>> victor oquendo leading us off tonight. victor, thank you. let's get right to abc senior meteorologist rob marciano. he's along new york's west side highway. and rob, it is a mess for so many out there right now. >> reporter: it is. and this storm, tom, is really stretching out across the entire country, from north to south. the most dangerous stuff right now is in the south. we still have parts of a tornado watch up for southeast louisiana. been rough in baton rouge. flooding there, to hattiesburg, as well. new orleans, you are next. and this rain stretches all the way back to the great lakes. the blizzard warnings are still up for the northwestern part of this thing. put the maps in motion, atlanta, it's going to be a mess in the morning. look at the rain getting into d.c., philly and new york. tomorrow morning will be a mess there, too. some of this rain, one, two three inches of rainfall. so, flood watches stretch from the south all the way in through new jersey, rivers and streams are running high, so, it's not going to take much to see

>> victor oquendo, thank you. let's get the timing for all of this. ginger zee is tracking it all for us to help us get through this and carefully. hey, ginger. >> reporter: hey there, david. it is a bad combination, as victor was just saying. ing to b iourbackyard. to the looking here, along that low, the flood wchfe fm f ando maine. interstate 95, so many people will be traveling that, and that's going to be a mess, especially by tomorrow morning. because we've got the light stuff now with the warm front, but really, there will be three rounds. that's 7:00 a.m. you're looking at. philadelphia, very wet. we could seal two to four inches of rain in pockets. up to boston. and then another low comes in, a really wet and windy, don't forget that, gusts up to 45 miles per hour. >> ginger, thank you. >>> and next tonight, to that major airport shutdown. all flights halted tonight after a drone scare, seen 50 times today alone. officials calling it tonight a deliberate act. the chaos at gatwick, can selling hundreds of flights, stranding tens of thousands o

>> victor oquendo with us tonight. victor, thank you. >>> and tonight, president trump is now vowing to review the murder charge against a former green beret, calling major matthew golsteyn a, quote, u.s. military hero. golsteyn admitted to killing a suspected terrorist bomb maker while serving in afghanistan. the president's statement, though, putting military prosecutors in a challenging situation. abc's chief global affairs correspondent martha raddatz tonight. >> reporter: major matt golsteyn was a west point graduate and silver star recipient. army documents claim that during a cia job interview, the former green beret admitted killing a suspected afghan bomb maker. golsteyn, they say, was concerned the bomb maker would be released and kill more americans and a u.s. informant. so golsteyn, according to documents, assassinated the suspect. an investigation resulted in the loss of golsteyn's silver star and a letter of reprimand, but no charges. then, in 2016, golsteyn went public. >> did you kill the taliban bomb m

here is abc's victor oquendo. >> reporter: the call came in around 10:00 -- >> there is a vehicle that crashed into the building. scene is not secured. >> reporter: according to miami beach police, the man behind the wheel of this white mercedes suv had allegedly just stolen the car from a man at a car wash across the street. that man opening fire, striking the car thief, who lost control and crashed into the building and a power pole. >> officer can't approach until we get this power shut off. >> reporter: crews quickly shutting down power. police keeping their distance. >> we're approaching this vehicle with guns drawn. we don't know who is inside. we don't know if that individual is armed. >> reporter: first responders smashing the windows, pulling the man out. he was transported to the hospital in critical condition where he later died. police questioned and released this man who they say brought the mercedes to the car wash and shot the suspect. authorities working to determine if he should face any charges. police are also reviewing surveillance video of the incident. that suv is

victor oquendo, abc news, atlanta. >> all right.ictor. >>> let's get more details on what drivers and flyers will face from accuweather. >> melissa constanzer has the forecast. melissa, good morning. >> janai, kendis, some big travel concerns here along the east coast. while it will be warm, rain is going to be working its way up the east coast as we head into friday. still wet, though, for your thursday here in the southeast, which means the risk for flooding, especially through parts of northern florida, right up the carolina coast where they've already been hit hard with some heavy rain this year and expecting river flooding. we are also concerned with the risks for severe weather here through florida. that will mean some damaging winds along with strong to severe thunderstorms. >>> breaking news from north korea, which is making a new demand in nuclear talks with the u.s. kim jong-un's government saying overnight that north korea will never give up its nuclear weapons unless the u.s. removes its nuclear threat first. that statem

