this morning on "world news now," powerful storms impacting millions of americans. >> from pea sized hail stones killing flamingos at a texas zoo to a bolt of lightning forcing a jet to make an emergency landing in new york. plus a major snowstorm predicted for the first day of spring. your voice, your vote. the uproar over donald trump's comments about republican convention riots and who wants to bring unity to the democratic party before tuesday's vote. the prayer prophets. are judgment day for a website that cashed in on anyone going online looking for faith. who got into trouble and who is forced to pay. >> and later swift kick. who is helping women even celebrities in high heels defend themselves when their lives depend on it's friday, march 18th.

>> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." >> we do say good morning to everyone. friday has arrived. i'm kendis gibson. >> tgif in a big way. >> fantastic day. we're going to start this half hour of course, with the big wild weather. already saturating parts of the south and they can expect more rain today. >> and boy, here in new york, lightning struck a passenger plane forcing it to make an emergency landing. we get more on the widespread storms from abc's lauren lyster. >> reporter: hail the size of peas golf balls, even baseballs pelting parts of texas thursday. blasting holes through car windshields, terrorizing drivers. >> i was sitting in my car and boom, that happened. >> glass was flying inward. i got a cut on my arm. i was bawling. i was ready for it to go. >> reporter: the morning commute a slushy mess for drivers. the hail coming

actually killed several flamingos at the fort worth zoo. the ice balls damaging buildings, too. creating a wintry landscape but temps were actually around 60 degrees. in mississippi, it was creepy foreboding clouds warning of potential tornadoes thursday night. and in the northeast -- >> 4233 just got hit by lightning. >> don't send us through there again. it's pretty bad. >> reporter: an american airlines flight struck by lightning. the plane damaged on the rear wing. forced to make an emergency landing on the way from north carolina to new york. >> there was a flash of light. and big explosion. the plane dipped about 100 feet. >> out of nowhere. >> reporter: and next the threat of snow sunday into monday. >> the areas of concern that's going to be d.c., baltimore, philadelphia, new york city, and this could run right up interstate 95 corridor. there is going to be the potential here for several

>> reporter: reena and kendis ta snowstorm coming just in time for the first day of spring on sunday. our friends at accuweather telling us march is always up to some tricks though and this time of year snow would not be completely unusual. >> lauren, last year you covered a big snowstorm on the first day you have spring, as well. >> that's why i could be the weather expert. this is not completely unusual. i can remember being out in new york right near central park trying to talk to people how they felt about snow on the first day of spring. and you know cynical new yorkers everyone was saying to me, yeah, it's still cold this time of year. >> cynical new yorkers sounded like valley girls is what you're saying. > wow. i need to try a little harder. >> abc's lauren lyster, thanks so much for that report. >> thank you residents of flint, michigan say they're not satisfied yesterday's capitol hill hearing on the city's water crisis. the tense hearing

lead contamination of the city's water supply. most of the republican lawmakers hammering the state's republican governor for his role in the crisis. he apologized and said that he had been told the problems weren't severe. lawmakers weren't buying any of it. >> you were not in a medically induced coma for a year and i've had about enough of your false contrition and your phony apologies. >> this was a failure of government at all levels. local, state, and federal officials. we all failed the families of flint. >> snyder dismissed demands that he resign as governor. head of the epa was also slammed by lawmakers. gina mccarthy admitted her agency hasn't been quick enough to respond but refused to say the epa failed flint. a group of conservatives have released details of that are secret meeting to try to stop donald trump. the three-hour discussion focused on ways to prevent him from being the nominee at the convention. there's an

republicans about trump's suggestion that there will be riots if he's denied the gop nomination at the convention. house speaker paul ryan paid his thoughts clear on capitol hill. >> nobody should say such things in my opinion because to even address or hint to violence is unacceptable. >> john kasich called trump's comment an outrage. kasich's campaign today campaigned today in utah before the state's republican primary. ted cruz will be in arizona today despite his campaign acknowledging that trump will likely with inthat state next week. >> on the democratic side, hillary clinton has been declared the winner of tuesday's missouri primary. she went five or five on the night. bernie sanders says he will not contest the close result. and there's starting to be talk of democratic unity behind clinton's campaign. abc's cecilia vega reports. >> reporter: "the new york times" reporting

told a group of democratic donors it will soon be time for bernie sanders campaign to end and for democrats to unite behind hillary clinton. the white house denying the president was endorsing clinton, but adding, he did say this. >> our success in november, in electing a democratic president, will depend on the commitment and ability of the democratic party to come together behind our nominee. >> reporter: if that's hillary clinton, it will be full circle for two people who once battled. >> although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it. >> reporter: but then, that meeting at the white house. clinton joining his team. that moment in the situation room. and now clinton on the trail, campaigning on their close ties, helping herself, but helping his legacy, too. >> i think he doesn't get the credit he deserves for having fought for a recovery that is taking hold.

