making news this morning. gabby's big announcement. >> her grueling recovery, as congresswoman gabrielle giffords prepares to give up her seat in congress. doing something she wasn't able to finish a year ago. new tears in penn state. joe paterno dead now just two months after being fired as head coach. and bowled down. millions of teams celebrating their next stop. super bowl xlvi. good monday morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm paula faris. gabby giffords is ending her political career to concentrate on her recovery.

she made her decision public on an emotional tape posted on her website. >> they will make it official to the governor of arizona. abc's tahman bradley is joins us from washington, d.c. on his big decision. hi tahman. >> hi, one of gabby giffords' last official act as a member of congress will be attending tuesday's state of the union but today she has some unfinished business back home. before arizona congresswoman gabby giffords leaves office, she's determined to finish what she started. later today, giffords will complete the meet and greet that turned deadly a little more than a year ago. some of the injured, as well as some of the heroes will be on hand, but this time, the office says, the gathering is private. >> arizona is my home, always will be. thank you for giving me the time to recover. >> reporter: the congresswoman announce herd resignation in his heartfelt online video.

>> i have more work to do on my recovery. so i do what is best for arizona. i will step down this week. >> reporter: one year ago this month, giffords was shot in the head outside a tucson supermarket. 12 others were wounded. six killed. >> i don't remember much from that horrible day. >> reporter: as giffords fights to regain her speech, her constituents are disappointed she's stepping down. >> her dedication to her constituents i think was exemplary and probably unmatched oftentimes. >> i hope maybe she can come back. >> i will return, and we will work together. for arizona. and this great country. >> in a statement, president obama said giffords and her husband have taught this nation the meaning of hope in the face of despair, determination in the face of incredible odds. rob and paula. >> and tahman, a lot of people,

a lot of folks, not ruling out a return, long term maybe after she has fully recovered, but for now, what's going to happen to giffords' seat? >> well, the arizona governor must call a primary election this april and there will be a general election this june. that will complete the rest of giffords' term. then in november this coming year there will be another election for a full-term. >> tahman bradley, thank you. as he said, gabrielle giffords will be at tomorrow's state of the union address, you can see it here at 6:00, 9:00 pacific. and newt gingrich in the republican primary has rocked mitt romney's campaign. so much so, in fact, after weeks of dancing around questions about his tax returns, romney now says he will release that information tomorrow. romney is also stepping up his war of words with gingrich, heading up into next week's big

primary, launching from personal effects. >> now speaker gingrich has been a leader. he was a leader for four years as speaker of the house. at the end of the four years it was proven that he was a failed leader and he had to resign in disgrace. >> as we know, newt gingrich is no shrinking violet ever. he's reveling saying romney lacks a true platform and he's actually running for ceo. >> he's a very good salesman, he very much wants to sell. but he has a very weak product so i think he's dancing on eggs trying to find out a version of romney that will work. >> gingrich and romney along with rick santorum and ron paul will be stomping in florida later today, ahead of the primary set for january 31st. and the man they hope to unseat should stay in the white house, at least, in oprah winfrey has her way.

while visiting a literacy festival in india, the host told the crowd she believes president obama will. win the re-election. here's some of the other stories that we were tracking overnight. >> american airlines says three of its crew members were injured when a brazil/miami flight hit heavy turbulence. it was so sudden and severe that some of the crew members went flying through the cabin. and "uss lincoln" in the persian gulf after a maneuver that the u.s. had warned tehran. and the u.s. naval operations in the gulf as normal. salvage experts could decide today when and how to remove fuel from the "costa concordia,"

of course, that's the ship that capsized off the coast of the italy. the death toll now to 13. 19 people are still missing. and storm chasers raced after wicked weather in arkansas late last night where at least nine tornados have been reported. look at that video. fierce winds blew across the state lighting up the sky with flashes from exploding transformers, damaging buildings and turning over a tractor trailer. that line of strong storms made across the south and midwest today. >> a rough few weeks of weather. looking at weather across the country this monday morning. freezing rain threatens the morning commute from virginia. up to maine strong storms shaking up to the south. tornados later today. also rain turns to snow in the northern great lakes. also snow inland in the pacific northwest and high winds in southern california. >> 59 in los angeles today. temperatures jump in the east.

new york 50, average everywhere else. new orleans is 72. seattle back up to 45. and the place to be, miami, where it will be 80 degrees. >> ahh, miami. >> that sounds great. well, the new changes at the post office over the weekend, prices of stamps going up again. some advice before you book that flight for spring break. experts reveal the best time to book the ticket. and agony, a missed field goal in one game. another sent to o.t. setting up a highly anticipated rematch for super bowl xlvi. >> here i come indianapolis.

