Even greeting americans wingtip to wingtip. Mothers day washout. The northeast bracing for a new storm this holiday weekend, the center of the country slammed overnight. At least four reported tornadoes tearing through the south, and dangerous flooding in colorado forcing this family to be airlifted. Now that system moving east this morning. And surrounded by sharks. The shocking image captured from the sky. The Sheriffs Department warning swimmers below. Youre paddleboarding next to approximately 15 great white sharks. New concerns about california beaches with sharks swarming the coastline. Good morning, america. Happy friday to everybody. Great to have david muir here with us. Great to be here. Kicking off a friday. Cant imagine being on a paddle board and being told 15 sharks are there. I think that would make me panic even more. Already a scary sight to see that in the water but done thats right below you, to take a plunge. Who knows . A busy day in washington. All eyes on President Trump today after the firing of james comey. Hes meeting with top security staff, h. R. Mcmaster, the security adviser. And then john kelly. As the firestorm grows over the decision to fire comey. The Deputy Attorney general rod rosenstein, hes been asked to brief senators. Some senators asking to hear from attorney general Jeff Sessions about his role. Of course this morning, the search is now on for a replacement for comey. At least five candidates are being considered for the interim director role. And this morning we are learning more about how comey reacted to being let go as President Trump contradicts his administration, admitting he was, indeed, thinking about the russia investigation when he made his decision. Our chief White House Correspondent jon karl has new details. He joins us from washington. Good morning, jon. Reporter good morning, robin. President trump is now acknowledging that the investigation into russia ties with his campaign, an investigation that the fbi was overseeing, was on his mind when he fired james comey. When i decided to just do it, i said to myself, i said, you know, this russia thing with trump and russia is a madeup story. Its an excuse by the democrats for having lost an election that they should have won. Reporter President Trump now acknowledges that when he fired his fbi director, he was thinking about the investigation into russian meddling in the 2016 election. But he says he still wants the bureau to see that investigation through. If russia or anybody else is trying to interfere with our elections, i think its a horrible thing. And i want to get to the bottom of it. I want to make sure it will never, ever happen. Reporter trump insists in the interview with nbc he never urged james comey to put the investigation to an end. Did you ask him to drop the investigation . No, never. Did anyone from the white house no, in fact, i want the investigation speeded up. Did anyone from the white house ask him to end the investigation . No, why would they do that . Any surrogates on the white house behalf . Not that i know of. I want to find out if there was a problem with an election having to do with russia. Or by the way, anybody else. Any other country. Reporter democrats arent buying it. I think the reality is this has everything to do with the russia investigation and the president s discomfort with comey leading that investigation. It may well produce impeachment proceedings. Were very far from that possibility. Reporter in his letter firing comey, the president claimed the fbi director told him three times that he was not personally under investigation. Trump says the first time was over dinner at the white house. A dinner he says he believes comey requested. He wanted to stay on as the fbi head. And i said, ill consider. Well see what happens. But, we had a very nice dinner. Reporter trump says in two separate phone calls with comey, he was told he is in the clear. I said, if its possible, would you let me know, am i under investigation . He said, youre not under investigation. I know that im not under investigation. Me, personally. Im not talking about campaigns or anything else. Im not under investigation. Reporter as for why trump decided to fire comey, the president in the interview contradicted what his senior staff has been saying for days, that the decision was triggered by Deputy Attorney general rod rosenstein. He provided strong leadership to act on the recommendation of the attorney general. He made a recommendation, but regardless, i was going to fire comey. Reporter i asked the White House Deputy press secretary to explain those two sharply contrasting accounts. Why were so many people giving answers that were not correct . Were you guys in the dark . I know you would love to report that we were misled reporter you gave answers that werent true. I have had several conversations with the president. I had several conversations with him but i didnt ask that question directly. Reporter was the Vice President in the dark, too . Nobody was in the dark, jonathan. Our story is consistent. Reporter the president just took a shot at james comey on twitter, tweeting, james comey better hope there are no tapes of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press. The president is also this morning tweeting about the continradictions from his own spokes people, saying, quote, as a very active president with lots of things happening, it is not possible for my surrogates to stand at the podium with perfect accuracy. Then he floats the idea of stopping press briefings all together. David . Lets bring in matthew dowd and john avlon. The president said, when i decided to do it, this russia thing with trump and russia is a madeup story. The president said about firing james comey, when i decided to do it, this thing about russia was a madeup story. It seems russia was, in fact, the motivating factor here. David, i noted at the top of the showing a story of somebody on a paddle board with sharks underneath. The president is on a paddle board. Hes throwing chum in