well, good morning. come on in. come in the room here. sit down. i see you in your robe. let me get you informed while you get your coffee ready. i'm robin meade. it has been exactly eight years since u.s. troops first went to fight in afghanistan. now we may see many more americans going there. the white house is taking action after the brutal fatal beating of a chicago teen. you're going to hear why some activists say school closures have led to violence that's killed more than a dozen other kids. and -- >> the gentleman was right here in my driveway buck naked. >> buck naked! a guy who allegedly broke into

her house y. did he go nude? police think they can explain. we have the pics ready. our top story, though, today, believe it or not, is the eighth anniversary of the war in afghanistan and the biggest strategic decision could still be to come. 778 u.s. troops have died there since the war against the taliban started a few weeks after 9/11. the u.s. took less time to defeat germany and japan in world war ii as a perspective here n. march president obama announced he was sending 21,000 more u.s. troops to afghanistan. well, now published reports say general stanley mcchrystal is asking for as many as 40,000 more, putting 100,000 american lives at stake. congressional leaders who met privately with the president yesterday say the only option that he is not considering is pulling out. >> what he made clear was we've got to understand what the resources are going to be for

the long haul and what kind of commitment we are, in fact, calling on the american people to make. >> we were here to express our support for the president and his committing to the mission up front and expressed our support to work with him. if he makes the right decision, which is to listen to his commanders in the field who are asking desperately for more troops. >> today's anniversary comes as a dynamic changes in afghanistan. one enemy's role is fading there, but another one is gaining strength. that story is coming up in just a bit. the number of school kids killed in chicago doubled over the last three years and after the beating of a -- the peting death of a 16-year-old, president obama is sending attorney general eric holder and education secretary arne duncan there today to talk about ways to deal with youth violence. one analyst says that means getting kids to believe they have a future. >> when people feel like there's no hope for the future and they don't have the capacity to move

forward through education or other reasonable means, they begin to check out, to become disengaged. if we don't hold people's feet to the fire, the adults who have created these circumstances, then the blood will run through the streets. >> that's a scary thought. some local activists blamed the beating death on the decision to close dozens of schools over the last four years. four teens were charged in his death. chicago police agree that mixing students from different neighborhoods has contributed to the violence. a baby police say was kidnapped in tennessee and put in foster care is now back home. remember media reports said that someone claimed the family member tried to sell the baby. well, now police and the state say they don't think the parents were involved in the kidnapping. the mom was stabbed but is now recovering. police say there are sufficient -- or significant unanswered questions like why the family was apparently targeted. this just in. three americans have won the nobel prize in chemistry.

they're going to split $1.4 million for their work on the structure of ribosomes, your cell's protein builders. we have new details that you need to know about an e-mail scam. it started with hot mail. microsoft says users were tricked into revealing their pass words in a pfishing scam. others were also tricked. the worry is many people use one password for all of their online accounts and elsewhere. the nation's capital could be the next place to allow same sex marriages. a bill introduced at a city council meeting is expected to pass. 10 of the 13 councilmembers and the mayor support it. >> i look forward to the moment i can ask my partner will you marry me as opposed to will you civil marry me. >> just because somebody wants to change the law does not change the definition.

>> congress could block any d.c. decision but rarely does. nancy pelosi says this is for d.c. to decide. former house majority leader tom delay is hanging up his dancing shoes. he is leaving "dancing with the stars" because doctors say he has stress fractures in both of his feet. he apparently got them from dancing too much. and shaking that groove thing. on monday delay ignored doctors' advice and performed a samba with cheryl burk. i didn't notice this until yesterday but she's like wearing an elephant, right? and he is on the back of his shirt. she's wearing a donkey and he's wearing the elephant. got you. a little bit partisanship there. so no more do you have to see him go one, two, three, four. >> that's why he broke his feet doing it, he was trying so hard. >> if you're going to do it, do it well. hi, bob. >> what's up, robin? >> give me a break from the

