making news on this friday morning. >> inside the palace. christiane amanpour with the president of egypt. what is he thinking? when will he step down? his only interview since the protests began. and it's colder than alaska, just in time for the super bowl. the bellagio bandit. the son of a judge, pulling off a heist. and then, living it up like a high roller. good morning, everyone. i'm mike marusarz, in for vinita nair. >> and i'm rob nelson. thanks for being with us. it's a relatively calm morning in cairo. but that's expected to change at any moment. >> here's the latest

developments. large, anti-government protests are expected after friday prayers across the country. >> also, white house officials are discussing a number of proposals about the fate of president hosni mubarak, including one in which he steps down very soon. >> and journalists have been threatened, forcing many into hiding. abc's christiane amanpour have had several run-ins with anti-government protesters. >> even on her way to our exclusive interview at egypt'se, presidential palace, mubarak's first interview since the protests began. >> reporter: we reached the palace, which is surrounded at this point by tanks, under military escort. as our camera man was setting up with our exclusive interview with omar suleiman, i asked if i could see president mubarak. within minutes, i was whisked into a reception room to see him. when i walked in, i asked him how he was. he said, i feel strong. he said, i'm not the kind of person to run. and he said, i will die on

egyptian soil. when i asked him about whether he would step down now, he said to me, you know, christiane, i've been in public service for 62 years. and now i'm fed up. and i want to retire. but if i resign now, he said, there will be chaos. and i'm afraid the muslim brotherhood will take over. when i asked him if he felt betrayed, he sort of did a shrug and didn't answer. one way or another. but he did say that president obama was a very good man, he thought, but he didn't think that president obama understood the egyptian culture. and you don't understand what would happen if i resigned today. he said once he heard the demands of the people, that they were legitimate demands, he had made the decision to step aside. and he said he felt relief after that. i did say, where would he go after he stepped down? he said, egypt. this is my home.

he didn't care what people were saying about him right now. he cared only about his country, about egypt. and when the time comes, he would die in egypt. and i got the sense today, though, there was an edge, obviously, to what's going on. there was an inner tension. but also, a sense of resignation, that whatever happens happens. and whatever their fate may be, so be it. >> truly extraordinary interview there. and for days, the crowds were large, but peaceful. that all changed this past wednesday. >> on youtube, we're now seeing exactly what it was like insidet liberation square that night. a a place, now too dangerous for news cameras. >> of course, the big question is, will we see a return to that destructive violence later today? abc's alex marquardt joins us from cairo. i know it's early. what are you seeing a hearing so far today?g, guys.eporter: g. it is 11:00 a.m. on this friday. we're seeing thousands gathering in tahrir square, which for most

of the week and a half, has been the epicenter of this uprising. we expect masses of crowds of anti-government demonstrators to take to the streets after friday prayers, which wrap up about 1:00 p.m. the question is, whether they will turn violent. whether the pro-mubarak forces we've seen over the last few days will be on the street. today, they're calling the day of departure. these are the days the anti-government protesters want to come out so they can, quote, put the last nail in the regime's coffin. >> alex, another story line, unfortunately, has become journalists who have been targeted within this violence. what are the safety precautions you and your crew are taking today? >> reporter: well, it's really a network by network or newspaper by newspaper basis. we at abc news are being very, very careful. very much limiting our movements beyond the hotel. we will likely not spend too much time, if any, out on the streets today, which makes it very difficult, obviously, to cover what is going on out

there. but i have to tell you that every time you turn on twitter, every time you open up your e-mail, you're hearing about a different journalist or news outlet that's come under attack. it's a hostile environment for journalists to operate in right now. not only has christiane had a couple of brushes with that, as you mentioned at the top of the show. we had a crew that came back from the airport yesterday. our producer, and our cameraman, threatened with beheading. >> you've done great report for the last few days from cairo. we appreciate that. stay save out there. >> thanks, rob. we'll have much more from our team in cairo, coming up live at 7:00 this morning eastern time, on "good morning america." back in this country, the rare deep freeze gripping texas is easing just a bit this morning. but they're still slivhivering single-digit temperatures. in el paso, streets were coated with snow and ice, triggering dozens of car crashes.

power outages forced texas to get electricity from mexico. but mexico had to cut the power supply to deal with weather-related blackouts of its own. accuweather's ava dinges tells us what's in store for today. ava. >> good morning, rob and mike. people in texas waking up to a rare sight. that's accumulating ice and snow, all the way down into brownsville, as well. houston could see upwards of an inch of snow into the morning hours. into the weekend, it should be drying out and warming up in texas, just in time for the big game in arlington. now, the northeast, that's when the weather goes downhill. that same storm will be tracking up the east coast, arriving in new york on saturday, for a snow terrain. back to you, rob and mike. >> ava, thanks a lot. and the freezing temperatures did not faze football fans from all over the country who gathered in ft. worth, for the first annual tailgating championship. >> nice. they faced off in tough competitions like cooking,

sports trivia, athletics and team spirit. the group came from houston. and on top of everything, carried away $15,000 and a cold-painted weber grill. >> not a bad prize for a day of parties and eating. >> with a game on sunday. >> got to love super bowl weekend. when we come back on this friday morning, putting verizon's version of the iphone to the test. and the fallout after this violent arrest of a teenager by police. and after the bellagio was robbed, of a million bucks in casino chips, police now say they have their man.

