update. >> "good morning america" starts right now. look at the snow c good morning, america. breaking news, two of the president's closest advisers in turmoil. communications director hope hicks resigns after admitting she's told, quote, white lies for the president, and now jared kushner under new fire for meeting in the white house with banks that gave his family company millions in new loans. all this, as the president's unprecedented public war with his own attorney general escalates to the breaking point. also breaking right now, show of force. president putin revealing a powerful new missile to the world. his ominous words about nuclear weapons this morning. urgent search for a missing mother of two. vanishing from her home while her kids were inside. police seeing signs of a possible struggle. where they found her cell phone and the mysterious social media post before she disappeared. ♪ go big or go home

and our huge lemons for leukemia event trying to set a record with people all across the world. will you take the challenge this morning? good morning, america. thank you guys for joining us and welcome back, robin. a trip home to see your sister. >> yeah, it was great to be home. it's great to be back here and thank you for putting the congratulations up on the jumbotron. >> she earned it. >> means a lot to the family. we -- look at that. she was just cheesing. hopefully she's sleeping in after all those years of getting up early to do the morning news. >> now she has a singing career ahead of her. >> that, she does. >> the piece was great. >> thank you. >> we have a lot of news to get

to. we begin with that shake-up at the white house. his personal aide hope hicks has resigned and jared kushner facing a barrage of bad news. his attorney general jeff sessions is pushing back against the president's public attacks. we want to begin with hicks' departure. she joins a long list of trump loyalists who have come and gone since last year and cecilia vega has all the latest. good morning. >> reporter: some stunning developments here. good morning to you. right after this news broke, hicks gave a tearful thank you to her communications team. this comes just 24 hours after that bombshell admission to congress that she told white lies on behalf of the president of the united states, but the white house says that has nothing to do with the timing of her departure. they say it's just coincidence. few in the white house inner circle have been closer or more loyal to president trump. >> now, hope hicks is a tremendously talented person. she started off with us right from day one. >> reporter: but this morning, the 29-year-old communications director is out. the fourth communications director to resign in the trump administration.

in a statement hope hicks saying, there are no words to adequately express my gratitude to president trump. the official line from the white house, hicks has been planning her departure for months and she's leaving to spend more time with her family, but it comes after that stunning admission to congressional investigators this week that she occasionally tells white lies on behalf of the president. >> any collusion? >> reporter: hicks is a central figure in the russia investigation questioned for two days by special counsel robert mueller over an involvement in crafting the president's response to that now-infamous trump tower meeting between don junior and the russians, and she was at the center of the firestorm over the departure of former staff secretary rob porter ousted amid domestic violence allegations. porter and hicks were dating and she helped develop the administration's defense of him when the news broke. the president praised his outgoing aide in a statement saying, she is as smart and thoughtful as they come.

a truly great person. i will miss having her by my side. she became one of the most powerful players in the trump white house. by the president's side through the campaign. before that in trump tower as an assistant to the billionaire businessman. a former model she joined the family working on ivanka trump's fashion line. hicks joining the list of high-profile inner circle aides who left the west wing in this young administration. and hicks isn't leaving for a few weeks but with her gone this leaves a stunning lack of confidants in the president's inner circle. the social media director here, president trump's former golf caddy is the last man standing from the original team of his campaign, only jared and ivanka are the -- after jared and ivanka there is literally no one left. >> no one left. and, cecilia, the communications director doesn't capture what her role was. she was basically in every meeting with the president inside the white house and

translated him to other staffers across the government. he would often look her way in meetings to make sure what he was saying was on track. can anyone fill that role? >> reporter: well, probably not to be honest, george. her office was right outside the president's oval office. this was someone among his most trusted confidantes outside of his own family. with her gone there is a real fear that president trump is becoming increasingly isolated. as you say she was someone who could keep him calm and rein in some of these fly by the seat of his pants tendency, with her gone aides are worrying what is to come. >> robin. president trump's son-in-law jared kushner is also facing new scrutiny after that report about his family business. this, as the president feuds with his attorney general, jeff sessions. last night sessions was spotted dining with his top officials from the justice department in what's being called a show of solidarity. our chief justice correspondent pierre thomas with the latest on all this. good morning, pierre.

>> reporter: that's right. after months of looking the other way while the president repeatedly and publicly criticized him, sessions stood up for himself and his department making his future uncertain. this morning, there are signs that another high-profile administration official could be forced out. sources telling abc news, president trump is outraged that attorney general jeff sessions who delivered an extraordinary rebuke wednesday to one of the president's tweets. after the president says sessions was disgraceful for asking the inspector general rather than justice department attorneys to investigate claims of potential surveillance abuse, sessions pushed back defending his department saying in a statement, we have initiated the appropriate process that will ensure complaints against this department will be fully and fairly acted upon if necessary. as long as i am the attorney general, i will continue to discharge my duties with integrity and honor. the key question, whether mr. trump was trying to regain control of the russia probe by trying to force sessions out. abc news has recently reported that the special counsel has requested documents about

sessions' near resignation last year after being scolded by the president. meanwhile, the president's son-in-law facing increasing scrutiny. overnight, "the new york times" reporting that jared kushner's real estate firm received $509 million in loans after the leaders of two major wall street companies had white house meetings with kushner. according to "the times," joshua harris who helped found apollo global management. >> we're finding lots of opportunities privately to inject capital. >> reporter: meeting multiple times with kushner before his company lent $184 million to kushner companies to help refinance the mortgage on a chicago skyscraper and citigroup loaning kushner companies 325 million to finance office buildings in brooklyn. >> i am senior adviser to president donald j. trump. >> reporter: the meeting and loans involving companies associated with the often seen but rarely heard from kushner.

critics say it raised ethical questions about one of the president's top advisers who also happens to be his son-in-law. >> jared kushner and donald trump have flouted all kinds of norms when it comes to outside business interests. >> reporter: with all the recent scrutiny the president has defended his daughter ivanka's husband. >> jared has done an outstanding job. i think he's been treated very unfairly. >> reporter: a spokesman for kushner, issued a statement to abc news making clear his client has completely separated himself from the family business. not pursuing any loans while at the white house, abiding by all ethics rules. a spokesman for kushner's companies say stories like this attempt to make insinuating connections that do not exist to disparage the companies involved. the question for critics this morning is, whether kushner should have met with those companies in the white house in the first place. >> a big question. pierre, thanks very much. let's bring in dan abrams for more on all this. real questions of ethics and appearance with kushner to meet with these bankers when his family companies are seeking loans. what are the legal implications?

