making news in america this morning, evacuations under way. mud slides and flooding fears gripping people in parts of california. a new powerful storm coming ashore right now. breaking overnight, tensions rising in ukraine as armed men take over an airport and the world waits for the ousted president to break his silence today. back to life. a man pronounced dead and put in a body bag. what happened next is living, breathing proof that miracles do happen. work it out. a run around the white house with the president and vice president. good friday morning, everyone. i'm john muller. >> and i'm marci gonzalez in for diana perez.

the last day of february is proving to be a brutal weather day no matter where you live. take a look at the radar. heavy rains are taking aim at bone-dry california where evacuations are under way at least in one neighborhood because of mudslide fears. here's abc's tahman bradley. >> reporter: they've been praying for rain, just not this much. this morning, drought-stricken california soaking wet. >> we need it. i don't necessarily like it, but we need it. >> reporter: in the bay area the storms have snapped trees. on roads, trucks are sliding out of control. in l.a. county yesterday more than 100 crashes. there's a lot of anxiety in foothill communities outside los angeles. the worry, mudslides. in glendora residents filled sandbags near land scorched by recent wildfires. >> i think we're a little aware that a lot of rain in a short period of time could create some problems with mudslides. >> reporter: mandatory evacuations are ordered and continue in some places. >> no entry zone except for authorized personnel.

>> just everything in the suitcases, papers, special items. >> reporter: they're hoping to avoid landslides like this one in la conchita nine years ago that killed ten people. the forecast for today, 4 to 6 inches of rain west and north of los angeles and wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour. >> it's going to cause major problems on friday from the possibility of flash flooding to mudslides to major travel delays. >> reporter: then the storms move across the rockies making ice, freezing rain and sleet before marching into the midwest and touching parts of the east coast. tahman bradley, abc news, washington. >> and before that midwest snow, extreme cold. they are bundling up in chicago where it could hit minus 4 this morning breaking a record in one of its coldest winters ever. >> and there will be no relief from those brutal temperatures any time soon. for more on this deep freeze and the california storm, we turn to accuweather meteorologist jim dickey.

>> good morning, john and marci. brutal cold holding on across the north and east. many spots going to challenge records here through the early morning hours. these are your expected lows here. those would be on the left. on the right, the record. detroit, pittsburgh, cleveland, all challenging if not breaking records here. chicago is likely setting a new record for the day. a new storm system moving into california is bringing plentiful moisture here and we'll see torrential rainfall likely leading to flooding as we go today toward san diego. john and marci, back to you. >> jim, thank you. in canada a blinding snow squall causing a massive pileup. nearly 100 cars and trucks slamming into each other. drivers say they couldn't see for more than three feet in front of them. there were so many damaged cars police had to tow them to a racetrack to sort everything out. more chaos in ukraine this morning where armed men have seized two airports in the strategic crimea region. >> abc's alex marquardt in ukraine with the very latest on this crisis. good morning, alex.

>> reporter: good morning, john. tension is building here on the crimean peninsula in southern ukraine where pr pro-russian gunmen are taking charge. this morning, the so-called defense units descended on the two airports of this region including the one in the capital simferopol, which is still working as normal. yesterday, armed groups stormed and occupied the parliament building and ran up the russian flag. you have to understand this part of ukraine is mostly ethnically and culturally russian. many would like to see it as a part of russia. ukraine's interior minister said today on his facebook page that he sees these actions as "a military invasion and occupation by russia." for the first time since this crisis in ukraine began, president vladimir putin of russia has commented on it saying russia is looking into providing assistance to crimea and later today in russia we will finally get a glimpse of ousted ukrainian president

viktor yanukovych at a press conference. he has fled ukraine for russia asking for their protection and insisting he's still ukraine's president. alex marquardt, abc news on the crimean peninsula, ukraine. >> all right, alex. we will stay on top of that throughout the day. a serious scare in new mexico. investigators can't tell what caused the accident that exposed workers to radioactive particles in a nuclear waste dump. preliminary tests have found that 13 workers who were working above the ground there the night of that leak inhaled radioactive material. the dump near carlsbad is the only nuclear waste disposal facility in the country. jury deliberations continue in new york this morning in kerry kennedy's dui trial. in closing arguments the prosecution disputed kennedy's claim that she didn't know she was impaired after accidentally taking a sleeping pill. they said kennedy, daughter of

