okay. thursday is connected to friday. you are already on thursday, so a little note of sunshine there for ya. i'm robin meade. away we go. >> let's seize this moment to start anew, to carry the dream forward and to strengthen our union once more. thank you. >> what exactly is that going to take. we are breaking down president obama's call for a fresh start and getting your reaction to his state of the union speech. can you believe toyota recalled more cars? you are going to hear the new models included in a few minutes. >> one of the suspects in a senate scheme that reminded a lot of people of watergate. first, with everything going on in the united states and around

the world now, president obama says creating jobs is his top priority. in his first state of the union address, he said some jobs have been created, but not enough. >> for every success story, there are other stories of men and women who wake up with the anguish of not knowing where the next paycheck will come from, who send out resumes week after week and hear nothing in response. that is why jobs must be our number one focus in 2010 and that's why i'm calling for a new jobs bill tonight. >> well, the president urged congress not to give up on the health care reform. he said most americans don't understand what a new plan would do for them. but, the current way of doing business isn't helping anyone. >> here's what i ask congress, though. don't walk away from reform. not now. not when we are so close. let us find a way to come

together and finish the job for the american people. let's get it done. let's get it done. >> now, in the republican response, virginia governor, bob mccon el says the gop agrees we need affordable health care. republicans won't agree to a reform that raises taxes and cuts medicare. he laid out the gop strike thatr job creation. >> we must enact policy that is promote entrepreneurship. what government should not do is pile ob taxation, litigation that hurt the middle class. >> as soon as the speeches were over, we started hearing from you. >> overall, i think he did a

very good job of letting us know exactly where the nation is at and what he's planning to do to fix the problems. i wish he would have specifically told us what he was going to get done at the end of the year. he laid a blueprint of his first term. but, overall, i think he did a very good job. >> you talk so much about your hope tonight and your change. the only change that most americans are seeing is their change coming out of their pockets and into your hand. >> we give you the news. you give us your views. what did you like and not like about what you heard in the president's speech. go to cnn.com/robin. you can send us an e-mail or facebook. toyota is recalling more cars. drivers are getting angry now. jennifer westhoven is looking out for you. what can you do? >> nobody likes the uncertainty

when it comes to weather or not your car is safe. we have news fronts on the recall story. first, recalling 1.1 million cars in addition to the other recalls we have had. some are people went out and bought a new car. now, they are finding out it could be dangerous. the highlander, corolla and matrix are among the list. it's connected to the fall recall where toyota said the pedals were catching on floor mats. there's two recalls having to do with the pedals here. it's very confusing. it makes it harder for drivers and they are upset. >> 232 a month to be unable to use a car for pleasure as well as necessity. >> you're scared? >> absolutely. i'm afraid a toyota is behind me at this point. >> never thought of that. >> yeah. three major car rental companies are not going to rent out the toyotas. they are not making or selling

them. car rental companies aren't renting them out, but they are telling you, it's safe to drive. for the details check out cnn.com/robin. >> that woman brought home the point saying i don't have that type of car. she said, i'm afraid if i see the person behind me has one. never thought of that. thank you. it may sound unbelievable. look, a 16-year-old girl was found in the rubble of haiti yesterday. they believe she was trapped for 15 days. she was found in the bathroom of her house. they think she had access to water. a group of people could hear her voice in the rubble. haiti's prime minister is discovering a reality. he says children and human organs are being trafficked now. a big problem is the groups involved appear to be legitimate. >> even if it's seems to be

legal, the organization comes and says there were children on the street, we are going to bring them to the states. we have repoed a lot of trafficking. >> frightening. yesterday, the u.s. state department said it's moving cautiously with adoptions from haiti and working to make sure every child is identified and truly an orphan. >> we were talking at a storm coming to the midwest. i don't know if it's the midwest, orntd. there's a storm, however. here is bob. >> the southwest moving to the midwest. wrapping up around new mexico, arizona, there's your low. the cold air is already in place across the texas panhandle. northern parts of oklahoma and getting to kansas. temperatures well below freezing. warnings extend from the four corners through the mid-south, getting to the carolinas with a watch for the weekend. it's a big chunk of real estate.

to the west, we have a big chunk. it's the top end of the storm. look at the rain. the snow and freezing rain. the pink is freezing rain and sleet. it's around the panhandle of texas out of new mexico. the blue and green is all rain. the white is all snow in the west. how much snow? freezing rain to begin with in the texas panhandle, then oklahoma city. then call iing for a foot of sn in northern texas and oklahoma. that's in two days. more on that in a couple minutes. >> thanks. president obama said the stimulus plan created 2 million jobs. the congressional budget office doesn't agree. we do a fact check. look at apples latest gadget. the name has some people wondering, do they have any women working there?

let's salute our troops. today is for james of the u.s. coast guard. his whole family misses him. they are holding up their christmas celebration until he gets home. >> hi, james, your dad, brother chris, daughter and i wanted to tell our favorite posty how proud we are of you and thank the men and women in uniform for doing a great job protecting our ku country. we are still holding up our family christmas until you can get home and hope you will be able to do that soon. god bless you, stay safe and know that we love you with all our hearts. >> thank you so much. if you have somebody in the service, you can salute them by going to cnn.com/robin. president obama says jobs are his number one priority in

the first state of the union speech last night. richard lui is doing a fact check that the stimulus plan already created millions of jobs. good morning. >> good morning to you, robin. big focus for president obama. here is what he said. >> because of the steps we took there are about 2 million americans working right now who would otherwise be unemployed. >> all right. there's a big caveat to the statement. not every worker that had a stimulus job is employed now. many were temporary projects. it accounted for temporary workers in the calculations. the budget office is more guarded here. it estimates 600,000 to 1.6 million jobs. it says the range reflects the uncertainty of such estimates,

too. >> the president also laid out huge plans for an $8 billion high speed rail system that would stretch across the united states. that would create jobs, too. he's going to florida to announce the plans today. how many states would get trains? >> many. when we look at the numbers, we are talking 31 states he's proposing here. the money comes from the stimulus plan. president obama saying the high speed train system will create jobs, too. >> from the first railroads to the interstate highway system, our nation has been built to compete. there's no reason europe or china should have the fastest trains or the new factories that manufacture clean energy. tomorrow, i'll visit tampa, florida where workers will break ground on a high speed rail rode. there are projects like that all across this country that will

create jobs and help move our nation's goods, services and information. >> there are criticisms here. a railroad expert with the conservative heritage foundation saying spreading money and trains through 31 states means no corridor will get enough money to create high speed rail service in its entirety. it won't work financially. there's not enough incentive for people to get out of their cars. >> hmm. >> very important. you have to get them out. >> it is important. i wonder, the way traffic is today for so many people and it's expensive to fill up your car, depending on the gas rate. if you tempt me with a nap on the way to work i might go there. >> read a good book. >> thank you. >> sure. apple unveils a new computer, that was yesterday. the name is ipad. some people in brogs fear

wonder, are women working there. they have lit up with jokes about the name of the ipad. hello, jennifer westhoven. >> a lot of people were saying oh, wait for the new gadget. a lot of women went ew. the ipad. you can use it to read books and magazines. it's better than your laptop for watching movies and games. maybe take it on the train ride. the starting price is 500 bucks. the name is getting a lot of attention. like robin said, it was big on twitter. i saw girlfriends going ew on facebook. >> they think it sounds like feminine products. we'll leave it there. >> yes. like another famous pad. tech experts think the jokes are going to subside. just like when ipod came out, people thought that was weird. >> i wonder what a better name

would have been? i'm trying to think of it here. okay. audition night on "idol" had the good, bad and a purple dinosaur. we're not sure when we will see tiger woods on the golf course, again. he's still at the top of the new list when it comes to athletes, even though he's not seen.

we will have all of our combat troops out of iraq by the

end of this august. we will support -- >> president obama says the u.s. is going to help iraq work toward peace and prosperity. in the state of the union speech. he warned of difficult days ahead in afghanistan. but u.s. troops will start coming home in the summer of 2011. officials will pay $1.5 million to a 5-year-old girl whose dad was killed by a transit officer. an officer shot oscar grant while trying to arrest him last january. his attorney says the officer might have been trying to taser him, but grabbed his gun by mistake. the nba came down hard on the two players who brought guns into the locker room. joe carter has more on the punishment. all right. >> no guns in the nba.

it's a stern message. no guns, absolutely no place in the nba. this is a severe one that david stern is setting across by suspending gilbert arena and crittenton. players that break the rule will be dealt with harshly. it's dangerous to our players and anyone else involved. arenas is one of the most highly paid players. crittenton's agent is going to talk to the players association. arenas' attorney says he's not fighting it. tiger woods is considered the most powerful athlete. bloomberg released the top 100 most powerful athlete list. it's influence, trustworthy nzness and endorsement. tiger would have held it, even

if his infidelities were revealed earlier in the year. stacy said -- >> cathy posting -- >> you can e-mail, text or leave your comments on facebook. a british man kept a soccer ball from hitting the ground for 46 miles. >> oh, my goodness. >> isn't that incredible? he kept it in the air by using every body part except his hands. 36 miles. >> that is so impressive. he's got some tricks, doesn't he? >> yeah. he kept it going for an incredible amount of time. 36 miles.

i don't think i have driven 36 miles in atlanta. >> he looks like a seal. >> very true. >> thank you very much. it was a round of auditions on "american idol." they were in dallas. ♪ high heel shoes ♪ but that don't mean i'm a prostitute ♪ >> despite the get up, she moved on to hollywood with her rendition of "free your mind." before her audition, she told judges she was a former child actor on barney. >> i love you, you love me ♪ ♪ we're a happy family. >> oh, my god. >> i'm getting creeps. >> erica belted out "i love you, you love me."

she had a chat with simon and kneel patrick harris. >> what's the big dream here? >> the big dream is -- i want people to know that barney kids grow up. >> to be dirty little girls. >> not dirty. my role model is janet jackson. what do you expect? >> of course it wouldn't be "idol" without bad auditions. this is ve necessary sa. ♪ ♪ my lonely days are over ♪ life is -- >> she told the judges her favorite colors are pink and tale. you may be doing all sorts of things to try to protect your nest egg. there's one type of investment to keep your money safe from inflation. something in a baptismal.

why didn't the priest want to tell anybody about it?

we don't quit. i don't quit. let's seize this moment to start anew. to carry the dream forward and to strengthen our union once more. >> that's president obama in his first state of the union address. he said nothing is more important than getting all of you back to work. he called congress to get a jobs bill on his desk and not to give up on health care reform. >> they picked the governor of virginia to give the response. he said it's a small step toward reducing the deficit. >> the amount of debt is unpasted in five years and triple in ten.

