...will change. get covered today. tonight, the bombshell development. the president's long-time fixer and personal attorney surrounded by cameras today, after pleading guilty to lying to congress and revealing he has now entered a plea deal with special counsel robert mueller. what michael cohen has already told mueller. the president furious, calling him weak today. and why the president has abr t abruptly canceled his weekend meeting with vladimir putin. also breaking tonight, scenes of chaos on american highways. big rigs and cars crashing. the accidents mounting tonight, as a sweeping system moves from the west across the country and into the northeast. rob has the new track. the family killed in a massive fire weeks before christmas, and tonight, what authorities have now revealed

who's been charged? the breaking developments in the national case, the husband who killed his wife and two young daughters, putting them in oil tanks. the video never seen until now. the travel nightmare. the couple discovered inside an air b abn airbnb, dying from carbon monoxide. the shark attack. the family in the water with nurse sharks when one of those sharks attacks their boy. and pay less or pay more? the shoe company that changed the venue, gave it a brand new name and raised prices. a $35 pair of shoes could sell more more than $600. who has paid these prices already, and where? good evening. and it's great to have you with us here on a thursday night. we have a lot to get to. but we begin with what could be a seismic development involving the president and special counsel robert mueller. the president's long-time fixer and personal attorney surrounded by cams are today after pleading guilty to lying to congress in

federal court about a proposed trump tower in moscow that was being discussed during the campaign for president. cohen now entering into a plea agreement with mueller. the president immediately lashing out, calling cohen, quote, weak and a liar. the president saying he had every right to pursue his business interests during the campaign. tonight, what has michael cohen told robert mueller already? after spending more than 70 hours answering questions from mueller's team. abc's chief justice correspondent pierre thomas leading us off tonight. >> reporter: michael cohen, the president's former personal attorney and fixer, swarmed today outside federal court in lower manhattan after pleading guilty as part of his bombshell plea deal with special counsel robert mueller. >> mr. cohen has cooperated, mr. cohen will continue to cooperate. >> reporter: sources tell abc news cohen has already spent more than 70 hours talking to mueller's investigators about the 2016 campaign and president trump's business ties to russia. today, he pleaded guilty to

lying to congress about plans to build a trump tower in moscow. cohen had told lawmakers the moscow project was abandoned in january 2016. he now says that's not true, that the project did not end until june, deep into the campaign. cohen now says he briefed the president and members of his family on multiple occasions. the next month, candidate trump said this -- >> i have no relationship to russia. >> reporter: cohen now admits he discussed trump tower moscow in 2016 with top officials in the russian government and he planned to visit moscow that june. according to court documents, he even spoke to a trump business associate about the possibility of trump himself traveling to russia once he becomes the nominee after the convention. that didn't happen. cohen once said he would take a bullet for donald trump. >> reporter: i'm obviously very loyal and very dedicated to mr. trump. >> reporter: today in court,

cohen said he lied to congress "to be consistent with individual one's political message and out of loyalty to individual one." individual one is donald trump. the president once praised cohen to the skies, saying he's always respected him. >> but i always liked michael, and he's a good person. >> reporter: but this was the furious president today. >> he's a weak person and not a very smart person. what he's trying to do is end -- and it's very simple. he's got himself a big prison sentence, and he's trying to get a much lesser prison sentence by making up a story. very simply, michael cohen is lying. >> pierre thomas with us tonight live in washington. and pierre, you reported there michael cohen has spent more than 70 hours already with robert mueller's investigators, obviously, that's a lot of time. clearly they talked about more than just plans for trump tower moscow. do we know anything more, pierre? >> reporter: that's right, david. those 70-plus hours of interviews covered a wide range of topics, including questions about possible obstruction of justice and whether the

president discussed pardons. david? >> pierre thomas leading us off tonight from washington. pierre, thank you. the president, as you saw there, was furious today, and made the point that he had every right to continue working on his business during the campaign, saying if he had lost, he would have gone right back to work. but tonight, after saying this was also a good time for a planned meeting with vladimir putin this weekend, that meeting, an hour later, was abruptly cancelled. abc's chief white house correspondent jonathan karl is in argentina tonight. >> reporter: after calling michael cohen a liar, a defiant president trump today did not deny that he was working on a moscow trump tower deal during the campaign. >> when i run for president, that doesn't mean i'm not allowed to do business. i was doing a lot of different things when i was running. after i won, obviously, i don't do business. >> reporter: he says he ditched the moscow project in early 2016, well before he clinched the republican nomination, but he said he didn't have to. >> there would be nothing wrong if i did do it. i was running my business while

