Transcripts For KGO Good Morning America 20240714 : vimarsan

Statue of liberty, major airports and bostons fenway park targeted. Fireworks overnight. The president s lawyer, rudy giuliani, admits he asked ukraine to look into former Vice President joe biden as new details emerge about the allegations an unnamed whistleblower made against the president. The new video of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in blackface again. The third incident now discovered. Will his apology be enough to keep him in office . Its here. As apple fanatics line up around the globe will the new iphone 11 camera and threelens slofie be a hit . Hawkeye hero. The Iowa College Football fan who just wanted beer money. Now using his Viral Campaign to help children in a huge way. Hes here live only on gma this morning. Yeah, its a party in the usa yeah good morning, america. Great to have you with us on this friday morning. Cannot wait to talk to that college student, carson king, whose sign went viral. Yeah. He has raised a lot of money, and hes doing something really great. It started about beer. Dateast. Hes raised so much money. Well hear from him. Were looking forward to that. Speaking of students there are some really extraordinary scenes happening right now as that worldwide walkout gets under way, and its really being led by teens. You can see them there. Thats berlin, all taking on climate change. Look at that crowd, wow. Triegs trying to make a difference. Before we get to that, we are going to begin with that deadly flooding disaster in texas. Hundreds of people rescued. Rob marciano is in houston with the very latest and its a tough time for my hometown, rob. How are you doing . Reporter good morning, michael. You of all people certainly know how vulnerable this city is to flooding but honestly, this was an event that would have flooded any city. A record day of rainfall here for september. It resulted in hundreds of rescues, hundreds of cars being rescued. This after a day across Southeast Texas that was nothing short of mayhem. Reporter this morning, officials in Harris County are saying more than a thousand people here have been rescued so far. Coast guard helicopter crews met patients and evacuated them out of the flood zone using everything from airboats, tractors and dump trucks to pull people and pets to safety. When you get there and you see rivers of water flowing into these neighborhoods and impacting dozens of homes, it really is hescene. Reporter guests and employees trapped by rising waters in this beaumont hotel. Children at some houston schools were told to shelter in place. It was total chaos on the roadways as parents tried to reach their kids in a day that saw as much as nine inches of rain. Stalled out cars littering the streets and police recovering over 200 vehicles. Neighbors lending hands, pushing drivers free where they can. Even i chipped in. One, two, three. Two cars stalling right in front of us in less than five minute. This is one intersection. All around this city cars are abandoned. It is an absolute standstill nightmare. Reporter major freeways impassable. Traffic at a standstill. Hundreds of people stuck on the freeway for hours. Water rising to the door handles of suvs. Were only seeing the very rooftops. Reporter drivers abandoning their vehicles. Everybody was like, get out of the car, get out of the car. Its about to get higher and history. Reporter climbing ladders to the overpass to escape to higher ground. North of houston, Rushing Waters spinning this car like a top. The driver escaping through the window. This high schooler jumping into action saving a mother and her toddler when their car begin to sink in a ditch. I kicked my slides off and i took my i. D. Off and my wallet and i just ran across all the cars. I didnt care there were cars coming. I dived into the water. Reporter at the citys biggest airport a complete groundstop for a time. Nearly 800 Flights Canceled after getting more than 6 inches of rain in just two hours. Cars and buses submerged on the roads to the terminals. The access road beyond that point is under water which stuc. The airport is set to reopen today but schools are closed and obviously its going to be difficult just getting around here. As a matter of fact, i10 east of here is shut down because a barge a couple of barges slammed into a bridge and theyre inspecting it for safety. This is reminiscent of Hurricane Harvey two years ago and obviously for the people who live here this event across Southeast Texas came way too quickly. Michael . Thank you, rob. They have been going through a lot there. Thank so much for that. It is not over yet. More rain is in the forecast this morning. And ginger is tracking the latest. Good morning, ginger. If those pictures didnt tell you how big of a deal this was, imelda now the seventh most rain ever in a tropical system in the united states. So harvey is number one and there are only six others before that. Gosh, i so want to show you where the heaviest rain fell, it was east of houston and north closest to conroe, winnie taking it to beaumont. Thats why i10 was shut down there. In just 12 hours and thats why we still have flood warnings out there. But also because we could get another inch of rain. We have more tropical moisture, tom, fueling into Southeast Texas through the day today. Even an inch could put more water on top of something that is so saturated. So true, well keep an eye on houston all weekend. Ginger, thank you. Now to that terror arrest. Disturbing new details about a new jersey man accused of scouting dozens of highprofile locations for possible attacks including the statue of liberty, the u. S. Capitol and places like the George Washington bridge. Whit johnson is there this morning. Whit, good morning. Reporter tom, good morning to you. Prosecutors say alexei