stephanie ramos, abc news, new york. >> stephanie, thank you for that. now to a rare weather event. check out this. it's a snow day. no. or snow devil. there it is in park city, utah. a man walking his dog recorded on sunday. snow tornadoes take place when surface winds create a swirling vortex. pretty cool to see a snow. >> nato. snow. nato, really? >> now we need a movie, right? >> put some sharks in there. >> an alligator or sharks? no, nato. your move. >> hollywood. all right. coming up where you can buy the ten commandments. what and why? you'll need some really deep pockets for this one. and maybe a truck. >> but first, how? >> a sea turtle has just been given a second chance at life. you're watching world news out bath or shower? now you can have a new one installed in just one day, with a new limited time offer from jacuzzi bath remodel. we're waiving all installation costs with no interest and no payments for up to one year. hi, i'm art edmonds. jacuzzi has been making water feel great for over 65 years, and now you can get a gorgeous custom bath remodel at a price you can

here's stephanie ramos tonight. >> reporter: tonight, daniel penny cleared of all criminal charges inadly chokehold that took the life of jordan neely aboard a new york city subway. >> it's going good. it's going good. >> reporter: penny seen in a manhattan bar celebrating with his attorneys. >> he finally got the justice he deserves. >> reporter: after five days of deliberations, a jury finding the 26-year-old marine veteran not guilty of criminally negligent homicide. authorities say neely suffered from mental illness and drug addiction. prosecutors admitting the 30-year-old homeless man made threats on that subway in may of 2023 but arguing penny's hold was excessive and lasted almost a minute after neely stopped moving. >> i put him out. >> reporter: the defense man taining penny never intended to kill. >> i'm just trying to make -- de-escalate the situation. >> reporter: the judge dropping the most serious manslaughter charge last week after the jury deadlocked. but tonight, all 12 jurors voting not guilty on that remaining lesser charge. david, tonight, jordan neely's family vow

>> david: all right, stephanie ramos.eas tonight, and to the stunning new images just now emerging from russia. ukraine assassinating a top russian general inside moscow. he was the general in charge of protecting russia's biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons. tonight here, the dash cam video showing the general and an aide leaving his apartment building. we have frozen the video just before the explosion. those explosives hidden on a scooter at the door of the building. tonight, ukraine says that general was a war criminal, and what russia is now saying. here's our chief foreign correspondent ian pannell. >> reporter: dramatic dash cam video tonight showing the moment a bomb hidden in the handlebars of a scooter explodes. an audacious attack killing a top russian general in the heart of moscow. the scooter seen leaning up against a wall as general igor kirillov and an aide walk out of his apartment building. the forces of the remotely detonated blast hurling the bodies of both men, blowing out windows, damaging the

that charge carries up to four years in prison. >> david: stephanie ramos, thank you.turn to growing concern over bird flu and the milk supply. the department of agriculture taking an extraordinary test, testing raw milk samples nationwide, not pasteurized but raw milk. there have been human cases of bird flu in at least eight states, including two new cases in arizona just today. so far, no known cases of the infection spreading from human to human. here is steve osunsami. >> reporter: the federal government says the newly ordered tests of raw milk samples for bird flu will start in less than two weeks. they will take place at large dairy processing facilities as the usda tries to drill down which farms and herds are affected. >> this is a safeguard procedure andrew teen testing is a checkpoint for monitoring the health of the herd. >> reporter: 60 people have gotten sick from bird flu. almost all of the cases have been farm workers handling sick livestock. officials say they don't know of any person who spread it to another human. what authorities are concerned about

i'm stephanie ramos tonight, remembering jimmy carter, a president who, perhaps more than any other, american dream. born to a humble farming family in rural georgia, elected to the world's most powerful office but never losing his drive to help those less fortunate. >> i'm perfectly at ease with my life span being in the hands of god. i don't think anybody could have had a more gratifying life. my family, the carters, have lived in georgia since about 1760. we've all been farmers, my generation on my daddy's side. i'm the first one that ever finished high school. my name is jimmy carter, and i'm running for president. >> without question, jimmy carter defied the odds in so many different ways. >> my grandfather is a small town guy. i think it sort of fundamentally true of him that he comes from a 600 person town. he didn't have shoes until he went to school. he grew up, you know, with the land on the farm. >> james earl carter senior is a farmer. he grows peanuts and cotton. and jimmy carter, as a boy, sells boiled peanuts on the main street of plains, georgia. >> when i was eight y

