and we do say good morning to you, everybody, on this thursday. we're going to start with that big moment happening right now today, the first face-to-face meeting between the new administration and a russian leader. >> secretary of state rex tillerson sits down with russia's foreign minister in a meeting that could offer some guidance about how president trump intends to deal with moscow. >> now, this comes as more lawmakers are demanding answers into the trump team's russian ties and as president trump tries to shift the blame for the dismissal of his former national security adviser. today for the first time a high-level trump administration official will come face-to-face with a russian authority when secretary of state rex tillerson meets his russian counterpart in germany, but it's the secret meetings with trump campaign officials and russian operatives that everyone is talking about. everyone except the president. >> mr. president, can you guarantee that nobody on your campaign had any contact with the russians? mr. president, any questions on russia? mr. president -- >> reporter: the bombshell russian revelations as the administration is still reeling from the dismissal of national security adviser michael flynn for deceiving the vice president about his conversations with the russian ambassador. instead of refuting the flynn allegations, the president went on the attack. >> general flynn is a wonderful man. i think he's been treated very, very unfairly by the media, as i call it, the fake media in many cases, and i think it's really a sad thing that he was treated so badly. >> reporter: taking that cue house republicans now calling for an investigation into the leaks surrounding the ouster of flynn, not the actual communications themselves. overnight top committee chair jason chaffetz calling for the inspector general to get involved. but some republican senators are more concerned about the chaos and dysfunction at the white house this week. >> you don't know who is in charge. this flynn situation, the whole environment is one of dysfunction in the trump administration. >> reporter: the president's answer to all of this, announcing overnight his first re-election campaign rally scheduled for this weekend in florida. so less than four weeks in looking forward to 2020. but the president clearly has a lot on his plate and add to the list finding a new secretary for labor nominee. >> fast food executive andrew puzder is withdrawing his nomination and that decision comes amid news of a messy divorce and an interview his ex-wife did on "the oprah winfrey show." stephanie ramos has more. >> reporter: kendis and diane, good morning. andrew puzder's nomination hearing was supposed to start today, but that all changed when he became the president's first nominee to withdraw his nomination. puzder, the ceo of the company that owns hardee's and carl's jr.'s said in a statement yesterday, after careful consideration and discussions with my family, i am withdrawing my nomination for secretary of labor. he's been under fire for his personal life after this video surfaced of his ex-wife in a 1990 taping of "oprah." she's seen wearing a disguise talking about their messy divorce and describing what she says was domestic abuse. >> that was the most frightening thing was leaving because once i made that break and once i made it public and, remember, my ex-husband was a public figure, everyone knew him and knew what he was doing, and once i made that public, he vowed revenge. he said, i will see you in the gutter. >> reporter: senators also questioned puzder's business record. he once said he prefers robots over humans because, quote, they're always polite and never take a vacation. puzder also faced questions after admitting he employed an undocumented housekeeper. he says it was an honor to be considered and the white house has not yet announced a replacement nominee. kendis, diane, back over to you. >> all right. that's stephanie ramos live in washington for us. stephanie, thanks. in a departure from previous white house policies, president trump is backing away from support for palestinian statehood. during that joint news briefing with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu, the president said he would support one state or two, whichever makes both parties happy. he also put netanyahu on the spot suggesting he hold back on settlements in the west bank. >> as far as settlements, i'd like to see you hold back on settlements for a little bit. we'll work something out, but i would like to see a deal be made, so let's see what we do. >> let's try. >> that doesn't sound too optimistic. he's a good negotiator. >> that's the art of the deal. >> i guess he read his book. overnight while meeting with senate leaders, netanyahu dodged questions about the settlements saying only that he would continue working toward an understanding that he says is consistent with the pursuit of peace and security. the u.s. military is keeping an eye on a russian spy ship that's been moving along the east coast. it was last seen about 30 miles from america's biggest submarine base in connecticut, and this is believed to be the fourth time since 2014 that russian spy ships have hovered near u.s. navy bases. the ship has remained in international waters. breaking overnight, new arrests in the murder of north korean leader kim jong-un's half brother. police in malaysia have arrested at least two more people in connection with the case after kim jong-nam was apparently poisoned by a pair of assassins. he was about to board a flight in kuala lumpur when two women sprayed a chemical in his face. kim was once viewed as a possible successor to his late father. mother nature has a new test on the way for the oroville dam in california. a storm system could bring another two inches of rain to the area this morning. crews are still trying to solidify the dam and the damaged spillway. the water level in the lake there has dropped more than 20 feet since officials began releasing nearly 45 million gallons per minute. the storm over oroville is going to bring some heavy rains all along the west coast as well from san francisco up to portland, oregon. some areas could see as much as 6 inches of rain. in the east