Transcript of LIVE: ABC News Live - Thursday, November 14 | ABC News

The backlash on both sides of the aisle, and what we're learning about the timing of an ethics investigation into gates.

The FBI reportedly raids the home of the CEO of a crypto betting website linked to bets on the presidential election. His site correctly predicted a Trump victory. How his company is responding to the raid.

Wildfires in New York City in November. The latest in Manhattan. The new report on the historic weather across the country and overseas after this historic flood. More rain. Nearly a month's worth in one hour.

New claims that the government is covering up evidence of UFOs. The testimony on Capitol Hill raising more questions.

A new twist in the case of the father of three who allegedly faked his own death to escape to Europe. The new video being analyzed by police.

Caught on camera. Was it really a bear rummaging through that car or a sophisticated car insurance scam? The evidence uncovered.

Later. Amazon launches a new way for shoppers to save online.

And if you think food at the airport is expensive, now, get ready to pay even more.

From ABC news. This is Good Morning America. First look.

Good Thursday morning everyone. I'm Rhiannon ally.

And I'm Andrew Dymburt. We begin with president elect Trump nominating controversial Congressman Matt Gaetz for attorney general.

Even many Republicans are pushing back against this choice. And we are now learning more about the timing of an ethics investigation into gates, who has denied sex trafficking, drug use and other accusations.

Meanwhile, last night, Trump and billionaire Elon Musk were singing God Bless America during a party at Mar-A-Lago. ABC's Christiane Cordero has the latest on Trump's new staff picks. Christiane good morning.

Andrew good morning. The man nominated to become the top law enforcement official in the country is a fierce Trump loyalist. But now the big question is can Matt Gaetz be confirmed by the Senate? Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz has resigned from Congress just hours after president elect Trump nominated him to become attorney general.

If you really want to drain the swamp, hire a Florida man.

Back in 2020, Gaetz pitched himself as a possible attorney general while speaking to a group of young Republicans.

Maybe I should serve as attorney general of the United States. I'd be easy on marijuana and tough on Big Tech. If necessary, I'd fire every little kicker at the J. Edgar Hoover Building and send them all packing.

House speaker Mike Johnson last night acknowledged Gaetz's swift resignation caught him by surprise. The House Ethics Committee was set to deliberate as soon as tomorrow on whether to release its final report on Gaetz. It's been investigating whether Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, or accepted improper gifts dispensed Dispense special privileges and favors to individuals whom he had a personal relationship and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing, and now, because he has resigned his seat, the committee's findings won't be made public.

If Matt has resigned and is no longer a member of Congress, the ethics investigation will cease and no report will be issued at that point.

If confirmed, Gaetz would lead the same federal agency that investigated him for years for alleged obstruction of justice and sex trafficking. The Justice Department ultimately closed that investigation without filing charges. Gaetz would need a simple majority in the Senate to be confirmed. Some lawmakers, including Republicans, are expressing doubts.

Reaction to Matt Gaetz is AG.

Yeah, I don't know yet. I think about that one. I mean, do.

You have any concerns about it?

We'll see.

Alaska Senator Lisa murkowski saying, I don't think it's a serious nomination. Ohio Congressman Max Miller saying Gaetz has a better shot of having dinner with Queen Elizabeth, then being confirmed by the Senate, but some Trump loyalists praising gates.

He's going to go into this with an attitude that he's going to clean up, in particular the FBI. But a lot of other stuff.

For deputy attorney general. Trump is considering tapping his own lead attorney, Todd Blanche, a former federal prosecutor. Meanwhile, Trump's pick for defense secretary. Fox news host Pete Hegseth faces more pushback.

I respect his his service and the fact that he's a decorated combat vet. But, you know, it takes weeks to figure out where the bathroom is in the Pentagon.

Hegseth, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, has said women should not be in combat roles. And he once described a, quote, frontal assault needed to reform the Pentagon. First of all.

You got to fire.

Um, you know, you got to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and you got to fire this. I mean, obviously, you got to bring in a new secretary of defense, but any general that was involved, general, Admiral, whatever that was involved in, any of the die woke has got to go for.

The director of national intelligence. Trump has chosen former Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who left the Democratic Party in 2022. The conservative Washington Examiner, responding with this headline Senate GOP must stop Tulsi Gabbard from getting keys to intelligence. Castle calling Gabbard an ideological sympathizer of Russian President Putin and Chinese President XI Jinping. But Trump calling Gabbard fearless, saying she will secure peace through strength. As attention focuses on the Senate for confirmation hearings, Republicans have elected South Dakota's John Thune to be its next majority leader instead of Rick Scott, who Trump reportedly favored. It was voted on via secret ballots. Andrew.

All right. The latest from Washington, from Christiane. Christiane. Thank you. Betting on the presidential election may be the reason behind an FBI raid here in New York. Agents reportedly searched the home of Shane Copeland, the CEO of a crypto betting website called Polymarket, which allowed bets from around the world on the U.S. presidential election, Polymarket predicted Trump's win. The New York Post reports Copeland's phone and other devices were seized in the raid, which the company claims was political retribution.

Wildfires in New York in November. A historically early snowstorm in the southwest, and a month's worth of rain in one hour in Europe. This morning, we have new examples of extreme weather playing out all across the country and around the globe. Overnight, firefighters in New York working to contain a brush fire in upper Manhattan. Smoke towering over the city. Residents urged to close their windows. First responders pumping water from the Harlem River. We had a.

Stretch hose lines approximately 150ft or more up a hill to extinguish multiple fires. The blaze.

Fueled by a record drought and gusty winds, one of more than 200 fires in New York since the end of October.

As these dry conditions continue, we anticipate that we will see more of these before rain comes.

About 40 miles away, a wildfire on the new Jersey New York border overnight was only 50% contained. Helicopters dumping water over forests. More than 100 buildings threatened. North America just saw its warmest October on record. Irregular weather patterns emerging across the country and the world. Over the weekend, Denver got more than 20in of snow, the most they've seen in November in 40 years. The heavy, wet snow collapsing this carport.

You know, after a snowstorm, your food and all your resources kind of depleted. So you look forward to being able to get out.

Across the Atlantic, parts of Spain are dealing with another major flood event. Nearly a month's worth of rain in just one day. More than 4000 people forced to flee their homes just two weeks after flash floods turned roads into rivers in eastern Spain, washing away these cars and nearly everything in their path, killing more than 200 people. Back in New York, officials say that fire in Manhattan is now under control. We will check today's forecast in just a few moments.

The Pentagon has released video of a U.S. airstrike on Iranian backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The drone strike targeted a missile launcher allegedly used to attack ships in the Red sea. A remarkably check your screen here. A person in the area right there before the drone strike survived and was seen running away after the explosion. Meanwhile, in southern Gaza, an Israeli airstrike hit this area with tents housing displaced Palestinians. At least one child was killed and nearly two dozen people were injured.

Investigators in Massachusetts say they have solved a cold case that dates back 46 years, and it's thanks to a fingerprint. 71 year old Timothy Jolley is now in custody accused of killing Teresa Marco and Mark Harnish in 1978. Police say the victims were shot in Harnish's truck, where investigators found a fingerprint. But they say there wasn't a match until the suspect applied for a taxicab license.

Investigators obtained a fingerprint identification card for Jolie from the Springfield Police Department, which was on file with that department because Jolie was fingerprinted as an applicant for a taxi cab license in the year 2000.

They finally made an arrest after getting a tip and then looking for the suspect's fingerprints in a database. No word on a motive for the murders.

Time now for your Thursday weather.

Good morning. We've got some good news for some rain on the way to parts of the northeast. But where the Jennings Creek wildfire has been. And in the New York Metro. We're going to stay dry. This system kind of runs out of gas as it approaches. Due to strong high pressure over New England, and wildfire risk will increase on Friday with a dry, gusty breeze into the tropics. We go. This will become Sara, a strengthening storm moving to the west. It could even become a hurricane near Florida in less than a week. For AccuWeather, I'm Jeff Cornish for ABC news.

Coming up, drowning in debt. Just how bad it's getting for millions of Americans.

Also ahead, a new twist in the case of the Wisconsin father of three who allegedly faked his own death to escape to Europe.

And later, what scientists have learned about how we form memories.

Whenever news breaks, we are here in.

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The news never stops. We are here in Israel, a nation at war.

Hurricane Helene screaming across the state. And that's why.

ABC News Live. Never stops taking.

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ABC News Live is there for you all morning live right there as events unfold across the day. Breaking down the day's top stories.

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They were 150ft down in the dark, in the cold, with just a dwindling supply of oxygen.

An unbelievable mystery. How does the ultimate status symbol end up on the bottom of the sea? How could they be gone in 16 minutes?

It just doesn't happen. Desperate efforts to find six missing people after a luxury yacht sank down to the sea floor. We were.

Just praying.

I think about the last few moments for them.

It's terrifying. Sinking of the superyacht now streaming on Hulu. ABC's David Muir the most watched newscast in America. More Americans watch World News Tonight with David Muir than any other newscast.

We are back now with new video of a drop off ballot box exploding in Oregon days before last week's election. The FBI is now offering a $25,000 reward for information on who's responsible. A separate incident nearby Washington also destroyed a ballot box.

There is new evidence that Americans are drowning in debt. Credit card balances hit a new record high between July and September. More than $1 trillion and total household debt, which includes credit cards, student and car loans and mortgages, also broke a record. On the bright side, wages are now rising at a faster pace than debt.

There's a new twist in the case of the Wisconsin father accused of faking his own death. He was originally reported missing after a kayaking trip. Well, now police are investigating a video that surfaced on social media. Here's ABC's Andrea Fujii.

This morning video on social media featuring a man who resembles a father of three who allegedly faked his own death, is now under investigation by authorities in Wisconsin.

I go to bed or stay here.

Say that one more time.

Content creator Bailey Boomhauer says she shot the video in San Diego in June. She recently alerted police that the man looked similar to Ryan Borgwardt. The married father reported missing while kayaking in Wisconsin back in August. Boomhauer remembered the interaction as bizarre.

I've never even heard of that place before, so it's just a very like odd parallel that the man that's missing is also connected to Uzbekistan.

Last week, the sheriff of Green Lake County, Wisconsin announced that Borgwardt was never actually missing. He says evidence shows Borgwardt had planned his disappearance in order to escape to Europe and meet a woman from Uzbekistan. Investigators say they uncovered the alleged scheme after learning that Canadian law enforcement had checked Borgward's name the day after his disappearance. They say he had taken out a $375,000 life insurance policy, moved money to a foreign bank and had replaced his computer's hard drive.

Why do you want.

To go.

Meet a woman?

So you've given up on meeting someone here?

Know I'm married?

Authorities are not saying that Borgwardt is the man in that social media video, but they do say they're investigating the video.

Anything that we can get, we certainly go through it. See if it will help us out.

Federal authorities are also joining the investigation to determine whether Borgwardt committed any crimes. The sheriff says they plan to seek restitution for search expenses. Rhiannon. Andrew.

All right, Andrea, thank you for that. Coming up, how a school district allegedly violated federal law before the death of a nonbinary student.

Also ahead is the government covering up evidence of UFOs. The testimony on Capitol Hill now raising even more questions.

There were 150ft down in the dark, in the cold, with just a dwindling supply of oxygen.

An unbelievable mystery. How does the ultimate status symbol end up on the bottom of the sea? How could they be gone in 16 minutes.

It just doesn't happen. Desperate efforts to find six missing people after a luxury yacht sank down to the sea floor.

We were just praying.

I think about the last few moments for them is terrifying.

Sinking of the superyacht now streaming on Hulu.

Whenever, wherever news breaks, it's so important to always remember that lives are changed here in London, in Buffalo. Uvalde, Texas. Edinburgh, Scotland. Reporting from Rolling Fork, Mississippi. Ukrainian refugees here in Warsaw. We're heading to a small community outside of Mexico City, getting you behind the stories as they happen. ABC News Live Prime. We'll take you there.

Stream ABC news live weeknights wherever you stream your news, only on ABC News Live.

The news never stops. We are here in Israel, a nation at war.

Hurricane Helene screaming across the state. And that's why.

ABC News Live. Never stops.

Taking you to the center of the story.

As news breaks live.

ABC News Live is there for you all morning live.

Right there as events unfold across the day. Breaking down the day's top stories.

ABC News Live Prime. Going there. Wherever the story is.

And ABC News Live lighting up the weekend.

ABC News Live.

Because the news never stops.

Please, for the last time. The oldest standing man of the oh nine block in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now it's time to go on a night time patrol. How many poachers have you caught this year? Friday night, all new 2020.

You think the shooter was parked over here?

Why would somebody ever.

Put a wig on and gun somebody down in a.

Parking lot?

A young father is senselessly murdered.

Twists and turns.

Bombshells galore.

He got shot for one of three reasons.

Greed, revenge or lust? It was becoming more.

And more clear that there was a lot more to the story. And then.

Bingo. Fatal disguise all new 2020 Friday night on ABC.

Oh, she's doing great, by the way.

I took third in the PGA competition.

That's actor Dave Coulier from full House. He's now battling stage three non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He says he's been undergoing chemo, and doctors say his condition is very treatable.

A federal investigation triggered by the death of a non-binary student in Oklahoma has found the school district failed to protect students from harassment and discrimination. 16 year old next Benedict died by suicide one day after a fight with girls in a school bathroom. Investigators say the district did not notify parents or show them how to file a formal complaint in accordance with title nine policies. The school has agreed to impose new rules.

Now to Washington and new questions about whether the government is covering up evidence of UFOs.

I had an experience.

A.

Congressional hearing straight out of a science fiction movie.

All to hide the fact that we are not alone in the cosmos.

Lawmakers calling for more transparency around UAPs or unidentified anomalous phenomena. That's the term the government now uses instead of UFO.

What do you believe UAPs could be or are.

Strong.

Evidence that they are non-human? Higher intelligence.

An intelligence officer last year claimed the Pentagon has been hiding knowledge of alien activity for decades.

Were they, I guess, human or non-human? Biologics?

Non-human. And that was the assessment of people with direct knowledge on the program.

I talked to Luis Elizondo, who headed a Pentagon program investigating UAPs. Now doubling down on his claims.

Has the government conducted secret UAP crash retrieval programs? Yes or no? Yes. Were they designed to identify and reverse engineer alien craft? Yes or no? Yes.

Elizondo saying the alleged extraterrestrial presence poses a national security threat. Let me.

Be clear. UAP are real advanced technologies not made by our government or any other government, are monitoring sensitive military installations around the.

Globe and.

Saying he believes many classified materials should be shared with Congress and the public.

If this was an adversarial technology, this would be an intelligence failure, eclipsing that of nine over 11 by an order of magnitude. I believe that we as Americans can handle the truth, and I also believe the world deserves the truth.

The hearing lacked any direct evidence with witnesses who have said they'll only speak about certain subjects behind closed doors. So the result of yesterday's hearing, while one congresswoman says it could open the door to more hearings, president elect Trump has said he might be willing to release more video of UAPs.

Coming up, Amazon's new discount shopping site.

Plus, the bear costume police say was used to commit car insurance fraud. We'll explain.

Tonight, the white House meeting and the latest on the Swift transition picks. Plus, the hill is back. How might the new Senate GOP leader reshape Congress? ABC's World News Tonight with David Muir is the most watched newscast in America.

Baby. Oh, baby. It was a joyous morning in GMA history. Okay. And push now. Babies being born live.

Oh, that's so incredible.

What's more amazing is over 22 years later coming back to GMA. Baby oh baby. What a way to celebrate GMA 850 this morning.

They were 150ft down in the dark in the cold with just a dwindling supply of oxygen.

An unbelievable mystery. How does the ultimate status symbol end up on the bottom of the sea? How could they be gone in 16 minutes?

It just doesn't happen. Desperate efforts to find six missing people after a luxury yacht sank down to the sea floor. We were.

Just praying.

I think about the last few moments for them.

It's terrifying. Sinking of the superyacht now streaming on Hulu.

I love this version of me.

America's number one most watched daytime talk show is ABC's The View. You all heard.

It here first, I love it, I'm there for it.

Hot topics, political views.

That's what we're about.

Voices that matter. It all goes down right here.

That's why it's called the what?

The view. I love it, I'm all in. Second. That beautiful. This is going to be.

Must see TV. And so much could happen.

I say this for the last time to be able to say anything. Lucky or not lucky for the Tampa Bay Now it's time to go on a night time patrol. How many of these poachers have you caught this year?

I'm Janai Norman reporting live on the return of panda diplomacy here in the Sichuan province of China. You're watching ABC news Live.

Time to check the pulse. We begin with a bizarre case of insurance fraud in California.

Four people are under arrest after claiming a bear damaged their luxury car. They even showed the insurance company video of said bear inside their cars, including a Rolls Royce and a Mercedes.

But wildlife experts said evidence showed it was clearly a person in a bear costume. The suspects are being charged with $140,000 in insurance fraud. Next, Amazon's new discount store.

It is called Amazon Haul. And everything there from apparel to electronics. It all costs under 20 bucks. Most items shipped directly from China, so there are no next day deliveries. Most purchases will arrive in under two weeks haul. Is Amazon's attempt to compete with Chinese sites Sheehan and Team Next. Food prices at the airport are going up yet again.

Price hikes are set to begin at all New York area airports in January. Rising labor costs, including a higher minimum wage and improved benefits, are driving prices higher. Travelers could see a 7% increase on most food.

And speaking of expensive food, watch the fries go flying. At the Knicks game last night, actress Anne Hathaway and her son had front row seats. They saw their fries get knocked over by a player.

They're next. Scientists have learned something new about how we form memories.

It involves more than just your brain. They tested cells from nerve tissue and kidney tissue by exposing them to patterns of chemical signals. Now, those cells responded by activating a so-called memory gene, which is also activated in brain cells. They said the discovery could lead to new ways of treating memory related conditions.

And finally, the toddler who loves target.

Here's 14 month old Ellis on a ride through target. Thrilled by the holiday decorations? They're all he can say. You heard him there. Wow.

I got to say, I love target, too. Top headlines. Next.

The news never stops. We are here in Israel. A nation at war.

Hurricane Helene screaming across the state. And that's why ABC News Live. Never stops taking.

You to the center of the story.

As news breaks live.

ABC News Live is there for you all.

Morning live right there as events unfold across the day. Breaking down the day's top stories.

ABC News Live Prime going there. Wherever the story is and.

ABC News Live lighting up the weekend ABC.

News Live.

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Why do so many people start their day here?

From ABC news. This is start here to be in the know.

And get a different take on the day's top stories. A lot of.

News today, so let's get into it.

Listen now to the daily news podcast honored with four Edward R Murrow Awards, and see why the New York Times calls it a news podcast worth listening to. Start here ABC news. Make it your daily first. Listen.

Now that's a part of the story I bet you didn't see coming. Wherever you get.

Your podcasts, start here baby.

Oh baby. It was a joyous morning in GMA history okay. And push now babies being born live.

Oh that's so incredible.

What's more amazing is over 22 years later coming back to GMA baby oh baby what a way to celebrate GMA 50 this morning.

Tonight the white House meeting and the latest on the swift transition picks. Plus the Hill is back. How might the new Senate GOP leader reshape Congress? ABC's World News tonight with David Muir is the most watched newscast in America.

There were 150ft down in the dark, in the cold, with just a dwindling supply of oxygen.

An unbelievable mystery. How does the ultimate status symbol end up on the bottom of the sea? How could they be gone in 16 minutes?

It just doesn't happen. Desperate efforts to find six missing people after a luxury yacht sank down to the sea floor. We were.

Just praying.

I think about the last few moments for them is terrifying.

Sinking of the superyacht now streaming on Hulu.

More top stories now. Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz quickly resigned from Congress after president elect Trump shocked Washington by tapping him to become attorney general. Sources say the House Ethics Committee was preparing to meet this week to discuss whether to release a report on Gaetz over allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use, but that investigation is now over because Gaetz is no longer a member of the House.

An employee of the CIA has been arrested in Cambodia, accused of leaking classified information about Israel's plans to retaliate for an attack by Iran. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

A man is seeking $5 million in a new lawsuit against Sean Diddy Combs, claiming he was assaulted during a confrontation with Combs in 1996. A former member of Combs inner circle also accuses music mogul of setting him up to take the fall in a gun case. Combs has denied allegations against him.

Today's weather a cold morning in the northeast. Rain from the Great Lakes to Florida, and rain and mountain snow for the West Coast.

Finally, the 71 year old woman who is defying expectations and gravity.

She's a pole dancing champion. She spoke to Danny New.

I wake up between 5 and 5:30 a.m..

In the past year, we've introduced you to an 84 year old grandma making it rain in Canada and a 75 year old doing backflips in Australia. Take your time. But now we're headed back to the States to meet a 71 year old woman in Los Angeles who is also spinning her way through expectations. So what was your athletic background before this?

Oh, taking care of kids.

When it's exactly Mary Carroll.

Here had done a little cheerleading and gymnastics in high school. But in 2011, when she was in her late 50s, her friend took her to a class at her gym for a sport called pole dancing. It was.

Just mesmerizing to me, my.

Love. Fast forward 14 years and Mary has now won multiple international competitions in both Italy and Brazil for this athletic feat that requires a whole lot of core and upper body strength.

I had to make it happen.

For each performance, Mary will choreograph the moves, build the character, and even sew together her costume before ultimately being scored by the judges for her overall presentation.

To see you.

Again. And yes, she knows this could be dangerous. She battles through arthritis in her hands, and even had a hip replacement a few years ago.

You have to take those challenges throughout life and do something with them.

Not to mention, Mary says she also knows there is a stigma here and realizes how these performances do have a sensual element to them. However, Mary welcomes that no matter her age, if.

You view yourself as a vital person, sexy, attractive, you never have to lose that.

And guys, since it is scored like gymnastics and breakdancing with judges, Mary says she hopes the sport can grow enough to be added to the Olympics one day. What do you think?

Maybe one day.

Have a great day.

America's number one news ABC news Now streaming 24 over seven on Disney+.

Right now on Good Morning America. First look president elect Trump nominates Congressman Matt Gaetz for attorney general. Gaetz investigated for alleged sex trafficking and drug use The backlash on both sides of the aisle, and what we're learning about the timing of an ethics investigation into gates.

The FBI reportedly raids the home of the CEO of a crypto betting website linked to bets on the presidential election. His site correctly predicted a Trump victory. How his company is responding to the raid.

Wildfires in New York City in November. The latest in Manhattan. The new report on the historic weather across the country and overseas after this historic flood. More rain. Nearly a month's worth in one hour.

New claims that the government is covering up evidence of UFOs. The testimony on Capitol Hill raising more questions.

A new twist in the case of the father of three who allegedly faked his own death to escape to Europe. The new video being analyzed by police.

Caught on camera. Was it really a bear rummaging through that car? Or a sophisticated car insurance scam? The evidence uncovered.

Later, Amazon launches a new way for shoppers to save online.

And if you think food at the airport is expensive, now, get ready to pay even more.

From ABC news. This is Good Morning America first look.

Good Thursday morning everyone. I'm Rhiannon ally.

And I'm Andrew Dymburt. We begin with president elect Trump nominating controversial Congressman Matt Gaetz for attorney general.

Even many Republicans are pushing back against this choice. And we are now learning more about the timing of an ethics investigation into Gaetz, who has denied sex trafficking, drug use and other accusations.

Meanwhile, last night, Trump and billionaire Elon Musk were singing God Bless America during a party at Mar-A-Lago. ABC's Christiane Cordero has the latest on Trump's new staff picks. Christiane good morning.

Andrew good morning. The man nominated to become the top law enforcement official in the country is a fierce Trump loyalist. But now the big question is can Matt Gaetz be confirmed by the Senate. Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz has resigned from Congress just hours after president elect Trump nominated him to become attorney general.

If you really want to drain the swamp, hire a Florida man.

Back in 2020, Gaetz pitched himself as a possible attorney general while speaking to a group of young Republicans.

Maybe I should serve as attorney general of the United States. I'd be easy on marijuana and tough on Big Tech. If necessary, I'd fire every little kicker at the J. Edgar Hoover Building and send them all packing.

House speaker Mike Johnson last night acknowledged Gaetz's swift resignation caught him by surprise. The House Ethics Committee was set to deliberate as soon as tomorrow on whether to release its final report on Gaetz. It's been investigating whether Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, or accepted improper gifts to spend, special privileges and favors to individuals whom he had a personal relationship and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing, and now, because he has resigned his seat, the committee's findings won't be made public. If Matt.

Has resigned.

And is no longer a member of Congress, the ethics investigation will cease and no report will be issued at that point.

If confirmed, Gaetz would lead the same federal agency that investigated him for years for alleged obstruction of justice and sex trafficking. The Justice Department ultimately closed that investigation without filing charges. Gaetz would need a simple majority in the Senate to be confirmed. Some lawmakers, including Republicans, are expressing doubts.

Action to. Matt Gaetz is AG. Yeah, I don't know yet.

I think about that one.

Do you have any concerns about it?

We'll see. Alaska Senator Lisa murkowski saying, I don't think it's a serious nomination. Ohio Congressman Max Miller saying Gaetz has a better shot of having dinner with Queen Elizabeth than being confirmed by the Senate. But some Trump loyalists praising gates.

He's going to go into this with an attitude that he's going to clean up, in particular the FBI. But a lot of other stuff.

For Deputy Attorney General Trump is considering tapping his own lead attorney, Todd Blanche, a former federal prosecutor. Meanwhile, Trump's pick for defense secretary. Fox news host Pete Hegseth faces more pushback.

I respect his his service and the fact that he's a decorated combat vet. But, you know, it takes weeks to figure out where the bathroom is in the Pentagon.

Hegseth, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, has said women should not be in combat roles. And he once described a, quote, frontal assault needed to reform the Pentagon. First of all, you.

Got to fire, um, you know, you got to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and you got to fire this. I mean, obviously, you got to bring in a new secretary of defense, but any general that was involved, general, Admiral, whatever that was involved in any of the die woke. It's got to go.

For the director of national intelligence. Trump has chosen former Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who left the Democratic Party in 2022. The conservative Washington Examiner, responding with this headline Senate GOP must stop Tulsi Gabbard from getting keys to intelligence. Castle calling Gabbard an ideological sympathizer of Russian President Putin and Chinese President XI Jinping. But Trump calling Gabbard fearless, saying she will secure peace through strength. As attention focuses on the Senate for confirmation hearings, Republicans have elected South Dakota's John Thune to be its next majority leader instead of Rick Scott, who Trump reportedly favored. It was voted on via secret ballots. Andrew.

All right. The latest from Washington, from Christiane. Christiane. Thank you. Betting on the presidential election may be the reason behind an FBI raid here in New York. Agents reportedly searched the home of Shane Copeland, the CEO of a crypto betting website called Polymarket, which allowed bets from around the world on the US presidential election, Polymarket predicted Trump's win. The New York Post reports Copeland's phone and other devices were seized in the raid, which the company claims was political retribution.

Wildfires in New York in November, a historically early snowstorm in the southwest, and a month's worth of rain in one hour in Europe. This morning, we have new examples of extreme weather playing out all across the country and around the globe. Overnight, firefighters in New York working to contain a brush fire in upper Manhattan. Smoke towering over the city. Residents urged to close their windows. First responders pumping water from the Harlem River.

We had a stretch hose lines approximately 150ft or more up a hill to extinguish multiple fires. The blaze.

Fueled by a record drought and gusty winds, one of more than 200 fires in New York since the end of.

October.

As these dry conditions continue. We anticipate that we will see more of these before rain comes.

About 40 miles away. A wildfire on the new Jersey New York border overnight was only 50% contained. Helicopters dumping water over forests. More than 100 buildings threatened. North America just saw its warmest October on record. Irregular weather patterns emerging across the country and the world. Over the weekend, Denver got more than 20in of snow, the most they've seen in November in 40 years. The heavy, wet snow collapsing this carport.

You know, after a snowstorm, your food and all your resources kind of depleted. So you look forward to being able to get out.

Across the Atlantic, parts of Spain are dealing with another major flood event. Nearly a month's worth of rain in just one day. More than 4000 people forced to flee their homes just two weeks after flash floods turned roads into rivers in eastern Spain, washing away these cars and nearly everything in their path, killing more than 200 people. Back in New York, officials say that fire in Manhattan is now under control. We will check today's forecast in just a few moments.

The Pentagon has released video of a U.S. airstrike on Iranian backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The drone strike targeted a missile launcher allegedly used to attack ships in the Red sea. A remarkably check your screen here. A person in the area right there before the drone strike survived and was seen running away after the explosion. Meanwhile, in southern Gaza, an Israeli airstrike hit this area with tents housing displaced Palestinians. At least one child was killed and nearly two dozen people were injured.

Investigators in Massachusetts say they have solved a cold case that dates back 46 years, and it's thanks to a fingerprint. 71 year old Timothy Jolley is now in custody accused of killing Teresa Marco and Mark Harnish in 1978. Police say the victims were shot in Harnish's truck, where investigators found a fingerprint. But they say there wasn't a match until the suspect applied for a taxicab license.

Investigators obtained a fingerprint identification card for Jolie from the Springfield Police Department, which was on file with that department because Jolie was fingerprinted as an applicant for a taxicab license in the year 2000.

They finally made an arrest after getting a tip and then looking for the suspect's fingerprints in a database. No word on a motive for the murders.

Time now for your Thursday weather.

Good morning. We've got some good news for some rain on the way to parts of the northeast. But where the Jennings Creek wildfire has been. And in the New York Metro. We're going to stay dry. This system kind of runs out of gas as it approaches. Due to strong high pressure over New England, and wildfire risk will increase on Friday with a dry, gusty breeze into the tropics. We go. This will become Sarah. A strengthening storm moving to the west. It could even become a hurricane near Florida in less than a week. For AccuWeather, I'm Jeff Cornish for ABC news.

Coming up, drowning in debt. Just how bad it's getting for millions of Americans.

Also ahead, a new twist in the case of the Wisconsin father of three who allegedly faked his own death to escape to Europe.

And later, what scientists have learned about how we form memories.

They were 150ft down in the dark, in the cold, with just a dwindling supply of oxygen.

An unbelievable mystery. How does the ultimate status symbol end up on the bottom of the sea? How could they be gone in 16 minutes?

It just doesn't happen. Desperate efforts to find six missing people after a luxury yacht sank down to the sea floor. We were.

Just praying.

I think about the last few moments for them.

It's terrifying. Sinking of the superyacht, now streaming on Hulu. What does it take to be the most watched newscast in America?

We are part of an operation. This is our combat operation center.

We're approaching the gate. Militants came in from different directions. Nuclear reactor. So you have a couple loaded and ready to go. The house is destroyed, but the flag.

Not a tear in it.

How important it made the USA. Great work. I appreciate you.

Thank you. It's mayo. David. David, I'm David Muir. I know you are. You do every night.

ABC's World News Tonight with David Muir is America's most watched newscast.

Whenever, wherever news breaks. It's so important to always remember that lives are changed here in London, in Buffalo. Uvalde, Texas. Edinburgh, Scotland. Reporting from Rolling Fork, Mississippi. Ukrainian refugees here in Warsaw. We're heading to a small community outside of Mexico City, getting you behind the stories as they happen. ABC News Live Prime. We'll take you there.

Stream ABC news live weeknights wherever you stream your news only on ABC News Live.

Baby oh, baby. It was a joyous morning in GMA history. Okay.

And push now.

Babies being born.

Live. Oh, that's so incredible.

What's more amazing is over 22 years later coming back to GMA. Baby oh baby. What a way to celebrate GMA 50 this morning. What you get to watch read. Where can I get a great deal on what I'm just dying to buy. Oh it's all right here. GMA life get the latest celebrity buzz deals and steals and the coolest lifestyle tips from GMA.

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Streaming weekends on ABC News Live.

Reporting from West Palm Beach, Florida, at the site of the Trump election Night watch party. I'm Jay O'Brien. Wherever the story is, we'll take you there. You're streaming ABC News Live.

We are back now with new video of a drop off ballot box exploding in Oregon days before last week's election. The FBI is now offering a $25,000 reward for information on who's responsible. A separate incident in nearby Washington also destroyed a ballot box.

There's new evidence that Americans are drowning in debt. Credit card balances hit a new record high between July and September. More than $1 trillion and total household debt, which includes credit cards, student and car loans and mortgages, also broke a record. On the bright side, wages are now rising at a faster pace than debt.

There's a new twist in the case of the Wisconsin father accused of faking his own death. He was originally reported missing after a kayaking trip. Well, now police are investigating a video that surfaced on social media. Here's ABC's Andrea Fujii.

This morning video on social media featuring a man who resembles a father of three who allegedly faked his own death, is now under investigation by authorities in Wisconsin.

I go to Uzbekistan or stay here.

Say that one more time.

Content creator Bailey Boomhauer says she shot the video in San Diego in June. She recently alerted police that the man looked similar to Ryan Borgwardt. The married father reported missing while kayaking in Wisconsin back in August. Boomhauer remembered the interaction as bizarre.

I've never even heard of that place before, so she's a very like odd parallel that the man that's missing is also connected to Uzbekistan.

Last week, the sheriff of Green Lake County, Wisconsin announced that Borgwardt was never actually missing. He says evidence shows Borgwardt had planned his disappearance in order to escape to Europe and meet a woman from Uzbekistan. Investigators say they uncovered the alleged scheme after learning that Canadian law enforcement had checked Borgward's name the day after his disappearance. They say he had taken out a $375,000 life insurance policy, moved money to a foreign bank and had replaced his computer's hard drive.

Why do you want to go.

Meet a woman?

So you've given up on meeting someone here?

No. I'm married.

Authorities are not saying that Borgwardt is the man in that social media video, but they do say they're investigating the video.

Anything that we can get, we certainly go through it. See if it will help us out.

Federal authorities are also joining the investigation to determine whether Borgwardt committed any crimes. The sheriff says they plan to seek restitution for search expenses. Rhiannon. Andrew.

All right, Andrea, thank you for that. Coming up, how a school district allegedly violated federal law before the death of a nonbinary student.

Also ahead is the government covering up evidence of UFOs. The testimony on Capitol Hill now raising even more questions.

Tonight, the white House meeting and the latest on the swift transition picks. Plus the hill is back. How might the new Senate GOP leader reshape Congress? ABC's World News Tonight with David Muir is the most watched newscast in America.

I love this version of me.

America's number one most watched daytime talk show is ABC's The View. You all heard.

It here first, I love it.

I'm there for it.

Hot topics, political views.

That's what we're about.

Voices that matter. It all goes down right here.

That's why it's called the what?

The view. I love it, I'm all in. Second. That beautiful.

This is going to be must see TV. And so much could happen.

I think they were 150ft down in the dark. In the cold, with just a dwindling supply of oxygen.

An unbelievable mystery. How does the ultimate status symbol end up on the bottom of the sea? How could they be gone in 16 minutes?

It just doesn't happen.

Desperate efforts to find six missing people after a luxury yacht sank down to the sea floor.

We were just praying.

I think about the last few moments for them is terrifying.

Sinking of the superyacht. Now streaming on Hulu.

Baby. Oh, baby. It was a joyous morning in GMA history. Okay.

And push now.

Babies being born live.

Oh, that's so incredible.

What's more amazing is over 22 years later coming back to GMA. Baby. Oh baby. What a way to celebrate GMA 50 this morning.

Whenever wherever news breaks. It's so important to always remember that lives are changed here in London in Buffalo Uvalde, Texas. Edinburgh, Scotland. Reporting from Rolling Fork, Mississippi. Ukrainian refugees here in Warsaw. We're heading to a small community outside of Mexico City, getting you behind the stories as they happen. ABC News Live Prime. We'll take you there.

Stream ABC news live weeknights, wherever you stream your news, only on ABC News Live.

Will this will you.

Know my name?

Oh, for decades, Chinatown's been the epicenter of crime in the city.

I need someone on the inside. Follow me.

She's a detective and a waiter. Partners. Solving cases, catching bad guys. Can I place an order to go, please? Well, close.

Oh, she's doing great.

By the way, I took third in the PGA competition.

That's actor Dave Coulier from full House. He's now battling stage three non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He says he's been undergoing chemo, and doctors say his condition is very treatable.

