making news in america this morning, there are no words. that reaction from the sheriff in florida after learning an armed officer stayed outside during the parkland shooting instead of running in to stop the massacre. this morning, new details about that officer's past and the other delay in the police response now revealed. plus, president trump's proposal to pay teachers bonuses to carry guns. hundreds of civilians, many of them children, killed in what's been called a monstrous bombing campaign in syria aided by russia. should the united states intervene? this morning, the unusual response to that question from the state department. a rising political star and former navy s.e.a.l. with presidential ambitions indicted. how missouri's governor allegedly tried to blackmail his

mistress and how he's fighting back. plus, team usa hits a new low on the ice overnight at the winter games. and we mark a television milestone today at "general hospital." a good friday morning, everyone. we're learning some new details now about that school resource officer who stayed outside the building as the shooting at stoneman douglas high school unfolded last week. >> we'll get to those details in a moment. but first a developing story, the historic flooding in the midwest is about to get even worse. rivers are about to rise with more rain falling. floodwaters could crest at the highest level in decades. families are fleeing their homes. they're fearing the worst. this morning, severe weather in the midwest turning deadly. at least six deaths are blamed on storms bringing snow, ice and heavy rain as rivers now push to record stage. >> oh, it's just crazy. i can't believe how much it has risen.

>> reporter: along the ohio river, the water is halfway up to street signs and fire hydrants are nearly submerged. >> it's pretty high for its normal rate. i know that. i've never seen it this high. >> reporter: this photo of cincinnati taken on the kentucky side of the river, which is expected to reach its highest level in more than 20 years. in indiana, rescuers pulled these horses to safety after nearby rivers reached historic levels and the water will only continue to rise this weekend. in elkhart, indiana, the high school football field is now a lake. evacuees in town have filled at least one shelter in capacity. in lansing, michigan, a state of emergency has been declared as people rush to evacuate. >> packing clothes, packing food. whatever i can get out of here, i'm getting out of here. >> reporter: and over in nearby niles, the town's main road is passable only by boat. >> i've seen a flood here and there. island park always floods, but this is incredible. >> reporter: several homes

surrounded by feet of freezing water. >> we can't even get to our house without full waders on. this water is freezing cold. >> reporter: the flooding is pushing east. in pennsylvania a police officer had to be rescued from the roof of his patrol car submerged in floodwaters. >> there was heavy water in the area. a police vehicle was probably about 100 yards out in the water. >> really tough to see those horses in distress, wasn't it? in the meantime, snow continues to move through the upper midwest. we're going to more on the forecast in just a few moments. but we turn now to several developments in the florida school shooting. the armed officer who stayed outside during the shooting has now resigned. he was seen here at a school board meeting in 2015 talking about campus security. >> and we're also learning about another delay in the police response blamed on a communications issue. now, this all comes up as president trump proposes training teachers to carry guns and paying them bonuses for it. >> abc's kenneth moton has the latest from washington for us. kenneth, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, diane and kendis. president trump says those armed teachers would be highly trained

and ready, but authorities in florida say their highly trained officer was, quote, doing nothing when that mass shooting occurred. this morning, new scrutiny in one of the worst mass school shootings, the sheriff in parkland, florida, says the armed school resource deputy stationed at stoneman douglas high school stayed out of the building during the massacre. >> he never went in. >> what should he have done? >> went in. addressed the killer. killed the killer. >> reporter: the sheriff says video shows 30-year veteran scot peterson standing outside for four minutes. the shooting happened in six minutes killing 17 people. >> devastated. sick to my stomach. there are no words. >> reporter: deputy peterson first suspended without pay resigned. the development comes as president trump declares the way to stop school shootings, arming teachers. >> instead of advertising this school has no guns, we are gun-free, you let the people know the opposite. you come into our schools, you're going to be dead. >> reporter: the president

suggests 20% of teachers, about 700,000 people, should be trained and armed. another idea, raising the minimum legal age to buy rifles from 18 to 21. >> the nra will back it and so will congress. >> reporter: the nra quickly opposed. >> the opportunist wasted not one second to exploit tragedy for political gain. the elites don't care not one wit about america's school system. if they truly cared, what they would do is they would protect them. >> reporter: today florida governor rick scott will announce what he calls an action plan on students' safety including keeping guns out of the hands of those struggling with mental illness. diane and kendis. >> all right, truly an issue that will be discussed a lot further. kenneth moton in d.c. for us, thank you, kenneth. we're learning also about another misstep in the immediate aftermath of the school shooting. officers responding to the scene were getting delayed information on the gunman's whereabouts. you see the security footage that was relayed to them was 20 minutes old making the shooter

