captioned by los angeles distribution and broadcasting, inc. now in america this morning, israel is at war. >> the new announcement overnight about a large scale offensive targeting hamas. the gaza strip and its 2 million residents in the crosshair with no power fuel or food shipments. hospitals are at capacity worried about running out of gas for generators. >> how civilians are bracing for the worst. and what we're learning about when and why the hamas terrorists plan their barbaric attack on israeli civilians. at least 1200 now

dead in americans believed to be among the up to 150 hostages being held by hamas. >> what the biden administration is doing now in hopes of getting them home and what israeli officials are saying about the possible location of the hostages, the chaos on capitol hill, still no speaker of the house by majority leader steve scalise, who won the nomination , is coming up short of the votes needed. a major escalation in the auto worker strike. thousands walking off the job at ford's largest plant, producing one of the hugely popular f-series trucks. >> you've heard of amber alerts to find missing children. now the new law established ebony alerts by advocates say it's needed to help find missing black children. >> breaking overnight, a $1.7 billion powerball lottery winner and a surprise move by taylor swift before taking the red carpet in l.a. >> from abc news in new york.

>> this is america. this morning. >> good thursday morning, everyone. i'm rhiannon ally. >> i'm andrew dymburt. we begin with breaking news. israel has launched what's being described as an extensive attack on hamas fighters in the gaza strip. a record 360,000 military reservists have been called up for the offensive. >> gaza and its 2 million residents are under siege and cut off from the outside world. some 1100 palestinians have died in recent days. that is nearly the same as the number of israelis killed during that surprise attack by hamas last saturday. one man we spoke with said he didn't take a shower for four days because he was too scared that a bomb would hit. >> meanwhile, we're learning more about when that barbaric attack on israel was planned and why. also this morning, the growing concern about the hostages, up to 150 of them, america is believed to be in that group. overnight, israel announced what it calls a large scale strike on terror targets in gaza. responding to the surprise attack by hamas

militants saturday. that's left more than 1200 people dead in israel and some 150 people held hostage, including americans. this woman says her 12 and 16 year old kids are among the hostages. she says she's unable to watch videos appearing to show her son in hamas custody. >> she i don't want to see it. i can't see my babies like like like nothing holds my terrorist. it's not possible. can you imagine your child like that? >> israeli officials believe some hostages are being held underground in gaza, where hamas has built a 300 mile tunnel system, an israeli military spokesperson suggests asserted to our david muir that a ground invasion of gaza is coming. >> is there any scenario where a ground incursion would not happen would be off the table? >> difficult to say. i personally don't think so, but that matters less. our job is to be prepared and have all the

troops ready for whatever assignments and however it is decided to implement them. we are not looking to inflict a price on a civilians. we never are. >> israeli airstrikes have already leveled entire neighborhoods in gaza. power is out and hospitals are reportedly at full capacity with medicine, fuel, food and water cut off by the israeli blockade. more than 200,000 palestinian have sought refuge at united nations facilities in the area. but others in the hamas ruled territory are worry nowhere is safe. >> there is nothing that we can do even the place that i'm in right now is already almost out of water, almost out of food, and there is no fuel. so the electricity might be going out soon. it is. it's horrific what is being practiced against the palestinian people in israel. >> troops have been going door to door in border towns, uncovering more bloodshed from the hamas attack. >> they massacred everybody here, 112 residents of this

kibbutz were were murdered. we can see just the level of destruction of what happened. and when we imagine, you know, they come in early morning, people are asleep at six, 630 in the morning. so prize them in their homes. some butchered in their beds. it's horrific. >> a woman who survived the massacre at that music festival in the desert is sharing this video of her dramatic escape, dodging bullets arunssh for cover. eventually ducking behind a military tank that arrived. meanwhile, a senior hamas official is claiming the militants planned the attack on israel for two years, making no mention of any outside involvement at reuters, citing a source close to hamas reports the militant group started planning the attack in may 2021, angered after israeli troops stormed the al-aqsa mosque in jerusalem during clashes between police and palestinian protesters. in a speech last

night, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu promised to destroy hamas, saying every member of hamas is, quote, a dead man. >> tensions are also escalating along israel's northern border. israeli forces fired missiles at hezbollah militants in lebanon in retaliation for an earlier rocket attack. hezbollah is backed by iran and the violence could open a new front in israel's war. the us is warning hezbollah to stay out of the conflict. meanwhile, president biden says he has not given up hope that the americans that are being held hostage by hamas can be brought home. secretary of state antony blinken is meeting with top leaders in israel today, joined by the us envoy for hostage affairs. abc's justin finch is in washington with more on this. justin, good morning. >> rihanna and good morning. the white house is pledging to find and rescue the american is missing after the attack. this morning. the american death toll after the attack in israel is

