making news in america this morning, a new bombshell in the russia investigation. word that president trump ordered the firing of special counsel robert mueller. this morning the new details about who stopped the president and what this could mean for the case going forward. path to citizenship. swift reaction overnight to the president's new immigration plan that would help nearly 2 million undocumented immigrants. what the white house wants in return and the likelihood of the plan passing. breaking news, fire tears through a hospital emergency room and a neighboring nursing home killing dozens of people. the images just in. plus, rush hour refund. one city's plan to pay you back if your train is running late. the chocolate spread nutella sets off a supermarket riot. and why this happy couple

just had to get married. >> i pronounce them married. >> in the bathroom. good friday morning. i'm kendis gibson. >> and i'm maggie rulli in for diane macedo. we begin with that bombshell report stemming from the russia investigation. sources tell "the new york times" that president trump ordered the firing of special count robert mueller but then backed off. >> this morning the president responded calling the report fake news. abc's kenneth moton is following the details from washington. good morning, kenneth. >> reporter: good morning, kendis and maggie. "the new york times" reports the attempted firing of the special counsel happened last summer but robert mueller recently learned about the incident as his team interviewed current and former white house officials. this morning, president trump on the world stage at the economic forum in davos, switzerland. >> fake news, folks, fake news. >> reporter: but responding to a

new report that he tried to get rid of the special counsel in the russia investigation. "the new york times" says after media reports of a possible obstruction of justice case last june, the president reported white house counsel don mcgahn to ask the justin povick to fire robert mueller. the sources say trump backed off when mcgahn refused and threatened to quit. >> i haven't been giving it any thought. i have been reading it from you people. >> reporter: the president and his top aides have repeatedly denied that he's given any thought to firing mueller. >> the president has not even discussed that. the president is not discussing firing bob mueller. >> reporter: "the new york times" also reports white house argued dismissing mueller would have a catastrophic effect on the presidency. democratic senator, richard blumenthal, one of the congressional investigators looking into russia meddling reacted on msnbc. >> these reports are absolutely stunning, deeply frightening, because they show, again, that the president will stop at nothing to protect himself. >> reporter: white house attorney ty cobb responded to "the new york times" report

saying, we decline to comment out of respect for the office of the special counsel and its process. before heading to switzerland, trump said he's ready to sit down for an interview with mueller under oath, but his attorney quickly clarified saying that's also being worked out. maggie and kendis. >> yeah, that interview might happen within the next few weeks. kenneth moton in d.c., thank you. now to the immigration debate. president trump has revealed a plan that would offer a pathway to citizenship for nearly 2 million young immigrants. in exchange he wants a border wall and restrictions on legal immigration. reaction is pouring in. breitbart news calls it don's amnesty bonanza, and some democrats are equally opposed. one saying the plan doesn't pass the laugh test. abc's arlette saenz has more. >> reporter: the white house is throwing a potential life line to the d.r.e.a.m.ers. president trump's new immigration plan offers a path to citizenship to 1.8 million undocumented young people brought to this country as children. that's more than double the

number currently protected by daca. in a cnbc interview, the president shared his hopes for the d.r.e.a.m.ers. >> these are good people. these are people that should be able to stay in this country. we're going to solve the daca problem. >> reporter: the move is a major concession to democrats and could upset some in his own party. but the president is asking for something in return. >> on day one we will begin working on an impenetrable, physical, tall, powerful, beautiful southern border wall. it's a real wall. this is a wall that's a heck of a lot higher than the ceiling you're looking at. >> reporter: the white house wants $25 billion for his wall and beefed up border security. they're also seeking major cuts to legal immigration. families would only be allowed to sponsor spouses and minor children for citizenship. parents and siblings would no longer be allowed, and they want to end the visa lottery program shifting the focus on skilled workers. the white house will present the plan to the senate on monday and

they're hoping the legislation will be taken up just before the next shutdown deadline on february 8th, but already democrats and republicans are expressing criticism. arlette saenz, abc news, washington. a republican senator who claimed there may be a secret society at the fbi plotting against president trump now acknowledges the text messages behind that claim may have been a joke. senator ron johnson, the chairman of the homeland security committee, says it's a real possibility that the term was said in jest between fbi officials peter strzok and lisa page. johnson also says that an informant has claimed that the fbi officials were holding secret off-site meetings. now, democratic senator claire mccaskill is now demanding hard evidence about that claim. in the meantime, the justice department says it's now recovered many of the five months worth of messages between

