trapped in our "20/20" speed trap. >>> next, our matt gutman. cops themselves. >> three lanes without using his blinkers, ladies and gentlemen. >> more crossing the line, coming up. i our own,t out on we ate anything. but in time you realize the better you eat, the better you feel. these days we both eat smarter. and i give jake purina cat chow naturals. made with real chicken and salmon, it's high in protein like a cat's natural diet. and no added artificial flavors. we've come a long way. and whatever's ahead, we'll be there for each other. naturally. purina cat chow naturals. with eleven plump tomatoes in every jar, our sauce is now richer, thicker, and more delectable than ever. and bursting with so much taste, it brings families together. ragu. make dinner taste better. [ male announcer ] leading a multi-faceted life is anything but ordinary. meet the hybrid that matches your drive. ♪ the new 2014 lexus ct hybrid with an epa estimated 42 mpg. ♪ embrace your extraordinary. ♪ i worked a patrol unit for 17 years in the city of baltimore. when

matt gutman is in sochi. as mempbs add to their medal count. >> reporter: you wouldn't know it from these pictures, but the winter olympics are feeling a lot like the summer games. up on the slopes we saw bare earth where there should be snow. the mercury topping 60 degrees. in the women's downhill, slush, challenging american laurenne ross who lost her ski in a fall. but nothing stopped california's julia mancuso from skiing to bronze in the super combined. >> i have been thinking of standing on the podium, dreaming of it. it's always the love that gets me to the podium. >> reporter: mancuso brings the american total to five. including two golds in slopestyle snowboarding. jamie anderson won that for the women. >> second jump, gigantic. 540. >> reporter: one day after sage kotsenburg wowed the world and picked up the first gold of the sochi games. the u.s. now in fourth place. host russia claimed its first gold yesterday in team figure skating. causing the normally stone-faced vladimir putin to crack a smile

>> matt gutman reporting from sochi. and now, to kim jong-un is put on notice for crimes against hue man its in his country. tonight we have an unprecedented investigation by the united nations, comparing it to a hell h. even the tiniest koreans are not safe. bob woodruff travelled to korea five times and has our story. >> reporter: allegiance to the regime begins here, childhood, according to today's u.n. report. >> we saw it firsthand in their crisp uniforms, singing a song of praise to regime's brutal leader, kim jong-un. today, the u.n. panel saying he and his government is responsible for crimes against humanity. >> we've unanimously come to the conclusion there's abundant evidence for great wrongs of this kind. >> reporter: the scathing report highlights some of the worst abuses the world has ever seen. it says the regime seeks to dominate every aspect of its citizens' lives and terrorizes them from within, uses food as an important means to enforce political loyalty, and probably the most searing describes horror

>> all right, matt gutman, you've been great for us all along the way. matt, thank you. >>> president putin likely relieved to get past sochi, tonight, world lead earls say the much bigger concern,000 the volatile situation in ukraine. tonight, the ukrainian president has fled the capital, and look at this. a traffic jam this sunday on the road leading to the president's luxury home outside kiev. families freely walking through it now. tonight, america watching very closely, a country that had been moving closer to russia, now in a dangerous stand still. abc's alex marquardt tonight, following the president's trail east of kiev tonight. >> reporter: in ukraine, no one knows who's in charge. the president has been impeached, a top advisor tells abc news she has no idea where he is. this cctv video shows the presidential helicopters being packed up to flee the capital. viktor yanukovich's lavish mansion -- now a tourist attraction. his luxury boat -- without a captain. >> president of ukraine disappeared. that is why we have to elect a new one. >> reporter:

>> all right, matt gutman, you've been great for us all along the way.hank you. >>> a sad note to pass along. word that the oldest survivor of the holocaust has died. alice herz-sommer passed away in london. her death coming a week before a film about her is up for an oscar. the filmmaker celebrating her love of the piano and her devotion to her son during the holocaust. ♪ >> my world is music. >> alice playing the bee yeah know there. she was 110 years old. >>> when we come back on this abbreviated tradition tonight. a well-known kennedy on trial this week, and what her legal team is now telling abc news tonight about the case. we'll be back in a moment. my name is jenny, and i quit smoking with chantix. before chantix, i tried to quit probably about five times. it was different than the other times i tried to quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix varenicline is proven to help people quit smoking. it's a non-nicotine pill. chantix reduced my urge to smoke. thatelped me quit smoking. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior,

