making news in america this morning, jussie smollett charged. the tv actor now facing a felony and possible prison time accused of making up the story about a homophobic racist attack. police with a stunning new statement as new video emerges of the men he allegedly hired to stage the attack. >> i think he should unload that conscience and just come out and tell the american people what actually happened. >> this morning what's next for smollett and what his lawyers are now saying. terror plot revealed. new details overnight about the coast guard officer and former marine accused of planning a major attack. the hit list of politicians and media stars. his alleged motive and why

authorities say the murder would have been on a scale rarely seen in this country. conviction in danger? days after drug lord el chapo was found guilty, a new bombshell. plus, why this man attacked his own lawyer in court. controversy at walmart. why a beloved walmart greeter is set to lose his job and how his fans are rallying to his side. and later, mystery solved. scientists reveal why zebras have stripes. good thursday morning. we begin with chicago police overnight waiting for actor jussie smollett to surrender. >> the star of the tv show "empire" is now charged with a felony accused of making up a story about being attacked on the street. the actor told police that two men poured a chemical on him while yelling racial and homophobic slurs. >> but now police say those two men are cooperating and claiming that smollett orchestrated the

whole attack. this morning jussie smollett is accused of fabricating the racist and homophobic attack he said he suffered. >> he said this maga country [ bleep ] and punches me right in the face. so i punched his [ bleep ] back. i noticed the rope around my neck and i starred screaming and i said there's a [ bleep ] rope around my neck. >> reporter: the announcement comes as new surveillance video emerges showing two brothers at the center of the investigation buying a red hat and ski masks, items used in the alleged attack. police say the men who sat for hours in front of a grand jury told them they were paid by smollett to stage and participate in the alleged attack. their lawyer now urging smollett to come forward. >> i think that jussie's conscience is probably not letting him sleep right now, so i think he should unload that conscience and just come out and tell the american people what actually happened. >> smollett has insisted he was the victim. >> how do you not believe that? it's the truth. >> the fbi is also investigating if smollett sent this

threatening letter to himself a week before the alleged attack. overnight his legal team released a statement saying mr. smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information both true and false has been repeatedly leaked. we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defense. police overnight said they don't know where smollett is, writing in a statement that they know this can be difficult emotionally, and we hope he doesn't do anything terrible. he will get through this. smollett is due in court this afternoon for a bond hearing. if convicted, he could face three years in prison. "variety" magazine reports the producers on smollett's show are now considering whether to suspend him. now to the other developing story this morning. a coast guard officer and former marine is under arrest accused of plotting a major terrorist attack stockpiling weapons and compiling a hit list of politicians to target.

abc's mona kosar abdi has the new details this morning from washington. good morning, mona. >> reporter: good morning, kenneth. this is truly a disturbing story. a search of this man's house turned up 15 firearms and over a thousand rounds of ammunition. officials say that he planned on murdering innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country. court documents reveal the chilling details of an alleged domestic terror plot by a u.s. coast guard lieutenant. authorities say this man, christopher paul hasson, of maryland was planning a cold-blooded killing spree. his arsenal pictured here including a stockpile of weapons, handguns and sniper rifles along with ammunition. the white nationalist allegedly writing he is, quote, dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on earth. joseph clark, an assistant professor of political science at towson university, believes this is part of a larger effort by law enforcement to crack down on domestic terrorism. >> political violence inside the united states by americans

against americans is probably the larger threat that we face. it's the more likely threat, and it may be the more serious threat. he had very grand plans. >> reporter: according to the fbi, hasson created an excel sheet of possible targets including notable politicians like speaker nancy pelosi, senate minority leader charles schumer and senator kamala harr. also on the hit list, msnbc's joe scarborough and several other journalists. hasson's chilling google searches consisting of questions like, most liberal senators and where do most senators live in d.c.? do senators have secret service protection, and are supreme court justices protected? and hasson will go before a judge today on drug and weapons charges. the fbi calling the charges, janai and kenneth, the proverbial tip of the iceberg. >> just disturbing details there. mona, thank you. >> incredibly disturbing. sources say special counsel robert mueller could deliver his long awaited report to attorney

