top four seeds in the south out and two 11 seeds are still dancing as march madness heads to the sweet 16. this is really madness. those are some of our top stories on this monday, march 19th. there's no crying. from abc news, this is "world news now." >> this is what makes march madness so greachlt when you have no idea what you're doing, people make fun of you and you end up with somebody completely ignorant winning the whole thing. >> it seems like this is worse than previous years. >> even my bracket was bad. >> espn is saying of the millions of brackets they have, not one person has this sweet 16 line up. not one person. 17.5 million. >> i already have an entire side of the bracket is gone. forget about the teams of the championship. no one else is scoring anymore points. all right.

well, we will grieve more about our brackets coming up. we're going to start off this half hour with vladimir putin reelected to strengthen his position. >> political analysts say the ballot stuff happening on camera is not likely to weaken his stance. there he is there, in a victory speech and celebration talking to some 30,000 people in the cold. here is terry moran with the details. >> reporter: in red square, vladimir putin triumphant. winning a fourth term as president and after his victory speech, he denied russia had anything to do with the nerve agent attack in britain on a former spy and his daughter, calling it a fantasy and rubbish that someone would do something like this on the eve of the presidential elections. putins power a growing threat in

the west. putin's in total control of russia and nothing was left to chance. a main opponent, a protest leader banned from running after being charged with corruption just before the race began. and check this brazen ballot stuffing caught on camera. look at them stuff votes in. this woman cast a stack of votes. the odd thing putin didn't need all this. he's hugely popular. as we found at a moscow polling station. i voted for my current president putin, she tells us. he guarantees us peace and a good life. but peace is exactly what britain and allies say putin is threatening with a chemical attack in britain. many russians don't believe it. the only certain reality is that vladimir putin will rule russia for another six years, at least. terry moran, abc news, moscow. >> and one of putin's top foreign policy challenges is

syria. and they seized a key city after a two-month battle. the city of akron has been held by a malicious form of the u.s. activists say nearly 300 civilians died in the fight. sz on both sides of the aisle, they are warning the president not to fire special prosecutor, robert mueller. and mentioning mueller by name for the very first time. the impartialiality of mueller's team and the honesty of former fbi deputy director, mccabe. mccabe turned over memos about his meetings with the president to the special counsel. and president trump will unveil details of his anti-opioid plan this afternoon, including a plan for drug traffickers to get the death penalty. he's argued they can get the death penalty or life in person

for killing one person but a drug dealer who potentially kills thousands can spend little or no time in jail. a veteran cirque du soleil acrobat has died in the middle of a complex routine when he lost his grip durring stunned audience. >> reporter: acrobats swinging overhead at a cirque du soleil show in tampa, florida. then horror. one of the acrobats plunging 20 feet. >> we experienced him literally fall in front of us. >> that was the shocker point for everyone, i think. >> reporter: cell phone video capturing the moments after the fall. >> we wanted the guy to get up but he was just unresponsive. >> reporter: tragedy happening saturday night. 38-year-old, a veteran aerial

strap specialist was taken to the hospital. he died on sunday morning. on his instagram page, posting video of his solo act. he's been a cirque du soleil performer for 15 years. the circuit company releasing a statement saying, the entire ene cirque du soleil family is in shock and devastated by this tragedy. police are now investigating the accident. abc news, new york. we're learning school officials wanted them alleged florida school shooter committed to a psychiatric facility against his will. that was the recommendation of two guidance counselors and a sheriff's deputy when he was a high school junior. that sheriff's deputy turned out to be scott peterson, the guy accused of doing nothing once the shots were fired. he was forcibly committed for a psychiatric evaluation, he would not have been able to pass a

background check and buy a firearm. the suspect, of course, is accused of killing 17 people at a south florida high school last month on valentine's day. protesters expected to flood washington, d.c., this coming weekend have forced a delay in the cherry blossom festival. opening ceremonies for the annual event has been pushed back a day, to this sunday. officials don't want attendees dealing with the massive crowds set to fill the nation's capital for saturday's march for our lives. a massive storm front is marching across the country's med section right now. it's everything from snow to rain and hail in its path. here is sam champion. >> we start with the possibility of severe storms. look at this area. as the storm continues to move east, it's from dallas to atlanta, georgia.

there could be a strong tornado and severe storms. now, watch the storm. this low is going to eject into the atlantic. that's a narrow band of snow from around philadelphia to south jersey, washington, d.c., mostly rain. here are the totals we promised you. the highest, 4-8 inches with elevation. there's a brand-new wrinkle to the storm. behind the first low, another low that develops on the coast of the carolinas. this could become the next coastal running storm for wednesday toward thursday. too early to call it right now. i just want everybody paying attention. >> keep our eyes on that. thanks to sam there. tomorrow marks six months since another major weather event. hurricane maria plunged parts of the island into darkness. eva pilgrim is there.

