making news in america this morning, breaking news, a new fallout from the dismissal of james comey. the fired fbi director has landed back in washington overnight, this as president trump weighs in and members of congress respond from both sides of the aisle. so, what's next for the fbi? and what happens now to its investigations including the major one into the trump campaign's potential links to russia? we're going to hear from an fbi insider. complete coverage of this developing story live from washington. plus, new details about the tunnel collapse at a nuclear storage site. we're hearing from workers who were told to take cover. and new this morning, more airline anger. another customer service headache for united caught on camera while southwest passengers, well, they were brawling on board. >> do something.

a good wednesday morning. we begin with that big shake-up in washington. president trump firing fbi director james comey with no warning. >> yeah, comey's deputy andrew mccabe will head the bureau until attorney general jeff sessions appoints an interim director. >> house democrats have also asked the justice department to save all documents related to the fbi's investigation on russian hacking during the election. >> and the optics interesting here. today the president is welcoming russia's foreign minister to the white house. >> now, james comey had recently said that he intended to serve his tenured term, and we're told he was caught completely off guard. >> yeah, comey's termination came in a one-page letter from president trump saying it's essential to find new leadership to restore trust and confidence in the fbi. late afternoon, washington, d.c., the president's personal assistant hand delivers that letter to fbi headquarters. james comey is 3,000 miles away at the field office in los

he first learns he's been fired by seeing the reports on tv. >> -- fbi director james comey that he has been terminated. >> reporter: he reportedly thinks it's a joke. he's pulled into a private room where the letter is read to him over the phone. one official saying comey was really surprised. comey abruptly cancels the rest of his visit to l.a. leaving for the airport, his motorcade crawling through rush hour traffic. at one point in what can only be described as an only in l.a. moment, two breaking images on tv, the motorcade and a bear loose in a local neighborhood. comey's motorcade arrives at l.a.x. where he shakes hands with local officers and boards a private jet back to d.c. and that's where he landed just after 1:00 this morning. and it's not clear exactly where he went once he landed there in d.c. at dca this morning and we're getting some new and strong reaction overnight from

democrats and republicans. >> for more let's head over to janai norman live in washington. janai, good morning. what are you hearing? >> reporter: diane and kendis, good morning. this morning there are still lots of questions surrounding the timing of this decision. the president suddenly firing the man charged with investigating his campaign. this morning, the fbi director is out and the questions still coming in about what that means for the future of the fbi and the bureau's investigation into president trump's campaign and possible collusion with the russians. >> were these investigations getting too close to home for the president? it is troubling that attorney general sessions who had recused himself from the russian investigation played a role in firing the man leading it. >> reporter: president trump once spoke glowingly about director james comey. >> he's become more famous than me. >> reporter: but tuesday, writing to inform him, quote, you are hereby terminated and removed from office effective immediately. you are not able to effectively lead the bureau. the sudden news immediately setting off alarms for democrats.

>> every american will rightly suspect that the decision to fire director comey was part of a cover-up. >> reporter: the president's team countering those claims, kellyanne conway telling cnn's anderson cooper -- >> it's not a cover-up. >> there was no collusion. there was no evidence. >> reporter: but even some republicans say the timing of comey's firing will raise eyebrows as others call for a special prosecutor to take over the russia investigation. >> i've always believed that we should have a select committee to -- or a commission because it's a very large issue. it's gotten larger, and it'll get more large as time goes by. >> reporter: and senate minority leader chuck schumer has called a meeting later this morning with senate democrats to see whether majority leader mitch mcconnell will address comey's firing and to discuss what comes next. kendis and diane. >> and, janai, what about the president himself? no public appearances expected today. any reaction so far? >> reporter: of course, responding on twitter, as we often hear from the president there on our time lines, he

