as abc's brandi hitt reports, even california is getting hit. >> reporter: california is getting a superwe need the rain so it's great to have the rain, but on the other hand, you have to deal with it. >> reporter: the welcome rain is bittersweet. for a state plagued by severe drought, every drop is needed, but too much too fast could lead to dangerous mudslides. >> i think we're all pretty worried about what's going to happen. >> reporter: some trees have already fall en and crews have been constructing mud walls while families fill up sandbags, especially in areas hit hard by wildfires where nothing is left to help hold back an onslaught of wet soil. >> there are a lot of folks here who are really scared. >> reporter: this is aid series of storms that will hit the golden state through the weekend, with the biggest downpour expected friday. a half foot of rain could fall in the los angeles area. >> while there's no question that this is exactly what california needs, this will not come close to putting the dent into the drought. >> brandi hitt, abc news, los angeles. >> all right. here

abc's brandi hitt has details. good morning, brandi. >> good morning, john and marci.commonly used pain medication for pregnant women and considered safe to use. now a new study is raising concerns. with very few options while pregnant, women have been turning to acetaminophen, such as tylenol for years to relieve headac headaches, fever and pain. but a new study suggest it may be exposing unborn babies to increased risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or adhd. >> as the dose or amount of exposure to acetaminophen in pregnancy increases, the risk for development of adhd and related disorders is also increased. >> reporter: ucla researchers studied more than 64,000 mothers and their children in a danish/british national cohort from 1996 to 2002. more than half using acetaminophen while pregnant. more than half had a higher risk of children with adhd behaviors at age 7. >> the thyroid function in the fetus and we know the thyroid function is the levels of hormones are important in the development of the brain. >> reporter: abc's dr. richard besser said they d

here's abc's brandi hitt. >> reporter: 4-year-old sophia jarvis was having trouble breathing. doctors thought she had asthma, but then she suffered weakness and paralysis in her left arm and leg. >> i'd like to say that sophia is still a healthy young girl who's thriving, and we were very lucky that it only affected her left arm. >> reporter: doctors say sophia is one of five children in california showing signs of a mysterious polio-like illness, and they are investigating as many as 25 more. their average age is 12. all are unable to move some or all of their limbs. >> we think it's probably a very small number of overall patients infected by this virus that will have neurology complications. >> reporter: all of the children had been vaccinated against polio, and tests confirmed they did not have it. the disease was wiped out in the u.s. more than three decades ago, but it may be a similar type of virus, and doctors are being asked to report any suspected cases. health officials say polio-like viruses do not usually result in paralysis. sophia may be an exception. >> we're s

abc's brandi hitt beginning our coverage from los angeles rep.: report with trucks sliding out of control on california's rain-soaked streets. there's concern walls of mud could soon do the same.rain-soa. there's concern walls of mud could soon do the same. in glendora families are filling sandbags for lands scorch last month that could give way it lands slides. . >> i'm prepare teddy vac yit with our daut rs. >> hundreds of homes are in what officials call the primary impact area. they are hoping to avoid landslides like this one nine years ago. the storms hit california wednesday but that's not compared to the second system that could dump up to seven inches of heavy rain. >> from the possibility of heavy flooding to mudslides to major travel delays. >> there have been flight canses but not everyone is complaining. >> everyone from california cheered. we are pleased to hear it is raining. >> because golden state is in the midst of a drought. impacting farmers and ranches. with little grass, they're emptying their pockes to the buy supplemental

brandi hitt, abc news, los angeles. >> so many interesting facts. listen to this one.statue looked like her uncle oscar. the academy didn't officially use the nickname until 1939. >> but it stuck. >> it stuck. >> that's really cool. the first ceremony only lasted 15 minutes. i think the speeches would last that long if they didn't have music start to play. >> during world war ii the statues were made of plaster instead of gold. >> 2,701 oscars have been given out since the beginning. >> sunday night, keep it here. all of the oscar rundown. e beginning. >> sunday night, keep it here. all of the oscar rundown. oscar rundown. 3q i can't stand these spots. those spots are actually leftover food and detergent residue that can redeposit on your dishware during the rinse cycle. gross. jet-dry rinse agent helps wash them away so the only thing left behind is the shine. jet-dry rinses away residues for a sparkling shine. ♪ see what's new at projectluna.com i'm a messy person. i don't like cleaning. i love my son, but he never cleans up. always leaves a trail of crumbs behind. y

