this morning on "world news now," where's the bill? as millions of americans await the fate of health care plans lawmakers on capitol hill are on the hunt trying to find out where the committee's working up to a plan to repeal and replace obamacare. luckily, there are cameras there to follow them. their bizarre and familiar game of cat and mouse. >> we have new reporting on the other big story out of washington overnight. attorney general jeff sessions removing himself from investigating the trump campaign. but many are wondering if he was trying to hide his contacts with the russian ambassador or if it was just an honest mistake. we're going to go live to moscow to see how russians are reacting to all of this news. >> and new this half hour, rael agents and buyers caught in the act. >> what happens all toof

season on their possessions. what you need to know before you turn your keys over to an agent. and lord have mercy. it is a good day because she's back, releasing her first new song in more than three years. and katy perry goes for a brand-new look post-orlando bloom. do we like it? what do we think? is it too miley cyrusesque? all that and much more in "the skinny." it is fry yea, march 3rd. ♪ >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." >> i'm talking about her hair. you're talking about the music. i like that you're so positive about the music. >> the music looked good. the video looked good. the hair looked good. >> she's all grown up. >> serena loves it. we're all loving it. to quote those great poets, i'm just a bill. i'm only a bill. and if they vote for me on capitol hill, then i'll be a law. you remember those guys.

i mean, i remember it being played over and over again. i wasn't around in 1975, but the rewinds were amazing. >> yes, but apparently lawmakers believe that theory. >> republican senator rand paul accusing house republicans of keeping the draft under lock and key. he was joined by house minority whip steny hoyer who streamed his trek through the hauls on facebook. >> the future of the affordable health care law has dominated town hall meetings across the country, americans insisting that they'll be in dire straits if it were repealed. abc's serena marshall is here with all the detail boston. >> good morning. thanks again for being here. >> so this was a capital quest through the marbled hauls of capitol hill for the bill that could ultimately repeal and replace obamacare. a search throughout congress for the room where congress members working on legislation were meeting. the event reminiscent of 2009 when democrats were accused of shrouding their health care bill that ultimately became the affordable care act in secrecy. but that didn't stop democrats and republicans from some

theatrics last night with gop senator rand paul leading an the charge. >> i think there's a bill in there. >> i asked for a copy of the bill and i'm being told i can't have a copy of the bill. i'm also being told by others i should sit back and take it, and i don't think that's the way the american process should work. i think it should be done in the open. i'm part of the legislature. shouldn't i be part of the process? >> reporter: it is common for complex legislation to be worked on in private but not common for a gop congressman to be leading the charge to bring the gop bill out in the public before it's fully written. kendis and adrienne, the house committee is working on this markup are expected to introduce it next week and we should get a good look at that two days before. >> so just to continue on that theme, apparently the bill says while i'm sitting in committee, but i know i'll be a law some day. it says it's a long, long wait. >> it's a long, long wait. they have to go through committee at least and

committee and introduced to the full house and the senate has to do their side and they have to meet up. we have a long time before this happen. >> a long time all schooled by schoolhouse rock. >> they need to know that. >> thank you for the report, too. we appreciate it. president trump is defending attorney general jeff sessions after he removed himself from nel investigations into russian interference in the presidential race. >> sessions made the announcement following revelations he had spoken twice to the russian ambassador to the u.s. before the election but failed to disclose it during his confirmation hearing and he acknowledged that he should have answered differently. >> in retrospect, i should have slowed down and said but i did meet one russian official a couple of times. that would be the ambassador. >> overnight sessions telling fox news that recusal is not an admission of any wrongdoing. insisting he was forthright and truthful but democrats like house minority leader nancy pelosi say sessions is unfit to be attorney general and they're

>> the fact that the attorney general, the top cop in our country, lied under oath to the american people is grounds for him to resign. >> and the senate minority leader chuck schumer also calling for sessions to resign saying it's important to insure the integrity of the investigation by appointing a special prosecutor with no ties to either party. >> important to note too that the democrats have been really not interested in having him in the office in the first place, if you recall. they were trying to block his confirmation. >> wheen meanwhile, the white house has confirmed the president's son-in-law and senior adviser jared kushner met with the same russian envoy in december along with the incoming national security adviser michael flynn. abc's cecilia vega has more on the ambassador, sessions and the president's reaction. >> reporter: during a tour of a new aircraft carrier in virginia president trump offering his full support for his embattled

>> mr. president, do you still have confidence in the attorney general? >> total. >> reporter: still, the president saying he had no idea about jeff sessions' conversations with the russian ambassador. >> when were you aware that he spoke to the russian ambassador? >> i wasn't aware at all. >> reporter: in fact, white house sources tell abc news, administration officials first learned about that contact overnight, when the story broke in "the washington post." what should have been a victory lap after the president's speech to congress was overshadowed by yet another round of questions about his team's contacts with russia during the campaign. for months, the president insisting there were no contacts. to me in january -- >> did you or anyone in your campaign have any contact with russia leading up to or during the campaign? nothing at all? >> reporter: not at all, he said. and to abc's jon karl two weeks ago. >> can you say definitively that nobody on your campaign had any contacts with the russians during the campaign? and on the leaks, is it fake news or are these real leaks?

