ty award. visit spirit dot prudential dot com. making making news in america this morning. the explosive new political book that shines new light into the darkest corners of the 2008 presidential campaign. it's hard to tell who is on whose team. and deep freeze has farmers in the deep south worried about their crops you could may the price for it. and offensive outburst. packers and cardinals. monday july 11th, 2010. good morning, i'm eric horng in for jeremy hubbard. >> and i'm vinita nair. well, a new book is changing the game in washington as this week

begins. >> instead of talking about terrorism or health care, political circles are buzzing about a number of bombshells from the 2008 presidential campaign. >> reporter: the most shocking revelation in game change is forcing harry reid to play damage control. reid was quoted as saying america was ready to, quote, have a light-skinned african. reid apologized over the weekend, and president obama accepted. >> there is the standard where democrats feel they can say these things and they can apologize when it comes from the mouths of their own, but if it comes from anyone else, it's raceism. >> reporter: michael steele and others said when trent lott placed the views in 2002, lott was forced to resign as senate leader. saying, quote, if you tell ethnic jokes in the back room, it's that much easier to say ethnic jokes publicly.

there's dirty laundry from both parties. when john mccain announced sarah palin as his running mate, dick cheney is quoted as calling it wrecking. still it may be those in the white house with the most fires to put out. president obama is quoted as asking, how many time is biden going to say something stupid? or bill clinton saying of obama, quote, a few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee. >> when all of this comes out, it's the staffs that begin to not trust other staffs that are on the same team. i think the problem is the staffs of hillary clinton, barack obama and joe biden and how much they will now trust each other. >> there will be much more on the book on "good morning america." the journalists behind "game change" will be starring this morning at 7:00. president obama said he has no intention to send more troops to yemen or somalia. but he tells "people" magazine

he would not rule out sending forces are there. meanwhile, the president of yemen says he may not take a hard-line stance. saying he's willing to negotiate were any member of al qaeda who gives up violence. and another emergency. a united airlines flight from chicago made an emergency landing when the ride side landing gear did not deploy. all 50 people on board evacuated safely down emergency slides. a landmark trial opens today in a san francisco federal courtroom. at issue, whether a ban on gay marriage, approved by california voters, is constitutional. and in an unusual twist the judge in the case is now allowing video of the trial to be posted on youtube. cameras usually are not permitted in most federal cases. in northern california, the cleanup is under way after a powerful earthquake over the weekend. the 6.2 magnitude quake struck

and caused minor damage to some building. about 18,000 businesses and homes lost power but whites are back on this morning. well, the arctic blast is finally letting up but seven states under freeze or windchill warnings. in parts of florida, it's the longest outbreak of cold weather in 50 years. >> and citrus growers are feeling the heat. we're joined by viviana hurtado. >> for of the us, the cold is a nuisance, but for farmers it could be a disaster. the deep freeze blanketing the country is causing big headaches. in florida, it's been a race against time for citrus farmers. 40% of the world's orange juice supplies comes from their fields. >> if something happens, we're on our own. that's part of agriculture. >> reporter: crops are being sprayed with a water because a thin later of ice could protect

from a hard freeze. cleveland's airport closed on sunday, the power outage was sparked by a fire after winds blew road salt on to a power line. thousands of passengers were stranded. >> we were hoping we'll get out maybe tomorrow hopefully. >> reporter: two tragedies are blamed on thin ice. in south vermont, a 50-year-old man along with his daughter and granddaughter died when they sunk through ice. and in atlanta, two teenagers fell through ice and only one survived. back in florida, farmers prepare. >> we have to prepare for the worst and hope for best. >> reporter: more record lows are forecast this morning. so what does this mean for your morning glass of o.j.? for now in you're okay, but we're likely to see o.j. prices go up if the freeze continues. now for a look of the rest

of the morning's forecast from around the nation. light snow from the great lakes into the ohio valley and northern new england. flurries from boston and washington, d.c. tonight. light and windy from california to seattle. >> 40 in business soy, 57 in sacramento, and 73 in phoenix. seasonal in the 20s across the upper midwest. 30s from boston to baltimore. just 61 in miami and 49 in new orleans. when we come back on this morndz morning, detroit's auto show opens. and it's not like years gone by. that's part of our business news straight ahead. and the late-night mess at nbc. lots of questions and very few answers about who is telling jokes and at what time.

people think that honda is always the most fuel efficient choice. well, this chevy cobalt xfe has better highway mileage than a comparable honda civic. this chevy traverse has better mileage than honda pilot. the all-new chevy equinox has better mileage than honda cr-v. and chevy malibu has better mileage than accord. however, honda does make something that we just can't compete with. it's self propelled. chevy. compare us to anyone and may the best car win. i felt this deep lingering pain that was a complete mytery to me. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia muscle pain and then he recommnded lyrica.,

