good morning. time for you to rise and shine and, man, that night went fast. didn't it? i'm robin meade. wheer's what's going on. police confirmed the family's worst fears. the body found by a road is identified that as missing 5-year-old girl shaniya davis. disturbing new details and a 911 call in what's being called a homicide investigation. the "marriersk alabama" cam under attack again by pirates. this time the outcome is very different. new details and new 911 call shedding light on the death of 5-year-old shaniya davis.

her body found off the side of a road in north carolina has been positively i.d.'d. her mother is accused of troft tooting the girl, and we know antoinette davis', we have her 911 call. >> you said none of the doors were open? >> no, ma'am. but she knows how to unlock the front door. >> was it closed? this morning? >> yes, ma'am. >> you said it was around 5:30. >> yes. >> have you checked the neighborhood? >> i checked everywhere. i haven't checked the back end of the neighborhood yet, but i checked the front end. >> authorities now say since shaniya's body has been i.d.'d, more charge are on the way. we're expecting to hear from police late other than this morning. another suspect, mario mcneill harks been charged with kidnapping. "hln's" nancy grace talked with shaniya's brother. the 5-year-old father was too distraught to talk but did offer support to his son during this talk.

>> have they told anybody what was the cause of death, byron? >> they actually -- i haven't heard anything. i don't think my father has either. we're not really sure too much yet. we're still trying to figure it out now. so -- >> and there's your dad right there. there's your dad. >> we're going to have more of their emotional interview at the bottom of the hour. just in, is a ma somali pir attack the "maersk alabama "a "for the second time. guards on the "maersk" fired on them and they turn away. remember when they took the captain captive for five days. it's pure chance that the "maersk alabama" was tartsed

again. this theirs morning, two men in ski masks burst into a florida store at closing time and held several employees hostage for hours. police heard one shot but all of the hostages got out safely. local media reports that a 16-year-old girl was hurt when she was shoved to the ground. police dragged her out on a blanket. today president obama will visit u.s. troops in osan air base. he left beijing this morning after meeting with china's premier. earlier today the president visited great wall of china and stepped three steep -- climbed three steep segments and described the wall at spectacular. what a picture to have of yourself late to on the wall. your holiday travels already more expensive this year because a surcharge that the airlines added on for the busiest days.

now we learn the surcharges won't end after the holidays as they were supposed to. jennifer westhoven is telling us why. >> like they were a trial and said, oh, look. you're willing to pay them, we're willing to keep charging you. the writing seems to be on the wall if you want to fly on a busy day this year it's going to cost you more. at least among these three airlines. delta, northwest and united. they all tried the holiday surcharges and the are adding them to many busy days all through memorial day. so one example is, the day after the super bowl. it will cost you $50 more to fly. they added a lot of charges around spring break and easter as well. congress may be looking into this, though. a lot of lawmakers are concerned that all of these fees and surcharges, that's a way that the airlines can charge more, but they don't have to pay the same in taxes. so -- we'll watch that. >> really? a better deal for them? >> yeah. i mean, also, we might have to

pay taxes. it might be a better deal for us. but it's very confusing when you've got fees here and fees there. you know. what's the fare? >> all right, thanks. we have surveillance video that will make nor jaw drop. everything was quiet at a utah oil refinery. then suddenly, bam. a huge explosion. investigators say the fireball soared 100 feet, knocked a nearby home off its foundation and damaged almost 100 others. thankfully nobody was hurt. two weeks later this is still being investigated. the plant has shut down voluntarily. women, if it's a lot colder this morning as you go out to get the paper or maybe putting out food for the birds, well, we'll show you way to is. is it an upper level low or just a low? >> it is. upper level low, and it's stacked. >> you think i don't know weather. >> you do. if you're waking up, the cloud cover again, it's the same storm system mainly around the midwest down to the gulf.

this low pressure center is not moving very fast at pull. the main jet stream, way south. one up in north, this is basically caught in between drifting up to the north not getting pushed out by anything. ahead of that, the rain pretty heavy. central parts of ohio, towards indiana and stretching towards chicago. heavy rain north of charleston towards myrtle beach, south carolina. that who slug of moisture moves in through the carolina mountains and more towards central ohio. columbus, you see the rain ahead of you. here's gary, indiana. south bend, too, getting light rain. heaviest down so this rotating in towards chicago. shortly, the latest at the airport. and the northwest a batch of cloud cover there getting squeezed out by the mountains. a little snow in there, too. our next storm system is right there, and you can see moving on in it's got to get there overnight through tomorrow and then another shot comes in friday and saturday. so you're not done once it moves away from seattle through oh olympia and portland. the rain is out there for

oregon. concern for snow in the highest elevation. more in about a half hour. >> thank you. what's for breakfast? is it waffles? enjoy. you'll be hard-pressed to find at least eggos into the next year. and a frightening moment for a woman who frel the subway.

the shuttle poses for the station's cameras late this morning for a final check to make sure there's no damage. "atlantis," the live pictures. that's just cool. "atlantis" will remain at the space station for a week for the crews to unload spare parts. you just want to go into work. what are you doing?

tap him on the shoulder. you don't mind if we're watching? everybody of us. cool. new york city, raided offices at high-profile newspapers as part of a corruption probe. officers searched the circulation and delivery offices of the "new york times," and the "new york post," the "daily news ". local media reports the raids are part of a probe even the nape and mail deliverers union. the union is not commenting. one of the soldiers killed at ft. hood will be laid to rest today. specialist frank green brought home to tennessee on sunday. today he will have is a full military funeral at the church that he grew up in. and house lawmakers introduced a bill to honor the ft. hood victims in another way. correspondent richard lui has more on that. what are they planning to do. >> reporter: robin, if this passes the bill makes the 12 soldiers killed the ft. hd eligible for the purple heart and a civilian to get the medal

of freedom. the same legal status as as soldiered killed in combat. guaranteeing their families get the maximum life insurance benefit. >> we can never repay or give them back what mr. hasan took from them, but this is a first step towards the healing process, the military can step up to the plate and make them whole again. >> robin, more than 60 lawmakers have already signed on to this bill. >> some republican lawmakers are also calling for a full investigation into the ft. hood attack. you can understand why. isn't the army and fbi, aren't they already looking into that? >> reporter: you're right. president obama asked congress to wait until that investigation is done, but the republican members of the house intelligence committee say changes must be made right now to keep something like this from happening again. >> the families of the dead and the wounded deserve to know the truth, but all americans also

deserve to know that their government is taking the appropriate steps to make sure that they are protected. >> reporter: one gop leader says there was a systemic breakdown in the intelligence community but a u.s. intelligence official says this does not appear to be a case where agencies failed to share information. we told you so much about how the detroit automakers have been struggling recently. huge news this morning. our money expert jennifer westhoven is here and, jen, a u.s. car named the best car on the road. which is it? >> yeah. a big morale boost for ford. the fusion named the motor trend car of the year. did a great job of redesigning the fusion, upgrading it, every version got kood does. high praise. saying the fusion, you should consider it right on par with the toyota camera and honda accord. two big best el sellers. good news in a bad economy. one of the biggest problems in the job market is that small

businesses, they can't get loans lately. actually, in most recoveries a lot of the job growth comes from small businesses. help son the way from a few quarters this morning. goldman-sachs and warren buffett, helping 10,000 small businesses around the company. the urban league is also stepping in. they say they are stepping up loans for small companies like barber shop, doctors' offices and later today president obama's economic team will meet and their whole getting down to business is to look at the problem of getting small businesses to hire. how can they help? okay. forget about the line. hats in your wallet? how about what's in your family room? one state could make your tv illegal? and a project now a crane removal project. hear from people who saw it go down right on top of a house.

