good morning, america. holiday terror attack. at least 12 killed. dozens more injured after a truck plows into a christmas market in the heart of germany's capital. >> i think it missed me by three meters. >> we're learning more now about the suspect in custody seen in this new video. and only on "gma," the woman at the heart of the terrifying attack, how she survived with just moments to spare. in cold blood. a gunman assassinates the russian ambassador in turkey in front of a terrified crowd. [ gunfire ] with cameras rolling. the killer shouting about the war in syria. the latest on who was behind the brazen attack, as russia vows to crack down on terrorism. abc news exclusive. the "newsweek" political reporter who says he was the target of a malicious attack on twitter that used flashing

strobe lights to send him into an epileptic seizure. he's blaming a donald trump supporter, and now he's fighting back. kurt eichenwald joins us live only on "gma." ♪ slam dunk homecoming. this college basketball player getting the surprise of his life. his brother serving overseas making the ultimate return. stunning thousands of fans and his family. the surprise weeks in the making. wait till you hear what they're saying about the ultimate christmas gift. and good morning, america. boy, it was nice to see such a heartwarming moment last night. >> absolutely. an emotional family reunion, george, just in time for the holidays. with over 250,000 serving overseas, this is the time of year that families are very

excited because a lot of troops get to come home. >> those are the videos we need to be seeing on this tough news morning. because we'll have much more on that coming up. but first, we want to get to breaking news overseas. that apparent terrorist attack in germany. a truck plowing into a crowd of tourists, out shopping for christmas killing at least 12. we will hear from an american who was there in just a moment. but first let's go right to abc's matt gutman who is on the scene there in berlin for us. good morning, matt. >> reporter: good morning, amy. we're learning that the man police say they have in custody may not be the assailant responsible for the carnage in this christmas market behind me. that means something very disturbing. there could be an assailant on the loose here in germany. investigators are working at break-neck speed to try to sort through this terror trail. around 8:00 p.m. local time as holiday revelers were shopping for christmas gifts and sweets at the market in berlin, a truck suddenly came barreling over a sidewalk aiming directly for the stalls where dozens were shopping. >> just crashing through people, crashing through the huts.

it pulled the lights down. so it all went dark. >> reporter: at least 12 killed and 45 injured. many hospitalized with severe wounds. >> started seeing people running away, and we knew something was wrong. >> reporter: germany's chancellor angela merkel calling it an apparent terrorist attack. this morning, police say they have apprehended the attacker, after he fled the scene on foot. officials confirm he sought asylum in germany. the truck is believed to have come from poland where it was registered. the attacker allegedly hijacked the truck and at some point murdered its polish driver. the attacker then plowed the semi loaded with steel beams into the crowd here. leaving mangled bodies and crushed holiday ornaments. investigators are still trying to haul away the cab of this semi truck. inside you can see those christmas wreaths, pieces of wood and stalls, even christmas lights. police say the driver of the semi jumped a curb, tearing through the stalls of this

iconic square, going at least 50 yards. >> they were just screaming. people were shocked. >> reporter: good samaritans struggled to tend to the wounded. millions visit german christmas markets each year. it's the second time in just six months a truck has been used as a terrorist weapon. in july, an isis follower mowed down 86 people celebrating bastille day in nice, france. germany has taken in nearly a million refugees and asylum seekers in just over the last year. there will be a lot of scrutiny of who may have infiltrated this country among them. that as we're learning about anti-terror raids in a refugee camp about an hour away from here. amy? >> all right, matt, i know you'll stay on top of those developments for us. joining us is shandana durrani, an american on the scene of that terrible attack. i understand you were just 20 feet away from that truck when it began plowing into those market stands. tell me what you saw. tell me what you heard.

>> um -- i -- i saw it all. it was 20 feet away from me. i was on my way out of the market after doing a little bit of shopping. and i stopped to respond to a text message i had gotten from a friend. and i think that's basically what saved me from being hit. because as i looked up, this truck was barrelling through the market and through the stalls and through the crowd, almost coming at me. and i had been in a very bad accident three or four months ago and i did not want to be hit again. so i high-tailed it as far as i could, and i hid behind a stall. because there was nowhere to go, these markets are airy. very open. either you go one way or the another and i didn't know if there was a gun. i didn't know what was going on. i heard a few pops and myself and a few other people hid behind a stall until we thought the coast was clear. >> in those moments i can't imagine what you're thinking, what you're feeling. did instinct set in?

did you realize this was an attack? >> no, i just thought that somebody had lost control of a truck and, you know, hit the curb and went over the curb. it happened so fast, it felt like slow motion. but i think i was like, 10, 15 seconds of it. i didn't immediately think terror attack. as a muslim-american the thought of that makes me nauseous so i try not to think about that, try not to think that could happen again. and unfortunately it looks like it did. >> yeah, shandana, tell me how long this all took. tell me what you did. i know you were hiding in the market stall but tell me what happened from the moment you took cover to when you were able to actually get out and see the damage and see what had happened. >> yeah, so, a bunch of us took cover and came out when we thought the coast was clear. walked out and a bunch of stunned people, a bunch of screaming people, i started walking towards the exit again

to see if there was a way out. and i saw some bodies on the ground and i didn't want to see any more. i didn't think it was my place to gawk and watch it when the police were coming and the fire trucks were coming and the emts were coming. they needed to do their job. and i have to say kudos to the berlin police, fire department, and emts. they were there quickly, cordoned off the scene and got rid of all the bystanders and separated them from the people who really needed the help, who were the victims. >> so many heroes emerge in those moments. shandana durrani, thank you. of course our hearts go out to all of those affected there in berlin. >> we're here with our chief investigative correspondent brian ross and learning more new details about the suspect. >> that's right. the man they have in custody who was picked up about a mile away there the scene has been identified as a 2-year-old refugee from pakistan.

as matt gutman reported, he's denied involvement in the attack. the attorney general is saying authorities may have the wrong man. they continue the invto investigate. if he's not the person responsible, the attacker could be at large. >> is question always comes up, is this someone inspired or districted by isis or another terror group? >> no claim of responsibility by isis but calling on its followers to use trucks in attacks specifically mentioning christmas markets. and the u.s. had warned germany based on intelligence last month that christmas markets could be a target. and, in fact, over the weekend, there were two separate attacks thwarted on german christmas markets, one involving a 12-year-old boy who tried to plant a bomb. >> leads to concerns at home as well. >> that's right. and the new york city police immediately dispatched people to the christmas markets that exist here in new york city and other holiday festivities. added security so now along with christmas trees and hot chocolate there, there are heavy weapons and fears.

>> highest alert. brian ross, thank you very much. now to that other attack overseas, that shocking assassination of the russian ambassador to turkey. the suspected gunman firing shots in front of tv cameras at an art exhibit. abc's chief foreign correspondent terry moran is in moscow with the latest on all of that. good morning, terry. >> reporter: good morning, amy. there is a real sense of sorrow and a sense of anger here in russia. this is the first russian ambassador killed in the line of duty since the 1920s. and one thing is already clear. this assassination is blowback for russian involvement in the syrian civil war. a chilling photo, russian ambassador andrei karlov speaking at a turkish art gallery, his assassin behind him waiting. then -- [ gunfire ] -- shots fired. the killer brandishes his weapon. his victim lies dying on the floor. chaos then the gunman shouts the jihadist battle cry. >> allahu akbar! >> reporter: and he declares it's all revenge for the carnage in syria.

don't forget aleppo. don't forget syria, he shouts. until these places are safe you will not taste safety either. from outside, a video was taken as terror unfolds inside. people running for cover and pulling children to safety. three are injured in the shooting. a witness says the assassin shot the ambassador before turning his gun towards them. the turkish interior minister reporting overnight anti-terrorism police killed the gunman shortly after. authorities identifying him as a 22-year-old police officer who entered the building with his police i.d. mevlut mert aydintas. pictured here in his police academy uniform. his victim rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. karlov was a 62-year-old russian diplomat. his wife overcome with tears and the assassination horrifying russians and a shaken vladimir putin, who knew karlov permly,

vowing revenge. promising the killers will feel it. russian authorities are saying that this killer did not act alone. they say it was a carefully planned and executed assassination. and it is another incident that shows that syria is a global crisis. >> so, terry, as you said the russians believe it was directed, part of a broader effort. do we know anything more about this young police officer that might have indicated he was capable of something like this? >> reporter: well, there is one detail which they are following up. reports say that this police officer had been suspended from the force because he was being investigated for taking part in that massive coup attempt back in july against turkish president erdogan. so it is possible there is something connected to that. but they think, based on his own words in that room as he brandished that weapon, that it is mostly connected to syria. >> terry, thanks very much. let's bring in martha raddatz for more on this as well, terry said, blowback against russia for their involvement in syria. but it's likely to cause them to double down.

