And celebrating one of americas favorite dads. On the highway alan thicke passing away overnight. The star of growing pains known for his humor, wit and love. Not only is this my son, but this is my best buddy. His final moments and the advice he shared for all dads just days ago as tributes pour in from actors, athletes and his family this morning. You and me we got to be and good morning, america. Boy, that news came as such a surprise overnight. Alan thicke, one of americas most famous tv dads has died, suddenly of a heart attack yesterday playing hockey with his young son, and the tributes are pouring in now. Thats right. He is also the father of pop star robin thicke and robin shared this message early this morning, calling his dad the best friend i ever had, and saying, lets all rejoice and celebrate the joy he brought to every room he was in. And alan, such a talented guy. Not just an actor, but he was also behind some of the biggest tv theme songs in history, including this one. Do you recognize it . Take the good take the bad the facts of life thats right. He also did diffrent strokes. He was a composer. Now you can see where robin got his talent. I grew up watching him and loving him, and i got to interview him about ten years ago. He was just as kind and warm and funny as you wanted him to be. He reallily lived up. We have so much more on his life. Alan thicke coming up later on in our broadcast. But first, were going to get to Something Else that everyone is talking about. That bitter cold. 100 Million People feeling those freezing temperature this is week. Take a look at this video. That is a whiteout in northern michigan. Everybody is going, whats going on here . Well get right to it. 24 states on alert and its just going to get worse, ginger. Not quite to official winter yet, but dont tell mother nature. From idaho through maine, New Hampshire and vermont we have all of those warnings and advisories. Windchill advisories that are really in place like places like minneapolis where we have our ialex perez this morning at 8 below the windchill. Poor alex. Reporter yeah. Thats right, ginger. It feels like 8 below zero this morning. Take a look behind me. You can see massive icicles. The waterfall here frozen over, and this brutal cold is not going anywhere any time soon. This morning, a bitter polar plunge is sweeping across the midwest. Take a look at this. The frigid weather coating this ship in ice as it makes its way off like superior. In michigan, whiteout conditions, making visibility near zero. In minnesota, quickthinking motorists springing into action after a womans suv plunged into this frozen pond offroad. The heroic rescue captured on this traffic cam showing those Good Samaritans helping her to safety. With even colder air on the way, temperatures already 30 degrees below normal. From the Northern Plains to the northeast. Nearly a third of the country will dip below zero this week. Can this be dangerous . Absolutely it can be dangerous so thinking mostly in this scenario about frostbite and hypothermia. Both of which can be very dangerous to life and limb. Reporter authorities in new york investigating whether a snowplow caused two boys to become trapped in a snowbank as they were building a fort. One of the boys died. The other recovering in the hospital. And Officials Say in this kind of weather, it is very important to keep an emergency kit in your car. They say things like a flashlight, a blank blanket and even jumper cables can make all the difference if you get stuck somewhere. Ginger. Alex, such great advice. I know you got to do it. Right now, go do it when you have the chance. These numbers are settling in. For tomorrow morning, 24 below for a feels like in chicago. Nashville only 4 above zero for a windchill then it slides east, burlington, 22 below, boston, 16 below and new york city, it will feel subzero. This is knick slap you guys in the face. Im telling you right now. It is not going to feel good. You dont want to be exposed to it. Your skin only takes a half hour to get frostbite. Through the weekend some of the heaviest will fall in some of the places that have already been hit so hard. George. Thank you, ginger. You were telling us your husband was right in the teeth of it. Your husband. Hes in chicago. Have fun, honey. Were going to get to the latest in the trump transition. Overnight, the president elect takes his thank you tour to wisconsin, and appears with House Speaker paul ryan and gets that packers jersey, and thats after a parade of highprofile visitors, all the way to bill gates. Abcs tom llamas with all the details. Good morning, tom. Reporter good morning. One headline summed it up best from kanye west to the midwest, president elect Donald Trumps transition is still full of surprises, a big rally last night near milwaukee. Trump coming out strong for his secretary of state pick as he publicly partners with the republican leader he butted heads with throughout the campaign. Overnight in wisconsin, on a christmasthemed stage, a political peace treaty. House Speaker Paul Ryan presenting president elect trump with a Green Bay Packers jersey. Speaker paul ryan. I have really come to oh, no. Ive come to appreciate him. And, you know, honestly, he is like a fine wine. Every day goes by, i get to appreciate his genius more and more. Now, if he ever goes against me im not going to say that. Okay . Reporter speaker ryan, the man trump once tweeted doesnt know how to win joining the president elect at a rally for the first time. Oh, my gosh. Is this not so cool . Reporter trump bragging about that cool factor with the slew of famous faces spotted in trump tower on tuesday. Bill gates, anna wintour, kanye, thats right. I like kanye. Reporter rapper kanye west met with the president elect. The two posing with ivanka for these photos obtained by tmz before appearing in front of reporters in the lobby. Kanye, no comment about your meeting with the president elect . This is the president elect of the United States. You have nothing to say . I just wanted to take a picture right now. You take care of yourself. Ill see you soon. All right . Reporter west later tweeting he wanted to meet with trump to discuss multicultural issues including bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums and violence in chicago. As the transition continues, trump defending his pick for secretary of state. Exxonmobil ceo, Rex Tillerson who has had a long relationship with russias vladimir putin. Rex is friendly with many of the leaders in the world that we dont get along with. And some people dont like that. They dont want him to be friendly. Thats why im doing the deal with rex. Because i like what this is all about. Reporter but the president elect hitting a roadblock with the obama administration. The Current White House rejecting the trump teams request for names of staffers who worked on climate change. Some of t in a statement, a spokesperson for the department of energy saying, some of the questions asked left many in our workforce unsettled. We will not be providing any individual names to the transition team. And today the president elect set to host a tech summit at trump tower. So lets see who is invited. First, apple ceo, tim cook. Alphabet ceo, larry page. Coo of facebook, Sheryl Sandberg and safra katz. He is bringing in leaders of science, industry, arts and theyre reaching out to him to find ways to help. On that news of Rex Tillerson as the pick for secretary of state, a lot of reaction now coming in from russia, and they seem pretty pleased. Commentators over there, but he is facing tough questions here in his confirmation battle. Reporter so true. This just in from our producer in moscow watching and monitoring the news over there. Commentators in russia on Russian Television are ecstatic saying this could not have been a better pick for the kremlin. Senators like marco rubio are not going to like that news. George. Tom, thanks very much. Lets get more on this from our matthew dowd. Our chief political analyst and, matt, lets talk about this right now. Donald trump seems to be aware of those questions coming in, pulling out some big guns to endorse Rex Tillerson, including the former secretary of defense, robert gates. Condi rice and james baker. Well, yeah, one thing, you got to like a guy born in wichita fall, texas, and went to the university of texas so that starts as a benefit. I think one of the things viewers need to understand bob gates and condoleezza rice, their firm had a consulting relationship with exxon so its not surprising that that is the case. I am amazed that we watch what weve heard from russia on this. Its like the bond movie from russia with love. He is getting more love from russia and people in russia than he is from the United States senate. Too early to tell whether hes going to be tripped up and all president s, all incoming president s face at least a couple of tough battles with their picks. Well, yes, george. If you look back at the last five or six president s, each one have faced somebody that didnt get voted through or had to resign. You saw it with barack obama, with tom daschle and george bush with linda chavez and bill clinton as you remember with zoe baird, and you saw it famously with george hoercher walker bush with john tower nominated for secretary of defense. What people have to worry about is there is an oil field term called a blowout. Its when pressure exceeds capacity to handle and you end up with a disaster. They have so much going on right now. The president elect putting off that press conference he was supposed to have tomorrow to deal with his business conflicts and how hes going to handle it. Theyre having a tough time figuring out how to deal with this. Well, i think two things are going to dog the president elect in the first 100 days or year of this. The first as we talked about is russia, and the relationship with russia and everything thats gone on with russia and the election, but i