stretch of the country this week. >> our extreme weather team monitoring the changes. and we begin with abc's clayton sandell in denver. >> reporter: call it polar vortex, the sequel. bitter arctic air, gearing up to take another cold swing at midwest and northeast. dangerous sub zero and freezing temperatures will stretch south all the way to florida. it could bring more trouble, like this massive pile-up that shut down an interstate in indiana, sending four to the hospital. drivers are slipping off roads from iowa to new hampshire. state troopers there, busy with at least 50 crashes. in massachusetts, plows and shovels he

. >> i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez.ld news now." you police are investigating an on-campus shooting near widener university in philadelphia. the gunman remains at large. students have been told to stay inside until later this morning. >>> officials in texas have seized hundreds of credit cards from two mexican citizens at the border. they were used to buy tens of thousands of dollars in merchandise. >>> seattle seahawks cornerback richard sherman is apologizing for his postgame spout-off on national television. moments after sunday night's game-winning play. sherman says he could have worded things a bit better. >> just a bit. >>> president of france says there will be no first ladies at presidential palace. the former first lady spent eight days in the hospital after learning francois hollande was having an affair. those are some of the top stories on tuesday, january 21st. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." >>> good tuesday morning, everybody. i'm john muller. >> i'm marci gonzalez. are you ready f

i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez.opping the cab drivers. here's one. he's still making it up and down. a lot of them are speeding. >> it figures. i can never find an open cab when i need one. there's one right there. my getaway. >> let's go home. >> thanks. >> by the way, cute hat. >> i don't have much of a choice. i had to wear it. i don't know if i'd call this cuter. >> it's all about the ear flaps and the thick gloves. i busted these out. >> are you keeping warm? >> i'm doing my best. i'm freezing just like you. not just new york city. all over the northeast. unbelievable day with weather. watches in effect for more than a dozen states. a state of emergency in effect for three states. >> as the snow accumulates, the temperatures are falling. that is creating danger on the roads. the latest conditions as well as what we can expect in the coming days. >>> also this morning, a drunken deja vu. another video surfacing showing toronto mayor rob ford in an altered state of mind. what he has to say about the latest. >>> a

. >> i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. you check out the grammys? >> a little bit. was in between shooting pretapes and everything here, but i saw some of it. it was great. you? >> i watched a lot of it. it was really good. >> we talked to an expert on it. we'll have it today. >> we are. >> we'll talk a lot more about it. but we'll begin with the frigid weather. oh, yeah, that. still gripping much of the nation. cold air moving down from the arctic in eastern two-third of the country. >> some places haven't seen temperature above freezing for days. linsey davis has more on what is already the coldest winter on record. >> reporter: this winter about to go from bad to worse. the coldest air so far this season -- >> just one thing after the next. >> reporter: in its grips, 18 states from minnesota to maine, with windchills said to plummet between 30 and 60 below. in chicago and cities across minnesota, school already closed. in indianapolis, it's the city's second snowiest january since the civil war, forcing crews to work every day this month and wiping out the snow r

. >> i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez.p headlines we are following this morning on "world news now." >>> brutally cold temperatures are hitting the midwest where windchills overnight are expected to be 35 below. schools are canceled in minneapolis. the blast of arctic air is expected to hang on for a few more days. >>> meanwhile, a high surf warning in effect for much of hawaii from now until tomorrow morning. forecasters say these waves could go as high as 50 feet in some areas. everyone is being told to stay out of the water. >>> investigators are getting into work in dallas looking for the reason for a massive fire. the flames destroyed a row of condos. luckily only one was occupied and no residents were home at the time of the fire. >>> toronto mayor rob ford admitted he fell off the wagon after he was caught slurring his words. he said he had a little bit too drink, and his struggle with alcohol is a private matter. those are some of our top stories on this thursday, january 23rd. >> from abc news, this is "world news

