women. >> have a good one. right now on "america this morning" -- the investigation into the terrifying mid-air scare over colorado. >> big noise. big boom. the first thing i really thought about the plane. >> this united airlines engine exploding. landing on the streets of a denver suburb. planes now grounded. new inspections ordered. the u.s. coronavirus death toll expected to surpass a half a million people today. dr. anthony fauci's new message on mask and how long we'll be wearing them and conflicting reports when we'll finally reach herd immunity. >> water woes. the millions of people across texas without safe drinking

water. the new fallout after people started getting sky-high electric bills. up to $17,000. new this morning -- alex trebek's son speaks out about a decision involving his late father. from tom brady expressing his boredom to the woman who just rode the atlantic ocean solo, all the trending stories for your monday morning. good monday morning, everyone. i'm kenneth moton. we begin with new details overnight about that united airlines engine that exploded over colorado. >> we're hearing from more passengers who saw this out their window. one saying she thought it was a bomb. another said the cabin was so quiet after the explosion you could have heard a pin drop.

>> the why the fan blades broke apart. >> we're also learning more about the company that made the engine and its troubled past this morning, investigators in colorado are searching for a key piece of evidence to determine what caused that engine failure over denver. experts are pointing to this video showing a fan blade broken in half. finding the other piece of that blade is now critical to the investigation. >> the fan blade or the piece of the fan blade because you'd like to have two sides of the failure. >> reporter: 2231 passengers were on the flight from denver to honolulu saturday. the engine bursting into flames and breaking apart at 15,000 feet. >> we held hands and we started praying.

>> reporter: sitting next to her two daughters. >> at one point i turned to talk to her and i could see debris flying out our window and i kind of told her, let's not look outside and let's close this window and let's just pray this out and that's kind of what we did to calm down. >> reporter: on the ground massive pieces of the plane rained down on this neighborhood. this large chunk of metal landing in a front yard. >> that debris is squattered for blocks and blocks. >> when i stood up i went, oh, no, that's the front of a jet engine off of an airplane. >> reporter: no one on board or on the ground were injured. the faa is ordering immediate or stepped-up inspections of boeing 777 that use the engines. two airlines in japan are

grounding boeing planes powered by the engine that are built with a unique design. one expert compared it to a chocolate easter bunny with hollow ears. >> is it possible that there's some kind of hidden flaw from this blade from years ago that took a long time to work its way to the surface and somehow got missed by the inspections. >> reporter: overnight, pratt and whitney said they're working with investigation. an ntsb found that inspector training problems where the probable cause of a general gin problem, that flight also landed safely. the company said it deployed corrective actions that addressed the cause of the event as result of the investigation. according to faa the united airlines is the only airline with engine in its fleet. similar mid-air scare played

out in the netherlands. this time a cargo plane headed to new york, forcing the pilot to land in belgium. two people injured and homes and cars were damaged as debris fell. the u.s. death toll from the coronavirus is dppt expected to top 500,000 people today. cases are down sharply. dr. fauci says we may have to wear masks through next year. we have the latest. thank you so much for joining us. >> good morning. 500,000 deaths. it is a grave number. this morning, dr. fauci warning americans the fight to return to normal is far from over. it's an unforgettable milestone. the united states approaching 500,000 deaths. >> it's something that is stunning. this is a devastating pandemic. >> reporter: so many souls lost,

like this couple together for 50 years, dying only eight days apart. >> i was able to be with her. and hold her hand. they turned off the ventilators. >> reporter: there are positive trends with cases falling nationwide by 73% and hospitalization dropping 55%. concerns of a new wave persist. new york reporting its first case of the south africa variant in a long island resident. and the vaccine maybe less protective against it. >> if in fact this becomes more dominant we may have to get a version of the vaccine that is directed specifically against the variant. >> reporter: dr. fauci warning americans could be wearing masks into 2022. the vaccination effort slowed down across the country, after the dangerous winter weather storm. delaying 6 million doses. even with the delays the fight continues. with vaccination efforts now ramping up around the country.

in california, governor newsom touring a new vaccination site. highlighting a need to address black and brown communities hit hard. this morning, a new study suggests people who receive both shots are 96% less likely to get sick. this weekend, the country starting to get back to normal. easing covid restrictions and using green passes to residents who are vaccinated. while here at home, the biden administration pushes to get kids in classrooms. an /* they will address it this week in the $2 trillion relief package. there are conflicting reports about herd immunity and when we could reach it. one expert says april. doctors claim the population would have to reach 80% vaccination before that can happen and unlikely for it to happen as quickly. >> ike ejiochi, welcome to the team. >> thank you. attorney general her ric garland's 234078 knee confirmation hearing beginning

today. expected to sail through the expected to face tough questions on issues like the investigation into president biden's son. he's vowing to restore the justice department independence. we turned now to texas, that's plagued by water shortages this morning. a week after the severe winter weather first hit. at least 76 people have now died from extreme conditions. half of them in texas. here's abc's megan tevrizian. >> reporter: this morning, the big cleanup is under way in texas. new video of the aftermath showing a huge pipe bursting flooding this islamic center. in denton, texas. busted pipes are such an issue, the state is now recruiting plumbers. >> no running water. >> reporter: overnight, nearly 10 million were still without safe drinking water. millions donated bottles of water arrived from north carolina and kentucky. but, this is progress.

