this morning on "world news now, " narrowing down choices for secretary of state. >> one of the front runners in the top spot, mitt romney, out of the running. a formal announcement later this morning as we learn more about the man he intends to nominate and his ties to russia. new developments from syria as government forces advance on recks in aleppo. a turn in the war raging for years now with tens of thousands of lives still caught in the cross fire. president obama makes his final appearance on "the daily show" as america's commander in chief. a first for host trevor noah, what the president said about the man who is weeks away from taking over the oval office. and check out the ultrasound for one couple ready to share the news

>> celebrity couple? >> they are orangatangs. that's right. invitations coming your way on this tuesday, december 13th. from abc news, this is "world news now." >> what do you get them? >> have you been to a baby shower? >> no. >> the mother generally opens gifts in front of everybody. it's not generally all that entertaining, however, i would love to go to that shower and watch them go to town. >> just hanging from the raft t ers, swinging all over the place. that would be fun. >> more details on the baby showers coming up, but this morning, we're going to begin with the latest with trump set to name the secretary of state nominee later this morning. >> we know trump has not chosen former rival, mitt romney, to be the neigh's top diplomat. trump called romney late last night

chosen for the job. romney posted on facebook, it was an honor to be considered for secretary of state for our great country. my conversations with trump have been both enjoyble and enlightening, and i have very high hopes that the new administration will lead the nation to peace. >> i will be making the announcement tornado warning mor morning. it's expected to be rex tillerson, coming as trump is engaged in a war of words with the nation's intelligence community over russian election hacking. tom llamas has more. >> reporter: leaders in congress break with zrump announcing they'll investigate whether russia used hackers to try to influence the election. something trump doesn't believe happened, even though the director of national intelligence says it did. >> they have no idea if it's russia or china or somebody. it could be somebody sitting in a bed

unless you catch hackers in the act, it is very hard to determine who is doing the hacking. why wasn't this brought up before the election? but it was. in october, 17 american government intelligence agencies including the cia released this rare statement saying the u.s. intelligence community is confident that the russian government directed the recent compromises of e-mails. >> when we say we're confident, i think it speaks for itself. >> reporter: trump still refusing to believe it. >> it could be russia. i don't really think it is, but who knows. >> reporter: the president-elect also disputing reports that the cia believes russia's goal was to hurt hillary clinton and help trump get elected. >> i think it's ridiculous. i think it's just another excuse. i don't believe it. >> reporter: a much different take from the white house on mr. trump. [000:03:53;00]

>> he called on russia to hack secretary clinton, whose side this activity was coming down on. >> russia, if you're listening, i hope you're able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing. >> reporter: the new focus on russia comes with trump poised to name exxon's ceo, rex tillerson, secretary of state whose ties to putin go back decades. >> i've known him since 1999, and i have a very close relationship with him. >> reporter: on gma, the senior adviser tried to down play tillerson's russian connection. >> it's not like he's with him at the local bar. >> reporter: not vodka shots, but thissed video shows a campaign test, putin awarding him. over the weekend, marco rubio tweeted being a friend of vladimir is not an attribute i am hoping for from a secretary of state.

a small group is asking for more listen to what clinton's campaign chairman said, electors have a solemn responsibility under the constitution, and we support their efforts to have their questions addressed. this is a very aggressive stance by the clinton campaign, furthest so far to challenge the legitimacy of donald trump's presidency, but they know there's no mechanism in place to brief those electors right now. tom llamas, abc news, washington. >> the recount taking place in wisconsin, well, it is now officially over, and donald trump certified, again, as the winner. trump defeated hillary clinton by more than 22,000 votes. the recount changed the final wisconsin results by fewer than 1800 votes. jill stein says the recount was not about changing the outcome of the election, but meant to validate the vote and restore confidence in the system. donald trump tweeted saying the final wisconsin vote is in and

we picked up an additional 131 votes. rest, #scam. controlling most of the city, a victory there gives assad's regime control of syria's five major cities, but believed civilians are still trapped in the few remaining rebel controlled neighborhoods. the united nations is worried about reports of atrocities against the civilians. the red cross says time is running out. meanwhile, the u.s. efforts to get a cease fire and peaceful end to the siege failed this weekend. that would have allowed rebels and families and other civilians safe passage out of the city, but the russians rejectsed it. the state department spokesman john kirby said the u.s. was frustrated, but not surprised. russian air strikes killed 1500 civilians in iraq, far greater than the death toll of 173 that u.s. officials reported. a london based project called

