this morning on "world news now" -- campaign clash. no holiday truce in the trump versus clinton showdown over vulgarities and accusations of lying. the political heat and who's ahead in the polls. army sergeant bowe bergdahl seen for the first time since he was released by the taliban. he's telling his story as his legal battle begins. and new this half hour, lighting up the skies in the american southwest. >> it looked like a shooting star or meteor. the pictures coming in. and new details about what was really falling from the sky. and later, what we've just learned about steve harvey after his epic mistake on stage at the miss universe pageant. the big decision in "the skinny" on this wednesday december 23rd. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now."

hi, everyone. good morning on this wednesday. i'm reena ninan. >> and i'm kendis gibson. you really are going to want to stick around for the big news we just learned about steve harvey. it will have some of the conspiracy theorists thinking. >> i'm not surprised, i have to say, by the steve harvey news. >> by this news? huh. all right. i'm surprised by it. >> we'll have more in the next half hour. >> the timing is kind of interesting. we'll get to that later on today. but we want to get started with the race for president. donald trump trying to explain a controversial comment that he made about hillary clinton. >> yeah, trump says that when he used a specific term to describe clinton's democratic primary loss in 2008 he meant that clinton was "beaten badly." clinton's campaign isn't buying the explanation. it's your voice your vote. abc's jonathan karl reports. >> reporter: donald trump's insults were crude and personal. attacking hillary clinton using a vulgar description of the male anatomy. >> she was going to beat obama. i don't know who'd be worse. i don't know. how does it get worse? but she was going to beat.

she was favored to win. and she got [ bleep ]. she lost. i mean, she lost. >> reporter: he didn't stop there. trump also mocked clinton for being late to her podium. >> sorry. >> reporter: after a bathroom break during the abc democratic debate on saturday. clinton's campaign blasted trump's "degrading language" and "disgusting sexist slurs." and in iowa hillary clinton hugged this girl, who asked her about bullying. >> that was really brave. >> reporter: then she invoked her own experience. >> you are looking at somebody who's had a lot of terrible things said about me, and that's why it's important to stand up to bullies wherever they are and why we shouldn't let anybody bully his way into the presidency. because that is not who we are as americans. >> reporter: accusations of sexism have dogged trumped throughout his campaign. >> you've called women you don't like fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals. your twitter account --

>> only rosie o'donnell. [ applause ] >> no, it wasn't. for the record, it was well beyond rosie o'donnell. >> yes, i'm sure it was. >> reporter: unhappy with megyn kelly's line of questioning, he later took aim at her. >> you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. blood coming out of her wherever. >> reporter: a few weeks later he was back at it, criticizing carly fiorina, the only female republican candidate, in "rolling stone." saying "look at that face. would anyone vote for that?" >> i think women all over this country heard very clearly what mr. trump said. [ applause >> reporter: and through it all trump says he "cherishes women." >> i said i do cherish women. i love women. >> reporter: and on tuesday hillary clinton doubled down on her allegation that trump has become a recruiting tool for isis. she pointed out that his words have been broadcast on arabic television and that they play right into the hands of violent jihadists who want to portray the united states as anti-muslim. but her campaign has still not given any evidence to the

allegation that isis has shown trump's words to potential recruits. jonathan karl, abc news, the white house. >> okay. one more note on all of this. there's a new poll that shows the embarrassment index of voters. if the two front-runners were elected -- so get this. 50% of those polled say they would feel embarrassed if donald trump was elected to the white house. and 35% of all voters would feel the same way if hillary clinton won the election. as for ted cruz the campaign is getting a boost from a new poll. he's just four points behind trump among the republicans. his biggest showing yet in a national poll, with rubio, carson, christie, and bush trailing. six republicans will be on the stage at the next debate, late next month, hosted by fox. well, the woman charged for sunday's deadly hit-and-run incident along the las vegas strip makes her first court appearance in just a few hours. lakeisha holloway is facing charges of murder, child abuse, and leaving the scene of an accident. prosecutors say they expect additional charges to be added

