another sport other than basketball and boxing. right now on "america this morning," the investigation into former president trump entering a new phase. a grand jury now looking into his business dealings. what we've learned as trump lashes out at the news this morning. a major milestone in the fight against covid. half of american adults now vaccinated and another state announcing millions of dollars up for grabs for people who get the shot. plus, our first indication when cruise ships could set sail again from u.s. ports. new video of a woman being escorted off a plane after allegedly attacking a flight attendant knocking out her teeth. why investigators say it's part of a growing trend and their warning to unruly passengers. plus, blockbuster apology.

[ speaking a foreign language ] >> actor john cena speaking in mandarin apologizing for something he said while promoting his new "fast and the furious" movie. o say where you can see. where professional sports teams could soon be punished for not playing the national anthem before the game. from the 500-foot-long cheesesteae's fascinatg discove. >> how cute. >> all the trending stories for your wednesday morning. and good wednesday morning, everyone. we begin with a new phase in the investigation zeroing in on former president trump and his business empire. >> the manhattan district attorney's office has seated a special grand jury and that panel could decide whether trump or the trump organization will be indicted. it all stems from questionable business dealings brought by former fixer michael

cohen. >> trump placing blame on partisan politics. this morning former president donald trump lashing out after prosecutors in new york convened a special grand jury to decide whether to bring criminal charges against him. overnight trump releasing a statement saying, this is a continuation of the greatest witch-hunt in american history. it began the day i came down the escalator in trump tower and it's never stopped. this is purely political and an affront to the almost 75 million voters who supported me in the presidential election and it's being driven by highly partisan democrat prosecutors. the development possibly a signal that the manhattan d.a. is seeking charges after a two-year investigation. the grand jury will consider evidence in a criminal investigation into trump's business dealings and could lead es h fil oents for the former >>bc news halethat contacted witnesses to appear before the special grand jury which will reportedly meet for three days a week for up to six months.

>> reporter: prosecutors investigating a variety of matters including whether trump overvalued his properties to obtain bank loans and deflated the value of those same properties to pay lower taxes. and the district attorney's office also reportedly looking into hush money payments made to women who said they had sex with trump. in february prosecutors secured eight years of trump's tax returns. after a lengthy court battle trump has always maintained he has run a clean company. breaking overnight, there appears to be no survivors after a firefighting helicopter crashed in florida. the chopper was carrying four people when it went down in a marsh near an airport north of orlando. they were taking part in a firefighter training mission. witnesses told police the black hawk helicopter broke into two pieces midair. a reward more than tripled overnight in the case of a road rage attack that killed a 6-year-old boy. moerim to kindergarten oraalifora. th aes and nv,000

couple now charged with murder in the deaths of two children. a grand jury has indicted lori and chad daybell in connection to the killing of lori's daughter and son. the children seemingly vanished in 2019 kicking off a nationwide search. this morning the so-called doomsday couple facing multiple murder charges answer lori vallow and chad daybell for the deaths of lori's two children and for the murder of his former wife. >> there is probable cause to believe they willfully and knowingly conspired to commit several crimes that led to the death of three innocent people. >> reporter: the indictment citing the couple's religious beliefs as a factor in the murders. >> chad, lori. can you tell me where your kids are. >> reporter: vallow made headlines in 2013 when her relatives sounded the alarm when her kids went missing.

17-year-old tylee and 7-year-old j.j. were found on daybell's property. before they were reported missing daybell's former wife tammy suddenly died. >> once the children's bodies were found and other questions were being asked, immediately they exhumed her body. now it's clear the authorities believe that she was murdered by chad and that lori conspired in that effort. uerstand you have right to counsel. >> reporter: vallow and daybell were already facing charges related to her children's deaths. both had pleaded not guilty but the new first degree murder charges bring the possibility of life without parole or the death penalty. >> i think one interesting question now will be is there a chance one turns on the other? would prosecutors be willing to cut a deal with one of them? >> now, prosecutors have not said whether they will pursue the death penalty. lori and chad are both expected in court today. now to the fight against the coronavirus and what's being touted as a major milestone over

half of the adults in the u.s. are fully vaccinated and state incentive programs are aimed at moving that number higher. elizabeth schulze has the details from washington. elizabeth, good morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning, andrew. well, the cdc reports more than 100 million americans are now fully vaccinated and the country appears to be on track to reach president biden's goal that 70% of adults get at least one vaccine dose by the fourth of july. this morning a major milestone in the fight against covid-19. more than half of u.s. adults are now fully vaccinated and proof the vaccines are working, u.s. hospitals are now admitting about five times fewer covid patients than in january. >> the vaccines are working extremely well. less than 0.01% of people who were vaccinated so far have gotten a breakthrough infection. >> reporter: ahead of memorial day weekend the director of the cdc with this warning to americans who haven't yet gotten their shots.