the january jobs reports is expected to show companies are hiring agabut are they h but are they hiring enough? this morning's report is forecast to show that employers added 148,000 new jobs last month. but the unemployment rate rose to 9.5%. but the economy needs to add more than twice as many jobs to make a dent in the current unemployment rate. and those jobs numbers will be the main event on wall street today. stocks are rising overseas ahead of that report. tokyo's nikkei average climbed 1% today. markets, though, in hong kong were closed for a holiday. in london, the ftse opened higher. and on wall street, the dow gained 20 points ye meanwhile, meanwhile, the nasdaq added four points. jpmorgan chase were at the center of bernard madoff's massive fraud and complicit in it. that's according to a lawsuit unsealed thursday. the trustee tried to claim money for madoff victims, claims bank

executives kept doing business with him, despite suspecting he was running a ponzi scheme. jpmorgan calls the lawsuit meritless. verizon has stopped taking iphone preorders less than 24 hours after it started. anyone who wants to buy the phone will now have to wait until wednesday to order it. "usa today's" ed baig already has one. he says the combination of the iphone with verizon's network is a big hit. >> the key differentiator is the network. verizon versus at&t. i didn't experience any dropped calls testing the iphone in northern new jersey and here in new york city. >> the cell phone wars begin. you can read ed's full review at usatoday.com. some journalists in cairo threaten with death. plus, the invite list for the white house super bowl party. ♪

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the big dig is still under way out in the midwest. road crews are running out of room, literally, to put all that snow. the storm this week dumped nearly 17 inches of snow in the quad cities, making it the biggest 1-day snowfall there ever. >> that's ridiculous, right? where's spring? that's what we want to know. let's check out the road conditions for your friday. slippery around houston and on i-20, from dallas, jackson, mississippi, as well. icy along i-30, from dallas to little rock. wet from new orleans to jacksonville and the carolinas. and slick on i-5 in the pacific northwest. >> and if you're flying today, you can expect some airport delays in seattle, dallas, houston, memphis, charlotte and atlanta. egyptian president hose sy mubarak chose abc news for his first interview since those protests in his country began. >> he tells christiane amanpour

that he's not stepping down right now. mubarak believes there would be chaos if he left office. and his departure would pave the way for a takeover by islamists. those comments are likely to spur even more protests today in the streets of cairo and other cities. >> christiane and her crew were harassed on the way for that interview. stopped for an hour by pro-mubarak supporters. by our counts now, at least 100 journalists have been attacked, injured or detained. according to the group reporters without borders, 3 are missing, 19 arrested, and 1 is in a coma. david muir talked to some of those who had been targeted. >> reporter: it is a staggering number. in the last 24 hours, more than 100 reporters and photographers have been attacked by angry mobs who say they're mubarak supporters. telling the reporters, you helped bring down our president. you helped bring down our country.

our team with christiane -- >> why do you hate us? >> go to any place more. you are not with us. you are not with us. >> reporter: cnn's hala guarini got caught in a city of anger. >> that is the way it's a completely surreal experience. >> reporter: cnn's anderson cooper, at cairo's famed egyptian national museum. >> this is clearly an effort to prevent the world from seeing what's happening. and they're succeeding right now because, you know, we don't have a lot of pictures out on the square. and that's incredibly frustrating. >> reporter: this reporter from icelandic tv, shaken violently, brought to his knees. accused of being a foreign spy. escaping with the help of two locals. then, came word that one of our team, coming in from the airport, had been car jacked. stopped by who they thought were citizen police.

but this was different. abc news producer, brian hartman. >> he said, so help me god, i will cut off your head. and goes like this. all around, there are other people saying, cut head now. cut head now. it was terrifying. we really thought we were finished. >> reporter: but instinct would kick in for akram, a veteran war photographer. hugging and kissing an elder in the mob of angry men. it worked. the journalists who have been attacked and pushed from the square, hope the images haven't been pushed off the world stage with them. i'm david muir, in cairo. e world that story.ng to bring of course, we'll have more from david and christiane, later today on "good morning america." the video of a young suspect being beaten by police is making waves in houston this morning. it was taken last march, as officers violently arrested a then. 15-year-old wanted for particularry. a houston community activist

released the video, despite court orders to keep it under wraps until the officers go to trial. four officers were fired and are facing various charges. you might remember that las vegas casino, late last year, when the suspect was seen running out wearing a motorcycle helmet. police say it was anthony carlio, who made off with 1 million bucks in chips from the bellagio. he's the son of a judge in las vegas. and they say he wound up losing $105,000 of loot gambling. most of the stolen chips have been accounted for. >> brazen guy. the kennedy family is now at the center of a bizarre incident involving a turkey. the bird was caught on camera attacking a mail truck near the family compound in hyannisport. ethel ken bought she bought its grandkids what a real turkey looks like. the farmer who sold her the turkey insists it is not the same bird. some sports news now.

