here's serena marshall. >> reporter: the dangers posed to some children with window blinds has been anssue of concern for consumer safety groups for years. now new evidence that despite all the warnings, hundreds of children end up in the nation's emergency departments due to injuries sustained from window blinds, and when it comes to entanglement injuries, many of these children do not survive. they looked at estimating more than 16,000 window blind injuries, and kids younger than 6 during their -- this period. the researchers finding in separate analysis that two in three of these entanglements ended innet di ended in death. if you have small children, avoid buying them. strangulations are fatal within minutes and can occur silently. i'm serena marshall, abc news. >>> coming up, before they were stars, the presidential edition. >> we're open up the vault next on "world news now." t you in 4 s when your cough returns. one pill lasts 12 hours, so... looks like i'm good all night! why take 4-hour cough medicine? just one mucinex lasts 12 hours. let's end this. if on

abc news reporter serena marshall is live on capitol hill with this morning's new developments. >> reporter: the second lawmaker forced out. senator al franken from minnesota announcing he will resign. >> this decision is not about me. it's about the people of minnesota. it's become clear that i can't both pursue the ethics committee process, and at the same time, remain an effective senator for them. >> reporter: the decision comes amid growing calls from his own party. >> enough is enough. >> believe that it is probably in the best interest of a rotlof people that he resigns. >> reporter: democratic senators have spoken out. the deluge of calls started with prominent women in the senate, one after the other taking to social media. at least eight women have claimed inappropriate sexual conduct by the minnesota senator, the first radio news anchor leeann tweeden who released this photo and just yesterday two new accusers speaking out. one reportedly says franken t tried to forcibly kiss her and he told her, it's my right as an entertainer. franken called that allegation categoringly not tru

abc news serena marshall reports. >> reporter: president trump responding to the guilty plea of former national security adviser and now convicted felon michael flynn. >> well, i feel badly for general flynn, i feel very badly. >> reporter:ter: heading to uta this morning he tried to shift the attention to his former rival. >> hillary clinton lied many many times to the fbi, nothing happened to her. flynn lied and they destroyed his life. i think it's a shame. >> reporter: there's no evidence clinton ever lied to the fbi. former direct james comey testified before congress last year she had not, but trump's latest defense of flynn comes after a saturday tweet from the president's account claiming he fired flynn because he lied to the v. spvp. and to the fbi. that is new. and critics charged it was an admission the president knew flynn lied to the fbi before he allegedly asked comey to go easy on flynn. president's lawyer, john dowd, later claiming he was actually the one who wrote that tweet, but then sunday more tweets including "i never asked comey to stop investigating flynn." and n

serena marshall, abc news, washington. >>> good news for travelers heading to or from our three bay area airports. there are no delays right now. boy, can you imagine minus 44 degrees windchill. lisa? >>> mike is not here today but i am. this pattern locked in across the lower 48. that means more mild air for us as you look at live doppler 7. you don't see a lot of cloud cover but we do have dense fog up to the north. temperatures are freezing here with numbers right around 33, 34 degrees from santa rosa and napa. 45 in fremont. mild around the bay. chilly out there. you'll need the jacket in the morning. by the afternoon our east bay is warming into the lower 60s with plenty of sunshine. so another dry day on the way and the rest of us, low 60s from san jose to about 62 in san rafael and then tonight some patchy fog. another chilly evening and a look at your new year's forecast coming up. sue? >>> all right. we are heading to san rafael to take a look at your drive novato through northern san rafael and the lucas valley road area. you can see traffic is moving beautifully. the taillight

here's abc news reporter serena marshall. >> reporter: for the first time in nearly a decade, seattle blanketed in white for christmas. >> it's cold. cold is cold. >> reporter: the arctic blast turning a white christmas into a whiteout christmas for residents in upstate new york. and in erie, pennsylvania, shattering records with more than 50 inches of snow in 30 hours. the greatest two-day total in the state's history. in michigan, visibility so poor, authorities warning drivers to stay home. the winter weather bringing down power lines and trees in new york. and in boston -- >> boston tower, are you okay? >> everything's fine. we just skidded on the ice. >> reporter: this jetblue flight hitting a patch of ice, spinning and skidding off the runway. >> once i realized we were going off the runway, i was like, uh-oh. >> reporter: the same airport seeing more than 300 delays and 64 cancellations, and the polar air blanketing the eastern u.s. continuing into wednesday with windchills below zero in chicago and near zero in boston. 18 states from new york to montana facing dangerous windch

