abc's arlette saenz has more from washington. good morning, arlette. >> reporter: good morning, kendis and diane. president trump came out swinging against the media, a top senate republican and his own secretary of state. the relationship between president trump and his secretary of state is under the microscope. the president seemed to knock hi t after that report rex tillerson referred to his boss as a moron. i think it's fake news the president told "forbes" but he if did that i'll guess we' will have to compare i.q. tests and i can tell you who wins. >> no, i didn't undercut anybody. i don't believe in undercutting people. thank you very much, everybody. >> do you have confidence in rex tillerson? >> yes. >> reporter: he insists the challenge was a joke but he's not laughing about republican senator bob corker who in an interview with "the new york times" said this about the president. >> he doesn't realize that, you know, that we could be heading towards world war iii with the kinds of comments that he's making. >> reporter

abc's arlette saenz joins us now arlette, good morning. >> reporter: california engulfed in a raging inferno from the north in santa rosa to down south in anaheim. intense wildfires scorching the state. nearly 90,000 acres incinerated. in northern california, at least 1500 structures, many of them homes singed beyond recognition. >> it looks like a bomb went off. nothing left, you know, of these homes. >> reporter: residents sifting through the ashes for what remains. northern california hospitals treating more than 150 people for smoke inhalation and fire-related injuries. the fires swept through shopping centers and mobile home parks. some hospitals directly in the crosshairs staff carefully evacuating patients on gurneys. tens of thousands of residents like jan krieger evacuated racing to save what they need. >> i'm in shock. this is your life. >> reporter: and in southern california, what started as a small brush fire in anaheim charring 6,000 acres in a matter of hours. kabc reporter lee ann suitor is there. >> on the front lines everybody trying to bring it under control. >> wh

arlette saenz live from washington for us. arlette, thanks. >>> investigators may have uncovered how the las vegas shooter got all those guns into his hotel room. sources tell abc news the shooter was given access to a service elevator at the mandalay bay hotel which was apparently a perk for high rollers at the casino. now, that perk would have allowed him to carry his luggage to his room bypassing security in the lobby. >>> meanwhile, it was an emotional first home game for the las vegas golden knights hockey team. they honored first responders then held a 58-second moment of silence, one second for each victim of that shooting. they also withheld advertising along the ice devoting the space instead to messages that read vegas strong. >> now let's take a look at your weather for this wednesday morning. how is this for a contrast? this was monday in denver, the season's first major snowfall. the bison were loving it, but forget all that now, temperatures in the mile high city today could hit nearly 70 degrees. unseasonable wa

abc's arlette saenz joins has more. this morning a d.c. grandmother who died after an s-u-v grandmother who died after an s-u-v struck her is being remembered for her extreme generosity. jewel lewis-hall was killed saturday as she was crossing "h" street northeast.. at 10th street. the driver stayed at the scene. no charges have been filed, but an investigation is underway. lewis-hall's family is heartbroken. lewis-hall was a graduate of anacostia high school. she was a big fan of michael jackson. since the pop star's death, her front porch has been a shrine to him. "the washington post" even wrote about it. happening today-- first daughter invanka trump will rub elbows with some of the most powerful women in the world. trump is set to attend the annual forbes most powerful women's summit, along with arianna huffington, former deputy attorney general sally yates, general motors ceo mary barra, and others. trump also already knows the keynote speaker. canadian prime minister justin trudeau will speak tonight about the importance of gender e

arlette saenz reports. new this morning. the anne arundel county native vegas massacre is continuing her remarkable recovery back in maryland. last night-- 27-year-old tina frost arrived at johns hopkins hospital in baltimore. relative say she awoke from a coma friday for the first time since the shooting. and she's taken her first steps. frost was shot in the head, and lost her right eye. she's now able to tap her foot to music, and squeeze her parents' hands. a go-fund-me page was set up for frost, in hopes of dollars. more than a half-million dollars has been raised so far. to find out how you can contribute, go to wjla-dot-com. a stunning accusation from former 49ers quarterback colin kaepernick. he has filed a grievance against n-f-l owners claiming he is the victim of collusion -- saying that nfl owners worked together to keep him off the field. kaepernick claims the reason... is his protest against police mistreatment of african americans during the national anthem. the lawsuit demands an arbitration hearing with the

