i'm ashley webster. it is the last hour of trading and the "countdown to the closing bell" beginning right now. stocks are down in a fourth day in a row but well off the lows. the dow off 62 points of the trying to make a comeback. we got word members of the house are reconvening sunday night at 6:30 p.m., boostings opt that deal gets done by year-end the dow up, well, down half a percent but certainly up from the lows. s&p down half a percent. same story on nasdaq. russell 2000 down .8 of a percent. harry reid's comments setting the tone early. when he spoke the markets tanked. the senate majority leader said nothing is happening in budget talks and looks like the u.s. is heading for the so-called fiscal cliff. he compared it to the ball dropping on new year's eve dropping on times square more ominously. more from the nation's capitol. in terms of industry groups and what is not working we start with financials. they're the biggest drag. money center banks like bank of america down 1 1/4%. goldman down

shibani and ashley. ashley: peter barnes, thank you very much. is good way of putting it. ashley: yes, very much. as we tick closer to 2013 and the threat of falling off the fiscal cliff, john tamney, forbes opinion editor says the republicans should walk away and not give in. by all accounts from what we're hearing about this framework, john, it appears that the republicans are caving on these tax hikes. but walking away, isn't that a risky thing to do? >> yeah, it is apparent they're not taking my advice. ashley: yeah. >> i don't think they're going in the right direction here. let's be fair here. this is a very large tax increase they're voting for. as we all know the top earners pay the vast majority of federal revenues. so to the republicans really want to be on record having voted for a tax increase in concert with spending cuts we know will not occur? i think it is a really bad deal for the party. better to wait until 2013. ashley: we've done this before, haven't we? tax now and we'll get to spending cuts later. it didn't work out that way

ashley?y: reverse of what we saw yesterday with hopes of some sort of agreement on the fiscal cliff.3 now, maybe not so much. sandra smith at the cme, following the smack down on metals today, sandra. >> yeah, that's right, ashley, and a quick update here, the pits here got louder as we've gone into the final minutes of the trading session here. as the talks in washington continue, we are seeing some action pick up, and we'll continue to monitor that. meanwhile, precious metals are a big part of the selloff on commodity prices today and for weeks now. gold prices falling down, down eight bucks, around the 1650 ounce mark, a far cry from the record highs above $1800 an ounce that we had been seeing earlier in the year. this, today, capping the longest run of weekly decline for gold that we've seen in two years so the bearish sentiment in the market, guys issue and one way traders explained that sell off of gold is like it or not, the start's gone up 15% this year, and people missed out on that

ashley: exactly. about retail and the problem on the retail stocks today. >> do i have to, ashley? it's not a pretty picture. ashley: i'm afraid so. >> this year, projections for holiday shopping growth over last year are revised and revised down. in fact, some expectations are that this is the worst retail season we've had for holiday shopping since 2008. now, according to mastercard's spending polls, and that's a track of everything, cash, checks, and credit cards, we will see growth between -- or saw growth between october 28th and december 24th of seven tenths of a percent. put that in perspective, in 2011, same time frame, sales grew by 2%. giving you a lot of reasons for this most of which they seem to believe was superstorm sandy that hit the big shopping areas and 5 lot of the big -- a lot of the big population centers on the east coast, and people there in new york, new england did not shop, and that was sufficient enough to bring down the numbers nationwide. there was a built of a rebound pr

ashley webster. ashley: thank you very much, adam. the french are thrilled burger king is back. adam, thank you so much. so, will 2013 b. the golden year for precious metals? my next guest thinks so, he thinks gold will pass $2300 per ounce next year. ceo and president of mcalvany management, david mcalvany joining a fox business exclusive. since gold hit about $1900 back in 2011, we haven't been able to sustain any rallies to get it past that point, what makes you think we will? >> when we look at demand, this is what is driving the price in 2013 and 2014. investor demand even with slumping prices has been very constant. 84.6 million ounces, we have not alleged at all. we have continued to see those numbers climb. on the supply side we have scrap or recycled gold peaking this year, and we think that will be a critical driver has less supply is available. that one variable, recycled gold has spiked three to fourfold and is now declining, that should be a critical factor. ashley: in the short term i'm sure they will be adding to gains

ashley: thanks, sandra.ing up outrage after a detroit official calls on the white house to bailout the struggling city. why? because it helped reelect president obama. gerri willis on that story next. you won't believe it. tracy: you can't. first look at some of today's winners and losers as we head out to break. western digital and citigroup winners on your s&p. but, we need to send a tribute to legendary jazz musician dave brubeck who died today, the day before his 92nd birthday. he will be sorely missed. ♪ . ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] they are a glowing example of what it means to be the be. and at this special time of year, they shine even brighter. come to the winter event and get the mercedes-benz you've always wished for, w for an exceptional price. [ santa ] ho, ho, ho, ho! [ male announcer ] lease a 2013 glk350 for $399 a month at your local mercedes-benz dealer. every human being is unique. and there is one sto that recognizes it. the sleep nuer store. the only place in the world you'll find the extrao

