and the betty ford clinic has fired the worker.n all that, coming up this morning. good morning, america. i'm george stephanopoulos. >> and i'm elizabeth vargas. robin roberts is off this morning. >>> and if you're planning to get away this christmas holiday, wait until you see what thieves are planning to get away with. we'll tell you how to keep your home safe while you may be out of town this holiday season. >> that's security expert bill stanton. >>> also, a family is going to get help of their own. it's a "good morning america" savings makeover. this family saved almost $60,000. >> amazing. >> we'll show you how to save big-time, too. >> we're going to see a lot of them. and see how they save. >>> first, we begin with that story. more legal trouble for lindsay lohan. the troubled actress is accused of assaulting a staff member at the betty ford clinic in california, where she is close to completing her court-ordered rehab. david wright has more on the actress's latest brush with the law. >> reporter: lindsay lohan's latest alt

the actress is accused of assaulting a worker at the betty ford rehab center. a moment. >>> first, cbs news national correspondent has the latest. >> reporter: during her stint in the betty ford center lindsay lohan has been mostly out of the public eye except for the paparazzi's telephoto lenses. all that changed after an alleged incident with a staffer that placed the 24-year-old actress under investigation. dawn called police to report a physical altercation with a troubled actress and tells tmz she confronted lohan about breaking her curfew and trying to administer a breathalyzer test when the alleged incident occurred. >> she pushed me when i had told her to take her hands off of another patient. >> reporter: she claims she smelled alcohol on lindsay's breath and on the phone with police lohan wrenched the phone from her injuring her hand. lohan says she touched her first and will file a complaint. schae be she has been fired from the betty ford center for discussing the case. lohan has been reported as a suspect in an investigation. the victim desires pro

the betty ford center says they fired the staffer for breaking confidentiality by talking to dmv. >>he 2011 model year, that's the most the agency has ever issued. german car maker volkswagen top the list as the safest new vehicles followed by general motors, ford and toyota. this year's award more than double the number of safety picks last year. >> diabetes testing strips are being recalled over inaccurate readings. the food and drug administration says they're recalling up to 359 million test strips. they're marketed under half a dozen brand names. precision, exceed-pro, precision extra, medicine optum. the strips can give a false low blood sugar reading. they blame it on a defect that limits the amount of blood each strip absorbs. >> a study conducted and written by a group of eight to ten year olds, the children from an elementary school investigated the way bumble bees see colors and patterns in a local church yard. the group trained bees to go to their targets of different colors by giving them a sugar award. it went through a peer review and the report was published in biolog

the betty ford center says they fired the staffer for breaking confidentiality by talking to dmv. >> 2011 model year, that's the most the agency has ever issued. german car maker volkswagen top the list as the safest new vehicles followed by general motors, ford and toyota. this year's award more than doublehe number of safety picks last year. >> diabes testing strips are being recalled over inaccurate readings. the food and drug administration says they're recalling up to 359 million test strips. they're marketed under half a dozen brand names. precision, exceed-pro, precision extra, medicine optu the strips can give a false low blood sugar reading. they blame it on a defect that limits the amnt of blood each strip absorbs. >> a study conducted and written by a group of eight to ten year olds, the children from an elementary schoo investigated the way bumble bees see colors and patterns in a loc church yard. the group trained bees to go to their targets of diffent colors by giving them a sugar award. it went thugh a peer review and the report was published in biology letters. >> if

as the betty ford worker hurt herself by doing an interview? >> absolutely. i think that's one of the best developments from lindsay's perspective. the fact that this woman has been fired suggests that she isn't a credible, you know, dignified employee. and maybe she is motivated by something like money or fame. she knew who she was dealing with. why did she kneelkneel -- feel compelled to talk to a tabloid like tmz. whether she pushed her first or second, they're both saying they were each shoved. that's something that works to lindsay's advantage. a shoving match in addiction center, that happens every day and it's not usually something that gets somebody surrendered from probation. >> i would like to follow up, this idea of conflict in a health care setting, there are all sorts of things that happen in terms of power struggles and battles of the will. it's typical. and especially in the sort of addict population, they don't want to be controlled, they want to break the rules, so this kind of thing does happen all the time. >> people think of celebrities li

