all right. i'm robin meade. morning, sunshine. come here. we're going to do some news. here's what's going on today. time could be running out for a man suspected of killing four police officers. how police are trying to back him into a corner. plus, you might not see tiger woods for a while. he's apparently too injured to play in his own tournament. what police now want to know. tonight president obama makes a big speech about afghanistan, expected to send 30,000 additional troops into harm's way. and we're hearing from one of them, only he is shipping out for his seventh deployment.

can you imagine? first, though, washington state police are spread out across two-counties searching for a man suspected of killing four police officers. last night officers surrounded another house in the seattle area, the second time in as many days. the first time they thought they caught up to maurice clemmons. this time they did it to stop friends and family from possibly helping him. >> they've provided him rides, money, places to stay. they've done things to distract us and send us in different directions. >> officers think that clemmons' sister treated him for a gunshot wound. clemmons was paroled in 2000 by then-governor mike huckabee and again in 2004. one prosecutor says that never should have happened. >> maurice clemmons had no business out walking the streets. he needed to be sitting in the

arkansas department of corrections until he was first going to be parole eligible in the year 2021 but instead of that, he's been out committing crimes on society. >> you're going to hear more about the suspect's bizarre behavior as of late. his own sister says his behavior has been erratic. that story is less than ten minutes away. tonight president obama outlines his new afghan war strategy, expected to send 30,000 additional troops. now the president has already informed top diplomats and given orders to military leaders. the military will have specific objectives. >> this is not an open-ended commitment. that we are there to train the afghan national security forces, the army and the police so that they can provide security for their country. and wage the battle against an unpopular insurgency in the

country. >> now the first round of marines is expected to be in afghanistan by the end of the year. the president's speech is at 8:00 eastern tonight. authorities say they will keep investigating tiger woods' car accident. the golfer made a surprise announcement yesterday about his playing ability. hi, rafer. good morning, robin. once again through his website said he will not attend his own tournament, the chevron world challenge, that is happening this week due to, quote, injuries sustained in a one-car accident. and he's not expected to play now until january. now some people are a little skeptical, robin, given that woods won the u.s. open on one leg a year ago and some are thinking maybe he just wants to dodge questions. now we recently obtained photos from tmz showing his badly mangled suv. he's turned away authorities three times. they did try to get possible surveillance tapes of the accident from neighbors but none

were found. >> legally he doesn't have to talk to police now? >> under florida law. >> the couple accused of crashing the white house state dinner may have done something similar previously, a month before. the associated press and others report the salahis snuck into an event held by the congressional black caucus but were caught and escorted out of that one. president obama spoke at the event. michaele's mom says this is all a big misunderstanding. >> who in their right mind -- this is the white house, this is the president's home and his family. we all know ksh this is the government. you don't do these things. >> we heard the salahis communicated with a senior pentagon official about the state dinner but michelle jones says said she never told them she would get them in. the salahis have said they did not krsh the dinner.

fewer dates are reporting fewer swine flu infections. that doesn't mean the worst is over. the cdc says that 32 states are reporting widespread h1n1 activity down from 48 three weeks ago. now, unfortunately, more children have died from the flu during that time. you can check out the flu activity in your own state right now at cnn.com/robin. a man is accused of pushing a salvation army worker to the ground and stealing the kettle. >> he was upset. he yelled at her he hates christmas and he threw the tripod and bucket in his truck and sped off. >> okay. the 44-year-old is charged with stealing an estimated $500 to $700. police say that he told the victim, i can't stand you and your bell ringing. the kettle was found the next day. not the money, though. what's your beef? consumer reports asked more than 1,100 people to rate their top gripes.

leading the pack, hidden fees, not getting a human on the phone and tailgating are close behind. the magazine also found that women were more irritated than mes by most of these choices including things like speeding drivers and having to remember your p.i.n. numbers. i know what? why don't we just do a facebook question on this. why don't you tell me what your top gripe is. you can get to our facebook page, if you don't know how, cnn.com/robin. what's your top gripe. >> seriously, what's yours? >> my top gripe are people when you are at the airport -- you know the people movers, they're like the -- they're not an escalators but it's the belt on the flat areas and my gripe is when people get on there and they stand. it is not -- >> and you're going slower than the walkers. >> it's supposed to make you walk faster. you don't get on there and stand. if you're at the airport today don't stand on the people mover,

you move. >> move it along is what you're saying. how about yours? >> mine are little buttons right there. they're too small. i have big, fat fingers that don't work that well. >> why would you undo them? >> i don't. i have my wife do it the night before. when you wash them and have them pressed, you do. trust me. lake effect snow, western new york, this is the local radar out of buffalo. all this blue that is all snow, be it's going to amount to 4 to 6 inches of schmoe. 3 to 6 general across all the areas shaded in blue. then you get down to the south, big area of low pressure, the broad circulation right now but it's throwing heavy rain across southern texas into brownsville and houston. here's brownsville radar, heavy rain there just off the coast of houston. that's all stretching in tornadoes new orleans. it's really going to pile up top

through mobile, atlanta, into charlotte. it's about four inches of rain over the next two days. >> i need to clarify. the moving sidewalks, it's fine if you stand there. if you stand out of my way! stand to the side. >> let her get in and out, people. >> all right. cyber sales went through the roof. we've got some good news in a bad economy. how cyber monday may have made internet history. wow. plus -- >> this is not a free country anymore. >> tensions were high at another health care meeting. what police say this man threw at congressman patrick kennedy.

all right. time to salute our troops. our salute today is for specialist eric kiss from his very proud father. here you go. >> good morning, robin. my name is david kiss from yucca

valley. this goes out to our son eric kiss. we want you to know we have never been more proud of you. we know the task ahead of you will not be an easy one. with your determination and inner strength, you will once again shine like the star you are. your family and friends support you and your decision to protect this wonderful country of ours. you truly are my hero. >> david, what a great message. if you have somebody in the service go to cnn.com/robin. wow. just 24 hours ago police thought they had cornered a man suspected of killing four police officers. but now a massive man hunt is still under way for maurice clemmons. richard lui has the details on the man's recent behavior. the neighbors are saying he seemed troubled, even paranoid. >> good morning. one of the issues might be this. our sister network cnn counting seven surveillance cameras around his property apparently put there by clemmons.

neighbors say he vandalized homes in broad daylight. >> everybody's windows were boarded up and i said what happened? i guess he had picked up big rocks and thrown them through windows in the middle of the daylight. i said that's really weird t. doesn't seem like his character to do that. >> police investigators told them clemmons' sister said his behavior was erratic. >> it does sound erratic. tell us how the deadly shooting went down. police say the suspect specifically targeted police officers. >> robin, the shootings happened at a coffee shop where cops regularly hang out, owned by a former police officer who described the frightening scene and how one officer may have died saving lives. >> the suspect turned and apparently fired on two of them, the third tried to return fire

and a fourth heroically, although wounded, forced the guy outside of the store. and probably saved the lives of our staff and customers. >> tough for that opener there being a former cop. the four cops gathered that day to do some paperwork before their shift and, robin, two baristas and other customers were okay. we'll show how former presidential candidate is now reacting to the clemency he granted to the suspect almost a decade ago. that's coming up. men who work on having a stable marriage or a relationship are key to being good fathers. that is what moms are saying about dads. more than 80% of women married to or living with their children's dad were satisfied with the father's performance. a majority of moms said the dads could help out more around the house. a convicted felon who spent all of his time in prison in a

wheelchair is on the run this morning. new for you, how he managed to overpower two guards and steal their guns. there's a good chance your health insurance premiums would stay pretty much the same if the senate health care bill passes. millions would see them drop substantially. our jennifer westhoven is looking into that equation. >> this is the finding of a new study and the first thing you're going to say it, well, who wrote it? who is say that go? it's the congressional budget office. remember, they're not republican or democrat. it's not one side. their job is to be nonpartisan, to look at the numbers. this study, this is what they found. if you get insurance at work, your premiums would not change much under the bill for people who qualify to get health insurance with government help a huge help. this study found your premiums would be cut by more than half.

but if you don't qualify for any help, you pay 13% more. the democrats are crowing about the report and are expected to make a lot of political hay about this. we shall see. all right. yesterday a lot of people took advantage of the sales online and clicked and purchased. good news in a bad economy. sales rose about 11% from last year, just like black friday. there were a lot of shoppers but the average purchase was lower than a year ago and probably in the coming days we'll get the busiest days. you can expect a big record. back to you. >> so it was a big one. all right. jen, thank you. tension on the ice isn't unusual in hockey. okay. how often do you see a player take down his own teammate? now what's going on there? but you're going to meet a soldier getting ready for his seventh deployment.

♪ 17 minutes past the hour. a heckler ripped congressman patrick kennedy for his support of abortion rights during a health care panel at brown university. campus police had to escort the man out. >> this is not a free kcountry anymore. you are forcing people and the majority of this government to support a bill that goes against the religious beliefs of people of this country. >> now police say the man also threw a dvd at the stage. this came after kennedy's public spat with a catholic bishop. the health care bill kennedy voted for bans it. a serviceman won't be home for the holidays. gary hartman is leaving soon for

his seventh deployment. his family had an emotional farewell party for him this weekend. >> you just have to focus on the task at hand. obviously it stinks a little bit that it's holiday time and you're going to be away from family. i enjoy serving and if i didn't enjoy serving, i wouldn't be doing what i'm doing. >> hartman is being deployed to afghanistan. he expects to be there for six months. incredible video to show you. a hockey player accidentally slashes his teammate in the head with a hockey stick. here's rafer with more on that video. at least it was accidentally. >> that is the only thing supporting this guy. it's incredibly stupid but it was an accident. these are one of those highlights that might make you crazy a little bit. let's show it to you. the florida panthers.

out of frustration swings at his own net and slashes his goalie vokun in the head. vokun goes down. he suffered a laceration to his ear. >> oh, my gosh. >> it was brutal stuff. there he is on the ground. the poor guy was bleeding. he was taken out on a stracher. now ballard felt bad. if he hit an opposing player, banned for the year. i know it's a violent sport but should this man be punished for this? it's his own teammate, it's an accident but we want to know your thoughts on it. it is brutal. go to cnn.com/robin and you are posting your comments. we'll start reading them on the air in the show. tiger woods' many sponsors are sticking by their man despite the rumors swirling around the golfer's car accident. nike, gatorade and gillette all lined up on monday to voice support for their billion-dollar man and do not think this accident will tarnish his

marketability at all. more on his surprise announcement in the next half hour. the saints continue to march on to perfection and helped make history. drew brees, 59'11" quarterback led his team with the dominating win over new england throwing five touchdown passes. the saints are 11-0, the best start in the team's history and with indianapolis being 11-0, that's the first time two teams have started the year with those records in the same year. and lastly a little wackiness. the ninth annual santa world championships. more than 100 men and women competed in santa skills. i wasn't aware sliding down a mountain was. you have to grab the presents and go, go, go, go. there is the reindeer taming and chimney climbing. the japanese swiss team won the first prize. the joint japanese team.