tweeted overnight, cryin' chuck schumer stated recently i have no confidence in james comey any longer then acts so indignant, #draintheswamp. so the president there taking some shots at the democrat who's been very vocal about this situation so far. >> yeah, emotions clearly running high on both sides of the aisle. abc's janai norman live from washington for us, janai, thanks. and apparently emotions are also running high at the fbi. >> yeah, earlier we spoke about it with abc news contributor steve gomez. he himself a former fbi special agent. >> i'm hearing a range of emotions, words like someone died when this occurred. there's shock. they don't feel like it was right the way he found out. apparently he was in the los angeles field office and found out from the media and there were a lot of people that were around, so they were hurt by this because they could see probably -- i wasn't there, but it sounds like they saw the anguish and the confusion. there's no impact on all investigations, all fbi

investigations being conducted nationwide and throughout -- internationally. there's not going to be an impact because there's succession planning that's always in place in the fbi. and every field office throughout the country has a special agent in charge and assistance, so everything is in place, so the country has to understand that nothing is going to happen to any investigation. >> many within the fbi have come to appreciate and like the former director there. our thanks to former counterterrorism official steve gomez. looking ahead now, the big question is who will replace james comey as fbi director? >> yeah, for now his deputy is running the bureau. he's 49-year-old andrew mccabe and he is serving as the acting director of the fbi. >> in the coming days, attorney general jeff sessions will name an interim director and then the search is on for a permanent replacement. and the speculation is already heating up over who that permanent replacement will be. andrew mccabe would be an obvious pick but he could be problematic given his involvement in the clinton e-mail investigation and the fact that his wife, a democrat, has ties to top clinton donors

and allies. >> and one possible contender, former new york city mayor rudy giuliani spotted at trump's d.c. hotel late last night. also on the guessing list, chris christie, former police commissioner ray kelly and the former tsa administrator john pistole. >> and in just a few hours president trump is set to hold his first face-to-face meeting with sergey lavrov in the oval office. he is the highest ranking russian official that the president has met so far. a senior u.s. official says the two will discuss among other things syria and u.s./russia relations. and that visit follows a new development in the investigation into russian hacking during the election. before james comey was fired, federal prosecutors reportedly issued subpoenas to associates of former national security adviser michael flynn. they're seeking business records of people who worked with flynn after he was forced out as head of the defense intelligence agency. >> of course, we're going to have more on this a little later

on in this newscast and on "good morning america" but moving on to other headlines, the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is downplaying criticism over what's called a working group on health care reform. of the 13 members, take a look, not a single woman. mcconnell says the working group that counts is all 52 republican senators, which includes 5 women. time now for a look at your nation's weather. the hail was heavy as it came down outside albuquerque. some of it was the size of golf balls. there were also some tornadoes reported in nearby areas. at least five of those confirmed in just that state. no reports of any injuries so far. and severe storms are also possible in the southern plains from kansas to western texas. damaging winds, hail and a few tornadoes are possible. showers and thunderstorms will develop from kansas to illinois in the afternoon. some of those storms could be pretty severe with damaging winds and hail. still ahead, a new airport

confrontation emerging overnight. plus, that tunnel collapse at a storage site for nuclear waste. we'll hear from a worker who was told to take cover. and a frightening alleged threat at a north carolina high school. authorities say they foiled a plot within minutes to spare.

fema has okayed federal funds to fight the wildfire near the georgia/florida border. the west mims wildfire has expanded to more than 200 square miles. the fire has been burning for more than a month now and it may not be out until november. officials in washington state are trying to figure out how to safeguard the area around a nuclear site after a mysterious tunnel collapse. the tunnel at the hanford

nuclear reservation held railcars filled with radioactive waste. no workers were inside at the time of this partial collapse. now, local officials moving quickly to get people out of harm's way. >> we went in to take cover when they found out that it was worse than they initially thought, and then they put us in take cover to make sure we were safe and we were all accounted for and there was nobody left unaccounted for. >> well, nearby residents have been able to stay in their homes. the energy department says there's no threat of any contamination in the air. and police in north carolina say this high school was supposed to be the site of a massacre. a 16-year-old student was arrested there after bringing knives, flammable liquid and a hit list with up to a dozen names on it to school. now, authorities say the plot was foiled with minutes to spare. they got a tip from authorities in canada actually who had discovered a chat room message they believe the student had