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overseas stock markets are rising to start the week. markets were closed in jap ban for a holiday, but hong kong's hang seng was higher. in london, the ftse opened with solid gains. wall street had a strong start to the new year, the dow gained 190 points last week. it opens this morning at 10,618. the nasdaq begins the week at 2317. investors turned to corporate earnings this week to see if the strong start to the year can continue. aluminum giant alcoa kicks off tonight. investors will be looking for signs as sales, spending and hiring, all picking up.

wall street bankers begin finding out their bonuses this week, and it is not likely to sit well with millions of americans struggling to pay their bills. six of the biggest banks have already set aside $112 billion for compensation. and that number will grow. most of the bonuses will be paid in stock which is tied to long-term performance of the bank. the northern american international auto show opens in detroit today. that means new auto, new concepts and new hope for the embattled auto industry coming off one of the worst years ever. our jeremy hubbard found out. >> reporter: it is detroit reinvented. automakers putting the finishing touches on a leaner, meaner north american auto show. but it will be difficult to put a positive paint job on the cold, hard realities of the last year with the hard-luck business and the downtrodden town. >> the volume declines in 2009

were unprecedents. >> pontiac and saturn have disappeared. gm and chrysler have gone through bankruptcies and bailouts. no longer is it the big three. some say it's a medium six. >> many people that toyota and nissan as are american as general motors as chrysler and ford. >> reporter: with newer more efficient electric plug-in cars and a wider range of hybrids. and ford with a dashboard concept. dealers hope the high-tech touches will drive customers to the showroom. even the survives know the road ahead is a bumpy one. ford sales rose 32% a year ago. and at this detroit dealership, they just wrapped up a banner year. >> last month was actually better than cash for clunkers so we see momentum moving forward

here. >> reporter: the question is, can the rest of the industry follow suit? and will a rejuvenated auto show hope this town? jeremy hubbard you abc news, detroit. at avatar" is in a world of his own in the box office. the sci-fi epic taking in another $48 million. the sales were topped $1.4 billion ranking it second bient "tient tantic" and sherlock holmes finished third. whether we come back, we've got reaction to the new book that has political circles buzzing. and just what is one of our rival networks going to do with the late-night offerings? there's plenty of drama among the comedy. doesn't mean hungry gets to be in charge

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at the road conditions you can expect for your morning commute. wet and slippery in the northwest along interstates 5, 90 and 84 from northern california into oregon and washington. light snow could make it a slow go from michigan into the ohio valley and new england. if you are flying today, expect airport delays at new york, detroit and seattle. there are harry reid predicted that candidate obama could become president because he was light skinned and no dialect, his words. >> he's not only apologized to the president. i think he's apologized to all of the blavg leadership that he could reach. so the president has accepted the apology. and it would seem to me that the matter should be closed. >> it becomes a personal issue

for senator reid. does he believe that with this on his record, he should still maintain his position as a leader in the senate. >> as for the 2008 mccain campaign the book quotes a former strategist as saying sarah palin considered her selection as the running mate as a divine plan. >> the another of an 8-month-old boy is in jail. she was arrested but the boy is still missing. johnson now says she gave him to a woman named cheryl in a park in san antonio, texas. police believe gabriel is still alive. nbc says talks will continue to hammer out a late-night lineup. it's not at all clear what happens next as brian rooney reports. >> reporter: the last word came not in a leno one-liner -- >> i didn't sleep with any of my

staff for nothing. >> reporter: -- you but from nbc affiliates who were losing money, some of which he threatened to preempt the comedian. >> starting in november, the affiliates started to call saying, wow, our local news is being impacted more than we expected. >> reporter: leno was making nbc a profit, despite dismal ratings. but one local station lost half its news audience. >> your local news starts right now! >> reporter: so nbc decided to abandon the 10:00 p.m. leno starting january 12th. with conan o'brien for an hour at 12:05 and jimmy falon for anyone awake after that. but as much as i would like to say we have a done deal, that's not true. >> reporter: nbc says the

network doesn't know when conan o'brien will accept a half hour or bolt to another network. expect more drama. for now, though, nbc is left with a prime time lineup in which one of their prominent titles is "the biggest loser." brian rooney, abc news, hollywood. "the simpsons" is facing another milestone. it's the longest running fox series. >> and it marked it last night with episode 450. the episode focused on crusty the crown and princess penelope. there are only eight teams left with super bowl dreams. >> that's right, the highlights with mike yam. good morning, we start with a shoot-out in the nfl, the

packers and cardinals. a game we're not going to forget. under two minutes to go. cardina cardinals, 45-48. 14 seconds to go here, kneel rackers with a win, we go to overtime. first possession in the extra session. rodgers hit by michael adams. he comes upstairs and he ends. 96 points combined the most ever in a postseason game. ravens and patriots square it off. ravens first play of the game. ray rice takes it. 83 yards. he's gone. second longest td run in the postseason history of nfl. two touchdowns. ravens scored 24 points in the first quarter. to the third now. brady hit hard by landry.

