tonight, several developing stories as we come on the air. the white house firestorm. president trump now weighing in on his former aide now out of a job. amid allegations of domestic abuse. the president saying his former aide says he is innocent. it's been a tough time for him, and abc news learning chief of staff john kelly has expressed to president trump, his willingness to resign. the white house tonight responding. the massive winter storm hitting tonight and turning deadly, slamming chicago, detroit. major travel hubs and moving east. and another major storm right behind it. breaking late today, the new and alarming news on the deadly flu in this country, and the new concern tonight about a second wave of flu that could be coming. the deadly police shootout in a suburban neighborhood.
one officer killed, and two deputies wounded. and let the games begin. the moment kim jong-un's sister, and what she did. and the flag bearer braving the elements, making headlines yet again. good evening, to have you with us to finish out the week, and what a week inside the west wing. tonight, president trump speaking publicly for the first time about the domestic abuse scandal involving his former close aide, rob porter. allegations now made by porter's two ex-wives. the president today praising porter's work wishing him well, telling reporters, quote, he says he is innocent, and i think you have to remember that. the president adding, it has been a tough time for porter. hope hicks who has been romantically linked to porter was right there in the oval office as the president weighed in today. late today, telling abc news, the chief of staff, john kelly telling president trump his
willingness to design over his handling of the scandal. cecilia vega leading us off. >> reporter: with his white house under fire today president trump breaking his silence, praising his former staff secretary rob porter, who resigned amid allegations he abused both of his former wives. >> we certainly wish him well. >> it's a obviously tough time for him. he did a very good job when he was in the white house, and we hope he has a wonderful career, and hopefully he will have a great career ahead of him. but it was very sad when we heard about it, and certainly he's also very sad now. he also, as you probably know, he says he's innocent, and i think you have to remember that. he said very strongly yesterday that he's innocent -- >> reporter: while the president talked about the "tough time" for porter, no mention of the women, porter's two ex-wives who went public with their accusations of verbal and
physical abuse. one releasing this photo of a black and blue eye, she says, from porter's punch. as president trump spoke right there in that room, communications director hope hicks, who is romantically linked to porter. and chief of staff john kelly who was brought into restore order in the west wing, but kelly reportedly knew about the abuse allegations against porter for months. and sources telling abc news the president is furious with how both aides handled the west wing crisis. hicks, those sources say, helped write the administration's initial public statements defending porter. >> the president and chief of staff have had full confidence and trust in his abilities. and his performance. >> reporter: when the story first broke, kelly called porter a man of true integrity and honor. but tonight sources tell abc news that within the past 24 hours, kelly told the president he would be willing to resign. they say the president has spoken to confidantes about possibly replacing kelly including gauging businessman and longtime friend tom barrack's interest in the job.
barrack said he's not interested. this as kelly does some damage control of his own. sending this letter to staffers saying the white house takes matters of domestic violence very seriously and in a meeting first thing this morning, "the washington post" says kelly told staffers to say he took action to remove porter within 40 minutes of learning about the ex-wives' allegations were credible. but porter's ex-wives tell abc news they told the fbi about his alleged abuse last january when they were interviewed as part of his white house security clearance. his second wife jennie willoughby says she told them everything. >> i told them all of the details of my marriage including verbal and emotional abuse. >> reporter: "the washington post" reporting white house counsel don mcghan first learned of the abuse allegations around the time of the president's inauguration. porter denies abusing his ex-wives saying these outrageous allegations are simply false. i took the photos and the reality behind them is nowhere close to what is being
described. >> we wish him well. >> reporter: this is not the first time the president has come to the defense of a man accused of violence against women. he endorsed alabama senate candidate roy moore in the face of multiple sexual misconduct accusations. >> what do you say to women? >> let me just tell you, roy moore denies it. that's all i can say. he denies it. and, by the way, he totally denies it. >> reporter: more than a dozen women have accused the president himself of sexual misconduct. he's branded all of them liars. and today he had nothing but good wishes for rob porter. >> we absolutely wish him well. he did a very good job while he was at the white house. thank you very much, everybody. thank you. >> so let's get to cecilia vega with us live tonight at the white house, and cecilia, you and the team reporting that chief of staff john kelly expressed a willingness to resign to the president, and you're saying there is already a list of possible replacements? >> reporter: some names being kicked around here.
among these, gary cohn, mick mulvaney, and mark meadows. and president trump of course, gauging the interest of some others. >> and the interest still out there. we know rob porter was working with a temporary security clearance. he is not the only one in the west wing who had not been granted full security clearance? >> reporter: the white house has declined to report a number on who is using a temporary path, but jarreed kushner, the president's own son-in-law, is among them. >> cecile yarks thank you. we are following the major storm. just heading into the weekend, it's slamming chicago, detroit, and major travel hubs. nearly a foot of snow in chicago. one person was killed in a deadly highway pileup near flint, michigan. that system moving into the northeast tonight into the weekend and this evening, we are already watching another major storm right behind it.
abc's alex perez in chicago tonight. >> reporter: tonight, danger on the highways. more than a dozen semis and more than three dozen vehicles in all involved in this chain-reaction crash on i-94 in kalamazoo county, michigan. one person killed in this accident near flint. police outside milwaukee posting this video, warning about driving too fast on slippery roads. in chicago, this group banding together to help a taxi driver stuck in the snow. the mayor with this message for residents. >> i want to make sure. top priority, people's safety. >> reporter: for chicago's fleet of 300 salt and plow trucks, it has been a nonstop operation loading up with some 220,000 tons of salt, distributing it on the city streets. armies of snow plows and salt trucks racing to clear and treat roads across the region. back in chicago, more than a thousand flights cancelled at the city's airports alone.
