this morning on "world news now," dangerous storms impacting millions. >> from snow and ice around denver to tornadoes in the middle of the country. the powerful winds threatening travelers right now. and the warnings from accuweather. devastating crash. the jet that slammed into an ohio apartment building. new pictures of that crash and new details about who was on board. legal victory. a cruise ship passenger caught on camera getting hit in the head by an automatic door. the multimillion-dollar verdict over a minor injury. and later, america's sweetheart julia roberts opens up about her latest movie and the role in "pretty woman" 25 years ago that changed everything. it's thursday november 12th. >> announcer: from abc news this is "world news now."

hey, good morning, everyone, on this thursday. i'm reena ninan. >> and i'm kendis gibson. talking about our favorite julia roberts movies. >> i love her. >> she's fantastic. she can do no wrong. >> she can't really. >> and that interview with michael strahan is a lot of fun. >> we look forward to watching it. >> we're going to start with the misery that's taking place right now. the fast-moving storm that's slamming the nation's midsection, unleashing heavy snow, powerful winds, and damaging twisters. >> it's hard to imagine what winds can do. but apparently this storm has already knocked out power to thousands. it's taking aim at the great lakes right now with more than 20 million americans in its path. we begin our coverage with abc's brandi hitt. >> reporter: the massive storm system that covered colorado in up to a foot of fresh snow is now moving east. and pummeling the midwest with heavy rain, hail, damaging winds -- >> tornado warnings. >> reporter: -- and tornadoes touching down in iowa. >> wow. >> reporter: this semi truck flipped upside down. the driver survived.

but several buildings have also been damaged. >> with the wind blowing all the time, the i-70 ends up being closed. >> reporter: those strong winds are also now pushing this wildfire in oklahomatoward homes under evacuation orders. this is the severe weather danger zone stretching from the midwest down to the south. there are 30 million people that will be affected by this. gusty industry up to 70, 75 miles an hour. >> reporter: and with dangerous road conditions, montana's highway patrol just released this video of a violent crash last year, warning drivers to slow down. seconds after that big rig slams into a car -- >> heads up, heads up, heads up! >> reporter: -- another vehicle spins out of control, followed by a third on the left. all of the victims survived. but areas like chicago are still bracing for strong winds today up to 50 miles per hour that could impact air travel. reena and kendis. >> thank you so much, brandi. and as you mentioned, while this powerful storm impacts travel, some ski slopes are open. >> yeah, and they're happy about it. after blizzard-like conditions

in colorado the copper mountain resort opened a few days earlier than usual while the storm moves east it's bringing rain, not snow, to the midwest and northeast. our coverage continues right now with accuweather meteorologist cam tran. good morning, cam. >> good morning, reena and kendis. as the storm system moves over the great lakes region the biggest threat will be those howling winds. we could see wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour near the lakes region. that includes detroit and buffalo. while further out we'll see wind gusts of 40 miles per hour. and then those gusty winds will move over the mid-atlantic states as we head into friday. we're also loong at some widespread rainfall for the area on thursday as well. we are looking at the heaviest of rain across the northern lakes, and it's also going to be quite soggy in the northeast. reena and kendis, back to you. >> thank you so much, cam. new details this morning about the deadly crash of a small plane in akron, ohio. surveillance video shows the plane crashing there in the upper left corner. all nine people on board were killed. seven of them were with a

florida-based real estate company. the plane's cockpit voice recorder has been recovered and is being studied for clues about what went wrong. >> we are very perplexed as to what happened. we are shocked. planes generally just don't fall out of the sky. i can tell you that they were very well-seasoned pilots, both of them. >> so this plane went down about two miles from the airport where it was going to land. another pilot who had just landed there reported nearing no distress calls. despite being on the same communication frequency as the plane that crashed. arrests have been made after news helicopters in the new york city area were targeted b lasers. the chopper for our new york station, wabc, was hit with a green laser near newark airport last night. one person was arrested in connection with that incident. earlier, helicopters operated by two other stations were also targeted, both of them over brooklyn. at least one person was arrested there. a system of tracking airlines by satellite is expected to be in place in the next two years. its creation was motivated by the mysterious disappearance of

malaysia airlines flight 370 last year. a deal reached at a u.n. meeting yesterday allows for planes to be tracked by satellite, not just from the ground. current radar-based systems leave about 70% of the world's surface uncovered. world leaders are meeting this morning on the island of malta trying to find a solution to the growing refugee crisis that's engulfing europe. the number of people seeking asylum has now hit the grim milestone of 1 million. and that's even with germany, sweden, and others closing their doors to migrantmigrants. desperate families continuing to risk their lives. terry moran in greece with new details. >> reporter: a half sunken boat off the turkish coast its front window broken the telltale signs of a tragedy. 14 dead and seven of them children. the refugee crisis here is actually getting worse. and a milestone. 1 million people have now sought asylum in europe on a pace to double last year. every day brings more