think more importantly is what is his ability to handle the conflict of interest in this and now when he was supposed to have a press Conference Today saying that heres how im going to handle it, he has refused to sort of draw the line and say, im going to get rid of this business in this, and in the next few months, there is going to be question after question after question about is he benefitting from decisions that the white house is making that affect his business. Matthew dowd, thanks very much. All right, now to the battle for aleppo. Dramatic images as a ceasefire between rebels and the Syrian Regime breaks down. Atrocities piling up and abcs Alex Marquardt has the latest from london. Good morning to you, alex. Reporter good morning, amy. Thats right. There is no sign that this deal is working. The reports of heavy shelling in eastern aleppo. None of those evacuations have taken place. This is one of the biggest humanitarian crises in the world and one that the next american president will have to deal with on day one. Overnight, long lines of buses waiting to carry trapped civil yans to safety, and rebels out of aleppo. But they havent moved and despite the ceasefire deal, residents accuse Syrian Forces of shelling this morning. Which you can hear in their desperate pleas. People were very bombed and were very frightened about this escalation that is taking place right now. Reporter the Syrian Regime and its allies are trying to root the last rebels out of eastern aleppo, a city that has been divided for four years. Many of those rebels funded, armed and trained by the u. S. Losing aleppo would be a huge blow to the rebel cause and american efforts in syria. As syrian soldiers advanced on rebel territory, the u. N. Said they received reports of more than 80 civilians shot in summary executions on the spot. A spokesman calling it a complete meltdown of humanity. Activists and residents posting dramatic farewell tweets and videos. One telling us this morning why he is so afraid to flee. I will get arrested by the regime for my activity, and i will be executed or tortured until death. Reporter this once great ancient city, a shell of its former self. The area that these rebels control is so small that its only a matter of time before the regime takes over the whole city. That will be their biggest victory in years, and one that could dictate the outcome of this war, george. Okay, alex, thanks very much. That situation is just so horrifying right now. Well move on to the latest on dylann roofs murder trial. Prosecutors reveal chilling images of him before and after his attack on an africanamerican church where he shot and killed nine people. Abcs Steve Osunsami has the latest from charleston. Reporter jurors are getting to see this admitted racist and accused killer at target practice. Police say 22yearold dylann roof recorded himself at home, using the same. 45 caliber glock hes accused of using in the shootings at this historic black church. Families of the nine people hes accused of murdering sat in shock as an fbi agent testified that roof went and staked out their church several times in the months before the killings. Police say a gps device in roofs car shows he drove from his home in columbia to the church in charleston in december of 2014, twice in february the next year, again in april and then twice in may. Police say they also found a list of other black churches in the back of his car. Calvary episcopal was one of them. Yesterday i got a text from one of the parishioners here and her words resonated with me. She said, my lord. It could have been a lot of things, but we count our blessings. Reporter investigators told jurors roof had drawers and closets full of ammunition at his home. Today, we can hear from one of three survivor who is says roof told her he was leaving her alive so that she could tell the story. Jurors can get this case as soon as tomorrow, george. That will be dramatic testimony. Okay, steve, thanks very much. All right. More now on alan thicke. So many around the world are celebrating his life. The 69yearold growing pains star passed away from a heart attack overnight, and abcs Chris Connelly reports his legacy goes way beyond the small screen. Reporter a family sitcom on abc in the 1980s help the multitalented canadian, alan thicke, forge an enduring connection with audiences in the states. On growing pains. This is my best buddy. Reporter from 1985 to 1992 thicke starred as jason seaver, work at home shrink. You know how impossible doctors can be. Yeah, ive heard. Reporter and spouse to joanna kerns maggie, father to Kirk Camerons mike, tracey golds carol and two younger sibs. We will make sure this is the most boring, uneventful night of our life. How do we do that . Come on. I dont know have to tell you how to make a night reporter Young Leonardo dicaprio was featured in the shows last season. Just before growing pains he would be a talk show host on thicke of the night and from the beginning, central to his identity, was his life as a musician. Cowriting theme songs to a fistful of shows, including the facts of life, and diffrent strokes. One generation he would be known as the father of robin thicke of the hugely controversial hit single, blurred lines. Blurred lines reporter but it would be growing pains that would remain foremost in the minds of his devoted fans. Among them, his costars. I read a few places, that you, joanna, had a crush on thats a rumor i started. He did. But how could i not have a crush on him . Reporter alan thicke died on tuesday at the age of 69. A father of three, one of his last tweets, featuring his advice for new dads. Love, then love some more. For Good Morning America, Chris Connelly, abc news, san francisco. Cant do better than that advice. No. Great, and he was loved by so many. Definitely. Such a sad story. He looked so young and vibrant. We move onto last nights big honor for robin. She was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting hall of fame. There you see it, of course, she was a star at espn before coming to gma full time and look at her. She was radiant last night. Lets listen. I am just so thrilled, and i know that this honor was made possible because of the opportunities that i was given, the many, many opportunities. And all of us, all of us, doesnt matter. Man, woman, black, white, gay, straight. We just want the same opportunities. Robin really was glowing last night. Ginger and i were lucky enough to be there, and see her honored. And it was really beautiful to see how she came up oh, yeah. Theres we took a selfie. We documented it. How she came up and just in a mans world really in sports casting and such a trail blazer and it was awesome to be a part of that last night. So congratulations again, robin. Thats why shes not here because there was an after party that ginger and i did not go to. It started at 10 00 last night. No thank you. All right. Ginger, youre back with heavy rain and snow heading to the west. Yes. We have been talking about this. Actually two rounds. You can see right here, that Atmospheric River is on, and now the flash flood watches for the end of the week go all the way through burbank so that could be an issue. Your local weather coming up in 30 seconds, but first, the cold cities brought to you by kohls. Hello, im mike nicco. With your weather highlights. Drizzle and scattered showers, mild temperature, heavy rain and gusty wind tomorrow. Sunny sh dry and cool this weekend through about tuesday of next week. You see the best chance of showers will be in the upper bay. Low to mid60s. The heavy strain in the north bay overnight, but look at those mid to upper 50s. My f and coming up, that Dalia Dippolito case accused of ordering a hit man to kill her husband. Is the jury now deadlocked . Well talk to dan abrams about that. And then uber alert. New claims employees at the Ride Hailing Company could be tracking you when you leave the car. The new security concerns this morning when we come back. He we come bac i sure had a lot to think about. What about the people i care about . Including this little girl. And what if this happened again . I was given warfarin in the hospital, but wondered, was this the best treatment for me . So i asked my doctor. And he recommended eliquis. Eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots and reduces the risk of them happening again. Yes, eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots. Eliquis also had significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. Both made me turn around my thinking. Dont stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. Eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. Dont take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. If you had a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away if you have tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness. While taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily. And it may take longer than usual for bleeding to stop. Seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. Eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. Tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. Eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots. Plus had less major bleeding. Both made eliquis the right treatment for me. Ask your doctor if switching to eliquis is right for you. Youre probably wondering why thaive just carvedng a giant wooden tiger. Well, the answer is that a real one would maul me. Ive crafted dr. Whiskers here as a visual aid to show you that should you visit the lot, carmax associates will not pounce like tigers because people dont like that. Come here to buy a car. Dr. Whiskers wont pounce. Nobody will. Hey reens presents, a holiday mini miracle. Hey this is for you. Did you really . Didnt have too getting the gift you almost kept for yourself . Now thats a holiday mini miracle. And its easy to create your own at walgreens. With 50 percent off the gifts of the week, just around the corner. Walgreens. At the corner of happy and healthy. Good morning. Its 7 23. About an hour ago, oakland firefighters knocked down flames at a two Story Building near lake merit. Sky 7 was above the scene near east 19th street and park boulevard. One person was reportedly trapped. Now rescued and is receiving medical attention. Over to alexis for a look at traffic. Good morning and we have a new seg alert in the fremont area. Northbound side of 880 before highway 84, dakota road. Multiple vehicles, one injury in that collision. So, that is going to be there for a while. Northbound 280 at 17, also quite heavy now. That is still bouncing back from a crash at winchester. Youre stop and go back to the 10. How else do you think he gets around so fast . Take the reins this holiday and get the mercedesbenz youve always wanted during the winter event. Now lease the 2017 gle350 for 579 a month at your local mercedesbenz dealer. Were off to a damp start be temperatures in the low to mid50z. Concord at 59. San jose, 57. Now, the drizzle will turn into scattered light shower this is afternoon, but what i want to focus in tomorrow, that lev, flooding rain and damaging wind gusts. In fact, the burn scars in santa cruz mountain, 10 00 tomorrow through 4 00 tomorrow, flooding possible there. Wind will be strongest in the north bay. Elsewhere, 10 00 tomorrow morning. Heres a look at my sevenday forecast. 