i'm john berman. tonight on "world news," showdown. president obama and a lame duck congress return to congress and a showdown over extending hundreds of billions of dollars in tax cuts. fire fight. u.s. troops pinned down by snipers high in the afghan mountains. our correspondent is there. and a general's poignant tribute to his son, a marine on the front lines. mystery. a 13-year-old is found bound and gagged near her ohio home, as the search continues for her mother, brother and a family friend. rescue. two dramatic stories of survival. the gulf fishermen who clung to their overturned boat for 18 ho hours. and the couple head by pirates for more than a year. and, revival. the centuries old general store that burned down twice, facing a bright future, thanks to the american heart.

good evening. president obama is back at the white house tonight, after his long trip to asia and facing a bracing new political reality. congress returns tomorrow for a lame duck session that will mark the last time democrats will be in control of the house for awhile. topping the agenda, what to do about the huge tax cuts that are about to expire. today, the president was introspective, even contrite. we begin with david kerley in washington. >> reporter: a more reflective president returned to washington, admitting on air force one that his concentration on policy issues led to his shellacking in the midterms. >> in that obsessive focus on policy, i neglected some things that matter a lot to people and rightfully so. >> reporter: returning with disappointing results negotiating with asian allies, the president must now negotiate

with a lame duck congress on the expiring tax cuts. >> i don't think there's any room to negotiate on raising taxes, especially on smaller businesses. i hope we can get a permanent extension. >> reporter: even though the president has long called for letting the tax cuts for the rich expire -- >> we can't afford to borrow another $700 billion to pay for tax cuts for millionaires. >> reporter: there are signs tonight that the white house may give into republican demands and agree to at least a temporary extension for the rich, or -- >> what if we moved it up $1 million. everyone below $1 million will get a tax cut. but the millionaires and billionaires won't. >> reporter: it's not just tax cuts. there are calls to ban earmarks, budget items directed to members' districts, lifting the military's don't ask, don't tell, policy, and a vote on a strategic missile deal with russia. that was the subject of mr. obama's last meeting in asia with his russian counterpart. the last four days have been packed with meetings, little time for sightseeing. until today.

traveling with the president, abc's karen travers. >> so before he fired up the engines of air force one to head back home, he took a little bit of time to play tourist. the president visited the iconic great buddah, a 44-foot tall bronze statue which he first toured as a young boy with his late mother. >> this is my second time. first time i was this big. >> reporter: he did remember to pick up some souvenirs. he dropped by the gift shop on his way out to buy two bracelets for his daughters back home. >> reporter: the president was asked on air force one, what he will tell republican leaders when they meet this week. he says he'll remind him that campaigning is different than governing and he doesn't believe the american people gave a mandate to the republicans for grid lock. john? >> thanks, david. david kerley at the white house. president obama said he went to asia to expand the market for american products and create american jobs. the biggest potential market, of course, is china. and beginning tomorrow, "world news" will be broadcasting from china. diane sawyer is already on the ground there. diane?

>> reporter: good evening to you, john. it is great to be reporting tonight from a windy skyline of shanghai, china. we have come here because of the challenge china has issued to the rest of the world, america in particular. about economic growth, educational perfection and about modern energy for a modern time. we spent the day out in the streets of shanghai today. this beautiful old city now a rocketship of economic growth. to talk to people about what they're doing and we heard from workers, how they are working seven days a week, all because they believe this is their moment, this is a chance to do it. we heard about education here. >> piano. >> piano. >> reporter: and the english that is being spoken at very young ages and it is still a staggering statistic, that more people are learning english in china than there are people in the united states. and we're asking a lot of questions about what is truly possible. you grow enough food to live?

