>> all right, clayton sandell on this again tonight. clayton, thank you. >>> there are holiday travel worries brewing tonight. two storms will effect travel this week. the first one bringing blinding rain from texas all the way to the carolinas. the second storm, blowing from the northwest through the midwest this week, hitting several travel hubs, reaching the east coast by this weekend. of course, just as millions travel for christmas. so, let's get right to chief meteorologist ginger zee, she's going to track it all week long for us. hey, ginger. >> reporter: hey there, david. there are travel troubles right now, so, let's get to the map. right along i-40, memphis, for example, dense fog advisory. less than a quarter mile visibility. some heavy rains that will move into little rock. that's going to move along that warm front, overnight through even south carolina and north carolina tomorrow. then, we have to turn west, because the winter alerts are consuming the west. las vegas, for example, on a high wind warning. you can see all the

abc's clayton sandell is on the scene in dupont, washington, tonight. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: what was supposed to be a celebration, the first run of newer, faster train service, tonight, is a tragedy of twisted metal, with multiple passengers dead. >> oh, my god. that train is derailed. >> train derailment over the freeway. multiple patients. >> reporter: amtrak train 501 left seattle just after 6:00 a.m. heading toward portland. 84 passengers and crew on board. at 7:30, passenger chris karnes tweeting, "wow, this train is fast. we are passing up traffic on i-5." minutes later at 7:33 a.m., a locomotive and 12 cars are careen off both sides of the overpass, down onto interstate 5, crushing vehicles below. >> amtrak 501. emergency. emergency. emergency. we are on the ground. >> reporter: the conductor radioing for help. >> hey guys, what happened? >> we were coming around the corner to take the bridge over i-5 there right north of nisqually and we went on the ground. >> is everybody okay? >> i'm still figuring that out. we got cars everywhere and down onto the highway. as soon as i

>> clayton sandell leading us off tonight. clayton, thank you. >>> and just a short time ago here, i spoke with a passenger, scott claggett, who describes the horror inside. and when he crawled out the window, not realizing his train car was in the woods, suspended in the air. scott, thanks so much for joining us. i know it's just been a horrific day for you. you were on the train to portland for a business meeting. and you said the train began to lean, that was your first sign something was wrong? >> yes. i was in the back as the train was moving, and we started to lean to my left. i thought, you know, nothing of it, until it kept leaning, and then i realized, once the windows started shattering and people started flying, that this was a crash. people were flying in the air, there are no seat belts. as that was happening, i just crawled into a ball and was just waiting and hoping and praying that the train would stop. once the train did stop, it was completely pitch black. i was able to clench onto my cell phone, that was abou

clayton sandell on scene. >> reporter: what was supposed to be a celebration. the first run of newer, faster train service is a tragedy of twisted metal with multiple passengers dead. >> oh, my god, that train is derailed. >> multiple patients. >> reporter: amtrak train 501 left seattle just after 6:00 a.m., heading toward portland. 86 passengers and crew on board. at 7:30, passenger chris karnes tweeting, wow, this train is fast. we're passing traffic on i-5. minutes later, a locomotive and 12 cars careen down onto interstate5, crushing vehicles below. >> emergency, emergency. emergency. we are on the ground. >> reporter: the conductor radioing for help. >> hey, guys, what happened? >> we were coming around the corner to take the bridge over i-5. and we went on the ground. >> is everybody okay? >> i'm still trying to figure it out. highway. as soon as i know exactly where all my train is, i'll let you know. >> reporter: drivers on the interstate below were injured as the train came crashing down but none killed. dan jumped out of his car to help. >> he climbed

clayton sandell, abc news, dupont, washington. >>> now to some breaking news. of the central figures of the catholic church abuse scandal, cardinal law, has died. he was the archbishop of boston in 2002 when it was revealed he had transferred abusive priests for years without telling parishioners. he spoke about it later with george stephanopoulos. >> looking back, do you think there's anything more you could have done? >> all of us deplore in our own lives and the lives of others failure to live out fully the message of christ. and in my own ministry, i've attempted to be faithful to >> after his resignation, law still held several top church positions at the vatican. he died this morning in rome at age 86. >>> well, the u.s. is starting a new pressure campaign against north korea with the help of allies from around the world. the secretary of state rex tillerson there in ottawa announcing the campaign while visiting his canadian counterpart. they will host a meeting of more than 20 countries next month in vancouver. the aim of the meeting is to show internati

