welcome to "world news tonight." millions of americans starting this new year bracing for dangerous flooding. the record-high water on the move tonight, topping levees, right now, the slow-motion disaster and the race to protect the people in its path. president obama taking on gun violence by taking on matters in his own hands. his promise to bypass congress. the reaction coming in. the blast in the middle of the night injuring a man asleep in his bed. >> this whole thing is gone. >> the entire neighborhood damaged and you one thing you don't want to do if you smell gas in your neighborhood.

fantasy sports. accusations of illegal gambling. the millions at stake. could the companies behind these big bets be forced to pay you back? and forcing for a resolution. the promises we make and try to keep. what's on america's mind this new year? the answers will surprise you. good evening and thank you for joining us on this saturday. i'm cecilia vega. we begin tonight with a threatening start to the new at this hour, more than two dozen rivers are on the brink of major flooding. the mississippi river rushed far beyond its banks after cresting to a new record high. and take a look at the damage on the ground, whole neighborhoods rivers are rising from missouri down to louisiana, and it will

tonight, two states officially declaring emergency ies and several others bracing for what's to come. abc's meteorologist indred petersons leads us off tonight. >> reporter: parts of missouri under as much as 16 feet of water. more than 11 levvees breached. toppling hamlets in olive branch, illinois, where they give up on sandbagsing because it's too dangerous. these floods now claiming 24 lives and hundreds of homes. in missouri, the river cresting overnight but still a threat. this is an area locals call the ditch. typically void of water. today, you can see it's coming out of the mississippi and head to it's tleftenning a local power substation. now the race to protect property and save lives. the basketball team in full force filling sandbags all around the community center. how do people feel?

it's reached its highest since 1993, i think. >> reporter: residents in boats surveying their homes. >> they go to work in the morning, everyone's fine, and they come home eight hours later, and we had water rise four feet. >> reporter: here, you can see the waters topping fences, over street signs in. was matt's home before the flood's hit. here, it's parentally submerged and finally swept away by the waters. >> living on the river, you expect floods. but you put stuff high. the river goes down, you wash stuff and carry on. you never expect your house to float away. >> reporter: but you guys are safe. everybody did get out? >> yeah, the dog is out. important things. >> reporter: it is amazing with all the devastation in the area, i continue to be impressed by the residents here. they have grateful for what they have and they are keeping that positive attitude.

scene you are standing in. so many communities down river on edge right now. who needs to be the most worried? >> reporter: here in missouri they have already seen a record breaking crest. you're talking about 49 feet of water. everyone south of the area is watching it closely. memphis, a week from now, this water will be headed down the mississippi right in their direction with possible major flooding. vicksburg, baton rouge, louisiana, two, three weeks from now, they could see the rainfall from christmas time coming their way almost a month later. >> it is going to be a long wait for the communities. thank you. we turn now to president obama and his new year's resolution promising to bypass congress and take action on unfinished business, america's epidemic on gun violence. but the nation is divided

answer. jim avila is in hawaii tonight. flocking to the gun store after the san bernardino attacks, the white house said today it could be a dangerous and americans to arm themselves against terrorists. quote, that's why we have government. and this week, president obama is trying to make it more difficult for the mentally ill, criminals and terrorists to arm themselves with powerful weapons. the president announcing in his weekly radio address he will meet with attorney general loretta lynch wednesday to see what he can do without overstepping. >> we can protect from inflicting harm on a massive scale. >> reporter: the white house want to limit the number of gun

checks. and stop those on the no fly list from buying guns. ted cruz called it lunacy and donald trump condemned the plan. >> it's not the gun that pulls the trigger. i don't like it. i don't like what he is doing. >> reporter: the president who is finishing his hawaii vacation tonight, is making more gun control a priority in 2016, his last year on record. the white house saying today, the u.s. will be safer from terrorism if it is harder for terrorists to buy guns. cecilia? >> reporter: jim avila in hawaii, thank you. we turn now to donald trump making headlines once again. not because of something he he is not saying. here is abc's mary bruce. campaign is silent after the terror group used his video to recruit. >> donald j. trump is calling

>> reporter: a new video of al shabaab, al qaeda's affiliate, uses a video of trump. trump is not responding but he is slamming the democratic front-runner. tweeting hillary clinton said it is okay to ban muslims from israel by building a wall but not okay to do so in the u.s. we must be vigilant. recruiter. >> reporter: hillary clinton when she said his language is >> they are going to show videos of donald trump insults muslims in order to recruit more >> reporter: a statement that never proven. he demand on apology. she's a liar. >> it did not exist when she but it does validate the spirit of her argument.

