making news in america this morning, president trump is facing some serious foreign challenges. the world is watching for his broader response to the chemical attack in syria, and he's just hours away from a high stakes meeting with his chinese counterpart. we're live in washington. happening today, going nuclear in the senate. republicans ready to change the rules in order to get president trump's supreme court nominee on the bench. but even some republican lawmakers are warning against it. we're watching the severe weather rolling toward the northeast. the storms have already caused plenty of damage and more could be on the way. we have your forecast ahead. and the brainy brothers, quadruplets off to college, each of them with a tough choice to make, harvard or yale.

a good thursday morning to you all. we begin with president trump facing a series of foreign policy tests. >> yeah, the president just hours away from hosting china's president and concerns over north korea's nuclear program high on that agenda. and the president is also condemning the horrific attack in syria as an affront to humanity that cannot be tolerated so the big question now is how will he respond? abc's lana zak has the latest from washington. >> reporter: president trump says these images and others too graphic to show here of children killed in a chemical weapons attack in northern syria have changed his perspective. >> that attack on children yesterday had a big impact on me, big impact. my attitude toward syria and assad has changed very much. >> reporter: prior to becoming the president, mr. trump had tweeted syria is not our problem but now he's calling out the assad regime. >> that crosses many, many lines beyond a red line.

>> reporter: at an emergency meeting of the u.n. security council russia continued to deny assad's responsibility. [ speaking a foreign language ] blaming terrorists and actors. but u.s. ambassador nikki haley said the facts were undeniable. the syrian government used chemical weapons against their own people killing more than 80, mostly women and children. >> there are times in the life of states that we are compelled to take our own action. >> reporter: the new tough talk on syria follows another major foreign policy challenge, north korea. on wednesday the hermit kingdom launched another medium range ballistic missile. president trump is likely to raise that with president xi jinping when he bins his visit to mar-a-lago. >> north korea, we have a big problem. we have somebody that is not doing the right thing and that's going to be my responsibility. >> reporter: and president trump has said all options are on the table when it comes to north korea, and like syria, his administration says they're willing to go it alone if international allies like china

are unwilling to help. diane, kendis. >> lana, very important meeting lasting 24 hours. thank you. new detays this morning about the shake-up that cost white house chief strategist steve bannon his seat on the national security council. "the new york times" saying he threatened to quit if he was removed from the council but politico reporting he clashed with president trump's son-in-law jared kushner. sources say a top donor urged him to stay on board. president trump is taking aim at former national security adviser susan rice suggesting she may have broken the law. rice had acknowledged that as part of her job she asked for the identities of americans caught up in u.s. surveillance and sources say that surveillance was linked to investigations into russia's election meddling. when asked if he thinks rice committed a crime, the president said, yes, i think. the president has not offered any evidence for that claim. a spokeswoman for rice said i'm not going to dignify the president's ludicrous charge

with a comment. history is unfolding on capitol hill after weeks of fighting after supreme court nominee neal gorsuch. for the first time ever democrats are set to block a high court nominee with a filibuster. republicans are ready to fire back with a so-called nuclear option changing the rules to confirm gorsuch with a simple majority vote but even some republicans are warning of repercussions. >> what we are poised to do at the end of this week will have tremendous consequences and i fear that someday we will regret what we're about to do. in fact, i'm confident we will. >> today's rule change will pave the way for the senate to confirm gorsuch mostly along party lines. and homeland security secretary john kelly is shedding some new light on what president trump's border wall might look like. kelly told a senate committee that it is unlikely that the wall separating the u.s. from mexico will stretch from

sea to shining sea but he said he is committed to constructing a physical barrier wherever it is recommended. let's turn our focus to the weather. another story we're keeping an eye on this morning. as the weather -- the severe storms head to the northeast. >> one strong system is moving up the atlanta coastline. another is moving in from the west. storms from that second system brought flooding and suspected tornadoes to the atlanta area and there were also some strong winds and large hail to deal with. >> in southeastern alabama about two dozen homes were damaged or destroyed, an area where residents reported seeing two tornadoes. let's find out what's in store for today from accuweather's justin povick. kendis and diane, thanks and good morning. we're going to be tracking more dangerous thunderstorms as we go throughout the day. notice in the severe threat, d.c., philadelphia, richmond and norfolk but also some heavy soaking rains points north and west. rain into snow heading out toward detroit. we're also tracking severe weather like i said down into the eastern portion of the country all the way down to eastern north carolina. we're looking at again all modes

of severe weather being a possibility. diane, kendis. >> our thanks to justin. and one more note about the weather. delta air lines took some extraordinary steps to keep passengers who were delayed by the weather happy. >> the company ordered pizzas and had them delivered right to the aircraft. once on board flight attendants made their way through the aisle to hand out slices. delta said pizzas were brought on to planes in at least 11 airports. genius. >> good pr move, delta. still ahead, a possible comeback for richard simmons after millions have been wondering where he's been. plus, new allegations of misbehavior by secret service agent, a member of the vice president's detail. and check out this ambulance chase caught on camera. wait till you see who was behind the wheel. today there is only one park for every 14,000 americans. connection to nature is a right

