this christmas morning on "world news now." dangerous travel for millions on the road today, with icy conditions in the northwest, heavy snow in the northeast and extreme cold across northern states. overnight, the president celebrating christmas with the first family and firing off tweets from florida, saying he's proud to lead the charge against the assault on the phrase "merry christmas." and also new this half hour, the frightening scene on the slopes. >> 200 skiers trapped in the air when the ski lift breaks down. how they eventually made it down. ♪ all i want for christmas is

you ♪ p. >> are you awake yet? everybody's getting into the sound of the season. ♪ yeah, yeah >> my back stage adventure on this december 25th. it is christmas morning, everybody, in america and other countries. >> and everywhere. from abc news, this is "world news now." oh, my gosh. it is christmas morning. erielle reshef is here with us. >> good to be here, merry christmas. >> merry christmas, happy holidays. the fire is set. >> we've got the yule log behind us. >> is it pretty warm back there? >> i can feel it. >> we have carefully been watching norad, watching santa's progression. >> a lot of people are up at this hour wrapping presents, which is great. we're going to start with the dangerous conditions. >> two storms are merging bringing snow and ice to the northeast and mid atlantic and

but winter weather is impacting travel in the midwest. >> central illinois will be seeing its first white christmas in seven years. that snow is going to stick around because of bitter cold temperatures in the midwest today. >> in madison, wisconsin, it will feel like 15-20 degrees below zero. >> and it's a rare white christmas for parts of the pacific northwest. >> accuweather's paul williams joins us. >> mother nature delivering us a gift of 12-18 inches of rain throughout vermont, new hampshire, maine. and north central part of the country, an arctic outbreak, bitter cold pushes through, dropping temperatures drastically. the northwest, a mixture of ice and snow in spokane,

and boyise. kendis, erielle? firefighters in southern california are getting some help today from someone used to putting in long hours during christmas. >> santa and mrs. claus, mrs. claus looks stunned by the camera. that is base camp for the thomas fire. more than 2,000 firefighters are working on that scene today. it's their first christmas fighting a wildfire for many. the thomas wildfire is now the largest in modern california history, but there's progress. it is now 70% contained. another country now plans to move its embassy in israel to jerusalem. guatemala made that announcement on a christmas eve post on facebook. it will follow the lead of the u.s. it was one of nine countries to vote against a resolution urging the u.s. to reverse its decision on jerusalem.

and the u.s. is cutting the amount of money to the u.n. haley says they will look for ways to improve the agency's efficiency. the trump administration has long been looking for ways to slash funding. north korea calls the latest sanctions an act of war that violates its sovereignty. the penalties come after repeated ballistic missile tests. the sanction tighten oil imports and force those working for the regime abrought ad to return ho. north korea says it's a pipe dream for the u.s. to think it will give up its nuclear weapons. pope francis urged the world not to ignore the millions of refugees. during christmas eve mass at the vatican, he compared migrants to joseph and mary and noted that millions around the world are

homes and no one should feel that there's no room for them on this earth. back here at home, president trump's first christmas in office brought consternation. >> what do we expect. the president and first laid dy attended church where they were married. >> and he tweeted he is proud to have led the assault against the charge against merry christmas. o he and the first lady spent time answering calls from kids tracking santa claus on norad. here's kenneth moten. >> reporter: president trump's relentless attack on the media continues, retweeting this wi winning image. that's a cnn logo swashed under

he kept busy thanking troops by videoconference. >> we're grateful for each of you who spend this christmas away from your families. >> reporter: and hitting the golf course. trump also teeing off on andrew mccabe who's reportedly going to retire in march. trump has accused him of bias after an ally of hillary clinton's donated to his wife's political campaign. trumptweeted, these are the people who were investigating hillary clinton. >> when you look at what's gone on with the fbi and justice department, people are very, very angry. >> reporter: trump's attacks on the fbi have been increasing, an agency he recently said is in tatters. democra democrats worried that he may take aim at robert mueller. the white house facing

about remarks the president allegedly maid about immigrants. that he was enraged about the number of immigrants who had entered the u.s. since his inauguration. reportedly complaining that 15,000 from haiti had aids and that the 40,000 nigerian immigrants would never go back to their huts in africa. >> i was not in that meeting, but the people in the meeting say that never happened. >> reporter: president trump apparently looking ahead to the 2018 midterms. he tweeted good republican candidates will win big. he also touched on his own approval ratings blasting polls that say his numbers are in the lower 40s. he says his base is strong and so are the insider polls, but he didn't 3r0provide any evidence back up those claims. and one senator is warning that the rhetoric could s

the party. jeff flake saying that protectionism could cause the party permanent damage. the senator is concerned the republican's tone is drive away voters. >> if he continues on the path that he's on, that that's going to leave a huge swath of voters looking for something else. he's probably inviting a republican challenge as well, but certainly, a imd pept challenge. make is one of two republican senators not seeking reelection. when asked if he has eyes on the presidency, he said a run in 2020 isn't in his plans, but he's not ruling it out. so maybe. overseas, a potential challenger to vladimir putin is now a step closer to joining russia's presidential race. ale alexi navalny has filed papers for his candidacy. however, a past criminal conviction means the kremlin

