good morning, america. water crisis. millions of people in america's south struggling to get clean drinking water after winter storms affected public supply systems. >> how long is it going to be before your residents have clean drinking water? >> vaccination sites turned into distribution centers. firefighters hampered by frozen pipes, americans battling and falling victim to the cold, yet coming together to help each other. >> she was just really touched and said, it's good to know there's still good people left in the world. >> our team coverage this morning. vaccine slowdown. distribution disrupted by the extreme winter weather. 6 million doses delayed. impacting all 50 states. when the backlog will ease as we get major news on when students can expect to be vaccinated.

the months' long delay in the time line. royal update. prince philip remains in the hospital for the weekend. what we're hearing about his condition, all this as we learn harry and meghan will not be returning as working members of the royal family. the queen's statement and the sharp reaction in the uk. hollywood split. kim kardashian files for divorce from kanye west. the end of their 6 1/2-year marriage. what we're learning from the documents filed. and champion crowned. >> osaka is champion in australia for the second time. >> naomi osaka's victory at the australian open with a win against american jennifer brady. now undefeated in her four grand slam finals. hey, good morning on a

weekend where approximately 14 million americans are being warned about the water coming out of the taps in their homes. many of them are being told to boil their water because of utility failures due to extreme winter weather. we're talking about places such as memphis, tennessee, tulsa, oklahoma and jackson, mississippi. but mostly we are, of course, talking about the state of texas where a quarter of the population has no drinking water. >> it's a result of massive power failures shutting down water treatment plants, plus countless individual disasters due to burst pipes in homes. the electricity situation is improving. houston, for instance, says fewer than 5,000 customers are still without power. three days ago that was more than 1 million. >> so progress, yes, but the water crisis seems to be straining everything and everyone affected. some stores are rationing essentials. communities are trucking in emergency water supplies now. abc's trevor ault is in houston with the very latest on all of it. trevor, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, whit.

so you said it, conditions are improving but here in houston this morning, once again temperatures fell below freezing. and millions of people in texas and beyond are enduring a cascading list of problems from burst pipes to hunger and in some instances death. this morning, mounting devastation in texas. the death toll from freezing temperatures and widespread outages rising higher. >> went out there and he had no response. he was already cold. >> reporter: toni anderson lost her husband andy to hypothermia. with their house flooding she found him in the garage after his home oxygen machine ran out of electricity. >> this is great if you got electricity, but if you don't have electricity, that's worthless. it's worthless. >> reporter: and 11-year-old christian peneda pavon seen here playing in the snow monday found dead in his bed the next day. his family believes he died in freezing temperatures inside their powerless home.

most of texas has since seen its power restored. in austin, these people celebrating after 87 hours without power. but the struggle now is finding clean water. more than 14 million still under a boil water advisory. across the state cities setting up massive water distribution sites like this one in houston. >> there's been a constant stream of people showing up here today. some of them waiting hours to get clean drinking water. this is typically a mass vaccination site. today it's repurposed with city employees and volunteers giving out more than a million bottles. >> two cases of water per car, and we're also giving out masks. >> reporter: houston's mayor says there's still a long road ahead and a complicated process getting the water treated, inspected and approved. how long is it going to be before your residents have clean drinking water? >> it's a technical difference. it could be sunday. i'm saying monday, but give or take one day on other side. could be sunday, could be tuesday. >> reporter: burst pipes already

causing damage in thousands of homes, and overnight in killeen firefighters battling this massive fire saying the hotel's sprinkler system wasn't working because the pipes were frozen from the bitter cold. and the rubio family just weeks after losing their father, robert to coronavirus, now losing their house to a fire on tuesday while trying to stay warm. robert's daughter alison managed to grab his photograph on her way out. >> i was just thinking like, i can't forget my dad, you know. >> reporter: and president biden is now deciding if he wants to visit texas to assess the damage this week, he says he knows the people need help but doesn't want his presence to be a burden as so many are suffering. eva. >> let's turn to the mayor of austin, texas, steve adler, mayor, thank you so much for being with us this morning. i want to start by asking you how is your city doing right now? what's the latest on the situation there?