general william barr as early as next week. after nearly two years of looking into russian interference and possible collusion with the trump campaign, it's unclear how much of the report barr will share with congress or the public. president trump says barr will have the final say. >> mr. president, should the mueller report be released while you're abroad next week? >> that will be totally up to the new attorney general. that will be totally up to him. >> should the report become public, do you think? >> i guess from what i understand that will be totally up to the attorney general. >> reporter: barr has said he will provide as much transparency as possible consistent with the law. president trump's former lawyer michael cohen will testify next wednesday about the trump campaign and the president's business practices. cohen's testimony before a house committee will fall on the same day that president trump kicks off his summit with kim jong-un in vietnam. cohen says he's looking forward to the american people hearing his story. history is being made at the vatican this morning where a summit on preventing child sexual abuse in the church is getting under way.

pope francis and nearly 200 bishops from around the world are gathering to discuss how to keep children safe and properly handle complaints of abuse. many survivors also traveled to rome calling for zero tolerance for abusive priests. the four-day summit will focus on responsibility, accountability and transparency. critics question whether it will lead to any concrete changes. turning now to the weather, it's another wet day for the south and even parts of the southwest. overnight snow was even falling in las vegas. let's take a look now at your thursday morning forecast. good morning. snow showers wrapping up across new england. for our thursday, much drier and milder conditions across the northeast. not going to be the case across the southeast. still some spotty showers lingering for many. not as much of a flooding threat but that changes into friday. still some record warmth across florida as well. another storm system into the southwest bringing some rain and perhaps an isolated storm to

southern california with snow into the four corners region. we're talking one to two feet into flagstaff and even a coating around vegas. i'm accuweather meteorologist adam del rosso. coming up, the fastest growing sport in the united states. but first we show you the new foldable smartphone that costs nearly $2,000, so is it worth it? and up next, a bombshell just days after mexican drug lord el chapo was convicted. why that conviction may now be in jeopardy.

we're back with video of an impatient driver in brooklyn, new york, driving onto the sidewalk to get around some parked school buses and right there that car came within inches of those children walking

into school. police got the license plate number and are now searching for the driver. a bus driver in new jersey faces charges for allegedly driving while she was on heroin. her bus was seen slowly rolling across the street coming to a stop against a tree. police say she had been -- she had to be revived at the scene with the overdose drug narcan. 12 special needs children were on that bus. luckily and thankfully no one was hurt. defense attorneys for mexican drug lord el chapo may challenge his conviction amid reports of jury misconduct. one juror says at least five members of the jury disregarded the judge's orders and followed media coverage of the case during the trial. el chapo's lawyers claim that means their client may not have received a fair trial. they say they're now considering all legal options. google says it meant to tell its customers about the hidden microphone in one of its security products but failed to do so. the company says it forgot to include that information on its nest secure alarm system. the error came to light when

google revealed its virtual assistant could be used with the system. google says the product information has now been updated. samsung has debuted its highly anticipated foldable phone. when it's open the galaxy fold screen is almost as big as a tablet, but when it's closed, it looks like most smartphones. the big screen can operate three apps at the same time, but it comes with a hefty price tag of nearly $2,000. >> and it's really disappointing because there are consumers out there that really want to take advantage of all the cool technology that was announced in these new phones, and $2,000 is a lot of money for the average consumer to spend. >> the galaxy fold expected to go on sale april 26th. the company admits it is a luxury item. >> yes, it is. coming up, a controversy at walmart. why a very popular employee may lose his job. but first meet the brave young girl who was abducted but managed to help police rescue her and make an arrest. plus, the brightest young star in basketball suffers a

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we're back now with chaos in this ohio courtroom. a man attacking his own lawyer. he'd just been sentenced to 47 years in prison for arson when he lunged at the attorney who suffered injuries to his face and a possible concussion. his client now faces even more charges. we turn to an arrest in a decades old cold case. >> authorities in california have arrested a man for the 1973 murder and sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl. they say public awareness and new technology cracked the case and now we're hearing from the victim's sister. this morning, the nearly 46-year-long manhunt for this girl's killer is possibly over. >> generations of investigators worked on her case. we never gave up. >> reporter: linda ann o'keefe vanished in july 1973 while walking home from school. the 11-year-old was found the next day strangled in a ditch.

