an order button. do i press it? >> yes. >> all right, crisis in texas. hundreds of thousands still without power or water. >> this is no longer just an emergency. it's clear that it is a disaster. >> the deep freeze bursting water pipes, freezing this car, destroying homes, causing ceilings to collapse. texas hospitals on the brink. empty grocery store shelves in dallas, and hundreds lining up for much needed supplies in austin. others resorting to boiling snow for water. the mayor of hard-hit galveston joins us live. snowstorm on the move. warnings stretching all the way up the east coast, florida to massachusetts on alert. overnight, record snow in arkansas and tennessee. and this morning, the south bracing for dangerous flooding

and possible tornadoes. ginger is tracking all the threats right now. staggering toll. the coronavirus pandemic leading to the biggest drop in life expectancy in decades, as the white house sends mixed messages about when we'll be able to return to normal life and when everyone who wants the vaccine can actually get it. prince philip hospitalized. the queen's husband admitted just four months shy of his 100th birthday. we're live in london with the latest on his condition. rush limbaugh. after more than three decades on air, the polarizing and influential right wing radio host who wrote the book on conservative talk radio passes away at 70 after revealing to his listeners last year he has advanced lung cancer. castaway rescue. the miracle lifesaving mission in the middle of the atlantic ocean. a man spotted by a group of fishermen floating on top of his capsized boat. the sole survivor of a boat wreck stranded for 36 hours. how they finally got him to safety.

♪ larger than life ♪ and countdown to historic touchdown, the groundbreaking mission to mars, hours from landing after a seven-month journey. the rover perseverance facing seven minutes of terror. will nasa find signs of life on the red planet? good morning, america. that is exciting, closing in on mars. >> yep. >> we'll have a lot more on that in our next half hour. right now we want to get to that disaster in texas. >> we certainly do. michael, you and i have family in houston. look at this neighborhood. still in darkness. more than 620,000 waking up without power in texas this morning and some 7 million people under orders to boil their water before using it. pipes freezing, bursting all over that great state. >> there's more dangerous weather on the way this morning. ten states and the district of columbia under states of

emergency declarations right now, including texas. marcus moore starts us off in dallas, a city virtually paralyzed by the weather. good morning, marcus. >> reporter: michael, good morning. we had intended to show you the ice that formed on the side of this building and you can see it there. this morning dallas firefighters rushing to this building after a generator that kicked on sent smoke pouring into the apartment building here. it's evidence of how this catastrophe is unfolding. this morning, the humanitarian crisis in texas is accelerating. millions without power or water. >> what is going on right now is completely unacceptable. >> reporter: the city of houston, the so-called energy capital of the world brought to its knees. hundreds lining up for much-needed supplies as officials tell residents with power to boil water. >> how can we boil water? we don't even have power. >> we have been without power for 60 hours now and without

water for about 24. >> my family and i have been in the dark since sunday night. >> reporter: frozen water pipes bursting destroying homes. some causing ceilings to collapse. >> we are sitting here by the fire. >> reporter: in san antonio, kristen haddox is trying to keep her 11-month-old baby warm. her family's light source is this lantern. >> trying to boil some water so we can make some warm bottles for my daughter. >> we only have three light sources. we have our propane fireplace, one battery powered light we plugged in before the electricity went out, and otherwise it's candles. >> reporter: julie crawford has been boiling snow for her family as their primary water source. >> now what we've been doing is actually coming outside, getting snow, putting it in our pots and heating it on our propane grill. >> reporter: hospitals around the state pushed to their brink relying on generators and water trucks. in austin a facility with 300 patients reporting it's losing

heat. even transporting patients becoming an obstacle. >> it is very difficult to drive on the roads. as it gets darker and you have ice on the roads, it is very difficult to send people out. >> reporter: officials say this week there have been more customers in texas without power than there were during hurricane harvey. they say high demand and overloaded utilities led to the outages. texas is the only state in the entire country on its own electrical grid. a nonprofit company called the electric reliability council of texas or ercot manages 90% of the state's power. the company now under fire for not being better prepared. >> we're working 24 hours a day ever since sunday night to get power restored to texans but that's not enough, obviously. we have to keep that moving down as fast as we can because our only priority right now is getting power to the folks in texas. >> reporter: this morning governor abbott calling for an investigation into the company and what went wrong. >> i'm not suggesting in any way that there's been any criminal

activity or anything like that, but it is something that needs to be looked at. >> reporter: they have made a lot of progress in restoring power to homes here. there are a lot of people still in the dark. between the electrical problems and issues with water this is far from over for so many people here in texas, george. >> it sure is. okay, marcus, thanks very much. let's get the latest from the mayor of galveston, craig brown. mayor, thanks for joining us. let's talk about the water situation. we saw burst pipes. >> yes, we have burst pipes all through the island here, it depleted our complete water source. we're bringing water back on the island now. we should be restoring water today. >> how about power? >> power, we had power down. we still have a lot of people out of power. 90% of our entire population was cut off of the power for about two days. >> and we know that hospitals have been struggling all over texas. what's the situation with the hospitals in galveston right now?

>> our hospital is up and running. we ran dangerously low of water, but now we're back up. we got it filled, the tanks up and we're doing fine at the hospital. >> so what are your greatest needs right now, and who are you turning to for help? >> well, greatest need right now is we need to get our power up. we need to get -- turn water off to all these homes where the pipes have burst and draining the system. we're working with the citizens on that. we have a food and a water concern here on the island. we're bringing water in today. the human suffering, though, that is occurring through this is very, very concerning. >> you guys get hit by hurricanes all the time. ever seen anything like this? >> we have -- we have a history of recovery, but this is worse than a hurricane. in a hurricane you can go to the mainland and get away from this. in this particular situation, no matter where you go in texas you still have a concern that is

similar to what we have here. >> how much is texas' unique electrical grid to blame here? >> you know, that's -- i don't know. i'm reading concerns that we have a system and policies that help promote the concerns we have here. i can say this, we sent a letter to the governor from galveston and we requested an investigation quickly to determine what is going on here and to solve the problems. >> you getting everything you need from the federal government right now? >> we are and the state government. but as you can tell -- as you know, the entire state seems to have some form of paralysis with this and we're getting supplies but not as quickly as we need them. >> well, we know you need the help and hang in there, mayor. thanks for joining us this morning. >> you're welcome. coming up we have an exclusive interview with jim "mattress mack" mcingvale. he turned his furniture stores

into shelters for folks, same as he did with hurricane harvey. that's coming up in our next half hour. >> folks doing whatever they can to help each other. the east coast is now bracing for dangerous weather. flash flooding in the southeast while the northeast is on alert for more snow and severe icy conditions. our team coverage continues throughout the storm zone. victor oquendo is in greensboro, north carolina where the governor has declared a state of emergency. good morning, victor. >> reporter: good morning, robin. this freezing rain has been coming down for hours, and there is a lot more on the way, and we're already hearing of power outages in the area and that's where these guys come in. overnight this parking lot transformed into a sea of these bucket trucks coming in from as far away as indiana. let's take you to another angle so you can see what it looks like here. normally we see this as a response to a hurricane but they're here for this ice storm. duke energy warning this storm could cause up to a million power outages that could last for several days. north carolina's governor declaring that state of emergency.

