making news on this monday, january 31st. >> turning point. in egypt, neither protesters nor the president are backing down, but who will blink first as the u.s. gets set to airlift thousands from cairo. getting ready for another monster snowstorm which will impact a hundred million americans. and betty white's night. another night for the comedy icon. and good morning, everyone. thanks for being with us on this monday. european heads of state are now urging the egyptian government to implement democratic reforms

and avoidmy more violence against protesters. >> who are the latest developments on day seven. activists are gathering in cairo's tahrir square insisting that their protests are far from over. >> also, governments from around the world, including the u.s., are now sending planes into cairo to get the citizens out. >> and mohamed elbaradei has emerged as the face. we will go live to cairo in just a moment but we begin our coverage with emily schmidt in washington. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. today, president mubarak signals he is now ready to talk with protesters but this gives protesters about a week to build momentum. in fact, 1 million are expected to gather today, and compromise isn't their idea of success. >> reporter: on this day of protests which tipped thousands

of people into president mubarak's three decades of war. the tipping point is still unclear. >> we are in a revolution and we will destroy mubarak. >> reporter: yesterday, move bar ache appeared on tv with a new president and prime minister. but elbaradei says the revolution has started we cannot retreat now. he told "this week's" christiane amanpour is this doesn't open the door to islamists. >> it's either us, depression, or al qaeda-type islamists. this is not egypt. >> reporter: president obama called for a more orderly transition for a government. secretary of state hillary clinton says that doesn't mean calling for mubarak to leave. >> i've never said that. i don't intend to say that. i want the egyptian people to have the chance to chart a new

future. >> reporter: thousands of people are at the airports waiting to do so. >> yesterday, the police cut off runways. everybody was then, you know in a difficult situation. >> and it isn't an easy situation to get the information to leave the country to people who are in egypt. phone communication is spotty at best. internet has been down since friday. still, the first american flights out of cairo are scheduled to leave today. vinita nair. >> and now we turn to abc's alex marquardt who has been on the streets. what do you see there and are the communications still limited now? >> reporter: limited, rob. the fact that i'm on a cell phone with you is unique. better ground zero for the

protests, we're trying to get to the egyptian museum to talk to someone about the artifacts inside. we tried various checkpoints we were not allowed in. they were very nice about it but they were clearly trying to keep the protesters away. not a very good sign for the demonstrators who would like to go out there again today but possibly a good sign for the artifacts in the museum. >> now seven days, president mubarak has been saying he will talk with the protesters. is that going to be enough to appease the crowds? >> reporter: it seems little can be done to peaappease the crowd calling for move bar touk leave. clearly not happy with the fact that he seems to think that naming a new vice president and prime minister is a way of pacifying the masses. it has not worked so far. we expect thousands to be back out on the square and on the

streets of egypt today, calling for mubarak to step down. so it's really a question of what is the next move? will the military crack down on them, will the protests slow down or pick up? and what will mubarak do. >> we heard reports about the mummies in the museum, their heads being torn off. anything to protect the artifacts in the museum? >> reporter: this is clearly an issue that they're worried about. we've seen a human chain around the museum. aside from the protests, you've got a lot of egyptians who are very concerned about their history. people are very, very proud about their 7,000 years of history, so they are going to quite some length to protect it. >> alex marquardt live in cairo from a cell phone, as we realize, thank you, alex. and the u.s. state department is expected to begin airlifting thousands of

americans out of egypt over the next few days. they will be taken to europe, turkey, or athens, greece. any american inside of egypt is eligible. the state department is now encouraging those who have commercial airline tickets in hand to actually use them. we have the team in cairo, including christiane amanpour later on "good morning america." well, another major storm is poised to blast three quarters of the country. it is bringing heavy snow and ice to the rockies and midwest first, but the east coast will not be spared. >> and that, of course is unwelcome news here in new york where garbage is being picked up today for the first time since last week's storm buried the city under 19 inches of white stuff. accuweather's ava dinges is keeping an eye on this. >> reporter: good morning, rob and vinita, a massive storm system over the overnight, 3 to 6 inches of know in denver all the way back to minneapolis.

blizzard conditions expected in chicago and detroit overnight. and then the storm continues to build north and east as we head towards groundhog day, affecting the mid-atlantic with an icy mix through wednesday. back to you. when we come back, what the crisis in egypt is doing to the overseas stock markets this morning. and later, christiane amanpour's return to cairo. what she found when she arrived. plus, we'll take you to last what she found when she arrived. plus, we'll take you to last night's s.a.g. how healthy work.

