gio?yeah, zohreen. it's going to be incredibly busy on the roads. thank you so much for that. >>> and of course, we've got that severe weather threat affecting millions of americans this weekend, and rob marciano joins us now live from norwalk, connecticut. rob, good morning to you. >> good morning, gio. we've got severe weather. we've got flooding, and we've got snow. it's an expansive holiday high-impact event. over 40 storm reports across five states, and the flooding rain especially across kentucky, look at this video, a number of the high water rescues over there from the flash flooding, over 7 inches of rain falling and they had damage from potentially tornadoes. also tornado damage outside of atlanta, east of atlanta there near covington, georgia, and you see that funnel sight there. storms today shouldn't be nearly as bad, but a line across atlanta, some rain across the northeast, kind of a messy day, and then another pulse comes through, and we'll see more rain and maybe snow on t

here is gio benitez. than 24 hours before at&t -- with less than 24 hours before at&t and verizon are set to launch new 5g technology, airline ceos are urging u.s. officials to keep new stronger 5g signals at least two miles away from u.s. airports. >> this is unsafe. let us be clear, this is unsafe. the manufacturers have said so, our airlines are saying so. the faa is saying so and so are the pilots. gio: planes have a radio ultimate or telling them how far they are from the ground. it is used when planes land. >> to frequencies being used in 5g are very close to the frequencies being used in this radio altimeter. gio: we will have the latest at 7:00 a.m. gio benitez, abc news, new york. jobina: now to a flying machine straight out of the jetsons. a swedish company is taking preorders for its flying car. it is called the jetson one. the electric vehicle can go up to a 63 miles an hour. it seems one person. no pilots license is required. less than 250 pounds. reggie: and? drew: that is the bar. jobina: t

>> gio benitez. our thanks again to you tonight, gio. >>> and there is also news this evening about a deadly police shooting near the airport in san francisco. police responding to a call of a man carrying two guns near a train station at the airport. officers saying they tried to de-escalate the situation. the suspect allegedly threatening them. the officers opening fire when they say he kept advancing toward them. train service was temporarily suspended. the airport was not affected. >>> when we come back here tonight, what ghislaine maxwell's attorneys have now requested. will they be successful? >>> and there is news tonight about an fbi raid at the home of a well-known congressman. ♪ how do they fit? i don't know, dad. i'm not comfortable trying on pants. aw, come on. i bet they look sharp. you don't know who else has tried them on. let me take a look. switch to progressive, and you can save hundreds. you know, like the sign says. oh, that's a handsome pair of jeans right there. ♪ i'm getting va

>> all right, gio, thank you. >>> now to russia and ukraine tonight. the white house calling this an extremely dangerous situation, claiming military action by russia could happen at any moment, in their words. secretary of state antony blinken now headed to ukraine. and our senior foreign correspondent ian pannell is there. >> reporter: tonight, an urgent diplomatic mission to stave off a potential war in ukraine, as the white house ramps up the rhetoric, claiming military action by russia could happen at any moment. >> this is an extremely dangerous situation. we're now at a stage where russia could at any point launch an attack in ukraine. >> reporter: today, more russian troops and hardware arriving in belarus, to ukraine's north, for war games, adding to the pressure from thousands already massing to the east. the kremlin threatening a mlitary technical response unless there's a guarantee ukraine won't join nato. >> president putin has created this crisis by amassing 100,000 russian troops along ukraine's borders. this includes moving russian forc

>> gio benitez, who covers transportation for us.nk you, gio. >>> and tonight, the stunning images. the medical helicopter going down in suburban philadelphia, with an infant onboard, medical staff, too. tonight, that pilot is being hailed as a hero, navigating buildings and power lines, landing on its side, right outside a church. we've learned the baby and three crew members onboard all survived, all are getting medical care tonight. and here's erielle reshef. >> reporter: tonight, the pilot of this medical helicopter pulling off a, quote, miracle landing, after the aircraft suddenly dropped from the sky, narrowly missing a church in suburban philadelphia. >> pilot's possibly unconscious. >> use caution, there's fuel leaking. >> reporter: rescue crews rushing to the scene, helping pull an infant patient and all three crew members from the wreckage. none with life-threatening injuries. the lifenet medical flight taking off around 1:00 p.m. from chambersburg, pennsylvania, carrying the 2-month-old to a local children's hospital. witn

