good morning, america. border battle. with title 42 set to expire in just days, the new decision overnight that could send the issue to the supreme court. asylum seekers expected to reach new numbers. the exclusive with texas governor greg abbott. abc news learning the january 6th committee is ready to recommend criminal charges for former president donald trump. what they're expected to include and the latest capitol riot fallout. tourists stranded. americans visiting machu picchu among the hundreds of people struggling to leave peru and the chaos following the ouster of the country's president. >> and we just really want to get back to our families. >> the latest on the evacuation. missile strikes.

major cities in ukraine plunged into darkness as the u.s. finalizes plans to send a key missile defense system to the battlefield. could it help protect their civilian infrastructure? the kremlin's response to the u.s. this morning. brittney griner's promise. her first public statement now that she's free from russian captivity. what she's saying about playing again and how she survived those dark days. hazing lawsuit. the student who says pledging at a university fraternity almost cost him his life. skier saved. the man nearly buried alive by an avalanche speaking from his hospital bed. >> and so my first thought was, okay, it's over. that was my life, right? >> how he was found and the tricky rescue. ♪ and super saturday. the shopping scramble and this

last weekend before christmas where to find deep discounts, how to avoid the crowds and make sure your gifts get there on time. good morning, america. the last saturday to go shopping. >> yes. >> before the holidays. >> you are very energetic about this segment. >> i just realized it's the last one, so hope you have all your shopping done. thank you for joining us this morning. the battle over border security back in the headlines. overnight a federal court refusing the appeals of 19 republican-led states to keep a trump-era order on the books and the matter could wind up in the supreme court. >> the restrictions imposed early in the pandemic are set to expire within days. the rules use public health as justification to deny migrants the right to apply for legal asylum in the u.s. >> texas governor greg abbott is warning that there will be, quote, total chaos at the u.s. border within days if title 42 expires as scheduled.

abc's zohreen shah is at the california/mexico border with more on all of it. zohreen, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, whit. we are right next to tijuana, and just a few feet away from me on the other side are migrants trying to cross over, and in just a few days, they will have a better chance of seeking asylum. this morning, title 42 slated to expire in four days after the u.s. court of appeals in washington, d.c. blocked efforts by 19 gop led states challenging the rule's expiration date. under this trump-era covid-19 pandemic policy meant to stop the spread of communicable diseases, over 2.4 migrant expulsions have been carried out. once lifted, more migrants will be able to seek asylum without fear of immediately being turned away. abc's martha raddatz pressing texas governor greg abbott about the practicality of keeping a pandemic-era health policy in place. >> when you have people coming across the globe without knowing at all what their health status

is, that almost by definition is a public health risk. >> reporter: aclu's lead attorney blasting that health argument. >> these states are being completely hypocritical. they have been fighting to end covid-19 restrictions everywhere except for asylum seekers. >> reporter: regardless officials in texas announcing they're restarting enhanced vehicle inspections at the border to crack down on illegal crossing activity. el paso officials expecting thousands of crossings per day once title 42 expires. >> what's really scary to me that some people can die because it's cold outside, and they are sleeping in the streets. >> reporter: despite the often treacherous journey, thousands continue making their way across the u.s. border. abc's matt rivers speaking with this woman who traveled from honduras. >> why did you want to cross? [ speaking non-english ] >> to make a better life because there's no work in honduras. >> reporter: there were three judges who denied that request from red states, and they were appointed by obama, biden and

trump. you'll remember, it was former president trump who put title 42 in place during the pandemic. whit? >> i'll take it from here, zohreen, thank you. in the meantime, the biden administration is gearing up for the expected influx of migrants. abc white house correspondent maryalice parks joins us now with more. maryalice, good morning. >> reporter: janai, good morning. what we know now is that unless the supreme court intervenes, this policy that let agents rapidly expel migrants will expire in just days. now, immigration advocates had been calling for this policy to end. they say that it denied people a right to make their case for asylum, but the white house knows there is that real anxiety that the border could just be overwhelmed. one estimate from the administration from earlier this year was that as many as 18,000 migrants might try to enter every day once this ended. now, the administration says they've been doing the work to try to prepare, adding thousands of personnel at the border, setting up new semi-permanent housing facilities, expanding