sent. a powerful and deadly fireworks explosion in central mexico has left 14 people dead, 11 of them children. investigators say the blast in san ysidro was touched off when an errant firework landed on a stockpile of fireworks. the explosives were stored in a home behind a church and were set to be used next monday in a religious celebration. a detention hearing is now set for friday for accused kidnapper and former teacher tad cummins. he appeared in court in nashville shackled in leg irons. federal prosecutors argued he should remain jailed as a flight risk. he and his 15-year-old former student were found in california after a month-long nationwide manhunt. and eight more fraternity brothers from penn state have appeared in court in connection with the death of timothy piazza, a pledge who died during an apparent hazing ritual. one of them is now accused of sending a threatening text to kordel davis. he's the student who appeared on "gma" this week saying he was shoved into a wall when he tried to help that student. when we come back, a passenger sparks another customer service headache for

united airlines. and new details in this morning's big story, the firing of james comey. how it's drawing historical comparisons today. ♪ ♪ this mother's day, every kiss does begin with kay... where, for the first time ever, everything is 30% off. like bolo bracelets for layering. her soon-to-be-favorite new earrings. and a stack of rings for her to mix and match. 30% off everything, may 4th-14th, only at kay. the number-one jewelry store... ...for mom. every kiss begins with kay. ito treat your toughy nasal allergies... ...listen up. unlike pills that don't treat congestion, clarispray covers 100 percent of your nasal allergy symptoms. clarispray. from the makers of claritin.

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♪ atmore than one flavor, oruch texture, or color.ing. a good clean salad is so much more than green. and with panera catering, more for your event. panera. food as it should be. a quick look at morning road conditions. lots of rain from the southwest to midwest. flooding is possible across the middle of the country. wet roads for the nation's northern corners. if you're flying airport delays are possible in denver and kansas city. want to update our top story right now. president trump facing criticism from both ends of the aisle after abruptly firing fbi director james comey. >> so, the white house said comey no longer had the trust of his bosses at the justice department adding that his dismissal was necessary to restore public confidence in the fbi. and the deputy attorney general blasted comey over his handling of the hillary clinton e-mail inquiry. >> but of note comey was leading

the investigation into possible collusion between russia and the trump campaign. well, now lawmakers are questioning the president's timing and accusing him of interfering with that probe. >> comey's termination is also conjuring up some images of the watergate scandal with some lawmakers comparing his departure to the saturday night massacre in 1973. that's when president nixon fired the special prosecutor overseeing the watergate investigation and the attorney general and deputy attorney general then both resigned. the nixon presidential library however is objecting to those comparisons tweeting last night, fun fact, president nixon never fired the director of the fbi. >> a little asterisk there in history. united airlines is facing another customer controversy. >> a california man recorded a counter agent who he says would not explain his baggage fee. he said the airline canceled his trip just because he started filming. >> well, united issued a statement apologizing for that incident. now, this comes a few weeks after a doctor was hurt while

being dragged off the united flight. in the meanwhile, a southwest airlines passenger has been arrested for this brawl on a flight from dallas to burbank, california, over the weekend. >> one of the men allegedly made a comment about a woman messing with his chair. the flight attendant then tried to stop the flight. here's what happened next. >> i see the stewardess trapped below in between the seats on the ground, and she was being pummeled at the same time as the other guy was being pummeled. >> the victim reportedly suffered minor injuries including a chipped tooth. >> it should be fun to fly this summer. all right. in florida, this chaos, ft. lauderdale, triggering a federal response. we showed you this yesterday. but now the update, angry travelers nearly rioted monday after nine spirit airlines flights were canceled. now, spirit blames the a work slowdown by its pilots union during contract talks. well, a federal court has now

issued a temporary restraining order to stop that pilots slowdown. man. well, turning to sports, the san antonio spurs are now one win away from the western conference finals. >> they needed overtime last night to beat the houston rockets, 110-107. game six is tomorrow night in houston. and in the stanley cup playoffs, the ottawa senators ended the new york rangers' season last night, 4-2. ottawa will play the winner of tonight's game between the penguins and the capitals. >> good to see some canadians are still in it. up next in "the pulse," some candid comments from former president obama. what he's saying about his time in the white house. plus, it's a showdown of epic proportions. dog versus bear. we'll show you who wins. >> i know how this ends. and our facebook page, it's all in the family for a mother and daughter who are about to graduate college together. that's on atmfans.com. he likes to eat clean. that's why at petsmart we love the nutro feed clean philosophy. nutro recipes are made with non-gmo ingredients and high-quality protein

