here's abc's ji on benitez. >> reporter: tonight, a devastating fire at a wildlife park in ohio. giraffes running inside an enclosure as the barn goes up in flames. >> you're requested to the african lion safari for one of the barns on fire. there are animals inside. >> reporter: some animals able to escape the barn, still, ten exotic animals were killed. >> we have lost three giraffes, three bongo, three red river hogs and a springbok. >> reporter: the fire breaking out thanksgiving night at the african safari, a 100-acre preserve, which offers popular drive thru tours. >> our team works so hard every day to care for these animals. it's just heartbreaking. >> reporter: tonight, officials aren't sure what caused the fire but some of the barns are heated, and fire officials say they found propane tanks in the burned barn. and whit, the park's owners says there are more than 400 other animals at the park. all have been accounted for. an investigation is now under way. whit? >> gio benitez, thank you. >>> news tonight about the chemical plant explosion near beaumont, texas. authorit

>> all right, gio benitez reporting. gio, thank you. >>> and at syracuse university, police are investigating a series of hate crimes on campus. students there have reported investigation. vandalismnee a student sit-in now enters day six. >>> and in georgia tonight, a 16-year-old is under arrest, accused of plotting to kill worshippers at a mostly black church. police say the unnamed teenager targeted the bethel african methodist church. high school classmates told administrators she had a and school administrators alerted police. >>> next tonight here, the new report about the midair tragedy aboard a southwest flight. engine apartments tearing through the cabin. a woman partially sucked out of the window. we reported on this at the time. federal safety officials are now recommending boeing redesign thousands of jet engines on planes in the air. abc's david kerley covers aviation. >> reporter: it happened in an instant. >> everybody breathe, we are almost there. >> reporter: southwest 1380 just had an engine blow apart.

abc's gio benitez with some especially good deals, including where to find apple airpods, which rarely go on sale. >> reporter: tonight, retailers are open for business. not waiting for black friday, like at bed, bath, and beyond, who opened their doors at 5:00 p.m. almost 40% off this kitchenaid mixer. the store also slashing an additional 25% off your entire purchase, but only until noon tomorrow. at macy's, this 13-piece cookware set slashed 75%. now just $29.99. >> it's time for black friday doorbusters. >> reporter: target offering these beats wireless headphones for $129, down from $299. and walmart discounting some apple products, which almost never go on sale. like these airpods down to $129 from $159. with next generation gaming consoles due out next year, multiple retailers tonight are unloading the xbox one s, bundled with three popular games, for 149 bucks. and don't forget, you can let a mobile app like shop savvy find you the best deals. it scans a product's barcode and alerts you if another retailer is selling it for less. and if you're just sticking to amazon this seaso

here's abc's gio benitez. >> reporter: tonight, cuba gooding jr.leading not guilty to new charges after this video obtained by tmz surfaced. in it, you can see the actor appearing to grope a woman in a new york city restaurant. gooding also pleading not guilty two weeks ago to charges from another allegation in 2018 when a woman alleges gooding touched her inappropriately at a different nightclub. and another incident where he allegedly grabbed a woman's breast at this bar in june. >> we believe, without question, that the case is purely a case of malicious prosecution. >> reporter: gooding has denied all allegations of wrongdoing and is free on his own recognizance. and gooding's defense attorney says the new video that emerged does show the actor touching the backside of a server, but david, they say, it does not show a crime. >> all right, gio benitez, thank you. >>> and when we come back here tonight, news coming in this evening, that 14-year-old girl found alive. and there's also news on the man accused of kidnapping her. and there's also news

right now, it's not clear whether this was a tornado or straight line winds. >> gio benitez, thank you. >>> and we've not forgotten the west tonight. yet another new fire exploding in size breaking out overnight. this time in ventura county. north of los angeles. at least 2,300 buildings and homes threatened. thousands of families forced to evacuate there. tonight, the battle from the air to save the homes. abc's matt gutman on the fire lines tonight and the forecast on the santa ana winds. he was the santa paula, california. >> reporter: tonight, the last gasp of the historic santa ana wind event sparked the fast-moving maria fire. new evacuations under way, 8,000 residents already ordered to leave their homes. >> boy, a shift in the winds has really turned things for the worse here. >> reporter: dc-10s and chinook helicopters among the aircraft leading this massive aerial assault. >> they're doing everything they can do on this northern edge of the fire to try and stop this from spreading. >> reporter: on the ground, a race to get farm animals to safety. dogs and humans scrambling ou