the real danger here is the ice. just a quarter of an inch can lead to some real problems like downed trees and downed power lines. we could see twice that amount, half an inch pretty rare in this area. so officials are urging people not to travel, keep them clear for crews like these. we are under a winter storm warning until 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. a very long day ahead. >> stay off the roads if you can. moving up the east coast where they are getting pounded with snow. all federal offices are closed in d.c. and that's where rob is in our nation's capital. good morning, rob. >> reporter: hey, good morning, robin. this snow and cold certainly debilitating across the southern plains but here in d.c., well, this isn't snow. this is sleet that's piling up. this may very well be the calling card of this event t sleet and freezing rain. on this sidewalk, it's have slick, no doubt about that, and the roads are going to be slick as well. that makes this operation even

more important. one of four salt depots across the district totaling 42,000 tons of salt to try to keep these roads clear and trucks have been lining up all morning long. so they should have a handle on that hopefully. what they're more concerned about is what victor alluded to, potential for frozen precip to load down the power lines and knock power out here. d.c., the final stop in this assault as it spreads north. robin? >> all right, rob. we just saw here, snow in times square. so let's turn to ginger who is in hoboken, new jersey with more on where the threat is headed next. good morning, ginger. >> reporter: just moments ago we could barely make new york city out. more than 16 inches above average. we have piles like this all over the tri-state and we're about to get slammed with more. let me take you through the forecast. the timing is really important here. we're obviously starting now. it'll get heavier as we go through late morning, early afternoon then there is a break. there looks like it dries out a

bit at least tonight. you see the 7:30 p.m. but you'll see spotty precipitation. i say precipitation because some of that is icing from southern new jersey and then that's friday morning. a friday morning commute with more snow so you'll see me here standing with more snow tomorrow morning. 6 to 10 inches will be the heaviest band but, remember, some of that freezing rain where you get the glaze of ice can be even more dangerous especially because we are so used to seeing it. speaking of danger, the southern end has a shot at spinning up a tornado, tallahassee, dothan, alabama, all the way into south carolina. so we're watching many fronts of this one front, robin. >> you certainly are. all right, ginger, thank you. george? we'll get the latest on the coronavirus emergency. more than 40 million americans have now received at least one dose of the vaccine in the u.s. as the white house is revising its timeline for when everyone will get a shot and the cdc is reporting an alarming drop in life expectancy. chief white house correspondent cecilia vega tracking it all. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. new numbers from the cdc surprised even the experts. this staggering drop in life expectancy rates is something we

haven't seen in this country since world war ii. overnight the cdc revealing that as the coronavirus spread during the first half of 2020, life expectancy dropped a full year with minority communities suffering the most, latinos losing nearly two years, black americans losing almost three. the staggering news comes as americans are desperate to return to normal life. but when exactly will that happen? the president's prediction -- >> by next christmas i think we'll be in a very different circumstance, god willing, than we are today. >> reporter: here's the press secretary's. >> we don't know at this point what that timeline will look like. >> reporter: and dr. fauci's? >> hopefully as you alluded to by the time we start entering 2022 we really will have a degree of normality that would approximate the kind of normality we've been used to. >> reporter: 200 million additional doses won't be delivered till summer. dr. fauci saying a substantial amount of doses from johnson & johnson, will arrive later than

expected. as for when everyone who wants one will get one, president biden is revising an earlier prediction. it's no longer going to be spring. >> when is every american who wants it going to be able to get a vaccine? >> by the end of july of this year. >> reporter: but this morning a glimmer of hope as some studies show encouraging signs that the vaccine could prevent transmission of this deadly virus. >> when your turn to get vaccinated comes up, get vaccinated. it's not only good for you and your family and community, it will have an important impact on the dynamics of the outbreak in our country. >> reporter: now officials here at this white house have made it clear the number one priority is covid relief and trying to pass that legislation. but today the democrats working with the white house will introduce their version of comprehensive immigration reform. let me tell you what it would look like. they're talking about creating an eight-year path to citizenship for the 11 million

undocumented people in this country, people like dreamers, farm workers and other immigrants who are among the most vulnerable from places like war zones, and they would receive green cards immediately, but this only applies to people who have been in this country since january 1st of -- before january 1st of this year and anybody who came after that wouldn't qualify. >> cecilia, the politics are so tough. the question is whether it can get passed and how. >> reporter: yeah, that is the big question because as you know, immigration reform has been tried before on capitol hill and failed so many times. it does not appear the biden administration and democrats at this point have enough republican votes to pass this bill as it stands to be introduced today. the question is will they go at it alone if they decide to do it? we are looking at a much more watered down version, and there is still a very, very long way to go, george. >> cecilia, thanks very much. michael? >> thank you, george. we turn to britain's prince philip hospitalized. buckingham palace officials say

the 9d 99-year-old husband of queen elizabeth was admitted after he felt unwell. ian pannell is in london with the latest on his condition. good morning, ian. >> reporter: yeah, good morning, michael. that's right, prince philip spending his second night in the hospital, and we're told this morning that he is in good spirits. buckingham palace saying that the 99-year-old had been unwell for a short period and was admitted as a, quote, precautionary measure and walked in unaided on tuesday evening. now, he's expected to remain in the hospital for a few days for what they're also calling observation and rest. typically the palace is very tight-lipped about their health, but they're also telling us and confirming this isn't covid related. of course, both prince philip and the queen were vaccinated last month. for now the queen is remaining at windsor castle and carrying on with her royal duties as normal. of course, this will be a difficult time for them both. they celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary last year and they spent much of the pandemic effectively shielding together. prince philip, of course, now retired from public life although he did make a rare

public appearance last july and at the time he was looking in good health, but don't forget he has been hospitalized several times in the past. final reminder that philip is only four months shy of his 100th birthday. so while this has been portrayed as precautionary i think any kind of illness is going to be a cause for concern at his age. michael? >> all right, ian, thank you so much. >> no question about that. we move on and following a lot of other headlines this morning including remembering rush limbaugh. we're going to talk about the impact -- his impact on right wing talk radio. and that miracle rescue. the moment a group of fishermen spotted this man floating on top of his capsized boat in the atlantic ocean. how they got him to safety. first, back to ginger. ginger? >> reporter: yeah, robin, texas not done by the way with the winter weather. today a whole other day with a winter weather advisory in austin. you see the video there, and that's from austin where they had icicles on that fan being

blown by the wind. that gives you the picture of what's been happening. san antonio in a winter storm warning all the way up to tyler, texas, concerned about not just freezing rain, but snowflakes flying on the northern end. now let's get that windchill forecast sponsored by verizon. good morning. i'm abc7 news meteorologist mike nicco. becoming cloudy but dry and mild through the afternoon hours. rain rolls in tonight and again tomorrow night. two storms, both 1 on the storm impact scale. and spring warmth next week. today, 58 at half moon bay to

about 66 in san jose. milder tonight. mid-40s to low 50s. here's a look at my accuweather seven-day forecast. coming up, mattress mack, the houston furniture chain owner who once again is turning his stores into shelters for a community in crisis due to these terrible winter storms. >> he is something else. we've known him for awhile. >> he is absolutely amazing. i have known him a long time. he is a good citizen. we'll be right back, everybody. ( ♪ ) ready to juvéderm it? correct age-related volume loss in cheeks with juvéderm voluma xc, add fullness to lips with juvéderm ultra xc and smooth moderate to severe lines around the nose and mouth with juvéderm xc. tell your doctor if you have a history of scarring

