gio benitez with late details. >>> the crisis at the border. top u.s.ls head to mexico for major talks with the country's president about slowing the record migrant surge, as a caravan of thousands of migrants, some of them families with small children, make their way towards the u.s. border. and tonight, the urgent plea from the mayor of new york city. mireya villarreal reporting. >>> the new fears of a wider war in the middle east. u.s. troops come under attack again in iraq. militants claiming responsibility for the latest drone strikes just days after the u.s. hit targets in iraq. and the urgent effort to free the hostages still held by ha hamas, some of them americans. president biden talking with leaders in the region. terry moran in washington and britt clennett from israel. >>> a legal victory for former president trump. michigan's highest court rejects an appeal aimed at barring him from the state's republican primary. what this could mean for similar challenges. aaron katersky standing by. >>> the incredible story of survival. a driver pulled

gio benitez with late details. >>> the crisis at the border. top u.s. officials head to mexico for major talks with the country's president about slowing the record migrant surge, as a caravan of thousands of migrants, some of them families with small children, make their way towards the u.s. border. and tonight, the urgent plea from the mayor of new york city. mireya villarreal reporting. >>> the new fears of a wider war in the middle east. u.s. troops come under attack again in iraq. militants claiming responsibility for the latest drone strikes just days after the u.s. hit targets in iraq. and the urgent effort to free the hostages still held by hamas, some of them americans. president biden talking with leaders in the region. terry moran in washington and britt clennett from israel. >>> a legal victory for former president trump. michigan's highest court rejects an appeal aimed at barring him from the state's republican primary. what this could mean for similar challenges. aaron katersky standing by. >>> the incredible story of survival. a driver pu

christmas season ever as a major cross country storm sweeps east, ross marciano with the forecast, and gio benitez with the best and worst times to travel. >>> a terrifying moment at sea, a cruise ship slammed by a rogue wave, sending hundreds of passengers scrambling. >>> the war between israel and hamas, an american hostage confirmed dead, a 73-year-old father and grandfather, the last known video of him just before the attack. >>> and president joe biden responding late today, our brit clennett in israel. >>> the fbi is calling new year's eve in times square an attractive target for violence. >>> the state of emergency in upstate new york, a tanker truck loaded with propane colliding into a railway bridge and exploding, with just three days to go, the last-minute holiday shopping rush, and the notable price drop ahead of christmas. >>> and restoring notre dame, james longman takes us inside the effort the bring the ancient landmark back to life. >> announcer: from abc news world headquarters in new york, this is "world news tonight," with david muir. >> david: good evening, it's great to have y

one was also to welcome commissioner ron benitez . and i don't know what would be an appropriate time if he wanted to say a few words. i know that maybe he i got to say a few words when i first started. i don't know if that's something that we can do that at the commission or reports item. okay next one. just one. yes just to give them a few minutes to prepare, uh, address to the public. yeah. the state of the nation, according to commissioner ron benitez. um i also wanted to reflect my deepest gratitude for our co commissioners, commissioner tiffany carter, and for tricia as well. so, um, yeah, i'm. i'm glad that they're, you know, they have, i know everybody has other things to do. and so i appreciate all of you also to give your time to this commission. um, and, oh, you know, i wanted to say on apec that i appreciate the way that you've been looking at this, because i, you know, it it's an indicator to me. obviously the concern around apec as well as concern around transportation mitigation, concerns about any other sort of like ou

rob marciano with the forecast, and gio benitez with the best and worst times to travel. >>> the new images just coming in, a terrifying moment at sea. a cruise ship slammed by a rogue wave, sending hundreds of passengers scrambling. >>> the war between israel and hamas, an american hostage confirmed dead, a 73-year-old father and grandfather, the last known video of him just before the attack. >>> and president joe biden responding late today, our britt clennett in israel. >>> here at home, law enforcement on high alert. why the fbi is calling new year's eve in times square an attractive target for violence. pierre thomas reports. >>> the state of emergency in upstate new york, a tanker truck loaded with propane colliding into a railway bridge and exploding. >>> with just three days to go, the last-minute holiday shopping rush, and the notable price drop ahead of christmas. >>> and restoring notre dame, james longman takes us inside the effort to bring the ancient landmark back to life. >> announcer: from abc news world headquarters in new york, this is "world news tonight," with da