ashley: i am ashley webster.tion on the fiscal cliff but is it too late to stop the worst case scenario? you can see 13 days away the very latest on president obama's new offer and john boehner's new backup plan. trrcy: one california industry that can abide rising taxes. we will tell you how vineyards and hundreds of thousands of employees are coping. ashley: solid gains for stocks in 2012. one big money strategist is going defensive for the new year. ing's bug could they will be here. tracy: the dow is up 110 points time for stocks as we do every 15 minutes. nicole petallides on the floor of the stock exchange. good day so far. nicole: if you are a bowl you are happy, and things up 110 points and up nearly 1% on the dow jones industrials, the s&p 500 up 1% as well ended ticketing nasdaq up 1-1/4% and we are trending to the upside and there is a belief that washington will in some way, shape or form solve the issues pertaining to the fiscal cliff and financials have been taking off and that has helped things alo

ashley: what is in your house.give you microcosm of my life. >>> john mcafee, founder of the famous anti-virus software is back on u.s. soil today after arriving on a flight to miami. now the military tech titan was deported from guatemala after spending nearly a month on the run dodging authorities in belize who wanted to question him in the murder of his neighbor in belize. mcafee was detained by guatemalan authorities after sneaking into the country from neighboring belize. he has been living in belize since selling the his stake in the software company that bears his name. no word whether authorities will detain or question mcafee. ashley: he hasn't been charged with anything. tracy: there is no warrant yet. at this time he is a free man. man, what a good, juicy story for us. ashley: it is. it is, he an eccentric, no doubt about it. has dual citizenship between the u.k. and u.s. neighbor he believes, his dogs were poisoned by the neighbor who ended up getting murdered. i don't know. we'll see. but still no char

ashley: no doubt.initial jobless claims spike up a little bit by 17,000 but the four-week moving average at a two-month low. just like everything else it is all excruciatingly slow movement upward. until businesses feel more confident, they are not going to hire, are they? >> no. layoff announcements have picked up, even though we haven't seen it in the claims. claims numbers are messy because of sandy. we have the holidays in there it is hard to get a clear view what is going on in the labor market from the claims data this time of year. there is good news. there is one area clearly going to do better in 2013 and that's housing. housing numbers we got to date were spectacular. existing home sales rose 5%. over five million unit annual rate. distressed sales. foreclosures and short sales, bank sales, fell to the lowest share that we've seen since the recession. so, we're, we've seen traditional buyers come back to the market. the inventory of unsold homes has dropped to the lowest level since way back

ashley: i'm ashley webster.kes on the jobs report and not really impressed up 50 points. more americans simply giving up on trying to find one. that's disturbing. ftn economist lindsey piegza will be here to help us break down the numbers straight ahead. tracy: if you thought this was the week for progress on the fiscal cliff. well, think again. big ol' zero. nothing happens. house speaker boehner says it is clear president obama is dragging the economy well over the cliff. ashley: the rhetoric goes on. ibm playing scrooge to hundreds of thousands of employees by radically changing its 401(k) contribution. is your company next? tracy: kind of scary. as we do every 15 minutes we head down to the floor of the new york stock exchange, nicole petallides. they are climbing back to session highs although the notion 48 points up is only thing we've got, doesn't say much. >> it has been a slow crawl but this is our third week in a row of gains. it doesn't feel like it's been a great three weeks but hey, if you're long t

ashley: i'm ashley webster. another day another meeting.nt obama meeting with governors on the fiscal cliff talks so what is really going on behind the scenes? well, i will tell you what, we'll ask governor gary herbert of utah. he actually met with the president so we'll get a first-hand account. tracy: yeah, that will be interesting. is red tape standing in the way of a housing recovery? will foreclosures bog down in court proceedings? our very own judge napolitano is here to give us the scoop on that. ashley: plus, say it ain't so. the bubbly is losing its physician. the champagne industry suffering from a hangover from europe's economic woes. there hasn't been a lot of celebrating across the pond lately. we'll have more. tracy: i wonder if europe is drinking wine instead? ashley: they're drinking something. they will never give that up. tracy: they do it in church, heck. all right, top of the hour, time for stocks as we do every 15 minutes. we head down to nicole petallides on the floor of the new york stock exchange. girl, we are, as a

ashley: no.outrage over spending bill for superstorm sandy is filled with pet projects in washington, d.c. while people are still devastated by the storm. liz claman on the story. ashley: from chicken to pork. time for stocks now. as we do every 15 minutes we head to the floor of the new york stock exchange, and nicole petallides. the market is literally at a stand till over this fiscal cliff. >> i knew you knew where we were going every 15 minutes, ashley. we have to check in on the markets. you're seeing the dow who haver around the unchanged line, down three points now. tech-heavy nasdaq the worst of the bunch down one half of 1%. app, i'm also watching whether or not the dow will have winning week. we had three straight weeks in a row of gains. if we close right here right now we're all right. 13,155 where we close last week. we'll see whether we make it four weeks in a row. we got in economic news, consumers prices. those edged lower for the first time in six months among others. let's get t