>> reporter: it's been six months since it left most of puerto rico in the dark. one of the islands 100,000 customers without power, spending some $3,000 on gas for a generator to power her home at night. she claims she doesn't qualify for fema dollars because her home is in quote living condition. we first made this journey after maria hit. we found roads caked with debris. families forced to make a white knuckle crossing with only a wire. this used to be part of the bridge that has now completely collapsed in the force of hurricane maria. we found a new bridge being built. a sign of recovery. in the air, the army corps of engineer flying helicopters, lifting power poles across the countryside and trying to restore power to towns. >> it's the biggest challenge

ever as far as devastation to an electrical grid system in the united states. >> reporter: in san juan, life starting to return to normal, tourism slowly coming back. for these people, the recovery continues. maria cost more than $100 billion in damage. more than 130,000 people have left this island since. eva pilgrim, abc news. >> eva, thank you. meanwhile prince william has been busted. the duke of cambridge has been caught fibbing to his wife. >> so the second in line to the british thrown was caught riding a $19,000 ducati motorcycle to r play soccer with friends. but he'd made a promise to put that on hold since becoming a dad. >> uh-oh. he made that promise because the duchess of cambridge says seeing him on a bike fills her with

horror. >> the top speed of the motorcycle he was riding is 130 miles an hour. >> is that all? >> yeah. >> i mean he's got to be a little rebellious sometimes, right? >> exactly. coming up wendy williams returns to her show for the first time today after fainting on tv. having a hard time stepping away. and we're opening up the "world news now" vault on the shock and awe campaign that marked the beginning of the war on iraq. you are watching "world news now."

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returning to our breaking news from austin, texas. police have just given a briefing after the fourth bombing in less than three weeks. investigators say they are working under the belief that all the incidents are related. two people were hurt in this latest blast. they're in the hospital but listed in good condition. >> a neighbor tells abc news the most recent blast was caused by a trip wire strung between two real estate signs. police are telling people to stay indoors. school buses will avoid that neighborhood later this morning. switching gears now, wendy williams returns to her show after health issues forced her to take a break. >> she collapsed on the air in october but took medical leave

in february because of her hyperthyroidism and graves disease. abc's amy robach sat down with williams to talk about how the scare shifted her priorities but it took time. here is amy robach. >> reporter: do you think now that perhaps that fainting spell you had on live television had something to do with the graves or your thyroid? >> okay. i had missed three doctors appointments with my endochronologist. he handles the thyroid and the graves. >> reporter: "your health" was at the bottom of the list. >> yes! i'm functioning okay. i'm feeling a little weird but i'll get through it. and i went in february and that's where i found whoa, your levels are way off. >> reporter: and, so, your doctor said, that's it, wendy. you're taking time off. >> yes. >> reporter: how did you receive that information? >> i cried and then i laughed. are you out of your mind? it's sweeps. >> reporter: what did he say back to you? >> do you want to be swept?

>> that's a good way of putting it. sweeps is when television shows get evaluated. >> very important moment for her show. she says when it comes to taking any time off, that's what the weekend is for. you can see the entire interview later on today on "gma." >> glad to see her putting her health first. coming up, turning the clock back 15 years to the iraq war shock and awe. >> that's next. alth first. coming up, mark the beginning of the iraq war shock and awe. aww thanks for loading, sweet... oops. oh burnt-on gravy? gotta rinse that. nope. no way. nada. really? dish issues? throw it all in. cascade platinum powers through even burnt-on gravy. nice. cascade.

hard to believe but 15 years agoed to, the campaign known as shock and awe marked the start of the war in iraq. >> after the first american air strikes, plumes of smoke could be seen. now it's time to open our vault to march 19th, 2003. >> at this hour american and

coalition forces are in the early stages off military operations to disarm iraq, to free its people and defend the world from grave danger. on my orders coalition forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance to undermine saddam hussein's ability to wage war. these are opening stages of what will be a broad and concerted campaign. >> reporter: at 9:33 eastern time, an hour and a half half the president's deadline, the first reports came in of explosions in baghdad. u.s. central command here confirmed an operation was underway aimed at specific targets of saddam hussein's regime. the early stages of war have begun. just over 48 hours ago president bush saddam hussein. step down or face the consequences. and less than two hours after the deadline passed, the press

corps was told the president would be making a statement to the nation, a statement everyone knew was eventually coming. they had the element of surprise here, even though the deadline passed. were those of you as surprised as everybody else? >> we had been told throughout the day, as had other reporters around town, that this would not be the night that war began. >> terry moran at the white house, thank you very mump. ted joins us now from the third army division in northern kuwait. what were you hearing tonight? >> i heard you talking about the white house press corps and whether they were surprised. they shouldn't feel bad about being surprised because so is the third army division. they are going to lead the ground assault into iraq. they did not learn about this until approximately two to three hours before the cruise missiles hit and basically the way that they heard was that they were told to clear the airspace

around here. as you may know the cruise missiles fly at a low altitude, 350 feet above the deck. they have helicopters, unmanned aerial recognizance vehicles in the air and they were told to clear the airspace because there was going to be a strike. they were told there was a target of opportunity. >> hard to believe that was 15 years ago. especially when you look at terry moran. he has not aged a single day since 2003, apparently. >> he's benjamin button. and we have 5600 u.s. troops still there in iraq. of course now they're fighting isis but it's still part of the same sort of mission still going on. coming up a veteran returns to late-night tv. >> you are watching "world news now." stay with us.

