>> matt gutman with some new reporting tonight. matt, thank you. >>> next, to urgent manhunt for a suspect wanted in the killing of a police officer on christmas night. the man investigators in califo fo accused of gunning down a . abc's clayton sandell with the latest. >> reporter: tonight, a manhunt for a cop killer. >> the officer here is telling me that the opd officer was shot. >> reporter: just before 1:00 a.m. in newman, a police traffic stop erupts in gun fire. >> he called off shots fired over the radio. >> reporter: 33-year-old corporal was shot multiple times. >> he was transported to a local hospital, but unfortunately, succumbed to his injuries from the incident. as my understand, the dog was not injured. >> reporter: police now searching for this suspect may belie be driving this pickup. >> it takes a toll, an impact. one of my buddies died doing his job. >> reporter: so far this year, 52 officers have died in gun-related incidents, a 13% jump over 2017. investigators say they do not know the suspect's name, but they d

>> matt gutman with some new reporting tonight. matt, thank you. >>> next, to urgent manhunt for a suspect wanted in the killing of a police officer on christmas night. surveillance images revealing the man investigators in california are looking for, accused of gunning down an officer during a traffic stop. abc's clayton sandell with the latest. >> reporter: tonight, a manhunt for a cop killer. >> the officer here is telling me that the opd officer was shot. >> reporter: just before 1:00 a.m. in the small northern california town of newman, a police traffic stop erupts in gunfire. >> he called off shots fired over the radio. >> reporter: 33-year-old corporal and k9 officer ronil singh was shot multiple times. >> he was transported to a local hospital, but unfortunately, succumbed to his injuries from the incident. as my understand, the dog was not injured. >> reporter: police now searching for this suspect they believe may be driving this gray dodge pickup. singh was an immigrant from fiji, married with a young son, a seven-year de

>> matt gutman in texas.ountry thinking about the bush family tonight. >>> meantime, on capitol hill this evening, general motors ceo mary barra facing outrage. members of congress in the states where those plants will be closed are now asking, after taxpayers bailed out gm, and after the major tax break pushed by president trump, is there a way to protect any of those american jobs? mary bruce back on the hill tonight. >> reporter: earlier this year, gm ceo mary barra sat next to president trump as he promised to bring jobs back to the u.s. >> we're bringing manufacturing back to the united states bigly. >> reporter: but today, barra was on capitol hill to explain why gm is closing plants in michigan, maryland and ohio, slashing nearly 15,000 jobs. nanette donithan has worked at the lordstown, ohio, plant for 20 years. >> they are treating us like we're disposable. they haven't approached this restructuring with any kind of humanity or sensitivity at all. >> reporter: frustration that followed barra to washi

matt gutman, abc news, los angeles. >> thank you, matt gutman, for that report. >>> coming up, one man's adventure across the ocean in a barrel. >>> but first way too close for comfort. one officer's quick thinking at this railroad crossing. >>> and we honor an american hero. the oldest world war ii veteran has died at the age of 112. his secrets to a long, happy life. ii vote ran. complicated relationship with milk? pour on the lactaid. it's delicious 100% real milk, just without that annoying lactose. mmm, that's good. lactaid. the real milk that doesn't mess with you. and try calcium enriched lactaid. 100% real milk with 20% more calcium. still no lactose. our because of smoking.ital. but we still had to have a cigarette. had to. but then, we were like. what are we doing? the nicodermcq patch helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. nicodermcq. you know why, we know how. mauntil i held her.diabetes wasn't my top priority. i found my tresiba® reason. now i'm doing more to lower my a1c. once daily tresiba® controls blood sugar for 24 hours for powerful a1c reduction. tresiba® is a long