>> it's still rough, and it's in part rough just because it's been going on so long. we have people without power for up to a week, and now most of my city is under a water constraint. a lot of my city doesn't have any water, and anywhere in my city where there is, we're boiling water just as a precaution. this has been going on way too long. people are angry and tired here. >> i can only imagine. when do you think everything, the power, the water will be back and running completely? >> we don't know the answer to that, and that in and of itself is frustrating. yesterday was the first day we had any sustained period above freezing. it should be warmer today. what we're going to find out is what is the full extent of the leakage and the breakage of our main lines and our pipes. we need to know that in order to know what the integrity of our water system is so that we can pressure it up and then get clearance to go. but it's going to be at least a couple -- three days.

>> i know the white house says it's been in contact with you and about 20 other texas mayors just to check in on what you guys need. what did you tell the white l t house that you need right now? >> what we need right now more than anything else is fema cooperation to make sure we'll get reimbursed for the things that we're doing and water. water is what we need, bottled water. it's impossible to source in texas. if there's anything the federal government can do right now would be to load up some real big planes and fill them with water bottles and send them down here. >> and texas had millions without power. and now it's millions without water. what went wrong here? who's to blame? >> you know, i think what went wrong here is the way we regulate the power grid in the state. there's been such an emphasis in texas at the state level of creating inexpensive energy. there hasn't been an incentive for the people that make energy all around the state, no market incentive to harden our system at these really low

temperatures, and we need to build in that system. either we have to create the incentives, or we have to require it by regulation, because we're going to see more and more extreme weather events over time. this is the third time i've seen something like this. this is unusual but not unforeseeable. >> well, mayor, we appreciate you being with us this morning. our thoughts are with you and everyone in texas today. dan, over to you. >> eva, thank you. as you said, we're thinking about our friends in texas, incredible stories out of the lone star state. let's talk now about another aspect of american life that the cold weather is affecting, vaccine distribution. abc's alex presha is in washington with more on that. alex, good morning to you. >> reporter: dan, good morning. so this weather has literally slowed millions of doses of vaccine from getting to the americans that need it the most, and it comes as the u.s. is getting closer to another grim milestone during this pandemic. this morning, the u.s. is closing in on 500,000 covid-19

deaths and many are struggling with their biggest weapon against virus, vaccinations. winter weather wreaking havoc on distribution efforts. the white house saying, 6 million doses have been delayed, impacting all 50 states and anticipates the backlog doses will get delivered within the next week. for 71-year-old mary beth barber in washington, frustration is an understatement. >> it's a nightmare. >> reporter: she managed to secure a vaccine appointment earlier this week, but it got canceled. >> you work so hard, and it takes you a month to find a spot. it's really tough when you're told, well, you're going to start over again. >> reporter: and in los angeles, cars bumper to bumper outside dodger stadium. nearly 12,500 vaccine hopefuls striking out. their doses delayed. >> i'm 66 years old. you know, i've got two young kids at home. this is super important to me. >> reporter: president biden

travelled to kalamazoo, michigan, friday, touring a pfizer facility. starting next week these lines will be able to produce 700,000 doses per hour. pfizer also saying its vaccine which had to be stored at 94 degrees below zero can now be stored in regular medical freezers for up to two weeks once it arrives at vaccination sites. new data shows cases of covid hospitalizations have declined since peaking in january. still, president biden won't commit a date when this crisis will end. >> i believe we'll be approaching normalcy by the end of this year and, god willing, this christmas will be different than last, but i can't make that commitment to you. >> reporter: and yesterday biden pledged $4 billion to help vaccine efforts in poor countries. whit? >> all right. alex presha for us in washington, thank you. for more on the vaccine rollout we're joined by white house senior adviser for covid response andy slavitt. mr. slavitt, good morning to you. thanks for joining us. i want to ask first about kids and the vaccine.