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good morning. here's a live look from south beach at our commute this morning. we're seeing sunshine, but high clouds quickly increasing. but they won't bring any rain to us, not during if commute today. that's going to happen well after we're all back home from work or school. tonight, we're a 1 on a the storm impact scale with light rain and drizzle. but it will be the leftover moisture that's going to make tomorrow's morning commute slippery. here's a look at future radar. you can see up until midnight, most of the light rain is in the north bay and it slides southward as we head into tomorrow's morning commute. we have another chance of wet weather friday night into saturday and spring warm starting sunday and lasting through monday and tuesday. away from the coast, we'll hit the low to mid-70s. how about that? >> i love it. thank you, mike. the man known as mattress mack who opened the doors of his store to shelter people, live only on "good morning, america."

you can check us out on our abc7 news app. covid's still a threat. and on reopening schools, we know what happens when we don't put safety first. ignore proper ventilation or rates of community spread, and the virus worsens. fail to provide masks or class sizes that allow for social distancing, and classrooms close back down. a successful reopening requires real safety and accountability measures. including prioritizing vaccines for educators. parents and educators agree: reopen schools. putting safety first. reopen schools. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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just more legendary. chevrolet. making life's journey, just better. moves pretty fast in the suburbs. >> wanda. >> welcome back to "gma." marvel f life moves pretty fast in the suburbs. >> wanda. >> welcome back to "gma." marvel fans, get ready. that is, of course, the hit disney plus show, "wandavision." the popular series debuting as one of the most watched shows on streaming. the biggest show on its opening weekend. this morning we have your exclusive, yes, first look at tomorrow's brand-new episode and that is coming up in our next hour. >> how did we get the exclusive? >> i have no idea. we must know someone. >> friends in high places. >> that is right. right now, the headlines

we're following, including the disaster unfolding in texas. hundreds of thousands suffering without power or water. the cold has paralyzed much of the lone star state and frozen pipes burst. hospitals pushed to the brink and this morning there are new threats on the move. the southeast is bracing for dangerous flooding, possible tornadoes and the snowstorm moving up the east coast is bringing severe icy conditions. also right now, testimony today on capitol hill as lawmakers try to get to the bottom of what happened with gamestop after the stock surprisingly skyrocketed in january and plunged. some investors left holding the bag. set to testify the online trading store who sparked the surge and ceo of robinhood. they suspended trading of gamestop stock. serena williams' run for a record 24th grand slam title ended last night. naomi osaka knocking off williams in straight sets in the australian semis. osaka will face off against 25-year-old jennifer brady from the u.s. this is her first grand slam final. saw a little bit of the press conference with serena afterwards, very emotional. people wonder if she will continue on. she made it to the semifinals. she didn't want to say yet but

to see her emotion was something. we turn to the passing of conservative talk show host rush limbaugh. he died yesterday at 70 after more than three decades in radio. limbaugh was polarizing and influential. chief washington correspondent jon karl has the story. good morning, jon. >> reporter: good morning, george. rush limbaugh not only created modern conservative talk radio. he was also the godfather of the type of politics that got donald trump elected president. from his perch at a radio station in sacramento in the 1980s, rush limbaugh invented modern right wing talk radio. >> members of congress are our employees. not the other way around. >> reporter: spawning an army of bombastic imitators. many of whom now dominate cable television. the right wing media universe that helped fuel donald trump's rise started with rush limbaugh. >> he gave conservatism a home. he gave the conservative movement in america basically mainstream status. he was that influential in changing the nature of how

politics are expressed. >> reporter: he boasted of fighting liberals with half his brain tied behind his back and built a massive audience, 20 million at the peak of his popularity. >> this is not retail politics as it's always been. >> reporter: he derided feminists as femi-nazis and made disparaging comments about aids patients and the lgbtq community. his brief career on espn came to an end when he said donovan mcnabb was overrated because he's black. >> the media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. >> reporter: and when barack obama became a national political figure, limbaugh was among those promoting the racist myth obama had not proved he is an american citizen. during the 2016 presidential campaign, limbaugh did not support trump until almost all of the other republican candidates were defeated. and even then, he said trump's not a true conservative. >> can somebody point to me the conservative on the ballot? what do you mean, rush? are you admitting trump is not a conservative? damn right i am.

>> reporter: but limbaugh became a fervent trump supporter. early last year the day after limbaugh told his listeners he had advanced lung cancer trump gave him the presidential medal of freedom, dramatically awarding it during his state of the union address. >> rush limbaugh, thank you for your decades of tireless devotion to our country. >> reporter: news of limbaugh's death divided the political world almost as much as his radio show did. but republicans of all stripes paid tribute. former president george w. bush said in a statement while he was brash at times controversial and always opinionated he spoke his mind as a voice for millions of americans. and sean hannity said last night, quote, there is no talk radio as we know it without rush limbaugh. it just doesn't exist. he added that without limbaugh, quote, in many ways there is no fox news, and on that many of limbaugh's critics would also agree. >> no question about that.

jon, thanks very much. robin? we turn to that lifesaving mission in the middle of the atlantic ocean. a castaway stranded for 36 hours finally spotted floating on top of his capsized boat by a group of fishermen. will reeve joins us now with details on that dramatic rescue. good morning, will. >> reporter: good morning, robin. the coast guard has suspended its search for the others said to be on that boat with the man who was found clinging to the boat and to his life. the good samaritans who rescued him said it was a miracle that they found him. from a fishing expedition to a lifesaving mission, this is the moment a man floating on top of his capsized boat in the middle of the atlantic ocean was rescued by a group of fishermen. >> he was wearing a life jacket but he was clinging to the boat. >> reporter: the man had been stranded for about 36 hours as he floated about 100 miles from the bahamas to just off the coast of ft. pierce, florida. that's where he crossed paths with that fortunate fishing charter, about 20 miles

offshore. first popping up on the captain's radar. >> told the guys maybe we found something to go fishing on. as we got closer, i saw the gentleman raise his hand and start waving. i knew we weren't fishing anymore. >> reporter: it quickly turned into a miracle rescue. >> we got to the boat and pulled him on, and started taking care of him. >> reporter: the man's clothes and skin burned from being drenched in gasoline from the boat wreck. he says he was the sole survivor after the six people who joined him on his trip vanished under the water. >> he was very, very weak. we got him a bunch of fluids, food, anything we could do for him. >> reporter: the good samaritans caring for the man until the coast guard arrived 45 minutes later to take him to the hospital. >> i was just kind of doing my job and was able to be in the right place at the right time and just thankful to be able to do that. for us to cross paths, it was just nothing short of a miracle. >> reporter: captain cornell says he and his fishing mates have not heard or spoken to the man since the coast guard took over but hope that he is doing well and they say he's

recovering and that they might see him soon. robin? >> we hope he's doing well as well. all right, will, thank you. michael? coming up next, my exclusive interview with jim "mattress mack" mcingvale. the furniture owner coming to the rescue of my hometown of houston during these terrible storms. we'll be right back. once daily sunosi improves wakefulness in adults with excessive daytime sleepiness due to obstructive sleep apnea. sunosi worked for up to nine hours at 12 weeks in a clinical study. sunosi does not treat the cause of osa or take the place of your cpap. continue to use any treatments or devices as prescribed by your doctor. don't take sunosi if you've taken an maoi in the last 14 days. sunosi may increase blood pressure and heart rate, which can increase your risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, or death. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure.