>> i checked before i came, my flat status was canceled. i came anyways hoping something else would open up. >> reporter: those plows were focusing on the main streets, but a lot of the smaller side streets like this one look like this, buried in show the. those crews won't be getting a break. more snow headed to the midwest this weekend, david. >> thanks to you. let's get right to senior meteorologist, rob marciano along the highway tonight. this is moving east, and you told us another storm system right behind it. >> reporter: that's right, david. the second one is not going to be pretty, i promise you. first let's get through this one. snow flying across i-90, central new york, back through chicago, and a third one with the next system that's going to have a southern component. look at it during the day tomorrow. heavy rain across the mid south. the tennessee valley, plateaued up the appalachians. boston, heavy rain potentially flooding and, the additional 1 to 3 inches of snow, in areas that got it today.
david? >> safe driving this weekend. thanks to you. the cdc now out to alarming headlines involving the flu reaching record levels in the u.s. it could break a record for hospitalizations. the cdc reporting high flu activity in the states. raising the death toll to 63 your. a grandmother dying from the flu after coming down wit twice, different strains of it. tonight, the new concern. could there be a second wave of the flu coming? here's abc's eva pilgrim. >> reporter: tonight the flu season raging and it's getting worse. that sobering number, 1 in 10 deaths in the u.s. last week due to flu or pneumonia. doctors on the front lines at this er this new york have seen the number of flu patients surge. >> a few weeks back, it was maybe 25 to 30 patients a day. i think now we are getting up to 40 to 50 patients coming in.
already more than 17k hospitalizations nationwide -- on track to break records. >> reporter: one group hit hard this year 55 to 64 year olds. angie barwise from texas got the flu around christmas and got better. but a month later, the 58-year-old grandmother was in the er with a different strain of the virus and died of complications. >> i left for just a few minutes, and i thought everything was going to be okay, and i got a phone call that he had just passed. >> reporter: her family says she never got the flu shot. the cdc urging anyone who's recovered from the flu but never got the shot to get it as soon as they are better. last week, ten more children died of flu-related illnesses. so far, 63 this season. the cdc urging those with a mild case of the flu to stay home. >> don't pass your virus on to someone else. what's a mild illness for you could be a hospitalization or worse for somebody else. >> tonight, the cdc is also saying we could have a second wave of this flu, eva? >> reporter: that's right,
david. there are multiple strains of the flu going around. the cdc now saying they are seeing a rise in the b strain of the flu. doctors telling us, even if you have had the flu, you should still get a flu shot, david. >> all right, eva. thank you. next tonight, the unexpected resignation at the justice department. we're following it this hour. rachel bran, the number three official behind jeff sessions and deputy ag rod rosenstein, announcing she will be stepping down. what's behind this? let's get to pierre thomas with us live tonight. pierre? >> reporter: david, there has been a lot of concern inside the justice department and fbi about pressure from president trump on the russia investigation. as number three in command, rachel brand would have been the person to oversee the special counsel investigation if rod rosenstein were to step down or be fired. since attorney general jeff sessions has recused himself. sources tell us that last year,
the president krds firing ro rosenstein, but we're told she left to take a job as a fortune 50 company. >> thank you. next time t stock department ending the week tonight. it gained more than 330 points, chloe at 24,190, and losing about 5% this week. we're following developmenting after a deadly shootout near atlanta. authorities say one officer was killed, two deputies wounded while serving an arrest warrant in locust grove, georgia. the suspect was killed. police say one of the deputies wounded was saved by his bullet proof vest, and both of the wounded deputies are expected to survive. and taking center stage in south kree dwra. . kim jong-un's sister and what she did, and the fall for an american star. abc's matt gutman at the winter
games. >> reporter: north and south korea marched together under the same flag and hand in hand, members of the joint, north/south women's hockey team charged up to light the olympic flame. kim jong-un's trusted sister shaking hands with south korea's president. she was seated right behind vice president mike pence, but his office says he pointedly did not reach out to north korea, and of course, the athletes. the most ever at a winter games including that huge american delegati delegation. so much hope for nathan chen. abc first profiled him when he was 8 years old. >> which olympics are we going to see you in? >> 2018. >> how does anybody deal with the amount of pressure thauf have had to deal with? >> it's overwhelming and you have to focus on little things that take you there. >> reporter: he stumbled and even fell. coming in fourth, but he is
still the favorite for gold in the individual events. at the opening ceremony, the windchill dipped into the teens and the question, would the load athlete repeat his shirtless performance from the rio games? the answer came out bearing a flag and everything else except for that grass skirt. that athlete was a lot hardier than the rest of us. it was broughtly cold in that stadium, but organizers handed out warming kits which included heating seating pads, blankets, beenies, and i have that fistful of hand warmers. the forecast for the next two weeks, david, a lot more cold. >> the hand warmers definitely better than the grass skirt. our thanks to you tonight. there is much more ahead on "world news tonight" this friday. the new headline about abu proechb tonight. what you need to know. and authorities asking for the public's help to identify the woman who they say left a
newborn inside an airport restroom. also, the actress and model speaking out to abc news about sexual assault allegations about a major name when she was just 18. and a major change tonight to a very well known return policy. why the change? a lot more news ahead tonight.
