make news in america this morning. breaking news. >> kim jong-il has died. what happens next for the reclusive nuclear nation. a live report coming up. then homecoming. with the war in iraq over, the brave fighting women and men are coming home. and just in time for the holidays. at tebow time, did the clock strike midnight? or does the qwb's fairy tale continue? good morning. i'm sunny hostin. >> and i'm rob nelson. president obama has been on the phone with u.s. al lice in the

region overnight following the announcement of kim jong-il's death. >> the "dear leader" died of a heart attack on friday at sage 69. abc's joohee cho joins us live. >> reporter: it was shocking news here today when north carolina gave hea-- north koreae announcement. their announcer was in black funeral clothes in tears. he died during a train ride. he left us so suddenly, so sadly, she said. kim suffered a stroke three years ago, but recently, he was actively making trips to china and russia and within his country, all on camera, as if to show off that he was well and

healthy. his third son is already in power, taking high-ranking posts. but there are speculations that hard-line military officials are against the succession. the problem is the lack of information. we don't know what is going on inside of north korea. will there be a peaceful success or a coup? we don't know. >> north korea's nuclear ambition. do we have a sense of what his death could mean for the u.s. in terms of nuclear weapons? >> reporter: for now, it will be on hold. kim jong is not likely to make big changes from his father's policies. the outside world thinks north korea may use nuclear weapons if they need to. north and south are technically

at war, without a peace treaty. that's exactly what they want, peace treaty with enough food to feed themselves. >> what has the reaction of south korea been to this? >> reporter: the military is on high alert. people watching news reports all day long. what scarce people here is the uncertainty. they have a new ruler, only 28 years old. we don't know much about him. overall, it's business as usual. >> abc's joohee cho. he's a joung guy. it should be fascinating exactly what he does. his father felt he was the most like him, that's why he was picked. >> he's 28. they don't know much about him, as was mentioned.

i think people are very concerned about that and the nuclear armament, too. >> that is a huge question mark here. we'll see what comes next. >> and we'll have more on the death of kim jong-il coming up on "good morning america." you can always get information 24 hours a day at abcnews.com. in other new this monday morning, a powerful winter storm is about to slam the southwest and the southern plains this afternoon with up to a foot of blowing snow. >> white out conditions are expected. stretches of interstate 40 and other roads will likely be shut down before the storm heads to the midwest and the northeast. >> with that, here's a look at the weather. a stormy day in texas, a chance of tornadoes around houston, san antonio, austin, and dallas. a mix of rain and snow showers

from pittsburgh to buffalo and northern vermont. >> 42 in boston. 45 in new york. 77 in miami. just 23 in fargo, po in the twin cities, 45 in detroit. a mild 58 in phoenix. and seattle hits44. and overseas now to egypt, where protestered battled with soldiers over night. more than 400 people were injured. the protesters are demanding that the military rulers now step down themselves. the violence escalated when these images of a female protester being partially stripped and beaten raced across the internet. for the first time in nearly nine years, there are no u.s. troops in iraq. thousands have arrived home. here's rich cantu with more.

[ horns honking ] >> reporter: the sounds of the troops crossing the border. >> we made it. >> i love you guys. i'll be home in a week. can't wait. >> i just had enough being here. >> final going home to see my son. >> reporter: almost 500 soldiers heading home. these virginia national guard troops have been in iraq since august. the moment they had been waiting for, soldiers back in the arms of family, home for the holidays. in humboldt, texas, a warm welcome for matthew morales. >> it hasn't set in that i'm home for good. >> reporter: he served in afghanistan and iraq. he was only 14 when the war began. the crowd gave a warm sendoff.

this man is leaving for his first tour in afghanistan. >> it's a great surprise. thank you very much. we appreciate everybody's support. >> reporter: there will be celebrations like this across the country as more troops come home from iraq for good. >> welcome home to all those heroes. >> in time for the holidays. a holiday world record for you. the longest continuous hand bell ringing at the salvation army kettle. the old record was 36 hours. three of them ended up shaerting it. >> they finished sunday morning after standing at the kettles for 60 hours. two bell ringers side by side tied with a dedicated guy in springfield, illinois. >> 6 on hour0 hours. is mitt romney gaining ground of newt gingrich?

and will millions of americans hitting the roads for the holidays receive a gift at the pump? how this electric cart got loose and slammed through a bunch of peopl me over m the weekend. asian markets are down.

and the dollar is up because of the news of the death of korea's president, kim jong-il. hong kong's hang seng dropped

