lana zak live in washington for us. lana, thank you. >>> lana mentioned russia's election-related hacking. it's now at the center of a firestorm between the president-elect and u.s. intelligence committee. >> trump already said he won't need the cia's daily briefing and since elected, he's only had four of them. some consider that a slap in the face to the agency. >> i think it would be devastating to hear that the incoming president doesn't value the intelligence that will come out of the agency. >> reporter: some former intelligence officials worry about the possibility of mutual distrust setting in between the cia and president-elect which could lead to fears that anything the cia tells the trump white house could get back to the russians. >>> and donald trump's attorneys are battling over the rules for an upcoming deposition. trump will testify next month, a few weeks before inauguration in a lawsuit tied to his new hotel in washington, d.c. the deposition will take place in trump tower. >>> and the morning's other b

abc's lana zak is following the developments and joins us from washington. good morning, lana. >> reporter: good morning, kendis and marci. the president-elect is making some fresh international waves with his most recent comments about china, a foreign ministry spokesperson says he risks badly affecting the u.s. relationship. all of this is a lot to take on for the still unnamed secretary of state. president-elect donald trump tells fox news exxonmobil ceo rex tillerson would make a great secretary of state. >> to me a great advantage is he knows many of the players and he knows them well. he does massive deals in russia. >> reporter: but it is exactly those ties tillerson has to russia that are worrying democrats and republicans. >> i have obviously concerns of reports of his relationship with vladimir putin who is a thug and a murderer. >> reporter: in 2013 he gave him the friendship award. mr. trump hasn't announced for his pick yet but "the washington post" reports renewed concerns of the russians interfering in the u.s. election according to the cia. >>

lana zak, abc news washington. >> heartbreaking and stunning newts from hollywood this morning. alan thicke the lovable father from 80's television has died. ly. >> ♪ >> thicke was playing hockey with his 19-year-old son yesterday when he suffered a heart attack. he was the patriarch of "growing pains." that made him a household name. thicke was also a well established composer, a popular theme songs including the facts of life different strokes and wheel of fortune. alan chicago survived by a wife tanya and three sons including r and b singer robin thicke t alan thicke was 69 years old. >> i'd just seen him on tv in a different sitcom and you're reminded of how he is. >> one of the original iconic tv dads. >> a woman crashes her suv into a frozen pond. details on who came to her rescue as the vehicle was sinking. >> a new glimpse of the final hours of the doomed cargo ship el faro. david. >> cold again this morning on the bus stop partly cloudy skies. some of you get something -- some of you get something sun. if you're dressing the kids bundle tup this morning as we have that

i just wanted to make sure my kid was safe. >> reporter: lana zak, abc news, washington. >> that will continue through the day with flooding and mudslides possible. >> justin povick has the latest from accuweather. good morning. >> diane, kendis, thanks and good morning to you, as well. we're tracking a big system along the west coast. heavy soaking rains potentialalfully flooding here along the i-5 and feet of snow are going to be nearly impassable. snow will spread out over the plains states. substantial amounts approaching a foot into the upper midwest and eventually slick travel takes aim at the northeast. diane and kendis, back to you. >> all right, our thanks to justin and breaking news now this morning, president obama in a stunning reversal declining to sign legislation to renew sanctions against iran. but the bill does become law even without the president's signature. the obama administration was concerned the renewal would undermine the iran nuclear deal and they pointed out that iran would not be affected by the sanctions as long as it continues to honor the agreement. don

lana zak has more on the dangerous artic air blanketing the northern half of the country. and- stay connected with the stormwatch 7 team when you're not in front of a t-v for with the stormwatch 7 team when you're not in front of a t-v for all the latest updates on the weather in our area. you can follow us on facebook, twitter and wjla.com. and download the stormwatch app for updates at your fingertips. breaking news out of montgomery county.. police are investigating a double shooting in aspen hill. gun fire erupted on palmira lane just after midnight. officers found two people--a 22-year-old man and 36-year-old woman inside a car suffering from gun shot wounds. both were taken to the hospital and are expected to survive. the shooter right now remains on the run. sam sweeney is headed to the scene and will have a live report coming up at 5.. right now in the district.. police need your help to identify an armed robbery suspect caught on camera terrorizing a convenience store. take a good look at this surveillance from inside a store on 11th street in northwest. the suspe

