that's what's making news good morning, america. white house in crisis. the bombshell report breaking overnight raising new questions about trump's ties to russia. members of the president's campaign in regular contact with russian intelligence officials before the election and new fallout from general michael flynn's resignation. what did the president know about those phone calls with the russian ambassador? mystery assassination. the north korean leader's half brother killed at an airport poisoned by suspected secret agents covering his face with a liquid-laced cloth. is this the image of one of the assassins. the new arrest this morning. close call for harrison ford. sources saying he flew dangerously close to a packed american airlines jet passing right over the top while landing his plane just two years after that crash landing on a golf course. the faa investigating.

will he lose his license? ♪ rumor has it rumor has it >> rumor wins best in show. >> and rumor has it. the new best in show crowned overnight, rumor, the german shepherd winning sweet redemption a year after coming, oh, so close beating out 2800 other pups from around the globe. this morning the top dog is here live in times square only on "gma." good morning, america. how beautiful is rumor? what's the over and under how many times we'll hear rumor has it? >> right here and she's here right here in times square. rumor is here in times square and not only big day for rumor but big for adele had a big win, won five grammys and a dog named after her song won westminster. that's a good week.

>> we'll meet rumor in a bit. explosive breaking news. where we begin, "the new york times" reporting that trump campaign aides and allies had repeated contacts with senior russian intelligence officials before the election. it comes on the heels of mike flynn's resignation as national security adviser after the justice department warned that he could be vulnerable to russian blackmail for lying about his contacts with russia. our chief white house correspondent jon karl starts us off. good morning, jon. >> reporter: good morning, george. that report in "the new york times" says that despite repeated denials that members of the campaign team for donald trump had repeated contacts with russian intelligence officials directly contradicting what the president himself has said. "the new york times" reports several of donald trump's associates both inside and outside of his campaign had repeated contacts with russian intelligence officials in the year leading up to the election. sources familiar with the matter tell abc news u.s. officials became concerned about the contacts before the election and started to investigate.

"the times" doesn't say what the conversations were about but does name one of the trump associates that was in contact with the russians, paul manafort. he was trump's campaign manager before being fired shortly after the republican convention. the contacts were discovered during the investigation into the hack of the democratic national committee. although u.s. officials told "the times" they've seen no evidence that the trump team cooperated with russia and the hack or had anything to do with it. but the contact with russian officials during the campaign contradicts what the white house told us just yesterday. >> can you still say definitively nobody on the trump campaign, not even general flynn, had any contact with the russians before the election? >> my understanding is that what general flynn has now expressed is that during the transition period, well, we were very clear during the transition period he did -- he did speak with the ambassador. >> i'm talking about during the campaign. >> i don't have any -- there's nothing that would conclude me anything different has changed with respect to that time period. >> reporter: last month then

president-elect trump flatly denied any communications between russia and his team. >> did you or anyone have contact with russia leading up to the campaign? >> nothing at all. >> reporter: it comes over outrage over contacts michael flynn had. with the russian ambassador before the inauguration. >> flynn was secretly communicating with russian officials at the same time that russia was attacking our democracy. >> reporter: even some republicans are concerned. >> obviously there's an administration that is in significant disarray as far as national security is concerned and they need to fix that. >> reporter: the president himself has responded with a series of tweets saying in one quote, the russian connection nonsense is merely an attempt to cover up the many mistakes made in hillary clinton's losing

campaign, and information has been given illegally to the failing "new york times" and the russians are responding. a spokesperson for vladimir putin sounding a bit like trump saying the reports are not based on any facts and he advises reporters not to read the morning papers. so both the russian government and the trump administration criticizing the media on this. >> not surprising we'd hear that from the russians. for more we go to pierre thomas who is in washington. pierre, you have been talking to your sources all night and what are you learning? >> reporter: good morning, robin. the fbi is in the middle of a broad investigation looking into potential ties between trump associates and suspected russian intelligence officials. authorities are investigating travel and phone calls involving trump associates in the year leading up to election and they have developed a list of spies who pose as academic leaders and

authorities are trying to figure out if the trump associates knew who they were dealing with or were being duped into giving information. so far they have not uncovered hard evidence there was any intentional cooperation between the trump associates and russian intelligence, robin. >> pierre, as far as michael flynn is concerned, we know that the fbi has interviewed him trying to get to the bottom of his relationship with the russian ambassador. >> reporter: sometime in the week after the inauguration, the fbi interviewed flynn about his conversation with the russian ambassador. the fbi won't comment but they're still assessing all the answers he gave and the justice department will have to make a final determination as to whether he told the complete truth. that's important because lying to the fbi, robin, is a felony. >> yes, we do know that. many are wondering what about jeff sessions, the new attorney general? where does he fall on all this. >> reporter: democrats on the hill are saying he needs to recuse himself because flynn and sessions were on the campaign trail for trump but so far sessions has not commented and we have no idea what he's going

to do. >> all right, pierre, thank you. >> okay, robin, more from senator lindsey graham from the senate armed services committee. thanks for joining us. you read that "the new york times" report and you saw the president's tweet saying it is fake news. the president, the vice president, members of the team have denied contacts with russia during the campaign. how do you reconcile that with "the new york times"? >> well, number one, we're not going to make a decision based on what a newspaper says but now it's time for congress to up its game. i do know this, that russia is interfering in the democratic process all over the world. they're actually funding some parties that are pro-russian and some other democracies. they're trying to break the backbone of democracies. they did hack into podesta's e-mail. they did hack into the dnc. they did share that with wikileaks to interfere in our election. that, i believe. now, here's the question. if there's contacts between the trump campaign and russian intelligence officials outside the norm, that's not only big

league bad, that's a game changer and i would change my view as to what congress should do. if they are contacts between trump officials and russian intelligence operatives during the campaign, we need a joint select committee in congress to get to the bottom of it and also look at trump's business ties to russia, if it is true. >> well, "the new york times" report is based on intercepted communications and they have -- they quote four intelligence officials, so you're prepared to go forward and call for that joint committee? >> i want to do a preliminary investigation where members of congress, myself and senator whitehouse are over seeing the fbi's role in this. i want to make sure myself these intercepts exist, that the communications are outside the norm, if that's the case, it's time for the congress in my view the senate to do a joint select committee where we can look at it holistically, not in a compartmentalized way to get to the bottom of it.

if it is true, it is very, very disturbing to me and russia needs to pay a price when it comes to interfering in our democracy and other democracies and any trump person who was working with the russians in an unacceptable way also needs to pay a price and maybe none of it's true but i can tell you this, the congress is not fake. there are real members of congress up here, republicans and democrats, who love our country and are going to make sure that checks and balances in place for 200 years work even when the president is in your own party. >> your litany of charges against russia raised by tom friedman says the biggest national security question staring us in the face, what is going on between donald trump and the russians? what's your answer? >> donald trump is an outlier when it comes to the russians. i do not know one republican senator who believes that russia is anything other than an enemy to democracy, that russia has tried to interfere in our elections of 2016.

i can't explain donald trump's view of russia. now, starting over, we've tried that twice. so the bottom line here is i'm not going to prejudge why he's the outlier. i'm going to try to find out what relationship his campaign had to the russians, if any, and if there was a relationship there, then it begins to explain some of his behavior. >> democrats are saying that in order to find out what's really going on you need donald trump's tax returns. do you agree? >> maybe so. the first thing i want to do is find out if there was any activity between the russians and the trump campaign that was outside the norms of acceptable. if that's true we need to look into all things russia when it comes to trump including his business ties to help explain where he's coming from. maybe it's just a policy difference. it's okay for trump to disagree with lindsey graham and other republicans on how to handle russia. it would not be okay to have the trump campaign receiving assistance from the russians. that would be a game changer.