air wars released the re the way that civilianse deaths e investigating and called for transparency in the process. president obama will not declassify a so-called torture report before leaving officer. the 7,000 page report details the tactics used by the cia on detainees after 9/11. some u.s. senators had pressed the president to release the report. it'll be preserved in his presidential records and won't be eligible for declassification before 2028. in new york, a flight diverted to jfk airport because of a bomb threat flight 44 made a landing after a phoned in threat. the plane was taken to a remote area of the airport and searched, but investigators did not find anything suspicious. the man charged with killing nine people in a south carolina church apparently had other targets in mind as well. law enforcement agents told the jury that dylan roof said he was just too worn out from the

deadly s targets. the jury watchs his recorded confession discussing why he ultimately chose to target african-americans at church. sq >> i thought of a black festival, but you got security and stuff and wait for the day, and you can't do it whenever you're ready. >> investigators testifying today, and prosecutors say polly shephe shepherd, a survivor, will be the witness. the winter weather far from over, people in the midwest to new england clean up from the massive snowfall over the last few days. detroit with 10.6 inches of snow, 5 more inches than the record. more snow is possible today, but the upper half of the country is preparing for extremely cold temperatures later in this week. some weareas see temperatures 20-30 degrees below average. even washington, d.c. may not see mercury rise above freezing.

the west coast braces for a series of storms which means mountains. the cold weather, unless you're in iowa. a new bangrate.com survey says hawkeye state is no. 1 to driver due to short commute times, insurance premiums, and inexpensive auto repairs. ohio, maine, wisconsin, and vermont round out the top five. worst states for drivers? anyone? anyone? you lived in california. are you surprised. >> >> california drivers are the best. >> california worst state for drivers, not the quality of the drivers, but experience of being a driver that got traffic jams, costly auto repairs, and high rate of car theft. apparently, not fun to be a driver in california. >> i -- i'm a licensed california driver. we are pretty good drivers. of course now i just take the subway. okay. lucky guessers in the houston

area have reasons to be happy. now that they've mattress store promotion. >> guess which party wins the white house and get your money back. all of these people guessed that trump would win. some donald trump impierce naters provided entertainment, maybe to make the store feel better? >> besides the correct guess, they had to spend more than $2,000. the store's owner said he refunded more than $10 million. >> that is a risky promotion. giving people a 50/50 shot at a full refund on a mattress that's expensive, i might add. you have to spend $2,000 to be eligible, refunding at least $2,000 ahead. >> he's actually saving money. >> how? >> apparently. more people picked clinton to win so he would have refunded a lot more if she had won. >> what if he just hadn't thought up this game at all.

>> just imagine all the people that picked jill stein. imagine in jill snuck in the cri victory. the get away following a gold heist. >> the suspected thief setting the vehicle on fire before getting away with more than a million dollars in gold. later, trevor noah, host of the daily show" was not afraid to mix it up on air. he explained why there should be a racism scale. check out our behind the scenes pictures on instagram, abcwnn: you're watching "world news now. " " you're watching "world news now." you're watching "worl news now." . you're watching "wo news now." you're watching "wor now."

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let's end this. a man hunt underway after this gold heist in france. authories are searching for up to four arm suspects wanted for ambushing an armored truck on a highway between paris and leon stealing more than $1.5 million in gold. at least one of the cars and other vehicles set on fire while making their getaway. turning now to a bizarre courtroom drama playing out in palm beach county, florida, involving a woman ordering a hitman to kill her husband. >> they are making her believe her husband was dead just to record her reaction. here's the disturbing details. >> reporter: in the dramatic murder for hire trial, the state finally showing this video of a sting operation, a murder scene

staged by police to catch her, who they to kill her husband. >> is your husband, michael? sorry, ma'am, he's been killed. >> reporter: the defendant's lawyers alleging the police were so eager to film the scene for the reality tv show "cops," that it tainted the investigation. >> this is a fake crime scene, correct? right? >> yes. >> it's all pretend, right? >> yes. >> reporter: the jury saw this video, in a car with an undercover police officer from the same florida police department posing as a killer for hire. she allegedly offered $7,000 for the hit. in 2011, she was convicted of solicitation for murder and overturned on appeal. the police department stands behind the integrity of the investigation.

the jury already has the case. matt gutman, abc angeles. >> thanks to matt there. the early morning blast that shattered a neighborhood in new york state. the gas explosion that destroyed this home hours before the utility crew was due to show up and what neighbors did wrong that could have prevented this. first, trevor noah@? is doi it right. the show host takes on president-elect donald trump as he welcomes president obama to the final daily show appearance. you're watching "world news now."

