making news in america this morning, breaking overnight, the crisis rocking the white house. members of the president's team accused of having constant contact with russian officials during the campaign. details on the bombshell new report. more fallout surrounding the resignation of national security adviser michael flynn. what did the president know about his contact with russian officials and the growing calls from lawmakers for a full investigation. assassinated. the half brother of kim jong-un killed with a poison spray. the two women police are look for now. the sentimental favorite at the westminster dog show gets best in show. we will show you the results. all about rumor.

and we do say good wednesday morning and it is a busy one. we'll start with the breaking news and it is potentially huge. the biggest crisis the trump administration has yet to face. >> we learned trump aides were in contact with suspected russian intelligence officials during last year's campaign. "the new york times" says there was, quote, repeated contact in the year before the election, but it adds there is no evidence that trump aides and russians actually cooperated to influence the election. >> and about 12 hours before news of those contacts with the russians broke, there was this exchange between abc's jonathan karl and the white house press secretary. it's critical. listen. >> you still say definitively that nobody on the trump campaign, not even general flynn had any contact with the russians before the election. >> my understanding is that what general flynn has now expressed is that during the transition period, well, we were very clear that during the transition period he did -- he did speak with the fwaed. >> i'm talking about during the campaign. >> i

that would conclude me that anything different has changed with respect to that time period. >> and in january the president denied he or anyone in his campaign had contact with russian officials before the election. >> we will be following all these major developments on that part of the story. meanwhile, there's also outrage about some other communications with russia which actually led to the resignation of national security adviser michael flynn. >> yes, so at issue with this particular end is flynn's call with the russian ambassador to the u.s. before president trump's inauguration. abc's stephanie ramos is following those developments from washington. >> reporter: details are still emerging from the resignation of president trump's national security adviser general michael flynn. >> the evolving and eroding level of trust as a result of this situation and a series of other questionable instances is what led the president to ask for general flynn's resignation. >> reporter: we've now learned president trump knew about flynn's conversations with the russian ambassador to the u.s. for nearly three weeks and also

vice president and the public about those calls. >> those conversations that happened to occur around the time that the united states took action to expel diplomats had nothing whatsoever to do with those sanctions. >> reporter: but they did. intelligence agents had been listening in on the ambassador's calls and discovered that sanctions were discussed. the justice department told the white house that flynn wasn't telling the truth and believed russia could blackmail flynn by threatening to expose his lie. >> the first part was clearly to understand the legal aspect of this. >> reporter: it wasn't until friday that flynn changed his story and apologized to the vice president for misleading him. on air force one that night, the president was asked about it. >> i don't know about it. i haven't seen it. what report is that. >> reporter: by monday night flynn's resignation letter was received. and apparently vice president mike pence was kept in the dark about all of this. no one at the white house told pence about the d

ambassador. he was in the know once the story broke in "the washington post" late last week. kendis, diane back over to you. >> thanks. sure to be an interesting day at the white house briefing room. >> an interesting 25 days. amid all this pressure there's also growing concern between members of congress to get some answers on all of this. top lawmakers on the senate intelligence committee are pledging a cooperative effort in their investigation of the trump administration's potential ties to russia. others on capitol hill are taking a more measured approach. abc's mary bruce has the details. >> reporter: amid growing questions about the trump team's ties to russia from senate republicans, deep concern. >> obviously there's an administration that is in significant disarray as far as national security is concerned. >> reporter: top republicans like senate majority leader mitch mcconnell say it's, quote, highly likely the senate will investigate michael flynn's conversations with russian officials. but some republicans are m

reluctant. >> that seems to have resolved itself with the white house taking some decisive action. >> reporter: congressman jason chaffetz vigorously led the investigation into hillary clinton's e-mails. but says he has no plans to investigate flynn's ties to russia. >> we've been asking for months for basic oversight but our chairman jason chaffetz has not lifted one finger. >> reporter: chaffetz is, however, investigating whether white house counselor kellyanne conway crossed a line by promoting ivanka trump's brand on television. >> i fully -- i'm going to give a free commercial here. >> reporter: this as chaffetz demands answers into these pictures, the president and the japanese prime minister at mar-a-lago huddling with advisers after learning north korea launched a missile. club members witnessing it all, some posting pictures on facebook raising security questions. >> look at mar-a-lago you'll look at kellyanne conway and ivanka brand but not

