making news in america this morning. >> the state dinner. a high-stakes night at the white house. the chinese promise billions in business. but what about the issue of human rights? race to 2012. a new abc poll out this morning. who is leading the race to go up against barack obama? and the fountain fall seen by millions. the red-faced texter speaking out, saying she may be ready to sue. good morning, everyone. thanks for being with us. well, it was quite the high-powered crowd that welcomed china's president to a state dinner at the white house. hollywood stars, washington insiders, and leading chinese-americans were all at the big party. >> but behind all the glamour, there were tough talks between

chinese's leader and president obama. emily schmidt joins us from washington with details. emily? >> reporter: vinita and rob, good morning to you. well, president obama and chinese president hu have now wrapped up their eighth meeting together. with a toast to prosperity and a trade deal, hoped to make that prosperity happen. the chinese delegation requested that the state dinner honoring president hu be as american as apple pie. and it was. right down to the pie for dessert. but the focus was on shared relations. >> to our people. for the citizens of the people's republic of china and the citizens of the united states of america. may they grow together in friendship. may they prosper together in peace. >> reporter: the night featured celebrity guests, from designer vera wang to barbra streisand. the day was all business. >> we want to sell you planes. we want to sell you cars. we want to sell you software.

>> reporter: president hu promised his country will buy $45 billion worth of u.s. products. the white house says that will support nearly 225,000 u.s. jobs. >> everyone is very interested in becoming involved in china. and i think china is responding, as such, with an increase in consumption. >> reporter: president hu's four-day trip to the u.s. is also prompting criticism. protesters at the white hon rig decried china's human right situation. democrat senate minority leader, harry reid turned down an invitation to the state dinner. president hu said in a joint press conference, a lot still needs to be done in china in terms of human rights. the white house thinks that is the first time the chinese leader has made such a statement. china announced yesterday its economy grew by 10.3% last year. certainly, that massive buying power will be on the minds of the business groups and congressional leaders, who are set to meet with president hu a little later today. rob and vinita? >> emily schmidt, in washington. thanks, emily.

we heard emily mention that senate majority leader harry reid did not attend last night's state dinner. in fact, reid had some pretty strong words for the guest of honor. calling hu a dictator. the first votes of the 2012 republican nominating process are just over a year away. but that's not too early to check on the candidates, thanks to our new abc news/"washington post" poll. 21% of republicans favor former arkansas governor, mike huckabee for their party's nomination. he's followed by sarah palin, former massachusetts governor, mitt romney, and former house speaker, newt gingrich. as always, name requisition counts a lot in early polls. the three, leading candidates had plenty of exposure in the 2008 race. republican lawmakers in the house have made good on a campaign promise to repeal health care reform. the 245-189 vote was largely along party lines. gop senators have argued the law would cut american jobs.

>> this new law is a fiscal house of cards. and it is a health care house of cards. >> republicans are not offering a single solution to this problem. it's part of the harry houdini health care strategy. now, you have health care. now, you don't. >> debate on the issue was, for the most part, pretty civil. that's until democrat steven cohen of tennessee compared republicans to nazis. >> they say it's a government takeover of health care. a big lie. you say it enough. you repeat the lie. you repeat the lie. you repeat the lie. and eventually, people believe it. the german said enough about the jews. and the people believed it. and you had the holocaust. >> the repeal vote, though, is largely symbolic since it has no chance of passing in the democratically-controlled senate. congresswoman gabrielle giffords is making more remarkable strides. she was able to stand up with some help for the first time since she was shot. giffords even looked at get well

cards and pictures on her husband's phone. and tomorrow, just two weeks after the shooting, giffords will be flown to the memorial herman rehab center in houston, one of the best in the country. meanwhile, the man accused of opening fire on giffords and 20 others has been indicted by a federal grand jury. the first counts against jared loughner are for trying to kill giffords and two of her aides. prosecutors are still working on other charges that could lead to the death penalty. the fbi says it has no suspects in the plot to bomb a martin luther king day parade in spokane, washington. but it claims to be following, now, some pretty fruitful leads. the pipe bomb, which was in a backpack, was blown up by a robot. no one was hurt. and the parade went on as scheduled, by an alternate route. officials say the bomb could have caused mass casualties. and los angeles police will be out in force at area schools this morning after a school officer was shot in the chest. the officer's bullet-proof vest did its job. and he's already been released from the hospital. the alleged gunman was not caught.