appear to be in locations where he had already left. and we've now learned that two broward county sheriff deputies are on restricted duty as the department investigates how they handled complaints about the accused shooter up to two years before that school massacre. in two cases callers were concerned that he would shoot up the school. there are some significant developments in the russia investigation. new charges have been filed against president trump's former campaign chairman and his longtime business partner. special counsel robert mueller has added tax evasion and bank fraud charges against paul manafort and rick gates. they were initially charged with money laundering. the new charges are likely seen as a move to pressure both men into a plea deal. manafort, who is 70, says he is innocent. gates has a young family and has been in talks about working with investigators. russia has blocked a u.n. resolution that would have established a cease-fire in syria. at least 400 people have reportedly been killed in the latest bombing campaign, many of them children. syrian forces backed by the

russians are targeting rebels in a damascus suburb. a cameraman was recording when a home belonging to his family was hit by a bomb. you can see children being pulled from the rubble there. a state department spokesperson was asked on thursday if the u.s. should intervene to stop the bloodshed. well, she struggled to answer. >> i don't know what some of you expect us to do. our best tool, what we do out of this building is an attempt to diplomacy, an attempt to shine a spotlight on things taking place around the world. that's what i'm doing. that's what many of my colleagues are doing. >> a watered down version of a cease-fire could be voted on today. let's return to our top story and the weather. take a look at your friday forecast now. good morning. we're checking out some flooding concerns through the mid-mississippi valley all the way up into western pennsylvania today. now, on top of that also concern

about snowfall, but thankfully snow is ending in the north central region. we'll see some new snowfall totals up to about 3 to 6 inches north of minneapolis. heading into the afternoon in the north central region, high pressure builds in briefly. that's going to dry things out for a short period of time before we see our next round of snowfall. i'm meteorologist julia weiden with your accuweather forecast. coming up, a travel nightmare. airline passengers stuck on the tarmac for 12 hours. also ahead, the new concern about kids being addicted to smartphones. and the governor now facing felony charges after admitting to an affair.

300 people are out of their

homes after a massive fire tore through this l.a. apartment complex. flames gutted the three-story building. a firefighter was among three people injured. investigators say it started inside a vacant apartment. a death row inmate in texas has been spared just minutes before he was scheduled to be executed. the governor accepted the parole board's rare recommendation for clemency for thomas whitaker commuting his sentence to life in prison without parole. whitaker was convicted of killing his mother and brother in 2003 for insurance money. his father survived the attack and then fought to save his son's life saying he did not want to lose the last remaining member of his family. delta air lines is blaming freezing rain and de-icing complications after keeping a plane full of passengers on the tarmac for 12 hours. passengers tried to relax in their seats after flight 2195 pulled back from the gate several times during an ice storm in kansas city. but that flight never took off. and 12 hours later it was canceled. airline officials say delta did

follow the rules. the company has apologized and offered passengers $100 vouchers. "consumer reports" is out with its new list of best cars and trucks and toyota dominates the competition. the corolla is ranked as the best compact car. the camry, the best midsize. the highlander, the best suv and the sienna is the minivan, each praised for reliability and safety. some american brands did fare well, the chevy bolt beat the prius, impala is the best large car and ford f-150 best truck. new research shows nearly half of parents are worried their childrens are addicted to mobile devices and 50% are somewhat concerned about the impact of smartphones and tablets on their child's mental health. about one in five say they're very concerned. most parents still say it's up to them to cut their kid's cell phone use but tech companies are under growing pressure to help with that. with we come back, the

scandal involving a big city mayor and an extramarital affair. the new evidence found on a cell fine. also ahead, a new low for u.s. figure skating at the winter olympics. the remark made after their performance that's making headlines this morning. ♪ jen, i've got questions. boots or flip-flops? boot! great. smokey or natural eye? ugh, natural. good choice. how about calling or texting? definitely calling. puppies or kitties? sorry, cats. dry eyes or artificial tears? wait, that's a trick question.