gio benitez on the travel impact. rob marciano with the forecast. >>> the crisis at the border. more buses heading north to sanctuary cities, as officials plead for help from washington. what they're doing now, as their communities are pushed to the breaking point. the new agreement between the u.s. and mexico, as a large migrant caravan moves towards the border. >>> overseas, the war between israel and hamas. another american hostage confirmed dead. a wife, mother, and grandmother. her husband was also killed. and why israel says it could expand operations in southern lebanon. britt clennett from israel. >>> in the race for the white house, former south carolina governor nikki haley under fire and trying to clarify her comments a day after she failed to mention the word slavery when asked about the cause of the civil war. how her gop rivals have responding. >>> the moment police in texas swarm a home, the site of an alleged murder plot. why authorities say the teenage suspect lured his friends to kill them. >>> the new develop in mortgage rates. encouraging news for home buyers

you can see here in surveillance video benitez slamming a man's face against the windshield of a car while he was in handcuffs. but the us as he was known amongst his colleagues as the fuse, apparently for having a short temper and a deal made with the court benitez who retired from the department after this incident. he must complete 750 hours of community service. take anger management and lgbtq sensitivity training. flavored tobacco products may be legal to sell in san francisco, but the city attorney david chiu says >> that is not stopping 3 online retailers from making sales in the city to says his department is now going after 3 companies, millennial one, she wrote technology and the smoky llc. he says they violated local laws meant to keep nicotine out of the hands of children. and broke california's unfair competition. law 2 did not specify exactly how the laws were broken. the sale of e-cigarettes has been banned in san francisco since 2019. there's a state of emergency in sonoma county. the board of supervisors is sounding the alarm as the highly contagious variant of the b

gio benitez on the travel impact. rob marciano with the forecast. >>> the crisis at the border. more buses heading north to sanctuary cities, as officials plead for help from washington. what they're doing now, as their communities are pushed to the breaking point. the new agreement between the u.s. and mexico, as a large migrant caravan moves towards the border. >>> overseas, the war between israel and hamas. another american hostage confirmed dead. a wife, mother, and grandmother. her husband was also killed. and why israel says it could expand operations in southern lebanon. britt clennett from israel. >>> in the race for the white house, former south carolina governor nikki haley under fire and trying to clarify her comments a day after she failed to mention the word slavery when asked about the cause of the civil war. how her gop rivals are responding. >>> the moment police in texas swarm a home, the site of an alleged murder plot. why authorities say the teenage suspect lured his friends to kill them. >>> the new drop in mortgage rates. encouraging news for home buyers. wh

one expert tells abc's gio benitez that despite nearly 15,000 bird strikes in the last year, they remain a major concern. >> they can be very serious. the airplanes are not built to brush them aside. it can cause an engine to fail. >> meanwhile, across the pond. oh 40 mile per hour winds made for a tricky landing at heathrow airport. but this american airlines flight managed to touch down safely. really scary video there. back in florida, many flight delays approached for hours. one flight was delayed 21 hours. >> now to the crisis on the southern border. mexico has agreed to form a task force to look at ways to slow the flow of migrants coming from central and south america. it follows high level talks between u.s. and mexican officials. meanwhile the mayors of new york, chicago and denver are demanding more money from the federal government. they say they are overwhelmed by migrants being bused from texas. here's abc's rachel bade mexican officials unveiling a new task force to address the migrant surge at the u.s. >> mexico border, a move that comes after u.s. officials pressed the na