the famous actress and model, kate upton breaking her silence tonight about a sexual assault by a fashion name when she was just 18. linzie janis with the abc news exclusive. >> reporter: it was the campaign that launched her superstar career, but tonight, kate upton says when she was getting her first big break with "guess" at just 18 years old, paul marciano sexually assaulted her. >> it made me question what i was doing, how i was putting myself out there to be treated in this away. >> reporter: upton telling "time," marciano forcibly grabbed my breast. after i pushed him away, he
said, i'm making sure they are real. >> i had to go through this moment where i was, like, that's not my fault. that's his fault. that is his way of acting and i had to empower myself again. >> reporter: marciano calls her claims preposterousousousous has never been ae loan with the model. >> it speaks to how he has treated these allegations in the past, but that's not how it works anymore, and we're being hurt. >> reporter: guess is taking these allegations seriously, and they have launched an investigation into his conduct. >> thank you for that swer view. when we come back, the alarming headline about ibuprofen, and aleve. asking for the public's help. the woman who left that newborn inside that public airport restroom. we'll be right back. we'll be right back. even healthy adults 65 and older are at increased risk of pneumococcal pneumonia. isn't it like a bad cold or flu? pneumococcal pneumonia is a potentially serious
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changing table. he may have been born in the airport. he is okay. a note beside him read, please help me. my mom is unable and unfit to take care of me. heartbreaking. the medical headline involving ibuprofen. the headline involving one in five americans who take ibuprofen take too much. they have serious side effects including internal bleeding and heart attacks if not taken as directed. and llp putting a foot downw tonight. they are not allowing kus mores to exchange items. they have one year. there are too many abusers of that lifetime return policy. when we come back tonight, made in america is back, and this one is olympic size. you got to see this. this. rld. we were about to pull off the greatest upset in american sports history. but we were more than american... i never realized we were from all over.
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finally tonight, made in america, and we think this champion deserves a medal already. >> reporter: this is how 36-year-old snowboarder, mike schultz, spends his afternoons. in st. cloud, minnesota, and setting his sights on paralympic gold. but before mike hits the slopes he suits up with a leg he invented. >> it's such a process getting ready. >> reporter: screwing his leg in, making sure it's secure. >> gotta make sure all your nuts and bolts are tight too. >> reporter: knee pads. then pants. then boots. then it's time. >> let's go outside in subzero weather. >> reporter: mike is training for his first winter paralympic games. competing in the grueling snowboard cross and bank slalom. racing toward a dream that was nearly destroyed in 2008. an accident during a snowmobile competition, taking us to the mountain where he worked the ski lift as a boy, telling us about the day that changed and almost
took his life. >> i was making a pass down the hill, and i got thrown from my machine and landed on my left leg. >> reporter: the injury catastrophic. >> they did what they could to try to save my leg, but unfortunately, we couldn't get it fixed and we had to amputate. >> reporter: the long road to recovery, learning to walk again, and starting to train as he did before, determined to get back on the snow. >> i knew to take it one day at a time, and then eventually started working on a new prosthetic leg which helped me to look forward. >> reporter: the legs out there weren't letting him play the sports he of loed, so he went to work in his garage. >> here's my personal leg, red white and blue of course. >> reporter: using that drafting class from the ninth grade, and using his patience. he created this leg. >> so as you put your weight into it -- >> reporter: it could absorb the shock of high intensity sports. >> i realize that a lot of other
amputees would benefit from the technology i was working on, and we're helping out all kinds of athletes and veterans getting back into action. >> reporter: tonight, more than 100 soldiers, cancer survivors,. >> i'm on the snow board team competing against guys using the same equipment. we're going to make a mess right now. break loose little tabs here. >> reporter: his metal is his family. even tony the tiger, right there on the box, reminding mike how far he has already come. >> it's kind of crazy how one thing can lead to another if you keep your eyes open to it and, you know, just kind of get out of your comfort zone. just talk a chance and see how it works out. >> we have definitely rooting for you, mike, and all our olympians. i'm david muir. hope to see you right back here on
. i have one goal in mind and that's to get to the super bowl and win it. >> he has only the nfl, but he's now signed a a contract. >> the 49ers are not paying him for past performance, they're paying him based on what they think the 49ers will do in the future. >> the news is spreading across the region on how >> reporter: expect to see a lot of jimmy g. fever throughout the bay area, and lots of jimmy jerseys being born.