A federal investigation triggered by the death of a non-binary student in Oklahoma has found the school district failed to protect students from harassment and discrimination. 16 year old next Benedict died by suicide one day after a fight with girls in a school bathroom. Investigators say the district did not notify parents or show them how to file a formal complaint in accordance with title nine policies, the school has agreed to impose new rules.

Now to Washington and new questions about whether the government is covering up evidence of UFOs.

I had an experience, a.

Congressional hearing straight out of a science fiction movie.

All to hide the fact that we are not alone in the cosmos.

Lawmakers calling for more transparency around UAPs or unidentified anomalous phenomena. That's the term the government now uses instead of UFO.

What do you believe UAPs could be, or are.

Strong evidence that they are non-human? Higher intelligence?

An intelligence officer last year claimed the Pentagon has been hiding knowledge of alien activity for decades.

Were they, I guess, human or non-human? Biologics?

Non-human. And that was the assessment of people with direct knowledge on the program. I talked.

To Luis.

Elizondo, who headed a Pentagon program investigating UAPs now, doubling down on his claims.

Has the government conducted secret UAP crash retrieval programs? Yes or no? Yes. Were they designed to identify and reverse engineer alien craft? Yes or no? Yes.

Elizondo saying the alleged extraterrestrial presence poses a national security threat. Let me.

Be clear. UAP are real advanced technologies not made by our government or any other government, are monitoring sensitive military installations around the.

Globe and.

Saying he believes many classified materials should be shared with Congress and the public.

If this was an adversarial technology, this would be an intelligence failure, eclipsing that of nine over 11 by an order of magnitude. I believe that we as Americans can handle the truth, and I also believe the world deserves the truth.

The hearing lacked any direct evidence with witnesses who have said they'll only speak about certain subjects behind closed doors. So the result of yesterday's hearing, while one congresswoman says it could open the door to more hearings, president elect Trump has said he might be willing to release more video of UAPs.

Coming up, Amazon's new discount shopping site.

Plus, the bear costume police say was used to commit car insurance fraud. We'll explain.

The news never stops.

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Across the state. And that's why ABC News Live. Never stops.

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Wherever you get your podcasts, start here.

Tonight, the white House meeting and the latest on the swift transition picks. Plus the hill is back. How might the new Senate GOP leader reshape Congress? ABC's World News Tonight with David Muir is the most watched newscast in America.

What you get to watch, read. Where can I get a great deal on what I'm just dying to buy? Oh, it's all right here. GMA Life Get the latest celebrity buzz deals and steals and the coolest lifestyle tips from GMA.

I love that so much.

Streaming weekends on ABC News Live.

They were 150ft down in the dark, in the cold, with just a dwindling supply of oxygen.

An unbelievable mystery. How does the ultimate status symbol end up on the bottom of the sea. How could they be gone in 16 minutes?

It just doesn't happen.

Desperate efforts to find six missing people after a luxury yacht sank down to the sea floor.

We were just praying.

I think about the last few moments for them.

It's terrifying. Sinking of the superyacht now streaming on Hulu.

Reporting from Santa Fe, New Mexico. I'm linsey Davis. Wherever the story is, we'll take you there. You're streaming ABC news live.

Time to check the pulse. We begin with a bizarre case of insurance fraud in California.

Four people are under arrest after claiming a bear damaged their luxury car. They even showed the insurance company video of said bear inside their cars, including a Rolls Royce and a Mercedes.

But wildlife experts said evidence showed it was clearly a person in a bear costume. The suspects are being charged with Hundred and $40,000 in insurance fraud. Next, Amazon's new discount store.

It is called Amazon Haul and everything there from apparel to electronics. It all costs under 20 bucks. Most items shipped directly from China, so there are no next day deliveries. Most purchases will arrive in under two weeks haul. Is Amazon's attempt to compete with Chinese sites Sheehan and Team Next. Food prices at the airport are going up yet again.

Price hikes are set to begin at all New York area airports in January. Rising labor costs, including a higher minimum wage and improved benefits, are driving prices higher. Travelers could see a 7% increase on most food.

And speaking of expensive food, watch the fries go flying. At the Knicks game last night, actress Anne Hathaway and her son had front row seats. They saw their fries get knocked over by a player there.

Next, the scientists have learned something new about how we form memories.

It involves more than just your brain. They tested cells from nerve tissue and kidney tissue by exposing them to patterns of chemical signals. Now, those cells responded by activating a so-called memory gene, which is also activated in brain cells. They said the discovery could lead to new ways of treating memory related conditions.

And finally, the toddler who loves target.

Here's 14 month old Ellis on a ride through target. Thrilled by the holiday decorations? They're all I can say. You heard him there. Wow.

I got to say, I love target, too. Top headlines. Next.

There were 150ft down in the dark. In the cold, with just a dwindling supply of oxygen.

An unbelievable mystery. How does the ultimate status symbol end up on the bottom of the sea? How could they be gone in 16 minutes?

It just doesn't happen.

Desperate efforts to find six missing people after a luxury yacht sank 160ft down to the sea floor.

The search and rescue effort continues for passengers on board a 180 foot boat sinking during a severe storm off Sicily.

We were just praying.

It's given birth to countless conspiracy theories.

There is a sort of titanic quality about it.

Seven people missing in the wreckage. 160ft below the surface.

I think about the last few moments for them on the ship all the time. It's haunting. It's terrifying.

Gone in 16 minutes. Sinking of the superyacht now streaming on Hulu. With so much at stake, so much on the line, more Americans turn here than any other newscast. ABC News World News Tonight with David Muir, America's number one most watched newscast across all of television. Why do so many people start their day here?

From ABC news? This is start here to be in the know.

And get a different take on the day's top stories. A lot of.

News today, so let's get into it.

Listen now to the daily news podcast. Honored with four Edward R Murrow Awards, and see why the New York Times calls it a news podcast worth listening to. Start here. ABC News make it your daily first listen.

Now that's a part of the story. I bet you didn't see coming.

Wherever you get your podcasts, start here. Baby.

Oh, baby. It was a joyous morning in GMA history. Okay.

And push now.

Babies being born live.

Oh, that's so incredible.

What's more amazing is over 22 years later coming back to GMA. Baby oh baby. What a way to celebrate. GMA 850 this morning.

More top stories now. Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz quickly resigned from Congress after president elect Trump shocked Washington by tapping him to become attorney general. Sources say the House Ethics Committee was preparing to meet this week to discuss whether to release a report on Gaetz over allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use, but that investigation is now over because gates is no longer a member of the House.

An employee of the CIA has been arrested in Cambodia, accused of leaking classified information about Israel's plans to retaliate for an attack by Iran. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

A man is seeking $5 million in a new lawsuit against Sean Diddy Combs, claiming he was assaulted during a confrontation with Combs in 1996. A former member of Combs inner circle also accuses music mogul of setting him up to take the fall in a gun case. Combs has denied allegations against him.

Today's weather A cold morning in the northeast. Rain from the Great Lakes to Florida, and rain and mountain snow for the West Coast.

Finally, the 71 year old woman who is defying expectations and gravity.

She's a pole dancing champion. She spoke to Danny New.

I wake up between 5 and 5:30 a.m..

In the past year, we've introduced you to an 84 year old grandma making it rain in Canada and a 75 year old doing backflips in Australia for some time, but now we're headed back to the States to meet a 71 year old woman in Los Angeles who is also spinning her way through expectations.

So what was your athletic background before this?

Oh, taking care of kids.

When it's exactly.

Mary Carroll here had done a little cheerleading and gymnastics in high school. But in 2011, when she was in her late 50s, her friend took her to a class at her gym for a sport called pole dancing.

It was just mesmerizing to me, my love.

Fast forward 14 years and Mary has now won multiple international competitions in both Italy and Brazil for this athletic feat that requires a whole lot of core and upper body strength.

I had to make it happen.

For each performance, Mary will choreograph the moves, build the character, and even sew together her costume before ultimately being scored by the judges for her overall presentation.

To see you.

Again. And yes, she knows this could be dangerous. She battles through arthritis in her hands and even had a hip replacement a few years ago.

You have to take those challenges throughout life and do something with them.

Not to mention, Mary says she also knows there is a stigma here and realizes how these performances do have a sensual element to them. However, Mary welcomes that no matter her age, if.

You view yourself as a vital person, sexy, attractive, you never have to lose that.

And guys, since it is scored like gymnastics and breakdancing with judges, Mary says she hopes the sport can grow enough to be added to the Olympics one day. What do you think?

Maybe one day.

Have a great day.

America's number one news ABC news Now streaming 24 over seven on Disney+.

Right now on Good Morning America. First look, president elect Trump nominates Congressman Matt Gaetz for attorney general. Gaetz investigated for alleged sex trafficking and drug use. The backlash on both sides of the aisle, and what we're learning about the timing of an ethics investigation into gates.

The FBI reportedly raided the home of the CEO of a crypto betting website linked to bets on the presidential election. His site correctly predicted a Trump victory. How his company is responding to the raid.

Wildfires in New York City in November. The latest in Manhattan. The new report on the historic weather across the country and overseas after this historic flood. More rain. Nearly a month's worth in one hour.

New claims that the government is covering up evidence of UFOs. The testimony on Capitol Hill raising more questions.

A new twist in the case of the father of three who allegedly faked his own death to escape to Europe. The new video being analyzed by police.

Caught on camera. Was it really a bear rummaging through that car? Or a sophisticated car insurance scam? The evidence uncovered.

Later, Amazon launches a new way for shoppers to save online.

And if you think food at the airport is expensive, now, get ready to pay even more.

From ABC news. This is Good Morning America first look.

Good Thursday morning everyone. I'm Rhiannon ally.

And I'm Andrew Dymburt. We begin with president elect Trump nominating controversial Congressman Matt Gaetz for attorney general.

Even many Republicans are pushing back against this choice. And we are now learning more about the timing of an ethics investigation into Gaetz, who has denied sex trafficking, drug use and other accusations.

Meanwhile, last night, Trump and billionaire Elon Musk were singing God Bless America during a party at Mar-A-Lago. ABC's Christiane Cordero has the latest on Trump's new staff picks. Christiane good morning.

Andrew good morning. The man nominated to become the top law enforcement official in the country is a fierce Trump loyalist. But now the big question is can Matt Gaetz be confirmed by the Senate. Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz has resigned from Congress just hours after president elect Trump nominated him to become attorney general.

If you really want to drain the swamp, hire a Florida man.

Back in 2020, Gaetz pitched himself as a possible attorney general while speaking to a group of young Republicans.

Maybe I should serve as attorney general of the United States. I'd be easy on marijuana and tough on Big Tech. If necessary, I'd fire every little kicker at the J. Edgar Hoover Building and send them all packing.

House speaker Mike Johnson last night acknowledged Gaetz's swift resignation caught him by surprise. The House Ethics Committee was set to deliberate as soon as tomorrow on whether to release its final report on Gaetz. It's been investigating whether Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, or accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing, and now, because he has resigned his seat, the committee's findings won't be made public.

If Matt has resigned and is no.

Longer a member of Congress, the ethics investigation will cease and no report will be issued at that point.

If confirmed, Gaetz would lead the same federal agency that investigated him for years for alleged obstruction of justice and sex trafficking. The Justice Department ultimately closed that investigation without filing charges. Gaetz would need a simple majority in the Senate to be confirmed. Some lawmakers, including Republicans, are expressing doubts.

Action to. Matt Gaetz is AG.

Yeah, I don't know yet. I think about that one.

Do you have any concerns about it?

We'll see.

Alaska Senator Lisa murkowski saying, I don't think it's a serious nomination. Ohio Congressman Max Miller saying Gaetz gates has a better shot of having dinner with Queen Elizabeth. Than being confirmed by the Senate. But some Trump loyalists praising gates.

He's going to go into this with an attitude that he's going to clean up, in particular the FBI. But a lot of other stuff.

For deputy Attorney General Trump is considering tapping his own lead attorney, Todd Blanche, a former federal prosecutor. Meanwhile, Trump's pick for defense secretary. Fox news host Pete Hegseth faces more pushback.

I respect his his service and the fact that he's a decorated combat vet. But, you know, it takes weeks to figure out where the bathroom is in the Pentagon.

Hegseth, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, has said women should not be in combat roles. And he once described a, quote, frontal assault needed to reform the Pentagon. Well, first of all.

You got to fire, um, you know, you got to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and you got to fire this. I mean, obviously, you got to bring in a new secretary of defense, but any general that was involved, general, Admiral, whatever that was involved in, any of the die woke has got to go for.

The director of national intelligence. Trump has chosen former Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who left the Democratic Party in 2022. The conservative Washington Examiner, responding with this headline Senate GOP must stop Tulsi Gabbard from getting keys to intelligence. Castle calling Gabbard an ideological sympathizer of Russian President Putin and Chinese President XI Jinping. But Trump calling Gabbard fearless, saying she will secure peace through strength. As attention focuses on the Senate for confirmation hearings, Republicans have elected South Dakota's John Thune to be its next majority leader instead of Rick Scott, who Trump reportedly favored. It was voted on via secret ballots. Andrew.

All right. The latest from Washington, from Christiane. Christiane. Thank you. Betting on the presidential election may be the reason behind an FBI raid here in New York. Agents reportedly searched the home of Shane Copeland, the CEO of a crypto betting website called Polymarket, which allowed bets from around the world on the US presidential election. Polymarket predicted Trump's win. The New York Post reports Copeland's phone and other devices were seized in the raid, which the company claims was political retribution.

Wildfires in New York in November. A historically early snowstorm in the southwest and a month's worth of rain in one hour in Europe. This morning we have new examples of extreme weather playing out all across the country and around the globe. Reporter overnight firefighters in New York working to contain a brush fire in upper Manhattan. Smoke towering over the city. Residents urged to close their windows. First responders pumping water from the Harlem River.

We had a stretch hose lines approximately 150ft or more up a hill to extinguish multiple fires. The blaze.

Fueled by a record drought and gusty winds, one of more than 200 fires in New York since the end of October.

As these dry conditions continue, we anticipate that we will see more of these before rain comes.

About 40 miles away, a wildfire on the new Jersey New York border overnight was only 50% contained. Helicopters dumping water over forests. More than 100 buildings threatened. North America just saw its warmest October on record. Irregular weather patterns emerging across the country and the world. Over the weekend, Denver got more than 20in of snow, the most they've seen in November in 40 years. The heavy, wet snow collapsing this carport, you know, after.

A snowstorm, your food and all your resources kind of depleted. So you look forward to being able to get out.

Across the Atlantic, parts of Spain are dealing with another major flood event. Nearly a month's worth of rain in just one day. More than 4000 people forced to flee their homes just two weeks after flash floods turned roads into rivers in eastern Spain, washing away these cars and nearly everything in their path, killing more than 200 people. Back in New York, officials say that fire in Manhattan is now under control. We will check today's forecast in just a few moments.

The Pentagon has released video of a U.S. airstrike on Iranian backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The drone strike targeted a missile launcher allegedly used to attack ships in the Red sea. A remarkably check your screen here. A person in the area right there before the drone strike survived and was seen running away after the explosion. Meanwhile, in southern Gaza, an Israeli airstrike hit this area with tents housing displaced Palestinians. At least one child was killed and nearly two dozen people were injured.

Investigators in Massachusetts say they have solved a cold case that dates back 46 years, and it's thanks to a fingerprint. 71 year old Timothy Jolley is now in custody, accused of killing Teresa Marco and Mark Harnish in 1978. Police say the victims were shot in Harnish's truck where investigators found a fingerprint, but they say there wasn't a match until the suspect applied for a taxicab license.

Investigators obtained a fingerprint identification card for Jolie from the Springfield Police Department, which was on file with that department because Jolie was fingerprinted as an applicant for a taxi cab license in the year 2000.

They finally made an arrest after getting a tip and then looking for the suspect's fingerprints in a database. No word on a motive for the murders.

Time now for your Thursday weather.

Good morning. We've got some good news for some rain on the way to parts of the northeast. But where the Jennings Creek wildfire has been. And in the New York Metro. We're going to stay dry. This system kind of runs out of gas as it approaches. Due to strong high pressure over New England, and wildfire risk will increase on Friday with a dry, gusty breeze into the tropics. We go. This will become Sarah. A strengthening storm moving to the west. It could even become a hurricane near Florida in less than a week. For AccuWeather, I'm Jeff Cornish for ABC news.

Coming up, drowning in debt. Just how bad it's getting for millions of Americans.

Also ahead, a new twist in the case of the Wisconsin father of three who allegedly faked his own death to escape to Europe.

And later, what scientists have learned about how we form memories.

Will this will you.

Know my name?

Oh. For decades, Chinatown has been the epicenter of crime in the city.

I need someone on the inside. Follow me.

She's a detective and a waiter. Partners, freeze solving cases, catching bad guys. Can I place an order to go, please? Well, close.

Later this morning on The View. The Magic of.

Oz is here with Cynthia Erivo. Then our very own Whoopi is Miss Hannigan in Annie, and Annie and Sandy are right here with her.

Tomorrow only on ABC.

Hollywood Studios wants to make a movie of our podcast.

It's a fabulous cast.

Actually, I'm nervous playing you. The fearlessness, the complexity. Oh, stop.

Unless you had more to say.

No, I don't need an algorithm to tell me that this is box office gold.

Only murders in the.

Building, streaming.

On Hulu and for bundle.

Subscribers on Disney.

Plus. David Muir, ABC's World News Tonight, the most watched newscast in America and honored with the Emmy Award winner for outstanding live news program. More Americans watch World News Tonight with David Muir than any other newscast. The news never stops from Tampa.

We are here tonight as Hurricane Milton has just made landfall.

The surge just keeps coming up right on the border.

Between Ukraine and Russia in.

Downtown Tel Aviv. Rockets or missiles coming in.

ABC News Live everywhere. We're not.

Far from where this rally.

Took place, so just stick with us here. Here in.

London, from the front.

Lines off.

The coast of Gaza. Wherever the.

Story is, we're going.

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Everywhere in La Porte, Texas. I'm Mireya Villarreal, just three blocks away from a raging inferno. Wherever the story is, we'll take you there. You're streaming ABC News Live.

We are back now with new video of a drop off ballot box exploding in Oregon days before last week's election. The FBI is now offering a $25,000 reward for information on who's responsible. A separate incident in nearby Washington also destroyed a ballot box.

There's new evidence that Americans are drowning in debt. Credit card balances hit a new record high. Between July and September, more than $1 trillion and total household debt, which includes credit cards, student and car loans and mortgages, also broke a record. On the bright side, wages are now rising at a faster pace than debt.

There's a new twist in the case of the Wisconsin father accused of faking his own death. He was originally reported missing after a kayaking trip. Well, now police are investigating a video that surfaced on social media. Here's ABC's Andrea Fujii.

This morning video on social media featuring a man who resembles a father of three who allegedly faked his own death, is now under investigation by authorities in Wisconsin.

I go to Uzbekistan or stay here.

Say that one more time.

Content creator Bailey Boomhauer says she shot the video in San Diego in June. She recently alerted police that the man looked similar to Ryan Borgwardt. The married father reported missing while kayaking in Wisconsin back in August. Boomhauer remembered the interaction as bizarre.

I've never even heard of that place before, so it's just a very like odd parallel that the man that's missing is also connected to Uzbekistan.

Last week, the sheriff of Green Lake County, Wisconsin announced that Borgwardt was never actually missing. He says evidence shows Borgwardt had planned his disappearance in order to escape to Europe and meet a woman from Uzbekistan. Investigators say they uncovered the alleged scheme after learning that Canadian law enforcement had checked Borgward's name the day after his disappearance. They say he had taken out a $375,000 life insurance policy, moved money to a foreign bank and had replaced his computer's hard drive.

Why do you want to go.

Meet a woman?

So you've given up on meeting someone here?

No. I'm married.

Authorities are not saying that Borgwardt is the man in that social media video, but they do say they're investigating the video.

Anything that we can get, we certainly go through it. See if it will help us out.

Federal authorities are also joining the investigation to determine whether Borgwardt committed any crimes. The sheriff says they plan to seek restitution for search expenses. Rhiannon. Andrew.

All right, Andrea, thank you for that. Coming up, how a school district allegedly violated federal law before the death of a nonbinary student.

Also ahead is the government covering up evidence of UFOs. The testimony on Capitol Hill now raising even more questions.

This ship is heaven. There should be no guilt on a pleasure cruise. Doctor, it's your job to keep everybody alive.

No pulse. She's in v-fib.

One. Two. Three. Clear. I have a pulse.

You're gonna be okay.

For the last time, to be able to say anything. I'd be lucky if they don't hear me. Now it's time to go. No time patrol. How many of these poachers have you caught this year?

Attention, teachers! No child is to be sent to the principal's office today.

Kids, if you want to do a crime, now's the time. Happy first day of school. You better bring your book bag. Yes.

What are like.

Four more of these?

Yeah. We were robbed.

Hey! Buy three, get one free.

I'm gonna call your mother on you. Bring the rest back here, boy.

Better than.

They were 150ft down in the dark. In the cold, with just a dwindling supply of oxygen.

An unbelievable mystery. How does the ultimate status symbol end up on the bottom of the sea? How could they be gone in 16 minutes?

It just doesn't happen.

Desperate efforts to find six missing people after a luxury yacht sank down to the sea floor. We were.

Just praying.

I think about the last few moments for them.

It's terrifying. Sinking of the superyacht now streaming on Hulu Friday night. All new 2020.

You think the shooter was parked over here?

Why would somebody ever.

Put a wig on and gunned somebody down in a parking lot.

A young father senselessly murdered.

Twists and turns. Bombshells galore. He got shot.

For one of three.

Greed, revenge or lust?

It was becoming more and more clear that there was a lot more to the story. And then.

Bingo. Fatal disguise all new.

2020 Friday night on ABC.

Oh, she's doing.

Great, by the way. I took third in the PGA competition.

That's actor Dave Coulier from full House. He's now battling stage three non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He says he's been undergoing chemo, and doctors say his condition is very treatable.

A federal investigation triggered by the death of a non-binary student in Oklahoma has found the school district failed to protect students from harassment and discrimination. 16 year old next Benedict died by suicide one day after a fight with girls in a school bathroom. Investigators say the district did not notify parents or show them how to file a formal complaint in accordance with title nine policies. The school has agreed to impose new rules.

Now to Washington, and new questions about whether the government is covering up evidence of UFOs.

I had an.

Experience, a.

Congressional hearing straight out of a science fiction movie.

All to hide the fact that we are not alone in the cosmos.

Lawmakers calling for more transparency around UAPs or unidentified anomalous phenomena. That's the term the government now uses instead of UFO.

What do you believe UAPs could be, or are.

Strong.

Evidence that they are non-human? Higher intelligence.

An intelligence officer last year claimed the Pentagon has been hiding knowledge of alien activity for decades.

Were they, I guess, human or non-human? Biologics?

Non-human. And that was the assessment of people with direct knowledge on the program.

I talked to Luis Elizondo, who headed a Pentagon program investigating UAPs, now doubling down on his claims.

Has the government conducted secret UAP crash retrieval programs? Yes or no? Yes. Were they designed to identify and reverse engineer alien craft? Yes or no? Yes.

Elizondo saying the alleged extraterrestrial presence poses a national security threat. Let me.

Be clear. UAP are real advanced technologies not made by our government or any other government, are monitoring sensitive military installations around the.

Globe and.

Saying he believes many classified materials should be shared with Congress and the public.

If this was an adversarial technology, this would be an intelligence failure, eclipsing that of nine over 11 by an order of magnitude. I believe that we as Americans can handle the truth, and I also believe the world deserves the truth.

The hearing lacked any direct evidence, with witnesses who have said they will only speak about certain subjects behind closed doors. So the result of yesterday's hearing, while one congresswoman says it could open the door to more hearings. President elect Trump has said he might be willing to release more video of UAPs.

Coming up, Amazon's new discount shopping site.

Plus, the bear costume police say was used to commit car insurance fraud. We'll explain.

Hollywood Studios wants to make a movie of our podcast.

It's a fabulous cast.

Actually, I'm nervous playing you. The fearlessness.

The complexity.

Oh, stop. Unless you had more to say.

No, I don't need an algorithm to tell me that this is box office gold.

Only murders in the.

Building streaming on Hulu and for bundle subscribers on Disney+.

Later this morning on The View. The Magic of Oz is here with Cynthia Erivo. Then our very own Whoopi is Miss Hannigan in Annie, and Annie and Sandy are right here with.

Her Tomorrow, only on ABC.

ABC's David Muir, the most watched newscast in America. More Americans watch ABC's World News Tonight with David Muir than any other newscast.

Let's do it.

My name is Luke Bryan, and with the help of today's biggest star. We're going to explore everything. Country. Let's go.

Going out on stage live. Watching the crowd react. It's magical.

And once you've been there, it is a drug.

When you got kids, it's hard to write about anything else.

I told my fans everything.

When everybody brings their story, it really becomes something special.

The news never stops. We are here in Israel, a nation at war.

Hurricane Helene screaming.

Across the state. And that's why.

ABC News Live never stops.

Taking you to the center of the story as news.

Breaks live.

ABC News Live is there for you all morning live right.

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ABC News Live Prime going there. Wherever the story is and ABC.

News Live lighting up the weekend.

ABC News Live.

Because the news never stops.

Reporting from the path of Hurricane Helene in Tampa, Florida. I'm Reena Roy. Wherever the story is, we'll take you there. You're streaming ABC News Live.

Time to check the pulse. We begin with a bizarre case of insurance fraud in California.

Four people are under arrest after claiming a bear damaged their luxury car. They even showed the insurance company video of said bear inside their cars, including a Rolls Royce and a Mercedes.

But wildlife experts said evidence showed it was clearly a person in a bear costume. The suspects are being charged with $140,000 in insurance fraud. Next, Amazon's new discount store.

It is called Amazon Haul and everything there from apparel to electronics. It all costs under 20 bucks. Most items shipped directly from China, so there are no next day deliveries. Most purchases will arrive in under two weeks haul. Is Amazon's attempt to compete with Chinese sites Shein and Temu. Next, food prices at the airport are going up yet again.

Price hikes are set to begin at all New York area airports in January. Rising labor costs, including a higher minimum wage and improved benefits, are driving prices higher. Travelers could see a 7% increase on most food.

And speaking of expensive food, watch the fries go flying. At the Knicks game last night, actress Anne Hathaway and her son had front row seats. They saw their fries get knocked over by a player there.

Next. Scientists have learned something new about how we form memories.

It involves more than just your brain. They tested cells from nerve tissue and kidney tissue by exposing them to patterns of chemical signals. Now, those cells responded by activating a so-called memory gene, which is also activated in brain cells. They said the discovery could lead to new ways of treating memory related conditions.

And finally, the toddler who loves target.

Here's 14 month old Ellis on a ride through target. Thrilled by the holiday decorations? They're all I can say. You heard him there. Wow.

I got to say, I love target, too. Top headlines. Next.

Later this morning on The View, the Magic of Oz is here with Cynthia Erivo. Then our very own Whoopi is Miss Hannigan in Annie. And Annie and Sandy are right here with her.

Tomorrow only on ABC. Three. Two. One.

It's a 24 over seven. Live life together.

It's not about the fear or the risk. It's about the love of flying. Three. Two. One.

One. Great idea can change your life.

That's what Shark Tank does.

That's the American dream right there.

This calling is for my kids.

What you've done is remarkable.

One of the most innovative things I've seen in my life.

This could be our biggest deal ever. Oh.

I want to be on a team with you.

Shark Tank New Fridays on ABC and stream on Hulu.

Attention, teachers. No child is to be sent to the principal's office today.

Kids, if you want to do a crime, now's the time. Happy first day of school. You better bring your book bag. Yes.

What are, like.

Four more of these?

Yeah. We were robbed.

Hey! Buy three, get one free.

I'm gonna call your mother on you. Bring the rest back here, boy.

Tonight, the white House meeting and the latest on the swift transition picks. Plus the hill is back. How might the new Senate GOP leader reshape Congress? ABC's World News Tonight with David Muir is the most watched newscast in America.

More top stories now. Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz quickly resigned from Congress after president elect Trump shocked Washington by tapping him to become attorney general. Sources say the House Ethics Committee was preparing to meet this week to discuss whether to release a report on Gaetz over allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use, but that investigation is now over because gates is no longer a member of the House.

Employee of the CIA has been arrested in Cambodia, accused of leaking classified information about Israel's plans to retaliate for an attack by Iran. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

A man is seeking $5 million in a new lawsuit against Sean Diddy Combs, claiming he was assaulted during a confrontation with Combs in 1996. A former member of Combs inner circle also accuses music mogul of setting him up to take the fall in a gun case. Combs has denied allegations against him.

Today's weather A cold morning in the northeast. Rain from the Great Lakes to Florida, and rain and mountain snow for the West Coast.

Finally, the 71 year old woman who is defying expectations and gravity.

She's a pole dancing champion. She spoke to Danny New.

I wake up between 5 and 5:30 a.m..

In the past year.

We've introduced you.

To an 84.

Year old grandma making it rain in Canada and a 75 year old doing backflips in Australia for some time, but now we're headed back to the States to meet a 71 year old woman in Los Angeles who is also spinning her way through expectations. So what was your athletic background before this?

Oh, taking care of kids.

When it's exactly.

Mary Carroll here had done a little cheerleading and gymnastics in high school. But in 2011, when she was in her late 50s, her friend took her to a class at her gym for a sport called pole dancing. It was.

Just mesmerizing to me, my.

Love. Fast forward 14 years and Mary has now won multiple international competitions in both Italy and Brazil for this athletic feat that requires a whole lot of core and upper body strength.

I had to make it happen.

For each performance, Mary will choreograph the moves, build a character, and even sew together her costume before ultimately being scored by the judges for her overall presentation.

To see you.

Again. And yes, she knows this could be dangerous. She battled through arthritis in her hands and even had a hip replacement a few years ago.

You have to take those challenges throughout life and do something with them.

Not to mention, Mary says she also knows there is a stigma here and realizes how these performances do have a sensual element to them. However, Mary welcomes that no matter her age.

If you view yourself as a vital person, sexy, attractive, you never have to lose that.

And guys, since it is scored like gymnastics and breakdancing with judges, Mary says she hopes the sport can grow enough to be added to the Olympics one day. What do you think?

Maybe one day.

Have a great day.

ABC's David Muir, the most watched newscast in America. You're watching America's number one streaming news, ABC news Live. Breaking news exclusives live reporting across the globe. Keep streaming with ABC News Live.

The news never stops. We are here in Israel, a nation at war.

Hurricane Helene screaming across the state. And that's why.

ABC News Live. Never stops.

Taking you to the center of the story.

As news.

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ABC News Live is there for you all morning live right.

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Because the news never stops.

It's Thursday, November 14th. If this was going to be business as usual, no one told the Justice Department. We start here. President elect Donald Trump names one of the most divisive figures in Congress to be his attorney general. There are people.

That just think he is an agent of political chaos.

Some in the DOJ are predicting mass resignations if he's confirmed, but that's a big if. Meanwhile, Republicans officially gain full power over the Capitol.

I promise to be a leader who serves the entire Republican Conference.

But some are privately concerned over what's happening at Mar a Lago, and they deal with emergencies all the time. But wildfires aren't one of them. This is not.

Something that we usually have to do, at least in this part of the country.

How a northeastern drought is forcing fire departments to rethink their futures. From ABC news. This is start here. I'm Brad Mielke. When President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump met on stage at this summer's first presidential debate, they didn't shake hands. Some people asked at the time, are our politics so broken at this point that we stop seeing basic gestures of respect between these two parties going forward?

The will.

Of the people.

Always.

Prevails.

Well, since Election Day, Biden has vowed to preside over an orderly transition. Yesterday, he did something Trump never did when he lost power, Biden invited his successor to the white House, among his first words to Trump welcome back. Welcome.

Thank you.

Thank you very much. And politics is tough and it's in many cases, not a very nice world, but it is a nice world today, and I appreciate it very much.

There was a sense of graciousness in Washington yesterday, dare I say, normalcy. The two presidents had their brief meeting. Trump then met with congressional Republicans at the Capitol.

It's nice to win. It's always nice to win.

Democrats acknowledge they are now the minority in both chambers. More on that later. But in the last 48 hours, Trump has made several selections to his cabinet that are sure to test that graciousness. He named a Fox News contributor the secretary of defense. Yesterday, he named Tulsi Gabbard, the one time Democratic congresswoman who's often sympathetic to Russia as his intelligence chief. And as Trump returned to Florida yesterday just before his plane landed. Actually, we learned he's made his selection for attorney general and even for this president elect, who we knew would be singularly focused on the Justice Department, who he knew has vowed to pardon those convicted for political violence. Even for Trump, this selection was surprising.

The swamp draining.

Will recommence soon, and I will be President Trump's strongest ally in Congress.

Matt Gaetz, the firebrand conservative from Florida, the congressman who was once under federal criminal investigations himself, will be nominated to be this nation's top prosecutor. Let's go straight to ABC's Jay O'Brien, who covers Congress. In fact, he was based in Florida for years. So he knows the gates resume as well as anyone. Jay, can you just remind us who this is and why it's such a divisive pick?

Yeah, Matt Gaetz can be defined by that word. You use. Brad Firebrand. He is a member of Congress who is closely tied himself to Donald Trump. His loyalty to Donald Trump is unquestioned. We ride or.

Die with Donald John Trump to the.

End. Think about Matt Gaetz this way. Matt Gaetz was a long time friend of Ron DeSantis and in this Republican primary for president. Not long ago, he picked Donald Trump over his good friend Ron DeSantis.

A congressman from Florida is a great guy. He's really great. Matt Gaetz and his wife, his beautiful wife, Ginger. Ginger. Stand up.

Now, Donald Trump loves Matt Gaetz. By all accounts. But some of Matt Gaetz's Republican colleagues do not like him very much. I can tell you that from experience on Capitol Hill. Remember when he tried to take out Kevin McCarthy from speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy?

Looks pretty upset.

He almost got in a fistfight with.

Someone on the floor of the House of Representatives. That was a fellow Republican he almost got in a fight with. He put his.

Hand over.

His.

Mouth.

Yeah, I think he was trying to grab him. I don't know if that was just the hold he got or something like that, but that's what I saw play out. There are people that just think he is an agent of political chaos, and they don't think he deserves to be in government. I've heard that from a number of his House Republican colleagues, and I guess the best thing that kind of illuminates that is that House Republicans were in a meeting yesterday, and sources have told us on the Capitol Hill team at ABC news, there were audible gasps in the room when Matt Gaetz's name was dropped as Donald Trump's appointment for attorney general.

Why? Why does Donald Trump want him? What kind of attorney general would he be?

It's really unclear. We know that Donald Trump's goals for the Justice Department are to try to bend it to his will.

But we have a sick and corrupt two tiered system of justice in our country. Do I know better than anybody?

So Donald Trump has said that he wants to end And the investigations into him. He wants to fire the FBI director. He believes that the mechanisms of the Department of Justice have been weaponized against him. There's no proof of that, of course. He said he wants to pardon January 6th. Defendants. There's been this tension in Trump world to investigate the investigators. Meaning if you've ever investigated Donald Trump, we're going to go investigate you. That happens a lot. Um, and so that you can assume would be one of the roles that Matt Gaetz would take as attorney general, because it's a role he's taken in Congress a lot, too, already when Republicans have had the majority. And also, you got to think back to Matt Gaetz's own words a little bit. He spoke to a group of young Republicans in New York in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, at an event that was kind of verboten at the time. It was a big mass gathering during Covid, and they weren't really happening.

In the next term of Donald Trump. Whether that begins in 2021 or 2025, maybe I should serve as attorney General of the United States.

And he lays out this fantasy at the time of what he would be like as attorney general.

If necessary, I'd fire every little kicker at the J. Edgar Hoover Building and send them all packing.

And we have reporting, Brad, from our team that covers the Department of Justice, that if Matt Gates actually were to get confirmed by the Senate and become the attorney general, there could be mass resignations at the Department of Justice of people that are not political, but just line prosecutors or others there who have been there for decades, who are there to do their job, who are public servants. And so that might be why Donald Trump wants Matt Gates in that role to try to shake things up and change the Department of Justice completely. But there also might be a reason Matt Gaetz wants to lead the Department of Justice.

