[Blackwell:] Adopting a child is a great way to grow a family, but the process can be draining emotionally and financially for some. Well, a Los Angeles man has found a way to save money, and his inspiration comes from his own very large family.
[Hank Fortener, Founder Of @adoptt & @worldadoptday:] I grew up with a brother and sister, then, we had 36 foster kids over a seven-year period. And then my mom and dad adopted four boys and four girls from five different countries. In the morning, you didn't know who was going to be at the breakfast table but there was always one more seat.
[Unidentified Male:] Did you have this pillow with you? Yes. What a cool idea. Who's this right here? Daddy.
[Matt Riehm, Adoptive Father:] Tracy, came to me and said she wanted to adopt. I was really concerned about the cost. And oftentimes, a family is looking at a bill of $30, $40, or $50,000, and so many families would adopt if they could eliminate this financial barrier. Then, what if we could carry the burden together? adopttogether.org is designed as the first ever crowd funding platform for adoption. We're raising funds to pay for those bills. That's when your friends, and family, and co-workers gets to be part of your adoption story, simply by donating to your process.
[Tracy Riehm, Adoptive Mother:] We aren't anything crazy special. We're not rich. We and the community brought him home.
[Fortener:] adopttogether.org has helped over 2,400 families raise $10.5 million to bring their kids home. And it's so rewarding for me to get to do this work because I get to continue in the family business of helping children come into families.
[Unidentified Male:] Nice. Nice one.
[Unidentified Female:] Tornado right there. There's a tornado right there. Oh, my god. Oh, oh, it's coming at your backyard. Oh, my god.
[Paul:] Step away from the window. That is a possible tornado forming there. This was part of a severe storm system that tore through Virginia Beach. We know at least a dozen homes were destroyed. Two dozen others have been damaged. Thankfully, no injuries reported, but a local pastor says the storm threw a big chunk of his church into a field across the street, collapsing the auditorium and peeling that metal roof right off the building.
[Blackwell:] Three people are facing charges this morning after a massive fire caused part of an interstate in Atlanta to collapse. Investigators think one of the suspects set construction materials on fire under Interstate 85. That was Thursday. It grew into this enormous fire that eventually caused a piece of the Interstate to crash to the ground. Repairs to the major artery in and out of the city could take several months.
[Paul:] New details in the manhunt for that missing student and teacher from Tennessee. Want to share with you some of these new images that were released. They show them at a Walmart. This is in Oklahoma City last month, two days after they disappeared. Now, this is the first confirmed sighting of the two since 50-year-old Tad Cummins, who you just saw there, allegedly abducted this girl, 15-year-old Elizabeth Thomas. The teenage girl has been missing since March 13th. Now, investigators say they found romantic e-mail messages between the two on Cummins' school account. According to authorities Cummins is armed with two guns. He was added to the state's top ten most wanted.
[Blackwell:] All right. Coming up in the 10:00 hour of "NEWSROOM", President Trump's agenda overshadowed by Russia. Can the administration shake that cloud of controversy that continues to hang over the White House?