abc's matt gutman is our man in sochi and he's there tonight. matt? >> reporter: good evening, david. you could call bode miller the old man winter of the u.s. ski team. at 36, today, he became the oldest man ever to medal in an alpine skiing event. today, he plunge flung himself down the hill like a reckless teen. here's miller, almost careening out of control, but hung on, tying for bronze, and taking a record sixth olympic skiing medal. >> today was one of those struggles that really kind of emotionally felt, it felt like a true struggle. >> reporter: after the race, you see him wipe away tears. he later tweeted "today was one of the most emotional days of my life. i miss my brother." his brother died of a seizure last year. if miller is the sport's biggest star, andrew weibrecht is one of its lesser lights. the last time he'd made any podium, in vancouver four years ago with that man, bode miller, standing beside him. weibrecht blazed down the soggy slopes today for silver. yet the biggest buzz still around this man. tj oshie, the pride of tiny wa

abc's matt gutman on that tonight, and what it was like as our team made its entrance. he's in sochi. >> reporter: team usa, 230 athletes marching proudly in. led by todd ludwick, in his sixth olympics with a determined heidi kloser on crutches after that crash in the moguls yesterday, tearing her acl. the most expensive olymics in history, $51 billion, kicked off with over a thousand performers. ballerinas performing a rendition of swan lake. an acrobat taking flight over 40,000 spectators. and an homage to the russian revolution. with president vladimir putin presiding over it all. there was that misfire, the snowflake failing to turn into one of the five olympic rings, this is what everyone in the stadium saw. but russians watching at home didn't see the glitch, they saw video of a rehearsal. and away from the pomp, in moscow, arrests as demonstrators challenged russia's anti-gay policies. but in sochi, the fireworks and olympic flame seemed at least for tonight to outshine the criticism of the games so far. and the grand your of the spectacle of the opening ceremoni

>> matt gutman from sochi tonight. >>> now, to a caught on tape moment for a u.s. diplomat. what she said on a phone call i can't repeat here. it involved two of our diplomats talking on the phone about the situation in ukraine. that country pulling away from the west. but it was in that phone call when asked about including our allies in europe about the conversation, she uses a choice word. >> so, that would be great, i think, to help glue this thing and have the u.n. help ge it. you know [ bleep ] the e.u. >> i want to bring in jonathan karl, who happens to be with us in new york tonight, with reaction. first of all, not a word you would use typically to talk about an ally. >> this is a major embarrassment. this is the top u.s. diplomat for europe, insulting -- clearly insulting our european allies. as you can imagine, david, she immediately apologized. >> the obvious follow-up, this is between two u.s. diplomats. why are we hearing it at all? >> the white house implied it was the russians who intercepted it and leaked it. and the circumstantial evidence is really strong.

among them is abc's matt gutman who's found the place isn't quite 100% ready. >> reporter: a confidenting sochi even petting a snow leopard which later growled. but did his tour include this? seven years after winning the games, sochi is scrambling, stores, hotels, even the key road still needs to be finished. crews saying they've been ordered to work around the clock. when they started this road, all of this was just dirt. now they have almost a mile of road finished. my friend over here says that in two hours, this whole thing will be done, and it's not just roads and hotels. snowboarders are demanding work be done on their new slopestyle course to make it safer. american olympic icon shaun white jammed his wrist on a jump calling the course intimidating. another boarder broke his collarbone, and a female snowboarder suffered a concussion. officials say the course is fixable, but it's clear the sprint is on to get these games to the starting line. matt gutman, abc news, sochi. >>> all right, some other problems being reported from sochi, notice the sign here coming up asking users no

and abc's matt gutman is on the ground in sochi for us, where so many workers are racing against theoday, a confident vladimir putin, touring sochi. even petting a snow leopard, which later growled. but did his tour include this? seven years after winning the games, sochi is scrambling. stores, hotels. >> did not have rooms ready. they have dozens of rooms not ready for journalists or whoever. it's just absolutely an embarrassment. >> reporter: key roads, still need to be fixed. crews say they've been ordered to work around the clock. one thing they say they're allowed to take a break for, is a smoking break, which these guys are doing right now. they invited me up for a better view. when they started this road this morning, all of this was just dirt. now, they have almost a mile of road finished. my friend over here says that in two hours, this whole thing will be done. and it's not just roads and hotels. tonight, snowboarders are demanding work be done on their new slopestyle course to make it safer. american olympic icon shaun white jammed his wrist on a jump, calling the course i

matt gutman, abc news, sochi. >> got to love it, right? the two-man bobsled competition begins february 16th. >> when they found out they qualified for the olympics they started raising money. they ended up raising $178,000, way more than they expected. they got to the point they timely had to ask their fans to stop sending money. they're all set. >> that is fantastic. check you out, marci, you're on the bobsled team, too, i understand. >> i wanted to be on the jamaican one, but team usa. >> you buffed up. do you practice by pushing matt gutman around in the wheelbarrow? >> i do. and in the sand. ly not go in the snow. i go to a beach to practice. >> almost like the jamaican bobsled team. >> you got it. >> coming up, a fast food employee unlike any other. employee like any moother. we will tell you. ♪ see what's new at projectluna.com >>> all right. this is an awesome story. it's a birthday party that's super sized. you'll see why in a minute. an employee at a mcdonald's in needham, massachusetts, celebrating his 100-year-old birthday. yes