abc's clayton sandell is on the scene. >> oh my god!reporter: it's every commuter's worst nightmare. >> amtrak 501 north, over. amtrak 501, emergency, emergency, emergency. we are on the ground. we are the bridge on i-5, derailment -- >> reporter: a train traveling seattle to portland, derailing while crossing an overpass. >> they're requesting all possible units responding on the freeway. >> reporter: at least three people dead, on board approximat cars jumped the tracks. some spilling over onto busy interstate 5 below. >> oh my god that train is derailed over the freeway. >> reporter: some train cars suspended in the air. others crushing vehicles below. within minutes interstate 5 awash with red and blue lights. >> that is crazy. >> people were in shock. and a lot of them, they just went and they sat down with their faces in the palm of their hands like, what's happening? >> reporter: daniel and his girlfriend alicia were driving by and stopped to help. >> i went down underneath the freeway and started working my way through those tra

>> clayton sandell with us tonight. clayton, thank you. >>> next here, to the russia investigation, and questions tonight about donald trump jr.'s answers on capitol hill. about that trump tower meeting with the russian lawyer during the campaign. the president's son refusing to answer questions about what he told his father about that meeting, claiming attorney/client privilege. here's abc's chief white house correspondent jonathan karl. >> reporter: tonight, the white house is facing questions about why donald trump jr. is refusing to tell congress what he told his father after news broke about that controversial meeting in trump tower with a russian lawyer. trump jr. spent about eight hours before the house intelligence committee, answering questions about his june 2016 meeting. he had been told the russian lawyer had dirt on hillary clinton as, quote, part of russia and its government's support for mr. trump. trump jr. acknowledged discussing the but he refused to describe that discussion, citing attorney/client pri

abc's clayton sandell has more. today - charlottesville forever remembering a woman killed while protesting a white nationalist rally. the street where heather heyer was struck and killed by a car will be renamed in her honor. fourth street will now be called "honorary heather heyer way". heyer's mother will speak at today's dedication ceremony. she says she hopes this will help keep her daughter's memory - and what she was fighting for- alive. there is much more coming up on good morning washington. john gonzalez.. what are you working on for 5 0-clock. tax reform victory. breaking overnight - the senate's stamp of approval... paving the way for the first major change in tax laws in 31 years. so who really wins... and who loses? vacationers killed near a popular mexico tourist spot.. and new overnight - we've learned americans are among the dead. the lorton man hurt in the the crash. and airp

here's abc's clayton sandell. >> reporter: earlier this year, melinda ray thought she might not livee on each side. is that okay? >> reporter: a genetic disease was destroying her liver. she was dying. >> things were going very bad, and it was happening very quickly. >> reporter: she needed a liver transplant, but nobody was the right match. desperate, melinda posted to facebook. her plea for a donor spread to a stranger named jeff bramstedt. he was a perfect match. >> i just said, i'm up, let's do this. >> it gave me really great hope, in humanity, and also just hope that i could, you know be a mom and a wife, because that's something that i wasn't sure was going to happen through the year. >> reporter: bramstedt is a california skydiving instructor, a hollywood stuntman and a former navy s.e.a.l. he agreed to fly to colorado for a risky ten-hour transplant. >> there's a lot of things that could go wrong. including the possibility of dying. >> reporter: but the surgery, just three weeks ago, was a success. and while jeff may have given away part of his liver. >> hello, come in! >> r

clayton sandell, abc news, denver. >> and police have now revealed that that gunman was in fact a student at that school. but we're going to turn back to southern california where the wildfires are growing more and more ferocious. 439 homes have been destroyed in ventura county alone. that fire could last several more weeks. and now new fires have erupted including one in san diego county. that one has destroyed at least 20 homes so far and those santa ana winds are fueling the fires expected to last through sunday. >> right now six major fires are burning out of control stretching from santa barbara to san diego. that blaze exploded over six and a half square miles in hours, killing at least a dozen racehorses. marci gonzalez is on the front lines with details. >> reporter: a new wildfire now spreading fast in san diego streets as residents rush to evacuate. >> i've been going up and down the roads, making everybody leave. i've got one left. i need to tell the sheriffs to go get him, he won't leave. >> reporter: to the north, 150 square miles scorched. the thomas fire closing in on this