215 points. on wall street, the dow was off 318 points last week. the nasdaq index lost 92. more and more retailing is shifting to the internet. online shopping this holiday season remains 15% ahead of last year. sales topped $1 billion this past we was that was probably the high water mark for online shopping this year. stores cannot blame gas prices for sending shoppers to the net. the average price for a gallon of regular gas is down a nickel. it's still a quarter more than this same time a year ago. so far, the skies really have friendlier this year. the first 11 months are the safest period worldwide for commercial air travel ever. an industry trade group is not sure why. more countries are adopting international safety standards. >> see how alec baldwin feels

about that. the box office, sherlock holmes was the winner. it was the third disappointing weekend in a row. they debuyed with $40 mill. chipwrecked was second at $23.5 million. "mission impossible" was third. >> the family movies do quite well. >> it's the holida we come when we come back, we'll recap our top story this morning, the death of north korea's reclusive dictator, kim jong-il. and tebow time. did they win? did the packers stay perfect? cool. you found it. wow. nice place. yeah. [ chuckles ] the family thinks i'm out shipping these. smooth move. you used priority mail flat rate boxes. if it fits, it ships for a low, flat rate. paid for postage online and arranged a free pickup.

and i'm gonna track them online, too. nice. between those boxes and this place, i'm totally staying sane this year. do i smell snickerdoodles? maybe. [ timer dings ] got to go. priority mail flat rate shipping at usps.com. a simpler way to ship. nyqui tylenol: me, too. and cougnasal congestion.ers? nyquil:what? tissue box (whispering): he said nasal congestion... nyquil: i heard him. anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't.

a run-away golf cart at cowboys stadium this weekend

bowled down a group standing on the field after a high school football game. a coach was knocked into the cart and fell off. then a grounds keeper sprinted from down field and got it under control. not before seven people got injured. ouch. and for a look at morning road conditions. snow and ice could cause closures on i-40 into amarillo. slick on i-70 from denver to indianapolis. flooding on parts of i-to and 35 across texas. >> if you're flying, delays possible in dallas, houston, kansas city and denver. recapping our top story. north korea is observing ten days of mourning after the death of the country's long-time leader. kim jong-il died on saturday at the age of 69 of a heart attack. >> the president and the south korean president spoke by phone

overnight of the need to watch the situation closely, particularly the north's nuclear ambitions. back here at home and the battle for the republican presidential nomination. >> mitt romney got an important boost over the weekend. here's larry jacobs with more on your voice, your vote. >> reporter: it was mitt romney's first sunday talk show interview in almost two years. the timing couldn't have been better. being broadcast on the day he got the nomination of "the des moines register." they said he's matured as a candidate. and unlike his rivals has refrained from reckless rhetoric and moralizing. the former front-runner defended his record. and then went after the new front-runner. >> he's been unreliable. and zany. i wouldn't say mirrors in space to light highways at night

particularly practical. >> reporter: gingrich appeared supremely confident. >> i'm delighted because the manchester union leader endorsed me. "the des moines register" a solidly liberal newspaper did not endorse me. >> reporter: one said that the impact lasts for a day or so. but that the impact stop there is. >> a lot of people that are not sure might follow it and say, that makes sense to me. i don't think it will fund mentalmean amentally change things. >> reporter: they're trying to reach as many voters as they can before everyone's attentions away from politics for a few days. despite some progress on capitol hill, your paycheck

could still come up short. a makeshift plan passed in the senate that extends the payroll c tax cuts for only two months. switching gears for a lock at what was a wild sunday in the nfl, here's the crew at espn news. >> good morning, i'm jorge andres. this is your espn news update. the nfl, tim tebow and the broncos, hosting tom brady and the patriots. early, first quarter, no score. tebow faking the handoff. breaking the tackle. rushing up the middle. breaking two more tackles to score the touchdown, take another look at this one. tebow with a fake. says get off me, matthew slater. unable to take him down, broncos lead, 6-0 after an unsuccessful extra point. second quarter, patriots up, 17-16. brady keeping it himself and

scores. now to the closing seconds of the third. pats up 27-16. brady to woodhead. thelead, lead, 34-16. they would win, 41-23. how about aaron rodgers and the packers trying to remain perfect against the chiefs. packers down, 6-0, rodgers to driver for the two-yard touchdown. packers up, 7-6. fourth quarter, chiefs up, 9-7. it's kyle orton. faking the handoff, looking, looking, finding pope for the big game. the chiefs had to settle for a field goal and lead it 12-7. chiefs at the peackers 1 yard line. the chiefs win this one, 19-14. that does it for your espn news update.

