this morning on "world news now," the most sweeping rewrite of the nation's tax laws. a step closer to the president's desk. in a late-night vote, senate republicans passed the trillion dollar tax bill as it goes back to the house for another vote. also breaking overnight, cardinal bernard law has died. he was the powerful one-time leader of the boston archdiocese who became the symbol of the church sex abuse scandal. and new this half hour, a curveball by mother nature. >> a massive rock is forming under new england. how soon will there be magma with your maple syrup?

setting up shop? ♪ it was a perfect illusion >> so can we expect a meat dress as part of the wardrobe? it is wednesday, december 20th ♪ from abc news, this is "world news now." >> would never repeat an outfit. >> no, you're absolutely right. but the meat dress. maybe it will be a salmon dress or something else. >> the meat's probably spoiled by now. we're going to start with the breaking news on capitol hill. the massive tax breaks becoming a reality. >> they brushed aside concerns that the bill will boom the deficit, arguing that it will spur economic growth. >> the bill goes back to the house for a do-over vote before

heading to the president's desk. >> the tax cuts and jobs act is passed. >> reporter: the senate passed the bill along historic party lines. >> what a disgrace. that's what this bill is. >> reporter: the house also passed the bill. but democrats say three provisions violated senate rules, those provisions taken out, which means the house must revote on the plan. gop leaders are not expecting any problems. >> today we are giving the people of this country their money back. >> reporter: the bill met with applause and protest. president trump close to his first major legislative win. the white house insists the billionaire president won't benefit personally from the tax plan. >> the president will likely take a big hit. but on the business side he could benefit. but priority number one is middle class americans. >> reporter: the plan permanently slashes the corporate rate from 35% to 21%. americans making $75,000 or less

wealthy americans will see a tax cut. >> this is the worst bill to ever come to the floor of the house. with stiff competition. >> reporter: even after the house revote, there are questions about when the president will be able to sign it into law. he wanted it done before christmas. but now the white house says because of the process, it may not happen until the new year. diane and kendis? we have some breaking developments overnight in the deadly tourist bus crash in mexico. five of those dead are american. at least 12 were killed in that crash. seven other americans were injured. they were on their way from two royal caribbean cruise ships to see mayan ruins. a tourist on another bus says the weather was clear and dry and he saw no signs of another vehicle. and back in this country, investigators haven't been able to interview the crew of the amtrak train that derailed in washington state. they're waiting for their medical conditions to improve, but they have gathered other

which of course killed three passengers. abc's clayton sandell has more. >> reporter: right now work crews are focussing on getting that 270,000 pound locomotive cleared from the scene here. but crews still have to inspect the bridge, the overpass and the road below. and that could take several days we are told. the ntsb has just briefed, they are focussing on the speed of this train as one of the focuses of the investigation, saying it was going 80 miles per hour in a 30-mile-per-hour zone. they also say they have recovered two data recorders from the locomotives here, and hopefully those will provide more pieces to this puzzle. there was a conductor trainee in the cab of this locomotive at the time that it derailed. that person was familiarizing themselves with the route. the ntsb will be looking at many factors, including whether or not this person, this trainee conductor was some sort of distraction in the cab.

engineer who was injured was familiar with this route, had been down it before. they are looking at all of these things, but they are not yet ready to determine a cause of this crash. clayton sandell, abc news, dupont, washington. now to some breaking news. one of the central figures of the catholic church abuse scandal, cardinal law, has died. he was the archbishop of boston in 2002 when it was revealed he had transferred abusive priests for years without telling parishioners. he spoke about it later with george stephanopoulos. >> looking back, do you think there's anything more you could have done? >> all of us deplore in our own lives and the lives of others failure to live out fully the message of christ. and in my own ministry, i've attempted to be faithful to

>> after his resignation, law still held several top church positions at the vatican. he died this morning in rome at age 86. well, the u.s. is starting a new pressure campaign against north korea with the help of allies from around the world. the secretary of state rex tillerson there in ottawa announcing the campaign while visiting his canadian counterpart. they will host a meeting of more than 20 countries next month in vancouver. the aim of the meeting is to show international solidarity against north korea's nuclear program. >> the pressure campaign is intended to lead the talks. now we can't talk unless north korea's ready to talk. and i think as we've indicated, we're waiting for them to indicate a readiness to talk. >> well, tillerson also said there are no plans to postpone military exercises with south korean forces until after the winter olympics. recent statements from south korea's president have indicated they would be delayed. the wildfires tear

