making news in america this morning, the conversation with president trump overheard at a restaurant. will it make he difference? we look at both sides and what's next as lawmakers prepare for round two of the public impeachment hearings. flooding emergency. one of the best-known places on earth bracing for conditions to get even worse. venice, italy, hit by the highest tide in generations. people now swimming in the city and the main square. the big concern right now. the new charges after a student with autism dies at school. teachers saying they restrained him to protect others. should they be held criminally responsible? the new counterfeit scheme busted.

loads of phony iphones and ipads. millions of dollars lost, how the scammers were lost. the cattle swept out to sea and missing for months turn up alive. country music's biggest night. ♪ >> women taking center stage. ♪ the biggest moments and the big winner. good thursday morning, everyone. thank you for joining us. we begin with the new questions being raised after the first public hearing in the impeachment process. >> the big news from the hearing was when diplomat bill taylor revealed that a member of his staff overheard a phone call from president trump in which the president allegedly asked about the investigations he demanded from ukraine including an investigation into the bidens. >> but the question this morning is whether this newly revealed phone call changes anything. abc's elizabeth hur is in

washington with both sides of the argument and what happens next. elizabeth, good morning. >> reporter: kenneth and janai, good morning. well, democrats say that newly revealed phone call is important because it shows the president was personally involved in the dismissing it as more hearsay. this morning, new questions after that surprising new testimony in the impeachment investigation. >> you swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god. >> reporter: the first two witnesses to publicly answer questions from house investigators, u.s. diplomat in ukraine bill taylor and senior state department official george kent. both men said president trump ordered nearly $400 million in military aid withheld from ukraine for political purposes. >> to withhold that assistance for no good reason other than help with a political campaign made no sense. it was crazy. >> reporter: then came that unexpected revelation from

taylor that in recent days he learned about a phone call allegedly involving the president. taylor says on july 26th, one day after the president's controversial call with ukraine's president, his staffer overheard trump asking u.s. ambassador to the eu, gordon sondland, over the phone about, quote, the investigations. >> mr. sondland told mr. president trump the ukrainians were ready to move forward. following the call with president trump, the member of my staff asked ambassador sondland what president trump thought about ukraine. ambassador sondland responded that president trump cares more about the investigations of biden. >> reporter: president trump says he doesn't remember the conversation. >> i know nothing about that, first time i've heard it. the one thing i've seen that sondland said was that he did speak to me for a brief moment, and i said no quid pro quo. >> reporter: taylor's staffer who allegedly heard the call has now been called to testify but not publicly according to abc's mary bruce.

>> his name is david holmes. and he is expected to be here on friday answering question behind closed doors. he is expected to be grilled about what he overheard in that conversation. and lawmakers are also likely going to have a lot of questions for the man that the president was allegedly talking to, gordon sondland. he never mentioned that conversation to lawmakers. but he has revised his testimony once before. the question now, whether he will revise it again when he testifies here publicly on wednesday. >> reporter: for republicans at the hearing their focus was the end result, that the white house in the end released the military aid to ukraine. but democrats say the aid only started to flow to ukraine after congress launched an investigation. republicans also argue taylor and kent, the star witnesses from wednesday's hearing, are relying on secondhand information. >> ambassador, you were on the call, were you? the president. you didn't listen in on president trump's call? >> i did not.

>> never spoke to chief of staff mick mulvaney. >> no. >> never met the president. >> no. >> reporter: they're attacking the white house for blocking witnesses with firsthand knowledge from testifying including chief of staff mick mulvaney and former national security adviser john bolton. >> the bottom line from the white house perspective after the first day of public hearings is nothing has changed. house democrats are still on the road to impeaching the president but not a single republican shows any indication of breaking ranks. that means that without dramatic changes, there is no way that the senate would vote to remove him and the president's fate will ultimately be determined by voters next november. >> reporter: up next, former ambassador to ukraine, marie yovanovitch. she testifies tomorrow after claiming that she felt threatened by president trump. now, as for thatri fromrepubl democrats said that president trump is welcome at any time to testify and that got a good laugh in the hearing room from lawmakers on both sides. janai.

