n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n making news in america this morning. >> obama rising. new poll numbers released overnight, show the president's biggest boost in months. by her side. gabrielle giffords' husband on her astounding rebound so far. an abc news exclusive. and watch out. texting can get you all wet. and good morning, everyone. thanks for being with us. we begin this tuesday, with a much-needed bump in the polls for president obama. >> our new abc news/"washington post" poll, show some favorable marks to the president's response to the shootings in tucson. >> it also looks at some of the key issues congress will address when lawmakers go back to work later today.

emily schmidt joins us, now, from washington with all of the details. good morning, emily. >> reporter: rob and vinita, good morning to you. this new poll shows the president matching his highest job approval ratings in more than a year. they now stand at 54%, which is eight points above what was his career-low in september. 43% disapprove of the job mr. obama is doing. most of the bounce is from the overwhelming approval he received for his handling of the aftermath of the tucson attack. he's also getting support from the popular legislation that was passed during last year's lame duck session of congress. but it's not all good news for the president. for the first time, mr. obama and the republicans are tied when it comes to who's best to handle health care reform. the 42% for the president is a new low in our polling. this comes as the new republican majority in the house begins trying to repeal the health care law. that's happening this week. a repeal is expected to pass the house. but the effort won't go anywhere in the senate, which, of course,

is controlled by democrats. some of the other findings in our poll. mr. obama has now edged back in front of republicans in terms of handling of the economy. more than one-third of the people polled now say that mr. obama's programs are helping the economy. it's a five-point jump since september. vinita and rob? >> emily schmidt, with a breakdown of all those numbers. thank you, emily. well it was during the president's visit to tucson that congresswoman gabby giffords first opened her eyes. and now, she is showing even more signs of improvement. doctors say she could move into a rehab facility in weeks, if not days. and in an exclusive interview with abc news, her husband says he is seeing encouraging signs, as well. alex stone has details. >> reporter: during an interview with diane sawyer, gabrielle giffords' husband, astronaut, mark kelly, described a stunning moment. when still not able to speak, she reached over to him. >> she stuck her hand up on the side of my face this morning. i leaned over. and she spent ten minutes,

giving me -- this is so typical of her. she's in the icu. gone through this traumatic injury. and she spent ten minutes giving me a neck massage.wouldn'ti'm pretty sure she wouldn't do that for somebody else. and she's looking me in the eye. >> she reached up for you? >> for ten minutes, rubbing my neck. and i keep telling her, gabby, you're in the icu. you don't need -- you don't need to be doing this. but it's so typical of her. no matter how bad the situation might be for her, she's looking out for other people. >> reporter: the congresswoman is breathing on her own after doctors removed a breathing tube that went down her throat. after a smaller tube was inserted, she still cannot speak. >> she cannot vocalize. but she certainly could mouth words or something like that, when she's ready to do that. >> reporter: doctors successfully performed a surgery on giffords' eye sockets to remove bone fragments and relieve pressure on her eye. 30-year-old giffords' aide gabe

zimmermann was killed in the shooting rampage. on monday his life was celebrated at a public memorial. alex stone, abc news. later on "good morning america," more from diane sawyer's interview with mark kelly. he shares how gabby plays with his wedding ring, even putting it on her own finger. you can see diane's full interview on a "20/20" special, airing tonight at 10:00 eastern time. sarah palin is on the defensive now, after being heavily criticized after her statements following the tucson shooting. palin says she has repeatedly voiced her condemnation of violence. and she says democrats have also used target symbols for congressional districts they wanted to win. she accuses the left for singling her out for criticism. >> i know a lot of those on the left hate my message. we know that it's not just me. it's all who seem to embrace the time-tested truth that helped build our country. they'll do what they can to destroy the message and the messenger.

>> palin appeared last night on the fox news channel. she accused democrats of taking the country in the wrong direction. adding, quote, they can't make us sit down and shut up. china's president, hu jintao, arrives in washington for a state visit today. he will have a private dinner tonight at the white house. tomorrow night, he has the state dinner, the first for china in 13 years. few details of the black tie affair are being made public. the chinese president then travels to chicago on wednesday. the return of haiti's former dictator, jean-claude "baby doc" duvalier, remains shrouded in some mystery. he appeared at a port-au-prince hotel yesterday but never met with reporters. he ended his long exile in france in order to see the earthquake devastation in haiti for himself. we are learning new details this morning about a federal criminal investigation of john edwards. a federal grand jury is trying to figure out just how much edwards knew about the money spent covering up his affair with rielle hunter and the child they had together.