>> reporter: well, a lot depends on whether this is a wider plot, george, whether the gunman is, in fact, connected to a terror group. russia and turkey, of course, on opposite sides in syria, the russians supporting syria's president assad. turkey supporting the rebels. although russia insists it is fighting terrorism and isis, there's little evidence of that in syria. we've already heard putin say this was a provocation aimed at disrupting the peace process in syria. such as it is. so i think mostly russia will be doing what it has been doing in syria all along, supporting assad. but if there is any connection to a wider terror plot, whether isis or al qaeda affiliates, we may see more of an effort in going after terror groups by russia. >> the president-elect also weighing in on twitter. he said there were terror attacks in turkey, switzerland and germany. it's only getting worse. the civilized world must change thinking. the question here, of course, is what will this drive the president-elect to do with russia in this fight against terror?

>> reporter: well, i think the u.s. will use this to illustrate the threat of terrorism emanating from that region and how important it is to work together to fight against it. but beyond that, george, it will be up to donald trump to see what direction we go with russia and others in any kind of cooperation. >> he is saying change must come. martha raddatz, thanks very much. >> all right, george. here at home, we're seeing a major temperature swing. and ginger is here with that deep freeze. and ginger, is it true the deep freeze is turning into a little warmup? >> a little thaw-out, if you will. at least 20-degree swing and that's what's happening unless you're right here in hood river, oregon, where i-84 was shut down for a time. you can see this video out of casper, wyoming, where the blowing snow came with 62-mile-per-hour wind gusts at the airport alone in casper. some places in the mountains up to 100 miles per hour fueled by that jet stream grabbing that pacific moisture that's also very mild. and it's shifting the jet a little farther north. and we thought we would just stop here on christmas day,

where the mild air makes its way up into nebraska. 50-degree line. makes its way through southern indiana and ohio. these are christmas temperatures, everybody. >> good. >> he said good. >> i just need to be in one of those places to experience it. >> go to atlanta. >> okay, thank you, ginger. we're going to get the latest now on president-elect donald trump. electoral college made it official yesterday putting him well over the 270 he needs to win the white house despite some angry protests across the country. abc's cecilia vega has the details. >> reporter: this is the moment it became official. >> texas now puts president trump over the top. >> reporter: donald trump cementing his win with this vote in texas delivering the 270 electoral college votes he needed. but it was hardly a day of cheers. across the country, tensions boiling over. protesters shouting down electors outside the pennsylvania state capital. >> all: no treason, no trump.

>> reporter: trump as vladimir putin's puppet. inside boos and chants. as the votes were read in kansas, protesters turning their backs. from washington to arkansas to north carolina, one last attempt to get electors to change their votes. and a handful did. among them, three in washington who were supposed to vote for hillary clinton. instead voting for republican colin powell hoping to block trump's victory. in texas, two trump defectors instead voting for john kasich and ron paul. one new york elector who voted predictably, bill clinton, casting his ballot for his wife. >> i've never cast a vote i was prouder of. in the end we had the russians and the fbi deal. she couldn't prevail against that. >> reporter: the president-elect celebrating the win with a trademark tweet and a dig writing, we did it. thank you to all of my great supporters, we just officially won the election, despite all of

the distorted and inaccurate media. well, you did hear bill clinton there still bashing donald trump's win. the former president also told a local new york newspaper that trump, quote, doesn't know much but one thing he does know is how to get angry white men to vote for him. feelings still running very deep on this one. >> okay. thanks a lot, cecilia. >> thank you. now to a scare in the skies over southern california. an air traffic controller directing a jet right into the path of another plane. abc's david kerley is at reagan national airport this morning with the latest on that investigation. tell us what happened, david. >> reporter: that wasn't all, amy. also toward the mountains of southern california. this was a very scary situation over southern california. the controller tells a taiwanese 777, a wide body once it takes off from l.a.x. to turn left, north. it should have actually been going south. another plane taking off is coming right towards its path. the controller realizes the mistake. she gets the one jet to climb. but this taiwanese jet is now headed toward the san gabriel

mountains at an altitude that is lower than the highest peak in those mountains. controller realizes the problem, starts giving instructions. but you can hear the tension in the pilot's voice. listen to this. >> are you southbound now? i see you going northbound. >> climb and maintain 7,000. eva 015-heavy. >> 015 heavy i see you going southbound. turn south 'cause i see you going northbound. turn south now. climb, maintain 7,000. eva 015-heavy. climb, maintain 7,000 and turn south now. >> reporter: the pilot did get able to climb out of the mountains and get headed south and then over the ocean and continued the flight. e.v.a., the airline, says they were never close to the other aircraft or the mountains. data shows something a little bit different. that controller according to a government source is not currently working in the air traffic control center. amy. >> all right, david. thank you. so glad everyone is all right. you know what i think, i think we could use uplifting news right now. how about it, michael? >> i got it. i got it for you. it's that moment everybody has

been talking about. a notre dame basketball player getting the surprise of a lifetime at his game last night. junior matt farrell's brother serving in afghanistan wasn't supposed to come home until february. and he sent a message for his little brother on the scoreboard. and as you see there he's delivering the message to his brother. but then this happened. his brother was there in person shocking his family. they're crying. they're hugging. it was all those things you would hope for and the surprise was six weeks in the making. the coach and the staff all were in on it. and matt called it the best present i've ever gotten. >> one powerful hug there. >> one powerful hug. brotherly love. love to see it. >> all right. love it. a lot of warmth out there. let's go back to ginger with the ice. >> a lot of warmth until you see this. the connecticut river. it's actually showcasing the high tide. you can see the river reverse direction there. all that brought to you by tuesday trivia.

>> i aim meteorologist mike nicco with our second of three "spare the air" days with no wood burning. warmer today and quiet and warmer through thursday with storms coming friday through monday. temperatures today are from 56 to 60s so above average and tonight, not expecting frost. mid-30s i-land to mid-40s an bay and coast. my seven-day forecat shows storm is a "2" on friday, and brief coming up, that abc news exclusive. the "newsweek" reporter says he

was targeted and sent a malicious tweet that gave him a seizure. he's joining us live. he's right there. we're going to talk about how he's fighting back right now. a holiday shopping alert about a gift card scam. how thieves are targeting one of your favorite go-to presents when we come back. stay with us. h us.

