making news in america this morning, the race for 2020. an announcement expected from bernie sanders today about his plans. while overnight, a new pitch from amy klobuchar. and today, e lids beth warren unveiling a universal child care plan. the new details coming in overnight. a possible motive revealed in the jussie smollett case. why two brothers questioned by police claim the actor staged the attack on himself. the late night rescue at seaworld. riders left dangling over water stranded in the air for hours. why the weather may be to blame. plus, a sixth grader is arrested after a dispute over the pledge of allegiance. this morning, his mother explains what happened after he refused to stand. caught on camera, the lyft passenger recording as his

driver tops 120 miles per hour fleeing police. and too close to the action. the very close call for this hockey broadcaster. good tuesday morning. we begin with the race for the white house in 2020. vermont senator bernie sanders has just made an announcement about his plans. >> that means the already crowded race for the white house among democrats is about to get even more crowded. it comes just hours after minnesota senator amy klobuchar made her case for the white house during a town hall meeting. she outlined how she would tackle everything from health care to gun violence. >> mona kosar abdi has the latest from washington. mona, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the race for 020 is positioned to be historically the largest and most diverse. the candidates are united over one common goal -- to remove

president trump from the white house. fresh off the midterm elections well before 2018 came to an end, the 2020 presidential race kicked off with massachusetts senator elizabeth warren announcing her exploratory committee. and from there, the list kept growing. and growing. >> people in america are losing faith. >> reporter: before the end of january, nine democrats had thrown their names into the race. >> we march. we shout. >> reporter: and this morning, vermont senator bernie sanders announcing once again he's making a run for the white house. this news comes as kamala harris made her first trip to inspecne hampshire. harris distancing herself from the vermont senator, a self-declared democratic socialist. >> the people of new hampshire will tell me what is retired to compete.

but i will tell you i am not a democratic socialist. >> reporter: amy klobuchar steering toward a more moderate lane. >> i think what we need right now in this country is less of this grandstanding and gridlock, less of the shutdowns which we just saw. and the putdowns, and much more of moving our country forward. >> reporter: meantime, there is still widespread speculation that former vice president joe biden may be closing in on a final decision about 2020. and president trump also getting an early start on the 2020 race. he's already compared crowd sizes with kamala harris during her first campaign rally. he gave senator amy klobuchar the nickname snowman or snowwoman after she announced her run for president in the snow in minnesota. and, of course, janai and devin, he repeatedly calls senator elizabeth warren pocahontas. >> mona, so many months out but sights already set on 2020. thank you. now to the growing legal challenge to president trump's national emergency declaration. 16 states have now filed a

lawsuit claiming the move to build his border wall is unconstitutional. the states claim the president cannot legally tap into billions of dollars set aside by congress for other programs. meanwhile, protesters gathered in at least a dozen states to rally against what they call a power grab by the president insisting there is no emergency. venezuela's embattled president nicolas maduro is firing back at president trump after a stern warning that a new day is coming in latin america. in a speech to the venezuelan community in miami, trump affirmed his support for opposition leader juan guaido and called on venezuela's military to abandon maduro or risk losing everything. >> you cannot hide from the choice that now confronts you. you can choose to accept president guaido's generous offer of amnesty to live your life in peace with your families and your countrymen. president guaido does not seek retribution against you and

neither do we. but you must not follow maduro's orders to block humanitarian aid. we seek a peaceful transition of power. but all options are open. >> maduro accused president trump of using an almost nazi-like style approach and warned him to govern his own people in the u.s. another major teachers strike this morning, this time in west virginia where nearly all public schools are closed today. the unions for the teachers and other school workers are angry over a bill that would help fund charter schools. they claim it's retaliation for their strike last year. meanwhile, teachers in oakland, california, plan to walk off the job on thursday. this morning tmz reports that jussie smollett's role on "empire" has been reduced after the claims of a staged attack. this morning, new allegations from the two brothers who claim

