and this morning a plan that would impact every driver in san francisco. the push to lower the speed limit to just 20 miles per hour. good morning. it is wednesday, november 13th. >> you're never more than seven minutes away from your accuweather forecast. mike? >> the fog formed along the coast once again, as we talked about yesterday, this increase in the sea breeze today would push it up the coast through the golden gate and over to the east bay where it is spreading north and south along the east bay shoreline. that will be around for the morning commute. it will be tougher. 48 to 50, the temperatures are mild by november standards for the morning. notice the cloud cover will keep us in the onshore breeze cooler at the coast. 65 to 67 around the bay. still trying to squeeze out 70s for one last day before a big cooling trend tomorrow. i'll talk about that coming up in the seven-day forecast. here's jobina. >> good morning, everyone. we have a sigalert because of a

two-car crash on the upper deck of the bay bridge. this will make for a messy commute for anyone coming from the east bay into san francisco. you can see the flashing lights there. the backup is extending into the tunnel here. if you take out the map here. you can see where this is. and also where that backup is. look at that. the crash is after treasure island. that backup is extending further and further towards the toll plaza. here are the speeds for everyone. 11 and 21 miles per hour. so slow ride for you this morning. be careful out there. >> thanks. at abc7 news we're focused on ways to building a better bay area. one issue we all face is making city streets safe. >> welcome to life in the slow lane. a group in san francisco is pushing the city to lower all speed limits to 20 miles per

hour. they say this is an effort to save lives. lauren martinez has the details on this. lauren? >> the resolution does not mean that speed limits will be immediately changing in san francisco. the resolution was passed by the pedestrian safety advisory committee last night. from here it will go to the board of supervisors and they will take it into consideration. almost 20 years ago, john local w john lowell was jogging when a speeding car hit him in the mission district. he sustained severe injuries that left him permanently disabled. he thinks san diego needs more signage and physical reminders to slow down. >> i was thrown, i believe, 20 feet in the air and landed on my side and sustained traumatic brain injuries. speed was a factor in the severity of the injuries i sustained.

>> an sfpd traffic inspector says there's been 26 traffic fatalities so far this year. aside from this resolution, there's also vision zero which aims to end to get zero fatalities by 2024. reporting live in san francisco, lauren martinez, abc7 news. we want to hear your ideas about building a better bay area. share them by joining our building a better bay area group on facebook. >> in about an hour, the remains of a korean war veteran will arrive at sfo. he will be greeted by his 92-year-old sister who lives in the bay area. army sergeant first class phillip mendoza was killed during the battle on december 2, 150. his remains were accounted for in august after president trump's summit with north korean leader kim jong-un. mendoza's remains were identified by scientists in the more than 55 boxes turned over by north korea. he will be buried on friday in

dixon in solano county. welcome to life in the slow >> happening today. a three-day hearing starts in iowa where a judge will determine whether the confession of the man accused of killing molly tibbits will be thrown out. she disappeared in july of last year. her body was found in august. christian rivera has been charged with her murder. investigators say he led them to the body. rivera's attorneys say interrogators didn't fully explain his rights to him. new details on a disturbing assault in san francisco's china town. >> mayor london breed says police will increase foot patrols. the attack that happened was caught on video. a suspect got out of a black suv, ripped a cell phone out of the victim's hand and just knocks him out cold. all of the victims are in their 60s.

in addition to more foot patrols, the city is considering a number of other safety improvements for the neighborhood. >> it's been heartbreaking to see what's happening. the targeted violence on our elderly community. >> investigators think the suspects responsible for other the police chief says there are some leads in the case. at the live desk we're getting a live look inside the room where the impeachment hearings will take place today. we saw a flurry of activity. a lot of photographers coming out here. so we're interested to see what will happen in the next few minutes. there might be someone inside the room here. to get an idea of what will be happening today, one of the witnesses is bill taylor. the current top diplomat in ukraine. he told house investigators that the administration withheld aid to ukraine over political investigations. democrats are trying to prove their claim that the president pressured ukraine's leader to investigate his rivals. special live coverage of the impeachment hearings begins

