america this morning. making news in america this morning -- making news in america this morning -- stunning new allegations against president trump's nominee to run the va. ronny jackson the white house doctor accused of getting so drunk during a presidential trip that the secret service got involved. and jackson allegedly earning the nickname candyman because of how he gave out pills. how the white house is defending him. breaking overnight, the dramatic moment as dallas police rushed to chase down the man accused of opening fire at a home depot, shooting two officers. what police are saying about the suspect this morning. plus, how these truckers teamed up side by side to save a life on a highway. a firefighter described the moment that she latched on a construction worker dangling off

the side of a building. and we'll show you something to guarantee to make your morning jog a lot more fun. >> a doughnut? it's not a doughnut. >> no it is. it is. absolutely, sure. >> looking forward to that story. good wednesday morning to you all. we start off things with stunning new details about allegations plaguing the va. >> ronny jackson, aggressive drinking on the job and handing out prescription pills like candy. he's still fighting for that position. abc's tara palmeri joins us from washington where his confirmation is on hold. good morning, tara. >> reporter: that's right, the confirmation process just got harder for dr. jackson. now that former and current colleagues are coming forward with stories about drinking on the job and creating a toxic work environment during the obama administration. overnight, the president's pick

to lead the va is fighting to be confirmed. on capitol hill, jackson not backing down despite fresh allegations of professional misconduct during his time as white house doctor. >> i'm looking forward to re-scheduling the hearing. >> reporter: a ranking member of the veterans affairs committee overseeing the hearing said 20 current and former personnel have come forward with troubling claims. a senator telling cnn that the committee is reviewing allegations that he was abusive to staff and drank heavily. while on official travel. >> if you're drunk and something happens with the president, it's very difficult to treat the president. this is totally unacceptable. >> reporter: president trump attributed the showdown to politics as usual and suggested that he would understand if he withdrew. >> what does he need it for? to be abused by a bunch of politicians.

>> trump did acknowledge one hurdle for the man and the to lead the government's second biggest department. >> i know there's an experience issue. >> reporter: lawmakers now accusing the white house of failing to vet jackson. >> it's really frustrating to me that this administration continues to not vet or sloppily send over a nominee that leaves us having to really vet them and look at serious questions. >> reporter: a white house official told abc news that they reject the claims and called his record impeccable. they want the confirmation process to move forward even though a hearing date has yet to be rescheduled. diane, kendis. >> tara, thank you. dr. jackson is also reportedly accused of being drunk in an overseas trip in 2015. the first state dinner of the trump presidency was filled with glitz and glamour. the first couple greeting the french president emmanuel macron and his wife on the north port

coe of the white house. before entering the candlelit state dining room. tim cook and rupert murdoch was also in attendance. both presidents toasted to their friendship and the friendship between the u.s. and france. macron is hoping to convince president trump not to withdraw from the iran nuclear deal. earlier in the day, president trump delivered a stern warning to iran. >> but i will say, if iran threatens us in any way they'll pay a price like few countries have ever paid. >> while despite his harsh words when he was asked whether he'll keep the iran nuclear deal in tact, president said we'll see. macron will be on capitol hill today. republicans will hold on to a house seat in arizona.

debbie lesko won the tuesday's special election by five points. but president trump won that district by 21 points. democrats say the results are a show of strength heading into the midterms. let's turn now to the breaking news and the dramatic moments in dallas after the shooting of two officers and security guard at a home depot, the violence leading to an hours-long manhunt and a wild chase through city streets. >> we got our man. >> reporter: a dramatic ending overnight in an hours-long search for a man accused of shooting two police officers at a home depot. the suspected shooter able to escape the scene kicking off a abc's marcus moore was there. >> and we saw them searching a wooded area near the home depot. with dogs. they were armed and we saw helicopters low over the horizon. searching for any sign of suarez who was last seen in a white pickup truck. >> reporter: the suspect's truck

was spotted well after night fall. a source telling our dallas station that he was firing at officers during the pursuit. >> it seemed like a hundred cop cars. the curtains were open on the windows. we could see every single cop car that drove by. >> reporter: he was taken into custody more than five hours after the shooting at that home depot. a violent reminder of the 2016 rampage when a sniper in downtown dallas killed five officers, the emotions from that night still very much raw. >> once again, in dallas, at the precipice, the heartbreak as our police department was attacked this afternoon. >> juarez pleaded guilty to stealing a car last year. he was wanted yesterday after skipping a sentencing hearing.

as for the officers, one of them is in critical condition, the other is stable. the security guard's condition wasn't released overnight. the u.s. military investigating yet another crash. this time a pilot of f-16 safely ejected during a training flight in arizona. the jet was from luke air force base. it's the seventh high-profile military crash in just five weeks. earlier this month, four marines died in a helicopter crash in california. and last month, seven troops were killed in a chopper crash in iraq. jury deliberations begin today in bill cosby's sexual assault trial. cosby's wife joined him in court on tuesday during closing arguments. his lawyer called the accuser a con artist, trying to swindle cosby's money. in reference to the me too movement, the defense warned jurors not to partake in mob rules. all right, time now for a look at your weather for this wednesday morning.

