this morning on "world news now," the terror crackdown in california. >> a friend of the terror couple in san bernadino busted. federal agents say he was part of a frightening plot to set up bombs and gunfire during rush hour. what led to this major arrest? praise from putin. donald trump gets political support from russia. while two of trump's presidential channelers continue a war on words. professional hockey players seriously hurt. new commands of safety, from the rink to the courtroom. was it worth the wait? the new "star wars" movie finally opened. and we're right there with reaction from fans among the first to see it. it's friday, december 18th.

>> i'm going to have that as my alarm. i'm coming back in a few weeks. >> you are? >> it's up to them. last day for a while. it's been fun. i will miss you. i'll miss that music. and i'm going to miss jack, as well. >> you're going to miss jack. >> bye, richard. >> he's waving bye now. >> what did he call it in england? >> the long good-bye. i'm sorry. what were you saying? >> figgy pudding? >> yeah. >> do you eat figgy pudding? >> i never tried it. i don't know what is in it. it is a british thing. but i think it faded out in the 1970s. >> will you bring us back figgy pudding? >> i'll go back to the 1970s and find you some. >> oh, boy. we're going to go on to a serious topic here. with enrique marquez. new charges against him. he was a friend of one of the

san bernadino attackers. marquez made a court appearance, with a one-word answer to a judge and not entering a plea. >> he is facing charges, including support to terrorists. marquez will be held until monday at least, when he will attend another court hearing. abc news' brian ross is on the case. >> reporter: after ten days of questioning by the fbi at a secret location, enrique marquez was brought to the federal courthouse in riverside, california, to face serious terror charges. within hour of the intern tino terror rampage, the fbi figured out that the two assault rifles were caught by marquez, almost four years ago. but the charges made public revealed the 24-year-old marquez, and his long-time friend and former next door neighborhood, syed farook, planned to use the weapons and pipe bomb toss attack the cafeteria of a community college in 2011 or early 2012.

and later for a rush hour terror attack on this california freeway. quote, the plan was for farook to throw pipe bombs on to the freeway. and then, farook allegedly planned to move among stopped vehicles shooting into them, while marquez shot into vehicles from a nearby hillside. according to the federal complaint, it was farook who persuaded marquez to turn to islam. authorities charge that farook got marquez to marry a russian woman, who was an extended member of farook's family. marquez confided to his friends, it was all a sham. >> he married her for the visa. and gave him 5, 10 grand. that's where he left it. >> reporter: ominously, in the weeks before the terror attack that killed 14 people in san bernadino, friends says marquez warned of the plans of

what he called a terror sleeper cell. >> he would talk about there were so many sleeper cells. >> reporter: a month before the attacks, marquez wrote on facebook, my life turned ridiculous. involved in terrorist plots, drugs, anti-social behavior, marriage, might go to prison for fraud, et cetera. several prosecutors say there is currently no evidence that marquez was involved in the san bernadino attacks themselves. but they say, there's no doubt his decision to buy the guns for farook, had fatal consequences. if convicted, he could face up to 35 years in prison. brian ross, abc news, new york. the man some call the most hated man in america is free, on a $5 million bond after his arrest for securities fraud. hedge funder turned drug company executive, martin shkreli, earned the nickname by buying a life-saving drug and raising its

price more than 4,000%. >> shkreli ran his companies like a ponzi scheme, where he used each company to pay off defrauded investors from the prior company. >> shkreli's arrest is not related to his drug price increase. that increase was legal. after the securities fraud charges, shkreli's spokesman says he is confident he will be cleared. now, to the possible political promanse between vladimir putin and donald trump. they have traded kind words about each other. and two of trump rivals are maintaining a feud that started at tuesday night's debate. it is "your voice your vote" and cecilia vega is covering the campaign. >> reporter: donald trump getting unexpected and resounding praise from vladimir putin. >> donald trump.

>> reporter: putin calling trump, a talented, very colorful person. and the absolute leader of the presidential race. trump's response? it is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected in his own country and beyond. while trump is riding high, a tough day for his chief rival, ted cruz. marco rubio saying cruz once supported legalizing undocumented immigrants. >> he's not told his truth about his position in the past. >> reporter: on fox news, cruz stumbling after being shown his own words from 2013. >> i don't want immigration reform to fail. i want immigration perform to pass. >> it sounded like you wanted the bill to pass. >> of course, i wanted the bill to pass. my amendment to pass. what my amendment did -- >> you said the bill. >> my amendment took citizenship off the table. it doesn't mean i supported the other aspects of the bill. >> reporter: cruz doubling down.