and abc's matt gutman is in sochi again for us tonight. matt? >> reporter: good evening, david. some here have called the slopestyle course the dreaded monster of the sochi games. but so far, american athletes have made a mint on it. snowboarder jamie anderson, here grabbing her board and that gold, the second u.s. victory in slopestyle. >> i couldn't really eat today because i was just so excited and so nervous. >> reporter: there to cheer? a neighbor from her lake tahoe hometown, who anderson calls her "spirit grandmother." >> she's the sweetest. i think mid 80s, and she made it all the way out here -- and to the course. >> reporter: those jumps so huge, the world's best snowboarder, shaun white, last week called them too intimidating and withdrew from the competition. it wasn't much better for bode miller, the superstar of the downhill. today, downcast, finishing eighth. those racers clocking in speeds of over 80 miles an hour. there to cheer on u.s. athletes like the u.s. figure skating team, which took bronze today, hundreds of americans. many of them, skittish about securi

matt gutman, abc news, sochi, russia. >> matt, thank you. great to have you there. >>> back here at home tonight, the news continues. our first look this evening inside that movie theater during those fateful moments. a young father texting during the movie previews, shot and killed by a retired police captain. a 71-year-old who was upset with him. tonight, that confrontation, all caught on tape. as we also hear from that retiree explaining himself, in the moments after he pulled the trigger. here's abc's ryan smith. >> reporter: 71-year-old retired police detective curtis reeves, stone-faced in court today, as prosecutors placed surveillance video from inside the theater, showing the moment he shot chad oulson after a confrontation over texting. this is reeves. the camera shows him leaning over his seat, telling oulson, never shown on camera, to turn his cell phone off. he leans over again. and again. and then gets up to talk to the manager of the theater. minutes later, reeves is back, leaning towards oulson. then, the moment that changed

abc's matt gutman is there. >> reporter: when 15-year-old russian phenom yulia lipnitskaya slides onto the ice, people expect her to dazzle as she did last week in the team competition. gumby flexible, her signature moves are spins. that leg going beyond 180 degrees. watch again as she rotates 15 times in 6.5 seconds. but in the olympic pressure cooker, on a jump at the end of her program, lipnitskaya crashed hard. she completed her routine, but was visibly upset, finishing fifth. minutes earlier, the steely nerved reigning olympic champion, ewe yuna kim, triump triumphed. her signature move at last year's world championship -- a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination. watch again. launching off the ice. her shoulders and hips in complete alignment, the faster she goes, the higher she jumps. helicoptering over 25 feet from start to finish. yuna leads the pack today, going into tomorrow's final skate. american gracie gold delivering a strong performance, is in fourth place. from the skates to the slopes, where today, ted ligety became the only american ever to win two alpine skiing gol

abc's matt gutman in sochi. >> reporter: we're under way. bode miller soaring today at 90 miles per hour. also in action, snowboarders like jamie anderson. this year, with 12 new events, sochi feels a little more like x-games than olympics gone by. today, america's mogul skier, heidi closer, injured on a run. officials closed the alpine skiing hill to tamp down the jumps. and tweaks are under way to ease the hill american superstar boarder shaun white hinted was too dangerous for him. it's why some are calling these the concussion games. >> four years ago, at the winter olympics in vancouver, no one is thinking about concussions. four years later, everyone is thinking about concussions. >> reporter: including 31-year-old slopestyle skier keri herman, who has suffered a string of concussions over the past two years. training for today has meant sitting in the dark. >> you heal faster if you have no stimulation whatsoever. so, it's sitting in the dark. no tv, computer, phone, nothing. >> reporter: and it's not just head injuries. >> hand, shou

matt gutman is tracking all of the action at our "gma" head quarters at our olympic desk. hey, matt, good morning. >> hey, dan, good morning. we have had some thrills here. the u.s. dominating the x games-type events. 27 medals, as you mentioned, the total so far. more than in any other games outside forth america. the past 48 hours have been agony. the u.s. men's and women's hockey teams losing in never-wracking gut-wrenchers to the canadians. thrilling to watch until the final whistle. >> the horn sounds. canada has won! >> reporter: the canadians raised their arms in triumph. the americans downcast in defeat. the score was close. the game was not. the canadians dominating play and shutting out a high-scoring american team after the game's only goal if the second period. it was a rematch of the gold medal game if vancouver in 2010. and the same result. the loss coming just 24 hours after the women's team lost in a sudden death overtime nail biter to the canadians. it nearly ended with this shot. a u.s. puck skittering toward the open canadian net, coming so close and thin

