america this morning. making news in america this morning, fight night on the debate stage in las vegas. the candidates on the attack. targeting newcomer michael bloomberg. >> a billionaire who calls women fat broads and horsefaced lesbians and, no, i'm not talking about donald trump. >> who landed the fiercest punches and this morning the state of the race. what we learned overnight. also developing this morning, the man president trump has chosen to become the nation's top intelligence officer and why the choice is so controversial. breaking overnight, shooting rampage in europe. several dead. two crime scenes under investigation. the suspect's body found. what police are revealing.

plus, high-wire rescue. a paraglider gets tangled up in these power lines for hours. abc news exclusive, the congresswoman forced to resign because of a sex scandal speaks out against so-called revenge porn. and the bizarre story about facebook's ceo mark zuckerberg and what he does before speeches. >> good thursday, everyone. thank you for joining us. we begin with the democrats taking aim at each other during the most fiery debate of the campaign so far. >> former new york mayor mike bloomberg took some of the sharpest attacks, especially over his treatment of women and the stop and frisk policy he once supported. >> but everyone was in the firing lane with several heated moments. political watchers say senator elizabeth warren may have had her best debate so far getting a major boost in fund-raising overnight. >> she launched her first attack and this is the cover of the "the new york post"

this morning withes headline black and bloom. on the las vegas strip, the gloves came off almost immediately. >> i'd like to talk about who we're running against, a billionaire who calls women fat broads and horsefaced lesbians, and, no, i'm not talking about donald trump. i'm talking about mayor bloomberg. >> reporter: for the first time billionaire mike bloomberg on stage with the other candidates. >> i'm a new yorker. i know how to take on an arrogant con man like donald trump that comes from new york. >> reporter: bloomberg has spent a record $400 million so far on campaign ads. he's not even on the ballot in nevada this weekend and hasn't won any delegates, still bloomberg was the prime target. >> mr. bloomberg had policies in new york city of stop and frisk which went after african-american and latino people in an outrageous way. >> reporter: the former new york mayor punching back. >> i've sat, i've apologized. i've asked for forgiveness but

the bottom line is that we stopped too many people, but the policy -- we stopped too many people, and we've got to make sure that we do something about criminal justice in this country. there is no great answer to a lot of these problems and if we took off everybody that was wrong on this -- off this panel, everybody that was wrong on criminal justice at some time in their careers, there would be nobody else up here. >> reporter: with less than two weeks until super tuesday, the candidates pitched their ideas to the american people. >> i'm the only one on this stage that actually got anything done on health care. okay. >> reporter: and they were pressed on the fundamental question of capitalism versus democratic socialism. >> mike bloomberg owns more wealth than the bottom 125 million americans. that's wrong. that's immoral. >> this is ridiculous. we're not going to throw out capitalism. we tried that. other countries tried that. it was called communism, and it just didn't work. >> reporter: then senator elizabeth warren had this blistering attack on bloomberg on allegations of sexism.

>> anybody that does anything wrong in our company, we investigate it, and if it's appropriate, they're gone that day. in city hall, the person that's the top person my deputy mayor was a woman, and 40% of our commissioners were women. >> i hope you heard what his defense was. i've been nice to some women. [ applause ] that just doesn't cut it. he has gotten some number of women, dozens, who knows, to sign nondisclosure agreements both for sexual harassment and for gender discrimination in the workplace. so, mr. mayor, are you willing to release all of those women from those nondisclosure agreements so we can hear their side of the story? [ applause ] >> we have a very few nondisclosure agreements. >> how many is that? >> let me finish. >> how many is that? >> none of them accuse me of doing anything other than maybe they didn't like a joke i

told, and let me jt -- let me -- there's agreements between two parties that wanted to keep it quiet and that's up to them. they signed those agreements and we'll live with it. >> the question now is will this debate change the race? >> that's a good one. we asked our political director rick klein. >> kenneth and kimberly, this was by far the feistiest debate we've seen in the election cycle. it was mike bloomberg's debut and he was attacked viciously by his opponents over his wealth, over his treatment of women. over his running of a company and of the city of new york. all of those things coming into the open. and i think reflecting the reality that all of the democrats recognize that this could be a two-person race very quickly. bloomberg's positioned well and so is senator bernie sanders. he was attacked, self-described democratic socialist having what the other candidates view as unrealistic plans and all of it came out. simply unloading, elizabeth warren scattershot. pete buttigieg also attacking. it seemed like none of the candidates wanted to leave anything on the table and all recognize from here the pace of the campaign picks up.