here is abc's matt gutman. >> reporter: this tweeted video as jarring as it was bizarre. >> i told yout, darkest secrets. i showed you exactly what people are capable of. >> reporter: kevin spacey apparently in character as his iconic frank underwood, the central character on netflix's "house of cards," until multiple real-world sexual assault allegations drove the network to kill off his character. >> despite even my own death, i feel surprisingly good. and my confidence grows each day that soon enough you will know the full truth. >> reporter: the 59-year-old spacey will be arraigned on a felony indecent assault and battery charge in a massachusetts court january 7th all for his alleged encounter with a then 18-year-old man whose mother, heather unruh, allegations in a press conference last year. >> kevin spacey bought him drink after drink after drink, and when my son was drunk, spacey made his move and sexually assaulted him. this was a criminal act. >> reporter: spacey's video, which netflix says it had nothing to do with, appears to be a bizarre attempt at a defense. >> i'm certa

>> matt gutman with those new developments tonight. matt, thank you. >>> we turn now to the death of a second child in u.s. custody along the mexican border. the mother of 8-year-old felipe alonzo-gomez from gas guatemala urging authorities to return his body, after he died of an apparent illness on christmas eve. facing heavy backlash, homeland security secretary kirstjen nielsen traveling to the border tomorrow. dhs now promising more thorough medical screenings for all migrant children held by the u.s. >>> and there is still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this thursday. the chaotic confrontation. a new york city police officer fending off several attackers inside the subway. one of them falling onto the tracks. what that officer said today about ending the standoff. >>> plus, the tragedy at a major tourist destination. authorities investigating after a teen falls 700 feet to her death at a famous overlook. >>> and the dangerous malfunction. take a look at this. drivers with no warning as a train blows through. how did this

here's abc's chief national correspondent matt gutman with that strange video. >> reporter: this tweet ed video, as jarring as it was bizarre. >> i told you my deepest, darkest secrets. i showed you exactly what people are capable of. >> reporter: kevin spacey apparently in character as his iconic frank underwood, the central character in netflix's "house of cards," until multiple real world sexual assault allegations drove the network to kill off his character. >> despite even my own death, i feel surprisingly good. and my confidence grows each day that soon enough the you will know the full truth. >> reporter: the 59-year-old spacey will be arraigned on a felony indecent assault and battery charge in a massachusetts court on january 7th. all for his alleged encounter with a then -yeaoldman, whemother, heather unruh, tearfully announced the allegations in a press conference last year. >> kevin spacey bought him drink after drink after drink and when my son was drunk, spacey made his move and sexually assaulted him. this was a criminal act. >> reporter: spacey's video, which netflix sa

>> matt gutman tonight. matt, thank you. >>> we turn next here to an abc news exclusive, and a crisis we've been reporting on here for three years now. one of the most persecuted minority groups in the world, the rohingya, escaping the horror in myanmar. some tortured, others killed. some 750,000 now living in refugee camps in bangladesh, after that ruthless military campaign pushed them out of myanmar. bob woodruff has traveled several times to report on the rohingya, and the urgent need to get them help. tonight, the new images. the efforts to send some of the rohingya back to myanmar. it was halted amid questions over whether there is still violence in myanmar, waiting for them. and tonight, if they stay in bangladesh, is that government now preparing to send many of them to an isolated island? we sent bob woodruff to find that island, and he did. >> reporter: we are on our way to the place the bangladeshi government does not want you to see. so, that's it right there, bhashan char. right there. bhashan c

>> he's got matt gutman on his -- >> i got matt gutman -- >> i don't mind being confused with matt gutmanoth are very dapper men. >> thank you. >> very kind. >> anyway, a big thanks to all our servicemen and women on this holiday. >> rob, thanks to you, as well, aka santa baby. we'll be back in just a bit. coming up though on "good morning america," the wrestler's choice. cut your dreadlocks or forfeit. why the referee who made that ultimatum is now coming under fire. der fire. ultimatum is now coming under fire. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ give extra. get extra. with the roomba robot vacuum. only roomba uses 2 multi-surface rubber brushes to clean all your floors. and with patented dirt detect technology, roomba finds dirt throughout your home. if it's not from irobot, it's not a roomba. only tylenol® rapid release gels have laser drilled holes. they release medicine fast, for fast pain relief. tylenol® hey! yeah!? i switched to geico and got more! more savings on car insurance!? they helped with homeowners, too! ok! plus motorcycle, boat and rv insurance! geico's got you covered! like a blank