time for our "salute to the troops." today ow shout out no a marine corporal whose mom is very proud of him. you can just hear it. >> hi, robin. this is marian, i'm saluting my son, a corporal in the united states marine corps. we're so proud of you, your whole family. we've missed you so much during your deployment and can't wait for to you return home soon. god bless you. you're such a role model, your brother, sister and all your cousins and we're so grateful for all offservice. we miss your practical jokes and bear hugs. be safe and return home to us. hoorah! a tree removal job went really, really wrong when the crane tipped over and sliced through a house. look at this. it happened monday in santa rosa, california. can you imagine? even the people who saw it

happen weren't sure if it was real. >> i was running the chainsaw and didn't have time to turn it off. that thing was coming up and over, like, right over the top of my head. >> it was so fast after that. it just came crashing -- it sliced through the house with absolutely -- like butter. just went right through and i was just absolutely stunned. i didn't know what to think. >> wow. thankfully nobody was hurt. the people in the home have been told to stay out during the whole thing. thank goodness. brace yourselves for a waffle shortage. no joke. kellogg's says eggo frozen watch waffles will be in short supply until next june from the "atlanta journal-constitution newspaper." the eggo plant was flooded back in september. remember the rain in the reach jn now there are equipment problems at their largest waffle bakery in tennessee. a young pitcher overcame anxiety and depression to win

the most prestigious award for its position. rafer has more on a great comeback story. >> it is robin. this young man is very inspiring. zach of the kansas city royals had a lot of hype around him when he first came into the league. he struggled so much he left the team in february of '06. during that time diagnosed with social anxiety disorder and depression, and seven months later, worked his way back to the majors. now he just won the cry young award. goes to the best pitcher in the league, and he did 2 on a losing team which is very rare, but he's got a very big week this week. he married his high school sweetheart on saturday. meanwhile, the kansas city castoff is getting a seconds chance. larry johnson was run out of town. you may remember, after several incidents, including using gay slurs and attacking his coach on twitter. well, he was signed by cincinnati, and cincinnati is kind of becoming the city of second chances. they also signed chicago castoff cedric benson arrested for

allegedly voting while intoxicated. now he's one of the best running backs in the league. man you can go to cincinnati and re-invent yourself. and tila wants $1 poun 5 in damages from shawne merriman. she accused merry naiman of bat. the district attorney chose not to press charges against him. lastly. let's watch the buildings fall. i love this video. the former home of the dallas mavericks reunion arena, there is goes. we don't have the sound. we have to make the sound. demolished tuesday. 29-year-old building collapsed inwards and get this. they didn't use explosives but hammers away at two supporting columns to get it to fall. >> seems so risk e to me. that means somebody was inside. >> i know. just put the dynamite on the columns and run away. more sports in the next half hour. robin? >> thank you.

all right. let us check the newspapers so you don't have to shuffle outside in that robe of yours. a new police chief sworn in yesterday. he's been with the lapd 32 year. a report in "usa today" says some pharmacies may be charging people as much as three times the normal price for liquid form of the h1n1 drug tamiflu which kids take. it says at least two states attorneys generals are investigati investigating. mummies with heert disease? researchers are saying scientists used ct scanners to detect the disease many thought was a modern day illness. fascinating. late night talk show, having a ball with the president's visit to china pe he went there as part of an eight-day trip. we start with david letterman. >> do you know where president obama is right now? in china. today over there, they're touring him around.

he got to see where they keep all our money. >> the chinese president entertained president obama by having a military band play "i just called to say i love you" and" are the world." that's true. that really happened. that's true. that's true. yeah. yeah. what i want to know is how did the chinese president get ahold of my college record collection? that was my second day mixed tape. >> all right. it's 21 minutes past the hour. bobby, our fliers are watching us today. good day, bad day? what? >> if you're in charlotte, pretty bad. ground stop until 7:30 because of low clouds. probably won't get extended but delays out of that. the lower end of the storm system. northern end by chicago. see a big slow headed in towards midway and o'hare, that's the yellow. moving in your direction then the rain slides back in towards i wap. today, charlotte ground stop. >> now for the next nine minutes. otherwise, chicago, atlanta,

charlotte, cleveland, clouds and rain. watch for more rain to pile up around the regions of detroit and st. louis. more "morning express" in two minutes. y8

somali pirates attacked a u.s. cargo ship "the maersk alabama" for a second time. ed guards on the ship fired back and turned them away this morning. remember, pirates took the ship's captain richard phillips hostage for five days in april. this, before navy sharpshooters freed him. elizabeth smart's father says he's willing to forgive the woman who pleaded guilty to kidnapping the girl. wanda barzee apologized to elizabeth yesterday, ro she was not in court to hear it. a u.s. attorney says barzee also agreed to cooperate against her estranged husband who is also charged in the case. she will be sentenced in may. a wildfire in southern

california is expected to be surrounded this afternoon. it's about 95% contained right now. an orange county fire captain says its burned since monday. the fire injured three people but did not damage any homes. that's a quick check of some of our headlines. honey, there's a lot more where that came from. just wanted to check in on you. it's 31 minutes past the hour. i'm robin meade. more charges expected today in the death of 5-year-old shaniya davis. her body positively i.d.'d yesterday in north carolina. she'd been missing for a week. "hln's" nancy grace talked with shaniya's family and her father was too distrut talk but did come out and offer support to shaniya's brother. >> have they told anybody what was the cause of death, byron? >> they actually -- i haven't heard anything. i don't think my father has either. we're not really sure too much yet. we're still trying to figure it out now.

so -- >> and there's your dad right there. >> yes, ma'am. >> there's your dad. >> would you please -- >> i really do want to thank everybody for the support and prayers. it really does mean a lot. you know, we just want everybody to stay as strong as we're trying to. i know it's hard, but for the mothers out there, please, don't let this happen to your child. >> imagine what that family is going through. the girl's mother is accused of prostituting the girl. the health care brill that passed the house may not be popular with a lot of people, but some parts of it are. new this morning, a cnn opinion research poll shows that americans are evenly split over the role that would require health insurance for all americans and they're strongly against using public funds for abortion. that's something that conservative democrats insisted upon before supporting the bill. new details about the man accused of gunning down 13 people at ft. hood. media reports say right before

the attack, major nidal hasan tried to turn in some of his own patients for war crimes. correspondent richard lui joins us now. >> reporter: that's right, robin. you probably recall major hasan worked as a military psychiatrist. a captain who worked at ft. hood tolls the "dallas morning news" hasan thought some of his patients confessed to war crimes during this sessions and asked superiors to press criminal charges but they reportedly were ignored or rebuffed his efforts several time. the last e-mails exchanged on that matter, robin, were just a few days before the attack. >> when i hear about this, i mean, wouldn't turning in your patients be a really serious violation of doctor/patient confidentiality? >> reporter: big question here. depends wloon kind of information major hasan had. we don't know that as of yet, but if the patients had confessed legitimate war crimes and defense department rules would have required hasan to tell his superiors. even a military law attorney

told our sister network cnn. >> possible suspected or alleged violations of the law of war do have to be reported. so it looks like there's at least a plausible argument that he was under an obligation to report. >> reporter: robin, military psych tie trysts hope hasan's actions will not scare other soldiers away now from talking about what they've been through in combat. >> exactly. that's how you're supposed to get help for post-traumatic stress disorder. talk about what happened. richard, thanks. take a look at a water main break that clogged up traffic near boston after it burst and local reports say two lanes of traffic had to be closed so the crews could fix the problem. no reports of injuries. check out a police dash cam video. come here. see the police officer at a routine traffic stop in texas? look in the lower left side of his screen. there's a kitty cat. the cat climbed the officer. and the officer keeps doing his job. there's the cat on his chest. there's the cat whispering sweet nothingings in his ear on his

shoulder. still, the officer continues with the ticket. the cat's owner says, yeah, the cat's always very friendly. >> what do i have to do to get you to not write that ticket? >> no smiling from the policeman, either. all business. >> concentration. >> that's great. 34 minutes past the hour. bob is here with your weather today. what's it look like? >> same as yesterday. this time heavier rain across ohio. this weather brought to you by tylenol. feel better. most of the rain, heavy stuff, moving away from the ohio valley in towards central ohio getting in towards toledo then ark back around through lower michigan, northern indiana towards chicago, too. you'll get the rain out there. a heavy batch of rain moving inland into the charleston area. myrtle beach getting decent rain all around the golf courses moving to the east the next couple of hours inland later today. watch the next 48 hours. rain comes up out of the south and spreads on in through basically the charleston, west

virginia area. really piles it on strong, northern virginia, parts of maryland and then in towards pennsylvania. you see the yellow shading about 2 to 2 1/2 inches rain over the next two days as it call comes up out of the south. rain towards central ohio moving in from chicago. chicago metro getting showers coming in. one batch of heavy rain near northern indened by gary, out of south bend moving towards your area later today. traffic delays out of that, no doubt about it. the pacific northwest another storm coming in. the bright white clouds are out there. that all slams ashore and just blasts you with heavy rain and lots of wind starting tonight through tomorrow, but if you look at the radar picture now, we already have rain and snow out there from yesterday. seattle down to portland, down to i-5. a wet commute. talk more about that in about a half hour. this just in while he was talking. secretary of state hillary clinton is in afghanistan. landed in kabul today, a surprise visit on the eve of president hammede karzai's

inauguration there. and the train could come at any moment, helped a woman that fell, and didn't even know her. and how well will your car protect new an accident? experts put cars to the test. you may be surprised which one's at the top of the list.