around 7:00 a.m. right here on abc7. reggie? >> thanks. today is the last day for democratic presidential candidates to qualify for the next debate, which is coming up in a week. that comes as a new poll by monmouth university shows that south bend, indiana mayor pete buttigieg moved to the top of the field among likely iowa cauc caucusgo caucusgoers. he's at 22%. joe biden at 19%. elizabeth warren at 18%. you have to take into account that less than one-third of caucusgoers say they are furmly s firmly confident of their choice. hillary clinton said she is being pressured to run in 2020. clinton says she has no plans to enter the race, but she'll never say never to another run. an alert this morning for costco members. a deal you might be seeing on

social media is fake. right now at sfo, it's cloudy but looking at haze, which means fog is on the way. in fact the sea breeze and the extra fog is not as warm today. temperatures still above it takes a village to raise to build a bridge. to throw a baseball... to throw yourself into the unknown. to lose fear, to create hope.

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we're coming up on 6:10. temperatures in the upper 40s to low 50s for moth of the south

bay. 53 and 56. 404 in santa teresa and morgan hill. alameda, 53. cooler up in the north bay. you can see the fog and the sea breeze trying to swallow san francisco. it's a little bit cooler and then comfortable. if you're out and about today, not as warm as it has been. exercising, there's low pollen, the fog will linger along the coast. not a great day to be there unless you like it damp and gray. the north bay, 48 this morning. upper 60s by noon. right around 70 for a couple of hours. 56 at 7:00. for the east bay, 50s through 9:00. mid to upper 60s from 11:00 to 5:00. our last stop, san francisco, we barely get out of the 50s today. low to mid 60s from 11:00 to 4:00. we're following a sigalert on the bay bridge. this is a look at the upper deck. this is a live picture. flashing lights there from our

camera. that's because there's a two-car crash there. injuries are reported. two lanes are blocked. you can get a good idea of the backup. we know it's extending more than two miles right now because this backup is well into the tunnel. the crash is not until you get on the other side of the tunnel. as we bring up the map, you can get an idea of the speeds people are dealing with. down to 10 and 9 miles per hour on the upper deck of the bay bridge. please make sure to maybe try mass transit if you can. it will be a long

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breaking news from the live desk, a massachusetts firefighter died this morning

while trying to help his crew get out of a burning home. lieutenant jason menard leaves behind a wife and three children. fire officials say the firefighters were searching for a baby who had been reported trapped on the third floor. the baby was not there. officials say menard guided his men to safety overnight but he couldn't escape the flames. the atf joined the investigation to find out more on the cause of the fire. san francisco is taking a big step to tackle the mental health crisis. the mayor joined supervisors to unveil the program they call a groundbreaking effort. it would provide universal mental health treatment to people who live in the city regardless of their ability to pay. mayor breed says the goal is to reach vulnerable populations. >> what happens when someone is a schizophrenic? what happens when someone other things? what are we doing to make sure that we are helping those people and meeting them where they are? this is where we need to go as a city.

this is where we need go as a country. >> both the mayor and city supervisors have put out competing plans. the new program is a result of months of negotiations. an ice cream heist has gone viral. >> you be the vujudge. was this a setup? this is at a veterans day nhl game in charlotte, north carolina. a man is grabbing someone's ice cream cone and taking a bite. it looks like he attempts to put it back as the victim turns around and starts smiling. people on the internet are speculating the whole thing is staged. we have found out the two men are friends. that's fun. >> it is. >> people having fun doing things at games. >> staged.