ashley: that's true.up housing secretary sean donovan admits taxpayers are quote, closer to funding a massive bailout for the fha. gerri willis is on that story next. ashley: first let's take a look at some of today's winners and losers as the dow is drifting slightly higher. we do have winners. starbucks, raise a cup of coffee to them. they're up 6% today. netflix after the big disney announcement up again today 5%. we'll be right back ashley: it is 30 past the hour. let's check the markets as we do every 15 minutes. nicole petallides on the floor of the night see. take it away. nicole: i am here with keith blitz and we were talking about the fact we are not far off of the unchanged line. you were saying middle around the edges. what is going on? we have market direction. why we not seeing more? >> we are floating around in the ocean waiting for a lifeboat to come and take us back to land. we are going to sit here and you will be placid. i expected real volatility. we are not seeing -- the longer they ta

ashley: in the pits of the cme, y. roberts is a long term -- forget about the fiscal cliff outcome, the top places for you to put your money in the first half of next year and shibani joshi ready to break in with the research in motion and nike earnings as soon as they're out, we will get right to that but start with scott bauer at the cme. let me ask you about research in motion, we don't it is off life-support but so much riding on the blackberry 10. >> the numbers they come out with enough few minutes really going to be immaterial. one important factor, the subscriber base. the subscriber base is not down and no announcement they are delaying the release of january 30th, there is room to run on this stock. i know that is a far cry from where we are. a very good resistance point. the loss is expected to report on the 2.65, those numbers are not as significant as what happens to subscriber base. have they been able to hold on to these people in the hope that -- [talking over each other] liz: stock is halted, last trad

back to ashley. ashley: thank you very much. sales hitting record numbers, but even an upbeat shopping season won't be the saving grace for some retailers so what does that mean for your portfolio? sandra smith has a look at the winners and losers in today's "the trade." portfolio. sandra: yes, for your portfolio look at the more beaten up retailers, ones that are shining in that. the stock is on the climate the past several weeks. a peril retailer, getting beaten up, the buyer coming in with a few days to go, just 11 on the stock, average price target or $27 per share. lot of analyst say there's a lot of room to go from where it is today. abercrombie little bit of concern around black friday and the high prices but it looks like they will come out on top. the stock up 1.7% but look at the most recent claim, a one-month chart, really picking up some steam and just today upgraded. it recently raised its outlook and a lot of optimism heading into today. down 3.6%. this has been a huge winner in 2012, really gaining, up 66%. those

ashley: i am ashley webster.iscal cliff, president obama calling on republicans to take his new author and threatens to veto john boehner's plan b. republicans call that threat bizarre. john boehner expected to speak in 15 minutes and we will bring that to you live. tracy: name calling now. corporate dealmaking into the pfgbest. will be just another dead? the head of the mandate, ernst and young will tell us about factors that will shake the market next year. ashley: time for stocks as always as we do every 15 minutes. let's head to lauren simonetti on the floor of the stock exchange. the fiscal cliff keeping investors on the edge as well. >> definitely an issue. a lot of these going on, being digested with two strong days of gains here. in the u.s. we're taking a little bit of a breather, and down invests 13 points off of session lows. tracy: what about the housing report? a lot of mixed news out there. >> these are up today, and they were better than expected. it is 2-2/3%. >> just as confused as we are. tracy:

ashley: hopefully getting there. other items, 33 million people waiting, see what the heck they're going to do. >> texas, washington is looking for a way to raise revenue right now trying to get rid of the tax deductions. is it a good idea or will it hurt charities? gerri willis to weigh in and then i am going to weigh in. >> we have a bunch of people on, when you drill into this what you find from the charitable organizations is that the deduction goes away, 76% of the contributions come right through that, get that deduction. this would be a real thing. here's what people are thinking about. if the red cross isn't there with all the money they typically have come if united way isn't there, wh who's goingo pay? who will pony up the money for the good work they do over the country. you think the rich will be stung? no, the poor people will be hurting. tracy: i think at the end of the day we are a philanthropic bunch. i will be the first person to tell you the week before new years i am writing checks out. you are doi

ashley: i love this.ement and i bet you he made a darn good decision at the end of the day. >> good advisors. either way he doesn't really lose. ashley: time for stocks as we do every 15 minutes. look at the new york stock exchange. nicole: let's take a look at apple. a few tech movers on a daily tech heavy nasdaq composite is doing well, one and a quarter are sent. everybody remembers apple, try not to think about that if you're long on the market. saying they're receiving orders 300,000 units of the iphone 5. recently projected numbers for the iphone activations to 8 million units up from 7 million so that is good news for the fourth quarter. texas instruments had some accounting for the full cost of the exit for the mobile chip market. expecting earnings to be $0.05 to $0.09 per share down from a previous forecast but those are some tech movers we continue to watch. really is an area that has been weak over the last couple of days has really turned it around hoping toto lead this market. ashley: thank

