Some rain mixing in with snow along the coastline and then snow, heavy snow thrown inland. So much snow that what you see on the ground right now with ginger zee is just phase one. Our ginger zee is in potomac, maryland, this morning. Good morning, ginger. Reporter snow is coming down fast and furious this morning in washington, d. C. Wet and heavy on the federal offices that have been closed ahead of this march monster. In maryland and virginia, shelves are empty and lines were long. Its stressing me out. Getting everything and making sure, you know, the store doesnt run out of the stuff i need. Reporter overnight millions of chicagoans slipped and skidded into their biggest snowmaker of the season. This morning, nearly half the country is being affected. At least 1500 flights already canceled with more to come. Definitely ready for the snow to be done. Hopefully this is the last one. Reporter in some places more than a foot has already fallen. Towns blanketed in snow now face the blowing and drifting dangers. Which police say contributed to a deadly crash near indianapolis. Across the midwest there have been hundreds of other accidents. In wisconsin, this semi slipped off an icy bridge killing the driver. In minneapolis, a solid nine inches coated the roads leaving man and beast caked in the white stuff. Roads here are running okay. Theyre wet but this is why. Its been named so far snow plus rain and this is heavy, wet, the epitome of packing snow. Now, come with me. This is going to be the problem today. You see how heavy it is here on the bushes. Were already hearing of some power outages. When its that heavy and wet it will go on power lines and trees and thats going to be a lasting issue with the wind. Sam . Oh, ginger, youre just outside the beltway and Western Areas like where you are right now is what get pounded overnight. So, everybody wants to know where the snow totals are. Thanks, ginger. Heres what we think will happen. The idea is that just outside the beltway you get your heavier collection of snow. Thats 6 to 10 inches of snow. Everywhere you see the darker shades of purpose the just west of boston as well, 10 inches plus. That could be a foot of snow. Just remember coastal areas will do the mixing. Inland will get the pounding. Wins will stay. Well look at it later, 30, 40, 50 Miles Per Hour easy thursday into friday. This is going to be yeah, this is a strong gusty wind and a big storm. So, george, amy, well talk about it all day. Now to that surging market. The dow now well above 14,000. Our weekend coanchor Bianna Golodryga watching it all. Bianna, this new record has set off a hot debate among market experts. Is it time for the small investor to get in or get out . A lot are asking that. What a day we saw on wall street on tuesday. Lets take a look at what the dow did closing at 14,253. Now nearly doubling the alltime low that we saw back in 2009. So lets go over whats behind the rally. Of course, we were talking about the Housing Market recovering. Thats having ripple effects for a lot of other sectors. Interest rates are near record lows, the Federal Reserve keeps pumping money into the economy and corporate profits are high. So the big question a lot of people want to know, is there a new bubble that were seeing . Heres the last one we saw. You see how the stock market really tanked from 2009 to 2007 to 2009, so are we seeing that again . Well, corporate profits at an alltime high. Not necessarily in a bubble, george, because, think about it, they were cutting costs, they were cutting jobs, unfortunately, but as far as the overall economy, were only talking about 30 stocks when it comes to the dow. These are global stocks, george, not really reflective of the overall economy here at home. Okay, bianna, thanks very much. Now to the rest of the mornings headlines. Including that news we had from venezuela. Good morning to all of you. We begin with the death of hugo. The unpredictable president of venezuela. Could have a major impact here in the united states, after all chavez controlled more oil reserves than saudi arabia. Abcs matt gutman is in venezuela this morning. [ chanting ] reporter overnight thousands gathered in venezuelas capital to mourn the only leader many here have ever known. The fourth largest provider of oil to the u. S. , is in political flux. Late tuesday chavezs handpicked successor interim president Nicolas Maduro expelled two American Military attaches from the country accusing them of trying to destabilize the army. Before tearfully announcing the death of the 58yearold socialist leader. [ speaking a Foreign Language ] reporter maduro hinted that chavez who suffered from an undisclosed type of cancer had been poisoned by foreign elements including the u. S. An assertion the state department is calling absurd. They hoped the death would soothe 14 years of tension with the venezuelan government. Before his illness forced him from the world stage, chavez had become notorious for his bluster. You are a donkey, mr. Bush. Reporter president george w. Bush was one of his favorite targets. Translator yesterday, the devil came here. Reporter there are so many unknowns. What was that illness that killed chavez . Are the elections over the next 30 days going to bring violence to this country . Josh . Abcs matt gutman in caracas. Meanwhile, we are getting our first look at the now retired pope benedict. Italys chi magazine published this photo. Showing benedict in white walking in the gardens of the papal summer retreat. Meanwhile, cardinals at the vatican preparing to elect a new pope are leading a public prayer service. And back in this country, new warning about socalled nightmare bacteria infecting people at more american hospitals. The