>> staged. >> nothing is real anymore. >> two for staged. let's look at what's going on. look what's going across sausalito and heading over belvedere and tiburon. that's low clouds. it's punching through the golden gate bridge and down in the south bay gorgeous sunrise. not as much fog here until you get around san martin. we will have more clouds today a stronger sea breeze and cooler temperatures this afternoon. thicker clouds tonight. a couple areas of drizzle. that's about the only rain i can find in the forecast. warm surge this weekend with near record highs possible sunday. low clouds wiare the brighter ones. the high clouds are the darker ones. you can see atten int enoon, th

still fog over the bay. you may need sunglasses from time to time. they'll be a main stay in the forecast. even with that, temperatures are still above average today. mid to upper 60s around the bay. low 60s at the coast. tonight, some green. some drizzle along the coast. east bay hills, temperatures in the mid 40s and mid 50s. overnight, it will be mild. tomorrow, temperatures in the 50s and 60s. that's average. it reverses friday. by sunday we're nearing 70 at the coast. mid 70s around the bay. 80 inland. we will taper and a big pattern change will bring temperatures back to average starting wednesday of next week. we'll see if there's rain with that coming up. here's jobina. >> i just checked, the drive time to get across the bay bridge into san francisco is 44 minutes. that's because of a sigalert we're following. if you look closely on our screen. you can see the blue flashing lights from the police department. here's that backup that is extending further than two miles, that's because of a

two-car crash on the upper deck of the bay bridge. injuries have been reported. emergency responders are there. it's going to it be a while until we see this cleared up. if i pull up the map here, you can get an idea of the exact location and the speeds. the crash is on the other side of treasure island. the backup extends well beyond that. speeds here are 9 and 7 miles per hour. that's how fast people are moving across the bridge. we'll keep you posted on this. it will make for a messy commut commute. >> relief for residents of treasure island. officials have approved a plan to exempt current residents from the new $3.50 toll in order to access the island. the exemption will last until the first 4,000 new homes on the island are completed. that's expected to happen in 2029. a final approval suspected next week. new at 6:00 a.m., nike will stop selling its products directly on amazon. the two companies started a pilot program in 2017. nike has recently seen a lot of

change. its ceo stepped down last month. the company says they want to focus on elevating consumer experiences through more direct personal relationships. aka they're mad at vacation at sea, there's a list of the best cruise lines. >> royal caribbean came in first with zip lines, ice skating rink rinks. celebrity cruises is number two followed by norwegian. the best times to book a cruise are january, february and march much that's when you will get the best prices. >> if you don't need a water slide, celebrity. if you think you need a water slide, go for the royal caribbean. >> okay. new developments in a controversy over apple's new

credit card. the new changes being made. and a colin kaepernick comeback. the

hope was in the models

yesterday as they teased us. the u.s. model, it teased us with an inside slider and some snow. next wednesday in tahoe, look at that. absolutely nothing today. then the european went one step further, it teased us with snow in the sierra and rain at home. today nothing. . that's how it goes, mike. new developments, goldman sachs says they will re-evaluate credit decisions after accusations of gender bias. >> a card holder in new york complained after he got a much higher spending limit on his card even though his wife has better credit. goldman sachs says they don't assign credit based on gender. now a warning for costco customers about a deal that's too good to be true.

costco says a $75 coupon people are sharing on social media is a hoax. the company is not giving away $75 coupons. costco posted a message on its facebook page urging people to stop sharing this. costco says we love our fans and members, this offer is a scam. the coupon claims everyone who shares it will be sent a $75 coupon. it's not true. sounds fun, but it's a no. >> what do you have to do to get the coupon? do you have to give your information? >> i don't even know. >> just leave it alone. former niners quarterback colin kaepernick will hold a workout for nfl teams on friday. >> according to adam schefter the league arranged the session which will be held in atlanta it will include one on-field work and an interview. the 32-year-old has not played in the nfl since 2016. colin kaepernick said i've been in shape and ready for this for three years. can't wait to see the head coaches and gms on saturday. coming up next at 6:30, vice president mike pence is heading to the bay area. we'll tell you where he'll be visiting tomorrow. how do you think pg&e

handled the power outages? there's a meeting today all about that. i'm amy hollyfield. i'll have the details coming up. plus the reason tho

now at 6:30, impeachment showdown. democrats taking their investigation into president trump public starting today. >> there are any number of potential ly impeachable offenses. >> the president telling supporters -- >> don't worry about it. >> what to expect when the hearings start. holding pg&e accountable for last month's mass power outages across the state. the vote today that could launch a new phase in the fight to keep your lights on. and thousands off the job across the state. the demands being made. and the local company

