first, the images coming in, the corner of an apartment building coming down. firefighters looking for survi survivors. one question tonight, did the rain, play any kind of role here? also tonight, that system that did slam the east and the south turning deadly. the tornado outbreak. more than 30 reported tornadoes, multiple states. and now, what's coming right behind all of this? rob marciano tracking it all. we have breaking news coming in from the supreme court. after that extraordinary move by special counsel jack smith. the urgent request, he took straight to the supreme court, trying to get ahead of donald trump's attempts to slow down the legal process. asking the court to weigh in on donald trump's claim that being president gives you, quote, absolute immunity from prosecution. what the court is now signaling about this request just in tonight. jon karl standing by. in texas, the young pregnant mother, doctors say her health at risk with the pregnancy, but cannot get an abortion because of the law in that state. the judge that decided she could get an abortion, but that decision halted by the texas state supreme court. so what that mother has done tonight. rachel scott standing by. tonight, the u.s. air force disciplining 15 airmen connected to the case of a former airman accused of leaking classified intelligence. aaron katersky with what the air force is saying about that leadership. the israel-hamas war tonight. the israeli military saying it has surround ed hamas stronghols in the south. they claim they are on the verge of dismantling hamas. back in the u.s. tonight, the new turn this evening in the case of a high school cheerleader found dead. what we have learned about the suspect. tennis legend chris ever ert and what she's revealed tonight. this evening, what jennifer aniston is saying about the day matthew perry died. and the little girl tonight and the early christmas gift. it will be very hard to beat this. america strong good evening, and it's great to start another week with all of you at home. we have two breaking stories as we come on tonight. the news from the supreme court just in involving donald trump. and here in new york city tonight, the emergency playing out right now, after part of an apartment building collapsed in the bronx. the images coming in. firefighters rushing to the scene on billingsley terrace in the morris heights neighborhood. the stunning sight. one corner of the building simply gone. rooms and furniture exposed there. police dogs and first responders searching the rubble right now for victims, looking for survivors in what remains. drones and robots on the scene tonight. neighbors and residents looking on. authorities going from apartment to apartment of what's still standing there, and there is late word coming in about the staggering number of violations reported in that apartment building. abc's trevor ault leading us off in new york tonight. >> reporter: tonight, an urgent search underway after the partial collapse of this new york city apartment building. >> we got a significant collapse. six-story, looks like an occupied building. >> reporter: it happened in the morris heights neighborhood of the bronx. leaving bedrooms exposed, residents' personal items dangling into the apartments below. >> we just got a phone call reporting someone possibly under the debris. >> reporter: crews now digging through the rubble. deploying fire ladders and flying drones through the unstable structure, going floor- floor-by-floor looking for survivors. so far no injuries have been reported. >> it came from the top first and started falling down everywhere. and things just kept falling down. >> reporter: the collapse comings after a weekend of heavy rain and wind in new york city, though it's unclear if that was a factor. the cause of the collapse is now under investigation. and david, you see, it's still a very active scene here, and tonight, we've learned this building is more than 100 years old and it's been cited for 178 violations in just the past two years. david? >> david: trevor ault in the bronx tonight. trevor, thank you. you heard him mention those violations. he also reported on the weather. it might be a factor here, the heavy rain in the northeast. all part of that system that slams the east and the south, bringing deadly tornadoes, too. more than 30 reported tornadoes across seven states. tonight, at least six people have been killed in tennessee. authorities now saying clarksville was, in fact, hit by an ef-3 tornado, meaning winds reaching 150 miles per hour. that storm moving into the northeast. these images from western virginia. up to a half foot of snow, heavy, wet snow, in fact. the rain, the snow, the damaging winds throughout the east. and tonight, what's now coming behind all of this? senior meteorologist rob marciano with the images and the forecast tonight. >> reporter: tonight, new-up close video shot from inside a post office showing that powerful tornado tearing through clarksville, tennessee. >> oh, my gosh. everything is gone. >> reporter: it was an ef-3, packing 150-mile-per-hour winds. luke dill and his family survived. >> my two sons and my wife and i, we jumped in the bathroom and then we just started praying to jesus. >> reporter: and just north of nashville, in madison, a confirmed ef-2 tornado leaving this trail of destruction. abc's melissa