ashley: hopefully he's right.y: speaker boehner, senator reid, senator mcconnell all urging everyone to get along. gerri willis is here from "the willis report." >> you heard speaker boehner this morning. it was amazing to me. you know, he was asked directly, point blank, where we go from here? is there anyone sitting down with anyone else? and he just blew past the question. clearly nothing is on the table now. the next thing we will see be from the senate next thursday. that is a big maybe. we just don't know what they are going to do. but they could pass something done. i want to talk to you about what we are preoccupied with today. it is astonishing and appalling. nancy pelosi calling the gop the reverse robin hood, taking food out of the mouths of babies. these are the people that are supposed to be helping each other. slinging mud. a little group had a piece of coal delivered everybody who voted against this plan b. >> one other point that is worth remembering, a couple of weeks ago harry reid was trying to

ashley: unemployment consistent.the new york stock exchange as we do every 15 minutes. nicole petallides, the markets did a double take when we got this announcement from the fed but now moving nicely higher. nicole: we have that back-and-forth action as we got the play-by-play. in monetary policy remains much of the same, very accommodated from our fed head. with them doing just that, that basically says we are here for you and we are ready to back just about everything and give the opportunity for the market to continue higher. moving equities to the upside. that is the basis of what we are seeing today. the dow up 70 points. 25 of the 30 dow components a few minutes ago in the green. 25 of 30 names to show you. it is a broad-based rally. we do have the fed, we talked about that. a long winning streak for the dow. we have not seen that in nine months. let's take a look at the fear index. it had been higher throughout the day. it certainly was volatile during the lunchtime hour we were hearing from the fed. everybod

ashley morrison here in new york with more. good morning, ashley. >> good morning, terrell. news of rising factory output growth in china. tokyo's nikkei added a fraction while hong kong's hang seng gained nearly half a percent. wall street hopes to continue last week's rally. the dow closed up 81 points on friday while the nasdaq fell 11 points. >>> federal reserve is expected to announce an expansion of its stimulus program this week. experts predict the feds will extend its program of buying $85 billion of securities each month into the new year. the announcement is expected when the bankers meet tomorrow and wednesday. >>> the head of the international monetary fund is calling on u.s. politicians to find a solution to the nation's financial woes and fast. christine lagarde said lawmakers need to address the country's debt, the deficit, and the fiscal cliff and quickly to avoid the uncertainty from affecting the global economy. she suggested a balanced approach, increasing revenue, while also cutting spending. >>> a new survey shows pay for private college prnts continues

next, ashley judd versus mitch mcconnell. a man who filibusters himself.y does he not have any clothes on and what is he doing? >> yeah. then he sits on the budget committee, so what is john thune's plan to keep us from going over the fiscal cliff? toure, karen finney, and committee, so what is john toure, karen finney, and committee, so what is john you can prevent gas with beano meltaways, or treat gas with these after you get it. now that's like sunblock before or sun burn cream later. oh, somebody out there's saying, now i get it! take beano before and there'll be no gas. that was me... the day i learned i had to start insulin for my type 2 diabetes. me... thinking my only option was the vial and syringe dad used. and me... discovering once-daily levemir® flexpen. flexpen® is prefilled. doesn't need refrigeration for up to 42 days. no drawing from a vial. dial the exact dose. inject by pushing a button. flexpen® is insulin delivery... my way. levemir® (insulin detemir [rdna origin] injection) is a long-acting insulin used to control high blood sugar in

he and polling about ashley judd, if he is polling he is worried.umbers are not great and his colleague was not his choice, rand paul, to be the other senate, he was the tea party candidate. so mitch mcconnell is worried. >> she can bring in a lot of outside money, coming in from around the country and hollywood. >> she can, she has a few problems. she lives in tennessee and scott land where her husband is from. so a lot of kentucky voters will say, what does she have to do with us anymore. she has name recognition though, and in the game of running for political office that is important. >> another development, south carolina, nicki haley there announcing she was picking congressman tim scott to replace jim demint. and scott will be the only african american in the senate and one of only a handful in the history of the senate. who will replace scott may be the question here. ? well there's certainly any number of candidates, strom thurmond ran against tim scott before. there's always the possibility, mark san ford, this will be a hotly contested ra

i can't wait to hear this, miss ashley morrison.. >> good morning to you, terrell. >>> strong growth in china fueled markets there. the shanghai composite index gained more than 1.5% while hong kong's hang seng lost a fraction and tokyo's nikkei was closed for the holiday. >>> it will be another short week on wall street because of new year's and promises to be another volatile week especially if no deal is reached on the fiscal cliff. on friday the dow dropped 158 points while the nasdaq fell 25 points. >>> ford motor's had another banner year. the automaker says they sold 2.2 million vehicles here in the u.s. in 2012. that's up from 2.1 million last year. the ford focus is their most popular model. this is the second year in a row ford has topped 2 million in sales, the only u.s. company to do that. >>> there may not be many happy returns this year, especially if you don't have your receipt. the national retail federation says $63 billion worth of presents will be taken back to stores, but receipted could be vital because many sto