welcome back, everyone. a bombshell in the business world overnight. the ceo and founders of blackberry maker research in motion are out. the canadian company made the smartphone into a must-have business tool but blackberry has stumbled in recent years for apple and android devices. and its playbook computer. and tablet and e-readers over the holiday studies show that 29% of us now own either a tablet computer or an electronic. ownership of tablets and e-readers both nearly doubled between mid-december and beginning of this month. overseas markets were up and down overnight with good news about u.s. housing.

tokyo's nikkei average, half a point. hong kong's hang seng was closed for the lunar new year. in london, the ftse opened lower. on wall street, the dow was up 298 points last week. the nasdaq index rose 76. and today is the first business day for those new u.s. postal rates. mailing a letter now costs 45 cents. that's a penny more than last week. if you already have forever stamps that you purchased at 44 cents, don't sweat it, they're still good. and a study finds you'll get the lowest airfare if you buy your tickets six weeks before the flights. and fares start to soar a week before the flight as much as 40% of the average price on the day of the flight. and "underworld: awakening" was an eye-opener at the box office. the action series helped by kate beckinsale's return. it took in a better than expected $25 million. "red tails" about the tuskegee

airmen debuted at $19 million. and steven spielberg's "contraband" came in third. and william buffett is a rock star for his investments there with tremendous success as well. but it wasn't rock but an american folks song that he sang on chinese tv, as part of a special production to celebrate the lunar new year. he also accompanied himself yet on the ukulele. >> he's a man of many talents, that warren buffett. >> you can play the ukulele, right? >> for a small fee. the news nittany lions fans feared, joe paterno losing his short battle with cancer. and wind and rain, cleaning up from 100-mile-per-hour gusts. this is mary. who has a million things to pick up each month

on top of her prescriptions. thankfully, her walgreens pharmacist recommended a 3-month supply. now, mary gets 3 refills in one and for 3 months she's done. ask your pharmacist about a 90 day supply and how to save with the prescription savings club. individual memberships are just 5 dollars. enroll today. walgreens. there's a way to stay well. this is harvest day, the time where all the hard work is paying off. my name is ed pines, and i've been growing oranges for tropicana for 15 years. we nurture the trees all year long to harvest the fruit at the right moment. this is perfect for tropicana. at tropicana, we pick the oranges at the peak of freshness. it's all about growing the best orange to get the best juice. i love growing oranges. ♪

look at that. a new storm is now headed to southern california, the late nest a parade of them. winds as high as 90 miles an hour battered that region over the weekend. ripping out structures, knocking out power to 25,000 customers and also whipping up a dust storm that actually shut down three major roadways. now a look at morning road conditions. trouble on i-95 from washington to boston. i-80 from chicago to cleveland, wet. icy on i-5 from sacramento, we'll see rain and minor flooding. big delays in l.a., san francisco, atlanta, minneapolis, chicago, detroit, washington, philadelphia, new york and boston. that's like every city. and sad news to report from happy valley, it's a somber week as legendary coach joe paterno is remembered. joe pa died yesterday at age 85

after battling lung cancer. >> paterno had been fired only two months ago after the sex abuse scandal of jerry sandusky. more reaction from the of campus in state college, pennsylvania. >> reporter: the shining light of candles on main have become an all-too familiar scene in recent months. this time, to pay respects to a man known as joe pa. >> it's beautiful to see the community come together for somebody who meant so much. >> it is like losing a parent. >> reporter: current and former players fought back tears as they spoke about the impact coach joe had on their lives. students huddled together in the bitter cold, tears stream down their faces. >> it's an emotional day for everyone. not only did we lose, you know, our coach. but i consider coach paterno one of my great friends. >> reporter: the envy of

paterno's book of life with everybody in the town. paterno admitted he should have done more but his supporters say his life should be judged as a whole, not a chapter. >> everything that took place the last two months, people tend to forget the person he was for the last 61 years. ♪ >> reporter: one former player said paterno died of a broken heart. doctors will tell you it was complications from lung cancer. for those here in happy valley, either way, he's gone. and it hurts. >> the world lost a good man today. and it's never going to be the same. ♪ >> and funeral arrangements will be announced today. there's going to be a service for players. i imagine there has to be something for the public as well. >> a huge memorial, of course. the end of an era. joe paterno dead at the age of