at issue is whether edwards broke any campaign finance laws. the long-delayed flight of space shuttle "discovery" faces yet another challenge. astronaut tim kopra has broken his hip in a bike accident. kopra was supposed to be the lead spacewalker on two missions outside "discovery." nasa does not train backup crew members. and it would take months for another astronaut to get up to speed. and now, for this morning's weather from around the nation. a stormy day in the northeast. and a couple of inches of snow turning into freezing rain, from baltimore to boston. up to a foot of snowd.rn new england. showers from new orleans to birmingham. and some rain in the pacific northwest. and snow in the northern rockies. >> a wet 45 in seattle. 62 in sacramento. and 75 in phoenix. just 6 below zero in fargo. and a much warmer 10, in omaha. new york, up to 41. miami heats up to 80. as the president marked

martin luther king monday, he also took some time out to celebrate another birthday, the first lady's. >> they marked the occasion with a date night at a washington restaurant. and earlier in the day, the first lady was serenaded, as the obamas took part in a service project at a washington school. ♪ happy birthday to you happy birthday ♪ ♪ happy birthday to you happy birthday to you ♪ >> you probably recognize that version of "happy birthday." that's the one that stevie wonder wrote to honor dr. king. and when we come back this morning, the president's opinion piece in one of the morning papers, bound to get the attention of wall street today. then, the new airline fees. could free drinks be a thing of the past? >> say it ain't so. plus, on top of that, the rising waters in the northwest, expected to destroy even more property today. h@h@a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a

a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a @ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ@ñ

tions. mr. obama explained that in an opinion piece that he wrote in today's "wall street journal." the president says he wants to eliminate old rules that hinder the economy and stop job growth. u.s. investors have their first chance to react to the stunning announcement that apple ceo steve jobs has begun a second medical leave. in a statement yesterday, jobs says he is keeping his title and

will continue to be involved in important company decisions. for some, that is cold comfort. >> the fact of the matter is, without steve jobs, apple is a much different company. he really gets into the details of how things work. and he makes sure that those products meet his expectations. apple can emulate that without him. but it's impossible to replicate. >> jobs has already survived pancreatic cancer, as well as a liver transplant. he's not saying when he plans to return to the office. apple's stock fell overseas this morning, following steve jobs' announcement. meantime today, tokyo's nikkei average was up slightly. hong kong's hang seng is down, slightly in late trading. in london, the ftse opened higher. wall street comes back from the long weekend with the dow at 11,787. the nasdaq opens at 2755. this is not news any of us want to hear. airline fares are suddenly higher. united and delta, at the same time, raised fares by as much as $20 on thousands of routes yesterday. fare compare noticed the

sudden changes. at the same time experts say, more fees are on the way. including fees for talking to a gate agent, and fees for heavy carry-on bags. goldman sachs is no longer offering u.s. clients the chanceacebook. to invest in facebook. goldman sachs says concerns about securities regulations in the u.s. it's still marketing the opportunity, though, overseas. now that the golden globes are behind us, the british have just announced their top hollywood picks. "the king's speech" leads the race in the british version of the academy awards with 14 nominations, including best film. and colin firth is among the best actor nominees for his title. "black swan" follows with 12 nods. both of those did well at the golden globes, as well. next on this tuesday, depressed doctors. the alarming, new study about surgeons with suicidal thoughts. and check out this video. a lesson to watch where you're walking.

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well, it is shaping up to be a very messy morning commute here in the northeast. snow already coming down this morning. and it's changing over to freezing rain later today, making it a treacherous ride from washington, d.c. all the way up through new england. >> as for the rest of your morning road conditions, icy for the midwest, into ohio. on i-80 from chicago to

cleveland. i-94, from chicago to detroit. and i-70, from indianapolis to columbus. wet roads along the gulf coast. slick on i-5, from seattle to portland. and slippery in the northern rockies. >> if you're flying today, expect some airport delays in seattle, chicago, detroit, and boston to d.c. wet weather is still causing big problems in the pacific northwest. mudslides forced the evacuation of a number of homes. and more of the same may be on tap for today. near ft. hood rising floodwaters washed away a main road. it was triggered by heavy weekend rains. as much as 10 inches in 24 hours. the rain and melting snow are also making it tough to get around in washington state, where the snow -- where one of the rivers is swelling. a lot of farmland has been inundated. and one couple had to be rescued from their car. another river north of seattle spilled its banks, forcing families to flee. some were escaping with whatever they could carry in their hands.

a man police believe is a serial killer has been arrested in philadelphia. they say dna links antonio rodriguez to the rape and to the rape and strangulation of three women last year. as a convicted felon, rodriguez was required to provide his dna when he was released from prison. one of the most dangerous cities in america is cutting back on its cops because of a major budget short fall. 160 police officers in camden new jersey, are expected to turn in their guns and badges today. that's about half of the police force there. the guardian angels have started patrolling that city to fill the gap. camden has the seconds-highest crime rate in the country. a new study finds surgeons consider suicide more often than the average person. about 6% reported recent suicidal thoughts. the rate was 16% among those who had made a recent major medical error. the study found that doctors were reluctant to get help because they feared losing their jobs.

