in america this morning. right now on "america this morning," hostage standoff. a man holding workers hostage inside this bank. witnesses describing the tense nine-hour ordeal. >> the last hostage that was being held took his chance and made a run for the door. >> the dramatic moment when police stormed into the bank and what police are revealing about that suspect. record high. wall street cheering on the latest news about jobs. the new evidence that the economy is rebounding from covid plus the new claim some areas in this country could reach herd immunity from the virus as soon as next month. our experts weigh in. missing girl mystery. she disappeared nearly 20 years ago in washington. her family never giving up hope and now the shocking discovery. did sofia juarez show up on

social media in mexico? the investigation this morning. plus, new details on whe . sticker shock on aisle e. e' lrning about the price of chicken. the most important news of the day. what mom really wants for mother's day. really, really want ♪want what - ♪ so tell me what you want ♪ good friday morning, america. we do begin with that dramatic end to a hostage standoff in minnesota overnight. >> police say a man took hostages inside a bank. law enforcement officials negotiated with the suspect well into the night. >> it all ended when the final hostage made a desperate escape. overnight a dramatic end to an hours long hostage situation in minnesota. >> oh, oh. what was that? they got him. >> reporter: fbi agents

and police rushing into the wells fargo bank to arrest a suspect seconds after a hostage appeared to free himself. police in st. cloud say it all started before 2:00 p.m. on thursday when they responded to a possible robbery. >> there was a male customer who was disgruntled about a prior transaction with the bank. short time later we received a panic alarm indicating that a bank robbery was in process. >> reporter: after more than four hours, one hostage was seen leaving the bank with her hands up. >> there goes another one. >> reporter: bystanders clapped as another hostage walked out followed by two more. richard reeve with our mince affiliate was there. >> different reactions. one woman looked very relieved. one woman appeared very angry. a guy -- the guy who came out had his hands up like, oh, thank goodness this is over for me.

>> reporter: the dramatic conclusion nine hours after it started holding a hostage near the bank's entrance. that hostage then leaping out of the door allowing law enforcement to rush in and storm the bank. >> oh. whoa. what was that? they got him. they grabbed somebody. >> reporter: the suspect taken into custody as two visibly relieved fbi agents are seen hugging. authorities say the suspect is known to police charged with kidnapping and bank robbery. just an incredible scene there. there were five hostages in the bank. no one was injured. a sixth grader is in custody this morning aused of op idahoing three op.t o udts aa janitor before being restrained. another describes the frightening moments. >> we heard one gunshot and then right after we heard another and all my friends and i were freaking out hiding in the corner of our classroom with the

lights off and the doors locked. when one of the guys moved, i think i saw a little bit of blood on the ground, and i was helping my friends. we were all crying and we were so scared. >> authorities searched the suspect's home in idaho falls trying to determine how she got the gun and why she brought it to school. she could face attempted murder charges. the victims are expected to be released from the hospital today. encouraging news about the economy. the number of people applying for unemployment benefits hit the lowest level since the pandemic started. investors on wall street cheered the news. the dow rose thursday to a record high and this morning, the labor department releases the monthly jobs report which could bring more good news. one number that's going in the wrong direction is the covid vaccination rate down 20% in the last week. abc's faith abubey is in washington with more. faith, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, kenneth. health officials are crediting social distancing, masking and the vaccines for the progress in many states, however, they do

say more work still needs to be done before the pandemic is behind us. this morning volunteers going door to door reaching adults er them to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. >> this is a campaign, and we have two candidates, our candidate is a vaccine for life and the covid for death. >> reporter: more than 147 million americans have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. 57% of of adults and counting. >> we never wanted to get to herd immunity with a combination of natural infection and vaccination, but that's what california went through. >> reporter: this morning a new survey by the kaiser family foundation suggests across the country enthusiasm for eaing a plateau, but kaiser's survey also found only three out of ten parents plan to vaccinate their children. >> but that underscores children's ability to cause outbreaks and spread the disease to other people. >> reporter: this as u.s.

