this morning on "world news now," post-holiday misery for tens of millions of americans. >> from the floods of missouri to snow and ice putting the upper midwest and northeast into the deep freeze. the human toll, stranded travelers, and today's warnings from accuweather. captured in mexico, the so-called affluenza teen from texas. his arrest. what tipped off police. and when he'll face justice back in the u.s. political warfare. domd tru donald trump's tactics as he attacks the clintons. how the democratic front-runner is reacting and the latest candidate to leave the presidential race. and later, the big sports headlines of the year included deflated footballs, history in horse racing, and an amazing year for serena williams and pro tennis. it is wednesday december 30th.

>> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." good morning, everyone, on this wednesday. i'm marci gonzalez in for reena ninan. >> and i'm kendis gibson. one thing marci has in common with reena. while reena is an expert at sports -- >> so we've heard. >> she'll tell you. but i was asking her if she's a sports fan -- >> i've got nothing. i don't follow a single sport. >> tennis? >> not -- no. >> fantasy football? >> i like soccer. world cup i get excited about. >> wow. >> every four years i'm a sports fan. >> okay. good. >> that's it. >> all right. there you have it. just like reena. let's get to our top stories, shall we? the flooding disaster is ongoing in the midwest and missouri specifically. at least 13 people are dead as the mississippi river and its tributaries overflow their banks. >> residents have been ordered to evacuate. many businesses are closed. and sewage is spilling into a river near st. louis. abc's elizabeth hur has the

latest. >> reporter: the race is on in missouri. >> i'm convinced that we're doing the right thing. >> reporter: in the shadow of the famous arch the mississippi river is rising. an army of volunteers is struggling to fill sandbags to hold back the muddy river and countless others nearby. >> we're coming together as a family and working to get everything done pretty much. >> reporter: in some places it is already too late. the city of union underwater. whole neighborhoods swallowed. businesses swamped. roads cut off. a similar sight playing out in town after hotown. and many rivers haven't crested yet. look at this bridge on the historic route 66. the water already touching the steel. more than 500 roads are closed across the state. parts of the mississippi river shut down to boat traffic. the governor activating the national guard. >> you've got at least nine feet of vertical water or more coming. so be safe out there. >> reporter: cross-country, winter storms continue wreaking havoc.

from snow in the upper midwest to ice in oklahoma. freezing rain and sleet in the northeast. travel is nearly impossible by road or by air. thousands of airline passengers are still stuck in cities far from home. this marks the third straight day of misery for holiday travelers with more than 1,000 flights canceled and more than 4,000 flights delayed tuesday alone. marci and kendis. and holiday travelers can expect even more delays in the hours ahead. >> it is relentless. especially in the midwest. here is justin povick of accuweather. good morning, justin. >> kendis and marci, thanks and good morning to you as well. we're concerned about a little bit of snow creating some travel havoc over the nation's midsection later on this morning and also into this afternoon. sliding north and east from kansas city toward chicago. this will limit visibility and also produce some slippery spots. much cooler air on the way for the southeast as well.

record warmth into florida. kendis and marci, back over to you. >> all right. our thanks to justin there at accuweather. new details now in the capture of the so-called affluenza teen from texas. ethan couch and his mother gave away their location by using a cell phone to order a domino's pizza. this is according to investigators. when agents went to their rented condo in mexico, the couches had already moved on. but a tourism operator pointed agents to a different location in puerto vallarta's old town. >> american people were prevalent everywhere, and they wanted to be somewhere they would stick out. they were wise to go into that kind of area. >> the mother and son could be returned to texas as early as today. and now to politics and the end of the presidential campaign for republican george pataki. the former three-term governor of new york announced the suspension of his campaign last night. pataki never really gained traction in the crowded gop field, and he had some trouble raising money. he never appeared on the main

stage during any of the republican debates. a dozen republicans remain in the field. donald trump is promising to spend at least $2 million a week on ads starting next week. those ads will appear in the early voting states of iowa, new hampshire, and south carolina. they will arrive as trump is ramping up his political battle against hillary and bill clinton. abc's cecilia vega reports. >> reporter: in this knock-down-drag-out fight for the white house, a first. the m word. >> but there was certainly a lot of abuse of women. and you look at whether it's monica lewinsky or paula jones or many of them. >> reporter: gop front-runner donald trump saying the former president and husband of his democratic rival is fair game. on his private plane trump not backing down. >> she's got a major problem. it happens to be right in her house. >> reporter: trump once said the former president's infidelity was no big deal and the clintons and trumps go way back.

