cindy stowell is . making news in america this thursday morning breaking overnight the holiday rush getting off to a frustrating start for thousands of travelers with major delays at one of the country's busiest airports. planes stuck on the tarmac for hours. plus, a rain and blizzard threat not making things easier. the manhunt for the christmas market attacker in berlin. why he's been on authorities' radar since last year and the precautions and new warning in the u.s. during the holidays. >> caught on camera, a semi truck swerving across several lanes of a highway. the driver falling out of the cab and now facing serious charges. plus, sparks fly. a man shoots fire or fire shoots from a man's pants after an e-cigarette explodes.

well, good thursday morning. i'm mara schiavocampo in for diane macedo. >> and i'm kendis gibson. it is starting out to be a rough thursday for many. breaking news, the holiday rush is getting off to a rocky start with delays overnight at a major airport. >> gridlock overnight at los angeles international airport with people stuck in traffic jams and on airplanes. a ground stop forcing some flights to land at other airports. passengers saying they waited two hours on the tarmac to deplane. a frustrating start for many people getting to their holiday destinations. >> our pilot was telling us that it would be like another 20 minutes, he hasn't seen so much airplanes on one track in a few years so it took us a while to get to our gate but we're here now. >> the airport is blaming the delays on runway construction and the high number of holiday travelers. >> as you look at those images you'll notice the tarmac was fairly wet causing some of the declines as well for the area. l.a. getting quite a bit

in the san fernando valley wet roads were packed with holiday shoppers and travelers and fans and players at the poinsettia bowl in san diego dealing with downpours throughout that game. on the radar you can see widespread rain in southern california and arizona. the east coast will have some trouble spots, as well as the holiday rush gets under way. accuweather's justin povick following all the details for us, good morning. >> kendis, mara, thanks and good morning to you, as well. slippery travel, a big concern over far north new england today as we track a couple of inches of snow. now, this is over the interior toward the 95 we're in good shape and fantastic news here for holiday travel. how about friday, good shape, eastern seaboard, out west, big concern as another storm rolls in. this one packing a punch with heavy flooding rains and also the potential for some very heavy snow and in this expands out over the plains states this upcoming weekend with near

travel impacts could actually have some severe weather out ahead of the system. kendis, mara, back over to you. >> all right, justin, thanks so much for that. turning now to the all out manhunt across europe for the prime suspect in that devastating terror attack in berlin. >> a desperate search can on for this man, 24-year-old anis amri, from the north african country of tunisia and we now know he's no stranger to german authorities. >> here's a look at the popular christmas market where the truck barreled through. it's been scrubbed clean and is set to re-open today. >> u.s. law enforcement officials have issued a bulletin worried about a similar attack here at home at one of the most crowded events of the year. abc's maggie rulli with the details. >> reporter: overnight a rare search across europe for this man, 24-year-old anis amri of tunisia. germany warns he could be armed and dangerous. according to a germany lawmaker his wallet and i.d. were found in the battered semi truck after

crowded berlin christmas market crushing stalls, killing 11 and injuring dozens more. now police searching what they believe to be his home. as german terror officials have had their eye on amri since he came to the country seeking asylum in 2015. it was denied over concerns about his ties to radical islamists and allegations of petty crimes. germany then tried to deport him but he didn't have the paperwork to prove he was tunisian and so he stayed. now, berlin's responding to the tragedy by opening up the city's famed christmas markets once again. abc's matt gutman is there. >> people have been going out to them. they have been urged to get back to normal by the government here, but they've opened under heavy security. we've seen barriers, concrete barriers go up and a lot of those markets and a lot more police presence. >> reporter: the attacks also reminding americans to be on alert. federal and local law enforcement authorities have issued an urgent bulletin amid growing concerns that a similar attack could happen here

soil. warning specifically times square's annual new year's eve celebration could be a target saying while there's no specific threat, we remain concerned about unaffiliated lone offenders and homegrown violent extremists targeting the event. maggie rulli, abc news, washington. >> also there in germany the chancellor angela merkel is facing growing criticism for allowing nearly a million migrants to enter that country. here at home, president-elect donald trump condemned the attack and he appeared to suggest he may go forward with the muslim ban he proposed during the campaign. >> what's going on is terrible, terrible. terrible. >> has it caused you to rely or re-evaluate your plans. >> hey, you've known my plans all along and it's -- i've proven to be right 100% correct. what's happening is disgraceful. that's an attack on humanity, that's what it is.

