making news in america this morning -- ♪ dance forever >> the untimely passing of singer george michael. details of his death this morning. reaction to his passing and george michael in his own words. what he told abc news about his demons. also, tough travel on this day after christmas. snowy conditions forcing the closure of interstate highways. rain and storms elsewhere making a mess across the middle of the nation. developing story in michigan, a state of emergency declared because of a sinkhole. families out of their homes, forced to evacuate with no word on when they'll be back. and kansas city's hefty quarterback throwing a late touchdown pass for the chiefs as they end the playoff hopes of the defending super bowl champs.

and we do say good morning to you on this holiday monday. i'm kendis gibson. >> and i'm marci in for dianne ma said owe. > we begin with the passing of george michael. >> we got the word overnight who said he died of heart failure at his home in england on christmas day. michael had not been ill. we have more on the pop icon's life and career. ♪ >> reporter: the stunning death of george michael brings a sudden end to one of pop music's most brilliant careers. he was just 53, his publicist said he died peacefully at home. he was one half of wham!

his first solo album, 1987's "faith" sold more than 21 million copies and he enjoyed several hit singles. >> my music is reflected parts of the music that i listen to and some of my favorite albums would not be things that anyone expected. i know what my limitations are. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: his career included brushes with the law, overdangerous driving, drug use and public sexual behavior. >> i don't inhale any of that. it's dangerous. i don't inhale any of that. you give people music for years and years when you write.

you tie yourself to more than one night. you tie yourself to their big events of their life and it's real privilege. >> coming up later, the worldwide reaction to michael's death and the revealing interview he did recently with abc when he explained how he battled his own demons. but first, we want to move on to the other story we're following the dangerous weather for million of americans who are heading home today. looking at the radar, you can see the blizzard conditions s w slowly moving east. >> already hundreds of flights have been cancelled and drivers have been warned to stay off the words. >> reporter: it's the gift that keeps on giving. >> i love this white christmas. >> reporter: winter weather making for a white christmas and tough travel the day after. >> we're happy and we're making sill will faces and we're si singing christmas songs to get the time going. >> reporter: in arizona, snow

brought two major highways to a stand still. cars, trucks and drivers stranded along interstate 40 outside of flagstaff. >> i don't know. i'm just waiting. >> reporter: getting home or to the mall could be tricky today across the country. in the northern plains it's a slippery mess where freezing rain turned to snow. transportation officials in the dakotas shutting down more than 600 miles of roadway along i-94 because of drifting snow and nea near-zero visibility. some of those areas under blizzard warnings. rain and possible storms could move through nebraska, kansas, missouri, oklahoma and texas. >> i hope i can get home. so here's a silver lining it's holiday, a major one, many workers can stay home.

>> and we look ahead with accuweather's justin povick. >> improvement throughout the northern tear of states. poor traveling conditions due to snow and also some wind. not as heavy as yesterday. et's winding down. but, again, like i said, we're not completely finished. another storm system rolling into the northwest. and over the cascade when it comes to snow. new this morning, a possible cause for the crash of a russian military jet. the russian transport minister said pilot error or technical failure although terrorism has not been ruled out. the plane crashed two minutes after taking off in clear weather. it was headed to a russian base in syria a typhoon that killed at least four people in the

philippines has weakened slightly. people evacuated have started returning home. the storm headed toward a heavily populated area. and a powerful earthquake hit southern chile, thousands of people were evacuated over fierce of a tsunami, but that alert was lifted about an hour and half after the quake. new details about carrie fisher's condition, she's in a los angeles hospital after suffering cardiac ar rest. >> she's receiving well wishes as abc's eva pilgrim tell us we're hearing from her mother. >> brad: debbie reynolds at her bedside. tweeting this update, carrie is in stable condition. if there's a change, we will

share it. for all her fans and friends i thank you for your friends. >> reporter: the 60-year-old reportedly stopped breathing friday on a flight from london to l.a. just 15 minutes before landing. . the l.a. fire department rushing to the tarmac finding fisher in cardiac arrest. fisher taken to hospital. fisher's brother telling abc news she's obviously a very tough girl who survived many things. i encourage everyone to pray for her. eva pilgripilgrim, abc news, ne. coming up a sinkhole emergency emergency in michigan. the controversy is raging as president obama spends his last holiday vacation in hawaii. we'll have the details straight ahead.

