making news in america this morning. >> first day. history on capitol hill as a new congress is sworn in today. but republicans are already on the defense after a pricey fund-raiser last night. critical choice. dick cheney, now facing a major health decision, within days. and jackpot. the winning numbers are in. what would you do? $355 million. good morning, everyone. thanks for being with us today. a political sea change is coming to washington today, as hundreds of new lawmakers get sworn in. and the battle lines are being drawn. >> newly-empowered republicans are vowing to challenge the president on key issues, like government spending and health care.

emily schmidt is joining us from washington with a preview of the new congress. good morning, emily. >> vinita and rob, good morning to you. well, democrats hand over control of the house in a matter of hours. as soon as they do, republicans vow things are going to change. high noon today in washington marks a high point for republicans. they have 85 of the 94 new members of congress, who will be sworn in. it's enough to give them control of the house of representatives, led by speaker-elect, john boehner. >> a dream come true for john. you know. it's what he's worked for all his life. >> reporter: boehner's 11 siblings rode a bus from ohio to see him take the gavel today. according to speech excerpts from his office, he will say he aims to take the government back for the people. a vote set for next week, to repeal president obama's health care plan. >> if you're going to have a patients bill of rights, you have to have comprehensive health care reform. >> we are here to represent and reflect the values of the

country. and the country has said very directly, stop the spending. >> reporter: the gop has vowed $100 billion in spending cuts. soon, lawmakers must decide whether to increase the amount of money the government can borrow. without it, the government could face a shutdown. >> i could not be more serious when i say, i'm not going to vote to increase the national debt limit. >> reporter: even before some freshmen republicans took the oath of office, they hosted a private fund-raiser last night. $2,500 a ticket. the focus already on 2012. >> we're going to make sure the freshmen class are ready to hold all of our own seats. >> reporter: republicans' first spending cut vote, to trim the budget by 5%, is already scheduled tomorrow. reporters say it would save $35 million. but that's a fraction of the $100 billion in promised overall cuts. rob and vinita? >> emily schmidt. thanks for that report. the republicans' pledge to

cut spending does not include campaign spending. that private fund-raiser, emily talked about a moment ago, took place in one of the poshest hotels. it includes a group with newly-elected tea party republicans. a spokesman defended the ticket price, saying campaigns are expensive. and members intend to keep their seats. and coming up on "good morning america," diane sawyer conducts a roundtable with some of the tea party candidates that are members of the house of representatives new freshman class. a key member of the president's staff will soon be leaving the white house. press secretary robert gibbs is taking a new role, as an outside adviser. he'll likely be advising strategy for the president's re-election campaign. mr. obama is looking for a new chief of staff and a top economic adviser. navy captain owen honors has now been fired. he was stripped of his command and assigned a desk job after the videos shot aboard "the uss

enterprise." a top admiral says he has lost confidence in his ability to lead effectively. >> you bond in that environment. and no doubt, a lot of people like that sort of edgy humor. but the fact of the matter is, members have to set examples to lead with integrity and to lead the entire crew. not just those that like your particular brand of humor. >> now, the navy is trying to figure out what other top military leaders knew about the videos. overseas news now. pakistan is in crisis, in the wake of a high-profile political assassination. the governor of one of the wealthiest provinces was killed by one of his very own bodyguards who said his boss was unislamic. he was a key figure in the ruling party and a friend to the west. thousands of police are on alert today for his funeral. former vice president, dick cheney, could be facing a medical choice.

he got a mechanical heart pump. now, according to "the new york times," cheney must decide whether to have a heart transplant. and that decision must be made sooner rather than later, since cheney could soon be too old to be on the transplant list. a son of the deposed shah of iran has committed suicide. he was found dead in his boston apartment. his brother said he struggled with depression for years. the family was forced into exile back in 1979. the shah died a year later. and one of his daughters committed suicide in 2001. he was 44 years old. a federal appeals court has ruled that a giant cross in a san diego park is unconstitutional. the 29-foot cross was e reblgted a half-century ago to honor korean war veterans. because it's on public land, the court ruled it conveys a government endorsement of religion. the lawsuit began 22 years ago and is likely to continue all the way to the supreme court. wildlife experts are still

mind-boggled over the mysterious death of thousands of black birds in arkansas. but they may have solved a similar mystery in louisiana. 500 birds were found dead on a highway in louisiana. a vet says it appears those birds flew into power lines. arkansas theories range from an atmospheric disturbance, to simply fireworks. and now, for this morning's weather from around the nation. rain from seattle to portland. a half-foot of snow in the cascades and northern rockies. light snow from the northern plains to the western great lakes. and fargo and des moines, from minneapolis and green bay. cooler in the southeast, with showers in charlotte, atlanta, tallahassee and new orleans. >> a sunny 78 in miami. 72 in new orleans. and upper 30s in much of the northeast. 42 in kansas city. 30 in chicago. and 24 in the twin cities. a mild 60 in phoenix. 34 in salt lake city. and when we come back, crunching the numbers. we're just getting word of winners in the $355 million

megamillions jackpot. >> and it ain't us. on top of that, tax day delay. why you'll have extra time to file this year. and one of the biggest bowl comebacks so far. but was it enough to win? sugar bowl highlights, coming up.