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back now with a local legend from my hometown of houston who

is lending a hand to families in desperate need of shelter from the cold. jim "mattress mack" mcingvale has opened his furniture store to help the hundreds of thousands of texans who have been without heat, power or water for days, and joining us from that store turned shelter now is jim. what you are doing is very, very generous, but it's not the first time you've done this. you did this also for hurricane harvey, so what prompted you to open your doors again? >> well, michael, the people were freezing in their homes. they had no heat and no electricity and then compounded the problem no water. they were freezing and i talked to the mayor on monday night and said can we do it monday night? he said the roads are too dangerous, and then tuesday he said, go ahead and open and we had almost a thousand people come in tuesday. 300 spent the night tuesday night. same thing on wednesday, so lots of people with lots of needs and

we are more than happy to open this furniture store to serve the community because that's why we exist. >> you know, we see people sleeping behind you and from meeting all these people that would come into your store, can you get a sense of just how badly this has affected them? >> you know, they're not as traumatized as they were during harvey when they had to wade through four, feet of dirty water to get here, but they're just as emotionally distraught because the routine of home, the routine of lights and water and being warm has been totally disrupted. they don't know when they're coming back to their house. they're calling almost every hour to the neighborhood or to the apartment complex, are the lights back on so their lives have been totally disrupted by this terrible power outage and the water shortage so it's a tough situation and we try to make it a little easier by getting them on a good tempur-pedic mattress making sure they have lots of warm food and camaraderie with 300 people, 100 children about 200 adults. >> and what makes it even more difficult as you said this is in

the middle of a pandemic and, of course, safety is always a concern. so what safety measures are in place and does that mean you have to limit how many people you can help? >> well, we have about -- when they walk in there's mandatory hand sanitizing and masks. this is a big store, over 1,000 square feet. even with 400, 500 people we maintain a good six to eight distance and as i was walking last night for security reasons i saw people sleeping and i was amazed at the distance between one family to the next so we've done a good job on the covid precaution, not as good as we probably should, but working on it every day. >> it requires a lot to do. where are you getting the food, the water, the sweatshirts and the blankets? >> we're buying them from some of our great vendors, the mayor, mayor turner donated a truckload of water. kroger's donated a truckload of water today, and we're buying food wherever we can get it, and

about 90% of the restaurants and spent four hours trying to find doughnuts. we have some great vendors bringing in food and volunteers cooking the food along with our employees so we're going almost 18 hours a day feeding these people and making sure they've got things to do. we had face painters out here, balloon artists yesterday for the kiddos, so it's a task trying to make sure these people can get their mind off the difficulty they're in and look forward to a better future tomorrow. >> absolutely. one more question. is there anything that you want americans who are watching us right now, is there anything that you want them to know about what is happening there in texas? >> well, i want them to know first of all some of the best customers of our furniture and secondly i would like all americans to know, when adversity hits, we all stand together. we forget about our differences and focus on our similarities and that's what's happening in this crisis. as i was walking around last

night talking to these people, all races, all colors, all creeds, all ages, they had that american optimism that tomorrow was going to be a better day. so i think we need to not focus on who is to blame for the crisis but how do we move forward to make houston and texas and the united states a better place by coming together and focusing on our similarities and helping each other have a better life. >> jim, i always love your message. you're always doing good for other people. really appreciate it. my mom is going to appreciate that shoutout as well. so thank you so much, jim, and we really appreciate your time this morning. >> thanks, michael. great to talk to you. >> as always, you too. >> he knows his customer base. >> i like it because, you know, as a son i got to pay for mama's trip to the store. the tag line is gallery furniture will save you money. saves me some money so i'm happy. >> talking about those commercials. coming up after this commercial is our "play of the

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good morning, gio. >> reporter: hey, robin. good morning to you. there it is, the mars rover perseverance, at least a full scale model because the real one is about 300 million miles away right now closing in on mars and you might be asking why are we doing this? the entire point of this mission is to actually find evidence of ancient life on mars and then bring it back to earth. we have never been able to do that. now, it's not going to be easy. you're seeing that simulation right there. as the rover enters the mars atmosphere we're looking at what nasa calls the seven minutes of terror. it's going to battle a fiery 2,300 degrees of heat on entry and it has to do it all on its own because there's a major delay of 12 minutes so that by the time we see it landing there on mars or at least even entering the atmosphere, it would have either landed already or crashed and, robin, hopefully not crashed. >> no, gio, what are we expecting to see when it lands? >> reporter: okay, so take a look right here because you see that mass right there. there are five cameras on that

alone but there are 23 cameras on this whole thing. we are going to see those images start rolling in by tonight. seven cameras alone will be capturing those seven minutes. >> thank you. you can see the historic landing live on abc newslive presents mission to mars live starting at 3:30 eastern. ginger is also taking a special part in that. n still make my own insulin. and trulicity activates my body to release it. once-weekly trulicity is for type 2 diabetes. most people taking it reached an a1c under 7%. trulicity may also help you lose up to 10 pounds and lower your risk of cardiovascular events, whether you know you're at risk or not. trulicity isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. it's not approved for use in children. don't take trulicity if you're allergic to it, you or your family have medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. stop trulicity and call your doctor right away if you have an allergic reaction, a lump or swelling in your neck,

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or an abnormal heartbeat, which can lead to death. it can cause serious skin reactions, liver problems, and low white blood cell counts that may result in severe infections. tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including breathing problems, cough, chest pain, a change in your heartbeat, dizziness, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, tiredness, loss of appetite, abdomen pain, bleeding, bruising, fever, chills, or other symptoms of an infection, a severe or worsening rash, are or plan to become pregnant, or breastfeeding. avoid grapefruit during treatment. ask your doctor about living longer with kisqali. >> reporter: coming up, we've got an exclusive first look at the new episode of "wandavision." your local news and weather are next.

>> announcer: building a better bay area for a safe and secure future. this is abc7 news. good morning. i'm reggie aqui from "abc7 mornings." the personal information of some california drivers may have been compromised in a security breach. the dmv says a contractor it uses to verify addresses victim of a ransomware attack earlier this month. it did not involve social security numbers. new information about the coyote attack. the animal that bit a 3-year-old girl on tuesday is the same coyote responsible for three other attacks in that same area. the girl was not seriously hurt. the attacks happened between july and december. they are trying to find the coyote. right now we're going to find meteorologist mike nicco. >> enjoy our sunshine. clouds are on the increase.

the 1 on our storm impact scale brings us about up to 0.2 of an inch of rain. lighter amounts friday night into sad. ahead

good morning, america. it's 8:00 a.m. crisis in texas. no end in sight for the hundreds of thousands still suffering without power or water. frozen water pipes burst all over the south. hundreds line up for much needed supplies in austin. texas hospitals on the brink. and this morning the new threats on the move. the south braces for dangerous flooding and possible tornadoes and the snowstorm moving up the east coast. we're tracking it all. gwyneth paltrow's covid battle. the actress revealing her long-term symptoms, how she's dealing with the lingering effects. this morning more on long hauler syndrome and what doctors are saying about it. startling spike. the number of violent attacks against asian-americans on the rise. olivia munn, awkwafina and others calling for justice.