>> based on a large part unlawful termination by the betty ford clinic.t is based -- the investigation is based, really, in the whistle-blower statute in california. this is really an attempt by betty ford to cover up the incident and prevent public disclosure of any sort of claim by either lindsay lohan or dawn holland. >> speaking of that, seau you state the clinic has made immoral and unethical requests of miss holland. what were those requests specifically? >> from the very outset of this incident, petty ford had really attacked my client, had ordered her not to speak to the police, had ordered her, once she did speak to the police, to change her story. this is all in an effort to protect their own image in this very competitive rehabilitation marketplace. given your client's statement of what happened that night. does she plan to sue lindsay lohan? >> absolutely not. she applauds miss lohan in her rehabilitation. it's not a perfect science and oftentimes it gets a bit ugh any. >> she doesn't hover any ill wills towards lindsay lohan given some of the

boulevard. >>> the 72-year-old former two term governor, jerry brown will be sworn into office. >>> the betty fordlinic in southern california where lyndsey lohan had a spat with a rehab worker is now under scrutiny with the state. the department of public health is conducting an investigation at the ford center. but the agency will not say whether the probe is related to an incident involving lohan. the actress is undergoing court ordered rehab at that center. a worker who gave an on camera interview about lohan says lohan shoved her. lohan remains under investigation. >>> newly released documents in the watergate show extreme interest in going after yankees owner steiner. water gate special prosecutor had a concern. steinbrener pleaded guilty to two charges in connection with the legal corporate campaign foundation to both president richard nixon and democratic candidates. >>> cc sabathia was back home today helping community groups. he and his wife amber are hooking up for cc's christmas caravan. it's like a home make over for vallejo programs which focus on infant, teen, youth and adult servic

betty ford says, look, you violated the agreement here. they fired the nurse because she broke the rules by giving a public interview about lindsay. it's a sad case here. this is what the woman said. >> i did not touch the woman. i am not willing to risk my job over any patient. >> now, had she been drinking when you saw her? >> yes, she had alcohol on her breath. >> there's more trouble here. she snuck out, she was getting drunk again, got in a physical altercation with the woman, the woman's been fired. this can land her back in jail. this can be a violation of her probation. so lindsay just -- another tough time for her. >> it just keeps getting worse for her. >> yeah, yeah. >> so "jersey shore." it's shocking to hear, considering people hated the show. they're doing a season three and they are out with the latest trailer, take a look. >> jersey shore! jersey shore! >> last summer was crazy on "the jersey shore." i actually missed the boardwalk, missed the clubs. but we are absolutely going to top that summer. >> party's here! >> i brou

the betty ford center says it won't break confidencety. >> president obama signed a bill a few minutesurns the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. it will take the pentagon several months to implement a new policy to allow gays and lesbians to serve openly without being punished or dismissed. the president encouraged those discharged to rejoin. >> the incredible rescue of a man in a wheelchair that became trapped under a freight train in oakland. terry mcsweeney live in oakland with the latest. >> happened about a quarter to 4:00 right here in front of jack london square embarcadero and broadway. truly a fantastic story. take a look when it wasn't looking so fantastic. a man underneath a cow catcher of that train engine. the train weighs 130 tons. he was trapped underneath it and they had to jack up that engine. they got the hydraulics up here. they jacked it up a few minutes they needed to get him out to drag him out from underneath it. according to oakland p. d., he was conscious, talking. may have a happy ending. trains have returned to service, amtrak. we've seen them rolling the last

dina lohan complains to radar online that her daughter, lindsay was actually watching from the betty ford center and was devastated. she told the website, "gwyneth went way overboard and it was unnecessary." >>> finally, on sarah palin's reality show, kate gosselin and sarah palin had "no chemistry together" and they never spoke to one another off camera. she's rechbltly said to have gotten a $10,000 haircut. she hated the food, camping accommodations and left before sundown. >>> this comes to us from wds news in louisiana, where though he's no st. nick, what one man did was nothing short of saintly. sam and his wife traveled from missouri to new orleans to deliver 1,000 toys to the children of families affected by the oil spill. the war vet and cancer survivor have been traveling all across the country delivering his handcrafted toys for 20 years now, and he doesn't plan on slowing down. he says the hobby and, no doubt, a child's thankful smile, keep him from growing old. i see why. >>> i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

palm desert police are investigating lohan for criminal battery against a technician at the betty fordc. the technician says she was injured in a confrontation with lohan, which she claims lohan was drinking trying to make it back into the compound. meanwhile, that technician has been fire for speaking to the media. >>> forbes top list of top 25 world box office earners -- johnny depp is only tied for second thankses to surprise australian newcomer mia wasikowska. she played alice in "alice in wonderland." but with "the tourist" still in theaters, johnny depp should take second. and zsa zsa gabor's husband mistakenly glued his eyes shut when he mistook his wife's polish for eye drops. he'll be okay but has to wear an eye patch for two weeks. >> i'm not good with nail glue. >> i hope you wouldn't be, though. something you use to stick on the fake nails. and it doesn't go in your eyes. >> okay. >> yeah. >>> this comes to us from wkyc, channel 4 -- channel 3 in cleveland, ohio. helping honor his recently deceased aunt raising money for a grave marker his family can't afford. he wrote his

