on this friday the 13th -- winter whiteout. >> treacherous travel across a large swath of the country. making a mess of roads and runways from the midwest to new england. fresh signs that republicans could be coming together behind mitt romney as a new name says he wants to run. and the cell phone ring that brought a symphony to a screeching halt. this morning, we hear from the culprit, patron x. cell phone off? >> my cell phone is always off. i have it on vibrate during the

show so we're good. >> excellent. call ate rude awakening after a mild start to january. severe weather is bearing down on a huge part of the country. >> into new england making a mess of roadways and airport runways. thatman bradley shows us where the storm started. >> reporter: across the west, cold air and blowing snow are making conditions miserable. from colorado to kentucky, the roads are a slick, icy mess. in wisconsin, snow brought the evening commute to a standstill. gusty winds are causing snow to blow and drift. the weather is blamed for at least two deaths in iowa. chicago under a winter storm warning. they're expecting a wind chile near zero and up to six inches of snow. we'll shovel it out, hope it goes away by monday. >> reporter: at the airports,

hundreds of flights have canceled. the weather in the last month has been unseasonably warm. chicago usually has 14 inches of snow by this time of the year. so far, only 1.7. the air has been kept north by the jet stream. it's finally come down south. >> the snow? it's pretty. it hasn't been on the ground long enough to have an effect on me yet. >> reporter: the storm is moving through the midwest with its eyes focusing on new england. tahman bradley, abc news, washington. we turn to washington this morning where pentagon officials have confirmed that a disturbing video from afghanistan is authentic. it shows u.s. marines desecrating the body of taliban

fighters. >> reporter: the marine corps has now identified these four marines as part of the third bah italian second marines. they have names of two of them. and are looking for ids of the others. they are highly trained scout snipers. they're seen urinating on dead, bloody insurgents. one is heard saying, have great day, buddy. u.s. officials condemned the tape. legion pan netd is a said i have seen the footage and found the behavior utterly deplorable. >> anyone engaging in that conduct must be held fully accountable. >> reporter: the marines could face charges with bringing discredit to the armed forces. this is reminiscent of the

scandal at abu graib prison in 2004. martha raddatz, abc news, the pentag pentagon. the covert war with iran is ramping up this morning. the u.s. is using a secret back channel to communicate with iran. an influential iranian newspaper is calling for retaliation of the killing of a nuclear scientist earlier in the week. well, mississippi is burning mad after the state's departing governor pardoned some 200 con viblgts, including four murders sevening life sentences. lawmakers are scrambling to find ways to reverse their release.

steve osunsami is in jackson. >> reporter: we have searched high and low for former governor haley barbour of mississippi. he's not spoke an public word since the release of some 200 prisoners. there's a fire storm of controversy here in mississippi. even though the courts have stepped in to try to put the pardons on hold, four convicted murders were set free and no one knows where they are. the victims of the families involved in those cases are furious. one person said she thought that governor barbour was a coward for not talking to the families directly. >> i can't understand how a man that has children of his own could do this. >> reporter: the courts have now stepped in and put a pause on

the process. they're asking on the 23rd, the inmates who have been released, to return. but the mississippi attorney general who has been leading this effort says there's really not much he can do. they are free men. and are entitled to go where they please. steve osunsami, abc news, jackson, mississippi. now we turn to the republican battle for south carolina. the first signs this morning of some coming together finally for mitt romney. conservatives are telling the opponents to tone down the criticism of romney's time as a venture capitalist. in a new ad, newt gingrich is tapping his conservative credentials. and comedy central's steve colbert said he's doing it. he's running for the president

of south carolina. he'll not be on the ballot in the south carolina primary a week from tomorrow. >> you can write him in on the ballot if you really want to see him. president of the united states of south carolina. >> he always makes election season interesting. well done, stephen. time for this morning's weather. there's snow in minneapolis. it's partly cloudy and cool in the south. and today's best weather will be in los angeles. the city of angels. >> it will reach the mid 40s in the northeast. new orleans only makes it to 49. 24 in omaha and indianapolis. 25 in the windy city. salt lake city's high will be 37. in honolulu, a wonderful 78 degrees. >> it's always beautiful in hawaii. isn't it? >> you can't beat paradise this

time of the year. and still ahead, a consumer alert. bed bath and beyond recalls a product said to be radio active. and why was heather locklear sent to a hospital overnight? and a riot over iph

you are hearing it. you're thaerg sounds of angry apple fan this is morning in

beijing. customers actually egged this apple store and scuffled with security after they waited all night to buy the iphone 4-s. the crowd was too big and unruly and there were safety concerns. >> it's just a phone folks. get a grip. apple is in another bull's eye this morning. teaming with target. the retailer is teaming up with them creating special ministores in several locations. target sells ipads and ipods. they'll expand the range of apple products. can you keep track? ipad, ipod, iphone. mini. >> i still have my walkman. overseas markets were up. t tokyo's nikkei average was up 114 points. hong kong's hang seng was up,

too. the nasdaq index picked up 14. more good news from the auto industry. they plan to add thousands of new jobs this year. not just u.s. companies but also foreign companies. production here is a little more profitable. fixed mortgage rates are again at a record low. breaking records set just three weeks ago. 30-year loans are 3.89. a 15-year loan is 3.16. unfortunately, it's still hard to qualify for a mortgage. and a concern overnight. tissue holders have been pulled from shelves. they've been distributed to bed bath & beyond. return them to the store for a full refund. there's no threat to human health. >> i was just in the market for one of those.

a boutique tissue holder. >> is there enough time? the scare of a life time for one elderly couple forced to rob a bank. but they outsmarted the robbers. and an update from the alaska town trying to dig out from under 18 feet of snow. we're right back. my name is robin.

