Sunday, February 15

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What that means for air travelers in just a moment here. And also ahead four astronauts have arrived safely aboard the International Space Station. They're replacing the four who returned home unexpectedly in January due to a health issue for one of them. Meteorologist Greg Dutra from WLS joins us now. Greg, good morning. Look at that. Yeah, and rain on the heels to a three tornado reports through Louisiana. They're going to go investigate at least one of those during the course of today. As about an inch or more of rain fell out in friends with Texas, that just off to the south in East Houston. They need the rainfall in East Texas. They need the rainfall through Florida. Although you don't want to take the severe weather. Look how far out in front of this cold front that squall line is. The good news, these are individual cells. So the chances of them producing tornadoes is lower. But still, damaging winds the main threat today. It'll be along the I-4 corridor near Orlando closer to about eight o'clock. But during the afternoon, it's through the panhandle and then up into portions of Georgia. Again, much need to rain up and down the eastern seaboard on the northern edge. Snowfall possible for New York City. That'll be late tonight and into early tomorrow morning, just what the doctor ordered, right? After all, the snow so far, the winter, the good news, that'll melt pretty quickly back to you, Mary. I'm going to just ignore what you said about snow there. Because I think we've had enough, Greg. Yes. It'll melt across. Overseas now to the Global Security Conference, taking center stage in Germany, where the war in Ukraine and nuclear talks with Iran are in focus. If you see new senior White House correspondent, Selina Wang joins us from Washington with more. Good morning, Selina. Yeah, good morning to you, Mary. Our European allies are still on edge. Even after Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke at the Munich Security Conference, he offered reassurances. But with the clear warning, Europe needs to step up, or the US will go ahead on its own. Thank you very much. Secretary of State Marco Rubio trying to steady Europe's nerves, offering reassurance, but with a warning. We are prepared, if necessary, to do this alone. It is our preference. And it is our hope to do this together with you. Europe has been on edge after Trump's repeated threats to take over Greenland and multiple trade wars with allies. Rubio softening the tone, but the message was stark. The US will move forward alone, unless Europe strengthens its own defenses and aligns with American values. We in America have no interest in being polite and orderly caretakers of the West's managed decline. He also warned open borders and mass migration could threaten European cohesion. We opened our doors to an unprecedented wave of mass migration that threatens the cohesion of our societies, the continuity of our culture. But European leaders remain cautious about relying on the US. Europe must become more independent. There is no other choice. This comes as a war new crane enters its fifth year. President Zelensky meeting with Rubio and other US officials in Munich, pushing back on peace talks that he says favor Russia. The Americans often return to the topic of concessions. And too often those concessions are discussed in the context only of Ukraine, not Russia. Europe is practically not present at the table. It's a big mistake to my mind. And guys, all of this comes as our allies are closely watching the president's next move when it comes to Iran. Trump says a second aircraft carrier is headed to the region, saying, "It is going there in case the US does not reach a nuclear deal with Iran." And we will watch the happenings there in that region very, very closely. Selena Wang, thank you so much. Now to the latest partial government shutdown, entering day two today, the Department of Homeland Security shut down as Democrats refuse to fund the agency. Unless Republicans agree to major changes to immigration operations and TSA employees, once again, affected ABC's Faith of Boubae has more on this. Faith, good morning. Yeah, good morning, T.U.G.O. About 61,000 TSA workers and more than 400 airports across this country are being impacted by the standoff in Congress. And already anxiety is bubbling about their paychecks if this drags on. This shutdown comes also uncomfortably close to spring break next month, which usually is one of the busiest stretches for air travel. Now, industry leaders are warning that some travelers could be forced to wait in long security lines if a significant number of TSA workers start calling out. Keep in mind, the last shutdown lasted for 43 days and led to severe staffing shortages for air traffic controllers and major disruptions and headaches for travelers. You'll remember those long lines, delayed flights and cancellations as some