steve osunsami, abc news, atlanta. >>> and a note about california. a new alert about the state's driest year on record. there had been hope that a new storm would bring some relief. as of tonight, it looks as if there will not be enough rain to quench the drought. and now, communities are running dry. less than 100 days from using up all of their water reserves. >>> and next, tonight, we move to an abc news investigation, with those new terror warnings about security during the winter olympics. today, russia arrested two brothers for a link to recent bombings. so, this is the question -- if sochi is such a hotbed for terrorism, why was it chosen as the public site anyway? brian ross, in search of those answers. >> reporter: this year's winter olympics could have been held in the storied villages of the austrian alps. or the mountains of south korea, a snowboarder's paradise. instead, the international olympic committee chose a subtropical city in russia, famed for its black sea summer beaches, where snow rarely falls. and locat a few hundred miles fr

steve osunsami.ld get a medal. >> i agree. >> that's what's making news in >> new this morning. deputies are looking into a deadly shooting. and taking a look outside right now. that brutal cold is sticking around. but the good news is not for too much longer. good morning, washington. >> we promise, the warm air is going to get here eventually. we haven't hit that warm-up just yet. the cold weather has several schools in our area on delay once again this morning. >> you can sleep in a little late today. you are all on a two-hour delay. you can see up to the minute information scrolling at the top and bottom of your screen this morning. >> just when will the

steve osunsami, abc news, atlanta. >>> and next here tonight, news about protecting americans at the olympics. authorities are on the alert after some troubling discoveries near the olympic site in sochi, russia, where in just 28 days, america's elite athletes will join the other stars and walk in for the opening ceremony. but tonight, there are extraordinary plans being made to keep them safe. and abc's chief investigative correspondent brian ross has those. >> reporter: with american athletes in the final stages of preparation for next month's winter games, there was growing concern today by u.s. officials that terrorists will make good on their threats to attack the olympics in the russian city of sochi. >> i think all the ingredients are there, quite honestly. >> reporter: the latest incident came today, a few hours' drive from sochi, in the city of stavropol, where police discovered four vehicles containing dead bodies, two of them, booby-trapped with powerful bombs. an apparent tactic to first lure and then kill police. in the last two months, dozens of civilians have been kill

steve osunsami, abc news, raleigh. >>> stay with us, all the time at abcnews.com.ne," later. i'll see you tomorrow night. good night. [ whimpering ] [ coo-coo! coo-coo! ] [ burp! ] [ boing! ] [ strike! squeak! ] [ children laughing ] it's america's game. wheel... of...

abc's steve osunsami has the very latest. >> reporter: the shooting happened during the movie previews at a cinebistro, a high-end movie theater and restaurant chain. >> at approximately 1:30, the pasco sheriff's office got an emergency call in reference to a shooting at this movie theater. there's going to be a lot of people that were inside this theater when this happened. >> reporter: police at the scene said chad olson and his wife, nicole, were there to see "lone survivor." and he was using a cell phone, was texting and making noise. that's when they say 71-year-old curtis reeves, sitting behind them, got fed up and went for the manager. >> he came back very irritated out there to 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: we're now learning the 71-year-old was a retired tampa police officer. and when he got back to his seat, he fought with the couple and pulled out a gun. >> then, somebody throws popcorn. i'm not sure who threw the popcorn. and then, bang, he

steve osunsami. abc news, atlanta. >> we're told barbara bush watched the texas a & m game. they won 52-48. perhaps they can thank johnny football and mrs. bush for that one. >>> back here in new york tonight the big clean up from the party in times square with someone new in charge. the first new mayor in 12 years, bill de blasio sworn in by president clinton outside a very chilly city hall. former secretary of state hillary clinton also on hand as well as de blasio's family right there on the steps with him. >>> with a new year comes new laws as well and one led to major lines today. for the first time you can buy marijuana legally in parts of colorado purely for recreational use. tonight there is already talk of shortages and a different kind of after effect, new jobs. abc's clayton sandell in denver. >> have your i.d.s ready. >> reporter: they lined up before dawn. >> we drove 17 hours to get here. >> reporter: some sleeping in their cars. >> it's a historical event. >> reporter: for a chance to be early through the door at one of the world's first recreational marijuana

