making news in america this morning, breaking news, a car plows into a crowd in australia. more than a dozen people injured. two people under arrest. the latest from the scene. looming shutdown. new urgency on capitol hill to prevent a government shutdown tomorrow night. at stake, stabilizing obamacare, paying for children's health insurance and billions in disaster relief. new details on the high-stakes talks. pope francis under fire. he sparks controversy with his decision about a vatican funeral for the disgraced cardinal bernard law. a

a sharp spike in the number of cases coast to coast. the recommendations from doctors. shocking tie. a recount for a crucial state race in virginia ends in a tie so who gets the seat at the statehouse? could they really end up drawing straws? the new breakfast trend. the ingredients popping up in the cereal aisle sending sales soaring. a good thursday morning to you all. we begin with breaking news from melbourne, australia, where an suv plowed into a crowd. >> more than a dozen were injured. some critically and police are calling this a deliberate act. abc's james longman is following the investigation right now and joins us from london. what do we know? >> reporter: good morning. police have declared a major incident and are calling this a deliberate act, although they say it's too e

motivation behind it. we know the car drove into pedestrians 4:30 local time right in the center of melbourne. a busy street. the driver and a second man have been arrested. what appears to be a white 4x4 can be seen with its hood smashed in and we have seen police and emergency services at the scene. people are taken away on stretchers or being attended to where they lie on the road. a similar incident happened in january where six were killed. authorities installed concrete blocks to prevent similar attacks but don't seem to have made much of a difference. >> all happening at the start of the evening rush hour on a summer day, james. i know australia has had its issues with isis and authorities foiled an attack last month. have they been prepared for something like this? >> reporter: well, i think many countries prepare themselves for things like this because this has been the kind of modus operandi of various attacks

few weeks, if not months. there have been several plots foiled in australia. i mentioned that one in jana happened just around the corner. another plot for new year's eve had already been discovered and, yes, australia has had a problem with young man joining isis. during the height of the fighting in syria videos were put out by australians to get them to join. we still don't know the motivation for what was behind this attack but it's obviously very concerning just before christmas. >> that, indeed. very early on into the investigation into what happened in melbourne, australia. james, thank you. back here at home we should move on. republicans are scrambling to avoid a government shutdown hours after their big victory on taxes. >> after making good on a promise to do the sweeping tax cut they're trying to fund the

lose health insurance. arlette saenz has details. >> reporter: well, republicans had their kumbaya moment yesterday but they are facing another deadline. less than 48 hours to go and congress is in an all-out scramble. congress is barreling towards a government shutdown with no consensus on how to avoid it. house gop leaders have introduced a plan to keep it funded through january. it provides a four-week extension for flood insurance, fisa surveillance and the children's health insurance program. >> we'll do something once again before the end of the year to make sure states don't get hit with any c.h.i.p. cuts. >> reporter: a stand-alone vote on an $81 billion disaster relief package but it's not a done deal. gop leaders still have to sell the plan to their

and unclear how republican leaders in the senate will react. congress also appears ready to punt on thorny issues like health care and protections for the so-called d.r.e.a.m.ers. democrats are anxious for republicans to show their cards. >> we're trying to get as good a deal as possible, but the bottom line is we haven't seen anything. >> reporter: the shutdown scramble comes after republicans took a tax victory lap complete with a presidential fist pump. >> it's always a lot of fun when you win. >> reporter: glowing republican lawmakers praised the president for their first major legislative win. >> you listen to voices no one else was listening to. >> you're one heck of a leader and we're all benefiting from it. >> reporter: house gop leadership hasn't said when they might be voting on that spending deal. as for taxes, at&t and comcast and other major companies announced they would be giving employee bonuses after the tax bill passed and wells fargo will raise their minimum wage to $15.

president trump has put the world on notice ahead of today's u.n. vote on jerusalem. the president threatened to cut off u.s. aid payments to any country that votes for the resolution condemning his decision to recognize jerusalem as the capital of israel. the threat comes after u.s. ambassador nikki haley warned she will, quote, be taking names during the vote. another north korean soldier defected to south korea. the fourth defection alone this year. one was captured on video making an escape as guards chased him while opening fire. thursday's was last dramatic. south korean guards fired about 20 warning shots at north korean troops. and prosecutors say the driver of a bus carrying a cruise ship passengers on a day trip in mexico may have been speeding before that deadly crash. an 11-year-old boy is among the 8 americans killed. preliminary investigation determined the driver lost

control on a road south of cancun. an explosion caused damage at a popular tourist area in hollywood at a restaurant on the first level of an apartment building. the explosion sent glass and debris flying into the street but the restaurant was vacant at the time and some were evacuated as a precaution. one person suffered minor injuries. controversy swirling around today's vatican funeral for bernard law. pope francis is presiding over law's funeral mass at the vatican. law resigned in disgrace after it was revealed that he shielded pedophile priests for years. he died wednesday at the age of 86. victims of abusive priests say they're outraged at the vatican's funeral plans. >> he was rewarded with a prestigious position in the vatican, and he moved on with his life. how do you go forward with your life and look in the mirror and say what you did was the

thing for victims when you did nothing. >> that woman needing to say she hopes the gates of hell are open wide to welcome law. law was never charged with any crimes and remained in rome until his death from an undisclosed illness. the weather, two storms threatening christmas travel. let's take a closer look at that forecast. >> good morning. wet and wintry conditions expected this weekend if you are taking to the roads or perhaps catching a flight. notice in the northeast perhaps wintry weather over far north new england. it turns to a plain rain as we work our way into the ohio valley and southeast and slippery roads going to be a possibility over the center portion of the country extending into the rockies. as we venture into sunday, notice that potential for snow with dry conditions continuing over the southwest.