>> i oppose legalization for illegal aliens. i always have. and i always will. >> reporter: the texas senator fighting for the donald trump voters. but fighting against trump on the other side of the aisle, hillary clinton. sending a personal plea to the trump-loving father of this young woman. >> hi, shawn. i'm here with your daughter. i hope you can see, i don't have horns. and i really do hope that as this election goes on, you'll listen to your daughter. thanks. bye. >> reporter: we'll see how that work out for her. all eyes on this stage behind me. the final preparations are under way for the final democratic debate of 2015. cecilia vega, abc news, manchester, new hampshire. >> watch the democratic debate hosted by abc's martha raddatz and david muir. that's tomorrow night at 8:00 eastern and 7:00 central. that's interesting the story about trump and putin, praising

one another. >> and how people demonize him in politics. he took the other route. >> and there's different sides of the political spectrum, right? the left, putin, socialism, communism. and trump right. you go back around and meet in the middle and get on. >> there you go. deep thoughts. on politics. and world affairs. >> deep thought or something that made no sense. you decide. admitting it was a mistake, it's not going to get defense secretary ash carter off the hook. the committee wants to look at the e-mails he had from his personal account. john mccain wants to make sure that sensitive information was not compromised. the push for the "star wars" movie has been over the top. >> what's the name of the movie? >> i said it in the script. i have not heard its name to really have it marked on my

memory. but evidence actually -- there is enough evidence it may have worn down, all of the promotional push may have worn down one of the film's actual stars. >> this stems from a flight of the cast, including droids and the crew they took from l.a. to london. the plane was painted to look like an r2-d2. >> the character was on cups. and the onboard announcements began with noises that r2-d2 would make. he said the pilot was making "star wars" references which he called corny and not funny. >> i see how he could think that. >> and entertaining it. from we go. >> r2-d2 said he did not appreciate the comments. >> not funny. >> coming up -- >> it's quite funny. >> you think so? >> who has better teeth? the americans or the brits? >> that's easy to prove later. also ahead, "star wars" fans and their immediate reaction to

the new movie, after it opens up last night. rave reviews? or rubbish? and first, the accident on the basketball court involving lebron james and the wife of another pro sports star. you're watching "world news now." >> 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.

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a scary moment at the cleveland cavs' game, as lebron

james crashed into a woman sitting courtside. the woman is the wife of golfer jason day. she was committed with a neck brace, placed on a back board and taken out of the rearena on a stretcher. james said she told him she was okay while she was being treated. this is remarkable. >> that is dramatic, isn't it? and we've been hearing about the risk of concussions in football, particularly in the nfl. >> but football isn't the only sport with the crowing crisis. a number of hockey players are looking at the nhl. >> reporter: with the issue making headlines in the nfl, the nhl is getting hit with concussion-related lawsuits, as well. hockey players joining a class-action complaint against the league. 140 form e pros alleging that the league didn't do enough to

warn them of the long-term effects of repeated blows to the head or protect them from those hits. former captain reid larsen is part of the lawsuit. >> we knew we were going to have separated shoulders, lose teeth. but long-term brain trauma was never brought up. >> reporter: last week, the family of steve montador slapped the nhl with their own lawsuit. ten months after the 35-year-old was found dead inside his home. an autopsy found his brain was ravaged with cte. the family claiming the league failed to warn montador of the risks of head trauma. when asked if there's a connection between hockey and cte, the nhl commissioner said, from the medical science standpoint there is no evidence yet that one necessarily leads to another. the nhl telling abc news, we

don't comment on pending litigation. linsey davis, abc news, new york. >> i never thought of hockey as a concussion sport. >> you think because of the equipment that it's going to be -- >> and the gear. you think of soccer. for girls, especially, concussions are a big issue. >> you look at hockey, the pace. the pace of the game, isn't it? a sensationally good game to watch. coming up, the consumer outrage over adele tickets. concert tickets went on sale and sold out in minutes. scalpers are reselling the tickets for as much as $12,000. what's the secret to buying concert tickets before they're sold out? first, it is out. "star wars" is finally here. legions of fans are filling theaters from coast-to-coast. what they're saying with no spoilers, next.

