making news on this thursday, our final morning in iraq. >> the u.s. war officially ends today. but as troops depart, there are fears about iraq's future. we are live in baghdad. and is your ride one of the safest on the road? the new crash test results released overnight. and nine months and thousands of miles. debris from japan's tsunami zone, littering beaches a world away. good morning. i'm sunny hostin. >> and i'm rob nelson. we all know how the war in iraq began. a nighttime barrage of u.s. bombs, right there in the heart of baghdad. >> and now, after nearly nine years, the u.s. mission ends today. but there are still huge concerns about the stability and

security of iraq. >> abc's nick schifrin is in baghdad this morning with more on this watershed moment for both countries. good morning to you, nick. >> reporter: good morning, rob. good morning, sunny. it defined george bush's presidency and helped barack obama's ride. and almost $8 billion later, the u.s. presence in iraq is all but gone. the u.s.'s war in iraq is almost over. and sergeant larry green is headed home. a million men and women served here. 4,500 died. green survived four deployments. he was one of the first soldiers in. and one of the last out. >> leaving here, knowing that i started and i'm finishing. you know, times were bad. we had some good times over here. but to say that i made it to the end. >> reporter: lieutenant shawn fox was 14 when the war began.

today, he lives in one of saddam hussein's old palaces. he shares a room with his entire platoon. what do you have left? >> have left? pretty much have got my bag. a bunch of clothes. and the most important thing is my laptop over here. something to keep me sane while i'm waiting around to go home. >> reporter: before he goes home, one more mission. >> we head north, up to pretty much the wall of bbc. >> reporter: they drive into the city. the only problem, the iraqi police are supposed to patrol with never show up. and fox is told he isn't allowed to drive around without the iraqi escort. >> from their perspective, it's why are the americans driving this route. we don't need them to patrol our streets. >> reporter: whether that remains true is the major question here. the other question, will sectarian tension return? today, in fallujah, a sunni stronghold, how thousands rallied against the u.s. and the

iraqi government. sergeant green's fate is clear. he made it home last night. but the state of the country he left isn't so obvious. at the peak of the war, there were 145 attacks here every day. violence is nowhere near that. but 10 to 20 attacks every day is a real concern, as iraqis are fighting over their future, in a country that could have more oil and gas than saudi arabia. rob? sunny? >> nick, what about the future, especially when it comes to iran and al qaeda? >> reporter: i think those are two main concerns, other than the army being ready and sectarian violence. iran has a huge presence here. and the u.s. is deeply concerned it will meddle with the government and meddle with militias that still exist. and al qaeda has proven to be resilient. it's shown different tactics in the last few months and still exists, even though it's no

longer as powerful as it was last year or certainly about five years ago, at the height of the war. >> and, nick, we know how deeply unpopular this war became here at home. but what's the general feeling among the people in baghdad right now? >> reporter: well, it's really dangerous to say that there's one feeling in baghdad or iraq. there's a lot of sunnis who feel that the u.s. has supported the shiite government. and they're worried that the shiite government will come down hard on them. but one of the main ideas that everybody talks about here, is that, look. we've seen the worst days. we've seen this country become so violent. and we'll do anything to prevent that from happening. and that's certainly a level of hope that everybody here shares. >> a major milestone reached and still major questions about what is next exactly. nick schifrin, live in baghdad. thanks, nick. to politics now. and the republican candidates' last chance to impress the voters before the iowa caucuses, just 19 days away. >> getting close. newt gingrich is still out in front.