shedding their suits, some of them blaming a new outfit for costing them the winning edge and abc's matt gutman is on the ground for us again tonight. >> reporter: it is the fastest sport on two feet --sprints raced on scalpels edges, raced on scalpels edges, determined by razor-thin margins. in the men's 1000 meter race, the difference between gold and silver, just four hundredths of a second. american shani davis, the world's record holder, was expected to win. instead, he came in eighth. in fact, after six races, not a single american speedskater has medaled. tonight many american skaters are blaming not the power in their legs, but those new suits on their skin, engineered by under armour and lockheed martin, tested in wind tunnels for hundreds of hours, promoted as revolutionary. >> we have just built the fastest suits ever. >> reporter: this vent in the back with these holes to keep the athletes cool. but watch davis here. as he skates, air is flowing over his body, the suit's job is to minimize how much that air slows him down. the concern now is that air is seeping into those vents, pos

matt gutman, abc news, sochi. >> no one should be surprised by this.climate. the average temperature in february is 50 degrees fahrenheit. so what did they expect? >> yeah. nobody should surprised. in sochi they gathered 710,000 cubic meters of snow over the last year leading up to the games. they stored it in insulated containers to be used for the olympics. >> because they knew what they were in for, right? >> yeah. it does seem a little short-sighted. >>> still ahead, it was another dramatic night on "the bachelor". >> our senior "bachelor" analyst will let us know who is out, who survived and a special new feature called the ♪ skinny so skinny ♪ >>> wam, everybody. "skinny time" on tuesday morning. >> we start with abc's "the bachelor." ed and joining us senior "bachelor" analyst, jack. happy to see you my friend. >> hey, buddy. >> graceful entrance. >> thank you. just back from sochi. figured i would get down here on the air. nice and warm over there as opposed to right here, right? >> much warmer. >> all right, then. speaking of warm, juan pablo

matt gutman, abc news, sochi. >> all right.e only talented athletes. we have one right here. marci about to accomplish -- or try to accomplish anyway -- >> that's exactly it. >> -- a pretty amazing feat here in new york city. >> i'm glad you say attempt to accomplish. >> yes. >> tomorrow night i am -- on wednesday night i am doing the empire -- actually it's tonight, this morning. the day is here. the empire state building run up. here i am training with awesome trainer tom holland showing me what i can expect. it is 1,576 steps from the ground up to the observation deck. >> how many floors? >> 86 floors. >> 86 floors. >> yeah. up to the observation deck of the empire state building. he's trying to get me in shape here. i've known about this for about two weeks, and so the people at my gym can tell you that i have been there -- >> you work out. >> yeah. but i've been really pushing it trying to get ready because i'm overwhelmed at the thought of -- >> 86 flights. i recognized the abc stairs in the video. the brown stairs. i get

matt gutman from sochi. >> reporter: no thrill, only the agony of defeat.as hoping to bring home his third gold medal. just hours before competition, tweeting out a thank you to fans on youtube. >> i want to do the best, not only for myself but for you guys. wish me luck. and here we go. >> reporter: but white crashed on his first run and struggled on his second. his board, nearly bending in half. he came in fourth, those mittened hands covering a face we'd seen grow up in front of our eyes. the 19-year-old flying tomato with a toothy grin won gold at torino, gold again at vancouver. he was 27 bit time he got to sochi. that flowing hair, long gone. >> he now has a lot more on his plate, a lot more shoulders and a lot more than just being the kid with the crazy hair who gets to go out and just snowboard. >> reporter: white lost the brilgest upset yet but other triumphs. sara hendrickson trained for years, even in summer and in wind tunnels. 19-year-old didn't make it to medal podium but competing was enough. she tweeted, three women ski jumpers will walk awa

here's abc's matt gutman. >> reporter: folks in bars across the country packed at 7:30 a.m.turday morning, anointed a new patron saint. >> oshie! oshie! >> reporter: the game was only billed as second miracle on ice. vladimir putin was even in attendance. the 27-year-old who barely made the olympic team was so good, he didn't just get the nod from his coach once, but six times. back to back to back. >> i had no idea. i was looking, like i said, some very qualified guys on our team that could shoot, so i was -- it was a surprise every time he called my number. >> reporter: oshie becoming not only a hero on the ice and on the web. doubling his twitter followers overnight. >> it was cool seeing a minnesota guy out there. >> i was jumping up in down in my seat. >> reporter: the only thing hotter than his slap shot, his fiancee, cosgrove, going viral. >> my heart is still racing. >> reporter: who couldn't make it to sochi because of their baby on the way, had to watch from home. >> we were all screaming on the edge of our seat. i had the chair pulled all the way up to the tv. >>

