right now. on america this morning covid crackdown the us announcing new restrictions on travelers from china as cases in the country explode. the images emerging from hospitals overwhelmed with patients are experts weigh in on the rapid spread, possibly leading to a new variant. prayers for the pope, as the vatican reveals former pope benedict is very ill calling on the faithful to keep him in their prayers, the latest on benedict's condition. breaking overnight. a hotel fire leaves at least 10 people dead and more than two dozen or injured as people jump from the windows to escape the flames. the new video coming in the crisis at the southern border shipping containers as barricades along the rio grande as cities prepare for a surge of migrants after the supreme court

ruled to keep title 42 policy in place, plus two moms help police track down a missing baby and the woman accused of taking him how the moms cracked the case and why this book is getting lots of attention after showing up at a library. decades later, it's thursday, december 29th. from abc news in new york. this is america this morning. good morning, everyone. we begin with a biden administration imposing new covid 19 travel restrictions . people flying into the u. s from china will now be required to test negative before their flight. it comes as infection spike across china and u. s health officials fear it could spawn a new and more dangerous variants that abc justin finch joins us from washington with the very latest good morning, justin. andrew ryan. and good morning the u. s is now the latest country to enforce new restrictions on people traveling from china as china struggles to deal with a crushing wave of

covid 19 infections, the cdc is announcing new restrictions on will bred to proofchitohe januf of a negative pcr or antigen test taken within two days of departure. this is an unfortunate but necessary step. given the fact that we don't really know how much covid there is in china, and we don't know the full spectrum of variance. there are the tighter measures introduced because the us is concerned about china's soaring number of cases and the lack of transparency from the chinese government. new images out of china showing overcrowded hospitals and patients waiting in the hallway, some unable to be seen. the third follows the chinese government's decision to ease its so called zero covid policies a few weeks ago after protests sparked across the country, mass testing and citywide lockdowns for suddenly a band. ended. the rapid

reopening resulted in what is likely millions of new cases. but china's government has only reported a handful of covid deaths. health officials say the rapid rising cases could increase the possibility for new variants, given the fact that we don't have clear data about how much covid is circulating in china and what variants are circulating, i'm not surprised at the cdc has taken these additional steps to keep the united states protected. and the fear is covid 19 will keep spreading in china during a very busy holiday period, including chinese new year next month. andrew justin, thank you and breaking overnight, russia has unleashed a massive barrage of missiles across ukraine and kiev is among the targets. air raid sirens went off and explosions could be heard around the capital. ukrainian officials say russia launched more than 100 and 20 missiles, and some of them were shot down. the strikes appeared to be once again targeting vital infrastructure. there were no immediate reports of casualties. and now to the universal prayer request for

former pope benedict. pope. francis made an appeal to the faithful after announcing that the 95 year old retired pontiff is ailing. abc is marcus moore has the latest now from the vatican. pope francis calling for prayers for his predecessor benedict the 16th years which are papa marital benedetto. saying the pope emeritus is quote very sick. benedict shocked the church and the world when he announced his retirement in 2013, the first contact to step down in nearly 600 years, citing a lack of strength of mind and body to his age. 95 year old has kept a low profile residing at the vatican, giving up his famous red shoes for a quiet life, vowing to live hidden to the world. recently he has appeared frail and in declining health this summer with francis, who has said having benedict at the vatican was like having a wise grandfather at home to turn to for advice. in 2005 at 78. he

was the fifth oldest pope elected in the church's history. born joseph ratzinger. he served as the cardinal archbishop of munich in the late seventies and early eighties. just this year, benedict facing a report, accusing him of mishandling cases of sexual abuse by priests . when he was head of the archdiocese, the church sexual abuse scandal plagued his papacy , and while he was the first pope to meet with victims am deeply sorry. how's the pain and suffering? victims haven't oud. he also faced intense criticism for not holding church leaders accountable for covering up abuse. but perhaps the most notable part of his papacy was abrupt end a decision that could change the church forever. i thought it was a great act of humility to give up on it. well, the most powerful job in the catholic church benedict test at the standard now there has been no official update on pope benedict's condition other than it worsening from his quote, advancing age. we know that the

retired pope is at his home or he's been receiving care and that pope francis went to visit him as he put out that call for continued prayers. marcus more abc news, the vatican marcus. thank you here in the us buffalo, new york is slowly reopening after its deadly blizzard. the city's driving ban was lifted overnight, and all of its surrounding highways are open again. the hope is to have city hall operating at some point today, officials say 29 of the 60 people killed by last weekend's nationwide storm died in buffalo. the mayor says his city took the brunt of the storm. this was a historic storm. probably the worst storm that the city has seen in over 50 years and perhaps maybe the worst storm in recorded history . since these storms have been tracked, buffalo again was ground zero for the storm conditions, the worst of everything. the

