making news in america this morning, breaking news, a new fallout from the dismissal of james comey. the fired fbi director landed back in washington overnight. this as president trump weighs in and members of congress respond from both sides of the aisle. so, what's next for the fbi? and what happens now to its investigations including the major one into the trump campaign's potential links to russia? we'll hear from an fbi insider. complete coverage live from washington. plus new details about the tunnel collapse at a nuclear storage site. we're hearing from workers who were told to take cover. and new this morning, more airline anger. another customer service headache for united caught on camera while southwest passengers, well, they were brawling on board. >> do something.

a good wednesday morning. we begin with that big shake-up in washington. president trump firing fbi director james comey with no warning. >> no comey's deputy andrew mccabe will head the bureau until attorney general jeff sessions apipes an interim director. >> they have asked the justice department to save all dock thes related to the investigation on russian. the president is welcoming russia's foreign minister to the white house. >> now, james comey had recently said he intended to serve his tenured term and we're told he was caught completely off guard. >> comey's termination came in a one-page letter from president trump saying it's essential to find new leadership to restore trust and confidence in the fbi. late afternoon washington, d.c., the president's personal assistant hand delivers that letter to fbi headquarters. james comey is 3,000 mileswa

angeles. he first learns he's been fired by seeing the reports on tv. >> james comey that he has been terminated. >> reporter: he thinks it's a joke. he's pulled into a private room where the letter is read to him over the phone. one official saying comey was really surprised. comey abruptly cancels the rest of his visit to l.a. leaving for the airport, his motorcade crawling through rush hour traffic. at one point in what can only be described as an only in l.a. moment, two breaks images on tv, the motorcade and a bear loose in a local neighborhood. comey's motorcade arrives at l.a.x. where he shakes hands with local officers and boards a private jet back to d.c. and that's where he landed just after 1:00 this morning. it's not clear exactly where he went once he landed there in d.c. at dca. new reaction. >> for more let's head over to janai norman live in wa

>> reporter: diane and kendis, good morning. this morning there are still lots of questions surrounding that the timing of this decision. the president suddenly firing the man charged with investigating his campaign. this morning, the fbi director is out and the questions still coming in about what that means for the future of the fbi and the bureau's investigation into president trump's campaign and possible collusion with the russians. >> were these investigations getting too close to home for the president? it is troubling that attorney general sessions who had recused himself from the russian investigation played a role in firing the man leading it. >> reporter: president trump once spoke flowingly about director james comey. >> he's become more famous than me. >> reporter: but tuesday, writing to inform him, quote, you are hereby terminated and removed from office effective immediately. you are not able to effectively lead the bureau. the sudden news immediately setting off alarms for demoat

suspect that the decision to fire director comey was part of a cover-up. >> reporter: the president's team countering those claims, kellyanne conway telling cnn's anderson cooper. >> it's not a cover-up. >> there was no collusion. >> reporter: even some republicans say the timing of comey's firing will raise eyebrows as others call for a special prosecutor to take over the russia investigation. >> i've always believed that we should have a select committee to or commission because it's a very large issue. it's gotten larger and it'll get more large as time goes by. >> reporter: and senate minority leader chuck schumer has called a meeting later with senate democrats to see whether mitch mcconnell will address comey's firing and to discuss what comes next. kendis and diane. >> janai, what about the president himself? no public appearances expected today. any reaction so far. >> reporter: of course, responding on twitter as we often hear from the president there on our time lines. he

chuck schumer stated recently i have no confidence in james comey any longer then acts so indig annapolis, #draintheswamp taking shots at the democrat who's been very vocal about this situation so far. >> emotions clearly running high on both sides of the aisle. janai norman live from washington for us, janai, thanks. apparently emotions are running high at the fbi. >> yeah, earlier we spoke about it with abc news contributor steve gomez. he himself a former fbi special agent. >> i'm hearing a range of emotions, words like someone died when this occurred, there's shock. they don't feel like it was right the way he found out. apparently he was in the los angeles field office and found out from the media and there were a lot of people that were around, so they were hurt by this because they could see probably i wasn't there but it sounds like they saw the anguish and the confusion. there's no impact on

