good morning, america. stunning new details about plots planned by that san bernardino terrorist. his friend under arrest telling authorities they wanted to use pipe bombs and guns to trap and kill motorists on a california freeway during rush hour. how they planned to gun down students in a college cafeteria. a major breach of hillary clinton's campaign. a top staffer for bernie sanders fired for accessing clinton's private files. the dnc taking action as the rivals gear up for tomorrow night's big debate. courtside crash. lebron james slams into a fan. the 250-pound superstar collides with the wife of another star athlete taken out of the arena on a stretcher. her condition this morning and what lebron is saying about it. ♪ and the force finally arrives, "star wars" storming into theaters overnight.

>> it was amazing. >> i have to go back and watch it again and then again and then again and then again. >> the movie already breaking records, fans out in full force and the mysteries finally answered. and good morning, america. happy friday. standing room only at midnight. theaters all across the country last night, 4100 of them, of course, for "the force awakens." it is finally here. >> and, dan, you're seeing it tonight. >> either going to dress up asueen amidala. >> trust me you'll want to see it again and again and again. >> i need to clear my schedule. we begin with those stunning new details from san bernardino. enrique marquez, the childhood friend of syed farook arrested on terror charges revealing to authorities the neighbors had planned other attacks. this all comes as president obama visits the victims in san bernardino this evening. abc's chief investigative

correspondent brian ross is here with all of those details. good morning, brian. >> reporter: good morning, amy. it could have been so much worse, authorities say today. if syed farook had followed through on his other terror plot for southern california with attacks on a college cafeteria and a crowded freeway at rush hour. that's the bottom line from the criminal complaint filed against farook weigh lodgetime friend enrique marquez. marquez was brought to court in the back of this fbi vehicle after ten straight days of interrogation. he wore handcuffs during a brief court hearing when he said little other than yes when asked if he understood the charges against him. but according to prosecutors, he has freely revealed that he and his longtime friend troouk troouk, planned terror attacks some four years ago when he bought the two assault rifles used in the san bernardino attacks. the earlier plots involved an attack on students in this cafeteria where farook and marquez attended classes. >> i was kind of shocked and saw

a picture on the news it was him. >> reporter: the other plot was aimed at this california freeway during afternoon rush hour. the plan was for farook to throw pipe bombs onto the freeway and farook allegedly planned to then move among stopped vehicles shooting into them while marquez shot into vehicles from a position on a nearby hillside. according to the federal complaint, it was farook who persuaded marquez to convert to islam some eight years ago and then radicalized him using online videos from al qaeda including the extremist preaching of the now dead american anwar al awlaki. authorities also charge that farook got marquez to marry a russian woman who was an extended member of farook's family so she could come to the u.s. and marquez confided to his friends it was a sham. >> he said he married her for the visa da and gave her 5 or 10 grand, whatever the money was. >> reporter: in the month before the attack according to the complaint marquez wrote this on facebook "my life turned

ridiculous. involved in terrorist plots, drugs, anti-social behavior marriage might go to prison for fraud, et cetera." prosecutors say there is currently no evidence that marquez was part of the terror attack that killed 14 people in san bernardino. but hours after that attack they say marquez called 911 threatening suicide, asked why by the operator marquez said i don't know. my neighbor he did the san bernardino shooting. the ex-mre 'tis used my gun in the shooting. you said he used your gun? yes, oh my god. what was the guy's name that had your gun? it's syed farook. this morning, marquez is being held without bail after his first appearance in court and be back in court for a bail hearing next week on monday. if convicted on these charges he could face up to 35 years in prison amy. >> brian, much of the trouble marquez is in is from his own admissions before he had a lawyer. >> that's right, the fbi

repeatedly said to him you have a right to remain silent and continued to talk and may have talked himself well into prison for a long time. >> thank you. we move to the race for president now and some trouble for bernie sanders' campaign ahead of tomorrow's big debate forced to fire a top staffer who improperly accessed hillary clinton's campaign files as our new abc nusews/"washington post" poll shows clinton with a commanding lead and we have more from cecilia vega in new hampshire. >> reporter: george good morning to you. the way this is being described if this was the superbowl it would be like bernie sanders' team getting ahold of the playbook before the big game. it is set for the big debate behind me that happens tomorrow night. overnight a major campaign violation, a bernie sanders staffer fired accused of breaking the rules tapping into rival hillary clinton's confidential campaign database that contains valuable information about voters from around the country.

as a result the democratic national committee temporarily suspending the vermont senator's campaign from accessing the party's voter file. a major blow just as the race for the white house heats up before the crucial iowa caucuses. the sanders' campaign blaming a software flaw saying a glitch briefly allowed them to see ocho other's private data. that's when the breach occurred. a sanders spokesman saying that behavior is unacceptable and that staffer was immediately fired. this new campaign turmoil coming just as sanders, clinton and former maryland governor martin o'malley prepare to face off in the final debate of 2015. sanders telling "the huffington post" he's already looking far past election day. >> i started writing my inauguration speech as opposed to the speech i have to give tomorrow look the answer is yes. >> reporter: and there's plenty of supporters who want to see him go all the way. this week the sanders campaign

hitting the 2 million contribution mark mainly from small donations less than $30 each. overnight, hillary clinton also racking up campaign cash her daughter chelsea there for the first time to help drum up those dollars. the star-studded new york city fund-raiser with celebrities like drew barrymore and katie holmes andholmes posting this saying mothers and daughters #wearewithhillary. so far no response from the clinton team but ramifications for sanders could be huge. it's like being able to ago -- not being able to access voter files could be a real setback in the campaign. you can bet all this will come up right here in new hampshire tomorrow night. >> they'll hope that suspension doesn't hold. cecilia, thanks very much. the debate and the democratic campaign with matthew dowd our chief political analyst. we saw that commanding lead for hillary clinton, 31 points nationwide but sanders does have some real strength. >> he does and if you take a look at the comparison between

bernie sanders now and barack obama in 2007 when barack obama was 28 points behind hillary clinton and ended up winning iowa and then going on and securing the nomination so they're very much in the same place. hillary clinton has a commanding lead. but bernie sanders just like donald trump on the other side is drawing huge crowds. he's got the biggest crowds of anybody other than donald trump. he has the largest number of contributors that anybody's ever seen in the course of a presidential race and his voters are very fervent, again, very. like donald trump, so he has a shot i think the question is is can he overcome -- >> so far at least he's ahead in new hampshire according to the most recent polls and saw this strange situation yesterday. vladimir putin at his year-end press conference praising donald trump and donald trump praising him back a little bit of a bromance developing. any political implications. >> they ought to get silvio berlusconi and call them incredible ego trio. what's going to happen donald trump's supporters will say,

that's right. he's not even elected president and people who don't like donald trump say they have the support of a dictator from ruiz. it will split along the supporters and opponents' lines, but his supporters will love the fact that putin is saying great things about donald trump. >> okay matthew dowd thanks very much. we'll be headed to new hampshire and our whole political team will be there with the debate moderated by david muir and martha raddatz. i'll anchor special coverage at 8:00 and live sunday morning with "this week." we turn to who many are man in america. the he became notorious for jacking up the price of a life-saving drug by more than 5,000%. he is now free on $5 million bond this morning after being arrested for fraud. abc's linsey davis is here with that story. good morning, linsey. >> reporter: good morning, amy. earlier this month martin shkreli tweeted, i late being i in the news. well this morning he's back in headlines again, this time accused of fraud, a ponzi scheme but overnight a representative

for shkreli issued a statement saying ponsi victims do not make yet mr. shkreli's investors enjoyed strong results. this morning, the so-called bad boy of farj executepharmaceuticals raising a drug from $13.50 to $750 a tablet out of jail on $5 million bail after being arrested thursday morning for unrelated fraud charges. >> for shkreli essentially ran his companies like a ponzi scheme. >> reporter: court documents allege martin shkreli, the 32-year-old hedge fund ceo got millions from investors allegedly and when he lost their money through a series of bad trades took money in new investors to pay off the old ones and started a company called retrophin acquireing old drugs and selling them for higher prices. according to investigators using that money to pay off his hedge fund investors. >> these charges in today's indictment highlight the brazenness and breadth of shkreli's schemes and the outrageous web of lies and