abc's victor oquendo has more. >> reporter: holiday travel chaos as that powerful storm races across country. in the north, blizzard warnings and whiteout conditions. watch this tractor trailer nearly slide off the road in fargo. in kansas, a state of emergency. 150-mile stretch of interstate 70 shut down in both directions. >> probably three-foot drifts. >> reporter: these truck drivers hunkered down. >> trucks are coming in and parking but none are leaving. >> reporter: whiteout conditions all the way to the texas panhandle. the storm moving east, stretching from canada all the way to the gulf coast. and with it torrential rain and lightning. in new orleans, transformers exploding. >> that's crazy! >> reporter: in houston, high winds snapping all six poles holding up this billboard, sending it into this building. in austin, flash flooding. julie butler had to be rescued after her car got pushed a quarter mile off the road by flood waters. thanking the firefighters who got her to safety. >> all those firefighters were like angels in heaven. they're not tiny things that sit on your s

dan. >> victor oquendo on the ground, thank you. >>> victor, of course, showed us how dangerous it isstanding in the rain right where dan likes him best. rob, what can we expect for the weekend? >> this is going to end at some point this weekend but right now it is stretching from canada all the way down to mexico and look at these advisories. flood watches from new jersey to the gulf of mexico, winter weather advisories with a little cold air left over in the northeast. that will be scoured out with the warm front later on but pulses of rainfall, some of which will be heavy and the rivers and streams are running high so flooding not out of the question anywhere along the east coast. across parts of the southwest, another inside slider diving down into el paso for snow and lot ofnowarnings are up now fol accumulated but winds ripping through the canyon. the land of walter white seeing snow. >> it's true you'll be in times square all day taking selfies with elmo and the naked cowboy. >> that's the only ones that would take selfies with me. >> is it going to rain all day? is this going

abc's victor oquendo from the scene tonight. >> reporter: the call came in around 10:00 this morning.at crashed into a building. scene is not secure. >> reporter: according to miami beach police, the man behind the wheel of this white mercedes suv had allegedly just stolen the car from a man at a cash war across the street. that man opening fire, striking the car thief, who lost control and crashed into the building and a power pole. >> officers can't approach until we get the power shut off. >> reporter: crews quickly shutting down power, police hie with gs awn.o's in. wrohi we don kw ma he was transported to the hospital in critical condition, where he later died. police questioned and released this man who they say brought the mercedes to the car wash and shot the suspect. authorities working to determine if he should face any charges. police are also reviewing surveillance video of the incident. tonight, that suv is still in the side of the building. david? >> victor, thank you. >>> when we come back, the urgent search for a missing american tourist. she was last seen leaving her

and abc's victor oquendo leading us off tonight from atlanta. >> oh, my god. >> reporter: tonight, that powerful storm that brought a rare december tornado to washington state, is on the move. >> there's like, debris everywhere. >> reporter: at the same time, a new storm is forming in the south, already flooding streets in new orleans and dumping rain on drivers in west texas. >> we got rain. >> reporter: those two storms set to merge and bring nightmare travel all the way up the east coast, just as 120 million people are heading out for the holidays. airlines expect 45 million will travel this holiday season. david kerley is at reagan airport in washington, d.c. >> the airlines say they're prepared for the bad weather and tsa has added officers to deal with the two busiest days, tomorrow and friday. >> reporter: meanwhile, back in washington state, some 50 homes damaged by that tornado. national weather service just announcing it was an ef-2, 300 yards wide with winds up to 130 miles per hour. here in atlanta, we are bracing for rain. so much of the east coast is saturated. that means

then the moment an alligator was pulled from the water, and here's abc's victor oquendo. >> reporter: these trappers in central florida pull a nine-foot alligator from a pond. it thrashes in the murky water. look closely and you see the gator release all it took from its victim -- a white sneaker left bobbing in the water. >> attack at big cypress boulevard. be advised that he's actively getting bitten. >> reporter: florida fish and wildlife says an 85-year-old man was bitten on the foot by this alligator behind his home at a retirement community. that man taken to the hospital. a close call, after two deadly alligator attacks over the summer. a florida woman walking her dogs was dragged into a lake and and another woman walkingerdog head, south carolina, was killed after an eight-foot alligator pulled her under water. >> if he sees a small dog or anything that the alligator thinks he can get by the side of the water, its going to come out faster than you can react. >> reporter: david, as for the victim in this latest attack, we know he was transported in stable condition. david? >> v

here's abc's victor oquendo tonight. >> reporter: kristen yaldor and her husband, ryan, were on the tripf a lifetime. a wild horizon's safari down the zambezi river in zimbabwe. the tour company says a hippo capsized the florida couple's canoe, sending them overboard. as kristen yaldor "was swimming to shore she was attacked and pulled under water." her family says the hippo dragged kristen, its jaws snapping down and her leg and breaking her femur before she could escape. we've seen how fast hippos can lung from under water. a safari guide narrowly escaping one in botswana. hippos are the most dangerous mammals in africa. they can be up to 17 feet long and weigh nearly 10,000 pounds. as for yaldor, the tour company says she was airlifted to a medical facility less than an hour after the attack, where her family says she was in intensive care. a source close to the family tells abc news kristen bunched the hippo in the face repeatedly before she got away. the family says she's lucky to be alive. david? >> thank you, victor. >>> coming up, a deadly school bus accident. >>> and the moment