steve osunsami, abc news, raleigh. >>> stay with us, all the time at abcnews.com.line," later. i'll see you tomorrow night. good night. >> >>> tonight a jail house interview with a man accused of kidnapping a girl outside of her home and the situation he claims compelled him to do it. >> a man accused of setting this fire, what made him decide to target the chinese consulate. >> and tonight, horror stories of passengers sitting in limbo in the freeze, sitting everywhere but here. >> i don't want to call it an abduction or kidnapping. >> the bizarre explanation of a kidnapper why he snatched a 7-year-old girl from her n.front of her home. good evening. >> that kidnapping happened friday night. the 6-year-old girl was snatched from the driveway of her antioch home. an amber alert led police to their suspect, david allen douglas, he's talking from jail about what happened on friday. jonathan? >> well, for starters david douglas admits he did it. he also says that it wasn't his fault that he kidnapped the little girl and he has a bizarre explanation. douglas sat down w

steve osunsami, abc news, atlanta. >> some incredible numbers here because of this polar vortex.n economy, $5 billion. because of all of the cold. most of that is repairing broken pipes, lost productivity, people couldn't go to work because it was so cold. they were snowed in or iced in. $5 billion is the cost. >> this is the biggest economic disruption to the country since superstorm sandy in 2012. >> of course, all those people on flights 20,000 flights canceled, how do you make up all that money? that must have been a real shock for the airlines. >> yeah. >> here is a look at your weather now for taking a look at the map coming up. more snow in pennsylvania. upstate new york and northern new england. a wintery mix for the mid-atlantic states. meanwhile, rain from texas, all across the south, rain in the plains. snow in the upper midwest. a storm front moving into the pacific northwest. the first of several wet days ahead. >> 48 in seattle. 30s from denver to minneapolis, to chicago. dallas at 62. new york will be 41. and a perfect 74 in los angeles. >>> okay. we always thought

here is steve osunsami. >> the shooting happened during the movie previews at a high end movie theater restaurant chain. >> the sheriff's office got an emergency call in reference to a shooting at this movie theater. there's going to be a lot of people that were inside this theater when this happened. >> police on the scene say that chad olson and his wife, nicole, were there to see "lone survivor" and he was using a cell phone and was texting and making noise. that's when 71-year-old curtis reeves, sitting behind them, got fed up and went to the manager. >> he came back very irritated without 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. >> we are now learning the 71-year-old was a retired tampa police officer. and when he got back to his seat, he fought with the couple and pulled out a gun. >> when somebody throws popcorn, i'm not sure who threw the popcorn, then bang, he was shot. he staggered two seats over, fell on my son and i. >> an off-duty officer kept the accused s

abc's steve osunsami has more. >> reporter: heather elvis' family and friends mounting a search againanning across south carolina in the bitter cold searching by boat, by atv, on foot and horseback. >> no amount of attention, no amount of law enforcement. no amount of work, effort that i do or anybody does is ever going to be enough until she's back home again. >> the 20-year-old disappeared after a date in the early morning hours of december 18th. police say the young man she was with had nothing to do with her disappearance and say they have no person of interest. >> there's no clear indication of why she left the apartment again after the date. there's no obvious signs of anything that occurred at the apartment. >> reporter: earlier that night her date was teaching her how to drive a stick shift in this mall parking lot and called a friend to say how well the date went. her father says she sent him a text. this was it picture her driving the car that night. >> for years i'm trying to teach her how to drive one and i didn't have the patience to do it and now she was doing it on her

