a flurry of action today on capitol hill. and at the white house. perhaps, the most attention this hour is on the senate judiciary committee's vote on president obama: -- president trump's controversial pick for attorney general, jeff sessions. that vote may have become more critical. sam sweeney joins us live with more. sam? >> good afternoon. as you can see from the live pictures, senate judiciary

there's 20 members on this panel. and we are only halfway through. and at this hour, it appears that the support for sessions is split down party lines. and the stakes have been increased with last night's firing of the acting attorney general, sally yates. now, democrats have serious concerns about sessions' ability to distance himself from the president questioning if he has what to takes to be independent and stands up to the commander in chief or tell mr. trump he's wrong on certain issues just as sally yates did last night. republicans on the other hand say sessions is a man of character, will follow the law and have no problem being the peoples attorney vs. the president's attorney. >> we need an independent attorney general. one who is committed to standing up for the constitutional and statutory rights of the disenfranchised and stand up for a president who in these short days has already violated his rights. i don't think

senator sessions. for these reasons, i'll speak longer on the floor, i'm not confident. >> i voted for almost everybody that president obama appointed disagreeing with them on almost anything. i never doubted any of these people were bad people because they disagreed with me. the one thing i can tell the united states of america, in my view, that jeff sessions is a republican conservative who is a good, decent man who will follow the law as he sees it or try to take the country down a different road than president obama and his attorney general and that's what the whole election was about. you can't have it both ways. >> that message was largely echoed by both republicans and democrats respectively. after all 20 senators speak on the panel, they will go to a vote and then it will g

full senate. that could come as early as the end of this week. reporting live on capitol hill, i'm sam sweeney, back to you in the studio. >> thank you. and president donald trump is apparently growing impatient with the confirmation hearings. this morning, he took it to twitter posting "when will the democrats give us our attorney general and rest of cabinet. they should be ashamed of themselves. no wonder d.c. doesn't work." as sam referenced it, the firing of acting attorney general sally yates, she was replaced by the u.s. attorney for the eastern district of virginia, dana boente. after yates refused to defend the president's executive order on immigration. >> sally yates was a profile in courage. profile in courage. maybe some of her courage and insight and wisdom would rub off the people in the white house. maybe they'll back off and repeal this executive order. >> some are comparing

removal to the so-called saturday night massacre under president nixon. others argue the circumstances are different. and president trump was within his authority to fire yates after she questioned the legality of his immigration order. in all, the senate is expected to vote on at least five cabinet nominees today besides jeff sessions. senate committees will vote on the nominations of tom price as health and human services secretary. steven manuchin as treasury secretary. elaine chow as transportation secretary and minutes ago the senate committee approved betsy devoss for education secretary. tonight, president trump will announce who he's nominating to the u.s. supreme court. that announcement will be made at 8:00 here on abc 7 and the pick comes nearly a full year after justice antonin scalia's death left the high court shorthanded. we'll take a closer look at what's at stake coming up in less than 10 minutes. and you can follow all the developments of president trump's first 100 days by getting breaking ws

right at your fingerprints any time. just head to wjla.com/text. and now, let's take it outside and we'll get a look on the weather and looks like we're in for a bit of a warmup today, doug? >> now, looks pretty good out to me out there with a little bit of snow well north of the metro area this morning. as expected, very little impact and now we have gusty winds and clearing skies. so beautiful image as we look out across the potomac river at national harbor. one advisory until 5:00 this afternoon for gusty winds. this stretches west of interstate 81, the higher elevations. so gusty winds there. not, you know, 50, 60 miles per hour but we have some 30, 32-mile-per-hour gusts and still have gusty breezes out of the south and that's how we're going to draw up these warmer temperatures today. many areas started at or below freezing this morning but we're going to warm into the upper 40's. some areas closer to 50 degrees for this afternoon. as we get hour by hour, we'll see plenty of sunshine. a few passing clouds. 51 degrees about 4:00. that will