the protests in egypt are causing jitters among investors, asian stocks fell sharply today as investors worried that turmoil could spread to neighboring countries unrest also sent oil prices higher on concerned access to the suez canal, a key route would be blocked. in japan, the average tumbled 1.2%. today. hang seng hang, .25%. on london, the ftse fell 48 points, the nasdaq split almost three points. reports of the united states' demise in manufacturing appear to be great with exaggerated. new numbers show the u.s. is still the world's top manufacturing country by a wide margin, in fact. our factories outproduced china's by more than 40% last year. difference is workers have been able to make more with fewer

workers. walgreens has quietly rolled out its own label beer. the big flats brand is 50 cents a can. critics say, be careful, you get you what pay for. walgreens plans to launch wine. at the movies "the rite" took the top. anthony hopkins. and "no strings attached" finished in second. "the greenhorn" and the mechanic" tied for third. >> researchers say january 31st is the happiest day of the year. they say it's a combination of getting that first paycheck of the year and looking forward to a planned vacation. it's one of the busiest for travel agents. >> and it's apparently two weeks after blue monday in which we're suffering from post-christmas debt and daylight.

more news from egypt. plus the weekend terror plot against one of the country's biggest mosques. in sports news, the cross-country rematch. celtics and lakers meet for the first time since the nba finals. - you know, these things are never wrong.

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artists from around the country descended on chicago to put their talent out on ice. more than a dozen teams of sculptors vowed onlookers with a variety of statues carved to perfection. it was part of a festival called "snow day chicago. "medusa. >> and more snow on the way. now for a look at morning road condition. snow and ice on virtually every interstate. especially on i-80 from nebraska to detroit. i-70 from st. louis to indiana. i-10 from houston to new orleans. >> if you're flying expect

delays in salt lake city, denver, minneapolis, kansas city, dallas and houston. we return now to the top story of the morning, the host of abc's "this week," christiane amanpour is in cairo. >> she arrived in one of the last flights into the city. and she describes a nerve ragging drive from the airport. >> reporter: we're driving from the airport into town. practically deserted. very few cars but there are bans of vigilantes, young men and boys out with wooden batons, metal bars, even machetes. they are watching out for looters and any criminals. they have gathered to protect their property, while it was tense, they were also friendly and waved us through. >> christiane and her crew said they arrived to find a city in chaos. calling for the ouster of

president hosni mubarak. >> it's made of disenfranchised secular groups. christiane sat down with mohamed elbaradei, the man who has emerged as the leader, for now. >> reporter: how do you express the reaction of the u.s. administration? >> well, i think it came here like lead. people asked to be on the side of the people. there are legitimate needs for democracy, social justice. to let go of a dictator, you know. >> reporter: but now president obama is saying that the rights people need to be protected? >> sure but also saying i look to the government of mubarak, to ask the dictator to ask that is an oxymoron. they need to let go of mubarak. they need to side with the people. they need to go to a smooth transition to a government of

national salvation. this is on the way out. >> you can hear more from christiane and the rest of the correspondents in cairo coming up on "good morning america." in other news now, police in the detroit area say they have foiled a terror plot against one of the largest mosques in the country. the building was packed with hundreds attending a funeral when a suspect was arrested in the parking lot. police say roger stockman's car was filled with fireworks. a florida mother accused of killing her two teenaged children for mouthing off will appear in court this morning. police say julie shot her son to death on the way home from soccer practice and killed her daughter on the way home. she told the police the kids were, quote, mouthy and disrespectful. the children's father is an army colonel serving in the middle east. and americans cut their

daily salt intake. the recommendation is the new dietary guidelines today applies to people 51 years or old, african americans or anyone suffering from lierp tension, diabetes and chronic kidney disease. in sports a rematch between two longtime rivals. good morning. huge game in the nba. of course, these two know each other quite well. they all know that man quite well, sh shg, shaquille o'neal wearing the green. celtics up by one. he has 32 in this. fourth quarter, lakers down by nine, kobe doing his best. back to the foul. driving to the middle. the runner. and later on, bryant drives baseline. tough left-hand shot. 41 points in the game. the lakers cut the lead to four. celtics, much too much. just under four minutes to play, rondo to kevin garnett.

