this morning on "world news now," the question many are wondering. is speed to blame for the deadly train derailment in washington state. >> the amtrak train veered off the track. several of those cars plunged onto a busy interstate. we're live on the scene with the latest on the investigation. and the president could be on the verge of a big win. the first votes in that sweeping tax bill get under way in interests today. this as we learn the investigation into russia's meddling could take another year to be finished. families have been displaced in a fire being blamed on a toy's lithium battery. we'll have advice on what you should look out for if you are buying

it's a bold claim, but we hope it's right. hangover-free booze. let me repeat. hangover-free booze. it promises to give you all the fun of a night out without having to pay for it the next day. weekend plans yet? it's only tuesday, december 19th. from abc news, this is "world news now." >> i don't know, i'm skeptical about that one. >> skeptical, but i'm willing to try it and let you know how -- >> for the sake of journalism. >> we'll break that down a little later. but we're going to start things off with a nmore serious note on that derailment in washington. the train may have been going faster than the posted speed limit. >> the train derailed and went off an overpass south of tacoma. some of the cars landed on interstate 5 as you can see there, hitting vehicles on that busy highway and injuring dr

>> theis was the first run for this train on a new shorter route between seattle and portland. mar marci gonzalez is on that scene in washington. good morning. >> reporter: hi, guys, good morning. you can still see that train behind me. this part of the highway is still shut down as officials work through the rain in the early morning hours investigating. that rail car left dangling in the darkness, part of the aftermath of this amtrak train crash that killed at least three people and injured more than 70 others. >> amtrak 501. emergency, emergency, emergency. we are on the ground. >> reporter: all but one of the rail cars careening off the track south of tacoma, washington. several crashing onto the busy highway below during the morning rush. >> things started to tip over as it was going around, and all of a sudden ended up on its side and everything went dark. >> the train started to wobble for a moment. and then we were catapulted at the seats in front of

>> reporter: chris karnes on board for this, the inaugural run of a new faster route between seattle and portland, tweeting moments earlier, wow, this train is fast. we're passing up traffic on i-5. then after 7:30 a.m., it plunged off both sides of the overpass. >> is everybody okay? >> i'm still figuring that out. we've got cars everywhere and down onto the highway. >> reporter: at least seven vehicles, including two semis on interstate 5 crushed. other drivers jumping out of their cars, rushing to help. >> we climbed underneath the train as fast as we could and there were people with half their bodies pinned, couldn't move and were in a lot of pain. >> reporter: other victims walking away from the scene in disbelief. >> when i stepped out, i didn't really realize i was standing on another train car. >> reporter: and the ntsb is now out here working and

kendis, diane, back to you. >> no doubt the rain is making that work a little bit more difficult for them out there. marci, i know before the crash one local mayor near there raised concerns about this faster train service. he seemed to predict this would happen. >> reporter: yeah, it's really interesting. just about two weeks ago, the mayor of a nearby town called lakewood was in a meeting really warning that this could cause a major safety hazard. he said that this new, faster train service with trains that can go up to 79 miles per hour could endanger citizens and said that a crash, an accident like this could be inevitable if more safety precautions weren't put in place. >> kind of eerie, marcy. now we're hearing that that train could have been traveling almost twice the limit of what's allowed on that track. what do we know about that so far? >> reporter: well, officials are still trying to figure out just how fast the train was going and if that is the case. we

they say that this area had a, has a feature that would automatically slow a train down if it is speeding. but that feature never kicked in. we know that the curve that this train had just gone around when this crash happened, the speed limit's 30 miles per hour. but still unclear at this point how fast the train was actually going. >> marci, many of our concerns are about the victims and those who were injured. what's the update there? >> reporter: well, we know all of the fatalities were on the train. so none of the motorists who were impacted by this were killed. they all survived. 72 people were treated for injuries in hospitals and of those, 10 are being treated for injuries that are considered serious. kendis, diane, back to you. >> that's marci gonzalez for us live from dupont, washington. thanks. >> and of course the president had several tweets about that incident earlier in the day, but he's also now preparing to sign a sweeping tax bill into law by the end

first votes getting under way in congress today. republicans are pitching the legislation as a boost for the middle class but a new independent analysis says that in a decade 70% of the middle class will see a tax increase, while 76% of the wealthiest americans will see a tax cut. peop the cuts for individuals will expire. senator susan collins announced her support for the bill. that means there will be no republican opposition in the senate. >> this legislation will provide tax relief to working families. encourage the creation of jobs right here in america. and spur economic growth that will benefit all americans. >> and senator john mccain will miss the vote, as he recuperates in arizona from the sight effects of his treatment for