through the 40's later this evening. as far as what's happening on satellite and radar, most of the energy ahead of this warm front has been as we expected this place to the north. sweep in and move north of the area will be the beneficiaries of this pattern with plenty of sunshine and the very mild conditions. looking ahead to this tuesday evening, looks like skies will remain partly cloudy. it will be chilly. winds will be out of the southwest and wind temperatures about 34 to 39 degrees by morning. little more mild weather before we turn colder and look ahead to any chances of more wintry precipitation and check out the next 10 days in the outlook coming up for you in nine minutes. mel? >> all right, doug. thanks so much. see you in a few minutes. and we've got some breaking news coming in right now out of arlington where a man has just been charged with killing his roommate. yesterday, police found 55-year-old michael wigans dead inside a home on seventh street. investigators say a fight broke out between wigans and herbert

he is being held without bond. developing this noon out of prince george's county now, a pedestrian is dead after being hit by a vehicle on a busy road in bladensburg. now, police are trying to figure out what led to this incident. our john gonzalez has the latest. >> well, the pedestrian has not been identified but police telling us they know he was an adult male believed to be in his 30's. this accident happened at around 6:20 this morning, take a look at the scene. you still have a number of prince george's county police here blocking the roadway. the southbound lanes of kenilworth avenue all closed off. the medical examiner team working on the body and working on collecting clues and evidence including what appears to be a cup of coffee that the victim was carrying. now, this here is the dump truck that struck and killed this individual and then you can see the jacket of the victim still dangling from the bottom of the truck there. police telling us

driver actually didn't realize it at first. he drove off an it wasn't until he was down the street at a gas station that he realized what happened and it doesn't appear that this incident occurred at a crosswalk. there are two bus stops on each end of kenilworth avenue. >> we spoke with our investigators. our investigators were able to grab a statement from him. and investigate his vehicle as well. and he's still on the scene talking with our investigators now. >> the maryland state highway administration helping police detour the traffic here on busy kenilworth avenue in bladensburg as the investigation continues. no word of any charges as of now. in bladensburg, john gonzalez. back to you inside. >> thank you. and now to news around the world. police in canada are trying to learn more about the man charged in the deadly shooting spree inside a mosque in quebec city. police say 27-year-old alexander bissinette opened fire during a

killing six people. so far, no motive has been established. but police say that he often made derogatory comments about immigrants and women on social media. the shootings are being called an act of terror. coming up on abc 7 news at noon, we'll soon know who president trump is nominating to be on the supreme court. what's at stake with this pick? we'll take a closer look. also coming up, new developments in the search for that missing bobcat at the national zoo. where is ollie? we'll have the latest. and a bit later, what's bringing oprah winfrey back to network television in primetime. we'll tell you about her new job with the popular show. coming up.

melanie: if you still need health insurance for this year, better hurry up. today is the deadline through the affordable care act. otherwise known as obamacare. if you don't get insurance, you risk having to pay a fee when filing your federal taxes next year. enrollment figures help insurers decide next year's premiums and if they want to stay in the market. the obama administration projected that more than 13 million people would sign up for coverage in 2017. as of december 24th, they had 11 1/2 million signed up. at the white house this morning, president trump met with executives from the pharmaceutical industry. the president says he wants to get control of what he calls astronomical drug price. >> what i wan

lower prices. we have to get even better innovation. and i want you to move your companies back to the united states. melanie: the president said that he would make it easier for pharmaceutical companies to win regulatory approval for their products. in just hours, we will learn who president trump has picked to fill the vacancy on the supreme court left by the death of justice antonin scalia last february. president trump making the announcement tonight and abc's elizabeth hur has latest from outside of the supreme court. >> we have a big decision that i have made. very big decision. on the united states supreme court. reporter: in the east room tonight, president trump will stand with his nominee. >> a person who is unbelievably highly respected. and i think you will be vy impressed with this person. reporter: this decision