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"black panther" has done it again. it's the first movie since "avatar" to take the top spot for five consecutive weeks. >> that's not all that happened this st. paddy's day weekend. check it out on the weekend rewind. >> the man that was until recently, the number two at the fbi, andrew mccabe, out days before his pension was going to kick in. >> by most accounts a bad actor and should have some calls for concern. >> after the firing of secretary of state rex tillerson, hud secretary ben carson and mcmaster all said to be on thin ice. >> it's crazy how one day you

are the ceo of exxon, a $50 billion company and the next day you get fired by a man who used to sell steaks in the mail. >> president trump's legal team making moves in the case of porn star, stormy daniel who is was paid not to speak about an affair with president trump before he was president. >> this could end up in a very nasty, contentious court battle where president trump could be forced to give testimony under oath in a deposition. >> we are going miami now, where emergency crews digging through the wreckage of that collapsed pedestrian bridge now say they have recovered all six victims. >> our primary focus is to remove all of the cars and all of the victims in a dignified manner. now to the dangerous high speed chase through local streets captured on police dashcam and body cam. the good samaritan getting involved. >> out of nowhere, peek-a-boo. next thing i know all the kids

can come out of the clown car running. >> it's a terrifying moment caught on camera. watch as skiers are tossed from this malfunctioning chair lift at a ski park in the country of georgia. the lift running in reverse at twice the normal speed on a collision course. >> if you're irish or white and violent, i have the st. paddy's place for you. new york's hottest irish club is off to church, mother. >> stefan, making a return. >> there were a lot of people out in st. paddy's day form all over new york city. >> and what do you mean form? >> some stumbling, a little zig zagging. >> yes, it was a good weekend for everybody.

this morning on "world news now" breaking news. another explosion in austin.

>> the capitol of texas is on edge again. after an explosion in a suburban neighborhood, three bomb blasts earlier this month left two people dead. investigators are working to find any possible connection. we have new details coming in. and president trump lashing out, ramping up his attacks on the russia probe and specifically the special counsel, robert mueller. and now republicans are warning the president leave mueller alone. and the defending champs have succumb to the madness. the tar heels fall to the aggies at the ncaa tournament. it's one of a slew of bracket busting upsets from this historic weekend as we tell you who's dancing at the sweet 16 and who's crying. sometimes you get a craving. meet the guy who ate chipotle for 500 days in a row. >> yum. yum. >> we're going to find out how he's feeling and how his bank account is doing with all that

extra guacamole on this monday, march 19th. >> announcer: from abc news this is "world news now." >> the guacamole's extra. >> it. thank you. thank you. we know this. it's my 499th day here. >> i have a t-shirt that says i know the guacamole's extra. >> we'll deep dive into that later on. we start off with a serious note. we have breaking news out of austin, texas. there's been another explosion at a home in the state's capital. >> two people were injured in the blast. authorities say their injuries do not appear to be life threatening. this is the fourth explosion in less than three weeks. investigators believe they are on the hunt for a serial bomber in that city. the previous bombings left two dead and others injured. police aren't confirming whether sunday's explosion is linked to the others, but they are warning residents to be careful. >> stay inside your homes until we've deemed it safe. not only don't touch anything

that looks like a package, don't go near it. given the darkness, we have not had an opportunity to look at to determine what had happened. >> and the victims in the earlier bombings were all people of color. the only description of sunday's victims are two men in their 20s. investigators don't have a motive, of course, for the bombings, but they have not ruled out the possibility that the attacks are part of a hate crime. >> a scary scenario. the atf is sweeping the area overnight looking for other devices that might be there. they have k-9s, agents and throwing everything at it. scary scenario to think you can't go on a front porch and open a package that's been delivered to you. >> a number of things about this that's even more frightening overnight. the previous ones were in the northeast part of austin. this latest incident, whatever it was was in the southwest part of town. so they believe it's kind of spread out and one of the concerns many authorities had

getting to the scene last night, they didn't know if there was a trip wire that might have triggered this explosion. but they definitely it was an explosion. they don't know what form. >> and the big question is are these all linked or could this be a copy cat? investigators are looking into it. right now they're encouraging people in the area to stay inside. >> at least until daylight. we are going to move on to washington, d.c. and the fears on capitol hill that president trump may fire special counsel, robert mueller. >> the president is calling out mueller bay name saying the investigation into russian influence into the presidential election should have never started. >> that and his personal attorney called for the justice department to end the investigation. here is tara with more. >> reporter: president trump escalating his attack, now targeting the very top of the russia election. tweeting his strongest rebuke yet at special counsel robert mueller. the mueller probe should have never been started in that there was no collusion and there was no crime. witch hunt. >> the russia story is a total