official says he's looking into whether future snow response operations in buffalo should be managed by new york state officials. turning now to one of the worst airline meltdowns in u. s history showing no signs of recovery. southwest is once again canceling thousands of flights nationwide as competing airlines now step up to help straighten passengers more than 2300 southwest flights are already canceled today, marking the fourth straight day the airlines canceled more than 50% of its scheduled flights. exhausted i'm really got to be ready to go to sleep immediately more than 13,000. southwest flights in the past week have been canceled. stranded passengers forced to sleep in airports as unclaimed luggage piles up across the country. i think the worst part was was when they canceled our flight. they didn't give us her luggage, so these clothes have been on us for four days. united and american say they have put caps

on fares in big cities where they compete with southwest to help people. get home, while other airlines have recovered from last week's massive storm, southwest issues have lingered, experts say. that's because the airline uses a point to point operating system, which makes it vulnerable to major disruptions compared to other carriers routing flights through key hubs. some passengers like brendan chavez are not waiting for a new flight. he's renting a car to drive his family 25 hours from kansas city to california probably end up bringing each other's next by the end of it, potentially, but we'll see how it goes. i guess texas dozens of angry passengers arrived in houston after driving 24 hours from new york city to drive nine more hours. solely i'm upset. i'm stressed southwest chief executive has apologized to customers and the airline says it will work on a case by case basis to refund passengers for quote, reasonable travel expenses as the federal

investigation now gains momentum , they need to make sure that these stranded passengers get to where they need to go. and that they were provided adequate compensation. now experts say it could take another week before the airline gets back on schedule. prosecutors at the federal and state levels are taking a closer look at new york congressman elect jorge santos lies about his past reportedly led to a federal probe into his finances. questions have surfaced about $700,000 used to find his campaign. abc s karen aaron carter ski says santos also faces pressure from a local prosecutor. we've learned the district attorney and nassau county is looking into what she called numerous fabrications and inconsistencies associated with congressman elect santos. she called them nothing short of stunning. santos has admitted to fabricating parts of his background, including his education and his employment history, and it's also exaggerated his jewish ancestry . he takes his oath of office on tuesday. it is time now for a look at your morning weather.

stormy setup continues across the west through saturday, a parade of storms with rain and wind and heavy mountain snow, numerous travel delays and watch out for flash flooding for much of california. meantime over the next couple of days will be kind of mild in the east and south will be thunderstorms in the gulf coast, rain spreading up into the eastern lakes and more of a wintry setups around out the work week, though, from the upper midwest into our western states. now, let's get to new year's eve, folks at your saturday forecast a little bit rainy and stormy out in the west. and also rather wet for the eastern third of the nation to ring in the new year. and if you're gonna be in new york city on saturday night packed the rain gear there's a good chance for rain. it'll be mild to 54 degrees as the ball drops accuweather meteorologist kevin costner in. new video of guests trying to

escape a massive hotel fire also ahead, bracing for an influx of migrants, the border city now using shipping containers as barricades, bill cosby's comeback tour when the comedian plans to hit the stage again after his sexual ass

morning america. breaking overnight. at least 11 people are now dead in a hotel casino fire in cambodia. police say there were more than two dozen others who are injured. some critically videos showed people hanging from windows as they tried to reach safety. no word on what sparked the fire. ahead of next week's sentencing, the mastermind of the so called varsity blues scandal is now asking for leniency, court documents reveal. lawyers for rick singer say he should spend six months behind bars but prosecutors once six years

singers, cooperation led to dozens of convictions, including those of actors lori laughlin and felicity huffman. turning to the fallout over the crisis at the border where facilities are overwhelmed. migrant families remain in limbo after the supreme court let title 40 to stay in place, at least for now. abc's andrea fuji has more this morning. thousands of migrantsir to enter america while in the u. s people in paso, texas, our protest in the extension of title 40 to the pandemic era policy that allows the us to expel migrants back across the border without an asylum hearing , luis campos says many people saw their houses to take on this journey. how will you go back if you don't have a place to return to your country? the supreme court majority on tuesday cited with a group of mostly republican led states and ordered title 42 to remain in place pending a hearing before the justices. however in the

ruling, the court suggested that the president has the legal authority to lift the policy. but the white house and says they are deferring to the court . supreme court justice neil gorsuch, the only conservative to agree with the liberals on the court, wrote court should not be in the business of perpetuating administrative edicts. we are a court of law, not policymakers of last resort. in the meantime, border states are overrun with migrants and are struggling with the lack of resources. it's estimated that 18,000 people could cross the border every day if the policy is lifted, texas governor greg abbott tweeting his ordered shipping containers placed along the border to deter more illegal crossings, which has become a near humanitarian crisis in a state. just think they can't handle the numbers and they don't have the funding from congress. so here we are again waiting on congress to act administration says it will continue to enforce first title 42 into the new year even as people continue to attempt to cross the supreme court has scheduled oral arguments on

title 42 for february. in the meantime, the white house is calling on congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform something not done in 36 years. andrew rhiannon, andrea thank you and coming up what we're learning about a popular rapper now missing for months. mother's intuition how to moms. captured a kidnapping suspect and rescued a kidnapping suspect and rescued a baby. my asthma felt anything but normal. a blood test helped show my asthma is driven by eosinophils, which nucala helps reduce. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. nucala is not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your asthma specialist about a nunormal with nucala.

