abc's elizabeth schulze is in washington. elizabeth, you've been following all of this.ing to you. >> reporter: millions of americans are waking up this morning to a tiktok app you can't scroll or most, just a message it's unavailable. tiktok is apologizing to users that the app went dark as it now looks to president-elect trump to turn the lights back on. this morning tiktok is shut down for 170 million u.s. users as a landmark ban on the app takes effect. late saturday this message appearing on screens saying, a law banning tiktok has been enacted in the u.s. unfortunately, that means you can't use tiktok for now. we are fortunate that president trump has indicated he will work with us on a solution. stay tuned. tiktok also removed from apple and google's app stores. >> i am thankful and honored we got the time together we did. >> reporter: in the hours leading up to the ban, celebrities, major american companies -- >> and with that, the tiktok era comes to an end. >> reporter: -- and content creators rallying around the #farewelltiktok. >> this is the third or fourth

elizabeth schulze is tracking the latest. morning to you, elizabeth. >> reporter: good morning, robin. tiktok is working this morning, but is it here to stay? i will have more on president-elect trump's plans to try to save it coming up. >>> plus, the first hostage and detainees are home under the ceasefire agreement. chief foreign correspondent ian pannell is standing by in israel with the latest. >>> but first, we're going back to ginger because there's more extreme fire danger in southern california. >> yes, and thank goodness, such good conditions over the weekend. they made a huge advance on those fires getting containment up in the palisades and eaton. it's more about where new fires could start thanks to a huge wind event again. we have a little bit of a northerly component. you can see through the san fernando valley, western san gabriel, and through thousand oaks and malibu. we're in the extreme fire risk. this is as bad as it gets warning-wise. a big part of the problem is we're having that upper-level support again

abc's elizabeth schulze and rachel scott joins me now with the latest on tiktok's fate. let me start with you, elizabeth. so tiktok as of last night, not available to the vast majority of americans, completely shut down in the u.s. >> john. so when you log into the tiktok app, you don't see your feed. you can't scroll, you can't post. instead, what you see is a message that says tiktok is not available right now. that message goes on to say president trump has indicated he'll work with the app on a solution, so stay tuned. we also do not see tiktok in the app stores from apple or google as of today. so keep in mind tiktok didn't have to shut itself down under this law that is now in effect. it said basically it didn't have enough explicit reassurance from the biden administration, the companies it works with, apple, google, oracle wouldn't face penalties under this law. the white house basically called that a stunt. but the bottom line is that right now, we have never seen a nationwide shutdown of a popular social media app like this. federal law, affecting about 170 mill

president biden and president-elect trump are responding to the deadly attacks, so, let's bring in elizabeth schulze at the white house, and elizabeth, president biden speaking just moments ago about the investigation. >> reporter: yes, mary. president biden says he was notified by the fbi that the suspect did post online hours before the attack, indicating he was inspired by isis. president biden saying the situation tonight is fluid, but vowing all federal support. >> i've directed my team to make sure every resource, every resource is made available to federal, state, and local law enforcement to complete the investigation in new orleans quickly, and to make sure there's no remaining threat to the american people. >> reporter: the president says that the nation will stand with the people of new orleans as they mourn and heal in the weeks ahead. president-elect trump also weighing in tonight, writing in a post, our hearts are with all the innocent victims and their loved ones. calling this an act of pure evil. mary? >> mary: elizabeth, thank you. >>> also developing tonight, a tesla cyber truck ex

elizabeth schulze is back with budgeting. elizabeth, great to see you here. okay.ick to it? >> you have to make it but you have to be sticking to it. >> michael: exactly. >> the new year's is time to make a budget. you're starting fresh. we're gonna look at a basic budgeting model called 60-30-10. this is a great way to start out if you've never done a budget before. it will divide up your spending. budget is spending and all money going out of your accounts. and all the money going out of your accounts. you're looking at it wholistically. got a prop for you. first part, 60% of your spending is going to go toward needs. think about things you cannot live without, right? groceries, transportation, minimum payments on your bills, utilities, and housing. typically 60% of needs category will go toward that. >> michael: i'm just laughing because some people are like, i need that new car. no, you don't. >> that's gonna be the next category. this is the 30% which is your wants. >> michael: your wants. okay. >> a new car is probably going to be more than 30%. think about t

