Died at the age of 85, just one year after retiring from nearly 50 years of bringing big bird and oscar the grouch to life. Those are some of our top stories on this monday, december 9th. Good morning, everyone. Great to have toni in from espn. Hey we do begin this half hour with democrats wasting no time setting the stage to unveil articles of impeachment against President Trump this week. Another public hearing is getting under way today to lay out the case for removing the president from office. The president is crying foul tweeting quote no president in American History has been treated like this. Abcs david wright has more. Reporter on the eve of historic impeachment hearings, congress has been burning the midnight oil. We have to act now, you cant wait for the next election because hes trying to interfere with the next election. Reporter the House Judiciary Committee is now charged with drafting specific grounds to remove President Trump. The president leaves us no choice. Reporter describing impeachment as the constitutions final answer to a president who mistakes himself for a monarch, they plan to present evidence trump acted in a way that betrays our National Security and corrupts our elections using a foreign power. They also say the ukraine episode is part of a repeated pattern. Nobody wants to, you know, put the kitchen sink, as you called it, into these articles. We are very clear we need to be focused. Reporter democrats hope to vote on articles of impeachment as early as this coming week. We have a very rocksolid case. I think the case we have, if presented to a jury, would be a guilty verdict in about three minutes flat. Reporter the president s allies have been working out how they plan to push back. I dont see a single republican defecting. Theyve looked at the facts, they know where we are on this. Reporter while House Republicans have accused the democrats of moving too fast, trump wants to fast forward to a senate trial where his party sets the rules. His personal lawyer spent last week in ukraine, to the discomfort of some republicans. But President Trump says hes fine with it. He has not told me what hes found. But i think he wants to go before congress and say, and also to the attorney general, and to the department of justice, i hear hes found plenty. It is weird that hes over there. I believe that the president urging mayor giuliani to provide that clarity to the congress will be helpful in resolving what seems to be odd having him over there at this time. Reporter mondays hearing is expected to begin with a recap of the evidence so far from the Intelligence Committee hearings. And while this process is on a fast track, democrats have not yet reached a consensus, were told, on what the specific articles of impeachment should be. That said, they are hoping to clarify that by the end of the week, and they hope to put on it a vote to the full house before christmas. David wright, abc news, the white house. For complete coverage of todays impeachment hearing, abc news will be live from capitol hill srting at 9 00 a. M. Eastern. The race for 2020, senator Elizabeth Warren has revealed that she was paid nearly 2 million for past legal work dating back to the 1980s. Warrens disclosure comes amid a feud with fellow democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg whom she criticized for holding closeddoor fundraisers. As a Senate Impeachment trial looms, several candidates may soon have to leave the campaign trail to head back to washington. Heres abcs rachel scott. Reporter in this critical stretch of the primary, the Iowa Caucuses less than two months away, an allconsuming impeachment trial could not come at a worse time for the five senators still in the race. Now bracing to split their time between the capitol and the trail. I have a great husband, a great daughter, theyll be out there campaigning for me. Im going to do my job. Of course its going to present challenges with the campaign, but thats my priority. I trust iowa. Reporter here in iowa, mayor Pete Buttigieg riding a wave of momentum, drawing large crowds during his weekend blitz. At his last stop, nearly 2,000 files in. First of all we got to win, no question about that. Reporter his rivals zeroing in saying buttigieg is heading behind closeddoor fundraisers and shielding his work at mckenzie, a top consulting firm. He should open up his fundraisers, he should release bundling for him, he should make clear whos on his finance team. Reporter what do you say to voters who are concerned about the transparency of your campaign . Well, id say that we are leading in many ways on this, including making sure i put out the tax records covering my entire time in the private sector. Reporter many undecided caucusgoers have other worries like jobs in their hometown, and say democrats could have a hard time going head to head with President Trump on the economy. I think the economys doing well, although i think there are issues out there, first of all, businesses. A strong jobs report came out last week. I see it, but i dont see it around here. Reporter the qualifying deadline for the next debate is days away as the field narrows. Three candidates dropped out of the race this week, 15 are still in but only six so far have qualified for that next debate. Rachel scott, abc news, cedar rapids. Now to that breaking news. At least one person is known dead after a volcano eruption in new zealand. Officials warn the numbers are likely to rise because some tourists are missing. White island is a popular tourist destination. Some of the missing tourists may have been passengers from a cruise that left from sydney. Investigators are focusing on a motive as they probe the deadly shooting at a florida navy base. They are trying to determine if the saudi airman acted alone. Saudi authorities are reportedly investigating whether he was radicalized during a trip back to the kingdom late last year. Three people died and eight others injured when the suspect open ed fire in a classroom friday morning. The suspect was killed by a sheriffs deputy. 