abc's matt gutman has the latest. >> reporter: we learned that days before kevin spacey ended his year of silence with this cryptic video -- >> and my confidence grows each day that soon enough you will know the full truth. >> reporter: -- his attorneys argued in a massachusetts court that there wasn't enough evidence for the former "house of cards" star to be charged with indecent assault on an 18-year-old man. abc news has obtained a recording of that hearing. spacey's attorney, alan jackson, questioning the officer who took the testimony of the accuser, who claims that spacey groped him in a bar in 2016. >> if we were to stand and count off three minutes, you wouldn't agree, trooper. that's an incredibly long time to have a strange man's hands in your pants, correct? >> i would agree with that, yes. >> reporter: the attorney questioning why the accuser didn't walk away and instead was texting and even snapchatted video of the alleged incident. >> what the video shows is a person's hand made contact with the shirt, correct? >> yes. >> okay. not the -- any body part. >> correct. you d

matt gutman, abc news, los angeles. >> that border continuing to be a hot issue again., thank you so much for that report. >>> president trump and the first lady dropped in on u.s. troops in germany after a secret visit to iraq, the first trip of his presidency to a warzone. the president shook hands with service members and met with generals during a refueling stop at ramstein air force base. in iraq he defended his decision to withdraw from syria but said he has no plans to do the same in iraq. the president said he's in no rush to replace outgoing defense secretary jim mattis, but claims everybody wants the job. >> everybody wants it. >>> the president also talked about the government shutdown during his trip, saying he'll do whatever it takes to get funding for his border wall. with no deal at hand, the standoff could stretch into the new year and into the new congress with democrats in control. here is abc's kenneth moton. >> reporter: with 1/4 of the federal government closed there are signs of the partial shutdown in washington and across the country. lawmakers a

>> all right, matt gutman in los angeles. thanks so much. amy? >>> well, now for the third day in a row almost 200 migrants were released from i.c.e custody and dropped off near an el paso bus station christmas day. many were children. the amount of people has been overwhelming but representative beto o'rourke's call for help in the el paso area was answered. he tweeted grateful to everyone who has donated so far, and to all of those on the ground here in el paso who are helping with temporary shelter, food and and other help for these families. heartwarming to see people pitching in. >>> this issue of america's border is also at the heart of the partial government shutdown now heading into its fifth day with no end in sight. president trump insisting he will sign no deal that does not fund his border wall with mexico. let's go to white house correspondent tara palmeri. tara, good morning to you. >> good morning, dan. today is the first full business day since the government shut down on saturday. federal workers will start to of feel the disrupt

here's matt gutman. >> reporter: these are the first russian bombers landing in venezuela, capable of carrying nuclear weapons. the russians moving in with venezuela vulnerable, and in economic collapse. those bombers arriving as we at bridge to colombia. many of these people used to be them, at is sttuinss, not about thmass exodus from venezuela right now is that they used to have so much. it's all gone now. we were there as the economy spiraled out control two years ago. witnessing a country imploding. crippling shortages of food and medicine. the danger in the streets. that's when we first met a elementary school teacher, vanessa posada and her husband adolfo, barely surviving. the parents would alternate which night they would eat so that their little boy could eat instead. two years later, we find that teacher. she now says the pay is so little, she must join that exodus as well to find work to support the family. she and her husband realize she has better chance to find work. she will soon be like so many mothers we saw crossing the bridge to this border town in colombia. at cuc