>> president obama would later go on to call hillary clinton one of his most trusted advisers, clearly though he is choosing his words very carefully here. this seems to be about as close an endorsement as you can possibly get. cecilia vega, abc news, new york. >> breaking news from north korea where the military has fired a medium range ballistic missile into the sea. test firing violates multiple u.n. security council resolutions that ban north carolina from encaging in any ba lis it i can and into your clear activities. it's certain to heighten tensions over north carolina's nuclear ambition. >> complicating matters is the case of a student sentenced by north korea to 15 years of hard labor. diplomatic efforts are under way to free the student. here's abc's martha raddatz. >> reporter: the u.s. is quietly working to free american student otto warmbier. it was this secu

the north koreans say shows warmbier stealing a political banner like this one from the hotel where he was staying with a tour group. and taking it is a crime against the state. >> i have made the worst mistake of my life. >> reporter: the 21-year old uva student clearly shaken, now sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. >> please save my life. please think of my family. i am the oldest son in my family. >> reporter: now helping the family seek release, former governor bill richardson. he equates the theft with a college prank. >> hopefully now after this sentencing, it'll mean negotiations can start on his release on humanitarian grounds. >> reporter: close to a dozen american tourists have been arrested in north korea in the last six years, all released. the north koreans have, in the past, wanted a high-level negotiator, like bill clinton, who helped free two young american journalists in 2009. but this is a time of great tension with the north koreans because of their nuclear and ballistic missile st

there is no telling what they will do and what they will demand. martha raddatz, abc news, washington. a scary scene at a high school in south florida when a pep rally performance went horribly wrong. a professional fire breather accidentally erupted in flames horrifying hundreds of students and teachers in the audience. the stuntman was hospitalized in serious condition along with seven others including some students who inhaled fire extinguisher dust. >> well, also in florida, jurors will hear closing arguments in the hulk hogan lawsuit. the former pro wrestler is suing gawker for $100 million for posting a sex tape of him online. he claims it violated his privacy. yesterday lawyers for gawker showed hogan a promo video of him wearing t back underwear and parroting the miley cyrus wrecking ball video. >> okay. i was waiting for that image. i guess we've been spared that.

burned in our brain. >> right. we do hope everyone had a good st. patrick's day. i'm trying to segue to something happier. they celebrated in an appropriate manner probably. plenty of marching and other stuff going on here in new york city. >> yes, there was also marching but maybe not as much in the small village of conklin, michigan. once again, they staged their rather short st. patrick's day parade. we say short because the route was all of 150 yards long. >> the grand rapids catholic central marching band took part as did some musicians and people were wearing green. when they got to the end of the route, many of them spent some time at a local establishment. >> establishment? >> i'm warning you, giving you a year's notice. next st. paddy's day is on a friday. >> wow. >> yeah. >> is it going to be on the 17th, as well? >> it will continue to be on the 17th for the foreseeable future. >> great to know. by the way, this y

paddy he's day parade was at 25th. next year will be the 256th annual. >> you're good with math. >> coming up in the mix, one of the most talked about moments from the first day of march madness. you've got to see this. >> also ahead the cutting edge self-defense roo feen for women. have you ever hot of fighting back with a high heel shoe. >> and the website promising prayers in exchange for money. who is accused of cashing in on people looking for solace and comfort. >> and wnnfans.com and twitter @abcwnp. you're watching "world news now." everyone loves the way dark clothes make them feel. and no one wants that feeling to fade. that's why there's woolite darks. it's free of harsh ingredients, keeping dark clothes looking like new for 30 washes so your love for dark clothes will never fade.

