karen kennedy and her boyfriend said the boat lost power right after dinner. the crew initially said a generator caused the outage. they quickly learned the ship was in danger and headed to their cabin to collect valuables. kennedy says they raced to the top deck as other passengers tried to get off the ship any way they could. >> they closed the gate, and they started to like push it off the side of the boat. and people started jumping from the boat into our life boat. and it messed up the weight distribution. >> the couple eventually maded it to shore and then went on to rome where they received temporary passports to get home. kennedy said she had dinner with the minnesota couple who is now among the 20 missing. >>> 5:08. searching for answers. what we're learning about a mystery illness apparently affecting a number of teenage girls at one new york school. >>> bracing for the worst storm they've seen in years. the >>> weather and traffic on the 1s. good morning, it's 5:11 on this wednesday morning -- i should say windsday because the winds are whipping up.

. >> care karen kennedy recalling frightening getaway on the sinking cruise ship, and the ship slammed into rocks and began to take on water three hours into the cruise. tuesday afternoon rescue divers blasted into the ship's hull to access more rooms and hopefully survivors. they found only more bodies, four men and a woman, all wearing life jackets. 20 people still are accounted for. >> we didn't really get confirmation until we were back here yesterday that it was the couple -- sorry. >> the ship's captain appeared in court accused of manslaughter and abandoning ship and revealed a phone conversation with the port authority. the captain was on a lifeboat promising to go back and he never did. investigators believed he made an unauthorized decision to steer off course, and some reports say he wanted the head waiter to see his hometown, and whatever the reason, 11 are dead. and karen fears she lost the two friends they were just getting to know. >> very spiritual people and very kind people. >> now to the wild weather across the u.s., from snow to tornados, doug, what is going on out

karen kennedy and her boyfriend say they immediately went to their cabin and started collecting their valuables when the ship's power started to flicker. they then went to the top deck and were lowered to a lifeboat. the couple eventually was taken to rome and received temporary passports from the u.s. embassy to get home. kennedy said she had dinner with the minnesota couple and is sad to learn they're among the missing. >> we had some commonalities in the travels that we had done. we didn't really get confirmation until we were back here yesterday that it was the couple. sorry. >> despite the ordeal, kennedy said the couple would go on a cruise again. a coast guard officer says it's unlikely an american cruise would suffer a similar tragedy as the italian cruise liner. u.s. boats must pass safety inspections and obtain certifications including an annual testing of lifeboat deployment. experts say you can protect yourself by avoiding cruises that pick up passengers from international ports. that way everyone gets emergency drills before setting sail, and the cruiseline will primarily

karen kennedy from virginia beach and vivian schaefer from gaithersburg were among the 120 americans aboard when it hit a reef. about 4200 people were on board the ship hoping to soon forget what they are calling an unorganized chaotic evacuation. >> i couldn't believe it. i was telling her, it's not going to sink. it's 2012. >> keep praying the whole time for somebody to come and rescue us. i thought i was going to die. nobody was saying anything to us. >> the ship's captain is now being blamed for the fallout. allegedly, he was on land long before any of the passengers were safe. the captain, who is now in custody for possibly abandoning all of it is disagreeing with those accounts. >>> and then there were five. jon huntsman is dropping out of the race for the republican presidential nomination. he will make it official later on today. huntsman was polling low for the upcoming primary in south carolina. before they go to the primary polls, there is another debate to help them make up their minds. fox news will host this one at the myrtle beach convention center tonight at 9:00 on f

karen kennedy from virginia beach and vivian schaffer from gaithersburg are on their way home.than a dozen people are still missing after the crash friday. police are looking at the boat's captain. craig burke has the latest now. >> reporter: rallying together through faith, survivors from the doomed cruise ship crowding into the main church. for them, the news today both troubling and encouraging. the bodies of two elderly men still wearing life jackets were recovered. a south korean couple on their honeymoon saved. coast guard officials scouring the bowels of the ship. >>(translator): at the moment, a k-9 unit has arrived and we help to enter in the vessel with trained dogs to help search for signs of survivors. >> reporter: about 4200 people were on board when the ship hit a reef and keeled over on his side late friday night. amateur video trickling in showing a frightening evacuation. >> i couldn't believe it. it's 2012. >> kept praying the whole time for somebody to rescue us, because i had to -- i thought i was going to die. [crying] because nobody was saying anything to

