away from him? and the distraction in the sky. the rocket launch that mesmerized millions. and the confusion, chaos and crashes it caused. and good evening and welcome to "world news tonight." i'm tom llamas, in for david. and we begin with that deadly winter wallop, striking the day after christmas, as millions of americans travel for the holidays. snow falling from coast to coast. eye-popping accumulations in parts of pennsylvania and upstate new york. more than 50 inches in some spots. and it's not just snow. wind chill alerts in 20 states. this time lapse video from duluth, minnesota, where temperatures hit 21 degrees below zero. causing steam and fog to rise from lake superior. four killed in one interstate crash in kansas. slow going from the great lakes through the northeast. and a frightening moment at boston's logan airport, when a jet blue passenger plane skidded out after landing in slick conditions. airline delays stacking up tonight as that arctic blast moves east. abc's alex perez gets us started in new york. >> reporter: tonight, with millions on the roads, the lake effect snow machine is shattering records and grinding travel to a halt. the city of erie, pennsylvania, declaring a snow emergency. crews unable to keep up with the nearly four and a half feet of snow that fell in just 36 hours. overnight, dozens of cars spinning off highways and these drivers backed up for miles on interstate 90 outside of town. that lake effect snow leaving buffalo buried. whiteout conditions all the way to kalamazoo. that snow fueled by bone-chilling air, causing car wrecks in kansas, where at least four people died after sliding off the road. in the northwest, icy roads causing pileups. in oregon, one driver injured. >> lost control. did a 360, hit a car on the next lane and ended up here. >> reporter: meanwhile, parts of the northeast are digging out after getting blizzard conditions for christmas. white-knuckle travel from maine to massachusetts, where there was thundersnow. >> thundersnow! >> reporter: and winds gusted to 65 miles an hour, knocking this beam off the sagamore bridge and knocking out power to thousands. at boston's logan overnight, flights were delayed for hours, and one almost didn't make it. >> we were spinning, and spinning, and spinning. >> everything's fine. we just skidded on the ice, ugh. >> reporter: passengers evacuating onto the icy tarmac and onto shuttle buses after a jetblue plane from savannah spun all the way around. thankfully, no one was injured. >> and alex perez joins us live now, just outside of buffalo. alex, it's hard to make out what's behind you, because everything is frozen and they're expecting even more snow? >> reporter: that's right, tom. it's hard to believe even staring right at it. take a look behind me there. this is lake erie back there, and the water coming up to the shore here freezing solid. that's a bench underneath there. aaa says they're getting about 100 calls an hour for help, and it's not over just yet. they are expecting more snow, about a foot more, just south of here in the next 24 hours. tom? >> incredible snow and incredible images. alex, thank you. and that arctic blast likely will be dangerous wind child alerts in 20 states. some 45 million americans feeling the cold. let's get right to abc's senior meteorologist rob marciano with more. rob? >> reporter: good evening, tom. right now, in the least amount of daylight and the least amount of cold all year long. through erie, northern michigan, another one to two feet, as alex mentioned, on top of the four and five feet they've seen. stunning totals in the next 24 hours for sure. wind chills, as you mentioned, 20 states in the frozen zone. in chicago, going to feel like minus 14. by thursday, even colder across the east coast. boston will feel like minus 16. 5 in philadelphia. single digits down into the carolinas. that cold air sits in place right through the new year, with multiple opportunities of snow and ice. tom? >> we're going to have to brace for this winter. rob, thank you so much. next tonight, to florida, where president trump is spending the holidays away from the white house. the president planie playing go today, and also on twitter, taking aim at the ongoing russia investigation and the fbi. abc's ken noet moton is in west palm beach. >> reporter: president trump today spotted on his trump international golf course through the trees in his signature red make america great again hat. on christmas, the president said he'd be back at work today. he's also back on twitter, responding to a fox news report about that now infamous dossier, alleging links between the trump campaign and russia. >> the dossier we have long known is bogus. >> reporter: trump tweeting, "wow. dossier is bogus. clinton campaign, dnc funded dossier. fbi cannot, after all of this time, verify claims in dossier of russia trump collusion. fbi tainted." the most salacious parts of the dossier have not been corroborated, and it's unclear what role, if any, it has played in the fbi's broader russia investigation. for weeks, the president has been attacking the fbi. >> well, it's a shame what's happened with the fbi. >> reporter: here in mar-a-lago, president trump also taking aim at fbi deputy director andrew mccabe, accusing him of bias during the hillary clinton e-mail investigation, after an ally of clinton's donated to