woolite darks. your heart loves omega-3s. but there's a difference between the omega-3s in fish oil and those in megared krill oil. unlike fish oil, megared is easily absorbed by your body... ...which makes your heart, well, mega-happy. happier still, megared is proven to increase omega-3 levels in 30 days. megared. the difference is easy to absorb. >> i'm alex trebek. if you're age 50 to 85, this is an important message. so please, write down the

the lock i want to talk to you about isn't the one on your door. it's a rate lock for your life insurance that guarantees your rate can never go up at any time, for any reason. but be careful. many policies you see do not have one, but you can get a lifetime rate lock through the colonial penn program. call this number to learn more. this plan was designed with a rate lock for people on a fixed income who want affordable life insurance that's simple to get. coverage options for just $9.95 a month, less tn 35 cents a day. act now and your rate will be locked in for life. it will never increase. your coverage can never be cancelled as long as you pay your premiums, and your acceptance is guaranteed, with no health questions. you cannot be turned down because of your health. call for your information kit and gift. both are free, with no obligation. don't wait, call this

♪ introducing new k-y touch gel crème. for massage and intimacy. every touch, gently intensified. a little touch is all it takes. k-y touch.

this is violent video here but everyone is okay. a woman lost control of her suv, crashed through the front of a south florida pizza restaurant injuring two people waiting to pick up their order. they both suffered serious cuts from broken glass. needed stitches but have gone home from the hospital. the driver was not hurt. it's unclear whethersleyal face any charges. >> hmm. turning now to a consumer alert. a christian website ordered to repay millions of dollars to customers for an online prayer scam. >> the man running the website under fire for exploiting americans searching for prayer and counsel from religious leaders. prosecutors say all of it was fake. here's abc's neal karlinksky. >> reporter: more than 100,000 people seeking spiritual help flocked to christian prayer center desperate for the power of prayer and

pastors like jon karl son. >> people are thinking their problems are going to be solved. >> reporter: the online church came with a fee of between $9 and $35 for prayers. washington state's attorney general says it was all a scam. pastor carlson is outraged too saying his name was used without his permission. in fact, investigators say all kinds of fake religious leaders and testimonials were used to entice people to the tune of $7 million worth of paid prayers between 2011 and 2015. all of it, they say, the brainchild of this man, benjamin ragovie. >> he was asking people to give money under deceptive circumstances. >> he couldn't be reaped for comment. the website says it's closed adding we thank you for all the prayers. >> reporter: the attorney general isn't interested in his prayers and they want cash. he's now agreed to pay back $7.5

million to more than 1507b,000 commerce. >> there's actually a customer protection act that prevent these charitable organizations churches from offering false things. you know, that they can't make good on. >> a lot of people were going on the site and hoping and praying for you know, to have a child to have a healthy baby to, win the lotto and all these different things and they're out of money and they're out of luck. all right, coming up in our next half hour, keeping kids safe from medicines. a new warning about accidental overdoses and the alarming way kids can easily open child proof prescriptions. >> first the self-defense course that teaches women to protect themselves using still will let toes. you're watching "world news now."

♪ ♪ she's so good with her stilettos ♪ >> ah, the billy joel song "stiletto can tells about a woman doing damage to the man in her life. there's a new form of self-defense that can do the damage with stilettos. >> dan harris shows us the trend. >> not only does she sick some serious butt, she does it sporting sky high

the self-defense guru has trained celebrities such as kerry russell of the americans" and amanda seyfert. >> i've been taking self-defense with avi for about four months and it's pretty much changed my life. >> reporter: her group class focuses on teaming all types of women to protect themselves using footwear. a former ballerina, she switched her focus to self-defense while she was just a teenager. >> unfortunately, i was sexually sauled when i was 19 by someone i knew and i tried to find a way to heal myself. had i father recommended a self-defense system. it was the one thing that allowed me to feel the sense of empowerment because i felt like i was doing something positive towards the incident. >> reporter: hi heals are a key ingredient so her students are never unprepared. >> the thing is it's self-defense. it's not martial arts. it's you're caught off guard. so for a woman who live her

valid concern. women should not have to compromise femininity and should be able to defend themselves regardless of what shoes their wearing. >> reporter: the shoes can become an impromptu weapon or boost a kick. >> i definitely feel more prepared. >> the fact that you you living your life will potentially put you in a vulnerable situation. every single woman can learn self-defense. take that responsibility and that initiative into her own hands to survive a situation if she was caught off guard is just so important. >> two. >> reporter: dan harris, abc news, new york. >> i'm for it. >> for it? >> i'd like to take the class, yeah. >> i've seen you walk around in your heels. >> right. i don't. that is true. i only put my heels on right before people see them on television. usually a wear flip-flops or sneakers. >> it always seems