we start with our transportation correspondent gio benitez., good morning. >> reporter: hey, eva, good morning to you. this storm caused a slew of flight delays yesterday. remember, the majority of people traveling right now are driving. and we've seen a mess on the roads. overnight flooding, a threat for millions across the northeast. drivers navigating rain soaked streets in new york city. remnants of the storm making for mayhem in south dakota after 17 inches of snow fell, drivers forced to abandon their cars after sliding off interstate 90. semitrucks jackknifing. this one completely flipped over. in missouri, snowfall reducing visibility for drivers to less than a mile. and in the sky, another busy travel day expected. travel troubles not limited to weather. southwest airlines encountering a number of bird issues this past week. a southwest flight bound for austin -- >> big flock of birds went through. may have hit one there. >> reporter: -- turned around and returned to ft. lauderdale following a bird strike shortly after takeoff. >> you

let's begin with transportation correspondent gio benitez at george bush international airport in mye town of houston. good morning, gio. >> reporter: it is your houston, michael. good morning. it's been looking very, very good across the country over the past few days. now today is going to be another busy day. this one is off to newark later this morning. that one is austin. that one to cancun. we have another to orlando. there is a lot happening just days ahead of christmas. this morning the travel rush for christmas is far from over. as millions hit the skies before the weekend, the tsa screening about 5 million people between wednesday and thursday. that number is sure to jump today for what is expected to be a record breaking holiday period, the most travellers ever. >> last year we didn't even take off. we were just glad to be able to get off the first one and get out. >> reporter: incredibly the extreme weather in the west causing very few cancellations, but hundreds of delays. >> so far from what i hear it's very good. never know. weather is weather. >> reporter: it's incred

abc news transportation correspondent gio benitez is live at newark airport with what we can expect. you. >> reporter: hey, demarco. good morning. we are watching that weather in the northeast. right now delays and cancellations are looking very low. that's good news there. but it will be busy today. hopper is estimating the number of airline seats sold for today 3.7 million between now and tuesday the 2nd. we're looking at 17.3 million seats. an incredible amount of planes in the air today, nearly 44,000. tomorrow more than 48,000. wednesday the 3rd that's looking to be the busiest next week as people go back home. more than 44,000 flights. on the road, try to avoid driving between 2 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. today, and tomorrow between 5 p.m. an 8 p.m. i'm going to say it again. best time to get on the road early in the morning or late at night. for flights you want to try to get on the earliest flight possible. eva? >> good advice from gio. thank you very much. now to the final preparations in times square for one of the biggest new year's eve celebrations in the world. all eyes are on t

gio benitez is there for the special moment.ut the 49ers that you love so much? >> the 9ers just bring me so much joy and excitement. it's just part of me and i'll be a fan forever. >> you even wore a jersey to your year book photo shoot? >> i did. i did. i wear my jersey when i want security, comfort and confidence. >> reporter: the san francisco native, proud of all her 49ers gear. >> i got this flag from the 49ers. i have had this for 10 or 13 years. >> reporter: which includes homemade ornaments of her favorite players. >> this is patrick willis. i got this ornament that i made of fred warner. >> reporter: tell me about the time your dad surprised you. >> he actually somehow worked his magic and got me to be a flag bearer. it was the most special moment of my life being that close to them. de niro's game. stop it! go! no going with your dad. and that's not all, because you're also getting pretty lame sideline access and you are going in. stop it. i literally have chills . i'm. thank you so much. >> are monday night football

transportation correspondent gio benitez is back. live at newark airport.again. the faa is already warning about low visibility and possible ground stop at airports along the east coast. look behind me. it's incredibly busy. we are expecting a high number of travellers all the way through the new year. this morning a mad dash to get back home after millions hit the road and skies for christmas. >> you've got to expect to it be crazy. >> tsa screening 14.5 million people at airports between last wednesday when the holiday rush began through christmas day monday. that's almost 2 million more than last year. >> tsa has been going well. long but smooth. >> reporter: travel itself also mostly smooth, with airlines like american and united reporting their best performance ever. but tsa and faa staffing issues creating hiccups at atlanta's hartsfield jackson international airport. the busiest in the world. >> we have never seen it this crazy. we live here so we know to get here early. >> the tsa telling abc news we did have an unusual number of employees call in s