The smears against me range from distortions of my personal life to wild and I mean wild conspiracy theories.

Back in 2020 into 2021 and a little bit onwards, Matt Gaetz was being investigated by the Department of Justice for allegedly being tied to sex trafficking, and that investigation was ultimately closed. No charges were brought against Gaetz, and Gaetz championed the fact that no charges were brought against him. He's vehemently denied that he did anything wrong or did anything that was alleged.

I'm built for the battle and I'm not going anywhere.

But.

The House Ethics Committee, they continued probing Matt Gaetz and specifically they were probing a number of things. But one of their main questions was, did he facilitate the sex trafficking of a girl that was 17 years old at the time?

ABC News Learning the committee has obtained Gaetz's Venmo records. Sources say one woman testified that a Venmo payment from Gaetz was for sex.

And Matt Gaetz again has denied that. He said that investigation was opened and was politically motivated. But that ethics investigation, which was still ongoing as of yesterday, that investigation would go away if Matt Gaetz left Congress.

I see. Because we just got word overnight that Matt Gaetz has already resigned his seat in Congress, which means then that there would be no more investigation from this committee, no potential report from this committee, but regardless. Jay, is he confirmable anyway, like, at this point, you've got all these Democrats, they're going to say, no way. It sounds like there might be Republicans who are opposed to. And all you need is a couple to jump over to your side to say, no, we're not going to let this happen. So does this set up a battle between the Senate and Donald Trump?

Exactly. The typical way that you become a cabinet officer in the United States government is that the Senate votes to confirm you. They have to vote by a simple majority to confirm you. And if there are this kind of handful of moderate Republican senators and some have already come forward who say they don't want Matt Gaetz in any way, shape, form or function. It becomes really hard to see how Matt Gaetz gets confirmed and gets voted for by senators who don't like him.

This one was not on my bingo card.

I'm certain that there will be a lot of questions, and one.

Of the few options he could have in that case would be what's called a recess appointment. Donald Trump has already pushed Senate Republicans to essentially give him the opportunity to make recess appointments. The president under the Constitution, can make recess appointments, and they can do it when the Senate goes out on recess. That's why it's called a recess appointment. But the Senate doesn't usually let that happen, because the Senate doesn't go out on recess for a long enough time, as required by the Constitution, to let the president make those recess appointments, because they don't want to kind of cede their typical role of voting on reviewing, having hearings of cabinet level nominees. What Donald Trump said to Republicans is they were considering who was going to replace Mitch McConnell as Senate majority leader was, regardless of who you pick. They need to be on board with me doing recess appointments because the thought was Donald Trump could then use this broad recess appointment authority to put people in his cabinet that never have to be voted on by the Senate, never have to go through a hearing for a period of two years, up to two years, as allowed by the Constitution.

Wow. And so if Donald Trump really wants to push for that, and the Senate really wants to essentially seed something that they typically guard as one of their key powers voting on cabinet level nominees, then that might be how Matt Gaetz could become the attorney general.

I see. Which is why a lot of people are on the Hill. Yesterday, were calling this almost a dare to the Senate of Trump being like, I know you don't like this guy. I'm putting him in anyway. Deal with it. Jay O'Brien covering the Capitol, as always. Thank you.

Great time to cover the capital. Brad. Thank you.

Now, all these nominations at this point are still theoretical. They've got to be delivered to Congress. They still have to be confirmed. But there was a power shift that did take place in Washington yesterday when Ken Calvert won his congressional race in Southern California. He became the 218th Republican elected to Congress. That is the exact number Republicans need for a majority in the House. The GOP now controls all three levers of elected power in Washington the House, the Senate, and, of course, the white House. They call this the trifecta. And yesterday, the chambers in Congress selected their leadership that will hit the ground running. So let's hit the ground running with ABC's chief Washington correspondent, Jonathan Karl. John, I mean, this was just one seat. It might end up being a few seats, but how important is it for Republicans to have these majorities?

It's huge. It gives Trump, particularly the Senate and have a a relatively comfortable lead in the Senate. They're going to have 53 senators. We assume, you know, once Pennsylvania is done, this is significant. We should be able to get his cabinet approved. Although, you know, some of the nominations he's made are going to be more challenging than others, to say the least. And the lead in the house is razor thin. But I believe what you're going to see with the Republicans is they'll be far more unified in support of a Trump agenda than they were during the four years. And all the drama we had going back and forth over the speakership and everything else while Biden was president.

Well, and so Republicans selected Mike Johnson as House speaker. No surprises there. He's already the speaker. But the big difference in the Senate is going to be that Trump's nemesis, Mitch McConnell, is gone. Instead, Republicans elected in a secret ballot. South Dakota Senator John Thune, what can you tell us about the dynamics of this closed door election? And I guess, how does this kind of shape the Senate under a Donald Trump presidency?

This was a pivotal moment and a really important test of just how total Trump's control would be over the institutions of government at the start of his second administration. You know, Trump did not endorse in this race, but most of his real high profile MAGA right influencers, call them, absolutely did get involved in this race. I'm talking about Tucker Carlson, Elon Musk, Steve Bannon, Charlie Kirk. They all were trying to support Rick Scott of Florida because Rick Scott was somebody that was the anti McConnell.

He's been impeached, censored, treated as a criminal. All because he never backs down.

And he was somebody that was campaigning for leader by saying I will do exactly what Donald Trump wants. There should we should be exactly precisely the same. Our agenda is precisely Trump's agenda.

And to those who were supporting another candidate, I promise to be a leader who serves the entire Republican Conference.

John Thune. I got to tell you, I mean, Jonathan is widely respected. He's very conservative. First of all, but he's widely respected, and he's basically a protege of Mitch McConnell's. He's a lot like Mitch McConnell. And like Mitch McConnell, he was harshly critical of Donald Trump after January 6th. He voted to acquit him in that Senate trial, but made it clear that he was condemning his behavior on that day. And there were other moments throughout the Trump presidency where every once in a while, John Thune would stand up and, you know, make it clear he wasn't approved. He didn't approve of what? Of what Trump was doing. He showed some independence.

He's got a loyal base of followers out there, but I think people in this country are ready for a generational change.

So the fact that Thune could emerge victorious in that race, you know, I mean, look, Thune supported Donald Trump. He's going to support Trump's agenda. But he is a guy with a reputation for independence. He is a guy who has stood up against Trump in the past, and he has lived to tell about it.

Hey, and lastly, John. I mean, while people are reacting to Matt Gaetz as potential attorney general, they're also reacting to Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense, Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence. I mean, what do we know about the conversations about these picks behind closed doors? Like, we know there's going to be pushback in sectors of Congress, but is there pushback within the Trump sphere because these are such influential posts?

I got to tell you, and this is just wild, Brad. But, you know, Trump does have a transition that has been set up. It's led by Howard Lutnick, you know, the Cantor Fitzgerald CEO. And it's in many ways very well organized. They're going through vetting candidates, providing Trump with a shortlist to go on. But the two most controversial picks Pete Hegseth to run the Department of Defense. I mean, the largest and most sprawling federal bureaucracy there is. And his pick to run the Department of Justice. Matt Gaetz these two picks were not did not go through that process. This was Trump himself acting in a way that surprised a lot of his closest advisors.

I think out of deference to us, he issued his resignation letter, effective immediately, of Congress. That caught us by surprise a little bit.

People I've talked to very close to Trump involved in this whole process were almost as surprised as you were when you heard that Matt Gaetz was the pick to be attorney general. And also, by the way, when Pete Hegseth was picked to be defense secretary.

I'm straight up just.

Saying we should not have women in combat.

Roles. I mean, the idea of picking somebody who was a weekend. Fox news host for the last eight years to run the hardest bureaucracy there is to run in the federal government. And one of them is arguably the most important for our national security, the Defense Department. I think it's going to be a very heavy lift. And of course, the comments that he made about women in combat, especially when he's sitting across, you know, in a confirmation hearing, if it gets that far from somebody like Joni Ernst, who, you know, as a fighter pilot. Now, now, to be fair, Hegseth has also said he's okay with women as fighter pilots, but not in infantry. And he's got. But anyway, this is going to be a very contentious, controversial confirmation process. Absolutely. And I, you know, look, I mean, we'll see if they get him if he gets them all. I'd be I'd be surprised if he gets them all, frankly.

Interesting, interesting. All right. Jonathan Karl, our chief Washington correspondent. Thank you. Thanks, Brad. We've covered a lot of wildfires in western states in recent months. And while November is near the end of California's fire season, it's not abnormal to see blazes break out there. What is unusual is to see a November fire season in the northeast. And yet, that's exactly what we're seeing from New York to New Jersey, from small towns to urban parklands. In fact, just yesterday, the last forest remaining in Manhattan went up in flames. ABC's Trevor Ault has been reporting on this outbreak across the region. Trevor, how impactful is this getting?

I mean, it's certainly surprising, Brad. Not like anything that we have.

Had to deal with before. A couple of weeks before.

Thanksgiving.

And I'm out on the New York New Jersey border responding and reporting on all of these wildfires. And this is a problem across the entire northeast, really. It's a problem across the entire country. But it's really bizarre and really impacting the northeast right now. So we're talking about hundreds of different wildfires in different sizes and scale. Many of them are small. The main one, though, the Jennings Creek wildfire, that's the one on the New York New Jersey border. That's 5000 acres and counting. And that's the one that officials are really worried about right now, where we've seen different fire crews coming in from all over the place. We know that at least one person was killed, an 18 year old parks worker who was trying to clear out brush for these firefighters. And it's especially worrisome because of the conditions.

In my over 50 years of living here. This has been the most significant and probably most potentially dangerous situation I've seen or been involved in.

So even though we are in mid-November, it has been historically dry for so much of this region. I mean, we're talking about many places New York, new Jersey, Massachusetts, up to Vermont. A lot of these areas that have had their driest fall on record, some spots went 40 days with no rain. And now, even if it is mid-November, even if the temperatures are dropping, those are the conditions really a perfect storm for a spark that can really continue to spread. And so the Jennings Creek Fire started on Saturday. It hasn't necessarily been spreading over the past 36, 48 hours or so, but it is still burning in new spots continue to pop up because these conditions are so dangerous.

We are currently in a historical numbers for our critical fuels, or the forest floor being dried out, and we're seeing stuff that we haven't seen in quite some time here in new Jersey.

And this is a problem not just for that region. It's a problem for the entire Northeastern United States. And really, Brad, when you talk about across the country and the forces behind this in October, the only states that didn't have some form of drought in some location was Alaska and Kentucky. Wow. The other 40 states all had some form of drought, and a lot of that's happening in the northeast.

And that's what I was going to ask Trevor, because I was shocked to see a forest fire in New York City. It's like 15 minutes from where I live. Prospect Park, Brooklyn has like one of the oldest natural forests in in New York City. And you could smell this as it went up in flames. Is this sort of the new normal? Because the bigger story here then, seems like not like the amount of structures burned like the West, the western US sees bigger fires than this all the time. But if you're going to have total paradigm shifts in so many of these cities where climate change is making things drier and hotter.

Yeah, I mean, it's bizarre to in New York City, You see the skyline shrouded in that smoke. We saw it last year with wildfires from Canada. This one is much closer to home and there's been a lot of them. It does seem like this is a reality, that a lot of these areas are going to have to adjust to, where they have historically not have had to respond to these gigantic fires. But, I mean, just the Jennings Creek fire, Brad, they have different volunteers and workers from 47 different firefighting units all converging. But this is something that they don't really have to do very often, and something that they don't have to do with this kind of frequency. California, to be clear, is still dealing with larger wildfires, but that's a well-oiled machine that they've been doing year in and year out. They have a system in place. What we're seeing in the northeast is them having to develop this system kind of on the fly. And then also when you have these drought conditions, with no real rain in the forecast for at least the rest of the week for a lot of these areas, it's not just the fact that some of these fires are happening, Brad, or that we have one large one on the New York New Jersey border.

The real concern is that we have these conditions where a single spark could catch fire and spread extremely quickly. And so then what we're hearing about things like a firefighter on Long Island arrested for setting something in the brush, or a small scale fire that happens at an Amtrak station where they have to shut down service because the concern is any individual fire could be enormous in an area where they don't spend a lot of time fighting these kinds of large scale wildfires. It doesn't mean they're not capable, but it's something that they have not had to do. And it's especially bizarre. Brad, I mean, I reported yesterday morning wearing a winter coat. It was 29 degrees. And I'm talking about wildfires. This is not something that we usually have to do, at least in this part of the country.

Right. And I was going to say so many towns across the northeast, really, because they're not used to these large brush fires, have small volunteer fire forces that are used to dealing with with structure fires. And It is a completely different animal. All right, Trevor Ault covering all this. Thank you so much.

Thank you Brad.

And one last thing. City officials and faith leaders gathered in Paris yesterday to announce Notre Dame is back.

Officials cannot persuade.

Archbishop Laurent Ulrich announced that the Gothic cathedral will reopen on December 7th, with a special ceremony to be broadcast around the world. By the next day, a Sunday masses will be held and the cathedral will be open to the public. And remember this 800 year old building almost burned to the ground.

Paris the city of Lights still dazed after a massive blaze ravaged historic Notre Dame Cathedral.

It was five years ago that flames ignited in the cathedral attic and spread for 30 minutes before firefighters arrived. The world watched in horror as spires and ceiling beams fell. Oh my God. If firefighters hadn't gotten to the central tower. The sheer weight of the bells could have taken the entire structure with them.

This roof and I was last here. You could only see the timbers. Now it's two thirds covered in that lead. It is so close to being done.

Earlier this year, our own James Longman got exclusive access to restorations which not only involved carpentry and stonework and metal work, but clean up to the very bones of the building. Remember the roof that went up in flames was made of lead. This whole site was toxic, but now relics are being brought back in like the sacred crown of thorns, believed to have rested on the head of Jesus Christ himself. And those bells are ringing once more. This Friday, a torchlight procession will usher back the statue of Virgin and Child. Later this month, President Emmanuel Macron will make a final inspection on which he's expected to sign off. A special mass will welcome back the firefighters and roughly 2000 craftspeople who brought back the church from the brink of destruction. But there are still concerns about money to keep this place functional. At one point, the French government suggested charging visitors a small fee, to which the Catholic Church reacted furiously to priests. The moment you start charging to enter a church to worship, it stops being a church and starts just being a museum.

However, some of the money issues may have been solved when billionaires finally started cutting checks the night of the fire. People around the world were vowing to donate funds, but some of the money offered by CEOs didn't arrive until much later in the game. Some were accused of trying to renege on their promises. Well, after spending much of the small dollar donations from regular Catholics, these new chunks of change have given Notre Dame a surplus of $150 million that will be used for future preservation, and in a place expected to get 14 million visitors a year, they're gonna need it. We took December 8th opening makes this construction project on time and under budget. Like, what does France have figured out, by the way? Exciting news about James Longman, who you just heard there. You heard him on the show yesterday morning. He was just promoted to chief international correspondent. Very exciting. More on all these stories on ABC News Live. In fact, I will be on there about 940 eastern this morning talking about some of our favorite stories of the week.

I'm Brad Mielke. See you tomorrow.

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Right now on Good Morning America. First look, president elect Trump nominates Congressman Matt Gaetz for attorney general. Gaetz investigated for alleged sex trafficking and drug use, the backlash on both sides of the aisle, and what we're learning about the timing of an ethics investigation into gates.

The FBI reportedly raids the home of the CEO of a crypto betting website linked to bets on the presidential election. His site correctly predicted a Trump victory. How his company is responding to the raid.

Wildfires in New York City in November. The latest in Manhattan. The new report on the historic weather across the country and overseas after this historic flood. More rain. Nearly a month's worth in one hour.

New claims that the government is covering up evidence of UFOs. The testimony on Capitol Hill raising more questions.

A new twist in the case of the father of three who allegedly faked his own death to escape to Europe. The new video being analyzed by police.

Caught on camera. Was it really a bear rummaging through that car or a sophisticated car insurance scam. The evidence uncovered.

Later, Amazon launches a new way for shoppers to save online.

And if you think food at the airport is expensive, now, get ready to pay even more.

From ABC news. This is Good Morning America first look.

Good Thursday morning everyone. I'm Rhiannon ally and.

I'm Andrew Dymburt. We begin with president elect Trump nominating controversial Congressman Matt Gaetz for attorney general.

Even many Republicans are pushing back against this choice. And we are now learning more about the timing of an ethics investigation into Gaetz, who has denied sex trafficking, drug use and other accusations.

Meanwhile, last night, Trump and billionaire Elon Musk were singing God Bless America during a party at Mar-A-Lago. ABC's Christiane Cordero has the latest on Trump's new staff picks. Christiane good morning.

Andrew good.

Morning. The man nominated to become the top law enforcement official in the country is a fierce Trump loyalist. But now the big question is can Matt Gaetz be confirmed by the Senate? Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz has resigned from Congress just hours after president elect Trump nominated him to become attorney general.

If you really want to drain the swamp, hire a Florida man.

Back in 2020, Gaetz pitched himself as a possible attorney general while speaking to a group of young Republicans.

Maybe I should serve as attorney general of the United States. I'd be easy on marijuana and tough on Big Tech. If necessary, I'd fire every little kicker at the J. Edgar Hoover Building and send them all packing.

House speaker Mike Johnson last night acknowledged Gaetz's swift resignation caught him by surprise. The House Ethics Committee was set to deliberate as soon as tomorrow on whether to release its final report on Gaetz. It's been investigating whether Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing, and now, because he has resigned his seat, the committee's findings won't be made public.

If Matt has resigned and is no longer a member of Congress, the ethics investigation will cease and no report will be issued at that point.

If confirmed, Gaetz would lead the same federal agency that investigated him for years for alleged obstruction of justice and sex trafficking. The Justice Department ultimately closed that investigation without filing charges. Gaetz would need a simple majority in the Senate to be confirmed. Some lawmakers, including Republicans, are expressing doubts.

Reaction to Matt Gaetz is AG. Yeah, I don't know yet.

I think about that one.

I mean, do you have any concerns about it?

We'll see. Alaska Senator Lisa murkowski saying, I don't think it's a serious nomination. Ohio Congressman Max Miller, saying gates has a better shot of having dinner with Queen Elizabeth than being confirmed by the Senate. But some Trump loyalists praising gates.

He's going to go into this with an attitude that he's going to clean up, in particular the FBI. But a lot of other stuff.

For deputy attorney general. Trump is considering tapping his own lead attorney, Todd Blanche, a former federal prosecutor. Meanwhile, Trump's pick for defense secretary. Fox news host Pete Hegseth faces more pushback.

I respect his his service and the fact that he's a decorated combat vet. But, you know, it takes weeks to figure out where the bathroom is in the Pentagon.

Hegseth, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, has said women should not be in combat roles. And he once described a, quote, frontal assault needed to reform the Pentagon. First of all.

You got to fire.

Um, you know, you got to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and you got to fire this. I mean, obviously, you got to bring in a new secretary of defense, but any general that was involved, general, Admiral, whatever that was involved in any of the die woke has got to go for.

The director of national intelligence. Trump has chosen former Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who left the Democratic Party in 2022. The conservative Washington Examiner, responding with this headline Senate GOP must stop Tulsi Gabbard from getting keys to intelligence. Castle calling Gabbard an ideological sympathizer of Russian President Putin and Chinese President XI Jinping. But Trump calling Gabbard fearless, saying she will secure peace through strength. As attention focuses on the Senate for confirmation hearings, Republicans have elected South Dakota's John Thune to be its next majority leader instead of Rick Scott, who Trump reportedly favored. It was voted on via secret ballots. Andrew.

All right. The latest from Washington, from Christiane. Christiane. Thank you. Betting on the presidential election may be the reason behind an FBI raid here in New York. Agents reportedly searched the home of Shane Copeland, the CEO of a crypto betting website called Polymarket, which allowed bets from around the world on the U.S. presidential election. Polymarket predicted Trump's win. The New York Post reports Copeland's phone and other devices were seized in the raid, which the company claims was political retribution.

Wildfires in New York. In November, a historically early snowstorm in the southwest, and a month's worth of rain in one hour in Europe. This morning, we have new examples of extreme weather playing out all across the country and around the globe. Overnight, firefighters in New York working to contain a brush fire in upper Manhattan. Smoke towering over the city. Residents urged to close their windows. First responders pumping water from the Harlem River.

We had a stretch hose lines approximately 150ft or more up a hill to extinguish multiple fires. The blaze.

Fueled by a record drought and gusty winds, one of more than 200 fires in New York since the end of.

October. As these dry conditions continue, we anticipate that we will see more of these before rain comes.

About 40 miles away. A wildfire on the new Jersey New York border overnight was only 50% contained. Helicopters dumping water over forests. More than 100 buildings threatened. North America just saw its warmest October on record. Irregular weather patterns emerging across the country and the world. Over the weekend, Denver got more than 20in of snow, the most they've seen in November in 40 years. The heavy, wet snow collapsing this carport.

After a snowstorm, your.

Food and all your resources kind of depleted. So you look forward to being able to get out.

Across the Atlantic, parts of Spain are dealing with another major flood event. Nearly a month's worth of rain in just one day. More than 4000 people forced to flee their homes just two weeks after flash floods turned roads into rivers in eastern Spain, washing away these cars and nearly everything in their path, killing more than 200 people. Back in New York, officials say that fire in Manhattan is now under control. We will check today's forecast in just a few moments.

The Pentagon has released video of a U.S. airstrike on Iranian backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The drone strike targeted a missile launcher allegedly used to attack ships in the Red sea. The remarkably. Check your screen here. A person in the area right there before the drone strike survived and was seen running away after the explosion. Meanwhile, in southern Gaza, an Israeli airstrike hit this area with tents housing displaced Palestinians. At least one child was killed and nearly two dozen people were injured.

Investigators in Massachusetts say they have solved a cold case that dates back 46 years, and it's thanks to a fingerprint. 71 year old Timothy Jolley is now in custody accused of killing Teresa Marco and Mark Harnish In 1978, police say the victims were shot in Harnish's truck where investigators found a fingerprint, but they say there wasn't a match until the suspect applied for a taxicab license.

Investigators obtained a fingerprint identification card for Jolie from the Springfield Police Department, which was on file with that department because Jolie was fingerprinted as an applicant for a taxicab license in the year 2000.

They finally made an arrest after getting a tip and then looking for the suspect's fingerprints in a database. No word on a motive for the murders.

Time now for your Thursday weather.

Good morning. We've got some good news for some rain on the way to parts of the northeast. But where the Jennings Creek wildfire has been. And in the New York Metro. We're going to stay dry. This system kind of runs out of gas as it approaches. Due to strong high pressure over New England, and wildfire risk will increase on Friday with a dry, gusty breeze into the tropics. We go. This will become a strengthening storm moving to the west. It could even become a hurricane near Florida in less than a week. For AccuWeather, I'm Jeff Cornish for ABC news.

Coming up, drowning in debt. Just how bad it's getting for millions of Americans.

Also ahead, a new twist in the case of the Wisconsin father of three who allegedly faked his own death to escape to Europe.

And later, what scientists have learned about how we form memories.

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Wherever news breaks. It's so important to always remember that lives are changed here in London, in Buffalo. Uvalde, Texas. Edinburgh, Scotland. Reporting from Rolling Fork, Mississippi. Ukrainian refugees here in Warsaw are heading to a small community outside of Mexico City, getting you behind the stories as they happen. ABC News Live Prime we'll take you there.

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We are back now with new video of a drop off ballot box exploding in Oregon days before last election. The FBI is now offering a $25,000 reward for information on who's responsible for a separate incident in nearby Washington also destroyed a ballot box.

There's new evidence that Americans are drowning in debt. Credit card balances hit a new record high. Between July and September, more than $1 trillion and total household debt, which includes credit cards, student and car loans and mortgages, also broke a record. On the bright side, wages are now rising at a faster pace than debt.

There's a new twist in the case of the Wisconsin father accused of faking his own death. He was originally reported missing after a kayaking trip. Well, now police are investigating a video that surfaced on social media. Here's ABC's Andrea Fujii.

This morning video on social media featuring a man who resembles a father of three who allegedly faked his own death, is now under investigation by authorities in Wisconsin.

I go to Uzbekistan or stay here.

Say that one more time.

Content creator Bailey Boomhauer says she shot the video in San Diego in June. She recently alerted police that the man looked similar to Ryan Borgwardt. The married father reported missing while kayaking in Wisconsin back in August. Boomhauer remembered the interaction as bizarre.

I've never even heard of that place before, so it's just a very like odd parallel that the man that's missing is also connected to Uzbekistan.

Last week, the sheriff of Green Lake County, Wisconsin announced that Borgwardt was never actually missing. He says evidence shows Borgwardt had planned his disappearance in order to escape to Europe and meet a woman from Uzbekistan. Investigators say they uncovered the alleged scheme after learning that Canadian law enforcement had checked Borgward's name the day after his disappearance. They say he had taken out a $375,000 life insurance policy, moved money to a foreign bank and had replaced his computer's hard drive.

Why do you want to go.

Meet a woman?

So you've given up on meeting someone here?

No. I'm married.

Authorities are not saying that Borgwardt is the man in that social media video, but they do say they're investigating the video.

Anything that we can.

Get, we certainly go through it. See if it will help us out.

Federal authorities are also joining the investigation to determine whether Borgwardt committed any crimes. The sheriff says they plan to seek restitution for search expenses. Rhiannon. Andrew.

All right. Andrea, thank you for that. Coming up, how a school district allegedly violated federal law before the death of a nonbinary student.

Also ahead is the government covering up evidence of UFOs. The testimony on Capitol Hill now raising even more questions.

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That's actor Dave Coulier from full House. He's now battling stage three non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He says he's been undergoing chemo, and doctors say his condition is very treatable.

A federal investigation triggered by the death of a nonbinary student in Oklahoma has found the school district failed to protect students from harassment and discrimination. 16 year old NEX Benedict died by suicide one day after a fight with girls in a school bathroom. Investigators say the district did not notify parents or show them how to file a formal complaint. In accordance with title nine policies, the school has agreed to impose new rules.

Now to Washington and new questions about whether the government is covering up evidence of UFOs.

I had an experience, a.

Congressional hearing straight out of a science fiction movie.

All to hide the fact that we are not alone in the cosmos.

Lawmakers calling for more transparency around UAPs or unidentified anomalous phenomena. That's the term the government now uses instead of UFO.

What do you believe UAPs could be, or are.

Strong evidence that they are non-human? Higher intelligence.

An intelligence officer last year claimed the Pentagon has been hiding knowledge of alien activity for decades.

Were they, I guess, human or non-human? Biologics?

Nonhuman. And that was the assessment of people with direct knowledge on the program.

I talked to Luis Elizondo, who headed a Pentagon program investigating UAP, is now doubling down on his claims.

Has the government conducted secret UAP crash retrieval programs? Yes or no? Yes. Were they designed to identify and reverse engineer alien craft? Yes or no? Yes.

Elizondo saying the alleged extraterrestrial presence poses a national security threat. Let me.

Be clear. UAP are real advanced technologies not made by our government or any other government, are monitoring sensitive military installations around the.

Globe and saying.

He believes many classified materials should be shared with Congress and the public.

If this was an adversarial technology, this would be an intelligence failure, eclipsing that of nine over 11 by an order of magnitude. I believe that we as Americans can handle the truth, and I also believe the world deserves the truth.

The hearing lacked any direct evidence with witnesses who have said they'll only speak about certain subjects behind closed doors. So the result of yesterday's hearing, while one congresswoman says it could open the door to more hearings. President elect Trump has said he might be willing to release more video of UAPs.

Coming up, Amazon's new discount shopping site.

Plus, the bear costume police say was used to commit car insurance fraud. We'll explain.

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Reporting from the tornado damage here in Fort Myers, Florida on Hurricane Milton. I'm ginger zee.

Wherever the story is, we'll take you there.

You're streaming ABC news live.

Time to check the pulse. We begin with a bizarre case of insurance fraud in California.

Four people are under arrest after claiming a bear damaged their luxury car. They even showed the insurance company video of said bear inside their cars, including a Rolls Royce and a Mercedes.

But wildlife experts said evidence showed it was clearly a person in a bear costume. The suspects are being charged with $140,000 in insurance fraud. Next, Amazon's new discount store.

It is called Amazon Haul and everything there from apparel to electronics. It all costs under 20 bucks. Most items shipped directly from China, so there are no next day deliveries. Most purchases will arrive in under two weeks haul. Is Amazon's attempt to compete with Chinese sites Sheehan and Temu. Next, food prices at the airport are going up yet again.

Price hikes are set to begin at all New York area airports in January. Rising labor costs, including a higher minimum wage and improved benefits, are driving prices higher. Travelers could see a 7% increase on most food.

And speaking of expensive food, watch the fries go flying. At the Knicks game last night, actress Anne Hathaway and her son had front row seats. They saw their fries get knocked over by a player there.

Next. Scientists have learned something new about how we form memories.

It involves more than just your brain. They tested cells from nerve tissue and kidney tissue by exposing them to patterns of chemical signals. Now, those cells responded by activating a so-called memory gene, which is also activated in brain cells. They said. The discovery could lead to new ways of treating memory related conditions.

And finally, the toddler who loves target.

Here's 14 month old Ellis on a ride through target. Thrilled by the holiday decorations? They're all I can say. You heard him there.

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Check out more top stories now. Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz quickly resigned from Congress after president elect Trump shocked Washington by tapping him to become attorney general. Sources say the House Ethics Committee was preparing to meet this week to discuss whether to release a report on Gaetz over allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use, But that investigation is now over because gates is no longer a member of the House.

An employee of the CIA has been arrested in Cambodia, accused of leaking classified information about Israel's plans to retaliate for an attack by Iran. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

A man is seeking $5 million in a new lawsuit against Sean Diddy Combs, claiming he was assaulted during a confrontation with Combs in 1996. A former member of Combs inner circle also accuses music mogul of setting him up to take the fall in a gun case. Combs has denied allegations against him.

Today's weather A cold morning in the northeast. Rain from the Great Lakes to Florida, and rain and mountain snow for the West Coast.

Finally, the 71 year old woman who is defying expectations and gravity.

She's a pole dancing champion. She spoke to Danny New.

I wake up between 5 and 5:30 a.m..

In the past year.

We've introduced you to an 84 year old grandma making it rain in Canada and a 75 year old doing backflips in Australia from John Wayne. But now we're headed back to the States to meet a 71 year old woman in Los Angeles who is also spinning her way through expectations.

So what was your.

Athletic background before this?

Oh, taking care of kids.

When it's.

Exactly.

Mary Carroll.

Here had done a little cheerleading and gymnastics in high school. But in 2011, when she was in her late 50s, her friend took her to a class at her gym for a sport called pole dancing.

It was just mesmerizing to me, my love.

Fast forward 14 years and Mary has now won multiple international competitions in both Italy and Brazil for this athletic feat that requires a whole lot of core and upper body strength.

I had to.

Make it happen.

For each performance, Mary will choreograph the moves, build the character, and even sew together her costume before ultimately being scored by the judges for her overall presentation.

To see you.

Again. And yes, she knows this could be dangerous. She battles through arthritis in her hands and even had a hip replacement a few years ago.

You have to take those challenges throughout life and do something with them. Not to.

Mention, Mary says.

She also knows there is a stigma here and realizes how these performances do have a sensual element to them. However, Mary welcomes that no matter her age, if.

You view yourself as a vital person, sexy, attractive, you never have to lose that.

And guys, since it is scored like gymnastics and breakdancing with judges, Mary says she hopes the sport can grow enough to be added to the Olympics one day. What do you think?

Maybe one day.

Have a great day.

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It's Thursday, November 14th. If this was going to be business as usual, no one told the Justice Department. We start here. President elect Donald Trump names one of the most divisive figures in Congress to be his attorney general.

There are people.

That just think he is an agent of political chaos.

Some in the DOJ are predicting mass resignations if he's confirmed, but that's a big if. Meanwhile, Republicans officially gain full power over the Capitol.

I promise to be a leader who serves the entire Republican Conference. But some are.

Privately concerned over what's happening at Mar-A-Lago, and they deal with emergencies all the time. But wildfires aren't one of them.

This is not something that we usually have to do, at least in this part of the country.

How a northeastern drought is forcing fire departments to rethink their futures. From ABC news. This is start here. I'm Brad Mielke. When President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump met on stage at this summer's first presidential debate, they didn't shake hands. Some people asked at the time, are our politics so broken at this point that we stop seeing basic gestures of respect between these two parties? Going forward.

The will.

Of the people always prevails.

Well, since.

Election Day, Biden has vowed to preside over an orderly transition. Yesterday, he did something Trump never did when he lost power, Biden invited his successor to the white House, among his first words to Trump welcome back. Welcome.

Thank you very much. Thank you very much. And politics is tough and it's many cases not a very nice world, but it is a nice world today and I appreciate it very much.

There was a sense of graciousness in Washington yesterday, dare I say, normalcy. The two presidents had their brief meeting. Trump then met with congressional Republicans at the Capitol.

It's nice to win. It's always nice to win.

Democrats acknowledge they are now the minority in both chambers. More on that later. But in the last 48 hours, Trump has made several selections to his cabinet that are sure to test that graciousness. He named a Fox News contributor the secretary of defense. Yesterday, he named Tulsi Gabbard, the one time Democratic congresswoman who's often sympathetic to Russia, as his intelligence chief. And as Trump returned to Florida yesterday just before his plane landed. Actually, we learned he's made his selection for attorney general and even for this president elect, who we knew would be singularly focused on the Justice Department, who he knew has vowed to pardon those convicted for political violence, even for Trump. This selection was surprising.

The swamp draining will recommence soon, and I will be President Trump's strongest ally in Congress.

Matt Gaetz, the firebrand conservative from Florida, the congressman who was once under federal criminal investigations himself, will be nominated to be this nation's top prosecutor. Let's go straight to ABC's Jay O'Brien, who covers Congress. In fact, he was based in Florida for years. So he knows the gates resume as well as anyone. Jake, can you just remind us who this is and why it's such a divisive pick?

Yeah, Matt Gaetz can be defined by that word you use. Brad. Firebrand. He is a member of Congress who is closely tied himself to Donald Trump. His loyalty to Donald Trump is unquestioned. We ride or die with Donald John Trump to the end. Think about Matt Gaetz this way. Matt Gaetz was a long time friend of Ron DeSantis and in this Republican primary for president. Not long ago, he picked Donald Trump over his good friend Ron DeSantis.

A congressman from Florida is a great guy. He's really great. Matt Gaetz and his wife, his beautiful wife, Ginger. Ginger. Stand up.

Now, Donald Trump loves Matt Gaetz. By all accounts. But some of Matt Gaetz's Republican colleagues do not like him very much. I can tell you that from experience on Capitol Hill. Remember when he tried to take out Kevin McCarthy from speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy?

Looks pretty upset.

He almost got in a fistfight with someone on the floor of the House of Representatives. That was a fellow Republican he almost got in a fight with. He put his hand.

Over his mouth.

Yeah, I think he was trying to grab him. I don't know if that was just the hold he got or something like that, but that's what I saw play out. There are people that just think he is an agent of political chaos, and they don't think he deserves to be in government. I've heard that from a number of his House Republican colleagues, and I guess the best thing that kind of illuminates that is that House Republicans were in a meeting yesterday, and sources have told us on the Capitol Hill team at ABC news, there were audible gasps in the room when Matt Gaetz's name was dropped as Donald Trump's appointment for attorney general.

Why? Why does Donald Trump want him? What kind of attorney general would he be?

It's really unclear. We know that Donald Trump's goals for the Justice Department are to try to bend it to his will.

But we have a sick and corrupt two tiered system of justice in our country. Do I know better than anybody?

So Donald Trump has said that he wants to end the investigations into him. He wants to fire the FBI director. He believes that the mechanisms of the Department of Justice have been weaponized against him. There's no proof of that, of course. He said he wants to pardon January 6th. Defendants. There's been this tension in Trump world to investigate the investigators. Meaning if you've ever investigated Donald Trump, we're going to go investigate you. That happens a lot. Um, and so that you can assume would be one of the roles that Matt Gaetz would take as attorney general, because it's a role he's taken in Congress a lot, too, already when Republicans have had the majority. And also, you got to think back to Matt Gaetz's own words a little bit. He spoke to a group of young Republicans in New York in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, at an event that was kind of verboten at the time. It was a big mass gathering during Covid, and they weren't really happening.