live in washington, serena marshall, abc news. >>> it is 4:36 now. the fallout from the kate steinle verdict spread to oregon over the weekend resulting in a confrontation between two groups well known here in the bay area. patriot prayer organized a march to honor steinle chanting justice for kate. counterprotesters shouted immigrants are welcome here. several members of both sides began attacking one another. one person was arrested. both groups made their presence known in berkeley during the controversy over far-right speakers on campus. >>> a chilly start to monday for a lot of people in the bay area. >> temperatures dipped into the 30s overnight and in some places below freezing. jackets, mittens, and hats necessary. families visiting the skating rink there. that's not the only place people are seeing ice. >> the roofs of the house and the cars, also. very cold. >> i get up in the morning, there's ice on the car. it seems pretty cold. you have to wait for the car to heat up. it's cold. it's out there. >> some nice hats out there. if you're thin

serena marshall, abc news, washington. >> frost bite. >> yeah, how about that. had a great lake right to the west of us we would probably have the same problem because most of that is lake effect snow. as we take a look at storm tracker we got a little bit of snow out there. closer look shows that it's a very light snow shower down at the surface falling apart south of newark delaware and north of middletown delaware but you might see a little flurry or a light snow shower at some point this morning. there's actually a winter weather advisory over toward baltimore. we do not have that around here. taking a look outside, we have snow being made very easily in this cold air this morning that spring mountain. we showed you this picture a couple weeks ago and they didn't have anything happening up there but they sure do now and customers on the way later today, too, i believe. 24 degrees is your current temperature. winds north-northwest at 12 miles per hour. wind chill 13. i think they might be opened today. you want to call and make sure but definitely for the wee

serena marshall with more. >> reporter: president trump and first lady bringing christmas cheer. >> melania and i happy to wish america and entire world merry christmas. >> reporter: morning tidings after christmas eve spent golfing, calls to troops overseas and santa tracker program. attended services in church he and first lady were married. posted this tweet, people are proud to be saying merry christmas again. i am proud to have led the charge against assault on phrase. some believe assault on christmas happened when retail stores swapped out term merry christmas for happy holidays. upset several news hosts like bill o'reilly. but poll collected found 66% of the democrats prefer happy holidays and 67% of republicans say stores should only say merry christmas. on the campaign trail candidate trump promised to bring back the phrase. politics aside, he's not first president to say merry christmas. his predecessor used the phrase every year. >> merry christmas everyone, merry christmas, merry christmas, merry christmas. >> reporter: past presidents used happy holidays from old english meani

abc's serena marshall has more. happening now-- california's thomas overnight-- now burning an area larger than new york city. that makes it the 5th largest fire in california history. firefighters say containment of the flames actually dropped from 15 percent to 10 percent. and for many residents-- they only get a few minutes of warning, before they have to abandon their homes. the fire damaging or destroying more than eight hundred buildings and or destroying more than eight hundred buildings and threatening thousands more. the strong winds that are feeding the flame to continue until at least tomorrow. right now-- grief councilors are being called in at a local high school after a student was found dead sunday. the body of 17-year-old navid nicholas sepehri was found in a wooded area in bethesda. the teen was a senior at walt whitman high school. he was reported missing saturday. an autopsy will be performed. this morning marks the start of "week 2" for tolls on i-66. and it didn't take long for drivers and lawma

serena marshall has more. do not get caught unprepared for the elements. download the weather app to get updates and alerts based on your location. it's on google play and the app store. president trump today still at his mar-a-lago resort in florida the fourth day of his "working vacation." trump spent yesterday on the golf course, but before hitting the links... the president took to twitter. there he responded to a fox news segment -- calling the f-b-i "tainted" ... it's the latest in a series of attacks lobbied by the president during his holiday trip to florida. president trump also took the chance to make a lofty prediction for 20-18 saying both parties will come together an develop a great new healthcare plan. some say that is doubtful. the president still has about a week left in florida. when he returns, focus will surround new sanctions announced yesterday against two north korean senior officials for their involvement in the state's ballistic missile program. new fallout after leaked emails... revealed crude and demeaning comments, about miss am