dr. fauci is now saying high school students likely will get vaccinated starting in the fall but elementary students will have to wait until early 2022. this is nearly a five-month shift later than his previous estimate. can you provide some clarity on why the timeline has changed and when children can actually start getting vaccinated? >> yeah, well, if only dr. fauci was able to control it himself. the truth is that we've got to run these clinical trials. the trials are pretty simple for trials because we know a lot already. we need to make sure that the vaccines are safe, which we believe they are, and the reason it takes the time it takes is because you have to have enough events. you have to have enough infections to know whether or not the placebo group is behaving and responding differently to the nonplacebo group. an because symptoms are so mild in kids, generally speaking, it will take a little bit longer. so they're going to do it by age group, and they're going to

ratchet it down, and so the real answer is it takes as long as it takes. >> but do you believe that dr. fauci's latest time line is accurate, high school students maybe as early as the fall at the earliest? >> well, the general rule of thumb -- i believe dr. fauci has as good an estimate as anybody. the fact that he's even willing to make an estimate is pretty brave given that, you know, there is a whole bunch of unknowns. but i think he's trying to give the public the best sense possible. hopefully by the fall, however, if we all do our jobs right, we will be in a much lighter situation in terms of the spread of covid-19, and many, many, many, if not all, adults will be vaccinated, which will completely change the picture. >> i do want to ask about the impact of these devastating storms that have swept across the country. they have delayed vaccine shipments by at least three days in some places, a total of 6 million or so doses. how quickly will you be able to make up for lost time and get back on track? >> well, first of all, my heart goes out to all the people that

are still without water and that have been affected by the storm. it's an awful challenge on top of what people are already dealing with. yesterday was a very good day. we shipped over 4.5 million doses, so we caught up a lot. 1.85 million doses got into people's arms yesterday. and we have fedex, u.p.s. working all weekend, and we're shipping on saturdays. so, you know, i said yesterday that it would be within a week before we caught un. my -- obviously i said that hoping we would do a lot better and i think we will. but what's going to have to happen is that the folks out administering vaccines, i hope they're all -- and we're asking them to extend their hours and we're asking them to make more appointments because we are going to be shipping, you know, in effect, twice as many doses over the next week as we would have otherwise. >> now, just this week two new studies indicated both the pfizer and moderna vaccines may not work as well against the south african variant. what plans are in place now to start adjusting these vaccines

for the new variants that are out there and the ones still to come? >> well, let me give you two pieces to that answer. first of all, my interpretation of the news is different than yours in one important regard. they do work not as well against the south african variant according to these studies as they do against what we call the wild type or the variant we're used to. however, really important for the public to understand is that the test shows that they work above the threshold, the effectiveness threshold. so what does that mean translated in english? what that means is that they give you an immune response, not as much of an immune response but they give you -- your antibodies do get triggered. so that's relatively speaking very good news. now to the second part of your question, we are anticipating that the vaccines as well as the therapies may need to be continually updated as and if there are more mutations. and, in fact, early next week you are going to see guidance

coming out from the fda for pharmaceutical companies that will show them how we're going to create a process to do that. i've personally talked to the ceos of each of these companies and each has plans to be working, many already are working in the lab, to make sure that they've got a vaccine or a therapy that's up dateable. >> we'll be looking forward to early next week, getting more information on that hopefully. mr. andy slavitt, thank you for your time this morning. we do appreciate it. >> thanks, whit. >> eva, over to you. now to the royals and buckingham palace's major announcement about harry and meghan, plus an update on prince philip's condition. let's go to abc's julia macfarlane at buckingham palace. good morning to you, julia. >> reporter: good morning, eva. that's right, prince philip is reportedly in good spirits, but nothing is being left to chance. after checking into the private king edward vii hospital in central london on tuesday after feeling unwell, doctors now want to keep price philip over the