that's sports. the takedown. >> oh, no. in case an impostor santa comes. >> students attacked because of the color of their hair. it was supposed to be a prank but the end result is charges. -d

washington state authorities say that maurice clemmons' family and friends have helped him elude investigators since four cops were shot to death at a coffee shop. clemmons is a suspect in sunday's attack. police say he has been given rides, money and treatment for a gunshot wound. the health care debate is officially on. senators are one day into tackling the democrats' $850 billion plan to overhaul the health care system. yesterday lawmakers on each side started proposing changes and amendments. debate could last weeks. defense lawyers for an american student accused of killing her roommate in italy say that there is not enough evidence to

convict her. closing arguments started today in the year long trial of amanda knox and her former boyfriend. a verdict is expected this week. and those are just a few of our headlines. good morning, sunshine. police are searching for a map accused of killing four officers. only 24 hours ago they thought they had him cornered in a home in seattle. now news correspondent richard lui, some people are outraged the ex-convict was on the streets in the first place. good morning to you. 37-year-old maurice clemmons' rap sheet stretches across two decades including robbery, theft, bringing a gun to school. he was sevenenced to 108 years in prison. clemmons wrote a letter to the governor at that time, mike huckabee, in 2000, requesting clemency. he wrote that after he moved to arkansas he, quote, fell in with

the wrong crowd and thus began a seven-month crime spree which led me to prison, end quote. after serving 11 years, he was a free man. >> richard, what are people saying about huckabee's decision now. >> many people are outraged. just last week clemmons was released on bond, on charges of assaulting a police officer and raping a child. here is what the prosecuting attorney says about the decision to free clemmons almost a decade ago and huckabee's reaction as well. >> i think the clemency power was overused by our former governor and i think that this is a bitter harvest that we're reaping because of it. >> if i had known nine years ago, looked into the future, would i have acted favorably upon the parole board's recommendation? of course not. >> well, this is not the first time huckabee faced criticism about arkansas prisoners being released. during the 2008 presidential campaign his request about the

release of a convicted rapist who later raped and murder add missouri woman. >> how awful. richard, thank you. tonight president obama is expected to announce he is sending 30,000 additional troops to afghanistan t. could include more missions like the one these indiana soldiers have been training for. they're heading to afghanistan to teach modern farming practices to the villagers. >> for these guys to go over there and train them on how to grow crops and take care of animals is incredibly important. >> we don't want to come up as mean and take over their country, trying to bring them up out of their condition over there so that country can grow. >> about 60 soldiers who deployed in february are coming home this month. the late king of pop is also the king of online searches. michael jackson was yahoo!'s most frequently searched request in 2009. the vampire story "twilight," wwe wrestling and megan fox were next. britney spears was number five

after holding the top spot four years running. rounding out the top ten naruto, american idol, nascar and runscape. what is it? >> i think it's a video game, right? >> a role playing game, got you. i know what jennifer is doing at 7:00 at night. >> no, no. >> thousands of americans who lost their jobs were able to hang on to their health insurance because the government picked up most of the tab. but, money expert/game player jennifer westhoven says cobra subsidy ends today for a lot of people. yeah, robin, this was basically kind of a band-aid that they put on to try to help people. the new study by families usa finds many out-of-work families, they're going to need to pay an average of $722 more each month

to stay covered. i guess it was about $400 a person then. the way it works is if you lose your job, the way the system works, if you lose your job, you can keep your health insurance but it costs a lot more. usually an arm and a leg. the stimulus bill came along, made it easier. cobra premiums helped a lot of people but that help is running out for folks who got it when it first came out. robin, back to you. >> all the young people on the set are like giggling. nobody up here. >> what? >> our floor crew, they're much younger and apparently know their games. >> oh. >> yeah. they're like run and scape, run. >> i wasn't really sure. >> 35 minutes past the hour. a convicted sex offender has escaped from prison after pulling a gun on two guards. texan prison official arcade comeaux jr. was being

transported to another prison yesterday. he was actually in a wheelchair because he needed help getting around. well, instead, authorities say, that he had handcuffed the guards together, took their guns and ran off in one of their uniforms. >> that's something we're going to look into, why this offender was able to flee on foot when he was supposed to be confined to a wheelchair. >> officials are investigating how comeaux got a gun in the first place. he is still on the run. so what's your biggest gripe, huh? go to our facebook page now and chat about it. what was yours again? >> the little buttons they put on your sleeves and collars. >> that's strange. >> they're like this big. >> i'm going to tell you, that's strange. >> any guy knows what i'm talking about. you have these big, fat fingers and they don't work that well with these little stinking things. got you. december 1st, right? first bona fide snow across

western new york, at least lake-effect. it's cold air rolling over the warmer waters. lake ontario and lake erie. all the white is all snow. the blue is still light rain. this is the buffalo radar. everything here is the color blue which happens to be all snow. watch it coming down from i-90 all the way back down to the jamestown area where it's beginning to taper off. we had the lake effect snow posted up there until noon today, three to six inches in general. buffalo looking for about one, maybe two of that wet, sloppy stuff. that's what you're looking at. heavy rain across southern texas. that's a broadening area of low pressure that will deepen the next couple of days and move through the gulf coast. the rain is out there from corpus christi, brownsville, to new orleans for the morning. i'll show you where it's heading in a bit. first yesterday, though, the snow in el paso. as of 6:00 a.m. eastern, 5:00 their time, they're reporting light snow. this is what it looked like

yesterday. yesterday 2 1/2 inches of snow. broke a daily record for them for november 30th. melted but the snow continues to fall. winter storm warnings are posted for west texas, the lower parts of new mexico. more on that in a bit. el paso, right on the border with mexico. more on that in a bit. >> doesn't seem right. >> doesn't happen very often. three men reportedly robbed a ministry at gunpoint and it was a place dedicated to helping people who have been in trouble with the law. plus, why the fbi wants you to watch out when you're doing your holiday shopping online.

a texas ministry that tries to rehabilitate criminals became

one of them. they robbed them at gunpoint last week. they told parishioners to hand over their wallets, purses and then just took off. >> we are there so that everyone can have hope and it's just what we are about. >> they want to come in after they left that life behind, then they're more than welcome. we'd like to see them there. >> police have arrested one suspect but two others are still on the run. ♪ we weren't born to follow >> beware of these online holiday scams. it's prime time for crooks who just want to rip you off. jennifer westhoven will get you up to date on the latest ones we have noticed out there. good morning. >> some of these are the classic ones, because so many people are looking to save money so maybe they're trying sites like ebay or craigslist, maybe they don't quite know how to use it yet, the fbi is saying watch out. sometimes there are criminals out there going to put up an ad

for something they don't even have. put a picture up of it. don't have it. they'll take your money, though. watch out for people who want to sell you gift cards from auction sites or classified ads. those should send some bells off to you. generally they say it's best to buy gift cards directly from the retailer or an authorized store or just make sure that maybe you get it before you send the money or that you got a way to contact the person. for more information from the fbi on how to avoid getting ripped off go to cnn.com/robin. that's how we're looking out for you. yesterday we talked about this big white house initiative. they're going to speed up people getting help on their mortgages. the treasury says it's sending out s.w.a.t. teams. i think these are like forensic accountants can kind of s.w.a.t. teams. they're sending s.w.a.t. teams to make sure the banks are going to help people who qualify with their mortgages. next week it says it will publish a list of banks who have been dragging their feet to kind

of shame them to move faster on mortgage relief in this new initiative. because of course they had hoped that millions of people would get help, robin, and it's been a tiny percentage of people who have gotten any help. >> are they going to publish it in the papers or put it online? >> i think they'll just publish it online and everybody will pick it up and run it. they don't have to put it in the papers. the papers will put it there themselves. hln's joy behar tried to get an answer to one of the questions that you may want to know. what's up with duane chapman's hair. >> let me ask you about your hair for a second. >> no, don't do that. i knew you were going to try that. listen, i don't talk about your hair and i love you. i love you. >> doesn't the hair and the look take away from the surprise element? >> you know what, it adds to the surprise element. >> it works.

>> his wife's hair, too? a matching do. catch "the joy behar show" here on hln. tonight's guests are barry manilow and comedian lewis black. police may be looking to get a search warrant to get more clues into the tiger woods suv crash story. what they want to find out about his car accident. and a plane pulled out of a lake 65 years after it crashed. what a world war ii pilot remembers about it going down.

there's a breaking news story about this man, kiro reporting seattle police have fatally shot suspect maurice clemmons in the shooting of four officers in washington state. you might remember yesterday at this time police had a house surrounded. they thought maybe maurice clemmons was inside. ends up he was not. and then this morning they had another house surrounded as well and now according to reports, according to the associated press, police are saying that

they have fatally shot this man, this suspect, maurice clemmons, who they were saying they were afraid he was getting help from his family and friends to try to escape. more on this developing story. travelers watching from the airport terminals this morning, here's bob. the first delay we have is de-icing delay, so it's short. you're still looking at that in buffalo. light snow being reported with a temperature of about 34 degrees so above freezing. you can see snow off and on for most of the day. here is what we have for the rest of the day. houston, big time rain coming in this afternoon. already some light showers out there. watch for about an hourp or more delay there and then at dallas looking at the showers, maybe a thunderstorm, too. they work their way into northern texas later this afternoon. so pm rain. buffalo, rain and snow. watching that all day long. new orleans, storms. watch for about a half hour delay there. more details in half an hour. >> thank you. so tiger woods is apparently holing up after his mysterious

one-car accident. police are not done trying to find out what happened. here's rafer. yeah, good morning. yesterday we told you he denied talking to them three times and some people are debating that, why isn't he talking to police? police say they're going to investigate the crash even if woods is not talking to them. legally woods does not have to necessarily talk to them. we're showing you some pictures we got from tmz showing his badly mangled suv. authorities apparently trying to get surveillance video of the crash from his neighbors but they were not able to. tiger announced on his website he's not going to play in his own tournament which starts thursday because of the injuries sustained from that accident. now the tournament's going to be getting refunds on december 7th but coming up why many are skeptical about his withdrawal. and i have some crazy video to show you. i don't care if it you're a hockey fan or not. this is going to disturb you. after the thrashers score, florida defenseman ballard out of frustration swings at his net but he hits his goalie.

oh, vokoun right in the head. the poor guy goes down. he had blood coming from his ear. we're not going to show that to you. he suffered a laceration, was taken out on a stretcher to the hospital. we're told he's doing better. ballard felt bad. had he hit an opposing player he would have been suspended, maybe banned for the year. you guys are chiming in right now. ken posted i'm sure it was not intentional. just bonehead stupid. he certainly will be disciplined but it should be handled at the team level not at the nhl office. meanwhile brent, it was an accident. you can't kick a guy out of the league for an accident. cnn.com/robin. and sprinter marion jones is planning a comeback in the wnba. >> huh? i didn't know she played college? >> she was a college basketball player and a good one. she has been training with the silver stars more than a year after being released from prison for lying to authorities about doping. she was on north carolina's 1994

national championship team, their starting point guard. she hasn't played in 15 years but maybe she still has it. and major league baseball has asked a website to take down racy photos of of grady sizemor >> not grady! >> you remember him. they are him standing in front of a mirror, nude, seminude. he told the dealer they were stolen from her e-mail account. >> young people. don't be silly and take pictures and send them of yourself. they will come back to haunt you. oh my gosh! yeah. there's a club called grady's ladies. they love him so much. starting on january 1st your driver's license may not be enough to get you through airport security. as many as 36 states have fot implemented the new security

measures. experts say the government needs to push back the deadline. the salvation army got a surprise in a bucket. a gold coin worth $12,000. the first in about two years. it's not unusual to find some surprises in the kettles. other surprises include gold rings, diamond earrings and a couple of gold teeth. a plane that went down during world war ii is hauled out of michigan. it crashed nearly 65 years ago. it took four years ago to come out of the water. when the 89-year-old pilot saw the footage he got tierry eyed. it's going to be like woodstock at churchill down next year. they are all going to be performing at the festival in july.