compound and set fire to benitez downhaul to show that they've had enough but the un is pushing back it condemned the violent protests and says it is being made a scapegoat for issues beyond its control. well police and sometimes feel that the un has the capacity and the resources more than the government forces and they can and they're not doing enough so it's also because people expect you to do or even if you cannot do more they think you are not doing enough but the reality is that a peacekeeping mission is not deployed in a country to raise war but that is an argument protesters and dany don't accept they say if the un's mission is to protect civilians it's peacekeepers shouldn't be standing on the sidelines as massacres unfold they see the u.n. must go. a little better but we are only here to see if the un has left and if they have really been affected by what was done yesterday and if they haven't then we will do it again and especially the young people are talking billard the u.n. base in my we know about monday job the questions are now also being asked at a higher level abo

here's gio benitez. >> reporter: tonight, former boston college student inyoung you facing a judge, chargedh the involuntary manslaughter of her boyfriend alexander urtula. >> how do you now plead? >> not guilty. >> reporter: prosecutors say he took his own life after 47,000 texts from you spanning two months. many urging him to "go kill yourself" and "go die." prosecutors reading some of these texts in court today. >> "can you [ bleep ] go kill yourself? leave me the [ bleep ] alone. and if you don't die, i'm going to [ bleep ] kill myself." >> reporter: urtula replying thousands of times, telling her he was hearing voices. >> "i want you and the voices to stop. stop telling me how worthless and pathetic i am and how much i deserve to die." >> reporter: but the defense releasing other texts from the moments before urtula's death, where you tells him, "stop. i'm crying please. don't leave me like that. if you ever loved me, stop." prosecutors say she tracked urtula with her phone. and a bombshell claim that you was on the roof when he jumped. >> the defendant proceeded to the garage, arrivi

. >> gio benitez, thank you. >>> and we've not forgotten the west. yet another new fire exploding in size breaking out overnight. this time it's in ventura county. thousands of families forced to evacuate. tonight, the battle from the air to save the homes. matt gutman is there. >> reporter: tonight, the last gasp of the historic santa ana wind event sparking the fast-moving maria fire. new evacuations under way, 8,000 residents already ordered to leave their homes. >> boy, a shift in the winds has really turned things for the worse here. >> reporter: dc-10s and chinook helicopter the fire to try and stop this from spreading. >> reporter: on the ground, a race to get farm animals to safety. dogs and humans scrambling out of the fire zone. the fire, exploding in size overnight to more than 8,000 acres in less than 10 hours. residents and firefighters banding together to fight the flames. that galloping fire incinerating aaron lewis' neighbor's home in an instant. >> between, it was 300 yards away to fully engulfed in maybe five minutes. >> reporter: p

. >> the supervising officer sergeant wayne benitez was later seen on security video making fun of alvarez, who is gay. as part of the settlement, all officers will be required to go through two hours of lgbt q sensitivity training. >>> the albany county sheriff's department is accused of forced labor. the lawsuit accuses the national food service company aramark of profiting off of the labor. the jail has a contract with aramark that allows inmates to volunteer to prepare food in exchange for a better meal. inmates say when they are sick or don't want to work, deputies threaten them with extra jail time. a sheriff's spokesperson says deputies do not force labor and insist that inmates can take time off or quit if they want to. underway in san francisco to remove a member of the board of supervisors from office. sandra lee fewer is the target of a recall effort. just two weeks after she was captured on camera she chanted profanities on election night. the group pushing to remove process she does not represent the values of the richmond district. >> that is not the example i'm looking for f

abc's gio benitez tonight from worcester, massachusetts. >> reporter: tonight, that deadly fire breaking out in freezing weather. firefighters in worcester, massachusetts, rushing in to battle a four-alarm blaze. >> people still inside and also a baby on the third floor. >> reporter: record cold temperatures dropping into the teens, wind chills below zero. heavy fire conditions trapping members of ladder five. four firefighters taken to the hospital. tragically, lieutenant jason menard did not survive. >> lieutenant menard heroically and selflessly saved his crew. >> reporter: this firefighter saluting as the fire department lowered its flag to half sta. first responders paying tribute as the procession carrying lieutenant menard's body passed by. he leaves behind a wife and three children. >> as always, our worcester firefighters will stand strong by their family. >> reporter: and just hours after that fire, the department on the scene of another blaze. and david, temperatures here will be in the teens again tonight. meanwhile, the firefighter's union says lieutenant menard's family pla