abc's arlette saenz has more. coming up-- a case of road rage, a case of road rage, ends with a man clinging to the front of a moving school bus. what set him off.. and what police did when they came on the scene. - drier this afteroo warm - more showers mid-late week; impacts to nationals game? - dry and warm weekend ahead today: am rain and wind. pm partly sunny; isolated shower. very humid. highs: 82-87 winds: sw 15-25 g 30+ mph tonight: mild & muggy. patchy fog. lows: 62-69 winds: sw 5 mph tuesday: partly sunny. a touch less humid, still very warm. highs: 81-85 winds: nw 5 mph shakeup in hollywood. a movie mogul fired started. more on the scandal that brought him down. plus, this next story may make your skin crawl. venomous spiders and scorpions, left unattended in a petco. and you won't believe where someone found them. we'll tell you.. when we come back. cnarrator: ed gillespie and i wants to endis ad. a woman's right to choose. ed giof a woman'sd put thpersonal decisions,rge not women and their doctors. as

abc's arlette saenz joins us in washington with more. right now -- porn publisher larry 10-million-dollars for dirt against president trump. flynt -- best known as the publisher of the magazine "hustler" -- took out a full-page washington post ad -- asking for information that could lead t he argues that trump's election was illegeitimate, and that he's shown he's "dangerously unfit" for office. flynt said he could use the 10-million bucks to buy luxuries,' but asked what good it would do in a quote "world devastated by the most powerful moron in history?" flynt accuses him of everything from "compromising domestic and foreign policy with his massive conflicts-of-interest global business empire" to "telling hundreds of bald-faced lies" and more. new this morning. a maryland woman - severely injured during the las vegas massacre is back in our area. tina frost checked into johns hopkins in baltimore last night- and that's where we find tom roussey live. now to the crisis in the caribbean.. nearly a month maria made landfall in puerto rico

files remain sealed at the request of the fbi and cia further fueling conspiracy theories and arlette saenzore on what the files reveal. good morning, arlette. >> reporter: hey, good morning, kendis and diane. 54 years later there are still so many questions about the assassination of president john f. kennedy. these 2800 new documents are a treasure trove of information for historians, investigators and even conspiracy theorists. thousands of documents shed new light on the far-reaching probe into the assassination of president john f. kennedy. in dealey plaza on november 22nd, 1963, the 35th president sat as an open target for assassin lee harvey oswald. >> president kennedy has been shot. >> reporter: one memo from 1964 says investigators looked into claims oswald was an fbi informant and determined he was not. another shows a deposition of a former cia director richard helms. he was asked about charges the cia was involved. and if there was information that shows, quote, oswald was in some way a cia agent. the document then cuts off. two days after he killed jfk -- >> there is lee harve

abc's arlette saenz has more. overnight.he trump administration - releasing a list administration - releasing a list of immigration priorities. the demands include funding for a border wall - overhauling the green-card system - and curbing federal grants for sanctuary cities. now - democrats are concerned these priorities will threaten efforts to protect hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation - many of whom were brought into the u-s illegally as children. attorney general jeff sessions - saying these proposals will prioritize america's safety an mixed reaction this morning after vice president pence - left the indianapolis colts game because a group of players continued their national anthem protest. several players from the 49ers took a knee during sunday's anthem. pence then decided to leave the stadium. he says he left because he and president trump would not dignify any event that he says disrespects our national anthem. but players who participated in taking a knee think it was just a p-r stunt. pres

chief strategist steve bannon declares a season of war in the party an we say good morning to arlette saenz. >> reporter: good morning. president trump has not been shy about his frustration with mitch mac connell but appears they'll try to put those difference as side over lump and athem to thaw what's become a frosty relationship. president trump and senate majority leader mitch mcconnell are set to break bread today as the president's former chief strategist prepares for battle. >> this is not my war. this is our war. >> reporter: speaking at the values voter summit he made clear he's ready for an all out political war with the senate's top republican. >> right now it's a season of war against a gop establishment. >> reporter: not everyone agrees with bannon's tactics. on abc's "this week" senator susan collins defended mcconnell. >> mr. bannon's over-the-top rhetoric is not helpful. mitch mcconnell is the senate majority leader. the president needs him. >> reporter: another target for bannon republican senator bob corker who says the president led a castration of his secretary of state