this morning, how young activists are working to stop the hate. ♪ little respect ♪ braid like a boss. meet the detroit stylist who started a hair revolution online during the pandemic. this morning, meet niani answering your questions. and it's a marvelous morning. "gma" has your exclusive sneak peek at the brand-new episode of "wandavision," all ahead as we say, good morning, america. ♪ ♪ superbass ♪ good morning, america. we're so happy you're with us this morning. we have a big morning here as well because andra day, she's going to join us just ahead. excited. incredible performance, excited to talk to her about the movie and she's going to, you know, share all that have with us. yes, she will and thursday also means "deals & steals" with tory johnson so this morning it's all about instant home upgrades. there's something for every room like this diy wallpaper and

something for everyone in your family including those with four legs. a lot coming up first the latest on that disaster in texas. more than 620,000 are waking up without power. want to go back to marcus moore in dallas, good morning, marcus. >> reporter: hey, george, good morning. this storm still has a very firm grip. the frozen pipes bursting under the pressure and we're still at the scene in dallas where a generator kicked on overnight during an outage spent spoke pouring in. the firefighters evacuated them as the crisis unfolds across the region. this morning the humanitarian crisis in texas is accelerating. millions still without power or water. >> what is going on right now is completely unacceptable. >> reporter: the city of houston, the so-called energy capital of the world brought to its knees. hundreds lining up for much needed supplies as officials tell residents with power to boil water. >> how can we boil water? we don't even have power. >> reporter: frozen water pipes bursting destroying homes.

the mayor of galveston speaking with george earlier. >> you guys get hit by hurricanes all the time. have you ever seen anything like this? >> we have a history of recovery. this is worse than a hurricane. in a hurricane you can go to the mainland and get away. >> reporter: hospitals pushed to their brink. in austin a facility with 300 patients reporting it's losing heat. texas is the only state in the entire country on its own electrical grid. a nonprofit called the electric reliability council of texas or ercot manages about 90% of the state's power. the company now under fire for not being better prepared. >> we're working 24 hours a day ever since sunday night to get power restored to texans. >> reporter: this morning governor abbott calling for an investigation into the company and what went wrong. >> i'm not suggesting in any way that there's been any criminal activity or anything like that but it is something that needs to be looked at. >> reporter: the power has been restored to a number of homes, but still there are a lot of people in the dark, and robin,

energy providers say rolling blackouts will continue. >> okay, marcus, thank you. more dangerous weather on the way this morning. ten states and the district of columbia under states of emergency declarations right now including texas and ginger has the latest on the new threats heading east. good morning, again, ginger. >> hey, good morning. you can just barely make out new york city behind me here because the snow has started. again. and unfortunately we've got winter storm warnings and new winter weather advisories for the entire day in texas too so this is a long stretching storm. you see there the interstates that are placed on there, 35 and more. there are winter storm warnings for up to an inch of snow but ice kicking in, windchill alerts that include corpus christi, the tornado watch for parts of the florida panhandle. severe weather component and the timing. today we'll have the snow for the most part now through the early afternoon. there's some drying overnight but then look at what happens tomorrow morning we get more. this is a long event. what you end up with is six to

ten inches of snow and, guy, all i can think is we have to warm and it's true, chicago will see above freezing for the first time in two weeks by sunday i'm running out of coats and scarves and hats so can i please come inside, michael? >> please do. >> some challenging weather all around the country, you know, i was saying the other day her hat, scarf and coat game, she's been rocking it. >> got to bring it. make it fashionable. coming up, gwyneth paltrow is revealing the long-term symptoms she is still struggling with after her battle with covid-19. we have more on the long hauler syndrome this morning. and tory johnson is here with "deals & steals." an incredible instant upgrade for every room of your home. i cannot wait for you to meet some amazing women from alabama. they are talented quilters. and it's a tradition going back 200 years. family tradition. ah. my favorite story of the morning. we'll be back.

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(beeping sound) ♪ ♪ ♪ save on select new volvo models during our presidents day sales event, now through march 1st. ♪ having fun in the snow in times square this morning. tomorrow on "gma," should lunch be the biggest meal of your day? we will tell you why, how to make it healthy and tasty. and right now it's always tasty with lara and "pop news." good morning, lara. >> hey, robin, good morning to you. we're going to begin with news on regina king receiving so many accolades for directing "one night in miami." this morning we can tell you she's already signed on for her

next project. the movie is called "shirley" about shirley chisholm, the first african-american woman in congress and first woman and first african-american to run for president. the movie will follow chisolm during her 1972 presidential campaign giving a behind-the-scenes portrait of this groundbreaking political leader. king will both act and produce the film. john ridley who she worked with on "american crime" will direct. also this morning, ed sheeran turned 30 years old yesterday. but he's the one giving us presents. we love that. sheeran taking to instagram to mark the day by sharing a photo of a cake and a picture of his 3rd birthday writing, thank you all for your wonderful messages. i feel very loved. i will be back online with the fourth installment in the series later this year. fans speculating that fourth installment is a follow-up to his albums "plus, multiply and divide." it'll be the year for ed. he and his wife cherry welcomed their daughter in september, and

he dropped a single called "afterglow" in december. looking forward to some new music from him. finally on a personal note i wanted to share great news with you. i've been working on a show for the past couple of years at hgtv. they asked me to do it, and it asked me the question, do you have treasures hiding in plain sight in your house? take a look. >> did you know you had this? our team of treasure hunters helps homeowners turn everyday items into stacks of cash. >> i would say $200 to $400. >> no way. >> yes. >> $1,800 to $2,500. >> wow. >> stelling everything but the house. >> we're going to be able to raise a good bit of money. do you have a goal? >> one of our nephews is getting married in germany and would like to take ten people and pay for their airfare. >> i can taste the schnitzel already. they'll clear out the clutter. load it up and auction it out. >> 400, 450, 550.

>> are you ready to hear how much you made because you raised -- >> oh, my god. >> a house full of stuff can be daunting. watch our team of experts find your hidden gems and make families' dreams come true. it all happens in "everything but the house," starting march 19:00 19th at 9:00. on hgtv. the go app and discovery app. so looking forward to sharing that with you guys. >> this is a reason -- another reason why you brake for yard sales, the tight many of your book. >> you know i love my junk. >> thank you, lara. cannot wait to see it. we will turn to our "gma" cover story. gwyneth paltrow revealing her battle with long-lasting symptoms of covid-19. the actress and goop founder sharing the side effects she's been struggling with. erielle reshef has the story.

good morning, erielle. >> reporter: good morning to you, michael. gwyneth paltrow is one of many celebrities talking about their experience with covid-19, and she says she's one of the millions of covid long haulers months after testing positive. gwyneth paltrow now revealing the long-term symptoms from her battle with covid-19. the actress posting on her goop website, i had covid-19 early on, and it left me with some long-tail fatigue and brain fog, adding, in january, i had some tests done that showed really high levels of inflammation in my body. the 48-year-old one of millions suffering the lingering effects of the disease. recent studies show 10% of covid-19 patients will go on to become so-called long haulers. experiencing symptoms beyond three to four weeks, a smaller percentage for several months after testing positive. >> after you have gone through the initial infection, you end up with complications after the

disease such as you're having trouble with your heart. you're having trouble with breathing, you're having issues with memory and concentration, some people lose taste and smell. >> reporter: paltrow says since recovering from the virus, she's adhered to a keto and plant-based diet free from alcohol and sugar and is taking supplements for her gut health writing, everything i'm doing feels good like a gift to my body. i'm working out in the morning, and doing an infrared sauna all in service of healing. experts say even though there are scientific trials being conducted on certain therapy, there is no current treatment for long hauler patients. >> there is no scientific data that i have at this time that will say that that is the route that patients or long haulers should take. we just encourage supportive therapy, you know, healthy diet, exercise. >> reporter: and doctors say they are seeing more and mother