>> senator graham, thanks very much for joining us this morning. >> thank you. okay, matthew dowd right here as well. you heard senator graham. if true he wants a broader bipartisan investigation. we have never seen anything like this, not even four weeks into a presidency. >> no, we aren't even a month in and already in the middle of a controversy. i was thinking, rumor is not just an all-star dog but rumors all over washington and right now what you're seeing, the significance of what lindsey graham said this morning and what john mccain said over the last 24 hours is donald trump had a very solid wall of republicans that had not broken for the last four weeks. it's now starting to crack. it's cracking in the senate and i think what happened with the report in "the new york times" is going to cause cracks in the house and i think he's right. there is going to probably be a select committee on this issue. >> you are also seeing reports from the military as well and struck by this from general tony thomas head of special operations command, our government continues to be in unbelievable turmoil. i hope they sort it out soon because we're a nation at war. that's the head of the special operations command.

>> he's an active general and as you know, george, they are always reluctant to make any comment about anything related to washington because that's their commander in chief and the administration is in charge of them and i think again that's another significant thing in the course of this. i think we are at a moment where donald trump's presidency is we've already talked about his moral authority in this and the things that have gone on. he has to figure out how does he make a turn in this because otherwise it's going to deteriorate day to day. >> he doesn't seem to -- >> his tweet is basically accusing the media it's their fault, the leaker's fault, somebody else's fault as opposed to there is a command and control problem in the white house he has not dealt with. >> people are waking up and their heads are spinning. a lot of information coming their way. you say there is a positive in all this. >> i think when you look at what happened in the course of this presidency so far is many people were fearful because republicans had all levers of power. they had the white house, the senate and then the house. but the american system actually works. we saw it with the judges when the executive order was done and

the judges basically democrat and republican judges put a stop on it and said, hold off, we have to take a look at this. now we've seen it in this where we had leakers, people in the government that were worried about what donald trump was doing and first amendment, freedom of the press that worked so though our system is clunky and imperfect and as churchill said democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others, actually the system works. >> and we are seeing it in action. okay, matt, thanks very much. over to michael. >> now to a big headline overseas. reports that the north korean leader's half brother was killed in a planned attack. abc's matt gutman joins us now from london with the latest. good morning, matt. >> reporter: hey, good morning, michael. we just learned investigators in malaysia have arrested a suspected female secret agent in this james bond-style hit right in the middle of a busy airport. at least one, possibly two, female assassins using a fast-acting poison to kill the former heir apparent to the north korean regime.

this morning a suspected female assassin arrested in the brazen poisoning of the heavyset half brother of north korea's dictator kim jong-un. police saying cctv led them to the femme fatale, a 28-year-old vietnamese woman local media say is this person in that lol t-shirt. police say she was alone at the time of the arrest adding a 46-year-old north korean male who sought initial medical assistance at the kuala lumpur international airport died en route to the hospital. it was kim jong-nam, the half brother of north korean despot, kim jong-un, awaiting a flight to his home when a woman covered his face with a cloth laced with a liquid. police say kim jong-nam complained of burning in his eyes rushed to the airport clinic, dizziness quickly led to death. the poison killing him before he reached the hospital. kim jong-nam was reportedly the eldest son of the former north

korean dictator kim jong-il, that's them side by side in this awkward family photo from 1981. south korean government officials believe kim was traveling on a false passport. it wasn't the first time he traveled on a fake document. kim jong-nam came to global attention when he was detained using another fake passport to enter japan to visit disneyland tokyo. now, we've learned that autopsy is being conducted on kim. discovering the type of poison used could tell investigators who commissioned this hit. right now evidence pointing to north korea. analysts tell us this latest assassination isn't a sign of regime instability there. they say it's just unfinished business in a regime that operates most like a mafia family. >> just brutal. >> matt, thank you. amy with the other top stories starting with concerns about that dam in california. they're working to reinforce the oroville dam north of sacramento as the region braces for more heavy rain tonight.

nearly 200,000 evacuations have been lifted but that could change if repairs do not hold and many families are opting to stay in shelters. the repairs could cost $200 million. president trump is now approved a disaster declaration for the state. what's believe to be the first time a d.r.e.a.m.er has been arrested during an immigration raid. they gathered at a jail near seattle demanding the release of 23-year-old daniel medina illegally brought to the u.s. as a child protected under former president obama's d.r.e.a.m.er program and they say he is a gang member but his lawyers deny that and say he has no criminal record. a 2-year-old boy is the latest victim of street violence in chicago. he was killed in a drive-by shooting during an apparent gang hit. no arrests have been made and this came on the same day an 11-year-old girl died from injuries suffered in a separate shooting. well, there is a developing story near corpus christi, texas, where crews are on the

scene of an apparent natural gas pipeline explosion. the fireball lit up the night sky. the blast reportedly shook homes as far as 60 miles away but no injuries reported. an officer in texas is being praised for his quick thinking. he saw this truck engulfed in flames approached a fast food drive-through so used his patrol car to push it away from the restaurant protecting everyone inside and because of his quick thinking no one was injured. and finally he's not your typical house pet. his name is wild thing. he's a 2500-pound buffalo raised by a texas couple since he was a baby. he lives in the house. they've given him his own bedroom. he apparently even eats and sits at the dining room table. they say he's pretty careful not to knock anything over and has been described like having a small car in the house. >> a small car? >> you say he sits at the table. >> yes, he sits at the table. maybe he stands at the table. he eats from the table. >> i can't make myself laugh. >> you're not supposed to make george laugh. he can't breathe.

>> sorry. >> blame wild thing. to ginger now. a difficult time in texas. >> you remember yesterday morning we were talking about the tornado watch. well, here was the result. four confirmed tornadoes in east texas. so fortunate there were no deaths and, look, people are really taking this seriously. the warnings came out and watches came out and they took cover. we thought this was great to show. we don't always get to compliment how well things can go. then watch out again today. it's really after the noon hour in the areas that are highlighted here. southern south carolina, the jet stream really gets going. savannah, brunswick, look at jacksonville in that risk area. you could see damaging winds and hail. there is a tornadic risk today too. the timing again goes after the noon hour. we stopped it right there at about 2:00 when some of those cells could become super cells and individual. that's when it'll be a problem.

i'm abc7 news mierlgs droou tuma. it's a mild day today. 64 san francisco, 65 oakland up to 68 in san jose, 66 the high in concord and 65 in napa. accuweather 7 day forecast, we got a day today but that all ends tomorrow morning. thursday morning, rain returns and then it's on and off showers you can see at least through next tuesday. and coming up that close call for harrison ford. sources saying the actor flew right over the top of a crowded passenger jet while landing his

own plane. the faa is now investigating. will he lose his license? and rumor's redemption. the german shepherd taking best in show at westminster. what's next for the top dog. he's here live this morning only on "gma." maybe she can talk to us, george. can talk to us, george. so sorry, excuse me. let me just get through here, sorry. oh wow, quite a turn out. tami. marcus. ok, other unlimited data plans haven't lived up to the name. but today, unlimited gets the network it deserves. and so do you. verizon. (cheers and applause) (mic reverb) (man) you're the man! uh, sorry, you need more information. it's unlimited the verizon way, without compromising reliability, on the largest, most advanced 4g lte network in america. (mic reverb) uh, sorry last thing.

