bone-chilling temperatures, snow and ice gripping the nation. records have fallen and we're live on the ground with your forecast. we're also learning more about the gunman who opened fire on school board officials in panama city, florida. what may have drove him to it. and whyis wife thinks he intentionally missed the board members. police released the 911 call they got just moments before clay duke started shooting. >> somebody is down. >> you don't know who's down? >> we don't know. >> we're going to have more of the 911 call and the explosive interview with rebecca dukes the gunman's widow, straight ahead. and closing a chapter on television history. tonight is larry king's final show. after 25 years in suspenders, we're looking back at headliners and legends that sat across the desk from the kid. first, if you're head ought, bundle up.

for million of you, the temperature is not going above freezing. system blanketing half the country. in alabama deadly icy conditions. slick roads blamed for at least 30 accidents and three deaths, including two teens who lost control of their pickup and collided with a big rig. >> frozen roads caused more than 1,000 accidents in and around atlanta last night. 1,000 accidents. roads were closed, exits were blocked and some cases drivers abandoned their vehicles and walked home. bridges and overpasses remain dangerous because they always freeze before the roadway does so be careful when you're crossing them. perhaps the most telling picture of mother nature's icy grip. this is a lighthouse along the lake erie in cleveland that is frozen solid. it's dangerous. the coast guard is warning boaters that the ice can obscure

navigation aids. >> who would be out there in a boat in this weather you're asking yourself. to get the latest in the wintry mess, our rob marciano live in louisville, kentucky this work, boy, i'll tell you, you got slugged by the ice. what's it like there this morning? >> reporter: well, it's raining, but the problem is, the temperature is below freezing so we went from seeing snow last night to briefly to sleet. accumulating sleet about 1 to 2 inches of it. now, we're seeing freezing rain on top of it. much of louisville is covered in ice. the good news here is that these roads were pretreated. they had some snow over the weekend where they dropped a bunch of salt and brian. the roads, at least the busier roads like the ones we're on are mostly slushy. the sidewalks, i had to kick through the ice so i wouldn't fall down. you're talking about an area that's slick. this railing is coated in ice.

obviously that tree is coated in ice. that's going to be really the main danger. i think here across parts of kentucky and southern indiana are treats coated in ice. if we get more in accumulation on those tree limbs, those tree limbs will come down and that's where we'll see power outages. so far, we haven't seen that but we're anticipating the rain continuing for the next two hours. it's been two solid years since they had a significant icing event here. as far as what's going on in the louisville airport. they have one runway open. they're kind of alternates between the two runways. treating is with salt and keeping the operations going on. only five cancellations this morning so far throw will be delays. let's talk temperatures. obviously, atlanta, they're having issues yesterday. still having issues this morning. 34 degrees in atlanta, 47 in nashville. 31 in louisville. a huge delineation there, look at memphis, they saw freezing

rain, 61. here's the radar, most of the precip across georgia is over. but not so much here in kentucky and tennessee. and we anticipate that to be moving off towards the east. how far east, you ask? it won't get to new york, it will stay mostly south of new york in the mid-atlantic but in places like the western carolinas and through parts of west virginia and certainly through virginia and richmond, you're going to see a wintry mix there today as well. once the freezing rain moves out, guys, we may warm up by a degree before we drop back down into the 20s tonight. what you see as slush here right now could very well be ice tomorrow morning. >> nice to see to the west you warmer temperatures moving in. that will help people out? >> that's encouraging, yeah. >> thanks, rob. well, efforts to mix the metrodome's roof which collapsed under the weight of heavy snow. a fourth panel of the roof failed last night, sending in more snow and ice which crashed

to the floor of the dome. repair work has now been suspended while officials assess the new damage. it forced the minnesota vikings to move the game to the giants to detroit. >> meantime, the university of minnesota is looking for a few good shovellers to help get the stadium ready, monday night against the chicago bears. volunteers needed to clear the snow from the playing surface and the stands at the stadium. it's going to come the bears' first outdoor game since 1981. it's going to be frigid temperatures, reminding them why they got a dome in the first place. >> yeah, die hard fans. when clay duke opened fire on school officials in panama city, florida, it was no spur of the moment act. police say they found a calendar in the gunman's mobile home with december 14th circled and that he had more than two dozen extra rounds of ammunition in his pocket when he started shooting. again, the video startling,

police released the 911 call that they got from an unidentified female in the school, listen. >> oh, my gosh, he's firing. he's firing. >> okay. >> he's firing, i don't know -- >> are you secure? >> we don't believe we need an ambulance. everybody is up walking. >> okay. >> somebody is down. somebody is down. >> you don't know who's down? >> we don't know. >> okay. do you have a visual of him? >> everybody's okay? everybody's okay. who was shot? >> the gunman was shot. >> the gunman was shot. >> the gunman was shot. >> well, clay duke's widow claims that it's clear from the video that her husband never intended to hurt anyone but himself. the rebecca duke a former teacher in the school district

said the economy simply got the best of her husband. she called him a gentle giant and said he was upset with the school district because firing her last year. but she believes she intentionally missed them. >> when you totally look at the video when he starts shooting. he's a military man, he's been trained in guns. he knows how to use them, okay? he knows about them. now, as close as was, seriously, people, he was that close, if he really wanted to shoot somebody, they would have already been dead. >> rebecca duke insists that he knew the s.w.a.t. team was about to rush in. he fired first knowing that the officials would duck behind the desk and be out of harm's way if the officers started shooting again. >> that's her take. a very, very tough time, obviously, for are her. also this morning, leased

just minutes ago, details of the latest progress report on the war in afghanistan. this is the big one, i guess, we could say, many have been waiting for since the president released the surge of troops a year ago. there's been enough progress that some trips can come home starting in july. it also mentioned games that the u.s. has made against al qaeda. just in an hour, we're going live, nic robertson is live in afghanistan. does this report tell us what's happening on the ground there? we'll check in with nic. last year, we had the accused underwear bomber. this year, a report that al qaeda is planning suicide attacks in the united states and in europe over the holiday season. it tells the associated press that insurgents captured gave up the information and that the bombing in stockholm, sweden, last weekend, was one of the planned attacks. last year's christmas day

bomber is due in court today. he's now charged with possession of explosive devices and he's also nation a max sentence of life in prison. this morning, nasa astro not katie coleman is finally on her way. katie lifted off on board a soyuz spacecraft. our john zarrella has been following kative the past year. check this video out. this is release by nasa, of a massive explosion rocking the sun. scientists have dubbed it "the great eruption." it took place in august. they've been studying the solar event for the past few months. they say at that explosion actually covered half of the sun's surface and at that eruption lasted for 28 hours. nasa hopes that the data can help forecast future solar disturbances. >> no wonder it's so cold now. >> right. amazing video.

it's getting kind of weird in washington right now, president obama and republicans on one side. democrats and the tea party on the other? they're all fighting over whether or not to let you keep your money and how much that could cost all of us down the line. alive in washington to sort it all out. you can't check your e-mail and look online and not see best deals advertised. a sea of deals this holiday season. how can you tell whether you're getting the most for your money? and diamonds, emeralds and pearls, you know, all the usual stuff. we'll show you the world's most expensive christmas tree and where you can find it. i'm thinking here. i'm thinking dubai. ten minutes after the hour. we'll be right back. ♪ express yourself

♪ [ female announcer ] the newest seasonal flavors are here. ♪ express yourself ♪ [ female announcer ] because coffee is like the holidays. it's better when you add your flavor. coffee-mate. from nestle. [ male announcer ] you know her. we know diamonds. together we'll make her holiday. that's why only zales is the diamond store. where you can get up to $1,000 off now through sunday.

you need the patch. (announcer) icy hot patches. targeted no-mess relief. icy to dull pain. hot to relax it away. pain's no match for the icy hot patch. 13 minutes now after the hour. this morning, the nation is one step closer to end egg the ban on gays serving openly in the armed forces. the house passed a bill revealing don't ask, don't tell yesterday. it could come to the senate floor as early as today, and it

looks like it may have the vote to break a filibuster. >> today, the house is expected to take up a compromise that president obama hammered out with republicans. passing 81-19 yesterday. includes the two-year extension from the lower tax rates from the bush administration. lawmakers are looking to do and a whole lot more now they're arguing over how long they're going to argue. issue that fighting for the possibility of having to work through the holidays even though many of us do. with democrats charged with disrespecting christmas. >> it is impossible to do all of the things that the majority leader laid out, frankly without disrespecting the institution. and without disrespecting one of the two holiest of holidays for christians. >> i don't think any of us here

for the remind us what yis mass means. >> if congress doesn't pass it before the end of the year, rate will go up for everyone. the president may find himself in a tug-of-war with the tea party, in fact some republicans are finding themselves in a tug-of-war with the tea party. jim acosta live for us in washington with a tale of strange bedfellow lows this morning. hi, jim. >> good morning, that's right. santa may be running out of coal filling up stockings or capitol hill. these lame duck sessions are usually pretty routine, but they're trying to cram ten pound us of legislation into a five-pound bag as you noted in the various stories. the tax cut bill is the most important vote of all. it's a little difficult to predict at this point what is going to happen. we know that democrats are are unhappy with the package. it got there yet but house democrats don't like it. mike pence, i talked to him

yesterday, he say top republican in the house, he has been talked about a potential presidential candidate for 2012, he thinks republicans would be better off holding off until the next congress when they would have a majority in the house and they think, a better deal. here's what he had to say. so you would vote against this even if it minute bringing the whole thing down and taxes going up come january? >> look, i really believe that the congress this week should reject this tax deal. and day one of the new congress that starts just three weeks from today ought to be a permanent extension of tax relief. i think we can get a better deal for the american people. >> now, house speaker nancy pelosi is not known for call for votes when she doesn't have the numbers, so it's expected that this is going to get through. but with mike pence starting to break loose, that means other conservative tea party-backed republicans means that this could break loose. so this could be closer than we

think. >> also because we know it's going to be a lot closer than people think, looks licht white house is out there making calls. an interesting call from pete defazio saying that the president himself is calling house members saying, quote, this will be the end of his presidency if it doesn't pass. >> sounds like he says it's going to be his own waterloo. pete defazio was on "parker spitzer" last night and was saying that the white house is strong-arming some of these wavering democrats. saying, look, guys, if this taxes go up, this president will go into this presidential election cycle of having raised taxes essentially on the american people. and democrats will be in that same position as well. so pete defazio was trying to warn, i guess -- i guess viewers out there, that the white house is deadly serious about this. we should note, though, that he has not heard this directly from the president. he is talk about what he has

heard from other members in the house. >> yeah, the democrats certainly find themselves in an interesting position. >> that's right. and the white house has not confirmed whether or not the president has said that, so we have to keep in mind that some of this is third-hand information. and all of this is coming down to the last minute up on the hill. these guys want to get home for christmas. despite what jon kyl had to say, they all want to get home, they all want to get out fast. >> jim acosta this morning. thanks. 18 minutes art hour. coming up, how do you say christmas inn, i was betting dubai, but it's actually abu dhabi. the most expensive christmas tree ever. we'll till what baubles are adorns this roost. we're so sure priceline

has the biggest hotel deals we're offering the big deal guarantee. book a hotel with name your own price and if you can find a lower published price anywhere else we'll match it and pay you $25. book now and save up to 60% on hotels. only at priceline. come celebrate exciting cars that are stunning to look at, exhilarating to drive and worry free to own. celebrate this holiday season with the gift of platinum. jaguar platinum coverage: five years or 50,000 miles of complimentary scheduled maintenance, and no cost replacement of wear and tear items. visit your jaguar dealer during the platinum celebration for a $599 lease offer on the 2011 xf.