milestone. the thomas fire is now the second largest in the state's history it's 50% contained after burning 272,000 acres. officials don't expect it to be fully contained until mid january. and crews aren't getting any help from the weather. high winds which helped drive the flames are expected to return. >> speaking of weather, powerful storms are on the move bringing heavy snow to some areas. snow has blanketed parts of washington state, look at that. it's a winter wonder land. winter storm warnings are in effect across the rockies as that system moves east and today there could be as much as two inches of rain if had some parts of the south. here's ginger zee. >> memphis for example. dense fog advisory, less than a quarter mile visibility. heavy rain is moving into little rock. and that's going to move along that warm front to south carolina and north carolina. then we have to turn west, because the winter alerts are

las vegas for example in a high wind warning. you can see the snow already, 28 inches in parts of washington state and the cascades. look what happens, denver through minneapolis. on thursday, you can see snow impeding your travel and then it becomes warm rain as it heads to the east coast. ginger zee, abc news, new york. >> ginger, thank you. and there appears to be something bubbling under the surface in new england. >> yeah, scientists say a mass of warm rock rising under the northern part of the region indicates the existence of a volcano. it could lead to a major eruption there in boston. >> ah-oh. >> and beyond. >> here's the thing though. no need to worry. researchers say if it does happen, it won't be for millions of years. >> run for your lives! [ laughter ] >> but very slowly. >> when they tell you not to worry, that's when you should -- >> oh, yeah? oh. good tactic. now to another thing that has been around for it seems genera

atlanta's georgia dome, it might finally have reached the end. we've been covering its demise from the beginning. >> so most of the stadium was brought down a month ago with explosives. the first implosion was done in the light of day, so that everyone could see it. >> except. >> everyone except those watching on the weather channel. >> that bus that pulled up just at the right moment. [ laughter ] >> the only time marta is on time. >> cue the explosion. so they finally finished the job a short time ago. a second implosion was performed at 1:00 a.m. eastern time that brought down the last part of the dome that was standing after last month's implosion. it is officially gone and this time the marta bus is nowhere to be found. maybe that's why they did it at 1:00 a.m. >> marta doesn't work past 12:00, we' g

coming up, the newborn baby conceived more than two decades ago. >> we'll hear from the excited new parents who could have been classmates with their own baby. and a big surprise from mariah carey and her 1994 seasonal staple and the song finally going where it's never gone before. this historic musical milestone in "the skinny," but first, a look at today's forecast. ♪ i won't even wish for snow ♪ i just want to keep on ♪ underneath the mistletoe "world news now" weather, brought to you by gain. ♪ gain. ♪ 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.

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discover always my fit. find the number that's right for your flow and panty size on the top of any always pack. the better the fit, the better it protects. always. take a look at this daring rescue of a dog who fell through the ice into a pond in new jersey. a police officer crawls to the end of the ice, manages to grab the dog by the collar. other cops are there to pull the dog and officer to safety. that family very, very thankful this morning. now to a record-setting birth in tennessee. >> a new mom has welcomed a baby conceived just 18 months before she was. take a listen. >> i just look at her and we'r

like, can you believe it? she's really ours. >> they're like most new parents, still getting used to life with a newborn. but little amaren's embryo was frozen 24 years ago. tina is 26. so mom and baby are, in a sense, the same age. >> if this embryo was born when it should have been we could have been friends. i was like, you know, we could have been friends. he thought that was so funny. that's been the going joke. it's so crazy. >> reporter: the young couple faced infertility for years. they were planning to adopt when they learned about frozen embryo transfer. they worked with a national embryo donation center and they picked an embryo based on donor profiles. >> i say i see miracles happen every day. >> reporter: she shocked the gibsons when she told them the embryo was frozen in 1992, making it the oldest to ever become a baby.

she was born after thanksgiving, a healthy 6 pounds, 8 ounces. but it's not her world record status that matters to mom and dad. they're just glad to finally have a baby of their own. >> i never thought that i'd be able to have a pregnancy and to have a baby, like oh, my gosh. such a miracle. such a sweet, sweet miracle. >> what a beautiful baby it is. they also adopted some two other embryos from the same donor couple, but they haven't decided yet whether they will give their newborn a brother and sister. >> congratulations to them. and when we come back, the latest singing super star heading to vegas, baby. >> "the skinny" is next . vegas, baby. >> "the skinny" is next looking for balance in your digestive system? try align probiotic. for a non-stop, sweet treat goodness,

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♪ ♪ >> all right, poker face is right. maybe lady gaga will be practicing hers, because there's big news, and the song might be a hint. forget britney, forget cher. there's a new lady coming to vegas, baby. >> celine? >> lady gaga.

