now on america this morning whether emergency from a blizzard to wind chills of 50 below zero, the treacherous travel conditions today, power crews from texas and canada dispatched to the northeast with heavy wind and a flash freeze in the forecast from the airports to the interstates, we time out the worst of the conditions. lansky's message to congress victory. only victory this morning reaction to the historic speech from ukraine's president , his appeal to the american people and the billions of dollars in aid now being considered. abc news exclusive. the california teacher who survived more than a year in a russian prison, describes what she went through and her fight for freedom. breaking overnight the suspect in what's being called the biggest financial fraud in american history

returns to the us what's next for sandbank, man freed and what we have now learned about his ex girlfriend, plus a small village coming together to help a family in need here from the locals who pulled off the holiday magic and from a highly unusual tailgate party. to a highly unusual city council meeting. do not let this glamorous look distract you. from doing your duty thursday. december 22nd. new york. this is america this morning. good thursday morning, everyone i'm andrew denberg fujian for rhiannon 215 million americans are under some sort of weather alert right now, as a monster storm disrupts holiday travel in a way. this is a perfect storm, hitting on the busiest day for christmas. air travel blizzard conditions in the midwest and a storm front that will send temperatures plunging after heavy rain in the northeast. triggering a flash freeze that will make driving treacherous. widespread power

outages are expected just as freezing temperatures extend to the deep south. more governors are declaring states of emergency. this isn't absolute white outfit. the national weather service calls it a once in a generation storm, and it's already crippling christmas travel. more than 200 miles of interstate, 90 and south dakota is closed. and in chicago, people are being warned to avoid the roads altogether. it's not fun to drive in the snow in the blazer, the worst blizzard conditions, ice and flooding are expected from the plains and the midwest to the east coast. temperatures are plunging, dropping 32 degrees in just nine minutes in the rockies. the life threatening cold will soon reach as far south as texas one in dallas, minus 26 in st louis. for a for a wind chill and come saturday morning christmas eve morning, those numbers will be spreading over towards the east coast, so nearly the entire

country will help below zero for windshields. airlines are already canceling more than 1000 flights. for today, chicago's o'hare with the most cancelations overnight, followed by denver tired stressed. hungry. just hopeless there's snow in kansas city waiting for us, so we are a little bit nervous about getting there the delays and cancelations only adding to the chaos at airports packed with holiday travelers. in miami. this woman was arrested after police say she took out her frustrations on a gate agent throwing a computer monitor after she missed her flight. and in california, allegiant airlines is trying to reunite 44 passengers with their bags after the airline lost all of them. train travel is also impacted. amtrak has canceled service on dozens of routes. we'll take a closer look at your forecast in just a few minutes to that historic moment in washington, ukraine's president vladimir zelensky, addressing congress thanking americans for

supporting the war effort, and saying, our children's future is on the line. congress in a rare display of unity gave zelinsky 18 standing ovations, but zelinsky came to washington to ask for more help. $45 billion in u. s aid is now under consideration, and it has some republicans questioning the commitment. donald trump jr ignited controversy by tweeting zelinsky is basically an ungrateful international welfare queen. but zelinsky insisting american aid is not charity. abc is justin finch has the latest from washington. justin good morning, andrew. good morning. ukraine's president. zelinsky says he wanted to make this trip sooner. but his visit now some 300 days into the war shows the situation in ukraine is under control, because of us support. so lynskey using this trip to appeal directly to congress and the american people about the high stakes of ukraine's fight against russia. probably in the footsteps of british prime minister winston churchill. ukraine's president, volodymyr zelensky, addressing congress and seeking to submit a wartime

alliance, our two nations our allies in this battle framing ukraine's fight against russia as one for the future of common freedom and shared values the president thinking the u. s for its continued support and calling on congress not to waver. your money is not share itty. it's an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way. congress now% mulling over a $1.7 trillion government spending bill, which allocates 45 billion in additional aid for ukraine, we understand in our bones that ukraine's fight as part of something much bigger. just before is alinsky's arrival at the whitehouse approved another military aid package, including an advanced surface to air patriot missile system. we need to be working with ukrainians to give them the ability to go on

the offensive because you cannot win a war on the defensive patriot missile system very important, but some military experts say it may not be helpful against drones that russia has been using to cripple ukraine's electric grid. in congress. alinsky's remarks were warmly received. there aren't many moments like this. uh i think everyone in the room understood the sense of history involved and russia warning the us supplying ukraine with that patriot missile system would be seen as a provocative step. but president biden pushing ahead, saying the move isn't escalatory but defensive. andrew andrea. justin thank you now to an abc news exclusive. a california woman is speaking out about her time in a russian prison. sarah krivenik was arrested for assaulting her roommate in moscow. she claimed self defense , but a judge sentenced the english teacher to more than a year in a penal colony. just days later, w n b a star brittney griner was arrested in a separate incident. but unlike reiner, the state department never classified dramatic. as wrongfully detained. they might

