have a great day. making news in america this morning, new travel trouble as a massive storm takes aim at the east coast with delays on the road and in the air and in new york -- >> it was earn insane. a weird blue color too. i was like, aliens are here. >> an explosion scare as a blue flash lights up the night's sky bringing one of the nation's busiest airports to a halt. the urgent search for a cop killer. >> we are struggling through this. >> the suspect allegedly in the country illegally. the president weighs in on the case as we learn more about the officer's final moments. honoring a hero. america's oldest living world war ii veteran dies at the age of 112 but not before sharing the lessons he learned about life, loss and love.

plus, miracle rescue. a young boy is buried alive by an avalanche trapped for 40 minutes beneath the snow. how he got out alive. also one man's bizarre journey. why he's crossing the atlantic ocean alone in this barrel. and two pandas escape from an american zoo leading to a 15-hour standoff. good friday morning, everyone. we begin with more travel trouble on this busy friday before new year's. >> one of the busiest airports in the country was briefly shut down last night when a transformer explosion lit up the night sky in new york shaking buildings sending people running into the streets. >> meahile a maj winstorm isimth east coa ain izhe acrs e uth an rnlains. abs watcng ie, goning.zaarjanai. weather has caused whiteout

conditions across much of the country. that storm is barreling towards the east coast. but here in new york city, we saw something else last night that brought nearly everyone to a standstill. from wet weather down south to a bright blue sky up north that could be seen for miles. >> it was insane. it was a really weird blue color too. s of like, aliens are here. >> reporter: a transformer exploded at a con edison power plant in queens, new york, causing laguardia, one of the nation's bustiest to lose power. >> come >> reporter: terrified travelers scrambled to safety. authorities say no one was hurt in the explosion, and the airport is now back up and running but travel for much of the country remains at a standstill as a powerful winter storm stretching from canada to the gulf coast dumps heavy rain and blinding snow. in st. paul, minnesota, people are looking for the public's health as a semi sideswiped a trooper's squad car pulled over on the side of the road. fortunately no one was injured. in kansas a state of emergency.

a 150-mile stretch of interstate 70 shut down in both directions. >> these are probably three-foot drifts. >> reporter: in mississippi, this tree falling on top of a home causing the power to go out. the family believes lightning is to blame. in new orleans, the storm causing transformers to explode. >> that's crazy. >> reporter: in austin, texas, flash flooding. julie butler had to be rescued after her car got pushed a quarter mile off the road by floodwaters. she thanks the firefighters who got her to safety. >> all of those firefighters were like angels in heaven. >> reporter: and this morning that storm is moving east stretching from atlanta to new england and it's bringing with it mostly heavy rain and the possibility of flash flooding. but the good news, janai and zachary, hopefully all of this wet weather will be over and done with by the weekend. >> the final weekend of 2018. maggie, thank you. emotions are raw for a northern california police department searching for a man

suspected of killing one of their own. corporal singh singh was killed. they know who the suspect is in the country illegally but haven't released it. corporal singh was a husband and father. his colleagues say he was living the american dream. >> my department is hurting. we're struggling through this. you have to understand this was not supposed to happen here. i did not know christmas morning at 4:00 in the morning when i said good-bye to him and sent him off to his family that it would be the last time that i saw him. >> so tragic. the announcement that the suspect is in the country illegally prompted a response from president trump who tweeted, it's time to get tough on border security. the funding fight in washington is showing no signs of letting up. one week into the government shutdown, the house and senate quickly adjourned thursday likely

pushing the standoff into the new year and the president's border wall is tanning in the way. abc's kenneth moton has more. >> reporter: capitol hill a ghost town with 800,000 federal workers in limbo. department of justice employee tanya villa says with two kids in college, the uncertainty is hitting hard. >> tuition starts back up at the end of january for two children so, yes, i was saving but i am saving a little more. >> reporter: the senate adjourned thursday after four minutes the. the house not scheduled for votes the rest of the week. negotiation, between president trump and democrats at a standstill. >> whatever it takes we're going to have a wall. >> reporter: back from a war zone, the president is back to battling with democrats tweeting have the democrats finally realized that we desperately need border security and a wall on the southern border adding without evidence do the dems realize that most who are not getting paid are