hypocrite. meanwhile, the trump supporters are making themselves heard, interrupting a bernie sanders rally and taking to skies over the rose bowl. writing in an aerial message, trump is disgusting. after weeks of mud slinging, donald trump and clinton will face off monday with dueling events miles apart. cecilia? >> okay, mary, thank you. we turn overseas now. human right protests following a mass execution in saudi arabia. 47 men put to death, accused of terrorism. against the government. amnesty internationals decrying the sentences saying they are political scores. in israel tonight, a massive han hunt for the suspect who killed two people outside of a

surveillance video shows him pretending to shop at a grocery store before shooting. today, mourners are paying respect, including benjamin netanyahu. the affluenza teen still behind bars in mexico. awaiting deportation and hiring a high profile attorney. but his return to the united states could be delayed weeks or months. >> reporter: tonight, the mexican lawyer from ethan couch is firing back at authorities for swooping in and arresting the teen in porta vallarta. >> he has not committed a crime in mexico. >> reporter: his high powered ed ed ed ed

>> there was not request by u.s. state department filed. >> reporter: the couches vanishing more than two weeks after ethan failed to check with his probation officer. he was charged with killing four people while drunk. the affluenza defense, claiming right from wrong. that is tanya there shopping at a local butcher shop. days later, ethan is spotted there too, buying food and waving to the butcher. just hours later, he was under arrest. his lawyer telling abc news couch was being wisked away to the airport, u.s. bound, when his team intercepted van, convincing him to sign papers, keeping him in mexico for now. tanya is back in the u.s. facing charges. ethan is expected to meet with his lawyer tuesday at this

remain for months. philip mena, abc news, new york. next, a new push to shut down the daily fantasy sports websites. the two largest companies sued, accused of illegal gambling. if it new attempt succeeds, it could mean hundreds of thousands of players who bet big could get their money back. here is marcy gonzalez. >> reporter: tonight, a potentially crippling setback for two giants of bay daily fantasy sports. >> welcome to the big time. duel or draft kings in new york, may be entitled to get your money back. those sites taking more than $200 million in entry fees from 600,000 customers here in 2015. in a lawsuit, they asking the companies to pay a fine of up to $5,000 per case. >> i deposited $35 on fan duel and won 2 million.

misrepresenting the winnings. >> the new case, they originally deposited money with the daily fantasy companies based on doubling money. which is what the advertisement promises. he says that is a false protect. >> reporter: they added a lawsuit against the companies in november calling them illegal gambling operations. draft kings responding saying in a statement, like the new york attorney general's original complaint it is based on the fundamental misunderstanding of fantasy sports competitions. fan duel says we will fight meritless amended suit. right now both companies are allowed to operate here in new york. a judge has dwroet decide whether that will continue as the case goes to trial. cecilia. >> thank you. we turn one lucky teenager who lost his way in a hunting

he called for help on his cell phone ran out of power. tonight, for the very first time, we hear his desperate calls to 911. here is gloria rivera. >> i don't feel good. >> reporter: a teenager lost alone in the utah wilderness for 28 agonizing hours. >> i started crying, freaking out. tried to call 911 on the phone. >> reporter: tonight, the new th 911 calls, revealing brayden brayden's desperation. >> i feel like i'm going to pass out. >> reporter: the 14-year-old hunter becoming disoriented facing 14 degree temperatures and a dying cell phone. >> i'm on 1%. >> are you still waving your flashlight? >> i am now. >> reporter: he kept walking, keeping his body warm. staving off hypothermia. >> i kept shaking. >> reporter: then his phone died. his family is concerned when they heard nothing for five hours. >> there was points i was losing

>> reporter: he covered 11 miles of unforgiven fridged terrain before stumbling into a stranger's home. >> i was seeing blank space in my mind and i felt like i had ten more minutes of life left in here. >> reporter: treated for hypothermia and frostbite, he believes god led him home where he belongs. >> for the next week, he is sleeping next to me where i can see his face. >> reporter: gloria rivera, abc news, washington. there is more ahead on "world news tonight." up next -- hard to believe this is not the after math of a tornado. it is a suspected gas explosion so powerful, it registered on a seismograph as an earthquake. what triggered the disaster and the one thing you should never do if you smell gas in your home. plus the maker of ice cream in so many american freezers under fire tonight. why federal authorities are called in to investigate this

