Transcripts For KGO Good Morning America 20240713 : vimarsan

Teacher accused of sending racist, sexist and homophobic tweets claiming hes protected by the First Amendment. Now hes speaking out on gma. Vacation nightmare. An american couple claims tetheir ght bd rit gainst theit why the company is putting an end to their famous fashion show. Meet the cybertruck. Overnight tesla unveiling their new bulletproof electric pickup. But the moment their demonstration goes wrong twice. Black friday frenzy. The deals that just dropped at midnight, a week ahead of the shopping holiday. How to know what you should buy right now. Alone on Christmas Day presents good morning, america. Hope youre well this friday morning. You can feel the Holiday Season starting. Do you want to, though . Christmas . Lets get through thanksgiving first. Yes. We are going to begin with that nasty weather moving coast to coast right now, powerful storms packing heavy rain, snow and ice, and take a look. More than 50 cars caught in a pileup overnight in colorado. Those storms are moving right into, yes, the holiday week and rob is starting us off with the latest. Everybody wants to know the path and timing of this. Very active pattern shaping up, t. J. , and this is that scene outside of denver, along i25, 50car pileup, a mixture of freezing rain and snow and injuries with this but nothing lifethreatening thank goodness. A lot starting their Holiday Travel and this storm in the west will be move towards the east quite rapidly over the weekend so lets zoom into whats happening in the northeast where it will ramp up come sunday so with this will be a lot of heavy rain across the southeast, midatlantic as well, come sunday were looking at heavy rain along the i95 corridor. If you are traveling up 87, i think youll turn into mountain snow in the catskills and berkshires maybe accumulating in the green and White Mountains of interior new england but heavy rain from new york up through new haven and boston sunday. We look ahead towards next week, an active pattern is developing. Whenever you get the jet stream to dip down like it does here in the west, and snow and another storm thanksgiving day in the middle of the country, and this one heads towards the northeast by sunday. Very active. George, over to you. Thanks, rob. To washington now and the latest on the impeachment showdown as it braces for a likely trial one of the most compelling witnesses yet closed out two weeks of marathon hearings. Fiona hill slammed the president s Pressure Campaign on ukraine saying she predicted this is going to blow up. Senior Congressional Correspondent mary bruce is tracking it all from capitol hill. Good morning, mary. Reporter good morning, george. Well, fiona hill said it was her moral obligation to come before congress, and in blunt testimony she detailed how the president and his allies have undercut official Foreign Policy and warned that they are being driven by conspiracy theories pushed by the russians. It was a dramatic end here to three days of highstakes hearings. The weeks final witness, fiona hill, a former russia expert on the National Security council came to congress with a stark warning for republicans. Some of you on this committee appear to believe that russia and its Security Services did not conduct a campaign against our country and that perhaps somehow for some reason ukraine did. This is a fictional narrative that is being perpetrated and propagated by the russian Security Services themselves. I would ask that you please not promote political divisive falsehoods to promote russian interests. Reporter hill said trumps personal attorney Rudy Giuliani was selling conspiracy theories straight from putins playbook and that trump was buying it. Is it your understanding President Trump disregard the advice of his senior officials about this theory and instead listened to Rudy Giulianis view . That appears to be the case, yes. Reporter hill detailed two competing channels of Foreign Policy that were often directly at odds. Republicans pressing her on a tense moment she had with the point man in ukraine, the eu ambassador, gordon sondland. I was upset with him that he wasnt fully telling us about all the meetings he was having, and he said, but im briefing the president. Im briefing chief of staff mulvaney. Im briefing secretary pompeo, and ive talked to ambassador bolton. He was being involved in a domestic political errand, and we were being involved in National Security Foreign Policy, and those two things had just diverged. Reporter hill explained how that domestic political errand later turned into a quid pro quo, that sondland explained the ukrainians would only get a coveted meeting with the president if they announced the investigations trump was demanding. Also testifying, david holmes, an american diplomat in ukraine. He says he overheard the president himself on a phone call with sondland discussing the ukrainian president. I then heard President Trump ask, so hes going to do the investigations . Ambassador sondland said, hes going to do it. I have a clear recollection these statements were made. Reporter republicans tried to attack hills credibility. Dr. Hill, you have provided me probably the greatest piece of evidence thats before us to illustrate the problem with hearsay. Reporter but hill pushed back. I talked about things i heard with my own ears, what we heard, saw and did and to be of some help to all of you in really making a momentous decision here. Reporter after more than 30 hours of public hearings the president