will decide if he will be able to run. he is seen as a legitimate challenger to putin. some argue his prosecution years ago was politically motivated. back here at home, two sheriff's deputies are recovering after a shooting. authorities say a suspect reached for a gun as he was being taken into custody and fired several shots. a female deputy was hit in the leg. and the male was hit in the arm and both legging. their injuries are not considered to be life threatening, the suspect is now in custody. in florida, five people, including four members of the same family were killed when their small plane crashed when taking off in dense fog in tampa. they were heading to key west for a day trip when their plane burst into flames. 70-year-old john shannon was flying his two daughters fiance

and a friend. >> no one should have taken off at 7:15 from this airport this morning. the airport was totally socked in with fog. there was no chance for survival. when you take a look at the crash, the only thing you can say is nobody suffered. >> federal investigators are now trying to determine exactly what caused that crash. turning now to a dramatic scene in the french alps. 200 skiers were stranded more than 80 feet in the air after gondolas broke down. dozens of cars just got stuck. helicopters were dispatched, and rescue crews tried to help those desperate skiers. everyone was back on the ground after about two hours with no injuries reported. still no word and what may have caused the malfunction, but not the way you want to get the holiday started. >> we have a ski trip coming up in february. i don't know what this is saying to me, because this is the second time it's happened in a matter of a couple weeks. >> it is saying

>> i love to ski. so hopefully it's rare occurrences. santa sightings are limited to chimneys and rooftops. >> more than 800 santa surfers catching waves. >> and jacksonville airport was a sighting for mr. and mrs. claus. they look like think were being screened for tsa. >> santa delivered the news conference. that's andy reed. coming up, the catch of the weekend. no ifs, ands or buts about it. plus, our secret santa gift swap. ♪harry's meeting clients...♪ ♪...from far away. but they only see his wrinkles.♪ ♪he's gotta play it cool to seal the deal.♪

♪if only harry used some... ♪...bounce, to dry. ♪yeah! ♪he would be a less wrinkly, and winning at life.♪

thousands of villagers in the southern philippines spending christmas morning in emergency shelters, after a tropical storm swept through the region this weekend causing land slides and flash floods. dozens of people are feared dead or missing. rescue operations are difficult because many bridges and roads have been des

no christmas lights for thousands of people in puerto rico. >> at least 30% of the power grid still not generating electricity. and more than three months after hurricane maria, this is the situation. the percentage of people without power is much higher. most of puerto rico hopes to have power by the end of february, but it's likely to be the end of may before all the power is restored. now to a health alert about the flu. the cdc tells the "washington post" there's a 30% chance the flu season will peak next week. most of the cases are linked to a powerful strain that's highly contagious. doctors are urging people to get the flu vaccine even though it's only about 10% effective. serena williams getting back to the business of tennis. three months after becoming a

ma mom, serena williams hits the courts, it will be the first match since the first stages of her pregnant at this. > we've had the butt interception. and now the ball lands right on the seat of his pants. >> a couple teammates helping keep it secured so he could grab it in a more conventional way. coming up, our christmas special, diane macedo makes an appearance right over there for a christmas special. next. >> merry christmas. dads don't take sick days... dads take dayquil severe. the non-drowsy, coughing, aching, fever, sore throat... ...stuffy head, no sick days medicine.

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♪ hi. >> you got dressed for the occasion. >> we thought we'd have you come into our home on this christmas day. >> yay. frank is ready to celebrate. >> yeah. >> so we're exchanging our gifts. we wanted to share with you what

christmas. >> we figured as you exchange gifts we will too. i will start with my first gift for you. i remember how upset you were that this year's vladimir putin calendar did not have any shirtless photos. >> shirtless vlad. >> so your very own, custom-made. >> oh, my god. my open custom-made, shirtless vlad. >> vladimirical calendar. >> wow. i know you were happy with the stomping of the grapes that we. so i got you some of that grape that i stomped. >> that you stomped with your bare, i came equipped. >> no, no, this is an american. >> no really, i couldn't possibly. i don't want to put you out. >> are you sure? just try. just a little bit. just a little bit.

cheese -- >> merry christmas. i'm guessing based on the last time i brought sriracha to you that you probably ran out. >> yes. >> and you seemed to like it a lot. so my next gift for you, there you go, buddy. you can drink the whole thing. >> a whole jug of sriracha? >> and i thought you might need some pepto. >> a vat of pepto? >> i have a legit gift for you. can you tell i wrapped it. every day diane is here, she's like oh, can i get some hot water, can i get hot water? >> this is so cool. >> use the app and you can set the temperature of your water and it keeps it there. >> how do we get the "world news now" symbol on it? i need a wnn mug. >> the same folks who did the sriracha

thank you. finally, i did get you an actual real gift. >> the sriracha was nice. >> and i know you might need footwear to do that. >> i don't necessarily like running, i just like taking photos of me running. >> this will help with that, too. >> new sneakers? a box? >> a boox, i got you a box. >> idadidas. >> they're supposed to make i tags. >> remember that scene earlier in the year? >> what scene? >> when you poured slime. >> no, i don't remember that at all. >> it's season of giving. >> you wouldn't. >> this is my thanks. >> you wouldn't. >> i don't want to get frank, but, here we go. >> merry christmas, everybody. >> there you

merry christmas. >> frank will probably lick all this up. >> ooh. >> merry christmas. ♪