21 minutes past the hour right now. time for a story that had us talking in the newsroom this morning. a & e may have pulled the plug on david hasselhoff's career, if

you're worried, the star will join the judging panel on britain's got talent. here on cnn next month. >> he was here a week and a half ago he confirmed that he was going go on it. he's friends with simon cowell. and simon's got a big thing to do with that show and invited him to come on. >> he's got a backup plan. retweeting the tweet, sort of an online equivalent of, hey, check this out. we've got officialness of the most retweeted tweets. number one, justin bieber's, and the statement "i'm back." and drake's inside post, we always ignore the ones who adore us and dror the once who ignore us. and stephen colbert, in honor of oil-soaked birds, tweet are now

gurgles. well, it looks like christmas in abu dhabi is quite costly, does it matter what's under the tree if it's decked out like this? it's a beautiful tree, but if you look a little closer, it's a 40-foot evergreen tree decorated with emeralds, diamonds and pearls. it turns out the jets coach who tripped the miami dolphins player last week, didn't just happen to be there. the team now acknowledge, that sal alosi ordered his players to form a wall in that specific location to force the opposing player to run around them. alosi's original suspension was for the rest of the season. the jets have made that suspension indefinite. well, there's no shortage of sales this holiday so how do you know if you're getting your best of deal out there. we're "minding your business" this morning. and our jason carroll with

unprecedented access to troops as they hold secret meetings with tribal elders in afghanistan. he's going to join us with "a soldier's story" next.

26 minutes now away from the hour. stephanie elam here "minding your business" this morning. have you paid full retail value

for any christmas gift this year? >> one. i was about to say what it was, but he could be watching. >> you don't want to do that. >> yeah. >> that's because it never, ever goes on sale. but the rest of them, nothing goes on at the apple store either. >> that's true, there either. >> but everything else, no, i did not pay full retail for anything. maybe i just totally am thinking i'm getting a good deal because it seems retailers are out there to get into our waltets with a little tricks. maybe you see a sale that's there three hours, four hours, you feel like i've got to get in there like they're not going to have another sale this year. take a look at this. this is what we were looking at here. you see an item there, $29.50 on friday. and friday, it's 50% off. $29.50 that sounds like a good deal. let's take a look at what that would be. $14.75 there on the calculator. this is the thing, most of us don't break out our calculators

to dot math. let's see what they say on saturday. everything in the store is going to be five buck, ten bucks or $15. that same skirt is $15. what's the deal on that one? let's see what the trusty math shows us. it's $15. >> 25 cents -- >> john roberts has it. >> i'm following along here. >> in that case, you're getting a better deal. when people say five bucks, ten bucks. if you have any price and people feel like you've gotten a deal. that's when you see in stores at the end, it could be 99 cents, but people think they've got a deal. another $50. >> whole, 108 off 50 is 20%. >> exactly. they're all 20%. it's just the way they show it

to you. >> you know you can take $10 off if you're paying $50. it registered quicker, right? >> right. it's all about making sure that people see that. the other thing that retailers are hating this year. they hate smartphones. because someone can walk into the store and they're like hmm, i want to buy a mug here. in the store it says $5. you can go online really quickly and say, oh, i actually get it for $2 somewhere else. it's hurting sales that way. >> with the red laser, with a couple of those app, you can actually scan the bar code and where you can go to get it. >> it's easier. >> retail is getting more and more difficult? >> yeah. just be a little smart. >> and informed consumer say good thing. >> make sure you're not spending more money than you planned on. >> you're right. coming up right now, we're drawings the half hour, time for a look at our stop stories.

a dangerous mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain that's making the commute treacherous in alabama. slick roads were blamed for at least three deaths yesterday. and in georgia a rough start to the morning commute that happen there had as well. we're learning that various roadways, including the stone mountain freeway, a highway connecting a suburb to the perimeter freeway, that shut down at one exit. a heavily traveled area. and they also say icy conditions have caused many accidents. and, again, we want to let you know that that freeway is shut down. it's the stone mountain freeway at the brockett exit, shut down both east and westbound this morning because of ice. well, the federal government is suing bp, the justice department filing suit in new orleans, accusing the oil giant and its partners of failing to take necessary precautions to prevent last april's oil spill in the gulf. the suit asks for civil penalties against bp. under the clean water act it demands eight other defendants be held liable for all costs and

damages. a border patrol agent killed tuesday night in the mexico/arizona area was shot after confronting a group of bandits who may have been praig on illegal immigrants. they say agent brian terry was part of a surveillance team looking for bandits north of the border. time now for an a.m. original. a story you'll only see on "american morning." for the past year, we've been bringing you "a soldier's story," documenting the lives of military recruits from basic training to the battlefield. >> this morning, we have an unprecedented look at sergeant randy shorter, using his word to build the trust of tribal elders in one of the most dangerous regions in afghanistan. our jason carroll traveled to afghanist afghanistan. >> both you have know over an extended period of time, what these guys have got to do is engage the afghans. sergeant shorter's mission is

not just about going after insurgents, obviously. in order for him and other soldiers to gain the trust afghan people, they have to go outside the protected perimeter of the base. >> time to move again. >> time to move again. >> all right. enemy situation, last 24, a lot of ieds, you anticipate the worse. everybody tracking? okay, right now, sergeant shorter and the rest of his men in his unit, you can see that's frank worten right there are about to head outside the wire for the first time on foot patrol, so we're going along with them. >> all right, if you haven't done so, lock it. it's game time now. >> reporter: our first stop outside the wire on this particular day say meeting with the village elders. but security is such that you

really have to have troops surrounding you just to get to this location. >> i need shooters on this side. you need eyes on every direction possible. >> reporter: inside, shorter's superior officers are trying to build bridges with afghan elders. some are taliban sympathizers. they're demanding the release of afghan prisoners. >> we have six prisoners. >> i know you guys are all saying that they're innocent. >> and we have more up there. >> we don't randomly go and take them. usually, there's a reason. now, that doesn't mean that we're right all the time. >> anything happen while we were inside or outside? >> no, just a lot of traffic coming in. >> just to give you a little more perspective, an area just steps from shorter's base was later attacked by insurgents. and the clips that you just saw are from a one-hour documentary

that we put together, expanding the series we put together here on "american morning" which features not just shorter but two others as well from different walks of life. >> a great story. the stress level, maybe it's not like an overtly expressed stress, but it's always there while you're driving around, isn't it? because of the thread of i eds, you just never know, turn around and bam. >> when i'm talking about this war to friends, people are unfamiliar with the military, that's how the war is being fought with insurgents. they can't match our fire power. what they do with coalition forces, they plant these roadside bombs everywhere. it's really an unconventional war in that way. >> do they believe that progress is being made with tribal elders, bringing them around? >> in that particular incident that we were, we attends this sure ra which is a meeting with elders, i would say a little bit of progress, not as much as they wanted. not as much as they wanted. >> jason, it's a great look.

we're airing the whole hour on this so people can gem a look at what it's like. "a soldier's story" airing saturday december 18th 8:00 p.m., and then sunday at 8:00 p.m. actress julianne moore saw first hand how children in our country need hem. alina cho talks to her next. and a sendoff for the king, larry kings hosting his final show on cnn. a look back at legends. 35 minutes past the hour. hey, you guy, i'm rodney atkins, i'm a country music entertainer. i'm on the road about 200 days a year. the biggest challenge for me out on the road, keeping it normal. when i get a calendar, i'm the 1st of the year, i try to go

through and get my kids' school schedule, games, practices. i want to be at as many as i can. my favorite thing about touring, no doubt the show. your whole day is about two hours of work. and you get stir crazy, so you got to get out. this is where you keep your sanity. you get an old harley. it's one of the coolest things. you get the tv out, stereo, hang out and have a little barbecue. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. princess of the powerpoint. your core competency... is competency. and you rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above.

and still pay the mid-size price. i'm getting an upgrade. [ male announcer ] indeed, business pro. indeed. go national. go like a pro. we get double miles on every purchase. so we earned a holiday trip to the big apple twice as fast! dinner! [ garth ] we get double miles every time we use our card. and since double miles add up fast, we can bring the whole gang! it's hard to beat double miles! i want a maze, a sword, a... oww! [ male announcer ] get the venture card from capital one and earn double miles on every purchase, every day. go to capitalone.com. i wonder what it could be?! what's in your wallet?

38 minutes past the hour. actress julianne moore constantly gets rave reviews for her talent, her beauty. he was nominated for a role in the movie "the kids are all right." >> it holds a special moment for julianne moore because she spends a lot of energy making sure the kids in america get what they need. alina cho is hear to explain "big stars. >> for actress julianne moore it was her childhood that first inspired her to give back. she moved around as a kid and she saw things that she thought were inherently unfair. she's focused on creating equal opportunities for kids here at home. >> you know, when people say how

did you become involved? are you acting as a mother, is it what you see as a mother? it's like, no, it's what i saw as a child. >> reporter: before she was a glamorous actress snormenty weather ♪ ♪ >> reporter: julianne moore was just julie, an army brat. >> we moved a lot. every time you move, you change schools. you're in a completely different environment. i think, you know, what you learn pretty quickly as a kid moving around the united states that, you know, it's not all created equal. everybody, everybody should have the same opportunity. >> reporter: she moved around so much it was hard to keep friends so becomes became her constant companion. >> one thing i say about reading, too, with children is, you can do anything if you can read. >> you did it, you did it. >> reporter: that passion for reading has inspired her work as an artist ambassador with "save the children." where she spends time working on educational programs for the

poor. you were very focused on helping people here in the united states. >> well, it's not that i don't believe there are many, many needy causes all over the world, but i do believe that, just in terms of poverty in our country, often people hide in plain sight. because we have so much in the united states, sometimes, it's a refusal to acknowledge what's going on right here. >> reporter: 1 in 5 children are in poverty. >> yes, 1 in 5 children in the united states are in poverty. when you tell people, they're shocked. absolutely shocked. once upon a time there was a little girl who was just like everybody else. >> reporter: for moore, one key way to lift kids out of poverty is through education. you mentioned literacy, i know that's something that's close to your heart. you've written two hearts which i've read. >> they didn't take very long, right? they're a quick-read. >> reporter: children's books about freckle face straw baeshgs

the nickname she hated as a child. the moral, look beyond what you see on the surface. how do kids respond to you? >> oh, kids don't care. i mean, justin bieber, for example, i would be exciting. >> reporter: but she's a celebrity who can and wants to make a difference. >> if we are going to set an example, we need to bring everybody here. we need to bring tov the same place then we can really be effective in the rest world. >> she's absolutely right. she's such an elegant, well-spoken woman. and she's doing such great things. if you want to see behind-the-scenes photos or get involved go to cnn.com/amfix. for more on how to make a difference around the world, cnn.com/impact. one thing that julianne moore does that she hopes will be her little legacy she started

something called the valentine's day card program. it's a contest, people submit their designs and they get sold. i was inspired by unicef's trick or treat program and i thought, what's another holiday that could work. we have to buy as mothers those valentines anyway. why not make it a teachable moment. >> and how many billions of dollars do we spend on valentine's anyway. >> they do. >> and the valentine's day cards i should mention are for sale, go to savethechildren.org. >> that's great. she mentioned justin bieber, you're featuring him as well. >> you know, i never listened to justin bieber until a couple weeks ago. that's me in jeans, by the way. i did talk to justin bieber in new hampshire where he's giving

a concert. he's 16 years old. he's one of the hottest music stars on the planet. and he's also giving back. he said, listen, charity is not just for older people, it's for kids too, and i want to help kids. he's such a great inspiration for millions of kids. >> when you're as blessed as he is it's nice at his age to give back. >> don't miss alina's one-hour special "big stars big giving" it airs christmas eve and 8:00 p.m. on christmas day. still to come, rob marciano is going to have the travel forecast, live from kentucky. freezing temperatures and the ice. and it's bit sweet for all of us at cnn. larry king signs off for his last life broadcast tonight. a look back at his legendary run just ahead. it's 44 minutes after the hour.