In the next term of Donald Trump. Whether that begins in 2021 or 2025, maybe I should serve as Attorney general of the United States.

And he lays.

Out this fantasy at the time of what he would be like as attorney general.

If necessary, I'd fire every little kicker at the J. Edgar Hoover Building and send them all packing.

And we have reporting, Brad, from our team that covers the Department of Justice, that if Matt Gaetz actually were to get confirmed by the Senate and become the attorney general, there could be mass resignations at the Department of Justice of people that are not political, but just line prosecutors or others there who have been there for decades, who are there to do their job, who are public servants. And so that might be why Donald Trump wants Matt Gaetz in that role to try to shake things up and change the Department of Justice completely. But there also might be a reason Matt Gaetz wants to lead the Department of Justice.

The smears against me range from distortions of my personal life to wild and I mean wild conspiracy theories.

Back in 2020 into 2021 and a little bit onwards, Matt Gaetz was being investigated by the Department of Justice for allegedly being tied to sex trafficking, and that investigation was ultimately closed. No charges were brought against Gaetz, and gates championed the fact that no charges were brought against him. He's vehemently denied that he did anything wrong or did anything that was alleged.

I'm built for the battle and I'm not going anywhere.

But the House Ethics Committee. They continued probing Matt Gaetz, and specifically they were probing a number of things. But one of their main questions was, did he facilitate the sex trafficking of a girl that was 17 years old at the time?

ABC news learned that the committee has obtained Gaetz's Venmo records. Sources say one woman testified that a Venmo payment from Gaetz was for sex.

And Matt Gaetz again has denied that. He said that investigation was opened and was politically motivated. But that ethics investigation, which was still ongoing as of yesterday, that investigation would go away if Matt Gaetz left Congress.

I see. Because we just got word overnight that Matt Gaetz has already resigned his seat in Congress, which means then that there would be no more investigation from this committee, no potential report from this committee. But regardless. Jay, is he confirmable anyway, like at this point? You got all these Democrats, they're going to say, no way. It sounds like there might be Republicans who are opposed to. And all you need is a couple to jump over to your side to say, no, we're not going to let this happen. So does this set up a battle between the Senate and Donald Trump? Exactly.

The typical way that you become a cabinet officer in the United States government is that the Senate votes to confirm you. They have to vote by a simple majority to confirm you. And if there are this kind of handful of moderate Republican senators and some have already come forward who say they don't want Matt Gaetz in any way, shape, form or function. It becomes really hard to see how Matt Gaetz gets confirmed and gets voted for by senators who don't like him.

This one was not on my bingo card.

I'm certain that there will be a lot of questions, and one.

Of the few options he could have in that case would be what's called a recess appointment. Donald Trump has already pushed Senate Republicans to essentially give him the opportunity to make recess appointments. The president under the Constitution, can make recess appointments, and they can do it when the Senate goes out on recess. That's why it's called a recess appointment. But the Senate doesn't usually let that happen, because the Senate doesn't go out on recess for a long enough time, as required by the Constitution, to let the president make those recess appointments, because they don't want to kind of cede their typical role of voting on reviewing, having hearings of cabinet level nominees, what Donald Trump said to Republicans as they were considering who was going to replace Mitch McConnell as Senate majority leader, was regardless of who you pick, they need to be on board with me doing recess appointments because the thought was Donald Trump could then use this broad recess appointment authority to put people in his cabinet that never have to be voted on by the Senate, never have to go through a hearing for a period of two years, up to two years, as allowed by the Constitution.

Wow. And so if Donald Trump really wants to push for that, and the Senate really wants to essentially seed something that they typically guard as one of their key powers voting on cabinet level nominees, then that might be how Matt Gaetz could become the attorney general. I see.

Which is why a lot of people are on the Hill. Yesterday, were calling this almost a dare to the Senate of Trump being like, I know you don't like this guy. I'm putting him in anyway. Deal with it. Jay O'Brien covering the Capitol, as always. Thank you.

Great time to cover the capital. Brad. Thank you.

Now, all these nominations at this point are still theoretical. They've got to be delivered to Congress. They still have to be confirmed. But there was a power shift that did take place in Washington yesterday when Ken Calvert won his congressional race in Southern California. He became the 218th Republican elected to Congress. That is the exact number Republicans need for a majority in the House. The GOP now controls all three levers of elected power in Washington the House, the Senate, and, of course, the white House. They call this the trifecta. And yesterday, the chambers in Congress selected their leadership that will hit the ground running. So let's hit the ground running with ABC's chief Washington correspondent, Jonathan Karl. John, I mean, this was just one seat. It might end up being a few seats, but how important is it for Republicans to have these majorities?

It's huge. It gives Trump, particularly the Senate and have a relatively comfortable lead in the Senate. They're going to have 53 senators. We assume, you know, once Pennsylvania is done. This is significant. We should be able to get his cabinet approved. Although, you know, some of the nominations he's made are going to be more challenging than others, to say the least. And the lead in the house is razor thin. But I believe what you're going to see with the Republicans is they'll be far more unified in support of a Trump agenda than they were during the four years. And all the drama we had going back and forth over the speakership and everything else while Biden was president.

Well, and so Republicans selected Mike Johnson as House speaker. No surprises there. He's already the speaker. But the big difference in the Senate is going to be that Trump's nemesis, Mitch McConnell, is gone. Instead, Republicans elected in a secret ballot. South Dakota Senator John Thune, what can you tell us about the dynamics of this closed door election? And I guess, how does this kind of shape the Senate under a Donald Trump presidency?

This was a pivotal moment and a really important test of just how total Trump's control would be over the institutions of government at the start of his second administration. You know, Trump did not endorse in this race, but most of his real high profile MAGA. Right. Uh, influencers call them, absolutely did get involved in this race. I'm talking about Tucker Carlson, Elon Musk, Steve Bannon, Charlie Kirk. They all were trying to support Rick Scott of Florida because Rick Scott was somebody that was the anti McConnell.

He's been impeached, censored, treated as a criminal. All because he never backs down.

And he was somebody that was campaigning for leader by saying I will do exactly what Donald Trump wants. There should we should be exactly precisely the same. Our agenda is precisely Trump's agenda.

And to those who were supporting another candidate, I promise to be a leader who serves the entire Republican Conference.

John Thune. I got to tell you, I mean, Jonathan is widely respected. He's very conservative. First of all. But he's widely respected, and he's basically a protege of Mitch McConnell's. He's a lot like Mitch McConnell and like Mitch McConnell. He was harshly critical of Donald Trump after January 6th. He voted to acquit him in that Senate trial, but made it clear that he was condemning his behavior on that day. And there were other moments throughout the Trump presidency where every once in a while, John Thune would stand up and, you know, make it clear he wasn't approved. He didn't approve of what? Of what Trump was doing. He showed some independence.

He's got a loyal base of followers out there, but I think people in this country are ready for a generational change.

So the fact that Thune could emerge victorious in that race, you know, I mean, look, Thune supported Donald Trump. He's going to support Trump's agenda. But he is a guy with a reputation for independence. He is a guy who has stood up against Trump in the past, and he has lived to tell about it.

And lastly, John, I mean, while people are reacting to Matt Gaetz as potential attorney general, they're also reacting to Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense. Tulsi Gabbard is director of national intelligence. I mean, what do we know about the conversations about these picks behind closed doors? We know there's going to be pushback in sectors of Congress, but is there pushback within the Trump sphere because these are such influential posts?

I got to tell you, and this is just wild, Brad. But, you know, Trump does have a transition that has been set up. It's led by Howard Lutnick, you know, the Cantor Fitzgerald CEO. And it's in many ways very well organized. They're going through vetting candidates, providing Trump with a shortlist to go on. But the two most controversial picks, Pete Hegseth to run the Department of Defense, I mean, the largest and most sprawling federal bureaucracy there is. And his pick to run the Department of Justice. Matt Gaetz these two picks were not did not go through that process. This was Trump himself acting in a way that surprised a lot of his closest advisors.

I think out of deference to us, he issued his resignation letter, effective immediately, of Congress. Um, that caught us by surprise a little bit. People I've talked to very.

Close to Trump involved in this whole process were almost as surprised as you were when you heard that Matt Gaetz was the pick to be attorney general. And also, by the way, when Pete Hegseth was picked to be defense secretary.

Because I'm straight up just.

Saying we should not have women in combat.

Roles. I mean, the idea of picking somebody who was a weekend. Fox news host for the last eight years to run the hardest bureaucracy there is to run in the federal government, and one of them is arguably the most important for our national security, the Defense Department. I think it's going to be a very heavy lift. And of course, the comments that he made about women in combat, especially when he's sitting across, you know, in a confirmation hearing, if it gets that far from somebody like Joni Ernst, who, you know, as a fighter pilot. Now, to be fair, Hegseth has also said he's okay with women as fighter pilots, but not in infantry. And he's got. But anyway, this is going to be a very contentious, controversial confirmation process. Absolutely. And I, you know, look, I mean, we'll see if they get him if he gets them all. I'd be I'd be surprised if he gets them all, frankly.

Interesting, interesting. All right. Jonathan Karl, chief Washington correspondent. Thank you.

Thanks, Brad.

We've covered a lot of wildfires in western states in recent months. And while November is near the end of California's fire season, it's not abnormal to see blazes break out there. What is unusual is to see a November fire season in the northeast. And yet that's exactly what we're seeing from New York to New Jersey, from small towns to urban parklands. In fact, just yesterday, the last forest remaining in Manhattan went up in flames. ABC's Trevor Ault has been reporting on this outbreak across the region. Trevor, how impactful is this getting?

I mean, it's certainly surprising, Brad. Not like anything that we have had to deal with before. A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving and I'm out on the New York New Jersey border responding and reporting on all of these wildfires. And this is a problem across the entire northeast, really. It's a problem across the entire country. But it's really bizarre and really impacting the northeast right now. So we're talking about hundreds of different wildfires in different sizes and scale. Many of them are small. The main one, though, the Jennings Creek wildfire, that's the one on the New York, New Jersey border. That's 5000 acres and counting. And that's the one that officials are really worried about right now, where we've seen different fire crews coming in from all over the place. We know that at least one person was killed, an 18 year old parks worker who was trying to clear out brush for these firefighters. And it's especially worrisome because of the conditions.

In my over 50 years of living here. This has been the most significant and probably most potentially dangerous situation I've seen or been involved in.

So even though we are in mid-November, it has been historically dry for so much of this region. I mean, we're talking about many places New York, new Jersey, Massachusetts, up to Vermont, a lot of these areas that have had their driest fall on record, some spots went 40 days with no rain. And now, even if it is mid-November, even if the temperatures are dropping, those are the conditions really a perfect storm for a spark that can really continue to spread. And so the Jennings Creek Fire started on Saturday. It hasn't necessarily been spreading over the past 36, 48 hours or so, but it is still burning in new spots continue to pop up because these conditions are so dangerous.

We are currently in a historical numbers for our critical fuels, or the forest floor being dried out, and we're seeing stuff that we haven't seen in quite some time here in new Jersey.

And this is a problem not just for that region. It's a problem for the entire Northeastern United States. And really, Brad, when you talk about across the country and the forces behind this in October, the only states that didn't have some form of drought in some location was Alaska and Kentucky. Wow. The other 40 states all had some form of drought, and a lot of that's happening in the northeast. And that's what I.

Was going to ask Trevor, because I was shocked to see a forest fire in New York City. It's like 15 minutes from where I live. Prospect Park, Brooklyn has like one of the oldest natural forests in in New York City. And you could smell this as it went up in flames. Is this sort of the new normal? Because the bigger story here then, seems like not like the amount of structures burned like the West. The western US sees bigger fires than this all the time. But if you're going to have total paradigm shifts in so many of these cities where climate change is making things drier and hotter.

Yeah, I mean, it's bizarre to in New York City that you see the skyline shrouded in that smoke. We saw it last year with wildfires from Canada. This one is much closer to home and there's been a lot of them. It does seem like this is a reality, that a lot of these areas are going to have to adjust to, where they have historically not have had to respond to these gigantic fires. But I mean, just the Jennings Creek fire. Brad, they have different volunteers and workers from 47 different firefighting units all converging. But this is something that they don't really have to do very often and something that they don't have to do with this kind of frequency. California, to be clear, is still dealing with larger wildfires, but that's a well-oiled machine that they've been doing year in and year out. They have a system in place. What we're seeing in the northeast is them having to develop this system kind of on the fly. And then also when you have these drought conditions with no real rain in the forecast for at least the rest of the week for a lot of these areas, it's not just the fact that some of these fires are happening, Brad, or that we have one large one on the New York New Jersey border.

The real concern is that we have these conditions where a single spark could catch fire and spread extremely quickly. And so then what we're hearing about things like a firefighter on Long Island arrested for setting something in the brush, or a small scale fire that happens at an Amtrak station where they have to shut down service because the concern is any individual fire could be enormous in an area where they don't spend a lot of time fighting these kinds of large scale wildfires. It doesn't mean they're not capable, but it's something that they have not had to do. And it's especially bizarre. Brad. I mean, I reported yesterday morning wearing a winter coat. It was 29 degrees. And I'm talking about wildfires. This is not something that we usually have to do, at least in this part of the country.

Right. And I was going to say so many towns across the northeast, really, because they're not used to these large brush fires, have small volunteer fire forces that are used to dealing with with structure fires. And this is a completely different animal. All right. Trevor Ault covering all this. Thank you so much. Thank you Brett. And one last thing. City officials and faith leaders gathered in Paris yesterday to announce Notre Dame is back on campus. Archbishop Laurent Ulrich announced that the Gothic cathedral will reopen on December 7th, with a special ceremony to be broadcast around the world. By the next day, a Sunday masses will be held and the cathedral will be open to the public. And remember this 800 year old building almost burned to the ground.

Paris the city of Lights still dazed after a massive blaze ravaged historic Notre Dame Cathedral.

It was five years ago that flames ignited in the cathedral attic and spread for 30 minutes before firefighters arrived. The world watched in horror as spires and ceiling beams fell. Oh my God. If firefighters hadn't gotten to the central tower. The sheer weight of the bells could have taken the entire structure with them.

This roof. When I was last here, you could only see the timbers. Now it's two thirds covered in that lead. It is so close to being done.

Earlier this year, our own James Longman got exclusive access to restorations which not only involved carpentry and stonework and metal work, but cleanup to the very bones of the building. Remember, the roof that went up in flames was made of lead. This whole site was toxic, but now relics are being brought back in like the sacred crown of thorns, believed to have rested on the head of Jesus Christ himself. And those bells are ringing once more. This Friday, a torchlight procession will usher back the statue of Virgin and Child. Later this month, President Emmanuel Macron will make a final inspection on which he's expected to sign off. A special mass will welcome back the firefighters and roughly 2000 craftspeople who brought back the church from the brink of destruction. But there are still concerns about money to keep this place functional. At one point, the French government suggested charging visitors a small fee, to which the Catholic Church reacted furiously to priests. The moment you start charging to enter a church to worship, it stops being a church and starts just being a museum.

However, some of the money issues may have been solved when billionaires finally started cutting checks the night of the fire. People around the world were vowing to donate funds, but some of the money offered by CEOs didn't arrive until much later in the game. Some were accused of trying to renege on their promises after spending much of the small dollar donations from regular Catholics. These new chunks of change have given Notre Dame a surplus of $150 million that will be used for future preservation, and in a place expected to get 14 million visitors a year, they're going to need it. We took December 8th opening makes this construction project on time and under budget. Like, what does France have figured out, by the way? Exciting news about James Longman, who you just heard there. You heard him on the show yesterday morning. He was just promoted to chief international correspondent. Very exciting. More on all these stories on ABC News Live. In fact, I will be on there about 940 eastern this morning talking about some of our favorite stories of the week.

I'm Brad Mielke. See you tomorrow.

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Hi, I'm Diane Macedo today on ABC News Live. First, a controversial pick for the new administration president elect Trump announces Republican firebrand and staunch loyalist Matt Gaetz for attorney general. What that means for the Florida congressman's House ethics investigation. Plus the role. Tulsi Gabbard is being tapped to play. A brush fire erupts in New York City, the rare warning issued to residents and the latest on the firefight as dry conditions spark more fires on the East coast. And new Israeli airstrikes in Beirut. At least six people are dead and 15 wounded after the IDF attacked a Hezbollah controlled neighborhood. What we're learning about the strike as President Biden meets with the families of American hostages held by Hamas. But first, special election plans are getting underway as president elect Trump announces more cabinet picks. Florida will have to vote on who will replace Trump nominees Senator Marco Rubio, Congressman Mike Waltz and now Congressman Matt Gaetz. Meanwhile, Gates's nomination for attorney general is raising eyebrows on Capitol Hill, including from members of his own party. ABC News senior congressional correspondent Rachel Scott has the latest.

Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, sending shockwaves through Washington. The president elect nominating Republican firebrand and staunch loyalist Matt Gaetz to one of the most influential jobs in his cabinet.

He's a great, really a great person, and he's on the controversial side, but that's not bad.

If confirmed, Gaetz would lead the Department of Justice, which for years also led an investigation into Gaetz for alleged obstruction of justice and for alleged sex trafficking. The DOJ ultimately closing the investigation without bringing any charges. But Gaetz was also facing another investigation by the House Ethics Committee for alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, allegations he denies. Overnight, that investigation brought to a halt when Gaetz suddenly resigned.

If Matt has resigned and is no longer a member of Congress, the ethics investigation will cease and no report will be issued at that point.

Sources say the committee was ready to meet this week to deliberate over whether to release a report. His resignation also complicating an already narrow majority in the House for Republicans. Trump has now nominated three members to serve in his administration.

I have begged and pleaded with the new president. Enough already. Okay. But because our numbers are small, the announcement shocking.

Fellow Republicans.

I just think it's silly. I believe that the president is probably rewarding him for being such a loyal soldier to the president. But the president is smart enough, and his team is smart enough to know that Mr. Gates will never get confirmed by the Senate whatsoever.

Some GOP senators making it clear this is far from a done deal.

I don't think it's a serious nomination for the attorney general. We need to have a serious attorney general, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to consider somebody.

That is serious. This one this one was not on my bingo card.

And gates is not the only nominee who could face challenges. His choice for defense secretary. Fox news host and veteran Pete Hegseth said this about women serving in combat.

I'm straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles.

What do you make of some of his past comments, though, suggesting that women shouldn't serve in combat roles? Well, I think.

He'll have to answer what he meant by.

That.

For Director of National Intelligence, the president elect naming former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who switched parties and became one of his most loyal supporters. She has no intelligence experience and will face tough questions over her meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and whether she's too sympathetic to Russia. As Trump presses forward with the transition, he returned to Washington, meeting with President Biden in the Oval Office, shaking hands. Welcome back to.

Chang'an. Thank you very much. And politics is tough, and it's in many cases not a very nice world, but it is a nice world today, and I appreciate very much. It's a transition that's so smooth. It'll be as smooth as it can get. And I very much appreciate that, Jim. You're welcome. Thank you all.

The House Ethics Committee declined to comment on our reporting this morning. Sources are telling ABC news that president elect Donald Trump is considering tapping his top defense attorney, Todd Blanche, to be the deputy attorney general. This is the second highest position in the Justice Department. Diane.

ABC News senior congressional correspondent Rachel Scott, thank you. And sources tell ABC news justice Department officials are shocked Trump is picking gates for attorney general. One officials even warning of mass resignations if gates is sworn in. ABC News Justice Department reporter Alex Mallin joins me now for more on that. Alex, what kind of reactions are you hearing and what are the biggest concerns about Matt Gates being attorney general?

Yeah, Diane, it's safe to say my phone and other reporters phones were blowing up in the immediate aftermath of this announcement by president elect Trump that he.

Was going to put forward.

Matt Gaetz.

As his nominee.

For attorney.

General. It's a state of shock.

I would say that.

Most of the.

Career officials that I spoke to say.

That, you know.

They are hopeful.

From what they've heard from Senate Republicans, at least.

Initially, that, you know, maybe there's a long shot at him actually being confirmed. But they note that Gaetz himself was under investigation, criminal investigation by the Justice Department for alleged potential sex trafficking. Obviously, that investigation was closed. He was not accused of any criminal wrongdoing. But they note that, you know, he would have access to those investigative files were he confirmed to the post, he would be able to see things like cooperating witnesses. And obviously they are more concerned about his rhetoric about what the Justice Department's role should be in investigating President Trump's political opponents. They're worried that he would tear down the norms of independence that have typically existed at the department post Watergate. You know, obviously, though, they recognize this is the new reality they are living in. This is a president elect, for instance, who was indicted twice by the Justice Department. You know, they were initially encouraged by the nomination of Senator Rubio for Secretary of state. They thought that that might be president elect Trump moving back towards more normal choices.

But now they see this choice as obviously his intent to push this Justice Department to its limits.

Now, one of Trump's top transition advisers is warning officials that they could be punished for resisting the demands of Trump's appointees. What more are you hearing about that?

Yeah, this is an attorney, Mark Paoletta. He's obviously a top adviser to the transition team. He previously represented Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wife, Ginni Thomas, and her dealings with the January 6th Select Committee. He has issued a really specific warning over his social media sites, saying that any Justice Department employees who do not want to fall in line with the political appointees put forward by president elect Trump should either resign or get out of the way. And this is basically them asserting their dominance, saying, you know, this is what the Supreme Court did in their immunity decision, they made clear that the executive branch, the presidency, is directly in control of the Justice Department. You know, this is obviously a split with the long standing norms of independence that have existed post-Watergate. But this is what he is stating, and this is what he is warning for those 110,000 career officials who work at the Justice Department, Diane.

And Alex, sources tell ABC news. President elect Trump is considering his top defense attorney for the second highest position at the Justice Department. So what's the latest on Todd Blanche and his potential role?

Yeah, obviously, Todd Blanche represented president elect Trump in his criminal trial in New York. And obviously the January 6th investigation at the federal level and the classified documents investigation. And now the deputy attorney general role. If he were nominated and confirmed that role, he would be the one directly overseeing the FBI. The FBI director directly reports to the deputy attorney general. So you'd have somebody who represented Trump as his defense attorney now overseeing the highest levels of law enforcement. Obviously, this pales in comparison to the reaction we heard to Matt Gaetz being put forward by as a as the attorney general. But, you know, obviously raises the prospect, this is this is not a Justice Department that will be independent of the white House. Diane.

Justice Department reporter Alex Mallin Thank you. And firefighters are on the scene of a rare brush fire in New York City. Crews have been able to put out hotspots that started in a park in upper Manhattan. Meanwhile, the Jennings Creek Fire, burning along the New York New Jersey border, is now 50% contained. ABC's Erielle Reshef has the latest. Reporter.

Hundreds of.

Firefighters battling.

Multiple.

Brush fires in the East.

Plumes of smoke.

Blanketing the tip of Manhattan.

From the three alarm Inwood Hill fire.

Fueled by bone dry.

Conditions and.

Gusty winds.

I've lived here for about 40 years. It makes me want to cry. I've never seen anything like this.

The smell of smoke.

Is thick.

In the air.

It is affecting air quality. You can see dozens of FDNY crews are here on scene. Firefighters staging in this area. Launching drones, doing everything they can to put this out. Officials say the steep terrain is their biggest challenge.

150 plus feet to climb up that hill with hose lines is extremely dangerous for us.

This, as the deadly Jennings Creek Fire blazes on for its sixth day, burning across the New York and New Jersey state border. More than 4300 acres charred, 50% contained. The dry spell in the northeast, making it even harder to combat these wildfires. New Jersey officials issuing a drought warning. And, Diane, just to give you a sense of what firefighters all along the East Coast are dealing with. Take a look. This is the dry, brittle brush. You can hear it snapping in my hands. This is the perfect fuel for fires and it doesn't take much to set them off.

Diane Reshef, thank you. And millions of people in the northeast are under an elevated fire risk as the dry conditions grow even more dangerous. ABC's chief meteorologist ginger zee is tracking that for us. And a new tropical threat gaining strength in the Caribbean. Hi, Ginger.

A lot of people are starting to hear about a potential for a tropical storm or hurricane.

For Florida.

Next week. So I want to lay out everything that we know right now. We do have what will be Sarah. And it's.

Going to be hanging out near Honduras.

Along the coast there.

Where they've got hurricane watches up throughout.

The weekend.

So it's going to be a slow go as it makes its way through the bay into the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. And then you see how Tuesday morning, it's still a tropical storm over land in the current track. Well, that's going to be imperative to where it goes, but also that high pressure system, because once that moves to the southeast, it's going to allow the storm to start coming north. And then that trough, which is going to bring a lot of cold air with it, actually to much of the nation, is going to help drive it toward the coast. So the Gulf Coast and Florida, we're watching this would be by next midweek. So we still have a whole week ahead. Just pay close attention as we get through the weekend.

All right, ginger zee. Thank you. A new Human Rights Watch report accuses Israel of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. The 150 page report details evidence the group claims shows Israel's displacement of the majority of the civilian population meets the definition of ethnic cleansing. Israeli military says it's committed to international law and says it issues evacuation orders to protect civilians from combat. Foreign correspondent Britt Clennett joins me live now from Jerusalem for more. Britt, the author of this report, says the group looked at more than 100 of Israel's evacuation orders, and they say they found Israel was evacuating people, but then attacking safe routes in evacuation areas at the same time, leaving nowhere safe in Gaza. So how significant are these claims and how is Israel responding to that?

Yeah, and quite.

A scathing.

Report by Human Rights Watch accusing Israel of overseeing the forced mass displacement of Palestinians in Gaza in what it describes as a deliberate and systematic campaign that amounts to a war crime and crimes against humanity. Now, in that statement, it cited the illegal and deliberate demolition of homes and infrastructure. It also said that the aims of these buffer zones are questioning the aims of these security corridors and buffer zones, and also saying that from which these positions, the Palestinians, are likely to be permanently displaced. We know from the United Nations that 1.9 million Palestinians in Gaza are displaced. That's 90% of the territory's population. We also did hear from the IDF in response to this report, saying that the Israeli military is committed to international law and operates accordingly. It also pointed out that it does issue evacuation orders. But we know from speaking to people in the ground in Gaza who. Have evacuated some of them nine times, that they are worried and that their fears. Are always that there is nowhere safe to go in Gaza.

Now, by international law, Israel must provide the population with food, water and shelter. Right. If they displaced civilians. But Human Rights Watch says Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war. We know 15 trucks carrying aid were allowed into northern Gaza yesterday. How big of an impact could that have in the region on the brink of famine? And what do you make of that part of this report?

Well, aid groups will say 15 trucks is a drop in the ocean. You know, I spoke to CogAT spokesperson the other day. CogAT is responsible for facilitating the transfer of aid into Gaza. And he was actually admitting that, you know, that the numbers that they facilitate fall short of that 350 truck a day demand by the United States. But they blame aid organizations for not distributing that aid inside Gaza, saying there are trucks on the other side waiting to deliver aid. But in fact, we speak to aid groups who say that it's just not safe to deliver that aid to the people who desperately need it. And Israel needs to create the conditions to, to to be able to facilitate that aid and get that that food, that water in to people who so desperately need it. As I say, Diane.

And Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's corruption trial is moving forward after the Jerusalem District Court rejected his request to delay testifying. So what's the latest on that and how could that impact the war?

Yeah, so that begins in December. He's expected to testify three times a week. It's not clear how this is going to impact the direction of the war, but I think everyone is going to watch very closely to see what kind of impact the Trump presidency will have. You know, will he free up Israel's hand a little bit more, or will he wrap up the war and put pressure on Netanyahu to end their campaign in Gaza and in Lebanon. But certainly Netanyahu's relationship with Trump is stronger than Netanyahu's relationship with Biden. We know that they've been on the phone three times, and that itself shows the strength of the relationship going forward. But, you know, it's unknown how what kind of direction the war will have under Trump.

Foreign correspondent Britt Clennett in Jerusalem for us. Thanks, Britt. Stay safe. And a CIA employee is facing charges for allegedly leaking secret information about Israel's plans to attack Iran. This comes as an Air National Guardsman convicted of leaking classified information is now facing 15 years in prison. Chief Justice correspondent Pierre Thomas has that story.

Reporter well, Dianne, good morning.

ABC news has learned that a CIA employee has been charged in connection with the recent leak of classified information involving Israeli military plans to retaliate against Iran. Israel's military secrets, including specifics about the nature and scale of their planned missile assault were posted on the internet in mid-October, just days before the eventual attack. Rahman was arrested by FBI agents in Cambodia and brought to Guam on November 12th, charged with illegally obtaining and then revealing classified information that could damage U.S. national security. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. His arrest came on the same day as the resolution of another significant case involving the mishandling of classified documents. Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira was sentenced to 15 years in prison for leaking highly classified information. What's disturbing is that in both cases, these are personnel who had direct access to some of the nation's most sensitive secrets.

Dianne, chief justice correspondent Pierre Thomas, thank you. Coming up, the new twist in the Menendez brothers case with the newly elected Los Angeles Da is saying about the effort to free them.

This ship is heaven. There should be no guilt on a pleasure cruise. Doctor, it's your job to keep everybody alive.

No pulse. She's in v-fib.

One. Two. Three. Clear. I have a pulse.

You're gonna be okay.

These are the last time you'll be able to say anything. But we all know blood is the time to beat. Now it's time to go I know. Time patrol. How many of these poachers have you caught this year?

Attention, teachers. No child is to be sent to the principal's office today.

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What are, like, four.

More of these? Yeah, we were robbed.

Hey!

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I'm gonna call your mother on you. Bring the rest back here, boy. Good. Better.

Best.

The news never.

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Hurricane Helene screaming.

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Welcome back to ABC News Live. First, LA's newly elected district attorney is throwing a new twist in the Menendez brothers case. Nathan Hochman says if he gets the case, he would have a lot to review before making a decision on the brothers potential release. Hochman says that includes reading through trial transcripts, prison records and re-interviewing law enforcement and family members. ABC News Live anchor Kayna Whitworth has the latest.

Reporter you really got to get beyond the Netflix documentary.

As calls to.

Free Eric.

And Lyle Menendez grow louder, with.

Promises the pair.

Would be home by Thanksgiving.

Newly elected Los.

Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman says if the infamous case lands on his desk, he would.

Have a lot to review.

Before making a.

Decision.

If you decide this case based on just reviewing a Netflix documentary, you're doing a disservice to the Menendez brothers, to the victim family members, to the public.

The former federal.

Prosecutor.

Unseated incumbent.

George.

Gascon in a landslide and.

Questions the.

Motivation of Gascon's decision so close to the election.

Part of the problem with the Gascon timing of his decision is there's a a cloud over that credibility. Is it a just decision or was it just a political ploy? There will be no cloud over whatever decision I do.

Gascon denies his support for the brother's release was politically motivated. I believe.

That they should be released and they should be released cleanly within the.

Law. The brothers have spent 35 years in prison for the 1989 murder of their parents. Sentenced to life without parole.

I, Joseph Lyle Menéndez, am destined for greatness.

The recent Netflix drama series and separate documentary propelling the case into the spotlight again.

Young people have taken the time to figure out what happened.

A new generation taking to social media to rally around the brothers, citing their claims of sexual abuse. And while a judge reviews the case, Hoffman promising diligence. I'm not going.

To ask for a delay just for DeLay's sake. We'll ask for the minimal amount of time necessary to do this work, because we owe it to the Menendez brothers. We owe it to the public to get this decision right.

And so, Diane, right now, a judge is weighing the alleged new evidence, and a hearing is set for that later this month, as well as a December hearing for the possibility of resentencing. But also, Diane, if you wanted to, the governor could grant clemency at any time. But here's the deal. If it lands on Nathan Hoffman's desk, he says he wants to review all the prison records, all the transcripts from both trials and re-interview law enforcement and family as well. Diane.

Kayna Whitworth. Thank you. And we're learning new details about burglaries at the homes of Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. Police say their homes were targeted last month within hours of each other. Now Mahomes is talking about the ordeal. ABC's Will Reeve has the latest.

Reporter superstar.

NFL quarterback.

Patrick.

Mahomes speaking.

Out after a.

Break in at his home.

It's frustrating. It's disappointing. Um, but, I mean, I can't get into too many of the details because the investigation is still ongoing, but obviously something that you don't want to happen to, to really anybody.

Last month.

His home and Kansas City.

Chiefs teammate Travis Kelce's home were burglarized. According to police reports, on October 6th, just after midnight, four police officers were dispatched to a home in Belton, Missouri, just 20 miles outside of Kansas City.

This is going to be for all of the Super Bowl trophies.

The sprawling.

Estate Mahomes recently built can be seen in the show The.

Quarterback on.

Netflix.

I'm here to be in Kansas City for the long term, and so I'm excited that I can say I'm a part of Chiefs Kingdom forever now, and that House kind of embodies that.

Police in Leawood, Kansas are also investigating a Break-In from October 7th at an address that matches where Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce lives. According to the police, the burglar caused $1,000 worth of damage and stole $20,000 in cash. The police report listing two crimes burglary of a dwelling and criminal damage to property. The Kelce break in happened while the Chiefs were hosting the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football, and Kelce has talked about having to move and otherwise step up security since he's been with Taylor Swift.

An interesting stuff. Will Reeve. Thank you. Coming up, a crypto betting platform under fire. Why? The FBI is searching the home of Polymarket founder and CEO.

William Wu.

You know my name?

Oh. For decades, Chinatown.

Has been the epicenter of crime in the city. I need someone on the inside.

Follow me.

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Freeze solving cases, catching bad guys.

Can I place an order to go, please? We'll close. Later this morning on The View, the Magic of.

Oz is here with Cynthia Erivo. Then our very own Whoopi is Miss Hannigan in Annie. And Annie and Sandy are right here with her.

Tomorrow only on ABC 911.

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Reporting from the tornado damage here in Fort Myers, Florida on Hurricane Milton. I'm ginger zee. Wherever the story is.

We'll take you there. You're streaming ABC News Live.

Welcome back to ABC News Live. First, here are some of the top headlines we're following right now. Thousands of evacuations are underway in coastal Spain amid another major flood, the Malaga area has gotten nearly a month's worth of rain in a single day. It comes just two weeks after flash floods turned deadly in eastern Spain, killing more than 200 people. Law enforcement officials say the FBI is investigating crypto betting platform Polymarket. Sources say investigators even raided CEO Shane Copeland's New York City home on Tuesday. Investigation is set to center on whether Polymarket violated a prior settlement with the U.S. government by allowing American based users access to its platform. Reports say the FBI took Copeland's phone and other devices in the raid, which the company claims was political retribution. Polymarket predicted Trump's win last week in a post on X. Kaplan writes, we are deeply committed to being nonpartisan and today is no different. But the incumbents should do some self-reflecting and recognize that taking a more pro-business, pro startup approach may be what would have changed their fate this election.

For LA, residents are charged with committing insurance fraud while dressed as a bear. The suspects claimed a bear entered and damaged their 2010 Rolls-Royce ghost. They even provided surveillance video of the alleged bear. But the California Department of Insurance investigation says two different insurance companies had similar claims. They asked the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to review the videos, and two agencies concluded they were, quote, clearly a human in a bear suit. Law enforcement says investigators searching the home then found a bear costume. The suspects have all been charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy. Officials report the insurance companies had already paid out some of the claims, totaling more than $140,000. Coming up, an unprecedented increase in crisis calls the warning from LGBTQ plus advocacy groups following the presidential election. Also ahead, another civil lawsuit against Sean Diddy Combs. The details of the music mogul's alleged armed confrontation outside a New York City club. Plus the search for answers in the sinking of a superyacht. What we're hearing from one of the families of some of the victims.

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Welcome back to ABC News Live. First, you are looking at New York City on this Thursday, November 14th, and special election plans are getting underway as president elect Trump announces more cabinet picks, Florida will have to vote on who will replace Trump nominee Senator Marco Rubio, Congressman Mike Waltz, and now Congressman Matt Gaetz. Meanwhile, Gaetz's nomination for attorney general is raising eyebrows on Capitol Hill, including from members of his own party. Let's bring in ABC news executive editorial producer John Santucci and ABC news contributing correspondent Rachel Bade. For more on that. Rachel, you have some new reporting now about Trump's decision to pick Gaetz to lead the DOJ. What are you learning about that?