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♪ time for "the pulse." we begin with former president obama's new candid comments about life in and after the white house. >> so he spoke in italy overnight and said being president was unique in its isolation. he said he could never go on walks because of the security risk. >> but since leaving office he said he can now walk anywhere he wants as long as he's willing to take a selfie with strangers every two steps. he also reveals a struggle that he's having in his marriage now. >> oh. >> he says lately he and michelle have been fighting for closet space. >> they didn't have to worry about that in the white house. >> got to make room for all that leisure wardrobe, too. >> look at all that stuff that was unbuttoned. >> no need for ties anymore. all right, next up, a social media record set by a kid named carter wilkinson with the assist from wendy's. last month carter tweeted at

wendy's asking how many retweets he would need for a year of free chicken nuggets. wendy replied saying 18 million. >> well, the so-called nuggs for carter campaign went viral. his original tweet is now the most retweeted message of all time with more than 3.5 million retweets, which, wendy's says, is good enough to earn him a year of free nuggets. >> so, carter's tweet actually topped the ellen degeneres tweet, that oscar selfie, that was the previous record holder. now nuggs for carter takes the top spot. >> good job, carter. okay, so we've all heard about the cowardly lion but what about the cowardly bear? >> i don't know that, but a dog in southern california does because he came face-to-face with a wild bear that wandered into the neighborhood so at first the dog seems to be a little scared and they have a stare-down. and then -- >> oh. they're off. oh, and then this is your favorite part. the bear turns. >> the bear turns and the dog then backs up.

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good morning, soutd bay. >> we are almost halfway through the week. that's great. it's 4:27. >> let's send it over to meteorologist, mike nicco. >> we emptied the glass of warmth. let me take you outside with live doppler 7. you can see the marine layer developing along the coast and phaoe moving in. it's dancing across the sky. 44 to 54 this morning, the same as well, and cooler during lunch, and 55 to 69 and breezy at 4:00, and grab the coat this evening, 53 to 63. still a couple chances of a wet

commute. i will let you know about those coming up and here's alexis with a dry one this morning. actually, i have good news. if you are going to be traveling through the vallejo and benicia areas, laurel street, they are doing prepare work for demolition. all lanes are over so they got that done a little ahead of scheduled. we'll head over to 17. walnut creek in lafayette, this morning investigators look into the two suspicious car fires. we just got this video at the live desk, and first one in walnut creek, this is just a shell now, and the second was in lafayette on padre lane, and that was an suv in front of a

home there. back to you. >> thank you. developing news out of d.c. is raising many questions this morning. the bombshell firing of james comey. >> and there's concern over the timing of the dismissal. raising a lot of eyebrows across the party lines. >> the questions coming in about what that means for the future of the fbi and the bureau's investigation into trump's campaign and possible collusion with the russians. >> were the investigations getting too close to home for the president? it's troubling that attorney general sessions, who recused himself from the russian investigation played a role in firing the man leading it. firing the man leading it. >> trump

but then this letter, you are not able to effectively lead the bureau. the sudden news immediately setting off alarms for democrats. >> every american will rightly suspect that the decision to fire that director comey was part of a cover-up. >> the president's team countering the claims, and kellyanne conway telling anderson cooper, there's no cover-up. >> others call for a special prosecutor to take over the russian investigation. >> i have always believed that we should have a select committee or commission because it's a very large issue and has gotten larger and will get more large as time goes by. >> bay area leaders are weighing in on the firing. congresswoman pelosi