with more on this rare storm and more gripping this country, abc's lana zak. ep lightning up the skies thick with flurries in western new york. >> whoo. got that, baby. >> reporter: an intense snow band is moving south of buffalo bringing whiteout conditions. watch as the lake-effect snow builds and moves inland. from the northeast to the great lakes, a bone-chilling blanket of arctic air is engulfing the northern half of the country, and with the windchill factored in, parts of the midwest through new england could feel like 15 to 30 degrees below zero. experts say in those extreme can take place in a matter of minutes. >> we're thinking mostly in this scenario about frostbite and hypothermia, both of which can be very dangerous to life and limb. >> reporter: in the west drivers in portland, oregon, stuck for hours. it was a harrowing ordeal for north clackamas schoolchildren. >> my feet were frozen by the second hour, and we were all terrified we were either -- our brakes were going to fail and we would go down the hill or a car d >> reporter: and for those waiting for their children

lana zak has more. meanwhile-- trump's victory in wisconsin over democrat hillary clinton is a was, following a recount. yesterday, the state certified the results of the recount spearheaded by green party candidate jill stein. trump's lead widened by 131 votes, after the recount of nearly three-million votes. stein also tried unsuccessfully for recounts in michigan and pennsylvania. she alleged without evidence that voting machines could have been hacked. recounts there were halted by the courts. new rules for your next uber ride. the company is officially laying out a list of do's and dont's when you get in the car. the most no flirting! that goes for all ubers, especially uber-pool -where you share a ride with strangers. that one's generated some buzz. the others- are fairly standard - like no damaging things, cursing, and vomitting. a bittersweet morning for john wall after an amazing performance on the court last night. but it just wasn't quite good enough. it was a battle of point guards-- with wa

lana zak has more. now to the war on terror.. send 200 u.s. special operations troops to syria, there's a new setback against isis. islamic state militants recaptured the city of palmyra from syrian troops yesterday. and they destroyed many of the city's ancient treasures. the extra u.s. troops heading to syria are in addition to the 300 american troops already combating isis. investigators will hold a news conference tomorrow to discuss the probe into the deadly warehouse fire in oakland, california. 36 people were killed when flames raced through the building the night of december second, during a dance party. a-t-f investigators have completed their work, and have left the site. they've ruled out a refrigerator as the source of the fire. but they're still looking at electrical systems as potential causes. samsung is taking a new step as part of its massive recall of its galaxy note seven phones. samsung recalled the phones, after some of them caught fire. but some customers are still holding onto their phones. so samsung is rolling out a vi

lana zak has more. new this morning.. we're getting a look at newly evidence used in the trial of dylann roof in south carolina. the court released this video yesterday, showing him firing a weapon at different targets. he's confe parishioners inside a church. the prosecution is expected to rest its case today or thursday. the defense is expected to finish calling witnesses this week. after a christmas and new year's recess, the trial will resume january third. a u-s-p-s driver is being called a hero.. after pulling christmas packages from a burning truck. the mail truck's engine caught fire yesterday in wake forest, north carolina. flames quickly started to spread to the rest of the vehicle. thats when the driver and a good samaritan jumped into action, and got most of the packages out, before firefighters arrived. most of the packages were amazon deliveries. amazon says it's glad everyone is safe. it says it now plans to donate money to the wake forest fire department.. to show its appreciation. a london-based translati

lana zak with a look at the week ahead.ate this morning in the into that deadly warehouse fire in oakland california. a-t-f officials say they have completed their work at the scene of the fire. the next briefing on the investigation will be held tomorrow. investigators have ruled out a refrigerator as the source of the fire at electrical systems a potential causes. 36 people were killed in the fire that broke out during a dance party nearly two weeks ago. funerals for some of the victims were held over the weekend. new developments this morning from alexandria. fairfax county fire investigators say a mechanical failure in a furnace caused the fire that forced dozens of people to spend the weekend in a red cross-provided shelter. the fire started saturday evening in the attic of a unit at the woodlawn garden apartments. cell phone video showed flames shooting through the roof. most of the damage was contained to the third floor. but this morning-- no one is allowed to return, because the power remains off. the american red

abc's lana zak has the latest from northwest. at the capital hilton.ene.. john? new details about an alleged drunk driving crash that sunday morning in falls church.. police say hector hernandez orellana claims he fell asleep at the wheel on sleepy hollow road, before hitting four parked cars. admitted.. he had a few shots of rum that night. a witness who did not want to be identified spoke to us. the suspect fled the scene, but was arrested shortly afterward. animal control officers in greenbelt are investigating a disturbing case of animal cruelty. someone tied up a kitten with an electrical cord, and left her in a storage room at the franklin park apartments. after about six days, a woman who lives there heard the kitten crying. she found the animal with the cord wrapped tightly around her neck. the cord was connected to a wall outlet, and the kitten was near water. animal control officer howard stanback thinks someone was trying to electrocute her. he's searching for the person responsible. the kitten is recovering, and will be available for adopti