it's a wet morning commute in the mid-atlantic states, a massive storm system is moving north from washington into philadelphia and then new york city. it's moving very slowly but it also extends into the appalachians and over most of new york state. looking at today's temperatures, new york will hit 59 degrees. atlanta, 70 degrees. detroit will only manage 48. but, wow, 61 in minneapolis. it's like summer there. a lot warmer in the northwest where more record highs are expected. coming up, why a kardashian was addressing congress. and also ahead, a huge scaffolding comes crashing down in a fire. the dramatic collapse and the new concern. later, why cheerleaders suing the nfl for discrimination only want one dollar to settle their case. fl

we're back with a powerful image from near detroit there, some 13 truckers lined up under this bridge to stop a distraught man from jumping. police closed the highway and asked the truckers who were stuck in traffic to drive ahead and park side by side to break his fall. the man decided not to jump and is now getting help. we have new clues this morning about a possible motive for the deadly sidewalk attack in toronto. police say the van driver who killed ten pedestrians and injured 14 others, had expressed resent toward women and most of the victims were women. before the attack, the suspect posted a message online praising a man who killed six people in california in 2014 claiming it was punishment for women rejecting him. a judge has rejected david copperfield's request for a mistrial in the injury lawsuit that he's facing. his lawyers had claimed that media coverage was tainting the jury.

an audience member from copperfield's las vegas show is suing, claiming he was seriously injured during a stage trick. two more audience members now claim they were also injured during performances. the judge is expected to rule today whether they can testify. reality tv star kourtney kardashian is pushing congress to pass new rules for the makeup industry. she traveled to capitol hill to support a bill that would require more testing of ingredients in beauty products. only 11 chemicals have ever been regulated by the fda for use in cosmetics. lawmakers hope to take up that bill next month. a new mcdonald's is opening in chicago today and it's unlike any other in the world, that's because it will sell mcdonald's food items from other countries. the menu will include cheese and bacon-loaded fries from australia. the mcspicy chicken sandwich from hong kong. the mighty angus burger from canada. and a brazilian mcflurry with

chocolate covered coconut bites. >> sounds yummy. when we come back -- the strange sight that was picked up on weather radar. also ahead, workers dangling in danger off a side of a building. we hear from the firefighter who latched herself on to them. and attention shoppers, see how a customer took matters into his own hands when he couldn't find help at walmart. find help at walmart. own hands when he couldn't find help at walmart. but just one can "behr" through it all. behr premium plus, a top rated interior paint at a great price. family friendly, disaster proof. find it exclusively at the home depot. advil liqui-gels minis. breakthrough in pain relief. a mighty small pill with concentrated power that works at liquid speed.

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my healthy routine helps me feel my best. so i add activia yogurt to my day. with its billions of live and active probiotics, activia may help support my digestive health, so i can take on my day. activia. now in probiotic dailies. that's not rain or snow moving northward on the radar in ft. worth, texas. it's actually a flock of birds migrating north as spring begins. we're told many smaller birds migrate at night for safety. pretty cool. >> interesting picture. we're now hearing from the husband of the woman who was killed after the engine of a southwest airlines plane exploded breaking a window. jennifer riordan was partially sucked out of the plane despite wearing her seat belt. she was pulled back in by some passengers but did not survive. her husband is now revealing how he got the news. >> the chaplain at the hospital

called, and he's like, i need to have the doctor talk to you. before the doctor could call i was able to look on a news site. i saw one passenger was brought to the hospital. she can't be injured that bad. she's in the hospital. i can get out there and hold her hand and love on her. and two minutes later, i got a call from the doctor saying, sorry, we tried everything we could. she couldn't make it. >> the emotional interview there from riordan. he says that he's avoided news reports about the incident and is focusing only on their two children. and this weekend's shooting rampage at a nashville waffle house, apparently could have been much worse. sin -- investigators say that they found a stock pile of weapons and ammunitions in the suspect's apartment. meanwhile the man who wrestled the weapon away from the shooter has been honored at the tennessee statehouse. calling him a hero. but james shaw jr. is being

modest. >> i'm a genuine person. i didn't actually do it to save people. i did it just to save my life. so, and me saving my life i saved other lives. that's probably one of the greatest things i think you could do. so, that's all i have to say. >> and many are grateful for him for doing it. shaw started a gofundme account to help the shoot victims and their families. then a new york man started an account to help shaw. in south florida, a firefighter made a daring rescue four stories up in the air. maggie castro rappelled down the side of the building to save two workers after a scaffolding mishap. castro grabbed the first man as he hung from a safety harness and attached him to her own harness to get him down. then, she rappelled again to rescue the other man. castro said that she was only focusing on keeping them safe.

