and defense attorneys are going to lay out their basic case against pistorius. what we've learned so far, is that prosecutors believe this was premeditated murder, one of the highest levels of charges you can have in south africa. they want to convince the judge on that so the onus would be on pistorius' attorney to prove why their client should get bail. basically, prosecutors said this morning they believe this was a case of premeditated murder because they say pistorius had to stop, put on his prosthetic legs, grab a gun and then walk 21 feet to a bathroom where steenkamp was behind a locked door. and then, they say she was shot three times behind that bathroom door. the defense argument, we have learned today, is going to be that pistorius thought a burglar was inside that bathroom. and the defense has said,

prosecutors had no way to prove, he knew who was in there. and they are prepared to submit evidence of other men who have shot wives and children thinking they were burglars. >> this is an emotional day for all involved. most especially the family of reeva steenkamp. can you explain how the family is taking all of this? >> reporter: this has obviously been a devastating time for the family of reeva steenkamp. in the past few days, the few statements they have made to the media have expressed just a lot of confusion. and they have asked, just for answers. they have said at times they are trying to be patient. they just really want to understand what could have possibly happened in that home to lead to the death of their beautiful daughter. they are burying their daughter today in a private service in her hometown of port elizabeth. and after that memorial service, which is going on right now,

they have said that they will be willing to release some statements, again to the media. we'll learn a little bit more about where they stand at this point. >> all right. bazi kanani, live for us right there in south africa. thank you for that. we're going to move on, now, to syria. one of the most dangerous hot spots on the planet. after two years of bloody conflict there, a u.n. panel says the government and those rebels should both be charged with war crimes. >> abc's terry moran made the harrowing journey to the frontier of the battle, the capital, damascus. >> reporter: the road from beirut to damascus. we drove into syria along this heavily guarded route, checkpoint after checkpoint after checkpoint. it is now a lifeline, as damascus, the stronghold of the government of president bashar assad, becomes a city under siege. it is a dirty war, in a crucial country. just look at the map. the chaos engulfing syria threatens to spill over into iraq on one side, israel and

lebanon on the other. a nightmare scenario for the u.s. the united nations now estimates that 70,000 people have been killed in the fighting. though, no one really knows. damascus is quiet. some light traffic. no one really walking around. 5 million people hunkered down, as the terrible war that is tearing their country apart has now arrived here, in fierce battles raging in the city's suburbs. >> that's terry moran for us in damascus. terry is in syria, with permission from the government there. he'll be reporting on the conflict throughout the week. one more note from overseas. we learned overnight who is likely responsible for recent internet attacks on the u.s. government and businesses. a security firm tells "the new york times" it can tie those attacks to the chinese army. the company has traced the attacks to a building in shanghai used by an army unit. other security firms and u.s. government agencies also believe the hacking is government-sponsored.

and back here at home, it will be a day of severe weather in many states. a storm now on the move brought dangerous conditions to the dakotas and western minnesota. two people, in fact, were killed in an interstate pileup near fargo. drivers were warned to stay off the roads, as visibility was reduced to near zero. even plows were pulled because they simply could not keep up with all that blowing and drifting snow. and a few thousand customers are without power in arkansas this morning after severe weather moved through there, as well. power was knocked out to several buildings but there were no immediate reports of major injuries. golf ball-sized hail was reported in the town of prescott. and with more on the coming storms, here's accuweather's jim dickey. good morning, jim. >> good morning, rob and diana. we're tracking a storm system here that will be the big weathermaker. we'll track for a couple days. as far as today is concerned, it rolls down the coast of california. soaking rainfall in san francisco. that rain arrives late into l.a.

we'll see some heavy snow in the sierra nevada. now, wednesday into thursday, it moves into the four corners and then into the plains. looking for blizzard conditions in nebraska, into south dakota on thursday, with the potential for strong thunderstorms once again. rob and diana, back to you. >> thanks, jim. the colorado house has passed new gun control measures. it's a bill being watched across the country. house democrats passed new ammunition limits and expanded background checks as part of a package of bills responding to recent mass shootings. of course, 1 of the shootings was at a movie theater in aurora, that left 12 people dead. the legislation faces an uncertain fate in the state senate. and it's finally official. mississippi has abolished slavery. the state's legislature formally ratifying the constitution's 13th amendment in 1995. but the ratification document was never presented to the u.s. archivist. so, it was never official. now that oversight has been corrected. it was discovered, by the way, after some citizens saw the movie "lincoln," and

investigated. >> better late than never, i guess. >> i don't know. >> it's a little slow. coming up next, is walmart in trouble? leaked e-mails refer to the worst sales month ever. then, it's our top story this morning. oscar pistorius back in court, as his sponsors begin to drop their support. >> we'll be back. stay with us.