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well, if you enjoyed the gift swap between ken cdis and diane, we have a greater gift for you this morning, kendis trying to join a boy band. >> apparently, i was a little too pitchy, but the boys of 98 degrees let me go behind the stag stage and see how they're enjoying the christmas boom. >> it sounds a lot like christmas 1997. from hanson. ♪ to dru hill. ♪

to jewel. to 98 degrees. they're all out with new christmas albums. 98 degrees first christmas tunes launched several hits and was admittedly the most fun they had working together. so they headed to the studios this july to work on "let it snow snow." >> it's been awesome. what's behind this new fascination with christmas? ♪ that favorite holiday color. green. you see album sales generally sky rocket during the holidays. the copyright for most christmas classics are long expired. so artists don't have to pay extra money to cover a special song, and they're all hoping

achieve the holy grail, the might ling in lightning in the bottle achieved by mariah carey. ♪ all i want for christmas is you ♪ >> mariah's christmas tour an inspiration for artists look for an easy dollar. 98 degrees borrowed that playbook hitting the road for eight weeks this fall. fans will pay for an autographed photo, then you have super fans who pay for astound check. and super, super fans pay for a meet and greet. and super, super-duper fans pay for a dressing room champagne meet. and there's this, the seats from all the sold-out shows across the country. merry chas. ♪ christmas come the around again ♪ ♪ every day we live again ♪ it's season of >> so by the

mariah, we're excited. did you miss it over the weekend? she's back on new year's rockin'

this christmas morning on "world news now." dangerous travel for millions on the road today, with icy conditions in the northwest, heavy snow in the northeast and extreme cold across northern states. overnight, the president celebrating christmas with the first family and firing off tweets from florida, saying he's proud to lead the charge against the assault on the phrase "merry christmas." and also new this half hour, the frightening scene on the slopes. >> 200 skiers trapped in the air when the ski lift breaks down. how they eventually made it down. ♪ all i want for christmas is you ♪ >> are you awake yet? everybody's getting into the sound of the season. ♪ yeah, yeah

>> yeah, sing it. with some of our favorite artists from the '80s hoping to cash in. my backstage adventure on this december 25th. it is christmas morning, everybody, in america and other countries. >> and everywhere. from abc news, this is "world news now." oh, my gosh. it is christmas morning. erielle reshef is here with us. >> good to be here, merry christmas. >> merry christmas, happy holidays. the fire is set. >> we've got the yule log behind us. >> is it pretty warm back there? >> i can feel it. >> we have carefully been watching norad, watching santa's progression. >> a lot of people are up at this hour wrapping presents, which is great. we're going to start with the dangerous conditions. facing millions of americans this morning. >> two storms are merging bringing snow and ice to the northeast and mid atlantic and rain to the south. but winter weather is impacting travel in the midwest. >>

seeing its first white christmas in seven years. that snow is going to stick around because of bitter cold temperatures in the midwest today. >> wind chill in madison, wisconsin today and tomorrow will feel like 15-20 degrees below zero. >> and it's a rare white christmas for parts of the pacific northwest. with snow blanketing the seattle space needle. >> let's see what the weather's like in your area. >> accuweather's paul williams joins us. >> mother nature delivering us a gift of 12-18 inches of rain throughout vermont, new hampshire, maine. and at clooes least one to three throughout the ohio river valley. and north central part of the country, an arctic outbreak, bitter cold pushes through, dropping temperatures drastically. the northwest, a mixture of ice and snow in spokane, missoula and boise. and then by midweek, look for the cold to cover t

portion of the country. kendis, erielle? firefighters in southern california are getting some help today from someone used to putting in long hours during christmas. >> santa and mrs. claus, mrs. claus looks stunned by the camera. >> she looks thrilled. >> at the ventura county fire department. that is base camp for the thomas fire. more than 2,000 firefighters are working on that scene today. it's their first christmas fighting a wildfire for many. the thomas wildfire is now the largest in modern california history, but there's progress. it is now 70% contained. another country now plans to move its embassy in israel to jerusalem. guatemala made that announcement on a christmas eve post on facebook. the central american nation is the first to say it will follow the lead of the u.s. guatemala was one of only nine countries to vote against a u.n. resolution urging the u.s. to reverse its decision on jerusalem. and the u.s. is cutting the amount of money to the u.n. ha