democrats. the president asked for $2.1 billion countering top senate democrat chuck schumer's $1.3 billion offer. the white house said thursday it's received no response from democrats. schumer and leader nancy pelosi fired back saying they offered three options, pelosi promising to fund the government but not the wail when democrats take control of the house next week. anthony boulden who works at the usda is not confident a deal will come quickly. >> for me it's just total uncertainty it terms of knowing how to budget for the upcoming months. >> reporter: the senate and the house are now scheduled to reconvene next week. if there's a deal to end the shutdown lawmakers have been told they will receive a 24-hour notice before having to return for a vote. janai, zachary. >> our thanks to kenneth there in washington. homeland security chief kearse kirstjen nielsen is heading to the southern border. nielsen is expected to visit

el paso after ordering more complete medical screenings for all migrant children. the mother of the 8-year-old boy who died this week is urging authorities to send her son's body back to guatemala. the boy died at a hospital in new mexico after suffering from the flu. the family says his father came to the u.s. because he was in debt and was seeking a better life. the roller-coaster ride continues on wall street. thursday investors tried to hold on to an 800-point swing. in just a matter of hours things were calmer this morning in the asian markets. abc's rebecca jarvis has more on the market whiplash. >> reporter: by 2:00 p.m. thursday it looked like those gains from wednesday, that thousand-point increase was something of a distant memory. but in the span of just 90 minutes you saw the biggest comeback in stocks in a decade. so what's taking place here? well, this is not normal. these wild swings are not average. but there is a tug-of-war taking place between those who believe the selloff we've seen earlier this year was far overblown and those who believe that things are slowing down next year so the sell-off makes sense and that's reflected, that tension reflected in cr poll we received showing consumers,

americans feel pretty good where things stand today but are much less certain about where things are heading next year and add to that the fact that most people here on wall street are on vacation. there is light trading volume. that creates much more pronounced moves in the stock market. rebecca jarvis, abc news, new york. turning now to more weather and it's time for a closer look at your weather this friday morning. good morning. snow lingers throughout wisconsin, minnesota, throughout portions of iowa. but the cold is the big problem because we're looking for gusty winds to make it feel more like 30 below zero. hypothermia risk for the northeast. icy mix along with heavy downpours throughout the mid-atlantic region with the big-time delays and looking for that dousing rain to cause problems throughout the southeast as a whole with local flooding with downpours

another snowstorm brewing from flagstaff over to albuquerque. i'm accuweather meteorologist paul williams. coming up, the internet outage affecting people across the country. also ahead, a very close call. a police officer, what he said after his near-death experience at this train crossing. up next, a young boy buried alive by an avalanche trapped in the snow for 40 minutes. how he got out alive. mauh, was justou think going to drive home. ah-ah-ah. there are several warning signs present that you shouldn't be driving. like hearing voices?

like your text-to-emoji ratio. oh, man. the selfies! selfie! nailed it. man: we all have warning signs that let us know that we're probably not ok to drive. mine is pretending to be your subconscious. kevin: greg! come on, man. let's split a ride home. [door shuts]

we're back with a dramatic rescue in the french alps. a 12-year-old was buried alive by an avalanche and spent 40 minutes beneath the snow. authorities say he was dragged more than 100 yards by the force of the avalanche but a search and rescue dog finally found him and he was airlifted to a hospital where he's now recovering. they say that boy managed to

survive by somehow managing to keep his airways clear of snow. century link fixed an internet outage. they identified the problem and was working to fullry restore service. the outage also blocked 911 emergency service in at least four western states. and it caused some bank atms to stop working along with at least one hospital's record system. we turn to the sexual assault case against kevin spacey. for the first time we're hearing audio of the actor's lawyer in court as he takes aim at spacey's young accuser. abc's matt gutman has the latest. >> reporter: days before kevin spacey ended his year of silence with this cryptic video -- >> and my confidence grows each day that soon enough, you will know the full truth. >> reporter: his attorneys argued in a massachusetts court that there wasn't enough evidence for the former "house of cards" star to be charged with indecent assault on an 18-year-old man. abc news has obtained a recording of that hearing.