state of emergency declared near detroit. because of a sinkhole that's threatening to swallow several homes. so far the hole has opened beneath one home. home owner was able to evacuate over the weekend and that massive sinkhole opened up in the same area in 2004. president obama is on his ate and last christmas break in hawaii. >> the president's stay is mixed with time spent with family and duties. abc's stephanie ramos is in hawaii this morning. >> reporter: visiting u.s. troops on christmas day is a holiday tradition for president obama and this was his last

visit as commander in chief. >> it's impossible for us to fully repay what you've done and the sacrifices that you make. but at least it's important to hear from us that what you do matters. >> reporter: president obama thanking u.s. troops and their families for their service at a marine corps in hawaii. on christmas eve, the president personally called u.s. service members to each branch of military stationed overseas and on twitter, a picture and this message -- best part of the holidays is the time we share with those we love. on behalf of michelle, malia and sasha, merry christmas, everyone! a series of last. the president teaming up with michelle to poke fun at their first holiday address in 2009. >> given how our first weekly address went i needed that barack needed all the help he

could get. >> the greatest gift we have received over the last eight years has been the honor of servinging as your president and the first lady. stephanie ramos, abc news -- honolulu, hawaii. >> our thanks to stephanie there. increasing tension between the obama administration and israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu over the u.n. issue of settlements. the protest the white house failure to block the resolution condemnening israeli settle nmt the west bank. >> the prime minister blamed the white house for arranging it. >> we agreed that the security council was not the place to resolve this issue. we knew that going there would make negotiations harder and drive peace further away.

and as i told john kerry on thursday friends don't take friends to the security council. >> president-elect donald trump had urged the u.s. to veto the resolution. in the meantime, trump's plan to shut down his charitable foundation has apparently hit a legal hurdle. the president-elect said he's dissolving the foundation to avoid the appearance of conflict. >> the attorney general said trump can't legally dissolve while the foundation is under investigation. >> when we come back -- late drama in pittsburgh decided by a stretch. at the goal line with only seconds to spare. and more about the life and death of singer george michael, a revealing interview with abc from several years ago. stay with us. sh really cleans... ...better than a manual, and my hygienist says it does. but... ...they're not all the same. turns out, they're really... ...different. who knew? i had no idea. so, she said look for...

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with blizzard conditions in some areas, even freezing rain in others. hundreds of flights have already been cancelled and drivers have been warned to stay off some roads. 15 inches possible in parts of the dakotas. looking at morning road conditions, expect rain in seattle and portland. heavy snow in the cascades and the northern rockies. freezing rain could make it dangerous in the northeast. the weather could cause some delays at airports in memphis, chicago, minneapolis and detroit. many of us are heading back to stores today hoping to find the best deals after christmas and many of them are in electronics because the latest models are about to go on sale. experts say the hottest deals will be on cameras, smartphones and video games. >> gamestop has a buy two, get one free sale on used video games and on all electronics, expect deep discounts on returned merchandise. retailers will be trying to move

products that didn't sell well this year. walmart is opening up at 6:00 a.m. to a jump on the post-holiday rush. son benjamin was born on december 25th. >> when mom was found out she was expecting another bay on december 23rd. they held out hope for a christmas encore. sure enough, little caroline was welcomed into the world. two kids born on the same day and on christmas, no less. >> pretty cool. >> congrats. a giant first seal had a wild run in as ttasmania before getting captured. he climbed on a car, smashed the windshield, dented the roof, took at lot of energy. at one point, there he is taking a nap. >> warned to keep a distance as this creature wandered the streets. he's now heading back to the

wild. but a lot of damage done. >> some christmas sports starting with the nfl. the defending super bowl champions the denver broncos aren't going back to the playoffs. >> that's because of last night's 33-10 defeat in kansas city. by the chiefs. tyreke hill taking this handoff for the touchdown. this is the play that i love. nose tackle donteari poe he threw the short pass to harris there. first time denver will miss the playoffs in some six years. earlier it was pittsburgh stunning baltimore with a last-minute touchdown to clinch the afc north, with nine seconds to go, an tone joe brown -- look at that -- reaches across the goal line. that gave the steelers the win. >> and up next, in the pulse, george michael in his own words, opening up about his own demons. >> the singer's untimely death.

