thomas fire has burned ferociously and continues to show no signs of letting up. now the fifth-largest wildfire in california history, charring more than 350 square miles, an area larger than new york city. >> my neighbor pounded on my door at 3:00 in the morning. debbie, get out! debbie, pack your stuff, get out. >> reporter: the fire pushing its way into santa barbara county, pushing evacuations for 30,000 residents, among them, ak tower rob lowe. >> pray for the people. >> reporter: this time lapse video showing a plume of smoke rising in just 30 minutes. nearly 800 structures there have been destroyed, with 18,000 still at risk. some residents returning home to find nothing is left. >> oh, my god. oh, my god. >> reporter: monday there's now some hope for the res

southern california. crews have gained the upper hand on the other fires but as the smoke clears the devastation remains. >> i'm heartbroken, but we're thankful that we're alive. and that's the most important thing. >> reporter: the reason it's been so tough to fight the thomas fire is because officials say it is burning in areas that have never burned in recorded history. the state has spent more than $34 million to suppress that fire. donya baucus, abc news, los angeles. and transgender people will again be allowed to enlist in the military come january. a federal court has denied the trump administration's emergency stay that would have allowed the ban on enlistment to stay in place. the poppi basketball hall of fa-of-fa aga dennis rodman is returning to his role as diplomat.

the north promised to fire a salvo of missiles around guam. north korean officials would have to give the okay. but the people of guam like the idea. president putin has declared victory in syria. he announced the withdrawal of troops during a surprise visit. he visited egypt and turkey and called president trump's jerusalem decision counsel tter productive. putin is also the star of a new calendar. >> what better way to count the days down than with president putin hanging on your wall. there are 12 shots of the russian leader at various events. >> you'll get him lighting candles in a monastery. in february him playing hockey. each picture reportedly has thoughts from putin himself. >>

for you, but they're in russian. >> i think i've found your ch christmas gift. >> there are no shirtless putin shots. if you want that, you can find that on the internets, but we draw the line here. >> unline lake last year's cale. >> i guess we'll have to go to the firefighters calendar. we're turning back the clock 30 years to before donald trump was a household name. back when vladimir putin liked shirts more often. how did the future president do in his first big interview with barbara walters. but first, the mother of the boy inspiring millions with an anti-bullying message is accused of doing it all for money. you're watching "world news now" e #nosleep i got it... #mouthbreather yep, we've got a mouth breather.

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offering everything from movie premiere invitation to boxes lessons after his mother says he was bullied. his mother is now being accused of using the video as a cash grab and is under fire for allegedly posing with a confederate flag on facebook. jones is denying all the backlash that she's getting. and a high school soccer coach accused of running away with a student is being sent back to florida. ryen rodriguez has been in custody since last week. he's charged with custodial interference. he disappeared with the student and they were found safe. am ex says a new pic

takes effect in april. >> there are still stores -- i don't sign the back of my cards for security reasons. they're like, i need to match it up with your signature. >> you can draw a stick figure or a heart, and they're like, okay, great. >> which you did draw a stick figure. >> i'm an artist. >> there is a new warning about something we all have in our homes. window blind cords. >> two children are hurt by those cords every day, and researchers are calling for a ban. here's serena marshall. >> reporter: the dangers posed to some children with window blinds has been an issue of concern for consumer safety groups for years. now new evidence that despite all the warnings, hundreds of children end up in the nation's emergency departments due to injuries sustained from window blinds, and when it comes to entanglement injuries, many of these children do not survive. they looked at

estimating more than 16,000 window blind injuries, and kids younger than 6 during their -- this period. the researchers finding in separate analysis that two in three of these entanglements ended innet di ended in death. if you have small children, avoid buying them. strangulations are fatal within minutes and can occur silently. i'm serena marshall, abc news. coming up, before they were stars, the presidential edition. >> we're open up the vault next on "world news now." t you in 4 s when your cough returns. one pill lasts 12 hours, so... looks like i'm good all night! why take 4-hour cough medicine? just one mucinex lasts 12 hours. let's end this.