robert kennedy, must have realized she felt drowsy before she slammed into a truck with her lexus. images recorded on private yahoo! webcams may now be in the hands of the british spy agency. "the guardian" newspaper reports the agency is stealing hundreds of thousands of screen shots including a huge haul of intimate photographs. it's not clear how many people had their images stolen, but yahoo! messenger has 75 million users around the world. the paper says it got the information from nsa leaker edward snowden. attorney general eric holder resting at home after a brief stay at the hospital. holder was treated for an elevated heart rate after experiencing lightheadedness and shortness of breath. the justice department said the department -- the department also said that holder did not suffer any heart attack. president obama has launched a mentoring program for at risk youth reaching out to black and latino boys growing up without a father. the president said, my brother's keeper, the initiative, will not just benefit the kids but the entire country. the issue hits close to home for the president who opened up about his own troubles after his father waucked out.

>> i didn't have a dad in the house. and i was angry about it even though i didn't necessarily realize it at the time. i made bad choices. i got high without always thinking about the harm that it could do. >> that was the third time the teens from chicago have met with the president. he also encouraged them to tune out naysayers who want them to give up. no longer our main squeeze, why the popularity of orange juice is plunging fast. and concussion concerns among football players has been a hot topic, but now the discussion turns to another sport after an athlete's tragic death. plus, he's alive. the incredible story of a man who was declared dead and then suddenly woke up in the nick of time.

welcome back. the bulls are running on wall street again. the s&p 500 is opening at an all-time high this morning. the index hadn't set a record in six weeks. investors were encouraged by federal reserve chief janet yellen's assurances that the fed will step in if the economy falters. lego has a hit in the theaters and on wall street. the building block company's sales are up 10% while the rest of the toy market is sluggish. "the lego movie" has been number one at the box office for the past three weekends and might do it again this weekend. all right, it appears orange juice is no longer our main squeeze. oj sales down 40% since the late 1990s. that's per person. one reason is the trend towards consuming less sugar and oranges have a lot of sugar. a big reason may be that fewer

of us are actually stopping for breakfast, as well. high prices not helping. ryanair, europe's biggest discount airline offering $14 flights to the u.s. and even less expensive tickets back across the atlantic. this won't happen for several years. ryanair says it first has to buy these long haul aircraft and ryanair is known for charging passengers for everything from meals to baggage, even traveling with a baby. taco bell may add i new item to its menu, really new because this is a hybrid. >> listen to this. it's called a quesarito. it's an entire beef, chicken or steak bure roto wrapped in a quesadilla. they are testing it in oklahoma city and sells for $2 to $3. yeah, sure, why not. >> why not. i feel like they've combined every other thing. tacos and burritos and all these things rolled into one so now a case right to. >> when you get down to it, the ingredients are just about the same. >> right. >> cheese, some kind of meat and a tortilla. >> sounds good to me. >> i like it.

bring it on. when we come back, nearly fatal fall. three teenagers plummeting from a cliff. what made the rescue so difficult. and the masked man. lebron james debuts a new fashion statement on the court. [ girl ] roses are red. violets are blue. splenda® is sweet. and so are you. [ female announcer ] just about anywhere you use sugar, you can use splenda® no calorie sweetener. ♪ splenda® lets you experience the joy of sugar without all the calories. it's a very good reason to enjoy something sweet with the ones you love. think sugar, say splenda™

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i've been claritin clear for 6 amazdays. at the first sign of my allergies, my doctor recommended taking one claritin every day of my allergy season for continuous relief. 21 days! 28 days of continuous relief live claritin clear. every day. breaking news overnight from columbus, ohio. reports of several explosions in the downtown part of the city. manhole covers blown off in the area. some of the steel covers were broken in the blast. we're also told some windows at a chase bank building were broken. still no word on a cause or any injuries. now looking at how the weather will impact your commute, interstate 94 and other highways near the great lakes will be slippery again. roads will be wet from arkansas to alabama. watch out for flooding almost anywhere in california. if you're flying, airport delays are possible in san francisco, los angeles and las vegas. all right, now to a somewhat surprising report about the effect of heading a soccer ball.

