making news in america this morning, political shake-up. democrat doug jones is declared winner in alabama. >> this entire race has been about dignity and respect. >> roy moore is not giving up yet. >> it's not over. >> this morning the chances for a recount, the blow to the trump administration and what the race could mean for your taxes and control of congress. also breaking overnight, text messages revealed. the anti-trump comments made by key players at the fbi prompting the president's legal team to demand another special counsel in the russia investigation. what one fbi lawyer said about hillary clinton. and this morning, the n

showdown in washington. trump versus gillibrand. >> i will not be silenced on this. >> calling on the president to resign and accusing him of making a secoxist smear. and we do say good morning, everybody. wow, what a busy morning it is. we start with breaking news out of deep red alabama sending a democrat to the senate for the first time since 1992. >> doug jones beat republican roy moore by a razor thin margin of 21,000 vote, just 1.5%. jones won overwhelming support from women and african-americans, his victory will trim the republican majority in the u.s. senate to 51-49. >> moore had the endorsement of president trump but spent weeks denying allegations of sexual misconduct and overnight

refused to concede the race. abc's maggie rulli begins our coverage right now from montgomery. maggie, good morning. >> reporter: dan and kendis, good morning, just one month ago a democrat winning a senate seat in alabama would have seemed impossible but the people came out in numbers rarely seen in a special election and made history. tears of joy from supporters of doug jones as overnight the democratic nominee for senate did the unthinkable. turn a deep red state blue. >> i think that i have been waiting all my life and now i just don't know what the hell to say. >> reporter: abc news projects jones to win the alabama senate seat over roy moore after getting a huge wave of support from african-american voters, young people and former lifelong republicans. >> i have felt empowered not only as a republican, i feel like holding my party to a better standard but as a woman who i think is making the

>> reporter: the republican bloc on this was uppen sended 34 days ago when allegations of sexual misconduct against moore were made public including accusations of sexual assault against two teenage girls when moore was in his 30s. >> at the end of the day, this entire race has been about dignity and respect. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: moore has denied all allegations and while at least 19 gop senators asked him to step aside before the election, he was backed by president trump. on twitter he congratulated jones saying the people of alabama are great and the republicans will have another shot at this seat in a very short period of time. and it may be soon. moore says his fight is not over. >> when the vote is this close, it is not over. let this process play out. >> reporter: but moore's recount faces an uphill battle. the alabama secretary

says it's highly unlike the outcome will change. >> looking at the polling numbers right now and it appears independent voters played a major role in this. >> reporter: yeah, last night was a big shift for political independents here in alabama. they favored jones by 9 points. now, compare that to 2012 and 2008 when they voted overwhelmingly republican. we cannot underscore enough the significance of last night's win when it comes to donald trump. now, remember, here in alabama just last year, president trump won the state by 28 points, now just one year later and they can't even vote to get his guy into the senate. diane and kendis. >> all right, maggie rulli for us there in montgomery, thanks. many political experts are drawing parallels between the special counsel election in alabama and one in massachusetts, back in 2010. >> in that race republican scott brown won the election to fill senator ted kennedy's seat in that deep blue state. months later republicans swept the

the question is will the same thing happen for democrats in next year's midterms? rick klein has more on the fallout from the alabama results. >> diane and kendis, a major victory for democrats who somehow found a winning formula in deep red alabama and major setback for president trump, a rebuke to president trump and steve bannon with the defeat of their chosen candidate roy moore. the shock waves of this will be felt for a long time. first the ability to recruit insurgent candidates could be hurt. second, democrats may have an easier time bringing people into their ranks and the more immediate term it's going to make governing that much harder for republicans on capitol hill. their senate margin is now down to just a single vote with the election of a democrat in alabama, the shock waves will be remembered for a very long time because of the ramifications and essentially this was the movement of anti-trump forces joining forces with me too. a powerful

