>> marcus moore with us tonight. marcus, thank you. >>> we turn next overseas to the terrifying attack on holiday hospit shoppers. an suv used as a weapon on the streets of melbourne, australia. a trail of injured people left behind. tonight, police are calling it a, quote, deliberate act, but so far, not terrorism. abc's james longman tonight on the investigation. >> reporter: frenzied chaos on a busy australian street. this mangled wreck, the weapon in what authorities are calling a deliberate act. witnesses say the white suv ran red lights and veered onto those rail lines, before slamming into pedestrians. >> there were people screaming, running separate directions thinking it was a bomb. >> reporter: injuring 18, one still in critical condition tonight. this man dragged from the suv, officers seen holding him down and slapping him. authorities saying there is so far no link to terrorism, but the suspect was known to police. >> he's a 32-year-old australian citizen of afghan descent and has a history of drug use, a

and police are on guard as the stage is being set for tomorrow night's big show, dan. >> marcus moore, thank you very much. >>> we move on now to the bizarre police-involved shooting in wichita. police drawn to a home by a prank caller who reported a fake crime. this is called swatting, and in this case, the prank cost an innocent man his life. here's abc's erielle reshef. >> reporter: tonight, an innocent man gunned down by an officer in wichita. all part of what authorities are calling a deadly case of swatting. >> last evening's officer-involved shooting is a tragic and senseless act. >> reporter: 25-year-old tyler barris arrested in california believed by police to be the cryptic voice in this bogus 911 call. >> i shot him in the head and he's not breathing anymore. >> reporter: barris allegedly saying he shot his father then describing a sinister plan -- >> i already poured gasoline all over the house so might just set it on fire. >> reporter: police racing to an address the caller provided. when they arrived, a man identified by family as 28-year-old andrew finch was standing at

marcus moore, we can see the stunning scene behind you. these windy conditions expected to continue. >> reporter: david, that high wind has been picking up those embers and they have been skipping house to house. the other problem we're hearing about, water pressure, firefights telling me they had to let some homes burn because they didn't have enough water in the hide dron. >>> we got the view from above the fire from our affiliate kabc. from our station in los angeles he's joining uses as he's flying over the creek fire, an incredibly busy day, thank you for being with us tonight. you're over a very active scene tonight, the creek fire. >> this fire's 11,000 acres right now. we'll take you outside and show you picture of the creek fire. we're using our technology to show you where the fire is burning. as you can see, there's a lot of smoke obscuring the fire this is because of the santa ana conditions. we can fade in satellite tech knowledge where we can see the homes being affected. this fire has moved extremely fast. multiple homes hav

abc's marcus moore is in ventura california tonight. >> reporter: tonight, homes in flames, thousands evacuated. >> they're attacking it the best they can, that's all they can do. this wind is moving it in every direction. >> reporter: as wildfires burn out of control in california. >> we had a rough night last night. >> reporter: the thomas fire in ventura county, northwest of los angeles, exploding to 70 square miles in a matter of hours. the flames heading right for the city of ventura and its 100,000 residents. we are seeing an entire apartment complex engulfed in flames as fire crews try to put water on it. but look over here, there's another large fire burning on the other side of this hill. >> mandatory evacuations due to the fire. >> reporter: first responders going door to door overnight, evacuating more than 27,000 residents, many forced to drive out through an inferno. >> this is literally like 15 feet away from us right now. >> reporter: this group, panicked, as the flames start closing in. >> we need to get out of here as soon as possible. that fire is right there. >> rep

abc's marcus moore from atlanta. >> reporter: tonight, thousands of passengers at hartsfield-jackson international, scrambling to get out of atlanta. amid a sea of luggage, and pure frustration for robert dziudan and his wife, terri, trying to get home to detroit. what are they telling you about when you'll fly out? >> thursday. i'm missing work. she's already missed a day's worth of work. >> reporter: after getting stranded on a plane for three hours, paige asgari now struggling to trying to find her bags. >> all my personal items like christmas gifts. everything is in there. it's madness. it's chaotic in here. i just want my bags. >> reporter: more than 1,500 flights cancelled since that power outage crippled the world's busiest airport. 390 on delta alone. yesterday, just after noon, some 30,000 passengers plunged into darkness for nearly 11 hours. >> an emergency has been reported in the building. >> reporter: a fire underground taking out the power system, along with its backup. crews working through the night to fix the charred system. >> it's a nightmare. we have to go through

