Transcripts For WJLA Good Morning America 20171208

The fiancee of George Papadopoulos came completely out of the blue. The First Official to plead guilty speaks out calling him a patriot. What he told the special counsel about his contacts with the campaign and why hes cooperating with the investigation. How surprised do you think i and everyone else at home will be when they learn the whole story. Only on gma this morning. Light it up, luke bryan taking over gma bringing country right here to times square. Good morning, america. [ cheers and applause ] good morning, america. Welcome to a big friday here on gma. You just saw luke bryan right there from the opry city stage right here in times square. Just a few blocks away. So im going to head out there in just a little bit and grab a coat but at least its not snowing. A lot of people are there early. Not snowing there but it is snowing down south. You know about this all too well. Take a look at the palm trees near houston covered in snow. Wow. Kids are excited doing a little dance in your hometown, michael. I talked to my son yesterday. I said what are you doing. He said i just finished a final. Im going to play in the snow. I said youre not in school in colorado. It is snowing, unbelievable not just reindustried to the south but will move up to the northeast and ginger has the latest. That was the first measurable snow in houston in eight years. This is snow happening now, guys, all the way through georgia and Western North carolina. San antonio, texas, has the most snow theyve had in 30 years. College station, this is what your son was doing, by the way, making snowman like they were in college station, texas. 20 states with Winter Weather advisories, warnings from texas to maine, michigan is included. Indiana too and wanted to show you this. As that low slides north, timingwise for the northeast its tomorrow. So tomorrow, good news is a lot of people are not on the roads but, boy, are we going to end up seeing significant snow at the coast so long island, right through the cape and look at that up to 6 inches in parts of the midatlantic. George. Ginger, may i interrupt here. Im supposed to travel to hattiesburg, mississippi, for commencement after the show. How are the condition there is . Check this out. Robin, the rain snow line is right over your hometown so looks like about two inches. It wont stick. A lot of the ground is very warm but i know that is very odd for your hometown . Very odd. Keep your coat in thats it. Well move on to dangerous wildfires out west. A new blaze broke out in San Diego County, the lilac fire and we have other video showing the trainers trying to free horses before the flames move in and san diego under threat right now and rob marciano is there. Good morning, rob. Good morning. We got on the scene late last night. Explosive situation for all the attention that los angeles and points north have gotten now its san diegos turn. Off in the distance you see flames burning here as the explosions have been going off in the past few minutes, this thing sparked about noontime yesterday and burned thousands of acres in less than 12 hours. This morning, a state of emergency in San Diego County. This blaze erupting overnight. Tearing into neighborhoods forcing residents to run for their lives. Four people injured while trying to flee the flames. The fire was coming right at us. I mean within matters of minutes it had spread. At this farm trainers forced to set their horses free with no time to lead them to safety. Thousands evacuated but many others not make it out in one resident capturing a plane dropping fire retardant on his home. Oh, my god. The fastmoving flames torching over 4,000 acres burning homes in neighborhood after neighborhood. In everybodys backyard a wall of flames. Destroying at least 20 homes. Whoa. Look at this structure just completely going up in flames. Embers being carried the wind. You can see how they flare up. Winds gusting to 55 miles an hour fueling flames. Whats been your biggest struggle with the fire . Just the wind. Absolutely a winddriven fire. This house has flames but you guys arent doing much. No, right now its just indefensible. Its too far gone. A lost cause. Right now, yes. Reporter for the First Time Ever state officials had to upgrade the fire hazard warning level from red or high to purple. Its color for extreme. Have extreme growth, will burn very intensely and be uncontrollable. That threat level being lowered a little because the wins are expected to be lighter but it is bone dry. Anything that a flame touches goes up quickly. We are just a few miles away from a town called oceanside with nearly 200,000 people, population there. Firefighters today desperately trying to stop this fire before it gets to that location. Guys. Working hard. At this hour more than 190,000 people have evacuated from fire zones. More than 5,000 firefighters doing their best to battle and contain the flames. Our Senior National correspondent matt gutman is in ventura where the largest fire is burning. Good morning, matt. Reporter good morning. That largest fire, the thomas fire, this multiheaded beast and continues to burn in Ventura County and overnight new evacuation orders for the town of insin rated down to the foundations and in so many cases all thats left are those chimneys. This morning, six mammoth fires burning through more than 140,000 acres of land in southern california. Be prepared to leave immediately. Reporter towering columns of smoke blotting out 9 sun. We hiked up here to get a Better Vantage Point of this eastern flank of the thomas fire. You can see how massive that plume of smoke is. This thing 20uers into the sky thousands of feet up. The biggest concern for the nearly 6,000 firefighters battling that inferno, the blistering winds. These conditions combined with heat makes this a threatening environment. Reporter nearly 200,000 residents fleeing their home and found anthony scrambling to gather whatever he could, documents, pictures off walls, drawer fulls of clothes. Why the wedding dress. Our memories. Weve been through so much so thats like our big milestone because i want to give that to my kids so reporter some residents resorting to fighting it head on. Those staying behind using garden hoses to keep the embers away. But for others, it was too late. Its okay. What do i do now . Reporter their hopes already consumed by the blaze. My house on fire. My house is on fire. Reporter now the windses have subsided overnight but theyre slightly picking up this morning. Officials tell us red flag warnings will be in effect here in Ventura County at least through sunday and the bad news is theyre saying those fires could continue to burn he ventura until christmas. Guys. Till christmas. Several more week, okay. We move on to the growing crisis over Sexual Misconduct on capitol hill. Trent franks resigned. The third legislator on the heels of al franken and john conyers. Our senior Congressional Correspondent mary bruce is tracking it all. Good morning, mary. Reporter good morning, george. Three members of congress have now quit in just three days. The latest to go arizona congressman trent franks. One of the most conservative members of the house. In a lengthy statement he admits to discussing surrogacy with two female staffers while he and his wife were trying to have children. Now, franks is adamant he did not have any sexual contact with his staffers, but he does say i clearly became insensitive as to how the discussion of such an intensely personal topic might affect others. The spikers office says paul ryan learned last week of credible claims of misconduct and asked franks to resign. Franks made that Announcement Committee said it planned to investigate. George. And there are more ethics investigations to come. Mary bruce, thanks very much. George, Sexual Misconduct allegations also front and center as we know in the Alabama Senate race, just four days until voters go to the polls there and this morning one of republican roy moores accusers is speaking exclusively to abc news. Tom llamas sat down with her as the democrat in the race is leaning on leaders in his own party for help. Good morning, tom. Reporter robin, good morning to you. In a bid to turn out africanamerican voters, doug jones, the democrat in this race is hosting rallies in selma, montgomery with senator cory booker and representative john lewis. As for roy moore some polls show him leading in this race but he is still battling accusations. As you mentioned we just sat down with one of his accusers who wanted to speak out because she says shes sick and tired of roy moore and his Campaign Painting her liars. It sickens me. It sickens me to wonder what may go on with him if he gets into office, maybe, you know. He could be doing this still. We dont know. And then