tonight, breaking news as we come on the air. the death toll in buffalo climbing, as new york's governor declares the brutal winter storm the blizzard of the century. a massive search and rescue operation now under way. people trapped in their cars battling life-threatening temperatures. at least 550 rescues since christmas eve. many roads remain impassable preventing rescuers reaching those still trapped. and more snow is falling. piling on what one official calls the worst storm possibly in our lifetime. it's not just upstate new york. extreme weather impacts felt from the great lakes to the south, with another storm brewing in the west, snarling air travel as millions head home after the holidays. 18,000 flights canceled since wednesday nationwide.

southwest airlines canceling the majority of its flights for today. we have team reporting. mona kosar abdi in buffalo, elwyn lopez in atlanta and meteorologist rob marciano timing it all out. the nationwide virus threat. covid-19 on the rise. with the holidays under way, the new warning tonight that all those gatherings and travel could send cases soaring, while flu activity remains high. the new strike inside russia. for the second time this month an air base 300 miles from the border hit. putin's forces claiming they shot down a ukrainian drone. ukraine signaling hope for negotiations. are peace talks possible? britt clennett from kyiv tonight. the urgent investigation in washington state. four power substations disabled on christmas day, knocking out power to thousands on the holiday. what officials are saying tonight. the crisis at the border reaches washington, d.c.

hundreds of migrants bussed to the nation's capital from texas left in the cold. families with children not prepared for the bitter conditions. used to make a political point. the dramatic rescue in the austrian alps. skiers pulled out alive after being buried by a massive avalanche. and "america strong." the good samaritans that opened their door and their hearts from the tourists from halfway around the world with nowhere to go. >> announcer: from abc news world headquarters in new york. this is "world news tonight" with david muir. good evening and it's great to have you with us on a monday night. i'm mary bruce in for david. and we begin with that deadly winter weather gripping the nation, paralyzing western new york. killing at least 29 people. plunging thousands into the dark without power. trapping motorists in their cars

and homes. 50 inches of snow falling and it's still falling. new york's governor calling it the blizzard of the century. blinding whiteout conditions for miles and miles and hurricane force winds. people stranded on the roads and in their cars. emergency vehicles stuck with streets impassable. first responders working around the clock rescuing more than 500 people. this family was spending the day watching holiday movies when their ceiling suddenly collapsed. and the holiday travel nightmare continues for tens of thousands stuck at the nation's airports, still unable to reach their final destinations. thousands of flights canceled. the deep freeze also hitting parts of the south, with bone-chilling temperatures. we have team coverage tonight. rob marciano is standing by and abc's mona kosar abdi leads us off from buffalo. >> reporter: tonight, in western new york, roads still impassable after what officials are calling the deadliest blizzard in 50 years. >> this blizzard is one for the ages. certainly, it is the blizzard of

the century. >> reporter: workers using forklifts to clear vehicles. >> there's cars everywhere, everywhere. pointing the wrong direction on roads. there's tractor trailers. there's abandoned buses on roads. so it's a very, very tenuous situation. >> reporter: this family watching christmas movies when their ceiling collapsed. >> as soon as the water started trickling down the wall and we saw the bulging of the ceiling, i knew it was time to grab our bags and get out. >> reporter: chetara walker thankful for a group of strangers who dug her out after she got stranded in downtown buffalo. >> that makes me feel really good to know that there are still people out there that still care. >> reporter: the last 72 hours in western new york brought more than 50 inches of snow, hurricane force wind gusts, and massive drifts that engulfed cars, stranding families on the road and in the dangerous cold. at one point, nearly every fire truck in the city of buffalo was stuck. still, first responders rescuing more than 500 people, finding victims still in their cars, others in snowbanks.

>> i heard him screaming for help. >> reporter: shakyra aughtry pleading for help on facebook live, desperate after finding a man screaming in pain outside her home. the man suffering from extreme frostbite. aughtry, unable to get through to 911, even trying the national guard. >> i can't do no more. i just can't have this man lose his life in my house. i have did everything that i can do. this man needs help. >> reporter: finally, good samaritans coming to the home, carrying the man into the emergency room and he's recovering tonight. rescue efforts and the search for victims still underway tonight. officials warning the death toll will continue to rise. >> i just want to say this is a horrible situation. this may actually be now more deaths than occurred during the blizzard of '77. >> reporter: with miles of thruway and canadian crossings shut down, wayne lockwood's been stuck in his big rig since friday night. >> there's hundreds of trucks around here. >> how'd you celebrate christmas? what did you do? >> i sat here. >> reporter: families opening

