world. looks great. >> i want to go. >> that is it for abc 7 news at 5:00 and you all have to work so tonight, breaking news. the major twist into the alleged attack on actor jussie smollett. police now saying they urgently want to speak to the actor. that new information has shifted the trajectory of their probe. police letting two men go who were earlier called potential suspects. also breaking tonight, panic at the airport. the attempted breach at a security checkpoint. panicked travelers and their children taking cover in stairwells, heading for exits. fears the suspect was armed. what police are now saying. factory massacre. the gunman about to be fired bringing his smith and wesson to a work meeting, killing five colleagues. the police chief now saying he should have never had that gun. deadly winter pileup. car after car, truck after truck plowing into each other on that slick highway in the heartland.

and the big, new snowmaker tonight barrelling from the midwest through new england. motive for murder? the fiance accused of killing do new court documents shed light on why he may have done it? plus, the fight for the last isis stronghold in syria. the devastating human toll. our team taking us through the scarred towns that make up this battlefield. and good evening. thanks for joining us on this saturday. i'm tom llamas. we begin tonight with the breaking news as we come on the air. the major developments in the alleged attack on actor jussie smollett. sourcing now telling abc news police are investigating whether smollett made the whole story up and they urgently want to speak to him and that new information has shifted the trajectory of their probe. officials today, letting go of the two men first spotted on surveillance images saying they

are no longer potential suspects. here's abc's erielle reshef with the new details just coming in. >> reporter: tonight, a major development. police saying they want to speak with jussie smollett urgently. >> i looked down and see there's a rope around my neck. >> reporter: after interrogating and releasing the two men seen in this surveillance images. the brothers were shown evidence they bought the neck found around smollett's neck. >> did jussie smollett set this up? >> you know, there's still a lot of moving parts to this, so i am here for my clients. and i had a job to do specifically for them. i'm not part of jussie's defense. >> reporter: high-profile criminal defense michael monico saying he's been hired by smollett. monico has also represented michael cohen, president trump's former fixer.

>> i think that what people need to hear is just the truth. >> reporter: those brothers in the surveillance video arrested wednesday upon landing at o'hare airport from nigeria. questioned by detectives as their home was raided -- computers and cell phones seized. authorities looking at their phone records to figure out if they spoke to or saw smollett the night of the alleged incident. police saying the men have a relationship with smollett. one of them appearing as an extra on "empire." detectives telling abc they have not found video evidence of anyone else at the scene. smollett not yet commenting on the new developments. but in an interview with robin roberts this week, the actor slamming those casting doubt on his story. >> who the [ bleep ] would make something like this up? or add something to it, or -- or whatever it may be? i can't -- i can't even -- i'm an advocate. >> all right, erielle reshef joins us now live on set. smollett had told our robin

roberts that he believed the men in thosee surveillance images ed had attacked him. police released those men. what are police saying about their attempt to speak with smollett. >> after the interrogation of those two men, the police contacted smollett's attorneys for a meeting. they tell us, quote, we made our intentions clear. they say they're now waiting to hear from smollett's attorneys. >> all right, details are still coming in. erielle, thanks for that new reporting. we turn now to the panic at the orlando airport. these images just coming in as well. police say chaos erupted during an arrest at a security checkpoint. fears that the suspect had a weapon. panicked travelers and children racing for the exits. here's abc's stephanie ramos. >> reporter: terrifying moments at orlando's international airport when police say 32-year-old ryan mills tried to breach a security checkpoint. passengers waiting to go through security, instead taking off running, fearing he has a gun. parents grabbing their babies out of strollers.

knocking down barriers, running and hiding for their lives. >> there's like a stampede of people running. me and andrew hopped the counter to hide in the back of chick-fil-a. >> reporter: tsa officers ushering people to safety. >> so, everyone just takes flight and everyone's jumping over each other. i'm trying like to grab parents, grab kids, trying to tell people to just go, go, go. >> reporter: police say when they detained the suspect he reached into his pocket, causing the panic. >> he has a grenade or something in his hand! >> reporter: police say the suspect was unarmed, but taken into custody. >> stephanie ramos joins us. we heard the chaos right there in that video. this all unfolding during one of the busiest screening times of the day. impacting operations at the busiest time. police still don't know why the suspect allegedly tried to breach security. >> that's exactly right, tom. he's being detained under florida's baker act. it allows emotionally disturbed people to be held under