now 22 with at least 17 others unaccounted for. it's unclear how many are being held hostage. >> i think we all need to steel ourselves for the very distinct possibility that these numbers will keep increasing and that we may, in fact, find out that more americans are part of the hostage pool. >> the biden administration says it's in discussion with countries that have opened lines of communication with hamas, such as qatar, where hamas's senior leader reportedly lives. a lavish lifestyle. it appears no decision has been made on whether to send us troops into gaza to help secure the hostages release. we haven't made any decisions about hostage recovery at this time. >> we just don't also have enough information to be able to make decisions like that. us officials tell abc news hamas has shown no real willingness to partake in diplomacy. >> president biden addressed the

hostage situation yesterday while meeting with leaders of prominent jewish groups. >> we want to make it real clear we're working on every aspect of the hostage crisis in israel, including deploying experts to advise and assist with recovery efforts. there's a lot we're doing, a lot we're doing. i have not given up hope on bringing these folks home. >> meanwhile, senate republican leader mitch mcconnell has introduced a bill that would freeze $6 billion in iranian funds, which were due to be released in a prisoner exchange deal. the white house says there's no smoking gun tying iran to the hamas attack, but hamas has long received funding and weapons from iran. the state department says it's exploring options to help americans left stranded in the war zone after airlines suspended flights. some are demanding the us government use charter flights for evacuate options. rhiannon. >> all right, justin, thank you. additional aid for israel is in question until the house of

representatives elects a new speaker. republicans managed to nominate steve scalise for the job by a narrow margin. he can only afford to lose four republicans in a full house vote. and right now, at least nine say they won't support him. abc's rachel scott explains what's likely to happen next. it takes several rounds until they get a speaker of the house. >> or they could try to huddle behind closed doors once again to try to unite the party. we know scalise is meeting with members one on one, trying to convince the holdouts to come on board. but you have to remember, it was the promises that mccarthy made that got him in trouble and ultimately cost him that job. >> congresswoman nancy mace says she won't vote for scalise because he attended a white supremacist conference. other members say they are concerned about scalise battle with blood cancer. >> a major escalation in the auto workers strike and a surprise move, 8700 uaw members have walked out of the ford truck plant in kentucky. it's the company's largest facility with $25 million a year in

revenue. the union cites a lack of progress in contract talks. ford called the move grossly irresponsible rebel. and breaking overnight, talks aimed at ending the hollywood actors strike have been suspended after a new offer from the actors talks with the studios reportedly hit a snag over bonus pay. no new talks are scheduled. >> a violent attack at atlanta's busy airport. three people were stabbed yesterday, including a police officer. a woman was arrested and police say she stabbed a man and a woman and then attacked the officer who tried to take the knife away from her. all three victims are said to be conscious and alert. >> time now for your thursday weather. at were reported in clearwater, florida, overnight. this is video showing some of the damage parts of florida could see even more severe storms today. taking a look at your radar. the first heavy snowfall of the season arrives. where else? in the northern rockies. some areas could see two feet of snow. severe storms are also possible

today in the central plains. checking today's high temperatures, nearly 70in the northeast, mid 80s for texas, 90 degrees in the southwest, 77 in new orleans. >> coming up, the major fast food chain raising prices yet again. >> but first, the new development as police in vermont search for the killer of a beloved former university dean. >> and later, what we're learning about the $1.7 billion powerball jackpot winner

all new 2020 friday night on abc . >> nasa says it hopes to uncover new details about the early days of our solar system from an asteroid that is 4 billion years old. a spacecraft dropped the asteroid sample last month into the utah desert. and yesterday,

scientists revealed the sample is rich in carbon and water. they hope it will provide clues about the origin of life. >> just incredible. well, chipotle is raising prices for the fourth time in just two years. the company blames inflation but isn't saying which menu items are affected at this point. wall street is awaiting the government's new inflation report today. it is expected to show that prices overall were 3.6% higher in september compared to the same month last year. that is actually a slight drop from august. >> police in vermont have released a sketch of a person of interest in the deadly shooting of a retired university. dean they describe the suspect as a man in his 20s with red hair about five feet ten inches tall. the body of retired professor andre fleming was found on a hiking trail last week with a gunshot wound to her head. police say they have no motive in the case. now to the west coast, where there's a new plan to help police find missing children. >> in addition to an amber alert, there will soon be an

ebony alert. the idea, not without controversy. this morning, a new alert in california to help track down missing children. our ebony young girls are just as important as our ambers. >> a new law signed by the governor creates ebony alerts similar to amber alerts. >> ebony alerts are aimed at getting the same resources dedicated to finding missing black children and black young adults as are dedicated to other missing persons. cases >> many of african american girls go missing and they're listed as runaways versus being abducted, and that, advocates say, results in fewer resources for those cases. >> data shows young black people make up nearly 40% of reported missing persons in the us. >> it's easy to take black girls. no one cares, no one's going to say anything. we have to do a lot more. a lot of our young girls, when they go missing, they end up being sex trafficked. >> but some police departments are pushing back, insisting they