front doors to massive snow drifts. >> four feet against the door. >> reporter: the lake effect ice and snow fueled by the coldest arctic blast in decades. on lake erie, massive waves encasing the shoreline in ice. the freezing temps stretching all the way to the deep south. and here in buffalo, a driving ban is in effect because all over the area dozens and dozens of cars like the ones behind me have just been left in the middle of roads. the airport is closed until at least tomorrow. and until officials can get this all cleaned up, they're asking people to check on their neighbors. mary? >> still a very long road ahead there. mona, thank you. let's get right to senior meteorologist rob marciano. so, rob, how much longer is buffalo going to be in the crosshairs? >> reporter: well, not much, mary. another 12, 18 hours, the winds have lightened a little bit, but they are still out of the southwest off the water, so there's a threat for snow tonight. maybe another seven to eight inches. here it is on the radar. you're getting it in grand

rapids and travers city watertown, off of lake ontario, buffalo, on and off showers tonight. could lead to a total of five feet of snow by the time this is all done. then the next storm comes into the pacific northwest with rain and mountain snow, some heavy at times. could see a couple of feet of snow in places like teluride, colorado. this pushes into the east, and east of the mississippi, it's going to be wet and warm. record-breaking warmth. maybe some flooding, as well, into new year's eve. mary? >> those warm temperatures, some welcome news as we head into the new year. rob, thank you. that deadly blast of winter is causing a travel nightmare during one of the busiest times of the year. thousands of passengers sleeping on airport floors. a sea of unclaimed luggage. southwest airlines facing system-wide disruptions, canceling more than 60% of their flights today. abc's elwyn lopez is in atlanta tonight. >> reporter: tonight, tens of thousands of americans stranded, unable to get home for the holidays after an air travel meltdown across the country.

>> two flights got canceled. waited in line for about an hour and a half to book another flight. i've been up all night, since yesterday. >> reporter: airlines still trying to recover from that winter storm, scrambling to get crews and planes in place. more than 18,000 flights canceled since wednesday. more than 3,600 flights canceled today alone. southwest experiencing system-wide disruptions, scrapping more than 60% of its routes today. >> it's been catastrophic. it's been a failure at every level. at southwest our processes, our i.t., our infrastructure just wasn't there to support the operation, and unfortunately, our customers are bearing the brunt of it. >> reporter: the world's largest low-cost airline stating it is still experiencing disruptions" after the arctic blast and are "re-accommodating as many customers as possible based on available space." southwest resorting to buses in some cases. what's usually an hour and 45-minute flight from raleigh to nashville, that trip could now take well over eight hours.

>> my daughter's in new york city all by herself, you know, very sad. they ruined our christmas. we got here early, two hours early. we did everything we should do to get here and it's really -- it's been a disappointment. >> reporter: the travel backlog causing major headaches as swarms of passengers pack airports nationwide. luggage overflowing in baggage claim areas. here in atlanta, the knowles sisters hoping to make their flight to north dakota. >> we're like the run, run rudolph scene from "home alone." that's going to be us when we get through here. >> but you think you're going to make it? >> yeah, we hope so. >> we hope so too. let's get to elwyn atlanta's hartsfield-jackson airport for us tonight. when are we going to see this travel chaos start to finally ease? >> reporter: mary, with the bitter cold finally coming to an end, most of the major airlines are on the road to getting back on track, but southwest will likely take days. mary? >> all right, days. elwyn, thank you. health officials across the country are bracing for a possible covid surge after millions return from holiday

travel and gatherings. older americans are particularly vulnerable. and while flu and rsv cases appear to be waning, experts caution that people should remain vigilant. here's abc's erielle reshef. >> reporter: with christmas in the rearview mirror, tonight experts are warning holiday gatherings and travel could send covid cases surging into the new year. >> we have to remember that while certain viruses are rounding the corner, we are definitely not out of the woods. so we all have to be incredibly cautious as we head into these new year's celebrations. >> reporter: covid cases are climbing and seniors are the most vulnerable, making up 90% of covid deaths. but just over a third of seniors have gotten their updated booster. some in chicago taking advantage of this convenient pop-up clinic. >> i'm going to call my friends and my family to get down over here and get your shot. >> reporter: for weeks, some patients have faced long wait times at hospitals strained by the tripledemic, but doctors insist people with serious symptoms will get care.