-- more patients who are becoming long haulers after suffering from covid. there are many centers popping up across the country post-covid care centers to help some of these people who have dealt with covid cope with the lingering symptoms. michael. >> that's really amazing how this virus affects people differently. thank you so much for that. now let's go to ginger. hey, ginger. >> hey, michael. it's been so tough with the energy and water crisis in texas. we had to share something positive. using the cold to make some fun. yes, a little homemade ice rink in texas and some good news that after today and that winter weather that's moving especially south of you there, you will see warming. so even ft. worth making it into the mid-50s as we go through the next couple of days, oklahoma city and i told you, even chicago could see freezing or slightly above for the first time in two weeks. that's the big picture. good morning. i'm abc7 news meteorologist mike nicco. becoming cloudy but dry and mild

through the afternoon hours. rain rolls in tonight and again tomorrow night. two storms, both 1 on the storm impact scale. and spring warmth next week. today, 58 at half moon bay to about 66 in san jose. milder tonight. mid-40s to low 50s. here's a look at my accuweather seven-day forecast. we're going to turn t we're going to turn to a startling spike in violent attacks against asian-americans all across the country. it has young social justice advocates and celebrities like olivia munn and daniel dae kim calling for change and juju chang has the story. good morning, juju. >> reporter: good morning, george. you know, throughout the pandemic, advocates say that all of the massive fear and anxiety brought on by covid-19 have been weaponized against the asian-american community. in fact, there was a huge uptick in crimes of hate against asian-americans, but this recent spaight of incidents have so

many people united saying, stop the violence. this morning, nypd searching for this man wanted for attacking an asian-american woman outside a bakery in queens. the startling assault all caught on surveillance video. this attack just the latest in a string of violent crimes against asian-americans. many in the aapi community saying the attacks are motivated by hate. but police are not currently investigating this case as a hate crime. now hollywood a-listers speaking up bringing attention to the alarming problem. actress olivia munn has a personal connection to the assault in new york saying on instagram, my friend's mom is a 5'3" 50 plus chinese woman and she was attacked. she left the hospital with ten stitches in her head. these racist hate crimes against our elders have got to stop. we're going to find this guy. "crazy rich asians" star awkwafina also spoke out saying she didn't want to wake up to more of this.

"hawaii 5-0" star daniel dae kim helped spark the campaign against hate after a spate of attacks against elderly asian-americans earlier this month. >> these are people that are elderly often with pre-existing conditions already afraid to go outside and now they're fearing for their lives. >> reporter: now a generation of young activities like william are taking on the mantel of racial equity. >> we're seeing a rise of so many asian-americans who are just sick and tired of being invisible, being ignored, and they're utilizing, you know, their platforms, their circles of influence to demand, you know, to be seen. >> reporter: "the new yorker" spending lunar new york weekend patrolling historic chinatown. and learning from local leaders, hoping to stop the hate. >> they're building, utilizing their relationships with, you know, black community leaders, you know and a lot of the solidarity work that has been happening here to condemn the

violence, to condemn the anti-asian hate crimes. >> reporter: today's asian-american leaders say that they want to respect elders and protect them but at the same time they want to break cultural stereotypes that asians are quiet or reserved. so many say they were inspired by the george floyd protest and took part and that now is the time for everyone to unify and call for racial healing. george. >> they are right. okay, juju, thanks very much. michael. time now for an exclusive first look at the next episode of "wandavision." if you haven't been watching the smash hit, there is still time to binge the show and catch up. let's take a look at the sneak peek. >> oh. >> mom, are you coming down soon? >> mom, our game is freaking out. ♪

>> is she asleep? >> mommy is not sleeping, honey. she is just resting her eyes. >> mom, my head feels weird. >> it's like really noisy. i don't like it. >> resting her eyes. >> as punishment for my reckless evening, i plan on taking a quarantine-style staycation. a whole day just myself. that'll show me. oh. >> must have been a good night. the next episode of "wandavision" debuts tomorrow on disney plus. robin. all right. michael. time now for "deals & steals." this morning tory johnson is helping give your home an instant upgrade.

point your cell phone camera at that code on your screen and go straight to the deals. tory, let's not waste any time. have great deals starting with sprucing up your wall. >> yes, robin. this is wall pops. all you have to do is peel and stick to transform any room to your liking. you can kind of bring your walls to life, and no sticky residue which makes it awesome for rentals or people who change their mind frequently. not only the wallpaper but backsplash tiles great for kitchen and bathroom to give them a imaginal redo. today you'll save 50% to 70% with the pack starting at $12.50. >> oh, we could really use this next deal with the weather we have outside. >> so comfy cozy. this is called thula tula. they make beautiful blankets sustainably made in south africa and a fun fact, mark cuban and ashton kutcher helped to bring it to the united states because

they were so impressed with it. they are cozy, comfortable, there's so much pride not only in the patterns but also the way that they are made. specifically to repel cold and dirt. we've got so many patterns. assortment of sizes. these are a beautiful piece that you will love for a long time. they're slashed in half and start at $74.50. >> you can tell they put a lot of heart into making these. something for our noses now? >> happy wax. change the scent as often as you want to change your mood or to match your mood at home. these are flame-free fragrances for home. it's all natural soy wax that is infused with essential oils, we have both the warmers as well as the melts. there is a huge assortment of these. this is just -- it does make people happy so i'm glad that we've got this company back. it is a "gma" favorite. the prices are slashed in half and start today at $8. >> i love how you bring back favorites. i love a little pop of color, perfect. >> yes, me too.

milo gift shop. these are 100% turkish cotton. they are hand towels great for the bathroom or kitchen. what's great they're soft already but the more you use them, the softer they get. big assortment to choose from, nice bright colors, each pair, $15. >> $15. >> okay, so we got something for everyone. even if you're a pet lover. bring us on home. >> yes. canidae, so they pack more calories, protein and nutrients per cup than many of the leading brands, every recipe starts with real meat, fish or poultry. there is even a grain-free option as well and what i really love about this company is not just their dog food but their heart. they have donated more than 78,000 bags of dog food to the san antonio shelter to help at the food bank because pets need help too. today they're giving 10,000 more bags to help keep pets with families, you can get the dog food at 50% off, starts at $25

and free shipping. >> sounds wonderful. we do have one more, right? one more deal? >> we do. yes, tommie copper, we've got their mattresses, three premium hybrid mattresses for every level of comfort and firmness preference. they've got compression coils, foam and then their patented technology. it is all designed to deliver plush comfort and sturdy support. one of their signatures is that it reduces motion for a really supportive stable distraction-free sleep surface. we love that. 50% off and free shipping with contactless delivery. all sizes. >> free shipping. all right, tory. as always you've done it. thank you. we partnered with these companies on these great deals. you can get them by heading directly to our website, andra day going to join us live next. come on back. , andra day going to join us live next. come on back.

