making news this morning, seeking answers. >> a stunned virginia tech community mourns after a freak shooting of a campus police officer. new details just coming in. iowa showdown. candidates face off tomorrow night right here on abc. will front-runner newt gingrich seal the deal with iowa voters? plus, the donald gets bad news about his own republican debate. and virtuoso orvillen? a parallel parker's skill becomes an internet sensation. good morning, everyone. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm sunny hostin. virginia tech descends into despair, reliving the nightmare from the april 2007 shooting rampage. >> the questions this morning

are who is the gunman? why did he open fire? and how could this all happen again? abc's todd wohlburg is joining us from virginia tech with the very latest. hi, scott. >> reporter: good morning rob and sunny. they can confirm that the campus police officer and the apparent shooter were killed by the same gun. so, it certainly looks like a murder followed by a suicide. but they don't have a motive for this shooting, which brought back so many terrifying memories here. virginia tech students came together once again in grief, of a gunman murdered a police officer and apparently killed himself. they gathered at the memorial for students and faculty killed on this same campus nearly five years ago, in what remains the deadliest shooting rampage in u.s. history. >> it doesn't deserve to happen to us. >> reporter: for several hours yesterday, police put virginia tech's campus on lockdown. it started just after noon, when a campus police officer pulled

over a car in the campus parking lot. freshman juliet fielding saw it happen. >> when they opened it, he just fell out towards the ground. sorry. and i could see his face. it was covered in blood. >> reporter: state troopers, fbi agents and national guardsmen joined campus police in the search. eventually, they found a second body. police told everyone on campus, about 20,000 students, faculty and staff, on this day without classes, to stay inside and not to move. armed officers stood guard. >> stay in this room. do you understand? >> yes, sir. >> reporter: an alert system introduced after the 2007 shooting sent out the first notice just six minutes after the shooting. a police officer has been shot. a potential second victim is reported. stay indoors. a sharp contrast to four years ago, when it took nearly two hours for the first alert to go out. yesterday's alert ended when police identified the second dead man as the shooter.

the officer killed yesterday was 39-year-old deriek crouse. he had been on the virginia tech police force for four years. he was an army veteran and a married father of five. rob and sunny? >> tragic in so many ways. scott goldberg live. thanks, scott. now, to politics and the next big republican showdown. the presidential candidates debate in iowa tomorrow, with a new front-runner. so, how will newt gingrich handle the hits now that he's the leader of the pack? abc news is hosting tomorrow night's debate. and our jake tapper is in iowa with a preview. >> reporter: at dobb's grocery store in the heart of des moines, iowa voters were taking it all in. >> it's kind of a tossup. i haven't decided on anybody specific. and it will be interesting to see how things play out. >> reporter: as the clock ticks down to the caucuses, candidates look for any edge and any chance to hit the leader, newt gingrich. mitt romney is using surrogates to do his dirty work.

>> i don't think newt gingrich cares about conservative principles. newt gingrich cares about newt gingrich. >> reporter: but gingrich continues to hover above the rest of the pack in iowa polls and hover above the fray. >> i'm going to stay positive. i'm going to talk about how we solve the country's problems. others are allowed to do what they want to. >> reporter: so, what's the gingrich appeal? polling shows several candidates, including gingrich, are seen as authentic, truly believing what they say. not romney, though. meanwhile, romney and gingrich both score well when it comes to qualities of competence. meaning only one candidate, gingrich, is seen as being both authentic and competent. some credit his sharp debate performances. sometimes taking control away from the moderators. >> how do you respond to people who say that your campaign has been a mess so far? >> i wish you would put aside the gotcha questions. >> reporter: and appearing above the bickering and sniping. >> i for one, i hope all of my

