. this morning on "world news now," congress working like santa's elves on a tax bill. >> will the bill pass a vote before the president's deadline? and also overnight, a state law ma lawmaker killed himself moments after posting a message on facebook. snow. we have the latest forecast. and we've been known to have some fun on this show. but get ready. because you've never seen "world news now" qui

surprise planned with special guests dropping by to get the mood just right. >> who's here? no, really, i have to go sign them in. it's security, december 14th. from abc news, this is "world news now." we're going to start that half hour off with the big surprise coming your way, but first we have some news to attend to. >> yes, taxes, i guess. >> so the final push to overhaul the country's tax laws from republican leaders in the house and senate seems to be developing, they have agreed on a single plan. >> president trump made a pitch for the sweeping tax cuts, eager to have his first legislative victory before christmas and is promising americans will see bigger paychecks in two months. >> reporter: at the white house, republicans claim they're on the verge

reform. >> we want to give you, the american people, a giant tax cut for christmas. and when i say giant, i mean giant. >> reporter: but back on the hill, protests. >> kill this bill! >> kill this bill! >> not us! >> reporter: protesters say it will hurt the working and middle class, as lawmakers huddled in the basement of the capitol to finalize the bill. even top republicans admit it's not a totally done deal. so do you have a deal? >> uh. it's going forward. very positive. >> it feels very close. >> reporter: even the president is cautious. >> we are so close. maybe we shouldn't talk about t. >> reporter: the corporate tax rate would drop from 35% to 21%, caps the mortgage deduction at

between the senate and house versions. repeals the obama scare individu -- obamacare mandate. and to help the wealthy, it lowers the top tax rate from 39% to 37%. how does that haelp the middle class? >> it is going to lower the burden on middle class families and spur economic growth. >> reporter: a new analysis predicts it could add more than $1.5 trillion to the nation's debt and a previous analysis said americans making $75,000 or less pay more over the next ten yea years. democrats insist the most benefits will go to the wealthy. >> it is one that ebeneezer scrooge would love.

>> reporter: democrats are urging republicans to slow down and wait until the new democrat from alabama, doug jones, is sworn in. but the pressure is on to pass this before the gop losing that alabama vote. >> it doesn't get done before that? >> well, it could be a problem. it could be a problem at that point. >> reporter: now the president is promising if tax reform passes by christmas that americans could start to feel real impact by february. the white house insists that by then americans benefitting from the tax cut could see less money withheld from their paychecks. abc news, capitol hill. and donald trump jr.'s meeting was a marathon. he spent more than nine hours answering questions yesterday as part of the committee's investigation of russian meddling in last year's election. don jr. said you never know when he was asked if he would be ba

rod rosenstein was also on capitol hill testifying before a house committee. he oversees special counsel robert mueller's russia investigation and was repeatedly asked whether that investigation was biassed against the president. he said the investigation is not a witch hunt. >> if you were ordered today to fire mr. mueller, what would you do? >> as i explained previously, i would follow the regulation. if there was good cause, i would act. if there were no good cause, i would not. >> and you've seen no good cause so far. >> correct. >> thank you. ros >> rosen stein's testimony came a day after text messages were revealed. the fc sdrchc is expected t repeal net neutrality

they prohibit your internet provider from slowing down ze certain sites. some call it reckless. former "apprentice" star omarosa has resigned from the trump administration and in dramatic fashion. her last day is supposed to be january 20th. but sources say she was actually fired and then escorted off the white house grounds. she was the communications director for the office of public liaison. and she was one of the most high-profile african-american staffers in the administration, but she reportedly clashed with aides, including chief of staff john kelly who limited her access to the oval office. and this morning she'll be on "good morning, america" with an exclusive interview with michael strahan. a kentucky state lawmaker has died from an apparent suicide. the coroner says he died from a single gunshot wound to the head. johnson was