as well. holloway's defense attorney says he expects holloway plead not guilty. several people injured in the crash remain hospitalized. panicked shoppers ran for cover after gunfire erupted inside a mall on new york's long island. police say an armed man tried to rob a high-end watch store when a struggle ensued. his gun went off, striking a 67-year-old employee. the suspect quickly taken into custody with the help from an off-duty new york city police officer who happened to be shopping nearby. the mall employee is expected to be okay. we move on now to army sergeant bowe bergdahl, who was held by the taliban for five years and has begun the legal process that could end with him in prison. he made his first appearance before a military judge in connection with desertion and other charges. abc's david wright reports. >> reporter: this was our first real glimpse of sergeant bowe bergdahl since he got back on american soil. clean-shaven in his army dress blues for his first appearance at his court-martial in north

carolina. quite the contrast from the last time we saw him, gaunt and disoriented when his taliban captors traded him for five high value detainees from guantanamo. the taliban had captured bergdahl in 2009, one day after he walked off his post in eastern afghanistan. bergdahl is now charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. ♪ even though he has not yet entered a plea, he is opening up on the "serial" podcast. >> from "this american life" and wbez chicago it's "serial." >> reporter: he talks about how they broke him down in solitary confinement. >> i couldn't see my hands. i couldn't do anything. the only thing i could do was like touch my face. and even that wasn't like, you know, registering right. >> reporter: and as he tried to save his life, what he told the taliban about why he had gone awol. >> i told them i basically was fed up with the commanders. >> reporter: if convicted, bergdahl could spend the rest of his life in prison.

david wright, abc news, new york. turning now to the extreme weather hitting much of the country just two days before christmas. fog is blamed on this chain reaction ten-vehicle pileup on interstate 49 that's just south of texarkana. that killed three people. at least seven other people were injured and rushed to hospitals. among the tangle of vehicles, a truck transporting glue. some of that glue spilled onto the pavement. and in the west it was powerful winds that caused this scene on highway 14 in california's mojave desert. at least half a dozen tractor-trailers were knocked over by wind gusts, some exceeding more than 80 miles per hour. no injuries were reported. >> some wild weather all over the place. >> yeah. >> and storm watches and warnings are posted coast to coast on this busy travel day. winter storms in the rockies, heavy rain from the mississippi river valley to the east coast. record warmth in the northeast. 68 in d.c. wow. and severe weather in the gulf region. downpours and gusty winds in the

pacific northwest. >> 70s in dallas and atlanta. 60s in washington, new york, chicago, and l.a. 40s and 50s in seattle, boston, detroit 30s denver and minneapolis. an interesting twist to the latest illness outbreak linked to the chipotle restaurants. for the second time people became sick after eating at a restaurant just off a college campus. this time the university of oklahoma officials with the health department have confirmed the three new cases in norman are e. coli. students at boston college were sickened by norovirus. officials anticipate additional e. coli cases will be reported in the state of oklahoma. well, starbucks expects to set a record on christmas eve. it expects to sell more gift cards than ever as last-minute gift ideas, easily beating last year's 2.5 million cards that were sold on christmas eve. more than $25 billion in cards have been sold since they debuted 15 years ago. that's a good idea. everyone could use a little caffeine fix, right?

>> and it's a very last-minute gift that you can do. >> so if you're getting starbucks, there was little thought put into your gift if you ended up getting one this year. >> used to be the 7-eleven gift card i would give. now starbucks. >> you'd buy lots of unlimited slurpees? >> exactly. and big gulp. they add up. this is really shaping up to be one of those seriously weird christmas in the northeast. of course you have the record high temperatures expected. and now a robotic -- >> oh, stop. >> reindeer. >> no, come on. apparently this is the work of boston dynamic, which makes robots. and these spotbots are the latest version from the google subsidiary. santa there only needs three of them to pull the sleigh, not eight. and you don't have to clean up after them either. >> good point. so maybe you should leave a battery charger with santa's milk and cookies this year. but you do note there is a human. mrs. claus right there. >> yeah. >> hanging out. all right. coming up in "the skinny" -- [ jingle bells ] nice job on the audio cue. can you name the most overpaid and underpaid actors in hollywood? the list is out.

also ahead, new demands from doctors criticizing the fashion industry. what they're saying about runway models and their weight. and later, taking your dogs to yoga class. the southern california trend that could be a bonding experience. is it really worthwhile? you're watching "world news now." >> announcer: "world news now" weather. brought to you by united healthcare. brought to you by united healthcare. your ducks in a row. get to learn about medicare, and the options you have. you see, medicare doesn't cover everything - only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so if 65 is around the corner, think about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, they help cover some of what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. so don't wait. call to request your free decision guide. and gather the information now to help you choose a plan later.