it's over $100,000 per household. it's unsustainable. >> the response is a different feeling. it was in front of a live audience instead of the taped ones you have seen in years. he blasted democrats for the excessive growth in government. rescuers pulled a 16-year-old girl alive in haiti. crews think she was there for 16 days. she was found in the bathroom of her house. rescuers think she had access to water. space shuttle "endeavour" will take off. it will deliver the last u.s. portion of the international space station. nasa is looking for places to display the shuttle once it is retired. that's the headlines. when to check in with you, sleepy head, i feel ya. a lot of you have lost trust

in your government. it's up to congress to work together to get that trust. he put the call out to republicans and democrats to work together to get things done. he didn't let either side off the hook easy. >> the democrats, i would remind you, we have the largest majority in decades and the people expect us to solve problems, not run for the hills. if the republican leadership is going to insist that 60 votes in the senate are required to do any business at all in this town, a superer majority, then the responsibility is now yours as well. we were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions. >> that was a strong statement, wasn't it? >> president obama called for a repeal of the don't ask, don't tell policy. the bans openly gay and lesbian people from serving in the military. how are people reacting? how are viewers reacting to

that? >> we are looking at the viewers as well as the republicans. senator john mccain, a vietnam war vet said repealing that would be a serious mistake. take a listen. >> don't ask, don't tell has been a very effective policy and one that has worked. the evidence of that is the best trained, best equipped professional military we have ever had. i just think it would be a very serious mistake when we are in two wars to make an abrupt policy change. >> gay and lesbian activists are overjoyed. mr. obama would work to repeal it. gay and lesbian groups criticized him when it didn't emerge. bob mcconnell gave the gop speech last night. it was in front of a live audience. he said republicans have serious concerns about how the obama administration treats terror

suspects. >> it was a concern. he honed in on the man accused of blowing up a u.s. plane on christmas day. many republicans saying terror suspects should be placed in military custody. >> americans were shot on christmas day to learn of the attempted bombing of a flight to detroit. this suspect was given the same legal rights as a u.s. citizen and stopped providing critical intelligence. >> is that statement true or false? >> it's narrowly true. abdulmutallab stopped talking to agents after being read his righ rights. he was questioned twice before then. he quickly spilled he was trained in yemen my al qaeda operatives and gave up information. it was useful in the fight against al qaeda. >> there's been discussion about the read iing of his rights.

a guy accused of tampering with mary landrieu's phone. he told people at a luncheon they would be hearing about a project in new orleans. he is the same person that dressed up as a pimp and went to a.c.o.r.n. off sises. a man was working on a camaro when it fell on him. he was able to reach his cell phone and called for help. an officer arrived and cal led for back up. >> the car fell to my rib cage. it pulled me maybe five inches. we need to get the car up. pull him out, pull him out. >> i want to say thank you to them for helping me out. >> we knew immediately, if we went to pick it up, again, we wouldn't be able to do it. >> that's amazing. >> a passer by stopped to help,

then left. they have no idea who it was? adrenaline is amazing. >> it's crazy. >> is your microphone on? >> what? >> now it is. >> they want me to talk weather, nothing else. >> cut it off. cut it off. >> done with the smart remarks. good. let's get to the weather. >> we have a storm in the al albuquerque area. >> it's albuquerque, new mexico. the upper level low, the winter generator is situated south of new mexico, with the heavy rain, sleet and snow ahead of it. the sleet and freezing rain is dangerous stuff to drive on. that's the panhandle of texas and eastern new mexico. dallas thunderstorms are moving in. it changes to freezing rain. look at the warnings. they go from arizona and utah out to arkansas and turns into a winter storm watch in areas

around tennessee and the carolinas. it makes a b-line to the east. on top of the rain and sleep, we are talling for a foot to foot and a half of snow northern sections of texas. that bulls eye purple, that could be 20 inches of snow. i think you are looking at a foot to foot and a half at the most. tampa, dry day for you. temperatures 48 degrees. the high 71. a decent day for you. fire weather up to the north. a big snow maker for the great lakes. buffalo, a half foot of snow today. >> look at the lake-effect. you can see the way it's making it. >> you have the cold front coming in. either way, it's heavy snow. more in a bit. >> thank you. gm and ford are telling drivers, hey, come this way. they are offering cash.

as hard as it may be, as uncomfortable and contentious as the debates may become, it's time to get serious about fixing the problems hampering our growth. >> we gave you the news, you gave your views. what did you like and not like in the president's speech? that was a snip from last night. >> cindy writes -- >> shelby says -- >> john says dlsh --

>> now, i'm just going toencourage you to try to answer the question directly. what did you like about the speech and what did you not like about what you heard? what points were you like i can grab on to that? go to c nrnn.com/robin. you know i love you. i know you can do this. send an e-mail or click the facebook icon. i would like to know the points you like and didn't like. thanks. what's that? how do you type -- >> i love that you made that little face. gm and ford are telling toyota owners, we know you are angry. how about coming this way. jennifer woes hoeven is here. what are they offering the viewer? >> kick them when they are down is what's happening here.

that's business. they are trying to take advantage. gm is say iing if you trade in your toyota for a gm, they will give you $1,000 or free financing. this is, of course, a public relations nightmare for toyota. a lot of people wondering how they are going to deal with it. they don't have to fix just the gas pedals, they have to fix their image as well. as you see more and more stories saying there were crashes like this happening for some time. in washington, today, we are going to learn if ben bernanke keeps that job for another four years. many critics blame him for the economy problems saying he missed it. supporters say it would have been a lot worse without him. there's been drama about the vote. usually, they tend to go right through. recently, top lawmakers pulled their support. he needs 60 votes to be nominated, again. back to you. >> thank you. it has been confirmed that

john and elizabeth edwards a separates. a.j. hammer has more. >> here is what we have lined up. the explosive news that elizabeth edwards is finally kicking her cheating husband to the curve. plus, the claims about his affair and love child. angelina jolie's video shown to the world. it's her as a child. it's cool. it's coming up at 11:00 eastern here on hln. >> thanks. one group watching the state of the union gave the president high marks on jobs and education. it also left many of them with the same big question. remember the guy who made a blind-folded half court shot to find out there was no prize. he is getting the last laugh.

good morning. i know you are a little bit

late, but i won't tell anybody. president obama says americans have a quote deficit in the american government. he was trying to win it back last night. he pushed for by partisanship on health care and jobs. he asked what they thought of the promises. >> he said i want a jobs bill on the table, i want a tax credit for businesses and things to be done immediately. i was happy about that. >> i liked his speech. he said many good things. i would love to see him be able to do what he said he can do. what was running back through my mind was how? how is he going to do that? >> we give you the news, you give us your views. what points did you like and what didn't you like. go to cnn.com/robin. you can facebook us. that's neat because other viewers get to read your comments.

sure, you probably have blown across the top of your beer bottle to make a whistle, but can you do this? ♪ >> that is one guy, six root beer bottles and a lot of fancy video editing. he did it in honor of mozart's birthday this week. he's got hundreds of thousands of clicks. we found it for you on youtube. i watch that and think i am so untalented. i can sing, i can play the piano, but i can't play a beer bottle. >> i can't do any of that. so far, so good. no delays when it comes to anything but de-icing. it's going to change. when you talk wind, it's across new england. new york city metro, count on an hour or more delay.

winds 40 miles per hour. philadelphia, same thing, an hour or more because of the wind. dallas, heavy rain. watch for at least an hour delay there. boston, wipd as well, half hour delay for you. more on that in a bit. ♪ baby bye, bye, bye ♪ i don't want to be a fool for you. happy birthday. you are sharing it with joey fatone. he turns 33 today. really? he got his birthday present earlier this year. they welcomed their second daughter, chloe two weeks ago. despite his infidelities, tiger woods is named the world's most powerful athlete. i wonder if our viewers have a differing opinion now that they know more about him? >> i think people are having stronger opinions about tiger woods. the guy is still a money making

machine. bloomberg's business week put out the top 100. he is number one because of -- he earned $103 million on and off the golf course in 2009. he finished long way ahead of second place, lebron james. he finished way ahead of him. the tour begins today. phil mickelson who could benefit the most from tiger's absence says golf needs tiger back on the course. >> the game of golf needs him back. it's important. but, right now, he's got more important things going on in his life. >> woods tops the list of bloomberg's most powerful athletes. has your opinion of tiger changed since his infidelities? kelly says --

eric wrote, no he just needs to get back out there. fix or leave his family situation and move on. keep your comments coming. text us at 45688 or e-mail us or leave your comments on our facebook page. south carolina's first victory over number one kentucky is going to cost the school $25,000. fans rushed the court after the win, which is an ncaa violation. if they do it again, it's going to cost them $50,000. after the win, the athletic director gave him $1 bills and said here's to help pay for the fine ichlt. awesome. >> you know the high school basketball coach that was supposed to get tickets to the final four for making this half-court shot blindfolded. the school never had the tickets they promised because they

thought he would never make the shot. an anonymous donor stepped up and gave the teacher and his entire family tickets to the tournament. >> that's wonderful. he said it was one of his dreams to actually go to the final four. >> they gave him like a gift certificate to a mexican restaurants. >> it was the kids. they pranked him. >> some of the stories we're watching. at 10:00 a.m. eastern, astronaut michael will present an american flag to the members of the 9/11 memorial and museum and it is to honor victims of 9/11. at 11:30 eastern, joe jackson will find out if he's going to get a cut of his son's fortune. and then tonight, massachusetts senator elect scott brown goes prime time when he visits jay leno. is jay leno still at 10:00?

a giant billboard in times square featuring president obama is gone. you're being to see what the company put up in its place. >>.

how are you doing the morning after the state of the union speech? if you didn't, we certainly have all the points here. i'm robin meade. let's go. >> let's seize this moment to start anew, to carry the dream forward and to strengthen our union once more. >> from jobs to health care to gays in the military. president obama promised a sweeping new start. we're hearing from you about his state of the union speech. toyota just added more than a million cars to its massive recall. now you're going to see which new models are affected. you've gotto hear what we're learning about one of the suspects in the senate scheme that reminded people of watergate.

first, your job, either keeping it or getting one, that is the top priority right now, according to president obama. in his first state of the union adrez last night, the president said some jobs have been created in the recovery act, but not enough. >> for every success story, there are other stories, of men and women who wake up with the anguish of not knowing where their next paycheck will come from, who send out resumes week after week and hear nothing in response. that is why jobs must be our number one focus in 2010. that's why i'm calling for a new jobs bill tonight. well, the president urged congress not to give up on health care reform. he said most americans still don't understand what a new plan would do for them, but the current way of doing business is not helping anyone. >> here's what i asked congress. don't walk away from reform, not now, not when we are so close.

let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the american people. let's get it done. let's get it done. >> well, in the live republican response, it kind of felt different, virginia governor bob mcconnell says the gop agrees americans need high quality affordable health care, but they have their own ideas about the best way to get there? >> republicans in congress have offered legislation to reform health care, without shifting medicaid costs to the state, without cutting medicare and without raising taxes. we will do that by implementing common sense reforms like letting families and businesses buy health care insurance policies across state lines and ending frivolous lawsuits against doctors. as soon as the speeches were over we started hearing from you. here's what some i-reporters had to say. >> overall, i think he did a

very good job of letting us know where the nation is at and what he's planning to do to fix some of the problems. i would have wished he would have specifically told us what he was going to get done at the end of the year. he pretty much laid a blueprint of his term, of his first term, but overall, i think he did a very good job. >> you talked so much about your hope tonight and your change. the only change that most americans are seeing is their change coming out of their pockets and into your hand. >> here's what you are saying this morning. shaunna writes, i like that he was honest enough to say that he made mistakes, but confident enough to say that this is what all of us need to do to fix it. tammy says actions speak louder than word. if all you have to do is talk, i'll run for president in 2012. sunny says the president is doing the best he can considering the previous eight years of chaos and greed.

i challenge anyone to do better. go to cnn.com/robin. hit the contact us button or use the facebook icon. the question is what points did you like about the speech and what points were you like i don't like that. toyota is recalling even more cars this morning. you know what? drivers are getting angry. jennifer westhoven is looking out for you. >> you've got millions of people who trust their cars, bought that because they thought they were getting a quality name. they hear this, there's a lot of confusion about what's going on. another 1.1 million toyotas, we're talking 6 million roughly including some new and nearly new versions of the highlander, corolla and matrix are being added to the long list of cars being recalled. this is part of the fall recall where toyota says it's the floor mats catching the gas pedal. there's two recalls with the gas pedal. toyota still isn't sure what's

going on. it's confusing and toyota drivers are upset. >> 232 a month to be unable to use a car for pleasure as well as necessity. >> and you're scared? >> absolutely. i'm even afraid if a toyota is behind me at this point. >> i had never thought that until i heard her say that. i guess that concerns us all? >> it almost makes you think if you see somebody speeding down the highway, you might think something else is going on. meanwhile three major rental car companies are pulling the cars from their lots. you've got the car rental companies not renting them out. toyota saying we're not selling them but they're saying it's still safe to drive the car. toyota says it does not know if it's going to fix or replace pedals but says it's very close to a decision. for all the details, what to do, check out our website cnn.com/robin. it's all under looking out for you. >> what a nightmare for toyota. it sounds like this could be

costly. there is now a settlement in a shooting that sparked huge protests in california. bay area officials will pay $1.5 million to a 5 yearly girl whose dad was shot in the back and killed by a transit officer. it happened while the officer was trying to arrest oscar grant last january. grants was unarmed. cell phone video captured the incident. his attorney said he might have been trying to taser grants but grabbed his gun by mistake. we're hearing confirmation that john and elizabeth edwards are legally separated. john edwards says he cares deeply about her. her sister tells "people" magazine that she's had it with everything. last week he admitted that he's the feat of his former mistress's daughter and a tell all book comes out next week. six minutes after the hour. what's up, bob? >> cares deeply about her. obviously. we can tell.