aidandan on the ground. >> all that's left standing of this tennessee church -- that stained glass window. the electricity company out here saying it will take two more days for power to be restored. and you can tell, the damage is extensive. homes decimated. behind us a mobile home community, that's where that 2-year-old boy and his mon were killed. >> reporter: at least six deaths reported across the storm zone. that same deadly system. sweeping through the south. dumping nearly half a foot of rain in parts of the northeast. rain turning to blinding snow in virginia. drivers dealing with whiteout conditions on interstates 64 and 81. and up to eight inches of snow falling from parts of new england. >> david: let's get to rob marciano. you showed us there, rob, with so many families now in need after these tornadoes, we've got now bitter cold moving in? >> reporter: yeah, it's terrible times on many counts, david. we've got the holidays, and then we've got this cold that's really just pouring in. wind out tonight, it's pretty brutal. the winds will ease some what tomorrow, but you can see here, we have a reinforcing shot of cold air that's going to keep things chilly next several days. teens and 20s for wind chills in the morning tomorrow, including nashville, middle tennessee there, in the destruction zone, but that reinforcing shot keeps the air chilly, not just tomorrow and wednesday, but through thursday. look, 15 here in boston, but remaining below freezing for morning wind chills in and around nashville. that's going to make it very difficult for recovery. and for the eastern half of the country ish country, an uncomfort winter chill. david? >> david: rob, thank you. as i mentioned, there's breaking news coming in from is the supreme court at this hour. it comes after this extraordinary move by special counsel jack smith. the urgent request he took straight to the court, trying to get ahead of donald trump's attempts to slow down the legal process. jack smith asking the court to weigh in on donald trump's claim that being president gives you absolute immunity from prosecution. and tonight, the court already signaling it will consider weighing in. here's jonathan karl. >> reporter: tonight, the supreme court has granted an extraordinary request from jack smith. to quick little consider whether to hear arguments and to rule on donald trump's claim that he has total immunity from prosecution for anything he did while he was in the white house. a lower court has already rejected trump's claim of absolute immunity. judge tanya chutkan writing, being president, quote, does not confer a lifelong get out of jail free pass. but trump has appealed. a process that could delay the trial in the january 6th election interference case. eventually putting it well baas the 2024 presidential election. smith went right to the supreme court. "the united states recognizes that this is an extraordinary request," smith wrote. "this is an extraordinary case." smith says the case is also central to american democracy, writing, "a cornerstone of our constitutional order is that no person is above the law." trump once again said over the weekend that he would be a dictator if he gets back into the white house. but only on his first day in office. >> you know why i wanted to be a dictator? >> reporter: trump's legal problems or his comments have hurt his standing as the clear front-runner for the republican nomination. in fact, a new poll shows his biggest lead yet in the state that votes first, the iowa caucuses, just five weeks away. one of his rivals, nikki haley, was asked about trump's fitness to serve by our linsey davis. >> do you think donald trump today in 2023 is fit to be president? >> it's not about fitness. i think he's fit to be president, it's should he be president? i don't think he should be president. you can't defeat democrat chaos with republican chaos, and donald trump brings us chaos. >> reporter: the supreme court gave donald trump and his legal team nine days to respond to jack smith's request for a quick ruling on his claim of absolute immunity. the request for the supreme court to take up, hear arguments and rule so quickly on such a monumental issue is highly unusual, but it is not without precedent, david. back in watergate, the supreme court did it when the issue was whether or not congress could get access to richard nixon's oval office tapes. david? >> david: move very quickly then. the question is, will they now. jon karl with movement, though, he reported on, just here tonight. thank you, jon. we'll stay on this. in the meantime, we turn to the issue of abortion tonight, and the deeply personal case involving a young pregnant mother in texas. she and her husband have been fighting to get her an abortion. her doctors say her health is at risk. but authorities told the family the law prohibits it. the judge who then decided the woman can move ahead with an abortion, only to have the texas state supreme court step in to block any abortion for now. so, what that young mother says she's been forced to do instead. here's rachel scott tonight. >> reporter: tonight, the 31-year-old texas woman at the center of that unprecedented case, suing the state for an emergency abortion, now leaving texas for the procedure. the attorneys for kate cox saying her health is on the line and she couldn't wait for the texas