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mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain while taking anoro. ask your doctor about anoro. ♪go your own way get your first prescription free at anoro.com. we're back now with video from connecticut where police say a man with a history of violent behavior crashed his car into an emergency room department and set himself on fire. police say the crash was deliberate but likely not an act of terrorism. the driver is in critical condition and a security guard suffered smoke inhalation but nobody else injured. now to the sex scandal for a governor with presidential ambitions. he's now facing a felony charge accused of trying to blackmail his mistress. this morning, the governor of missouri, a rising political star and former navy s.e.a.l., has been indicted on felony charges. governor eric greitens stands accused of invasion of privacy after allegedly taking a semi nude picture of a woman and

threatening to publish it if she revealed their relationship. greitens who is married with two kids ran for election on a platform of family values. >> i am a very proud husband and father. >> reporter: he now admits to having an affair with his hairdresser in march of 2015 before running for governor, but he denies claims ambassador -- made by his mistress and her ex-husband that he bound her hands, blindfolded her and took a partially nude photo of her. >> there was no violence. the mistake i made i was engaged in a consensual relationship with a woman who wasn't my wife. >> reporter: the republican governor lashed out on facebook saying the charges are politically motivated by a reckless liberal prosecutor who uses her office to score political points. an attorney for greitens calls the indictment baseless. greitens is scheduled for a court appearance in three weeks. in the meantime, there is new development in another political scandal, this one involving the mayor of nashville who admits having an affair with her former head of security.

investigators now claim nude photos of a woman found on the security officer's work phone could show evidence of a crime. the photos were allegedly taken while he was on duty getting overtime pay. the mayor says she had no knowledge of those photos. actor brendan fraser claims his movie career was derailed after he was groped by a hollywood heavyweight 15 years ago. fraser tells "gq" that the former president of the hollywood press association touched him inappropriately at a golden globes luncheon. fraser says the incident left him depressed and miserable. the man he accuses did apologize at the time. but now says fraser's account is a total fabrication. team usa came away without a medal in women's figure skating today. it was the worst showing for the u.s. since world war ii. >> ouch. but there were some highlights today in south korea. once more abc's alex stone is there for us. alex. >> reporter: kendis and diane, happy friday to you. yesterday, a very good day for

team usa. today, not so much, especially when it comes to figure skating. the american women had a tough night on the ice plagued by stumbles and falls throughout the individual competition. ultimately finishing in 9th, 10th and 11th places, the gold and silver going to olympic athletes from russia. but despite her tenth place finish mirai nagasu managing to get lots of attention claiming credit for saving the united states team bronze and revealing the main focus of her final performance was auditioning for "dancing with the stars." the u.s. women's hockey team still celebrating their olympic gold medal win over their longtime canadian rivals bringing home the gold for the first time since 1998. >> the win was about our team, our program, our country, and we couldn't be more proud. >> to accomplish what we've accomplished and bring back a gold medal after 20 years is an amazing feat, and i am just so excited to go back home and share that with everyone. >> reporter: but canada had more

success in freestyle ski cross. kelsey serwa took home the gold and brittany phelan the silver. this was canada's third consecutive gold since it debuted at the 2010 vancouver games. and here in south korea right now, there is a sensation. it's the underdog women's curling team everybody is paying attention to known as the garlic girls. they've been winning. they're at the top of their rankings and get their name from their hometown, which is big in garlic production. kendis, diane. >> garlic production. >> garlic production and now they're known for curling as well. >> delicious. >> alex, set your clocks. i think it's 1:00 a.m. saturday morning. let's take a look at the medal count, shall we? norway still leads the way. >> i don't think we're catching them. the united states has moved up to fourth overall, 21 medals in total. not so bad. we have breaking news now on the sexual abuse scandal involving the usa swimming organization. two leaders of the group have now been forced out including the longtime managing director. we'll be posting more on this story later this morning on our website.

but up next, the mystery buyer of the most expensive apartment in new york. also ahead, the major milestone at "general hospital" today. plus, the man who holds the world record for holding the most lit candles in his mouth, well, he has a new record. we're going to show you. hold together. a little to the left. 1, 2, 3, push! easy! easy! easy! (horn honking) alright! alright! we've all got places to go! we've all got places to go! washington crossing the delaware turnpike? surprising. what's not surprising? how much money sean saved by switching to geico. big man with a horn. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. of being there for my son's winning shot. that was it for me. that's why i'm quitting with nicorette. only nicorette mini has a patented fast dissolving formula. it starts to relieve sudden cravings fast.