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good morning, it is 7:23, i'm reggie aqui from shabc 7 mornings. the man you will see on your screen will be the new police chief. he is william scott and coming from l.a. with lapd more than 25 years. this comes as a surprise since the mayor chose from outside of the city rather than promoting toney chaplin. an official announcement will be made at 11:00 and we'll carry that on the midday and on our abc 7 news app. right now over to alexis and looking at our traffic. >> we have a new issue. especially if you are heading to sfo. southbound 280, a decent back-up building here due to a crash blocking the three left lanes right now before avalon drive. so instead i would definitely

stick to southbound 101 if you are heading to the airport. everybody else looking okay. 680 moving well through walnut creek and seeing pretty sunrise shots, including the one

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good morning, not as cold as yesterday but we still have frosty spots. livermore and antioch and toward santa rosa at 32. 56 in san francisco and 39 in oakland. beautiful sunrise from the exploratorium. and the planner shows more sunshine and warms and another spare the air day. and wood burning is banned through reggie. >> i'm staring at this color behind me now. wow! >> another update in about 30 minutes and find us on the news app and abc7news.com. reminder to join natasha, mike

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>> no. >> i have to ask it. >> no. >> no kind of office? >> no, i -- look, that's one thing i don't do. i don't make stuff up. i'm not coy. i haven't proven that. i'm pretty direct. if i were interested in it, i'd say it. i don't believe in playing games, you know. it's not something i would do. >> first lady michelle obama sitting down with oprah for an exit interview and of course so many saying will she get into politics after this campaign? >> sounds like not so much. >> she's saying it's not in her future. it was a big day for our family right there. that interview. you saw oprah's earring. made by my sister-in-law. >> beautiful. i love that. i saw i have a box in any office, too. >> you do. >> i didn't get a pair, george. >> i'll let you borrow mine. >> you're welcome, michael. also right now, security is

stepping up here in the u.s. after that attack on a german christmas market where a truck plowed into a crowd killing at least 12 people. german authorities are now calling it an apparent terror attack. one suspect is in custody. he's denying involvement and police are urging the public to remain vigilant. north carolina's so-called bathroom law may soon be repealed. lawmakers holding a special session tomorrow to reconsider the controversial measure. the law requires transgendered people to use restrooms that correspond with the sex on their birth certificate. >> we've got a great update this morning. remember this video of dallas cowboys running back ezekiel elliott jumping into the salvation army pot as part of his touchdown celebration. well, now the salvation army is celebrating, too. they've seen a huge spike in donations jumping 61%. >> wow. >> after that move. >> all right. >> good news for ezekiel elliott. the nfl will not fine him. >> glad they did the right thing. >> not after that. >> that's great. a little celebration leads to some donations. >> a lot more coming up.

first our exclusive interview with "newsweek's" kurt eichenwald who says he was targeted on twitter for his investigative reporting on donald trump. and he was sent a strobe message causing him a seizure after this from linsey davis. >> reporter: for someone with photo sensitive epilepsy they are so serious they have the potential to be fatal. while this is not the first time someone has sent kurt eichenwald intended to cause a seizure, it's the first time it's had this effect. where he was bedridden for 24 hours and likely unable to drive for months. "newsweek" reporter kurt eivhenwald is no stranger to contentious attacks on twitter and antagonistic television appearances. >> what are you talking about? >> reporter: this appearance on fox news last week was no different. a combative interview billion eichenwald's social media claims that trump had been put in a mental hospital for a nervous breakdown.

a claim that is unsupported. >> in 1990 because he did so many deals that were so reckless, his whole empire was going into bankruptcy. >> reporter: after the interview eichenwald who is public about his fight with epilepsy, says he received this malicious tweet from a trump supporter with flashing strobe lights and the message you deserve a seizure for your posts. that's what happened. the tweet triggered a seizure. >> seizures are not a joke. anything that can increase the excitability of the brain can provoke a seizure. and that includes visual stimulation. including strobes and flashing on your screen. >> reporter: twitter has since suspended the individual's account. eichenwald and his lawyers are now attempting to find the person who he says attacked him. tweeting online anonymity does not protect criminals. that's why subpoenas exist. you are facing a criminal investigation and a lawsuit. so if any of you others think about trying this cute prank, consider the consequences. they will be severe. we have seen widespread instances of this in the past. in japan more than 600 children

were hospitalized after getting sick after a flash in a cartoon. and several years ago hackers sent a malicious image to a site run by the epilepsy foundation which caused visitors to the site to suffer seizures and headaches. george? >> wow. thank you very much. kurt eichenwald joins us right now. and this attack last thursday was not the first time this had happened. at least been tried by someone but what do you remember happening last thursday? >> very little. one of the problems of having a seizure is your memory gets pretty obliterated. my wife dealt with it. she heard that something was going on. >> and it just takes a single flash like that? >> no, takes a repeated strobe. i mean, unfortunately, i can't tell you what it looks like because if i see it and it's causing a problem, i don't remember it. but the -- from what was described to me this was a multicolored strobe that was

going at a speed that was designed to cause a seizure. and it succeeded. >> we're showing it right now. it says you deserve a seizure for your posts. so you're saying that leads to you believe clearly this was in this person knew what they were doing. >> they knew what they were doing. actually my wife took that photograph to make sure we had the evidence of what happened. you can't tell from the still image that it is flashing constantly and so, you know, when you snap the picture it's just a solid image but it wasn't. >> and now copycats? >> oh. apparently. i can't look at my twitter feed anymore. but apparently a lot of people find this very funny. a lot of people who identify themselves as trump supporters are loading up my twitter feed with more strobes. what concerns me is that i have a lot of people who follow me, you know, i'm very public about the fact that i have epilepsy. i have a lot of people who

follow me who have epilepsy. i have epilepsy organizations who follow me. well, now my twitter feed is dangerous for them and it's just -- it is amazing to me that, you know, simply because i'm a political reporter, simply because i write about, you know, donald trump, that we have become so sick and twisted in this country that people think they have, you know, the right and obligation to inflict potentially very serious injuries. >> and nothing can justify that in any way. you have done a lot of tough reporting on donald trump. your twitter feed is filled with comments about donald trump, as well. one of them, you once said you believed donald trump was institutionalized. you're laughing about it now. any regrets about that? >> there's a long story behind it. when you go through the full lead up to that tweet, there was a reporting purpose for that

tweet going out. which is more than you're going to want to hear about. i thought -- i was making fun of fox news and the rest who were doing hillary has seizures, hillary has multiple sclerosis. hillary has parkinson's. you know, let's go to dr. oz. so i was writing a series of jokes leading up to that with the intent of sending that tweet, which was a signal to a source to talk to me. >> and right now you're trying to get twitter to turn over more information and also possibly pursuing criminal action. >> yes, twitter -- we filed a motion yesterday which would allow -- a judge would fill out an order, sign an order which would allow us to issue subpoenas to twitter. normally h, if a company was going to fight it, they would fight it at that level. twitter told the judge, we're

not fighting this. we agree to the order. so, we're going to have subpoenas going out to them pretty soon and given how cooperative they've been to this point, i'm hoping that, you know, that will continue and that they'll be producing these documents. >> not the end of this story. kurt eichenwald, thanks very much. >> thank you. >> michael? >> all right, george. coming up on our big board, the new interrogation tape in "the jinx" trial. what murder suspect robert durst is revealing now. plus, are women better doctors than men? amy robach is shaking her head yes. it's a new study. dr. besser and dr. ashton are here. both here and back in two minutes to talk about it with them. i know what you're thinking, robach. thinking, robach. have fun with your replaced windows. run away! [ grunts ] leave him! leave him! [ music continues ] brick and mortar, what?! [ music continues ] [ tires screech ]

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i was just teasing. welcome back. we're breaking down more of this morning's top stories. as we mentioned, dr. ashton, dr. besser at the table. more on their story in a moment. but first, that jinx bombshell. a newly released tape of robert durst. the real estate heir made famous in "the jinx" now awaiting trial in los angeles for the 2000 murder of his close friend susan berman. dan abrams joins us now. the tape shows an interview with durst just after his arrest in 2015. in it he claims he was on drugs during the filming of "the jinx." let's take a look. >> the whole long weekend, when i did the interviews for "the jinx," i was on meth. and when i looked at the little pieces of it i was going like, this and like that and it was -- it should have been obvious. >> so he says he was on meth. why did the l.a. district attorney's office release that tape? >> it came up in the context of a court filing.

basically the prosecutors are arguing that this tape should be admitted into evidence. the defense is saying that it was improper. that it wasn't a voluntary statement. and for now, prosecutors are saying to the judge can you review all of the evidence to determine what might be admissible and what not. but let's take a step back and think about this. this is a guy who had just been busted because he talked too much. and then what does he do? he talks too much again. and so now there's even more fodder to potentially use against him from this statement where throughout the questioning, he kind of makes it seem like he might have done it. he's not denying it again and again and again. >> dan, when you say he talks too much this is what you're referring to. in the final episode of "the jinx," he went to the bathroom, thought the cameras stopped rolling, but they didn't. and this is what they caught.