rain, will you. >> can't do it. can't do it this morning. heavy rain stretching through the gulf coast. that's one aspect of this. the other is the wind that's wrapped up through the great lakes into ontario and towards quebec and the northeast. it's going to be a windy day in the northeast. look at the rain showers trailing all around that cold front with stronger thunderstorms now developing right around the atlanta metro. heavy downpour action here. it's all sliding over to the east and the rain extends all the way back and broken, sc scattered showers around birmingham, in to mississippi. you see what it looks like here. just about to get a big thunderstorm overhead. it's not severe but a heavy rainmaker. up to the northeast, here is your low-pressure region. the wind whipping around this thing quickly now. we have wind advisories later this afternoon winds will be gusting to 50 miles an hour for areas like philadelphia, new york, boston. we have playoff games. we're looking at the yankees/twins this evening, then the bronx. winds right now at about 50 miles per hour for that game

gusting there. showers for the morning should clear on out but the wind is really going to start picking up midafternoon. not only the playoff game in new york but the one in philadelphia. the phillies playing the rockies, a windy one, too. you keep it low. down to the south we go further, you can see the rain showers coming in and to montana it's all snow again. more on that in half an hour. >> snow again? >> snow again in montana. >> too early. too early. times are tight but that is not stopping neiman marcus from selling extravagant gifts like an airplane or a cupcake car. what else is in the new christmas catalog? i always want to know who buys those things. you can see new security screens at the airport. look at the technology that can tell if you're even nervous or stressed. i ask you who is not?

hey, salute our troop segment for airman first class david arnold from his dad. now david got his pilots license when he was only 17 and his dad says david is living his dream by being in the air force. he's still missed at home. good morning, robin. this is gary arnold in virginia beach, virginia. i want to salute my son airman first class david arnold. away from your wife, family, dog and friends and they all miss sharing your 21st birthday with you and the holidays. you don't know how proud i am of your service and sacrifice. i hope you can swing through norfolk on your way back again like on your way over. i'll stuff you full of crab cakes. i love you, dave.

hurry back. stay safe. >> what a sweet message, gary, thank you. if you have somebody in the service go to cnn.com/robin. police say they uncovered an elaborate marijuana growing operation in someone's attic and discovered it after medics answered a call for help. that's new for you in 20 minutes. what was somebody thinking? here is good news if you're struggling to pay your bills. your heating bill is going down this winter. jennifer westhoven is here. we talked about this yesterday but now we have the numbers. now we have the numbers and it will depend on what you heat your home with. already we know that the average savings is about $84 this winter, according to the government, and if you heat with natural gas, and that's a little more than half the country. that is the major heating fuel, then you're going to pay about $105 less than last year, even better. if you pay with oil, $40 savings and people who heat with oil have some of the high e bills. with electric you'll save about

$20. that's one of the cheapest. big savings for propane users in rural areas about $280. now here's where you can see it. if you're in the midwest, the yellow part, that's where you'll get the most savings and in the northeast that's where you see a lot of natural gas and heating oil as well. burger king, it may never look the same again. the 12,000 fast food joints are upgrading major overhaul. what do you think about this? they are turning them into sitdown restaurants. they say they're going to be temporary edgy. there's a model you see now. red flame chandeliers, an industrial look. >> so much better. >> it does. >> it doesn't look like a burger king. >> not at all. a whole new restaurant to get used to. the cost for remodeling these, nearly half a million that the franchises will pay for.

people see it as a cut above the regular fast food. >> can i say it just looks cleaner, too. the modern look looks cleaner when you're serving food. >> the other was '50s. this is like fantasy, if i were a rich man. neiman marcus holiday catalog is out and i'll tell you it's not just what's in it. it's what's not in it. didn't we talk about million dollar bras because they had diamonds on them. they don't have any million-dollar gifts. >> what is that? >> this is a cupcake car. >> does it really go? >> yeah. it has an electric motor and everything. kids' heads in there? i guess people choose the flavor and it's $25,000. they also have, check this out, called sports aircraft for two. kind of like -- they can go up

to 10,000 feet, robin. >> wow. >> that's a quarter of a million dollars. >> it's an airplane or a helicopter? >> i think that's why it says sports aircraft because we can't tell. what is that? >> i always ask who buys this stuff? >> i always wonder that, too. $ 5 tights or something doesn't make the news. >> have a run on the first day. one burglary suspect made himself at home in somebody else's house. he took off his clothes and he just got comfy. the only problem was they had a security camera. plus, how do you make your home flood proof? why not make your home float?