a pregnant woman doesn't know who to thank for pulling fler the path of a subway train. it happened in brooklyn. she tells affiliate wabc she was waiting for the train, got light-headed and fell on to the tracks. two strangers jumped on to the tracks and got her. >> they were like superman. they didn't -- took off suit jackets, jumped in, lifted her and we all helped them get back on, because we weren't sure if

the train was coming. >> god was really watching out for me and watching out for the baby. >> well, the woman bruised her face, as you saw, there but she and the baby are reportedly okay. president obama says that we should not be afraid of putting 9/11 suspects on trial. the suspected mastermind and four others will be tried in new york, but many republicans opposed it saying that puts the city in danger. president obama talked to ed henry of our sister network cnn about the controversy. >> i think this notion that somehow we have to be fearful that these terrorists possess some special powers that prevent us from presenting evidence against them, locking them up and, you know, exacting swift justice, i think that has been a fundamental mistake. >> new york mayor michael bloomberg said that the city can landal it. if you get caught having a rowdy party in one rhode island town, the police can put a

warning sticker on your house. what some college kids are fighting in court. even some of the landlords say it makes it hard to rent out apartments. the town's lawyer says it may create a stigma but it doesn't make them unconstitutional. wait. open her mike again? >> wouldn't you want to know if you were living next to a frat house? sorry it makes it hard to rent, but i don't want to be waking up to doctor doctor barf in the morning. >> things that never happen when you're out with a realtor. never! there's never a dog next door that yaps all the tile. never, like, somebody creepy trolling around the neighborhood. nothing. everything's like mayberry, then you buy it or rent it and you're like -- all right. >> yeah. >> in other words, i agree. the day after thanksgiving is considered the start of the holiday shopping season. well, money expert jennifer westhoven is with us today. >> oh, yeah. >> and can you tell us some of the deals that are confirmed so far? >> we're gerting some of the leak. there are websites that all they do is try to find out the black

friday deals, and then leak them early, and there's a lot of demand for it. now walmart confirming some of the deals on the day after thanksgiving. so one is a blue rey player for $ $78. analysts predicted prices would fall under $100, in door buster specials. walmart also has a 50-inch plasma high def tv for about $600. i should know more about those, but i have one of the really old box ones. >> do you really? you can see it from the window. >> i don't want people to think there's a lot of stuff to steal in my house. i'm sure that is a great deal. i'm going to learn more as we get to the day after thanksgiving. also they have kids' pjs for $3. a lot of people watch this stuff. whole strategies. i'll be at this store at this time. this store at that time. >> oh, i used to be one of those. when my nieces and nephews were little i would stay up all night. >> wow. >> i was very competitive. >> now you can hang out in the

walmart, right? not outside. your car this morning. maybe you're going to drive to work, drive to class. is your car safe? the insurance industry just did the new smash them up derby, buy all these new cars only to crash them into ball and see how they do. 19 cars and i think eight surfs got some of the best ratings. the volvo brand did very well. four, subaru, volkswagen and subaru did well, too. in general a year where there were far fewer. think about, the list last year was like 100. this year, like 27. it really shrank and they said it's not that the cars got less safe but they started to measure how the roof did, and, remember, that is a big deal in some of the rollover crashes that happen in the bigger cars. when they put that in, a lot of cars didn't get the top safety pick anymore. >> i understand. thanks. conservative commentator ann coulter and "hln's" joy behar have opinions about sarah palin

presidential aspirations. check this out from "the joy behar show." >> a new poll is showing that 70% of americans are saying that sarah palin is not qualified to be president. my question is who are the 30% that think she is? besides you, ann? >> yes. well, there's me. >> there's you. >> i guess -- i mean for one thing it's definitely the americans who are not swayed by what the mainstream media says. i don't know whether she can overcome those numbers. if that poll was accurate and if it continues that way, i guess she probably can't run for president, but there have been very popular and very successful presidents who have been down in the polls before they became president. like ronald reagan. and bush and -- and, i don't think obama was ever down in the polls, was he? >> you're scaring me now that you mentioned the two of them. >> tonight joy will talk to singer olivia newton-john, a breast cancer survivor and will weigh in on the new mammogram

guidelines which go against everything you've been told for years at 9:00 p.m. eastern here on hln. an 11-month-old child is found wandering around the streets of her neighborhood. her mom's in jail now. >> why did you leave your baby home alone? >> i didn't leave my baby home alone. >> who was she with? >> police believe the mother was doing drugs when her kid was found.

you know, this seems strange, but the h1n1 outbreak is now affecting puppets. libraries around minneapolis are keeping puppets out of the public areas for now. a librarian said puppets are hard to disinfect and little kids put their faces and hands up there. no way to know if puppets have been the reason people have gotten sick. workers can still use them during storytime. a suspected bank robber led police mon a high-speed chase in north carolina. police say they tossed the money out the window, and a truck eventually helped box them in. police caught up with them. officers say at times he was going up to 120 miles per hour. you know, we have an update on a brawl that we showed you,

maybe it was last week. of the high school girls' state championship. this is the best of the best. >> the best of the best, and talk about the worst behavior, robin. the rhode island interscholastic league brought down the hammer. suspended nine players for this fight. it broke out in the last minute of the state championship. here it is. the girls go back and forth. ugly stuff. now, the suspensions range from up to two game tossup to a year. their season is over. the coaches from both teams were also penalized. remember the finals carried, the fight carried over into the fans which cancelled the awards ceremony. bad behavior all around. the kids and coach was not specifically named but look at those faces. >> young. >> more shame for the tennessee football program. police say another player, nyshier oliver arrested for trying to shoplift a $110 shirt. the alleged incident happened november 7th. last week three other freshmen arrest ford attempted armed

robbery. new video of that. two of those players were kicked off of the team and between both of these incidents, head coach lane kippen went out and bragged about his team having no arrests. >> want to get away. >> big time. a sign of optimism. the boston red sox are raising ticket prices. set a record for attendance this year after they froze prices. seats for individual games go up to $130, up from $125 and green monster seats also go up $5 to $165. most other ticket priceless stay the same. and meanwhile the nba lowered prices in the new jersey nets, they're giving them away for free in a desperate attempt to bring in fans to cheer the team and help them snap a ten-game losing streak. they gave away two free tickets to season ticketholders. it didn't work. only 11,000 people showed up and the nets lost and they're the only winless team in the league. got to feel bad for those guys. in the next half hour a baseball player overcomes a

major obstacle to win a major award. we'll have it for you. >> really a great story. thank you. call it hide and go seek foreadults. sending a writer on a wierd magazine set up a fake identity with a facebook and twitter account and traveled the country using gift cards to get buy. and if anybody found him, they would win 5,0$5,000. >> i died my hair and work fake glasses, i had a fake wedding ring, i had a variety of hats and sunglasses. my best disguise was shaving the top of my head. >> but the disguise didn't wok. he was caught after three weeks on a pizza run. it's like a movie. a new law has been passed that may affect many pet owners in one area of the country. there's about to be more scratched-up furniture. it's new for you in about 20 minutes. ten mibs to the hour.

bob, for our travelers this morning, better than yesterday or not so much? >> no. just about the same. ground stoppage in atlanta, the biggest airport in the country, because of the low clouds. they'll be hanging in there for at least the next couple of hours. the low clouds looking at midtown atlanta. you can't even see the tops of the buildings. the low clouds are there, ground stop until 8:30 is what we have. then more delays after that. chicago, rain, wind, and low clouds. an hour or more delay there. atlanta, our morning clouds, right now, by this afternoon, the push should be a lot better by about 5:00. so keep your finger hes crossed. charlotte, seattle as well. charlotte, low-level cloudiness all day, seattle, rain and wind back in the picture. more in about a half hour. >> thank you. you may remember a massive fire in puerto rico. it was felt miles away. the fbi was brought in to investigate. there was talk of sabotage.

now investigators say they know the cause. y8

good morning! . it is 8:00 eastern, of course. morning, sunshine. thank you for making us a part of your morning routine. here's what's going on. it's the gift that keeps on giving or in this case taking from you. why extra airline fees won't stop when the holidays are over. a scary night for workers at a department store. armed robbers moved in and a s.w.a.t. team came after them. and police officers are trained in all kinds of dangerous situations, but i don't know, nothing could prepare a cop with an encounter with an overly apassionate cat. that's great video. first, though, there are new

details and new 911 calls shedding light on the death of 5-year-old shaniya davis. her body found off a road in north carolina has been positively identified. authorities in fayetteville are still determining how she died. her mother is accused of prostituting the girl. we now have antoinette davis' 911 call. >> well, authorities now say that since shaniya's body have been i.d.'d, more charges are on the way. mario mctheel has been charged with kidnapping.

