this morning on "world news now," extreme weather across the country. the storm system in the west turning deadly. downed trees and heavy snow creating a chaotic scene in many places. as the rest of the country is feeling the deep. freeze. >> and police are investigating a possible hate crime after the victim was brutally tortured on facebook live. you can hear his captors calling out donald trump. wait until you hear how police found the victim. >> and we'll have a fun on this thursday morning. you know we know how to have fun. >> we like it, and over the past 25 years all the "world news now" anchors have had quite a good time behind this desk. so we have some of the block buster retrospective greatest hits. >> and no birthday party would be c

music. for our 25th anniversary, you're finally getting the back story to the "world news now" polka. it's thursday january 5th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." i like one of our viewers tweeted in that she's been watching this show for so long that her kids know the "world news now" polka by heart as well and her son says every time he hears the word politics, he hears the words. >> it's one of those things i remember as a kid in college watching the show and like every friday, let's just watch the polka and sing along. >> you must have been a cool kid in college. >> i was. i was looking up the temperatures in hawaii, and it is fairly warm there, and unless you live in florida or hawaii, winter will show you no mercy today. frigid temperatures, intense wind, rain, snow, ice, they're making travel virtually impossible.

dozens of cancelled and delayed flights. >> and sub zero conditions are putting millions of americans at risk for frostbite. there was a crash in erie, pennsylvania. colorado is bracing for its strongest storm of the season. as many as 10 inches of snow falling in denver alone. a major snow storm is pounding the western states. dumping snow and rain as far east as northern texas. the snow has shut down most major mountain passes. include a 50 mile stretch of interstate 80 between sacramento and reno. >> road travelers are finding near whiteout conditions in parts of oregon. sending cars sliding into each other. >> they don't give you snow lessons in driving school. people learn how to do it themselves. >> they were tokyo drifting. it was scary. in washington state two teen boys fell through the ice near a frozen lake. one managed to make his own way out. the other was stuck in the water for nearly half an hour and had to b

>> and more pain for many southern states. >> in the carolinas crews are preparing for difficult travel conditions. for more on that, here's justin. >> reporter: thank you and good morning to you. we're tracking snow throughout the day and also into the overnight. not a lot but an inch or two. can produce travel delays and we're expecting it along the interstate 95 corridor and low visibilities. a big storm system in west. pummelling portions of california with heavy rains and snow continuing well into midweek. all right. our thanks to justin. now to the visiting in capitol hill. president obama met with democrats to discuss a game plan to save his signature health care overhaul telling them to fight republicans over every attempt to dismantle it as mike pence gathered with republics and announced that repealing and

replacing the health care is number one on donald trump's list. republican lierk lawmakers have yet to agree on an alternative. >> reporter: republicans have had years to mull this over. why is there no cohesion around the best way to do this? >> well, as you know, i've been here 22 years, i ain't in the leadership. >> reporter: not on you? >> right. >> well, trump weighed in on twitter warning members of his party to be careful. he said the democrats are to be blamed for massive increases in obama care adding it will fall on its weight. president obama is getting a classified briefing detailing russia's role in preelection hacking. president-elect trump who is still doubting the intelligence will be briefed tomorrow as well followed by congress on monday. and today two senate committees are holding hearings on president obama's response to the cyber attacks.

james clapper is set to testify. new details about the ongoing u.s. military operation in mosul. a u.s. mill sayre spokesman says american military advisers have been helping to retake isis from back in america. they say they have doubled that number of u.s. advisers providing support to the iraqi troops on the front line. the search for a missing helicopter that disappeared off the coast of san pedro. officials say passengers on a cruise ship reported seeing a helicopter go down in the water. the coast guard said the chopper is believed to have been a two-seater carrying a pilot and passenger. police say there were no distress calls. and police in chicago now have arrested four people saying they tortured a mentally disabled man and then live streamed the video on social media. we have blurred out the video and will show you a small

portion of it. but it is fairly graphic. police say the two men and women in custody are seen and heard beating, burning, stabbing, and tauntinghis man who was duct taped. police believe the man was held hostage for at least a day. possibly 48 hours. >> it makes you wonder what would make individuals treat somebody like that. >> police say they found the man after he was released walking around the city's west side looking disoriented. >> and if you picked up an automobile you helped the auto industry put up record numbers. more than 17.5 million new cars and trucks were picked up. by u.s. consumers last year. that broke a mark set in 2015. low gas prices and interest rates combined with higher employment numbers contributed to the increase. the most popular new vehicles were suvs. coming up more news and the funniest moments from 25 years