i hope that hes changed. Reporter this morning, beverly youngnelson sitting down exclusive ly with gma. He was trying to pull me in between his legs. It was terrible and i was bound and determined that i was not going to be raped by him. You know, i was terrified. But the next thing i know im on the concrete. These allegations are completely false, theyre malicious, specifically i do not know any of these women nor have i ever engaged in Sexual Misconduct with any woman. Reporter more supporters have called nelson a liar and compared her to a xrim since first spoke out about three weeks ago. That really hurt me, you know. God knows and roy knows and i know what happened. Reporter youngs proof she knew moore. Her yearbook with this inscription. But moore and his supporters have called into question that inscription noting the writing under the signature appears to be different. Lets look at beverly nelson. Everybody knows her yearbook is a forgery. Reporter nelson says she did make notes to the indiscrepancy but the message was all roy moore. Beverly, he signed your yearbook. He did sign it. And you made some notes underneath. Yes. Reporter nelson says this is not about politics. She voted for donald trump. But cant understand the decision some republicans are making. What do you think about the republicans who say they believe people like you but theyd rather have a republican in the seat than a democrat. Is the party more important really than what happened . I feel like my incident is just being swept under the rug literally because hes a republican. Reporter now nelsons lawyer gore kwoo allred will host a News Conference later to show further proof that moore indeed knew his client, roy moore for his part has denied all accusations of Sexual Misconduct. Robin. As you know a quote from moore is getting a lot of attention on social media for the way he responded when asked when was the last time america was great. Reporter thats right it comes from an l. A. Times news story during a Campaign Event back in september. Now, moore was reportedly asked when the last time he thought america was great and he said this quote, we can put it up on the screen. According to the l. A. Times i think it was great at the time when families were united even though we had slavery, they cared for one another. Our families were strong. Our country had a direction. So last night i asked the campaign why did he invoke slavery when he said the last time america was great, the campaign tells me he was talking American Revolution when families were united and the country had a direction. He, of course, opposes slavery. Robin. All right, thank you, tom. Thats comforting that he opposes slavery. We want to bring this to jon karl, our chief white house correspondent. More on this and the president heading south to have impact on the race. Reporter hes going to pensacola, florida, to do a political rally. This is just 20 miles, george, from the alabama border. The same media market as mobile, make no mistake this is a political rally designed to boost the roy moore candidacy. Were showing up on the screen the president did meet with the bipartisan leaders of congress yesterday and able to avert a Government Shutdown for at least a couple of weeks. Reporter yeah, for two weeks. This funding will run out on december 22nd and, george, there is absolutely no agreement on the fundamental issues that divide them including immigration, how much to spend on defense, the border wall, no agreement whatsoever. No Even Movement towards agreement. Finally nikki haley raised a lot of eyebrows by suggesting the u. S. Olympic team may not participate in the Winter Olympics and has the white house trying to clean it up. Reporter she said it was an open question whether they be able to participate because of tippings with north korea. The White House Press secretary actually echoed that in a briefing, 20 minutes later she tweeted a clarification saying the u. S. Looks forward to participating in the Winter Olympics. The protection of americans is our top priority and they say they are working to ensure that. Then the spokesperson for the u. S. Olympic Committee Said that there is no discussion, george, whatsoever about not participating in the Winter Olympics. No discussion on that whatsoever and, george, by the way. This is a decision not for the president but for the u. S. Olympic committee. They make it. Okay, jon karl, thanks very much. Robin. Okay, now overseas to the middle east on edge over president trumps decision to recognize jerusalem as israels capital. Between palestinian demonstrators and troops and the long road hom James Longman is in jerusalem with more. Good morning, james. Reporter good morning, robin. We are just outside the damascus gate where prayers have just ended. Now, the Defense Forces and police are moving people away because palestinians have come out and finished prayer and there are pockets of protest here and towards inside the old city. Not the massive day of rage that palestinian leaders have called for but there is a big difference between what were seeing now and what weve seen in the past where people might recognize that cat and mouse between the Defense Forces and palestinians because people here are scared that the Peace Process may be over after donald trump made that designation this would be the capital of a future israeli state. Palestinian leaders, of course, and the hezbollah leader has ran nasrallah said it would shoot a weve heard of rubber bullets but things very tense but no major people out on the streets just yet but well keep you informed. Okay, james, thank you. We want to share a remarkable story of forgiveness in South Carolina where former Police Officer Michael Slager has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the death of walter scott. Slager shot scott in the back killing him in 2015 and the sentence is the longest handed down in an officer in a racially charged shooting. The family of walter scott showing incredible grace and strength telling slager they forgive him for everything. Slager telling them he wishes he could go back and change that. Remarkable moment. It was. A lot of strength and a lot of grace to be able to do that to ginger with more on the wildfires out west. We start about, michael, with the lilac fire. San diego county, some images coming in from there and unfortunately, the forecast does not look good. Red flag warnings have been extended through sunday. All the way angeles, the mountains there, the high Wind Warnings in place. Today is likely one of the easiest days windwise so hopefully theyre able to make some progress in nighting those fires, some of the windy staying down in Single Digits but rob mentioned it. It is bone dry. So some of the relative humidity numbers are as low as 5 . Not just going through this weekend, all the way through next week and then look what happens to the wins this weekend, gusts to 60. Easily 20 to 30mileperhour winds, not just saturday, but sunday too. This is just going to keep on being a story and unfortunately well see more images like this. Rain snow chances increasing tonight tomorrow with a coastal storm highest impacts to southern md around 2 of snow possible cold blustery sunday today cloudy cold. Few showers over southern md. Highs 4042 winds n to s 5 mph tonight cloudy cold. Rain snow mix over southern md. Lows 2934 winds s 5 mph saturday am rain snow mix. Any accumulation over southern md. Clearing west to east. Highs 3539 winds ne to se 5 mph get the heavy coats ready with unseasonably cold air settling in. Highs today will only reach the low 40s. Skies will be overcast, so no need for the sunglasses. Stormwatch7 continues to track a coastal sy so, michael, a gift for you. Lets commemorate the day it snowed, the first in eight years for houston. Oh. There it is. Well, too bad its going to melt. Yes. Something else. Coming up we have georges exclusive with the fiancee of the first Trump Campaign official to plead guilty in the russia investigation. What she told the fbi when they asked her about her connections. Wthis weekend hundreds of deals up to 30 off with cartwheel in the target app. Save big with weekend deals every weekend. Only at target when a achoo alls. Answer it. With zicam cold remedy. It shortens colds, so you get better, faster. Colds are gonna call. Answer them with zicam zicam. Get your better back. Now in delicious fruit drops. The oats feed your body fiber. Fiber helps keep things moving through your system. Which is great. Because when youre good to your system, itll be good to you. I need you baby you can make my heart go round you ohh camera shutter clicks you can make my heart go round ahhhh whoooo ohh, ohhohhohhohh baby weland you look amazinglyes youcomfortable. When your vneck looks more like a uneck. Thats when you know, its halfwashed. 