i was campaigning. there was a good chance that i wouldn't have won, in which case i would have gotten back into the business and why should i lose lots of opportunities? >> reporter: business deals aside, donald trump has lavished praise on vladimir putin. he's done it as president, and he did it repeatedly during the campaign. >> i respect putin, he's a strong leader. i can tell you that. unlike what we have, we have a pathetic leader. >> reporter: and today, just minutes before departing to for argentina for a big summit with the leaders of the world's top 20 economies, he confirmed plans to have a one-on-one meeting with putin, who is also attending the summit. >> i think it's a very good time to have the meeting. >> reporter: but less than an hour later, president trump canceled his putin meeting with a tweet while he was aboard air force one, citing russia's seizure of three ukrainian ships earlier this week. >> and jonathan karl with us live tonight. and jon, we know president trump was also asked about trump tower moscow, the project. he was asked about the special

cown semi, too, in the written answers and questions. key question tonight, though, is whether anything in the president's written responses might fight what we learned cohen has now said. >> reporter: that is a key question, david. the president's legal team today said that the president's written answers were largely consistent with what cohen said about that moscow trump tower project, but that would seem to suggest that the president's written answers are contradictory to what he's said publicly over and over again over the past two years, that he simply had no business dealings whatsoever with moscow. david? >> jon karl is in argentina for the summit. and jon, we'll see you tomorrow night right here. in the meantime tonight, we are also watching a major storm system already creating chaos tonight, sweeping from the west, into the midwest and northeast. dangerous driving and accidents across southern california already. semitrucks jackknifing and sliding off the highways a chaotic scene. traffic at a standstill in the rain. as i mentioned, that severe weather headed to the northeast eventually. and we have the new track

tonight. abc's will carr in california. >> reporter: tonight, a bone dry region thirsty for rain, getting too much too quickly. the weather creating havoc on california highways. a big rig slamming into two cars before sliding off the side of the freeway and down an embankment. four firefighters hurt in a crash after a driver spun out on a slick road and smashed into their truck. overnight, tractor trailers jackknifed and crushed. this car flipped over. the driver rushed to the hospital. traffic snarled for miles. and watch first responders make a daring swift water rescue on the l.a. river. tonight, mudslides also rushing across areas recently ravaged by wildfires. >> just a lot of mud coming down at a very rapid rate of speed now here in rice canyon. >> reporter: evacuations now underway in butte county. this man riding his horses to safety, not far from the city of paradise, the community wiped off the map from the camp fire. >> so, let's get to will carr, joining us from california. will, i know that there's still a risk of mudslides made even

worse because of the fires that simply cleaned away the landscape. >> reporter: david, with more rain on the way, all eyes are on the burn scars, because there are no trees to stop all of that rock and mud from rushing down and slamming into homes that are still standing and communities like this that have before been devastated. david? >> certainly don't deserve this. will, thank you. let's get right to rob marciano, tracking it all as the system moving from the west all the way across the country, rob. >> reporter: that's right, david. it's a potent pacific system, going to impact the entire u.s. california getting the worst of it right now. and there's another storm behind it. an active pattern. tonight, heavy rain, imbedded thunderstorms, wind and heavy mountain snow. it is moving quickly. by tomorrow night, it's already in the plains. after that, a severe weather component. dallas to little rock to new orleans. big-time hail, big wind, maybe tornadoes pushing across the gulf coast. heavy snow in nebraska. and heavy rain moving into the northeast by saturday night. david? >> a very messy week ahead. rob, thank you.

as you all know at home, we spent days anchoring this broadcast from california during the fires, both in the north and the south. and tonight, a piece of video just now emerging that left us speechless. a sheriff's deputy racing to rescue people trapped by the devastating camp fire in paradise, california. and it gives a real sense of how quickly the flames moved in, surrounding homes and people who were trying to get out. you were watching what butte county sheriff's deputy aaron thought could be the last moments of his life. he was responding in paradise, california, the town destroyed. but tonight, these images just now emerging. the camp fire had just broken out and four nurses from feather river hospital were trapped. there is fire all around him. >> oh. oh. >> reporter: you can hear a woman yelling for help in the distance. and you can see what it was like. the unthinkable scene, as thick smoke and flames close this on homes. so many of them with people still inside.