houston's boil water advisory has been lifted. and full power restoration statewide is expected today. >> i suspect that all power will be fully restored across texas to every house. >> reporter: the governor also announcing a moratorium on utilities. disconnecting service if a customer can't pay the bill. it comes as some residents are slapped with sky-high bills, one as high as 17,000, after a spike in the energy market. >> you're being held hostage. and can't do anything about it. how in the world can anyone pay that. >> reporter: a texas power provider are facing a $100 million lawsuit from the family of their son. they say their son died of hypothermia. after they lost electricity. posing other risks as well. this woman was walking her dog and saw a boy struggling after falling through the ice. she called her grandfather. who tied a rope and waded into

the freezing water to rescue him. meanwhile, senator cruz doing damage control. after his controversial trip to cancun last week. he posted photos this weekend giving out bottles of water and seen helping a friend clean out her flooded home. he couldn't escape the being targeted by saturday night live. >> it's real bad. >> and you literally abandoned it and flew to mexico for a family vacation? >> that's right, and now i'm in hot water, which i'm told a thing nobody in texas has. >> president biden made visit texas as soon as this week. meanwhile, as the state looks into why the power grid wasn't winterized, one top official said deregulation of the electric utilities in texas was a big mistake. . >> thank you. most of the country will get above freezing today. let's take a look at your monday forecast. it's a stormy day along the east

coast, with rain for the southern states and snow from west virginia to new england. some could see four inches. it will be mostly rain for the major cities. for the west, more heavy snow for the cascades and rockies. two feet expected with wind up to 80 miles per hour. looking at today's high temperatures, kansas city gets to a balmy 52 degrees. high 30s for chicago and detroit. warm on the gulf coast. 80 in l.a. coming up, corn flakes covered in cocaine instead of sugar. the drug bust in ohio. also ahead, history rolling down the street. the unusual move in san francisco. if former president trump starts his own political party

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back now with an unusual drug bust. customs agents in cincinnati found something stronger than than sugar on a shipment of corn flakes. it was topped with 44 pounds of cocaine worth $3 million. the drugs were on the way from south america, to hong kong. new video this morning of a military jet crash in mexico. the plane went down and then burst into flames in the southeastern part of the country killing six. the victims were members of the mexican military. the cause of the crash is under investigation. former president trump would find plenty of support if he decided to launch his own political party. half of all republicans would leave the gop to join his party. if he starts one. trump returns to the spotlight next sunday when he will speak at a major conference for conservatives. gas prices are on the rise.

aaa says that prices are up 13 cents in the last week. thanks to refinery shutdowns during the deep freeze. some areas have seen prices increase by 25 cents in the last month. a new spot for an old home in san francisco. this two-story victorian was carefully moved after 139 years. it was loaded and rolled six blocks down the street. to make way for an apartment complex. the owner paid $400,000 for the move. the cats were very much in the bag for this next story. the bomb squad called to a church in ohio. someone reported a suspicious package. the bomb squad arrives. thankfully, the package turned out to be a mother cat and six kittens left in a bag. they are being cared for the humane society. all right. big news from quarterback mahomes. >> alex trebek's son speaking

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we turn to the son of former "jeopardy" host. speaking out this morning sharing a decision made about his late father belongings. this morning, the family of the late jeopardy host is keeping his spirit of giving alive. his son explaining why the family is donating the suits and ties he wore on the show to a nonprofit that helps formally incarcerated men find jobs. it includes 14 suits. 58 dress shirts. 15 belts and hundreds of ties. matthew trebek spoke to abc's t.j. holmes about his father's surprisingly large wardrobe. >> your dad's wardrobe, just how would you describe it this terms of sheer size? >> my dad had a very large wardrobe. suits, dress shirts. ties. the wardrobe at "jeopardy" consisted of 300 dress shirts. hundreds of ties. >> reporter: for more than three

decades, viewers knew trebek as the face of "jeopardy," but he also devoted time and money to charitable causes. launching the trebek foundation in 2011. and matthew trebek said he couldn't inherit his dads wardrobe anyway. he's much taller. and he wanted the clothes to go to someone who would appreciate them. >> this fits into what he believed and passing along kindness to others. it's nice to see it's continuing after he's gone. >> so awesome. we'll have more of matthew trebek's interview later on "good morning america." he talks about why his father's wardrobe was so big. baby news from kansas city chiefs star patrick mahomes and his fiancee. they posted a photograph. check out mom's necklace there. let's get stats on sterling sky mahomes. she was born saturday, weighing

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now at 5:00, half a million deaths from covid-19. that is a tragic milestone the u.s. is now approaching. the president's plan to tribute today. the next step toward reopening schools. the teachers eligible for vaccinations starting today. >> the really important piece to get back would be that fan blade or the piece of the fan blade. >> investigators are literally piecing together what happened in the skies above colorado. parts of this plane crashing down into a neighborhood. a passenger describes what she did when she realized what was happening. after some bea and s 'smoay febary 22enes, indeed. >> no complaints from here, from where i'm sitting. i understand today is going to be possibly even better? >> yes. even warmer tomorrow will be our peak of the warmth. even as we