. >> and i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. to what we like to call around here, friday eve. >> i love it. >> i can almost feel the weekend, so close. >> so close. and the super bowl coming up around the corner, look at that. >> looking forward to your story. >> oh, you're going to love it. >>> first, commuters face enough tough mornings in atlanta. schools are closed and flights are cancelled at the airport. >> but nothing can compare to tuesday evening rush hour which turned into a marathon. here is abc's matt gutman. >> reporter: atlanta roadways frozen in place, 20-mile commutes turn into 20-hour odysseys. >> i've been here since 4:00 yesterday afternoon. i was going to the airport. and we got stuck behind a couple of trucks. >> reporter: you ran out of gas? >> and we ran out of gas. >> reporter: the rare snowstorm dropping two inches of snow that smothered the city in a blanket of ice, grinding to a halt. and across the south, a rare dusting of snow from florida to virginia beach. but enough to make roadways impassable and

. >> i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez.p headlines we're following on "world news now." >>> a rare winter storm stretching 1,000 miles is socking the south with ice, snow and bitter cold. as crews that are better equipped to deal with hurricanes scramble to dig out from as much as under 2 feet of snow. we'll have the details in just a moment. >>> and president obama delivered a relatively modest call to action during his state of the union address. he called for a high other minimum wage, equal pay for women and immigration reform among other priorities. we'll go live to the capitol hill -- to the capitol coming up. >>> two colorado farmers whose contaminated cantaloupes led to a deadly outbreak of listeria have avoided jail time. the two brothers will have to serve five years' probation and pay $150,000 fine. >>> and queen elizabeth and rest of the british royals are told to tighten their belts. they are told they need to do more to generate more income. those are some of our top stories on this wednesday, january 29th. >>

that is america's money, i'll marci gonzalez. >>> 5:17 now. tim cook is in china where the i phone 5 s and 5 c went on sale. he helped hand out the phones in a china mobile snore beijing. the cupertino company has been in negotiate information months with the state-owned cell phone carrier. china has potential customer base of 700 million. now, if you you want to note price, the 5 s sells for the equivalent of $874. the 5 c costs $742. of course, it's bought in yuan there. >>> forecasters intend to add new advise there is warn when tornadoes or high winds ron the way. instead of there is a light, moderate or high risk of weather, they will add marginal and enhanced. the new branding language will take effect in april if approved to the national weather service. >> i don't know how that will translate. >> marginal, enhanced? what was wrong with slight, moderate and -- >> doesn't make it clear to me. >> do some more research on that that is the worst thing we hear, the sound bits, we didn't know it was coming. just like, oh, really? how could yo

. >> here's marcy gonzalez with today's money report. >> reporter: good morning.ing america's money, the future is looking brighter for the u.s. economy. experts are predicting the best growth since 2005, expecting a 3% spurt in 2014. the comedy "ride along" debuted at number one earning $41 million. "lone survivor" came in second with just over $23 million followed by "the nut job." >>> and seattle-based alaska airlines is cheering on the seahawks nfc title victory in its own special way. they said that first drinks departing from seattle today would be free. that's america's money. i'm marcy gonzalez. >> it's 5:17 now. >> yeah, it's another warm day, this martin luther king day. mike, a lot of people normally go skiing this weekend, but i know plenty of people who are waiting for a real storm. >> they'd probably like to ski on fresh powder instead of man made powder even though the resorts do a great job of making it fun, but yeah, the trains are probably not as open as you'd like them to be because of the lack of mother nature-made snow. we have some clouds fro

i'm marci gonzalez if for diana perez. >> and i'm john muller. we begin with a new arctic blast facing the country. this could be the coldest one yet. dangerous temperatures forced some schools to close in minnesota. >> take a look at this video. a rare phenomenon caught on camera in idaho. it's called an ice disk. the extremely low temperature causes slow-moving water to freeze. m mary bruce has more. >> reporter: you think this is bad, it's about to get worse. some of the coldest air of the season, an arctic blast expected to rival the polar plunge from earlier this month. freezing rain, sleet, and snow expected as far south as texas. winter storm watch is issued tomorrow for all of the gulf coast states. over the weekend, the midwest smacked with howling blizzards. frigid winds forcing schools to close today. blinding snow. >> you're lucky to see 10, 15 feet in front of your car. >> reporter: a massive 33-car pileup outside of detroit. now the race is on the clear the snow before it turns to ice. >> it will be a hard freeze. it doesn't matter