>> you're not really thinking about anything that you're feeling at that moment. you're just doing the job that you know that you trained to do. it feels good. these are the calls that we train for all the time. >> all right, just a normal day. both men are said to be okay. they were inspecting damage to the side of the building in suburban miami when the scaffolding gave way. and in northern california now, this video showing scaffolding collapsing on to cars during this fire at a construction site, the apartment building is a total loss. with $55 million in damages. in the meantime, 250 residents at a nearby building have been evacuated as a precaution. all of this because of concern that more of the site could collapse. an usual offer could end claims of discrimination being made by former cheerleaders of the nfl. the women now say they'll drop their claims in exchange for $1 each and a meeting with nfl commissioner roger goodell. they want to establish a set of binding rules for cheerleading squads that all nfl teams would have to respect.

they're hoping for a response from the league by the end of next week. no more need for the #freemeekmill. the rapper is now free, out of prison. the philadelphia-born artist was released after serving five months for a controversial probation violation. his first free night since november included ringing the liberty bell before the philadelphia 76ers knocked miami out of the nba playoffs. the celtics and the warriors also won last night. up next in the pulse, something that will make your morning jog a lot more fun. >> beer? >> i don't think it's that, either. also, the bromance between president trump and the french president macron. the pictures revealing their touchy-feely moments. get a room, fellas. and later, the special meaning of president george h.w. bush's socks at his wife's funeral. that are exaggerated

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♪ your wednesday "pulse," starting with the bromance between president trump and the french president emmanuel macron. >> it appears the two leaders have grown closer this week. >> yeah, on the way to the oval office, trump led the way as they held hands. >> macron tweeted out an image of the two in a tight clasp during a press conference. and the president even love ingly dusted off a piece of dandruff. saying, we have to make him perfect. he is perfect. >> oh, i think that's just lint. >> thanks. all right, what happens when you can't find someone to help you out at the walmart? >> well, how about this? >> customer needs assistance in sporting goods. i'm the customer. >> that is forest hunter the

customer who decided that he had enough at this kentucky store, so he grabbed the intercom and announced that he needed some help. >> that video has more than 2 million views on facebook now. it looks like other customers can sympathize. all right, this was interesting, the university of toledo wants to make it clear that it's not ditching its longtime mascot for shrek. >> its twitter account said it would change its mascot to shrek if it gets 500,000 retweets. but it was deleted after it started gaining some traction. >> the school said the tweet was just meant to be fun and there are no plans to get rid of their current mascot, rocky the rocket, who's glad to know that his job is safe. >> for now, anyway. >> but i think shrek would be a great mascot for any school. all right, a fitness club in england is making fun.

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. good morning. it's wednesday, april 25th, 4:27 a.m. thanks for joining us. >> the whole team back here. you're never more than seven minutes away from my accuweather forecast. hey, mike. >> cooler when you step outside but it is dry. let's take a look at live doppler 7. the green layer is thicker and will reach all of our neighborhoods this morning. we'll talk more about that when we take a look at the 12-hour planner. temperatures upper 40s to low 50s in most neighborhoods. just a bit warmer in hayward, mountain view and san jose. she's back and has traffic for you. hey, alexis. >> good morning. things are starting to look better in walnut creek. it's the northbound side of 680. we had all lanes blocked about 30 minutes ago before treat

boulevard. three left lanes are blocked as far as we know. a five-car hit-and-run crash with injuries. with that lighter side of traffic. with it not being quite 4:30, we're not seeing delays right now. we'll take a look at drive times coming up. hundreds of people out of their homes after a massive firefighter. >> this morning firefighters are still monitoring that site. abc 7 reporter amy hollyfield live in concord. >> hi, natasha. they're still putting water on this fire and still smoke coming from this building. this fire started a little more than 27 hours ago, but they still consider this a danger. look at this. a five-story-high scaffolding collapsed yesterday. the fire department is worried more walls will collapse. they're still worried about

residents who live negligent door. 260 people are still evacuated. residents tell us it has been difficult. >> affected my life badly. my life is pretty much working for my business. until my living place is well settled down, our business will be affected, too. >> reporter: the fire was called in just before 1:00 a.m. yesterday. this is an apartment complex that is under construction. it's located at galindo and clayton in concord. two people were hurt, they suffered from smoke inhalation. officials tell us the cause is still under investigation. they don't know if it was accidental or someone set the fire. they say the next briefing for us is scheduled for 4:00 this afternoon. live in concord, amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. just hours after attending the first state dinner of president trump's administration, apple ceo tim cook will be back at the white house for a meeting with mr.

trump. last night cook arrived with lisa jackson, the vice president of apple environment, policy and social initiatives. there's been no information on what the two may talk about. there is speculation that trade tensions with china could come up, especially since apple's production chain is centered in the country. the president and first lady mel len yeah trump welcomed more than 100 people to the state dinner. the guest list included the vice president and his wife, ivanka trump and hjared hijared hij s mack kron said the bond between france and the u.s. is unbreakable. it's 4:30. if you're engining us, let's get a quick update on weather and traffic where you live. you're never more than seven minutes away from my accuweather forecast. >> let's take a look at our east bay hills camera. you can see the layer of clouds