friends up here are going to repudiate every effort of the news media to get republicans to fight each other to protect barack obama, who deserves to be defeated. >> they've seen through the course of the debate that he can sit in the oval office, he can be commander in chief, he can be elected president. >> reporter: and the big question is how much newt gingrich will be able to remain above the fray on saturday night at the abc news debate, when all the other candidates are trying to lay a glove on him. jake tapper, abc news, des moines, iowa. >> jake will have more from iowa later on "good morning america." and you can see the debate tomorrow night here on abc at 9:00 eastern, 6:00 pacific. the next republican debate will be moderated by donald trump on december 27th. but the only two candidates taking part are newt gingrich and rick santorum. all the other major players have declined. in other news this morning, the pentagon is being extremely tight-lipped about a drone that was lost earlier this week in iran, particularly now the pictures of a drone are being shown on television in that country. for the latest, now, we're joined by abc's paul beban. good morning, paul. >> reporter: good morning, rob.

that's right. the hunt for answers is really on in full force. full-court press this morning. the question is, what does iran have? there's no doubt that the loss of this drone is a stunning loss, as one u.s. official told abc news. officials first thought it was a fake. but they now say it's real, that the drone was lost. had broken apart. and that iran probably reassembled it. they say the design of the american drone tail and what iran is showing do not match. bottom line, though, this is a huge blow for u.s. intelligence. rob and sunny? >> all right. paul beban live for us this morning. thanks a lot, paul. the white house got a head start on hanukkah last night. president obama celebrated the jewish festival of lights 12 days early because he's expected to be in hawaii when hanukkah really begins on sunset on december 20th. the president said the hanukkah star reminds us that miracles come in all shapes and sizes. time, now, to take a look at

weather from across the country. plan on as much as ten inches of lake-effect snow, exactly where you expect it. blanketing the great lakes. and in the pacific northwest, a fifth-straight day of unhealthy air quality. >> an arctic blast in the middle of the country sends temperatures plunging into the teens and 20s, from fargo to chicago. the rest of the midsection hovering in the 30s 60s and 50s across the south. we're tracking a developing story. police confront anti-wall street demonstrators in another city. we'll have an update. and a model who was injured by a plane's propeller speaks for the first time. and big business, with one worse in an the next. those corny christmas sweaters. coming up.

and there is a tense standoff this morning at an occupy boston camp. the mayor there ordered protesters out by midnight. so far, the police have not taken any action. 150 occupiers have been living in tent there's. but the crowd swelled to about 1,000 last night. and there is mixed success at the european summit in brussels. late-night talks got most but not all of the european union members to agree to surrender some of their independence. there were four holdouts, though, most importantly britain. the others want to study the agreement a little bit more. but all 17 of the countries that use the euro did sign the deal. and europe's chief banker says

that is a good start. but the overseas markets aren't quite so sure. nearly all of them are down. tokyo's nikkei average lost 128 points today. hong kong's hang seng plunged 522 points, almost 3%. in london, the ftse opened lower. and on wall street, the dow dropped 199 points yesterday. the nasdaq index fell 53. former senator jon corzine who once ran goldman sachs says he has no idea what happened to more than $1 billion in client money after the securities firm he ran went bankrupt. corzine spoke out for the first time in testimony before a congressional committee. and he said the company was already losing money when he joined it last year. well, twitter is getting a new look. among the changes are now tabs across the top of the screen. home, connect and discovered. you'll see it first on mobile devices. twitter hopes the redesign will encourage people to use the service a little more often and

longer. and get more advertisers on the site. coca-cola's secret formula is being kept in a new location. an exhibit at the company's museum in atlanta. it was moved from a bank to the museum yesterday. visitors can see the vault holding the recipe. but not the document itself. it is a pretty well-kept secret. it's no secret that facebook has been mincing millionaires and billionaires since its founding. its initial public offering will be next year's blockbuster business events. and facebook workers will reap the windfall. the ipo is expected to create more than 1,000 millionaires overnight. >> man. >> i missed it, too. >> makes me angry. coming up next on this friday morning, jerry sandusky, back home again after new claims he abused a boy in his own basement. sandusky's wife is also speaking out for the first time. and a cringe-inducing moment, as the steelers ben

roethlisberger goes down. [ female announcer ] why shop at walgreens for your stocking stuffers? so you don't have to deal with this. [ crying ] i just wanted some stocking stuffers. what am i -- invisible? are you serious? don't get involved. everybody's bumping me! [ woman crying ] [ female announcer ] just go to walgreens. one simple trip to find everything you need to stuff every stocking. and don't forget the hershey's kisses chocolates. now earn up to $20 in jingle cash good on your next purchase of $30 or more. shopping. simplified. with walgreens...there's a way.