new england is bracing for another snowstorm. the weather system stretches from new york all the way to maine and as much as a foot could fall in some parts. well, still ahead the new method that's predicting autism before age 1. and the murder mystery after two 13-year-old girls were killed while on a hike. we have details on the desperate earch for their killer and surveillance video of the man police now want to speak with. plus, thousands of people in tokyo are donating their phones. what it has to do with the next summer olympic games. in san francisco a 2,000-pound concrete slab that was threatening to fall from the roof of a high-rise has been stabilized. some streets were re-opened and evacuation orders were lifted in most buildings. a nationwide boycott today called a day without immigrants. the idea is to skip work, stay home from school and hold off shopping to show how important immigrants are to the economy. now, hundreds of businesses nationwide will be closed as a result today. the protest comes as a response to president trump and his pledge to increase the deportation of undocumented immigrants. a mexican born woman has taken refuge in a denver church hoping to avoid deportation. jeanette vizguerra has lived and worked in the u.s. for 20 years but skipped a routine check-in with immigration officials yesterday. set up as a result of two misdemeanor convictions including one for making up a social security number in order to get a job. >> this punishment ripping a human being out of her family, taking her away from her children, shipping her to a country she has not been in for 20 years is absolutely obscene compared to what she did. >> supporters rallied in front of the immigration center where officials denied her request to stay in the u.s. they say vizguerra became an enforcement priority because of her two misdemeanors adding a judge had issued final deportations for her back in 2011. and some troubling news about hate groups in the u.s. according to the southern poverty law center the number of extremist groups rose for the second straight year in 2016. the center's annual report shows an increase of about 3%. it blamed that rise on the mainstream of far right rhetoric by donald trump's presidential campaign. well, facebook is getting into job postings. some new features allow businesses to post openings and those seeking work to search for those new positions. facebook says the new features are aimed at small and medium-sized businesses that sometimes struggle to find the right people to hire. businesses can pay for ads that will boost the reach of their job listings. and this was the scene in tokyo this morning. people handing in their old mobile phones. they are being collected in order to gather two tons of gold, silver and bronze. maybe you know where this is going. the metals will be used to create thousands of medals that will be awarded at the tokyo summer olympics in three years. organizers say the project is all about promoting sustainability. >> so you'd be like that's my star tech and my nokia. ooh. are the medals going to ring? >> exactly. is that cool? when we come back, a plane forced to make an emergency landing after hitting, well, wait till you see. the reaction coming in from passengers overnight. lucky escape. a police officer narrowly avoids being in the path of a tornado. for lower back pain sufferers, the search for relief often leads... here... here... or here. today, there's another option. drug-free aleve direct therapy. a tens device with high intensity power that uses technology once only available in doctors' offices. its wireless remote lets you control the intensity, and helps you 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(child giggles) symbicort. breathe better starting within 5 minutes. get symbicort free for up to one year. visit saveonsymbicort.com today to learn more. watch this. a security camera rolling when a police cruiser raced across a school parking lot just ahead of a giant tornado in southeastern texas. the officer did make it to safety with only moments though to spare. that twister was one of six to touch down in that area. and some major trouble spots for this morning's commute especially on the west coast where heavy rain is already falling. also expect some icy roadways in the upper northwest. and if you're flying, weather-related airport delays possible in san francisco, boston and new york. the case of two missing teenage girls in indiana now considered a double homicide investigation. the bodies of liberty german and abigail williams discovered near a creek. they disappeared after going hiking on monday. >> now, police are asking for for help in identifying someone they want to interview about this case. abc's alex perez has more. >> reporter: mystery in a small town. indiana authorities on the hunt for a killer after the horrifying murders of 13-year-old abigail williams and 14-year-old liberty german. about 1:00 p.m. monday a family member dropped the girls off for a hike along this nature trail delphi, indiana. at 2:07 liberty snapchatting this picture and a loved one went to pick them up at 3:30, but never showed up. by 12:15 tuesday their worst fears confirmed. >> they were found deceased back here in the woods. >> reporter: overnight authorities releasing this image of a man they'd like to speak with. investigators believe he was on the trail around the same time as the girls. alex perez, abc news, delphi, indiana. >> so sad for those two families. should point out that alex will be live with the latest on "good morning america." now to those tense moments for flyers as an american eagle flight makes an emergency landing after, get this, striking a deer during takeoff. deer? the mississippi bound jet started leaking fuel and returned to the airport in charlotte. passengers and crew members, nearly 50 people, got off the plane and the plane was sprayed with foam. the damage to the right wing of the aircraft clearly visible. >> it was pretty loud. it didn't just sound like a street bump, it was boom. we saw smoke and checked the landing gear and made sure everything was out and then we landed safely. >> so, the deer didn't make it, obviously, but everyone on board was okay. but get this, it