>> if you are experiencing an emergency, that would be like shortness of breath, chest pain, those kinds of things, those are true emergencies. >> reporter: while cases of rsv and flu are declining, most states are still reporting high or very high flu-like activity. in wisconsin, the family of 14-year-old ava rae schmidt says she passed away after a brief battle with a combination of the flu and strep-b infection that sent her body into septic shock. and mary, school districts from new jersey to philadelphia to boston are either weighing a return to masking or are actually instating mask mandates when students get back to class. mary? >> erielle, thank you. turning overseas now, and to the war in ukraine. russia's military says it shot down a ukrainian drone as it approached an air base deep inside russia. falling debris killing three servicemen. video circulating online showing the moment the strike hit. ukraine's foreign minister says he plans to have a peace summit by the end of february at the u.n.

here's abc's britt clennett in kyiv. >> reporter: tonight, a strike deep within russia, targeting an airbase around 300 miles from the ukrainian border. videos circulating online showing the moment of the attack. moscow saying it shot down a ukrainian drone, causing debris to fall, killing three military personnel. ukraine hasn't claimed responsibility. the incident comes as kyiv says it aims to hold a peace summit by the end february, one year from the start of the war. >> every war ends as a result of the actions taken at the battlefield and at the negotiating table. [ speaking in non-english ] >> reporter: over the weekend, putin saying russia is prepared to negotiate, claiming it is ukraine who refuses peace talks. yet on the ground, russia's continued attacks on ukraine's power grid already making daily life a struggle for many.

there's complete darkness with rolling blackouts, but here, a beacon of light for many people in this area. hundreds of these emergency tents set up around ukraine. a lifeline to use the internet, charge electronics, and take shelter from the bitter cold. 15-year-old denis is taking a math lesson here. he says nothing will stop him from getting into m.i.t. >> i would like to study computer science and then i would like to somehow help rebuild here because it's still kind of like where my heart is. >> reporter: this is the second time this month russia has reported a ukrainian drone attack on that strategic airbase, which ukraine says russia uses to launch long-range bombing missions. mary? >> britt clennett in kyiv tonight. britt, thank you. back here at home, police are looking for suspects who attacked four power substations in washington state on christmas day, plunging thousands into darkness. here's abc's zohreen shah. >> reporter: tonight, the urgent

instigation after four electrical substations in washington state were intentionally disabled, leaving 14,000 customers in the dark for hours on christmas. >> they broke into a fenced area and caused damage to the power systems there. nothing was stolen from any of those facilities, so there's a good possibility they are related. >> reporter: police in pierce county don't know how many suspects were involved, but say at least one facility was deliberately set on fire, and that an intruder manually tampered with equipment at another site. it comes amid a string of similar incidents across the country. earlier this month, two electrical substations in north carolina suffered damage from gunfire, knocking out power for 100,000 residents. >> law enforcement investigators will want to know, are these isolated incidents? are they part of a national coordinated effort by violent extremists to target the nation's power infrastructure? >> reporter: in fact, homeland security has warned for weeks that domestic extremists could

target the power grid. and tonight, we're learning of a similar incident two months ago at one of the facilities targeted yesterday. mary? >> still so many questions. zohreen, thank you. and an alarming note tonight about the devastating impact of gun violence on young people in america. more than 6,000 children and teenagers from ages 1 to 17 have been hurt or killed by gunfire this year. that is the highest since the gun violence archive started collecting data in 2014. to the battle over the border now. three bus loads of migrants from texas were dropped off at the vice president's home in frigid temperatures on christmas eve. some only wearing t-shirts. the migrants being used to make a political point. i want to bring in abc news white house correspondent mary alice parks now. so, mary alice, how is the administration responding tonight? >> reporter: yeah, mary, the white house calling this a cruel and dangerous stunt. it was one of the coldest christmas eves on record here in washington. life-threatening conditions.

only 16 degrees when those buses arrived and dropped migrants off on the street in front of the vice president's home. you can see that so many of those migrants did not even have jackets. there were children in the crowd. now, in the past, texas governor greg abbott has taken credit for moves like this. he likes to make a point to protest what's been happening at the border, but his office has not responded on these latest buses. mary, there were aid workers who got a heads up who were there to meet the buses. mary? >> mary alice, thank you. and new concerns tonight as a record number of chinese aircraft buzzed taiwan's air space, including 71 planes, fighter jets, and drones, and seven ships in a 24-hour period. china has been increasingly agitated by u.s. support for the self-ruled island. the white house blasting the activity in a statement, calling it destabilizing and a risk to regional peace and stability. and when we come back, the new water emergency in jackson, mississippi. and the news just coming in about the dolphins star quarterback on the concussion