as well just left me there. they completely throw out the fact that another human being another american citizen is also going through. you know her sufferings with no support. the state department says it did provide assistance to krivenik, she says in prison, she had little food or medicine and was assaulted by another inmate. later on good morning america. she describes her physical and emotional recovery. accused fraudster sam blankman freed is back in the u. s to face justice for the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange. he arrived back in the new york area from the bahamas overnight. he's due in federal court today accused of stealing billions from customers and investors in what prosecutors say was the biggest financial fraud in u. s history. we've also learned his ex girlfriend and former business partner have now pleaded guilty and are cooperating with prosecutors. now to a disturbing case from washington, d. c two police officers have been convicted in connection with the man's death

. they were trying to pull him over because he was riding a moped without a helmet. abc's lionel maui's has the video, which some may find hard to watch this morning justice for karen hilton brown. it's shocking. i'm i'm in disbelief to washington, d. c police officers guilty in connection to the 20 year old's death his girlfriend with whom he had a child speaking out officers choice. chase him and it it ended with him passing away. it's just like nothing that can bring that back. he knocked out though body camera footage and surveillance video was a major focus of the trial officers can be seen in october of 2020 chasing hilton brown through a neighborhood for more than 10 blocks as he was riding a moped . they were still chasing him as he turned onto a busy street, where he was hit by a passing car dying days later. prosecutors say officer terrence sutton and former lieutenant andrews about ski tried to cover up details of the crash and his

death, even allowing the driver of the car that hit hilton brown to leave the scene and taking no witness statements sudden was found guilty of second degreemud zaborowski were found guilty of obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct around. brown's death, led to days of protests and put the police departments chase policy under scrutiny. many in the community say trust needs to be rebuilt knowledge in the pain that some people and alot of people that look like me are going through when it comes to public safety policies in this city sudden now faces up to 65 years in prison when he is sentenced zaborowski upto 25 years, lionel moise abc news thank you in effort to combat the so called triple endemic of flu, covid and rsv. the biden administration is set to release tamiflu from the strategic national stockpile. the prescription antiviral will be sent to states that requested officials hope it will ease some

of the supply issues affecting respiratory medications. meanwhile doctors are monitoring a rare bacterial infection in children. at least seven children showed up at a hospital in missouri with a variety of symptoms that turned out to be a deadly ivasive form of strep. a symptoms include rashes and unexplained swelling. time now for a look at your thursday weather. powerful and dangerous winter storm continues to move its way through the midwest. today snow and wind on the backside little bit of icing and pennsylvania. meantime blizzard conditions are likely today and tomorrow from the great lakes to the great plains. traveling in these areas could be life threatening, including the windy city. meantime, an arctic blast is making its way south and east% through the lower 48 today, tomorrow, temperatures behind this front 25 to 50 degrees cooler than the ay before, and that means a rapid freeze up with icy street. it's possible tonight through friday night from the ohio valley all the way

into new england speaking of icy streets and ice storm is developing tonight through saturday night. in the pacific northwest could be some power outages. accuweather meteorologist kevin costner in. coming up, cracking down on those annoying robocalls. record punishment could be on the way. also ahead, the politician accused of making up his resume faces a new controversy and later the dominatrix who showed up at a city council meeting.

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you were angry. who are you angry at g. m a interview this morning. we're back now, with new video from inside a store in northern california is tuesday's deadly earthquake hit. officials overnight, said all power has now been restored. at least 30 buildings have been declared structurally unsafe. some were thrown off their foundations.

the fcc has proposed a $300 million fine against a robocall campaign that was pushing extended car warranties. it would be the largest agent, the agency's largest fine ever. the fcc says the scheme is run by two california men who racked up five billion calls in just three months, calls for a newly elected congressman to resign are growing louder this morning amid new claims that he made up stories about his past. now what he said about his family is also coming into question. congressman elect jorge santos of new york, whose election last month helped republicans narrowly take control of the house is facing new allegations of fabricating his life story the latest claim coming into question that his grandparents survived the holocaust. my grandparents survived the holocaust, so these regimes of ci, they don't work, santos told voters. his grandfather fled to brazil after escaping the in eastern europe, playing stalin's persecution going to belgium finding refuge there, mary my grandma. others and fleeing hitler going to