23yearold Joshua Watson, 19yearold mohammad haitham, 21yearold cameron walters. Died during the rampage, all of them just beginning their navy careers. They were honored during a solemn procession. Two of the victims were praised for confronting the gunman, floridas governor saying they ran to danger trying to save others. Fans are remembering a Television Legend who brought joy, so much joy to generations of children. Caroll spinney, the sesame street puppeteer behind big bird and oscar the grouch has passed away at the age of 85, and this morning were hearing the words once again from the legend himself on not being considered a household name. Heres abcs trevor ault. A . 9. Whats next . 10 oh, of course. Reporter he taught generations of children to count, to laugh and to love. Puppeteer Caroll Spinney spent close to 50 years of sunny days on sesame street, bringing two of the shows most iconic characters to life. Listen, its fun to be a grouch. Reporter the crotchety but charming oscar the grouch inspired by a new York City Taxi driver. Youre not a bird, im a bird. Birds are big. Reporter his greatest joy, the kindhearted yellow bird loved the world over. Im not particularly a household name, which is fine, big bird is. Reporter hired by jim henson in 1969, spinney ultimately stepped away from the roles hed held half his life in 2018. His legendary career celebrated in a film i am big bird. Spinney died sunday at age 85. Sesame workshop saying he gave something truly special to the world. Its probably a little bit better a place than if he, big bird, hadnt been there and had his suffering and his joy. Reporter sesame workshops says Caroll Spinney was an artistic genius who shaped the show through five decades and his legacy will be unending. Trevor ault, abc news, new york. Quite a legacy, thank you, trevor. And talk about timing, sesame street was among this years recipients at the annual Kennedy Center honors ceremony. The night even included big bird who is now portrayed by matt vogel. Sesame street is the first tv show to receive a Kennedy Center honor. Other recipients include actress sally field. Great, great artists there in acting and music. And again, with sesame street, the cofounder of sesame street accepted the honor on behalf of the show. The night ended with a backstage performing eawfs september. Earth, wind, and fire. I will admit it took me a quick second. Is it e, f okay. There we go. Just like sesame street, me sounding it out, taking my time. The lessons of sesame street, big bird, again, your legacy just lives on there. All right. Coming up, weve got the controversial nativity scene in los angeles. And the great Christmas Tree controversy thats playing out in the State Capitol in rhode island. And later the giz wiz with unique holiday gifts. Interactive pets for seniors. A lantern that doubles as a mini fireplace. A party light for your phone. Upbeat music no coverup spray here. Cheaper aerosols can cover up odors in a flowery fog. But febreze air effects eliminates odors. With a 100 natural propellent. It leaves behind a pleasant scent youll love. [ deep inhale] freshen up. Dont cover up. Febreze. Were back with this were back with this horrifying video from alabama. Two Tuscaloosa County deputies being dragged by a truck. They were trying to arrest one of the countys most wanted suspects. The suspect hit the gas but soon ran off the road and crashed into a tree. He was taken into custody. Both those deputies are expected to be okay. A california man caught on video apparently torching a Police Vehicle near los angeles. The video released by the Hawthorne Police department shows someone dousing the suv with a liquid, then setting it on fire. Luckily no one was inside that cruiser, which was of course a total loss. The suspect was arrested and is expected in court today. A nativity scene display by a Methodist Church is stirring up controversy. Its been put on display in clairmont 30 miles east of los angeles. It shows jesus, mary, and joseph as refugees in cages. The pastor says the holy family is standing in for families separated at the border by administration policies. She says her church often uses nativity scenes to address social issues. And another christmas controversy is unfolding here on the east coast. Its happening at the State Capitol in rhode island. Its a debate thats as old as the hills. Real tree versus fake tree . Heres our janai norman. Three, two, one reporter uproar around the rhode island statehouse days after the governor revealed the states firstever artificial Christmas Tree. The spruce lighting up quite the debate. Some residents say the faux fir simply is an imposter, especially local tree farmers. The scale thats going on in the statehouse right now is absurd. Reporter for years farmers have donated trees to the statehouse. Its ridiculous. The governor bought a fake artificial tree for 6,500. Reporter but the governor says fire safety was behind this years yuletide decision. Just a practical decision to keep it beautiful and keep us safe through the whole holiday decision. Reporter the decision practically splitting the state in two. Real versus fake. I would say to all the people seeing this show today, go out there and support your local farmers. They dont want no faux firs in here. Our thanks to janai for the report. Wow, would you do real or fake . I dont think that it matters that much . But i understand why everybodys angry on both sides, how about that. There is a point to each, so we get it. State officials are taking a lot of heat for this, but in the past statehouse trees died of dehydration or lost massive amounts of needles, they need to be taken care of, watered, all these things. And a fake one lasts forever. Thats