gio, thanks very much. t.j.?the holiday break. we want to head back to our trevor ault outside a school here in new york. good morning again, trevor. >> reporter: good morning again, t.j. yeah, we're starting the new year really on unfamiliar ground here with all these record-shattering case numbers. school districts are often trying out new strategies. they really want to keep kids in the classroom, but they also want to minimize the spread because there is still a very real threat for children. this morning, as america starts the new year blanketed by record-shattering case loads, there's growing concern for children. just last week the nation reported a 66% increase in children admitted to the hospital because of covid-like symptoms. >> even at the best children's hospitals in the united states with state of the art care, some children who become infected with this virus will die from it. that's the sad reality. >> reporter: this morning the fda now authorizing booster shots for 12 to 15-year-olds, but the you

>> all right, gio, thank you. >>> next, the fbi and dhs now warning faith-based whcommuniti about the potential threats of more violence after that hostage standoff in texas. tonight, the rabbi describing the moment he and other hostages got away, saying he threw a chair at the gunman so they could make a run for the door. a cameraman catching them getting out. authorities releasing this image of the attacker, malik akram, saying he was not on any u.s. government watch list. abc's mireya villarreal is in texas. >> reporter: tonight, new details emerges about that terrifying hostage standoff in texas. a british national allegedly armed with a gun holding four people hostage for more than 11 hours. rabbi charlie cytron-walker describing the moment he and two congregants escaped. >> the exit wasn't too far away. i told them to go, i threw a chair at the gunman and i headed for the door. >> reporter: in this video from our affiliate wfaa, two hostages and the rabbi are seen leaving from a side door, followed by a man holding a gun. less than a minute after the man moved back inside the bu

good morning, gio. >> reporter: hey, george.ight now. that's whether those faster, 5g signals could interfere with radio altimeters. now, that's a device piles use to tell them how far they are from the ground. it helps them land in bad weather. the ceos want u.s. officials to keep those 5g signals at least two miles away from u.s. airports saying in a letter, immediate intervention is needed to avoid significant operational disruption. to be blunt, the nation's commerce will grind to a halt. they say passenger flights and cargo flights will be affected including those carrying vaccines. now, the faa says it is working to try to limit thoe 5g-related delays and cancellations, but, of course, michael, the clock is ticking. >> yeah, it could be incredibly disruptive, gio. thank you so much. >> now to the omicron battle. the covid variant showing signs of slowing down in 12 states and washington, d.c. but the rest of the nation is seeing an increase. let's go back to kaylee hartung in burbank, california, where cases are spiking. g

gio, thank you. let's get right to ginger zee, timing this out, and of course, what's right behind it, that frigid air. >> oh, my goodness, is it ever frigid. uncomfortable and january. and that's the unfortunate part, coming on and after record highs. but of course, we had more than 15 inches of snow in parts of maryland, huntingtown coming away with one of those high totals. we're talking cold all the way down to the gulf coast. look at the numbers. feeling like sub-freezing in mobile or lubbock, all the way back to the west. almost no one getting away, except for florida, from this chill. now, there is a new storm coming from the west, david, and that one has, you know, the atmospheric rivers have helped out drought, but going to bring two to three feet to the cascades. i don't know if we can handle a lot out here tonight. we just have to get acclimated, i guess. >> ginger, thank you. >>> and in colorado tonight, we cannot forget that two people remain missing after the worst wildfire in that stat

abc's gio benitez again tonight covering aviation. >> reporter: tonight, new progress in the standoff over more powerful 5g signals near airports, that airline and air cargo ceos have warned could lead to catastrophic travel and shipping disruptions. the faa now clearing nearly 80% of all commercial jets to land in low visibility with current 5g limits in place, including many of the most commonly-used boeing and airbus airliners like the 737 and a320. the move coming just 48 hours after at&t and verizon agreed to keep their upgraded 5g signals two miles away from major airports. >> this is just a band-aid fix. the faa needs to come up with a permanent solution. >> reporter: the standoff over concerns that stronger 5g signals could interfere with a plane's radio altimeter, the device pilots use to measure altitude during landings, especially in bad weather with low visibility. airlines and the faa have said more safety tests are needed. but the fcc, which regulates 5g, has claimed the service poses no risk to aviation. the faa still working on clearing about 20% of plane models, mostl