offering to pay you to move. >> we'll set you up in a community with other like-minded remote workers. >> it's an offer has could help ease the bay area's housing crisis. >> good morning, everyone. it is wednesday, november 13th. >> we'll start with jobina. there's still a mess on the bay bridge. >> such a mess unfortunately for people heading from the east bay into san francisco. so we pulled up this red circle for you so you can take a close look and see those flashing lights. those are emergency crews on the upper deck of the bay bridge. there's a two-car crash. injuries have been reported two lanes are blocked now. look at the backup extending from the tunnel at this point. the backup goes all the way to the toll plaza. so if you have not left your house this morning, it might be a good idea to check out mass transit, maybe bart this morning. it's going to be a slow ride for you. what we're seeing is the crash is on the other side of treasure

island. look at that backup. you can see everything there. i'm seeing that the ride now across the bay bridge, 47 minutes. here are the speeds. 9 miles per hour and 7 miles per hour. it's going to be slow. >> ouch. >> yeah. >> hello, b.a.r.t. hi, everybody. here's the visibility. the fog is thick along the coast. let me show you the wind patterns. you can see it's moving up the coast, down the coast, through the golden gate and also spreading southward into the bay. here's a look at it from mount tam. fingers of fog, whether they're rolling across sausalito, tiburon, belvedere through the golden gate and headed across the east bay. it's mild. 48 to 50. we'll stay around 58 around the coast. above average because of a sea breeze. let's go back to jobina.

>> over at the live desk, we're waiting for the first public impeachment hearing to get under way in just about 30 minutes. this is a look inside the room now. you can see all the activity here. we watched lots of photographers and other people walk inside. things r. gare getting busy. william taylor, the top diplomat in ukraine talked about a concerted effort to use military aid to ukraine as leverage for political gain. here's dan abrams. >> taylor used the word wcrazy when he was texting about what was happening here. the question is going to be do the republicans try to suggest that what taylor is saying isn't true or will they say it doesn't matter? that's the key distinction there. doesn't matter would be he wasn't on the calls. he's unelected. what he thinks shouldn't be relevant. >> the white house is preparing to launch a rapid response team to react to the public testimonies in realtime.

another public hearing is scheduled on friday. >> we'll be watching. abc news has special coverage starting in less than 30 minutes. that's 7:00 a.m. right here on abc7. you can also watch on our abc7 news app if you're heading out the door. vice president mike pence will arrive in the bay area tonight after making fund-raising appearances in orange county and monterey county. this afternoon he will deliver remarks at a trump victory dinner. tomorrow he speaks to nasa employees. he'll return to washington, d.c. after his speech in mountain view. a formal investigation could be launched today into how pg&e handled its public safety power shutoffs. >> the california public utilities commission is set to meet in a few hours and decide whether to move forward. amy hollyfield is live in orinda, just one of the cities impacted by the shutoffs. amy? >> good morning. this is one of many cities that will probably watching the cpuc

meeting closely as they decide whether to look into pg&e. if you have opinions, today is a good day to express them. the cpuc got an earful on thursday during the public comment section of its meeting as people expressed their disappointment in pg&e's power shutoffs. more than 1 million californians were impacted by last month's power outages. pg&e turned off the power in an effort to keep the lines from sparking fires. a watchdog group says the power outages hurt people and businesses. >> we heard a lot of government representatives talking about the costs, the costs to the governments themselves to provide emergency services, the costs to small businesses. >> today the cpuc will vote on whether to launch an investigation into the power outages, and whether the shutoffs prioritized public safety and followed regulations. that meeting is set for 10:00 this morning in san francisco.

