making news in america this morning -- siege in sydney. breaking developments as a gunman takes hostages at a popular cafe, forcing them to hold an islamic flag against the window. some able to escape. others left inside. the latest details ahead. breaking overnight, the last escapee from an alabama prison break now captured. the murder suspect captured by u.s. marshals with the help of a 24-hour tip line. foul play. a coach grabs his own player by her hair and throws her across the floor. why did she get kicked off the team while he's still coaching? and the big list revealed. barbara walters' ten most fascinating people of the year. who made the cut? and why her number one locked down more than just the top spot.

good monday morning to you, i'm reena ninan. >> and i'm t.j. holmes. we begin with that breaking news out of australia. a popular cafe in sydney under siege. a horrifying hostage ordeal at the hands of what appears to be a lone gunman. >> after six hours inside, some of the hostages made it out of the building. terrified and in tears. they ran to the safety of police officers. >> the hostage drama paralyzed the busy financial district. an area also popular with tourists. all of it not far from the famed opera house. the coverage begins with lizzie pearl who is there with the very latest. >> reporter: we don't know if the gunman inside willingly let those people go or if, in fact, they escaped. one of them is believed to be quite an elderly gentleman who may have been suffering health problems. this is an unfolding situation. a lot of people are walking around with shocked looked on their faces. this is not something we see in

sydney. this is something we usually see in other cities' locations. we watch it from millions of miles away knowing we're safely a long way away. our prime minister has spoken earlier today saying it's too soon to speculate on the motivation behind this gunman's actions. >> we don't yet know the motivation of the perpetrator. we don't know whether this is politically motivated. though obviously, there are some indications that it could be. >> reporter: we know that we have seen those terrifying images of those hostages holding the black and white flag in the window there on the lindt cafe. those images have been beamed around the world and continue to do so. and certainly, a lot more to unfold. hopefully, the rest of those hostages will also be brought out safe and well. lizzie pearl, abc news, sydney, australia. >> we want to turn to hamish macdonald.

on the line with us. what do we know about the suspect if anything? >> reporter: a lot of information is starting to emerge. some of the broadcasters are saying the identity of the gunman is known to the police. we can't independently verify that. certainly, we're starting to gather more information about what planning has gone into the attack. for example, the flag that he's holding is not the isis flag. it's the wrong flag. he's issued requests for an isis flag to be delivered. beyond that, no hostages, as far as we know, have been injured. this has dragged on for at least nine hours. that will give authorities hope. what i'm hearing on the ground is that police are remaining relatively calm. they feel this is something they can deal with and bring to an end peacefully. >> and hammish, the video that we have been watching are the hostages making a break for it, escaping through the back or one of the side doors.

what can you tell us about the location of the siege? how rare is something like this for australia? >> reporter: incredibly rare. australia is a relatively safe country. this sent shock waves through the community. the location is interesting. it's martin place, the busiest stretch of public space in sydney's city center. it's opposite channel 7, which has a program called "sunrise." if you imagine our "gma" setup in times square. it's almost identical. the set of that breakfast program backs on to this public space. across the road is this cafe where the siege is taking place. a lot of the analysis already emerging. i've been talking to counterterrorism experts. on the ground. they say the location is significant. it was done deliberately in the view of this television studio and the cameras because they want the attention. >> hamish macdonald, thank you for your perspective. we appreciate you jumping on the line for us. meanwhile, president obama, the british, other western nations keeping a very close eye on what is happening there in sydney. >> and americans in australia are receiving a sober warning. susan saulny has more.