long-time new york yankee pitcher, andy pettitte, calls it a career today. he played 16 seasons for the yanks and the astros. and his 19 postseason wins are a major league record. switching to hoops, highlights, now, from espn news. >> good morning. cole wright here with your espn news update. things in the magic kingdom. the heat and magic getting it on. the king, jumping over hedo turkoglu. later on, tough fade away. that will go lebron's way. he was six of six from the field. and on, the finger roll. making it look easy. once more, lebron, knocking down the jumper from the magic basketball. whatever that is. lebron, 23 points in the first. he was nine of nine from the field. in the third quarter, this is scary. check this out. dwyane wade drives baseline. and taken down hard by dwight

howard. landed straight on his back. the shoulder blades, they met quickly with the hardwood. wade, mauled by howard. he would leave the game with a he contusion. he would eventually return. he's a gamer. under 30 seconds in the third, james with the drive, the spin and the hi fadeaw fadeaway jumper. that's money. he had 14. under 20 seconds to go. lebron at the line for two shots. 49 points on the night. he made both. 49 plus 2, that's 51. that's a monster game for him. ensuing magic possession, down six. jameer nelson, three ball. magic down a triple. the ensuing inbounds, james doing a job right here, knocking the ball off lebron's leg. magic ball, nine seconds left. down three. no good. heat win this one, 104-100. and don't forget, all the latest, watch "highlight express" or check out espn.com.

that's it from the bristol studios. back to you in new york. a mix of interesting people are being invited to the white house super bowl party this weekend. >> rob? >> no. >> a few cabinet secretaries and white house staffers. plus, j. lo and husband, mark anthony. president obama will be a gracious host and not take sides. >> he says since the chicago bears are in it this year, he's got to remain neutral. isn't fault him for inviting j. lo. coming up next, mark kelly's decision. will the husband of gabrielle giffords leave her recovery room for a return to space? we'll be right back.

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and now, a look ahead to the stories we'll be watching this friday. a showdown looms in egypt, as massive anti-government protests are expected again today. demonstrators are calling today departure day in a demand for president mubarak to finally step down. president obama is in discussions about mubarak's fate. he's expected to answer questions about the crisis at a joint news conference with the canadian prime minister. sarah palin gives the keynote speech tonight at a celebration marking the 100th anniversary of ronald reagan's birth. and astronaut, mark kelly, will head back into space. he's reportedly expected to announce today that he will command the spis shuttle. >> dave: on its final flight in april. kelly left the training to be by his wife's side, congresswoman gabby giffords, as she recovers

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about 110 million people are expected to watch the steelers and packers this sunday in super bowl xlv.

yesterday, we told you about the problems pittsburgh qb ben roethlisberger has faced. >> that's right. this morning, it's green bay's signal caller, aaron rogers. a patient man, as karen travers reports. >> reporter: green bay packers quarterback, aaron rogers, has been waiting for years for this moment. >> this is what you dream about as a kid, growing up in northern california, watching the 49ers win the super bowls. special to be part of this now. >> reporter: after a successful college career, roger was expected to be a top pick in the 2005 nfl draft. instead, he watched as team after team skipped over him. until, finally, the packers took him with the 25th pick. >> with the 25th selection in the 2005 nfl draft, the green bay packers select aaron rogers, quarterback from california. >> reporter: once he arrived in green bay, more waiting. he spent three seasons on the sidelines as backup to brett favre, the packer legend who led green bay to a super bowl title in 1997. in 2008, favre announce head

would retire. but then, he changed his mind and said he wanted to stay. the packers saw rogers as its future and sent favre to the new york jets. the young quarterback finally had his chance. three years later, rogers as emerged from favre's shadow. he's won over the packers faithful fans and his teammates. >> he starts and finishes what we do. we thrive off his performances. when he's rolling, we're rolling. >> reporter: but the elephant is still in the room. this week in dallas, rogers patiently answered over a dozen questions about the guy he replaced. >> we had a great relationship. working relationship. and i enjoyed the time we got to spend together. >> reporter: with a win on sunday, aaron rogers can create his own legacy. and he'll have the same number of super bowl titles as brett favre. karen travers, abc news. >> what are you taking?