making news on this monday, january 31st. >> turning point. in egypt, neither protesters nor the president are backing down, but who will blink first as the u.s. gets set to airlift thousands from cairo. getting ready for another monster snowstorm which will impact a hundred million americans. and betty white's night. another night for the comedy icon. and good morning, everyone. thanks for being with us on this monday. european heads of state are now urging the egyptian government to implement democratic reforms and avoidmy more violence against protesters. >> who are the latest developments on day seven. activists are gathering in

cairo's tahrir square insisting that their protests are far from over. >> also, governments from around the world, including the u.s., are now sending planes into cairo to get the citizens out. >> and mohamed elbaradei has emerged as the face. we will go live to cairo in just a moment but we begin our coverage with emily schmidt in washington. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. today, president mubarak signals he is now ready to talk with protesters but this gives protesters about a week to build momentum. in fact, 1 million are expected to gather today, and compromise isn't their idea of success. >> reporter: on this day of protests which tipped thousands of people into president mubarak's three decades of war. the tipping point is still unclear.

>> we are in a revolution and we will destroy mubarak. >> reporter: yesterday, move bar ache appeared on tv with a new president and prime minister. but elbaradei says the revolution has started we cannot retreat now. he told "this week's" christiane amanpour is this doesn't open the door to islamists. >> it's either us, depression, or al qaeda-type islamists. this is not egypt. >> reporter: president obama called for a more orderly transition for a government. secretary of state hillary clinton says that doesn't mean calling for mubarak to leave. >> i've never said that. i don't intend to say that. i want the egyptian people to have the chance to chart a new future. >> reporter: thousands of people are at the airports waiting to do so. >> yesterday, the police cut off

runways. everybody was then, you know in a difficult situation. >> and it isn't an easy situation to get the information to leave the country to people who are in egypt. phone communication is spotty at best. internet has been down since friday. still, the first american flights out of cairo are scheduled to leave today. vinita nair. >> and now we turn to abc's alex marquardt who has been on the streets. what do you see there and are the communications still limited now? >> reporter: limited, rob. the fact that i'm on a cell phone with you is unique. better ground zero for the protests, we're trying to get to the egyptian museum to talk to someone about the artifacts inside. we tried various checkpoints we

were not allowed in. they were very nice about it but they were clearly trying to keep the protesters away. not a very good sign for the demonstrators who would like to go out there again today but possibly a good sign for the artifacts in the museum. >> now seven days, president mubarak has been saying he will talk with the protesters. is that going to be enough to appease the crowds? >> reporter: it seems little can be done to peaappease the crowd calling for move bar touk leave. clearly not happy with the fact that he seems to think that naming a new vice president and prime minister is a way of pacifying the masses. it has not worked so far. we expect thousands to be back out on the square and on the streets of egypt today, calling for mubarak to step down. so it's really a question of what is the next move? will the military crack down on them, will the protests slow

down or pick up? and what will mubarak do. >> we heard reports about the mummies in the museum, their heads being torn off. anything to protect the artifacts in the museum? >> reporter: this is clearly an issue that they're worried about. we've seen a human chain around the museum. aside from the protests, you've got a lot of egyptians who are very concerned about their history. people are very, very proud about their 7,000 years of history, so they are going to quite some length to protect it. >> alex marquardt live in cairo from a cell phone, as we realize, thank you, alex. and the u.s. state department is expected to begin airlifting thousands of americans out of egypt over the next few days. they will be taken to europe, turkey, or athens, greece. any american inside of egypt is

eligible. the state department is now encouraging those who have commercial airline tickets in hand to actually use them. we have the team in cairo, including christiane amanpour later on "good morning america." well, another major storm is poised to blast three quarters of the country. it is bringing heavy snow and ice to the rockies and midwest first, but the east coast will not be spared. >> and that, of course is unwelcome news here in new york where garbage is being picked up today for the first time since last week's storm buried the city under 19 inches of white stuff. accuweather's ava dinges is keeping an eye on this. >> reporter: good morning, rob and vinita, a massive storm system over the overnight, 3 to 6 inches of know in denver all the way back to minneapolis. blizzard conditions expected in chicago and detroit overnight. and then the storm continues to build north and east as we head

towards groundhog day, affecting the mid-atlantic with an icy mix through wednesday. back to you. when we come back, what the crisis in egypt is doing to the overseas stock markets this morning. and christiane amanpour's return to cairo. what she found when she arrived. plus, we'll take you to last night's s.a.g. awards which belonged to the golden girl, [ female announcer ] alli works when you work.