recapping our breaking news this morning. prosecutors in south africa are accusing olympian oscar pistorius of premedicated murder in the killing of his girlfriend last thursday. a defense attorney claims pistorius was acting in self-defense when he fired through a bathroom door, killing 30-year-old reeva steenkamp. and in related news, many of

the companies that were sponsoring pistorius are now trying to distance themselves from the sprinter. nike is pulling its ads featuring pistorius, including one in which he claims he is, quote, the bullet in the chamber. oakley eyewear has also canceled its ads. walmart executives appear worried about the retail giant's sales this month. internal e-mails called the sales, quote, a total disaster and the worst start to a month ever. the execs blame the payroll tax increase that took effect january 1st, as well as delayed tax refunds. and two major office supply chains are reportedly talking about a merger. office max and office depot have been hit hard by the weak economy, as well as rivals staples and costco. burger king sure isn't loving this. its twitter account was hacked yesterday. for a while, the name and logo were changed to mcdonald's. and the message was sent, saying that burger king had been sold because its signature burger, the whopper, of course, had flopped. when the account was restored, burger king did tweet that it

had been, quote, an interesting day. to say the least. and call this the kevin bacon effect applied to the internet. while there are more than 14 billion web pages, they're apparently all connected. a hungarian physicists has been doing some research and claims that any 1 website is separated from any other by 19 clicks or less. while some sites have a few links, search sites and stories act as hubs. >> very interesting. think the worldwide web would be a smaller world than that. 19, huh? >> it is a small world, after all. >> you didn't sing it. i'll give you points for that. >> thank you. serious news we're doing. next on this tuesday morning, more serious news. alec baldwin's newest problem with the ever-present paparazzi. and alarming, new details about the newtown shooter, adam lanza. we'll be right back.

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well, big things are on the move again in southern california. you might remember the shuttle "endeavour" being moved through the streets of l.a. well, now these giant drums, each weighing 500,000 pounds, are being hauled carefully through city streets to an oil refinery near l.a.x. >> big stuff. now, for a look at your morning road conditions. it will be wet along i-5, from los angeles to san francisco. expect snow, sleet and freezing rain in kentucky. and thunderstorms along i-10, from tallahassee to jacksonville. >> and it's a tough day for air travel out there, with delays possible in san francisco, los angeles, detroit and several major hubs along the east coast. keep your patience, folks. new details this morning about the school shooting tragedy in connecticut. there are reports that adam lanza may have been competing with another serial killer. >> investigators are looking, now, at a possible link between lanza and a mass murderer in

norway. "the hartford currant" newspaper reports that authorities found several news articles about the 2011 norway massacre in lanza's bedroom. 77 folks killed in that event. also, george zimmerman's wife, shelly, will be in a florida courtroom to ask that her perjury case be dismissed. after her husband, a former neighborhood watch leader, was charged with killing teenager trayvon martin, she testified they were broke, even though they did have access at the time to more than $130,000. she now faces five years in prison if convicted. well, it's happened all over again. actor alec baldwin has had another run-in with the paparazzi. he was the focus of attention walking around his manhattan neighborhood on monday. reporters were trying to get his reaction to a photographer's claim that baldwin used a racial slur during a confrontation over the weekend. but baldwin had very little to say. >> can you set the record straight? >> not that i would bother doing that with you.

>> in a statement, baldwin called the photographer's claim, totally bogus. both baldwin and that photographer have filed complaints with police. those who knew country singer mindy mccready are now questioning whether something could have been done to help her. she was found dead after an apparent suicide sunday at her home in arkansas. a former boyfriend said mccready had threatened to kill herself after losing custody of one of her sons earlier this month, and should not have been allowed to leave court-ordered rehab. she is now the fifth cast member from tv's "celebrity rehab" to die. magic johnson calls the late dr. jerry buss, the long-time owner of the l.a. lakers, a visionary and an incredible businessman. buss bought the lakers in 1979 and saw them making the nba finals 16 times and winning 10 championships. and he is credited with effortlessly bringing together top-named talent and high-priced coaches. buss died on monday after a long battle with cancer. he was 80 years old. and the lakers do not take the floor again until tomorrow. as for college hoops, now,

though, we get some highlights from espn. >> welcome to your "sportscenter" update. i'm jorge andres. brittney griner and number one baylor taking on number three uconn, at the xcel center. pick it up second half. griner, getting the ball down low. and just muscling her way through with the bucket. she had just four points in the first half. then, she would turn it up. griner right there. 10 of 21 shooting in the contest. baylor by three. just over a minute to play. griner sinking the free throw. that's her 3,000th career point. she finished with 25 points. baylor wins it, 76-70. number 20, pittsburgh, hosting number 25, notre dame. both teams looking to bounce back after suffering losses. notre dame, couldn't make a basket early. atkins misses there. then, tom knight, nothing. and jack cooley -- no. are you kidding me? now, it's more than nine minutes into the game. notre dame, down 11-1.