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Todays high of 42 with windchill temperatures in the 20s. Anchor on our traffic watch easy breezy but eastbound ride on 66 we have accident clean up at 123 impacting your ride. Here is your gridlock from see ya. Take care. So probably take it at night. And if you have any questions, the instructions are here in spanish as you requested. Gracias. Ns, how we care will change over time, but why we care remains the same treating everyone with the care and attention they deserve. Walgreens. Trusted since 1901. And roomba from irobot gets to work using two multisurface brushes and powerlifting suction to grab and remove everything from fine dust to large debris. Daily dirt doesnt stand a chance. You and roomba from irobot. Better together. Hurry in to old navy get gifting with up to 60 off the entire store. Thats up to 60 off the entire store with styles from 6 dollars, at old navy. My worlds at the tip of your fingers i get so neurotic welcome back to gma. That is country superstar luke bryans song light it up and the country superstar is going to light it up this morning on gma when he importants for us. Hes going to be performing live from the brandnew opry city stage. Its right here in times square. The first performance ever from that venue and you can see the crowd, they cant wait. We cant either. Pretty packed house for 7 30. That is true. Right now to my exclusive interview with the fiancee of George Papadopoulos. The Trump Campaign Foreign Policy adviser who became the first witness to plead guilty in the russia investigation and now Simona Mangiante is revealing details for the first time about how they met, his work on the campaign and why papadopoulos is working with the special counsel. George papadopoulos is witness one in the russia investigation. Simona calls him a patriot for working with prosecutors. And you believe he would end up as you said on the right side of history. Hes already on the right side of history. I think it will make a big difference go a big difference. Yes. In what way. Helping clarifying whats happened. His contribution will be important. Reporter they met during the president ial campaign. September 2016. He reached out for me based on my linkedin. We both worked actually for professor mifsud. Professor Joseph Mifsud described in Court Records an an overseas professor with substantial connections to russian government officials who told papadopoulos about russians processing possessing dir hillary clinton. Hes extremely connected at high level. Different governments including the italian government. Russians. Russia as well. I mean i suppose, i assume he does, absolutely. I remember he was often coming back from trips from moscow. So if it turns out he was working for the russian government, it down slyke youd be surprised. Absolutely not. Do you think he sought out george because george was working for the trump president ial campaign. I know that he was interested in george because he was working for trump. When word broke the administration downplayed his contribution to the campaign. The president called him a low level volunteer. A former Campaign Adviser said this. He was the coffee boy. No, george is a remarkable, young man with an incredible experience in the professional experience in the field of energy and oil policies. This experience led him to get into the campaign and to advise the president at only 2 he set up meetings with leaders all over the world. He was constantly in touch with the high level officials of the campaign and he never took any initiative as far as i know unauthorized. Constantly in touch with members of the campaign. Was he in touch with the chief strategist steve bannon . Yes. As far as i know, yes, i know steve bannon, michael flynn. He was in touch with michael flynn, general flynn. Yes, as well. And this is by email, by phone call. Yes, being based in london was miscommunication and email. He had communications with top levels of the campaign. Yes. Everything he was doing was with the knowledge of those officials . As far as i know, absolutely, yes. He never took any niche tiff without the blessing of the campaign. And you believe that he can demonstrate that. Absolutely, yes. Youve seen the emails. Yes. Mangiante says papadopoulos hoped to land a job in the trump administration. But just a week after president trumps inauguration it crashing down. January 27th of this year he gets interviewed by the fbi. What did he think that was about. My feel something all this came completely out of the blue. I think he didnt even worry too much because he didnt feel he had anything to hide. When did he know he was in trouble . I think when they made it clear to him that after the arre arrest he understood that he was in trouble. Not before that. I dont think so. As soon as he find out he committed a mistake he took responsibility for that and he passed to the right side of history in my view. The decision to cooperate. Exactly. It was very brave because as being the first one and he is helping a lot. You describe him as both loyal to trump and a patriot. Yes, he is. And hes doing his patriotic duty by cooperating with the special counsel. Yes. Absolutely. And mangiante was also when were you interviewed by the fbi. October. A month ago. After george had pled guilty. The same day george pled guilty, i received a subpoena from mueller. No kidding. Yes. Bring us inside that room. What did they ask you. They wanted to know my connection with mifsud, some of my connection to the European Parliament and other personal questions about me and george. Is it true i heard this, is it true they asked if you speak russian. Yes. So do you speak russian. I can only say spa ciba. Thats all. Youre not russian. No. How surprised do you think i and everyone watching at home will be when they learn the whole story . I think its very interesting that george will write a book side of the story giving more details about whats happened. With the president from what you know, will the president be happy with the story george tells . I i dont i mean, i think its right to dismiss george as a coffee boy so sure not to be happy to read that there is consistent evidence he was not a coffee boy. What does he do all day. Taking notes for the book. He wants to write to say his story and thinking about different option for the future. From what you know about his story, what do you think the title of that story is . Not to i think its sort of been the first domino in the russiangate. The first domino in russiangate. She also described how when after he was arrested by the fbi how much he learned from mueller and his team which convinced him that this was a much, much bigger story. Fascinating stuff. Were all sitting here talking. Not exactly sure why shes speaking out. I know. I kept asking why would you agree to speak out and shes italian. Shes an italian sit sit does i think what got to them in the interview was the description by a Campaign Official as a coffee boy. Buy getting his feelings hurt it made him say, thats enough of this. Yeah. We should say we reached out to both steve bannon and michael flynn, our team did and got no response yet. Also, that professor Joseph Mifsud who is named in this charging document he says he is the man described in the papers but has denied any wrongdoing or knowledge of the clinton emails. With her the case. Shes allowed to talk. Actually hes allowed to talk to although his sentencing is coming up and i think hell work on the book until that sentenceing. Fascinating how she says he wants to get on the right side of history. And a patriot. Thank you, george. Why the parents of that suspected serial killer in tampa are refusing to cooperate with the investigation. Come on back. Fruit of the loom off your list, you know your Holiday Shopping is complete. Its time to celebrate. [ ] [ ] at tmobile, when you holiday together, great things come in twos. Ke tmobile and netflix. Right now when you get an unlimited family plan, netflix is included. Tmobile covers your netflix subscription. Best Christmas Gift ever . So you can binge watch all year long. Now youre thinking christmas and now when you buy any of this seasons hot new Samsung Galaxy phones, you get a second one free to gift. Thats one samsung for you. And one to give. Tmobile. Holiday twogether. Lets get the lady of the house back on her feet. And help her feel more strength and energy in just two weeks. Yaaay the complete balanced nutrition of ensure with 9 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. Ensure. Always be you. 