nancy grace talked with shaniya's brother. her father was too distraught to talk. he came out and offered support for her son. >> have they told anybody what was the cause of death, byron? >> actually, i haven't heard anything. i don't think my father has either. we're not really sure too much yet. we're still trying to figure that out now. >> there is your dad right there. >> yes, ma'am. >> we're going to have more, a very emotional interview at the bottom of the hour. just in -- somali pirates attacked a u.s.-flagged cargo ship the mirs alabama for the second time. automatic weapons were shot this morning. guards on the ship fired again and turned away. it was hijacked in april, pirates took richard phillips hostage five days before army sharp shooters freed him.

everything was quiet at this utah oil refinery. then suddenedly, bam, a huge explosion. the fireball soared 100 feet, knocked a nearby home off its foundation and damaged almost 100 others. amazingly, nobody was hurt. two weeks later, this is still being investigated. the plant is shut down voluntarily. new this morning, hillary clinton is on a surprise visit to afghanistan, her first there, as secretary of state. this by the way is the eve of president karzai's inauguration. she'll attend that tomorrow. clinton first went to see the u.s. a.mbassador and commander f u.s. forces, then went to dinner with karzai. holiday travel is already more expensive this year because of surcharges that the airlines tacked on for the busiest days. well, now we've learned that those surcharges are not going away, not for the foreseeable

future. jennifer, what gives? >> be prepared. if you want to fly on a busy day, it's going to cost you more if these airlines have their way. delta, northwest and united, they tried out those holiday surcharges and i guess they liked them. they're add them to many busy travel days through memorial day. one example is if you flew the day after the super bowl, it will cost you $50 more one-way. i guess they figured a lot of business guys are at the super bowl. they also added charges around spring break and easter, for example. congress may be looking into some of these surcharges. they are concerned it's a way for airlines to charge more without paying the same amount of taxes. >> okay. new this morning, two men in ski masks burst into a florida store at closing time last night and held several employees hostage for hours. police have not found the gunmen earlier this morning. they heard one shot but all the hostages got out safely.

local media reports that a 16-year-old girl was hurt when she was shoved to the ground. police dragged her out on a blanket. iran says it's sentenced five people to death for their roles in protests after presidential elections there. the court says the five who got death sentences were convicted of belonging to terrorist groups and for carrying out bombings across iran. 81 other people were sentenced to prison terms up to 15 years, all of them can appeal their sentences. a barking dog and a grandfather who learned cpr in the army 30 years ago saved a little texas girl from drowning. the 2-year-old had fallen into the family pool. she managed to squeeze through a doggie door. she was turning purple when her grandfather began cpr. >> she arched her back and opened her eyes and started moaning. at that point i was pretty hopeful she was going to be okay. >> the child spent the day in the hospital, but she thankfully

is fine now. all right. that will wake you up. five minutes past the hour. what's happening in your backyard today weather-wise? here is meteorologist bob van dillen. >> rob, you're from the chicago area, right? >> yeah. >> they're waking up, like, bobby, the clouds, what's going on? the same weather system. i'm having a heart attack looking at your clouds over here. it's the same system, this low. look at these clouds just spiraling around this thing. now it's a stacked low, meaning the surface low is right underneath the upper-level low. that's what's happening, in between two jet streams. you can see the cold front and warm front and occluded front sitting in place across the midwest. warm front going down into south carolina, look at the rain by myrtle beach, not a big deal when it comes to flooding concerns but that rain is going to shift into the rest of the carolinas today, ultimately gets

caught up and moves into the appalachians, get into west virginia, too. virginia later tonight. we're watching for heavy rain possibly for the mid-atlantic coast over the next 48 hours. rain right now around central ohio, that rain is now stretching into chicago, too. here's your rain shield, the heavy stuff is over gary, indiana, but moving in the chicago direction. watch for delays at the airports because of that. get away from that, the upper part of the northwest, one cold front came ashore last night, the first one. a lot of wind, rain, over the past couple of days, still seeing light snow out of that. look at that cloud cover off the pacific. that's your next storm. we'll see more of that action, wind, rain developing tonight. lasting through the weekend. another round behind that one. tower cam from the region, it's going to be a pretty decent day around new york city. that's the upper east side. little bit of wind. high pressure directly overhead. going to feel just like november. there you go, rob. more in a little bit. >> and it is.

>> indeed. munching on a waffle this morning? you'll be hard-pressed to find eggos well into last year. a woman fell onto a platform. the incredible way she was rescued.

time right now to salute our troops. today's shout-out is to marine corporal greg yarborough. his mom is very proud of her. >> hi, robin. i'm saluting my son, a corporal in the united states marine corps. greg, we're so proud of you. we miss you so much, can't wait for you to return home. god bless you, greg. you're such a role model for

your younger brother, sister, and all your cousins. we're so grateful for all your sacrifices. we miss your practical jokes and your laughing and bear hugs. be safe and hurry home to us. >> do you have somebody in the service? go to cnn.com/robin. brace yourself for a waffle short theage. kellogg's says eggo waffles will be in short supply across the country until next june. that's from the "atlanta journal-constitution." the plant in atlanta was flooded back in september. now there are equipment problems at their largest waffle bakery in tennessee. president obama continues his visit in asia today. right now he's in south korea, but before that he spent a couple of days in china. according to conan o'brien, things seemed to go well there. >> this is a big deal, though. chinese president hu jintao had dinner with president obama and secretary of state hillary clinton.

yeah. experts say that the relations between the two remain icy, but that obama and jintao get along great. so we're in good shape. >> last night conan welcomed rapper 50 cent to the tonight show. you won't be allowed to declaw your cats in l.a. or beverly hills anymore. it is medically necessary. a vet association says declawing should be up to the cat's owners in consultation with their vets. san francisco and santa monica have also outlawed declawing cats. it's considered very painful for the cats and it's like -- i've been told it's like removing the top of your finger down to your first little joint. >> when i adopted my second kitty, they made me promise not to declaw her as part of the adoption. they wouldn't -- >> she was a rescue kitty? >> yeah.

>> she's tearing up my furniture, though. i don't mind. she's worth it. >> one of the biggest problems right now in the economy, small businesses cannot afford to hire anybody because they can't get a loan to front them. even when they're doing well. business expert jennifer westhoven is here. so are these people going to get out? >> let's hope so. this is really a big deal because this is where so many of of the jobs in the economy come from. so we're calling this some good news in a bad economy that help is on the way from several quarters. first, goldman sachs and warren buffett will invest $500 million to help 10,000 small businesses around the country. the urban league also stepping in. they're going to have loans from 5,000 up to 100 grand. they specialize in small companies that are in really urban areas, cities like barbershops, doctor's offices, dry cleaners. and today president obama's economic team is going to meet and they're going to be looking at all kinds of issues relating to this whole issue, to try to give more help to small businesses.

on the homefront, this winter the housing market might stay warm even as it gets cold outside. experts are predicting more house hunting than usual during the winter. that often can be kind of a slow time. but it's the big tax credit that's at work here. you watch our show, you know all about it. washington extended that tax credit, $8,000 for new home buyers. it will run through i believe april and $6,500 if you've had your home for a while. robin, back to you. >> thank you. imagine that your child is sick and needs medicine and you may be getting charged three times more than you should because the state that you live in?

one of of the shoulders killed at ft. hood will be laid to rest today. specialist fred green was brought back to his hometown in tennessee on sunday. today he will will have a full military funeral at the church where he grew up and house lawmakers have introduced a bill to honor the ft. hood victims in another way. correspondent richard lui has more. >> if it does pass, this would make the 12 soldiers killed at ft. hood eligible for the purple heart. and a civilian victim could get the medal for the defense of freedom. it would also give anyone killed or wounded in the attack the same legal status as soldiers killed in combat. it guarantees their family the

maximum life insurance benefit. >> we can never repay them. this is the first step in the healing process. from happening again. >> the families of the dead and the wounded deserve to know the truth. but all americans also deserve to know that their government is taking the appropriate steps to make sure that they are protected. >> and one gop leader said there

was a systemic breakdown in the intelligence community, but a u.s. intelligence official says this does not appear to be a case, robin, where agencies failed to share information, which had been mentioned before. >> richard, thank you for the update on that. some people are being told to evacuate their homes now but not because of a fire but because it is so hot that if there were a fire they would probably be killed. a brush fire in southern australia was so devastating in february, more than 170 people died and 2,000 homes were destroyed. it's now expected to hit 104 degrees this weekend, thus the alarm. you know, if you ever have those moments where you go, gosh, i just don't know if i can do it, here is a great example of someone who decided they could. a young pitcher overcame anxiety and depression to win the most prestigious award for his position. high, rafer. >> hi, robin. in professional sports, to admit to have something like that, very uncommon. it was taboo to admit that.