cdc says the bacteria is resistant to even the strongest antibiotics has now spread to more than 200 medical facilities, most in the northeast. The fatality rate, up to 50 . While cases are still relatively rare, authorities are warning hospitals now to take all possible precautions. And in connecticut, a Dunkin Donuts worker refused to be robbed at the drivethrough. Watch as this man tries to climb in. First she throws a cup of hot coffee in his face and then she follows up with the whole pot. Oh. Needless to say, he had other places to be and didnt get a dime. And a dazzling and historic light show in San Francisco. Look at this. The bay bridge up till now perhaps an ugly stepchild of sorts to the famous golden gate has just become the Worlds Largest l. E. D. Light sculpture. It will be lit up like this every night for the next two years to mark the bridges 75th birthday. It took five miles of cable, 25,000 lights, the drive from the east bay now to San Francisco will not be the same. Thats a beautiful sight. Beautiful. Thanks, josh. You bet. Well, now to the big headline for everyone traveling and going through security at the airport for the First Time Since 9 11, the tsa is allowing some knives aboard planes. The announcement has been greeted with outrage by flight attendants. Abcs david kerley has the story. Reporter an abrupt reversal this morning after a decade of banning and confiscating pocket knives, the government will now allow small knives on planes drawing an immediate angry response from flight attendants. Its going to create passenger confusion and its also going to bring a weapon on board. It doesnt make any sense to allow knives on board aircraft. Reporter this is what will be allowed on planes in a month and a half, small folding knives with a blade shorter than 2. 36 inches and 1 2 inch wide. Rules relaxed to carry on golf clubs, pool cues, lacrosse and hockey sticks. The tsa says its about risk assessment. Every month, at the 20 largest airports, four tons of knives are confiscated. We need to keep the screening lines moving at this point and looking for tiny little objects that are not likely to be used to hijack an airplane is really just going to slow things down. Reporter the head of the tsa told Airline Officials he wants to concentrate on what really worries him, explosives, especially the liquid explosives, which are difficult to detect. Flight attendants complain there is an irony in this change by tsa. While the small pocket knifes will be allowed, box cutters like the ones used to hijack the planes on 9 11 are still banned. They cannot be carried on to a plane. George . Thank goodness for that. Thanks very much. To politics now and the anatomy of a smear. For weeks the powerful chairman of the Senate Foreign relations committee, robert menendez, has been denying reports that he paid women for sex in the Dominican Republic and now one of the women said she was paid to lie about the senator. Abcs brian ross is here with all the details on the story that wasnt. Good morning, brian. Good morning, george. Thats true. American politics as you know knows few limits and both parties have played their share of dirty tricks. In the case of menendez he appears to be the victim of a very dirty trick involving sex, lies and videotape. Heres how it happened. As menendez campaigned for reelection last year, republican operatives secretly went into overdrive to implicate him in a sex scandal. Is that the same person you had sex with . [ speaking a Foreign Language ] reporter six days before, operatives helped arrange interviews in the Dominican Republic with this woman and this one and this one who all told abc news the senator paid them for sex. [ speaking a Foreign Language ] reporter it supposedly happened at the famed dominican resort Casa De Campo and one of the homes of the Campaign Donors where they claimed in reports that surveillance teams learned of raucous pool parties, everyone naked, of course, but none of the women could produce Identity Cards with their real names. And they all provided the same story almost word for word as if they had been coached. They were. At least according to a sworn affidavit filed in court this week by one of the three women who says it was all a lie, not the truth, that she and the others were paid to use fake names and make up a story about sex with the senator. I think its a pretty elaborate plot to take down a sitting senator. Reporter abc news did not report the allegations last year but two of the women also talked to a conservative news website the daily caller which ran a story and continues to stand by it. Senator menendez said tuesday it was all an outrage. These are false smears that began during my election in an attempt to affect the election for the senate. While the allegations about the prostitutes may have been discredited, the senator still faces an ethics inquiry into his relationship with that donor who provided menendez with private plane flights and for whom menendez allegedly intervened to obtain contracts, much less sexy but potentially much more significant. Okay, brian, thanks very much. And now to Martha Stewarts center stage in a dramatic media frenzy and the emotional courtroom battle with two of americas Biggest Stores going head to head over her with accusations of broken contracts and big business backstabbing. Abcs dan harris has the very latest on all of this. Dan, good morning. Good morning. This is a fun trial to watch. The contrasts here are deliciously absurd. This trial involves allegations of ruthless sharp elbowed business deals over such products as linens, stationery, curtains and kitchenware. Martha stewart walked out of court in new york city smiling and taking