It cleans away odors and freshens for 1200 hours. Breathe happy with febreze plug. pirate girl ahoy gotcha girl nooooooooooooo man nooooo vo quick, the quicker picker upper bounty picks up messes quicker, and is two times more absorbent. Bounty, the quicker picker upper. Irans ayatollah is speaking to his people right now just hours after irans missile attack on bases housing u. S. Troops. In iraq again no word about american casualties. The attack could mean a major escalation in tensions but we do know iran has said that it does not want war. It also, according to the irans foreign minister, he called this Ballistic Missile attack proportionate measures in selfdefense. President trump issued a measured response tweeting, quote, all is well. We should hear from the president later this morning and we will bring that to you in a special report right here on abc. In the meantime from the middle east to the governor of puerto rico has activated the National Guard after another more powerful earthquake rocked the island early yesterday morning. There are widespread Power Outages and hundreds of thousands of homes are without running water. Abcs Victor Oquendo is on the scene with more. Reporter a state of emergency in puerto rico. The island reeling after the latest quake. The predawn 6. 4 magnitude tremor leveling businesses and homes, damaging schools. This church completely destroyed. The powerful earthquake killing 73yearold nelson martinez. Thats when the wall it looks like the wall collapsed on his bed . Yes. Reporter his nephew finding him buried in the rubble. The part that was here and here you tried to remove it but it was too heavy . Heavy but i remove it. Reporter this hospital evacuated. Nurses tending to patients lying on beds outside. At one point the entire island losing power. Hundreds of thousands in the dark. This earthquake the latest in a series including a 5. 8 that knocked homes off their foundations, crushing cars. The tremors caused by the shifting of tectonic plates. There are fears they could continue for weeks. Hundreds now in shelters, many in tents, afraid to go back inside. Everything inside got destroyed. Reporter right now 300,000 people are without Drinking Water and the governor doesnt know when power will be restored. With scenes like this, one e. M. S. Official says its like theyre reliving the aftermath of hurricane maria. Victor oquendo, abc news, puerto rico. Coming up, the exclusive interview with pat sajak and his daughter maggie. What maggie is now saying about the terrifying moment her dad collapsed and what it was like stepping into vanna whites shoes. S. When i have an asthma attack. I feel scared. Sometimes my parents have to take me to the hospital. I feel like a fish with no water. You know how to react to their asthma attacks. Heres how to prevent them. Call. Visit. Or call your doctor. Because. If you caught wheel of fortune monday night you may have noticed someone new stepping into vanna whites shoes as she filled in for longtime host pat sajak. Maggie sajak made her letterturning debut. They sat down with paula faris opening up about the moment of his health scare. Pat sajak and vanna White Reporter for nearly four decades, fortune has been on pat sajaks side. Never more so than when he suffered a lifethreatening intestinal blockage last year, forcing the 73yearold to momentarily step aside from his hosting responsibilities. By his side when he collapsed in excruciating pain was his daughter maggie. How did you know something was really wrong . Hes not a big complainer, i guess. I could tell he was taking it seriously. We dont usually go into the emergency room for little things. I think the fetal position gave me away. Yeah. Reporter speaking out for the First Time Since watching the Game Show Host wheeled in for emergency surgery, maggie helping her father on the road to recovery. Once i got home, she became nurse ratchet. I was not to this day i dont think im allowed to pick up anything heavier than a pillow. Yes, im a very strict nurse. You probably thought about life without your dad, thats how serious things were . It definitely does hit you in those moments. You appreciate the person even more. Reporter the health scare forced sajak to take time off from wheel of fortune. In the meantime, longtime cohost vanna white stepping in to fill his shoes. Please welcome pats daughter maggie sajak. Reporter and on monday night, maggie taking on the role of guest letter turner. It was bittersweet. Because obviously the circumstances, you know, that my dad couldnt be there. Reporter maggie is seen here being introduced to the show back in 1996. She just turned 1 year old. There you go, mags, come on, all right. Reporter she got a little practice before the taping from an old friend. I asked vanna to come over to the house the night before, just to talk about some of the logistics of doing it. So you practiced on the refrigerator . Yes. We acted like our refrigerator was the puzzle board. So, you know, probably should have taken pictures, it would have been cute. So we have vanna, this is where you touch the letters, this is how hard you touch them. Vanna makes it look easy. Is it easy . Its more complicated with his job, they make it look easy after all these years, theyre so great at their jobs. It is more complicated than you think. Reporter now pat is back in the studio filming new episodes set to begin airing next week. How good is it to see your dad back at work . Its amazing. You know, it was definitely really scary. Id like to say i was a trouper at the beginning. I wasnt. Pulled myself together. Im just so happy hes back in action. Your dad told me that hes thinking about hanging them up, hanging up the cleats in maybe two to three years. What do you think about that . You know, i think whenever hes ready, obviously. I know that he wants to be able to leave kind of on his terms. No matter what he decides to do, i know he has such a Lasting Legacy with the show. He definitely has a legacy. Our thanks to paula. And who would be next . Wed have to wait and see, but apparently you think you could turn the letters pretty easily. You know i can. I can spin the wheel, i can host it. Im going to be the new host of wheel of fortune see ya ya he he e about the Colonial Penn program. Here to tell you if youre age 50 to 85, and looking to buy Life Insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. What are the three ps . The three ps of Life Insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. A price you can afford, a price that cant increase, and a price that fits your budget. Im 54. Alex, whats my price . You can get coverage for 9. 