>> announcer: building a better bay area for a safe and secure future. this is abc7 news. good morning, everyone. i'm kumasi aaron from "abc7 mornings." a vote on a proposal to keep the 150-foot high ferris wheel at the park for four years has been postponed. the historic preservation commission decided to delay a vote until march 3rd after the supervisor requested for time to look at concerns raised by residents. the wheel was installed as part of golden gate park's 150th anniversary but was postponed because of the pandemic. officials want to keep it there until march of 2025. she says she favors a one-year extension. here's a look at your commute planner. it's really good. lacking any adversity

weatherwise. there's going to be wet weather late tonight through tomorrow. it's a 1 on our storm impact scale. most of the rain is in the north bay before midnight and you can see lingering showers as we head through tomorrow's morning commute. folks the world's first fully autonomous vehicle is almost at the finish line today we're going to fine tune the dynamic braking system whoo, what a ride! i invested in invesco qqq a fund that invests in the innovators of the nasdaq 100 like you you don't have to be a deep learning engineer to help make the world a smarter place does this come in blue? become an agent of innovation with invesco qqq

hey, bay area, "live with kelly and ryan" is coming up. >> we'll chat with leslie mann, plus bargains with monica mangin. >> that's at 9:00 on abc7.

we'll have another abc7 news update in about 30 minutes. but you can find the latest at ♪ say a prayer for me ♪test at we are so excited for our next guest, she's a grammy nominated singer. now she's also a golden globe nominated actress for her starring role in "the united states vs. billie holiday." andra day, thank you for coming back to "gma." we were jest -- just reminiscing, and we heard that rise up, and you made your network television debut. there it is. throwback thursday. ♪ i'll rise up ♪ >> on "gma" about 5 1/2 years ago. >> wow. >> so great to have you come back with all this oscar buzz around you. >> yeah, thank you so much. i just was looking at that dress. i just gave that dress to my cousin. [ laughter ] >> lucky cousin. a lot of people are like, adopt me. i want to be in that family.

oh, i have to say, whoo, cannot wait for everybody to see this film and to see you. i know that billie holiday means a lot to you, miss day. tell people how your stage name is a tribute to billie's nickname. >> yeah, so that was actually really how i developed my stage name was because of billie holiday. i didn't want it to be a complete rip, so i didn't want to take holiday, so i kept name, cassandra, and left andra, and that's where that comes from, and love the relationship between billie holiday and lester young. he gave her the name lady day and she gave him the name the president and then he gave her mother the name of duchess and always called themselves the

royal family so i loved lady day. i love ow that sounded and, you know, i was just very classy, very regal and so it's where the day came from. >> how much did you foe about her life story before taking part in this film? >> you know, i've been a fan for a long time so i knew quite a bit. i've been fan since i was 11, 12 years old so i did know about the government going after her for singing "strange fruits" and i was aware that she really was, you know, sort of early godmother of the civil rights movement. the degree to which they went after her, i think, was alarming for me. the jimmy fletcher piece was revelatory for me as well and made me love her even deeper. there were broad shoulders she was carrying. >> we want to give everybody a look. let's do it. >> what is the government's problem with billie holiday? why is the government always after you? >> my song, "strange fruit."

it reminds them that they're killing us. reminds them -- it reminds you too, reginald. >> we all have said we cannot wait to see this movie. you haven't seen it yourself. why not? >> you would bring that up. [ laughter ] >> curious. >> oh, no, you know what it is, i have to tell you, i -- my experience with lee daniels, with suzan-lori parks, with garrett, tyler, miss lawrence, natasha, melvin, i could say every single one of their names and every single interview and with the entire production was paradigm shifting and one of the most amazing experiences of my life so, you know, i will say because i'm scared, but i think

the real reason is because it feels like watching the film is watching the culmination of everything we poured into her, and my experience with her was so amazing, and i love her spirit being sort of our spirits. commingling and it just seems like watching the film will be -- that's the chapter closed and i hadn't -- it's a while. there hasn't been a place where i've been willing to close that chapter. i want to watch the director's cut with lee. >> way to do it. >> he was here -- he was here yesterday and he was singing your praises. boy. uh-huh. >> we cannot wait to watch "the united states vs. billie holiday." it premieres february 26th on hulu and can't wait for your performance here in a couple of minutes. coming up next the talented quilters of gee's bend. ♪ just a little bit ♪

covid's still a threat. and on reopening schools, we know what happens when we don't put safety first. ignore proper ventilation or rates of community spread, and the virus worsens. fail to provide masks or class sizes that allow for social distancing, and classrooms close back down. a successful reopening requires real safety and accountability measures. including prioritizing vaccines for educators. parents and educators agree: reopen schools. putting safety first.

♪ respect ♪ welcome back. this morning we are celebrating black history month with the quilters of gee's bend. the women of a rural alabama town preserving the tradition of their ancestors. they use materials like clothing and bed sheets to make quilts such as these. this is their story. >> reporter: behind these colorful quilts, a patchwork of deep history, culture and tradition. >> my mother taught us how.

because we had to keep warm. >> they wasn't just quilting for pleasure. it was a necessity. it was survival. >> reporter: this tightly woven rural community located on the alabama river is called boykin or better known as gee's bend. many of the residents can trace their lineage back to slavery and the petway plantation. still shared by many in the area. >> the majority of the pettway, their name was given to them. it was a slave name. everybody had to go by the same name at that time. >> reporter: the treasured tradition of quilting passed on generation after generation. >> my mom and i used to quilt together. i would get one end and she would get the other end and we sewed until we finished. >> it was just a thing we did in this area. >> reporter: the women faithfully weaving beautiful, intricate designs onto fabric for over 200 years. >> i look at the cloth. it tells me what kind of quilt i want to make. >> i believe each one tells a

story. >> when you're doing a quilt, you pattern that quilt sometime the way your life is. sometimes it's rough. sometimes it's colorful. it's not just quilting. it's a connection you make with your quilt. >> reporter: the quilts have become celebrated and recognized as art. part of exclusive exhibits at museums across the country. >> it's important to the community to just know that we are making art because we didn't think of it as art. >> reporter: for decades tourist and quilt enthusiasts have been flocking to this remote peninsula to purchase a piece of history, but with the pandemic settling in alabama, all travel and tourism came to a halt. closing local shops and stopping sales. >> it slowed down a lot because we stayed closed a long, long time. >> reporter: stepping in to help, nonprofit organizations, nest and souls grown deep partnering with etsy providing a marketplace for the women to sell their quilts online for the very first time.

>> it mean a lot to me and this community. >> it's helping me and my family a great deal. >> this is unbelievable. i never thought in a million years this could happen to me. i've been quilting ever since i was a child. >> reporter: gee's bend's rich culture and history spreading across the world one quilt at a time. >> make me feel like i want to keep on quilting. ain't no stopping no time soon. i'm going to continue as long as i can. >> oh, please don't stop. oh, my goodness, i love their story. the quilts start at $100 and etsy has a specific section of their page to purchase directly from the gee's bend quilters and while the quilts have been celebrated for years, this is the very first time that they're able to reach such a mass audience which will hopefully give these women the recognition they deserve. so talented. all right. ginger.

so beautiful. thank you so much, robin and i've got something exciting. history is about to be made today when nasa mars 2020 perseverance rover lands on the red planet. after a trip of nearly 300 million miles taking just over 200 days, the rover will reach its destination just hours from right now. you can see it all happen live on abc newslive. this segment sponsored by adobe sign and the perseverance is going to be the most advanced rover to ever land on mars. its two-year mission, search for signs of ancient life and that will help pave the way for human exploration, of course, in the future. perhaps settlement, i don't know. i am really excited about an instrument on board called the meta. it's a weather station that's going to gather information about the mars climate and perhaps inform us about what to expect there, and maybe even refer back to earth.

we'll have much more as we watch the historic landing live on abc newslive presents mission to mars live starting at 3:30 p.m. eastern today and you get to see how the rover was created at nasa in the nat geo two-hour special "built for mars: the perseverance rover" tonight on nati good morning. enjoy dry day today because rain is returning tonight. temperatures pretty mild this afternoon. mid-50s to mid-60s. now to the-60s. now to the virtual class showing so many, especially parents, how to braid like a boss. hairstyling at home has been a challenge for a lot of people during the pandemic, but one histo hair stylist is teaching braiding techniques to people all over the world. she's join us live to answer questions in a moment but first here's her story. >> come on. >> reporter: whether they are box braids or cornrows.