jussie smollett hired them to stage a hate crime. law enforcement sources tell abc news the men told police smollett was upset that a threatening letter sent to the studio that produces the show didn't get enough attention and so they say he staged the attack a week later. police have not yet confirmed their allegation but have confirmed a threatening letter was sent to smollett in the week before the attack. it's something he discussed with our robin roberts. >> and you did mention to it the police right away about the letter? >> absolutely. absolutely. just because on the letter it had a stick figure hanging from a tree with a gun pointing towards it with the words that said smollett, jussie, you will die black [ bleep ]. there was no address. but the return ard said in, like, big red caps, maga. did i make that up too? >> reporter: authorities tell us they claim they were paid by the actor to orchestrate and stage the racist homophobic assault that smollett reported last month. >> i mean, who says [ bleep ],

"empire," [ bleep ], this maga country [ bleep ]. ties a noose around your neck and pours bleach on you? >> reporter: police say the men have a relationship with smollett. one even appeared as an extra on "empire." now the brothers are breaking their silence telling chicago station wbbm we are not racist. we are not homophobic and we are not anti-trump. we were born and raised in chicago and are american citizens. smollett's lawyer says he is angered and devastated by recent reports that the perpetrators are individuals he is familiar with. he's now been further victimized by claims attributed to these alleged perpetrators that jussie played a role in his own attack. police say they now urgently want to talk to smollett. >> if he wasn't entirely truthful, he needlessly put himself at risk because he gave a lot of details. >> and smollett's attorneys say they're keeping an open dialogue with chicago police. but the police department says it's not heard back from them. another big winter storm is causing problems this morning with flooding rains for parts of

the south. let's take a closer look now at your tuesday forecast. >> good morning. this storm is serving up three flavors of misery, strong storms of rain throughout most of texas, lower mississippi valley region, a mix throughout oklahoma. and then snow throughout the midwest. now, with the southeast look for thunderstorms along the gulf coast with this low pressure system moving towards the north and that same low will create a monster of a storm that will create snow throughout the midwest from kansas up towards minnesota over towards chicago and over towards the east coast and watching out for possibly 12 inches of snow in iowa. i'm accuweather meteorologist paul williams. coming up, an act of kindness. e est om gave to a pregnant waitress. first, when we come back, tense moments at seaworld. late into the night riders stranded in midair over the water. and we hear from the hiker who got stuck in quicksand for

hours. how he finally got o

>> 125. >> do what? >> 125. >> [ bleep ]. this is the moment a man in north carolina says his lyft driver was going more than 120 miles per hour to escape police. he says the driver was showing off in his dodge charger when police clocked him for speeding. the man says the driver eventually turned off his lights to hide behind a house. but troopers later tracked him down after that passenger got out and called police. we're learning southwest airlines has been the focus of a year-long faa safety investigation. according to "the wall street journal," the probe centers on baggage weight errors. investigators say miscalculations could cause problems for pilots during an engine emergency. the report says some weights

were off by up to a thousand pounds. a safety manager at the grand canyon is revealing concern about radiation that he claims may have put tourists at risk. he says containers of uranium ore were stored at the grand canyon national park's museum for nearly 20 years. he claims park officials blocked him from going public with the concerns. the containers were removed last year. an investigation is under way. new overnight, it took several hours but all 16 people stranded in a gondola ride in seaworld san diego are back on the ground lowered one by one into boats below the ride as temperatures dropped. seaworld says a strong gust of wind tripped a circuit breaker. the fire department says it's not the first time this has happened. no injuries, though, were reported. it was a big scare for two hikers at zion national park in utah after one of them got stuck in quicksand. they were on a remote trail with no cell phone service to call for help. >> i told him to use my body to pull himself, but he's obviously

