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

embattled sexiest man alive. blake shelton unable to enjoy his reign now that the rightful owner of the crown is setting the record straight. so, blake, can you smell, la, la, la, la, what the rock is cooking on this tuesday, december 19th. from abc news, this is "world news now." that was pretty excellent. >> it just comes naturally. >> smell, la, la, la, la. we're going to get to that beef between the beefcakes a little later on. but we do have to start on a serious note of course. investigators across the country are on the scene of that terrifying derailment in washington state. >> at least three people are dead, all passengers on that train heading from seattle to portland. 13 of the 14 cars derailed plunging onto interstate 5. >> the track where the accident took place has a 30-mile-per-

but it is reported that it was going 80 miles per hour. clayton sandell on scene. >> reporter: what was supposed to be a celebration. the first run of newer, faster train service is a tragedy of twisted metal with multiple passengers dead. >> oh, my god, that train is derailed. >> multiple patients. >> reporter: amtrak train 501 left seattle just after 6:00 a.m., heading toward portland. 86 passengers and crew on board. at 7:30, passenger chris karnes tweeting, wow, this train is fast. we're passing traffic on i-5. minutes later, a locomotive and 12 cars careen down onto interstate5, crushing vehicles below. >> emergency, emergency. emergency. we are on the ground. >> reporter: the conductor radioing for help. >> hey, guys, what happened? >> we were coming around the corner to take the bridge over i-5. and we went on the ground. >> is everybody okay? >> i'm still trying to figure it out.

highway. as soon as i know exactly where all my train is, i'll let you know. >> reporter: drivers on the interstate below were injured as the train came crashing down but none killed. dan jumped out of his car to help. >> he climbed underneath the train as fast as we could. and there were people with half their bodies pinned. couldn't move. they were in a lot of pain. a lot of them were screaming and moaning, but there was nothing we could do to help them, really, so we just stayed with them. >> they're requesting all possible units. there's bodies on the freeway. >> when we got to the scene, it was obvious there were some fatalities and a lot of injuries. >> reporter: chris karnes, who had been tweeting earlier survived. >> the train started to wobble for a moment, and then we were catapulted at the seats in front of us. and the next thing we knew, our car had crumpled. >> when i

really realize i was standing on another train car. >> reporter: the passengers were the first paying customers for the new cascade service. and the official death toll now stands at three people. the national transportation safety board is on the scene trying to figure out why this train derailed and how fast it was going when it left the tracks. still many questions for investigators. clayton sandell, abc news, dupont, washington. >> and interstate 5 will be closed for this morning's commute. >> train cars are still hanging off the overpass and diesel fuel is leaking from the train. marci gonzalez is live on the scene there in dupont, washington. and joins us now. marci, i know it's been several hours since the accident took place, but have emergency crews accounted for everyone there? >> reporter: you mentioned you can still see the train behind me. they have managed to secure it. state police say emergency responders have now gone through all of those rail cars. they've not found anymore victims. sohe

>> i know the ntsb is on the scene now, what will they be looking at in the beginning part of this investigation? >> reporter: they have a lot of questions. one of the main ones, of course, is speed. how fast was this train going when it derailed? we know that the speed limit at the curve is 30 miles per hour. they want to see if the train was exceeding that speed limit. they'll also look into whether there was anything on the tracks that it may have hit before the derailment, if there was a problem with the tracks, and because this was the inaugural run of this route, they want to look into whether this was tested enough ahead of time. kendis and diane? >> marci, so much work ahead for those investigators over the next couple days. appreciate your report there, thank you. >> and it could be days before all the stranded passengers in atlanta get to their destinations after a crippling outage at the airport there. >> this is a busy time of the year. there aren't many extra flights for people whose flights were canceled. it was shut down for 1

sunday because of that power outage. operations are almost back to normal. only a handful of today's flights have been canceled so far. to washington now, and congressional republicans may be hours away from approving that tax overhaul, the biggest one in decades. >> the house is set to vote on the $1.5 trillion bill first and then the senate is expected to follow suit. they say americans could see more money in their paychecks by february. protesters converged on capitol hill complaining that most of the bill's benefits go to the wealthy and businesses. but the republicans insist it will benefit everyone. in the meantime, the president has outlined a new national security plan. focussed on his america-first policies. he made no mention of russian election meddling in his speech, but he acknowledged growing competition from russia and china, calling them rival powers that seek to challenge america's influence, values and wealth. >> we will seek to develop a deep partnership with those