in ventura county, marcus moore, abc news. >> our thanks on to matt gutman and marcus moore.appears that those crews won't be getting much help from the forecast. >> accuweather's melissa constanzer joins us with details. good morning. >> kendis, diane, we keep the santa ana winds as we head through your friday. they will weaken slightly. those wind gusts through the valleys will still be more than 30 miles per hour. so the fire danger remains high. in fact, we'll keep these dry, low humidity conditions right through the weekend. and high pressure, it will weaken just a touch as we go through saturday but possibly even strengthening into sunday. that means the fire danger remains elevated right as we go through into your sunday evening. so no change there in the fire weather. take you to the southeast, and a big concern for the day will be the rain/snow mix. we could be talking about sleet and snow in places like atlanta, charlotte and rally as we head towards the afternoon. kendis, diane. >> melissa, thank you. >>> and here is an example of that snow. check out this rare loo

marcus moore, abc news, houston. >> only good news is that the kid was found safe after all that. >>harmed. but what a story. hollywood swap. >> how director ridley scott switched out his lead actor after all the scenes had already been shot. you're watching "world news now." i'm joy bauer, and as a nutritionist i know 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. ♪ ♪ money, money, money, money ♪ money, money, money, money >> perfect song for our next story. the movie itself has a back story that could be a movie itself. after the film star kevin spacey was accused of misconduct, ridley scott decided to reshoot all of spacey's scenes. >> christopher plummer stepped in to replace spacey, and now plummer and scott are up for golden globes. nick watt finds out how they pulled it off. >> all the money in the world. >> reporter: "all the money in the world" has become the tale of not one but two flawed men. john paul getty and the man or

marcus moore, abc news, atlanta. >> boy, what a headache.indeed affected. we talked to one coupling out of atlanta who have been there since yesterday and sfo can't rebook them until tomorrow. the next available flight on that airline isn't until three days after christmas. >> we didn't have a plan. there's no way we can get out of here. just cry. >> it's hard to be away from family right now. we need to get back. >> all flights scheduled between sfo and atlanta tonight are on time. >>> today president trump outlined the four pillars of his new national security strategy. >> we will stand up for our country like we have never stood up before. >> the strategy includes protecting the homeland and the american people, advancing american prosperity improving peace through strength, and advancing american influence abroad. >> congress is set to take the first votes tomorrow on the gop tax bill. the tax cuts for corporate america are set to bepermanent, and those for individuals and those that benefit the middle cl class have expiration dates. mar

firefighter will be on the scene providing medical support to anybody overcome by the elements and abc's marcus moore is also in times square tonight. >> reporter: an unprecedented security effort taking shape, tonight at the crossroads of the world -- barr and police officers with a watchful eye at neaof uniforthe checkpoints. >>hotel and strant gue time squar sniffinameras, and police officers in subways and in the ready to security everywhere. >> reporter: be weather those bone chilling teates h's nf "extreme temperatures" in new hothermal camera we see just how important it is to keep that all imped and orange co capturing heat escaping. with windchills during the ball drop expec single digits, officials brafor the possibility of medical emergeoo live we know authoritout folks getting frostbite tomorrow night. what is the plan for people who get sick? >> reporter: dan, we're t people -o could be exposed to the ele tomorrow in times square. will be in place, as well as emergency lanes to move people thebarricades in times square. stow mu ic apranor cost an here's abc erile reshef. inno gun ancer i