tickets range from $60 to an all access three-day pass for $1,000. tickets go on sale on friday. i like the mix of rock and country. very nice. tiger woods is still not talking about his weekend car crash. but people cannot stop talking about it online.

now a breaking story. welcome. good morning. i'm robin meade. a man hunt for a suspected cop killer could be over. you're talking brand new in the last ten minutes here. plus, you might not see tiger woods for a while. he's too injured to play in his own tournament apparently. what police now want to know. tonight president obama makes his big speech about afghanistan. he's expected to send more than 30,000 additional troops into harm's way. and we're hearing from one of the troops.

only he's shipping out for the seventh time. our breaking story. seattle police have apparently shot and killed maurice clemmons. this happened just moments ago. he was suspected of killing four police officers in parkland, washington, at a coffee shop on sunday. authorities say that he use ad network of friends and family to help him dodge police since then. this morning police have shot and killed him. the last time i checked this was according to the associated press quoting a sheriff's person. have we confirmed that, guys? we've not confirmed that yet. all right, this news just in. we have confirmed that. we can say cnn has confirmed that clemmons has been killed. he was paroled in 2000 by then arkansas governor mike huckabee and again in 2004. one prosecutor said that should have never happened. >> maurice clemmons had no business be out walking the

streets. he needed to be sitting in the arkansas public of corrections until he was going to be parole eligible in the year 2021. instead of that, he's fwn out committing crimes in society. >> then the sister of a fallen officer makes a plea. what she says needs to happen. we're waiting for more information about the breaking part of the story, which is that reports are that police have shot and killed the suspect. cnn has not confirmed. we're working to do that. tonight president obama outlines the new war strategy. he's expected to send more than 30,000 additional troops. the president already informed top diplomats of his decision. the white house says the military will have specific objectives. >> this is not an open-ended

commitment that we are there to partner with the afghans, to train the security to provide security for their country and a battle against an aun popular insurgency in the country. >> the first round is expected to be in afghanistan by the end of the year. the president's speech is at 8:00 eastern tonight. coming up, a soldier's seventh time answering the call of duty. authorities say they will keep investigating tiger woods' car accident. after the golfer made a surprise announcement about his playing abilitie abilities. >> woods said he will not append his own tournament. the chevron world challenge. supposed to to start on thursday due to injuries sustained in a one-car accident last week.

he's not expected to play again until january. some people are skeptical. woods won the u.s. open on one leg. some think maybe he wants to dodge question about the accidents. we do have recently obtained photos of his badly mangled suv from tmz. authorities say they're going to keep investigating without his help. they tried to get surveillance tape of the accident from the neighbors. none were found. coming up, how the many sponsors are reacting to all of this. >> isn't that the question for a lot of people? nancy grace will have the latest on the investigation tonight at 8:00 and 10:00 eastern. the couple accused of crashing the white house state dinner may have done something similar moont before. are you kidding me? the salahis sneaked into an event held by the congressional black caucus but were caught and escorted out. president obama spoke at the

event. salahi's mom says this is all a big misunderstanding. >> who in their right mind -- this is the white house. this is the president's home and his family. we all know you don't -- this is the government. you don't do these things. >> we've also learned they communicated with this senior pentagon official about the state dinner. michelle jones said she never implied or told them she would get them in. consumer reports asked more 11,000 people to rate their top gripe. hidden fees. not getting a human on the phone and tailgating are close behind. women are more irritated by men with speeding drivers or having to remember a pin number. what's your biggest gripe?

jacob said my top gripe is really indecisive people. >> people not handicap parking the spots. the checkout says ten items or less and someone has 20 pluls items and labels frozen food as one of them. tell us what you think. go to the facebook page. there's a link to our facebook page on our web page. cnn.com/robin. oh, you're a meteorologist. you're only right half the time. what are you? a stockbroker. >> no, you never mess up. or i'm a referee. you never mess up. give me a break. that's a piece. that's a good one. couple areas of low pressure.

one right by houston. heavy rain is out there. then the first bona fide lake effect snow event. basically northern pa. gets out to buffalo it will pile up today. there's a winter weather advisory. the blue shaded counties. three to six inches of snow south of buff he today. also the potential rainmaker south of texas now getting itself together. in the next 48 hours the rain streams off the gulf of mexico. the red shaded colors in towards the panhandle of florida. four to five inches of rain in the next two days. lots of rain. flash flood watches have been posted. on the back side it's all snow

once again. el paso, still snowing. in the mid atlantic, a decent day today. mostly sunny in d.c. temperatures in the mid-50s for december. not bad. >> did you do any online shopping yesterday? >> no, did you? >> no, but somebody did. cyber sales went through the roof. good news in a bad economy. >> tht this is not a free country anymore. >> tensions were high at a health care meeting. what police say this man threw at congressman patrick kennedy.

today a salute from a very proud father. >> good morning, robin. my name is david from california. this salute goes to our son, specialist eric kiss. we have never been more proud of you. we know that the task ahead of you will not be an easy one. with your training that you've gone through and your determination and inner strength you will once again shine like the star you are. your family and friends support you and your decision to protect this wonderful country of ours. you are truly my hero. >> isn't that a great message? if you have somebody in the service go to cnn.com/robin so we can salute them. seattle police say they fatally shot suspected cop killer maurice clemmons, ending a two-day hunt. clemmons allegedly shot and killed four police officers in a coffee shop on sunday. we are expecting a news conference at the bottom of the hour.

we're learning more about his unusual behavior. >> even as that happens right now, our sister network cnn counting at least seven surveillance cameras around clemmons property apparently put there by clemmons. he vandalized neighbors homes as well to smash windows in blood daylight back in may. the take a listen to what they're saying. >> everybody's windows were boarded up. i'm like, what happened to our neighborhood while we were gone? i guess he had thrown big rocks through the windows in the middle of the daylight. i said, that's weird. it doesn't seem like his character to do that. >> police say clemmons' sister said his behavior was unpredictable. he thought the secret service was coming to get him. police also saying the suspect specifically targeted cops in the incident. the shootings happened at a coffee shop where cops regular hang out. it's owned by a former police

officer who described the frightening scene and how one officer may have died saving live lives. >> the suspect fired on two of them. a fourth heroically, also though wounded, forced the guy outside the store. probably saved the lives of our staff and customers. >> the four cops gather to do paperwork. others inside the shop are okay. as robin was telling us, we heard the latest news on clemmons. reports of him being killed. we're expecting a news conference on clemmons very soon. possiblily the next 20 minutes or so. we'll keep you posted and bring you the details. health insurance premiums would stay the same if the senate health care bill passes. while millions would see premiums drop substantially. jennifer westhoven joins us now. many hoping we're in the latter

group. >> hey. there's so many facts about health care and what's going to happen to who that it's really hard to know what to report about this stuff. buts? a nonpartisan group. not republican or democrat. in the new study they found the bill would cut costs the for more than half of the 32 million people who buy health insurance on their own. if you get your insurance through your job your premiums will not likely change at all. many americans took advantage of the sales yesterday. click and bought something. cyber monday. sales were up by about 11% from last year. a lot of people looking and buying. be u they bought lez.

they looked for cheaper gifts. americans use the web to save money, find new jobs and go back to school in 2009. yahoo says the top money searches for the year so far, the top one was coupons followed by unemployment, stimulus plan, cash for clunkers and student loans. in hockey, you know some tension on the ice. maybe a little fighting. pretty normal. how often do you see a player take a crack right at his own teammate?

get this. a heckler ripped congressman patrick kennedy for his support of abortion rights during a health care panel at brown university. and the campus police had to escort him out. >> this is not a free country

anymore. you are forcing people and the majority of the government to support a bill that goes against the religious beliefs of people of this country. >> police say the man also threw a dvd at the stage. now this came after kennedy's very public spat with a catholic bishop over federal funding for abortion. the health care bill kennedy voted for bans it. we have some incredible video to show you. a hockey player accidentally/s his teammate. here's rafer with more with that. >> our facebook friends are coming down really hard on this guy. >> okay. >> and we'll -- you know, take you to that. these are one of the highlights that ha might make you cringe. the florida panthers playing atlanta after the crashers score. defenseman out of frustration the right there. he's trying to swing at the net. he hits his own goalie in the head. he goes down. there it is again from a closer

view. poor guy suffered a laceration to the ear. he was bleeding. he was taken out on a stretcher. we are told he's zoing fine. he looks like he's about to cry. but he kept playing. jen from michigan wrote on facebook, good sportsmanship has go out the window. i think he should be banned for the rest of the season. this type of behavior is unacceptable and teaching the younger players bad form. nathan posted let the goalie decide if he needs to be punished. it was a dumb mistake. we all make dumb mistakes. cnn.com/robin. tiger woods, you heard of him? well, his sponsors are sticking by him despite rumors swirling around his latest accident. all lined up on monday voicing their support for their billion dollar man. a lot of them don't think it will tarnish his marketability at all.

more details on his surprise announcement in the next half hour. and the best story in the nfl. i'm sorry. but the new orleans saints continue their march to perfection. drew breeze led them to a dominating win over the new england patriots. 11-0. the best start in the team's history. people in new orleans have something to cheer for. the colts also at 11-0. the first time ever in nfl history two teams have start that had well. a little wackiness. it's that time of year again. the ninth annual santa world championships. >> i didn't know he had to be so nimble. >> i didn't either. more than 100 men and women competed in santa skills such as the grabbing of the presents and sled jacking. reindeer taming and chimney climbing. that's a look at sports. >> my favorite video is coming up -- that would be -- we're not going to show it. the santa takedown. >> there it is. >> right there.

>> just for you, robin. >> in the next half hour you're talking marion jones? >> yeah, she's making a comeback. >> thank you. hi, bob. >> what's up, robin? let's get into it. we're speaking of santa and the snow going on. we have snow in buff loaf causing deicing delays. south of there it's all warm. this is texas. this is louisiana and arkansas. notice the heavy rain in the southern part of your screen. that's all the rain around new orleans and houston. an hour or more delay there. dallas, your rain comes in this afternoon. heavy at times. one hour or more delay. new orleans has heavy rain and storms. president obama announces his new plan for afghanistan tonight. he is expected to send thousands more u.s. troops there. students attacked because of the color of their hair? it was supposed to be a prank.

