making news in america this morning, anxiety in the air. american airports set to tighten security as the investigation into the crash of that russian jet points to terrorism. we're live with the latest including what passengers can expect. political puzzle. questions about ben carson's past remain unanswered as he stands by his remarks on religion and history, and hillary clinton goes for big laughs on late night tv. damaging twister. unseasonable storms tearing roofs clear off as tornadoes touch down in texas. accuweather has the latest on the system ahead. and feeling the force. the "star wars" fan with his one last wish answered, fighting

screening before anyone else. well, good friday morning. we begin with the growing fears over air safety following that devastating russian plane crash in the egyptian desert. >> russia and egypt still pushing back against suggestions that a bomb likely took down the plane, but u.s. and british officials say they're being guided by intelligence intercepts, and now major changes are in store for key airports across the world. abc's lana zak has the latest for us and joining us from washington. lana, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, reena and kendis. the department of homeland security is looking at ways to make foreign airport screening as rigorous as the united states. here airport workers may be credentialed every six months but in some foreign airports, it is as infrequent as every five years. the possibility that a terrorist bomb downed the russian plane in egypt is sending international

for u.s. travelers. >> i think there is a possibility that there was a bomb on board. and we're taking that very seriously. >> reporter: the department of homeland security is expected to announce plans to tighten regulations on u.s.-bound flights from international airports as early as today. >> the obama administration is reviewing a number of different steps that we can take to enhance security for commercial flights bound for the united states from certain foreign airports. >> reporter: with more than 25 million americans expected to fly over the thanksgiving holiday, the need for vigilant security could not be greater. here in the u.s., baggage is sent to special tsa underground screening rooms. each bag run through explosive detection scanners, but the standards at foreign airports vary widely, and even here in the u.s., security has been raised since this summer when tsa screeners were found to miss hidden objects 95% of the time and internationally the list of countries halting travel in and around egypt's sinai peninsula

is growing following the british lead. while back in russia communities begin to bury their dead, the first of hundreds to come. and that really puts into context what is at stake. some of the enhanced security measures being discussed include checking bags against passenger manifests prior to takeoff and really focusing in on those background checks of airport workers to minimize the possibility of insider threats. reena, kendis. >> good news, especially with the holiday season coming up. abc's lana zak. thank you so much, lana. turning now to the race for the white house and ben carson looking to score points with conservatives. >> yeah, carson made some controversial comments about transgendered people saying they should have their own bathrooms because it makes people uncomfortable. carson also reinforced his belief that the egyptian pyramids were not tombs but built by joseph to store grain, and former classmates, neighbors and friends are disputing carson's claims that he had a violent past before turning to

in the meantime, donald trump and marco rubio are trading jabs. trump attacked rubio for using a state republican party american express card when he served as speaker of the house in florida, but rubio says he paid for all of his personal expenses out of his own pocket and he fired back pointing out that trump has declared bankruptcy four times. the republicans will need fewer podiums when they face off next week in their fourth debate. new jersey governor chris christie and former arkansas governor mike huckabee failed to make the cut with low poll numbers relegating them to the under card, and lindsey graham and former governor pataki, you see there, didn't make either debate. well, hillary clinton thinks she would defeat her husband if he could be involved in the democratic primary. clinton appeared last night on jimmy kimmel's show boasting she could beat the former president who has obviously run his last race already and she took a jab at president obama who recently said if he could run again, he would be re-elected.

that kind of confidence if you are in this arena trying to be president so if i were going to run against him, would i win? yeah. >> clinton also joked her husband could be called first dude or first mate if she's elected. as for the republicans clinton said she would likely watch donald trump on "saturday night live" because she believes that he watched her. >> okay. well, happening right now, a huge line of severe storms stretching from texas to the great lakes. a tornado in ft. worth tore part in that city sending it crashing onto vehicles on the ground below. wasn't damaged nor the air-conditioning system that it was covering. and there were no injuries, but further to the north this was the scene, the lightning strikes, no damage reports here. speaking of storms, a powerful storm system is heading to the southeast today. accuweather's justin povick is tracking it all. good morning, justin. >> reena and kendis, thanks, and good morning to you.