>> a woman who is sick. i know what you mean. >> moving on to weather. we have a storm that is in the mid section of the country and it's covering more than one state? >> right now, it's getting itself together and the sleet is coming down, freezing rain is coming down, especially around the texas panhandle and it's all rain down south of there. here's the situation. you have the high pressure dome, real cold air mass sliding to the south. another low pressure region, storm coming out of the four corners rung into the air mass, the end result, freezing rain and snow for everybody north of oklahoma city, down i-40. radar picture currently, pink shaded areas, all freezing rain. it's heading to the south. that's going to be the case most of the day. if you're trying to fly in o or out of the dallas ft. worth area, it's going to be rain most of the day. i don't see freezing problems around dallas, but ft. worth, maybe you start seeing some of

the freezing rain, but the warnings extend way out to the carolinas in the form of watches. amarillo, bull's eye for snow. you can see as much as 1 to .5 feet. that moves into western oklahoma. that's the heavy bands of snow. not to be outdone. here's what it looks like across the region. we have light snow around the great lakes, heavy at times around buffalo. live shots coming at you. light snow around the region. that's nyc. the flurries are out there, clipper type system moving by. once the snow pulls on out, just a dusting. winds gusting to 40 miles an hour. city court building in the middle. >> pretty, the building. >> you don't care for the snow. >> exactly. last night, president obama said the stimulus plan created about 2 million jobs, but the congressional budget office doesn't exactly agree.

and then take a look at apple's latest gadget. its name has people wondering don't any women work there?

in our salute to the troops, salute is for boatswain's mate james cerenelli. his whole family misses him. they are holding up their christmas until he gets home. >> hi, james, your dad, brother chris daughter gina and i want to tell you how very proud we are of you and whant to thank all the men and women in uniform for doing such a great job in protecting our country. we're still holding up our family christmas until you can make it home and hope you will be able to do that soon. god bless you. stay safe and know that we love you with all our hearts.

if you have someone you want to salute. president obama says jobs are the number one priority. correspondent richard lui is fact checking the statement that the stimulus plan has already saved millions of jobs. >> focusing a lot of his time on the word jobs last night. here's what president obama said one time. >> because of the steps we took, there are about 2 million americans working right now who would otherwise be unemployed. >> there is a big caveat. not every worker is still employed. many stimulus funded jobs were temporary projects. the obama administration is saying it accounted for temporary workers in its calculations. the congressional budget office estimates that 600,000 to 1.6 million jobs were created by the stimulus plan through november, but it says also that range reflects the uncertainty of such

estimates. >> president obama laid out huge plans for an $8 billion high speed rail system. how many states, how many cities will get that? >> the train project would include 31 states and the money comes from the stimulus plan. president obama is saying the high speed train system will create jobs. >> from the first railroads to the interstate highway system, our nation has always been built to compete. there's no reason europe or china should have the fatest trains or the new factories that manufacture clean energy products. tomorrow i will visit tampa, florida where workers will break ground on the high speed railroad funded by the recovery act. there are projects like that that will help create jobs and move our nation's good services and information. >> some critics are slamming that plan. spreading money and trains

through 31 states means no corridor will get enough money to fully create high speed rail services. he also says the train plan will not work financially because there's not enough incentive for people to get out of their cars. >> it does sound like it could be an expensive project. >> yes. >> thanks, richard. so apple has unveiled its newest computer. we're going to talk about what it does, but the name of it has launched a load of jokes. jennifer westhoven said as soon as they were announced it, people were twittering her and e-mailing you. >> i think they were all thinking of a bunch of guys in a room going yes, ipad and not ever running it past a woman. people awaiting this new gadget, when women heard the name, some of them were thinking about a women's product out there. it was a huge topic on twitter and facebook. the jokes are probably going to

die down as people get used to the name. people thought ipod sounded weird. the device itself looks like an ipod touch buy bugger. ten inch screen. you can use it to read books and magazines. steve jobs says it's better than your laptop when it comes to watching movies and playing games. a lot of people on wall street liked was the low starting price, about $500. more people can afford it. just in, some good news out of detroit. a major detroit automaker turns its first yearly profit in four years. ford motor, the company that didn't go into bankruptcy or take a bailout, said it made more than $2.5 billion. that was boosted by cost cutting profits, paying off its debts and strong sales of the ford fusion and escape. just by way of comparison, more than 2 billion in profit in the latest year.

year before that, it lost $14 billion. climbing out of the hole. if you're traveling this morning, maybe you have a weekend get away? >> two bagger for you. going up to the northeast. bumpy, throw you around a little bit. delays because of the wind. we're talking about philadelphia, new york city, all the way up to boston. windy day. here's what we have on saber flight explorer. right around new york city, you can is he see the planes coming in and out. notice the blue, that's all wind. light snow overhead. then it's going to be wind. new york city, one hour or more, philadelphia one hour or more. dallas, thunderstorms, hour possibility. boston about a half hour to hour. wind, cleveland, wind also. a priest saw something strange in a baptismal and it's been bringing people to his church. a guy with great skills all

while keeping the ball in the air.

well, the nba came down hard on the two players that brought guns to the team locker room. firearms have absolutely no place in the nba. that's the message david stern, the commissioner is sending by suspending gilbert arenas and javaris crittenton for the remainder of the basketball season. stern says players who break the rule will be dealt with harshly because it's very potentially dangerous to our players and to

anyone else who might be involved. arenas is the league's -- one of the league's highest paid players and could lose out on nearly $150,000 for every game he misses. crittenton's agent said they are going to talk to the association, but arenas says he's not going to fight the suspension. despite all the scandal. tiger woods has been named the most powerful athlete in the world according to blookberg business week which released the top 100 powerful athlete list. the rankings are not only based on sports performance but also influence and endorsement deals. bloomberg would have held the top spot even if his infidelities would have been public earlier in the year. has your opinion of tiger changed? >> jessica posted and said not at all. he's a great golfer and a celeb who, was it really a surprise? his personal life is none of our business. while diane posted i think to be

named the most powerful athlete in the world is laughable. a man that uses his power in such a manner by hurting his family so publicly is no man at all. you can text us at 45688, e-mail us or facebook us. british man set a new world record by keeping a soccer ball in the air for 36 miles. he kept this ball in the air, off the ground by using all his body parts except his hands. >> that's so cool. >> very cool. he trained for two months and he even trained in snowy conditions to get ready for that. 36 miles. incredible. >> look at all the tricks he could do. >> like you were implying earlier, he looks like a human seal. >> thank you, joe. >> we will have all of our combat troops out of iraq by the end of this august. we will support -- >> president obama says the u.s.

will help iraq work toward peace and prosperity. in his state of the union speech, he warned of difficult days ahead in afghanistan, but said u.s. troops will start coming home from there by summer of 2011. we give you news. you give us your views. what points did you like and what points did you not like at all, what you heard in the president's speech? eddie wrote, my favorite part of the speech, let's try common sense, a novel concept, if only the congress actually could. derrick wrote us saying i like the part that he spoke on people spending the rest of their lives being in debt from college. average college graduates that i know are struggling and down and out because their job has nothing to do with their degree but yet they have to pay student loans for years to come. these are great points. go to cnn.com/robin. hit the contact us button. hit the facebook icon. the question is what points did you like? what points did you not like? you may be doing all sorts

of things to protect your nest egg. there is one type of investment to keep your money safe. a girl woke up to find her cell phone burned.

[ music ] >> welcome to comcast local edition, i'm donna richardson, and my guest this hour is leslie prewitt, director of external operations, opportunity builders. good to see you. >> thank you for having me. >> can you tell the viewers about opportunity builders incorporated and what exactly the organization does? >> absolutely. we have been around for 47. we were started in 1962. we provokessa provide training d rehabilitation. >> what are the services you offer your clients?

>> there are 170 that stay in our warehouse that do packaging then we have 180 individuals that go out and work for local employer. >> you have the employers who are helping out and also having the contracts to give those, like you said, in the warehouse employment possibilities. >> absolutely. we're always looking to new contracts to fulfill, inside of our warehouse and then outside we're always looking for new employers to hire our adults. >> now all of this, i know it takes funding, and you've got a fund-raiser coming up. >> right. >> so tell us about your mardi gras. >> well, hence the beads so you know why i'm wearing beads. we are very proud of our 12th annual mardi gras. we have live music, we have a

casino, an auction, great food, beer, wine, and ice cream and it's a great night and a lot of fun. >> it does sound like a lot of fun. how much are the tickets to be able to enjoy all this fun? >> the tickets are $50 each. >> very, very reasonable, and it sounds like you're getting a huge value with the opportunity of the casinos and the great food and the auctions and the dancing. >> uh-huh. >> so with this, because i know it takes a lot of dollars in order to run the program, how do you plan to use the proceeds? >> the proceeds will help with our operating expenses, especially with the downturn in the economy and budget cuts, we will be using it to assist the organization. >> leslie, i do have a question. how do your clients become a part of opportunity builders?

>> they are funded for the developmental disability administration. if someone is interested, if a family is interested in having family members participate in an opportunity with opportunity builders, they would call and then we would direct them to our director of employment that would start them through the process of the program. >> once they're in the program, do you also provide training before the clients either work in the warehouse or go out to work with your partner businesses? >> absolutely. in the warehouse, we do have an instructor to assist individuals with each contract, and as far as the individuals who go out into the community and work, we do training for those individuals. they have a one on one coach so we'll make sure the individual knows how to do the job before we have them working on their own. >> in going back to mardi gras, do you need any volunteers to help out, because that's a big

undertaking you have so many different activities going on? >> absolutely. we can always use volunteers, but we can always use the ticket sales, and that's really a big emphasis for us, ticket sales and sponsorships. >> exactly. so there are sponsorship opportunities available? >> absolutely. >> how can they reach you if they want to buy tickets or become a sponsor? they can call our office. >> perfect. well, leslie, thanks so much for joining me. >> thank you for having me. >> our guest this hour is less by prior to director of external operations at opportunity builders. for comcast local edition, i'm donna richardson. [ music ]

>> as hard as it may be, as uncomfortable and contentious as the debates may become, it's time to get serious about fixing the problems that are hampering our growth. >> that's president obama in his first state of the union address. he said nothing is more important right now than getting more of you back to work. he called on congress to get a jobs bill on his desk and not to give up on health care refor. the gop picked virginia's governor to give the response. he said that's only a small step toward reducing the deficit. >> the amount of debt is on pace to double in five years and triple in ten. the federal debt is now over