drugmakers hope the fda will soon allow kids to get the shot. pfizer's approval could come any day now. the dropic family's four kids are participating. >> don't be worried. don't be scared. the people here know what they're doing. >> reporter: moderna revealing early data suggests its shot up to 96% effective in 12 to 17-year-olds with no safety issues setting a goal to make the shots available before the next school year begins. meanwhile, new york city is planning to fully re-open long before then. the mayor hoping to roll out mobile vaccination vans to popular places like times square to offer the jab to tourists. >> come here, it's safe, it's a great place to be, and we're going to take care of you. >> reporter: amid all the good news now, a sober reminder that hundreds of thousands of americans have died and continue to die from this coronavirus. the cdc says the u.s. could still top 600,000 covid deaths by memorial day weekend. back to you.

>> all right, sober, indeed. thank you. in texas lawmakers worked into the early morning hours debating an election bill that would make it harder to cast a ballot. republicans want to limit early voting hours, prohibit election officials for mailing ballots for absentee voters and eliminate drive-through voting. the governor is expected to sign the bill. governor ron desantis signed into law a series of new voting restrictions including limits on drop boxes. harder for third party groups to register voters. all other media outlets banned and they say it's needed to prevent fraud. police in san antonio say they've rescued more than two dozen people from a truck in what could be a human smuggling operation. police say when they approached another 80 to 100 people ran away from the trailer. the driver was arrested. we're learning more about a chinese rocket out of control and falling back to earth. it's now expected to re-enter the atmosphere this weekend. this morning, scientists are

narrowing down when an out-of-control ten-story rocket could strike earth. china's space agency launched the rocket last week. the boosters were supposed to fall into the ocean, but they fell into earth's orbit. now scientists say remnants of the rocket parts which are up to 100 feet long could come down this weekend hitting anywhere from the u.s. to new zealand. >> it's like it took three full size pickup trucks and distributed them. so, you know, potentially it would be like you drop one of these trucks. >> reporter: nothing this heavy has fallen back to earth in more than 30 years. a similar mistake with a rocket last year sent debris raining down over africa causing serious damage. >> it had these long metal rods like, you know, 15-meter-long metal rods slicing through the atmosphere while it crashed through buildings in ivory coast.

>> reporter: the u.s. secretary of defense says the military has no plans to shoot down the rocket. in the meantime, scientists put your chances of getting hit by debris at about one in several billion. >> what we're worried about here is the odds of anybody winning the lottery are different than the odds of you winning the lottery, and so those are different bets, and so when you are looking at dropping something like this over a large population, the chance that somebody could get injured is what we're worried about. the chance of any given individual getting injured, nah, not worth thinking about. >> now, scientists should know exactly where the rocket should fall a few hours before it comes down. time now for a look at your friday weather. several funnel clouds were seen over central illinois thursday. at least one confirmed tornado touched down. but no reports of any damage. that storm system has now moved east. today it brings rain and possible thunderstorms from the eastern great lakes to the mid-atlantic region.

storms are also expected in texas and more rain and mountain snow for the pacific northwest. checking today's high temperatures, 55 in seattle, denver gets into the 80s, below normal temperatures across the midwest and 90 degrees in miami, 97 phoenix. 82 albuquerque. coming up, a political bombshell, the nationally known mayor not running for re-election. but first the new mystery surrounding a little girl who went missing 20 years ago. is she alive in mexico? the potential video evidence. a man with a gun highjacks a school bus. a fourth grader on board describe what is happened as the bus began moving. influencer in. mom! ( ♪ )

( ♪ ) this is how mom shines. with 30% off everything. at zales. the diamond store. dawn antibacterial cuts through tough grease with 50% less scrubbing. with 30% off everything. it also removes 99% of bacteria from your hands. dawn antibacterial. an easy way to clean your dishes... a smart way to wash your hands. [ heavy breathing ] allergies with nasal congestion overwhelming you? breathe more freely with powerful claritin-d.