i'm clayton sandell for "nightline" in dupont, washington. >> our thanes to clayton. >>> next, no moreants, wolverine is ringmaster. hugh jackman trading in claws for a cane and top hat in "the greatest show man." ...my 3-month old business... plus...what if this happened again? i was given warfarin in the hospital, but wondered, was this the best treatment for me? so i made a point to talk to my doctor. he told me about eliquis. eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots and reduces the risk of them happening again. not only does eliquis treat dvt and pe blood clots. eliquis also had significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. eliquis had both... ...and that turned around my thinking. don't stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. if you had a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away if you have tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness. while taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily... and it may take longer

undocumented immigrant who killed a woman in san francisco and put focus on sanctuary cities and back to clayton sandelley, good morning, george. this case which has fanned the flames of a politically charged immigration debate began right here, kate steinle was a 32-year-old tourist enjoying the san francisco waterfront here with her father when she was shot and killed in 2015. now a jury has found jose ines garcia zarate not guilty. the case caused such a firestorm because zarate garcia is also an undocumented immigrant. he had been previously reported five -- deported, that is, five times. shortly before the shooting he was in jail on drug charges that were dropped so san francisco officials set him free despite a federal i.c.e. request to hang on to him. overnight president trump tweeting the verdict -- calling it disgraceful. garcia zarate admitted to shooting steinle but the defense has always claimed that the shooting was accidental. on a minor weapons charge and will serve some jail time. however, i.c.e. officials say after that he will be deported for a sixth time, george. >> okay, clayton sand

and clayton sandell has more on the verdict. >> after deliberating a san francisco came back with a verdict that many did not expect. found not guilty of murder or manslaughter. >> we believe it's a correct and accurate reflection of the law. >> the family of kate steinly waited two painful years, waiting to get justice from the man that killed the 22-year-old. >> he admitted to shooting kate steinly, he claimed he found the gun and it accidentally fired. they said the gun was prone to firing accidentally and the case super charged the immigration debate during the presidential election. and he was a convicted felon deported five times. >> we are going to shut down the sanctuary cities that led the preventible death of so so many. >> in the weeks before the shooting garcia was in jail on drug charges and those charges were dropped and city officials set them free ignoring a federal ice request to hold him. >> -- a program of mass deportation. >> steinly's father told the san francisco chronicle saying that the verdict was a shock. >> president trump tweeting too calling the verdict disgrace

clayton sandell leads us off. >> reporter: it began as a noise complaint that quickly became an ambush. >> shots fired! shots fired! shots fired! >> reporter: early this morning deputies arrived at this apartment complex in highlands ranch, colorado, a denver suburb, for a dispute between a man and his male roommate. at 5:55 a.m., the suspect, armed with a rifle, suddenly opens fire. >> i need s.w.a.t. right now. i need medical. >> reporter: four deputies and one police officer are shot. >> it was like an exchange of gunfire. and then return fire. >> reporter: all of the officers manage to retreat outside except for one. 29-year old zackari parrish. >> we have one deputy down inside the apartment. i'm not getting anything from him. all of us have been hit at least once. >> all of them were shot very, very quickly, and they all went down almost within seconds of each other, so it was more of an ambush type of attack on our officers. >> reporter: over the next hour and a half, the suspect fires more than 100 times. >> we need to get our officer out of there! >> reporter: gunfire even hea

here's clayton sandell. >> reporter: in st. pete beach, florida, the delivery man giveth. >> ups!rter: and a little later, that same delivery man, taketh away. watch again. at 5:37 p.m. tuesday police say ups driver jason mohn leaves a package for jovita acute-parker on her porch. $1,000 iphone x inside. but he's back stuffing that same box under his shirt and taking off wearing the same clothes minus that ups vest. >> stupidest thief ever. >> reporter: police caught up with mohn and delivered him to jail, charging him with grand theft. upon notification of his arrest ups immediately terminated his employment. with a record 2 billion packages being delivered this holiday season. in arizona, cameras caught this woman disguising herself as a postal carrier to steal deliveries. that imposter still on the run. you can fight this. you can pick up your package and shop for groceries. >> a one-two punch. >>> the close call for a chopper crew. the medical helicopter landing in flames and the major wreck on an american highway. emergency crews on the scene. she's nationally recognized for