here's matt gutman. he reported extensively on the crisis with the families risking everything to escape. >> reporter: these are the first russian bombers landing in venezuela, capable of carrying nuclear weapons. the russians moving in with venezuela vulnerable, and in economic collapse. those bombers arriving as we witness the exodus on the ground. desperate families filling this bridge to colombia. many of these people used to be solidly middle class, not all of them, but what is most stunning about the mass exodus from venezuela right now is that they used to have so much. it's all gone now. we were there as the economy spiraled out control two years ago. witnessing a country imploding. crippling shortages of food and medicine. the danger in the streets. that's when we first met a elementary school teacher, vanessa posada, and her husband adolfo, barely surviving. the parents would alternate which night they would eat so that their little boy could eat instead. two years later, we find that teacher.

matt gutman leading us off. >> reporter: the shaking started at 8:30 this morning. this anchorage courtroom seemingly on rollers. debris crashing, pictures flapping. and those inside holding on, then diving under desks. >> oh, my god. >> it's okay. >> reporter: and terrifying moments at the airport. >> earthquake! earthquake! >> reporter: panic everywhere. inside this home, you can hear the rumbling. this mother frantically searching for her son before grabbing him and rushing to safety. >> another house on fire there. >> reporter: for hours today, as fires erupted from burst gas pipes, alaska's biggest city seemed completely cut off from the world. the 7.0 magnitude quake struck about 25 miles deep. but its epicenter, just miles from downtown anchorage. >> there are tvs on the ground. >> reporter: the local cbs station, livestreaming the damage to its studios. ceilings caved in, offices flooded. roads cratered, this car marooned where the road ripped apart. >> holy smokes. can you get out of there? >> reporter: for several hours, the city's airports shut down. and

abc's matt gutman was one of the reporters along for the ride. >> so that tesla model actually insides going to zoom right through the tunnel. you see the light has turned green and there it's off. acceleration is pretty fast inside the tunnel. the ride is a little bit rocky, kind of like a roller coaster but the boring company says it will smooth all of that out and eventually all vehicles will be able to go through here at about 150 miles per hour. >> reporter: musk says the goal is to have a network of two-way tunnels beneath cities with entry and exit points and says any electric car could use the tunnel and could cost $1 per passenger like an underground highway. >> the average speed on a subway is ten miles an hour including stops but the way the loop would work, you would have main arteries traveling at 150 miles an hour and only when you want to go to an exit would you have an off-ramp. you can travel the vast majority of your journey without stopping at 150 miles an hour and only slow down when you get to your exit. >> and musk says it took $10 million to build the prototype

here is abc's matt gutman. >> reporter: facebook facing legal action from the district of columbia overlleged failure to protect user information during the 2016 presidential campaign. this follows a separate "new york times" report that the social media goliath gave up to 150 companies access to its users' personal data. reportedly exempting them from its usual privacy rules. according to the report facebook offered microsoft's bing, the ability to look at facebook users' friends without their consent. even allegedly offering companies like netflix and spotify the access to read, write and delete users' private messages. seeming to contradict mark zuckerberg's assurances from april. >> every piece of content that you share on facebook you own and you have complete control over who sees it. >> reporter: facebook tells us that none of these partnerships or features gave companies access to information without people's permission. >> it's gross mismanagement. it's taking advantage of not only the consumer but the fact that there is no regulation. >> reporter: facebook says that it no long

our chief national correspondent matt gutman got to see it and he joins us now from l.a. : hey, amy. it sure beats sitting in traffic. elon musk says that that tunnel we visited in the spacex parking lot could be the solution to gridlock. he says his tunnel digging system will be the most efficient ever created. they're already using the dirt to make bricks, which you see in the tower behind me. the big question is, will elon musk's vision meet reality? could this tunnel be the answer to our traffic woes? >> it would be incredible if you could travel around l.a., new york, d.c., chicago, paris, london, anywhere at 150 miles an hour. that would be phenomenal. >> reporter: it will be according to elon musk, who is pumping $40 million out of his own bank account into this prototype in los angeles. a tunnel is just below there. we were among the first to get a sneak peek. so that tesla model is going to zoom right through the tunnel. you can see the light has turned green and there, it's off. eventually, all vehicles will be able to go through here. >> reporter: when completed