>> at this point, i am holding out all my options. >> reporter: mary bruce, abc news, washington. >> mary, thanks. the president is scheduled to hold a joint news conference at noon eastern today with prime minister benjamin netanyahu as he visits the white house. no doubt reporters will be asking questions about these allegations surrounding russia. also president trump expressed some strong support for israel and its settlements in disputed territories. that will be another big topic. he has pulled back now on that somewhat calling for peace talks with the palestinians and criticizing some plans to expand the settlements. the other big international headline, the south korean government now confirming the death of the half brother of north korea's current dictator kim jong-un. in an apparent assassination in malaysia kim jong-nam, years old, told hospital workers before he died that he had been attacked with a chemical spray by two women at the country's main airport there in kuala lumpur. no word on who those women

they both got away by taxi. the two brothers were bitterly divided over secession conflicts and now the search is on for at least one female assassin. still ahead the severe weather moving across the south already spawning several tornadoes. >> and plus a toddler shot and killed in chicago days after two other children were shot. the governor of illinois now announcing steps today aimed at stopping the violence. and we'll have more on the fallout over michael flynn's resignation. the new video surfacing overnight showing flynn with vladimir putin and the russian spy ship just 70 miles off the u.s. east coast.

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over the entire southeast this morning. it could produce strong wind gusts and thunderstorms, hail, as well as possibly some tornadoes. the greatest threat is for south georgia, north and central florida and the south carolina coast. that same system produced at least five tornadoes in the houston area yesterday. dozens of homes and trailers were damaged or some even destroyed. trees were uprooted and power still out for many people there. the severe weather likely contributed to the fatal crash of a student on her way to school, as well. other students and teachers at area schools took shelter in hallways. to the west coast now and thou thousands of evacuees are returning home. the area remains under an evacuation warning and crews continue to work around the clock. the areas being monitored by drones carrying cameras and the federal government has also approved funding to assist with rebuilding. in chicago, a toddler is now the latest victim of the

deadly surge in gun violence. a 25-year-old man was also killed in that drive-by shooting and a pregnant woman injured. the entire incident was live streamed on facebook. police say the man was a known gang member. the boy's death follows the shooting of two little girls in separate attacks over the weekend. 11-year-olds takila holmes died and 12-year-old kanari gentry bowers remains in critical condition. the coast guard is no longer looking for a cruise ship passenger missing. the ship security video shows the georgia resident going overboard from the 11th deck about six hours earlier. the coast guard spent more than nine hours searching for him. from the ocean to the skies, the number of canceled flights has fallen to record lows in 2016. that's according to a new report from the federal government. u.s. airlines also reduced the amount of luggage lost or

complaints. when we come back millions of dollars worth of jewelry stolen from alanis morissette's home. the new details coming in. harrison ford's landing scare. see the mistake he made while flying that caused him to just miss a packed commercial plane. i'm excited to continue embracing the unknown. some prove age is not a limit. i fight more than ever for my charity. ...the more i live... ...the younger i am. advanced génifique by lancôme. every serum drop infuses youthful radiance throughout the skin. patented until 2029. advanced génifique. lancôme. customize your free 7-piece gift. available now at macy's. ♪