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partially collapsed, leaving most residents without running water for days. tonight, new details emerging from the emergency evacuation of a jetblue flight at new york's jfk airport on christmas eve. authorities now say it was a phone charger that caused smoke in the cabin after the plane landed on a trip from barbados. 167 people were removed on an emergency slide. five suffering minor injuries. and tonight, long island congressman-elect george santos is answering his critics and admitting he lied about his past. the republican says he never worked directly at goldman sachs or citigroup, claiming he made a poor choice of words. he also admitted that he never graduated from college, despite previously claiming that he graduated in 2010. santos says he is determined to serve out his two-year term. and when we come back, the dramatic rescue in the alps. hundreds work to save skiers buried after a massive avalanche. you didn't live this strong, this long to get put on the shelf like a porcelain doll. but one out of two women over 50

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alps. several skiers trapped in an avalanche on christmas day. located alive after a massive search. 200 rescuers and avalanche dogs using eight helicopters worked through the night to locate the group. the avalanche happened at an altitude of 8,000 feet. and tonight, new concerns about the nfl's concussion protocol, after dolphins quarterback tua tagovailoa suffered his third concussion of the end of this play in the d a- first half. he didn't exhibit any symptoms and stayed in the game. it wasn't until today that he reported symptoms to the team doctors. and when we come back, "america strong." the tourists trapped in buffalo without a place to go, and the good samaritans that answered the door. and finally tonight, america

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and finally tonight, "america strong." the visitors from half a wor strangers in the middle of the deadly and historic blizzard. longtime buffalo residents alex campagna and his wife, andrea, were hunkering down at home friday when the storm hit. >> we knew that with the storm approaching, it'd be best to keep our pantry stocked, our fridge and freezers filled. >> and it's a good thing they were prepared. at 2:00, there was a knock at their door. >> two men knocked on our door and i met them out front with some hovels, as they mentioned that their vehicle was stuck. and halfway down my driveway they said, we're part of a tour group from south korea and we have ten people in our vehicle. and i said, get all of them inside our house right now

because the road was too dangerous to be on, and the snow was falling too hard. >> in all, alex and andrea welcoming n touris fro south korea. they had left washington, d.c. that morning, headed for niagara falls. the couple opening up their home to the stranded travelers for the weekend. even having a special celebration for a newlywed couple in the group. >> we thought, hey, we have a bottle of champagne, let's get it chilled and surprise them with a little honeymoon toast after dinner and i think that really helped make everyone feel so comfortable and at home. >> tonight, alex's message for us all. >> no matter where you are in the world, if you receive a knock on the door at your home, and you open the door to perfect strangers, you never know who is going to come inside, but the compassion and love that human beings have for each other triumph. >> you'll never know the friendships you'll forge when you open that door. thank you for watching. i'm mary bruce. hope to see you right back here tomorrow. good night.

>> right now on abc7news at 6:00, see that green and yellow blob? that is a storm that will bear down on the bay area. find out when you can expect the heaviest rain. >> best to stay off the roads, i think. >> it is expected to be the strongest reign of the season. people are getting storm ready. we will get you ready for possible storm related issues. travel chaos. operations at southwest come to a screeching halt. it's affect at passengers area airports. abc7news starts now. building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc 7 news. >> alright significant soaking and messy morning commute. we are getting down to the details on this approaching storm, the timing and exactly how much rain you can expect. good evening, thank you for joining us in happy holidays. tonight we are on storm watch and the rain has just arrived in

the north bay. for the very latest let's go to abc7news meteorologist francis. >> we have been seeing rain hit san francisco right now. live doppler 7 looping over the last two hours. moved in earlier than we thought and here is what it looks like. rain falling over the bay into the east bay at this point and orange and red, those are the heavier rain falls. rainfall amounts are impressive. we are talking one to three inches of rain for many locations around the bay area. get ready, the heaviest rainfall is on its way right now. on our storm impact scale, we are making this three out of five. it is a strong one. downpours and heavy rain overnight into the early morning hours and strong gusting wind and flooding is likely. thunderstorms are possible. of here is the timing. notice most of it is in the north bay during the evening hours and by midnight it does start to come toward the south