but his support -- his support i should say, appears to be eroding. tahman bradley joins us live from washington with more at what we can expect at tonight's debate. good morning, tahman. >> reporter: good morning rob and sunny. there's precious little time left before the iowa caucuses. that's why mitt romney's attacks on newt gingrich have been fierce. tonight, the final showdown before voting begins in iowa. republican presidential candidates debate one last time before the iowa caucuses. for mitt romney, it might be his last, best chance to break newt gingrich's momentum. >> zany is not what we need in a president. >> reporter: the romney campaign tells abc news their internal polls in iowa show gingrich's lead slipping. mocking him in a "new york times" interview. >> zany is great in a campaign. but in terms of a president, we need a leader. >> reporter: romney got a little help attacking gingrich. yesterday in iowa, occupy wall street protesters interrupted a

gingrich speech. it's not clear if gingrich will fire back at romney during tonight's debate or if he'll stay above the fray. he told sean hannity in a radio interview, he needs to stay cool. >> we're successfully baiting me and exacted the wrong direction. >> reporter: democrats, on the other hand, have no problem attacking romney. in manhattan, big dollar donors at a romney fund-raiser who looked to the sky, saw this airplane banner saying, bet you $10,000 mitt romney's out of touch. a reference to romney's infamous $10,000 wager at last saturday's debate. democrats are waiting to go on offense because a new abc news/"washington post" poll shows negative views of president obama have reached an all-time high. rob and sunny? >> all right. 19 days and counting. tahman bradley. thanks for that report. shifting gears now. seven minors in northern idaho were rescued overnight after a rock burst inside a mine. it happened nearly 6,000 feet

below ground at the lucky friday mine. one man was taken to the hospital. others were treated at the scene. two niminers have been killed there in the last year. battles, cans and other debris have been washing up on the shore on western canada. some believe it's from the japan tsunami last march. scientists are tracking a debris field, most of which will reach north america in 2013 and 2014. >> let's process that for a second. the sides of california. let's take a look at your weather from across the nation on this thursday morning. showers around d.c., philly, new york and beantown. also, a wintry mix in central massachusetts. two inches of mountain snow in northern new england. also, thunderstorms around memphis, shreveport and dallas. snow in northern minnesota and michigan. and showers from seattle to san francisco. >> 54 in sacramento.

43 in portland. and 38 in boise. fargo, only gets up to 22. minneapolis, 31. and omaha, 36. mostly 50s from boston to baltimore. well, it's good to be a pop star. coming up, a very lucrative year for lady gaga. >> she raked in the cash. also, crash test results are in. with dozens of models making up the list of safest cars on the road. and a family dog that was hit by a car and pronounced dead. but scamp had another idea.

a sobering story now. new figures show that poverty in america is growing. 97 million americans now fall into the low income category. another 49 million are completely below the poverty line. together, that is almost half of all americans, as the middle-class continues to shrink. overseas markets are down on signs that europe's debt crisis is hurting global economic growth and only getting worse. tokyo's nikkei average dropped 142 points today. hong kong's hang seng was down 328. in london, the ftse opened lower. and on wall street, the dow fell 131 points yesterday. the nasdaq index lost 40. the insurance industry says cars are getting safer. it added 18 models to its list of top safety picks for a total of 115 cars this year. that's the most ever. toyota and its other brands have the most models on the list, 15. general motors has 14. and there are 13 from

volkswagen. but every major automaker has at least one winner. >> good news there. "forbes" magazine says there was no competition at all for the top-earning woman in the music business this year. lady gaga. she was far and away the winner with $90 million. that's more than the combined earnings of taylor swift and katy perry, who were second and third on the list this year. all three had strong albums and successful tours. but lady gaga had the edge when it came to endorsements. and actress elizabeth taylor's fabulous jewelry collection has been sold at auction for a total of $138 million. now, her other belongings are on the block. a portrait by andy warhol sold for almost $7,000 last night. >> pick up a nice ruby necklace or something. >> unfortunately, i didn't get the opportunity to do that. >> maybe your husband. maybe he'll surprise you. >> maybe it's under the tree. coming up next on this thursday, another setback for

the fashion editor severely injured after walking into the propeller of a plane. and an explosion melts part of l.a.'s busiest freeways, with more delays likely today. what makes a dollop of daisy so creamy and delicious? care and dedication. our family-owned company has focused on making... the best-tasting sour cream for over four generations. it's made with farm-fresh cream... that's 100% natural without any additives or preservatives. and no added hormones. so you can feel good knowing every creamy dollop... will bring all your favorite dishes to life. ♪ do a dollop, do-do a dollop of daisy ♪