[scraping] [piano keys banging] [scraping] [horns honking] with deposits in your engine, it can feel like something's holding your car back. let me guess, 16. [laughing] yeeah. that's why there's castrol gtx... with our most powerful deposit fighting ingredient ever. castrol gtx exceeds the toughest new industry standard. don't let deposits hold your car back. get castrol gtx. it's more than just oil. it's liquid engineering. singerwhy not add one more things already that can help your situation for sure check your credit score free-credit-score-dot-com free-credit-score you won't regret it at all! check the legal y'all. anncr: offer applies with enrollment in triple advantage.

13 minutes to the top of the hour. let's get a quick check of the weather headlines. our rob marciano braving the cold temperatures in louisville, kentucky, this morning. not just the cold temperatures, rob, but ice and ice rain? >> reporter: yeah, it's pretty slick. certainly off the roadways. on the main road aways, guys. you can see one of the main

thoroughfares here in louisville is doing okay. there's been salting on the roadways, not only last night in preparation for the event but over the weekend as well. so they're in decent shape on the main roads. but you get off the main roads and you get on an area like this where there's just a sidewalk. you're talking about railings that are slicked up. and a sidewalk that's extremely difficult to walk on unless you just pound through about a quarter to half an inch of ice. the trees are the other issue. looks pretty, but tree limbs coming down is certainly a possibility. let's talk about the larger picture of weather here. this is a bigger system today than it was yesterday, that's for sure. intensifying as it rolls towards the appalachians, leading edge of it is in the form of snow across virginia, parts of north carolina, so we've got winter storm warnings and advisories in effect for those areas. west virginia, southern ohio. it's all snow. and this is not going to move north and east. it's going to move north and eat. south of new york is where most

of the action will be over the next 24 to 36 hours. we're at or below freezing in louisville, that's why it's raining. nashville has warmed up dramatically, i think the bulk of the warm air will stay south of louisville. we may warm up to just above freezing in a couple days. interestingly enough, atlanta still at the freezing mark there. they'll warm up eventually into the lower 50s, and we're seeing that now. a slick go this morning. winter weather advisory till in effect there. the traffic accidents have been plentiful. atlanta not prepared to salt roadways in aerpgs of this icing event. if you are traveling by air, obviously, there's going to be some issues here in louisville. there will be some delays. but they do have one runway open as this storm moves through. we expect this to wrap up by about noon. and then at least the precip will be over. schools are closed, though. kids are enjoying that, but it

looks like mommy and daddy are trying to get back to work. john and kiran. >> no fun for the grown-ups. we have videos, you were mentioned the slick weather in the georgia and atlanta area. they say a lot of the roads and exit ramps in and around atlanta had to be closed because of these icy conditions causing a lot of accident, rob. right now, they say that the stone mountain freeway is actually shut down in two directions, brockett to mountain boulevard. all of this in the commute. >> reporter: yeah, that's a major freeway or highway out of the east side of the town. the farther east you are, that's where the bulk of the cold air is going it to be. into atlanta, with the east wind, layer of cold air will sit there longer than it would just down the road than, say, tuscaloosa or birmingham. that's why you see the dramatic difference there. obviously much more populated in atlanta. not prepared for any sort of

winter. a hairy right last night, and it's improving slowly, slowly this morning. guys. >> rob, thanks so much. also, our top stories, including troop withdrawal. is it on target? there are new details on the progress report in afghanistan. the spread going to talk about it as well. how much longer could america's longest war continue on? $165,000 for maple syrup research? whether you like maple syrup or not, you may be paying for it. a look at some the pet projects in a trillion-dollar spending bill. why republicans are so angry and why they're not off the look either. micro-sculpting serum for firmer skin in 5 days. pretty heavy lifting for such a lightweight. [ female announcer ] olay regenerist. come celebrate exciting cars that are stunning to look at, exhilarating to drive and worry free to own. celebrate this holiday season with the gift of platinum. jaguar platinum coverage:

five years or 50,000 miles of complimentary scheduled maintenance, and no cost replacement of wear and tear items. visit your jaguar dealer during the platinum celebration for a $599 lease offer on the 2011 xf.

thank you for calling usa pmy name peggy. peggy, yes, i'd like to redeem my reward points for a gift card. tell points please? 250,000. calculating... ooh! answer: five fifty!

550 bucks?! 5 dollar, 50 cents. minus redeeming charge. leaving 50 cents. say what? happy time! what kind of program is this? want better rewards? switch to discover. america's number 1 cash rewards program. it pays to discover. well it's the end of an era here at cnn. tonight is larry king's final show. for the past 25 year, larry has been a staple in his suspenders in our living room every night. >> it's hard to sum up television history in a few minutes' time. but i'm going to give it a shot this morning. here's a look back. ♪ >> larry: good evening, my name is larry king, and this is the premiere edition of "larry king live." every night at this time, we'll be here for one hour. we're going to meet fascinating

people from all walks of life. you're a legend, you do know that? >> everybody is a legend but there are no normal people in the world. >> they are impossible. >> from here up i'm fine. from here down, i need makeup. ♪ everybody going to dance around ♪ >> larry, kiss me, just do it now, don't be afraid, hold me. your nipples are hard. >> struggling, too. >> wait, wait. >> dance, dance. >> no. i told you low to the floor. >> >> larry: you want more children? >> oh, yeah, yeah. >> and right here. >> paul's going to get upset, you're touching my leg, larry. >> you must have something wrong in your head to come out and call me a murderer of my child. >> feeling like slaves and we're going uphill feeling like free

people. >> when the chapel -- ♪ >> good-bye. >> good-bye. >> it wasn't a road i would have picked. but a lot of times things get picked for. you. >> why should i be bitter? i'm thrilled to death with life. >> it's possible, we don't like. >> jesus, jesus, the bible says that his name is all powerful, that his name is. >> don't spend your time worrying about when it is you're going to die. le spend your time worrying about how you're going to live today. >> and we were put on earth to try to conserve our trees, our nations, our waters. >> larry: police now saying that simpson, a passenger in the car, has a gun on his head. >> either a democrat or republican. >> i know that's kind of a lie you're trying to come across with. >> you're saying -- >> this thing was prop pand ga.

>> was there a holocaust? >> i've never been in the watergate. it's kind of hard. >> larry: never? >> other people were in there. >> that's still texas? >> yeah, want to see? >> don't have a question, i have a statement, please. >> larry: go. >> i want to say hello to my son, bill clinton. >> hi, mother. >> that's a strange question to ask? >> larry: what happened with the submarine? >> i don't know. it sunk. >> larry: is it a curse at anytime? >> oh, no, it comes with so much love. >> larry: what's it about? if tears could build a stairway and memories a lane, i'd walk out of heaven and bring her home again. >> yes. >> this is his creation, to come here and feel him here, i'm happy.

>> larry: we'll as go live to haiti showing you specifically what your donations mean. for now, for here, it's time to hang up the nightly suspenders. and who knows what the future's going to bring. >> i love that exchange with putin about the curse. what happened to the submarine? it sunk. >> gosh, you get goose bumps seeing those years with interviews. >> it really is amazing. and the number he's talked to that have passed on as well. that's extraordinary. >> he's had some life. >> sure has. and will continue to, no doubt. the final show tonight 9:00 eastern on cnn. don't miss it. your top stories in just a minutes. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 market like this? sure. i'm looking at trading options.

tdd# 1-800-345-2550 but, you know, i want to do it right... tdd# 1-800-345-2550 [ male announcer ] serious about trading options? tdd# 1-800-345-2550 schwab has a serious range of tools and resources. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 you don't just wing options. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 for a start, i want specialized tools... tdd# 1-800-345-2550 [ male announcer ] get a quicker read tdd# 1-800-345-2550 on where a stock could be heading tdd# 1-800-345-2550 using our advanced charting tdd# 1-800-345-2550 with implied volatility and put/call ratio studies. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 scan the market in real-time for potential opportunities tdd# 1-800-345-2550 with our customizable option screeners. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 options can be tricky. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 even a guy like me might need a little help now and then. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 [ male announcer ] talk to a schwab options specialist tdd# 1-800-345-2550 or take our seminars free -- tdd# 1-800-345-2550 online or in person. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 all for just $8.95 plus 75¢ per options contract. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and you get 250 free trades for opening an account at schwab. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 talk to chuck about trading options. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 go to schwab.com/activetrader tdd# 1-800-345-2550 or call 1-800-979-9006. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 ♪

try cortizone 10 intensive healing. the strongest itch relief medicine now has three vitamins and seven moisturizers. feel the heal. >> larry: good evening, my name is larry king, and this is the premiere edition of "larry king live." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning to you on this thursday, december the 17th. thanks for joining us on this

"american morning." i'm john roberts. >> and i'm kiran chetry. there's a lot going on that we want to get you caught up. first of all, we're talking about weather, mother nature's icy grip stretching all the way from the deep south. roads are frozen and the morning commute is dangerous in many places. the freezing temperatures also threatening florida's precious crops, we're live on the ground with the latest. the surge, one year later, new details leased about the president's new plan on the war in afghanistan. nic robertson is live in kabul. does the report tell whauts happening on the ground there. and we're also learning more about a man who opened fire on school officials in panama city. police are releasing the 911 call that they received as clay duke started shooting. >> somebody is down. somebody is down. >> you don't know who's down? >> we don't know. >> we'll have more of that call and also the stunning interview

with rebecca duke, the gunman'sed with vo, straight ahead. >> first this morning, for millions of you, it is bitter cold out there as you head into work this morning. a relentless wintry system stretching into the southeast. frozen roads caused more than 1,000 accidents in and around atlanta last night. many streets were closed and remain closed. exit ramps were blocked. and in some cases drivers abandoned their cars and walked home. officials urging drivers to use caution because they say bridges and overpasses remain dangerous. this cold weather system is pushing farther south into florida. and farmers are waging battle over freezing temperatures spf some of them using irrigation systems to try to coat plants with a thin layer of ice that actually protects them. in other cases they're using helicopters to try to push warmer air on to the crops. >> let's get the latest on this wintry mess. rob marciano live in lsuville, kentucky. did you get stuck there in

louisville or did you decide the weather is so bad that it's a great place to report from? >> reporter: well, who wouldn't want to hang out in louisville for one thing. but, yeah, this place, it's been two years since they had a major ice storm that paralyzed the city. i wouldn't call this paralyzing but certainly putting a scare in them. temperatures slightly at or below freezing. turned over to freezing rain about 3:00, 4:00 in the morning. this railing is totally covered with ice. what they've done, they treated the roadways a fair amount. if you kick around to a quarter or half inch, you get down to the bare pavement. they've had salt on the roads there over the weekend. the roadways are not horrible. at least the major roadways. certainly, secondary roadways are a little more dicey. the airport is open. one runway is open. they're kind of alternating between the two runways trying to keep them coated and in condition. let's talk about the southeast as a whole. atlanta, no stranger to seeing

temperatures kind of locked down, colder than other areas. montgomery's almost 50. atlanta is struggling to get out of the 30s but doing so. but last night, for several hour, they had a little freezing rain. it doesn't take much in atlanta. here, across nashville, temperatures rising in 40s and across louisville, we're looking at temperatures that are still right around freezing. the moisture expected to end here late morning towards noon. then working its way towards east. we have winter storm warnings posted for a good chunk of appalachians as this storm rolls its way towards the mid-atlantic. i think it will stay south of the new york city area. the cold air will stay pretty much north of this system. it's not go to come a dramatic warm jum for everyone. and icing over the next couple of hours. it will be icing again tonight. you really have to go south into tennessee, south into south carolina and the deep down to seat warm air. we're going to be below freezing

in d.c. today. right at freezing in new york city. so no huge warmup with this system, guys. as can often be the case. looks like everybody in the north will remain very, very cold and a long-term pattern keeps it that way. back to you guys. >> all right. have to find different ways to stay warm. also leased just an hour ago, the latest details on the progress report in afghanistan. this is the big one, the one we've been waiting for since president obama announced a surge in troops a year ago. and it says there has been progress, enough progress that some troops can come home starting in july as promised last year. nic robertson joins us live from kabul. nic, what was the biggest take-away from this report? >> reporter: i think that, while there -- is some progress in the south, it's still a patchy review that these games so far are potentially reversible. and a lot of the problem so far the border in pakistan with al qaeda and taliban sanctuaries.

