making news this morning, bracing for snow. >> the storm that put the chill on the southwest, dusting areas, is moving to the east. bringing snow to millions, starting tonight. tossed out. over a smartphone game. alec baldwin kicked off a cross country flight, leading to a tirade on twitter. before and after. do presidents really age faster than the rest of us? good morning, everyone. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm sunny hostin. americans across the south and southwest, are about to share their shivering and snow shovels

with the northeast. >> it's already snowing in tennessee. and by tomorrow, states all the way up to maine will feel the freeze from this big system. >> abc's tahman bradley shows us where it's been and where it's going. >> reporter: the east coast is bracing for a blast of winter. snow and rain that pushed through western and central states, now threatens to strike several major east coast cities. across the southwest, residents are digging out, after snow shut down interstates and closed schools. in roswell, new mexico, it looks like christmas arrived early. >> i love the snow. >> normally, we don't have snow until january or february. this is a great surprise. it makes everybody get excited about christmas. and makes it feel like it's winter, finally. >> reporter: in albuquerque, temperatures dropped into the single digits, almost 30 degrees below average. >> below freezing. i know that. >> need another sweater. another jacket. >> reporter: outside phoenix, mountain tops are dusted with snow. in texas, cities are covered in white. >> i just had to go for a walk,

it's so beautiful out here. >> reporter: it may be beautiful, but the weather is causing problems. icy roadways continue to wreak havoc for commuters. in el paso, divers dodged black ice. in springfield, missouri, emergency workers responded to at least a half-dozen crashes. in washington state, a group of four-wheel drive jeep owners rescued stuck drivers. >> these guys came up with the jeep, which is a blessing, and pulled us out. >> reporter: winter storm warnings are up and down the east coast, with rain or rain/snow mix expected. we'll get a check on which airports will be affected by all that weather today, coming up in a few minutes. we're going to see a lot more of mitt romney and his family. the former front-runner is revamping his game plan now that newt gingrich has surged ahead. romney will appear on a sunday morning talk show for the first

time in two years. and his wife and children will be on the campaign trail more. with more on this, here's abc's karen travers. >> reporter: newt gingrich may quickly learn that being at the top of the republican field can be dangerous. and the scrutiny and attacks are heating up. ron paul released a blistering new ad against gingrich, that will start runningn iowa on fox news. >> when he was in the house, he went the other way when he got paid to go the other way. >> reporter: in an interview with conservative radio host, glenn beck, gingrich faced some of his toughest questioning yet. >> you are for the individual mandate for health care and you have been for some time. >> reporter: mitt romney will not participate in donald trump's debate this month. in arizona, he scored the endorsement of former vice president, dan quayle. >> he is our best hope for the future. >> reporter: but they may not be enough for romney in this new poll. the former governor has made a

career in business the hallmark of his campaign. but iowans aren't buying what romney's selling. 31% say they trust gingrich to handle the economy. romney's 11 points back. likely caucusgoers thing it's gingrich that has the better chance of beating president obama next november. team romney has to calculate how to handle a surging gingrich, launch attacks, wait for gingrich to trip up, or let the rest of the republican field do the dirty work. there's risks and rewards to all of these options. and the clock is ticking. karen travers, abc news, washington. >> a month to go before the iowa caucus. and all of this sure to make saturday's debate a very good one. diane sawyer and george stephanopoulos will moderate the big event. it starts at 9:00 p.m. eastern, 6:00 pacific. now, turning overseas to russia, where authorities are on alert for more political protests today. hundreds of protesters were arrested in moscow last night. they're angry over reported widespread fraud in sunday's elections. in that election, vladimir

putin's party lost a large bloc of cities. but will maintain a majority. meanwhile, in syria, new video of that nation's ongoing rebellion, which has claimed as many as 4,000 lives since march. the u.s. is expanding contacts with the ruling regime. the ambassador of syria is returning to damascus after a six-week absence. and secretary of state clinton met with opposition leaders for a second time. and our reporting on -- >> in jail. pictures in libya of moammar gadhafi. >> our reporting on syria does not end here. look for barbara walters' exclusive interview with syria president bashar al assad later today. officials confirm that drone that crashed inside iran over the weekend was one of a fleet of aircraft that had spied on iran for years.