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>> yeah, more americans watched that episode than prince charles and diana's wedding just a few months earlier. for decades it was the most watched thing on tv. >> wow. all right, and it's been a few years, four to be exact, since someone paid a record amount for a new york city penthouse. >> we finally know who that person is. the 11,000-square-foot duplex in the exclusive 157 skyscraper right there near central park. six bedrooms, six bathrooms. >> high-end real estate and know the buyer, dell founder and ceo, michael dell. the cost of the apartment at just over $100 million is the highest price for a home ever sold in new york. >> yep. >> dell is worth billions of dollars. a guy -- >> he can afford it. >> yeah, 23 billion, it's okay. a guy in india, in the meantime, is the new record holder for drinking ketchup. >> yum. >> he did it through a straw. that's about 14 ounces of ketchup sucked up in 25 seconds. he loved it, as you can see. the guy is no stranger to records, though in yeah, a few

years ago, he set another record by holding 22 lit candles in his mouth and holds another record for eating grapes. they say stuffing -- the stuffing records are his specialty. >> that's his thing. >> apparently that's a category. and a woman in tennessee is adding a little kick to her workout. >> megan vaughn loves wine and exercise so she found a way to enjoy them both at the same time after rigging her weights with wine goblets. she can now do curls, lunges and sit-ups never missing a sip. >> multitasking. >> i like her. you don't want ang stopping you from doing what you love. so if you're looking to give your immune system extra support... only airborne plus beta-immune booster is made with a crafted blend of vitamins and minerals, plus an added ingredient proven to boost your natural defenses. keep doing what you were borne to do. airborne plus beta immune booster.

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this is abc 7 mornings. friday. welcome to. come on in. >> i'm busy. hopefully not too busy already this morning. sue is in. alexis is off. we're here. >> we are. never more than seven minutes away from your accuweather forecast. here's meteorologist mike nicco. >> hi guys. the wind was a big story yesterday. they're still gusting at 16 at half moon bay. the rest of us 10 miles per hour. there's a windchill that feels like 30 in santa rosa and half moon bay. feels like 35. most of our temperatures range from 30 in livermore and clear lake, 31 in napa, 32 in ukiah. 33 in danville and los gatos has frost getting close there. about 40 in oakland. 42 in san francisco and san mateo. take a look at the accuweather 12-hour planner coming up next. we have high winds on the san mateo bridge as mike

mentioned. the traffic is flowing nicely. there we go. you have about a 15 hnt minute drive from foster city to 880. we'll take a look at -- this is walnut creek. sorry about that. looking good. sorry. it says emeryville on there. walnut creek to 24. we have a problem out in the byron area with a fatality, unfortunately. we will talk about that in a couple of minutes. sue, thank you. this morning, we're waking up to more cold temperatures after a day of wild weather in the bay area. >> kate larsen talked with people in the north bay and beyond surprised by hail and rain and some windy conditions. >> reporter: cell phone video of hail bouncing off the ground in petaluma. a downpour of rain in vallejo and a mixture of both at places took people by surprise >> i wasn't expecting for hail. >> i left for lunch, it was sunny. a came back and it was like

someone flipped a switch and turned into pretty crazy rainstorm on the way back. >> reporter: once the afternoon rain and hail storms. moved on, the sun went down and the weather turned cold and windy. we found mitch palmer working outside the walmart doing everything to stay warm. >> i have a couple layers of shirts underneath. and then i'm wearing a thermal pants. >> reporter: we got rain. >> carol wilson welcomed the rain in vallejo today. she's not sure about the nighttime temperatures that followed. >> it's heck cold. it's so cold. >> the next chance of rain is monday, carol. the weather should warm up a little bit this weekend. kate larsen, abc 7 news. kate larsen trying to do mike nicco's job this morning. after a tough stretch of winter, business is bustling with ski resorts preparing for back-to-back weekends of fresh

powder. snow fell on and off catching some drivers unprepared. crews worked nonstop to keep interstate 80 open and safe with icy and slippery conditions over the summit. chains are required on interstate 80 and highway 50. >> mike, next chance of rain is on monday, was kate right? >> absolutely. it was disappointing to hear they were surprised by that. if you have our app or your phone, you knew we'd have sunshine and thunderstorms possible with hail and snow. it's always a good thing to maybe have that app around. here's a look at live doppler 7. let's jump into the accuweather 12-hour planner. 32 to 39. some of us may be getting the credit card out. temperatures by noon, 50. total sunshine in the afternoon hours and calmer. we don't have to worry about the blustery conditions. low to mid-50s. heading out this evening, dress for temperatures in the mid to upper 40s. here's sue with an update. >> take a look at the traffic maps outside. unfortunat