and a hint of frustration that the afghan government is not yet up to meeting the challenge to sort of consolidate, as the review puts, consolidate the gains that security forces, nato and afghan security forces are able to bring here. so i think the big picture take-away is what's happened is fragile. and the only success -- strong success is only in a couple of small parts in the south. >> we're also getting reports of possible terror threats from al qaeda in europe and in the united states. what are you hearing from your sources? >> reporter: well, i think that it's no surprise, if you will, that al qaeda wants to target around christmastime. they know that's when they can cause maximum disruption. we've already seen in sweden a recent attack in the runup to christmas when there are more people out on the streets. we know that out over the summer, in germany in

particular, a big concern about mumbai terror. terror/gunman type threat in europe and in germany, particularly towards the end of the year, particularly towards christmas. and of course, the attack over christmas last year by the so-called underpants bomber on the flight to detroit. al qaeda would like to target that time of year. right now, it appears at least from intelligence sources in iraq, that al qaeda does have that intention. it shouldn't be any surprise for intelligence authorities at this time, john. >> keep law enforcement on their toes this holiday season. nic robertson in kabul. nic, thanks. when clay duke stood up and started shooting at officials in panama city, florida, police say it wasn't a spur of the moment act. they found a date circled on a calendar in a mobile home and also two rounds of ammunition in

his pocket. >> oh, my gosh, he's firing. >> okay. >> he's firing. >> okay. >> he's firing. i don't know -- >> are you secure? >> we don't believe we need an ambulance. it looks like everybody is up walking. >> okay, so thor. that was shot -- >> i don't know. somebody is down. somebody is down. >> you don't know who's down? >> we don't know. >> do you have visual of him? >> everybody's okay? everybody's okay. who was shot? the gunman was shot. >> the gunman was shot. >> the gunman was shot. >> and clay duke's widow said, take a look at the video, it's clear that her husband never intended to hurt anybody but himself. rebecca dukes a former teacher in the bay county school district said the economy just got the best of him.

he was upset at the district for firing her last year. but she believes he intentionally missed school officials when he opened fire. >> if you totally look at the video, when he starts actually shooting, he's a military man, he's been trained in guns. he knows how to use them. okay. he knows about them. now, as close as he was, seriously, people, he was that close. if he really wanted to shoot somebody, he would have already been dead. >> rebecca duke insists her husband knew the s.w.a.t. team was about to rush in. he feared they would rush in and hit school board officials in attempt to get him. he fired first knowing that the officials would be behind the desk and get out of harm's way. >> it's a tragic ending and obviously for her as well. yesterday, when we talked to ginger, when she tried to hit the gun out of his hand, he

could have shut her then and there. >> even out of anger, he could have pulled the trigger. 28 people seeking asylum in australia died when their boat crashed into cliffs as it was approaching christmas island. officials say more than 40 others were rescued. this video is astounding. most of the people on the boat were from iran and iraq and trying to start a new life on the island. is there a serial killer, the fbi is joining police after receipt mains of four women were recently discovered on a long island beach. all of the bodies were found in bushes about 500 feet apart. police say they were dumped. by next year, the production of drop-side cribs will be banned in the united states. they're on old style crib. the bars that slide up and down.the consumer product safety commission voted unanimously to outlaw them yesterday.

and is the big mac, the french fries? mcdonald's getting sued for selling happy meals. a group of consumers trying to get the big giant to stop selling what they call are unhealthy meals for kids. still ahead, congress on the clock, trillions of dollars and a nuclear treaty on the line. so can they do in two days what they haven't been able to do with the other 363? and astronaut katie coleman on her way to the international space station. we've been following katie, some pictures from inside of her soyuz space station. a year of ups and downs for sandra bullock. she's been voted "people" magazine's woman of the year. r

are almost inseparable. she lifts her calf to its first breath of air, then protects it on the long journey to their feeding grounds. one of the most important things you can do is help the next generation. at pacific life, we offer financial solutions to accomplish just that. ask a financial professional about pacific life. the power to help you succeed.

well it seems like we've been down this road before. but it looks like this morning, we are one step closer to ending the ban on gays serving openly in the armed forces. the house passed a bill repealing don't ask, don't tell yesterday. it could come to the senate floor as early as today. and it looks like it may have the votes to break a filibuster. >> lawmakers are racing to do that and a whole lot more. an imposing stack of bills to get to by the end of the year before the power shifts and

before your paycheck shrimpgs. along with the don't ask, don't tell, there's the $8 create billion tax cut package. the $1.1 trillion spending bill. and nuclear bill with russia. all of this, unless they skip the christmas break, and they're even fighting about that. >> we told you there say divide in the republican over the tax cut compromise. they did find something to unite. >> the $1.1 trillion spending bill that we mentioned a moment ago, almost 2,000 pages, 6,000 projects, pork by democratic lawmakers. jim acosta is live for us in washington this morning. you know, a lot of people are saying we don't need the study on maple syrup, but those of us who love maple syrup are thinking differently. i'm just kidding, jim. >> reporter: yeah, i thought it was delicious. john and keeper, what's

interesting in that $1.1 trillion spending bill, that's the spending bill that keeps the lights on here until washington. it pays for the all of the federal government. and there's some cries of hyp-pork-crasy. they're saying we're done with earmarks. no more pork barrel projects. guess what, this new only any bus, $1.1 trillion spending bill, loaded up with earmarks. we'll put them on the screen four. just to show you, mitch mcconnell has a boat load. $650,000 for a zblentic technologies project. and john cornyn, the reason why we mention john cornyn, we want to set up sound here from the texas republican. he's got $4.5 million from a

texas river project. and john cornyn went up on capitol hill yesterday holding the press conference to denunls of the earmarks in the spending bill calling the onmnibus spending bill. and here's what he had to say. >> i intend to vote against those earmarks because i think the american people sent a message on november 2nd saying they want a new way of operating in washington. >> there you go, guys, they're going to vote against their own earmarks. sounding like hyp-pork--crasy. >> how would they do that, though? is that just talk or could they vote against the earmarks? >> no they're vowing to vote against the entire spending bill and that is sending up what is essentially like a pretty dramatic situation. if they can't get the bill

passed by december 18th, eventually, they're going to run out to fund the departments. but that's not a done deal. nobody's saying that's got to happen. >> right. and you have your startling numbers, right? >> yeah. absolutely. let's bring out more pork. the folks over at the taxpayers for common sense. a pretty trusted watchdog here in washington. look at these earmarks that they found in the omnibus spending bill. senator cochran, a republican, 263 earmarks worth $522 million. and the list goes on and on. mitch mcconnell has earmarks totaling $86 million. john corn, $93 million. we talked to the tea party chairman about this, amy kramer, she told me she's got fire coming out of her ears over the ear macs. here's what she had to say.

if a republican votes for this spending bill, watch out? >> oh, we will go after them. yes. i mean, we're not going to accept it. we are absolutely not going to accept it. there's all kinds of pork in there. bovine waste from i can't remember where. i think they need to focus on bovine waste coming out of the washington, d.c. >> you there go bovine waste out of washington, d.c. feels like the holiday, doesn't it guys? >> bovine waste is big in places like iowa. >> yeah, we learned a lesson about joking about that last year. >> exactly. and one pet politician's project is another politician's worthy endeavor. >> yep, there you go, don't knock the maple syrup. you'll be sad when they're gone. >> we don't want the have thors on our back. please don't at all. after losing his own reality show, david hasselhoff, don't worry about him because he lands another gig. find out where coming up next. join the jaguar platinum celebration !

come celebrate exciting cars that are stunning to look at, exhilarating to drive and worry free to own. celebrate this holiday season with the gift of platinum. jaguar platinum coverage: five years or 50,000 miles of complimentary scheduled maintenance, and no cost replacement of wear and tear items. visit your jaguar dealer during the platinum celebration for a $599 lease offer on the 2011 xf.

well, it's time for the stories that got us talking in the newsroom this morning. a & e may have pulled the plug on david hasselhoff's reality show, but across the pond, folks just can't get enough of the

hoff. they intel "entertainment weekly" that the star will join "britain's got talent." well, it's been the best of times and worst of times for sakt tress sandra bullock this year. first, she won an oscar for her role in "the blind side." she publicly thanked her husband for his role. shortly after that, she divorced her husband because. and now women of the year, on "people" magazine, she graces the issue of the 25 most intriguing people. what a thriller, the knicks serving notice that they're back. pearce breaking it with a fate away jumper with 0.4 second remaining. you can see it there.

there you go, boom. but the knicks weren't dead yet. >> stoudemire for the win. and it counts. it counts! >> so, if he wasn't -- >> oh, yes, the old at the buzzer shot. stoudemire's game-winning point was waived off. the refs said he released it 0.1 second too late. >> they were celebrating, happened at the last second. coming up, we followed astronaut katie coleman as she prepared for the international space station. now, she's on her way, a first look inside the spacecraft. also, an a.m. original, jason carroll, an unprecedented look with afghan groups as they hold secret meetings. "a soldier's story" next.

♪ oh, my gosh. oh, my gosh. ♪ [ male announcer ] you know her. we know diamonds. together we'll make her holiday. that's why only zales is the diamond store. where you can get up to $1,000 off now through sunday.