don't discriminate race and ethnicity do not play a factor in how we deploy resources or what our response is. ebony alerts will be issued in california beginning next year. they will use road signs and also electronic notifications. >> coming up, two women found alive after a plane crashes in a dense forest. >> also ahead, a new effort to protect children from social media. the new law being proposed to give parents more control we're carvana the company who invented car vending machines and buying a car 100 percent online now we've created a brand new way for you to sell your car whether it's a year old, or a few years old we want to buy your car so go to carvana enter your license plate answer a few questions and our techno wizardry calculates your car's value and gives you a real offer in seconds when you're ready we'll come to you pay you on the spot and pick up your car that's it so ditch the old way of selling your car and say hello to the new way at carvana have fun, sis! ♪

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children from social media. >> two states, utah and new york, are now taking new action . here's abc's andrea fujii. >> this morning, a new proposal to keep kids safe online social media platforms manipulate the content that children see online to keep them on the platforms as long as possible. lawmakers in new york argue algorithm terms which suggest content based on a user's perceived interests are keeping kids addicted to social media. >> it preys on you. you don't ask for this content. it finds its way to you by very sophisticated ways. >> the governor calling algorithms the new tobacco. >> we prohibit cigarets and alcohol. teenagers can have access to them because the threat to their health. >> so state officials are now proposing legislation that would allow parents to opt their kids out of getting feeds based on those automated algorithms. instead, kids would see only the sites they follow. utah is also taking aim at algorithms. the state is suing tiktok, claiming

the platform's algorithm is are getting minors addicted. >> our focus right now is on young people whose brains are not fully developed. and these companies are very well of what they're doing. >> tiktok responding, saying the app has industry leading safeguards and saying it will continue to work to keep its communities safe by tackling industry wide challenges. meta owner of facebook and instagram says it, too has parental supervision tools and the company defends algorithms, saying they allow teens to find like minded communities. but recent studies show the impact social media is having on young people's mental health. the surgeon general says teens who use social media more than three hours per day are twice as likely as other kids to experience anxiety and depression. as for that proposal in new york, it would also allow parents to block access to social media for midnight to 6 a.m. and ban sites from selling or sharing kids data. the proposal will be considered in the next legislative session.

rhiannon andrew andrea, thank you. >> in the baseball playoffs, the astros are headed to their seventh consecutive league championship series after beating the twins. next up is an all texas series against the rangers. game one is on sunday. meanwhile last night, the diamondbacks became the first team to hit four home runs in the same inning of a postseason game. they swept the dodgers to advance to the nlcs. >> coming up, a sign that people may be drinking too many mimosas at brunch. >> plus, a surprise from taylor >ultomiris is for adults withor sgeneralized myasthenia gravis who are anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody positive. it is lasting control over your gmg symptoms. and, ultomiris is the only long-acting gmg treatment with 8 weeks of freedom between infusions. ultomiris can lower your immune system's ability to fight infections, increasing your chance of serious, life-threatening meningococcal and other types of infections.

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frazier park, california, which is about 75 miles outside of l.a. >> it is the second largest lottery prize ever. the cash option gives the. winner $756 million before taxes. of course . next, taylor swift's big surprise. her concert film is hitting theaters today a day early. >> yes, swift says it's because of unprecedented demand. the singer hit the red carpet in l.a. last night for the world premiere of her era's tour film. and the theater was packed with vips including, yes, that is beyonce. no sign of travis kelsey, though. >> i think it's because he has a game this week. i don't know. the two hour 45 minute movie showcases the taylor swift concerts from august. >> next, the sign that we may be overdoing it just a bit at brunch. >> so at least two restaurants in the san francisco area are now imposing a new fee. it applies to anyone who drinks too many mimosas and gets sick before making it to the bathroom . the cleaning fee is 50 bucks. all right. next a huge hairy creature that looks a lot like

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ask your asthma specialist about dupixent. ♪ a sixth day of war between israel and hamas. both sides appear to be digging in for a long fight ahead. now at five, we're going to hear from survivors safely back in the united states after a music festival in israel came under attack last weekend, preparing for the big one. >> we are taking a look at a state of the art earthquake simulator this morning. the great california shakeout day is just around the corner now and more pushback on the portola music festival. >> the east bay area community demanding the event be restructured or are to never return to san francisco's bayview neighborhood. good morning. it is thursday, october 12th. >> yes, i'm going to start the check of our forecast with lisa.