85. the other big sports stories. elation in two cities and big disappointment in two others. >> and super bowl bound just minutes after sealing the deal. firmly engrained on the game balls. we get the highlights. >> good morning, i'm jorge andres, this is your espn news update. we start with the nfc championship. the giants taking on the 49ers. overtime, second possession in overtime. third and three for the giants. eli manning drops back to pass. six for the niners on the day. and the giants would punt on fourth down. and it's kyle williams receiving the punt. but gets stripped. take another look at this one. jacquian williams knocking the ball out on the tackle and the giants would recover. and g-men in possession. lawrence tynes kicking a 31-yard field goal attempt. that is good. and tynes kicked the giants into the super bowl as they win 20-17

in overtime. to the patriots/ravens afc championship game. drew bledsoe giving hugs to tom brady. patriots going for it. brady crossing the plane, they would go up 23-20. later, ravens inside the pats' 20. joe flacco looking. tries to find lee evans but not. the ball knocked out of his hands by sterling moore. and third down, ravens on fourth down. billy cundiff on an attempt of 32 yards. hooks it left. and the patriots, they go on to win 23-20 and advanced to their third super bowl in 11 seasons. i'm jorge andres. 0 for more sports and highlights make sure you tune into espn news. >> a lot of happy new yorkers this morning. >> and they beat the patriots in

the regular season and let's hope she do it again. coming up next, "the pulse." a tv star sent to the hospital after collapsing overnight. and a moment you may have missed at the ravens/patriots game. an "idol" judge facing a whole lot of judgment. ♪ the bombs bursting in air of the world... y ip the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, is serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b,

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the stories you'll be talking about on this monday morning. trouble for high-profile stars. one is funny man tracy morgan. he was hauled off to the hospital overnight in utah after collapsing during an awards ceremony. >> morgan had just accepted an award from the creative coalition when he fell ill. his spokeswoman blamed it on a combination of exhaustion and hi higher altitude in utah. no drugs found in his system. and the rumors turned out to be true, supermodel heidi klum and seal appear to be calling it quits. there's a chance for you now. they released a statement to "people" magazine last night saying they were officially separated after seven years of marriage. >>le they were renewing their vows every year with a lavish celebration. of course, she's busy with her

tv show, he's releasing a new album. after seven years and four children, they say they were simply grown apart. okay. ladies and gentlemen, this, this is "american idol." ♪ and the rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air ♪ >> oh, can i unplug my ears? >> that's in the studio. >> and the blogs are abuzz from "american idol" judge steven tyler. >> let's face it, most of the postings say he butchered it so badly he would never have given himself a pass to hollywood on "american idol." there's a lot of history with judges on that show not being able to sing. >> are you saying j. lo can't sing? >> i'm saying it's pretty clear. or paula. >> hey. for some of you your local news is next. >> for everyone else, the silent

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updating today's top stories now, gabby giffords returns to tucson for the last time as a congresswoman. she will complete that meet and greet event that ended last year, of course, the assassination attempt. more than a billion asians around the world are ringing in the new year of the dragon. the dragon is considered an extremely lucky symbol. tornados have been reported in arkansas where a line of storms, damaged transformers and delivered golf-ball size hail. fortunately, no reports of injuries. today's weather, freezing rain in the northeast. fierce storms in the east. rain and snow in the upper midwest and strong winds in southern california. and finally this morning, hollywood's version of the playoffs gets under way tomorrow morning when the oscar

nominations are finally announced. >> and the oscars are an abc. some of the buzz is for the silent film "the artist." carrying on a long-lost tradition. ♪ >> reporter: it's believed that the first silent film on record could be this one. 1895. performed in thomas edison's film studio, a violin playing into a phoneograph, just dancing, no words. those steps saying it all. from there, thousands of films would be produced. from a birth of a nation to slap stick comedy, so many from charlie chaplin. as many as 800 silent films a year. october 6, 1927 when the films of hollywood broke their silence opening night. for this movie known for breaking the barrier. we would hear the words -- ♪ >> reporter: believed to be the first movie with speech and sound. a smash hit at the box office. the movie moved to the industry.

eight years later, why the daring move to go back. "the artist" by hollywood standards is a small film, shot in 35 days. the critics celebrating its simplicity. one acknowledge, we didn't know what we have been missing what we've been bombarded with until we saw this. >> i looked at "the artist" and i thought, we're missing something. >> reporter: the brilliance of "the artist" was they didn't do that. >> "the artist"! >> reporter: silence even in 2012 is golden. an agent once telling him he would never star in a movie because his face was to expressive. he found it and the artist is finding its place, more than a century after those first films which silence is awe. david muir, abc news, new york.