this morning on "world news now," the presidential tax return. >> the issue was huge during the campaign with then candidate trump refusing to release his returns while under audit. and now the timing of this news has certainly sparked curiosity. we'll have the latest on whether this is the big reveal many were hoping for. >> and it's time to start digging out for many as that super nor'easter moves offshore, leaving behind plenty of snow. but it's the deep freeze that's about to set in that will make the aftermath much worse. we have a live report on what's next, and why this storm for a lot of people wasn't actually as bad. >> look at that. >> as first predicted. >> we're going hunting for the elusive -- >> wabit? >> close. the swamp ape. two swamp sweepers are in florida, trying

this beast. but be very, very quiet. >> the swamp ape? is that just big foot? >> no, in florida, they call it something different. >> okay. and -- i'm guessing that didn't go quite according to plan. >> this is the gym class mishap that seems to defy the laws of physics. but we'll get to the bottom of what happened here on this wednesday, march 15th. from abc news, this is "world news now." >> reminds me a little of the time we tried the carry your wife competition. >> exactly. just came crashing down. that's pretty much every monday morning. >> also true. complete train wrecks. but we'll start this morning with some breaking news. a glimpse into president trump's finances, as the white house releases part of his 2005 tax return. >> many are questioning the timing of the leak of these returns,

president's health care bill is under fire on capitol hill ahead of the possible confirmation of whether there's an fbi investigation into the trump campaign ties with russia. as for the returns themselves, abc's josh haskell has been scouring the documents. josh, good morning. >> reporter: diane and kendis, we're nearly two months into the presidency of donald trump and questions over his tax returns continue to swirl over his administration. on tuesday night, the white house released trump's income and tax rate for 2005 in order to pre-empt an msnbc story they referred to as desperate for rating. pulitzer prize-winning journalist david kay johnson made the announcement on msnbc's rachel maddow show, based on documents obtained by johnson, trump paid $36.5 million in taxes for a tax rate of roughly 24%. that percentage is below the 27.4% average for taxpayers earning $ m

according to data from the congressional joint committee on taxation. the white house numbers closely mirrored those released by johnson who claims he received the return unsolicited. >> came in the mail and there's nothing improper about journalists, if you haven't solicited something, getting it over the tranceom. and it's entirely possible that donald sent this to me. he has over the years, leaked all sorts of things. >> every republican nominee since richard nixon has release the tax returns. in the documents distributed by the white house still leaves questions, including source of income, how much was donated to charity and foreign income among other things. >> and the other question is whether or not the president or somebody with the administration might have leaked it to rachel maddow or that reporter originally. >> and that seems to be the case with so many leaks at the white house. it's not only the information you get from them, but also w

where they're coming from. josh, thanks so much for that report. >> turning now to the other top story this morning, and the brutal cold temperatures left in the wake of that monster blizzard. >> so the powerful storm shifted inland, reducing the expected snowfall for major cities along the east coast. the latest radar shows that storm now centered over upstate new york, and northern new england and up into canada. >> but still, what did fall, roughly seven inches for philadelphia, new york, and boston, made schools come to a close yesterday. work and travel for millions were a mess. the storm grounded more than 6,200 flights from coast to coast yesterday. and delayed nearly 2,000 more for today. nearly 1,000 more flights have already been canceled. >> it also whipped up the coastlines with wind gusts of nearly 80 miles per hour. these are waves caught on camera on new york's long island. several coastal communities were just plunged under water. >> but now the new danger is the arctic blast that's right now

standing water as millions try to dig out. now it may be march, but some areas are experiencing the coldest temperatures of the season. perfect time to ask mag toe go outsi -- maggie to go outside. >> she always smiles, no matter what. every week we're going to find something new to send her to do and see if she can keep smiling. so far, so good. >> i'm up to the challenge, guys. yes, it's freezing, yes, i'm still smiling, yes, it's 1:30 a.m. we didn't get quite as much snow here in new york city as predicted, but as someone who's been out here since 3:00 p.m., covering this storm, i promise you, new york city got plenty o sleet, freezing rain and a sloppy mess. now that the storm is out of here, it's time to start cleaning up. blizzard conditions blast the northeast. heavy snowfall dumping down up to four inches an hour in some places. in utica, new york, this time lapse shows cars

into lumps of white. freezing rain and ice turned roads treacherous. this semi- jack knifred in boston. authorities are still asking the tens of millions of americans in the region to stay home. >> very important that people stay in, to the maximum extent possible. >> reporter: most of the major cities got less accumulation than expected, but they did get walloped with a sloppy mix of sleet and snow. now temperatures are dropping. refreezing the roads. >> it's imperative to get the roads cleared so you guys can get on with your lives. >> reporter: other dangers, high winds, gusting up to nearly 80 miles per hour, whipping the massachusetts coastline. this wind turbine in rhode island, snapped in half. in pennsylvania, first responders banded together, escorting a toddler to a hospital for a heart transplant. now major airports are struggling to get back up and running. using backups all across the country, after cancellg

