making news in america this morning. >> new details from tucson. a city in shock. the president plans to visit. and looking for clues from the suspect's past. southern discomfort. hundreds of wrecks. hundreds of flights canceled today. an icy mess that will not disappear for days. and a dramatic finish, as college football crowns its national champ good morning, everyone. thanks for being with us today. three days since the assassination attempt on a congresswoman. and many are still trying to make sense of the tragedy. morning's news morning's new developments. president obama will travel to tucson tomorrow for an evening

memorial at the university of arizona's basketball arena. >> congresswoman giffords has not shown signs of swelling. eight others are still hospitalized. >> and suspect jared loughner's parents are expected to release a statement. a neighbor tells "the wall street journal" they are, quote, hurting real bad. they say they didn't know the severity of their son's problem. in tucson, the collection of candles and flowers are growing outside of the hospital where the wounded are being treated. >> that's where we find diana alvear this morning. good morning, diana. >> reporter: vinita and rob, good morning. hospital staff here tell us the congresswoman's condition essentially remains the same. the good thing, she doesn't have much swelling. the bad news is, she's not out of the woods just yet. and she faces a tough, long recovery. as for the suspected shooter, we got our first look at jared loughner yesterday, when he

appeared in court. when jared loughner appeared in federal court, she showed no emotion. and even appeared to smirk when the judge spoke to him. he is charged with seven counts of murder and attempted murder, along with one charge of attempting to assassinate congresswoman gabrielle giffords. >> this is a somewhat dysfunctional family. and this individual has probably been troubled for some time. >> reporter: monday morning, the nation paused for a moment of silence, led by president obama. tomorrow, the president will attend a memorial service in tucson. >> i'm spending a lot of time, thinking about the families and reaching out to them. >> reporter: several of the injured continue to receive medical treatment, including the congresswoman. the swelling in giffords' brain remains under control. >> every day that goes by and we don't see an increase, we're slightly more optimistic. >> reporter: on the first day of glass, christina-taylor green was killed.

and the fence at school was covered with notes from classmates. >> i saw it on the news. and i started crying my eyes out. >> reporter: his parents were stunned to hear what their son was accused of perpetrating. >> she's in bed. she just broke down. just a nervous wreck. and he's in there crying, just walking around. >> reporter: and we're hoping to hear from loughner's family later today. they're reportedly going to make a statement. they were not present at loughner's court appearance. vinita? rob? >> diana, there's been a lot of talk about the shooting being politically motivated. what can you tell us about that? >> you know, we heard from both sides immediately following the shooting. but the truth was, he was a registered independent as of 2006. and he doesn't seem to be linked to any particular stance. at this point, authorities are sticking with a lone wolf, domestic terror explanation for the massacre. >> diana alvear, in tucson. thanks for that report. about 100 miles north of tucson, there was a moment of

silence before the victims, before college football's national game last night. highlights from the game coming up in a few minutes. and during the governor's state of the state address, jan brewer praised daniel hernandez, giffords' intern, saying his quick action saved her life. and the tucson tragedy has touched the lives of hundreds of families and friends. >> tearful classmates remembered 9-year-old christina-taylor green, since they returned to school for the first time since the shooting. she sh had just been elected president of her student council. her funeral is set for tuesday. this could have a major impact on nasa's launch plans. her husband is expected to command the "endeavour" on its final flight this spring. training is on hold, as he waits at his wife's bedside, in arizona. one psychologist says political rhetoric cannot be blamed for the tragedy. now, to our other major

story this morning, the weather. huge stretches of the country are battling winter this morning. the usual sunny south is reeling from rec >>ice. >> that storm is on the move. it will make the morning commute a mess in north carolina and virginia before blowing north. emily schmidt has the details. >> reporter: across much of the country, winter is making for slow-going. >> it's slick. it's real bad. we shouldn't even be out here. >> reporter: or no-going. a combination of ice and snow hit the roads and the runways. just 40 flights left atlanta's heart field airport, with a triple effect felt nationwide. >> looks like the pipeline from here to atlanta, everything is shut down. so, we'll be here for a couple days. >> reporter: as of this morning, 43 of the lower 48 states had some sort of winter watch, warning or advisory. >> i walked out here a minute ago. and it came up to about right here on me. so, that's more than i've seen

last year. >> reporter: the storm has broken more than half a dozen snow records in the deep south. and left its mark in countless other countries. >> 75 is real bad. trucks turned over. everything. >> reporter: now, the storm moves up the east coast, where it merges with a midwest snowmaker. that puts washington, new york, and boston in its path. and even in these places accustomed to snow, it's too much, too soon. >> i need a break. my brother's in atlanta. they shut down the city. we have six inches. six inches, what's that? >> repornes have canceled more than 1,000 flights today because of weather. and digging out won't be easy. atlanta got seven inches of snow. and the city owns just eight snowplows. emily schmidt, abc news. as emily said, as you and i still know, the northeast is recovering from a blizzard, two weeks ago. so, what can that region expect? >> for the answer, we turn to