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Thats one of the reasons 96 percent of our clients take the first step. Connect with an advisor at northwesternmutual. Com. We are back now with the parent serial killer risking jail by refusing to cooperate with investigators as their son is officially indicted on murder charges. Abcs linzie janis has the latest. Reporter this morning Howell Donaldson iii officially charged by a grand jury with four counts of premeditated murder for the killings that terrorized one tampa neighborhood for nearly two months. We thank Tampa Police Department for their hard work in the investigation of the case and helping us to prepare the case to be brought before the grand jury. Reporter donaldsons parents now also facing potential charges if they continue to refuse to answer investigators questions. On thursday, a judge ordering rosita and Howell Donaldson jr. To comply with a subpoena from prosecutors by january 5th or be held in contempt. They did not have a right to refuse to testify. We are seeking testimony that would only be within mr. Knowledge. Reporter they had been vocal in the days following their songs arrest. We love our son. We support our son and we just we pray strength for the family members and ask them to do the same for us. We all are devastated. Reporter prosecutors who said theyll seek the Death Penalty now say the pair wont answer questions about their sons developmental history, gun possession, and state of mind before his arrest. Details that might help investigators discover an alleged motive in the murders. What would you do if the police came to tell you that you had to testify against your child . I dont know. Reporter but his parents lawyer says forcing them to testify against their own son is an attack on the american family. When theres a valid subpoena and an order by a judge compelling them to testify, they have no choice but to participate and to provide testimony. Repor states have laws protecting parent child privilege and florida is not one of them. Donaldson is scheduled to be arraigned on tuesday of next week. His parents back in court on january 5th. Their lawyer says they simply dont want to help prosecutors with the case that could potentially see their son get the Death Penalty but, of course, victims, the victims families want answers. And rightfully so. Thank you, linzie. Coming up its a battle against traffic apps. How a town is fighting back after too many out of towners started clogging their streets. Well be right back. D carmax wiu up to seven days, for free. You come in when its convenient i know this because im from seven days in the future. Now dont be frightened, seven days in the future is a glorious place. After all you had two good hair days in a row. Perfect. Right out of bed. And this car you reserved on carmax. Com is still being held for you, for free. Pretty sweet. Or as we like to say from seven days in the future. 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If you could see your cough, youd see just how far it can spread. Robitussin soothes in seconds and delivers fast, powerful cough relief for hours. giggling robitussin dm max. Because its never just a cough. Wthis weekend hundreds of deals up to 30 off with cartwheel in the target app. Save big with weekend deals every weekend. Only at target i keep getting weather reports from ginger. Well make it to hattiesburg. Back now with that battle over traffic apps like waze. Facing some criticism for sending drivers around traffic onto local roads and thats clogging up streets and residents. So many are complaining about that. Now one new jersey town leonia is fighting back and linsey davis is there joining us on our road cam. Good morning, linsey. Reporter hey, good morning to you, michael. Well, traffic apps have been life changing in such a positive way for so many. For others its a nightmare. Turning their quaint local roads like this one into major thoroughfares. Waze, google maps, its hard to imagine we ever hit the roads without them. But while these apps have revolutionized the way we travel by dec shortest route, theyve created chaos in what used to be quiet neighborhoods across the country. In freemont, california where the signs read dont trust your apps, neighbors have had it. Very frustrating when cars are backed up from the stop sign up 35 cars and sitting in front of your house, you know, with their music going, sitting there for at least 15 mens to a half hour moving slightly when they would move faster on the freeway. Residents have told us that the navigation applications have been sending motives onto their neighborhood streets and theyve now felt trapped or isolated from their homes. Reporter one town in new jersey has decided to take action by closing off access to dozens of local streets, all thanks to too many travelers trying to find shortcuts into new york city. The way these apps work is once one road gets filled up it filters the vehicles to another road to another road to another road and basically our whole town becomes filled with traffic. To waze about this and they released the following statement saying, quote, the challenge of spreading congestion across available public roads, big and small is a universal problem and one that existed long before gps apps. We applaud leonia for taking steps to further manage the complicated needs of local commuters. Right now right now smooth sailing. It looks smooth. I didnt think about that when you benefit because youre avoiding traffic but dont realize you are causing problems for residents around the area. Thanks, linsey. Coming up, luke bryan, live. You like Country Music, dont you. I do. virtual realityall virtually useless without a new computer. All i see is darkness. Give intel 8th gen core to power all the latest tech. Im karen, im a teacher. Olfer. My Psoriatic Arthritis caused joint pain. Ied about joint damage. My doctor said joint pain from ra can be a sign of existing joint damage that could only get worse. He prescribed enbrel to help relieve pain and help stop further damage. Enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. Serious, sometimes fatal, events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders, and allergic reactions have occurred. Tell your doctor if youve been someplace where fungal infections are common, or if youre prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if you have persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. Dont start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. Joint pain and damage. Can go side by side. Ask how enbrel can help relieve joint pain and help stop joint damage. Enbrel, fda approved for 18 years. Back here on good morning america, the snow is flying as far south as corpus christi, texas. Look at that snow on the cars. Theyve seen anywhere from a half inch to up to four inches. Clum by an that, alabama, look at that the car covered. Thats just south of birmingham, so, yes, youll still see Winter Weather advisories anchor good morning washington. Here is a check of your pop stories and breaking overnight armed men storming into apartment. The victim heard a knock and opened the door and three men flashed guns and got inside stealing items and took off on a 2004 or 2005 vehicle with maryland tags. More than 50 firefighters putting out flames at a super 8 motel on washington boulevard. It w was hurt. Here we go our first snow of the season coming your way not today. Rain showers first during the Late Afternoon hours after midnight, one to two inches of snow fall expected. Todays high of 42 with windchill temperatures this weekend in the 20s. Getting into next week another chance on tuesday. Traffic wash ride on 95 into virginia nothing to get in your way green light on 95. 66 approaching 50, if you travel the express lanes 11. 