Welcome to world news tonight. Taking sides . With the white house in turmoil, the president s stunning tweet, calling for due process after a second staffer resigns in the face of Domestic Abuse accusations. The president saying lives are being shattered by, quote, a mere allegation. Sheriffs deadly order. The intense highway chase. The newly obtained Surveillance Footage and body cam audio. The sheriff saying, quote, dont ram him, shoot him. Then, appearing to laugh after the suspect is killed. Winter slam. Millions in the path tonight. Snow, ice and heavy rain. Treacherous conditions on the roads. The flood threat right now. Sam champion is standing by. Flu strikes twice. The deadly virus and its boomerang effect. Why some patients are forced to fight it for a second time this
season. And family treasure. The devastating mudslides in california. The men and women who are digging through the debris to help rescue memories. And good eving. Thanks for joining us on this saturday. Im tom llamas. And we begin tonight with the new white house fallout. President trumps stunning statement after a pair of staffers resigned in the face of Domestic Abuse allegations. President trump tweeting, in part, peoples lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation. There is no recovery for someone falsely accused. His comment after a second staff er submitted his resignation and after the president wished outgoing top aide rob porter well. Both accused of Domestic Abuse. Now, the scandal rippling through the oval office, with chief of staff john kelly indicating his willingness to resign. And Communications Director hope
hicks dating one of the men. That tweet also comes as the National Conversation about Sexual Misconduct and the me too movement rages on. Abcs david wright gets us started at the white house. Reporter today, in the wake of a scandal thats cost two west wing staffers their jobs, President Trump seemed to condemn the me too movement. Tweeting, peoples lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation. Some are true and some are false. Some are old and some are new. There is no recovery for someone falsely accused. Life and career are gone. Is there no such thing any longer as due process . This, after white house speechwriter David Sorensen resigned. His exwife accusing him of violence and Emotional Abuse during their marriage. He denies the allegations. So does former white house staff secretary rob porter, forced out this past week after both his exwives accused him of Domestic Abuse. One of porters exes released images that she says show bruises he caused. But he insists the photos are not what they seem. We certainly wish him well. Its 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. Reporter trump spoke up passionately for porter, but the president made no mention at all of the women. The president himself has never been evenhanded on allegations of Sexual Misconduct, giving republicans like roy moore the benefit of the doubt, but calling out democrats like former minnesota senator al franken. Mr. President , what is your message to women . Women are very special. I think its a very special time because a lot of things are coming out, and i think thats good for our society. Reporter trump is now said to be furious about the way his senior staff handled the porter
situation. Chief of staff john kelly initially expressed support for porter, even though hes reportedly known about the allegations for months. Abc news was the first to report kelly has told the president hes willing to resign. This weekend, the president is also under fire for taking partisan sides in the russia investigation, refusing to release the democrats classified memo. Last week, trump ordered the release of a gop memo, even though his own Justice Department called it extraordinarily reckless. This week, though, the white house apparently has a newfound admiration for the fbi. And what we are seeing is the problem when you have someone who lacks character in the oval office. It infects the whole of government. Lets get right to david wright at the white house tonight. David, turning back to the controversy surrounding the white house staff secretary, rob parters resignation, reports coming out that President Trumpwas upset with the initial response by longtime aide hope hicks. Reporter thats right, tom. As you know, hicks is one of his closest aides, shes been with him since well before the campaign. And she and porter were known to be an item here at the white house. Well, as Communications Director, she helped to draft some of the white houses initial defenses of porter she was said to be in hot water, but today, the president released a statement, saying hope is absolutely fantastic, calling her smart, talented and respected by all. Tom . David wright for us tonight. David, thank you. And there will be much more on the white house turmoil tomorrow on this week. George stephanopoulos interviews counselor to the president , kellyanne conway. Next tonight, the nasty weather, slamming a huge part of the country. The slowmoving storm blanketing the rockies and midwest. This snowy scene, take a look, in denver. Making for some dangerous driving. As the system churning east, a flood threat from alabama to massachusetts. This texas town already under water. And there is freezing rain for
