making news on this monday, december 6th. from chicago to miami. the big chill is on. freezing in florida. below zero in the midwest. and today won't even be the worst of it. after a weekend of wheeling and dealing, now a deal on the bush-era tax cuts. extending them for everyone. and your profile page is getting a makeover. facebook reveals a redesign for its 500 million users. and good morning, thanks for being with us on this monday. the calendar still says fall but a wintry blast of frigid air is menacing two-thirds of the nation this morning. >> 16 states from the dakotas to

florida are in a cold snap but by tonight it will feel like the 20s down in miami. atop of the cold weather, they're bracing for even more snow from michigan to western new york. >> reporter: canada's cold air has dipped so far south, they're feeling it in florida. >> it's going to get colder and colder here. >> i have on a sweatshirt, a turtleneck, two shirts underneath that. >> reporter: get ready for lows for the week. >> part of the overall pattern will be very cold for not only the next several days but perhaps a fewweek weeks. >> reporter: the churning wind will churn up 2 feet of lake-effect snow in parts of the east and midwest. over 15 inches of snow smother are the city and trapped hundreds of desperate drivers in snowdrifts. this morning, the city is still digging out and there's snow in the forecast all weekended long.

across the country will is plenty of cold and plenty of si. since friday, lexington, kentucky, has seen 2 inches. in minneapolis, 6 inches. more than 4 inches in madison, wisconsin. and frightened residents in raleigh. >> we're from the northeast. it kind of reminds of us of home. >> reporter: wintry scenes are repeated this week and kirnt hasn't officially started. >> as temperatures plunge and more snowfall, accuweather's jeannette calle is here to tell us what we can expect today. good morning rob and vinita. here in the northeast, we will see lake-effect snow showers where the snowbelts will get dumped on through the middle of the week. those areas can pick up anywhere from 1 to 3 feet of total snowfall through wednesday evening. aside from the snow showers, look how colis, high temperatures only in the 30s in new york city. upper 20s in syracuse, and 27 in

buffalo. it will be another windy day so when you factor in the winds it's going to feel colder out there. this harsh chill is reaching florida and texas. >> thanks a lot. again, for many areas, tomorrow will be even colder. sam champion is tracking this weather and the big chill we'll have an updaylight on "good morning america" later today. a deal is in the works on capitol hill to extend bush-era tax cuts and restore benefits. the compromise co-end up costing americans big time. good morning, emily. >> reporter: vin neat tax good morning to you. there are trillions of dollars on the line with the tax debate that's happening right now in washington. when all is said and done, it may take the richest merges getting a tax break for some of the most struggles americans to continue to get help from the government. with the clock ticking until every american's tax bill is set to go up in 25 days the compromise push is sounding more like a promise. >> i think it's pretty clear now

taxes are not going up on anybody in the middle of this recession. >> reporter: republican leaders say it's not a matter if the bush-era tax cuts are extended to cover again but how long they'll number blase. democrats don't like it. they failed to exempt high-earners from 9 tax cuts. >> they're demanding that the wealthiest americans get a tax cut that is 1,000 times the sides of the average american. >> reporter: if the cuts expire, someone making $62,000 would see taxes go up $2,200 next month. $10 million earners would pay an additional $450,000. republicans argue in this economy, no one should pay more. >> we don't want no tax increases on nobody. now that may be poor grammar, but great economics. >> we reto double our efforts to resolve the impasse in the next few day. >> reporter: something has to give, so in return for extending

tax cut for the richest americans, democrats wand extended benefits for millions of people. >> withoutefits being expanded personally this is a nonstarter. >> here is the importance of these talks. republican leader mitch mcconnell said he has had more conversations with president obama over the past two weeks an over the past two years. a deal likely could be worked out by the end of the week. turning now to the controversy overseas. what are the goals of the nato military campaign in afghanistan, of course, is to help build a civilian government there. but it does not help when afghanistan's president criticizes the top u.s. commander general david petraeus in "the washington post" leaving reports to say that petraeus threatened to step down. "gma's" george stephanopoulos asked him about it. >> is that true? >> no, it's not. in fact, what took place, we read the interview contacting his closest advisers.