our transportation correspondent gio benitez is on the tarmac of the airport there in houston.d morning, gio. >> reporter: hey, robin. good morning to you. this is one of the busiest airports in america right now. take a look at that massive 777 behind me with united. that just same in from sao paulo. it's being loaded up because it's getting ready to go back out there again. united tells me it is all hands on deck. just about every employee is on the clock. this morning the record breaking holiday travel rush soaring to new heights as the faa's busiest day in the skies gets under way. nearly 49,000 planes expected in the air today, as passengers make a mad dash home for christmas. airports packed from chicago to seattle to charlotte. >> this is ridiculous. hard to get here. >> reporter: as far as cancellations and delays, largely smooth sailing with just a few disruptions. at la guardia airport wednesday, the tsa said it removed 17 bullets hidden inside a diaper in a carry on bag. while at reagan national outside washington, agents stopped a man with a load handgun. an uninten

our transportation correspondent gio benitez is back with that.ttle consolation for the passengers who say they only found out about it when they tried to board. this morning some passengers who paid for a royal caribbean cruise were left high and dry after the cruise line apparently overbooked the ship. >> it was soul crushing. i get to the terminal. lot of hesitation. >> it happened in brisbane australia. passengers like jai and caitlin excited for their eight night south pacific cruise, paying nearly 2 grand for the trip, showed up at the terminal only to find out they didn't have a cabin. >> when we went to give our bags over we were told, you're not on the manifest. >> it's devastating. we have to unpack all of our bags. it's so sad. >> royal caribbean telling abc news the demand for the recent november 28th cruise went beyond the rooms that were available. unfortunately, efforts to accommodate everyone who wished to sail fell short for a group of our guest, and some were unable to sail as planned. the cruise line telling us each impacted gue

a former palo alto police sergeant has pleaded guilty to assault. 66 year-old wayne benitez pleaded guiltyt month for assaulting a man. >> he arrested at a mobile home park in 2018 surveillance video and body camera audio show him slamming a man's face against the windshield of that car while they were in handcuffs. he has since retired from the palo alto police department and is part of a court order. he must complete 750 hours of community service and take an anger management course and lgbtq sensitivity training. tonight, the group that's behind this plan community called california forever. and solano county is hosting a town hall meeting in vacaville last night. they met with the community in rio vista protesters showed up very early on edge. that meeting saying that they do not trust california forever after the company operated in secret for 6 years quietly binding up buying up a lot of land. but the ceo says there was a reason that his team did not reveal their intentions until recently. >> if we had an ounce of for their they would a bunch of reckless speculators coming in from th

. >> and now gio benitez joins us from new york to tell us what's coming up at seven on good morning america. >> hey there. good morning. coming up here on gma a major storm threat in the west california bracing for more dangerous high surf. plus the damage from that rogue wave that washed ashore. incredible pictures. there and the new year's eve forecast from coast to coast. our weather team of course has it all. and the safety preparations underway across the country ahead of those new year's eve celebrations. what you need to know plus, monday night football moves to tonight. a preview of the detroit lions and dallas cowboys and the bowl games being played on new year's day. and there is still hope to walk into the new year a millionaire. the powerball jackpot tonight. the payout you could take home that is all ahead right here on gma a happy new year. >> all right dia thank you so much. happy new year to you too. well still to come on abc seven mornings a family restaurant in the east bay was set to close after 46 years of business. how a community is coming together to keep it o

