have a great day. making news in america this morning, kushner's clearance. word that president trump ordered his chief of staff to grant top secret security clearance to son-in-law jared kushner despite concerns within the white house. the revelation contradicting what the president said previously when he denied involvement. this morning the big question that lingers and the new subpoena threat from democrats. state of emergency, the flooding crisis on the west coast. thousands of homes underwater. a father drowns trying to save his children trapped on a farm and now more rain on the way. comment crackdown. youtube announces a big change to protect children online. the decision affecting tens of millions of videos.

a luke massive stroke. the surprising risk for young people. also, one state's bold new action to address the housing crisis. the historic rent control law now on the books. and from the grandmother stranded on the iceberg -- >> i've always wanted to be queen. come on, that was my chance. >> to the baseball player celebrating bryce harper's contract to the overworked interns craving for pizza, all the best videos being shared on this friday morning. everyone. we begin with the developing story overnight. president trump's son-in-law responding for the first time to ansi n rut how he obtained his top secret security clearance. >> "the new york times" reports president trump ordered it. that contradicts what the president said previously when he denied any involvement.

>> the clearance was granted despite concerns among national security officials. a abc's zachary kiesch is here with the details this morning. zachary. >> reporter: kenneth and janai, this clearance means access to the most sensitive information in this country. last night jared kushner's attorney telling fox news he got the clearance through regular process with no pressure from anybody. this morning, a stunning report in "the new york times" outlining how the president ordered his former chief of staff john kelly to give his son-in-law jared kushner a top secret security clearance. according to "the times" both the cia and former white house counsel don mcgahn recommended that kushner be denied top secret clearance. but the paper suggests that last year trump's former chief of staff john kelly wrote a memo saying the president had, quote, ordered him to clear kushner's path. that contradicts comments the president made to "the times" just last month. >> did you tell general kelly or anyone else in the white house to overrule security officials?

>> no, i don't think i have the authority to do that. i'm not sure i do. but i wouldn't. i wouldn't do it. jared's a good -- i was never involved with the security. >> reporter: ivanka trump recently told "the view's" abby huntsman there were no favors done for her or her husband. >> there were a lot of people question whether you were given special treatment by the president overriding -- >> absolutely not. >> reporter: elijah cummings, chairman of the house oversight committee is threatening to subpoena the white house if they don't cooperate saying in a statement the security clearance process is supposed to function in an evenhanded and neutral manner based on the national security interests of the united states. john cohen is a former counterterrorism coordinator at the department of homeland security. >> just because he can do it doesn't mean that it's in the best interest of our national security. >> reporter: white house press secretary sarah sanders issued a statement saying we don't comment oneances. kenneth. >> we will see what the house

says if anything later today. zachary, thank you. new questions following president trump's nuclear summit with north korea. and his new interview with john hannity. president trump said the summit ended after kim jong-un demanded too much. the president claims north korea wanted all sanctions lifted in exchange for partially dismantling their nuclear weapons program. but north korean officials say they only asked for some of the sanctions to be lifted. meanwhile, another big headline from that sean hannity interview, he asked the president about michael cohen's statement on capitol hill wednesday. when cohen testified that trump directed him to make hush money payments to stormy daniels. hannity claims to have inside knowledge about those payments. take a listen. >> i can tell you personally he said to me at least a dozen times that he made the decision on the payments and didn't tell you. told me personally. >> no, he did and he made the decision and remember this, he

is an attorney. >> in the wake of that statement one congressman is now calling for hannity to testify under oath. democrat david cicilline who is on the house judiciary committee tweeted, sean hannity is now volunteering himself as a witness. i look forward to his testimony. >> and the president is facing new pressure from senate republicans to withdraw his border emergency declaration. lamar alexander of tennessee is the latest voice of opposition calling the emergency declaration inconsistent with the constitution. but alexander stopped short of revealing whether he would support a resolution to block it. the president has promised to veto the already house approved resolution if it passes the senate. eight years after the raid that killed osama bin laden and the u.s. government now has a price on his son's head. the state department is offering $1 million for help finding him. the younger bin laden has been considered special designated global terrorist since 2017. now to the other big story