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turning to delsym for longer lasting cough relief. delsym has an advanced time release formula that helps silence coughs for a full 12 hours. that's three times longer than the leading cough liquid. all night... or all day. this was this was the bright light spotted in the skies over the southwest last night. the fireball could be seen in las vegas. parts of southern california and arizona. nope, not santa on a practice run. u.s. strategic command says it was likely that space junk from

a russian rocket was passing through. >> all right. so it wasn't end of days. just a rocket -- space junk. and speaking of stars, some stars on the runway are coming under fire for being too thin. france of course you know is cracking down on that. benching excessively thin models. >> spain, italy, and israel have similar laws. and now public health advocates are calling for action here in the u.s. >> reporter: they are the epitome of glamour. the models that define style and beauty. but now the fashion industry is under fire from critics who say that most models are dangerously thin. >> the modeling industry definitely encourages women, often explicitly so, to maintain extremely thin frames. >> reporter: in a strong new editorial from the american journal of public health, experts and eating disorder professionals say the industry body standard is hazardous and encouraging problems like eating disorders and body dysmorphia. they write, "runway models are

by definition and professional necessity starving to death." they're urging the u.s. to regulate and set a standard bmi a working model must meet. just last week france passed such a law, requiring models to have a doctor's note proving that they are healthy. >> we have statistics such as 70% of adolescents report that they define the ideal body image as being what they see in fashion magazines. >> reporter: record says the average model who makes it big on the international stage has a bmi of 14, two points below the world health organization's definition of starvation. she wants the u.s. occupational safety and health administration to require all models to have a bmi of 18 and above. >> a bmi of 14 or below is not naturally skinny. you are at great risk at any time of the day for cardiac arrest. >> people don't realize just how being so thin can really affect

your health overall. like cardiac arrest, that's serious stuff we're talking about. >> it is. good to see that many countries are cracking down on it. >> it will be good to see some action here. >> yes. absolutely. well, coming up, urgent. breaking, breaking news regarding steve harvey and the miss universe pageant. brian working on it right now. >> plus the most overpaid and underpaid actors in hollywood. "the skinny" up next. he skinny" up next.

♪ skinny ♪ so skinny this is huge news. it is breaking. it is urgent. it is developing overnight. right now this morning according to a report, steve harvey will likely be back to host the miss universe competition. [ applause ] >> everybody wins. >> yes. you are miss universe. you are miss universe. you are miss universe. >> according to "entertainment tonight" harvey signed a multiyear contract to host the pageant just days before the live event where harvey mistakenly announced the wrong winner. earlier in the day one of the shoes produc show's producers said on the jim rome show, "i definitely want him back and i would hate to see him not come back." >> and another report from "e.t." cites a source claiming harvey only went to the beginning of rehearsals, missing

the last hour. >> can't skip out. >> if only he can host the oscars and finally leo dicaprio could win an oscar. >> oh. >> wouldn't it be nice for a minute? >> so a lot of people aren't really surprised this happened. >> i'm thinking there's a consracy. i'm joining that whole crew of folks who think like -- >> you think it was intentional? >> it's kind of weird. the timing was a little awkward. they have new owners. it's on fox. you know, it just -- timing's a little odd. >> one conspiracy theory. >> yes. >> and next, hollywood's most overpaid actor of the year. according to "forbes," that would be johnny depp. >> yes. remember him? well, they've calculated for every one dollar depp was paid he has only returned $1.20. his film "mortdecai," you know that one, was a huge flop. "black mass" did better but fell outside the period "forbes" analyzed. >> and when it comes to value, "forbes" found that chris evans offers the most bang for the buck at the box office. the "captain america" star returned on average of $181 for

every $1 he was paid. that's a lot. >> it's got to be the abs. >> well, next a tough question. nicki minaj or drake? >> in what -- for? i'll go with nicki. >> okay. an artist looking for a boost in listens. if nicki minaj is who you want according to a study by fivethirtyeight, songs by artists that featured nicki, they were streamed on spotify 172 perfect more times than the artist's other songs. >> 172% more times than any other artist. and for drake appearances he boosted listens 126% on tracks featuring his vocals. so even though drake may be the reigning king, nicki says herself on a track that she guest appears on you could be the king but watch the queen conquer. >> ooh, yeah. >> that's some smack talk. the cult film "dazed and confused" appears to be getting a sequel of sorts.