abc's matt gutman has the story. >> reporter: this morning, authorities are following new leads in theappearance of kelsey berreth. police now confirming they have recovered evidence in idaho, more than 700 miles away from the missing mother's colorado home. idaho is also where investigators had earlier detected a ping from berreth's cell phone shortly after she vanished back in november. investigators declined to comment on evidence they have collected, but just days ago, berreth's fiance, patrick frazee, was arrested by police on suspicion of murdering the mother of their 1-year-old daughter. >> while we have not found kelsey at this time, information has been developed that is helping to narrow down our search. >> reporter: officials conducting multiple searches on both the home where she lived and frazee's home. officers and police canines scouring the suspect's 35-acre property for clues and escorting the couple's daughter, kaylee, away. the missing mother was last seen in public at a grocery store on thanksgiving day, captured on this surveillance video. following frazee's arrest

abc's chief national correspondent matt gutman is in los angeles. and dhs is now promising medical checks for all migrant children and calling in extra help. >> reporter: that's right, whit. after months of warning, they are finally asking for that help. i'm told the border patrol has already completed a secondary medical assessment of all children in its custody under the age of 10 partly because of fear of a flu outbreak in its facilities. now that as we learn that in his six days with customs and border patrol that 8-year-old boy was moved between four different facilities because of overcrowding. with the death of that 8-year-old boy, homeland security admitting the immigration system has reached a breaking point. the second death of a guatemalan child under the age of 8 in three weeks triggering a slew of investigations. one is already under way by customs and border protection, democrats in congress promising another.seary of homeland secur kirstjen nielsen releasing a statement wednesday, calling the death a tragedy, blaming open borders and

want to go back to matt gutman in lake elsinore, california.s under a mandatory evacuation when that wall of mud came roaring through here. now, they've done a pretty good job of cleaning it up. it was about a foot and a half high at one point. i want to show you the consistency of the mud, it's more like cement. that mud coursing through the town of lake elsinore with deafening force trapping locals for a time and turning streets into impassable canals of mud. >> we just don't know the stability of our hills anymore. the fire did its devastation. the hills behind us that are not a concern could become a concern very quickly. >> reporter: the mud rivers shooting down from canyons and dams like this. parts of the famed pacific coast highway seemingly cemented in mud, shutting it down. and overnight, hundreds evacuated from a temporary homeless shelter in san diego. southwest flight 278 was traveling with limited visibility from oakland into burbank when it hydroplaned off the runway. >> just be advised. there will be a lot of emergency vehicles

for "good morning america," matt gutman, abc news, los angeles. >> thanks to matt for that.t encourage anyone to cry. it sometimes happens on its own. what less some -- lessons do you think are important here? >> this isn't a traditional parenting book with a name like "them anyone revolution" you won't have parents rushing to pick it up because they are not sure what's in it, but it has a lot of great nuggets on how to raise confident, self-assured girl and this climate it's i credibly important. >> especially nuggets for dads. >> especially nuggets for dads. >> everyone thinks it's the moms who need to talk to girls about being feminine or what the world expects of women or how to conduct yourself in the world but we know that dads' input is important too so if they can have these conversations and starters it's critical. >> there's some surprising information in this book as well. >> well, i found that the section on mothering was really interesting because a lot of times people think if you have a child that's mothering, that's attributed -- people will think they're sap