>> what the hell did i do? killed them all, of course. >> and a lot of people are looking at that as an admission of guilt. so could this footage be used against him in court or could the defense say he was on drugs? he didn't know what he was saying. >> look. the "i was on drugs" defense and therefore things i said shouldn't be used against me isn't going to work. unless somehow the filmmaker was sitting there with a syringe secretly putting it into robert durst and he had no idea what was happening. so the bottom line is, that's not going to be the defense. and i think there's also no question, at least a lot of, if not all of, what we saw on "the jinx" will come into evidence in this case. whether that particular statement comes in or not, they'll fight over it. but the bottom line is robert durst talked too much and now it's going to be used against him. >> it's fascinating. >> it is. we'll be waiting for more on that one. >> absolutely. thank you, dan. up next they say whatever a man can do, a woman can do

better. all right. well, that may be the case when it comes to saving lives. there's a new study by researchers at harvard that finds female doctors outperform their male counterparts. dr. besser, what do you have to say for yourself? >> all right, so let me describe this a little. they looked at more than a million hospitalizations and people over 65 and they looked at the likelihood that someone would die within 30 days of going in the hospital or be readmitted within 30 days of leaving the hospital. and they found that patients did slightly better if their medical doctor was a woman. but it was slight. it was about a half of 1%. but when they did their analysis they said it's real. >> 32,000 people, right? is that what they said the number was for the study? >> if you multiply that small number out by the number of people that go into the hospital, you come up with something like 32,000. but the question is, is that half of 1%, is it truly real? their analysis would say yes. >> dr. ashton, what would you say? >> i am not the slightest bit

surprised by this news and we do it in high heels, sorry, michael. >> i don't mind. i like a good high heel. >> but i think the issue is they didn't really have a theory as to why. they said that could it be that women are more nurturing? do we communicate better? and i think that needs to be studied. and of course, they bring up the issue of pay equality, which is a real issue, not just in medicine but in a lot of specialties. but i think the complicated thing is where does the slippery slope end? are you going to talk about outcome and pay equality or going to say you should pay the same people for the same work? because then if you talk about outcomes are you going to pay teachers differently if they have different success rates with their students? anchors that get better ratings, they'll get paid more. so the clinical outcome part is important. but the pay issue may be truly unrelated. >> the pay -- the point about the pay issue is that women physicians on average if you look at academic medical centers make $20,000 a year less. they're underpaid and some say,

well, it's because their outcomes aren't better. here this study saying, their outcomes, they clearly aren't worse and they may be better. >> full disclosure. my brother is a doctor. he's an awesome doctor. and a much better doctor than i ever could be. soy don't know if it's always fair to break it down in gender. lots of differences between and among doctors. >> i think this will fire the competition, right? we are all competitive people. but in medicine there's some really wicked competition in my field which is a surgical specialty. we go at it. and again, we're going to see. men, women and maybe everyone will step up. >> dan, i was going to ask you but you wrote a book already. i know where you stand. because your book says women are better than men at a multitude of things. >> basically everything. >> one of my chapters five years ago was on women being better doctors. and the evidence was that men get sued more as doctors. and there was a big, by study in england which was done where double the complaints per capita were about male doctors than about female. i think women spend more time as

doctors with their patients. >> all right, dan wrote the book on it. all right. dr. b., dr. a., dan, thank you. coming up that new warning about a gift card scam and how to protect yourself. ct yourself. to protect yourself. give that shines so bright, you may have to wrap it twice. shop the zales season to sparkle sale for 30 percent off hundreds of holiday gifts, now through december 24th. only at zales, the diamond store.

we're back with that alert about gift cards and thieves. becky worley is here with the new warnings and, becky, tell us what happens. what's the scam and how do people protect themselves? >> it all hinges on these scratch-off security strips that cover up the p.i.n. numbers on gift cards. you know once p.i.n. numbers are exposed anybody can redeem the card. a scratched gift card is probably no good. but there's one problem. these are replacement scratch-off stickers i purchased online for just $7. to illustrate how this works. we shot some video at a nearby drugstore. pulled a gift card off the rack, detached the backing. i could have scratched off the security strip and recorded the card number and the p.i.n. and then i could have put that replacement security sticker i

bought online on to the card making it look pristine. a thief would then go home, periodically check to see if someone had bought it and loaded it up. and as soon as they saw the gift card had money on it, they would drain that card. >> wow. that is incredible. i mean that's so good to know as we buy so many gift cards for the holidays. thank you very much, becky. we appreciate it. lara is going to tell us what's going on upstairs. >> hi, guys. it is crazy up here, you can hear tom. tom, i'm on the air. tommy, you are too now. we got zendaya here and a great crowd. so fun. we're about to pick three lucky members of our audience for a style ambush makeover. wait till you see the results all that and so much more coming up on "gma." now you can talk. coming up "gma's" last-minute holiday gift guide. brought to you by walmart, find gifts, groceries and a lot more this season. iday season.

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back here on "gma," we've all seen those videos where the hot water gets thrown up and it turns into ice. well, look. in san diego, our friend jim grant said, hey, look what we're doing, it's 75 degrees throwing sand in the air. isn't that nice? merry christmas, jim. all right. that's all brought to you by mazda. your local news an

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i'm reggie aqui from abc 7 mornings. we now know who san francisco's he's not from this area. his name is bill scott. he is a 25 year veteran with the lapd. mayor ed lee will make the official announcement at 11:00 a.m. we'll carry that live on midday and on our abc 7 news app which you could download for free right now. mike nicco has your weather forecast. >> i have good news. air quality is improving a little bit in the inland and east bay and the rest of us moderate but that means another spare the air. no wood burning. temperatures today 56 to 60. spare the air tomorrow and the rain rolls in friday. alexis. >> last time i told you about a problem on southbound 280 and that has cleared but residual delays. if you are heading to sfo, stick

to 101 heavy approaching avalon drive. still have the metering lights on approaching the toll plaza. >> and another update in 30 minutes and on abc7news.com. join us every week day morning from

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good morning, america. it's 8:00 a.m. holiday terror attack overseas. a truck plows into a christmas market in berlin. at least 12 killed. dozens more injured. an american woman right there as it happened. >> this truck was barreling through the market and through the stalls and through the crowd. >> and new details now about the suspect in custody. is baby brain real? the landmark new research revealing what being pregnant really does to your brain. could it help you be a better mom? dr. ashton here breaking it down. mealing and dealing, it's the work lunch secret that will make you healthy and save you cash. the teachers behind it dish to "gma" this morning. ♪ and here comes zendaya. the superstar with super style here with an a.m. ambush. three "gma" viewers about to be

transformed by zendaya herself right here live, and she's saying -- >> good morning, america. good morning, america. like that little bit of attitude from zendaya. also loving this audience here this morning. thanks for coming in this tuesday morning, especially you right there. >> and we are excited to have zendaya here in times square. she's actually going to pick three very lucky members of our audience for a style ambush. so we can't wait to see what she comes up with. there she goes. she made her picks. [ cheers and applause ] >> that was fast. >> yeah. >> going to be fun. >> we're going to see what happens when they come back. >> yep. >> you know it's just five days until christmas, everybody. and we've got the perfect present for your loved ones, and that's what i mean when i say you, lara. >> you know what, i do love this

idea. we're doing the gift of a great book. i know it doesn't sound very exciting, but it's a gift that keeps on getting. i love getting a great book. we've all got great recommendations to share with you and try to make you guess. you might be surprised at some of our selections. >> yeah. >> yes, we have that coming up, george. >> that is all coming up. we have to get some news as well and let's go to dan harris for the morning rundown. >> hey, thanks, guys. the breaking news on the deadly crash at a christmas market in berlin, germany. a truck barreled into the crowd, killing 1 people, injuring 48. authorities now say the suspect detained earlier may not be the driver. they're not sure if he's connected to the attack. suggesting other suspects could be on the run. matt gutman is in berlin with the latest. >> reporter: good morning, dan. nearly 4 hours after that truck rammed into that christmas market behind me, causing all of that carnage, there's significant confusion here in germany.