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plus heart-health support with b vitamins. one a day men's in gummies and tablets. good morning east bay. good morning, 7:23. this is abc 7 mornings. developing news in san francisco where one was found dead following a crash on eddy street. that victim suffered head trauma, and they are treating it as a homicide. they are closed between van nuys and franklin. good morning, reggie, there is a delay in dublin and pleasa pleasa pleasanton. we have our spider here on the traffic camera, and we are thinning out a little bit on the left side there, the car pool lanes, and cash lanes are better than up the middle and earlier collisions cleared. 680 southbound wide open.

southbound 101 santa rosa to san francisco, one and a half hours for you, and this is the heavy spot at northbound 17 crawling due to a mud slide. between highway 1, you are just under two hours. >> that spider is coming for

now your accuweather forecast. temperatures in the 50s in a lot of spots. we have a mild start right now, and it will be a mild afternoon and evening. your p.m. planner showing you temperatures this afternoon going into the mid and upper 60s. enjoy. seven-day forecast, today is completely dry day for the next seven. wind tomorrow morning, showers the next day. >> we'll saver today. another update in 30 minutes and always on our news app and abc7

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that bombshell "new york times" report alleging members of the trump campaign contacted russian intelligence officials leading up to the election. sources tell abc news u.s. officials became concerned before the election and started to investigate. this coming just one day, as you know, after michael flynn resigned as national security adviser because of those phone calls with the russian ambassador before trump took office. this morning, the president has a very busy day ahead. he'll hold meetings with israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu. we begin with the latest flying mishap for harrison ford. it's being investigated by the faa for landing uncomfortably close to an american airlines jet packed with passengers. david kerley is on the scene at john wayne airport in california. good morning, david. >> reporter: good morning, george. it wasn't foggy on monday. it was noon. a typical sunny southern california day. harrison ford coming on to approach at this airport and talking to controllers.

these pictures taken the morning that sources tell abc news harrison ford was in a close call. the pilot of the single engine plane acknowledging instructions to land on runway 20 left at john wayne airport. but his single engine plane was heading to the parallel taxiway instead where an american airlines 737 with more than 100 passengers on board was waiting to cross the runway to take off. ford reportedly passed right over top of the jetliners asking controllers whether it was supposed to be below him. he landed safely but landing on a taxiway is a violation. the faa launched an investigation. not his first incident. two years ago ford suffered an engine failure just seconds after taking off from santa monica airport. >> landing on the course. >> crash landing that historic world war ii era plane on a golf course. bystanders and paramedics rushing to his rescue. a few months later he told amy robach he had recovered fully. >> how are you feeling? >> i'm doing great, thank you.

thank you, i'm back playing tennis, riding my bikes and having a good time. >> reporter: but while he played a spaceship captain han solo. >> kid, i've flown from one side of this galaxy to another. >> reporter: and flew a plane as indiana jones. >> i didn't know you could fly a plane. >> fly, yes. land, no. >> reporter: ford has said flying gives him an identity other than harrison ford the actor. >> get off my plane. >> reporter: as he told our barbara walters. >> i love the freedom of flight. i love the places you go. i love seeing the world from -- from an airplane. i'm in love with flying. >> reporter: now the ntsb is telling abc news it is gathering information but the faa investigation is under way this morning. the possible outcomes, nothing could come of this. harrison ford could get a letter of reprimand or a chance, george, they could take his

license away. >> you think they'll go that far, david? >> reporter: it's hard to say. i mean, it is a serious incident. the faa will be talking to the pilot of both care craft and controllers. >> okay, david, thanks very much. let's talk to our aviation analyst stephen ganyard about this. thanks for joining us. ford was known as a pretty strong pilot after pulling off that crash landing in 2014. what do you think happened? >> he was a strong pilot then, he's a strong pilot now. he made a mistake as every pilot has or will in the past. me included. if you saw the graphic you saw you have two parallel runways and the inboard taxiway and he for some reason was convinced that he was lined up with the left runway when he was, in fact, lined up with the taxiway. sometimes in these high workload environments when landing and john wayne is a busy airport you can get tricked into your brain can help you make mistakes. we see it often. airplanes land on the wrong runway and land on taxiways. a couple years ago we saw the 747 land at the wrong airport so

i'll go out a bit and be contrary and say that harrison made a mistake. he saw that american jet. where those people in any danger? no. >> so they were not in any danger. so this idea that maybe he should face some kind of -- there are no age restrictions on private pilots. he's 74. for commercial pilots it's 65. >> no age restrictions. you have to meet your faa physical you go through every year but i don't think we're at the age with harrison we need to have a discussion about taking away the keys. >> you don't think he should get a big penalty. >> i don't. the only penalty that will occur the embarrassment he will suffer from the ribbing he'll take from his buddies at the flying hangar. >> okay, steve ganyard, thanks very much. >> pilots, they're known to do that perhaps. coming up in two minutes a groundbreaking case. a dairy queen manager charged with the death of one of her employees. is this a case of workplace bullying going too far? come on back.

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we are back now with that groundbreaking bullying case. a missouri dairy queen manager charged with the death of one of her employees after he took his own life. abc's mara schiavocampo is here with much more on this. a lot of people are watching this. >> it's a very important case, robin. that manager facing four years in prison if convicted. she was charged after the coroner called for an investigation. witnesses testifying that she bullied the victim for months leading him to suicide. just days before christmas, 17-year-old kenny suttner took his own life. now this morning, his former boss is facing what's believed to be unprecedented manslaughter charges over his suicide. prosecutors accusing her of essentially bullying him to death. >> each witness was able to testify to different and specific instances in which they had knowledge of kenny being bullied. >> reporter: suttner worked at

this fayette, missouri, dairy queen where prosecutors say his 21-year-old supervisor harley branham subjected him to constant harassment. his friends saying the teen was also bullied for years at his high school, all of the humiliation, they say, finally driving him to suicide. after his death, the coroner making the rare move to call an official inquest, a public hearing with a six-person jury to determine whether criminal charges should be filed. >> proving that someone else led a person up to that act, most of the time you see that there's direct evidence and that does make this very different. >> reporter: several co-workers testified that suttner was a target because of his weight and a speech impediment alleging branham constantly ridiculed him once reportedly forcing him to lie flat on his stomach and clean the floor by hand. the coroner inquest taking just an hour to conclude branham was the principal in the cause of

death charging her with second degree involuntary manslaughter saying she acted with criminal negligence by harassing kenneth suttner. making her first court appearance tuesday, she denied bullying suttner testifying during the inquest there's a lot of people at dairy queen saying i was the reason, but i don't understand why it would be that way. >> we look forward to the opportunity to present additional evidence and reviewing the evidence that the state intends to present in court. >> reporter: suttner's family issuing this statement tuesday saying, it's long overdue that the issue of bullying be brought to light. >> this has given them a peace that kenny's voice has been heard. >> reporter: in response to that inquest the school district says they were not permitted to fairly defend themselves at the hearing. as for the dairy queen's role in this case in a statement to abc news they noted that location is an independently owned and operated franchise, robin. >> mara, thank you. our chief legal analyst dan abrams joins us.

the charge serksd degree involuntary manslaughter, does that include bullying? >> look, typically these are the kind of cases that end up in civil court, not criminal court. and what they're saying here is that she caused the death. that's going to be the legal question, negligently causing the death. the defense, of course, is going to say, wait a sec. there were all these other people bullying him and you're pointing the finger at her saying she caused him to commit suicide. that's going to be the challenge. that's why this could be a precedent-setting case. >> how do you go about prosecuting it? >> you talk about how awful it was for this kid. you talk about what they did in this coroner's inquest meaning they want to get the jury so angry at this person to say, this isn't normal. this isn't typical bullying. this isn't the sort of thing you hear about. this was so bad it was so different that it led him to take his own life and, you know what, someone like her should have known it could lead to something like this.