it is going to be hard to catch a candidate who gets an early lead and all that could happen quickly. kenneth and kimberly. >> what a night. thank you, rick, and we'll have more coverage and analysis of last night's debate throughout the day on our streaming channel abc newslive. but now to our other big story. it's sentencing day for president trump's longtime adviser roger stone. his case has been at the center of the public tensions between the president and attorney general william barr. abc's andrew dymburt is at the courthouse in washington, d.c. where the sentence will be handed down. andrew, good morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning, and roger stone is guilty in the eyes of the law. there's no question about that but could he walk free as a potential presidential pardon in the works? earlier this week we've seen the president pardon a few other people but would he pardon roger stone? if he did that would be the most notable problem because stone has direct ties to the president. last year stone was convicted for witness tampering, lying to congress and obstructing a congressional investigation, all stemming from that mueller probe and the russian interference

into the 2016 election. now, the president has been critical of stone, constantly tweeting on this ongoing case, and the attorney general has said those tweets make his job impossible. prosecutors had originally pushed for up to nine years for stone. but the doj called that recommendation extreme and excessive so back out here live, the question will be how long will the sentencing be and will it even matter, or is another presidential pardon in the works? kenneth, kimberly. >> we will see. our big thanks to andrew dymburt there live in washington. president trump has chosen a new acting director of national intelligence. richard grenell is currently the ambassador to germany and is a longtime supporter of the president. he has little experience in intelligence but he won't need senate confirmation because he'll only be acting director. breaking overnight, fears of a far right link in the deadly shooting rampage in germany. federal prosecutors there announced they're taking over the investigation to last night's massacre in the city of hanau which left 11 people dead

including the gunman. it comes amid german media reports that he left behind letters expressing right wing conspiracy theories. nine people killed at two hookah bars. the shooter and another person found dead in his home. prosecutors plan to provide more information today. and we're tracking several developments in the coronavirus emergency. two passengers taken off the "diamond princess" cruise ship in japan have now died of the virus. both were japanese citizens. the virus is now spreading in south korea where the mayor of a large city is now urging everyone to stay indoors, and here in the u.s., a dozen more american passengers from the "diamond princess" cruise ship are being treated or monitored for the virus. turning to the weather, whiteout conditions are blamed for this highway pileup involving about 200 cars and trucks near montreal. two people were killed and 69 were injured. meanwhile, here at home more flooding in the south. this dog had to be rescued along a flooded river in tennessee. let's take a look now at your thursday forecast.

good morning. we're tracking yet another round of heavy rainfall across the southeast meaning flooding concerns for mississippi into south carolina. you get into north carolina where we've got some colder air working in, rain changing to snow. we're talking several inches of snow. as you get east of raleigh, three to six inches, also could find three to six inches into parts of the appalachian mountains. behind that system quiet and cold. lots of sunshine in places like the twin cities, however, highs only in the teens. i'm accuweather meteorologist adam del rosso. coming up, why burger king is advertising moldy hamburgers. >> oh, goodness. but first a developing story from new orleans. a woman is run over and killed by a float in the middle of a parade. plus the unusual rescue in california as a paraglider gets tangled up in power lines for hours. and a major safety recall

invo

we are back with a developing story out of new orleans where overnight a woman has been killed during a mardi gras parade. witnesses say she was run over by a parade float, which had two sections. the victim apparently was trying to cross the street between those sections when she tripped over the hitch that was connecting them. a risky rescue in northern california. a paraglider lost control and was left dangling from these power lines for three hours near yuba city. firefighters cut power to the area as a crowd gathered to watch the high-wire rescue. >> oh, my god. there is a paraglider stuck in the power lines over here. >> i think we're all just rooting for him to get down safely. >> the paraglider showed his gratitude to the cheering crowd