"world news now" last night was president obama's swan song on "the daily show," but it was a first for host, trevor noah, going

one-on-one with the country's coan host is enjoying a post election rating surge. we're up all nightline with deborah roberts. >> thanks for being on the show. >> reporter: barack obama made his final appearance on the daily show discussing the president-elect donald trump trump. >> he refusing intelligence briefings, and so he's come out and said i don't need them because i'm a smart man. >> i think the president-elect may say one thing and do another once he's here because the truth of the matter is that it's a big complicated world. it doesn't matter how smart you are, you have to have the best information possible to make the decisions possible. >> reporter: it's the biggest get yet for trevor noah, the 32-year-old host of "the daily show," just over a year after taking the reigns from john

stewart. noah is making his mark, tackling the topic of race, taking aim at president-elect trump. do you think donald trump is racist? >> i do. i do. >> reporter: you do? >> i'll tell you why. it's tough to say that somebody is not racist when they are doing all the racist things. you know sometimes i feel like we need to invent a racist richter scale. racist in america is a loaded word. they are afraid of being called racist instead of being racist. >> reporter: suited to talk about racism growing up in a racial south africa, navigating worlds between black and white and learned communicating with those of the opposite view is crucial to success. >> i don't exist in a world where i only listen to the people i agree with because then how will i ever know how to dismantle or think about your arguments in a different way. >> reporter: which is precisely why noah invited tommy lauren on

the show for an went viral. >> do you believe your criticizing and not malintentioned saying black lives matter is the kkk. you calling them the kkk, the kkk is still around. >> reporter: the journey leading him here to one of the most public jobs in comedy. you came from difficult times. do you sit here sometimes and go, wow. >> every day. sometimes you get caught up in hashtag first world problems. you're in a world where people convince you of problems that are not real. >> reporter: earlier at the white house, president obama echoing the need for americans to come together. >> i think it's important to give the incoming administration the space and to give the public clarity about what it is they are trying to do. >> reporter: improbable moment for the biracial boy born all those years ago, seated across from the u.s. president, a biracial man himself. for nightline, deborah roberts

in new york. >> amazing so well, especially given how tough his childhood was.

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i am home, i am home, i am home who is excited about an expecting couple? well, the texas zoo. they are psyched about their expecting couple, and we're talking about monkeys, of course. this is in waco, texas, and they are expecting a baby, and they actually are parents to be in a registered on target. here's the ultrasound. baby. the zoo's throwing a baby shower for them. they are registered at target. 178 items on the register. a lot of the items have already been taken, we should point out. >> i wonder if they went around target with the registry gun and all the gifts they want.

>> many of the gifts, by the way, other zoo animals, but they include a sponge bob bath, baby einstein discover, play piano. all things they'd love. >> or adults. congratulations to the happy couple. ed add wine to the party, perhaps, for the zoo keepers attending. with that, we have an idea for you. clara pots, a fashion blogger from england, bought a house with her boyfriend and they adjusted the fridge. check it out. the water cooler, put the glass up to the door and chilled water comes out, they figured out if they fill the tank that normally takes in water with wine, yes, ladies and gentlemen, chilled wine on tap all the time. >> genius. how come nobody thought of that beforehand? >> i don't know. here's the challenge -- >> okay. >> you have to drink fast because the wine is opened.

it onl >> oh. >> i think you're okay with that? >> i'm okay with flat wine, boxed wine. i have not thought about putting alcohol in the ice container in those refrigerators. so that you can get it already in your ice. >> oh, but then it won't freeze, will it? >> yeah. i think? which is why i've never done it. >> we have to test it out and get back to you. >> des moines we go, warm thoughts. there's skin boarding, it's been around for a while. you go out and you're skimming the surface of the water in order to meet a wave. a guy in hawaii used a drone to go skin boarding. the drone is up there, you see it, and it's pulling him along as he does it. he looks like he's more than skin boarding. he's out there. >> he's out there. cool thing about it is these are some of the biggest waves in all of the world.

no this morning, blast of winter for americans brings a front of frigid air turning all the snow into ice. accuweather with the forecast. a flight averted after a threat was phoned in. we have details on the ininterest in new york. new this half hour, bizarre video of birds being stolen. >> the alleged thief chose to go with a trash bag and bucket on his head for the disguise. see why he had a rough time. and the excitement is heating up around this year's golden globe nominations. check out the funniest and cutest celebrity reactions