right now on "america this morning," getting your money. the landmark covid relief bill set to become law. stimulus checks on the way to most americans. how to make sure you get your payment as soon as possible. plus, the race to vaccinate america. how target will play a role and the disturbing new spike in covid cases in europe. should we be worried? trump on tape. a new recording of the former president. what he said to a top elections investigator in georgia. meghan's complaint. duchess meghan markle files a formal complaint with a british tv network amid outrage over the comments made after her bombshell interview with oprah. this morning, new claims of evidence showing how the royal family treated her. on air emergency. part of a tv studio collapses on top of the anchor.

caught on camera, a theft at the dealership sends this car salesman on a wild ride. and later how a 400-pound slide stolen from a playground ended up inside a child's bedroom. good thursday morning, everyone. we begin with president biden addressing the nation tonight after congress passed his historic covid relief plan. >> supporters say the nearly $2 trillion plan will provide a shot in the arm to the ailing u.s. economy and could provide thousands of dollars in new benefits to millions of americans in the form of direct payments, tax incentives and health insurance savings. >> meanwhile, the fight against the virus rages on. parts of europe including france and italy are seeing a spike as variants of the virus spread and doctors say that could happen here if we're not vigilant. >> it comes as the world prepares to mark a solemn anniversdent biden preparing for his prime time

address marking one year of covid. >> covid-19 can be characterized as a pandemic. we have rung the alarm bell loud and clear. >> reporter: on march 11, 2020 the world health organization declared the virus a pandemic and president trump imposed a travel ban on europe. tom hanks tested positive, and the nba season came to an abrupt halt. >> the nba has made the decision they have just announced that they are suspending play. relief billlion ry coming hours >> this is the most consequential legislation that many of us will ever be a party to. >> reporter: the president says he'll sign it tomorrow sending most americans $1400 by the end of the month. the first batch of payments will be sent electronically to taxpayers who have deposit with the irs. qualifying families can claim a larger tax credit for 2021. $3,600 for each child age 5 and

under and $3,000 for older children under 18. the help coming just in time for people like antonio gonzalez in ohio. >> we were struggling but now we feel a lot better. we are happier that help is on the way. >> reporter: the bill also lowers health care premiums for people on obamacare and extends help for the airline industry. united airlines withdrawing furlough notices and a ceo sending this letter to 13,000 employees, to those who received notices of furloughs, those are happily canceled. you can tear them up. more americans are heading back to work as states lift more restrictions. maryland, new york and new jersey all plan to ease rules on businesses soon. in texas businesses are now open atmask mandate. many doctors are worried. no restrictions and the low vaccination rate in texas will adother spike in cases. >> it is really a painful experience to feel that our

elected officials don't trust us, don't trust our expertise and are not listening to the science. >> reporter: the city of austin is refusing to lift its mask mandate. the texas attorney general is now threatening to sue the city for not following the governor's order. the a.g. tweeting, city leaders must not be thinking clearly. maybe it's oxygen deprivation from quintuple masking. in arlington, texas -- >> ooh, hits this ball well. gone! >> reporter: -- the rangers will be the first major league team to allow fans at 100 capacity. meanwhile, in the race to vaccinate more americans, target is now partnering with cvs allowing the pharmacy to give people shots inside target fitting rooms. one in four adults has now received at least one vaccine dose including residents at this senior living community in virginia smashing a virus shaped win yacht that after getting their shot. >> now we got to stomp it.

>> got to celebrate. president biden's primetime address tonight is expected to be about 20 minutes focusing on the tragedy of the past year and what needs to be done in the days ahead. new details about the surge of migrants at the southern border. u.s. border officials say there are more than 100,000 attempted crossings last month, a 28% increase from january. the government is now considering housing young migrants at a nasa facility near san jose, california. the white house refuses to call the situation a crisis and blames the trump administration. >> i don't know whether i would call that a coincidence, but i certainly think the idea that a more humane policy would be in place may have driven people to make that decision. >> reporter: republicans blame the biden administration's liberal border policies for the current influx of migrants. the white house has suggested immigration reform could be the next big legislative push. a police officer in austin, texas, is being charged with murder for the death of a black and hispanic man last april.