s allies say the impeachment inquiry is nothing more than a sham. I think the American People see through it. They see that the facts are on the president s side and know this process has been entirely unfair. Reporter democrats say the evidence is clear. The president abused his power. There is nothing more dangerous than an unethical president who believes they are above the law. We are better than that. Reporter now while the hearings were wrapping up over at the white house, they are trying to keep republicans in line and strategize what comes next. The president yesterday met with key republicans including senator mitt romney who has been one of his fiercest critics and Later White House officials sat down with other republicans trying to come up with a game plan to tackle what they believe is a near certain trial in the senate. So, mary, lets look at what comes next. It appears the Intelligence Committee is done and theyre not going to call anybody else most likely. This will go to the house judiciary committee. Theyll draft up the articles of impeachment after they get a report from the Intelligence Committee. That goes to the house floor. Theyre still hoping by the end of the year to vote on impeachment and then comes the senate trial you were talking about, so take us inside the talks between the white house and republicans on how theyre thinking about this, how they plan to go forward with the trial. Reporter well, george, there does seem to be a little bit of a dispute here. Republicans seem divided over the best strategy particularly when it comes to timing. Some are advocating for a short trial, perhaps as short as two weeks. The argument there is theyre trying to limit the time and may also limit the political damage to the president while others are pushing for a longer, more drawn out process that would give some of these key moderate republicans a chance to show voters that they are taking this seriously and, george, a longer process could put those Senate Democrats in a tricky position, those who are running for president , because it could come up against those first early contests. The president is torn between wanting this over and wanting to have a full defense mounted by those senators. Okay, mary, thanks very much. Cecilia. There are also new developments in the race for the white house this morning. Former new york city mayor Michael Bloomberg has just taken a major step toward running for the democratic president ial nomination. Linsey davis has more from the bloomberg tower here in midtown manhattan. Good morning, linsey. Reporter hey, good morning to you, cecilia. Okay, so heres the big announcement. The headline basically is that Michael Bloomberg is officially dipping his toe into the president ial waters. This is just a procedural move and not at all an official announcement, but by filing paperwork with the federal election commission, it officially declares the former new york mayor a candidate for president of the United States and it allows him to raise money for a run for the white house but bloombergs people are telling abc news this is just one step, not a final decision to run. Now, that said, bloomberg has also filed to appear on the ballot in five states and is spending more than 100 million on ads and Voter Registration efforts in key states. Now, this all reportedly propelled by the billionaires concerns about if the current frontrunners could actually defeat President Trump. Now, a little bit of trivia for you this morning, im sure george already knows this off the top of his head but the last time that this apparent strategy actually worked as far as bypassing the early contests and going on to nab the nomination, 1968 with hubert humphrey. George. I hadnt had that at the top of my head. Im glad you reminded me, linsey. Thanks very much. No . Thank you, linsey. We go overseas to israel where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been indicted facing bribery and fraud charges. Hes trying to hold onto his job facing a coup attempt, and James Longman has the latest from london. Good morning, james. Reporter thats right. Good morning. One of americas closest allies has been thrown into turmoil. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been formally charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He is the first ever sitting israeli Prime Minister to face such charges and the list of alleged wrongdoing is long and colorful. Pink champagne and cigars offered to him by a wealthy friend in return for political favors and a quid pro quo relationship with a Telecom Tycoon in rieturn for a favorabe news conference. Hes vowed to stay in office using perhaps the language of his close ally, donald trump, hes called the investigation a witchhunt but the corruption allegations against him have bubbled for months and the countrys attorney general says the ruling shows no one is above the law. T. J. . James, thank you so much. Now we turn to a scare on a crowded passenger jet. An International Flight forced to make an Emergency Landing just after takeoff because flames were shooting out of an engine. David kerley has the details. Reporter its the terrifying moment this little girl and her family on board a boeing jet heading from l. A. To the philippines hears the loud bangs. Flames were erupting from the engine, all caught on camera. Mayday, mayday, philippine, 113, we have an engine surge on the right engine, requesting immediate relanding. Reporter people on the ground catching the dramatic moments as well. Philippine 113, say