if you can't attend, you can ask questions via email. you can find that link on abc7news.com. live in orinda, amy hollyfield, abc7 news. new developments in the case of a deadly shooting in vallejo involving an off-duty officer. >> an attorney for the victim's family said the officer got preferential treatment at the crime scene. eric reason was shot over an argument over a parking space. the attorney says this photo shows the man who killed reason, richmond police sergeant virgil thomas, is standing over his body and it appears like the sergeant was either taking video or pictures. >> he shouldn't have been anywhere near mr. reason. vallejo police department was on scene. he should have been whisked away. he shouldn't have been standing there. they shouldn't have been allow him to be near. he is disrupting a crime scene. >> vallejo's first black police

chief will oversee this investigation. chief williams was sworn in yesterday. he didn't comment on the shooting. thousands of university of california workers are set to strike today. the union representing 25,000 uc workers says the one-day strike is in response to efforts to outsource jobs. those position include service and patient care technical workers. uc says union leaders are spreading false information about job outsourcing. strikes are scheduled for all ten uc campuses and five medical centers. high school teachers and staff in west sonoma county will also be striking today. 110 teachers and staff at analy, elmo lena and what gun thlaguna schools will strike. the district serves around 1,800 students. the main sticking point in negotiations is pay. coming up, a possible solution for tech workers who struggle to afford living in the bay area. one company is offering an

incentive to leave. and the effort to create 20-mile-per-hour speed limits in san francisco is moving forward. >> and you're looking live at the big board. we're down about 20 points as we get the day started. >> you're never more than seven minutes away from your accuweather forecast. here's mike. >> thank you very much. we'll start with neighborhood temperatures. high clouds dominating the peninsula. fog moving through the san bruno gap. most of us in the mid to upper 40s. 45 to 49, san mateo, san bruno. san carlos, 52. hayward, oakland, san francisco, concord, antioch, san jose in the low 50s. the rest of us in the mid to upper 40s. los gatos at about 63. here's a look from the east bay hills. the fog and the haze is out there. the fog coming across the bay hitting the east bay hills. mainly moving south. there's more fog for your morning commute. cool to mild today, not a warm day. it should not be.

the east bay, 50s through 9:00. 60s through 11:00. some low 70s in the salliey sals afternoon. peninsula, 58 at 9:00, mid to upper 60s from 11:00 to 5:00. everybody needs a jacket during the evening hours, 50s and 60s will dominate. the south bay, 61. before we get there, low 70s for a couple hours. those high clouds going to dim our sunshine that will aid in the cooling trend. serious situation out on the roads. hundreds of thousands of people could be affected. that's how many people use the bay bridge. >> i know. the good neu news is the sigale has been canceled but the damage has been done. we'll show you a live look at our caltrans camera out there. people headed into san francisco this morning, it's a slow ride because of a two-car crash that was initially blocking two lanes there. injuries have been reported. that's been cleared up but the

ride is slow. if i pull up the map there, you can get an idea of what you're facing. the crash happened on the other side of treasure island that sigalert canceled. speeds of 7 miles per hour across the bay bridge. unfortunately not very good. i will keep you of the new floor & decor don't miin milpitas. opening if you have never been to a floor & decor, you have to go to the grand opening. hardwoods, laminates, tile or stone. holy smokes, this place is huge! i'm on a budget and i was able to go to floor & decor, and save a lot of money.

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all right. 6:42 on this wednesday. yeah. if you're heading off to school,

temperatures are 48 to about 52 through 7:00. you can see 57 to 67 at 11:00. 50s, 60s, 70s at 3:00. cool to mild temperatures from the coast inland. fog from cambria down. if you're traveling through san diego or l.a., we have some dense fog here until 9:00. temperatures during the afternoon hours, hazy sunshine. 70 and 73. 66 at monterey. mid to upper 70s through the central valley. warmer than average in tahoe. they're making snow but mother nature is not bringing any. happening right now, this is a live look from capitol hill where at 7:00 this morning the public impeachment hearing against president trump will start. abc news will have live coverage of the hearing when it starts. we're hearing that it is expected to begin in the next few minutes. so around 6:50 this morning. make sure you stay with us. we'll bring you the latest when abc news starts their coverage we'll send you over to them.