outside the district court, serena marshall, abc news. lisa: this has been rapidly developing since december. according to the charges documents flynn spoke to the russians on the 22th and then a week later. a month later that he was national security adviser. just two days later the f.b.i. interviewedflip and that is when they say he lied to them. three weeks later he resigned and today he pleaded guilty. reaction from the hill. >> this guy was the national security adviser to the united states. >> him pleading guilty is because he is guilty. i always felt there are were so many investigations sooner or later the truth would come out. i have seen no evidence of collusion. >> how many more figures have to be brought to justice because of the ties with russia before we end up connecting the dots? jonathan: that was senator warner at the end of that. the intelligence committee is investigating the 2016 election. his republican colleague refused to comment. reaction pouring in online. lindsey mastis with one of the most important tweets of t

serena marshall has more from washington. >> reporter: one of the president's closest advisers. >> lock him up. >> reporter: facing the same chants he once led against hillary clinton. michael flynn leaving court, after agreeing to fully cooperate with the special counsel. >> how many more figures have to be brought to justice because of their ties with russia? before we end up connecting these dots. >> reporter: the charge stems from his contacts with sergey kislyak in december 2016. the obama administration had just imposed sanctions for their muddling. flynn then consulted with a senior transition team official, who said the trump team did not want russia to escalate the situation. flynn made that request to the ambassador. and putin did not issue retaliatory actions at that time. the official was jury charared . >> the plea document suggests that the special counsel may be focused on the fires of james comey. >> what he wanted me to do was drop any investigation connected to flynn's account of his conversations with the russians. >> reporter: in the president's only public event on

abc news reporter serena marshall has more. >> reporter: whiteout conditions creating white knuckle driving across the country from the city of erie, pen, where even those sent to clear the roads victims of the winter weather. declaring a snow emergency after nearly 4 1/2 feet of snow fell in just 36 hours. >> it was higher than the snowblowers. >> reporter: interstate 90 outside of town backed up for miles. lake-effect snow has left buffalo buried. >> i could only do about 20 miles an hour. >> reporter: while in massachusetts -- >> thunder snow. >> reporter: and it's not just snow. in illinois those subzero temperatures stopping locals' winter plans. >> the girls want to go ice skating and we tried but it's really cold. >> reporter: while in connecticut for at least one family frozen roads meant winter fun. >> we don't need any concussions. >> reporter: 20 states from colorado to maine dealing with the windchill advisories this morning. in duluth, minnesota, temperatures hit 21 degrees below zero with a windchill of minus 44. causing steam and fog to rise off lake superior. the bone chilli

serena marshall, abc news, washington. >>> russia's ambassador to the united states is on the peninsulahis morning. earlier this week he visited the russian consulate in san francisco. staff members were kicked out in september in an escalating feud between washington, d.c. and moscow. during a speech yesterday afternoon at stanford, ambassador anatoly blamed party politics for the deterioration of the relationship between the two countries. >> so it seems to me that russia-american relations is at hostage of internal problems between the democratic party and the republican party. it's easy to blame somebody outside of this who is responsible for this. it's very easy to choose russia. >> antonov plans to be in california through the weekend. >>> this morning, the consumer warning about thieves at the front door. many cyber monday purchases are now being delivered. abc's eva pilgrim explains what police are now doing. >> reporter: the season is giving and taking is here, after a record breaking cyber monday, those deliveries are starting to pour in. that means it's prime time for package

serena marshall, abc 7 news, washington. >>> so cold you can't even ice skate in some parts.d news for travelers heading to or from our three bay area airports. no delays now. check your airline for any updates on your flight status. >>> thanks, jess. good morning, everyone. lisa argen in for mike nicco. looking at some clouds in the north bay. some dense fog here. fog is beginning to form along the shoreline. half-mile visibility, certainly some poor news petaluma to napa. a mile in santa rosa. and now we're improving along the coast. enough to cause a problem from the san mateo coast and half moon bay. 33 in dublin. good morning, pleasant hill. 39 for you. 41 in san carlos. patchy, scattered clouds there. 39 in novato. so we will be looking at a chilly start, but then a nice afternoon, so that fog in the morning with, if you're heading out for a commute or ride on the bay on the ferries, it will be pleasant. the numbers pleasant in the afternoon with upper 50s. so getting going. we have the clouds and then low to mid-50s 10:00 to 1 2:00. 58 your high at 3:00. above average.

