making news in america this morning, horrific attack. a lion mauling an intern to death at a conservation center in north carolina. >> this is the worst day of my life. we've lost a person. >> what we're learning about the victim and how the lion was able to reach her. the border battle and government shutdown heading into the new year with no end in sight. why the president is now comparing the border wall to a fence around the obamas' washington, d.c. home. countdown to 2019. the crowds already gathering as more than a million people pile into new york's times square. the new way technology is being used to help keep them safe. plus, the new laws taking effect in the new year. where it will be mandatory for students to have two recesses.

and the four-legged friend being called a hero. >> that was amazing. that dog saved their lives. >> how a deaf dog saved an entire family. good morning on this new year's eve, the final monday of 2018. we begin with a deadly attack at a wild conservation center in north carolina. >> a young woman living out her dream was mauled by a lion during what was supposed to be a routine process. alexandra black was just weeks into her internship when that big cat attacked her. >> this is the lion that took her life. deputies said they had to kill the animal to recover black's body. the head of the conservation center says the day was one long tragedy. this morning, a north carolina conservation center is devastated after a 22-year-old intern was killed by a lion. >> this is the worst day of my life. we've lost a person.

we've lost an animal. we have lost our faith in ourselves a little bit today. >> reporter: alexandra black recently graduated from college and started interning at the center just two weeks ago. her family in indiana issuing a statement overnight saying in part, she was a beautiful young woman who had just started her career. there was a terrible accident and we're mourning, but she died following her passion. >> i'm grateful for the family of this individual, who is -- they're extraordinary people, and they understand that this was important to their loved one. >> reporter: the male lion named matthai is seen here on a youtube video posted earlier by the center. according to center officials, he escaped a locked enclosure and quickly attacked black as she accompanied a professionally trained animal keeper who was carrying out a routine cleaning. several attempts were made to

tranquilize matthai. he was ultimately shot and killed by sheriff's deputies. >> i think any time you have an incident, you have to take the time to really assess what happened, and that means an investigation. and we need to understand it and make sure it's something that never ever happens again. >> the conservatory center is home to 80 animals, including 15 lions. it's closed today as the investigation continues. now d ment stdn, and so fa neither side is relenting in the impasse over the border wall. president trump is blaming democrats as 800,000 federal workers head into the new year in limbo. >> now there's growing confusion over what constitutes a wall. abc's elizabeth hur joins us now with the details. elizabeth, good morning. >> reporter: janai and marcus, good morning to you. this morning we're hearing from white house officials and they're telling us everything is completely stalled and nothing is in the works. this as president trump continues to blame the democrats for the shutdown, even calling it the schumer shutdown on twitter. the last time president trump

sat down with incoming house speaker nancy pelosi and senate minority leader chuck schumer was when the president said this. >> i am proud to shut down the government for border security. >> reporter: that was 20 days ago when with the two sides far apart president trump and his allies are now saying the democrats are to claim for the shutdown. >> the bottom line is they want trump to lose more than they want the country to win. >> reporter: president trump wants $5 billion to build a border wall, even comparing his wall to the fence around the obamas' private home, tweeting on sunday, totally necessary for their safety and security, the u.s. needs the same thing. outgoing chief of staff john kelly weighing in saying while the president is right to make border security a top priority, he tells the "l.a. times," to be honest, it's not a wall. the president still says wall. oftentimes frankly he'll say barrier or fencing.

now he's tending towards steel slats. >> yes, we need to enhance border security, but we are not willing to pay $2.5 billion or $5 billion. >> reporter: caught in the middle, some 420,000 government employees, now forced to work without pay, and 380,000 more workers furloughed. >> and it's pretty scary not knowing when you're going to get paid. >> we all need to get paid too. we all have families. we're all middle class workers and taxpayers. >> reporter: but sources tell abc news president trump has been calling his conservative political allies reassuring them he's not backing down from demanding $5 billion for that border wall. marcus. >> all right, elizabeth hur this morning, thank you. the federal judge in texas who declared obamacare unconstitutional is allowing the law to remain in effect during the appeals process. in a ruling issued sunday, the judge says he stands by his earlier conclusion that the affordable care act is no longer valid after congress repealed its findings on people who remain uninsured but he says everyday americans would face