you can hear his breathing. deputy parmley racing toward the flames. the burning embers blowing across the street. he radios in. >> county 13, it's bad. >> reporter: they try to find a way out. one nurse asking the deputy, is anyone coming? >> are they coming for us? >> come on. >> watch out, watch out. >> reporter: you can see the nurses wearing their surgical masks. suddenly, they spot a bulldozer coming toward them. officer parmley uses his flashlight to try to flag it down. the bulldozer stops, half of them get in, the others fall s right behind. >> can we get in? >> get in. >> reporter: they had discovered a way out. deputy parmley making sure everyone was safe before climbing in himself, shutting the door, driving out. they all survived. one deputy who saved those nurses. so many first responders risking their lives to save others. but we do move on here tonight, and there are new

charges in the gruesome deaths of a family in new jersey, just weeks before christmas. their home destroys by fire. we reported on it here. the husband, wife and their two children who lived there were all discovered dead. tonight, the husband's brother is now charged with the brutal murders and with arson. abc's linsey davis with what prosecutors say motivated such a deadly family feud. >> reporter: it was all about money. that's the reason tonight prosecutors say paul caneiro allegedly killed his younger brother, his sister in law and his young niece and nephew before setting their home, and later his own, on fire. >> it is our theory and belief that that fire was effectively a ruse, designed to make it appear as if the overall caneiro family was somehow targeted. >> reporter: around 4:00 a.m. on november 20th, prosecutors claim the 51-year-old first went to his brother and business partner's new jersey home and fatally shot him. they say he then shot and stabbed his brother's 45-year-old wife jennifer and stabbed his own 11-year-old nephew and 8-year-old niece

multiple times, killing them all, then starting a fire in their basement. around 5:00 a.m., the d.a. says paul caneiro started a fire at his own home with his wife and daughters inside. they were all able to escape unharmed. initially charged in that arson, caneiro faces four counts of murder. police say they're launching an investigation into the finances of both brothers. paul plans to plead not guilty to all charges, including the horrific crimes that took place in the home right behind me. david? >> linsey davis tonight. linsey, thank you. next tonight, to the video never seen before. the chilling confession of that colorado father who pleaded for the return of his pregnant wife and his young daughters, even though authorities say he had already killed them. chris watts is heard at first telling investigators that it was his wife who killed their daughters. investigators say lying as he said he killed her then out of rage. abc's clayton sandell tonight with the video. >> reporter: this is the moment chris watts finally admits to murder.

>> i just felt such anger, that nothing -- i didn't feel anything. >> okay. all right. >> but if she did nothing, nothing bugged me. >> reporter: telling his dad in august he strangled his wife shanann in a rage because he claims she murdered their two young daughters as their marriage was imploding. >> i could see like, she was on top of cece. >> what, choking her, or -- did she kill them? >> they were -- they were blue. >> both of them? >> yeah. >> she choked both of them to death? >> i freaked out and did the same thing to [ bleep ] her. >> reporter: but investigators say that claim was a lie. that he killed shanann and his daughters celeste, 3, and bella, 4. >> are you chris? >> yes. >> reporter: video and audio evidence released today shows watts letting police into their fredrik, colorado, home when

they were first reported missing. >> chris, did she drive her car from the airport? >> no, nicki dropped her off. >> reporter: officers and dogs searching every room for clues. but investigators say watts knew they were already dead, having just returned from dumping their bodies at a remote oil field. >> why take the bodies out of the house and bury them? >> i was scared. i didn't know what else to do. >> reporter: watts admitted to having an affair with a coworker, keeping photos of her hidden on a secret app on his phone. watts pleaded guilty to all three murders and last week he was sentenced. he'll spend the rest of his life in prison. david? >> clayton, thinank you. next tonight, the american couple found dead in mexico, victims of that silent killer, carbon monoxide. and tonight, their family is now struggling to bring their bolds home. here's abc's victor oquendo. >> reporter: tonight, the family of ed winders and barbara moller

struggling for answers and with mexican officials to return the couple's bodies after the two were found dead. both killed inside their air bnb by carbon monoxide poisoning while vacationing in san miguel de allende. >> it's hard to make sense of something that doesn't make -- you know, we all pass at some point in time, but it just seems wrong. >> reporter: the landlord, after not hearing anything from the coup couple, finding them nearly two weeks ago. mexican officials now working to see if a faulty heater was the source of the carbon monoxide. carbon monoxide is colorless, odorless and poisonous. symptoms can range from headaches, to loss of consciousness, and ultimately get death. airbnb saying, we are deeply saddened by the loss. the family eager to bring the two home. >> my dad was my best friend, my sister's best friend. he's just a larger than life figure. >> reporter: the family now urging anyone traveling this holiday season to a vacation home to ask about carbon monoxide detectors, and if they

don't have one, you can bring one just like this. >> victor, thank you. and there has been an arrest at a shooting in an alabama mall. the police killed a man they mistakenly believed to be the gunman. aaron brown has been arrested at a relative's home outside atlanta, charged with wounding an 18-year-ol at the mall on thanksgiving. police shot and killed e.j. bradford, the next day admitting they were wrong. that part of the case is still under investigation tonight. there is still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this thursday. the close call at a construction site. look at this. the crew working on the bell tower. the clock face suddenly breaking lose, bouncing off their basket as it crashed down. also tonight, the shark attack. the family in the water with nurse sharks, often told they're docile, they won't harm you, when one of those sharks then attack theirs son. and the headline tonight involving payless shoes. the shoe venue that changed the name and raised the prices. a $35 pair of shoes could sell for more than $600.

