and our ian pannell with the flash point on the ukraine border already. and what ian witnessed on the ground there today. >>> amazon tonight reporting a major server outage. what this means for amazon delivery trucks. some halted, weeks before christmas. and streaming services, amazon, netflix, disney plus. and how some of your devices at home have been effected, too. >>> the state of emergency in hawaii tonight. the major storm battering the islands. mudslides slamming into homes. power knocked out to thousands. >>> the dramatic call for help tonight. the plane in trouble in florida. smoke in the cockpit. the enjin failing. and you will hear the pilot. >>> actor jussie smollett takes the stand in his own defense. what he now claims about his alleged attackers, those brothers who he claims shouted racist and homophobic slurs. was there a prior relationship? one of the brothers, when pressed, said, "i don't recall." the defense has now rested. >>> and america strong tonight. 80 years since the attack on pearl harbor, the survivors, the american heroes going

>> all right, ian pannell again tonight. ian, thank you. >>> and when we come back here, the deadly crash into the water near niagara falls. the images tonight. >>> and hillary clinton breaking down while doing something she's never done before. why hide yourt has your moderate to severe eczema or atopic dermatitis under control? hide my skin? not me. by hitting eczema where it counts, dupixent helps heal your skin from within keeping you one step ahead of eczema. hide my skin? not me. d atea lg- earer skin... keeping you one step ahead of eczema. and fast itch relief for adults. with dupixent, you can show more skin with less eczema. hide my skin? not me. don't use if you're allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur, including anaphylaxis, which is severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems, such as eye pain or vision changes, or a parasitic infection. if you take asthma medicines, don't change or stop them without talking to your doctor. when you help heal your skin from within you can cha

>> all right, ian pannell and our team from inside ukraine tonight. thank you. >>> back here at home and next tonight, that system moving into the northeast with temperatures plunging, reaching the northeast by morning and already elsewhere. look at the images. treacherous driving across several states. in fact, ice halting traffic, this is i-90 in montana. severe storms across tennessee, as well, in the past 24 hours. flipping an rv right onto a school bus. that was this morning. the driver inside was okay. reports of tornadoes in all of this, too, and now the system moving east. chief meteorologist ginger zee, of course, with us on a monday night, tracking it all. hey, ginger. >> reporter: hey, david. feeling that front pass right now, it is breezy here, but it will be downright windy for areas that are in wind advisories. washington, d.c., baltimore, could see gusts up to 50 miles per hour. that includes bar harbor and much of western new york, buffalo, you add some snow, that could make really rough driving tonight. behind this front, everybody ch

our ian pannell back in afghanistan tonight. >>> the major news back here at home tonight involving jfk. 58 years after his assassination, nearly 1,500 confidential documents now released on lee harvey oswald and what they reveal. >>> remembering a trail blazing author and activist tonight. >>> the discovery on mars. >>> and our made in america christmas is back tonight. and this evening, a hint. what they hope you'll serve in the morning and then at night. >>> good evening and it's great to have you with us here on a very busy wednesday night. we'll get to this new variant and how quickly it's spreading in the u.s. and dr. fauci on boosters appearing to work so far. but we begin tonight with nearly 100 million americans under alerts at this hour as we head into the night for severe weather yet again. damaging winds and, yes, the potential for tornadoes. tornado watches in six states at this hour across much of the upper midwest. this is very rare for december. take a look at the radar right now. that line of severe storms and that area of particular concern as we come on, right there i

abc's senior foreign correspondent ian pannell is on the front lines. >> reporter: in eastern ukrainenter is coming. driving through the rolling hills of adeevka, we're vetted at multiple checkpoints. heading to the front lines of what could potentially be a major military conflict. you see up in the windows, they've been bomb damaged. it shows you how close you are to the front line here. this is where ukrainian forces have been fighting against russian-backed separatists for almost eight years now. today, renewed tension. the latest chapter in ukraine's struggle to maintain its independence from russia and to determine its own future. what we're doing now is moving through this whole series of factory buildings. they've cut holes into the walls. that allows the troops to move backwards and forwards without being seen. this is a place abandoned to soldiers. the ukrainian military is escorting us today. we've got to really keep our voices down here, because this is the area where the russian-backed separatist forces fire on their troops. if they can hear us, the risk is they open fire

if he's bluffing, it's a very, very good bluff. >> one of the other things we heard from ian pannellations of this extend far beyond ukraine. he mentioned china feeling emboldened to move on taiwan. >> this is an important connection. president xi in china is clearly looking to see what president putin gets away with, and what president biden resists. if president biden is tough as he's been, and if he's ready to impose serious sanctions and serious costs on president putin, president xi will notice, and will hesitate. >> we know president biden has ruled out military involvement. how far is he willing to go on the sanctions? >> i think with the sanctions, he can certainly try to hit the pipeline and bring something on that, but he says it's very, very tough economic sanctions. you know, george, i think of the rest of the world looking at america right now, what happened in afghanistan, that chaotic and deadly evacuation from afghanistan. we look at iraq. have we won two wars? absolutely not. i think putin calculates that as well in the rest of the world, and they also look at januar