and, what are the problems in this enormous country? with its enormous drive. so, john, a lot to tell everyone about tomorrow night when we begin our special reporting, "world news" from china. that's starting tomorrow. see you then. >> all right, diane sawyer in china. back in washington, now, more than 90 newly elected members of congress, one of the biggest freshman classes in years, gathered today for six days of orientation. sarah palin wrote a letter to the freshman republicans, urging them to, quote, stick to the principles that propelled your campaigns. clearly a time of transition and change in washington. so, let's go to our senior washington editor rick klein. rick, we've never really seen a freshman class like this one. >> reporter: that's right. not only is this the largest, it is also the least predictable class of new house members in generations. yes, they delivered republicans the majority in the house, but they barely touched ground in washington today before making clear that their loyalties also

reside with another party. >> i had a lot of tea party support in my district. >> our friends in the tea party are patriots. >> a lot of support from tea party members. because a lot of the things i was saying they agreed with. >> so, a lot of tea party references there, not a lot of references to the republican party. are we seeing signs of tension between the new freshmen and the republican leadership? >> reporter: it won't take long to play out. in fact, the first front in the tea partiers battles with the establishment will come just this week in a vote on earmarks and whether to ban those special projects that lawmakers so often insert in spending bills. members of both parties use them and some members of republican leadership, most notably, the senate maynorty leader, mitch mcconnell, want to keep them in place. but that is a nonnegotiable proposition for virtually all tea partiers. they have an unlikely ally in president obama, of all people, who have endorsing the ban. so, it's going to be quite the fight to see play out in both the house and the senate of republican conferences. >> all right, rick. rick klein in washington, thanks so much. we turn next to a developing story in ohio tonight, where one member of an ohio family that mysteriously vanished last week,

a 13-year-old girl, has been found, bound and gagged, but alive, about ten miles from her home. here's linsey davis. >> reporter: 13-year-old sara maynard is alive. a s.w.a.t. team found her bound and gagged inside the basement of this home near columbus, ohio. >> that is good news. and it scary because i live right there. >> reporter: police say this man, 30-year-old matthew hoffman, was taken into custody and charged with kidnapping. >> my friend dated him and she just broke up with him. like, two weeks ago. and he had choked her and she had marks on her from where he had choked her. >> reporter: police say they don't know how hoffman is connected to the family, but his mother lives within walking distance of their house. sara was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. the rest of her family is still missing. >> we were hopeful we would find more than one but our information was definitely that -- was most likely that sara was going to be in that house. >> reporter: no one has heard from her 11-year-old brother,

her mother tina or their family friend for several days. on wednesday afternoon, tina didn't show up for work an dairy queen. then, on thursday, both of her children were absent from school and tina didn't show up for work again. her manager went to tina's house. inside, he found beer cans and blood. then called police. investigators believe hoffman is the key to finding the others. linsey davis, abc news, new york. that fierce snowstorm that struck the upper midwest this weekend is moving on tonight, but it has left a mess behind. up to a foot of snow brought travel to a standstill. police in minnesota reported more than 400 accidents, and two people died in a collision on an icy road in wisconsin. one of the world's best known political prisoners addressed 5,000 supporters a day after being freed from seven years of house arrest.

au aung san suu kyi vowed to continue fighting for democracy and human rights in myanmar. >> if my people are not free, how can they say i'm free. we are none of us free. we are all not free together. >> she said she was open to talks with the military rulers who imprisoned her to achieve, quote, national reconciliation. it has been an especially violent week in afghanistan. armed insurgents rushed a nato convoy, chasing away the drivers and setting 12 fuel tankers ablaze. no one was killed, but nine coalition troops have been killed since friday, in a series of attacks across eastern and southern afghanistan. tens of thousands of additional u.s. troops are pursuing the taliban under the surge ordered by president obama. tonight, a rare look at an army unit fighting in one of afghanistan's most forbidding battle zones. here's mike boettcher. >> reporter: at 8,000 feet in afghanistan's eastern mountains, the air is thin, and so is cover from an enemy ambush. a small team of soldiers from the 101st famed brigade is hunting for taliban that attacked a u.s. convoy.

led by their commander, the hunters become the hunted. the initial insurgent barrage pins down the unit on a barren mountainside. it pins us down, too. the snipers are firing on us from a tree line just over there. we're behind some cover, but not much. a sergeant radios in the unit's position. one second later, a bullet misses his head but shreds his antenna. they fire into a grove of small trees where the taliban is concealed. that ends it. the soldiers return without a casualty, to combat outpost wilderness. a base that's seen more than its share of the tough end of this war. in late august, two soldiers were killed by an ied. 27 of their number have been wounded in action, most since mid-august.