weekend and into next week for observation. in typical style buckingham palace giving no detail on the reason for the duke's admission stressing his hospitalization was just a precaution. meanwhile, an ocean away news coming that harry and meghan's break with the royal family is final. buckingham palace yesterday announcing the couple who are expecting their second child will not be returning as working members of the royal family, stripping them of their patronages and honorary appointments. for harry this means the loss of his military roles, which he has long cherished. a statement from the palace reading, the queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of the royal family, it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service. while all are saddened by their decision, the duke and duchess remain much loved members of the family. the sussexes almost immediately shooting back with their own

statement, the duke and duchess of sussex remain committed to their duty and service to the uk, regardless of official role. we can all live a life of service. service is universal. >> you can very much tell from the tone of the two statements that there are still significant tensions between buckingham palace and the sussexes over the terms of their departure, and it's clear that the ramifications for the family really do run deep. >> reporter: so when harry and meghan quit their life in london last year, they said their decision would be reviewed within the year. now, this announcement was likely long scheduled, but the timing of all of this with prince harry's elderly grandfather in the hospital is being seen here as indicative of a deepening rift in the royal family. dan? >> julia, thank you very much. let's get back to our top story, the weather. it looks like the major winter blast is starting to end. so let's get more on that now from the actual expert, rob, who is in westchester county, new york. rob, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, dan. what's been so remarkable about

this cold blast is the length and just how widespread it is. 3,000 daily records set. 79 all-time records for the cold weather and the snow that stretched from new england all the way back through the midwest. we had some snow across parts of the northeast as the tail end came through and snowplows were out near jones beach, anywhere from 2 to, say, 4 to 5 inches in boston. chicago, you had so much snow and cold that the weight of that snow bringing down the awning of this gas station. but the big story, of course, has been the dramatic cold and deadly cold across the south, southern plains. texas, you are remaining in a hard freeze warning as does louisiana, mississippi, jackson. i know you're suffering. 20 degrees there. currently 28 in houston, but look at the numbers jump once we get past the 10:00, 11:00, noon hour. 48 in dallas. 60 in houston. that is going to begin to melt things out and thaw things out and won't have a hard freeze tonight. this long lasting cold, the pattern will shift completely and we will see temperatures that will jump into the 60s, maybe lower 70s

for houston by the midweek. good saturday morning. a look from our east bay hills camera. you can see some sun here and nice afternoon although on the cool side with northwesterly winds blowing. in fact, quite dwusy over mt. diablo and along the coast. we get a warm up tomorrow and really get engaged more so monday and tuesday with some 70s arriving. 62 in oakland today. so, one of the warmer locations but on the breezy to windy side. 59 in fremont and the >> so many americans suffering through this cold snap this week, and a lot of people just struggling to survive as we've seen, especially in texas so we want to take this time to highlight some of the everyday citizens that are stepping in to help out. as millions of americans struggle through the cold snap crisis in texas, good samaritans

are stepping up like max bozeman ii, owner of the greasy spoon soul food bistro in houston who after seeing people in need on social media began to reach out. >> basically made a post on my instagram page saying, hey, look, i need ten people who don't have food, don't have groceries to dm me so i can send you $100. >> reporter: he's now donated to over 80 families and even provided hotel rooms for those without power, totaling $15,000. then there's raymond garcia. after losing power at his own home in houston spent the day going door to door fixing his neighbor's pipes. last week he lost his mother to covid-19. he says she inspired him to do good for others. >> my mom always taught me, you know, if you help and you give to people, god will always bless you, and you know what, i've been blessed. >> reporter: austin residents, katherine and dax, were reading posts on the ring website neighbors when they saw a cry for help.