so you can watch that live news coverage. >> we'll keep watching that. oakland a's pitcher, mike fiers says his team used a camera to steal signs. he said this happened in the 2017 season when the astros won the world series. he said he warned his teammates that the astroed used the camera in midfield, piped the feed into the dugout and relayed the information to the hitters. welcome to life in the slow lane. a group of people in the city are trying to lore speed limbs to 20 miles per hour. lauren martinez has the details on this. >> safety advocates want to make 20 miles per hour the default speed throughout this city. a move that will obviously impact every driver here.

now, last night at city hall the pedestrian safety advisory committee approved a resolution to set the maximum speed limits at 20 miles per hour city-wide. this is all to prevent accidents from happening. an sfpd traffic inspector said there were 26 traffic fatalities so far this year, higher than last year. 16 of those deaths have been pedestrians. marta lynsie with a non-profit showed up at the meeting last night. >> if you're hit by a vehicle traveling 20 miles per hour, you have a 90% chance of living. if a vehicle is going 40 miles per hour, which doesn't sound that fast, right? you have a 20% chance of survival. >> speed is regulated by a state law that bases speed limits on how fast 85% of drivers are going in a specific area. the resolution will now go to

the board of supervisors who may consider it. this does not mean that speeds will immediately change in san francisco. reporting live in san francisco, lauren martinez, abc7 news. >> thank you. now to our morning money report. facebook is taking on apple pay and pay pal. >> the company is combining the payment systems used by all its platforms including facebook, instagram and whatsapp. the new service is called facebook pay. it rolls out this week. san francisco is taking the next step to opening a public branch. supervisor sandra fewer introduced legislation to introduce a task force to create a business plan to launch the bank. the first report on the plan would be due in june. then it would take years to get a bank opened. a live look at the new york stock exchange. we tumbled more since we last looked at it. down about 55 points. the high cost of living and

working in silicon valley is the focus of our effort to building a better bay area. >> maybe the solution is just moving away. a san jose start up is working with tech companies to offer $10,000 bonuses to remote workers. main street co-founder douglas ludlow says the companies they work with are ready to pay them to help successfully recruit and retain remote talent. as part of the launch main street will pay a $10,000 bonus to anyone who goes through their program and works a minimum of one year. >> silicon valley has become extraordinarily expensive for many families. you're competing with billionaires and millionaires. we'll set you up in a community with other like-minded remote workers. we'll give you support tools to help connect you with your home company. >> man street hopes to open its first coworking office in sacramento next year and then has plans to expand to 500 cities in the next decade. i think this could work if

you're over it. you want to save a bit but still -- >> if they're covering the cost of your moving. >> which is more than 10,000. that's my biggest concern. i hope it works out. we could all use less congestion in our life. >> do we get to name the people? >> sip that tea, reggie. >> my gosh. should i leave now? it's time for weather. that's why i'm leaving the desk. >> awkward. >> i think i got voted off the island. i'm moving, i guess sooner than i thought. >> got 10,000 for it. >> jobina is looking at the bright side. >> jobina doesn't know how much junk i have in my house. look at the fog there, that's taking over san francisco. it's going to be partly sunny and a cooler day because of the sea breeze and because of the fog it's bringing in and the high clouds. it combines to bring us cooler

weather. tonight we'll get some drizzle. coolest tomorrow. near record warmth this weekend. a bit of a roller coaster coming. the gray clouds are the high clouds. the wider clouhither clouds are clouds. those are stubborn through the lunch hour. at the coast, the high cloud also dominate us in the afternoon hours. you'll need the sun glasses from time to time. they try to bring our temperatures back to average. low to mid 60s half moon bay through san francisco. inland around 71 to 73 degrees. tonight, mid 40s to mid 50s. our best chance of drizzle along the coast and up into the east bay hills. 50s and 60s an average day tomorrow. but then look at the 70 at the coast to near 80 inland for flenear record highs on sunday. we have a traffic alert because the bay bridge is recovering from a crash that happened earlier.

