this year i'm liz landers in washington, coming up with the latest, but a scare for one family during the holiday travel rush. >> how spirit airlines is responding after a six year old boy boarded the wrong flight and went to the wrong city. >> oh no, i'm meteorologist drew to a live look outside from our rooftop camera this morning. it is a dry day. we have a mild afternoon. soon we'll break down your christmas holiday region by region. in order for small businesses to thrive, they need to be smart, efficient, savvy. making the most of every opportunity. that's why comcast business is introducing the small business bonus. for a limited time you can get up to $1000 prepaid card with qualifying internet. yup, $1000. so switch to business internet from the company with the largest fastest reliable network. give your business a head start in 2024 with this great offer. plus, ask how to get up to $1000 prepaid card with qualifying internet. switch today. time, this jackpot has been more than half $1 billion. just this year. now, california seems to be pretty lucky in the national drawing.

abc news reporter liz landers has the details. >> this morning, the u.s.trikes back at iranian backed militants in iraq as tensions from the israeli hamas war continue to spill into the middle east. president joe biden authorized the move after christmas day drone attack on u.s. troops in northern iraq struck three, leaving one critically injured. here's some of the damage from the three locations hit in the u.s. retaliated. three strikes, which was condemned by the iraqi prime minister in a statement. >> this is very prevalent amongst the iranians. it's how they conduct business and it's very messy because they're using forces that sometimes don't actually take direct orders. but ultimately it's to push back against the influence of the united states. >> there's still about 3500 us troops in iraq and syria to prevent a resurgence of isis. and the pentagon estimates more than 100 attacks against u.s. personnel in the region since the start of the israel-hamas war. in a statement, secretary of defense lloyd austin saying he and president biden, quote, will

abc's liz landers is here with details. liz. good morning. >> good morning. andrea. despite new action to address the security concerns, militia groups linked to iran do not seem to be deterred from launching attacks. at least not yet. this morning, new tensions in the middle east hitting your wallet. oil and gas prices both on the rise after the pentagon carried out air strikes on iranian backed militants in iraq . this is the damage left behind from the latest airstrike payback for a drone attack on american troops. that left one service member critically injured. >> this is very prevalent amongst the iranians. it's how they conduct business and it's very messy because they're using forces that sometimes don't actually take direct orders, but ultimately it's to push back against the influence of the united states. >> in a statement, secretary of defense lloyd austin saying he and president biden, quote, will not hesitate to take necessary action to defend the united states, our troops and our interests. there is no higher priority. about 3500 u.s. troops remain in

abc's liz landers is here now with details. liz good morning. >> good morning. ryan. authorities at the southern border are taking new action today because of the surge of migrants crossing into the u.s. this morning, officials at the u.s. mexico border are temporarily suspending freight train crossings in el paso and eagle pass, texas. in order to redeploy resources elsewhere. it comes after authorities reportedly apprehended more than 4000 migrants in the area yesterday alone. temporary closures were also recently imposed at a port of entry in arizona and at a pedestrian entrance in san diego, so over the weekend, senate negotiators failed to reach a deal on a framework for border security improvements, which republicans are demanding as a condition to pass more funding for the wars in israel and ukraine. republicans point to national security concerns at the southern border and the smuggling of drugs. a truck driver at a cargo facility in california, just across the mexican border was recently arrested, accused of carrying 3,000 pounds of meth and more than 500 pou

abc news reporter liz landers with a look now at her legacy. >> reporter, a trailblazer remembered in washington, d.c. today, former supreme court justice sandra day o'connor memorialized at the national cathedral after she died earlier this month. her casket carried into the cathedral as loved ones and former colleagues gathered, said chief justice roberts. o'connor's son jay, and president biden, all delivering eulogies at her funeral. equal justice under law is a noble act of the noblest aspiration of humankind, and the aspiration of sandra day o'connor, the one that she pursued and her whole life. >> it's hard to be the only woman on the court which i experienced for about ten years or so. >> the arizona native was the first female supreme court justice appointed by president reagan in 1981 and serving for two decades. on the high court before retiring in 2006. she was known for her decisions favoring states in disputes with the federal government and twice joined the majority to uphold roe versus wade, reaffirming a woman's right to an abortion monday. lying in repose at the supr

abc news reporter liz landers has more on the holiday travel conditions from washington. this morning. >> a wintry weather storm is hitting the heartland, bringing blizzard conditions around the holidays that was i-80 at a standstill for hours yesterday in nebraska, when whiteout conditions caused dozens of crashes, 50 mile per hour winds shut down part of i-90 highway in south dakota. christmas day. to these conditions expected to cause travel delays on the roads and in the skies. as americans are eagerly back to traveling for the holidays. 157 flights within an into or out of the u.s. canceled so far, and 2111 delayed as of late afternoon monday, according to flightaware . one airline mix up leaving a six year old boy in the wrong city. >> they told me, no, he's not in this flight. he missed his flight. i said, no, he could not miss his flight because i have to check in. >> tag spirit airlines accidentally sent an unaccompanied minor from philadelphia to orlando instead of his correct destination of fort myers, florida. spirit airlines saying the child was always under