brady leaves the field feeling pretty down. college hoops now, taking on an unbeaten kansas. remember, tyler smith dismissed earlier this week after getting arrested. under a buck 20 to play. the three-point deficit for kansas. less than 40 seconds to go. skyler mcvie. one of three walk-ons to play, he beat the shot clock. tennessee, they come up with the upset. that will do it for sports. back to you in new york. here's an interesting story. pants were apparently optional for the ninth annual so-called no pants subway ride. a comedy group was behind the madness. >> despite the cold, the bare-legged riders were spotted in new york, and san francisco. just bare-legged in new york is a brave thing itself.

up next, the father of the balloon boy reporting to jail today. and the big battle over gay marriage in california. it is the subject of a per case that's just about to get under way. [ robin ] my name is robin. i am a wife. i am a mom... and i was a pack a day smoker for 25 years. i do remember sitting down with my boys, and i'm like, "oh, promise mommy you'll never ever pick up a cigarette." and brian looked at me at eight years old and said, "promise me you'll quit." i had to quit.

♪ my doctor gave me a prescription for chantix, a medication i could take and still smoke, while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] chantix is a non-nicotine pill. in studies, 44% of chantix users were quit during weeks 9 to 12 of treatment, compared to 18% on sugar pill. it's proven to reduce the urge to smoke. seeing how chantix worked, i wasn't so afraid to try quitting again. [ male announcer ] talk to your doctor about chantix and a support plan that's right for you. some people have had changes in behavior, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice agitation, hostility, depression or changes in behavior, thinking or mood that are not typical for you, or if you develop suicidal thoughts or actions, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. talk to your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which can get worse while taking chantix. some people can have allergic or serious skin reactions to chantix, some of which can be life threatening. if you notice swelling of face, mouth, throat or a rash

stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away. tell your doctor which medicines you're taking as they may work differently when you quit smoking. chantix dosing may be different if you have kidney problems. the most common side effect is nausea. patients also reported trouble sleeping and vivid, unusual or strange dreams. until you know how chantix may affect you, use caution when driving or operating machinery. chantix should not be taken with other quit-smoking products. ♪ my benjamin, he helped me with the countdown. "ben, how many days has it been?" "5 days, mom. 10 days, mom." i think after 30 days he got tired of counting. [ male announcer ] talk to your doctor to find out if prescription chantix is right for you. now, a look ahead to the stories we'll be watching on this monday. the local insiders in washington are braced for a fallout from

the new book "game change." already, harry reid has apologized about the remarks he made about barack obama as a presidential candidate. a landmark trial gets under way. at issue, whether the state's ban on gay marriage is constitutional. the case is likely to be decided by the u.s. supreme court. the colorado dad responsible for the balloon hoax high jinks begins his jail sentence today. must spend third days behind bars and two months on work release. today, the national are clievs in the nixon library are released,1200 pages. and the international auto show opens today as 49 new models are introduced. and the cleanup continues in northern california after a powerful earthquake struck on saturday. officials say damage was minimal because of the quake centered

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now good morning maryland. >> we have a lead early, we can climb that hill, climb that hill. >> it was a well executed plan by the ravens. up next, payton mannings and the colts. stephanie speaks out about her role to take the lead at city hall but the question is she ready. republicans are calling for harry reed to step down after what he said about then president-elect barack obama. good monday morning and for joining us. i'm megan pringle. jamie is off today, probably still in the ravens win. >> it was cold, wind with chill

on the field at game time was 12 degrees and we are close this morning in baltimore. let's check it out. you will feel the warmth of the victory to ease you through this chill. 14 right now in aberdeen, 16 to a 20-degree spot in laural. let's check out the wind chills for you coming up later on. but look at this disturbance, a short wave, small system through the great lakes. it is actually going to bring a chance of some light snow or flurries. we will see some of those this evening as we go for the 2- degree high of 32. here is kim brown. >> thanks. good morning everyone. traffic is flowing freely this morning on the west side at liberty road toward route 70. no problems. traffic is light and moving about without any problems, one incident in townsend at work road. that is blocking the right lane at this time, and as we look at the jfx here, traffic