this half hour on "world news now," new details about the inferno that even veteran firefighters are calling shocking. at least 12 people dead inside a new york apartment building. the flames moving so quickly, some of the victims were found in a bathtub. the rush to save lives on one of the coldest nights of the year. unprecedented security for new year's eve. this half hour, an abc news exclusive, how police are watching the crowds and the buildings. towering above times square. and new this half hour, the bombshell accusations aimed at the dr. phil show. >> there are many who clm

to guests with addictions. this morning the producers respond. and later, we look at the most memorable moments in the world of entertainment. it's the final skinny of 2017 on this friday, december 29th. from abc news, this is "world news now." >> good morning, everyone. we do begin with the breaking news a few blocks from where we are right now. a tragedy, the worst one seen in a generation. >> at least 12 people are dead after a fire in an apartment building. the flame the sent residents running into the streets on a night when the wind chill is in the single digits. >> more than 150 firefighters took on the freezing cold to fight the city's deadliest fire since 1990. survivors were desperately searching for loved ones. wabc's stepan ken is at the scene. >> reporter:hi

looks like to not know if your family's safe, no home to return to, but all that matters in this moment is who you love. this resident telling us she can't find half of her family. everything out here is frozen, except for her tears. >> i put them out through the window. there was smoke everywhere already. when i came through the door, i couldn't see the door. it was engulfed with smoke already. >> reporter: this resident says he got out on his second floor fire escape, no wallet, no phone, no shoes. shivering violently. all he has is this blanket someone gave him. he sont -- doesn't even know who. and now he has this. someone just gave him socks. >> you got to keep him warm. >> reporter: this neighbor out here, warming up feet of random strangers. his kindness in some ways enough to give these residents hope. >> i've been through three fires, it's not easy. >> reporter: he's not the only one out here opening up their arms in help. the

women from next door, bringing piles of jackets and sneakers. >> it's human nature. it's fine. it's fine. they're going to need it more than i am. >> reporter: it's like pouring salt on a wound, some residents lost everything. now out in the cold, so cold they can't feel their bodies. but they could feel the pain of loss. stepan kim, abc news, the bronx, new york. 200 million americans are feeling the chill. take a look at lake erie. the surface iced over. it may experience a complete december freeze for the first time since 2000. here in new york city, a fountain in midtown manhattan has turned into an ice sculpture. this bitter cold is being felt all over from virginia north into new england and west to wisconsin and beyond. it will feel like minus 20 today in vermont, new hampshire and maine. turning to the russia investigation, president trump now says he believes that special counsel robert mueller will be fair to him. in a new interview with the "new york times," the president also

repeated his claim that the investigation into meddling in the election is a hoax. he says it makes the country look very bad. he also insisted that more than a dozen times that there was no collusion between moscow and his campaign. and the president told the "times" that he has nothing to hide so he's not bothered bit fact that he doesn't know when the investigation will end. and mr. trump also told the "times", that he's been soft on china when it comes to trade in hopes of getting china to step up pressure on kim jong un. he criticized china after newly-released satellite images appeared to show oil transferred between chinese and north korean ships in violation of the new u.n. sanctions. he tweeted, caught red-handed. very disappointed china is allowing oil to go into north korea. there will never be a friendly solution to the north korea problem if this continues to happen. despite a last-ditch legal challenge, doug jones has been

certified as winner of alabama senate race. roy moore filed a complaint of voter fraud, but a judge denied his request to stop election officials from certifying those results. jones will be sworn in next week as the first democratic senator from alabama in a quarter century. he's promising to be an independent voice working with members of both parties. we turn to new security precaution ahead of new year's eve. recent terror attacks have prompted police to have a stepped up effort. to protect the 2 million people expected to gather sunday night. that effort includes helicopters and snipers. gio benitez shows us. >> reporter: the nypd taking unprecedented steps to protect the 1 million people expected to pack times square, closing off a wider perimeter this year than ever before. heavily-armed police at multiple check points. >> we

place. >> reporter: the police commissioner giving us a rare look at some of the 10,000 cameras keeping a watchful eye. from the ground to the air, helicopters lasering in on the crowds. what are your pilots going to be looking for on new year's eve from the air? >> they're going to be able to provide an overwatch for decision-makers and commanders on the ground to give them a strategic view. >> reporter: and on these high rises, snipers ready to act with pin point focus. >> there's a system in place to identify quickly if are you on the 12th floor or the 32nd floor of a building. >> reporter: crime in new york city is at its lowest level since the 1950s. but police aren't taking that for granted. the truck attack in the bike lane and the bombing in the subway keeping them on high alert from coast-to-coast, ramping up in the wake of the las vegas attack that killed 50 people. adding these barricades and

