now. bitter cold weather. feeling like single digits in many places on this holiday week. >> a winter storm system is hitting the great lakes region and the northeast. some places could see up to six inches of snow, sure to cause travel headaches for millions of travelers. >> also this morning, drones fall into a crowd during a holiday light show. a young boy was hit and seriously injured. we have reaction from his mother. >> plus, the dramatic rescue at a ski resort in colorado. nearly 200 people stranded on a ski lift for six hours. how crews

eventually got them down. >> and later in the mix, the firefighters in reno, nevada, keeping alive a nearly century old christmas tradition involving dozens of food baskets. and miles and miles of smiles. it's monday, december 23rd. >> from abc news. this is world news now. >> good morning everyone. thank you so much for starting your christmas week with us. i'm rhiannon ally alongside andrew dymburt. we have so much going on and it's easy to forget that that's what the season is really about, is the giving back and the helping those in need. >> no matter what holiday you're celebrating, this whole season is really what it's about. >> i know, and getting stranded on a ski lift. i've only been on a ski lift like twice and i'm scared. >> that's the scariest part of skiing is the lift to me anyway. not the skiing, not the going down the mountain part. it's the getting up. >> wait until you hear this story. it will probably scare

you even more. >> wait till you see some of the video as well. but this morning we're going to begin with the holiday travel, and we're starting with some good news. >> yeah. one analyst called yesterday the nation's worst day to travel. so obviously we're past that. that's good. but keep in mind, nearly 120 million of us are expected to be on the move this holiday season, and nearly 90% by car. that means the roads are going to be very busy. the weather always the wild card here. >> yeah. winter weather advisories are posted for today and tomorrow from the midwest to new england. some areas of michigan could see five inches of snow today. >> that snow moves across the midwest and into the northeast tomorrow. it could make for some snowy christmas eve travel from d.c. to new england. >> now to another case of drones in the news, this time in florida. the main question with these devices is why did they just drop out of the sky? the incident led to chaos and injuries at a holiday show. >> i was freaking out that i was going to lose my baby. >> this morning, a young boy is

recovering in the hospital after a festive drone show in florida took a terrifying turn. according to the faa, several drones collided and fell from the sky at this show in orlando on saturday. in this video, multiple drones can be seen falling out of formation and slamming into the ground. oh no. i don't think they're supposed to be falling. one of them hitting seven year old alexander lumsden. >> we turned around and we saw that he was hit. >> he was unconscious. it was horrible. like, everyone reacted in a panic. it was horrible. >> the drone hitting the boy in the chest, one of the propellers cutting his face. his family rushing him to a local hospital. >> my daughter found my son on the floor. unconscious blood coming out of his face. he was losing consciousness. his heart beat kept stopping. he was stopping breathing. >> his mother says alexander underwent open heart surgery overnight. a second show that was planned for later saturday night was canceled. the faa is currently investigating the company behind the drone show sky elements, saying in a statement, sky elements drones

wants to extend our sincere hope for a full and speedy recovery to those impacted. we are diligently working with the faa and city of orlando officials to determine the cause, and are committed to establishing a clear picture of what transpired. approximately 25,000 people were in attendance at the show. this is the second year that sky element has operated the drones. >> well, the pentagon has launched an investigation after a u.s. navy jet was shot down over the red sea, apparently by friendly fire. the two pilots on board survived yesterday's incident, but it's not clear at this point what went wrong. abc's perry russom has more. >> the u.s. military investigating an apparent case of friendly fire overseas. u.s. central command says an f a 18 fighter jet was mistakenly fired on shot down over the red sea by u.s. forces. two navy pilots ejecting from the plane, both later safely recovered. one has minor injuries. central command says the pilots were hit by fire from the uss gettysburg. it's a guided missile cruiser deployed

as part of a u.s. navy strike group. the military has been patrolling the area for more than a year. they're combating houthi fighters in yemen, backed by iran, who have been attacking commercial ships in the waters between the middle east and africa. hours before the plane went down, the military says it conducted precision airstrikes in yemen's capital of sanaa, with targets including a missile storage facility operated by the houthis. during the operation, multiple houthi uncrewed aerial vehicles and an anti-ship cruise missile were shot down. it's not clear whether the downed plane was part of that operation. military experts say confusion can happen in combat. >> it's important to point out that some of these decisions are just a matter of seconds before they fire at, say, an incoming houthi suicide drone. so it still should never have happened. multiple things must have gone wrong for this to happen again. >> the military says the pilots are okay and they are stressing this was not hostile fire. a full investigation is now happening. perry russom, abc

news, washington. >> perry. thank you. new details on the man accused of plowing his suv into a christmas market in germany, killing five people, including a nine year old boy. the suspect has been identified as a saudi doctor who moved to germany back in 2006. he reportedly describes himself as an ex-muslim and is said to be a vocal critic of islam, who posted conspiracy theories online. some of the 200 people injured are still fighting for their lives. senate democrats say they've uncovered more trips taken by supreme court justice clarence thomas and funded by billionaire harlan crow. a judiciary committee investigation found thomas took a private jet trip to upstate new york, and a jet and yacht trip to new york city, and he failed to disclose them. no republicans participated in the probe. democrats are renewing their call for an enforceable code of ethics for the justices. >> and it's never too easy, never easy for dad, for a son to upstage their dad, especially when the father in question is tiger woods. >> but tiger's son somehow found