>> she's going to be at the mgm park theater. >> very subtle clue. >> for the next two years. >> very subtle. she shared the news on twitter saying get ready for a brand new show. i'm so overjoyed. love you little monsters. we did it! meet me in las vegas. the deal is reportedly worth $100 million, with gaga making over $1 million per show. >> why wouldn't more performers do that? if they could do that? that's great money. >> i don't know if many of them can. sadly, we should mention mariah carey's not going to be performing on new year's eve here on abc. but she still has reason to celebrate as do we. >> 23 years after releasing the modern classic "all i want for christmas is you", the song has finally broken into billboard's

not just the holiday charts but the top hot 100 along with beyonce and ed sheeran. >> her latest achievement moves her up a rung in another category, the most top ten hits. "all i went for christmas" is her 28th. which ties her with stevie wonder in the fifth position. rihanna is the youngest in that race there, 31 top ten hits. not bad. elvis and madonna, up on top, 38 top ten hits, impressive club i would say. >> how did it take this long for this song to make the top ten? >> obviously, they have not been counting my sales. i buy every year. >> i know this is supposed to be celebratory, but i am outraged! >> it's been fixed. time for girl power in hollywood, because the trailer for "oceans eight" has dropped and the all-star cast led by sandra bullock is planning a heist. >> so the p

familiar, that's because it's a sequel to previous oceans trilogy, but this is all about the ladies. >> three and a half weeks, the met will be hosting its annual ball, and we are going to rob it. not the ball itself. >> over $100 million. >> $150 million, actually. >> all right, so they definitely did not skimp on the cast. >> no. >> the film is set to come out next june. 17 years after "oceans 11." can you believe that? 17 years. >> george clooney is that old? >> yeah, he is. finally news for fans of movies so bad they're good, the disaster artist starring james franco is earning nominations, something that the movie it's based on "the room" never did. >> so "the room" is a cult classic for some bizarrely awkward scenes like this one.

>> how was work today? >> oh, pretty good. we got a new client at the bank. we make a lot of money. >> what client? >> i cannot tell you. it's confidential. >> oh, come on, why not? >> no, i can't. anyway, how's your sex life? >> it's a movie based on a bad movie, basically. if you want to see more of "the room", the original movie, you can get your tickets because it's coming back to theaters for one night in january at select theaters across the country. >> let's see if anybody around here is excited about the news. >> any "room" fans? >> hi guys. i like that movie, too. >> hey. >> not creepy at all. >> how did, are you pumped about their possibility of seeing "the room" again? >> i used to work in a bank, but now i just do this all-american job with you guys, watching me. and i'm very excited. >> okay.

straight face. >> are you a character from the film? >> i'm not the guy in "the room." but i'm just a guy who loves the guy in "the room." >> are you sober? >> coming up, viral videos of 2017. 2017.

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remember - these plans let you apply all year round. so call today. because now's the perfect time to learn more. go long. ♪ you're all about a good time ♪ you're all about a good life ♪ you won't believe it >> yeah, we are. this year proved one thing correct. people are strange. >> yep. especially on this show. michael strahan takes a look at some of the best with a little help from one of this year's unlikely breakout stars. >> a bartender from new york, new york. austin rogers. >> reporter: this year's jeopardy super star. he's on a roll. this bartender served up more than $400,000 in

and became a fan favorite on 2017 jeopardy. who would that be? >> that's me, isn't it? >> reporter: who is austin rogers? we challenged him to his biggest test yet, to check out this year's viral videos. i think they thought it was friendly because it was hanging out. >> it sort of looks like a dog, but it's like literally an aquatic predator. >> reporter: she was not hurt, but -- whoa! >> oh, my god, oh, my fahd! >> reporter: 25 million people watched professor robert kelly's bbc television interview, not for his commentary, but for his kid. >> first you see the little kid with the glasses on. and then you're already like holy [ bleep ]. the baby comes barrelling through, and its wheelie thing. >> it was perfect, the sheer look of terror on the mom's face

>> pardon me. my apologies. >> reporter: he finished the interview, and they had a sense of humor about it. >> my apologies. >> north korea, north, sorry. >> reporter: 28 million viewers got a taste of this 2-year-old struggling to pronounce the word ice cream. >> what? >> eye. >> ice cream. say ice. >> ice. >> cream. >> cream. >> say ice. >> eye? >> ice cream. >> reporter: here's one caressing this pregnant woman's belly. >> it's a tiger. i don't think the tiger is like, oh, girl, you're glowing. you're carrying it low, it must be a boy. >> you know another one of this year's breakout stars? >> frank!

>> frank the buns. >> his videos got 28 views. >> riveting. >> look at him go. >> viral sensation in the making. >> step it up.

making news in america this morning, an overnight vote in the senate makes history. the. >> the tax cuts and jobs act is passed. >> clearing the way for the first major rewrite of the tax code in 31 years. how much extra money will be in your paycheck next year? also new overnight amtrak's ceo responds to questions about why speed technology wasn't used on the tracks in washington as new evidence shows someone else was at the controls with the engineer before the deadly derailment. breaking her silence. harvey weinstein's former assistant calls him a repulsive monster. >> he was the most manipulate tiff -- his moods changed very quickly. w