by a hostile power to exploit our country's divisions. jonathan karl, abc news, the white house. >> our thanks to jonathan karl. the stock market is opening in new territory this morning. starting to sound like a broken record with that. but after a late surge the dow and s&p 500 will now open to new highs. it was actually the fifth straight day, yesterday, that the indeces were up. and we could see more gains today. overseas markets are showing optimism about u.s. tax cuts after the senate passed a budget resolution last night. so the soft drink industry is facing multiple class action lawsuits claiming the use of the word "diet" in marketing and advertising is false and misleading that they are sweetened with aspartame which scientists say does not help the body process calories properly. a substitute teacher has been banned from a texas school for

students. three other fifth graders put duct tape over their own mouths. all 13 children were checked out by the school nurse and allowed to return to class. the teacher was immediately removed. the use of mobile devices has taken a sharp jump among children. i know this at mother of a two and a half year old. the report roerts reports kids under 9 spend two hours a day on a device. thousands of kids in new york city won't have to pay up for library books that they haven't returned. the city's public library systems are forgiving late fees for about 160,000 children. the one-time amnesty was

possible by a $2.25 million grant dedicated to fighting poverty. many dog owners say their best friends have these adorable facial expressions, but the real question is are they reserving them for just us the owners. >> a new study looked at doggie behavior when a human is in the room and researchers found dogs used more facial expressions when they were looking at the person's pace as opposed to their backs. >> i'm looking at the video. one other thing that they discovered. the dogs did not show more facial expressions when the human was holding a treat. so it's just blatant love and affection. >> iceye contact. >> eye contact. when they do that quirky thing when they tilt their head when you ask them a question. >> it's in your mind. >> no, they do this. >> it seems like captain obvious, you would think. >> no

coming up, advice that could save your life. why you should close your bedroom door before you go to sleep. and don't miss never before seen video of george michael. but first, let's take a look at today's ♪ ♪ "world news now" weather, brought to you by points of light. ♪ before this river ♪ there comes an ocean

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back now with a really important safety alert on how to prese protect yourself from a house fire. half of those happen in the middle of the night. >> one expert has a tip that could save your life. here's gio benitez. >> reporter: this is not a normal house fire. we are with ul which helps set safety standards for industries and they show the importance of closing your bedroom door before you go to sleep. >> when you can't get out, the most important thing you can do, close that door between you and the fire, could save your life. >> reporter: alexis king survived the corpus christi house fire that killed her

1067 10. the fire alarm wasn't working and she believes the closed bedroom door helped save her life. ul launching a safety campaign, "close before you doze." you're going to light the house on fire. >> for safety. >> reporter: it's wired with sense ear sensors and cameras. two bedrooms will have the doors closed, but the other -- >> we're going to leave that one open so we can see the difference. >> reporter: with the philadelphia fire department standing by, i start a fire with a candle on the living room sofa. >> let's get out. >> reporter: we return to the control center. >> wow. >> we have the fire burning in the living room. >> reporter: take a look at the bedroom with the open door. >> see the smoke beginning? >> reporter: oh, yeah, yeah,

yeah. 275 degrees. >> absolutely. not survivable. >> reporter: but check out the rooms with the doors closed. the temperatures are much lower. o you've got 97 degrees in one room, 67 in the other. after ten minutes, ul puts the fire out, and we look at the aftermath. here is the room with the open door. look at this. the tv melted. temperatures in the room with the open door reached 500 degrees. the carbon monoxide readings, 6,000 parts per million. a carbon monoxide alarm would go off at 70. but what a difference in the bedrooms with the doors closed. the stuffed animals are fine >> the bed's clear. >> reporter: this door sort of acted like a shield. >> exactly what it did. >> reporter: temperatures only got up to 100, and carbon monoxide levels were ten times lower than the open

>> our thanks to gio there. it seems counter intuitive. >> you need to quickly open a door if you suspect there's fire, put your hand to the door and check the temperature there. when we come back, george michael giving fans a rare glimpse into his life, nearly ten months after his death. >> his new documentary coming up next on "world news now." i'll text you in 4 hours when your cough returns. one pill lasts 12 hours, so... looks like i'm good all night! why take 4-hour cough medicine? just one mucinex lasts 12 hours. let's end this.