it's got to be stopped. thank you. >> trump had ajusted his pledge on it during the general election to say he would focus on stopping it from certain countries with ties to terrorism. the death toll is still rising following that chain reaction explosion at a fireworks market in mexico. three of the children who were severely burned are now being treated at a specialized hospital in texas. mexican officials are hoping at least ten more children will be able to make the trip to the shriners hospital in galveston. in the meantime, investigators are still trying to figure out what touched off the explosion looking at lax safety standards which may have allowed vendors to display their fireworks outside the stall. rafa fernandez who covers mexico has more on the search. >> reporter: careful not to rush to conclusions but some indicate there might have been a nexus of fireworks in the area or

ones that don't comply with norms of law. >> just days ago they said the market there had been called the safest in latin america. north carolina's controversial bathroom law still stands. lawmakers met in special session but failed to repeal the law. democrats and republicans are blaming each other for playing politics. the law requires that people use the bathroom which corresponds to their gender at birth. it is already cost the state millions in lost business. overseas new concerns about the health of britain's queen elizabeth. 90-year-old and her husband delayed holiday travel because both have severe colds. palace officials say there are no grave concerns about the queen's health. just recently it was announced that the queen would step down from her role as patron of 20 charities. well, still ahead, new details overnight in the cause of the death of alan thicke. >> plus a highway drama shoving

hitting a sign. wait till you see what happened once that truck stopped. caught on camera, a man sitting on a bus when an e-cigarette suddenly explodes.

well, this natural gas leak caused a massive explosion in columbus, ohio. the blast leveling a pizza restaurant but everyone made it out safely. several homes and businesses were damaged. winters say it sounded like a sonic boom. officials say crews digging near the site struck a gas line. only one injury, however, was reported as a result of that. this morning a prominent atlanta attorney is expected in court but this time he's

defendant. tex macgyver is accused of killing his wife. he claims to have fallen asleep with a gun in his lap while riding in a car and accidentally shooting his wife. he's charged with involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct. police in georgia released dramatic body cam video leading up to the shooting that led two officers dead. you can see officers nicholas smarr and jody smith childhood friends answering a domestic dispute call. as they chased the suspect he opens fire hitting them both, smarr died while giving smith cpr and smith died the following day. >> accused killer robert durst has made a brief court appearance before standing trial for the alleged murder of his best friend some nearly 16 years ago. the real estate heir looking frail with a large scar on his head there. after hearing from both sides the judge appointed a master to reveal evidence in that case. uber's self-driving cars are

state revoked the registrations of the 16 cars being used for the tests. the state said they weren't properly marked as test vehicles. uber hadn't applied for the test permanents because it felt the presence of a human in each car made the vehicles except from the law. no word on uber's next move. an 11-year-old comes face-to-face with an intruder. while she's on the phone with 911, the terrifying call coming up. more trouble for the biebs. the new report that says justin bieber's been indicted. she's the reason the good times are great. ...and the reason the tough times are easier. because she's your best friend... and your true love. presenting the ever us two-stone diamond collection... new rings, necklaces, earrings and bracelets.

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implosion. it will take at least six weeks to remove all that debris. now for a look at morning road conditions heavy rain could be a threat as we mentioned in the southwest. stormy in the northwest as well. light snow could be a hazard for the commute in the northeast. a minnesota man is facing some serious legal trouble. he was captured on dash cam video driving a semi truck while allegedly drunk. >> so state troopers were alerted about a vehicle driving in and out of lanes as abc's gio benitez reports, police say the driver admitted to having a few beers. >> i don't know exactly what's going on yet. >> a commercial semi weaving in and out of control because the driver, police say, was very, very drunk. off minnesota's highway 10 you can see the semi swerving off to the right shoulder hitting a sign struggling to get back on the road then crossing several lanes of traffic before finally stopping. but that wasn't the end of it. the driver barely able to walk, much less drive