moving forward and will change the political calculus for the remainder of the trump years in office if democrats have anything to say about it. diane and kendis. >> it should make for an interesting 2018. rick, our thanks to you. president trump's lawyers demanding that a second special counsel be appointed. >> they're claiming bias in robert mueller's russia investigation. overnight for the first time abc news reviewed the anti-trump text messages that were sent by a former member of mueller's team. gloria riviera has more on that. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. how are you guys? well, you know, it's not exactly certain how much of these 375 text messages robin reviewed but a lot was said and now attorney general jeff sessions has asked a lawyer to review everything and make a recommendation to him as to whether that second special counsel does need to be appointed to review the

impartiality. a conflict of interest for the fbi. god, trump is a loathsome human from lisa page on march 4, 2016, one day after the republican primary debate. her colleague spebl agent peter strzok replaying, he may win, he's an idiot. another reference to the absolute bigoted nonsense of trump. special counsel robert mueller dismissed strzok for allegedly sending anti-trump texts. page is also no longer on the team and lawyers are pushing attorney general jeff sessions to appoint a new second special counsel to investigate. trump has denied any collusion with russia during the campaign. in alabama this fall joking -- >> any russians in the audience? are there any russians in the audience, please? i don't see too many russians. >> reporter: the white house response -- >> i know he has great concern about somef

taken place and something that we certainly would like to see looked at. >> reporter: now, the white house has also said it has no problem with robert mueller who is a republican, democrats say the president is questioning the fbi's integrity because mueller is amping up the pressure. kendis, diane. >> an investigator to investigate the investigators. see how that pans out. >> sounds like washington. coming up a dangerous new promise from kim jong-un. secretary of state rex tillerson's surprising new approach with dealing with north korea. we'll explain why you may be paying more for gas than you need to.

we're back with the cold reality in much of the country. another cold front bringing more snow for t

air of the season for the northeast. from wisconsin to the east coast it'll feel like single digits and a freeze warning in northern florida. secretary of state rex tillerson is hinting at possible new talks between the u.s. and north korea. tillerson said they would be open to new talks without precondition, a sharp reversal of trump policy. tillerson's shift comes as kim jong-un is promising to create more nuclear weapons. the suspect in the new york city bombing expected to appear before a magistrate today from his hospital bed. he was the only person seriously injured in the explosion. prosecutors say he taunted the president on his facebook page before the attack writing, quote, president trump, you failed to protect your nation. this morning his wife in bangladesh told abc news she spoke to her husband the morning of the bombing and

signs of any unusual behavior. in california, the wildfire burning deeper into santa barbara county is now 25% contained. the smoke is creating what's being described as the worst air quality they have ever seen. investigators say a wildfire that destroyed homes in the bel air neighborhood of los angeles started at a homeless camp much the next time you pull into a gas station you may think twice about paying for premium fuel. they found it may slightly improve performance but the extra cost is not worth it for most cars. aaa says if your vehicle's manufacturer recommends but not require it you're better off just saving money. now you tell us. >> good tip. >> but it is. when we come back, how the white house is defending president trump's tweet about senator kirsten gillibrand. a tweet that critics call sex it. an 11-year-old girl handcuffed at gunpoint. see the police chief's reaction as the girl's family demands sw

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as dr. king liked to quote, the moral arc of the universe is long but it bends towards justice. >> that's doug jones using martin luther king jr.'s quote about justice while declaring victory overnight in the alabama senate race. voter turnout around 35% far higher than the 20% predicted. >> alabama native and former pro basketball star charles barkley helped the jones campaign get out some of that vote. barkley who was famous for his fiery comments asked alabama voters to, quote, stop looking like idiots. he says this election is a wake-up call. he spoke to our stephanie ramos overnight. >> i've been so lucky and blessed in my life but this is one of the greatest nights in my life. i'm so proud of my state for rising up, doing the right thing. we can't have that idiot representing us in the senate. and i'm just so proud of doug and everybody who worked for him. but i'm really just proud o