1 to 3 inches of rain possible tomorrow through friday morning and sunshine and dry this weekend. Thats a lot of rain in one day. Coming up, is uber spying on you . Thats next on gma. Another update in about 30 minutes. Man, i just love thi zero really can be a hero. Ds get zero down, zero deposit, zero due at signing, and zero first months payment on select volkswagen models. Right now at the volkswagen sign then drive event. La vie est belle la vie est belle, the eau de parfum. Lancome. Available at macys, your fragrance destination. And off you go, and off you go, and off you go, for every step, every stride, every start, begin strong with the Lasting Energy of 100 whole grain quaker oats. And off you go. Dry skin problems eufor over 100 years. Ing discover eucerin advanced repair. It moisturizes dry, itchy, rough, skin. For immediate relief and proven 48hour moisture. For healthierlooking skin. Look for eucerin, now in the red cap. [ almost. There. Ental ] hmmmm. Save ten when you spend fifty on toys at target. You guys rock yeah . Whoaaa welcome back to gma and look at that Christmas Tree go up in flames. It happened so fast. This morning we have a new warning about holiday hazards. You see our live demo getting set up right there. We have our friends from the university of marylands Fire Protection and engineering lab, and they are going to show us how quickly it can start, and what you can do to avoid it. Important advice. Also right now, Winter Weather alert. 100 million americans in the path of freezing temperatures and a bitter cold blast as a new snowstorm gets ready to hit the midwest and northeast. And the dow is riding high around that 20,000 mark. It could actually finish the day above it for the first time ever, and everyone waiting to see if the fed is going to raise Interest Rates today. Im sure a lot of people looking for that. Also this morning, youve probably seen these image, professional athletes hazing rookie team members making them dress up in all kinds of funny ways. But this morning, theres a big crackdown, and well tell you all about it. I cant believe you did that when i did not do that. You didnt get hazed. We didnt quite do that to our football rookies. We did other things but thats usually baseball. Okay. If they did it, i wouldnt tell. Okay. That is coming up. We begin with that surprise twist in the Dalia Dippolito murder for hire retrial. Just hours into deliberations jurors told the judge they were deadlocked, and he sent them back in to try again. Abcs ryan smith has the details. Good morning, ryan. Reporter five years ago Dalia Dippolito was convicted of murder in just three hours. That conviction overturned. Now in her retrial after six hours of deliberating and viewing more than an hour of recordings of her alleged murderforhire plot, the jury says they cant reach a unanimous verdict. A jury will attempt for a second time this morning to determine the fate of Dalia Dippolito. We have the following note from the jury. We, the jury, feel that we cannot reach a unanimous decision. Reporter the judge sending them home joemp overnight, asking them to try again today. I see you back here tomorrow at 9 30. Reporter during closing arguments monday dippolitos lawyers revealing she has a child at home. Becoming a mother while on house arrest since her first conviction was thrown out in 2011. Give her that freedom back to go home to her family and infant son. Reporter the jury then asking to rewatch and relisten to all audio and video recordings of the 34yearold dippolito, who was accused of hie hiring an undercover officer, posing as a hit man to kill her newlywed husband of six months. Is your husband michael . Okay, im sorry to tell you, maam, hes been killed. Reporter that video, the center of this case made by the Boynton BeachPolice Department. The defense claiming they staged it, arguing that officers set up dippolito to impress the crew of the tv show cops. The Police Department denying those claims. This case is 100 on the egregious misconduct of the Boynton BeachPolice Department. Reporter dippolito pleading not guilty, telling our amy robach last december she knew it was all a show for the cameras. The tape was it was a show. It was a tape. That was the purpose of it. You were acting in those tapes . Yes. Reporter but prosecutors say the video speaks for itself. Proving dippolitos guilt. Im confident like 5,000 sure. Read her body language on that video. Theres not an ounce of hesitation. She is confident. He says ill put two shots to the head. Shes fine with that. He told you she didnt even given. Reporter now the jury cant reach a verdict today, the judge is expected to give an allen charge asking them to try one last time. If there still isnt a verdict he could be forced to rule for a mistrial which could mean a third trial for dippolito possibly. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison, george. Thank you, ryan. Dan abrams to talk about this as well and it only takes one. Wait, what. The Dalia Dippolito jury is it divided . I mean, this is a case where in the first trial, they came back in three hours. This was one of the most absurd defenses we had ever heard in the first case. Remember. The first case in amys interview, she said it again. I was just on a reality show. I was just acting. I didnt mean any of it. Now she has actually come up with a slightly more plausible defense, which is, oh, the police just wanted to impress the show, cops, et cetera. She is on tape talking about killing her theres no am ambiguity. Theres no sort of maybe, if, she restates it again, she says shes sure thats exactly what she wants. The jury says they want to see the Undercover Police recordings again. Does it suggest maybe that there was something going on there, more than we saw . Look, i think what it means apparently this jury is divided in some way. That could mean one person, it could mean more than one person but theyre probably starting from scratch. Theyre probably starting from the point this was a really quick case. The prosecutions case was those tapes. That was it. There were a couple of witnesses and that was it. So i would think what they are doing is saying, all right. Lets just calm down for a minute. Lets try and start this again. Lets go through these tapes and lets review it and now, that tape that you see, which wasnt going to initially come in of her faking this reaction to finding out that her husband is dead could become critical. I mean, it wasnt going to come in, the defense brought it up on crossexamination. Boy, wouldnt that be interesting if that became a critical factor but this is stunning. Lets be clear, it is stunning this jury is divided. Divided based on what youre saying, prosecutors will go back again. Oh, yeah, there will be a third trial. Because, remember, the first one, the only reason she got a new trial is because of an allegation of something happening in jury selection. She was convicted. They will try her again if theres a hung jury here. Dan abrams, thanks very much. It is certainly not over. Thank you. Well, now to the mystery death in southern california. A wellknown business mogul who founded the chain Corepower Yoga found dead in his san diego mansion under suspicious circumstances, and abcs nick watt joins us now from los angeles with more on that story. Good morning, nick. Reporter amy, well, this morning San Diego Police are investigating the, quote, suspicious death of the yoga mogul who did more than perhaps anyone to popularize yoga across this country. Hes dead in mysterious circumstances, aged just 48. Trevor tice found dead alone in his san diego mansion. Welcome. Im trevor tice. Reporter here teaching yoga on youtube. Downward facing dog. Reporter tice founded nationwide chain Corepower Yoga. Devotees reported included dancing with the stars Julianne Hough, and the big bang theorys kaley cuoco. That is going to be a big huge loss for our yoga community. Reporter 1 15 p. M. Monday a 911 call. Person known to the occupant of the house went over there to check on them and they found a deceased person inside. Reporter Police Telling us due to suspicious circumstances, homicide detectives were called to the scene and are currently investigating. Officers working late into the night. Tice bought the oceanview property for 3 million in january reportedly living there alone with a remodel under way. He was the father of a nearly 2yearold daughter, his father told us the family is deeply saddened by the loss of our capable, gregarious, generous and warmhearted spirit. Dubbed the starbucks of yoga by