the surveillance was based an air base in afghanistan. experts aren't sure how much secret information the iranians might be able to glean from that drone. the little cuban boy at the center of an international incident more than a decade ago is all grown up. elian gonzalez celebrated his 18th birthday yesterday. he spent part of the day marching in support of five cuban spies that were arrested in the u.s. you will remember gonzalez survived a raft journey that killed his mother. he was just 6 when federal agents raided his miami home and returned him to cuba. solemn ceremonies are planned to celebrate the 78th anniversary of the japanese attack on pearl harbor. nearly 2,400 americans lost their lives in that deadly sneak attack. and this will be the last time the occasion is marked by the survivors association because those who lived through it are aging are in declining health. time, now, for the weather from across the nation. that storm blowing in from the

west could dump up to seven inches of snow in northern new england, buffalo, pittsburgh and west virginia. just a couple inches from memphis to knoxville. heavy rain and flooding from boston to washington, d.c. thunderstorms in north florida and atlanta. light snow from billings to rapid city. >> 36 in boise. 61 in phoenix. mostly 30s in the nation's midsection. and 45 in dallas. 55 here in new york. 50 in atlanta. and miami warms up to a nice and quite enviable 82 degrees. well, coming up, the latest weapon in the burger chain wars. high-tech changes you'll soon see. >> very cool stuff. and questions of facebook security after mark zuckerberg's favorite photos are made available to anyone. and alec baldwin touches down in new york hours late. why was he bumped off his first flight?

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more job cuts are coming to the financial industry. citigroup is eliminating 4,500 jobs in the next few months. hardest hit will be behind the scenes and investment banking operations. citigroup has eliminated about 100,000 jobs since the start of the financial crisis. and overseas markets are up this morning, optimistic that european leaders will agree on steps to ease the debt crisis this week. tokyo's nikkei average rose 147 points today. hong kong's hang seng picks up 298. in london, the ftse opened

higher. on wall street, the dow gained 52 points yesterday. the nasdaq index fell six. gm thinks it knows why some of its chevy volt electric cars caught fire. the blazes broke out one to three weeks after government crash tests of the plug-in hybrid. engineers believe leaks of battery coolant created short circuits. chevrolet will reinforce the case around the battery pack. and the dodge doart will be the first vehicle, both companies owned by fiat. companies believe older names like the dodge dart still resonates with consumers. it's ironic that amid all the controversy over facebook's privacy practices a glitch briefly exposed personal photos of founder mark zuckerberg for all to see. facebook is working on the security flaw. but meanwhile, that part of the social network is no longer available. >> victim of his own success.

sococa-cola's 100-flavor fountain drink machine is getting a boost. customers pick their flavors using a touch-screen. burger king is the largest restaurant chain to endorse the freestyle -- isn't that futuristic? >> i want to try that thing. ahead this morning, new warnings on the west coast, after a surfer is attacked, likely by a shark. and nothing on capitol hill goes as planned, even the tree lighting. [ jason ] it's good to know there are some things you can count on. up here in maine, those things are cold weather and bean boots. ♪ and that's what makes them such a good gift. that and the fact that everybody wants warm feet for christmas. my name is jason valero, and i cut leather for bean boots. and the holidays are made here,

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capital christmas tree, calling it a symbol of ever lasting life. then, the lights went out and stayed out for 12 minutes. the outage was likely caused by a circuit problem on a damp and dreary night. now, for a look at your morning road conditions. wet on i-95, from new england down to florida. on i-09 90, from boston to buffalo. i-10, from mobile to jacksonville. i-40 many memphis. and rain turned to snow, on i-8 o, from new york to cleveland. >> if you're flying, airport delays are possible in boston, new york, d.c., philly, charlotte and memphis. one flight out of l.a.x. is being blamed on actor alec baldwin. with his shades on, he was back in new york overnight after taking a later flight. >> apparently baldwin was ousted from his original flight because he wouldn't stop playing his game on his cell phone. lucy yang of wabc reports. >> reporter: if alec baldwin thought he was going to enjoy a

smooth ride cross-country, he found turbulence before the plane took off. turns out baldwin was kicked off his flight for playing on his cell phone, according to his own tweet. flight attendant on american reamed me out for playing words with friends as we sat at the gate not moving. no wonder american air is bankrupt. according to airline's tweet, our flight attendants were following federal safety procedures. baldwin's flight landed, sitting in first class, former boxing champ, oscar de la hoya. >> i actually thought alec baldwin, was turning off his devices. he just got a little angry. >> reporter: other passengers, pretty upset with baldwin's behavior, which delayed everyone by an hour. >> he was on his phone. and he didn't want to get off his phone. and he snuck into the bathroom. became irate and they had to remove him from the flight.

>> reporter: words with friends had this response, let alec play. baldwin getting in another tweet, last night with american, where retired catholic school gym teachers from the 1950s find jobs as flight attendants. >> he was really rude. caused us to be delayed. not very considerate. a very selfish man. >> reporter: is this more bad boy behavior from yet another celebrity? passengers we spoke with were pretty much in agreement about blaming baldwin. they tell me everyone else turned off their cell phones. baldwin, meanwhile, was able to book another flight. lucy yang, abc news, new york. >> and the rules apply to you, too. american airlines includes baldwin's nbc show "30 rock" as its onboard entertainment. as we said, baldwin is not flying american anymore. i'm sure they're upset about that.