50 into washington d. C. You can g washington on news channel 8 back to good morning america. Good morning, america. Its 8 00 a. M. A huge new wildfire explodes in california. State of emergency this morning in san diego. Hundreds of thousands evacuated running for their lives from the fires. Live from the front lines. Here comes the snow. Texas blanketed. The most snow in san antonio in 30 years. Palm trees near houston covered in snow. Now winter watches and warnings in 20 states from texas all the way up to maine. Gma health alert. The cdc with a new warning about the flu. The season off to an aggressive start. Why it could be one of the worst in years. And the new ways to fight off the flu. Dr. Ashton here live. Makes you stronger incredible transformation. The husband and wife who teamed up to lose almost 400 pounds in less than two years. The new years resolution they made. How they got healthy the hard way. Leaning on each other, changing their relationship with food for good. Their key to success that everyone can steal. What makes you country get ready to light it up. Luke bryan on gma live this morning kicking down the doors of the brandnew home for Country Music in times square. Get ready to go country this friday morning. As luke says hey, guys, im luke bryan and i want to see what makes you country and good morning, america. [ cheers and applause ] good morning, america. Happy friday. Its a happy friday here. Thanks to luke bryan. It is. He has a smash new album owl were excited to talk to him about that, the time we spent on his farm outside of nashville. It was great to see him and his family. Hes celebrating his 11th anniversary with his beautiful wife caroline today. And on American Idol as well. Theres the man of the hour right there taking the stage. Just a few blocks from here. Taking the stage, the crowd is excited as you can see. They want some Country Music at the opry city stage here in new york city and, luke, he the first performance getting everything started down there. We cant wait to see it. I know i cant. I know you cant. You love luke bryan. What a way to christen that place. Raging wildfires in southern california. Overnight a new one tearing through San Diego County. Rob is there right now with the very latest. Good morning, rob. Reporter good morning, again, robin. A state of emergency here in San Diego County this fire erupting and burning over homes have been burned by this. Reverse 911 calls going out to over 100,000 people telling them to evacuate or get ready to move. There were four residents that were injured while trying to escape this fire. This building over here has been collapsing all morning long and burning as it does so. The winds lying down just a little bit today thankfully, not to the 5 apl5 plus miles an hou they were yesterday. There it goes again, you see little explosions happening as the morning progresses. Just about five miles to our west is the town of eastside with a population of almost 200,000 people. So firefighters today desperately hoping to stop this blaze before it gets there. Robin. All right, rob, thank you. Those little explosions that you hear, very scary. Oh, yeah, it is christmastime. What does everyone love to do . You love to look at your eliahus this time of the year but check out what happened at mary morrisons home in columbia, tennessee. Her home camera captured the lights sparking a blaze and moves quickly to her home. Good thing for her her smoke detectors were working and woke up and the fire officials came out and put the fire out but told her you made the mistake, she left her lights on all day and night and said this time of is a good reminder make sure you put a timer. Dont leave them on all the time. Good thing to keep those smoke dermotectors on. Tens of millions in the crosshairs for a nasty storm from texas all the way to new england. Hey, beginer. South texas too. Look at this. Theres a ruler measuring snow in corpus christi, texas, to almost four inches already. So its snowing in baton rouge this morning and mississippi and alabama and also snowing in the great lakes. So look at this video. This is out of paw paw, michigan, 32car pileup that happened on i94. This happens a lot this time of year but just a warning there is more of that to come. This video is kind of giving you an idea what it looks like when youre on those roads when the bands come through. Yes, youll have more, indiana. South bend. Advisories stretching through not just the deep south but through the midatlantic and timingwise, the snow gets here to new york city tomorrow. So its really between 5 00 a. M. And 5 00 p. M. And itll wrap up and give us significant snowfall. Some places could end up with four to six inches of snow as you get close story that low pressure system. Something in eastern long island right along the cape there. Its coming. Yeah, it is a coming. And ginger has been my best friend this morning getting the latest updates. Heading to the university of southern mississippi, the golan eagles, my neve is graduating from Nursing School and months ago congratulations to her. Proud of her and all the graduates and when they asked me to be the Commencement Speaker i was like, gee, i hope the weather is okay. I was worried about it here, not there. People are sending and videos this is from nichol. She says i hope it states on the ground until you get here. I hope its gone. This from sabrina. Very pretty. On a serious note were not used to know down there. If youre going to commence the take a little more time and i just called my scissor terror its raining and sleeting theyll leave early because youre not used to those conditions but it is beautiful when it is on the ground. That amazing transformation, how one couple lost almost 400 pounds combined. The oldfashioned way. Their advice for anyone struggling. New details, how Meghan Markle may be spending the Christmas Holiday with prince harry, george and charlotte and lara, whats going on upstairs. Hello, michael. We have such a great crowd right here in times square. We have another great crowd with the one, the only luke bryan. Hes performing his new hit single for us live on gma, you do not want to miss it. [ cheers and applause ] when food is good and clean and real, its ok to crave. And with panera catering, theres more to go around. Panera. Food as it should be. phone maddie. You have everything you need right inside you. 9 out of 10 u. S. Olympians grew up drinking milk. Otein and balanced nutrition to help your kids grow strong and milk life. If you have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis,. Isnt it time to let the real you shine through . Maybe its time for Otezla Apremilast . Otezla is not an injection or a cream. Its a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. With otezla, 75 clearer skin is achievable after just 4 months,. With reduced redness,. Thickness, and scaliness of plaques. And the otezla prescribing information has. No requirement for routine lab monitoring. Dont use if youre allergic to otezla. Otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. Tell your doctor if these occur. Otezla is associated with an increased. Risk of depression. Tell your doctor if you have. A history of depression. Or suicidal thoughts,. Or if these feelings develop. Some people taking otezla. Reported weight loss. Your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. Other side effects include upper. Respiratory tract infection and headache. Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take. And if youre pregnant or planning to be. Ermatologist about otezla today. Otezla. Show more of you. The oats break down into energy. That energy is absorbed slowly. And thats good, because energy thats absorbed slowly is energy that lasts. The ford yearend sales event is in full swing. you are going to be a big surprise. whining aww, i see a big puppy. I see a biig puuppy. Hey greg thats ford, americas bestselling brand. Now get exclusive holiday offers, with 0 financing for 72 months across a full line up. For a limited time, get an additional 1,000 cash back on top of 0 financing for 72 months. Get these exclusive offers during the ford year end sales event. Youre right, lara. Oh, my goodness. Here in times square with us, weve got a huge crowd of luke bryan fan, as well, just a few blocks away. [ cheers and applause ] cant wait for that. In fact, im going to go but not until pop news. Thank you. Ill wait until after pop news. You ready . Lets do it. [ cheers and applause ] tgif, everybody. We begin with our friend jimmy kimmel. We know hes taking time off to be with his family but left his late night show is capable hands last night and some very festive attire. There you see her. Melissa mccarthy dressed in full costume regalia throughout the show. As you see she was the tree, the candy cane, gingerbread woman and the menorah and then among her guests if that wasnt enough, a celeb we all know and love. This is my slightly less famous acquaintance, Jennifer Anist aniston. Its junifer. We we are aware. Her parents in a wildly competitive game called who loves their daughter more . It was so funny. [ applause ] melissa, id like to say we love you. Most. Oh, my goodness. Also in pop news actor and house star hugh laurie a holiday hero trying to track down the ownerof an amazon package delivered to his house showing two of three Christmas Gifts in the box that was sent to him. Its a biology book and board game and asking followers to spread the word if you name the third item i will post it to you direct. So far the Amazon Christmas mystery remains unsolved but many guesses on his page and a lot of love. One fan posting, thank you, hugh, for being a good human. Yeah. [ applause ] a little friday love. Star wars fans have uncovered a secret cameo in the upcoming star wars the last jedi that would make Carrie Fisher proud. Her bulldog, gary, there he is, he was always by her side and now hes joining her in a world far, far away. Look at that little alien, the green arrow, that is gary. The director of the