last year police told linda's story in a series of tweets hoping to generate new leads. in one post they released an age composite sketch showing what the suspect could look like based on dna the killer left behind in 1973, but after submitting the dna to an ancestry website, police say they finally got a hit leading them to the arrest of 72-year-old james alan neal now living in colorado. linda's family shocked at the news. >> he said, hi, are you sitting down, and i said, yeah, i'm having a burger at in-n-out, and what's going on? he said, i just arrested the man and i said, oh, wow. >> reporter: it's the same technology that led to the arrest of the golden state killer. law enforcement using dna to identify potential suspects through websites people use to research their family tree. investigators say the dna at the crime scene matched neal's dna submitted to one of those genealogy sites. authorities say they got another dna sample from him during their

surveillance. >> they were able to get additional dna which resulted in the corroboration of the dna from the victim's body. >> reporter: neal's arrest is a bittersweet moment for linda's sister whose parents passed away before seeing justice for their daughter. >> i'm feeling really grateful, incredibly grateful to the department for their diligence and at the same time, you know, it brings up the loss. you know, she was a little girl that was taken far too soon. >> police say the suspect lived near linda's family in the 1970s. he has not yet entered a plea. an indiana woman is in custody charged with abducting a young girl who eventually helped police track her down. authorities say the girl was in her mother's car in a shopping center parking lot when the suspect jumped in and stole the car driving off with the girl still inside. but the 12-year-old girl managed to call 911 giving police landmarks as they drove past them. >> this lady got in my mom's car and i don't know who she is.

>> i was trying to tell them what happened and all the places we were passing. she reached back and tried to take my phone. she didn't get it, but i think i know where to stop. she was turning up the music so i wouldn't be able to hear the call and then i got up and turned it down. >> hats off to haley for saving herself. police say the 28-year-old suspect admits stealing the car and says she knew the girl was inside. she's in custody facing several charges. a walmart greeter in pennsylvania fears he could lose his job because of a new policy. adam catlin has been a greeter at the store near harrisburg for ten years. the manager says walmart is changing the greeter's job description come april, and according to that new job description, adam who has cerebral palsy will have to stand for his entire shift and be able to lift 25 pounds, something adam says he physically can't do. >> i understand corporate

policies change, so if they want to make this change, that's fine, but i think that they should grandfather him in. he's been there for ten years. walmart is his heart. his job is his driving force in life. >> and a facebook group created to support adam quickly gained thousands of followers. in a statement walmart says adam is a valued members of the team. we're looking for a solution that keeps him with the store and are reaching out to his family as well. in sports one of the biggest young stars in basketball suffered what appears to be a very serious injury last night. zion williamson of duke suffered a knee sprain after one of his shoes split open causing him to do an awkward split. even though he's only a freshman, he's considered a potential number one pick in the nba draft. williamson wasn't the only big name in durham last night. that right there, former president barack obama, was also at the game. tickets for that game hovering

near super bowl levels so people are paying top dollar to see zion who then only played about 36 seconds. >> $3200 and let's talk about zion because you burst out of your shoe. >> yes. >> you do it in front of the 44th president of the united states in front of this big crowd for this big game. it wasn't a good game for you. 36 seconds. >> no, but then he did get a shoutout from lebron james as well as former president obama both wishing him well hoping he recovers. >> and let's hope he has a speedy recovery. >> absolutely. up next in "the pulse," the fastest growing sport in the united states is not basketball. also ahead, the disturbing trend in the desert. why more and more people are stealing cacti. plus, why zebras have stripes. we finally know. you could take the treatment of your ulcerative colitis in a different direction. talk to your doctor about xeljanz, a pill, not an injection or infusion, for adults with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis. xeljanz is the first and only fda-approved pill for moderate to severe uc.