dubbing -- doubling police. >> in previous years we had spotters. but this year they'll be accompanied by snipers to ensure safety if a threat is recognized. >> reporter: and what about people staying at hotels? police say they're actually going to be at those hotels wanding people down. this is the first time they do that. gio benitez, abc news, new york. >> a large crowd already visited times square to say good-bye to 2017 a little early. they took advantage of the annual good riddance day. >> a shredding company set up at the crossroads of the world so people can destroy whatever they want, whatever bad memories they had from the last year. >> it's a horrible friend who's been treating me badly. >> old tax returns, why did you keep them all? bye. >> i just showed it to you. all the guys who wasted my time. all the bad habits shall cease in 2018. i know those bad habits, and i don't really want to share them. >> don't you need those tax

returns so many years back? i was like, whoa. paper wasn't the only thing going into the shredder. at least one person brought a pair of pants. >> okay. bad memories? about four tons of stuff was chopped up during the day. people saying good-bye to 2017. >> good riddance. omarosa's name. bye, felicia, in case you didn't get it the first time. a popular game being pulled from shelves. first, shocking allegations about what goes on behind the scenes of the dr. phil show. ind the scenes of the dr. phil show.

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we're back with an unusual crash in texas. about 40,000 pounds of avocados spilled across interstate 35 east when this big rig that was hauling them crashed and then caught on fire. the highway was closed in both directions for nearly three hours while crews cleaned up the scene. can't call that guacamole? >> i guess not. an appeals court has upheld a $135,000 fine for bakers who refused to make a cake for a lesbian couple. the owners of the now-closed bakery cited their religious beliefs. the oregon bureau of labor and industries found the bakers violated state laws that protect the lgbt community. melissa and aaron

appealed the decision, arguing their free speech and religious rights were violated. the dr. phil show is denying explosive allegations that it put guests on the show at risk and even supplied some of them with drug and alcohol to get better ratings. a former member of "survivor" says there was a bottle of vodka in his dressing room. when he appeared to talk about his alcohol problem. another claims someone from the show gave him xanax. in the 2013 appearance he was so drunk. you see here, he had to be helped onto the set. now others say producers told guests where they could buy heroin. lots of allegations flying. there's no direct comment from dr. phil mcgraw, who was paid a reported $80 million this year. the show says the allegations are, quote, unequivocally untrue. >> wow, some temptation there in

the green room when you walk in. target has apologized for a product that makes fun of jewish people. cards against humanity, it is filled with jokes about the holocaust and anne frank. it has now pulled the game saying it never intended to offend any customers with that. coming up, the greatest hits of ""the skinny". >> up next. one pill lasts 12 hours,and i'm good. > up next. oh yeah one bottle has the grease cleaning power of three bottles of this other liquid. a drop of dawn and grease is gone.

♪ skinny ♪ so skinny okay, so it's been quite a year in the entertainment world, from the hollywood baby boom to us welcoming america's twins, beyonce's. >> oh. >> to plenty of red carpet shenanigans. we haven't really had a dull moment in "the skinny." >> this morning we are looking back at the most unforgettable moments of 2017. >> we are expecting. >> beyonce's big surprise. she and husband jay z are expecting twins.

>> all of us are holding our breath at this moment. >> the very first baby picture of the twins. >> america's twins. you'll never do anything as important as introduce the world to rumi and sir. >> that is chrissy teigen and john legend's daughter luna. >> the power couple welcomed twins yesterday, a boy and a girl. >> serena williams. >> she has confirmed that she's 20 weeks pregnant. >> his baby billy was there days after a second open heart surgery. >> daddy cries on television, billy doesn't. it's unbelievable. >> will you be my -- >> there's no, i love you. i kwant

rest of my life with you. >> this was give me the ring. >> she gave up a shot at love for a ring, basically. >> it was a night of the good, the bad, and you can decide when it comes to fashion. >> and the katy perry. >> no thanks. no thanks. >> we'll give you a hug. right? >> i don't know her. >> what, are you mariah carey? i don't know her. >> jim carey has been making headlines for candid professions. >> i believe peace is beyond the personality, beyond invention and disguise. beyond the red s on your chest that makes bullets bounce off. >> that's just about when the cush hits. >> the "simpsons" predicted the future. the show accurately predicted that lady gaga not only would perform at the super bowl halftime show. >> they got some of the details right, including gaga floating into the stadium in a harness

and even those boots look familiar. >> the fire bra is where they went a little off. she probably thought about it, though. >> we are hearing from pink on her incredible performance at the amas, she called this stunt hanging off the side of a sky scraper, the scariest thing she has done. they had five days to put this together. >> every famous person that you know is all in one place. >> they came together to benefit the victims of hurricane harvey and irma. >> anyone who believes that there is no such thing as global warming must be blind or unintelligent. >> ariana grande performed her massive benefit concert to a sold-out crowd. this taking place just four miles from the scene of last month's suicide bombing. >> the rapper who doesn't dance, she makes [ bleep ] money now. money moves. she has the number one song in the country, taking the top spot

