. this morning on "world news now," back in business in berlin. the scene of the attack cleaned up and open to visitors as authorities launched an all-out man hunt for the suspect who was on the radar for months, but how did he slip away? charred ruins of the fireworks market in mexico. the reason for the deadly chain reaction explosion remains a mystery. some of the youngest victims now here in the u.s. getting help. we're live in mexico. then political blame game playing out in north carolina. lawmakers pointing the finger at each other for their failure to repeal the state's so-called bathroom bill. what's next, an effort to get the legislation off the books. and then divorce party. that's right, a party. a couple calls it quits after more than 20 years of marriage, and to end it all, they party.

thursday, december 22nd. from abc news, this is "world news now." we do say good morning to you, everybody, on this thursday, december 22nd. i'm kendis gibson. >> we begin with the international man hunt in the berlin attack. >> looking for the 24-year-old, amri, been on the radar for months, suspected of having ties to islamic extremists. molly hunt is in berlin where the market was scrubbed clean and set to reopen today. >> reporter: a dragnet for this man, anis amri of tunisia, warning he could be armed and dangerous. his wallet and id found in the cab of the battered semitruck after he bulldozed through a crowded chr

injuries dozens more. he was long on the radar of german terror officials. this went out to international police noting he used six aliases in three countries. he came to germany in 2015 seeking asylum, but it was denied. officials concerned about his ties to radical islamists and allegations of petty crime. germany then tried to deport him, but he didn't have the paperwork to prove he was tunisian, and so he stayed. according to the a.p., german authorities had him under surveillance until september when they got a tip he was trying to obtain weapons. they searched this home where he's believed to have stayed. the semibelieved to have been hijacked hours before the attack as its driver was hauling steel beams from italy to germany. that driver seen on the surveillance camera in a diner after calling his

his dead body found in the battered truck. german officials say he'd been shot, but no gun found at the scene. the attack challenging merkel for her decision to allow in a million migrants. members of the far right gathered near the site of the attack. the voice behind me is from a neonazi group, and past this line of dozens of officers keeping the peace, there's a pro-immigration rally that's far larger. in other parts of berlin, a different response to the tragedy, the city's famed christmas markets open once again. crates replacing concrete barrie barriers, protection should the unthinkable happen again. intelligence officials say they were conducting surveil lanlanc amri for months, but called it off, and last spoke of him in november, and after that,

silence. as the man hunt continues, they wrapped up the investigation here at the scene of the attack, and incredibly, that market is now back open. abc news, berlin. federal and local law enforcement authorities issued an ur gegent bull lin suggestin similar attack could happen here on u.s. soil. times square as a million people gather to watch the ball drop. there's no specific threat, but worried about lone attacks. aside from increased security, the other major concern for travelers across the country this weekend is weather. >> yeah. that's because severe weather may be a problem with near blizzard-like conditions expected. accuweather is tracking it all, justin? >> kendis, mara, thanks, good morning to you as well. slippery travel a concern in far north new england today. a couple inches of snow over the

interior towards the 95. we're in good shape, and, of course, fantastic news here for holiday travel. how about friday? good shape. eastern sea board. out west, though, concern as another storm rolls in. this one packing a punch with flooding rains and also potential for very heavy snow, and as this expands out over the plain states into the upcoming weekend with near blizzard conditions and major travel impacts could actually have severe weather out ahead of the system. kendis, mara, back over to you. all right. justin, thanks so much for that. now to the latest on the massive fireworks explosion in mexico. the death toll rising to at least 33 people. >> investigators are focusing on apparent lax in security, which allowed the vendors to display explosives in unsafe ways as families mourn those lost in the tragedy and others injured. fusion reporter fernandez covers mexico, joining us by phone. good morning to yo

on the latest with the investigation? >> caller: good morning. well, the mexican attorney general's office is still investigating. they are being pretty careful not to rush to conclusions, but there's reports that indicate there might have been a nexus of fireworks in the area or just even illegal fireworks what do not comply with the safety norms established by mexican law. this has happened before. authorities have had a difficult time cracking down on the sale of illegal fireworks in different markets throughout the country, and so right now, it could be anything from, you know, a short circuit to the heat in the area to someone lighting a cigarette by accident. authorities have not revealed details, and they are careful not to rush to conclusions. i think it's going to be very hard for top mexican officials to take the fault for this. likely they'll blame it on one of the stands in the market. >> and rafa, some ofhe