many admitted self-medicating with drugs. a creature that walked the earth more than 12,000 years ago may be poised to make a comeback. scientists are hoping to clone a mammoth mammoth from the ice age. they plan to extract dna from a preserved mammoth carcass and injengt it into the egg cells of an african elephant. the researchers from the u.s. japan and russia are looking to produce a baby mammoth within six years. >> they make it sound easy. we might have the best indication that brett favre's football career is over. he filed retirement papers with the nfl yesterday, according to a league spokesman. nothing is official though. the timing is a procedural matter. and remember favre has filed the same papers before only to change his mind. meanwhile, the four teams still alive in the nfl playoffs begin serious preparations for sunday's championship games ames as for yesterday's sports highlights here we have max bretos over at espn news. >> plenty of great sports on monday including the nba, where

we saw the return of kevin garnett. his first game of 2011. he missed the last nine games for the celtics. they host the magic. we pick things up in the fourth quarter. boston down one. down two after hedu turkoglu hits that shot. under a minute to go. tied at 104-104. paul pierce fakes. draws the contact from jason richardson. hits the shot and the foul. celts take a three-point lead. they win it by three. garnett scores 19 on his return. danny granger and the blazers, facing the clippers. blake griffin, helping the clippers beat the lakers on sunday. on monday he would top that if you can believe it. being elusive on defense. clippers down three in the second quarter. later in the second blake

griffith, a little spin and the lay-in. showing he's more than just a dunk machine. he had 28 points at the half but the clippers trail. 45 points ladies and gentlemen, for griffith. clippers at five. not done. griffin with a career-high 47. the clippers win. how about the pucks. a big day for zdeno chara of the bruins. boston up 6-0. that's the first hat trick of his 13-year career. chara, goals eight nine and ten on the season. bruins win, 7-0. this has been your espn news update. for all the latest highlights, tune into "the highlight express" on espn news every night. back to you in the studio. get ready to feel a little guilty for laughing on this one. our latest, greatest evidence that no one should attempt to walk and text at the same time. >> this girl right here is walking and texting and goes

straight into the mountain. it went down recently at a mall in pennsylvania. >> just get up and walk away. hope no one saw it. don't worry. no one did see it except thankfully, for the surveillance camera. >> there's an iphone app that lets you see in front of you as you text. if you have to walk and text try that app. >> we've had some mishap happen while texting, haven't we? >> this is true. coming up next the stories we'll be following today, including the debut of the biggest starbucks size yet. [ male announcer ] it's simple physics... a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stn motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arths, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide our relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation.

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now, a look ahead to the stories we'll be watching on this tuesday. president obama received a ratings boost, courtesy of the new abc news/"washington post" poll. the president's job approval is up to 54%. chinese president hu jintao arrives in washington for a state visit. there will be a private white house dinner tonight and a state dinner tomorrow night. the fcc is expected to approve comcast's acquisition of nbc today. comcast had to agree to conditions, including space for competitors on cable stations. and starbucks' now size is tren to. it will eventually be phased in at starbucks in every state. for some of you, your locke

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the dispute between president ronald reagan's two sons about their father's alzheimer's is now sparking a

national debate. >> so sharyn alfonsi went to the experts to find out more about the tell-tale signs. >> there was just something that was off. >> reporter: ron reagan says he became so convinced his father was showing early signs of alzheimer's, he decided to shadow him for a day in the white house. you say that he was sitting at the phone making phone calls. and he was reading note cards like he had prompts. >> yeah. and that bothered me. >> reporter: so, we asked two of the country's leading alzheimer's experts to weigh in on those key moments the two brothers now debate. first, note cards to make calls. >> i wouldn't be worried about stickies or cue cards. what's worrisome is if there's something you do every day, you forget how to get to that place you drive every day. >> reporter: but what about this? the president seems to struggle to find the answers to a question. >> we're doing everything we can. >> we're doing everything we can. >> reporter: does that look like a patient with alzheimer's to you? >> that looks like a patient who is having some difficulty remembering words.

>> reporter: is that alzheimer's? >> but not necessarily alzheimer's. >> reporter: in fact, she believes the president may have been suffering from something called mci, mild cognitive impairment. friends or family members may notice problems with your language or memory. but it doesn't interfere with your daily life. >> what we know is people with mci, about half of them go on to alzheimer's disease in three to five years. >> reporter: but she says the clearest indicator the president did not have alzheimer's yet -- >> the -- >> reporter: -- can be seen right after this moment after the stumble. you see something interesting there. >> right. i see that he lost his train of thought for a brief moment. but he brought himself right back to the topic. >> reporter: so, what does that say to you? >> that suggests to me that while he might have a momentary lapse he's actually very connected and functioning at quite a high level. >> reporter: sharyn alfonsi, abc news, new york. >> obviously, contentious family debate. and ron reagan joins us live later today on "good morning america." that is what's making news in america this morning.