from this old photo trump, his sons, and hillary at the plaza hotel, recently on display in trump's own penthouse, to the golf course, to that wedding. there was once nothing but praise. >> hillary's a great friend of mine. >> he has been, believe it or not, uncommonly nice to hillary and me. >> reporter: while hillary's campaign calls trump's latest words demeaning, trump's daughter ivanka coming to his defense in a new "town & country" interview saying, you could also list a few comments he's made about men that are unflattering. i think he's highly gender-neutral. but as for hillary herself -- >> thank you all. >> reporter: at this event in new hampshire clinton never once uttering his name. but democrats are talking, warning that trump and others can attack bill clinton at their own peril. his popularity numbers are sky high. cecilia vega, abc news, new york. turning our focus overseas, u.s.-led air strikes have killed ten top isis leaders in syria and iraq over the past month.

among those one man the pentagon says was directly linked to the leader of the paris attacks. a spokesman says that charaf fechlt al mouadan was actively planning attacks against the west. du pont plans to lay off 1, 00 more wo 1700 more workers in the next few months in delaware. du pont will still have a major presence in delaware but with about a fourth fewer workers. the layoffs are expected to have an economic impact on delaware, where du pont was founded 213 years ago. all right. time now for your favorite part of the newscast, sports. there is still one week left in the nfl regular season. and the coaching carousel is already firing up. it got going yesterday when the eagles fired head coach chip kelly, who's been with the team for three seasons. kelly was criticized after several personnel decisions backfired. there were also reports of players meeting to express their frustration with the coach. of course it doesn't help that the eagles have missed the playoffs the last two seasons.

so there you have it. >> so strange they had you read that story instead of me. >> yeah. and it's so sad. you know, his form of offense and defense he brought to the nfl -- >> i was going to comment on that but i don't want to take up too much time with my expertise. mike tyson decided to go for a few rounds against his daughter's hoverboard. he had no real chance against this opponent. check this out. it was -- wait for it. wait for it. a knockout. the former heavyweight, you see him go down there. his 7-year-old daughter milan said she knew this would end badly. >> and we thought buster douglas was the only one to knock out tyson. in the first few seconds of the video of course you can see and hear her say "daddy-i don't want you to fall." while tyson like so many dads before him this holiday season landed with that thud. the champ posted a video of the spill on social media. >> it is the gift that keeps on giving. i didn't get a hoverboard but these videos keep coming out of all of these dads taking a spill. for some reason it keeps being the dads who are embarrassing themselves. >> it's a gift to doctors' bottom line right now.

>> yeah. >> a lot of that's going to happen and we're going to see and hear about a lot more accidents i'm sure on hoverboards over the next year. it was the gift. so coming up in "the mix" the top holiday sellers at starbucks region by region. what's your favorite? >> all right. also ahead, from deflated footballs to historic wins at the racetrack to unforgettable moments in tennis, we're taking a look back at the year's biggest sports headlines. and your cell phone company may owe you money. and the deadline to collect is hours away. find out how you can cash in. and remember to find us on facebook. wnnfans.com. and twitter. @abcwnn. you're watching "world news now." the leading cough liquid only provides relief for four hours, but did you know there's a product that lasts for twelve hours? try delsym® twelve hour cough liquid. its advanced formula works by immediately releasing powerful medicine that acts fast while its extended release medicine lasts for 12 hours. in fact, delsym® lasts three times longer than the leading cough liquid.