$100,000 per household. this is simply unsustainable. >> he also blasted democrats and congress for what he called the obsessive growth of government. rescuers pulled a 16-year-old girl alive from a collapsed house in haiti. crews think she had been there for 15 days. people heard her house. she was found in bathroom of the house. rescuers think she had access to water. i'm robin meade. you go ahead and eat. president obama says a lot of you have lost trust in the government. it's up to congress to work together to get back that trust. he put the call out to both parties in last night's state of the union to get things done. he didn't let either side off very easle easily. >> to democrats, i remind you we have the largest majority in

decades and people expect us to solve problems, and if the republican leadership is going to insist that 60 votes in the senate are required to do any business at all in this town, a supermajority, then the responsibility to government is now yours as well. we were sent here to serve our citizens not our ambitions. president obama called for a repeal of the military's don't ask don't tell policy. the 1993 law bans openly gay and lesbian people from serving in the military. how are people reacting this morning? >> senator john mccain is saying repealing don't ask don't tell would be a serious mistake. >> don't ask don't tell has been a very effective policy and one that has worked. the evidence of that is the best trained, best equipped, most professional military we've ever had, and i just think it would

be a very serious mistake when we're in two wars to make an abrupt policy change. >> many gay and lesbian activ t activists are overjoyed. the president said he worked to change that during his campaign, but they criticized him when that did not emerge as a priority. bob mcdoesn't gave the gop response last night. he says republicans have serious concerns about how the administration treats terror suspects. >> governor mcdoesn't honed in. many republicans saying terror suspects should be placed in military custody. >> americans were shocked on christmas day to learn of an attempted bombing to detroit. this foreign terror suspect was given the same legal rights as a u.s. citizen and stopped providing intelligence. >> the governor's comment is narrowly true, suspect umar

farouk abdulmutallab did stop talking to fbi agents after being red his rights, but the justice department says he was questioned twice before then and he quickly spilled that he was trained in yemen by al qaeda operatives and gave up information that has already proved useful. >> there has been a lot of tubing about him being read his rights. searchers have found the flight data recorder from the egt openian plane kra crashed with 90 people on board. it could take days to get it out of the mediterranean sea. at least 14 bodies have been recovered. there is little hope that anybody survived. the data recorder could help explain what caused the crash. investigators may have a big lead in the disappearance of a missing georgia woman, christi corn well. they think the case is connected to the ademented abduction of a nb income woman h described this man. police got an anonymous letter from a woman who said that the

sketch looks like her grandson in florida. the letter said he was near the area where corn well was abducted and drives the same car identified in the north carolina case. a guy accused of trying to tamper with senator mary landrieu's phone himmed about a stunt days before it happened. james o'keefe told people at a luncheon that they would soon be hearing about a project in new orleans. o'keefe is the same person who dressed up as a pimp and taped himself at a.c.o.r.n. offices. today, here comes the winter and i hope you don't have to fly or drive through this stuff. obviously, a big chunk of our viewers will have to, dallas, albuquerque, who else? >> that's the southern plains and the southwest. northeast getting to too. everything is going on. it's all snapping at us.

this weather brought to you by tylenol flu. let me show you the main reason of concern. freezing rain, tough stuff to drive on. all this area in northern texas that has it, the pink shaded area, freezing rain and sleet. look downstream from you guys, big thunderstorms erupting around midland, texas. that's going to extend eastward over the next 48 to 72 hours. winter storm wharngs in red. the watches go all the way to just north of georgia in towards the carolinas. it's going to be a winter storm that moves due eastward. pacific moisture, look at the showers and thunderstorms around midland. flashes of lightning and once the line moves to the north, falls into colder air and turns into sleet and freezing rain. i-40 freezing rain. that will switch to snow. when it does, it's going to pile up. look at the dark shatd of parple

thinking 20 inches or more of snow, a foot to foot and a half, it stretches eastward to oklahoma. oklahoma city has the rain, mixing in with freezing rain and sleeted. that's the lower part of the country. what about the northeast. here's the cold front breezing through the great lakes. look ahead of it. light snow reports in new jersey, pennsylvania, to the north of baltimore right now. that moves towards massachusetts too. that's what we're looking at lake effect snow warnings across the great lakes, a foot to foot and a half of snow a good possibility. check up buffalo, covered up. more on that in a bit. it's all snow. >> good times. when is it going to warm up? i did some calculations. june. just fine. >> gm and ford are telling angry toyota drivers, hey, we have a deal for you. plus the deep gashes on this woman's harm have a whole

neighborhood on the lookout. she's not the only one who survived a coyote attack.

good morning. it is 20 minutes to the hour. are you on time or are you running around the house going i'm going to be late. let's look at the headlines in the papers. "the new york times" show us a tribe in afghanistan which has a deal to fight the taliban in return for a million dollars in aid. the tribe is one of the largest in the taliban strong hold and many people in it make a living

by smuggling items across the pakistan border. "the boston herald" reports that people who run barefoot tend to land on the balls of their feet while those with running shoes land harshly on the heel. i don't think anyone is telling us we should run barefoot though. gm and ford are telling toyota owners hey, come this way. how about buying one of our cars? here's the deal. here's money expert jennifer westhoven. they're trying to take advantage of the anxiousness. >> they're trying to turn this to their opportunity and say trade in your toyota for a gm. gm says it will give you$,000 or free financing. ford is also offering $1,000. the recall of course a public relations nightmare for toyota.

this is something that is not only going to cost them maybe hundreds of millions of dollars to fix whatever is wrong with the gas pedals themselves, it's also going to have to pay a lot to fix its image. here's one less thing for you to worry about with money so tight these days. it's gas prices. have you noticed? for 14 days in a row, everyday for two weeks now, they have been heading down. now only by a little bit, but it's knocked about seven cents off the average price for a gallon of gas across the country, taking it down to 2.69. in washington we're going to find out if america's top money man, ben bernanke is going to keep his job. this is one of the most powerful jobs in the world. he's had the job for four years. as you can imagine with the economy in a mess, a lot of criticism. some people say he's partly to blame, he missed the boat. his supporters say things would have been a lot worse if it

weren't for him. there has been some last minute drama about this. usually you get some fighting. recently two top lawmakers said they were pulling their support. he's going to need 60 votes for the confirmation. we don't seem to be sure when we're going to see tiger woods on the golf course, but he's at the top of a new list when it comes to athletes.

. >> there's one thing that has unified democrats and rbs and everybody in between is that we all hated the bank bailout. i hated it. i hated it. i hated it. you hated it. it was about as popular as a root canal. >> what points in the president's speech last night did you really latch on to and go i like that and what points were you like i don't like that. brian posted this comment on our

facebook page. president said it's time to get serious. what? you weren't serious before? cindy said i love the scolding he gave congress about fighting against each other just because they can. so true. it's not about their party differences. it's about us. so go to cnn.com/rob be and hit the contact us button. go to our facebook page. here's the question. what points from the speech did you like what parts did you not like to hear there and talk about that for us. thank you. police are using helicopter to track down a kcoyote. it attacked this 56-year-old woman while with walking on a trail. look at the gashes on her arm. >> i was running at break neck speed and screaming at it and then it sank its teeth into my upper leg and upper arm.

another man the same coyote attacked his .pit bull. police are warning to keep pets inside. despite revelations about infidelities, tiger woods has been named the world's most powerful athlete. joe carter is in for rafer. when was this taken? how soon after the revelations was it? >> actually they said bloomberg is the one who came out with the list. they said he still would have been named number one despite his infidelities, even if it happened earlier in the year. the guy took a big hit but he's still a money making machine. bloomberg business week released its power 100 list. tiger woods topped the list. tiger earned an estimated $103 million on and off the course in 2009. he finished a long way ahead of

lebron james. tigerless tour begins today and phil mickelson the golfer who could benefit the most from tiger's absence is saying the sport of golf needs him back. >> the game of golf needs him to come back. it's important for him to come back and be a part of this sport. but right now, he's got a lot more more than things going on in his life. >> woods tops the list of bloomberg's most powerful athletes. we want to know what you think? has your opinion changed of him since his admission of infidelity. roger posted a little bit but not enough to take his pictures off my wall in my man cave. >> good point. >> cheyenne texted i think tiger's infidelity has nothing to do with his golf playing, i detest infidelity to a high extent, but i respect his ability. >> separating the two. you can text us at 45688 or e-mail us or facebook us.

south carolina's first victory over a number one team is going to cost the school $25,000. fans rushed the court after they beat number one kentucky, which is a conference violation. this is the second time that the school committed this violation. the first time it cost them 5 grand. if they do it again, it's going to cost $50,000. the athletic director, students came up to him and handed him $1 bills to help pay the fine. >> they couldn't help themselves. we don't care about the fine. >> the high school coach that was supposed to get tickets to the final four for making a half-court shot blindfolded is going to get his tickets after all. the school never had the tickets they promised because they were trying to play a joke on the guy. an anonymous donor stepped in to give the teacher and his entire family tickets to the tournament in indianapolis. they are also going to pay for lodging and transportation. >> that would be very hard on a teacher's salary. >> for four people.

it's got to be expensive. for h the prank turned out well. he is laughing now >> all over the tv, too. >> you bet. oh, sure, you have probably looked across your beer bolt and said, oh, look at that whistle. but listen to this guy. ♪ that sin credible it is one guy, six root beer bottles and a lot of fancy editing. he did it in honor of mozart's birthday this week and already, this has hundreds of thousands of clicks. we found it for you on youtube. i have this new mac computer and i'm trying to learn how to do the voice recognition, and this guy is like at home editing everything together like he were, you know a video director. it is amazing.

a great skill toville what's up, robin? >> hi there. >> trying to get away you tough going. all quadrants get some kind of delay action because of the snow, rain and wind. i don't see any major delays yet, give it time. wednesday in new york city, gusting to 40 mile per hour after the light snow goes by, you will get hit twice. hour or more delays possible. philadelphia, wind also, looking at about an hour delay. more showers, more thunderstorms, de lace there. boston, winds out of new england. half-hour delays, trying to get in or out of the great lakes, northeast, bumpy ride. be prepared. more on that in a half hour. >> thank you. i'm still laughing. i am not laughing at you. people are like you k get past the voice recognition. >> you are not laughing at me? good. >> different than computer before. it is all good. >> yeah, i am laughing at you. a florida man could get 100 years in prison for running a ponzi scam. he was arrested last year, and rothstein gave big donations to

there's democratic and republican parties. both parties have since given back the money and his former investors filed suits to get their money back. a giant billboard in times square with the president on it?