fabrication. i call it the russian hoax. the entire thing has been a witch hunt. there is no collusion. >> reporter: trump has consistently undermined the investigation but this comes as his lead attorney is calling for the case to be shut down. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, warning trump that firing mueller will have severe consequences. >> if he tried to do that, that would be the beginning of the end of his presidency. we are a rule of law nation. >> this would undoubtedly result in a institutional crisis. i think democrats and republicans need to speak out about this right now. >> reporter: muellers team, coming through new evidence. a source telling abc news, fired director andrew mccabe has been handed over home moes detailing his interactions with president trump. >> you cannot stop the american people from doing the right thing. >> reporter: mccabe was asked of

a report that accused him of -- he denied wrong doing. trump blasted mccabe and memos with a tweet. spent little time with andrew mccabe. he never took notes when he was with me. he only made memos to help his own agenda, same with lying james comey. can we call them fake memos. urging trump to show restraint as he reaches a boiling point. >> if you have done nothing wrong, you should want the investigation to be as full and thorough as possible. >> reporter: president trump tweeted, why do we have 13 investigators registered as democrats. the leader of the investigation, robert mueller was registered as a republican. tara, abc news, the white house. the white house said the president is not considering firing the special counsel or

discussing it. president trump is set to announce the plan to fight opioid addiction which would include the death penalty for drug traffickers. the president's proposal will call for mandatory minimum penalties for dis certain opioids. they killed more than 42,000 people in 2016, more than any year on record. facebook is under fire for failing to protect the privacy of its members. official in the u.s. and britain want to know how a political data firm was able to harvest personal information from 50 million users. the information was allegedly used to help the trump campaign with advertising. this wasn't a hack. cambridge analytical had permission to create online quizzes to get information about participants and all their facebook friends. >> it's sort of like the digital shadow of yourself. so when you think about what you

do on social media, you cure rate your identity. so when you liked things, follow things, you reveal all your little clues and if we have enough of those clues, we can start to develop a portrait of who you are. >> neither their participants or friends were told how it would be used. that would violate laws in britain and many states here. facebook suspended cam bridge an an lit ka's access. vladimir putin has tightened his grip on russia, cruising to a landslide re-election win for six more years as president. they gathered outside in minus 10 degree weather. he won 74% of the vote. his victory was never in question, though. social media is full of ballot box stuffing at polling stations. they said they will investigate. and a veteran cirque du

soleil acrobat has died after falling 20 feet during a performance. he was in a complex aerial rue ten when he fell and hit the floor. emergency crews rushed in to try to help. >> they were even scared to touch him or move him, so i feel like us as the audience were scared to move or speak. >> neither one of us has seen anything like that and it was shocking to everyone. >> he later died at a tampa hospital. his death appears to be accidental, but they have launched an investigation. the first civil lawsuit in the horrible florida bridge collapse is expected to be filed today. a lawyer is suing on behalf of one of those injured. all of the dead have been identified. the final names were made public and include a student at florida international university and brandon brownfield, a tower crane technician. federal investigators are

looking into air bag failures after four were killed and six others injured. the investigation covers half a million 2011 sonatas and 2012 and 2014 kia compacts. the problem has been traced to an electrical short in air bag control computers. hyundai issued a recall, kia has not. police outside atlanta got to work on their rodeo skills, i would say. >> that's because a herd of horses took over a highway in clarkston, georgia. they decided to go down the road. no big deal. >> officers turned into wranglers for 30 minutes and got them all gathered up. >> not bad. >> they are not sure how they got loose. >> they are very smart. >> there you have it. >> 30 minutes. i would have expected a lot longer. kudos to the cops on that one. coming up, sister act. >> 98-year-old sister jean

delor es becoming the star of the ncaa tournament. did she pick her own team in her bracket. we'll also have an update on that 16-year-old that took a one-way flight to mexico. the married father who took her there is now under arrest. you are watching "world news now." update on that six day school. the married father who took her there is now under arrest. hello, aloe. kelp is on the way! with herbal essences we said no, no, no to this stuff... and yes, yes, yes to bio:renew. made with active antioxidants that work from the inside out... to help animate lifeless hair, and bring it back to life. find aahs and oos in every fresh bottle of herbal essences bio:renew. let life in. hey, need fast try cool mint zantac. it releases a cooling sensation in your mouth and throat. zantac works in as little as 30 minutes. nexium can take 24 hours.