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time to check "the pulse" and we're talking baseball on this february 21st because today the first game gets under way at spring training. >> the giants take on the a's in arizona. a new report claims baseball is the fastest growing sport in america. "the wall street journal" says the number of people playing baseball grew by 20% in the last four years while youth football and soccer declined. >> one explanation is a major league program that hands out plastic bats and balls and introduces the sport to kids in gym class. now it's not quite baseball. i played softball for eight, nine years growing up. >> interesting. >> uh-huh. >> were you any good? >> i was so good. >> she was not. >> i was so good. >> she was not. >> i was. now to a prickly problem in the desert. more and more people are trying to steal cacti. >> i'm sure that's pretty easy. >> yeah, right. >> cactus poachers are a growing problem in parts across the southwest. according to "the guardian" newspaper, they fetch up to $100

per foot on the black market. everyone from hipsters here at home to middle class homeowners in china want them for interior decor. >> interesting. at one park in arizona, get this, ranchers even implanted microchips into cactus trunks to track them. >> i don't know what to think about that. >> yeah, i know. >> yes, that would -- to steal them, though. >> right, that would be very difficult, ooh, ow, ow. we may have finally found the answer to an age old question, why do zebras have their stripes? >> researchers dressed up horses to look like zebras to prove that stripes are really simply an insect repellant to keep pesky flys away. they believe the stripes make it harder for flies to land smoothly. remember there was a story about at a zoo a horse dressed up as a zebra. >> of course. are we going to ignore what's happening right here? and finally everyone should have as much fun at their job as

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good morning south bay. let's get up and get going. this is abc 7 morning. hi good morning. it is thursday, february 21st. thanks for joining us. >> we're almost there. you're never more than seven minutes away from your accuweather forecast. mike nicco has a look at the day ahead. >> good morning, guys. let's take a look at live doppler 7. we have a little bit of rain in byron, brentwood and the altamont pass and towards tracy. little bit of wetness there. the rest of us, much cooler. 36 in los gatos, 38 in livermore. vacaville 36. mid to upper 30s in the north bay. until you get to novato and vallejo, they're in the 40s. danville, also about 34 degrees. this afternoon, sunshine. cold sunshine. little breezy. keeping our temperatures below

average in the mid to upper 50s. 54 to 57 degrees. how about the commute this morning? here's alexis. >> good morning, mike. we're starting off with a rollover crash. in the fairfield area. first reported around abernathy road. sounds like chp and emergency crews were having a tough time finding it. it may be off the roadway a bit. on a surface street. i'll have an update in a few minutes. quick check outside. if you are traveling bay bridge toll plaza today, we have a little bit of a stackup in the cash lanes on either side. no delays on fastrak. developing news in the east bay. teachers in oakland getting ready to strike today. in two hours. 6:30 a.m., they'll raise their picket signs. >> it is the latest strike over classroom conditions and pay. let's begin our team coverage with amy hollyfield live at an lptry school in oakland.

amy. >> reporter: 3,000 oakland teachers expected to go on strike. the two sides had one more negotiating session yesterday to try to prevent this strike. an offer was made but it wasn't enough. the teachers union decided to strike. 12% raise. the school district is offering a 7% raise over four years with a one-time, 1.5% bonus. teachers are going on strike to fight for what they call a living wage. >> the high cost of rent in oakland, the high cost of living has driven our teachers out of oakland. >> reporter: schools are open today. administrators have hired substitute teachers and from the central office to schools to help supervise the kids. they say students will be given

an unexcused absence if they're not in class today. the union did say they expect this strike to be short and another round of negotiations is scheduled for tomorrow morning. reporting live in oakland, amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. >> thank you, amy. in an unprecedented move, principals deliver to sacramento to deliver a message to lawmakers. >> they asked for more funding ahead of the teachers strike. the principals laid out three requests. the amount of per pupil spending. forgiveness of $36 million in debt from state loan and revision of charter law. >> we're drastically overfunding our prisons compared to school. compared to other high cost states, we're underfunding schools and students. >> state superintendent tony thurman was receptive. he's asking for $5 billion in additional fund being for k through 12 education across the state.