>> right now on america this morning, the holiday travel rush kicks into high gear. this morning just as a massive storm slams the west coast, dumping up to ten inches of rain. what to expect and the message from the tsa. what it's now finding in record numbers in the security

lines breaking overnight back on u.s. soil. >> free at last, free at last. >> thank god almighty. free at last. >> ten americans held in venezuela arrive home after a prisoner swap also included a fugitive known as fat leonard. what's behind the deal and what venezuela got in return? new chaos at the border. >> texas now flying migrants to chicago. authorities overwhelmed by record numbers of migrant crossings. what's fueling this new surge and the damage to the economy as rail lines across the border are closed? >> an abc news exclusive. the family of a nine year old girl kidnaped on a camping trip speaks out. >> i dropped my knees screaming their ordeal, how she's doing and what's happening now to the suspect. >> backlash in the cereal aisle. new proof that customers are fed up with price increases and later, the ups driver going way above and beyond to make his delivery. and macaulay culkin in a new home alone movie.

>> sort of. i was just a kid, and you left me home alone, the drummer. >> from abc news in new york. this is america this morning. good thursday morning, everyone. >> i'm andrew dymburt i'm andrea fujii in for rhiannon. >> we begin with concerns about holiday travel today with just four days before christmas as millions prepare to travel by air, a massive storm is bearing down on the west coast, which could have ripple effects across the country at least three deadly car crashes could be related to the storm, and the first evacuate warnings have already been issued. >> the holiday travel rush is on. airports today are bracing for the busiest day of the season, with nearly 49,000 planes in the air. there's a lot of people going in many different directions just got to bring your patients. the biggest problem is the weather. a slow moving storm could dump ten inches of rain in parts of southern california, potentially triggering mudslides and air

travel delays that could impact the rest of the country. on the east coast, neighborhoods are under water. days after a powerful storm slammed multiple states, killing six people. some rivers in new jersey are at major flood stage through tomorrow. boats were needed to rescue people in little falls. we had to leave because our heat went out so, you know, with the kids and i'm expecting we couldn't do it anymore in maine, several people rescued after a river overflowed its banks. it could be days before power is fully restored. bad weather last year caused the staffing meltdown at southwest airlines just this week, the airline was hit with a record fine. it will now be required to give passengers a $75 voucher for any significant delays caused by the airline. >> you need to take care of your passengers and if you don't, there will be consequences. we will hold you accountable. >> security also a concern with the tsa seizing a record number of guns agents at reagan national outside washington stopped a man with this loaded handgun. and at new york's laguardia airport, 17 bullets

were found hidden inside a diaper in a carry on fines for firearm violations were recently increased and can now top $4,000 per violation back in california, some evacuation warnings were already issued in ventura county last night due to flood concerns. we'll check your full forecast in just a few minutes. >> breaking overnight ten americans are back on u.s. soil, landing in texas overnight after a prisoner swap between venezuela and the u.s. as part of the deal, venezuela is also handing over a u.s. fugitive. he is known as fat leonard. abc's justin finch is here with details. justin. good morning. >> andrea. good morning. this us venezuela prisoner exchange is now the largest release of u.s. prisoners in venezuela's history . it also calls for venezuela to release 21 political prisoners. this morning, a first look at six wrongfully detained americans in route to a texas army base after being freed in a prisoner exchange deal with venezuela. the white house

national security adviser posting this image online and welcoming the men home, california businessman savoy wright, have been held in venezuela since october. >> so much gratitude for the moment, for the united states of america, for all of you and for the opportunity to come home, los angeles attorney evan hernandez heading home after being detained in venezuela since march of 2022, accused of being a spy. >> i want to thank president biden because i know he made a difficult decision that will have a lot of pressure on him on capitol hill, but he got us home and we're with our families. senate republican marco rubio slamming the exchange as a disgraceful decision in the biden administration, brokering the deal with venezuela. >> the white house agreeing to grant clemency to alex saab, who faced money laundering charges. president nicolas maduro embraced his close ally at the presidential palace in exchange

for saab. venezuela sent back ten americans plus fugitive malaysian defense contractor leonard glenn francis francis, also known as fat leonard, escaped u.s. custody last year. francis pleaded guilty to the $35 billion scheme, which used prostitutes, luxury travel and cash to bribe u.s. naval officers into steering lucrative contracts to his companies. as part of the deal, president biden says president maduro also gave assurances he would allow fair elections. biden also saying lifted sanctions could snap back if venezuela doesn't uphold its end of the deal. andrew. >> all right, justin, thank you. former president trump is expected to appeal to the supreme court as early as next week after being removed from the ballot in colorado. the ruling by colorado's highest court is based on the 14th amendment, which bans insurrection from holding office. 16 other states are considering similar moves, and officials in california are now

