the busiest airport in the world - shut down for hours. breaking overnight.. the lights are back on in atlanta -- but the headaches are just beginning. taxing times. republicans just days away from delivering what the president is calling the biggest christmas gift. coming up: the final countdown on tax reform - and the one senator who won't be there for the vote. and the official start of winter just days away - but we've got at least one more fall day left - now just one week until christmas! good morning washington.

toss to veronica today: partly cloudy, milder highs: 50-56 winds: southwest 5-10 mph tonight: mostly cloudy lows: 38-42 winds: light tuesday: partly sunny & mild highs: 56-62 winds: sw 5-10 breaking overnight -

on at the world's busiest airport. power was restored in atlanta just after midnight.. after eleven hours in the dark. but this morning still a huge mess to clean up across the country to get flights back up and running.

live at dulles airport with the impact here in our area. and guess who's stuck in atlanta this

stuck in atlanta this morning.. our very own larry smith! he was trying to get back to d-c for our show this morning.. but no such luck. good news though - larry's re-booked on a flight to dulles later this morning. fingers crossed it'll get off the ground. we'll be talking with larry live coming up at six. breaking overnight - flames tearing through a fairfax county home.. this was the scene late sunday on

drive in burke. we know at least one alarm was called but we're still working to get more details on exactly what happened. we'll update you as we learn more. we're standing by for new information this morning after a deadly plane crash in indiana. the plane was on its way to frederick, maryland from kansas city. today we're expecting to learn the names of the three people on board that were killed. a dog was also killed in the crash... but another on board survived. the f-a-a is investigating. happening today.. republicans return to congress, facing a packed agenda. they're aiming to quickly pass their massive tax reform plan early in the week. melanie hastings is here with more. republicans are on the brink of passing a nearly one-and-a -half trillion dollar tax overhaul. on friday, two senators who said they'd vote against the bill pledged their support: bob corker, and marco rubio. that means republicans should have the votes they need. this would be this

legislative accomplishment for president trump and g-o-p leaders. treasury secretary steve mnuchin says by lowering business taxes, wages will rise, and jobs will be created. president trump says this will be one of the best christmas presents middle-income americans have ever received. arianna... senator john mccain is back home in arizona, and does not plan to vote on the final tax bill. but his absence is not expected to derail the measure. mccain was admitted to walter reed hospital on wednesday, because of side effects from his cancer treatments. he was treated for a viral infection. he was released less than 24 hours ago, and is said to be improving. he'll spend christmas with his family. he plans to return to washington in january. seven is on your side as republicans work to revamp the nation's tax code. download the free abc seven news app for updates sent right to your phone. still ahead - team for sale! new fallout as the owner of the carolina panther's is accused of sexual

and new overnight.. the big name putting in a bid for the team.. plus - the california wildfires growing in size. the uphill battle as firefighters brace for even worse conditions to come. vj live tease and here's a look at your stormwatch seven weather on and here's a look at your stormwatch seven weather on the go -- checking travel conditions.

highs: 50-56 winds: southwest 5-10 mph tonight: mostly cloudy lows: 38-42 winds: light tuesday: partly sunny & mild highs: 56-62 winds: sw 5-10 abc 7 has reported on falling

ikea recall. coming up - 7 is on your side with how you can protect your family before an ikea anchor kit arrives. plus - a bombshell new admission. the military spending millions... all to search for u-f-o's?! the pentagon's secret search just revealed - next. z2momz zi0z

y2momy yi0y

for first responders -- remembering one of their own killed fighting one of the largest wildfires in california history. 32-year-old cory david iverson leaves behind a pregnant wife and two-year-old daughter. meanwhile -- thousands more people are being forced to evacuate -- as strong winds stir up the flames. others are returning home to ruins. today marks exactly two weeks today marks exactly two weeks since the fires started. one of the largest -- the thomas fire -- is still only 40-percent contained. as 7 on your side previously reported - ikea is recalling millions of children's dressers because they topple over too easily, and are blamed for the death of several

ikea will mail you a wall anchor kit to fix the problem.. but consumer reporter john matarese shows why you don't have to wait weeks for a repair kit... so you dont waste your money. is the truth about aliens out there??

aliens out there?? apparently the pentagon has spent millions of dollars to find out. the pentagon confirms a covert program called a-tip or the "advanced aviation threat identification program." the top-secret 22-million dollar initiative investigated potential u-f-o sightings. it was launched by former democratic nevada senator harry reid and ran from 2007 to 20-12. no word yet on the program's possible findings. time now for weather

partly cloudy, milder highs: 50-56 winds: southwest 5-10 mph tonight: mostly cloudy lows: 38-42 winds: light tuesday: partly sunny & mild highs: 56-62 winds: sw 5-10

accessories appears to be a popular gift this year. those air pods - already sold out until next year! abc's kendis gibson and eva pilgrim have the details in this morning's techbytes.