good morning. riseand shine, sunshine. i'm robin meade. always great to have you along with us. thursday is connected to friday. you ready? here we go. we c . >> we cannot let them win this fight and if the bill that ends up on my desk does not meet the test of real reform, i will send it back until we get it right. >> president obama came down hard on lobbyists last night, but can he really deliver financial reform that will help main street without hurting wall street? plus, your reaction to his first state of the union speech. then, the massive toyota recall just got even bigger. more than 1 million cars are joining that list. you are going to see which models are affected in just a few moments here. you have got to hear what we

are learning about one of the suspects in the alleged senate scheme that reminded a lot of people of watergate. first though, your job, either keeping it or getting one that is the top priority right now according to president obama. in his first state of the union address last night, the president said that the u.s. has to create new jobs and that means some rules have to change. >> i am not interested in punishing banks. i'm flood protect our economy a strong, healthy financial market makes it possible for business to access credit and create new jobs it channels the savings of families into investments that raise incomes, but that can only happen if we guard against the same recklessness that nearly brought down our entire economy. >> well, the president ac knowledge that this has been a disappointing year in washington in some ways but you have a lot more important things to worry

about than partisan politics. >> our administration has had some political setbacks this year. and some of them were deserved. but i wake up every day knowing that they are nothing compared to setbacks families all across this country have faced this year. >> now, in the live republican response, virginia governor bob mcdonnell tried to appeal to the average american as well. he tapped into thing an they're many people have about the stimulus spending and the bank bailouts but he warned against too much government regulation of the private sector. >> many americans are concerned about this administration's effort to exert greater control over car companies, banks, energy and health care. but overregulating employers wouldn't create more employment. overtaxing investors won't foster more investment. >> as soon as the speeches were over, we started hearing from you and here's what ireporters,

you know, your fellow reporters started to say. >> overall, i think did he a very good job of letting us know exactly where the nation is at and what he is planning to do to fix some of these problems. i would have wished that he would have specifically told us what he was going to get done at the end of a year. he pretty much laid a blue print of his term, of his first term. but overall, i think he did a very good job. >> you talked so much about your hope tonight and your change. the only change that most americans are seeing is their change coming out of their pockets and into your hand. >> well, here is what our morning viewers are saying this morning. connie says i like when he explained they have to break down the wall, stop stonewalling and reach across the aisle and work together to accomplish something. fran from ohio emailed us saying, "i like the part when he joked that he didn't take on health care 'cause he thought it

was a good political move." i'm also asking what parts you didn't like, okay? don't be afraid to be positive and negative in one e-mail. what parts did you really go, gosh, i really like that point and what parts did you go, i could do without that? go to cnn.com/robin and hit the contact us button to send us an e-mail or go to the facebook page. toyota is recalling even more cars and drivers are getting upset here. jennifer westhoven is looking out four. you can understand why people are upset. say you only have one car and it is a toyota and you are told there is a problem with the gas pedal but there is no fix. >> you don't know if it is the floor pedal or the mat but a lot of people affected. this is another 1 million toyotas including new and nearly new versions of the high lander, corolla and matrix. this is part of the fall recall when toyota said the floor mats with catching the gas pedal. and the recall this month is connected to the gas pedal.

toyota isn't sure exactly what is wrong and very confusion. toyota drivers are upset, of course. >> 232 a month to be unable to use a car for pleasure as well as necessity. >> and you are scared? >> absolutely. i'm even afraid if a toyota is behind me at this point. >> she is afraid of the toyotas behind her and one of the things we can't even talk about that much are some of the accidents turning up about this, some of the deadly because they are not always ex-lkt assure what happened but three major car rental companies, hertz, i have a advice and enterprise have pulled the affected toyotas from their lots. there is a lot of concern. you are hearing is safe to drive it but the rental car companies are pulling it and toyota not selling them anymore. hard to know what is going on. toyota doesn't yet know if it is going to fix or replace the pedal but it is is doing everything it can to address the situation for our customers as quickly as possible. >> a big problem for them. i never thought about how it really affects anybody out on the road until i heard that woman say i'm even nervous when

i see someone behind me is driving that type of car. never thought of that. >> if you have one of these cars and you want to know, you know, what happens if i'm in this situation, you can check our website, we have all kind of information, all the makes and models affected, cnn.com/robin. >> in other words, how to stop your car? >> yes. thank you. haiti's prime minister is confirming a disturbing real knit the quake aftermath. he says that children and human ones are being trafficked right now and that a big part of the problem is the groups involved appear to be legitimate. >> even if it seems to be legal but a lawful organization, they come and say they were on the streets, bring them to the states and already reimmediate a lot of trafficking, even organ trafficking. >> yesterday the u.s. state department says that it is moving cautiously with adoptions from haiti and working to ensure that every child is identified and truly is an organ. what a horrible situation. there is now a set n a

shooting that sparked huge protests in california. bay area officials will pay $1.5 million to a 5-year-old girl whose dad was shot in the become and killed by a transit officer. remember, it happened while the officer was trying to arrest oscar grant last january. grant was unarmed. cell phone video captured the incident. the officer has pleaded not guilty to murder. his attorney says that he might have been trying to taser grant but grabbed his gun by mistake. it is seven minutes past the hour and right now, i'm thinking of our viewers like in dallas and albuquerque and a slew of other cities right in the general area because here comes old man winter. grouchy, too. >> yeah it is a monster storm right now, a lot of arms to it, too, all temperature dependent. below freezing, most likely getting the snow, sleet, freezing rain. above freezing it is all rain and heavy at times. setup of cold air across the upper part of the midwest driving down through the minutes

and northern texas. also notice the pink shading on the radar that is all freezing rain and coming down very heavily right now, specifically for amarillo. amarillo, texas, right there green and yell slows all rain, the white is all snow. zero in towards that weather, where the winter weather is already. watches and warnings ex-stand to the carolinas, next several days watching the storm move eastward and throwing action across the lower part of the country. here is the midland, texas, radar, line down to the south. a pretty major rain maker, goes northward and falls into the colder air it is all sleet and freezing rain. amarillo picture, the red right here that radar shot, heavy, freezing rain, around i-40, a tough time to travel on i-40, be careful, not closed yet, you can see the reasons out there freezing rain switching over to snow. how much snow in the next 48 hours? another major concern. we are calling for as much to a foot to foot and a half, specifically northern part of the texas panhandle into the western part of oklahoma and their panhandle and then stretching through northern oklahoma, ultimately through

northern arkansas, lower missouri and into kentucky over the next couple of days. that is what it looks like snowfall-wise. before that all freezing rain for you, later this afternoon. areas like tulsa and oklahoma city what about the northeast? here is a tap into that front, cold front zipping through ontario now. behind it all lake-effect snow, ahead of it, all heavy snow. winter storm warnings because of the lake-effect snow and around buffalo and down south. as it moves eastward, flurries around new york, too. take you live to nyc. look at this picture, a little gray, a little snowy, what it looks like this morning, the snow an inch or so. >> very snowy. >> bad visibility, airport delays behind that robin, winds gusting to 40 miles per hour, air traffic delay, headaches, talk about that in a minute. >> thank you very much. >> you got it. last night, president obama said that the stimulus plan created about 2 million jobs but the congressional budget office doesn't exactly agree. then look at apple's latest gadget.

well, its name has some people wondering don't they have any women working there?

it is time right now to salute our troops. today it is for a boson's mate james saranelli, u.s. coast guard. his whole family misses him and holding up christmas for him until he gets home. >> your dad, brother chris, daughter, gian nah and i wanted to tell our favorite coasty how very proud we are of you and thank you and all the men and women in uniform doing such a great job protect our country and helping so many people in their time of need. we are still holding up our family christmas until you can make it home. and hope you will be able to do that soon. god bless you. stay safe. and know that we love with you

all our hearts. >> what sweet pictures of him with your daughter. if you have somebody in the service go to cnn.com/robin so we can salute them. president obama says that jobs are his number one priority in the first state of the union speech for him last night. correspondent richard lui is fact checking some of the president's statements, like that the stimulus plan already saved millions of jobs. good morning. >> good morning. yeah, big focus, went through the transcript there robin, he mentioned the job some 20 times in his speech, especially in the context of those who do not have them. >> because of the steps we took, there are about 2 million americans working right now who would otherwise be unemployed. >> he also mentioned the 7 million people who lost jobs in the past two years. you know, not every worker who had a stimulus-funded job is still employed today, for instance. and that's bus many stimulus-funded jobs were temporary project. the obama administration saying it counted temporary workers in

its calculations but the congressional budget office is a little bit more guarded. it estimates that 600,000 to 1.6 million jobs were created or saved by the stimulus plan through november, robin. >> so president obama laid out plans for an $8 billion high-speed rail system that sounds kind of cool. >> does. >> $8 million doesn't sound like enough to me, even though that is a ton of money. who would get it? >> it is a very good point there. california train system, for instance, estimate it being more than 30 billion that is very relevant hospital. would get it? looking at 31 states now and the money comes from the stimulus plan, robin. president obama says the high-speed train system will create some jobs though. >> from the first railroads to the interstate highway system, our nation has always been built to compete. there's no reason europe or china should have the fastest trains or the new fact there is manufacture clean energy

products. tomorrow, i will visit tampa, florida where workers will soon break ground on a new high-speed railroad funded by the recovery act there are projects like that all across this country that will create jobs and help move our nation's goods, services and information. >> some critics though are slamming the plan. a railroad experts with the conservative heritage foundation saying, for instance, you know, spreading money and trains through 31 states means no corridor will get enough money to fully create high-speed rail service. he also says here the train plan will not work financially because there's not enough incentive, robin, for people to get out of their cars and into those trains. >> if it gets them there faster, i suppose it will be god incentive. i'm sure it depends on where you live and how bad the trafficsome richard, thanks. >> sure. sure. so apple unveiled its new computer. we are going to talk about what it does.

the name has launched jokes online and our money expert jennifer westhoven here. >> people think great new product, a lot of women heard the name, they thought, hmm. that sounds like a bunch of guys made that name up. the name is ipad. >> yes. >> a lot of people thought did you want to pick a name that relates to my mysterious women products? tech experts say the jokes will likely die down as people get used to the name. people did think that ipod sounded weird back when those came out. this was a huge topic on twitter and facebook. you are writing in about t why couldn't they have named the ipad i tab for tablet. >> that is a cute name, i tab. >> then, you know, the popping pills jokes, right? people will make jokes no mat whaefrm the device itself is like an ipod touch but bigger, a ten-inch touch screen, you can use to read books and magazines. there has even been a lot of talk this may revive the book and magazine industry.

steve jobs says better than your laptop when it comes to playing games or watching movies. >> has more than just a touch screen there is a full keyboard on that touch screen, right? you can call that up and actually type in stuff on that keyboard? >> that is one of the things people are saying might be weird about it, how do you type on it? i think it is differently spaced than the ipod. we will watch that one. >> okay. >> looks neat. all right, back to you. >> thank you. there were a bunch of jokes in blogosphere. a priest saw something strange at a baptist mall and it has been bringing people into his church ever since. a guy has crazy soccer skills. you will see how far he was able to walk and never let the ball touch the ground.

the nba really came down hard on two players who grout guns to the locker room. and joe carter is in for raver with more on that. most of our audience would say, yeah. >> no guns, done for the season. i think a fitting punishment for the rule broken. david stern, the commissioner, sending a strong message across the league by suspending gilbert

arenas and crittenton for the season. people who break the rule will be dealt with harshly because it is potentially dangerous to our players and the anyone else who might be involved. arenas is one of the league's highest paid players and will lose out on nearly $150,000 for every game he misses this season. crittenton's agent says they are going to talk to the players a association but arena's attorney says they will not fight the suspension. despite the scandal, tiger woods has been named the most powerful athlete in the world according to bloomberg business week. it is rated on influence and deals. tying wore have held the top to the sport even if his infidelity became public in the year. a british man set a new world record by keeping a soccer ball from hitting the ground for 36 miles. he kept this ball in the air by using every single body part

except his hands. >> i bet he is so tired. that is really -- that is a talent. >> very talented guy. even in snowy conditions and this guy also has a record for juggling a soccer ball for 24 straight hours. >> imagine, he was still doing tricks, mile 35, bouncing on his head could have lost it there. >> imagine if he would have tripped or something? >> thank you. >> you bet. >> but make no mistake this war is end heing and all our troops are coming home. >> president obama says those troops are going home by august and u.s. troops in afghanistan will be home by the summer of 2011 in the state of the union speech last night the president did warn of difficult days ahead in afghanistan. some members of a catholic church in virginia think that a water stain on their baptist mall looks like the virgin mary a priest says that when first spotted it he kept quiet about it because mary had been popping up on things like toast and cheat toes, according to people.

eventually, word spread and people check it had out. some think it is a miracle. others think it can restore people's faith. a florida pilot is getting honored for being creative, he had nowhere to land in haiti's --