and the search continues. it was the city's second campus shooting in as many days. the faa is out with a troubling, new report that is putting more and more pilots in danger. it says people on the ground pointing powerful lasers into airplane cockpits nearly doubled last year from the year before. most of the incidents take place when the plane is either taking off or landing, the most critical time of any flight. the airport with the highest number of incidents that took place was l.a.x. the snowstorm sweeping through the midwest is spreading east this morning. >> after dumping nearly a foot of snow in kansas and missouri, 19 states are under a winter weather advisory or warning. two to five inches of snow are expected today, from oklahoma to pennsylvania. and now, for the rest of this morning's weather from around the nation. that storm hits the eastern seaboard by midnight, with up to half a foot of snow from washington, d.c., up to boston. an icy mix changes to all-snow by afternoon in little rock, memphis and nashville. rain along the gulf coast. showers in the pacific northwest. snow in the cascades and

northern rockies. >> 40s in boise and seattle. and just shy of 70 in phoenix. a frigid 11 below zero in fargo. just 3 degrees in minneapolis. and 17 in omaha. new york will get up to 31 degrees. miami, 81. and when we come back this morning, mystery solved. kidnapped as a baby. a grown woman works to find her real family. and she does. plus, little survivors. scientists think they have found out why blood-sucking bedbugs have made such a comeback. h@h@h@

chinese president hu jintao's visit to the u.s. has been productive for u.s. businesses. the obama administration says china will buy $45 billion in u.s. exports. that includes a nearly $20 billion deal for 200 boeing planes. the white house says the deal will support up to 235,000 jobs. overseas stocks are lower across the board this morning after u.s. banks reported steep drops in profits yesterday. tokyo's nikkei average fell more than 1%. hong kong's hang seng dropped 1.7%. in london, the ftse opened lower. on wall street, the dow slipped 12 points yesterday. the nasdaq dropped 40 points. walmart is announcing a five-year plan today to provide healthier and more affordable food. the retail giant will cut salt, fats and sugar from its packaged foods and drop prices on fruits and vegetables. "the new york times" reports

it's initiative is the result of discussions with first lady michelle obama. if you feel like your commute is getting longer, you may want to blame the economy. a new study finds traffic increased last year as the economy started rebounding from the recession. nationally, the average commuter wasted 34 hours in traffic last year. well, it looks like your last name may offer some clues to the type of shopper you are. a new study suggests the people who line up for days to buy things, like the iphone, are more likely to have names at the end of the alphabet. researchers say it's the result of always being forced to the back of the line in elementary school. nothing changes as we grow up, i guess. >> right. well, next on this thursday, a family reunion 23 years in the making. plus, that deadly gas line blast. a reminder of what could be lurking beneath your neighborhood. and for the first time, we hear from that woman who texted her way right into a shopping mall fountain. stay with us. ♪