and time, now, for a look at your morning road conditions. take it slow around the great lakes. especially icy along i-90, from chicago east through rochester, new york. and i-94, from chicago to detroit. also expect poor visibility along i-5, from seattle south to medford, oregon. and i-90, south to spokane. >> if you're flying, airport delays are possible in chicago, detroit and miami. now, we turn to the jerry sandusky sexual abuse case. what is expected to be a dramatic preliminary hearing in that case is scheduled to begin on tuesday. >> and for the first time sandusky's wife, dottie, is coming to his defense. we get the details from abc's jim avila. >> reporter: dottie sandusky left her home to bail out her

husband of 45 years. handing over a $50,000 certified check and her house for the remaining $200,000 in bond. after spending one night in jail, the former football coach is now under house arrest. for many, including his accusers, it is not enough. >> i certainly hope that he's not a danger to anybody. but i also know a little bit about the nature of the disease. and it is like an addiction. >> reporter: dottie sandusky made her first comments on the charges against jerry and implicate her. a new accuser says she was in the house when he screamed for help from the basement. dottie sandusky says, i'm so sad anyone would make such a terrible accusation, which is absolutely untrue. no child who ever visited our home was ever forced to stay in our basement and fed there. not so, says alleged victim number one. >> he endured many nights in the basement and was abused there. it reached a point where victim

one would hide from sandusky when he would come down the steps to the basement. >> reporter: if it is true and proven, mrs. sandusky could be charged as an accessory. and contrary to popular belief, pennsylvania law says she is not protected by spousal privilege because of the seriousness of the crime. and can be forced to testify about anything she saw or was told by her husband, even though, for now, she's sticking by him. jim avila, abc news, new york. and encouraging update, now, on that 23-year-old fashion editor who walked into a plane's propeller. lauren scruggs was seriously injured last saturday night. but doctors say her excellent physical condition before the accident is helping her make a faster-than-expected recovery. scruggs has been walking, talking to her parents. and yesterday, in fact, did something else for the very first time. >> she looked at herself for the first time today in the mirror. that was big. and she looked in and he says, it's not that bad.

>> she understands she was in a bad accident. but she doesn't know -- she can't remember any detail of it at all. >> now, scruggs still faces a very long recovery. she may actually lose her left eye. and she's considered to be at serious risk of infection. in nevada, crews have now recovered the bodies of all five victims of that sight-seeing helicopter crash. the pilot and four passengers went down in a remote canyon wednesday night. among them was a couple from kansas celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. the helicopter company has had at least five accidents since 1994. and updating another story we told you about yesterday. actor alec baldwin's battle against american airlines. a flight attendant's union is calling on the faa to fine baldwin for hi latest tantrum during his l.a. to new york flight this week. they want americans to remove baldwin's show "30 rock" from its in-flight entertainment system. the union says it will drop

those demands if baldwin just apologizes. college football's highest individual honor, the heisman trophy is handed out here tomorrow in new york. and the nfl's week 14 is under way. some details now from adnan virk of espn news. >> good morning. the pittsburgh steelers tied atop the afc north. ben roethlisberger has been phenomenal against the browns in his career. big ben and jerricho cotchery. 11-yard touchdown. 7-3. the black and gold, second quarter. roethlisberger rolling out. can't find anybody. and he is sacked by scott paxson. a loss of five. and big ben's down. you try getting up from that. his ankle caught and turned on the ground. roethlisberger would head to the locker room. ominous sign. you can breathe again. in the thirty quarter, roethlisberger warming up. he would, indeed, return.

