right now on "america this morning," a cost of living crisis. the new figures out this morning on the rising cost of child care and just how hard it's becoming for american families to make ends meet. gop firestorm. the newly released recording of top republican kevin mccarthy. what the man who hopes to become house speaker said about fellow members of his party after the january 6th riot and the danger they might pose. the new reaction ornight. water emergency. the shortage that's prompting unprecedented new restrictions in the west affecting millions of people. an arrest in the disturbing murder of a 10-year-old wisconsin girl reported missing after visiting her aunt's house. what police are revealing about the suspect. liftoff into history. the mission to space this

morning and the woman who's blazing a new trail. and later, hold the milk, the new breakfast cereal made to be eaten with orange juice. good wednesday morning, everyone. we begin with new evidence that more americans are struggling to make ends meet. >> with the price of everything from food to electricity rising to record levels, new figures released overnight also showed just how expensive child care has become in this country. >> in the meantime, the pay gap between men and women is growing even bigger. here's abc's andrea fujii. >> reporter: this morning a new study shedding light on how many americans, particularly women, are not making enough money to support their families. >> all of these things impact how healthy we are and our well-being. >> reporter: the study released overnight by the university of wisconsin population health institute shows the wage many

people earn does not nearly cover the amount needed for basic necessities. researchers found a typical household with one adult and two kids needs to make $35.80 an hour to cover food, housing, health care and child care costs, yet the federal minimum wage is a far lower $7.25 an hour. >> in some places it would take a 200% increase for the average wage to meet the living wage. >> reporter: the study also found a growing gender pay gap. women earn about 80 cents on the dollar less for the same work. to earn the average annual salary of a white man, a white woman must work three more months to make the same amount. a black woman must work seven more months, and a hispanic woman must work nearly ten more months. >> it's important that we take steps to close the gender gap so that women can meet their full potential. can create economic security for themselves and for their

families and for their communities. >> reporter: the study also found child care has become a major drain on the resources of american families. on average, a household with two children now spends a quarter of its income on child care. >> what do we need to do to create a child care system that is affordable and accessible and that sets our kids off on a path of long-term success. >> reporter: researchers say the pandemic expanded the gender pay gap due in part to lack of paid sick leave for many women in the workforce. andrew, mona. >> andrea, thank you. and new worries on wall street. the dow lost more than 800 points yesterday with investors growing concerned about a potential recession and corporate earning reports. google reported lower profits due to a slowdown in digital ad sales. and asian stocks are sliding as millions of people across shanghai, china, continue to face a strict covid lockdown. residents forced to stay in their homes are now running low on food. vice president kamala harris

has tested positive for covid. it comes as the cdc reports that nearly 60% of americans have been infected with the virus and about 75% of children. abc's faith abubey has more on the vice president's treatment. good morning, faith. >> reporter: hey, good morning to you, mona. vice president harris' office says after consulting with doctors, she's now taking pfizer's antiviral pill paxlovid. now that drug is for people at high risk of developing severe cases of covid, but we've been told harris at this point is asymptomatic but she is however 57 years old, and the cdc says the risk of getting very sick from covid increases beginning at the age of 50. as for paxlovid it's been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization and death by 90%. dr. ashish jha, the white house covid response coordinator, spoke about the drug yesterday. >> the fda has laid out a very clear set of criteria for who should get paxlovid. very basically it's anybody who is at high risk.

age is important, presence of chronic disease is, but the bottom line is and what i am recommending to family and friends is, if you get covid, you should see a provider and make that assessment with your provider. a lot more people are eligible and would benefit than i think people think. >> well, paxlovid was authorized back in december. the biden administration says it's planning to send the drug to more hospitals, more clinics and pharmacies across the country. mona. >> faith, thank you. now to the war in ukraine. a third mass grave has been found near mariupol. local officials say it's more than 600 feet long. the mayor says russian soldiers forced residents to bury the dead there. sometimes in exchange for food. it comes as ukraine acknowledges losing more towns in the eastern part of the country to russian forces. vladimir putin met yesterday with the u.n. secretary-general. putin agreed in principle to allow the u.n. and the red cross to help evacuate more ukrainians from mariupol. meanwhile, russia is cutting off natural gas deliveries to both

poland and bulgaria. both nato countries have refused moscow's demand to pay in rubles. they say they have enough reserves and other sources of energy. we turn now to the new firestorm in washington. more comments made by house republican leader kevin mccarthy are being leaked to the media and this morning, members of his own party are demanding answers. this morning, house republican leader kevin mccarthy is facing new backlash from within his own party thanks to more audiotapes obtained by "the new york times" from the days after the january 6th capitol riot. they reveal mccarthy appeared to be concerned that some of his fellow republicans could incite more violence. >> tension is too high. the country is too crazy. i do not want to look back and think we caused something or we missed something and someone got hurt. >> reporter: four days after the riot mccarthy vented his anger on a conference call saying republican congressman matt gaetz's incendiary rhetoric was putting people in jeopardy.

