on america this morning. breaking news. a deadly storm slamming the gulf coast, battering downtown houston, shattering skyscraper windows, wind gusts up to 100mph. the highest level of alert for life threatening floods. the death

toll, destruction and where the storm heads next. >> new controversy involving the supreme court. the photo showing an upside down american flag flying at justice samuel alito's home. what the justice is now saying. >> four hour wait times in the e.r. and no barcode signs for prescriptions. the growing fallout from yet another massive cyber attack targeting the nation's hospitals. >> the stunning video of a truck driver dangling off this bridge above the ohio river after a crash. now she speaks out what she thought as she went careening over the edge. >> insults flying on the floor of congress. >> calm down. >> you please don't tell me to calm down. >> calm down because y'all talk nice and then you out of control. >> how one insult about a fellow lawmakers eyelashes ignited chaos on capitol hill last night . >> new backlash over that college graduation speech given by nfl player harrison booker at a catholic university. critics calling it sexist and

homophobic. now a catholic group affiliated with the school, responds for the first time, and the farmer with a very unusual harvest, uncovering a big piece of space junk what he plans to do with it. >> from abc news this is america this morning. >> good friday morning, everyone. i'm rhiannon ally, and i'm lionel moise. >> in for andrew. we begin with breaking news. a deadly storm slamming parts of the south after the highest level of alert for life threatening floods, widespread power outages are being reported in new orleans, but it's houston, including downtown houston, that has been hit the hardest. >> overnight, deadly storms sweeping through the gulf coast. >> it's bad. it just looks like the bomb went off in the houston area. >> violent winds and flash flooding killing at least four people. massive trees toppling into the streets and crushing homes as rescuers rushed to help downed power lines exploding outside an apartment building. while rows of transmission

towers were left mangled by the storm, more than a million texans left in the dark as the howling winds and torrential rains battered the region. >> i can't emphasize enough the danger of fallen trees and fallen utility wires. downtown is a mess. it's dangerous due to the glass and the lack of traffic lights. so stay at home in downtown houston, streets littered with debris, 100 mile an hour winds blowing out windows in these high rises. >> the wall of this bar crumbling, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the building while the doors and windows of this building rattled violently as it was battered by debris. >> i was freaked out. no, it was scary. i was scared of, like, the roof was gonna get torn off. i was scared something's gonna fly through the window and start breaking windows. it was scary. >> the deluge even making its way into minute maid park, the houston astros covered stadium this morning. schools are closed

. officials urging nonessential employees to stay home. and the threat isn't over yet. areas from louisiana to florida could see severe flooding today. our thoughts are with everyone dealing with that. we will check today's forecast coming up in just a few moments. >> the other big story we're following this morning, a potential gotcha moment at the trump hush money trial. what michael cohen said on the stand yesterday could end up being a key moment in this case. abc's perry russom has more on that story. perry. good morning. >> lionel. good morning. and one dramatic and possibly crucial moment trump's attorney accused michael cohen of lying to the jury this morning. legal experts say a tense exchange between michael cohen and defense attorney todd blanch yesterday could be a pivotal moment in former president trump's hush money trial. i think it was a very interesting day. >> it was a fascinating day. >> during cross-examination, blanch focused on a phone call in october 2016, just days before the election. cohen previously testified that during that call, he told trump the

plan to pay off star stormy daniels was moving forward. but yesterday, blanch showed the jury text messages that suggest cohen actually called trump's bodyguard, keith schiller, to complain about getting prank calls from a teenager raising his voice. blanch saying that was a lie. you did not talk to president trump that night. you can admit it, cohen responded. no, sir, i can, because i'm not sure that's accurate, adding, i believe i also spoke to mr. trump about the stormy daniels matter. blanch fired back, we are not asking what you believe. this jury doesn't want to hear what you think happened. blanch also pointed out the length of the phone call, asking cohen you had enough time in that one minute and 36 seconds to update mr. schiller about all the problems you were having with this harassing phone call, and also update president trump on the status of the stormy daniels situation. but cohen stuck to his story, insisting the short call covered both issues. the defense also tried to chip away at cohen's credibility, painting him as a serial liar who turned on trump when he didn't get a

job offer in the white house. >> any time you have a witness against you, their credibility is the most important thing. he's lied so many times, so many places. >> trump is accused of illegally falsifying business records to conceal the payment to daniels before the election. he denies the encounter and has pleaded not guilty. court is not in session today. cohen returns to the stand monday. the closing arguments are possible as soon as tuesday. still no word if trump will testify. lionel >> all right, perry, thank you so much. some breaking news. overseas police in northern france have fatally shot a man. they say set fire to a synagogue. according to authorities, officers shot the man after he approached him with a knife. the fire is out. damage to the synagogue is described as significant. >> a new controversy involving the supreme court, the new york times reports that justice samuel alito had an upside down american flag flying in his yard just days after the january 6th riot at the capitol. the inverted flag is often viewed as a stop the steal symbol used by