film confirming the news twitter. I know you have to look very close. Im sorry. We tried. And while gary misses his mom the force is strong in the little guy. On his official instagram i didnt know he had one, he does, he recently posted this photo with the caption, just watched the new trailer of the last jedi and my mom looks more beautiful than ever. Oh. Made me teary. So sweet, look for gary, the movie star. Finally if you like Country Music and who doesnt there is a cool new spot as robin alluded to. Right here in our neighborhood, its the opry city stage in times square and would you look who is popping in to pop news. Mr. Luke bryan. Hey [ cheers and applause ] what are you doing . Whats up . Thank you. Yall got me working down here. Im signing autographs. But, yeah, were at the opry city stage down here my own popup shop right here so my album is out today so were having fun here in times square. We got country, country has come to town, right . [ applause ] all right, lara. Luke, i have to ask you when you were a little boy, i know you always wanted to do this. Did you ever imagine youd be doing it in the middle of new york city, singing Country Music with this kind of crowd . Never in a million years. You ought to hear my family ask, now how do you do shows up there . Are there really Country Music fans are . Yes, there really are tons of them. [ applause ] Country Music not just for the country anymore. I love your sweater. This is awesome. Thank you. So, hey, lara, boys, bring lara my personal my personal Christmas Gift to you, lara, right here. Its your very [ applause ] luke, youve outdone yourself. Its your very own luke bryan hey, lara, the star is a bottle of oh, the tree topper is also a beer bottle opener. Yeah. Hey, luke, how did you know. I was a little hesitant. I was a little hesitant about the christmas sweater thing until they topped it off with a beer bottle opener then i was like, oh, yeah, im signing off on that. Just like you, you and santa look fantastic. I recommend you do one with a wine opener hanging for next year. Luke, we love you. Robin heading down there in next year we do the corkscrew. Youll do the corkscrew. I got it. I got it right here. Luke and i and you. Going down right now . Thank you, luke. We cant wait to hear your new song. [ applause ] you got im going to head down there and tell him thank you for. Can you do a special walk for us. Im not have fun. [ cheers and applause ] bye. Have fun. Im looking forward to this. Its going to be great. Oh, i feel like james brown. Ooh. Lets do it. You got the walk you asked for. Okay. Well, that was a little abrupt. Sorry, guys, okay. Well going to move on a great story. A couple sharing their weight loss journey and lost nearly 400 pounds together in two years and showed it all on instagram. Diane macedo has the story. As we all get ready to make our new years resolutions heres inspiration. Lexi and danny reed said they lost all that weight with no trainer, no fancy meal plan, no pills and no surgery. Instead lexi says they started small and the results are this is lexi and danny back in 2015 and this is the couple now after collectively losing nearly 400 pounds in less than two years. I went from a size 28 to a size 10. I went from a 46 all the way down to a 34. Reporter it all started as a new years resolution, danny was 280 pounds, lexi was 48 a. We were fed up with the life we were living. Reporter they hit the gym, eating healthy and documents it all on lexis Instagram Account fat girl fed up topping 460,000 followers. I never expected to have such an impact on so many people by losing weight. I just wanted to get healthy. Reporter this morning danny now weighs 191 pounds and lexi is down to 182. But they say this was no walk in the park. Basically we had to stop sitting on the cch not doing much of anything to being in the gym five times a week. Hardest part of our jump if i was changing our relationship with food. But to go from eating out for every single meal to teaching myself ho you to cook every single day to meal prepping together, it was a very drastic change. Reporter fitness experts say one key is to have someone to lean on. Workout partner is key. Accountability is everything. Not every day will be a great day. Not every day will you want to give it your all and youll someone to uplift you. Reporter now they say they are loving this journey together. From not talking to going on romantic walks and talking at night and it just really brought us closer together. And lexi and danny now say they are hoping to hit 400 pounds lost together before the end of the year but my favorite part, michael, is dannys new nickname for lexi, he calls her his swoll mate. We like that. Diane, thank you very much. What a great story that is. You know what, now we have our gma health alert. The cdc is issuing a new warning about the flu this season. Its been very tough. One of the worst in years and dr. Ashton is here to help us understand this and, doc, why is this flu season generating so much anxiety. This is what is going on, number one, the cdc are tracking cases and seeing more cases, way more than this time last year which is concerning. What is circulating now in this country is h3n2, a strain of influenza a. It is a bad actor. Very virulent making people really, really sick then probably the worst news even though that strain was in this years vaccine and its well matched probably a problem in the way the ravaccine was made, only 10 effective. 10 so a lot of People Better than zero but a lot of people say why even take a shot if its only 10 but tt better than nothing. Correct. A lot of people are trying to find innovative ways to make sure they dont get the flus. Apps are now helping out. Exactly, emphasis on the word ways. One in particular ill talk you through is basically an illness crowdsourcing app so if you look here this is a map of manhattan. And you a sick life cases, this is just like selfreported on social media. Tells you where all the sick people are. Yeah. [ laughter ] its a hypochondriacs dream. I think i saw the studio pop up. Flu, selfreported case, not medically confirmed but a lot of activity in manhattan. I may be making a house call here later but this is a way that people are saying, okay, i dont feel well, social media, picking it up. I may never leave the house. How else can we prevent the flu if you dont have the app. This bears repeating. It is important, number one, still recommended everyone over the age of six months get number two, cover your face when you cough and sneeze into your arm, not your hand and stay home when sick. I cant emphasize this 234u6 and want to quickly show you why, take this tape measure back up to three feet. Keep going to six. This is how far a respiratory flu vaccine travels so take it seriously. I thought i was crazy when people and i hold my breath. Okay. Now good reason. Good point. Thank you so much. Youre welcome. Still important to get your flu shot. Take it seriously. Take it seriously. Better than nothing and now to ginger at the opry city stage. [ cheers and applause ] oh, yes, michael, the opry city stage and restaurant may i add. Its not just Country Music. Luke bryan here, culture country, country food. Celebrating. Somebody tried to give me catfish for break pass. You know what, thats appropriate. I was like, its a little early for that. Here you are in times square and you know what, lukes part of my gma moment. So we go to houston, texas, where this young lady is seeing sn anyone under the age of 8 in houston has never seen snow. Look at her. Taking it all in. So sweet and youre from the deep south. Im from south georgia, so a snow event but i never saw it as a child like its a big deal for us southerners down there t rain snow chances increasing tonight tomorrow with a coastal storm highest impacts to southern md around 2 of snow possible cold blustery sunday today cloudy cold. Few showers over southern md. Highs 4042 winds n to s 5 mph tonight cloudy cold. Rain snow mix over southern md. Lows 2934 winds s 5 mph saturday am rain snow mix. Any accumulation over southern md. Clearing west to east. Highs 3539 winds ne to se 5 mph get the heavy coats ready with unseasonably cold air settling in. Highs today will only reach the low 40s. Skies will be overcast, so no need for the sunglasses. Stormwatch7 continues to track a coastal system that is looking more likely to bring parts of the area a rain snow mix. And here we are walk up the stairs in a beautiful photos on the walls and luke bryan, more certified digital than anybody. 