. >> and i'm dan ashley. a head on collision in byron and two people killed there. and tonight a 21-year-old man riding a skateboard was killed in concord. abc7 news reporter nick smith is live in concord to explain what happened to the skateboarder. nick? >> dan, good evening. police are not saying much about the accident that took the life of that 21-year-old man. but they have confirmed to me that concord was his home. police tell abc7 news that a woman from clayton was driving this chevy tahoe when she hit and killed a man who was riding on his skateboard. the accident happened just after 4:30 this afternoon shutting down the traffic on monument boulevard and erickson road for hours while police collected evidence at the scene. police have confirmed the skateboarder, a 21-year-old from concord, was in the crosswalk headed northbound at erickson when he was hit by the driver of the chevy tahoe. when emergency personnel arrived at the scene, they immediately learned that the victim suffered major

i'm dan ashley. carolyn has the night off. we need this break from the rain as a chance to dry out, but the storms have certainly left a mark. we have live storm team coverage with meteorologist sandhya patel in a moment. first to abc7 news reporter leslie brinkley who has more on downed trees that have become a bad problem. >> it is a bad year for falling trees. the saturated soil and the lean lead to this one falling over. >> this arborist says the ground is super saturated, but what is toppling many of these trees is the wind. >> especially swirling winds that aren't coming from the standard direction can really cause a lot of damage. >> a huge tree came crashing down along dwight way and fell on to a passing berkeley police car driven by this officer. >> i heard a couple of loud cracking sounds and saw a couple of pedestrians pointing upward. a couple small branches fell

got you. >> ashley morrison here in new york. ashley, good to see you.hank you so much. >>> before i throw up, let's take a break. your wednesday morning weather coming up. >>> and in sports, a ruling in the saints pay-for-pain scandal. former commissioner paul tagliabue lifts the players' suspension but not the blame. ene headache days a month, you miss out on your life. you may have chronic migraine. go to mychronicmigraine.com to find a headache specialist. and don't live a maybe life. can your moisturizer do that? [ female announcer ] dermatologist recommended aveeno has an oat formula, now proven to build a moisture reserve, so skin can replenish itself. that's healthy skin for life. only from aveeno. [ male announcer ] with free package pickup from the u.s. postal service the holidays are easy. visit usps.com. pay, print, and have it picked up for free before december 20h for delivery in time for the holidays. you can even give us special instructions on where to find it. free package pickup. from the u.s. postal service. because it's nice to have

ashley morrison in new york. ashley, thank you so much. >>> we go to sports.there's the oakland city thunder and then there's everybody else. okc on the road in atlanta looking to win their 11th straight. the thunder stars ruled the night. russell westbrook, 27 points. oklahoma city im most heated kevin durant draws a season-high 41 on the hawks. oklahoma city improves to 20-4 with a 100-92 win. >>> one of the most heated rivalries in college hoops resumed laugh night. cincinnati and xavier met for the first time since that big brawl last year. the team shaking hands before the game. it was held on a neutral site to diffuse some of the tension. xavier would take the lead into the half, but in the second, cincinnati runs away with the game. the 11th ranked bearcats remain unbeaten. they win, 60-45. >>> when we come back, a high-flying hoax. millions watch this viral video showing an eagle trying to snatch somebody's child. mama said this though. don't believe everything you see on the internet. don't believe e'eri everything you see on the internet. maybe you c

ashley morrison is here with us.morning to you. >>> a setback in the fiscal talks triggered a selloff overseas. tokyo keys nikkei dropped 1% while hong kong's hang seng sank half a percent. the dow ended 59 points higher in thursday's trading. the nasdaq was up 6 points. >>> research in motion says it lost 1 million blackberry subscribers around the world in the last quarter. the plunge is the first for blackberry, leaving it with 79 million users. the company's stock plunged more than 10% in after-hours trading after it said it will change the way it charges fee. >>> the new york stock exchange has been sold to intercontinental exchange, a little known rival. the price was $8 billion. that's $3 billion less than what it would have sold for in a proposed takeover last year. the new york stock exchange dates back 220 years, but in recent years, a symbol of u.s. capitalism became a victim of technology and regulatory changes. >>> instagram, the mobile picture-sharing service owned by facebook has bowed to user pressure

ashley morrison in new york, appreciate it so much. >>> this is pretty crazy. a dapper monkey who briefly tasted freedom at an ikea parking lot in canada has been sent to an animal sanctuary. toronto police said darwin escaped from a parked car sunday wearing a faux shearling coat and diaper. that's a nice coat. ikea staff lured the primate into a corner before calling police. and his great escape surprised a whole lot of shoppers. >> the people were trying to call it toward them. it was scared. it was darting all over the place. they were trying to get it away from cars. then it became clear that none of the people there were the owner. >> the real owners did come forward and were fined $240 for keeping an exotic pet because you do just lose your monkey every day, of course. >>> when we come back, your tuesday morning weather. and in sports, one benefit of winning the heisman trophy -- you get to do david letterman's "top ten list." hear some of the other perks from this year's winner when we come back on the morning news. come back on the morning news. ge to