welcome back. the final tally on auto sales for 2010 shows a strong rebound for the industry. overall sales rose 11% last year, rising for the first time since the recession. and this year could be even

better. gm and ford predicts sales will come in as high as 13 million vehicles. a long way off from the peak of 17 million vehicles set in 2005. overseas markets are mixed this morning. tokyo's nikkei average fell 0.2% today. hong kong's hang seng rose 0.4%. in london, the ftse opened slightly lower. on wall street, the dow rose 20 points yesterday. and the nasdaq slipped ten points. well, if you've noticed your grocery bag is getting lighter but your bills are not, there's a reason for that. "consumer reports" finds products like tropicana orange use, and ivory soap and kraft cheese are shrinking in size. but the prices are not going down. online shopping hit a record this holiday season. and macy's is betting it's only going to get better. the department store giant is expanding its e commerce network

and hiring over 700 people. macy's online sales surged 30% over the first ten months of last year. well, if you like to wait until the last minute to file your taxes, good news. you'll have a little more time this year. the deadline to file your federal tax return is april 18th, thanks to a holiday observed in washington, d.c., which falls on the 15th. but you still have to get your state return done at the usual time. a sign of the times this morning for the news business. a new study finds the majority of people under 30 now use the internet as their main source of news, not television. not good news for us, rob. overall, 41% of americans say they get their national and international news online. this could make for some pretty pricey sushi. a giant blue fin tuna fetched nearly $396,000 in tokyo overnight, setting a new world record. the 754-pound fish was caught off japan. that whopping price translates

into about 526 bucks a pound. the prized tuna will end up at restaurants in tokyo and hong kong later today. happy eating to those folks. coming up next on this wednesday, rewriting a classic. should "huckleberry finn" be changed to remove words that some find offensive? plus, there are at least two winners of the megamillions jackpot. we'll tell you where the winning tickets were sold. and some fishermen get up close and personal with jaws. man: whoa! mom just caught air. not that she'll describe it that way to her book club. she'll probably say something like, "everyone had a wonderful time. the food was great. it was good to get away." but let's be honest... mom just caught air! now, there's a first. tell us what you've always wanted to do, on facebook.

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you can do this... get the ball, girl. hmmm, you can't do that. but you can do this. bengay pain relief + massage with penetrating nubs plus the powerful pain relief of bengay. love the nubs! a big scare for three australian fishermen who came face-to-face with a 16-foot shark. they captured the great white on video, circling their boat before going on and attack -- going on the attack and sinking its teeth into the moteer. the men managed to escape unharmed. but the shark left bite marks and part of its tooth on the

boat propeller. >> lucky guys. now, for a look at the morning road conditions around the country. wet on i-10. and i-20, on shreveport to atlanta. slick on i-4, from fargo to minneapolis. and i-5, will be slick with rain from seattle to portland. snow on i-84 and 90 in the northern rockies. >> if you are flying today, you can expect some airport delays in seattle, minneapolis, atlanta and new orleans. of course, the big news in the morning for a lot of folks. it appears there are at least two winning tickets in the latest megamillions jackpot. lucky people in idaho and washington state, will now split all those winnings. >> but there may still be more. if you're one of the millions to wait in long lines yesterday, here's the winning numbers yet again. 4, 8, 15, 25, 47, and the megaball of 42. >> hello america. >> reporter: last night's drawing for the fourth-biggest jackpot in u.s. history, had dreamers in 41 states and washington, d.c. glued to tvs

and computers. >> the megaball number is, 42. >> reporter: after the drawing, the megamillions website crashed. 355 million bucks on the line. and just as many dreams. >> buy a house. help a lot of good people. >> probably go on vacation for a year. >> reporter: the 1 in 176 million odds, enough to deter some people. >> you're better off flushing the money down the toilet. it's a sucker game. that's all it is. >> reporter: but self-described lottery expert, richard lustig, has a strategy. first, you pick your numbers. second, do your research. >> going online. and making sure the set or sets of numbers you play have never come up before. that's pretty important. >> reporter: third, pick your numbers and stick with them. >> you have to learn what numbers to play. how often to play them and so forth. >> reporter: and if you one day find one of the giant checks in your hand -- >> change your phone number. and learn how to say no.