♪ ♪ i'm a space cowboy where did she dig that up? >> i don't know. i don't even know what song it. this morning for the first time nasa astronaut katie coleman is waking up in space. >> it's a maximum thrust and liftoff. the soyuz tma-8020 as katie head

to the international space station. >> that was the steve miller band. "space cowboy." katie headed for the international space station. they're expected to dock at the station. >> john zarrella has been following cady's progress. he is live in california. i know, john, you're having separation anxiety. >> you know, i feel somehow that all the three of us at "american morning" somehow partly responsible for finally getting her off the ground on that flight. it was a real smooth ride up into space. as mentioned, they're on their way, they'll be docking tomorrow with the international space station. you mentioned she woke up in space maybe for the first time today. i'm not sure -- i wouldn't have slept, i know that. but how cool was she, yesterday, as they were ascending and that rocket powering them up into orbit. she's sitting there and we have

video of her actually waves from her seat in the soyuz as they were ascending up into space there. so that, to me, is amazing. this is a woman who i have to tell you has told me many times she gets sea sick. while she gets sea sick, she can fly into space like that. i think that's pretty amazing. before they got on the vehicle, as the countdown was proceeding, and they headed out to the launchpad, one of the signature moments in any of these liftoffs is that moment when they're all standing on the steps, walking up towards the rocket, towards the soyuz. the three of them cady and powell and dimitri waving there. her husband, josh, who we meant during the series was there. and her son, her 10-year-old son, there in kazakhstan. if you think they had a lot leading up to that, guess what,

they actually found a little time to send a little message to the "american morning" crew. >> hey, john, i wanted to say hell to you and the team at "american morning" from the cosmodrome. >> john thanks for following us the whole year, it's cold here, and it's time for us to leave this planet. don't worry, we'll be following you from up there, ciao. >> i'm sure they will, as a matter of fact. we're growi g matter of fact. we're growioing to be with them. i'll be checking in with cady and paolo and dmitri. i guess they were bored they had time to send that to us. >> and very few people get the chance to say "i'm leaving the planet," and then coming back, of course. john zarrella, thanks so much. we're drawings the half hour. five days before the official start of winter and it is so cold throughout. roads iced over. temperatures for much of the east coast right around freezing and it is caution a mess on the roadways in and around atlanta

the icy conditions caused more than 1,000 accidents. and as the storm continues to head east, there are winter storm warnings posted for parts of the mid-atlantic as well. last christmas, we had the accused underwear bomber an this year, new intelligence coming out of iraq that al qaeda is planning suicide attacks in the united states and europe over the holiday season. iraq's interior minister tells the associated press that insurgents captured in the country gave up the official. american officials say they're looking at it very closely but they do not another a specific threat. and it's out. details of the latest progress report on the war in afghanistan. the one that many have been wait for since the president announced a surge in troops a little over a year ago. and it says, despite the violence, there has been enough progress, at least in some area, that troops, at least some of them, can come home starting in july as promised last year. they also mentioned that gains that the u.s. has made against al qaeda. time now for an a.m.

original. a story you'll only see on "american morning." for the past year, we've been bringing you "a soldier's story," documenting the lives of military recruits from basic training to the battlefield. >> and this morning, we have an unprecedented look at sergeant randy shorter, using his word to win the trust of tribal elders in one of the most dangerous reges of afghanistan. our jason carroll traveled to afghanistan. >> i feel like you guys were on that journey as well, as we've been following randy shorter for the past year. to give this more perspective, as you mentioned the pentagon is releasinged that year-end of war. soldiers like randy shorter know first hand, in order to gain the trust of the afghan people, they have to go outside the perimeter of the protects base.

>> on the move again. >> on the move again. >> all right. enemy situation, last 24, a lot of ieds, you anticipate the worse. everybody tracking? >> reporter: okay, right now, sergeant shorter and the rest of his men in his unit, you can see that's frank worten right there, are about to head outside the wire for the first time on foot patrol. so we're going along with them. >> all right, if you haven't done so, lock it. it's game time now. >> reporter: our first stop outside the wire on this particular day say meeting with the village elders. but security is such that you really have to have troops surrounding you, in order just to get to this location. >> i need shooters on this side. you need eyes on every direction possible. >> reporter: inside, shorter's superior officers are trying to build bridges with afghan elders. some are taliban sympathizers. they're demanding the release of afghan prisoners.

>> we have six prisoners. there with you. >> i know you guys are all vouching that they are innocent. >> and we have more up there. >> we don't randomly go and take them. usually, there's a reason. now, that doesn't mean that we're right all the time. >> anything happen while we were inside? while we were outside? >> no, just a lot of traffic coming in. a lot of motorcycles. >> you know, areas just steps from shorter's base was actually later attacked by insurgents. it gives you an idea of how dangerous things are there. the clips that you saw from from a one-hour documentary. it's not just randy shorter that we're profile here, but two other soldiers as well, from very different walks of life. >> it really is a terrific experience, isn't it, and an honor to spend so much time in the field? >> for me, it was. as both of you guys know, i

don't come from a military family. this was my way of learning more about what the process is like, exposing more of the american people, our viewers, who don't come from a military family. >> it's not too late to start a military family. you have the physique for it. >> they wouldn't have you. >> a little long in the tooth. >> but it also is just really telling you've kept in touch with them. and they have brushes with death almost, you know, on a weekly basis. >> you and i were talking about this earlier, one of the people you that see in our piece. when we got back from afghanistan, heard about a sniper's bullet just barely missing his nose right after we left. >> i know lots of folks in the military that would be happy to have you. >> we'll talk about this later. later. >> thanks, jason. cnn is going to air the one-hour documentary. "a soldier's story" airs saturday account 58 p.m. that's this saturday and sunday at 8:00 p.m.

tv shows using sex for laughs. one group isn't amused. they call it the sexualization of girls. sand it has an effect on teens. and more and more women rejecting the solid hookup cute tour and embracing a more feminist attitude. carol costello talks to members of the jane austin society of america. coming up next. join the jaguar platinum celebration !

come celebrate exciting cars that are stunning to look at, exhilarating to drive and worry free to own. celebrate this holiday season with the gift of platinum. jaguar platinum coverage: five years or 50,000 miles of complimentary scheduled maintenance, and no cost replacement

of wear and tear items. visit your jaguar dealer during the platinum celebration for a $599 lease offer on the 2011 xf. ♪ 38 minutes past the hour right now. some parents are fighting against a force that seems impossible to stop these days. teens, especially teen girls or even tweens, girls that aren't yet considered teenagers seem to be growing up too fast. they have their cell phone, cameras, worried about what they're saying on facebook and

twitter, sexting on top of other worries. and now the parents' television council is going after the favorite shows that kids watch for promoting teen sexuality. joining us is nicole clark she was a top model for years, and now she's speaking out about the message that the industry sends to young girls. she actually made a documentary exposing the harmful effects what she calls the cover girl culture. nicole, thanks for getting up early. knew you're in l.a. >> you're welcome. >> the study overall, what did it find about how teen girls are being portrayed in some the most popular shows throughout? >> what the study kourngsd the parents television council did is not surprising, i'm sure parents are aware of what the young media is doing with girls. but they're finding that girls as young as 7 and 8 are being exposed to sexualization. and that the girls have shared in the study that their source of sexuality information,

information about sex, is from entertainment media. it's no longer from their parents, from their peers. it's now directly from all of the entertainment that they're exposed to. girls are seeing as much as 75 hours of media. they're consuming that much media a week. the message that they're learning now is primarily from entertainment media about sexuality and what is acceptable sexual behavior. >> right. this isn't overt making out on tv, these are more subtle thing, right? in the way they dress, in the hidden inonuendo in the conversations. what impact does that have on young girls watching? do they get it? do they pick up on this? >> oh, of course. from what the cdc releases, america has the highest teen pregnancy in any industrialized nation in the world. as well as the std. that alone shows it's definitely an effect. things like low self-esteem, girls are believing that their value is based on their

exterior, being thin, being pretty, being sexy. girls are most definitely affected emotionally and physically. they're not thinking there's risks involved they're not seeing fun activity on the shows of the characters they adore. >> if people at home are wondering if you're a parent of a tween, you might know what we're talking about. this is a clip from "glee" which has taken a lot of hits. people are criticizing "glee" it's widely popular. but it has has an alleged sexual or inert sexuality. let's take a look at the show. it's one of the highest shows of the season. it's when britney spears made an appearance. ♪ oh bobaby, baby i shouldn't l you go ♪ ♪ tell me how you want it to be tell me baby 'cause i need to know now ♪

>> so you take a look at that, what, i guess to these scenes -- what type of impact do they have? how do they affect behavior and attitudes towards teenage girls? >> girls are learning from something like this that their inundate wud this, through all aspects not just television, this is acceptable behavior from girls, you'll get attention from boyce because teen girls are at a volatile stage where they're looking for acceptance of fitting in. so they're being told that these behaviors are acceptable. and that's the perfect example of content that's created by men. that song about video was produced by men. we're watching content created by men for children and for young girls, without taking into consideration that the harm that it's doing to our young people's abilities to understand what's real and what's appropriate. because young people do not have the faculties, the cognitive development to understand what is being shown to them.

>> what about the effect on young males watching that same show? >> yes. young males, they're as learning that this is what you expect from girls. this is how girls are supposed to treat you. and this is just what's standard. unless, of course, you have great parents who are out there and they're combatting the messages. and they're helping instill media literacy and critical thinking skills. but if not, then the messages are going straight in when you're being bombarded 400, 500 times a day, it goes in. >> "glee" we checked it's rate ed pg-13. and some were not even rated "s" for sexual content so if you tried to block them for parental controls they wouldn't get caught up in that net. what should parents do short of taking the remote control and shutting the tv off? >> right. i think the most important part is that parents start a dialogue

with children on media and tv. so they understand that it's not okay to take everything at face value with media. but there is definitely a lot of media out there. and it would be impossible to sort of control it all. or tag it all with what is appropriate and what is inappropriate. i think parents have to get more involved with what their kids are watching. again, like i said, have the media and literacy skills and really talk to children about what the agenda is of the shows and advertisements. >> nicole clark, spokesperson for the parents television council. thanks for join pupgs. >> you're welcome. well, not every young woman is influenced by what they see on the big screen or television, oar even what the friends are doing. >> carol costello shows us what they're saying no to the random hook up. today is jane austin's birthday, she's 235 years old. she has a lot of friends. on facebook she has 246,000

fans. it's incredible. the question we're trying to answer this morning is why so much love is being directed at jane austin. >> their eyes instantly met. >> reporter: they call themselves janites and happily admit to an obsession with pre-victorian author jane austin who was born 235 years ago. their obsession, along with thousands across the country has prompted hollywood to make austin's books into movies again and again. >> the focus feature presents the story of the modern woman. >> reporter: wait, the story of a modern feminist woman? created in the 1800s? in a janite's mind, austin's female characters are more in tune with today's 20-somethings than sarah palin, hillary clinton or tina fey combined. >> is there no other example out there for young women to look up to? >> i think it's so difficult to find that especially with

today's movies and today's books with the idea that we need to constantly get the new thing. sometimes, we have to go back and look at what happened in the past. >> reporter: in part, the austin obsession is what has happened in an yum coming romance. like the benefits of friendship, sex and whatever. >> why does it come with confrontation. >> reporter: and meetings. >> it's a pass act. >> reporter: in austin's world nothing is sexier than intellectual sparring between a men and woman. >> why do you ask? >> there needs to be more communication between partners. i think that's when jane austin talks a lot about. a feeling that isn't really talked about at all now. it's the idea that women are completely different from men. >> reporter: that sentiment that women are different from men resonate news. not only among some young them any of thes but more traditional women, too. although for different reasons. karen agnes writes a blog.

