this morning on "world news now," the huge tax cut bill on shaky ground, as marco rubio, the latest republican senator to voice concerns about the legislation. the president still hopes to sign it before christmas. plus omarosa trying to set the record straight. saying she wasn't fired from the white house but what she's saying to robin roberts' candid reaction to the interview. and new this half hour, the new affair allegation against matt lauer. >> a staffer is going public with her claims of an alleged affair when she calls predatory. and no spoilers. i repeat, no spoilers. it's the number one rule when talking about a movie this big. so just imagine how the "star

felt when a british anchor gave it all away. a rebellion is now under way on this friday, december 15th. ♪ from abc news, this is "world news now." you do have to see his reaction. i just saw the movie a couple hours ago. there were so many different things that happened, so many twists and turns that yeah, the less you know going in, the better. >> hmm. >> it is better. >> that's why you don't look at twitter. >> that's true. but we're going to start this half hour with the republican tax overhaul plan hitting a snag after leaders in the house and senate agreed to merge their plans. >> senator marco rubio is the second republican to say he won't vote for the bill unless his demands are met. and two more

any more than two defections and that will derail this legislation. chuck sievertson has more. >> reporter: republicans spent thursday putting the last touches on the tax bill and hope to vote on it next week giving president trump his first major legislative victory, but on capitol hill, it's far from being a done deal. marco rubio says he's a no vote unless it includes a larger expansion of the child tax credit. >> unless they can figure out a way to add to the 1100 figure i won't support the bill. >> reporter: senate republicans can only afford to lose two votes, and tennessee's bob corker is expected to be a no. he's concerned about the $1.5 trillion it's expected to add to the deficit. democrats united in their opposition still trying to figure out what's actually in the bill. republicans haven't released that yet. but here's what we do know. it gets rid of the obamacare mandate, that could leave 13

million more americans uninsured over the next decade. for the wealthy, the plan lowers the top tax rate from 39% to 37%. for big business, the rate is slashed from 35% to 21%. and for middle class americans it doubles the standard deductions. for those who itemize, it keeps deductions. but it caps state and local property tax deductions at just $10,000. republican leadership and the president have promised relief to the middle class, but previous analysis of the senate version show americans making $75,000 or less will actually pay more in taxes within a decade. chuck seibertson, abc news, new york. >> as republicans race to pass tax reform, it's not certain whether or not john mccain will be well enough to give his vote. he remains at walter reid hospital. undergoing treatment for the side effects of his cancer therapy.

office says he's looking forward to returning to work as soon as possible. senator lindsey graham is warning that a u.s. attack on north korea may be imminent if kim jong un launches another long-range ballistic missile. and he told the "atlantic" magazine that there's a 70% chance president trump would use the military option if north korea tests another bomb. graham said time is running out. if nothing changes the president will have to use force. the white house has unveiled what it says is proof that iran is sending weapons to rebels in yemen. ambassador nikki haley showed off remnants of weapons she says bears their finger prints. she accused iran of hiding behind the nuclear deal to ship arms to yemen. she says markings connect directly to iran. >> this evidence is part of what has led the u.s. intelligence community to conclude unequivocally that these weapons were suppl

regime. the evidence is undeniable. the weapons might as well have had "made in iran" stickers all over it. >> haley says the shipments violate u.n. security council resolutions, including some connected to the nuclear deal. iran's u.n. envoy is calling the accusations fake and fabricated. there are new evacuations overnight in southern california's massive wildfire that's been burning more than two weeks. residents in the fillmore community were ordered to leave their homes immediately. fire crews are now bracing for more powerful wins over the weekend. the thomas fire is the fourth largest fire in the state's history, burning more than 240,000 acres. and hunch -- hundreds of homes. and firefighters are mourning one of their own. cory iverson died while fighting that fire. he died in an accident near fillmore where that firefight is

san diego for some eight years. he leaves behind a wife, a 2-year-old daughter and sad enough, a second daughter is due to arrive in the spring. fire officials have released few details about his death. >> while we continue to process this tragic loss, we must keep our focus on the fire. the firefight in front of us continues to go on. the communities we are protecting are depending on us, and we will not fail. >> an accident review team is investigating the death. his is the second death linked to this thomas fire. an elderly woman died last week in a car crash while evacuating. >> new york police are confirming an investigation into rape allegations against russell simmons. the music mogul is defending himself against those allegations which are being made by three women. their stories were published this week in the "new york times." on his instagram page, simmons posted a statement saying he's