of the busiest airports across the country this time around, those air traffic controllers were being spared. But not TSA workers. The acting administrator says some of them are just now recovering from the last shutdown about 12 weeks ago. And quote, we cannot put them through another such experience. It would be unconscionable. Industry leaders now urging Congress to act quickly to prevent another devastating impact. Mary. Everyone hoping for a speedy resolution there, faith, thank you. And now to a major Hollywood figure facing fall out from the Epstein files, talent agent Casey Wasserman, selling his agency after his name and correspondence with Glenn Maxwell surfaced in the Epstein files. ABC's Olivia Rubin has more. Olivia, good morning. Mary, good morning. This is a major shakeup. Wasserman facing public pressure after high profile celebrities, including singer chapel, Ron, fled his firm. Now the Hollywood heavyweight says that sell off is already underway. This morning, high profile talent agent Casey Wasserman selling off his namesake firm following the release of the Epstein files and his suggestive emails with longtime Epstein associate, Glenn Maxwell. In a note to employees Wasserman apologizing, writing he had become a distraction for his agency which represents thousands of celebrities, artists and athletes. Noly release documents include this email Wasserman wrote Maxwell in March 2003 saying, "I think of you all the time. So what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?" Maxwell writing in April, offering to give him a massage that can drive a man wild. Maxwell arrested years later in 2020, now serving a 20 year prison sentence for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors. In a statement, Wasserman saying, "I deeply regret my correspondence with Glenn Maxwell which took place over two decades ago long before her horrific crimes came to light." Wasserman however will remain chairman of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. And across the pond, scrutiny intensifying on former Prince Andrew, UK police now saying they are assessing the claims against Andrew for a possible investigation, including allegations of misconduct while in public office. Now Andrew has denied all wrongdoing in his relationship with Epstein, but now the king according to a spokesperson says he stands ready to support law enforcement if he is asked, Joe. - All right, a lot to watch there Olivia. Thank you, let's go ahead and bring in ABC's Martha Raditz who's gonna have much more on the Epstein case on this week later this morning. Martha, my friend, it is good to see you. The Epstein files, they are still upending careers. We just heard about talent, age and case, in Wasserman and we saw that explosive hearing in Washington with Attorney General Pambondi clashing with Congress. This is not an issue that is going away. - It is not going away because we learn more and more information all the time, Joe. We learned of the cabinet secretary, Mr. Ludwig, who years ago said he never wanted to see Jeffrey Epstein again in these most recent, recent documents show that he had actually gone to the island with his family. So every time he learned something more, this just hangs in there. And then as you said, Jill, that explosive hearing on Capitol Hill with Pambondi, that also kept this story going, kept people interested in this. This is not going to go away for a long time, Jill. - It is not. Okay, let's turn to Iran, Martha, because the U.S. is sending another aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf. Clearly, this is increasing pressure on Iran and a nuclear deal. What could this be? - Well, with this second carrier there, look, you know President Trump means business. He did this in the Caribbean and Venezuela and going in and getting the president and his wife. So people get very nervous and Iran has to be very nervous about that with the buildup. You've heard President Trump make these threats to Iran. If you don't make a deal, this will be very traumatic for you. So this is something we are all watching, but at this point, Jill, it is impossible to say what will happen and those deals, those nuclear deals are so complicated and President Trump does not want them to have any sort of nuclear weapons program. So this is something we're watching as well. And I know you're gonna follow every detail on that, but Martha, perhaps the biggest headline on this Sunday, it was your birthday yesterday, and for your birthday, you got a new grandson. We have a picture right here. Your son, Jake, his wife, Karen gave birth to Gus. Oh, look how cute. You must be on cloud nine. - I am on cloud nine. I mean, what better Valentine's birthday present can you get? And he joins his big brother, Eric, so it was a very, very wonderful day for our family, thanks for that, Jill. - Oh, so much love. Happy birthday, my friend. Congratulations. Thank you so much. - Thank you. - And tune into