coming up later, amid a looming tik tok ban, elizabeth schulze is here with the alternative users arezabeth? >> the ban could take effect in just four days. i'll tell you about the most popular apps people are downloading as a backup plan. why some might not really be a viable alternative, robin. >> robin: what you call a tease. thank you very much, elizabeth. we'll get that later. but coming up next, lara's gonna bring us our "play of the day." come on back. later, but coming up next, lara is going to bring us our "play of the day." come on back. niversity of phoen, we're earning career-relevant skills with every 5-to-6 week course as we pursue our bachelor's and master's degrees. putting what we learn into practice. and updating our professional profiles in weeks, not years. always reaching. day by day. skill by skill. we are the new workforce. and we don't wait. earn career-relevant skills in weeks, not years. at university of phoenix. type 2 diabetes? discover the ozempic® tri-zone. i got the power of 3. i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. in studies, the majority of

elizabeth schulze will break down the national assessment of reading and math scores. >> george: somet rates, big decisions today. first the latest proves by the trump administration offering a mass buyout with employees with a warning the jobs could be cut if the buyouts aren't taken. it's also facing backlash on spending for billions in federal programs and challenges in court. a federal judge temporarily blocked the freeze pending further review. chief white house correspondent mary bruce starts us off. good morning, mary. >> reporter: good morning, george. well, president trump is moving at a break neck pace to reshape the federal government and root out what he calls the deep state. this morning taking unprecedented steps to push out people and programs that aren't in lock step with his agenda. this morning more than 2 million federal employees are facing a choice. resign and be paid until the end of september or risk being fired. in an e-mail with the subject line fork in the road, those interested in the buyout told to reply with one word, resign. and given until february 6th,

so, let's bring in abc's elizabeth schulze at the white house. and luz beelizabeth, what are t saying tonight? >> reporter: mary, president biden is expected to deliver remarks any moment from camp david. he is condemning this attack, saying his initial reaction is anger and frustration. the president ordering all available federal resources to investigate how this happened, and to ensure that any future threats are contained. the president says my heart goes out to the victims and their families, we're simply trying to celebrate the holiday. we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation's communities. and president-elect trump also weighing in, writing, our hearts are with all the innocent victims and their loved ones. trump calling this an act of pure evil. mary? >> mary: okay, elizabeth, thank you. >>> also developing tonight, a tesla cyber truck exploding outside the trump hotel in las vegas. police tonight treating the blast as a possible act of terrorism. an official telling abc news the truck was packed with fireworks-style mortars.

here's elizabeth schulze. >> reporter: just hours after tiktok shut down the app as a nationwide ban took effect, tonight it's back up and running. >> we're back. >> reporter: tiktok restoring service shortly after president-elect trump stepped in this morning. promising to delay enforcement of the ban by signing an executive order when he takes office. >> and as of today, tiktok is back. >> reporter: trump saying his administration won't enforce hefty fines against tech companies like apple, google, and oracle that keep tiktok working. attending his rally tonight, tiktok ceo, who will have a seat at tomorrow's inauguration alongside other big tech executives. >> i want to thank president trump for his commitment to work with us. >> reporter: trump's options to save tiktok are limited. the law that was passed by congress with broad bipartisan support and upheld by the supreme court requires that tiktok protect national security by cutting ties with its chinese owner, bytedance. trump now suggesting a partnership. >> let the united states of america own 50% of tiktok. i'm approving on

elizabeth schulze has the latest. reporter: good morning, michael. this is a problem so many of us are feeling at the grocery store. they're either out of eggs, there's a limit on the number of cartons you can buy an the prices are high. the main culprit is the bird flu which is affecting 130 million poultry birds across all 50 states. this morning shoppers are scrambling to find store shelves stocked with eggs. >> this is where the eggs normally are at costco. the only thing there was a carton with a couple of mostly broken eggs. >> reporter: rising cases of the bird flu are forcing egg up pliers to cut production causing shortages nationwide and sky rocketing prices. >> they did not have any eggs. >> reporter: brooke jones said she visited grocery stores in the dallas area in search of eggs. >> we decided to go out and actually check some different egg sections at stores. and so that's how we came across empty egg shelves, high prices, signs. >> reporter: government data shows egg prices are up nearly 38% in the pas