for "good morning america," steve osunsami, abc news, atlanta. >> let's hope they do find her. >> yesay. let's get an update of the morning's top stories with ron this half hour. >> hi again, bianna and dan. good morning, everyone. we begin with breaking news. ariel sharon has died. he served his country for half a century after a distinguished and sometimes controversial military career, he went into politics holding a number of cabinet posts. he was elected prime minister in 2001 and led israel's historic withdrawal from the gaza strip in 2005. ariel sharon was 85 years of age. >>> and the big thaw as the weather heats up in much of the country. melting ice and snow, they are now the threw threat to cause widespread dangerous flooding in florida. two people were killed as a result of the rising waters in palm beach county. 22 inches of rain caused flash flooding there. >>> and a fiery scene in north carolina as gas lines exploded sending flames 75 feet in the air. fire officials say a major gas line ruptured triggering that fire. area businesses as well as residents had to be evacua

but first, steve osunsami on the urgent call for people to stay home. >> reporter: authorities today warning people to stay off the road and so many people aren't listening. two people died in traffic accidents in louisiana. police near austin, texas, tell us they've responded to more than 260 crashes and houston had double that. amy alexander went out for a run to the grocery store and got into a wreck along the way. >> you can't control it. you hit a patch of ice and you're gone. that's it. >> reporter: and here what happened to a houston police officer helping back up this bus that got stuck on the ice -- >> the collision was a war zone. louder than a gunshot. >> reporter: it was heartbreaking work for firefighters in quebec, canada, so cold, they're having to use steam to melt the ice at the scene of this deadly fire at a seniors home. eight people were killed, dozens are unaccounted for and they're worried there are still victims inside behind the ice. >> every person that's involved in this operation -- people are working very hard. >> reporter: at this burning apartment comple

abc's steve osunsami with our persons of the week. >> reporter: elliott shirback is a young man withho overheard something hurtful at the grocery store with his mother. you left your idiot kid in the lane, the guy said. ann daggette says she asked her son what would cheer him up. he told her 100 christmas cards, she took it to her facebook page, if anyone could send him a card, he would love it. thousands came in the mail. >> wow. i got 2,000 christmas cards from every person that gave to me around the world. it's unbelievable. >> reporter: tonight elliott and so many others are cheering the every day people, who took a second out of their day this busy holiday season to do something so little. to dana hoffman, and her daughter emily in ohio, who found a bag of presents that fell from the roof of a car and found the little boy they were meant for. >> i was just hoping somebody out there would know somebody that lost these gifts. >> reporter: to those secret santas who left thousand dollar tips for their waiters and went to walmart stores across the country and paid off lay away bills

abc's steve osunsami standing by in greenville, north carolina. >> reporter: first, a blizzard. and now, brutal cold for parts of the midwest. windchills as low as 40 below. the first time in years the south is really feeling it, too. governors sending in the national guard to deal with a rare snow and ice storm. as soon as the first snowflakes fell, school officials across nine southern states started cancelling classes. the icy roads here, no place for a school bus. outside asheville, north carolina, six teenagers were on the bus ride home when they flipped the on the ice. and one of them had to be hospitalized. >> just come around the curb. just slid off in the ditch. >> reporter: tonight, schoolchildren in alabama are stuck at school. the roads, too dangerous for parents to come get them. >> if you trust your teacher to take care of your child during the day, they will be taken care of tonight. >> reporter: this was a freeway in austin, texas, today. police here reporting more than 214 accidents and counting. >> passed about ten wrecks on the way here. >> reporter: in new or

here's abc's steve osunsami now. >> reporter: the latest from a bush family spokesperson is that the former first lady is in good spirits and taking visits from relatives at this houston hospital, the same hospital where her husband, president george h.w. bush was struggling with a serious case of bronchitis last year. houston methodist says that 88-year-old barbara bush came in with early signs of pneumonia. >> she has a big, big heart. >> reporter: friends and aids report that doctors have given her an excellent prognosis. >> barbara bush is a tough gal who will outlive us all. but our love is with her because she's not just a former first lady of america, she's the first lady of our hearts. >> reporter: to say she's beloved is an understatement. here's her reflection on her son when she was living in the white house. >> now to see that same fellow that i used to drive around in car pools and yell at to pick up his room, to see him as president is amazing. >> reporter: in a statement today president obama wrote that michelle and i send our best wishes to mrs. bush on a speedy recov

