making news on this wednesday, november 17th. >> house democrats divided. a major vote today will decide nancy pelosi's future. should she remain the leader of her party? the maker of a controversial energy drink makes a change overnight, just before a ban by the fda. and queen catherine. britain's prince william pops the question, carrying a $500,000 ring in his backpack. the royal couple in their first interview together.

and good morning, everyone. thanks for being with us. of course, that announcement is front-page news around the world this morning. we'll get to it later in the show. first at home, a major vote for democrats in washington. >> will they vote nancy pelosi after so many members lost their seats in the midterm election. emily schmidt has more. >> reporter: disgruntled democrats argue they need a new face of their party after these midterm election results. but nancy pelosi is expected to win a vote today, making her minority leader. this follows a series of tense meetings, in which members of her own party have urged her to give up her bid to be the party's leader in the house. they say after major losses two weeks ago, the party simply needs change. but the speaker does have enough support to survive today's caucus vote. another option to strip pelosi of certain powers is also expected to fail. there's also developments in another drama involving a democrat. the once-powerful charlie rangel

has one more day to brace himself before learning what his punishment may be. follow lawmakers ruled he violated house ethics rules. he faces failings and sanctions. he will not lose his seat. and one more undecided race could be final by later today. senator lisa murkowski appears victorious for her write-in bid for another term. she is leading her gop rival, tea party-backed joe miller, by 10,000 votes. she could declare victory for the first time today. the first time in decades that a write-in candidate would make their way to the senate. >> lots going on this morning. emily, i'm curious to know, where does congress stand on the tax cuts that expire at the end of the year? >> reporter: certainly, the president, the lawmakers have said, this is a top priority. they have a strict deadline of a few weeks to work on this. the president was expected to host a bipartisan meeting to address this tomorrow. that's announced it will be put off until after thanksgiving. republicans say this simply has some scheduling conflicts.

rob and vinita? >> emily schmidt, live in washington for us. thanks, emily. in other news, now, the russian arms dealer known as the merchant of death is no a new york city jail this morning. victor boot was extradited to the u.s. overnight from thailand, where he was arrested two years ago. attorney general eric holder said he is conspiring to sell millions of dollars of weapons to a terrorist organization, for use in trying to kill americans. an advisory panel's annual report about the u.s. relationship with china is out today. but we already know details a computer hacking incident back in april. during it, 15% of the world's web traffic was briefly sent through chinese servers. that of government and u.s. military was affected for about 20 minutes. in haiti, there are fears that unrest over the raging cholera crisis could spread to the capital, port-au-prince

today. haiti says the battle is hurting efforts to fight the disease. the rioting is targeting u.n. peacekeepers who are blamed for spreading cholera. 1,000 people have died from the illness so far. the maker of that alcohol drink four loko, says it will move the caffeine from its products. it's pulling the blend from the market before the fda was to ban it. it's been under criticism after college students became sick after drinking it. it's been banned in four states. an army staff sergeant who bravely put his life on the line for a fellow soldier in afghanistan has been awarded the medal of honor, the nation's top military award. it's the first time a living american soldier has received that honor since vietnam. more, now, from john hendren. >> reporter: salvatore giunta says the medal is too big for one man. >> it's too big. i'm not going to take it for myself. when it happens, i'll be

thinking about them. when it's done, i'll be thinking about them. it happened in 2007. what he did that day earned him the honor of a nation and the praise of a president. >> i'm going to go offscript here for a second. and say i really like this guy. >> i've never been in a firefight. i've never been left alone. this is for everyone who has ever been with me and touched my life and supported me. and showing me what right looks like. >> reporter: this is the scene a day earlier, as a soldier learns his friend has been shot dead. the next day, 22-year-old specialist giunta would face the challenge of a lifetime, displaying what the ward describes is conspicuous gallantry. >> i can't even begin to describe how intense it was. >> reporter: giunta watched his best friend, platoon leader,

josh brennan, being dragged away by insurgents. he charged into the ambush after him, under heavy fire. >> sal was hit twice. one slamming into his body armor. the other shattering a weapon slung across his back. >> he was putting everything into he had to keep brennan alive. he was talking to him. comforting him. >> reporter: brennan did not make it. giunta says he shares in the nation's highest honor. >> a well-deserved honor. now, for this morning's weather from around the nation. rain in the pacific northwest. windy with up to two feet of snow in the cass dads. and up to a foot in the colorado rockies. much lighter snow in montana and wyoming. some scattered showers in wichita, st. louis and memphis. and morning showers in the ohio valley and the northeast. >> 60s from dallas and new orleans, up to boston. 54 in detroit. 38 in the twin cities. phoenix climbs to 76. sacramento will hit 68. 34 in billings. and mostly 50s from boise to albuquerque.