investigations, all fbi investigations being conducted nationwide and throughout -- internationally. there's not going to be an impact because there's succession planning always in the fbi. every field office throughout the country has a special agent in charge and assistance so everything is in place so the country has to understand that nothing is going to happen to any investigation. >> many within the fbi have come to appreciate and like the former director there. our thanks to former counterterrorism official steve gomez. >> looking ahead, the big question is who will replace james comey as fbi director? >> yeah, for now his deputy is running the bureau. 49-year-old andrew mccabe and he is serving as the acting director of the fbi. >> in the coming days attorney general jeff sessions will name an interim director and then the search is on for a permanent replacement. and the speculation is already heating up over who that permanent replacement will be. andrew mccabe would be an obvious pick but could be problematic given his involvement in the clinton e-mail investigation and the fact his wife, a de

ties to top clinton donors and allies. >> one possible contender former new york city mayor rudy giuliani spotted at trump's d.c. hotel last night, on the guessing list, chris christie, ray kelly and the former tsa administer john pistolle. >> the president will meet with sergey lavrov in the oval office. he is the highest ranking russian official that the president has met so far. a senior u.s. official says the two will discuss syria and u.s./russia relations. that visit follows a new vaement in the investigation into russian hacking during the election. before james comey was fired, federal prosecutors reportedly issued subpoenas to associates of former national security adviser michael flynn. they're seeking business records of people who worked with flynn after he was forced out as head of the defense intelligence agency. of course, we'll have more on this a little later on in this

morning america" but moving on to other headlines, the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is downplaying criticism over what's called a working group on health care reform. of the 13 members, take a look, not a single woman. mcconnell says the working group that counts is all 52 republican senators, which includes five women. time now for a look at your nation's weather. the hail was heavy as it came down outside albuquerque. some the size of golf balls. also some tornadoes reported in nearby areas. at least five of those confirmed in just that state. no reports of any injuries so far. and severe storms are also possible in the southern plains from kansas to western texas. damaging winds, hail and a few tornadoes are possible. showers and thunderstorms will develop from kansas to illinois in the afternoon. some of those storms could be pretty severe with damaging winds and hail.

still ahead a new airport confrontation emerging overnight. plus, that tunnel collapse at a storage site for nuclear waste. we'll hear from a worker who was told to take cover. and a frightening alleged threat at a north carolina high school. authorities say they foiled a plot within minutes to spare.

fema has okayed federal funds to fight the wildfire near the georgia/florida border. the wildfire has expanded to more than 200 square miles. the fire has been burning for more than a month now and it may not be out until november. officials in washington state are trying to figure out how to safeguard the area around a nuclear site after a mysterious tunnel collapse

nuclear reservation held railcars filled with radioactive waste. no workers were inside at the time of this partial collapse. now, local officials moving quickly to get people out of harm's way. >> we went in to take cover when they found out it was worse than they initially thought. and then they put us in take cover to make sure we are safe and accounted for and there was nobody left unaccounted for. >> well, nearby residents have been able to stay in their homes. the energy department says what's no threat of any contamination in the air. police in north carolina say this high school was supposed to be the site of a massacre. a 16-year-old student was arrested there after bringing knives, flammable liquid and a hit list with up to a dozen names on it to school. now, authorities say the plot was foiled with minutes to spare. they got a tip from authorities in canada actually who had discovered a chat room message they believe the student had sent. a