bravo troop's casualty rate approaches 50%, an extraordinary number. what keeps you going through that? >> our guys. >> our family here. >> reporter: young soldiers turn to the elders of this wartime family, their sergeants. >> kind of like being a parent all over again. they look at you, they look to you for everything you do. >> reporter: so, inspite of their loss, or maybe because of it, they continue the hunt for the insurgents who hurt so many of their buddies. they do it for the family. a promise from the men still standing to those who have fallen. mike boettcher, abc news, combat outpost wilderness, afghanistan. a great many senior officers have children fighting for this country overseas. they are parents and they are commanders. and as both, they grieve. as we saw this weekend. lieutenant general john kelly, who served as the top marine commander in iraq, penned a letter to friends and family. "our robert was killed in action

protecting our country, its people and its values from a terrible and relentless enemy." robert, seen in these facebook photos, was a 29-year-old marine lieutenant killed on patrol in afghanistan. "he went quickly," his father wrote. "thank god he did not suffer. in combat, that is as good as it gets, and we are thankful. we are a broken hearted but proud family. he was a wonderful and precious boy, living a meaningful life. he was in exactly the place he wanted to be, doing exactly what he wanted to do, surrounded by the best men on this earth." the body will be met at dover air force base by his other son, a marine captain, and brought to arlington national cemetery. lieutenant general john kelly is the highest ranking officer to lose a child in the wars in iraq and afghanistan. prince william was in afghanistan today meeting troops and laid a wreath honoring british soldiered killed inkill

ed in afghanistan and other wars. this was remembrance sunday in britain, their version of memorial day. and still ahead on "world news" this sunday, tales of survival. the capsized fishermen who braved enormous waves and jelly fish attacks. and the retired couple held for more than a year by pirates. the very special country store destroyed not once, but twice, now on its way back, thanks to the american heart. and secrets of a fearless photographer who goes swimming with the sharks -- without a cage. pickles. one policy, please. our service is top-notch. we'll take care of you, your family, even this little guy. great. ta-da! thank you. what else can he do? ring him up, boy! he's on break. [ chuckles ] caring for you and your loved ones.

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priority mail flat rate shipping starts at just $4.90 only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. three fishermen are back on dry land after spending a long night clinging to their capsized boat. the coast guard rescued them from the gulf of mexico where they survived four-foot waves, calling to each other in the dark. >> for 18 hours, i held onto a rope and used my legs for support. >> reporter: jelly fish stung them so often throughout the night they say they could no longer feel the stings. but the three men, who have been fishing together for ten years, vow they'll do it again. and, in west africa, a retired british couple is free tonight for the first time since somali pirates abducted them more than a year ago. they were released before dawn after 288 days in captivity. and tonight, they have begun their journey home. lama hasan has the story from london.

>> reporter: looking thinner and frailer, paul and rachel chandler are finally safe in the hands of british officials. their first meal in freedom, a breakfast of fried eggs. >> so happy to see and to be amongst decent, everyday people. or indeed with somali people, with people from everywhere in the world who are not criminals because we've lived for a year with criminals. >> reporter: retiring early, they had planned a vacation of a lifetime. six months at sea. instead, they were captured by armed pirates in the indian ocean and brought to somalia, where they were held, often at gun point. >> please, please help us. >> reporter: the waters near somalia are infested with pirates. there are reports they've captured more than 20 ships and are currently holding more than 500 hostages. ransoms are often in the millions of dollars for large ships. friends and relatives of the chandlers reportedly raised $430,000 for their release.