make this clear. i'm a rich guy but my heart is -- i try to speak for poor people who don't have a voice and doug got the job tonight but he's got to take advantage of it. >> you talked about roy moore as well on this campaign trail. how do you think they're feeling right now. >> roy moore should have never been in the election. think about that. any man who has eight allegations go answer him sexual harassment, molestation, talks about slavery was good, i guess it was good for him because he wasn't a slave, talk about all the amendments after the tenth should be abolished and gave black people the right to vote and women the right to vote should have never been in the election, period. >> charles barkley, always with an opinion and it was a very different situation in the meantime, at roy moore's headquarters overnight but moore said the race is not over. >> his campaign says it will fight for a recount if possible but that seems unlikely with the margin of votes near 21,000

our tom llamas was at moorehead quarters. >> reporter: kendis and diane, according to roy moore it is not over. he came out an spoke to supporters saying he's not giving up and if the election threshold falls within half a percentage point that could trigger a recount and told supporters to sleep on it. during the moore watch party people were stone-faced and some crying hoping the results weren't true. >> may god bless you as you go home. have a safe journey and thank you for coming tonight. >> reporter: even though president trump, roy moore's biggest supporter, already congratulated doug jones the democrat in this race moore says he's not giving up. kendis and diane, back to you. >> tom, thanks. we turn to the growing controversy in washington. senator kirsten gillibrand is accusing president trump of making a sexist smear against her. the new york democrat

was part of a tweet in which trump said gillibrand would, quote, do anything for a campaign contribution. the tweet was in response to gillibrand's call for the president to resign because of the sexual misconduct allegations against him. >> it was a sexist smear attempting to silence my voice and i will not be silenced on this issue. >> reporter: the president was asked to clarify what he meant in his tweet but he didn't answer so our cecilia vega asked without press secretary sarah sanders about that. >> many, many people see this as a sexually innuendo. what is the president suggesting? >> i think that the president is very obvious. this is the same sentiment that the president has expressed many times before when he has exposed the corruption of the entire political system. >> more than 100 democrats in congress have signed a letter saying the women who made sexual misconduct allegations against the president cannot be ignored. the house oversight committee will not be investigating those claims. the commte

will refer the issue to the justice department. federal investigators are now trying to figure out what caused a school bus to catch fire in western iowa killing a 16-year-old student and the 74-year-old driver. they were the only ones on board when the bus somehow ended up in a ditch. for the second time in weeks a chunk of ice apparently falling from a plane crashing through the roof of a home in southern california. this time the ice chunk landed in a bedroom in san bernardino. residents say it sounded like a bomb. nobody was hurt. the police chief in grand rapids, michigan, calling for change after an officer handcuffed an 11-year-old girl at gunpoint. the girl and her mother were cuffed while having their home searched by police searching for a suspect in an attempted murder case but the police chief called the body cam footage of the little girl in cuffs disturbing. an internal investigation is now under way. >> to medical news. we have the new list of the healthiest state, massachusetts, hawaii and vermont are at the top of the li

including obesity, and the availability of doctors, at the other end, mississippi, louisiana, arkansas were ranked as the least healthy. up next google's list of the top searches of 2017. also ahead, the new discovery from scientists you won't believe how big penguins once were. the christmas lights still twinkling after nearly 50 years. and pause. not even in your vocabulary. so when a cold sore tingle strikes you act on it. only abreva can heal a cold sore in as little as two and a half days when used at the first sign. it starts to work immediately to block the virus and protect healthy cells. nothing heals a cold sore faster. and because abreva acts on it... you can too. act on it, with abreva. hellooo, ho ho ho ho! bring your pet to petsmart this weekend from 12-4 pm

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♪ time for "the pulse" and we'll start with "star wars" mania, of course, it is growing by the minute. fans already lined up for the premiere and it's still several days away. outside a theater this hollywood. >> the critics have seen "the last jedi" and reviews are out of this world so

getting 93% positive reviews on rotten tomatoes. >> they held a big premiere party in london last night. princes william and harry were joined by bb8 on the red carpet. even slightly bowed. the royals are not confirming reports that they suited up as stormtroopers during the filming. >> bb8, great manners. etiquette. >> waited to be touched first before touching the royals as is customary. >> also, no limbs. >> that too. next to a shocking discovery about penguins. >> so, most are cute and funny and small and you just want to cuddle up, but apparently they weren't always that way. >> fossils of an ancient giant penguin indicate they were nearly six feet tall the. >> first investigation of a penguin being as tall as a human right after the dinosaurs died out.