this looks good heading into the tunnel. this is a live look from the caltrans camera. this will take you a while to get to this spot. i understand it will take you one hour to get from the toll plaza into san francisco. now you can see from our red line on the map why and where that issue is stemming from. the crash happened on the other side of treasure island. so look at these speeds. 7 and 6 miles per hour from the toll plaza all the way until just about where you get to treasure island. unfortunately it's going to be a long ride. if you have not left the house yet, might be a good time to consider b.a.r.t. >> glad to have the warning. thanks. right now we're taking you back live to washington, d.c. where we are standing by for an abc news special report on the impeachment hearings. this morning we are expecting to hear from the u.s. diplomat to ukraine, bill taylor and deputy assistant secretary of state gornl ken george kent. >> that is set to start at 7:00 a.m. this morning. we may go on a few minutes

early. today's witnesses have already testified in private. this is the first time we'll hear from these two witnesses publicly. the white house is preparing to launch a rapid response team to react to the public testimonies in realtime. >> we take you now to washington, d.c. >> announcer: this is an abc news special report. the house impeachment hearings, now reporting george stephanopoulos. good morning, and welcome to our special coverage of the impeachment of president trump. that is the scene right now, 1,100 house longworth building. where just moments from now, chairman adam schiff will gavel in these public hearings. it's the ultimate check on an american president. anchored on the constitution rarely deployed. trump only the fourth american president to face impeachment.

clinton acquitted by the senate. neither removed from office. richard nixon resigned over the watergate affair facing almost certain conviction by the senate. president trump's fate still unknown. he's the first president to face impeachment as he runs for re-election, and the republicans still holding strong. these hearings authorized just two weeks ago on a party line vote sparked by an explosive moment late last summer when a whistle-blower reported alarm inside the white house on a phone call between president trump and the ukraine president. in that call, he responded to requests for military aid from the president by asking for a favor into his political opponent, joe biden and the democrats. since then, there have been closed door testimony from 15 witnesses. multiple attempts by the president, his administration and his personal lawyer rudy

giuliani to get the ukrainians to announce those investigations in return for a white house meeting and release of that military aid. and now two questions on the table. were the president's efforts an abuse of power that amount to an impeachable offense? did the president commit a second impeachable offense by refusing to cooperate with the investigation? the witnesses today, two career diplomats who have defied the white house by agreeing to testify. george kent, a state official overseeing ukraine policy and william taylor, the top american diplomat in ukraine. i'm joined by our entire team today including "world news" anchor david muir, and it's clear that democrats believe taylor is their star witness. >> no question about that, george. they have carefully chosen these two witnesses and in particular, bill taylor as you point out, the top u.s. diplomat of ukraine, a west point grad, a war veteran, and he has served, and as you know, he was selected

by the trump administration for this role. he was recruited by mike pompeo, and he has already said he had a very clear understanding that that nearly $400 million in u.s. military aid would be withheld from ukraine unless ukraine and the new president there investigated the bidens and said so publicly. he was also the diplomat who testified that he texted another, ambassador sondland saying it would be crazy for that money to be withheld to help president campaign, and on today that's going to come up, are these channels of diplomacy. bill taylor talked at length about this, how there was a regular channel of diplomacy he was apart of, and this was this irregul irregular channel he witnessed as well, and he said that led directly to the president's personal attorney, rudy giuliani. >> for months and months. mary bruce also on capitol hill right now, outside the hearing room. quite a scene right now, mary >> reporter: george, the halls here are absolutely buzzing. both sides here on capitol hill

know that this is a pivotal moment. for democrats today, their goal is to paint a clear and vivid picture of the president's misconduct. they know they have to make a compelling case to the american people that the president abused his power, that it rises to the level of impeachment. i'm told that democrats here are going to be somber, serious and focused and i believe these are their strongest witnesses and they can attest to the impact and pressure on ukraine, and given these officials have worked for both republicans and democrats, democrats feel their character will be hard to impugn, but republicans have also been preparing, holding mock hear rgs, honing their defense, and they will focus squarely on that phone call with the ukrainian leader. they will insist there was no pressure, and there was no conditional arrangement, but george, democrats and witnesses will say that phone call is just part of this story. >> mary, you could see some delays in the proceedings this morning? >> reporter: george, we are preparing for republicans to