>> all right, elizabeth, down in washington. thank you for joining us. abc news' live coverage of the impeachment hearings will resume tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. eastern time on air and online. former massachusetts governor deval patrick is expected to jump into the race today for president. his last-minute campaign reverses his earlier decision not to run out of concern for his family. he is expected to file paperwork for the new hampshire primary before tomorrow's deadline. patrick was a popular governor and close ally of former president obama. turning overseas where the mayor of venice, italy, says the worst flooding in more than 50 years has venice on its knees. water is flowing through the city's most famous church. the floodwaters have reached their second highest level in recorded history and blamed for at least two deaths. one man swam across the city's famous st. mark's square. look at him with about 85% of venice now under water. damage estimates are in the

hundreds of millions of dollars. incredible. authorities in the dominican republic are looking for a killer after the gruesome murder of an american teacher. 63-year-old patricia anton worked at a school on the island for six years. tuesday she was found dead in her apartment strangled with her hands and feet tied. her laptop, tv and phone were stolen. no arrests have been reported. a grand jury in colorado says the deadly police shooting of a young black man was justified and now that is sparking calls for a special prosecutor. two colorado springs officers shot 19-year-old devon bailey in the back in august. he and another man were being questioned about a robbery when bailey ran. investigators say he was shot after reaching for his waistband. officers later found he had a gun. prosecutors say they support the grand jury process as well as the officers. >> these are not decisions our officers want to make. it is a dangerous job. they're out there trying to protect themselves and the community. but it is decisions they are trained to make. it's a very unfortunate situation. but we respect their decision and we respect the decision

finding that the officers were justified in this case. >> the baileys' attorneys say the family is considering legal action. colorado's governor and other elected officials have called for an independent investigation. new video this morning of a deadly eight-vehicle crash near tampa, florida. one person was killed on interstate 75. six other people were hurt. at least one of the vehicles involved was a tractor trailer. no word yet on the cause of that crash. turning to the weather, much of the country is eager for a warm-up today after a record cold temperature. let's take a look at your thursday forecast. good morning. another frigid start to our day along the east coast, especially from northern maine down to north carolina where record low temperatures are in jeopardy again for our thursday morning. good news as we head toward the afternoon, we warm up a little, about ten degrees compared to yesterday. still going to be about ten

degrees below average. many spots across the northeast in the 40s. we have some of that chill lingering into the southeast as well but tracking this low bringing some rain to the gulf coast. i'm accuweather meteorologist adam del rosso. coming up, a consumer alert. the new coupon scam targeting shoppers at big box stores. also ahead, something everyone with a cell phone needs to know about public charging stations. why plugging in could drain your bank account. and the parent who just got the longest prison sentence yet in the college admissions bribery scandal.

we are back with a rare moment in the waters off southern california. a young gray whale swam beneath

these unsuspecting surfers near dana point. the whale popped its head up for a moment surprising one surfer who paddled away extra quickly. >> got to get away from that big old thing, very cool. a former insurance executive hit with the longest prison sentence yet in the college admissions scandal. a judge sentenced toby macfarlane to six months behind bars for paying $450,000 to get his son and daughter into usc. the kids were admitted as fake athletic recruits. the judge called macfarlane a thief for taking seats at usc away from other deserving students. 14 people charged in the counterfeit that sold fake iphones and fake ipads imported from china allegedly and intentionally damaged. they were then exchanged for the real items in stores across the united states and china. those items were then shipped back to china and other countries and sold at marked up prices. the scheme cost apple more than $6 million. okay. so you're out and about and need to charge your phone.

here's a warning if you've ever charged your phone at one of those public charging stations. authorities in los angeles are reporting an increase in hacking. they call it juice jacking. hackers load malware into public usb charging stations and the malware transfers to your phone when you begin charging. >> when that plug goes in, if the malware has been loaded onto a module that's connected on the other end of that usb cable, it loads itself into the phone and either can monitor the phone realtime, sometimes download information from the phone, sometimes clone the phone completely, and you don't even have to be using it. >> experts say you can avoid the risk by using an ac power outlet instead of a charging station or use a portable charger so good reminders there. costco is warning customers not to be duped by an offer for a $75 coupon. the company says the coupon making its rounds on social media is a scam. people are being asked to complete surveys and provide personal data including your name, address and phone number. costco says, don't do it?

sounds too good to be true. but this one is definitely true. a new car that sells for $1.7 million. it's missing something. mclaren's alva roadster doesn't have a roof. it also doesn't have any glass. the windshield is created by moving air. it activates when the car travels faster than 25 miles per hour. >> what about when a bird flies over? >> 25 miles an hour, right over. the coolest marriage proposal we have ever seen. >> but first a new court ruling about president trump's tax returns. and up next an athletic or autistic student dies after being restrained at school. should his teacher be held criminally responsible? the charges up next.