a way. check out 15 year old charlie woods teeing off on the fourth hole. >> it looks like his dad pnc championship sunday. >> his shot was just short, but then it rolls right in. his first ever hole in one. it got him a hug from dad. he needs just 19 more to catch his father. and what i find hilarious about this is tiger himself, apparently was looking away during this. he's a little bit preoccupied for some reason. and he also missed the hole, but saw the reaction. came back and hugged charlie. >> but doesn't he look like his dad when he's swinging? he really does. maybe it's the red shirt, you know. i don't know. >> he looks so much like him. tiger also joked afterwards. he said it was about time i got my first hole in one when i was nine. >> is that what he said? yeah. oh my goodness. that's hilarious. >> congratulations. funny on his first day. >> big congrats. coming up, pig pardons. >> plus, the skiers who were stranded on a ski lift for six hours. how rescuers eventually got them down. >> and later, the countdown to not only christmas, but also

hanukkah. america's ceo, that's our chief entertaining officer, tim laird, will show us some of his festive favorites, from a mistletoe manhattan to bourbon bread spn pays me to do this.

>> a garbage truck driver in orange county, california, is being praised for her heroic actions. she jumped back into her burning truck after it burst into flames and started rolling away, risking her life to pull the emergency brake. two vehicles caught fire, but the driver prevented the truck from barreling down the street and slamming into homes. luckily, she was not hurt. >> in central florida, a bad santa is in trouble with the law. this happened saturday night in citrus hills. police say a biker dressed as saint

nick reached more than 120mph while weaving through traffic and avoiding an attempted traffic stop. officers caught up at one point and then he sped off again. police want anyone who recognizes this bad santa to call them. >> only in florida. next, a ski trip that gave dozens of people a lot more adventure than they ever expected. >> they were heading up a mountain in the colorado rockies when their lift, more like gondolas, came to a complete and sudden stop. and for some, it was hours before they were on the ground again. abc's alison kosik with the details. >> this morning, a dramatic rescue at a popular ski resort in colorado. skiers and snowboarders evacuated from a gondola after it malfunctioned, leaving them stranded and suspended in mid-air for six hours. >> joe. >> hang on. rescuers using ropes and ladders to save the 174 people who became trapped when the ski lift malfunctioned saturday afternoon,

investigators say. this photo posted online, clearly showing a cracked piece of metal, was part of the malfunction. >> it stopped, as it should. we're not sure exactly what caused the failure on the part, so the part has currently it has been removed. the new part is being replaced. >> no one was injured. the incident was the first time the lift has been evacuated since opening six years ago. passengers telling us they're thankful for the first responders who saved their christmas. >> the ski patrol dropped in like santa claus and told us all what was going to happen. >> though the broken part has been replaced, a winter park resort spokesperson says there is no estimated time for when the ski lift will be running again. the cause of the malfunction is under investigation. rhiannon. andrew. >> all right, alison, thank you for that. britain's princess kate is offering her own christmas message this holiday season. she is featured in the

opening of a special concert filmed earlier this month at westminster abbey. during her narrated message, she says the christmas spirit is all about living with an open heart, with love, kindness and forgiveness. the special airs tomorrow night in the uk. >> okay. now to the mega millions. and someone could have a very happy holiday. >> tomorrow's drawing worth an estimated $944 million. that is the largest december jackpot in the game's history. the cash value of that, by the way, just over 429 million. >> i don't know how the details of the lottery work, but if you do win tomorrow, do you get the money in time for christmas or is it too late? >> no, i think you got to wait till the new year, but they might

>> somebody to lean on. >> oh, there's no place like home for the holidays. >> all right, we are almost there. >> christmas and hanukkah are just around the corner. here to make sure we celebrate in the most fun way possible is america's chief entertaining officer, tim lehrer. tim, always good to see you, my friend. great to see you, danny. we have food and drink for both celebrations and it's going to be great. i'm going to start out with my jefferson's mistletoe martini, a little holiday twist on a classic cocktail. starts out shaker of ice. and to that, i'm going to add about an ounce and a half of jefferson's bourbon. and what's nice about this is it adds a little caramel and vanilla flavor to this cocktail, and then simply an ounce of sweet vermouth like a traditional manhattan. and then i'm going to add two ounces of cranberry juice, an ounce of orange juice just like that

transforms it to what i call the mistletoe manhattan. give it a quick shake and then into a martini glass, and then i'm going to garnish it with a little rosemary spear with cranberries. very festive. there it is. the jefferson's mistletoe. manhattan. another holiday classic. this is my apple butter. old fashioned really? just simply with the jefferson's bourbon. a little bit of apple cider, apple butter and a couple of dashes of bitters. it's really great for the holidays, and people love that cocktail. so two great cocktails that you can batch up, by the way, and make ahead of time. all these recipes. we can do that ahead of time especially. we need something to nosh on to. danny. yes, this is hungry. you're going to love this. this is my sweet and spicy nuts. and the secret to this is it's made with egg whites and sugar. that gives it the crunch. and then, of course, we put in some spices of cinnamon and cayenne. give it a little heat. if you want to try one, you've got one there. oh, this is fun. people love these. and again,