transportation to move migrants so they can be processed elsewhere, but the reality is, they've already been dealing with record-breaking numbers. now, they want to emphasize this will not mean that the border is open, that people who are not eligible for asylum could still be prosecuted. when i pressed the white house on this, they said that they will enforce immigration laws in a safe and humane way but also pointed fingers. they said they inherited a broken system, and they called on congress to act. eva? >> maryalice parks for us there at the white house. as for martha raddatz, she'll have more of her interview with texas governor greg abbott as she reports from the border tomorrow on "this week." >> whit? now to the major developments out of the house january 6th committee. abc news has learned members are preparing to make a criminal referral to the justice department urging the prosecution of former president donald trump. abc's alex presha is on capitol hill with more on what we can expect next week. alex, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, whit. this is something that has never been one before, referring

criminal charges against a former president, but after more than a year of hearings, this january 6th committee believes it's made its case. it's a move that would, frankly, be unprecedented. after more than a year of hearings and primetime behind closed door, abc news has learned that the january 6th house select committee plan to recommend criminal charges for former president donald trump. sources familiar with the committee's deliberations say the recommended charges will include conspiracy to defraud the united states and obstruction of an official proceeding. the committee also considering recommending trump be charged with insurrection. the bipartisan panel made its case to americans over ten public hearings pointing the finger squarely at the former president as being singularly responsible for the violence on january 6th. >> we're going to walk down to the capitol. [ cheers and applause ] because you'll never take back our country with weakness. you have to show strength and you have to be strong. >> reporter: as well as blaming

trump for the days following the 2020 election leading up to the insurrection. the committee saying despite his own advisers telling him otherwise, trump called the election stolen in a desperate attempt to stay in office. [ crowd chanting "hang mike pence" ] >> when mike pence made it clear that he wouldn't give in to donald trump's scheme, donald trump turned the mob on him. >> reporter: these criminal referrals would come as the committee is considering recommending criminal charges for others close to trump. it's preparing to release its final report next week, but regardless of these referrals, the ultimate decision on whether or not to charge former president trump sits with the justice department and its special counsel overseeing its own criminal investigation. janai? >> all right, alex, thank you. turning overseas now to the war in ukraine and a new round of russian missile strikes taking out power infrastructure. abc's tom soufi burridge is in kyiv this morning as the u.s.

prepares to send patriot missile defense systems to the country. good morning, tom. >> reporter: yeah, good morning, janai. they're working round the clock in freezing, horrible weather to restore the power here. millions were left with no heating, electricity or running water. russia again killing and injuring children in these latest attacks. this morning, russia's deadly barrage of missile strikes across ukraine claiming more victims. this hit on a power station in the south. in video shared by officials, overnight the body of a mother and her 1-year-old baby pulled from the rubble of this residential building in the city. in total four people killed here. russia unleashing 75 missiles targeting energy facilities, knocking the power out and plunging major cities like kyiv into darkness. the u.s. now moving to bolster ukraine's air defense. president biden poised to sign

off on long-range patriot missile systems for ukraine according to u.s. officials. the kremlin calling it, a provocative move, but for families taking refuge in pop-up shelters, more u.s. military support can't come soon enough. there's no electricity, power or water at home for sasha and kirill. this is what russian missiles are doing in ukraine. these guys are just doing what children do. and dasha studying here. each time a missile lands, she says her determination grows. >> everything that doesn't kill us make us like more braver. >> everything that doesn't kill you makes you braver? >> yes. >> reporter: the u.s. also stepping up its training program for ukrainian troops. the u.s. military will train 500 strong ukrainian combat battalions in germany. it will begin in the new year. eva? >> tom soufi burridge in ukraine for us, thank you, tom. now to the crisis stranding hundreds of tourists, many of

them u.s. citizens, visiting popular sites in peru like machu picchu. transportation systems shut down following protests over the ouster of the nation's president. abc's lama hasan has the latest. >> reporter: this morning, chaos in peru, hundreds of american tourists trying to flee the country after the government declared a state of emergency. violence erupting in the streets with the recent ouster and arrest of its former president pedro castillo. protesters demanding his freedom and new elections. flights and railways coming to a halt forcing some tourists to make their way on foot. >> once i made it to the train station to head back, they said everything was shut down due to the coup. >> reporter: miami firefighter brian vega vacationing in machu picchu, a top tourist destiny dags. he is now trapped in the village filming this line of tourists trying to flee by helicopter. >> there's a line forming for a possible evacuation either tonight or tomorrow. >> reporter: like this family from knoxville, tennessee.