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we're back with some frightening moments at a traffic stop east of atlanta. caught on police dashcam, this deputy in walton county lost control of a suspect he pulled over for speeding. jumping back into his car and escaping, he was eventually caught by other officers. ooh. and now he's facing multiple charges. that deputy suffered only a broken toe. the 45-year-old father is in police custody this morning in miami after allegedly fleeing to mexico with a 16-year-old girl. >> the teenager is back home in allentown, pennsylvania. the man is awaiting extradition to face a felony charge. we have the latest. >> reporter: a freshly minted mug shot of this father of four arrested for leaving with this

pennsylvania teen. mexican officials say 16-year-old amy yu and 45-year-old kevin esterly were located, ending a two-week international manhunt. esterly, detained in front of an apartment complex. now in a miami jail, awaiting extra diction. authorities confirming amy is unharmed and in good health, reunited with her mother in allentown. this, as new details emerge about the relationship. >> it grew to be situation where kevin was taking amy out of school on a regular basis, pretending to be a father figure, but it was more than that. >> reporter: esterly's wife, stacy, speaking through her attorney, saying she repeatedly confronted her husband about the teen. >> it was reaching a breaking point. >> reporter: esterly faces a third degree felony charge with interference of custody of a child.

police are not ruling out additional charges. >> thanks for that. coming up in our next half hour, the competition of "american idol" getting intense. do the judges spot their next superstar? have they already? why does a man who is normally dancing on the ceiling falling on the floor? >> i feel for you, lionel. first, retriever nation united for round two after the most shocking upset in march madness. the sweet 16 card is full as we break out the brackets, next on "world news now." card is full as we break out the brackets, next on "world news now." "world news now". pearl. it's up to you, with x you get ultimate protection on your heaviest days and smooth removal for your lightest. tampax pearl and pearl active. for up-to 100% leak-free work outs. but zzzquil is different have pain medicine because why would you take a pain medicine when all you want is good sleep? zzzquil: a non-habit forming sleep-aid that's not for pain,

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deep three. for the win. oh, he hit it. he hit it. oh, boy. are you kidding me? >> i'm not sure they remember they're still on the air. those are local radio announcers calling michigan's epic buzzer beater this weekend. they pretty much lost it for a moment there. >> so jordan pool's

three-pointer sent the wolverines to the sweet 16 round of the ncaa basketball tournament. jordan pool's three-pointer. >> sounds familiar. >> but now the director of "get out" is taking credit. because, apparently, some people got their pools and peels crossed. >> he said i want to thank everyone for the congratulatory messages. when you practice your jump shot as much as i have, you hope one day it will pay off. best part is, jordan pool, the guard who scored the winning shot, he approved. he retweeted it. so he won an oscar and a game. >> it's a big, big month for him. >> so we're going to cross check our own brackets to see if they survived. >> do we have to? >> yep. quick check. no, they didn't. many brackets are busted, wouldn't you say? >> yeah. so, the clock struck midnight on the university of maryland

baltimore county. >> cinderella. >> they shocked the world to become the first 16 seed to beat a number one seed. they beat the university of virginia, blew them out by 20 points. >> they dominated the university of virginia. last night, kansas state ended the cinderella run, 50-43. they said school officials already filed trademarks for 16 over 1 and retriever nation. >> another number one seed team has been slayed before the sweet 16, florida state. late last night, denying the cincinnati school, the ninth trip to the sweet 16. >> it's probably because their good luck charm, bill murray wasn't spotted at the game again, hanging out with the young fans. this was him friday with a rowdy, rowdy fan. should have been there.

so the wildest game of the day was in the south region in nashville. >> number seven, nevada was down 22 with less than 12 minutes to go. from there, the wolf pack got back to work. here is josh hall with the, check it out, game winning shot with nine seconds left on the board. nevada wins by two and heads to its first sweet 16 in 14 years. >> and they did it in such amazing style. coming back from 22. that was crushing for them. >> and for lots of people with their brackets. and there will be a new champion this year. texas a&m took apart north carolina. they led by 23 on the way to 86-65 win. it's only the second time the tarheels have lost an ncaa tournament game played in north carolina. >> in case you missed it. loyola chicago with a locky shot

and lucky bounce as well. their secret weapon is right there with them again. sister jean schmidt, 98-year-old was there with them again. >> don't let those tennessee team members scare you with their height. height doesn't mean that much. >> that's right, sister, height doesn't mean that much. the next game is thursday night againls nevada. >> here is where it gets weird. she admitted she has loyola losing in the sweet 16 of her own personal bracket. >> ooh. that's further than i had them, sister. quick look at my bracket. the entire left side can no longer score points. >> and mine -- >> completely busted here. >> almost the entire left side is done here. this side is okay. frars wait. d jar.

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mix and we are going to start with a new world record in track and field. hussein bolt is retired. but allow us to introduce you to orville and julia. so, orrville, there in the second lane. and julia is in lane one. this is the men's competition at the track and field indoor championship. so you see him there at a pretty good clip. on top of that, he is 100 years old. >> wow. >> so he broke a record for his age group, there, 100 years old. and then julia, lane one. look at her go. she's 102 years old, running at that clip. >> go, julia, go! go, julia, go! >> that is pretty fast.