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a man suspected of gunning down four police officers is now dead. maurice clemmons had been evading police for days. he was suspected of ambushing the four officers in a coffee shop. the health care debate is on. senators are now one day into tackling the democrats' man to overhaul the health care system. yesterday lawmakers on each side started proposing changes and amendments. the couple accused of crashing the white house state dinner may have done something similar a month before rchl you kidding me?

the associated press and other os report they sneaked into an event held by the congressional black caucus but were caught and escorted out. president obama spoke at the event. those are the headlines we're following this morning. unbelievable. good morning, sunshine. come sit down and take a load off for a few seconds while we get you informed. flowers, balloons and stuffed animals are showing up all over parkland, washington, in memory of the four officers kill there had. a makeshift memorial was sets up near the coffee shop where they were attacked. officer tina griswold was among the victims. she was a 14-year-old vet who leaves behind a husband and two children. her sister made an emotional plea yesterday. >> we have to change the laws. without doing that law enforcement can only do so much. how many more lives will be taken before we do something? we have to change the laws. and it's the people.

we can do this, but i can't do this by myself. >> earlier this morning seattle police say they fatally shot clemmons. some people are outraged he was on the streets in the first place. that's right. some outrage. his wrap sheet stretches across two decades. his teenage crime spree alone included robbery, theft and bringing a gun to school. he was sentenced to 180 years in prison. he wrote a letter to the then governor mike huckabee requests clemency. he began a seven-month crime spree that led me to prison. thin after serving 11 years he was a free man. >> what are people saying about

huckabee's decision now? many people are outraged. court records showing last week he was released on bond on charges of assaulting a police officer and raping a child. here's what the prosecuting attorney says about huckabee's decision to free clemmons almost a decade ago and huckabee's reaction, too. >> i think the clemency power was overused by the governor. >> would i have acted favorably among the recommendation? of course not. >> this is not the first time huckabee faced criticism about the prisoners being released. during the 2008 presidential campaign he was questioned about the release of a convicted rapist who raped and murdered a missouri woman. we're hearing a press conference delayed a little bit in about 20 minutes. >> the breaking news is the suspect is dead this morning.

waiting on the press conference as you said. tonight president obama is expected to announce he's sending more than 30,000 additional troops to afghanistan. and obviously families are going to have to prepare. this u.s. serviceman's family might be getting used to it. gary is leaving soon for his seventh deployment. his family had an emotional farewell party for him. >> you just got to focus on, you know, task at hand. obviously it's -- it stinks a little bit. it's the holiday time. and you're going to be away from family. but, you know, i enjoy serving. you know, if i didn't enjoy serving, i wouldn't be -- you know, doing what i'm doing. >> he is being deployed to afghanistan and expects to be there about six months. >> the king of online searches. michael jackson was the most frequent search request in 2009.

the vampire story "twilight" wwe wrestling and megan fox was next. thousands of american who is lost their jobs were able to hang onto health insurance because the government picked upmost of it. jennifer westhoven says the c.o.b.r.a. subsidy ends today for a lot of people. >> that could mean a new health care crisis for all the people who lost their jobs and have been struggling, you know, using unemployment to try to pay to keep their health insurance. a new study finds that many are going to need hundreds of dollars more every month just to keep their c.o.b.r.a. health care coverage. it's helped many people keep that insurance if congress doesn't act those families would have to pay hundreds more each month. >> something we need to know. thank you. men who work on having a stable marriage or a

relationship are key to good fathering. come in here. this is going to be something we're going to talk about. that's what moms are saying in a national survey about dads. more than 80% of women who are married to you are living with children's dad were satisfied with the father's performance. but a majority of the moms said the fathers could help around the house a little bit more. >> same old song and dance with that one. right? >> the way it is in your house? >> yeah. >> pick up your skibbies at least. >> that's probably the one thing my husband and i argue over. >> a messy house. i'm with you. >> if the other person cleaned, they didn't do it good enough. >> we talk to rafer. he's about to be a new father. i'm interested in his details. >> same old song and dance. >> this weather brought to you by ups. show now in western parts of new york. it's evolving right now.

here's your cold air pocket over this great lakes. the water is still a little bit on the warm side. that cold air over the warm water to get the big burst of snow coming through. notice south of buffalo beginning the turn to a couple streamers. when that happens it's picking up in intensity. o the advisories have shifted to the south of buffalo. one ban off of lake erie. until noon. that's when the winter weather advisories go until. it's south of buffalo. maybe an inch or so less. light rain in the mix, too. heavy rain across texas. this is an evolving low. this is going to move into the gulf coast later on tonight. the next 48 hours lots of rain pulled out of the gulf of mexico. the red shade is four to five inches. the purposing shading is 6 to 8. lots of rain. the panhandle of florida back towards texas, louisiana, alabama, all slammed with heavy rains. up west it's all snow in e

el paso, too. it's on the light side but it will be there all day. yesterday video of snow in san diego. in the higher elevations. this was in el paso, texas, yesterday. broke a record for them. continues to snow. also a clipper for the upper midwest. i'll pinpoint that in a half hour. >> thank you. >> three men reportedly rob ad ministry at gunpoint. a place dedicated to helping people who have been in trouble with the law. something backfired there. >> why the fbi wants you to watch out while you're doing holiday shopping online. the latest scams.

starting january first your

driver's license may not be enough to get you through the airport. s the passed after 9/11 to make licenses more secure. but as many as 36 states still haven't implemented the weather. a texas ministry tries to rehab criminals became their victim. police say that three men robbed the ministry members at gunpoint last week. they told parishioners to hand over wallets and purses and took off. >> they're more than welcomed to. we would like to see them there. >> police arrested one suspect. two others are still on the run. beware of the online holiday scams. it's prime time for crook who is want to rip you off.

you think you're buying something. >> nothing really knew here. but this is a time when people think maybe i'm going to try ebay. i've got the perfect gift and haven't tried it yet. the fbi is sending out a reminder. people are will be online looking for gifts and deals. gift cards don't come from the retailers. be careful of things in classified ads and auction sites. watch out for signs of fraud. main things are they are real easy. if you get an e-mail from somebody you don't know, don't click links in there. don't open it up. and sometimes on facebook lately police are getting their accounts hacked.

if a me saj looks weird don't click on it either. treasury is sending s.w.a.t. teams to banks the to help you with your mortgage. a lot of people were supposed to qualify to making payments affordable. a lot of criticism that hardly anyone has gotten help. the administration is going to publish a list of lends dragging their feet next week. to shame them into moving faster when it comes to mortgage relief. nbc comcast universal. one of the big networks could be changing hands soon. the stage is set, robin, for a new corporate overload for nbc. well, you know. i'm trying to spice up how to read a classic business story. >> basically, ge owns it now. you know that.

owned it for years. they're looking to sell most of it. it could be comcast. and there was a hiss in the mix. ge bought out the section. that's why they're saying the stage could be set. >> when i e-mail my friends at a station i used to work for i had to send it to something with universal tacked onto it. >> the universal might still be there. that's when they put nbc and universal together. >> gosh, confusing! police may be looking to get a search warrant to get more clues into the tiger woods suv crash. what they want to find out about his car accident.

this is new music tuesday. this is called "doll house." she was first discovered by millions after she started posting her songs on youtube. she performs many of the guitar and piano parts herself.

♪ i ain't a doll tiger woods made a surprise announcement he's not going to be playing in his own golf tournament this week. what's going on? >> out of all the turn hmts that he plays in. you've got four major ones. this is probably number five. this is a very important tournament for tiger. it's called the chevron golf challenge. it was supposed to start thursday. it benefits his foundation. he said because of injuries he's not going to play. this guy won the u.s. open on one leg. some people think maybe he just wants to dodge reporters. meanwhile police say they are not done investigating. here's some pictures. in a few minutes where cops are trying to find answers. and we have crazy video to show you. this will disturb you. the florida panthers playing atlanta after the thrashers score. the defenseman swings at his own

net but hits his goalie right in the head. vokoun goes down. we tried to edit it and take some of the blood out. he suffered an ear laceration. he was taken out on a stretcher to the hospital. had he hit an opposing player he would be sus pinded, maybe banned for the year. on the facebook page, should the guy have been punished more? he was out playing later. matt said you've got to be kidding me? if we let him get away with it then he makes this acceptable to do again. casey wrote. punished? for what? how is it a malicious head shot? it was his own man! bad enough they lost their goalie. cnn.com/robin. click on the facebook icon. marion jones is planning a comeback in the wnba. >> didn't know she was playing basketball. >> it's been a while. the 34-year-old has been training with coaches for the san antonio silver stars more than a year after being released

from prison for lying to shorts about doping. she played in college. she was the starting point guard for north carolina's 1994 national championship team. mayor in the next hour half. folks in new orleans are celebrating like it's fat tuesday. robin? >> thank you, rafer. if you think whining won't get you anywhere, you should talk to rafer. teasing. it was right there. >> fair enough. >> clark howard explains why you might be wrong about whining. >> don't you feel awful when you see an ad for somebody you're doing business with and it will say, special deal, new customers only. what's wrong with you in you've been loyal to the company. but they're giving the new customer a much better deal than you're getting. here's what you should do. you call up the company and you push to get that same deal as a new person.

why should you be punished for your loyalty? and somebody else get a better deal? they call that the whiner rate. when somebody calls up. why is the new person whi whining, why is the new person getting a better deal than i'm getting? i don't care what they call it. it's what's right. companies wonder why we're not loyal to them like we would have been to them in the past. where is the loyalty to you and me? the lowest rate should go to who's showing loyalty, not the first-time customer. you fight for the lower price. you deserve it. i'm clark howard. for more ways to shrink your expenses, go to cln krn.com/lark howard. >> clark howard will teach you to save more, spend less, and avoid getting ripped off. noon easterns right here on hln. ever have one of those mornings, bob? somebody needs to come shake me.

i'm very tired. >> i'll do it during the break. >> you have an extra about 50 minutes right now, a ground stop in atlanta because of fog. that will last through the next half hour because of the poor visibility. that's the only delay that's current. those are the forecasted delays. with heavy rain around the texas coast, watch for an hour or more delay around houston. dallas, the rain will stretch in towards northern texas later today. we'll call it afternoon showers. buffalo, it's rain and snow mixed in, they're de-icing right now. new orleans, heavy rain, two to four inches today. you'll get delays today, stretching into atlanta overnight tonight. more on that, rob, in about a half hour--tiger woods isn't talking, but people can't stop talking about his car wreck online. you have to see the supposed reenactments popping up.

well, hello, hello, hello. gosh, tuesdays are difficult, aren't they? you just want to crawl back into bed. i'm robin meade. i'll keep you informed and on time as well. here's what's going on. the manhunt for a suspected police killer in washington state is now over. police say they finally tracked him down this morning, and now he's dead. what we're about to hear, president obama's new plan for afghanistan and u.s. troops. we have a preview of the orders going out to military leader. our breaking story this morning, seattle police have shot and killed a man suspected of killing four washington state cops. maurice klements was killed

after he challenged police who were approaching him. this happened just a few hours ago. it brings an end to a manhunt that began on sunday when four lakewood police officers were ambushed at a coffee shop. all four of the officers were married and have children. each had been in law enforcement for at least eight years. clommens was paroled in 2000 by then-governor arkansas and again in 2004. one prosecutor said that should have never happened. >> maurice clemmons had no business being out walking the public streets. he needed to be sitting in the arkansas department of correction until he was first going to be parole-eligible in the year 2021. but instead of that, he's been out committing crimes in society. >> tonight president obama outlines his new afghan war strategy. he's expected to send more than 30,000 additional troops. the president has already informed top diplomats of that decision and given orders to

military leaders. earlier this morning on sister network cnn the white house press secretary said that the president will spell out specific objectives. >> what the president will do tonight is announce an accelerated strategy to take on al qaeda and its extremist allies to ensure the taliban can't provide a safe haven for them. an acceleration of training for afghan national security forces so that ultimately the men and women that will provide security for the afghans are the afghans themselves. >> new you this morning, the afghan government says that president hamid karzai and president obama have talked about the new strategy in an hour-long videoconference today, president obama's speech is at 8:00 eastern tonight. the couple accused of crashing the white house state dinner is speaking out this morning. they say they did not crash the event but there are reports that may have done something similar a month before. the associated press and others report that the salahis sneaked

into an event held by the congressional black caucus but were found and escorted out. they were on the "today" show last hour. >> i can tell you this has been the most devastating thing that's ever happened to us. we're greatly saddened by all the circumstances that have been involved in portraying my wife and i as party crashers. i can tell you we did not party-crash the white house. >> okay. we've also learned that the salahis communicated with a senior pentagon official about the dinner. michelle jones never said she implied or told them she would get them in. the salahis say they're cooperating with the secret service and the truth will soon come out. tiger woods is not attending his own tournament basically. rafer, this is only fueling speculation about what happened in his mysterious 1-car crash. >> you're absolutely right. as much as tiger woods "holes up," the more questions there are going to be. woods as you know has turned