twice my size so that wasn't working and he eventually told me i needed to leave him and hike back to get cell service. >> i thought for sure when she left that i would lose my leg for sure. i didn't start thinking about losing my life quite at that moment, but the water was so cold i thought for sure i would lose my leg. >> she had to hike hours in the cold before she could call 911. it took park rangers two hours to find him and then they say they stayed through the night while it snowed. finally police brought in a rescue helicopter. both of those hikers were treated for hypothermia. a sweet story out of new jersey. a waitress who is expecting her first child got a pleasant surprise at work. a police officer left her a $100 tip on a bill of $8.75. on the bill he wrote, enjoy your first. you'll never forget it. the waitress there is due in two months. coming up, a big change in golf. the pga changing what players c

first a sixth grader is rested what his mother is now and the american woman who secretly traveled to syria to join isis now says she regrets it. should she be allowed to come home? here. i couldn't catch my breath. it was the last song of the night. it felt like my heart was skipping beats. they said i had afib. what's afib? i knew that meant i was at a greater risk of stroke. i needed answers. my doctor and i chose xarelto® to help keep me protected from a stroke. once-daily xarelto®, a latest-generation blood thinner significantly lowers the risk of stroke in people with afib not caused by a heart valve problem. warfarin interferes with at least 6 of your body's natural blood-clotting factors. xarelto® is selective, targeting just one critical factor. for afib patients well managed on warfarin, there is limited information on how xarelto® compares in reducing the risk of stroke. don't stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor, as this may increase your risk of stroke.

while taking, you may bruise more easily, or take longer for bleeding to stop. xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. it may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. get help right away for unexpected bleeding or unusual bruising. do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. before starting, tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures and any kidney or liver problems. learn all you can to help protect yourself from a stroke. talk to your doctor about xarelto®. to help protect yourself from a stroke. mucinex cold & flu all-in-one. fights...

...sore throat, fever, cough, sinus pressure, chest congestion, headache, nasal congestion, body pain... all in one. did you really need the caps lock? get tough on cold and flu symptoms. mucinex cold and flu all-in-one. well, president trump is expected to sign a directive today aimed at establishing a space force as a new branch of the military. sources say the department dedicated to space will fall under the air force much like the marine corps is part of the navy. the directive lays the groundwork for legislation that must be approved later by congress. well, we turn now to a young american woman who is desperately trying to get back home after running off to syria to marry an isis fighter. >> she's now a mother and widow three times over and she is speaking out admitting she made a big mistake. abc's james longman has new details from syria. >> reporter: as the isis veil is stripped away, this young american mother is pleading to come home. >> i realized i made a big

mistake and i know i've ruined and i deeply, deeply regret it. >> reporter: hoda mothana here with her 18-month-old son left alabama to marry an isis fighter when she was just 19 and spread isis propaganda online calling for a tax on americans. now she tells "the guardian" after trying to escape -- >> if they were to read my messages, i would have been killed. >> reporter: she married three times during her time here. each time to an isis fighter, each time made a widow. >> she feels tremendous remorse. this is a young, vulnerable woman, who was brainwashed and manipulated by monsters who took advantage of her. brainwashed and manipulated her to further their own agenda. >> reporter: mothana is not the only one lured. 19-year-old shamima from london

is one of them. she just gave birth to her third child, the first two she claims dead. >> at first it was nice. it was like how they showed it in the video. >> reporter: she described life in the islamic state including watching beheadings. >> i knew about those things and i was okay with it. >> reporter: but now she too wants to return home. >> i don't take care of my child in this camp because i'm afraid he might die in this camp. >> reporter: the british will not bring her back while as an american, mothana can expect to be brought home to face justice. president trump is pressing other countries to follow the u.s. lead. james longman, abc news in syria. one school district in florida is banning a substitute teacher who prompted the arrest of a sixth grade boy. he refused to stand during the pledge of allegiance do sput the sub ordering him to get up from his seat. turns out the school allows students to opt out of the pledge but the substitute wasn't aware of that. now the boy's mom says the sub abused her child. >> she told my son to go back to his homeland. he was confused. he was like, what do you mean? africa?