if you skip this latte and opt for the smaller low-fat one, you'll cut about 12 grams of fat. then take alli with it to help boost your weight loss. so for every 2 pounds you work to lose, alli can help you lose 1 more. alli. how healthy works. the protests in egypt are causing jitters among investors. asian stocks fell sharply today

as investors worried that turmoil could spread to neighboring countries. the unrest also sent oil prices higher on concerned access to the suez canal. a key route would be blocked. in japan, the average tumbled 1.2% today. hong kong's hang seng fell .75%. on london, the ftse fell 48 points, the nasdaq split almost three points. reports of the united states' demise in manufacturing appear to be greatly exaggerated. new numbers show the u.s. is still the world's top manufacturing country by a wide margin, in fact. our factories outproduced china's by more than 40% last year. the difference is american companies have been able to make more with fewer workers. walgreens has quietly rolled out its own label beer. the price is right for the big flats 1901 brand. it's 50 cents a can or just

$2.99 for a six pack. critics say, be careful, you get you what pay for. walgreens plans to launch red wine next month. at the movies "the rite" took the top spot over the weekend. the horror film starring anthony hopkins. and "no strings attached" finished in second. "the green hornet" and "the mechanic" tied for third. well, folks, it is all downhill from here. researchers say today, january 31st, is the happiest day of the year. they say it's a combination of getting that first paycheck of the year and looking forward to a planned vacation. the last weekend of january is in fact one of the busiest for travel agents. >> and it's apparently two weeks after blue monday in which we're suffering from post-christmas debt and limited daylight. >> it's rare formy monday to be good, but i'll take your word for it, right. >> they're all manic, right? more news from egypt. plus the weekend terror plot against one of the country's biggest mosques. in sports news, the cross-country rematch. celtics and lakers meet for the first time since the nba finals.

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artists from around the country descended on chicago to put their talent out on ice. more than a dozen teams of sculptors wowed on lookers with a variety of statues carved to perfection. it was part of a festival called "snow day chicago." medusa. >> and more snow on the way. now for a look at morning road conditions. snow and ice on virtually every interstate. especially on i-80 from nebraska to detroit. i-70 from st. louis to indiana. i-10 from san antonio to houston and new orleans. >> if you're flying expect delays in salt lake city, denver, minneapolis, kansas city, dallas and houston. we return now to the top story of the morning, the host of abc's "this week," christiane amanpour is in cairo.

leading our coverage of the crisis in egypt. >> she arrived in one of the last flights into the city. and she describes a nerve-racking post-curfew drive from the airport. >> reporter: we're driving from the airport into town. practically deserted. very few cars but there are bans of vigilantes, ad hoc neighborhood watch groups, young men and boys out with wooden batons. metal bars, even machetes. they are watching out for looters and any criminals. they have gathered to protect their property, while it was tense, they were also friendly and waved us through. >> christiane and her crew said they arrived to find a city in chaos. the protesters calling for the ouster of president hosni mubarak. secus made of disenfranchised secular groups. as well as religious groups as well. christiane sat down with mohamed elbaradei, the man who has emerged as the leader, for now.

>> reporter: how do you express the reaction of the u.s. administration? >> well, i think it came here like lead. people expected the u.s. to be on the side of the people, you know. there are legitimate needs for democracy, social justice. to let go of a dictator, you know. >> reporter: but now president obama is saying that the rights of the people need to be protected? >> sure, but also saying i look to the government of mubarak, to ask the dictator to implement that is an oxymoron. they need to let go of mubarak. they need to side with the people. they need to go to a smooth transition to a government of national salvation. this is on the way out. >> you can hear more from christiane and the rest of the correspondents in cairo coming up on "good morning america." in other news now, police in

the detroit area say they have foiled a terror plot against one of the largest mosques in the country. the building was packed with hundreds attending a funeral when the suspect was arrested there in the parking lot. they say roger stockman's car was filled with high-end fireworks. they say stockman was known in area parts of the country. a florida mother accused of killing her two teenaged children for mouthing off will appear in court this morning. police say julie schenecker shot her son to death on the way home from soccer practice and she killed her daughter on the way home. she told the police the kids were, quote, mouthy and disrespectful. the children's father is an army colonel serving in the middle east. for the first time, the government is asking more than half of americans to drastically cut their daily salt intake to down to a little more than half a teaspoon. the recommendation is the new dietary guidelines today applies to people 51 years or old, african americans or anyone suffering from hypertension, diabetes or chronic kidney disease.