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new from aveeno. discover the power of active naturals new meaning, this morning, to the term blinding snow. a snowplow driver in northern georgia could not see this his truc coming. his truck fell into a snow-covered hole as it was clearing a parking lot last week. the driver, luckily, was not hurt. but it did take a crane to pull the truck out of that hole. >> must have been some hole. >> no kidding. now, for a look at your morning road conditions. a dangerous ride on i-70, where it will be snow-covered from kansas city to columbus. also slippery on i-34, from tulsa to st. louis. and i-40, from little rock to nashville. wet along i-10 on the gulf coast. out west, slick on i-5, from seattle to portland. >> and if you're flying today, expect some airport delays in seattle, kansas city, memphis, chicago and detroit. there has been a joy us reunion for 1 new york family

after a kidnapping 23 years ago. >> carlina white was just 19 days old when she was taken from her hospital room by a phony nurse. that was followed by years of heartache for her extended family, as police were never able to crack the case. but her mother and her aunts never gave up hope. >> carlina was the missing link. and we have gotten her back, in the name of jesus. hallelujah. hallelujah. hallelujah. >> carlina became suspicious of the woman who actually raised her when she couldn't produce the legal documents she needed for a driver's license. we now know the philadelphia gas company worker killed in that powerful explosion tuesday night was just 19 years old. several of those injured remain hospitalized. the explosion of that gas line was similar to the explosion last year in california. and there's no telling when it could happen again. here's david kerley. >> reporter: with daylight, a crater of clues from this explosion. watch as workers walk out of a house in a neighborhood where residents reported smelling gas.

>> the corner store just went up. >> pieces of the building on the corner were flying through the air. i was like, oh, my god. >> reporter: the powerful explosion and 50-foot-high fireball killed one of the gas company workers who responded. three other workers are in critical condition. the massive explosion came from a high-pressure 12-inch main, a pipe that was traveling through the neighborhood. that was the same situation in northern california last year, when that 30-inch high-pressure main blew up in san bruno, destroying 37 homes, killing 8 people. these pipes are under almost every road. there are 325,000 miles of those big main pipes, and about 2 million miles of the smaller pipes that carry gas to your house. there have long been worried about aging infrastructure. but the san bruno explosion exposed a problem with simple record-keeping. the utility thought it had a certain type of pipe underground. turns out it was a weaker type of pipe. and federal officials are worried this might not be the only case.

federal investigators are so concerned, they set up hearings and sent a warning to all pipelines. >> if you don't know what type of pipe you have, you can't do the right risk assessment. >> reporter: in philadelphia, the pipe has been capped, as investigators try to figure out what caused the nation's latest, deadly explosion. david kerley, abc news, washington. controversial florida pastor, terry jones, has been banned from entering britain. jones, of course, made headlines and sparked a national uproar last year when he threatened to burn a koran on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. he had planned to address a british right-wing group next month. but the government there says he's not allowed in the country because of his views. scientists are gain new ground in the battle to stamp out the growing bedbug problem. researchers at ohio state university, have sequenced the entire genetic map of the bedbug. they found the parasites are evolving to withstand pesticides. that's because they're producing enels of poison-fighting

enzymes. bedbugs in new york city are 250-times more resistant than those in florida. >> that's comforting. we have a couple of really close hoops games to tell you about this morning. the highlights, now, from espn news. >> good morning. i'm steve weissman with your espn news update. the orlando magic, in search of their seventh-straight win at home. that would be a season high. taking on the philadelphia 76ers. magic down four. 90-86. under 30 to play in the fourth. jason richardson, the three plus the foul. so, we go to overtime. in o.t., magic down one. j.j. redick, the three. plus the foul. he makes the free throws. orlando, up 99-96. last chance for philly. down one. under 20 to play. andre iguodala, no. evan turner, the rebound. he can't get it to go. magic hold on, 99-98, snapping the sixers' two-game win streak. on the college hardwood,

penn state taking on number 13 purdue. this game featuring three of the top five scorers. talor battle to david jackson. he was three of five from deep. penn state up one. little over two to play. purdue with the lead. e'twaun moore, number two in the conference, to the rack. 16 points. boilers up three. 20 seconds to play. penn state down two. battle to jackson, three more. he had 13 points. nittany lions back up one. purdue ball. five seconds on the clock. down one. how about jajuan johnson. the fourth-leading scorer in the conference, that's why. 45 points. purdue takes a one-point lead. penn state going to draw up the play. will it work? no. picked off by lewis jackson. purdue wins it. 63-62, the final. and for all your scores and highlights, check out "the high lie express," airing until 3:00 p.m. eastern today on espn news. now, back to you in new york. well, we've got an update, now, on that viral video of a woman who was so busy texting