here's abc's stephanie ramos. >> reporter: watch as a drone in a popular light show comes barrellingd unsuspecting crowd in florida. >> watch out, watch out. >> you could hear propeller blades smacking in the plastic, kind of crackling sounds. >> reporter: tonight, the faa investigating why dozens of specially designed, synchronized drones malfunctioned, colliding in midair before falling out of the sky. >> i don't think they're supposed to be falling. >> reporter: a 7-year-old boy is now recovering after one hit him in the chest. first responders rushing him to the hospital. >> my daughter found my son on the floor, unconscious, blood coming out of his face. honestly, i -- i was freaking out. that i was going to lose my baby, because he was losing consciousness. >> reporter: alexander undergoing emergency open heart surgery. his mom saying one of the drones left an imprint and damaged one of his heart valves. >> they're saying it was like equivalent to him getting hit by a car in the chest. >> reporter: drone displays are gaining popularity across the country as an alternative to fi

here's stephanie ramos. >> reporter: tonight, the accused long island serial killer appearing in court as he was about to be charged in a seventh case. the murder of valerie mack. afterward, rex heuermann telling the court, "your honor, i am not guilty of any of these charges." mack's partial remains found back in november of 2000. more than a decade later, investigators finding her skull just east of gilgo beach. >> we have dna from a hair that was found on the body of valerie mack. >> reporter: in a court filing, prosecutors say dna analysis linked hair to heuermann's wife and daughter. mack, now among seven women authorities say heuermann killed in a spree that spanned decades. he has pleaded not guilty to all charges. and tonight, investigators allege heuermann kept souvenirs. authorities say a search warrant of his home in long island and manhattan office contained newspaper clippings about the murders. tonight, the families of heuermann's alleged victims emotional, presenting mack's parents with flowers. david, prosecutors say they are preparing for the first major litigation in

remember when stephanie ramos interviewed that baby live, and she did it again. most googled songs? want to guess what number one was? >> janai: "whacked out murals"? >> no, "not like us." >> gio: you're not like us. i was trying to get a good transition. >> one of a kind? >> gio: thank you, will. we'll be right back with our "play of the day." open. ♪ ♪ over 600,000 usps employees working in sync to ensure everything sent on its holiday ride ends with a moment of joy. ♪ the united states postal service. ♪ (vo) exciting gifts arriving until december 24th at tj maxx. maxx what makes you, you. hank used to suffer from what felt like a cold & flu medicine hangover in the morning. ha ha. haha! then he switched to mucinex nightshift. mucinex is uniquely formulated to leave your system faster, so you wake up ready to go. uhh, hank! try mucinex nightshift and feel the difference. get off that couch and come to old navy for holiday styles and steals! sofia vergara: at st. jude, there's one thing that makes us all family-- finding cures, saving children. one in five kids i

have much more on what this means for the menendez brothers case with your gma first look, i'm stephanie ramosc news, new york, coming up on abc seven mornings at six, remembering jimmy carter, the former president passing away a few months after his 100th birthday. >> the reaction to his life and legacy. >> treacherous travel in the sierra. the new year could bring more rain and snow to the area. >> beware of scams in santa cruz, the warning county officials are sending after that devastating wharf collapse one week ago. >> and a meteorologist, drew tuma. it is chilly out there this morning. frost advisories are posted. look at the 24 hour temperature change about 10 to 20 degrees colder right now compared to this time yesterday. so numbers currently in the 30s and 40s. you want to bundle up this morning looking at the day planner. it is going to be a nice afternoon. but we have that frost advisory in effect until 9 a.m. this morning. mostly sunny, but a cool afternoon in the 50s. news at six is next. abc seven mornings live now at six, honoring jimmy carter, the 39th president passing away y