i'm dan ashley. >> ama: i'm ama daetz. a loss unimaginable scale. >> a man started shooting with chilling ago. >> was there are 27 victims, 20 of them children and 7 adults. we have team coverage beginning in connecticut. >> evil visited this community today. >> reporter: a quaint new england suburb. >> i'm terrified. >> became a scene of horror. a gunman identified as adam lanza barged into sandy hook elementary school and begin shooting. >> complete chaos. >> teachers rushed to sheppard the yuck children to safety. they were told to close their eyes on the way out. >> we all put our hands on other people's shourdz and teacher led the first person's hand and lead us out. >> one spoke exclusively to diane sawyer. >> i need to know i love you all very much. it's going to be okay because that was the last thing i would have hear. >> all eints the individual i have on the phone continues to believe what he hears is gunfire. >> a small arm swarmed the school but not before the gunman took his toll. >> all afternoon desperate p

. >> do you know what the fiscal cliff is, ashley? >> i do, but i don't know enough about it tos be concerned or have an opinion on it so i'd rather just worry about my christmas gifts. >> all right, she gave me an honest answer. bull regardless of knowledge, people are increasing their spending, everyone from piper afterree to the consumer federation said people are spending more this holiday and we are hearing from shoppers here that cliff or no cliff, they are most all telling me they think the economy is, quote, getting a little better. what are they buying? after buying electronics on black friday, shoppers are moving onto basics, like children's apparent and videogames. back in the fall, 38% of those parents said they delayed some back to school purr chases to the holidays. three months later, 91% of that group has done exactly that. again, this is on nobody's list, but as promised, melissa, i'm wearing an ugly swelter today to raise money for stand up to cancer. great organization. find out what this is all about and what the o

i'm dan ashley. >> ama: i'm ama daetz. a loss unimaginable scale. >> a man started shooting with chilling ago. >> was there are 27 victims, 20 of them children and 7 adults. we have team coverage beginning in connecticut. >> evil visited this community today. >> reporter: a quaint new england suburb. >> i'm terrified. >> became a scene of horror. a gunman identified as adam lanza barged into sandy hook elementary school and begin shooting. >> complete chaos. >> teachers rushed to sheppard the yuck children to safety. they were told to close their eyes on the way out. >> we all put our hands on other people's shourdz and teacher led the first person's hand and lead us out. >> one spoke exclusively to diane sawyer. >> i need to know i love you all very much. it's going to be okay because that was the last thing i would have hear. >> all eints the individual i have on the phone continues to believe what he hears is gunfire. >> a small arm swarmed the school but not before the gunman took his toll. >> all afternoon desperate p

. >> let's go ashley. >> it's a date. i'll buy the popcorn. >> thanks. i'll get the tickets.uch. >>> up next your monday morning weather. and rg3 and the redskins crush the playoff dreams. [ dog barking ] ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] life is full of little tests, but your basic paper towel can handle them. especially if that towel is bounty basic. the towel that's durable and scrubbable. in this lab demo, bounty basic is stronger than the leading bargain brand. everyday life? bring it with bounty basic. the strong but affordable picker-upper... now costs even less. ( ♪♪ ) for those nights when it's more than a bad dream, be ready. for the days when you get a sudden call from the school, be ready. for the times you need to double-check the temperature on the thermometer be ready. when you have children's motrin on hand you're ready. for high fever nothing works faster or lasts longer than children's motrin. be ready with children's motrin. you won't run into deals this big just anywhere. slide on in for sears year end event... save up to 25% off appliances... ...plus an extra 15%

the two women you're seeing, angel and her niece, ashley, undergoing cavity searches on the side of the road. now the two women are speaking out. >> turns me around, goes down into the front of my pants, into my inner thighs and at which point she comes up, with two fingers and i just look at her and say, oh, my god i've just been violated. >> one of the most disturbing things that these women say, 24-year-old ashley, angel's niece, she describes the experience. >> she actually dug, i didn't know what i could say, what i could do. i felt hopeless. >> you remember this video was released because these women are suing. because of the incident. >> you think? >> their lawyer had something to say. >> we believe that both troopers displayed a reckless and callous disregard for these women's constitutional rights and their safety. >> these women say they don't want this to happen to anyone else. because there is now a legal case pending, trooper kelly hallison, the woman seen performing the search in the video has been suspended with pay pending the results of this investigation. >> in this hu

i'm so surprised, ashley. i haven't had to return anything this year.reporter: no, well you're a very happy person this year, you get what you want. >> i haven't either. >> i get the millionaires hadn't happy. they are not partying. >> reporter: apparently not or if theroux cheap about it. it seems even the wealthiest are looking to scale back. a survey of millionaires found 87% plan to spend less than $200 on new year's eve and 3% say they don't even plan to party at all. i'm not sure if i actually fall in the don't plan to party at all because i'm going to be sitting on the sofa and i have remote all to myself and for me that's a party. >> having a party to me, too. >> if you get up at 2:30, you either stay up all night or go to bed at 8:00. >> i'll be playing board games. >> there you go. that's fun. >> cbsmarketwatch.com, have a happy new year, ashley morrison. >> you, too. >> thank you. happy new year. >>> well, the new year has already arrived in new zealand and australia. at 3:00 this morning, our time, fireworks went off from the auckland sky to