that she fell straight into a fountain. >> cathy cruz marrero says she is mortified about the incident, which has now been viewed more than 1 million times. it turns out marrero works at that mall. she says instead of laughing at her, the security officer should have checked to see if she was all right. >> my thing is, the insensitivity and how unprofessional mall security was, as to not send anybody to see how i was. i could have been really hurt. they were making a mockery out of it and put it on youtube. and i hear about it through other people. >> marrero and her attorney will be on "good morning america" to discuss possible legal action, against the mall. she says she never walks and texts. she was actually leaving work on that day, texting a friend. and when she talks about it now, she says she laughed and she cried. so, she does see the humor. but you understand her position. >> she got right out.

people assumed she was okay. so, interesting. coming up next, the ground may shake today in california. but don't panic. it's not an earthquake. plus, quarterback tom brady, set to go under the knife today. stay with us. [ woman ] i had this deep, radiating pain everywhere... and i wondered what it was. i found out that connected to our muscles are nerves that send messages through the body. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and less pain means i can do more with the ones i love. [ female announcer ] lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior or any swelling or affected breathing, or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling.

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jintao meets with top congressional leaders before leaving for a two-day visit in chicago. our new abc news/"washington post" poll puts former arkansas governor, mike huckabee, out in front of his republican rivals for the 2012 gop presidential nomination. he's followed closely, though, by sarah palin and former massachusetts governor, mitt romney. president obama will honor president kennedy tonight at the kennedy center. part of celebrations surrounding the 50th anniversary of jfk's inauguration. and our diane sawyer hosts the ceremony tonight in washington. a massive rocket is set to launch this afternoon from vandenberg air force base in california. the 23-story tall delta 4 is carrying a top-secret spy satellite. the liftoff will be so big, some say it might shatter nearby windows and actually feel like an earthquake. and new england patriots quarterback tom brady is reportedly having surgery today on his right foot. it's to repair lingering damage from a stress fracture. and it comes less than a week

after the patriots were ousted from the nfl playoffs. for some of you, local news is next. [ slap! ]

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and finally this morning, it's a symbol of political power. but also, our nation's greatest stage for ceremonies of all kinds. >> as it was this week, from

time to time, it's used to show the world how much america values a foreign ally. so, here, now, some color from the past 24 hours at the white house. 9:00 a.m., the south lawn. the official welcoming ceremony for the president of china. military band, flags, officials for both countries. a warm hug for the secretary of state. the two leaders greeted by washington area children who are studying chinese in school, including sasha obama, decked out in red. a possible nod to china, like the president's tie and the first lady's gloves. the wife of joint chiefs chairman admiral mullen faints. but is okay. no gaffes like president hu's last visit, when introduced as the president of taiwan. an oval office meeting follows, with a few members of the press. late afternoon, crunch time. the dining tables for the first time, spread out across 3, different rooms to accommodate all 230 guests. 5:00 p.m., the east wing. guests begin arriving.

a cross-section of american politics, business and entertainment. jackie chan, vera wang, wearing, who else. even barbra streisand. no sign of the salahis or three of the top four in congress. john boehner and harry reid, both no-shows. under the north portico, the first lady wearing alexander mcqueen. and president obama greets president hu. the room fills. the evening begins. presidents both offer toasts and a surprise. >> our national zoo will continue to dazzle children and visitors with the beloved giant panda. >> reporter: dinner begins. on the menu, surf and turf. lobster and ribeye. apple pie for dessert, an american meal, just as the chinese delegation requested. jazz fills the east room. even sasha and malia get to stay up. chris botti, dee dee bridgewater, and headliner, herbie hancock. just another day at the white house.