strzok and page lost because of a phone glitch. former presidential candidate mitt romney is about to announce his next political move. media reports in utah say romney will announce his run for the u.s. senate next week. current utah senator orrin hatch is retiring. and we have new details about that deadly train derailment outside tacoma, washington, last month. investigators have now spoken to the train's engineer. they say he apparently lost track of where he was even though he had been down those tracks more than a dozen times. he says he missed a speed limit sign, and when he saw a curve coming, it was already too late to slow down the train. three people were killed in that derailment. a new warning about the economic crisis in puerto rico. the island's governor is predicting the economy will shrink by 11% in the coming year. nearly 500,000 power customers still don't have electricity four months after hurricane maria. the population is expected to drop by 8% as well. we have some new images this morning of flooding in paris along the seine river. nearly 400 people have been forced from their homes. parts of the louvre had to

close. the river is expected to reach 20 feet, which is 16 feet above normal when the rainfall levels have been twice as high as normal there in paris. time now for a look at your weather this friday morning. stormy weather is still posing problems in the west. radar shows rain along the coast and snow in the mountains. advisories and warnings are in effect for the cascades, the sierra and the northern rockies. that rain turned to hail for a time in oakland, but quickly cleared up. conditions today will be mostly cloudy. today's high temperatures include 64 in l.a., the 40s for chicago and d.c. and in new york city and a chilly 27 for boston. well, coming up, quite a scene. the supermarket riots over nutella. also ahead, the breaking news overseas. fire spreading through a hospital emergency room. dozens of people have been killed. we'll have new details from the scene. and later a felony over

fruit? how police say students at a school could have killed a classmate with a pineapple.

we're back with tiger woods' comeback. he's seven strokes off the lead at the farmers' insurance open just north of san diego. it's his first pga tour event in a year because of his back injury. some tiger fans even dressed up for the occasion letting those little tigers see the action. tiger nearly hit a hole in one late in the round. we're turning now to the deadly flu epidemic. a previously healthy 37-year-old mother from indiana has died after caring for her sick children. carly slavin passed away three days after being diagnosed. she was sent home from the hospital because her chest

x-rays were clear. she had not received a flu shot and her husband is now trying to raise awareness about the importance of getting vaccinated. in alabama a young woman known for her good diet and exercise routine has also died. doctors say the immune systems of healthy people can end up doing more harm to the body because of their aggressive response to the flu. in the meantime today, an entire county in the florida panhandle is closing schools because of the flu. a discovery in the middle east is changing what we know about human history. archaeologists have confirmed a fossil uncovered in israel is the oldest human fossil outside africa. they say it likely means that humans first migrated out of africa about 185,000 years ago, which is much earlier than previously thought. the news comes just days after scientists revealed what a teenager might have looked like 9,000 years ago. they digitally constructed her face based on fossils found in greece. >> looking good. now, everyone loves a good

discount, myself included, but some shoppers in france took that love to a whole nutty new level by racing each other to grab discounted jars of nutella. police had to step in to keep people from tearing each other apart. one customer reportedly ended up getting a black eye. now, all that nutella sold out within 15 minutes. and kfc has unveiled its first female colonel sanders. country star reba mcentire will play the iconic founder of the fast food chain. she's the latest in a long line of celebrities to play the colonel. she wears a gray wig, mustache and sanders' famous glasses. she looks completely unrecognizable. >> she does. >> that's amazing. all right. when we come back, a new prn boys from playing tackle football. also ahead, new fallout from the larry nassar sexual abuse scandal rocking usa gymnastics. who is being forced to resign or face the consequences. and what happened when the white house asked to borrow this van gogh painting. and what happened when the white house asked to borrow this