he says he's feeling well and looking forward to returning to work after the holidays. and it looks like the russia investigation won't be ending anytime soon. sources say it could last another year. the president says he's not planning to fire mueller, but tensions are rising after a trump attorney accused mueller's team of breaking the law. >> reporter: the russia investigation may be closing in, but president trump says he has no plans to fire the man leading the charge, special counsel robert mueller. >> no, i'm not, no. what else? what, are you surprised? >> reporter: his lawyers, however, launched a new attack. in a seven-page letter to congressional investigators, president trump's transition legal team accuses mueller of wrongfully obtaining tens of thousands of e-mails from the president's inner circle in the weeks before he took office. including they say a very

material. they say career government workers broke the law by giving mueller's team those e-mail, plus laptops, cell phones and other materials. >> not looking good. it's not looking good. it's quite sad to see that, so my people were very upset about it. i can't imagine there's anything on them, frankly, because as we said, there's no collusion. there's no collusion whatsoever. >> reporter: the charge from the president's attorneys prompting a rare public rebuttal from the usually secretive special counsel. in a statement, the smokpokespen says they were obtained with the account holder's permission or regular access. he is expected to sit down later this week. his legal team wants to get a sense of where this is and whether the president himself is under investigation, but mueller is under no obligation to show his hand. abc news, the white house. the u.s.

criticism over president trump's recognition of jerusalem as israel's capital. nikki haley vetoed a resolution. it was supported by many u.s. alliesi al allies including britain and france. pence has pushed back his trip and will visit flex month. the administration says north korea was responsible for the wanna cry attack. it disabled hundreds of thousands of computers in hospitals and homes in more than 150 countries. and president trump is headed to disney world today. >> to the magic kingdom's hall of presidents. >> ah-ha. >> which is reopening in a few hours after a year-long renovation. not the real president, a silicone version is in the house. the president'

unveiled for many to see. >> that's right. each sitting president has recorded a speech for the attraction since it opened in 1990. mr. trump's figure says in part that to be an american is to be an optimist. really good at doing the robot. hello. >> they redid it. some of the presidents got greased up a little bit. a little looser. >> the joints are a little more flowy. coming up, hugh jackman trades in those metallic wolverine claws for a top hat as he gets into the three-ring circus as pt barnum. plus a devastating fire is found to have been caused by the battery of a toy. we have details ahead here on "world news now."

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services finally returning to normal at atlanta's hartsfield jackson arpirport afr a crippling power outage. they say they haven't canceled a flight since midday yesterday, but big but here, it could be days before all those stranded passengers reach their destinations. meanwhile, the ceo of

power apologized for the outage. a fire in an underground tunnel was so, textensive it burned th backup lines. >> during the holiday travel season. >> not ideal. >> 51 million people flying. in the meantime, you have a pair of storms that could make travel a mess. >> one's in the south, the other one's expected tomorrow. here's ginger zee. >> we have this warm air ininvestigating in. something to watch for in dallas to atlanta. this one dropping up to 36 inches of snow in the cascades overnight tonight. and if you're traveling i-80 or i-70 in the northern plains, some places up to a foot. it becomes all rain but

as so many people hit the roads and skies this friday, saturday and sunday on the east coast. >> perfect. >> sounds great, doesn't it? ginger, thank you. experts say the monstrous thomas fire in california hey n -- may not be contained until next month. it is california's third-largest wildfire on record. fire officials say it's now 50% contained. but the fire's already blamed for two deaths and the damage is estimated at more than $124 million. >> so many multi-million dollar homes went up in flames in the montecito area. in the meantime, four families in indianapolis are out of their homes due to a fire that is briefed to have been caused by a lithium ion battery. authorities bri authorities believe the battery overheated in a toy that was being stored in the furnace room. there were no

experts say one way to know your toy is safe, look to make sure they're all ul approved. that means they've ban tested for safety in a lab. it's interesting. you can see some toys kind of moving there. >> what a scary thing. we heard about this for a while with those hover boards. but anything with a lithium ion battery can be susceptible to this. you think of parents with lots of electrical toys. >> it's a good way of getting out of buying your kid a toy. sorry, we do not want to burn the house down. you cannot have your favorite toy. >> only you would think of that. we have new details in the arrest of sarah palin's son accused of beating up hess own father. plus, hugh jackman playing p.t. barnum, next on "world news now"

...from far away. but they harryonly see his wrinkles. if only harry used some... ...bounce, to dry. he would be a less wrinkly, winning guy.