exploring options to remove trump from their ballot. opponents of the colorado ruling argue trump has not been convicted for his alleged role in the january 6th insurrection, and some legal experts question whether the 14th amendment applies to the office of the president. >> new chaos at the southern border. the situation described as a disaster where authorities overwhelmed by the surge of migrants rail lines have been closed, which is hurting the economy. and now officials in texas are taking new action. here's abc's derek dennis this morning. >> the crisis at the southern border going airborne texas governor greg abbott releasing video and announcing he's now flying migrants to chicago. 120 arriving on the first flight because the city, quote, started obstructing and targeting our bussing mission, adding, until biden steps up to secure the border, we will continue to provide overwhelmed texas border towns with much needed relief. it comes after abbott signed a law this week that, if upheld,

would authorize local police to arrest migrants suspected of crossing the border illegally. a record 12,600 crossing in one day alone. >> and there's more people in the pipeline, and i suspect christmas will be worse than today, and new year's will be worse than today. we're going the absolute wrong direction. >> abc's maria villarreal is in eagle pass, texas. there has been a steady flow of migrants funneling through this grassy pit. >> one group leaves on a bus and another one is escorted over the riverbank. just yesterday, 4400 apprehensions in this area alone. many will wait 10 to 12 hours just to be processed. some will wait up to two days overnight. they'll sleep on this dirt with no shelter, just the clothes on their back. and those foil blankets. processing facilities are full. agents tell me they are overworked and overwhelmed. >> we need a surge. immigration judges to the border. this is america. people need to get their cases heard in days, not years. and if they do not qualify for asylum, they need to be deported. and now, growing

concern about the economic impact of this surge in migrant officials recently closed some rail crossings at the border, halting freight trains that carry everything from produce to auto parts. >> one rail company says the shutdown is costing $200 million per day. smugglers play a major role in this crisis, a u.s. official says. people acting as travel agents in places as far away as africa are helping migrants travel to mexico before being connected with smugglers for the trip to the u.s. border. andrew andrea. >> all right, derek, thank you. the lincoln memorial in washington has been partially closed after it was vandalized, splattered with red paint. the words free gaza were scrawled across the base of the monument. officials say it could take several days to remove the paint in the middle east, ceasefire talks are gaining momentum, but the airstrikes are not letting up as israel vows to continue fighting until hamas is destroyed. palestinian officials say the war has now claimed the lives of more than 20,000 people, and humanitarian aid is still severely limited. unicef

says children in southern gaza have less than two quarts of water per day, a fraction of what's recommended for survival. >> a major recall from toyota this morning. it's now recalling 1 million vehicles, including the camry and rav4, because of a potential problem with the airbags, six toyota models and five lexus models are affected. all of them from model years 2020 through 2022. a sensor defect could stop the airbag from deploying in a crash. no injuries reported. we have a list of all the affected cars on our website abc news.com time now for a look at your thursday weather. >> good morning. widespread flooding is likely to continue, especially in southern california today through friday night. mudslides flash flooding and road closures are likely. meantime, into friday, thatrillionain is causing problems in the south west, with mountain snow in the northwest. two but chicago down to houston

and dallas could be some travel delays with rain on friday. then this weekend, the rain will continue with a snowstorm from denver into the northern plains. several inches likely. i'm accuweather's kevin cosgrove have a great day >> coming up, the rising cost of breakfast americans fed up with cereal prices also ahead. >> is it too hard to quit satellite radio? the new allegations against sirius xm and we hear for the first time from the family of a nine year old

running is awesome. but her moderate to severe eczema would make her skin so uncomfortable. i was always so itchy especially when i was hot. now my skin doesn't itch as much. now we're staying ahead of her eczema. there's a power inside all of us to live our passion. and dupixent works on the inside to help heal your skin from within. it helps block a key source of inflammation inside the body that can cause eczema. so, they can have clearer skin and less itch. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. healing from within is a wonderful thing. ask your child's eczema specialist

how dupixent can help heal their skin from within. brandi this week on gma. >> they're always after me. lucky charms.

were the target of a joke in austin powers? >> but now the company that makes the cereal is facing a backlash over price increases. general mills, which also makes cheerios and chex mix, says revenue is down as more customers protest rising prices and turn to low cost brands. general mills raised prices due to supply issues and inflation. >> sirius xm is facing a lawsuit accused of making it too hard for customers to cancel their subscription. new york's attorney general claims the satellite radio company forces customers into extended phone calls or online chats, and trains customer service agents not to take no for an answer. the company calls the allegations baseless, as we're now hearing from the family of a little girl abducted from a campground in new york. >> the suspect is due in court today as the girl's aunt now describes what they've been through this morning. the family of the nine year old girl recently abducted while camping in upstate new york, is speaking exclusively with good morning america about their ordeal. >> pure torture, pure, pure torture. really? you're thinking