Yeah.

Hey there Diane, it sounds like it was very much last minute and came out of nowhere. And it surprised even his inner circle. Look, earlier this week, as recently as Monday, Donald Trump had a short list of people he was looking at for attorney general. He didn't really like any of them. He felt like they weren't showing enough that they would do basically whatever he wants at the Justice Department, and he was sort of looking for other options. He flies to DC yesterday, and on that plane was Matt Gaetz and one of Matt Gaetz's friends, who is also a close ally of Donald Trump. Both of these men have had their own run ins at the Justice Department, but they made this pitch to Trump that Matt Gaetz was the guy to do it, that he would be the one who could basically clean house there. And it's interesting because Siouxsie Wiles, who's who was just tapped as chief of staff for Donald Trump, she's sort of seen as this person who, um, rightly or wrongly, basically restrains Donald Trump from making some more outlandish decisions.

She was actually in a different part of the plane when all this went down. She didn't even know it was happening until basically it had all been already worked out. But it's safe to say, Diane, that this surprised his inner circle. But it is a reminder that it's Donald Trump himself who makes these decisions, not his top advisers. He chooses himself.

And John Gates was facing a House ethics investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. Now that he's resigned from Congress, the ethics committee no longer has jurisdiction to investigate him. So what do we know about whether or not that factored into this decision by Trump to nominate gates.

Hugely. I mean, Rachel.

To her credit, had a lot of this reporting first, much of which we've matched now here at.

ABC, Diane. And that is that because.

Of this investigation.

Because of the.

Way it was.

Being broken down, the.

Timeline of it, our understanding is that that committee was going to vote.

In just the next two days to.

Actually bring some type of a.

You know, report.

To fruition.

They've been working.

On this for months. They've been bringing in witnesses, subpoenaing documents, records, many women that had, you know, relationships with Matt Gates had gone before this committee. So that really did have a huge impact on this, because if you think about it, Matt Gaetz has really dodged several bullets. There was a DOJ investigation once upon a time that went away. Then round two was the House Ethics Committee, and they were, for lack of a better phrase, rocking and rolling. They were bringing all these people in. They were getting information. They were releasing some updates, that it was a serious investigation, despite the fact that he was not, you know, cooperating and working with them. So I think it's a huge impact. And the fact that it goes away in theory, though, does it actually go away? Because now you have members that are very angry up on Capitol Hill. And we know Matt Gaetz is not a fan of many Republicans up on Capitol Hill.

Mhm.

So Rachel, let's talk about that because many Republican lawmakers, members of Gaetz's own party and Trump's obviously were caught off guard by this nomination and are speaking out against it. Here's how Alaska Senator Lisa murkowski reacted to the news.

I don't think it's a serious nomination for the attorney general. We need to have a serious attorney general, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to consider somebody that is serious.

This one this one was not.

On my bingo card.

Now, Rachel, Republicans will control the Senate, but not by a lot. You only need a few Republicans to vote against him and he doesn't get confirmed, right? So what are the chances that he does actually get confirmed?

You know, Dan, it's actually pretty hard to say because on the one hand, every Republican I have talked to on Capitol Hill has told me that they think Matt Gaetz doesn't have the professional experience to do this job, let alone the sort of moral compass, the sort of ethical, you know, compass to do what is right. They don't want him leading the Justice Department. But on the other hand, Donald Trump just had a sweeping victory right now. And it takes a lot of guts for a sitting member of Congress, a sitting senator, to go up against him and say they don't want to vote for him. I do think there are a handful of members who would do that. But look, a lot of these people are going to be under tremendous pressure to fall in line. And we have to keep in mind that this is a very different Republican Senate than we saw. Just, you know, last time he was president, they are more MAGA minded. They fall in line, and there's not a lot of opposition to him up there.

All right. John Santucci. Rachael bade, thank you both. And president elect Trump's administration picks could be shedding light on how he plans to handle the crisis in the Middle East. Trump's selections of Senator Marco Rubio as secretary of state, former governor Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik as U.N. ambassador, sent a strong message of support to Israel. Let's bring in ABC's Brad Mielke, host of the Start Here podcast, for more on that. Brad, thanks for coming on. Trump named Huckabee as ambassador to Israel before naming any other ambassadors. And Huckabee has said in the past, there's no such thing as the West Bank. There's no such thing as a settlement. There's no such thing as an occupation. So how significant is that? And what could these appointments mean for the crisis in the Middle East? Yeah, I.

Mean, Huckabee is one example of somebody in this incoming administration who is in absolute lockstep with some people, more religious conservatives in the Netanyahu government. I mean, Mike Huckabee has said that, like you said, he refers to it not as the West Bank. He refers to it as Judea and Samaria. These are the words that are often used by the religious right in Israel. And so it shows that, you know, you know, that Netanyahu's government, he is going to be in lockstep with these people who believe that, you know, there are some who in the Netanyahu government who believe that more Israelis should actually be taking over Palestinian land that has been considered Palestinian for many, many years now. You hear about these settlements, right, where Israelis will come in and physically move into somebody's house in the West Bank, knowing that there will not be any pushback, you know, almost challenging Palestinians to fight them over it because they know the Israeli military won't necessarily intervene. These are the sort of scenes that have been sort of unfolding in the West Bank.

And so you can imagine that there will be less pushback from a senator or from a Secretary Rubio or from an Ambassador Huckabee with these sorts of policies. You also then take a look not just at the West Bank, but take a look over in Gaza, on the other side of Israel, there has been a real question what happens the day after this war with Hamas ends in Gaza, will Palestinians move back to their homeland in Gaza? Will they be able to move back into their homes? Or, as some Israelis have suggested, on the far right in Israel, should more Israelis actually move into that land? And so the big question will be, will a Ambassador Huckabee stand in the way of something like that? The Biden administration has been very vociferous in not even considering proposals like this from the more radical members of the Netanyahu government.

Now, Trump's policies will still have to get through Congress. We know the Senate will be led by Republicans and the new Republican Senate leader, John Thune. So what does that mean for Trump's cabinet picks and his agenda in general?

Dang it. This was supposed to be John Thune's moment, right? He had been prepping for this for years. He'd been laying the groundwork to be the Senate majority leader. And then you had this moment yesterday where John Thune was selected. You know, he's a very baseline conservative South Dakota senator, and he's going to be Donald Trump's best friend on on things like, uh, tax, you know, tax rates coming down on on scaling down government. They are very much aligned on that. However, Thune has had to do a lot of reconciliation with Donald Trump over the last few years, especially since January 6th. Thune very much held Trump responsible for the violence there. They've had to sort of mend a lot of bridges, and but there had been a question over whether John Thune would actually be sort of the choice of these Republicans at all. Remember, Thune is not necessarily the prototype Donald Trump guy that you'd imagine, right? If you wanted somebody who was kind of a Trump acolyte, you would have Rick Scott, the senator from Florida.

And so there's been this question leading into this Senate election that was going to take place behind closed doors. Would it be somebody like Thune or would it be somebody like Rick Scott? And the thing and the thing is here that Trump does not necessarily have power over what these senators vote behind closed doors on a secret ballot. And sure enough, the answer was not Rick Scott. The answer was John Thune. So this was Republicans in the Senate showing a little bit of autonomy, showing that this is not necessarily going to be a blank check for Donald. Trump as he moves forward. But now John Thune has to deal with the nomination of Matt Gaetz. So, I mean, welcome to the hot seat that you've been waiting for all your life.

All right. ABC's Brad Mielke. Thank you. And to hear Brad dive into more stories like these, check out the Start Here podcast. New episodes drop weekday mornings at 6:00 eastern wherever you get your podcasts. Meanwhile, LGBTQ plus advocacy groups are warning of an alarming trend after the presidential election. The Rainbow Youth Project reports an unprecedented increase in crisis outreach. Data shows the national nonprofit received nearly 6000 calls to its crisis hotline in the days surrounding the election. The LGBT National Hotline tells ABC news it's receiving five times the typical call volume, while The Trevor Project reports nearly 700% increase to its crisis outreach on November 6th alone, the organizations say the calls involve concerns about LGBTQ, LGBTQ plus Less discrimination, the fate of transgender health care access, and fear of being targeted by the Trump administration. But not everyone in the LGBTQ plus community agrees. Let's bring in ABC news senior Washington correspondent Devin Dwyer. Devin covers the Supreme Court for us and executive director of the Rainbow Youth Project. Lance Preston for more. Lance, you say your organization received calls from parents, grandparents, teachers, pastors and more.

So what are some of their top concerns and how is the volume of calls now?

Well, thanks for having me this morning. The volume of calls is something that's unprecedented for us. It's it's higher than we've ever seen. Most of the concerns that's being expressed to us are, you know, what are our rights? What are our rights under title, under title nine and school environments. Many are reporting harassment and bullying at schools following the election, and most of them are reaching out to try to figure out ways to support their their LGBTQ teen as they go through, you know, the next few months and we see what challenges they're actually going to face.

Devin, what are you seeing and hearing from the LGBTQ plus community in terms of concern about health care and quality of life and other top issues?

Yeah, Diane, I mean, even before the election, we have.

Been reporting extensively on a wave of state laws.

Targeting.

Health care.

Access for this.

Community, both rolling back anti-discrimination protections but also.

Seeking to.

Block or outright ban treatments like puberty blockers or hormone therapy, which have been used safely for decades and are backed by the American medical community. 19 states, in fact, have moved to ban these treatments for minors, even though they've been used for years. And we recently sat down with a Nashville family, Brian and Samantha Williams and their 16 year old daughter, Ella, to really get a sense of how they're feeling about all this and this legal effort to block their access to care their daughter has been receiving for three years. And here's.

How they put.

How they're feeling about this current environment.

We talked to our pediatrician. We talked to an endocrinologist, you know, and we had gone through, you know, years of discussions with these people before we did anything. And yet, you know, somebody who's a state legislator who doesn't have any medical background is going to tell me how I'm going to get medical care for my kid. And you were seeing.

Improvement.

Right? Oh my gosh.

Yeah.

You feel good about yourself.

It's like when you have a really well fitting outfit.

Or suit.

Or whatever that just fits really well. That's that's what it feels like.

But I mean, a million times.

Better because you can.

You can always take an.

Ill fitting suit off. That's something you can do and you can put on a different suit.

You can't really do that with your body.

And it took a lot of.

Courage for LW there who is in high school to speak out. She didn't want her face to be shown. But she said these treatments, which have been used for kids of of all gender identities for years, have really improved her life, and that family now has to travel out of state, Diane, to get that care quarterly to North Carolina. And they are now the face of a major Supreme Court case that will be argued just in a couple of weeks here in Washington, a landmark case for LGBTQ rights, which will decide whether these laws.

Banning care.

This kind of medical care for transgender minors is constitutional. Diane.

And Lance, you just spoke a little bit about the Rainbow Youth Project, expressing concern about an increase in physical assaults reported against LGBTQ students in schools. So what's your organization hearing from these students and what steps are they being advised to take?

You know, it's really interesting because about 84% of our callers are currently reporting being bullied in school or harassed. We've also seen an escalation in physical assaults against these kids. Just in the past few weeks we've had three such assaults, one in Chino Hills, California, one in Bellingham, Washington, resulting in a traumatic brain injury of a 16 year old non-binary kid who was literally jumped and physically assaulted by eight students while in school. So these increases have escalated. Like I said, just in the past few weeks, many of these parents are concerned about the safety of their children. We get calls asking about relocating to a different area. Um, they're worried because schools are not necessarily taking the reports of bullying and harassment seriously. So they really are looking for what their protections are and better ways to protect their child, both at home and at school. Because the bullying now follows on social media and these kids are attacked 24 hours a day. We have also seen a rapid increase in suicidality, um, just in the past couple of weeks.

We know of at least three children that we have lost to suicide. Um, this is very alarming as well. We refer young people to free mental health services that we provide across the country. Those referrals are usually around 17% of our calls. They're currently standing at 38.7%. And that increase has just been in November alone.

Now, Devin, a study by Pew Research Center in 2020 found 72% of Americans believe homosexuality should be accepted. A 23% increase from 2007. It also found 64% favored laws protecting transgender individuals. But we just saw more than half the country, including some in the LGBTQ plus community, vote for a president who said he would ask Congress to pass a bill stating there are only two genders, and to ban hormonal or surgical intervention for transgender minors in all 50 states. What do you make of that?

Well, as we see all too often in our politics, Diane, the interests of a minority group, one that has been otherized and demeaned, but in this case by a presidential candidate, clearly is not a.

Motivating.

Factor for voters. And the exit poll data from the election a couple of weeks ago shows that it was subsumed by economic issues. So this is very troubling for LGBTQ people, especially trans kids and those families, a real feeling of abandonment, marginalization and fear. So despite the polling, which you show that on the whole, most Americans favor respect protection for people of all kinds, especially LGBTQ people. We are now in a state where we have a president coming in who has a track record of targeting this group. In fact, you will remember he banned transgender people in the military, kicked them out of the military. He removed requirements that hospitals and doctors treat people regardless of their gender identity.

And sexual.

Orientation. And he also opposed the Supreme Court decision banning employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation. So a lot of fear that we could be going back to those same policies.

Lance, how is your organization preparing now?

You know, we spent the past three months actually trying to prepare for this, but we did not prepare for it. It's just been completely overwhelming. And I'll also add that, you know, many of these young people are saying exactly. You know, what was just said, Diane. They feel like the majority of Americans sided with President Trump, and therefore they do not want them to exist. So what we're doing is trying to push more positive messages out there. We need these kids to know that we've we've been through challenging times before and we've persevered. I think my friend Kelly Robinson at the Human Rights Campaign summed it up when she said, we're heartbroken but not broken. We just need them to stay with us and understand that we will continue to battle these, these, these potential legislations. We still don't know exactly what this new administration will do, but based on the history, we do not suspect that it's going to be good, especially for our young people.

And Devin, the ACLU says it filed 434 legal actions against the Trump administration during his first presidency. How are the courts preparing for a possible influx this time around.

Yeah, well, the courts, Diane, will be the guardrail against Trump and the administration coming in and a battleground really, for a lot of the policies we were just talking about. These advocacy groups, ACLU, Human Rights Campaign, other groups are already vowing an aggressive litigation effort to block any of these discriminatory policies. And so get ready. None of these things that we're talking about and that there's so much fear about will be automatic. They will be challenged in the courts. Diane.

Devin Dwyer, Lance Preston, thank you. And if you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 for help. Free and confidential. Emotional support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Coming up, another civil lawsuit against Sean Diddy Combs. The details of the music mogul's alleged armed confrontation outside a New York City club.

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Welcome back to ABC News Live. First, Sean Diddy Combs is facing another civil lawsuit. A man from Atlanta says he's seeking $5 million for an alleged armed confrontation outside a New York City club about 30 years ago. It's the latest in nearly three dozen civil lawsuits filed against the music mogul. Senior investigative correspondent Aaron Katersky joins me now for more.

If you use a man is suing Sean Diddy Combs for $5 million to compensate him for what he alleges was an armed confrontation, DeWitt Gilmore says he was leaving a New York City club in 1996, when Combs and his associates pulled up in a gold convertible and started taunting him with derogatory language and threats of violence, his lawsuit says. The music mogul's associates flashed guns and shots were fired. Representatives for Combs did not immediately respond, but they have denied all of the other civil lawsuits that have alleged sexual assault. A woman who filed one of those has now revealed her identity after the judge rejected her request to remain anonymous. Candace McCreary was 19 and in college in Brooklyn when she alleges Combs sexually assaulted her after a photo shoot.

This decision by this judge may have a chilling effect in that other people who want to go anonymous in their lawsuits against Sean Combs may think twice in terms of filing a lawsuit themselves.

More money, more problems. It's just the way it is.

A former member of Combs inner circle is speaking out.

Me and Puff.

And Saint.

Diddy's rap protege Moses Shyne Barrow, was with him and his then girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez, the night a gun went off inside a Manhattan club. Diddy was acquitted in the case, but Shyne was convicted of assault and sentenced to ten years in prison and deported to his native Belize. Shyne telling Nightline co-anchor Byron Pitts Combs orchestrated for him to take the fall.

Someone that was prepared to have me sit in jail for I was facing 25 years to totally destroy my career, destroy my life, rob me of my freedom to be a participant in that. Of course, it doesn't surprise me that he would be accused of the atrocious things that he is because you know what he did to me and my family, you know, was, to me, demonic.

Combs's representatives say Mr. Combs categorically denies Mr. Barrow's allegations, including any suggestion that he orchestrated Mr. Barrow to take the fall. They added he appreciates the path Mr. Barrow has pursued and wishes him continued success.

Senior investigative correspondent Aaron Katersky thank you, and you can hear more of that story in a new documentary, The Honorable Shine, premiering Monday, November 18th on Hulu. As for Combs, he's still fighting for release on bail. There's a hearing about that next week, and families of victims are speaking out after the deadly sinking of a superyacht this summer. The luxury boat, owned by billionaire Mike Lynch, was dubbed unsinkable, but a freak storm sunk the ship in just 16 minutes. Nightline anchor Juju Chang has that story.

Families who lost loved ones on board the superyacht the Bayesian, which sank during a storm off the coast of Sicily this August, are speaking out.

It's haunting.

It's terrifying.

Make no mistake about it. We want to.

Know what happened. Billionaire tech mogul Mike Lynch, who owned the yacht, was on board with some of his family, friends and a crew of ten when a storm barreled through in the early morning of August 19th. Within 16 minutes of being struck by what investigators believe was a downburst with winds of at least 60 miles an hour, the boat sunk backwards before tilting on its right side, plummeting onto the seabed. This image from CCTV showing the masts light disappear in the storm. Search and rescue teams descended on the scene. One crew member and six passengers did not survive, including Lynch, his daughter Hannah and his friend Chris, and Nedda Morvillo Chris's brother Greg. Devastated.

When I got the phone call, I hung up and I broke down. Wailing is the only way that I can describe it. I think about the last.

Few moments for them on the ship all the time. Chris asked me to be the guardian of his children.

And I promised I would. And they're old enough that they don't need a guardian, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to be there for them for whatever they need.

Juju Chang, thank you. And you can watch the full episode gone in 16 minutes. Sinking of the Super Yacht on impact by Nightline, now streaming on Hulu. Coming up, the famous baby hippo Mudang is back in the spotlight. Find out why she's climbing the charts after the break.

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Welcome back to ABC News Live. First it is time for the T where we break down some of the buzziest stories people are talking about. And our friend Will Ganz is here to help us spill that tea. How you doing?

Happy to spill the tea.

Any day of the week, Diane. We begin with the countdown to.

Liquid, aka Wicked and Gladiator two, both hitting theaters next Friday. The London premiere of Gladiator two happened in London.

Overnight, complete with fire and Roman guards and the King of England, His Majesty King Charles, on the eve of his birthday.

Happy birthday to the King.

Arriving to the red carpet via royal motorcade to greet Ridley Scott. That's the director of Gladiator two and the rest of the cast. Meanwhile, Denzel Washington dropping major news about his impending retirement. Say it ain't so. Excuse me. I know on the Australian morning show today detailing his next few roles and Marvel fans pay close attention.

Ryan Coogler is writing a part for me in the next Black Panther. After that, I'm going to do the film Othello. After that, I'm going to do King Lear. After that, I'm going to retire.

I mean, he's got this whole thing figured out, but a potential Black Panther threequel appearance from Denzel? Yes, please. And for any Gladiator fans that won't be satisfied by just a big screen adventure. Airbnb is teaming up with the movie team for an experience inside the Roman Colosseum, allowing a small number of fans into the historic arena where guests will, quote, suit up in historically accurate armor and put their skills to the test to determine their fate in battle. That's all according to Airbnb. Are you down for a trip to Rome and perhaps a potential test?

My fate in battle? Probably not very good.

I yeah, I doubt I would be very good either, but if Paul Mescal wants to show up, you know, I'm happy to split an Airbnb with him. I'm a little.

Scrappy. Maybe, you know, maybe I will back myself.

Strong island energy. I don't know how that would fare in gladiator battle. Pretty well, I would think. All right. Now to Nicole Kidman making some headlines for what she said about fellow fellow Oscar winner Martin Scorsese in a new interview with Vanity Fair. The Big Little Lies star saying, quote, I've always said I want to work with Scorsese. If he does a film with women film fans online writing quote, I love Martin, but this shade is delicious. And quote, did she? She did not just say that.

She did not just say that.

I mean, listen, she is all about. Yeah, those those series on TV lately where she's stirring constant drama. So I don't know, sometimes it was.

Done so well. Yeah. Just just in this compliment.

Right. I would love to work with him.

In a bow.

Right. Exactly. Well done Nicole on that shade throwing. We love a little shade here in the T. All right. And you remember we love her here in the T as well. The four month old pygmy hippo from Thailand who became the darling of the internet three months ago when she made her debut on Facebook. Well, now the little lady is ready to dominate the pop charts with an official song put out by the zoo where she lives. It's called Mudang Mudang. And here's a little bit of the chorus.

Boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing.

Oh, yeah. Baby shark found dead in a ditch. There are four versions of this song in Thai, in English and Chinese and Japanese. Mudang was only born four months ago, but she already has a full line of merch and draws around 4000 visitors a day. To the zoo. To the zoo.

It's the video that goes with it that really makes it. Well, thank you, friend.

Mudang Mudang. Boing boing boing boing boing boing.

And finally, we're going to talk about a delightful Tik Tok trend in a little bit. But right now we're going to go to break. We'll be right back.

They were 150ft down in the dark, in the cold, with just a dwindling supply of oxygen.

An unbelievable mystery. How does the ultimate status symbol end up on the bottom of the sea? How could they be gone in 16 minutes?

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Hi, I'm Diane Macedo. Let's get right to our top story. Special election plans are getting underway as president elect Trump announces more cabinet picks, Florida will have to vote on who will replace Trump nominees Congressman Mike Waltz, Congressman Matt Gaetz and others. DeSantis is expected to appoint someone to replace Senator Marco Rubio. Meanwhile, Gates's nomination for attorney general is raising eyebrows on Capitol Hill, including from members of his own party. Let's bring in ABC news senior White House correspondent Selina Wang, ABC News White House correspondent Karen Travers, and ABC news correspondent Jay O'Brien for more. Selina, what more are you hearing about Trump's decision to pick Matt Gates for attorney general?

Diane, we're told that this.

Choice of Matt Gates.

Really came out.

Of nowhere in less than 24 hours. As of earlier this week, we were told that Donald Trump.

Was unsatisfied.

With his.

Choices. Matt Gates was not on that short list of potential candidates, and he was not vetted. But we do know that gates was spending a significant amount of time with Donald Trump in Mar-A-Lago, actually helping him, advising him on possible key DOJ picks. But what is clear, Diane, from all of Trump's cabinet appointments so far is that he is valuing loyalty over experience. Many of his picks have little experience with the agencies that Trump wants them to lead, but they are staunch and loyal allies of Donald Trump's. Gates is someone who would support Donald Trump's agenda, whether that is mass deportations or seeking retribution. But look, there are a lot of concerns with this pick. Gates would be leading the Justice Department if confirmed, which would put him at the top of the very government agency that had been investigating him for years for allegations of sex trafficking and obstruction of justice. Now, the DOJ ended up closing that case without bringing any charges. But gates was also under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.

So the question of whether or not gates gets confirmed is a major. If this is a huge test from Donald Trump for loyalty from Senate Republicans, they will be under immense pressure to push through with some of even his most explosive and controversial cabinet picks.

So Jay Gates is getting a lot of criticism, even from within his own party. So what are you hearing on Capitol Hill about what to expect from his confirmation process?

And first, Matt Gates often gets a lot of criticism from within his own party. He's not 100% well liked amongst his House Republican colleagues. And some of them came out yesterday and said they didn't think he would be a good pick for attorney general in the Senate, which is the body that Selena, as she mentioned, matters. They're the ones who would vote on Matt Gates to be attorney general or not. They're the ones who have those confirmation hearings, have those floor votes, etc.. There are some moderate Republican senators who have said, look, Matt Gates is a non-starter for them. This is not someone they want to be the attorney general. And theoretically, Donald Trump would need those votes in order to get Matt Gaetz over the goal line in any kind of Senate vote. And then there are some senators who have said that they're on the fence. There are those who have never really been fans of Matt Gates, but they've come forward and said a version of look, if he comes to the Senate, if he makes his case in a confirmation hearing, will at least hear him out.

Those are some senators that are trying to be, in a way, deferential to Donald Trump, who, as Selena noted, has said this is who he wants to be. His attorney general has a lot of authority and a lot of sway here because he helped Republicans deliver this significant Senate majority they have right now, as well as help them hold on to the House of Representatives. So this is one of the first tests of Donald Trump's influence. Will he get what he wants out of the United States Senate, or are there moderate senators that will get together and stand in the way? If Donald Trump does try to go through the traditional confirmation process where Matt Gaetz has to go before the Senate and plead his case, and he doesn't try to do any kind of constitutional end run around that.

Now, Karen Trump has picked former Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence. What do you think her nomination means about how Trump plans to approach foreign policy and his relationship with the intelligence agencies.

You know, again.

Diane, loyalist.

Is a word that we're going to keep hearing with a lot of these picks for the Trump.

Cabinet. And I think this.

Pick of Tulsi.

Gabbard sort.

Of snuck under.

The radar.

Yesterday because all.

The headlines.

Became about Matt Gaetz for attorney.

General.

But it is.

Still quite.

Notable and.

Controversial in its own.

Right.

Tulsi Gabbard was a Democratic member of Congress.

She then switched parties and has been a fierce loyalist to Donald Trump out there on the campaign trail for him during this campaign season. But she does not have intelligence experience. So for her to lead the intelligence community is something a lot of people in.

Washington are questioning.

Right now and scratching their heads. Also, questions about whether she's too sympathetic to Russia, a meeting she had with the leader of Syria, Bashar al Assad. You know, we've also been asking questions here at the white House about what this team thinks about some of Donald Trump's picks for foreign policy and security roles. And, Diane, they're largely not commenting on this, but notable that the National Security Advisor did say that he will be working with his replacement to try and have a smooth transition.

Jay, what kind of reaction are you hearing on Capitol Hill to news that Tulsi Gabbard is Trump's pick for director of national intelligence?

It looks like Tulsi Gabbard, from what we've seen so far, is going to be controversial. A controversial pick maybe not as controversial as Matt Gaetz because she did serve in the House of Representatives and does still have some friends and colleagues, particularly amongst House Republicans here, who have come out and praised this pick. Another thing we're already seeing is that this is likely to expose some of those policy divisions in the Republican Party over Ukraine because Tulsi Gabbard, as Karen just alluded, has been deferential to Russia, deferential to Vladimir Putin's messaging. And we know that there is this split amongst congressional Republicans as to those who say they don't want to spend another single dollar to Ukraine to help in its defense against Russia. And then there are those that want to continue to support Ukraine, that believe this is a battle for democracy on a global scale. And so this Tulsi Gabbard pick likely to expose those fissures. Again, not as many Republicans coming out in lockstep against it as gates. But still, the week is somewhat early.

Diane. A lot of things could change up here on Capitol Hill.

All right. It sure can. Selina Wang, Karen Travers, Jay O'Brien. Thank you. And the big question now for Trump's administration is whether his picks can get confirmed by the Senate. Chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl has more on that and what could happen next.

Reporter good morning, Diane. Trump's most recent cabinet picks include the most controversial that I have ever seen covering Congress, far more controversial than any Trump made in his first term, especially Tulsi Gabbard to be the director of national intelligence. Pete Hegseth to be the defense secretary and most of all, Matt Gaetz to be attorney general. In normal times, I would say that somebody like Matt Gaetz has no chance of getting Senate confirmation. He is somebody with enemies throughout Capitol Hill. And I'm talking about Republican enemies. But these are not normal times. And I am told by people very close to the former and future president that he is absolutely intent on pushing these nominees through the regular confirmation process, that he wants to put this as a test to Republican senators, especially the new Senate Republican leader, John Thune, of whether or not they are truly committed to the Trump agenda, whether or not they will give the newly elected president who believes he has a big mandate, the deference in choosing his most important cabinet members.

So we'll see how it plays out. But I would not rule out that that somebody like Matt Gaetz, even somebody like Matt Gaetz, could get confirmed in this soon to be Republican Senate. And if he isn't confirmed, Trump has made it clear that he has the nuclear option, you might call it the dictator on day one option, and that is to demand that the House and Senate go into recess. They would both have to go into recess, and then he would have the power, if they were in recess for at least ten days to make an appointment to his cabinet or multiple appointments to his cabinet without confirmation, without Senate confirmation, it would be an extraordinarily controversial move. John Thune, again, the new Senate leader would have to go along with it, and he would be effectively ceding one of the most cherished powers of the United States Senate the power of advise and consent. So who knows how this will play out. But this is only just beginning, Diane.

All right. Chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl, thank you. And firefighters are on the scene of a rare brush fire in New York City. Crews have been able to put out hotspots that started in a park in upper Manhattan. Meanwhile, the Jennings Creek Fire burning along the New York New Jersey border is now 50% contained. ABC's Erielle Reshef has that story.

Hundreds of firefighters battling multiple brush fires in the East. Plumes of smoke blanketing the tip of Manhattan from the three alarm Inwood Hill fire. Fueled by bone dry conditions and gusty winds.

I've lived here for about 40 years. It makes me want to cry. I've never seen anything like this.

The smell of smoke is thick in the air. It is affecting air quality. You can see dozens of FDNY crews are here on scene. Firefighters staging in this area, launching drones, doing everything they can to put this out. Officials say the steep terrain is their biggest challenge.

150 plus feet to climb up that hill with hose lines is extremely dangerous for us.

This, as the deadly Jennings Creek Fire blazes on for its sixth day, burning across the New York and New Jersey state border. More than 4300 acres charred, 50% contained. The dry spell in the northeast, making it even harder to combat these wildfires. New Jersey officials issuing a drought warning. And, Diane, just to give you a sense of what firefighters all along the East Coast are dealing with. Take a look. This is the dry, brittle brush. You can hear it snapping in my hands. This is the perfect fuel for fires and it doesn't take much to set them off. Diane.

All right, Ariel Reshef, thank you. Let's bring in Brittany Bell of our ABC station here in New York City. Brittany, what's the latest on the fire danger.

Well, Diane, the fire danger around the northeast. We're getting a little help today. And that's because winds are lighter, but humidity is still very low. Unfortunately, that danger is going to ramp back up this weekend because gusts will approach 25 to 30mph, and we'll have a drop in the moisture. We have to wait until later next week to potentially get some rain. Now, some of that rain could actually come from what I'm showing you right now. This is Tropical Depression 19. So that is closing in on Honduras right now. And the latest track has that moving to the west, making landfall near the coastline late Friday into early Saturday as a tropical storm that could make a second landfall near Belize early Sunday morning. And then it moves back into the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, weakening to a tropical depression due to land interaction from the Yucatan Peninsula. At this point, the big question is where does this tropical depression go? Now this is a look at the bigger picture. High pressure will move off to the east, and we'll see a dip in the jet stream that will help to steer it northeast towards Florida.

At this time, it's too early to say just how strong this will get and where it's going to make landfall, but at this point, because of higher wind shear from this dip in the jet stream, a major hurricane does not look likely. But a piece of that energy, a piece of that rain could tap into the eastern seaboard, bringing some much needed rainfall Thursday into early Friday. The Drought Monitor was updated this morning, and there's now a severe drought spreading all throughout the I-95 corridor. Looking at an exceptional drought for portions of Ohio and West Virginia. Now they will get some much needed rain late tonight through early Friday, but that rain misses out on the Northeast and New England. This is where fire danger is still elevated because of lower humidity, even though lighter winds are. Winds are lighter currently. Now temperatures despite the fire danger were very chilly this morning, but things will start to ramp back up temperature wise as we head into this weekend. Diane. All right, Brittany.

Bell, thank you. A new Human Rights Watch report accuses Israel of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. The 150 page report details evidence the group claims shows Israel's displacement of the majority of the civilian population meets, quote, the definition of ethnic cleansing. The Israeli military says it's committed to international law and says it's issues evacuation orders to protect civilians from combat. Foreign correspondent Britt Clennett has the latest from Jerusalem. Hi, Britt.

Hi, Diane. Well, this is a scathing report by Human Rights Watch accusing Israel of overseeing the mass displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, accusing it of a deliberate and systematic campaign that amounts to a war crime and crimes against humanity. Now, in a statement, Human Rights Watch cited the illegal and deliberate controlled demolitions of homes and infrastructure, where it accuses Israel of saying that it's creating these buffer zones and security corridors, but from which it says that Palestinians are permanently displaced. We know that the United Nations says that 1.9 million Palestinians in Gaza are displaced. That's 90% of the territory's population. We heard from the IDF in response to this report saying that the Israeli military is committed to international law and operates accordingly and that it issues evacuation orders. But what we know from speaking to people on the ground in Gaza that they say that even if they are evacuated, that they don't feel like anywhere is in Gaza, is safe to go. Diane.

Foreign correspondent Britt Clennett in Jerusalem. Thank you. Coming up, is the government covering up evidence of UFOs? The testimony on Capitol Hill that's raising more questions.

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Welcome back to ABC News Live. First security is being ramped up in Paris ahead of a soccer game between France and Israel today. It comes a week after violence broke out in Amsterdam between Israeli and Dutch soccer fans. Now, 4000 police officers are being deployed at the stadium and across public transportation. ABC's foreign correspondent Tom Soufi Burridge joins me from Paris with the latest on that. Tom, the Paris police chief, said there will be an anti-terrorist security perimeter around the stadium. So what's it like there right now?

Yeah, Don, you can see that perimeter just behind me. And actually we were just up on the bridge there. You can see the stadium beyond that, and we've just been moved back over this side of the perimeter. So look, they'll be checks for fans here. Nobody without a ticket will be actually able to get anywhere near the stadium. We're quite a long distance from France's national stadium, the Stade de France. So very tight security around this area on public transport in Paris today. And it's worth noting that the capacity of that stadium is 80,000, but they've only sold about 20,000 tickets. And if you think about the fact that there are 4000 police officers, that's roughly one police officer for every five fans. I mean, that is an incredibly high ratio of police officers to fans for any soccer game anywhere in the world. So look, the authorities here are not taking any chances. They clearly want to send a message that no violence of any form anywhere, any abuse, any political messages inside the stadium and outside as well will not be tolerated.

Now, Tom, a soccer game between an Israeli and a Turkish club, which was meant to be played in Turkey in a couple of weeks, is being moved to a neutral venue in Hungary for security reasons. There were calls to postpone tonight's match in Paris. So why do you think the game is going ahead?

I think the French authorities and the government want to send a very, very clear message that whatever your views on the war in Gaza, the situation in the Middle East right now at a sporting event involving the Israeli national team can go ahead safely in France. Yes. One major political party on the far left wanted the game postponed. We're expecting a pro-Palestinian demonstration in a couple of hours from now. The game begins in about four hours at that pro-Palestinian demonstration will be a short distance away, but really nowhere near the actual stadium will be in the local area just north of Paris, near to here. And that demonstration, according to police rules, is not allowed to move. So I think we can expect very heavy security around that. And of course, the authorities here in France want the game to go ahead, despite what happened in Amsterdam, that violent, those violent clashes, the anti-Semitism, according to Dutch officials in that area, and some of those anti-Arab racist slogans from Israeli fans too. They don't want a repeat of that, but they still want to send a message that a game of soccer between two national teams, including Israel, can go ahead.

Foreign correspondent Tom Soufi Burridge in Paris. Stay safe. Tom. Thank you. And police are investigating a video that appears to show a man previously believed to be dead. The married father of three was reported missing while kayaking in Wisconsin back in August. Now, authorities say he may have planned his disappearance. ABC's Andrea Fujii has the latest.

Video on social media featuring a man who resembles a father of three who allegedly faked his own death, is now under investigation by authorities in Wisconsin.

I go to Uzbekistan.

Or stay here.

Say that one more time.

Content creator Bailey Boomhauer says she shot the video in San Diego in June. She recently alerted police that the man looked similar to Ryan Borgwardt. The married father reported missing while kayaking in Wisconsin back in August. Boomhauer remembered the interaction as bizarre. I've never even heard of that.