steve osunsami, abc news, greenville, north carolina. >> those snowplows will be busy right through thisinues right now with accuweather. meteorologist jim dickey has the latest. good morning, jim. >> good morning, marci and ryan. high impact winter storm continuing here. many towns were shut down tuesday from the ice and snow which thankfully is starting to wind down through mississippi, alabama into georgia. snow staying heavy through the morning hours eastern north carolina, eastern virginia. even here we'll see the snow end through the morning as the snow departs out to the north and east. cold air continues to sweep in. not much chance for this to melt. as much as 6 to 10 inches, eastern north carolina through the morning. marci and ryan, back to you. >> thank, jim. our thanks to jim dickey at accuweather. >>> california, their drought showing no signs of easing. that's having far-reaching effects. some environmentally conscience homeowners with pools are actually having them filled in. and the pros say that leaks in water lines or concrete can waste up to 10,000 gallons of water ov

abc's steve osunsami has more on what turned out to be a very emotional day in court. >> i'm afraid fore. >> reporter: an emotional michelle jones, begging a south carolina judge to slam the jail shut on her own husband. retired charleston firefighter, clinton jones. >> he has no remorse. he needs to stay behind bars. >> reporter: prosecutors say he offered $8,000 on new year's eve to a hitman he hoped would kill his wife. but the man turned out to be an undercover officer. in this police report, investigators say he thought michelle jones was about to leave him and take the kids. >> when you go to extreme of wanting to hire somebody to murder your wife, that's life-changing. >> reporter: according to police, the retired fire captain gave the undercover officer his wife's photo and a work address. and asked him to make sure that he finished off his wife because he did not want to visit her in the hospital. >> i don't know why i would talk about such a thing. it's not me. i would never hurt anybody in my life. i help people. >> reporter: family members tell us he hasn't been is same sinc

abc's steve osunsami has the amazing story. >> reporter: researchers at duke university say this is ainging her pet dog to stand in and watch. >> what are you going to dream about? >> j.j. >> >> reporter: her dog, j.j., is trained to smell when she's in trouble. she lives every day with a disease causing life-threatening reaction to everyday things. kk is especially sensitive to anesthesia. we saw how it works at her home. this is j.j. alerting. finding a reaction coming up. smelling a change. it didn't take her a minute to run down to this cabinet door and get the medical kit. doctors say the dog's nose works better than their machines. >> the procedure went great and j.j. gave us a few warning signs that something was starting but calmed down very quickly. >> reporter: and to think j.j. was abandoned at 5 weeks old but she stood out to deb cunningham who searches the shelters for trainable puppies. >> you want one who's confident and is going to say, hey, i need you to pay attention. >> reporter: she says any dog can be trained using saliva samples. no different to train dogs to det

that's where we find steve osunsami. good morning, steve. >> reporter: good morning, ginger.his isn't something you see every day in houston. temperatures around the freezing mark. they're used to tropical storms here but not this winter weather advisory that's expected to continue to at least noon today. real problem for the city. the issue here are the overpasses and bridges that are blocked off because of the cold, because of ice on the roads and because of that schools are delayed until at least noon today and canceled in some parts. they're telling families if they don't have to be out on the roads, to stay home, george and robin. >> okay, thanks. >>> travel nightmares on the train tracks too. this one in the northeast where thousands of passengers were delayed for hours last night when the train simply stopped. federal investigators now looking into what caused it overnight and john muller has the story. >> reporter: two of the nation's largest rail systems partially shutting down for hours literally stopping thousands of passengers in and on their tracks. some stranded

