flare. it is thursday, february 13th. from abc news, this is world news now. good morning, i m marci gonzalez in for diana perez. and i m john muller. it is all about the weather. oh, it is. and we begin with that huge snow and ice storm making life miserable in the east. it is already snowing in washington, d.c. where federal offices will be closed today along with schools and many businesses. also expecting four to eight inches in the new york city area. this storm left a mess in the south. we ll begin by going to devon dwyer. good morning, devon. reporter: good morning. the snow that brought this ice is barreling north. the american north is frozen over from birmingham and north to charlotte, the thick, heavy coating of ice has made travel dangerous and deadly. at this point in time, protect yourself, protect your