deceit. >> reporter: shkreli pled not guilty on thursday. we interviewed him back in september. after he increased the price of a drug used to help people with aids and cancer by more than 5,000% donald trump called him a spoiled brat. >> there was a lot of vitriol out there targeting you, one of the headlines even saying that you were the most hated man in america. >> i'm not a greedy person. >> reporter: but at a later event -- >> i could have raised it higher and made more profits for our shareholders which is my primary duty. >> reporter: the 32-year-old posting hours of video of himself online, eating sleeping on his computer turning heads for tweets like this 50 to 100 date solicitations for me. the world's most eligible bachelor. sorry, but you have to be a shareholder to meet me. >> i don't care about meme hating me. who gives a [ bleep ]. >> reporter: he purchased the only copy of a woo tang album by promising he wouldn't release it

publicly. he is confident he will be cleared of all charges and online people are joking his attorney should actually raise their fees 5,000% to represent him. >> like 2 million for that album and they don't know where he got the money. >> police tweeted last night that they didn't seize -- this was a seizure arrest so didn't get the with you tang clan album. another young man behaving badly. most wanted teenager in the country ethan crouch escaped with just probation after killing four while driving drunk. he is being sur sued by the fbi and u.s. marshals and matt gutman has the latest. >> reporter: investigators telling abc news the teen fugitive infamous for that so-called affluenza defense in court may have a huge head start on authorities. >> i believe they planned in time their getaway to give them the maximum amount of time to be gone before we started looking for them. >> reporter: abc news learning investigators are tracking the family's phones financial

records and possible passports. concerned the teen has fled the country. >> with the amount of wealth that these people have there's a tremendous amount of different ways they could have gotten away charter a boat a plane. >> reporter: in 2013 the then 16-year-old loaded himself with booze and his truck with friends, he pleaded guilty to killing four in this horrific drunk driving crash. his sentence ten years' probation and zero jail time. his legal team argued he from affluenza. that he was too spoiled to know right from wrong. investigators say shortly after this video was posted to twitter, purportedly showing him at a boozy party, couch vanished. now on the run authorities believe with his mother. >> do you recall ever disciplining ethan for anything? >> sometimes i would take little things away from him or we would just discuss the problems. >> reporter: but now his mother may be the one to suffer consequences. it is a felony to aid and abet a fugitive and the sheriff tells

us if there's any way to prosecute her they will. ethan couch because he's still considered a juvenile under the law he's unlikely to face any jail time if apprehended. >> hard to believe, okay matt gutman, thanks very much. dan harris with the other top stories starting with a major battle with isis overseas. for the first time in months isis carried out a significant attack in northern iraq near their stronghold of mosul. hundreds of fighters launching at least four coordinated attacks but they were repelled by american air strikes and by kurdish and canadian forces. this does raise concerns that isis can still launch a major assault despite months of coalition air strikes. back in this country, in chicago, they're bracing for a day of demonstrations as the police officer charged in the shooting death of laquan mcdonald is set to appear in court. protesters are planning to block traffic near midway airport and in areas of the downtown. in los angeles, nearly 1900 public school students are being

relocated because of health concerns stemming from a massive gas leak. infrared video shows the gas in purple hovering over porter ranch, the ongoing methane leak at a storage facility already forced hundreds of families to evacuate. pope francis has paved the way for mother teresa to become a saint and recognized a second miracle attributed to mother teresa known as quote, the saint of the gutter for her work with the poor. she's expected to be canonized next september. and finally, check this out. an amazing reaction to a convenience store holdup. look what happened when a shop owner in new york was confronted by a masked man wielding a shotgun. what does he use to fight back? he throws the slipper at the dude. the guy turns and runs and operating with one slipper chases him out the door pretty incredible. the owner, by the way, was later asked if he's going to upgrade security and he said no he's sticking with the slipper. >> i mean -- >> respect. >> that's probably not something

police would recommend, though. if a shotgun is pointed at you. >> that's probably correct. >> intuition worked in that moment. >> it did. >> all right, now let's talk about a scary moment at the cleveland cavaliers game last night, lebron james chasing after a ball slamming into the wife of another star athlete taken out of the arena on a stretcher and kendis gibson has the story. >> reporter: as 6'8" 250-pound lebron james scrambled for a loose ball possession he follows the ball into the courtside seats then a frightening collision -- >> made contact right here. >> with a petite woman sitting in a courtside seat. >> she is still laying down. they're trying to help her up right now but she is still down on the ground on her back. >> reporter: that woman ellie day, the wife of one of the top golfers in the world pga champion jason day. >> a phenomenal talent. >> reporter: he was by her side seen wearing all black. after several moments of laying

on the floor, ellie strapped into a stretcher wearing a neck brace rushed to the hospital. jason running after her. after the game relief from lebron who went over to check on ellie during a time-out. >> obviously, you know her health is very important and, you know hopefully she's doing well. the guys told us that she's doing great now. >> reporter: for "good morning america," kendis gibson abc news new york. >> lebron so concerned about this tweeted out a sweet message, "ellie day, i hope you're doing okay. my apologies. hope you guys come back to another game soon love lj." >> she might sit in the second row. >> you're powering through this morning. >> all the screaming at the cavs game. >> absolutely, go cavs. yeah. i don't sound good. hopefully i look okay. >> you look fabulous. >> okay. so does ginger but not that destructive storm in the northwest? they got smacked again. this he'll get another one by sunday. look at i-90 in washington

state. wrecks on the highway. these photos closer to the coast, eight plus inches of rain a sinkhole landslide. people trapped and like i said more to come. through the sierra winter storm warnings and advisories up to montana and idaho. flood watches coastally. there you can see the storm coming through, the second cold front by sunday. some of the heavier rain great for northern california but we don't want it that fast.

partly sun, brzy and cool today wih >> and great news for the southwestern united states. you're going to see yourself next time you see me. i'll be back and i'll show off the map. >> all right. >> so excited for you, ginger. >> tomorrow is the big day. it's fantastic. >> all right, ginger. so much more ahead this morning. the former prep school student convicted of sexual assault speaking out for the first time why he says he has no regrets. only on "gma" this morning. and "sports illustrated" cover supermodel arrested in hot water over free gifts.

and the force is finally with us. the most anticipated movie in the galaxy is open. t.j. holmes is with all those lucky fans who saw the first shows. why scalpers are celebrating the opening along with the die-hard fans. starting thursday at kohl's buy more save more take an extra 15 or 20% off already great savings! like fine jewelry 60 to 70% off 15% off fragrance gift sets and 40 to 50% off star wars apparel, home and games! kohl's

♪ ♪ the first fridge with a keurig brewing system. only in the ge café series. made for every kind of day. now get 10% off select major appliances $396 and more at lowe's.

ooooohhhhhhhh it's that night of the year you come here. looking for gifts so there won't be tears. eleventh hour shopper... that's you. see you next year, buddy! get low prices on all your last-minute gifts. walmart.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ give extra. get extra.

>> this is good morning washington update. >> anchor: this is a check of the weather. >> weather: cooler today. nippy at times of the very breezy to go along with it. we are waking up to clouds across the region this morning. but it will giveway to sunshine this afternoon. temperatures mid to upper 40s this afternoon. but with a strong wind will feel like the upper 30s at best throughout much of the day.

tomorrow coldest of the bunch. windy with highs in low to mid 40s. get to upper 40s by sunday. with warmer temperatures in the 60s next week. >> anchor: jacqui, on the friday morning commute. we have friday lights for a lot of folks. on 66. minor slowing coming in manass to centreville to capital beltway. inside of the beltway heavier through west falls church and rosalyn. meantime 295 an costa freeway. we have trouble. northbound accident at mamcomx. and then further north in the northbound left lane we are blocked with a stalled car between howard and 11th street bridge. melanie back to you. >> anchor: and thank you. fire crews from both howard and prince george counties work to pout a house fire in laurel t broke out in attic and first floor of the home on north second. crews say the home was vacant novel word on what started the fire. >> and new crash test prompts

v-dot to replace guardrails on roads across state. an investigation found that several crashes where a guardrail punched through a vehicle pierce tinglike a knife. guardrails are supposed to crumb and he will stop the vehicle. v-dot said it should be done by next fall. and you can get more news, traffic and weather updates on good morning washington. on newschanel 8. hope you have a great friday.