away police three times. authorities have vowed to keep investigating to find out exactly what happened that night. we obtained recent photos from tmz to show how badly woods crashed suv. authorities tried to get surveillance tapes from neighbors. none were found. on his weeb site, tiger announced he will not play in his own tournament "due to injuries from the accident." coming up, how tiger's many sponsors are reacting. robin? >> that's the big question, too. fewer states are reporting widespread swine flu infections, but health officials say that doesn't mean the worst is over. the cdc says that 32 states are reporting widespread h1n1 activity. that is down from 48 just three weeks ago. unfortunately, though, more children died from the flu during that time. you can check out the flu activity in your own state right now at cnn.com/robin. the salvation army got a surprise in one of its buckets,

a gold coin worth almost 1,200 bucks. it happened near york, pennsylvania, the first gold coin found in about two years, also not unusual to find some other spreezs in the kettles. according to the york daily record, other surprises include gold rings, diamond earrings, and a couple of gold teeth. let me just take that off right there. >> whatever you can give. >> five minutes past the hour. isn't that the truth? weather-wise today, let's find out who is getting this mix of sleet and snow and rain. right there on the line. >> it's interesting, where it's falling, lower new mexico and western texas. here's el paso. upper-level low, this is the same storm system that was right over southern parts of arizona yesterday, gradually moving to the east. that's actually going to build into our coastal low reit off texas and move into the gulf coast over the next 24 to 48

hours. the heavy snow is out mainly jumping over the border into new mexico. el paso had the snow overnight last night. 2 assist 2 inches fell at the airport in el paso yesterday and the snow continues. 10 to 15 inches of snow highest terrain, lower parts of new mexico, winter storm warnings shgz all the red. advisories, areas in blue. less snow but still trekky traveling. upper midwest, look at this clipper dropping down out of canada. clipper storm, a low pressure region, quick mover moves down and lifts back up. behind it will be a jailbreak of cold air. the arctic air drives down through the mid-plains by friday temperatures about 15 to 20 degrees cooler than today. no doubt about it. up across the region, we have the winter weather advisory, two to four inches of snow, northern minnesota back into parts of north dakota, south dakota not in it. little bit of light rain. temperature-wise, 27 degrees in winnip

winnipeg, about 27 in sioux falls. then over towards the east coast, high pressure.com naeting for the most part the eastern seaboard, lake-effect snow towards areas by western new york. live to atlanta, it's nice here now, rain showers coming in, heavy at times. that's overnight tonight through tomorrow. it's really going to pick up in intensity tomorrow morning. a beautiful shot right now here. trying to get in and out of atlanta, the busiest airport in the country, should be fine today. little morning fog. otherwise, nice in the afternoon. more on that in about a half hour. your choice of towns, it's always interesting. a mix. >> it's canada. >> okay. democratic lawmakers have promised that health care reform will save you money. well, a new report breaks down exactly how much your premiums will be affected if it does pass. plus, a convicted felon who spent all of his time in prison in a wheelchair is on the run this morning. how in the world he managed to overpower two guards and steal their guns.

time for us to salute our troops. our salute today is for specialist eric kiss and his father is so proud. you can just hear it. >> good morning, robin. my name is david kiss from california. the salute goes out to our son specialist eric kiss. we want you to know that we have never been more proud of you. we know that the task ahead of you will not be an easy one, but with your training that you've gone through and your determination and inner strength, you will will once again shine like the star you are. your family and friends support you and your decision to protect this wonderful country of ours. you truly are my hero. >> what a great message. if you have somebody in the service, why don't you go to cnn.com/robin so we can salute them. there is a good chance that your health insurance premiums would stay pretty much the same if the senate health care bill passes. and millions would see their

premiums drop substantially. our money expert jennifer westhoven is more on what you need to know. good morning. >> good morning. thanks, robin. you you know the democrats are going to make a lot of hay with this. there's a lot of facts out there about health care. it's really hard to know what's true, who's the source. the first thing we want to tell you that this comes from the congressal budget office, which is not partisan, republican or democrat. but this is how the health care reform bill, the one being debated in the senate, could affect you in the basic terms. first of all, if you've got health insurance through your company, probably you would see no change. that's most americans. and for a lot of people who buy health insurance on their own, more than half of them -- that's 32 million people -- would see a huge drop in their premiums. there are some people, if you get coverage by yourself and you don't qualify for aid who might see their premiums go up, it's only by about 13%. we'll watch that one.

yesterday a lot of people, the retailers trying to herd you online. a lot of americans took advantage of the sales and bought something. clicked and purchased. good news in a bad economy. online shopping sights say sales were up about 11% from last year. just like black friday, if you look for the themes here, it was very similar. a lot of people bought, but people were with realreally cut on prices they bought. they were looking for cheaper gifts to save money. another way to save money, use the web, go back to school, look for jobs. yahoo says that's what people were doing in terms of the top money searches for 2009. coupons number one, followed by unemployment, the stimulus plan, a lot of people wondering how that would affect them, cash for clunkers and student loans. if you have travel plans, listen to this. a new airport security program is scheduled to start at the beginning of the year. it could mean more than just bringing your driver's license.

what else we have to bring. it is the face of dedication and there will soon be more of them. the president is expected to announce more troops will go to afghanistan. you'll meet a man answering the call of duty for the seventh time.

starting january 1st, your driver's license may not be enough to get you through airport security. that is when a program called real i.d. is supposed to take effect. it was actually passed after 9/11 to make licenses more secure. but as many as 36 states still haven't implemented the new security measures. many refuse to comply because it's expense he.

>> you're talking a very large portion of the population. you're talking large states, small states. we don't have the specific list of states. it is across the country, not geographic, not by size. there's a lot of people who could be affected, come january 1. >> experts say that the government needs to push back the deadline or travel is going to be a nightmare. yikes. two prison -- oops. two texas prison guards thought they were transporting an inmate in a wheelchair, but authority authorities say the 49-year-old was just pretending to be handicapped the whole time he was in prison. yesterday they say he pulled a gup on his guards, handcuffed them together, took their guns and ran off in one of their uniforms no less. >> certainly that's something that we're going to certainly look into, to determine why this offender was able to flee on foot when he was supposed to be confined to a wheelchair. >> prison officials are also

vekt investigating how he got a gun in the first place. the convicted sex offender is still on the run. i want to check in on a story we're watching right now. there is more controversy between iran and the west. iran is threatening what it calls strong action against five british sailors after their yacht apparently strayed into iranian waters. the crew has been detained but is believed to be safe. brettish officials say that the yacht may have crossed na iranian waters accidentally but there was no malicious intent. the breaking story, seattle police have shot and kelled a suspect in the killing of four officers. here is a press conference. >> at this time, it is the suspect from the lakewood shooting. he is deceased. he did have a weapon on him. the weapon is from one of the officers from lakewood. i'm going to now turn it over to

the chief and he'll give you more details of what occurred. thank you. >> thank you. just as a condition -- >> that's the latest from authorities, that they do say that the suspect, maurice clemmons is dead. did you make a note that they said he had a gun on him, it was the guns from the officers that police say he shot and killed, four officers over the weekend in a coffee shop. all of them are veterans and all of them were parents. this is the man they're talking about. we'll monitor that situation and press conference. tonight president obama is expected to announce that he is sending more than 30,000 additional troops to afghanistan. obviously families are going to have to prepare. well, this u.s. serviceman's family is probably getting used to it. although it's difficult, air force staff sergeant gary hartman is leaving soon for his seventh deployment. his family had an emotional

farewell party for him. >> you just have got to focus on the task at hand, you know obviously it stinks a little bit that it's the holiday time, you know. you're going to be away from family. but, you know, i enjoy serving, and if i didn't enjoy serving i wouldn't be doing what i'm doing. >> hartman is being deployed to afghanistan and expects to be there for six months. here is a piece of crazy tape, a hockey player accidentally hitting his own teammate in the head with a hockey stick. hi, rafer. >> hi, robin. all morning long, no matter how many times you say that, i was going, what was this guy possibly thinking? i just want to warn you guys that this is the kind of highlight that may make some cringe. the florida panthers playing atlanta.

defenseman out of frustration, trying to hit his own net, but hits his own goalie right in the head. here it is. he suffered a laceration to his ear, taken on a stretcher. but word is he is okay. ballard meanwhile kept playing. had he hit an opposing player, he'd be suspended, maybe banned for the year. there he is being taken out. ballard looked like he was ready to cry. we're asking your thoughts on the facebook page. john wrote, he should apologize publicly to his teammates and use this blunder as a way of showing young players that it's not about winning but about working as a team. and the results that can bring. todd posted, although it was stupid and childish, it was an accident. he probably feels worse than anyone. he should not be punished. cnn.com/robin. in other news, tiger woods and his many sponsors are sticking by their man, despite the rumors swirling around his accident, the sponsors lined up

support for their billion-dollar man. a lot don't think this accident will tarnish his marketability. they don't. more on the surprise announcement tiger made in the next half hour. meanwhile, the saints, an unbelievable story. continue their march to perfection and helped make history. drew brees threw five touchdowns. they are 11-0, the best start in the team's history. the colts are also 11-0. this is the first time ever that two teams in the nfl have started the season 11-0. lastly, some wackiness, the ninth annual santa world championships. >> arctioh, santa! >> more than 100 men and women competed in various santa skills like sled racing, reindeer taming and chimney climbing. my favorite tidbit is that the joint japanese swiss team won first prize. $5,600. if we can hold for one second,

the takedown. in the next half hour, marion jones is planning a comeback in basketball. rock and country are going to mix at church hill downs next summer. many performances in july.

three boys may face charges for a prank that turned violent. remember the story where a facebook posting apparently encouraged attacks on red-headed students? investigators announced charges yesterday. at least five middle school students in california were victimized. police say the pranks seemed to be based on an episode of "south park." meetings were held yesterday with the students and parents. >> sad. very sad because children shouldn't be coming to school to have separations. >> these kids are, like, 12, 13.

it's, like, what are we teaching them? it's horrible. >> a school official points out that most of the students ignored the facebook message and some tried to stop the attacks. a town mayor and others are facing murder charges in last week's massacre. a filipino court spokesperson says the charges were filed today. they're accused of killing 57 people who were on their way to file election papers for a governor candidate. the mayor is the current governor's son. he denies the charges. a web designer wants divorce to be banned in california. no more. to protect the sainktty of mairnl. he's collected dozens of signatures. obviously he needs almost 700,000 by march to get the measure on the ballot. the effort is making fun of california's ban on gay marriage, which has been in effect since last year. now, the initiative's facebook page has more than 11,000 fans.

tired tuesday, is it? here's bobby to check in on our travelers who are traveling by air. >> right, good morning, rob. so far so good, short delays, one in atlanta because of the fog. that's set to expire in five minutes. let me show you sabre flight explorer. a lot of rain now beginning to develop around that gulf coast of texas. here is eastern texas. here's dallas, dfw, lots of planes going in and out. houston lots of rain offshore moving in later this morning looking for an hour or more delay in houston, dallas, afternoon hours one hour or more. rain and snow mixed in around buffalo. boston, wind. new orleans, heavy rain and storms, 30 minutes to an hour. traveling to the big apple? not a p bad one, little bit of a breeze out of the north today. i think it will be calm for most of the morning. nice shot of secentral pork. police in florida are digging deeper into the tiger woods' suv crash.