great uncertainty if his initial ruling took effect immediately. today is new year's eve and that means the clock is ticking towards midnight and the start of 2019. we want to show you a live look at new york's times square where another massive crowd is expected to ring in the new year. authorities here and across the country are doing everything they can to keep everyone safe, and abc's erielle reshef has the details. >> happy new year. >> reporter: the countdown is on to 2019. new york city getting ready to host one of the biggest new year's eve parties on the planet. >> new year's eve is one of the greatest moments for new york city of the year. it is a night when we shine all over the nation, all over the globe. >> reporter: the confetti, tested. the ball drop, rehearsed ready for revelers ringing in the new year. >> happy new year! >> reporter: more than 2 million people expected to pack into times square, and security will be tight. >> it's going to be one of the most well policed, best protected events at one of the safest venues in the entire world. >> reporter: certain items

banned. >> no backpacks, no large packages, no coolers, no uniformed and undercover officers on duty. more than 50 canine units combing the crowd. five dozen sanitation trucks and 200 police cars blocking a perimeter around times square. and for the first time, an nypd drone keeping watch from above. >> it will give us an expansive view from up above which will be helpful. >> reporter: new york city not the only place beefing up security for the celebrations. extra officers will be on patrol for boston's first night. security heightened around the famous hollywood sign. and las vegas police stationed on rooftops and at hotels along the strip where 300,000 people are expected to gather for a massive fireworks display. across the nation, authorities urging everyone celebrating to >> give yourself time to get to where you're going. plan ahead, you know, whether

that's with a designated driver or a safe ride. >> reporter: erielle reshef, abc news, new york. and time now for a look at your weather on this new year's eve. good morning. we have a new snowstorm monday night going into tuesday for albuquerque up towards denver. 6 to 12 inches of snow, blowing snow. travel plans will be altered. look for snow throughout the north central park of the country with arctic air freezing us monday but particularly going to tuesday. rain developing throughout the ohio valley region and throughout the northeast. a mix to the north of massachusetts. heavy showers to the south along the i-95 corridor and thunderstorms exploding in the lower mississippi valley region. i'm accuweather meteorologist paul williams. coming up, the record-breaking week on netflix. also ahead, the risky rescue at a ski resort. how dozens of people were pulled to safety after the lift stopped working.

and later, the manhunt under way after a 7-year-old girl was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting.

dozens of passengers had to be evacuated from a montana ski resort's chair lift because of a mechanical problem. the lift had been stopped as a safety precaution. some people had to be lowered with cables and harnesses. they're there cheering. the rescues took more than 2 1/2 hours with temperatures in the high teens. brrr. fortunately, no one was injured. baltimore washington airport officials are blaming a defective bracket for a jetway's collapse. the ramp's collapse sent six people to the hospital, all of whom have since been released. but an inspection of all of the new jetways by the same

manufacturer found six with defective brackets and they are right now being replaced. california's deadly wildfires may lead to murder charges for its largest power company. pacific gas and electric has been ordered to submit a statement today about its handling of the camp fire. the utility could face criminal charges if it's determined it operated its equipment recklessly. prosecutors are also looking into pg&e's wildfire operations last year. netflix says one of its newest releases is now a record setter for the streaming service. netflix says more than 45 million accounts watched the movie "bird box" in its first week. that's about a third of all netflix accounts. the horror flick stars sandra bullock, and analysts say that this type of result makes releasing movies on netflix more attractive to producers. no surprise there. and "aquaman" is more than keeping its work ahead of the competition and its head above water. this at the movie theaters. it sold more than $51 million

worth of tickets this weekend and that is more than the next two films on the list combined. the superhero movie has now earned almost three-quarters of a billion dollars worldwide, but the movie industry really in general has seen records broken this year. >> and already looking ahead to next year. well, coming up, the american now being tested for ebola. also, the playoff picture in the nfl is set and all the highlights from espn and how an injury cost a quarterback a million dollars. >> ooh. plus, why a deaf dog is credited with saving his family. white, outer layer of your tooth surface. the thing that's really important to dentists is to make sure that that enamel stays strong and resilient for a lifetime. the more that we can strengthen and re-harden that tooth surface, the whiter their patients' teeth are going to be. dentists are going to really want to recommend pronamel strong and bright. it helps to strengthen and re-harden the enamel.