♪ music, impossible not to like. "star wars" has hit theaters. and there's been anticipation among fans of all ages of "episode 7" of the saga. >> we're getting the first reactions from superfans on day ones. our producers headed to theaters to see how fans felt before and after the big premiere. ♪ >> i'm psyched. i'm real pumped for this thing. i've been waiting for this for the longest, now. >> it's going to be epic. >> we're excited to see what

happens to luke skywalker t. if they make luke evil. >> this is a clone outfit. easy to run around in. >> do you have a jedi name? >> unfortunately, no. i didn't really think about a jedi name. i use my nickname, like dingo. >> what i'm most excited about is the fact that there's two more movies coming out. how are they going to set up the next two movies? ♪ >> there's been an awakening. what did you think? >> i loved it. explosive, sad, scary. on-edge. i cried. >> it was amazing. j.j. abrams kicked some butt. it was great. >> i can't talk right now. it was that good. >> it was amazing. >> everything and more. plot twists. action, nonstop. amazing. >> best movie i have ever seen.

>> it was amazing. j.j. saved us. >> it was awesome. >> it seriously lives up to the hype. i give it five light sabres. >> we need something here. >> uh-oh. >> yes. ready? just a little side blade, right now. we can get it longer as needed. >> i need to watch it again. >> you're coming back? >> like 20 minutes. >> i'm seeing it tomorrow and saturday. >> i'm going tomorrow again. >> seeing it again tomorrow. >> i think about three times this weekend. >> do you have an alias? >> tarak. >> may the force be with you. >> and also with you. >> all right. well done. joe brian our producer. >> brian is excellent. >> and really into "star wars." he's the ultimate. >> he saw it tonight. >> over your shoulder there.

>> the gentleman he interviewed is the at least intimidating jedi. it can get longer as needed. people are saying they're going to see it again. for "star wars" to overtake "avatar" as the most popular film of all-time, it requires people to see it again and again. that's what happened with "avatar." >> i will be seeing it again and again. >> you haven't seen it a first time, reena. when we went to the special screening the other night, you fell asleep. she actually fell asleep. remember that. >> i knew -- >> yes. i knew i would be seeing it again and again. there you go. at the theater. >> more times this weekend. >> why not? >> i'm going to see it multiple times. >> the disney stock price. >> our parent company. and you wanted in your own way to help "star wars" overtake "avatar." >> it's the personal project.

taking the kids this weekend. >> we will be right back.

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dare to feel more with new k-y love. ♪ welcome back. time for "the mix." reena, what have you got? >> who has better teeth? you or me? there's a study that proves it. for a long time, people believed that the brits can't have really good teeth. remember the austin powers movie, when they said only a spy could have teeth like that? >> he's been -- this is austin powers. he has new teeth, being brought back from being frozen. >> exactly. >> this is "the mix" is viral stuff, right? >> it's viral stuff. there's a british american journal that compared american and british teeth. who has better teeth? they said it's you brits have better teeth than the americans. >> it's been turned around.

this is my theory on this. i think that brits, the front of americans' teeth are better. shinier, nicer, cleaner. and the interior of brits' teeth are back. >> are you calling my teeth monkey? >> manky. >> you never heard that word? have it. it's yours. >> we don't have time for the next one because we took up time talking about your teeth. but it's polka time. ♪ ♪ politics and foreign wars all the weather all the scores ♪ ♪ that's the "world news" polka ♪ ♪ businesses from tokyo on koppel's show ♪ ♪ that's the "world news" polka ♪ ♪ you're wide awake and you're not wearing pants ♪ ♪ grab your hallmark and everybody dance ♪ ♪ every anchor, guy and girl

do the "world news" polka ♪ ♪ when you pick up the big sack watching "world news" polka ♪ ♪ you'll have presents beneath the tree ♪ ♪ if you turn on your tv to the "world news" polka ♪ ♪ stuck here on the overnight that's okay because when he comes down the chimney we say hi to santa claus ♪ ♪ that's the "world news" polka we wish you season greetings ♪ ♪ and the best of every key that's why you won't be hearing mary mitchell sing ♪ ♪ that's our christmas gift to you it's the "world news" polka ♪ ♪ do the "world news" polka

this morning on "world news now," terror arrest. agents bust a friend of the san bernadino couple responsible for 14 deaths. what investigators are revealing about other terror plots and why this arrest is so important. executive under arrest. the controversial ceo who set off a firestorm by jacking up the price of a life-saving medication. the serious, new allegations. new this half hour, paying an extreme price to see adele. >> the tickets for her concert tour selling out in an instant. who is trying to resell those tickets at an eye popping price? the advice for fans. and "star wars" fans, praising the just-released movie, burning up social media with their comments.