some, tices corepower is now a multiMillion Dollars business with more than 160 studios. A spokesperson telling us we are deeply saddened to confirm that our founder trevor tice passed away. No further details are available about cause of death. Now, these are still the very early hours of the investigation at this point police say Natural Causes are not being ruled out. They will know much more when the autopsy is complete, probably sometime later today. Amy. All right, nick, thanks so much for that we appreciate it. Michael, whats coming up on our big board . Coming up, amy, a pro sports hazing ban is whats coming up. Why we may no longer see images like this. And that holiday hazard. That new warning about Christmas Tree fires. Our live demonstration what we come back in two minutes. That stands out as beautifully. E we come back in two minutes. N we come back in two minutes. Le vi. Jared works directly with le vian designers to bring you more exclusive pieces. Than any other Jewelry Store in the world. Like the le vian ombre bracelet. Featuring le vian chocolate diamonds. The one gift as unique as she is. At the only store to find it. Thats why he went to jared. Got two jobs to paye a mortgage, and ive also got a brain. Lifes short, talk is cheap. Ill be working while you sleep. Still dont think ive got a brain . I took two bullets in the chest. Got three kids, i never rest. So yeah, ive got a brain. A degree is a degree. Youre gonna want someone like me. But only if you have a brain. music fades out lend him a helping hand. Put a little love in your heart. Take a good look around. And if youre lookin down, put a little love in your heart. Put a little love in your heart. In your heart. avo the subaru share the love event is happening now and will have given ninety Million Dollars to help real people like these. Welcome back. Its time now for our big board, and our team of insiders standing by for more on the mornings top stories. We begin with that hazing ban. We have all seen the images like these, Denver Broncos players, oh, yeah, those are some lovely haircuts. Wow, the phoenix suns new guys carrying childrens backpacks. Baseball rookies dressing like women, but this week, the major league is banning that practice, a and espn analyst, bruce bowen is here with us now. Bruce, strahan says he never got hazed. What do you make of this banning the practice . I think its fantastic. We have to understand that we are examples or players are examples to the world and if theyre demeaning others that doesnt send the right message especially for whats going on in todays times. When i say i wasnt hazed what i meant was i had to buy doughnuts and buy juice for the whole team and all that stuff. I didnt consider that hazing, but they would throw guys in the ice tubs, and do Different Things like that now. What do you experience or did you experience in your career . Well, in college for me, michael, it was, you know, my freshman year coming in during conditioning and im excited, im ready to play, and im sprinting my tail off. Some of my teammates were, like, yo, rookie. Whats wrong with you . Why you doing that, you bet ever get back. My thoughts are im trying to be the best i can be and youre going to have a problem with that its only because theyre insecure. Through their insecurities it allowed me to push that much more. I want everyone dealing with things like this, push back because they cant stop whats truly special. I love your message. Thats see great. But, you know, there are those who say, hey, this practice builds camaraderie. This is what bonds us all together. What do you make of that . Im guessing you dont buy it. Shame on them. The fact that demeaning someone allows them to feel closer to you. If i hit you in the nose, michael, are you going to feel good about me . Absolutely not. Youre going to grab me because i know who you are. But thats what we have to realize. Its only through the cowardice acts of these other individuals. Theyre insecure, and their insecurities come off and think they want to say, oh, its because it bills camaraderie, foolishness, it doesnt build that. It happened to me so its going to happen to you and happens in fraternities. Its a horrible practice. I agree. One of those things too where i felt like you need that younger player, so you want him to feel comfortable when he comes to work. You should be a mentor not a bully. Absolutely. Exactly. Bruce, they talk to you just like that . Hey, thank you, man. Thank you. Dont go anywhere. Youre not going anywhere. Youll stay right there. Up next, a holiday hazard alert. The latest report from the cpsc says holiday related accidents sent about 14,000 americans to the hospital last year. David kerley joins us from the universe of maryland where they are about to put on a show to give us a little demonstration, but, david, before we get to that demonstration, what are some of the other common holiday incidents or accidents that happen to people . Well, you mentioned the big number, 14,000 injuries in november and december of last year from our decorations. Thats 230 injuries suffered by americans, and it breaks down like this. And the ladder is actually part of the big problem. 41 are falls. Somebody whos used it to get up to their tree or put their lights up. 10 are lacerations where you actually decided you want to use something sharp to open that present, and you cut yourself, and about 10 are lifting things that are too heavy. But like i said, thats a big number. 230 americans injured every day during this Holiday Season, guys. All right. I notice you were walking away from that tree because were about to have a live demo to show how quickly a dried up tree can go up in flames. So we are lighting it up right now. And this were getting close to the time of the season when these trees get really dry. Let me get out of the way here and watch this happen. Isaac, would works in this lab here just like a little bit of an accelerant. A little dried out and a sense of how fast between 2010 and 2012 an estimated 200 annual fires where the Christmas Tree was the first item ignited. 10 deaths, 20 jr. Injuries, 17 million lost in property loss. This is how fast it can go. This is why you need to keep an open flame source or heat source away from a dry Christmas Tree in your house or this is what can happen. Oh, my. I had chills watching that. That is so frightening. Less than a minute, the entire tree is gone. Wow. All right. Thats very important for everyone to see. David, thank you so much. Bruce, thank you as well. We appreciate it. Coming up next here in just two minutes, we have the new claim about uber. Could their employees be spying on users . Interesting. Scary. I get to hang out with big shots like her, whoa and them and i, megazord, get to tell you that you can find all of the hottest movie heroes at toysrus. Buy one get one 40 off power rangers, star wars, disney moana, and more toysrus. Awwwesome see me. See me. Dont stare at me. See me. See me. See me to know that psoriasis is just something that i have. Im not contagious. See me to know that. I wont stop until i find what works. Discover cosentyx, a different kind of medicine for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Proven to help the majority of people find clear or almost clear skin. 8 out of 10 people saw 75 skin clearance at 3 months. While the majority saw 90 clearance. Do not use if you are allergic to cosentyx. Before starting, you should be tested for tuberculosis. 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Cyberstalking at the hands of uber employees and as more reports surface, the company this morning is now pushing back. This morning, startling claims that employees at the ride hailing giant uber, they have been able to keep a watchful eye on anyone from exes to celebrities. According to a recent court filing by a former forensic investigator for the company as part of a wrongful termination lawsuit. He alleges that ubers lack of security regarding its Customer Data was resulting in uber employees being able to track highprofile politicians, celebrities and even personal acquaintanc acquaintances. The data that was included in that included the trip origin, trip destination, route taken, what type of uber. Reporter reporter will evans with the center for investigative reporting spoke with spangenberg about the claims reported in the file. He said it was ongoing and since so many had this wide access, that anybody could look up anything and then, you know, the company would try to catch people afterwards. Reporter uber telling abc news in a statement, its absolutely untrue that all or nearly all employees have access to Customer Data with or without approval. And sharing a warning that it says employees see every time they access internal data tools that says, you may not access the account of anyone you know personally, another employee, a celebrity, or other public figures or anyone at all out of curiosity. A lot of apps we install on our phone have pretty intrusive privacy items on there. In the case of uber its your location, its your phone number, its your social media. Your picture. Reporter uber claims it has fired drivers in the past for violating its policy. Some of which is based on an honor system. Now, the company says certain access requires several levels of approval. Meanwhile the lawsuit is now in arbitration, which means it is being handled in private, but boy, oh, boy. Were talking about it. People are concerned about it. Understandably so. Thank you, gio. Coming up, should you pay someone to train your baby to sleep . George is laughing. The mom im laughing because i did it. All right. We got an honest answer. This mom says it was the best money she ever spent. Well talk about that. George is not sure about that. And lara, whats going on upstairs . Hi, guys. What a great morning up here in the studio. Derek and Julianne Hough are hoar live with a very special announcement, and check this out, too. We have a hover camera following their every move. This is how they get ready. Looks like us. Theyll perform live on Good Morning America. Tell me all the things that i wanna hear [ cheers and applause ] wan wanna hear neath back here on gma, we are now i have nicoderm cq. 