heart-rending scenes. last month 18-month-old mohammed hassan pulled from the sea after the boat he was on capsized. "he's alive," the fishermen shout. "quick, get the water out of his mouth." they saved his life. the human tide kept rolling ashore here on lesbos. and everywhere the evidence of their exodus. all along this coastline where the boats come ashore you can see several of these huge piles, thousands of life preservers, and every single one of them represents an individual journey of hope and desperation. and with every landing the tears of relief, the joy, the determination to go on. terry moran, abc news, lesbos, greece. president obama honored america's veterans by laying a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns at arlington national cemetery. the president spoke about the new wave of vets who are returning from the wars in

afghanistan. he said more needs to be done to help those veterans find work. one of those returning vets will be awarded a medal of honor by president obama later today. retired army captain florent groberg was seriously injured when he pushed a suicide bomber to the ground. groberg has undergone more than 30 surgeries in his recovery. his heroic actions saved the lives of men in his unit and several afghan officials. what a incredible moment that must have been. >> yeah, absolutely. and speaking of vets, this is an incredible moment as well. a former navy s.e.a.l. has found a rather unique way to raise awareness and money for the families of fallen.a s.e.l.s. the guy's name is andy stump. seen here. and he just set a very dangerous new record. >> stumpf jumped out of a plane at more than 36,000 feet wearing a wingsuit and parachute. he then glided over 18 miles through the air. >> yeah. that's the furthest distance anyone has ever flown in a wingsuit before touching down. the stunt was aimed at helping raise a million dollars for the

families of navy s.e.a.l.s killed in action. stumpf called the jump gnarly. >> gnarly. >> and when you see that close-up video, by the way, it kind of reminds me of the missy elliott video from years ago where she's in the big -- >> in the big puffy suit. >> yeah. but very impressive. he got up to speeds of about 200 miles an hour. >> it's impressive but terrifying for people like me who don't like heights. >> yeah. >> right? >> or we like our planes that work. exactly. well, coming up in "the mix," how would you feel if you quit facebook? what researchers discovered could come as a surprise. also ahead, reflections from julia roberts. from her role in "pretty woman" 25 years ago to her hard-hitting new dramatic role. the michael strahan candid interview. but first the verdict for a cruise ship passenger, that one there, hit on the head by an automatic door. the huge punishment for the cruise line. and how often do these incidents happen? and we've got some pictures for you. check us out on instagra

instagram @abcwnn. you're watching "world news now." start the interview with a firm handshake. ay,no! don't do that! try head & shoulders instant relief. it cools on contact, and also keeps you 100% flake free. try head & shoulders instant relief. for cooling relief in a snap.

we've been changing things up witoh yeah.ve. it's a pleasure gel that magnifies both our sensations. it gives us chills in places 've never gotten chills before. ye, it makes us feel like... dare to feel more with new k-y love. >> i'm alex trebek. if you're age 50 to 85, this is an important message. so please, write down the number on your screen. the lock i want to talk to you about isn't the one on your door. it's a rate lock for your life insurance that guarantees your rate can never go up at any time, for any reason. but be careful. many policies you see do not have one, but you can get a lifetime rate lock through the colonial penn program. call this number to learn more. this plan was designed with a rate lock for people on a fixed income who want affordable life insurance that's simple to get. coverage options for just $9.95 a month,

less than 35 cents a day. act now and your rate will be locked in for life. it will never increase. your coverage can never be cancelled as long as you pay your premiums, and your acceptance is guaranteed, with no health questions. you cannot be turned down because of your health. call for your information kit and gift. both are free, with no obligation. don't wait, call this number now. ♪

♪ well, they've started removing sfrevehicles from that collapsed culvert next to an ihop in mississippi. cars fell into the trench saturday night. one driver described how he and

his 2-year-old son were steps away from their car when the disaster unfolded. thankfully, no one was hurt. pretty remark pbl when you look at that scene that nobody was hurt. >> it is incredible. and it will take a bit of work i guess to get all that cleared up. on the high seas in the meantime this was amazing. onean whoas hurt quite seriously has won a multimillion-dollar lawsuit. >> holland america passenger was hit in the head by a sliding glass door, and now he's been awarded $21 million for his pain and suffering. abc's matt gutman has more. >> reporter: when those sliding doors suddenly closed james houseman was whacked right in the temple. you see him teeter, then regain his composure and try to walk it off. and now he's going to walk away with over $21 million. houseman was on a nearly year-long cruise aboard holland america's flagship "ms amsterdam." his attorney says he suffered a concussion and a traumatic brain injury. and investigating the case his attorney says he discovered something stunning. >> 34 other incidents of sliding

