secretary of health and human services is confirmed. lawmakers passed a measure clearing the way for clearing the health care law. and some republicans have misgivings about setting the it in motion before there's a replacement. an emotional day in court as relatives confronted a killer. >> dylann roof was formally sentenced to death yesterday for murdering nine black parishioners in 2015. 35 relatives spent five hours in court yelling at him, praying for him, and offering him forgiveness. after making their statements, they thanked the public for helping them through their pain. >> i'm proud of america for keeping this story alive, and allowing the victims to -- their voice to be heard. >> roof plans to appeal the federal death

he's also facing murder charges in state court. a trial date has not been set in that case. and here's a look at the weather radar. the northeast is getting rain and snow right now. check out the west coast. a third storm now coming ashore. not good news for already flooded areas and mountain towns that have seen more than six feet of snow. kayna whitworth is there. >> reporter: in the west, rescuers out in force, relentless storms turning nakeds into lakes southeast of san jose. boats and fire trucks out before dawn. >> we can't see the road. >> reporter: bringing dozens of people to safety. cows huddling on spots of dryland. in portland, more than a foot of snow forcing drivers to abandon their cars. >> reporter: portland hasn't seen anything like this in modern history. schools and businesses shut down and the downtown littered with fallen trees. >> reporter: in california northeast

road completely washed away. sonoma county inundated for a second time this week. >> we pulled six people out. >> reporter: we met a 83-year-old. >> i'm in the middle of a lake. >> reporter: rescued from her home. more than 650 homes affected by blood waters after nearly two feet of rain fell in a week. that's the biggest rain event in the state of california in more than a decade. kayna whitworth, abc news, california. >> quite an impressive image in that water. and accuweather has been tracking the storms. >> we have a look at what to expect. thanks and good morning to you. we're tracking another storm out toward the west coast. the good news is this is the last in a long series of storms. but anything additional here is going to be problematic. we're talking about rain that could aggravate already swollen rivers and streams. add to that some additional mountain snow.

weekend. warmth in the east. showers to travel along with the 95. back to you. justin, thank you. coming up, why millions of people are watching pretty boring things. >> speak for yourself in the when you're on the internet, anything is possible. we're going to get to the bottom of why one guy was just watching this or why many people are just watching this. >> this happened too. but it also made history. find out why. you're watching "world news now." "world news now" weather brought to you by lysol. familyr that you didn't even know was there. and we all know what happens when one family member gets sick. but lysol spray and lysol wipes kill 99.9% of germs including 8 common cold & flu viruses to help protect your home this cold and flu season.

to $4 on lysol and buy any 5 lysol products for 100 bonus box tops. mthat stuff only lasts a few hours. or, take mucinex. one pill fights congestion for 12 hours. guess i won't be seeing you for a while. why take medicines that only last 4 hours, when just one mucinex lasts 12 hours? let's end this. ...better than a manual, and my hygienist says it does. but... ...they're not all the same. turns out, they're really... ...different. who knew? i had no idea. so, she said look for... ...one that's shaped like a dental tool with a round... ...brush head. go pro with oral-b. oral-b's rounded brush head surrounds each tooth to... ...gently remove more plaque and... ...oral-b crossaction is clinically proven to... ...remove more plaque than sonicare diamondclean. my mouth feels so clean. i'll only use an oral-b! the #1 brand used by dentists worldwide. oral-b. brush like a pro. ai'm begging you... take gas-x. beneath the duvet, your tossing and turning isn't restlessness , it's gas.

so we can all sleep easier tonight. you knmegared omega-3s... but did you know your eyes, your brain, and your joints really love them too? introducing megared advanced 4in1... just one softgel delivers the omega-3 power of two regular fish oil pills... so give your body mega support with megared advanced 4in1. hey team, i know we're tight on time, but i really need a... ...sick day tomorrow. moms don't take sick days. moms take nyquil severe: the... ...nighttime sniffling,sneezing, coughing, aching, fever best... ...sleep with a cold, medicine.