accuweather's jeannette calle. good morning, jeannette. >> it will not be as bad as the post-christmas blizzard, we'll see quite a bit of snowfall, especially in the major cities of the i-95 corridor. we have one storm coming in from the upper midwest. this is going to bring about one to three inches of snowfall across the ohio valley. meanwhile, we have another storm that's ledded up the southeastern seaboard. once the storms merge, we'll see the snowfall pick up. 12-plus inches in the boston area. rob? vinita? >> another great day ahead here in the north. thanks for that. still ahead this morning, tom delay learns how much time he'll be spending behind bars. and the flooding in australia. inundating a parking lot. everybody sweeping away cars. and big finish. college football's top tout forn battle it out for the national title. nininininininininininininñ

it is time, now, for a check of market activities starting overseas. tokyo's nikkei average fell 0.3% today. hong kong's hang seng finished higher. in london, the ftse opened higher. on wall street, the dow fell 37 points yesterday. the nasdaq added nearly five points. goldman sachs is giving a rare, inside look at how it dusz business. the wall street powerhouse is releasing a detailed report today, in response to critics who say it puts its own interests ahead of its clients' the report will include new

rules to reduce potential conflicts of interest and add transparency to financial reporting. it looks like ford is accelerating hiring plans. the automaker says it will hire several thousand workers in the u.s. over the next two years. about 750 will be engineers, working on hybrid and electric vehicles, as ford looks to expand its lineup. myspace will reportedly lay off nearly 500 workers today, nearly half its staff. the social networks site will be cutting costs to be more attractive to potential buyers. best buy is offering what amounts to be insurance for outdated guidance. customers can opt into new buyback program. best buy says the option is for customers who are afraid to buy because they don't want to be stuck with obsolete technology. >> the plans aren't that bad. for laptops about 75 bucks. and cell phones, around $40. it's worth it if you're an

enthusiast. one expert says politics and lax gun laws are not to blame in tucson. and on top of that, video of new devastation down under. ♪ ♪ where's the fire, arnie? [ laughing ] ♪ ♪ ahh. hello. [ female announcer glasses in about an hour. lenscrafters. but my doctor told me that most calcium supplements... aren't absorbed properly unless taken with food. he recommended citracal. it's different -- it's calcium citrate, soit can be absorbed ith or without food. citracal.

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and portland. >> expect airport delays in seattle, kansas city, boston and to atlanta. the nation has gotten a first look at the suspected gunman in the tucson shooting. jared loughner is being held without bail, after making his first court appearance yesterday. >> his motivation remains a mystery still. there were many, many signs that loughner was a deeply troubled young man. david wright has more. >> reporter: the warning signs were clearly there. plenty say they weren't surprised. >> i told my mother that he was a serial killer the first time i saw him. >> this individual has probably been trouble for some time. >> you think there's little question they knew he was very troubled? >> i don't think there's any doubt about that at all. >> reporter: but apparently, no one followed up on the warning signs until it was too late. friends say loughner became interested in pop culture int p interpretations about mayan prophecies. >> the world was going to end. >> reporter: it was at that point, he met gabby giffords.

>> he asked her a question that made no sense to me. but he said, i can't believe she doesn't understand it. >> reporter: the question that stumped giffords, is what is government if words have no meaning? the friend told "mother jones," i told him, dude, no one's going to answer that. but ever since then, loughner shot the congresswoman was a fake. he had something against her. psychologists say politics may have had little to do with any alleged motives for assassination. >> the key to understanding jared lee loughner is not his political ideology, however incoherent it is. it is his disorganized, disruptive psychotic behavior. >> reporter: he tried to enlist in the u.s. army in 2008. the army couldn't take him because he admitted to the recruiter, he had smoked pot hundreds of times. he returned to his education at pima community college. >> it shows how disconnected

from the class he was and from the students. just seemed like he didn't care. >> reporter: mcgahee found loughner's behavior so odd, he told school officials. >> he finally got kicked out with the force of the dean, the counselor and the campus police officer. >> reporter: that was october of last year. by december, loughner posted a video on youtube called, my final thoughts. a rambling rant about dreaming and other obsessions. by this point, friends said he had retreated further into his dream life. preferring his dreams to reality. is it possible that when he allegedly pulled that trigger saturday morning, he thought he was dreaming? >> nobody knows for sure. but it is certainly possible. >> reporter: i'm david wright, in tucson. >> our team in tucson is digging further into loughner's past. they'll have the latest coming up on "good morning america." in other news now, deadly flooding is still ravaging eastern australia this morning. and people in parts of brisbane