>> i hope i can run like that. >> me, too. i just hope i'm upright at 102. i'm not asking for much. >> i'm not sure if chipotle's going to help you stay above or below ground. but a man in ohio went 500 days in a row eating chipotle. he's from tipon, ohio. bruce wayne is his name, that's for real. he was aiming to eat it for 425 consecutive days but figured, what's another 25 days. that's a record, by the way. 426 was the record. that chipotle pledged a donation to a cancer treatment center. wayne said it isn't the end of one adventure, it's the start of a new one. >> and way of chipotle to splurge.

$4,000 to a cancer treatment center? >> yeah, $4622 for the days he originally set out. >> 500 days. >> that's impressive. something else that's impressive. over in england, the cops pulled over this guy. he showed them his driver's license and it's a legit looking eu drivers license, but with homer simpson on it. so, the police department posted it online. >> didn't buy it? didn't work as a fake id? >> apparently, it's a wrong simpson address. people online were taking note of that. finally, perhaps the worst crew in georgia. police had to come in and wrangle a donkey and some

breaking news this morning on "world news now."

an austin neighborhood is on lockdown after a powerful explosion injured two people. they're worried this could be related to three other blasts in the city. also this morning, an analytical firm linked to the trump campaign is under scrutiny for stealing data from 50 million facebook users. a former insider explains how that information could have been used. plus, what facebook is saying to users this morning. also this half hour a high flying tragedy. >> cirque du soleil performer is thrown during a performance and falls to his death. the audience stunned by all of it. how did that happen? >> and it was another exciting night on "american idol." see who knocked lionel richie right off his chair and what drove katy perry to do this. and our analyst here to break it all down for us this monday, march 19th. announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." good morning to you, everybody.

we're going to start with the breaking news out of texas. another explosion in austin, less than a week after a blast killed a teenager. >> sunday's explosion happened at a home in southwest austin across town from three other incidents that happened this month. two men in their 20s were hurt. they're in the hospital in good condition. the earlier explosion involved iuds and packages. a neighbor tells abc news, this one was hung by a trip wire between two real estate signs. police warned residents to be careful and many are frightened. >> i don't know if this was malicious or an accident, but i'm kind of scared it's related to what's happening. i have been here my whole life. i think i'm in a state of shock and disbelief right now. >> the three previous blasts left two dead, both african-american. police have not ruled out the possibility that they're hate crimes.

they also have not connected sunday's incident to the others. >> this is happening after the authorities raised the reward to $115,000 combined. they are hoping for information to come in. >> that whole area's on edge, understandably so. and facebook is under fire for allowing personal data to be used to help the trump campaign. >> the information was collected by a british based company whose backers include former adviser, steve bannon. facebook says a professor said the data was for academic purposes and would be deleted. >> but instead given to cambridge analytica. james has more from london. >> reporter: a data company tied to president trump's 2016 campaign is under investigation by facebook, accused by the internet giant of mishandling more than 50 million americans personal information. >> if you are looking at trying to create information weapons, the battle space you operate in is social media. that is where the fight happens.

>> reporter: in 2014, when just 24 years old, chris wily worked for that company, cambridge analytical. the organization helps political candidates better target voters online. speaking for the first time on american television, he claims cambridge analytical, using a third party, took data from facebook akounlts of up to 50 million americans. weaponizing the incident? >> absolutely. >> reporter: cambridge analytica would create quizes. when facebook users opted into the innocent tests, tlerp giving them access to not just their data, but that of all their friends. >> it's the digital shadow of yourself. when you think about what you do on social media, you curate your identity. so when you like things, follow things, you reveal all these little clues. and if we have enough of those clues, we can develop a portrait

of who you are. >> reporter: armed with that, he says it company had a questionable power. >> they will pick at whatever mental weakness of vulnerability we think you have and try to warp your perception of what is real around you. >> reporter: now, facebook has banned chris wily. that third party and cambridge analytical. the company denies any wrong doing. they say they never used that data in question. two years later, they went on to work for the trump campaign but says it never used that data in question. the campaign, itself, denies using the data, saying it relied on information from the rnc and any claims that voter data were used from another source to support the victory in 2016 are false. wily says the information on the campaign trail were tested years earlier. >> we tested things like drain the swamp. we started testing before, really, they gained prominence in american political discourse.

>> reporter: he left the company after a year on bad terms. he's coming forward now because he feels bad about the impact his work had following the result of the 2016 election. abc news, london. president trump is stepping up attacks on the russia probe. in a series of tweets, he's calling out special counsel, robert mueller by name, questioning the impartiality of his investigators saying the inquiry never should have started and the justice department should end it. members of congress from both parties with talking about what would happen if trump fires mueller. >> i would hope it would prompt all democrats and republicans to pass an independent counsel law and reinstate bob mueller. >> as i said before, if he tried to do that, that would be the beginning of the end of his presidency. we are a rule of law nation. >> president trump criticized top fbi official mccabe. he suggested over the weekend that memos mccabe turned over