>> karen kennedy, elvis, and the gymnastics, lutkin, i was a little starstruck when i met her.gure skating and nasaics. >> what are we watching you today? >> we are doing a short program called show me how you burlesque. >> unfortunately, you have to take your sweatshirt off to do it. ith chilly out here. >> thank you. >> joanie rochette. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> joanie rochette. the progressive skating and gymnagym gymnastics spectacular airs next sunday, january 8th, right here on nbc. we're back right after this. it has a crew. in . it gets invited to parties with paparazzi. it hangs out poolside. it has millions of drooling fans. it knows the recipe for success. there's nothing like it. the big mac. it doesn't do interviews. and don't miss the mac snack wrap while it's in the house. the simple joy of famous flavor. ♪ ♪ [ laughs ] ♪ ♪ here's a better idea... pillsbury grands! flaky layers biscuits. in just 15 minutes, the light delicate layers add a layer of warmth to your next dinner. pillsbury grands! dinner ideas made easy. >>> this morning, as we celebrate the ne

karen kennedy from virginia beach and vivian schaefer from gaithersburg were along the 120 americans aboard the luxury liner when it hit a reef and slipped on its side. the crash has left at least six dozen people dead and dozens more unacted for. the captain is in custody after being accused ever manslaughter and ban donning his ship before everyone was safely evacuated. -- abandoning his ship before everyone was safely evacuated. >>> jon huntsman is expected to announce today that he is dropping out of the race for the republican presidential nomination. that is expected to become official at a fundraiser in myrtle beach later today. >>> more news from the presidential race now. rick perry prepares for another round of his battle to get on the primary ballot in virginia. details coming up next. >>> iced in. an alaska town cut off for months by harsh winter weather finally getting some much- needed help now courtesy of the coast guard. we'll have that story coming up. ahh... so much better than last year. [ both screaming ] throw the food out the window! throw the food out the windo

karen kennedy and richard arrived back home yesterday. kennedy told a virginia newspaper that she is very well traveled, but never experienced anything like this before. at one point, the lights flickered. there were problems with the generator. the couple went to the top deck. they were lowered to the water on a lifeboat and as that happened, brian, people started jumping into the lifeboat because they were afraid of getting stuck on the deck so they were frantic moments, brian. >> and are we getting any better sense of how all of this happened? >> there are some reports that schettino was going off course. he was not authorized to do that. he wanted to show off the luxury liner to people who lived on the island. >> laura evans tonight. >>> and now to a news alert in the district. police shot and kill add german shepherd after it attacked several people. it happened around 6:00 p.m. police say the dog bit one person, she was taken to the hospital as a precaution. the dog also went after the responding officer. tonight police are talking

karen kennedy, and virginia from gaithersburg are okay and on their way home more than a dozen peopleorning survivors are now just starting to speak out. >> reporter: as thousands of passengers recover in italy their stories of what happened are starting the come out. shaken survivors compare experience to the movie titanic as they describe the chaotic moments the ship began to sink some crawled through hallways down ladders to escape while others leapt over board into the frigid sea as they tried to evacuate. >> in the very end, before we jumped off, one of the crew members was telling us we need to stay on that is when mark was saying we don't need to stay on because it was sinking so fast. >> where we were standing is under water we needed to get off right then that is when 100, 150 people started swimming. >>> many passengers were inside the restaurant having dinner at the time of the accident and say waiters instructed them to remain seated even as the ship began listing, chaos reigned as the crew attempted to evacuate women and children splitting up families once aboard lifeboat