>> we have to separate them out. their position is he's divested. they weren't talking kushner-related business and as a result there is no -- >> he's only divested from a portion? >> that's true and he still has an interest in the larger business. but what they are saying is, they weren't talking kushner business, period. end of discussion with regard to the legal questions. now, as you heard from the statement there, the insinuation, of course, is that, boy, these additional loans sure came forward at interesting times following meetings in the white house. what happened there? so, those are questions not definitive answered. >> meantime, we have to talk about this situation with the attorney general. we have never seen anything like this before. for much of the last year the president in a public war with his own attorney general. >> this is not normal, let's be clear. it is not normal to have a public spat with the attorney general over his independence.

people are saying, some are saying, you know, people fight and, yes, they do. people fight. >> not investigating the president. >> a, they don't fight in public like this very often, and, b, they don't fight about the integrity and independence of the department of justice. i mean, that's what we're talking about here. >> and now we do know that robert mueller, the special counsel, is looking at this series of tweets, the series of fights between the president and his attorney general. >> right. well, i think he's looking at more than just with regard to the attorney general but he's looking into tweets and fights with a number of former members of his team, including james comey and others, so then it takes on a greater significance now. this discussion, this fight between sessions and trump, now becomes another possible question for mueller to investigate. >> dan abrams, thanks very much. robin. now, george, to that breaking news overseas. just moments ago russia's

president, vladimir putin, revealed what he's calling, quote, invincible -- an invincible missile. it's a new show of force and our terry moran has those details for us. good morning, terry. >> reporter: good morning. it sure is a show of force. a stunning announcement from vladimir putin and an aggressive declaration of their new nuclear capacity. at his state of the union speech as he's running for re-election that putin declared russia has a brand-new weapon, powered by a nuclear engine, and claims the weapon has unlimited range and can evade any missile defense system delivering a nuclear attack devastating anywhere in the world. this new missile has been in the works for several years, it was tested successfully twice last year. part of russia's nuclear modernization program but it was the way putin talked about this new missile that was so striking. he was almost angry in the speech saying, quote, no one listened to us. listen to us now, containing russia has not succeeded.

president trump also called for greatly strengthening u.s. nuclear weapons so, i guess welcome to the nuclear arms race of the 21 century. >> all right. one way to put it. thank you, terry. news keeps coming back at home. president trump shocked lawmakers calling out the nra and calling for comprehensive gun control measures backed by democrats. the big question now, will those stick? our chief white house correspondent jon karl has all the latest. good morning, jon. >> reporter: good morning, george. president trump takes pride in being the most pro-nra president that we have ever had but he gathered democrats and republicans here at the white house and stunned them all by repeatedly taking positions firmly opposed by the nra. as the television cameras rolled, president trump practically pleaded lawmakers to impose some of the toughest new restrictions on guns in decades. >> i see some folks that don't say nice things about me, that's okay, because if you turn that into this energy, i'll love you.

i don't care. >> reporter: as a candidate trump famously promised he would never let the nra down. and while he once again praised them as true patriots, he repeatedly took positions that put him at odds with both the nra and republican leaders in congress. he pushed the idea of raising the minimum age to buy assault weapons. >> i would give serious thought to it. it doesn't make sense that i have to wait till 21 for a handgun but i can get this weapon at 18. i don't know. >> reporter: he said one of the nra's top positions allowing concealed weapons to be carried across state lines is a no go and got a fist bump by senator dianne feinstein. >> i don't think you'll get it approved. you're not going to get concealed carry approved. amy and dianne -- >> you're right. >> and a lot of other people, people they consider -- they're never going to consider but people may consider it. they're not going to consider this bill. >> reporter: the president embraced connecticut democrat chris murphy's call for

background checks on all gun purchases, an idea republicans have voted down again and again. >> we can't get a gun. nothing else like that where it works, people want it and can't do it. >> but you have a different president now. >> well, listen -- >> you went through a lot of presidents and you didn't get it done. you have a different president and i think maybe you have a different attitude too. i think people want to get it done. >> mr. president, it will have to be you that brings the republicans to the table on this because right now the gun lobby would stop it in its tracks. >> i like that responsibility, chris. i really do. i think it's time that a president stepped up. >> reporter: at the close of the meeting the president predicted what he called a, quote, amazing result. a big comprehensive measure on guns and school violence. something that has eluded congress for decades but to give you an idea, george, of just how big and heavy a lift this would be, republicans are not excited. look at what ben sasse said after the meeting. he said we're not ditching any constitutional protections simply because the last person

the president talked to today doesn't like them. >> that was tough stuff. still waiting to hear from republicans leaders in congress as well. michael. and students returned to marjory stoneman douglas high school for the first time on wednesday. they greeted by therapy dogs and counselors and in the wake of that school shooting another major retailer is taking action on gun control. walmart saying it will stop selling firearms and ammunition to people under 21. that announcement follows the one from dick's sporting goods we had yesterday and our chief business correspondent rebecca jarvis has more. it's a big announcement. >> this is a big announcement. good morning to you. that's right. retail giant walmart saying that in light of recent events reviewed policies and decided to make changes as a number of other retailers are cutting ties with the nra. overnight, the nation's largest retailer announcing it will raise the minimum age to purchase firearms in its stores to 21 years old. walmart, which stopped selling the ar-15 rifle nearly three

years ago, now the second major company to change gun policy in the wake of the horrific parkland school shooting. dick's ceo announced on "good morning america" wednesday that his company will ban the sale of assault weapons and will no longer sell firearms to anyone under 21 years old. >> we looked at what happened down in parkland and we were so disturbed and saddened by what happened. >> reporter: on twitter the reactions fiercely divided. some saying they will stop shopping at the sporting goods stores while others having the exact opposite reaction. singer/songwriter josh groban responding by the announcement by writing, i suddenly feel like buying a baseball mitt, some tennis strings and a pair of pole vault sneakers. since the shooting more than a dozen businesses have severed ties to the nra, while others including fedex have resisted social media pressure. >> the left is now trying to move the conversation to specifically focus on an ar-15

because after all what have they done with this event but politicize it. >> reporter: amazon, apple and roku which lets users stream nra tv are resisting pressure to pull programming. roku telling abc news we do not curate or censor based on viewpoint. we are not promoting or being paid to distribute nra tv. shareholders at dick's sporting goods asked the company to report on the steps they're taking to improve gun safety and stop violence. michael, you can tell there are a lot of different forces at play here really playing into what retailers will do next. >> absolutely. and dick's made a big statement yesterday saying we'll stop the sale of assault-style rifles. how many are sold there? like walmart. >> not a lot. a small portion of the sales of firearms are being sold at these big box retailers and, in fact, the majority of those ar-15 rifles are being sold locally or online at small independent suppliers. >> thank you, rebecca.

>> let's go to rob, he's tracking a storm coming east. >> strong dynamics coming yeste dropping an apparent tornado in central alabama and look at the watches and warnings from the northeast back to the midsouth and wind warnings to georgia with this. it goes from inland to coastal overnight tonight, and heavy rain and wind intensifying and gusts over 50 to 60 miles an hour. good morning i'm "abc 7

news" meteorologist mike nicco. get the wet weather gear handy. rainy this morning and stormy and breezy all day. a chance of showers and thunderstorms through saturday with a snow level dropping from 3,000 to 2,000 feet. saturday, the scattered showers and thunderstorms and temperatures from the mid to upper 50s. cool early tonight and less showers and thunderstorms. mid coming up, as ryan seacrest prepares to take the oscars red carpet, his response to sexual misconduct allegations and what he's now saying about them. and a new alert for ridesharing apps, people posing as drivers and then attacking. what you make sure to check before getting in the car all coming up on "gma." coming up on "gma." one of those moments... state farm ky what? this is ridiculous! there's one of these... sam, i gotta go... is this my car? what? this is ridiculous!