on billboard's hot 100. she's saying "look what you made me do." that was taylor swift's song that had been number one before she knocked taylor off the list. >> so i made it to harvard. >> the eight-time grammy winner who never finished high school was honored by harvard. for charities that she founded over the years. kit harrington just revealed the wonderful dish that he prepared for his fiance. >> that sounds nice. >> check out her reaction. something similar happened around here by the way. >> wait. >> ah! >> for my best friend, the rock. >> he hinted at a run for president earlier this year. now he's saying he's seriously considering it. >> i want to remind the rock since he is seriously considering it, i am seriously his running mate.

party of the people's eyebrow. >> i fully support this. >> wait for that solo shot. >> they didn't want to give it to me. thank you. there you go, rock. i'm ready. >> you still need to finish your holiday shopping, don't panic. how can you separate the two? >> i don't know, i'm trying to figure -- >> it's just -- >> i'm just going to turn to the side. >> if you do it to the solo shot, then it, it becomes a little bit more creepy. >> she looks like she practices in the mirror. how can you do it on command. i can barely move my eyes at this hour. >> i can't move anything. you know, how some guys at the gym can move -- no. you know who's excited for monday? >> you? >> no, jack. >> the bachelor. i'm like a big fan of arie, actually. i like guys from the past.

>> jack? >> we're ready for another season. we've got something special for next tuesday morning. we'll have to see how it goes. >> in the end he will pick a woman. ♪ thousahow it goes. >> in the end he will pick a woman. it's never much, just what's left after i break a dollar. and i never thought i could get quality life insurance with my spare change. neither did i. until i saw a commercial for the colonial penn program. imagine people our age getting life insurance at such an affordable rate. it's true. if you're 50 to 85, you can get guaranteed acceptance life insurance through the colonial penn program for less than 35 cents a day, just $9.95 a month. there's no medical exam and no health questions. you know, the average cost of a funeral is over $8,300. now that's a big burden to leave your loved ones.

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i'll text you in 4 hours when your cough returns. one pill lasts 12 hours, so... looks like i'm good all night! why take 4-hour cough medicine? just one mucinex lasts 12 hours. let's end this. ♪ all right, well, this is it. the final week of the year which, of course, means this is it for our final friday rewind of the year. >> and while everyone else has been eating and drinking with family, we have been busy bringing you the news. >> and eating and drinking. >> right, which is why my dress is tight today. here's a look back at our favorite moments of the week. >> two men are friends in hawaii and have been friends for 60 years. >> here's what they learned. they are brothers. >> it was a shock. >> it was a shock. we compare the forearms and everything. >> hairy arms, that did it.

the fbi is investigating how a pair of brothers with a single boarding pass got on the flight from los angeles to tokyo. >> chrissy teigen tweeted, a flying first for me. four hours into a 11-hour flight, and we are turning around because we have a passenger who isn't supposed to be on the plane, and this passenger posted his very first tweet. he wrote, my first tweet can't be more epic than this. just survived an l.a.x. to l.a.x. flight with chrissy teigen and john legend. a california mom to be wound up leaving her own delivery. >> she walked into a store to buy a soda. she collapses at a table and starts screaming in pain. >> the store's workers stepped in to help. the butcher used his apron to catch the newborn. >> and they saved the day. so we blurred it out, because an artist on christmas day in the spirit of christmas

painted a giant penis on the side of a building. >> it's the size of the entire side of the building. >> it has aroused plenty of debate. it was not in little italy. >> no? >> it was on the lower east side. the lower tip of manhattan. it's not there anymore. people were upset about it. we went there. >> it's a big job. >> it was a quickie. >> it was, people were confused. they thought it was a subway map. >> it didn't last very long. >> gio, you said you really think kevin durant block on lebron was illegal. can you tell us more about that? >> it was so clutch. it was just super clutch. and look, we can't stop showing you, we can't stop talking about this, because it's so clutch. >> because he hit him. >> sports by "world news now." >> gio is a sports analyst. >> clutch. so clutch.

>> just go to clutch, gio. >> over and over again. >> that's how it works. >> thank you for watching us this past year, it's not over yet.

making news in america this morning, unspeakable tragedy. the deadliest fire in a generation in new york city. children among at least 12 people killed. >> and i ask all new yorkers to keep them in your brayprayers. >> some victims were found in a bathtub. this morning, the firefight in the bitter cold and the investigation. deep freeze. 200 million americans affected by the extreme conditions. and this morning, president trump weighing in. his comments on global warming going viral. cyberattack revealed. the hackers who broke into the washington, d.c. police security