elizabeth schulze is in washington with details. good morning, george. so tik tok's lawyer said the app will go dark in the u.s. on january 19th. that will likely mean it will still be on your phone. you won't face penalties for trying to log in. but it might not actually work. that's because the company is reportedly planning to proactively shut down for its more than 100 million existing u.s. users on sunday. steady your feed. a message would pop up directing you to a website with information about the ban. george, tik tok isn't commenting on that plan as of now. >> george: president-elect trump said he wants to stop the ban. can he? >> reporter: well, president-elect trump said, according to sources familiar with discussions, he's looking at options, including an executive order that could keep tik tok available. now, how he can overrule the law isn't exactly clear. george, we're all told the biden administration is saying americans shouldn't expect this app to go dark. they are looking at how to enforce the law. at the end of the

elizabeth schulze is back. so nice to see you again, elizabeth. with 2025 here. it's the year 2025. what should we do? >> we've taken this amount $2,025. it can be so daunting to pay off credit cart debt right now. we know interest rates are really high, 20%. we've taken this lump sum. assuming it stays at $2,025. what we're going to do is choose a fixed amount every month that you want to pay off. for that amount it's $187 a month. that helps look at it monthly if you pay that. that amount includes your interest. if you pay it now that $2,025 will go away. still seems like a lot. right? when you look at this every day. we have our small bucket here. $6 a day is all you need to pay off that full amount in a year. the take away from this is if you set a daily target and stick to it, that's how you'll get that debt to go away within one year. >> rebecca: absolutely. there's a lot of research about the psychological boost of getting rid of that debt. so if you start by targeting a fixed amount it's wind behind your sails. >> start small and work your

elizabeth schulze is there with all the details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. behind though gates. starting today members of the zoo will get a sneak peek at the pandas before they make their big public debut in just two weeks. the panticipation is building at the national zoo where the pandas are showing off their personalities ahead of their public debut. the 3-year-old giant pandas rolling, pouncing and chowing on bamboo in the snow this week. >> they are very active. and they're just a lot of fun and obviously super cute. >> reporter: the zoo keeper traveled with the pandas on board a fedex plane from china to washington in october, now part of the team helping them acclimate to their new home, complete with a shallow pool, rock climbing and gyms. >> we've had a long acclimation period. that has given the keepers staff a lot of time to get to know them, build relationships with them and get them crowds and noise. >> reporter: the female panda loves her toys and spends most of her day off the ground, while the male is already very social. okay. so this is th

elizabeth schulze is in d.c. with what we know about the victims at this hour. good morning, elizabeth. >> reporter: good morning, might michael. we are inside terminal one of reagan airport. the airport is still closed through this morning, but we are expecting it to open within an hour. officials just wrapped up a briefing here. the headline was that they do not expect any survivors. they are not releasing the names of the victims. we know there were 60 passengers on board that american airlines flight, four crew members and three service members on board the military helicopter. the virginia medical examiner and the army medical examiner are now involved in operations to try to identify those bodies. u.s. figure skating confirms several members of the skating community were on that american airlines flight which is athletes, coaches and family members who were returning from a train camp in wichita. russian media is reporting the two russian figure skaters were on board the plane. airport officials say there were some family members here waiting to pick up the

challes to get the breakfast you want without cracking your budget with your gma first look, i'm elizabeth schulzeabc news, washington. >> as the city of san jose prepares to open its largest rv safe parking location next month, it's beginning. an rv and living vehicle tow away program right now. the goal is to clean up the areas around schools and waterways. not everyone supports this. ■starting this week, the city is going to begin putting up signs along chenoweth avenue, letting rv owners know they have two weeks to move or they'll get towed. the city says it will open a thousand new placements for the unhoused to go this year, including 85 new safe parking spots near the berryessa bart station. >> my hope is that it not only gives relief to the residents and small businesses who have dealt with unmanaged, unsafe rv encampments for months, if not years on end, but that it also incentivizes people to take advantage of safe sleeping, safe parking. >> critics are concerned there's not enough parking spaces for all the rvs. that could lead to many people losing the only place they call home. after

but as abc's elizabeth schulze explains, even that could be difficult. >> at the end of the day, thispartisan law that was passed through congress. it would take a lot for the president to be able to overrule something. that's already the law. >> trump originally tried to ban tiktok during his first term and even railed against it during the 2024 campaign, but changed course later, vowing to save the app. tiktok ceo is set to attend trump's inauguration on monday alongside other tech ceos. trump's incoming national security adviser shared his plans to keep the app from going dark. >> he's a deal maker. i don't want to get ahead of our executive orders, but we're going to create the space to put that deal in place. >> this week, a group of democrats in the house and senate introduced a bill that would have given tiktok's parent company an additional 270 days to sell or divest. however, republican senator tom cotton objected to it. the law does say a president can delay the ban. if tiktok is on a path to being sold by its chinese owner, but there's no public evidence yet of that being t