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You guys are great already but i wanted to show you this video out of india. Check this out. The cars flipping in the 87mileperhour wind gusts. That cyclone the equivalent of a category 1. Whoa. All right. Well, all of that now has been brought to you by the u. P. S. Store. Your local news and weather, derek and Julianne Hough coming afoot and lighthearted i take to the open road. Healthy, free, the world before me, the long brown path before me leading wherever i choose. The east and the west are mine. The north and the south are mine. All seems beautiful to me. Good morning america is brought to you by Liberty Mutual insurance. Liberty stands with you. Mutual insurance. Liberty stands with you. Good morning. Its 7 56. Mike standing by with your wet forecast. Good morning. Some of the mild temperature, near our average highs now and we havent seen the warmest weather yet. 60s this afternoon. Focus in on tomorrow. Heavy rain, flooding rain. Burn scars, debris flows and gusty winds that will bring down trees and powerline. It will be heaviest from mid afternoon through mid evening. How about a little bit of good news if youre traveling on northbound 880 and the fremont area. The crash, is sigalert did clear, so that sigalert has been canceled. Weve got quite a bit of stop and go traffic hind them and a lot of slow traffic. Thank you. Another update in about 30 minutes and always on our news app and abc7 news. Com. Join us every weekday morning from 4 30 to 7 00, dont forget, the storm is coming our way. You can track it on our a p zero really can be a hero. Ds get zero down, zero deposit, zero due at signing, and zero first months payment on select volkswagen models. Right now at the volkswagen sign then drive event. Agine a world where the holidays are about joy again. Where days are filled with magic instead of madness. At t. J. Maxx, marshalls and homegoods, weve imagined the holidays this way for decades. Its why we never have crazy sales. Never make you clip coupons. And always have amazing prices on popular brands and thoughtful gifts. Its time to bring back the holidays with t. J. Maxx, marshalls and homegoods. Good morning, america. 8 00 a. M. Celebrating alan thicke. As long as we got each other the beloved tv dad from growing pains passed away, just 69. Now his final moments with his family, and reaction pouring in from hollywood. Staying warm in this deep freeze. The best boots for winter, experts trying out 17 pairs. The ones that will keep you warm and dry. This is kind of remarkable that im standing in water right now, and i actually cant feel a thing. Your exclusive first look at the seasons best picks. Break free and sleep training your baby. The mom who paid hundreds for someone else to help her child sleep while she went on vacation. Why not save myself the heartache . Is it selfish or the key to finally getting some rest . And get ready to dance. Julianne and derek hough performing here live, and they are saying both good morning, america. [ cheers and applause ] every time i see them, they are so talented. Good morning, america. We got a happy audience this morning. You guys are ready for christmas, arent you . Yes. Yes, thats a big yes. All right. Julianne and derek hough are here. As you saw. [ cheers and applause ] and they have a very special announcement, and theyre going to perform for all of you just ahead. Cant wait for that. And Something Else to be excited about. We have cake boss Buddy Valastro and his family here. That means were going to eat good today, everybody. Theyre sharing their favorite holiday recipes with us. We have not stopped with the cookies and now this. This is all part of your big countdown. Its our Great American christmas cookie search. The finale is tomorrow. Thankfully, find a way to say thank you, america. Keep sending in recipes, though. Were sharing them with you on goodmorningamerica. Com. [ applause ] we have been really honing in on the really great ones. That one yesterday banana. Yes. That was good. Lets go to cecilia vega for the morning rundown. Save me cookies, guys. Good morning to you. The big story this morning, tech titans descending on trump tower for a facetoface with the president elect. Top executives from apple, google owner alphabet, facebook and oracle among the names on the list. Many opposed donald trump during the election, but they now say they are ready to talk jobs and innovation. The head of ibm will also be there after pledging to hire 25,000 American Workers in the next four years. At a late night rally in Wisconsin Trump made his first public appearance with House Speaker paul ryan. He called ryan a great guy and compared him to a fine wine despite their very public clashes during the campaign. Trump also praised his secretary of state pick calling exxonmobils ceo Rex Tillerson a skilled Global Business leader but tillerson faces a tough confirmation fight. Many lawmakers concerned about his close ties to russia. Wall street is awaiting a key decision by the federal reserve. It comes this afternoon and is expected to raise Interest Rates by a quarter point. This would be only the second rate hike in the last decade. It comes just as the dow has been surging closer to the 20,000 mark. New bombing raids over aleppo are threatening a ceasefire just hours after Syrian Forces took over the city. Thousands of civilians are trying to evacuate, but buses that were supposed to carry them out have left that city empty with no passengers. The u. N. Is investigating reports of civilian executions in areas formerly held by rebels. Five u. S. Marines have been rescued after a clash landing off japan. Their osprey aircraft went down after a problem during refueling. Just last week a marine pilot was killed when his fighter jet crashed off the japanese coast. Authorities in colorado are planning new dna testing in the Jonbenet Ramsey case. Reports claim there were flaws in the interpretation of previous dna tests on clothes the 6yearold was wearing. Jonbenet was killed on christmas 20 years ago. And this morning, the tributes are pouring in for actor alan thicke. Best remembered as the dad from the 80s sitcom, growing pains. I mean, the guy completely blows your doors off. God, i dont want to hear this. He made me feel so please, dad. Free. I could have just walked out of that concert and hitchhiked right across country. Stop. Sorry. And thicke spent seven seasons playing dr. Jason seaver. He died after reportedly suffering a heart attack while playing hockey with one of his sons. He had three boys including, of course, singer robin thicke. Just this week, he offered some advice to new dads. He tweeted, love. Then love some more. Alan thicke was 69. And, guys, i had no idea he was such a prolific tv theme songwriter also. I think maybe more for the music really drove him. He was so passionate about it. You could see it obviously went to his son, as well. Absolutely. And well continue on alan in pop news. He was truly one of the nicest and funniest guys in hollywood. His final role was a guest cameo on season two of fuller house and shortly before his passing, he posted this final tweet showcasing his trademark sense of humor. Season 2 fuller house looking good. I even like the ones im not in. One of his last scenes was with Candace Cameron bure who posted this picture of the two on her instagram, saying she was sad beyond words. Of course, she knew him for a very long time. Candace is the reallife sister of kirk cameron who played alan thickes son on growing pains and i had the pleasure of speaking with alan and the whole cast of growing pains at a reunion a couple of years ago where he told me how abc almost gave him a very different role than lovable dad, jason seaver. Check this out. At the time abc was interested in a couple of actors and finding the right vehicle for them. Growing pains was one of the vehicles. I was one of the guys, and the other guy was bruce willis. Happy trails, hans. So i guess there would have been a chance that i would have been in moonlighting and bruce willis would have been their dad. Oh. That would have been two very, very different shows. Wow. I think abc yeah, everybody lands where they should as they say and in that interview, also expressed how much love and pride he took in his tv family. I saw it there as he did with his reallife family, alan thicke will be so greatly missed. He certainly will. [ applause ] were sad. Were really sad about him. He was a big part of our lives, you know. Also in pop news this morning, it turns out the library of congress is definitely not forgetting about the Breakfast Club any time soon. The john hughes 1985 coming of age tale has been added to the National Film registry. 