♪ it tonig ♪ tonight the music seemed so loud ♪ ♪ i wish we could lose this crowd ♪ ♪ we hurt each other with the things we want to say ♪ >> my go-to karaoke song. >> we're paying tribute to george michael this morning with a look at the new documentary he actually directed about his own life before his untimely passing. >> it includes never before seen behind the scenes footage and interviews with celebrities who were influenced by the late singer. here's abc's t.j. holmes. ♪

>> reporter: with his unmistakable voice. george michael pushed the boundaries of pop. ♪ the way i danced with you >> reporter: even as hess career was riddled with rumors of drug abuse and cut short by his death. but now a new picture is emerging, a picture george michael wanted the world to see. called "george michael -- freedom." it premieres this saturday on showtime. >> the number of people who come up to me and say oh, you don't know how much you helped me when i lost this person. >> reporter: his directing partner and life-long friend david austin says the george michael we knew was not the whole picture. what was it? this film that people are requesting going to see? >> they're going to see george in h

you'll see a side of george nobody's ever seen before. >> reporter: we get a look behind the scenes of his most iconic video "freedom." >> it's something we can all look back on. and look at that with great memories. >> reporter: starring five of the most famous super models of the '90s. >> if the song comes on anywhere. in the car or at a club or whatever, i do, it like transports me back to that time. ♪ >> reporter: why did he want that for that video? >> i think the five super models were a pretty good alternative to just one guy in a video, as he put it. it became this iconic and game changing video. >> it did. you had the mtv thing happening at the time, so it was explosive. remember that video a career high but also the beginning of george michael's exit from the limelight. he refused to promote his 1990

prejudice." it led to a highly publicized battle with sony. >> why am i going to promote it now? >> reporter: he would have done it. the documentary also highlights those inspired by his music. >> he's just got that thing which is unquantifiable. >> reporter: from elton john to mary j. blige and a look at the famous star that he was finally ready to let the world see. >> he always laughed at himself. that's what people loved. ♪ >> reporter: abc news, new york. >> an iconic moment. he was halfway through producing this documentary by the time of his death last christmas. >> hard to believe he died last christmas, almost a y

this week. >> a lot of people will be able to get this introspective look one of the greats. coming up, the sequel to one of the greatest movies of all time.

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when your cough returns. one pill lasts 12 hours, so... looks like i'm good all night! why take 4-hour cough medicine? just one mucinex lasts 12 hours. let's end this. ♪ actually, a very exciting "insomniac theater." >> counting down the days to halloween. we start with "the snowman", starring michael fast bender. he races against time to connect the dots between cold cases and a brutal new murder. >> i know how much you want this, but you can't force the pieces to fit. >> do you actually think he killed them? >> i don't know. i don't think either of us do r

and val kilmer. they do know for sure something, they hate "the snowman" giving it a splat on rotten tomatoes. steven dalton writing for all of its high-caliber talent, the "snowman" is a pedestrian affair. and one says it is all coal and no carrot. i hate horror movies, so -- >> a movie wishing global warming would get her quicker. speaking of horror movies, you may hate this one. madea is back. it brings back the gang. they head to haunted campground where they soon find themselves running for their lives. >> ma! >> yes! >> you still there? >> if i wasn't out here, would i be

>> just hurry the hell up. >> all right, ma. ma, ma, ma! ma, are you still there? ma! >> no, not madea. >> run, madea. >> that's enough to make her drop her wig. so this movie is likely so bad that critics have been kept far from the theater, not allowed to release their reviews. so it doesn't make that, let's call it the review for the first boo. madea remains a distinctive weirdly compelling character. but this is tyler perry's house. he's laughing. >> he's laughing at us for sure. >> all the way to the bank. is that

hate all you want. >> like "n

this morning on "world news now," the white house chief of staff defending his boss. >> john kelly, general john kelly, offering an impassioned take on the fallen soldier controversy. and two former presidents making rare appearances on the same day. george w. bush breaking his silence on what he sees in america today. and barack obama blasting the state of american politics. were their comments directed at the present president. a tourist killed after the piece of a ceiling came crashing down. >> sometimes you have to find another calling in life, especially if you're this black