church pastor. he denied accusations that he assaulted a 17-year-old girl in the basement of his home in 2013. state leaders from both parties called for his resignation. on wednesday he posted a message on facebook, asking people to care for his wife. he also added that, quote, heaven is my home. and blame canada for a major storm system set to hit the midwest and northeast with snow and frigid conditions. the system called an alberta clipper is expected to bring low temps and high winds four a stretch of michigan into new york. some areas could also see as much as ten inches of snow. >> and outside flint, michigan, heavy snow led to a pair of rollover crashes, in one case a semi truck jackknifed and slammed into the median. the driver was taken to the hospital. wasn't clear how badly hurt he was. now visibility dropped to less than half a mile in some areas as well. >> meanwhile in detroit, a

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economics in the new year. >> just kidding. it's time for our favorite things. >> favorite things. >> woo! >> let's do it! our first-ever "world news now" favorite things. >> thank you. >> and we're short on time, so let's get started, shall we? something so many of us struggle with. we're trying to get more volume into our hair. >> yes! >> wait, maybe not all of us. >> i resemble that problem. >> this has been a big problem with for me. it looks like a waffle iron almost. what it does is, you crimp the under layers of your hair like that. it gives you a nice lift under the root, a really great way to start off any hairstyle. who wants to try the valoom! >> you try the valoom! you try the valoom.

growing my own herbs and vegetables, i live in the city and i kill everything. thanks to back to the roots! this is like idiotproof indoor gardening. no more mess when you water. you can grow mushrooms. i currently have cherry tomatoes growing on my window sill. if i can do it, anyone can do it. is that not brilliant? >> is it great for stuff in colorado? >> no comment. back to the roots, back to the roots. next up, two words everybody, weighted blanket! >> this is my favorite thing. >> no, it's my favorite thing. it s it's the magic blanket. it feels like a hug. you know thunder jackets for dogs, this is

jacket for humans. it can be a great tool to help you relaex, to help you sleep. make sure you follow the company's instructions on what weight to order. my husband and i now fight over who gets to use these. who wants to try the weighted blanket. we did say it's weighted. are you okay? >> i hope you guys are going to be all right over there. next up i recently discovered these, and no exaggeration, they have changed my life. these are portable blackout blinds! >> portable blackout blinds? >> these are called easy night blinds, they attach to any window. awesome, velcro, suction cups. the blind comes with the tabs, stick the velcro to the suction cups and it comes with extra velcro. thanks to these, i

sleep when i'm traveling. i also use these at home. who wants to try the easy nights! santa getting some sleep today. finally. some things that help you sleep. >> i'll give bambi some. >> things that help you stay awake. get ready to have your mind blown with the human charger. so though is is like a sunlamp your ears. it looks like an ipod, but it does not blast music. it blasts light. it tricks your brain into thinking it's daytime. 12 minutes, it's advertised to help with a number of issues, including jet lag, shift work disorder or if you need a quick energy boost. and now with all of these sleep aids, consult your doctor, but i can tell you, they have improved my life. and now, they can improve your life for less, because we have

discounts. use these codes to get anywhere from 15 to 25% off these items. and -- >> who doesn't want 25%. >> and we are not done yet. >> because coming up next, who's ready fore ready for my favorite things? i don't have any freebies. but my favorite things are next. thank you, brother. i tried hard to quit smoking. but when we brought our daughter home, that was it. now i have nicoderm cq. the nicoderm cq patch with unique extended release technology helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. it's the best thing that ever happened to me. every great why needs a great how. gives skin the moisture it needs and keeps it there longer with lock-in moisture technology skin is petal smooth after all, a cleanser's just a cleanser unless it's olay.

well, cue the dancing bambi, because it is time for my favorite things. >> rudolph. >> huh? >> rudolph. just -- >> it is time for my favorite things. >> woo-hoo! favorite things. is bambi one of your favorite things? >> bambi is one of my favorite things and rudolph. people often ask what is the key to your