are being treated here in the u.s. what can you tell u.s. about that? >> caller: well, yes, the first victim arrived today at the shriner's hospital in texas, known throughout the u.s. for burn care and treatment units. and there's three kids, which the governor of the state of mexico said they got 70% of bodies burned, so they are being transferred to the u.s. for special treatment. mexican authorities are hoping the hospitals in the u.s. can accept more. there's reports that there's ten kids overall, maybe more among the 70-plus victims of this incident, so, you know, the first of the victims of the children arrived today, and the hospital might receive up to five or eight according to preliminary reports by mexican authorities. >> quite a few victims there. people suffering as a result of this. people wondering, it was a po

of mexico. any talk at all of rebuilding in the same spot? >> caller: well, i mean, that's a good question because the market has already been rebuilt in 2005, and in 2005, there was another explosion, and 57 people were injured, over 70 cars were in the fire. the market got rebuilt again so that people could go back to the industry in december selling fireworks. i doubt it. i doubt if this time the market will be rebuilt again just because of the -- of how deadly this was. the death toll keeps rising. right now, it's at 32. some people are dying in hospitals, so i think the death toll is still going to increase. i really think this shocked mexico and locals, and it's just, you know, the images on

so i don't think, you know, people are going to want the market to go up again just because of what happened in the area, but, yes, sale of fireworks will continue. it's all over as we speak, december holidays across mexico. >> yes, it is. >> caller: yeah -- >> it is a popular thing there in mexico for christmas holiday. rafa fernandez from fusion, thank you for joining us and for the update there. >> powerful images. >> coming up, we'll continue some reports from overseas, a holiday change of travel plans from queen elizabeth, and why she put off the app newel christmas trip to the family's country estate. a stunning performance at a christmas show that's going viral, a global audience now enjoying one young girl's amazing talents, and she has a special story. check out the christmas outfit. our holiday outfits this m

on instagram. you're watching "world news now," your eyes may hurt after.

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the natural gas leak caused a massive explosion at columbus, ohio. a restaurant was destroyed and several homes and businesses were damage. roads were closed, and nearby buildings evacuated including a hospital. crews digging near the site of a gas line may have triggered the

thankfully only one injury reported. north carolina's controversial bathroom law still stands this morning. the state's lawmakers met in special session, but failed to repeal the law. democrats and republicans blame each other for not being able to reach an agreement. the law requires that people use the bathroom that corresponds to their gender at birth. it's already cost the state millions in lost business. in britain, delayed travel plans raise concerns about the health of queen elizabeth. the queen and her husband postpone holiday travel because both of them have colds. the 90-year-old british monarch and 95-year-old prince phillip spend christmas at the estate, but there's no grave concerns about the couple. >> we hope they do well and you do well as far as shopping for christmas and hanukkah, just days away now, and the holiday shopping crunch is on. >> yes, it is. for millions of last minute shoppers, there's still time for deals, believe it or

didn't know this, you can still order online until 9:45 christmas eve. talk about last minute. >> reporter: tis the season to procrastinate. how many last minute shoppers here? >> one. >> reporter: three of four shoppers waiting right up until christmas to get it all done. >> it's a buyers' market. ask for a lower price. >> reporter: retailers letting you shop online and pick up in store, including walmart.com where you have until 6:00 p.m. friday to shop and 6:00 p.m. christmas eve to pick up. >> get gift cards. >> reporter: find them at a discount, and amazon offers eligible customers what they call procrastinators' delight, order through prime now before 9:45 christmas eve, and it's on your doorstep by midnight. how times have changed. remember, many things like

tickets, memberships, and subscriptions to your favorite services can be purchased own line and given electronically right up until christmas. rebecca jarvis, abc news, new york. >> good tips there. coming up in the next half hour, the women who are not your average police recruits, but they are members of the newest unit in a west virginia police department. meet the granny squad. >> the toughest around. first, for some couples, it really is divorce, divorce parties. that's next on "world news now." "world news now" continues afte

divorce rates in the u.s. dropping in the last few decades. about one in five marriages do end in a split. it's often tra plumatic for families. >> it doesn't have to be. for some, it's relief

for celebrations. we're up all night with nightline and nick watt. >> reporter: divorce is so very often ugly. johnny depp, denied and dropped, but damage done. richard sheen, bulllock-james, ugly. a million divorces in america every single year. >> it was heart breaking, horar work and devastating. >> reporter: these two just got divorced. >> it's like having, you know, a death. you grieve. >> reporter: okay. but? >> the first day of being divorced, we had a party. >> reporter: the divorce party, yes, party, celebrating the end of their marriage, friends, family, bottles of booze, signs, just divorced on jeff's car, champagne. >> happy divorce. >> reporter: 24 years together, two kids, all gone. you're celebrating the