here's abc's matt gutman. >> reporter: a second gold minted for the u.s. snowboarder jaime anderson spin, soaring in women's slopestyle final. completing a u.s. sweep of the daredevil event, with sage kotsenburg taking the game's first event saturday. and hundreds cheering them on. and finding the americans, not so easy. tourists? >> no. >> translator: no, hasn't seen them. >> reporter: swarming here, tens of thousands of security personnel. from the choppers in the sky over the opening ceremonies to the purple brigades of the plain clothes security in these ski getups. we left the venue, tried to bring american families out to talk to them, but they forbade us from doing so. they are extremely strict. the start of the games beset by controversy, with anti-gay protesters arrested in moscow and st. petersburg over the weekend. but perhaps the most glaring snafu came during the showcase moment in the opening ceremonies with president putin presiding. the snowflakes were supposed to melt into olympic rings. but the fifth one malfunctioned. hazardous hospitali

matt gutman was at the games the whole time for the u.s. and he said the closing ceremony had a bit of humor as well. >> thousands of performers celebrated russian culture, gravity defying style of mark shegal, angels and acrobats floating six stories above the floor. and performers poking fun themselves in making four circles and a know flake. before making the fifth ring. the balmy weather, would quickly became about the athletes. the who rowics of the usa hockey team last week. shootout. tj oshie scoring four goals for the win. then sage pull ofg a jump in the finals he never even tried before. >> when i landed, i was like, what just happened. i can't believe i just did that. >> americans dominating the x style game events, even sweeping slopestyle skiing np mikaela shiffrin dominating slalom, youngest ever in the event. some argue vladimir putin is the biggest winner, with a public relations extravaganza that cost his country $50 billion. matt gutman, abc news, sochi. >> with all of the competition in the books, here is a look at final

for "good morning america," matt gutman, abc news, sochi. >> our thanks to matt gutman and bode miller us in sochi and i have to say, bode, i hope you hear the cheers back here stateside. very excited that you've added to your medal count, and especially coming off last season, which you sat out the whole season because of an injury. how have you been able to come back as you have, bode? >> there was a real question mark i think for myself and everyone else especially coaches and staff and that surgery that i had, the micro fracture is really pretty fickle. especially at my age and with the abuse i've had on my body and knees, so coming back out of that and i did have -- i had a good amount of time which makes a huge difference, i didn't have to rush things a little bit and i think that really made a huge difference for me to come into the olympics ready. it was really kind of a focused goal for about two years and that, you know, that allowed me to be patient and take things slow enough to avoid the real risk of injury. >> right. and you have two more events to go. two more to go. how

one of those brave enough to head in was abc's own matt gutman. he said it left him gasping for breath. a little too chilly for swimming. >> 55 in the water is different than 55 out of the water. good for him. >>> calling it quits. a baseball superstar is hanging up his cleats. not just yet. >>> and classic car casualty. a sinkhole swallows several vintage vehicles. it's all caught on tape. >>> and the massive winter storm barreling up the east coast. the latest in a live report. lead paint poisoning affects one million children today. it's also 100% preventable. if your home was built before 1978, visit leadfreekids.org to learn more. wow. college already. ( chuckles ) yeah. - ( engine starts ) - we gotta go. ♪ for all the truth that you made me see... ♪ i love you. ♪ for all the joy you brought to my life... ♪ i love you too, daddy. ♪ you're the one who saw me through... ♪ and thanks - for everything. - ♪ through it all... - ♪ you were my strength when i was weak... ♪ - ( woman speaks ) a message from the foundation for a better life. >>> welcom

abc's matt gutman is there. >> reporter: kaitlyn farrington dropped into the halfpipe a virtual unknown. she popped out of it a gold medal champion, sharing the podium with another american, kelly clark, who took the bronze. >> one run for it all. >> reporter: their victory, an antidote to shaun white's crushing loss on that same course last night. >> i think i've just been thinking about it too much and just -- wasn't my day. so, you know -- live on to fight another one. >> oh! >> reporter: white struggled in slush, despite last-ditch efforts by organizers, blasting the course with water. sochi, known for its palm trees, has the warmest climate of any winter games host ever. it was so hot, some sunbathed on the slopes. russians lounged by the black sea. you know what they say -- when in russia. and at the end of a sultry day, it did look so enticing. but is this warm weather hampering the athletes, like white and american skier julia mancuso, who failed to medal today. americans also falling short indoors. champion speed skater shani davis, competing for his third straight gold in the

abc's matt gutman on the ice and on the slopes tonight. >> reporter: a dazzling olympic debut for daredevil slopestyle skiing. we've seen women athletes soaring, helicoptering in the air all at speeds over 50 miles an hour. and today, the american men swoop into history. joss christensen, gus kenworthy and nick goepper sweeping the event, only the third time in winter olympic history. in figure skating, experts telling us the skaters are jumping farther than ever before. >> it's unbelievably hard. they're going through the air, three rotations, four rotations, and they're landing basically on a butter knife. >> reporter: watch american pair skaters marissa castelli and simon shnapir. watch again. see how high she goes. keep in mind, he's 6'4". look, she rotates four times, barely landing it. we're seeing moves rarely displayed in olympic competition. this chinese pair performing the quad twist. >> look at the elevation. >> reporter: catch that? watch again. she rotates one, two, three, four times high above his head. watch germans aliona savchenko and robion szolkowy in the last five second