zack greinke may change that. he had a lot of hype around him when he first came into the league, but he struggled and left the team. he got a lot of flak for it. he was diagnosed with social anxiety and depression. he has now earned the award which goes to the best pitcher in the league, the cy young. he did it on a losing team, which is rare. this weekend he will marry his high school sweetheart. big week for him. a kansas city castoff is getting a second chance. larry johnson, who was run out of town after several incidents including using gay slurs and attacking his coach on twitter, was signed by cincinnati. interesting because cincinnati seexs to become the city of second chances. they also signed chicago xastoff, cedric benson. he has now become onest of the best running backs in the league. reality tv star wants 1.5

million bucks in damages from san diego linebacker shaen merriman. you may remember this star, she is a star of a shot the at love. she accused merriman of battery and false imprisonment after she left his house after a party, that but the d.a. chose not to press charges. lastly, let's tear some things down. the former home of the dallas mavericks reunion arena was demoleddi demoledished on tuesday. the 29-year-old building collapsed inward. but they did not use explosives. they hammered away at two with supporting columns to get it to fall. i find that so fascinating. >> that means someone was inside? >> was hammering and had to run away. they're all good, all safe. that's sports. it is hard to imagine how 1 of hollywood's highest paid actors could go broke unless you're nicholas cage's manager. what he says led to the actor's

financial ruin. no question that the u.s. is facing an obesity epidemic. you won't believe how much it could cost you as a taxpayer if the country doesn't slim it down.

they said it would never last. but it's been two months, and you're still going strong. glade lasting impressions. two fragrances alternate to keep things... fresh and exciting day after day. - and not just for 30 days. - ( inhales deeply, sighs ) but for 60. it's the longest-lasting plugins ever.

get freshness that won't fade away for 60 days. ahhh! with plugins lasting impressions. and yes, it's glade. s.c. johnson, a family company. >> new this morning, somali pirates atrtacked the mers alabama for the second time. the european union's naval force said guards on the ship fired back and turned them away this morning. remember, pirates took the ship's captain richard phillips hostage for five days in april before he was freed. elizabeth smart's father said he's willing to forgive wanda barzee. she apologized to elizabeth yesterday. a u.s. attorney also said she agreed to cooperate against heavy estranged husband also charged in the case. the space shuttle "atlantis"

is closing in on the international space station. the shuttle will pose for the cameras for a final check to make sure there's no damage. "atlantis" will will there for a week to unload spare parts. those are some of the headlines. i'm robin meade. morning sunshine. new this morning, president obama saying that we should not be afraid of putting 9/11 suspects on trial. he talked to ed henry of our sister network cnn. the suspected 9/11 mastermind and four others will be tried in new york. many republicans oppose it, saying that it puts the city in dang danger. >> i think this notion that somehow we have to be fearful that these terrorists possess some special powers that prevent us from presenting evidence against them, locki ining them and exacting swift justice, i think that has been a

fundamental mistake. >> new york mayor michael bloomberg says that the city can handle it. more charges are expected today in the death of 5-year-old shaniya davis. her body was positively identified yesterday in north carolina. she had been missing for a week. hln's nancy grace talked with shaniya's family. her father was too distraught to talk, but he came out and off offeroffer support for her brother. >> have they told anybody what was the cause of death, byron? >> they actually -- i haven't heard anything. i don't think my father has either. we're not really sure too much yet. we're still trying to figure it out now. >> and there is your dad right there. >> yes, ma'am. >> there is your dad. >> we really do want to thank everybody for the support and prayers. it really does mean a lot. you know, we just want everybody

to stay as strong as we're trying to. i know it's hard, but for the mothers out there, please don't let this happen to your child. >> cannot imagine. the girl's mother is accused of prostituting the girl. it seems strange, but the h1n1 outbreak is now affecting puppets. libraries around minneapolis at least are keeping the puppets out of public areas for now. a libraryian says the puppets are hard to disinfect and the little kids put their faces right up to them and hands. there's no way to know if the puppets actually got anybody sick, but the workers are still allowed to use them during story time. there are new details about the man accused of gunning down 13 people at ft. hood. media reports say that right before the attack, major nidal hasan tried to turn in some of his patients for war triems. richard lui joins us now. >> you probably recall that major hasan worked as a military psychiatrist. well, a captain who worked at ft. hood told the dallas morning

news that hasan thought some of his patients had confessed to war crimes during their sessions. now, he asked his superiors to press criminal charges thereafter, but they reportedly ignored or rebuffed hasan's efforts several times. the last e-mails exchanged on this matter, robin, were just a few days before the attack. >> you know, wouldn't it be a violation of dr. /patient confidentiality for your doctor to call someone and tell what you had been talking about? >> yeah, rob. you know, core question that you ask. it depends on what kind of information major hasan had. we don't know that as of yet. if the patients had confessed legitimate war crimes, the dwents department rules would have required hasan to tell his froor superiors. here's what a military law attorney told our sister network cnn. >> possible suspected or alleged violations of the law of war do have to be reported. so it looks like there's at least a plausible argument that he was under an obligation to report.

>> military psychiatrists say they hope hasan actions will not scare soldiers away from talking about what they've been through in combat. >> indeed. richard, thank you. you've got to check out this police dash cam video. come here. see the police officer at the routine traffic stop in texas? see the kitty cat on his leg? the cat is just climbing all over the officer, but the officer continues to do his job. watch. cat's on his arm, cat's on his chest, cat's on the shoulder talking in his ear. hey, read him his rights. what are you going to do? cuff him! the cat's owner said, yep, he's a very friendly kitty cat. but the officer diligently keeps trying to do his job. >> even with the cat's tail up in the air. no problem. >> oh, that wasn't nice. >> let the kitty cat ride around on you. come on! 35 minutes past the hour. we're starting on the west coast.

hi, bob. >> good morning, robin. the reason why is because we have kind of like the conga line of storms in the west. here's the one from yesterday, across northern idaho and montana. light rain and snow left behind that, not that big of deal now. but notice this big batch of cloud cover coming in from the pacific. that rides all the way into the region overnight tonight through tomorrow, you're just going to get slammed again with heavy rain and lots of wind. let me show you how much rain over the next two days, something we're with pretty concerned about. there's the pacific northwest, vancouver and seattle. the purple shaded areas right there, computer models generated about eight to ten inches of rain right there. it will turner into snow for the highest elevations. avalanche watches for the olympics and cascades. the rain and thunderstorms really arrive overnight tonight and the wind picks up right around that time as well. a tough couple of days. back to the map, light rain, light snow. cascades, olympics, rain across the valleys where it's going to be all day. portland picking up the rain

pretty well around i-5, all moving inland. to the northwest we go, flash flood watches in effect because of all that rain. those are the dark-shaded counties. still warnings up in some of counties because of the rain you had over the last couple of days. a real big concern. down to the south farther, sierra nevada, a lot of snow for the morning, three to six ifrmgs in the highest elevations, advisories out there just expired, which is great. the snow will be back for you later on in the weekend. more on that in just a little bit. how about st. louis real quick? show you what it looks like the low clouds are in for the midwest. there's the arch. that upper-level low, a different storm system from the pacific northwest one, affecting you from st. louis to chicago, charlotte, towards atlanta. we'll get the latest here because of the low clouds, rob. we'll talk about that in just a couple of minutes. >> thank you. how old do you think that your car would protect you if, forbid, you were ever in a car accident? experts put different cars to the test and you might be surprised which ones are in the

top of that list.

all right. 20 minutes to the hour. hello. if you hit the snooze button, caught you! iraq's next national election is completely up in the air this morning because of a sunni vice president just vetoed a new election law. he says that he wants more parliament seats for iraqi refugees who are often sunnis. the law is september back to parliament, which could delay preparations for a january vote, considered crucial for a u.s. troop pullout. teachers and students sometimes disagree but a story at a high school near atlanta takes it to a near laefl level. a math teacher is accused of taking a hit out on a student.

