making news in america this morning, president trump's fo morning. michael cohen now calling his former boss a con man, a racist and a cheat. the breaking details on what cohen will tell congress today during his bombshell testimony, the new revelations about the hacked e-mails from hillary clinton's campaign and claims the president has avoided paying property taxes. president trump and kim jong-un coming face-to-face during their high stakes summit in vietnam today. >> hopefully it will be successful. >> what the president says will happen if north korea gets rid of its nuclear weapons. the senators drill drug company executives with the cost of pills sky rocketing.

new details about the rhino attack at the zoo. the second in florida in just two months. and meet the 13-year-old who just signed a professional contract. from abc news in new york, this is america this morning. >> good wednesday morning. we begin with breaking news. president trump's former lawyer michael cohen is testifying on capitol hill this morning skpmpt we now know what he is expected to say. >> cohen will call president trump a con man and a cheat. cohen is expected to reveal new details about wiki leaks and the hacked e-mails from the hillary clinton campaign. >> good morning. >> good morning. michael cohen went from saying he would take a bullet for the president to placing trump in serious legal jeopardy. a reserved michael cohen. >> you lied before, why should

congress trust you now? >> reporter: telling reporters he is ready to come clean. >> i appreciate the opportunity to clear the record and to tell the truth. >> reporter: the first of three hearings which include the highly anticipated testimony that will take place in front of the house oversight committee today. sources say cohen will describe the president's lying, racism and cheating. according to the "new york times," cohen will begin with a scathing opening statement alleging that as a presidential candidate trump knew that roger stone was talking with julian assange about wiki leaks plans. stone an adviser to trump during the campaign has denied the conversations took place and was indicted for making false statements to congress. cohen who pleaded guilty to lying to congress and violating campaign finance laws is expected to provide reimbursement checks signed by

trump for hush money payments to adult star stormy daniels. and for the first time, the president's former right-hand man will accuse him of criminal conduct while in the white house. ahead of his testimony trump ally representative tweeting out a seemingly threatening message to know about your girlfriends? maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. i wonder if she'll remain faithful when you're in prison. she's about to learn a lot. >> we're witness testing, not witness tampering. >> gates later backtracking and tweeting, it was not my intent to threaten. i'm sorry. press secretarynds cle a disac is, quote, pathetic to see him given another chance to spread his lies. that highly anticipated hearing, only day two, supposed to take place today. >> the president just tweeted from overseas slamming cohen, claiming he's lying to reduce

his prison sentence. mona, cohen is also expected to discuss phone calls he says the president directed him to make? >> reporter: kendis, according to that "new york times" article released last night, in his testimony michael cohen is expected to say that then candidate trump directed him to threaten his high school, his college and the college board, also that they would never release his s.a.t. scores or his grades. janai, kendis. >> mona, like the lawyers say, cohen allegedly has documents to back up those claimants. mona, thank you so much. our live coverage of cohen's testimony begins at 10:00 a.m. eastern here on abc and our digital channel, abc news live. president trump meeting face-to-face with kim jong-un in vietnam tonight. >> overnight the president had a clear message for the north korean dictator, saying the north could thrive like vietnam if it gets rid of its nuclear weapons. >> also overnight, for the first

time we saw this picture of kim jong-un meeting with his negotiators before today'stodays stakes meeting. karen traverse is in hanoi with what we can expect. >> reporter: president trump is under pressure to come away from this summit with more than a handshake and a photo op. the talks between the united states and north korea have stalled but the white house is hoping the president's personal relationship with kim jong-un will jump start that process. president trump started his first full day here in hanoi with a courtesy call. >> i very much appreciate the hospitality. >> reporter: the president thanking vietnam's prime minister for hosting his summit with kim jong-un. president trump's first interaction with kim jong-un, a brief one-on-one meeting, followed by a small private dinner. >> it's an honor to be with chairman kim. it's an honor to be together in really a country, vietnam, where they reallyolled out the red carpet and they've -- they're

very honored to have us. it's great to be with you. we had a very successful first summit. i felt it was very successful. >> reporter: the threats of fire and fury have been put on hold as president trump continues to emphasize north korea's economic potential, a way to entice kim jong-un to commit to denuclearization. >> vietnam is thriving. >> reporter: the president pointing to vietnam, another communist country and one of the fastest growing economies in the world, writing on twitter, quote, north korea would be the same and very quickly if it would denuclearize. the potential is awesome. but it's not clear in kim jong-un is even interested in moving toward any type of liberal economic reform, allowing outside investment and property and business would mean giving up tight control of his country. both the u.s. andorth korea are looking to leave hanoi with concrete results. that could include a shared definition of denuclearization and a peace declaration to formally end the korean war.