thank goodness we don't have to put our bare feet on the floor. well, you might be able to wear your shoes again through airport security. homeland security is looking into new screening tests that would focus on body signals like eye movement, heart rate, or whether you're finlting. researchers say those signs could indicate if you're up to something and need a secondary screening. >> there's been a large deal of research that ties your reaction, your physical reactions to your mental state, your emotional state. we're looking for those signals your body gives off naturally.

>> it is an invasion of privacy. nobody has the right to look at my intimate bodily functions. >> you heard the aclu is against it and critics say the technology is just impractical. a man is accused of breaking into a house naked, taking a shower, and leaving with the bed sheet. >> hello. >> he first took a garden hose and doused himself. once inside -- he didn't want to get the house dirty. he apparently cooked himself a meal. don't burn yourself. and even had a few drinks. the homeowner's surveil aps system recorded the whole thing. >> the camera caught him buck naked. you could see the crack in his butt. you could see the front part of his organ and then he politely knocked on my window. >> we have a picture of his face, pictures of his tattoos. we have a picture of other things we really don't want. >> they saw the full monty. >> he's interest the terminator.

he came from the future. >> police are still looking at him and think he may have been on drugs. do you think? >> i have to follow that? >> he says -- all right. in the words of one baseball player, this is the most unbelievable game i've ever played or seen. did you miss it? larry smith is here now with the highlights of an instant classic. good morning. good morning to you. yeah, you never say never. the minnesota twins had a losing record back on september 12th. unbelievable they have emerged as american league central division champs. did you see how they did it? bottom of the 12th inning in a metrodome stadium they're going to vacate for a new stadium once the season ends but it just won't ebbed. the game-winning hit here and look at the mass celebration, the detroit tigers, meanwhile, the first team ever to lose a three-game lead in the final four games of the season. major collapse. the twins move on to play the yankees today. it was the largest kanl tv audience ever. 21.8 million people in the same building one night earlier

seeing star quarterback brett favre beat his former team monday night. the people were watching on tv. the game was in the building. the vikings victory was the highest rated telecast in espn's 30-year history. the st. louis russians? rush limbaugh says he's teaming up to buy the st. louis rams. they are mired in a league worst 14-game losing streak but valued at $929 million by "forbes" magazine. it isn't clear how much of the team limbaugh is attempting to buy. "the new york times" reports 45 nba players returned to work on their degrees. that's about 10% of the league. well, this is the first year the nba players union is tracking this. they do believe these numbers are up from previous years. good for them. >> and good when you become members of the nba retirement association. >> absolutely. learn what to do with all that money you're making. >> true. have you seen the joy behar show here on hln?

you have to check out why she's talking about mel gibson's run-in with the law three years ago. it's her not for nothing commentary. today a judge in beverly hills granted mel gibson's request to expunge his dui conviction as he has completed his three-year probation. allow me to refresh. mel, when police pulled him over in 2006 because his car was weaving all over malibu. he was drunk and raving about the jews and not raving in a good way. in fact, what he said was the jews are responsible for starting all the f-ing wars in the world and asked the cop if he was jewish. why did he need to know that? did he need a suggestion for a bar mitzvah gift? was he searching all over l.a. for a good -- no, mel gibson is what we used to call in the old namt an anti-semite. now as far as the dui being expunged, mel, let me say this

to you. you can run but you can't hide. you are famous and not necessarily for being a movie star. more people saw your mug shot than your last three movies combined. look, i can understand you want a do-over. who doesn't? i wish i'd never eaten those first ten canolis but i can't have them expunged from my thighs. i wonder if that judge does liposuction. here's a career suggestion for you if you want to make peace with the jews, and who doesn't, only in your case call it mental. that's just me. you can catch "the joy behar show" every night at 9:00 p.m. eastern here on hln. you are already paying more for blanke blankets, peanuts, leg room. find out what else you will be paying for. a girl table fell under a glass table and the table shattered. >> what we're seeing is a

schardt of glass which is fairly large going through the lung which is the black here into the liver. >> wow. isn't that amazing just how lucky she is to be alive and she's not going to let it slow her down.