marcy gonzalez, abc news in cohasset, massachusetts. >> all the snow they got creating such a problemeven folks in our area that everyone was wanting to travel to the northeast today. >> a lot of people so a lot of time for the holidays and the new year. the skid to john gonzalez who is live at reagan national airport this morning for more on airport delays. john, they still try to clear snow off the tarmac? >> they really are. is going to take some time. as your travel gets busy this morning, so other cruise this morning at ground level. reagan national around 22 degrees. we have seen a lot of deicing of lanes and also beyond the planes a lot of the orange lights, those are trucks that are working feverishly trying to clear this tarmac which still has a lot of snow and ice this morning. of course inside, a lot of folks experiencing some major delays and cancellations among the three local airports. we can tell you at last check 54 flights were trying to leave have been canceled this morning. 23 of them here at reagan, 70 a local arrival flights have also been grounded and again the m

i'm marci gonzalez, in for diana perez. and i'm john muller on this tuesday morning. out there and there's like nowhere to run and nowhere to hide any more. >> exactly. maybe hide in the man cave. >> that was some man cave. >> yeah. we'll have more on that. >> more on that. but we begin with the blast of arctic air. pushing as far south as texas texas and florida. >> putting salt on the roads in north carolina ahead of a storm and the midwest is facing some of the coldest temperatures in decades. chicago will be well below zero this morning. tahman bradley is joining us with more. >> reporter: hi, john, marci. it is brutal cold. the forecast for this morning is just awful. temperatures across the country are in free-fall. that brutal arctic weather system spreading fast. bringing dangerous cold, heavy wind and blinding snow. >> i don't like it. >> reporter: whiteout conditions are shutting down roads. on the ones still open, pile-up after pile-up. >> crazy, man. >> reporter: this bus slid right off the road. parts of the country brace for more snow. three to six inche

i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. >> and i'm john muller. we begin with the dangerous cold gripping much of the country this morning. windchills are making it feel like negative 30 in the northwest. >> the arctic blast comes as millions dig out from the recent snow. abc's mary bruce has the details. >> reporter: millions are digging out from this massive winter storm. and this freeze is about to get worse. a one-two punch of bone-chilling cold crippling the midwest and northeast. this morning, at least two dozen states under windchill warnings or advisories. fresh misery in minnesota. blizzards creating whiteout conditions. today, it will feel like 35 below zero in minneapolis. in massachusetts they are clearing over a foot of snow. residents in new jersey worked overtime to keep up. >> this has been the fourth time since last night. this was like 18 inches here. >> reporter: a pregame cleanup at metlife stadium, home of the super bowl. >> we're taking it as a dress rehearsal but i'm not wishing for another storm. >> reporter: roads turned i

i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. >> i'm john muller. >>> we begin with the latest wildfire near los angeles that's already burned several homes and three are under arrest. >> the smoke blowing all the way out to sea dropping ash on communities 30 miles from the fire. abc's mary bruce now with the very latest on the effort to get the blaze under control. >> reporter: what began as an out-of-control campfire quickly spread thursday. ping-ponging through neighborhoods in the glendora foothills outside los angeles. >> it came through here like a hurricane. it went from being calm to couldn't even see. >> reporter: the fire fueled by hot santa ana winds and extreme drought, the worst in 150 years. >> it's crazy. it's a little surreal. >> reporter: 700 firefighters scrambled to battle the blaze from the air. >> you can see the water trying to get on the brush. >> reporter: and on the ground. residents grabbed bucks and hoses pitching in to save their neighborhood. all that hard work is paying off. >> the forward spread of the fire has stopped. >> reporter: three men now behind bars ac

>>> good thursday morning, i'm marci gonzalez, diana perez is off. >> i'm muhammad lila in for john muller. also an update on the latest amanda knox murder trial but we begin with the big developing story, the scandal involving new jersey governor chris christie and the lane closures at the world's busiest bridge just got a lot more serious overnight. >>> one death happened during the day's long traffic mess near the george washington bridge when paramedics were delayed. the traffic backups appear to have been orchestrated by a top aide to christie. abc's mary bruce is live in washington with the story. good morning, mary. >> reporter: good morning, well, this scandal over an epic traffic yam is becoming a main political liability for the rising republican star, governor chris christie. what happens when you combine political power, retribution and road rage? a political scandal. jersey style. new jersey governor chris christie a rumored 2016 presidential candidate is in a political jam over a traffic scandal. in september, gridlock turned the town of ft. lee, new jersey, into a parking lo