observation for three days at a mental health treatment facility. tom. >> stephanie, thank you. we turn now to the massacre in illinois. police releasing this image of the alleged gunman gary martin. they say he brought his weapon to the meeting at the aurora office, opening fire at the meeting, killing five coworkers and injuring five others. and police saying tonight, he wasn't supposed to be in possession of a firearm, that a background check failed. what we're learning now about the victims, the intern on his first day of work at that plant. abc's zachary kiesch is on the scene. >> reporter: an illinois community is in anguish tonight as we're learning new details about this senseless workplace shooting that left five dead plus the gunman. police say it all began around 1:30, friday afternoon. >> aurora has an active shooter situation. one officer is reported down at this time, active shots being fired. >> reporter: when 45-year-old gary martin, a longtime employee, was called into a meeting to be fired by hr.

>> my understanding from the witnesses is that he opened fire right after the termination. >> reporter: police say he likely knew he was losing his job. pulling out a smith and wesson handgun outfitted with a laser and in five minutes terrorizing the factory, a staple in this chicago suburb for years. police rushing to the factory, taking on almost immediate gunfire. five officers hit. >> all of the officers' injuries are considered non-life threatening. >> reporter: authorities eventually pinning martin, found dead hours later. >> he was probably waiting for us to get to him there. >> reporter: among the victims, trevor wehner, a college intern killed on his first day at the job. authorities revealing the names of all those whose lives ended too soon. >> clayton parks of elgin, illinois. trevor wehner of dekalb, illinois. russel beyer of yorkville, illinois. vincente juarez of oswego,

illinois. josh pinkard of oswego, illinois. >> reporter: a tragedy made worse because police say martin had an extensive arrest record and was an convicted felon which should have prevented him from owning a firearm. >> zachary kiesch joins us live. i want to focus on that failed background check you mentioned. police are now investigating how martin who had six prior arrests was able to get a gun? >> reporter: tom, he passed initial background check which allowed him to have that gun. he applied for a concealed weapon permit, something that requires a fingerprint and that's what flagged his prior felony conviction. tom, still a lot of questions out here tonight. >> zachary, thank you. now to that massive pileup on a missouri highway. first a snowstorm and thense incredible cell phone images coming in of that deadly chreacon crash just outside of kansas city. parts of the heartland hammered by snow and ice, making travel as you can see so treacherous.

and now, a new blast of snow targeting millions from the midwest to new england. here's abc's rob marciano. >> oh, my lord. there's nothing we can do, man. >> reporter: a truck driver capturing these terrifying moments east of kansas city. a chain-reaction crash unfolding on interstate 70 in missouri, amidst near-whiteout conditions friday. >> setting up for mass casualty. >> we've got numerous vehicles that are stuck. >> reporter: drivers and passengers helpless in their vehicles. >> it's best if you stay in the truck, man. >> reporter: tarika kendall caught in the middle, as she headed home from work. >> you could not really see until you got up close to everything. i don't even know how i made it out of it. >> reporter: in all, 47 vehicles involved, multiple people injured. and tragically, one person did not survive. troopers responding to more than 700 crashes across the state as the storm moved through. >> a lot of snow is about to cover a lot of the country. let's get right out to rob

marciano, who joins us live now from new york's central park with the new forecast. hey, rob. >> reporter: hi, tom. this next storm isn't going to bring us feet of snow. it doesn't take much to do damage on the roadways. once again, missouri is in the thick of it. look at these advisories. much of iowa, much of kansas as well. warnings are up for dakota. here comes the snow tomorrow morning. into madison. couple of inches, plowable snow through detroit. pittsburgh getting a mix. by tomorrow night, it should be in philly and new york city. and then by monday morning, eastern new england should see some plowable snow there. heftier storm coming for the midweek. tom. >> and we'll stay tracking that storm through the weekend. rob, thank you. and we want to turn to politics. and this headline on the 2020 presidential race. politico reporting senator bernie sanders has recorded a campaign video announcing he's jumping into the growing democratic field. this would be sanders' second run.

no word yet on when or whether that video will be released. next to the growing fallout over president trump's emergency declaration over the border. the president heading to his florida resort after making the emergency announcement. the move may allow him to access billions of dollars congress refused to give him for his wall. the action setting a wide-reaching legal showdown in motion. abc's white house correspondent tara palmeri with the latest from west palm beach. >> reporter: tonight, president trump facing growing backlash over his decision to declare a national emergency. many lawmakers calling it a power grab. >> so, i'm going to be signing a national emergency. >> reporter: lawsuits piling up since the order was signed friday. aclu, public citizen, and the state of california suing the administration for an overreach of executive power. >> california is prepared to call this what this is, which is a theater of the absurd. california is prepared to continue reminding the american people that this is a manufactured crisis. >> reporter: some saying the president's own words undermine his argument. >> i didn't need to do this, but i'd rather do it much faster.