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is the pain reliever orthopedic doctors recommend most for arthritis pain, think again. and take aleve. it's the one doctors recommend most for arthritis pain... two pills can last all day. ♪ you're looking at a tanker truck explosion that was so intense it damaged the southern california freeway and overpass. it happened yesterday on the busy 60 freeway, backing up traffic for miles and burning for two hours. the truck was carrying more than 8,000 gallons of gasoline. the driver and passenger managed to escape unharmed. drivers can expect more delays today. >> i guess so. look at that. now, for a look at your other morning road conditions today. wet on i-20, from dallas to jackson, mississippi. i-40, from oklahoma city to nashville. and i-10, from san antonio to houston. rain also soaks i-70, 90 and 94

from indiana eastward. and also i-95 in the northeast. slick on i-5, from seattle to san francisco. >> and if you're flying, airport delays are possible in dallas, houston, memphis, detroit and boston. here in new york, a deadly elevator accident truly sad story here. it happened in an office building near grand central station. suzanne hart, a 41-year-old advertising executive was stepping into the elevator, when it shot up, crushing her between floors. >> two people already in the elevator watched in horror. they were eventually taken to the hospital and treated for psychological trauma. inspectors checked the elevator last june and found no safety issues. police in a wealthy suburb of boston are investigating the murder of a real estate developer and his wife. a family member found their bodies on the first floor of their mansion, apparently gunned down. the family dog was still inside. the couple's lexus suv was found in boston's north end. it had been torched.

high school marching bands in the atlanta area have fallen silent as investigators look into hazing allegations. band activities were suspended over concerns of inappropriate physical activity between bandmates, according to police. this comes after so much publicly at that case at florida a&m, where a drum major died of suspected hazing injuries. the young model and fashion editor who was severely injured in a freak plane accident in dallas is recovering from another surgery. doctors just removed lauren scruggs' left eye. and her family says everything went as planned. the 23-year-old walked into the rotating propeller of an airplane earlier this month. it gashed her face and shoulder and sliced off her hand. doctors in chile have successfully separated 10-month-old conjoined twins of 20 hours of surgery. the next few days will be critical. the operation was complex because the girls shared many of the same internal organs.

marijuana use among teenagers is on the rise for the fourth-straight year, with 1 of every 15 students smoking pot almost daily. 25% of eighth, tenth and 12th graders admit using marijuana in the last year. up 21% from 2007. they say the study suggests teens see pot as less risky. now, we turn to some ports news this morning. some hockey and college hoops, as well. here's espn news. >> good morning. my name is todd grisham. this is your espn news update. we start on the ice. minnesota wild, the best team in the nhl, facing the chicago blackhawks. third period, 2-2. and the blackhawks, jonathan toews scores to make it 3-2. five minutes left, same score. delayed penalty on chicago. cal clutterbuck. how about that for a name? sounds like he should be in the rodeo.

he gets the assist. to miko koivu. clutterbuck, great mustache, as well. we would go to a shoot-out after overtime. this is patrick kane. that's nasty. talk about having a bad day at work. nicklas backstrom, the goalie, hit the showers. blackhawks win it, 4-3. ohio state, playing south carolina upstate. that's the name of the school. jared sillinger, not expected to play. but play, he did. moments later, ty green with the steal. but sam thompson, return to sender. elvis presley. second half, ohio state up 21. jord jordan sieberg. with a steal to thompson. reverse jam. buckeyes win it, 82-58.

that will do it for this espn update. but for all your news and highlights, sports, that is, check it out on espn news. my name's todd grisham. have a good day. >> we will have a good day. >> thanks, todd. coming up next, hollywood's award season has begun. we'll have the latest nominations. and you'll meet scamp, the family dog who died. or so the family thought. my name's jeff.