. >>> good morning, i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. >> and i'm muhammad lila in for john muller. we begin with breaking news this morning as a brutal deep freeze is gripping more than half the nation. more than 500 passengers are now stuck on three amtrak trains heading into chicago because there's so much blowing and drifting snow. >>> now, all three trains were stopped last night in the northern illinois city of mendota, about 80 miles west of chicago. amtrak says the passengers are being kept comfortable and fed as workers try to re-open the tracks. we will stay on top of this breaking story throughout the morning. >>> and to give you an idea how super frigid this air is water vapors now rising off lake michigan in chicago. usually the frigid lake waters are much colder than the air but this morning the waters are actually warmer than the air above. chicago's temperature yesterday set a record at o'hare airport, 16 degrees below zero. >> wow, further north on the lake, these dramatic photos shot by photographer thomas zakowski that captured how extreme the temperatures are. t

. >>> good thursday morning, i'm marci gonzalez. >> and i'm ryan smith. john and diana are off. one of the country's largest metropolitan areas is still at a standstill following a winter storm. >> this is the scene around atlanta. abandoned vehicles littering major highways, helicopters took to the sky to search for stranded drivers following two inches of snow. abc's mary bruce has the latest. >> reporter: after two days of cold chaos, the cleanup is finally under way. after much of the south was paralyzed by a rare winter storm. >> it's pretty bad. we were not expecting it. >> reporter: just 2 inches of snow fell in atlanta, but the city was blanketed in slick ice. bringing it to a screeching halt. >> i was on ice and it just kept slipping and i thought i was going to tumble over. >> reporter: crashes, some deadly, blocked the interstate, cars jammed for miles with no way out. frustrated drivers stranded. many for almost 24 hours. one mother-to-be stuck miles from the hospital gave birth on i-285 to a baby girl named grace. today, more drivers will return to cars they were fo

. >> and i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. we begin with mother nature's latest blow. >> a rare winter storm has caught the south off guard. up to two feet of snow in some areas. bitter cold and ice here stranding vehicles in williamsville, alabama. >> it is a storm that would have been business as usual here in the north, but it paralyzed the deep south clogging highway, stranding students at schools overnight, even triggering a national guard rescue. the storm stretches a thousand miles from mobile to maryland, so far triggering thousands of flight cancellations and hundreds of traffic accidents that have killed at least two people. students in some birmingham area schools were stranded overnight. the roads too danger oous for their parents to take them home. >> if you trust your teacher during the day, they will be taken care of tonight. >> reporter: teachers have been reassuring parents though they've been keeping the kids well fed and busy with movies, talent shows and playing the wii. outside asheville, a school bus flip

i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. >> i'm john muller.e'll begin with the dangerous cold now dipping into the deep south. people in atlanta, georgia, not used to seeing this kind of thing. a water fountain partially frozen over with temperatures near single digits. >> weather being blamed for this pileup in indiana. mary bruce has the details. >> reporter: it seems never ending. >> i'm losing my mind it's so cold. >> reporter: and the deep freeze is only getting deeper. 195 million americans locked into its frigid grip. at least 35 states from the midwest to the gulf experiencing temperatures below freezing. crews bracing for ice as far south as texas. >> nothing is enough here. i'm sorry. i need layers on my face. >> reporter: in indiana whitecaught conditions caused a massive pileup. big rigs and cars tangled. more than 40 vehicles smashed together. three people dead, more than 20 injured. >> the collision was boom. louder than a gunshot. i mean you heard it and it was -- this is crazy. >> i can't believe the way it looked. even i was i