1 of just 25 movies to make the cut for 2016. Also on the list this year, the lion king, which is special because jeremy irons is with us today. The Princess Bride and thelma and louise to be added to the registry. Those are all really good choices. We saw the Breakfast Club again over the weekend. Its timeless. It holds. My daughter watched it last week. She loved it. Still good to everyone. The brain, the jock, the outcast. As you can relate to somebody in that film. Getting detention. Oops. To be added to the registry films must be at least ten years old and deemed culturally, historically or aesthetically significant. Fyi. They all are. Finally, had to share here she comes again. One of the great songs, dolly parton once again helping the folks who live in the gatlinburg, tennessee area affected by those horrible wildfires in november. Dolly raising several Million Dollars last night in a telethon her victims recruiting more than 20 other country stars like kenny rogers and reba for the threehour show. Taylor swift stepping up donating 100,000. Wow. Thats great. [ applause ] ken ken Kenny Chesney al stepping up in a big way, 125,000. Wow. So great. [ applause ] dolly pledged 1,000 per month for six months for anybody displaced by the fire. Is it any surprise the university of tennessee is now offering a class about parton . History 307 otherwise known as Dolly Partons america uses her life and times as a guide through the examination of key issues in the 20th century. Wow. They use her as a launching pad to talk about making it in america, and she certainly has. She has. Exactly. Thats pop news, everybody. Thank you, lara. Whoo. [ applause ] and coming up, were going to hear from that mom who paid a professional to train her infant to sleep, and its getting a lot of reaction this morning, including from me. [ cheers and applause ] [ applause ] u know how it is, someone does something nice for you and you feel obligated to do something nice back. Maybe your aunt sent you a crocheted scarf, you sent a thank you note. And the crochet just kept on coming. Well, at carmax, you dont have to return the favor. Theyll buy your car even if you dont buy a car from them. Because feeling obligated is uncomfortable. And tight. In places it shouldnt be. Carmax wont make you feel that way. Lucky you. I feel like a quilt. Whos the genius who puts a girl in heels on a subway grate . Miss monroe, eat a snickers. Why . You get a little cranky when youre hungry. Better . Much better. This scene will never make the cut. One of many pieces in my i havlife. Hma. 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A post using the hashtag justrobbedthesafe so, what are we supposed to think . Switching to geico could save you a bunch of money on Car Insurance. Excellent point. Case dismissed. Geico. Because saving fifteen percent or more on Car Insurance woo because saving fifteen percent or more on Car Insurance is always a great answer. Right now at lowes. Ift of huge holiday deals like this kobalt 35piece double drive screwdriver set for only 19. 99. Plus get this dewalt 20volt max cordless drill for only 99. Save big on everything you need to make your home happy, right now at lowes. We are back now with that Big Parenting debate. Should you hire a sleep trainer to work with your baby . Is this really a big debate . Not in the stephanopoulos house. One mom paid a professional to train her infant while she and her husband went away. Abcs Mara Schiavocampo has the story. Reporter working mom of two katy landrum calls it the best money ive ever spent. Paying someone else hundreds of dollars to sleep train her 3monthold baby. Since we were planning on hiring a sleep trainer and we had an upcoming night away, we thought, you know, why not save myself the heartache . Reporter in an online article for redbook magazine the 34yearold Real Estate Agent featured on hgtv hgtvhgtvs hgtvs selling los angeles, writing at 30 an hour, bringing a professional in to manage the process seemed like a nobrainer adding she planned a getaway to a luxury california spa and resort because i didnt want to be in earshot of bos weeping. Treating ourselves to a restful retreat meant we could try to enjoy ourselves instead of dwelling on what was taking place at home. I was so nervous, i kept trying to come up with reasons why he wasnt ready to do it yet. Reporter sleep training babies can be a controversial issue. Its usually not that black and white. Often its a blend of methods depending on the baby and what the parents feel comfortable with. Reporter landrums article now shared thousands of times with many commenting. One writing, this is so selfish. Others saying, if a woman doesnt have time to be a parent, she shouldnt have kids. But many came to landrums defense writing, it helped put him on a schedule and im all for making home life happy and rested for both parents. I know that its controversial for people to sleep train, but for me being a working mom of two its just something that i felt strongly about. What may be right for one family may not be right for another family. Reporter now doctors say that you can start sleep training your baby as soon as they are big enough to go a full night without eating. Whats most important is consistency. Whatever method you choose, be consistent so the baby knows what is expected of them and by doing those things, you should be able to change their behavior in about a week. This woman added she got her doctors approval and is selfemployed and when the parents can sleep, the whole house is a little happy. Absolutely. All right. I mean if you just looked at georges body language right now, i think it says a lot. We did it. We tried it when ellie was i guess 3. It was the lady was lovely. It was very expensive. Elliott is pretty much still in our bed so no, but the reason you did it was because and i understand this, i think a lot of moms can understand that ali its so hard to hear your the crying breaks your heart but you have to do it. And as mara said, the consistency is most important. It was our fault we were not consistent. You cant go and comfort them. You have to put ear plugs in. Its brutal. Your little baby. They do have more than one kid and cant keep the other kid up. Thank you so much. Coming up next, the best winter boot picks that can take on water, ice and still keep you warm. Were revealing them next. Were revealing them next. re revealing them next. This is your daughter. And she just got this. Ooh boy. But, youve got hum. So you can set this. And if she drives like this, you can tell her to drive more like this. Because youll get this. You can even set boundaries for so if she should be here, but instead goes here, here, or here. Youll know. So dont worry, mom. Because you put this, in here. Hum by verizon. The technology designed to make your car smarter, safer and more connected. Put some smarts in your car. After washing apply and rinse 24 hours of moisture with no sticky feel. Then get dressed and go. Delight your senses with inshower cocoa butter. Available in the body lotion aisle. And thanks to target, i got to the after party this nice little outfit just in time using order pickup. Stay fresh get last minute gifts with order pickup at target. Jay knows how to keep nice shorts, dad. G. This is what the pros wear. Uhhh. 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We are yes, im getting my tips ive already forgotten. Shes amazing. Derek and Julianne Hough are here. You guys, we have so much more coming up. Its getting cold. You know that. Were also about to reveal the best winter boots. I know you guys know about hello, im mike nicco. With your weather highlights. Drizzle and scattered showers, mild temperature, heavy rain and gusty wind tomorrow. Sunny sh dry and cool this weekend through about tuesday of next week. You see the best chance of showers will be in the upper bay. Low to mid60s. The heavy strain in the north bay overnight, but look at those mid to upper 50s. My forecast tomorrow as you can see, i didnt know i was coming out in the cold this morning. Youre all ready for our winter boot challenge. So many getting hit so hard. And, t. J. , youve got the best boots recommended by that gadget website the wirecutter. Yes, george. And i dont always step in ice water, but when i do, okay, look. Now this looks dramatic, but i dont feel a thing. Because im wearing, according to wirecutter, some of the best boots on the planet. Now, most of us when you buy boots, you do a little shopping, you look around, you get the best price but theres a whole lot more to it than that. Reporter walking in winter without the right boots isnt all that wonderful. This morning, product review site the wirecutter is out with its best picks for mens went womens boots. It took 100 hours of testing in frigid alaska temperatures. Its supposed to be cold in here. Please. To get an idea of the wirecutters testing, we head to minus 5 experience. A bar where almost everything from the chandelier to the benches are made of ice. Cold in here, isnt it . A little bit. It is 24 degrees fahrenheit. Reporter to test the boots for warmth, editor, nick guy, submerged them in ice and measured how quickly the temperature inside the boot dropped. Testers wore them on city streets and outdoor trails to test for traction. Now an extreme challenge for these boots. The wirecutters waterproof test that goes way beyond reasonable expectations. Were going to step into these buckets of ice water for five minutes or until the boots leak. All right. Lets do it. In our tests, we kind of stepped around, you know, mimicked walking. This is kind of remarkable. Im standing in water right now and i actually cant feel a thing. Isnt that pretty crazy . I got some water. This is a crazy test. You made it almost four minutes before that happened. Reporter on me, the sorel matson original. The wirecutters pick for best overall mens boot costing around 200. Theyre great for the city. Theyve got decent traction. Reporter on nick, the keen durands polar. Best mens runnerup suited to outdoors and around 200. On women these were the top picks. Columbia heavenly omni heat laceup boot for 140 and keen duran polar for 200. Im doing just fine in our challenge and we have to let people know, wirecutter gets a percentage of the sales they get through some of the links on their articles and we want to let you know that. These boots hold up just fine, feet not cold, not wet. No problem. Now this is the key, george. I want to let you know. A good tankaway, what we do when we get cold, we layer up with socks, dont do that. Wirecutter says what youre doing is restricting blood flow to your feet by doing that, and making your feet colder. Has the opposite effect. Use polyester, dont use the cotton socks that retain a lot of moisture. So thats a good tip and, again, boots a believer now. Im a huge believer. Thanks very much. Back to michael. All right, thank you, george. Im here now with dancings