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here's abc's marci gonzalez. >> reporter: police near houston searching for the gunman who opened fire at this car and the family inside killing a 7-year-old girl. >> we're going to use all resources available to bring this killer to justice. >> reporter: investigators say a woman and her four daughters were driving out of this walmart parking lot around 7:15 when a red pickup truck pulled up next to them and the driver started shooting. the mother shot in the arm now recovering, the 7-year-old pronounced dead at the scene, shattered glass injuring one other child. >> they're shaken. they're devastated. they lost a sister. especially, especially during this holiday season it's tough. >> reporter: the harris county sheriff sharing a vague description of the driver saying he's white, in his 40s, has a beard and was wearing a red hoodie. investigators are now interviewing witnesses and going over surveillance video trying to piece together what led to the shooting. marci gonzalez, abc news, los angeles. an american doctor is in isolation in a medical facility in nebraska this morning after

possibly being exposed to ebola. that worker just returned from e of the worst ebola outbreaks ever. officials say that doctor is not sick, nor is the doctor showing any symptoms. the doctor is in isolation just as a precaution. nebraska, by the way, has one of the few containment facilities in the u.s. and in new hampshire a family's deaf dog has turned out to be a life saver. a fire broke out over the weekend in the middle of the night and quickly ripped through their farmhouse. the two people inside were asleep, and there were no smoke detectors, but their dog knew something was up and woke them up. they managed to get out safely before the entire home was engulfed in flames. >> that was amazing. that dog saved their lives. without the working smoke detectors and without that dog, it's unlikely that they would have made it out of the building. everybody should havedetectors,e hard wired smoke detectors or battery operated. it's always the best scenario.

football. the indianapolis colts wrapped up the final nfl playoff spot by beating the titans last night. >> the guys at espn have highlights from other games. >> good morning, america. kenny. >> tournament? >> yeah, bill parcells did that a long time ago, and i kind of like it. lamar jackson, the jack show, and the ravens are going to the postseason. here it looked like things weren't going too well as they fumbled the ball. and then in the fourth quarter, it all came down to this. fourth and ten, the browns are almost in field goal range. you see that imaginary big thick red line. they kind of got to get to there to kick a field goal but they don't on fourth down, so the ravens go to the postseason. they'll play the l.a. chargers next weekend. >> how about this football game. philadelphia and washington up there in washington. the eagles got to win and they had to have minnesota lose. minnesota lost. eagles won. that's nick foles, remember the mvp in the super bowl, the touchdown and one.

nate sudfeld also had a touchdown pass in this game. that's his first career touchdown. congratulations. many of you "gma" viewers out there watched him in indiana all those years. the eagles take down washington. the eagles have a chance to repeat, and they're like playing with house money at this point. >> they are. dreat today. tica right now, g >> that whole utica thing he does. >> the nfl playoff starts hotote next saturday night's game is the seahawks visiting the dallas cowboys. lots of texas. >> right, and one more note about the philadelphia eagles. quarterback nick foles suffered a chest injury in their win over the redskins. >> and it cost him a lot, so that meant that foles finished the regular season having played 32% of the eagles' plays. if it was 33% of the plays, foles would have qualified for a million dollar bonus. so close. foles says he's optimistic about being ready for sunday's playoff game against the bears. good luck. well, up next in "the

pulse," the list of banned words in 2019. also ahead, the new laws in the new year. why hunters will soon be wearing pink and where two recesses will be mandatory. >> yes. plus, the bald eagle going rogue at a college football game. plus the bald eagle going rogue at a college football game. the only fda-approved 3-in-1 copd treatment. ♪ trelegy. the power of 1-2-3 ♪ trelegy 1-2-3 trelegy with trelegy and the power of 1-2-3, i'm breathing better. trelegy works 3 ways to... ...open airways,... ...keep them open... ...and reduce inflammation... ...for 24 hours of better breathing. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. trelegy is not for asthma. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain,

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cats and rabbits sold in pet stores to come from rescue organizations. >> oh, that's a good one. and if you love to hunt but orange is not your color, there's now another option. hunters in illinois will be allowed to wear bright pink instead. >> oh. >> how about that for fashion forward. >> okay, so that's stylish right there. that's a whole lot better. all right, it's not yet in the books, but collusion is definitely in the wheelhouse as one of the words that should be banned from the english language. >> it makes sense. lake superior state university in michigan is out with its annual list of words and phrases that should be banned because of misuse, overuse or just plain uselessness. >> and so the school's list includes collusion, wheelhouse, ghosting. >> okay. >> eschew and crusty. >> crusty. >> yeah, there were 20 in all and we were able to wrap our head around some of them. >> yeah, okay. so next a bald eagle named clark almost stole the show before saturday's cotton bowl. he went rogue landing on a notre dame fan during the national anthem, this guy, but then another one stuck out his arm.