colt mccoy, scrambling. hit hard by james harrison. how hard? you take a gander for yourself. harrison, one of the hardest hitters in the game. hit me, baby, one more time. harrison gets called for roughing the passer. later in the drive, it is third and goal. mccoy. steps up to mohammed. but williams gets the interception in the end zone. defense, huge for pittsburgh. and the steelers trying to put this one away. roethlisberger to antonio brown. back shoulder throw. 80-yard touchdown. 21 t.d.s versus the browns. his most against any franchise, includes 13-1 in his career against the browns. you are up to date for now. don't forget, for all of your highlights, join us for "the highlight express" on espn news. up next, how to spend $300 million in a morning. >> a tough problem. and also this morning, a

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helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. well, it's time to check "the pulse," stories lots of folks are talking about this morning. how about a holiday shopping spree by the los angeles angels? >> this is impressive. they were throwing around the cash yesterday, signing albert hue poles to, get this. a ten-year, $254 million contract. that's the second-richest contract in the history of baseball. we picked the wrong career, sunny. >> i hope he's that good. i hope he's that good. and that's a lot. but the angels didn't stop with him. they also signed texas rangers pitcher c.j. wilson to a

five-year, $77 million deal. for those counting, that's $331 million in new players. and the angels close both deals in just two hours. >> after the show, i'm calling my agent. i just decided that. >> me, too. a video making the rounds this morning proves, where there's a will, there is a way. it shows a new york city driver determined to make a spot work for him, even though it's just inches, literally inches bigger than his car. all it took was gentle tapping of the cars in front and back. >> and a man looks over the spot. the car wedged there. hen he came home in the morning, it was gone. he checked the security cameras to see how that was possible. >> that is impressive. you have to do what you have to do. the next couple of weeks will be filled with all of those holiday parties. don't be surprised if see your fair share of revelers sporting some tacky themed sweaters.

>> and the cringe-inducing sweaters you prayed your mom wouldn't wear in front of your friends. they're making a comeback. we'll tell you why. we're not sure. >> we're working christmas week. maybe we'll break out ours on the show. >> maybe, yeah. for some of you, your local news is next. >> for everyone else, the late-night comics have something to say about donald trump's upcoming debate. you'll get all of the laughs when we come right back in just a second. ♪ [ aj ] i'm an expert on every single one of these jackets. i know the tests they've bn through. i know the temperatures they can withstand. i even know why this little mesh pocket is mesh. the way we make gear, it's not just guaranteed to last. it's guaranteed to make a whole lot of sense. we hear from a lot of customers that this is the best place for a cell phone. ♪ [ aj ] my name is aj curran. i'm the director of outerwear and accessories. and the holidays are made here. at l.l.bean, where your order ships for free.

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well, it has been an action-packed week for political wannabes. also, an even-since long dead and buried.

>> and trickle in tweets and it makes for the perfect platter for the late-night comic's buffet. >> when it came down to the race, i was despondent. i was depressed. i was losing all hope that my job would ever bring me joy again. and then -- >> we are just confirming that donald trump will moderate a republican debate on december 27th in des moines, iowa. >> thank you, jesus. [ laughter ] >> trump will endorse the winner. second place wins gary busey. [ laughter ] now, clearly -- clearly, trump wants to be the new republican kingmaker. even before this debate announcement, he had candidates lining up to kiss his gold ring, which is not easy to find because it is the same color as his skin. [ laughter ] >> i'll tell you who is not having a great day, though. rod blagojevich.

oh. the former governor of illinois. 14 years he got in prison. probably he'll get time off for good hair. but 14 years. lovely hair. out you go. to give you an idea on how long it is. you take kim kardashian's marriage. and you add 14 years to that. >> the library of congress has partnered with twitter to store every tweet every posted in their archive of historical documents. >> come and explore the library of congress, where you can read original letters from george washington. >> i can clearly foresee that nothing but the rooting out of slavery can perpetuate the existence of our union. >> speeches from teddy roosevelt. and tweets from kim kardashian. >> can't get my boot off. and i'm all by myself. i don't know what to do. >> can't get her boot off? >> oh, kim. tough life. tough life for kim. well, that's what's making news in america this morning.