making news in america this morning, donald trump tweeting about american nuclear weapons and triggering concerns about a new nuclear arms race with vladimir putin's russia. trump aides scrambling to explain what the president-elect meant. are decades of u.s. policy about to be scrapped? the question this morning. around the world concerns this morning about holiday terrorism. new arrests in germany following this week's market attack and authorities in australia claiming to foil a plot they say was set to be carried out on christmas. will weather woes be part of your holiday travel? it's one of the busiest travel days of the holiday season. the potential for problems and your getaway forecast coming up. if you're hitting the slopes let's hope you're not left hanging around like this guy. how he got there and how he got

if you think your plans are held up look at that guy. he's in a worse situation. good friday morning, i'm kendis gibson. >> and i'm mara schiavocampo in for diane macedo. we begin this morning with president-elect donald trump triggering fears of a nuclear arms race with a tweet about expanding america's nuclear capability. >> it does appear to be a major break from long-standing u.s. policy. his team scrambling overnight to clarify that he's not advocating the use of nukes but it follows a similar statement from vladimir putin about his country's own nuclear arsenal. abc's maggie rulli has the latest live for us from washington. maggie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the president-elect might be staying out of sight in his south florida estate at mar-a-lago but has twitter to keep him busy and in the headlines. the president-elect might not be in the white house just yet but he's already taking a jab at

tweeting out, the united states must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such a time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes. that hasn't been u.s. policy for nearly 40 years. it came hours after a strikingly similar comment from vladimir putin. russia's president saying we need to strengthen the potential of strategic nuclear forces. while trump is tweeting he hasn't held a real news conference since the election and beefed up his communications team including sean spicer as press secretary. former campaign manager kellyanne conway now serving as counselor to the president. she found herself in the hot seat on "gma" trying to reassure the press. >> this will be a traditional white house in the sense that you will have a great deal of press availability on a daily basis and a president who continues to be engaged with the press. >> reporter: ivanka making news. >> some guy started giving her a hard time and told

father is ruining the country. >> reporter: a passenger allegedly screaming at i.d. and her family on a jetblue flight while on their way to hawaii. the secret service did not intervene but flight attendants removed the man from the flight. donald trump plans to stay in florida for the weekend and has had a presidential daily briefing for the past two days. >> our thanks to maggie rulli in washington, thank you. well, trump is also turning to twitter to pit two military contractors against one another. in a tweet last night, trump said he's asked boeing to price out its f-18 fighter jet to compete with the f-35 which is made by lockheed martin. trump met with the ceos of both companies about lowering the cost. to president obama who's planning to deliver a farewell speech in chicago. sources say it is set for january 10th. that, of course, ten days before he leaves office. the president is expected to

state of illinois for launching his political career electing him first as a state senator. breaking overnight australian officials are urging people in melbourne to celebrate christmas as usual after the arrest of five men for plotting an attack on the holiday. the authorities believe the suspects were self-radicalized but inspired by isis. they also believe that this threat is now over. >> as a result of this investigation we believe we have neutralized that threat and in relation to that threat we believe that there was an intention to conduct what we call a multimode attack possibly on christmas day. >> the intended targets would have included a cathedral, a commuter rail station and other public places, all five suspects are in their 20s. four of them born in raus always. the other one in egypt. german police arresting two men for planning a terror attack on one of the biggest shopping malls. the country i

intense manhunt for the fugitive suspect in the deadly truck attack on an open air market this week. there have been numerous police raids including one at a mosque where the suspect was seen on video after the attack. a german newspaper reports he suffered cuts to his face in the attack and may still be in berlin. at least two americans we're learning both from texas were injured in that. richard ramirez who has been living there for 18 years is in serious condition. his partner was killed. and two of russell schulz's friends died but he only suffered minor injuries. a watershed moment in syria. for the first time in four years government forces have full control of aleppo. the announcement came after state television reported that the last remaining rebel fighters were evacuated from the war ravaged city. president assad said retaking it was a victory shared with his russian and