ach the investigation were written long after the meetings. the president is set to rule out the plan to combat opioid addiction today, which includes a death penalty for drug traffickers. it would call for mandatory minimum penalties for dealer who is distribute certain, illegal opioids. it's not clear if it would be institutional and the issue would have to be decided by the supreme court. the real estate company cofounded by the president's son in law jared kushner filed bogus paperwork with new york city in order to boost its bottom line. all of this according to newly released documents. a watchdog group says they claim they had zero rent regulated tenants in dozens of buildings when it had hundreds. that means perspective buyers are stuck with lower rents. they say if mistakes were made, they will be corrected. the international search for the missing pennsylvania husband

teenager is now over. 16-year-old amy yu and kevin esterly, a married father of four were taken into custody in mexico over the weekend. yu is home in allentown, she is in good health and unharmed. esterly is in miami, awaiting extra diction to face a third degree felony charge of custodial interference. police are not ruling out other charges. investigators in portland, oregon are looking into what caused the derailment of six empty cars of a freight train. no one was injured. the crews at the scene say there were no hazardous materials involved. we are tracking a snowstorm moving east. the latest radar shows that storm system stretching 2,000 miles from north dakota down to florida as it marches on there. the latest weather map shows it tracking east, pushing the severe weather into the tennessee valley with possible tornadoes. the storm could dump 4-8 inches

of snow in the mid-atlantic region through tomorrow night. i was looking ahead and forecasters are saying there's a fifth possible nor'easter for this coming week. >> come on, enough already. >> we're just hanging on. >> it's time for spring. we have done the winter thing already. for those with friends and family in pennsylvania, be extra nice to them. one could be a power ballwiner. >> how you doing? are you free for tea later. the only winning ticket in this weekend's $456 million drawing was sold in pennsylvania. state officials have not said where. the lump sum value is just under $274 million. >> the eighth largest jackpot in power ball history. there's a $377 million mega millions drawing tomorrow night. >> i see. so, somewhere in pennsylvania, somebody's rich. >> however, pennsylvania lottery winners cannot remain anonymous.

we will know. >> it will have to come out. >> we will know. coming up in the skinny we're breaking down the latest episode of american idol. our analyst is here. >> plus, bonus round. we'll get an update on pietro, remember, the world's sexiest math teacher. showed kendis all about his workout. we are going to see what he's up to now. >> continuing series. first, here is a look at today's forecast. first, here is a look at today's forecast. a shift without a disaster. to get through my bargain detergent couldn't keep up. it was mostly water. so, i switched to tide pods. they're super concentrated, so i get a better clean. i mean, i give away water for free. i'm not about to pay for it in my detergent.

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well, talk about being caught red handed. police in seattle caught these shoplifters by surprise, armed loaded with stolen computers and vacuum cleaners as they tried to sneak out the back door of a costco. >> it wasn't me. >> but i saw you. >> it's not what it looks like. >> officers say they blocked their get away car. they are accused of hitting that same group is accused of hitting another costco earlier that day. they were consistent. >> foolproof planning.

an acrobat with cirque du soleil for 15 years died after a 20-foot fall. >> that fatal fall took place during a performance of a horrified audience in tampa. whit johnson has details. >> reporter: hundreds in a tampa audience, captivated as acrobats swing overhead. then horror. these images showing the performer plummeting. >> they have a performer that fell from an unknown height. >> reporter: cell phone video capturing the chaos and emergency response. >> they were scared to touch him or move him. i feel like us, as the audience, we were scared to move or speak. >> reporter: the tragedy happening saturday night in tampa, florida, at the show by cirque du soleil. >> neither one of us has ever seen anything like that. it was shocking to everyone. >> reporter: cirque du soleil confirming it was an aerial strapped specialist. he was take ton a nearby hospital where he later died. on his instagram page, posting

this video of his solo act. the circus company saying the entire cirque du soleil family is in shock. devastated by this tragedy. it's happened before. in the past decade, cirque du soleil has had several on-stage accidents, including the first fatality in 2013. they are cancelling the rest of the weekend shows in tampa. police are now investigating the accident. whit johnson, abc news, new york. >> horrifying for people who watched that happen in front of them. >> especially someone with that much experience. he was an expert. a lot of questions in what went wrong there. when we come back, we are going to switch gears and give you the latest about "american idol". >> "the skinny" is next. about "american idol." >> "the skinny" is next.

♪ skinny, just give me the skinny ♪ it is time for "the skinny." it's becoming a tradition. we're going to start with the best singing competition in the world. no, not euro vision, but

"american idol," of course. our "american idol" analyst. >> will, everybody. >> thank you, guys. >> don't get used to it. we have the third night of auditions, right? how did that work out? >> i mean, i have to say, i'm so excited to be back talking about your favorite thing in the world, "american idol." keeping in tradition of the show, we were treated to insane talent and just plain insanity, including folk who is thought their original songs would wow the judges. ♪ getting over you was hard as the [ bleep ] >> wow. ♪ you have gone insane ♪ >> whoa, i like that song. >> wow. very romantic. delicate. subtle. i like the snappy -- >> all of a sudden, i like the show more. >> i have to give these people singing original songs, of

course, a learning plat on the will-o-meter. that is the guy that, a long time ago, he sang "pants on the ground." ♪ pants on the ground, looking like a fool with your pants on the ground ♪ >> i love that guy. >> thank you so much for remembering. he's an icon. "pants on the ground" did not win any grammy's. >> not everybody was bad. look at effie who wowed the judges. she was really, really something special. ♪ >> wow. >> yeah. >> i don't know, she sounds pitchy to me. >> she was incredible and walked away with a ticket to hollywood. a lot of people were talking about her. she wasn't the only one that went home with something special. look at what the judges gifted each other.