>> reporter: after only getting a fraction of what he wanted, trump rationalizing his decision to tap into nearly $6 billion in unappropriated funds from the defense and treasury departments to bypass congress and build the wall himself. now claiming, declaring a national emergency is within his authority. >> it gave the presidents the power. there's rarely been a problem. they sign it, nobody cares. >> reporter: house democrats drumming up support for a resolution that terminates the action. in the senate, ten republicans already voiced their disapproval. >> their judiciary committee will do an investigation. the framers of the constitution are rolling in their graves right now. >> reporter: during the campaign, trump criticized obama for using an executive order to give legal protection to those undocumented immigrants who came to the country as children. >> there is no leadership at the top. signing executive orders is not the way our country is supposed to be run. >> abouting secretary of defense patrick shanahan says he still not decided a wall along the

mexico border is a necessity. tom. >> tara, thank you. and this programming note the latest reaction to the president's emergency declaration tomorrow on "this week" with abc's martha raddatz. overseas now, we turn to the desperate fight for the latest isis stronghold in syria. the human toll, high. the images coming in. abc's foreign correspondent james longman taking us through the scarred towns that make up this battlefield. >> reporter: rubble and dust -- the isis legacy. it once spanned two countries and attracted thousands of extremists from all corners of the globe. tonight, the so-called caliphate is reduced to about 7,000 square feet of freezing mud in southeastern syria, where 1,000 or so isis fighters are in a standoff with coalition forces. today, we drove out to the towns nearest the frontline. we saw why victory can't be called just yet.

you can hear overhead now that is the sound of aircraft approaching because they think that isis bikes are now on the horizon. when we did arrive, the coast was clear. every building destroyed. massive craters from u.s. airstrikes every few hundred meters. there is no life here. over 15,000 coalition bombs were dropped on syria during this anti-isis campaign and you have to ask, have these towns been liberated, or eliminated? in the next town, life is creeping back. families try to rebuild what they once had. but this will take years. isis may be gone, but not much else is left either. when u.s. troops do go home, as president trump has promised, the so-called caliphate will have been defeated. but large parts of this country have been so badly destroyed, that the roots of extremism may easily take hold once again. tom? >> james, thank you. now to historic move by pope francis, defrocking former cardinal theodore mccarrick for sex crimes against minors and adults. even soliciting sex during confessions.

mccarrick is the highest ranking church official to be stripped of the priesthood in that scandal. and there's much more ahead on "world news tonight" this saturday -- the case of that missing colorado mother, vanishing without a trace. her fiance accused of killing her. and tonight the new clues that may point to a motive. the stunning car crash caught on surveillance. a driver speeding through the light. his tesla nearly cuts a car in half. and incredible rescue. the moment a man collapses in the snow, one woman running in to help and the one thing she remembered that saved his life. stay with us. (voice) you know what you're doing right now? (danny) impressing the heck out of me. also, giving a shih tzu an updo. pet care ain't easy. 12 hours? 20 dogs? where's your belly rubs? after a day of chasing dogs you shouldn't have to chase down payments. (vo) send invoices and accept payments

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missing colorado mother, kelsey berreth. berreth's parents filing a wrongful death lawsuit against her fiance patrick frazee, alleging in newly filed court documents he murdered berreth over custody of their 1-year-old daughter. the complaint claims frazee told berreth's mother they "broke up" on thanksgiving, the last day she was seen publicly, shopping with her daughter kaylee at this supermarket. the civil suit alleges frazee later killed the 29-year-old because, "he wanted full custody of kaylee and/or kelsey to leave kaylee with him and kelsey would not agree." frazee's friend, krystal lee kenny, admitting to disposing of berreth's cell phone, which was found three days later -- 700 miles away in idaho. >> i learned that patrick frazee had committed a homicide on approximately november 22nd, 2018. >> reporter: investigators arresting frazee december 21st. >> you see him? he's in cuffs. >> reporter: charging him with first degree murder even though berreth's body hasn't been found. frazee has not yet entered a