. >> i'm dan ashley. firecrews are on the scene and it is happening at a home in engel side heights. abc7 news reporter ama dates is live with the latest on this. ama? >> dan, fire officials will confirm one person was found dead in the house. they will not say anything about the victim's identitiment we are are -- identity. we are a block away from the house. you can see what it looked like when we arrived on scene. it broke out about 8:40. about 40 firefighters responded, and they were able to put the fire out in 40 minutes. it burned through the garage and the second floor of the home. one person was found dead inside. now it wasn't the resident or the neighbor who called the fire in. it was an off duty firefighter who smelled smoke. >> firefighters have had good noses. they smelled like some wood was burning somewhere. they let the you are fireman owkn. >> reporter: and most of the damage was contained to that house on the corner. there was some smoke damage to the house next to it. one person has bee

. >> i'm dan ashley. firecrews are on the scene and it is happening at a home in engel side heights. abc7 news reporter ama dates is live with the latest on this. ama? >> dan, fire officials will confirm one person was found dead in the house. they will not say anything about the victim's identitiment we are are -- identity. we are a block away from the house. you can see what it looked like when we arrived on scene. it broke out about 8:40. about 40 firefighters responded, and they were able to put the fire out in 40 minutes. it burned through the garage and the second floor of the home. one person was found dead inside. now it wasn't the resident or the neighbor who called the fire in. it was an off duty firefighter who smelled smoke. >> firefighters have had good noses. they smelled like some wood was burning somewhere. they let the you are fireman know. >> reporter: and most of the damage was contained to that house on the corner. there was some smoke damage to the house next to it. one person has bee

ashley morrison here in new york with more on that. good morning to you. >> good morning to you. tokyo's nikkei gained 1% to a seven-month closing high while hong kong's hang seng lost a fraction. the cautious optimism of reaching a budget deal sent blue chips higher. the dow added 82 points while the nasdaq was down nearly 23. >>> shares of citigroup rose 6% after the bank announced it is cutting 11,000 jobs. the layoffs represent about 4% of citi's work-force and will be felt worldwide. no word on how many jobs in the u.s. will be lost. >>> darden restaurants is backing away from its plans to limit health care costs. darden who owns olive garden and remember lobster was planning to bump full-time workers down to part-time status to avoid costs associated with president obama's health care law, citing a publicity backlash and a down graded profit outlook. darden announced that none of its full time employees will have their hours cut as a result of the new regulations. >>> well, believe it or not you'll be seeing more starbucks cafes popping up. the coffee chain is planning to a

i'm dan ashley. >> i'm ama dates. carolyn johnson has the night off. rain and lightning showing up on live doppler 7hd tonight. >> meteorologist sandhya patel is tracking it closely. sandhya? >> dan and ama, over 250 lightning strikes off the coast. some of the strikes have made it to land. let me show you live doppler 7hd. right now as we take you a little bit closer, i want to show you the strikes that are right around the area that is north to the west. i will loop this for you so you can see where these strong thunderstorms moved in. as i pull out here, i do want to show you many strikes showing up just west of sea ranch. there are heavy rains showing up there as well. i am watching this for you because as you look out over the pacific, check out the trail of lightning strikes off the coastline here. let's take you in closer now and show you where it is raining. around mill valley, ricardo road and paradise drive. we'll show you some other parts of the bay area, some moderate to heavy rain around vacaville and ple

ashley morrison in new york.rning to you. >> good morning to you. >> it boosted japan's market. tokyo's nikkei add 1% while hong congress's hang seng lost half a percent. wall street continues its weight for a fiscal cliff deal. last week. >>> united and continental airlines moved a step closer to finalizing their merger over the weekend. united's pilots union agreed to a new contract that will also cover pilots coming from continental. the deal includes raises and bigger retirement contributions and it allows united to expand its use of larger regional jets. >>> diet pepsi is getting a huge makeover next month, but they've already made new changes. they've added a new sweetener. diet pepsi uses aspartame, which breaks down in the heat. they're mixing it with a new sweetener that helps it stay sweeter longer. the new mix hit the shelves in some areas earlier this month. >>> and in the box office, a record-setting record for "the hobbit." the fantasy flick took in almost $85 million. that's better than the three p

ashley morrison has more. >> reporter: good morning.find out today just how much superstorm sandy slowed job growth when the labor department releases the november employment report. on thursday the government reported weekly applications for jobless benefits fell sharply. the decline suggests the return to modest job growth that plunged during sandy's aftermath. some economists believe fewer than 100,000 jobs were added in november but others say if not for sandy job gains would have been at their highest since february. asian markets were lower. nikkei lost a fraction and hang seng lost a fraction. michigan a long time bed rom of union employment could soon become the nation's 24th right to work state. protesters rallied at the state house and senate on thursday. both chambers passed separate bills banning mandatory union dues from non-union members. >>> tech stocks gave wall street a boost. apple one of the tech stocks that led the stock market said it will move some of its mass computer production from china to the u.s. it accounts