mornin the historic flooding on the west coast. northern california is bracing for three more storms with several towns underwater after record rainfall. this morning a state of emergency in wine country. >> this is a mess everywhere. >> the russian river in northern california has turned towns into islands after more than 20 inches of rain pounded the area in just three days. >> you ever seen the water this high? >> no, i've never seen the water this high. >> some residents forced to use paddleboards and rowboats to escape their neighborhoods. >> we had plenty of supplies in the house, but once our water went out, we felt like it was time to leave. >> reporter: this is what guerneville looked like before. now drenched in water. >> oh, my god. i didn't think that structure would get bent over. >> reporter: an estimated 2,000 homes are damaged with the river cresting 13 feet above flood stage. abc's will carr is in sonoma county. >> there are

communities completely surrounded by water. they had started to go down but the bad news is there's more rain in the forecast heading into the weekend. >> reporter: the floods turning deadly and sdwept away a father who drowned trying to reach his children trapped in a barn surrounded by water. rescuers eventually reached his kids by boat. first responders have rescued dozens of people trapped in cars. among those saved a woman who ignored signs warning about impassable roads. >> she was hanging on to a tree. i don't believe it was moving water. swift water teams were able to walk in to her and get her out. she just went around a barricade that said "road closed." >> the russian river is finally receding but more rain is on the way for the region. let's take a look now at today's forecast. good morning. a snowy start to our friday for many in the northeast including baltimore, philly and new york. once you get south of d.c., we're talking rain as

temperatures will be a bit warmer. eventually that storm becomes a problem for southern new england as we head into our saturday. we're talking 1 to 3 inches of snow for places like boston. meanwhile, on the west coast another storm makes its way onshore friday night into saturday. feet of snow into the sierra and this will eventually bring big-time snows in the northeast as we head into the end of the weekend. i'm accuweather meteorologist adam del rosso. coming up, a good excuse to ignore your cell phone today. but first a big change on youtube. why the site is cracking down on comments banning them on certain videos. also, the dramatic video of a rollover crash in florida. and who police are now trying to find. and later the chaos before this ship crashed

we're back with dramatic video of a hit-and-run crash

near sarasota, florida. a car tumbling down this road right here into a parking lot flipping several times before smashing into a concrete wall in a parking lot. the teenager who was inside the car suffered critical injuries. police say the driver of the van that hit the car causing the crash took off from the scene. >> so scary seeing that video. youtube is shutting off the comment sections below nearly all videos featuring children. that move comes amid reports that pedophiles have been leaving inappropriate messages on those pages. that prompted several major companies to pull their ads including epic games, maker of the popular video game fortnite. youtube says it will take several months to disable the comment sections. some sites will allow comments but they must be strictly monitored. oregon has become the first state to approve mandatory rent control to deal with the housing crisis. rent in the city of portland is up more than 30% in the last five years. the lack of affordable housing has been blamed for a surge in

the homeless population. the new law will limit rent increases to once a year and increases cannot exceed 7%. more retailers are closing stores and cutting back as they struggle to keep up with the online shopping craze. the gap and old navy are now splitting into two separate companies and the gap will close 230 locations amid falling sales. and more bad news for jcpenney. as department stores in particular continue to struggle, the company is closing 24 more stores and victoria's secret has announced it's closing 53 additional stores because of declining sales. two major airlines have been hit with fines for delaying passengers on the tarmac. the government has fined american airlines $1 million and delta $750,000. domestic flights are not allowed to sit on the tarmac for more than three hours. international flights are allowed four hours. it is time to disconnect. today is the official national day of unplugging. the day was designated

to urge people to shut off their smartphones and computers and connect with the people around them. it starts this evening and lasts until sundown on saturday. it's the tenth year that people have marked this day and it's becoming more popular. some bad news if you use the weekend to catch up on sleep. that's got us all down, coming up, the effect on your health. but first we have the latest on actor luke perry reportedly suffering a massive stroke at age 52. the surprising risk among young people. and later the unusual reaction one baseball player had when he heard about bryce harper's record $330 million contract. b from any one else. why accept it from your allergy pills? most pills don't finish the job because they don't relieve nasal congestion. flonase sensimist is different. it relieves all your worst symptoms, including nasal congestion, which most pills don't. it's more complete allergy relief. and all from a gentle mist you can barely feel. flonase sensimist helps block six key inflammatory substances.