the entire highway because he was crawling on it. >> get up on your feet here. >> the driver 48-year-old jonathan check was transporting a walmart trailer but working for a third party company at the time, creek carrier. >> you feel the effects of the alcohol you drank. >> yum. >> reporter: gio benitez, abc news, new york. >> he'll have a little more on "gma" later today. an 11-year-old orlando girl being praised for keeping her cool during a break-in at her home. ashley bermudez was home alone when she saw the bad guys pull up in front. whenhe men started breaking in, she went to a closet in the bedroom and called 911. >> oh, no, please, please, i won't say anything, i promise you. >> are they in the house with you? >> no, they left. >> well, they left with all of ashley's christmas presents but a charity group has now replaced them. pop star justin bieber is in trouble again. tmz reporting if he sets foot in argentina he'll be

he was just indicted for allegedly ordering the beating of a photographer three years ago and then stealing the man's money and equipment. bieber denies it but the problem is he's about to start a tour in south america skipping argentina would be costly both for him and for the country. well, we now know the cause of actor alan thicke's death. he had complained of chest pains while playing hockey with his son last week. his aorta, the main artery from the heart tore and then rup tured a few hours later. this is all according to his death certificate which was made public yesterday. now, besides starring, of course, in "growing pains," the 69-year-old also wrote a lot of music. a new health alert about melanoma. researchers saying this deadly skin cancer is killing more americans than ever before. more than 10,000 americans are expected to die from it this year. that's up from the more than 8,000 deaths in 2009. melanoma accounts for about 1% of skin cancers but causes a large majority of skin cancer deaths.

an e-cigarette is being blamed for another explosion, this time on a city bus in fresno, california. a man had the battery powered cigarette in the pocket of his pants when it became hot leading to sparks and smoke. he suffered minor burns to his leg, but he's expected to be okay. well, it's time for sports and some college basketball highlights. >> here's stan and neil happy to be with us at espn. >> good morning, america. and i mean really morning. i mean, we're not doing this live but it's 3:00 a.m. right now and we're giving you this. >> college basketball, bluegrass state, kentucky and louisville, number ten louisville, six, kentucky. quentin snider didn't score against kentucky the last two years. made up for it in this game, had 22. later louisville up. michael mitchell drive, he can't get it but jalen johnson, right place, right time and put the cards

malik monk had 47 against north carolina and get it to him. he had just 16 in this game. good job by the louisville defense on him and louisville beats kentucky, 73-70. duke beat elon but all anybody wanted to talk about and rightfully so is this grayson allen kid who got a technical foul for tripping right there. the coach pulled him out of the rest of the first half. didn't start him in the second half. got him back in and after the game told all of us to mind our own business when it comes to disciplining the kid. gonzaga beat south dakota. >> critical information. >> thank you. that's all we have for you. >> we have more. that's all you get. >> back to you. >> we want more. >> that is all we get. speak for yourself. up next in "the pulse," the fate of one pet, a costume wearing, a tv riding alligator now deciding, so can he

and a girl overcome with emotion, many of us would relate to. what caused this response? you'll find out when we come back. grandma is so happy to be here for your very first christmas. i hear you're quite the expert at waking people up in the morning. let me show you how grandma does it. your daddy made this when he was a little boy. this is your dad at my house, where he had his first christmas. thanks for making the coffee. well look who's up. i'm really glad you're here mom. me too. look who's here! i wto me the aciditymy dentiof foods andining what they can do to your teeth. thinning of the teeth and leading to being extremely yellow would probably gross me out! my dentist recommended pronamel.