a very active day throughout the southeast and also into the tennessee valley. not so much at the coastline. i think we have one more warm day with sunshine toward myrtle beach and out towards charlotte but there's going to be some heavy rain along a cold front which is also going to produce some thundery downpours and potentially some flash flooding and this is going to mount if anything over the course of the upcoming weekend as this front really slows down to a snail's pace. northeast, well, we're looking at some fog here through the midday hours, but the good news is the sun comes back out later on in the day and records again will be challenged. big changes, though, for the weekend. reena and kendis, back to you. >> justin, thank you so much. breaking news now from brazil where a potential environmental disaster is in the making. a dam holding back waste from an iron mine has burst burying a small town in toxic sludge. at least 17 people have died. that toll is expected to rise since dozens are missing. rescuers say they're having trouble reaching the site because of the mud.

also breaking right now, a mystery in the caribbean. a search overnight for a passenger on board this ship, "the oasis of the sea" who ended up in the water. it's not clear if the 35-year-old man jumped or was pushed. we'll stay on top of that story. a plea deal has been reached in the case of that gyrocopter pilot who landed on the capitol lawn. his lawyer says douglas hughes will plead guilty to operating the copter without a license, which is a felony. he faces three years in prison. well, based on new data from nasa, scientists think they know what went wrong on mars. once likely a garden spot of the solar system, most of its atmosphere was stripped away by solar storms and without much air, mars lost most of its water. earth was spared because it has a magnetic field. the channels, the solar wind toward the poles, mars doesn't have any of that.

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at hillshire farm, spice is the spice of life. that's why our craftsmen season every sausage perfectly. so you can coax out great flavor effortlessly. hillshire farm. because it's worth doing right. brand-new pictures this morning from nasa of that rocket launch failure last year. the rocket exploded just seconds after takeoff from the launchpad in virginia. it was supposed to be delivering supplies to the international space station. the explosion releasing the force of 200 tons of tnt. this morning's jobs report could trigger an interest rate

economists expect it will show the payroll growth of around 183,000 jobs and slightly lower unemployment rate, 5.1% or 5% even. that would be good news showing a stronger economy and that might prompt the federal reserve to raise rates as soon as next month. do you know your way to san jose? well, new york economic statistics say you probably should. it's the richest city in america. its per capital output is $105,000, more than twice the national average. bridgeport, connecticut, is second followed by san francisco. san jose and france are tech centers. bridgeport has banking. all also have high concentrations, we're told, of educated workers. >> tech and banking, we're in the wrong fields. >> we know this the dungness crab season in california has been delayed because of that toxic contamination. experts say eating the crabs could lead to severe significantness, even death, the toxin is linked to a vast algae bloom off the west coast which was usually seen during warm ocean temperatures as a result of el nino. okay, one more note from

california. it was a shopping frenzy worthy of black friday at h&m stores around the world because of what was on sale. okay, in new york, london and in san francisco, some customers were lined up outside for a day just to buy items from an affordable line of clothes from designer pierre balmain. groups of shoppers were led in for 15 minutes to grab arm loads of clothes and fashion accessories, most of it already on ebay, steeply marked up. >> glad i didn't know about this one. i would have been waiting in line. >> your card would have been hurting. when we come back, one woman's major surprise, the intense stomach pains that turned out to be something else entirely. and the stunning new details surrounding the illinois officer who staged his suicide, planning a hit on somebody else. [makes siren noise]