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and topping this morning's "pulse," awards season is finally here. >> here we go. >> the much-anticipated golden globe nominations are coming out this morning. >> that's right. the nominations for the screen actors guild award, are beshear, george clooney for "the descendants." leonardo dicaprio, and the artist, and brad pitt for "the moneyball." you have clooney, brad pitt, and leo. >> it's a tight one, also. >> and the s.a.g. nod for best actress. we have glenn close. vie ra davis, "the help." "we need to talk about kevin." and michelle williams, for "my week with marilyn." an l.a. production company

has tried to broker a tv interview with casey anthony. but it's not getting any takers just yet. according to "the hollywood reporter," they're asking, get this, between $500,000 and 775,000 bucks for the first interview with anthony since acquitted for killing her daughter back in july. >> it's been turned down by all three broadcast networks, including abc. the interview would get terrific ratings. but advertisers would probably be hard to find. i don't think she'll get -- >> someone will pay it. not us. and a seattle area family already had its christmas miracle. it began with this 8 1/2-year-old yorkshire terrier. scamp is his name. assuming the dog was dead, the owner left it under a wheelbarrow to keep other animals away. >> when they came back to bury him, he was still alive. the vet said the overnight cold air probably saved the dog's life, by keeping his brain from

swelling. for some of you now, your local news is next. >> for everyone else, michael local news is next. >> for everyone else, michael jackson's daughter, paris. . you telling me you quit? yeah, i'm on my way. i'm trying nicoderm cq. [ male announcer ] every time you say no to a cigarette, celebrate a little win with nicoderm cq, the patch with smart control technology that gives you a burst of nicotine in the morning then continues working for up to 24 hours so you can go from one little win to another. until you reach your goal. nicoderm cq. quit one day at a time.

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updating the day's tops stories now. the iraq war comes to its symbolic end, as an american flag flying over baghdad is lowers and sent home. all troops are expected home by the end of the month. federal investigators will be looking into an idaho mine accident overnight that injured seven miners. the men were rescued after a rock blast nearly 6,000 feet below ground. republican candidates debate tonight for the last time before the crucial iowa caucuses. newt gingrich is still the front-runner. but his poll numbers could be slipping. now, a look at your weather right now. showers in the pacific northwest. snow in the northern cascades and northern rockies. >> snow from jackson, mississippi. showers with mountain snow in northern new england. and finally this morning, the teenage daughter of the king of pop, now eagerly awaiting to step into her own spotlight.

>> that's right. now that paris jackson has landed her first film role, she's shedding a little light on her morals and her relationship with her famous dad. here's abc's david wright. >> reporter: she's the freshest face in hollywood, even though her dad was once the most famous man in the world. michael jackson fiercely protected the privacy of his children. >> do you remember wearing a mask and going, this is kind of weird? >> yeah, i'm like, this is stupid. why am i wearing a mask? >> right. >> but yeah. i kind of realized the older i got, like, he only tried to protect us. >> reporter: it wasn't until his memorial service that we finally heard her speak. >> and i just wanted to say i love him so much. >> reporter: that was two years ago. earlier this year, paris jackson told robin roberts she's ready for her own showbiz career. >> you want to be an actress? >> yes. i'm thinking about auditioning for a play next week. >> reporter: an ambition her famous father nurtured as she tells ellen degeneres.

>> did you tell your dad you wanted to act? >> yeah. and we did improvs together. and he would give us little scenarios. he would say, okay. in this scene, you're going to cry. and i'd cry on the spot. >> you could cry on the spot? >> yes. >> that's impressive. so, then, you got away with all kinds of things. then he didn't know if you were really crying. >> reporter: paris jackson is now promoting her first film. a movie version of a favorite children's book. half the proceeds will be donated to public schools. >> the most memorable thing that your dad said to you was -- >> he said, if i die tomorrow, always remember what i told you. and i took his advice. and i remembered everything he told me. >> reporter: now, she's poised to follow in his footsteps. david wright, abc news, hollywood. and coming up on "good morning america," paris gets advice from another member of her famous family. >> that's right. janet jackson sits down with juju chang with words of wisdom for her niece. and she tells us, what it was like growing up with big brother, michael.