claritin-d improves nasal airflow two times more than the leading allergy spray at hour one. [ deep inhale ] claritin-d. get more airflow. [ crowd cheering ] [ engine revving ] [ race light countdown ] ♪ ♪ when you save money with allstate you feel like you're winning. safe drivers save 40% saving is easy when you're in good hands. allstate. click or call for a quote today. back now with a highway crash in charlotte, north carolina. you see it there.

a car slamming right into the side of a big rig on interstate 77. a witness says the driver of the car was speeding. there were no serious injuries. a new mystery surrounding the disappearance of a little girl in washington state two decades ago. police are investigating whether she's the same woman seen recently on social media living in mexico. here's abc's andrea fujii. >> reporter: this morning police are investigating a video posted on tiktok as a potential new lead in the case of a 5-year-old girl from washington state missing for nearly 20 years. this woman interviewed in mexico by a social media personality there claimed she was kidnapped as a child and is now homeless and said she hopes her family comes to get her. police say she resembles and claims to be close to the age of sofia juarez who vanished 18 years ago. police are now hoping to find this woman. >> the ultimate goal is to get some dna from that woman to see if we can either confirm that it's sofia or be able to say that it is not sofia.

>> reporter: sofia was last seen in february of 2003 in kennewick, washington, walking at night on a city street reportedly trying to follow a family member's boyfriend to the store but she never came home. police recently started a website called what happened to sofia and have generated dozens of new tips. besides the tiktok video, people have come forward with information about the day sofia went missing. a witness claims to have seen a girl matching her description walking alone and that the girl was crying as she was led away from the area. investigators have also received information about a work type of van parked nearby. sofia's family still holding out hope that she's alive. >> we keep her alive in pictures and, you know, we have her belongings that we have passed down to our kids. >> reporter: as for that tiktok video, police say they're working with a mexican social media personality who interviewed the woman to see if he can locate her again but so far no luck. kenneth, mona.

>> andrea, thank you. a bombshell in the world of politics overnight. atlanta mayor keisha lance bottoms is not seeking a second term. she drew national attention during the protests over social injustice and was even viewed as a potential running mate for president biden. no word on what she plans next. just ahead, new details about the rising price also ahead, the dramatic school bus hijacking. we hear from a student on that bus. people everywhere living with type 2 diabetes are waking up to what's possible with rybelsus®. ♪ you are my sunshine ♪ ♪ my only sunshine... ♪ ♪ you are my sunshine ♪ rybelsus® works differently than any other diabetes pill to lower blood sugar in all 3 of these ways... increases insulin... decreases sugar... and slows food. the majority of people taking rybelsus® lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than 7.

people taking rybelsus® lost up to 8 pounds. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop rybelsus® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking rybelsus® with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration which may worsen kidney problems. wake up to what's possible with rybelsus®. ♪ please don't take my sunshine away ♪ you may pay as little as $10 per prescription. ask your healthcare provider about rybelsus® today.

i brought in ensure max protein, with thirty grams of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks! ( sighs wearily ) here, i'll take that! ( excited yell ) woo-hoo! ensure max protein. with thirty grams of protein, one-gram of sugar, and nutrients to support immune health! ( abbot sonic ) introducing voltaren arthritis pain gel. and nutrients to support immune health! the first full prescription strength non-steroidal anti-inflammatory gel... available over the counter. voltaren is powerful arthritis pain relief in a gel. voltaren. the joy of movement.

back now with this massive fire spreading through every floor of this apartment building in france. people were sleeping when the flames broke out. nearly a dozen people were injured but 60 others able to escape without getting hurt. get ready to pay more for chicken. a shortage caused the price to more than double since january. now running about 3.50 a pound and chicken wing prices hit a record high. suppliers are charging more than $3 a pound for jumbo wings. the pandemic is blamed for a shortage of truck drivers as well. the problem is so bad one company in texas is offering to pay experienced drivers $14,000 per week. >> we turn now to that school bus hijacking caught on camera. this morning we're hearing from one of the students on that bus. this is the moment authorities in columbia, south carolina, say a u.s. army trainee from a nearby base shoved his way onto a school bus. his army issued rifle in hands