mike galanos spoke to the student's mom and the attorney for the school district. >> the next day they had an altercation and the teacher threatened him then and said that he would hit him in his mouth. >> so we have this question asked, threats after that. did you go to the school at this point? >> actually, once the threat came through to have him killed, i called the school exactly that day and i didn't get anything from the school until at that point i called the superintendent. >> at the forefront, we would like to say this was a reprehensible situation and we certainly regret that it even happened in the first place. nevertheless, the school system promptly investigated the matter once it came to our attention, and we took the appropriate steps. mr. ford was immediately suspended. he was actually arrested. >> get the latest on any developments on that story with "prime news," 5:00 p.m. eastern

right here on hln. come here, come here. we are getting early word on some of the bargains we'll see on black friday. here is money expert jennifer westhoven. give it! >> there's all these websites out there just, like, we heard this, we heard that. they've got leaks about black friday deals. walmart is confirming some of the deals it will have on that day after thanksgiving. one is a blueray player about $78. a lot of analysts predicted the prices would go under 100 at door busters sales. a plasma high-def tv about 600 bucks and kids' pjs about 3 bucks. i've seen some reports, unconfirmed, that apple will have some big black friday deals. last year they had some that were apparently puny, but if those leaks are true, they would be pretty big this year. something to watch out for. this morning on your way to work, driving your kids to school, are you in one of the

safest cars on the road? this is the insurance industry where they're looking at the new car. so they literally go buy all the new models of popular cars and they just crash them, see how they do. 19 cars and 8 suvs did the best in the crash tests. volvo did very well, also subaru and volkswagen each got five. far fewer awards handed out this year, the list chopped into a quarter. it's not that the cars are less safe this year but the insurance institute decided, hey, you know, we better start looking at the roofs because of rollover safety. basically, in rollovers which have become more common, they've got to make sure they include that in the rankings, too. >> thank you. so it's getting colder outside. we decided to go beyond the surface when it comes to finding out if mom was right when she said, wear a hat to stay warm.

>> unfortunately, mom was not exactly right about losing heat through your head. you lose some body heat through whatever part of your body is exposed. the real key is what's uncovered and how much surface area it is. there's nothing special about the head. if you walk around with just a hat and no pants or shorts, you're going to lose just as much of your body heat through that and people might think you're a little more crazy. people often hear if they go out into the cold or wet weather or they go out with wet hair that that's going to make them sick. but it's just not true. the weather has nothing to do with whether or not you get sick. what makes you sick are usually viruses, sometimes bacteria. scientists have done great studies looking at this one. it's just not true. a tree removal project is now a crane removal project. hear from people who saw it go down right on top of a house and

cut it like butter!

a tree removal job went really, really wrong when a crane tipped over and sliced right through a house. it happened monday in santa rosa, california. even the people who saw it say it's just like they were seeing, am i seeing what's real? >> i was -- i didn't have time to turn it off. that thing was coming up and over right over the top of my head. >> it was so fast after that, it just came crashing -- it sliced through the house like butter. it just went right through. i was absolutely stunned. i didn't know what to think. >> no one was hurt. the people in the home had been told to stay out during the whole thing. well, levi johnston takes

sarah palin up on her offer to join the family for thanksgiving dinner. last night's panel on hln's "the joy behar show" says, don't count on it! >> does this thanksgiving dinner happen, do you think? >> no way. >> there's no way it happens. >> why? >> only if the cameras are present, i think. i feel a little bit like sarah palin and levi were the ones dating and not bristol. >> that's an interesting point. it's like they're on top of it instead -- he should be fighting with bristol and he's not. >> wouldn't you love to be invited to a thanksgiving dinner on national television under duress when you're being grilled by -- not the way i like to go to my family event. >> i think the thanksgiving event should be pay per view anyway because she is, let's be honest, the reality television candidate. she is the first one of this era. >> she is. >> i think o.j. was the first reality television trial and this is the first reality television candidate. >> but no talk of o.j. becoming

president of the united states. how scary is that? >> patience. patience. >> tonight joy is going to talk with olivia newton-john, a breast cancer survivor. she'll weigh in about the mammogram guidelines that go against everything you've hear for years. we have an update on a brawl that broke out at a high school girls soccer game. it happened to be the state championship. hi, rafer. >> good morning, robin. just video that's shocking when you know how young these kids are. now the rhode island interx interscholastic league suspended nine players for this fight. the suspensions range from up to two games to up to a year for fighting and for leaving the bench and the fight carried over into the stands. and the coaches from both teams were also penalized. they canceled the awards ceremony. the kids and coaches were not specifically named.

more shame for the tennessee football program. police say another player, oliver, was arrested for allegedly trying to shoplift a $110 shirt. the alleged incident happened fourshirt. the incident happened four days before coach lane kiffin bragged about his team having no arrested. this is new video. two players were kicked off the team. and america's past time just got more expensive. the red sox are raising ticket prices by as much as 5 bucks. they did freeze price is this year and set a record for attendance. field seats will come up from 125. maybe the economy's turning around? the real estate market is not. this costs 55 million bucks to build. the silver dome stadium in

michigan sold for the price of a one-bedroom apartment. $583,000, to a canadian real estate group. >> what are they going to do with it? >> they want to use it for sporting events. in the next half hour, a baseball player overcomes a major obstacle to win a major award. >> thanks. what would you do with a building that size? here's bob for our travelers. >> i want to take you real quick to boston. if you're going up there today, it's a cold start. temperatures in the 30s, but partly cloudy skies, up to about 50 to 53. no problems delaywise there, but some popping up down south. chicago metro's look at an east wind. atlanta, we've had delays because of morning clouds. charlotte, you're at a ground

stop for the next eight minutes. an 11-month-old child is found wandering the streets. >> why did you leave your baby home alone? >> i didn't leave my baby alone.

> good morning, sunshine. come on in the room. i'm robin meade. if yop if you don't have t watch this. polipolice hav police hapoe watch this. polipolice hav police hap s worst fears. ra bodp a body found by identifip identified rident 5-year-old girl. we hawe have disturbing 5-year-old girl. we hawe have disturbin new det. then the mers alabama came under attack again. it's not every day that a traffic stop makes you go, aah, but a cuddly cat can't get enough of the officer.

the new details and new 911 call are shedding light on the death of 5-year-old shania davis. her body found off a road in north carolina has been positively identified. authorities are still trying to determine how she died. her mother is accused of prostituting the little girl and we now have the 911 call to police. authorities now say that since shaniya's body has been identified, more charges are on

the way. nancy grace talked with shaniya's brother last night and the father was too dus tragt to talk, but did offer support for his son. >> have they told anybody what was the cause of death, byron? >> i haven't heard anything. i don't think my father has either. we're not really sure too much yet. we're still trying to figure it out now. >> and there is your dad, right there. >> yes, ma'am. >> there is your dad. >> cannot imagine. we're going to have more of their emotional interview at the bottom of the hour. pirates have attacked a u.s. flagged cargo ship for the second time. pirates fired automatic weapons at the ship this morning. private security guards on the ship fired back and turned them away. the ship was hijacked in april. pirates took captain richard phillips hostage for five days

before navy sharp shooters freed him. president obama is saying we should not be afraid of putting 9/11 suspects on trial. he talked with ed henry of cnn. many republicans oppose the trial in new york, saying that puts the city in danger. >> i think this notion that somehow we have to be fearful that these terrorists are -- possess some special powers that prevent us from presenting evidence against them, locking them up and you know, exacting swift justice. i think that has been a fundamental mistake. >> new york mayor bloomberg said the city can handle it. your holiday travel is already more expensive because of surcharges the airlines tacked on for the busiest days. now, we're learning they won't end after the beginning of the

new year. jennifer westhoven has more. >> i guess they got the money, so they figure, if it works, they'll keep on trying it. if you want to fly on a busy day this year, it's going to cost you more. delta, northwest and united all tried these holiday surcharges. now, they're adding them to the calendar through about may. one example, if you fly the day after the super bowl, $50 more. also, around spring break. since it's not a fair raise, they don't have to pay the same amount in taxes. there's one way that you can fight the charges. fly an airline that doesn't charge them. >> it just adds up, doesn't it? little more for luggage. just feel like you're paying a

lot. iran says it has sentenced five people to death for their ro roles in protests after the presidential elections. the five were convicted of belonging to terrorists groups. 81 others were sentenced to prison terms up to 15 years. all of them can appeal their sentences. forget the milk and cookies. this year, santa wants the swine flu vaccine. an organization says it wants all members working at the malls this christmas to get vaccinated. they say they want to help protect the kids. >> they're little petri dishes sitting on our laps and you have to protect them as well as yourself. >> the group also says they want sick kid to stay away, but will do their best to visit those kids at home. wait a minute. don't be promising my kids that santa's helper will be visiting

you at home. >> garbage bags on your lap to protect from wet kids, now it's the swine flu. if you are trying travel to the midwest, it's the same weather pattern we've seen the last three days. i think it's going to be there again tomorrow. it's ta stacked low, meaning the surface low the underneath. when that happens, things cut off. here's the acolluded front, the rain, the clouds are out there, too. look at the showers around the northern parts of south carolina. that's coming in off the ocean. it's going to be like this most of the day. that rain stretches towards ohio and virginia, kentucky, too. milwaukee itself, a light little shower now. most of the heavy stuff remains to your south. chicago, then later tomorrow. look at the pacific northwest.