abc's matt gutman is in sochi. could the u.s. claim the medal win in the end? >> reporter: the big question tonight. who will win ma medal count. the mens hockey team, 5-0. >> reporter: the defeat etched on their faces tonight. u.s. men's hockey team shocked the russians last week. but lost this gut-wrencher to canada last night. the american team finished 4th. and on the slopes gold medal winner, ted ligety did not finish his event missing a gate. and disqualified. it was the first day without a medal for the u.s. and one more real chance for the bobsled tomorrow. 16 days of competition and countless crashes in these games. athletes going bigger, higher. the crashes seemed harder. >> we had a lot of whiplash, neck injuries. it's like a car wreck. >> reporter: if there's a crash that typifies the agony of defeat, it's this, a mainstay of abc's "wild word of sports". bogataj was the skier, we tracked him down in slovenia. would you say it's more dangerous now or 40 years ago? he says the day of his games were much more dangerous. but other athletes i have spoken

matt gutman. thanks >> not surprising from portland, take a look at this drivers helps one another out oregon, pushing this car through the snow. a real mix of freezing snow and rain expected through the rest of the weekend. a lot of people asking will this help their historic drought they're facing. >> reporter: winter weather is paralyzing the northwest. freezing rain in portland oregon forcing drivers to abandon their cars from interstates. >> going to get traction from the back and eventually we'll leave it here. we put our thumbs out. a nurse picked us up. >> reporter: near whiteout conditions cancelled 50 flights at portland international airport more than 150,000 in pennsylvania are still without power after last week's storm. tonight in the pacific northwest worry about a major winter storm bringing ice and reeking havoc on the roads. snow in california was tough on drivers. in northern california, the deluge. >> it's raining sideways. it's raining into everything >> reporter: all that wat

abc's matt gutman is there. >> reporter: it was the golden upset russians were hoping for, but not with the skater they were counting on. the new champion, adelina sotnikova, know for these unique pretzel-like moves she showed off yesterday, notice, first her right hand on the blade, then her left, then both hands above her head. moves that helped her unseat the favorite, south korea's yuna kim. yesterday, after struggling in the warmup, the frustration apparent on her face. turned in a flawless performance. a triple lutz, toe loop combination. watch again. look at her shoulders and hips in perfect alignment as she sails above the ice 25 feet, from start to finish. today, kim also dazzled but looked crestfallen as the results were read. the russian upset causing some analysts to question the olympic scoring system where the judges are anonymous. >> you've got one judge who's married to the russian federation president and you've got another judge who was kicked out for a year for cheating at the nagano olympics. there's your answer. >> reporter: and today, more disappointment for yulia

abc's matt gutman decided to break it down. >> reporter: russia's adelina sotnikova wobbled for gold as south korea's yuna kim seemed to whisper across the ice for just silver. the question today is, why? one theory -- technical excellence. >> opening with her triple lutz combination. >> reporter: while every one of kim's 11 jumps appeared flawless, sotnikova took more risks and her combinations -- like this one -- were more difficult. watch again. so much speed required to soar into those 2-1/2 rotations, and then launch right into that triple, three spins high above the ice. sotnikova had the same number of jumps as kim, but seven of hers were in the final two minutes, when judges award bonus points because a skater's legs are so tired. enough for gold? or was there something sinister at play? of the nine judges, four are from former soviet bloc nations. russia, ukraine, estonia and slovakia, and heading up the technical panel in charge of scoring spins and jumps, the vice president of the russian figure skating committee. how is it possible that the technical controller is the vic

abc's matt gutman is there. >> reporter: you'd never think a guy who rips these death defying tricks for a living, here at the x games, is a youth pastor who met his wife at church camp. >> so stylish. >> reporter: but in in world, david wise is the rebel. but tonight, the undude is a gold medal champion, dominating at ski half pipe, a sport never before seen in olympic competition. they don't so much ski the pipe. as fly over it. two skis faster than a snowboard. enabling them to soar so high. watch again. jumps like these, almost 24 feet. almost five stories above the bottom. wise joins a growing american group of rookie olympians medaling in their very first games, new superstars shining while legends like shaun white and shani davis flame out. the new faces winning 10 of america's 17 individual medals, all in outdoor events. the good news is the slushy conditions are gone. there is a fresh layer of powder. the bad news is, the visibility is poor. lumpy snow wasn't enough to keep rookie alex diebold from a bronze in snowboard cross today, four years ago, he was a grunt working for