mornings were made for better things than rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis. when considering another treatment, ask about xeljanz xr, a once-daily pill for adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis or active psoriatic arthritis

for whom methotrexate did not work well enough. it can reduce pain, swelling, and significantly improve physical function. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections like tb; don't start xeljanz if you have an infection. taking a higher than recommended dose of xeljanz for ra can increase risk of death. serious, sometimes fatal infections, cancers including lymphoma, and blood clots have happened. as have tears in the stomach or intestines, serious allergic reactions, and changes in lab results. tell your doctor if you've been somewhere fungal infections are common, or if you've had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. don't let another morning go by without asking your doctor about xeljanz xr. ♪ back now with more chaos in hong kong. police say protesters using bows and arrows shot officers then dropped flowerpots on police who responded. >> pro-democracy demonstrators also barricaded themselves

inside a chinese university. back here at home we turn now to the school employees in california facing serious charges for the death of a special needs student. >> the 13-year-old died after being restrained at school. this morning several people are coming to the employees' side while the teen's family demands justice. this morning, signs of support outside the courthouse near sacramento for the school employees charged in a student's death. investigators say 13-year-old max benson who had autism stopped breathing after he was physically restrained by a teacher being pinned face down allegedly for nearly two hours out of fear he might hurt others. max died two days later at the hospital. prosecutors say the amount of force used was unreasonable and reckless, and they've charged the school staffers with involuntary manslaughter. >> i'm just pleased as punch that they have been able to find enough evidence to be able to pursue justice and more importantly send a message to people who have been doing these things to stop.

>> reporter: the school was forced to shut down after max's death. one of the women facing charges was recently teaching at another school nearby. now many people are coming to the defense of the employees including kyle mckoy who taught at the same special needs school. >> we were using restraints that were approved by state. we had gone through numerous extend tiff training on how to use those restraints. >> reporter: visibly emotional maximum's family did not answer questions after the hearing. a lawyer for two of the women charged says there was no criminal intent. >> it is always a tragedy when there is a loss of life, especially such a young life and a student. these two women have dedicated literally their entire lives to helping, educating, encouraging and working with special needs students. >> those three female staffers pleaded not guilty. if convicted they could face four years in prison. a new legal setback for president trump in the battle over his tax records. an appeals court has ruled congress can seek eight years of the president's financial

documents. the president had tried to block lawmakers from issuing a subpoena to his accounting firm takehease to the s court. and supreme court justice ruth bader ginsburg is recovering from a stomach bug. she had to miss oral arguments wednesday. her health has been closely watched since she was treated for pancreatic cancer. in sports one of colin kaepernick's former teammates is calling this weekend's workout for the controversial quarterback a sham. kaepernick will work out saturday in atlanta. reports say at least ten teams will be watching. kaepernick hasn't played since the 2016 season. former teammate eric reid questions the league's motives. >> what is kind of your gut sense of saturday, of what the nfl was trying to accomplish and -- >> my gut telling me it's a pr stunt because they've done so many over the past couple years so i'll believe it when i see it. we'll see what happens.

>> both kaepernick and reid took a knee during the national anthem in 2016 to protest racial and social injustice. so a couple in hawaii is now engaged after an epic proposal. check this out. lauren and chris were surfing when he pulled out a ring and popped the question, mind you, he is on a surfboard too. she said yes just before chris dropped the ring in the water. but it was only a stand-in ring, good thinking, chris. the real one back safely on the beach. good thing he thought about that but that, those pictures, holy cow. >> incredible. >> she said yes and then, whoa. fell in the water. up next in "the pulse," any tribute to the chevy chase movie "christmas vacation." and the so-called unicorn

puppy people can't wait to adopt. their smart device. the power to make treatment decisions to customize alerts and alarms to help keep them in range. the power to lower their a1c. all this knowledge... powered by a small wearable. the dexcom g6. cordless. noted. that's a good one. introducing the capital one walmart rewards card. earn unlimited 5% back on everything you buy at walmart online... ♪what's in your wallet?

work is empowering...ronworker. ...but brutal on my skin... ...i use the dove beauty bar. it gets rid of all the dirt... ...while still nourishing my skin. it helps me retain my natural beauty... ...to be both strong and beautiful at the same time. dove cleans and cares beautifully. pronamel repair can actively help repair weakened enamel. it takes minerals and it drives it deep into the tooth's surface. pronamel repair takes it to the next level.