>> reporter: good morning, reena and t.j. president obama was among the first of the world leaders to be briefed on the hostage crisis as it unfolded. getting the details from the top counterterrorism adviser after the first family attended an annual christmas concert. the u.s. consulate in sydney has been evacuated. key staffers continue to work at a secure location. the u.s. is advising americans to stay away from the city's financial district and to remain vigilant throughout the city. a statement released that our hearts and prayers go out to those held hostage. reena? t.j.? >> thank you, so much, susan saulny. you can stay with abc news as we continue our coverage of the siege in sydney. breaking developments on abcnews.com. more details ahead on "good morning america." breaking news from alabama. the last of three escaped inmates back behind bars now. the three men, including two murder suspects, overpowered their guard, sprayed lysol in his face. early saturday. one of the men caught in a movie theater park lot later that day.

another at his grandmother's house early sunday. a third picked up at an associate's house before midnight. none of them more than two hours away. scandinavian airlines is denies reports that a russian spy plane nearly collided with one of its planes over sweden. the russian jet came dangerously close to a passenger jet. sparking concern about russia's possible intentions. a spokesman for scandinavian airlines says the incident has been blown out of proportion. and there was no danger. no doubt about what forced an emergency landing in baltimore late friday. birds. terrified passengers snapped flames shooting out of an engine on a southwest flight. from san antonio. others saw a hole in one of the wings. the pilot came on the intercom and told them they had a bird strike. emergency crews were waiting as he made the approach. >> when we finally landed, everybody applauded the captain multiple times. and, yeah, i was sure to look him in the eye, shake his hand, say thank you.

>> the faa says the number of bird strikes is soaring. more than 11,000 last year. this time, fortunately, the flight ended with no injuries to the 142 passengers and 5 crew on board. now to wild weather including rare december tornadoes across the heartland. one of them was seen touching down in southern kansas. no serious damage reported. conditions were so unsettled there yesterday as they storm was rolling through, residents along the northwestern edge of kansas were getting snow. a tv news chopper was flying as more severe storms rolled across central oklahoma. at least two tornadoes were reported there. neither of them resulted in damage or injury. some areas saw golf ball-sized hail and heavy rain. and it should be a wet commute this morning in the san francisco bay area. today's storm and another one later this week won't bring as much rain to the area as last week's storm. both systems will bring rain to southern california as well. for today, the weather from

across the nation, snow for the northern rockies and plains. showers along the gulf coast. with heavier rain in the midwest. clear and mostly mild along the east coast. >> boston gets to 42 degrees. here in new york, 45. 77 in miami. slightly cooler than that is new orleans. seattle reaches 50. and it will be in the mid 60s in the southwest. when we come back, is the worst yet to come? a stern warning from the group behind the sony pictures e-mail hack. and bill cosby breaking his silence. what he's saying about the abuse allegations, the media, and his wife. and the breaking news in australia. chilling images of people fleeing a hostage situation. stay with us for the latest.

the hacker group that has attacked sony pictures is warning that a quote christmas gift is coming. they claim it will put the company into a worse state. the company already in chaos over stolen e-mails involving a-list stars and company execs. the social security numbers of some 47,000 people have also been stolen. sony's ceo leads a town hall meeting today for employees. we gear up to the holidays. today is expected to be the busiest mailing day of the year. the u.s. postal service plans to process more than 640 million cards, letters, and packages. fedex predicting the busiest day ever. hoping to move a record 22.6 million packages today. america loves its pets. investors love petsmart. that product's retailer has just agreed to be sold to an investor group for $8.7 billion.

it's the biggest leverage buyout of the year. several suitors had been trying to buy the company. online competitors nipped at its heels. stock is up 7% since friday. checking the weekend box office. exodus gods and kings dethroned the latest hunger games movie. by bringing in $24.5 million. "the hunger games, mockingjay part 1" was second with $13.2 million. "the penguins of madagascar" was in third. when we come back, an auburn football player shot and killed. new details about the suspect arrested. and caught on camera, a girls' basketball coach grabs player by the hair and throws her across the court. why the player is the one in trouble.