40 million track, yall. Luke bryan. [ applause ] you surprised me with this. This is your plaque and itll be right here and so proud to have you your singing coming up but for now we will get to lara. No more gifts. Good with the sweater. So the holidays are look here and this morning were learning new details about how Meghan Markle may be spending them with the royal family. Her life already so dramatically changing in more ways than one. Abcs Adrienne Bankert has the story. Reporter its beginning to look a lot like christmas for Meghan Markle and the prince. According to london papers theyre expected to join festivities at sandringham with her majesty the queen. Uncle harry and meghan will also see what santa brought Prince George and Princess Charlotte as william and kates guests at their anmer hall home. The prince and his fiancee then reportedly leave for a funfilled holiday. Its anticipated meghan will make time to see friends and family before her big day. The 36yearolds relocation to london means leaving work on two Major Charities as a world vision ambassador. Its time to make things a lot better than what were seeing here. Reporter and United Nations womens advocate. I am proud to be a woman and a feminist. Reporter instead after the wedding meghan will join harry, Prince William and kate as the fourth patron of the Royal Foundation focusing on Mental Health and cyberbullying. With what meghans done already she has shown a lot of interest in young people. Shes also shown that shes very keen to stand up for people who are underprivileged. Stand up for people who dont have a voice. Reporter with prince harry recognized globally for his inspirational work helping Wounded Service member, a crowning achievement, his highly attended invictus game, meghan appears to be just what the fifth in line to the throne was looking for. Time try and have as much impact of all the things we care about as much as possible. Reporter it was meghan who guided to focus on the uk getting to know this country instead of continuing with her own passion projects. Some of it perhaps might have been a little bit too political, obviously the royals cant get involved with political sor organizations. Shes a game changer. Kate was only invited to the day after christmas, boxing day a huge holiday. Well see if meghan is invited to the actual christmas ceremony or festivities because that would be a big deal. Yes, so much changing. Thank you, adrienne. Coming up were going country. Luke bryan performing live. Gma. [ applause ] our gma moment brought to you by the frame from samsung. The most beautiful tv youve never seen. Anchor good morning washington. Police plan to search an area of Stafford County for the body of pamela butter. Her boyfriend claims that is where her body is. Virginia state police say access to the express lanes will be cut off at 10 00 am. Now more than 15 state calling for an immediate suspension to the toll program. Vdot said the tolls are working at planned. We are talking about snow on the way. Here we go our first snow of the season coming your way. Rain showers first during the Late Afternoon hours. 12 inches of snow fall expected east of i 5. Wind chill temperatures in the 20s across the area. Next week a chance on tuesday. Checking your tolls on 66 right now up to 13. 75. Beltway a live look from our traffic land cloing back on the map. A bit of gridlock past this point. You can get a local i wake up [ cheers and applause ] what a way to kick off the weekend. Luke bryan. [ cheers and applause ] opry city stage. So, brandnew place here and would better to christen it than this man right here. [ applause ] you ready to do a little country. Lets do it. Luke bryan. Do it, man. [ applause ] lets light it up here in the big apple. Come on. I open my eyes reach for the phone not a word from you baby it dont leave my sight since we had that fight cant remember but maybe i blew you up in the middle of the night again you were drinking with your friends you ignored it but you got it i get so neurotic about it baby cause i know youre reading your phone i cant help from going crazy thinking you might not be all alone i wake up i check it i shower and i check it i feel the buzz in my truck and i almost wreck it i always got it on me just in case you w love then light it up come on. [ applause ] every time i unlock my screen i hope i see one of them red lipstick i miss you pictures im on your clock youre in control you want me now baby go figure my worlds at the tips of your fingers i get so neurotic about it baby cause i know youre reading your phone i cant help from going crazy thinking you might not be all alone i wake up i check it i shower and i check it i feel the buzz in my truck and i almost wreck it i always got it on me just in case you want me so if youre looking for my love then light it up yeah baby then light i up i go to sleep i check it in the middle of the night i check it i feel the buzz in my bed and i dont get no rest i always got it on me just in case you want me so if youre looking for my love then light it up yeah baby light it up [ cheers and applause ] thank you. Thank you, gma. [ cheers and applause ] i developed a love for music early on. Chasing my dream. Ive lost, ive hurt but youve got to go try things. Oh my god this is my song the cma award goes to luke bryan. I cant wait to make someone elses dreams come true. Going to hollywood. American idol on americas network, abc, the journey begins march 2018. We are back now with a new health craze that has some people saying really . Its all about a food called energy balls and fans say theyre a great way to get nutrition on the go. Becky worley is taking a closer look. Hey, becky. Good morning, michael. Its a thing. Im telling you. Foodies are touting the properties of healthy fats and low carbs, not in a smoothie, not in a bar, balls. Whats lighting up instagram is a supposedly trend and can roll down a hill. The answer, energyballs. Nut, oat, healthy fats combine to make a portable finger food. You know its a hot trend because a bakery in brooklyn is selling them. Seems healthier than Chocolate Chip Cookie or a cupcake. Reporter but how healthy are they . Nutritionist maya feller and i get to work. Balls, this is a food trend . Balls are a food trend. This new fun way to grab and go. Get some sustenance and people are going wild for it. Reporter recipe one. Dried apple. Dates, nut, oat, cinnamon, i mean even a little bit of maple syrup, a tablespoon. Shape it. I think so. Do you cook it. This is no bake. Supposed to be able to eat it raw . Rest two, pumpkin pie. Oh, my gosh. That is sweet. Uhhuh. Reporter these are sugar cook energy balls. Whats crazy this has only four ingredients. Exactly. Cashew, dates, vanilla, salt and theyre tasty. Oh, my goodness. Thats fantastic. Reporter well these recipes have been low in added sugars, this next one these are bad becauses. Bad balls. What makes them bad balls basically sweetened White Chocolate chips and ton of honey. Maya says the calorie count is way too high for a healthy snack. You have two or three of those, thats 690 calories. Right. Thats its like a cinnamon rell. Its significant. This is a dessert alternative. With my foreairports officially exhausted. Its like a pt workout. The final takeaway. I dont think its meant to be a replacement for food but if youre having it once in a day and not every single day, why not. I shoot and by the end of the day it was like a super dense gut bomb. It was good but they weremichael. Oh, absolutely, no doubt. And it does sound like these are really filling, becky. Who would benefit from these balls . [ laughter ] well, maybe i would serve these to teenage athletes who need a ton of calories and maybe may want ground flaxseed and nut butters. My kids should probably be eating more nuts and these are a way to serve dessert that has heart healthy fats and antioxidant, otherwise, call it a dessert or a cookie dough replacement and definitely limit yourself to the occasional ball. Yep. Everything in moderation of the thats right and now well go to ginger at opry city stage. Take it away, ginger. [ cheers and applause ] michael, its as if we have been transported right to nashville but, no, were just blocks away here in times square. Opry city stage and restaurant i have all my delirious friends up very early but you know are delirious for luke bryan because hes going to perform, right . And that would be just one of the spectacles you see here at the opry city stage. There is a lot going on at the place. Look around you. It is good morning. We even have video of Dolly Partons 1987 beautiful gown. Thats one of the things youll end up seeing and also this, this is from a nashville art cyst that used nearly 10,000 guitar picks with the opry city stage logo all by hand, all placed by hand. I bet you get delirious after that. Luke bryan in just mom settling in. Highs today will only reach the low 40s. Skies will be overcast, so no need for the sunglasses. Stormwatch7 continues to track a coastal system that is looking more likely to bring parts of the area