after his rescue. and nascar driver ryan newman is home following a remarkable recovery from monday's horrific crash at the daytona 500. his racing team posted a picture showing newman leaving the hospital yesterday hand in hand with his young daughters. he walked out less than 48 hours after his car was flipped upside down during that fiery crash on the final lap at daytona. victoria's secret is reportedly going private in a sale that values the company at $1.1 billion. sources say a private equity firm will buy 55% of the company. leslie wexner is expected to step down as chief executive of the lingerie empire he built. wexner has been under scrutiny amid falling sales, his ties to convicted sex offender the late jeffrey epstein and allegations of promoting a culture of misogyny. makers of a popular water bottles is recalling them for a second time. the contigo kids cleanable bottles were first recalled last year because the spouts

were detaching and posing a potential choking hazard. now the company says the replacement lids may also be defective. burger king is going green but not in the way you might think. its new ad campaign shows a whopper becoming moldy over five weeks. it's all to announce that the chain is getting rid of artificial preservatives in whoppers by the end of the year. the tag line is the beauty of no artificial preservatives. >> oh, my. and coming up, the big change that could be coming to the nfl next season. also ahead, one professional boxer's obsession with diet coke drinking up to 30 of them per day. but first an abc news exclusive. former congresswoman katie hill speaks out for the first time about the sex scandal that led to her resignation. if you have moderate to severe psoriasis, little things can become your big moment. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable.

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i am totally blind. and non-24 can make me show up too early... or too late. or make me feel like i'm not really "there." talk to your doctor, and call 844-234-2424. michael, your a singer. bubly is a sparkling water. sure is. bubly sparkling water. pack a smile. be stronger... with nicorette coated ice mint. layered with flavor. it's the first and only coated nicotine lozenge. for an amazing taste... ...that outlasts your craving. nicorette ice mint. back now with a chimney rescue in arizona. firefighters saved this owl that was peering out from the opening

that have chimney before crews in safety gear brought the bird out. moments later they released it back into the wild. we turn now to an abc news exclusive. the former congresswoman who resigned because of a sex scandal is speaking out. >> katie hill, the first openly bisexual member of congress, was accused of having improperly relationships with her staffers. now she's opening up to george stephanopoulos about the turmoil that brought her career in washington to an abrupt end. this morning, former california congresswoman katie hill is speaking out about the sex scandal that rocked her political career. >> this is the last speech that i will give from this floor as a member of congress. >> reporter: the freshman democrat resigned in october less than one year after taking office when she was accused of having improper relationships with her staffers. >> was the biggest mistake having a relationship with a campaign staffer? >> absolutely. >> reporter: hill, who was the first openly bisexual member of congress, admits having a consensual relationship with a member of her campaign staff. but during an exclusive interview with george stephanopoulos, she once again denied having a relationship with a congressional staffer

which house rules forbid. >> i was a nonprofit director that was -- that 29 years old when i jumped in. i did not have any political experience, and so i was a complete long shot. the boundaries were completely different because you're truly in the trenches with these -- this very small team. >> reporter: rumors. the relationships with staff members began as nude photos of hill were leaked online along with text messages. hill who is in the midst of a contentious divorce has accused her husband of leaking the photos in an act of cyberexploitation, what some call revenge porn. >> we knew from the people who had the photos that, you know, that had obtained the photos that there were hundreds more images and text messages that were out there that i had no idea what they could be and how they could be taken out of context, and coming to the decision to resign was also largely, you know, i came to that decision in large part because of how traumatizing it was for my family.

>> hill's husband has denied leaking the photos. george will have much more of his interview later on "good morning america" including why hill takes issue with the term revenge porn. former national security adviser john bolton is defending his decision to hield back any information he has on the white house ukraine policy at the center of the impeachment process. during an event at vanderbilt university last night, bolton said his testimony would have made no difference to the outcome of the impeachment trial accusing democrats of botching the process. bolton also slammed his critics who say he should simply tell all before his book is vetted for any national security concerns. >> but for all those who say that i should just spill my guts here or anywhere else in the back of the position that there's classified information in the manuscript is the implied threat of criminal prosecution. so if any of you are willing to go to jail, give me your names after this is over. i'll put you in direct contact with the department of justice.