and have a longer lasting impact than anything the new president has done so far. trump's choice would fill the vacancy created by the death last year of antonin scalia during the campaign, trump promised his nominee would be someone similar to the late scalia. >> the justices that i'm going to appoint will be pro life. they will have a conservative bent. they will be protecting the second amendment. reporter: trump's short list is down to two. judges neil gorsich and thomas hardiman. he serves on the third court of appeals with president trump's sister. sources tell abc news berry highly recommended hardiman to her brother. gorsich serves on the 10th circuit court of appeals and has been so-called scalia 2.0 because he echos scalia's judicial philosophy and writing style. both men are young and could serve on the court for decades. but in the short run, neither would tip the

court because president trump's conservative nominee would be replacing another conservative on the bench. regardless of who is picked, there will be an all out confirmation battle in the senate. with democrats so very upset president obama's pick for the seat never even got a hearing. from the supreme court, elizabeth hur, abc news. melanie: today, we are hearing an amazing story of survival from a california man. he was trapped for two days after his vehicle plunged off the side of a road. hunter kittle's vehicle went 75 feet down a steep hill. it flipped over and crashed into a tree. he suffered several broken bones and he kept going in and out of consciousness. kittle's cell phone was dead so he couldn't call for help. eventually, a passing motorist noticed the wreckage and called for help. >> mainly was mind over matter. last long enough to go down that hill. one way or another, i

want that to be my final chanter in my life. melanie: luckily it wasn't. he was air lifted out of there. the ordeal has made him look at his life a little differently. i bet it has, wow. word is he fell asleep at the wheel when he was driving. one lucky guy. doug: weatherwise, we're in good shape. light snow to north of the area is what we expected. breezy and warm it up this afternoon, too. maybe 50 degrees. good stuff! melanie: like the sound of that. doug: let's go with the time lapse from oakdale high school in frederick county not far from the town of frederick. a little bit to the southeast. so definitely overcast this morning. the winds started picking up. waiting for the warm front to go through. once that happened, stars started to brighten and still cool, the breeze out there. temperatures warm up nicely and now a lot of sunshine across the area and a few clouds. high wind gust, 30-mile-an-hour wind gust in the higher elevations out west. most of the areas will be breezy and mild

fair amount of sunshine. so the numbers will range. usually we pick a number but, you know, to be anywhere around that. could be 51, 53. somewhere, we kind of get the middle of the pack that will be the most maybe the widespread high temperature across the majority of the region. so our number today is 53. sunshine and breezy. southwesterly winds up to 15. occasional wind gusts up to 30 miles an hour especially in the higher elevations. now, we watch this area with the warm front pass to our north and we saw this yesterday afternoon all day and it looked like that was going to be the track and it held true and now with sotherly winds, we pretty much insured of a good afternoon with dry weather, gusty breezes as well. our futurecast continues to track more energy to the north through the afternoon and evening hours. we'll stay fairly clear through the late afternoon, early evening and then be clear to partly cloudy tonight. clouds will increase tomorrow. we think it will wind up being a cloudy day and a little moisture coming in from the west. the most we could see somewhere is maybe a sprinkle late in the day. that would be about it. then as we get through t

a bit cooler around the area. more typical for early february. 39 degrees tomorrow morning at the bus stop for an average. 45 at recess time. 52 for dismissal time in the afternoon, again, partly to mostly cloudy skies across the entire region. as far as the next 10 days, looking for any signs of any big storms. we don't see it. but we do see a little something-something here brewing possibly on sunday. for today, 53 and close to 52 tomorrow. on groundhog day on thursday, it will be partly cloudy and 44. a bit colder on friday. saturday, chilly. sunday, chilly in the 30's. and we're putting up a 40% chance of a wintry mix kind of precipitation deal here developing sunday through sunday night. but right now, looks like things should clear right back out again on monday with temperatures starting to warm up. look at that wednesday. 61. melanie: wow. doug: that could be a fluke there but the models get out so far and a lot of things can change. at least you see the trend isn't for any bitterly cold air. just seasonally cold air for a few days before it starts to warm up again. that's been the p