stephanie ramos has more for us. good morning, stephanie. >> reporter: robin, good morning. there was applause and audible cries in the courtroom when the verdict for daniel penny was read. not guilty. ending a case that's brought up a debate on race, mental health and public safety. overnight marine veteran daniel penny a free man, celebrating with his attorney after being cleared with all criminal charges in the deadly chokehold that took the life of jordan neely on a new york city subway. after five days of deliberation a jury finding the 26-year-old not guilty of criminally negligent homicide. in the courtroom, neely's father erupting in anger after the verdict, cursing in the courtroom and eventually forcibly removed by a court officer. outside the courthouse he called the system rigged. >> i miss my son. my son didn't have to go through this. i didn't have to go through this either. >> reporter: as he spoke, protesters chanted, say his name. counter protesters calling penny a hero. the case dividing new york city. authorities saying neely suffered from mental illness a

stephanie ramos is in ft. lee, new jersey. morning, stephanie. >> reporter: michael, good morning. the surge in holiday travel is here. it's making its mark on the roads. this could be one of the busiest travel times we've seen. here's a live look at i 95 in philadelphia. aaa estimates more than 119 million people will travel 50 miles or more from home, with 90% choosing to drive. on the west coast, here are the cities where you'll see the most congestion tomorrow. in l.a. it will be in the evening on the i-5 heading north toward bakersfield. in houston the most congested will be midday on i-10 heading east. in seattle it will be the busiest i-90 heading west. the national average for gas prices is $3.04 a gallon, with many areas seeing prices below $3. with a record number of people expected to it this roads this holiday season, stay safe, plan ahead, especially in those areas of winter weather. george? >> george: stephanie, thanks. now the deadly crash in texas. a train collided with a tractor trailer that got stuck on the t

stephanie ramos is here for the first time with what he had to say. eath of jordan neely. he is speaking publicly in a new interview airing today on fox nation. this morning daniel penny is speaking publicly for the first time after a jury found him not guilty for the chokehold death of jordan neely. a 30-year-old homeless man with a history of mental illness and drugs. penny sat down with fox nation. >> the guilt i would have felt if someone did get hurt, if he did do what he was threatening to do, would never be able to live with myself. >> reporter: the jury deliberated for less than two hours unanimously finding the 26-year-old marine veteran not guilty in the chokehold death of neely. witnesses say he was threatening passengers. prosecutors told jurors penny's intentions were good, in wanting to protect others from a threatening neely but argued he held the choke hold for too long. >> he was threatening to kill people. he was threatening to go to jail forever, go to jail for the rest of his life. now where i'm on the ground with him, i'm on my bac

stephanie ramos following the details, good morning, stephanie.one. this could be a big deal with a new district attorney's office could mean a major shift in the menendez brothers case. if the case transferred to california attorney general's office, the family believes that brothers have a better chance of being released. >> this morning a significant development in the decades long case of erik and lyle menendez. attorney, bryan freedman who represents 24 members of katie and jose menendez and supports the release plans to file to transfer their case from los angeles district attorney's office to the california attorney general. >> kb's, older sister, jose's older sister, those are the people in looking out for to have a voice in the process. he argues conflicts of interest in the l.a. district attorney nathan and his appointee katherine katie, the newly named director of the bureau of victim services. katie served as attorney for the brother hilton anderson the only family member opposed to the brothers released. she resigned from the role upo

stephanie ramos is here. >> a 57-year-old has been charged in federal court in new york city with knowinglyfrom the u.s. to paris. she slipped on to the flight without a boarding pass. she managed to access the flight through the crew line, special area typically reserved for pilots and flight attendants. tsa said she bypassed the document check but was screened with other passengers for prohibited items. the big question is how she slipped through that security gap. flight attendants only discovered her once the plane was air borne when they questioned her boarding pass and found it didn't match her name. a few days later in this tense moment when officials were getting ready to send her back to the u.s., she begged not to return. we don't know why. she was so unruly though they took her off that plane. this incident is raising serious concerns about security there at airports, especially during the busy holiday season. authorities are investigating how this could happen, as the holiday travel rush has airports packed. a judge has ordered dolly's detention until this afternoon while she wo