efficiency. the trump administration has long been looking for ways to slash funding. the u.s. contribution is estimated at about 22% of the u.n.'s budget. north korea calls the latest sanctions an act of war that violates its sovereignty. the penalties unanimously approved come after repeated missile tests. the sanctions tighten oil imports and force those working for the regime abroad to return home. north korea says it's a pipe dream for the u.s. to think it will give up its nuclear weapons. pope francis urged the world not to ignore the millions of refugees. during christmas eve mass at the vatican, he compared migrants to joseph and mary and noted that millions around the world are being forced to leave their homes and no one should feel that there's no room for them on

this earth. back here at home, president trump's first christmas in office brought consternation. >> what do we expect. the president and first lady attended christmas eve services at this church where they were married. >> and he tweeted he is proud to have led the assault against the charge on mer eye -- merry christmas. he and the first lady spent time answering calls from kids tracking santa claus on norad. but he also took a moment to put coal in the media's stocking. here's kenneth moten. >> reporter: president trump's relentless attack on the media continues, retweeting this winning image. that's a cnn logo squashed under his shoe.

videoconference. >> we're grateful for each of you who spend this christmas away from your families. >> reporter: and hitting the golf course. trump also teeing off on andrew mccabe who's reportedly going to retire in march. trump has accused him of bias after an ally of hillary clinton's donated to his wife's political campaign. trump tweeted, these are the people who were investigating hillary clinton. >> well, it's a shame what's happened with the fbi. when you look at what's gone on with the fbi and justice department, people are very, very angry. >> reporter: trump's attacks on the fbi have been increasing, an agency he recently said is in tatters. democrats and republicans concerned that the president is undermining the russia vision and that he may take aim against special counsel mule ir. >> no one's above the law.

>> reporter: and the white house facing scrutiny about remarks the president allegedly made about immigrants, that he was enraged about the number of immigrants who had entered the u.s. since ihis inauguration. reportedly complaining that 15,000 from haiti had aids and that the 40,000 nigerian immigrants would never go back to their huts in africa. >> i was not in that meeting, but the people in the meeting say that never happened. >> reporter: president trump apparently looking ahead to the 2018 midterms. he tweeted good republican candidates will win big. he also touched on his own approval ratings blasting polls that say his numbers are in the lower 40s. he says his base is strong and so are the insider polls, but he didn't provide any evidence to back up those claims. kenneth moten, abc news, west palm beach, florida. and one of the president's critic

rhetoric could split the party. jeff flake saying that protectionism could cause the party permanent damage. the senator is concerned the republican's tone is drive away voters. >> if he continues on the path that he's on, that that's going to leave a huge swath of voters looking for something else. he's probably inviting a republican challenge as well, but certainly, a independent challenge. >> so you're saying you're running. flake is one of two republican senators not seeking reelection. when asked if he has eyes on the presidency, he said a run in 2020 isn't in his plans, but he's not ruling it out. so maybe. overseas, a potential challenger to vladimir putin is now a step closer to joining russia's presidential race. the opposition leader, alexi navalny has filed papers for his candidacy. however, a past criminal conviction means the kremlin will decide if he will be able to run. he is seen as a legitimate challenger to putin.

some argue his prosecution years ago was politically motivated. back here at home, two sheriff's deputies are recovering after a shooting. the dispute reportedly involved a man and his 19-year-old daughter. authorities say a suspect reached for a gun as he was being taken into custody and fired several shots. a female deputy was hit in the leg. and the male was hit in the arm and both legging. their injuries are not considered to be life threatening, the suspect is now in custody. in florida, five people, including four members of the same family were killed when their small plane crashed when taking off in dense fog in tampa. they were heading to key west for a day trip when their plane burst into flames. skatderring charred debris across the runway. 70-year-old john shannon was flying his two daughters fiance and a friend. >> no one should have taken off at 7:15 from this airport this morning.

the airport was totally socked in with fog. there was no chance for survival. when you take a look at the crash, the only thing you can say is nobody suffered. >> federal investigators are now trying to determine exactly what caused that crash. turning now to a dramatic scene in the french alps. 200 skiers were stranded more than 80 feet in the air after gondolas broke down. dozens of cars just got stuck. helicopters were dispatched, and rescue crews tried to help those desperate skiers. everyone was back on the ground after about two hours with no injuries reported. still no word and what may have caused the malfunction, but not the way you want to get the holiday started. >> we have a ski trip coming up in february. i don't know what this is saying to me, because this is the second time it's happened in a matter of a couple weeks. >> it is saying rebook. >> i love to ski. so hopefully it's rare occurrences.

the magic of christmas means sightings of santa aren't just limited to chimneys and rooftops. >> cocoa beach, more than 800 santa surfers catching waves. >> and jacksonville airport was a sighting for mr. and mrs. claus. they look like think were being screened for tsa. >> santa delivered the news conference. that's andy reed. coming up, the catch of the weekend. no ifs, ands or buts about it. plus, our secret santa gift swap. we do more than just gift cards. you're watching "world news now." i was wondering if an electric toothbrush really cleans better than a manual. and my hygienist says it does but they're not all the same. who knew? i had no idea. so she said, look for one that's shaped like a dental tool with a round brush head. go pro with oral-b.

