making news on this veterans day, november 11th. >> slashing social security, even medicare. controversial cuts to improve the nation's finances this morning. the president weighs in from south korea. homeward bound. the slow boat to shore. passengers on the cripple cruise liner share survival stories with us. and country music's magic night. but why is a movie star on stage? good morning. and thanks for being with us. both parties in washington had been expecting a battle next week over whether to extend those bush-era tax cuts.

>> this morning, major developments. "the huffington post" announces that the white house will agree to continuation of all of the tax cuts. the president wanted the tax cuts to expire for the wealthy. >> it will add $700 million to the budget deficit, as drastic cuts to the national debt. >> we'll get reaction from the president in korea in a moment. but first, the plan and its opposition. here's jon karl. >> reporter: the draft proposal was unveiled with a dire warning. >> this debt is like a cancer that will truly destroy this country from within if we don't fix it. >> reporter: the solution from erskine bowles and simpson, lots of bitter medicine, including a 15-cent a gallon hike in the gas tax, cutting social security payments for high income seniors, raising the retirement age, cutting defense spending by $100 billion, including closing one-third of u.s. military bases abroad, eliminating the tax deduction

for home mortgages over $500,000, slashing farm subsidies and eliminating 10% of the federal work force. and that's just for starters. would it fly? don't count on it. even members of the debt commission attacked it. >> i am virulently against that proposal. >> reporter: off camera, another said, there are things in there that i hate like the devil hates holy water. outgoing speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, called the plan simply unacceptable. the debt commission was created by president obama. but boels and simpson made it clear, this is not his proposal. in a statement, the white house simply said it would review the commission's recommendations. the real problem, everybody likes to talk about cutting the deficit, but nobody wants to seriously deal with it. even if congress made all of these cuts, the deficit would become a $200 billion deficit by the year 2015.

in other words, it would be enough to make a serious debt in the deficit, but not enough to get to a balanced budget. jonathan karl, abc news, washington. >> those money woes jon mentioned are on the president's mind as he meets with the world's other economic powers in south korea. he's also meeting with troops on veterans day. >> but what about the drastic, new steps to cut the deficit? karen travers is traveling with the president and joins us now from seoul. hi, karen. >> reporter: good morning, rob and vinita. president obama would not comment on the draft report. but said there would be a lot of tough decisions to tackle the u.s. deficit. the trip started with a setback. no deal on the long-delayed free trade agreement. president obama and president lee had set out this summit for the sticking points, which open up korean markets to u.s. automakers. >> we don't want months to pass we before we get this done. we want this to be done in a matter of weeks. >> reporter: earlier, mr. obama

marked veterans day with some of the nearly 30,000 u.s. troops currently stationed in korea. >> on this day, we honor every man and woman who has ever worn the uniform of the united states of america. we salute fallen heroes. and keep in our prayers those who are still in harm's way. like the xhen and women serving in iraq and afghanistan. >> reporter: as world leaders gather in seoul, the world economy is no longer on the brink of collapse. the job now is creating jobs. president obama says he expects consensus, even as we heard from china and germany criticize the federal reserve's recent move to buy $600 billion worth of treasury bonds to stimulate u.s. economic growth. the president said a strong american economy is good for the world. >> the most important thing that the united states can do for the world economy is to grow because

we continue to be the world's largest market and a huge engine for all other countries to grow. >> reporter: president obama just wrapped up meetings with chinese president huh and ankara merkel. we're waiting to find out details from what happened. from the brief photo ops we've seen, it was pleasantries and cooperation. rob and vinita? >> karen travers in seoul for us. thank you, karen. a study about the repealing the effects of the don't ask, don't tell policy, is due on secretary gates desk in about three weeks. we're already learning some of the details. "the washington post" says the report finds that repealing the policy would cause minimal and isolated incidents of risk to the current war efforts. more than 70% of troops who were asked about doing away with the policy said its effect would be positive, mixed or nonexistent. outgoing house speaker nancy

pelosi finds herself under new pressure from rank and file democrats. a growing number of them are publicly and privately questions if pelosi should be elected to lead house democrats next year. it's coming from conservative districts who barely won re-election last week. the vote is scheduled for next week. pelosi's former colleague, rahm emanuel, will make his run for mayor of chicago official on saturday. he's been raising money since leaving the white house last month. emanuel needs to collect 12,000 signatures by the 22nd to be on the ballot. lawmakers in iraq have broken eight months of gridlock and have reached a deal to form a new government there. the agreement keeps prime minister nuri al maliki in the post for another four years. the other top government posts will be spread among iraq's maker parties. there's no sign in the economic downturn in the new york art world. the auction season cost $632