saab trained with hezbollah overseas and then came to the u. S. Before 9 11 even happened. For nearly two decades he was accused of conducting surveillance on socalled hot spots like the George Washington bridge behind me here and then feeding that information back to say some of americas most iconic landmarks were watched and scouted for possible attacks. Times square, the statue of liberty, the u. N. , major airports and bridges, dozens of locations in new york alone. This morning, 42yearold alexei saab under arrest accused of supporting hezbollah. Hezbollah is a terrorist organization thats controlled and funded by iran. Theyre across the world. They have been associated or involved in a number of attacks. Reporter the fbi says its now recovering photos and videos from saabs devices, depicting highly populated locations in other major cities like bostons fenway park and the u. S. Capitol where they say he looked for structural weaknesses to maximize damage. Saab was living in new jersey. Investigators say he came to the u. S. In 2000, applied for citizenship in 2005, becoming a naturalized citizen just three years later. Authorities say he traveled to lebanon ten times in 17 years getting extensive weapons training, ak47s, m16s and bombmaking. Court documents showing drawings saab allegedly made of explosives. Its those kind of locations theyre looking for because they want to inflict maximum fear and then potentially maximum economic damage on the united states. Reporter prosecutors also say that saab attempted to murder a man he suspected to be an israeli spy and then he confessed to a sham marriage in which he was allegedly paid 20,000 to marry a woman he hardly knew to try to gain her citizenship. If convicted he faces years in prison. Tom. All right, whit, thanks so much. Cecilia. Okay, tom. To washington now with those new developments in the case of the whistleblower who lodged a complaint about President Trump and his phone call with a foreign leader. Abc news now learned that call was to the president of ukraine. Overnight President Trumps personal attorney coming to his defense in an explosive interview. Our chief justice correspondent Pierre Thomas has the very latest. Reporter this morning, multiple sources telling abc news that whistleblower complaint involved a phone call between President Trump and the president of ukraine earlier this summer. While we dont yet know the details of the call, the Washington Post reports the president made a promise to a foreign leader alarming one Administration Official who filed a complaint with the Inspector General of the intelligence community. The latest accusation will only fuel the concerns of House Democrats who were already investigating whether President Trump and his personal attorney, rudy giuliani, were pressuring ukrainian officials to look into Vice President joe bidens diplomatic efforts in that country when his son was doing business there during the obama administration. Overnight giuliani at first denied those allegations. Did you ask the ukraine to investigate joe biden . No, actually i didnt. Reporter then seconds later admitting he did just that. You did ask ukraine to look into joe biden. Of course, i did. You just said you didnt. Reporter house intelligence chairman adam schiff is alleging a coverup after the acting director of National Intelligence and the Justice Department blocked the Inspector General from sharing the whistleblowers complaint with congress. In a letter to acting intelligence director joseph maguire, it was bluntly stated that maguire and other state officials were trying to protect the president. Do you stand by the statement in your letter . It likely involves either the president or people around him. Reporter but giuliani showing utter contempt for schiff and any congressional investigation. If adam schiff sent me a letter i would just tear it up and throw it away. Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course, of course. Reporter this morning the president weighing in tweet, quote, there was nothing said wrong with a certain foreign leader, suggesting the complaint is from highly partisan whistleblowers. Michael . Michael . Thank you very much. Now to the global protest thats under way right now. Students and workers all around the world are flooding the streets, demanding action on climate change. Maggie rulli is at a demonstration in london with the latest. Reporter were here with thousands of protesters right underneath parliament. What is so striking besides the sheer size of protestors here are the age of people demonstrating. Almost all of them are students. This group behind me 9 years old. We spoke to a group of 17yearolds who say theyre here today to fight for their future. Now, the goal of this strike and really all these strikes around the world is to send a clear message to World Leaders ahead of the u. N. Climate summit happening this week in new york and one of their many demands is to say they want to phase out engyfossil fue been hearing time and time again in london this afternoon is theyre talking about gretta tundra, that famous swedish activist at just 16 thats become the face of this movement. She famously stepped out of class last year in sweden for the solo clima sikd now look at what her movement has become. We dont know exact numbers yet, guys, but its looking to be the largest climate protest in our planets history. Tom. All right, maggie rulli for us, thank you for that. The latest on rising tensions with iran this morning. Were getting new images of the aftermath from the attack on the Saudi Oil Facilities as the white house considers a peaceful resolution but also keeps military options on the table. Chief Global Affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz is tracking the latest from washington and, martha, new clues this