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otezla. show more of you. good morning east bay, let's get up and get going thfrmgts is abc 7 mornings. >> good morning i'm natasha zouves from abc 7 mornings and as you might expect our morning storm causing a lot of problems on bay area road ways and power outages. streetlights are out and drivers are not even slowing down. treat nonworking lights as a four way stop. alexis smith monitoring a closer look. >> about 32 so down from 30 minutes ago and a little bit of good news on webb 580, a crash at lakeshore and the back up spills beyond highway 13. walnut creek 680 crawling along and the rain is m cog down

now your accuweather forecast with mike nicco. >> let's talk about the storm impact scale. the soaking rain through morning hours and then shifting to showers and thunderstorms this afternoon and evening. gusts over 40-mile-per-hour all day. coming out of the grade and across the san mateo bridge and the half moon bay. pounding on the road way. the yellows and oranges and you can see the back edge of the showers moving into santa rosa, transitions over to the thunderstorms a little earlier than the rest of us. >> thank you. we're going to have an update in about 30 minutes and always on the app and web we know. join us for we can days 4:30 to

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♪ when you dance, dance, dance welcome back to "gma." have the whole crew dancing. i see you over there, angie. that's justin timberlake kicking off the oscars with a huge opening number which makes us wonder what surprises are in store this year. we're going to take you behind the scenes at the dolby theatre. chris connelly will take us back and see if he can get us secrets to what is going to happen. just three days until the big night. we can't stop the feeling of how happy we are that amy robach is back from the olympics. >> thank you. thank you. i think i finally adjusted to our time zone. >> what time is it now? >> well, it used to be 9:00 at night so i figured it out. i think i'm feeling like my old self again. >> fantastic job there. >> good to have you back.

also right now, there's turmoil at the white house. the president's communications director hope hicks has resigned and jared kushner is facing new scrutiny after a report about his family business and the president's publicly at war with his own attorney general jeff sessions. also this morning, we're bracing for a nor'easter. snow and rain moving from chicago to boston and new york state is facing a winter storm watch. while out west, evacuations are unfortunately under way as the strongest storm of the year hits montecito on alert as you know after those recent mudslides. and i know we have basketball fans out there. did you see this, what's being called a vicious moment on the court last night. houston rockets star james harden an incredible crossover move. he sits him down. when you sit somebody down. he sat him down and then waited for the teammate to come over. stared him down, hit the three. that is nasty. that's going to be replayed over and over again on a loop. you don't want to be the guy playing defense. >> you do not want to be that defender.

we're going to begin with that ryan seacrest controversy as he prepares to host the oscars red carpet for the e! channel, now denying claims of sexual harassment from a former stylist and preparing for what could be uncomfortable moments on the red carpet and amy is here with details. >> you know, that should -- could absolutely cast a shadow over seacrest's red carpet coverage on oscar sunday with some publicists reportedly considering steering their star clients away from interviews with the e! host. >> live from the academy awards. >> reporter: he is the king of the red carpet. >> congratulations. >> thank you. >> i have no idea how to explain what's happening on this carpet right now. gold and silver. >> i think a little bit of both. >> i like what your hair is doing. >> reporter: this morning new questions whether sexual misconduct allegations will overshadow ryan seacrest's oscar sunday. overnight, jimmy kimmel telling "variety" he still plans on being interviewed by seacrest after the oscars, saying, we should at the very least afford people the

opportunity for truth, what the facts of the story are before hanging them out to dry. jennifer lawrence asked about it on howard stern's radio show. >> i don't know about the ryan seacrest thing. i think it's, you know -- he has not been to trial for anything. i am not a judge. i am not a jury. >> reporter: this follows reports that seacrest's former stylist suzie hardy says she was subjected to from 2007 to 2013 and said he sexually assaulted her multiple times, grinding against her while clad only in his underwear, groping her. another person said he witnessed two incidents. hardy also alleges that he grabbed her and threw her on the bed while she was dressing him at the roosevelt hotel. a source close to seacrest claiming there is evidence he instead got dressed for that event at his home. seacrest, the host of "kelly and ryan," produced by wabc. >> it's supposed to be nice for our oscar broadcast and work.

>> reporter: -- has denied hardy's allegations, saying, this person offered to withdraw her claims if i paid her millions of dollars. i refused. i have no choice but to deny the claims against me and remind people i was recused of any wrongdoing and put the matter to rest. e! and its parent company nbc universal tells abc news, an outside counsel initially investigated hardy's claims for two months and included interviews with more than two dozen people. they found insufficient evidence to sub stan sht allegations against seacrest adding any claims that question the legitimacy of this investigation are completely baseless. now, hardy, a single mother saying she endured that abuse for years because of the good pay and the schedule that allowed her to provide for her daughter but seacrest, again, denying all of these allegations, and we should mention we asked both seacrest and his accuser to come on "gma" and they both declined, guys. >> open invitation. amy, thanks so much. >> as of right now he will still be on the red carpet. >> as of right now he will.

>> thank you. we're going to move now to the frantic search for a young mother who mysteriously vanished from her front yard in virginia. police combing through clues left behind in her yard. linzie janis is here with the investigation. good morning, linzie. >> reporter: good morning, robin. police say there are signs that this young mother may have struggled with someone on her driveway just before she disappeared. she's now been missing for 48 hours. her family and friends worried sick. this morning, in virginia, the frantic search for 23-year-old terrilynn st. john intensifying. >> we're still treating it as a missing person. but it is definitely a missing person under some suspicious circumstances. >> reporter: the mother of two vanishing from her home early tuesday morning as she was getting ready to take her kids to day care. her front door left wide open. the kids inside. unharmed but alone. st. john reported missing after failing to show up to work. >> no family deserves to go through this. >> reporter: police say it's too soon to tell if st. john was abducted and at this point there are few clues.

but st. john's cell phone was found in the bushes outside her house and a broken neck last found nearby. >> it's real and very unreal at the same time. it's just -- it feels like a never-ending search. >> reporter: her last post on social media, three inspirational quotes just two days before she disappeared. one reading sometimes you just have to accept what happened, smile and move on. >> there's a lot more people, persons of interest that would have information for us. we will continue to interview people. >> reporter: investigators say they have spoken with four people of interest who they say are all cooperating and have submitted dna samples. st. john's family and friends holding out hope. >> i know she's out there somewhere fighting. >> reporter: again, police say, they are interviewing persons of interest and they are also searching the rural area near her home for clues. robin. >> i hope they find her. thank you, linzie.

michael. now to new developments in that trial we've been following in tennessee. a school bus driver taking the stand, defending himself, as he faces charges for a crash that killed six children. abc's linsey davis has the story. >> reporter: this morning, the fate of the bus driver accused of killing six elementary school students is in the hands of a jury in a case so emotionally charged several of the victims' family members have left the courtroom in tears. >> those kids died because of and only because of johnthony walker's recklessness. >> reporter: on wednesday 25-year-old johnthony walker, the man behind the wheel of the school bus in this 2016 crash, told the jury he tried to save lives. >> i went to the back of the bus. the door was already open and -- and i tried to assist in that way. >> reporter: video captures the aftermath.

elementary school students scrambling to escape after the bus flipped on its side. that's walker running to students stuck in the back. the driver disputes the prosecutor's claims that he was on the phone driving off route and traveling 20 miles per hour over the speed limit when he lost control. >> were you talking on the phone in the moments before this accident happened? >> no. >> reporter: prosecutors provided phone records indicating he answered a call that lasted 3 minutes and 50 seconds putting him on the phone at the time of the first 911 call but walker says he wasn't on the phone that long. >> i'd say anywhere from max of seven to ten seconds. >> reporter: used bluetooth headphones to answer the call and told the caller he was driving and couldn't talk. >> did you hang up? >> no, i was under the assumption the other caller would hang up the phone. >> reporter: he says he didn't want to take his hands off the wheel and the woman on the line didn't end the call. that same woman also testified she was not aware of a crash. walker also told the court there was another vehicle involved.

a white transit van like this one. he says that's what caused him to swerve. for "good morning america," linsey davis, abc news, new york. >> so tragic. >> tragic for families out there. and coming up, everyone, the new warning for people who use ride-sharing apps. a man arrested accused of posing as a driver to prey on women. we'll tell you what to check for before you get in the car. we'll tell you what to check for before you get in the car. but he hasoke up wwork to do.in. so he took aleve.

