abc's kenneth moton has the latest. good morning, kenneth. >> reporter: neither michael avenatti nor the lapd has gone into great detail about the allegations against him. the attorney known for going toe-to-toe with president trump on social media and in court is now facing his own legal problems. overnight attorney michael avenatti out on a $50,000 bond defending himself after he was arrested charged with felony domestic violence. >> i have never struck a woman. i never will strike a woman. i have been an advocate for women's rights my entire career. >> reporter: the alleged victim unidentified. los angeles police have released few details, only saying the alleged incident happened tuesday tweeting, this is an ongoing investigation and we will provide more details as they become available. >> i am looking forward to a full investigation at which point i am confident that i will eportenatti'profild. has skyrocketed this year. the california attorney who represents adult film star stormy daniels in her legal back and for

abc's kenneth moton has the latest on what may be happening next. morning, kenneth. >> reporter: good morning, lynda. it's no surprise or secret the spouse of a president has some type of influence on his staff, but it's highly unusual for it all to play out so publicly. this morning from the east wing of the white house, first lady melania trump's rare and public call for the firing of mira ricardel, the deputy national security adviser was seen smiling yesterday behind president trump at an event. an hour later this statement from the first lady's spokeswoman on ricardel. "it is the position of the office of the first lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this white house." sources in the west wing tell abc news the feud stems from mrs. trump's first solo trip to africa last month. the first lady irritated with ricardel and felt she had treated her staff disrespectfully. on that trip abc's tom llamas spoke with the first lady about the people surrounding the president. >> it's very difficult sometimes because i'm so busy with my

abc's kenneth moton has details. good morning, kenneth. >> reporter: good morning, lynda. yes, the attention is on florida and the democrat-leaning counties of florida where there are allegations of theft and fraud. this week, protests are expected to heat up in florida. [ chanting ] as the state continues the methodical recount of more than 8 million ballots, concerned all counties won't be able to get it done ahead of thursday's deadline. >> the election equipment that we have, the potential of conducting all of these is impossible. it is impossible. >> reporter: the recount triggered by law over the weekend. the races for governor and senate within a half a percentage point. by just 12,500 votes, bill nelson, democratic senator, is trailing his republican opponent, and current governor rick scott who was on fox news sunday. >> senator nelson is clearly trying to try to commit fraud to win this election. >> reporter: president trump also weighing in with no proof tweeting, trying to steal two big elections in florida. we are watching closely. the state's department of la

abc's kenneth moton joins us now with more. good morning, kenneth. >> reporter: good morning, lynda. one week after the votes and the democrats are doing better than they previously thought, but the battles through this midterm election rage on in a number of key states. this morning the democrats are celebrating a nail-biting victory and another flip. this time in arizona. [ chanting ] democrat kyrsten sinema defeating gop opponent martha mcsally in the race for senate. sinema invoking the name of the state's longtime republican senator, the late john mccain. >> we can do this differently for our country, for our future, for senator mccain and for each other. >> reporter: one week after the midterm election, vote counting continues in several states. in florida a dramatic recount of 8.2 million ballots inches closer to the thursday deadline. [ chanting ] in the governor's race republican ron desantis with a lead over democrat andrew gillum. >> we're simply saying let our votes count. >> reporter: but fewer than 13,000 votes sep

abc's kenneth moton has the latest. good morning, kenneth. da. you guys know it, quite a mess throughout the northeast here. it took people hours to get home. the day is starting out with more travel problems after this storm wreaked havoc. overnight, that nightmare november nor'easter. >> watch out. >> reporter: causing treacherous conditions and emergencies up and down the coast. new york city paralyzed caught off guard by the early season winter storm which took down trees and caused gridlock for hours right at the height of the evening rush. >> i don't know if anybody was quite prepared. it's not even thanksgiving. >> reporter: transportation hubs filled with thousands of stranded and frustrated passengers. >> they're telling people to find alternative methods, but if you look at an uber, it's $300 to get home. >> reporter: a multivehicle accident on the george washington bridge and abc's gio benitez there. >> we've been stuck on the road for hours. that's the george washington bridge into new york city. no cars moving. >> reporter: roads in

kenneth moton, washington. >>> "the washington post" says president trump has decided to remove kirsten nielsen, secretary of homeland security. the president is unhappy with her implementing immigration policies. >>> several schools are closed in sonoma county because of poor air quality. at the bottom of your screen you'll see a running count on the number of schools closed. keep checking that. >> there are so many of them. with that reason, some of us suffering from bad air quality. >> they could be closed for a couple more days. the winds will started to clear out friday. the next pattern change will be next week when we have that threat -- threat? welcomed rain, i should say. partly cloudy, a little haze, temperatures running in the mid to it upper 40s. let's talk about, yep, unhealthy air and a little cooler this afternoon. it will still be comfortable, just won't be as warm as it has been. wind shifts friday. that's why we'll see the cleaner air coming in from the west. the dramatic air pattern for next week. timing not great because you may travel, but sacrifices we make because