explosion left 14 dead, 11 children. investigators say the blast in san ysidro happened when an errant firework went off. they were stored behind a church and were set to be used next monday. a detention hearing is set for former teacher tad cummins. he appeared in court in nashville shackled in leg irons. federal prosecutors argued he should remain jailedation flight risk. he and his 15-year-old former student were found in california after a month-long nationwide manhunt. eight more fraternity brothers from penn state have appeared in court in connection with the death of timothy piazza. a pledge who died during an apparent hazing ritual. one of them is now accused of sending a threatening text to kordel davis. he's the student who appeared on "gma" this week saying he was shoved into a wall when he tried to help that student. when we come back, a passenger sparks

customer service headache for united airlines. new details in this morning's big story, the firing of james comey. how it's drawing historical comparisons today. ♪ ♪ this mother's day, every kiss does begin with kay... where, for the first time ever, everything is 30% off. like bolo bracelets for layering. her soon-to-be-favorite new earrings. and a stack of rings for her to mix and match. 30% off everything, may 4th-14th, only at kay. the number-one jewelry store... ...for mom. every kiss begins with kay. ito treat your toughy nasal allergies... ...listen up. unlike pills that don't treat congestion, clarispray covers 100 percent of your nasal allergy symptoms. clarispray. from the makers of claritin.

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atmore than one flavor, oruch texture, or color.ing. a good clean salad is so much more than green. and with panera catering, more for your event. panera. food as it should be. a quick look at morning road condition, lots of rain from the southwest to midwest, flooding is possible across the middle of the country. wet roads for the nation's northern corners. if you're flying airport delays are possible in denver and kansas city. want to update our top story. president trump facing criticism from both ends of the aisle after abruptly firing fbi director james comey. >> association the white house said comey no longer had the trust of his bosses at the justice department adding his dismissal was necessary to restore public confidence in the fbi. and the deputy attorney general blasted comey over his handling of the hillary clinton e-mail inquiry. >> but of note comey was

the investigation into possible collusion between russia and the trump campaign. well, now lawmakers are questioning the president's timing and accusing him of interfering with that probe. comey's termination is also conjuring images of the watergate scandal with some comparing his departure to the saturday night massacre in 1973. that's when president nixon fired the special prosecutor over seeing the watergate investigation and the attorney general and deputy attorney general then both resigned. the nixon presidential library is objecting to those comparisoning tweeting fun fact, president nixon never fired the director of the fbi. >> a little asterisk. united airlines is facing another customer controversy. >> a california man recorded a counter agent who he says would not explain his baggage fee. he said the airline canceled his trip just because he started filming. >> united issued a statement apologizing for that incident. now, this comes a few w

being dragged off the united flight. in the meanwhile, a southwest airlines passenger has been arrested for this brawl on a flight from dallas to burbank, california over the weekend. >> one of the men allegedly made a comment about a woman messing with his chair. the flight attendant then tried to stop the flight. here's what happened next. >> i see the steward dress trapped below in between the seats on the ground and she was being pummeled at the same time as the other guy was being pummeled. >> the victim reportedly suffered minor injuries including a chipped tooth. >> should be fun to fly this summer. all right. in florida, this chaos ft. lauderdale triggering a federal response. we showed you this yesterday. but now the update angry travelers nearly rioted monday after nine spirit airlines flights were canceled. spirit blames it on a work slowdown by its pilots union during contract talks. a

temporary restraining order to stop that slowdown. turning to sports the san antonio spurs are now one win away from the western conference finals. >> they needed overtime last night to beat the houston rockets 110-107. game six is tomorrow night in houston. and in the stanley cup playoffs the senators ended the new york rangers' season last night, 4-2. ottawa will play the winner of tonight's game between the penguins and capitals. up next in "the pulse," some candid comments from former president obama. what he's saying about his time in the white house. plus, it's a showdown of epic proportions. dog versus bear. we'll show you would wins. >> i know how this ends. our facebook page is all in the family for a mother and daughter who are about to graduate college together. that's on atmfans.com. he likes to eat clean. that's why at petsmart we love the nutro feed clean philosophy. nutro recipes are made with non-gmo ingredients and high-quality protein