95 a month. Im 65 and take medications. Whats my price . Also 9. 95 a month. I just turned 80. Whats my price . 9. 95 a month for you too. If youre age 50 to 85, call now about the 1 most popular whole Life Insurance plan, available through the Colonial Penn program. It has an affordable rate starting at 9. 95 a month. No medical exam, no health questions. Your acceptance is guaranteed. And this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock, so your rate can never go up for any reason. So call now for free information. And youll also get this free beneficiary planner. And its yours just for calling. So call now. Its time for weird science. We havent had weird science in a while, right . Been awhile. Right, greg, producer . Been awhile . Malfunction. Mysterious radio signals in space are traced to a nearby milky waylike galaxy. Theres so much happening out there. Whoo astronomers have traced the source of the fast radio burst in space to that whats similar to the milky way. Similar. Similar. What do they sound like, i wonder . Are there people . Do you think theyre better than us . Is that the what theyre sending in like morse code . Maybe. Were better than you. Were better than you. Earthling idiots. No, theyre not better than us, because the Consumer Electronics show is going on. You missed the on monday we had this whole talk about i didnt miss nothing, i got my sleep. You missed the robots that could like bring you charmin tissue when youre in the bathroom. So they have to be in your home, though . Yeah. But you could also just have a toddler who does it . A significant other . Insomniacs what did say on monday . Typically the parents yell out the door, bring that toilet paper see, even when shes not here, shes here. Meet ballie . Probably respond to whatever you call it. Samsung unveiled this tiny wheeled robot that is a personal a. I. Assistant. Can follow you around, help you out, do some things for you. Oh. Maybe if i bought ballie because its a ball, kind of . Yeah, probably ballie, uhhuh. I dont know. Do you need someone to follow you around all the time . You have kids, so again, youve got a toddler, significant other. Speaking of the kids. Oh my gosh this florida woman gave birth to two sets of twins in a year. So in march and december. I mean, usually they tell you wait six weeks for some things. For what . Im not sure that she did. I dont have any experience with this. You go girl, do you. Two sets of twins, though . Go ahead and make the announcement, youre having twins no oh. Ive got a 2yearold at home and he is keeping us busy, we dont need that. Speaking of the weird science, what is it called when your skin is irritated . Youre itching, thats what its called . Itching, yeah. Do you want to show the people how you were just scratching during the break . When your stomach is growing a human, the skin stretches, so i was doing this. And he told me to stop making gorilla scratch marks. You did, you did im a journalist. I am a singer. A businesswoman. I am an artist. An educator. A sister. An advocate. A leader. A queen. I am a friend. I am. I am one of more than a Million People living with hiv in the u. S. We are not alone. Breaking news this morning breaking news this morning on world news now. Iran strikes back. A major escalation, it fired a series of missiles at military bases in iraq housing u. S. Troops. We have reports from the region and washington as President Trump gets ready to address the nation today. So what happens next . What message did irans attack send to the world, and will there be further retaliation from either side . Expert analysis coming up. Plus the tragedy also unfolding in iran. The overnight crash of an americanmade airliner moments after taking off from tehran. The investigation is just getting under way. Were covering all the major headlines on this wednesday, january 8th. All right, good wednesday morning. Thank you for joining us. We begin with breaking news from the middle east. Iran striking back, launching a missile attack on two Iraqi Military bases housing american and coalition troops. Iran fired more than a dozen Ballistic Missiles overnight in retaliation for the u. S. Strike that killed a top iranian commander. So far there are no reports of american casualties. We are learning american troops were in bunkers at the time, signaling there was enough warning to take cover from possible danger. Despite warnings from President Trump, the missiles were launched from iranian territory, hitting one base in western iraq and another in the north. Pentagon Officials Saying both bases were already on high alert. We begin with Abcs Ian Pannell in the iraqi city of erbil where at least one missile landed. The video from Iranian State tv purporting to show missiles targeting the Al Asad Air Base in iraq. In the video you see at least three lights moving across the sky. Then two more appear to streak towards the base, leaving a trail of smoke. Then another apparent launch. A steady stream lighting up the sky. The department of defense confirming iran launched more than a dozen Ballistic Missiles. In a statement saying, its clear that these missiles were launched from iran and targeted at least two Iraqi Military bases hosting u. S. Military and Coalition Personnel at al asad and erbil. Iranian state tv describing the attacks as a revenge operation to the u. S. Drone strike that killed general qassem soleimani, the top Iranian Military leader blamed for the deaths of hundreds of americans, considered by some in the u. S. Administration to be an immediate threat. An iranian official posting a tweet of the iranian flag, mimicking President Trump, who tweeted the American Flag directly after killing soleimani. The u. S. iran conflict playing out on iraqi soil. The attacks come just hours after iraqs Prime Minister called for u. S. Troops to leave his country. The Iraqi Parliament has already voted to remove American Military forces, although its nonbinding. Iraq now caught in the middle of this spiraling crisis between iran and america. Ian pannell, abc news, in northern iraq. Our thanks to ian there. After the missile attack, irans foreign minister said they are not seeking escalation or war. He also referred to the attack as selfdefense tweeting that they will defend themselves against