president trump will wrap up that private dinner with kim jong-un right as his former personal attorney, michael cohen, will begin his testimony on capitol hill. two senior white house officials have told abc that the president is likely to watch some of that testimony, not clear how much of it he'll actually tune in for. kenneth and janai, that is going to be very late at night here in hanoi. could be a late one for president trump. >> it will make for an interesting split screen. as you said, the two leaders have dinner tonight. denuclearization, that hasn't happened, so what are they hoping to accomplish tomorrow? >>. >> reporter: they're hoping to accomplish the definition of denuclearization. it was very vague in the summer and over the last 8 months they haven't made much progress down the road toward that process. i think they're looking for what the white house calls a shared understanding. the summit will kick off tomorrow morning here in hanoi.

right now we don't know what it's going to look like. we expect it will be private meetings followed by the larger staff, but white house officials have told us they're waiting to see how tonight's dinner goes before really nailing down the details about the summit tomorrow. >> that dinner quite a preshow. karen travers live in vietnam, thank you, my friend. in this country we're watching a developing story in northern california. mandatory evacuations are under way because of relentless rain triggering mudslides. officials in sonoma county are reporting the worst flooding in years. the river is expected to rise 14 feet. >> making matters worse, a mudslide has closed one of the main evacuation routes. one of the mudslides swept away people and explained what happened. >> crack, crack, crack, we saw like these huge redwoods coming down. >> they flew down every which way, just came running down the

hill, these big trees. >> that road is expected to remain closed for weeks. the other local evacuation route runs next to the river which is now flooded. parts of the region have gotten 18 inches of rain in just the last two days. >> that is a lot of rain and more rain unfortunately is on the way for that area. let's take a look now at your forecast for this wednesday. good morning. a major storm for the west coast. flooding rain, mudslides and feet of mountain snow along with gusty winds. travel disruptions throughout the entire northwest corner of the country. inland snow, flooding rains along the coast. unseasonably crazy cold for the north central part of the country, and snow will slide across the great lakes right into the northeast with travel disruptions. we could see up to nine inches of snow along this path and finally in the deep south unsettled weather with thunderstorms along the gulf coast. i'm accuweather meteorologist paul williams. the morning commute is

shaping up to be a nightmare in new york city. >> tens of thousands of commuters are facing major delays after a train hit a vehicle on the tracks on long island killing three people. police say the vehicle had driven around the crossing gates. the wreckage so mangled they couldn't be sure whether it was a car or truck. also breaking overnight, history in chicago, which is poised to elect its first black woman to be mayor. that's because former prosecutor lori lightfoot and cook county board president toni preckwinkle finished on top in yesterday's 14-person race on city hall. they'll go head-to-head in a runoff election in april. coming up, why a vacation in hawaii may soon get a lot cheaper. also ahead this morning, oprah's big loss. how much money she lost in one day because of weight watchers. and later, the stress and the drama as these nba players get trapped in an el we're back with a rare sight

in the florida panhandle. a fisherman reeling in this 700-pound great white shark. they immediately tagged it and released it unharmed but back into the water. it's believed to be the first great white caught in that area since the 1960s. a secret recording may have helped send a new jersey man to prison for the rest of his life for killing his high school prom date. 21-year-old liam mcatasney has now been convicted of murdering sarah stern. the 19-year-old was strangled three years ago. investigators say he killed her to get her inheritance money after her mother died. prosecutors played a video which police say was a confession. mcatasney claims he was auditioning for a horror movie. >> the worst part of it is i thought i was walking out with 50 grand, 100 grand in my pocket.

she had one safe that she took money out, and she only had 10 grand. >> on that tape mcatasney said it took him 30 minutes to kill stern. he'll be sentenced in may. former vice president joe biden says he's in the final stages of deciding whether to run for president. he says his family is pushing him to run, which is fueling speculation that biden has already made up his mind and is just waiting to enter the race. oprah's wallet a bit lighter this morning. she lost about $40 million since weight watchers reported smaller than expected profits tuesday. the company's stock plummeted by 30%. bloomberg says oprah's stock has lost $400 million in value since june. flying to hawaii may soon get a lot cheaper. southwest airlines plans to offer flights there by the end of the year. one analyst says the new flights could prompt an airfare war resulting in savings of up to 30% for travelers. >> ooh.