some trump supporters. the new york times obtained this photo of the flag at alito's home. it was said to have been taken just before biden's inauguration, as the court was considering an election case. but justice alito is blaming his wife, alito, saying i had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag. it was briefly placed by mrs. alito in response to a neighbor's use of objectionable and personal insulting language on yard signs. alito did not respond to our request for comment. >> now, now to another major cyber attack affecting health care at the nation's hospitals. this attack, impacting wait times in the e.r. and raising concerns about patient care. here's abc's andrea fujii. >> this morning hospitals in chaos. that's how some nurses and patients are describing operations at ascension facilities across the country. in the wake of last week's ransomware attack. >> this is truly a crisis situation. >> the cyber attack has affected 140 hospitals and dozens of

senior living facilities in 19 states, impacting everything from ordering tests to reading labs and scans. with access to medical records blocked, staff are forced to write notes on paper. >> she's charting it. she's writing it by hand, so it was, it was a long wait. >> ascension officials say they don't have a timeline on when systems will be fully back online, saying despite the challenges, patient safety continues to be our utmost priority. it's just the latest cyber attack in the health care sector. earlier this year, an attack on change health care disrupted systems nationwide. the company ended up paying a $22 million ransom. nurses are on edge. >> they cannot scan the medications, so you can't scan the patient's armband or the barcode on the medication to match to see if that is even a correct order or dose. nurses are worried about patient safety and also about their own nursing

license, because all of the safety checks that we have in place have basically been eliminated, and ascension could now face legal action. >> accused of failing to protect patient data, the company says it is working with law enforcement to determine the extent of the hack. rhiannon. lionel. >> all right, thanks to andrea fujii for that. the truck driver who dangled over a bridge 100ft above the ohio river, is talking about her experience for the first time, cydney thomas tells our louisville affiliate was that when a pickup truck hit her on the bridge, she lost her steering and all she could do was brace herself. >> i felt myself going over. i'm like, i'm gonna have to jump. i can't swim either. i didn't know how bad it was. i thought that the trailer was still on the bridge. i didn't know that. it was like this. >> wow. she was dangling over that river for 45 minutes until

rescue crews hoisted her back up into the bridge. >> glad she's okay. time now for your friday weather. >> good morning. we're still tracking a serious flood threat into the lower mississippi valley and the gulf coast area, damaging wind, hail, and even a few isolated tornadoes possible today and tonight in the area around the central gulf coast. with multiple rounds of heavy rain. even saturday, more rounds of heavy rain in this area, an increasing flood risk through saturday night with heavy rain into saturday in these areas. overall though, we're turning drier farther to the west. cooler in the northeast. i'm accuweather meteorologist jeff cornish. >> coming up, how one airline is trying to get us to pay attention during the in-flight safety video. >> but first, new backlash over that college graduation speech given by nfl player harrison booker a criticized as sexist and homophobic by a catholic group linked to the school response. >> plus, we hear from the man

who received the first brain implant from neuralink, helping him control a

hall this morning with hall and oates ever perform together again on gma. >> traffic in southern california is always challenging , but things got even slower when a bear appeared on this freeway north of los angeles last week. took some time and took a little stroll in front of some cars before taking off for the hills. >> well, for the first time we are hearing from a man who is living with a life changing brain implant. nolan arbaugh was paralyzed in a swimming accident, but he had a chip implanted into his brain last year, made by elon musk's company, neuralink. the implant allows him to control devices with his brain. he spoke to abc's will reeve. >> i was just very happy that i would be a part of something that i believe is so monumental,

and this next step forward of helping people with paralysis. what can you do now with the chip implanted that you could not do prior? i can control the computer just like anyone else can, which is not something i was able to do beforehand. >> you just played some music. yeah, man. that's awesome. >> the device suffered a malfunction recently, but it has been fixed. and later on, good morning america explains why he took a risk on this technology. >> we turn now to the backlash over nfl player harrison butler's college graduation speech. there is a new dispute over his treatment online. this morning, missouri's attorney general is demanding accountability after he says an official social media account for the city of kansas city posted personal information about harrison butler. he's the super bowl winning kicker for the chiefs, facing a firestorm over his recent commencement address, which included this comment about women. >> i would venture to guess that