♪ try, try, try to understand ♪ he's a magic man >> oh.

>> yes, i am. oh, that's not about me. they're not playing that song for me. >> sorry, honey. they were talking about, you can keep trying, but for now we are playing that for the multi-talented hugh jackman who is playing the legendary p.t. barnum in a musical for the big screen. >> we're up all "nightline" with juju chang. >> reporter: wolverine is trading in those x men claws. for a top hat and cane. the ever-versatile leading man, hugh jackman depicting a decidedly more human hero. p.t. barnum in "the greatest shgreatest showman. what do p.t. barnum and wolverine have in common? >> push him up against the

back him into a corner, look out. i've got a little bit of that. >> reporter: the movie an over the top homage to the father of barnum and bailey circus in the 19th century. seven years in development. >> and a half. >> reporter: not that anyone's counting. what's it like after all those years to see it come to life? >> it's a break through, nerve-wracking because i care so much about it. we have become a family, and also i've been around long enough to know that these things don't come around very often. >> reporter: the film follows his journey in creating the first-ever circus. >> and i need a star. >> reporter: rallying a group of outcasts and misfits into a spectacle. he makes jumps,

accusations that he exploited and took advantage of those who were social pariahs. >> he's a flawed character, but what happened was he genuinely created this family. i'm not sure that's what he intended in the beginning. >> reporter: barnum may have invented showbiz, but jackman is now dominating t a rare action hero, headlining blockbusters like "x-men". ♪ who am i >> reporter: but then morphing from super hero to song and dance man. jean in le miserables. >> i am an australian. >> reporter: and the tonys. not once but four times. ♪ i love a tony >> reporter: plus he took one home. >> hugh jackman! >> reporter: the film and jackman's portrayal of barnum already nominated for

globes. ♪ >> i like the bearded lady there as well. showman. coming up, alcohol with no hangover. >> hmm. the mix is next. fred would do anything for his daughter. get in, fred! even if it means being the back half of a unicorn. fear not fred, the front half washed his shirt with gain flings! and that smell puts the giddy in giddy up. that's because one gain flings pac has more freshness than a whole bottle of the other guy. gain. seriously good scent.

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more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now - and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. ♪ it is your tuesday morning missi mix and we are going to start, happy days are here, yes. >> dunn, dunn, dunn, dunn, did . >> there's a professor that has found you an alcohol that gives you the effects of a good flight out without the hangover. his name is professor david nutt, from london. he discovered a substance that mimics the effects of alcohol but leaves without the dread hangover. there are many skeptics. >> mm-hm. >> but he believes

approach drinking and partying all together. >> #what could possibly go wrong? in the meantime, we have another hangover cure for you. an ibuprofen chaser for you. advil when we're feeling a little under the weather as a result of the night before. this doctor, hannah richards, an expert in this suggests drinking grapefruit juice along with the ibuprofen because grapefruit limits the activity of an enzyme that breaks down the ibuprofen. aka it lasts longer in the body. it's like time-released ibuprofen. so you feel the relief from the advil longer. >> isn't that what you're supposed to do anyway? before you go to bed, pop an ibuprofen. >> yeah, but the grapefruit juice is the key. >> it helps put it all together. >> it helps the ibuprofen last longer in your body.

you forget all that. >> no grapefruit juice, but i'll have another vodka, please. >> that i'll remember. there's this guy who has refurbished, from new jersey, he's decided to refurbish the 2004 thomas freight liner bus during his last year in grad school. not just like refurbish it. he pimped it out. spent about $35,000. >> oh, wow. >> to fix it up. he documented his journey on his website as well as instagram. there's, can you see what he's done there. he's got the stove. it's got a full-on bathroom. bedroom for himself. he has pimped out this ride. not bad, huh? >> so instead of studying, he decorated a bus. >> he failed his classes. >> you ever take a train ride and you're struggling to stay awake but it's so

i sympathize with that, right? now so can an adorable little kitten. this is little milo, struggling to stay

this morning on "world news now," new details from the train tragedy in washington state. an amtrak train derailed during its first run on a new route. investigators are arriving on the scene as we learn the train may have been going well above the speed limit. we're live with new details. president trump is outlining his national security strategy, talking about the rising threats, but in his speech he leaves out one particular key component. can you guess what it is? and new this half hour, the palin family is back in the spotlight. >> we're learning new details about her son's arrest. and more bad news for the