supreme court to weigh in. >> kate was in an out of the hospital multiple times over the last month. this is time sensitive, critical health care that shouldn't be hampered by laws and policies. >> reporter: kate, a mother of two from dallas, now more than 20 weeks pregnant, had been told by doctors that her fetus had a severe abnormality and virtually no chance of survival. and that continuing the pregnancy could put her health at risk, possibly preventing her from getting pregnant again. texas now bans abortions outright, with one narrow exception. to prevent major bodily harm or save the life of the mother. kate told me she was certain that would apply to her. >> i could see in this case surely i would qualify for that exemption. >> reporter: just days ago, a judge siding with kate. granting permission to get an abortion. >> i am going to grant the temporary restraining order. >> reporter: kate wiping away tears. but a day later, the texas supreme court temporarily halted that ruling in response to an appeal by the texas attorney general, ken paxton, who said the fatal fetal condition does not meet the medical exception. her attorneys saying it left kate with no choice but to travel to a state, where she can legally obtain an abortion. the lawyers for kate cox have not revealed which state she is traveling to, but they told the texas supreme court they plan to move forward with that case. they are expecting more women to be put in this same scenario, david. >> david: all right, rachel scott, thank you. we turn now to the u.s. air force tonight, disciplining 15 airmen after the leak of classified pentagon documents allegedly by a massachusetts air national guardsman, accused of exposing u.s. intelligence secrets. and tonight, the air force vowing change. here's aaron katersky. >> reporter: tonight, the air force has disciplined 15 airmen over the alleged leak of defense secrets by jack teixeira, finding a "lack of adequate supervision" and a "culture of complacency" allowed the 21-year-old massachusetts air national guardsman to post a trove of military intelligence online. >> the breakdown in leadership was from the highest level of colonels all the way down to sergeants. all of them failed in the basic mission to secure very classified, highly sensitive material. >> reporter: investigators said teixeira's unit didn't report the i.t. specialist, as he was searching restricted files, "fearing security officials might overreact." punishments for the 15 airmen range from letters of reprimand to being relieved of command. all for contributing to a leak that authorities have said put the nation's security at risk. the fbi arresting teixeira at his home back in april. nearly a year after investigators said he "was observed viewing intelligence content" on secure computers. "his supervisor was informed, but the incident was not documented in writing." another time, someone noticed teixeira "again viewing intelligence products and saw him writing information on a post-it note." he was told to shred it, but investigators said, "it was never verified what was written on the note or whether it was shredded." >> this is not a question of overhauling the rules and regulations of the air national guard. it's just a matter of adhering to what's already published, what has already been there for years. >> reporter: teixeira has pleaded not guilty to violating the espionage act by viewing classified information he was secretly posting on the gaming site discord. teixeira's main job was to make sure the air conditioning kept computer equipment cool during the night shift. he had no business peering at classified information. that's what the air force tonight, david, is trying to fix, limiting access to sensitive documents to those who truly need to know. david? >> david: it would make sense. aaron katersky, thank you. ukraine's president zelenskyy is in washington, d.c. tonight, hoping to make his case for help for ukraine, with u.s. funding and help on hold. president biden extended the invitation at what the white house is calling a critical time with ukraine aid caught up in a congressional debate over the border here at home. tomorrow, zelenskyy will meet with president biden and congressional leaders. the white house has warned time and money are running out, as ukraine fights off russia. meantime tonight, the israeli military saying it has surrounded hamas strongholds in the south of gaza. israel claiming they are on the verge of dismantling hamas. abc's james longman in israel again tonight. >> reporter: tonight, israel claims it's on the verge of dismantling hamas, their soldiers now surrounding three strongholds in gaza. but there's fierce fighting across the strip. israel on the hunt for hamas leadership. and despite weeks of fighting, hamas is still launching rockets. we witnessed this barrage over tel aviv today. that is iron dome coming into action, taking out rockets. fireded from gaza. but gaza has no iron dome. in the streets of rafah, gaza's southern-most city, desperation. dozens scrambling to scoop up supplies as aid trickles in. hi, wajiya, it's james. wajiya abulhiya, a 62-year-old engineer, fled to rafah from his home in khan younis 10 days ago. wajiya, his wife, and his four adult sons among more than 2 million now with almost no where to go. >> we are suffering from many things. lack of water, lack of food. the