lana zak, abc news, washington. >> lawyers for congressman chaka fattah say they will appeal his 10 yeareral prison sentence. the judge issued the sentence yesterday. the democrat was convicted of using government and charity money to pay for personal expenses. the sentence is one of the stiffest given to me a congressional official convicted of corruption but falls short as much what prosecutors wanted. still fattah's congressional colleague bob brady is shaken by the fall of his friend. >> chaka did a lot of good for the city of philadelphia but a lot of resources for education and one major mistake, you can't make a mistake in this business. >> the judge ordered fattah to repay the money he took and terrorist prison on january 25. >> four local catholic church are shutting down. their leaders say january 11 will be the close of worship. saint jesus saints augustine's in bridgeport assumption of the bless said virgin mayor flee west grove. the diocese cited several reasons including maintenance costs. >>> the first female line of duty death by a philadelphia fire. joyce craig died on d

abc's lana zak following the overnight developments and joins us from washington. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, kendis and diane. we're seeing the president-elect make some of those over turs to former foes particularly those on capitol hill perhaps in anticipation of some difficult senate confirmation hearings ahead. trump supporters in wisconsin booed native son paul ryan. >> speaker paul ryan. i really come to -- oh, no, i've come to appreciate him. honestly, he's like a fine wine. >> reporter: during his thank you tour visit president-elect donald trump promoted his unconventional pick for secretary of state. >> rex will be a fierce advocate for america's interests around the world. >> reporter: oil executive rex tillerson will be the first secretary of state to have never served in government or the military. his career 40 years spent at exxonmobil. eighth largest company in the world but it isn't tillerson's lack of government experience that's worrying lawmakers. it's his strong ties to russia. >> i've invested a lot of money, our company has inve

. >>> abc's lana zak is live in washington tonight with those details. evening. >> reporter: good evening, rick. and the president-elect just left louisiana. he was stumping for the republican candidate for senate there. they are going to head to the polls tomorrow for a runoff election and they'll determine if that last seat in the senate gets filled by a republican or a democrat. >> ♪ >> reporter: president-elect donald trump's thank you tour continues with visits to michigan and louisiana. the senate seat there still up for grabs in a runoff election. >> tomorrow we need to you go to the polls and send john kennedy to the united states senate and that's why i'm down here. >> reporter: mr. trump renewing a campaign pledge to build a wall on the southern border with mexico. >> we're going build the wall. well f-john's not there maybe we can't build the wall so now i know you're going come out. >> reporter: he met with the man who may be his most powerful legislative ally speaker of the house paul ryan. >> we had a great meeting talk about our transition

abc's lana zak is following the latest developments and joins us live in washington with more. lana. >> reporter: hi, rick. good to be with you. there's been a steady stream of politicians and retired politicians heading through trump tower, all provide something hints as to who may be filling out the rest of those cabinet positions. among those meeting with the president-elect at trump tower former vice president al gore. he didn't say if hawpe under -- he was under consideration but said he had a severe search for common ground. >> i found it extremely interesting conversation and to be continued and i'm just going leave it at that. >> reporter: several cabinet positions are stilled. >> we're looking forward to another very productive week. >> reporter: the most attention given to secretary of state that list now stands at nine candidates including jon huntsman a former ambassador to china appointed by president obama. >> there's an expanded list. i'm on it. i'm honored and thrilled to be on that list. >> reporter: huntsman downplayed mr. trump's controversial call with the le

abc's lana zak has more. >> reporter: president-elect donald trump announced some new appointments tonistration. co-founder of wwe, and mr. trump is in the wwe hall of fame. once wrestling with her husband on television. the transition team announced oklahoma attorney general will head the environmental protection agency. the president-elect also promised more cabinet announcements would be coming soon. sources within the transition team say the president-elect is likely to announced retired general john kelly at the head of homeland security. >> i believe we're in the process of putting together one of the all-time great cabinets that's ever been assembled in our nation's history. >> reporter: mr. trump further narrowed his choice for secretary of state and former rival mitt romney is on the list. and among the many visitors to trump tower, chicago mayor rahm emanuel, who hopes undocumented students will be protected by the new administration. >> they are trying to achieve the american dream, no fault of their own, their parents came here. they are something we should hold up and emb