knight making the bucket, finally. the first field goal of the game. coach mike brey, obviously upset. getting teed up for that. and later, looks like they needed that. cooley gets that bucket to go in. notre dame ended the half on a 16-5 run. later, jerian grant, sinking the three. he had 13 points in the game. notre dame up four. later, pat connaughton finding cooley. cooley, 13 points, 9 boards. notre dame by nine. under two to play. atkins, ten points, seven helpers in the game. and notre dame bounces back after the ugly start. notre dame wins it, 51-42. that's your "sportscenter" update. i'm jorge andres. have a great day. okay. this is pretty incredible. viral video shot high in the french alps. a guy in a modified mini cooper, doing what's never been done before. he drives it straight up a ramp. you'll see it here in a second. and the car, watch it. it does a backflip. full-on backflip.

>> the stunt, being touted, now, as the world's first-ever backflip in a car, was four years in the making. >> that's a cool-looking mini. >> different tires than what you see on the highway. >> you need some good suspension to do a back flip. >> well done, man. coming up next, "the pulse." and enough rest for hillary clinton already. she's already back to work, if you can believe it. and has chosen a very lucrative way to do it. >> she didn't wait long, did she? plus, the first lady explains her well-publicized new do. slebut when you wake up in the middle of the night it can be frustrating. it's hard to turn off and go back to sleep. intermezzo is the first and only prescription sleep aid approved for use as needed in the middle of the night when you can't get back to sleep. it's an effective sleep medicine you don't take before bedtime. take it in bed only when you need it

and have at least four hours left for sleep. do not take intermezzo if you have had an allergic reaction to drugs containing zolpidem, such as ambien. allergic reactions such as shortness of breath or swelling of your tongue or throat may occur and may be fatal. intermezzo should not be taken if you have taken another sleep medicine at bedtime or in the middle of the night or drank alcohol that day. do not drive or operate machinery until at least 4 hours after taking intermezzo and you're fully awake. driving, eating, or engaging in other activities while not fully awake without remembering the event the next day have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations, or confusion. alcohol or taking other medicines that make you sleepy may increase these risks. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. intermezzo, like most sleep medicines, has some risk of dependency. common side effects are headache, nausea, and fatigue. so if you suffer from middle-of-the-night insomnia,

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all right. time to check "the pulse" this morning the stories that people are talking about. and first up, forget about "the big bang theory" here. we have the facts on the first lady's bangs. how do you like that? >> that's right. mrs. obama explains why to rachael ray she made such a dramatic change just a few days before the inauguration. >> this is my mid life crisis. i couldn't get a sports car. they won't let me bungee jump. so, instead, i cut my bangs. >> kept it pretty tame. the first lady turned 49 on january 17th. there's no telling what she's going to do when she hits the big 5-0 next year. >> looking good. a former first lady, now, and former secretary of state, back in the news this morning. the one and only hillary clinton, has now signed on with a top agency and will be hitting the speaking circuit starting this spring. >> you can already hear the cash coming in. cha-ching. it's likely mrs. clinton will

command the same fee that her husband gets. one tally says mr. clinton, the former president, has made more than $89 million making speeches since leaving the white house. >> wow. 89. never would have guessed that high. >> they won't even pay me. >> put it in perspective. the president's salary is $400,000 a year. $89 million in speaking fees. what does that tell you? >> president obama's like, let's get out of here. >> 2016. here we go. michael jackson's oldest son is only 16 years old. but he's already making a name for himself. prince jackson has landed his first job as a special correspondent for "entertainment tonight." >> they grow up so fast. at a time when most kids his age are getting ready for the s.a.t.s, prince jackson was covering a junket for disney's "oz the great and powerful." he says he wants to be a well-rounded director and actor someday. and talk about ambition. look at what this 9-year-old is doing. nicholas toocheck is getting ready to run a marathon in antarctica.

>> and he's doing it for a good cause. it's called operation warm, which provides winter coats for needy kids across the u.s. by the time he runs one marathon on each of the seven continents, nicholas wants to raise $1 million. the temperature expected for monday's run, by the way, it's a balmy 35 degrees. >> good luck, my friend. for some of you, your local news is next. >> for everyone else, we'll be right back. i was living with pain -- all over. the intense ache made it hard to do the things that i wanted. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia -- thought to be the result of over-active nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain.

lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. so now, i can do more of the things i enjoy. lyrica is not for everyone. it 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 swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, changes in eyesight including blurry vision, muscle pain with fever, or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. with less pain, i'm feeling better with lyrica. ask your doctor if lyrica is right for your fibromyalgia pain. you know who you are. you can part a crowd, without saying a word... if you have yet to master the quiet sneeze...

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