the disease is spreading across the country. how long does it take to become effective? the race to find the missing in california's mudslides. a family member who just won't give up hope. and new this half hour, going low tech at the biggest high-tech party on the

>> see what happens when the lights go out at the consumer electronics show. and president obama sits down with david letterman and talks about what it means to stay in the pocket. it's thursday, january 11th. from abc news, this is "world news now." the nation's blflu outbreaks on track to beat records. >> an aspiring trainer died who was seemingly strong and

healthy. the h 3 n 2 strain is causing one of the worst seasons in recent history. er 65 and very young.r people, >> reporter: 19 month old nathaniel died monday from the flu. he suddenly started coughing and within an hour couldn't breathe. even the seemingly fit can be faked. this 21 year old aspiring to be a personal trainer died. the family says a simple cold turned into a serious flu. we showed his photo to the doctor. he said cases like this are very rare, but any age group can catch the flu. >> certainly it's a scary story, but when you look at the overall numbers of people in his age group, this person isn't necessarily at increased risk of adverse outcomes. >> reporter: the cdc is still urging people to get the flu

to be 30% effective against this year's main flu strain. experts are trying to figure out if there's anything related between the flu and the extreme temperature changes. but regardless, they say get the flu shot. the sooner the better, because it takes about two weeks to be effective. >> schools are being devastated. one school in matthews, north carolina forced to cancel classes after 160 students called out sick. they've brought in an industrial disinfecting machine to sanitize the school there. >> 160 students, wild. also happening now, the ongoing search for survivors of the mudslides in southern california. >> 500 first responders and ten search dogs on the scene, as relatives hold out hope that the many missing will be found. >> at least 17 were killed when the wall of mud rushed into homes in montecito. one man captured the disaster on camera. more than 100 homes were completely destroyed.

>> reporter: with the death toll relentlessly rising, the race to find at least a dozen residents still missing. rescue dogs sniffing for survivors, hitching rides on their handlers. >> oh, my god, mom! >> reporter: over 100 homes destroyed. 300 damaged. for many, the only way out was by chopper. the coast guard plucking this family of five from the debris, plus their two dogs. from the ground you get a sense of how deep this mud is and how difficult it is for first responders. that house completely buried. but you can only see the scale of this from the air. this debris field goes down hundreds and hundreds of yards. almost every house in its path obliterated. our station kabc capturing the disaster from above. all across this mud scape we heard the calls of the desperate. >> josie

friends trudging in, searching for loved ones. josie's son inconsolable. >> why did she go downstairs. >> reporter: we first met him in the dark weeping in the husk of his family home. his sister and father-in-law survived. but in the fading light, he says his mother rebecca, a prominent realtor was still out there. >> you know, it's my mom, and i'm fighting with all my heart to find her, but i can't focus on too much she's most likely dead. >> reporter: family members forming a search party. the reality crushing. >> we just need -- [ inaudible ] >> reporter: the thomas fire denuded hills of vegetation that might have absorbed the rain. and when it came, the rain was biblical, all that water funneling into the dry creek beds. the death toll now at least 17.

it includes roy roacher, the founder of the st. augustine academy swept away from his home. where i'm standing is part of a neighborhood that's been completely obliterated. all there is is this large mud plain. and that is one reason officials are telling us that they expect the death toll here to rise. matt gutman, abc news, montecito, california. >> only making things more difficult for the rescuers and people trying to get around are the major detours. >> yeah, the 101 freeway is closed until monday and train service between santa barbara and oxnard has been suspended. but two local cruise companies are offering emergency ferry service. they normally run whale-watching trips. president trump says he's open to holding talks with north korea under quote, right circumstances. it's a significant reversal of the hostile rhetoric the president has been using with north korea. the white house says he made the offer during a phone call with south korea's president who says

president trump made a huge contribution in bringing the north and south together. and the president says it's unlikely that he will be interviewed by special counsel robert mueller. that's in stark contrast to statements in which he said he would be willing to talk with mueller as part of the russia investigation. when he was asked about it at the white house, the president won't commit to talking with mueller or his team. >> we'll see what happens. certainly, we'll see what happens, but when they have no collusion and nobody's found any collusion at any level, it seems unlikely that you'd even have an interview. >> the president called it a phony cloud over his administration. mueller's team has expressed interest in speaking with the president but no details have been worked out. now to the fight over immigration in congress. some lawmakers believe they are closing in on a deal thawo