authorities telling us now for the first time. a 23-year-old, a recent asylum seeker may not be the attacker. there could be one or more people on the loose here in germany. they're hunting for, trying to pick up all the clues of the terror take. what happened in there, we have seen from looking that truck very closely was horrific. it crushed people under foot. the sound of it going through the market was horrific. as one woman told amy herself. >> i hid behind a stall because there was really nowhere to go and i didn't know if there was a gun. i didn't know what was going on. i heard a few pops and myself and a few other people hid behind a stall until we thought the coast was clear. >> reporter: germans are still reeling from this. they say they'll rekoer. there will be a lot of questions about the nearly 1 million ref you gees and asylum-seekers that have come into the country. where they have been radicalized in the recent past. dan?

>> a horrifying scene there, matt. thank you. the russian government, meanwhile, has sent investigators to turkey to examine clues in the assassination of the russian ambassador there. he was shot at a photo exhibit in turkey's capital by an off-duty police officer who was caught on camera shouting, don't forget aleppo, don't forget syria before he was killed by security forces. turkish police have reportedly detained at least six people in connection with this attack. the russian president, vladimir putin, calls the killing a provocation aimed at disrupting the syrian peace process. a previously scheduled meeting though of russian, turkish and iranian officials to discuss the situation in syria is proceeding today as planned. the families of three people killed in the orlando nightclub shooting are suing facebook, twitter, and google. they blame these tech giants for the growth of isis, claiming the companies provided the terror group with accounts that were used to attract recruits. the gunman at the pulse nightclub had pledged his allegiance to isis. new criminal charges are being announced today in the flint, michigan, water crisis. so far nine state and local

employees have been accused of wrongdoing. that water was contaminated with lead after the city changed the source to save money. and finally here, for some people, golf is a year-round sport no matter the weather. this guy, however, should definitely reconsider. check him out taking a swing on a frozen lake, and then, boom, he's in. his friends could not stop laughing, although they did stop laughing long enough to post this video on instagram. we assume the guy is okay. we also hope his compassionate co-golfers gave him a mulligan on this one. >> ah. >> everything that could go wrong did. >> the least they could do. >> how about pulling him out of the water before you take a picture? [ applause ] >> you're a golfer. >> just like that. >> he should have kept his head down, look at the ball. >> it's all his fault. you're right. there was a lot of tough news there, lara. let's do "pop news." >> "pop news," shall we? good morning, everybody. [ cheers and applause ] we're going to begin with a little vocabulary lesson. merriam-webster dubbed the word

of the year for 016. and it is any guesses? i took it out of prompter so you wouldn't cheat. >> i don't know. >> surreal. >> surreal. >> the word is surreal. >> that's what i was going to say. >> there is a reason. it is so intense it feels dreamlike. this selection comes down to two criteria. a high volume of look-ups and significant year-over-year increase in look-ups specifically on merriamwebster.com. the largest speck in searches for the word surreal occurred after this year's presidential election. >> okay, that makes sense. i was trying to think of words that my kids use but that makes sense. >> surreal. >> there you go. add it to your vocabulary. also in "pop news" this morning, after 122 years one extremely overdue library book has finally been found at the hereford cathedral school in the uk. the missing copy of walter benjamin carpenter's "microscope and its revelations" -- i was looking for that, you guys -- was taken all those ago

by a pathology professor. named arthur evan boycott. the 700-page victorian era work was found by the natural science scholar's now 77-year-old granddaughter. she returned it to the headmaster saying, i can't imagine how the school has managed without it. she found the hard back while organizing her collection after her husband's death discovering the faded stamp of the school's library. luckily the school's archive does not charge late fees. if it did she would owe over 10,000 pounds. pounds, not dollars, so they got the book back and i just requested to take it out for my christmas read. [ applause ] what is it, "the microscope and its revelations." we have our book club coming up. that's my choice. and then finally, this is my choice. red wine hot chocolate. >> oh. >> doesn't that sound good? i wish i could be you get a red wine hot chocolate, you get a red wine hot chocolate. it sounds so good. you're not into it?

>> i want to hear more about it, i think. >> it has been dubbed -- some wines have that yummy chocolaty feel. >> yeah. >> but you mean real hot -- >> oh, yeah, baby. it has been declared the must have drink of winter 2016 by top food bloggers including martha stewart and lara spencer. she calls this trend spectacular. i agree with you, martha. i always agree with martha. the cold weather recipe is very simple. you make some hot chocolate. you pour your favorite red wine and voila. whipped cream is not essential. have a sip. before capturing the goodness on instagram, though, what you have to do, you have to post a picture always as you saw with the golfer. new york pastry chef jacques torres said the key to the best red wine and hot chocolate is to warm the red wine a little bit before you pour it into the hot

chocola chocolate, so it doesn't make it tepid, so -- >> i like bailey's in hot chocolate. >> i was going to say maybe some irish whiskey. >> a hot toddy. have you ever had a hot toddy? my throat hurts a little bit. >> sugar and hot water. >> didn't hurt after that. >> when i was a kid, we used to drink hot toddies if you had a cold. >> when you were a kid? >> when you had a cold, my parents would give you a hot toddy and put you in bed. i think it would knock you out. now that i think about it, that probably wasn't too good. >> parents who give benadryl to kids on the plane. >> george, don't question the strahans. they might show up here tomorrow. >> it worked, right? anyway, coming up next here on "good morning america," we have the science behind baby brain. >> what? >> yeah. it's real. how does pregnancy affect you and your brain? dr. ashton is here with those details. plus, we -- yes. [ cheers and applause ] plus, we have the smart, new way to save -- to shed pounds and save a lot of cash. should you start a lunch club? that is the newest thing. people are saying it changed their lives.

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we are back now with the science behind baby brain. a new study from the university of california berkeley suggests pregnancy leads to big changes in a woman's brain which may help a new mother bond with her child. our chief women's health correspondent dr. jen ashton is back. when i think of baby brain, i think of the forgetfulness and absent-mindedness, but that's not necessarily what this is focused on. >> no, so this study, it was a very small study but very interesting findings. they compared brain scans of women before pregnancy and before giving birth and afterwards. and they found some significant and surprising differences. they actually found changes in parts of the structure and size of the brain. >> wow. >> the theory here is that those changes occurred to help streamline the mom's brain to prepare for more nurturing, vigilance, and teaching. very much analogous to these beautiful orchids here in that they're still orchids, but you have buds that then change to

flowers that are still flowers. the brain is obviously still the brain, but there were changes in things that they could actually see on the scan. >> are they permanent changes? >> they don't know yet. a lot of them -- they fold them two years out. some of them did go back but some changed for the better, i think, so it's a very interesting -- >> that is really fascinating. you feel like your heart can't get fuller and then it does. so maybe it makes sense because it's all coming from your brain but you say there are pros and cons to this type of study. >> i think it's really, really important with this study because it's a loaded, charged topic that we don't go off into the political or social or even religious implications here, that we keep it medical and scientific. you know, does this show changes in the brain? yes, because as an obstetrician there are changes in the entire body in pregnancy. but the kons would be, if this were used at all as a negative against women. are we going to start scanning brains and say, oh, your brain didn't change enough. you're not going to be a good mother or you shouldn't have that job. that would be a disaster.

let's keep it scientific. >> you can see how it would add to the guilt who is not getting that bond after the baby is born. >> that's right. it's way too early to make that jump, george. i think right now what was interesting to me is that we all know women who say, you know, i wasn't that maternal until i had my own child and then something clicked, or we become better multitaskers. interestingly they studied male brains. >> i was going to ask. >> no difference. >> no difference, huh? >> no difference in the male brain. >> not even a little bit. >> not even little. >> even after the baby is born? >> no, so that's -- of course, i need to see this study done in adoptive moms too because, again, that's -- >> interesting. >> -- a very important part to study. >> does the research jibe with your actual hands-on experience as an ob/gyn? >> so, great question because this studly looked at 25 women. i've taken care of thousands of pregnant women. there are similarities and differences, and i think every mom will have her own experience but i found this interesting. >> oh, it is fascinating. all right, thank you, doctor.