innocent of all rape charges and using #not me. he says he's not against the me too movement but wants to hold his accusers accountable. all right, keeping with the theme, the oscar winner, dustin hoffman is facing accusations from three women. one says he exposed himself to her in 1980 when she was 16 years old. the other two say he assaulted them. his attorney calls them defamatory falsehoods. and then there's this in "variety" magazine, an account of a woman who describes her brief but intense relationship with matt lauer. she was a production assistant in 2000 when she claims to have had several consensual encounters with lauer who had just gotten married. it includes computer messages in which he writes, i hope you won't drag me to personnel for saying this, but you look fantastic. she says she came forward to

validate the stories of other women who made accusations against the former anchor. lauer has not commented on the story. which solar system has the most planets? >> ours. nasa has discovered something exciting. >> yeah. another planet orbiting the very distant star kepler 90. it's beautiful this time of year. that makes eight, which ties our system for most planets circling a single sun. >> the new planet known as kepler 91. >> it's got a nice ring to it. >> it was discovered using the kepler space telescope. and it was helped out by artificial intelligence. i'm not sure if it's "i" or "1". >> math?

>> one, two. coming up in "the skinny," "star wars" mania. plus a startling prediction made by "the simpsons." 19 years ago. it's come true. what they foresaw in 1988 that just took place. and that moment from "good morning, america" that gained global attention, those two words from robin roberts. buttoning up michael strahan's exclusive interview with omarosa newman. but first here's a look at today's forecast. world news now weather, brought to you by norton core.

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every critic. every detractor will have to bow down to president trump. it's everyone who's ever doubted donald. who ever disagreed, who ever challenged him. it is the ultimate revenge to become the most powerful man in the universe. >> and there you thought beyonce was the only person that we had to bow down to. that's omarosa there during the 2016 campaign with quite a pred

she, of course, back in the news now that she's leaving the trump administration. >> after initial reports that the former "apprentice" contestant was fired and escorted out of the white house, she says uh-uh, she resigned. during a conversation with the white house chief of staff. deborah roberts have more. >> reporter: abc sources say she was fired, escorted out of the white house, but she tells me a different story. so you resigned. >> i resigned. i had a conversation with general kelly, one on one in the situation room. >> reporter: in the situation room? >> well, you know, yes, that's the most secure, private place to have a conversation like this. >> reporter: was it a tense conversation? >> absolutely. i talked to him about some concerns that i had about issues, about one very urgent issue and pressing issue that would affect the president. and so -- >> reporter: an urgent and pressing -- >> absolutely. >> reporter: that would affect the presidenin

dangerous way? >> in a big way. >> reporter: so what is that pressing issue? she refuses to say. >> omarosa's a good person. thank you all very much. >> reporter: their connection deep. omarosa became the highest ranking black staff member. >> at times it was very lonely, because a majority of them were white men who had their own agendas. if i were not in the room, who would raise the issue? who will fight for us? >> reporter: so who will fill that void? >> that's a question you'll have to ask president trump and general kelly. >> reporter: deborah roberts, abc news, new york. >> and there was this moment from yesterday's "good morning, america" that is getting a lot of attention. >> so we didn't have a solar eclipse yesterday, but at 8:08:00 a.m. there was serious shade over times square, during michael's interview with omarosa, he asked how she felt about the president's handling

of racially divisive issues. >> she promised to reveal her experiences in the future. >> i have seen things that have made me uncomfortable, that have upset me, that have upset me deeply and emotionally, that has affected my people. when i can tell my story, it is a profound story that i know the world will want to hear. >> she says she has a story to sell, i'm sure she will be selling that story. bye, felicia. >> we'll see. >> epic. >> so for those of you unfamiliar, she is slaying for dismissing someone you're not really into. she didn't even wave her off. >> like bye, felicia, have a nice life. >> and we are moving on. omarosa responded saying it was a petty remark and part of a black woman civil war. but robin with the shade.

woman, always nice. >> you've gotten on robin's bad side. if robin hates you, you have done something. hmm, hmm. hmm. all right, when we come back, the moment a "star wars" interview turned very awkward on live tv. lls.plus justin bieber decks the >> we will not be saying bye felicia to you. we love you. e saying bye felicia to you. nope. no way. nada. really? dish issues? throw it all in. cascade platinum powers through even burnt-on gravy. nice. cascade.

♪ oh, there's a disturbance in the skinny force this morning as potential spoilers threaten "star wars" fans. >> and if you were not one of the first to see "the last jedi" overnight, be careful where you go on the internet. we all know this. but in the case of one of the film stars, john boyega, be careful who you talk to. >> boyega appeared on a british talk show and was speechless after one of the anchors gave away a huge plot spoiler. don't worry, we've bleeped it out, but take a look. >> the fans will be very excited, because [ bleep ].