automatic doors hitting passengers. >> reporter: the jury was able to hear about 16 of those incidents. perhaps why they awarded haasman 5 million for pain and suffering and over 16 million as punitive damages against holland america. whose promotional video boasts -- >> a greeting that will make you feel like an honored friend. >> reporter: but during the trial the hausmans became foes. the family furious the cruise line surveyed the family before the trial, even shooting video of their 12-year-old daughter and showing it in court. in previous suits the cruise line had blamed the passengers for their injuries in sliding doors. in this case it says the judgment was excessive and tells us it plans to appeal. matt gutman, abc news, los angeles. >> what do you think? >> it's an unbelievable amount of money for that injury. the 61-year-old, by the way, was awarded about 5 million for past and future pain, suffering, and emotional distress. i'm sure there are a lot of people out there who look at that video and think, man, is

that worth so many millions of dollars? but the jury found out -- >> the jury, yeah. apparently, this was a cruise for 280 days. not his particular cruise but the cruise ship. so anyway, interesting. >> yeah. all right. coming up -- >> america's sweetheart outdoes herself. how julia roberts, considered by many to be one of hollywood's top leading ladies of all time, landed a part originally intended for a man. >> i always love that she's always so happy. and later in our next half hour, the major lawsuit bringing 113 women together. suing a drug company over a birth control mix-up. what they think the company should help pay to raise their children. that's going to be interesting. you're watching "world news now."

well, as you know, julia roberts has more than earned her place as one of hollywood's premier leading ladies. >> but this time she may have outdone herself, landing a role written for a man. abc' michael strahan sat down with america's sweetheart. >> did we just become best friends? >> question, we might have. >> oh, my goodness. >> reporter: it's hard not to smile when in the company of julia roberts. >> oh, boy. >> reporter: her signature grin lights up the room here at the iconic beverly wilshire hotel, where she shot "pretty woman" 25 years ago. >> oh! >> reporter: do you have any feelings that come over you when you come into this hotel? >> abject awkwardness. >> why? >> especially when i go into the elevator. because the elevators are

exactly the same and have the little seats. and that's when i just walk in and kind of look around and everyone's looking at their feet. >> reporter: if "pretty woman" set the tone for the julia roberts we've all come to know, her new film "secret in their eyes" shatters that image completely. >> it's your daughter. >> what? >> reporter: as an investigator who uncovers the body of her own daughter, brutally murdered. >> this movie explores so many things, especially justice and revenge. >> mm-hmm. >> how far would you go for justice and revenge? >> i feel like part of my personality is ferocious. and part of my personality is the greatest power you can wield towards an enemy is to ignore their existence. >> i don't have the tom tok watch him walk away again. maybe we go about this a little less officially. >> reporter: the director said you said he don't want a movie star part, i want to get in, i want to get dirty. and from what i saw, you did

exactly that. at points i said is that julia roberts? >> when you've been in the business this long and people feel they know you as well as they do, you want them to go and enjoy a movie and not think about who you are. >> reporter: did it help to have your husband, he was the cinematographer on the film, did it help to have him there whenever you got out of a heavy scene? >> well, it helped in a couple of ways because first of all i tried to impress him so much that really -- >> really? >> -- as much as i try to impress my director i just think, okay. >> are you really try to impress your husband? >> oh. >> really? >> of course. >> i love that. >> he's my person. >> i love that. >> he's my person. and part of it is we would spend the whole day together. by the time we get home we're not talking about work. it was just all about the kids. which was amazing. >> reporter: do you have any parenting tips for me? >> my daughter said to me last year, we were talking about school, and she was having some frustration. and she said, mommy, you just don't know what it's like.

and i said to her, guess what i'm going to do today. i'm going to sit in the back of your classroom all day today and understand what it's like. >> wow. >> by the time the bell rang to go home, this is what i know. no child wants to get in a car and have their parent say how was your day? >> because you sat there -- >> because it's the relentless pursuit of knowledge. and then you get in the car with this new safe moment. how was your day? what did you do? tell me the whole thing. it's like. >> there's something i hear you play at the dinner table called the family dinner game. >> family dinner game. >> where you ask questions around the table. >> mm-hmm. >> can we play that? >> do you have questions? >> i have a few questions. >> i have questions. what's your middle name? >> anthony. what is the first thing you look at when you see somebody? >> i guess, you know, your eyes, your smile. probably your eyes.