the number of school kids killed in chicago doubled over the last three years and after the beating death of one 16-year-old president obama is sending attorney general eric holder and the education secretary arne duncan there today to talk about ways to deal with youth violence. looks like more americans are happy with the way president obama is doing his job. a new associated press gfk poll has his approval rating at 56%. it is the first time his approval rating has gone up since inauguration. police have arrested more than 60 people during anti-war protests outside the white house. today's the eighth anniversary

of the afghanistan war. 778 troops have died. "washington post" reports protesters will mark the date with dozens of rallies around the country today. president obama told congressional leaders yesterday that withdrawing troops is not an option that he is considering. that's a quick check of the headlines. look at you, bed head. i'm robin meade. good morning, sunshine. remember this moment that changed the lives of so many u.s. troops. on my orders, the united states military has begun strikes against al qaeda terrorist training camps and military installations of the taliban regime in afghanistan. we will not waiver. we will not tire. we will not falter and we will not fail. >> nearly 800 american troops have been killed since the war in afghanistan started eight years ago today. correspondent richard lui, the war started to destroy safe havens in afghanistan. how has it progressed on that

front at least? good morning, robin. perhaps well. al qaeda's role in afghanistan has faded drastically. james jones saying fewer than 100 core al qaeda fighters remain in afghanistan and they don't have bases there or the ability to launch attacks on the west. now some experts argue here president obama's camp may be underestimating al qaeda's numbers in afghanistan because the group prefers to work in the background. still, though, many believe here, robin, the real battle against al qaeda is now if pakistan next door. >> so al qaeda may be diminishing in afghanistan but the taliban seems to be growing stronger there. some of us may forget there's al qaeda and there's taliban so why is the taliban growing? >> that may be the down side. defense secretary robert gates saying taliban fighters have momentum right now. he blames the shortage much of u.s. and coalition troops over the past seven years for the taliban's comeback. "time" magazine saying the taliban's largest group may be local tribesmen who loosely ally

themselves because hamid karzai often pits one against the other and the government may be damaged by allegations of election fraud. not necessarily organized, robin. richard, thank you. eight years ago today that war started. the father of a missing florida 5-year-old haleigh cummings is moving to divorce the child's stepmother. she was the last person to see little haleigh. ronald cummings talked to hln's nancy grace and suggested now maybe misty cummings will talk more freely. >> the two of us have agreed to go separate ways and if in the long run something comes about haleigh then she can -- it will be whatever. >> police say cummings' teenaged wife misty has not cooperated with their investigation and won't talk about what she was

doing the night haleigh disappeared. she has denied any involvement. police respond to go a 911 call ended up finding an elaborate marijuana operation. someone at the house called for help saying somebody there was sick. police say when they got there the place wreaked of pot. >> for us just walking to the house the odor was overwhelming. the people living there, they didn't notice it. >> uh-oh. >> police say they found 20 plants in the attic worth about $15,000. deputies say there were heating lamps, timers and special air meters. somebody knew what they were doing. well, we didn't smell anything. >> that must be from the previous owner. >> i love it. >> 34 minutes past the hour. let's talk to meteorologist bob van dillen. good morning. >> good morning, robin. a couple things we're watching. heavy rain across the deep

southeast stretching to texas. more wind and rain for the northeast. the wind will be prolific later today. more on that in a second. big time thunderstorm complex rolling through the atlanta metro. the airport is south of town near peach tree city right about there. you can see rain overhead to the airports. we'll start getting those delays popping up shortly, probably ground stuff is what we'll find and delays after that. rain stretching back south of birmingham, in towards mississippi. more showers and thunderstorms arriving across eastern parts of texas and all training along the cold frontal boundary. up to the north it's not quite as warm but the cold air is here. so is the wind. look at the rain out ahead of the cold and warm front pushing through new england. the actual cold front is right where that line between syracuse and utica push to the east and behind it winds will start picking up. so wind advisories. all the areas shaded in yellow. winds gusting to 50 miles per hour from boston to new york to philly down to the spine of the appalachians and back through