>> it just said, can anyone please bring warm food to an elderly couple? they haven't had power since sunday, and they might not even have food. >> reporter: so they cooked several pots of food and trekked almost two miles to the elderly couple's home. >> she was just really touched and said it's good to know there's still good people left in the world. >> reporter: there certainly are a lot of good people. every time we have one of these catastrophes, our hearts are warmed by the everyday citizens there do step in to help out. if you want to help out and i know our viewers do the salvation army and red cross, of course the mercy chefs, we highlighted them during the hurricane season, the houston food bank needs food, they need water. they certainly need our love and support as well, guys, what a tough time across the south this week. >> great seeing all these people step up, though, to lend a hand. also warm temperatures on the way. we look forward to that. rob, thank you so much. we appreciate it. still ahead here, splitting up. kim kardashian files for divorce from kanye west. what we're learning this morning

about the breakup. covid protocols. the nba moving ahead with the all-star game in spite of resistance from some players. and breaking barriers, how six college friends made their aviation dreams come true in an industry that is still struggling to increase diversity. we'll be right back with much more on "gma." keep it here. "good morning america" is sponsored by subaru. love, it's what makes subaru subaru. (vo) last year when people were going hungry, subaru and our retailers donated 50 million meals to feeding america. and yet, one in four children may still face hunger. so, as part of our love promise, subaru and our retailers are doing it again, donating an additional 100 million meals to help those in need. love. it's never been needed more than right now. subaru. more than a car company.

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10:00 this morning. those struggling from the pandemic can pull up to the high school on mendocino avenue. it runs until noon. hey, lisa. >> we were up early and had a little rain and now about the wind. from emeryville you can see the camera shaking. it will look warmer than it feels out there. 43 santa rosa and 50 in novatoa and gusty winds from the north bay to the peninsula. highest winds in the hills and

osaka is champion in australia for the second time. >> welcome back to "gma" on this saturday morning. that is naomi osaka winning her fourth grand slam title just a short time ago, defeating 25-year-old american jennifer brady in two straight sets at the australian open. congrats to her. >> yes. let's take a look at some of the other big stories we're following this morning. happening right now, water crisis. this morning millions of americans are struggling to get clean water. many in the southern states are being told to boil their water because of utility failures due to the extreme weather. vaccination sites are now turning into water sites with long lines for bottled water and power is finally coming back on for many in houston where just

three days ago more than a million customers were in the dark. also right now a massive turnout in philadelphia for the first of its kind 24-hour vax-a-thon held by the black doctors covid-19 consortium. the group of doctors volunteering to vaccinate any eligible people who live within philadelphia's hardest hit zip codes during the event. some people saying they waited nine hours for their turn but adding, it's worth it. amanda kloots posting on instagram that she received her first dose of the covid-19 vaccine. you may remember her husband broadway star nick cordero died in july after a long battle with the virus. kloots revealing she spent hours waiting in her car hoping to get a leftover vaccine, and it worked. we're going to start this half hour with kim kardashian filing for divorce from her husband kanye west. their high-profile marriage coming to an end after 6 1/2 years of living in a reality show spotlight. abc's zohreen shah is on that story. zohreen, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, dan.

america has been watching kim kardashian's story unfold for the last 14 years. kanye west came into the picture partway through it all. kardashian has been sharing stories of their engagement, their wedding, their children, but there is a different storyline now, an ending. this morning, one of hollywood's biggest power couples is calling it quits. media mogul kim kardashian filing for divorce from her husband kanye west being seen without her wedding ring the night before filing, one day after kanye was seen still wearing his wedding band. the pair splitting up but reportedly making things as amicable as possible for their children and now looking to divide a global empire. >> you're talking about a lot of money between two people. you know, he's worth over $1 billion. kim is worth close to a billion dollars. you know, that's not just sign on the dotted lines. >> reporter: the superstar

couple began dating in 2012 and had their first child a year later with west proposing using a massive screen at an empty ballpark in san francisco. >> just can't seem to catch a break. >> reporter: after recent strains on their marriage spilled into public view. ♪ i do, got to, love you ♪ >> reporter: their divorce comes after more than a decade in the spotlight including west's ill-fated campaign for president in 2020. >> kanye west, run for president, i'm going to split the black votes. >> reporter: last year following several incidents raising concerns about west's mental health, kardashian broke her silence, writing on instagram, as many of you know, kanye has bipolar disorder. anyone who has this or has a loved one in their life who does knows how incredibly complicated and painful it is to understand. through it all west has remained an entertainment titan. album sales have soared, and his fashion line is starting a