marcus moore, abc news, dallas. >>> a worker was killed when a trench collapsed at a construction site in ohio. the man was swallowed up by the dirt and buried alive during an emergency crews took 11 hours to recover his body. >>> a washington state family is suing alaska airline force the escalator fall which they say caused the death of their 75-year-old grandmother. they requested a gate to gates court service during her trip from maui to spokane. their wheelchair-bound grandmother was helped off her flight from nmaui to portland. but they left her alone. she tumbled and crashed landing near the bottom with the heavy chair on top of her. she was pronounced dead in september. >> it's not going to bring her back, obviously, but someone needs to own up. someone needs to take responsibility. >> but the airline contends that their grandmother declined help in the terminal and says the family failed to check boxes indicating that she had any impairments like trouble seeing or hearing. >>> and check out this video in the meantime. after it was blown away from its parking area by strong win

marcus moore, abc snus, dallas. >>> a police pursuit in oregon ended with what looked like a scene out of a james bond film. take a look. oh, it really looks like a stunt. police received reports of a man trespassing on boats docked on the columbia river in wisconsin storeya, oregon. officers made contact with the suspect and discovered he had a long list of parole violations and other offenses. when they attempted to arrest him he drove off the pier. he was able to escape the truck and swam to shore where police were waiting for him with handcuffs. >>> would be armed robber got a big knot on the head for a christmas gift after a fast food customer whacked him with a chair. it happened at a wendys in yuba city north of sacramento. i man was eating an early dinner when he saw something and then he did something. >> i noticed this guy walk in, he had a plastic bag on his head. at first i thought it was a gag. then i noticed he had a knife in his hand. cut in front of the line, walked up to the window and said the give me the money pit hit him hard. i hit him really hard. i could hear the

i'm marcus moore, dallas. >>> the census is out with its annual numbers and the u.s. population is growing every 18 seconds, believe it or not. nearly 327 million live in america on new year's day and the world population will be 7.44 billion. the growth rate in the u.s. is the growth rate in the u.s. is just over >>> this is video of a previous event. to be eligible you must be 16, in good health, free of infection. the first blood bank opening its doors way back in june of 1941. >>> a plant nursery in oakland is trying to make the best of a messy situation. a car drove through the fence of east bay nursery early christmas morning. there are thousands of damaged plants. now the owner is offering to sell those with discounts of 75% in a sale that starts today. the sale runs between 10:00 this morning and 4:00 p.m. today and also tomorrow. >>> it's time to get your christmas tree ready for recycling. city officials showed us how the trees are turned into mulch. you can put them in the blue bin. if it's over 6 feet you'll have to cut it in half. san francisco recycled 4

with your "gma first look" marcus moore, abc news, dallas. >>> 5:15 now. this morning we are hearing from a sheriff's sergeant who rescued a young boy who fell into a frozen pond on christmas day. >> i was calling out to the boy just in desperate hope that i could find him. i knew that i only had seconds left in that water. >> the 8-year-old boy was chasing a dog when he fell through the ice. the sergeant used his arms and hands to break the ice and get the boy back to shore. the sergeant has cuts and was treated for hypothermia. details on the boy's condition have not yet been released. >>> small businesses are shutting down in san francisco's union square because of skyrocketing rents. the constant flow of shoppers this holiday season made it seem like business was booming, but many small businesses and restaurants say they are not seeing a piece of the pie, mainly just the major high-end retailers. >> what i would have to pay would be three times the price. i would be looking around and it's outrageous. >> right now there are at least a half dozen space

first look i'm marcus moore, houston texas. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ that moment when who you're going wh is more importantu're going. wherever life takes us, we go together. interwoven... ...exclusively at kay, jared and zales. >> in the morning buzz, all you can say is poor tree, some described it as mangy, like a toilet brush, it cost $57,000 on display in the beautiful city of rome. since it was installed the tree has been dropping its needles. they have taken to the social media a to mock the poor tree. some are bringing flowers to the dieing tree. they should bring up the charlie brown tree and show how they loved it. >> ♪ o holy night ♪ the stars are brightly shining. >>> this police officer in portland maine is getting attention for his stunning on impromptu skinning of o holy night. turner said people walking by stopped and listen. he went to school to study music, but decided to become a cop four years ago, i think he could have a second career ahead. >> i have goose bumps from that so beautiful. >>> a berks county senator at the center of a sexual harassment is not stepping down. >>> a boy was k