>> we don't quit. i don't quit. let's seize this moment to start anew, to carry the dream forward and to strengthen our union once more. >> all right, that is president obama in his first state of the union address last night. he said nothing is more important right now than getting more people back to work. he called on congress to get a jobs bill on his desk and not to give up on health care reform. the gop predicted virginia's new governor to give a live response. he talked about the proposed squeeze on discretionary spending but that is only a small step toward reducing the deficit. >> the amount of debt is on pace to double in five years and

triple in ten. the federal debt is now over $100,000 per household. this is simply unsustainable. >> he also blasted democrats in congress for what he called the excessive growth of government. space shuttle "endeavour" will blast off february 7th, first of five launches this year before the shuttle fleet is retired. "endeavour" will deliver the last u.s. portion of the international space station. nasa is looking for places to display the shuttles once they are retired. cool. good morning, sunshine. how are you? it is 31 minutes past the hour. you are awake and that is a victory in itself, right? i'm robin meade. president obama called for a repeal of the military's don't ask don't tell policy. the 1993 law bans openly gay and lesbian people from serving in the military. correspondent richard lui joins us now. how are people reacting this morning? . some republicans are slamming the president. john mccain, a vietnam war

veteran saying repeal don't ask don't tell would be a serious mistake here. >> don't ask don't tell has been a very effective policy and one that has worked. the evidence of that is the best-trained, best-equipped, most professional military we've ever had. and i just think it would be a very serious mistake when we're in two wars to make an abrupt policy change. >> many gay and lesbian activists are overjoyed. the president said he worked to change that during his campaign, but they criticized him when that did not emerge as a priority. >> richard, the virginia governor bob mcdonnell gave the gop response last night we said that earlier and he said that republicans have some serious concerns about how the administration treats terror suspects. >> governor mcdonnell honed in on the man accused of blowing up a northwest plane on christmas day as an example there many republicans saying here that

terror suspects should be put in military custody. >> americans were shocked on christmas day to learn of an attempted bombing of a flight to detroit. this foreign terror suspect was given the same legal rights as a u.s. citizen and stopped providing intelligence. >> is that true or false? the governor's comment is narrowly true, suspect umar farouk abdulmutallab did stop talking to fbi agents after being read his rights, but the justice department says he was questioned twice before then and he quickly spilled that he was trained in yemen by al qaeda operatives and gave up information that has already proved useful. >> thank you. by the way we taking your comments on what you liked and didn't like about the president's speech, what points you didn't like or did like. investigators may have a big lead in the disappearance of a missing georgia woman, kristin cornwell. they now think the case is connected to the attempted abduction of a north carolina woman who described this man.

police got an anonymous letter from a woman who said the sketch looks like her grandson in florida. the letter said that he was near the area where cornwell was abducted and drives the same car identified in the north carolina case. hearing confirmation that john and elizabeth edwards are legally separated a source close to her says it happened a while ago, actually. john edwards says that he cares deeply about his wife. now, her sister told "people" magazine she has had it with everything. last week, he admitted he is the father of his former mistress's daughter and a tell-all book book comes out last week. poor elizabeth. a man was working on a camaro when the car fell on his chest. he thought he was going to die but he was able to reach his cell phone, he called for help. an officer arrived hurricane to call for backup and then they lifted a car off the man. >> the car fell onto my rib cable. it pulled me about maybe five

inches. >> okay, guys, we need to get the car up. all right, get him out. pull him out. pull him out. >> i just want to say thank you to them for helping me out. we knew immediately after that incident if we went and tried to pick that car up again we wouldn't be able to do it. >> that is what is to so fascinating, isn't it? a passerby stopped and helped them and left and they have no idea who that man was. like the car angel. 35 minutes past the hour. okay. well, you are going to need to call on all your strength today if you are living in the dallas area, the albuquerque area, not to get upset in the morning rush, i think. here is bob with more on that. >> you got that right. looking at amarillo in texas, a big mess. this weather brought to you by cheerios. remember yesterday, i was telling you about the winter storm beginning to develop around the four corners, now injecting its moisture and action through western texas in toward amarillo, all temperature dependent, depending on what

kind of precipitation you are finding, where you are above freezing it is all rain, but right around freezing, look at expanding, pink area, freezing rain, up the air column, all snow, northern parts of texas. what about oklahoma? you guys will be under the gun. let me show you the temperatures, these are the readings as of a couple of minutes ago. huge spread, southeastern part of the state, front not gone by, temperatures need 50, middle part, the greens, around freezing, including oklahoma city the side, the panhandle, temperatures are in the 20s. you talk about cold temperatures, what it looks like, mid 20s there there is your arctic blast. cold air felters in, rain switches to freezing rain, ultimate into snow it will be level of of very at times. show what you it looks like, winter storm warnings from the four corners to texas, oklahoma, kansas, arkansas, missouri, watches in white, go all the way toward the carolinas. that is the next couple of days as that whole storm moves over toward the east. midland, texas, radar, lightning

popping up, too, thunderstorms later on today, isolated tornado or two, the sheer is definitely out there different wind directional sheer, might see twisting of the thunderstorms. up to the north, see what it looks like, all freezing rain and sleet, especially west of amarillo that bright banding, definitely sleet and freezing rain. to the east farther, take you live to dallas, temperatures ought to be safely above freezing the entire day. i think it will be rain once it starts. get a couple of thunderstorms in there overnight tonight also, but the snow itself is going to be up toward your north. let me show you how much snow over the next 48 hours because am rill low, the rest of the panhandle of texas in the bull's eye. look at this map real quick before we leave. look at that the dark-shaded purple, 20 inch of snow what they are calling for with the mold, a foot to a foot and a half, could be paralyzing, power outages, freezing rain and then snow on top of that be prepared. more on that in a little bit. >> thanks for the head's up. gm and ford, they are telling angry and upset toyota drivers, hey, we got a deal for you.

and they are offering cash.

>> as hard as it may be, as uncomfortable and contentious as the debates may become, it's time to get serious about fixing the problems that are hampering our growth. >> we give you the news, you give us your views. what points did you like about the speech last night and what point discuss not like in the president's speech? darryl says, i liked very much the call for unity on national defense, but i dislike the call

for open gays behavior in the military. david said, it was exciting to see the president pull -- make that the president plug for more nuclear power. nuclear will definitely create jobs, david says. if you've got somebody -- yeah. if you want to sleuth somebody that is fine, too. right now, we are asking what you points did you like what did you not like from the president's speech? go to cnn.com/robin, hit contact us e-mail, you can facebook us, people can see your comments. an american pilot had to land on unpaved roads and in fields to get supplies to haiti. he heard cities outside port-au-prince were run out of food and medicine, sew volunteered to any his own plane there, but many of the landing zones were barely big enough for his plane. >> pretty tight getting in and out of there and ended up doing a little bit of damage to our wing but managed to fly. we actually did tally -- looks like we flew 100,000 pounds of people and supplies in the past ten days now.

>> nice work. a police escort and dozens of supporters welcomed him home yesterday. a guy accused of trying to tamp we are senator mary landrieu's phones hinted about a high-profile stunt days before it happened. the associated press says that james o'keefe told people at a luncheon that they would soon be hearing about a project in new orleans. now, o'keefe is the same person who dressed up as a pimp and taped himself at a.c.o.r.n. offices. for men are charged in the phone scheme. four men are charged withth in phone scheme. gm and ford are telling toyota owners we know you are angry, how about coming this way and buying one of our cars? our money expert jennifer westhoven is here. they will have to do a good trade-in i would imagine. you got a car what are you going to do with it? >> some people may not want to be in those cars, just offering a little bit, a tweak to toyota here. general motors saying if you trade in your toyota for a gm, they will give you $1,000 or free financing. ford is also offering $1,000 if

you bring in your toyota, from the detroit free press. so kind of a gamble there capitalizing on the situation, or trying to. but for toyota, of course this recall is a public relations nightmare. i mean, their brand is all about quality and safety. this could cost them hundreds of millions of dollars, not just to fix what's wrong with the gas pedals or the floor mat or whatever is going on with the car, but just as much maybe to fix their image as well. in the past few minutes, we got the latest weekly number on jobless claims. they were down, that's good sign, not by much, but 8,000, that takes them to 470,000. that is the number of people who in the latest week went to the unemployment office for the first time. they either went there or they signed up online or registered by phone, but it means, it signals to us that companies, there is still a pretty high level of job cuts out there we have heard stories going the other way, ford calling back workers. robin, back to you. >> thank you.

radio contest in seattle has people in des moines, iowa, ticked. >> sending to you see the coolest bands in the crappiest of towns. >> that is funny. des moines has a plan to get back at seattle and that is new for you in 40 minutes. one group watching the state of the union address last night gift president high marks for his ideas about jobs and education, but the speech also left many of them with the same big question. and remember the guy who made a blindfolded half-court shot only to find out there was no real prize? well, he is get the last laugh.

american eye goal went looking for tam innocent dallas last night and one of the top find was dave who has touret's din dream and he wooed the judges and wowed them, too. ♪ if you ever change your mind about leaving ♪ ♪ leaving me behind

>> very nice. dave says that his twitches go away when he sings. he got four yes votes. it was almost like a blast from the past as a person who tried out in season one decided to give another shot. this is season nine. here is julie's first tryout. ♪ i love it when people take songs and try to make it opera, bad opera. simon told her she should sue her singing coach. has she improved with time? ♪ ♪ mama's babies in the heart of every school girl ♪ >> well, after getting a uen in mouse no, julie kept singing and security had to come and take her out. i think she has improved a bit.

>> i think she is better. not quite an "american idol" better. >> no, but she has improved. my second question is what does neil patrick harris have to know about singing? . used to be broadway guy. >> look at you, joe. joe knows his singers, don't mess with him on that. neil patrick harris is one of the guest judges. despite his revelations of infidelities, tiger woods has been named the world's most powerful athlete. joe is in for rafer with more on that good morning. good morning. despite his squeaky-clean image taking a huge hit, tiger woods is a huge brand, a global grand and bringing in a lot of money. bloomberg, business week, released its power 100 list and tiger woods tops the list because of sports performance, influence, trustworthiness and endorsement deals. tiger earned an estimated $103 on and off the golf course in 2009. now, he finished a long way ahead of second place nba star lebron james who earned 44 million last year. the tigerless tour begins

today and phil mickelson, the golfer who could benefit the most on the course from tiger's absence says the sport of golf needs him playing again. >> the game of golf needs him to come back. i mean, it's important for him to come back and be a part of this sport. but right now, he's got a lot more more than things going on in his life. >> so we are asking you, has your opinion of tiger woods changed since his admission of infidelity and posted on our facebook page, my opinion of him as a golfer hasn't change bud my opinion about him as a man and a human being has changed. >> that is from anne? >> that's from anne. now, cindy she fired up, posted on facebook page, honestly i probably like him more now knowing he screws up like the rest of us humans. love his wife, too. every wife has thought of taking a 9-iron to her husband, she just had the bleep to do it. anne's husband better get his chores done. >> that cindy's husband, wasn't

it? >> yeah, cindy's husband. call or leave your comes leave s on our facebook page. south carolina's first victory over a number one team will cost the team $25,000. that is a conference violation. now, this is the second time the school has broken this first violation and the first time it cost 5 grand and this time 25 grand and if they do it again, it will cost 50 grand. student body is not worried about it. they handed him dollar bills and they said, here, help pay for the fine. >> here, here, dude, here's a dollar. 25 grand, no big deal. the high school coach that was supposed to get tick toots the final four for making a half-court shot blindfolded will get those tickets after all. the school never had the tickets they promised because they were playing a joke on the teacher. he actually made the shot. when an anonymous donor stepped up and gave the teacher and his family tickets to a final four

tournament and they'll pay for lodging and travel. they haven't announced the guy yet or, guy or girl and they'll announce the person who stepped forward to give the donation maybe next week. >> that's awesome. that would have been hard to do on a teacher's salary. >> he said it was his dream to go to the final four. >> joe, thanks. >> you bet. so, now he gets to go! that's a great story. bob, not so good today. probably our travel times if anybody has to fly in and out of dallas, a few airlines like to connect there. >> really get the business out of the boot today travelwise. up in the northeast snow followed by a lot of wind. snow right now, nothing more than a half hour delay and that will climb to over an hour with the wind behind and dallas, like robin was talking about, heavy rain headed in and thunderstorms this afternoon and one hour or more and wind around new england and hour to half-hour long de y delays at logan.