>> you were surprised by it? >> it was a surprise. actually, when i sat down a couple days later. he said, hey, look, what's the big deal. i've raised these issues repeatedly. but you needed to be reassured? >> i did. and i was. >> george will have more on the interview and the comments on the wikileaks documents with the starting reveal of corruption within the afghan government. it's on "afghanistan can we win?" aired on all the myskina abc programs. two homes were set on fire in a resulting explosion. the cessna was trying to land at the airport when it flew into utility poles and trees before crashing. hundreds gathered in wisconsin to remember the teenager killed. seth henkel was said as a well

loving brother liked by many friends. well, it was a glittering night of stars at the kennedy center, oprah win dri, paul mccartney, meryl haggert were all honored. president and mrs. obama sat among the honorees and our own barbara walters was there. that frigid grip on the nation brings freeze warnings all the way from north florida with upper 20s in tallahassee and gainesville. mountain snow from colorado to idaho. >> 42 in boise, 63 in sacramento. 77 in phoenix. only in the teens from fargo to the twin cities and 20 in chicago. mostly 30s from boston to atlanta. just 50 in new orleans. new developments this morning in the mystery surrounding two american balloonists who have been missing for months. plus, changes coming to 5 million facebook pages. see what you think of the new

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fed chairman ben bernanke says unemployment looks like it's going to be a persistent problem. he told "60 minutes" it could take four or five years for the unemployment rate to drop to previous levels of around 5%. there is more negative news

for the jobs market the unemployment rate with people with a bachelors degree or higher topped the highest point in 30 years. time for market activity overseas. tokyo's nikkei average was down slightly lower. hong kong's hang seng is down in late trading. in london, the ftse opened higher. meanwhile, the nasdaq index picked up 56 points to c at 2591. facebook has a new look. the late receipt design has latest reader profiles feature friends and zwied into groups. it will give users the opportunity to share opportunities and activities. it hopes it will be available to all users by early next year. and there are new reports that aol and yahoo! are beginning to merge. they will have to sell off parts of the company before that merger will happen. disney's account tangled"

claim climbed to the number one slot with 21.-the-.5 million. "harry potter and the death eye hallows" slipped to second place. "burlesque" third. new findings out from wikileaks. plus, a close call, as a subway train comes barreling into the station. and which school's mischievous mascot winds up in handcuffs? ♪ a blender for aunt sue ♪ head phones for uncle wayne ♪ pillow pets and hot wheels for my sister's kids in maine ♪ ♪ oh, walgreens has perfect gifts ♪ ♪ for all those on your list ♪ like a walgreens gift card ♪ for your daughter's teacher miss gilchrest ♪ [ female announcer ] finish up your list at walgreens and get $5 in walgreens super jingle cash with every $25 you spend. good for anything in the store. [ female announcer ] stay jolly with walgreens.

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midwest. icy from grand rapids from cleveland to buffalo. slippery from high-70 to pennsylvan pennsylvania. snow cover on i-15 from salt lake city to montana. if you're flying today expect airport delays in seattle, salt lake city, boston, new york, philadelphia and washington. there is a developing story from europe this morning. we have learned overnight that the remains of two american balloonists missing from september have been found. >> richard abruzzo and carolyn weimer were last seen over the asian sea. nine years after 9/11, terrorists are awash in money and they are getting it from countries that are supposed to be key american allies. >> details come from the latest batch of government documents released on wick lease. jim sciutto has more.

>> reporter: nine years after 9/11, these secret documents reveal some of the u.s. closest allies are still letting money flow from taliban to al qaeda. one calls donors of saudi arabia the most significant funding to seungny terrorist groups worldwide. other nations are portrayed more harshly, kuwait, a key point. even as it continues to flood it with key documents, wikileaks is battling for its own service. paypal cut it off encouraging, quote, illegal activity. and amazon using its servers. wikileaks considers as part of a coordinatedest by the government to shut it down. it's advertising a doomsday of sorts, advertising a giant cache of documents from everything from bp to the bank of america to the guantanamo bay detention center.pile files are equipped

with a virtually 256 password. wikileaks said after julian assange is not detained, they'll release that to the world. investigators say there were massive failures on board a plane that crashed in moscow over the weekend. all of its engines shut down, as well as its generators and navigation systems before it broke apart during an emergency landing. two people died and more than 80 were injured. take a look at this unbelievable video, a passenger falls off the platform on the tracks in madrid spain. people gesturing wildly trying to get the train to stop. that's when an offduty police officer jumped down and pulled the man to safety with only seconds to spare.good news here okay. a german tourist was killed when a shark ripped her arm off in egypt just days after four

other foreign tourists were attacked by sharks as well. officials say they have captured two white-tipped sharks. beaches at the red sea resort were shut down saturday. they were reopened after being closed down indefinitely after yesterday's fatal attack. a new study suggests mice more than in winter months may be more prone to mental disorders. th the result, how much light babies get. those born in winter had a harder time adjusting to the seasons. they were more likely to suffer from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. get ready. the bowl matchups are set. the fiesta bowl will see connecticut face oklahoma. also at stanford and virginia tech in the orange bowl. ohio state and arkansas in the sugar bowl. and the nation's two undefeated team, oregon and auburn will play in the championship team.