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it was a blast so powerful, it was heard several miles away, so strong, it even registered as an earthquake. tonight, what we are learning about the gas explosion earlier this morning in oklahoma city and what we all need to know to stay safe. here is ron claiborne. >> we have one house that is totally destroyed and on fire. >> reporter: it was just after 3:00 this morning, a house on a quiet street suddenly catching fire and then exploding into pieces. a neighbor shooting this dramatic cell phone video. >> it's completely gone. the whole entire house is completely gone. >> reporter: amazingly, the one person inside the house, asleep in his bed, was brown out in the explosion and survived with only

>> we have reports of people who miles away from felt the explosion. >> reporter: the house obliterated and 50 other homes damaged. >> the windows are busted out. brick walls leaning in. >> reporter: fire officials say just before the explosion, utility workers were in the backyard next door checking a gas leak. the cause of the fire and explosion, still not known. gas leaks can be devastating. a gas explosion destroyed this new jersey home in february. if you ever smell gas, get out of the home immediately. do not turn on lights, a spark can ignite your home. and call your utility. some may never be able to return to their homes. ron claiborne, abc news, new york. how is this for a new year's resolution? win the lottery. tonight's jackpot, the largest in nearly three years.

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tonight drawing will be worth $334 million. the biggest jackpot in three years. in case you are wondering, that is enough cash to buy a professional hockey team, open 133 mcdonald's restaurants, rent the entire empire state building six-figure luxury sports car every week for the next 60 years. good luck with that. next, talk able a new year's eve show stopper. billed as motley crue's final show stopper concert. what could go wrong? tommy lee stuck upside down on a roller coaster all the way up in the staples center in l.a. it took a few crew memberers to unstuck and kick start his heart. the new year to greet twins born just three minutes apart. make. jaelyn was born december 31st,

2016. the twins born a month early. everyone is doing well. dad calls it a new year's blessing just to have two healthy babies, two adorable babies also. when we come back, do you have your new year's resolution yet? i don't have mine. getting more exercise to sleep, can you guess what the most popular google searches are? here's a hint. pass the kale. s doing. and when i finally told my doctor, he said humira is for adults like me who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease. and that in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief. and many achieved remission. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and

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what if one piece of kale could protect you from diabetes? what if one sit-up could prevent heart disease? one. wishful thinking, right? but there is one step you can take to help prevent another serious disease. pneumococcal pneumonia. if you are 50 or older, one dose of the prevnar 13 vaccine can help protect you from pneumococcal pneumonia, an illness that can cause coughing, chest pain, difficulty breathing, and may even put you in the hospital. even if you have already been vaccinated with another pneumonia vaccine, prevnar 13 may help provide additional protection. prevnar 13 is used in adults 50 and older to help prevent infections from 13 strains of the bacteria that cause pneumococcal pneumonia. you should not receive prevnar 13 if you have had a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine or its ingredients. if you have a weakened immune system, you may have a lower response to the vaccine. common side effects were pain, redness or swelling at the injection site, limited arm movement,

less appetite, chills, or rash. get this one done. ask your doctor or pharmacist about prevnar 13 today. >> finally tonight, it is that time of year again, the high holy days of self-improvement. and thanks to google, we now have a new way to make and break the annual promises. >> three, two, one, happy new year! >> yeah, yeah, happy new year. it is time to get down to business. what's your resolution. >> to be a nicer person in general. do well in school. >> that's good. >> spend less money. >> sure. >> be less cynical.

>> no. why do i want to eat kale. >> yeah, kale chips. turns out leading up and following new year's day, how to make kale chips is the second most googled question in america. google compiling the list and it is official. getting healthier. number one on the list, how to number six, how to cook cabbage, how to cook broccoli. work. number four, how to write a resignation letter. how about a new hobby? how to crochet a beanie. >> i don't know, i bought this. >> reporter: if we co-figure out how the make the resolutions stick. good luck with the resolutions.

week. thank you for watching. have a great saturday. good night. denver 7 news starts right now. >> a substance abuse clinic goes up in flames. ahead of president obama's plan, a colorado da is forcing his support. what he says about the plan today. but first, this warmer weather is something we could all get used to. your first alert forecast. it is going to be fantastic for the broncos game! last weekend, it was super cold. this weekend, it is going to be a lot nicer.

right there at the foothills.