according to dnc the betty ford clinic was reluctant to let lindsay drive it all because they felt poprought see what follow are and of course they did. a whopper winfrey is talking about her longtime partner and a barbara walters interview. winfrey said stead is still her lover and her mate. they've been together since 1986 this is a picture of them from her website. ho% despite really being seen in public together she doesn't know of another man that could of live this life with her and " it is still hold his own and be his own ". three decades after his death we are able to hear when john lennon said in his final days for the first time ever, transcripts from a 9 hour interview with the singer, songwriter will be published enrollees don't. the interview was conducted three days before his murder in 1980. this is an audio from the interview will so be release. if you receive a gift for this holiday season to retailer which you don't usually frequent, kimberly sakamoto has a look at how you can saw your cards for cash and by anyone at a discount. >> these online marketplaces are makin

and hear from the attorney for a former betty ford clinic staffer who says she was assaulted by lindsay lohan. >>> now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. the day today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com [ female anpride.r ] what will you gain when you lose?™ pizzazz. sass! [ laughter ] [ woman ] i'm feeling that! [ female announcer ] the special k challenge™ begins january 1st. free personalized plans at specialk.com. what will you gain when you lose?™

the woman who works at the betty ford center, said low and that factor is going to file charges. it should not only denying it, she said it was a staffer who attacked her. not clear whether this will be considered a violation of the probation. she is on probation and in the white case. bret michaels, finally is going to marry his longtime girlfriend was the mother of his two daughters. the frogmen of the group poison, the question on his reality show last night. hall " it is in the house, the former pro wrestler check didn't for back surgery today. he sat back in that's been getting worse. he will probably be in the hospital over christmas. >> all problems for spider- man musical. another actor was injured during last night's performance. kimberly sakamoto has a look at the accident which was caught on camera. >> this happened during the end of the show, you see spider-man he was supposed to jump into a pit at the bottom when something went wrong with the wire that was holding a lot. the stick the video fall seeking a better look. he jobs after her, something goes wrong. what do

episodes but dina lohan complains that daughter lindsay was watching that "glee" episode in the betty forder and was devastated and told the website she went overboard and it was unnecessary. >>> finally we report that sarah palin's alaska show kate goslin and her host had zero chemistry together. they never spoke to each other off camera and given goslin's fancy tastes she said to have recently got a thousand dollar hairstyling, it's no surprise she hated the food, the camping accommodations and she actually left before sundown. >> that was the most money ever spent on a haircut. hairstyling. >> hairstyling. did you like that? oh, please, i mean -- >> 300. >> not even. >> 400. >> bill, what do you think i am? come on. come on. >> cash daddy. >> no, how about you, bill? you one of those guy, you are. >> barbershop all the way. >> right. i'm lynn berry. this is "first look" on msnbc, but stay tuned. "way too early with willie geist" starts right now. >>> president obama's tax deal expected to breeze through the senate perhaps later today after picking up 83 votes in a test run yesterday. th

before betty ford, nobody spoke about breast cancer.he breast, in and of itself, women did not speak about their bodies. since then, we are more comfortable, but since then, cancer, the word, is terrifying. i felt like i went through my treatment and i was able to go through it in the privacy of my own surroundings and think about what i wanted to do. part of what came from the opportunity was the blessing of being able to actually speak with women who are fans were who followed me about the mammograms, and just knowing their breasts. until there is a cure, that is the best that we have as far is the cure is prevention. tavis: your view about life before the diagnosis and on this side of it? has it changed? >> it is a funny community, cancer survivors. everybody will talk to you about the tailor-made lessons that come with the treatment and survivorship. for me, the lesson was showing up for myself, the idea of putting on your oxygen mask for yourself first. that was my story, learning how to say no and limit myself and stay within myse

during her stay at the betty ford center, she was involved in an accident with a female staffer. this is allegedly here. if she's found to have violated her probation she could go back to jail. the employee says on december 12th, she called police to report a physical altercation with lohan. >> she pushed me when i had told her to take her hands off of another patient. >> she says she confronted lohan about breaking her curfew and trying to administer a breathalizer test when the alleged assault occurred. meantime, holland has been fired for violating patient confidentiality. >>> this morning the results from the annual crash safety test have been released and many more vehicles rated top picks this year. preeti arla is in washington with the latest. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, terrell. the head of the insurance institute for highway safety says all cars must meet federal safety requirements so what they're looking for when it comes to these crash tests are those manufacturers who go above and beyond what is required and this year, dozens of cars made the pick