liz landers abc news . >> a surprising new discovery in the north bay regarding the napa fault. the fault runs from vallejo to yountville, parallel to highway 29. geologists didn't know it existed until it generated a 6.0 magnitude earthquake nine years ago. now researchers say the fault actually extends nine miles further north past calistoga. that's further than previously thought. so it means it has the potential to generate even more powerful earthquakes. >> it is an active fault. it will have more earthquakes, but it's certainly not as big a player as the san andreas fault or the hayward fault. us geologists say if the fault ruptures along the entire 37 mile stretch, it has the power to potentially produce a magnitude seven earthquake, researchers say it's a reminder to always know what to do before an earthquake strikes. >> get a kit, make a plan and be informed. and if you need help with any of that, check out abc seven news.com slash. prepare norcal a united states delegation will meet with mexico's president today. many are calling this an effort to get mexico to do mor

liz landers abc news entire livelihoods for a group of small businesses in los altos have been turned upside down. >> we first brought you this story as breaking news yesterday morning right here on abc seven morning. that's when fire crews were called to an early morning, two story shopping center. fire at the corner of west el camino real. now, fortunately, no one was inside the building at the time, but this morning is still dangerous out there. abc seven news reporter lena howland joining us live this morning with the latest lena kumasi, fire officials say there is still a big concern that this building could collapse outward, which is why they do have such a large perimeter set up around this building right now, with part of el camino real still shut down at this hour. >> this fire started more than 24 hours ago, just before 5:00 on christmas morning. during the firefight, there was some structural collapse, including the roof and the hvac systems. so firefighters were pulled to battle the flames from the outside, taking firefighters until the afternoon to get this fully containe

abc's liz landers is here now with more. good morning. >> rihanna and president biden says he's willing to make, quote, significant compromises when it comes to border policy. according to the new york times, biden administration officials told lawmakers that the white house is willing to discuss new limits on asylum to make it harder for migrants to seek refuge in the us. the offer comes as republicans hold up funding for the war in ukraine. they say they won't approve the funding that president biden wants until changes are made at the border. we're seeing a new surge of migrants crossing the border, a record number reported on tuesday this video shows dozens of migrants climbing the border wall near san diego. back in washington, time is running out to strike a deal. congress is scheduled to go back on break at the end of next week. andrew >> liz, thank you. the now former alaska airlines pilot accused of trying to shut off a plane's engines mid-flight has been released from jail. a judge granted joseph emerson bail in par

abc's liz landers is here now with more. liz good morning. >> andrew it now appears that that intense fighting in gaza could last well into next year. >> this morning, israel's defense minister sitting down with abc news off camera saying he believes the war in its current intensity will last at least another two months. he says israeli military leaders increasingly concede that killing all of hamas's estimated 30,000 fighters will be impossible, adding their goal is to break the chain of command, having already killed 40% of battalion leaders, they. these satellite images show israeli military vehicles staging in southern gaza, where many civilians were previously told to flee to safety. up to 600 americans are still in gaza, including ruihua alfarez father. people are sheltering together so they'll be like, you know, 20, 30 people all together and there's not enough food. israel says it's dropping leaflets urging people to move to designated safe zones. our producer has been forced to move his family seven times since the w

abc news reporter liz lander shows us the fiery exchanges having only four candidates joined the stagepublican presidential primary debate. >> but there were plenty of fireworks and insults to go around. >> i love all the attention, fellas. thank you for that. >> former un ambassador nikki haley has seen a recent surge in the polls and took much of the criticism on stage wednesday night. business men vivek ramaswamy using his first question to attack her. >> you actually started joining service on the board of boeing and now you're a multi-millionaire. that math does not add up. it adds up to the fact that you are corrupt in terms of these donors that are supporting me. >> they're just jealous as they wish that they were supporting them. >> florida governor ron desantis, who has seen a drop in the polls, also swiping at haley. >> she wrote a love letter to the chinese ambassador saying how great a friend china is. >> former governor chris christie defending haley. >> we disagree about who should be president of the united states. well, we don't disagree on is this is a smart, accomplis

abc's liz landers is here with details. beginning with the fbi director's new warning. liz, good morning. >> good morning, andrew. the fbi director said the terror threat level right now is the worst since the days before nine over 11. a sharp warning from fbi director christopher wray to congress about the current threat environment in the us as the war between israel and hamas escalates. >> all the lights were blinking red before 911. apparently obviously all of us missed it. would you say that there's multiple blinks and red lights out there? >> i see blinking lights everywhere. i turn. the threat level has gone to a whole nother level since october 7th. >> wray made the comment as he urged congress to renew a surveillance program that allows the government to keep tabs on foreign nationals outside the country without a warrant. >> the expiration of our 702 authorities would be devastating to the fbi's ability to protect eight americans from those threats. >> in the meantime, israel says yesterday was the most intense day of fighting since the war started, with ground