>> and again, as of this morning, there are at least two winners in idaho and washington state, of the $355 million jackpot. we'll have much more on the winning tickets later on "good morning america." >> just a little jealous. in other news this morning, a philippine politician inadvertently helped police solve his own murder. the manila councilman snapped this photo of his family just before he was gunned down outside of his home on new year's eve. it shows one of his killers in the background, with gun in hand. police arrested the gunman after the family showed them the picture. british police have released this video on last month's attack on prince charles and camilla. they hope that witnesses recognize the protesters and come forward. the royal couple were in their rolls-royce when it was caught in the middle of violent student demonstrations in london. a new version of mark twain's classic novel, "huckleberry finn" aims to keep it from banned.

the limited version replaces the "n" word and replaces it with slaves. the revision is controversial, too. on the internet, some people are saying the classic should be left historically accurate. while others welcome the change, if it means more people will get to read it. in sports news this morning, another exciting finish to a bcs bowl game. arkansas and ohio state in the sugar bowl. here's espn news with all the highlights. >> good morning. i'm steve weissman with your espn news update. we start with the sugar bowl. big ten's last chance to prove their worth. ohio state/arkansas. terrelle pryor, one of five buckeyes players that will be suspended for first five games next season. second quarter, up 14-7. pryor, finds dane sanzenbacher. great grab for a touchdown. sanzenbacher, 12 letters in his name. he scored a touchdown on the ground. 12 touchdowns this year. pryor, tressle, a little chest-pump. 27-7. third quarter, arkansas on the

comeback. ryan mallett, to jarious wright. before the fourth quarter, mallet gathers the troops. he transferred from michigan. you know he wants to beat the buckeyes. the hogs tie him up in the end zone. that's a safety. great defense by arkansas. dan herron just got smacked. first safety in a sugar bowl since 1998. after the safety, here come the hogs. ryan mallett, to jarious wright. breaks it off for a gain of 24. that would lead to a field goal. ar oor on the comeback. now, pumpbting. colden miles nash. they have it in the ohio state 18. second and ten, the ball in the hands of ryan mallett. now, it's in the sands of salmon thomas. another one of the guys getting

suspended. that's your ball game. ohio state wins. their first bowl win over an s.e.c. team. for all the highlights, check out "the highlight express," until 3:00 p.m. today. now, back to you in new york. there's still five more bowl games, including next monday night's national championship game. for a marathon runner in japan, one wrong turned out to be costly. seconds to the finish line, the long-time front-runner turned down the wrong street. he followed that van. and this is a race which had been going on for two, full days. you can see there, he tried to turn around and run back. but by that point, he was already beaten out by the other runners. >> sad. sad and funny at the same time. poor guy. up next, the stories we'll be following today, including the latest and greatest gadgets going on display out in vegas. winter can be beautiful.

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peak today in northeast australia. but the water is inundating the city of rockhampton. and is expected to remain above flood levels for up to ten days. major league baseball's new hall of fame class will be announced this afternoon. pitcher burkes, and ail moore, are expected to make the cut. thousands of techies arrive in las vegas, for the big, annual, consumer electronics show. microsoft's ceo takes the stage tonight to deliver a keynote address to kick things off. lots of cool gadgets to be shown off there. >> oh, yeah. coming up later on "good morning america" today, diane sawyer sits down with top tea party lawmakers, as they, of course, prepare to become members of congress. can they actually make good on their big promises of bringing change to the nation's government? now, for some of you, your local news is next. >> for everyone else, does a woman in labor deserve the speeding ticket she got? we'll be right back with more. stay tuned.

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and finally from us this morning, zero tolerance for a special and speedy delivery. >> a new hampshire man managed to get his pregnant wife to the hospital just in the nick of

time. but after welcoming his new baby, he was slapped with a speeding ticket. more now from wmur's jean macket. >> reporter: baby kyle will have a tale to tell. his mom went labor. dad was driving to catholic medical center in manchester, when suddenly, kyle wanted to come into the world right away. >> we hit the 293 split. and my water broke. >> john coughlin says he didn't realize how fast he was going, when a trooper tried to pull him over. john called 911. >> i'm being pulled over by a cop. but my wife's in labor. her water just broke. i'm just on my way to the hospital. >> reporter: you can hear angela screaming in the background. [ screams ] >> you can hear her screaming. i've got to get there. >> reporter: the dispatcher told the trooper angela was in labor. the trooper turned the pursuit

into an escort to the hospital. >> sir, the baby has not been born at all yet, correct? >> no. almost. i think the officer's helping me. he's in front of me now. >> okay. >> i'm at the hospital now. >> reporter: angela delivered kyle six minutes after reaching the hospital. and then, another shocker. the trooper was waiting with a speeding ticket. john was clocked going 102 in a 55. >> he said, two things. good news/bad news. congratulations on the son. bad news is, i'll see you in court. i'm going to give you a citation. >> i think you need to make a moral judgment. we weren't speeding to speed. we were speeding because it was an emergency situation. i didn't want to have the baby on the side of the road. >> and that was wnur's jean maccen reporting. the coughlin family heads to court on monday to fight the ticket. >> this morning, mom, dad and cute baby kyle will join us on "good morning america." that's what's making news in america this morning. >> have a great wednesday.