>> a lot of people are watching this case. >> a lot because this -- you want to talk about sending a message about bullying. using the criminal courts to send a message like this, you can talk about administrative, you can talk about new rules in schools, when you're talking about charging someone with second degree involuntary manslaughter, you are sending the ultimate message. it does not mean this is going to be an easy case to win. >> people are taking notice. >> yeah. >> all right, dan, thank you very much. michael. >> thank you, robin. coming up in two minutes, rumor has it, the new westminster champ, rumor, the german shepherd is here live. champ, rumor, the german shepherd is here live. for millions of baby boomers there's a serious virus out there that's been almost forgotten. it's hepatitis c. one in 30 boomers has hep c, yet most don't even know it. because it can hide in your body for years without symptoms, and it's not tested for in routine blood work. the cdc recommends all baby boomers get tested. if you have hep c, it can be cured.

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a long time... goodyear viva 3 all-season tires 60,000-mile treadwear warranty starting at $53 save money. live better. walmart. we're back now with westminster's new top dog, rumor, the german shepherd taking home the coveted best in show title overnight. we'll meet her in just a minute. but t.j. holmes has the highlights. >> these dogs are the best in the world and compete and train all year for this stuff, right? they want the title but the dog

that ended up winning, you know what he was doing just a month ago, it was chilling as somebody's house pet. came out of retirement and proved she's still got it. the super bowl for our four-legged friends. >> very tough group. there are a lot of great dogs. >> reporter: the westminster dog show, 2,800 dogs, 190 breeds from 49 states and 16 foreign countries competing for the title of top dog. >> best in show at the 141st annual westminster kennel club dog show, the german shepherd. >> rumor. rumor wins best in show. >> reporter: this year it's rumor, the german shepherd. >> this is the second dog from the herding group to win best in show. >> reporter: the 5-year-old from wisconsin with the comeback win. >> the winner of the herding group. >> reporter: rumor was a favorite at last year's competition but came up short falling to c.j., the german

short-haired pointer. this morning rumor is your best in show. her owner says her future might be filled with puppies. the 141-year-old showcase brings dogs, big and little, to madison square garden. the fierce and fluffy competition can be rough for some of the pups. this st. bernard just needed to catch a nap but the dogs could easily shake it off and hit the floor but some needed a nice belly pat. backstage the finalists get first class treatment. >> big dog at a small package. >> reporter: from the cute and compact to the big and tough. but there could only be one best in show. and this morning, rumor is the newest member of pooch royalty. [ cheers and applause ] >> all right. now that is a true story, rumor retired after being runner-up last year. the family said, you know what, let's give it a shot. came out of retirement just last month and did a few shows and here she is. >> kind of like the michael jordan of dogs. >> jordan can't even do that. >> but amazing story, though, t.j. and now the moment we've all

been waiting for. let's meet this year's westminster champ, rumor, and her breeder/handler/owner kent boyles. hi, kent. >> how are you? >> congratulations. >> thank you, gentlemen. >> we're joined by your family as well. your wife and beautiful kids and also gail miller bisher from westminster dog show. and congratulations and last year rumor was favorite for best in show last year. i thought it was for me. i was about to jump. but rumor was favorite last year for best in show and lost to c.j. who was a short-haired pointer but how does it feel to win it all this time? >> awesome experience. >> and as a family, you are all very supportive of this. how is it for you to watch your pet off the couch? very exciting. did you enjoy it? >> it's really fun to see her run around and get best in show. >> you were talking about michael jordan coming out of retirement but this dog, you

were telling me stayed in shape. show ready. didn't have to do a whole lot. >> she loves to perform and went with us all last year. >> how rare is it? german shepherds, we don't see german shepherd win this competition. >> we haven't had a herding dog win best in show since 1987 it was really time i felt that a herding dog came out and did it and rumor did it. she took it all. [ cheers and applause ] >> and she had a little more competition, gail, because there were three new breeds. there was a american hairless terrier, pumi and sloughi. >> sloughi. >> well, mine is a sloughi, okay. [ laughter ] and why were they chosen to compete this year. >> these were newly eligible breeds because the american kennel club recognized them in 2016 so this was historic for those dogs. it was the first time they had a representative at the madison square garden showing at westminster. >> you all explained as well

playing the song all morning and know adele had a big week and winning some more. why the name? why the name came about in the first place because the full name is what? >> lockenhaus rumor has it v kenlyn. >> why did you pick that name? >> the kids picked it. we decided to name the litter with rs so the brothers and sisters were "r" litters but rumor has it. >> adele fan. well done. it worked out. no rumor that rumor is now the champion. that's right. and you know what, congratulations. i'm glad you stayed in shape. rumor is always in shape. you need to stay in shape. thank you gail and the family. coming up, ginger has the latest on the race to secure that california dam as another storm moves in today and we also have an important health alert. the best and worst places to carry body fat. dr. besser is here to talk about that and one more thing, the one

and only rick astley is here performing live. you don't want to miss that. ♪ never gonna make you cry coming up, "gma's" concert series is presented by belvita breakfast biscuits, the delicious way to fuel your morning. series is brought to you by belvita breakfast biscuits. series is brought to you by belvita breakfast biscuits. don't pay hundreds more for taxes and fees on your wireless bill. introducing t-mobile one. now with taxes and fees included. get 4 lines of unlimited lte data for 40 bucks each. all unlimited. all in! switch to t-mobile today.

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[phey dad.g] hey sweetie, how was your first week? long. it'll get better. i'm at the edward jones office, like sue suggested. thanks for doing this, dad. so i thought it might be time to talk about a financial strategy. you mean pay him back? knowing your future is about more than just you. so let's start talking about your long-term goals. multiplied by 14,000 financial advisors, it's a big deal. and it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. and back here on "gma," evacuation notices have been lifted for the oroville dam. that's the good news but there is a lot of water coming your way, especially after midnight as things get going here. you can see that active pacific jet stream. the storms lined up in the pacific. it'll be day after day and after midnight through tomorrow morning in northern california and then check this out, by friday, look, 3:00 p.m., noon, l.a., santa barbara, heavy rain is coming through.

you know that will be an issue in any burn scar areas. rainfall totals end up like this.

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good morning south bay, let's get up and get going. good morning, isn't it beautiful outside? look at the sunrise behind me. that's all leaving us tomorrow. hi, drew. >> hi. the cloud cover right now is going to give us rain tomorrow. right now, mild in the 50s, so your afternoon planner features sun, but the afternoon, we get into the 60s again, mid to upper 60ss by 4:00. seven-day forecast, rain returns tomorrow morning and on and off showers in the forecast through tuesday. >> all right. a look at the roads. certainly is filling in and slowing down in several areas. there is a crash near the peninsula on the southbound side of 101 near willow road. north of that, a multicar crash. the two right lanes are blocked now, stacking up quickly, and if you are coming over the bridge, the westbound side, jammed, basically back to the east bay.