firefighters put it out but hours later it erupted again and abc's matt gutman is in los angeles withrning to you. >> reporter: hey, good morning, dan. the owner of the tesla in question had the car towed to fix a flat tire and when it ignited the fire department was called out, working on that car for six hours but later that same night it ignited again. this morning, tesla is investigating why one of its model s cars burst into flames at least two separate times. the initial incident caught on video when the vehicle erupted after its owner towed the car to fix a flat tire on tuesday. >> going in and doing the paperwork and i started hearing a hissing sound. >> reporter: firefighters arrived to use foam and water to extinguish the blaze. after a short time, they noticed it was sputtering smoke and gas from underneath where the car's lithium battery is stored. >> following the guidelines published by tesla, we propped it up so the underbody was exposed and applied the water to the bottom of the vehicle. that's -- based on those guidelines, that's the most efficient way to cool the bat

abc's matt gutman is in los angeles with the latest. good morning, matt. >> reporter: good morning. secretary nielsen will travel to the el paso sector where the two children died in the span of just three weeks, and because so many migrant families are now crossing the border to surrender to u.s. authorities, that area has seen a tenfold increase in migrant families just the past year. so overwhelming authorities there, that they are releasing them in city parks. so overcrowded were its facilities that immigrations and customs enforcement released 1,600 migrant families into el paso on christmas week without processing them. >> it is unacceptable to release families with children, some of them very young children, to the street. >> reporter: day after day, buses filled with hundreds of migran migrants, dropped off here at parks and bus stations with no plan, no guidance for local authorities and no word to the migrant shelters which typically accommodate them. >> i'm calling upon i.c.e. and calling upon cbp to commit themselves to ensuring that never again will families be released

abc's matt gutman was there. >> reporter: we are at the boring company tunnel.e tunnel. come a little closer with me. it goes about 1.14 miles. it was just finished not long ago, and they painted it. it's got some concrete inside. right now it's not operating just as the company would have hoped. you still have to actually drive a car through. it's pretty much self-operated but you have to have a driver. eventually they hope that a car will be loaded on to a sled-like device that will hurdle a car through at about 150 to 155 miles per hour and there will be nodes across places like the city of los angeles where people can lower their cars into the tunnel and then zoom to their destination. that destination will be programmed in advance so you don't have to wait in traffic or wait to turn off at a certain location. all of it will be done digitally and through computers. again, this is just a prototype. it's a pretty big deal here. we're right under hawthorne airport. i can tell there are lots of people in los angeles who would love to have this thing up and worki

matt gutman, abc news, college station, texas. >>> president trump hosted two hanukkah events at theight survivors of the holocaust as guests of honor. the president said they endured evil beyond description. he also talked about the october massacre of 11 jews at a pittsburgh synagogue. he called it a sinister killing. >> americans of all backgrounds have come together to express have come together to express our unwavering determination to extract the vile poison of anti-semitism from our world. >> the president also took a few moments to honor the late president bush, calling him a wonderful man and a beloved american patriot. >>> coming up a little bit later on this morning, right place, e stop an alligator attack in florida saved the life of an elderly man. we'll talk about this story just a little later on this morning. >>> yeah, but first, the young sheriff's deputy who was just eight months on the job. he saved the life of a man trapped inside a fiery crash. we'll have that and more. you're watching "world news now." ld news now." hey there people eligible for medicare. gimme

our chief national correspondent matt gutman is in l.a. with the story. good morning, george. according to police, he was not only asleep, but he was drunk and as you mentioned, that tesla autopilot apparently was working. this is the sobering end to what could have been a deadly collision on a california highway. >> redwood city unit is behind a vehicle that's in autopilot, it's a tesla. they're currently attempting to bring to a stop. >> reporter: according to police, the 45-year-old driver was speeding down the road at 70 miles per hour in his tesla. >> the officers pulled up next to the vehicle and the officer observed the driver appeared to be asleep at the wheel. they tried to get the driver to wake up and pull over. according to the california highway patrol the officers finally maneuvered their vehicle in front gradually slowing down. the autopilot feature reacting and bringing the vehicle to a stop without causing an accident. you could see that driver placed under arrest on suspicion of dui. tesla founder elon musk tweeting that the company is lo