start off this morning, but with a little bit of some thee yatri. they are preparing just down the hall, and we know republicans want to hammer away at their demands from the anonymous whistle-blower who sparked this impeachment inquiry. democrats of course, have argued that's redundant and unnecessary given what we now know from the other key witnesses. you are likely to see a little bit of politics to say the least at play here this morning. >> it's a political event, no question. jon karl at the white house. we have seen multiple attacks by the president on the whistle-blower saying he gave a false report even though the whistle-blower's original report has been corroborated by so many witnesses going before the committee. what do we expect from the president and his team today? >> reporter: well, i expect a very aggressive pushback as one senior official told me, george. now we get to fight back, after weeks of closed door hearings. now republicans get to fight back. you see a much more coordinated response than what we have seen in the past. coordination between the white

house and republicans on capitol hill. there's a rapid response operation set up at the white house that will sporespond in realtime, and you'll see aggressive questioning from the republicans in the committee room for one, pointing out both these witnesses today are witnesses who were not on the call with the ukrainian president who had no real direct contact with the president, and george, the president has been working very aggressively to keep republicans in line. keep in mind that the start of this impeachment inquiry, the public inquiry passed with a vote in the house of not a single republican going along with it. all republicans voted no ongoing forward with this inquiry. >> masha is the only republican who would have voted yes. we have dan abrams and kate shaw. also, barbara comstock, also a former member of congress, and let me give with you.

so much here what we're going to see at least, is trying to define and focus on what is an impeachable offense. >> right, and again. technically, congress can determine that for itself, right? anything in theory is an impeachable offense. doesn't need to be a criminal offense. we talk about abuse of power. that's not in the criminal st statutes. that's the congress saying we think this is so bad that the president should be impeached and there is precedent for that, to use something like abuse of power. we have seen it in more than one of the impeachment proceedings. they want -- they have to define this though as you point out. they can't be all over the place. they can't be, and i think you laid it out at the beginning, about the two fundamental issues, but the question is, are the democrats going to be talking about bribery and extortion and other possible crimes that were committed here, or are they going to stay really focused on the issues that you mentioned at the outset which is

abuse of power and contempt of congress? >> kate shaw, of course, an impeachable offense doesn't have to be a crime, but you hear this word bribery more and more. >> bribery is in the constitution. it says it's for treason, bribery, high crimes and misdemeanors. there's no reason you couldn't write an impeachment article that focuses on bribery. you could call it bribery or extortion, an exchange of improper sort is the idea, but i don't think the democrats necessarily have to choose. previous impeachments have involved a number of articles, and have spanned a number of types of conduct. they may be able to try to do both. focus on the specific events and draft a few articles that take a couple of different legal theories. >> the republicans have seemed divided. they seem divided on how they do it. the president calls his phone call perfect, nothing wrong with the phone call. you see republicans in the house starting to say, well, what the

president did was wrong, but it's not impeachable. >> yes, and i think you can't underestimate the sort of partisan rank within this committee because they did the benghazi hearings together. >> in the past. >> in the house, and then-chairman nunes and adam schiff, there's no love lost here, and they're both seein as partisans. i knew henry hyde. he was a friend of mine, and adam schiff is now henry hyde, and this will quickly devolve into a partisan battle, but the democrats open this up really owning the first two hours because the chairman gets to lay out the case. then they have the 45 minutes with their counsel where it looks like they're going to go through documents, tying together the witness testimony, and this is their opportunity really on the public relations front to tell their theory of the case in a comprehensive way that sort of captures the public and changes that partisan dynamic. >> and terry moran, past

televised impeachment hearings, nixon, and bill clinton in 1998, they riveted the country, but this impeachment taking place at an even more divided america. >> reporter: exactly, george. this is going to be a very different impeachment because we as americans are very different, and so the congress is dierent. you go back to the modern era of to impeachment beginning with the watergate hearings in the senate, andi laying out of the evidence. it's a different deal, the sole solemnity. it's for its members and people wanted and aspired to be great largets. i wanted to take a look at the opening statements of the senate watergate committee. here's what howard baker, the top republican --