abc's liz landers joins us with more. what is going on in the middle east? liz? good morning. >> good morning. danny with many major airlines suspending flights to israel, the war between israel and hamas has severely impacted tourism to the middle east region during what would normally be a busy time of the year. it's a different kind of christmas holiday today for millions around the world and in the holy land. >> i never saw bethlehem that sad because, you know, the war in gaza affected us. >> that is the message from one shopkeeper in bethlehem, the birthplace of jesus, a quiet, empty town. this holiday in the west bank. as the war between israel and gaza rages on this year, christmas is canceled. palestinian security forces patrol holy sites during the christmas season, when tourism usually accounts for 70% of income. officials say 70 hotels in bethlehem were forced to close, impacting the local economy. the latin patriarch of jerusalem crossing into bethlehem for what would normally be a time of celebration at the church of the nativity in stead urging a ce

. >> abc's liz landers begins our coverage starting with those ships being threatened. liz, good morning. >> andrew the pentagon is calling out iran, saying it fully enabled these new attacks on commercial ships. this this morning, a major escalation between the us and militants backed by iran and the us is being very careful not to turn the red sea into a shooting gallery. the pentagon says missiles fired by rebels in yemen hit three commercial ships in the red sea. the uss carney also shot down three drones during the hours long attack. >> it may have been that the missiles flew over the us ships on their way to the intended target, which is one of the civilian ships. so there's a little bit of semantics here, but the important point here is that the houthis are playing with fire by launching missiles over us ships. >> no injuries are reported, but the commercial ships were damaged. the houthi rebels claim they were targeting israeli vessels in the shipping lanes between africa and the arabian peninsula for. >> but the us needs to be assured and the world needs to be a

here's abc news reporter liz landers. >> only four candidates joined the stage for the fourth republicanidential primary debate, but there were plenty of fireworks and insults to go around. >> and i love all the attention, fellas. thank you for that. former un ambassador nikki haley has seen a recent surge in the polls and took much of the criticism on stage wednesday night. >> business man vivek ramaswamy using his first question to attack her. >> you actually started joining the service on the board of boeing and now you're a multi-millionaire. that math does not add up. it adds up to the fact that you are corrupt in terms of these donors that are supporting me. >> they're just jealous. they wish that they were supporting them. >> florida governor ron desantis, who has seen a drop in the polls, also swiping at haley , she wrote a love letter to the chinese ambassador saying how great a friend china is. you can look former governor chris christie defending haley. >> we disagree about who should be president of the united states. well, we don't disagree on is this is a smart accomplished

here's abc's liz landers travel troubles plaguing the post-christmas crowd after a snowy holiday left highways a mess in the midwest. >> in nebraska, blizzard like conditions brought interstate 80 to a standstill. christmas day. the highway shut down for hours after whiteout conditions caused dozens of crashes. freezing rain in minnesota coated trees and roadways, and in south dakota, 50 mile per hour winds and heavy snow, forcing officials to close part of i-90. it was fog that forced southwest airlines to cancel dozens of flights in chicago over the weekend. the airline still reeling from the christmas chaos last year that left more than 2 million passengers stranded. the airline was recently hit with a record $140 million fine. meanwhile, another airline is facing backlash, this time for a mix up with an unaccompanied minor. >> they told me no, he's not in this flight. he missed his flight. i said, no, he could not miss his flight because i have to check in. tag spirit airlines mistakenly flying a six year old to the wrong airport just days before christmas, instead of sending the

here's abc's liz landers. >> the fourth republican president debate included no shortage of insults. the most obnoxious blowhard in america. >> so shut up for a little while. >> only four candidates appeared on stage in alabama. the main target, nikki haley. >> i love all the attention, fellas. thank you for that. >> vivek ramaswamy used his first question to go directly after haley. now, you're a multi-million where that math does not add up. >> it adds up to the fact that you are corrupt. >> and in terms of these donors that are supporting me, they're just jealous. >> chris christie then defending haley while we disagree about some issues and we disagree about who should be president of the united states, well, we don't disagree on is this is a smart, accomplished woman. >> you should stop insulting. so i'm going to take this. >> i'm going to take several times. >> chris, your version of foreign policy experience was closing a bridge from new jersey to new york. >> so do everybody a favor. just walk yourself off that stage. enjoy a nice meal and get the hell out of this race. when

in washington, liz landers abc news. >> a busy week ahead for airports all across the country.nd of course, that includes sfo here in the bay area. officials say thursday the two busiest days leading into the christmas holiday, families at sfo yesterday only experienced small delays at security. abc seven news reporter josh stone spoke with performers from the lion king, who are having to travel right now. >> so i'm here with the lion king national tour right now, and heading home for the day to spend time with my family. since i don't have christmas much of a christmas break. so i'm going to go spend christmas with them a little early and uh- come right back to work. >> saturday is expected to be the most congested day on the road. if you're driving, head out early. the worst time to travel is going to be between 11 and 7 p.m. they may seem like something as simple as batch of holiday lights, but for one homeowner in the north bay, they mean much more. >> abc seven news reporter tara campbell has the story. >> at first glance, these may look like your average christmas lights,