coming up, the 13-year-old soccer player signing a professional contract. but first new details about the rhino that attacked a zookeeper in florida. and up next, the rising cost of prescription drugs. what the drug companies say is to blame. as the waves... ♪ guys, i love that it smells fresh like the beach so fresh but i'm trying to read shhh ♪ ooooo air wick, new pure beach escapes oh! oh! oh! ♪ ozempic®! ♪ (announcer) people with type 2 diabetes are excited about the potential of once-weekly ozempic®. in a study with ozempic®, a majority of adults lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than seven and maintained it. oh! under seven? and you may lose weight. in the same one-year study, 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?

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back now back now to the fight over rising drug prices. top executives were grilled on capitol hill. >> the senators asked the ceos of the big drug companies about the soaring prices and why we pay so much more than other countries. the world's biggest drugmakers are in the hot seat. >> the way you've been doing business is unacceptable. >> if people don't buy a car, they don't buy furniture, their life is not threatened. if they can't buy your product, it may be. >> reporter: senators from both parties grilled seven top pharmaceutical executives on the soaring prices of prescription drugs. >> it's morally repugnant when ailing patients are forced to

choose between filling the next prescription or putting food on the table because they can't afford both. >> i understand why patients are frustrated because they need these medicines, and they can't afford them. i would pledge to do everything that we could, but i would urge you to recognize that the system itself is complex, and it is interdependent. >> reporter: prices for hundreds of drugs are up 6% this year while americans pay 150% more than other countries for the same medications. >> i think that you charge more here because you can, and american taxpayers are subsidizing all of you to be able to have incredibly high profits. >> reporter: the head of abbvie facing questions about the company's drug humira, the best-selling drug in the country. the price for the arthritis medication has doubled in the past five years. >> there is no one solution to this complex issue. >> reporter: senators are also asking questions about drug companies using new patients to

keep prices high making minor changes to a drug's formula so they can file a new patent and prevent cheaper generic drugs from entering the market. abbvie's ceo says the company has 136 patents for humira. >> has the drug itself gotten any better with all the new patents? >> it's important to keep in perspective that that patent portfolio evolved as we discovered and learned new things about humira. >> reporter: the executives acknowledge the challenges saying big profits are needed to develop new drugs. >> medicines can't make a difference if the patients who need them can't afford them. we understand the concerns about the cost of health care. >> reporter: and the ceo of merck with this unexpected admission. >> the people who can least afford it are paying the most. >> after the hearing senator john cornyn said the judiciary committee will investigate the companies' patent system. lawmakers are also investigating the cost of insulin. a zookeeper is recovering at a florida hospital after being injured by a rhino. 50-year-old archie, the rhino,

struck the woman with his horn during what was called a routine training at the jacksonville zoo. she suffered serious injuries but was conscious on her way to the hospital. it's the second injury caused by a rhino at a florida zoo this year. a 2-year-old was hurt in january when she fell into the rhino enclosure at a zoo in melbourne. in sports who needs a soccer scholarship when you have an endorsement deal? 13-year-old olivia moultrie is skipping college to turn pro. two years ago at the age of 11 she signed a deal to play soccer at the university of north carolina, but her agent says the deal with nike is worth more than a four-year scholarship to unc. the portland trail blazers' visit to boston got off to a stressful start. the team was practicing before the game when some players got stuck in an elevator. enes kanter went on twitter saying they were in survival mode. those players fortunately were rescued after 30 minutes. i think they're all in pretty good shape. >> was boston behind this? >> ooh. maybe. up next in "the pulse," the

push for robot umpires in baseball. but first why kim jong-un's shipment of vodka will not be arriving on time. plus, the new idea that could forever change take-out pizza. she's doing it again. (vo) no cover up spray here... cheaper aerosols can cover up odors, burying them in a flowery fog. switch to febreze air effects! febreze eliminates even the toughest odors from the air. freshen up, don't cover up. febreze. for everything that i give, i get so much in return. join our family of home instead caregivers and help make a world of difference. home instead senior care. apply today. home instead senior care. hey! you still thinking about opening your own shop? every day. i think there are some ways to help keep you on track. and closer to home. edward jones grew to a trillion dollars in assets under care, by thinking about your goals as much as you do. how's your cough? i'm good. i took 12-hour mucinex and sent it far away.