derek and Julianne Hough, the most talented siblings around. We saw them dancing earlier in the tease, and were going to see them dance for us in a little bit. Right now they have a big announcement to make and i dont want to hold them back. What is the big announcement . Okay. So were so excited to announce we are going back out on the road with our new show, move beyond. Live on tour. Live on tour. Were excited. Were going out next year. The first show is april 19th and were excited. This is beyond anything weve done before. Its beyond our expectations and were really pushing the limits, and were very, very excited about the show. Yeah, and tickets go on sale on friday, this friday, december 16th. [ cheers and applause ] stocking fillers, you know. Check it out. You know what i love, i mean im watching you two sit here before we come back from break. And youre, like, taking care of your sister, her hair, this, but you dance yes. Youve done some great numbers on dancing with the stars dancing together. How is it dancing with a sibling and who is bossier . We actually work pretty well together. We kind of just have a hidden language where we dont talk. Were like [ made up language ] we just dance and figure out our problems that way. Thats it . Thats it. But, no, its actually great where we feel very privileged. We feel very lucky to do something that we love with somebody that you love and care about. Its a wonderful thing. And in hairspray you were awesome, by the way. Thank you, thank you. We expected everybody expected to see the dancing but youre singing. Yes. Is an album coming up . You know, whats great with the show, the tour, were going to incorporate that because julianne obviously started out with grease live, which was amazing. [ applause ] and so well incorporate that within the show as well. Well sing, well dance, you know, do a little funny skit moment between derek and i. We have to play up the brother sister the best part is the interaction with the audience and we love connecting with the audience. We bring them up on stage, and meet them afterwards, and our favorite part. One thing i love is Throwback Thursday and you posted a photo. We got you on walkback wednesday. Is that mark that is mark ballas. Thats mark. Weve known him i was 10 years old in that picture with my spray tan, my cornrows, my long nails and, yeah, i mean, that is legit. Back in the day. You know what i love . Congratulations on the show, first of all. I love that. I love all of you guys you kind of came up together and youre still growing together. That is awesome. Everybody, stay right there. Julianne and derek are going to perform live for us. Perform live for us. Good morning. Its good idea to check out the traffic before you head out the door. Good morning and yeah, earlier sigalert has cleared. Looking at he delays here. Looks like the left side especially if youre pay cash, the side to go on today and a quick check of drive times. A report of a new crash on 680 o, but the southbound side, 25 minutes now highway 4 to walnut creek and westbound 4 to highway 13. 32 looking good. The central valley. Thanks. Thanks. Mike nicco will thanks. Mikeat ikea, we believe that making room for one more shouldnt cost more. Spend your holiday overjoyed and under budget. At ikea, we believe that making room for one more shouldnt cost more. Spend your holiday overjoyed and under budget. Good morning. Feels behind at 47 and 49 ant i dont care. Burn scar flood, power outages, trees down possible because of gusts 45 to 50 miles per hour. Flooding possible at 10 00 tomorrow morning. Starting at 7 00, elsewhere, 10 00 tomorrow morning. By the weekend sh its going tok really nice thank you, mike. Another news update in about 30 minutes and always on our news app. Join the whole team every [ applause ]le team every i got faked out by that camera running straight across. Right there. Welcome back to wednesday morning here on gma. Welcome to our audience right here. [ applause ] and let me start out with a question for all of you. Its pretty easy. How many of you use emojis when you text . [ applause ] that what kind of a halfhearted one over there. Do you . Some for my kids. Whats your goto emoji . For my little girls, the winking heart eye. Such an easy melting hearts over here. The question is how good are you at it because if you know what these emojis mean, there is a company in london that could be looking to hire you. It translates looking for an emoji translator. A company is really looking for this. They do entire books out of emojis, so well try i know. They do. That would take me a really long time to read. Lets see how good everybody is. Lets put up some. This is a popular song. Its upside down. Frown crown dance. Dance crown. Dancing queen. Dancing queen. Very good. That is good. Is that job still open . Let me see. This is probably upside down. Global brand. Red bull. Wow, michael. [ applause ] okay. Ill stop now. Lets put it up again. Michael now needs another job. Job number seven. Thats impressive. This one is actually kind of hard. If you can get this one, michael, god bless you. Is it upside down againy. Yep. Oh wow. Whoa. This is tough. This message from a coworker. Its hard. It starts do you have a phone charger . My phone is dead. Do you have a charger . You got it again. [ applause ] did you cheat . Last one cheater. Better get this one. This one is an American Sports team. Jets. New york. You got it. You got it. Michael, impressive. Hey, hey [ cheers and applause ] another job. That one was incredible. Yeah, i mean, i text with my kids all the time, and my friends arent that adult. [ laughter ] and so, so but i have a question for everybody too. How many of us, especially this Holiday Season you get a gift, you want to give it back and have Customer Service issues. How many of you have lost our temper on the phone talking to Customer Service . Yeah. Pretty common, right . Yes. [ applause ] it does not work, and they said, well, apparently there is a way to make it work a little better. Its about your words and how you use your words. Can i speak to your manager . No, thats not what you do. Instead of saying, your product is garbage, say this product is garbage. So youre going to blame you got to learn to take it away, not personalizing it. Yes, and heres some things, dont forget to use the word perfect, great, fine, all right and please. If you use please, those words help you, and say thank you throughout the conversation, not just at the end of the conversation. I always say that, i know that youre just the messenger but when youre really angry its hard sometimes, right . They say they can take a lot of abuse. Theyre kind of used to it but it still does affect anybody. But the things you can say, whats wrong with you, dont say that. You know, dont say do you know how much i hate your company . Yeah. Wrong thing. No. But use words of empathy and support and say thank you throughout the conversation, and your Customer Service needs will be met. Good advice. Kill them with kindness. A Little Christmas cheer, a little holiday cheer. You catch more bees with honey or catch more flies with honey . Catch more is it bees . Yeah. Catch flies with just about anything. Its bees, amy. All right. Speaking of thank you, were very grateful this morning to have a legend with us. Were going to bring a triple threat. Oscar, tony and Emmy Award Winning actor jeremy irons, come on out. [ applause ] good morning. Good morning. How nice to see you. Hello, big man. Good to see you, my friend. How are you . Im doing great. Good to see you. Lovely to see you. Lovely dress. Thank you. You must be freezing when you go out. Im not. Mwah. I got a coat. Good to see you. Im glad youre wearing your woollies. Thank you, thank you. Very nice. I love how jeremy when he walked out, you soaked in the applause. Well, you do that. No, i love it. I never get that at home. [ laughter ] neither do we, which is why we come out here every day. Makes you feel great. You feel very important. Instead of that scowling look from the cook saying, do you want an egg . You played so many iconic roles, i think we were talking about a couple of them earlier. Scar, of course, in the lion king. You see. Spaceship earth ride at epcot center. You hear the voice of jeremy irons. Do people ever ask you to do the voices . They do, and i can never remember them. Its terrible because im very old. I think, what did i do for scar . I cant remember but what is worse is that people say, how can i look at this actor doing this role, and all i can hear is scar. I cant believe him at all. I know hes a lion. Why is he pretending to be a person . Its very difficult. Your successes hound you, you know. Well, those are good successes to have. I suppose, i suppose. Jeremy, george and a were talking. Theres a neat article about you in the new york times. Oh, yeah. This weekend. About, number one, you own a castle. Yeah. Is it pink . Is it pink . No, its not pink. Its the color of fresh seaweed. The color of fresh seaweed. Yes. Its sort of more like that yellowy bit on gma. But the neighbors arent keen on the color. No, they have i have a grade neighbor. Sadly, he died a year ago, but a rough west court farmer and when all the furrer was going over color, i said, what color would you have painted it, james. He said i would have painted it gray. Yeah. He said its your castle. You can paint it whatever color you want. I agree. I agree. [ applause ] if you own a castle, you can paint it whatever color you want. Also talked about how you, you know, being an actor and on the road you love to make whatever you are very homey for you. How do you do that . I do it with sort of bits i can pack easily like scarves and things, you know, bright hotel room, i just love to drape. I have a sort of feminine side which does that which is pink castle. It goes with a pink castle. Very in touch. [ applause ] and it softens me. You always bring your little doggie. Right . My dog, please, doggie. What is doggie. Puppy. Puppy, no, shes a dog. Shes a very, very serious dog. But shes always called a puppy in this country. I cant understand it. People go, hello, puppy. Shes not a puppy. Shes 2. Shes a grownup experienced dog. Not only that, but shes a bitch. She really she technically is. I was just going to say which is nice and funny as you are today, you play a bad guy. Hard to believe, maybe that last line set me up for it in assassins creed. No, hes not a bad guy. Hes not. Hes misunderstood. Lets take a look at the clip. Here you go. Thank you. 1917 and 1953, watson and krick find the double helik. 