(vo) always a warm welcome. always a friendly hello. always a perfectly flaky crust. always mrs. smith's flaky crust pies. the only one made with real butter and abundant seasonal fruit. warm and welcoming and fresh from your oven with our flakiest crust ever. you're always welcome at mrs. smith's.

♪ welcome back to "gma" and t.j. holmes stormtrooper marching towards "the force awakens" midnight showing last night. he has his game face on for the biggest movie of the year and we'll talk to a lot of fans who saw it last night but promise no spoilers. >> don't spoil it for anyone because there's just this moment -- >> okay, stop. >> you don't want to ruin it for anyone else. >> i said my peace. the neighbor of those san bernardino killers arrested on terror charges. enrique marquez revealing to authorities he had plotted with syed farook to attack a community college and ambush drivers on the highway. he is back in court on monday. plus adele fans desperately trying to get seats to her upcoming tour getting shut out online. adele fighting back against scalpers who bought so many seats and raised the prices.

this christmas photo released by the royal family overnight. prince george and principal chess charlotte with their mom and dad. >> that is so sweet. >> look at that little baby smile. so great. more on that but we begin with the former prep school student accused of assaulting a classmate. owen labrie is speaking out since his conviction that you'll only see on "gma" today and gio benitez who followed the story is here. >> reporter: labrie is appealing that conviction with the new hampshire supreme court but among other things the young man whose story made headlines is spending time building a chapel. it was a trial that lived in the headlines this summer. an alleged sex assault. one of the premiere boarding schools in this country. >> i was raped. >> reporter: a 15-year-old st. paul school student claiming she was raped by a fellow schoolmate owen labrie. >> this someone was going to get what he wanted and not take no

for an answer. >> it wasn't my intention going into the night of having sex. >> reporter: they convicted him on misdemeanor sexual assault. this is owen labrie now out free while he appeals his one-year prison sentence. instead of studying at harvard's divinity school as he planned he is now building a chapel speaking out for the first time since his conviction. the now 20-year-old still insisting he had done nothing wrong telling nuke nuke in an exclusive interview it was the only thing that sustained me knowing that i had told the truth. i had done what was right. i walked out of the courthouse with my chin up. >> he's add perhaps but resigned to the consequences. >> reporter: labrie expressing no regret about refusing plea deals that would have required him to admit to sex with the girl but put him behind bars for less than a month with no sex offender registration telling the magazine he'd handle his legal decisions the exact same way but he wears the sex

offender label like a scarlet letter. >> it's a fairly small town up there and, you know people come up to him, you know and use words that you can't use on television. he's gotten a lot of support. there were a lot of classmates and their parents who gave to a legal defense fund and he gets it from all sides. >> reporter: now at home with his divorced parents the once harvard-bound superstar student is under a strict curfew. sometimes he says even defiantly still wearing his st. paul's shirts. >> how could someone so smart with such a bright future ahead of them whatever you think about what may have happened that night how could he have risked so much? >> reporter: and perhaps most surprising "newsweek" tells us he is personally trying to handle his appeal himself reaching lawyers and experts across the country to prove his point but he could still face charges for deleting messages on facebook during that investigation. now we've tried to reach the accuser's family about this interview but have not heard back. it is a very complicated case.

>> at least it seems like he's making the best of his time. thanks very much. "newsweek's" exclusive with owen labrie hits the stands next week. dramatic rescue on the highway. a police officer springing into action stopping a runaway truck caught on camera and now hearing from that officer and abc's ronan reena has the story. >> he might be passed out. >> do you want to stop him. >> reporter: we're hearing for the first time from the heroic officer who stopped this semi tractor trailer barreling down a nebraska highway. >> knew what we needed to do felt comfortable doing it so did it. >> reporter: senator todd volk leaping on and into the semi's cab taking over the wheel as the driver was suffering a seizure. >> i just had the perfect angle. there's not much speed left in me. >> reporter: sprinted at miles 20 miles per hour stopping the ten tons of moving steel before anyone was injured.

>> there's so many different possibilities that could have happened even before. >> reporter: many who saw it think sergeant volk looks like a stunt man. >> open the door when i tell you. >> reporter: similar to tom cruise attempting to stop a plane as it takes off in "mission: impossible" and this scene in "the transporter" looking eerily similar. sergeant volk saying he did what needs done. >> my wife telling me this might be one of the crazier ones. >> reporter: the driver grateful for the officer jumping into action. for "good morning america," reena ninan abc news new york. >> amazing what he did. supermodel bar refaeli arrested. the "sports illustrated" cover model suspected of tax evasion, did all those celebrity freebies land her in trouble with the law? those long lines for "star wars"olmes is there for "the force awakens," a lot of excitement all across the country and around the world right now.

you gellin'? no tellin' how much i'm gellin'. you gellin'? i'm like magellan, i'm so gellin'. quit yellin' we're gellin'.

riigghhttt. dr. scholl's massaging gel insoles are so soft they make any shoe feel outrageously comfortable. are you gellin'? dr. scholl's. when you need something utterly unique to wear go to your wardrobe. your jewelry wardrobe... jared the galleria of jewelry... for the ultimate selection of levian. only levian, masters of jewelry design for centuries... makes jewelry with chocolate diamonds. gorgeous, trend- setting looks like this limited edition piece you can only find at jared. making levian the essential part of her jewelry wardrobe. that's why... she went to jared. a warm sun. lots of water. nutrient rich soil.

that's how you grow the best, tastiest vegetables. and that's how you make it progresso. hey marc. how you feeling? don't ask. this is what it can be like to have shingles, a painful, blistering rash. t this would happen to me. if you had chickenpox, the shingles virus is already inside you. 1 in 3 people will get shingles in their lifetime. i'm going to go back to the eye doctor tomorrow. it's pretty close to my eye. i don't know how you do it. talk to your doctor or pharmacist today about a vaccine that can help prevent shingles. ♪ ♪ ♪ snowmen with buttons, snowflakes with icing ♪ ♪andy corn feathers re look enticing ♪ ♪ rice krispies treats, the fun

doesn't stop - ♪ ♪ how many ways can you snap, crackle, pop? ♪ make the holidays a treat with kellogg's rice krispies.

and we are back now with the story of one of the most beautiful women in the world facing some ugly charges. supermodel bar refaeli has been arrested in israel charged with tax evasion for failing to report income and free gifts including luxury cars. abc's linzie janis here with the story. >> good morning, george. she's the "sports illustrated" cover model who has turned looking good in a bikini into a multimillion dollar fortune but this morning authorities accusing her of mishandling those millions. >> right here for me. >> reporter: bar refaeli this morning best known for this steamy 2009 "sports illustrated" cover and for dating leonardo dicaprio being investigated for failing to pay taxes on millions in income. israeli authorities allege inging refaeli lied about living outside of israel even putting a swanky apartment in her mother's name to be exempt from paying taxes on earnings abroad. investigators arresting and questioning both women for several hours then confiscating

their passports. overnight their lawyer saying they did nothing wrong telling israeli media there's no drama and this is just a civil dispute. israeli media sources reporting the 30-year-old swimsuit model is also allegedly accused of failing to report hundreds of thousands of dollars in free gifts including a rent-free apartment and free use of luxury cars. >> the taxing authority is saying you have to claim that product and the value of that product in the same way you would have to claim a paycheck that was provided to you in exchange for your services. >> reporter: refaeli who received a style icon award in 2013 reportedly earned over $2.3 million that year working on campaigns for brands including the gap and samsung. >> this case is going to be a wake-up call for many individuals who are accustomed to receiving big gifts in exchange for using their image, using their likeness to promote a product.

>> reporter: refaeli and her mother have been barred from traveling abroad for six months without permission from israeli authorities, both could face serious fines and, of course if she can't travel that's bound to affect her income going forward. >> bound to impact so many others running to their cpas to make sure they have all their ts crossed. >> staying inside the lines. record-breaking sales for "star wars" tickets making them such a commodity online. one has them listed for up to $225 for a pair. t.j. holmes is with people who have lucky tickets in their hands and we'll have that when we come back.

still not feeling well? no...you know when i got sick my mom used to make me chicken noodle soup. aw, ok... you should call your mom. bye. campbell's chicken noodle soup. there when no one else is. campbell's. made for real, real life. mastering irresistibly smooth. the lindor truffle ...from the lindt master chocolatiers. a hard outer shell with a smooth center. welcome to the best time of your day. unwrap. unwind. experience... the melt. only the lindor truffle. for the holidays, experience our meltingly-smooth lindor white chocolate peppermint truffles. from the lindt master chocolatiers.