experiment when you walk. >> you sum it up very well. >> coming up, we've got more. can a toothpaste do everything well? this clean was like pow! it added this other level of clean to it. it just kinda like...wiped everything clean. 6x cleaning my teeth are glowing. they are so white. 6x whitening i actually really like the 2 steps. step 1, cleans step 2, whitens. every time i use this together, it felt like... ...leaving the dentist office. crest hd. 6x cleaning, 6x whitening i would switch to crest hd over what i was using before. your heart loves omega-3s. but there's a difference between the omega-3s in fish oil and those in megared krill oil. unlike fish oil, megared is easily absorbed by your body... ...which makes your heart, well, mega-happy. happier still, megared is proven to increase omega-3 levels in 30 days.

the difference is easy to absorb. (sound♪ of music ♪histling) introducing new k-y touch gel crème. for massage and intimacy. every touch, gently intensified. a little touch is all it takes. k-y touch.

...one hair color wants to to help you keep on being you.. nice'n easy. natural-looking color... ...that even in sunlight, doesn't look like hair color... it just looks like you. nice'n easy: color as real as you are. narrator: breakfast. dishes. dinner. dishes. marriage. dishes. divorce. dishes. sleeping. (snoring) (sputtering) dishes. not sleeping. dishes. life. dishes. death. dishes. existence. dishes. dishes, dishes, dishes... every dish, every time. only finish has the power ball

ake on anything. now it's time for the mix. so we very started basketball march madness. arizona coach sean miller sweating up a sorm in the first round of march madness mashup. and apparently, there he is, sweating right through that shirt. apparently he's known for his sweating. there were lots of memes on twitter last night. this is what he's going to do halftime. a little bit of a fan. >> he'll need more than that. >> new shirt, old shirt, sean miller can't beat the heat. >> you need some degree or something. >> yeah. >> so did they win? >> they did end up winning. > nice. >> funny you should ask. >> i don't think i had arizona. >> you didn't have arizona. >> no. all righty. well, there's not much, rihanna has a new

song "work is like an ear worm." then there's there. ♪ work, work, work >> that would be a pig twerking to work, work, work. >> you like that one, huh. >> knew we go from a pig to a frog. ♪ politics and foreign wars, all the weather all the scores ♪ ♪ that's the world news polka ca ♪ ♪ take it kermit. >> okay, if you're an insomniac and a good night's sleep you lack ♪ ♪ do the world news polka ♪ on banjo and accordion the folks love every note ♪ ♪ but when we sing it sounds like there's a tropic stuck in our throat. >> sing it loud, sing it big everying and color frog and pig do the world news pig take it barry ♪ ♪ the swedish chef and beaker too, they do the

polka. >> reporter: even pepe the king prawn gets up way before dawn to do the world news polka ♪ ♪ next time bring miss piggy because i hear she's quite a ham ♪ ♪ i hope she didn't hear you or you'll be on the lam ♪ ♪ neighbors yell it's half past three tell them that it's news to me, that's the world news polka ♪ ♪ i hear they watch us in the swamp and think that we're all right ♪ ♪ it sure beats croaking in the middle of the night ♪ five whole days every week we're here with our tongues in cheek ♪ ♪ and the world news polka, one more time ♪ ♪ do the world news polka >> kermit, that was terrific. you play a great polka. >> why, thank you sir. i am a tad polish. >> i get it, tadpole lish. >> yes, waccawacca. >> yeah, fozzie bear wrote our material.

this morning on "world news now," political strategies. who is trying to stop donald trump's potential nomination. and how hillary clinton is responding to questions about a trump presidency. the new turn in the road to the white house. speaking out, new claims from the american accused of joining isis. was he following a girl before his capture in iraq? >> new this half hour, the unusual scene at a pennsylvania store. >> witnesses say they saw someone loading up a shopping cart and leaving the store without paying. police say a nun was shoplifting. >> and what's going on with madonna, from a concert starting two hours late to an embarrassed fan on stage. the negative attention she's getting in "the skinny" on this friday, march 18th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now."