this week. Later, Martha speaks with Republican Representative Thomas Massey about the widening fallout over the Epstein files and his fiery exchange with the Attorney General, Pam Bondi. Plus Martha's gonna have the latest in the Nancy Guthrie investigation, Mary. - Lots to look forward to this morning. And changing gears now to the latest move in the fast food wars. One of the country's biggest chains making plans to close hundreds of restaurants. ABC's Morgan, Norwood is here with those details. Good morning, Morgan. - Hey, good morning to you, Mary. Yes, Wendy says that it's closing hundreds of restaurants here in the US. As the burger giant flips its strategy, let's talk about this. So the company says sales fell more than 10% last quarter. And now it expects to shut down between five and six percent of its US locations by summer. Now that is on top of the more than 240 stores that closed in 2024. So the company is calling this strategy project fresh and a statement to ABC News saying by closing consistently underperforming restaurants. We're enabling our franchise partners to increase focus on locations with the greatest potential for profitable growth. But when we look at the bigger picture here, especially in these fast food wars, price is now the main ingredient with cost, conscious customers pulling back. Wendy says it's now shifting back to everyday value. The chain just launched the new Biky deals menu. I don't know if you've seen it with four or six and eight dollar options. And they're hoping to win back budget conscious diners. Bottom line here, this isn't just about Wendy's we're seeing this all across the industry. These chains are just realizing that especially in this economy, consistent value, and not just promotions, maybe what keeps customers at the drive through geo. - That is absolutely right. All right, thank you so much, Morgan. Now we're gonna turn to the major moments overnight in the NCAA basketball action and ABC's Andrew Dimbert is here with all of the details. - Andrew. - Hey guys, good morning. Some hearts were broken on Valentine's Day in college hoops. Starting with the heavyweight showdown between number five Iowa State, defeating number nine Kansas J-Hawks, snapping Kansas's eight game win streak. And now Iowa State has a real shot at one of those coveted top seats. In the ACC, number four Duke also jockeying for a one seat, handled business at Cameroon Indoor, defeating a ranked Clemson team at home, freshman sensation Cam Booser, dropping 18 and eight in this one, but the matchup of the weekend was out in the West. It was Arizona stunned by Texas Tech. On the road, too, the Red Raiders notching. Their best win of the season and continue to climb up the rankings, meanwhile, tempers were flaring. Take a look at this between St. John's and Providence. Six players had to be ejected after a scrum that started with a hard foul. Then you can see St. John's coach, Rick Patino caught in the middle, trying to hold back his players. The game stopped for nearly 20 minutes and housed this for a heated moment in the Oklahoma Georgia game of fire in a concession stand leading to a brief delay on the court. Fire was, of course, put out the game, went on, thankfully, no one was hurt, guys. Thank goodness. Yeah, lots of drama out there. A lot of heated moments. Yeah, we get in college groups. He did. Thank you. And speaking of a little bit more drama out there, it's time now for weather and meteorologist Greg Dutra from WLS. Hey, Greg. Hey there. Feasting on snowfall this year has been the East so much so at a cat operator with some free time and extra snow. And that's what happens when you give a snow cat operator free times they draw a heart in the snow out there Sunday river. Now the West is saying, what about us? We need some snowfall. Oregon has a record low snowfall pack right now, but they're going to get more snow as we have that pattern change that continues now and will bring a lot of snow, especially to the Sierra Nevada mountains. Look at these numbers. Three to six feet of snowfall through the week. There's the possibility there's some isolated eight, nine foot totals in there. Western slope of the Rocky Mountains. Well, they will see a couple of feet of snow. Now it may dry out a little bit for the Rocky, so they'll have to wait. But a couple of feet of snow will be good to at least get over what they've been going through so far with such a dry season. I know Mary was personally offended by the snowfall forecast over the Northeast. It's been a warm up not only in the Northeast, but also near record temperatures through the Midwest. I'll believe it when I see it. Yeah, yeah. We've been through it. I trust you. Yeah, for sure. The winner. All right. Thank you so much, Greg. And still ahead here. The state of Nancy Guthrie's case, our contributor former FBI Special Agent Brad Garrett joins us as this investigation enters week three. Plus, President's Day weekend sales that