major problems could be ahead for the millions of people who are traveling today, especially at the nation's airports. chicago's o'hare airport could be one of the bottlenecks with rain forecast early in the day followed by snow. flood watches and blizzard warnings prompting weather alerts in 18 states. we'll have more on that in a moment. l.a.x. is another trouble spot. hundreds of flights have already been canceled or delayed and hundreds more are expected to be impacted today. officials say it's a combination of rainy weather and thousands more people flying this year than last. >> here's why that's bad. those delays are expected to ripple across the country on one of the busiest travel days of this entire year. accuweather's justin povick here with a look ahead. good morning, justin. >> kendis and mara, thanks. good morning. two storms, busy times in the weather world and here is the leading storm working its way over the plains states for today. wet roadways from des moines southbound towards st. louis and kansas city but a

slippery travel over the northern states. speaking of slippery travel, we're going to be talking about snow in feet toward i-80. similar amounts over the wasatch east of salt lake city, big-time travel impacts. kendis and mara, back to you. >> absolutely. no doubt, thank you. coming up some advice about keeping yourself healthy for the holidays. and some real-life grinches. serial package thieves caught on camera. the hunt is on to bring them to justice. going the wrong way, why was this driver doing this creating a real danger for everyone on the road? stay with us.

this unusual sight for drivers in albuquerque,

a pickup truck captured driving in reverse on the highway no less in heavy traffic. it created a big headache for other commuters and it's unclear why the driver was going backwards but police say whatever the reason was, it's not a good idea. >> it's safe to say that's a bad idea. >> yes, exactly. he did stay in the lane. new this morning an arrest in the road rage shooting in that really stunned little rock, arkansas. >> 3-year-old acen king was killed while riding in the backseat of his grandmother's car. an intense manhunt has been under way ever since. now police say 33-year-old gary holmes has been charged with capital murder. he is expected to appear in court later today. a lyft driver says he was held hostage during a wild crime spree. the driver says he was forced to chauffeur his captors to drug deals and took pictures of themselves. after 11 hours they got tired and decided to stop and let the driver out. they threatened to kill him if

now, two suspects have been arrested and police are still searching for two others. there is a new development after this week's fireworks explosion in mexico. the mexican president is vowing to rebuild. he says he'll re-open it next year. meanwhile, families are packing the local churches as funeral masses continue for the victims. >> this has the potential to be a medical breakthrough. a vaccine 100% effective against the owe bowl la virus responsible for thousands of deaths mostly in africa. the vaccine has not gotten regulatory approval but 300,000 doses have been stockpiled in case there is another outbreak. there is a new study out about your health and the holidays. it finds an increased risk of heart-linked deaths between christmas and january 7th. >> some advice, take time to decompress, moderate how much

of course, seek help if any symptoms come up. >> very interesting study. i'm curious what the reasoning is. >> it happens during that time, yeah. when we come back that race to rescue a boy stuck on a ski lift. what it took to get him down. >> but first controversy in texas after arrests go viral. what the officer said and the reaction to it straight ahead. hey there, hi. why do people have eyebrows? why do people put milk on cereal? oh, are you reading why people put milk on cereal? why does your tummy go "grumbily, grumbily, grumbily"? why is it all (mimics a stomach grumble) no more questions for you! ooph, that milk in your cereal was messing with you, wasn't it? yeah, happens to more people than you think... try lactaid, it's real milk, without that annoying lactose. good, right? mmm, yeah. i got your back. lactaid. it's the milk that doesn't mess with you.