million worth of artwork being sold. that included a record-shattering $42 million for this roy lickin' steen last night. it has been put up for sale by steve winn. now, for this morning's weather from around the country. rain from seattle to portland. windy in the los angeles area. several inches of snow in the rockies and northern plains. afternoon showers west of chicago into st. louis, kansas, wichita and oklahoma city. summer-like in parts of the south. >> 81 in miami. 77 in new orleans. and 73 in atlanta. mostly 50s from boston to baltimore. still warm in the midwest. minneapolis climbed to 71. chicago, 64. detroit is 60 degrees. 50s in the pacific northwest. 45 in boise. and 34 degrees in colorado springs. and when we come back on this thursday, a day after google execs showed some holiday spirit, now showing a little vengeance. and the growing backlash against this alcoholic beverage.

banned by another state. and a little bit of hollywood shines in nashville at the cma awards. we'll be back. ve

the number of homes lost to foreclosure fell last month. but that is not expected to be the start of a trend. repossessions were down 9% from september. the sharpest drop of the year. but that was mainly because many lenders temporarily froze

foreclosures to review potentially flawed paperwork. the number of homes receiving some kind of foreclosure warning also fell slightly. overseas markets are rising this morning. tokyo's nikkei average climbed 0.3% today. hong kong's hang seng is higher. in london, the ftse opened higher. and on wall street, the dow added ten points yesterday. meanwhile, the nasdaq gained 15 points. investigators say they have found a possible cause for that qantas airlines engine blowout. they believe an oil fire may have caused the engine failure that caused an emergency landing in singapore last week. all airlines flying a-380 jumbo jets have been ordered to make more expectations. those alcohol energy drinks are being cleared from the shelves in washington state. regulators banned the drinks, citing the hospitalization of nine dangerously drunk college students last month. oklahoma, michigan and utah have outlawed four loko and other brands.

if you can't wait to have your holiday turkey to start your holiday shopping, sears will get you get a head start. all of its stores will be open on thanksgiving. shoppers can get a jump on black friday deals from 7:00 a.m. to noon. we told you yesterday about the early holiday gift that google gave its employees. all its workers are getting a 10% raise and a $1,000 bonus, all but one, that is. the employee who tipped off the media about the planned pay hike was fired within hours of leaking that memo. >> giveth and taketh. coming up on this thursday, what it's like on that crippled cruise liner as it approaches land. and on top of that, some graphic, new cigarette labels. will they scare teens from smoking? [ yoshioka ] people with sensitive teeth also want white teeth... so that's why we have sensodyne iso-active whitening for those that are looking for it. it comes in a canister. it starts out as a gel.

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wet on i-5 seattle to portland. icy on i-25, from denver to cheyenne. and on i h f 70, from denver west. rain makes for a slick ride on i-35, from dmin to kansas city. >> and if you're driving today, expect airport delays in seattle, denver and kansas city. that disabled carnival cruise ship is finally arriving in san diego this morning, four days after it lost power. >> with thousands of people waiting in line for less than gourmet meals, the latest luxury seems to be the open bar. abc's emily schmidt has the latest. >> reporter: as the crippled "carnival splendor" moved into cell phone range, passengers got a chance to share the ship's shape. they boarded hours after they got married, just before a monday morning fire in the engine room knocked out power on the huge ship. they spent the honeymoon cleaning their toilet and dealing with rotting food.

>> the fruit is going bad. the stuff that's not going bad, isn't ripe. nothing is good anymore. >> reporter: the refrigerators stopped working, leaving only enough food to last until midday tuesday, for the 4,500 passengers and crew onboard. so, the navy has been dropping supplies. things like spam and pop-tarts, that are little consolation for frustrated travelers. >> a lot of people are upset that there's no coffee because there's no hot water. cold showers is not our idea of fun on the cruise. >> we're very, very sar for the discomfort and inconvenience that our guests have had to deal with in the last several days. >> reporter: carnival's president says safety has been a top priority. and the cruise line wants to get people home as soon as possible. but it hasn't been easy pulling the 950-foot ship. one of the two mexican tugboats shut down yesterday. and progress is slow. meanwhile, the pools are closed. rooms nearly as gloomy as this trip turned out to be. there are reports that one thing has made passengers happy.