>> thank you. enjoy the day you have today, another update in 30 minutes and always on the news app at abc7news.com. join us all every weekday morning from 4:30 to 7:00. the news conti

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good morning, america. it's 8:00 a.m. the white house in crisis. breaking new details and a bombshell report raising big questions about the administration's ties to russia. were members of trump's campaign in regular contact with russian intelligence and the new fallout this morning after the resignation of national security adviser michael flynn. health alert this morning. the best and worst places to carry body fat. what should get you worried and how to target losing it? dr. besser is here with a simple test to see if you're at risk. ♪ here we go american girl's newest doll is a boy. all kinds of reaction to the brand-new dolls this morning. revealing the number one request from parents and kids. some fans even making their own boy dolls. now logan is here on "gma" live. ♪ never gonna to give you up we're never gonna give you up.

rick astley is joining us live and he's saying -- >> good morning, america. >> i love it. [ applause ] >> good morning, everyone. there's our crowd. welcome. rick astley over there. >> all right. i was trying to be cool. >> it didn't work. >> it didn't. he's just hanging out. i love this about him. just hanging out in the studio with us. one of the nicest guys. but, you know, his music brings back such warm, wonderful -- >> happy, happy. >> happy, happy, happy, happy and it's been so much fun having rumor here too. having fun with her fresh off the win. >> how could you not love her? just a beautiful dog. how could you not love her? let's take a look back at an earlier moment with rumor. ♪ never gonna give you up never gonna let you down ♪

>> i just got it. you've just been rickrolled. when you think you're clicking on a link and instead you get a dose of '80s rick astley. it's a big internet prank. it's a big prank. it's viral and rick, of course, he's chilling over there and ready to perform. you were more excited -- i've never seen you like this. >> i know. i'm a schoolgirl. it's going to happen. it's going to happen. >> the '80s move. >> yeah. >> elaine from "seinfeld." >> thank you. thank you. so, consider yourself rickrolled, everybody. he'll come up. also we have one of the biggest reveals of the year, the "sports illustrated" swimsuit edition cover model. wow, wow, wow. times three. she is a showstopper. we'll tell you coming up in "pop news." >> find out fast. first we have to get the morning rundown from amy. >> good morning, guys. we begin with the new bombshell in the crisis rocking the white house. "the new york times" reporting president trump's campaign aides

and allies had repeated contacts with russian intelligence officials before the election. that news comes amid growing fallout from the resignation of national security adviser michael flynn. the president is reacting this morning and our chief white house correspondent jonathan karl is tracking it all. jon, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, amy. it is quite an explosive report because it directly contradicts the denials that have come from the president himself who has said that nobody on his campaign team had any contact with the russians. in fact, just yesterday i asked white house press secretary sean spicer about that. >> can you still say definitively nobody on the trump campaign not even general flynn had any contact with the russians before the election? >> my understanding is that what general flynn has now expressed is that during the transition period -- well, we were very clear that during the transition period, he did -- he did speak with the ambassador. >> i'm talking about during the campaign. >> there's nothing that would conclude me that anything different has changed with respect to that time. >> reporter: now we have a response from the president himself this morning. it comes on twitter.

he tweet, quote, the russian connection nonsense is merely an attempt to cover up the many mistakes made in hillary clinton's losing campaign. we have also heard from the russians. spokesperson for vladimir putin dmitri peskov calling the report not based on any facts and advised people not to read the morning papers. >> thank you. another development raising tensions between the u.s. and russian. a u.s. official confirming russia has secretly deployed a new cruise missile that is now operational apparently violating a treaty signed in 1987. well, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu meets with president trump today. it comes as the white house now acknowledges the so-called two-state solution between the israelis and palestinians may not be a condition for peace. and we have new details about the reported murder of north korean dictator kim jong-un's brother. police in malaysia confirm they've arrested an alleged female agent linked to the suspected poisoning of kim

jong-nam at the airport in kuala lumpur. back here in this country a new warning about a danger on the road. a study by aaa is raising concerns about the driving habits of millennials. researchers found 88% of drivers between the age of 19 and 24 admit they've engaged in risky behavior like texting behind the wheel or running a red light in the last month. and finally, let's end the newscast on an uplifting note. take a look at what a student in upstate new york did at her high school. she spent weeks writing valentine's day cards for all 1,800 students. posting them on their lockers. she wishes to remain anonymous and you know what, she wasn't the only one showing valentine's day spirit. a teenager in wisconsin handed a rose to every girl in his school. more than 600 of them. he wanted to make sure no girls were left out this valentine's day and those roses, he ordered them from ecuador in bulk and spent $450 and spent eight hours dethorning them and cleaning them.

my hats off to zack peterson because he's not anonymous. i want to say thanks. >> so great. >> i know. thanks for sharing that. >> that was really nice. >> really nice. how about some nice "pop news." >> you got it, robin. good morning, everybody. [ applause ] "pop news" time. and we're going to begin with this on the heels of the incredible success of "the people v. o.j. simpson," ryan murphy is confirming the next scandal he'll take on in "american crime story" is the monica lewinsky story. ooh. hello. i wasn't expecting that reaction. not so good? interested? >> good or bad? >> you're interested. >> okay. >> well, everybody -- >> we got a disagreement at the table. >> everybody thought they knew the o.j. story and were captivated by the acting and layers. it won so many awards. here we go, open mind. sarah paulson, the fabulous sarah paulson on board. murphy staying tight-lipped on what role. he led on to fans not hillary clinton. funny you should say that.

some role earmarked for her and has someone in mind for hillary clinton. he will not say who. the fx series will be based on former abc contributor i believe jeffrey toobin. >> he's here. >> wrote a book called "a vast conspiracy: the real sex scandal that nearly brought down a president." which details the events leading up to the impeachment of president bill clinton. murphy explains the series is less about the clinton, though, and more about the three women and this could be a clue as to sarah paulson's role. paula jones, linda tripp and monica lewinsky. he'll focus on those ladies, all of whom have yet to comment and starts shooting at the end of this year. i'm intrigued. the role of "pop news." i have done my job. i have intrigued robin roberts. >> very good. >> check. also in "pop news" this morning, it's official. kate upton will grace the cover of this year's "sports illustrated" swimsuit edition. >> again? >> again. the announcement made on "jimmy kimmel live" telling the late

night host she only found out about it earlier that day. she actually got not one, not two but three different covers. we couldn't show you all of those, those craftily placed ribbons were there for a reason. we had to order large ribbons from our graphics department. working overtime. >> stop making george laugh. >> george is sick, everybody. that's why i threw up those pictures. >> cheer him up. inside the issue with upton on the cover you'll see christie brinkley 63 years young posing with her two daughters and then also mrs. derek jeter, hannah, she's pregnant and took those pictures after finding out she was pregnant. all right. just saying. let's get back to upton. the 24-year-old model has been in the swimsuit edition five times. it is her third time on the cover and now times three. so, enjoy. >> yeah. [ applause ]

>> congrats to her. congrats. >> she looks fabulous. >> then, remember hot felon. do you remember the story of hot felon in -- >> oh, yeah. >> i don't know if you remember this. we certainly talked about it. very big in sort of online. there he is. that is a tear tattoo. his name is jeremy meeks. back then he was having his picture taken for all the wrong reasons which is they went viral. the pictures landed him the nickname hot felon. now there's a happy ending to the story. meeks is on the straight and narrow and he's walking on it as well. the 33-year-old just landed his first show during new york fashion week strutting for designer philipp plein is a show that drew kylie jenner and madonna to the front row. meeks says he doesn't mind the nickname because of all of the opportunities it created for him and his family. he is married with three kids and happily working. >> cleaned up his act. [ applause ] >> okay.