she said, yeah. >> officials say that sub won't be allowed to work in any schools in the district again. they insist the boy was arrested for disobeying school officials, not for his refusal to stand. a good samaritan is describing the terrifying moment he and three other men saved a woman from this burning car outside new orleans. police say the woman's car burst into flames after being rear-ended by a suspected drunk driver. >> it was very chaotic. fire was everywhere. there were huge balls of fire. a lot of people were screaming but i couldn't hear any of that because it was like a tunnel vision thing. just run over to the car and try to help them to get this lady out. the woman was literally moments away from being completely engulfed in flames in that car. >> very lucky for her. she's just recovering from some minor injuries. we have some wild video. a hockey broadcaster got a little too close to the action last night. watch as the puck right there

comes so close to hitting nhl analyst pierre mcguire in the head. the slow motion shows him reacting when the puck is already past his head. look at that. mcguire said it's all part of the job. yikes. >> yeesh. all right, up next in "the pulse," news about a possible foldable -- get ready for it -- a foldable iphone. one boy's original and hilarious excuse for not doing his homework. >> plus, a real whale of a plane taking off into flight. up next. >> plus, a real whale of a plane taking off, next. we used 50% fewer ingredients added one handed pumps and beat the top safety standards the new johnson's® choose gentle the russells travel to swim meets every saturday. but now... it's thursday. good thing they discovered gain flings. the only detergent with concentrat gai oxi boost, and febreze odor remover.

try new improved gain flings. breathe right strips are designed to simply when nighttime nasal congestion closes in, open your nose right back up. ♪ breathe better. sleep better. breathe right. hd 4 98% of us don't get enough omega-3s. which is why megared advanced 4in1 packs more omega-3 power into one small softgel. it supports your heart... brain... eyes... and joints. megared. for mild-to-moderate eczema, it's steroid-free.a. do not use if you are allergic to eucrisa or its ingredients. hd 4

ask your doctor about eucrisa. and gave one prego traditional and one ragu traditional. this is what happened. that's because even ragu users prefer the taste of prego traditional two-to-one. i am totally blind. and non-24 can throw my days and nights out of sync, keeping me from the things i love to do. talk to your doctor, and call 844-214-2424. ♪ time for your tuesday "pulse" beginning with apple taking a possible step toward making iphones that fold. the company just filed an update

for a flexible display patent. >> 24 drawings are included in the latest application showing ways the future iphones could be bent. samsung plans to unveil a new foldable phone on thursday. huh. >> i guess it will fit in your pocket better. >> back to the future. i remember my old flip phone. i don't ever want to go back to that. the pga tour is relaxing its dress code. who wears short shorts? allowing pro golfers to wear shorts during practice. >> the new rules take effect this week with tournaments in mexico and puerto rico but as janai just said no short shorts are allowed. they must be knee length. tayl taylor -- tailored and neat, according to the rules. and pants are still required for all competitive rounds but there you go. >> phil mickelson tweeted a photo of himself in shorts celebrating the news jokingly taking credit for the move but all anyone on twitter seemed to notice, look closely, his massive calves. >> look at those things. >> still spends a lot of time

working out his legs, i guess. >> something you never see before on the pga. a new attraction. up next, a young student's "a" plus answer why he didn't do his homework. >> this kid is good. 14-year-old edward cortez of california was asked to write a note to his teacher explaining why he didn't do an assignment. his aunt shared the note on twitter. edward says he didn't do his homework because he doesn't want to get gray hair from stress like his mother. he also said that weekends are free time to be happy, which is so fair. >> i agree with that. he also said that real world jobs don't give you homework unless you're a boss or a teacher. he's neither. i don't know. i'm on his side. >> the boy is smart. smart. >> pretty good. finally a whale taking flight for the first time. take a look. airbus is testing this new jumbo jet. >> look at it. its official name is the beluga xl but the nickname is the flying whale. you can't book a flight any time soon. it'll only serve as a cargo