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we're back with breaking news of fire spreading through a hospital for the elderly in south korea. at least 37 people have been killed. more than 100 more are injured. it started in the emergency room and when fire crews arrived the entire first floor was already engulfed in flames. no word yet on the cause. and we're turning now to a complicated investigation in texas where a kidnapping victim has been fatally shot by the fbi. >> yeah, the victim was taken from his home near houston and held for $20,000 ransom. local police called the fbi for assistance. now, authorities eventually located the suspects and the kidnapping victim, and that's when shots were fired, but it's unclear what led to the gunfire. >> the kidnappers put this into play, and so they're ultimately responsible for the outcome regardless if the outcome was intentional or not and under the felony murder rule, we can charge that. >> three suspects are in custody and the agent who fired the

fatal shot has been placed on administrative live during the investigation. officials now say the victim was related to the wife to one of the suspects. we have new fallout this morning in the larry nassar sexual abuse case. the u.s. olympic committee is now giving the board of usa gymnastics until next wednesday to resign or the organization will be decertified. it comes as a bipartisan group of lawmakers in washington calls for congressional investigations into both usa gymnastics and the olympic committee. an investigation has also been launched into the training ranch in texas where dozens of gymnasts have trained. one of last year's big oscar winners, casey affleckk, will not be attending the oscars this year. he was scheduled to present the oscar for best actress, but affleck's publicist says he's bowing out. he had been sued for sexual harassment by two women. the lawsuits were settled and affleck has denied allegations but he reportedly did not want to be a distraction. disturbing new claims about

hollywood mogul harvey weinstein. his former assistant is now suing claiming that she was forced to work with weinstein while he was naked. she claims she was even forced to clean up after his sexual encounters. weinstein denies the claims. three teenagers in pennsylvania are facing felony charges because of an alleged assault with fruit. police say the students brought pineapple to their school knowing their classmate was severely allergic. they're accused of rubbing the fruit on their hands and high-fiving her. one attorney says the teens should not be charged for what he calls a prank. >> the pineapple was not illegally brought in. it's not a weapon. it's none of those things, a fruit cup, and can you intentionally and knowingly and intentionally kill somebody with a fruit cup. i don't think adults could even make that decision let alone 14-year-olds. >> my understanding is the allergy is so severe, she can go into anaphylactic shock, and if not treated properly or quickly,

she could die. >> the student was taken to the hospital but is expected to be okay. the rules could soon be changing when it comes to youth football. lawmakers in illinois are considering whether to ban tackle football for kids under the age of 12. a similar law was proposed in new york this week. it comes amid growing concerns about head injuries and concussions. and on the professional level, the xfl is coming back. remember the original one which lasted for just one season in 2001, but wwe founder vince mcmahon says the league will return in 2020 calling it professional football reimagined. players with criminal records will not be accepted, and the league will not allow political statements. no word yet on which cities will get teams, but there will be eight teams he mentioned. and now to a traffic stop in florida that's making news. >> the suspect was just horsing around, so the officer tried to use some kind words to resolve things. take a look. >> come on. can you stop? please.

>> pretty please. >> the runaway horse just ignored the deputy's pleas and continued to trot through the neighborhood. the officer did eventually call for a backup saying they were traveling at one horsepower. they managed to corral the horse in a subdivision and reunite it with its owner. he did not care about that police officer. up next in "the pulse," one city's idea to pay commuters if their train is late. also ahead, photoshop fail. the magazine cover that has the internet buzzing. can you spot why? plus, why this couple had to get married in the bathroom. in the bathroom. collection at kay jewelers, d, with his vid he designs them for the star in your life. the inspiration for this ring goes back almost 100 years. it's based on an art deco design. neil lane bridal. get her ring today with zero down special financing on in-store bridal purchases with the kay jewelers credit card.

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>> so starting today, the d.c. metro is offering refunds to card carrying customers who are delayed by 15 minutes or more. it's being called the rush hour promise, and it's viewed as an expression of confidence in the system. it applies to bus and rail delays during peak travel hours. >> good luck with that. >> yeah, as somebody who's taken the d.c. metro system a lot, whew. >> losing a lot of cash on that one. >> they're going to lose a lot of money on that. next to the epic photoshop fail this time at "vanity fair." >> the magazine published a series of photos from its 2018 hollywood issue, but readers have been doing a double take. >> so, check out reese witherspoon snuggling up on oprah. but if you look at her legs, you'll notice she has three legs. >> one, two, three. reese tweeted i guess everybody knows i have three legs. i hope you can still accept me for who i am. she added, i will never apologize for snugging with oprah. if you get the opportunity, i highly recommend it. i volunteer. take me, oprah.