one expert tells abc's gio benitez that bird strikes are a major concern. >> it can be very serious. the airplanes are not built to brush them aside, but engines. i've taken birds and engines and it can damage the engine. it can cause an engine to fail. meanwhile a big storm in the northeast could disrupt flights. >> today, up to four inches of rain is possible this morning and kumasi i flew in yesterday from palm springs to sfo and it took me forever to get through security. there were a lot of people at the airport, so definitely if anybody's traveling get there early because it will take a little longer. >> busy time. well, there's another speed bump in oakland's ongoing search for a permanent police chief. the mayor has rejected all three of the finalists for the job. >> mayor jane tao made the decision yesterday. she is now requesting a new list of nominees from the police commission, and a response to abc seven news. the police commission president, marcia peterson, says, quote, we respect the mayor's decision to ask for a new list of candidates. the oakland police commission w

for good morning america, gio benitez, abc news, new york. >> you can celebrate with our super fans tonightup one of my favorite moments of the year. meeting the resilient people of rolling fork, mississippi. we're going to take a look at how their strength is an inspiration, especially during holiday season. and shoulders keep the microbes that cause flakes at bay. microbes, really? they're always on your scalp... little rascals... but good news, there's no itchiness, dryness or flakes down here! i love tiny troy. and his tiny gorgeous hair. he's the best. - make every wash count! - little help please. when moderate to severe ulcerative colitis takes you off course. put it in check with rinvoq, a once-daily pill. when i wanted to see results fast, rinvoq delivered rapid symptom relief and helped leave bathroom urgency behind. check. when uc tried to slow me down... i got lasting, steroid-free remission with rinvoq. check. and when uc caused damage rinvoq came through by visibly repairing my colon lining. check. rapid symptom relief... lasting steroid-free remission... ...and the chance to

our transportation correspondent gio benitez is at newark airport with much more.rning, gio. >> reporter: robin, good morning. yeah, we've been saying this holiday travel period is expected to be the busiest ever. boy are we seeing that play out right here at newark liberty international airport. countless people checking their bags to get out. this morning the mad dash for the holidays is officially under way. the faa bracing for more than 47,000 planes to take to the skies today and nearly 49,000 tomorrow on what's expected to be the busiest travel day of the holiday season. >> we are preparing for a busy holiday travel season. our safety teams will work around the clock so passengers are safe from takeoff to touchdown. >> reporter: that bad weather leading to a bumpy start with more than 10,000 flights delayed and hundreds cancelled this week. >> actually got delayed yesterday, missed my connection flight. >> reporter: the transportation secretary saying he's working closely with airlines to plan around further disruptions. >> we get down to the minute weather p

gio benitez, abc news, new york. >> i love it. he was like a fever.ould have words. oh you know it. and folks, you can see dallas face detroit on saturday at 8 p.m. on abc and espn. >> well coming up getrillioneady for binge this with the best books of the 2023 year. now, there's just so much happening in our world, so much at stake at the start of every morning, making sense of it all. >> that's not always so easy. >> and that's where we come in. >> good morning america. we want you to know every morning we're right here. and we got you. >> the daughter makes a gruesome discovery. her mother is found dead in her bathtub friday night. >> the stunning true crime. >> all of these little things creates a picture. >> this is suspicious. there is a big shock ahead. >> really stunning. 2020 friday night on abc. >> we have really good congratulations. you're breaking . >> i was terrified it was just so traumatic. >> nightmare. people need to understand these were wanted babies. >> 18 women facing life and death, medical conditions, their lives now out of the

our transportation correspondent gio benitez is here with more.as been released on $50,000 bail. this case is shining a light on mental health in the cockpit. this morning that off duty pilot who police say tried to take down a commercial plane is out on bond after appearing in court thursday. the judge ruling he can't have any contact or be within 30 feet of a plane. alaska airlines pilot joseph emerson made headlines in october when he hitched a ride in the cockpit jump seat with 84 people on board. he allegedly told investigators he had taken psychedelic mushrooms for the first time some 48 hours before the incident and thought he was having a nervous breakdown after going without sleep for 40 hours. emerson claimed he suffered from mental health issues before the incident even happened. listen to the on duty pilot. >> after one moment of going a little bit overboard, we put him in the back. >> reporter: those pilots telling police emerson engaged in casual conversation but then he threw his head set across the cockpit and announced i am not ok