Place before, so it's just a very like.

Odd parallel that the man that's missing is also.

Connected to.

Uzbekistan.

Last week, the sheriff of Green Lake County, Wisconsin announced that Borgwardt was never actually missing. He says evidence shows Borgwardt had planned his disappearance in order to escape to Europe and meet a woman from Uzbekistan. Investigators say they uncovered the alleged scheme after learning that Canadian law enforcement had checked Borgward's name the day after his disappearance. They say he had taken out a $375,000 life insurance policy, moved money to a foreign bank and had replaced his computer's hard drive.

Why do you want to go.

Meet a woman?

So you've given up.

On meeting someone here?

No. I'm married.

Authorities are not saying that Borgwardt is the man in that social media video, but they do say they're investigating the video.

Anything that we can get.

We certainly go through.

It. See if it will help us out.

Andrea Fujii Thank you. And a hearing on Capitol Hill is raising questions about whether the American people are being told the truth about UFOs. A former Pentagon official says the government knows more than it's saying, and the alleged extraterrestrial terrestrial presence poses a national security threat. ABC's Andrew Dymburt has the details.

I had an experience, a.

Congressional hearing straight out of a science fiction movie.

All to hide the fact that we are not alone in the cosmos.

Lawmakers calling for more transparency around UAPs or unidentified anomalous phenomena. That's the term the government now uses instead of UFO.

What do you believe UAPs could be, or are.

Strong evidence that they are non-human? Higher intelligence.

An intelligence officer last year claimed the Pentagon has been hiding knowledge of alien activity for decades.

Were they, I guess, human or non-human? Biologics?

Nonhuman. And that was.

The assessment of people with direct knowledge on the program. I talked.

To Luis.

Elizondo, who headed a Pentagon program investigating UAPs, now doubling down on his claims.

Has the government conducted secret UAP crash retrieval programs? Yes or no? Yes. Were they designed to identify and reverse engineer alien craft? Yes or no? Yes.

Elizondo saying the alleged extraterrestrial presence poses a national security threat. Let me.

Be clear. UAP are real advanced technologies not made by our government or any other government, are monitoring sensitive military installations around the.

Globe and.

Saying he believes many classified materials should be shared with Congress and the public.

If this was an adversarial technology, this would be an intelligence failure, eclipsing that of nine over 11 by an order of magnitude. I believe that we as Americans can handle the truth, and I also believe the world deserves the truth.

The hearing lacked any direct evidence with witnesses who have said they'll only speak about certain subjects behind closed doors. So the result of yesterday's hearing, while one congresswoman says it could open the door to more hearings.

Andrew Dymburt, thank you. And president elect Trump has said he might be willing to release more video of UAPs. Coming up, Look up and you might save a life. The danger from falling trees in your yard. And what's in the drop zone?

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Welcome back to ABC News Live. First, millions of Americans are facing a new threat of falling trees after months of dangerous weather conditions. At least 35 deaths are linked to falling trees this year. And that threat is not over. ABC's ginger zee has more on what to watch out for.

Reporter watch as a falling tree narrowly misses this five month old's crib.

Miraculously, the.

Baby was.

Okay. Oh my God, oh my God.

Oh my God. It will be for.

A nine year old.

Who had a tree.

Fall on him at recess in Missouri.

This limb suddenly snapping not during a storm, but on a nice day, injuring five students, one critically.

It's a public safety concern.

John Lang is a certified arborist at Friendly Tree, a tree care company in new Jersey. We're knocking on doors reminding people to look up and save a life. Hello? Hello. On this woman's property, we find this dead limb hanging right over her fire pit and gazebo.

When you're there, you're with family.

You're with friends. You're not focused on looking up and around. The bark is all missing.

No leaves, no twigs.

When they are that brittle, they can fracture and fall in a bright sunshiny day like today.

So John's crew takes care of it.

Right on the spot down the road, we meet homeowner Eric, father of a seven year old boy. We called him ahead of time to make sure he was home, because what we spotted in his backyard needed immediate attention.

A play structure, a trampoline, children directly under a very dead, very brittle tree. This is an imminent risk. It's not a question of if this tree is going to fail, it's a question of when and how significantly if somebody is going to be there or not.

From way up here, it is so clear to see how dead this tree is. That branch, or the whole tree could fall into the drop zone, that playground right in its line. And you've got a little boy that plays here. How are you feeling?

I never think on a day like.

Today where it's not windy, it's a beautiful day out that it could potentially.

Drop. But absolutely.

That's the part of it.

That I find the most scary.

John's crew gets to work removing the entire tree. If I'm a homeowner, what can I do? You look up.

When you look up and you see something that might not look like it should be that way. The limb that has no.

Leaves, bark that's peeling.

Off and there's nothing attached, no twigs. We also obviously look for limbs that.

Have already broken and.

Are just hanging.

Precariously.

Cracks any big open wounds. When you see something, say something as they say.

And now, with our extreme weather fluctuations, sagging limbs like this could be even more dangerous.

It's called.

SBD.

Sudden branch drop syndrome. During periods of extreme heat and dry, the tissue shrinks and can fracture issues that we used to be able to manage over the course of years. Now trees die within a season.

We had 300% of normal precipitation this winter and early spring. And now here we are on what potentially could be the longest dry spell.

That's exactly a.

Tree. It can't adapt. He says the most important thing is to have your tree inspected by a certified arborist at least once a year, ideally before and after a major storm.

Limbs can fracture during a storm, and they don't disconnect until days later, where it might be bright and sunshiny or people are out assessing the damage.

But if a storm is imminent and you're worried about a concerning tree falling into your house, experts say, consider avoiding areas in your home where the tree could potentially fall, even if it means sleeping in a different room. This is particularly important in the winter. Snow adds weight to trees and those tree limbs.

Two things are happening up there that affect us down here. And it's a simple thing. Look up.

Ginger zee, thank you for that. And thank you for watching. I'm Diane Macedo. The news never stops and neither do we. We have a lot more news after the break. Stay with us.

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Welcome back to ABC News Live. First, you're looking at New York City on this Thursday, November 14th, and special election plans are getting underway as president elect Trump announces more cabinet picks. Florida will have to vote on who will replace Trump nominees Congressman Mike Waltz, Congressman Matt Gaetz. DeSantis is expected to appoint someone to replace Senator Marco Rubio. Meanwhile, Gates's nomination for attorney general is raising eyebrows on Capitol Hill, including from members of his own party. Let's bring in ABC news executive editorial producer John Santucci and ABC news contributing correspondent Rachel Bade for more on that. Rachel, you have some new reporting now about Trump's decision to pick gates to lead the DOJ. What are you learning about that?

Yeah. Hey there Diane, it sounds like it was very much last minute and came out of nowhere. And it surprised even his inner circle. Look, earlier this week, as recently as Monday, Donald Trump had a short list of people he was looking at for attorney general. He didn't really like any of them. He felt like they weren't showing enough that they would do basically whatever he wants at the Justice Department, and he was sort of looking for other options. He flies to DC yesterday, and on that plane was Matt Gaetz and one of Matt Gaetz's friends, who is also a close ally of Donald Trump. Both of these men have had their own run ins at the Justice Department, but they made this pitch to Trump that Matt Gaetz was the guy to do it, that he would be the one who could basically clean house there. And it's interesting because Siouxsie Wiles, who's who, was just tapped as chief of staff for Donald Trump, she sort of seen as this person who, um, rightly or wrongly, basically restrains Donald Trump from making some more outlandish decisions.

She was actually in a different part of the plane when all this went down. She didn't even know it was happening until basically it had all been already worked out. But it's safe to say, Diane, that this surprised his inner circle. But it is a reminder that it's Donald Trump himself who makes these decisions, not his top advisors. He chooses himself.

And John Gates was facing a House ethics investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. Now that he's resigned from Congress, the ethics Committee no longer has jurisdiction to investigate him. So what do we know about whether or not that factored into this decision by Trump to nominate gates?

Hugely. I mean, Rachel, to her credit, had a lot of this reporting first, much of which we've matched now here at ABC, Diane. And that is that because of this investigation, because of the way it was being broken down, the timeline of it, our understanding is that that committee was going to vote in just the next two days to actually bring some type of a, you know, report to fruition. They've been working on this for months. They've been bringing in witnesses, subpoenaing documents, records, many women that had, you know, relationships with Matt Gaetz had gone before this committee. So that really did have a huge impact on this, because if you think about it, Matt Gaetz has really dodged several bullets. There was a DOJ investigation once upon a time that went away. Then round two was the House Ethics Committee, and they were, for lack of a better phrase, rocking and rolling. They were bringing all these people in. They were getting information. They were releasing some updates, that it was a serious investigation, despite the fact that he was not, you know, cooperating and working with them.

So I think it's a huge impact. And the fact that it goes away in theory, though, does it actually go away? Because now you have members that are very angry up on Capitol Hill. And we know Matt Gaetz is not a fan of many Republicans up on Capitol Hill.

So, Rachel, let's talk about that because many Republican lawmakers, members of Gates's own party and Trump's obviously were caught off guard by this nomination and are speaking out against it. Here's how Alaska Senator Lisa murkowski reacted to the news.

I don't think it's a serious nomination for the attorney general. We need to have a serious attorney general, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to consider somebody that is serious. This one this one was not on my bingo card.

Now, Rachel, Republicans will control the Senate, but not by a lot. You only need a few Republicans to vote against him, and he doesn't get confirmed. Right. So what are the chances that he does actually get confirmed?

You know, Dan, it's actually pretty hard to say because on the one hand, every Republican I have talked to on Capitol Hill has told me that they think Matt Gaetz doesn't have the professional experience to do this job, let alone the sort of moral compass, the sort of ethical, you know, compass to do what is right. They don't want him leading the Justice Department. But on the other hand, Donald Trump just had a sweeping victory right now. And it takes a lot of guts for a sitting member of Congress, a sitting senator, to go up against him and say they don't want to vote for him. I do think there are a handful of members who would do that. But look, a lot of these people are going to be under tremendous pressure to fall in line. And we have to keep in mind that this is a very different Republican Senate than we saw. Just, you know, last time he was president, they are more MAGA minded. They fall in line, and there's not a lot of opposition to him up there.

All right. John Santucci, Rachael Bade, thank you both. And president elect Trump's administration picks could be shedding light on how he plans to handle the crisis in the Middle East. Trump's selections of Senator Marco Rubio as secretary of state, former governor Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik as U.N. ambassador, sent a strong message of support to Israel. Let's bring in ABC's Brad Mielke, host of the Start Here podcast, for more on that. Brett, thanks for coming on. Trump named Huckabee as ambassador to Israel before naming any other ambassadors. And Huckabee has said in the past, there's no such thing as the West Bank. There's no such thing as a settlement. There's no such thing as an occupation. So how significant is that? And what could these appointments mean for the crisis in the Middle East?

Yeah, I mean, Huckabee is one example of somebody in this incoming Trump administration who is in absolute lockstep with some people, more religious conservatives in the Netanyahu government. I mean, Mike Huckabee has said that, like you said, he refers to it not as the West Bank. He refers to it as Judea and Samaria. These are the words that are often used by the religious right in Israel. And so it shows that, you know, you know, that Netanyahu's government, he is going to be in lockstep with these people who believe that, you know, there are some who in the Netanyahu government who believe that more Israelis should actually be taking over Palestinian land that has been considered Palestinian for many, many years now. You hear about these settlements, right where Israelis will come in and physically move into somebody's house in the West Bank, knowing that there will not be any pushback. You know, almost challenging Palestinians to fight them over it because they know the Israeli military won't necessarily intervene. These are the sort of scenes that have been sort of unfolding in the West Bank.

And so you can imagine that there will be less pushback from a senator or from a Secretary Rubio or from an Ambassador Huckabee with these sorts of policies. You also then take a look not just at the West Bank, but take a look over in Gaza on the other side of Israel. There's been a real question. What happens the day after this war with Hamas ends in Gaza? Will Palestinians move back to their homeland in Gaza? Will they be able to move back into their homes? Or, as some Israelis have suggested, on the far right in Israel, should more Israelis actually move into that land? And so the big question will be, will a. Ambassador Huckabee stand in the way of something like that? The Biden administration has been very vociferous in not even considering proposals like this from the more radical members of the Netanyahu government.

Now, Trump's policies will still have to get through Congress. We know the Senate will be led by Republicans and the new Republican Senate leader, John Thune. So what does that mean for Trump's cabinet picks and his agenda in general?

Dang it. This was supposed to be John Thune's moment, right? He had been prepping for this for years. He'd been laying the groundwork to be the Senate majority leader. And then you had this moment yesterday where John Thune was selected. You know, he's a very baseline conservative South Dakota senator, and he's going to be Donald Trump's best friend on on things like, uh, tax, you know, tax rates coming down on on scaling down government. They are very much aligned on that. However, Thune has had to do a lot of reconciliation with Donald Trump over the last few years, especially since January 6th. Thune very much held Trump responsible for the violence there. They've had to sort of mend a lot of bridges, and but there had been a question over whether John Thune would actually be sort of the choice of these Republicans at all. Remember, Thune is not necessarily the prototype Donald Trump guy that you'd imagine, right? If you wanted somebody who was kind of a Trump acolyte, you would have Rick Scott, the senator from Florida.

And so there have been this question leading into this Senate election that was going to take place behind closed doors. Would it be somebody like Thune or would it be somebody like Rick Scott? And the thing and the thing is here that Trump does not necessarily have power over what these senators vote behind closed doors on a secret ballot. And sure enough, the answer was not Rick Scott. The answer was John Thune. So this was Republicans in the Senate showing a little bit of autonomy, showing that this is not necessarily going to be a blank check for Donald Trump as he moves forward. But now John Thune has to deal with the nomination of Matt Gaetz. So, I mean, welcome to the hot seat that you've been waiting for all your life.

All right. ABC's Brad Mielke. Thank you. And to hear Brad dive into more stories like these check out the Start Here podcast. New episodes drop weekday mornings at 6:00 eastern wherever you get your podcasts. Meanwhile, LGBTQ plus advocacy groups are warning of an alarming trend after the presidential election. The Rainbow Youth Project reports an unprecedented increase in crisis outreach. Data shows the national nonprofit received nearly 6000 calls to its crisis hotline in the days surrounding the election. The LGBT National Hotline tells ABC news it's receiving five times the typical call volume, while The Trevor Project reports nearly 700% increase to its crisis outreach. On November 6th alone, the organizations say the calls involve concerns about LGBTQ, LGBTQ plus discrimination, the fate of transgender health care access, and fear of being targeted by the Trump administration. But not everyone in the LGBTQ plus community agrees. Let's bring in ABC news senior Washington correspondent Devin Dwyer. Devin covers the Supreme Court for us and executive director of the Rainbow Youth Project. Lance Preston for more. Lance, you say your organization received calls from parents, grandparents, teachers, pastors and more.

So what are some of their top concerns and how is the volume of calls now?

Well, thanks for having me this morning. The volume of calls is something that's unprecedented for us. It's it's higher than we've ever seen. Most of the concerns that's being expressed to us are, you know, what are our rights? What are our rights under title under title nine and school environments. Many are reporting harassment and bullying at schools following the election, and most of them are reaching out to try to figure out ways to support their their LGBTQ teen as they go through, you know, the next few months and we see what challenges they're actually going to face.

Devin, what are you seeing and hearing from the LGBTQ plus community in terms of concern about health care and quality of life and other top issues?

Yeah, I mean, even before the election, we have been reporting extensively on a wave of state laws targeting health care access for this community, both rolling back anti-discrimination protections, but also seeking to block or outright ban treatments like puberty blockers or hormone therapy, which have been used safely for decades and are backed by the American medical community. 19 states, in fact, have moved to ban these treatments for minors, even though they've been used for years. And we recently sat down with a Nashville family, Brian and Samantha Williams and their 16 year old daughter, LW, to really get a sense of how they're feeling about all this and this legal effort to block their access to care their daughter has been receiving for three years. And here's how they put how they're feeling about this current environment.

We talk to our pediatrician. We talked to an endocrinologist, you know, and we had gone through, you know, years of discussions with these people before we did anything. And yet, you know, somebody who's a state legislator who doesn't have any medical background is going to tell me how I'm going to get medical care for my kid. And you were seeing.

Improvement.

Right? Oh my gosh.

Yeah.

You feel good about yourself. It's like.

When you have a really well fitting outfit or suit.

Or whatever that just fits.

Really well. That's. That's what it feels like. But, I mean, a million times better because you can you can always take an ill fitting suit off. That's something you can do and you can put on a different suit. You can't really do that with your body.

And it took a lot of courage for LW there who is in high school to speak out. She didn't want her face to be shown. But she said these treatments, which have been used for kids of of all gender identities for years, have really improved her life. And that family now has to travel out of state, Diane, to get that care quarterly to North Carolina. And they are now the face of a major Supreme Court case that will be argued just in a couple of weeks here in Washington, a landmark case for LGBTQ rights, which will decide whether these laws banning care, this kind of medical care for transgender minors is constitutional.

Diane and Lance, you just spoke a little bit about the Rainbow Youth Project, expressing concern about an increase in physical assaults reported against LGBTQ students in schools. So what's your organization hearing from these students and what steps are they being advised to take?

You know, it's really interesting because about 84% of our callers are currently reporting being bullied in school or harassed. We've also seen an escalation in physical assaults against these kids. Just in the past few weeks we've had three such assaults one in Chino Hills, California, one in Bellingham, Washington, resulting in a traumatic brain injury of a 16 year old non-binary kid who was literally jumped and physically assaulted by eight students while in school. So these increases have escalated, like I said, just in the past few weeks, many of these parents are concerned about the safety of their children. We get calls asking about relocating to a different area. They're worried because schools are not necessarily taking the reports of bullying and harassment seriously, So they really are looking for what their protections are and better ways to protect their child, both at home and at school. Because the bullying now follows on social media and these kids are attacked 24 hours a day. We have also seen a rapid increase in suicidality just in the past couple of weeks.

We know of at least three children that we have lost to suicide. Um, this is very alarming as well. We refer young people to free mental health services that we provide across the country. Those referrals are usually around 17% of our calls. They're currently standing at 38.7%. And that increase has just been in November alone.

Now, Devin, a study by Pew Research Center in 2020 found 72% of Americans believe homosexuality should be accepted, a 23% increase from 2007. It also found 64% favored laws protecting transgender individuals. But we just saw more than half the country, including some in the LGBTQ plus community. Vote for a president who said he would ask Congress to pass a bill stating there are only two genders, and to ban hormonal or surgical intervention for transgender minors in all 50 states. What do you make of that?

Well, as we see all too often in our politics, Diane, the interests of a minority group, one that has been otherized and demeaned, but in this case by a presidential candidate, clearly is not a.

Motivating.

Factor for voters. And the exit poll data from the election a couple of weeks ago shows that it was subsumed by economic issues. So this is very troubling for LGBTQ people, especially trans kids and those families, a real feeling of abandonment, marginalization and fear. So despite the polling, which you show that on the whole, most Americans favor respect protection for people of all kinds, especially LGBTQ people. We are now in a state where we have a president coming in who has a track record of targeting this group. In fact, you remember he banned transgender people in the military, kicked them out of the military. He removed requirements that hospitals and doctors treat people regardless of their gender identity and sexual orientation. And he also opposed the Supreme Court decision banning employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation. So a lot of fear that we could be going back to those same policies.

Lance, how is your organization preparing now?

You know, we spent the past three months actually trying to prepare for this, but we did not prepare for it. It's just been completely overwhelming. And I'll also add that, you know, many of these young people are saying exactly. You know, what was just said, Diane. They feel like the majority of Americans sided with President Trump, and therefore they do not want them to exist. So what we're doing is trying to push more positive messages out there. We need these kids to know that we've we've been through challenging times before and we've persevered. I think my friend Kelly Robinson at the Human Rights Campaign summed it up when she said, we're heartbroken but not broken. We just need them to stay with us and understand that we will continue to battle these, these, these potential legislations. We still don't know exactly what this new administration will do, but based on the history, we do not suspect that it's going to be good, especially for our young people.

And Devin, the ACLU says it filed 434 legal actions against the Trump administration during his first presidency. How are the courts preparing for a possible influx this time around?

Yeah, well, the courts, Diane, will be the guardrail against Trump and the administration coming in and a battleground really, for a lot of the policies. We were just talking about these advocacy groups, ACLU, Human Rights Campaign. Other groups are already vowing an aggressive litigation effort to block any of these discriminatory policies. And so get ready. None of these things that we're talking about, and that there's so much fear about will be automatic. They will be challenged in the courts. Diane.

Devin Dwyer, Lance Preston. Thank you. And if you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 for help. Free and confidential. Emotional support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Coming up, another civil lawsuit against Sean Diddy Combs. The details of the music mogul's alleged armed confrontation outside a New York City club.

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Welcome back to ABC News Live. First, Sean Diddy Combs is facing another civil lawsuit. A man from Atlanta says he's seeking $5 million for an alleged armed confrontation outside a New York City club about 30 years ago. It's the latest in nearly three dozen civil lawsuits filed against the music mogul. Senior investigative correspondent Aaron Katersky joins me now for more.

If you use a man is suing Sean Diddy Combs for $5 million to compensate him for what he alleges was an armed confrontation, DeWitt Gilmore says he was leaving a New York City club in 1996, when Combs and his associates pulled up in a gold convertible and started taunting him with derogatory language and threats of violence, his lawsuit says. The music mogul's associates flashed guns and shots were fired. Representatives for Combs did not immediately respond, but they have denied all of the other civil lawsuits that have alleged sexual assault. A woman who filed one of those has now revealed her identity after the judge rejected her request to remain anonymous. Candace McCreary was 19 and in college in Brooklyn when she alleges Combs sexually assaulted her after a photo shoot.

This decision by this judge may have a chilling effect in that other people who want to go anonymous in their lawsuits against Sean Combs may think twice in terms of filing a lawsuit themselves.

More money, more problems. It's just the way it is.

A former member of Combs inner circle is speaking out.

Me and Puff and Saint.

Diddy's rap protege, Moses Shyne Barrow, was with him and his then girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez, the night a gun went off inside a Manhattan club. Diddy was acquitted in the case, but Shyne was convicted of assault and sentenced to ten years in prison and deported to his native Belize. Shyne telling Nightline co-anchor Byron Pitts Combs orchestrated for him to take the fall.

Someone that was prepared to have me sit in jail for I was facing 25 years to totally destroy my career, destroy my life, rob me of my freedom to be a participant in that. Of course, it doesn't surprise me that he would be accused of the atrocious things that he is because you know what he did to me and my family, you know, was, to me, demonic.

Combs's representatives say Mr. Combs categorically denies Mr. Barrow's allegations, including any suggestion that he orchestrated Mr. Barrow to take the fall. They added he appreciates the path Mr. Barrow has pursued and wishes him continued success.

Senior investigative correspondent Aaron Katersky thank you and you can hear more of that story in a new documentary, The Honorable Shine, premiering Monday, November 18th on Hulu. As for Combs, he's still fighting for release on bail. There's a hearing about that next week, and families of victims are speaking out after the deadly sinking of a superyacht this summer. The luxury boat, owned by billionaire Mike Lynch, was dubbed unsinkable. But a freak storm sunk the ship in just 16 minutes. Nightline anchor Juju Chang has that story.

Families who lost loved ones on board the superyacht the Bayesian, which sank during a storm off the coast of Sicily this August, are speaking out.

It's haunting. It's terrifying.

Make no mistake about it. We want to.

Know what happened. Billionaire tech mogul Mike Lynch, who owned the yacht, was on board with some of his family, friends and a crew of ten when a storm barreled through in the early morning of August 19th. Within 16 minutes of being struck by what investigators believe was a downburst with winds of at least 60 miles an hour, the boat sunk backwards before tilting on its right side, plummeting onto the seabed. This image from CCTV showing the masts light disappear in the storm. Search and rescue teams descended on the scene. One crew member and six passengers did not survive, including Lynch, his daughter Hannah and his friend Chris, and Nedda Morvillo Chris's brother Greg. Devastated.

When I got the phone call, I hung up and I broke down. Wailing is the only way that I can describe it. I think about the last few moments for them on the ship all the time.

Chris asked me to be the guardian of his children.

And I promised I would. And they're old enough that they don't need a guardian, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to be there for them for whatever they need.

Juju Chang, thank you. And you can watch the full episode gone in 16 minutes. Sinking of the Super Yacht on impact by Nightline, now streaming on Hulu. Coming up, the famous baby hippo Mudang is back in the spotlight. Find out why she's climbing the charts after the break.

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Welcome back to ABC News Live first. It is time for the tea, where we break down some of the buzziest stories people are talking about. And our friend Will Ganz is here to help us spill that tea. How you doing?

Happy to spill the tea any day of the week, Diane. We begin with the countdown to Wicked aka Wicked and Gladiator two, both hitting theaters next Friday. The London premiere of Gladiator two happened in London overnight, complete with fire and Roman guards and the King of England, His Majesty King Charles, on the eve of his birthday. Happy birthday to the King. Arriving to the red carpet via royal motorcade to greet Ridley Scott. That's the director of Gladiator two and the rest of the cast. Meanwhile, Denzel Washington dropping major news about his impending retirement. Say it ain't so. Excuse me. I know on the Australian morning show today detailing his next few roles and Marvel fans pay close attention.

Ryan Coogler is writing a part for me in the next Black Panther. After that, I'm going to do the film Othello. After that, I'm going to do King Lear. After that, I'm going to retire.

I mean, he's got this whole thing figured out, but a potential Black Panther threequel appearance from Denzel? Yes, please. And for any Gladiator fans that won't be satisfied by just a big screen adventure. Airbnb is teaming up with the movie team for an experience inside the Roman Coliseum, allowing a small number of fans into the historic arena, where guests will suit up in historically accurate armor and put their skills to the test to determine their fate in battle. That's all, according to Airbnb. Are you down for a trip to Rome and perhaps a potential test?

My fate in battle? Probably not very good.

I yeah, I doubt I would be very good either, but if Paul Mescal wants to show up, you know, I'm happy to split an Airbnb with him. I'm a.

Little scrappy.

Maybe, maybe.

Maybe I will back myself.

Strong island energy. I don't know how that would fare in gladiator battle. Pretty well, I would think. All right. Now to Nicole Kidman making some headlines for what she said about fellow fellow Oscar winner Martin Scorsese in a new interview with Vanity Fair. The Big Little Lies star saying, quote, I've always said I want to work with Scorsese. If he does a film with women film fans online writing quote, I love Martin, but this shade is delicious. And quote, did she? She did not just say that.

She did not just say that.

I mean, listen, she is all about. Yeah, those those series on TV lately where she's starring constant drama. So I don't know, sometimes it was done so well.

Yeah. Just just in this compliment. Right.

I would love to work with.

Him in a bow.

Right. Exactly. Well done Nicole on that shade throwing. We love a little shade here in the T. All right. And you remember Moo dang we love her here in the T as well. The four month old pygmy hippo from Thailand who became the darling of the internet three months ago when she made her debut on Facebook. Well, now the little lady is ready to dominate the pop charts with an official song put out by the zoo where she lives. It's called Moo Moo Dang. And here's a little bit of the chorus.

Boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing boing.

Oh yeah. Baby shark found dead in a ditch. There are four versions of this song in Thai, in English and Chinese and Japanese. Mudang was only born four months ago, but she already has a full line of merch and draws around 4000 visitors a day. To the zoo. To the zoo.

It's the video that goes with it that really makes it. Will Ganz. Thank you friend.

Moo moo dang boing boing boing boing boing boing.

We'll be right back.

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Hi, I'm Diane Macedo. Let's get right to our top story. Special election plans are getting underway as president elect Trump announces more cabinet picks, Florida will have to vote on who will replace Trump nominees Congressman Mike Walsh and now Congressman Matt Gaetz. Meanwhile, Gates's nomination for attorney general is raising eyebrows on Capitol Hill, including from members of his own party. Here's how Republican Senator Lisa murkowski responded to the news.

I don't think it's a serious nomination for the attorney general. We need to have a serious attorney general, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to consider somebody that is serious. This one this one was not on my bingo card.

Let's bring in ABC News White House correspondent Karen Travers, ABC news correspondent Jay O'Brien, and our deputy news director, Avery Harper, our deputy political director. Jay, you heard Republican Senator Lisa murkowski there. We're also hearing from a lawyer representing a woman at the center of the House ethics investigation into gates. He's calling for that report to be released. So what's the latest on that?

Yeah. And just to give you the context of what this investigation is. Remember, the Department of Justice investigated Matt Gaetz for being allegedly tied to sex trafficking. That investigation was ended with no charges filed. Gates says he never did anything wrong. He felt vindicated by that. And then the House Ethics Committee here in the House, because Gaetz is a member of the House, started doing its own investigation into Matt Gaetz and allegations that he facilitated the sex trafficking of a 17 year old girl and other allegations, which, again, Gaetz has vehemently denied. And now the lawyer for that girl, because that investigation goes away now that Gaetz is no longer a member of Congress, is saying to that committee that he wants the committee to release its report that ABC news has learned it is compiled and was potentially on the verge of releasing prior to Gaetz resigning. He said in a statement, quote, Mr. Gaetz is likely nomination as attorney general is a, quote, perverse development in a likely in a truly dark series of events we would support, and I'm reading from his statement directly, the House Ethics Committee immediately releasing their report.

She, the woman in this case was a high school student and there were witnesses. Again, Matt Gaetz has denied all of these allegations and this report very much unclear if it's going to see the light of day because he's no longer a member of the House. But Dick Durbin, the current chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who will no longer be the chair come January when Republicans take control of the Senate, has called on the House Ethics Committee to hold on to its report, to transmit it over to the Senate so that they can review it. If Gaetz genuinely does go up in front of the Senate to be considered for the nomination of Attorney General Diane.

And Avery, Trump's former Republican rival in the primaries, Nikki Haley says she's spoken to the transition team, but that she doesn't want a position in the administration. She also said Trump can be shallow at times. What do you make of that? Right.

I think when you look at some of the most controversial picks we've seen, the Trump transition team make during this time. Yesterday we saw Pete Hegseth, the nominee for defense secretary, has said many controversial things about women, particularly those in combat positions. When you look at Matt Gaetz, when we just ran through a lot of the allegations there about his supposed or alleged relationships with underage women or even Tulsi Gabbard, who has, I think, a lot of questions to answer in terms of meetings that she's had with Syrian leaders. You know, I think the most important litmus test for these folks are are their staunch support of Trump, their ability to to say nice things about Trump on television. And so it's not surprising to see somebody like an opponent of former President Trump, Nikki Haley, someone who Trump has said is not going to be a part of this administration, say that he's shallow.

Karen, what do we know about what's underway at the white House in terms of the transition after yesterday's meeting between President Biden and President elect Trump? Did anything come of that?

You know, the white.

House called yesterday's meeting very cordial, very gracious and substantive. We heard that they talked about a wide range of domestic policy issues and foreign policy. Specifically, they talked about Ukraine. The national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the president made it very clear that the United States should continue supporting Ukraine because the potential for instability in Europe is just too dangerous. And what that could mean for pulling the United States into a war there. But in terms of the actual details now of what the transition looks like, we heard from the president yesterday that, you know, his team will do all they can to make sure that the incoming Trump team is ready to go on day one. He said yesterday, we will make sure you have what you need. And I do think it was notable to hear from the white House yesterday that at this point you had that big meeting, so many eyes on it. It was packed here yesterday because it was so highly anticipated. Very brief photo op with pleasantries, handshakes and smiles between the president and the president elect.

But the message afterward now is that it's not about the two of them. It's about doing what's right for the American people. And that work will happen behind the scenes as people in this administration start working with their incoming counterparts to get ready for that transition, including the national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, who said, you know, he may not see eye to eye with his now successor, Congressman Mike Waltz, but that, you know, he's going to work with him and make sure that it's as smooth the transition as possible.

Avery Harper, Karen Travers, Jay O'Brien. Thank you. Meanwhile, President Biden is heading to Peru for what could be his final lap on the world stage as president. He's arriving at Joint Base Andrews, now to board Air Force One, and he's set to meet with Chinese President XI Jinping, visit the Amazon rainforest and attend two major summits. Let's bring in ABC's Alex Presha in Lima, Peru. For more, here are live images there of the president arriving at Joint Base Andrews. Alex, how significant is this moment for President Biden, his potential last international tour?

Well, he's he's yes, his last international tour. He's beginning what we're describing a little bit as a swan song of sorts on the world stage here at APEC and then in Manaus and then also at the G20. But as you mentioned, I mean, this is an opportunity for him to really, um, kind of have some of those, those, those meetings with his counterparts. A lot of these folks he's had decades long relationships with, especially XI Jinping, a lot of a lot of attention on that, uh, sideline meeting here at APEC. But but again, I mean, this is a time of transition. And I think the rest of the world kind of understands that. And so this is a little bit of a swan song for, for the president.

So what are the president's goals on this trip and what message is he trying to send to world leaders?

Well, I think, you know, specifically here at AIPAC, it's it's an assurance of of the United States commitment. It's really trying to to assuage some of those concerns about the incoming administration. Certainly there's been a lot of talk about tariffs. Um, you know, the president, president elect Trump, has talked about levying tariffs specifically at this economic forum where you have 21 of the world's economies present, many of them allies. There is a growing concern about that. I can tell you that also from industry and and a lot of different corporations that are, that are that are represented here over the next couple of days. They're specifically curious about, you know, Q1 and Q2 of next year, as is Trump administration, and its foreign policy starts to take effect. The president trying to trying to reassure, um, our commitment to, to, to to many of our allies. But frankly, Um, it's understood that this is a position or a period of change. And so, you know, ultimately, you know, what what this policy looks like going forward is, is up to Trump.

So in terms of this meeting with the Chinese president, what's President Biden hoping to discuss there?

Well, so we got a little bit of a readout on this yesterday from a national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, who talked about, look, you know, there are three components that Biden and XI Jinping are likely to talk about. The first is the importance of maintaining that military to military communication, and certainly not escalating things in, in, in, in that particular region. I think another thing that they have common ground on that I expect for for them to talk about is the counter-narcotics efforts. And then the third thing, and you might find this interesting, the third thing is talking about AI security. It's something that the two discussed over the phone earlier this year and then also in their last meeting in California.

So what else is on his agenda for this trip, Alex? And what are you watching for?

Yeah. Okay. Well, so obviously when the president arrives here, a little bit of a swan song, but he's also got a trip to Manaus. And, you know, a big focus of that is going to be climate climate change policy. And then also the G20 in in Rio. The president is headed there as well. Another opportunity for him to meet with with allies. Again, this is a big reassurance trip with him. He's assuring the rest of the world, essentially of a peaceful transition of power and really trying to underscore some of the frameworks of, of of foreign policy that his administration has already carried out.

Alex Presha in Lima, Peru. Thank you. A new Human Rights Watch report accuses Israel of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. The 150 page report details evidence the group claims shows Israel's displacement of the majority of the civilian population meets the definition of ethnic cleansing. The Israeli military says it's committed to international law and says it issues evacuation orders to protect civilians from combat. Foreign correspondent Britt Clennett has the latest from Jerusalem. Hi, Britt.

Hi, Diane. Well, this is a scathing report by Human Rights Watch accusing Israel of overseeing the mass displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, accusing it of a deliberate and systematic campaign that amounts to a war crime and crimes against humanity. Now, in a statement, Human Rights Watch cited the illegal and deliberate controlled demolition of homes and infrastructure, where it accuses Israel of saying that it's creating these buffer zones and security corridors, but from which it says that Palestinians are permanently displaced. We know that the United Nations says that 1.9 million Palestinians in Gaza are displaced. That's 90% of the territory's population. We heard from the IDF in response to this report, saying that the Israeli military is committed to international law and operates accordingly, and that it issues evacuation orders. But what we know from speaking to people on the ground in Gaza that they say that even if they are evacuated, that they don't feel like anywhere in Gaza is safe to go. Diane.

Foreign correspondent Britt Clennett in Jerusalem. Thank you. And a new Unicef report indicates at least one child is being killed and ten injured every day in Lebanon. A Unicef spokesperson, James Elder, visiting shelters and hospitals in eastern Lebanon, speaking with displaced families and injured children. And here's a quick look at just some of what he saw.