you can make a lot of these ahead of time. keep them frozen. bring them out when your guests here. and i like to serve them in individual containers. i love that right. and yes, i'm obsessed with this idea you have for hanukkah that i've never thought of before. this is wonderful. and i like this. it's an easy dip. you got to have something to dip. you can use with bagel chips or veggies. this is my everything bagel dip. why not? and here it is. danny starts off a little cup of whipped cream cheese, and to that we add one cup of yogurt that goes in there like that. boom. you can just put that in there. good to see you. very easy i love yogurt. you know what? it's a little healthy twist on that. and then the seasoning. stay with me everyone. sorry sorry sorry. three tablespoons of the everything bagel and a little bit of worcestershire. that's all there is to it. all of that. you mix that up. put it on your on your little tray. serve it with, like i said, bagel, chips, veggies, whatever you have. the magic of tv. it's ready to go now. this one i've heard of before. yes, i'll tell you what. you know, since we're celebrating hanukkah with the celebration of the oil and the miracle of the oil. always something fried like latkes is

always there. but also these little jelly donuts. and i actually cheated a little bit. semi-homemade. i buy the little deep fried donuts, and then i inject them with a little bit of my own own jelly. it has a ziploc bag bag. clip it off, put it on there. okay. now really quickly you have a bread pudding a bread pudding. this is so good. when they taste this, the secret to this is the hollow bread that goes in the bread pudding. raisins soaked in that jefferson's bourbon, which is delicious. and then the sauce, it is butter, cream, bourbon and sugar. and it makes this great. i stamp it out to have individual servings. that is really i mean, people love this thing and you can make it ahead of time, freeze it and then bring it out when you're ready to go. finally, i always like to have something to bring my host or hostess, and i'm always looking for something unique. and what i have found a couple of items. this is a jefferson's ocean. it was actually aged at sea in the bow of a ship. so it actually it gets agitated. so it

really gets a lot of flavor and a little bit of that sea salt. and then they have the jefferson's tropics, which was further aged in singapore, in singapore, humidity from all the way overseas for you guys. tim laird, as always, the best. the bourbon country cookbook is the name of the book, and we'll have some stuff on the website for you. wnnfans.com. tim, always great to see you, my friend. great to see you, danny. food time. stores. if it's not,

poof, it's stinks. >> okay, we are back with a christmas countdown edition of the mix, starting with a heartwarming holiday tradition, this one in reno, nevada. >> so the city's fire department put smiles on the faces of nearly 200 families. with its nearly century old christmas tradition of delivering food baskets to families in need over the weekend. >> the tradition was started by firefighter sam siboni some 90 years ago. it was initially funded by members of the fire department, but it has grown over the decades, so it includes

support from local businesses and even residents. >> this is what the holidays are all about. all right, next to a cuban twist on an american tradition, yes, this weekend was the seventh year that two piglets were pardoned for christmas in miami. >> miami dade mayor there, daniella levine cava, pardoned glinda and elphaba, the four month old piglets, in a public ceremony. >> i know the rest of the country is like, wait, what? yeah, down in miami, understanding a lot of sense. i promise you, it guarantees neither of them will grace the dinner table of any cuban american family on christmas eve. the pair will now live out their lives at an annual animal sanctuary south of miami, avoiding the fate of thousands of their kind that will probably be barbecued whole tomorrow in underground pits, on spits, or in metal housing. >> yes, it's a very big tradition in miami, next to the christmas trees that sadly did not get a pardon. >> christmas dinner came early for these elephants at the milwaukee county zoo in wisconsin, as they chowed down

on some delicious looking christmas trees. >> i didn't realize elephants liked those kind of pine needles. no muss, no fuss, no cooking required. as you can see, they politely ate them in small elephant sized bites. sure. very small. >> these guys were not raised in a barn. so there you go. >> oh, they're so cute though. >> yeah, i wonder if they taste as good as they smell christmas trees. yeah, i have a feeling anytime soon. >> definitely not. >> and finally, two ushering in the holiday in a much warmer climate and underwater. >> santa claus was doing what people do when they're in the florida keys the skydiving, skydiving, scuba diving. this is off key largo at the florida keys national marine sanctuary. i was watching the video, not paying attention, but he is clearly scuba diving. >> to be fair, if he was skydiving in santa, that would be equally florida. but of course we know that's not actually jolly. old saint nick. the jolly old elf is busy working overtime at the north pole for his big night. maybe you've heard of it christmas

eve. >> yeah, it's coming up. this kris kringle you see here, though. santa's helper does this annually. his name is spencer slate. he runs a scuba dive company. he dons that gay apparel for a photo ops for his customers. did you see the elf alongside him? >> i did, and i love the little christmas tree there, too. it comes complete with an authentic. i'm told it's

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