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take a look at this surveillance video near tampa. this is 76-year-old jim lear. you see he dropped his wallet right there while grocery shopping and within seconds you see this guy come up and pick up the wallet. $300 later charged on his debit card. well, later a guy named ricardo ochoa found lear's wallet in a dumpster. he returned it, and it turns out there was $700 hidden deep inside that this bad guy didn't find. so lear rewarded ochoa with $100. and police are still looking for this dude in the white hat. >> i can't believe he just sees it and just walks away. >> just walks off. >> difference being if you go to whole foods you lose your wallet too but it has nothing to do

with somebody stealing with. it's expensive. >> oh, is that what you meant? a consumer alert. macy's is recalling more than 120,000 martha stewart frying pans. the 8 and 10-inch stainless steel pans come in some cookware sets. the disks that cover the rivets that hold the handles to the pans could pop off. there are seven reports of minor injuries. macy's last sold the sets in september. it will give customers store credit for the pans. if you're a verizon or sprint customer, you are now just one day away from a deadline to collect a refund you might be owed by your wireless carrier. >> so the companies may owe you that refund for cramming, which is considered unauthorized charges to your account. abc's rebecca jarvis explains. >> reporter: you may have already won. a payout from your phone company. verizon and sprint now paying back $158 million to current and former customers after the government fined both companies for allegedly making hundreds of millions of dollars by cramming

bills with small but unauthorized third-party charges like $9.99 a month for so-called premium services like text messages about celebrity gossip. >> they've been doing it for years. but it's really nice to see the government finally start cracking down on them. >> reporter: but you have to register to collect. both verizon and sprint have set up these websites where you fill out a form. the companies say their highest commitment is to their customers, those customers who may get compensated for services they never authorized in the first place. and that final deadline to apply is december 31st. so you need to get on it, you need to get to the websites, and we have more information posted on our website at abcnews.com. rebecca jarvis, abc news, new york. > >> and the forms are actually pretty easy to fill out. i checked it out. you put in your contact information and then you have to say which unauthorized charge. >> but it's so hard to read like your phone book -- or your phone bill. it seems like you need -- >> it's like a phone book.

especially when you're still using a zack morris cell phone. it's really hard to -- >> i forget what those bricks were called. ♪ hello ♪ it's me motorola. that's what it was. yes. >> stylish. i like it. >> the precursor to the star-tac. the clam phone. >> like a razr kind of? >> no. so young. >> sorry. >> the frightening moments for an airline flight. the emergency at a major airport when the crew landed on what they thought was the runway. find out where the jet actually landed and why the mistake was actually serious. but first the year in sports. it turns out 2015 was one of the most active years in recent memory. from deflategate to the horse track to the tennis courts. you're watching "world news now."

♪ okay. so what sport is that theme music for? >> i don't know. >> basketball. right, zack? >> yeah. that's it. >> 2015 just might end up going down as one of the most active and really exciting years for sports. >> i've loved every second of it. >> i'm sure. >> from deflated footballs to the first triple crown winner in more than three decades, this is definitely a year for the record books. abc's ryan smith gives us a look back at this year in sports. >> reporter: deflategate became a part of the national dialogue. as revered quarterback tom brady was accused of tampering with the air pressure in the footballs during the patriots' rout of the colts in the afc championship game. >> you know, i didn't alter the ball in any way. >> reporter: but brady wasn't distracted. his mvp performance in super bowl xlix against the seahawks was helped by undrafted rookie malcolm butler's game-saving interception, which preserved

the patriots' comeback 28-24 win. the nfl investigation led to team sanctions and a four-game suspension for the star quarterback. after multiple appeals a federal judge overturned the suspension, just in time for brady and the patriots to win ten straight to start the season. the kansas city royals defeated the new york mets in five games to win their first world series in 30 years. the mets used their own heroics and clutch hitting to get there for the first time in 15 years. >> yes, he did! >> mvp stephen curry and the golden state warriors hoisted the nba championship trophy for the first time since 1975, spoiling lebron james's cleveland homecoming. the warriors picked up where they left off, with the longest winning streak in nba history to start the season. american pharoah galloped into history becoming just the 12th horse to win the triple crown, ending a 37-year drought.