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the '90s and recently made a comeback. now his age, 52, is raising questions this morning about strokes and who is at risk. >> let me tell you something, just so you know in advance, i'm not in a good mood today. >> reporter: you may know him best as '90s teen heartthrob dylan mckay from "beverly hills 90210." now this morning actor luke perry is hospitalized after reportedly suffering a stroke at his home in los angeles. the los angeles fire department responded to the actor's home wednesday morning. with dispatch audio referring to a stroke patient. >> rescue 78 stroke. >> reporter: a rep for perry tells abc luke perry is currently under observation at the hospital. strokes are a leading cause of disability in the u.s. they occur when there is a sudden interruption in the blood supply to the brain but can also happen when a blood vessel ruptures. according to the cdc, roughly one-third of americans who suffer from a stroke are younger than 65.

the 52-year-old's hospitalization comes on the same day a "90210" reboot was announced starring most of the original cast but not perry who's busy shooting "riverdale." this morning, there is an outpouring of support on social media including perry's former "90210" co-stars. shannen doherty shared this old photo. doctors warn strokes can strike at any age. the american heart association says they're on the rise in younger people likely because of certain health factors like high blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for stroke. doctors say your risk increases with age and nearly doubles every ten years after age 55. a warning for parents and teachers this morning. school authorities in atlanta say teenagers are now using a popular baking ingredient to get a buzz in class. they say high school students have been mixing vanilla extract with their coffee on their way to class. vanilla extract is 35% alcohol. that's 70 proof. a little less than vodka. one student ended up in the emergency room after drinking the spiked coffee.

this is not a warning you want to hear on a friday. using the weekend to catch up on sleep doesn't work. that's the finding of a new study. researchers say getting extra rest to make up for a sleep deprived workweek may actually hurt you physically. changing your sleep pattern for two days changes your metabolism that can lead to weight gain and diabetes. researchers say you should try your best to get the recommended seven to nine hours a sleep each weeknight. >> very sad news on a friday morning. in sports bryce harper is now baseball's $330 million man and some analysts say that's a bargain. the former rookie of the year and mvp has signed a 13-year deal with philadelphia. his record contract works out to a little more than $25 million per season, but baseball 30 miln the phillies saved about 5 million a year. quite a bargain. meanwhile, harper's new teammate jake arietta posted

this special welcome video breaking out his $225 versace mankini saying he was, quote, getting the house ready for harper. >> a little brotherly love there. and a shocker for the nfl. jason witten is coming out of retirement after one season as a monday night football analyst. 36-year-old witten is returning to the cowboys on a one-year contract worth about $5 million. it will be his 16th season. that's a record. >> oh, good reason to get back to work. up next in "the pulse," an overworked intern who is craving for pizza has made him an internet star. but first the grandmother who got stranded on this iceberg while posing for a vacation photo. and what's behind the push for longer recess at school? smg cold turkey. so chantix can help you quit "slow turkey." along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. with chantix you can keep smoking at first

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♪ come sail away come sail away with me ♪ a little styx for you as we check "the pulse" on this friday and start with the iceberg queen who nearly float the out to sea. >> statute disadvantage was on vacation in iceland when she took a seat on a block of ice, of course, the texas grandmother kicked back while her son snapped the picture of her on her new throne but then a wave came in and the iceberg broke off and started floating away. she says it only sometimes to happen to her. >> it was shaped like an easy place to sit. you can tell by looking at the shape of it and i thought, well, that looks like fun, and i started to step off but everybody said don't, don't step off yet because it was getting deeper and they were thinking that they would wait until the water receded, so i thought it would be quite fun, you know. i've always wanted to be queen. i mean, come on, that was my chance.