if only harry used some... ...bounce, to dry. he would be a less wrinkly, winning guy.

i'm not here today because i'm running for the presidency. i'm here because i'm personally tired of seeing this great country of ours being ripped off. >> okay, so long before the

explore torr exploratory committee. >> and barbara walters gives us the first glimpse into the businessman. let's open the vault back to 1987. ♪ >> look, up in the sky. it's a bird. it's a plane. no, it's super builder drumonal trump's helicopter, heading to pick up the brash billionaire businessman. what do you feel like when you look at that wonderful skyline? do you say i own that and that and that and that? >> i look at that skyline, barba and say it's

world, the greatest city in the world. and everybody knows it, everybody acknowledges it, and i'm very proud to be part of it. >> he sounds relaxed. he owned the new jersey generals. it was a rare failure, but trump has certainly enough other play things. in 1985, he bought mar-a-lago in palm beach, formerly owned by marjorie post. he considered it a bargain, $8 million, furniture cloud. -- included. he's been on the covers of numerous magazines. in october he was asked to speak to the porgroup. >> you think g

eye. i mean, this son of a -- is like something nobody's ever seen. >> deep down, do you think your husband would like to be president? >> i don't think for now, at least not in the near future. he's going to be doing the same. he's to be 51 years old. and how many casinos can you own. and he's going to be looking for another business or another thing for him to do. >> you don't want to be president you say. people are talking about young donald trump for president and you say not now. >> that's correct. >> if you could be appointed president and didn't have to run, would you like to be president? >> wouldn't that be an interesting concept? i mean, wouldn't that be nice if you didn't have to run, i think a lot of people would like that. >> would you? >> would i like it? >> yeah. >> i don't now, interestingly. part of the enjoyment of something and part of the whole

thing is the battle. if you could be appointed, i'm not sure that would be the same. it's the quest that really, i believe, it's the hunt that i believe that i love. >> fascinating look at donald trump 30 years ago today. >> well, he wanted a battle. >> yeah.

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♪ survival. get this, 50% of u.s. homes are expected to buy a voice assistant in the next five years, and the battle between the top brands is now heating up. >> becky worley has the pros and cons of each to help you pick up the best for your needs. >> reporter: hey, google. amazon's ech

are battling to be your digital assistant. so which one should you choose? cnet says picking the right assistance is down to you. >> are you into google's services or a prime subscriber. how many smart devices do you want to control? >> reporter: hey, google, what's golden state warriors' record right now. if search is your main focus. >> we know google is the king of search. >> reporter: next media. >> all right, music on youtube. here you go. >> reporter: it's a good choice if you own an android phone, have all your accounts with google and use a chrome cast for streaming. google pause the song before i embarrass my children. google is good for homes for

now the echo. my son and his friends think it's cool. >> believer. >> reporter: many use prime music. speaking of prime. >> echo, buy a fidget spinner. >> reporter: when it comes to shopping. >> you want the biggest amount of product for the best prices you have to go amazon. >> reporter: if you want to control your home by voice, google is ramping up fast. but -- >> got to go amazon. they have the most kpatbility with home devices. >> reporter: the future is voice control, no matter which product you choose. >> remember when it was cool when you could do this and turn the lights on? ♪ clap on ♪ clap off ♪ clap on

♪ the clapper

this morning on "world news now," terror strikes new york city again. >> the explosion during rush hour caught on camera. you see there. the suspect with the bomb strapped to him now talking with police. we have new details coming in and our experts standing by live. it's election day in alabama as voters go to the polls to vote for their new senator, so will it be democrat doug jones or republican roy moore? and the national conversation about sexual misconduct. some of president trump's accusers are speaking out and asking congress to act, arguing that the president should not be immune. and he doesn't work at the north pole, because he doesn't need to work amo