morning. Reporter exactly, tom. Saudi arabia this morning giving journalists the first closeup look of that destruction from the Cruise Missile and drone attack less than a week ago flying a group of reporters and photographers including from abc to the badly damaged aramco oil watabilition tower with twisted metal evident and on the ground huge pipes mangled and pierced by the exploding drones and missiles. This comes as the full National Security Council Meets today to discuss the response to the attacks. Officials say everything is on the table from nonmilitary options to a robust retaliatory strike which would require additional u. S. Forces in the region and some officials fear could risk major escalation. A senior Administration Official telling abc that the pentagon will push for a more measured response. Cecilia. So much on the line, okay, martha, thank you. Well turn now to that growing trouble for canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. More images surfacing showing him in black and brownface, and all of this is happening in the middle of a tough reelection campaign. Gio benitez is there in montreal with the latest. Good morning, gio. Reporter hey, cecilia, good morning to you. Yeah, his political opponents are calling on him to step down but his allies are rallying around him and this morning trudeau is apologizing but not resigning. Following the revelation of a third blackface incident. This time captured on video in an undated clip broadcast on canadas global news. It was not something that represents the person ive become, the leader i try to be and it was really embarrassing. Reporter the video surfacing just hours after Time Magazine First Published this photo of trudeau wearing dark makeup from head to toe while working as a 29yearold teacher. The photo was published in a private school yearbook. I dressed up in an aladdin costume and put makeup on. I shouldnt have done that. I should have known better but i didnt and im really sorry. Reporter trudeau saying he also used dark makeup as a teenager to impersonate singer harry belafonte. When i was in high school, i dressed up at a talent show and sang dayo with makeup on. Reporter trudeau who comes from one of canadas most prominent political families says he should have known better. I have always acknowledged that i come from a place of privilege, but i now need to acknowledge that comes with a massive blind spot. Reporter and its not clear how much this will affect trudeau in canada because many, many people here are willing to forgive him, but again, he is up for reelection, and election day is just about a month away. Michael . All right. Well see if it affects him soon. Now to some startling new developments in the vaping emergency. Another death reported, this time in missouri, and the cdc now confirming there have been more than 500 cases of lung injuries associated with vaping. The fda is now launching a criminal investigation. Linsey davis is here with the details. Good morning, linsey. Reporter good morning to you, michael. Yes, as you said this morning missouri officials are reporting the first recorded vapingrelated death in the state bringing the nationwide death toll to 8. The victim, a man in his 40s who had a history of vaping but normal lung function prior to starting vaping in may of 2019. Now, the cdc reports the number of cases involving vapingrelated illness has spiked. 530 people in 38 states and one territory have experienced lung injuries associated with the use of ecigarette or vaping products. A surge of 150 cases in just the past week. Now the fda is revealing that its pursuing a criminal investigation into these vapingrelated illnesses. Seems like every day were hearing about a vapingrelated illness or death. Health Officials Say most of the patients are young and male. Thats right, threefourths of them under the age of 25. In the cases where they have the complete data the majority of the patients are young adults who had a history of ecigarette or vaping use. The majority of them male. The cdc has yet to find one particular ingredient associated with these incidents, however, they insist that users do not add anything to their cartridges and avoid the black market as well. A lot of unknowns out there still. Thank you so much. Well switch gears. Weve got a big day for apple fans out there. The new iphones are out, wait no more. Ceo tim cook surprising some of the people camped out at the apple store in new york city this morning. The new iphone 11 promises a longer battery life, and the pro model has that now infamous threelens camera that can shoot the socalled slofie. Thats what i need. The slofie. The slofie. Apparently its infamous. I just found out about it today. If you dont have a slofie in your life we need one. Were following so many other big stories this morning. Take a look at this. A midair scare. A plane dropping 30,000 feet in minutes. This is a wild story. The passengers on that terrifying ride now speaking out. New trouble for nfl star Antonio Brown. Nike dropping its sponsorship as he faces that Sexual Assault allegation. Well tell you what he told reporters overnight. First, lets head back over to ginger. And no, my friends, these are not pictures from houston, but instead mobile, alabama. They had their own tropical moisture hitting a front down there, at least 30 water rescues, more than seven inches of rain reported and now we have severe storms and flash flood potential in the area here. So Northern Plains into minnesota. Keep an eye on western nebraska too. There is even a tornado threat today. Your local weather is coming up in 30 seconds. First though, we have got the weekend getaways sponsored by edward jones. We have some festive dancing in that break to go with that nice festive top. I love it. Thank you very much. Talking about our wardrobe. Well be