>> yes, people said he was destined when they saw the picture of him. they thought he was destined for the runway. >> that's "pop news." >> thank you, lara spencer. [ applause ] hey, coming up we have that heart health alert. the best and worst places to carry body fat. the simple test to see if you're at risk. dr. richard besser here with that. a toy revolution. the brand-new american boy doll here. the first of its kind and it is here in times square with us. it's about time, right? >> yes. "gma's morning menu" is brought to you by the fast, powerful cough relief of robitussin. because it's never just a cough. because it's never just a cough. what i love most about tempur-pedic mattresses... is that they contour to your body. you just have to lay back in my tempur-pedic, and it just kind of forms to my body. it comes up to you, like, hey, there you are... hey there you are. ...i'm going to put you to sleep now. it keeps us comfortable and asleep at night.

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♪ we are back now with the latest on the most dangerous places to carry body fat and the places you don't have to worry about as much and how it all can affect your heart. our chief health and medical

editor dr. richard besser is here with this. this study broke it down for us. >> that's right. so it's a new study, a big study to look to see is there a genetic link between where you carry your fat and risk of disease so they looked at hundreds of thousands of people and what they found was that the same genes that said you're a person with a lot of belly fat are the same genes that increased your risk for diabetes and heart disease. >> well, so take us through the trouble spots. there are some specific ones. >> there's basically a couple different types of fat. there are people who tend to carry their fat as belly fat, right in here and that fat we think is a little riskier. we think it may release hormones that increase your risk, it increases your risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. they're more apple shaped then there are other people who tend to carry more of their fat down here on their legs and in their butt. >> amen. guilty. >> right. >> guilty. >> you know who you are.

>> yep, we do. >> and that subcutaneous fat under the skin is less likely to be hormonally active. less likely to put you at risk for a lot of those diseases. >> good to know. >> then there are other people who have fat all over and there are risks for being overweight regardless of where it is. risks from obesity in terms of strain on your heart on problems with your joints and sleep apnea. and there's a problem there as well. >> the battle of the bulge. what do we do? >> you're going to hear people who say, well, here's some exercises that will lose all the arm fat or ones that will lose the butt fat. in order to lose fat you got to lose it all over the place and, unfortunately, there's no simple way. i've got three things that i always say around this, to lose weight you need to eat less, so fewer calorie, you need to eat differently so less processed food, more vegetables, less simple sugar, more whole grains then you need to move more and use your body and make it as strong as possible. some people will do all those things and still not lose weight but if you're using your body

you will be the healthiest you can be. >> a dear cousin heard chris cuomo said eat less, move more. she dropped over 100 pounds by hearing that. something she had been working on and sometimes you have to have that little trigger. >> even if you can't lose the weight control your blood pressure and sugar. move more. you're going to be the healthiest you could be and that's going to be great for you. >> because, you know, baby, i own this right here. so as i say good-bye to you, coming up, it's the toy changing the game for kids. the brand-new american boy doll next. proud of it, baby. proud of it, baby. coming back n my asthma st on my long-term control medicine. i talked to my doctor and found a missing piece in my asthma treatment with breo. once-daily breo prevents asthma symptoms. breo is for adults with asthma not well controlled on a long-term asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. breo won't replace a rescue inhaler

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back here on "good morning america" fair warning, this is the cutest weather related video you're going to see all week. at least it was for me. milo, an 8-year-old rescue cat and the little squirrel was trying to get food and trying to figure each other out. i don't know that they know the glass is there. i'll post it so you can see more. at one point the squirrel pops up, what's over there and the cat looks over there. so cute.

i'm abc7 news mierlgs droou tuma. it's a mild day today. 64 san francisco, 65 oakland up to 68 in san jose, 66 the high in concord and 65 in napa. accuweather 7 day forecast, we got a day today but that all ends tomorrow morning. thursday morning, rain returns and then it's on and off showers you can see at least through next tuesday. and now to the toy that is changing the game for families everywhere. mattel announcing american girl is releasing its first ever boy doll named logan everett and jesse palmer is here with the details. >> that's right, michael. american girl is welcoming the boy, all part of its plan to make products more diverse and roll out dolls with broader experiences and interests. this morning, it's a boy. american girl's brand-new blockbuster debut doll is named logan. >> people have been asking for a boy character. >> reporter: for the first time

in the company's 31-year history a boy is joining the ranks of 29 million american girl dolls. >> i think toymakers are thinking about gender differently when they launch products and so american girl maybe wants to launch this boy toy logan everett to kind of get boys involved in the brand. >> let's go look at kit. she's right here. >> reporter: the company saying overnight parents and kids have been asking for years for a boy doll. some even go to extreme lengths to make their own. >> she looks like a girl right now, but once you add the clothes and the wig, the magic happens. it looks like a boy. >> reporter: reaction to logan has been fast and furious. a lot of parents saying it's about time. every time we go my son asks where is the american boy section? and i can't thank you enough for finally making a boy doll. it's all part of a larger movement in the industry to make toys relatable to all kids. hasbro redoing their easy-bake oven to be gender neutral. just a few years ago, lego and nerf redesigning toy lines to

appeal to both girls and boys. >> when you have a lineup of toys that has both boy and girl characters and different races, it's a toy that's for everybody, and as long as it's marketed for everybody, then everybody can play with it. >> reporter: profit is fueling the moves too. sales have surged for american girl with more diverse dolls introduced into the line. and american girl's plans go beyond just boy dolls. the company will reportedly introduce a korean-american character named z yang and a historical hawaiian character named nanea later this year. michael. >> thank you, jesse. >> joining us now is editor of mom.me, ericka souter. welcome, ericka. >> hi. >> is this something we can see as a trend in the toy industry? >> yes, it is. we see more and more toy companies going beyond the traditional target audience and seen gender inclusive advertising. a year and a half ago there was a little boy featured in a barbie commercial and i'd like to think this is out of the goodness out of their hearts but it's also a smart business move providing more options for boys

and girls who want to play with dolls and parents also feel like they have an ally in providing their kids those options. >> what does it say about evolving gender roles, as well? >> yeah, well, gender roles are definitely evolving and the fact parents are so eager for the change prove that. they don't want to keep their kids in a box when it comes to what toy options or playtime is. they want them to be happy and confident and free, free to play with whatever they want to play with. >> what should parents consider before buying your child a doll? >> well, it's not just -- it's not a huge consideration for every child. little girls have been playing with boy dolls for years. i had a ken doll. when it comes to boys that's more controversial for some families so talk to your co-parent or spouse and make sure you're on the same page. you don't want there to be arguments or tension about providing this for your child. number two, be prepared for the criticism. some people feel that little boys shouldn't play with dolls and little girls shouldn't play with trucks so you're going to get some criticism and have to be prepared for that.

number three, you want your child to feel supported. if you make the decision to allow your little one -- little boy to play with a doll, you want them to feel that they're not doing anything wrong and that you think this is a fun option for them. >> and i'm a big fan of american doll -- i've been there many times, taken dolls to the suite where they do their hair and all that stuff. i mean, daddy is all in. daddy is all in. >> it's so much fun. >> congratulations to you on your new baby. >> thank you very much. coming up, "big little lies" star shailene woodley is here. you don't want to miss that.

good morning north bay, let's get up and get going. good morning to you. let's get a check of the traffic. >> good morning, we have 33 incidents on the boards right now. not too terrible. average for a dry morning like today. 280 at 17 filling in here through the south bay, and drive times are doing okay through walnut creek and southbound 101 and santa rosa, not so much. santa cruz is a long commute, hour and a half. >> thank you.