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fight heartburn fast. with tums chewy delights. the mouthwatering soft chew that goes to work in seconds to conquer heartburn fast. tum tum tum tum. chewy delights. only from tums. some very cool time-lapsed photography from minnesota. a wall of sea smoke creating -- created after temperatures well below zero collided with the much warmer waters of lake superior. our producer calling it icy haboob. very cool. that they have in phoenix. >> i got it. yeah, it is very cool. looks like a special effect. now for a look at morning road conditions. heavy rain, flash flooding and heavy mountain snow are a threat

in the pacific northwest. snow in the midwest and around the great lakes. heavy rain from memphis to dallas. >> if you're flying weather-related airport delays are possible in san francisco, los angeles, minneapolis, chicago and kansas city. in texas, a white police officer involved in the controversial arrest of three black women is on restricted duty. >> the incident which is being investigated was captured on cell phone video. it does show the officer independent pointing a taser and wrestling jacqueline craig and one of her daughters to the ground. craig called police to report the alleged assault of her 7-year-old son. >> i was very distraught because what i felt i was doing was actually protecting my child and it didn't happen. it made me feel as a parent that i couldn't protect him when he needed it. >> the inference of racism is all over it. if this was -- from the beginning if this was a white child choked about

man no way they would be walking free and the mother of that child would be arrested with the child's siblings. it doesn't happen. >> the officer has not been identified. ft. worth police said in a statement that the initial appearance of the video may raise serious questions. that video has now been viewed more than a million times. >> really troubling video. it doesn't matter how you wrap it, it's still illegal. a security checkpoint at l.a.x. caught more than two pounds of heroin in christmas wrapping paper. nice try. a hazmat team called first to the airport at which point the man who allegedly had been trying to smuggle the packages aboard decided to go home where investigators found the airport services employee. well, for many 'tis the season for holiday joy and celebrations. for some others, what makes the season bright is stealing packages. yeah, abc's gio benitez has more on this troubling trend. >> reporter: some real-life grinches are on the loose

from people's front doors. in chicago, the hunt is on for a serial package thief, could it be this man caught on surveillance camera casually walking up to someone else's front porch appearing to talk on the phone, he bends down to grab a package while he quickly opens it and takes off with what's inside. >> he didn't care about anything. just walking around pretending like he's talking on the cell phone, hope they catch you. >> reporter: this case 1 of 13 other instances reported to chicago police so far this month. >> we think it's severely unreported. >> reporter: happening everywhere. a creative more by this thief disguised as a pizza delivery man. >> gio will have more on "gma." new video, a reminder to anyone hitting the slopes this weekend, you might want to be careful. a young skier at sundance resort got caught on the ski lift as he was trying to exit. he ended up dangling for several minutes terrified by the ordeal.

on the lift. rescuers on snowmobiles rushed to the scene and were able to bring him down other than having some sore arms he's doing okay. >> well, duke basketball star grayson allen won't be playing for awhile. the guard likely headed for the nba was suspended indefinitely by duke coach mike krzyzewski after tripping an opposing player for the third time. at first coach k stopped short of suspending named as the top player in college basketball. duke has tough match-ups ahead florida state and louisville. >> ugly foul there. a reminder most of the nfl's week 16 games will take place tomorrow. some rare saturday games. >> but there was one last night and we have highlights from espn. good morning, america. happy holiday, hey there, i'm nicole briscoe. my gift to you, a little sports highlights to go with your morning coffee and start with the thursday night football

game. odell beckham jr. hit 4,000 yards receiving. eli manning did not have a solid game. that is onewr of two interceptis by malcolm jenkins, that returned for the pick six. decent offense from the eagles. carson wentz, aguiar -- 24-19, eagles, they get the win over the giants. to the nba, spurs and clippers. the first time these two teams played this season. 24-point blow-out for the spurs. the bad news in this one, clippers playing solid but they eventually lose chris paul in the third. hamstring injury. tight game, back and forth. kawhi leonard with play from the spurs. speigh

speights, closer. 106-101 in favor of the clippers. happy holidays, we'll see you next time. >> nicole there with the bedtime story. >> festive. >> so cozy. up next in "the pulse," tiger woods, we know what he looks like on the course. his holiday look, well, that's a whole different thing. and an adorable child who just received the greatest gift he could have imagined. we'll tell you what it is. "the pulse" is coming up next. you're just subbing for mrs. tindall's fifth-grade class. good morning, everybody. start with world history... (laughter) talk about some science stuff... (laughter) the day basically runs itself. yeah, that's not gonna work. bring out your best you. and awaken your senses with the refreshing taste of tropicana. hey!reens presents, a holiday mini miracle. hey!