night is very cold. >> reporter: and tonight, former hostage sharon speaking out. the 34-year-old kidnapped for 52 days, along with her twin 3-year-old daughters, julie and emma, saying any little noise brings back horrific memories. sharon's husband david still among the 137 people, including americans, held captive. >> there's a lot of families without a father, without a daughter, without a brother, without a grandfather, grandmother, mother. you have to do everything you can to bring them back now. >> reporter: david, israel has been under increased pressure to help ease the humanitarian situation in gaza. so tonight, they've announced a new plan to speed up the security screening process. they think that could double the amount of aid that eventually gets into gaza. david? >> david: james longman from israel. thank you. tonight, the white house is expressing concern for russian opposition leader and putin foe alexei navalny. he appears to have been moved from prison, they don't know where. he is serving 19 years on charges of extremism. when we come back here tonight, the high school cheerleader found dead, the new turn tonight in this case. also, tennis legend chris evert, and what she's revealed. and jennifer aniston, and what she's saying about the day matthew perry died. ♪ trumpet music plays ♪ 579 breaths to show 'em your stuff. every breath matters. don't let rsv take your breath away. protect yourself from rsv with abrysvo, pfizer's rsv vaccine. abrysvo is a vaccine for the prevention of lower respiratory disease from rsv in people 60 years and older. rsv can be serious if you are 60 or older. having asthma, copd, diabetes, or heart disease puts you at even higher risk. abrysvo is not for everyone and may not protect all who receive the vaccine. don't get abrysvo if you've had a severe allergic reaction to its ingredients. people with a weakened immune system may have a decreased response to abrysvo. he most common side effects are tiredness, headache, pain at the injection site, and muscle pain. ask your pharmacist or doctor about pfizer's rsv vaccine, abrysvo. visit these retailers or find other retailers near you at abrysvo.com [deep breath] autoquote explorer from progressive shows you rates from other companies, even if they're lower than ours. because honesty is the best policy. i ate the apple pie you left cooling on the windowsill. that's my bad. who are you? 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congestion? i'm feeling better. all in one and done with new mucinex kickstart. headache? better now. new mucinex kickstart gives all-in-one and done relief with a morning jolt of instant cooling sensation. it's comeback season. finally tonight here, when mom is the best gift of all. tonight, with christmas now two weeks from tonight, a mother and daughter and their christmas wish come early. katoy spencer is a sergeant in the army, deploying overseas for the first time this year. away from home and away from her two daughters. 8-year-old katura and 2-year-old aslin, for seven months now. when she got word she'd be able to come home early, she wanted to surprise her daughters. walking into ms. woods third grade classroom in oklahoma. >> how are you? >> reporter: 8-year-old katura right there at ms. woods' desk, and she sees her mother. mom is now home, just in time for christmas. and right here tonight -- >> hey, david. >> reporter: mother and daughter home together. >> i felt, like, so happy, because i hadn't seen my baby in so long and she grew up so much. how did you feel? >> i felt excited, because i always wanted my mom. >> reporter: and joining us, too -- >> hi, mr. david! >> ms. wood and her third graders. >> we loved to see katura's mom surprise her right before christmas. >> it was very welcoming to see her mom come home from the army to celebrate christmas with her. >> david: jeron. >> it was great to see. >> david: and colton, too. >> it was awesome for her mom to come home for christmas. >> david: and back at home tonight, a mother and daughter, baking christmas cookies, grateful to be back together. >> our message of hope to other families this christmas season is to just spend time with each other. >> thank you, david. bye! happy holidays! >> david: welcome home, sergeant spenr. we the machines themselves. >> and new developments in the deadly shooting of a security guard at an oakland 7-eleven store. the victims identity has now been released. good afternoon. i'm kristen sze. >> and i'm dan ashley. thanks for joining us. 59 year old james johnson was killed at the 7-eleven on harrison street in the adams point neighborhood and police are still looking for the shooter as community leaders call for more accountability. >> here's abc's seven news reporter leslie brinkley. >> a streak of relentless, brazen violence continued in oakland on friday night when a security guard at this 7-eleven on harrison street confronted a shoplifter who allegedly pulled a gun and shot and killed him before escaping. oakland police say they've made no arrests as they're investigate continues coworker say they're now scared to be at work after 59 year old james johnson died inside the store despite efforts of paramedics, those who work here at the 7-eleven told me that johnson lived just one block away at a homeless shelter and that he worked here at the 7-eleven as an unarmed security guard