the packers finally won, the colts finally win. big week. the riverside california homeowner who dazzled millions around the world with the party rock halloween show is at it again. >> he's getting into the christmas spirit replacing the singing pumpkins to the singing santas. he enlisted the help of lmfao. this time, not a live show. just something he created for the american musing awards. >> you have to wonder what his neighbors think. >> i'm loving it on the screen. but if you're living next door to it? >> probably a different impress. coming up next, rise of the jedi. the religious movement. prince harry the hero.

frequent heartburn. teacg 'cause i know a thing or two about eatin'. if you're one of those folks who gets heartburn and then treats day after day... well that's like checking on your burgers after they're burnt! [ male announcer ] treat your frequent heartburn by blocking the acid with prilosec otc. and don't get heartburn in the first place! [ male announcer ] one pill a day. 24 hours. zero heartburn. block the acid with prilosec otc, and don't get heartburn in the first place. available at walmart.

there's a battery that's relied on to help bring children holiday joy. of course, children don't really think about which battery makes their toy run, but, still, you'd never want to disappoint. duracell. trusted everywhere.

i couldn't sleep right. next day it took forever to get going. night after night, i sat up. sprayed up. took a shower... or took a pill. then i tried drug-free breathe right advanced. and instantly, i breathed better! i slept better. it felt...better. thank you, breathe right! [ male announcer ] breathe better, sleep better, feel better. try breathe right advanced for free... at breatheright.com. [ woman ] it's my right to breathe right. isn't it your right, too? time to check "the pulse" the stories you'll be talking about today. is jedi night a religion? people in the czech republic say so. >> a facebook campaign encouraged people to make the "star wars" movie statement.

jedi knight now registers as one. prince harry a hero? the prince rushed in to help a friend being mugged. he drove to the police station to report the crime. >> imagine what the officers thought when the third in line walked through the door. they were able to find the bad guy and return the phone to his friend. it's like, you know, i'm just saying. the most annoying words in the english language. >> people say whatever grates on them more than any other word. like came in second, followed by you know, just saying, and seriously. >> for some of you, your local news is next. for everyone else, we break down some of the movie myths of

all time. if you don't like this show, whatever. ♪

[ female announcer ] you use the healing power of touch every day. the healing power of touch can be even more powerful. with precise from the makers of tylenol. precise pain relieving cream works quickly to activate sensory receptors. it helps block pain signals fast for relief you can feel precisely where you need it most. precise. only from the makers of tylenol.

was now the most secretive regime in the world announces its dictator, jim jung i will is dead. what is next for north korea . a little mild frost on the e y. updating the day's top stories. north korean president kim jong-il has died of a heart attack at the age of 69.

the house votes on the payroll tax deduction today, though it's not certain to pass. the president is postponing his hawaiian vacation until they get it done. tebow time is over. the brongcos lost, 41-23. and the green bay packers bid for a perfect season is stopped by the kansas city chiefs. a rain/snow mix. >> hail, high winds, and chance of tornadoes in texas. finally this morning, movieo always ask us to suspend disbelief. maybe holiday movies push credibility more than most. >> at the risk of taking some of the magic out of christmas, ginger zee puts some of the favorite holiday movies to the reality test. >> i triple dog dare you. >> reporter: perhaps the most famous scene in "a christmas

story." grade schooler with his tongue flo froze on the a flag pole. can this really happen? >> stuck, stuck, stuck! >> reporter: yeah, i'm not going to do that. there is another way to test it. we came to a kitchen. zero degrees fahrenhe we'll take a wet finger, to it the to it the metal. it's definitely stuck. people have tried this, and gotten stuck. so that holiday movie myth, true. how about this? >> don't try this at home, kids. i'm a professional. >> reporter: taking a simple saucer sled, a whole lot of cooking grease, and hitting lightning fast speeds. >> reporter: this one, i will try. we took clark griswold to task. i got my helmet. i can't believe this is my job. first, the control ride. one saucer, no extra grease.

later, dudes. my time -- 10.4 seconds. we just got a basic bottle of cooking spray. we're going to put it on. see if it makes a difference. wish me luck. what's my time? it worked. my time was cut by just over a second. and while my ride was flameless, this trick, true. don't try it at home. i'm a professional. >> a great assignment. i'm a professional. >> a great assignment. >> thanks for watching, closed captioning by closed captioning services,inc