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thousands of villagers in the southern philippines spending christmas morning in emergency shelters, after a tropical storm swept through the region this weekend causing land slides and flash floods. dozens of people are feared dead or missing. rescue operations are difficult because many bridges and roads have been destroyed. >> devastating images there, and no christmas lights for thousands of people in puerto rico.

>> at least 30% of the power grid still not generating electricity. and more than three months after hurricane maria, this is the situation. the percentage of people without power is much higher. most of puerto rico hopes to have power by the end of february, but it's likely to be the end of may before all the power is restored. now to a health alert about the flu. the cdc tells the "washington post" there's a 30% chance the flu season will peak next week. at least 10 states are reporting unusually high flu activity. most of the cases are linked to a powerful strain that's highly contagious. doctors are urging people to get the flu vaccine even though it's only about 10% effective. serena williams getting back to the business of tennis. three months after becoming a mom, she will play her first match in nearly a year. on friday, williams hits the court for a

dhabi. it will be the first competitive match since the first stages of her pregnancy. we've had the butt fumble. now we've had the butt interception. marshawn lattimore. you see it there. he he's flat on his stomach, and the pass lands right on the seat of his pants. >> a couple of his teammates -- sorry, i was watching the play -- a couple of his teammates holding it down so he could grab it in a more conventional way. tiara kind of . get 24/7 digestive support, with align. the #1 doctor recommended probiotic brand. also in kids chewables.

♪ hi. >> you got dressed for the occasion. >> we thought we'd have you come into our home on this christmas day. >> yay. frank is ready to celebrate. >> yeah. >> so we're exchanging our gifts. we wanted to share with you what we are giving each other on this christmas. >> we figured as you exchange

gifts we will too. i will start with my first gift for you. i remember how upset you were that this year's vladimir putin calendar did not have any shirtless photos. >> shirtless vlad. >> so your very own, custom-made. >> oh, my god. my open custom-made, shirtless vlad. >> vladimir calendar. >> wow. i know you were happy with the stomping of the grapes that we. so i got you some of that grape that i stomped. >> that you stomped with your bare, i came equipped. >> no, no, this is an american. >> no really, i couldn't possibly. i don't want to put you out. >> are you sure? just try. just a little bit. just a little bit. mm. does it have like an aged cheese -- >> merry christmas.

i'm guessing based on the last time i brought sriracha to you that you probably ran out. >> yes. >> and you seemed to like it a lot. so my next gift for you, there you go, buddy. you can drink the whole thing. >> a whole jug of sriracha? >> and i thought you might need a chaser for that, so here you go. >> a vat of pepto? i didn't really like sriracha that much. >> it looked like you did. >> i have a legit gift for you. can you tell i wrapped it. every day diane is here, she's like oh, can i get some hot water, can i get hot water? >> this is so cool. >> use the app and you can set the temperature of your water and it keeps it there. >> how do we get the "world news now" symbol on it? i need a wnn mug. >> the same folks who did the sriracha. >> this is really great. thank you. finally, i did get you an actual real gift.

>> the sriracha was nice. >> and i know you might need footwear to do that. >> i don't necessarily like running, i just like taking photos of me running. >> this will help with that, too. >> new sneakers? a box? >> a box, i got you a box. >> adidas. >> they're supposed to make i you really fast. >> remember that scene earlier in the year? >> what scene? >> when you poured slime. all over he? >> no, i don't remember that at all. >> it's season of giving. i figure this time as a gift. >> you wouldn't. >> this is my thanks. >> you wouldn't. >> i don't want to get frank, but, here we go. >> merry christmas, everybody. >> there you go. merry christmas. >> frank will probably lick all

this up. >> ooh. >> merry christmas. ♪

she's had a tiny cough. see you at 5! seriously? protection. lysol kills over 100 illness-causing germs and viruses, even those that may cause coughs. lysol. what it takes to protect.

probiotics can often help. try digestive advantage. it is tougher than your stomach's harsh environment, so it surivies a hundred times better than the leading probiotic. get the digestive advantage. well, if you enjoyed the gift swap between kendis and diane, we have a greater gift for you this morning, kendis trying to join a boy band. >> i don't know if it's necessarily a gift. apparently, i was a little too pitchy, but the boys of 98 degrees let me go behind the scenes and see how they're enjoying the christmas boom. it is a boom. in many ways, this christmas sounds a lot like christmas 1997. from hanson. ♪ to dru hill. ♪ to jewel.