plane, which airbus will use to ship other planes and large equipment. >> cool to look at. equipment. >> cool to look at. of once-week. in a study with ozempic®, a majority of adults lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than seven and maintained it. hd 4 adults lost on average up to 12 pounds. oh! up to 12 pounds? a two-year study showed that ozempic® does not increase the risk of major cardiovascular events like heart attack, stroke, or death. oh! no increased risk? ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪ ozempic® should not be the first medicine for treating diabetes, or for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. do not share needles or pens. don't reuse needles. do not take ozempic® if you have a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to ozempic®. stop taking ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, itching,

rash, or trouble breathing. serious side effects may happen, including pancreatitis. tell your doctor if you have diabetic retinopathy or vision changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase the risk for low blood sugar. common side effects are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, and constipation. some side effects can lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. i discovered the potential with ozempic®. ♪ oh! oh! oh! ozempic®! ♪ ask your healthcare provider if ozempic® is right for you. ♪ oh, pete!?! c'mon man. what? we said pantyhose right? here, eat this... creamy snickers®. you could use a little smoothness. pete? pete zagorin? get smooth with the fresh-ground nut butters in new creamy snickers®. new lysol wipes are crazy strong. don't believe us? we got this workout class to compare them to clorox. wow! feel the strength of new lysol wipes. dude! are you looking at this? can i take those? no.

lysol. what it takes to protect.® area. let's get up and get going. >> this is abc 7 mornings. >> good morning, happy tuesday. it's february 19th. >> thanks for being there. 4:27. what do we have store, mike? still a cold one. >> i don't you, many, many mornings. a chance of rain. this morning a little frost. 30 in ukiah, santa rosa, good morning, 32. danville and livermore, 28 and 29. 32 in morgan hill. the rest of us in mid to upper 40s until brentwood, vacaville, san francisco, mid-40s. almost the same as yesterday this afternoon, 50 to 57 degrees. we'll take look at the accuweather planner to help you plan your day. how about your commute, alexis.

>> we'll take you to westbound 80 where we had a pretty similar situation to yesterday in the same area. richmond parkway, a disabled vehicle. a couple of other vehicles came along and didn't see it and unfortunately crashed into that. chp said everything was pushed off to the shoulder. we did have the two middle lanes blocked. hopefully we see the back-up unwind. there we go. on queue. fairfield state route closed at beck avenue due to an injury collision. police are doing an investigation right now. we to have a trouble spot in oakland. we'll head there next. >> alexis, thank you. sixteen people who got stuck on gondola ride are back on the ground and doing fine. a big gust of wind knocked out power to bayside last night. since the ride stopped above water, crews had to harness each person and lower them into

boats. the san diego fire department got all the guests back on the ground around 10:00 last night. they are up there for 3 1/2 hours. seaworld will inspect spent the before it reopens. we have breaking news, fashion designer karl lagerfeld has died. he worked for chanel and fendi before launching his brand. he wokd up until his death. he was 85-year-old. also bernie sanders announced he was running for president in 2020. >>pltoe nomination again. as you know he ran in 2016 challenging hillary clinton in the democratic primary. the democratic field is growing fast. here is abc news reporter. >> reporter: good morning, the race for 2020 is positioned to be historically the largest and most diverse. the candidates are united over one common goal, to remove president trump from the white house. the 2020 presidential race

kicked off with massachusetts announcing her exploratory committee. from there the list kept growing and greg. >> people are losing faith. >> before the end of january nine democrats had thrown their name into the race. vermont senator bernie sanders once again announced he's running for the white house. >> i'm bernie sanders. >> sent an e-mail to his huge group of supporters. this comes as kamala harris announced a state that overwhelmingly voted form bernie sanders. >> i am not a democratic socialist. >> there's widespread speculation vice president joe biden may be closing in on a final decision about 2020. >> president trump also getting an early start on the 2020 race. he's already