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♪ all right. it's time for "the pulse." starting with a christmas gift for one florida woman. >> and her pet, an alligator named rambo who wears costume, of course, rides atvs and measures just six feet long. so that gift, rambo gets to stay. >> well, thank goodness for that. the state of florida had tried to take rambo away but it's now dropped the case after a year-long battle and mary thorn could not be hap

>> as you see, he's like a little baby. this is his favorite spot, i'm his favorite mommy. >> perfectly normal. thorn just happy to be spending the holidays with her gator. you go spend it with your aunt and uncle. she'll spend it with -- >> i have never been left speechless by a story before. this is the first time for everything. turning to a teen who had the best reaction ever after getting some earth shaering news. raychel pesci erupting with joy, even before she opened the large white envelope. she knew instantly it was her acceptance letter from providence college, that's the college of her choice. >> it is the home of the friars and she starts laughing and crying and at one point falls to her knee, as you can see. truly tears of joy. her sister was on hand to capture the epic moment that went on and on and on. >> happy for her. >> yep. a small fire department in oklahoma is burning up the internet with one of the most

adorable christmas cards ever. >> burning up the internet. i get it. funny. the firefighters decided to showcase their six tiny reasons to celebrate the holidays, the models six babies born to them this year all between february and june. so cute. >> the department only has 33 firefighters so they say six newborns in one year, that's a pretty big deal. >> something in the water there. >> yes. >> so raychel is still crying over the acceptance about providence college. >> okay, we'll have more newmor washington. it's december 22nd, and we a just a day away from a long holiday weekend. meterologist eileen whelan will tell us what we can expect weather wise this christmas. but first here are some of the stories we are following right now. there is a growing manhunt in europe this morning for this man-- anis amri of tunisia. police say his wallet and i-d were found inside a semi truck that

christmas market in berlin. police say amri has been on the radar of anti-terror groups and is considered armed and dangerous. we'll have more on this growing investigation.. coming up. buckingham palace says queen elizabeth and her husband prince philip are canceling their annual christmas trip-- as they battle serious colds. the palace did not say when the queen would be well enough to travel. queen elizabeth has already announced that she will dial back her busy schedule in the new year. she is 90 years old. prince philip is 95. good morning washington. i'm q mccary.. in for larry smith. toss to eileen - dry leading up to christmas eve - rainy christmas eve - sunny & cool christmas day - mild start to last week of 2016. cooler by week's end. today: becoming mostly sunny. breezy & milder. highs: 48-55 winds: nw 5-15 g 20 mph tonight: mainly clear and cold. lows: 25-32 winds: nw to s 5 mph friday: becoming mostly cloudy. cooler. highs: 45-50 winds: s 5-10 mph

the woman in charge of anne arundel county

now facing criminal charges for drug possession. annette box is charged with multiple counts of possession of a controlled, dangerous substance. police say she was found carrying pills that weren't prescribed to her. investigators say

her car and more in her home. the department is also asking the d-e-a to step in and do an inventory of the lab an update on a story you first saw on 7 over the summer. an arlington woman will spend 30 months in prison for running a complicated fraud scheme, involving fake designer handbags. she also has to pay back about 800-thousand dollars. police say the 41 year old bought brand name purses and then returned counterfeit purses to stores. this happened at department stores all over the country. she pleaded guilty to wire fraud in august. last night-- a bittersweet end to an incredible story on jeopardy... about a young woman whose life ended too soon. america watched as cindy stowell won for 6 straight nights on the famous quiz show. but there's a heartbreaking story behind it. stowell went on that run while also battling stage 4 cancer- and planned to donate her prize money to cancer-related organizations.

stowell passed away on december fifth- just 8 days before her first episode aired. her final total from her time on jeopardy -- is more than 103-thousand dollars. 7 is on your side with a consumer alert: it's the holiday shopping crunch- and time is running out. but all hope is not lost. so what options do you have? lots of stores let you shop online and pick up in store. at wal-mart dot com -- you can shop until 6 o'clock friday -- and pick up until 6 o'clock saturday.

offering eligible prime customers a special where you can order before 9-45 on christmas eve -- and have it on your doorstep at midnight. it's estimated that 3 out of 4 shoppers wait right up until christmas to get it all done. it's xx and we're just getting started. a growing international manhunt. now police are releasing new details about the man they say is responsible for a deadly attack on holiday christmas shoppers in berlin. the attack.. now triggering heightened security here in the u-s. the details.. coming up. plus, breaking news at one of the nation's busiest airports. officials say a perfect storm created a nightmare for holiday travelers. the details.. coming up good morning washington. - dry leading up to christmas eve