celtics up by 11. just over three to play, rondo to ray allen. that three. rondo with 16 assists, allen, 21 points, celtics win 109-96. lebron james and the heat taking on kevin durant. dwyane wade hitting the fadeaway. under 40 seconds left, thunder trail by one, it's durant. still ridiculous on the jumper. the thunder are up by one, on the ensuing heat possession. 30 seconds to go. wade misses the jumper, and kicked out to a wide open lebron and gives it to eddie house. eddie house, then with his decision making. they lead by two. "roundtable"er, can they respond? durant, baseline. misses it. the ball's tap out. the miami heat win 108-103. what does it for your sports update. don't forget to join us on the

highlight express on espn news. back to you. "the king's speech" continues to reign. the fighter and "black swan" also picked up awards. on the small screen, bet 2i white four tv comedy actress for "hot in cleveland." white said she's still lucky to be working at 89. >> they had to get the old broad up the stairs that's not easy to have this happen on top of -- ooh. ah. >> another veteran actor was also honored last night, ernest borgnine who is 94 was given a lifetime achievement award for his sixth decade. he said don't ever forget, millions of people would like to be in our shoes. >> with gratitude. very cool. you got to love betty. coming up next, we will update the morning's top story.

egypt in crisis as the u.s. begins to evacuate americans from the country. and also a big announcement from bill gates. that and more when we come back. y but there's one that's so clever, it makes your skin look better even after you take it off. neutrogena healthy skin liquid makeup. 98% of women saw improvement in their skin's natural texture, tone, or clarity. does your makeup do that? neutrogena® cosmetics recommended most by dermatologists. with chili's new $6 lunch break. choose a salad or tasty soup. pair it with a texas toast half sandwich, like our southwestern blt with applewood smoked bacon. served with fries, it's big flavor for just 6 bucks! weekdays at chili's.

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president hosni mubarak steps down. the u.s. will begin sending in planes to pick up stranded americans from cairo. details are still being worked out but anyone using those planes will likely be taken to turkey, cypress or greece. a storm in southern california is moving east today, bringing heavy snow and ice to the rockies and the midwest. 100 million people will be affected, especially chicago and detroit where they are bracing for blizzard conditions and more record snow. also, the search continues today for an oregon boy who vanished seven months ago. police have resumed the search for kyron horman. there are still no official suspect in the case. >> the white house kicks off the new start up america campaign, aimed at getting businesses for economic and job growth through innovation. and bill gates is set to announce that eradicating polio

is now his number one priority and he's urging world leaders to join in the fight before that disease making a comeback. for some of you your local news is coming up next. for everyone else, families across america wait and wounder about loved ones in egypt. wait, did you say? i did! no preservatives. [ female announcer ] only lean cuisine's got over 90 dishes with no preservatives like sesame stir fry with chicken. it's got crisp, farm picked broccoli and bell peppers, and 100% tender white meat chicken steamed in a savory sesame sauce. yum. mmm. yum is right. can i have a bite? uh huh. [ female announcer ] no preservatives, all delicious. lean cuisine. - did dad go to jared for the pandora bracelet - i can't tell. - oh, honey! - he totally went to jared. female announcer: celebrate life's unforgettable moments with pandora, now at jared. girls: awww... - they are so cute at that age.

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well, there are at least 50,000 americans inside of egypt today, each one with some type of connection to people back here at home. >> that, of course, means people close to close are keeping a close eye on what's happening in a very important country. >> reporter: in las vegas. >> down, down. >> reporter: in houston, albuquerque, told lido and south carolina, egyptian-americans are showing their support for reform. >> we're very concerned here. and excited for the potential for a change in egypt. >> reporter: but at the same tiermgs countless american families are worried about the safety of loved one, amid the unrest. >> i was worried about them all day yesterday. they didn't pick up any of my phone calls or anything. >> reporter: internet and cell phone shutdowns are making communications spotty, add to get worry. on new york's long island, jim burks finally got a text from his daughter, her first in days.

she said she spent the night in a railroad station with other students to avoid the violence. in sacramento, california, another waiting game. >> what we're seeing on the news is very difficult to watch. >> reporter: jeannine finally got through to her son taylor, a student in egypt, trying to get home. >> what was it like at the airport? >> a complete mob. >> reporter: for another mom, relief. mona said she had no communication with her soons until they arrive last night. >> i was out of my mind until they came home. >> reporter: but she's still worried for friends in egypt. >> this country is a great country. it doesn't deserve what's geeing on. it's sad. >> reporter: sentiment shared by many americans this morning and possibly for days to come. two countries not only linked by politics, but also matters the heart. of course, thousands stuck there in the airport in cairo. we wish them a safe return here or whenever they may