♪ to 98 degrees. ♪ they're all out with new christmas albums. 98 degrees first christmas tunes launched several hits and was admittedly the most fun they had working together. so they jumped at the chance to return to the studios this past july to record "let it snow." >> it's been awesome. [ toilet flushing ] >> it's been awesome. what's behind this new fascination with christmas? ♪ that favorite holiday color. green. you see album sales generally sky rocket during the holidays. the copyright for most christmas classics are long expired. so artists don't have to pay extra money to cover a special song, and they're all hoping to achieve the holy grail, the lightning in the bottle achieved by mariah carey.

in 1994. s she's made $60 million on that song alone since its release. ♪ all i want for christmas is you ♪ >> mariah's christmas tour an inspiration for artists looking for an easy dollar. 98 degrees borrowed that playbook hitting the road for eight weeks this fall. fans will pay for an autographed photo, then you have super fans who pay for astound check. and super, super fans pay for a meet and greet. and super, super-duper fans pay for a dressing room champagne meet. and there's this, the seats from all the sold-out shows across the country. mer' -- mer eye christmas. ♪ christmas come the around again ♪ ♪ every day

>> so by the way, speaking of mariah, we're excited. did you miss it over the weekend? she's back on new year's rockin' eve, a do-over after last year

this christmas morning on "world news now." dangerous travel for millions on the road today, with icy conditions in the northwest, heavy snow in the northeast and extreme cold across northern states. overnight, the president celebrating christmas with the first family and firing off tweets from florida, saying he's proud to lead the charge against the assault on the phrase "merry christmas." and also new this half hour, the frightening scene on the slopes. >> 200 skiers trapped in the air when the ski lift breaks down. how they eventually made it down. ♪ all i want for christmas is you ♪ >> are you awake yet? everybody's getting into the sound of the season. ♪ yeah, yeah

>> yeah, sing it. with some of our favorite artists from the '90s, hoping to cash in. my backstage adventure on this december 25th. it is christmas morning, everybody, in america and other countries. >> and everywhere. from abc news, this is "world news now." oh, my gosh. it is christmas morning. erielle reshef is here with us. >> good to be here, merry christmas. >> merry christmas, happy holidays. the fire is set. >> we've got the yule log behind us. >> is it pretty warm back there? >> i can feel it. >> we have carefully been watching norad, watching santa's progression. we'll be updating. >> a lot of people are up at this hour wrapping presents, which is great. we're going to start with the dangerous conditions. facing millions of americans this morning. >> two storms are merging bringing snow and ice to the northeast and mid atlantic and rain to the south. but winter weather is impacting travel in the midwest. >> central

seeing its first white christmas in seven years. that snow is going to stick around because of bitter cold temperatures in the midwest today. >> wind chill in madison, wisconsin today and tomorrow will feel like 15-20 degrees below zero. >> and it's a rare white christmas for parts of the pacific northwest. with snow blanketing the seattle space needle. >> let's see what the weather's like in your area. >> accuweather's paul williams joins us. >> mother nature delivering us a gift 12-18 inches of snow throughout vermont, new hampshire and maine. and at least one to three throughout the ohio river valley. and north central part of the country, an arctic outbreak, bitter cold pushes through, dropping temperatures drastically. the northwest, a mixture of ice and snow in spokane, missoula and boise. and then by midweek, look for

the cold to cover the entire mid portion of the country. kendis, erielle? firefighters in southern california are getting some help today from someone used to putting in long hours during christmas. >> santa and mrs. claus, mrs. claus looks stunned by the camera. >> she looks thrilled. >> at the ventura county fire department. that is base camp for the thomas fire. more than 2,000 firefighters are working on that scene today. it's their first christmas fighting a wildfire for many. the thomas wildfire is now the largest in modern california history, but there's progress. it is now 70% contained. another country now plans to move its embassy in israel to jerusalem. guatemala made that announcement on a christmas eve post on facebook. the central american nation is the first to say it will follow the lead of the u.s. guatemala was one of only nine countries to vote against a u.n. resolution urging the u.s. to reverse its decision on jerusalem. and the u.s. is cutting the amount of money to the u.n.

ambassador nikki haley says the move is a step in the right direction. and that they will continue to look for ways to improve the agency's efficiency. the trump administration has long been looking for ways to slash funding. the u.s. contribution is estimated at about 22% of the u.n.'s budget. north korea calls the latest sanctions an act of war that violates its sovereignty. the penalties unanimously approved come after repeated missile tests. the sanctions tighten oil imports and force those working for the regime abroad to return home. north korea says it's a pipe dream for the u.s. to think it will give up its nuclear weapons. pope francis urged the world not to ignore the millions of refugees. during christmas eve mass at the vatican, he compared migrants to joseph and mary and noted that millions around the world are being forced to leave their homes and no one should feel

this earth. back here at home, president trump's first christmas in office brought consternation. >> what do we expect. the president and first lady attended christmas eve services at this church where they were married. >> and he tweeted he is proud to have led the assault against the charge on merry christmas. >> the president also thanked military men and women serving overseas during a video conference from his mara l-a-la estate. he and the first lady spent time answering calls from kids tracking santa claus on norad. but he also took a moment to put coal in the media's stocking. here's kenneth moten. >> reporter: president trump's relentless attack on the media continues, retweeting this winning image. look a little closer. yes, that's a cnn

under his shoe. he kept busy thanking troops by videoconference. >> we're grateful for each of you who spend this christmas away from your families. >> reporter: and hitting the golf course. trump also teeing off on andrew mccabe who's reportedly going to retire in march. trump has accused him of bias after an ally of hillary clinton's donated to his wife's political campaign. trump tweeted, these are the people who were investigating hillary clinton. >> well, it's a shame what's happened with the fbi. when you look at what's gone on with the fbi and justice department, people are very, very angry. >> reporter: trump's attacks on the fbi have been increasing, an agency he recently said is in tatters. democrats and republicans concerned that the president is undermining the russia vision and that he may take aim against special counsel mule ir. >> no one's above the law. let mr. mule ir -- mueller do his investigation without in

