making news in america this morning, breaking right now, back in the usa following a year in space, astronaut scott kelly landing in houston overnight greeted by his family. what he said moments ago. republican rivalry, a new feud involving donald trump. former presidential candidate mitt romney kicking off an anti-trump effort today. the billionaire already firing back. a hole in the windshield. a driver shaken up. the terrifying moments on a highway. and backyard surprise. a nine-foot alligator caught taking a swim. good thursday morning, everyone.

we're going to start with that incredible homecoming overnight, 340 days in the making. >> early this morning astronaut scott kelly arrived in houston aboard a nasa jet from asia and he was greeted by his girlfriend and two daughters plus his twin brother mark and his wife gabby giffords. >> well, kelly is getting used to gravity again after spending most of the last year on board the international space station. abc's david kerley is at the johnson space center in houston. good morning, david. >> reporter: guy, scott kelly is back here in houston and what a trip it's been. >> it would have been great to get here quicker. i'm used to going 17,500 miles an hour, but this airplane doesn't do quite that so it took us some time. >> reporter: several years ago he let me get inside this soyuz capsule here in houston. it is very tight in there. that's why he was so happy when they got on the ground in kazakhstan. you heard him talking about breathing in the frigid air. everybody was in heavy coats and he's saying what's wrong with the air. it feels so good. it's so fresh. he was very happy to be on the ground. a record 340 days in space, the longest long duration space

flight for an american. and now for scott kelly, a battery of medical tests comparing him to his twin brother, mark, a former astronaut. mark's been the baseline on earth for those 340 days. now we learn about bone density loss, muscle loss, radiation effects, eyesight, all these things that may have happened to scott during this long duration flight. >> this mission is the latest achievement in our country's space program. but it's not the last. there will be more. it's in our dna of our country to explore, and we must never stop doing this. >> reporter: of course, this is science. this is all aimed at figuring out whether humans can go to mars. in essence, scott kelly, one of the first lab rats, he's home celebrating with friends and family. back to you. >> apparently space elongates your spine, so he's now two inches taller than his brother but apparently he'll shrink down to his regular height. >> by the time -- and it's interesting to see the side-by-side photo of the two of then.

he has seen more than 10,000 sunsets and sunrises in his 340 days up there in space. just absolutely incredible. we say welcome back home to commander kelly. let's move on now to politics and the battle to take down donald trump as he inches ever so closer to the republican nomination. the gop establishment scrambling to stop trump after he cemented his front-runner status with a seven-state run on super tuesday and former presidential candidate mitt romney leading the charge. it's "your voice, your vote." abc's lana zak has the latest. good morning, lana. >> reporter: good morning, reena and kendis. you know, listening to the rhetoric on the campaign trail, it's hard to tell if republicans are more concerned about hillary clinton or donald trump. with donald trump's high poll numbers materializing into votes and now a commanding lead in the delegate count, republicans are working to stop the man on track to lead the gop. today mitt romney is expected to make his case against the front-runner. trump already on the attack

tweeting "looks like two-time failed candidate mitt romney is going to be telling republicans how to get elected." just four years ago the two men stood side by side. >> it's my honor, real honor and privilege to endorse mitt romney. >> reporter: and with ben carson the only republican hinting at leaving the race, ted cruz is encouraging the supporters of others to abandon their number one choice. >> if you've been supporting another candidate, we welcome you. >> reporter: cruz arguing he alone can stop a presidential clinton or a president trump. ♪ >> reporter: on the democratic side hillary clinton taking on the air of nominee at a star-studded fund-raiser. >> thank you all so much. >> reporter: while bernie sanders argued it's not settled. >> she's not so inevitable today. >> reporter: and "the washington post" is reporting this morning

that the aide to clinton who helped set up her private e-mail server has been granted immunity by the fbi. the campaign says they are pleased he is cooperating. reena, kendis. >> all right, so that controversy does continue. big debate tonight, lana. thank you for joining us from washington. we want to get to more breaking news coming from asia. north korea specifically. lashing out. the communist country firing at least six short-range missiles from its east coast. an official with south korea says those missiles flew up to 90 miles into the sea of japan. the missiles were fired just hours after the united nations approved the toughest sanctions against the north in two decades. those new sanctions in response to the north's recent nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch, the state department is monitoring the situation. well, protesters clashed outside the supreme court as the justices debated the most significant abortion case in nearly 25 years. at issue is a texas law strictly regulating abortion clinics forcing providers to have admitting privileges at nearby

hospitals and making clinics meet standards for surgical centers. the death of justice antonin scalia leaves the court evenly split with justice anthony kennedy holding the swing vote. >> if the supreme court in this case upholds these laws, it will be a victory for patient health and safety. >> this case is not about overturning roe versus wade. what this case -- the issue in this case is can texas enact valid patient regulations that improve safety, and when over 210 women annually are hospitalized due to abortions, texas can. >> well, half the state's abortion clinics have closed, and only about ten would remain if the law is allowed to take full effect. the youngest victim of the kalamazoo, michigan, shooting continues her amazing recovery. 14-year-old abigail kopf was initially thought to be dead following the shooting spree but now her family says the teen has opened her eyes and is even recognizing loved ones.