( ♪ ) just head around the corner to walgreens when you're searching for that perfect little something. walgreens has great gifts like toys, beauty gift sets, and photo gifts, and it's all just a hop skip, and a bark away. this week, save 30% on photo gifts.

(vo) your love is purely thoughtful, purely natural purely fancy feast. new delicious entrées, crafted to the last detail. flaked tuna, white-meat chicken, never any by-products or fillers. purely natural tastes purely fancy feast.

it is 7: and we have been talking about it all morning the wait finally over. fans flocking to theaters overnight and early this morning to see "star wars: the force awakens." among them t.j. holmes. he's at a theater down the block from us. good morning, t.j. >> good morning, and what's better than with your eggs and bacon in the morning than a little "star wars." it played all night playing all morning, yes, 2 a.m. show 5 a.m. show 7 a.m. shows. you cannot miss this movie, i got my fan, i got my stormtroopers. everybody is good to go but what did people think last night.

some of the first to get in line, check them out. ♪ it's finally here the wait is over. ♪ >> i told my mom all i wanted for christmas was for the "star wars" to begin. >> i'll like die when i watch this movie. >> reporter: they're coming out in full force to see the newest installment of "star wars." >> we wanted him to be princess leia. he refused. >> reporter: even a wedding in line in l.a. theaters everywhere are prepping for the huge onslaught of faithful fan, some venues adding extra security. >> clearly, one of the biggest nights in moviegoing history and we'll be ready for it across the board. >> nothing will stand in our way. >> reporter: fandango breaks an all-time record most ticket sales on their site ever. even before opening night. >> it's true, all of it. >> reporter: so the verdict? >> the force has awakened.

>> it was amazing. >> it feels totally true to the old films. >> oh it was an emotional roller coaster. >> it redeemed the prequels entirely thank god. >> i have spent the last almost 20 hours watching the past six movies and i can't believe that after that all that i was not prepared for it. i have to go back and watch it again and then again and then again. >> and, lara i must admit since the time i was a little boy this is the money shot i have been waiting for my entire life. >> he's got his game face on. >> i have to tell people -- yes, it was crazy last night. it was crazy last night and a lot of places were sold out but a lot of people think, well, i can't get tickets. there are millions of tickets still available to see the show this weekend. a lot saying they're coming back twice. even some folks i talked to last night had never seen any of the previous six movies but they wanted to see this to be a part of the cultural experience and that's exactly what it was last

night. >> that's awesome. that's great. we also t.j. have some pictures of very young fans check out this one. >> ah. >> i love that. that's from facebook founder mark zuckerberg with his newborn dressed up -- what's he dressed as. >> that's obi-wan kenobi. >> she. >> she looks like a slightly annoyed version of obi-wan kenobi i would say. >> i wonder why. i know you have a photo, a video for us. >> i have a video of my son alexander in the bathtub. don't worry. this is not pornographic chewing on "star wars" toys we gave him. yoda, i gave him c3po and put the droid's head in his mouth. i warned him that might adversely make it malfunction. he ignored me. >> you're a nerd on the "star wars" stuff. >> i'm a nerd on a lot of stuff. it came out when i was 6 or 7 and had a little brother.

she used to bring us in the middle of the movie and leave us until we stopped caring. >> the answer is yes to my question. >> yeah. >> can't wait to hear what you think, 2:30 you're watching it today. >> 2:30. >> we'll get a review from dan in a bit. can there be too much christmas? take a look at the mom who piled all these gifts under the tree. she's facing an online firestorm for posting this. she's here live to tell her side of the story when we come back.

the snow is starting to fall and our loved ones are gathered all around, so share that extra joy in your heart and make this christmas even more special than the last. walmart. big news! the new sprint lte plus network is faster than verizon and at&t... based on data from the world's foremost authority on independent measurement. to celebrate, we're gonna cut some prices in half. switch to sprint and save 50% on verizon at&t or t-mobile rates. no gimmicks. no tricks. it's the biggest offer in u.s. wireless history! what about verizon? 50% off. at&t too?

50% off. even t-mobile? 50% off. and now, get the hottest samsung smartphones and receive a free 32" led samsung tv. don't wait. offer ends december 24th. ♪ ♪ ♪ and off you go ♪ ♪ ♪ and off you go ♪ ♪ ♪ and off you go ♪ for every step, every stride every start, begin strong with the lasting energy of 100% whole grain quaker oats... and off you go. back here on "gma." december wants to remind you, hey, i can be cold. one below the feels like in denver. 4 below in north platte. 18 in chicago, dallas at 26 oh my goodness 19 in indianapolis

and that cold shifts east by tomorrow morning, a freeze watch in place all the way south to

"good morning america" is brought to you by quaker off you go. 4hha

>> anchor: good morning. time for a check of the weather with jacqui jeras. >> weather: much cooler today. it is going to be nippy at times. very breezy to go along with it. we are waking up to clouds across the region. but it will giveway to sunshine this afternoon. temperatures are going to be in the mid to upper 40s this afternoon. but with a strong wind it will be feeling like the upper 30s at best.ay. tomorrow coldest of the bunch. windy with highs in the low to mid 40s. and we will get to upper 40s by sunday w warmer temperatures in the 60s next week. >> reporter: thank you jacqui. to the roads. we have a problem now. complicated on your right from mcclain heading to bethesda preaching american legion bridge. this is what you will see. accident on the inner loop blocking two lanes left side. we have bumper-to-bumper pace that starts well before you get there. all the way back to the dulles toll road. now live look at 395. show you what is happening there.

seeing bottlenecking due to fact that we have a crash northbound 395 approaching gleek. and shifting gears into maryland. southbound 270 not a bad ride for a friday morning. slowing on the stretch between falls and montrose. crash on the side of the roadway there as well. melanie? quick peak of the roads. back to you. >> anchor: thank you. 202 in upper marlboro back open after a crash last night. police say a car traveling southbound lost control and crossed into the northbound lanes hitting another vehicle head on. the driver of the vehicle that was hit 20-year-old man died at the scene. and driver that lost control had non-life threatening injuries. former federal police officer will be sentenced on drug charges. christopher bartly pleaded guilty in august to trying to manufacture methamphetamine at a federal science lab in gaithersburg o july 18, there was an explosion on campus of the national institute of standards and technology. bartly admitted the meth lab

caused the explosion. you can get more news, traffic and weather updates on good morning washington. on newschanel 8.

good morning, america. it's 8:00 a.m., and we have the mom under fire for over 300 presents under her family's tree. shamed hundreds of thousands times online for this photo. now she for the first time. ♪ hello from the other side ♪ >> backlash over tickets to adele's huge concert tour fans crying foul after concert tickets sole out in minutes now being resold for thousands of dollars. how adele tried to stop the scalping and help her heartbroken fans. new overnight will and kate reveal their royal christmas card. charlotte and george steal the show playing in the family's backyard. new details now about the little prince and palestinianrincess. the perfect holiday hacks for your weekend. cool tricks from "gma" viewers to decorate your home in a flash, all ahead as we say -- >> good morning, america.