accuweather forecast. well, coming up a new twist in the election shocker in virginia. the big question, how do you decide a tie? ahead, apple admits it really does slow down your old iphone. now the company is explaining why. lottery fever is spreading overnight. this morning the results from last night's powerball drawing. and the new jackpot up for grabs.

we're back with new video from memphis where crews took down two confederate statues after a months long battle. they sold the public parks where they stood and the new owner had them removed. authorities in texas are searching for a 6-week-old baby and the woman who

she's been missing since tuesday, the same day her mother was found stabbed to death in their houston apartment. police say the kidnapper may be trying to pass the baby off as her own and they have a message for the suspect. >> if you want to spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulders, you go right ahead but we won't stop searching. the flores family deserves to have her in their hands. >> police issued an amber alert and offering a $5,000 reward and asking the public to be aware of anyone who suddenly has a child. >> what was already a razor thin victory in a virginia state election is now a tie. a three-judge panel overturned shelly simonds' one-vote recount win. judges ruled an uncounted ballot should go to the republican incumbent. the tie will be broken by lot which means they could draw straws. we're told the winner's name

will likely be picked out of a bowl. >> rock, paper, scissors. apple is now admitting it slows down older iphones but it says it's not a ploy to get you to buy a new one. >> sure. >> apple says it slows down the processors in older ones to prevent battery issues to cause them to suddenly shut down or restart even when fully charged. for the second morning in a row, we have no winner in a major lottery drawing. last night's powerball drawing was worth $272 million but nobody matched all six winning numbers. that means saturday's power bba will be worth $300 million. >> we still have a chance. when we come back a dramatic armored truck robbery caught on camera. tonya harding's new interview describing how she became public enemy number one. a spike in flu cases. where the flu is now considered

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a search is under way for a pair of masked robbers in maryland armed with an assault rifle and held up two couriers loading up an atm. they got away with a bag stuffed with $200,000. olympic gold medalist mckayla maroney filed a lawsuit after charges dr. larry nassar with abuse. she said the usa gymnastics organization silenced her with a settlement that prevented her from speaking out suing the u.s. olympic committee and michigan state university where he worked for decades. her attorney detailed the accusations. >> by insisting that as a condition of paying her money for therapy and the suffering she's incurred that she has to keep larry nassar's secret and she has to keep usa gymnastics' secret and can never speak of this again and can never criticize them or she could be sued for $100,000 or more

repugnant. >> now maroney says he abused her for years starting when she was only 13. he is now in prison after admitting to molesting girls and possessing child porn. tonya harding is speaking out about the attack on nancy kerrigan. she's the subject of a new movie. she sat down with abc's amy robach for an upcoming special describing being tried in the court of public opinion. >> you've said this, that 23 years later there are still people who believe that you actually carried out that whack. >> yes. >> why do you think that is? >> because they don't listen. the media had me convicted of doing something wrong before i had even done anything at all. i'm always the bad person. >> harding says it was her faith in herself and her father that

you can see that next month on "truth and lies" here on abc. >> meryl streep is facing growing backlash after she denied knowing about allegations against harvey weinstein. posters showing streep and weinstein are now plastered around los angeles with the caption, she knew. streep and others actresses interest been criticized for planning to wear black at the golden globes as a symbol of protest. streep says she had no prior knowledge of weinstein's alleged harassment or sexual abuse. weinstein denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex. an executive at the nfl network resigned amid a scandal. vice president president david eaton's departure comes after complaints of a hostile work environment for women. three analysts including hall of famer marshall faulk were suspended after allegations of harassment. venus williams has been cleared in a deadly car crash. police in florida say no charges will be filed. investigat

vehicle started that crash and then a family's car ultimately slammed into williams. the passenger in that car died. we have new evidence of the toll that the opioid epidemic is taking on families. new figures show deaths from drug overdoses rose 21% bringing down the average life expectancy in the u.s. 63,600 lives were lost and for the first time fentanyl and other opioids took more lives than heroin. 12 statesy coast to coast are seeing widespread flu activity. some areas reporting three times as many cases as compared to this time last year. it may only be 10% effective, the vaccine, they're urging everyone over 6 months old to get one. if you're sick, they encourage you to stay home from work. when it comes to break it is

peanut butter. general mills says boxes of its chocolate butter cheerios are flying off the shelves. it has helped boost overall serial sales by 7% compared to last year. the company's reeses puffs are also doing well and say boosting other cereal sales. the odd thing an nba player had stolen from his house. decking the halls and streets, the odd placement of this christmas tree. ♪ i can do more to lower my a1c. because my body can still make its own insulin. and i take trulicity once a week to activate my body to release it, like it's supposed to. trulicity is not insulin. it comes in a once-weekly, truly easy-to-use pen. the pen where you don't have to see or handle a needle. and it works 24/7. trulicity is a once-weekly injectable medicine to improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes

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but he hasoke up wwork to do.in. he took aleve. if he'd taken tylenol, he'd be stopping for more pills right now. only aleve has the strength to stop tough pain for up to 12 hours with just one pill. aleve. all day strong. "truth and lies" is ♪ time to check "the pulse" starting with the crime involving a former pro basketball star. >> so charlie villanueva says that his home near dallas was recently burglarized

toilet was stolen. >> he posted where it once stood. the #findmytoilet started trending calling it blind-blowing. it has its own twitter handle now too. looking for me? >> there is an abb out for that toilet. an ingenious inventor came out with a simple way to keep your drinks cold when you're on the go. >> the blitzen rooftop chiller claims to hole any bottle in place so you can cool your booze as you drive. you're not supposed to drink while you drive made with 100 pounds of magnets. it depends on the temperature outside. faster driving, of course, we do not recommend speeding or again drinking the wine while driving. >> exactly. >> for after you're done. a tree stands in the middle of a road in mississippi because someone got fed up. >> an unknown jackson, mississippi, resident was upset after waiting for months for a

actually put it to good use by going there and planting that christmas tree right there inside of the pothole. >> normally you have to dig a hole. in this case they had a head start raising awareness. >> official there is in jackson say they were aware of the problem so the potholes and do not encourage people to do this. a 9-year-old girl is putting her sibling rivalry on display. >> and wrote a message in the snow in front of her house saying, santa, stop here. leave presents. take brother. santa, leave two men arrested i australia after a car plows into pedestrians on a busy street in melbourne. right now-- as many as 14 people are injured, including a pre-school aged child. witnesses say the driver sped through a red night and slammed into crowds of r

coming up-- we will hear from police who spoke to the media just minutes ago. also coming up a busy day on the roads for local travelers. in fact-- triple - a predicts today - will be the busiest travel day of the holiday season. more than seven million people - hitting the roads in the d-m-v. the worst times - between 3 and 6. triple-a says travel times could double - even triple. good morning washington. toss to veronica today - coldest in more than a week fog & showers for saturday christmas - chance morning light rain to flurries today: lots of sun, but cool winter solstice: 11:28 am highs: mid 40s winds: variable 5 mph overnight: partly cloudy, cold lows: 25-32 winds: northwest 5-10 mph friday: mostly cloudy, mild highs: lower 50s

a top virginia democrat says he's concerned president trump will developing now a top virginia

a top virginia democrat says he's concerned president trump will try to fire special counsel robert mueller. senator mark warner is in charge of a congressional probe into russia's election meddling. the president maintains he isn't trying to push mueller out. but senator warner says he thinks republicans are trying to undermine the investigation. senator warner also warned the president not to issue any pardons related to the russia investigation. a gold medal winner - now suing u-s-a gymnastics -- accusing the organization of trying to silence sex abuse allegations with money. mckayla maroney claims she was repeatedly assaulted by former team doctor larry nassar. she says she signed a confidential agreement with u-s-a gymnastics late last year. the 21-year-old broke her silence on twitter in october.

after pleading guilty to child porn and sexual misconduct. he's being sued by more than 100 women. seven on your side with a consumer alert iphone users have long suspected. apple now admitting it really does slow down older iphones. but-- the tech giant says it has a good reason. according to the company-- older iphone batteries can cause i-phones to shut down without warning. so to prevent that... apple says it created software to slow down devices and keep them running ... but only when needed. a forbes magazine article says the i-phone 6, 6-s and 7 are all impacted. it's xx and we're just getting started. breaking right now

in australia. more than a dozen people injured after witnesses say an s-u-v mowed down pedestrians in melbourne. right now two men under arrest -- including the alleged driver. a pre-school aged child is among the injured. police addressing the media less than an hour ago-- saying this does not appear to be an accident. witnesses say the area was full of christmas shoppers when the crash happened. we're also following breaking news out of the philippines where rescuers are desperately trying to reach more than 200 people on a ferry. it began sinking in bad weather about and hour-and-a-half ago. military helicopters and ships are working with the coast guard and local fisherman to help in that effor

good morning washington. today - coldest in more than a week fog & showers for saturday christmas - chance morning light rain to flurries today: lots of sun, but cool winter solstice: 11:28 am highs: mid 40s winds: variable 5 mph overnight: partly cloudy, cold lows: 25-32 winds: northwest 5-10 mph friday: mostly cloudy, mild highs: lower 50s