>> i don't have any feelings, really. almost disbelief. it was too good to be true. >> happy to be alive. happy to be free. happy to be here and desperate to see our family and friends. >> reporter: lama hasan, abc news, london. and when we come back, the centuries old country store devastated twice, but rising again because of the american heart. i couldn't sleep right. next day it took forever to get going. night after night, i sat up. sprayed up. took a shower... or took a pill. then i tried drug-free breathe right advanced. and instantly, i breathed better! i slept better. it felt...better. thank you, breathe right! [ male announcer ] breathe better, sleep better, feel better. now try new breathe right advanced for free... at breatheright.com. [ woman ] it's my right to breathe right. isn't it your right, too? boss: and now i'll turn it over igecko: ah, thank you, sir. ht. as we all know, geico has been saving people money on rv, camper and "trailer insurance...

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the only thing to do is get up." well, there's one town in vermont that can show us all how that is done. putney, vermont, is a town with unbelievable perseverance. a town with an american heart. if these burnt-out walls could talk. 200 years of memories. >> people would just come to meet each other. >> say hello and complain about local government. >> be some guys hanging around, telling lies and telling stories. >> reporter: in this world of walmarts, for more than 200 years, this general store has always been more than just a store. it was literally, figuratively, spiritually, the center of putney, vermont. the kind of place that could host a weekly meeting of john caldwell and his band of seasoned troublemakers, called the viagra club. >> we'd be yelling back and forth from table to table. >> reporter: then, in may 2008, a bad break. an electrical fire in the attic.

but the town banded together, taking ownership and raising $100,000 in donations for repairs. but just when they were this close, the unthinkable. a second fire, bigger than the first. and this time, it was arson. >> i felt kicked. it was such a slap in the face. >> reporter: there was a moment to grieve, but not a moment of doubt. so, how did you get the energy to do it all again? >> it was the community, really. >> reporter: for the second time in less than a year, the town started looking for grants and raising money. >> it's a very cool organization. >> reporter: they all chipped in. the town lumberyard donating wood. and when they do rebuild it, are there going to be special considerations for the viagra club? >> we hope so. special lounge. viagra loupg. >> reporter: they raised more than $1 million in donations, and just broke ground a few weeks ago. is there an element, do you feel unlucky? do you feel cursed?

>> no, i feel really lucky, actually, about all that's happened here. the depth of capacity for caring, for helping, in this town, is even greater than i thought. >> reporter: you can take away a town's center, but not its heart. and they hope to open by next summer. and, next, animal instinct. why does this man risk his own life to get pictures of the sea's fiercest creatures? sea's fiercest creatures? ♪ [ upbeat instrumental ]

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and finally, national geographic spent years capturing images rarely seen, animals on the move to survive. the series "great migrations" helps explains what drives these animals. but what drives those who pursue them, cameras in hand. andy casagrande risks his life -- for sharks. >> first time i saw a great white was on television.

i was 7. i always thought, is that thing read? and when i found out it was, i said, how could they film that thing without getting eaten? then, i grew up and realized, wow, they actually use cages for that thing. and after filming sharks for many years, i realized, cages don't give you the best shots and don't help you that much. the only way to really get the stuff you want is outside of the cage. if they look mean, they generally are mean. if the shark is really scarred up and scratched and missing teeth and half of its tail is bitten off, that's like a brawler. it's just like, you go to the pub, you see a guy with bloody knuckles and a black eye, you don't run up and put your camera right in his face and take his picture. the biggest, sort of, danger, is not the shark that you can see, it's the shark you don't see. they like to be below you. and you're vulnerable when you're above them. you're able to get out of the cage, you can do all kinds of

things. you can get silhouette shots. you can swim along with the animal. you can zoom in on the teeth and you can -- it just opens up a whole new world. >> "great migrations" continues tonight on the national geographic channel. that is "world news" for this sunday. a reminder, diane sawyer anchors "world news" from china beginning tomorrow night. i'm john berman. thanks for watching. have a good night.

>> alan: less than 90 minutes ago a map stabbed a cable car operator in chinatown. we're near the scene with the latest. >> reporter: we're here on pacific and mason, and this bus is blocking our view, but if you can take a look up the street, the cable car is stopped between pacific and jackson. it will be closed for some time. this is earlier. police tell us that 4:20 this afternoon, a cable car conductor on the mason street line was stabbed. now, the incident occurred in the car while it wag traveling between pacific and jackson here in chinatown. let's go to when police actually