and good morning, america. happy friday. one week to go till christmas. there they are. our diy experts helping you crack those christmas dilemmas. all kinds of tricks to help you this holiday. >> i like that garland as a pom-pom. >> or a feather boa. live in times square the mom whose christmas tree photo caused a major online uproar. all those presents are in the christmas spirit but some say she isn't actually getting the true meaning of the holiday. what she has to say directly from her in a "gma" exclusive. powering up your phone. we all know that sinking feeling when your battery starts to die. becky worley has tested the newest backup batteries on the market. i'm excited about this and tell us which ones should be on your christmas list. >> that is all coming up. first to dan harris with the morning rundown. >> hey, thank you. the big story, the longtime

friend of one of the san bernardino attackers is now being held without bail until his appearance in court monday enrique marquez bought the rifles that syed farook and his wife used to kill 14 people and prosecutors say he has freely revealed he and farook planned attacks on a local highway and in a college cafeteria back in 2011 and 2012. meanwhile the fbi arrested a man in pennsylvania who tried to help isis by running more than 50 twitter accounts posting names of u.s. military members. in upstate new york the owner of a pizza shop pleaded guilty to trying to help isis by plotting to kill american soldiers. in the race for president a stop staffer in the bernie sanders campaign is fired. the democratic national committee is blocking sanders team from accessing the party's voter files which are considered crucial. heading into the iowa caucuses. new details and a shocking crime. a newlywed stabbed in a random

attack in the middle of a drugstore now died and the suspect, an mba graduate with no criminal record is now facing new charges. abc's mara schiavocampo has the details. >> reporter: this morning, the charges against a petite 40-year-old financial adviser have been upgraded hours after her alleged victim died from her injuries. rohinie bisesar now facing second degree murder charges in what policeay was a completely random attack. >> we still can find no correlation between the two. we still believe them to be complete strangers. >> reporter: police say bisesar, a professional with no criminal history, attacked a woman at a drugstore last week and stabbed the victim without provocation. leaving her in critical condition. late wednesday, 28-year-old rosemarie junor succumbed to her injuries. clinic in toronto and had been married less than a year. her family devastated by the loss. >> we're all trying our best to make sense and to try to figure

out exactly what happened and why. >> reporter: police say bisesar fled after the attack and was on the run for four days. shortly before her arrest a canadian newspaper said they received an e-mail from her account saying in part something has been happening to me and this is not my normal self adding i am sorry about the incidence. >> that kind of evidence exhibiting mental illness could be used mounting a defense of not criminally responsible. >> reporter: bisesar has not yet entered a plea expected back in court this morning. for "good morning america," mara schiavocampo abc news new york. >> mara thank you. new concerns about the safety of infants in car seats. a survey out this morning finds more than 90% of new parents made a serious mistake while installing their car seat or buckling up their baby which could significantly increase the risk of injury or death in a crash. experts are calling on manufacturers to come up with more user-friendly designs. and finally, everybody loves

a feel-good story on a friday. check out what happened in a burger king in south carolina. workers gathered together and went to get nancy martin out of the kitchen when she was cleaning. her mop till in hand there was a big surprise for her. it was her son who had just gotten home from serving overseas in the u.s. military. you can't hear it but what she's saying there is oh i am not going to stop hugging you. >> oh, man, you can see it. >> that is so ally like to do something snarky at the end of a newscast but that video is too good. >> good choice. >> you had such a nice moment there, dan. here's what's coming up on our "gma morning menu," the woman being shamed online for putting too many gifts under the tree. she's here telling her side. and the adele ticket backlash. so many fans trying to get seats to her upcoming tire. how she's fighting for her fans.

[ cheers and applause ] coming up from times square on "good morning america." i sure had a lot on my mind when i got out of the hospital after a dvt blood clot. what about my family? my li'l buddy? and what if this happened again? i was given warfarin in the hospital but i wondered if this was the right treatment for me. then my doctor told me about eliquis. eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots and reduces the risk of them happening again. not only does eliquis treat dvt and pe blood clots but eliquis also had significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. knowing eliquis had both... turned around my thinking. don't stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. if you had a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away if you have tingling numbness, or muscle weakness. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily... and it may take longer than usual

for bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. eliquis treats dvt & pe blood clots. plus had less major bleeding. both made switching to eliquis right for me. ask your doctor if it's right for you. ♪ ♪ the holidays are here. don't forget you can order on target.com and pick up in store the same day. i ordered this today. it's for you. boop! barbie! a new tie! shop target.com. pick up in store. ♪ ♪ ♪ snowmen with buttons, snowflakes with icing ♪ candy corn feathers re look enticing ♪

♪ rice krispies treats, the fun doesn't stop - ♪ ♪ how many ways can you snap, crackle, pop? ♪ make the holidays a treat with kellogg's rice krispies. ♪ this just in. the final countdown to christmas is here. wait what? gary, is this teleprompter right? sweet molasses! i need to start shopping immediately. save on thousands of last minute deals at target. all right. we are here with three "gma" viewers who have come up with an ingenious holiday hack despite decorating and taking all the stress out of wrapping. that's what i'll be doing this weekend all coming up right here on "gma." zack. turning it on now. doesn't it just look great?

if you could see your cough, it's just a cough. you'd see how often you cough all day and so would everyone else. new robitussin 12 hour delivers fast, powerful cough relief that lasts up to twelve hours. new robitussin 12 hour cough relief. because it's never just a cough. ♪ my love you shine so bright,,, ♪ the leo artisan diamond. an incredible level of brilliance -- from the creators of the leo diamond. at kay, the number one jewelry store in america. ♪ my love you shine so bright... ♪ ♪ every kiss begins with kay. ♪ it's the kay jewelers save the best for last event! with up to 30% off storewide... ...now is the time to find her the best gift at an incredible price. so hurry in... ...and save up to 30% at kay... ...the number-one jewelry store in america.

welcome back to "gma." just one week until christmas but one mother of three is feeling backlash now, not the spirit of the season after posting this photo on instagram. her christmas tree surrounded actually dwarfed by hundreds of presents. critics say she's spoiling her kids. well she is firing back and we'll talk to emma tapping live in just a moment. how do you know if there really are too many gifts up the tree? one mom found out after sharing this photo of her family's massive present pile on instagram sparking a christmas controversy. the stack of 300 gifts shared by mother of three emma tapping instantly going viral after outraged critics shared it with the #toomanypresents. one post shared over 100,000 captioned the tidal wave for yuletide loot. hour others calling it disgusting and a perfect example

of spoiled brats but tapping is fighting back against her holiday haters. on her facebook page she writes "i refuse to reply to people messaging me telling me how i should spend my christmas. how about concentrating on your own." she points out some are for adult family members and that the entire bounty cost just $2300 adding police try and remember this is about three little children their christmas, their tree. and emma tapping is joining us now speaking out about all this backlash. >> thanks for having me. >> i understand to each his own but when you put it out on social media you open yourself up for criticism. why did you put it out there, this photo. >> i put it out there, i put up the decorations we made up and one picture of the year. i put it on facebook every year closed to my facebook friends and upon instagram for it to be shared all over the world and the way i see it is thousands of pictures go up on instagram

every single day, do we have the right to judge people just because they have a better car or a better -- >> would you do it again. >> yes, i'd do it again. nobody is going to tell me how i spend my christmas. >> sock backlash says you're spoiling your children and been insensitive to those who have less completely taking away the christmas spirit that some people think is about, you know giving and not getting and that your children are being spoiled. were there certain comments that hurt you more than others. >> comments about the children obviously. but since it's come out america has kind of been protective over me and said she's just a mum. she pays for them herself. they're her own children. let her do what she wants to do. >> what have you told your kids about it? >> the kids just know it's normal christmas and i said don't read anything obviously because i don't, you know my eldest is on social media. everybody knows that know my

kids know they're lovely lovely kids and i'm hoping that i can share with you know with the public especially america, get as far as america and show how i save money all year round and how i save up to get my christmases this way. >> 300 presents under the tree 8 85 for your two girls, 30 for your son. i know you don't want to give away but what could you possibly have inside. >> a lot of things are things they need because i don't spoil them throughout the year. so they get their clothes for the year. th get their bubble baths, their perfumes makeup for the older one for the year because in they want anything else they have to save up for that themselves. >> what's a smelly. >> a smelly is like -- >> thank you for asking that. >> is that very british? >> smellies is your bubble baths and your soaps and your hand lotions. so we don't have to buy shampoo or bubble bath throughout the year once christmas is done.