you are the one that wrote about them and reported them. >> the first part of my question, the context. can you definitively say nobody in your campaign -- >> well, i had nothing to do with it. i have nothing to do with russia. i told you. i have no deals there. i didn't know anything. >> and that ambassador sergei kislyak also right there in the capitol on tuesday for the president's speech to congress. the white house hoped to still be basking in the glow of that speech. instead, they are now trying to explain their russian connection and fending off what they call political attacks. cecilia vega, abc news, norfolk, virginia. these russian developments leading every network newscast overnight and topping headlines the last few days. take a look at the daily news this morning saying well, recuuuuse me. >> yes, and certainly all the talk surrounding attorney general sessions removing himself from participation to avoid a conflict of interest. we're curious to find out how it's playing in moscow. our moscow producer patrick

reevell, is it even being covered in the media there? >> reporter: one of the odd things throughout the allegations around trump and russia has been the surreally muted reaction. the kremlin, of course, has denied again there was any interference from russia in the u.s. elections. 80s calling the uproar and jeff sessions as a new type of red scare. in state media and among ordinary russians they don't really talk about the story. they say they either don't believe it or if they do, they actually say they don't see the big deal because the u.s. interferes in russian politics all the time. and this is a taste of america's own medicine. >> is it even on the newscast or newspapers? >> reporter: you know, obviously, it appears in newspapers but you know, we cannot guarantee that it will be in the morning news bulletins even. it might be, but would it be the top story? you know, very far from certain. >> okay. i got you on that. what do we know about this russian ambassador. >> he seems to be at the center of the

connections meeting with mike flynn, jared kushner and jeff sessions. >> reporter: he has a reputation as a master diplomat. he's sort of second in authority only to the foreign minister. made his name as an arms control negotiator. but at the same time, he definitely does not have a reputation as a likely russian spy. the russians obviously deny that. i was talking with a former u.s. ambassador to moscow earlier and he said to me if kislyak is a spy, then all ambassadors are spies. he thought that he was just doing what ambassadors do. >> a lot of people, including president trump saying jeff sessions was just doing what senior members of committees like armed forces do. >> a lot of other senators on those committees did not meet with the russian ambassador at all last year. >> true. >> and again that was abc's patrick reevell in moscow. patrick, thank you. coming up, the brave admission by jane fonda and why she waited so long to go public. and why actor hamm hanks is the new patron saint of white house correspondents. but first, here's a look at

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scenes from syria's third largest city homs during government launched air strikes you can see that right here, they are targeting an area held by forces as opposed to president bashar assad. at least two people reportedly killed. monitors claim the area faces daily bombardment despite a cease-fire agreement. back at home, a maximum security prison in nebraska on lock down following some deadly violence. inmates lit fi

control of one area of the tecumseh state correctional institution for several hours. fighting among the prisoners left two of them dead and several others injured. security teams in riot gear entered the area and broke things up. nearly two years ago a riot in the same housing unit left two other inmates dead. >> for the first time, actress jane fonda is publicly revealing she was raped as a child. in an interview she said she had been fired during her career because she would not sleep with her boss. she explained she always thought it was her fault and that she's speaking out now in an effort to empower other women. difficult topics, some say are necessary to discuss. >> turning now to a new warning for anybody putting their home on the market. you want to pay attention to this one and maybe turning the keys over to a real estate agent. >> the authorities in washington state investigating an alleged burglary by that guy ripping off the homeowner apparently during a showing of the house. >> i watched three seconds of

latex gloves on and i'm like, he's robbing our house. i'm on my way home. >> my goodness. can you imagine? authorities recommend anybody selling their home needs to put any and all valuables under lock and key and remove from your home anything you absolutely cannot replace. you would think if somebody's coming to see your home -- >> but did he put in an offer? >> i don't think so. i think he just was using it as a good excuse to get inside a house without having to break anything. >> at least low ball you with an offer. no. when we come back, the green light on lorde's first new song in years. >> and could there be a princess diaries 3 in the works? >> please let there be one. >> girlfriends rejoice, "the skinny" is next. "the skinny" is next. ou can look younger. who needs dna when you have olay? new regenerist. i'm good.? i just took new mucinex clear and cool.