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♪ ♪ it's time to check "the pulse" starting with a special delivery that never made it to kim jong-un. >> yes, officials in the netherlands say they've intercepted 90,000 bottles of russian vodka and they believe the liquor was en route to north korea for kim and his military leaders, smuggled in violation of u.n. sanctions. >> the vodka was found hidden in a chinese-owned container ship. the party won't be so crazy, i guess. so say it ain't so, robot

umpires may be coming to baseball. >> the independent atlantic league this season is reportedly going to experiment using trackman to call balls and strikes. the trackman is a system that uses doppler radar to track the motion of a ball. >> baseball america reports that major league baseball is paying for trackman, but we understand that equipment at all eight stadiums in the atlantic league to test that out. isn't that cool? >> that's pretty cool. next a cheesy idea you might say for keeping your pizza hot. it's called the pizza pocket. >> yeah, you put your slice inside the heat pouch and put the pouch inside the pocket of a hoodie. the guy behind the idea claims it will keep your pizza warm for hours and hopes to begin shipping them in june. >> all right, or just a way to carry your pizza with you. finally a driver in california has learned his lesson. you should learn from his mistake. don't park next to a fire hydrant. >> firefighters in anaheim needed water to fight a nearby fire and smashed both his car windows to hook up their hose

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this is abc 7 mornings. hi, good morning. it is wednesday, february 27th. thanks for joining us. yes, it is once again raining. as you can see live doppler 7 is behind us. meteorologist mike nicco has the information. >> still a sense of urgency, especially in the north bay. we'll start with the creeks and when we come back in three minutes, we'll talk about the rivers. mark west creek, major. willowbrook, green valley creek, la do you know a santa rose, colgan creek with moderate flooding. just about all the rain is gone for now. but more is coming. let me show you where it is raining. it's moved into solano county,c, towards san francisco and down the peninsula and into the south bay and the santa cruz mountains. now, the atmospheric river, the heaviest of the rain is sliding

to our south. we're going to have steady rain for the morning hours and then it will turn over to scattered showers. as we have the steady rain, we'll keep it a 2. there's still the possibility of wind damage and minor flooding on the roads. as we head into the afternoon hourst will turn over to just scattered showers and we'll drop it down to a 1 and i'll show you that coming up next. here's alexis. >> mike, a lot to talk about this morning. the bay bridge toll plaza, mike mentioned we have rain out there at this point this morning and you can see it right here. it's still coming down. we've got a lot of road spray kicking up and definitely a wet and winnie drive across the bay bridge. most of the bridges under a high-wind advisory as well. it will definitely be gusty. flipping over to the traffic maps, a couple crashes to talk about. we had all lanes blocked, westbound 580 before lakeshore avenue in oakland. started off as a solo vehicle spin out. looks like they're in the clearing stages. we're on hold with the chp to get a clarification on what

lanes are blocked. the backup thinned out. same story here. 880 near a street, we had flooding caused a we're down to the far left lane blocked. they're going to shut that down. hopefully we don't get crashes through that area. we do have state route 37 closed in novato. i'll talk more about that, next. >> alexis, thank you. we have new video of storm damage in the east bay. a large tree fell overnight in walnut creek. this is north civic drive. you can see some of the power is police have blocked off the street. no word on when that road is going to be reopened. dire warning for people living along the russian river. get out now. >> the river reached flood stage and the worst is far from over. right now, evacuation orders are in effect for two dozen communities. you can see them here listed on the map. reporter lisa amin gleeshian has the latest. >> they're clearing out.

this u-haul is packed tight. the owner's friends are showing up to get as many valuables as possible out. this storm could ruin brian petting hoss. >> i'm going to be out of business for a couple of months. it's going to be a big loss. >> they expect it to rise to 47 feet. >> if it comes up ten feet, that puts it in this neighborhood. >> that's why glenn hurley is leaving his guerneville home. but not before raising as much as he can off the ground. including his new washer and dry dryer. >> i have a flat bottom boat and two kayaks. just in there for storage but now they're floating. >> for the first time, it's evacuating the cold weather shelter and moving the homeless and anyone who needs help to the santa rosa pavilion. large buses were brought in to move as many as 100 peole. >> it's going to be dangerous out here. nobody will be getting