>> i'm calling gaetz and explaining to him, this is serious. cut this out. >> reporter: congressman steve scalise also expressed worry suggesting gaetz's remarks could be unlawful. >> it's potentially illegal what he's doing. >> reporter: mccarthy then asked why twitter which had already banned president trump could not ban some republican house members. >> can't they take their twitter accounts away too? >> reporter: in a statement released last night, congressman gaetz reacted saying, quote, this is the behavior of weak men, not leaders. other republicans also slamming mccarthy including congressman andy biggs who called the leader's comments, quote, problematic. >> his suggestion that twitter should ban some of his fellow republican members of the house more than anything that's come out so far will be used by mccarthy's enemies and will complicate his efforts to become the next speaker of the house. >> reporter: last night mccarthy did not answer questions about the audio, only claiming that his comments will not hurt his chances at becoming the next house speaker, but his colleagues say they expect an

explanation later this morning when the republican party holds an already scheduled meeting to discuss the midterm elections. in the wake of those audiotapes mccarthy is expected to be reinvited to appear before the january 6th committee to answer more questions. in wisconsin a juvenile suspect is now in custody in connection with the murder of a 10-year-old girl. lily peters was reported missing after visiting her aunt's house. her body was found the next day along a walking trail in chippewa falls. police say the suspect knew lily's family. >> while nothing will bring lily peters back or change what happened, we are very grateful to be able to deliver this news for the family and for the community. >> no word yet on a possible motive or how the suspect knew the family. an autopsy could be finished as soon as today. 6 million people in southern california will soon be under strict new water restrictions because of the historic drought. for the first time ever a water shortage emergency has been

declared in los angeles, ventura and san bernardino counties. beginning june 1st homeowners and businesses will be required to cut water use by 30% and limit the watering of lawns to once a week. most of california is currently in severe or extreme drought. so with that let's take a look at your wednesday weather forecast. thousands of homes and businesses in western virginia lost power after a confirmed tornado. a strong line of storms rolled through bringing hail and heavy rain but no reports of injuries. on the radar thunderstorms will return to the plains later today. rain is also expected in florida and the northeast and rain and snow showers today for the northern rockies. checking today's high temperatures, well below normal across the midwest and the northeast. 70 in the plains and across the southeast. 84 in miami. coming up, remembering a crucial member of a legendary band from the 1970s.

also ahead, another prestigious university promises to make amends for its ties to slavery. what harvard university plans to do. and later marriage vows at 37,000 feet. the canceled plans that prompted one couple's unforgettable wedding. ♪ ♪ [ bird chirps ] springfest is back! [ sprinkler & birds chirping ] these are the mowers i was telling you abou

and right now, youhome a [ food sizzling and happy family chatter ] at great prices for the season. stop by lowe's now, for your happiest spring. children in ukraine urgently need our help. conflict is putting millions of children and their families in immediate danger. unicef is working around the clock to keep children safe, and we'll keep doing that as long as they need us.

but we need your help to ramp up our effort. unicef is there for the children of ukraine, providing clean water, emergency supplies, and a safe place to rest and play. learn more at unicefusa.org/ukrainehelp and help show families in ukraine they are not alone. back now with the music of earth, wind and fire. the sax player, and old band mate calling him funny, quick witted and always styling. he died at 71 after a long illness. one of the most prestigious institutions is detailing the role it played in slavery.

now harvard is promising to do something about it but it is not without controversy. >> reporter: this morning america's oldest university is vowing to spend $100 million to atone for its historical ties to slavery. >> the truth is that slavery played a significant part in our institutional history. >> reporter: researchers found from the school's founding until the outlawing the slavery in massachusetts in 1783, the university owned at least 70 enslaved people. both black and native-american and industries that relied on slave labor. the dean behind the report writing, the labor of enslaved people enrichard donors to the university, helping harvard build its reputation, and leaders and professors defended slavery, justified segregation a. the report recommends harvard have exchange programs with historically black colleges, collaborate with tribal colleges and engage with descendants of

end slaved people. critics claim it is too little too late. especially given harvard more than $50 million endowment. >> i think harvard was late to the game with this report. >> for me as a student of color, i wish this had happened a lot sooner. >> reporter: the report avoids any mention of direct financial reparations, a controversial practice. other schools including georgetown and the university of virginia have also pledged to make amends for their ties to slavery with projects and even scholarships to benefit descendants of enslaved people. >> for the university to acknowledge its past and reflect on it rather than push it under the covers. >> reporter: when asked about direct reparations, they said they had no immediate plans for that kind of program. coming up, a bright idea. another change when it comes to the light bulbs we use. first, the history being first, the history being ma ♪♪ here's to the very first influencer in your life... mom!