the water. This is exceedingly problematic for the president. I know we often dont like to use superlatives. But theyre the best way to examine this. This president has a huge credibility problem. Matt, the white house, for a full 24 hours, told the American People the firing was in large part about james comeys handling of Hillary Clintons emails. That comey overstepped his role, that she was mistreated, that it wasnt about russia. What about credibility here . Its not only the president with credibility problems. He has everybody, including the Vice President of the united states, as jon karl pointed out in his piece, that he has demonstrated an ability to mislead the public or not be in the loop enough or the president not relate to him enough actually what happened to him in this. Its a problem. It will be a real problem if theres ever a crisis, international or domestic, where that credibility is key to explaining things to the american public. Lets bring in john here. There were a number of conversations with james comey, two on the phone. One at dinner. The president said, if its possible, would you let me know, am i under investigation . Heres comey, trying to keep his job, the president says. Hes also leading the russia investigation. Is there a conflict of interest here when you have the president asking, am i under investigation . Theres clearly a conflict of interest. The reports are that one of the actions that comey had taken in the days leading up to his firing was asking for more resources, a ratcheting up of the investigation. This is where things go from surreal to serious. Because there have become questions of what is the standard of obstruction in an Ongoing Investigation . Clearly, the president was frustrated by the focus on russia. And in his own words, had made up his mind to fire the fbi director, an unprecedented action, before the report was given to him. Regardless of the recommendation, i was going to fire him. Thats right. Thank you both. Robin . President trump is not holding back in his criticism of the ouster of james comey. Calling him a showboat, saying he left the fbi in quote, turmoil. The fbi is responding. Our senior justice correspondent Pierre Thomas has new reporting for us. Good morning, pierre. Reporter good morning, robin. Sources tell me that comey was furious about the way he was fired. He never got a phone call. The white house showed him no respect. This week, hes decided not to respond in kind. One source told me last night hes not sure how long that restraint will last, given some of the remarks trashing him from the white house. Inside the fbi this morning, agents are rejecting the president s claim that comey did not have broad support and that their agency is in disarray. The president of the united states, speaking of the former fbi director in a dismissive, derogatory tone. Look, hes a showboat. Hes grandstander. Reporter abc news has learned many agents are offended by the remarks and believe that former director james comey is being shabbily and dont like the manner in which he was fired. President trump made clear he believes the fbi was being poorly served under comey, in a state of disarray. The fbi has been in turmoil. You know that. I know that. Everyone knows that. I also want to have a really competent, capable director. Hes not. Reporter on capitol hill thursday, the acting fbi director was painting a completely different picture. Is it accurate that the rank and file no longer supported director comey . No, sir, that is not accurate. I can confidently tell you the majority, the vast majority of fbi employees, enjoyed a deep and positive connection to director comey. I can tell you also that director comey enjoyed broad support within the fbi. And still does to this day. Reporter as for a replacement for comey, the president says his search is very much under way. I want somebody who is going to do a great job. And i will tell you, were looking at candidates right now who could be spectacular. And thats what i want for the fbi. Reporter in the meantime, the acting director says the investigation into russian meddling and whether there are ties to Trump Associates is not going to stop. Has the dismissal of mr. Comey in any way impeded, interrupted, stopped or negatively impacted any of the work, any investigation, or any ongoing projects at the federal bureau of investigation . The work of the men and women of the fbi continues, despite any changes in circumstances. There had been no effort to impede our investigation to date. Simply put, sir, you cannot stop the men and women of the fbi from doing the right thing. Reporter white house officials have suggested that the president might go to fbi headquarters in the next few days, possibly as early as today. A white house spokesperson tells abc news that the president wont be going to fbi headquarters today but he is considering a trip there in the near future. Thank you, pierre. We bring in dan abrams and sara fagen. Let me start with you first. We heard in jon karls report, and david alluded to this, too. Donald trump saying that comey told him three times that he was not under investigation, is is that plausible . Look, federal prosecutors do tell people oh their lawyers as well youre not the target of the investigation. That happens all the time. The issue is that can change in the context of the investigation. And so, the notion that we now know that the fbi is investigating russia possible russian interference in the election and the possible role of the Trump Campaign, the notion that james comey would have told donald trump youre not under investigation is not just implausible. I have known comey in over two decades in a professional context. I dont believe it. I just dont believe it happened. He wouldnt do it. Hes too careful to say youre not under investigation in connection with something that they are investigating more broadly. With all that youre saying, if all that youre saying is true, could this hurt the president or his associates in the investigation . Its