and when we come back on this wednesday, another boost for an american carmaker. motor trend announces its car of the year. plus, dick cheney's dramatic weight loss. the former vice president appears in public, sporting a very new look. we'll show it to you. and the announcement everyone expected but few were ready for. britain's future king and queen, on preparing for what could be the biggest wedding of the century.

a solution is in the works to compensate homeowners who lost their home to an improper foreclosure. state attorneys general and the country's biggest lenders are in talks to create a victims' fund. "the washington post" reports that the fund would help banks avoid costly court challenges while helping getting relief for homeowners who were wronged. stocks are up this morning after the biggest drop in three months. investors are worried about europe's debt crisis and expectations china will raise interest rates. tokyo's nikkei average rose 0.2% today. hong kong's hang seng is down sharply. in left-handen, the ft. ty opened down slightly. the nasdaq fell 44 points. general motors' initial public offering is scheduled for today. and it could set a record. gm is increasing the size of the stock sale by about 30%. that's because of strong demand. the value of the ipo could reach almost $23 billion, which would be the largest ever.

and some more good news for gm. the chevy volt has been named "motor trend's" 2011 car of the year. the magazine called the electric car a great value. and said it has some of the most advanced engineering ever seen in an american car. the volt goes on sale next month and costs about $33,000 after a federal tax credit. well, it seems safe to say that beatles fans were excited to see the fab four finally go digital. less than a day after the music went on sale at apples itunes, all 17 of their albums shot up to the top-50 sold. the best seller so far, no real surprise, "abbey road" at number six. if you had ever heard of britain's future queen until now. plus, the crime sending shock waves through hollywood. a well-respected publicist killed in the middle of beverly hills. and a very surprising twist on "dancing with the stars." the final slate is now set. ♪ daisy, do a dollop

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welcome back. this morning's roads will be wet on i-5, from seattle to portland. icy on i-15, from salt lake city to montana. i-90 from seattle to billings. and i-84, from portland to boise. slick on i-70, from kansas city to st. louis. and i-80, from new york to cleveland. >> and if you're flying today, you can expect some airport delays in seattle, kansas city, memphis, boston, new york, philadelphia and miami. of course, there's the story that have people buzzing on both sides of the atlantic. that, of course, is the upcoming wedding of prince william and kate middleton. >> let's look at the front page of "the sun" today. with mummy's ring, i thee wed. he said he wanted diana to be a special part of his happiest day, by giving kate the ring. >> a beautiful ring it is. and it starts extensive

coverage. and we look at how the two managed romance at the center of global attention. >> i picked somewhere nice in kenya. and i proposed. >> very romantic. a true romantic. >> reporter: he is william phillip prince of wales. she is catherine middleton. she told the world they are getting married. first on twitter. then, they sat down to answer questions from reporter tom bradley of itn. >> are you going to do this the whole day? >> i had been planning it for a while. but as every guy out there, it takes a certain amount of motivation to get it going. i was planning it. and it felt right to ask her in africa. it was beautiful at the time. >> it was a total shock when it came. very excited. >> reporter: there was natural joy. and maybe a bit of natural relief, too from their loved ones, prince charles.

>> i'm thrilled. thank you very much. waited long enough. >> reporter: and kate's mom and dad. >> we got along really well. we think he's wonderful. and we're extremely fond of him. >> reporter: and from william's grandmother, queen elizabeth. a statement from buckingham palace. she is absolutely delighted. now, she's got the ring. and what a ring it is. sapphire and diamond. william brought it along to kenya, where he popped the question. >> i had carrying it around in my ruck sack for three weeks before it. evywhere i went, i was holding on to it. my mother's engagement ring. i thought it was quite nice. obviously, she's not going to be around for the fun and excitement of all of this. this is my way of keeping her close to it all. >> reporter: and what was it in prince william's eyes as he was facing the cameras, a wariness of the power of the media beast that's taken such a toll on his young life.

>> you both look incredibly happy and relaxed. >> we are. we are. we're like ducks. very calm on the surface. but little feet going on under the water. >> there's a story that goes around, that you had a picture of him on your wall. >> he wishes, no. i had the levi's guy on my -- not a picture of william. sorry. sorry. >> it was me -- >> well, she, as you can imagine, there was a sudden frenzy in the u.s., for copies of that 18-carat sapphire ring. set amid diamonds and white gold. that's on kate middleton's finger. phones have been ringing off the hook at one jewelry market. >> customers were swamped with online orders. the ceo had to call his wife to say i'm not coming home tonight. >> wow. you can keep it here for complete coverage of the royal announcement on "gma." we've dispatched a team of

reporters across britain, for a look at venues. and how kate middleton prepares to become a princess. back to other news this morning. there's new developments in the case of a reality tv producer, accused of killing his wife. bruce beresford-redman is now back in police custody. the arrest comes seven months after his wife's body was found at a mexican resort where the family was vacationing. his attorney says the former "survivor" producer is not guilty. and will fight extradition to mexico. his first hearing is set for this morning. meanwhile, police in beverly hills have seized computers from the office of a prominent publicist who was murdered early yesterday. 64-year-old ronnie chasen was shot several times while behind the wheel of her mercedes. police say they have no motive or suspects. and they know of no threats against chasen. in dallas, it may have been the ground-breaking performer of george w. bush library.