good morning, temperatures out there right now onment mild side for this time of the year. we're in the 50s leading the way to a mild afternoon decembspite clouds out there. 4:00, temperatures into the 60s, a similar afternoon temperature to what we experienced yesterday. here's the accuweather seven-day forecast. dry today, but changes tomorrow. thursday, the morning rain returns, a light storm on the scale, but it does affect tomorrow morning's commute. >> all right, drew, thank you. another abc 7 news update in 30 minutes, and shortly after, we have a special report on the president's meeting with prime

minister benjamin netanyahu at 9:00 a.m. here on abc 7 and it's streamed live on ♪ something big i feel it happening ♪ [ applause ] we got a great crowd again here with us on this wednesday morning and demetrius is here with us. last week -- >> yes. >> george has a little bit of a cold. so be on standby in case we need you again. >> i am going to start us out. name that tune. everybody listen. ♪ >> oh, yes. >> the phone. >> you're the only one that recognizes it. >> it's the old nokia, the old flip phone. i wish we had one to show you. the reason we're playing that, it's coming back. >> is it really? >> yes. [ applause ] >> the battery lasted a long

time. kind of instructable. all the things -- >> that we complain about now they don't last -- >> there it is right now. >> you drop it, you have to replace the glass. that thing you could do anything. >> they're bringing it back. >> bringing it back. >> yeah. >> is there a camera on it? >> it's a phone. it's a phone. -- >> no. i'm asking for everybody else. because everyone wants to take a selfie and all that now. >> i miss my blackberry. >> i loved the blackberry, so easy to type on. >> that was my favorite actually. >> what else would you like them to bring back? vcr? the what? >> the raizrrazr. >> you thought you were something when you had the razr. >> what is something you'd like to see come back. >> i like the vcr. >> really? >> really. >> yes, i do. >> tapes clogging up -- >> i miss going to blockbuster. i enjoyed that process. [ applause ] >> that was fun. >> i liked going through the

aisles. >> yeah. >> searching for a film. now you just download it. it's all so simple. >> you don't want an eight-track. >> do you have one? >> no. i used to, though. but it was funny because -- >> the wheels. >> you had to keep riding around in the car. there was no -- no, you had to keep riding -- >> there was no rewind. >> no, not back to a particular song. you could rewind it back to a section but to the to the particular song. >> that's funny. >> not many kids at home are going, what's an eight-track? >> you know what we sound like, back in my day. >> yes. >> you know, i miss jheri curls. i miss a good jheri curl back in the day. >> please tell me we have a picture. >> no. i never really had a jheri curl. >> did you have real big hair? >> whoa. >> this is not a wig. you know, i had a little bit of a fro and in college i had new addition was big and bobby brown

and had the high top kid 'n play. and then they had -- george is laughing at me so i had all these different hairstyles. a little curl on top and couches with plastic on them. >> you needed it with the jheri curl. the activator. >> oh, look. >> they had a picture of it. >> back down memory lane. >> oh, yeah, right there. remember those hot summer days. >> you go to your grandmother's house, sweat. >> so much fun. >> you know, okay. we're going to move on from that and we're going to go to our next guest who stars in the highly anticipated hbo show "big little lies." please welcome the extremely talented shailene woodley. come on out, shailene. [ applause ] >> hey. >> hey. how are you doing, beautiful? >> i'm great. how are you? >> i'm great.

>> nice to have you here. >> just want to say hello. welcome back. so happy to see you. >> love having you here. >> you look fantastic. i love it. >> thank you. >> so nice. >> and this is a morning show and i hear that you used to have a very enthusiastic like wake-up call. >> yeah, i did. you know, back in the day i use -- i was on this tv show where you guys can relate where you have to wake up at like 3:30 a.m. to get to work and so i had to sort of fake it till i maked it -- made it and wake up every day and be like good morning, good morning. trick myself into loving waking up. yeah, it works until it stops working. >> tell us about this working with nicole kidman, reese witherspoon. >> oh, it was so boring, you know. yeah. it was amazing. they're -- the thing about nicole and reese have been in this industry for so long and they actually genuinely still

love acting and still love what they do to the point where they're producing their own content and they're creating their own projects and that's how this show came about. it was a book that reese fell in love with and she wanted to explore the inner psyche of women which you don't really see in cinema or television. so i just feel really inspired to have learned a lot interest them. >> can you share with us what "big little lies" means? >> yes, there is a lot of really big lies that are littered throughout the show. it's about a group of mothers who come together via their first grade children and you get to explore the relationship dynamics between moms and their spouse, moms and their children, moms and other moms, which i don't -- >> let's see a little bit. your character is new in town and your neighbors are trying to find things out. >> easy. >> he's not in the picture. he's actually never in the picture.

we weren't together. >> really? >> where did you move here from. >> santa cruz. i was up there with my parents. >> you know she does part-time bookkeeping as well. isn't that great. >> i work at the theater. whenever we go into production we hire freelance accountants. i'll ask if they have anything for you. >> you're so nice. thank you. >> it's monterey. we pound people with nice. >> to death. >> oh, i can just sense it. >> the tension. and to work with those two, they speak so highly of you and nicole recently said this in this month's "elle" talking about you if she doesn't believe in something she says so. i could probably have learned from that at her age. i don't think i stood up for myself in the same way she does. this is from nicole kidman saying this about you. >> so, it's funny. we had lots of conversations because of the intergenerations in the show and reese and nicole and laura dern and how they said when they were our age they don't -- they didn't feel like they could express themselves

the way we could and part of the reason why we feel like we are able to, especially publicly is because of the trails they blazed so it was kind of a cool rapport back and forth. >> it's wonderful to see how you're doing that. >> you do stand up for what you believe in. where did that come from? >> man, i just don't like injustice. [ applause ] right? like we got to say something. [ applause ] >> i tell you what it's lovely to have you here. every time i see you make me smile and it's like, good morning, good morning. >> bring that happy energy. >> and you bring it. you know what, everybody, go see "big little lies" and shailene, it premieres this sunday on hbo. >> looking forward to that. >> make sure you check it out. and coming up, a shakeup. does gourmet salt taste better and is it worth the price?

and this is so special back now with body image activist taryn brumfitt and you may recognize her from her before and after photos that went viral encouraging everyone to embrace body diversity and exploring images around the world in her new documentary "embrace." so happy you're here. 100 million saw those images. why make it into a documentary. >> tv interviews are really short and i have a lot to say on this subject. and i thought what's a great

platform to share not only my story but the many stories of women around the world. i will make a documentary. and that is "embrace." >> 91% of women hate their bodies and you wanted to change that. a lot of people think about surgery. you thought about it. why not? >> well, look, i wanted to start this body image movement when i learned to love my body. it felt like i had won the golden ticket and i wanted to share my story with as many women around the world as i could and let women know that you have a choice. you don't have to be at war with this and so i walk through life now and my thighs wobble when i walk and when i wave long after i finish waving my storms still flap in the wind. these things happen. but it doesn't define me. and we're here for such a short amount of time. >> don't waste time. >> we need to have perspective. >> go see "embrace." that's what we want to do. taryn, thanks for being here. >> i have something for you, a $10 note. i'm on a mission to find a million people to start a re

and, robin, now the 10 is yours. >> makes me think of your book "spin py "thin spired." >> my arm waves too. >> it's time for "gma's" frugal foodie looking at gourmet sauls with a price tag more than ten times the amount. are they really worth it? back on the case. >> culinary salt is the big craze. these new gourmet salts. fans claim they not only make your food taste better but have health benefits and act as a detoxifier. come on. is it really different than regular table salt? we put them to the test.