>> reporter: and the white house facing scrutiny about remarks the president allegedly made about immigrants, that he was enraged about the number of immigrants who had entered the u.s. since his inauguration. reportedly complaining that 15,000 from haiti had aids and that the 40,000 nigerian immigrants would never go back to their huts in africa. once seeing the u.s. the white house strongly denying the story, calling the story lies and outrageous. >> i was not in that meeting, but the people in the meeting say that never happened. so i have no belief that that actually transpired. >> reporter: president trump apparently looking ahead to the 2018 midterms. he tweeted good republican candidates will win big. he also touched on his own approval ratings blasting polls that say his numbers are in the lower 40s. he says his base is strong and so are the insider polls, but he didn't provide any evidence to back up those claims. kenneth moten, abc news, west palm beach, florida. and one of the president's critics is warning that the rhetoric could split the party. jeff flake saying that

protectionism could cause the party permanent damage. the senator is concerned the republican's tone is drive away voters. >> if he continues on the path that he's on, that that's going to leave a huge swath of voters looking for something else. he's probably inviting a republican challenge as well, but certainly, a independent challenge. >> so you're saying you're running. flake is one of two republican senators not seeking reelection. when asked if he has eyes on the presidency, he said a run in 2020 isn't in his plans, but he's not ruling it out. so maybe. overseas, a potential challenger to vladimir putin is now a step closer to joining russia's presidential race. the opposition leader, alexi navalny has filed papers for his candidacy. however, a past criminal conviction means the kremlin will decide if he will be able to run. he is seen as a legitimate challenger to putin.

some argue his prosecution years ago was politically motivated. back here at home, two sheriff's deputies are recovering after a shooting. the dispute reportedly involved a man and his 19-year-old daughter. authorities say a suspect reached for a gun as he was being taken into custody and fired several shots. a female deputy was hit in the leg. and the male was hit in the arm and both legs. their injuries are not considered to be life threatening, the suspect is now in custody. in florida, five people, including four members of the same family were killed when their small plane crashed when taking off in dense fog in tampa. they were heading to key west for a day trip when their plane burst into flames. scattering charred debris across the runway. 70-year-old john shannon was flying his two daughters, son-in-law and a family friend. all five died at the scene. >> clearly, no one s

tried a takeoff from this airport at 7:15 this morning. the airport was totally socked in with fog. there was no chance for survival. when you take a look at the crash, the only thing you can say is nobody suffered. >> federal investigators are now trying to determine exactly what caused that crash. turning now to a dramatic scene in the french alps. 200 skiers were stranded more than 80 feet in the air after gondolas broke down. dozens of cars just got stuck. helicopters were dispatched, and rescue crews tried to help those desperate skiers. everyone was back on the ground after about two hours with no injuries reported. still no word and what may have caused the malfunction, but not the way you want to get the holiday started. >> we have a ski trip coming up in february. i don't know what this is saying to me, because this is the second time it's happened in a matter of a couple weeks. >> it is saying rebook. >> saying think

so hopefully it's rare occurrences. the magic of christmas means sightings of santa aren't just limited to chimneys and rooftops. >> cocoa beach, more than 800 santa surfers catching waves. >> and jacksonville airport was a sighting for mr. and mrs. claus. they look like think were being screened for tsa. >> santa delivered the news conference. gore -- for the kansas city chiefs. that's andy reed. coming up, the catch of the weekend. no ifs, ands or buts about it. plus, our secret santa gift swap. we do more than just gift cards. you're watching "world news now." sdmoo sdmoo ching "world news now." i'm so frustrated. i just want to find a used car without getting ripped off. you could start your search at the all-new carfax.com

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thousands of villagers in the southern philippines spending christmas morning in emergency shelters, after a tropical storm swept through the region this weekend causing land slides and flash floods. dozens of people are feared dead or missing. rescue operations are difficult because many bridges and roads have been destroyed. >> devastating images there, and no christmas lights for thousands of people in puert

>> at least 30% of the power grid still not generating electricity. and more than three months after hurricane maria, this is the situation. the percentage of people without power is much higher. most of puerto rico hopes to have power by the end of february, but it's likely to be the end of may before all the power is restored. now to a health alert about the flu. the cdc tells the "washington post" there's a 30% chance the flu season will peak next week. at least 10 states are reporting unusually high flu activity. most of the cases are linked to a powerful strain that's highly contagious. doctors are urging people to get the flu vaccine even though it's only about 10% effective. serena williams getting back to the business of tennis. three months after becoming a mom, she will play her first match in nearly a year. on saturday, williams hits the court for

dhabi. it will be the first competitive match since the first stages of her pregnancy. we've had the butt fumble. now we've had the butt interception. we're going do have to play it again. take a look. new orleans defensive back marshawn lattimore. you see it there. he's flat on his stomach, and the pass lands right on the seat of his pants. >> a couple of his teammates -- sorry, i was watching the play -- a couple of his teammates helping keep it there, secure it so he could grab it in a more conventional way, but i love that. >> diane macedo kmaks an experience dmoex. diarrhea!♪ digestion, up, here's pepto bismol! ah. ♪nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea!♪ that cough doesn't sound so good. take mucinex dm. i'll text you in 4 hours when your cough returns. one pill lasts 12 hours, so...