but it was dick cheney who stole the show. his spokesman said cheney dropped lots of weight over the summer, following heart surgery. and for health reasons, he is trying to keep it off. now, high-profile showdowns on the college hardwood to tell you about this morning. details now from espn news. >> good morning, i'm don bell with your espn news update. and the hunt for history continues with the uconn women. gino auriemma, and hosting the baylor bears. maya moore misses the jumper. and brea hartley, knocks down the three. later up by one, moore. dribble-drive, up by 16 feet. she had 30. uconn up by three. 12 seconds left. uconn up by one. brittney griner with the block. she had 19 points in the game. uconn, with two seconds to shoot. inbound pass no good. so, odyssey sims, going the

other way. she needs to score a basket here. pulls up. it is short. uconn wins 65-64. their win streak is now at 80 games. now, to the men. florida hosting ohio state. first half, vernon maclin, misses the lay-in. but alex tyus following it in for the jam. florida down by one. later in the first half, william buford, driving. dishing to jaret sullinger for the jam. florida leads by five. the gators lead, 39-32. things would change. second half. william buford for three. ohio state up by two. later, second half. david lighty. lighty gets it to go. ohio state goes on to win, 93-75. that is your espn news update. i'm don bell. back to you in new york. well, fans of "dancing with

the stars" are stunned this morning, after witnessing the most surprising sendoff of the season. >> despite the consistently high scores last night, brandy was eliminated. there were gasps in the audience. and jennifer grey's partner was visibly shocked. that means bristol palin stays in after weeks of what many feel were lackluster performances. she faces off in the season finale. still in it. >> hanging in. coming up next, the stories we'll be following today, including one late-night comic's attempt to shake up facebook today. i have asthma. and when my symptoms came back i'd get this tightness in my chest. so i went back to my doctor again. we chose symbicort to help control my asthma symptoms all day and night. [ man ] symbicort improves my lung function, starting within 15 minutes. symbicort will not replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms.

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and now, a look ahead to the stories we'll be watching on this wednesday. today, republicans are expected to formally nominate john boehner to become next speaker of the house. while democrats appear ready to keep nancy pelosi as their leader, despite demands for her resignation. it seems alaska senator lisa murkowski will claim victory today when the count of write-in ballots in her state finally end. she is ahead 10,000 votes of joe miller, who had strong backing of sarah palin. general motors' initial public offering will be priced after the close of the bell on wall street. strong demand is pushing up the price.

and could make it the biggest ipo ever. and late-night talk show host jimmy kimmel has declared today national unfriend day. he wants you to dump all the people who aren't really your friend. >> nice idea. for some of you, your local news is coming up next. i can't believe i used to swing over those rocks... took some foolish risks as a teenager. but i was still taking a foolish risk with my cholesterol. anyone with high cholesterol may be at increased risk of heart attack. diet and exercise weren't enough for me. i stopped kidding myself. i've been eating healthier, exercising more...

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finally from us this morning, for prince william's bride-to-be, saying yes might have been the easy part. >> after her fairy tale wedding, she will have to brace for a life filled with prompt and protocol and even pet peeves, it's sure to be a royal challenge. here's miguel marquez. >> reporter: when kate middleton ties the royal knot, she will be known around the world as princess catherine. she will also enter a world few of us could imagine. the royal family. >> if she only a knew what she was letting herself into, my golly, i think she might have second-thoughts about it. of course, the british royal family has frequently been described as the most dysfunctional family in the whole of great britain. >> reporter: in his new book, "we are amused," ryan hoey has highlighted some of the habits. the queen mum, has the royal

pets. the welsh corgis are loved by the queen. and no one else. don't even think of petting them. if you think of pouring the queen a drink, gin and dubonnet. she has it on ice. but doesn't like the clinking sound. the queen despises brown suits and loafers. what really gets her going, clip-on bow ties. if you're invited to a function at buckingham palace, you better know how to tie one herself. middleton once used the word toilet in front of the queen. inviting a royal backlash. we don't go to the toilet. we go to the lavatory. okay. the family is a little controversial here. but, hey, at least the royals aren't boring. will and kate will have a lot to live up and down to. >> it's rather dull. that might be the worst thing that could happen to the monarchy. perhaps we want them to be hugely