also tonight, after more than 15,000 cancellations, southwest now vowing to return to normal operations within hours. the airline s chief personally apologizing for the chaos. what the airline is now saying about reimbursing passengers, some finally being reunited with their lost luggage. alex perez with important information for travelers. and that breaking news from brazil. global soccer superstar pele, the three-time world cup champion and arguably the world s most famous athlete, dead at 82. matt rivers on his lasting legacy. a new and deadly wave of russian missile strikes rocking ukraine. the biggest barrage in weeks. further crippling the country s damaged infrastructure. firefighters battling this fire at a critical substation. britt clennett on the ground in kyiv. for congressman-elect george - santos to resign. the republican now under scrutiny by multiple prosecutors, but santos tonight refusing to step down. this, as a new alleged fabrication emerges about his
southwest now vowing to return to normal operations within hours. the airline s chief personally apologizing for the chaos. what the airline is now saying about reimbursing passengers, some finally being reunited with their lost luggage. alex perez with important information for travelers. and that breaking news from brazil. global soccer superstar pele, the three-time world cup champion and arguably the world s most famous athlete, dead at 82. matt rivers on his lasting legacy. a new and deadly wave of russian missile strikes rocking ukraine. the biggest barrage in weeks. further crippling the country s inf infrastructure. firefighters fighting this fire at a critical substation. britt clennett on the ground in kyiv. outrage and growing calls for congressman-elect george santos to resign. the republican under scrutiny by multiple prosecutors, but santos tonight refusing to step down. this, as a new alleged fabrication emerges about his educational background. aaron kat
i-5 from san francisco all the way down to san diego. get a pulse tomorrow, another one on saturday, sunday. flash flooding in the valleys. two to five feet of additional snowfall in the mountains. a piece of that energy gets to the eastern half of the country. it taps gulf moisture and warmth. look at the numbers and storms rolling across the south friday and saturday, new year s eve day, some of the storms rolling up into the new york city area, yes, times square looks to be wet new year s eve, but at least will be it warm. whit? rob, thank you. and after that christmas travel nightmare, southwest airlines now saying it expects to return to normal operations friday. today, southwest accounted for about 95% of the flights canceled across the country. the meltdown stranding tens of thousands of passengers during one of the busiest times of the year. abc s alex perez, back on this again tonight from chicago s midway airport. reporter: tonight, southwest airlines vowing a return to
experts from around the bay area. have a great day. tonight, several developing stories as we come on the air. the cross-country storm set to disrupt new year s plans for millions. and paying tribute to pele. a global soccer icon. first, that major winter storm. heavy, wet snow stranding drivers in denver. some people stuck in a tunnel, propping doors open to protect themselves from carbon monoxide poisoning. all part of that fast-moving system slamming the west. and in the east, in blizzard-ravaged buffalo, the death toll still rising. roads are reopening. but now, the new threat. rapidly melting snow. more than 800,000 sandbags at the ready for possible flooding. mola lenghi in the storm zone. and rob marciano tracking the new year s threat coast to coast. also tonight, after more than 15,000 cancellations,
they re making headway, but as our mona kosar abdi reports, the work is far from over. with temperatures rising, the snow is starting to melt. officials are clearing storm drains in anticipation of any flooding and the state is on standby with some 800,000 sandbags. reporter: in wrightsville, pennsylvania, the susquehanna river blocked by huge chunks of ice. they re worried about more flooding there too tonight. well, back here in the denver area, major roadways looking a bit better, but still a lot of snow and the ground. still many secondary roads unplowed. and with temperatures dropping below freezing tonight, a lot of that leftover snow, whit, will likely freeze. one of the major concerns tonight. mola, thank you. let s get to rob marciano, also in denver. and rob, the west is now facing another threat. reporter: yeah, whit. fresh winter storm watches and warnings are up here in colorado, in utah, nevada, and california, where that next pulse along the atmospheric river is