>> $2300 the equivalent in the u.s. and you know how to save and you've got some tips for people trying to do just that for the christmas season. >> absolutely. yes, i've been doing it for years. and i mean one of the presents under there, mom, please don't march but it's $100 coat for $5. >> because you buy things when they go on sale in the summer -- >> yeah. >> or i -- it's another british way, i haggle. i will haggle. >> i haggle too. >> i love a haggle and i think it's important for people to know how to fight the major stores and get a bit of money -- >> do you haggle over any of the smellies. >> oh yes, absolutely. i know what days to hit the sales, the january sales. >> i did not like that picture but you make a pretty good case. >> thank you. >> i think each his own. >> thank you very much. that's how i feel. you know i hope everybody has a christmas in their way but if the picture offend don't look. >> just stroll up right? >> exactly because i'm being blasted about a bad mother when

there's grown men and women with three little children at christmastime -- >> if this is the way -- >> it's not excessive spending but maybe excessive wrapping. >> listen thank you for coming on. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> thank you. we'll move on to that backlash over adele tickets. fans are crying foul after her concert tickets sold out in minutes online. some sees priced below 100 being scalped for thousands. abc's rebecca jarvis with more on what happened. >> hey, george pretty incredible. what is more depressing than an adele song? apparently if you're trying to buy tickets to her upcoming north american tour that's it. fans taking to twitter this morning voicing their frustrations while the scalpers the resellers have swooped in with tickets at outrageous prices. ♪ so hello from the other side ♪ >> reporter: perhaps this fan said it best hello from the ticket line. i've clicked refresh a thousand times.

after tickets for her 56-state north american tour sold out in under an hour. prices originally set for 39.50 to $149.50 on ticketmaster but scalpers flooded the internet with resales of those seats. many at more than 8,000% markups. we found tickets on stubhub going for as much as $11,000 so how are regular adele fans supposed to afford to see their idol? the ticket scalping market is now an $8 billion a year industry. the president of ticketmaster telling "the new york times" artists that sell the least suffer from scalpers the most and use lightning quick computer programs to monopolize ticket buying and upcharge to stubhub and vivid seats. adele teamed up with song kick a site that specializes in ticket sales. they sold 235,000 tickets for adele on this tour they say,

blocking at least 53,000 scalpers saving the real fans $6.3 million in markups. but there were heavy restrictions on the site in north america and it accounts for only 8% of available adele tickets. heartbroken fans venting their anger online. one posting this scene from the movie "mean girls." asking how many of you feel personally victimized by ticketmaster? one person writing attempting to buy adele tibbs depressing than an adele song. >> whenever there is a big tour there is a huge rush for tickets and owe situation naturally computers go down. never has it in my memory happened on this scale. >> the pain. how do you score tickets to one of those shows? many of the true fans who get tickets yesterday they did it through the ticketmaster app on their phone and joined her a fan club. check with your credit card company, they do frequently also

give people access to presale and a lot of the tibbs get sold through presale. >> very good tips. thank you so much rebecca. i have this happening to me more and more now, that panicked feeling because it's happening like every day when your phone battery is about to die. yeah i know what are you going to do? abc's becky worley joins us with a solution to that digital dilemma. an exclusive reveal of the top picks in backup batteries for your phone. take it away becky. >> reporter: amy, you are so right. there is no worse feeling than having 10% left on your phone and knowing you have to be connected. so bring in the battery backs. they are flooding the market so consumers can recharge on the go but choosing the right one is a lot more complicated than you think. so we put them through their paces to help you stay charged. a dying phone, ah. products like these can save the day, but with brand names you may never have heard of coming in all manners of shapes and

sizes how do you decide? enter mark from gadget website, the wire cutter. batteries, they're all the same. just buy the cheap one. >> no absolutely not. >> reporter: mark breaks them up into categories by physical size and factors and many things including cost shape and features. is that a light? >> in a lot of these they do throw on a little flashlight. >> reporter: "gma" teamed up with cadex electronics in the battery testing industry to put up 17 different ones through a test. >> this is the cadex 7400-c battery analyzer to test the capacity. >> reporter: it looks to see how much of the batteries' listed capacity meaning the amount of available charge on the box is delivered. gary tests three of each model then mark analyzes the results an make his top picks. in the credit card size if you need a few extra hours on your phone, the amazonbasics portable

power bank currently listed for less than $5 or this incipio offgrid, $40 for iphones and the small pack the size of a deck of cards giving you two or three full charges, the easy acc power bank is the top pick at $17. and while much of your buying decision is based on how you plan to use the battery. >> it depends on what you really need. >> reporter: the real power in picking one of these is doing your homework and buying one that's been tested and reviewed. we posted all the information on our website, goodmorningamerica.com on yahoo! but here's the deal. the best backup battery is probably the one you have charged and with you so enter battery cases. you keep them on your phone all the time. when the phone charges, the backup battery charges too, set it and forget it. apple just announced their version last week the cost $99. now, our friends over at the wire cutter say that this anchor battery case is also a top pick at just 40 bucks.

amy, i know you have to be a phone phoneaholic in this job so merry christmas. >> oh. >> it makes the phone so heavy but you like it george. >> oh george. >> that's right. >> george has anger management problems. >> no his phone is too heavy. that's the problem. >> i got a good 85 in there. >> all right. but it's weighing, what like a ton of bricks in your pocket. i hate it. >> too heavy for me. >> this is fascinating. as much as i'd like to hear about it we have weather to get to. >> happy friday everybody. this is colin, this is liam. you guys are from new jersey but like the dolphins then you said wait what time do you like. >> the giants. >> i'm confused. you need to get your wardrobe fixed. the forecast and lake-effect snow. already snowing and even flurries in areas north and west of chicago but from the u.p. of michigan through the lower peninsula a little bit you'll get. nothing like what's going to happen for the beginning of the weekend. south of watertown, look at that. some totals above a foot. all right.

that's the big picture. partly sunny, breeeezy and coo today with >> that's a nice message. keep calm and watch "gma." lara. >> that's beautiful. now get in here because it's time for "pop news" and i don't know if you've noticed but i'm a little hoarse. doing my best brenda vaccaro so dan offered to help me. i will just iventnterject. >> the highlight of my

journalistic career. the fourth time is a charge. nwa being named into the rock and roll hall of fame led by dr. dreher and ice cube. "straight outta compton" a hit and a great movie. >> time for a musical change. >> yep. >> there we go. ♪ >> thank you, lara. >> that is, can you rec -- can anybody -- >> a little "jungle love." >> the rock and roll hall of fame is feeling love for "jungle miller deep purple and cheap trick, pop pioneer, the class of 2016 will be inducted with a ticketed sear mean at the barclay center. >> number two, go. >> in the world of the great jimmy buffett it's 5:00 somewhere. >> good line. >> parrot heads are raising a glass to this. sun of a son of a sailor with an item -- i don't know much about him that the news that he will make "margaritaville" the

musical. it's been percolating for awhile but took him some time to find the right people to take his story to the stage. he has frank marshall who has a few producing credits on broadway and worked on major movies like "indiana jones" and "back to the future" and maybe will find that lost shaker of salt. >> thank you. >> lara wrote that. i take no responsibility for the bad puns. >> you delivered it well. >> this last one is actually i picked it for you. >> all right. here we go. finally, everyone, and we mean everyone seems to be excited about "star wars." take a look at these flightless friends at the endberg zoo. >> he hadden borough. >> correct me. >> producing and directing. >> happy feet and incendiary news -- >> you had to hear them. did you hear them? >> that's really how they sound. >> really. >> really? >> yes. that's how -- >> that's what chewbacca does --

>> if it were a real "pop news" they would talk next. >> in semi related news it was on the cover of "the new york post." chewie and i wear the same color lipstick if you're wondering it's blankety by mac and we'll be right back. wait. you just counted me down. now we have 30 seconds.

>> anchor: good morning. let's get a check of the weather with jacqui jeras. >> weather: much cooler today. it will be nippy at times. very breezy to go along with it. we are waking up to clouds across the region this morning. but it will giveway to sunshine this afternoon. temperatures will be in the mid to upper 40s this afternoon. but with a strong wind it will feel like upper 30s at best. throughout much of the day. tomorrow coldest of the bunch. windy with highs in the low to mid 40s. upper 40s by sunday. with warmer temperatures in the 60s next week. >> reporter: jacqui on the friday morning ride. major distraction for folks heading from marysville to tyson corner mcclain. trying across the american legion bridge. accident blocking two lanes cleared. now we have a massive delay on inner loop through fairfax starting back at interstate 66. you have got that stop and go pace. live from the springfield interchange. accident here. in the district. third street tunnel northbound

at massachusetts avenue stall car there. and woodrow wilson bridge not bad on alexandria side. austin hillside slowing at 295. back to you. >> anchor: thank you. this morning investigators are waiting for autopsy results on a virginia common wealth university student that body was found in adams morgan. paul mcginness was from reston. body discovered around noon yesterday in the alley behind the popular bar and restaurant madame organ. friends of his tell us he went missing 1:30 wednesday morning. and today on capitol hill the house is expected to vote on that one point $1 trillion spending bill that passed in the senate this week. measure is expected to pass in the house as well. this is the last item of business for congress before the holiday break. and you can get more

♪ well i just learned something on this friday morning

but look at that great holiday card right there. the royal family just released this morning. princess charlotte's first christmas. there is big brother prince george right by her side taking a few steps right there. >> a big step coming up after the holiday. >> nursery school starts for prince george in january. love looking at those pictures. ginger we cannot wait to see your pictures. this is your last day before becoming a mom. >> so great. >> what a trouper working up until the very last day. >> what else was i going to do? really. >> i don't know rest. >> we've been tracking -- >> there it is. >> every step of the day. >> the adorable baby bump growing. >> look at it pop. >> eddie, thank you very much. eddie took those photos. that great laugh you hear that one, that's him taking those pictures. so sweet. >> we want to send you off on your maternity leave with a little surprise so cue the surprise. [ cheers and applause ] >> oh, my gosh. >> oh, my goodness.