i touched on this about a half hour ago. here's your next storm system. this thing is making a beeline for the northwest over the next couple of days. it spreads on out with more energy behind it. the end result, lots of rain and wind. through the weekend, watch for showers, a lot of snow and wind, specifically across the northwest. how much? maybe eight to ten inches of rain towards the olympic mountains in washington state. scattered showers for portland. the heavy stuff comes in tomorrow and friday. how about d.c. real quick. you want to see that thing? >> if it's pretty. >> there's the white house. little cloud cover. should be okay to travel there. >> thank you. munching on a waffle this

morning? you'll be hard pressed to find ego is next year. and we're getting word on deals for black friday.

today, our shoutout is for marine corporal greg yarbroe. her mom is so proud. >> i'm saluting my son. he's a corporal in the united states marine corp. greg, we're so proud of you. we've missed you so much and can't wait for you to return home. god bless you, greg. you're such a role model. we've missed your practical

jokes and bear hugs. >> thank you. you have somebody in the service, go to cnn.com/robin. we have video that will make your jaw drop. everything was quiet at this refinery, then bam. the explosion soared 100 feet, knocked a home off its foundation and damaged 100 others. two weeks later, this is still being investigated. this plant has shut down voluntarily. even as small business owners are doing okay, they're having a hard time getting banks to give them loans. business money expert jennifer westhoven is here. she's a business expert, a money expert. she's just an expert. are the people going to get help? >> yeah, and this is really a big deal because small businesses are where most job growth comes from.

it's the start-ups out there that really fuel the economy and those companies have been having such a hard time getting loans. well now, help is on the way. first from the big quarter. goldman sachs and warren buffett, they're going to invest $500 million to help 10,000 small businesses across the country. then we've got the urban league stepping in. they're going to be doing work in cities with loans up to 100 grand for small companies like barbershops, dry cleaners and doctor's offices. now, those are two action points. here comes the talk. we'll see if it works. but today, the white house, president obama's economic team is going to be meeting with banks, business owners and policymakers and the task is the same. black friday. there are a lot of websites out there that try to leak the deals out there. they've got strategy for the whole morning. well, walmart is now confirming

some of those deals. these are some it will have the day after thanksgiving. one is a blue ray player for $78. maybe for some of the door busters, you would say them for under 100 bucks. there's also a 50-inch, plasma, high-def tv and kids' pjs. victims of the shooting spree of ft. hood have been honored at memorial services, but now, there's a move in washington to honor them in another way. plus, this grand dad says this is the lesson you'll need and you'll never forget it.

one of the soldiers killed at ft. hood will be laid to rest today. he was brought back to his hometown in tennessee. he will have a full military funeral at the church where he grew up. and lawmakers have -- richard lui has more. >> this bill would make the 12 soldiers killed eligible for the purple heart and a civilian victim could get the medal for the defense of freedom. it would also give anyone killed or wounded in the attack the same legal -- it guarantees their families the maximum benefit. >> we can never give them back what mr. hasan took from them, but this is the first step towards the healing process.

the military can step up to the plate and make them whole again. >> more than 60 lawmakers have signed on to that bill. >> some republican lawmakers are calling for a full congressional investigation into the attack. but around the army and fbi both already looking into that? >> right, robin. and president obama's asked congress to wait until that investigation is done, but the republican members of the house intelligence committee say changes must be made to keep something like this from happening again. >> the families of the dead and the wounded deserve to know the truth. but all americans also deserve to know that their government is taking the appropriate steps to make sure that they are protected. >> and one gop leader said there was a systemic breakdown in the intelligence community and they say this does not appear to be a case where agencies failed to share information.

>> thank you. new york city police raided the offices of some high-profile newspapers as part of a corruption probe. offers searched the offices of "the new york times," the "new york post," the daily news yesterday. local media reports that the raids are part of a probe into the newspaper and union. the union is not commenting. a young pitcher overcame anxiety and depression to win the most -- award for his position. >> hopefully his story will inspire others who battle with depression. zack greinke had a royal comeback. he struggled. in fact, so much so he left the team in february of 2006. it was during that time that he was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder and depression.

he won is cy young award, which goes to the best pitcher in the league and he did it on the losing team, which is rare, and saturday, he's supposed to marry his high school sweetheart. and larry johnson, run out of town after several incidents, was signed by cincinnati. now, cincinnati is kind of become the city of second chances. they also signed cedric benson, who was arrested for boating while intoxicated and now, he's one of the best running backs in the lead. tila tequila wants $1.5 million in damages from shawne merriman. the district attorney chose not to press charges against him. lastly, some great video. the former home of the dallas

mavericks r mavericks reunion arena, look at it fall. get this. workers did not use explosives. they hammered away at two supporting columns to get it to fall. you can see it just kind of caves in like a tarp or something. and that's a look at sports. >> i wonder how long they had to wait on the two columns. >> you take the last shot at this last remaining column. >> and then you run. >> actually, the process started if april. so for several months, it was probably like a guy going hit, run. >> it would take them 28 years to chisel through that thing. brace yourselves for a waffle shortage. kellogg says that ego are going to be in short supply until next june. the company says the plant in atlanta was flooded in september. well now, there are equipment

problems at their largest waffle bakery in tennessee. so you could go to the off brands, i guess. hi, bob. >> good morning. we have rain, delays out there because of this stuff. a 15 to 30 minute delay around atlanta. you can see the rain around chicago. in o'hare, some rain overhead. no delays. good news, but the volume isn't there. looking for about an hour or more delay around chicago metros. that's because of the rain and wind out of the east. around atlanta, rain and clouds. a 15 to 30 minute delay. detroit, st. louis and seattle, looks like it's going to be like that. more on that in about a half an hour. it's not every day that a traffic stop makes you go, ahh,

but a cuddly cat could not leave an officer alone. he loved him. @@@@@@@@@@

the new york stock exchange has just opened for business. a disappointing report about the housing market has us looking at the pretty weak open. new this morning, somali pirates attacked a u.s.-flagged cargo ship again. this is the second time the naval force says that security guards on the ship fired back and turned them away. pirates took the ship's captain, richa richa ri hostage in april. and the wildfire is now 90%

contained. the fire captain says it's burned 145 acres since monday. the fire injured three people and did not damage any homes. space shuttle "atlantis" is closing in on the international space station. the shuttle will pose for cameras and remain at the space station for a week for the crews to unload spare parts. it's 31 minutes past the hour and i hope you're on time. i'm robin meade. let's jump back into the stories. the health care bill that passed the house may not be popular with a lot of people, but some parts of it are. a cnn opinion research poll shows that americans are evenly split over a rule that would require health insurance for all americans. and there's surprisingly -- i'm sorry. they are strongly against using public funds for abortion. this is something conservative democrats insisted on.

more charges are expected today in the death of a 5-year-old, shaniya davis. her body was positively identified yesterday in north carolina. she had been missing for a week. nancy grace talked with her family last night. her father was too distraught to talk, but offered support for shaniya's brother. >> have they told anybody what was the cause of death, byron? >> i haven't heard anything. i don't think my father has either. we're not really sure of too much yet. we're still trying to figure it out now. >> and there is your dad right there. >> yes, ma'am. >> there is your dad. >> we really do want to thank everybody for the support and prayers. it really does mean a lot. we want everybody to stay as strong as we're trying to. i know it's hard, but for the

mothers out there, please don't let this happen to your child. >> so awful. the girl's mother is accused of prostituting the girl. today, president obama will visit u.s. troops in south korea. it's the latest stop in his week long asian tour and the last. he left beijing this morning after meeting with china's premier. the president visited the great wall of china and described it as spectacular. >> after eight years of delay, those allegedly responsible for the attacks of september 11 will face justice. they will be brought to new york. to new york, to answer for their alleged crimes in a courthouse just blocks away from where the twin towers once stood. >> right now, eric holder is defending that decision. announced last week, getting ready to walk in, getting ready to walk in the room, and answer questions from the senate

judiciary committee. critics argue that the trial would give the defendants, including khalid shaikh mohammed, a world stage to spout their hateful rhetoric. holder says america should not cower in the face of terrorists. holder also says judges can control unruly defendants. a cruise to see penguins in antarctica could be about a week late getting back because it got stuck in ice. more than 100 tourists and scientists are on board. they've been using the delay to sneak in extra tours. oh, gee, you mean, my vacation's going to be longer and i don't have to pay for it? 34 minutes past the hour. how's the weather shaping up today? bob's going to start for the west coast.