a ninth accuser has stepped forward with charges of sexual abuse against jerry sandusky. the claims against the former football coach come from a 19-year-old who say sandusky abused him on penn state campus after giving him alcohol. penn state says it will use $500,000 to establish an institute for the prevention of child abuse. the fda could decide whether to lift the age restriction on plan-b contraceptive pills sold over the counter. girls must be 17 or older to purchase the emergency continue temptive without a prescription. the group says this should not be available to younger girls without parental overnight. the fda is considering adding new warnings to birth control pill yaz, amid growing evidence linking it to blood clots. the drugmaker is accused of hiding evidence that showed yaz actually increases the risk of potentially deadly clots. a surfer in oregon is

recuperating after an apparent shark attack. the woman suffered a bite wound to her leg when she was in the water not far from portland. she was carried to shore by another surfer, who said he saw a white tail in the water. a little bit of sports news. we'll get those now from the crew over at espn news. >> good morning. i'm todd grisham. and this is your espn news update. there's been a lot of distractions off the court for syracuse. but it hasn't affected their play on the court. the third-ranked team in the country, undefeated. playing marshal on tuesday. chris joseph, to that melo. syracuse up 37-24. six minutes to go. chris joseph for three. he had 11 points. syracuse wins it, 62-56. great game at madison square garden between washington and marquette. less than 30 seconds to play. washington down by one. terence ross, contested jumper

gets it to go. he finished with 19 points. ensuing marquette possession. they don't call a time-out. the clock is ticking. 11 seconds to go. there's jay crowder, for three. got it. so, they take a two-point lead. five seconds to go. washington, a last chance. abdul gotti. not even close. marquette wins it, 79-77. the bruins haven't lost a game in regulation since october 29th. 15-straight, playing the jets in winnipeg. there's a goal for the jets. andrew ladd makes it 1-0. third period, same score. and boston gets it to go in. shawn thornton, deflecting it in, as seen here. so, 1-1. about 1:30 later. four-on-four, bryan little, coming up big. jets win it, 2-1. and the bruins' 15-game points

streak comes to an end. for all the day's news and highlights, there's only one place to go. espn news. i'm todd grisham. please, have a good day. and coming up next, a date night for william and kate. and a new photo causing those pregnancy rumors to come back yet again. we'll show it for you. an oscar buzz for uggy. we'll explain in "the pulse. ." i love the holidays. and with my bankamericard cash rewards credit card, i love 'em even more. i earn 1% cash back everywhere, every time.

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refused some peanut paste last month. and turned down alcohol, as well. the couple's spokesperson says it's policy not to confirm or deny pregnancy rumors. >> she is hiding the tummy. tell tale sign. we may have a baby coming. it's a common belief that the stress of being commander in chief can lead to an early grave. look at before and after pics of presidents bush and clinton. they look remarkably older when their time was done. >> they do. but presidents live longer than their peers. and most of our presidents have been wealthy, college-educated and have top-notch medical care. >> in a makes a huge difference, for sure. and look who is starting to get some oscar buzz. uggie, who wowed critics and audiences, in the french silent movie. >> there's a facebook campaign supporting uggie's worthiness.

the problem is, the academy doesn't allow animals to win awards. >> uggie did win for the top prize for dogs. the oscar nominations come out january 24th. you can see the oscars broadcast february 26th right here on abc. good luck, uggie. for some of you, your local news is next. >> for everyone else, lady gaga brings her glam to the white house, all for a very, very important cause. "america this morning" continues right after this.

finally from us this morning, one of the world's most popular and colorful

entertainers is taking her message to the top. >> lady gaga. she met with top officials to discuss ways to prevent kids from being bullied. here's abc's linsey davis. >> reporter: at 13 years old, and alone at 3:00 a.m., jonah mowry went public with his darkest thoughts. more than 5 million people have watched his video, where he uses note cards to express the anguish of being bullied and thoughts of suicide. since he posted it, support has poured in from everyday people and celebrities alike. pop star lady gaga tweeted, thank you, jonah, for being brave enough to share your story. today, lady gaga took that message to the white house, meeting with top staff to the president to press the importance of this crisis and seek help for the nation's kids. gaga began her fight after 14-year-old jamey rodemeyer gave up his. >> lady gaga. >> reporter: one of his last messages offered thanks to lady gaga. >> she lets me know that i was born this way. >> reporter: when he later took his life, after being bullied for being gay, lady gaga

tweeted, the past days i've spent reflecting, crying and yelling. now, she's giving voice to bullied children through her charity. >> it's an organization centered around anti-bullying. my mom and i are really passionate about that. this is our passion project. >> reporter: but beyond adults' efforts, bullied teens are now supporting one another online. why so many kids are really using the internet as their personal diary? >> you know, to pour your heart out on the internet is a way to sometimes ask for the support that you need, and as jonah found, to get the support they need. >> reporter: and now these children have a star on their side, bringing their stories all the way to the white house. linsey davis, abc news, new york. >> so good to see a celebrity of that magnitude and popularity doing -- addressing such an important cause. >> it's such an important issue. and i'm happy people are talking about bullying. that's what's making new