marcus moore, abc news, dallas. >>> and the power is back at disneyland's theme park in anaheim, california after a massive outage stranded visitors on about a dozen rides including the monorail. disney blamed a transformer malfunction. >>> and we have good news and bad news about the powerball jackpot. th thayer was there was no big winner. saturday's jackpot is growing to $384 million. >> so there's plenty of chances. the jackpot, $309 million. this is the second time that lottery players in the u.s. have this two chances to win jackpots exceeding $300 million. the odds of winning both, 1 in 75 quadrillion. >> is that a real term? >> it sounds like something out >>> and some have some explaining to do. >> they thought they had won the top prize of $500. but when they went to claim it, they got an error message. >> awkward. a computer glitch caused more people to win than should have been allowed. as you can imagine, those winners aren't happy to hear that. >> i feel like i gave up my real money to win monopoly money. >> the computer error is under investigation and they hope to have more

marcus moore embedded with fire fighters. >> we have firefighters who have lost their homes, so it isersonal. >> reporter: back at the skirball fire, that's now 20% contained. what you see right behind me is a backfire lit by firefighters. what they're trying to do is create a buffer between the scorched earth and the unburned fields. matt gutman, abc news, santa paula, california. >> the weather is not helping things. the santa ana winds with low humidity are fuelling those fires. and randomly changing their direction. >> and with no rain in the forecast, fire with the flames. rob marciano is following the progress. >> reporter: here, the creek fire, they've got a bit of a handle on this one, with 20% containment and no additional growth. even evacuation orders being lifted. but for some of those people coming back to what has been burned is going to be heartbreaking. over a dozen homes destroyed in this area alone. tens of thousands of people have been under evacuation orders. meanwhile, this long duration, historically strong, santa athat wind event continues. red flag warnings hav

our marcus moore is there. >> the thomas fire destroyed 150 structures here in ventura county. and already some people have begun the process of sifting through the rubble as the flames threaten 12,000 other structures. >> reporter: some able to survey the damage. >> it's devastating. sorry. grateful we have our home, but very sad for my neighbors and the way my neighbors look. and it's just horrible. >> reporter: they're predicting gale-force winds. the concern from officials is that the ferocity of winds will pick up. the flames you see on the hillside here and push them up these very exclusive neighborhoods that haven't burned yet. matt gutman, abc news. >> just yichb credible scenes. and we just got new video from the ventura county fire department. and you can see the fire line along the mountain ridge. and then that bright flash, an explosion there. >> wow. you can see it down there on the lower hand part of the screen. >> and you can see how much smoke is in the air. this is a huge source of concern right now as well. hundreds of schools are closed this morning. a lot of

now abc's marcus moore is right there on the ground on the fire lines. >> reporter: homes in flames. thousands evacuated. >> they're hacking it the best they can. the wind is moving in every direction. >> reporter: as wildfires burn out of control in california. >> we had a rough night last night. >> reporter: the hottest fire, the thomas fire expanding to 70 square miles in a matter of hours, the flames hiding right to the city of ventura. this entire apartment complex is engulfed in flames as fire crews try to put water on it. but look over here, there's another large fire burning on the other side of this hill. first responders going door to door. evacuating more than 27,000 residents. many forced to drive out through an inferno. >> this is literally like 15 feet away from us right now. >> reporter: this group panicked as the flames started coming in. >> we need to get out of here right now. >> reporter: all patients and staff made it out in time. and by daybreak, they are able to make their aerial assault. the ferocious santa ana winds unrelenting. the wind is blowing the photogr