>> the end of something. >> the beginning. >> we're not celebrating the fact we're divorced, but the way in which we did it. >> reporter: the way they did it. lessons, perhaps, for the rest of us. >> i think there's a lot of animosity when couples separate due to finances. >> reporter: kids are often collateral divorce damage. did you enjoy the party? >> i thought it was fun. >> reporter: bittersweet at all? >> no. i mean, i didn't feel sad at all, it was just fun. >> it is healthier for the kids if the kids feel they have two parents who are good people, but for whatever reason, just couldn't live together anymore. >> reporter: bringing us into what happens to the mutual friends, i mean, i had friends split, and you take sides. >> we hope that our friends don't have to do that. >> they don't have to pick sides. >> yeah. >> you know, we're still going to be friends forever and we want to keep our friends forever. >> it's a goal that this couple wanted to sen

friends. it's also a way for the couple not to lose anything more than they already lost. they lost a marriage. they don't want to lose half their friends due to loyalty issues. >> reporter: you seem to like each other. >> yeah. we're friends. we've been friends for, you know -- >> half our life. >> twentd years. >> reporter: why divorce? >> it's been a multiyear process. >> okay. >> we didn't take the decision lightly. >> we just did a lot of self-examination, and realized we had fallen out of love, and that just happens. it happens for a lot of reasons. >> the people who i feel sorry for are people who recognize they're in the situation, and they stick together for the wrong reasons, and then they are unhappy for the rest of they're lives. >> who you are at 20 is not who you are at 40 and 50. >> reporter: we grow apart. >> people are living longer, so they are asking themselves the question, can they be happy with their partner? >> reporter: chance of reconciliation?

>> no. >> he's super cute, but now available. >> i've certainly heard of divorce parties where one person is present, and it's almost a way to put their past behind them and celebrate a new chapter in their lives, so this is certainly something new, but i'm sure it won't be the last joint party that we see moving into the future. >> it might be offensive to some people that we're letting it go, and on top of it, celebrating it. but that's not how we look at it. >> reporter: nick watt for "nightline" in berkley, california. >> i heard of people celebrating divorce. that's not uncommon, but i love the way the two handled. role models. >> it's only awkward when they have the divorce honeymoon. >> that's an issue. what do you do about rooms? share? separate? >> exactly. >> great coparents clearly. >> i like the sign in the background, eat, drink, and

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your thursday morning mix starting with ikea in the news for a lot of things, but came out saying sleepovers are absolutely, absolutely not and lowed in their stores. apparently, it was a thing. >> glad it's been cleared up. unpack my bag. >> exactly. that's where we were going to spend christmas. there was a video we showed in august where belgium duo, these guys, spent a night in an ikea shop in sweden. they hid in the closet, and then came out after the store had closed, and they just loved all of the products that were already set up. they just loved their sleepover. a lot of people since have been trying to do the same stunt. ikea saying no mas. they did not charge these guys, but they might charge others who try to do this. >> i

it's beautiful. laid out, you want to buy everything in the store. >> it's already put together. >> that's the best part. >> that's the best part. >> you don't have to see what that drawing thing is. the face is always, like, what? looks confused, the drawing. >> and it's in swedish. moving on. this gives you nostalgia for the college days. one teen video viral after she kind of freaked out in a good way when she found out she got into her dream school. >> oh, my gosh. >> she really wanted to go there. her sister shot it. she got into providence college monday. her dream school, and her sister said this is what happens when over 472 shares on facebook, more now ooem sui'm sure. wait until she gets to the first exam. >> i had a similar cry, but for a different reason. it was just pain. >> oh, no. >> four years in the snow. no.

this 10-year-old girl in northern ireland, she was at her christmas show, and she completely nailed it here with leonard cohen's rendition of "hallelujah." ♪ >> beautiful voice. here's the deal. she is autism and adhd, and it really hit home with a lot of people. she said that she started performing because it helped build her confidence. >> that gets my soft spot. it's melting my heart just a little bit. i'm serious. it really, i'm touched by this. all right. quickly, we'll finish off with the world's tiny snowman. it's notnically a snowman, but it's three microns tall, 1 inch has 25,400 microns. a bacteria sized snowman, there it is

this morning on "world news now" travel trouble for americans hitting the road. slipping and sliding are most possible as we enter the peak holiday travel period. trouble spots you need to know about in the forecast just ahead. also, new security concerns here at home in the aftermath of the holiday truck attack in germany. law enforcement taking no chances as the president-elect weighs in on terrorism. what he has to say coming up. the grandma unit, a group of grannies who joined the force in one community. their two word job description, spreading love, and the common thread binding them together. justin bieber, a wanted man, what the pop star says about it ahead on the skinny on this thursday, december 22nd.