millions. Powerful thunderstorms, as well. All in all, a mess. Sam champion tonight is standing by for us, but we begin with abcs alex perez in chicago. Reporter right now, 40 million americans bracing for more ice and snow, as Winter Weather alerts stretch from the deep south to new england. Its rough. I wouldnt suggest that you go out. Reporter its coming down in colorado, blinding drivers near denver. Parts of the midwest bracing for even more snow tonight. Chicago residents still trying to claw their way out from this. Its not heavy, but it aint light, either. Reporter the chicago area buried under ten inches of snow. This driver sliding sideways down the highway. Cars and semis stuck in their tracks in michigan. One person already killed near flint. Traffic at a crawl along i94 in kalamazoo, after this 38vehicle crash. Police in milwaukee posting this video, warning drivers against
going too fast. The same storm system flooding parts of southern texas. This is crazy. Not even a hurricane. Reporter heavy rain causing this river in nashville to overflow. And alex perez joining us live now from what looks like a very snowy chicago. As we just saw, some residents already dealing with up to ten inches of snow there, and now more is coming, alex . Reporter thats right, tom. It is hard to catch a break around here. We could see another one two three inches overnight on top of all this, before this storm pushes out. Tom . Alex perez for us tonight. Wait to go back to that developing flood threat. I want to welcome back meteorologist sam champion. Who is in danger tonight . Reporter its a good part of the south all the way up the east coast. This is another push of arctic air. Its a messy saturday night and really bad sunday. In chicago, yes, there will be more snow. But lets stick with the strong storms that are going on right now. Mardi gras going on in new orleans. Already had a Tornado Warning and a Severe Thunderstorm Warning on the coast of alabama. Right around new orleans, overnight tonight, some very heavy rain. Watch that rain as it starts to slide north. You can see from asheville, all the way into roanoke, washington, d. C. , new york. Where that rain gets in tonight, it stays. All night. And a good part of the day tomorrow. So, there will be street flooding. Then look just behind that. In that area where alex was, there will be a little light coating of snow there, about one to three inches of snow through chicagoland, tomorrow will be their ninth consecutive day of measurable snow. But the real problem, look at the pink there, from springfield, just south of indianapolis to canton, all the way into albany. Thats ice. And thats going to cause some real problems. Sam champion for us. Thank you so much. Lets turn now to that deadly flu epidemic. Startling new numbers about how dangerous and widespread this flu season really is. And tonight, a new concern about the flu, striking the same person twice. Heres abcs eva pilgrim. Reporter tonight, in texas, a special ed teacher is fighting for her life after getting two different strains of the flu at the same time. And he said if he recovered from this, that she could live a pretty normal life. But he didnt know if she would pull through it. Reporter 35yearold crystal whitley got a flu shot in october after giving birth to her son. She has no Underlying Health issues, but two weeks ago, she got the flu, then pneumonia in both lungs, and now a staph infection. She was able to mouth the words i love you and she kind of puckered her lips a little bit and blew me a kiss. Reporter the cdc now warning people, even if youve had the flu once, you could still get a second different strain. Type a cases are more than last year, as well, but when you put a and b together, you have a lot of sick people in the community. Reporter the governor of new york declaring a Public Health emergency, triggering free flu shot events to make sure people get vaccinated. Is your dad making you do it or you just want to do it on your own . I want to do it on my own. Reporter tom and jake handschuh, father and son, came together to get their shots. My wife got it done because
she just finished with radiation chemo and they wanted to give her the shot, so, i figured, let me do that, too. Reporter doctors telling us, they havent seen the peak yet. Each week seeing more flu cases than the week before. Tom . Incredible. We havent seen the peak yet. All right, eva, thank you. Next tonight, a Controversial Police chase in tennessee, and the new dash cam video that has a sheriff on the defense. What he commanded his deputies to do, and the apparent laughter after the deadly outcome. Abcs Zachary Kiesch with the growing backlash. Shots fired, shots fired. Reporter tonight, a tennessee family filing suit. At issue, was that shooting Excessive Force or were this sheriffs orderers justified . I said dont ram him, shoot them. Reporter this video obtained by wtvf shows sheriff oddie shoupe, who didnt know he was being recorded on body cam. At one point, you can even hear laughter. I love this [ bleep ]. God, i tell you what. I thrive on it. Reporter the incident happened back in april of 2017 in white county, tennessee, when deputies tried to pull dial over for driving on a suspended license. In the video, you can see as police try to pin down the vehicle. Tonight, the widow of the suspect, michael dial ii, in a suit arguing that deadly force didnt have to be used, alleging the sheriff preferred to shoot and kill mr. Dial, rather than risk damaging his patrol cars. The District Attorney slamming the sheriffs comments but adding their investigation found that charges against the responding officers were not warranted, because mr. Dial repeatedly, willingly and directly endangered the lives of civilian officers and Law Enforcement officers. The sheriff is still on the job. Tom . Zachary, thank you. We want to head overseas to theingi