northern parts of indiana, northern ohio and michigan especially right around that lake shore. that's where we're watching. all right. let me show you some stuff from yesterday. idaho, snow. and the kids have a school day because of it. this kind of snow isn't going to slow them down but the leaves were still on the trees. snow hits it, brings down the limbs and, boom, power out. so kids in idaho got a nice little school day. >> sure you like it now because it's early. >> there you go. >> that's great. more comedians are waying in on the david letterman scandal. last night our own joy behar talked with comedian louis black and it got heated. he says he's outraged but not for the reason you might think. >> it's just bizarre. i think the whole thing is bizarre. it's like do you care? do you really care? >> well, we don't care that much. >> why do we do this? i need to know. every time sex happens, it's like sex happens somewhere.

>> he cracks me up. cash "the joy behar show" at 9:00 p.m. eastern here on hln. the airlines are grabbing for your wallets again. they want more money for the times you really want and need to travel.

the supreme court will hear arguments today in a case involving a cross that's been around for 75 years. it was in the mojave national preserve in california to honor world war i troops but someone moved to have it removed. the case could make an important statement about the separation of church and state. two men who say that thieves

stole millions of dollars of art from them are now the suspects in the case. the men have not given proof they even had works by van gogh, rembrandt and others. one of them says the paperwork was stolen as well. they say that it's all worth at least $27 million, maybe more, and that investigators have botched the case. oh, i lost my picasso. >> where did i put that? all right. you probably have been making your holiday travel plans and you don't want your airline messing it up getting you there let. it's any old time. our money expert jennifer westhoven is here with the rankings of who is going to get you there on time. good morning. >> who cares about getting you there on time? which airlines are making the effort? we want you to know southwest is who came in first among the major carriers. their on time arrival rate was 8

3%. look, that's a one in four chance you'll be late with airtran. if you looked at all of them, hawaiian airlines really came in first. come on, they have amazing weather so they don't have to deal with the delays from that. that's unfair on top of all the wonders why we get on time flights, too. airlines, they charge you for this and for that. they have another fee. a $10 fee roundtrip -- i'm sorry, a $20 fee roundtrip if you travel around the busy holidays. some have been charging this money if you travel on the days surrounding thanksgiving and now they're doing it around christmas, too. if you want to use your power to say no to those fees, well, here are the airlines that are not charging them, southwest and jetblue. >> that's it. >> at this point, right? i almost think call them up and say, by the way, thanks for doing that. you've got consumer power. >> it's not even the cost of the ticket? because that already costs you

more. >> they're already charging you more for the flight. now this comes with it. >> fired. i get tired. >> merry christmas. >> you can have a cup of coffee and help people at the same time. stephanie elam introduces you to a coffee company in this "small business success." >> reporter: land of a thousand hills coffee company is brewing up more than a great cup of joe t. provides jobs for rwandan farmers still recovering from the 1994 genocide. >> this year we purchased enough coffee to provide living wages for 2,000 farmers in randa. >> reporter: a small loan and a coffee bean roaster bought on e bay. >> i said this will work or my friends and family will have coffee to drink the next 20 years and it worked.

>> reporter: he started off selling coffee to churches and restaurants. he now owns two shops in atlanta and plans to open two more including one in rwanda. >> all of our coffee is roasted fresh. our driving force has been an excellent cup. >> reporter: it helps widows start their own businesses and farmers buy bikes to transport coffee. >> we've sent over $30,000 worth of micro loans. you can influence a lot of people from a little bean. if you are a small business owner, we'd like to see your success story g. to cnn.com/robin and upload a video i-report, share some video, and you might be featured here on "morning express." scientists made an amazing discovery that will make the whole world feel smaller. when you hear how big the thing is, you'll wonder how they ever missed it in the first place. plus, halloween decorations or death threats, why these phony

tombstones are way too scary for some people.