victor oquendo, abc news, miami. >> punching the hippo in the face. that's crazy.i b. >> and see who makes $20 million a year on youtube. >> not us. >> "the skinny" next. no, definitely not us.ea please. ybut life...can throw them off bbalance.of bacteria, (vo) re-align yourself with align probiotic. and try align gummies with prebiotics and probiotics to help support digestive health. ♪ i like it like that > it's time nofor heike that skny" where we'll use an excuse to start with cardi b. >> you ain't lying. >> am i right? >> the rapper from the bronx took the world by surprise with the earth-shattering announcement that she and her husband rapper offset are calling it quits. >> this is on the heels of that news cardi b shared the very first photo of their 4-month-old daughter together culture on instagram. she captioned it "my heart." oh, my god, she's so cute. >> she and offset tied the knot in a private ceremony in their bedroom last september. she was just on instagram the other day talking about how much she loved him and how sexy he was. they're no longer to

we have got to go to victor oquendo who is in lake wales, florida, with all of that damage. . >> reporter: good morning, ginger. this house taking the brunt of one of those tornadoes. the roof partially collapsing. you can see that blue tarp is covering it now. these windows are blown out. there is damage inside, outside, debris everywhere. the wind so strong, it blew this car right off the driveway. now that storm is on the move. overnight, this north carolina highway underwater as the lumber river spills its banks. in virginia holiday travelers pushing through blinding rain as the powerful storm that hammered much of florida is marching north along the east coast. across central florida three reported tornadoes touching down. in manatee county, a confirmed ef-0. debbie rodan and her family taking cover in her bathroom. >> all i can say is thank god we were okay. as far -- we could have been killed. very lucky, and if you hear that there's a tornado warning take heed and listen. >> reporter: south of orlando one person was injured after another confirmed tornado tore through

abc's victor oquendo is right there in miami. ning to you. >> reporter: good morning, dan. the call lasted a little over five minutes. in it, you can hear screaming and panic. but throughout, there's the steady voice of that dispatcher who helped save that baby boy's life. >> orange county fire rescue. >> my 1-year-old just fell in the pool. >> reporter: the frantic call came in on christmas day. a 1-year-old fell in a pool in central florida and had no pulse. >> he's not responding. >> reporter: a neighbor trying to perform cpr. >> do they know how to do cpr? >> he's just pumping. he doesn't know. >> tell him i need him to lay him flat on his back. >> reporter: help is on the way, but the dispatcher wastes no time. she starts instructing them on cpr over the phone. >> i need him to place his hand under his forehand, the other hand under the neck and tilt the head back. >> okay. >> pinch his nose closed and completely cover his mouth with your mouth and then blow two regular breaths into his lungs. >> reporter: moments later -- >>

victor oquendo is in miami with the very latest and, victor, the gator was caught with a shoe in its. >> reporter: that's right, michael. good morning. this was a close call but thankfully that man will be okay. wildlife officials are confident they caught the alligator that attacked especially after finding that white sneaker inside its mouth. these trappers are about to pull that thrashing nine-foot alligator out of this central florida lake. look closely as it gets closer to shoe. inside its mouth, the gator releases what it took from its victim, a white sneaker left bobbing in the water. >> attack at big cypress boulevard. be advised he's actively getting there. >> reporter: it took three men to pin down the gator. florida official wildlife says it bit an 85-year-old man on the foot behind his home at a retirement community. >> his wife heard him screaming supposedly and i guess his neighbor came to his rescue but they found the shoe, the white sneaker the guy had on. >> reporter: that man taken to the hospital in stable condition. experts say encounters like these are on the ris

victor oquendo is in miami with this incredible story. tor. >> reporter: good morning, cecilia. those calls came in one after the other describing that horrifying scene as that alligator bit down on that man's foot. but thankfully there was a good samaritan nearby to help. >> there's a gator eating a man. >> the alligator is attacking the man? >> reporter: in these newly released 911 calls, the chilling moments after an alligator attacked 84-year-old george ihle. >> an alligator attacked my husband. he's laying -- he's laying behind a bush bleeding. >> we're coming now to you as fast as we can. >> okay, please hurry. >> reporter: evidence of the brutal attack which left ihle recovering in the hospital. his sneaker still in the thrashing gator's mouth. a tourist passing by using his shirt to stop the bleeding credited with saving ihle's life. >> the alligator went back into the water. the man has been attacked by an alligator. there are a few people over there right now applying a tourniquet. i can't see exactly. >> reporter: the sheriff's