mccabe's wife's political campaign. the administration defending the president's attacks on fbi leadership. >> he's making the point that we need to make sure there's no bias, and i think there's serious concerns if there was or was not. >> so, this is the bill, right here. and we're very proud of it. >> reporter: trump still riding high after signing the gop tax bill into law. now, onto infrastructure, the border wall and health care, tweeting, "democrats and republicans will eventually come together and develop a great new health care plan." tonight, the president reaching a new milestone. he's spent more than 100 days this year at one of his properties. that's nearly a third of his presidency. >> and kenneth moton is live tonight from west palm beach. the president also tweeting today about obamacare and how it has initially been replaced, but key parts of it are still intact. >> reporter: that's right, tom. essentially repealed is a claim the president has been continuously making since he signed the new tax law, which does eliminate that individual mandate requiring health insurance, but yes, key parts of the affordable care ability are still in effect. 9 million people signed up this year, and there's work happening, at least in the senate, to stabilize the markets to keep premiums from rising. tom? >> kenneth moton, thank you. the trump administration taking credit for roughly 5% cut in the united nations budget. nikki haley saying they negotiated a $285 million cut to the main 2018-2019 budget. the move comes after tough talk about member nations paying their share and amid tensions over trump's decision to recognize jerusalem as the capital of israel. the u.s. will still pay 22% of the total budget. next tonight, the economy and retail roaring back this holiday season. year-end sales up nearly 5% compared to the same period one year ago. so, what's driving the surge? here's abc's erielle reshef. >> reporter: tonight, a merry and much-needed boost for big retrailers. holiday sales up 4.9%, the highest since 2011. anything on sale? >> everything on sale! >> reporter: a welcome gift for brick and mortar companies like macy's, gap and toys "r" us. all announcing store closures this year. this, as online shopping is up 18%. >> people are feeling way better about the economy than they have in years past. and they're wanting to show that by spending more money. >> reporter: and now, the rush to return. $90 billion worth of gifts expected to zbo back to venn dorns over the holiday season. what did you return? >> exchanged one bag for the other and i actually got money back. >> reporter: experts predict nearly half of all americans will do some post-holiday shopping. and consumers turning out in droves. some even braving sub zero conditions like these shoppers in illinois. >> stores such as bannan that republic, gap, even old navy, you're seeing discounts of up to 74%. >> and erielle joins us live tonight. ere yelle, a new trend may be behind part of the spending boost this year? >> reporter: that's right, tom. the trend of buying online and picking up in stores could be behind the big boosts in sales at stores like macy's, and experts say could revolutionize the way we shop in the future. tom? >> and a great way to save on shipping. erielle, thank you. moving on, and three major american cities suing the pentagon for failing to report service member crimes to the fbi gun check system. new york, philadelphia and san francisco claim that failure allowed texas church gunman devin kelley to buy weapons, despite a previous military assault conviction that should flag him in the fbi's national background check system. the attorney general has already ordered a review of the system. now, to a grisly discovery inside of a home in upstate new york. authorities confirming that four people reportedly from the same family were found dead inside of a basement in troy, new york. police say the deaths appear suspicious. that investigation ongoing tonight. and a shocking double murder in suburban virginia. a husband and wife fatally shot inside of their home, just before christmas. now, a family member is speaking out, saying the shooter was their daughter's 17-year-old boyfriend, and that the parents had warned their daughter about him. here's abc's stephanie ramos. >> reporter: tonight, police investigating a brutal double murder inside this suburban virginia home, just three days before christmas. >> caller advising her mother and father were shot. >> reporter: buckely kuhn-fricker and her husband scott gunned down before dawn. family members say their daughter's boyfriend then shot and critically injured himself. >> i think we have the shooter down. >> reporter: the girl's grabbedmother says last week, the couple told their daughter to end the relationship after discovering his nazi views on her phone. >> they disapproved of all the time she was spending with him hours on the phone. >> reporter: "the washington post" reports the girl's mother alerted the principal of their private school about messages praising hitler, supporting nazi book burnings and calling for a white revolution. but by friday morning, police say the boy got inside the home where he was confronted by the couple. that 17-year-old is still hospitalized. the juvenile is now facing double murder charges. tonight, the victim's devastating family sending their own