than 6,000 flights. >> sleep here all night because the flight was canceled. >> reporter: but not everyone is hating the day off. we met up with a few kids in new york's central park prchl. >> snow is pretty compact. so you have snowballs. >> reporter: it's still freezing in new york city, still plenty of snow piled up behind me on these cars, plenty of snow to make snowballs. but believe it or not, we are now just five days away from spring on the calendar. doesn't feel like it, but i'm holding out hope we'll get some warmth, group beach trip on the books. i don't know what you guys think. >> i like the sound of that. >> maggie, we're apparently learning there was some withholding of information related to the forecast models. what's going on there? >> yeah, so we're hearing this from many u.s. meteorologists heard last minute there was a good chance the cities would not get hit as hard by this big storm, but they said they didn't want to

remember the timing of this storm, the heaviest snowfall happened during the morning hours, they said it was better to exercise caution to keep people safe. but there's always that balance of making sure they don't over-hype things either before they start losing the trust of the public. we'll have to see what comes out of this one. >> so after they knew they were wrong, they said, we knew, we just didn't tell anyone. >> that two feet, that's alternative facts for us at the national weather service. maggie, thank you. . coming up, the development in the nude photo scandal plaguing the marine corps, its top commander getting grilled on capitol hill. and we're getting a look at a massive weapons seizure overseas. rows and rows of guns that would have likely ended up in the hands of terrorists. and find on facebook at wnn fans.com and twitter and abc. you're watching "world news now."

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look at this impressive sight. police say these weapons were bound for terrorist groups. they were seized in spain as part of a crackdown on illegal arms trafficking in europe. it includes assault rifles, pistols, machine guns, revolvers. five people were also arrested. >> unbelievable. and the u.s. has also made a significant change in how it fights terror. president trump has given the cia the authority to conduct drone strikes against suspected

protocol in syria last month in a deadly attack on one of osama bin laden's sons-in-law. that is previously the cia would find the terrorists but then the military would launch the attack. the obama administration said that was to provide transparency and accountability. and a human rights advocacy group is accusing syria of starving its own citizens. a new report by physicians for human rights claims bashar al assad's government blocked aid convoys and made sure some deliveries didn't have enough supplies. secretary of state rex tillerson is in japan this morning on his first official trip to asia, but a controversy is following him. the "new york times" state attorney's office said tillerson allegedly used an e-mail alias as ceo of exxon to discuss climate change. exxon is being investigated for misleading investors and the public about climate change. the a.g.

used an account known as wayne tracker. for seven years. and the marines top commander was on capitol hill facing tough questions about a nude photo scandal. general robert neller admits there is a problem in the culture of the marine corps. >> now he's asking the women in the marines to trust him and asking the men in uniform to join him in making change. here's martha raddatz. >> the marine corps commandant faced the scandal now rocking the marine corps head on. >> we all have to commit to getting rid of this perversion to our culture. >> reporter: the outrage growing after the discovery of hundreds of nude photos of female marines, originally linked to a facebook page called marines united. but even as some of those women are speaking out, the photos are popping up on other pages. >> do you agree with me, this is one of the darkest moments and it needs to be fixed? >> yes,

>> reporter: the nation's top marine is vowing to prosecute those responsible. that promise falling short for some senators demanding swift action and accountability after years of complaints. >> who is being held accountable for doing nothing since 2013? who? which commander? i am very concerned that this is part of a culture that is resulting in the high levels of sexual assault. >> reporter: senator kirsten gillibrand pointing to the problem of sexual assault of female marines, the highest rate of any branch in the military. >> this is a problem with our culture. i don't have a good sdanswer fo you. i'm not going to sit here and duck around this thing, i'm not. that's a lame answer, but that's the best i can tell you right now. we've got to change. and that's on me. >> reporter: there is now a hotline that is getting calls from marines and others sharing information that might help in identifying some of the abusers. general neller estimates

500 marines united members accessed those photos. there have also been a few victims coming forward, which the marine corps is urging more of them to do. martha raddatz, abc news, washington. martha, thank you. coming up in our next half hour, the congressman under fire for a racially charged tweet. but he's now doubling down on his remarks. but first, the hunt is under way in the florida swamp lands. two men are tracking the elusive skunk ape. i guess that's the name. you're watching "world news now." lysol disinfectant spray kills 99.9% of bacteria, even those that cause stomach bugs. one more way you've got what it takes to protect. 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