>> and we just really want to get back to our families. >> reporter: vega says the only way out is an eight-hour hike and with no timetable on an evacuation, he says the situation is deteriorating with supplies running low. >> yeah, it's overwhelming. i have family back home. i have my wife and two children. >> reporter: the state department now issuing a level 3 travel advisory urging citizens to reconsider traveling to peru because of the crime and civil unrest. this warning is just one step down from a do not travel advisory. >> everything is literally going to shambles around us. >> reporter: yucinia munoz has been in peru on vacation since early december watching the conflict escalate. she too desperate to get out. >> we were at a restaurant, and they are like, we have to turn off the lights and get away from the windows because there's looters. that's not normal. that's not okay. >> reporter: now, the demonstrators want early

elections, but peru's congress rejected demands plunging the country into deeper political turmoil with international tourists caught in the middle. meanwhile, flights are slowly starting to resume. you saw yusinia in our piece there, a ticket was booked for sunday, but she fears it could get canceled. whit? >> at least a little bit of progress, lama. thank you. to brittney griner sharing her first public statements since her release from captivity in russia thanking those who helped bring her home and promising she intends to continue her basketball career. abc's faith abubey joins us with more. faith, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, whit. brittney griner's long journey home from russian detention is finally over, and she's breaking her silence saying she's grateful to be back home after nearly a week at an army medical facility in texas. the 32-year-old sharing these new images on her instagram page. one of them showing her first step back on u.s. soil, and then the other one showing a warm hug between her and her wife, cherelle, after nearly ten months apart. griner describes those moments

in russian custody as a battle at every turn saying, quote, i dug deep to keep my faith, and it was the love from so many of you that helped keep me going. she thanked her supporters for making it possible for her to be freed from russian prison and to come home and enjoy the holidays with her family but keenly aware that u.s. marine paul whelan and other americans were still detained abroad. griner says she plans to use her platform to help bring them back home. now, as for her career, the olympic gold medalist says she intends to be back on the court with her phoenix mercury team as soon as the spring. janai? >> many people will be looking forward to that, faith. thank you. to financial news now and the mounting losses on wall street. markets capping another down week and renewed fears that a recession looms. abc's business and economics correspondent deidre bolton is here now with what that could mean for your money. good morning, deidre. >> good morning, janai. friday, the dow lost more than 200 points. that added to thursday's losses, which were the biggest in three

months, so that rounded out two consecutive weeks of losses. this week there were two key data points that made investors nervous. oe was november retail sales. that fell more than forecast. this is usually a time of year to splurge. so the number created unease that americans may be spending less. also, the fed raised rates by another 50 basis points this week. now at a 15-year high making all borrowing more expensive. mortgages, credit card payments, car loans. we also know that the fed wants to cool inflation and raise rates to slow spending, but there are worries that the fed and ush the economy inta a job recession. the fact that the central bank confirmed it would continue hiking rates through next year did nothing to calm the markets. additionally, one of wall street b media earlier this month. one of the brighter spots in our economy this year has been the strong jobs market, but layoff announcements in a few different industries are beginning to make that feel shaky too. eva? >> all right.

thanks, deidre. well, it may be a little harder to get your starbucks fix today. more than 1,000 workers at 100 starbucks stores across the country are on strike. the three-day strike, which began yesterday, is part of an effort to get more starbucks stores to unionize. the union expects some stores to close entirely while others may keep running with management stepping in behind the counters. now to the 180 from elon musk after his latest twitter move. international criticism raining down on the billionaire after the social network suspended several journalists. abc's alexis christoforous is here with more on that. alexis, good morning. >> good morning, whit. well, less than 24 hours after f publishing public information about the location of elon musk's private jet, the billionaire has reinstated their accounts. musk tweeting early this morning, the people have spoken. accounts who doxxed my location will have their suspension lifted now, referring to the results of an online poll in which musk asked his twitter followers whether he should lift

the bans. the suspensions were met with international backlash. the united nations and the european union join u.s. lawmakers in condemning twitter's decision to ban the reporters. the eu even threatening musk with sanctions, including a possible twitter ban. critics calling the move dangerous and hypocritical because musk vowed to protect free speech when he bought twitter. >> something to watch. alexis, thank you. janai? >> all right. this morning, most of the country is facing the triple threat of the flu, covid and rsv, and that is stretching some hospitals to the breaking point. yet, the cdc says one weapon in its arsenal to fight infections is greatly underused. abc's elwyn lopez is outside cdc hersith more on that. >> reporter: hey, janai, good morning. health officials are now urging americans to get up to date with their vaccines. this as nearly half the country is already seeing higher covid-19 risk levels. now, take a look at this.