michael ramos was fatally shot in his call after police responded to call about a possible drug deal involving a gun. he was seen refusing police commands then started driving away. that's when christopher taylor shot three shots. authorities later confirmed no gun was found. taylor has been on leave since the shooting. we turn now to a now recording of former president trump first coming to light in "the wall street journal." it's a call he made to an election fraud investigator in georgia and comes as the criminal probe into trump's actions ramp up. abc's alex presha is here with the very latest. alex, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, mona. in yet another phone call former president trump is heard pressuring investigators to overturn the results of the election. this morning, a new glimpse at the outside pressure officials in georgia faced as they investigated allegations of voter fraud. in a recorded phone call obtained by "the wall street journal," then president trump can be heard telling a chief investigator that she'll be praised if the election results are overturned. >> when the right answer comes

out, you'll be praised. people will say, great, because that's what it's about, that ability to check and to make it right, because everyone knows it's wrong. >> reporter: in the call with frances watson who works for georgia's secretary of state, trump insisted he won. >> and i won everything but georgia and, you know, and i won georgia. i know that, by mean something bad happened. >> reporter: in a new interview watson says she's, quote, shocked that trump made that phone call, but she insists she did not feel pressured. the investigation by watson and her team found only two mismatched signatures among more than 15,000 votes that were part of their audit. one week after the call with watson, trump demanded the secretary of state find the exact number of votes he needed to win. >> i only need 11,000 votes. fellas, i need 11,000 votes. give me a break. >> reporter: officials have now opened a criminal investigation

into the phone calls and trump's effort to overturn the results. the investigators will now include fullty county d.a. fani willis said to be an expert in racketeering laws. a spokesperson for trump has not responded to our we quest for comment about that phone call. mona. >> alex, thank you. georgia is also the center of a growing debate over voting restrictions. the state senate which is led by republicans has passed a bill that would among other things ban early voting on sundays and make it a misdemeanor to hand out food and water to voters in line. the governor has not said whether he would sign the bill. a sixth accuser says new york governor reached under her blouse and groped her. that's according to "the times union of albany." the incident allegedly took place last year when the female aide was called to the governor's mansion. she said it's not the only time cuomo touched her. the governor denies the allegations. time for a look at your thursday morning weather. more rain is expected today in

southern california where mudslides left behind this mass all m burned in wifirdilect in e system is bringing snow to the sierra nevada mountains and colorado could be in for a significant storm this weekend. denver reaches 47 degrees today. spring-like temperatures continue for the midwest and here in the northeast and highs around 80 across the south today. coming up, delivery delays. the growing problem when it comes to shipping products on time. also ahead, scae on the slopes. we hear from the boy seen here hanging for dear life. and later, the shocking claim that, workers at panda express were forced to strip down to their underwear for a

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at one point i had to grab on to the wiper arm because i was sliding off and my feet got dragged onto the street. >> we are back with a terrifying ride for this car salesman. the dealership in canada says a man took off after asking to see a vehicle. the salesman then jumped onto the car clinging to the hood. he eventually let go. police are still looking for that suspect. a traffic jam of container ships outside the port of los angeles could cost you money as some retailers try to address the the pandemic's effect on port workers. longer wait times are driving up shipping costs which could trickle down to consumers. costco is seeing shortages of imported cheese and other items. retailers are turning to air cargo shipments to bypass

and get products on shelves faster. the young snowboarder who had the ride of his life after falling out of this chair lift. this morning, dramatic video showing a 12-year-old hanging on to a chair lift as it moves up this mountain in canada. >> just keep on holding. >> liam says he slipped off the chair. >> i crossed my arms and grabbed on. >> reporter: he managed to wrap his arm and elbow around the end of the chair lift and safety bar which saved him from falling. people in the chair behind him can be heard yelling hang on as the mountain top comes closer. >> almost there, boy, okay. >> hang on. >> reporter: liam holds his grip for two long minutes before he finally makes it. >> you're good. let go. >> good job, buddy. >> reporter: his mother heard about the incident once he got home, then she watched the video. >> i watched it, and i watched it, and i just got sicker and sicker, and i'm like, what if you were to fall?

we would have had broken ankles and legs and hips. >> reporter: liam admits he lifted the safety bar too early. this morning he has this advice. >> what's your message to the snowboarders out there? >> keep the bar down. >> some sound advice. fortunately liam was not injured. the man who invented the audio cassette has died. lou ottens was a dutch engineer. h developed the world's first portable tape recorder and introduced audio cassettes in 1963 when he was working for the technology company phillips. the cassette tapes replace the clunky reel-to-reel system and became a worldwide standard with 100 billion sold. ottens also played a key role in developing the cd. he was 94. he also played a key role in people making mixed tapes for their loved ones. >> changing people's cimut ho t roy familyated xt. also ahead, terrifying moments on live tv when part of a studio collapses. these are real people, not actors, who've got their eczema under control. with less eczema, you can show more skin.