are being urged to move to higher ground. in one town, drivers who parked their cars in this lot thought they were safe, until this. >> oh, no. oh. oh, my goodness. >> look at that. >> unbelievable. at least nine people have been killed so far. and dozens are missing. thousands evacuated. in texas, former house majority leader, tom delay, has been sentenced to three years in prison. a jury had found him guilty of conspiring corporate money to candidates of the texas but delay says the conviction is political. he will remain free pending appeal. a caped crusader is undeterred, even a after being held at gun point. he was attacked over the

weekend. one man pulled a gun on him and broke his nose. police are concerned about jones' safety. but he says he is well-trained for such situations. well, it's a wrap for sarah palin and family. the final episode of the reality show "sarah palin's alaska," aired sunday. tlc says the high-rated documentary series, was intended to be a single-season show. but some were speculating it ended so pailing can run for president. the auburn tigers went into the national title game ranked number one. now, they will enter the books as number one, after a dramatic finish. we get highlights from espn news. >> good morning. after more than a month of prep, it's time to play. the bcs national championship game. auburn, taking on number two, oregon. there is cam newton, your heisman trophy winner. pick it up fourth quarter. auburn up 19-11. casey matthews going to strip newton of the ball. it's recovered by cliff harris. his brother, clay, plays in the

nfl. huge play. ensuing drive, fourth and five. darron thomas complete to d.j. davis. that's a gain of 29 yards. thomas passed for a career high in this game. later in the drive, third and one. thomas to lamichael james. earlier in the game, they went for two, didn't have to. now, it is a must. thomas, rolls out. finds jeff maehl. we are all-tied at 19-19. two to go in the fourth. michael dyer. he stops. and the whistle didn't blow. he goes for 37 yards. take another look. the freshman from little rock, said i was going out there to make a play. i kept my feet moving. coach chiz imlikes it. dyer. rolls over the middle. that's a touchdown or is it? they review it. this time, his knee does touch the surf.

so, the ruling overturned. here comes wes byrum. their first national title since 1957. for all of your highlights and scores, check out "the highlight express," airing until 3:00 p.m. eastern on espn news. now, back to you in new york. and coming up next after the break, more from tucson. also, details on the vice president's surprise visit to ine the possibilities with stelara®. for adults, stelara® helps control moderate or severe plaque psoriasis with 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses. in a medical study, 7 out of 10 stelara® patients saw at least 75% clearer skin at 12 weeks. and 6 out of 10 patients had their plaque psoriasis rated as cleared or minimal at 12 weeks. stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and increase your risk of infections. some serious infections require hospitalization. before starting stelara®, your doctor should test for tuberculosis. stelara® may increase your risk of cancer.

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and now, a look ahead to the stories we'll be watching this tuesday. doctors continue to closely monitor the recovery of congresswoman gabby giffords. so far, they're encouraged that she can respond to their commands, even giving them a thumbs-up sign. the president will address the nation from tucson tomorrow. the northeast is bracing for another blast of winter that will slow travel to a crawl. the storm that's battering the south is moving north and will merge with a second front coming from the midwest. vice president biden is continuing his visit to afghanistan today. he's reviewing a military training program, designed to transition control to afghan security forces. and verizon is expected to announce that it will begin selling the iphone at the end of the month. ending at&t's exclusive grip on the device. some analysts predict that verizon will sell 13 million of the phones this year. >> healthy competition.

for some of you, your local news is next. >> for everyone else, "america this morning" comes back right after this. [ female announcer ] splenda® no calorie sweetener is sweet...

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and finally this morning, back to the shooting in tucson and the unlikely heroes emerging in the midst of the tragedy. >> most were ordinary citizens

attending an ordinary event. but when the bullets started flying, they didn't think twice about springing into action. here's sharyn alfonsi. >> reporter: daniel hernandez was an intern. he had been working were the congresswoman for a week. >> my instinct was to run where the congresswoman was. >> reporter: he did. towards the gunfire, to her. holding giffords until the ambulance arrived. >> i was holding her to my chest. and applying pressure to her wound. i would tell her, gabby, if you're with us, hold my hand and hang tight. >> reporter: he held her so tight he may have saved her life. she didn't lose much blooz. >> reporter: phil badger was grazed by a bullet in the head. but somehow was able to pull him to the ground. >> i grabbed him by the wrist and shoved down on him. >> reporter: the 22-year-old gunman, no match for the

74-year-old retired army conditiona colonel. >> every time he would move a little bit, i would apply pressure with my knee and choke him. >> i got the magazine and i was able to secure that. >> reporter: in the terror of that moment, how could you do that? >> because that's what needed to be done. >> reporter: most heroes are afraid. but they have the unique ability to react. to not be paralyzed by their fears. just like those who ran into the towers, or leapt into the floodwaters. who used whatever they had to do what they could when it counts. wide-eyed interns and white-haired retirees, reluctant heroes. >> i think that's enough. i'm really not a press hog. >> reporter: but heroes nonetheless. sharyn alfonsi, abc news, new york. >> it is amazing the bravery that tragedy brings out. that's what's making news in america this morning. p.