abc's clayton sandell is in san francisco tonight. >> reporter: for kate steinle's family, the "not guilty" verdicts after a new shock after the 32-year-old was gunned down in 2015 while strolling along san francisco's waterfront with her father. >> she was fighting, gasping for every breath and fought right up to the end. >> jose garcia-zarate was charged with murder. the case becoming a political lightning rod because garcia-zarate, was in the u.s. illegally deported five times already. >> he was an illegal immigrant came over, went to san francisco, we have to end this sanctuary cities crap fast, fast. >> reporter: but jurors were not told that about three months before the shooting, garcia-zarate had been in jail on drug crimes, but san francisco authorities released him. ignoring a request to turn him over to immigration agents. he never denied shooting steinle. >> did you shoot kate steinle the lady who was down on pier 14? >> yes. >> reporter: but using crime scene data, defense attorneys argued steinle's death was a freak accident. he says he found the gun and when he picked it up,

here's clayton sandell. >> reporter: bernice kekona was supposed to take a flight home, but instead takesall. the 74-year-old tumbling down 21 steps at the portland airport last june, her heavy wheelchair landing on top of her as bystanders scramble to help. >> it could be someone else's grandma, mom, sister that this could happen to. >> reporter: kekona was connecting in portland in june, on her way from maui, home to spokane. her family says they arranged with alaska airlines for an escort between gates, but they claim alaska's gate-to-gate service contractor -- huntleigh usa -- abandoned her. >> they walked away and bernice became confused. she pulls up to the escalator thinking she's getting on the elevator at that point. >> reporter: alaska says, "we're heartbroken by this tragic and disturbing incident." but says, "it appears that ms. kekona declined ongoing assistance in the terminal and decided to proceed on her own to her connecting flight." >> reporter: kekona's family says the fall left her bedridden, in constant pain for the next three months. she died in september. they are n

here's clayton sandell. >> reporter: when the sound of music became the sound of terror that night in- join mcmillan knew. >> i was just watching people get shot, and it was getting closer and closer and i knew it was inevitable it was going to happen. >> reporter: the 35-year-old offduty california sheriff's deputy stood as tall as he could to protect his girlfriend, ella gaete. >> i just made sure she was behind me. i put my arms out as wide as i could, made myself a bigger target. >> reporter: seconds later, taking a bullet to the chest. >> he was just drenched in blood within seconds. >> reporter: ella knew it was her turn to save jason. dragging him to cover, helping race him to a hospital. >> i was just telling him, you know, it's going to be okay. to just breathe. and that we'll go home after this together. >> reporter: jason, one of nearly 600 people injured in the shooting, is paralyzed from the waist down. >> so far so good. >> reporter: but doctors tell him there is a chance he could walk again. at craig hospital near denver, he's been fighting to make that happen. you hope

here's abc's clayton sandell with what we've just learned on that front. >> reporter: at this new mexico high school today, a lesson in extreme, tragic violence. >> i just never had thought that something like this would ever happen to me. it's just really scary and it's kind of hard to believe. >> reporter: in the small town of aztec this morning, around 8:00 a.m., a gunman enters the school and begins shooting. these students taking cover as gunshots ring out. two students, a male and a female, were killed. officers, some with their own kids at the school, arrived within a minute of the first call. >> we could hear casings hitting the floor. >> reporter: the gunman is now dead. police will not say if he was a student or how he died. and david, law enforcement sources tell abc news that the responding officers actually had to shoot through a locked door in order to get into the school. upstairs, they found the alleged gunman dead. a handgun and multiple magazines next to the suspect. david? >> clayton, thank you. >>> next here tonight, questions this evening about donald trump jr.'s ans