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through. >> something clicked with tara montgomery and her two daughters. she wasn't planning to adopt and did and something clicked with the internet. the story has been moving people to tears. lots of happy tears. >> happy tears as you can understand. we'd like to join the other celebrities this morning in wishing a happy birthday to a columbus, ohio, resident, colo the gorilla is 60 years old. >> the oldest gorilla in captivity by far. the average life span for these apes is 35 years old. he was the first born in captivity anywhere in the world. >> columbus zoo celebrated with presents and a cake made from tomatoes and apples. finally, tiger woods getting in the holiday spirit and giving us all a gift as we've reported. he's trying to make a comeback and woods says he's looking forward to a full competitive schedule next year. >> it seems he has some confidence these days, how else

>> the gun show. >> posting a shirtless photo wearing sunglasses and a black hat. >> he says mac daddy santa is back. a tradition his kids love but reaction, it's not christmas until tiger woods' nipples show up. >> we hope this replaces crying jordan. >> and as if that's on cue tiger woods for the

- rain for part of christmas eve - sunny & seasonable christmas - unseasonably mild early next week - cooler & dry for new year's weekend today: sunny early, then becoming mostly cloudy. cooler. highs: 46-51 winds: s 5 mph tonight: cloudy. showers developing after midnight. lows: 36-40 winds: s 5 mph christmas eve: morning rain. cloudy after noon with clearing skies after 6pm. highs: 49-51 winds: sw 5 mph an update now on the ongoing crisis in syria.

now celebrating a victory-- after regaining control of the war-torn city of aleppo. it's a major turning point in a civil war that has lasted almost 6 years- and has become a humanitarian crisis. the u-n estimates that 400-thousand syrians have been killed since 2011. the red cross is leading a mass exodus out of aleppo - busing thousands of civilians to safety. some experts say rebuilding the city would likely take years and cost tens of billions of dollars. the mayor of louisville, kentucky is speaking out-- denouncing a viral video of a racist-rant inside a j-c penny store. in the video-- a woman goes off after accusing another customer of cutting the line. the woman goes on to accuse the women, who are

welfare, and demanding they speak english. a spokesperson for the mall, says it is working to identify the woman on the video, so it can permanently ban her from the building. j-c penny says it will try to identify the shoppers, to apologize. an update this morning on a story we told you about earlier this week. a happy outcome for a group of neglected and abused animals. a woman in leesburg is facing 100 counts of cruelty and neglect - for having a variety of animals on her property- and not providing proper care. well, this morning- we're told the pigs, ducks, and hens have all been adopted! only a few more animals are still in search of forever homes. police say a man in new hampshire drove off with a new car-- and didn't pay a dime. it wasn't a new sales promotion-- police say the smooth talking customer told the salesman that he was a state trooper, and just wanted to take it on a test drive. the salesman asked for the man's license but he didn't have it on him. he did have a badge,

apparently good enough. police are still trying to find that 20-11 chevy silverado. the salesman is being re-trained. some good news for people planning to stay out late on new years' eve. metro is again getting a boost, to keep people who have been drinking off the roads. on new year's eve, metro will offer free service on buses and trains from midnight until 3 a-m. miller lite is picking up the tab. you will still need to show your smartrip card to ride - so keep that in mind. it's xx and we're just getting started. holiday rush. millions hit the road for the holiday weekend and we are already seeing big delays at some of the nation's busiest airports. plus, depending on where you're going-- mother nature may be throwing a wrench in your travel plans. we have complete coverage coming up. good morning washington.

- rain for part of christmas eve - sunny & seasonable christmas - unseasonably mild early next week - cooler & dry for new year's weekend today: sunny early, then becoming mostly cloudy. cooler. highs: 46-51 winds: s 5 mph tonight: cloudy. showers developing after midnight. lows: 36-40 winds: s 5 mph christmas eve: morning rain. cloudy after noon with clearing skies after 6pm. highs: 49-51 winds: sw 5 mph triple-a says more than 103 million