>> wow. >> look at that. >> thanks a lot, you guys. this is outstanding and not at all -- that is obviously nonalcoholic. >> no it's -- >> i made it this far. i can do another couple days. >> my mom was drinking beers on the night i was born. i think that's why i'm so short. but go for it. >> thank you very much. >> how are you feeling? you come in every morning with a huge smile on your face and full of positivity. i know it can't have always been easy. >> i feel like i'm lucky because i've had a really good pregnancy and everyone has been so supportive. thank you, you guys because it does make a differeith all the people behind me. i'm going to get a little emotional. >> do you like your -- >> yeah that's beautiful. >> are you nervous. >> i'm so nervous. i'm staying up at night once in a while in the middle of the night which we wake up at 3:30 in the morning. that's been the hardest part. i feel him moving and there's a real human in here i feel. >> happening. >> and you're about to meet him. >> you'll be a great mom. >> to ginger. >> to ginger.

>> thank you so much. [ cheers and applause ] >> cheers. >> i'll see you in a bit. don't worry, i'm coming back. people keep asking that. no i'm not going to make the baby jump off a mountain too soon. >> we can't wait to meet him. >> congratulations. >> thank you very much. we have a great story we turn to. a christmas miracle for more than 100 christians, a dangerous mission. "20/20" anchor elizabeth vargas with an incredible story. >> these 149 iraqi refugees are from the oldest christian city in iraq. isis invaded their town telling them they had 24 hours to convert to islam or be killed. instead, they fled to a church in the nearby city of irbil where they've been living in a church courtyard for 15 months that is until two americans, came up with a daring and risky

plan to get them out. as joseph and michele assad enter the courtyard of this church it's all systems go for the mission of mercy that will soon release 149 iraqi christians from the tyranny of isis. >> when they began bombing two children and a woman died. >> reporter: their bags are packed. the charter plane is ready. with tears and heartbreak they have said their good-byes. then suddenly a bombshell. the airport at irbil closes as they are ready to launch air strikes against isis attacks in syria. 48 hours later the airspace opens and this modern exodus from the shadow of isis begins. inside the buses, people are oblivious to the threat outside. ♪ >> very good. >> reporter: the buses arrive safely at the airport. for most of them this is their first time flying.

the luggage carts and check-in process, everything is a new experience. the flight is called. and then the first glimpse of their chartered airbus a320 that will carry them away. >> it's a real plane.orter: the passengers settle in. and the plane pushes back with no delay. the lights dim and on takeoff, a cheer goes up. as on a wing and prayer the people break free of the bonds of their bloodied country. and those people will spend their first christmas in slovakia all been paid for by donations. glenn beck did a show on this and they raised more than $12 million from listeners, also the hudson institute is paying the salary for joe and michele assad, a lot of people chipping in to help them. >> many countries turned them

away. >> 12 countries turned those christian refugees down before slovakia said yes and there are millions and millions more muslim refugees. we're still encountering a lot of anti-refugee sentiment here in the u.s. and around the world. >> cannot wait to see the rest of this piece on "20/20" tonight at 10:00, 9:00 central right on abc. outside to lara. all season long we're celebrating macy's annual believe campaign helping bring joy to children with life-threatening medical conditions. macy's will donate $1 up to 1 million to make-a-wish for every stamped letter to santa you drop off at one of these special believe boxes at macy's. or submit online. we want to introduce you to a brave young woman whose wish was to lend a voice to a special animated holiday story, reena ninan has it for you. >> reporter: 'tis the season to believe and when it comes to believing, 17-year-old taylor hay is an expert. eight years ago at the ages of 9

she was diagnosed with non-hodgkins lymphoblastic lymphoma. >> i had allergic reactions and hospitalized five weeks straight. >> reporter: difficult though the time was it cemented in her a deep sense of faith. >> having plaintiff and faith is so important and just to believe everything is going to get better. >> reporter: it was only appropriate then when taylor and an aspiring child actress was given a chance to have a wish granted she asked to voice a role in the holiday special "yes virginia," the story of a little girl and the importance of believing in santa claus. >> where have you been. >> went to see santa. >> reporter: taylor voiced taylor a character named after and made to look just like her. >> she's so much fun. she's so bubbly and so energetic. >> santa brought me a train set. >> he brought mow a dollhouse. >> i got a bow and arrow. >> it was a blast to be able to voice her. >> reporter: for taylor and her mother the making of "yes

virginia" is just what the doctor ordered. >> it meant everything to her which of course meant everything to me to see my daughter doing what she loved. >> reporter: today taylor is cancer-free, a full time college student and proof positive of the power and importance of believing. >> i wouldn't change my wish for the world. >> reporter: for "good morning america," reena ninan, abc news new york. >> that is great and you can hear taylor on "yes virginia" on abc, 8:30 7:30 central and if you want to help grant a wish drop a letter at your local macy's's in the box or submit one online. go to our website to find out more. right now over to ginger. >> yes, come on over here. i'm with the ladies from louisiana and triplets. i don't know how your mom did it. i only have one coming from texas. you are how old? >> 16. >> 16 today. 16 16 and 16 and hopefully you're staying warm because we're going to get cold tomorrow. the windchill, 21 richmond 24

boston panama city 38. don't worry, if you are sticking around for next week we are becoming much more mild. christmas eve in the mid-60s in new york city, atlanta, right up into the mid-70s, even detroit getting to 54. all righ this weather report brought to you by toys "r" us. did you know it's national ugly christmas sweater day. yeah we celebrated a day early. maybe you saw it with our big showdown. although lara, you looked beautiful. robin did take the top honors and the cake literally though we want to thank our friends at country crock for presenting the big surprise an ugly sweater

cake made for the occasion and we've taken a little chunk out of it right here. >> it is real cake. >> might be able to finish it by next season. >> we'll save you a piece, momma. coming up on "gma," sister-in-lawle solutions to your christmas dilemmas our holiday hackers are with us to show you how to get it done. >> two heads. ♪

(vo) always a warm welcome. always a friendly hello. always a perfectly flaky crust. always mrs. smith's flaky crust pies. the only one made with real butter and abundant seasonal fruit. warm and welcoming and fresh from your oven with our flakiest crust ever. you're always welcome at mrs. smith's. ♪ (vo) some call it giving back. we call it share the love.

during our share the love event, get a new subaru and we'll donate $250 to those in need. bringing our total donations to over sixty-five million dollars. and bringing love where it's needed most. love. it's what makes a subaru a subaru. ♪

we are counting down to christmas with a holiday installment of "there's a hack for that." simple shortcuts for things to make life a little easier and abc's sara haines is our hack reporter. >> i am a hack reporter and you can read that two ways actually. tips and tricks to make christmas merrier. all of these come from "gma" viewers so we'll start with jaime scott with amy and runs a blog called hot and grace where she writes about her family home design crafts. pretty much everything and you are showing us how to take thanksgiving and/or halloween and turn it into the holidays christmas. >> i love that. >> yes. >> so i had a lot of pumpkins left over after thanksgiving and i didn't want to just throw them out but they didn't go with my christmas decorations so i thought i would turn them into a snowman so all you need. you just need three pumpkins and you'll spray paint them all white and then you're going to stack them up and you can glue

them. >> you'll hot glue them together so they don't fall apart. >> and need buttons and a little carrot. >> anything that you find at your house that you could use to make the eyes and nose and the mouth. >> you can get super creative with this. >> you can. >> kids can help and -- >> keep your girls away from the hot glue gun. this is fun. >> wrap a little scarf around it. >> with continue sell. >> adorable and won't melt. >> i hope not. after halloween it might be melting. thank you. >> okay. next up we have no it's not dan harris he wouldn't have a hack. >> i'm super crafty. >> no he's not. he's not. next we have janell inez but she has her own web series called handyman and a surefire way to spruce up an imperfect christmas tree. think charlie brown. >> we'll about to turn that frown upside down with a little bit of garland. >> the tree.