♪ all right. time to check "the pulse." we begin with a big night for women and country music at the cma awards. >> co-hosts reba mcentire, carrie underwood and dolly parton opened the show with a nod to the past. the trio sang a song from an album parton recorded 32 years ago. >> then they were joined on stage by a roster of female superstars including tonya tucker, martina mcbride and newcomer maren morris. independence day." >> morris also won album of the year and garth brooks once again took home the night's top prize, entertainer of the year.

okay, well, now to the surprise, a four-legged find in the carolinas. >> whoa. three cows that were believed to be washed out to sea during hurricane dorian have been found along the outer banks. how about that? they apparently wound up there after swimming up to five miles to escape the storm surge back in september. >> the cows are part of a herd that live on one of the islands. next it's something new for fans of the griswolds. >> national lampoon's christmas vacation turns 30 this year and now there's a ceramic village inspired by the movie and the overdecorated house and the griswold family car with their uprooted christmas tree. >> and of course cousin eddie in his motor home. the 1989 movie starringchase ha classic. the ceramic village is on sale on amazon. and finally the star of the internet right now is narwhal the puppy. >> ten weeks old being called the unicorn puppy. you see why because of the small growth on his forehead that looks like a tail. >> the rescue service that found him says

they've been flooded by people looking to adopt him. they say he is perfectly healthy. >> he's also perfect. >> so cute. 3 after trying it for a week, dovlike crystal.ials underarms are so smooth to the touch and i love that fresh smell i feel amazingly protected i'm definitely feeling more confident

would you switch? wheyou want relief... fast. only thermacare ultra pain relieving cream has 4 active ingredients to fight pain 4 different ways. get powerful relief today, with thermacare. the roomba i7+ with cleanng base automatic dirt disposal and allergenlock™ bags that trap 99% of allergens, so they don't escape back into the air. if it's not from irobot, it's not a roomba™

dispute between b.a.r.t. and a man cited for eating a sandwich is going from a protest to legal action. >> no more closures! >> it was a wild night in oakland as the school board meeting gets shut down again. day one of public impeachment hearings bring new revelations about president trump's new campaign to pressure ukraine to dig up dirt on joe biden and his son. >> jobina, i know you're following breaking political news from the live desk. >> yes. we're talking about deval ptrick this morning entering the race. >> another one. >> another one. >> every time one drops out, another one says i'll take his

spot. >> yes. >> all right. we don't have a lot of drizzle reported yet. we don't have a lot of fog. there's a system knocking on our door that could bring us sprinkles heading into the afternoon hours. most of us in the low 50s. a little green off the coast. that's the chance of a sprinkle reaching the ground. temperatures today nearing 60 at the coast. low to mid 60s around the bay. mid to upper 60s inland. that's close to average. jobina? >> all right. good morning, a live look at the bay bridge toll plaza. cash lanes are stacking up here. everything else is moving smoothly. we're not seeing many problems on our roads, which is great news as we kick off this morning commute. hopping over to our drive times, it looks like our drive times are not appearing at the moment,

so i'll send it back to you and we'll keep up with this when i come back. >> thank you. happening today, an attorney is expected to file a lawsuit against b.a.r.t. after an officer detained a man eating breakfast on a b.a.r.t. platform. >> he said b.a.r.t. officers engaged in racial profiling. >> amy hollyfield is live at the pleasant hill b.a.r.t. station where this all happened. good morning, amy. >> good morning. it happened on the platform here at this station. we're here this morning to ask commuters as they start arriving for their train their reaction to this latest development. that man eating his sandwich on the platform is suing b.a.r.t. steve foster is accusing the officer who stopped him and handcuffed him as racial profiling. this video was taken by foster's girlfriend. the officer told foster that eating is not allowed. he said he walked away, came back to find foster still

eating. foster admitted to yelling obscenities and homophobic slurs. the cop cuffed him but he was late he r released. we have a protest planned for this saturday. organizers are calling for people to eat sandwiches on b.a.r.t. we'll get a reaction from commuters and hopefully a reaction from b.a.r.t. to this lawsuit. amy hollyfield, abc7 news. >> it is a story that is not going away. time is 4:30. if you're just joining us, good morning. we'll get a quick update on weather and traffic where you live. let's look at our day planner. temperatures through the mid 50s through 7:00. staying in the mid to upper 50s at the coast. low 60s with increasing clouds and a chance of sprinkles. more likely