a new cdc study shows that the new bivalent vaccine was over 50% effective at keeping adults out of the hospital and according to the kaiser family foundation, only about four in ten adults say they have received that booster or will get it as soon as they can. this comes as health officials warn about an uptick in strep cases. children's hospitals in washington, texas, colorado and arizona telling us they're seeing an unusually early increase in the number of rare invasive strep "a" cases compared to the last two years of the pandemic. 60 cases already reported at texas children's. a dozen more in colorado including two children who have died. and, eva, experts say the flu continues to be a concern. the cdc estimates that there have been at least 15 million flu-like illnesses reported so far this season. >> elwyn lopez there for us. thanks, elwyn. now, to the father of a mass shooting suspect due in court today. the case focusing on the july

4th parade attack near chicago that left seven people dead. authorities now charging the suspect's father, who sponsored his son's application for a gun license. abc's aaron katersky is here with more. good morning, aaron. >> eva, good morning. the father of the highland park shooting suspect is due in court this morning facing charges he knew his son posed a risk, but sponsored his gun application anyway. it was criminally reckless, prosecutors said, and contributed to the deaths of seven people. robert crimo jr. told abc news he had not an inkling his son would allegedly open fire on the fourth of july parade and said prior threats his son had made to kill members of the family were like a child's outburst. but prosecutors said crimo knew anyway. knew and signed the for- crimo's lawyers called the charges absurd and said they should alarm every parent. prosecutors, though, are considering whether parents should share blame. in michigan, the oxford high school shooter's mom and dad were charged with manslaughter

and they've pleaded not guilty to disregarding signs of a threat and buying their son the gun used to kill four students. now, since the highland park shooting, the illinois state police has taken steps to make it easier to identify potential risk and maybe reject a gun permit application regardless of whether a parent signs off. guys? >> all right, aaron katersky, our thanks to you. we do want to turn now get a check of the weather with 130,000 customers without power in the northeast this morning due to the winter weather. tracy butler from our chicago station wls joins us with more. tracy, good morning. >> great to be with you this morning. of course, much of this past week we have been talking about a monster storm system impacting much of the country. well, today this storm system is still impacting the northeast as it has evolved into a nor'easter bringing crippling traveling conditions across i-89 in new hampshire and flooded roads across long island, but now we look to the future, and there are still winter alerts in

effect across the northeast. winter storm warnings still in effect as we are looking at an additional possibility of 6 to 12 inches of snow there. that's a look at your national now a look at the weather in your own neighborhood. lisa: clear skies and dense fog to the east of us. we will look at frost and fog. sunny days ahead for the weekend and milder nights and warmer afternoons next week. highs today from mid-50's for most of us from richmond to concord and warming up and clouding up to start the work week. >> tracy, thank you. >> well, nba star chris paul is now a college graduate. the phoenix suns guard picked up his bachelor's degree in mass

communications from winston salem state university yesterday nearly two decades after he first enrolled. paul played at wake forest for two seasons before being drafted by the nba in 2005. the basketball star shared his joy by gifting each of his fellow graduates $2,500, which when you graduate from college is a lot of money. >> that is a lot of money. >> absolutely. >> yeah. all right. well, still coming up here on "gma," hazing claim. a college student suing saying he was seriously injured while pledging a fraternity. super saturday, what you need to know today to find those shopping deals on the last weekend before christmas. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ this year take the time to melt into your holiday moments with lindor. ♪ ♪