pictures. Theyll break my ankles. Reporter she was as regal and fussy as ever chiding the photographers getting annoyed when her bodyguard tried to put her in the wrong car and then chiding the photographers again. Nearly a decade after she was sentenced to five months in prison for lying to investigators about a stock trade today is a shameful day. Reporter she was back on the witness stand tuesday. Stewart who is 71, is in the middle of a fight between two powerful suitors, the heads of macys and jcpenney. Its gotten emotional. Macys chief executive Terry Lundgren who is suing both stewart and jcpenney, saying he felt sick to his stomach when stewart said she was doing a deal with jcpenney. Lundgren thought they had an exclusive arrangement. Looks like we made it reporter macys had helped stewart resuscitate her brand after she got out of the clink. Both stewart and jcpenney insist there was no breach of contract. On the stand stewart said it just boggles my mind that were sitting here in front of you, judge. Heres the question, could fresh accusations of being a corporate backstabber be yet another blow to the public image of americas preeminent domestic diva . She made it through going to prison. Can she make it through being accused of, you know, having really sharp elbows . You know, i think people used to think that martha was nice. And i think theyve gotten over that. Shes somebody whose Style Authority they trust. Now, if Martha Stewart was hoping to use her testimony to seem more relatable, there was at least one misstep. When asked whether customers would be willing to buy her products from two stores at the same time she said, and i quote here, they might have two houses. They might have two kitchens. Not a problem i have. Oh. Not so relatable. Not so relatable. All right. No. Thanks, dan. Over to london for the latest on kate middleton. Just about every move she makes makes headlines but nothing like the overthetop reaction to the halfsentence she let out on a royal visit to grimsby, england. Lama hasan is covering all the commotion. Reporter it may have been a small slip of the tongue, but, boy, is it making huge headlines this morning. Its a girl screams one, has kate given the game away says another. So, could william and kate be having a baby girl . Well, what else could d stand for . Never before has the sex of a royal baby been revealed until it was born. Its royal tradition not to do so. But at a walkabout in grimsby yesterday the duchess may have dropped her guard a little. The cat is out of the bag. Its a girl. Its a girl. Well, its the biggest hint that weve had yet that its a girl. Reporter the glowing royal mama is usually discreet and good about keeping mum when it comes to secrets and her privacy. According to one woman when she was given a teddy bear she said thank you, ill give that to my d, and then she stopped herself. Reporter she quickly realized her mistake. The duchess also revealed that shes craving cupcakes and, oh, yes, the baby is kicking. And with a july due date the baby could be a diana birthday baby. Well, the bookies favorite names are elizabeth, no surprise there, williams grandmother, Queen Elizabeth iii would have a lovely ring and diana as well. Reporter even kates famous motherinlaw never thought there would be a queen diana. Well, maybe now there will be. The palace isnt commenting on whether the royal couple is expecting a boy or girl but my friend at the palace told me that theyre dealing with this by confirming, quote, its a baby. But either way, boy or girl, this baby will be the next king or queen, george and amy. Wait, let me get that down. Its a baby. Okay, thats good to know. The thing about this is that somebody thats what theyre confirming. A real person heard the whole thing. Reporter exactly. Kate was overheard saying it, saying the d word. If you think about it what else could d actually stand for apart from daughter . Thats what they overheard. Everyone here is buzzing about this, that she could have revealed it. George and amy. Okay, lama, thanks. Amy made a good point, it could have stood for my darling boy. Darling boy. Yeah, it could have. Probably not. What do you got . Lets start with the pictures that are coming out of georgia. 44 storms. This is the southern edge of that big snowmaker that we watched move across the country now becomes our coastal storm. The southern edge was pretty nasty as well, this is pictures from wsb in atlanta, the superstar broadcasting in atlanta and, by the way, that microburst, 1 of 44 storm reports in the area. Into the northwest some rain spreads. Eureka has had three inches of rain. Some of those showers will spread into Southern California today. Talk about this morning that big storm on the east coast. Thank you, sam. And coming up on gma, dramatic Closing Arguments in that High School Sweetheart murder trial. And an incredible survival story. How a reality show may have saved this teens life. Also, the chilling confession revealed by police overnight from a world famous dancer. How ivan the terrible has now admitted to a reallife black swan. Ah beautiful. Work the camera. Work it. Work it those hands. Oooh la la magnifique whats your secret . What . Huh . Dawn . How can this be . [ female announcer ] dawn hand renewal with olay beauty helps lock in skins natural moisture to improve the look and feel of hands in 5 uses. [ sponge ] gotta hand it to your beautiful hands, huh . [ female announcer ] love it, or get double your money back. Dawn does more. [ sponge ] so its not a chore. Dawn does more. Start with the best. Use only natural ingredients. Make something original. Genuine. Real. So peel it open. Stir it up. 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