here's abc's gio benitez. >> reporter: tonight, america's most famous balloons are being inflated. but the big question now -- will they fly? >> we'll make a gameday decision regarding the heights of the balloons. >> reporter: the forecast calls for strong winds. and the rules in place say the 16 large character balloons can't fly if sustained winds exceed 23 miles per hour and the gusts are stronger than 34 miles pe back in97, thon cat in lamp post. four people before injured, including a woman who was in a coma for nearly a month. that incident launching these restrictions. tomorrow, the nypd will be measuring the winds along the parade route, making the call right before the parade starts. >> at the end of the day, public safety is paramount and we want everybody to enjoy the event. >> reporter: the balloons can go up as high as 55 feet, as low as ten feet. or if the winds are too tough, grounded altogether. >> all right, gio joins us now live from the parade route. we can see the balloons right there behind you. and gio, this is a big unknown. the decision to ground those ballo

rescue workers are continuing the search this is in our benitez of coal sis's in the bay near where the walls a powerful earthquake rescue workers as i say a continuing at least 20 bumpy food died i am more than 600 were injured our correspondent tom sirocco has. from the port city of dirt ends in the western part of the country. rescue teams pull a dead man out of the rubble of this hotel. they brought out his dead brother on lookers see mesmerized by the prospect of life or death emerging from this tomb it's the same story across the street another collapsed hotel in this resort town at least one man believed trapped between concrete floors so tightly packed it's hard to believe anyone could have survived here as crews peel away the destruction the death toll is likely to rise but it might have been much higher the earthquake that struck at 4 am on tuesday was heralded by earlier warning tremors i remember was 10 to 4 and start shaking the bed to start to get in. there they did open the door in my room and i jumped on balcony. and i knocked on the window with my dad and my mom because

miss relevanta pointed out in a person in jose benitez. deported after a kpat veteran. he was convicted among other things, corporal injury to a spouse for question which he received a 8 year sentence and assault with a deadly weapon and false. well, you know what, he didn't naturalize in the military. thus he is subject to deport ability. that is that's the way the law works. that type of criminal conduct do constitute aggravated felonies they aren't misdemeanors you said a result of the term aggravated felonies. we have heard about the higher denial rate for u.s. military application for citizenship. the rate is 17% overly it's 11%. but for military it's 17%. but you need to understand you're talking apples and oranges from from june 30th to there were 2,000 process compared to 683,000 civilian applications. us the cis compared to the 609,000 fop compared to 209,000 civilian applications there were interesting things when you manipulate statistics in the way i heard here today. gao reviewed the cases involving 87 of the 92 veterans ultimated reported from 2013 to 2018

geo benitez is talking about this on "good morning america." >> this would make me nervous because i'md about sold-out flights. we've seen it at abc, we have a lot of last-minute work travel and we see you can get great deals. >> as long as you don't mind sitting in the middle seat by the bathrooms. >> you can watch a full report er mornings.ng up on "gma" at >> you know you'll be in the middle seat in the back. >> sometimes it's worth it. paying that much more? >> 40 bucks? i'd rather pay the 40. >> would you? >> than being in the middle in the back? have you seen my legs? >> you're right. have you seen the giraffe who sits next to you every day? >> they see you coming. they're like oh, god. >> bad flight. >>> nearly 70% of americans secretly dislike some popular thanksgiving dishes but eat them any way. this according to a survey conducted by the harris poll. the top offenders are canned cranberry sauce at 29%. green bean casserole, 2 out of 10 don't like it but you're still dishing it up. more than halfme ouanksving so can make sm y say tha you. you take a tiny bite, then you just e

and the three wise men of the disco era, the bee gees, played by whit johnson, michael strahan, geo benitezat is -- uncomfortable, actually. check this out, at one point deejay quick with it does the worm, yeah, right there on the floor soul train style, my goodness. >> that's impressive. he does the raps, he does the worm, whit does it all. >> and "world news now" alums t.j. holmes and paula faris trying their hardest to get into studio 44. they couldn't. just to let you know where us "world news now" folks stand, at least they look good trying to do it. >> they look real good. they didn't get in, though, did they get in? >> can't even get in the club. >> can't even. >> they eventually got in. >>> let's check out some athletes who celebrated the holiday. >> lebron james dressed up as lil edward scissorhands paying tribute to the character edward scissorhands. >> that's a really good one. >> that's good, yeah. >> tom brady paid homage to "star wars" dressing as a stormtrooper, almost, except for the shoes. >> yeah. steph curry stepped out as "toy story's" buzz lightyear, trick-or-treated wi