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back now with a new warning for anyone using ride-sharing services like uber anduber andud authorities arrested a man they say lured women into his car by posing as their driver. kayna whitworth has more. good morning, kayna. >> reporter: michael, good morning. authorities are warning ride share users to make sure they're getting in the right vehicle. this is after that man is accused of assaulting seven women over a year and a half and this morning, authorities think there might be more victims out there. this morning, officials in los angeles are urging caution for anyone using ride share apps after arresting a man they say posed as a driver to prey on women. >> when it's 2 in the morning and you're getting out of a bar you're not really looking at the license plate. >> reporter: 44-year-old nicolas morales is facing 27 felony counts including sexual assault. >> had been out to a friend's birthday and i remember there were a lot of cars on the street. >> reporter: authorities say

morales would allegedly wait outside clubs in beverly hills and surrounding areas late at night, according to police, driving up to women would appeared drunk asking if they requested a ride. >> sometimes they make that mistake when you want to go home and you neglect that extra step. >> reporter: 30-year-old carla westlund was one of his alleged victims who mistook him for an uber driver. >> i fell asleep and i woke up. we were parked somewhere in a driveway and he was just banging my head against the seat. >> reporter: fearing for her life, she said she went into survival mode fighting her attacker for nearly three hours. >> i just remember slowly getting -- just thinking i can't believe this guy is going to let me go. i can't believe that he's going to let me go. >> reporter: and she wasn't alone. police say for more than a year he kidnapped and assaulted victims allegedly using a firearm in at least one attack and a knife in another. >> you don't necessarily want to be at the curb. if you are waiting for a ride share or even a taxi, wait near the building, you know, if

there's security you can be kind of close to the security, because no predator is going to want to pick up anybody that's close to security. >> reporter: abc news security consultant steve gomez gave me some valuable tips on how to stay safe when using a ride-sharing app. what should you ask the driver as soon as they pull up? >> you should ask the driver, who are you here to pick up? there is a license plate on every smartphone app when you sign up for the vehicle to pick you up. check it out from afar and then make the approach. >> that's good advice. police say they connected the man to these crimes using dna testing and if convicted, the alleged serial rapist faces up to 300 years behind bars. guys. >> all right, thank you so much. kayna. i mean, just jaw-dropping story. three hours. >> my goodness. we still have a lot to come here on "gma" including meghan markle's candid comments about the me too movement. come on back. ck. afi sure had a lot on my mind. my 30-year marriage... ...my 3-month old business...

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this -- last week, was it this week or last week on monday? >> i'm traumatized. >> first of all, you weren't supposed to take the whole lemon like that. it's much better right now and we also listened to you. >> they're fresh this morning as opposed to the mold from last week. >> but we're not doing it now. >> we're not doing it now. it will be a little bit later. we will do it live and many of you are joining us across the country, california, minnesota, the home of be the match. here in times square, our team is getting ready. we hope you'll join us at home for the big event that's coming up. wait until you hear the backstory, the reason why these two best friends, why they came up with this and what it means to them. >> amy is not going to tell us her backstory about lemons. >> maybe i gave lemons to my babies because i thought they made cute faces. >> we tried to defend her so many times. we'll be right back. >> oh, amy. back. >> oh, amy. if you're anything like me, your to-do list just keeps growing. (laughs desperately) it never stops. which is why the online financing application

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good morning south bay. let get up and get going. >> this is abc 7 mornings. >> good morning i'm natasha zouves from abc 7 mornings. specifically the big story today is the weather. mike nicco is here tracking it all. >> hi everybody. let's look at live doppler seven. transition from rain to showers along the north bay and the rest of us light to moderate rain up to 2:00 in the south bay which mean it is is going to be daeng rous if you are out and about and up in the sierra. no traveling, showers hang around until saturday. >> a lot of hydroplaning and tough conditions as you head out for the morning commute. a live look at the san mateo bridge. no incidents to report and drive time is not so good, westbound 80, and 20 across the bay bridge and southbound 101 and san

francisco, sfo about a half hour. >> we'll have another update in about 30 minutes and always on the app and abc7news.com. you can join us for abc 7 mornings weekdays 4:30 to 7:00 a.m. here is "

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good morning, america. it's 8:00 a.m. white house turmoil. two of the president's closest aides under fire. communications director hope hicks resigns after she told house investigators that she told white lies on the president's behalf. this morning the president's son-in-law jared kushner under increased scrutiny for meeting with banks that gave his family's company millions in new loans. and the president at war with his own attorney general. meghan markle and me too. the royal-to-be speaks out candidly about topics once taboo within the royal family. what she's saying about shining a light on time's up. it's almost time for the oscars. we're behind the scenes with the producer, the surprises you can count on what they're doing to prevent another "moonlight" mix-up. >> best picture. ♪ go big or go home

and we're taking the lemon challenge. two best friends on a mission that has people trying to break a record for the most bone marrow donors in a single day. all to help save lives. all you have to do is take a bite out of a lemon. >> robin roberts and the entire "good morning america" crew. >> we're here to say challenge accepted and -- >> all: good morning, america. ♪ then we lost control we certainly do say good morning, america and a special morning, indeed, on "gma." we're going big all across the country for this special cause taking on the lemons for leukemia challenge. >> this was all started by a young man and his best friend who's battling leukemia. they decided to make a bucket list and on that they said setting the record for registering bone marrow donors on it. we can't wait to talk to them coming up. amazing what they're trying to do for so many out there.