a trucker is accused of watching porn on his lapit when his big rig smash under to a car killing a woman. but police say there was another factor that caused the accident.

good morning. come on in the room if you have the time. if you're still running around getting ready for the day, let me get your brain ready then. i'm robin meade, morning, sunshine. president obama slammed a supreme court decision during the state of the union address last night and look at justice alito shaking his head in response. brand-new this hour, the back story for what happened last night. and stunning video that we're showing you for the first time this morning of a truck smashing into a pedestrian bridge. how in the world did that happen? look at that tape. first, though, your job either keeping one or getting one. that is the top priority right now according to president obama. in his first state of the union address last night, the president said some jobs were created in the recovery act, but

not enough. >> for every success story, there are other stories. of men and women who wake up with the anguish of not knowing where their next paycheck will come from, who send out resumes week after week and hear nothing in response. that is why jobs must be our number one focus in 2010 and that's why i'm calling for a new jobs bill tonight! >> now, you heard the president get a lot of applause from democrats during the speech, but check out the supreme court. that's justice samuel alito checking his head and mouthing the words not true when the president second guessed a court ruling. alito voted with the majority to, here is the president's take on that issue. >> with all due deference to separation of powers, last week the supreme court reversed a century of law that i believe will open the flood gates for

special interests, including foreign corporations to spend without limit in our elections. >> michelle from massachusetts e-mails us this morning. we asked you, how do you feel about the president's speech? what points did you like and what points did you not like? i think president obama's challenge to the recent supreme court decision was magical and brave. i applaud him for telling it like it is regardless of how uncomfortable it made the supreme court justices. chris writes on our facepage book. what we're all thinking regarding their leadership in d.c. shouldn't be petty 60 vote issues but the fact they're hired to get paid to get the job done. good slap on the wrist for all of them. recess is over! go to cnn.com/robben and hit the contact us button and send an e-mail and go to the facebook page if you want to do the facebook thing. what points did you like and what points didn't you like from the president's speech.

the newly elected virginia governor delivered the live response and he said the gop has a much different strategy on how to create jobs. >> we must enact policies that promote entrepreneurship and motivation so that america can better compete with the world. what government should not do is pile on more taxation, regulation and litigation that kill jobs and hurt the middle class. >> now, mcdonald did try to find some common ground. he praised the president's stance on education in his decision to send more troops to afghanistan. toyota, this morning, is recalling even more of its cars. and, obviously, this is a problem if you drive one because there doesn't seem to be a fix. drivers are getting angry and here's jennifer west hoven with the latest on this. >> yeah, robin, thanks. certainly frustrating for toyota. we keep seeing these headlines. a lot of developments here. first, another mill ybian toyotas including new vehicles here. so people that just got their car and finding out it might be

dangerous. the highlander, corolla and matrix are some of the names in this new recall and this is an expansion of the fall recall. there is really two recalls here. one with the floor mats and one about the gas pedal but they're all connected. what is going on here? toyota says they're still not sure exactly what is wrong. it's very confusing and toyota drivers are frustrated. >> 232 a month to be unable to use a car for pleasure as well as necessity. i am even afraid if a toyota is behind me at this point. >> what do you do? you need to get to work and now i'm worried and looking in the rearview mirror and there is another toyota behind me. meanwhile, three major car rental companies are pulling the affected toyotas from their lots. toyotas not selling them any more but you have to drive

yours. toyota says it does not know yet if they're going to fix or replace the pedals, but they're making every effort and doing things asap and, of course, you can imagine, of course they are. their business is on the line here. it's just they don't have an easy answer right now. for all the details on this. maybe you have a model and you're not sure if your year is affected and what you should do in case your car speeds up. you should know that just in case with any car, you can check out our website cnn.com/robin and it's looking out for you. >> a step-by-step guide that jennifer put up there. thank you. haiti's prime minister has a horrible reality. children and human organs are being trafficked right now. >> even if it seems to be legal with the organization they come and say on the streets and going to bring them to the states and

we have a lot of trafficking. >> well, yesterday the u.s. state department said that it is moving cautiously with adoptions from haiti and working to make sure every child is identified and truly is an orphan. take a look at this, it may sound unbelievable, but a 16-year-old girl was found alive in the rubble of the quake. rescuers believe she was trapped for 15 days. she was found in the bathroom of her house. rescuers think she had access to water. they found her after a group of people said they could hear her voice in the rubble. the sex video might be a little tough to watch. a truck in turkey was traveling down the street with its bumper raised when it smash under to a bridge that people were walking on, a pedestrian bridge. after the crash people ran to the bridge to help and only person was hurt. police are investigating why the truck was driving like that.

they were so fortunate that no one else was hurt. we have a pain in the neck day. >> go ahead, say what i wrote to you. >> every morning bob send out a little note about the weather so i can be informed and it said something like dallas and albuquerque are going to get a whooping worse than a one-legged man in a butt kicking contest. dynamic storm system, no doubt about it. big area of low pressure upper levels now facing with a surface low right around western texas and notice the shading right here. all the freezing pink. the white is all snow and the greens and yellows and reds and a thunderstorm line going all the way down to the south and that is all liquid precip and that cold arctic air buzzes down to the south. look at it changing over from rain to freezing rain and then moving down through the panhandle and ultimately getting in towards western oklahoma, too. it's going to come down heavy at

times. that storm is going to be on the move, not just sit there today. all the winter storm warnings in red and blue/green shaded areas. the watches now for all of tennessee into the carolina for later on tomorrow into the weekend. so, what about the radar picture? interesting to look at right now. this is midland odessa radar picture. line of thunderstorms directly overhead and squirts down i-20 to i-10 and up to the north and falls into a much colder air mass. the bright banding that is all sleet and heavy, freezing rain. what starts to leaf out on the edges, that is where it looks like it is turning into snow, specifically northwestern side of this region as the cold air comes crashing down to the north. next 48 hours, almost a foot and a half of snow in the deep, dark, shaded purple areas. snow across the northeast, too. get to that coming up in a half hour. >> everyone will stay inside once their weekend starts tomorrow. >> it will be cold and that snow

will not melt any time soon. forget the buzz about what apple's latest gadget can do. it was the name that had people wondering if they have women working there.

hey, in our salute to the troops today it is for james of the u.s. coast guard. his whole family misses him and they're even holding up christmas for them until he gets home. >> hi, james, it's your dad, brother chris, daughter geana and i want to tell our favorite coasty how very proud we are of you and to thank you and all the men and women in uniform for doing such a great job protecting our country and helping so many people in their time of need. we're still holding up our family christmas until you can make it home, and hope you will be able to do that soon. god bless you, stay safe and know that we love you with all our hearts. >> i love the picture of the

little girl. do you have somebody in the service and you want to salute them, go to cnn.com/robin. we're hearing more this hour that john and elizabeth edwards have legally separated. her publisher said she wants to move on with her life and john edwards says it is an extraordinarily sad moment. >> a friend of theirs tells people that it was a nice christmas p nice christmas. but right afterwards that's when they split. they separated and i should just say before the holidays really briefly, elizabeth met the baby at a hotel room in north carolina with john through intermediary and she bought the baby christmas gifts. she was very adult about it. >> she really was, sounds like. last week edwards, john edwards admitted he is the father of his former mistress' daughter and a tell-all book comes out next week. apple unveiled its new computer, people were all abuzz

about it. we'll tell you more what it does and the name has also caused a buzz and our money expert jennifer westhoven is here. >> good morning, yes, robin, a very awkward name that made people think they don't have a lot of women working there. likely the jokes will die down as people get used to the name. you may remember when the ipod first came out, pod, what kind of a name is that? but people pretty much got used to it. it's like of like an ipod touch and it's bigger. you can use it to read books or magazines and apple's ceo said it's better than your laptop when it comes to watching movies or playing games. $500, initially they thought it might cost $700 or $1,000. new this morning, some good news out of detroit.

major profits from a detroit automaker, profits. ford says it's back in the saddle again and not only has it made profits for say each quarter, it has now made its first yearly profit. so, it tells you that it is pretty stable there for 2009, it made more than $2 billion. robin, back to you. >> all right, thank you. >> hold on, nobody mentioned we're going to our small business story. >> there you go. >> if the sour economy has you hungry for something sweet, stephanie elam, tells us about a company that can satisfy your craving. >> our number one product is our praline. >> known for its candy, what may not be as well known is that the family's business was gambled away in the late 1800s. >> my grandmother was a lamb and her family was a little hesitate to make it well known that it had been lost in a poker game. >> the debt paid and a lesson

learned. the fifth generation attribute their success to less gambling and more planning. >> we are a very conservative growth company. >> lammes makes candy in austin and sells it in their six texas shops. it's also available online and at stores across the country, but sometimes the family name isn't on the box. >> we have some private labelers that do a very nice business with our product with their name on it. >> the company has been hit by the not so sweet economy, but the candy business has its advantages. >> it's sad that candy is recessionproof. we're not recessionproof but resistant. all right. maer you're thinking that looked good, but my small business is even better. go ahead, take a video of it and send it to us, cnn.com/robin and upload it and share some tips

and you could be next on "morning express." a guy with some crazy soccer skills. you'll have to hear how far he walked without letting the ball touch the ground. a radio station in seattle is bashing des moines, but people in des moines have a plan to turn the tables.

good morning. 18 minutes past the hour. the nba really came down hard on two players who brought guns into the locker room. joe carter is in for rafer with more on that. i would think that a lot of our viewers would go, yeah. >> you bring guns to work, you're going to be in trouble for that. those two guys done for the rest of the season. david stern is sending a strong message by suspending them for the remainder of the nba basketball season. stern says players who break the nba gun rule will be "dealt with harshly" because it's potentially dangerous to our players and anyone else

involved. arenas is one of the highest paid players and will lose out on $150,000 game for every game that he misses. crittenton's agent will talk to the association. well, despite all the scandal around tiger woods, he has now been named the most powerful athlete in the world. this according to bloomberg business week, which just released its top 100 most powerful athlete list. the rankings are based not only on sports performance but also influence and endorsement deals. now bloomberg said tiger wood would have held the top spot if infidelity was public earlier in the year. has your opinion of tiger woods changed since his admission of infidelity. i would like tiger better if he would come out from hiding. to me this is a sign of being a coward. diana posted, definitely changed! these honors he is getting are a joke! he may be good at golf, but i

don't look at him with adm admiration any more. not a good role model for my children. well, a british man set a new world record by keeping a soccer ball, that very soccer ball off the ground for 36 miles. now, he kept the ball in the air by using every single body part except his hands. he trained for two months even in snowy conditions and he also has a record for juggling a soccer ball for 24 straight hours and that very soccer ball, robin, will make a 10,000 mile journey and end in south africa where they're hosting the world cup. >> as long as he doesn't have to take it that far without hitting the ground. >> take it around and show people the ball. >> pretty talented. thank you. >> you bet. oh, my goodness. >> that's exactly what i thought of. >> throw that guy a fish. that's talent right there. hey, morning, everybody. let me take you live to new york. i want to show you the tower cam

because this sets the stage why you have an hour delay currently at laguardia. columbus circle look at the snow coming on through. be like that for the morning and once the snow blows by, winds still up to 40 miles per hour. an ugly start for your day when you get towards new york and worse with the wind. right now, laguardia only has an hour delay and 61 minutes and that could climb. philadelphia watching for an hour, as well, with the wind. more wind when you get towards areas like dallas and more likely storms and boston, d.c., winter-related delays. more in just a bit. >> thinking of all the things we get away with. >> got to love the morning. >> oh, sure, you probably blowing across the top of a beer bottle and says it's a whistle. but look at this guy. that's pretty neat. one guy, six rootbeer bottles and a lot of fancy video

editing. he did it in honor of mozart's birthday earlier this week. we found it on youtube.