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i need you with me, and i need you to be strong. >> welcome back to "gma." the wait is over. "avatar: tat wer coming up, we'll have more on the long-awaited sequel, and in our second hour a sit-down with one of its star, stephen lang. >> so many excited about that. >> very excited. yep. well, let's take a look at some of the other big stories we're following this morning. happening right now, chicago police are looking for those responsible for a shooting outside a high school yesterday just as students were being dismissed. two teenagers are dead. two more seriously injured. it's not been confirmed if the deceased and injured are students. also right now, new york is the latest state to ban the sale of cats, dogs and rabbits in pet stores.

the new law, which takes effect in 2024, is part of an effort to stop commercial breeders and encourage people to adopt rescue animals. new york joins california, maryland and a handful of other states that have already adopted similar laws. we know every post office gets busy during the holidays. but there's one that gets really slammed. rudolph, ohio, is home to less than 500 people, but during the holiday, some 80,000 pieces of mail comes through their post office. apparently it seems everyone wants the rudolph the red-nosed. eetoee the stath. g. >> yeah, me either. >> now maybe i'll route my rail through there. >> time to write letters. yes. we start this half hour with a university student severely injured in an alleged hazing incident now taking legal action. the freshman suing his school and the fraternity he was pledging. this morning, 19-year-old armand runte is struggling to recovering after a near-death

trauma at a fraternity party in march left him with multiple skull fractures. >> armand suffered a traumatic brain injury. to this day now nine months later, he continues to suffer the consequences of that. >> reporter: according to a lawsuit filed against rutgers university, at least a dozen students and the fraternity he was pledging, theta chi, the freshman was allegedly encouraged and/or forced to consume life-threatening amounts of alcohol, which caused him to become intoxicated and fall down this flight of stairs hitting his head. the lawsuit claiming upon realizing the grave consequences of their conduct, the fraternity defendants unsuccessfully sought to conceal evidence of their hazing and underage alcohol violations. according to the police report included in the lawsuit, the incident was reported nearly three hours later. his lawyer says runte spent months in the hospital with potentially permanent damage to his nervous system according to his attorney. >> he's had major surgery. he hasn't been able to return to school. he has not returned to normal function. >> reporter: the incident

similar to the 2017 event th cost penn state student timothy piazza his life. the 19-year-old consuming large amounts of alcohol and falling down a flight of stairs while pledging a fraternity. a closed circuit camera showing he lay injured for more than 12 hours. his frat brothers serving jail time over the incident, and last fall 18-year-old danny santulli nearly died after he was pressured to drink an entire bottle of vodka at a pledging event at the university of missouri, short -- authorities say. this surveillance video shows him falling backwards. >> he'll need care for life. he's still not talking or walking. he's in a wheelchair. he lost his vision. >> reporter: theta chi has not commented on pending litigation but told abc news they have a strict policy against hazing during any part of the fraternal experience, and rutgers has a policy that says no alcohol shall be present at fraternity events. the lawsuit claims such rules were ignored and this accident was preventable.

>> it is our hope that this lawsuit effects that change. until that behavior is changed, we are sadly going to see more tragedies like this. >> the lawsuit also says another rutgers student died in that same theta chi house more than 20 years ago. he too fell down a flight of stairs while intoxicated. >> awful story. well, this morning we're learning more about an incredible rescue in the utah wilderness. a skier buried by an avalanche lucky to be spotted and saved and this morning thankful to be alive. this morning, a skier who survived an avalanche. >> all of a sudden this whole slope collapsed, and there was just a wall of snow that was coming at me at 40, 50 miles an hour. >> reporter: 35-year-old travis haussener buried in snow up to his chest for 45 minutes wednesday. the avalanche approximately 200 feet wide slamming him into a tree while skiing neffs canyon in utah.

>> so my first thought was, okay, it's over. that was my life, right? >> reporter: haussener shouted for help for nearly an hour trying to dig himself out. >> started hearing what i thought was most likely an animal making noises. >> reporter: an off-duty firefighter skiing with his dog heard the cries for help and called 911.ed he was wrapped around the tree with just his head and arms exposed. >> reporter: a rescue team on a helicopter unable to reach haussener. search and rescuers arriving to dig him out taking him down the mountain by snowmobile to a waiting ambulance. >> i'm super grateful for all the people that got me out of there, but, you know, i wouldn't be me if i didn't want to go out and ski again, so first thing i'll probably do once i heal up is go skiing. >> loves it, loves it. haussener suffered a bufrj of broken bones including his leg and some ribs and a shoulder injury. so it might be a while before he is back out on the slopes. >> we always hear that.