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what you hear there was gunfire breaking out in the middle of a youth baseball game in north charleston, south carolina. players and parents were running for cover. one coach was trying to get kids to drop to the ground, police say the shots came from the parking lot after teenagers got into a fight. a $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest. a new mission to space making history this morning, and it's all because of the astronaut who is on board. here's abc's derricke dennis. >> reporter: this morning, a history making mission to space. >> and liftoff. godspeed. >> reporter: three american astronauts and one european cruising at 17,500 miles per hour to the international space station. one of the nasa astronauts is 33-year-old jessica watkins who will become the first black woman to live on the space station for a long-term mission. she'll also become the first black woman to perform a space walk. >> i think part of it is really just kind of the logistics of

timing. but i also think maybe it is reflective or indicative of maybe a more systemic kind of issue we are seeing in our country where there's a bit of a pipeline problem, if you will. >> reporter: watkins, a geologist, joined nasa's astronaut program in 2017. she previously worked with the team that developed the mars curiosity rover. now watkins and her team will work on more than 200 experiments on the space station including new so-called smart shirts that measure your vital signs in zero gravity. the colorado native says she hopes her time in space will ppl on earth. >> there's room to invest more in kind of youth education and getting young girls and young people of color involved at an earlier age and then providing them the support and resources to kind of continue along that path and pursue careers in s.t.e.m. >> reporter: it will take the crew more than 16 hours to get

to the space station. they'll arrive later tonight, mona, andrew. >> our thanks to derricke. some are calling this a bright idea. incandescent lightbulbs are about to go dark. in the u.s. the biden administration has approved new rules to phase out the bulbs next year and replace them wih l.e.d.s. the white house says the move will save consumers about $3 billion per year on energy bills. in sports a wild dunk in the nba playoffs. this dunk would have been good from outer space. ja morant taking off there and the grizzlies roar back and take the series lead elsewhere. the miami heat and the phoenix suns also won last night. >> number 5 should go home. like at that point. >> career over. >> yeah, you just -- you just bow out respectfully. all right, coming up, a very different kind of breakfast cereal. also ahead, the big news about "the batman." >> this is a powder keg.

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we begin with the big news from gotham. i mean hollywood. >> if you liked the movies, get ready for the sequel. robert patinson will return as the came crusader. >> given the success at the box office, earning $760 million world wide so far. >> okay. bring back the penguin. next, orange juice with cereal isn't unusual, but orange juice in your cereal is about to become a thing. >> must be a new school thing. next week for orange juice day, tropicana is mixing with cereal.

they will give away boxes of tropicana crunch which they say allows to you sip your sunshine and eat it too. >> what could possibly be in that cereal that makes it okay? how about this mother's day bouquet for moms. >> some claim it is finger licking good. kfc is offering the chicken fried buck quet? it's a floral arrangement that's part flowers and part fried chicken. >> nothing gets to mom's heart like fried chicken. next an oklahoma couple is on cloud 9 after getting hitched at 9,000 feet. >> they had a series of flight delays so they decided to exchange vows high above phoenix. the pastor on board officiated and the crew played along. >> the captain sees us.

he said are you going to vegas to get married? we said we'll try. if not, we'll do it on the plane. >> 2690. i introduced you for the first time to mr. and mrs. -- >> somebody said, man, i feel like i just watched a rom-com. >> they had a don't it for a wed go cake. and finally, tom brady unable to hold back tears. >> the man in the arena, in one scene he gets emotional reflecting on his relationship with his parents. >> i'm 44. i have a family, i'm a dad to some amazing children. and -- when i think about being a dad, i think about him because of what my dad men to me. >> as for his unretirement, brady said there's time for him

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three people are in custody now. >> vice-president kamala harris at home and isolation. the treatment she is undergoing for covid-19. >> and the decision about a popular stretch and whether it will be permanently car free. >> and the lingering question this morning. good morning. it is wednesday, april 27. >> we want to start with meteorologist francis. >> here is a at dr. seven. temperatures have cooled down. we have a freeze warning and a frost advisory. temperatures may drop to subfreezing.