>> if you are not vaccinated, our guidance has not changed for you. you remain at risk of infection. you still need to mask and take other precautions. >> reporter: as younger americans roll up their sleeves -- >> i feel a lot better knowing that i'm safer. >> reporter: -- they could soon have another vaccine option after moderna reported its vaccine is 100% effective against covid in 12 to 17-year-olds with no safety concerns. but with the pace of vaccinations still slowing, more states are getting creative with incentives. ohio says vaccinations surged 45% and 94% among teens after launching its $1 million vaccine lottery. colorado is now the sixth state to open its own lottery. >> may the odds be forever in your favor. >> reporter: in delaware state officials announced vaccinated residents can enter a lottery to win cash or one of two low numbered license plates which by some accounts is an even more coveted prize.

>> elizabeth, thank you. now to an emotional day of remembrance. one year since george floyd's murder. gatherings took place across the country yesterday. in minneapolis where floyd was killed people knelt during a 9 minute and 29 second moment of silence marking the amount of time he was pinned to the ground by his neck. in washington, floyd's family met privately with president biden and discussed the george floyd justice in policing act. it stalled in the senate. >> he set the deadline. he's not happy about it not being met but all and all he just wants it to be meaningful. >> tim scott says the senate is making progress on the bill that would ban police chokeholds and eliminate the use of no knock warrants. the house passed its version in march. only one republican backed the measure. time now for a look at your wednesday morning weather. severe storms are moving out of the midwest and into the interior northeast this morning.

they could bring strong winds, hail and possibly even tornadoes from new york's hudson valley to new england. a different storm system is bringing more severe conditions into the plains. more rain in store for just about all of texas. checking today's high temperatures, 87 degrees in dallas. also very hot across the southeast and up the atlantic coast. around 70 degrees in the northwest, 86 in miami. coming up, a promising sign for the cruise ship industry and when they might set sail again. also ahead, a woman escorted off a plane after allegedly knocking out a flight attendant's teeth. what led to the melee. and marilyn manson is a wanted man this morning. what the rocker is accused of doing next.

♪ ♪ mother: right here baby, look! uma! grandma: ¡feliz cumpleaños! ¿cuántos años tienes? father: noah! vo: something more than a birthday is happening here. group: ¡feliz cumpleaños a ti! vo: once you can see it, you can help. the sooner you recognize the signs of autism, the sooner you can make a lifetime of difference for your child. start by answering a few simple questions at screenforautism.org

♪ under the sea under the sea darling it's better down where it's wetter, take it from me ♪ that's actor samuel e. wright performing as sebastian the crab in disney's "the little mermaid." wright had a long career in movie, tv and on stage receiving two tony award nominations. samuel e. wright passed away yesterday. he was 74 years old. royal caribbean will soon be operating test cruises out of miami. the ships will be the first to leave from a u.s. port since march of last year. the cdc gave royal caribbean approval to start the test cruises in late june. volunteer passengers will be on board while the ship experiments with new covid protocols. as the pandemic eases more americans are taking to the skies and the long holiday weekend ahead could mean more violent in-flight confrontations. one woman is accused of brutally attacking a flight attendant as reports of unruly passengers surge. with more than 37 million people

expected to travel for memorial day, the number of fights between passengers and airline workers are on the rise. >> if we don't stand up, it's only going to get worse. >> whoa. >> reporter: one of the more serious incidents happening on a southwest flight from sacramento to san diego. new video shows the passenger being escorted off the plane after allegedly striking a flight attendant so hard, they knocked out two of their teeth. southwest telling abc news, the passenger repeatedly ignored standard in-flight instructions and became verbally and physically abusive upon landing. >> this was the final straw. we've had a staggering amount of increase in the number of unruly passenger incidents, and when this happens to one of our own, that is when we really kick into gear and say, enough is enough, we need to do more. >> reporter: according to the faa, there have been about 2,500 reports of unruly passengers in our skies since the start of the year. the overwhelming majority, some