>> we talk to them and suck some lemon. >> not right now. >> right now we're going to get to the news. i'm ready to go on this one. we have a lot of news to get to. beginning with that white house in turmoil. communications director hope hicks resigning. the president's son-in-law jared kushner under fire with new stories and the president is openly feuding with his attorney general jeff sessions. let's go back to the white house. our senior white house correspondent cecilia vega is there. >> reporter: hey, george, good morning on hope hicks we are were talking about one of the president's closest aides and longtime confidantes and her resignation comes 24 hours after she admitted to congress that she told white lies on behalf of the president. but the white house says this has nothing to do with her departure. they say the timing is just coincidence, of course, hope has also been in the spotlight recently over that controversy with former white house staff secretary rob porter ousted over domestic violence allegations. hicks and porter were dating. she did help craft that botched white house response to his

departure defending him. she joins a long list of high-profile inner circle aides who have left the west wing and in this still young administration. the last man standing, if you will, outside the president's own family from the original campaign team is dan scavino, the president's former golf caddie and now this morning there are also new questions about whether there is another potential departure over the attorney general jeff sessions who is openly feuding very publicly with the president. we're told president trump is furious with sessions and that sessions has not held back publicly rebuking his boss, george, safe to say that this morning this is a white house very much in chaos. >> extraordinary. thanks very much. robin. as you know very busy morning and this other breaking news that came in overnight a huge show of force from russian president vladimir putin revealing what he calls an invincible missile. back to terry moran. this is frightening, terry. good morning. >> reporter: it is.

this is real nuclear saber rattling in moscow today as vladimir putin declared that russia has successfully developed a new generation of nuclear weapons. he called them as you say invincible capable of defeating any missile defense system in the world and bragged that his state of the union speech that russia has a nuclear powered cruise missile, a weapon with unlimited range now, hyper sonic speeds and devastating nuclear payloads. but listening to vladimir putin you can almost hear the rage and resentment at the u.s. and that may be the real threat here. he was belligerent at times saying no one listened to us. listen to us, now, containing russia has not succeeded. and that's another sign that u.s./russia relations are just in a tailspin. robin. >> it is. thank you, terry and michael. happier news. the most unusual pilot you may ever see. that is moosa, the baby chimp at the controls with his co-pilot anthony. this was a rescue mission saving him from poachers in the congo

and it looks like he is a natural pilot. look there. getting settled in. gazing out the window. taking in the sights. getting groomed. but the co-pilot doesn't look too worried. after all that action he decided to take a nap which is not very pilot-like, i guess, but his rescuer says the baby church is doing well in his new home. that's nice to see. >> wonderful to see. >> the pilot's calm demeanor. >> look at that face. just want to pinch it. coming up royal-to-be meghan markle making a bowl and rare statement on the me too and time's up movements. we go behind the scenes at the oscars. what you can expect on hollywood's biggest night three days away and lara is handing out lemons for our lemons for leukemia challenge. >> everybody is in, right? we are going to break that record. that be the match record. we're already well under way and tell you how you can join us coming up on "good morning america." get over here.

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♪ all right. you feel it? can feel it in the air. great to have you back here on this friday eve as we like to say and we're getting ready for the lemons for leukemia challenge. >> pucker up, baby. >> you got it. pucker up, baby. well, right now we'll pucker up for a little "pop news." >> let's do it. good morning, everybody. welcome back to you, lady. we'll begin with some exciting news. one of our favorite songs -- ♪ working 9 to 5 >> come on.

what a day we had with dolly parton being here. that, of course, is "9 to 5" sung by the one and only and, yes, she was with us and this morning we can took lord. twentieth century fox is in early talks to create a reboot of the movie. [ applause ] i'm always nervous when you touch a piece of perfection like that. but it sounds like a great idea. actress, writer rashida jones partnering with the original creator to update and rewrite this new version and the good news is all three original stars, jane fonda, lilly tomlin and dolly parton are on board. [ applause ] >> wow. >> apparently they haven given it their blessing but this has a bit of a way to go but sources say the new version would focus on three younger women who turn to the original trio to deal with among other things sexism in the workplace. so, strong script coming, we

hope and we'll keep you posted on that one. then also it's rumored "wonder woman," the team from that incredible film has lassoed in a new villain to star in "wonder woman 2." oh, really. you want to know who? sources reporting that funny lady kristen wiig is in talks to play, yeah, cheetah, she's a bad girl with ferocious claws and fangs. talk about perfect casting, she'll eat that role up and gal godot set to return as diana and patty jenkins at the helm. round two of "wonder woman" has been set for late 2019. [ applause ] yeah. we love that. i love this audience. >> i know. so responsive, aren't they? finally, imagine, guys, having an entire island in belize to yourself for a few

days with a private lagoon protected by a coral reef and now imagine this paradise is available on airbnb what? check this out. this is real. we're calling it airbn beach. it's a private island with a two bedroom over water villa sleeping four guest, a private chef will prepare your meals. a concierge will pick you up at the airport and take you by boat or, you know, just pop in by helicopter. little peter oasis, we found this and just wanted to share it because look at those pictures. 975 a night which divided by four people for your own island. [ applause ] >> i know, so anyway, you know i love a bargain. thought i'd share. >> a bargain. >> do we have to work tomorrow? >> that's "pop news." >> great, lara, thank you. [ applause ]

and now to amy with our cover story. >> royal-to-be meghan markle is taking a strong and rare stance speaking out about the me too and time's up movements all happening during a public royal appearance. with less than three months until her wedding to prince harry, meghan already making her mark modernizing the monarchy not afraid to tackle top picks once taboo in the royal family, sexual harassment, rape, workplace abuse and gender equality. >> with so many campaign, me too and time's up, there's no better time than to really continue to shine a light on women feeling empowered and people really helping to support them. >> reporter: meghan joining in at the first royal foundation forum showing she's a force. >> they have a voice. they need to feel empowered to use it and people need to be encouraged to listen. >> it's clear from seeing her speak yesterday she is so enthusiastic to start the charity work when she joins the

royal family. >> reporter: while meghan wasn't allowed to reveal her charitable goals for the future she's not a member of the royal family yet. she did show she's not afraid to shake things up. >> i certainly know how passionate i am and harry and i see the world so similarly in our approach of being very hands on with things. >> she wants to talk about the foundation's work but i think she is someone who is so affiliated with women's rights and these are such high-profile women's campaigns it would make perfect sense for them to be mentioned. >> reporter: royal protocol calls for family members to avoid political controversies but harry and meghan are committed to making a difference together. >> even if you're doing it quietly behind the scenes which is what i focus my energy on is meeting with the right people and organizations behind the scenes quietly learning as much as i can to maximize the opportunity we have here to really make an impact. >> reporter: the royal bride-to-be and prince harry dedicated to carrying on the legacy of princess diana. now, once meghan marries prince harry she will become a patron

of the royal foundation and that is when she can fully begin her philanthropic work for that organization, michael. >> thank you so much, amy. good to see her using her clout for a good thing. we'll go to our oscar countdown. jimmy kimmel will take the center stage in just three days. the secrets of the show are being kept under wraps but abc's chris connelly went backstage to try to get them anyway. hey, chris, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, michael. you know, we did get some insights from oscar's producer jennifer todd on what lies ahead this sunday for the academy awards where the biggest moments are often steeped in surprise, planned and otherwise. ♪ >> reporter: last year's oscars show was memorable from jimmy. >> i'm excited. i've never been to the oscars before. this is my first time here. ♪ i got that sunshine in my pocket ♪ >> reporter: to justin. "la la land." >> to just hold on here.