but as abc's elizabeth schulze explains, even that could be difficult. >> at the end of the day, this is part of a bipartisan law that was passed through congress. it would take a lot for the president to be able to overrule something. that's already the law. >> trump originally tried to ban tiktok during his first term, and even railed against it during the 2024 campaign, but changed course later, vowing to save the app. tiktok ceo is set to attend trump's inauguration on monday alongside other tech ceos. trump's incoming national security adviser shared his plans to keep the app from going dark. >> he's a deal maker. i don't want to get ahead of our executive orders, but we're going to create the space to put that deal in place. >> this week, a group of democrats in the house and senate introduced a bill that would have given tiktok's parent company an additional 270 days to sell or divest. however, republican senator tom cotton objected to it. the law does say a president can delay the ban. if tiktok is on a path to being sold by its chinese owner, but there's no public evidence ye

elizabeth schulze is outside the court with the latest. morning, elizabeth. >> reporter: hey, good morning, rebecca. this decision is just in from the supreme court. the court upholding the federal law that bans tik tok in just two days. this is a big loss for tik tok which had argued in court that this ban violates free speech. the supreme court disagreed siding with the federal government which said tik tok must cut ties with its parent company because of international concerns. the app will go dark sunday. the law threatens hefty fines on tech companies like apple, google and oracle if they offer download, software updates or storage to keep tik tok up and running. the white house tells us it will be up to the trump administration to enforce the law, to enforce those fines. we've seen president make a reversal on tik tok. in 2020 he wanted to ban it but now he is vowing to try to save it. guys? >> george: now the latest space x test launch. it ended in an explosion, raining debris down on the atlantic. trevor ault here with the story. g

elizabeth schulze is in washington with the story. now he pledges to make the u.s. the crypto capital of the planet. he is directly making money off his own new cryptocurrency. just one day into his new administration, president trump and his family are already cashing in on the crypto craze. >> are you going to be investing in trump's coin? >> reporter: trump launched his own cryptocurrency friday night. now it's worth an estimated $8 billion on paper. first lady melania's coin debuted sunday topping $1 billion, too. >> so many millionaires were just created. >> reporter: they're called meme coin, a type of cryptocurrency when you bet on a type of trend or personality. you buy the coin online. its value can go up or down. trump's own website cautioning it's not intended to be an investment opportunity. cryptocurrency is a type of digital money that's not backed or regulated by any government or banks. ethics experts warn trump's direct ownership of crypto is unprecedented for a president. >> we should not be willing to accept financi

elizabeth schulze is in washington with these great details for us. od morning, elizabeth. >> reporter: good morning, robin. two out of every five americans have medical debt. those unpaid medical bills can take a big toll on your credit score. now that is about to change. this morning the consumer financial protection bureau is finalizing a rule to erase $49 billion in unpaid medical bills from the credit reports of about 15 million americans. now, this doesn't mean you don't have to pay medical debt, but the government watch dog said it can no longer be factored into your credit score. this change is set to take effect in march, so lawsuits or congressional action could delay that timeline. several credit reporting agencies have already taken some voluntary steps to remove medical debt from their reports but banking and collection industry groups say this will result in reduced consequences for not paying your bills which they say will reduce access to credit and health care for those who need it the most. this move could boost borrowers' credit scor

elizabeth schulze is tracking the latest. >> reporter: this is a significant move from president bideneeks to cement his legacy protecting the environment. the president banning new oil and gas drilling along 625 million acres of ocean. this includes the east and west coast, part of alaska and the eastern gulf of mexico. the most drilling in the gulf will stay intact. the president saying drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damages to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation's energy needs. it is not worth the risk. president biden is taking this action through a decades old law that will make it harder for president-elect trump to undo. trump's team this morning is blasting this move and vowing to increase oil production. >> rebecca: president biden also signing into law the social security fairness act. >> reporter: right. the white house says this law will add more money to the pockets of 2.5 million retirees. the social security fairness act will boost payments for public servants like teachers, firefighters, police officers. it reveals decades old p