this comes after the study of brain tissue of a former soccer pro, patrick grange. grange died at age 29 from lou gehrig's disease. >> researchers found his brain's frontal lobe was riddled with cte, the same repetitive head trauma disease found in many football players. now, this is the first time a soccer player has been diagnosed with cte. >> headers as a youth under the age of 14 should not happen. >> getting hit in the head hundreds or thousands of times is not a normal part of life. it does not happen outside of sports. >> many doctors, even some soccer coaching clinics are now advising against kids practicing headers until the age of 14. in san francisco, a dramatic rescue of three teenagers. the trio fell down a steep cliff yesterday. two of the teens, both boys, may have been trying to help a girl in the water. rescuers couldn't reach them from the ground, so they had to turn to the coast guard which

sent in a helicopter that took the girl to the hospital. she's expected to be fine. a central florida man has apparently survived an attack by a bear. the victim's wife says her husband managed to fight off the bear in the road outside of the couple's mobile home. he was left with deep scratch marks on his back, but the florida fish and wildlife commission has not been able to confirm that an attack took place. bear sightings and attacks have increased dramatically in the area. now to an absolutely incredible story out of mississippi. a family there is rejoicing after a loved one seemed to come back from the dead. >> it's an incredible story. 78-year-old walter williams pronounced dead by a coroner wednesday night. they put him in a plastic bag, zipped him up and took him away in a hearse. two hours later, williams' grieving relatives got a phone call from the funeral home. he was clearly alive. he started kicking the bag to get out. >> i don't know how much longer he going to grace us and bless us with his presence, but, hallelujah, we thank him right now. >> right now. >> right now.

>> the funeral director said he's never seen anything like it. even the coroner is calling it a miracle. can you imagine being the coroner who is going, what the heck is going on with that bag over there? >> i know. how scary. incredible for this family and they say that he's doing just fine now. >> they say he's full of energy. it's an amazing story. >> it is. all right, well quite a meeting last night for brooklyn nets center jason collins, the first openly gay athlete in a major u.s. sport. collins tweeted this photo of himself with the family of matthew shepard, who was murdered in 1998 because he was gay. >> he wears the number 98 in shepard's honor. collins' jersey is one of the most popular items on the nba website. the meeting took place after the nets beat denver. some of lebron james' teammates on the miami heat are having some fun with his new face mask. >> all the kidding didn't start until after last night's game. our hoops highlights now from the guys at espn. >> he's stan, i'm neil. this is the "sportscenter" set, this is the actual "sportscenter" set, the original "sportscenter" set. >> would we be on a fake one? >> good point. >> lebron james and the heat at

home taking on the knicks. james, first action since breaking his nose. he's got the mask on. raymond felton, he's been in the news this week, as well. hits the bucket there for the knicks, but check out james. right down main street. he had 31 points, shot 13 of 19 and the heat big over the knicks, 108-82. >> okay, so oregon needs to win at pauley pavilion because they make not make the tournament. anderson and adams sat down by coach alford, and look what the wear brothers did on the final play of regulation. where was the oregon "d." this one to a second overtime and, finally, dana altman and company can go, ooh, we almost gave that one away. in the end, oregon, quack, 87-83 and they've got usc on saturday. >> big for the tournament hopes, right, for the ducks? >> they have to beat usc on saturday. >> okay. >> i'll be at that game hopefully.

>> that's all we got. back to you. >> good morning. >> guys, thanks. all right. an incredible soccer goal. this happened at a high school game in georgia. it is our "play of the day." >> yeah, check out andrew deltac of kennesaw, georgia's harrison high school. he hit that goal from 67 yards out. >> man, oh, man, that's like an nfl field goal. look at that thing. the opposing team, by the way, they came back and won it, 3-2. that is awesome. >> that is so cool. all right. up next, "the pulse." the countdown is on for the big oscar night on abc, so who are the favorites? who are the long shots? plus, workout buddies. why the president and vice president today took a midday or yesterday anyway took a midday jog around the white house. the video just in. [announcer] welcome to the all-new intuit quickbooks. do more than ever before with quickbooks.