gio benitez joins us with more. good morning, gio. >> reporter: hey, michael, good morning to you. at twice, once right before that positive test and once after it. now, the city's mayor is fired up. this morning, former vice presidential nominee sarah palin under fire for dining out in new york city multiple times after testing positive for covid-19 in direct defiance of covid protocol. palin is in manhattan to pursue her libel suit against "the new york times" but her positive covid test delaying those proceedings. the judge saying since she has apparently tested positive three times, i'm going to assume she's positive. but the former alaska governor downplaying her covid diagnosis. >> i feel totally fine. >> you look fine. you feel fine? it seems like you feel fine. >> i feel absolutely normal. yep. >> reporter: saturday night palin who has been outspoken about her refusal to get the covid-19 vaccine, seen eating inside elio's restaurant and despite the city's vaccine mandate for indoor dining. monday she tested positive for the virus. instead of quarantining she was spotted at

good morning, gio. >> reporter: hey, michael, good morning to you.exhaust system, but now this morning, we are seeing a slew of dangerous thefts because it's going for big money. this morning, more and more thieves brazenly going after a pricey car part. police rushing to a san antonio neighborhood this week after a 33-year-old man was shot when he confronted someone who he says was trying to steal the catalytic converter under his car. in another case, in broad daylight, these two jump out of a van targeting a catalytic converter on a toyota prius. a neighbor recording chased away with a blowtorch. >> get out of here, go. >> reporter: and in late december, in washington state, another scary encounter. a couple catching a group of thieves under their van, the husband approaching the group. >> he ran toward them and yelling for them to stop and they weren't stopping. >> reporter: beth speaking with our abc affiliate in seattle komo says the thieves did not seem concerned they had just been caught. >> one of them pulled a gun and shot it in the air. th

good morning, gio. >> reporter: robin, good morning to you.y we're seeing more than a thousand cancellations across america and with flight crews testing positive there's really no telling how long this will last. this morning, weather wreaking havoc on already strained airlines leading to frustration at some of america's busiest airports. long lines as people try to head home. omicron hitting flight crews just as weather snarls air travel, more than 8,000 flights canceled since saturday. >> i just want to get home. >> reporter: now this morning the tsa telling abc news more than 2,600 employees currently have covid saying it remains concerned about the rates of infection but the tsa insisting it has adequate staff to screen passengers. >> we had to sleep here and it's not been fun. >> reporter: overseas a bit of deja vu from earlier in the pandemic. some americans traveling for the holidays now stuck abroad because of covid. >> i'm not sure what else to do but just wait it out. i can't get back into the country. >> reporter: cameron wilson fr

gio, thanks for helping out there. with the frigid air in place there's another system coming across the u.s. and i think we'll see freezing rain tonight and tomorrow in a lot of spots. we'll talk more about that storm in just a bit. be safe on the roads. >> so the cold is here to stay. >> looks like it. >> thanks, rob. >>> coming up, we are celebrating the remarkable life of sidney poitier. a look at his legacy in hollywood and beyond. >>> and we're shining a spotlight on broadway's "hidden heroes" amid omicron outbreaks. the understudies taking center stage. >>> also snowboarding great shaun white opening up to "gma" about recovering from covid ahead of his last olympics qualifier. we'll be right back. ahead of his last olympics qualifier. we'll be right back. and having more of them is possible with verzenio. the only one of its kind proven to help you live significantly longer when taken with fulvestrant, regardless of menopause. verzenio + fulvestrant is for hr+, her2-metastatic breast cancer that has progressed a

good morning, gio. >> reporter: hey, cecilia, good morning to you.was the plane crash an accident or a stunt? it was a heart-stopping video. watch as youtuber trevor jacob's plane stalls. his engine allegedly failing as he flies over los padres national forest in california, and it cannot be restarted. he pointed the nose of the plane down and jumped out wearing a parachute. >> that's why i always fly with a parachute. >> reporter: the video seen by over a million people but now, this morning, the faa and ntsb saying they are investigating if jacob who was also a former olympic snowboarder intentionally crashed that plane. viewers noting that he wasn't wearing a parachute in other videos. the plane is rigged with multiple exterior cameras capturing its descent. jacob with a camera of his own as he floats down. trevor jacob telling abc news overnight, that he declines to comment on the investigation. and just to be very clear here, jacob has not been charged with any crime. they are simply investigating, but if they see any sign of wrongdoing this cou