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♪ hi. >> you got dressed for the occasion. >> we thought we'd have you come into our home on this christmas day. >> yay. frank is ready to celebrate. >> yeah. >> so we're exchanging our gifts. we wanted to share with you what we are giving each other on this christmas. >> we figured as you exchange

i will start with my first gift for you. i remember how upset you were that this year's vladimir putin calendar did not have any shirtless photos. >> shirtless vlad. >> so your very own, custom-made. >> oh, my god. my open custom-made, shirtless vlad. >> vladimir calendar. >> wow. i know you were happy with the stomping of the grapes that we did. so i got you some of that grape that i stomped. >> that you stomped with your bare, i came equipped. >> no, no, this is an american. >> no really, i couldn't possibly. i don't want to put you out. >> are you sure? just try. just a little bit. just a little bit. mm. does it have like an aged cheese -- >> merry christmas.

i'm guessing based on the last time i brought sriracha to you that you probably ran out. >> yes. >> and you seemed to like it a lot. so my next gift for you, there you go, buddy. you can drink the whole thing. >> a whole jug of sriracha? >> and i thought you might need a chaser for that, so here you go. >> a vat of pepto? i didn't really like sriracha that much. >> it looked like you did. >> i have a legit gift for you. can you tell i wrapped it. every day diane is here, she's like oh, can i get some hot water, can i get hot water? >> this is so cool. >> use the app and you can set the temperature of your water and it keeps it there. >> how do we get the "world news now" symbol on it? i need a wnn mug. >> the same folks who did the sriracha. >> this is really great. thank you. finally, i did get you an actual

nice gift. >> the sriracha was nice. >> and i know you might need footwear to do that. >> i don't necessarily like running, i just like taking photos of me running. >> this will help with that, too. >> new sneakers? a box? >> a box, i got you a box. >> adidas. >> they're supposed to make i you really fast. >> remember that scene earlier in the year? >> what scene? >> when you poured slime. all over me? >> no, i don't remember that at all. >> it's season of giving. i figure this time as a gift. >> you wouldn't. >> this is my thanks. >> you wouldn't. >> i don't want to get frank, but, here we go. >> merry christmas, everybody. >> there you go. merry christmas.

>> frank will probably lick all this up. >> ooh. >> merry christmas. ♪

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well, if you enjoyed the gift swap between kendis and diane, we have a greater gift for you this morning, kendis trying to join a boy band. >> i don't know if it's necessarily a gift. apparently, i was a little too pitchy, but the boys of 98 degrees let me go behind the scenes and see how they're enjoying the christmas boom. it is a boom. in many ways, this christmas sounds a lot like christmas 1997. from hanson. ♪ to dru hill. ♪ to jewel. ♪

to 98 degrees. ♪ they're all out with new christmas albums. 98 degrees first christmas tunes launched several hits and was admittedly the most fun they had working together. so they jumped at the chance to return to the studios this past july to record "let it snow." >> it's been awesome. [ toilet flushing ] >> let's hope that's not a reflection of what fans think of a new set of original and classic songs. so what's behind this new fascination with christmas? ♪ that favorite holiday color. green. you see album sales generally sky rocket during the holidays. the copyright for most christmas classics are long expired. so artists don't have to pay extra money to cover a special song, and they're all hoping to achieve the holy grail, the lightning in the bottle achieved by mariah carey. in 1994.

she's made $60 million on that song alone since its release. ♪ all i want for christmas is you ♪ >> mariah's christmas tour an inspiration for artists looking for an easy dollar. 98 degrees borrowed that playbook hitting the road for eight weeks this fall. fans will pay for an autographed photo, then you have super fans who pay to hear sound you check. and super, super fans pay for a meet and greet. and super, super-duper fans pay for a small dressing room, champagne toast. and there's this, the seats from all the sold-out shows across the country. merry christmas. ♪ christmas come the around again ♪ ♪ every day we live again ♪ it's season of >> so by the way, speaking of mariah, we'r

weekend? she's back on new year's rockin' eve, a do-over after last year sing us out, mariah.

making news in america this morning, white christmas. tens of millions waking up with snow coming down. dangerous conditions on the highways making it tough to get where you're going. >> if you don't have four-wheel drive, you're in trouble in the winter. >> your christmas day forecast coming up. president trump's first christmas in office. >> i'm saying merry christmas to wherever the [bleep] wants to hear it. >> bringing back what he calls a cherished and beautiful phrase. overseas nothing to celebrate in the philippines as residents start dealing with the aftermath of a deadly storm. intense rain causing land slides and a rising death toll i