. >> and i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. >>> we begin with the brutal cold. that is sweeping across much of the continent. the latest weather map shows the polar vortex pushing superfrigid air from the north pole as far south as louisiana. >> highs today across a wide swath of the midwest will be well below zero. in chicago, where the schools today will be closed, overnight temperatures at minus 20 degrees. st. louis, heavy snow is falling with forecasters calling for up to a foot of snow. some folks in st. louis are resorting to ditching their shoes in favor of cross-country skis, as you see right there, like this man in university city. we have more from mary bruce in washington. >> reporter: there's cold and then there's this. bitter, bone-chilling, freezing air sweeping across half of the continental u.s. an arctic blast plunging temperatures to lows not felt in decades. >> it was just getting nice and balmy, 7 below. >> reporter: wind chill warnings. 8 below in cleveland, 12 below in pittsburgh. it's so cold in chicago, residents bracing for the big chil

. >> and i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. >>> we begin with breaking news in west virginia. a chemical spill contaminated the water supply to more than 100,000 customers. that includes homes, businesses, even hospitals. >> people are unable to use water for anything. that means no showering, no shaving, no morning coffee and no idea just how much longer it'll take. the problem began here in a storage tank full of chemicals used to process coal and leaked into the elk river supplying water to the entire region. at first the water company thought the treatment plant could filter it out but then learned it hadn't. >> it's clear it migrated through the treatment plant into the system and it's at the customers' taps. >> it is not considered to be toxic but officials aren't sure how much is in the pipeline so they issued a warning, do not use the water at all. within hours, nine counties were included in the advisoradvisory centers were flooded with calls. >> may change for the good or bad but we're trying to get the information out in a timely manner and not to alarm the people.

. >> i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez.he dangerous deep freeze across the country is leaving its mark with record temperatures and deadly conditions. >> so far there are at least 21 deaths confirmed related to the cold. all 50 states dipped below 32 degrees at some point yesterday. even hawaii, where it was 25 at the top of a volcano and records have fallen in dozens of cities. our coverage begins with abc's mary bruce. >> reporter: merciless unrelenting cold is paralyzing the u.s. you have been spared the frigid wrath of this jarring deadly arctic cold snap. >> it hurts. it hurts. >> freezing. freezing. can't feel my face. >> numb and i'm pregnant so we're both numb. >> reporter: the polar express making much of the u.s. look like the north pole, blinding blizzards, lake-effect snow, walloping buffalo and upstate new york. the icy niagara river looking more like a glacier. >> looks like something out of national geographic. >> reporter: lake michigan is steaming cold. the water far warmer than the freezing air. it's calle

i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. >> and i'm john muller. we begin with another arctic blast descending on much of the country. and this polar plunge could be the coldest one yet. dangerous temperatures forced some districts to chose schools in minnesota. the mercury will dip well below freezing there. >> take a look at this video. a rare phenomenon caught on camera in idaho. it's called an ice disk. the extremely low temperature causes slow-moving water to freeze. abc's mary bruce has more. >> reporter: you thought this was bad? think again. it's about to get worse. >> just one thing after the next. >> reporter: some of the coldest air of the season, an arctic blast expected to rival the polar plunge felt earlier this month. 18 states from minnesota to maine. with wind chills between 30 to 60 below zero. freezing rain, sleet, and snow expected as far south as texas. winter storm watch is issued tomorrow for all of the gulf coast states. over the weekend, the midwest smacked with howling blizzards. frigid winds forcing schools in parts of mi

. >>> good morning, i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. >> and i'm john muller. we begin with the uphill legal battle for amanda knox hit with a guilty verdict for the second time. >> they convicted knox and her ex-boyfriend of the 2007 murder of her roommate. for now she is still a free woman in the u.s., but she may be in for a long extradition fight. more now from abc's mary bruce. >> reporter: it's the latest twist in the roller coaster case that's made global headlines for more than six years. amanda knox once again found guilty of murder. the former american exchange student convicted by an italian appeals court for brutally killing her roommate, meredith kercher. now sentenced to 28 1/2 years behind bars. >> amanda's upset. we were all just shocked and i think upset but we're all ready to fight too. >> reporter: now living at home in seattle she felt sick as the new guilty verdict was read, she said saying in a statement "i have been found innocent before. i expected better from the italian justice system. this has gotten out of hand." after spending four