true. Coming up, holiday gift gadgets. Try clean freak it has three times the cleaning power of the leading spray to dissolve kitchen grease on contact. And its great for bathrooms just keep pumping the power nozzle to release a continuous burst of mist and make quick work of big jobs. It even works on stainless steel. It cuts through 100 of dirt, grease and grime. Available with easytoswap refills. To get three times the cleaning power, try clean freak from mr. Clean. We are now we are now down to just 16 shopping days until christmas. And if youre still looking for some shocking stuffers, the giz wizs Dick Debartolo is here with his favorite Holiday Gadgets for those on your nice list. So, dick, youre really santas favorite little helper, i see. You brought some friends. I did. These are interesting, its from a Company Called joy for all. Theyre called companion pets for seniors. So seniors who would like a pet, theyre going crazy here. But cant you know, not even afford one or take care of one. Im not typically a cat person. I know but this little guy right here. If you hold it, he will do the kneading action. Oh, hes purring. Hes purring, hes kneading. The cat they told me does whatever he wants, like real just like any regular cat, got it, real life. Joy for all yeah, yeah, okay, buddy. What else we got . Oh, this is really neat. This could be a regular lantern here. But this is the fun part. So youre in the backyard. Youre all around the table. You want some light at night. Whoa now its late at night and you thought, wouldnt it be nice if we had a fire to sit around . Oho dick bringing the magic there. Isnt that neat . This thing is like its about 13 bucks. Thats it, 13 . Yeah, its really great. All right, so party time, all right . Lets party, its the holidays. You dont need to bring in a lot of equipment. All you need is your party l. E. D. Light. There it is. It dances to the music. It moves with your voice. Three adapters for iphone, usbc, usb micro. So, does it drain your batteries . Its three l. E. D. S, its going to be really low key. Plug it into an external battery charger or your computer. Keep that light on. Your own shirt . Chalk of the town. These are shirts with a little blackboard area. You can make whatever you want. Here my logo. It doesnt smudge. When youre tired of it, take a wet cloth wipe it right off . To the black. Now in november, just a month ago, they introduced chalk of the town badges. Heres a giz wiz badge. Thanks, appreciate it. This is what they look like. Theyre blank, they come with two markers. Stick them on the back. If you want you can sew them on. Same thing. When you get tired of it, you can erase them and put something new on it. Im afraid of this one here. Its still making noise here, im going to move you over here, get over there. I was telling someone about my new clock. I can tell it to play music. Do you have a clock that just tells time and wakes me up . This is from sharp. Its a quartz clock. It should keep accurate time. But in the back here, im going to [ ringing ] so that will really wake you up. Wake up, insomniacs, wake up. Theres one little modern feature, a button back here, its hard to see here. Ill show it to you. When you push that, theres an l. E. D. That shines across the entire face of the clock. Well, thats pretty cool. This is much different than the one i had is a kid that used to wake me up for school, nightmare. This is 10 bucks. Very inexpensive gifts. These are great, i love them all. Let me get my kitty back here. Notice how these two get along . They really do. They love each other. Thats a first. For these and other Holiday Gadgets check out dicks website, giz wiz. Biz, or wnnfans. Com. Dick debartolo, thanks for joining us and bringing these guys. Happy final shopping days, everyone. Bye youre watching world news now. For your worst sore throat pain, try Vicks Vapocool drops. Hd 5. Upbeat music no coverup spray here. Cheaper aerosols can cover up odors in a flowery fog. But febreze air effects eliminates odors. With a 100 natural propellent. It leaves behind a pleasant scent youll love. [ deep inhale] freshen up. Dont cover up. Febreze. Fresh photos no man on the Minnesota Vikings true person need something more exciting ima hit you back in a minute all right, all right. That wasnt the next words but it was the words in my head. I like it though. The truth may hurt for lizzo but her hit song is bringing plenty of joy for a class in san jose, california. Will ganss is here to tell us all about it. Will. Youre ready to tell us all about it. Thats exactly right. As the class found out in person, lizzo took a dna test, turns out shes 100 responsible for the best field trip ever. Check my name baby how you feeling reporter thanks to lizzo some Elementary School students are feeling pretty good themselves. Miss dorothys second great class in pittsburgh making the crosscountry trip to see lizzo in concert in san jose. Ima hit back in a minute the teacher singing miss lizzos praises. Wanting to go to her, look in her eyes, say thank you, thank you. You dont know how many of us are watching you, and these kids, how much shes having an impact on us. Reporter last month the Pittsburgh Unified School District posting a video to facebook with the class singing their own version of truth hurts. Of course the lyrics were changed to be a bit more kid friendly. Kids describing their 15 minutes of fame. Scary. Exciting. Reporter nothing more exciting than when gma connected the students and their favorite singer. Were only little but its kind of cool. Reporter the kids version of the song focusing on the importance of education, echoing lizzos themes of selfempowerment. Miss malari said shes touched the group is making a difference. Shes got so many lessons to teach us and thats what people dont understand, this is why i love teaching. I learn so much more than they can ever learn from me. Yes,