>> between two orchids. here i am. [ applause ] >> i can see the -- now. coming up next, is it time to start a lunch club? how lunch-swapping can actually help you save serious cash and lose a lot of weight, the teachers behind this new craze just ahead. this piece is so you. i know, right? i saw it and i was just like "oh, i have to have it..." is it suede? it's suede. i love suede. state farm knows that every one those moments, there's one of these... well? i love it. this piece is so you. i know, right? i saw it and i was just like "i have to have it..." is it suede? it's suede. i love suede. that's why we're there, with renters insurance, when things go wrong... but also here, with a rewards credit card, to help life go right. state farm.

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back now and we are getting ready for last-minute holiday shopping. our holiday 911. i need this because i haven't shopped all the way. fun for the whole family. we have brian and joe coming at each other. go for it, guys. whoa. whoa, i guess it's safe. we'll learn a lot more about these and how you can get them next. first -- do it again. >> i aim meteorologist mike nicco with our second of three "spare the air" days with no wood burning. warmer today and quiet and warmer through thursday with storms coming friday through monday. temperatures today are from 56 to 60s so above average and tonight, not expecting frost. mid-30s i-land to mid-40s an bay and coast. my seven-day forecat shows storm is a "2" on friday, and brief moderate rain

so what is not to love about the holidays especially all the food. if you have started thinking about your new year's resolution, though, lunch swapping could help you lose weight and a whole lot more. lunch-swapping, mara? >> lunch swapping could be the answer to all of our problems. yes, indeed. well, imagine getting a healthy, fresh, homemade lunch every single day, a support group for those healthy habits, and saving time and money in the process. it's not too good to be true. one group of co-workers figured out just how to do it. the office lunch hardly happy hour. >> i just want it. >> reporter: the quest for that perfect desktop meal often expensive and far from healthy. average spending on lunch more than $2,700 a year with take-out costing almost double the price of a homemade meal and bringing an average of 1,200 calories, almost half the suggested calorie count for an entire day.

but now some are finding the answer to this lunch letdown with a meal swap. these new york city elementary schoolteachers are helping each other to stay on track with a lunch club. >> i think everybody wants to eat better. it's just really hard. >> reporter: here's how it works, one person prepares meals for everyone in the group for the entire week and then they switch. the cost, $35 per person each week guaranteeing everyone not just an affordable lunch, but also a healthy one. something even their students have noticed. >> they've said like, oh, you don't eat chocolate anymore for lunch, and i'm like, you're right. i don't. i have this delicious kale and salmon salad to eat. >> reporter: but the effects of this lunch go far beyond the afternoon. they've all picked up healthier habits overall. cait farrell even losing ten pounds. how has this positively impacted your life overall? >> having a really healthy lunch then leads to no snacking in the afternoon and leads to thinking,

well, i made really healthy choices at lunch. i'm not going to blow it at dinner. it sort of inspired me to really commit. >> reporter: so, how can you start your own lunch club? they say write out your planned meals for the week, do meal prep on sundays and buy in bulk when you can. all right. so this is a story we first saw in "the new york post" and we decided to test this out a little bit. so we have two lunches here. this is your typical takeout. in a hurry and decide to go to the restaurant. this is a big hero sandwich, chips, a cookie and a juice. 2,000 calories. >> yikes. >> like your whole day's worth of calories, and $14.21. so not exactly cheap. i made this last night. this is my actual real lunch for today. i'm a total lunch nerd and make my food every single day. 435 calories. $6.25. >> looks better. >> cheaper, healthier and this keeps me full all day. so there are a couple of additional tips if you want to try this on your own.

first, make as many meals from the same ingredients as possible. just try to switch it up but then you save money and then also make sure that whatever group you choose, you know their dietary restrictions. you probably don't want to mix vegans and big steak eaters. >> yeah. exactly. >> it's got to be the best fit. >> i love this idea. thanks. >> you're making lunch tomorrow. >> you got it. coming up, zendaya is here and our ambush style results. don't go anywhere. how can "gma" ever top last year's epic ugly sweater showdown? >> nobody does it like we do. >> announcer: well, tomorrow -- >> watch out. >> announcer: what you see would leave even santa -- >> he's speechless. >> tomorrow on "gma." from the year's obsessions. >> alec baldwin should win an oscar. >> to heroes and what we couldn't get enough of. tonight, robin roberts with "the year." then tomorrow you have to be pretty amazing to make this list. >> like wow. >> it's robin with the amazing game changers of 2016. >> oh!

>> i didn't do anything. >> the robin roberts' special "game changers". >> come along. you're going to love this. along. you're going to love this.

and good morning, i'm natasha zouves from shough sabc mornings. we want you to show you the man of the san francisco new police chief. his name is bill scott. he is a 25 year veteran with the lapd. the mayor will make the official announcement at 11:00. we'll carry that live on abc 7 news midday and also on the free abc 7 knew anews app. and let's get over to alexis smith. >> the 10th avenue on ramp to 880 is still closed. we have the far right lane on the main lane blocked as well and that is stacking up there heading crosser to the bay bridge. northbound the typical delays out of san leandro. back to yo (my hero zero by lemonheads)

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we still have a freezing cold 32 in fairfield. everybody above that from 33 in livermore to santa rosa to 43 here in san francisco. the day planner, topping out in the 50s today. more sunshine and another spare the a day. no wood burning today or tomorrow but grab the umbrella. we have a big storm coming in friday. >> thank you so much. we'll have another update in

about 30 minutes and always on our true abc 7 news app. ♪ and the trumpets, they go [ applause ] ♪ ♪ and the trumpets they go welcome back to "gma" this tuesday morning. closing in on christmas, what, five days to go so we're all still searching for last-minute gifts. we have great ideas right now. good books that we're all recommending this year. [ cheers and applause ] >> nothing better than a good book, right? >> i tell you, i think it's a great gift. >> it's a great gift but this year we want to switch it up. i want to see if you can match this first book to the host up here to see who you think picked this book for their christmas list. we need the audience to help us out. after i read the description, i'm going to go by applause. the description is, it's a tale of love and intrigue

about a former special ops pilot who goes to the ends of the earth in search of the husband she thought she knew. clap if you think it's amy. [ applause ] all right. how about lara? [ cheers and applause ] how about george? [ cheers and applause ] >> they all sound the same. >> how about me? [ applause ] >> they don't think it's you. >> they don't think it's me because it's love and intrigue. they're right, it's you, george. >> it is me. i'm recommending not one but two. my good friend, harlan coben. he is a great guy and great writer. master of the page turner. you get to the end of one of his chapters, you got to go to the next one, and "fool me once," his new book this year, now working with julia roberts on a possible movie. that could be great. >> that's exciting. congratulations, harlan. >> i was doing a lot of politics this year. these are great escapes. >> if you want to start with one, which one do you recommend?