the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world. >> critics also calling his graduation speech homophobic, not the deadly sin sort of pride that has an entire month dedicated to it. butler spoke at benedictine college, a private catholic school in kansas. the official kansas city account on x later tweeted, just a reminder that harrison butler lives. and then the post listed butler's hometown. the account later deleted that tweet and apologized. the mayor calling the post inappropriate. missouri's republican attorney general, outraged, now vowing to enforce the missouri human rights act to ensure missourians are not targeted for their free exercise of religion, butler is fueling a national conversation the same way we want respect. >> when colin kaepernick takes a knee right? we want to give respect to people whose ideas are different from ours. >> the wife of the kansas city chiefs ceo posting affirming motherhood and praising your wife is not bigoted. but the

founding institution of benedictine college says butler's comments do not represent the school as its founders envisioned, saying instead of promoting unity, his comments seem to have fostered division, this student seeming to agree most of the women were looking back and forth at each other. >> did he just come here to speak about politics and his views on women? >> well, the speech is also dividing football fans. sales of his jersey are booming. an online petition demands, though, that the chiefs release him. >> coming up, caitlin clark's home opener last night. not exactly what she was hoping for. >> also ahead, chaos on capitol hill. >> you don't have enough intelligence. >> chair recognizes mr. perry. >> okay, move to strike through. i move to strike. i move to strike. order! >> the lady. >> one lawmaker insults another's eyelashes. then things another's eyelashes. then things ge [cars honking] i'm a guy who lost a bet. and my dignity. get out of the way! as if watching my team lose

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while watching the game. who's winning? we are, my friend. we are. at tj maxx, you can afford to turn your closet into a place of endless expression. with the quality, styles, and prices you love. ♪ you you? >> wheeler sets apart. oh, had the three ball rim out a frustrating home debut for caitlin clark. >> she scored only nine points in a 102 to 66 blowout loss to the new york liberty, now to the us capitol and chaos erupting during what should have been a rather routine hearing until someone mentioned fake eyelashes. >> it was supposed to be a hearing to hold attorney general merrick garland in contempt of congress for refusing to turn over a recording of president biden's interview with a special

counsel. but last night's hearing erupted into chaos when congresswoman marjorie taylor greene went off topic or. >> oh. oh, girl. baby girl. oh, really? don't even play. >> when congresswoman jasmine crockett tried to stop greene's line of questioning, greene commented on crockett's quote, fake eyelashes. >> do you do you know what we're here for? you know we're here about? i don't think you know what you're here for. well, you don't want talking about. >> i think you're fake. eyelashes are messing up. >> ain't nothing. hold on, hold on. >> listen, greene shouting a refusal to apologize. other lawmakers then coming to crockett's defense. >> i would like to move to take down miss greene's words. that is absolutely unacceptable. how dare you attack the physical appearance of another person? are your feelings hurt her words down or oh oh, girl, baby girl? >> oh, really? >> don't even play baby girl i don't think we are. >> then more chaos. after

crockett appeared to insult greene. >> i'm just curious, just to better understand your ruling, if someone on this committee then starts talking about somebody bleached blond, bad built, butch body that would not be engaging in personalities, correct? >> a what now? >> chairman? i make a i make a motion to strike those words. >> crockett later posted. this is what happens when mentally deficient people who can't read and follow rules or just don't give a, somehow end up in congress. the bickering there delayed proceedings for about an hour. >> all right, coming up, the new fastest growing city in the u.s, plus the new dad with quite the plus the new dad with quite the showinon t green if you're 55 and up, t-mobile has plans built just for you. like two lines of unlimited for just $30 bucks a line. that's a 45% savings versus verizon and at&t! plus, get one of the latest 5g phones free when you add a line. experience it all on america's largest

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begin with the united states on the verge of getting a new third biggest city. >> new figures from the census show the windy city is on track to lose its status. chicago's population dropped by about 80,000in a one year period. houston is waiting in the wings and san antonio is once again the fastest growing city. >> and get this, detroit's population grew for the first time since 1957. next, some new life for so-called brick and mortar stores. >> wayfair, known as an online retail giant, is opening a good old fashioned physical store. it's set to open next week near chicago. it's part of a trend retail store openings actually outpaced closures recently. >> next, a farmer finding a huge piece of space junk. >> this happened in rural canada. the space debris is six feet wide. experts believe it's part of a space rocket. the farmer says he wants to sell it to build a hockey rink. we'll keep you posted on the price next. a new attempt to keep you from tuning out as you take off. >> we've all been there. united

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i've never five an act of terrorism or mental health issues. that'll be the debate in a federal courtroom today. what we're expecting as the man who attacked paul pelosi awaits his sentencing just a few hours. >> protesters cleared out of a uc berkeley building. the tense moments as police make arrests overnight. >> plus, the contra costa county fair is here, but with new security measures. what guidelines? some parents will need to meet for their kids to attend. >> then a popular san francisco race is back this weekend. where to avoid if you're driving and not taking