doctors say that she may be well enough to move to a rehab facility next week. the other survivor also continues to improve. well, a late winter storm is marching east this morning. take a look at the radar. the storm bringing snow, rain and ice in missouri and illinois. that same system expected to bring 1 to 3 inches of snow to parts of the east coast tonight and into friday morning. well, still ahead a flight attendant accused of setting a fire in a plane's bathroom midflight. and a piece of an airplane wing discovered. could it be from malaysia flight 370? new details this morning about the american who found it. plus, unwanted guest. i'd say so. a massive al

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he was trying to get up an icy hill when this happened. his suv lost traction and started sliding backwards. it went for quite a ways and then take a look, fell off the road turning onto its side. the officer we're told was physically fine. the suv pulled up right and was even able to be driven back to the station. police in oklahoma city say levinson it is too early to tell if the death of a gas industry heavyweight was intentional. 56-year-old aubrey mcclendon was killed in a fiery crash. his suv slammed into a concrete bridge embankment. it was at more than 50 miles an hour. mcclendon was not wearing a seat belt. his death followed his indictment for allegedly conspiring to rig bids for oil and natural gas leases. mcclendon denied any wrongdoing. debris that washed up in mozambique has been tentatively linked to malaysia airlines flight 370. australian authorities released photos of it over the weekend. we've learned that an american says he found it. seattle resident blaine gibson says he chartered a boat to

search a remote sand bar for possible debris. he's made similar searches in other parts of the world. flight 370 disappeared two years ago with 239 people on board. well, now to the latest twist in the legal battle of "dancing with the stars" host erin andrews. andrews has filed a $75 million lawsuit against a nashville, tennessee, marriott and the man who secretly recorded her nude in her hotel room. well, now a woman has tweeted that she saw a representative for that hotel watching the video on tuesday at a restaurant with friends. she says the group was actually discussing andrews' body and the rep commented that if it was going to cost him millions of dollars he was going to watch it. he apologized. in a statement, he said he asked the group to stop viewing the videotape but said he didn't stop as quickly as he had hoped. new data from the fbi says federal background checks linked to gun sales are on pace for a record high and 2.5 million firearms checks were processed.

that's the third highest monthly total ever. fbi estimates that the number of checks will rise more than 6% this year above last year's record of more than 23 million. when we come back, caught on camera, a group of people smashing cases, emptying out a gun store. arrests announced overnight. and highway hazard. what caused this hole in a car's windshield. ge of their type 2 diabetes with non-insulin victoza®. for a while, i took a pill to lower my blood sugar. but it didn't get me to my goal. so i asked my doctor about victoza®. he said victoza® works differently than pills. and comes in a pen. victoza® is proven to lower blood sugar and a1c. it's taken once a day, any time. victoza® is not for weight loss, but it may help you lose some weight. victoza® works with your body to lower blood sugar in 3 ways: in the stomach, the liver, and the pancreas. vo: victoza® is an injectable prescription medicine

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well, the annual ceremonial

start to the iditarod dog sled race run in anchorage. it was shortened from 11 to 3 miles. it is sunday. well, they might want to consider moving the event to the northern rockies where there will be plenty of mountain snow this morning. wet road conditions along the west coast and for most of the southeast and mid-atlantic. slippery conditions there in big ten country. well, if you're flying airport delays possible in the windy city of chicago and good luck at o'hare and midway. well, an american airlines flight attendant is out on bond accused of deliberately setting a fire aboard a plane in flight. >> investigators say jonathan tafoya montana confessed to using a cigarette lighter to ignite paper towels as it came in for a landing and the fbi says he quickly put out the fire and then pretended that he had just discovered it. fortunately there were no

injuries. well, police in houston have made several arrests after a brazen smash and grab caught on camera. ten robbers broke into a gun store in the middle of the night using a pickup truck to rip off the door. this he shattered glass cases and then grabbed more than 50 weapons including assault rifles. the entire heist took just one minute and 11 seconds. a close call near seattle. take a look at this windshield after it was hit by a flying tractor trailer tire, the driver and the passenger amazingly were not seriously hurt but they suffered dozens of cuts from the shattered glass. the couple was actually celebrating the purchase of the honda civic having just registered moments before, well, despite the damage they say they feel lucky to be alive. look at that. >> wow. can they satake it back. a homeowner in florida got quite a surprise when he got home. a nine-foot alligator being hauled out of the backyard pool. it was in there during its own

butterfly swimming and had broken through a screen and went for a dip. the homeowner found it in the pool and called in a trapper to deal with it. it was returned to its habitat before anyone was hur. the san antonio spurs are the second team to lock up an nba playoff spot, the first to the warriors. >> now hoops highlights from our guys at espn. >> i'm scott van pelt. once again in the fourth quarter it all went terribly wrong for the oklahoma city thunder as they were in los angeles taking on the clippers. it looked like the thunder had this one well within their grasp. but here come the clippers. they close this game on a 25-4 run. chris paul to deandre jordan. there's steve ballmer. he is an insane wealth in man. once again, paul, no and once again jordan, yes, the tip-in and makes the free throw and not a good free throw shooter but gave them a two-point lead. final ten seconds, russell westbrook.