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you can bring yourneed yourb-game instead. you're just subbing for mrs. tindall's fifth-grade class. [laughter] yeah, that's not gonna work. bring out your best you with the refreshing taste of tropicana. watch as three brave men come to the rescue of a 16-year-old girl stranded in a frozen lake outside of portland, maine. she had fallen off the back of a snowmobile. the driver of the snowmobile then entered that frigid water twice trying to get her but couldn't reach her. luckily three good samaritans rushed in with ropes, a little bit of teamwork, guts and managed to get her out safely. >> and quite brave, they were. well, president trump is likely to face questions about his campaign's contacts with suspectedus

officials today at that news conference you mentioned. it is scheduled for noon eastern time and sources familiar with the matter tell abc news u.s. officials became concerned about those contacts before the election and started to investigate. >> a new report overnight in "the new york times" says there was repeated contact in the year before the election, but no evidence at this point of actual cooperation to influence the election. and this video surfaced overnight showing michael flynn attending an event in russia with russian president vladimir putin in december of 2015. >> and we shouldn't read too much into the video and there's no information about what they may have discussed during their time together at that event. in the meantime, a series of puzzling military moves by russia raising new national security questions this morning. a russian spy ship was spotted in international waters off the coast of delaware heading north. that ship is reportedly outfitted with a variety of high-tech equipment designed to intercept intelligence signals and a u.s. official has confirmed to abc news that ruia

new cruise missile in an apparent violence of the treaty signed back in 1987. a friend of the san bernardino attackers has agreed to plead guilty to federal terrorism charges. enrique marquez is the only person formally charged in connection with the shootings that killed 14. he was a longtime friend of sayed farouk. he admits to buying the guns used in the massacre. farouk and his wife were killed hours after the attack. the politician department is investigating a theft at the home of alanis morissette. they took an entire safe that contained $2 million worth of jewelry. the eight time grammy winner was not home at the time. morissette is known to flaunt her jewelry collection on social media. they're investigating a close call involving harrison ford. he landed his single engine plane on a taxiway instead of a runway passing right over an

waiting to take off. it all happened monday at john wayne airport in southern california. ford apparently didn't realize he had made a mistake. >> let's limit his flying to the millennium falcon. time for sports including nba action. >> let's check in with our guys at espn. >> good morning, america. max and the coach with you. busy tuesday night. channing frye would have 21 and andrew wiggins, former number one pick by the cavs had a 41-point night. derrick williams, pending contract, full time player for the cavs, lebron loves it. lebron had 25 and 14 assists, kyrie had 25 also. nice win for the cavs, 116-108. three straight looking for a fourth against the lakers. demarcus cousins was big time, one-point game. minute to go, boom. the lakers would respond from long range. williams looks at his defender

at the other end collison, watch cousins with two lakers on his back, he's fouled. make the first free throw, second one out. lakers had two time-outs, they don't call it. williams to win it, got a decent look but not good enough. four in a row, cousins, 40 points, 12 rebounds. >> he's max. i'm the coach. that's all the damage we can do. have a great wednesday. >> all right, we'll take it from here. up next in "the pulse," overnight "sports illustrated" has announced who will grace the cover of its swimsuit issue. and it's the model's fifth time on the cover. best in show, see the big winner at the wesminster kennel club dog show. are your allergies holding you back or is it your allergy pills? break through your allergies. introducing flonase sensimist.

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♪ i say oh what a beautiful morning yeah ♪ ♪ yes what a wonderful day ♪ y'all look at that ♪ i got a beautiful feeling i got everything ♪ ♪ i got everything ♪ whoo everything's going my way ♪ >> good morning, america. a lot of news to get to this morning. ♪ rumor has it ♪ rumor has it perhaps one of the best songs with rumor in it and rumor has it and it is true. rumor does have it. that's the name of the nation's new top dog. >> the 5-year-old german shepherd is only the second of her breed to win best in show for the wesminster kennel club show in its

kind of surprising considering the german shepherd is actually consistently the second most popular breed in the united states. >> after the labs. of course, and rumor is named after you're hearing it adele's song rumor has it. now, the dog was expected to win last year and then retired, but when she came in second her owner decided to enter her one more time and it's a good thing she did. now it's off to the retirement home in wisconsin, but before that, rumor will politic an appearance at the "gma" times square studio later on this morning. >> her owner says it's time for rumor to find a husband and make puppies. >> "gma" times square gets a number of big star, steph curry, this is the most popular day. >> no one could be more excited. kate upton is on the cover of this year's "sports illustrated" edition made on "jimmy kimmel live" and told the host she only found out about it the day earlier. >> therere