as kids were boarding the bus for elementary school.>> was woe james was 1 of 18 kids on the p cussing and i hear the bus driver was saying okay, okay, and i peeked around my seat and saw him with an assault rifle saying, go, go, go. take me to the next town. so i called my dad, and he answered. i was telling him that i was being held hostage. >> reporter: police say 23-year-old jovan collazo was trying to leave the military and told the bus driver to drive him to the next town so he could get home to new jersey. >> these kids and the bus driver were very traumatized and feared their life. >> reporter: but thankfully after several minutes collazo stopped the bus and allowed driver and kids to get off the bus. >> he continued to drive for a short distance then he abandoned the bus and took

off on foot. . >> collazo was eventually charged with 19 counts of kidnapping. the kids were not harmed. authorities credit the bus driver for staying calm. keandre's mom is relieved to have her son home. >> we did all the chores for him and let him relax and we're just enjoying each other's company being thankful to still be here. >> it turned out collazo's weapon was not loaded. new trainees are not given bullets. coming up, what mom really wants for mother's day. also ahead, one high school student's inspiring generosity. igh school you're clearly someone who takes care of yourself. so why wait to screen for colon cancer? because when caught in early stages, it's more treatable. i'm cologuard. i'm noninvasive and detect altered dna in your stool to find 92% of colon cancers even in early stages. tell me more. it's for people 45 plus at average risk for colon cancer, not high risk. false positive and negative results may occur.

ask your prescriber or an online prescriber if cologuard is right for you. i'll do it. good plan. for skin that never holds you back don't settle for silver #1 for diabetic dry skin* #1 for psoriasis symptom relief* and #1 for eczema symptom relief* gold bond champion your skin ♪ ♪ gold bond it's like a flavor festival on an almond. zest fest. -zest fest. blue diamond almonds, super flavor all on a superfood. [ heavy breathing ] allergies with nasal congestion overwhelming you? breathe more freely with powerful claritin-d. claritin-d improves nasal airflow two times more

than the leading allergy spray at hour one. [ deep inhale ] claritin-d. get more airflow. when you skip the rinse with finish quantum, you save up to 20 gallons of water each time. finish quantum with activblu technology has the power to remove the toughest stains without pre-rinsing for dishes so clean they shine. join finish and skip the rinse to save our water. frank is a fan of fast. he's a fast talker. a fast walker. thanks, gary. and for unexpected heartburn... frank is a fan of pepcid. it works in minutes. nexium 24 hour and prilosec otc can take one to four days to fully work. pepcid. strong relief for fans of fast. ♪ time to check "the pulse" on this friday. we begin with mother's day this weekend and the new survey on what moms really want.

>> the answer, some peace. not a piece of cake, not a piece of jewelry. just some peace and quiet. atayxplain thitos. opeance forif restaurant reservations for this mother's day are up 64% compared to 2019. in 2020 nobody was doing anything. so next a high school senior near st. louis is paying it forward. >> josh nelson was awarded a full college scholarship but the 18-year-old had already saved more than a thousand dollars for school, so guess what, he decided to give it away, give away his savings to help another student pay their tuition. >> honestly, it makes me feel on top of the world the fac i oda bikn. itt keel greth aer people succeed. >> he hopes it will inspire others.

he just wants to give back to his community. another politician caught zooming while driving. >> an ohio state senator appeared to be in his home office during a zoom work meeting but check out his left shoulder. that's a seat belt, y'all. it comes after a washington state senator got caught zooming. it's illegal to drive in washington while connected to an electronic device. >> a new meaning to zoom. >> zoom, zoom, zoom. speaking of that, next bmw is thinking outside the box for its new electric cars. >> they want to play a different tne. electric cars make almost no noise so bmw hired oscar winning composer hans zimmer to come up with car soundscapes so pedestrians know it is actually there. finally, for the second straight day we have a story about popsicles in "the pulse." >> this one is a world record setter. a 12-year-old from illinois now owns a record for the world's tallest popsicle stick tower. it is over 20 feet tall. it all makes sense now why the kid yesterday decided that he wanted to order about 918 of them. >> what will he build?