ian pannell reports from kabul. >>> and "america strong" tonight. a community coming together this holiday, sharing their wishes for better times ahead. >>> and good evening, everyone. thanks so much for joining us. i'm linsey davis in for david. we have a lot to cover tonight, as many americans prepare for their second holiday season with the pandemic looming large once again. airports packed, but hundreds of flights canceled. with more scheduled for tomorrow, christmas day. the airline says that staffing shortages caused by a surge of omicron cases nationwide. many trying to get tested, but finding a test is proving difficult for many. and sometimes chaotic. these images from queens, new york. and slick roads may have contributed to this fatal crash in los angeles. higher elevations getting up to ten feet of snow, making travel difficult. we have team reporting. but we begin with elwyn lopez from atlanta. >> reporter: a nightmare before christmas for thousands of travelers across the u.s. hundreds of flights suddenly grounded ahead of the holidays

here now, ian pannell. ♪ >>> like so many parts of the world, the market holds a place of special significanceculture, community, history, converge. but look closer. something is wrong here. a subtle yet stunning paradox. wheelbarrows and carts laden high with the best the land can provide, and yet almost no one's buying. this landlocked ancient nation, ravaged by decades of war, is once again a prison for its own people. this is the afghanistan we've left behind. this is life under the rule of the taliban. starvation and poverty have become ruthless partners in the collapse of the nation. making desperation afghanistan's main export. >> i lose my everything. every day, at night, i cry. >> reporter: health, security, human rights, now all in dire crisis. >> afghanistan is a time bomb. it is ticking. you have an interconnected humanitarian disaster. you have an emboldened foreign terrorist. then you have all the spillover effects that comes from a destabilized afghanistan. >> reporter: after the taliban forcibly overthrew the elected government, the western world retaliated, pulling all funding

senior foreign correspondent ian pannell joins us this morning. d morning. >> reporter: good morning, whit. the bells are tolling this morning as a country and the world mourns and remembers a man who transcended religion in many ways and politics with a message for all humanity. ♪ we shall overcome ♪ >> reporter: it was desmond tutu's faith that gave him the strength to tackle the racist apartheid system in south africa with a message of nonviolence. >> our march to freedom, it's unstoppable. >> reporter: tutu grew up under the oppression of segregation, violently enforced by the white minority government, but against the odds, becoming the first black anglican archbishop of capetown as south africa teetered ever closer to the brink of civil war. tutu stood shoulder to shoulder with nelson mandela on a mission to end apartheid. the campaign for economic sanctions and his lobbying for divestment picking up support around the world, including the u.s. students of major universities protested, demanding their institutions stop investing in companies

abc's ian pannell is on the front lines where 100,000 russian troops are gathered at ukraine's border. russian backed separatists are already exchanging gunfire. >> you hear that sound? that's the sound of small arms fire and we're hearing it every few minutes now. the soldiers are trying to keep us moving forward, but we're on the front lines, and it's really active. every few minutes another gunshot there. we hear the sound of rapid automatic gunfire there. >> russia says putin warned biden that western military activity in the region is threatening russia's security but in response, national security adviser jake sullivan says biden told putin the u.s. is prepared to take more action than it did in 2014 when russia invaded crimea. >> there is no finger wagging but the president was crystal clear about where the united states stands on all of these issues. >> in addition to economic sanctions, sullivan says the u.s. is prepared to send more weapons to ukraine. >>> amazon says it's working toward a full recovery after a massive outage slowed down service for websites and streaming pl

ian pannell has returned to kabul for the first time since the taliban took power. he says the country is collapsing. >> reporter: the united nations is warning that as many as 1 million children could die in afghanistan this winter of hunger. there is a wholesale economic collapse. the price of bread has doubled just in the last few days we've been in the country. the country is also in the middle of a drought. it had to deal with the pande pandemic. and it had all of its funds frozen. some of that is going to be released. it's too little and for many people, it will be too late. >> reporter: ian also visited a children's hospital where a malnourished 2-year-old patient weighs 11 pounds. >>> o.j. simpson going free. he has been released from parole early. >> reporter: this morning, 74-year-old o.j. simpson is a free man, after spending nine years in prison and another four years on parole, in connection with an armed robbery in las vegas. simpson spoke in 2017, billed the parole hearing of the century. >> i want to get back to my family and friends. believe it or n