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♪ born on a bayou >> what did i miss? >> oh, there's some exciting stuff going on down in the bayou. >> yes, there is. >> because for years there have been rumors of mysterious creatures lurking in the southern swampland. we're not talking about big foot. >> no. >> this iss more of a cross between harry and the henderson and peppy le pew. >> maybe the snowman and yeti all together. but we have gloria rivera on the hunt for the swamp ape. >> it's 10:00 p.m. in florida's

green swamp. >> do you hear it? >> i thought that was one of you guys. >> no, that was something running towards us. >> reporter: that's 63-year-old mark barton and 51-year-old chris connor. for the past three years, they've been on a mission that florida's very own version of big foot, the skunk ape -- >> a lot of activity. >> reporter: a half man, half-ape creature with bad body odor. >> there's that odor again guys. >> reporter: is for real. legend has it the creature lives somewhere in here, 110,000 acres of the snake-infested junkel. known as florida's green swamp. >> jeez. like jurassic park in here. >> reporter: why here, why this swamp that happens to be in your backyard? >> you have thick vegetation, running water, you have wildlife for food. why couldn't they be here? >> reporter: the duo spends most weeks trekking through palmetto trees trying their best to

creatures they do know exist here. but it all started as a kind of therapy. >> it goes back to his wife was terminally ill and we knew she was dying and the day was going to come. and so i said, when the day comes, you know, you need to stay busy. and at the time, there was a finding big foot show that was beginning to be more popular. and i said, you know what, i've always wanted to go do an expedition. >> and i said, hell, why not? i have to do something. if i sit here, i'm not going to make it. >> reporter: now they're hooked. they document their adventures on their youtube channel, the trail to big foot. this video is their jackpot proof. the day they nearly came face-to-face with it. that black speck right there, they say that's the skunk ape. >> there's the eye opening up right there. looks like some blinking possibly going on. >> there's the other eye. >> it does look like something big and dark and hairy.

>> no, it's not a hog. >> reporter: now i'm interested in what's out there. we're about to head in. this is the probably the moment where you're thinking, this is crazy. it's thick jungle. so i'm going to treat this as seriously as you do. remember, this is what we're looking for. >> right in here. >> reporter: about a half mile in -- >> this was fresh. >> reporter: after a total of five hours, no sign of the apparently shy skunk ape today. what is real, their brotherhood, based on believing. >> how long do you think you'll be at this? >> i'm 63. can i go out when i'm 68? i hope. i plan to. i plan to. >> reporter: for "nightline," gloria riviera in florida's green swamp. >> we put our own crew on this, and our producers tell us they got a pkicture of the skunk ape. >> yeah, we don't need to work five years on this. >> oh, that's our weird baby from yesterday. >> that's an insult

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otect. so it's spring break time. >> woo hoo! >> and who doesn't like spring break? even if you are a grandmother. so this is a colorado woman, her name is doreen. she office vacation, just hanging out, playing bingo. then she saw a group of young ladies who were at the mexican resort she was at, and they were partying. she decided, you know what, forget bingo, let's do some tequila shots. so, yeah, she did that and some of the girls actually tweeted back at her grandson and said, oh, my god, your grandma is awesome. and she tweeted shots with the girls. >> look at that.

>> she's out-drinking them. >> all right, well, a 14-year-old might have wished she had shots of tequila, we're not advocating that, but that was in her gym class. they created this hill out of milk crates. >> what was the point? >> it looks like whoever was holding her harness pulled too hard. so rather than be there in case she fell, they made her accidentally fly. we're presuming accidentally. she's fine, though. she thought it was hilarious, because she's the one who posted this video. 8,000 retweets so far and some hilarious responses. check that out. meantime, you have these two kids, 17 and 16 years old, and they met running cross country at school. and so the prom was coming up and he wanted to think of

creative way for a prom posal. so as a runner, what do you do? you go up there with your gps tracker and spell out the word prom, even with the question mark. he did it on a 5.5-mile run. >> the question mark is a little off. >> and claire said -- yes, it's a little off. >> you like to run, as we know from your instagram page. your many running photos. would you ever do something like that for me? >> oh, wow, of course i would. would i have to complete the 8.42 miles? >> oh, wow. >> it doesn't really spell out much. >> oh, i see. >> that your track? >> straight up to zw bridge and back. >> creative with that one. >> my legs are looking good in that shot. >> and finally, some playful dolphins gave some boaters quite a show. they were trying to shoot the

♪ ♪ this world on "world news now," the tale of the taxes. president trump's turn released overnight, and with the more pressing issue of millions of american potentially losing health care, what's the real story here? and spring is just around the corner, but it won't exactly feel like that. the nor'easter has come and gone, but we will be feeling its effects for longer than expected. we'll see who got hit the hardest and whether air travel will be back on track today. and new this half hour, a wild gas station crash and it was caught on camera. >> an suv plowed into one set of gas pumps before slamming into another. the whole thing erumts into -- erupts into a bal