winter long. probably close to what's going to happen. melanie: i'm ok with a little messy weather on the weekend, right? easier to take, right? doug: absolutely. melanie: thank you. ollie, you know ollie, that bobcat that remains missing from the national zoo? well, there have been some calls saying she may be near the zoo. so ollie broke out of her enclosure yesterday morning. however, the zoo is not actively searching for her because they think that's going to scare her away. so instead, they're hoping to entice her back with some treats. now, bobcats are not known to be aggressive to people. but zoo officials are asking people not to approach the bobcat if you do see her and, of course, you want to watch out for your pets if you happened to be in the woodley park area. all right. coming up on abc 7 news at noon, a new job for oprah winfrey! now, it's one that's going to be bringing her back to network tv in primetime. we'll tell you what she's up to coming up. and tonight, 7 is on your side to bring you the best consumer health possible.

help you solve your consumer problems. so call our 7 on your side call for action phone bank between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. our specially trained volunteers will be here to help you get action. tune into abc 7 news at 4:00 p.m. and you can find out how you can participate. we'll be right back. life is ridiculously awesome!!! and with the billion point giveaway, it's about to get more awesome. to claim your share of a billion shop your way points during the big game, download the shop your way or kmart app today!!!

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when things go down. novec, a not-for-profit electric cooperative, provides wholesale power to its customers at cost. any changes in that cost are passed along through an annual power cost adjustment on bills. the average home's power bill from novec will again go down in 2017 by nearly $11 a month. making down a very good direction for power bills. there are times when it's nice that things go up. and it's sometimes even better melanie: oprah winfrey is joining the cbs news magazine show "60 minutes." she will be a special contributor and making her first appearance this fall. winfrey started her career as a reporter in baltimore before she skyrocketed to fame in chicago as the queen of talk.

stock has been in a free fall this morning after posting disappointing earnings. company's revenue and earnings per share were lower than analysts' expectations and following that news, the stock dropped more than 24%. the competition for your on-line shopping dollars is heating up. starting today, wal-mart will offer free two day shipping on more than two million items. there must be a minimum purchase of $35. but there is no need for a membership fee. wal-mart is hoping to cut into the sales of amazon which offers two day free shipping for prime members. starbucks and amazon's alexa are teaming up to make it easy to get your coffee fix. anyone who has an amazon device like alexa can order by using their voice. they are testing voice ordering through the iphone app. starbucks plans to expand this feature a little later this year. get your coffee any time. just call for

after the break, doug is coming right back. have a look at the mid-week forecast and a serious cooldown coming for the weekend.

melanie: most students use their lockers to hold their books and school supplies. a high school student in kansas used his to turn a profit. he convert the his locker into a soda vending machine. drinks costs 75 cents and they were big

press the button and down in the bottom, the can falls. i think most of it was a novelty that you're buying a pop from a vening machine inside of a locker. melanie: pretty cool, right? hawkings has had to shut down his machine, though, because it violates school rules. but he's working on reaching a deal to operate the machine with the proceeds going to a school program, a club, something like that. something that would benefit the schools. i think that's great. doug: and i think he ought to hang on to his video of that. might help him with scholarships to get an engineering degree in college. melanie: "shark tank" here i come. doug: right. today will be delightful. hit 52 or 53 with some kind of gusty winds out of the south. tonight, 39. 52 degrees tomorrow. then it will turn a bit colder as we head through the end of the week and the weekend. melanie: all right. thanks for joining us this midday. be sure to watch abc 7 news at 4:00. have a great day.

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>> we all have our good days and our bad days. unfortunately, our contestants today all had very bad days the first time they appeared on our show. so we've decided to invite them back to take another crack at that million-dollar prize. it's second chance week on "who wants to be a millionaire." [dramatic music] ♪ hey, everybody, welcome to second chance week here on "who wants to be a millionaire." [cheers and applause] flying--just flying--through the first eight questions, this second chance contestant got to the $30,000 question, but guessed incorrectly and left without using one single lifeline. from baltimore, maryland, please welcome back dante swinton. [cheers and applause] what's up, buddy? good to see you again, man. >> good to see y