>> oh, that's a tough one. for fans of harlan, he brings back his alter ego myron bolitar in "home," but they're both great. >> but this one is probably the one to start with? >> yes. >> "fool me once." >> merry christmas. [ applause ] >> i'll give you mine. >> you like george, you picked two. one is more the mind and one for the eyes. >> i picked "the light between oceans." has anyone read it? this is a movie. thank you, thank you so much person in the back. i want you to consider reading this. it is a beautiful story and it's a lighthouse keeper and his wife and the decision they make and ramifications. one review said, and i think it sums it up, it is a thoroughly beautiful tragic book with two characters strong enough to carry you and your heart from opening page until the last. you cannot put this down. >> i love the movie, i have to say. >> it was a movie with michael

fassbender, not bad to look at, and alicia vikander. >> they fell in love filming that movie. >> you know a lot about this. >> the movie is great but the book is even better. it's really, really great. paperback right now. not expensive and a great read and the other is so gorgeous. this is "the art of the hollywood backdrop" and it comes in a gorgeous cover 250u8 actually that shows the set from "the wizard of oz." how about in a digital age this is a lost art. the painted backdrop and this celebrates the history of those. this is a scene from "the sound of music," and it looks so lifelike when they're sitting in there. it's a beautiful love scene with julie andrews, and it's all painted and great stories. there's a story about "hail, caesar!" they actually recycled -- you know i'm a big fan of rescue, recycle and reinvent and they recycled all the backdrops from

"ben-hur." a lot of great stories. great hollywood -- >> pass that one to me. >> and i have the cover in my room. >> merry christmas to me. amy. what you got? >> "when breath becomes air" by paul kalanithi. this is such an inspirational book. for those who don't know the back story, he was a 36-year-old neurosurgeon who was saving people's lives. >> a genius. >> a genius beyond words and was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and people say, oh, that's a heavy book. it is such a powerful book. he says when you don't have a future, when you realize your future is gone, you are forced to live in the perpetual present. and la is how we all should be living. none of us are guaranteed tomorrow so through dying he learned how to live, and he didn't survive finishing the book so his wife finishes it. i tell you it is a love story. it is the way to live your life and it will start you anew on january 1 to start living your life differently after you read this book. i highly suggest it. [ applause ]

>> and my book, my book is by my good friend trevor noah, "born a crime," a story from a south african childhood. trevor is the host of "the daily show." i love this book because it shows how he ended up where he is now and the things he had to go through growing up in south african to a black mother and a swiss white father and his dad had to walk on the other side of the street from him because at that time it was not legal in that country. his mother would have to get behind him or let his hand go as they walked down the street if the wrong people came that way and it was a love story for his mother who has gone through so many hard times but yet inspired him to be where he is now so incredible book by trevor noah and all these books. great selections, everybody. well done. >> yeah, sure. here. >> all right. so, guys, we're going to move on to topic two. this year we would all agree, i think, has been unforgettable from the election to the olympics to "lemonade" by beyonce and who could forget pokemon go. my son, i lost him for days on end chasing the air and we put together a mash-up, if you will

of this year's biggest obsessions for a special that airs on abc. it's called "the year" and here's just a sneak peek. snapchat filters took over our lives turning us into puppies, flower children, monsters and more. >> ooh. i have your face. >> all i want to do is just face swap on there. and that's all. >> we dyed our hair gray to look edgy not old making granny hair #everything. what's weird about granny hair is essentially the logic is you know who is sexy, my grandmother. >> and the oscar goes to leonardo dicaprio. >> leo won his first oscar. >> it was great that he won an oscar. leo dicaprio is an american treasure. >> go, leo. did you know that was the most tweeted moment in oscar history. >> really? >> we talk about all those little nuggets. also snapchat filters as we said, the gray hair trend. what were you guys obsessed with this year? obviously watching the election,

i would imagine. >> yes. >> anything else? >> i don't know. now i feel like i'm put on the spot. >> oh, sorry. i didn't mean to do that. >> "hamilton." >> "hamilton." >> yes. >> it's a great special. i hope you guys will all check it out airing tonight, robin roberts hosts it and we all have parts in it, and it's 9:00, 8:00 central right here on abc. >> all right. well, we're talking what we're obsessed with so i think we can agree we're obsessed with this next guest. she's is more than just a triple threat. you know her from the disney channel and her hit song "replay." she's grown up starting a fashion empire. zendaya, come on out. ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> like the walk. >> hi. >> mwah. >> how are you? good to see you. >> am i right here?

am i right here? >> yes, absolutely. >> i love this. is this you? >> it is. >> congratulations. that is fabulous. >> beautiful. so you have an empire. did you know that? we just said that. >> i know. i can't believe it. i'm only 20, so it's pretty cool to hear. >> where do you go from here? we were just talking about some obsessions from 2016. beyonce's "lemonade" was on the list. you were in the "all night" music video. what was that like shooting that? >> it was incredible. i mean, it was a really powerful moment and felt like i was a part of music history, you know, and other than the fact that i'm just obsessed with beyonce and have been since my birth, so just to be there and really learn from her and see how amazing she is. you know, and how detail oriented and it was just cool to just sit back and watch. >> you know what's cool, you're just known by one name, zendaya i mean like beyonce, like cher, madonna. is it like your parents knew when you were born you were destined to be a star? >> you know, it was actually a decision that we kind of just made randomly.

i was like we kind of should go by one. it sounds kind of cool to me, you know what i mean like zendaya coleman is cool but zendaya is cooler. you know. >> we're going to start doing that here. >> i like that. >> you know what's cool, you're also in the new "spider-man" movie. >> thank you, thank you. it's very exciting. i mean, i can't say anything because i'm not going to get in trouble. i am not going to be that person that gets into trouble but but i can say it's going to be a lot of fun. >> do they rye to keep secrets from you about the plot or you know the whole thing? >> it's a very tight, you know, kind of situation. you know, they can't let anything out because it's -- i mean, it's "spider-man." again, not going to get in trouble. >> you're on the cover of "allure." you look beautiful. congratulations on that. >> thank you. [ applause ] >> and in it you said you'd love to be the next oprah. >> i feel like if there's anybody that like i truly can say that is a career i really appreciate and look at, i would

oprah, and, you know because she just -- she's just trusted. everyone feels like they know her and everything that surrounds her brand is very positive, and i try to do that with everything that i do. i try to be as positive and as loving and always have a very grounded element to everything i do. she can do anything she wants, you know, and she can really just -- it seems like she enjoys life, as well. >> you're my daughter's oprah for sure. love you. >> i'm excited because when we come back, you're going to do a style ambush. >> yes. >> with three of our models. we got three people that you'll do a style ambush on and cannot wait for that. so, everybody, stick around because we'll have

be a park ranger, i got really excited. gabe's obviously really sick. and there's a lot that he isn't able to do, and make-a-wish stepped in. we had to climb up the mountain to get the injured hiker. he fell from, like, a rock. he's been the one that has been rescued so many times. he said to me, "today, i got to be the hero." (avo) the subaru share the love event has helped grant the wishes of over twelve hundred kids so far. get a new subaru, and we'll donate two hundred and fifty dollars more to help those in need. ♪put a little love in your heart.♪ tonight we're talking all things 2016 from the year's obsessions. >> alec baldwin should win an oscar. >> to the year's heroes.