a.j. hammer and the folks at showbiz are on this, too. coming up on "showbiz tonight," the brand new puzzling questions about tiger woods' car crash. why won't tiger say what really happened? what really happened with his wife and could tiger actually be facing criminal charges? also, the fired-up debate. a lot of people talking about this. is tiger mishandling the whole thing? and are the outrageous white house party crashers trying to cash in? what they're saying about reports of looking for big-time money to tell their story. robin? a plane that went down during world war i i was hauled out of lake michigan. it crashed during a training flight nearly 65 years ago. it took four hours to pull it out of the water. when the 89-year-old pilot saw the footage of his recovered plane, his grandson said he got teary eyed. president obama announces a new plan for afghanistan tonight. white house officials are

telling us what we can expect to hear. ñ at the beginning

of that bill. so if congress doesn't act, it's not just -- these families will lose their coverage. a lot more families over the next few months could be in the same dang as well. a lot more will end up with no insurance and they have to drop it. >> good to know it's today so people, at least given a heads-up about it. men who work on having a stable marriage or relationship are key to good fathering. that is what moms are saying anyway. in a national survey about dads. more than 80% of the women married to or living with their children's dad say that they were satisfied with the father's performance. but a majority of the moms said, you know what? the dad could probably help out around the house a little bit more. seriously, that's what it said. bob's, like, wh --

>> the same old song and dance. you know, you could pick up a little more around here. i know. >> my husband calls me that. >> my wife is clearly felix and i'm oscar. no doubt about it. good morning, rob. big area of low pressure now developing as cross the surface across the western gulf of mexico. look at all the rain wrapped up around the texas coast. that whole thing is going to ball up and move into the lower gulf coast over the next couple of days, ultimately on the way to the midatlanta ek. let me show you how much rain over the next couple of daze. this is going to be a lot. we're really concerned bt flooding potential out there for the panhandle of florida through parts of alabama and southern georgia. notice the red stripes. that's about four inches of rain. you start seeing the purples pop up, that is 6 to eight inches of rain. you can see the stripes and showers and thunderstorms come up. next couple of days, the yellow about three to four inches. watching for that over the next few. that's what we're looking at. what's going on now? brownsville, most of the lightning stuff is across the gulf coast, a little more

unstable. you get inland, just pure old rain toward corps christy, brownsville. the houston area, galveston bay to the north, you'll get showers filtering in later today. ultimately it gets in towards dallas as well coming from the west. right now new orleans just light showers around. it's heavier at times. you can see two to three inches of rain today as it all moves in the northerly direction. that's what we're dealing with. then you look at this area of low pressure on the upper levels. that's where you're getting heavy snow. lower parts of new mexico, 10 to 15 inch of snow total now, in the higher elevations, 5,000 to 7,000 feet. three to six inches of snow in el paso. yesterday it picked up 2.5, a record for the date. the cold air clearly in place all moving towards the east. that's another thing we're looking at. toward northeast, you're clipper system toward the northern plains. snow out there ahead of that. watch for a quick two to four inches of snow northern parts of minnesota in towards north dakota. what about the mid-atlantic?

traveling toward d.c. today? here's what it looks like, lots of sunshine first part of the day. there is the white house. notice the red ribbon. did a little research. that's to commemorate world aids day today. >> you're so smart! >> i have people working for me. watch out, if you're planning on making any online purchases for the holidays. a lot of people are. there are some scams, the fbi wants you to know about. an argument outside of a walmart has one you young woman fighting for her life.

a new report details how the senate health care bill would affect your bank account. the congressional budget office looked ahead to 2016, and it found that premiums will be about the same for the majority of americans who get coverage from their company. but if you buy insurance on your own, federal subsidies could help cut the premiums by more than half. let you us check the papers. no need for you to shuffle outside. "usa today" says that the pentagon is looking for potential threats from within our own government? in the wake of the ft. hood shootings, the story looks at how the experts try to spot dangers on the inside. in the "new york times," a lot of new york city cops are using fake badges on the job. the officers use them for fear of losing their real ones. but there is concern about police impersonators in post-9/11 new york city. from "the washington post," up in smoke. new laws go into effect that ban smoking in all of virng virg's bars and restaurants.

protests, many people lit up one last time last night. what's your beef? consumer reports asked more than 1100 people to rate their top gripes. leading the pack, hidden fees, not getting a human on the phone, and tailgating. those are all close behind. the magazine also found that women are more irritated than men by a lot of these top gripes, including things like speeding drivers or having to remember your pin number. so what's your top gripe? david's gripes are, on facebook, loud cars, whether it's music, specialized mufflers, whatever. mitsy says, driving and talking on the cell phone, one of her top gripes. jason says, people who drive too slow in the fast lane and do not know where they are going. looks like a lot of these have to do with drivers. tell us what yours are. go to our facebook page. if you don't know how to get there, go to cnn.com/robin and hit the "f" for facebook. beware of online holiday

scams. this is prime time for crooks who really want to rip you off. jennifer westhoven is looking out for you. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> what's your top gripe? >> there are so many. i don't like the computerized voices on the phones when they want me to interact with a computer. >> is that yes or no? >> and they want me to, like, talk. yeah. just i can punch a number. >> i was listeneding to a lady talking on the phone yesterday. she had an accent and the computer can't understand them. >> they can't understand me. represent! >> that's what i look like at home. i'm always screaming. so if you're buying something online, this is the classic fbi warning. they say, hey, look, just be careful because a lot of criminals are out there. they know you're looking for a deal, and they want to try to take advantage of you. you have to be careful especially on sights like he bay or craigslist, they say. be careful. also, they say if you're looking for gift cards they say it's always safer to buy a gift card

from the retaler itself. you may not get the discount, but there's no risk. for more information, go to cnn.com/robin. it's under looking out for you. this is a story we told you about yesterday that the white house was going to make an announcement about cracking down on banks and getting them to make mortgages more affordable. now the treasury says it's going to send out s.w.a.t. teams. that was the announcement. s.w.a.t. teams to banks, not for robbers though. this time to make sure the banks are helping you with your mortgage, if you qualify for that making home affordable. next week the treasury is going to publish a list of the banks that are dragging their feet to try and shame them into moving a little bit faster when it comes to mortgage relief. so this is part of the new white house effort. they had originally thought that a few million people could help by making home affordable. it's a tiny fraction of that. they want to light a flame under their feet. robin? >> okay. thank you. police may be looking to get a search warrant to get more

clues into the tiger woods' suv crash. what they want to find out about the car accident. and -- >> this is not a free country anymore! >> wow. tensions were high at health care meeting. what police say this man threw at congressman patrick kennedy.

a heckler ripped congressman patrick kennedy for his support of abortion rights during a health care panel at brown university. the campus police even had to escort him out. >> this is not a free country anymore! you are forcing people and the majority of this government to support a bill that goes against the religious beliefs of people of this country. >> wow. police say the man also threw a dvd at the stage. it came after kennedy's very public spat with a catholic bishop about federal funding for

aborti abortion. kennedy voted for the health care bill that bans it. an argument over a parking spot has a woman fighting for her life. the 20-year-old is in serious condition at a hospital in texas. police say that she was arguing over a parking space at walmart last weekend when the other driver ran her over. police are still looking for that driver. thompson's family says they're not sure if she'll ever survive. they're not sure if she'll survive. how awful. tiger woods made a surprise announcement. he won't play in his own golf tournament this week. here's rafer with more. by his own tournament, we mean it benefits his foundation. >> exactly. it funds the foundation. he's been doing it for years. not that there's ever a good time for this accident, the timing would not be worse. the chevron world golf challenge was supposed to start on thursday. tiger announced on his website he will not play in it because of "injuries sustained" in the

accident. people are spectacle because he won the u.s. open on one leg. they're wondering if he is dodging questions. the police say they're not done investigating. showing pictures obtained from tmz tiger has refused to talk to them about it. in other news, crazy video to show you. this will disturb you. the florida panthers are playing atlanta. after the thrashers score, ballard out of frustration swings at his net but hits his goalie right in the head with his stick. not smart at all. this poor guy goes down. he had a laceration on his ear. he was taken out on a stretcher to the hospital. he is okay. ballard kept playing. had he hit an opposing player he would be suspended, maybe banned for the year. you can tell he feels terrible. what are you saying about this? christina wrote, he absolutely should be punished. he would have gotten punished if it had been an opposing team member he clobber ed j.t. poste,

i think the whole situation is in poor taste. this should be a haunting reminder to think twice before taking out aggression during the game. in other news, disgraced ot sprinter marion jones is planning a comeback with the nba. she played college ball. she was on the starting -- she was the starting point guard in north carolina's 1994 national championship team. >> they were good. >> major league baseball is asking a website to take down photos, racy photos, of cleveland indians grady sizemore. you interviewed him last year. sizemore said the pictures would show him seminude in front of a mirror. he's by himself. he says they were for his girlfriend but were stolen from

an e-mail. >> when will people ever learn not to be transmitting pictures of themselves. >> or video or any of that stuff. >> someone's going to find it. wow. grady's ladies are mad about that one, i'll bet. hln's joy behar tried to get an answer to one of the questions about maybe, well, i don't know if this is something you think about. what is up with dwayne dog chap man's hair? this is what happened. >> let me ask you about your hair for a second. >> don't do that. i knew you were going to try that. listen, i don't talk about your hair. i love you, sister on the view. please don't do this to me. >> doesn't the hair and the look take away from the surprise element? >> it actually adds to the surprise element. >> it adds to it. >> i was thinking their hair kind of looked similar, the couple there. catch "the joy behar show" at

9:00 p.m. eastern on hln. three men reportedly robbed a ministry at gunpoint. get this, it was a place dedicated to helping people who'd been in trouble with the law. something backfired.

good morning. it's been a businessdy morning. probably at your house as well, right? morning, sunshine. i'm robin meade. thank you for making us your choice for morning news. here's what's going on. the man hunt for a suspected police kill ner washington state is over this morning. police say they finally tracked him down this morning, and now he's dead. they're also looking for other people. more on that. we're about to hear president obama's new plan for afghanistan and u.s. troops. we have a preview of the orders going out to military leaders. back to our breaking story. a suspected cop killer is dead. but washington state authorities now say that they still have a long list of people they plan to arrest. people caught up to maurice

clemmons earlier this morning. they shot and killed him when he challenged them. minutes ago they said they have the driver of clemmons' getaway car in custody. officials are promising to go after anybody who helped him dodge police for the last couple of days. >> while the assistant he was getting was -- they tried to do some medical aid, they tried to move him from the residence, tried to hide him, supplied him with cell phones, money, they were making arrangements to get him out of the state. just a continuing effort to throw wrenches in our investigation, give us misdirection. and so they're going to pay for it. >> clemmons was accused of gunning down four officers sunday. all of them were married and had children and each had been in law enforcement for at least eight years. in 2000 clemdness was serving a 95-year prison term when then arkansas governor mike huckabee commuted his sentence. after returning to prison he was paroled in 2004.