you don't want to miss. And the young social media charmer who's bringing joy to millions of fans. Well, want to miss that. So Dr. Pepper, I saw we done the pepper. From 30 for 30 podcasts. I can't. Brian Pada, Senior Defense of Lyman from Miami. Gunned down. The key to this case, it's Brian. What are you? It's a rip man. A hour before he died, he was on a phone arguing what's about this might be a hit. You want to true biggest one of conviction. Press your ass. We had a killer amongst us murder at the U. Listen now. I've watched this about five times. Welcome back to GMA. We're still dancing. Still dancing. Bad Bunny's halftime show at the Super Bowl 60. It is the best advertising his hometown could have asked for. Expedia reveals that flight searches to Puerto Rico spiked 245% in a few days following his performance. And the coastal town of Vega Baja, where the star was born, up a staggering 1,400%. Wow. Good for you. That's a nice ripple effect of that there. All right. Now let's take a look at some of the other big stories that we are following this Sunday morning. Five American allies issuing a joint statement saying Russia killed opposition leader Alexi Navalny with a rare deadly toxin from a dark frog. Navalny died in a Russian penal colony two years ago. His widow saying the statement proves what she has always known that Vladimir Putin killed her husband. Russia has claimed Navalny died of natural causes. Former president Barack Obama is speaking out a week after President Donald Trump's social media account posted a racist video depicting him former first lady, Michelle Obama, as apes. In a podcast interview, Obama said that he thinks it's important to recognize that the majority of Americans find this behavior deeply troubling. The White House said an unidentified staffer posted it. President Trump has not publicly apologize for the post. And the International Space Station is back at full strength. Four new astronauts arrived there on Saturday, one day after launching from Cape Canaveral. They're, of course, replacing the four astronauts who left due to an unplanned medical evacuation last month, leaving just three crew members on board the ISS. And we are going to start here this half hour with more on the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie as the search for her enters week three since Savannah Guthrie's mother was abducted from her home in the early morning hours of February 1st. Hundreds of federal and local agents have been scouring the Arizona desert chasing down potential leads. So let's go ahead and bring in ABC News contributor and former FBI special agent Brad Garrett to talk about all of this. Brad, it is good to see you, but it's unbelievable that we are now entering week three. So if you were to assess this investigation right now, two weeks in, what would you say? How would you say it's going? Well, I can tell you, Geo, working a number of high profile cases is that you get dealt basically a hand of evidence, of witnesses, of cameras, of phones. And you do everything you can 24/7. But if it doesn't go together, it doesn't go together. And I don't think it's from the sake of not trying. I mean, they've used FBI special teams. They've run in tech teams. I'm sure they pulled down all the cell phones. They pulled down all the CCTV. They're listening to informants if that would help at all. In this case, and they're getting multiple thousands. I'm sure way over 20,000 leads of which most won't be helpful, but maybe a handful will. So that's why three weeks later we're having this conversation. And Brad, we know they are coming through everything following every tip. But what are the best leads we know of at this point? Well, I'm not sure we know of the best leads, Mary. I mean, I'll give you an example that quickly. The car stop detained, searched the car, then the house searched same time period a day or two ago. That's a typical tip you get. Somebody calls in and said, a guy that drives an XYZ car with this plate number looks exactly like the guy in the picture, so forth and so on. So you follow through. That much else you can do. But it's those type of tips, Mary, that will get this case solved. That somebody eventually will come out and say, that's my neighbor. I work with that guy, whatever it might be. And there is not there yet. It also maybe give you some indicators that assuming the guy at the door, there is a video of, is a lone player. If he's a lone player and a loner, it may be make it more difficult as far as getting certain tips or cell phones or whatever it might be. Brad investigators say that some DNA collected from Nancy Guthrie's property belongs to someone other than her. What could that mean? Well, it can mean something really great. Like, it's the DNA of maybe the guy that was at her front door. But, gee, think about the number of people that have been in your residence. And we do a deep search of your residence and pull up all sorts of