a rain snow mix. Highestmcts tosouthern md ar snow psle ndaday cloudy cold. Few showers over southern md. Ghs 4042 nds n to s 5 mph tonight cloudy er southern md. Mix w all that weather brought to you by ford. Lara, well head right back today is our sponsor macys National Believe Day when they offer double donations 2 instead of every 1 for every letter to santa up to an additional Million Dollars and all that will benefit children with lifethreatening medical conditions, take a look at how they helped make a wish come true for a boy born with congenital Heart Disease who also dreamed of being a chef. Hi, my name is josh. Aisle 8 years old and i like to cook. Reporter this culinary cutie loves to whip up recipes with his mom. Hes probably going to outshine me very, very quickly in the kitchen. When i grow up i want to be a chef. Reporter but his little story started with a not so sweet beginning. Joshua was born with severe congenital Heart Defects and had three surgeries before he turned 40 years old. Reporter now his heart is beating strong and thanks to make a wish. My wish was to become a chef for a day. Reporter hes getting a tasty surprise from world famous celebrity chef Marcus Samuelson at his new york city restaurant red rooster. Heres a chef hat. Heres a chef jacket. You and i are going to cook together. It says joshua right there. Are you ready . All right. Highfive. Go, joshua. Reporter on todays menu, pasta bolognese. Chef, josh is amazing. He is a really fast learner. You can tell he enjoyed cooking because he was always curious and wanted to smell every ingredient. He wanted to be there every step of the way. Fireball you are the future to know what hes been through to get to experience Something Like this is just absolutely incredible. Right. Such a tiny thing for us but its a big deal for the family and any time you can do that thank you, marcus and macys and makeawish. You are the future [ applause ] what a cutie. Josh and his family joined us thursday on the gma set for a behind the scenes tour. So much fun meeting everybody there. There we are. I like the penn state sweatshirt of course and michael and robin. It was a wonderful experience and please, guys, remember to get those wish letters in a macys mailbox nationwide or submit one online today if you want it to count as double the donation. Thank you so much, macys. And can you go to our website to learn more about National Believe Day. Please do so. Coming up right now, luke bryan. More songs live on gma. [ applause ] [ cheers and applause ] welcome back. Opry city stage. No, were not in nashville. Were in new york city with luke bryan. This wonderful, brandnew venue and restaurant. Can you smell it. They tried to make you eat catfish. And waffles. Bringing country here to times square. Right in the middle of times square. And what better way than for you to kick it off and you have this great new music that is out. What makes you country. When people ask you that, how do you answer that. Its tough to sum it up in a paragraph or a book, but, you know, just small town upbringing, you know. You know, just parents staying on you, making sure you got your manners in order and but your family and your friends and your, you know, you know the deal. You know the deal and you shared that because you opened yo of us in that cma special right before. [ applause ] you, caroline, the boys and, you know, youre about to go back home for the holidays. How does the bryan family celebrate. Oh, gosh, we its totally i become clark w. Griswold. I mean, i you know i believe that. Im falling off things, you know. But we have a big time. We will get the whole family in and some of them like, you know, some of the family we dont like we try to put them way out in the barn, you know. In the loft. No, no, no. Im digging myself a holiday hole right now. A big one. You got a busy year coming up. You got the tour that youre going to be doing and, of course, American Idol. How are the auditions going . Future country star out there. Whats crazy, we have done all the auditions and met and heard the now its time to start finding weeding out the weak ones and the strong ones survive. Its going to be its so fun for me to be in this role and im so excited to see how america votes. Thats the thing. Me and katy and lionel, we can judge all we want to but we got to get them there but america starts all yall. You all will decide. You all will decide. Happy anniversary. Oh, yeah. Happy anniversary. 11 years ago walking down that aisle with your beautiful bride, caroline. Yes, yes, so shes she cut me some slack. She didnt i was like, baby, my album comes out on our anniversary. Shes like yeah. Then shes like, okay, well have fun with it. So we leave tonight and then we go we go to l. A. And she and i are going to were going to have an Anniversary Dinner and all that stuff . Thats beti credit. All the girls are like i want to talk to caroline. No, dont. But you know what, what you see is what you get. A good time with him on the stage. Thank you. And can we have some more music. Lets play some music. Hooked on it. Hooked on it. Thank you, robin. Ready. All right. Lets get hooked on it and here we go. Come on. I said tonight im used to playing tonight not at 8 00 in the morning. Come on. First time i tied a plastic worm and felt him on the other end it was get the net get him in the boat first time i heard chatahoochee on the speakers of my radio i was topping off the tank on my old twotone i was hooked on it hooked on the feeling of a summer in the south hooked on the dust flying up from a plow hooked on them blue eyes hair falling down hooked on her then still hooked on her now so many things where i grew up once you get a little you cant get enough this small town life runs through my blood and im hooked on it the first time i got that gulf coast white sugar sand on my feet saw the sunshine dancing on that clear blue water i was hooked on it first time i grabbed me a long neck bottle from the bottom of a bucket of ice as soon as that cold beer hit my lips i was hooked on it summer in the south hooked on the dust flying up from a plow hooked on them blue eyes hair falling down hooked on her then still hooked on her now so many things where i grew up once you get a little you cant get enough this small town life runs through my blood and im hooked on it come on like a friday payday honky tonk buzz i gotta have a little more of it just because i keep coming back to the good stuff cause im hooked on it hooked on the feeling of a summer in the south hooked on the dust flying up from a plow hooked on them blue eyes hair falling down hooked on her then still hooked on her now so manyhi once you get a little you cant get enough this small town life runs through my blood and im hooked on it yeah im hooked on it im hooked on it come on. [ cheers and applause ] thank you, gma. [ cheers and applause ] times square. We love you. [lance] it is absolute chaos out here . Dont know if you can hear me, can we get a shot of this cold front, right here. [vo] progress is an unstoppable force. Brace yourself for the season of audi sales event. Audi will cover your first months lease payment on select models during the season of audi sales event. Hooked on the feeling ginger, wouldnt you say its a great way to start the weekend. We need you every single day on gma, luke bryan, yes. Our thanks to luke. Have a great friday. Everybody, welcome to country here in nyc. Oh yeah. Opry city stage. Anchor good morning washington. Police plan to search an area of stafford contfor the body of pamela butler. Her boyfriend claims that is where he buried her body 9 years ago. Access to the express lanes will be cut off at 10 00 am. Mgm national harbor, last month topped 50 million in monthly revenue for the 7th time. 50 of that money goes to education. Here we go our first snow of the season coming your way not today. It will be relatively quiet rain showers during the Late Afternoon hours and after midnight and saturday Morning Hours 8 00, 9 00 am snow along east of i95. Wind chill temperatures in the 20s across the area. Next week another chance tuesday anchor on our traffic watch quiet on 395 trying to get to the freeway. Live view as you merge in from the parkway crossing the 14th street bridge. Heading back to the maps we are doing okay. Dc 295 and the beltway. You can get more updates on news channel 8. Have a great friday. Want some inspirational stories for a change . You gotta check out the american dream. Saturdays, 1pm, newschannel8 announcer its live with kelly and ryan today, recording artist, actress, and legend, the one and only madonna plus, we wrap our holiday hits week with a performance by 98 degrees. All next on live [cheers and applause] and now, here are kelly ripa and Ryan Seacrest [cheers and applause] ryan do you hear