terminals in atlanta going dark. breaking overnight - the lights are back on but the problems are far from over. and the king at capital one arena. the wizards hosting lebron and the cavs - but it's not the game we're talking about. the statement on the court. good morning washington. toss to vj today: partly cloudy, milder highs: 50-56 winds: southwest 5-10 mph tonight: mostly cloudy lows: 38-42 winds: light tuesday: partly sunny & mild highs: 56-62 winds: sw 5-10

breaking overnight - the lights are back - the lights are back

the lights are back on at the world's busiest airport. after eleven hours in the dark -- power was restored in atlanta just after midnight. but still a huge mess this morning to get flights back up and running. melanie hastings is following the delays at the live desk. autria, adrianna still major problems today.. hundreds of flights are cancelled.. as airlines struggle to get planes where they need to be. overnight we've learned it was a fire in an underground electrical facility that knocked -oute power for more than 11 hours.. more than a thousand flights were canceled in- and- out of atlanta. people had to wait in the dark, and some passengers were stuck on airplanes for as long as nine hours. it's created a travel nightmare at the it's created a travel nightmare at the world's busiest airport as one of the busiest travel periods begins.

effects at airports all across the country. autria... and our own larry smith -caught in the chaos. he was supposed to be here on good morning washington.. but he's stuck there in atlanta! good news though - larry's re-booked on a flight later this morning. fingers crossed it'll get off the ground. we'll be talking with larry live coming up at six. today, contracted employees at dulles airport will announce whether they'll go on strike during the holiday season. they're demanding that their employer, huntleigh u-s-a corporation, allow them to join a union. at two this afternoon, the employees will announce the results of their strike vote. this would be the third time they've gone on strike against the company as they ask for higher wages, and more job security. new misconduct claims surfacing this morning - this time against m-s-n-b-c host chris matthews. we're also learning the company made a payment to his accuser. a spokesperson says this all happened back in 1999 -- after the woman compl

"hardball" host sexually harassed her. m-s-n-b-c says the payment was separation-related compensation -- tied to her leaving her job, not a settlement for the claims. the company, also saying matthews was given a formal reprimand as a result. carolina panthers owner jerry richardson says he will sell the team, amid his own sexual misconduct investigation. the announcement comes after a sports illustrated story revealed the panthers settled with at least four former employees regarding inappopriate workplace behavior by richardson. the n-f-l says it's now investigating. and this morning already a lot of interest in the team.. music mogul p-diddy tweeting that he wants to buy the panthers - and promised he'd have the best half time shows. nba star steph curry quickly responded that he wants in too! the wizards at home last night did all they could to cool down lebron james and the red hot cleveland cavaliers. the wizards stayed with the cavs for most of the game but the "king" took over in the fourth quarter. lebron with the

deep to extend the cavs lead. he finished with 20 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds. cavs win 106 to 99..their 18th win in their last 19 games. and a back story to that game last night -- lebron's shoes. check them out..he wore one black shoe and one white shoe with the words equality on them. james says he wore them in d-c as a message to president trump. after the game lebron said quote "equality is all about understanding our rights, understanding what we stand for and how powerful we are as men and as women." from basketball to football now - and refs in oakland.. bringing out the chains - and a note card? a crazy call that has everyone talking this morning. coming up - the piece of paper that just might've saved the

plus - a prince and a president. what former president obama is revealing in a royal new interview.. vj live tease and here's a look at your stormwatch seven weather on the go -- checking the next 48 hours.

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ it all starts with a wish. the final days of wish list are here. hurry in and sign and drive off in a new lincoln with zero down and a complementary first months payment. partly cloudy, milder highs: 50-56 winds: southwest 5-10 mph tonight: mostly cloudy

winds: light tuesday: partly sunny & mild highs: 56-62 winds: sw 5-10 congress is heading

would be the biggest revamp to the nation's tax code in three decades. the house is expected to vote tomorrow, the senate shortly thereafter.. and republicans are confident they'll have the votes and send the bill to the president's desk before christmas. abc's arlette saenz joins us live now from northwest with more.