spacey's attorney alan jackson questioning the officer who took the testimony of the accuser who claims that spacey groped him in a bar in 2016. >> if we were to stand and count off three minutes you would agree, trooper, that's an incredibly long time to have a strange man's hands in your pants, correct? >> i would agree with that, yes. >> reporter: the attorney questioning why the accuser didn't walk away and instead was texting and even snapchatted video of the alleged incident. >> what the video shows is a person's hand make contact with the shirt, correct? >> yes. >> okay, not any body part. >> correct, you don't see any body parts. >> reporter: the defense attorney pointing out that the accuser told spacey he was 23 when he says spacey bought him multiple drinks. that accuser did not immediately report the alleged incident but according to that police report he did tell family and friends right away. now, spacey denies the allegations but faces up to five

years in prison if convicted. matt gutman, abc news, los angeles. >> thank you, matt gutman, for that report. coming up, one man's adventure across the ocean in a barrel. but first way too close for comfort. one officer's quick thinking at this railroad crossing. and we honor an american hero. the oldest world war ii veteran has died at the age of 112. his secrets to a long, happy life. ii vote ran. complicated relationship with milk? pour on the lactaid. it's delicious 100% real milk, just without that annoying lactose. mmm, that's good. lactaid. the real milk that doesn't mess with you. and try calcium enriched lactaid. 100% real milk with 20% more calcium. still no lactose. our because of smoking.ital. but we still had to have a cigarette. had to. but then, we were like. what are we doing? the nicodermcq patch

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last some luck. a man from france has embarked on a very unusual journey. alone -- that's one thing -- in a barrel. the 71-year-old is somewhere in the atlantic right now inside this big orange container. he's floating his way from the canary islands off northwest islands to the caribbean at a top speed of two miles per hour. he built the barrel himself and says it's equipped with an office, a kitchen and a sleeping area all in just 65 square feet. the goal is to reach the caribbean by the end of march. like i said, i hope he has lots of luck. well, this morning, the u.s. army is remembering a man who is being called everything from a hero to a legend. >> richard overton, the oldest american veteran of world war ii has died at the age of 112 and led a remarkable life and our reporter, kita culpepper in austin, texas, shows us. >> reporter: there are plenty of photos. >> all kinds of pictures. any kind you want to see. >> reporter: and proclamations that helped tell the story of his life but his own words paint a sobering picture of a war where as many as 80 million

people died. >> but i come back and didn't get a scratch on me. not a scratch. >> reporter: in world war ii he served four years in the u.s. army. private first class overton arrived in pearl harbor weeks after the bombing. >> everyone that was in those houses was shot out. >> reporter: he left the u.s. army in october 1945 as a technician fifth grade. settling back down in his beloved austin, texas, home. mr. overton worked at local furniture stores and with the texas department of the treasury before he retired. his time was filled with friends and family. afternoons spent sitting on his front porch but he also liked to stay busy. >> keep a living too. you got to keep moving. you don't sit down and watch tv all the time. you got to move around. >> reporter: in 2013 the nation took notice that this member of the greatest generation was alive and kicking. a whirlwind of publicity brought

lawmakers to his front porch and sent him out into the world to meet celebrities along with his brothers and sisters in arms. the oldest living world war ii veteran was also honored by then president barack obama. overton said it was one of the proudest moments of his life. we say good-bye to mr. richard arvin overton, a warrior who has earned his rest. >> so many thanks to him for his service. in addition to moving around, overton had some secrets to good health and longevity and said he smoked a cigar a day and had an occasional whiskey. kept his good friends close and at the scene of some of the biggest battles of the pacific war including iwo jima, incredible. up next two pandas escape from a zoo leading to a standoff. also the search under way right now for the single winner of the $294 million powerball jackpot. where are you? plus, instagram outrage. the photo sharing site tries something new by accident. jima. instagram outrage.