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♪ time for "the pulse." we begin with former president obama's new candid comments about life in and after the white house. >> so he spoke in italy overnight and said being president was unique in its isolation. he said he could never go on walks because of the security risk. >> but since leaving office he said he can now walk anywhere he wants as long as he's willing to take a selfie with strangers every two steps. he also reveals a struggle that he's having in his marriage now. he says lately he and michelle have been fighting for closet space. >> they didn't have to worry about that in the white house. >> make room for that leisure wardrobe, too. >> look at all that stuff that was unbuttoned. >> no need for ties. social media record set by carter wilkinson with the assist from wendy's. last month carter tweeted at wendy's asking how many retweets he would need

chicken nuggets. wendy replieied saying 18 milli. >> well, the so-called nuggs for carter went viral and it's the most retweeted message of all time with more than 3.5 million retweets, which, wendy's says is good enough to earn him a year of free nuggets. >> carter's tweet actually topped the ellen degeneres tweet, that oscar selfie, previous record holder now nuggs for carter stops that. the cowardly lion we've heard about but what about the cowardly bear. >> a dog in southern california does. he came face to tor face with a wild bear that wandered into the neighborhood so at first the dog seems to be a little scared and they have a stare down. and then they're off. >> oh and then this is your favorite part. >> the bear turns. >> the bear turns and the dog then backs up. but what i do

slows down when he realized he's about to catch it. i don't want him to actually catch the bear. >> the bear said, you know what, forget about it, this is not worth it. i'm out of here and fled and that was the scene in southern california that people watched on their tv all day long. >> maybe the bear just wanted to play on the swing set. not a very good fence climber by the way. >> the bear did go after a deer. >> yes. >> he's not afraid of the deoff president trump -- sending shockwaves through the nation. the bombshell announcment and the reaction pouring in this morning -- straight ahead. good morning washington i'm larry smith. and i'm autria godfrey.

- warmest day this week (low 70s) - cloudy & cooler late week w/ shower chances - drier & warmer for mother's day - 80s return next week! today: mostly sunny becoming mostly cloudy this afternoon. seasonable. highs: 70-75 winds: n 5 mph tonight: mostly cloudy. lows: 48-55 winds: ne 5 mph thursday: mostly cloudy. showers. highs: 64-68 winds: ne 5 mph

d-c sports fans --

it is going to be a heart-stopping day. first up -- the capitals. it all comes down to this. game 7 against the penguins -- tonight at the verizon center. the players fighting their way back from a 3-1 deficit in the series. the capitals now attempting to become just the 29th team in n-h-l history to rally from a 3-1 hole to win a playoff series. puck drops at 7:30. so how much will you have to cough up to see that match-up at the phone booth tonight?? at the very least, you're looking at 170 bucks that's for seats on the end, all the way at the top. if you have the cash -- how about four-thousand dollar tickets to the game? that's in the v-i-p section, row a. and the wizards, on the road -- playing game five in boston tonight. the wiz coming off back-to-back wins at the verizon center. at home the team has proven they can slow down the celtics. the question now is can they do it on the road?? the wizards will need to win at least one game in boston to win the series. tip off is at

good news for metro riders. because of the caps at the verizon center -- and the beltway series coming to nats park -- metro is cancelling planned track work for tonight. however, safe-track will continue as planned. a seven on your side consumer alert -- about a scam you could encounter on metro.. at-large d.c. councilman robert white says a young man handed him a flyer on a metro train last week. the flyer asks for donations for new uniforms for theodore roosevelt high school's sports teams. seven on your side investigated, and found.. the address on the flyer is correct. but the phone number isn't linked to the school. a note on the school's website says "all fundraising activities are done on school grounds under the direct supervision of adult staff members."

just getting started. fbi director james comey -- out. president donald trump -- saying "you're fired" once again. this makes four high profile firings since he's been in office! social media -- overflowing with reaction right now. many top officials -- weighing in -- claiming it's a cover-up. a look at the comments coming in this morning. good morning washington. toss to eileen

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