>> we should embrace our femininity as women and men should embrace the masculine side. don't try to fight against it. >> i did not perceive the character really to show off before the ladies. >> reporter: austin wrote every impulsive feeling should be guided by reason. perhaps the saddest thing about this who a modern role model might be, they can't even come with a name. if you'd like to comment on our story, it's on our blog, cnn.com/amfix. >> back to you. >> carol costello this morning. carol, thanks. a travel alert out this morning, icy roads coating the southern states and wintry mess not done yet. >> our rob marciano has got all of the travel details coming up.

part of atlanta this morning where it's cloudy and 35 degrees right now. still some ice out on the roads, particularly on the stone mountain freeway. be very, very careful. it was closed earlier this morning. we need an update whether it's reopened but later on today it gets milder. high of 52 degrees and showers so that should help to wash away that ice. >> we got word that it's reopened. ice is very, very hard to drive on. rob marciano joins us live from louisville, kentucky. you have had freezing rain there this morning, as well. they said a thousand accidents caused by the weather in and around the atlanta area. unbelievable. >> reporter: yeah, you know, makes a big difference the city you are in. certain cities have the resources for it. atlanta doesn't have the resources. nor did they prep for it. you have drivers that don't do well in winter driving conditions and atlanta traffic is, well, it's infamous so you

get that combination and there's a problem. temperatures are warming up in atlanta. still holding right at the freezing mark here. roads aren't too bad. sidewalks and certainly frees are beginning to -- continuing to ice over. that may cause problems as far as power outages go. larger system today. much larger than yesterday. starting to reach into the mid-atlantic. snow across cincinnati. freezing rain here in louisville. nashville, up to 50 degrees. dramatic warm-up i think south of the north carolina and tennessee border. atlanta also warming up quickly after a 12-hour scare of temperatures right at the freezing mark and moisture. and that caused a whole lot of problems but they're pretty much beginning to come to an end. here are your winter storm watches and warnings. a slew of them. below philly and below new york, d.c. may get an inch or two. richmond may get three to six inches. but the round again sparing the

big apple but it's still kind of chilly up there. you are not exactly going out and getting a sun tan. i know that. >> we did get snow a couple of days ago that hasn't melted because it's very cold. and the ice out there on the sidewalk. >> reporter: spirit of things. >> thanks, rob. a "a.m. original," big stars, big giving. julianne moore, army brat to star. he was so sure that cliff lee wasn't returning to the old team that he bet his pants on it, literally. a sports reporter made a view to wear a speedo at spring training is here and we'll ask him about that. hanging up the suspenders after 25 years. we're going to wrap up the best of "larry king live" in three minutes.

what's he giving snout. >> i think accepting donations just for being phil. oh, handing out coffee cups. because -- see? phil reads the rundown with a fine-toothed comb every day. stories about your health and there's staggering statistics on just how much caffeine kids are inge ingesting. parents of more than 200 children found that more than 75% of kids consume caffeine on a daily basis and the more they drank, shockingly, the less they slept. kids as young as 5 drinking an equivalent of a can of soda a day. 8 to 12 years, equivalent of three cans a day. one 12-ounce can of soda 35 to 55 milligrams of caffeine. about 110 to 160 calories and 9 to 10 teaspoons of sugar. >> according to the centers for disease control and prevention, one in six americans is sickened by the food they eat and some

3,000 people die from food borne illnesses each year. first new estimate of the cdc since 1999. salmonella, the leading food contaminant responsible for 28% of deaths and 35% of hospitalizations. the queen of soul aretha franklin is now home after having surgery. she is recuperating after surgery for an undisclosed illness. she is looking forward to spending the holidays with her family. >> we wish her all the best. coming up to two minutes to the top of the hour. top stories right after a break. ♪ sweet land ♪ of liberty ♪ of thee i sing [ laughs ] ♪ oh, land ♪ where my fathers died ♪ land of the pilgrims' pride ♪ from every mountainside ♪ let freedom ring ♪

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good thursday morning to you. thanks so much for joining us on this december the 16th. i'm john roberts. >> i'm kiran chetry. congress versus the clock essentially. everyone's paycheck set to shrink on new year's day. the house of representatives taking up president obama's tax cut deal. going to be a lot closer than it was in the senate. democrats want some big changes and some republicans are also calling it a bad deal. we'll speak to one of them,

congressman mike pence in a moment. last year there was the accused underwear bomber. word of a new holiday season terror threat and we may have already seen the first wave of it. nic robertson with the latest on that live from kabul this morning. a deep freeze across the east. records breaking. frozen roads causing accidents. making the morning commute quite treacherous. we are live on the ground with the latest forecast. up first, the fight before christmas. not the night before christmas. the tax cut compromise. hammered out between president obama and republicans is headed to the house this morning. it cruised through the senate but no one is expecting it to be that easy this time around. your taxes will go up in just a couple of weeks. if it doesn't go through. >> democrats want some big changes and one top republican is announcing that he'll vote no on the deal and not the only one. congressman mike pence of indiana joins us live from washington now. thanks for being with us this morning, congressman. >> you bet, kiran. >> what is your biggest sticking point with this?

is there a scenario in which you would vote for it? >> let me say, this is a tough call. i struggled with this over the last week. i mean, house republicans have been fighting to make sure that no american sees a tax increase in january. but at the end of the day, i think the deal that will come to the floor of the house today is a bad deal. does little to create jobs and i cannot support it. >> it means a tax increase. if you don't vote for it and goes down, everyone's taxes will go up. >> that's right. the problem with this bill is that, you know, i really believe, history teaches that uncertainty is the enemy of prosperity. and, you know, when john f. kennedy passed his tax relief, when ronald reagan passed the tax relief, they weren't two-year bills. but they were permanent relief. i offered an amendment yesterday rejected by house democrats in the rules committee to give us an up or down vote on making the

tax rates permanent. if we want to encourage the kind of investment that will create jobs, we've got to create more than a two-year tax code for the american economy. and so, that's -- you know, my bottom line is we ought to take the time and let the house really work its will and let -- if they're gong to get the vote today on raising taxes on estates, but, you know, i still -- i'm hoping against hope that they might call an audible and give us an alternative that i think would resonate with most americans and with common sense. that let's make the current tax rate permanent and then people will have a foundation they can begin to get back on their feet and create jobs and hire people. >> let me ask you about that, congressman. this idea of making the tax cuts permanent, one of your comments in opposition of the bill you said the american people did not vote for more deficits, uncertainty. you talked about the uncertainty

but if you make them permanent, you are talking about adding $3 trillion to the deficit over the next decade just extending them for two year is almost $500 billion added. how can you be -- how can you say the american people didn't vote for deficits when at the same time your plan would add almost $3 trillion to the deficit? >> yeah. i have heard that analysis for years. i know in washington, d.c. they tend -- the budget numbers crunchers here tend to think that when they don't take money from the american people there's a cost that they ought to round. i think john f. ken tri was right when you embrace pro-growth tax policies that a rising tide will lift all boats. that means individuals have more of the dollars to spend. it also means with the growing economy i think those predictions are wrong. i think as the economy expands, even revenues to the federal government will expand. >> but it hasn't worked for a few years. >> we'll never balance the budget unless we get the economy

growing again and temporary targeted tax relief is not a foundation for economic growth. >> but can you say, though, that the tax cuts over the last few years have not added to the deficit, there's been a rising tide to lift all boats? a look. i think there's errors in the last few years. i opposed the wall street ba bailo bailout. but i think on november 2nd the american people sent a deafening message to washington, d.c. to change the way this town does business. i can't help but feel and this is a tough call. i'm not casting judgment on anyone on our side of the aisle who decides to take, you know, to take a yes vote on this. i just think the american people look at this deal and say, we can do better. why don't you people stick around and figure out how to get this thing done in a way to really create jobs and be fiscally responsible? >> some are saying that your decision including congressman

paul ryan motivated by potentially you running for president in 2012. what do you say to that? >> look. people that have known me in congress the last ten years know that i try to get up every day and come to the capitol and do what i think is right for the people of indiana and the american people, and that's why, you know, making this tough call for me is all about asking how do we get people back to work? you know, i had a banker in muncie, indiana, two days ago, kiran, who walked up to me and said, i don't know what you should do but people won't come into my bank and sign a five-year note on a two-year tax code. look, i understand why a two-year extension makes sense politically. i just don't know why it makes sense economically. we're just forcing another debate on taxes two years from now and the american people saying, create some certainty in the tax code to get the economy back on its feet. >> we will have to see how the vote goes down. a tougher haul to get through

the house. passed easily in the senate. congressman pence, great to talk to you this morning. thanks. >> thanks. >> thank you both. also this morning, intelligence out of iraq that al qaeda is planning suicide attacks in the united states and england. >> and it's perhaps one of the planned attacks in stockholm. nic robertson live in kabul. what are authorities saying about this? >> reporter: i don't think authorities watching terrorists surprised they'll try to attack the united states and europe at christmas. that's al qaeda's key aim is to disrupt and have as big a spectacular as possible. we saw it last year with that attempted of so-called underpants bomber. trying to detonate the explosives. that would have been a christmas day spectacular for al qaeda. and that's when they want to try to hit the west, hit us. because that's when they know that it can -- gets our attention and that it hurts us and makes us the most angry and

that's why counterterrorism officials won't be surprised and as well in europe, german counterterrorism officials, top alert through november going into december because they had very credible and real warnings for that specific time period running up to christmas of a possible mumbai terrorist-style gun attack in one of their major cities. >> nic robertson for us this morning. all right. we'll continue to follow this. thank you. the deep freeze we have been talking about showing no signs of letting up this morning. icy conditions proved deadly in alabama. three people were killed. >> this atlanta, the wheels spinning and some areas they still are. a slick layer of ice. rob marciano live for us in louisville, kentucky, where they really got smacked last night and continuing to have problems this morning. hey, rob. >> reporter: good morning, guys. yeah. freezing rain all morning long and right now it is a little bit lighter than earlier this

morning. waking up coated in ice but the difference between this area and a place like atlanta is that they've already got this. this isn't ice. this is salt. this is stuff putting on the roads. not only all night last night but last weekend, too. they had a snowstorm last weekend and pretty much pre-treated the areas. salt all over the sidewalks and the roadways and traffic flowing okay. the other issue, though, above the roadways, trees. trees have been coated with ice and they continue to accumulate ice as the precipitation continues to fall. but so far, damage is minimal as far as branches coming down and taking out power. that's the good thing. the system as a whole, pretty big. bigger than yesterday. and the snow and ice is beginning to reach into the mid-atlantic. here it is. and take a look at the current temperatures first of all. because that tells the main story. 45 in atlanta. 51 in nashville. it was 32 in atlanta just a

couple of hours ago. charlotte 32. you get frozen precip today. warnings and watches up for that area. near louisville, trying to climb above freezing. might have some success later on this morning but so far it's a slow go. precip making a move to the east. d.c. you could see an inch of snow. here's the winter warnings posted. richmond i think a fair amount of snow. three to five if not six inches of snowfall here tomorrow and then done by this time tomorrow. notice it stays mostly south of new york city. traveling on the roadways in this area, obviously, an issue. traveling through the airways will be an issue, also. even in new york, still windy. my goodness. get above freezing, celebrate. 33 degrees for a high in new york. 29 expected in d.c. and 52 after starting off in 32 with frozen roads in the atl. really shallow, cold layer of air there in atlanta and, boy,

the traffic crews were not ready for that freezing situation. they were ready here. and roads not too shabby. airport open. one runway and who knows? maybe the rain, the freezing rain is done. looks like from the radar scope this thing's making a quick move to the east and folks who just two years ago here paralyzed by an ice storm may be breathing a sigh of relief in a couple of hours as it begins to taper off. john and kiran? >> that would be a good thing. thank you so much. just ahead, new developments this morning in the case against wikileak founder julian assange. questions of whether or not he can get out of jail. in 1968, as whaling continued worldwide, the first recordings of humpback songs were released. public reaction led to international bans,

and whale populations began to recover. at pacific life, the whale symbolizes what is possible when people stop and think about the future. help protect your future, with pacific life. the power to help you succeed. we asked people all over america where the best potatoes come the best potatoes? idaho. idaho! idaho. and how do you know you're getting idaho potatoes? well...uh... uhm... heh.. (sighs) not all potatoes come from idaho. so if you want the best, you have to do one important thing. always look for the grown in idaho seal. i knew that. i knew that. look for the grown in idaho seal.

i'm bob kearn, president of coit cleaning services. these pictures are the history of my family and they're also the history of coit. we've been in business for 60 years and our greatest asset has always been our people. we use the plum card from american express open to purchase everything we can and with the savings from the early pay discount, we were able to invest back into our business by hiring more great people like ruben here.