>> stunning. >> and what we couldn't get enough of. tonight robin roberts with "the year." tomorrow you have to be pretty amazing to make this list. >> like wow. >> it's robin with the amazing game changers of 2016. >> oh! >> i swear i didn't do anything. >> the robin roberts special "game changer." >> two incredible nights, one game changing year. come along. you're going to love this. [ applause ] back now in our winter wonderland with a big reveal. look at the "espn the magazine's" new cover for their anything is possible issue hitting newsstands friday. it features olympic gold medalist simone biles and j.r. smith and the chicago cubs david ross. ah. that looks good. we were just on live on facebook live with her mo good morning. i'm meteorologist mike nicco from abc 7 mornings. look at all of this sunshine today. a little bit warmer but a spare the air once again. tonight mid-30s to mid-40s. not expecting much frost but be ready for windy and

[ applause ]ndy and >> it is time. it is time now for zendaya's style ambush. you're already an actress, a singer and now you're a fashion designer with your new collection, daya by zendaya and you're still only 20. like you said, it's amazing. >> i'm kind of doing a little bit of everything. >> a little bit. you're doing more than a little bit, but why is this so personal to you, this collection? >> because i love fashion. i think it's a form of expressing yourself, and i also feel that the new wave of fashion is just be able to do what feels good. to do what -- and dress for yourself, and i think that's something i always try to instill, especially in my younger fans. do what feels good to you. >> you know what, you did some right and something good for three of our audience members because you dressed them in your collection and first up, going to bring them up, christina, here's her before shot. >> looks beautiful. >> yes, she does, but you dressed her in a lounge look. >> this is like pajamas literally.

[ cheers and applause ] >> hey. so literally pajamas, but what the cool thing is for me i think you can mix and match separates, so you can use the top with some jeans or some ripped jeans or a pump or the pants with a regular t-shirt and rock it. or you can wear it together to bed. you know. [ applause ] >> christina, how do you feel? >> so comfortable. >> so comfy, right? that's the most important. >> she looks very comfortable. i feel like i want to hug you, you look so comfortable. yes, all right. and next up is jenna. here she is before. >> beautiful. >> now, since it's holiday party season, you dressed her in a ready to party outfit. here she is. [ cheers and applause ] >> i mean, one of my favorites because it's a velvet suit, again, super comfortable because i'm all about being comfortable. but i think it's kind of like it's simple but also like, hey, i'm here, you know. >> i'm here to party. >> again, it's separates so you can wear it with whatever you

want. >> well, you know what, you're 2 for 2. one more to go and finally we have tandy. here is the before shot of tandy. >> beautiful. >> and she -- this is when the party is over, you have to go back to work look. >> yes. [ cheers and applause ] >> i like that. >> tandy said i got the walk and everything. this, i love this dress because it's like it's super light again. everything is super comfortable and it's the perfect put it in your bag and then like pull it out later because it just compacts so small, so it's really -- and it looks really great on everyone. >> and the thing that i know, you said whichever you love, any of these pieces you can wear with pieces from other retailers. >> yeah, wear it with whatever you want. >> mix and match it. >> be creative. >> you are on your way, oprah. that's what i'm talking about. it is daya by zendaya collection. head to our website to get her style tips and an exclusive discount on her new fashion

line. you want that definitely. and coming up, hollywood 911.

at t.j.maxx, marshalls and homegoods, we've always believed the holidays should be about joy. where days are filled with magic, not madness. it's why we have amazing prices on thoughtful gifts, everyday. let's bring back the holidays.

♪ all right, we are back now with our holiday 911 gift guide. lifestyle expert gretta monahan is here to help with gifts for the whole family. >> so great to be here. >> yeah, and we just want to say thank you to our sponsor walmart for this. we have something for everyone. >> this has got you covered. this is the ultimate family gift, lara. this is the phillips 50-inch 4k. ultra hdtv. >> does the yule log come with it? >> honestly, smart apps, it's got it all. smart apps you can stream right from your devices and even basically dolby sound, surround sound. >> and the deal is? >> this is 39. >> for a how many-inch tv? >> 50. 50.

isn't that amazing? come on over here. i got to show you this. bubble ball. this is the gift of the season. check it out. so for the best price. protection from bumping. my sons wants this. great for ages 8 and up. check out the price on this, $42.92. $49. $49 sorry. >> it's on. >> all right, for mom like me this is on my gift list, which i need this. fitbit flex 2. >> i like fitbit too. >> what's amazing is activity and sleep tracker. >> i need that. >> it's going to track your quality of sleep. it's awesome and motivates. it buzzes and motivate you to work out and move which is amazing and you can even change these into cool necklaces and bracelets. 99 bucks. amazing. check out dad. dad is wearing the dream vision vr. you got to check him out. >> he doesn't even know where he's looking.

i want to help him. >> vr headset. >> hello. are you okay? >> i'm on a roller coaster. >> face the camera. just so we can see you. >> in animation. >> i feel like the roller coaster is going this way. >> this is the ultimate gift for dad. he gets to have a little vacation at home. ultimate graphics. and this you can hear real-life game sounds. don't fall over, it's amazing. built-in mike and dad can take calls. check out the price, $17.88. >> i like this gift just to watch. >> i do too. >> fun for us to watch. >> really cool and this is just so popular at the holidays. kids' pjs with their favorite movies and characters. you know, our kids love this. >> what do you think? do you feel pretty cute? >> these are awesome. >> oh, yeah. >> i love it. >> you're awesome. >> you can choose his or her favorites. it's also a great stocking stuffer and you can't beat the price at $12.88. >> that's great. that's great. these are all great, great ideas. all walmart. we thank you, walmart. walmart is giving everyone in

our audience a $100 gift card to get those last-minute gifts. we thank you, walmart. enjoy the shopping, guys. some great ideas right here. we'll be right back. thanks, greta. >> thank you, honey. "gma's" last-minute holiday gift guide is brought to you by walmart. (my hero zero by lemonheads) zero really can be a hero. get zero down, zero deposit, zero due at signing, and zero first month's payment on select volkswagen models. right now at the volkswagen sign then drive event.

how how can "gma" ever top last year's epic ugly sweater showdown? >> nobody does it like we do. >> tomorrow. >> watch out. >> what you see would leave even santa -- >> he's speechless. >> announcer: the ugly sweater showdown is on tomorrow on "gma." >> this is great. >> there's a gift we're not getting back this year. >> the thing is, george, he has no idea he's on tv right now. >> but he will see the replay again and again and again and again and again. thanks to all of you for watching. before we go, don't forget, join us tonight for "the year" special with robin roberts at 9:00, 8:00 right here central on abc. and then tomorrow, everybody, ready, it is our ugly holiday sweater showdown on "gma." >> it is on. >> and some of you have already sent in photos of your best looks. please keep those photos coming and tune in tomorrow to see what we have. >> have a great day, everybody.

who says i shouldn't havmy doctor.very day? my dentist. definitely my wife. hey wait. we have better bubbles. make sparkling water at home and drink 43% more water every day. sodastream. love your water.

. . good morning, i'm natasha zouves from abc 7 mornings. let's check out the forecast with meteorologist mike nicco. hey, mike. >> hi, everybody. right now, good to moderate air quality but the potential is out there for the second spare the air day. another one tomorrow. temperatures 56 to 60 today. a healthy storm, moderate one on friday coming in. we did have trouble in oakland not too long ago. it sounds like we're in the clearing stages so a semi got stuck and it sounds like he hit the center median and the ramp closed on the main line and i believe this just cleared and hopefully that will get better. >> it is time for "live with kelly" and i'll be back at 11:00 for the midday news. our reporting continues on our news app and abc7news.com. remember, you could join the

whole te, reggie, mike, alexis, >> announcer: it's "live with kelly." today, a performance from the legendary recording artist sting, and hot out of the studio kitchen, we're cooking up potato pancakes, and another lucky member of our studio audience could win a handful of hundreds as we continue live's holiday games. plus, comedian and broadway star john mulaney joins kelly at the cohost desk. all next on "live." [upbeat music] ♪ >> ♪ every little thing ♪ she does is magic >> announcer: and now here are kelly ripa and john mulaney. [cheers and applause] >> ♪ every little thing ♪ she does is magic ♪ everything she do ♪ just turns me on ♪ even though my life ♪ before was tragic ♪ now i know my love for her