matt gutman is in sochi tonight. >> reporter: the most recognizable athlete of the sochi games, no thrillonly the agony of defeat. shaun white was hoping to bring home his third gold medal, just hours before the competition, tweeting out a thank you to fans on youtube. >> i want to do my best. not only for myself but for you guys. wish me luck and here we go. >> reporter: but white crashed on his first run and struggled on his second. his board nearly bending in half. he came in fourth. those mittened hands covering a face we've seen grow up in front of our eyes. the 19-year-old flying tomato with the toothy grin, won gold at torino, gold again in vancouver. he was 27 by the time he got to sochi. that flowing hair, long gone. >> he has a lot more on his plate, a lot more on his shoulder the, a lot more pressure than just being the kid with crazy hair who gets to go out and snowboard. >> reporter: white lost the biggest olympic upset, yet. there were other triumphs. after years of lobbying, finally women will be joining men here at the ski jump for the first time in olympic history. and fi

matt gutman has been covering the games. good morning. >> the u.s. is in second place atop the leader board. capped by the u.s. bobsled four-man team taking a bronze a short while ago in spectacular style, coming from behind. but the home team is on top. russia with 33 medals. these have been called the security games. we heard so much about the ring of steel, tens of thousands of troops and police slafrping -- clamping the region in an iron grip. so far not a single incident we have heard of at the olympic venues. we have seen more nylon than kevlar. and in a couple of hours, that flame will be extinguished. expect an extravagant but more muted closing ceremony than the opening ceremony. heavy on russian history and, of course, the passing of the torch to the koreans. hosts of the 2018 games. martha. >> thanks, matt. >>> now new details on a drama so intense, russian president vladimir putin took time away from the olympics to discuss it with president obama. a high-stakes conflict just 300 miles from sochi in ukraine where the parliament voted to s

back to sochi, where matt gutman had a chance to speak with the man of the hour.ve to give me that. >> reporter: very complicated. but what's simple now is hockey. it's in the air. slovakia against the usa, but everybody is still talking about t.j. oshie. now i got a chance to talk to him, he is as humble as could be. he would never say anything like this, 1980, the miracle on ice, and now maybe the savior of sochi. folks in bars across the country, packed at 7:30 a.m. on saturday morning anointed a new patron saint. during the epic finale between the united states and russia, he became an instant icon. >> tale usa wins. >> reporter: t.j. oshie skated into history, slipping four goals past the russian goalie. not that there was pressure, it was just billed as the second miracle on ice. vladimir putin was there to watch. did you know putin was watching? >> i didn't. >> reporter: he didn't just get the knot nod once, but six times. >> back to back to back. >> i was looking, there were qualified guys that could shoot. i was surprised every time he call mid number. >>

and abc's matt gutman is in sochi, where he has been for several weeks, tracking the action at the "gmaympics desk. matt good to see you there once again. good morning, sir. >> thanks, good morning. and the countdown is on. just a few hours left until an unforgettable wirnl winter olympics comes to a close. the russians as you mentioned, triumphing on the medal table. but it has been a painful couple of hours for team usa. they were hoping to leave on a high note despite a day packed with disappointment. with the hopes for gold dashed, the u.s. men's hockey team planning to head home with the consolation prize, the bronze medal around their necks. but after a scoreless first period, finland dominated a seemingly absent team usa. final score, 5-0. >> and they get the bronze. >> and the bobsled track, after a scare, canadian sled tipping over. dragging rattled athletes across the ice head down. >> stay in the sled, they'll be okay. >> the first races in four-man bobsled so close they made olympic history. the time separating the top four finishers, .17. and that's where team usa, led by s

. >> and matt gutman went for a swim yesterday. a little bit different. >>> let's get to the storm.s socking so much of the east coast right now. a live shot just outside of philadelphia. that area could get more than a foot of snow today. >> ginger zee is leading the extreme weather team. she's got coverage up and down the coast, including philadelphia. let's get outside to snowy times square. ginger? >> we have plenty. some of the heaviest snow falling now and in the next couple of hours. it will transition to sleet and eventually rain. a real classic nor'easter. let me show you what happened earlier in washington, d.c. this is video from just a couple of hours ago, and it was heavy, blinding snow. you should see the capital. you can hardly. they've had almost a foot already. that's if washington, d.c., and those heavy snow totals are move, north. here's what you can expect on top of what you already have. look at this graphic with me here. west of d.c., heavy stuff. and especially west of the i-95 corridor. that coastal part is what i'm concerned mixing in. the radar right now, i

and abc's matt gutman is in sochi, where he has been for several weeks, tracking the action at the "gmaympics desk. good morning, sir. >> thanks, good morning. and the countdown is on. just a few hours left until an unforgettable winter opens comes to a close. the russians as you mentioned, triumphing on the medal table. but it has been a painful couple of hours for the usa. they were hoping to leave on a high despite the disappointment. the u.s. men's hockey team planning to head home with the bronze medal around their necks. but after a scoreless first period, finland dominated a seemingly absent team usa. final score, 5-0. >> and they get the bronze. >> and the bobsled track, after a scare, canadian sled tipping over. head down across the ice. >> stay in the sled, they'll be okay. >> the first races in four-man bobsled they made olympic history. the time separating the top four finishers, .17. and that's where team usa sits, currently in striking distance. it may be the usa's last hope for a medal in the game. it was bobsled competitor, johnny quinn, world famous for breaking down so