any aggression. The strikes capped off an emotional day in iran where massive crowds gathered for general Qassem Soleimanis funeral, setting off a stampede that killed more than 50 people there. Hours after the attack, President Trump tweeted all is well and announced plans to make a statement later this morning. There is beefedup security around the white house where top pentagon and National Security officials huddled last night to brief the president. Abcs terry moran has more. Reporter the president was apprised right away, of course, of this attack and he gathered around him his top National Security team, secretary of state mike pompeo, defense secretary mark esper, top military commanders, Vice President pence, all coming to the white house in the situation room as these developments occurred. And they watched as the Damage Assessment took place. He was also calling other world leaders, including qatar, qatar sometimes a gobetween between iran and the west. So he was involved diplomatically and militarily. But at the end of the night held fire, both literally and rhetorically. This is a president whos been issuing bloodcurdling threats against iran, threatening massive escalation if they retaliate for the killing of qassem soleimani. And nothing really at the end of the day. He has taken this dramatic action of taking off the battlefield qassem soleimani, one of the National Heroes of iran. And here is this response from iran which apparently has taken no american lives, no iraqi lives, as far as we know at this point. It sounds as if both sides are trying to soften the tone a little bit. Thats hard to say after a missile attack, but did not kill, and i think the president s response is measured in response to that. That is essentially what one can hope, given the prospect that the region could explode in these days. All right, our thanks to terry. As he mentioned, the president s response which were waiting to learn later this morning. A primary question is will the u. S. Hit back against iran . We talked about the situation earlier with abc news National Security and defense analyst mick mulroy. We saw the iranians were willing to escalate this, they were willing to do it with Ballistic Missiles, which carry a much larger payload than the rockets that are normally shot at our base. However, as the evening went on we saw that these missiles, in fact most of them did not hit these bases. Both of which are very large. And the ones that did hit mostly in areas not occupied by u. S. Troops. I do think that signs do point to deescalation by the manner in which they conducted this attack and the statements they made afterwards. But the military has to stay diligent because the threat is obviously real. I think they felt that this was more of a show of force, not intended to have a significant military consequence. Its why we havent seen any response. I think it would be surprising if the iranians launched another overt attack of which they publicly claim credit. That would be counter to their statements. I do not think they will stop using the proxies that theyve been using throughout the region. Do not think those type of attacks will stop but i do think they may stop this overt, largescale attacks that we saw. After they do a battle Damage Assessment from yesterdays events, i believe if it appears the iranians did not intend to cause casualties or significant damage, that there will likely not be a response. If it appears theres more threats coming, theyll have to make that determination. They may feel that they need to mitigate the Ballistic Missile capability and therefore a threat coming out of iran. Again, the big question, whats next . A lot of people are talking about will there be deescalation . We just heard mulroy talk about that saying if there were no casualties, likely the u. S. Will not strike back. Right, hes saying that, you know, they were essentially walking a fine line by doing this, making this attack but no casualties reported at this point. This was actually something that our Martha Raddatz asked the Iranian Foreign minister about just hours before the attack, asking whether there were concerns that a response from iran would end in an allout war. He told her that depends on the united states. And of course lots of those questions will be answered hopefully by the president later this morning. We will see that, and we will have a special report when the president addresses the nation. We are also monitoring more breaking news from iran. A passenger jet crashed shortly after taking off, but at this point it doesnt appear to be connected to the Iranian Missile attacks. Authorities initially blamed a mechanical problem for the crash. Flight data shows the plane taking off from an airport in tehran this morning heading to kiev, the capital of ukraine, but going silent almost immediately. Officials in iran say everyone on board was killed. At least 176 people. And it happened just after the faa banned u. S. Airlines from flying over iran and iraq. Well stay on top of this breaking story and all the breaking news from the middle east throughout the morning. President trump signed an Emergency Declaration for puerto rico after a second major earthquake in as many days. At least one person has died and most people have no power. The u. S. Territorys biggest power plant was damaged. Homes, schools, and churches along the Southern Coast were damaged or destroyed. All Public Schools in puerto rico are closed until further notice. Turning to washington and capitol hill, Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell seems ready to start President Trumps impeachment trial. Mcconnell says he has the votes to begin the trial as soon as House Speaker nancy pelosi sends the articles of impeachment to the senate. Democrats have been demanding that new witnesses be part of the trial. Mcconnell says the question of witnesses and new documents will be addressed once the trial begins. Senate democratic leader Chuck Schumer calls that plan a coverup. We just hit you with a lot of heavy news over those few minutes there. Now were going to do what world news now does. Coming up, the big winner on last nights premiere episode of jeopardy the greatest of all time. First as firefighters in australia race against time, authorities have arrested over two dozen people for setting many of these fires. It comes as so many individuals do what they can to save the wildlife. Plus the latest in the breaking news overseas as iran strikes back. It comes as so many individuals do what they can to save the wildlife. Plus the latest in the breaking news overseas as iran strikes back. Surfaces . Then they get released back into the air so you smell them later. Ew. Right . Thats why febreze created small spaces. Press firmly and watch it get to work. Unlike the leading cone, small spaces continuously eliminates odors in the air and on surfaces so they dont come back for 45 days. Now thats one flushin fresh bathroom. About the Colonial Penn program. Here to tell you if youre age 50 to 85, and looking to buy Life Insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. What are the three ps . The three ps of Life Insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. A price you can afford, a price that cant increase, and a price that fits your budget. Im 54. Alex, whats my price . You can get coverage for 9. 