. >> reporter: my colleague marcus moore was there. >> how long have you lived in your house here? >> i live here for ten years. >> how worried are you? >> i am worried because the wind. i'm not worried about the fire. but i worry how strong the wind blow, the wind can blow, the strong fire, the ash. >> reporter: back in the hills of ventura county, those fires continue to burn out of control. you could see how massive that plume of smoke is. this thing towers into the sky thousands of feet up. but it's not all necessarily bad. what you're seeing here looks fears. but this is actually a good sign, say firefighters, because the fire is backing in on itself. most of this area has already burned and all their focus is on saving structures. for "nightline," i'm matt gutman in ventura, california. >>> up ne, santa's workshop, but this is not the north pole. inside china's christmas village. touch is how we communicate with those we love, but when your psoriasis is bad, does it ever get in the way? embrace the chance of 100% clear skin with taltz. taltz is proven to help people with mode

we're seeing an entire apartment complex engulfed in flames -- >> reporter: abc's marcus moore also therend. >> this is the 101 freeway, look at those flames as they burn off in the distance. this is the fire that is working its way through this part of ventura county, hopping the highway. this thing is shut down right now. >> reporter: throughout the week, first responders going door to door. >> anybody home? >> reporter: tens of thousands of residents forced to evacuate as the flames closed in. >> this is the police department, mandatory evacuation due to the fire -- >> we need to get out of here as soon as possible, that fire is right there. >> reporter: neighborhoods reduced to cinders. we met tracy bird recording the devastation, helpless as her home burned to the ground. >> we can't even describe what i'm thinking, my mind is not even really connecting with it all yet. and yet there it is. >> reporter: earlier today this fire line racing down this mountain. these helicopters are dropping as much water as they possibly can on these fields. the idea is to stop the fire from getting fr

marcus moore is there in times square. >> reporter: with just hours to go keeping america's largest new year's eve party safe the focus tonight of an unprecedented security effort. searches at hotel entrances. vapor wake dogs sniffing for any scent of an explosive. and revelers bundled-up and shoulder to shoulder, forced into multiple checkpoints throughout the secure perimeter. >> we're seeing police everywhere. >> reporter: we're hours from the ball drop, and already there's a long lines of people waiting to get into times square, many lines leading right to those checkpoints. trying to reduce the risk of explosives and weapons getting past the 22-block perimeter, authorities banning large bags and backpacks. >> we didn't know you couldn't bring backpacks in. >> reporter: we meet new york city's counter terrorism chief james waters amidst the operation. >> we're well prepared. this is the safest place in the world. >> reporter: fresh on his mind, the subway bombing earlier this month. october's deadly truck attack on a new york jogging path. and that las vegas rampage that killed 58 p

here's abc's marcus moore. >> reporter: this dashcam video released by tucson police looks and sounds like a real traffic stop. >> what are you guys doing here? no drugs or anything in the vehicle? >> reporter: but police say the man you see and hear on this video is no cop. >> just watching the video on this one, he's doing a lot of stuff that we do, which makes you think he's been watching what police do. >> reporter: in this video recorded last week, you can see him putting a driver in handcuffs, but police say the suspect couldn't find the key, telling the victim they'd have to go to police headquarters to get them removed. that's when they called 911. police later arresting the suspect. finding a white, unmarked sedan with a red and blue light bar installed near the visor, a dashcam, expandable baton and portable scanner. police charging him with impersonating a police officer and kidnapping. >> why did you do it? >> reporter: it's not the first time police have arrested alleged impersonators. this 32-year-old man is accused of posing as an officer houston to rob drugs stores for

more on this ongoing investigation with your "gma" first look i'm marcus moore abc news, dallas. >> ♪ssential for vinyl, but maybe not for people with rheumatoid arthritis. cause there are options. like an "unjection™". xeljanz xr. a once daily pill r adults with moderate to severe ra fowhom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz xr can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, cluding tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. don't start xeljanz xr you have an infection. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctoshould perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz xr, and monitor certain liver tests. tell your doctor if you were in a region where fungal inctions are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to fections. needles. a must for vinyl. but for you, one pill a day may providsymptom relief. ask your doctor about xelj

our marcus moore, embedded with firefighters in faria beach. >> we have firefighters that lost their homes. so, it is personal. >> reporter: back in los angeles -- the skirball fire that turned the 405 freeway into a hellscape, now 20% contained. >> and matt gutman is with us tonight. and matt, you mentioned there those extremely critical fire conditions being monitored very closely tonight? >> reporter: that's right, david. what you see right behind me is a backfire lit by firefighters. they're trying to create a buffer between the scorched earth and the unburned fields down there. what's incredible about this fire is i'm 25 miles away from where you are, but this is the very same fire. david? >> matt gutman leading us off tonight here in southern california. matt, thank you. i wanted to give everyone at home an idea of what these fires look like from the air tonight. we're joined right now by j.t. kabc. j.t., i know the flames are burning as we speak. the fires are stick out of control. >> reporter: a very massive fire, this fire, the thomas fire. let's take you odds right now and