gio benitez is at the best buy in new york., it's the calm before the storm right now. >> yeah, that's right, eva, good morning. this store will open up very soon. we're already seeing great deals on electronics. these tvs, 200 bucks off. this one behind me, $800 off. this year so many of these shoppers did their black friday shopping on a thursday. >> all: three, two, one. >> reporter: the black friday frenzy has begun. millions of holiday shoppers around the country racing to the stores before the thanksgiving dinner is even cold. >> you said you've been out shopping this morning. what are you looking for? >> i was the first one. >> reporter: shoppers taking their appetite for holiday bargains to the street. >> this is one of the traditions of thanksgiving as well. >> reporter: bracing the cold waiting in line for hours to be the first in store to jump on those exclusive black friday deals. >> i bought the apple watch series 3 for 129. i think i hit the jackpot. >> in all honesty i did bring every card that i could think of b

at some schools and how they're teaming up with students to stop vaping before it starts and gio beniteze the plan appears to be working. >> that definitely looks like a highlighter. >> reporter: at arrowhead, the fight against the youth vaping epidemic is all about stopping it before it starts. >> we notice our freshmen, mostly boys were doing it and can came quickly to the conclusion they were addicted to it and that they had started it probably like in middle school. it looks like a usb drive. this is this is a juul. >> reporter: the principal shows parents the camouflaged vaping items confiscated at his school on a regular basis. >> at the look like footballs. >> some may recognize them. >> reporter: the principal taking a very different approach deploying groups of his high school students trained in prevention education and who have never vaped to middle schools in his district. he says that distinction is key. >> if the people you're hanging out aren't good for you don't hang out with them. >> when i came up with this idea did a little research and people who are users are not ase

an employee killed and ten others sickened from a cleaning chemical, and gio benitez has the latest.reporter: a cleaning agent turned deadly at this buffalo wild wings in burlington, massachusetts. >> several people having breathing issues and eye irritation. >> reporter: emergency personnel and hazmat teams called to the popular restaurant in the middle of the dinner rush. >> this is a confirmed chemical reaction between two cleaning chemicals. >> reporter: it began when one of the workers who was preparing to clean the floor became sick from the fumes. another worker frantically tried to squee gee the cleaning agent out of the restaurant before being taken to the hospital where he passed away. >> the gentleman who passed away was an employee of the buffalo wild wings who attempts to squeegee the product out of the building. >> reporter: authorities evacuating the restaurant but ten others, eight employees and two diners were hospitalized. buffalo wild wings issued a statement saying we are shocked and saddened to learn of this horrific accident at our franchise-owned sports bar and

gio benitez is along the parade route here in new york with more.morning, gio. >> reporter: hey, michael, good morning to you. yeah, those balloons are going to be brought to this spot later today but as you said it's just not clear if they're going to fly at all. and that's because these giant balloons cannot fly if sustained winds exceed 23 miles per hour or if those gusts are stronger than 34 miles per hour. there is a chance they may be grounded. now, we saw the dangers of high winds during the parade back in 1997. that iconic cat in the hat balloon got caught up in the wind gust. it blew into a lamppost injuring four people. one woman was in a coma for a month. so it's very, very serious. so the nypd, they're going to be out with special wind devices and they're going to be making what they call a game day decision right before the parade whether to fly the balloons or how high they will fly. michael. >> i know a lot of people are looking forward to the balloons but better safe than sorry, gio. thank you so much. >> you're right about that, mic

gio benitez is outside his home at trump tower with more.morning to you, gio. >> reporter: hey, michael, good morning. yeah, he's called the big apple home for decades. his penthouse apartment right here at trump tower, the tleep floors, but this morning the president says he's headed to florida. overnight president trump leaving new york city behind changing his primary residence from manhattan where his name is emblazoned on skyscrapers to palm beach, florida, home to his mar-a-lago resort. >> we encourage other states to follow florida's example. they've done a great job right here. >> reporter: the president tweeting, i pay millions of dollars in city, state and local taxes each year. i have been treated very badly by the political leaders of both the city and state. few have been treated worse. but for now, that's impossible to confirm since he still refuses to release his tax returns. his new home state also happens to be a swing state. it was just this june when the president launched his 2020 re-election campaign in florida. >> i sta