>> you have one round of weather blasting the region over the last couple of days. it brought heavy rain across the pacific northwest. look at the next one coming in. bright white clouds moving on through to the east. making a beeline for the coast. tonight, the wind's going to pick up. the rain, too. how much rain over the next two days? get a load of this. another shot coming in off the pacific. those red, shaded areas, about four to five inches of rain. starting to see the purple, that's the olympic mountain range. about eight to ten inches there. some will fall as snow in the higher elevations, but we're still worried about flooding right there. the rainfall right now is on the light side, but the winds are still right off the ocean. so far, it's just been on the light side. you look at the paortland radar the flash food watches and

warnings are around here. all the dark shaded areas, those are flash flood watches because we're expecting almost ten inches of water in the next couple of days. look at the rain and snow across the sir ra nevada. look at the middle of the country, the midwest through kansas, a lot of clouds through here wrapping around that upper level low. not moving very fast at all. taking you live to chicago, here's what it looks like on michigan avenue. it's wet. you have about a two-mile visibility at midway. we will see delays because of that. the high today, 50 and rain. feels like november. more in about a half hour. >> you want to be inside. thanks. over to wall street. the investors are looking to see how the housing sector is doing to see in turn how the economy is doing. susan lisovicz is at the new york stock exchange. well, we're down right now, so hope that's not an indication.

>> yeah, housing starts were down, too. plunged nearly 11% in october. builders may have been waiting to see if congress would extend the first time buyer tax credit, which they did earlier this month and that could boost building in the future. let me tell you about a looming candy war. hershey and ferreira considering a bid for cadbury. they make tic-tacs and you know what hershey makes. cadbury has received an offer from kraft foods, but cadbury rejected that bid. you know, the famous code where they said kraft may need cadbury, but cadbury does not

need kraft. >> and it was said just like that. >> i know, in my fantasy, yes. finally, let's tell you about a precious commodity. not gold, which is at all-time highs. we're not talking about oil, which is pricey. we're talking about canned pumpkin. i'm telling you. this is a story from the "l.a. times." nestle controlled about 80% of the pumpkin crop. the heavy rains have pretty much destroyed this year's harvest. it expected to stop shipping by thanksgiving. it won't have more pumpkin to can until august. so basically, take your jack o lantern and salvage it and make your pies from the pumpkin you have. >> so either from scratch or you

might have a hard time finding them. >> it's unacceptable because it's my favorite pie. >> me too. it is hard to imagine how one of hollywood's highest paid actors could go broke. plus, a tree removal project is now a crane removal project, yeah.

check out this high-speed chase with a suspected bank robber in north carolina. police say that he tossed the money out the window. you know what? a truck eventually helped box him in. police caught up with him. the officer say at times, he was going up to 120 miles an hour. hillary clinton is on a

surprise visit to afghanistan. her first there as a secretary of state. this is the eve of president karzai's inauguration and she's having dinner with him tonight and will attend the inauguration tomorrow. clinton's expected to deliver a tough message that karzai has to clean up government corruption. a pregnant woman doesn't know who to thank for pulling her from the path of an oncoming subway train in brooklyn. she said she was waiting for the train when she got lightheaded, passed out and fell on to the tracks. a witness says two strangers jumped on to the tracks to get her. >> they were like superman. they jumped in, lifted her and we helped them get back on. >> god wez really watching out for me and for the baby. >> the woman bruised her face, but she and the baby are reportedly okay. police in north carolina may

be about to file more charges gens the mother of 5-year-old shaniya davis. this is the little girl who may have been sold into prostitution. it's one of the stories that richard is working on for you. >> still a shocking story. the mother already charged with human trafficking and prostituting her own child. it's a very controversial case. we'll bring you the latest from a news conference we expect to start in a few minutes. also, president obama met with his half brother in china. you might recall that he has just published a book that says he was abused by his father, the father of president obama. and guess who wants protection from the h1n1 virus? the guys who wear big, white beards. robin? >> not the first. >> the vaccine. nicholas cage brought about

his own financial ruin. that's according to his business manager. he was responding to a suit the actor filed against him. levin says he warned the actor he could face bankruptcy unless he scaled back his lavish lifestyle. it may be harder to hide than you think. wired magazine sent a writer on a quest to disappear to see if police could find him. he set up a fake identity with his own facebook and twitter accounts. he traveled across the country, using gift cards to get by. if anyone found him, they would get $25,000. >> i dyed my hair. had fake glasses. a had a fake wedding ring, a variety of disguises. >> the disguises didn't work. he was caught after three weeks on a pizza run.

some tv sets could be soon banned in california. regulators are making companies bill more energy efficient sets. the new standards would apply to tvs up to 58 inches. energy experkts say the standards would curb energy use, but the manufactures argue it would cut back on choices for you. an 11-month-old child is found wandering the streets and now, her mother is in jail. police believe the mother was doing drugs when her kid was found.

a tree removal job went really, really wrong when a crane tipped over and sliced through the house. this happened monday in santa rosa, california. even people who saw it said they couldn't believe it was happening. >> i was running the chain saw gun. i didn't have time to cut it off. >> it was so fast after that.

it just came crashing, it sliced through the house like butter. just went right there. and i was just absolutely stunned. i didn't know what to think. >> no one was heaurt. a check of some of the papers. a new police chief has been sworn in yesterday in l.a. charlie beck will replace william brek. a report in "usa today" says some pharmacies may be charging people as much three times the price of a liquid form of tamiflu. it says that two states attorney's general are investigating. and mummies with heart disease. scientists used ct scans to tect the disease. we now have an update to a

story we followed because it was so unthinkable that young ladies would act that like on the field. do i sound like grandmother? >> it was disturbing. but that was very dear. nothing endearing about this video. the rhode island league has suspended nine of the players. the suspensions, look at this stuff, range from ten games to up to a full year and coaches from both teams were also penalized. the fight carried over to the stands, which canceled the awards ceremony for these two teams. the kids and the coaches were not specifically named. look at those young faces. there is more shame for the tennessee football program. another player was arrested for allegedly trying to shoplift a $110 shirt.

the alleged incident happened on november 7th. last week, three others were arrested for attempted armed robbery. two of those players were kicked off the new video of that. two of those players were kicked off of the team and between both of these incidents, head coach lane kiffin went out and bragged about his team having no arrests. and giving away two free tickets to season ticket holders. cheer the team on. nobody came. only 11,000 people showed up. >> wow. >> the nets lost. the only winless team in the league. and it cost $55 million to build, but the silverdome stadium in michigan sold for the bargain price -- $583,000. less or about the same as a one-bedroom manhattan apartment. sold at auction to a canadian real estate group that wants to use it for sporting events. that comes to about $7 a seat, but to be fair, the dome cost

the city $1.5 million to main contain. >> a bargain for sure t. is. next half hour, baseball players overcomes a major obstacle to win a major award. we'll have it. >> thanks. i see reaching for the door. travelers just a second. bob will tell you if you have to rush or not. >> don't have to rush if you're headed towards charlotte or atlanta. atlanta, 15 to 30-minute delay because of the low clouds. all morning long. the rest daft, more rain, more low clouds around chicago. midway and o'hare, watch for delays. could be an hour or more. then, of course, atlanta with low clouds. afternoon, pretty good. charlotte more rain all day long. east wind, too, that will slow you down. then seattle, it's rain and then really picking up in intensity late are today. a lot of wind with that, too. half hour to hour-long delays for seattle. more on that in a bit. >> thanks. the airlines warned you you would pay extra fees for holiday travel. turns out the fees aren't going

home when your holiday visitors do.