the blackout forcing ground stops at other marcus moore leads us off. >> reporter: tonight, the nation's busiest airport in the dark. thousands stranded when the power went out without warning at atlanta's hartfield international airport. >> atlanta airport. no power, no light. >> we've been standing here in the dark for about 35 minutes. >> reporter: passengers using flashlights to guide them. in some parts of the airport, the only sights and sounds, the emergency announcements. >> reporter: reports of smoke in the terminal coming from passengers. >> we could see fire trucks and black smoke coming from the back. >> may i have your attention, please. an emergency has been reported. >> the lights flickered once. that was really scary. and then they flickered again and they didn't come back. and it's been about an hour now and it's just pitch darkness in the airport. >> reporter: airport officials unable to confirm what caused the massive power outage, which shut down critical equipment and computers, stranding thousands of passengers. as many as 100 flights stuck on the tarmac. pilots and

our marcus moore is there. >> the thomas fire destroyed 150 structures here in ventura county, and already some people have begun the process of shifting through the rubble as the flames continue to threaten 1,200 other structures. >> reporter: some residents are able to survey the damage today. >> it's devastating. sorry. grateful we have our home but i'm very sorry for my neighbors, the way my neighbors look, it's just horrible. >> matt gutman live with us tonight. we see the flames behind you. we know firefighters are concerned tonight that the wind gusts could be 80 miles an hour overnight? >> reporter: that's right, david. they're predicting gale-force winds tonight. and those winds half that speed that caused what you see behind me. destroying those homes, charring cars like the one you see right here. raging up hillsides. the concern from officials here in los angeles is that the ferocity of tonight's winds will pick up embers that are still burning here and sweep them farther up these hillsides, consuming parts of these very. >> matt gutman, thank you. authoritying bracing for the

abc's marcus moore on the calls for help. >> hello? hello? >> yes, this is 911. >> i'm on the train from tacoma. we just crashed. >> do you need medical aid? >> we're probably going to need some medical aid for a lot of people. there's cars everywhere and we're trying to get out. >> reporter: tonight, newly released 911 calls revealing chaos, confusion and courage after that amtrak commuter train tumbled off the interstate 5 bridge in dupont, washington. >> there's bodies laid everywhere. >> reporter: some of the injured pinned under wreckage. >> i'm on the train. i'm physically on the train. >> okay, all right. >> we're going to get help, i promise. >> reporter: one driver caught in a cloud of mud and dirt. >> i think there was a mudslide or something on i-5. my chest is sore. my airbags deployed. my car -- i can't go anywhere. >> deep breaths. stay on the phone with me. >> reporter: inside the train, panic. >> stay with me. >> reporter: as a mother helped her badly injured 14-year-old son. >> i'm sorry, i'm scared. >> i completely understan

our marcus moore is there. >> the thomas fire destroyed 150 structures here in ventura county, and already some people have begun the process of sifting through the rubble, as the flames continue to threaten 1,200 other structures. >> reporter: some residents able to survey the damage today. >> it's devastating. sorry. grateful we have our home but i'm very sad for my neighbors, and the way my neighbors look and -- it's just horrible. >> matt gutman live with us again tonight. obviously, we see the flames there behind you. and matt, i know firefighters are really concerned tonight that the wind gusts could be 80 miles an hour tonight. >> reporter: david, they are predicting gale-force winds tonight. those winds half that speed that destroyed homes like the one you see behind me and charred so many cars here, like this one, sweeping up the hillsides. now, the concern is that the ferocity of those winds tonight will pick up the embers that are still left burning, sweep farther up need hillsides and consume parts of these very exclusive communities that haven't burned yet. david? >> matt gutm