illegal immigrants who came to the u.s. as children. but such an agreement may not be as easy as it seems. kenneth moten reports. >> reporter: the fight for the d.r.e.a.m.ers. >> we need to make sure that they're protected and included and welcomed now. >> reporter: democrats standing at the capitol with the young immigrants brought to the u.s. illegally as children now at risk of deportation. >> i no longer feel like i have control of my future. i urge congress to pass a legislation that will protect me and thousands of other individuals. >> reporter: president trump's plan to end the deferred action for childhood arrivals program or daca in march temporarily blocked by a california federal judge, the court ruling the administration must accept renewal applications from current d.r.e.a.m.ers. trump blasted the court decision. at the white house, the president adamant no daca deal without money for a southern border wall. >> would you be willing to sign an immigration deal that

funding for the border wall? >> no. no. no. it's got to include the wall. we need the wall for security. >> reporter: the firm stance happening after a day after talks played out on camera. gop leaders introduced a bill that included funding for the bath wall, increased border security and gives renewable status to the d.r.e.a.m.ers. >> we're a generous nation but we're a fair nation and a nation of laws. >> reporter: that gone dp law i expected to get little to no support from democrats. in the senate, they are getting close to protecting d.r.e.a.m.ers and boost border security. >> the current focus on border security comes as illegal border crossings skyrocket. more than 40,000 people crossed last month, more than double last spring.

what would happen under president trump but are now crossing, as little has changed operationally at the border. this has a twist, a pda twist after a police pursuit. >> as beyonce and jay z sang "i don't care if we're on the run, baby as long as i'm next to you." >> i want to hear you sing it. ♪ ♪ as long as i'm next to you >> this couple in arizona took that to heart. the cops chasing them for 30 minutes. after getting a report of stolen vehicle. at one point, the driver heading off to the desert. the two people inside ran off into different direction. >> but their attraction was too strong. after running different directions, they headed back toward the each other. and the kiss. romantic or insane? i don't know. after kissing, they ended up laying down together before being arrested. >> gives new meaning to speed dating. relationship goals. where are the cops? how long is this makeo

last? get a hotel room, folks. >> is that worth getting arrested for? would you steal one last kiss from your sweetie? >> no. >> sorry, babe. coming up, could conor mcgregor finally have met his match? why the ufc champ faced off with richard branson bare chested and all. that's coming up in the skinny. and the florida man who got the scare of his life. how he suffered those horrible gashes across his face. all while standing right outside his home. but first, here's a look at today's forecast. "world news now" weather, brought to you by liberator medical supply.

(male #1) it's a little something i've done every night since i was a kid, empty my pocket change into this old jar. it's never much, just what's left after i break a dollar.

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it couldn't have been any easier and we both got the coverage we should have had for years now. mm-hm, with change to spare. (laughing) (colonial penn jingle) you know, it's a problem when the world's biggest technology show loses power. people at ces used the lights on their phones to see the products during the outage at the las vegas convention center. some other people just went outside. good thing the record-breaking rain that hit vegas actually had

stopped by then. now to another tech star. youtube star logan paul has been slapped with a punishment by google. it comes after he showed a suicide victim in a forest in japan. >> they have dropped him from google preferred. the move will severely limit paul's earning power and visibility on youtube. >> he has apologized for the video immediately after and removed it on new year's day. >> google of course part owner of youtube. a man from naples, florida is sharing his frightening story. after being attacked outside his home by a bear. andrew menier was letting his dogs outside when he saw the four foot bear standing right next to him. >> he was right there. i tried to run and wasn't fast enough. i tried to go like this to get back in and it did one of these,

got myself together and somehow got in the door. >> i tell you, one thing, he's a packers fan. so they're used to being attacked by the bears. he was given 41 stitches for that grizzly facial cut. this is reportedly the first bear attack in south florida since 1970. >> that's florida. that gash is severe. what a rude welcome at home. when we get back, barack obama explains what "staying in the pocket" means. and a pop superstar got married in secret. pocket as" means. fls and a pop super star got married in secret.