get ready for the highlights you saw on our 20th anniversary show and more. >> and later it's the jingle that means the weekend is here. the true story about how the world news polka was born as we count down to the 25th anniversary celebration. lots of celebrations. stay with us. i was wondering if an electric toothbrush really cleans... ...better than a manual, and my hygienist says it does. but... ...they're not all the same. turns out, they're really... ...different. who knew? i had no idea. so, she said look for... ...one that's shaped like a dental tool with a round... ...brush head. go pro with oral-b. oral-b's rounded brush head surrounds each tooth to... ...gently remove more plaque and... ...oral-b crossaction is clinically proven to... ...remove more plaque than sonicare diamondclean. my mouth feels so clean. i'll only use an oral-b! the #1 brand used by dentists worldwide. oral-b. brush like a pro.

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lps break down waste. avoid a septic disaster with rid-x. a pilot his wife and their infant son managed to survive this small plane crash near milwaukee. it struck a parked suv shortly after taking off. no one was hurt. investigators think strong cross winds may have caused the crash. >> a commuter rail crash at a

more than 100 minor injuries after the accident at the brooklyn atlantic city terminal. the train hit a bumper and derailed. the engineer has undergone drug testing. the results aren't released yet. we may have gotten our first entry into our dumb robber files. let's break it out. the 25-year-old suspect is holding up a liquor store, firing his gun three times before taking off this cash. the store clerk wasn't hurt but noticed the robber dropped his cell phone. the robber called the cell phone and didn't realize he was talking to a police officer who was waiting for him when he returned to retrieve his cell phone. how dumb are you? >> fantastic. >> and they say imitation is the highest form of flattery.

>> if that is true, then the san antonio spurs mascot must really love mariah carey. take a look. listen in. this was his version of the mariah carey disaster. >> how do they make that costume for him? >> obviously he's having audio problems. the dancers keep going just like mariah. >> they even did the little feather fans. >> and at one point they just cut to the sidelines guy who is just like, um, i don't know what happened there. that's what ryan seacrest is saying this morning still. >> you go. next celebrating 25 years of laughs. we have our greatest hits coming up. >> and us. >> yes. "world news now" continues after this from our abc stations.

♪ >> oh, i get the feels with the music. >> the old theme song music from day one on january 6th of 1992 it was clear that "world news now" was no ordinary newscast. >> that's partly because of what's gone down at that desk. it's impossible to include every highlight, so here now, our best effort to capture 25 years of fun.

>> i don't know how you feel about this, but to me among the things that the most tasteless in this business are the self-congratulatory, self-serving anniversary programs where they run old clips of the broadcast, bob hope walks on. >> aaron, is there anything else you'd like to add at all? you've been quiet this week. i'm sorry. i had to do it. there's all that cotton and all that glue. >> it was five years ago today that "world news now" saw the light of day. since then we've gotten interest in our one viewer. >> what is that? what is that? >> ding dong. >> okay. a couple of ding dongs. who does he really mean? >> you know, i have about had it with this assignment.

♪ >> what? >> gary. >> what? >> knock it off. get off that table. >> nice. last to know. >> that was a hot seller. >> that's hot property. what's going on with elmo? >> i didn't know elmo did that. >> for those of you who frequent this broadcast you know that some person abducted the tickle me elmo last week. fearing the worst, we actually got this in the mail room today. so how could we not think the worst? >> we're in new york. just a couple of days before christmas. a little bit of snow in new york. >> would you let me introduce myself? this is the part of the program where i introduce myself? >> that's right. this is his big moment.

>> i'm anderson cooper. mark mullin is off this morning. thank you. now, go ahead. what were you saying? >> one, two, three. ♪ we love you anderson, oh yes we do ♪ >> if you have any information on the fat lady -- not the fat lady, not to be confused for the fat lady. if you have information about her, you can contact us. >> is there an offensive body odor that that keeps co-anchors from staying more than a couple weeks. this is my last day. >> the nights that never end, inso insomn insomnia, a new fragrance by "world news now." >> new york is a cultural place. i try to see -- >> man, he's uptight. abc thinks he's cutting edge because he doesn't wear a

show, but i bet he'd be so scared of the tattooed men. he'd cry like a little girl. >> i'm sucking up to the big man. that didn't sound right. >> by the way, breakupservice.com delivers its letters by certified mail to ensure receipt as services rendered, and for a little extra cost, they'll help you move out. that's the news for this half hour. >> i just got played. >> elton john jumped in and said he thought all three girls were -- he thought their lower entrance. >> that was my chair, not me. >> they want a consulting service to help prepare for disaster. >> in other news, a former enron executives are opening an accounting firm. get your books back by them. >> he wants to know if you've ever used steroids or hdh to improve your on air performance.