serena marshall, abc news, washington. >>> russia's ambassador to the united states is on the peninsulahis morning. earlier this week he visited the russian consulate in san francisco. staff members were kicked out in september in an escalating feud between washington, d.c. and moscow. during a speech yesterday afternoon at stanford, ambassador anatoly antonov blamed party politics for the crumbling relationship between the two countries. >> so it seems to me that russia-american relations is at hostage of internal problems between the democratic party and the republican party. it's easy to blame somebody outside of this who is responsible for this. it's very easy to choose russia. >> antonov plans to be in california through the weekend. >>> this morning, a consumer warning about thieves at the front door. it comes at a time when many cyber monday purchases are now being delivered. abc's eva pilgrim explains what police are now doing. >> reporter: the season of giving and taking is here. after a record breaking cyber monday, those deliveries are starting to pour in. that means it's pri

abc's serena marshall continues our coverage, in nortwest. do not get caught unprepared for the elements. download the unprepared for the elements. download the weather app to get updates and alerts based on your location. it's on google play and the app store. 5:xx and we're following breaking news in the district. a man found dead inside a home on bryant street northeast. it happened around three this morning. d-c police say the man shot multiple times. right now they have only a vague suspect description. an update now on a unsettled state house race in virginia. settled today. a random drawing to settle the tied race is delayed. no replacement date has been picked. at issue is the disputed last vote counted, which came after republicans argued it should be included. the democrat wants the vote thrown out -- giving her the win. that would also give democrats an even split in richmond. if you were driving on i-95 in virginia last night and got caught up in a huge backup-- we now know what caused the problems. a big-rig fire right by route o

serena marshal, abc news, washington. >>> a judge in new york will decide if a former contestant can proceed. she was on "the apprentice." she claims president trump kissed and grabbed her in 2007 when she visited him about a possible job at the trump organization. she filed the suit in january after trump said her claim was a lie. >>> and now to breaking news out of southern california. a fast-moving brush fire is threatening homes. >> it's burning north of los angeles in the city of santa paula and ventura. there are some evacuations that are taking place in both these are early morning live pictures as can you tell there many you can see how this fire has grown quite a bit. in fact, it has doubled in size, just in the last couple of hours. burning thousands of acres. santa ana winds gusting to 70 miles per hour are fanning the flames and the high winds are expected to remain through most of the week. we are told this fire is considered fatal right now, there's been at least one death associated with it. it was a traffic accident that took place moments ago. >> dangerous weather co

serena marshall has the lightest from the nation's capital. >> just one week until election day the president is now all in for roy moore. tweeting we need republican roy moore to win alabama. the tweet followed by a phone call to moore, the alabama candidate tweeting himself the president told him go get them roy. >> eight women accused roy of sexual misconduct or inappropriate behavior when they were teenagers and he was in their 30s. >> she showed evidence of the note he allegedly wrote her. when she was in high school. >> he denied he did anything appropriate. and at times claimed he doesn't even know the women. last month he acknowledged he knew gibson. >> i can't recall specific dates but i remember her as a good girl. >> when the allegations came out republicans pulled their support. >> he is obviously not fit to be in the united states senate. >> but today following the president's lead. >> i will let the people of alabama make the call. >> the republican national committee with one week until election day once again sending resources to help moore. and in the house the longest servin