brazil. that's a story of perseverance, but according to the forward and independent jewish news organization, genealogy websites show both santos's grandparents were born in brazil. the gaping hole in santos resume now appearing to grow wider after first being exposed monday by the new york times. santos has said he attended ny and baruch college. but the schools say they have no records of him. santos has said he worked at goldman sachs and citigroup, but the banks say they have no record of him even his animal. charity has no, i r s paper trail. if you've seen inventing anna on netflix, this is inventing jorge santos. and it's time that he did the right thing and step aside, santos has still not come forward to respond. his attorney, only issuing a statement suggesting the accusations are a political hit job, his opponents say otherwise be complete and utter for oil, whole life story. and

he's gonna have to answer that question. did you perpetrate a fraud on the voters of the third congressional district and you know, some are calling for santos to resign even before he's sworn in, analysts say, though, it's more likely he'll face an ethics investigation once he actually takes office. coming up the bear attack at a popular zoo also ahead how a small village came together to help a family in need. we'll hear from the locals who pulled hear from the locals who pulled off some holiday ♪ ♪ this year take the time to melt into your holiday moments with lindor. ♪ ♪ irresistibly smooth chocolate. from the lindt master chocolatier.

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mucinex dm. ship order. probably supporting the alzheimer's association. some frightening moments at a zoo in jacksonville, florida, where a worker was attacked by a bear officials say the five year old black bear managed to breach its exhibit and went after the zookeeper he's now recovering from his injuries. staffer said they had no choice but to shoot the bear. in these types of situations, whether it's at a zoo or in the wild. this is standard operating procedures when it comes to protecting the safety of humans, so with with a pair of course of that side, the first thing is we're protecting

a human's life worker who was attacked is expected to be okay. we turn now to a story from alaska and the old saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child on this story. it took a village to save a child. at a tiny airport 35 miles from the arctic circle and the darkness of december. the stage was set for some holiday magic. anything were to be done. you know, we were going to have to all get together and do this. calvin moto is the only maintenance guy at the airport in the town of deering, population 169. he got a call sunday, saying the baby was in trouble and needed an emergency flight to the hospital . the medevac flight would be coming from 60 miles away. only problem the lights on the airports. two runways were out of service, making it impossible for planes to take off or land in the dark. it was pitch black out there, so he and other locals spread the word asking people to gather their vehicles

, cars, snowmobiles, atvs, whatever they could drive so they could line up their headlights and position. each one where a runway light would be. it was just unreal a little bit, you know, seeing that the pilot trusted us to stay very still help him land streams of light, allowing the rescue plane to touch down and pick up the infant for the medevac flight. almost everybody sat there on their vehicles and pause. just watching the plane leaves extremely grateful gathered nearly 30 vehicles and all holiday heroes late at night in below zero temperatures proving whether it's in rural alaska or anywhere else in america when everyone comes together really good once that plan to car even a small vilan find the light to solve the darkest of problems. holiday heroes for sure, by the way, those airport lights have now been repaired. coming up a very unusual tailgate party. speaking of unusual why this dominatrix

showed up to a city council meeting in florida. aid you wereo

are you angry at g. m a interview this morning. check the pulse, and we begin with the city council meeting in florida, taking a bizarre turn. the discussion in fort lauderdale was supposed to be focused on waste management, but three women in full dominatrix gear, took the floor and requested taxpayer money to build a dungeon. i propose you use a quarter of that mill. to support domes and subs in broward county to build a dungeon created for us by us but taxpayers and that makes it to a

vote. the whole thing was apparently a publicity stunt for a nightclub. of course, it was well done. manager of attention on next the end of an era in t v. news anchor jim gardner has signed off for the final time from our station in philadelphia . now he is such a legend in the city that fans were tailgating outside of the station yesterday. gardner anchor channel six action news since 1976 the street outside the station is named in his honor, and tonight they are airing a primetime special about his career. well done well deserved some surprise holiday cheer from an elf who's six ft. six inches tall, introduced himself as robbie the elf while handing out presents to kids at a massachusetts hospital, and they know him as former patriots star rob gronkowski. he called it the best day ever, and he's got a lot of self confidence. is there sitting at 66? a different scene of mississippi. the grinch photo bombing these unsuspecting girls. one of them sees him, and she quickly runs off. a few

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reggie: that major winter storm we been talking about, an arctic blast expectedthe delays and cae are already seeing. >> safety workshop. one neighborhood taking action to stop the violence against one particular community. reggie: the new details about that eight car crash that stalled traffic for hours. why a tesla is being blamed. uch now back, but you're going to have to act fast. drew: across tomorrow, the weekend, we have really nice weather. this morning, we do have dense fog, low visibil