>> i don't nlike how this is going. >> these noise canceling headphones are the key. >> can't imagine why. >> what? >> that would bring you peace with me. >> you take them off. the music stops playing. you have different modes for plane noise, city noise and anchor noise. >> anchor, there's no setting there for anchor noise. is there? >> serenity now. as you know, if you know me, you know i'm a runner and have tested many, many smart watches over the year, including the apple watch, which i'm not a big fan of. this is my favorite one. it's the samsung gear sports watch. it has the most amazing gps. i ran with it in dubai. did i mention i went to dubai? it counts your steps, tracks your sleep of course and wherever you can swipe a credit card you can use this to pay. >> ooh, that's awesome. >> not my credit card. who wants a

>> does it have your credit card on it? >> whoa, come on, bambi. you know we always get a viewer who says boxers or briefs. i'm going to tell you whether i'm a boxers or briefs person. this is the underarmor sleepwear the same that tom brady wears. he's not actual lay in this underwear, but. >> i see. >> but it has built-in fiber to help you recover from workout. and the priciest item on the list, get out of the way, bambi, bring it in! this is on my wish list. >> no! >> it is the samsung, 65-inch right knew, tv, besides being a beautiful 4k hdtv, whether it's turned off, it looks like artwork. let's turnt

and voila. oh, look. this happened to be my favorite group. >> yeah! >> from my childhood. >> they have a christmas album now. >> you know what's better than having drew hill on tv? it's having drew hill right here! >> dru hill is in the house! ♪ ♪ the time we hold dear ♪ there's only one reason ♪ it's my favorite time of year ♪ ♪ to appreciate ♪ appreciate ♪ the things in life ♪ every time you are here ♪ i can feel love in the air ♪ it's my favorite time of year ♪ >> we're going to

hill on the other side of this break. >> dru! woo! woo! ♪

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♪ it's my favorite time of year ♪ we are back on our favorite things show, with dru hill. baltimo baltimore boys. your new christmas cd is out, called christmas in baltimore. it was released on black friday. >> that's right. >> what was the inspiration? >> the fans were asking for new music, and we were trying to think of something we haven't had the chance to do. >> we know you for many of your love songs. >> oh, it's sexy. >> is it meant as a christmas album that you should put on when you're w

>> when the family's gone? not when the family's there? >> or when you're trying to make the family? >> we did a remake of the temptations silent night. and that's pretty family friendly. but stop it after that, because i don't know -- >> it's evident how long you guys have been doing this together and how quickly it all came together and how great you sound. >> so the soul train awards where they welcomed you guys after so many years, and it was sort of like a homecoming, i guess, for dru hill, wasn't it? >> we spent a lot of time on soul train. it felt like we were going there every weekend. we wanted to, but they wouldn't let us. >> you didn't get to do a soul train line? >> only at family barbecues. >> that needs to be remedied. >> we could do a soul train line right here. set one up. let's do it. >>

>> let's do it. >> the christmas dudes go first. >> soul train line. >> woo! >> get, get, get, get it. >> oh, oh, oh, oh. >> this is why we can't have nice things. >> i give it to you, man. >> it is so great to meet you guys. >> it's our pleasure. >> 20 years later, what's next for dru hill now? >> we finished this album, we're going to go right back in the studio and do the next one, which is going to be a full r&b album. it's going to be called dru hill, the second coming. >> i like it. >> well, we like the first coming of dru hill. we entirely enjoyed it. we entirely enjoyed having you

>> you can check out wnnfans.com. we have more of our favorite things including dru hill and

this morning on "world news now," another trump insider now out. omarosa is gone. the apprentice star turned west wing staffer exported from the white house, according to reports this morning. she explains her side. >> and roy moore's latest comments on the alabama election, still refusing to concede to doug jones. and the emotional moment on live television. >> what brought meghan mccain to tears and what joe biden said that nearly broke the internet. and, as hard as it may be to believe, it's been 40 years since we first hustled to