never helpful to have fbi agents angry with you. You heard from the testimony of mccabe a moment ago. You dont want the fbi mad at you when theyre investigating. Is that going to determine the outcome of this investigation . No. But it is certainly not helpful to lose the rank and file the way it certainly sounds like the administration has. Lets bring in sara. I heard you talking about the president s actions, and baffling is the word you used. Do you think his actions were purposeful, calculated, or strictly emotional . I think theyre very emotional. This was a huge miscalculation by President Trump. What he needs to get his agenda through congress and keep republicans and some democrats all rowing in one direction is for this to go away. By having multiple people on the staff telling different stories, by having the fbi engage if conversation in the press, theres going to be, im sure, leaks that keep coming here because of all of this, this story is going to potentially build for him. He needs an independent Investigative Organization to clear his name. Hes now lengthened the time in which that will take place, if it does, in fact, happen. Do you think things settle down once he nominates a new fbi director . Possibly. This is an important move for donald trump. He has to put somebody as head of the fbi who is completely above reproach, above partisan politics in any way. He may be well served to go to somebody like former fbi director bob miller and ask him to take in for six months and clear up this russia thing. Well see what happens. Thank you so much, sara, and dan, as well. Michael . Thank you, robin. We turn to the storms moving in this mothers day weekend that have the east coast on alert. Lets go to ginger for the latest. Good morning. Good morning, michael. Goodness gracious. I wish i had better news for everybody on the east coast. But i dont. Ill show you that in a moment. First, the same storm that tracked through parts of the rockies, thats pueblo county, colorado. Rivers taking out roads. This family had the to be rescued. They were driving, picked up, and brought out by the National Guard thankfully. There was damage in oklahoma, almost 100 severe storm reports in oklahoma. That storm moves east. Were going to see flood watches in parts of arkansas all the way to west virginia. Look at that drencher. Coming up saturday, especially. Thats saturday 8 00 a. M. Sunday, windy and nasty. Back to you, michael. Thank you, ginger. Spend time at home with your mom indoors. Thats right. Amy, you join was the other stop stories. Including that Close Encounter yoefrsz. We begin with word that a russian fighter jet came within 20 feet of a u. S. Navy plane in the black sea this week. The american plane was conducting routine operations when the russian jet flew in a parallel direction coming wing tip to wing tip, prompting the u. S. Plane to change course. The approach was still safe and professional, unlike some others. Breaking news out of texas. About 100 homes evacuated in beach city, just east of houston, after lightning struck these oil tankers, igniting a massive fire. Homes within a half mile radius have been evacuated as a precaution. No injuries are reported so far. A delicate rescue in southern california. Crews air lifted this 1200pound horse out of a ravine off its rider fell off a hiking trail. Thankfully both are okay this morning. Finally, change is coming to the candy industry. Several Major Companies have now agreed to print the calorie count on the front of their packaging. What . Dont do it. So when you reach for your m ms, snickers, skittles, youll clearly see just how many calories youre packing on. Do we really want to know . Thats not going stop us. I know there are a lot of unhealthy calories in there. Im going to eat them anyway. Im going to be proud of it. Wont stop us. I work out to eat. There you go, amy. I do, too. You cant outrun a bad diet, thats the problem. We go to the scare in the water. More than a dozen sharks spotted off the coast of california. Abcs diane macedo has that story. Reporter its the last thing you want to hear while enjoying a day at the beach. Youre paddleboarding next to approximately 15 great white sharks. Reporter in this newly released video from the Orange CountySheriffs Department, more than a dozen great white sharks are spotted swimming along the shore, dangerously close to some of southern californias most popular beaches. Exit the water in a calm manner. The sharks are as close as the surf line. Reporter everyone is ordered to stay on the shore. Please be advised this area is heavily populated at the moment with large great white sharks. Please stay out of the water. Reporter one of several recent shark sightings in california. Including san onofre beach where last month a woman was nearly killed by a shark. I dont think ill go in again. Reporter Scientists Say the ocean has been so warm, the sharks have stayed put instead of migrating to mexico. Beaches are on high alert until at least saturday. For Good Morning America, diane macedo, abc news. The guy who said hell never go in again, i think were on the same program. I just got off the phone with the National Weather service there by the way. They told me the waters are warmer. Lets get to the weekend get aways. Good morning. Im meteorologist mike nicco from abc7 mornings. Sunny and breezy and cooler than average today through mothers day. Weekend nice. 40s in the valleys. Warmth like 80s next week. Todays temperatures upper 50s near 60 at the coast. 63 to 68 around the bay and 65 to 70 inland. Check out the temperatures tonight. Wont be quite as breezy as it will be today but look at that 43 to 50. My accuw coming up, President Trump after hours. A rare glimpse inside his white house and the place no cameras are allowed. Are you serious . Wait mama, youre going to be an abuela your face yeah, this is how she tells me it can seem like triggers pop up everywhere. Luckily theres powerful, 24hour, nondrowsy claritin. It provides relief of symptoms that can be triggered by over