got to get back out there. got to get back out there and do it. quite a story. all right, let's get a check of the weather now. tracy butler from our chicago station wls is following all of it. tracy, good morning. >> well, good morning to all of you. great to be with you here on this saturday. but, of course, up of this past week we talked about blizzard conditions, mainly across the northern plains. in south dakota white-out condition, very heavy snow resulting in some of these really sky high snowdrifts because of gusty wind, but the week ahead brings an unleashing of arctic air, even down into the deep south. bitter cold windchills can be ex all right, our thanks >> all right, our thanks to tracy.

still coming up on "good morning america," helping you with your holiday shopping. the strategies for the last weekend before christmas. plus, the shipping deadlines you need to know about. and then the big hopes for the new "avatar" sequel and a ripple effect at the box office. ♪we're not gonna take it by twisted sister♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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welcome back to "gma." welcome back to "gma." with super saturday kicking this shopping season into high gear, the last weekend before the holiday expected to bring out a crush of shoppers. abc's deidre bolton is back with some shopping strategies. so important, deidre. >> so important, janai. today is also known as panic saturday because regular shipping times for christmas, they're already in the rearview mirror. so if you want to get a specific gift, you may have to go to a physical store. it's that time of year, the final scramble for last-minute holiday gifts, but with it comes some incredible last-minute deals. >> for retailers, super saturday is that last chance to make sure that shoppers pick them to get the last of the gifts on their gift list, and so for shoppers, that means deals. >> reporter: super saturday is considered one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

this year, christmas eve falls on a saturday pushing super saturday back giving shoppers eight days for that final push. >> that's the great news for consumers. what we're seeing is that some of those shipping deadlines for online purchases actually run through super saturday. so while often super saturday is an in-store only thing, this year online shoppers can get in on the action this year. >> reporter: also called panic saturday. shopper are expected to turn out in record numbers, and the deals out there run the gamut. >> things like toys, games, holiday gift set, holiday decor, those things are going to be the most on sale. >> really no matter what you may need for under the tree, you're going to find discounts out there. i am seeing a lot of sales in small home appliances, and, you know, the discounts are as deep as 40% to 50% off. >> reporter: those deep discounts from retailers like target, amazon and nordstrom all attempting to unload their

excess end of the season issues as a result of the pandemic. >> in addition to that last-minute push to get people to buy gifts, retailers are trying to offload some things that they might still be overstocked in. >> experts suggest going to stores early so you won't fight the crowds. another tip, have a plan. most shoppers exceed their budgets when they don't have specific gift ideas for family and friends, eva. >> some good advice. the shopping is only part of the equation. the other big issue, as deidre mentioned to factor in, making sure those gifts arrive on time to make it under the tree. abc's reena roy is here with more. hey, reena. >> reporter: hey, eva, good morning to you. that's right. well, the clock is definitely ticking. for all of you procrastinators out there, myself included, a key reminder here, the longer you wait, the more you will have to pay. if you don't want to pay anything extra to get your packages delivered by christmas eve, today is the day to get those gifts and cards into the

mail for usps, because it is the dead shipping and first class mail service. that means today is the cheapest it's going to get, and the deadline for priority is on monday. these cutoffs are one day earlier this year since christmas falls on a sunday. many of the major carrier, they are not offering overnight shipping into the holiday. also something important to keep in mind, storms are impacting parts of the country, so that could potentially cause shipping delays, but there are some alternatives here. some companies like amazon handle their own deliveries and sometimes offer free same-day delivery. nordstrom and neiman-marcus are among some others that also offer free shipping, and you can opt to pick up online orders in store at places like target and walmart, which can be free of cost and can also cut down shipping times. walmart even launching drone deliveries for some customers in florida, phoenix and dallas. that comes with a small fee, but items can be dropped off in as little as 30 minutes, guys.

and back to those deadlines, looking ahead to next week the deadline for both fedex and u.p.s. three-day shipping is on tuesday, so, guys, it is certainly crunch time. >> yes, time is running out. >> it is. ecutive joins us live for more shopping advice. plus, the long awaited "avatar" sequel soars into theaters with big hopes for a blockbuster holiday season. ♪ ♪ with the most 5 star cruise reviews on tripadvisor, your gorgeous vacation at sea awaits. ♪ ready to sell your car?

