abc news reporter alex presha has more on the story. alex: the situation unfolded at a synagogue in the dallas-fort worth area saturday morning. authorities say an armed suspect has taken hostages at congregation beth israel. the colleyville police department swat team responded to the scene, evacuating residents in the immediate area. a source tells abc news that the hostage taker has demanded a woman name aafia siddiqui be released from prison. siddiqui is a known terrorist incarcerated at carswell air force base near fort worth. she was sentenced to 86 years in prison after being convicted in manhattan federal court in 2010 for trying to kill u.s. soldiers and fbi agents in afghanistan. the fbi, along with local authorities and hostage negotiators, are on scene. the white house and homeland security secretary have been briefed on the situation. alex presha, abc news, washington. dion: still to come on abc 7 news at 5:00, some states are getting hit with a strong winter storm. where snowfall is causing some big problems as though storm

abc's alex presha explains. >> reporter: the airlines are warning of a possible crisis tomorrow when at&t and verizon are set to deploy new faster 5g wireless service. the concern is signals could interfere with radar altimeters. how far they are from the ground helping them land in poor visibility. >> let us be clear, this is unsafe. the manufacturers have said so. our airlines are saying so. and so are pilot groups. >> reporter: other countries have launched similar 5g signals but in france the signals are permanently blocked near airports protecting the final minute and a half. in the u.s. they will only be blocked for the next six months and for just the final 20 seconds of a landing. some have written to the biden administration requesting 5g signals be kept at least two miles away from airports or risk catastrophic disruption. they add huge swaths of the country's fleet could be unusable which could potentially strand tens of thousands overseas. >> we're not going to fly the airplane unless it's safe. we're going to yell from the rooftops that we need to stop this, take pause.

abc's alex presha begins our coverage. >> reporter: this morning, americans will soon have access to high-quality masks for free. abc news learning overnight that the white house will be taking 400 million n-95 masks from the national stockpile and shipping them to pharmacies and health centers across the country and should be available by the end of next week. it comes just as the government launches a long awaited website allowing americans to order free at-home covid tests. >> these tests are not easy to come by so programs like this can make a big difference, but i hope it's just the beginning of something more row because. >> reporter: every household no matter the size of it is limited to ordering free tests. problems being reported. the website is rejecting some orders as duplicates for people living in apartment buildings because the system bases orders on your residential address. >> i noticed it was saying that four tests have already been requested from this household. there has to be a way we can work around this, that it has to know the difference between an apartment an

abc news reporter alex presha has more. alex: the situation unfolded in the dallas-fort worth area. an armed suspect has taken hostages at congregation beth israel, the police department swat evacuated residents. abc news says the hostage has demanded that a woman be released from prison, a known terrorist incarcerated at carswell air force base. she was sentenced to 86 years in prison after being convicted in manhattan federal court in 2010 of trying to kill u.s. soldiers and fbi agent's in afghanistan. the fbi and local authorities and hostage negotiators are on the scene. the white house and homeland security sec. has been briefed on the situation. dion: san francisco police just sent out this tweet saying together with our law enforcement partners we are monitoring the situation in texas. coordinating with our local jewish community organizations to keep san francisco safe. still to come on abc 7 news at 6:00, some states are being kicked with a strong winter storm. where snowfall is caused big problems. free at home covid test. if you could find them. dion:dion: six people hosp

here's abc's alex presha. >> reporter: tonight on the eve of martin luther king jr. day, images like this one of the civil rights leader at the signing of the first civil rights legislation hailed as a high point in our democracy. >> what do we want? [ crowd chanting ] >> when do we want it? [ crowd chanting ] >> reporter: and now renewed efforts to broaden access to voting hangs in the balance. a senate debate scheduled for tuesday. a vote all but certain to fail. >> we are going to keep pressing this issue. >> reporter: democrats don't have enough support for legislation, including the freedom to vote act. the bill would expand voter registration, designate election day as a federal holiday, establish protections against gerrymandering, and restore voting rights to formerly incarcerated americans. >> i hope we can get this done. the honest to god answer is, i don't know. >> reporter: since the 2020 election critics say a number of states have taken action making it more difficult to cast a ballot. last year, at least 19 states passed 34 laws restricting access to v

abc's alex presha is here with more. good morning, alex. >> reporter: hey, eva., priority number one is finding this little girl, but there are so many questions here including how did this child go missing for two years before an official search was started? this morning, new hampshire police are intensifying their search for 7-year-old harmony montgomery. >> we're going to bring her home. we're never going to stop. >> reporter: she hasn't been seen in two years but was only reported recently. it's still a mystery how she disappeared. new hampshire's division of children, youth and families reported harmony missing after the child's mother made multiple attempts to alert authorities. harmony's father adam montgomery had legal custody of her. he's now facing charges including second degree felony assault for alleged conduct against harmony in 2019 and endangering the welfare of a child. during questioning he initially told investigators he had seen harmony recently, and she was fine, then according to the affidavit he contradicted himself in saying he hasn't seen

abc's alex presha is in washington with more. >> reporter: this morning, a major showdown looming oner voting rights. >> what do we want? >> all: voting rights. >> when do we want it? >> all: now. >> reporter: a m nation's capital planned for martin luther king jr. day, demanding from president biden. the senate set to debate on tuesday. the bottom line is right now democrats are struggling to advance their legislation, including the freedom to vote act. the bill would create a national standard for voting, designate election day as a federal holiday, and restore voting rights to the former incarcerated. since the 2020 election, actions have been taken that critics warn restrict access to the polls. 19 states passed 34 laws that restrict access to voting. georgia now criminalizes those handing out water to those waiting in line. texas will ban 24-hour drive-through voting which was created to provide a safe way to vote during the pandemic. both states now being sued by the department of justice. in florida after voters approved an amendment restoring voting rights to most felons, sta