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and honey getting made. and honey that was just beginning. well, a young driver in new jersey lucky to be alive after nearly being impaled behind the wheel. the 18-year-old girl was just inches from being struck by an eight-foot picket fence post and hit the gas to avoid another car and wound up plowing near the fence near a school yard filled with kids. no one hurt thankfully. morning road conditions. watch out for flooding from the western gulf coast into the deep south. there will also be wet roads in the eastern interior to the great lakes and in the

northwest. roads could be slippery in the rockies from snow. if you're flying airport delays likeliest in detroit, atlanta, charlotte, washington, philadelphia, new york and boston. well, it seems that we learn more and more about the suburban chicago cop who committed suicide, the worse it gets. >> yeah, lieutenant joe gliniewicz not only to appear like a murder, he tried to hire a hit man to kill a village official about to uncover his thefts from a youth charity and "the chicago sun-times" reports that his personnel file shows a history drunkenness and sexual harassment. a possible motive in the stabbing of four people on a university of california campus. police in merced said the freshman was angry over being booted from a study group. according to a manifesto found after he was killed by police, the student planned to kill an officer, steal a gun and shoot those who had evicted him. all of the stabbing victims are

we're getting some new details in that incredible missing persons case. julian hernandez was 5 when his dad took him from his mom's home in alabama and never returned. well, now 18, julian realized he was abducted. he had trouble with his social security number while applying for college. that's when a guidance counselor bank for missing and exploited children. julian and his dad had been living in cleveland for years under assumed names. >> different. he struck me as kind of a weird guy. i really didn't talk to him all that long, but other than that, i mean, just kind of normal, i guess. >> we're told that julian has since been in contact with his mother and she's said to be overjoyed. his dad could face more than ten years behind bars. the cdc is warning that about half of pregnant women gain too much weight. women already overweight or obese are more than likely to pile on the extra pounds. the extra weight can harm mom and baby. the cdc says about a third of

women gain the recommended amount of weight. the rest gain too little. and surprise, that's newborn massachusetts. she was born despite the couple having no idea that judy was pregnant. judy brown said during her pregnancy she never suffered morning sickness, and she attributed her weight gain to simply growing older. what a surprise. it will be no surprise tomorrow when the florida gators host vanderbilt. what was a surprise was a florida resident's return home and a run-in with a gator. look at this. he found the ten-footer right at his front door. they called animal control, and when a trapper got a rope around the gator's neck, it got a little feisty. they think the gator crawled up from a pond on a nearby golf course. yay, florida. >> nice football reference. >> yeah, you see where we were going there. trying to bring together a >> okay, and speaking of football, there was a great deal

that one is later in the weekend, right? >> i think so. the highlights now from our guys at espn. he's stan, i'm neil. hut, hut, hut. >> yeah, we got college football and nfl from thursday night. browns and bengals, it's an ohio thing in cincinnati, andy dalton has been really special so far this season and so has his team. dalton hooking up with his tight three touchdown catches. he now leads the nfl with nine touchdowns on the season. and they had it working. and the bengals are 8-0. johnny manziel got the start for cleveland but managed just one touchdown. jarrett stidham, he's the quarterback at baylor because seth russell broke a bone. true freshman. this kid was really good. no need to be worried. first half he threw for two, ran for one. kansas state, though, has a chance.

and run by bill snyder. so deonte burton makes the catch. it's 31-24. then they missed a field goal, did baylor and k. state has a chance and somebody thought that would be a good idea, and it wasn't. baylor still unbeaten. >> yeah, i counted four defenders in the area there of that pass. >> yeah. also from the s.e.c. thursday night, it's mississippi state over missouri. >> we have so many more scores but we're out of time. >> yep, back to you. >> thank you, gentlemen. and up next in "the pulse," the subjects in this painting you're going to see may not play fetch, but the art is fetching quite a sum of cash. and the inspiring "star wars" fan getting a special screening before anyone else.