gio: cameron is stuck in belize.nated and boosted he and his wife tested positive. now he is stuck in a hotel room specifically for people with covid. >> with the situation and covid as it is now, i think i would be hesitant to recommend that anyone leave the country. gio: we will have more of their story at 7:00 a.m. plus the close -- plus a closer look at thousands of flight cancellations at home. kumasi: pfizer booster shots for kids ages 12 to 15 could be available as soon as thursday. the fda authorize them yesterday and a seed is the advisory panel will consider the issue tomorrow. sasasasasasasasa that closes at noon and reopens at 7:00. you are encouraged to sign up on the website if you want an appointment but people without appointments will not be turned away. the counter he -- the county is offering first, second, and third dose shots. reggie: test are not necessarily mandatory, but many school districts are offering them. in san francisco all of the rapid tests at district headquarters were gone by noon.

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gio benitez joins us from philadelphia with the latest.orter: hey, robin, good morning to you. you can see that wreckage behind me here. it's right next to that church. somehow this pilot also avoided all the homes in the area. there are several schools nearby too. now everyone this morning i morni miraculous landing n phadiaalteel narrowly missing a church. the hero pilot pulling off the seemingly impossible. an infant and three crew members pulled from the wreckage incredibly with no life threatening injuries. >> they were like there's someone trapped underneath. >> reporter: a witness says her lyft driver stepped in to grab the infant before first responders got there. >> i knew it was a baby. it was a 2-month-old baby. it wasn't crying. >> reporter: the medical flight taking off around 1:00 p.m. tuesday from pennsylvania carrying that baby to a local children's hospital. witnesses say it was flying low before hitting the ground and toppling on its side. >> the noise was so loud. i thought maybe it was a bomb. >> reporter: the wreckage

in april 2029, it will come so close to the earth that it will only just miss satellites in their gio, stationary orbits. this particular asteroid comes close to the earth every 4 years . with the diameter of several kilometers. it's big enough to be seen with radar telescopes. an impact with the earth would cause a global catastrophe. according to new calculations, however, the risk of an impact is low for the next 200 years. unfortunately, telescopes based on earth cannot see asteroids coming from the direction of the sun . the asteroid that exploded over the russian city and shelley ovens in 2013, came from this direction. it was only 20 meters across, but it released 30 times more energy than the atomic bomb dropped on hiroshima. 1500 people were injured and almost 400 buildings damaged. and such unexpected impacts are possible at any time. now back in time, couldn't asteroid the, the reason dinosaurs went extinct. we are highly intelligent, kinda from the university of bond. for a long time in the 20th century, it was believed that the mass extinction was due to volcanic eruption

in april 2029, it will come so close to the earth that it will only just miss satellites in their gio, stationary orbits. this particular asteroid comes close to the earth every 4 years . with the diameter of several kilometers. it's big enough to be seen with radar telescopes. an impact with the earth would cause a global catastrophe. according to new calculations, however, the risk of an impact is low for the next 200 years. unfortunately, telescopes based on earth cannot see asteroids coming from the direction of the sun . the asteroid that exploded over the russian city and shelley ovens in 2013, came from this direction. it was only 20 meters across, but it released 30 times more energy than the atomic bomb dropped on hiroshima. 1500 people were injured and almost 400 buildings damaged. and such unexpected impacts are possible at any time. now back in time, could an asteroid be the reason dinosaurs went extinct? we are highly intelligent, kai hagar from the university of bon. yeah. for a long time in the 20th century, it was believed that the mass extinction was due to volcanic e

gio benitez spoke with him. good morning to you, gio. >> reporter: hey, amy. good morning to you.zy, but he calls what happened in pennsylvania an absolute miracle. over the weekend, a hero sendoff. applause outside the hospital for danial moore who was flying the medical helicopter with that miraculous crash landing last week right next to a church in suburban philadelphia. >> everybody is conscious. i have one that is not alert, and he's the pilot. my main concern right now is the 2-month-old child. i need an ambulance here right away. >> reporter: on board, an infant patient just 2 months old, and two medics all surviving. now this morning, moore is speaking with "gma" from his home in virginia. >> so many people have been calling you a hero. what is going through your mind right now? >> it's really overwhelming. it really is. i feel like i pretty much just facilitate the heroes in the back that are working on patients. the things that my crew did after we crashed and post-crash, to me were amazing. i was just a lump on the ground and they were taking care of me. >> reporter: t