the obama administration will have a hard time meeting its deadline to close a guantanamo bay prison. that is what attorney general holder is saying. president obama promised to shut it down by january next year. holder says it may not happen because lawmakers don't want terror suspects transferred to u.s. jails. holder says he's trying to convince lawmakers transfers would be safe. scientists found a new ring around saturn. it's so big you could fit a billion earths inside it. unlike saturn's other rings this is mostly invisible -- or almost invisible. the ice and dust that form it are spread out. nasa found the ring with a special telescope that picked up

on its heat. that's cool stuff right there. >> i wonder if it could fit a billion earths and it's the biggest ring, how did we not see it before? invisible. let me show you what's happening. the wind developing across the northeast, we'll see some major delays out of that. i think you're going to get hard around the new york city metro area. wind advisory for new york city. you'll see winds gusting to 50 miles an hour. philadelphia, same thing. now we had playoff games for the mlb going on, one in new york and one in philly both featuring rain in the morning and windy conditions in the afternoon. d.c. metro, watch for more wind there. atlanta, morning storms. a gusty wind later this afternoon. a tough day to travel. more in a bit. >> bob, i wonder if they're worried about losing funding to scientists. so we discovered something but it's invisible. >> but you can't see it. only we know it's there. we know it.

trust us. all right. the dallas cowboys' practice facility, remember this thing collapsed last spring? it should have been able to withstand high winds that brought it down, so what's the deal? hi, larry. >> that's the thing right now. 12 people were injured in that horrific scene including one team assistant who is paralyzed from the waist down. he and another assistant coach are suing the building's manufacturer. now a federal agency has investigated the site and determined that the building was engineered to withstand winds up to 90 miles per hour. the winds reached 55 to 60 miles an hour in that storm last may. this is why we're going to hear about this for quite some time to come. at least five have collapsed since 2002. bad behavior could put braylon edwards on the sideline in cleveland. you bad boy. the nfl investigating the receiver to see if he violated the conduct policy when he allegedly punched a man at a nightclub early monday morning. >> this is what lebron james is

all ticked off about, right? >> the guy is a friend of lebron and that has sparked chatter as we talked about bad blood between these two athletes. just go home. it's 2:30 in the morning. go home. tim tebow has not been cleared to play on saturday. the gators' senior suffered a concussion and had to leave the game, a win at kentucky, ten days ago. hey, adults behaving badly, youth football coaches getting into a fight over the participation of an 11-year-old girl in a scheduled football scrimmage. the issue is the team said it's against their moral beliefs to allow their boys to hit girls. the boys and girls club teams had known ahead of time there was a problem they would have canceled the scrimmage. no charges were filed although the coach who threw the punch has been suspended. >> the fight was over whether it was morally correct to hit a girl. but then these two were hitting each other? >> thank you. >> hello. some of the stories we're

watching today in your "morning express planner." president obama will honor 13 people. at 3:00 eastern lawyers for former astro lina nowak will be court in orlando trying to get the charges dropped. she's accused for attacking another woman for dating her former boyfriend, who was a lot an astronaut. and this afternoon in atlantic city, ms. senior america will be crowned. that pageant is for women 60 and over. my, my, my. with gas prices going down and then up and back down again, a fuel-efficient car could be your best friend. and right now, there's an even better reason to buy one. according to hln money expert clark howard. >> are you interested in buying a small car? >> well, not that many americans are right now. because what's selling right now are things that are the bigger, the better. big, honking trucks.

huge sport utility vehicles. and the prices of those, especially used ones, have been going up and up and up. and the same thing that was so hot a year ago is not now. used small cars aren't selling at all. dealers can't beg, borrow, steal or buy them. so the price of the small cars are going down to the point that it is shocking how much cheaper they are. so if you zig while everybody else zags, buying a small, fuel-efficient car while nobody seems to care about the price of gas will get you a steal of a deal on that car. and then when gas prices eventually do rise again, because you know they go up and down like this, you'll be sitting in the driver's seat. i'm clark howard. for more ways for you to fatten your wallet, go to cnn.com/clarkhoward. >> so clark will teach you to save more, spend less, and avoid getting ripped off. catch him at noon eastern on saturday and sundays right here on hln.

you could call 2009 the year of the swine, the swine flu, anyway. and you've got to see the long list of celebs who now have it.