all right. the new york stock exchange just opened for business and analysts think stocks will do okay this morning. investors may feel good about president obama's pledge to create jobs and ford's first full-year profit in four years and the feds outlook for the economy. we shall see. okay. speaking of the press. in his first state of the union address president obama acknowledged this has been a rough year in washington, but he said there have been some important successes. >> and if we had allowed the meltdown of the financial system, unemployment might be double what it is today. more businesses would certainly have closed. more homes would have surely been lost. >> well, the gop picked virginia's governor to give a

live response. he applauded parts of the president's speech like the proposed freeze on discretionary spending, but he added, also, that he's only a small step, that's only a small step towards reducing the deficit. >> the amount of debt is on pace to double in five years and triple in ten. the federal debt is now over $100,000 per household. this is simply unsustainable. >> they also blasted democrats in congress for what he called the excessive growth of government. the space shuttle "endeavour" will blast off february 7th. the first of five launches this year before the shuttle fleet is retired. "endeavour" will deliver the last portion of the international space station. nasa is looking for places to display the shuttles once they're retired. how cool would that be. toyota is expanding its recall. putting over a million additional cars on that list. now, it's to recall similar, it's a recall similar to other ones recently. problems with the gas pedals and floor mats sticking. those are the concerns.

to find out if your car is now on the list, go to cnn.com/robin. something else that is important on that website, by the way, put you're supposed to do your car is accelerating and you don't know how to stop it, that is on our website, as well. eit is thursday, connected to friday. i'm robin meade, morning, sunshine. let's get to the state of the union. what you thought about it, more importantly. here's fellow ireports from some of oyour fellow viewers. >> you talked so much about your hope tonight and your change. the only change that most americans are seeing is their change coming out of their pockets and into your hand. >> i think overall the tone of the message tonight was a more conservative message. spoke about off-shore drilling, which surprised me and more nuclear power plants, which i would agree with. i think overall my sense of the

entire speech is that president obama is in touch with the american people and does understand. >> so, what did you like the about the speech and what points did you like to hear about and what points didn't you like in the president's speech? that will send us an e-mail or facebook us, as well. there is now a settlement in a shooting that sparked a huge protest in california. bay area officials will pay $1.5 million to a 5-year-old girl whose dad was shot in the back and killed by a transit officer. you might remember that it happened while the officer was trying to arrest oscar grant last january. grant was unaarmed and cell phone video captured the incident. the officer pleaded not guilty to murder and his attorney says he may have been trying to taser grant but grabbed his sun by mistake. a man hinted about a possible high-profile stunt days before it happened. the associated press told james

o'keefe that they would soon be hearing about a project in new orleans. o'keefe dressed up like a pimp and taped himself at a.c.o.r.n. officer offices. surprising new details this half hour about john and elizabeth edwards legal separation. her publisher says she wants to move on with her life and john edwards says it's an extraordinarily sad moment. some owners say elizabeth has been very adult about the whole thing. listen to what david chaplain told hln's joy behar. >> you know who went house hunting with john, was elizab h elizabeth. a test of the character. this was a house that cost a bit over $500,000. >> kaplan also said that elizabeth met john edwards' legitimate daughter over the holidays and even bought the little baby a christmas present.

she is being adult about it. 34 minutes past the hour. >> i'd still be removing the shoe. unbelievable. she's got some character. >> i love it, you get to say what half of us think. >> it's true. unbelievable. anybody else, let me show you what is going on. traveling right through texas and the pink is all freezing rain and that freezing rain will head down to the east. here's what it looks like temperature wise, all temperature dependent on what you're seeing right now, rain, freezing rain or snow. all the temps around oklahoma because shortly you guys will really be under the gun. as much as a half inch to an inch. southeastern sections of oklahoma, 50s and 40s. when you geet the northwest, 20s. there's your arctic air driving down to the south. oklahoma city has switched over from loilth rain to freezing

light rain with a temperature of 31 degrees and take you live to oklahoma city. this is what it looks like. we do have the temperatures falling pretty quickly right now. winds gusting to 30 miles per hour. freezing rain is being reported. so, it's already switched over. let me show you the thunderstorms right around midland texas and up the road when you get in towards amarillo, talk about heavy rain and sleet. sleet, freezing rain and snow across the panhandle as texas. maybe as much as 20 inches of snow. think a foot and a half at the most. more on that in just a bit, rob. >> thank you. >> all right. president obama's pledge to focus on jobs and an upbeat economic outlook from the federal reserve are helping to lift the investors' spirits this morning or it was. i spoke too soon, susan. >> you have to keep your eye on the screen there, that big board. he's talking about, the president is talking about jobs and we had a disappointment on

initial jobless claims. we saw a drop from the week before, but not as big as a decline as we expected and so we're seeing a little bit of a drop on wall street. some encouragement out there. you know, the federal reserve gave an outlook for the overall u.s. economy saying the economy is gaining strength. it will stay at the extended low for an extended period of time. meanwhile, chairman ben bernanke agree tootd get his second term from the senate later today. interesting to watch. a lot of oearnings out today. lots of good ones from colgate and procter and gamble. none bigger than ford. a detroit automaker is making money. a detroit automaker making money. first full-year profit in four years turned around a loss of over $14 billion. market share for the first year, for the first time since 1995.

made $3 billion, by the way. with toyota issuing a major recall, ford is in a bgz positio take advantage. general motors also stepping up. offering rebates and special financialing deals specifically for toyota owners. i know it may sound heartless, robin, you know, it is ferocious in the auto industry and toyota has been eating detroit's lunch. turn around is fair play. >> poor drivers who are like, what am i supposed to do? >> you're welcome. one girl watching the state of the union gave the president high marks about jobs and education but the speech left a lot of people with the same old, big question.

o. >> i think he really gave us a lot of hope. i'm happy with the progress so far. >> i would not want to be in his shoes for anything. >> i think a lot of pressure put on him to have a madging pill, which there is not going to be, of course. >> so you're happy with the progress one year in? >> yes, i am. >> i'm on the poverty level and i don't think he's addressed that level since from the time he was trying to get in office to today. >> would i have liked some things to move along a little bit better? absolutely. i never thought i would be in a job where i didn't have health insurance, but that's where i am right now. >> i think it's overwhelming the amount of money he wants us to spend on health care. it's going to cost jobs instead of save jobs. >> you think he's done a good job in one year? >> considering the mess he had left to him, doing all right. kind of overspending, but all we

can do is spend our way out of it. >> do you think in 365 days obama has done a good job? >> show of hands. you don't think he's done a good j job? >> no. i think everyone was expecting him to come into office and flip a switch and change everything. people who are realistic believe that can't happen overnight. >> it is what it is and you have to support the president. >> i'm joe carter and i'll see you on the street.

so, a radio station in seattle is bashing des moines, iowa. listen to the contest that the

deejays are running. >> sending you to see the coolest bands in the crappiest of towns. >> well, people in des moines, iowa, do not appreciate that. the promoters, they say, got it all wrong. >> so, we don't want people to think that when you come here you're parking your car in and amongst troughs and horse barnes. >> hopefully they'll come back and get on the radio station and say, hey, you picked the wrong, crappy town. >> they'll roll out the red carpet and give them great accommodations and show them a great time. a man on trial for killing a high-profile doctor who performed abortions is expected to take the stand and richard lui is going to be working on that for you. good morning. >> good morning, robin. scott roader will tell jurors about his personal beliefs and why his attorneys hope to get him less prison time. a mom is accused of leaving

her baby with a day care provider for one week. hear what happened when the worker finally got a hold of the mother. plus, cheese, we all like it. how about a mcdonald's restaurant that will have to fire an employee over a slice of cheese. >> okay, thank you. do you remember the guy who made a blindfolded half-court shot only to find out there was no prize for you. he is getting the last laugh.

good morning. just a few of your fellow viewers here stopping by to say hi. did you know you can do that? you can. but you have to, well, you have to check out our website to get the clearance. president obama says that americans have a "deficit in trust in their government and he was trying to win it back in his state of the union speech last night. now, he pushed for bipartisan cooperation on things like health care reform and job creation. so, we asked voters on both sides of the aisle what they thought of his promises.

>> the first thing that he said into the speech was, i want a jobs bill on the table. i want tax credits for businesses and i want things to be done immediately and the one thing i saw from him was concreteness. >> i liked his speech and i saw many good things. i would love to see him do what he said he could do. what was running back through my mind was, how is he going to do that? >> we give the news but you give us your views. what did you like about the president's speech? what points did you like and what points did you not like? >> ward writes us, way too long. only thing new was the proposals that sounded a lot like john mccain. i agree with almost everything president obama spoke about. the main focus was on jobs instead of only focused on health care. go to cnn.com/robin because i know you have an opinion about it, too. hit the contact us if you want to do the e-mail thing or facebook if you want to facebook

a comment and all your fellow viewers could see it, too. a girl's cell phone burned her. she fell asleep while texting. when she woke up the phone had melted and burned a hole through her blanket burning her stomach. for her, that's not the worst part. >> i'm like, oh, my gosh, what should i do? it's hard not being able to text people. >> i think she's more upset that she can't text people than her belly got burned. at&t is investigating. experts say meltdowns are rare but could be caused by water build up or counterfeit batteries. despite his revelations of infidelities, tiger woods has been named the most powerful athlete, still. joe carter is in for rafer. >> tiger woods was so big, so big both on and off the golf course that the guy continues to get awards despite the fact that he has a skracandal brewing in

midst of his life right now. he is still a global machine. a moneymaking machine. bloomberg business week released its power 100 list and tiger woods tops the list because of things like sport performance, influence, trustworthiness and endorsements. he earned an estimated $1.3 million on a and off the golf course in 2009. he finished way ahead of lebron james who earned $44 million last year. the tigerless tour begins today and phil mickelson who could benefit the most on the golf course from tiger not being there saying the sport of golf needs him back on the course. >> the game of golf needs him to come back. i mean, it's important for him to come back and be a part of this sport. right now he has a lot more important things going on in his life. >> so, we're asking you, has your opinion about tiger woods changed since his admission of infidelity? maggie from florida said it

wasn't his infidelity but the fact that he lied lied. there's nothing trustworthy about the man. crystal posted now a parent can point to tiger and tell a child with hard work you can achieve something great, but bad decisions can bring you down in an instant. remember, you can text us your comments at 45688. e-mail us or leave us your comments on our facebook page. south carolina's first victory over number one kentucky is going to cost the team $25,000. fabs rushed the court after that big win which is a conference violation. sec violation. this is the school's second violation. the first time it cost them 5 grand. if they do it again, it's going to cost them 50 grand. after the game, the athletic director said students came up and handed him $1 bills. the high school coach that was supposed to get tickets for the final four for making this

half-court shot blindfolded is going to get tickets after all. the school never had the tickets they promised him in the first place because they were trying to play a joke. they didn't think he would make the shot. an anonymous donor stepped in to give the teacher and his family tickets to the final four. >> i'm so glad for him. >> his whole family is going to get to go. it was his dream to go to the final four. they're going to pay for air fare and accommodations as well. >> thanks. you little kids. i'll show you. hi bob? >> good morning. a couple delays. one about an hour at laguardia. newark, your in a ground stop for the next half hour because of the snow and ice. new york city metro, hour or more delay. snow in the morning, wind in the afternoon, philadelphia, windy too, 40 miles an hour. hour are or so delay, dallas, heavy rain moving in, boston,

windy as well, light snow mounting up to an inch or so, wind behind it is going to take you down. more "morning express" coming your way after the break.