my heart failure diagnosis changed my priorities. i want time for the people i love. my heart doesn't pump enough blood so my doctor gave me farxiga. it helps my heart do its job better. farxiga helps keep me living life and out of the hospital for heart failure. do not take if allergic to farxiga. symptoms of a serious allergic reaction include rash, swelling, difficulty breathing or swallowing. stop taking and seek medical help right away. tell your doctor right away if you have red color in urine or pain while you urinate, or a genital area infection since a rare but serious genital infection may be life-threatening. do not take farxiga if you have severe kidney problems or are on dialysis. other serious side effects include dehydration, sudden kidney problems, genital yeast and bacterial infections in women and men, urinary tract infections, and low blood sugar. stop taking farxiga and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of ketoacidosis which is serious and may lead to death. more time with her? sounds good to me. ♪far-xi-ga♪ if you can't afford your medication,

astrazeneca may be able to help. find your rhythm. your happy place. afford your medication, find your breaking point. then break it. every emergen-c gives you a potent blend of nutrients so you can emerge your best with emergen-c. so you want to make the best burger ever? then make it! that means cooking day and night until... [ ding ] success! that means... best burger ever. intuit quickbooks helps small businesses be more successful with payments, payroll, and banking.

checking our top stories, a standoff at a wells fargo bank in st. cloud, minnesota is over. a final hostage appeared to free himself just before the fbi stormed the building and arrested the suspect. four other hostages had already been released. today's weather, rain and snow in the pacific northwest. thunderstorms in texas. showers for the midatlantic. heavier rain near the eastern great lakes into new england. and finally on this friday, a very special story all about kenneth. today is his final day anchoring here on "america this morning" and "world news now." will ganss has some highlights from kenneth's time here on the set. >> f now,w on earlier than this one to "america this morning." >> good welcome to kenneth moton. great to have you. >> so great to be here. "world news now." >> it is a tradition. are you still clapping yourself?

>> i always do. >> are you allowed to slow clap yourself? >> yes, you are. ♪ >> just like that. >> no, no. >> can you stop making so much noise? >> i will. >> this country boy will now get into it. >> whoa, whoa! you have done that before. >> that sounds awful. i don't do ranch. i don't do many condiments. >> the shark coochie -- charcuterie. [ laughter ] >> i'm done! >> i'm sorry. i got kicked and i thought you poked me. >> those shorts. >> huh-uh, i don't want to see your thigh on tv, moton. >> reporter:th moton has be a hit, te >> hulk smash! >> always hitting the gh note.

>> yeah. >> now let's pour a glass of wine because now we're all alone. oh, oh. >> reporter: or at least a note. >> how does that song go? ♪ wanted ♪ >> reporter: k. mo never failing to make us proud, mary. ♪ big wheel keep on turning, proud mary keep on burning ♪ ♪ rolling, rolling, rolling on the river ♪ >> reporter: kenneth, it's been 1,456 days since your first appearance on "america this morning" and there have been a lot of overnight shifts since then. so get some rests. you've earned it. keeping with this tina turner motif, you're simply the best. kenneth. mona. >> thank you, thank you. thank you, will. i appreciate that. >> i love it. keeping it with tina turner, he's going to keep on working. >> i'm headed to d.c. to work out of our d.c. bureau to be a national correspondent. i love this program. the number one early morning news. and thank you guys so much. it has been an honor. "america this morning," "world

news now", you're simply the best. >> let's slow clap for the guy s in america this morning. right now on "america this morning," hostage standoff. a man holding workers hostage inside this bank. witnesses describing the tense nine-hour ordeal. >> the last hostage that was being held took his chance and made a run for the door. >> the dramatic moment when police stormed into the bank and what police are revealing about that suspect. record high. wall street cheering on the latest news about jobs. the new evidence that the economy is rebounding from covid plus the new claim some areas in this country could reach herd immunity from the virus as soon as next month. our experts weigh in. missing girl mystery. she disappeared nearly 20 years ago in washington.