>> oh, yes, i like that. >> reporter: on the surface these iconic styles are just braids. >> we just know this to be a style that black women rock. >> reporter: but to detroit stylist niani barracks, they are so much more. she's a creator of a safe space for black girls that never learned how to braid. >> over the right and then complete the rotation. >> reporter: a braiding class launched during the start of the pandemic geared towards women who may feel self-conscious for lacking the skill. >> we always assume that it's something that we all have to know how to do and then the rest of the world assumes it's something we all know how to do. >> reporter: as she began teaching classes she found women were signing up for another heartfelt reason, to build bonds with their children. >> they wanted to jo the class because they felt a disconnect with their children because they did not know how to braid or style their hair. >> i just was scared of being judged. i was like, man, i'm black and the stereotype is that black women just know how to braid

hair, but i didn't know. >> reporter: now a graduate of the class, michele says she's gained a skill to pass down to her daughter and even started an instagram to document the style. >> my daughter is biracial so i am so on top of making sure that she embraces her black side and black culture. >> reporter: for graduate sabrina tate she says braiding time with her 2-year-old son is their time. >> he loves music so we sing songs and do letters and, you know, pretty much he will sit and have a conversation. >> reporter: now parents worldwide are signing up for barracks' class. >> it makes me feel good knowing i'm doing more than styling hair. i'm helping people. >> niani barracks is joining us now, niani, thank you so much for joining us this morning. and we're just going to get straight to it. we have some questions from the most important people, your students and the first question is from athena in san diego. >> how straight does my hair need to be or do i even need to straighten my hair in order to

braid it? >> so you can braid your hair whether it's straight or curly so you could blow dry it or you can braid it in its natural state. it's all dependent on your style goals. so usually i choose my products based on which state i decide to braid in. if i'm going for a sleek look i'll typically use the magic finger shining gel and smooth it on the hair for a nice sleek look. if i'm braiding and it's curly texture, i like to use a water-based product so i typically grab a curl cream, naturalicious and add a little to the hair before i start braiding. that way my fingers can move through the hair easily. >> man i wish i knew that when i was messing up my daughters' hair. one more question, and this is from aria in lexington, kentucky. >> niani, can you explain hand placement? my fingers still don't know where they should go.

>> absolutely. that is actually a very common question. so i always know this. new students don't trust the process. so braiding is repetition, so you have to remember what your pattern is, and then trust the process because for a lot of the braid you're not going to be able to see what's happening, so one of my pointers is once you have your braid in your hand, keep your fingers close to the scalp. that's a great point especially for those who worry about iz hu -- it hurting. if your fingers are close to the scalp naturally your braid will and this discourages you from pulling the hair to make the braid tight. >> niani, thank you so much for that quick lesson. i think you're going to help so many people out there. congratulations on your classes, you're teaching braiding all around the world. i think it's fantastic so thank you. and coming up, everybody, we have a special performance by andra day. you don't want to miss it. "gma's" travel to mars is

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we welcome back andra day. she will perform her new original song from "the united states vs. billie holiday" soundtrack. she stars as the legendary jazz singer in the movie. here she is singing "tigress and tweed." ♪ say, say, say, mm, say, say, say, say a prayer for me ♪ ♪ strange fruit come down off that tree, cut it down under your feet ♪ ♪ juicy fruit so bittersweet ♪ ♪ fruit stand tall, these roots go deep ♪

♪ strange fruit busting on these leaves, ancestors don't take defeat ♪ ♪ left the scent of victory in the air, tigress and tweed ♪ ♪ ooh, ooh, lentheric, you carry it ♪ ♪ i'm tired, grin, bear it ♪ ♪ the truth of these, you carry it, future, you and your chariot ♪ ♪ say a prayer for me ah, ah-aah ♪ ♪ 'cause i don't get no sleep, ah, ah-aah ♪ ♪ say a prayer for me, ah, ah-aah ♪ ♪ mm, say, say, say chariot ♪

♪ but i been rallying the troops, chariots aflame in line behind my msai' coupe ♪ ♪ damu at these roots ♪ ♪ it's thick, too, made big fruit, big vines always pressing that line ♪ ♪ so full of love and light the truth is black and white ♪ ♪ say a prayer for me ah, ah-aah ♪ ♪ 'cause i don't get no sleep ah, ah-aah ♪ ♪ say a prayer for me ah, ah-aah ♪ ♪ mm, say, say, say ah, ah-aah ♪ ♪ say ♪ ♪ mm, say, say, say say, say, say, say a prayer, mm me ♪

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>> announcer: robin roberts, george stephanopoulos, michael strahan, come on, we could all use some good in our mornings, so join us, wake up with america's number one most watched morning show, abc's -- >> "good morning america," oh, how i love saying that. >> how good was andra day? >> fantastic. what a voice. >> have a great day, everyone. ♪ 'cause i don't get no sleep ♪ ♪ 'cause i don't get no sleep ♪

covid's still a threat. and on reopening schools, we know what happens when we don't put safety first. ignore proper ventilation or rates of community spread, and the virus worsens. fail to provide masks or class sizes that allow for social distancing,

and classrooms close back down. a successful reopening requires real safety and accountability measures. including prioritizing vaccines for educators. parents and educators agree: reopen schools. putting safety first. reopen schools. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ receive a chargepoint home flex charger or a $500 public charging credit. see your volvo retailer for details.

>> announcer: building a better bay area for a safe and secure future. this is abc7 news. good morning, everyone. i'm kumasi aaron from "abc7 mornings." now here is a good excuse to stop for a breath of fresh air. look at this. it is a large flower bloom on highway 1 in santa cruz county. people are taking advantage of the nice weather to stop by and take a few pictures. one couple said they can't remember seeing a bloom this large. you can see it for yourself, off highway 1. here is mike with a look at our forecast. >> gorgeous. today we're going to have a nice day. it will be void of anything extreme. we have clouds taking away our sunshine, though, but we'll be nice this afternoon. low to mid-60s. tonight is when the rain starts to roll in. up until midnight, it's in the north bay. after that, it's in the rest of your neighborhoods. tomorrow morning's commute is

going to be wet. now it's time for "live with kelly and ryan." we'll be back at 11:00 for "midday live," a ♪ ♪ >> announcer: it is "live" with kelly and ryan. today, leslie mann. exclusively for amazing viewers, bargain to make your life easier! plus, a canadian family in a snowman business, and delivering our good news story of the day. also your thoughts and comments on another addition of "the inbox" all next on "live." and now here are kelly ripa and ryan seacrest! >> ryan: good morning. happy thursday. we are almost there. it is thursday, february 18th, good morning kelly rep.