other countries but in a way that always protects our national interest. >> the official strategy document which is prepared tor congress did refer to russia using, quote, information tools in an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of democracies. the judicial nominee ridiculed for an infamous confirmation appearance has withdrawn his nomination. matthew peterson became an internet sensation after video of the hearing showed him unable to answer basic legal questions and indicated he's inexperienced >> have you ever tried a jury trial? >> i have not. >> civil? >> no. >> criminal? >> no. >> bench? >> no. >> state or federal court? >> i have not. >> so peterson had been nominated by the president for a lifetime appointment as a federal judge. he wrote in his letter that he didn't want to be a continued distraction. senator kennedy said president

staff chose peterson as a nominee. now police have been forced to shoot a suspect. inside the minneapolis city hall. the confrontation took place in an area where suspects are interviewed. police say the man pulled out a knife after speaking with detectives. he attempted to harm himself and allegedly lunged at officers who opened fire injuring the man. security outside an air force base is not terrorism. police raced to the scene when a man allegedly tried to ram a gate at the base with his vehicle 80 miles north of london. this area is used by the u.s. military as well. american service members fired shots during the incident. the suspect is arrested on a criminal trespassing charge. back to this country and a big night for kobe bryant, honored by his team of 20 years, the los angeles lakers. >> his number 8 and 24 were unveiled in the rafters.

team president, magic johnson called bryant the greatest to ever wear the purple and gold. >> that high praise from one of the greatest lakers ever. bryant thanked the fans and then dropped his famous signoff. mamba out. even former president bill clinton was tweeting, giving honors to kobe. >> number one in most missed shots, apparently. >> why do we have to bring that up? >> not a big kobe bryant fan who gave us the points. >> it was given to us by shaquille o'neil. you think i miss shots. >> a big congratulations to kobe. coming up in the skinny, rob lowe shows his gratitude. how he thanked the people who saved his town. could al franken stay in the senate? after resigning over allegations of forcible kissing and groping, fellow democrats may be changing their tune about franken.

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welcome back. and some senators may be having second thoughts about the resignation of al franken. the minnesota democrat announced he was stepping down two weeks ago because of sexual misconduct

allegations. but he never did set a date for his resignation. and now an unnamed senator says democrats acted prematurely before having all the facts about franken's case. in fact, joe manchin said the pressure put on franken to resign was atrocious. and democrat patrick leahy has reportedly said in private that he regrets calling for franken's resignation. the carolina panthers have made a change at the top after their owner announced he's selling the team amid a sexual misconduct probe. tina becker is now carolina's coo. jerry richardson gave up day to day management to focus on the sale. becker who started out as a cheer leader is now one of the league's highest-ranking female executives. meanwhile, espn's president has stepped doum. john skipper announced he's leaving to take care of an addiction problem he's struggled with f

the former espn president bodenheimer takes over. new details this morning in the domestic violence arrest of sarah palin's oldest some. >> court documents say track palin repeatedly hit his father todd at the palin home. the younger palin showed up at his parents home saturday night and broke through a window. according to reports his mother called police saying track was freaking out and was on some type of medication. >> as police arrived, police saw sarah and todd leaving in separate vehicles. todd's head was reportedly bloodied. and sarah appeared advice bring upset. the father and son were reportedly arguing about a truck the younger palin wanted to pick up. he had another domestic violence arrest two years ago. after that arrest, sarah palin said he suffers from ptsd. not sure what the results of this situation was. >> sad story. >> yeah.

when we come back, rob lowe's new friends come home for dinner. and the most private celebrity couple has twins. or do they? "the skinny" is next. hey julie, i know today's critical, but i really need... ...a sick day. dads don't take sick days... dads take dayquil severe. the non-drowsy, coughing, aching, fever, sore throat... ...stuffy head, no sick days medicine.

♪ ♪ so skinny >> it's skinny time, and we are leading things off this morning with the proud californian who's thankful for those who saved his town. >> rob lowe shows a photo of a fire threatening his home. which is worth $42 million the last time he put it on the market. thankfully that fire was prevented from going further into the neighborhood. lowe made sure to get out and thank the men and women of the fire crews for standing tall and saving his town. >> he invited the firefighters over for dinner, cooking up pasta and cheeseburgers from the look of it. >> lowe posted a photo of himself spraying down, he

captioned it, you do what you can and when it's time you go. looks like he's auditioning for a new role. did he need to put the whole gear on? >> he's trying to be safe. very important. speaking of very important. the rock has been making a lot of headlines lately. so one, we knew he might run for president. now he says he's seriously considering running for president, he's also expecting his third child. >> and he got his new star on the walk of fame in hollywood. there's one more surprising revelation that he made while talking to our own t.j. holmes. >> that is a title of which i do not relinquish. there is no oh, he was 2016 sexiest imagine of the year. therefore in 2017 the torch has to be passed.