i'm dan ashley. carolyn johnson has the night off. let's begin with abc7 meteorologist sand yaw patel. sandhya patel. she is tracking the rain. >> yes, dan, and the rain has made its way around many parts of the bay area. let's show you live doppler 7hd. let's go to the radar and we will show you what it looks i can like. we are tracking the storm around the monterey bay. let's show you where it is moderate around boulder creek and scots valley and summit road as you cansee here indicated by the yellows. we are seeing some moderate rainfall. and as i pan around to other parts of the bay area, you have to check this out. this is really interesting from cobb mountain to the hills surrounding ukiah and heading down or heading up depending on where you are. look at this, saint helena and we are seeing some pink here in the hills. it is an indication of a mix of rain and snow. of course we are getting the rain at the lower elevations around novato and santa rosa and tib by ron. as i take you down to street level, ignacio and petaluma and s

ashley morrison here in new york. thank you. in sports this morning there's a buzz going around the nba the hornets will change their name. as early as next season they will become the new orleans pelicans. better than the pigeons, i suppose. just some context. it's the louisiana state bird. the league's worst team went up against lebron james and the miami heat in the third. jordan crawford nailed a three. put the wizards up by seven. the heat crawled back. james with a chance to tie but misses. washington gets the rebound and the win 105-101 over miami, only their second win of the season. >>> a scare for the lakers. kobe bryant gets smacked in the face driving to the basket and goes down in pain but stays in the game. toney douglas hits from downtown. gives the rockets the lead. kobe gets the lakers within one. not enough. houston downs l.a. 107-105. when we come back why the statue of liberty remains off limits to tourists and then buckle up. oh, my goodness. look at who is in the driver's seat. we'll check out specially tra

i'm dan ashley. >> i'm carolyn johnson. let's start with abc7 news sandhya patel who has a look at where the rain is falling right now with live doppler 7hd. sandhya? >> so far the rainfall amounts have been light. but our own radar is now starting to pick up a little more activity. let's go to it. i'll show you where it is coming down. it is light, but in some spots moderate. let's close in on the north bay. i will pan in as we take you down to street level. you will start to notice around petaluma and sue trough avenue we are seeing some light to moderate rainfall. as we go down toward the east bay and the peninsula, you will notice light to moderate rain around the dunbar ton bridge and heading out toward newark, newark boulevard and fremont area. and there is some mixed precipitation that is just to the north of the clear lake area. this is an indication as to how cold this storm is. this storm could even bring snow at low-levels over the bay area 's highest peaks. >> thank you. the search continued late into the night

i'm dan ashley. >> i'm carolyn johnson. for larry beil, sandhya patel and all of us here at abc news, thanks for joining us. >> we appreciate your time and >>> tonight on "nightline," a royal crank call that ended in tragedy. >> hello there. could i please speak to kate, please? >> with the mysterious death of a nurse who answered the phone in the hospital where a pregnant duchess kate was staying. tonight, a shocking look at pranks gone wrong. >>> the love ranch. could these gentle beasts hold the secret to lasting human love?

it helps ashley to be the young woman she is today.efuses to allow ashley to transfer these services with her to illinois where she's been accepted into graduate school. uic agreed to defer her acceptance as she appeals the decision by her home. state. her acceptance is deferred but he dream is not. she applied to the program because they have the nation's premier program. and after finishing her ph.d. she plans to return to louisiana to teach and to start a nonprofit organization to help others living with disabilities. it's a big dream. but given her track record, it's one she can achieve. she's going to need help and needing help doesn't mean she's dependent. in fact, ashley said "independent means having control of one's life. even though there's a lot that i can't do for myself physically, i still have a voice." i wanted to her ashley's story as a reminder to all of us as we stand on the precipices of fiscal cliff, the help that we provide for ashley is an investment. it creates jobs for her health care workers. it benefits our na

i'm dan ashley. >> i'm carolyn johnson.rt with abc7 news sandhya patel who has a look ith linowlerve doppleralling 7hd. sandhya? >> so far the rainfall amounts have been light. but our own radar is now starting to pick up a little more activity. let's go to it. i'll show you where it is coming down. it is light, but in some spots moderate. let's close in on the north bay. i will pan in as we take you down to street level. you will start to notice around petaluma and sue trough avenue we are seeing some light to moderate rainfall. as we go down toward the east bay and the peninsula, you will notice light to moderate rain around the dunbar ton bridge and heading out toward newark, newark boulevard and fremont area. and there is some mixed precipitation that is just to the north of the clear lake area. this is an indication as to how cold this storm is. this storm could even bring snow at low-levels over the bay area 's highest peaks. >> thank you. the search continued late into the night for possible victims of a mall shootin