boy, what chaos we've had in so many southern states including north carolina where we find our steve osunsami. good morning, steve. >> reporter: good morning, ginger. governors across the south declaring states of emergencies. this is normally a busy thorough fair here in greenville, north carolina. covered in snow and ice. the cities don't have equipment to deal with it. the city of new orleans doesn't own a snowplow and this city only has three. this morning, the brutal cold, snow and ice are paralyzing the south. traffic in central alabama going nowhere. overnight the highways turned into parking lots. hundreds of abandoned vehicles still on the freeways this morning. >> it is not moving at all. it's at a complete standstill. >> reporter: these two women said it's a wrap. left their cars on the icy roads and walked back to their office. >> people are blocking the intersection and getting out of their cars and walking. >> reporter: it was so bad people were spending the night in grocery stores. in atlanta, sheer chaos, the roads were solid sheets of ice. cars flying right and left. and when

and steve osunsami in atlanta this morning, where price was arrested. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, david. investigators have been searching the world for this man and thought he might be sailing the seas. but after what was a routine traffic stop where he was pulled over for tinted windows, he's back home at georgia this morning and facing a judge. this was aubrey lee price, in happier days, when prosecutors say the former georgia bank official was stealing millions from unsuspecting investors. and this is what he looks like now, arrested in georgia on new year's eve, way different than the 47-year-old executive wanted by the fbi for more than a year. >> this is a great way to start out the new year for us. >> reporter: wendy cross is one of 115 investors from florida and georgia that prosecutors say he swindled. she lost $360,000. >> he's a thief and a liar. >> reporter: according to the criminal complaint, price collected about $40 million and used that money to invest in a failing georgia bank, where the government says he then stole, mis

abc's steve osunsami is on the scene just outside tampa. good morning, steve. >> reporter: good morning, george. this is a high-end theater with incredibly comfortable leather chairs and waiters and waitresses who bring food and drinks right to your seats. it was quite a shock when someone pulled out a gun. they were there to watch "lone survivor." >> more than ten guys. i'd say an army. >> reporter: long before the gunfire got started on the screen it was happening for real during the previews. police say it all started when retired tampa police captain curtis reeves, seen here wearing a white jump suit, got fed up with the couple on their cell phone in front of him and his wife. police say that 43-year-old chad oulson seen in this news report from 2011, and his wife, nicole, pictured on their facebook pages, were reportedly talking loudly and texting away. >> curtis reeves asked him a few times to please turn off his phone. chad decided not to. >> reporter: the 71-year-old retired policeman went for the manager but came back alone. police

abc's steve osunsami is in atlanta with more on that right now. orning, steve. >> reporter: good morning, robin. i just can't underline, robin, how awful this was for families here who are demanding answers from their state and local officials, those same authorities this morning are saying that part of their problem was the forecast. this morning, the fight over how this happened isn't going away. georgia's governor explaining he and other leaders were caught off guard because the forecast kept changing. >> earlier tonight we were under a winter storm watch. that was canceled. >> reporter: at one point the only accumulating snow was expected to fall south of the city. >> at that time it was still in most of the forecast anticipated that the city of atlanta would only have a mild dusting or a very small accumulation, if any. preparations were made for those predictions. >> reporter: well, that didn't sit well with forecasters who erupted. the national weather service saying they were two days in advance and they appropriately issued a series of out

steve osunsami that has story. >> reporter: he's the retired tampa police captain charged with secondegree murder making his first court appearance in a thick green bulletproof vest designed to protect and restrict high-profile defendants. >> what i ask the public not to rush to judgment. this individual was a decorated former law enforcement officer. >> reporter: police say 71-year-old curtis reeves began arguing with the man sitting in front of him at a showing of "lone survivor" and then shot him dead because he wouldn't stop texting. >> he's a godly man. >> reporter: his family and long-time supporters from the law enforcement community packed the courtroom but the judge ordered him held without bond. he did not enter a plea. >> the evidence of guilt is significant. >> reporter: police say reeves shot and killed 43-year-old chad oulson seen in this video from 2011 and say he wounded oulson's wife nicole who tried to block the gunshot. they have a young daughter and this morning we're learning he was texting their baby-sitter. lawyers for the retired officer are invoking florida's