. >> reporter: abc's senior foreign correspondent ian pannell arriving in ukraine tonight. >> europe is on edge. u.s. and ukrainian officials caiming that russia has amassed as many as 100,000 combat troops on its eastern border. the question is whether this is just a tough negotiating tactic or the kremlin is planning an invasion like it did in 2014. >> reporter: biden telling me friday that his team is actively working on plans to try to deter russia. >> i have been in constant contact with our allies in europe, with the ukrainians. my secretary of state and national security adviser have been engaged extensively. >> reporter: russia disputing it is planning an offensive but is demanding guarantees that ukraine will not be admitted into the nato alliance. >> he's worried that ukraine is turning into a nato aircraft carrier parked off the shore of southern russia. he doesn't like it, and he wants to basically push nato as far back from russia's borders as possible. >> reporter: the white house says it has a range of options at its disposal. it's to try to deter russia but any additi

as the humanitarian catastrophe unfolds in real time our ian pannell there at an illegal secret school for teenage girls putting their lives at risk for their education. >>> o.j. simpson free. why the disgraced nfl legend was released early from parole. >>> ready for takeoff. airline ceos set to be grilled on capitol hill over hundreds of canceled flights after receiving a $54 billion bailout. what to know if you're heading to the airport for the holidays. ♪ signed sealed delivered ♪ >>> merry deadline day. the christmas shipping dates you need to know to get your packages delivered on time. plus, the top stores offering epic savings on gifts and the apps to download right now to be first in line for deep discounts. ♪ signed, sealed, delivered ♪ ♪ i'm yours ♪ ♪ get down tonight, get down tonight ♪ >>> and t.j. was right. what a night for steph curry. > it's curry for the record. it's good! there it is! >> a history-making moment. electrifying the entire arena, the superstar now the nba's all-time three-point king sharing the all-time moment with his dad and soaking up all the glory. ♪

ian pannell is in london where the mayor has declared what they call there, ian, a major incident.ing. >> reporter: yeah, that's right, t.j. the picture here on this side of the atlantic looking similar to where you are. a bleak picture really unfolding across europe as the holiday season gets under way with yet more record numbers of positive tests here in britain, although interestingly deaths at the moment are going down. the mayor of london as you said declaring that major incident in the capital which allows him to put more resources into hospitals and emergency services. major stadiums like wembley used now for mass vaccinations. almost a million people getting their booster shots on saturday, and that number continuing to rise. elsewhere though, countries are bringing in restrictions. israel looking to ban travel to america, canada, and asia. the countries in europe, holland closing all nonessential stores as well as bars and restaurants until the middle of next month. in ireland as well, new restrictions, a curfew, 8:00 p.m., all bars and restaurants are closing. protests h

senior foreign correspondent ian pannell is on the scene. morning, ian. >> reporter: yeah, george, good morning from the front line. this is where the conflict between russia and ukraine and in many senses between russia and the west is playing out. you can see the bombed out wreck of what used to be a large industrial complex. shells have landed all around here, shrapnel shredding the walls ooand ceilings. we have been hearing the sound of small arms gunfire and seen where ukrainian forces are hunkered down 50 yards from russian-backed rebel forces. this is where his troops will head to first. the forces here are saying they're ready to defend to the death but in reality though know they'd face overwhelming force. but we don't know what the kremlin's intentions really are. create pressure for concessions or really to occupy ukraine on europe's fringes. the military source telling us they've been getting a lot of american help recently in terms of equipment. he won't say what or that we do know they have more sophisticated weapons and increa

senior foreign correspondent ian pannell is on the scene, ian. >> reporter: yeah, good morning, georgeough many were hoping this meeting would ease the crisis and officials have agreed to carry on talking, i think the reality here on the ground is that the tensions remain undiminished. this morning, exclusive pictures of americans supplied weapons on the front lines in ukraine's conflict with russian backed rebels. this is what vladimir putin means by a red line. what he sees as america's, nato's expansion in ukraine and why this crisis is so hard to resolve. we visited the battlefields of eastern ukraine. you hear that sound? that's the sound of small arms fire and we're hearing it every few minutes now. the soldiers are trying to keep us moving forward, but we're here on the frontline. it's really active every few minutes. another gunshot there. the war has been grinding on for eight years after russia annexed crimea and backed a rebellion in the east. today ukraine's forces facing off against russian-backed separatists and the scars of battle are everywhere. now u.s. intelligence of

let's go to ian pannell who is on the scene in ukraine. orning, ian. >> reporter: yeah, good morning, george. that's right. this is one of the most serious crises since the cold war. tension over ukraine between russia and america higher than at any time since seven years ago. we're in one of the towns on the front line with the russian-backed rebel east of ukraine. there is supposed to be a peace agreement, but we have been hearing the sound of small arms fired by both sides, and today, as many as 100,000 russian combat troops are thought to be amassed on that eastern border. the u.s. fears they could be preparing for a full-scale military assault. u.s. officials have been briefing "the washington post" and others with maps claiming the kremlin is launching a multi-front offensive with more than 170,000 troops with artillery and other equipment. george? >> ian, how is the kremlin responding to the reports? >> reporter: russia's dismissing the claims, accusing the american officials of aggravating the situation, but it's also a nightmare of