his televised horoscope readings were a fixture in latino households for years and gio benitez joinsto so many fans including your family, gio. >> reporter: oh, absolutely. for those who grew up watching him he was just truly monumental. he was everywhere -- on tv, in magazines, on the radio -- and when he was on, you could hear a pin drop because everyone was just captivated. he's one of the most recognizable faces on spanish network television. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: for a few minutes a day famed astrologer walter mercado appeared on television sets reaching 120 million viewers a day giving his dose of daily horoscopes during the evening news becoming a staple in spanish households. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: he began his career as an actor and dancer but found his footing in foreseeing the future through astrology. first televised in 1970 his extravagant outfits and outlandish readings gained popularity amongst latino audiences all over the world even appearing as himself in commercials. ♪ >> reporter: and movies alongside sofia vergara in "chas

our gio benitez is here.rtant reminder, yes, but if you are not looking at those tires, you could literally be putting yourself at risk on the road. >> absolutely. t.j., good morning. we know cars are loaded with safety features and tell us about low tire pressure. one thing they may not tell you, when you have low tread tires. that's when they have smoothed out and lost their grip. s and taking them out for a test run. they're like scenes straight out of action movies. a hydroplaning accident caught on camera. there's this near crash on wet roads. experts say many times low street tires are to blame. >> people aren't aware so much that as their tires are wearing they're also losing performance in certain areas, wet, snow, ice. >> to show how dangerous low tread tires can be, we go to the consumer reports auto test track. our first demo, hydroplaning. that's when tires lose contact with the road. this can happen when it has such low tread, it isn't able to disperse the water on the road. a wedge forms in fron

gio benitez has those details. >> reporter: most think the early bird gets better deals when it comest a new report from aaa finds that for the past three years procrastinating actually paid off. the study showing that from 2016 to 2018 during thanksgiving and christmas, travelers who waited to book sill 7 to 13 days before the week of the holiday snagged the overall best price. according to the data thanksgiving travelers who booked 61 days to 180 days ahead paid about $40 more than those who booked a week or two out and flyers who booked 121 days before the week of christmas spent even more, shelling out between 128 to $171 more than those who booked less than two weeks before. popular airlines like american and united are now limited following the grounding of the 737 max so aaa's advising you to be cautious about booking late. if you're willing to gamble that wait could lead to pretty sweet savings. i have to admit, this would make me nervous because i'm worried about sold out flights. we saw it ourselves here at abc. we have a lot of last-minute work travel. >> as long as you don

gio benitez is there in toms river with that story.a real-life game of angry birds. we're talking about 60 wild turkeys just roaming the streets in the neighborhood with reports of them breaking windows, even attacking people who try to shoo them away. turkeys in the driveway blocking traffic, scratching cars and chasing residents. this thanksgiving when turkeys are on the menu apparently they fight back. >> and they are all over the place. there are a massive amount of turkeys in here. >> reporter: residents say the gangs of turkeys traveling together from house to house are terrorizing one neighborhood in toms river, new jersey. >> we have them on the roof, they're pecking at our roofs. our brand-new vehicles, they're pecking at our vehicles. >> reporter: one of the residents crying foul is major league baseball star todd frazier. >> we actually got attacked by a couple of them a year ago, you know, i have three young kids and that's basically all i'm worried about and that's basically all our neighborhood is worried were. >> reporte

deported jose segovia benitez, a two-time iraq and afghanistan war veteran, combat veteran, who suffered a traumatic brain injury, and who like many struggles with severe ptsd and substance abuse. jose came to the u.s. as a 3-year-old child. he knows no other home than united states. now he fears for his life in el salvador. these deportations are unconscionable and immoral and they're the result of three forces working together. first, the punishing and unforgiving 1996 laws that created lifetime bars to naturalization and mandatory deportation. second, the failure of the u.s. government to naturalize noncitizen service members while they are serving. and, third, hyperaggressive immigration enforcement, particularly over the past decade. deported veterans are nearly all former lawful permanent residents. of those we interviewed for our 2016 policy report, half of them served during periods of war and most came to the u.s. under the age of 10, meaning the united states is the only country they know as home. the changes made to our immigration laws in 1996 were so excessively punitive tha