apparently when they learned that the ship would be going all the way back to california instead of docking in mexico, one passenger says the cheers wept up all around. the ship is due in san diego, now, in just a matter of hours. rob and vinita? >> i'm sure the open bar is helping with the cheers. british police say the mail bomb they discovered on a flight from yemen was timed to blow up on the east coast ofhe u.s. the explosives were hidden inside printers on cargo jets. a timer was set to explode over populated areas. al qaeda has vowed to send more explosives packed in parcells. it looks like sarah palin would be the most polarizing gop presidential candidate if she does, indeed, run for president. the associated press poll shows 46% of americans view palin favorably. that's compared to 49% who do not do so. 5% said they didn't know enough about palin to form an opinion. impressions of potential 2012

candidates, mike huckabee and mitt romney, were more positive. warnings on cigarettes are about to get more graphic. the government is taking public comments on 36 labels. that include labels that smoking kills and cigarettes can cause cancer. it's part of an effort to increase the number of people quitting tobacco. the decision on which labels to will made next june. the nfl's first game of the season will start tonight. baltimore ravens will visit atlanta. as for last night's sports highlights, here's mike yam over at espn news. >> good morning. we start in our nation's capital, where there was some history, thanks to john wall and the wizards. second quarter, wizards up nine. wall with the finish. the one-hand alley-oop. 19 points, 13 helpers and 10 rebounds. his first career triple-double. the third-youngest to get the

triple-dub. the wizards win it 98-91. terps actually down by four. to shawn howard. he had 14 points. but the terps still down by two. less than ten seconds to go. maryland, trailing by one. howard again. his second career college game. he didn't miss a shot. he was six of seven from the floor. last chance for the cougars. the desperation three. off the mark, no good. maryland avoids the scare. they win it 75-74. to the ice. jason arnott and the devils taking on the sabres. first period, scoreless. arnot, collecting the rebound. oh, putting it in. devils on top, 1-0. second period, tied at 2-2. devils on the powerplay. arnot, show me something. the slap shot. scores, second of the game for him. devils on top, 3-2. still a one-goal game. tyler ennis, right place, right

time. ties the game at 4-4. we're going to overtime, after a scoreless extra session, ilya kovalchuk. the dels' $100 million man, are you kidding me? loses the puck. sabres win this thing, 5-4. that will do it for the update. back to you in new york. it was a foot-stomping good time in nashville for country music's biggest stars. >> miranda lambert struck gold at the cma awards, with three wins, including album of the year and best female vocalist. but the big award of the night went to brad paisley. after several nominations over the years, he finally clinched the coveted cma for entertainer of the year. >> and it was a cma first for actress gwyneth paltrow, who took to the stage with guitar in hand. ♪ just want to dance on a dusty midwest moon ♪ >> that's the theme for her new

movie "country strong." she passed muster with the country music aficionados. they gave her a standing ovation. before going out on the stage, she was so nervous. she lost ore appetite and hadn't sung for a while. coming up next, the stories we'll be following today. so, stay with us. [ male announcer ] it's simple physics... a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and celebrex is not a narcotic. when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor need to balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, including celebrex,

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president obama is observing veterans day in south korea. by saluting u.s. troops stationed there. he also refused to comment on some drastic, new proposals from his own commission to reduce the federal debt. instead, he is urging both parties to work together. reaction today from a report in "the huffington post" that the white house is ready to back the bush-era tax cuts for all americans. the white house wanted the tax cuts to expire for the wealthy. and the first lady is in germany on this veterans day, thanking u.s. servicemen and women. and she will visit wounded warriors at the largest military hospital outside the continental u.s. we're getting amazing video from ohio. usually demolition jobs crumble on cue. but things went terribly wrong when a 300-foot smokestack crashed in the wrong direction. >> wow. spectators were literally sent

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well, some everyday items from bernie madoff's high-flying lifestyle are going on the auction block here in new york this weekend. we're talking very basics. socks, slippers, even underwear. >> didn't see that coming. of course, there are valuables, too. kimberly richardson, of our new york station, wabc, stopped by for a preview. >> reporter: it's a rare look into a world few saw. but now many will see. thousands of items that belonged to bernie and ruth madoff are up for auction. the dining room table. furniture from their montauk beach house. ruth's 10-carat engagement ring. >> some things are very top of the market. other things are very average. >> reporter: jennifer crane helped catalog all this. property that was forfeited and seized by u.s. marshalls. the stockbroker, clearly liked the finaler things in life.

prada socks. high-end watches. his shoes, size 9-wide, from casual to flashy. he meticulously kept every shoe box. >> there's a value in everything. and everything we get goes to the victims. >> reporter: those who lost so much in madoff's upon save scam, much of this, probably paid for with some of that money. officials hope saturday's auction brings in about $1.5 million. anything with madoff initials or name on it always does well. there is plenty. even ruth mike e liked marking territory. >> i went into all the cars and all the boats. everything was marked. >> reporter: and probably one of the most unusual items. lot number 380. a new pair of madoff designer boxers. yes, they have pleats. this is the last batch of personal items up for sale from the madoff's once-lavish lifestyle here in new york. a chapter many are glad to see closed. kimberly