remember, you're not officially under oath here. >> for the love of god, i'd be much better if i did anything to enhance what's going on around here. you feel nothing. >> tonight, warm your cockles. it's cold out there in much of the country. stay inside and stay warm. >> now people are googling cockles. >> it's not dirty. i promise. >> on facebook, get it? >> and that's is "world news now" facebook. get it. i like that. you got a lot of fans in. >> i have about 20,000. >> you got a man? you looking for a man? >> not interested. not interested. >> oh. >> the casino said we never ever do a farewell show nice and easy. we only do a farewell show nice and rough. >> oh. >> this season means dust storms.

another so-called haboob rolled into the valley of the sun yesterday. our abc station got up close and personal with that haboob. he says that the wind pushing the dust was so strong, he actually hurt and turned toward the haboob [ laughter ] >> you got to go? i'm going to time you. go. >> a moment of silence as i go tinky. okay? >> wait for it. wait for it. [ toilet flushing ] >> how about a beach ball? >> all right. >> let's do it. >> beach accident. i need a life guard. >> i can't take you anywhere. >> what else can the pill do? that's a great little pill. >> saying that from experience? >> no. i'm saying what else? they're going to tell me in a little while that pill cures diabetes or something. >> but you never tried it? >> i haven't tried it, no. i'm a young,ea

37-year-old man. what are you talking about? i don't know what that sound was. what does that mean? >> let's do it. ♪ >> i could just watch rob nelson forever. >> we're going to do it nice. >> nice and rough. >> the critics early on actually liked the show. a press journal said that "world news now" worth losing sleep over. >> and the chicago sun times, abc dancing to its own tune overnight. that was in '99. it's not just in the beginning. they say quirky overnight news, a quirky ten year survivor. i haven't seen any from 2015 or 2016. >> that's -- i would take it personally.

>> we'll see. we'll be here for another 25.

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that. around the studio mitch is always looking for schtick. peter jennings is actually 4'11". >> anchor brown knew right away mitchel was one of a kind. >> oh, just another accordion playing commentator. that's pretty much my reaction. >> mitchel has his sight on bigger things. >> i want the anchor desk. >> we are here with our tongue and cheek. that's the "world news now" polka. do the world news polka. >> sadly accordion news never came to be. that was mitchel back in 1993. and lucky for us his comedic genius is still part of the show. >> his polkas air every friday and they signal is here.

-- the weekend is here. how did he get onto the show? we ask the show's creator to find out. >> one night, they picked some -- it annoyed lisa. she may have said something on the air that night. it sounds like polka, but after she made it clear she hated that. she said she wanted new music. i told the audio guy, ignore her. when it's time for music, play the polka. we did this thing, tell us what you think. do you have an opinion or something to say? an editorial kind of thing. send it to us. so when he did the if you have something to do, send it to us, and if you do, he said, in beautiful sort of prose, you will be the lucky recipient of the world news now coffee to yourself mug. we're preparing it only for people who get videos on the air. first tape was about dan quail and his inability to spell potato. it was by this guy called barry mitchel.

it was pretty funny. we put it on. a week later we got another tape. it was really good. it was from mr. mitchel. he came in and i said do you do polka, and he said yes. i said do you want to write us a polka, and he did. and right here in about that spot in the studio is where he recorded the first world news polka next to the anchor desk. >> let's polka. >> there have probably been more than 100 versions of the polka. it became how he closed the program every week. ♪ who needs ratings? who needs sponsors? >> we still have many of those. who knew that was the back story? entertainment tonight did a feature of him. >> determination barry.

making news in america this morning -- winter woes for tens of millions of people across the country. airlines taking steps to help travelers while that arctic blast right there dips into the deep south. intelligence fight. important briefing scheduled in washington as president-elect trump plans to restructure the cia. we're live in washington with breaking details. in chicago, growing outrage over a video posted on social media of a man being tortured and beaten. the question is, was it politically motivated? setting a world record for riding a bike at his age. your morning motivation coming up.