two pro teaming meet on "monday night football." the jets versus the pats. good morning, i'm steve weissman with your espn news update. we start with one of the nfl's fiercest rivalries. ravens taking on the steelers. ben roethlisberger with the boot. polamalu sacking joe flacco. ball loose. that's lamarr woodley. big turnover, steelers take over at the ravens' 10. ensuing drive. roethlisberger hits isaac redman. former boise state star. one more chance for baltimore, fourth and two, flacco, no-go. steelers hold on to win, they take a one-game lead in the afc north. meanwhile, colts at home. taking on the cowboys. dallas up 17-0 at one point. now a six-point game in the

third. peyton manning, pass tipped and picked off by sean lee. the rookie from penn state, two interceptions. this one, a pick six. manning threw four interceptions. late fourth, colts down 7. gentleman jarvis james punches it in just like that. we're tied at 35-35. going into overtime. in o.t., david bealer. be true. cowboys hold on the first game losing streak in 2002. how about the nfc south matchup. michael jake and the falcons win their sixth straight. longest streak since 1998. that's 84 espn news update. for everything else, check out the highlight express until 3:00 p.m. even on espn news. back to you in new york. well, now, to a college mascot behaving badly. >> university of cincinnati's bearcat mascot was arrested for

disorderly 60 when he urged students to throw snowballs during a game against pittsburgh on saturday. >> after pushing a security guard to the ground, the heads bearcat was led away in handcuffs and a backup mascot was called in at halftime. coming up next, the stories we'll be following today, including oprah's latest book club pick. a best-seller for more than a century. went to summer camp with my uncle's friend's accountant. we're practically family. jason? who? my mom's brother's accountant. yeah. that guy is a maniac. okay. i love jason. isn't he a riot? chili's $20 dinner for two. all you need is somebody to go with. share one appetizer, choose two entrees. now with crispy fried shrimp. just $20 for two at chili's.

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now, a look ahead to the stories we'll be watching on this monday. the cost is locked in a deep freeze, plummeting temperatures from the dakotas to the northeast and down to florida. western new york is bracing for another 2 feet of snow today. that is on top of 4 feet already on the ground. congressional lawmakers work out the final details of a compromise that will extend tax cuts reend store benefits to the long-term unemployed. expectations are low as the u.s. and five other world powers meet with iran over its nuclear program. the first such meeting in more than a year. and a three-judge federal appeals court hears arguments today about california's ban on gay marriage. the lower court, of course, overturned the ban, but same-sex marriages are still on hold pending the appeal. oprah winfrey will release two classics in the book club, charles dicken's "a tale of two

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well, whether naughty or nice, millions of people are putting an ipad at the top of their holiday wish list. >> the ipad of the one of the

best-selling and high-priced item of all time. if you don't have one yet, they say you may want to wait. >> reporter: they say it's magical, it's revolutionary and over 7.5 million ipad have already been sold. so why wouldn't you buy one? well, there are some good residence to hold off. the first of which this has been out for a while now. the ipad was released in april, and it's ripe for an update from apple. the two most requested changes. a price drop and a built-in camera for video check like the ipad 4 already has. it's hard to know if and when apple will comply with these requests. but the best guess, early next year. another reason to hold off? 2011 will be the year we see ipad-like tablets running google and camera-operated equipment. expect them 0 come with the camera. and flash video like skype.

there are lots of programs you can't run on an ipad. it tends to flow to switch between programs as you switch between programs to cut and paste and multitank. and if you want to write, you'll need a keyboard dock like this. and you can't really use it on your lap. if you're mostly interested in the ipad as an e-reader you can save a lot of money by getting the kindle. while they don't have color screens they do give you a better outdoor reading experience. longer battery life and they start at a much lower price of $139. for abc news, becky worley in san francisco. >> everyone wants the high-tech gadgets for this christmas. >> now, the beauty is, everything can be clicked on for free. >> you got to love it. >> that's what's making news in america this morning. >> you can get more on "good morning america" or of course,