plea. he's expected in court this week. tom? >> marci, thank you. and when we come back -- scary moments in the air for jennifer aniston and courteney cox, the "friends" co-stars in a not so funny situation in the sky. we'll have more on their emergency landing next. stay with us. can be a big deal. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not an injection or a cream. it's a pill that treats differently. for psoriasis, 75% clearer skin is achievable, with reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. for psoriatic arthritis, otezla is proven to reduce joint swelling, tenderness, and pain. and the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts or if these feelings develop.

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time now for our "index" and the stunning crash in miami beach, florida, caught on surveillance. the stoplight turning red and a white tesla barrelling right through that light. police saying just seconds before impact, the driver of the tesla was going more than 120 miles per hour. the impact nearly cutting the suv in half, seriously injuring all three inside. the driver of the tesla has been charged with reckless driving. a scare in the sky for jennifer aniston and courteney cox, their private jet taking off from cabo san lucas. the plane loses a wheel, forced to circle and made an emergency landing back in los angeles. that trip apparently a surprise for aniston's 50th birthday. news from the pga tour, professional golfer matt kuchar now apologizing to his caddie.

kuchar facing major backlash for paying the local caddie just 5,000 bucks for a tournament where he won more than $2 million. tonight, kuchar admitting he was wrong, saying, golf is game where we call penalties on ourselves. i should have done that long ago. kuchar now agreeing to pay ortiz an additional $45,000. back here at home, in new hampshire, all caught on camera. here it is, a man collapsing in front of his truck, having a heart attack, at a dunkin donuts rest stop. witnesses calling 911. one employee running out, pulling him from the snow on to a blanket. starting cpr right there. that man now recovering. his rescuer said her college cpr class luckily kicked in. doctors say her quick action saved the day. when we come back, 95 years old and still getting paid to work. but it's what these seniors are actually doing that's worth more than any paycheck. stay with us. hi, i'm bob harper, and i recently had a heart attack.

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finally tonight, "america strong." we don't have to tell you about the importance of grandparents. but now, something new. schools making sure the young meet the wise. here's abc's karen travers. >> reporter: at ludlow-taylor elementary school in washington, d.c., clementene bates is called grandma. >> you how how much 8 and 5 is -- >> reporter: warm, funny, and incredibly energetic, bates is beloved by her 4-year-old friends. >> sometimes i come in in the morning and say, "i haven't had a hug all day," and they come running to me. >> reporter: the foster grandparent program is nationwide, using people like clementene who is 95. >> 59 going on 95. >> reporter: they bring a little something extra to the classroom, something special. >> a lot of kids think they need

love. to me that's the most important thing is love. >> i think she spoils them a little more than i do. i'm the tough one in the bunch. but she gives that nurturing touch. >> take your time. >> reporter: foster grandparents are placed in schools in their own neighborhood. do you often see students in the neighborhood? >> oh, yes. they say, "there's grandma, there's grandma." >> reporter: the seniors get a small stipend. but the connection they say they make with the students, the energy they get, that's priceless. >> if i wasn't doing this, i would be lost. >> reporter: lost, and she says, lonely without her preschool friends. karen travers, abc news, washington. >> so tonight, we salute those foster grandparents and all the grandparents out there. we thank karen for that story. we thank you for watching. i'm tom llamas in new york. "good morning america" and "this week" tomorrow morning. i'll see you right back here tomorrow night. good night.

tonight on abc7 news at 6:00, unless something dramatic happens, oakland teachers plan on going on strike. see what it is like for those right now trying to reach tahoe. a wild chase and man hunt. the suspect crashes and what he was wanted we will strike 21st. you heard it right there. thousands of teachers say they have no choice but to walk out of their classrooms next week. thanks for joining us, i am dion

lim. >> i am eric thomas. >> lus pena joins us with development of this story. >> reporter: the date has been chosen february 20th, teachers in oakland will go on strike. this can affect potentially 37,000 students in oakland. let's go back to how this started. if teachers walk off the job on thursday, the district says it is preparing to offer school administrators and substitute teachers. went over both sides of the conflict. and a compromise hasn't been reached. let's hear what they had to say. >> i