95 a month. Im 65 and take medications. Whats my price . Also 9. 95 a month. I just turned 80. Whats my price . 9. 95 a month for you too. If youre age 50 to 85, call now about the 1 most popular whole Life Insurance plan, available through the Colonial Penn program. It has an affordable rate starting at 9. 95 a month. No medical exam, no health questions. Your acceptance is guaranteed. And this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock, so your rate can never go up for any reason. So call now for free information. And youll also get this free beneficiary planner. And its yours just for calling. So call now. Updating our breaking news, iran has taken aim at u. S. Forces in iraq, firing a series of Ballistic Missiles at two military bases. The attack was retaliation for the american drone strike that killed one of irans top generals. But so far there are no reports of u. S. Casualties. Irans foreign minister says they are not looking for escalation or war. President trump plans to address the nation later this morning. In other news, nine months after a mother of five in connecticut vanished, her estranged husband has been charged with killing her. Fotis dulos is being held on a 6 million bond in the death of jennifer farber. She disappeared back in may. An arrest warrant says indications are she is not alive. Dulos girlfriend and his attorney are being held on conspiracy charges. Dozens of people in australia have been arrested for arson or negligence in setting some of those devastating wildfires. More than 130 fires are still burning. So far at least 25 people have died, and those fires have destroyed more than 2,000 homes. Abcs ginger zee has the latest from New South Wales. Reporter exhausted firefighters in a race against time to make progress on fires that have scorched more than 14 million acres. All of this before bad conditions move back in. Some of the fires deliberately set. At least two dozen people are now facing arson charges, including a 19yearold volunteer firefighter. Police taking legal action against nearly 200 people. Authorities in New South Wales now patrolling for looters. Whats fueling these fires is australias extreme drought. They just had their hottest and driest year on record. Recent rains seem like a relief, but they can create new problems. Its on the edges of those storms that were seeing dry lightning, and theyre already reporting new fires. Reporter the damage now estimated at nearly 500 million and growing. Yet another hillside of burned homes of the 2,000 that have been lost so far. And that haze and smoke so thick, lightning actually started new fires overnight. The rain hampering those efforts for back burning. An ominous forecast, this friday the high winds and heat return. Ginger zee, abc news, New South Wales, australia. That is not good news. Thanks to ginger. One man in australia is documenting his efforts to save some of the smaller victims of the wildfires. Take a look at this video from kangaroo island. Michael lovegrove and his family have been rounding up koalas, putting them in their car, and driving the animals to safety. He took the koalas to his neighbors. He says they have a permit allowing them to care for wildlife. So far on kangaroo island, at least 25,000 kangaroos are estimated to have died. Were hearing about the kangaroos, koalas, 500 million animals, just a Staggering Amount of animals lost in these wildfires. Coming up next half hour, the firefighter who almost died from popcorn. Not from choking on it. Hed gotten a husk stuck in his teeth. It is what he tried to do about that husk that required openheart surgery. First jeopardy s alltime greatest players go head to head. Who came out on top . Op . Thats next on world news now. Stuffy . L thats because your home is filled with soft surfaces that trap odors and release them back into the room. So try febreze fabric refresher. Febreze finds odors trapped in fabrics and cleans them away as it dries. Use febreze every time you tidy up, to keep your whole house smelling fresh air clean. Fabric refresher even works for clothes you want to wear another day. Make febreze part of your clean routine for full home freshness. La la la la la [suspenseful music] [male narrator] child abduction by a parent or Family Member is a crime. Get involved. If you have any information concerning a missing or abducted child, please call 1800222find or contact your local law enforcement. You might be the one who saves a childs life and their future. [female narrator] foods rich in folic acid like white bread and leafy greens can help prevent some birth defects before you even know youre pregnant. Do you feel like youre running out of time when you hear that . I get very anxious. I just looked at my watch. Its one of the mostanticipated faceoffs in the history of game shows, three of the biggest jeopardy three legends on the same stage in an epic primetime showdown. It was a good show, i watched every minute of it. It was an old favorite who pulled ahead. Will ganss is here with more. Good morning to you guys. Answer, jeopardy s greatest of alltime question. Question, what is 60 minutes of electric and entertaining television . James. What is philadelphia . Yes. No need to rub it in. Reporter it didnt take long for the competition to heat up in jeopardy s greatest of alltime tournament. The games best players, james holzhauer, ken jennings, and brad rutter joining alex trebek for night one. Which of these three is the best . Reporter the guys played two games each night, and whoever has the highest combined amount of points at the end of the night wins the match. The first player to three matches wins 1 million and the title of goat or the greatest of all time. Reporter fans dropping everything to tune in. I canceled plans to be home in time for the jeopardy goat game and i am not ashamed, affectionately calling it nerd super bowl. Dancing with the czars for 1,600. Who is vronski . No, who is potemkin . Reporter in night one, brad fumbling those daily doubles not once but three times. I got to bet 2,800, its got to come in one those times, who is Jeanpaul Sartre . No, who is William James . Reporter the competition between jeopardy james and jeopardy jennings is fierce. What is a tahiti graffiti treaty . What is lewis and Clark Clifford odetz . You got it. Reporter it came down to the wire. Ken in the lead, james risking it all in final jeopardy to catch him. Came up with shoemaker. Look how happy i am about it. Yeah. Reporter was it enough . 