luke bryan went full-on country, handed out fishing poles and camo. katy perry gave her co-hosts shark onesies. >> we have to decide which is the left shark. >> we have to teach them choreography. >> this is my favorite, lionel richie gave out wigs and moustaches. i did not have time to get them for you. i will find them. i will bring them. >> oh, it's lionel rich which i will. >> speaking of lionel richie, he showed up hoping to knock them off their feet. that happened literally to him. take a look at what happened. he couldn't figure out how to work his chair. >> are you all right? >> what in the world? >> then his fellow judges took full advantage of the chair situation, whoopie cushions underneath him.

he said they are like his students and he's the teacher. >> they seem to be enjoying the age difference in general. >> yeah. yeah. >> on both sides. i think he's having fun with it and they are having fun with it, too. >> i agree. not to be overshadowed, katy perry had another night in the spotlight. take a look. >> katy, do you remember young love? >> i don't remember anything young at all, honestly. ♪ >> can you show me how to milk a cow, hypothetically? >> i'm going to give myself utter play. >> can you tell us about foreplay. >> what was with the buckets on the head? >> at this point, everything is fair game. >> it seems as if it's more about the judges than who they are supposed to be judging? >> which, i'm not mad about. katy is fun to watch. >> that's true.

she also called herself a cougar last nigh, which i found interesting. >> she's young for that. >> during this painful competition, have you noticed anybody that you think, this is one i might want to watch in the top two? >> that girl effie, she's got a star quality and vibe. >> pipes. >> the girl that ended the episode, i don't know if you were able to watch, she was singing adele. she was everything. >> she was everything. wow. >> anybody can sing adele and knock it out of the park. >> oh, really? >> go ahead, then. ♪ hello, is it me you're looking for ♪ >> that's not adele, that's lionel richie. >> she's hello from the other side. >> oh, that's right. >> we'll spare you guys. coming up, j.lo's high fashion photo shoot. with a very familiar face. >> i'd send you to hollywood, by the way. >> thank you. >> i'd send you to hollywood, by the way. >> thank you. n photo shoot with

with a familiar dest.

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♪ miss you, want you, need you so ♪ >> b.b. mack. >> yeah, all right. >> throwback. >> bonus round for the skinny. and we're starting with visual proof of something ben affleck has been trying to hide. >> the actor previously said the back ink was fake. that was two years ago. check it out here. >> a very long temporary tattoo. >> it is still there. >> so afflec was filming in hawaii when the picture was taken. you can see the colorful phoenix is still on his back. and looks like he had just gotten out of the water and wiping off with a towel. it looks like that temporary tattoo is staying on pretty well despite all that ocean water. >> how drunk was he in college when that happened? man. at some point, when you are getting it done, you have to wake up and be like, that's a bad idea. >> at least it's nice and small, easy cover up. >> very subtle.

next to jennifer lopez who has quoted calling it terrible. just for record. >> now, j.lo is showing strength in a new photo shoot. the stunning images were shot for harper's bizarre. see is balancing over los angeles. she was swinging from a tight rope, you can see her walking over the skyline in several photos as well. >> so we're not sure if she was harnessed in and ropes later removed or if this is green screen, but we know someone who was with her in l.a. >> oh, yeah? >> yeah. our friend. >> is that who i think it is? >> it is the adorable italian engineer/underwear model/teacher and friend of the show who gave her a lift as part of the shoot. >> how come you didn't do a shoot like this. >> i weigh more than j.lo. >> a-rod does not need to be

nervous. he, of course, is j.lo's bouft. he did not woo her away from a-rod. >> allegedly. next to blue ivy carter who stole the show at an auction with with a rather generous evaluation of fine art. there she is. showing up with mom, beyonce, of course, in matching, train flowing dresses. they had golden headpieces. this is all for a charity gala hosted by grandma, tina. >> and when it came time for the auction, blue got into a bidding war with tyler perry, bidding $19,000 stay with us for "good

morning america." making news in america this morning -- another explosion.

in austin, texas, after a string of deadly package bombs left outside homes. >> i've been here my whole life. and -- i think i'm just in a state of shock and disbelief right now. >> neighbors ordered to stay indoors, as police work overnight to clear the scene. the city on edge with a potential serial bomber on the loose. what's different about this explosion? president trump steps up his attack on robert mueller's russia investigation. prompting a new statement from the white house this morning. this, as facebook responds to a bomb shell report that political clients exploited the data of 50 million facebook users.