here's abc's brandi hitt. >> reporter: with each controlled blast, officials in colorado are hoping to. >> some of the avalanches we are seeing would be winter-press hollywood. >> reporter: six people have died since last weekend across the western u.s. the lives of a snowmobiler and skier happened in colorado's backcountry monday. in oregon, two skiers were killed tuesday when an avalanche came crashing down in the mountains. search teams are now rescuing two survivors with broken legs. and in utah last weekend, avalanches killed two others, including 21-year-old ashley cox, who was trapped under heavy know for at least 40 minutes. the danger is elevated thanks to several back-to-back storms. >> they just pile one on top of the other and it just tends to be the domino effect. it gets a little more dangerous each day. >> reporter: and now some skiers and snowboarders are carrying avalanche beacons, even when hitting the inbound slopes. >> it is better to be safe than dead. >> reporter: in addition to this week's six deaths, several people have been injured or barely managed to escape,

brandi hitt, abc news, los angeles. >> all right, brandi.xcitement starts at 7:00 p.m. eastern time. cool. >> it is. what a great opportunity for students. the academy runs a student academy awards. four different categories. alternative, animation, documentary and narrative. and those are handed out in june. >> some past winners, interesting names. rob erred >> ed: memo owe bob saget, spike lee, trey parker and bob lasiter. some good company there. >> absolutely. >> that's our news this half hour. >> remember to follow us on facebook at wnnfans.com. but at this moment, she's fighting a brain tumor. announcer: please take a moment and join st. jude in finding cures and saving children. visit stjude.org. >>> this morning on world news >>> this morning on "world news now," relentless season. today's arctic freeze in the midwest, rising rivers and the big rush to sandbag in the west. much-needed rain just hours away. >>> fraud outrage. the growing allegations against new york's 9/11 first responders faking their disabilities costing taxpayers u

abc's brandi hitt has the latest from los angeles. n. philip seymour hoffman's autopsy is complete, but more tests are needed for a cause of death as investigators continue to dig through the actor's final days. broadway dimmed its lights wednesday evening to honor the life and career of philip seymour hoffman. >> and i'm very grateful for that, i really am. >> reporter: it's believed the oscar-winning actor died last weekend from a heroin overdose. the medical examiner declared hoffman's autopsy inconclusive and is now awaiting toxicology results. >> there were 70 bags of heroin found in his apartment. that says to the police there were major dealers selling drugs to him. >> reporter: as seen in this video from tmz, police arrested four suspected drug dealers late tuesday during their investigation into hoffman's death. they also uncovered more than 350 envelopes of heroin during the raid. >> and apparently one of the people charged had hoffman's phone number in his cell phone. >> this is the scene in the movie where you help me out.

abc's brandy hit hi hitt has th latest. >> philip seymour hoffman's autopsy is complete, but more informationath. broadway dim edmed its lights wednesday evening to honor the life and career of philip seymour hoffman. >> i'm grateful for that, i am. >> the oscar winning actor died last week from an overdose. the autopsy is inconclusive and is awaiting toxicolokxicology r. >> there were 70 bags of heroin in his apartment. that tells police there were dealers selling to him. >> police arrested four suspected drug dealers late tuesday. during their investigation into hoffman's death. they also uncovered more than p 350 envelopes of heroin during the raid. and apparently one of the people charged had hoffman's phone number in his cell phone. >> this is the scene of the movie where you help me out. >> police say a fan remembered seeing hoffman saturday evening looking out of it. a few hours later, his last known contact was with the mother of his children. hoffman was then spotted withdrawing $1200 in cash during six atm transactions. he was found dead in his apartment the next morning. >> he was