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we are back now on "gma" we are back now on "gma" with the big debut for the long awaited "avatar" sequel, "the way of water" and the hopes it will bring back audiences to the

theater and boost the holiday box office. >> if you want to live here, you have to ride. >> reporter: overnight "avatar: the way of water" splashing into theaters. >> whoo! >> we have water that connects all things. >> reporter: the long-awaited sequel more than a decade in the making. >> let's get it done. >> "avatar 2" debuting in 4,100 theaters across america and more than 400,000 imax locations worldwide. >> it's a movie that just demands to be seen on screen, and not just any screen, the biggest screen possible. it's that kind of big event that movies do really well and kind of a cultural shaking zeitgeisty moment. >> reporter: hollywood hoping to get people back in theaters this holiday season. new debuts include the family-friendly "puss

in boots 2," the whitney houston biopic, "i wanna dance with somebody" and "babylon" with an a-list cast including brad pitt and margot robbie with awards buzz already, but none carry the same spectacle or expectations as "avatar." >> the hope is that this "avatar" like the "avatar" before it will really kind of serve as a rising tide. >> very, very excited about this. we're going to get into some statistics here, guys. "avatar," which was released in 2009, listen to this, only made $77 million during its opening weekend, but went on to become the highest grossing film of all time. so obviously expectations for the sequel are very high. >> we're not laughing about that. >> only made $77 million? >> some of us are very much nerding out with our new glasses in the studio. >> we love that you're so excited about "avatar" and love the new glasses. >> put your glasses on for real. >> we'll get some tape around that. >> it's part of the new me. all right, here we go,

coming up on "gma," one of the stars of "avatar," by the way, stephen lang joins us. plus, we'll be right back with our "play of the day." >> new year, new me. >> new year, new me. . ♪ 34rus we'll be right back with our "play of the day." new year, new me. rich, indulgent chocolate with a luscious caramel filling. with love from san francisco. ghirardelli caramel squares. makes life a bite better. ok, so with the award-winning geico mobile app, our customers have 24/7 access, digital id cards, they can even pay their bill- (beep) bill has joined the call. hey bill, we're just- phone: hi guys, bill here. do we have julia on the line too? 'k, well we'll just- phone: hey sorry. i had you muted. well yea let's just- phone: so what i was thinking-

ok well we'll- phone: yeah- let's just go ahead- phone: oh alright- the award-winning geico app. download it today. ♪ why not. y, l'eau de parfum. yves saint laurent. happy holidays. i'm getting vaccinated with prevnar 20®. a pfizer vaccine! so am i. because i'm at risk for pneumococcal pneumonia. i'm asking about prevnar 20® because there's a chance pneumococcal pneumonia could put me in the hospital. if you're 19 or older, with certain chronic conditions like copd, asthma, diabetes, or heart disease or are 65 or older, you may be at increased risk for pneumococcal pneumonia.

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timeor time for our "play of the day." this one is for you. the christmas light show that almost wasn't. take a look at bob's annual creation in -- >> wow. >> i knew whit would appreciate this. >> yes, indeed. >> a trulypeid tran olighand sountuou oeout, ent all out. a christmas gift for the entire community. you sent us a picture of your house. >> i was a little worried. i was like, do not show my house on tv. i was like, okay, okay, that's somebody else's. but, yes, we go pretty big at my place too. nothing like that, though. >> i wonder what the neighbors thought about that, but they love it. >> they were all in. >> how do your neighbors feel? >> we're pretty festive in my neighborhood.

i'm not over the top. you know, it's not like the lights are beaming through the window. you know, it's manageable. >> yeah, classy music. >> yeah. coming up here on "gma" in our second hour, the battle over border security. a new federal appeals court decision and how the matter could wind up in the supreme court. also ahead our "gma" cover story, the last weekend before christmas and an executive from macy's is here with holiday shopping advice. e.

>> we begin this morning with developing new. did you feel the minor earthquake? it rattled the bay area around 3:30 a.m. no serious damage has been reported. good morning, it is saturday, december 17. lisa, we had callers from vallejo. >> even as far as sacramento. here is a look at where the shaking was felt. you can see where the earthquake was. 5.8 miles deep.