and there's more. oprah appears to have three hands. >> "vanity fair" magazine did fess up about oprah's third hand but they insist the lining of reese's dress gave her the illusion of a third leg. >> uh-huh. >> yeah. well, every first family wanting to redecorate the white house is lucky enough to have access to some of the world's most prized pieces of art. >> and according to "the washington post," the trumps asked the guggenheim museum if they could borrow this van gogh painting called "landscape with snow." >> but instead the museum's curator offered this, an 18 karat gold fully functioning toilet in installation entitled "america." now, that throne is valued at more than $1 million. the artist says it's meant to mock some of our greedier instincts. "the post" says the white house has yet to respond. >> it's a million dollars. it's almost like a cheap van gogh. >> but functional. >> yeah, exactly. one last point about powder rooms. they can make great wedding venues. >> interesting. yeah, this courthouse restroom is where one new jersey couple

did the honors moving theirs so deputies could administer oxygen to the groom's mother who was having trouble breathing. >> but since she signed the wedding license as a witness and it's only good for 45 days, they decided let's just go ahead anyway. so, the groom's mom is okay. she was there for the ceremony, and the family says they're grateful for the court's kindness and kind of being there in the bathroom. >> i dos and flushes. >> what can you ask for more? more news after this. you ask for more? more news after this. he's also a volunteer firefighter. (low-pitched yelling) but when it comes to mortgages, he's... less confident. fortunately for teddy, there's rocket mortgage by quicken loans. it's simple, so he can understand the details and get approved in as few as eight minutes. apply simply, understand clearly, mortgage confidently. rocket mortgage by quicken loans.

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well kochl. it's friday. yes. >> the 27th. >> i don't need to know the date. just the day of the week. >> oh, it's the 26th? you put in the 27th in the prompter. we're off to a good start. hi everybody. let's take a look at what's going on at 4:27. you can see a few showers over the ocean was we talked about. live doppler 7, from mount st. helena. moving from northwest to southeast. you may get clipped along the coast until they fall away over the next couple of hours. it is cooler. freezing cold, clear lake at 32. napa and novato at 36.

los gatos at 37. fairfield at 38. half moon bay in cloverdale at 39. the rest of us about 40 to 45 degrees. dress warmly this morning. still damp out there, sue. i ran into slickness on the way. >> did you? there's still wet roads. little bit of fog through marin county. not much. but we have clear to smooth sailing across the golden gate bridge with three lanes in both directions. that will be changing to four lanes in the southbound direction. the san mateo bridge, we had a stalled -- not a stalled, but a tow truck hanging out on the right-hand shoulder there. no problems. but traffic is flowing nicely for a 15-minute drive across the span. we will check on roadwork in a few minutes. >> thank you. what do you think of this? b.a.r.t. is considering making you pay more during peak commute hours. >> apparently some lots are getting full by 6:00 a.m. this is a move to hang that parking situation. abc 7 news reporter janine de la vega live at the fremont b

b.a.r.t. for us. >> reporter: reggie, it's pretty emp empty. but depending the time of day, it can fill up pretty quickly. that has led to complaints and some b.a.r.t. riders parking in private lots. during a board of directors meetings, they started charging higher rates during peak hours. some worry that charging variable parking rates would directly impact working class passengers. some may have to pay up to $15 a day to park and use b.a.r.t. that would require a significant equipment upgrade since currently one flat rate is charged. another option was using automated license plate readers to charge passengers for parking. in the next hour, we plan on talking to passengers about parking and the possible changes that would take place. again, no action was taken during this meeting. but we'll have reaction coming up in the next hour at 5:30. reporting live from fremont,

janine de la there was no impact on the community. this is an unreal looking flame. no community warning was issued. flaring is a safety device to combat excess gas at that refinery. we're waiting to hear from shell as to what caused this flaring incident. pg&e working to restore customers in the east bay. there are four different outages in the area. you can see this on the no word what's causing the outages. welcome to friday. here's a quick update on weather and traffic. hi, mike. >> it's pretty dry out there this morning. hi reggie, hi everybody. there's a lot of moisture in the air in the form of fog. the brighter the whiteness, the thicker the fog. look at this, zero visibil