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with its diamond weave texture, charmin ultra strong cleans better with fewer sheets and less effort. enjoy the go with charmin. covid-19 moves fast and now you can too by asking your provider if an authorized oral treatment is right for you. treatments must be taken within five days from when symptoms start. so if you're at high risk and test positive, don't wait, ask about treatment right away. don't wait. ask about treatment right away. back now, with moments in the nba. three players were ejected after a scuffle between the magic and the detroit pistons. it all started when orlando's moe wagner hip check detroit's killian hayes into the pistons bench of punch to the back of the head appeared in dark wagner out, a number of players may face suspensions. a rapper at one time grammy nominee is now missing. relatives say they haven't heard from the op elice london since july, a missing persons report has been filed for the 35 year old in los

andes. jealous. linden received a 2016 grammy nod for his work on the former kanye west single all day and bill cosby has plans for a comedy tour in the coming year. the 85 year old made the revelation during an interview with the virginia radio station, his representative says cosby is looking to start touring in the spring or summer. cosby's 2018 conviction for sexual assault in pennsylvania was overturned last year, but he now faces a lawsuit in new york next to moms who are being hailed as heroes. not only did they find find a kidnapped baby. they also found the woman % morning, a random run in leading to two moms finding a kidnapped baby didn't think that i would be a part of anything like this ever in my life. twins kyra and cason were in their car in ohio earlier this month when someone stole the vehicle with them still inside, there was located but the suspect knowledge accent and baby cason were nowhere to be found. the next day, cheyenne belmar says she bought some toys from a woman calling herself may

in a parking lot in indiana. belmar later saw the kidnapping suspects mug shot on facebook and realized may was actually knowledge, jackson mug shot and i'm i'm like this person looked familiar, but i'm not knowing from where called jackson offering to give her a ride finally came outside. she told us to pull out in front of house people out in front of the house she gets in the car was arrested after the women called police, but authorities were unable to locate cason. then the two moms remembered something, jackson told them. we remember that she said. the university remember that, she said. papa john's remember all this and now we're putting two and two together. women and police raced over to papa john's, where they spotted a stolen car in the parking lot and cason safe inside the car unlocking the door. as i start screaming, i heard a baby screaming them up and held him. it was just you know you're safe. you're safe now. cason was taken to the hospital for care, but was released earlier this week. jackson is now facing two counts of kidnapping, among other charges. washington rescue

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try hypnosis... or, quit cold turkey. are you kidding me? instead, start small with nicorette, which will lead to something big. good morning america. check the pulse, and we begin with a major milestone at the box office. cameron sequel avatar. the wave water is now raked in more than a billion dollars worldwide, and it only took 14 days to get there. however the way of water was so expensive to make, some analysts say it needs to generate about $2 billion just to break even halfway there. gun maverick just shattered another record. t is e most watched film premiere ever on paramount. plus it surpassed the previous record, which was held by sonic the hedgehog two

by 60. top gun is also the highest grossing film of 2022 may be the best film 2020 18. okay now a story that defines the words long overdue case of better late than never in the uk . this book was just returned to a library in england. it was originally due in january of 1973. it found its way home last week, but the library did caution some of the information in that book maybe outdated. wonder what mr bookman detective bookman is saying next to new service that does your complaining for you. karen's for higher is the brainchild of a couple in pittsburgh. it's meant for people who just can't stand to spend another minute waiting for a customer service. rep karen for higher places, calls for clients and does the complaining for them a typical call cost between 50 and $75. finally combined days of frigid temperatures and a whole lot of water. here's what you get. that's what happened in niagara falls. does it look more like frozen falls and miss created by the falling water frozen to

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counseling -- canceling thousands of flights. and the impact we are sort -- improvement we are starting to see. >> the hotels were reserved. >> the travel issues affecting new year's fans. how the 49ers are dealing with it as the team heads to vegas for a showdown. >> rain moving over the area right now. this is what it looks like in the east bay this morning. the rainy weather continuing into the new year. >> we want to look at traffic. >> you see live dopple us. >> today is the weakest of the storms. we have a stronger system moving in