salt, the kitchen staple now fancier than ever. four day varieties like himalayan pink and costing anywhere from $10 to more than $270 a pound. >> we're not looking for a subtle improvement in the flavor of your food. we're looking for a mind-blowing improvement. >> reporter: some chefs saying they're not only tastier but also better for you. >> the great thing about this salt is all of the trace minerals that are still intact naturally. >> healthier salt based on its dna to the human body. >> reporter: the health benefits associated with high mineral salts are not entirely clear. >> the thinking is minerals are really important to human health so if you're going to choose a salt you may as well choose a salt with more minerals in it. the reality is it may or may not make a big difference. >> lift it up. >> reporter: do they taste better? we wanted to find out. "gma" asking chef james

brishione to prepare a taste test. he seasoned chicken breast with three different salts. kosher at $3, himalayan at $10 and french sea salt at almost $50 a jar and invited three food professional, a chef, cookbook author and culinary student to dig in. on three you'll flip your card around and show me which one you liked best. one, two, three. two of our tasters picked the most expensive salt as their favorite. >> i actually like the salty flavor. >> reporter: when it came to picking the priciest, get this, our cookbook author was fooled by the affordable kosher salt thinking that was the most expensive one. >> my hat off to kosher. fooled me. i really thought it was the fancy one. >> reporter: do you feel like there's that big of a difference between something that costs $3 and something that costs almost 50. >> if irwasn't tasting them back-to-back i don't think there would be that much of a difference.

>> they do 'tis taste a little different. >> reporter: they don't make specific health claims but tell us their mineral rich sauls are a better choice. according to one saltmaker natural minerals in even small amounts can certainly come into play with our nutrition. all right, so chefs say really the biggest difference in the types of salt is in the texture. how coarse it is and also a lot are cool, cool color, pink, black, so that look has an appeal as well. >> they have great shelf appeal when you're see egg that. "bon appetit"'s adam rapoport is here with a hot new craze finishing salt so please welcome adam here to "good morning america." >> all right. >> hey, adam. digging the shoes. so, tell us about the difference here and what they're used for. >> we'll start with mauldin. kitchen essential. you have this in your kitchen. >> i do. >> and this is your all purpose finishing salt as a final flour other. pop rocks for adults.

flaky. have to do like that. >> it pops. >> from roasted vegetable, steamed vegetable, steak, even dessert. >> i'm no the as familiar with this one. >> smoked salt. you're probably not grilling outsi outside. you bring it to a smoky flavor to pan seared steaks or make it inside, bring the smoke from outside. >> i've heard about it and makes that barbecue -- >> nice smoky finish. >> and add crunch. >> these are super flaky little like pyramids almost. these are more like little rocks. you know. >> i'm definitely going to try this. >> that's got more of a crunch and this is more of a flake. >> i am familiar with this. >> your truffle salt -- >> yes, yes, white truffle about $200 or so an ounce. >> no, the salt. >> the real deal. this is a white truffle salt $10 a box and throw it on popcorn. eggs, fettuccine al fredo and gives you that unmistakable

garlicky -- >> it is so powerful. have you ever tried it like this? it's excellent. it is. >> you get addicted to it. it's a lot cheaper than the real deal. >> ready to jam out with rick astley. >> oh, yeah. >> you got the shoes on. >> got my dancing shoes on. >> the march issue of "bon appetit" is on newsstands now and coming up, rick astley is going to perform live. all right!

this is the place where star wars lives. move along. come join us...during season of the force. now at disneyland resort. (from x-wing) hyperspace! you feel every mountain we've ever conquered.

in our sports cars, you feel every podium we've ever climbed. and now, they've come together to create something you've never felt before. introducing the glc coupe. part suv. part sports car. all mercedes-benz. we are back now with rick astley. his hit "never gonna give you up" topped the charts 30 years ago. he has a new album "50," first release in nearly 25 years and this morning he's performing another number one classic, "together forever." everyone, give it up for rick astley. [ applause ] ♪ >> come on, let's do it.

once again, good morning, america. ♪ >> here we go. ♪ if there's anything you need all you have to do is say ♪ ♪ you know you satisfy everything in me we shouldn't waste a single day ♪ ♪ so don't stop me falling it's destiny calling ♪ ♪ a power i just can't deny it's never changing ♪ ♪ can't you hear me i'm saying i want you for the rest of my life ♪ >> come on now. ♪ together forever and ever to part together forever we two ♪ ♪ and don't you know i would move heaven and earth ♪ ♪ to be together forever with you ♪

>> sing it now. ♪ if they ever get you down there's always something i can do ♪ ♪ because i wouldn't ever wanna see you frown i'll always do what's best for you ♪ >> yeah. ♪ there ain't no mistaking it's true love we're making ♪ ♪ something to last for all time ♪ ♪ it's never changing can't you hear me i'm saying ♪ ♪ i want you for the rest of my life ♪ >> come on. ♪ together forever and never to part together forever we two ♪ ♪ and don't you know i would move heaven and earth ♪ ♪ to be together forever with you ♪ >> yeah, baby. come on. ♪ ♪

♪ so don't stop me falling it's destiny calling ♪ ♪ a power i just can't deny it's never changing ♪ ♪ can't you hear me i'm saying i want you for the rest of my life ♪ ♪ together forever and never to part together forever we two ♪ ♪ and don't you know i would move heaven and earth to be together forever with you ♪ ♪ together forever and never to part together forever we two ♪ ♪ and don't you know i would move heaven and earth to be together forever with you ♪ ♪ together forever and never to part together forever we two ♪

>> when does this song ever end? ♪ and don't you know i would move heaven and earth to be together forever with you ♪ >> yeah, baby. come on. [ cheers and applause ] >> thank you. >> "gma's" concert series is presented by belvita breakfast biscuits.

before we go, i have great headline for "newsies." extra, extra the tony award musical will be shown in movie theaters nationwide. you can see it in theaters on february 16, 18th and 22nd. >> thank you and thank you, rick. looking for new music, as well. >> yes! >> thank you. >> never gonna give you up, people.

afoot and light-hearted i take to the open road. healthy, free, the world before me, the long brown path before me leading wherever i choose. the east and the west are mine. the north and the south are mine. all seems beautiful to me.

good morning bay area. this is abc 7 mornings. good morning on this wednesday from abc 7 mornings. we have a quick look another at the forecast. >> a lot of clouds, but a mild day in the 60s. tomorrow, tracking showers. thursday morning in the middle of the morning commute. the zen-day forecast shows you we have the rain through tuesday. >> okay. a look at the roads, there's cloud cover and haziness. stop and go on walnut creek. westbound 80 and 4, and 14 minutes to the airport. >> thank you. a live look at the podiums set up right now inspect white house. we expect a joint news conference with president trump and prim minister benjamin netanyahu. we are scheduled to break in a

with special report here on abc 7 and streaming on our free abc 7 news app. make it a great day. >> announcer: it's "live with kelly!" today, he's one of the music industry's biggest stars, ricky martin. and from the new series "the good fight," christine baranski. plus, actor john leguizamo returns for another day at the cohost desk. all next on "live!" ♪ [cheers and applause] and now, here are kelly ripa and john leguizamo! ♪ [cheers and applause] ♪