>> you'll stay on this for us, gio. thank you. >>> this morning, everyone, we are celebrating the life of a trailblazer in the fashion industry, andre leon talley, the influential fashion journalist was the first black man to be the creative director of "vogue." oprah saying another legend gone. not too be duplicated. erielle reshef joins us with more on his legacy. good morning, erielle. >> reporter: good morning, cecilia. talley was a trend setting titan, a fixture at nearly every major fashion show. a towering figure who will leave a lasting legacy. with his capes and caftans and head pieces, andre leon was larger than life called a creative genius, this trailblazing legend rose to prominence as creative director and editor at large of "vogue" under anna wintour. a fashion force unlike any other. he broke barriers as a black editor at the top of a predominantly white field and helped dress michelle obama when she was first lady. was an adviser to designer oscar de la renta and mentor to naomi campbell. even a judge o

good morning, gio. >> reporter: hey, michael, good morning.rts in the northeast are seeing the most cancellations in the world and when you see what's happening here, it's really no wonder why. take a look at the numbers right now, because now what we're seeing here already this morning, more than 2,200 flights have been canceled. about 400 have been delayed. laguardia, boston, newark, and jf, they are among the most affected airports in the country. now, this comes just as flight crews test positive with that omicron variant still surging, alaska airlines now joining jetblue in cutting about 10% of january flights. the airlines saying this will give us the flexibility and capacity needed to reset. so even after this storm moves through, you can still expect some cancellations, in fact, already tomorrow we're seeing more than 500 cancellations across the country, george. >> okay, gio, thanks very much. >>> we want to track this all morning long. right now overseas to kazakhstan where there was heavy shooting overnight as mass protests sweep th

abc's gio benitez covers aviation. >> reporter: tonight, crisis averted. at&t and verizon agreeing to temporarily limit the number of towers around airports that will carry their high speed 5g signals. the unexpected move coming just a day after major u.s. airlines warned that there could be a, quote, catastrophic disruption to air travel, if 5g rolled out near major airports. here's the worry. that stronger 5g signal is very similar to the frequency of a plane's radio altimeter, a device pilots use to judge their distance from the ground. airlines say in poor weather conditions, when visibility is low, pilots might not have reliable information to land safely, potentially leading to thousands of diverted and canceled flights and not just for passengers, but cargo, too. >> the faa cannot tell us if there is a problem. the airlines are erring on the side of safety to make sure that it is scientifically determined that there isn't a problem and the flying public stays particularly safe. >> reporter: the wireless carriers have long said 5g would not interfere

the gio system consolation is scheduled to launch in the early 20 30's. dr. spinrad, will this satellite as currently planned help build a baseline understanding of the stratospheric aerosols? >> yes. >> and how would the resulting data contribute to climate science? >> so part of climate science -- a lot of people think of climate science as purely a physical phenomenon. about temperature or winds or water but a lot of the initial conditions, if you will, that set off what's going to happen are driven by atmospheric chemistry in the most fundamental manner, depending on what the particulates are in the atmosphere, they either reflect sunlight resulting in a local cooling or they may absorb sunlight, which will result in heating. so having a good understanding of the makeup of the atmosphere is an important initial part of understanding the climate. >> very good. the launch of the satellite is still a decade away but there's an urgent need for actual data. how can noaa improve its modeling of the atmosphere composition in the short term? >> we have a couple o

and this is an indisputable sort of gio physical fact that no one, bizarry will look at carbon emissionsmaking batteries. >> very good. my next question for mr. walter and having a fellow alumni testifying today and congratulations on your career. i want to thank you for your testimony and you closed your written testimony, any alternative including electricity should be offered in an open competitive market that gives american consumers the fullest economic benefits or rebust competition. this has worked well for consumers for nearly 100 years with liquid fuels because the markets had a business case to invest to meet consumer needs end quote. why is it so important that any new motor vehicle fuel and indeed, any engine technology was subject to pressures of an open and competitive market. >> thank you, ranking member thompson. an open market provides the lowest cost to consumers. if you find markets operate with opaqueness, it's typically for higher costs for consumers across the board and the traditional fuel market today is an open, highly competitive marketplace with three competing