i'm a wife, i'm a mom... and chantix worked for me. it's a medication i could take and still smoke, while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these, stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. my inspiration for quitting were my sons.

they were my little cheering squad. [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. this morning, snow in the midwest is a headache. but nothing like this. 18 feet of snow is on the ground here in cordova, alaska. some roofs are collapsing. businesses and schools have been closed all week. >> good luck, cordova. snow on the interstates around minneapoli minneapolis, northern new

england, it's icy. if you're flying, airport delays possible in boston, new york, washington, d.c., philadelphia. we turn to peru. today the man long thought to be involved in the disappearance with natalee holloway will be sentenced today. >> he pleaded guilty on tuesday for the death of a young woman from peru. the culmination of that case comes a day after holloway was declared dead by a judge. her father sought the declaration in order to be able to administer an estate, including a fund to pay for her college costs. it will now be used for her brother. a deadly day in new orleans. a car chase. when bullets stopped flying, nine people were shot, four

fatally. a car was being searched, an officer found two live grenades inside the vehicle. the bomb squad dealt with them both. a suspect is in custody in arkansas. charged with forcing a woman to attach a bomb to herself and rob a bank. betty will be a guest later today on "good morning america." and a followup involving the serious accident of sarah burke. she's had a successful of ration to repair an artery that tore in her brain. doctors have her in a medically induced coma. her family and husband are by her side. for some of last night's college hoops action, here's espn news. >> good morning, i'm zubin mehenti. a crazy finish for the cameron

crazies and duke. 43 straight on coach k court. mike scott, top five in the acc in points and rebounds showing you why. hanging in in durham. tied at 38-38. steph curry. his dad and brother can shoot. he might be on his way to the nba, too. mat's miles, one of the triplets putting duke up seven. virginia down by five. lewis misses. mitchell will not. the three-point game. ensuing duke possession. curry's got it. blocked by scott. loose ball. melee. virginia has a chance to tie. they'll spot up in the corner. virginia was 0 for 11 from downtown. any triple would have tied it. how about that? wide open. off the mark.

duke survives. 61-48. they've won 44 straight games at cameron indoor stadium. that's second in the country. that is your espn news update. i'm zubin mehenti. have a great weekend. hollywood's second biggest night of the year coming up on sunday night. the golden globes. the town is in awards mode. >> clearly they are. the critic's choice awards with the artist taking best picture honors. >> viola davis took home the award for best actress. >> and the best actor going to george clooney. he gave a nice, big, fat smooch to brad pitt. you would do the same thing. coming up next, "the pulse." a symphony crowd turns on a patron whose cell phone went off

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it's that time of the day, time to check "the pulse" and your pulse. stories you'll be talking about today. starting with a medical emergency for heather locklear. she was taken by ambulance to

the hospital. sources say she had taken a dangerous mix of drugs and cha alcohol. by now, who doesn't know this ring? listen up. ♪ we all know that one. pretty annoying. that's what an audience at new york's fiphilharmonic heard. it went on like that for six minutes. >> six minutes? >> eventually, the conductor brought the show to a halt. >> patron x is a business executive in his 60s. he says his company changed him from a blackberry to an iphone and he had no idea that the alarm ringer would sound with the device shut off. the conductor has accepted the apology. >> that's happened to me several

times. sign this kid up, as we get every closer to march madness. one of my favorite time of the year. >> love it. a game of peewee hoops in oregon. watch the right side of the screen. from just in front of the half court line, boom, nails the shot. game over. >> i'm sure you have done that a couple of times. >> every day. >> nothing like a buzzer beater to get your weekend jump started. >> that kid is feeling good right about now. >> as he should, too. >> he's not much bigger than the ball. >> and he's on "america this morning." >> for some of you, your local news is coming up next. for everyone else, your week in comedy. we're right back. (ringing)

hello? hi! this is the sea calling. i'm talking to the sea? is this for real? (laughing) yeah! (laughing) what's what what what is what... i want you to close your eyes and imagine a place in the middle of me where the world revolves around you. can i go now? sure! that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8.

stories. the first major snowstorm this winter is making travel difficult in the great lakes region. new tensions with iran this morning. the u.s. has reportedly used a secret back channel to warn iran that blocking ships in the strait of hormuz would trigger a u.s. response. after 43 years on the air, "one life to live" will come to an end today. some of the characters will find a new home on "general hospital." and let's start your friday and your weekend with a laugh, shall we? >> can't wait for this one. lots for the late night guys to pick from this week.

from politics to all the new gamts being unveiled at the consumer electronics show in las vegas. >> everyone is talking about the voice-controlled tv. it's tv that you control with your voice. instead of the back-breaking work of pressing a button on the remote. this endless tedium and enormous exercise of going like that, you can now just yell, kardashians at the tv. be careful, if you yell khloe, you get animal planet. ha ha ha. >> romney has a tiny vulnerability. the years he spent as a heartless corporate raider at bain capital. that's in the past. he'll breeze to the white house as long as he never reminds voters what bain capital did. >> i like being able to fire people that provide services to me. >> what?

[ needi inle scratching ] i'm glad i had my turntable here. >> if you're president of the united states, what would you do to make school better? >> i don't know what i'm going to do about education. i'm just saying more schools in the tricounty area. >> the tricounty area? what is the tricounty area? >> this place in "toy story." >> you know the difference between a republican and a democrat? >> no. >> do you know what a republican is? >> the good guys on "star wars." >> exactly. do you know what a democrat is? >> a doctor for your teeth. >> you need to go see the doctor for your teeth. the old democrat. >> that's really good, man. the kids say the best th.