200 points shy. And that means that ken jennings has won the first match. What a game. Reporter ken might have won but fans agree alex trebek is the real mvp. Enjoying this moment in particular. Hey, babe. I made you a bitchin mix tape to play on this sony item. Oh, yeah, fans loved that, blew up on twitter. They also made note of the contestants touching gesture. All three wore purple ribbons in support of trebek, currently fighting pancreatic cancer. We must have gotten the purple memo. Thats light purple. Yours is more lilac. Youve got that good purple. It was an incredible game. I was like, this is epic. How many questions did you get right . That is not something i want to answer. What i will say, i think that jeopardy james was shook. Oh, i think he was so confident, and then yeah, and then the other guys, it changed their game as well, because they were all going all the way in. And mr. Rutter, are you going to show up to play or not . Oh because hes the third guy. Oh he will, he will. Hes the third guy. Because we know ken jennings, we know jeopardy james. The third guy. I mean, before obviously we leave you no. Here comes jeopardy james here comes jeopardy james he really sucked it up last night i mean, 200. Yeah, no question. Even when your car is clean, does it still smell stuffy or stale . Try febreze car. It eliminates stuffy car odors and leaves behind a fresh scent for up to 30 days. Try febreze car in a variety of scents including extra light. About the Colonial Penn program. Here to tell you if youre age 50 to 85, and looking to buy Life Insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. What are the three ps . The three ps of Life Insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. A price you can afford, a price that cant increase, and a price that fits your budget. Im 54. Alex, whats my price . You can get coverage for 9. 95 a month. Im 65 and take medications. Whats my price . Also 9. 95 a month. I just turned 80. Whats my price . 9. 95 a month for you too. If youre age 50 to 85, call now about the 1 most popular whole Life Insurance plan, available through the Colonial Penn program. It has an affordable rate starting at 9. 95 a month. No medical exam, no health questions. Your acceptance is guaranteed. And this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock, so your rate can never go up for any reason. So call now for free information. And youll also get this free beneficiary planner. And its yours just for calling. So call now. Sleep this amazing . Thats a zzzquil pure zzzs sleep. Our liquid has a unique botanical blend, while an optimal melatonin level means no nextday grogginess. Zzzquil pure zzzs. Naturally superior sleep. Its time for the mix and wait a minute, we are going to talk cookies but i promised the insomniacs i was going to ask you about something when you got back today. There was a man in bradenton, florida, there was a burglar sucking toes. Sucking toes. The man, when he jumped up and asked the burglar, what are you doing . He said what do you think, im here to suck some toes. I think he could have been there to there could have been other things he was there no, i think he really wanted to suck those toes. You know what do you think about toe sucking . Wait, doing it or having it done . Stop it okay, okay, okay. Oh my goodness, you came in strong this morning. I knew it, i knew it, i knew it. We need all of that this morning. Anyway, from sucking toes to cookies you suck on both, dont you . Thank goodness the fcc is not awake, okay. There may be a new girl scout cookie flavor and it comes with inspirational messages. Theyre called lemonups, a crispy cookie made with sustainable palm oil. They come with positive feminist messages. I am a leader, i am gutsy, i am a gogetter, i am all about it. I was a girl scout for a long time wait, what . Wrong segment. I was a girl scout until sixth grade. So you were a dropout girl scout because you couldnt girl scout dropout doot doot is at a song . Kind of like that one from grease. I am still a big fan of the Peanut Butter cookie. If youre selling girl scouts, tweet me janai and i got you. How about this 10,000 foot long bread line . Its a Guinness World record in mexico. That is measuring at 9,874 feet. Are they all going to eat it together . Its bread. The city council enlisted three local bakeries there worked together to cook up that pastry. You know, that is a good way to build community. It really is. Jump on that bread. I mean, im not doing the carbs right now. Im on a thing. Of course youre not. Hes not doing the carbs until he hears this next story. Burger king is giving people who live in the bronx free whoppers for tolerating joker tourists for running to that staircase that was in the movie. They want to help them out. Thats pretty cool. Hey, bronx, come get your whopper. The residents are tired of those folks going to the stairs. Burger king saying, you can have it your way. This doorbell camera records a cows latenight front porch visit. Rendezvous. Rendezmoo. New porch pirate, hes bringing the milk. This morning on world news now, iran follows through with its promise to retaliate against the u. S. Firing missiles at bases in iraq used by american troops. President trump responding overnight, plus what the strike means as more American Forces head to the region. Also breaking overnight, the airliner crashing just outside irans capital around the time iran was launching missiles. At least 170 people are dead as the investigation begins. New this half hour, air travel on the