>> there is a mistake. "moonlight," you guys won best picture. >> what i learned in a big way last year is, you know, there's a lot of elements to the show i don't control. >> reporter: producer jennifer todd is back with michael de luca and host jimmy kimmel for the 90th academy awards and the unexpected is definitely in store. what can you tell us about what kind of surprises we might see on sunday? >> they won't be surprises if i tell you. >> we know. >> no, i think jimmy has a lot of great stuff planned. i'm really hoping there aren't any surprises to deal with any envelopes. >> reporter: also a show that's making plans to acknowledge the cultural transformation now sweeping through hollywood and beyond. how do you expect the ceremony to pay tribute to honor the me too movement? >> i think it really is an important time what's happening and we've been talking to them about how to address it in a moment or two in the show but obviously we want the show to be about entertainment. >> reporter: nonetheless expect to see kimmel-sized comedy throughout the show. >> wrap it up.

we want to go home. >> we think that the show works best when you keep the host around so my sort of two rules is a lot of jimmy and also you have to get them off the stage too. >> so just when we don't expect to see him in a particular place you might surprise us. >> yes. he'll show up somewhere unexpected. >> that sounds like a surprise. jennifer todd tells us she's going to be checking out the music acts today and with such artists as common and mary j. blige set to perform, those figure to be something special as well, michael. >> absolutely. >> chris, how are they going to prevent another envelope mix-up and can we expect to see warren beatty and fay due dunaway agai? >> well -- >> good question. >> we all want to know. >> they've got envelopes that will look different and a third person in the production truck to oversee things and bringing back old veterans from the accountant firm to make sure it goes smoothly. if some name you don't expect gets mentioned that's what is

supposed to happen. as for warren and faye, jennifer said it's an interesting idea or maybe she was just being nice to me, michael. >> appreciate all the tidbits you got and look forward to watching the show. >> we'll switch gears and look at a new way to make our roads safer. nick watt checked out the fire engine of the future special lie designed to reduce crashes and, nick, sometimes getting to a fire can be as dangerous as fighting one. >> reporter: you know, in 2016 the second leading cause of death for firefighters was, in fact, road traffic accidents and some fire departments are now suggesting some big and costly changes to those old iconic red fire engines themselves. crash after crash, firefighters rushing to the scene to save lives but too often lives are lost on the road before they even get to a blaze. in 2016 alone there were an estimated 15,000 collisions

involving fire department emergency vehicles. now, psas like this in minnesota. >> you would think one of our biggest fears is running into a building that's on fire when in reality it's being struck by a distracted driver. >> reporter: and crashes like this in philly, a truck cut off by a civilian driver slams into parked cars. in san francisco, a city famed for those steep and narrow streets its fire department has a simple solution, smaller smarter fire engines. oh, wow. this engine is shorter, narrower. >> we really used a lot of newer technology that is available today to make it more maneuverable. >> reporter: to see the difference in the older and newer engines we're putting them through two everyday challenges. first up the dreaded u-turn. >> i don't think it'll do it. >> reporter: the older engine. >> you guys have to back up. >> reporter: requires the crew to back up and help out the engine. the new one --

>> well, that's a big difference. >> yeah. a lot faster. >> reporter: turns the corner without a problem. this is safer but also faster in getting to a fire. >> that's correct. >> reporter: the siren is also directional so other drivers really know where the engine is coming from. a bird's-eye view from new 360 cameras which brings us to our second demo, the invisible cyclist. a bike pulled up next to it and is in a blind spot. can you see that bike? >> nope. >> reporter: new engine, there he is. safe and sound. >> i can see him in my 360. there's no blind spot. >> reporter: the fire engine of the future. >> we'd like to think so. >> reporter: researchers are now working with departments across the country. >> we were asked by a number of fire departments to help them sort of reduce the number of crashes they have. >> reporter: this doctor says there are ways drivers can help firefighters do their job safely. >> they need to slow down and pull over to the right.

>> reporter: and not pull in front of the fire trucks like this car in indiana. precautions that will hopefully reduce the thousands of crashes each year. now, according to those researchers we spoke to, the departments in seattle and san francisco and sacramento, i'm sorry, have reduced crashes dramatically by training their drivers more and there is a lot that you can do as well. as we just heard, when you hear the siren, slow down and just pull over to the right. it really is that simple. >> you cannot play wit. anything, thanks very much. over to rob outside. >> hey, george, a gorgeous morning out here. great day to eat some lemons. the crowd is ready over here. bethematch.org signing people up right now and you can do it. let's set a record today, guys. check out your "gma" moment. this is kind of cool. a deer in louisville jumping over railing, thought it was dry land and over the top he goes into the ohio -- it's okay.

he got to dry land, no problem so we're making lemonade out of this lemon situation. all right. that's a look at what's happening here in times square and in louisville. good morning i'm "abc 7 news" meteorologist mike nicco. get the wet weather gear handy. rainy this morning and stormy and breezy all day. a chance of showers and thunderstorms through saturday with a snow level dropping from 3,000 to 2,000 feet. saturday, the scattered showers and thunderstorms and temperatures from the mid to upper 50s. cool early tonight and less showers and thunderstorms. mid now to a special "deals & steals," it's national women's history month. tory johnson is with us with bargains from companies owned by women in honor of it. [ applause ] and get ready to clap again because these deals start at just $2.50. >> can't beat that. all right.

so first up bee's wrap. sara keck decided with one premise what can i do to eliminate or reduce the use of plastic every day in our kitchen and so she created an all natural -- let's clap for her. [ applause ] she created an all natural -- this is cotton coated with bee's wax reusable, washable and you can mold it to -- whether it's bread, a half a lemon, vegetable, a sandwich, whatever it is, your hand will sort of warm to it and it will seal it and can reuse it. >> reusable and really good deals. >> normally 6.60 to $42. all slashed in half. $3.30 depending on the size. >> okay, let's do that one. >> you know all of these brands, tokyo -- >> yes, i do. >> you know loving totes. all of these different brands but all under a fearless leader

named margo alaina. she is -- i like to say the brains behind this beauty. all of these phenomenal product, there's perfumes, candles. >> the cards are really, really cute. >> the new cards, that's the first time we've had them. just an unbelievable assortment and get to try all of her best-sellers, all of these products range from 5 to $55 but today they're slashed in half, $2.50 to $27.50. affordable luxury. >> she does a great job. >> this one i love. nurse lisa harrington's 8-year-old daughter decided one day to jazz up her mom's i.d. and showed up with a fancy lanyard and she and -- >> she was the hit of the hospital. >> she was. she realized we could make the ordinary lanyard into a piece of jewelry so there are jeweled option, ribbon options, the retractible ones. a big variety. if you wear an i.d. to work this is for you.

normally 10 to $30 all slashed in half, 5 to $15 for your choice. >> such a great idea. if you know somebody who wears one this is such an inexpensive gift. we have more deals with tory coming up and, of course, you know the deal, go to our website for these and people across the country are getting ready for our lemons for leukemia challenge. pucker up, america. we want you involved. [ cheers and applause ]

good morning north bay. let's get up and get going. >> this is abc 7 mornings. >> good morning i'm jessica castro from abc 7 mornings. out ages of sage month and the hamilton avenue where traffic signals were out on 880 in oakland a fedex big rig slid on the side pinning a car underneath. no major injuries there. alexis has a look at traffic. >> and we have a lot of incidents out there jessica. the live doppler seven. it is sogy this morning and we have the sig alert on northbound 680? the ples son tan area. one lane blocked and the flip semihas been uplifted. it could be an hour before it