>> reporters were only permitted to record the top of bolton's remarks, but abc news obtained audio of his complete remarks. we have more on our website. are you ready for some more football? the nfl season could soon be expanding. reports say a new labor deal could include a 17-game regular season with a shorter preseason and the playoffs could soon be expanded with one more team in each conference able to make the conference if the deal is approved. calm this the little brawl before the big one. boxers deontay wilder and tyson fury traded shoves and some trash talk in their final news conference before saturday's heavyweight title in las vegas. fury will not be having a coke before the fight. he says he's kicked his diet coke habit. he was drinking as many as 30 per day. my goodness. and up next in "the pulse," the incredible voice found in the subway. also ahead, why this woman played the violin during her brain surgery. plus, the claim about facebook's ceo mark zuckerberg

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♪ time to check "the pulse" and the first one is for the pits. we begin with facebook ceo mark zuckerberg and the unusual way he prepares for public appearances. >> he reportedly has his staff blow dry his armpits. that's according to an upcoming book which claims zuckerberg is prone to anxiety sweating which is not good for someone who wears t-shirts so often. it looks like another star is born thanks to an impromptu rendition of the hit song by lady gaga and brady coop ir. >> the man who creates plank plk videos by asking complete strangers to finish the lyrics

of popular songs approached a woman in the london subway and this happened. ♪ i'm off the deep end watch as i dive in ♪ ♪ i'll never meet the ground >> wow. ♪ crash through the surface where they can't hurt us ♪ ♪ we're far from the shallow now ♪ >> amazing. >> yes. >> the woman belting out "shallow" is charlotte awbery. and, yes, she is a singer. she had 5,000 followers on instagram and now she has 130,000. >> she's good. next doctors had an unusual request for a brain tumor patient in london. >> they asked her to play the violin during surgery. that allowed them to stay away from the areas of the brain that control hand movements. >> yes, they removed most of the tumor. she left the hospital three days later. and finally easter is around the corner. we have news about peeps. >> the marshmallow treats will come in five new flavors this year. they include froot loops, root beer float and a hot tamales flavor. >> and individually wrapped mini peeps that you can hide inside

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talk to your doctor, and call 844-214-2424. man is accused of assaulting a woman inside a 24 hour fitness gym and police think there may be other potential victims. the homeless moms who moved into an empty house in oakland spark a new measure to limit the number of vacant homes in california california. and it was fight night in las vegas as the 2020 democratic hopefuls take the debate stage. >> they were out for blood last night. talk about that in a second. meteorologist mike nicco is back. good to see you. >> good to be back. feeling better. appreciate the well wishes. and jobina for doing what she did.

incredible. i wasn't watching, sorry, i was at the hospital. heard you did a great job. let's look at what's going on. we have temperatures from 39 in napa to about 50 in san francisco. so we'll hang around the upper 30s to the upper 40s. here's where we end up during the afternoon hours. high clouds and sunshine, a degree or two warmer than yesterday. about 70 in morgan hill. here is jobina. >> thank you, mike. we'll start with breaking traffic news, this is a crash in the south bay, the chp is investigating that crash that left one person dead. it happened after 2:15 this morning on interstate 680 north of jackson avenue. the car hit the exit post and sign. the victim died at the scene. we have new video of a crash on highway 17 in los gatos. this is on the northbound side near the transition to highway 85. several vehicles were involved here. at least one person is seriously hurt.

authoritied helped y eies helpe debris. back in the studio. what we are seeing live at the moment. this is a live look at the bay bridge toll plaza. cash lanes stacked up. also 280 in san jose is nice and clear this morning. >> thank you. your voice your vote. the gloves came off at the democratic debate in las vegas with many of the blows landing squarely on michael bloomberg. >> last night was bloomberg's first appearance on the stage. kenneth moton has the highlights. >> reporter: the 2020 democratic rooefl rivals wasted no time denouncing the newcomer on the stage. >> a billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians. and no, i'm not talking about donald trump, i'm talking about mayor bloomberg.

>> reporter: for the first time billionaire mike bloomberg on stage with the other candidates. >> i'm a new yorker. i know how to take on an arrogant con man like donald >> there is no great answer to a lot of these problems. if we took off everybody that was wrong off this panel, everybody that was wrong on criminal justice in some time in their careers there would be nobody else up here. >> they also attacked senator bernie sanders who was forced to defend his health care and economic policies. >> i believe in democratic socialism for working people, not billionaires, health care for all, educational opportunities for all. >> the socialist happens to be a >> the socialist happens to be a millionaire with three houses, what did i miss there? >> reporter: once over klobuchar recently not knowing the name of the pr