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does not condone the behavior. new fallout from oprah's interview with prince harry and meghan markle. the duchess has filed a complaint with the british broadcaster, and one of her friends now claims there is evidence to back up markle's allegations against the royal family. here's abc's andrea fujii. >> reporter: this morning, duchess meghan markle fighting back filing a complaint with the british network itv over comments made by its now former host piers morgan who said he doesn't believe any of markle's claims including that the royal family refused to provide her mental health assistance. >> i'm prepared to be proven wrong on this. >> reporter: itv's royal editor writing in part, meghan raised concerns about how piers morgan's words affect the issue of mental health and what it might do to others contemplating suicide. morgan walked off the set after a co-host criticized his remarks, the subject of 41,000 viewer complaints, but this morning no apologies from

morgan. >> i believe in freedom of speech. i believe in the right to be allowed to have an opinion. if people want to believe meghan markle, that's entirely their right. i don't believe almost anything that comes out of her mouth. >> reporter: in her interview with oprah, markle said she was suicidal before moving to the u.s. >> i just didn't want to be alive anymore, and that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought. >> reporter: and then this revelation from harry. >> did you tell other people in the family, i need to get help for her? we need help for her? >> no, that's just not a conversation that would be had. >> why? >> i guess i was ashamed of admitting it to them. >> reporter: but when markle went to buckingham palace hr, she says no help was offered. >> and i remember this conversation like it was yesterday because they said, my heart goes out to you because i see how bad it is, but there's nothing we can do to protect you

because you're not a paid employee of the institution. >> reporter: and now meghan's friend coming to her defense claiming she has evidence. >> i know that the family and the staff f it ah eir recollections may vary, ours don't because we lived through it with them, and there are many emails and texts to support that. >> reporter: but this morning there's word the palace did seem to prioritize helping markle before her marriage to harry. "the daily mail" now quoting sources saying the palace provided markle with the queen's most senior staff to serve as mentors. in the oprah interview both harry and meghan say that racism played a role in the way the british press covered meghan, and now the head of a british media industry group who initially refuted that claim has resigned as more journalists of color call for racism to be addressed in the british press. kenneth, mona. >> our thanks to andrea fujii. coming up, one of the most

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♪ time to check "the pulse." we begin with a 400-pound slide stolen from a playground in washington back in geese. >> all right, but fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when a detective in a nearby town came face-to-face with a big slide mounted on to a bunk bed inside a child's bedroom. >> now, the slide had been repainted. police arrested a 30-year-old man for the theft. now to chattanooga where police have a simple solution to prevent stolen cars. >> don't leave your keys in the car. police si 60% of cars stolen so far this year had keys left in the car so they're remind be everyone to lock it, hide it and

hold it. >> in other words, lock your car, hide your valuables and take your keys with you. all right, so we may be approaching the end of an era on primetime tv. >> listen to this, there are rumblings about the fate of "grey's anatomy." this season could be the last. the show runner tells "the hollywood reporter" she's planning the current story line to work either as a season finale or as a series finale. >> renewal talks have reportedly been under way for months. stay tuned. i'll get involved and make it happen. >> finally, tom brady sparking a debate about bananas. >> he posted a video about how he makes his morning smoothie that includes a banana but not a whole banana. >> one banana. i don't eat the ends. don't tell anyone. >> i thought everyone did that. brady refuses to eat the ends of the banana. one jets fan tweeted, i eat the ends and will could do until i can peak physically, a reference to t >> i don't either.

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covid-19 can be characterized as a pandemic. >> now at 5:00. coronavirus one year later. the world health organization declared covid-19 a global pandemic on this day in 2020. the relief now on the way for millions of struggling americans, and president biden's message to the nation tonight. >> dozens of new vaccine sites comingo for middle and high schoolers in th getting at they arrive this morning. >> and wilding drier weather and our next chance for rain. >> good morning it is thursday march 11th. >> let's check with your accuweather forecast. hey mike. >> we still have few lingering showers like we talked about yesterday. east bay shoreline and into the south bay a wintry mix is starting to