in sports a rematch between two longtime rivals. here's adnan virk over at espn news. good morning. huge game in the nba. the boston celtics takes on the l.a. lakers at staples. of course, these two know each other quite well. they all know that man quite well, shaquille o'neal but he's wearing the green. third quarter. celtics by two. paul pierce. pierce missed the free throw. celtics up by one. he has 32 in this. fourth quarter, lakers down by nine, kobe doing his best. back to pierce. back to the foul. driving to the middle. the runner. and later on, bryant drives baseline. tough left-hand shot. 41 points in the game. the lakers cut the lead to four. celtics, much too much. just under four minutes to play, rondo to kevin garnett. celtics up by 11. just over three to play, rondo to ray allen. that three. rondo with 16 assists, allen, 21 points, celtics win 109-96. lebron james and the heat

taking on kevin durant. and the thunder. fourth quarter. dwyane wade hitting the fadeaway. heat leastly eight. under 40 seconds left, thunder trail by one, it's durant. still ridiculous on the jumper. the thunder are up by one, on the ensuing heat possession. 30 seconds to go. wade misses the jumper, rebound kicked out to a wide open lebron and gives it up to edly house. eddie house, then with his decision making. they lead by two. thunder, can they respond? durant, baseline. misses it. the ball's tapped out. the miami heat win 108-103. that does it for your sports update. don't forget to join us on the highlight express on espn news. back to you in new york. "the king's speech" continues to reign at the awards show.

the movie took the top at the screen actors guild in los angeles. the fighter and "black swan" also picked up awards. on the small screen, betty white for tv comedy actress for "hot in cleveland." white said she's still lucky to be working at 89. >> they had to get the old broad up those stairs, and that's not easy to have this happen on top of -- ooh. ah. >> another veteran actor was also honored last night, ernest borgnine who is 94 was given a lifetime achievement award for his sixth decade career. he had some very humble things to say. included in that, they said, millions of people would like to be in our shoes. >> with gratitude. very cool. you got to love betty. coming up next, we will update the morning's top story. egypt in crisis as the u.s. begins evacuating americans from the country. plus, a big announcement today from bill gates. that and more when we come back.

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a storm in southern california is moving east today, bringing heavy snow and ice to the rockies and the midwest. 75% of the country or 100 million people will be affected, especially chicago and detroit,f where they are bracing for blizzard conditions and more record snow. also, the search continues today for an oregon boy who vanished seven months ago. police have resumed the search for kyron horman. in two locations near portland yesterday after getting some new leads in case case. kyron was 7 when he vanished last june. there is still no official suspect in the case. the white house kicks off the new start-up america campaign, aimed at getting businesses for economic and job growth through innovation. and bill gates is set to announce that eradicating polio is now his number one priority and he's urging world leaders to join in the fight before that disease makes a comeback. for some of you, your local news is coming up next. for everyone else, families

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well, there are at least 50,000 americans inside of egypt today, each one with some type of connection to people back here at home. >> that, of course, means people

coast to coast are now keeping a close eye on everything that's happening in a very important country. >> obama, stop the drama! >> reporter: in las vegas. >> down, down. >> reporter: in houston, albuquerque, toledo and south carolina, egyptian-americans are showing their support for reform. >> we're very concerned here. and excited for the potential for a change in egypt. >> reporter: but at the same time countless american families are worried about the safety of loves ones, amid the unrest. >> the flight just landed. i was worried about them all day yesterday. they didn't pick up any of my phone calls or anything. >> reporter: internet and cell phone shutdowns are making communications spotty, add to the worry. on new york's long island, jim burks finally got a text from his daughter, her first in days. she said she spent the night in a railroad station with other students to avoid the violence. in sacramento, california, another waiting game. >> what we're seeing on the news is very difficult to watch.

>> reporter: jeannine finally got through to her son taylor, a student in egypt, trying to get home. >> what was it like at the airport? >> a complete mob. >> reporter: for another mom, relief. mona said she had no communication with her sons until they arrived back in the u.s. last night. >> i was losing my mind until they came home. >> reporter: but she's still worried for friends in egypt. >> this country is a great country. it doesn't deserve what's going on now. it's sad. >> reporter: sentiment shared by many americans this morning and possibly for days to come. two countries not only linked by politics, but also matters the heart. of course, thousands stuck there in the airport in cairo. we wish them a safe return here to america, or whenever they may be traveling back to safety. >> that's right, secretary of state hillary clinton said they were be working triple time to make sure that americans are safe. >> right now, that's what's making news in america this morning. >> get news on abcnews.com. >> have a great monday, everybody.