>> yeah, so then clark took off again only to land on the outstretched arm of another fan, and that's when the handlers finally were able to get him back and on a leash and, of course, quite a thrill to say the very least for those fans who then watched the irish get beat bad by clemson. >> sorry, i had to tell one of your lines so people didn't think i was crazy for just holding my arm out. >> this is where the eagle landed. >> right there. >> that's the last thing i'm doing if an eagle is flying toward me. a pennsylvania town will ring in the new year with a peep, really, a big peep. >> big one. bethlehem, p.a. has a 400-pound answer to the big ball in times square. a 400-pound peep will be lowered during the annual peep fest naturally. bethlehem is the home of the company that makes the marshmallow candies. this one, 400 pounds, but not a bit of it is edible. >> unfortunately. >> oh, too bad. those big marshmallow things. do you like peeps? >> no, not at all. >> ha! me either. more news after this. more news after this. ter this. more news after this!

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good morning on this new year's eve. ist is monday, december 31st. welcome backback, representingy >> thank you. >> just in time to ring in the new year. >> just in time. i hear i am sitting next to two people who didn't have their morning coffee. >> no. and struggling. >> how are you going, mike nicco? >> i had my coffee. >> okay, good. >> i shreped up in the bad coffee upstairs. >> my coffee maker at home was not working. >> i had one sip of coffee. i left it at home. here we are. >> it's rough. >> sometimes you haveo sacrifice and take the free stuff. >> we're going to make it? >> we have made it this far. what's one more day? i'll talk about the breezes at 4:30. 37 in danville. livermore, 38. ukiah, 34. the rest of us in the low to mid-40s. a few upper 40s like in vallejo and also around san francisco

and half moon bay where we are in the upper 40s. it is definitely chilly up there. high temperatures this afternoon. under breezy conditions. mid to upper 50s. remember the breezes will make it feel cooler than this. over to alexis and find out about the commute today. >> okay. no one is going to work, that's for sure. an empty bay bridge toll plaza. no metering lights. i would be surprised if they had to turn those on this morning. we will find out in about an hour. extremely light volumes at this early hour. southbound 680, highway 4 to walnut creek, 6 minutes. walnut creek to highway 13, 7. and 580, tracy to dublin, wide open and in the green, 25 minutes. were >> it is already 2019 in sydney, australia. one of the first to welcome the new year with their iconic fireworks celebration. it is always a great show down there. of this was 2:00 this morning our time. there was hair bore of light parade featuring ships decorated

with rope lights gliding across the harbor. make sure you have a plan on how to get home. >> it may be known as amateur night, but there is no reason to act like a newbie when it comes to your safety. matt keller is live in campbell with your options. hi, matt. >> reporter: hi, jessica. here's the lesson this morning for tonight. put your wallet away. when you come up, starting at 8:00 tonight. it is not just the vta here in the south bay. almost all the tran seupt agencies are offering free rides into early tomorrow morning. bart is not free but they are doing extended service. it is a good --re offering free early tomorrow morning. bart is not free but they are doing extended service. it is a good -- officers will be focusing on stopping impaired drivers and watching for distracted driving, speeding and seat belt violations. last year 40 people died in

crashes on california roads. 936 people were arrested for dui. we have all the information on public transportation. what's free, what's not, all their routes on abc7news.com. reporting live in campbell, matt keller, abc 7 news. okay, matt, thank you. aaa wants to make sure you get home safely after celebrating the new year. tipsy toe starts at 6:00 tonight and ends at 6:00 in the morning on tuesday, tomorrow. you don't have to be a aaa member to get a ride up to 10 miles. if you travel more than 10 miles, you will be charged a standard together rate. okay. so now hopefully you'll be prepared. it is 4:30 if you're just waking up to us, a quick update with mike nicco.