new ten-year deal with gap, this as kardashian shifts her focus to political issues like criminal justice reform. >> you know, she's going to law school. she's expecting to take the bar exam next year. you know, this is going to be kim kardashian 2.0. >> reporter: according to "forbes," the couple is worth $2 billion. they have a prenup, and now the heightened attention of all their fans as they enter the 20th and the final season of "keeping up with the kardashians." whit? >> a lot of complicated details to work out, not to mention the kids in the middle of it all. zohreen, thank you so much. we do want to turn now to the world of sports. baseball spring training under way with new covid-19 protocols aimed at keeping players healthy. and the nba also going ahead with the all-star game despite pushback from some players but making changes to the way things are usually done because of the pandemic. abc's elwyn lopez joins us from where it will all take place next month in atlanta. elwyn, good morning. >> reporter: whit, good morning.

it was originally a no go for the nba all-star game. now it is set to take place at this arena behind me in early march, which has officials reminding fans, this is a made for television event. this morning, mounting concerns in atlanta as officials urge people not to flock to the city ahead of the nba all-star game. >> we're just asking people to please continue to respect where we are with this pandemic. we don't need more people crowding bars and clubs in our city. >> reporter: the nba scrapped its initial plans to hold the game citing the pandemic. now it is back on march 7th, but without the usual fanfare. >> there will be absolutely no social functions in atlanta. no ticketed events, no parties. >> reporter: players and staff will live in what the league is calling a mini bubble with a private shuttle to and from atlanta, regular covid-19 testing and a one-hotel stay. the same goes for their guests. still some players blasting the

idea altogether. >> i don't even understand why we're having an all-star game. i'll be there physically but not mentally. >> reporter: all of this as the mlb gears up for spring training. on friday nine players and four staffers testing positive for the virus. and -- >> sends that one deep. >> reporter: this season some baseball players hoping to trade in those cardboard cutouts and piped in crowd noise for the real thing. >> fans should be in the stands, 100%. you can do it. we're in an outdoor stadium. >> reporter: this week the league announcing new safety protocols such as requiring contact tracing devices at its facilities. last season the league facing an uphill battle against the virus with more than two dozen players testing positive including cardinals pitcher carlos martinez now ready to bounce back. >> after covid, i don't feel like -- i was not comfortable in my body, you know, but right now i feel like big power, a lot of energy and i'm -- i feel good.

>> reporter: the nba also announcing it will give more than $2.5 million to historically black colleges and universities as part of holding the all-star weekend. whit? >> all right, he will win, thank you so much. tonight nba saturday prime time on abc features a 2020 nba finals rematch as the nba champs, los angeles lakers and lebron james host the miami heat and jimmy butler at 8:30 p.m. eastern on abc. home of the nba finals. >> i'll be live tweeting it. >> i'm sure you will with your analysis. >> my analysis, yes. >> excellent. time now for a check of our weather with our favorite bearded weatherman, meteorologist i should say, rob marciano. >> hey. >> are you going to be looking for dan's analysis? >> hi, eva. i won't be. i'll be practicing my free throws on my driveway basketball net, which is covered in snow. that will be an interesting sight for sure. good morning again, guys. we've been talking about this cold blast, of course, kind of the tail end of it, but it's been so widespread, so we want to highlight what's going on in the west. look, the mountains have gotten a tremendous amount of snow

after barely seeing anything for two months. because of that extreme avalanche danger has been ongoing for the past week, so they've been mitigating here. this is little cottonwood canyon on the way up to snowbird. this was man-made in order to prevent a big one. all right, the next storm coming in not going to be as big as the last one, thankfully for seattle and portland. total snow up to 12 inches in the mountains and some light to valley rain and jumps over -- brings another fresh dusting for the rockies but milwaukee, chicago, you get a little pulse of snow tomorrow night. then cleveland, pittsburgh, monday morning then kind of fading as it heads towards the northeast. not a whole lot of accumulation but anywhere from one to six inches across the great lakes. good morning to you, east bay cameras and temperatures below average and breezy to windy conditions from mid 50s at the coast to >> reporter: this weather >> reporter: this weather report sponsored by jardiance.