i have no idea what he was thinking. had plenty of time, could have gotten a better look, no and they let that big lead slip away. we're not supposed to root in this business but i would love to see boston college win a basketball team. their football team hasn't won a conference game. they got a lead late and after this miss, a wild scramble and looks like b.c. will win the game. but it's out of bounds with 1.1 on the clock which is enough time for coach got field to draw up a great play and somehow they lose. woen g rowan gets a wide-open one at the buzzer and boston college sees the victory slip out of their grasp. that's rough. they do have a home game against clemson this weekend. their last chance to get a win. check out our new live "sportscenter" 7:00 eastern. president obama rolled out the white house red carpet for special guests. champions of college football. >> yes, the alabama crimson tide

were back to celebrate their most recent title which they won in january. okay, so the frequency of their visits wasn't lost on the president. >> this is the fourth time i have hosted alabama here at the white house. so, clearly i brought you some good luck. in fact, you could call me obama. >> the president was given a number 16 jersey and helmet along with a football, of course, and some so-called experts say alabama has a good chance of being back at the white house next year. >> not ohio state. >> they could be too. you never know. and here's one that the president and the tide and plenty of others will be happy to see on a golf course in texas right in front of the course's designer. tiger woods. >> this was cool. check out taylor crozier on an 1-yard par 3 hole. that ball gets on the green and drops right into the hole.

woods was there celebrating with taylor and he was heard saying, are you kidding me right now? there he is. you know you're good if you impress tiger woods. >> totally. all right -- >> might have a future there. >> see him at the masters in five years or so. >> there you go. up next in "the pulse," sibling surprise. a teacher and student finding out they're sisters. >> ooh. the newest list of best places to live. did your city make the list?

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looking for their biological family, they were thrilled to finally receive a letter from the state adoption registry. >> we were just stunned. i mean you live your whole life as an only child and all of a sudden you have this sibling. >> here's what's messed up. at one point karen was diane's teacher and all these years they lived just 20 miles apart. they hope their story inspires others to find their roots. >> there's so much out there, ancestry.com and things where you can find your dna and genetic match to other people but this is incredible. >> really making a difference and fantastic. they've reunited. good news for fans of the tanner family who reunited, of course, so many of you binge-watched "fuller house." and now netflix has renewed "fuller house" for season two. >> the series, of course, follows d.j. tanner as she cares for her three kids with the help from her sister and bff. >> big names from the original series have already made cameos in season one but no sign of

whether mary-kate and ashley olsen. the producer says he's still trying to get the twins back. >> we hope they do. we want to see what they've been up to. >> they're adults. >> u.s. news & world report out with its annual best places to live. >> it ranks 100 largest metropolitan areas based on affordability, job prospects and quality of life and coming in at number one, denver, colorado, the mile high city and of course the home of the super bowl champion broncos. >> number two, the capital of texas, austin, also fayetteville, arkansas, number three followed by raleigh-durham, north carolina and colorado springs, so the emphasis there is places where pot is legal apparently, colorado. >> colorado, two cities in the top five. impressive. surprised san diego, d.c. not there. >> new york city not mentioned on that list. >> i wonder why. >> more news after this.

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abc7 news begins with breaking news. >> good morning, i am reggie aqui. >> i am natasha zouves. in walnut creek there is a large police presence near the police station. several streets are closed. >> right to our reporter, amy hollyfield. what is happening? >> we have moved to the livermore story we were on the way to the correct story but sent to livermore. a busy morning. this is the situation here. it was active here recently. we still have police on the scene. we have crime tape up here on pacific avenue in front of livermore city hall. where you see the police officers that is the back entrance to their police department. that is where the threat was happening. there was a man posing a threat

here and had officers very concerned. at this point, they are telling us the threat is over. they are not actively looking for anyone. however, they don't want to give us any more details than that. they are keeping us at a distance and working on gathering their information working on deciding what to tell us and what to release. they did want to get the word out to the people of livermore there is not a current active threat. nothing to be afraid of. but something happened. we will stay here and work the developing situation. stay with us. we continue to gather information. reporting in livermore for abc7 news. >> we will check on what is happening weather-wise, so, mike, it sounds like we will get rain. >> that is the key. we knew the storm would be live with a "1" on the scale. yesterday, you can see it moving through the heart of the area and breaking apart after leaving

.1" to half an inch of rain in sonoma and marin. scattered showers around castro valley to milpitas and over 237 to mountain view and sprinkles along the peninsula coast after pacifica and daly city. the front will stall over the top of us. there will be raining spots in the commute. isolated showers and better chance of scattered showers in the afternoon. in the evening, we are dry. we have more rain in the seven-day forecast. sue? >> we are going to the bay bridge on the eastern span. it looks great if you are up at 4 ok. traffic is flowing nicely into san francisco. in oakland a car is off the embankment westbound 580 at 35th and i see slow traffic eastbound direction. this is likely due to road work. lane 5, westbound, is blocked with a tow truck trying to get the car