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a 15-hour red panda standoff in seattle has a happy ending this morning. a pair of the bears escaped from their pen wednesday when a branch they were on snapped. the two eventually climbed a tree near the exit. one came down wednesday night but the other decided to hang out until almost noon yesterday. handlers offered some apples and finally got the bear down. tonight's mega millions lottery will be worth at least $348 million. that follows wednesday's $294 million powerball drawing. >> there was one ticket sold in brooklyn, new york, and wabc's nina pineda went there to look for the winner. >> why wasn't it us? >> i wish it was me that hit the

lottery. >> good for them. a little jealous but that's all right. >> reporter: powerball winner is at least from their neighborhood. >> everybody wins all over the place, it's about time somebody from brooklyn won, yes. >> oh, i think it's great. finally we got somebody in the neighborhood that won something, it's great. >> reporter: someone traded two bucks for a dream at arnold's mart hitting all five numbers and the powerball and doesn't have to share it with anybody. >> someone in this kind of area, that's up and coming, up and rising, an opportunity to do something like that or to win something like that, you kind of get to see a little bit more of what's happening. y coul customer here in the future as well. >> reporter: business owners and residents in east new york, modest apartments and emerging new retail and housing developments say they welcome brooklyn's newest millionaire

and hope it will be someone who gives back. >> they always talk about the bad things but there's a lot of good things happening in east t n dment and malls and restaurants. >> reporter: there are two employees working the shift in the time frame the new york lottery says this winning ticket was sold. they remember selling about 37 tickets and have already checked 20. they're hoping the winner is one of their regulars who they say come in and play the numbers all the time hoping for a break like this. nina pineda, channel 7, eyewitness news. social media's big story literally turned things sideways for instagram users. >> the app was testing a tap to advance feature instead of scrolling as a way to move through posts but the instagram universe was horrified when some people discovered vertical swiping wouldn't allow them to move through their main feed. instagram says it was caused by a bug and it's now been fixed. restarting the app should return things to normal. thank goodness. well, coming up, we have got more news ahd.ra oveth igr me. >> tough day. tough day for instagram.

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ask your doctor if eliquis is what's next for you. hi. good morning. we have made it to friday. it's december 28th, the last many friday of the year. yeah. we are almost on to 2019. you are never more than 7 minutes away from your accuweather forecast. winds still gusting to 40 in mt. tam, east foothills. and diablo, the wind advisory technically expired at 4:00. it will be gusting through noon today. santa rosa, 34, hayward, san mateo 50 along with half moon bay. this afternoon, mid to upper 50s. big surprise there, right? here's sue. all right. take a look outside right now

for your drive across the golden gate bridge. you have four lanes in the southbound direction, two in the northbound direction. it's a beautiful clear morning out there. take a look at the san mateo bridge. as mike mentioned, we have a high wind advisory for dumbarton, benhe haecia. high winds over the altamont pass. but traffic is relatively light. developing news right now, the manhunt continues right now for an inmate who escaped san quentin state prison. 21-year-old shalom mendoza escaped and carjacked a woman at a home depot. this morning we are hearing from that woman. amy hollyfield has the story you will see only here on abc 7. amy. >> reporter: hi. good morning. yes, is the woman who was carjacked said she is certain that the man who attacked her is the man who escaped from san

quentin prison on wednesday night. there is surveillance video of when she was carjacked. this was in the home depot parking lot in san rafael. the man tells her he has a gun under his shirt. he's going to kill her. he demands her keys and that she not call police. but she tells us before he took her car, she asked if she could have her dog who was in the car. >> reporter: the car is a silver ra rav4. he has been missing since

wednesday night. officials have only said that he walked away from the prison. reporting live from san quentin, amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. okay. amy, thank you for that update. ist is 4:30 right now. let's get another quick check of weather and traffic where you live. hi, mike. >> hi, jessica. hi, everybody. winds at the lower elevations, gusting to 25 at sfo. 18 in san carlos. 26 at half moon bay. ful it's the peninsula dealing with the fastest winds. 12, livermore. faster around concord at 17. gusting up to about 30 miles per hour on top of mt. tam. sit bouncing here at 2,500 feet. my accuweather 12-hour planner, 36 to 49. the winds keep the atmosphere overturned. they let the cold air cinqsink our neighborhoods. pretty much the same at 4:00 and noon. very much lighter by then. by 7:00,