♪ skinny ♪ so skinny it is skinny time on a thursday, on a throwback thursday. we'll throwback to the former president of the united states, barack obama sitting down with david letterman. netflix released a clip from the upcoming series. >> obama was talking about the time prince asked sasha obama to dance.

she asked her father to join him which surprised him, because she was always making fun of his quote, dad moves. >> he said the key is to stay in the pocket. >> i think everybody here knows dads who get out of the pocket. [ laughter ] and they're trying stuff that they can't really pull off. and they start doing like karate kicks and all kinds of stuff. >> really? karate kicks. >> is that one of the things you do? >> so this will be about his first talk show appearance since he left office. all the guests who are scheduled to appear include jay-z, of tina fey. it's available on netflix tomorrow. it's like michelle always told me, stay in your pocket. don't try to go over, that's not where you belong. [ laughter ] >> are you going to be a dad that jumps out of the pocket. >> am i going to be a dad?

>> i mean, a dad. you just pfl peed on the pregnancy test before. >> there's a difference between being a dad and being a daddy. >> tmi. moving on. >> we are out of the pocket now. rest of the thing in the obama voice. ufc champ conor mcgregor and billionaire richard branson walk into a summit. >> that's not funny. it's not laughable. everyone's scratching their heads. both men ripped off their shirts. they faced off like it was a prefight event. >> they were at a business and leadership summit. branson was there to get, he knows everything about business and leadership. >> whoa, look at that closeup. the president is at davos later on this month. >> a square off? >> something like this as well. quite a matchup there for conor and branso

moving on to big news for ricky martin. the singer revealing that he and his artist, juan joseph have tied the knot in secret. the party will come and last for three days. >> i would expect many days. >> and they open their home. >> everything happens in the kitchen. it doesn't matter how beautiful your formal living room is. we all end up here, cooking, talking, gossiping and all that good stuff. >> look at that. all right. that's our next shoot for lifestyles of the rich and kendis. so they converted the yoga studio into an actual studio for joseph. they purchased the home for $13.5 million about a year ago. >> i would like to see a day in the life of that couple. paging dr. prince, pagin

dr. prince. prince william that is. check him out. he looks like he stepped off the set of "e.r." prince mcdreamy. >> what's with the side eye? oh, wow. doctor. ctor.

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♪ i have a rock ♪ i have an island ♪ >> the grand canyon national monument. have you been? >> i have. it's amazing. saw a snake, never go back. >> well, it was created on though day in 1908. later becoming a national park. >> amazing history there. to celebrate the wonder of the wilderness, we're opening our abc vault and turning back the dial to 1999. >> many americans returning from a visit to the grand canyon this summer may find they need a vacation after their vacation. as abc's lisa salters re

new measures are under way to deal with the congestion of millions of visitors each year to grand canyon national park. >> reporter: theodore roosevelt once described the grand canyon as the one place all americans should see. trouble is, they are. almost 5 million tourists visit grand canyon national park every year. most of them by car or bus. many visitors actually spend more time waiting for a parking space than viewing the canyon. >> i'm doing the tour in the parking lot while he sees the grand canyon. >> we're going to go down and take the plane, because this is terrible. >> we don't have the facilities to provide for good enjoyment for those numbers of visitors coming. >> reporter: but park officials say that will soon change. by the year 2003, a $200 million public transportation system, along with parking restrictions should drastically reduce the number of private vehicles in

the park. the light rail system will originate at a new gateway village center that will be constructed on this prime, undeveloped land just outside the park. it will feature lodging, shops and restaurants. not everyone supports the new plan. the grand canyon may be one of the most spectacular sites in the world, but it's also a huge money-maker. the proposed changes could cut businesses out of of the action. the new light rail system will not stop here. park officials say their only concern is restoring the national peace and tranquility that this magnificent place deserves. lisa salters, abc news, the grand canyon. >> by the way, that light rail system didn't happen. most of the grand canyon, by the way, consists of rock one mile deep, 18 miles wide. >> it's an incredible place to see.

this is when i went when i was little. i'm way in the back. we did a family totem pole, our good awkward family home. my dad's going to kill me for sh

making news in america this morning, the death toll in the california mudslide disaster rises as we get a new view of the devastation. >> i didn't think it would ever turn into something like this. we've never seen anything like this before. >> 100 homes destroyed. this car washed away in a river of debris. water service could be out for several months and this morning the shocking development, why emergency cell phone alerts were never sent. president trump strikes a different tone when it comes to the russia investigation. his new response when asked whether he's willing to answer questions under oath. a young man, the picture