how can the plum card's trade terms get your business booming? booming is a new employee named ruben. 14 minutes past the hour right now. we have some breaking news this morning. new developments in the case of wikileaks founder julian assange. london's high court has upheld the decision to grant bail to the founder. he's been fighting extradition to sweden over allegations of sex crimes. a lower court ruled earlier this week that assange could be freed on bail under strict conditions. swedish authorities appealed that decision which is why he was in jail. he is, of course, at the center of the controversy in this country over posting u.s. secret documents online, but again, julian assange freed this morning on bail. new mexico governor bill

richardson on a mission to north korea and cnn's wolf blitzer with him. he says that he hopes the temperatuvisit brings down the temperature on the peninsula. he won't be officially representing the united states but expects pyongyang to use him to deliver a message to the obama administration. check out the video. the massive explosion that rocked the sun back in august. scientists dubbed it at the time the great eruption. and they have now been studying this solar event for a few months. they say that this explosion covered half of the sun's surface, that it lasted for 28 hours. nasa hopes that the data can be used to help forecast future solar disturbances. >> wondering why it's so cold? the sun blew up. >> exactly. "people" magazine looking back at the year k. you guess who they picked as the woman of the year?

join the jaguar platinum celebration ! come celebrate exciting cars that are stunning to look at, exhilarating to drive and worry free to own. celebrate this holiday season with the gift of platinum. jaguar platinum coverage: five years or 50,000 miles of complimentary scheduled maintenance, and no cost replacement of wear and tear items. visit your jaguar dealer during the platinum celebration for a $599 lease offer on the 2011 xf.

here's some of the story that is got us talking in the newsroom. this one really did. michael vick wants a dog. yes, he does. he wants a dog. insists he loves animals and owning a pet would help him with the rehabl yags. the quarterback spent 19 months in prison on dogfighting charges. under the terms of the release he cannot own a pet. he says now that he has a chance to redeem himself on the playing field, he would appreciate the opportunity to do the same as a pet owner.

>> i would love to have another dog in the future. you know, i think it would be a big step for me. in the rehabilitation process. i think just the, you know, have a pet in my household and to show people that i -- i genuinely care. and my love, my passion for animals, i think it will be -- i think it will be outstanding. >> run fido, run. look. he's been great. great on the field. he's a huge redemption story and probably animal lovers out there not ready to hear that. >> maybe not. well, turns out the jets' coach that tripped a miami dolphins player last weekend didn't just happen to be there. team officials are now acknowledging that sal alosi ordered the players to form a wall in that specific location to force the player to run around them. the original suspension was for the rest of the season. the jets made it indefinite. what a thriller at madison

square garden last night. the knicks serving notice they're back taking the celtics down to the wire. only .4 of a second remaining. but the knicks, the knicks weren't dead yet. >> studemire for the win. will it count? will it count? the game-winning three pointer was waved off. released .1 of a second too late. >> hmm. that is not fair. >> no. >> they have had a good run. won the last eight. >> been doing okay. almost got it last night. best of times and worse of times for actor sandra bullock. first an oscar and then she divorced from her husband jesse james amid cheating allegations.

"people" magazine named her woman of the year. she graces the cover of a special edition of the 25 most intriguing people of 2010. >> well deserved. and if you find yourself irritated every time someone gives you the whatever treatment, you're not alone. for the second year in a row, the word "whatever" named the most annoying word in the english language according to the poll that found the second most irritating word is like. ugh. i i really just -- i want to excise that from my daughter's vocabulary. third is you know what i mean? >> it is annoying, you know, like, whatever i mean and then abbreviated it. whatevs. big stars, big giving. children escaping poverty and why the role is so personal for her. reset the computer pass words. major websites are feeling the fallout from last weekend's hack. details coming up next. ♪

[ male announcer ] let's be honest. no one ever wished for a smaller holiday gift. ♪ it's the lexus december to remember sales event, and for a limited time, we're celebrating some of our greatest offers of the year. lease the 2011 is 250 for $349 a month for 36 months with $3,399 due at signing. see your lexus dealer.

oh, my gosh. oh, my gosh. ♪ [ male announcer ] you know her. we know diamonds. together we'll make her holiday. that's why only zales is the diamond store. where you can get up to $1,000 off now through sunday.

actress julianne moore gets raves for her talent and beauty and nominated far golden globe for the role in "the kids are all right." >> the title hold special meaning because she makes sure that kids in america really are all right. that they're getting the help they need.

our aly ina cho here to explain that. >> she says we forget that we need help here in the united states and for her it was something about the childhood that first inspired her to give back. she moved around a lot as a kid and saw things she thought were unfair. bad schools in poor communities. children living in poverty. now she's working with save the children. she's trying to help kids you could say one book at a time. >> you know, when people say how did you become involved? are you acting as a mother? as what you see as a mother. no, it's what i saw as a child. >> reporter: before she was a glamorous actress -- ♪ she was just julie. an army brat. >> we moved a lot and every time you move you, you know, you change schools. you are in a completely new vomit and i think, you know, what you -- what you learn pretty quickly as a kid moving around in the united states is that, you know, we're not -- it

is not all created equal. everybody, everybody should have the same opportunity. >> reporter: she moved around so much it was hard to keep friends. so books became her constant companion. >> one thing i say about reading, too, with children, you can do anything if you can read. >> you did it! you did it! >> reporter: that passion for reading inspired her work as an artist ambassador with save the children where she spends time working on educational programs for the poor. you are very focused on helping people here in the united states. >> well, it's not that i don't believe that there are many, many needy causes all over the world but i do -- i do believe that just in terms of poverty in our country, often people hide in plain sight. because we have so much, i mean, in the united states, sometimes a refusal to acknowledge what's going on right here.

>> reporter: one in five children lives in poverty. >> yes. one in five in the united states. people are shocked when you tell them that. absolutely shocked. there was a little girl just like everybody else. >> reporter: for moore, one key way to lift kids out of poverty is through education. you mentioned literacy that's close to your heart. written two books which i have read. >> thank you. it didn't take very long. quick reads. >> reporter: children's books about freckle faced strawberry, the nickname she hated as a child. the moral, look beyond what you see on the surface. how do the kids respond to you? >> kids don't care. i mean, if i were justin bieber, for example, that would be exciting. >> reporter: she is a celebrity who can and wants to make a difference. >> if we are going to set an example, we need to help everybody here. we need to bring everybody to the same place. then, we can really be effective in the rest of the world.

>> she really is doing great things for children. for behind the scenes photos or get involved with save the children, go to cnn.com/amfix for more on how to make a difference in this world, go to cnn.com impact. all of the stars will be there. and which is a great thing, by the way, a web presence like that. we're thrilled. >> she's a great project with the valentine's day card. >> that's right. hoping it will be a legacy. she had this idea, you know, they do things for trick or treat. unicef does and other charities and thought what holiday could we do? moms have to buy valentine's anyway. it's a contest. best ones are published, sold for charity. save the children benefits and a teachable moment, too. >> smart. >> tell kids, you know, listen. there are people in the world less fortunate than you and maybe we can help them in a small way. >> people need love. valentine's day. >> speaking of love, you got to

sit down with the biebs. the envy of girls around the world. >> that's right. you should see the fans. they are incredible. we did. we sat down with justin bieber last week in manchester, new hampshire, where he was giving a concert. he's 16 years old but i found him to be sin veer, grounded. he was, you know, really doing a lot to give back to kids. in the world. and so, you know, he's a great, great little kid. little kid i shouldn't say. he's like the hottest music star on the planet. now i'm a big fan. listening to it every night. >> how does the saying go? to whom much is given much is expected and he's living that out. >> he is and he's a really, really great guy. >> thanks so much. >> you bet. >> don't miss alina's special. crossing the half hour. time for a look at the top

stories. wikileaks founder julian assange granted bail this morning by a london court. supporters outside of the high court cheered the decision. assange is trying to fight extradition to sweden on sexual assault charges. he's, of course, at the center of much controversy in this country over posting u.s. secret documents online. last christmas we had the accused underwear bomber and now new intelligence out of iraq that al qaeda is planning attacks in the united states and europe over the christmas season. iraq shared information of captured insurgents and looking very closely and at the moment they don't know of a specific threat but they didn't know of one last christmas either. five days before the official start of winter and it is cry si cold out there. temperatures for much of the east coast right around freezing. it's causing a mess on the roadways in and around atlanta, for example, icy conditions causing more than a thousand accidents. and as the storm continues to head east, there's winter storm

warnings now posted for many parts of the mid-atlantic. an attack on gawker is beginning to have some serious ripple effects. stephanie elam here this morning minding your business with details. >> it is one of the things where generally people have a pass word for a bunch of sights. gawker is a site and own description of themselves is gossip. well, they had a little bit of a breach, a hacker attacked them over the weekend and found basically more than a million user's data. their user names. more than 188,000 of them were actually decoded so you can see all of that information out there is made public. affected other gawker sites like life hacker and this is what we found out from that. take a look at the tpopular pas words. not really safe there.

foiled and then lifehack. a lifehacker is one of gawker's websites. and then abc123. you have that on there, too. lots of users since they use the same pass words, this is alerted other places on the internet freaked out about it. making sure that the users are safe so other sites like facebook, twitter, as well, you also see linkedin and yahoo! alerting the users saying we notice that your e-mail address was on the list and you probably have the same pass word and might want to get around the changing it. in case you're wondering what to do to have a safe password, we're here to help you today. >> you are going to give us suggestions? >> yes. yes. this is the password you should make it. kiran is a good password. no. >> 64-bit encryption.

>> words not in the dictionary so they're not words. word-like. qwerty doesn't count. change your passwords. >> no one does this. >> capital and lower and numbers and symbols or just have a folder in you e-mail that says passwords and write them and e-mail them yourself. not a good idea. don't do that. >> how do you know i did that? >> kiran's like -- i didn't -- i read your e-mail. i hacked your password. >> i had so many passwords i'm hitting the forgot password button. >> i do it all the time, too. i try to change them all the time a great password. >> you need a number and symbol. >> dollar sign instead of the "s." >> thank you, john. >> you underestimate the

sneakiness here. >> sneakiness. very good. >> thanks. well, he said that if cliff lee signed with the phillies he would wear a speedo to cover spring training. sports writer yesterday cliff lee announced he was the newest member of the philadelphia phillies. will the sports writer make good on the bet and bare those legs? we'll ask him next. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] some people just know how to build things well. give you and your loved ones an expertly engineered mercedes-benz... ho ho ho! [ male announcer ] ...at the winter event going on now. and stay connected with three years of mbrace service complimentary. and stay connected how can expedia now save me even more on my hotel?

well, hotels know they can't fill every room every day. like this one. and this one. and oops, my bad. so, they give expedia ginormous discounts with these: unpublished rates. which means i get an even more rockin' hotel, for less. my brain didn't even break a sweat. where you book matters. expedia.