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suburban detroit reduced to a pile of rubble and dust. it took seconds for a demolition crew to implode this 17-story building. the property was owned by a local college. it auctioned off the chance to blow up the building to the highest bidder. a recent graduate got the opportunity to push the button. now for a look at the morning road conditions. snow throughout the twin cities. rain for the windy city. clear commuting along the east coast. if you're flying, no surprise. airport delays possible in chicago, minneapolis, and san francisco. recapping the top story. the hostage situation in sydney. >> a gunman has been holding a number of people hostage at a cafe in the city's financial district. five people have come running out of the building to police. some hostages were seen earlier holding up an islamic flag. hours later, the gunman's motives still unclear. more fallout of the abuse scandal for bill cosby. a professorship has now been

suspended from spellman college. cosby and his wife gave the college $20 million to fund the chair there in the '80s. >> cosby spoke over the weekend and said he expected only the black media to uphold the ethics in reporting the story. hi says his wife's love and womanhood is what is allowing them to weather this. there's been an arrest in the death of an auburn university football player. an argument apparently led to the shooting of jakel mitchell. at an apartment complex near the university. his girlfriend said he was arguing with man in the parking lot when a third man pulled a handgun and started shooting. the nhl's biggest star is also the newest player to be diagnosed with the mumps. sidney crosby of the pittsburgh penguins is in isolation. he was held out of games friday and saturday after coming down with symptoms of the painful virus. he's been ruled out of tonight's game. about a dozen players from four teams have been diagnosed with mumps. a girls' basketball player

in colorado says she's been treated unfairly following a wild scene during her team's game. a fight erupted at a game. when the girl ran on to the court, her coach grabbed her by the hair, tossed her several feet. she says she was going to the aid of her teammate. her mom accuses the school of handling the situation incorrectly. >> there was no i'm sorry. i didn't mean to. it was an accident. >> i got no respect at all from none of the administration. none of them asked if i was okay the next day. >> she's been suspended from school and thrown off the team. the coach who tossed her aside was not disciplined. no charges will be filed. the school says it considers the case closed. the upcoming super bowl is scheduled for sunday, february 1st, in arizona. there will likely be no game unless congress acts to renew what is called the terrorism risk insurance act. basically, it established a risk-sharing partnership between the federal government and

insurers. it expires at the end of the year. if no action is taken, there would be no insurance for the game, which means there wouldn't be a game. >> that's not going happen. >> we both know that's not going to happen. >> that's not gonna happen. >> too much money involved. >> show, we bet the game will go on, right? >> yes. as for some of last night's sports action, let's turn to our guy at espn. welcome inside "sportscenter." i'm john buccigross. entering sunday night's game, kobe bryant needed nine points against the timberwolves to pass michael jordan for third all-time on the nba scoring list. there's kobe. he would pass michael jordan at the free-throw line. minnesota owner glen taylor comes out to give him the ball. of course, before the lakers moved to los angeles, they were in minneapolis. later, kobe over rookie andrew wiggins. 26 points in all. the lakers beat minnesota. so here's the all-time scoring list.

he said he does..think he'll play long enough to pass karl malone or kareem abdul-jabbar. on sunday night, first place on the line, cowboys and eagles. tony romo and the cowboys lost on thanksgiving night to the eagles at home. go on the road, they haven't lost all year. romo hit dez bryant three times in the end zone. the cowboys win. to take over first place in the nfc east. ♪ that music means "monday night football" a must-win for the saints. a big game for them. they go to chicago against the bears. it all kicks off at 8:15. well, bradley cooper was actually trending on twitter during that eagles-cowboys game last night. >> you want to know why? he proved he's the ultimate philly fan. [ crowd seasoningi singing ] >> yep, that's him. cooper singing the eagles fight song after a touchdown. he was sitting next to eagles team owner jeffrey lurie.

cooper is from the philly area. >> and also sparking interest, cowboys owner jerry jones. his guest? new jersey governor chris christie. christie is a cowboys fan. a lot of people have taken to twitter to blast his allegiance with a rival team. >> can you blame him? coming up, the big reveal. barbara walters' most fascinating person of 2014. and inis it a star. the designing dynamo taking the fashion world by storm. and she's 4. "the pulse" is next. a few stops later, and it looks like big ollie is on the mend. it might not seem that glamorous having an old pickup truck for an office... or filling your days looking down the south end of a heifer, but...i wouldn't have it any other way. look at that, i had my best month ever. and earned a shiny new office upgrade.