2016, my daughter finds the cure for violence. Youve always been brighter than me. [ cheers and applause ] that was the beautiful marion cotillard. Played my daughter. I dont have a daughter but i wish marion she was my daughter. Shes very lovely. Im not a baddie but just a person doing what he does. I mean, an awful lot of people like that in the world and you might look at them. We have one or two in this city. You might look at them and think what are they doing, but strangely enough despite the hairstyle, theyre doing their best. Who could you be talking about . A lot of people spend time doing their best. We can stand back and think, oh, youre making a rubbish job of it but theyre trying. My character is the same. Hes not a bad guy thats a favor point. A lot of stunt work in this movie in assassins creed. In fact, our own t. J. Holmes went with the movies lead stuntman, damian walters, and he reenacted the movies signature jump, leap of faith i guess is what the scene is called. Yes . Its a freefall for more than 100 feet up. Look at that. Boom. I mean, that just makes my stomach drop. Oh. Did you have to do that . Well, what they asked me to do, youll see the movie, i stand still a lot of the time on the edge of things. [ laughter ] and the director would say, when i say fall, i want you to leap and hed make me stand there and hed never say fall, but there was always that tension in my standing there because i knew i was about to leap 120 feet, but i never had to. All right, all right. I think its something to do with my age. No, no, no. They were worried i might die. Just being smarter. If you want to see t. J. Holmes give that a try, you can go to our page, actually our Good Morning America page on facebook and see his actual leap of faith which is something i would not have done. You can see assassins creed on december 21st. Listen, its december the 21st. Its amazing. I dont [ muted ]. Really i dont but its an amazing you dont mince words either. I dont mince words. Its an amazing movie on every level. Youre going to have a fantastic time with this movie. And i dont say that often. Thank you for coming in. Thank you. Julianne and derek hough afoot and lighthearted i take to the open road. Healthy, free, the world before me, the long brown path before me leading wherever i choose. The east and the west are mine. The north and the south are mine. All seems beautiful to me. We are back now with our tenth annual warm coats, warm hearts coat drive partnering with burlington and k. I. D. S. Fashion delivers. We want to get a tally. Drum roll, please. [ drum roll] 40,061 coats. An incredible number and we still have time but first heres a look at our friends who are giving back. Weve had some gma friends bring the heat to times square. Brett. Hey, america, its brett eldredge. Katie. Hi, im katie holmes. Emeril. Its getting outside so why dont you donate a coat. All giving back. Donating is so easy. All you have to go is bring it in to our store, drop it in the box and we take care of the rest. And every gently used jacket burlington receives in store makes its way to a good home. In colorado, nuggets basketball player darrelle arthur and his wife donated 300 coats to the Denver Mission rescue. To be able to donate is great. Put your hands up like that. These kids are excited about it. You can see by the smiles on their faces. It makes me warm. [ cheers and applause ] we want to thank darrelle arthur and his wife and Denver Rescue Mission for being part of the coat drive for ten years. So special and have our big coat box, right here youre seeing it in times square but something behind it, right . Theres a lot behind it. Thats right. These kids are part of broadways shine, as kid actors on broadway who donated their time to collect, get this, over 350 coats and counting. Thanks so much for being part of our effort here. You can donate too. Just go to your local burlington store. Donate a gently used c good morning. Im mike nicco. Heavy drizzle is going to wipe out by 9 00. Switch to scattered showers for the afternoon hours, especially up in the north bay. My seven day, strongest part of storm we are back with derek and Julianne Hough. These two have eight mirror ball trophies between them on dancing with the stars. Theyre now dancing across the country on their upcoming tour but first they are dancing for us. All right. Hit it. You guys want more . Got to move with us. Ready. Both give it to me one time, give it to me two times. Give it to me three times. Now scream. [ cheers ] [ cheers and applause ] at t. J. Maxx, marshalls and homegoods, weve always believed the holidays should be about joy. Where days are filled with magic, not madness. Its why we have amazing prices on thoughtful gifts, everyday. Lets bring back the holidays. [ cheers and applause ] we are back now with cake boss Buddy Valastro and his family and theyre sharing their Favorite Recipes as we count down to the finale of our Great American christmas cookie search. Buddy, thanks for being with us. How are you doing . [ cheers and applause ] youre obviously famous for your elaborate desserts. Rethink sweet. Tell us what that is about. You know, being a father of four and knowing the trends in america, everybody wants to eat the good stuff, and it tastes well, but they dont want the calories, and i partnered with whole earth sweetener and they have a bunch of different products like a baking blend where you just substitute equal half the sugar you would put in your recipe with baking blend and its half the calories. Half the calories, half the sugar. Half the sugar, half the calories. All right. So you brought your lower calorie gingerbread cookie. These are my lower calorie gingerbread cookies, which ill cut out and ill put on a pan here, and if you go to wholeearthsweetener. Com theres this and a bunch of other recipes. And it tastes tell me what the taste is like. This is why i partnered with them. When they first gave me a bag of it and i put it in a cookie recipe, i brought the cookies home to my kids, and they couldnt tell the difference between them, and its all natural. Okay. So, and its available retailers all over. Tell the truth, kids do, dont they . Especially your two. Absolutely. And i love my familia. So we got our gingerbread men. Who doesnt like that for the holidays and give them red and green buttons, bada bing, bada boom. Let me taste one. See what you think. I got my lovely wife. Hi, how are you . Who does all the baking and cooking at home for the holidays. This is the more traditional italian its the italian cookie. Pronounce it for me. Taralles. Its a Family Tradition cookie. So we just add some milk, eggs, baking powder, vanilla, flour, shortening and mix it all together and voila. There is the dough. And we end up with this. And then you these are cool. Did you make these with this . Yes. Instead of rolling it up into balls cut it into halfinch pieces and make a long one like that. Put it up, sprinkle on top. Owe sese. Very easy for the kids. Look how cute these two are, marco and carlo. Tell me what you have. These are chocolate chip cookies. Yes. What do you do with the chocolate chip cookies . Were going to put the buttercream on, and then you put the cookie on top like that. Yes. Wow. I like that. We start them young. You know that. You could even put more. We start them young in the family here, and, you know, we love to bake as a family. Theres nothing like baking at home with the kids at the holidays. A chocolate chip oreo twist. Thank you so much. Marco, carlo, lisa. Zero really can be a hero. Ds get zero down, zero deposit, zero due at signing, and zero first months payment on select volkswagen models. Right now at the volkswagen sign then drive event. Good morning america is brought to you by petsmart. Whoo thanks to derek and Julianne Hough. Tickets for the move tour go on sale friday. You guys are working on christmas as well. Looking forward to that. Thank you. Im at higher risktwice as likfor depression. Troke. Im 26 more likely to develop an irregular heartbeat. I have a 65 higher chance of developing diabetes. No matter who we are, these diseases can be managed or prevented when caught early on. Because with better research, the right medicine, and with doctors who help keep me healthy to begin with, we will thrive. Good morning. Now, a little ways here, much more is on the way, so let he is hs get to mike. Hey, everybody. Yeah, heavy drizzle, even scattered showers. But the big deal is tomorrow with moderate to heavy flooding. Rain. Possible burn scar debris flows that will knock down trees and powerlines. Once we get past that sh its going to be quiet. Nice this weekend. Alexis. Weve got a couple of issues getting and out of the walnut creek area. We are working to clear that, but we have injuries there. So long back ups into the danville area. The other one, westbound 24 before highway 13, that has cleared. Its time for live with kelly and well be announcer its live with kelly today, from the new film, assassins creed, michael fassbender. And fashion races, it is all happening right here in lives Holiday Square spectacular. Plus, performance from recording artist gavin degraw. Also, Richard Curtis returns for another day at the cohos desk. All next on live [cheering and applauding] and now, here are kelly ripa and Richard Curtis [cheering and applauding] i love this crowd