37 minutes past the hour right now. a sports story with a twist this morning. you may remember especially if you follow baseball this week cliff lee basically a prized pitcher, sparked a bidding war among a few teams that could afford him and turned down the highest amount of money. in the name of going to the team he wanted to go to. he left $30 million on the table. >> can you imagine that? he rejoined a team that traded him a year ago, the philadelphia phillies. here he is explaining why he did it. >> it's just a matter of where you're comfortable, where you're happy. where your family's the most

comfortable. what team gives you the best chance to win. at this point it is about trying to win championships. that's really the number one thing for me. >> new deal is believed to come five years and $120 million. but it's still surprised a lot of folks, including anti-martino. a sports writer covers the mets and worked in philadelphia recently. and was so convinced that lee would not sign with the phillies that he bet -- he put his manhood on the line. more on that in a second. first of all, let's talk about cliff lee. he was traded from the phillies. they didn't show him any love. bounced around a lot. why is he bouncing around? >> i suppose because he's such a hot commodity. every time a team been in contention like the phillies in 2009, they want cliff lee. he is the guy that every team thinks can push them over the edge to be a world series champion. almost did it with the phillies. the yankees concluded he was the

answer for next year. everyone including myself thought that that's what would happen and lee ended up back with the phillies, surprising almost everyone. >> the yankees were -- they were offering him the longest deal. >> right. >> the most money. you know, a winning history and why would he not want to go there? people felt like this was it for cliff lee. you wrote this last monday, lots of information and the twitter. some of it questionable. if the phillies sign cliff lee, i'll cover spring training in a speedo. >> yes. >> what will you do? he went to phillies. >> he did. well, i'm fortunate to have left myself wriggle room there. i didn't say only a speedo. there are speedo hats and all sorts of ways to go. >> incredible. >> will cover the spring training in a speed -- we brought you one. >> you did? >> actually your size. your friends told us. >> doing it for the swag all

along. >> think about us. >> thank you very much. >> there you go. >> wait a second. trying to weasel out of this? >> here -- >> here's a photo of you covering the mets in port st. lucie. >> that's flattering. i appreciate the assumption. >> back to the weaseling out thing you were talking about here a second ago saying you'd wear a speedo and could be anything with the logo. that's the speedo. >> this is a speedo. i don't know if you call it the speedo. look. i think if i got a lawyer here, i think if we really took this to the highest court in the land, i have room to do -- >> you have had the stuffing beat out of you on the sports radio and now weasel out of it? >> i have. i don't know. you have to ask the tough questions but i think i left the room to have fun with this in a number of ways and come february -- >> this is my idea. this is the idea. you look like you have a nice shape. >> thank you. >> i know that it's in the winter we're all a little pale.

get yourself spray tanned and walk around for maybe 30 seconds and then go back. >> it's not until february. i have a couple of months to work on the tan, the body. you know, we'll see what happens. >> you know, mike the situation, you know from. >> yes. >> he's available. he has a training video out now. >> really? >> he could help you out. speedo ready. >> if you can put me in touch with the situation, perhaps we could make this work. >> if you're not in competitive swimming, you don't look good wearing ones of those. >> that's what i'm talking about, john. >> that's why we're talking about this, andy. make good on the bet. thanks for joining us. >> thank you for the gift. >> you're welcome. an icy winter mix carved a dangerous path for drivers in the nation this morning. rob marciano live on the ground in the thick of it as soon as we come back. until one of the guys brought in some fresh bread that he'd made from our pale ale.

and from that first bite, i knew my business would never be the same. [ male announcer ] when businesses see an opportunity to grow, the hartford is there. protecting their property and helping them plan their employees' retirement. ♪ beer or bread? [ male announcer ] see how the hartford helps businesses at achievewhatsahead.com. affect wheat output in the u.s.,

the shipping industry in norway, and the rubber industry in south america? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex global economy. it's just one reason os beat their10-year lipp. t. rowe price.invest . request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment objectives, risks, fees, expenses, and other information to read and consider carefully before investing.

reason for celebration there in atlanta this morning. back above the freezing mark. 40 degrees right now and cloudy later on today. showers with a high of 52. should get rid of the ice that plagued them yesterday. rush hour, the accidents all over the highways. >> this morning, also, some icy conditions so hopefully that clears up today. robl marc rob mars marciano in louisville, kentucky. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, guys. icy morning and with the traffic that's been moving through and with the pre-salting and

prepping of the roadways and not to mention the snow over the weekend, the roads doing just fine, as a matter of fact. even the sidewalks are beginning to see a little bit of an improvement here and hoping by the time of this afternoon rolls around things will be better but there's still a threat for power outages with the ice accumulating on the trees. here's what it looked like this morning. this entire area coated in about a quarter of an inch of ice and did a fantastic job of clearing the roadways now and getting a little bit of help from mother nature in that the precipitation stopped falling here in last 30 minutes. in atlanta, they had issues. now all these issues are moving off to the east. check out the watches and warnings posted for not only the tennessee and ohio valleys but the mid-atlantic, as well. winter storm warnings for richmond. three to six inches of snow. d.c. could see an inch or so of snow and everything south for the most part of philly and new york with this particular system. here's the radar. an idea of how expansive it is.

and we're looking at it much greater intensity today than yesterday. southern ohio and west virginia with the rain and rain from montgomery to alabama, check out the temperatures on top of here. talking about all rain from montgomery to atlanta. there's slick spots in atlanta. and there are still some roads and overpasses that are closed but temperatures are rising very quickly. if you're traveling by air today, there are going to be issues in new york. new york and boston, haven't got a lot of precip. some snow. but it's been cold and windy and that continues to slow down travel. charlotte and louis vel here ova delay. only just a few cancelations today. daytime highs, check them out. you're going to be below or freezing into new york city area. and d.c. you will be cold enough for snow and will get some. 52 degrees expected in atlanta. they'd much rather see this,

guys. snow here in louisville than they would the ice. >> that's so cute. >> reporter: the good folks at the old chamber of commerce gave me the snowglobe. possibility city, baby. what they call it. and it looks nice covered in snow an right now most of the snow and ice at least on the roadways is beginning to melt. >> all right. keep it in the globe. thanks, rob. baseball lost one of the true greats. bullet bob feller that won 266 games in 18 seasons all with the cleveland indians, feller just 17 years old when he made the debut in 1936. and he was part of the indian's starting rotation in 1948. hall of famer died last night of acute lukemia. he was 92 years old. a royal sendoff for the king. talking about larry king. his final live show tonight on cnn. a look back at 25 years of headliners and legends.

it's 47 minutes past the hour. we asked people all over america where the best potatoes come from. the best potatoes? idaho. idaho! idaho. and how do you know you're getting idaho potatoes? well...uh... uhm... heh.. (sighs) not all potatoes come from idaho. so if you want the best, you have to do one important thing. always look for the grown in idaho seal. i knew that. i knew that. look for the grown in idaho seal.

full shot of the control room this morning. it really is the end of an era here at cnn. tonight is larry king's final live show. for the past 25 years, larry's been a staple. larry and the suspenders each night. >> hard to believe it comes down to one night, tonight. it is hard to sum up all of that television history in just a few minutes' time but we'll give it a try. here's a look back.

>> larry: good evening. my name is larry king and this is the premier edition of "larry king live." every night at this time we'll be here for one hour. we'll meet fascinating people. you're a legend. i mean, you do know that. >> anybody really legend would be nobody, no normal people in the world. >> fame almost impossible. >> if i'm up here, i'm fine. from here down i need makeup. ♪ everybody going to dance around tonight ♪ >> larry, kiss me. do it now. don't be afraid. >> larry: struggling jew. >> wait. >> larry: dance, dance whoa! >> i told you low to the floor. >> larry: i'm low to the floor. want more children? >> oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. >> back there. a dog eats it -- >> get away from me. get off of me! >> paul's going to get upset. you're touching my leg, larry.

>> you must have conjured something for you to call me a murderer of my child. >> we went downhill carrying that coffin feeling like slaves and we're going uphill feeling like free people. ♪ when the chapel bells ring out ♪ ♪ going to make iman offer he can't refuse ♪ >> darling. good-bye. >> larry: good-bye. >> a lot of times things are picked for you. >> why should i be bitter? >> is peace possible? can we do it? why are we even trying? >> jesus, jesus. you know, the bible says he has named all powerful. that his name is above every name. >> don't spend your time worrying about when it is you're going to die. worry about how you're going to live today. >> that's why i was put on this earth, to try to help conserve our trees, wilderness, the oceans and wildlife. >> larry: police radio saying

that simpson, the passenger in the car, has a gun at his head. >> i will not run as a democrat or a republican. >> that's kind of a line to come across with. but either -- no. it's weak. >> you said your sons -- >> never do anything but propaganda. >> larry: was there a holocaust? >> you want to -- >> i've never been in the watergate. >> larry: never been in? >> no. unfortunately. >> larry: still a texas driver's license? >> still. you want to see it? >> larry: yeah. >> i don't have a question. i have a statement, please. >> larry: go. >> i want to say hello to my son bill clinton. >> hi, mother. >> it's a strange question to ask. >> larry: what happened with the submarine? >> it sunk. >> larry: there's a curse of my kind? >> oh, no. it comes with so much love. >> larry: what's it like to kill someone?

if tears could build a stairway and memories a lane i'd walk right up to heaven and bring you home again. >> yes. >> it is his creation, his idea. to come here and to feel him here. i'm happy. >> larry: also going live to haiti showing you specifically what your donations mean. for now, for here, it's time to hang up the nightly suspenders. and who knows what the future's going to bring? >> amazing 25 years in 3 minutes and to some degree, i bet it feels like three minutes to larry, too. >> he's barely changed. he looks so much like he did the first day he went on air. such a great guy and a wonderful life. >> you can bet, though, that larry's not going away. >> oh, no. >> going on to something different. we wish him well, though. >> he is going to be continuing to work here within the cnn family, as well. but as for the final live larry king show, it is tonight 9:00 eastern right here on cnn, a night to remember, for sure. don't miss it.

54 minutes past the hour. we'll be right back.

i'm bob kearn, president of coit cleaning services. these pictures are the history of my family and they're also the history of coit. we've been in business for 60 years and our greatest asset has always been our people. we use the plum card from american express open to purchase everything we can and with the savings from the early pay discount, we were able to invest back into our business by hiring more great people like ruben here. how can the plum card's trade terms get your business booming? booming is a new employee named ruben.

three minutes to the top of the hour. you might call her extremely brave or terribly foolish. >> one thing's certain. the florida school board member that tried to disarm a gunman whacking him with the purse. here's jeanne moos. >> reporter: ginger littleton is

holding it close. waving it victoriously. pulling mundane things like tissue out of it. this is more than the purse. >> this is the weapon. >> reporter: a hand me down she tried to use on the hand of a gunman. >> no, ginger. ginger, no. >> he points the gun at my head and says, you stupid [ bleep ]. >> reporter: he says she agrees with the stupid part and self defense experts call it stupid and dangerous. still, she is getting the hero treatment. >> we're proud of you. you're something. >> reporter: so is her bag. >> shall i do my vanna? >> we'll put bricks in it for her. >> reporter: when the gunmen ordered the women out of the school board meeting -- >> you may leave, you may leave. >> reporter: -- ginger waited before creeping back and -- >> hitting him with her purse. >> used the purse. >> whacks duke defiantly with the purpose. >> reporter: it was a hand me down from her 89-year-old

mother-in-law. why did she give up such a nice purse? >> she said it was too heavy for her. >> reporter: but not heavy enough to knock the gun out of the gunman's hand. this is the kind of thing you saw on "laugh-in." >> do you believe in love at first sight? >> reporter: making it all the more shocking to see it done in desperation. a lot of us carry bags that are heavy enough to use as weapons. what did ginger have inside hers? >> i have a lot of keys that weigh probably two pounds. >> reporter: a nice heavy wallet, cell phone, a compact. >> bills i should be paying. >> reporter: we asked if it was a designer bag she used to wallop the gunman. >> are you kidding me? >> reporter: it's a brahmin that sold for $385 as part of the toasted almond collection. >> the lovely whatever this creepy stuff is. >> reporter: that would be faux crocodile leather. in "vogue" magazine they say they're redefining timeless style and