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don't tough it out, knock it out, fast. with abreva. topping "the pulse" -- the most fascinating people of 2014, according to our barbara walters. her 20th installment last night.

number three on the list, george r.r. martin, the guy who gave us "game of thrones." in second place. my girl. i just love me some taylor swift. she's 25 years old now, by the way. >> drum roll please. the woman who tamed the world's most eligible bachelor. the former amal alamuddin. now mrs. george clooney. fascinating. elusive. no sitdown interview with barbara, though. the choice, totally spot on. how could you not pick her? >> i love the list every year. this is not barbara's last. let's go ahead and say it, right. >> she says it will be. >> like she did last year. next up, the newly crowned miss world. a 22-year-old medical student. her name is roline strauss. she's from south africa. >> she won the title and the crown that goes with it last night in london. she'll focus on education, particularly in her homeland in the coming year. she says she's going to keep the new crown on as long as possible, paying close attention it doesn't mistakenly fall off during the celebratory hugs she's likely to receive.

that's hard. a hard tradition to uphold. >> that's a heck of a crown. >> yeah. next up, j. crew's 4-year-old designer. >> this is a fashionista. she goes by the name mayhem. we showed you her in "the pulse" earlier this year after taking instagram by storm with paper dresses re-creating celebrity outfits. >> the ohio native is taking the world by storm. she flew to new york recently to give j. crew bosses some of her designs for a new children's line that will be out in the spring. >> congrats to her. and another youngster here. an "a" for effort. watch her on the right side of the screen here. ♪ [ laughter ] >> we know about her, her name is haley. she's 4 years old. part of a dance troupe, doing the routine to the song "let it go" from the smash disney film, "frozen." >> loving every second of it. you go, girl. do your thing.

>> for some of you, your local news is next. for everyone else, we'll be back with prince george's christmas pictures. ♪ hanes. a perfect fit for every body. now in colorful new styles. ♪ don't wait for awesome... totino's pizza rolls... ...gets you there in just 60 seconds. go bold with flavors that kick. i was out for a bike ride. i didn't think i'd have a heart attack. but i did. i'm mike, and i'm very much alive. now my doctor recommends a bayer aspirin regimen to help prevent another heart attack. be sure to talk to your doctor

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live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. >> good morning, thanks for joining us on monday. i am matt keller here for kristen sze. >> that is would you -- who you are. >> it is monday, december 15th. meteorologist mike nicco will be here shortly and will tell us where the rain is and where it is going. live doppler hd. we had a break this weekend but we have light-to-moderate rain covering the neighborhoods again. you can see it is coming up from the south. it will be with us through most of the morning. we are getting the heaviest and steady rain right now. you can she there is ponding on the roads and the grooves in the

embarcadero looking like small rivers this morning. be careful. steady rain through 7:00. lighter rain by noon. scattered showers as we head to the afternoon. those will taper if you are out during evening hours. we have a wet pattern on the way. i will show you that in the seven-day forecast. as we look at the bay bridge toll plaza it is wet. the rain is causing problems on the roads. southbound 680 near mission boulevard north we have a jackknifed big rig. from emeryville to the maze it is $. -- it is dark. do your best to stay in the middle lanes. give a good distance 20 you and the other vehicles. be represented. it will be a mess.

>> we will be prepared. >> rain has been coming down all >> rain has been coming down all night in the north bay. 101 in mill valley route 130 showing how slick the roads are. the north bay is where we begin coverage. amy hollyfield is along lucky drive in the north bay. i want to step out of the way and let you see highway 101 northbound. a car will come through hopefully you can see the flood ing. it is ponding. it is pending. the cars hit it and do not realize it is there. they slow down if a hurry. they realize there is a lost