I mean, Ali, I.

Mean two year old Ali, who spent 14 hours under rubble and hasn't spoken for about two weeks because of that trauma. We have to ask ourselves, are those with power, those with influence to stop this really going to watch in silence again?

And James Elder joins me from Beirut for more on this. James, thanks for coming on. We heard a little in that clip, but what are you seeing and hearing there in Lebanon, and what made you want to capture it on video?

Look, Diane, I think because I spent so much time in Gaza as your viewers just saw some of the scenes out of Gaza and what has just been heartbreak after heartbreak. And now to be in Lebanon, obviously, conflicts are different and people talk about complications. It's not very complicated. When again, I'm walking through rubble of of what was children's bedrooms and I'm seeing again hundreds of thousands of children displaced when overnight, you know, you're woken by the massive bombardment. When I see the look in children's faces because they're in shelters. You know, this is their lifeline now. But of course, it's a place that should be a place of learning. So I think for me, I'm just I'm just seeing these chilling similarities. When you break it down to what, what it's doing here to children on the ground.

As Britt mentioned, this new human rights Human Rights Watch report accuses Israel of mass displacement in Gaza amounting to a war crime. The report says Israel's actions also appear to meet the definition of ethnic cleansing. Israel hasn't responded to that report yet, but what's your response and how does it line up with what you're seeing?

Yeah, I mean, I haven't I'm in Lebanon, so I haven't seen the report on Gaza. Gaza is as harrowing as anything I think any aid worker has ever seen. There has been the last month, which was meant to be an improvement on things based on international pressure has been worse, Diane. Much worse. Okay, so worse for people who are already at rock bottom, worse for people who have been displaced in terms of bombardments. I mean, here in terms of aid denials continuing now, we've spoken of aid denials for for a year, you get polio on the ground because of aid denials. So that's why you get an imminent famine in the North because of aid denials. You don't you don't get to a point, Diane, of ten 1112. The number now is 15,000 girls and boys reportedly killed. If there's any semblance of proportionality or of humanitarian law being abided by, you don't see these kind of numbers. You don't see the horror in children in hospitals that are that are war zones, walking across children in hospitals, seeing, you know, fourth degree burns, the the screams, the smell of of that burning.

You won't you don't get these things without that. You also you get hostages home and negotiations as well, you end that level of torment. We haven't seen anything resembling serious negotiations for a long, long time. So without seeing the report, I do know, though, that all the back and forth Diane of who said and who said what? Truth. Truth has long been a casualty of this war. And at the end of the day, history, unfortunately, is going to be very clear. Now, that doesn't help those in Gaza, because of course, this is ongoing in Gaza. And that's where we need anyone with influence right now to bring a halt to this as quickly as possible, to end the bombardment of children, to to end this deprivation to the most basics of water, food and to get the hostages home. But it's a message we have been sharing now for a year, at the same time as these civilians have been enduring this for a year now.

Unicef has played a part in some critical interventions in Lebanon. What aid have you been able to get to these families in need?

It's a it's a lot. And it's it's something that lifts you through a day. You know, it's sleepless nights. It's heavy bombardments again. And shelters, as I say, you do want children to be learning, but right now they're a lifeline. But it's a package of support. So it's it's things like blankets, blankets and mattresses which sound so basic. But of course when you lose your home, you lose the most basic things to sleep on. It's getting cold here. It's any type of temporary learning we can do. It's psychological support. Getting children playing again in shelters, something to break the monotony of the reality of what they're enduring. I see a lot of that going on. So psychological support, nutritional support, shelters are overwrought in terms of water and sanitation. So it's a very, very large package of support. It changes the game for children, Diane, because they're well aware of where they are now in a very, very intense war zone. So at least to have some of the most basic necessities of life.

But for an organization like Unicef, you know, we are we are one fifth funded. So when you're in frontline locations and when you're, you know, in harm's way, and then also aware that we could be doing so much more for these children if there was support. I mean, they're children. And again, the complexities of war, it's not very complicated if you're a seven year old girl. So it's a lot of support. But we know right now as these things escalate, it needs to be a lot more.

All right. James Elder in Beirut. James. Thank you. Coming up. A brush fire erupts in New York City. The rare warning issued to residents and the latest on the firefight as dry conditions spark more fires on the East Coast.

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Welcome back to ABC News Live. First, firefighters were on the scene of a rare brush fire in New York City. Crews have been able to put out hotspots that started in a park in upper Manhattan. Meanwhile, the Jennings Creek Fire burning along the New York New Jersey border is now 50% contained. ABC's Phil Lipof joins me now. Phil, what's the latest on this Jennings Creek fire?

So this.

Is rare.

It's not unprecedented, but it's rare. And firefighters have been working around the clock to get this under control. And right now they say it's about 50% contained. And that is good. But the other 50% is the problem. The Jenkins Creek Fire, as you say, has been burning now for days. Officials say the fire is in this rugged area. You see it there on the screen. It's difficult for firefighters to get to. More than 6500 acres.

Have been scorched.

This is on both sides of the border. Jersey and New York officials say residential structures are currently being threatened in new Jersey.

No evacuations have been ordered.

There has been no significant rainfall. And that's the problem since September, creating very dry conditions. And then in the fall here in the northeast, you have these dry leaves that fall, prompting new Jersey to issue a drought warning. New York's governor, Kathy Hochul, says the fire is one of 11 burning across the state, and conditions remain dire. She's actually issued a statewide burn ban through the end of the month, and Jersey's largest water utility, Diane, has issued a statewide mandatory conservation notice. You know, people here in the northeast burn leaves, and now they're not allowed to do that. It's been dry. And we saw.

That fire right over.

There by the George Washington Bridge. Just what, a week ago. Yeah, I.

Know they've had to use hand tools as opposed to machinery that they often use on the West Coast because of how steep the terrain is. Right. And you mentioned rare. A brush fire in New York City. That's something you don't hear about all the time.

It's not something we hear. Big events like.

That happen here.

I think 12, 13 years ago I covered a tornado in Brooklyn, but this is rare. You're absolutely right. And the good news is firefighters do have that fire under control right now. Crews spent hours overnight putting out hotspots on.

This fire.

In Manhattan. It's near a park in Manhattan. And the flames were so intense, you could actually smell it right along all those walking paths that people walk and bike and run right along the river. Firefighters use the Harlem River to douse the flames in this fire, while drones help pinpoint where the next moves of attack should be to get those flames under control. New York City Mayor Eric Adams advised people to close their windows and turn on their air purifiers, while avoiding the area. It's unclear exactly what sparked that fire, but a lot of these fires we've seen across this fire season have been man made.

Man caused one in Prospect Park in Brooklyn over the weekend. We're seeing a lot of them pop up. Phil thank you. All right, Dan, let's bring in Brittany Bell of our ABC station here in New York City. Brittany, what's the latest on the fire danger.

Well, Diane, the fire danger around the northeast. We're getting a little help today. And that's because winds are lighter, but humidity is still very low. Unfortunately, that danger is going to ramp back up this weekend because gusts will approach 25 to 30mph, and we'll have a drop in the moisture. We have to wait until later next week to potentially get some rain. Now, some of that rain could actually come from what I'm showing you right now. This is Tropical Depression 19. So that is closing in on Honduras right now. And the latest track has that moving to the west, making landfall near the coastline late Friday into early Saturday as a tropical storm that could make a second landfall near Belize early Sunday morning. And then it moves back into the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, weakening to a tropical depression due to land interaction from the Yucatan Peninsula. At this point, the big question is where does this tropical depression go? Now this is a look at the bigger picture. High pressure will move off to the east, and we'll see a dip in the jet stream that will help to steer it northeast towards Florida.

At this time, it's too early to say just how strong this will get and where it's going to make landfall, but at this point, because of higher wind shear from this dip in the jet stream, a major hurricane does not look likely. But a piece of that energy, a piece of that rain could tap into the eastern seaboard, bringing some much needed rainfall Thursday into early Friday. The Drought Monitor was updated this morning, and there's now a severe drought spreading all throughout the I-95 corridor. Looking at an exceptional drought for portions of Ohio and West Virginia. Now they will get some much needed rain late tonight through early Friday, but that rain misses out on the Northeast and New England. This is where fire danger is still elevated because of lower humidity, even though lighter winds are. Winds are lighter currently. Now temperatures, despite the fire danger, were very chilly this morning, but things will start to ramp back up temperature wise as we head into this weekend. Diane. All right Brittany thank you.

Coming up, Dogecoin is surging after Trump signaled Elon Musk will join his administration. So what does this mean for the future of cryptocurrencies. ABC's Alexis Christoforous is here to break it all down.

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Welcome back to ABC News Live. First, cryptocurrencies are surging after Trump announced Elon Musk will help lead his new Department of Government efficiency. Dogecoin, the meme currency which Musk has promoted, is one of the biggest winners in this post-election rally. Business reporter Alexis Christoforous is joining me now for more on that. Alexis, what do you make of this surge in crypto like Bitcoin, Dogecoin? Is this all tied to the election?

Much of it is. It has just been.

A spectacular.

Roller coaster ride really that we've all.

Been on.

With these cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin up 30. More than 30%.

Since the election.

Dogecoin with that little dog on it. Up more than.

150%. It's now worth its market value right now. Diane is now worth more than Ford.

And General Motors. I mean, this is a risky investment. It's very volatile.

But right now, investors.

Are pouring into this speculative.

Asset on.

The belief that.

You know, Trump's going.

To be this crypto.

Friendly president.

He's going to get.

Rid of regulation or.

Help to deregulate the industry.

And also come up with some policies.

That will be friendly to cryptocurrency.

Now, we've seen public figures beyond just Elon Musk promoting cryptocurrencies. Odell Beckham Jr made headlines back in 2021 when he took his salary in bitcoin. Wondering what that's worth now. So could we see more of this?

Well just on.

Odell I saw.

Today on X. He tweeted out a screenshot of Bitcoin's rise recently and said, who's dumb now for taking their salary in Bitcoin because that's $750,000 salary he got with Rams in 2021 is now worth well over $1 million. But he's not the only one. You know, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, a bunch of other athletes that we know have taken some of their salary in Bitcoin. And I think as it becomes more mainstream, as institutional investors get more involved, you know, that's going to help prop up the legitimacy of it. I mean, another big point, yes, a lot has to do with Trump and the promises he's made to be a crypto friendly president. But also there's something called spot ETFs or exchange traded funds that started dealing with and trading in Bitcoin last year. That helped to open it up to a much larger, larger investor group. And with each move like that, it legitimizes this asset, which, by the way, a lot of people are seeing as similar to gold.

It's seen as a hedge against uncertain times and inflation. Big reason why a lot of people are pouring into it.

All right. Business reporter Alexis Christoforous. Alexis. Thank you. You're welcome. And thank you for watching. I'm Diane Macedo. The news never stops, and neither do we. We have a lot more news after the break. Stay with us.

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Hi, I'm Diane Macedo. Let's get right to our top story. Special election plans are getting underway as president elect Trump announces more cabinet picks, Florida will have to vote on who will replace Trump nominees Congressman Mike Waltz, Congressman Matt Gaetz and others. DeSantis is expected to appoint someone to replace Senator Marco Rubio. Meanwhile, Gaetz's nomination for attorney general is raising eyebrows on Capitol Hill, including from members of his own party. Let's bring in ABC news senior White House correspondent Selina Wang, ABC News White House correspondent Karen Travers and ABC news correspondent Jay O'Brien for more. Selina, what more are you hearing about Trump's decision to pick Matt Gaetz for attorney general?

Diane, we're told that this choice of Matt Gaetz really came out of nowhere in less than 24 hours. As of earlier this week, we were told that Donald Trump was unsatisfied with his choices. Matt Gaetz was not on that short list of potential candidates, and he was not vetted. But we do know that Gaetz was spending a significant amount of time with Donald Trump in Mar-A-Lago actually helping him, advising him on possible key DOJ picks. But what is clear, Diane, from all of Trump's cabinet appointments so far is that he is valuing loyalty over experience. Many of his picks have little experience with the agencies that Trump wants them to lead, but they are staunch and loyal allies of Donald Trump's. Gates is someone who would support Donald Trump's agenda, whether that is mass deportations or seeking retribution. But look, there are a lot of concerns with this pick. Gates would be leading the Justice Department if confirmed, which would put him at the top of the very government agency that had been investigating him for years for allegations of sex trafficking and obstruction of justice.

Now, the DOJ ended up closing that case without bringing any charges. But gates was also under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. So the question of whether or not gates gets confirmed is a major. If this is a huge test from Donald Trump for loyalty from Senate Republicans, they will be under immense pressure to push through with some of even his most explosive and controversial cabinet picks.

So Jay Gates is getting a lot of criticism, even from within his own party. So what are you hearing on Capitol Hill about what to expect from his confirmation process?

And first, Matt Gates often gets a lot of criticism from within his own party. He's not 100% well liked amongst his House Republican colleagues. And some of them came out yesterday and said they didn't think he would be a good pick for attorney general in the Senate, which is the body that Selena, as she mentioned, matters. They're the ones who would vote on Matt Gates to be attorney general or not. They're the ones who have those confirmation hearings, have those floor votes, etc.. There are some moderate Republican senators who have said, look, Matt Gates is a non-starter for them. This is not someone they want to be the attorney general. And theoretically, Donald Trump would need those votes in order to get Matt Gaetz over the goal line in any kind of Senate vote. And then there are some senators who have said that they're on the fence. There are those who have never really been fans of Matt Gates, but they've come forward and said a version of look, if he comes to the Senate, if he makes his case in a confirmation hearing, will at least hear him out.

Those are some senators that are trying to be, in a way, deferential to Donald Trump, who, as Selina noted, has said this is who he wants to be. His attorney general has a lot of authority and a lot of sway here because he helped Republicans deliver this significant Senate majority they have right now, as well as help them hold on to the House of Representatives. So this is one of the first tests of Donald Trump's influence. Will he get what he wants out of the United States Senate, or are there moderate senators that will get together and stand in the way? If Donald Trump does try to go through the traditional confirmation process where Matt Gaetz has to go before the Senate and plead his case, and he doesn't try to do any kind of constitutional end run around that.

Now, Karen Trump has picked former Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence. What do you think her nomination means about how Trump plans to approach foreign policy and his relationship with the intelligence agencies. You know.

Again, Diane, loyalist is a word that we're going to keep hearing with a lot of these picks for the Trump cabinet. And I think this pick of Tulsi Gabbard sort of snuck under the radar yesterday because all the headlines became about Matt Gaetz for attorney general. But it is still quite notable and controversial in its own right. Tulsi Gabbard was a Democratic member of Congress. She then switched parties and has been a fierce loyalist to Donald Trump out there on the campaign trail for him during this campaign season. But she does not have intelligence experience. So for her to lead the intelligence community is something a lot of people in Washington are questioning right now and scratching their heads. Also, questions about whether she's too sympathetic to Russia, a meeting she had with the leader of Syria, Bashar al Assad. You know, we've also been asking questions here at the white House about what this team thinks about some of Donald Trump's picks for foreign policy and security roles. And, Diane, they're largely not commenting on this, but notable that the national security adviser did say that he will be working with his replacement to try and have a smooth transition.

Jay, what kind of reaction are you hearing on Capitol Hill to news that Tulsi Gabbard is Trump's pick for director of national intelligence?

It looks like Tulsi Gabbard, from what we've seen so far, is going to be controversial. A controversial pick maybe not as controversial as Matt Gaetz because she did serve in the House of Representatives and does still have some friends and colleagues, particularly amongst House Republicans here, who have come out and praised this pick. Another thing we're already seeing is that this is likely to expose some of those policy divisions in the Republican Party over Ukraine because Tulsi Gabbard, as Karen just alluded, has been deferential to Russia, deferential to Vladimir Putin's messaging. And we know that there is this split amongst congressional Republicans as to those who say they don't want to spend another single dollar to Ukraine to help in its defense against Russia. And then there are those that want to continue to support Ukraine, that believe this is a battle for democracy on a global scale. And so this Tulsi Gabbard pick likely to expose those fissures. Again, not as many Republicans coming out in lockstep against it as gates. But still, the week is somewhat early.

Diane. A lot of things could change up here on Capitol Hill.

All right. It sure can. Selina Wang, Karen Travers, Jay O'Brien. Thank you. And the big question now for Trump's administration is whether his picks can get confirmed by the Senate. Chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl has more on that and what could happen next.

Reporter good morning, Diane. Trump's most recent cabinet picks include the most controversial that I have ever seen covering Congress, far more controversial than any Trump made in his first term, especially Tulsi Gabbard to be the director of national intelligence. Pete Hegseth to be the defense secretary and most of all, Matt Gaetz to be attorney general. In normal times, I would say that somebody like Matt Gaetz has no chance of getting Senate confirmation. He is somebody with enemies throughout Capitol Hill. And I'm talking about Republican enemies. But these are not normal times. And I am told by people very close to the former and future president that he is absolutely intent on pushing these nominees through the regular confirmation process, that he wants to put this as a test to Republican senators, especially the new Senate Republican leader, John Thune, of whether or not they are truly committed to the Trump agenda, whether or not they will give the newly elected president, who believes he has a big mandate, the deference in choosing his most important cabinet members.

So we'll see how it plays out. But I would not rule out that that somebody like Matt Gaetz, even somebody like Matt Gaetz, could get confirmed in this soon to be Republican Senate. And if he isn't confirmed, Trump has made it clear that he has the nuclear option, you might call it the dictator on day one option. And that is to demand that the House and Senate go into recess. They would both have to go into recess, and then he would have the power, if they were in recess for at least ten days to make an appointment to his cabinet or multiple appointments to his cabinet without confirmation, without Senate confirmation, it would be an extraordinarily controversial move. John Thune, again, the new Senate leader would have to go along with it, and he would be effectively ceding one of the most cherished powers of the United States Senate the power of advise and consent. So who knows how this will play out. But this is only just beginning, Diane.

All right. Chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl, thank you. And firefighters are on the scene of a rare brush fire in New York City. Crews have been able to put out hotspots that started in a park in upper Manhattan. Meanwhile, the Jennings Creek Fire burning along the New York New Jersey border is now 50% contained. ABC's Erielle Reshef has that story.

Hundreds of firefighters battling multiple brush fires in the East. Plumes of smoke blanketing the tip of Manhattan from the three alarm Inwood Hill fire. Fueled by bone dry conditions and gusty winds.

I've lived here for about 40 years. It makes me want to cry. I've never seen anything like this.

The smell of smoke is thick in the air. It is affecting air quality. You can see dozens of FDNY crews are here on scene. Firefighters staging in this area, launching drones, doing everything they can to put this out. Officials say the steep terrain is their biggest challenge.

150 plus feet to climb up that hill with hose lines is extremely dangerous for us.

This, as the deadly Jennings Creek Fire blazes on for its sixth day, burning across the New York and New Jersey state border. More than 4300 acres charred, 50% contained. The dry spell in the northeast, making it even harder to combat these wildfires. New Jersey officials issuing a drought warning. And, Diane, just to give you a sense of what firefighters all along the East Coast are dealing with. Take a look. This is the dry, brittle brush. You can hear it snapping in my hands. This is the perfect fuel for fires and it doesn't take much to set them off Diane.

All right Erielle Reshef thank you. Let's bring in Brittany Bell of our ABC station here in New York City. Brittany what's the latest on the fire danger.

Well Diane the fire danger around the northeast. We're getting a little help today. And that's because winds are lighter, but humidity is still very low. Unfortunately, that danger is going to ramp back up this weekend because gusts will approach 25 to 30mph, and we'll have a drop in the moisture. We have to wait until later next week to potentially get some rain. Now, some of that rain could actually come from what I'm showing you right now. This is Tropical Depression 19. So that is closing in on Honduras right now. And the latest track has that moving to the west, making landfall near the coastline late Friday into early Saturday as a tropical storm that could make a second landfall near Belize early Sunday morning. And then it moves back into the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, weakening to a tropical depression due to land interaction from the Yucatan Peninsula. At this point, the big question is where does this tropical depression go? Now this is a look at the bigger picture. High pressure will move off to the east, and we'll see a dip in the jet stream that will help to steer it northeast towards Florida.

At this time, it's too early to say just how strong this will get and where it's going to make landfall, but at this point, because of higher wind shear from this dip in the jet stream, a major hurricane does not look likely. But a piece of that energy, a piece of that rain could tap into the eastern seaboard, bringing some much needed rainfall Thursday into early Friday. The Drought Monitor was updated this morning, and there's now a severe drought spreading all throughout the I-95 corridor. Looking at an exceptional drought for portions of Ohio and West Virginia. Now they will get some much needed rain late tonight through early Friday, but that rain misses out on the Northeast and New England. This is where fire danger is still elevated because of lower humidity, even though lighter winds are. Winds are lighter currently. Now temperatures, despite the fire danger were very chilly this morning, but things will start to ramp back up temperature wise as we head into this weekend. Diane. All right Brittany.

Thank you. A new Human Rights Watch report accuses Israel of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. The 150 page report details evidence the group claims shows Israel's displacement of the majority of the civilian population meets, quote, the definition of ethnic cleansing. The Israeli military says it's committed to international law and says it's issues evacuation orders to protect civilians from combat. Foreign correspondent Britt Clennett has the latest from Jerusalem. Hi, Britt.

Hi, Diane. Well, this is a scathing report by Human Rights Watch accusing Israel of overseeing the mass displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, accusing it of a deliberate and systematic campaign that amounts to a war crime and crimes against humanity. Now, in a statement, Human Rights Watch cited the illegal and deliberate controlled demolitions of homes and infrastructure, where it accuses Israel of saying that it's creating these buffer zones and security corridors, but from which it says that Palestinians are permanently displaced. We know that the United Nations says that 1.9 million Palestinians in Gaza are displaced. That's 90% of the territory's population. We heard from the IDF in response to this report saying the Israeli military is committed to international law and operates accordingly and that it issues evacuation orders. But what we know from speaking to people on the ground in Gaza that they say that even if they are evacuated, that they don't feel like anywhere is in Gaza, is safe to go. Diane.

Foreign correspondent Britt Clennett in Jerusalem. Thank you. Coming up, is the government covering up evidence of UFOs? The testimony on Capitol Hill that's raising more questions.

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Welcome back to ABC News Live! First security is being ramped up in Paris ahead of a between France and Israel today. It comes a week after violence broke out in Amsterdam between Israeli and Dutch soccer fans. Now, 4000 police officers are being deployed at the stadium and across public transportation. ABC's foreign correspondent Tom Soufi joins me from Paris with the latest on that. Tom, the Paris police chief said there will be an anti-terrorist security perimeter around the stadium. So what's it like there right now?

Yeah, Don, you can see that perimeter just behind me. And actually, we were just up on the bridge there. You can see the stadium beyond that. And we've just been moved back over this side of the perimeter. So look, they'll be checks for fans here. Nobody without a ticket will be actually able to get anywhere near the stadium. We're quite a long distance from France's national stadium, the Stade de France. So very tight security around this area on public transport in Paris today. And it's worth noting that the capacity of that stadium is 80,000, but they've only sold about 20,000 tickets. And if you think about the fact that there are 4000 police officers, that's roughly one police officer for every five fans. I mean, that is an incredibly high ratio of police officers to fans for any soccer game anywhere in the world. So, look, the authorities here are not taking any chances. They clearly want to send a message that no violence of any form anywhere, any abuse, any political messages inside the stadium and outside as well will not be tolerated.

Now, Tom, a soccer game between an Israeli and a Turkish club, which was meant to be played in Turkey in a couple of weeks, is being moved to a neutral venue in Hungary for security reasons. There were calls to postpone tonight's match in Paris. So why do you think the game is going ahead.

I think the French authorities and the government want to send a very, very clear message that whatever your views on the war in Gaza, the situation in the Middle East right now at a sporting event involving the Israeli national team can go ahead safely in France. Yes. One major political party on the far left wanted the game postponed. We're expecting a pro-Palestinian demonstration in a couple of hours from now. The game begins in about four hours. At that pro-Palestinian demonstration will be a short distance away, but really nowhere near the actual stadium will be in the local area just north of Paris, near to here. And that demonstration, according to police rules, is not allowed to move. So I think we can expect very heavy security around that. And of course, the authorities here in France want the game to go ahead, despite what happened in Amsterdam, that violent, those violent clashes, the anti-Semitism, according to Dutch officials in that area, and some of those anti-Arab racist slogans from Israeli fans too. They don't want a repeat of that, but they still want to send a message that a game of soccer between two national teams, including Israel, can go ahead.

Foreign correspondent Tom Soufi Burridge in Paris. Stay safe. Tom. Thank you. And police are investigating a video that appears to show a man previously believed to be dead. The married father of three was reported missing while kayaking in Wisconsin back in August. Now, authorities say he may have planned his disappearance. ABC's Andrea Fujii has the latest.

Video on social media. Featuring a man who resembles a father of three who allegedly faked his own death, is now under investigation by authorities in Wisconsin.

I go to Uzbekistan.

Or stay here.

Say that one more time.

Content creator Bailey Boomhauer says she shot the video in San Diego in June. She recently alerted police that the man looked similar to Ryan Borgwardt, the married father reported missing while kayaking in Wisconsin back in August. Boomhauer remembered the interaction as bizarre.

I've never even heard of that place before, so it's just a very like odd parallel that the man that's missing is also connected to Uzbekistan.

Last week, the sheriff of Green Lake County, Wisconsin announced that Borgwardt was never actually missing. He says evidence shows Borgwardt had planned his disappearance in order to escape to Europe and meet a woman from Uzbekistan. Investigators say they uncovered the alleged scheme after learning that Canadian law enforcement had checked Borgward's name the day after his disappearance. They say he had taken out a $375,000 life insurance policy, moved money to a foreign bank and had replaced his computer's hard drive.

Why do you want to go meet a woman?

So you've given up on meeting someone here?

No. I'm married.

Authorities are not saying that Borgwardt is the man in that social media video. But they do say they're investigating the video.

Anything that we can get.

We certainly go through.

It, see if it will help us out.

Andrea Fujii Thank you. And a hearing on Capitol Hill is raising questions about whether the American people are being told the truth about UFOs. A former Pentagon official says the government knows more than it's saying, and the alleged extraterrestrial presence poses a national security threat. ABC's Andrew Dymburt has the details.

I had an.

Experience, a.

Congressional hearing straight out of a science fiction movie.

All to hide the fact that we are not alone in the cosmos.

Lawmakers calling for more transparency around UAPs or unidentified anomalous phenomena. That's the term the government now uses instead of UFO.

What do you believe UAPs could be, or are.

Strong evidence that they are non-human? Higher intelligence.

An intelligence officer last year claimed the Pentagon has been hiding knowledge of alien activity for decades.

Were they, I guess, human or non-human? Biologics?

Non-human. And that was.

The assessment of people with direct knowledge on the program. I talked.

To Luis.

Elizondo, who headed a Pentagon program investigating UAPs, now doubling down on his claims.

Has the government conducted secret UAP crash retrieval programs? Yes or no? Yes. Were they designed to identify and reverse engineer alien craft? Yes or no? Yes.

Elizondo saying the alleged extraterrestrial presence poses a national security threat. Let me.

Be clear. UAP are real advanced technologies not made by our government or any other government, are monitoring sensitive military installations around the.

Globe and saying he believes many classified materials should be shared with Congress and the public.

If this was an adversarial technology, this would be an intelligence failure, eclipsing that of nine over 11 by an order of magnitude. I believe that we as Americans can handle the truth, and I also believe the world deserves the truth.

The hearing lacked any direct evidence, with witnesses who have said they'll only speak about certain subjects behind closed doors. So the result of yesterday's hearing, while one congresswoman says it could open the door to more hearings.

Andrew Dymburt, thank you. And president elect Trump has said he might be willing to release more video of UAPs. Coming up, look up and you might save a life. The danger from falling trees in your yard.

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Welcome back to ABC News Live. First, millions of Americans are facing a new threat of falling trees after months of dangerous weather conditions. At least 35 deaths are linked to falling trees this year. And that threat is not over. ABC's ginger zee has more on what to watch out for.

Watch as a falling tree narrowly misses this five month old's crib.

Miraculously, the.

Baby was okay. Oh my God, oh my God.

Oh my God. It will be for.

A nine year old.

Who had a.

Tree fall on.

Him at recess.

In Missouri, this limb suddenly snapping not during a storm, but on a nice day, injuring five students, one critically.

It's a public safety concern.

John Lang is a certified arborist at Friendly Tree, a tree care company in new Jersey. We're knocking on doors reminding people to look up and save a life. Hello? Hello. On this woman's property, we find this dead limb hanging right over her fire pit and gazebo.

When you're there, you're with family. You're with friends. You're not focused on looking up and around. The bark is all missing. No leaves, no twigs. When they are that brittle, they can fracture and fall in a bright sunshiny day like today.

So John's crew takes care of it right on the spot. Down the road, we meet homeowner Eric, father of a seven year old boy. We called him ahead of time to make sure he was home, because what we spotted in his backyard needed immediate attention.

A play structure, a trampoline, children directly under a very dead, very brittle tree. This is an imminent risk. It's not a question of if this tree is going to fail, it's a question of when and how significantly if somebody is going to be there or not.

From way up here, it is so clear to see how dead this tree is. That branch, or the whole tree could fall into the drop zone, that playground right in its line. And you've got a little boy that plays here. How are you feeling?

I never think.

On a day like today where it's not windy, it's a beautiful day out that it could potentially.

Drop. But absolutely.

That's the part of it.

That I find the most scary.

John's crew gets to work removing the entire tree. If I'm a homeowner, what can I do?

You look up when you look up and you see something that might not look like it should be that way. The limb that has no leaves, bark that's peeling off and there's nothing attached, no twigs. We also obviously look for limbs that have already broken and are just hanging precariously. Cracks any big open wounds. When you see something, say something as they say.

And now, with our extreme weather fluctuations, sagging limbs like this could be even more dangerous.

It's called SBD sudden branch drop syndrome. During periods of extreme heat and dry, the tissue shrinks and can fracture issues that we used to be able to manage over the course of years. Now trees die within a season.

We had 300% of normal precipitation this winter and early spring. And now here we are on what potentially could be the longest dry spell.

That's exactly a.

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Limbs can fracture. During a storm, and they don't disconnect until days later, where it might be bright and sunshiny or people are out assessing the damage.

But if a storm is imminent and you're worried about a concerning tree falling into your house, experts say, consider avoiding areas in your home where the tree could potentially fall, even if it means sleeping in a different room. This is particularly important in the winter. Snow adds weight to trees and those tree limbs.

Two things are happening up there that affect us down here, and it's a simple thing. Look up.

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Hi, I'm Diane Macedo. Let's get right to our top story. Calls are growing for the House Ethics Committee to release its report on allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use by Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing. The attorney, who represents the woman at the center of that investigation, says the ethics report should be made public. And now the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dick Durbin, is also calling on the House Ethics Committee to, quote, preserve and share the report on Gaetz. Let's bring in ABC news correspondent Jay O'Brien for more on that. Jay, what's the latest on this back and forth?

Yeah. And it looks like there are Senate Republicans who are joining this chorus of saying that if Matt Gaetz were to actually go to Senate confirmation hearings in order to become the attorney general, he'd have to go through those hearings, and then he'd have a vote on the Senate floor, presumably, that there are Republicans who want access to that report. John Cornyn, one time the number two Republican in the Senate, still very popular amongst his colleagues, senator from Texas, just ran and lost to replace Mitch McConnell as the Senate Republican leader, just told our Rachel Scott that he believes the Senate should have access to that report if they end up due vetting. Matt Gaetz as a nominee for Attorney general. Dick Durbin, chair of the Judiciary Committee. Right now, he will be the ranking member, the top Democrat on that panel when Republicans officially take control of the Senate come January has said that the House Ethics Committee, that he wants them to preserve that report, send it over to them if they do end up considering Gaetz as this nominee.

There are also some moderate Republican senators who have come out publicly and said, look, they don't think Matt Gaetz is a good nominee for attorney general. So if he genuinely ends up making it to that chamber, getting to confirmation hearings, getting to a floor vote, it's going to be a very rocky road, Diane, to confirmation and confirming him is definitely not a done deal for this incoming Trump administration.

Now, Senator Dick Durbin is calling for the report to be released. And ultimately, the Senate will decide whether Gaetz gets confirmed. So how could this ethics report impact that confirmation process?

Well, it depends on the scale of the report. We know that the Ethics Committee has been investigating this for quite some time. If you think back to 2020 into 2021, there was that ongoing Department of Justice investigation into Matt Gaetz and allegations that he facilitated sex trafficking and that a minor was involved. Matt Gaetz was never charged in that investigation. He has championed the fact that he was never charged. He has denied any wrongdoing in this kind of slew of allegations against him. But then the House Ethics Committee essentially picks up where the Department of Justice leaves off and doesn't bring any charges. Now, what Matt Gaetz has said is that that investigation was politically motivated. And certainly we've seen some of Matt Gaetz's political enemies, like Kevin McCarthy, who he ousted from the speakership, harp on that investigation and say, look at what Matt Gaetz is being investigated by his own colleagues in the House for allegedly doing. But the reality is the impact of this report kind of is going to be defined by two questions.

One, does it ever see the light of day? Because this House Ethics Committee report is expected to not be released unless there is some form or function in which the Ethics Committee puts it out? Because typically, an ethics investigation into a member of Congress is ended when they're no longer a member of Congress. And Matt Gaetz resigned in order to be the attorney general nominee. And two, if it is released, what's the scale of it? We just don't know.

All right. ABC news correspondent Jay O'Brien. Thank you. Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress are facing a unified Republican government. ABC news is now projecting Republicans will retain a slim majority in the House. Democratic Congressman Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island joins me now for more on that. Congressman, thank you for coming on. How are Democrats planning to push back on the Trump administration's priorities? And how much can you realistically do if Republicans have control of the executive branch and both chambers of Congress.

Well, our mantra.

In the.

Democratic caucus in the House is.

That we will work across the aisle.

With Republicans when it is good for the American people, and we can advance good policy. But we also will not hesitate to call out extremism when it needs to be called out. And I think the nomination of figures like Matt Gaetz is a good example of that. A good example of president elect Trump making an error that needs to be.

Called out.

And a light shone upon it. And so, you know, that's going.

To be our.

Approach for the next two years. Like, look, on the Democratic side, we want to get good things done. Like we want to do things that will help working people, that will help make our country stronger. And we will work with Republicans to do that. But when they take on extreme policies, when they nominate people to key law enforcement and national security positions who are not qualified, then we will absolutely make the case to the American people that President Trump and the Republicans have gone too far, and we will be vocal about it.

Now, you've called not just gates, but also Tulsi Gabbard, unqualified and potentially dangerous. What are your biggest concerns when it comes to Trump's nominees so far?

Well, as the president has a right to nominate who he wants to his cabinet, but the Senate has a role under the Constitution in vetting those nominees. And, you know, there are some people who the president has put forward, like Marco Rubio for secretary of state, who I may disagree with, but who is clearly qualified with Matt Gaetz and Tulsi Gabbard. He has nominated people who are unqualified and unfit for very important roles. I'm the ranking member on the Homeland Security Subcommittee for counterterrorism, intelligence, and Law Enforcement, and I am very concerned that Tulsi Gabbard has shown a repeated pattern of echoing the talking points of our adversaries of Russia, of Syria and other, uh, belligerents who do not have the American people's best interests at heart. She has parroted the talking points of our adversaries. She has, at the very least, been gullible in sort of falling for their false talking points and for her to have access to our most sensitive national security information, information about our nuclear program, and information about the location and activities of our service members, uh, would, in my view, be very dangerous.

Matt Gaetz. I mean, where do you start? Right? Uh, you know, he is not qualified for the role. Uh, his legal experience is limited. I think he only practiced for a couple of months. Never tried a major case. So he's clearly not fit to be the top, uh, the top official at the Justice Department, but he is also reviled in Congress by both Democrats and Republicans as being unfit, unethical, untrustworthy and not someone, certainly who should be in charge of key agencies like the FBI. And so, you know, listen, I understand that the president is not going to nominate people who I will agree with all the time. That's fine. That's how the system works. But there are basic tests of character and competency that need to be met. And that's why there is a Senate confirmation process that must be adhered to.