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next tonight, the experiment making headlines by the chain payless shoes. they held a grand opening of a luxury store with a different name, but the same shoes. and charged hundreds more for those same shoes. customers paid. here's abc's kayna whitworth. >> reporter: behold palessi. >> we built a fake luxury store in los angeles and filled it with payless shoes. the guests at our grand opening party had no idea. >> reporter: guests invited to check out what looked like a luxury shoe shop. >> they're elegant, sophisticated. >> so classy. >> and i could tell it was made with high quality material. >> reporter: a $35 shoe going for $645. store owners sot on their heels as fashion influencers emptied their wallets. >> i would pay 400, 500, yeah. people are going to be like, where did you get those? those are amazing. >> reporter: then, they're let in on the prank. >> these are actually from payless.

>> you've got to be kidding me. >> shut up. are you serious? >> reporter: but those shoppers were refunded their money and they got to key the shoes. david, payless calling it a provocative social experiment, designed to challenge today's image conscious culture. either way, it was an effective pr stunt. david? >> clearly a marketing ploy, but they paid. kayna, thank you. when we come back here tonight, the new health alert about women and snoring and the effect on your heart. and then that family swimming with nurse sharks. the little boy suddenly attack. we do have news on his condition right after the break. ix. i tried cold turkey, i tried the patch. they didn't work for me. i didn't think anything was going to work for me until i tried chantix. chantix, along with support, helps you quit smoking. chantix reduced my urge to smoke. i needed that to quit. when you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms.

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to the index. the close call at purdue university. two workers doing repairs on the bell tower the clock face suddenly breaking loose from the crane, bouncing off the basket of their cherry picker. they were not hurt. the family shark scare in the bahamas tonight. 8-year-old asher jones swimming with nurse sharks, which are not considered dangerous to humans. he begins screaming when one attacked. bite marks on his back. we're told he will be okay. and researchers say women who snore may be at a higher risk than men for heart attack or stroke. symptoms are similar to obstructive sleep aapnea. when we come back, have you ever wondered, would a dog remember you if you had to go away for a long time? stay tuned. ugh, now your insurance won't replace it outright because of depreciation. if your insurance won't replace your car, what good is it? you'd be better off just taking your money

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duri finally tonight here, america strong. the soldier gone nearly a year, and just watch her dog waiting at the airport. this is the image seen by so many tonight. coming down the escalator, midway there in her uniform, 23-year-old specialist cassandra cabrera. her family waiting and so was her dog. cassandra had been deployed in africa for nine months. and if you've ever wondered, would your dog remember you, your love, watch this border collie, miss may. miss may giving kisses, the dog overjoyed, running back to the family but she could not resist, back to that specialist, and cassandra telling us tonight, they've been snuggling every night at their home in linden, california, saying miss may hasn't left her side since he came home. we thank specialist cabrera for

>> announcer: live where you live, this is abc 7 news. mother nature putting on a show after the storms move through the bay area. a rainbow off the san mateo coastline. that's a sign of good luck. maybe. wet weather is not entirely over. not like you're in hawaii. but you're in the bay area. >> looks like that pot of gold is in the water out there. are you going to dive out there? >> i'd go for it. i'm larry beil. >> and i'm kristen sze. let's get to spencer christian who's been tracking the rain all day. >> the storm is weakening a bit but there are still pockets of downpours. take a look. a line of showers, some of them moderate to heavy just east of san jose reaching from mount hamilton toward morgan hill into watsonville. farther north in the inland east bay, southeast of livermore up and around tracy, discovery bay and out toward rio vista we have another line of showers. maybe moderate showers with some

heavy downpours. there has been flash flooding and there has been -- there have been i should say debris flows in the area of paradise, the burn scar areas and a flash flood warning remains in effect there until 9:15 tonight. flash flood watch is in effect for a much wider area up toward redding and down toward, well, south of colusa. 1 on the storm impact scale. next few hours we'll see scattered showers, isolated thunderstorms are possible. we still have rough surf and large breakers possible. forecast taking us into the early evening. continued weakening of the storm but showers can pop up just about anytime and just about anywhere until the system is completely out of here, which it is not yet. larry and kristen? >> all right. thank you, spencer. that heavy storm that swept across the bay area overnight and into the morning took a real toll on bay area drivers. there are multiple accidents blamed on flooding sflp david lui live in san jose to sus