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(door bell rings) (cell phone vibrating) ♪ hello. hello. hello. hello. hello. hello. hello. hello. hello, i got your package. you can just leave it, thanks. (cell phone vibrating) hello, can i help you? hello. hello. hello. hello. hello. ♪ now your accuweather forecast with mike nicco. >> welcome back. starm impact scale a two. the thunderstorms this afternoon and evening and through saturday. you can see the south bay not getting moderate rain right now, but it is coming your way as we head towards the lunch hour. my accuweather seven-day forecast finally dry sunday. >> mike, thank you. we'll have another update in

about 30 minutes and always on the app and abc7news.com. be ♪ go, go big or go home welcome back to "gma." you're looking at our friends in minnesota, also in california and right here in times square along with our great studio audience. [ cheers and applause ] we're all gearing up for lemons for leukemia challenge and, robin, be the match challenged you and, of course, you accepted it. >> my dear, dear friends from be the match and, yes, they challenged me. they challenged you and, of course, we said challenge accepted. the entire "gma" crew and get this, it all started with two best friends who wanted to make a huge difference with their bucket list. we'll talk to them in a moment. here is their story. ♪

best friends chris and dillon are on a mission. to live life to the fullest. checking items off their bucket list which the two created after 20-year-old chris was rediagnosed with chronic leukemia and given one year to live. number four on that bucket list, set a world record. >> we're trying to break the world record for most amount of bone marrow donation sign-ups. >> so the lemons for leukemia challenge was born. a social media campaign to raise awareness about bone marrow donation. everyone from college students to danny devito. >> i like it. >> reporter: are answering the call. >> do we have any lemons? >> so sour. >> reporter: so when life hands you lemons how will you make lemonade. >> we challenge robin roberts and the entire "good morning america" crew. >> all: lemons for leukemia. >> i know.

>> ready this way and chris and dillon are joining us from carmichael, california, at the christ community church. gentlemen, so good to see you. [ applause ] >> good morning. >> good morning. >> now, i know, chris, when you started this you could not have imagined that the reaction that it has received. what has it meant to you? >> it's been absolutely incredible, honestly. i expected to maybe get 500 views on our youtube video and within the first day we broke a quarter of a million so it's absolutely astonishing to be here right now. [ applause ] >> that's incredible. and, chris, i know you've been battling leukemia since you were 12 and dillon has been with you every step of the way. what has that meant to you? >> to have a friend that's there in the hospital every single day while you're stuck in there is really something incredible. like you can't leave and have someone who is really, you know, wanting to be there every single

day to make sure that you have a great, you know, good recovery and that you're just not in a bad place. it's really great to have a friend like that. i'm definitely very lucky for it. >> absolutely. [ applause ] yes. definitely clap-worthy and, dillon, you quit school to help make this a reality. what made you want to do this for him. >> well, we've been friends to are a really long time and he's definitely helped put a perspective on my life and been hugh a lot together but when we first had that phone call recently and he was rediagnosed, he said he was afraid of not being able to experience some things in life that we all plan on doing. so we kind of just decided to make a bucket list and document every single moment of it and to do that we couldn't focus on something like school. i couldn't sit in a lecture hall while he was potentially dying. >> wow. >> wow. >> amazing. [ applause ] we talk about the bucket list. >> thank you. >> one of the things we've had so many people get involved including danny devote to, guys.

tell us about that. >> yeah, that was absolutely incredible to be able to have, you know, breakfast and sit there with danny devito was something that i never would have thought would -- >> especially when he almost ate the hot sauce. >> there was good goofy moments and just he's one of my favorite actors so to be able to have that experience. it was just something absolutely incredible. >> i know we were watching the video of you two together. his expression, his face is absolutely priceless. you are going through that bucket list, young man. what's left on the list? >> yeah, we've done so far 28 -- 25 things out of 128. it seems like we're just crawling along right now but we've actually done a lot of things really fast. so many of the things we're looking forward to right now are lifting weights with the rock. that seems almost impossible but that would be truly incredible to do >> that's awesome. >> and the other thing that's

really far out there is go to space. you never know. i just got to put that on the list. >> we have the whole thing on our website too so it's amazing how people have just been helping out. >> it's really incredible and it's just an amazing experience. >> i love how you have a simple one like helping an old lady across the street. is that on your list too? >> yeah. >> that's so sweet. >> helping an old lady across the street is one of the harder ones. when you start to rush out an old lady with cameras and stuff they get very defensive about it and, yeah, that one is just hard. >> i tell you what, we love the list and be the match, what they did, they challenged us to help you guys set a world record for the most donors added to their bone marrow registry in 24 hours. we ned everybody's help with this and we have all these people in our studio. they are signing up and john just signed up as well and, john, how easy it to sign up. >> super easy. go ahead and sign up and get your swab right now. [ applause ]

>> couldn't make it easier than that. [ applause ] >> very simple swab. >> there it is. very basic. you should know people think if you have a family member it's automatic they'll be a match, it doesn't happen. that only happens 30% of the time. so 70% of the time you need somebody, a stranger, off the registry to help save your life. >> wow. >> i didn't know that. 30% of the time -- >> yeah. >> a great thing and, amy, amy, you're outside in the middle of times square and signing people up all morning. >> ef woo a lot of somebodies out here, potential somebodies signing up for to donate their bone marrow so that's pretty incredible right here lining up since 5:00 a.m. and we also have people here swabbing, donating their bone marrow so an incredible morning but guess what, we are all ready because we have our lemons in hand. we're ready for that lemon challenge, michael.

>> we've all got our lemons so we're going to start the challenge in minnesota. and, minnesota, are you ready? >> that's home of the be the match. >> we challenge you, go. >> all right. [ applause ] go, minnesota. >> okay. >> now to california. california, go. go, california. >> whoo! >> they got it. chris and dillon. >> and now, amy, you've been asking for it. we're coming outside to you. times square, ready, go. >> go, guys. [ applause ] >> oh. >> little kids. >> and, audience, you guys have been patiently holding these lemons all morning. get those littlens ready. audience, go.

>> yes. and, you know, control room, we didn't forget about our control room here at "gma." control room, get those lemons out, go. >> yes! >> show adriana, pete. >> pete. [ applause ] >> and, you know, can't leave us out, right? >> nope. >> lara, george, robin, get the lemons, go. [ applause ] >> whoo! [ applause ] >> hey, i love it. they expect me to bite that and then talk.

we've done the challenge, right? and you were challenged, so who is somebody -- who do we want to challenge next. >> tiffany haddish. >> tiffany haddish. >> she's a friend of the show. she's a great sport. so tiffany haddish, i challenge her. >> i know he's got his hands full but what about jimmy kimmel, got the oscars coming up. >> i have a two-prong request for the rock. rock, i challenge you -- i also hope you'll lift weights with the boys. bucket list. >> challenged twice on the show. i'll challenge will smith. yeah, will smith. i want to challenge will. [ applause ] and this is so great and it's so easy to do just as easy as it is to sign up for everybody out here. we want to help set this record so you go to our website and sign up to be a bone marrow donor. please do that, everybody. we'll be right back. [ applause ]

we have one to two fires a day and when you respond together and you put your lives on the line, you do have to surround yourself with experts. and for us the expert in gas and electric is pg&e. we run about 2,500/2,800 fire calls a year and on almost every one of those calls pg&e is responding to that call as well. and so when we show up to a fire and pg&e shows up with us it makes a tremendous team during a moment of crisis. i rely on them, the firefighters in this department rely on them, to practice safety everyday. utilizing pg&e's talent and expertise in that area trains our firefighters on the gas or electric aspect of a fire and when we have an emergency situation we are going to be much more skilled and prepared to mitigate that emergency for all concerned. the things we do every single day that puts ourselves in harm's way, and to have a partner that is so skilled at what they do is indispensable, and i couldn't ask for a better partner.