one prosecutor says none of that should have ever happened. >> maurice clemmons had no business being out walking the streets. he needed to be sitting in the arkansas department of correction until he was first going to be parole eligible in the year 2021. instead of that, he's been out committing crimes in society. >> earlier this year clemmons was charged with assaulting a police officer. tonight president obama outlines his afghan war strategy. he's expected to send more than 30,000 additional troops. the president has already informed top diplomats of his decision and given orders to military leaders. earlier this morning on our sister network, cnn, the white house press secretary said the president will spell out speck objectives. >> what the president will do tonight is announce an accelerated strategy to take on al qaeda and its extremist allies to ensure that the taliban can't provide a safe haven for them to plot and plan. an acceleration of training for

afghan national security forces so that ultimately the men and women that will provide security for the afghans are the afghans themselves. >> new this morning, the afghan government said that president hamid ka rzai have talked about the strategy in an hour long video conference. president obama's speech is at 8:00 eastern tonight. tiger woods is not attending his own tournament. i mean one that ben efits his foundation. this is only fueling more speculation about the crash. >> the more he holes up, the more questions there are going to be about the accident. woods has turned away police three times. in spite of that, authorities have vowed they're going to keep investigating to try to find out what exactly happened that night. we have photos recently obtained from tmz showing his suv. you see the back window was smashed there. authorities say they're trying to get possible surveillance

tapes from neighbors but none were found. meanwhile, tiger said on his website, not going to play in his own tournament, the chevron world challenge due to injuries from that accident. coming up, how tiger's many sponsors are reacting to the accident. robin? >> all right. thank you. hln's nancy grace, by the way, is going to have the latest on that investigation tonight at 8:00 and 10:00 eastern. the couple accused of crashing the white house state dinner say that they were invited. they're insisting that. but in a new interview they won't see who invited them. there are also new reports they may have done something similar just a month ago. the associated press and others report that the salahis sneaked into an event held by the congressional black caucus but were caught and escorted out. the couple was on the "today" show earlier today. >> we were invited. not crashers. and there isn't anyone that would have the audacity or the poor behavior to do that. >> we're working closely with

the secret service in their internal investigation. >> respect everything they do. >> we're respecting their time line and we're working on their time line. we want to get through that process. we've been very candid with them. we've turned over documentation to them. and we'll continue to work with the u.s. secret service completely all the way through this process. >> is it just me or did she, like, get hair extensions since the incident? >> perhaps. >> i think she did. we've also learned the salahis communicated with a senior pentagon official about the state dinner. but michelle jones says she never implied or told them that she would get them in. some activists took over an official world aids day event. this was in beijing. the group demanded more government recognition and help.

they wore a mask that read infected blood transfusions cause aids. one activist said that speaking up could mean that they will be beaten or arrested. china's president promised to work on the country's growing aids problem. what's your beef? consumer reports asked more than 1,100 people, rate your top gripe. top of the back, hidden fees. not getting a human on the phone and tailgates are close behind. the magazine also found women were more irritated than men by the list of choices. including things like speeding drivers and having to remember your p.i.n. number. what do you think? alana doesn't like people texting while driving. jerry says rude shoppers. joy is griping about tell marketers that contact like they know me and can't pronounce my name. go to our facebook page.

if you don't know how to get there go to cnn.com/robin and hilt the middle "f.." little facebook icon. i want to say right now my biggest gripe is when you go to the airport and they have the moving sidewalks and it's supposed to get you somewhere faster but somebody, some family's decided they're going to block the whole lane and stand there. it's not for you to stand there. i digress. move it. >> has anyone mentioned the blue tooth telephone? i don't want to hear your conversation. >> no. people look like they're crazy going down the street. >> what's jabig area of low pre located across the gulf coast. look at the clouds already streaming out. ahead of that the crowds are going to continue to stream in towards the mid-atlantic and lower and thicken. heavy rain will shortly follow. towards the north, cold air over the great lake. lake effect snow this morning near syracuse.

going down i-90 in towards basically the hudson valley. light right here, no big dial. advisory south of buffalo. until noon, 3 to 6 inches is what we're going to find. counties shaded in blue. here's your heavy rain shower coming out of the gulf. decent rain around brownsville. that whole mass is moving up to the north and to the northeast. look at the rain around houston. light towards the city itself. here's new orleans radar. most of the heavy rain around the bayou moving up towards your direction. 2, maybe 3 inches of rain there today. over the next 48 hours the rain will continue to stream up to the north. yellow near atlanta, 3 to 4 inches. pinks and reds, 4 to 8. a lot of rain in the next 48 hours. check out new york city. temperatures today in the low 50s. looking pretty nice, finally, no delays at the big apple. at least weatherwise. more on that in about a half

hour. democratic lawmakers have promised that health care reform will save you money. well, a new report breaks down exactly how your premiums will be affected if it does pass. plus, a convicted felon who spent all of his time in prison in a wheelchair is on the run this morning. how he managed to overpower two guards and steal their guns.

all right. time now to salute our troops. our salute today is for specialist eric kiss. this is from a very proud dad. >> good morning, robin. my name is david kiss from yuck ka valley, california. the salute goes out to our son, specialist eric kiss. we want you to know, we have never been more proud of you. we know the task ahead of you will not be an easy one. with your training that you've gone through and your determination and inner strength you will once again shine like the star you are.

four family and friends support you and your decision to protect this wonderful country of ours. you truly are my hero. >> what a great message. maybe you have somebody in the service. go to cnn.com/robin so we can salute them. so you looking forward to the holiday party? employees at one business are not. new for you in the next 30 minutes. why they're being banned from christmas festivities. fewer states are reporting widespread swine flu infections. but health officials say that doesn't mean the worst is over. the cdc says 32 states are reporting widespread h1n1 activity. that is down from 48 three weeks ago. unfortunately, though, more children died from the flu during that time. check out the flu activity in your own state right now at cnn.com/robin. all right. so there's a good chance that your health insurance premiums would stay pretty much the same if the senate health care bill passes. millions would see their premiums drop substantially. our money expert jennifer

westhoven is here now with what you need to know. we're not taking sides on anything here. we're just trying to do the math and help some people out. >> we're also being really careful. not just giving you a study from some side that says we think it looks like this. this is the congressional budget office. it's nonpartisan. not republicans. not democrats. this is how they say the health care reform bill that's being debated in the senate or up for debate in the senate right now, how it would affect you. first they say it would significantly cut costs for more than half of the 32 million people who buy health insurance on their own. if you are most people, if you get insurance through your work, at your job, your premiums would not change at all. it also found that some people who get insurance themselves but don't qualify for help, their premiums would go up but just by about 13%. many americans yesterday took advantage of some of the sales online and clicked and

bought on cyber monday. that's good news in a bad economy. online shopping sites say sales were up by about 11% from last year. and they say it was a lot like black friday. a lot of people shopping, but they were spending a little bit less. listen to this story. both safety investigators and the main pilots union, alpha, recommended that more than 130 boeing 777s be grounded. they're worried faulty parts could be icing up and basically shutting down the engine while it's in the air. they want those parts replaced immediately. but "the wall street journal" reports that the faa is overruling the ntsb and says it's fine for them to fly. the parts and an ice-up are linked to a 777 crash at london's heathrow. the trips in question are long distance trips that cross polar regions. i'm thinking if you're a travel person, if you travel a lot that's a story you want to pay attention to. speaking of travel -- >> nice story leading into me. appreciate that.

if you're going on a plane today -- i'm sure you'll be fine. >> it's a little -- i think it's something people want to know about. >> you're absolutely right. just laughing at the timing of it. if you are traveling out there today, again, i'm not looking at any major concerns for you in the northern half of the country. definitely only one icing spot, buffalo. they are deicing right now because of the light snow. this is dallas, d/fw. notice the rain approaching from the west. more rain around houston. all headed in your direction. that's probably who's going to see the longest delay. here's what we're calling for for the day. watching for houston and dallas, both an hour or more delay because of rain and storms. shorter delays but same thing towards buffalo. rain and snow. new orleans, storm. boston, wind, 30 minutes to one hour delays. there are lots of rumors surrounding tiger woods' car crash. how are the sponsors reacting?

an argument over a parking spot has one young woman fighting for her life now. 20-year-old portia thompson is in serious condition at a hospital in texas. police say she was arguing over a parking space at walmart last week when the other driver ran over her. police are still looking for him. thompson's family says they're not sure if she'll survive. men who work on having a stable marriage or a relationship are key to good fathering. that is what moms are saying in a national survey about dads. more than 80% of women who are married to or living with their children's dad were satisfied with the father's performance. a majority of the moms say, though, that the fathers could help out around the house more. seriously, i know. that was kind of my reaction, too. >> of course.

>> bob said same ole, same ole. new video to show you. a hockey player accidentally slashing his own teammate in the head with a hockey stick. hi, rafer. >> you know, robin, we've seen violent acts in hockey before. one of the things about this is because it was an accident, which is what makes it a little bit more interesting to me. the question whether or not it should be punishable. let's show you the video. florida panthers playing atlanta. after the thrashers score, a florida defensor swings at his own net. instead hits his goalie right in the head. the goalie goes down. he suffered a laceration to his ear. oh, my goodness. there's another angle. he was taken out on a stretcher and later released from the hospital. ballard kept playing. he felt terrible. there he is. looks like he's about to cry. had he hit an opposing player, he would be punished. larry from pittsburgh writes, no

way. if we start suspending professional athletes every time one of them unintentionally does something stupid there will be no one left to play the games. sarah from texas says banned for playing the rest of the year. whether it was his own player or not, his actions are unacceptable. professional athletes are role models. cnn.com/robin is where you want to go. tiger woods' many sponsors are sticking by their man despite the rumors swirling around the golfer's car accident. nike, gatorade and gillette all lined up on monday to voice support for their million dollar man. they don't think the accident would tarnish his marketability at all. we don't have any details on it. there are more details on the investigate and a surprise announcement from tiger. we'll have that in 30 minutes. the saints continue their progression. drew brees threw five touchdowns to lead them to a shocking,

dominating win over new england. i just heard a woo woo from the control room. colts also 11-0. this is the first time two teams have started the season that well. lastly, santa claus. these are the santa world championships in switzerlanswit >> i didn't know santa had to have such skills. >> more than 100 men and women competed in various santa skills such as the climbing of chimney. the joint japanese swiss team won first prize. $5,600. the santa takedown cracks me up. >> just in case there was an imposter. in the next half hour, marion jones is planning a comeback in basketball. >> that's an interesting one. the first same-sex marriage in latin america is on hold after a judge? argentina put a block on it. the judge said same-sex marriages would be blocked until this case could be heard before

the country's supreme court. the couple that was supposed to get married today has filed a lawsuit. the same-sex marriage bill was introduced in argentina's congress in october. president obama's expected to announce more troops are going to go to afghanistan. meet the man who's answering the call of duty for the seventh time. not long ago, this man had limited mobility.

last month, this woman wasn't even able to get around inside of her own home. they chose mobility. and they chose the scooter store! if you or a loved one live with limited mobility call the scooter store! no other company will work harder to make you mobile or do more to guarantee your complete satisfaction. if we pre-qualify you for a new power chair or scooter and your claim isn't approved, the scooter store will give you your power chair or scooter free. that's our guarantee. they were so helpful and nice. they filed all the paperwork, and medicare and my insurance covered the cost. we can work directly with medicare or with your insurance company. we can even help with financing. if there's a way, we'll find it! so don't wait any longer, call the scooter store today.

good morning. the new york stock exchange is now open. we're expecting a second day of gains. find out why in a live report from the trading floor. smiles, everyone, smiles. in about five minutes. first, breaking stories here. authorities in washington state say that the officer who killed a suspected cop killer was calling in about a stolen car when somebody approached him. officials say that the person appeared to be maurice clemmons. the officer told clemmons to stop, but he didn't. and the officer shot and killed him. the health care debate is officially on. senators are now one day into tackling the democrats' $850 billion plan to overhaul the

health care system. what a pretty live picture. yesterday lawmakers on each side started proposing changes and amendments. debate could last weeks. defense lawyers for an american student accused of killing her roommate in italy say there is not enough evidence to convict her. closing arguments started today in the year-long trial of amanda knox and her boyfriend. a verdict is expected this week. time check. 31 minutes past the hour. morning, sunshine. we like to view news in the fast lane. get you informed really quickly here. tonight president obama's expected to announce he's sending more than 30,000 additional troops to afghanistan. obviously families are going to have to prepare. for example, this u.s. serviceman's family might be getting too used to it. air force staff sergeant gary hartman is leaving soon for his seventh deployment. his family had an emotional farewell party for him.