1,900 refusing to wear masks, and it's not just flight attendants. the tsa says more than 60 of its employees have been assaulted inside america's airports. the nation's top homeland security official with this message. >> let me be clear in underscoring something, it is a federal mandate that one must wear a mask in an airport in the modes of public transportation on the aircraft itself, and we will not tolerate behavior that violates the law. >> reporter: the faa has proposed fines totaling more than $250,000 for unruly passengers. coming up, scientists restore a blind man's sight in a therapy being called a breakthrough. also ahead, actor john cena also ahead, actor john cena facing backlash for what he said people today... they could spend half their lives over 50. so, it helps to have a wise friend

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objects using specialized goggles. heavy metal singer marilyn manson is wanted on a two-year-old assault charge in new hampshire that stems from a 2019 concert where manson reportedly spat on a camera person. police say the warrant was issued that october, but manson has ignored it. manson's attorney calls the claim ludicrous saying he's been in contact with police since the warrant was issued. john cena is declaring his love and respect for china after a major misstep. he referred to taiwan as a country which triggered a backlash from fans. megan tevrizian has more. >> reporter: this morning action star john cena is backpedaling profusely apologizing to china after calling taiwan a country during an interview promoting "f9," his latest movie in the "fast and furious" franchise. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: in a video posts to weibo, cena apologizes in mandarin. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: the apology coming

after the professional wrestler turned actor told a taiwanese reporter taiwan is the first country that can watch the "f9" film. beijing considers taiwan part of china even though it is a self-ruled democratic island. cena's comments seeming to offend many of his fans. even after his apology. one weibo user writing, please say taiwan is part of china in chinese, otherwise we will not accept your apology. that comment was liked thousands of times. >> the china market is a massive portion of being castable so i think it sort of reveals that there's a lot on the line for him personally to perpetuate what has been building up to be a pretty successful mainstream movie career. >> reporter: cena's apology is the latest in a string of incidents where celebrities and companies aiming to do big business in china have had to backtrack after missteps involving china's sensitive political issues. >> without the chinese market many, many of the blockbusters we see would never enter

profitability. >> reporter: back in 2019, the nba had to do damage control after the general manager of the houston rockets tweeted in support of the hong kong protests. "f9" premiered internationally in eight countries over the weekend raking in over $136 million in china alone. after cena's comments about taiwan fans have threatened to boycott the film. andrew, mona. >> megan, thank you. texas house lawmakers have given final passage to a bill aimed at keeping the national anthem at professional sporting events. the bill requires texas pro teams with state contracts to play the anthem before games or lose the state's funding. it became an issue after nba owner mark cuban stopped playing the anthem ahead of dallas mavericks games. coming up, the major league baseball record that may never be broken. also ahead, the big payday for guy fieri, making him one of the highest paid television hosts. ♪ thousands of women with metastatic breast cancer

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♪ time to check "the pulse," and we begin with a massive raise for a man who knows his way around the kitchen. >> all right, you know who he is. he's got the bleach blond hair and now he's got big bucks in his bank account talking about guy fieri because he is now the highest paid chef on cable tv. fieri, the host of "diners, drive-ins and dives" signed a three-year deal with the food network for, get this, mona, $80 million. fieri has been bringing home the bacon for the network reportedly generating more than $230 million in ad revenue last year alone. >> the contract puts him at higher pay than many pro athletes. in fact, he'll be making more than half of this year's entire roster of the pittsburgh pirates, and he's eating better than them as well. next to an 80-year-old

baseball rllecse umpire's lengthy career. the san diego chicken part of a brief ceremony in chicago when umpire joe west set a new record for officiating games. >> it was game number 5,376 for west, who started umping back in 1976. the previous record had been held since 1941, and i don't think he's stopping any time soon. >> not at all. well, next another record that could only happen in philadelphia. >> check out this giant cheesesteak. its 510 feet long breaking the old mark by 30 feet. >> the owner of a cafe in south philly built the big sandwich to celebrate his birthday. the cheesesteak spanned three city blocks, but the big question was it really one sandwich since it was constructed with separate rolls. >> good question. and finally proof that life can be a voyage of discovery. even for an animal. case in point, this young giraffe at a zoo in

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we will be doing a lot more. we have prepared for this moment. vaccine incentives could be coming to california soon. what governor newsom is saying about why the state has waited while others have started contests. another step forward and reopening california. the changes coming to two transient ages is today. look up. mike will explain what is going on with the moon as we speak. >> is in a beautiful? did you see it when you came into work? >> i did. i didn't. i don't know how i missed it. i guess i had eyes on the road. you don't know what other kind of things could be happening around you. >> exactly. there's a lot of traffic when i come into work now. i'm very surprised. i did take a couple peaks of