message. >> hate has no home here. and that's what we're talking about. we're talking about the kid that killed them was a nazi. >> reporter: there were four other people inside this house when the shooting happened. a family member tells me, scott tricker's parents were both there, visiting for the holiday. none of them were physically hurt. tom? >> stephanie ramos for us tonight. stephanie, thank you. next, new questions about that mesmerizing moment in the california sky. new video showing a car crashing as the spacex falcon-9 rocket launch ill lum nated the night above. abc's senior national correspondent matt gutman with the moment confusion set in. >> reporter: tonight, new images surfacing of california going haywire. >> what the hell is that? >> reporter: that mysterious con trail was spacex's falcon-9 rocket sailing smoothly into the sky friday night. the sight so mesmerizing that some motorists couldn't keep their eyes on the sky and on the road. >> oh! [ bleep ]. >> this guy's not paying attention. >> reporter: and even after those three cars crashed, the narrator in this video barely skips a beat, he just keeps talking about that shape in the sky. >> wow. what is that? >> reporter: the rocket's unusual, whale-shaped con trail feezing a frenzy. >> if you're wondering that bright thing in the sky was the missile launch. >> reporter: and so many were wondering. >> dude, what is that? >> reporter: many didn't get the message that the hash tag aliens trended on twitter. calls flooded tv stations with ufo sightings. and the man who created the mess? elon musk jokingly capping it this way. "nuclear alien ufo from north korea." now, the next falcon-9 launch isn't until later next month. we're not sure it will be quite as spectacular at the last one, but the california highway patrol hopes that this time, all these motor itseists will keep eyes on the road. tom? >> drivers be warned. all right, matt, thank you so much. there's still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this tuesday. an apartment infore know. what caused this blaze by a toy battery in the process of charging. plus, the sharp jump in flu cases. what's ahead. and how can you stay healthy. and these two men, best friends for more than 60 years. the secret they never knew, revealed tonight. stay with us. david. what's going on? oh hey! ♪ that's it? yeah. ♪ everybody two seconds! ♪ "dear sebastian, after careful consideration of your application, it is with great pleasure that we offer our congratulations on your acceptance..." through the tuition assistance program, every day mcdonald's helps more people go to college. it's part of our commitment to being america's best first job. ♪ the market.redict but through good times and bad... ...at t. rowe price... ...we've helped our investors stay confident for over 75 years. call us or your advisor. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. i just drank tons of water a proall the time, it was never enough. my dentist suggested biotene. my mouth felt more lubricated. i use the biotene rinse and then i use the spray. biotene did make a difference. [heartbeat] you are loved uh oh...a painful sore throat? not now. take cépacol instamax. look! unlike regular cough drops it contains 2 max strength pain relievers and cools in seconds. bye bye sore throat. take cépacol instamax. and carmax will hold it for you up to seven days, for free. you come in when it's convenient i know this because i'm from seven days in the future. now don't 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... ah...we still say pretty sweet. it's basically the same. next to the growing worries about the flu. we've been telling you about the cdc's warning, high inflew when sae-like activity in ten states now. and many christmas celebrations spoiled by sickness. here's abc's linzie janis. >> reporter: tonight, the flu virus on a rampage. and the number of cases could skyrocket. >> went to the doctor and got tested, i felt like i had a sinus infection. >> reporter: vince blea and his son both suffering from the flu. the pair spent christmas quarantined in bed, away from their family. >> it's the best thing for everybody. >> reporter: they didn't get flu shots. doctors say that getting the shots could have helped, but this year's vaccine has been disappointing. >> this year's flu vaccine may be only 10% effective. better than 0%, but still very, very poor. >> reporter: according to doctors, the virus can exist in the air three to six feet away from an infected person. ten states already exhibiting high flu activity. mostly in the south and southwest. with the peak of the misery expected sometime in the coming weeks. tonight, doctors warning, it's not just the vulnerable who are at risk. >> sometimes, the flu really affects people who have no underlying medical condition, who are young and healthy. and those patients can get very sick and can die from influenza complications. >> reporter: tom, doctors say people should still get a flu shot, because if you get the virus, it could lessen its potentially deadly impact. tom? >> linzie janis for us. linzie, thank you. when we come back, the popular christmas eve fireworks tradition taking a dangerous turn. where this happened. plus, 220-year veteran flight attendant with one way to make holiday travel enjoyable. ♪ if only in my dreams >> not bad. the reason why she sings, when we come back. moking with chanti. i tried, um, cold turkey. i tried the patches. i was tired and i was fed up. i wanted to try something different. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. chantix reduced my urge to smoke. compared to the nicotine patch, chantix helped significantly more people quit smoking. when you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. some people had changes in behavior or thinking, aggression, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, or suicidal thoughts or actions with chantix. serious side effects may include seizures, new or worse heart or blood vessel problems, sleepwalking or allergic and skin reactions which can be life-threatening. stop chantix and get help right away if you have any of these. tell your healthcare provider if you've had depression or other mental health problems. decrease alcohol use while taking chantix. use caution when driving or operating machinery. the most common side effect is nausea. i'm finally free of smoking. ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. i'm finally free of smoking. us lives here. where we can be surprised by others. and ourselves. for a better us, support to your local y today. do i use ...one that'sthat wgood for my teeth? 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[heartbeat] essential for vinyl, but maybe not for people with rheumatoid arthritis. because there are options. like an "unjection™". xeljanz xr. a once daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. xeljanz xr can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. don't start xeljanz xr if you have an infection. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz xr, and monitor certain liver tests. tell your doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. needles. a must for vinyl. but for you, one pill a day may provide symptom relief. ask your doctor about xeljanz xr. an "unjection™". finally tonight, a new tool for police, and maybe for you, as well. officers balancing the high risk stress of the badge through medication, using their mind to sharpen their edge. here's abc's dan harris. >> i typically go on the calls that involve more risk. >> reporter: night patrol in tempe, arizona, with sergeant raj johnson. >> i think he's trying to get away from me here. >> reporter: sounds like you have something going on there. he has two unusual passengers tagging along. a news anchor, me, and a meditation teacher named jeff warren. do you think on the force meditation is considered socially acceptable, or would people make fun of you a little bit? you can be honest. >> you know, i think people are going to make fun of you just a little bit. >> reporter: do you think people think if you're meditating that you're going to kind of go soft a little bit? >> hey. i would say yes. >> reporter: i get it. i used to worry that meditation would diminish my edge in the hard-charging world of tv news. people who take cholesterol-lowering drugs -- then i had a panic attack, live on "good morning america." i found that meditation boosted my edge, making me more focused and less yanked around by my emotions. studies suggest meditation can help people in high stress jobs, literally rewiring your brain. now jeff and i are on a mission to make the practice more accessible with our new book, "medication for fidgety skeptics." >> the area that we're in, it's known for illegal activity, primarily with drugs. >> reporter: while sergeant johnson is skeptical, we gather his colleagues, many of whom have embraced meditation. >> i'm a tiny officer. so, when i show up to scenes, it's essential that i'm calm, my mind is in the right place and i'm able to talk to people. >> reporter: at a time of tension between officers and the community, they say meditation helps them manage stress on the job and not take it home with them. by the end of our visit, sergeant johnson is convinced. dan harris, abc news, tempe, arizona. >> we thank dan for that report. his book went on sale today. thank you so much for watching. i'm tom llamas in new york. i'll see you right back here tomorrow night. for david and all of us here, have a great evening. good night. michael: i'm thankful that i'm alive and have a second chance. james: i'm thankful for the help and the opportunity that i received. darlene: i'm thankful to be able to help people in crisis. vanessa: i'm thankful that addiction is treatable, and that help is available. christie: new jersey is experiencing a heroin epidemic fueled by opioid painkillers. but if you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, i want you to know: we are here for you. this holiday season, choose help. call 844 reach nj or visit reachnj.gov. ♪ this is "jeopardy!" let's meet today's contestants -- a freelance writer from lyme, connecticut... a project manager from oblong, illinois... and our returning champion, a dentist from tualatin, oregon... ...whose 1-day cash winnings total... and now here is the host of "jeopardy!" -- alex trebek! thank you, johnny, [ cheers and applause ] thank you, ladies and gentlemen. for our canadian viewers, happy boxing day. for the benefit of our american viewers, it's tuesday. [ laughter ] cary and ami, good to have you with us. natalie, nice to see you again. let's go to work in the jeopardy! round, shall we?

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