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store manager: clean up, aisle 4. alka-seltzer plus liquid gels. ♪ checking the pulse and tributes are pouring in for is george michael who died at the age of 53, his manager said the cause was heart failure. >> you may recall "good morning america's" chris cuomo sat down with george michael in 2008 and he talked about surviving some of his most personal struggle and it was a terribly depressing time. i had my very first relationship at 27. because i had not actually come to terms with my sexuality at 24. my first relationship, six months into it, discovered my

partner, in six months you're deep in the throes of love and i lost my partner to hiv and then took about three years to grieve and after that i lost my mother. i felt like i was curse. >> how did you survive what you went through, the lost of the most important man and the most important woman of your life. >> depression and shock that went on for years. then of course i got myself arrested. so it was a very eventful and bizarre -- bizarrely dark period for me. i actually thought was going to go forzblfr michael was widely praised for his vocal range and his overall talent. >> earlier we spoke with bruno about that and other aspects of michael's career. >> the great thing about it is, people are talking about his music not the controversies, not the run-ins with the law.

one of the greatest song writers we saw in the late 20th century. the man was tremendously talented. wrote all his songs. produced them himself. you can't find too many artists nowadays who do what george michael did for so many years. >> to take ownership of his music in so many different ways. >> in so my different ways. even went through legal fights with record companies like sony to get his masters back, but he took a long time in the studio between al bums because he was such a perfectionist. it was said he never really wanted to release music unless he was fully confident that it was the best possible work that he could possibly do. >> as you might imagine those who knew and worked with michael have been weighing in reactions.

andrew ridgeley tweeted last night he was heartbroken at the loss of his beloved friend. >> elton john posting a photo of himself with michael. tweeting here i am in deep shock and i have lost a best friend. >> and madonna, farewell my friend, another great art ist leaves us. >> more on "good morning america" on george michael. we'll be right back. is. all-in-one cold symptom relief from tylenol®, the #1 doctor recommended pain relief brand. tylenol® when you have a cold, pain from chest congestion can make this... feel like this. all-in-one cold symptom relief from tylenol®, the #1 doctor recommended pain relief brand. tylenol®

the spare, no, i don't want to put anybody out. nonsense! we lend it to everybody. some people we hardly know. as after a dvt blood clot,ital i sure had a lot to think about. what about the people i care about? ...including this little girl. and what if this happened again? i was given warfarin in the hospital, but wondered, was this the best treatment for me? so i asked my doctor.

and he recommended eliquis. eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots and reduces the risk of them happening again. yes, eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots. eliquis also had significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. both made me turn around my thinking. don't stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. if you had a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away if you have tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily ...and it may take longer than usual for bleeding to stop. seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots. plus had less major bleeding. both made eliquis the right treatment for me. ask your doctor if switching to eliquis is right for you.

>> good morning, everyone, monday morning, 427 a.m. "actionshoppers return to storey "action news" is live with the retail madness. snrmple fire tragedy on -- fire tragedy on christmas day. british pop singer george michael as died. we take a look back at his career and details of his shock be death. we'll take a look at the roads for anyone heading out to work today, "action news" is next. record-high temperatures are possible in chicago and detroit. a cold 39 in denver finally this morning with kids off from school this week and many adults not working, at

least today, you may be looking for something to do other than going to the mall. >> abc's chris connelly takes a look at the box office choices. >> reporter: a trip to the movie theater? head for space. not only rogue one taking audiences into the deep beyond. >> it's rogue. rogue one. >> reporter: maybe you heard, jennifer lawrence and chris pratt are in a movie together. >> nine years too soon. >> reporter: when their in-fight hibernation ends way too early, there's trouble in passengers. >> we're on our way to work. >> reporter: hidden figure tells an based on actual story. academy voters may be taking notice as denzel washington

directs. as they reprize their roles in fences. annett benning could be looking at her fifth oscar nomination. 20th century women. >> don't you need a man to raise a man. >> no, i don't think so. >> reporter: yes, that's a balding matthew mcconaughey front and center in gold. and live by night. meanwhile, the emotionally calibrated moonlight, manchester by the sea and the made for big screen miracle, la la land. remain in theaters. making you part of the who will win the discussion and giving you a night out. chris connelly, abc news, los angeles. >> lots of choices today. a big day to go to the movies. >> sure

>> good morning everyone, 4:30 a.m. on this monday, december 26. tam is off, alicia vitarelli joins us, here's what we're following for you. >> christmas may be over, but not the shopping, as the retailers prepare for posthole day rush. a -- post holiday rush. >> pop star george michael has died, we'll tell you what we learned about his death. >> matt pellman is here along with karen rogers, did everybody