clayton sandell has details. >> it was supposed to be a triumphant day but in an instant 501 on an inaugural route turned into a nightmare. investigators are on the scene trying to determine what caused the passenger train to hurdle off an overpass. >> it was going about 80 miles per hour. >> in a 30 mile per hour zone. >> rail cars crashing into vehicles on the interstate below. so far three people from the train were killed and over 100 was wet, it was cold. we had downed power lines and trees. it was very slippery and there's no access to the scene except for my five. i-5.xcept from all a locomotive and 12 cars careening off both sides of the overpass. the impact of the crash caused passengers to fly out of their seats. >> people were flying. you are like, is this real? is this ever going to stop? >> it was like being inside a drier machine. shook completely to the other side of the train and then back. >> spring into action. >> there was injured people walking all over the place in shock. i was like, dude, somebody needs to be a leader. one of the trains had tipped upside down and spille

here is abc news reporter clayton sandel. >> when the sound of music became the sound of terror that night in las vegas, jason mcmillan knew. >> i just watching people get shot. and it is coming closer and closer. i knew it was inevitable it would happen. >> the off duty sheriff's deputy stood as tall as he can to protect his girlfriend, ella gate. >> i just made her she was behind me p.m. put my arms out and made sure she was behind me. >> took bulles to the the chest. >> he was drenched with blood within seconds. and i knew that -- >> what ella knew is that it was her turn to save jason. dragging him to cover. racing him to the hospital. >> wai was telling him it was going to be okay. to just breath. that we will go home after this. together. >> jason, one of nearly 6 00 people injuried in the shooting, is paralyzed from the waist down. but doctors tell him there is a clans he could walk again at craig hospital near denver, he's been fighting to make that happen. >> helpful. >> oh, yeah. definitely. especially when i -- i'm laying in bed and i look down and wiggle my toes. it's pre

and it was the new route for the train and we'll go to abc's clayton sandell on the scene in dupont, washington, who has more. good morning, clayton. >> reporter: good morning, michael. you can see behind me here this is still a very active scene. we want to show you, you can see there is a big yellow crane that's beginning to remove train cars from the overpass at this hour. a major interstate below still shut down as investigators try and figure out what made this train go off the tracks. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: it was supposed to be a triumphant day but in an instant amtrak 501's inaugural run on a faster track turned into tragedy. >> a lot of melting and screeching and a lot of just investigators are on the scene trying to determine what caused the passenger train to hurdle off an overpass. sdmrt train was going at 80 -- about 80 miles per hour. >> reporter: in a 30-mile-per-hour zone, right? >> that's right. >> reporter: railcars crashing into vehicles on the interstate below. officials say so far three people from the train were killed. over 100 injured. >> it was wet, it wa

clayton sandell is there. good morning, clayton. >> reporter: good morning. you're right.t is hard to watch. bernice kekona was supposed to be taking a flight home. up stead she took a nasty fall. her family blaming alaska airlines and a contractor and this morning the airline is fighting back. this is the shocking moment they say that ultimately killed her tumbling down an escalator head first. >> it could be somebody else's grandma, mom, sister that this could happen to who is just neglected. >> reporter: in this video you can see kekona's wheelchair, it weighs several hundred pounds on top of her. fellow travelers at the portland international airport scramble to lift it. a call alerting her family she had been rushed to a hospital. >> i yelled on the phone at her what the hell is she doing at the bottom of the escalator. >> reporter: kekona was flying from maui to spokane connecting through portland and alaska airlines was required by law to escort kekona to her next flight but they claim huntleigh, usa, the contract they contract abandoned her. >> after being seated i

we want to go back to clayton sandell on the scene in dupont, washington. see over my shoulder here that half of interstate 5, a major interstate is still shut down. they brought in that crane to begin the process of lifting those damaged rail cars off the overpass. three were killed, and around 100 injured when that amtrak train careened off the bridge. there were 85 passengers and crew on board. investigators with the ntsb say they are looking at speed as a major factor in this crash because the train was going at 80 miles per hour 30-mile-per-hour zone, but they have a lot to look at, and they have recovered a data recorder from a locomotive that will hopefully provide pieces to this puzzle. >> so much more to learn about why this happened. clayton, thanks for your reporting this morning. george? >>> we're going to washington now. big day for president trump and the republicans getting ready to vote on their $1.5 trillion tax cut. looks like it's going to pass both the house and senate. they want to get it signed before christmas. let's go back to mary br