>> this is the tree. >> longing for more branches. >> looks like it needs something to eat. >> we'll feed it with garland. you wrap it around like so -- >> get on over here dan. >> do something. >> wrap it around fill it in. shove it in there. >> okay all right. here we go. >> fill the holes like so. >> all right. >> dan, you're not helping. >> she's doing all the work. >> this how you treat your wife at home. >> this is exactly how he looks at home. >> and add stuffing? >> we want to show everyone right here if you guys, our reveal. >> beautiful. >> this is the one dan did not do. >> yes. >> this is amazing. >> and it's easy. >> everything at home and you're done. >> get everyone involved. the whole family. now we have one more i don't want to miss you, tanya. >> tanya. >> i was told this. so tanya stewart. now she posted a video on facebook that went viral and it's been viewed 17 million times. this is called thinking outside

of the box. show ginger and amy -- >> how many types have you lost half of your box. i'll show you how to turn it into one box. take it foal it to increase it. you'll turn and fold it and crease it again. you're going to take -- absolutely and take your scissors at the creases and you're going to make a slit on each side -- >> you're turning it into a new box. >> then you're going to do the -- there you go. you're going to bend them in. >> nice. >> you're going to fold. >> yeah. >> all right. >> one box. >> amy, you did it. >> you did it. >> that is a great one. thank you, tanya. [ cheers and applause ] >> for more go to goodmorningamerica.com on yahoo!

we all know this but browse willis is one of the biggest

action stars of all time now making his broadway debut in stephen king's "misery" taken hostage by his greatest fan laurie metcalf. juju chang sat down with the star. >> reporter: we saw him must many his way through five "die-hard" blockbusters so bedridden in "misery" may seem surprising by a return to his early acting days. theater flecking a different muscle? >> well -- yeah there's no stopping. it's all live. >> reporter: live theater is a family business these days. oldest daughter rumer finished her broadway run in chicago after winning "dancing with the stars." >> rumer and val the champions. >> you shed a tear or two. >> yes, i did. >> mr. tough guy. >> i'm very proud of her. >> reporter: bruce a his current lay based on the stephen king novel about a

crazed fan who takes a famous writer hostage after a car wreck and ultimately tortures him. >> what's the nickname for it. >> the "misery" go-round. here's annie's shrine. who is this mr. man? >> handsome guy. >> the latest book. >> this is awesome. >> you better start showing me a little more appreciation around here, mr. man. >> reporter: the movie that made looemgs of number one fans think twice before picking up a sledgehammer. >> i'm your number one fan. >> what goes through your mind about to hobble him? >> don't miss. >> reporter: the psycho number one fan on stage, laurie metcalf who won a string of emmys as rosie tomboloann's brash little sister. >> my child has oreo breath. >> we've both been fortunate to work in theater and films and tv and as i've gotten older i think sometimes i just choose projects based on who the person is that you want to work with. >> so you didn't rewatch the movie?

>> misery. >> kathy bates is iconic in it and it would just stick in my head. >> i wanted it to be our thing, you know just our idea of trying to scare a thousand people. >> what's that? >> that is so -- >> how could this come in handy. >> it so gives me the chills to look at it. >> the hobbleizer. >> oh, my gosh. >> it's for the best. >> pretty please. >> can you feel the anxiety as the sledgehammer is about to erupt. >> they know that scene is coming. >> i get anxious about it knowing -- >> he doesn't like to look down at his own feet. >> i don't like to look down at my own feet. we look after each other. >> i'm your number one fan and trust me there ain't no number two. >> reporter: juju chang, abc news new york. chris hemsworth

"good morning america" is brought to you by fitbit. find your fit. >> so if you've already seen "star wars" you may want to check out "in the heart of the sea." ron howard's epic movie tells the story that inspired "moby dick." abc's rachel smith caught up with the stars. >> it's the sweeping sea faring epic tale. of the ill-fated nantucket ship "the essex" sunk by a whale in

1820. this true story was the inspiration for the novel "moby dick." >> top of the loft. take the helm. >> reporter: in "in the heart of the sea" stars chris hemsworth, benjamin walker and tom holland as "essex" crew members hunting for whale oil. seems like you had a bonding thing. >> we all starved together didn't we? >> yeah something about suffering that brings you close together. >> reporter: to convincingly play starving men adrift at sea for months they all went on a highly restricted diet. i'd love to know what the conversation was like in between takes on set. >> food. >> food really. >> always. >> it got catty. there was a lot of like did you see ed had a cheeseburger last night. >> did he eat a piece of chocolate? >> yeah. >> prepare to abandon ship. >> we can't roll away home. >> reporter: because it was such an intense diet did that help you get into character even more? >> i think like when you change your physique you're like embodying a new person so half the job is done.

>> as i live and breathe he's mine. >> i was? us fascinated by the story and why some men choose to defy all odds and push. >> these guys are going out for years on end on these voyages to get whale oil. are they ego driven brave? >> i think a lot didn't have a choice. that was the industry and it was like going off to war. this he didn't come back some of them a lot of the time. >> and it was the only way to light the lamp in your house really so it's easy to be judgmental of them but they were working with what they knew. >> do you guys have a greater respect for nature after this film? >> massively. >> oh yes, especially the sea. >> oh i'm not going back to sea any time soon. >> we were cursed. >> reporter: for "good morning america," rachel smith, abc news, new york. >> and "in the heart of the sea" is in theaters right now. >> guess what we have some more baby news before we go. yes, we'd like to welcome a new

addition to the "gma" family. look at that. our correspondent tom llamas and her wife has a new baby girl juliette elizabeth. congratulations, ginger. good luck. ier wife has a new baby girl, juliette elizabeth. congratulations, ginger. good luck. ser wife has a new baby girl, juliette elizabeth. congratulations, ginger. good luck. wife has a new baby girl, liette elizabeth. ngratulations, ginger. od luck. ife has a new baby girl, liette elizabeth. ngratulations, ginger. od luck. >> anchor: good morning. let's get a check of the weather with jacqui jeras. >> weather: much cooler today. it will be nippy at times. and very breezy. to go along with it. we will wake up to clouds across the region this morning. but it will giveway to sunshine this afternoon. temperatures are going to be in the mid to upper 40s this afternoon. but with a strong wind it will be feeling like the upper 30s at best. throughout much of the day. tomorrow coldest of the bunch.

windy with highs in the low to mid 40s. we will get to upper 40s by sunday. with warmer temperatures in the 60s next week. >> reporter: well, jacqui, as we look at the friday morning drive. star on interstate 66 where eastbound drive has not been a struggle most of the morning. heavier in fairfax. stalled car westbound. is what you see on the side of the roadway there. making a trip past 123. capital beltway struggling from earlier crash on american legion bridge. inner loop delays start after 66 heading toward mcclain. and heavy and slow on montgomery county side. north side. from 95 delays start prior to colesville over to georgia. back to you. >> anchor: this morning people in silver spring are waiting out a carbon monoxide scare. crews eevacuated a apartment building ross road 9:15 p.m. people evaluated at the scene. injuries are not life threatening. a week away from christmas.

and if you have plans to mail cards and presents time is running out. tomorrow is the deadline for mailing first-class mail with u.s. post talservice so it arrives by christmas eve that. includes cards and small packages weighing less than 13 ounces. deadline for priority mail is monday december 21. and the absolute last possible postal service shipping date is december 23.

>> it's "live! with kelly & michael." today, academy award winning actor robert deniro.

and from the new film, "the forest," natalie dormer. plus we'll surprise the grand prize winner of "live"'s a-ok contest. all next on "live." [captioning made possible by disney-abc domestic television] nd michael strahan! [cheers and applause] ♪