robert mueller's team improperly obtained thousands of transition emails. mr. trump says he's upset, but: the president's transition lawyer the president's transition lawyer says the emails were improperly obtained, and include privileged information. the general services administration gave the documents to mueller in september, in response to requests from the f-b-i. but that lawyer says the transition team didn't learn about it until last week. president trump is again stressing, there was no collusion with russia. president trump will outline his national security strategy in a speech later this afternoon. the president is expected to lay out his "america first" policy. national security advisor, h-r mcmaster says the plan will focus on u-s military and economic strength overseas. there are also reports the presdient will accuse china of being an economic aggresor. breaking overnight

flames tearing through a fairfax county home.. this was the scene late sunday on burnside landing drive in burke. we know at least one alarm was called but we're still working to get more details on exactly what happened. we'll update you as we learn more. we're standing by for new information this morning about a deadly plane crash on the way to maryland. the plane was heading to frederick, maryland from kansas city.. when it crashed in indiana. today we should learn the names of the three people killed on board. a dog was also killed in the crash... but another on board survived. the f-a-a is investigating. right now - the search for a second suspect... after a crime spree in alexandria. investigators say around eleven saturday night... employees at a verizon store on little river turnpike were forced into a back room by two men, who stole dozens of phones. the pair led police on a chase... then crashed into another car before ending up in a creek bed. police got the driver -- 24-year-old darrius berry of d-c. the second suspect

he stole a minivan from a woman leaving a nearby shopping center. anyone with information should contact police. d-c police, asking for your help to crack a cold case... and hopefully get a killer off the streets. jovani jefferson was shot and killed 14 years ago yesterday. the shooting -- at 51st and call place southeast... just after ten in the morning. that same shooting, injuring a six-year-old -- hit by a stray bullet. if you know anything about this case, police want to hear from you. you can choose to remain anonymous. new at six - a scare for skiers. lift chairs left teetering in the air at a pennsylvania resort. the malfunction that left dozens hurt. and help cure the holiday stress with a free massage! we're giving away gift gards to "hand and stone massage" all this week. watch to win - coming up at six. the group behind last week's viral redskins hoax stunt... taking their protest to fedex

the online stunt claimed the redskins were changing their name to the redhawks. sunday's protest brought out supporters like yohance maqubela, the son of late human rights icon dick gregory. organizers say they got more than half a million hits on their website after posting the article about the redhawks. the redskins won't be going to the playoffs but they are finishing the season strong. the offense had it going at home against the arizona cardinals. kirk cousins finds jamison crowder for the touchdwon to put the skins up 7-nothing in the first quarter. that's the first of two touchdown passes by cousins. skins would go on to win 20 to 15 and snap a 2-game losing streak. here's something blowing up on social media right now. cowboys-raiders last night in oa

himself.. it's too close to tell if he got the first down.. the referees bring out the chains..but it's so close the ref decided to pull a piece of paper out of his pocket and place it between the ball and stick to measure. they gave dallas the first down. cowboys would win 20-17 and keep their playoff hopes alive. it's 5: and time for a check on weather. today: partly cloudy, milder highs: 50-56 winds: southwest 5-10 mph

lows: 38-42 winds: light tuesday: partly sunny & mild highs: 56-62 winds: sw 5-10 seven on your side this morning with a crtical deadline...

holiday shopping home strech. today is the the last to mail your gifts in time for christmas using amazon standard shipping. it's also the last day for u-p-s's 3-day shipping. the other major deadline you need to know -- tomorrow. tuesday is the most popular cutoff date for retailers to ensure your packages arrive in time. after that.. you'll have to pay more for expedited shipping with most sellers. as expected.. star wars is sending the 2017 box office out with a bang. the last jedi brought in an estimated 220-million dollars! that's the second highest opening weekend of all time... its predecessor... 20-15's "the force awakens"... holds the top spot.

showings are factored in, the last jedi is expected to have made a total of 450-million dollars in one weekend. a meeting of the prince and a former president. new video this morning shows prince harry and president obama warming up for a radio interview. this was recorded during the invictus games in september. obama talked about his hopes for the future. the interview airs on the b-b-c next week. happening now.. a holiday travel nightmare! the nation's busiest airport going dark just days before christmas - and it's not just impacting people in atlanta... a live report from dulles, in two minutes.

>> now, "good morning washington," on your side. >> can i have your attention please? an emergency has been reported in the building. >> a complete nightmare. autria: can you imagine? this is the atlanta airport. an absolute mess. breaking overnight, the lights are finally back on. what started an 11 hour outage and the cause that the mayor cannot rule out. plus a bombshell in the nfl. the allegations that have an entire team up for cell -- for sale. an springtime