our transportation correspondent gio benitez is here with more.rter: wow and good morning indeed, michael. this is a wild story. the man has been charged as a stoweaway on an aircraft. but who is he? how did he do it? and why? this morning as airlines gear up for record number of holiday travellers in the next few week, a bizarre mystery under investigation by the fbi. authorities trying to figure out how a man traveled from europe to the u.s. without a passworth, a visa or even an airline ticket. >> it's quite strange but it does happen fairly often around the world especially in countries where security is not very tight. >> reporter: investigators still know very little about the man but believe he's russian and somehow boarded a scandinavian airlines flight last month from copenhagen to los angeles. according to the criminal complaint the flight crew noticed bizarre behavior during the flight. quote, he wandered around the plane and kept changing his seat, asked for two meals and attempted to eat the chocolate that belonged to the crew. when t

our transportation correspondent gio benitez is at la guardia with more.morning, gio. >> reporter: hey, robin. good morning. yeah, we're not just talking about a slight increase in travellers here. we are talking about the busiest travel season ever during the holidays. take a look at these numbers. aaa is expecting 7.5 million domestic travellers between saturday december 23rd through monday january 1st. but that's more than 2019. u.s. airlines expect to sell 39 million seats domestically and internationally from next wednesday into the new year. you'll remember that southwest meltdown last december when almost 17,000 flights were cancelled, people were stranded all over the place. southwest says weather caused it, but it was the only airline hit hard because planes and crews were just in the wrong place. now, sam was just talking about that rough weather in major cities with major airports. that's what airlines are worried about. no small part because of the shortage in air traffic controllers. united said it is well prepared with more than 150 deicing t

transportation correspondent gio benitez is here with the changes that could be on the way after a seriesclose calls with pilots and air traffic controllers. good morning, gio. >> reporter: michael, good morning. the nation's top aviation experts are calling for change in how pilots report mental health issues. it was just in october, of course, when an off duty alaska airlines pilot who complained about mental health allegedly tried to take down a commercial plane, putting 84 lives at risk. the head of the national transportation safety board saying at a meeting wednesday that the safety risk comes from a culture of silence around mental health. pilots do get medical evaluations. but it's up to them to self-report any psychological problems. many worry they will lose their jobs. the ntsb wants them to feel empowered to get help. the faa telling abc news that it will re-examine its rules on mental health for pilots and air traffic controllers. it is launching a role making committee. robin? >> thank you, gio. and bless you, george. [ laughter ] we're going to turn to a historic night in c

jomari: giselle benÍtez de hialeah, lo harÍa. cumple 31 aÑos.a que tu donación tenga el doble de impacto. salud. llama o visítanos en línea ahora para que tu donación tenga salud es rodearte de quienes te hacen sentir bien. en kaiser permanente, trabajamos juntos para cuidar de todo lo que tú eres. raÚl: familia de "despierta amÉrica" me escuchan hablando asÍ porque ya llegamos aquÍ a la casa de luis. luis es un niÑo fanÁtico de "despierta amÉrica". lo vamos a sorprender. emo llegado a la puerta de la casa. Él no tiene idea de lo que va a pasar. lo vamos a llevar a la casa. serÁ una gran sorpresa para comenzar a celebrar la navidad. preparados?a la 1,2,3. [mÚsica] [cantan] hola. buenos dÍas. dÓnde estÁ luis? luisito! luis! cÓmo estÁs? luis: bien. raÚl: cÓmo te va? sabemos que eres fanÁtico de "despierta amÉrica". luis: sÍ. raÚl: quÉ lo que mÁs te gusta del programa? luis: todo lo que hacen. raÚl: celebramos la vida. nos encanta llevar alegrÍa, nos encanta llevar fe y esperanza. te gusta la navidad? y los regalos? luis: sÍ. raÚl: tenemos un regal