i was trying to make a snowball big enough to be a basketball but it's not that kind of snowbally snow. maybe the next hour. we'll see. >> i'll come over and show you how it's done on my way home. >> thanks, dan. thank you. sounds good. >> you're welcome. thanks, bud. appreciate it. great job out there. as always. here's what's coming up on "gma," the six united airlines pilots who graduated college together, how their dreams took flight. you're on it. staying fit and snacking light? yup, on it there too. you may think you're doing all you can to manage type 2 diabetes and heart disease... ...but could your medication do more to lower your heart risk? jardiance can reduce the risk of cardiovascular death for adults who also have known heart disease. so, it could help save your life from a heart attack or stroke. and it lowers a1c. jardiance can cause serious side effects including dehydration, ...genital yeast or urinary tract infections, and sudden kidney problems. ketoacidosis is a serious side effect that may be fatal. a rare but life-threatening bacterial infection

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welcome back to "gma" and the pilots soaring over barriers to achieve their dreams. the six who graduated from hampton university's aviation program together are all now proud captains at united airlines, and janai has much more. >> reporter: it's a bond born in 1997 when six hampton university students dared to dream higher. >> what are your plans for the future? >> well, i plan to be flying united 747. >> reporter: that dream taking flight. today more than 20 years later they're all united airlines pilots. >> our friendship goes beyond just fellow students or peers. it really has become a bit of a family. >> if you see it, you can achieve it. that's a real thing, and so us together, we maybe didn't see it

outside of us, but us, we could see it in each other. >> reporter: talking exclusively to "gma," sharing the story of their friendship that not only broke barriers, but proved you can go higher and further together. >> get some good people with you and i think you can definitely -- what you can achieve together is incredible. >> reporter: they're dominating an industry with almost zero diversity. among airline pilots in the u.s. only 3.4% are black and even more divided when you factor in gender. black women make up less than 1% of all u.s. pilots. >> i can't promise that their world is going to be easy, but what i can say is that every barrier can be knocked down. >> when i was starting this, i did not know that you could be an african-american pilot. but through the grace of hbcus and my friends here, i was able to do it. >> reporter: as these friends continue smashing through glass ceilings, they realize they're soaring on the wings of the black aviators before them like

marlon green whose landmark supreme court decision in 1963 made it possible for david harris to be hired as the nation's first black pilot of a major airline. >> we had trailblazers, captain bill norwood, captain marlon green, captain ward. all that were before us that put in the time to make it easier for us. >> hopefully with the knowledge of the past and helping out others, we won't be the last. >> reporter: today in the groundbreaking program aviate they're assisting united airlines in clearing the runway for the next generation. >> it's not an easy path, but nothing that's worth it is easy and this is definitely worth it. >> reporter: in all, 11 pilots from hampton university are flying for united airlines, another nod to hbcus. as for these six friends who all took flight training together, talk about reaching for the sky. they say they pushed each other, motivated each other, mentored each other proving that teamwork

makes the dream work, guys. >> actually a lot of science that suggests doing things with your friends can make it easier and better and more fun. it's really quite moving, janai, to see the six there of all those pilots. >> really cool what they accomplished. >> great story, janai. thank you. what's coming up on "gma," the postcards all the way from mars from the rover perseverance. thanks, janai. what's coming up on "gma," the postcards all the way from mars from the rover perseverance. ession. but inside was a different story. even though i'd been on an antidepressant for months, i was still feeling depressed. is there anything more i can do? yes, adding rexulti may help. when taken with an antidepressant, rexulti was proven to reduce depression symptoms an extra 62% compared to the antidepressant alone. so you can stay on your current treatment and help build on your progress. rexulti can cause serious side effects. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. antidepressants may increase suicidal thoughts and worsen depression in those under 25. call your doctor about fever, stiff muscles, and confusion,