be ready to clean up the mess. house. the kids have fun, but it's pretty gross. (doorbell) what's that? it's a swiffer wetjet. i can just grab this and just go right to the mess. that comes from my floor? now that's disgusting. i want friends over! you want friends over? cough doesn't sound so good. take mucinex dm. i'll text you in 4 hours when your cough returns. one pill lasts 12 hours, so... looks like i'm good all night! some cough medicines only last 4 hours. but just one mucinex lasts 12 hours. let's end this. captured by a drone high above the city of seattle. what a great shot of the space ed needle. >> a super close up to the needle. no. oh, my god. of all the humanity. >> oh,

down goes the drone. >> so the crash happened. workers are getting ready for seattle's new year's fireworks. luckily the space needle was damaged. i'm guessing probably the same can't be said for the drone. that has now been turned over to the police. >> the new year's fireworks went off with a hitch. the drone is now in pieces at the bottom there of the sound. members of the miami heat are okay, we should point out after scary moments in their charter plane. the charter plane slid on the runway last night. no one was injured and the plane stayed on the tar mack. the issue was caused by ice on the runway. and questions about kids meals in restaurants. they need to offer more nutritious to children. a harvard study finds very little if any improvement. the bottom line for

take it upon yourselves to make sure your kids choose green vegetables and water over fries and soda as well as just generally eating less processed food items. >> and hope your kids don't egg your house at the same time. the latest guinness world record will amaze you and maybe give you a headache. >> look at these brothers. they are both acrobats and you're watching them set the record for the most stairs climbed while balancing another person on your head. >> it's a thing. they did it on the 90 steps of a cathedral in spain. it took only 52 seconds? >> is there a lot of competition for that record, i wonder? >> they're the first to do it. >> someone is now searching for one more step on a staircase somewhere. >> coming up later, more feats of strength in this happened. >> first the amazing

twin-year-old twin girls separated at birth, and a moment they reunited live on gma. >> "world news now"

you have a twin sister. >> but two ten-year-old twins from china separated at birth and adopted to two different american families have been reunited thanks to social media and a very eagle eyed mother. >> this was a great moment. a tearful reunion on gma. we're so proud of this. here's robin roberts. >> reporter: it's a story of two families miles apart with the same dream to adopt a baby. in wisconsin, already the parents of three boys. >> it felt like we weren't complete. really would love to have a daughter, and finally decided to go through adoption. >> reporter: meanwhile in washington state, nicole and her husband scott also hoping to expand their family. >> i've always thought about adoption. >> after we had our surprise third child, we decided to have a fourth, and adoption was the great way to add to our family.

looking abroad for their future child. even open to taking a child with special needs. their search leading the both to china. in july, 2007, the rainsburies uniting with their daughter gracy with a heart condition. >> she was really sick. >> reporter: the doerings meeting their daughter, 15 months old in august of 2007 who also has a heart condition. >> we knew she was small and frail. they told us at 15 months she didn't walk yet. >> reporter: the girls arriving in the u.s. with their new families. two heart surgeries for gracie, and awe dudrey. last month one mom was curious about the path. she discovered this photo. it shows audrey with another baby who looks just like her. >> it was unbelievable. this is st

there are two of them. as soon as i had that picture, i was desperate to find out who that other child was. >> reporter: jennifer with the help of facebook eventually finds the other mother and gracie. >> it's the craziest thing in the world to look at your child kp exactly. everything was the same. the same hair. the same glasses. the same outfits. that was the moment i knew that they were the same. >> it was so crazy to be looking at what looked like gracie but knowing that it wasn't gracie. >> right. >> yeah. it's just surreal. it's hard to process that information. >> reporter: now the twin girls coming face to face for the first time. audrey, are you ready? >> yeah. >> reporter: you want to do this? >> all right. >> reporter: come over here and stand right here. okay. you ready? i'm going to back away.

moment. all right. gracie, come on out meet your sister. [ applause ] >> how are you two feeling right now? your first impressions of seeing your sister? >> excited, happy. >> it's overwhelming. >> audrey, we said you had three older brothers. how does it feel to have your sister now? >> like i finally have, like, it felt like there was something missing. it was like now it's complete. so cute. >> how cool is that? >> robin called it a stellar moment. she wrote an e-mail saying when she left the studio yesterday morning that they were still giggling and running down the hall there at the studios. >> so awesome, and their reaction so genuine. absolutely priceless. what a great