like, what if this doesn't end soon? what if we can't find her? what if, like all of the what ifs, the girl's face is blurred at the family's request, her recovery has been a roller coaster. >> according to her aunt, she is a child that, um, didn't ask for what happened to her. >> so she's trying to resume her her normal life while camping at monroe lake state park in september, the girl was riding her bike with other family members when she decided to do one more lap on her own and seemingly vanished. >> this can really happen in the blink of an eye. >> it really can. and i think it's like part really to like, not simplify it. but bad luck in some senses. like you know, wrong place at wrong time. >> the family waited for two days, then police say a ransom note was slipped into her parents mailbox. leading authorities to 46 year old craig ross jr after they traced his fingerprints from a previous dui

arrest. they found him in a trailer about 13 miles from the campground. >> when you learned that your niece had been located, what was your reaction? >> um, i dropped to my knees screaming. >> ross has pleaded not guilty to kidnaping and assault. later on good morning america, the family explains what they hope to see in court. >> coming up, the dramatic robbery at a luxury handbag store also ahead, a man is freed after serving 48 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. for a crime he did not commit. >> his message this morning if your moderate to severe crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis symptoms are stopping you in your tracks... choose stelara® from the start... and move toward relief after the first dose... with injections every two months. stelara® may increase your risk of infections, some serious, and cancer. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, sores, new skin growths, have had cancer, or if you need a vaccine.

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old glenn simmons was officially cleared of the crime yesterday. back in 1975, he was convicted of murdering a woman at an oklahoma liquor store. his prison time included a stint on death row. but in july, a new trial was ordered after it was determined that prosecutors had withheld evidence. simmons says he's not the only victim in this case. he says everyone involved in the case are victims, too. >> there's a new push to change how prisoners are being treated behind bars. one new proposal is being closely watched across the country. this morning a win for supporters of prison reform after lawmakers moved to ban the use of solitary confinement in one of the nation's largest prison systems. new york city council approving a plan that would require inmates spend at least 14 hours outside their cells per day, drastically reducing the time spent in isolation, which is currently up to 23 hours per day. you're toilet is in there. >> your table to eat is in there, and your bed is in there all in one room. and you don't have any human contact. you have a light on 24 over seven, the

mayor, a former nypd officer, has vowed to veto the bill, saying guards need to be able to separate prisoners who pose a danger which city council is saying is while they're in jail, if they commit an assault on someone, an inmate or a correction officer before we place them into punitive segregation, we need to allow them to have a trial of due process. >> that is saying if someone assaults me on the street before i could place them in jail, they must have a trial to determine if i'm going to arrest them and place them in jail. that makes no sense. >> earlier this year, prisoners in pennsylvania sued, claiming isolation is unconstitutional. the state is now considering scaling back solitary confinement. california also addressing the issue recently mandating prisoners get 20 hours per week outside their cell. but civil rights advocates say that's not enough. they want isolation, punishment eliminated, calling it a form of torture instead of actually training staff and creating systems so that we can keep treat people humanely while in

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such as eye pain or vision changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. healing from within is a wonderful thing. ask your child's eczema specialist how dupixent can help heal their skin from within. performance from brandi this week on gma. >> time to check the pulse and we begin with a ups driver going above and beyond even during a flood emergency. >> see, ryan long's delivery truck was cut off by rising water in maine. so he used a neighbor's boat to get the packages across a washed out road. and he successfully made the delivery. >> ryan says his truck was loaded with christmas presents. next, the return of the cubicle.

>> they are surging in popularity as more companies demand workers return to the office. cubicles went out of style in recent decades, criticizing as being dehumanizing. but now, after the pandemic, workers want their privacy and their own space. the new york times says the cubicle production market is expected to grow by $2 billion in the coming years. >> next home alone fans demanding the return of kevin mccallister. >> someone online released a trailer for a new home alone movie. it's a parody featuring clips of macaulay culkin and the cast from their other, more recent roles. the trailer shows an adult kevin mccallister invading the home of the wet bandits this holiday season. >> kevin mccallister is back, but this time he's not playing by the rules and breaking news. >> a chicago man has booby trapped his house with guns, explosives, and possibly tarantulas. a swat team is again, this is fake, but that fake trailer has millions of

views so far, though no plans for the real thing. >> next. a home that looks good enough to eat this home near chicago looks like a giant gingerbread house. >> and it's all on the lighting, complete with icing. lollipop and candy canes, and finally, an army sergeant granting his daughter's christmas wish. >> he was hiding in that wrapped box as first grader tenley read a note and then dad sprang up and a long away hug followed. he was deployed overseas and is now home for the holidays. that's what all about. what all about. >> that is a great christmas i know what it's like to perform through pain. if you're like me, one of the millions suffering from pain caused by migraine, nurtec odt may help. it's the only medication that can treat a migraine when it strikes and prevent migraine attacks. treat and prevent, all in one. don't take if allergic to nurtec. allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. relief is possible.

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