might seem like a rarity, but there was a similar collision between a deer and a 737 in charlotte a few years ago. >> it caused that much damage? they sure it wasn't a moose. that is a big deer. >> a little farther north. researchers may have made a major breakthrough in detecting autism. a new study finds that brain scans might help predict autism in infants before symptoms appear. researchers used magnetic resonance imaging to examine the brains of high-risk infants and they were able to correctly predict 80% of those who would later meet the criteria for the disorder. so changes coming to the buildup to march madness. for this time -- the first time in office former president obama met with espn to fill out the bracket for the men's and women's ncaa basketball tournament. >> so espn asked about continuing that tradition with president trump, but the white house has respectfully declined the offer. >> ah. >> as for last night's nba basketball, which the president clearly will not be betting on, here are some highlights with our friends at espn. >> good morning. welcome to "sportscenter" here in los angeles. stan verrett along with neil everett. nba heading to the all-star game. the top two teams still looking like it. >> i wanted to do blazers/jazz because there was a guy in a stockton jersey. but i got overruled so instead we're going with the warriors. i mean, what do they have, like four all-stars. oh, yeah, they do. one of them is klay thompson. one of them is steph curry. skinny pop. one of them is kevin durant. sonic blast. the other one is draymond green who was ejected. javale mcgee playing the role of draymond green. warriors win by many. how about cavaliers. taking on the pacers. dick vitale and bill walton helping to call the game. >> look at lebron. get them out of here. >> lebron james and kyle korver. yeah, check out james working on glenn robinson. look at the footwork. 31 points. kyle korver. >> you know who he looks like? >> who? >> ashton kutcher. >> kyle korver, yeah. look at this, korver just got there, but he's not afraid, six threes for korver in this game. cavaliers win, 113-104. jazz beat the blazers, 111-88. >> had to get that in. that's all we got. back to you. >> all right, fellas. well, up next in "the pulse," just wait until you hear what was found inside an old tv just before it was turned into scrap. and see what happens when a wife donates her husband's shirt with something very valuable in the pocket. whoops. smartphones? o m g ten years later, nothing's really changed. it's time to snap out of it. hello moto. snap on a jbl speaker. put a 70" screen on a wall. get a 10x optical zoom. get excited world. hello moto. moto is here. the moto z with moto mods. get a moto z play droid for only $5/mo. no trade-in required. and the golden retriever tare very different.er they eat, digest, and process energy differently. at royal canin, we developed over 200 precise formulas to transform every cat and dog into a magnificient animal. royal canin. befi was a doer.gia, i was active. then the chronic, widespread pain drained my energy. my doctor said moving more helps ease fibromyalgia pain. she also prescribed lyrica. fibromyalgia is thought to be the result of overactive nerves. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. for some, lyrica can significantly relieve fibromyalgia pain and improve function, so i feel better. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. with less pain, i can be more active. ask your doctor about lyrica. wait... wait... perfect. at del monte, corn is packed at the peak of freshness with just water and a dash of sea salt. nothing else. so it's all-natural and delicious. ♪ i say oh what a beautiful morning ♪ ♪ yeah what a wonderful day ♪ i got a beautiful feeling i got everything ♪ ♪ i got everything ♪ whoo everything's going my way ♪ >> good morning, america. a lot of news to get to this morning. ♪ time to check "the pulse" starting with a little girl who has big dreams. >> that's right. chloe bridgewater's dad said she has become obsessed with the idea of working at google, this after learning that employees there enjoy perks like bean bag chairs, go-karts and slides. >> i don't blame her. imagine if she knew about the free snacks. so, she sat down and wrote a letter to google asking for a job, and surprise, surprise, she got a response from google's ceo. >> more than most job applicants. >> exactly. well, he told her he looks forward to interviewing her when she finishes school. >> oh, not quite yet. as she titled it, dear google boss. and sometimes hiding places can be a little too good. >> a canadian man put more than 100,000 grand inside an old tv three decades ago. then forgot about it and gave the television to a friend. that set recently showed up at a recycling plant north of toronto and workers found the cash. >> now, here's the thing, canadians are known for being polite. these guys followed suit. they called the police and found the original owner. police hope he puts the money in the bank this time. >> that would be smarter. >> just have to fit it in a flat screen, though, right? >> by the way, it's worth eight times what it was back then. >> oh. and some anxious moments all because of a clothing donation that went horribly wrong, the theme here. linda hoffman made that donation at a goodwill near l.a. >> what linda didn't know is in the pocket of one of her husband's old shirts, there was $8,000 in cash. when he realized the shirt was gone, he told linda about the money. >> desperate search turned up nothing. the next day a goodwill worker found the cash and returned it. >> ah, it's not just canadians. >> americans too. we're nice people. >> they're going to italy. ...the more i live... ...the younger i am. advanced génifique by lancôme. every serum drop infuses youthful radiance throughout the skin. patented until 2029. advanced génifique. lancôme. customize your free 7-piece gift. available now at macy's. maybe almond breeze tastes because it's the only almondmilk made with california-grown blue diamond almonds. of course, if you ask one of our almond growers... there's no maybe about it. almond breeze. the best almonds make the best almondmilk. 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