different covers but we can only show you one of them here on family friendly tv if you catch my drift. it's the 24-year-old mod model h time on the cover. >> including aly raisman. >> i only read that because of the articles. >> of course. for the first time in the brand's 31-year history american girl is now delivering an american boy. logan everett has brown hair, gray eyes and a drum set which he plays with in his friend's band. >> total hipster. they're hoping logan who hails from nashville will appeal to boys and girls. also part of a continuing push by the toymaker to make the brand for contemporary. the brand's historically strong sales have grown a little flat in recent years unlike his hair. and valentine's day ended with a thud in san francisco. literally as

took part in the great san francisco valentine's day pillow fight. it's an informal unofficial tradition in the city by the bay. >> the major rule for the free-for-all not to hit anyone unarmed unless that person asks to be hit. participants are also asked to help the city clean up afterw d afterwards and they did. they're all gone from the justin herman plaza at least now but took a while. >> they encourage you to not to useup with good morning washington. it's february 15th-- and it's hump day! eileen whelan will have your weather forecast in just a moment. but first-- more fallout morning following the resignation of president trump's national security adviser. cnn is now reporting that high level advisers to then-presidential nominee donald trump were in constant communication with russian leaders during the presidential campaign. both president trump, and former president barack obama were reportedly briefed on the communication

adviser michael flynn resigned this week, after it was revealed that he mislead congressional leaders about the nature of his conversations with russia's diplomat to america that brings us to our question of the day: do the communication allegations between russia and the trump administration concern you? go to wjla.com/votenow and let us know. good morning washington. toss to eileen - few showers southern md this morning - becoming breezy-windy today & tomorrow - coldest day tomorrow (chills 20s) - warmer for president's day weekend (60s) today: am clouds. pm sun. few morning showers over southern md. increasing winds. highs: 47-50 winds: nw 5-15 g 25+ mph tonight: mainly clear and breezy. lows: 28-31 winds: nw 5-15 mph thursday: partly to mostly sunny. cold and blustery. highs: 38-42 winds: nw 10-20 g 30 mph we are following br

arlington. police responded just after 1 a.m. after a vehicle crashed on i-395. the car reportedly broke through the guardrail, and ended up crashing to the road below near the pentagon parking lot. we have learned that one person was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. the crash is still under investigation. meanwhile-- we are also learning more about the death of a lyft driver, discovered inside his car in acokeek. we have been following this story since monday night. police say timothy sherod was shot in his car, but they have not released any details about a possible suspect. and now-- his father is pleading for answers.

drove part-time for uber.... worked full time for amtrak. the f-a-a may be ready to ground "han solo". this comes after actor and avid pilot harrison ford was involved in a near miss at a california airport monday. officials say ford was ordered to land on a run way-- but instead landed on a nearby "taxi-way" nearly striking a passenger jet. no one was hurt-- but this comes two years after ford crash-landed on a golf course after his plane's only engine failed. ford suffered a broken pelvis and ankle. the actor has not commented on this latest incident.

there will be a special screening on the oscar-nominated film "hidden figures". members of congress-- including virginia senators tim kaine and mark warner-- are hosting the event, for congressional staff, and local students. it'sart of a larger initiative to promote "stem" education programs. "hidden figures" is the story of three african-american women whose math and engineering skills helped nasa win the space race in the 1960's. it's xx and we're just getting started. coming up-- fighting the fallout. the white house prepares for a high-profile meeting today as congressional leaders call for investigations into connections between key presidential advisors, and russia. what the administration is saying.. following the resignation of former advisor michael flynn. good morning washington. - few showers southern md this morning - becoming breezy-winy

(chills 20s) - warmer for president's day weekend (60s) today: am clouds. pm sun. few morning showers over southern md. increasing winds. highs: 47-50 winds: nw 5-15 g 25+ mph tonight: mainly clear and breezy. lows: 28-31 winds: nw 5-15 mph thursday: partly to mostly sunny. cold and blustery. highs: 38-42 winds: nw 10-20 g 30 mph today president