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pulse" starting with a dream come true for a terminally ill "star wars" fan. >> 32-year-old daniel fleetwood suffering from cancer was told that he wouldn't live long enough to see the december release of "the force awakens" but thanks to an online petition that went viral, his wish has been granted. >> fleetwood's wife, ashley, is thanking our parent company, disney and director j.j. abrams, for bringing an unedited copy of the film to their house so he could see it. >> i love this story because it's such an incredible gesture and of this's been very top secret about this, so it's a big deal. >> he's still hoping to live long enough to be able to see it in the theaters, as well. >> in december. possibly right. a restaurant in houston is setting up some ground rules for its tiniest patrons. >> yeah, the couple who owns the restaurant is fed up with out-of-control kids. they printed out rule cards making it clear what children are not allowed to do. no running, no wandering around, screaming, throwing tantrums or touching the walls. >> the couple says the last straw was a kid who caused $1500

in damage. they say children are always welcome as long as they behave. i suggest just get takeaway. >> that's a long list. >> it is. >> yeah, okay, so next up, what's being called the greatest cat painting in the world. it has been sold for, well, more than what was expected. >> the painting is officially known "as my wife's lovers." that title was created by the husband of the woman who commissioned the painting. she reportedly owned 350 cats. >> okay, so 42 of them are in that painting, which measures 6 feet by 8 1/2. it was sold for $826,000, more than half a million more than its estimated value. and finally, some four-legged friends, one of which is having something of an identity crisis, that would be goliath there you see, an 8-week-old calf in california. >> okay, so here's the deal. goliath doesn't even really know that he's a cow because he's been hanging out with leo, the great dane. their owners think he believes he's actually a dog, as well.

the ropes since he was saved from a dairy farm. now they're best friends. nothing wrong with that. >> not at all. more news coming up. more news coming up. then the chronic, widespread pain slowed me down. my doctor and i agreed that moving more helps ease fibromyalgia pain. he also prescribed lyrica. for some patients, lyrica significantly relieves fibromyalgia pain and improves physical function. with less pain, i feel better. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling or blurry vision. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. fibromyalgia may have changed things. but with less pain,

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our top stories, as investigators look into whether russian passenger jet in egypt, the u.s. is expected to call on foreign airports with direct flights to the u.s. to step up security. the directive could come today. ben carson is coming under transgender people. he says they should have their own bathrooms because it makes people uncomfortable. human rights activists immediately condemned the comments. a severe storm system brought strong winds, rain, hail to parts of texas, oklahoma and arkansas. a tornado tore a roof covering off of a bank building in ft. worth. looking at today's weather, showers in the northwest. heavy rain from the texas gulf coast up to western new york. chilly in the upper midwest but a good chance of record highs in the east. okay, so this week we saw the race for the white house

of decision day. >> so, as the candidates continued taking swings at each other, the hosts of late night tv had some jabs of their own. here's your "friday funnies." >> donald trump is keeping busy. this is his new book that went on sale today. take a look at that. it's called "crippled america: how to make america great again." >> he looks like he's been trying all day to see the image in one of those 3d magic eye posters. >> looks like he just woke up from a nap in a tanning bed. >> donald trump is not the only candidate out there with a book. jeb! just released a brand-new e-book entitled "reply all." it's a great way to show you're done making mistakes by naming a book after something people do by accident. >> jeb bush's campaign says they want to bring back the canceled telemundo debate but donald trump has threatened to boycott

it rather than go. when they heard that, telemundo was like -- >> according to a new national poll, dr. ben carson is leading the field of republican candidates now by his largest margin yet. this is a start because this is the first time the republican field has ever been led by an african-american candidate who appears to be asleep at all times. >> a new national poll found that ben carson is now ahead of donald trump by six points in the republican race, finally proving that you can literally sleep your way to the top. >> no matter how tough it gets, don't count jeb! out because as he explained, he is a fighter. >> they don't know me. i eat nails when i wake up and then i have breakfast. >> jeb eats nails when he wakes up, and i believe him. am i still running for president? >> oh, boy. >> he's eating nails right about now.

coming up on "gma," 40 years of