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dramatic new images from mars like we've never seen before. the rover perseverance sending back high-definition color photos from the red planet. this one taken as it was about to land on mars. the most advanced robot ever sent into space hanging from its jetpack. >> you can see the dust kicked up by the rover's engines. we're probably about two meters or so above the surface of mars. >> reporter: this image from a camera under perseverance showing that martian horizon, the rover's shadow clearly in view. perseverance has 23 cameras on board. the rover surviving those seven minutes of terror as it entered the mars atmosphere thursday, successfully landing in an ancient dried up lake. >> touchdown, confirmed. perseverance. safely on the surface of mars. >> reporter: and soon for the first time perseverance should allow us to hear sounds from the surface of mars then yet another ambitious project, perseverance

will eventually unleash the first ever helicopter to fly on mars, ingenuity. this here is that helicopter. this is going to be the first ever helicopter to fly on another planet. it is just four pounds. the images capturing an extraordinary effort to search for signs of ancient life. for "good morning america," gio benitez, abc news at nasa's jet propulsion lab in pasadena. >> just so cool. makes you feel like a kid again, doesn't it? >> i'm looking forward to hearing the sounds of mars. >> i want to see the videos. i want more pictures. >> there we go. more pictures to come. >> yes. we'll be right back with our "play of the day." be right bacr "play of the day." their successes... and...their hardships. i think that's part of what i want my kids to know. they come from people who... were brave. and took risks. big risks. no pressure. [short laugh] bring your family history to life, like never before.

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treadmill. >> look at that. >> 7. things getting even more complicated for him when cousin remy places cones in front of him to navigate. that's -- here we go. >> ready. >> step it up a notch. >> this is amazing. >> really amazing. think about it, and all dan learned to do during the pandemic was create an etsy account. >> oh, man. we'll see you soon. we'll be back with our second hour. >> announcer: next week eddie murphy is coming to "gma" to talk working with his own daughter on one of the year's most anticipated movies. >> it was really fun. building a better bay area for a safe and secure future, this is abc7 news. the. >> good morning, everybody. i'm liz kreutz. a fund-raiser is waiting on food to bring people together. a virtual cook along to raise money for good good eats in brooklyn that helps bridge divides between the black and asian communities. participants will learn to make

chinese dumpblings. a co-organizer said it was inspired by helplessness and anger over the recent attacks in china town. it will include discussions about lunar new year and black history month. with no chinese new year parade this year moving to different forms of fun. the city of san francisco is putting together a parade schedule, instead. you can find the details on facebook.com/chineseparade. check out one of the parade floats at pier 27. all right, let's get a check of the weather now with meteorologist lisa argen. hey, lisa. >> hey, liz. we see the sun behind you and lingering showers in the south bay and around san jose a few drops and the upper elevations and the hills and looking at still isolated shower activity. san rafael nice and sunny and 54 in oakland with 50 on the coast with the winds where picking up. this is a look at 87 where you can see certainly have some drops out there. 50 in novato and those winds are gusting at about 40 miles per

hour at times. the winds kicking up along the shoreline and the upper elevations throughout the entire bay area. breezy today even in the valleys with highs in the low 60s and sun on the way and looking at the cooler than average day today and mainly because of the strong, northwesterly winds. the seven-day forecast will bedw begin to warm up tomorrow and spring-like weather tomorrow and tuesday. liz? >> the news continues with "gma" and we'll see you back here at

good morning, america. it's our second hour, and happening right now, tragedy in texas. millions facing a water crisis after the deep freeze disrupted public supply. across the state people being told to boil water to drink, the latest this morning. race to vaccinate, winter weather impacting coronavirus vaccine shipments. the white house saying 6 million doses have been delayed. what we're learning. following a string of violent attacks against asian-americans, an arrest made after a chinese woman was attacked outside a bakery in new york. actress olivia munn, a friend of the victim's family, thanking the nypd and social media for helping identify the suspect. we're going to hear from the daughter of the victim plus the latest straight from olivia munn in our "gma" cover s.