the nature of the emergency please. Right engine. Reporter passengers say the engine had bursts of flames on and off for 15 minutes before the airlines landon safely back at l. A. X. 45 minutes after takeoff. Firefighters there to meet the plane on the runway. I was praying. I was panicking. Reporter the problem, this was a compressor stall. Its when the engine essentially backfires like a car. While its not uncommon, it can be a harrowing experience for everyone on board. Very frightening. Philippine airlines did not have a replacement aircraft so it tried to book passengers on other airlines. Some stayed in hotels and hope to get to manila today. The controversy over a College Professor accused of sending racist and sexist tweets but allowed to keep his job because Indiana University says hes protected by the First Amendment. Diane macedo has the story. Reporter this morning, an Indiana University professor is facing backlash, accused of sharing racist, sexist and homophobic posts on social media. Earlier this month business professor Eric Rasmusen shared an article on twitter arguing women may be destroying academia and quoted the article, writing in part, geniuses are overwhelmingly male. I leaked to an article saying that women were hurting academia but i wasnt saying i agreed with that article. Reporter the tweet went viral and the university was inundated with demands that he be removed. For professors to have those views and say them so publicly is really kind of disheartening and very, very disappointing. Reporter the schools provost says rasmusen whos been teaching there since 1992 and has tenure has pushed bigoted views on social media for years including women do not belong in the workplace, that gay men should not be permitted in academia because theyre promiscuous and that black students are generally inferior academically to white students. She also says he will not be fired. Were a Public Institution and unlike private employers, were bound by the First Amendment of the constitution. Reporter but rasmusen is now speaking out saying his views are being misrepresented and his critics are overreacting. If theyre offended, thats their problem. Basically i listen to arguments about why they disagree with me but just saying im offended doesnt impress me. Reporter the University Says students will be given options to avoid his class and processes will be put in place to ensure theres no bias in his grading. The professor says hes viewing the whole thing as a learning experience. For a lot of people. Thanks, diane. Well turn to the growing crisis over Prince Andrew. One of his alleged victims speaking out overnight after, of course, that announcement that he is stepping back from public duties as the firestorm grows over his relationship with sex offender jeffrey epstein. Maggie rulli has the latest from buckingham palace. Good morning, maggie. Reporter good morning, cecilia. This decision is unprecedented. Theres no rulebook for how the royal family is supposed to respond. Right now they are simply on damage control. It has been all hands on deck here at buckingham palace. Overnight Prince Andrew spotted leaving buckingham palace. Earlier in the day the queens second son waving at cameras seen publicly for the First Time Since announcing hes stepping back from his royal duties following whats widely been described as a disastrous interview about his relationship with former friend and convicted sex offender jeffrey epstein. You were staying at the house yes. Of a convicted sex offender. It was a convenient place to stay. Reporter the royal family having what british papers are calling a crisis summit thursday. Andrews exwife Sarah Ferguson seen driving into the palace as well. We are now seeing the royal family hold meetings, hold discussions. Theres going to be a lot of discussions that have to take place to work out how to move forward. Reporter andrew is now reportedly backing out of a planned work trip to bahrain this weekend as charities and businesses continue to distance themselves from the royal. Overnight one of epsteins accusers, Virginia Giuffre who claimed in past Court Filings that Ghislaine Maxwell recruited her when she was just 16 and groomed her to have sex with several of epsteins powerful friends including Prince Andrew, reacting to the news. Her attorney telling abc news, Prince Andrews recent interview and his subsequent action to withdraw from public life is welcomed news. However, going on to say, more needs to be done due to what they call his central role in devastating the lives of countless women. Andrew who says he has no recollection of having ever met giuffre and categorically denies her allegations. Andrew and maxwell both deny all of giuffres allegations. Both have not been charged with a crime. Andrew says he has no recollection of even meeting her but, guys, here in the uk Public Opinion has definitely turned against andrew and now the palace is left trying to keep up the reputation of the monarchy. T. J. Thank you so much. We want to turn to a new tesla truck breaking the internet. Elon musk debuted the bulletproof electric cybertruck overnight. Our Rebecca Jarvis is here. Rebecca, i was just thinking the other day i need a bulletproof vehicle but this announcement didnt exactly go the way it was supposed to. I hope you dont need that. This is classic elon musk. Teslas new cybertruck designed to look different than Everything Else on the road and an unveiling unlike any other. He loves to do the unexpected and this shattered expectations. So i present to