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♪

time now for "the skinny" starting with some new music from lorde, the first in nearly three years. >> the two-time grammy award winner stepped out of the spotlight after the success of her 2013 record "pure heroine." she's back with the upbeat and catchy "green light." ♪ ♪ i'm on the aisle come get my things but i can't let go ♪ ♪ i'm on the aisle >> i like it. >> she's very talented. >> she is. >> she has amazing presence. >> someone else who has amazing presence, is this a breakup haircut? >> yes. >> katy perry revealing the new do documenting the process in her first ever snapchat video transforming her long hair into i guess that's a pixie cut it's called? >> yeah, it comes on the heels

orlando bloom. perry says the inspiration for the new haircut is michelle williams though. i will tell you, here's a secret from this side of the aisle or this side of the table. if a woman changes her hair drastically it means there's a huge change in her life. >> really? is that the case? >> yes, you usually want to change something up because it's the one thing you can control. what you eat and what your hair looks like. and nobody can stop you. at least you feel like you have some measure of power. >> and you get that new weave from like brazil. >> yes. this is not the weave though. i didn't pay for this. next, to some big news from the tiny european kingdom of genovia. >> it's been 16 years since our parent company disney's "the princess diaries" first transformed anne hathaway into royalty. >> i choose to be forever more amelia mignonette thermopolis renaldo, princess of jenovia.

>> who doesn't love the princess of jenovia and julie andrews? andrews telling buzzfeed she and anne hathaway have been discussing teaming up for a third installment. >> so the film's late director gary marshall claimed he was on board to make a third before his sudden death in july. >> andrews says they might do it in honor of marshall. tom hanks doing his part to support the free press. >> gifting the white house press corps with an espresso machine and no one's more excited than our own white house chief correspondent jonathan karl. >> we have a very fancy espresso given to the white house press corps by tom hanks, so fancy that i have absolutely no idea how it actually works. >> so that was from a tour that he gave a little while back of the confines for the press there. and this is actually the third espresso machine hanks has given the white house press corps. the first one went unused.

hopefully the third will be the charm. our abc white house producer jordan phelps shared hanks note typewritten, of course, on an actual typewriter saying keep up the good fight for truth, justice and the american way. especially the truth part. >> yes. very good advice. good word and hopefully, better coffee. >> yeah, hopefully they figure out how to work the thing. speaking of the white house press corps, we're getting a look at white house press secretary sean spicer unlike you've ever seen him before. >> prior to his current post, spicer worked in the george w. bush administration as assistant u.s. trade representative and the easter bunny. >> that's spicer? >> yes, he was the official easter bunny. that is amazing. >> that is awesome. >> i love this. >> a writer at buzzfeed unearthed this old photo of spicer donning

roll. who knew all this time. >> that is the coolest story i've heard all day. >> sean spicer was right there. >> was the easter bunny. >> right, there is an easter bunny. ♪ bunny. >> right, there is an easter bunny.

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♪ >> yea. >> friday dance. yes, so this week we saw a new tone. >> yes. >> in the trump administration. i can't get the words out. >> the congressional address. >> yeah, uh-huh. >> and an academy award show unlike one we've probably ever seen. i think it was historic. here now is our weekly "friday rewind." >> ryan's legacy is etched into eternity. thank you. >> while we may be a nation divided on policies, we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all of its very ugly forms. >> i have been called a surrogat

that campaign, and i did not have communications with the russians. >> calling for a special prosecutor to look into this. >> my question would be a special prosecutor for what. >> to look into the whole russia influence on the campaign. >> the world is a dangerous place. there is a lesson, however, when the united states decides to not take the lead and withdraw. >> i continue to fight this battle as a dreamer to help contribute to this country which i feel that is very much my country. >> this isn't a game. it's life and death for people. >> it's an unbelievably complex subject. nobody knew that health care could be so complicated. >> look at that. >> a lot of us have lived down here all of our lives. never had nothing like this but you know, we'll get through it. >> so i made it to harvard. my grandmother always used to say, if you got a dallas, er

this, but i hosted the oscars last night. it was the weirdest tv finale since "lost." >> the academy award -- for best picture -- >> "la la land." >> there's a mistake. "moonlight," you guys won best picture. this is not a joke. "moonlight" has won best picture. "moonlight," best picture. >> even in my dreams, this could not be true but to hell with dreams, i'm done with it because this is true. oh, my goodness. >> so my favorite post reaction to that, a movie theater in the london started playing "la la land" for 20 seconds at a screening for "moonlight." too soon. >> way too soon. >> way too soon for those. >> oh. >> announcer: this is abc's "world news now." informing insomniacs for two decades. informing insomniacs for two

making news in america this morning, stepping aside. overnight attorney general jeff sessions further explaining why he will recuse himself from the investigation involving russia and the presidential election plus the calls for sessions to resigns growing louder. under wraps the plan to repeal and replace obamacare causing some drama on capitol hill. lawmakers on a scavenger hunt demanding answers this morning. new this morning, an undocumented father of four taken into custody in front of his kids after dropping them off at school. why were immigration officials there in the first place? plus, this -- >> do you remember the first time you were at the white house? >> i do. you're not going to believe this. >> that's an unbelievable story. >> and you're not going to believe it either. former president