>> reporter: you're telling me you're never going to relinquish the title? it's just yours? >> just between you and i, because i know the camera's on right now. in no uncertain time am i telling america, i will never relinquish the title. i will forever be the sexiest man alive. >> that sounds like a smackdown to me. what will blake shelton do? do you think he'll take it on? >> blake is still wild that he got it for 2017. he's demanding a recount. >> maybe they should have a wrestling match for it. can you smell, la, la, la, la, la the people's elbow. boom. >> is that his key move? >> yeah. not that i followed him. that's all. no big deal. >> friends, bffs. >> hi, dwayne. >> d-wayne. next to celebrity news from a couple that we didn't really realize was a couple. nobody seemed to realize they were a couple much less they were pregnant. >> they haven't been photographed together in some

time. but anna kournikova and the singer met in 2001 on the "escape" video for henrique's song. they were in the press a lot at that time for hot and heavy scenes when they were dating and so on, but 16 years later, it turns out, they're still together. >> yeah. this is only, this is the only-known shot of the couple on social media. on a boat, with a family member a couple years ago. and apparently, it's being on the water that makes them more open to sharing. anna shared a selfie over the weekend using the #miami winter. she reportedly gave birth to a girl and a boy a little while after taking the photo. >> all right. so is dad nervous about all this? apparently, henrique was shrinking the dog? >> do you see that? the dog is right there. on his finger.

>> he doesn't look too nervous about the whole situation to me. well, congratulations to them. i'm glad they're still together. >> who knew? they had like four photos together. >> i think i may have covered this on gma. >> another photo of -- man, this has lasted longer than her tennis career. the pregnancy lasted longer than her tennis career. >> for hollywood couples, 16 years? that's like a lifetime. >> any couple. over to another very famous couple. prince william and kate are sharing their annual holiday card with the world. the foursome snapped the pic in kensington palace. in coordinated blue outfits of course. next year's card will feature five, as kate is pregnant with their next child. >> the kids looked great. charlotte rocked a blue dress and george was there in his short shorts. not a bad look.

>> that needs to be a romper next time. >> prince george is freeing the knee. >> happy hanukkah. it's the last night, thank the lord. >> george is working on his pose is working on his pose

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♪ and, as we approach the new year, we are looking back at those we lost in 2017. >> here's a look at the legendary stars and icons who had a big impact and shaped our culture. >> mary tyler moore was the first funny feminist. on a network television. >> i think mary tyler moore has had more influence on my career than any other single person or force. >> well, here he is, chuck berry. ♪ >> he was a master musician. a

>> the finest lyricist of all time. ♪ go, johnny go ♪ silver bells banging on a string ♪ ♪ called it my ding-a-ling a ling ♪ >> don rickles! >> this tiny little guy, old as the hills, and just walking around, making fun of everyone he saw. >> governor reagan or regan, whatever they call you. i don't care. ♪ well, i won't back down ♪ >> he's a key ingredient in rock 'n roll. ♪ livin' like a refugee ♪ >> every time there's a difficult time in life, the moment you get through it, i'm free. free fallin'. ♪ yeah, i'm free

♪ >> david cassidy was one of the biggest teen idols ever. >> some of the girls who didn't even like me before are crazy about me now. >> you think we'll ever catch bin laden? i say we? is i ain't lookin' for him. >> i'm lookin' around to see who's dead, looking at girls and everything, and all of a sudden i heard somebody go, murphy! >> if you're a dreamer, hold onto those dreams and pursue them, because life is very, very short. >> something about just living is done through the people we leave behind. >> so many big names lost this year, also jerry lewis, liz smith, martin landau, roger moore, judge wapner, bill paxton. >> 2017 can be done with.

start all over. this is abc's "world news now," informing insomniacs for two decades

making news in america this morning, rail disaster. the new details on what happened just seconds before this amtrak train derailed sending cars crashing onto a busy highway killing at least three people and leaving more than 100 injured. >> there was a point where the shaking got extremely violent and that's exactly when i knew something bigger was going to happen. >> one survivor explains how he escaped with his train car suspended in the air and this morning, the hero driver below who pulled so many to safety. decision day on capitol hill. the republican tax plan moves one step closer to becoming law. supporters respond to a new estimate claiming the richest 1%