abc's serena marshal has more. >> reporter: he said this was simply a recognition of reality. >> today we finally acknowledged the obvious. that jerusalem is israel's capital. >> reporter: in 1 t995, a resolution had been passed to do just that, but it had been waived by all previous presidents, due to fears it would spark violence in the region and make peace talks al already, some groups have called for three days of rage. no other country in the world has its embassy in jerusalem. widespread concern from the pope to regional leaders. palestinian leaders saying it could lead to wars that will never end. the turkish foreign minister called it a grave mistake. and european leaders dismayed. britain's prime minister called it unhelpful to the peace process. and french president may krocro saying it was regrettable. across the middle east, protests. palestinians burning the u.s. and israeli flag. israel, though, applauded the decision and said there is no peace that doesn't include jerusalem recognized as the capital. a belief president trump agrees with. >> we are no closer to a lasting

serena marshall has more from washington. >> reporter: one of the president's closest advisers. >> lock him up. >> reporter: facing the same chants he once led against hillary clinton. michael flynn leaving court, after agreeing to fully cooperate with the special counsel. >> how many more figures have to be brought to justice because of their ties with russia? before we end up connecting these dots. >> reporter: the charge stems from his contacts with sergey kislyak in december 2016. the obama administration had just imposed sanctions for their muddling. flynn then consulted with a senior transition team official, who said the trump team did not want russia to escalate the situation. flynn made that request to the ambassador. and putin did not issue retaliatory actions at that time. the official was jury charared . >> the plea document suggests that the special counsel may be focused on the fires of james comey. >> what he wanted me to do was drop any investigation connected to flynn's account of his conversations with the russians. >> reporter: in the president's only public event on

abc's serena marshall joins us with new details on this crucial race. good morning, serena. >> reporter: good morning, kendis, diane. the high stakes election just 24 hours away and as seen by many as not just a referendum on the president but the republican party fractured over their controversial candidate. embattled republican senate candidate roy moore getting another boost from the president. >> we need roy to help us. >> reporter: telling voters on a reported message. >> roy moore is the guy we need to pass our make america great again agenda. >> reporter: the president out with calls, tweets and even a mention in his friday event, moore absent. his only appearance this past week a pretaped interview. >> these allegations are completely false. i did not date underage women. i did not molest anyone. >> reporter: again denying the allegations of sexual misconduct or inappropriate behavior from at least eight women, at least two who were teenagers when evers in his 30s, his chief strategist argued this isn't about the allegations but a referendum on t

serena marshall, abc seven eyewitness news. >> the final jobs report released this year is better thanected. inost 200 30,000 jobs added november. the unemployment rate unchanged and still at a 17 year low. the downside, wages are only up to .5%. the last time unemployment was low, wages grew it almost twice the pace they are on now. >> what in oklahoma family did not expect was that their dog eating their babies pacifiers. the vet discovered 21 in the caused the the diet shar-pei to lose weight. >> this is the craziest surgery we have ever done. we thought there were 7-9 in there. i pulled out 21. >> the dog is on the mend and will be going home soon. the owners say the home is now baby proof and pacifier proof. >> most of us know who are -- cool oural biological parents are and whether we have brothers -- most of us know who our biological parents are and whether we have brothers and sisters. but for those who don't, there are questions. >> silvia has been given an early gift by her daughter. >> i feel so . i have never felt so thankful my entire life or anything. >> the 66-year-old

serena marshall reports live from washington. serena: president trump responding to the guilty plea of former national security adviser and now convicted felon michael flynn. president trump: i feel very badly. serena: heading to utah, he tried to shift attention. president trump: hillary clinton led many times to the fbi. nothing happened to her. flynn lied, and they destroyed his life. serena: there is no evidence clinton ever lied to the fbi, and comey testified last year the latest defense of flynn comes after a saturday tweet from the president's account, cleaning he fired flynn because he lied to the vp and the fbi. that is new, and critics charged it was an admission the president knew flynn line to the fbi before he allegedly asked comey to go easy on flynn. the president's lawyer, john dowd, later claiming he was the one who wrote the tweet, but sunday, more tweets, including, "i never asked comey to stop investigating flynn." now, the same trump lawyer saying the president cannot be guilty of obstruction of justice in hi