Now, Republican Congressman John Rutherford says the Ethics Committee can't release its report into Gaetz now that he's resigned. Senator Dick Durbin is calling for that report to be preserved and reviewed by the Senate. How critical is that report, and should it play a role in Gaetz's confirmation process, given he was never criminally charged?

Well, first of all, if Matt Gaetz has nothing to hide, then he should be okay with the report being released. If Matt Gaetz, you know, doesn't want to hide anything, you know, wants to be an open book and wants to have the trust of the American people, then he should call on the ethics committee to release the report. The fact of the matter is that he has been credibly accused of serious crimes and serious ethical lapses. And my colleague, Mr. Rutherford, is wrong. The ethics Committee absolutely can release the report if they choose to do so. Now. They haven't released reports for regarding former members of Congress in the past, but those former members of Congress have also not been nominated to positions like U.S. Attorney General in the past. This is an unprecedented situation for someone who is the focus of a very serious ethics investigation to be nominated for a position like the United States Attorney General. So the committee absolutely has the authority to release the report if they choose to do so.

And if Matt Gaetz is so innocent, then he should be okay with the report being released so that the Senate and the American people can make their own judgment.

All right. Congressman Seth Magaziner, we appreciate your time today. Congressman. Thank you.

Thanks for having me.

Now let's bring in ABC news political contributor, former Trump Justice Department official Sarah Isgur for more. Sarah, thanks for coming on. I know you were serving in the Justice Department when Trump first took office. Do you think Matt Gaetz is a good choice for attorney general, or is Congressman Magaziner right to be concerned?

Matt Gaetz would.

Not be my choice for attorney general, but I think there's lots of reasons that senators should think twice before scuttling this nomination. First of all, who's next? You know, let's assume they really think they get maybe one shot to take down one of Trump's nominees. Is Matt Gaetz the worst attorney general nominee that could be out there? I would argue not. I would also argue that based on what your previous guest just said, maybe Tulsi Gabbard is a more important pick to be thinking twice about, you know, second. I also think this is very different than, for instance, a Supreme Court pick where you're talking about an independent branch of government with life tenure. This is the attorney general that President Trump wants that he thinks can actually make changes at the department. So be it. Again, it wouldn't be my pick. He doesn't know the department. He is not really a practicing lawyer in any serious sense. But if Donald Trump wants to have an attorney general, a secretary of defense, for instance, who are mostly public figures, who go on TV and defend the president, and then they have strong deputies who actually run the department, so be it.

What do you make of these calls for the House Ethics Committee to release its report on Matt Gaetz?

You know, I'm really mixed on that. Obviously, you know, members of Congress will have to decide that. But if Matt Gaetz resigned to prevent this ethics report from coming out and then intends to be sworn in on January 2nd because he was reelected. He only resigned for this term. It doesn't apply to the next term. He was reelected. That sort of cuteness probably shouldn't be tolerated by the House Ethics Committee.

Now, assuming gates sits for confirmation hearing, what sorts of questions do you think he'll face during that process?

We've seen Senator Kennedy, for instance, from Louisiana, grill judicial appointees, nominees from both parties about basic concepts under the law. Do you know what a motion in limine is? Do you know what you know the Erie, Pennsylvania case was about. I would expect that there's going to be a lot of legal questions for Matt Gaetz. It reminds me a little bit of what happened when George W Bush nominated Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court. Conservatives were upset about it. They took down a Republican president's nomination because they did not feel that she had enough background in constitutional law. Here, I think you could see Matt Gaetz get tripped up by some pretty basic trial criminal law type questions.

So he's going to have to study. It sounds like is what you're saying.

And Trump says those law books. I've got them back here if you can see them.

Quite a collection, Sarah. Trump says gates will end what he calls the weaponization of the Justice Department. What are you watching for there?

Right. I mean, I think any attorney general at this point that Donald Trump does pick I mean, we've heard the Matt Gates pick came about quite quickly. It came about because the other attorney general picks were giving these high minded constitutional law statements. And Matt Gaetz said, I'm going to go in and cut off some blank heads. So, yes, I think that lots of Republicans feel that this Justice Department was weaponized not just against Donald Trump, but against, for instance, you know, nuns, religious people on religious liberty issues. And so I think that they really are looking for a very different Justice Department. One of their first tests will be a case before the Supreme Court being argued in December by this administration on Tennessee's bill banning transgender health care, and whether that administration will switch positions to allow the Supreme Court to decide it as it is. Drop the case. So that will be maybe something we'll see in even the first week of this Department of Justice under Donald Trump.

All right. ABC news political contributor, former Trump Justice Department official Sarah Isgur. Sarah, thank you. Meanwhile, President Biden is heading to Peru for what could be his final lap on the world stage as president. He's set to meet with Chinese President XI Jinping, visit the Amazon rainforest and attend two major summits. Let's bring in ABC's Alex Presha in Lima, Peru for more. Alex, what are the president's goals on this trip and what's he hoping to discuss in this meeting with the Chinese president?

Well, Diane, so the biggest thing here, I mean, this is a little bit of Biden's swan song. He's taking a lap on the global stage for, for for one last time between APEC and the G20. He does have another foreign trip planned later on this year, but this will be the largest concentration of world leaders that he that that he comes across before the end of the year. And so a lot of this is going to be about reassuring our allies to talk about APEC. Well, APEC is the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit. It's made up of 21 member economies, mainly in the Pacific Indo. And so a large a large bit of of Biden's role for this particular leg of the trip is to re reassure the cooperations on on economies. You know, APEC really kind of focuses on cutting red tape and improving trade. And so, you know, with uh, talk about tariffs in this new Trump administration, uh, you know, that's been a big concern for a lot of the corporations and industries that are impacted in this region.

Biden really trying to reassure them. And then you mentioned that side line, of course, between the president and the president of China, XI Jinping. Now, this will be their last meeting as president. That's what the white House told us. But for for this discussion, we're told that there will be a big focus on three things that both both countries really, really are on the same page about. That is a I that is also counternarcotics efforts and then and then also military to military communication.

All right. Alex Presha in Lima, Peru. Thank you. And law enforcement officials say the FBI is investigating crypto betting platform Polymarket. Sources say investigators even raided CEO Shane Kaplan's New York City home on Tuesday. The investigation is set to center on whether Polymarket violated a prior settlement with the U.S. government by allowing American based users access to its platform. Senior investigative correspondent Aaron Katersky joins me now for more on that. Aaron, what's the latest on this investigation?

We don't know, other than what you said, that there was a prior agreement with the with the government that that prevented or was supposed to prevent US based users from accessing this platform. That was what the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and it allowed the platform allowed U.S. users to improperly bet on things that would happen in the future. It's an event market, events that would happen in the future, like a presidential race. Who's going to win, for example? And they weren't supposed to do that. One avenue of the investigation is whether they maybe were secretly allowing U.S. users access to this platform. But oftentimes, Diane, as you know, a raid or a search is just the beginning stages of an investigation so they can see what evidence they can find.

So what happens next?

Oh, we don't know either. They took we know they took some electronics, phones, that kind of thing. And they'll look through it and see if there's any evidence of wrongdoing. If there is, you could be looking at an arrest or a prosecution, Polymarket said. It's political because they think since Polymarket accurately predicted the results of the presidential race, that somehow this is a partisan effort. And Coplan said on Twitter that Polymarket aims to be non-partisan. We'll see how far it goes. And with the administration about to change whether the investigation continues.

I know you're also following another breaking story. The satirical website The Onion bought Alex Jones's website Infowars, at auction, and this was after he was ordered to pay Sandy hook victims families more than $1 billion for alleging that the whole that school shooting was a hoax. So why did The Onion now buy his website? And why are the Sandy hook families supporting this purchase?

I mean, it sounds like an onion article, right. A little bit. And but but it is actually very serious business because the Sandy hook families have been looking to to silence Alex Jones as much as possible. And by selling off Infowars, even to a satirical site like The Onion, it means all of Alex Jones's content, his content distribution platforms like the website and the like all now go away. And if you go on Infowars right now, you'll see a big white screen that says this site is no longer available. And the families. Diane actually ended up taking a lot less money than what the Infowars properties might have otherwise been worth, because they're more concerned with shutting down Alex Jones to the extent that's possible, rather than in collecting the judgment that they're owed for defamation. Interesting.

All right. ABC News senior investigative correspondent Erin Gutoskie. Thanks, Erin. Coming up, a brush fire erupts in New York City, the rare warning issued to residents and the latest on the firefight as dry conditions spark more fires on the East coast.

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Welcome back to ABC News Live. First, firefighters are on the scene of a rare brush fire in New York City. Crews have been able to put out some hotspots that started in a park in upper Manhattan. Meanwhile, the Jennings Creek Fire burning along New York New Jersey border is now 50% contained. We have team coverage. ABC's Phil Lipof is tracking the fire developments. And Danny Beckstrom of our ABC station here in New York City is monitoring the conditions for us. Phil, let's start with the latest on the Jennings Creek fire, because the size of this fire is really something New York hasn't seen in years. It is.

And it jumped from state to state. It's in new Jersey and in New York. Firefighters have been working around the clock on this one. They say it's about 50% contained. We should get an update soon on that. The Jennings Creek Fire has been burning now for days. As you mentioned, it's in this really rugged area of both New York and New Jersey difficult to get to for firefighters. More than 6500 acres have been scorched. Some residential structures are currently being threatened in new Jersey, but no evacuation orders have been put in place. One of the major problems here is no significant rainfall since September, creating very dry conditions. And on top of that, leaves fall like they do in the fall in the northeast, prompting new Jersey to issue a drought warning. New York Governor Kathy Hochul also, by the way, says 11 fires are burning across the state and conditions remain dire. She has issued a statewide burn ban through the end of the month, and New Jersey's largest water utility has issued a statewide mandatory conservation notice as well.

Diane, what about this brush fire? New York? I know nowhere near that size, but really unusual to see a brush fire in Manhattan.

Yeah, nothing gets New Yorkers to look up or even throws New Yorkers, but this is rare. We need to we need to say that it's very rare to have a brush fire in New York. The good news is firefighters do have it under control. You can see some pictures of it as it was burning yesterday. Crews spent the overnight hours putting out hotspots. Fire broke out near a park in Manhattan yesterday afternoon. Flames so intense you could smell the smoke right along those walking paths, which is concerning to people who walk and bike ride along the river. Firefighters used firefighters use the Harlem River to douse the flames, while drones help pinpoint what their next attack should be in terms of putting this out completely. New York City Mayor Eric Adams advised people to close their windows, turn on their air purifiers. It's unclear exactly what sparked this fire, but you saw firefighters use a similar line of attack when there was a brush fire right near the George Washington Bridge. They used the Hudson River to help put it out.

So it is good that you have rivers.

Right. There it is.

Danny, what's the biggest fire threat now?

Dry. The conditions are I mean, that is the main problem. We have had a.

Couple fronts that have picked up the wind, which obviously complicate firefighting.

Efforts and have made things a whole lot drier.

But I would say the drought is the overall story here. A new drought monitor released this morning. They released an updated every Thursday. Looks like an exceptional drought developing in portions of Ohio. But I want to focus here on the northeast. We're seeing the severe drought spread throughout the tri state area. Of course, the area Phil was just talking about that the fire was burning now under that severe drought for the state of new Jersey, this section of South Jersey under an extreme drought, it's the first.

Time that they've seen that since 2002, for.

Over.

Two decades. So this is unusually dry. And unfortunately, the systems that we've seen the past, several systems haven't been strong enough or wet enough to hold together those rain chances and fix the the problem here in the northeast. We'll continue to see the elevated fire danger, because now.

We're seeing the next round of warm.

And dry conditions move.

In.

We need the rain. What we're getting are these fronts that continue to whip up the wind and continue to dry us out.

And as we look.

Into the.

Weekend.

We're starting to actually warm up the temperature, which of.

Course doesn't help.

No it doesn't. Danny, there's also this tropical system that could threaten Florida. Hard to believe, given how cold it is outside right now in New York. But what's the latest on that? Yeah. Well, you got.

To remember, the hurricane.

Season actually takes us through the end of November. So we are still in it. And we are watching Tropical Depression 19 here. That is forecast to become our next named storm. The next name up is Sara. Right now tropical storm warnings for the northern coast of Honduras. And that's where we're looking at the focus for heavy rainfall throughout the weekend, because the driving factor for this system is actually weakening, which means it meanders along the northern coastline. You see that area shaded in blue. That's under a tropical storm warning. And we're also looking at our expected rainfall totals for this area to be between 10 and 20in, with isolated spots up to 30in. It's also very mountainous, which means mudslides, landslides, all in the realm of possibility. That could help to weaken this storm. As it then takes aim at Belize, it will cross the Yucatan Peninsula and move into the Gulf. Of course, the Gulf water is really warm, but there are a lot of questions in terms of where this actually goes.

Warm Gulf water would support a stronger storm, but what will support weaker conditions is this wind shear from the trough of low pressure that dips in. That will be the driving factor of whether or not this eventually impacts Florida. But it's just too, too early to tell at this point. Diane.

All right. Danny Beckstrom. Phil Lipof, thank you both. Coming up, a U.S. ban on TikTok is expected to take effect in January. How president elect Trump could try to block it.

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Welcome back to ABC News Live. First, a U.S. ban on TikTok is set to go into effect on January 19th, a day before president elect Trump's inauguration, the ban could have a major impact on the company and more than 150 million American users. Trump himself has over 14 million followers on TikTok and voiced opposition to the ban earlier this year. ABC's Elizabeth Schulze has more on that story. So, Elizabeth, what would it take to avoid a ban at this point?

And keep in mind, Trump has said explicitly he does not want this app to be banned. He likes how popular he is on the app, but one thing we're looking at.

Before he could.

Even take office is a court decision on this expected.

Here in the D.C..

Court of Appeals next month.

Potentially could postpone.

The delay.

Or postpone.

The timeline of.

This because we expect TikTok will appeal.

That decision could.

Make its way ultimately to the Supreme Court. But when you think about what Trump could.

Do, first.

Thing he could do is essentially say to Congress, go back on your on what you did, repeal that law. Let's not have this ban in place at all.

So he could urge.

Lawmakers to put that pressure on. We know that it's a GOP controlled House and Senate. Now, he.

Could also.

Basically.

Ask.

His Department of Justice, Diane, to not enforce the.

Ban so he could.

Say to the attorney.

General.

Potentially, Matt Gaetz, don't hold.

These companies like Apple and.

Google accountable.

If they do have people download the app. You can say where.

The law stands.

But we're not going.

To enforce it.

And he ultimately finally, kind of Third Avenue he could.

Take is to help.

TikTok try to.

Find a U.S. buyer. And that was what.

This law was all about, was to try to shift the ownership from TikTok, which is owned by a Chinese.

Parent company.

To a company in the U.S..

But keep in.

Mind, no signs right now.

That there's any sort of.

Movement on a deal.

Like that. So it would be pretty quick timeline.

And China's government.

Has pretty.

Much said it would oppose any deal.

Like that, too.

Diane, what about Congress? Would Trump face any opposition from Congress if he tried to overturn this?

Well, keep in mind this ban passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. It's one of those issues.

That once this got in front of both the House and Senate.

Lawmakers said, we approve. We want this.

Ban to take effect.

They are concerned.

Ultimately that that Chinese ownership could mean that China gets its hands on sensitive data from.

Americans or influences Americans opinions. I think when we're thinking about what this means and the timeline for this.

Congress, congressional action.

Would, of course, take some time, but.

Also on January 19th. Not like that.

Ban just means the app goes away.

It will just not update. You can't download.

New versions, so it would take a little bit of time. Even if we do get right.

Up to that deadline.

For people.

To see it totally disappear from.

Their phones.

All right. Elizabeth, Chelsea. Thank you. Thanks. And thank you for watching. I'm Diane Macedo. The news never stops, and neither do we. We have a lot more news after the break. Stay with us.

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Welcome back to ABC News Live. First, you're looking at New York City on this Thursday, November 14th, and special election plans are getting underway as president elect Trump announces more cabinet picks Florida will have to vote on who will replace Trump nominees Congressman Mike Waltz, Congressman Matt Gaetz. DeSantis is expected to appoint someone to replace Senator Marco Rubio. Meanwhile, Gaetz's nomination for attorney general is raising eyebrows on Capitol Hill, including from members of his own party. Let's bring in ABC news executive editorial producer John Santucci and ABC news contributing correspondent Rachel Bade for more on that. Rachel, you have some new reporting now about Trump's decision to pick Gaetz to lead the DOJ. What are you learning about that?

Yeah. Hey there Diane, it sounds like it was very much last minute and came out of nowhere. And it surprised even his inner circle. Look, earlier this week, as recently as Monday, Donald Trump had a short list of people he was looking at for attorney general. He didn't really like any of them. He felt like they weren't showing enough that they would do basically whatever he wants at the Justice Department, and he was sort of looking for other options. He flies to DC yesterday and on that plane was Matt Gaetz. And what of Matt Gaetz's friends, who is also a close ally of Donald Trump. Both of these men have had their own run ins at the Justice Department, but they made this pitch to Trump that Matt Gaetz was the guy to do it, that he would be the one who could basically clean house there. And it's interesting because Siouxsie Wiles, who's who, was just tapped as chief of staff for Donald Trump, she's sort of seen as this person who, um, rightly or wrongly, basically restrains Donald Trump from making some more outlandish decisions.

She was actually in a different part of the plane when all this went down. She didn't even know it was happening until basically it had all been already worked out. But it's safe to say, Diane, that this surprised his inner circle. But it is a reminder that it's Donald Trump himself who makes these decisions, not his top advisers. He chooses himself.

And John Gates was facing a House ethics investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. Now that he's resigned from Congress, the ethics Committee no longer has jurisdiction to investigate him. So what do we know about whether or not that factored into this decision by Trump to nominate gates?

Hugely. I mean, Rachel, to her credit, had a lot of this reporting first, much of which we've matched now here at ABC, Diane. And that is that because of this investigation, because of the way it was being broken down, the timeline of it, our understanding is that that committee was going to vote in just the next two days to actually bring some type of a, you know, report to fruition. They've been working on this for months. They've been bringing in witnesses, subpoenaing documents, records, many women that had, you know, relationships with Matt Gates had gone before this committee. So that really did have a huge impact on this, because if you think about it, Matt Gaetz has really dodged several bullets. There was a DOJ investigation once upon a time that went away. Then round two was the House Ethics Committee, and they were, for lack of a better phrase, rocking and rolling. They were bringing all these people in. They were getting information. They were releasing some updates that it was a serious investigation, despite the fact that he was not, you know, cooperating and working with them.

So I think it's a huge impact. And the fact that it goes away in theory, though, does it actually go away? Because now you have members that are very angry up on Capitol Hill. And we know Matt Gaetz is not a fan of many Republicans up on Capitol Hill.

So, Rachel, let's talk about that, because many Republican lawmakers, members of Gates's own party and Trump's obviously were caught off guard by this nomination and are speaking out against it. Here's how Alaska Senator Lisa murkowski reacted to the news.

I don't think it's a serious nomination for the attorney general. We need to have a serious attorney general, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to consider somebody that is serious. This one this one was not on my bingo card.

Now, Rachel, Republicans will control the Senate, but not by a lot. You only need a few Republicans to vote against him and he doesn't get confirmed. Right? So what are the chances that he does actually get confirmed?

You know, Dan, it's actually pretty hard to say because on the one hand, every Republican I have talked to on Capitol Hill has told me that they think Matt Gaetz doesn't have the professional experience to do this job, let alone the sort of moral compass, the sort of ethical, you know, compass to do what is right. They don't want him leading the Justice Department. But on the other hand, Donald Trump just had a sweeping victory right now. And it takes a lot of guts for a sitting member of Congress, a sitting senator, to go up against him and say they don't want to vote for him. I do think there are a handful of members who would do that. But, look, a lot of these people are going to be under tremendous pressure to fall in line. And we have to keep in mind that this is a very different Republican Senate than we saw. Just, you know, last time he was president, they are more MAGA minded. They fall in line, and there's not a lot of opposition to him up there.

All right, John Santucci. Rachael bade, thank you both. And president elect Trump's administration picks could be shedding light on how he plans to handle the crisis in the Middle East. Trump's selections of Senator Marco Rubio as secretary of state, former governor Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik as U.N. ambassador, sent a strong message of support to Israel. Let's bring in ABC's Brad Mielke, host of the Start Here podcast, for more on that. Brad, thanks for coming on. Trump named Huckabee as ambassador to Israel before naming any other ambassadors. And Huckabee has said in the past, there's no such thing as the West Bank. There's no such thing as a settlement. There's no such thing as an occupation. So how significant is that? And what could these appointments mean for the crisis in the Middle East?

Yeah, I mean, Huckabee is one example of somebody in this incoming administration who is in absolute lockstep with some people, more religious conservatives in the Netanyahu government. I mean, Mike Huckabee has said that, like you said, he refers to it not as the West Bank. He refers to it as Judea and Samaria. These are the words that are often used by the religious right in Israel. And so it shows that, you know, you know, that Netanyahu's government, he is going to be in lockstep with these people who believe that, you know, there are some who in the Netanyahu government who believe that more Israelis should actually be taking over Palestinian land that has been considered Palestinian for many, many years now. You hear about these settlements, right, where Israelis will come in and physically move into somebody's house in the West Bank, knowing that there will not be any pushback, you know, almost challenging Palestinians to fight them over it because they know the Israeli military won't necessarily intervene. These are the sort of scenes that have been sort of unfolding in the West Bank.

And so you can imagine that there will be less pushback from a senator or from a Secretary Rubio or from an Ambassador Huckabee with these sorts of policies. You also then take a look not just at the West Bank, but take a look over in Gaza on the other side of Israel. There's been a real question what happens the day after this war with Hamas ends in Gaza? Will Palestinians move back to their homeland in Gaza? Will they be able to move back into their homes? Or, as some Israelis have suggested, on the far right in Israel, should more Israelis actually move into that land? And so the big question will be, will a Ambassador Huckabee stand in the way of something like that? The Biden administration has been very vociferous in not even considering proposals like this from the more radical members of the Netanyahu government.

Now, Trump's policies will still have to get through Congress. We know the Senate will be led by Republicans and the new Republican Senate leader, John Thune. So what does that mean for Trump's cabinet picks and his agenda in general?

Dang it. This was supposed to be John Thune's moment, right? He had been prepping for this for years. He'd been laying the groundwork to be the Senate majority leader. And then you had this moment yesterday where John Thune was selected. You know, he's a very baseline conservative South Dakota senator, and he's going to be Donald Trump's best friend on on things like, uh, tax, you know, tax rates coming down on on scaling down government. They are very much aligned on that. However, Thune has had to do a lot of reconciliation with Donald Trump over the last few years, especially since January 6th. Thune very much held Trump responsible for the violence there. They've had to sort of mend a lot of bridges, and but there had been a question over whether John Thune would actually be sort of the choice of these Republicans at all. Remember, Thune is not necessarily the prototype Donald Trump guy that you'd imagine, right? If you wanted somebody who was kind of a Trump acolyte, you would have Rick Scott, the senator from Florida.

And so there have been this question leading into this Senate election that was going to take place behind closed doors. Would it be somebody like Thune or would it be somebody like Rick Scott? And the thing and the thing is here that Trump does not necessarily have power over what these senators vote behind closed doors on a secret ballot. And sure enough, the answer was not Rick Scott. The answer was John Thune. So this was Republicans in the Senate showing a little bit of autonomy, showing that this is not necessarily going to be a blank check for Donald Trump as he moves forward. But now John Thune has to deal with the nomination of Matt Gaetz. So, I mean, welcome to the hot seat that you've been waiting for all your life.

All right. ABC's Brad Mielke. Thank you. And to hear Brad dive into more stories like these check out the Start Here podcast. New episodes drop weekday mornings at 6:00 eastern wherever you get your podcasts. Meanwhile, LGBTQ plus advocacy groups are warning of an alarming trend after the presidential election. The Rainbow Youth Project reports an unprecedented increase in crisis outreach. Data shows the national nonprofit received nearly 6000 calls to its crisis hotline in the days surrounding the election. The LGBT National Hotline tells ABC news it's receiving five times the typical call volume, while The Trevor Project reports nearly 700% increase to its crisis outreach. On November 6th alone, the organizations say the calls involve concerns about LGBTQi, LGBTQ plus discrimination, the fate of transgender health care access, and fear of being targeted by the Trump administration. But not everyone in the LGBTQ plus community agrees. Let's bring in ABC news senior Washington correspondent Devin Dwyer. Devin covers the Supreme Court for us and executive director of the Rainbow Youth Project. Lance Preston for more. Lance, you say your organization received calls from parents, grandparents, teachers, pastors and more.

So what are some of their top concerns and how is the volume of calls now?

Well, thanks for having me this morning. The volume of calls is something that's unprecedented for us. It's it's higher than we've ever seen. Most of the concerns that's being expressed to us are, you know, what are our rights? What are our rights under title, under title nine and school environments. Many are reporting harassment and bullying at schools following the election, and most of them are reaching out to try to figure out ways to support their their LGBTQ teen as they go through, you know, the next few months and we see what challenges they're actually going to face.

Devin, what are you seeing and hearing from the LGBTQ plus community in terms of concern about health care and quality of life and other top issues?

Yeah, Diane, I mean, even.

Before the election, we have been reporting extensively on a wave of state laws targeting health care access for this community, both rolling back anti-discrimination protections but also seeking to block or outright ban treatments like puberty blockers or hormone therapy, which have been used safely for decades and are backed by the American medical community. 19 states, in fact, have moved to ban these treatments for minors, even though they've been used for years. And we recently sat down with a Nashville family, Brian and Samantha Williams and their 16 year old daughter, Elle, to really get a sense of how they're feeling about all this and this legal effort to block their access to care their daughter has been receiving for three years. And here's how they put how they're feeling about this current environment.

We talked to our pediatrician. We talked to an endocrinologist, you know, and we had gone through, you know, years of discussions with these people before we did anything. And yet, you know, somebody who's a state legislator who doesn't have any medical background is going to tell me how I'm going to get medical care for my kid. And you were.

Seeing improvement.

Right? Oh my gosh.

Yeah.

You feel good about yourself.

It's like when you have a really well fitting outfit or suit or whatever that just fits really well. That's that's what it feels like. But I mean, a million times better because you can you can always take an ill fitting suit off. That's something you can do and you can put on a different suit. You can't really do that with your body.

And it took a lot of courage for LW there who is in high school to speak out. She didn't want her face to be shown. But she said these treatments, which have been used for kids of of all gender identities for years have really improved her life, and that family now has to travel out of state, Diane, to get that care quarterly to North Carolina. And they are now the face of a major Supreme Court case that will be argued just in a couple of weeks here in Washington, a landmark case for LGBTQ rights, which will decide whether these laws banning care, this kind of medical care for transgender minors is constitutional. Diane.

And Lance, you just spoke a little bit about the Rainbow Youth Project, expressing concern about an increase in physical assaults reported against LGBTQ students in schools. So what's your organization hearing from these students and what steps are they being advised to take?

You know, it's really interesting because about 84% of our callers are currently reporting being bullied in school or harassed. We've also seen an escalation in physical assaults against these kids. Just in the past few weeks we've had three such assaults, one in Chino Hills, California, one in Bellingham, Washington, resulting in a traumatic brain injury of a 16 year old non-binary kid who was literally jumped and physically assaulted by eight students while in school. So these increases have escalated, like I said, just in the past few weeks. Many of these parents are concerned about the safety of their children. We get calls asking about relocating to a different area. Um, they're worried because schools are not necessarily taking the reports of bullying and harassment seriously. So they really are looking for what their protections are and better ways to protect their child, both at home and at school. Because the bullying now follows on social media and these kids are attacked 24 hours a day. We have also seen a rapid increase in suicidality. Um, just in the past couple of weeks, we've we know of at least three children that we have lost to suicide.

Um, this is very alarming as well. Uh, we refer young people to free mental health services that we provide across the country. Those referrals are usually around 17% of our calls. They're currently standing at 38.7%. And that increase has just been in November alone.

Now, Devin, a study by Pew Research Center in 2020 found 72% of Americans believe homosexuality should be accepted. A 23% increase from 2007. It also found 64% favored laws protecting transgender individuals. But we just saw more than half the country, including some in the LGBTQ plus community, vote for a president who said he would ask Congress to pass a bill stating there are only two genders, and to ban hormonal or surgical intervention for transgender minors in all 50 states. What do you make of that?

Well, as we see all too often in our politics, Diane, the interests of a minority group, one that has been otherized and demeaned. But in this case by a presidential candidate, clearly is not a motivating factor for voters. And the exit poll data from the election a couple of weeks ago shows that it was subsumed by economic issues. So this is very troubling for LGBTQ people, especially trans kids and those families, a real feeling of abandonment, marginalization and fear. So despite the polling, which you show that on the whole, most Americans favor respect protection for people of all kinds, especially LGBTQ people. We are now in a state where we have a president coming in who has a track record of targeting this group. In fact, you will remember he banned transgender people in the military, kicked them out of the military. He removed requirements that hospitals and doctors treat people regardless of their gender identity and sexual orientation. And he also opposed the Supreme Court decision banning employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.

So a lot of fear that we could be going back to those same policies.

Lance, how is your organization preparing now?

You know, we spent the past three months actually trying to prepare for this, but we did not prepare for it. It's just been completely overwhelming. And I'll also add that, you know, many of these young people are saying exactly. You know, what was just said, Diane. They feel like the majority of Americans sided with President Trump, and therefore they do not want them to exist. So what we're doing is trying to push more positive messages out there. We need these kids to know that we've we've been through challenging times before and we've persevered. I think my friend Kelly Robinson at the Human Rights Campaign summed it up when she said, we're heartbroken but not broken. We just need them to stay with us and understand that we will continue to battle these, these, these potential legislations. We still don't know exactly what this new administration will do, but based on the history, we do not suspect that it's going to be good, especially for our young people.

And Devin, the ACLU says it filed 434 legal actions against the Trump administration during his first presidency. How are the courts preparing for a possible influx this time around?

Yeah, well, the courts, Diane, will be the guardrail against Trump and the administration coming in and a battleground really for a lot of the policies we were just talking about. These advocacy groups, ACLU, Human Rights Campaign, other groups are already vowing an aggressive litigation effort to block any of these discriminatory policies. And so get ready. None of these things that we're talking about and that there's so much fear about will be automatic. They will be challenged in the courts. Diane.

Devin Dwyer, Lance Preston, thank you. And if you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 for help. Free and confidential. Emotional support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Coming up, another civil lawsuit against Sean Diddy Combs. The details of the music mogul's alleged armed confrontation outside a New York City Club.

Whenever, wherever news breaks. It's so important to always remember that lives are changed here in London, in Buffalo. Uvalde, Texas. Edinburgh, Scotland. Reporting from Rolling Fork, Mississippi. Ukrainian refugees here in Warsaw. We're heading to a small community outside of Mexico City, getting you behind the stories as they happen. ABC News Live Prime. We'll take you there.

Stream ABC news live weeknights wherever you stream your news, only on ABC News Live.

Welcome back to ABC News Live. First, Sean Diddy Combs is facing another civil lawsuit from Atlanta, says he's seeking $5 million for an alleged armed confrontation outside a New York City club about 30 years ago. It's the latest in nearly three dozen civil lawsuits filed against the music mogul. Senior investigative correspondent, Aaron Katersky joins me now for more.

If you use a man is suing Sean Diddy Combs for $5 million to compensate him for what he alleges was an armed confrontation, DeWitt Gilmore says he was leaving a New York City club in 1996, when Combs and his associates pulled up in a gold convertible and started taunting him with derogatory language and threats of violence, his lawsuit says. The music mogul's associates flashed guns and shots were fired. Representatives for Combs did not immediately respond, but they have denied all of the other civil lawsuits that have alleged sexual assault. A woman who filed one of those has now revealed her identity after the judge rejected her request to remain anonymous. Candace McCreary was 19 and in college in Brooklyn when she alleges Combs sexually assaulted her after a photo shoot.

This decision by this judge may have a chilling effect in that other people who want to go anonymous in their lawsuits against Sean Combs may think twice in terms of filing a lawsuit themselves.

More money, more problems. It's just the way it is.

A former member of Combs's inner circle is speaking out.

Me and Puff and Saint.

Diddy's rap protege Moses Shyne Barrow was with him and his then girlfriend Jennifer Lopez, the night a gun went off inside a Manhattan club. Diddy was acquitted in the case, but Shyne was convicted of assault and sentenced to ten years in prison and deported to his native Belize. Shyne telling Nightline co-anchor Byron Pitts Combs orchestrated for him to take the fall.

Someone that was prepared to have me sit in jail for I was facing 25 years to totally destroy my career, destroy my life, rob me of my freedom to be a participant in that. Of course, it doesn't surprise me that he would be accused of the atrocious things that he is because you know what he did to me and my family, you know, was, to me, demonic.

Combs representatives say Mr. Combs categorically denies Mr. Barrow's allegations, including any suggestion that he orchestrated Mr. Barrow to take the fall. They added he appreciates the path Mr. Barrow has pursued and wishes him continued success.

Senior investigative correspondent Aaron Katersky thank you, and you can hear more of that story in a new documentary, The Honorable Shine, premiering Monday, November 18th on Hulu. As for Combs, he's still fighting for release on bail. There's a hearing about that next week, and families of victims are speaking out after the deadly sinking of a superyacht this summer. The luxury boat, owned by billionaire Mike Lynch, was dubbed unsinkable, but a freak storm sunk the ship in just 16 minutes. Nightline anchor Juju Chang has that story.

Families who lost loved ones on board the superyacht the Bayesian, which sank during a storm off the coast of Sicily this August, are speaking out.

It's haunting. It's terrifying.

Make no mistake about it. We want to know what happened.

Billionaire tech mogul Mike Lynch, who owned the yacht, was on board with some of his family, friends and a crew of ten. When a storm barreled through in the early morning of August 19th, within 16 minutes of being struck by what investigators believe was a downburst with winds of at least 60 miles an hour, the boat sunk backwards before tilting on its right side, plummeting onto the seabed. This image from CCTV showing the masts light disappear in the storm. Search and rescue teams descended on the scene. One crew member and six passengers did not survive, including Lynch, his daughter Hannah and his friend Chris, and Netta Morvillo, Chris's brother Greg. Devastated.

When I got the phone call.

I hung up and I broke down.

Wailing is the only way that I can describe it. I think about the last few moments for them on the ship all the time.

Chris asked me to be the guardian of his children.

And I promised I would. And they're old enough that they don't need a guardian. But I'll be damned if I'm not going to be there for them for whatever they need.

Juju Chang, thank you. And you can watch the full episode gone in 16 minutes. Sinking of the Super Yacht on impact by Nightline, now streaming on Hulu. Coming up, the famous baby hippo Mudang is back in the spotlight. Find out why she's climbing the charts after the break.

ABC's David Muir, the most watched newscast in America. More Americans watch ABC's World News Tonight with David Muir than any other newscast.

It's one hot topic. Women taking testosterone, sharing their stories on TikTok. I didn't even.

Know that women could benefit from testosterone.

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On Good Morning America.

Reporting from the path of Hurricane Milton in Sarasota, Florida. I'm Victor Oquendo. Wherever the story is we'll take you there. You're streaming ABC News Live.

Welcome back to ABC News Live. First it is time for the T where we break down some of the buzziest stories people are talking about. And our friend Will Ganz is here to help us spill that tea. How are you doing?

Happy to spill the tea. Any day of the week, Diane. We begin with the countdown to Wicked. AKA Wicked and Gladiator two, both hitting theaters next Friday. The London premiere of Gladiator two happened in London overnight, complete with fire and Roman guards and the King of England, His Majesty King Charles, on the eve of his birthday. Happy birthday to the King. Arriving to the red carpet via royal motorcade to greet Ridley Scott. That's the director of Gladiator two and the rest of the cast. Meanwhile, Denzel Washington dropping major news about his impending retirement. Say it ain't so. Excuse me. I know on the Australian morning show today detailing his next few roles, and Marvel fans pay close attention.