abc's arlette saenz has details live from washington. strong words, arlette, especially from someone from his party. >> reporter: totally, kendis and diane. for political junkies this is the ultimate political smackdown. the pres a republican war of words erupting pitting tennessee senator bob corker against president trump. in an interview with "the new york times" corker slammed the president saying he treats his office like a reality show and could set the country on the path to world war iii. corker, the powerful chair of the senate foreign relations committee said, quote, in several instances he's hurt us as it reels to negotiations that were underway by tweeting things out and he didn't stop there. the senator added, quote, i know for a fact that every single day at the white house it's a situation of trying to contain him. that extraordinary rebuke of a president of his own party capped off a day of in-fighting not often seen in public. last week corker who recently said he won't seek re-election made this jab. >> secretary tiller

it's now emerged that spain's deputy prime minister, soraya saenz de santamaria, has been placed in derge of catalonia and the fate of carles puigdemont, the man who still regards himself as leader, is unclear. it's understood he and his cabinet may be facing charges of rebellion which carries a 30—year sentence for acting against the state. gavin lee reporting there. my colleague tim willcox is in the catalan capital, barcelona. he spoke to me a little earlier. he said that more catalan politicians could be arrested over the next few days. mr puidgemont gave a prerecorded address, we think from a town where he was mayor from the local mayor's office there. in it really we are in a parallel universe, because he doesn't consider himself sacked from the position as catalan president because he says the referendum on october ist was legal, 90% of people voted for him on a turnout of 43% so he carries on as normal. but the key thing he was saying to the catalan people, of course many millions of whom don't support him, they want to stay with madrid, but his message was one of a pacifist re

his job in all but title has been transferred to spain's deputy prime minister, soraya saenz de santamariaelections in december. what do you want the spanish government to do? do you want them to take over forcibly? he has to go to... he has to go to the... the prison. independence supporters are being urged to democratically resist any attempts from madrid to forcefully remove the separatist leaders. but a flash point could come tomorrow, if carles puigdemont tries to return to his old position. there are reports he could face charges linked to sedition and rebellion against the state. asi as i was walking through the crowd i off duty as i was walking through the crowd i met off duty regional police officers who said they did not want to be identified but were concerned. they were pro—unity and said many collea g u es they were pro—unity and said many colleagues felt the other way and it is causing divisions within the force. this is the wider question. while we have carles puigdemont potentially returning to work tomorrow, what about others who are returning to work, told they are contro

his job in all but title has been transferred to spain's deputy prime minister, soraya saenz de santamarial elections in december. what do you want the spanish government to do? do you want them to take over forcibly? he has to go to... the prison. resist any attempts from madrid to forcefully remove the separatist leaders. but a flash point could come tomorrow, if carles puigdemont tries to return to his old position. there are reports he could face charges linked to sedition and rebellion against the state. and we can now cross to gavin who is live in barcelona for us. it is an intriguing prospect. if he turns up and tries to enter the building presumably he would be turned away or could be escorted away, which might not look good on camera after the confrontation we saw on the day of the referendum. yes we are creeping towards it. tomorrow morning, is it business as usual? the language we are hearing from those around carles puigdemont is he is the leader, this is a coup d'etat by the state and they will carry on as normal. we have heard little from him over the weekend. expect a speech

it's now emerged that spain's deputy prime minister, soraya saenz de santamaria, has been placed in dee of catalonia and the fate of carles puigdemont, the man who still regards himself as leader, is unclear. it's understood he and his cabinet may be facing charges of rebellion which carries a 30—year sentence for acting against the state. gavin lee reporting there. joining me now via webcam is dr george kyris, lecturer in international and european politics at the university of birmingham. thank you forjoining us. it's a momentous day, not only in catalonia but spain and possibly the eu as well? yeah, in some ways it's a very significant day and date. in other ways it really is not. so i think it's significant because it's shows, not confrontation, but on the other hand, i guess the declaration of independence is not really significant if nobody actually recognises it. there are... (inaudible) if you say, if it's unrecognised by key states, key heads around the world, does this indicate that it willjust be — this isa indicate that it willjust be — this is a symbolic move? the reality