>> american pharoah has won the triple crown! >> jordan spieth set the golf world on fire, tying tiger woods's 18 under scoring record and gking the second youngest masters winner ever. after winning two majors his pursuit of the grand slam ended in st. andrews where he missed the playoff round by one stroke. tennis superstar serena williams had her own grand slam chase. she dominated her way through the first three majors but was tripped up by an unknown italian, 48th ranked rth roberta vinci, who pulled oft remarkable upset. >> today's my day. sorry, guys. >> ohio state defeated top-ranked alabama and oregon behind thirdstring quarterback cardale jones to claim the first ever college football national championship. floyd mayweather finally fought manny pacquiao, but the title fight did not live up to the hype, ending with mayweather winning in a unanimous decision. ufc champion ronda rousey suffered a stunning upset and

holly holm delivered a second-round knockout. >> abby wambach! >> i know that my career has come full circle. >> nascar's jeff gordon circled the track one last time. and kobe bryant announced this would be his final season of his storied 20-year nba career. in the nfl sarah thomas became the first full-time female referee. jen welter was hired in the preseason by the cardinals to serve as the first female assistant coach. and in the nba summer league becky hammond led the spurs to a title. in the women's world cup carli lloyd turned in the greatest individual performance ever in a final, scoring a hat trick 16 minutes into the game. >> hat trick for lloyd! >> u.s. beat japan 5-2 for the first world cup triumph in 16 years. that's the year in sports for 2015. >> that was a good year for women in sports. >> it was. and for guys, too. steph curry, tom brady.

who would you rather? >> oh, tom brady. >> really? >> yeah. >> wow. you just started blushing. >> i actually know who that is. . don't even think about it. i took mucinex dm for my phlegmy cough. yeah...but what about mike? he has that dry scratchy thing going on. guess what? it works on his cough too. cough! guess what? it works on his cough too. what? stop! don't pull me! spoiler alert! she doesn't make it! only mucinex dm relieves both wet and dry coughs for 12 hours with two medicines in one pill. start the relief. ditch the misery. let's end this. >> i'm alex trebek. if you're age 50 to 85, this is an important message. so please, write down the number on your screen. the lock i want to talk to you about isn't the one on your door. it's a rate lock for your life insurance that guarantees your rate can never go up at any time, for any reason. but be careful. many policies you see

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♪ i've got to admit, this is one that i am definitely guilty of. >> okay. >> i say sorry way too -- >> you say sorry a lot. and you're not just quoting justin bieber. >> no. i do. i say i'm sorry or i just or, you know, kind of hedge things. apparently, a lot of women do this and they come across as really passive. this is a psa that tnt came out with last year to kind of highlight that. >> sorry. do you have a minute? >> sorry. >> sorry. >> there he is. >> can i squeeze in here? >> sorry. >> sorry. >> so there is now a new app for google chrome that will -- when

you say zblsh the brow-- >> the browser. >> yes. >> when you send an e-mail, it will highlight the passive words that are in that e-mail. so if you type sorry, just, actually, or if you write the phrase i'm no expert, it will highlight it and let you know just a little reminder you're being a bit passive so you might want to correct it. >> these are all words that do not exist in the male vocabulary. >> you said it, not me. >> it's true probably. >> but it's an interesting tool to remind women to maybe be a little more assertive. >> okay. we'll remember that. all right. so all of us have our favorite drinks. starbucks did a survey of what region has its favorite drinks. so here's what they came up with. the holiday spice flat white was popular in the new england area. our folks in montana and elsewhere in the mountain states, pumpkin spice latte. florida with the longest, peppermint mocha frappuccino. >> ooh. >> that's our survey of what we like this winter at starbucks. >> sounds good right about now. have you seen this on your facebook feed yet?

the debate over how dogs should wear pants. because there's nothing better to talk about. so i've seen this posted as well. the guy who create td said he came up with it 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. we can all relate to being a little delirious and get these crazy ideas -- >> or drunk. >> and he said dogs don't really have arms, so shouldn't they have pants on both sides? it started this whole debate on facebook over what is the correct way -- >> we keep telling them pull their pants up, don't we? it's not good for you. we've got to get to this. beautiful baby. you always remember the first time you discover bacon. this kid did. >> ooh. that's delicious. >> bacon. >> bacon. >> bacon! >> bacon. >> bacon!

this morning on "world news now" -- flood disaster. more than a dozen deaths in the rising waters of missouri as extreme weather throughout the country strands holiday travelers another day. facing justice. the texas affluenza teen could be flown from mexico to the u.s. as soon as today. did a pizza order tip off police? and new this half hour, the scare on a tour bus. >> the driver makes a sudden stop, and a passenger goes right through the windshield. what investigators are now saying. and the health scare for america's best-known reality tv family. why a member of the kardashian clan rushed to the hospital. that's in "the skinny" on this wednesday, december 30th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now."