DNA. You may have had a plumber there eight years ago who left his DNA. It would be important for me to know where did they find the unknown person's DNA? And is it a logical place that this bad guy, I'm going to assume it's one person at this point at least, it could be his DNA. Of course, that doesn't help you unless his DNA is in a database someplace. Yeah, of course. And let's go back to that horrifying video that we've now all seen, that masked figure that was caught on the doorbell camera. What do you take away from that footage when you look at it? I find that footage just bizarre. He gives me a lot of information about sort of his demeanor, his slowness, his not sure what he's doing, the unbelievable amount of time, Mary, he spent at that front door. I mean, the average person would have gotten caught called in on by the police, whatever it might be. So, and then going and pulling that branch up or vegetation of some sort and wagging it in front of the camera. So, disorganized slow, he gives you a lot of information about how he walks. The FBI have been able to come up with height and weight. I don't think there's not enough of his face to do any sort of, just see if it matches anybody else's. But if you knew him based on how he's dressed, how he walks, how he moves, I think you'd be able to ID him and say, "That's the guy down the street or my neighbor or whatever it might be." So, I guess the baffling part is if in fact he did this alone and if in fact he's a loner, he's been pretty good at shutting us down for three weeks. And, you know, the tragedy obviously is Nancy's poor health and where is she and what state is she in? Yeah, and we again are praying for Nancy's family in Savannah. And of course, we have that tip line right there on your screen. If you have any information, please go ahead and call Brad Garrett. Thank you so much. All right, time now for another look at the weather and Greg Dutra is here with that. Hey, Greg. Well, we've had that really warm and dry winter so far across the west. Now that the pattern has changed and is getting wetter across the west, he's got to go somewhere and it's gone to the center part of the country. Soot City, Iowa yesterday, hit 62 degrees, the Twin Cities hit 54, many spots, tying or breaking records yesterday afternoon. And it's not done as we go through this Sunday. Denver, which has its lowest snowpack in over 100 years, is going to hit 68 degrees. Soo Falls gets to 64 degrees today. Those records possible in Chicago by the time we get to Monday, 62 degrees, normal high temperature in Chicago is right around the freezing mark. And speaking of normals, check out that carny in Nebraska, 77 degrees. The normal high temperature there is about half of that value. And this isn't something that exactly goes away over the next couple of weeks. In fact, it stays warmer than normal all the way through the end of the month, little bit of cooling across the east coast. But New York City, normal for you, is going to feel a lot warmer than it has been. A lot of 40s out there through the next week. Mary said she'd believe it when she saw it. There you go. You saw it. 40s near 50 degrees. The problem is the snow is so dirty at this point. It's going to be tough to soak up that sunshine. Well, when you said that we were both going, yep, let's go more, more, more, more, more than normal. Those are the magic words there. Thank you. And coming up here on Good Morning America, taking advantage of those president's day sales. Which stores have our vote for some great savings? And we are back now with some of the hottest bargains in stores this holiday weekend. Morgan is back with more of those president day deals. All right, so let's break this down. What category should we be looking at? What should we be checking out to buy this weekend? Yeah, you know, president's day deals. Those are kind of the deals that fly under the radar. It's actually the first big sales weekend of the year. And I'd say an ideal time is actually now to buy mattresses, big furniture items, appliances, winter clothing. Take a look, this is the data that we found from Adobe sales. Mattresses are expected to spike 100%. Bedroom furniture will jump about 70%. Small kitchen appliances looking about 55%. Spiking this weekend compared to the January average. Shoppers may also be looking to bundle up with more clothes during what we all know has been a brutally cold winter for so much of the country. So, payroll sales are looking pretty good expected to head higher as well. I refuse to buy more. Oh, I've been out there buying all the coats all the time. Oh, yeah, we need all the stuff. It seems never really. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, so let's talk some of the specifics. What are the specific deals we're seeing in some of these categories? Yeah, you know, if you're in the market for a mattress, many brands have dreamy sales going on. Take a look. Tempered ptic is offering up to $500 off select adjustable mattress sets. And then mattress firm has the dream cloud classic hybrid mattress. It's really popular for $649 down a whopping 62% geo from its 1747 price tag. And also if you're looking for appliances, best buy is offering up to 40% off select major appliances like the washer and dryers. And if you can clean up at way fair with deals like 72% off, this all in one corded vacuum cleaner is also looking pretty good. 72%? 72%? I mean, that's not good. Make sure you want to go spring clean, right? Yeah, maybe not that much. Okay, so we were just talking about how we're trying to update our wardrobe a little bit. Let's talk clothing. Oh, that's my favorite thing to talk about. If you're looking for clothes, Lane's in has a sweet heart of a deal. They're offering half off side wide this weekend. Gap has 40 to 60% off the way. Wars and sweats. The deal is excited about this. Okay, Mary, we got to at Macy's. Lots of coats on sale, including how many coins? Yeah, women's puffer coat for 65 bucks down 75% from 265. Awesome. All right. Good deals. Happy shopping. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Appreciate it. All right, coming up here on Good Morning America. The adorable little girl who's charming the world of social media. Stick around. Look at her. Stay with us. And we are back now with the youngster racking up millions of likes on social media right now. Her positive energy. Downright, infectious, and ABC's will gans. Mr. positivity himself. Got a chance to speak with her. It's all about joy. Oh my gosh, it definitely is. When we met on Zoom, Dory Hudson told me she's only met four Americans in her whole life. I was lucky number five. And now all of you are next up to have the absolute joy of getting to know her in her very first American television appearance. So as Dory would say, are you ready, Freddie? Let's go, Ginny Joe. Are you ready, Freddie? Let's go, Ginny Joe. This Irish 9 year old is on a mission to make the world a little bit kinder. Tall brown erm, keep showing and sadness won't last forever. Sharing life advice. Don't underestimate a woman. Woohoo! And taste tests. Taco Bell in Ireland will all be the judge of that. And like her Pixar namesake. When life gets you down, you know what you got to do. I don't want to know what you got to do. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Dory is making waves online. Racking up more than 17 million TikTok likes with comments pouring in like, God turned her charisma up to 100% when he made her. And you are raising a truly amazing human being. Let those happy days do. Her mom just began sharing Dory stories with one simple goal. Just knowing that it can make someone's day go from a bad day to a good day. It's just so precious. Dory's got the gift of the gap. Racking, that's me torn down. And she's not afraid to share it. Have us the weather over in your country as well. Oh, it's actually not too bad now, but it was raining a few minutes ago. We have had a very cold few weeks in New York. The Hudson River is frozen over. Oh my goodness. And you never guess what my story name is. What's in my city stream. Dory and her mom reminding the rest of us that even into mulch-uest times, it's the simple things that matter most. Where does that joy come from? What is the key to staying so happy? The key to staying so happy is laughing with me mom. And all the chaos with me mom. Because when I'm in a good mood, she's in a good mood. And we're all just in a good mood and we laugh in our heads off. Ready, ready? Let's go, Jimmy Joe. Dory tells me she wants to be a pediatrician or a doctor for wild horses, wild specifically when she grows up. And in case you're wondering who Ginny Joe is when they say let's go, Ginny Joe, it's a dandelion. So you could say let's go, Ginny Joe, before making a wish on a dandelion blowing the seeds away. You know, you're already a happy guy, but he was smiling in that interview. A bet she says right. I mean, it's hard not to smile and have fun when you're here. She's the best. Yeah, I just, you know, especially in times like these, I love when she pops up on my 4U page. So can I use a little more positive? Exactly. Great story. Thanks. And we are back now with our play of the day. And it's a real ice cream sunday here this week. A New Jersey man is showing he has good humor with an ice cream truck made almost entirely out of snow. Oh, no, I know ice cream for a second. It has four wheels, reflectors, signs, but just about everything else is from fact accumulation from the big storm, which was now three weeks ago. The homeowner is selling actual ice cream from it. The proceeds going to a children's hospital foundation. And that is what we call a news scoop. I'm glad he didn't use the dirty snow. Yeah, absolutely. Hey, thank you so much for starting your day with us. And of course you can catch more weekend news coverage. - I'll have a great day, everybody. - Bye-bye. (upbeat music)