lemons, smiles and feeling good. those lemons match some of the colors on display at the memphis bow tannic garden. first day of meteorological spring and have a nor'easter coming this way. it's going to be a mad house tomorrow. i can tell you

good morning i'm "abc 7 news" meteorologist mike nicco. very active day today from steady moderate rain to scattered showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. windy to breezy all all right.y all keep them coming. keep them coming. keep them signing up. this segment brought to you by quickbooks. lara, back up to you. >> time for more "deals & steals." tory johnson is back with big bargains all coming from women entrepreneurs and all of them 50% off. so, listen up. >> yes, okay, so first up,up, practicing gratitude more every single day and did it with apothecary jar, these great mugs that say peace lies within and the whole idea when you see a penny, you think of something that you're grateful for and you pop it into the jar. and so -- or you can pop in a little note and then ultimately this fills up and it's just about pausing for a moment of

gratitude. big assortment. normally 15 to $57, everything from studio penny lane slashed in half, $7.50 to $28. >> i love that idea. >> a woman spent her whole career marketing raw tears and this is north american slate. it is some of the darkest blackest slate which makes food pop so it's dishwasher safe and maybes your food look gorgeous, you can serve on it. it just makes food look beautiful whether serving something warm or cold. you guys are good. there's even garden slates that i love. big assortment from slate plate, 12 to $78. everything is slashed in half, so $6 to $39. so gorgeous. and then, of course we have zandra cunningham. >> 17-year-old business owner. [ cheers and applause ]

she started when she was 9. >> because your dad said to to something. >> lip balm. >> you had too much. >> so i had to figure out how to make my own. >> you have lip balm and let lara smell this. this is a scrub. smell that scrub. the body souffle is unbelievable. what scent is that? >> it's kumquat. >> oh. i never would have guessed that. >> aside from the pod that smells so amazing everything has unbelievable messages, my favorite is the scrub. scrub your troubles away. i mean, amazing. i love it. >> her dad is in the audience. >> her dad is here. so amazing deal on all of this. normally 14 to $46 depending on what you choose. san drahtha zandra slashed it all in half, 7 to $23. >> so impressed with your tenaci tenacity.

we just love having you here and we have a very special message for you. everybody, take a look. >> hi, zandra. i'm artemis patrick from sephora. we support female entrepreneurs and have a mentorship program and excited to hear about your brand and love to invite you to meet with us to talk about how we can help you. [ cheers and applause ] >> yay. >> thank you so much. >> you're so welcome. you deserve it. thank you. >> you are going to sephora. >> i know. [ applause ] amazing. yay. >> you got this. you got this. >> thank you. thank you. >> dad, pretty good, right? >> wow. >> aren't you glad you like lip balm? >> yes. >> all right. guys, we have some exciting news for all of you as well. everyone in our audience is going home with a gift from boog boujee beads to give you great

deals at half off. check out our website for details. coming up we'll get you fit like alicia keys, her trainer is with us

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we're back for celeb your life fitness edition. ever wanted the strength of alicia keys. there she is right now kick boxing with her trainer jeanette jenkins. this morning jeanette is sharing all her tips and one of our viewers is trying them out. ♪ what about all -- >> pink has a powerhouse grammy award winning voice. ♪ what about us >> reporter: and a body she's known to push to the limits in her performances. >> some days i can barely breathe. >> reporter: the woman behind that strength as well as other celebs like mindy kaling and alicia keys is trainer jeanette jenkins. >> it's not only about looking good but being strong and

capable. >> reporter: we hooked her up with sixth grade teacher asha mcdowell who volunteered to take on her workout and diet plan so she can soar like the stars. >> i want to be in a healthy mind-set and having a healthy lifestyle. >> reporter: she took on her challenge for three weeks eating and working out just like her celebrity clients. >> if there's anything that jeanette taught me a side salad is your friend. >> one apple and half a lemon. >> reporter: jeanette says good eating habits are important to perform at your best and recommends 40% of calories from healthy carbs, 30% from protein, and 25% from healthy fat. >> focus on getting green vegetables three types a day. a nice green juice or green smoothie in the afternoon can give you the nutrients you need to help boost your energy levels. >> reporter: and planning meals is key. >> all i need to pop a piece of chicken in the oven, get a salad next to it and i'm good. >> one more time. >> reporter: as for the workout. jeanette put asha on a plan that

includes strength training, cardio and flexible. >> the first workout my butt was kicked thoroughly. >> reporter: in addition, there's high intensity interval training for quick results. >> so that was 30. >> wow. >> it's called the hundred. >> oh. s. >> reporter: how is ash that feeling after the three weeks? >> let's find out right now live. >> it is great to have jeanette here as well as asha. creator of hollywood trainers club and asha, you are one brave woman to try it out. you've been using this for 27 years. why does it work so well. >> it's worked so well because i approach health and wellness from a holistic perspective. i'm all about balance, it's important that people are able to enjoy life, but as far as interest a training perspective, we do cardio, flexibility work, muscular strength and endurance see people are functional but can burn that fat and be in a great healthy weight and then as far as eating, you know, it's

important that you are getting in those healthy fats, the green vegetables three times a day. >> a little bit of everything. >> a little bit of everything. >> and, asha, you asked for this. >> i did. >> these workouts are intense. what were the most challenging part for you. >> some of the workouts like jeanette does not believe in breaks in some of the workouts i feel like so i just like had to pause, get a drink of water, press play again and just, you know, get my mind right for the neck thing that was coming up. >> you know how you get a little break and ask your trainer a question and they have to answer it. but this is your diet before. >> they do that too. >> usually chicken wings and fries and pizza but you transformed your diet as well. >> i did. >> to chicken breast and some greens and yams. >> yes, so i was eating -- this stuff is delicious. don't get me wrong but i realized that i can't eat that every day, okay. this is something that i can eat. this is something that fills me

up. i'm not hungry after i eat stuff like that so it's a winner. >> so much lower calorie. a meal like this is only around 300, 350 calories and totally fills up. >> it fills you up. your workouts kick butts because she's still sore and told me that but you know what, check out these workouts. they're great and get yourself

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"good morning america" is brought to you by king's hawaiian foods. irresistible since 1950. we did it. lemons for leukemia challenge. remember to sign up to be a bone marrow donor with be the match. we're reliving our youth with the lemonade stand. >> have a great day, everyone. >> thank you.

good morning bay area. >> let's get up and get going. >> this is abc 7 mornings. >> and good morning. i'm jessica castro from abc 7 mornings. we do have breaking news out of san jose where a vacant building going up in flames, west julian street. "abc 7 news" math keller driving there now. he's going to have a full report at 11:00. mike nicco here with the weather. >> storm impact scale a two. and a tweet from a friend saying i can't see the lane markers on 880 in oakland it was coming down so heavily. >> leading to a lot of issues on the read way. northbound 880. a stall semi slowing things down. here is a live look at at san mateo bridge. it is soggy. >> time now for live with kelly

and ryan. we'll be back for the abc 7 midday >> announcer: it's "live with kelly and ryan!" today, film, television, and broadway star jeff daniels. and from the hit film "black panther," winston duke. plus the olympic gold medal winning skiers. all next on "live!" ♪ [cheers and applause] and now, here are kelly ripa and ryan seacrest! [cheers and applause] ♪ >> ryan: oh, hi!