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♪ all right. it's time to check "the pulse." we start with the vegas odds for sunday night's oscars. right now oddsmakers have "12 years a slave" as the heavy favorite to win best picture. "american hustle," a distant second. >> in the best actor category the smart money is on matthew mcconaughey for his role in "dallas buyers club." it would be mcconaughey's first oscar win. >> it was an incredible performance for sure. cate blanchett's performance in "blue jasmine" has her as the favorite for best actress. she is seeking her second oscar. >> so those are your picks too. you must know what you're talking about. >> it must mean it's not going to happen. looks like sandra bullock got more than -- an academy award nomination for her role in "gravity." "the hollywood reporter" revealed the star

pocketed at least $70 million from the movie. >> 70 million, folks. that's because she gets 15% of the takings in addition to the $20 million fee. so far "gravity" has made $700 million worldwide. it's still in theaters. bullock was not the first choice to play that character marooned in space. angelina jolie dropped out of that film. >> kicking herself now. >> you got to wonder. >> big bucks. >> 70 million and, god forbid, if it wins it'll make a lot more. he may look like a tough guy but you'd be surprised to know he's a real pussycat. >> hammy the bulldog wouldn't hurt a fly or a kitten for that matter. here he is cozying up to this adorable litter born after his owner took in a pregnant stray cat. hammy loves to cuddle with the kittens and they say he was always gentle. >> the kittens have since found a new home but hammy is busy trying to win over the family's permanent pet cat. good luck with that, hammy. >> so cute. >> he thought he was the mommy. >> adorable. they ran for the white house

together and now they're running around the white house. decked out in ties and suit pants, president obama and vice president biden taking a jog around the building in this video that has gone viral. >> yeah, even bo and sunny are sort of shaking their heads going what the heck is going on here. >> you're hard to keep up with. >> you didn't do too bad there but after a good workout, got to drink up. >> all right. >> otherwise we're going to be in trouble with jill and michelle. >> just let jill know i did this. >> they taped it to promote michelle obama's let's move physical fitness campaign. >> i don't know how hard they worked out, though. wearing white shirts, they didn't have the sweat stains. >> maybe the sweats and sneakers next time. also did you notice that the vice president said, let's do this again next week? >> come on. you got to get on it day after day. >> a weekly workout. >> all right. well, for some of you your local news is next. for everyone else we'll be back with your "friday funnies." instead of mailing everyone my vacation photos,

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the apartment building where the fire was. when things like this happen, i think you find a new perspective on life. hi. red cross put us in a hotel so we were able to stay together. we're strong and, if we overcame that or if we can overcome that, we can overcome anything, so. [ sniffle ]

live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. >> thanks for joining us. we all had interesting commutes to work this morning. >> it is wet. the pond on the roads is cause hydroplaning at the caldecott tunnel tunnel. mike nicco warned us of that. >> mike? >> the rain was everywhere as heavy as advertised. doing drifting and i had a front wheel drive so that gives you an idea. the radar is on fire especially to the south and to the north. we will start to the south you can see the moderate-to-heavy rain pulling through the sunol grade to the tri-valley from hair to richmond and through the san ramon valley we are fining the heaviest of the wet weather into the north bay. zooming out you can see the

heavy weather is rotating through the areas and in the next hour, the heaviest weather is going to move on and we will still have a steady rain transferring over to scattered showers during the morning commute. by the afternoon, the showers will taper and we will get a bake but it will have high surf at the coast at mid-to-upper 60's. the worst is falling right now. sue has to tell you about accidents. >> quite a few solo spinouts with high wind. a big rig hit debris southbound 680 and the center divide northbound is slow. standing water according to the c.h.p. authority 280 at the parkway affecting all lanes. expect days astro valley eastbound 580 before 238, another solo spinout and reports westbound 580 at north livermore flooding and solo spinout and

greenville, reports of an accident solo spinout. extra caution. we continue coverage with a look at conditions on the peninsula where steady rain and winds are making driving a challenge for another day. abc7 news reporter nick smith is on the scene. >> i found all day not only early we saw lightning flashes but we have encountered so much standing water and slick rods and we are, again, reminding drivers to exercise caution as they move throughout the roads. right new we are in redwood city and we have noticed are pools of standing water. we are not the only area seeing a steady rainfall. look what we have found right there in san francisco: an s.u.v. crashed into the corner of this building at silver avenue and princeton. there were no injuries to