. >> abc's matt gutman caught up with them in sochi. good morning to you. >> reporter: dan, good morning to you. and bianna, those guys are so popular that they claim they're the favorite team here in sochi. and i got to experience a little bit tonight. everybody stopped them to take a picture. what's not to love. two gentle giants who practice for a sport on ice in the sand. >> it's bobsled time! >> reporter: bobsled time i understand for the jamaican bobsled team back for the first winter olympics since 2002. >> we are approaching this as the underdog and we're hungry. >> reporter: jamaica's bobsled team famously broke the ice at the 1998 winter olympics in calgary. their improbable story inspiring the movie cool runnings. >> say hello to the first jamaican bobsled team. >> reporter: given the tropical setting, they have been training hard in rather soft conditions. but the jamaicans road to sochi wasn't all sand between their toes. they were broke, unable to cover equipment and travel costs, and captain winston is one of the oldest.

and abc's matt gutman is in sochi, where he's been for several weeks now, tracking all of the action ur "gma" olympics desk. matt, good to see you there once again. good morning, sir. >> thanks, good morning. as you mentioned the countdown is on. just a few hours left until an unforgettable winter olympics officially comes to a close. russians, as you mentioned, triumphing on the medal table. but it has been a painful couple of hours for the usa. the u.s. was hoping to leave sochi on a high note despite a day packed with disappointment. with their hopes for gold already dashed, u.s. men's hockey team planning to head home with the consolation prize, the bronze medal around their necks. but after a scoreless first period, finland dominated a seemingly absent team usa. final score, 5-0. >> and they get the bronze. >> reporter: and on the bobsled track, after a scare, canadian sled tripping over, dragging across the ice, headdown. >> if they stay in the sled, they'll be okay. >> reporter: the first races in four-men bobsled so close, they made olympic history. the time separating the top

matt gutman there for the entire spectacle. good morning, matt. >> reporter: good morning, george. sprint before the games has already begun to get this glimmering stadium complex open and ready before the opening ceremony just tomorrow night. as late as yesterday we saw pictures of people spray painting the grass green, of course, all that attention and focus now shifting to the main event, the athletes. and they're off. just hours ago, all three of team usa's snowboarders qualified for the men's slopestyle finals, even after america's highest flying snowboarder, shaun white, grounded himself wednesday. and bode miller dominated the downhill skiing to victory in practice. he's hoping to medal in his third olympics. the women are fighting for spots in the finals right now. team figure skating slated for tonight. these qualifying events coming even before the opening ceremonies friday at the glimmering olympic stadium. security is tight. preps are feverish. painting the grass outside the fisht stadium designed to look like a colossal faberge egg but details about the ceremony in its

back to sochi, where matt gutman had a chance to speak with the man of the hour.u have to give me that. >> reporter: very complicated. but what's simple now is hockey. it's in the air. slovakia facing off against the usa, but serve still talking about t.j. oshie. now i got a chance to talk to him, he is as humble as could be. he would never say anything like this, 1980, the miracle on ice, and now maybe the savior of sochi. folks in bars across the country, packed at 7:30 a.m. on saturday morning, anointed a new patron saint. >> oshie! oshie! >> reporter: during the epic finale between the united states and russia, he came an instant icon. >> team usa wins! >> reporter: t.j. oshie skated into history, slipping four goals past the russian goalie. not that there was pressure, it was just billed as the second "miracle on ice." vladimir putin was there to watch. did you know putin was watching? >> i didn't. >> reporter: the 27-year-old who barely made the olympic team was so good, he didn't get the nod just once, but six times from the coach. back to back to back. >>

abc's matt gutman has the latest. >> reporter: good morning, george, from high up in the caucasus mountains, one of the several resorts and you see buildings, you see construction workers but behind me you don't see many tourists, this breakneck construction is the you could call it the preolympic sprint event. last-minute construction. this morning thousands of workers across this olympic area are frantically finishing roads. placing cobblestones, slapping the finishes touches on these ghost towns. most of the 25,000 olympic rooms are ready, getting to them is a different matter. these road workers told us they're building a road to get to olympic hotels. with orders to finish at breakneck speed. they started building this about half an hour ago and they've already got this part done. he thinks they'll have about three-quarters of a mile done within two hours. president vladimir putin's so-called ring of teal is sealed tight. troops here line the roads. and are even posted unseen above the alpine resorts. in fact, sochi's security is so thick it's estimated there are 24 cops or troops for