>> it was her chance, and she took it. a man who is a licensed boat captain was nearby and eventually helped her get back to shore. she said three of her fen posed on the ice and everything went fine for them. >> even grandmas like to do for the gram. >> all for the gram. you know what they say about all work and no play. that's why parents are pushing schools to have longer recess. >> i'm for it. connecticut is now considering a bill that would require elementary schools to provide at least 50 minutes of undirected play time a day following a similar law in arizona. parents say a shorter recess period that would have made kids relentless and restless and cranky -- they would would also be relentless in torturing you -- longer play time at an early age fosters creative thinking and problem solving. speaking of kids, dr. seuss has a new book. how about that. "dr. seuss horse museum" is based on an unfinisheduthorwho 1

>> a friendly horse takes a group of students on a tour of an art museum and features horse artwork by jackson pollack and picasso. obviously not a work of fiction. dr. seuss still dropping the hits. >> after all these years. finally, you guys, this is good. the viral moment outside wednesday's michael cohen hearing on capitol hill has sparked a new meal. >> take a look at the hallway pizza guy. he was caught scaring down lunch behind a reporter on live tv. the pizza company has added hallway pizza to its menu in his honor. >> if you've heard of &pizza. this hallway pizza spiced with spicy tomatoes, salami, italian sausage, barbecue sauce putting together quite a pizza and he was going to town. those poor interns, they don't get to eat very much so as soon

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hi everyone. good morning. it is friday, march 1st. >> yes. >> wow. already march and already friday. thank goodness. >> already? >> all of it is good. finally friday. >> that's more like it. >> guess what? more rain in the forecast. >> why not end the way we started. it won't be an atmospheric river. that's next week. here's a look at a dry live doppler 7. on dry pavement. hopefully yours is the same. nothing is falling from those clouds yet. let's take a look at temperatures. low to upper 40s in most neighborhoods. we have los gatos, a littl cooler at 39. brentwood, one of the warm spots at 48 degrees. here's what to expect. upper 50s to low 60s. even a 63 in san jose and morgan hill. >> we're starting off fairly

quiet on the roads, mike. looking live at the bay bridge toll plaza. 427 we have a stackup in the cash lanes on the left side. they should get a few more open soon and fastrak, you will not have any delays. want to take you up to novato. we have a full closure of westbound state route 37 between 101 and atherton. of course, due to flooding. look at a few pictures posted yesterday. does not look like it's opening any time soon. they're working around the clock to keep the eastbound side open as well. >> so you know the drill by now. state route 115 to 121 or take the richmond-san rafael bridge instead. people in guerneville and other communities flooded are expected to be allowed to go back home later today. >> the russian river continues to recede after reaching 46 feet wednesday night. 30 teams of damage inspectors plan to go to the flooded

communities after the water drops below flood stage. they expect that to happen by this afternoon and then residents will be allowed to return. there are no reports of any deaths or injuries from the flooding. sky 7 flew over monte rio. you can see with our technology, exactly which streets are still underwater. reporter wayne freedman spoke with people who live along the russian river as they begin to assess the damage. >> reporter: in flooded guerneville, there were two ways of getting around. one small and the other large and in these circumstances, neither ideal. an army national guard truck showed firsthand how floodwaters made strange bedfellows. this community has seen floods before but where some residents still acted surprised. >> 46 feet, it's crazy. >> you sound like you didn't believe it. >> no, i didn't.

no. >> you believe it now? >> hell yes. >> that's hell as in high water, block after block. porches double as docks. wendell is glad he raised his house after the flood of '97. >> how high was the water? >> right about maybe four steps up. >> from where you are? >> yeah. so the step i'm stepping on it would have been underwater. >> reporter: here's how the flood looked and sounded. matt leonardo shot this. >> how much more room did you have? >> until it got in our house? >> yeah. >> maybe four feet. but we're a three on story house. >> guerneville still exists on paper at least, wet