israel and iran. Abcs Jennifer Eckels son reporting from london. Reporter tonight, israeli retaliation. Israels military releasing this video of f16 jets hitting military sites across syria. The targets, at least a dozen, both syrian and iranian. Including a launch vehicle that allegedly sent an iranian drone over israel, setting off the large scale counterattack. But israels air force also taking a hit. Antiaircraft fire from syria bringing down this jet. The pilots escaping with parachutes. This was a bold and provocative move by the iranians. The real risk here is that it turns into a broader conflict between israel and iran. Reporter tonight, israeli officials warning iran its playing with fire. But iran firing back, dismissing the claims they sent a drone into israel as quote, ridiculous. Syria calling the strikes on their territory an act of terror. The state department tonight blaming iran for the escalation of violence, saying it strongly supports israels sovereign right to defend itself. Tom . Jennifer eccleston. Thank you. To south korea now, and the Winter Olympics. High stakes diplomacy may be outshining the gold medal race. Kim jonguns sister, the klee player there. Abcs matt gutman leads our coverage from pyeongchang. Reporter history on the ice. North and south korea comp together in womens ice hockey. Cheered on by squads of north korean cheerleaders, the crowd chanting we are one. The team lost its debut, but these olympics have already won south korea something it hasnt had in over a decade a president ial invitation from a north korean leader. The invitation to the south extended by kim jonguns sister. And during those opening ceremonies laden with messages of peace, from giant dove shapes to john lennons imagine. And the world will live as one reporter she sat, barely an arms length away from Vice President mike pence. But not a single word exchanged. Another perceived american jab at the korean peace overtures, the Vice President , special guest at the olympics, the father of otto warm beewarmbier Young American who died after being imprisoned in north korea. In all, 2,952 athletes from 92 countries competing. The u. S. With its largest Winter Olympics team ever. Matt, it feels cold just looking at up. And weather a major concern for athletes and spectators. The dangerous cold and winds could delay competitiocompetiti . Reporter thats right, tom. It is 10 below zero right now. Front byite is a serious concer for athletes competing outdoors. Can probably seal the flag s whipping behind me. Gusts up to 40 miles an hour. The result, that could knock downhill skiers off their track, causing them to crash. One reason we might see a number of events postponed today. Tom . Matt, thank you. Still ahead on world news tonight this saturday, terror on the train. Police move in to stop an alleged arsonist before its too late. Plus, a new winter scam warning. Tonight, well tell you the one way to know youre being duped. Tonight, the neighborhood if fear of being swallowed by a massive sinkhole. Well take you there. Stay with us. We the people. Are defined by the things we share. And the ones we love. Who never stop wondering what well do or where well go next. We the people who are Better Together than we are alone. Are unstoppable. Welcome to the entirely new expedition. If you could see your cough. Its just a cough. Youd see how often you cough all day. And so would everyone else. Robitussin delivers fast, powerful relief to fight your cough in 12 hour shifts. Robitussin 12 hour cough relief, because its never just a cough. Robitussin 12 hour cough relief, you might be missing something. Y healthy. Your eyes. Thats why theres ocuvite. Ocuvite helps replenish nutrients your eyes can lose as you age. It has lutein, zeaxanthin and omega3. Ocuvite. Be good to your eyes. I thought i was managing my moderate to severe ulcerative colitis. But i realized something was missing. Me. The thought of my symptoms returning was keeping me from being there for the people and things i love most. So, i talked to my doctor and learned humira can help get, and keep,uc under control when other medications havent worked well enough. And it helps people achieve control that lasts so you could experience few or no symptoms. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Be there for you, and them. Ask your gastroenterologist about humira. With humira, control is possible. Welcome back. With such a rough winter hitting
so many, heating bills can be through the roof. But be careful. Tonight, theres a new scam out there, and it could cost you hundreds. Abcs Stephanie Ramos with how to protect yourself, and your money. Reporter tonight, with cold temperatures impacts millions of people, phone scammers are using a new tactic to take your money. Barbara lehman once thought shed never get duped into paying a scammer. Why would anybody fall for this stuff . Oh my goodness. Now i know. Reporter but she did when a caller told her he was from the American ElectricPower Company and asked her to pay 350 bucks as part of a new policy on deposits. At first, she was suspicious. I said, im going to call the company and check on this. Reporter so, the scammers gave her a direct number to call, easing her fears, and when she thought she was speaking with another employee from the electric company, she gave up her credit card number. He said, well, i tell you what, if you dont pay this, were shutting off your electricity. Reporter according to the federal trade commission, if you feel pressured for immediate payment or personal information, hang up the phone and call customer service. Never give out personal information if you get that call. Tom . Some good tips tonight. Thank you, stephanie. And up next, were following breaking news out of ohio. Two officers killed in the line of duty outside of columbus. Well have details of what brought the officers to th