serena marshall has more. >> reporter: president trump back to work and back to the golf course.y at his private club this palm beach, he ended the holiday with a tweet. i hope everyone is having a great christmas. then back tomorrow it's back to work in order to make america great again. his third day of his so-far four-day working vacation. this time sharing the day with his golfing partners, senator perdue and dana quigley. but before hitting the links, hitting the russian dossier after watching a "fox and friends" segment, calling the fbi tainted and saying they use this garbage as an attack. the latest twitter attack against the fbi after a weekend spent bashing the bureau and its leadership. the president making a bold prediction. following the repeal of the individual mandate, democrats and republicans will come together and develop a great new health care program. with midterm elections less than a year away, some experts think that's doubtful. >> he has now offended so many parts of the democratic party that their entire constituency is sending a signal to party leaders,

. >> abc news reporter serena marshall reports from washington. >> once one of the president's closest advisors, now -- >> lock him up! >> facing the same chance he once led against hillary clinton. michael flynn leaving court after pleading guilty and agreeing to fully cooperate with the special ouncele. >> how many more figures have to be brought to justice because of their ties with russia before we end up connecting. >> the charge stems from contacts from sergey kislyak. flynn consummated with an official that did not want the trump team to escalate. flynn made that request to the ambassador and russian president putin did not issue retaliation sanctions at that time. sources tell abc news that senior official was the president's son-in-law jared kushner. >> what they are looking at is were there any conversations with the russians not during the transition but campaign. >> the special counsel may be focused on president trump's firing of james comey who testified sgh testified. >> i understood him to say drop any investigation connected to flynn. >> and the president's only public

. >> abc news reporter, serena marshal has details from washington. >> reporter: a signature that tooks, reversing decades of u.s. policy. president trump declared jerusalem the capital of israel. and is starting the process of moving the u.s. embassy there from tel aviv. he said this was simply a recognition of reality. >> today we finally acknowledge the obvious. that jerusalem is israel's capital. >> reporter: in 1995, a resolution was passed to do just previous presidents due to fears it would spark violence in the region making peace talks impossible. var yu various factions have called for three days of rage. journal is grounds for three major religions. east jerusalem has an arab majority and is seen as a possible future capital of a future palestinian state. no other country in the world has its embassy in jerusalem. the pope and china's ministry warned against the change. >> i have consistently spoken out against any unilateral measures that would jeopardize the prospect of peace for israelis and palestinians. >> reporter: israel, though, had a different message. >> your there

. >> abc news reporter, serena marshal has details from washington. >> reporter: a signature that took mere seconds, reversing decades of u.s. policy. president trump declared jerusalem the capital of israel. and is starting the process of moving the u.s. embassy there from tel aviv. he said this was simply a recognition of reality. >> today we finally acknowledge the obvious. that jerusalem is israel's capital. >> reporter: in 1995, a resolution was passed to do just previous presidents due to fears it would spark violence in the region making peace talks impossible. var yu various factions have called for three days of rage. journal is grounds for three major religions. east jerusalem has an arab majority and is seen as a possible future capital of a future palestinian state. no other country in the world has its embassy in jerusalem. the pope and china's ministry warned against the change. >> i have consistently spoken out against any unilateral measures that would jeopardize the prospect of peace for israelis and palestinians. >> reporter: israel, though, had a different message. >

serena marshall talks about what's happening with the scandal involving a republican candidate. >> facing a number of allegations of sexual harassment from several former congressal staffers, john conyers insists his departure is not a resignation. >> i am retiring today. >> reporter: by stepping down, the house he think igs committee into claims against the 88-year-old congressman comes to a close. at least five women have accused him of verbal abuse and inappropriate sexual advances. couldn'tiers denied all the allegations but admits paying a secret $27,000 to a former staffer. he said he's leaving for health reasons. >> my legally continue through my children. >> reporter: and he's backing up with of those children to take his spot in a special election. in another special election set to happen next week, the rnc reversing coarse, now throwing support behind roy moore. senate republicans have a newly unified message. >> i am not a voter in the state of alabama. >> i've stayed out of that race. >> leave it to the voters. as moore faces allegations from at least eight women while they a