>> holly, holly, i mean, you can't tell the fans exactly what happens. >> well, i don't know, i don't know what happens. that is out there. >> you know what? get your ticket. >> all right, this is so hard to do when you haven't seen the movie, but now that you're on to number two, is this more than you could have ever expected. >> so i have seen the movie, and she was saying the fans are happy to know -- i have seen it, i have no idea what she was referring to. >> oh, really? >> there are some fun moments, but i don't know what happy moment -- >> the co-host reaction was pretty. the thing is, if you give away things people really hate you. so you don't want to be the person who gets all the hater-ade today.

>> exactly. so i'm not saying a word. there were no storm troopers. i'm not saying a word what was in it. we're going to turn to non-"star wars" news and a creepy prediction made by "the simpsons". back in the '90s that's now true. >> one day after disney announced it would buy fox, we were reminded of this episode of the simpsons from november 8, 1988. the scene takes place at the studio of it 20th century fox, a division of the walt disney company. >> that's amazing. it's now known as 21st century fox. but we're not nit-picking. but over the 29-year run, the simpsons have accurately predicted nearly a dozen events from the arab spring to lady gaga's super bowl performance,

and perhaps most famously and donald trump winning the presidency, which they said seemed like the most absurd joke at the time. >> and most eerily this prediction back in against that holstrom would win the nobel prize in 2016. so random. >> which he did. amazing. >> and now disney trying to acquire fox, of course. >> i hope that they're like playing the bets in vegas with that kind of predictions. >> ms. cleo is mad. next to a prediction any of us could have made. justin bieber decorating his christmas tree half naked. >> i love the biebs. he uploaded this video of a super speed time lapse of himself, shirtless, shoeless and apparently full of the holiday spirit. >> yeah. >> i love that he keeps like bending over in front of the camera, too, like that's where he has it positioned is like the

most awkward -- >> his eyes are up there. >> the camera is like at eye level there. it's not my fault. he's only 23. it's not appropriate. >> he's an adult. friday rewind next. >> he's an adult. friday rewind next.

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plus, it has a fortifying formula to protect your enamel. now i get a whiter smile and healthy teeth, all in one. the 3d white collection from crest. healthy, beautiful smiles for life. ♪ all right, so we're closing out another jam-packed week. of course we had really troubling news in new york city. you had the subway bombing attempt, and of course the election in alabama. one for the history books. >> jaw-dropping there. there were some tender moments, though, that we had happen this week. and your favorite things for the holiday season. here now is our weekly friday rewind. >> we want to bring you the latest right now on that explosion at the port authority at the height of rush hour. >> this was an attempted terrorist attack. >> surveillance footage capturing a man detonating a homemade pipe-bomb.

firms -- officials say these four officers approached the suspect. identifying the man as 27-year-old ake ed ullah. that's where the pipe-bomb detonated. voters in alabama rejecting roy moore, to send a democrat to the senate for the first time in a quarter century. >> i have always believed that the people of alabama have more in common than divide us. >> this has been a very close race, and we are awaiting certification by the secretary of state. >> although election officials in alabama say there is no reason to question the results which are expected to be certified by the end of the month. next to president trump and a national conversation about sexual misconduct. president trump's accusers are now demanding that congress act, arguing the president should not be immune. >> i'm here to speak on behalf of the president, and i can say that the president has directly responded and said that these alga

>> this morning, the thomas fire continuing its march toward the towns of carpinteria and montecito. on the ground, thousands of firefighters making a last stand to protect homes. in just a few moments you see that plane dropping that retardant over our head. >> my name is jimmy, this is billy, i was out last week because this guy had heart surgery, but look, he's fine everybody. daddy cries on tv but billy doesn't. it's time for our favorite things! >> you know what's better than having dru hill on that tv? is having dru hill right here in studio! ♪ i can feel love in the air ♪ it's my favorite time of year ♪ >> just when i got that song out of my head, it's now back. all day yesterday.

ah, yes, it was so cool to have those guys here. sisco had his hat on, but the blond hair was still on point. >> i didn't see it.

making news in america this morning, tax plan snag. marco rubio comes out against the tax compromise on capitol hill. this morning, what he wants and who else may be fighting it. odds of on attack. a senator predicting there is a 70% chance that president trump will attack north korea if kim jong-un makes one particular move. omarosa's controversial interview, the former "apprentice" star raising more questions than and the about her white house exit. >> i have seen things that have made me uncomfortable, that have upset me. >> this morning what former press secretary