other side of the globe impacted by a u. S. Volcano. How long the eruption could last. Impeachment showdown. Republicans appear ready to begin the president s trial in the senate. And the kernel of advice from one firefighter who almost died trying to get a piece of popcorn out of his teeth, leave it to the professionals. The details coming up on this wednesday, january 8th. Good morning, thank you for joining us on a very busy wednesday morning. We begin with breaking news, iran taking aim at american troops in iraq with a volley of Ballistic Missiles. The attack on two bases hosting u. S. Forces came in retaliation for the drone strike on a revered iranian general blamed for killing hundreds of americans. As the sun rose in iraq there were no reports of casualties from the missiles launched from iranian soil. An iranian official appeared to troll President Trump on twitter by posting this, an image of irans flag. The move mimics trumps tweet of the American Flag after killing the general, qassem soleimani. The Iranian Foreign minister calling the attack selfdefense and saying iranians are not seeking escalation or war but will defend themselves against any further escalation. After days of fiery warnings the president toned down his rhetoric overnight tweeting, all is well, and so far, so good. Abcs Mona Kosar Abdi has the latest from washington where the president was briefed by top National Security officials. Reporter new video from Iranian State Television Shows iran striking back against the u. S. Tehran firing round after round of Ballistic Missiles into iraq, targeting American Forces stationed at a military base in western iraq. The Iranian Revolutionary guard calling tuesday nights rocket attack operation martyr soleimani after the countrys top military commander was killed in a u. S. Air strike 48 hours prior. President trump received a briefing of the situation, meeting with his National Security team in the situation room. Just hours before in the white house, trump defended his ordered air strike against soleimani. Hes been called a monster, and he was a monster. And hes no longer a monster, hes dead. Reporter his defense chief, mark esper, also stating soleimani was plotting to kill american soldiers and diplomats. Esper adding, the u. S. Acted out of selfdefense. United states is not seeking a war with iran. But we are prepared to finish one. Reporter classified briefings with congressional members have been held in a secure room in the capitol building. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warning, quote, america and the world cannot afford war. And hours after the attack, President Trump sending a message to the American People that, quote, all is well. He says officials are assessing casualties and damage but, quote, so far, so good. Mona kosar abdi, abc news, washington. Thank you, mona. Iran quickly took responsibility for the attack which they launched themselves without the help of proxies. The missiles landed on bases in western and northern iraq, bases were learning were already on high alert, and american troops had enough warning to retreat to bunkers. Abcs Martha Raddatz has more on the reaction from tehran. Reporter iranians are saying that this is a great victory against the great satan. They announced almost immediately that they had launched those missiles into iraq. I had spoken to the Iranian Foreign minister, and he as much as told me that whatever action they were taking would be against the u. S. Military. He said they had ruled out civilian targets. He also said that they would be patient, that it would come at a time and place of their choosing. So this really did happen rather quickly. He said that the iranians wanted to cause the americans the most pain. Early reports, of course, are that there were no casualties in iraq, and were certainly hoping that remains the case. But for right now, the iranian Officials Say this is over for now, they are waiting for any kind of u. S. Response, and they say they will be ready for war although its certainly my sense they do not want an allout war. Martha raddatz, abc news, tehran. Our thanks to martha. She spoke with the Iranian Foreign minister just hours before that attack. She mentioned iran may not want an allout war with the u. S. , the foreign minister telling her that really depends on the response from the u. S. Earlier we spoke to abc news contributor steve ganyard. He said the strike may have been an attempt to walk a fine line. I think they were doing something that allowed them to say to their people, we stood up to the great satan, we stood up to the united states, we hit them back, but not do it in such a way to give President Trump a reason or force him to retaliate against iran with greater conventional military means. So it was just enough to satisfy domestic political opinion and satisfy the anger of the people, but it wasnt enough to provoke an allout war in the persian gulf. You remember the attacks on the Saudi Arabian oil refineries. If you look at that, the precision. Each one of those had a pin prick that blew up that tank. Very well coordinated. Their military is quite good. Most of its homegrown, but they have excellent capabilities. If they really wanted to do damage to the united states, these would be the last two places they would hit. This goes back to the idea of perhaps they didnt want to do any damage, perhaps they only had to make a statement that they could play on domestic television, show a bunch of rockets shooting up in the air, and call it a day. If we think of the past three months there have been riots in the streets, thousands of iranians have been killed by Iranian Security forces because of dissatisfaction with the regime. So the regime needs to deflect attention elsewhere, needs to show theyre responsive to the sadness of the iranian people. So i think thats what theyre going to continue to play, say we stood up to them, but now we need to get back to fixing the country. Our thanks to steve there. And again, with what martha was saying, what steve is saying, the reason that theyre talking about deescalation and why iran, this may be it for them, because everyone is pointing to this tweet from irans foreign minister who called this missile attack a, quote, proportionate measure in selfdefense, and said again, it is not seeking war. So depending on what the u. S. Does, what the president announces later in the address to the nation, and the next steps for the u. S. , this could