serena marshall, abc news. >>> the dow dropped by as much as 350 points after abc news broke the newst flynn was prepared to testify against president trump. but the market did quickly rebound. the dow finishing down 40, closing at 24,231. the nasdaq dropped 26 closing at 6847. and s&p 500 lost 5 to close at 2642. >>> the senate is on the verge of passing a gop sweeping tax overhaul. several holdouts today thrilled though that there is support behind the controversial bill after a slew of revisions to win their votes. >> maggie rulli with the latest. >> reporter: senate republicans are closing in on a victory. >> the fact that we would be sitting here talking about even the possibility of a unanimous vote, we're close. >> reporter: after intense back and forth negotiations, the party's lawmakers appear to have a deal hovering above the 50 votes needed to pass the gop new tax plan without any yeas from the democrats. >> i believe that it will help the economy. i think it will help a lot of working people. most people will benefit from it. perhaps not everybody. but most people. >> repo

abc's serena marshall in d.c. for us live tonight with the very latest. reporter: hi, monica, good evening. that is the big question here in washington is is the president's lawyers defense that a president can't obstruct justice true? it's a possible new legal defense for the president. the president's lawyer john dowd telling abc news the president cannot be guilty of obstruction of justice in his role because he is the chief law enforcement officer of the united states. and can give his opinion on any legal case. the claim follows this statement which dowd says he wrote from the president's twitter account. i had to fire general flynn because he lied to the vice president and the fbi. that led to speculation the president was admitting he knew flynn lied to the fbi before he tried to get james comey to go easy on flynn. >> wanted me to drop any investigation connected to flynn's account of his conversation with the russians. >> reporter: multiple legal experts disagree with the president's lawyer saying a president can obstruct justice. >> there is no

abc news reporter serena marshall has the story from wshington. >> reporter: good morning.d considered a referendum not just on the president but the republican party that has been fractured over the controversial judge leading the race. senate candidate roy moore getting another boost from the president. >> we need roy -- >> reporter: telling voters in a recorded message -- >> roy moore is the guy we need to pass our make america great again agenda. >> reporter: moore absent. his only appears this past week a pretaped interview. >> these allegations are false. >> reporter: at least two women were teenagers when he was in his 30s. moore's chief strategist argued this election isn't about the allegations but a referendum on the president and if moore wins -- >> i highly doubt there will be a senate investigation, but if there is judge moore will be found telling the truth. >> reporter: the race in a dead heat in the solid red state. >> there is an energy out there that can't be captured by pushing a telephone. >> reporter: even so one vote more won't get the republican senio

serena marshall ab presidential news in washington. >> "action news" has continuing coverage of this major story. vernon odom talks to national security analysts from our area about the impact of this charge and flynn's plea deal. >>> our coverage of the beltway plea continues on 6abc.com. there we posted more details about the charges against flynn and related stories concern, the mueller federal investigation. >> another big story we're following for you stretches from philadelphia to northampton county and all the way to hawaii. investigators are calling this man a serial predator. they say seth mall met women online, allegedly lured them to hotel rooms, then sexually assaulted them. but the allegations don't stop there. john rawlins live in bethlehem now to explain. john. >> reporter: hi, monica. this is where the police first came across the defendant along with a 24-year-old woman who was savagely treated who says she was being held continue tiff in -- captive in a fourth floor hotel room. there are other victims in that possibly as many as three other states. the fbi is said t

serena marshall, abc news, washington. >>> the navy escorted a ship close to american waters.een a recent uptick in russian activity in the area and they warn they will not tolerate any forms of aggression. >>> and the most serious challenger facing vladimir putin has been banned from running from running for president. russian's election commission ruled alexei navalny's conviction has made him ineligible. he's calling on russians to boycott the election. >>> and a california police officer is dead after a suspected drunk driver crashed into his patrol vehicle on christmas eve. highway patrolman andrew camilleri was killed. the driver who hit the officer's vehicle was under the influence of alcohol and possibly marijuana. 33-year-old camilleri leaves behind a wife and three children. he joined the california highway patrol just last year. >>> now the nfl is change its concussion protocol after high-profile cases prompted investigations. now an unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant will be required at the lead command center for all games to monitor injuries. an impact seizure w

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