i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. >> i'm john muller. >>> another brutal cold snap for the upper midwest and rare snow and ice storm for the south. >> the national weather service shall ared winter storm watches and warnings from virginia all the way down to the gulf coast. >> parts of the carolinas could be buried under as much as a half a foot of snow. a rare southern winter storm stretching more than 1200 miles is expected to dump snow and ice from southern virginia into south texas. >> folks will be tempted to go out and cruise neighborhoods and want to look for the ice. don't do it. enjoy being at home. stay off the roads. >> reporter: residents were ordered to stay off the roads in south bend, indiana, to make way for an overnight blitz of know plows. >> we have a list of areas where the drifts are worse than others and make sure we don't lose those lanes. >> reporter: many communities are now running out of road salt. not that it's doing much help in these frigid temperatures. >> a lot of spinouts as the roads are icy due to the temperatures and salt doesn't work too well.

. >>> good morning, i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. >> and i'm john muller. >>> we begin with the breaking news overnight. the southwest airlines flight that wound up at the wrong airport in missouri. >> it was supposed to land at branson's main airport. it came down at the much smaller taney county airport several miles to the north. >> reporter: it wasn't the arrival in the resort town of branson that passengers were expecting. is out west flight 4013 started in chicago and ended up at the wrong airport. >> the pilot came on and said, i'm sorry, folks, we have landed at the wrong airport. >> reporter: on this map, the solid green line shows where the flight went. the blue dotted line is where it was supposed to go. >> we had a very hard landing. brakes were applied forcefully. we were lurched forward a little bit. i was glad i had my seat belt on in that case. you smelled burned rubber on the landing. >> reporter: the runway, about half the size of the one at the flight's intended destination. the plane came to a stop several hundred feet from a steep dropoff at the end of t

i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. >> and i'm john muller. >>> a massive winter storm and a dramatic change to colder weather bearing down on the eastern seaboard. >> now, take a look at the satellite. the storm is already dumping snow on the ohio valley, and behind it, arctic air will bring single-digit temperatures. our coverage begins with abc's mary bruce. >> reporter: here we go again. much of the u.s. bracing for the return of frigid arctic conditions. remember this? just two weeks ago the country was paralyzed by a deep freeze. cars in pennsylvania frozen to the ground, fountains in the deep south turned into ice sculptures, rivers transformed into glaciers. well, it's back. a new polar plunge is expected to spread subzero temperatures from the midwest to the northeast. 11 states under advisories waking up to bitter cold and bone-chilling winds. in chicago where we saw the cold air rush in when this man opened his window, today areas around the windy city expecting as much as 2 inches of snow an hour. it will feel like 22 degrees below zero, and it's heading east. crews in vir

. >> i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. >>> we begin with new details overnight about that shooting at a middle school in new mexico. two students were badly hurt and the 12-year-old suspect has been taken to a psychiatric hospital. >> we're learning it could have been much worse except for the heroic actions of a social studies teachers. here's abc's mary bruce. >> reporter: it is an all-too-familiar scene. terrified student, panicked parents, another school tragedy. police say a 12-year-old student brought a shotgun to this roswell middle school walking into the gym and opening fire. >> one student or female subject possibly shot. >> reporter: two students were hit. the suspect's motive remains unknown, but the shooting could have been far worse were it not for the rapid response of teacher john masterson. >> he starts to turn and sees that the young man shoots and shoots. mr. masterson begins to talk to him to put it down. the young man put the gun down and raised his hands. >> reporter: a taste police lieutenant who was dropping off his own child ran to help. the shooter remains

i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez. >> and i'm john muller. >>> we begin with new details about the victim in the deadly theater shooting in florida. chad oulson was on an afternoon date with his wife. he wanted to send send a text message to their daughter. police say that's when a man nearby became angry and eventually opened fire. the shooting happened at this movie theater after an argument over texting. >> the pasco sheriff's office got emergency calls in reference to a shooting at this movie theater. >> reporter: the gunman, retired tampa police officer curtis reeves and his wife were waiting for the movie "lone survivor" to began. chad and nicole oulson were sitting in front of them. oulson was using his cell phone and would not turn it off, so reeves went to get a manager. >> he came back irritated with theater management. they started arguing again about the cell phone. the guy who was shot said something, "i just was texting my daughter, 3-year-old daughter." >> reporter: the altercation escalated. witnesses say 71-year-old reeves shot olson in the chest. oulson's wife was