they're brown. they're twinkly. >> i'm blushing. okay. thank you. >> and that's when you say, oh. so are yours. >> you know what? you have this personality, these sparkly brown eyes. the beautiful smile. you exude happiness. >> and my gap used to be as big as yours and then i stopped sucking my thumb. >> i never sucked my thumb. so what's my excuse? >> i don't know. but i love it. i love it. >> thank you. thank you so much. i appreciate it. >> i really enjoyed that interview. >> that was really, really cute. obviously, michael was very taken by her. >> i can tell. i can tell. apparently this movie there's some like incredible unspeakable secret that unravels. it's like layer upon layer. so i look forward to seeing that one. >> hence the term "the secret in their eyes." and julia with the great parenting tip. she has three kids, as you know. so i like that little tip. >> you like that. >> don't ask how was your day. >> i know. everyone in the makeup room said reena, pay attention to this. we should mention it opens in

theaters nationwide next friday. >> all right. coming up. more. we've been changing things up with k-y love.

oh yeah. it's a pleasure gel that magnifies both our sensations. it gives us chills in places we've never gotten chills before. yeah, it makes us feel like... dare to feel more with new k-y love. we have to watch out for different types of germs.r, which is why it's important for your wipes to kill a broad spectrum of germs. lysol wipes kill 99.9% of germs, including 8 different types of cold and flu viruses. to help protect your family... lysol that.

♪balance transferot to othat's my game♪ ♪bank you never heard , that's my name♪ haa! thank you. uh, next. watch me make your interest rate... disappear. there's gotta be a better way to find the right card. whatever kind you're searching for, creditcards.com lets you compare hundreds of cards to find the one that's right for you. just search, compare, and apply at creditcards.com. ♪a one, a two, a three percent cash back♪ enough pressure in here for ya? ugh. my sinuses are killing me. yeah...just wait 'til we hit ten thousand feet. i'm gonna take mucinex sinus-max. too late, we're about to take off. these dissolve fast. they're new liquid gels. and you're coming with me... wait, what?! you realize i have gold status? do i still get the miles? new mucinex sinus-max liquid gels. dissolves fast to unleash max strength medicine. start the relief.

ditch the misery. let's end this. ♪ okay. so we're on facebook every day, every two minutes frankly. and are you happier being on facebook or not? >> i think you're always trying to keep up with the joneses on facebook. right? >> it is. you're trying to live a different life. okay. so researchers in denmark put that to the test. they divide two-day groups, people who were always on facebook every day, and found -- and had them evaluate their life satisfaction out of a score of 10 after that week. so people who gave up facebook for a week, those who werehere every day. by far they found the people who gave up facebook for a week were happier. they were more decisive. they were enthusiastic. they were less worried, lonely, and less stressed compared to those lonely people who were on facebook every day. >> i think so. because you're a looker on facebook. you see what else everybody else

is doing. and you're at home looking at the computer. i get that. >> all right. >> i'm at the point of parenthood where my kids get up way too early. they're toddlers. but there's parents whose children get up much, much later when you get to teenage years and older, right? this might be for you folks for christmas. it's an alarm clock that slaps you. >> what? >> to get you up out of bed. simone gertz came up with this. it's a typical clock with a rotating motor and she slapped on this rubber hand. at one point in the video you see her hair gets tangled into the middle. there is that little fight thing. but apparently if your child can't get out of bed this can be a good investment. >> don't sleep there. >> don't sleep there. okay. so we know some famous artists, of course. you have van gogh, you have picasso. and now there's juso. here's juso's work. beautiful, don't you think? some wonderful paint ppgz and let me introduce you to this

world-renowned artist. he's in finland. not the guy walking on the left. the bear. >> oh, stop. >> yes. they've trained him to be able to be an artist. this is how he makes his wonderful works, just rolling around in it. and voila. $20,000 per art -- no, 2,000 euros. about $2,100 per piece of work. >> that could be another christmas gift option. >> something like that. >> do you remember a couple weeks ago we did this thing about justin bieber's song with the hoverboards. well, everything you guys can do we can do better as women. >> they were impressive. that's a good move. >> right? this is of course justin bieber's "sorry." and these women, their skill, they kind of one-upped the boys with the stunts. look at how effortlessly they glide across those hoverboards. they've got perfect form. >> they do have perfect form. and the precision. and jack, what do you think? >> everything you can do we can do

this morning on "world news now" -- this morning on "world news now" -- intensifying storm. after dumping snow on the west and sending tornadoes through the midwest, the system is jeopardizing travel plans today for as many as 20 million americans. the warnings from accuweather. developing overnight, blinding laser lights aimed at planes and helicopters. >> news choppers targeted in several incidents within just a few hours. how one crew helped police make an arrest. birth control crisis. women were on the pill getting pregnant. the apparent mistake by a drug company. should they be helping to raise those kids? and later, the anticipation is over for justin bieber fans. his new album is about to go on sale. but that's not all of his exciting news. the frenzy in "the skinny" on this thursday november 12th. ♪ when you don't want me no more ♪ ♪ but you tell me to go