six feet tall in a tuxedo they found. overnight google releasing its list of the top searches of 2017. >> number three, tom petty after the singer passed away in october. >> matt lauer, nbc news fired him after allegations of sexual misconduct. >> and most googled topic of the year hurricane irma that hit in september. we stepped it up with the google searches. a british man keeping his christmas bright with a string of lights 48 years old. >> he says his mom bought the lights in 1969, ten years before he was born. they're stiup with good morning washington. it's december 13th-- and this hump day will have you reaching for a parka. temperatures below freezing and they feel even colder! your forecast is moments away.. but first here is a quick look at this morning's top stories. breaking overnight--

a senate shocker. democrat doug jones becoming the first democrat to win a senate race in alabama in more than 20 years. his opponent roy moore, now refusing to concede, and says he will instead try to call for a recount. bad news for local metro riders. new problems leading to new shut downs on the red line-- from silver spring to rhode island avenue. this following track work that shut down service between silver spring and fort totten for the last two weeks. metro says the new issue should be resolved by monday. good morning washington. toss to eileen weather alert today - feels like single digits this morning - whipping winds & a biting cold today - isolated snow showers tonight; mainly western md/mason dixon line - geminid meteor shower peaks tonight & tomorrow - temperatures moderate this weekend toay

winds: w 10-20 g 30 mph tonight: mostly cloudy. isolated snow shower north. lows: 26-32 winds: sw 5-10 mph thursday: partly cloudy. not as cold. breezy. highs: 37-45 winds: nw 5-15 mph happening today-- the man who set off

the man who set off a pipe bomb in new york's port authority, is due to appear in court. authorities are determining whether his initial appearance wednesday will need to take place through closed-circuit video from the hospital. investigators say akayed ullah picked a time and place he thought would cause the most destruction. instead, he received the most serious injuries monday morning in new york city. three other people suffered min

ullah faces multiple terrorism charges that could land him in prison for life. the department of justice -- taking a maryland business to court, after it fired one of its workers. the d-o-j's lawsuit says -- "bridges consulting" broke the law, when it fired a coast guard reservist... who had to be deployed. that violated the "uniformed services employment and re-employment rights act"... which requires businesses to hold the jobs of servicemembers, who are deployed. in california -- a grinch on grinch crime!! a family's security camera, capturing the moments two men swiped their christmas decorations. ironically, the only thing they took was the life-size wooden cutout... of doctor seuss's grinch who stole christmas. hopefully those thieves' hearts - will grow three sizes before christmas, and return it. seven's on your side with health matters-- and you've probably heard the term "man flu." it's used to poke fun at men... who seem to be exaggerating their symptoms when sick. but it turns out -- man flu, may be more

stereotype!! new research published this week finds many men are more susceptible to complications from respiratory diseases than women... and their immune systems may be naturally weaker! one researcher says it could be due to homornal differences. either way -- it's probably time to stock up on tissues and chicken soup -- for both the men and women in your family... this cold and flu season. it's xx and we're just getting started. we are following breaking news from alabama. democrat doug jones pulling off a shocking win in the state's special election. but his opponent, roy moore, is not giving up just yet. good morning washington. winter blast!

weather alert today - feels like single digits this morning - whipping winds & a biting cold today - isolated snow showers tonight; mainly western md/mason dixon line - geminid meteor shower peaks tonight & tomorrow - temperatures moderate this weekend today: unseasonably cold and blustery. highs: 33-38 winds: w 10-20 g 30 mph tonight: mostly cloudy. isolated snow shower north. lows: 26-32 winds: sw 5-10 mph thursday: partly cloudy. not as cold. breezy. highs: 37-45 winds: nw 5-15 mph