>> you've just got to focus on the task at hand. you know, obviously it stinks a little bit that it's all your time and you're going to be away from family. but, you know, i enjoy serving. and, you know, if i didn't enjoy serving, i wouldn't be, you know, doing what i'm doing. >> hartman is being deployed to afghanistan and expect ts to be there for six months. seattle police say that they fatally shot the suspected shooter, maurice clemmons, ending their two-day man hunt. correspondent richard lui now, even though clemmons is now dead, some people are out raged that the exconvict was on the streets in the first place. >> some outrage there, robin. 37-year-old maurice clemmons rap sheet stretches across two decades. his teenage crime spree alone included robberies, thefts and bringing a gun to school. he was sentenced to 108 years in

prison. clemmons then wrote a letter to then governor mike huckabee in 2000 requesting clemency. he wrote that after he moved to arkansas he, quote, fell in with the wrong crowd and thus began a seven-month crime spree which led me to prison, end quote. then after serving 11 years, robin, he was a free man. >> richard, what are people saying, though, about huckabee's decision now? >> well, robin, many people are outraged about that. court records showing that just last week clemmons was released on bond on charges of assaulting a police officer and raping a child. here's what the prosecuting attorney says about huckabee's decision to free clemmons almost a decade ago and huckabee's reaction, too. >> i think the clemency power was -- was overused by our former governor. and i think that this is a bitter harvest that we're reaping because of it. >> if i could have known nine

years ago, looked into the future, would i have acted favorably upon the parole board's recommendation? of course not. >> this is not the first time huckabee faced criticism about arkansas's prisoners being released. during the 2008 presidential campaign he was questioned about the release of a convicted rapist who later raped and murdered a missouri woman. >> how awful. all right, richard. thank you. three boys may face charges for a prank that turned violent. remember the story where a facebook posting apparently encouraged to attack redheaded students? investigators announced charges yesterday. at least five middle school students in california were victimized. police say the pranks seemed to be based on a south park episode. the school held meetings with parents and students yesterday. >> sad. very sad. because children shouldn't be coming to school to have separations. >> these kids are like 12, 13. it's like what are we teaching them? it's horrible.

>> a school official points out that most students ignored the facebook message and some tried to stop the attacks. there's more controversy between iran and the west. iran is threatening what it calls strong action against five british sailors. that's after their yacht apparently strayed into iranian water. the crew has been detained but is believed to be safe. british officials say the yacht may have crossed into iranian waters accidentally but there was no malicious intent. the salvation army got a surprise in one of its buckets. a gold coin worth almost $1,200. it's not unusual to find surprises in the kettles. according to to the "york daily record" other surprises include gold rings, diamond earrings and a couple of gold teeth. on wall street the stocks are headed higher this first day of the new month. the new month, december 1st,

will we see a new trading trend? susan lisovicz will talk a little bit about a deal involving ge, too. good morning. >> that's right. and comcast. this is an amazing thing. when you think about some of the shake-up in the media world. ge one step closer, robin, in a deal to sell the majority stake in nbc universal. ge owns 80% of nbc universal. reportedly reached a tentative deal to buy the remaining 20% for close to $6 billion. once ge does that it will turn around and sell a majority stake in nbc to comcast. if it goes through, the deal would create one of the world's largest media companies. why would nbc universal want to do it? it wants to lighten its load. it's got a lot of debt. it's got a big financial arm. comcast would like to get its hands on more media. makes sense, right? it's a big cable company. could do some deals with all that content coming through.

we will certainly watch that story. meanwhile, aig wipes out $25 billion of its debt. the deal came about because aig sold two of its units to the federal reserve of new york. this will bring the insurers' debt to the new york fed down to $17 billion. aig still owes $44 billion to the federal government. ceo says this sends a clear message to taxpayers, aig continues to make good on its commitment to pay the american people back. we're all for that. the recession has turned all of us into bargain hunters, apparently. yahoo! says the number one economy related search term in 2009, coupons. >> was it really? >> yes. that makes sense. that beat out unemployment, stimulus plan, and cash for clunkers. no economic terms showed up in the top ten searches, overall searches for the year, though. >> give me something tangible. i want the coupon already.

>> i want something. yeah. i want a bargain. >> thank you. >> you're welcome, robin. i'm bad for seeing the coupons, the ones that come in the mail. they'll say buy one dinner, get two. >> you bring them in, right? >> i save them and then i just leave them sitting there. >> pizza coupons, man, online. that's probably me searching coupons. pizza coupons all the time. what's going on? this weather brought to you by tylenol. what's not going to make you feel bet we are b the rain. heavy at times, coming out of the gulf of mexico into texas. two pockets of rain. one's your upper level low right around new mexico. . the backside all snow. middle part of texas, all rain. the coast, heavy rain. here's what we're calling for. flash flood watches up there for all the gulf coast towards southern parts of alabama, also parts of georgia. there is a reason why. the yellow shades you see there

over the next two days, 3 to 5 inches of rain. the red, 8 inches of rain. lower alabama into georgia. where's it coming from? look at this sweep going on through. most of the rain is offshore. still hugging the coastline as well. bleeding back towards galveston bay. houston, still dry. watch for the rain to come in later today. it's going to fill in towards the dallas metro area and ft. worth, too, later this afternoon. hooer new orleans. lots of heavy rain out here. this is where it falls short. let me show you what it looked like an hour and a half agoarouago around miami. pretty nice. 80 degrees. about an hour and a half ago. nice day shapes up for you around miami metro. >> what a pretty, pretty shot. police may be looking to get a search warrant to get more clues into the tiger woods suv

crash. what they want to find out about that car accident. and -- >> this is not a free country anymore! >> wow. tensions were high at a health care meeti inmeeting. what police say this man threw at a congressman.

a heckler ripped congressman patrick kennedy for his support of abortion rights during a health care panel at brown university. campus police had to escort him out. >> this is not a free country anymore! you are forcing people and a majority of the budget of this government to support a bill that goes against the religious

beliefs of people of this country! >> police say the man also threw a dvd at the stage. this came after kennedy's very public spat with a catholic bishop over federal funding for abortion. the health care bill kennedy voted for bans it. we found out this morning a suspected cop killer is dead. there are new details still coming out about the seattle police officer who tracked maurice clemmons down. that's one of the stories richard is on, too, for the next hour. >> police say the officer spotted a suspicious car during a routine patrol. clemmons approached him shortly after that. in about 20 minutes you'll hear what police are now saying about clemmons possible motive. plus, there's a fascinating new study out there. researchers found things you hear while you're asleep can help boost your memory when you're awake. a really heart-warming story out of michigan. how more than 20 women stepped in to help a widower with his newborn baby. there's breast-feeding involved in this.

very heartwarming story. >> it's one of those stories you go, huh? >> yeah. >> thank you. now if you think that whining won't get you anywhere, hln money expert clark howard explains why you might be wrong. >> don't you just feel awful when you see an ad for somebody you're doing business with, and it'll say special deal, new customers only? what's wrong with you? you've been loyal to the company. but they're giving the new customer a much better deal than you're getting. well, here's what you should do. you call up that company, and you push to get that same deal as a new person. why should you be punished for your loyalty, and somebody else get a better deal? they call that internally at businesses the whiner rate. when somebody calls up, as in whining why is the new person getting a better deal than i'm getting. i don't care what they call it. it's what's right. companies wonder why we're not loyal to them like we would have been in the past. where's the loyalty to you and

me? the lowest rate should go to somebody who's shown loyalty for years, not the person who they're trying to capture for the first time. you fight for that lower price. you deserve it. i'm clark howard. for more ways for you to shrink your expenses, go to cnn.com/clarkhoward. >> clark will teach you to save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off. catch him at noon eastern on saturdays and sundays right here on hln. marriage might really be till death do us part if one man had his way. why he wants to consider a ban on divorce.

tiger claims after the zept accident his wife had to get him out of the car by smashing the windows with a golf club. that's what they're saying, yeah. before he lost consciousness, tiger kept saying keep your left arm straight. >> that was conan o'brien take advantage of the tiger woods' crash controversy on the tonight show. >> i didn't mean to laugh. that was funny. >> tiger woods said he will not play in his own golf tournament this week. here's rafer with more on that. >> yeah, robin. the man is holing up. definitely does not want to talk to reporters, or so it would seem. this is a very important tournament for him. the chevron world golf challenge benefits his foundation. was supposed to start on thursday. tiger says he's not going to play because of injuries sustained in that accident that conan was joking about. some are skeptical because the guy did one the u.s. open on one leg. and think, well, he may want to dodge reporters. as for the accident police say they are not done investigating. there's some pictures from tmz.

there's the broken back window conan was referring to. cops are still going to look into it even though tiger is refusing to talk to him. in other news, wild video to show you. florida panthers playing atlanta. florida defenseman ballard out of frustration hits his own goalie in the head. he'll trying to hit the net. here it is again. vokoun goes down. poor guy, got a laceration to his ear. he was taken out on a stretcher to the hospital. we're told he's okay. ballard felt bad but kept playing. had he hit an opposing player, he'd be punish. what do you guys think? tyson wrote no way there should be a suspension. it was obviously an accident albeit a stupid one. i'm sure he'll get some sort of punishment from the team. gret ta posted eed thrown man throwing a tantrutantrum? if he's going to act like a child he should be cheated as

such. disgraced sprinter marion jones is planning a comeback in the wnba. the of the san antonio silver stars for more than a year -- or sorry, more than a year after being released from prison for lying to authorities about doping. now, she did play in college. she was the starting point guard in north carolina's '94 national championship team. so she might have some skills. and lastly, major league baseball has asked a website to take down racy photos of this man, cleveland indians' grady sizemore. now, robin, you interviewed him last year -- >> i know there's like this group called the grady's ladies. they love him. >> the ladies love him, and they're going to like these pictures. they apparently show him -- i've seen them. they show him semi-nude in front of a mirror by himself. but he says they were for his girlfriend and were stolen from an e-mail. >> so what's with people taking pictures of themselves? >> video, pictures, just don't

do it. that's all i've got. >> i'm with you. all right. thanks. >> thank goodness i'm married, i don't have to do that stuff anymore, you know? >> anymore, he says. >> i mean -- >> what do you mean over there? >> just kidding. let me show you what we have in atlanta. a de-icing delay. 40-41 degrees in the airport. but you get up in the air temperatures are freezing. they're spraying down the planes. 30-minute delay because of the icing in atlanta. that is a look at the city. what about the rest of the region? houston looking at rain it's going to be heavy at times, dallas heavy at times. half hour delays once you get to the north because of de-icing in buffalo as well. new orleans heavy rain too. more on that, robin, in a little bit. >> thanks. there will be no eg nog or christmas cookies for goldman sachs this year. again the troubled financial firm has cancelled its holiday party for the second straight year. they skipped the party last year because of the financial crisis and the widespread criticism that it got for paying out big

size bonuses soon after taking a government bailout. tiger woods still is not talking about his weekend car crash, but people cannot stop talking about it. you have to see the supposed re-enactments popping up on the web.