be it. Right. Possibly. Absolutely, and thats what steve was talking about, this could have been more about a show of force. And steve mentioned that this was a very fine line that they appear to be walking. The conversation this morning would likely be very different if we were already getting reports of mass casualties. Right. On those bases. But at this point that is not the case, so it very well could lead to deescalation. We will wait to have to see what the president says later this morning. And so many military families are holding their breath, waiting to see what the president says later this morning. Yes, absolutely. Our thoughts are with all of them. In the meantime, also from iran, breaking news that is seemingly unrelated to the military showdown. A passenger plane crashed this morning after leaving tehran, killing everyone on board. Debris from the Ukraine International Airlines Flight was spread across a large area. Reports say at least 176 people who were on board lost their lives. Flight data from the boeing 737 shows it leaving tehrans main airport and going silent. An iranian official says one of the planes engines was on fire, then the pilot lost control, sending the plane down. Important to note that was a boeing 737800, not a 737 max jet. We will keep on top of all of these breaking stories throughout the morning with live updates on america this morning and good morning america. Democrats on capitol hill are blasting a republican plan for the president s looming impeachment trial. Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell says he has the votes to begin the trial as soon as the Senate Receives the articles of impeachment from the house. Mcconnell says the question of new witnesses and documents will be addressed once the trial begins. Author Elizabeth Wurtzel is being remembered for what some call candor in her book prozac nation, it detailed her troubles with drug abuse, depression, and growing up a child of divorce. She later said, i made a career out of my emotions. Wurtzel died yesterday in manhattan after battling cancer at the age of 52. Coming up, the volcano in alaska that may Impact International flights. Plus the major break in the case of a missing mother of five from connecticut. Her estranged husband has now been charged with her murder. And how a single piece of popcorn nearly cost a firefighter his life. 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And youll also get this free beneficiary planner. And its yours just for calling. So call now. Updating our top story, iran has fired more than a dozen Ballistic Missiles at American Forces in iraq. The attack on two bases is retaliation for the death of a top iranian commander killed by the u. S. At this point there are no reports of any american casualties. The faa issued a warning in recent days. For now u. S. Airlines are banned from flying over iran, iraq, and the persian gulf. Now to other news, a volcano in alaskas Aleutian Islands may disrupt International Air travel. It started erupting yesterday sending ash clouds nearly five miles into the air. Volcanic ash can destroy jet engines. It is 700 miles from anchorage. Several dozen people live on the island but are not presently in danger. Ash may fall in parts of alaska for the next two days. Turning to a new development in the case of that mother of five from connecticut missing now since last spring. Her estranged husband has now been charged with her murder and his exgirlfriend is also under arrest. Heres abcs eva pilgrim. Reporter eight months after his estranged wife disappeared, fotis dulos taken into custody at his connecticut home, whisked away by state police, now charged with her murder. Mr. Dulos contends he was not involved, and i dont think the evidence will show that he was. Reporter dulos former attorney along with dulos exgirlfriend now facing charges of conspiracy to commit murder. Jennifer dulos and her husband were locked in a bitter custody battle when the mother of five vanished after dropping her kids at school last may. Police think when she returned home, fotis dulos was lying in wait. An arrest warrant alleges he used zip ties to secure and incapacitate jennifer, whose blood police say was found in multiple locations in the home. Your honor, we enter not guilty pleas reporter for months dulos and his girlfriend have been fighting charges of evidence tampering and hindering prosecution after police said they had security footage appearing to show the couple disposing of jennifers bloodstained clothing. Dulos insisting he had nothing to do with her disappearance. Its an exhausting fight. I love my children. Thats about it. Reporter now dulos will be in court on wednesday. Jennifer dulos family saying they are relieved that the wait for these charges is finally over, but say there is no closure, nothing will bring jennifer back. Eva pilgrim, abc news, bridgeport, connecticut. A british firefighter is speaking out about the piece of popcorn that nearly killed him. This is really an incredible story. It seems adam martin and his wife were eating popcorn while watching a movie in september when some of it, as happens to all of us, got stuck in his teeth. So over the next three days he used a variety of objects to try to get it out, including some wire, even a nail. So i guess germs from those items caused an infection that then spread to his heart, which led to surgery. Martin says hes never eating popcorn again. Thats one fix. Maybe not use a nail or wire . The nail off your toe . Your finger . Are your fingernails that dirty . Well, mine, no, i take care of these cuticles. So the man never went to the dentist. I know people hate the dentist, but. But. Floss . Floss, theres the water pik, theres a fire hydrant. Youre a firefighter, get into that hose. Get that kernel out. Yeah. That is insane there. It really is crazy. Just be careful about what you put into your mouth. Infections can spread fast and be very serious. Got the kernel out, then obviously whatever he did to get it out. Yeah. Glad hes okay, though. Yeah, definitely. When we come back, an update from our skinny International Desk involving Justin Trudeau. And Ryan Seacrest takes a tumble on live tv. Seacrest fell out. That, do i . I dont havt actually, you do. Harmful bacteria lurk just below the gum line, and if youre not taking care of your gums, youre not taking care of your mouth. So now i use this. Crest gum detoxify. Crest gum detoxify, voted product of the year. It