the movie based on an epic last day of high school in 1976 helped launch lots of big names including matthew mcconaughey and ben affleck. >> and with the success of "boyhood" last year writer-director richard linklater seems to be returning to his roots. his new movie is called "everybody wants some." and the trailer was just released. >> it's based in the '80s and follows a group of college baseball players. and like "dazed" freshmen get hazed and the characters also get deep. >> what am i thinking about? >> baseball. >> having a tail. >> cereal. >> same as sharks. >> sharks have tails. >> good point. >> wish i had a tail. >> yeah. >> that would be awesome. >> that really is deep. far out, man. the movie, by the way, is set for release in april next year. >> will you go see it? >> i'm sad to say i never even saw the first one. >> neither did i. >> i didn't know that that's where ben affleck got his start. >> but they all come back full circle, don't they, kendis. >> they do in the end.

coming up, doga. or doga. doga? >> "world news now." we'll find out. we've been changing things up with k-y love.

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for a full 12 hours. all night... or all day. ♪ ah, yes, barking "jingle bells" can only mean one thing. we've got some doggies for you. and to keep your pups happy they've got to be healthy and zen. >> and who better to show us this but abc's nick watt? he explores the wonderful world of dog yoga. >> reporter: yes, i am doing yoga with a dog. doga. i'm no yogi and i'm no dogi lover. >> the dogs in doga become props and they even become weights in some of the poses that we're going to do. >> reporter: she ain't kidding. ♪ >> it's been very powerful for both me and peanut butter. she has allergies and a little

anxiety. and everything that breathes can use a little healing. >> they're going to feel the energy. when we're calm and relaxed, they are. >> reporter: some purists say it's denigrating an ancient art. others that maybe the dogs don't like it. but this is now a thing, a growing thing. and nash does seem rather yoga chill. but if you're a little more outdoorsy/traditional -- >> exhale up, inhale down. >> reporter: there's also feet and paws fitness, a daybreak boot camp for human plus canine. nice workout gear. >> motivate those dogs. be excited. who's excited to be here? >> reporter: tracy is a certified fitness trainer and dog trainer. >> try to keep that butt nice and steady. low to the ground. >> dogs do nothing. >> you definitely work up a sweat, but more importantly you get to spend time with your dog. >> reporter: it's about teaching obedience as well. sit. sit. sit.

yeah. i think doga is actually more my thing. what do you think, nash? pretty impressive, huh? >> reporter: if even i am a convert i predict this might catch on. >> place your left hand on your dog. and you're going to just take your right hand up and over. >> reporter: nick watt, abc news, los angeles. >> so does a dog do downward dog? >> yeah. i guess so. >> pose. huh. you're into yoga and dogs, right? >> i prefer pilates. but whenever i go to the country club i always take my beagle. >> biffy. >> biffy. is that a beagle or is that -- what kind of dog is that? >> i don't know. >> dachshund. >> is it a dachshund? >> i always take my dachshund and my cocktail fork. to the country club. >> and your tea. >> and my tea. >> don't miss our updates. on facebook at wnnfans.com. >> more news coming up on abc. >> announcer: this is abc's "world news now," informing insomniacs for two decades. iacs for two decades.

making news in america this morning, late night rant. donald trump going off on twitter about his latest feud with hillary clinton. and that sexually derogatory term blaming the media as other candidates break their silence on the comment. we're live in washington. wild weather. on one of the busiest travel days of the year. heavy rain moving through the south. plus summerlike storms shaping up. tornado warnings overnight. where the biggest risk is today. caught on camera. a bright light blazing over several states. experts this morning talking about what it likely was and it's not a meteor. drone danger. look at this. on the slopes, a skier nearly taken out during a race.