>> coming up, some giants swirling blocks of ice. speaking of great moments. you may think you can put off checking out your medicare options until you're sixty-five, but now is a good time to get the ball rolling. keep in mind, medicare only covers about eighty percent of part b medical costs. the rest is up to you. that's where aarp medicare supplement insurance plans insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company come in. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, they could help pay some of what medicare doesn't, saving you in out-of-pocket medical costs. you've learned that taking informed steps along the way really makes a difference later. that's what it means to go long™. call now and request this free [decision guide]. it's full of information on medicare and the range of

lans to choose from based on your needs and budget. all plans like these let you choose any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients, and there are no network restrictions. unitedhealthcare insurance company has over thirty years experience and the commitment to roll along with you, keeping you on course. so call now and discover how an aarp medicare supplement plan could go long™ for you. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations. plus, nine out of ten plan members surveyed say they would recommend their plan to a friend. remember, medicare doesn't cover everything. the rest is up to you. call now, request your free [decision guide] and start gathering the information you need to help you keep rolling with confidence.

♪ from surfaces for up to 48 hours. you can pick up the flu it's like having a sick family member in your home. but lysol kills 99.9% of germs including 8 cold and flu viruses. to help protect your home lysol that. you knmegared omega-3s... but did you know your eyes, your brain, and your joints really love them too? introducing megared advanced 4in1... just one softgel delivers mega support. cough doesn't sound so good. take mucinex dm. i'll text you in 4 hours when your cough returns. one pill lasts 12 hours, so... looks like i'm good all night! some cough medicines only last 4 hours. but just one mucinex lasts 12 hours. let's end this. from surfaces for up to 48 hours. you can pick up the flu it's like having a sick family member in your home. but lysol kills 99.9% of germs including 8 cold and flu viruses.

lysol that. . >> it is time for this happened. those stories that the ross unit is not investigating or reporting on. >> they're a little off the beaten path for perfect for us. we're going to start with the road. and the thrilling process of paving it. >> nearly 15 million people and counting have watched this three minute video that shows a stretch of road in a remote area of western australia being paved. >> there was a drone over the workers and posted on facebook. a television station got ahold of the video and off the to the races we go. >> i am mesmerized by it. >> i am too. jack is still staring at it. >> it happens tha

>> it's relaxing. how are we going to move on from there? >> hmm. >> all right. you've heard of crop circles, the patterns that mysteriously appear in fields. >> ice circles are giving them a run for their money. many of them occur naturally. they're usually a little smaller than this. we have to confess this one is manmade. >> still. >> it's called the ice carousel. it's the product of a man from minnesota, mike verm, who said it took him a chain saw and two hours of work. >> but the lifetime of creativity, i would say, mike. that's kind of neat. >> a lifetime of creativity? >> yes. speaking of creativity, have you tried scrolling to the bottom of an excel spread sheet? >> no. >> but the challenge was taken on. didn't take his finger off the arrow key until t

the page. he got his answer nine hours, 36 minutes. >> total number of rows in this one excel spread sheet, 1 million, 48,576. he admits it was probably the dumbest idea ever, but someone had to do it. did they? >> no, not really. he's going to take on pi next and get end of that. >> control shift gets you to the end. >> anyone knows the first rule of fight club, don't talk about it. but the first rule of table breaking club, share videos of it. >> table breaking club, you heard that right. 50,000 people are now in this group with hundreds of videos showing people basically just hurling themselves through tables. exactly what it sounds like. >> apparently you have to be sober for it. >> is that a requirement? >> i don't know. >> i doubt that. >> wow, there's some actually interesting moves.

this thursday morning on "world news now," new questions over two leaked what. >> president-elect trump compared the leak of information from an intelligence briefing from nazi germany. but the head of the intelligence says it wasn't from them. >> tough questions from two of the two cabinet nominees. the choice for secretary of state getting grilled but marco rubio over his view of poovladi put putin. >> later charlie sheen is opening up about his hiv diagnosis changed his life and how he feels like he's carrying the torch for others battling the virus that causes aids. hear what he