works below the gum line and is clinically proven to neutralize harmful plaque bacteria and help reverse early gum damage. Gum detoxify, from crest. Gums are good. So is my check up crest. Healthy, beautiful smiles for life. Babies arent fully developed until at least 39 weeks. A healthy baby is worth the wait. Skinny just gimme the skinny time now for the skinny and a headline this morning, hot off the skinny International Desk. It has to do with Justin Trudeau causing a bit of an international sensation. The canadian Prime Minister has returned from his winter vacation with a fresh would we call that a beard . I dont know, thats like a goatee with almost connecting right, he tried. He tried. This photo posted to instagram by his personal photographer shows trudeau looking pensive, staring off into the distance. Its enough to have triggered trudeau beard as a trending hashtag on twitter. Theres no official word whether he plans to keep the beard. Maybe they posted that just to gauge youve taken pictures of me like that where im like, janai, janai, janai, take my phone and im going to be like and thats totally what he did. Wait, did you get the beard . Oh, you want this . Thats okay. Did you get the beard . Yeah, did you get it . All right, so cue the music. Ill tumble for you despite what this song said, i wont tumble for you, but Ryan Seacrest certainly will. He proved just that on National Television yesterday. Oh ryan, hold on live with kelly and ryan, the cohost trying to catch a balloon when his chair tipped backwards and he went crashing to the floor. He quickly jumped up as kelly and crew members made sure he was okay. Holy moly. That could have been bad. He went down. Seacrest posted the video to his own social media channel saying, first fumble of the new season, hope i make the playoffs. Might be on the injured list. Glad youre okay, seacrest. Next to yet another wax statue fail. When he says fail, he means fail. Fail. Madame tussauds latest highprofile creation has fallen a whole lot short of the mark. Their new max figure who do you think that is . Who is that . Its supposed to be nicki minaj. What . It was unveiled tuesday in berlin. Fans are wondering if the creators were on some pills and potions when they made it. Its supposed to look like the rapper in her music video for anaconda. You know the last time we sang that song on world news now . We got an angry tweet from an insomniac, maybe a fake insomniac, because all the insomniacs love us, i dont want to hear about your anaconda and what it means remember that . My anaconda dont want none unless you got buns hon. One said i dont like her but that was just unreal. Its not as busty. And speaking of busted, the face is not the same as well. Speaking of busted. Yeah yeah, pete deejay pete up there quick on it. That was pretty rude of them but they tried, maybe theyll get a redo. This is a nicki version. Youve got to bleep some of those things out. I bet she wants to bleep that wax statue out as well. Now to some cleaner music, rascal flatts is revealing what actually hurts the most. The group is hanging up their cowboy hats. The Group Announced the rascal flatts life is a highway tour. A celebration of 20 years of music. We wish them a very fond farewell. Farewell. Introducing a razor that works differently. The gillette skinguard. Designed with a guard between the blades that helps protect skin. It guards against razor burn on the neck and irritation on the face. Get the shave youve been waiting for. Gillette skinguard. Those raging wildfires in australia are estimated to have killed hundreds of millions of birds and animals. The country is seeing an outpouring of support from around the world, including crafters from central ohio, among them carol ann carter, whose crocheting joey pouches, koala mittens, and this giant afghan that charts australias daily temp tough over the past year. Basically every single row is a day of the year with the temperature. So thats why it changes colors. More than 3,000 crafters across america are now engaged in this labor of love. If you cant knit or crochet, you can still write a check. You sure can. Elton john is the latest celebrity to make a substantial pledge to help australia save the wildlife. Heres abcs david muir. Reporter they are the heartbreaking images from australia. Firefighters battling the enormous fires for weeks now. And the other fight, to save the wildlife. By some estimates more than 1 billion animals have now been lost. So many asking how they can help. Donations pouring in from all over the world. Nicole kidman, who grew up in australia, and husband keith urban, pledging 500,000. Australia native Chris Hemsworth saying this what we need is your support and donations. Im going to put forward 1 million and was hoping all of you could contribute in any way, shape or form, every dollar counts. Reporter elton john making this announcement. I will be pledging 1 million. Reporter and there was this from steve irwins family too. His daughter bindi and son robert helping save the wildlife, announcing the hospital at their australian zoo has now treated 90,000 animals. There are the images of kangaroos, the horses, the koalas. Volunteers in australia doing whatever they can. This family, the lovegroves, finding koalas where their uncles home once stood, wrapping them in blankets, taking them to their truck. A koala rescue, a mother and a baby. Trying to collect as many live ones as we can. Reporter driving them to safety one koala at a time. So many efforts there in australia, across the world at this point. Our thanks to david muir for that. A lot of those fires have been burning since september. Nearly 20 million acres burned and they could still burn for months. Thinking about them this morning. Stay with us. With us. Gma. Breaking news in america this morning, iran strikes back. The first Damage Assessments coming in right now after iran launches attacks on military bases housing u. S. Forces claiming revenge for the u. S. Killing of an iranian general. U. S. Troops in bunkers at the time. This morning the areas targeted, the message being sent by iran and the security precautions here at home. What President Trump is saying and our correspondents in the region on what could happen next. Martha raddatz in tehran. Ian pannell in erbil, iraq. Plus, our experts and analysts standing by. Also right now, the other breaking story from the region. A boeing 737 passenger jet carrying at least 170 people