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that's the pilot of an f-16 fighter jet bailing out over a maryland suburb. he had just taken off from joint base andrews on a training mission when the jet had mechanical problems. he dumped the fuel tanks in the potomac and then steered the f-16 into a wooded area behind some houses. there were no injuries. a european tourist is in critical condition after a 1,500-pound boulder fell on her. it happened yesterday on a mountain in golden, colorado. rescuers say the 30-year-old was trapped for 2 hours. the boulder crushed her legs and she was unconscious when she was recovered, but doctors say her vitals were good once she was airlifted to the hospital. a secret service agent in vice president pence's detail charged now with soliciting a prostitute. reports say the incident happened last week in maryland. the agent was reportedly off duty and has now been suspended.

the office of professional responsibility is looking into the case. the agent may face additional disciplinary action. and the wife of the orlando nightclub gunman has stopped fighting extradition and will return to florida to face trial. noor salman has been in custody in the san francisco bay area since january. she's pleaded not guilty to charges of helping her husband plan last june's attack, which left 49 dead and injured dozens. we're seeing an early start to iceberg season in the north atlantic. the coast guard reports there are about 450 of them right now. more than five times the usual number this time of year. many of those icebergs are in shipping lanes, and that's forcing ships to have to slow down or take long detours. experts say strong winds and global warming may be the reasons. and amazon chief jeff bezos is selling company stock to try to fund space travel. >> at a space symposium he said he's putting about a billion dollars a year into his blue origin rocket company.

he showed off a prototype of a six-person space capsule with large windows and leather chairs. >> it's quite a space race right now among titans. he joins other titans including elon musk and richard branson in this private space race. >> got to have big windows for the view. >> yes, just get me down safe. i'm all right. when we come back, will the world's number one golfer make his tee time today at the masters? what is likely the best reason yet to have a glass of wine? it's being called a workout for your brain. >> because it's 4:00 a.m.? >> probably. i'm so frustrated. i just want to find a used car without getting ripped off. you could start your search at the all-new carfax.com that might help. show me the carfax. now the car you want and the history you need are easy to find. show me used trucks with one owner. pretty cool. [laughs] ah... ahem...

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roads in new york city and the rest of the northeast may be shut down, though, by flooding today. drivers should watch out for snow in michigan, northern ohio and the western mountains and rain in northern and central california. if you're flying, expect some airport delays in detroit, chicago, boston, new york, philadelphia, washington and san francisco. hopefully they bring you some pizza. >> just fly west. yeah, hopefully. one can hope. so, television ratings for fox host bill o'reilly are up 20% over last week, this despite the growing sexual harassment scandal surround him. >> now, president trump is now speaking up on o'reilly's behalf calling him a good person. >> caution, you are about to enter the no-spin zone. >> reporter: as the sexual harassment scandal surrounding bill o'reilly ricochets through fox news, president trump tells "the new york times" i think he's a person i know well. he's a good person. personally i think he shouldn't have settled. trump was referring to that recent "new york times" report that o'reilly and the parent company of fox news paid $13 million in settlements to five

different women over claims of inappropriate behavior by o'reilly including sexual harassment. the network's top host says he's being targeted because he's prominent and controversial and fox's parent company points out no current or former fox news employee ever took advantage of the 21st century fox hot line to raise a concern about bill o'reilly. so far more than 50 advertisers have dropped out of advertising with the show and we will have much more on all of this later on "good morning america." police in texas turn into ambulance chasers literally. this is dash cam video from a small town in northeast texas where cops say an 18-year-old stole an ambulance from an emergency room. the suspect was actually a patient before he jumped into the rig and took off. some of the speeds hit 90 miles an hour before he was caught. he's being held on more than $100,000 bond. and it happens to all of us once in a while. but watch what happens when this guy's card is denied at a southern california convenience store.

he flies into a rage taking it out on the clerk and then the cash register and anything else that he can reach as you can see there. he hasn't been caught. if he is caught he faces assault and vandalism charges. all of this, get this, was for a 75-cent bag of m&ms. >> maybe he could have used a glass of wine because apparently it now equates to brain food. a yale researcher says drinking wine does more for your brain than listening to music, hitting a baseball or solving a complex math problem. the neurologist says it's better for us than almost anything else we can do because smelling and drinking wine engages our entire brain, but to get the full benefits, you have to sip it, not gulp it, kendis. >> so, sip from the bottle itself, all right. preach. i like that study there. so, it looks like richard simmons is heading back into the spotlight. for decades he was known for those over-the-top fitness videos and tv appearances but lately he's been reclusive and

there's been some public concern about his well-being. well, now he has signed a new deal with a company that will handle his merchandising and endorsements with plans to launch a line of motivation products. no time line yet on when he may begin promoting those products. the masters begins today in georgia but the world's top golfer may have to back out. dustin johnson's status is currently up in the air after he suffered what's described as a serious fall on a staircase yesterday and hurt his lower back. johnson's manager says the tournament favorite has been resting uncomfortably. he has a scheduled tee-off this afternoon. >> at 2:00 p.m. all the golfers will face some soggy conditions today at augusta national. >> luckily last night's nba action was indoors as usual. no worry about the weather there. some highlights now from espn. first place on the line in the eastern conference, cavaliers and celtics from boston. cavaliers open the second quarter on a 22-4 run.

lebron james doing it all, gets the block on marcus smart, high-fives from the fans in boston. 38-22 advantage for cleveland in the second quarter and james just dominated. he had 36 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. cavaliers roll, 114-91. it was their largest margin of victory in boston ever, and the look like a pretty safe bet for first place. >> russell westbrook needs one more triple-double to break oscar robertson's record. you realize when oscar robertson averaged a triple-double, he finished third in the mvp voting that year. >> okay. >> behind bill russell who won it, wilt chamberlain finished second, averaged 50 points and 25 rebounds and second to bill russell. >> wow. >> as the voters pick the guy that meant the most to a team that won the most. westbrook has certainly meant the most to the thunder, one rebound shy of a triple-double in this one. he has four games left to get it.

you know what that is, that is a lot of knowledge i just gave the "gma" people. >> your head must hurt. >> it does. >> so much knowledge. >> it does. give me another piece of chocolate. >> we're going to get him some aspirin. back to you. >> just dropping knowledge everywhere. >> all over. >> just sprinkle it like the salt bae. some student sleuths earning major praise for their journalism. and the best problem to have for these guys to have, which prestigious college should they attend? our academic "pulse" is next.

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♪ time for your thursday morning "pulse". today we'll feature let's say an academic theme and start with budding pulitzer prize winners. >> the staff of the pittsburg, kansas, high school newspaper was working on a feature about their new principal when some things didn't add up. for example, she claimed she had degrees from an online school but they realized it wasn't accredited. >> they looked into her background. the students actually took their findings then to the school board and published the story. district hires new principal. you see there and this week the principal resigned. the school superintendent praised the young journalists for not being afraid to ask tough questions and they'll be on "good morning america" a little later on this morning and then they're going to be a part of the brian ross unit here at abc. >> or anchoring "america this morning." >> for all the investigative stories we're doing. >> it's been fun. a set of quads all accepted

to ivy league schools. >> they are nigel, zach, aaron and nick wade. they live north of cincinnati. all of them have been accepted to yale and harvard. >> but that's not all. some other schools that some have been accepted to, duke, georgetown, stanford, john hop kin, vanderbilt and cornell. they say financial aid offers will go a long way toward helping them decide where they will actually end up going. >> this is that time of year when we're getting so many students who are saying they're getting their acceptance ladies of the we had a young lady yesterday accepted to all eight ivy league schools. all four, not bad. >> got to have proud parent there is now fretting about their financial status, how they'll pay for all four of them. speaking of financial aid, the university of utah is starting to offer scholarships for competitive video gaming. where was this when i was coming up? it's considered the first big-time school to do that. >> the scholarship program won't

be part of utah's sports department, it will be run through its school of entertainment, arts and engineering which was named the country's best video game design program last year. >> so, the gamers will receive partial scholarships at first and then eventually full rides. could be offered to as many as 35 students. >> can we re-enroll? i'm really good at tetris. i mean really good at tetris. >> ms. pac-man, will that get me anything. >> or mario brothers. because as we live longer... and markets continue to rise and fall... predictable is one thing you need in retirement to help protect what you've earned and ensure it lasts. introducing brighthouse financial. a new company established by metlife to specialize in annuities & life insurance. talk to your advisor about a brighter financial future.

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good morning. just the three of us right now. >> three's company. and we're enough. not really. eight is enough -- >> mike, you are the star of today, because we have weather to talk about. >> yeah, we really do. there were showers along the coast into the north bay, and some of the yellow head spwaod marin, that is going to make it to the ground. it's bone dry below 10,000 feet right now, but just keep an eye on that in the next 12 hours. and then mainly gray at noon and becoming breezy at 4:00 and then during the evening commute, that's when the fireworks begin.

it's 4:27 in the morning. we want to give you a quick look at traffic. we have an issue on southbound 880, highway 92, potentially a couple lanes blocked. the bay bridge toll plaza, it's quiet since we are so early on. and then san francisco, the one right here in the middle of us. >> a major milestone for the sales tower that we have watched grow up over the years. >> reporter: the tower dominates our skyline and has for a while but there's a major milestone today and it's the tallest building west of chicago, and

this morning the mayor and sales ceo will hold a celebration to commemorate the the structural phase, and it's earthquake safe. >> the project is designed to a 25% greater force than normal buildings, and so all elements of the building are designed to the higher structural capacity and it's very safe. >> reporter: the millennium tower, which we sinking as we know, is just one block away but unlike millennium the sales tower is anchored to bedrock and the building is scheduled to be complete in 2018, and coming up in our next hour at 5:30, we will talk about how there is technically a taller building

under construction in california, but why sales force still counts as the rival to chicago. a ups require recovering after turning up at a friend's house miles from where police were searching for him. a six-hour launched he veered off the road in lafayette and went 40 feet down a wooded hillside. he said he was hurt, and police got there, police could not find him. foul play was not suspected. >> it's not odd that peoples' cell phones die and it's not odd that people who are involved in