i had the privilege of being with alexandre as a matter of fact, being part of a betty ford panel that-that looked at just that question. and i think, while aa 12-step is perhaps the most common, it was the agreement of that group that there is no single way to recovery, that, in fact, there are many ways. expanding a little-that's important because at least in that setting it was agreed that you could be on-in recovery, meaning the qualities that alexandre just talked about, but also be on a maintenance medication. and so i think many people don't realize that. some people can be sober, have good personal health, good social relationships, good citizenship, and be maintained on-on-on a medication. it took a while to get there. i remember when the first concept of recovery came along, you know, we had to work at the concept of including medication-assisted therapy, individuals within that cohort of what was considered recovery. pam, what are some of the principles of recovery? well, i think in order to talk about the principles, you have to know a little bit about addiction and why you're t

. >>> the betty ford center fired a woman accused of attacking lindsey lohan. a spokesperson for the rehab facility says the employee broke controversial rules. lohan is accused of shoving the woman last week. the actress has been in rehab since september. >>> a university of connecticut womans basketball team owns the longest winning streak of any college basketball team. the top ranked uconn huskies blasted florida state for their 89th straight victory. you know, they haven't lost a game since the 2008 ncaa final. the huskies will be heading next for their next two games. then they will be at stanford on the following thursday. ucla is the longest mens winning streak it's at 88. >> congratulations. >> they are the women. >> i didn't want them to beat ucla but they are women and that is awesome. >>> let's check in with sal. >> did you go to ucla? >> something, yeah. >> good morning to you. traffic is moving a long well. traffic is moving a long realtively well if you are driving along the bay area. no major problems this morning if you are driving on the bay a

. >> could her alleged betty ford brawl land her back in jail?e a drug addict who will go to any desperate measures. lindsay is not looking too good. >>> after spider-man'sew york accident, was the show just cancelled? >> people are giving you poop for it. why? >> >> joy under fire for this fake o'reilly christmas card.

. >>> well, the betty ford rehab center has fired a worker who accused lindsay lohan of attack her.he employee lost her job just hours after giving an on-camera interview with tmz. a spokesperson for the rehab facility said the employee broke a confidence ailty rule. the actress has been in rehab since september. >>> 8:51. it's another busy holiday travel day. we jut got new information on sfo. it affects everyone catching a flight this morning. >>> welcome back. it's still a busy travel week. sfo just told us that the recent rain is causing a one- hour delay at the airport. if you are traveling, please remember to call ahead this morning. we took this video earlier this week at sfo. it's been crowded all week. our wet weather has definitely been causing delays all week as well. >>> in about an hour from now, san mateo assemblyman jerry hill will announce a bill to crack down on underaged drinking on party buses. this in response to the death of brett studebaker. he was killed when he crashed his suv after drinking aboard a party bus. >> we're here to really help get the awareness o

departamento de salud pÚblica de california dijo que estÁ realizando una investigaciÓn del centro betty fordpara elegir a su favorito. hablando de favoritos. poncho, alguna vez has recibido un regalo que no ha sido necesariamente tu favorito, que no te gustÓ? >> por quÉ me haces esas preguntas a mÍ? yo no me voy a meter en camisa de once varas. hay lÍmites. afortunadamente no me tocÓ una cosa asÍ. >> yo sÉ que a ti te urge en saber quÉ hacer en caso de que esto suceda. vamos a pasar inmediatamente al centro comercial donde estÁ raÚl en el dÍa de hoy y vamos a ver quÉ es lo jvre tenemos que hacer para no ofender a la persona que nos regalÓ algo que no nos gustó. >> estoy compartiendo con toda la gente que estÁ llegando a la aventura mall. de dÓnde es? >> cali. >> ya preparÓ la cena? >> sÍ. todo el mundo preparado ya y no veo la hora de le llegue la noche. >> le hago una pregunta. ya comprÓ todos los regalos? >> ya estoy lista. >> y este regalo usted... no le gusta? quÉ harÍa con el regalo? >> se lo regaa lo regalo a una persona que le guste mÁs que a mÍ. >> reciclarÍa el regalo? >> vamos a ve

the former staffer at betty ford who claims lohan attacked her says she doesn't want to press chargesred to sue the clinic for wrongful termination. they said she was fired for refusing to cover up the scuffle with lohan. >> it was miss lohan who called the police. my client would never have reported the incident. but when the police arrived, there was an injured person, ms. holland, my client. >> holland sprained her wrist in the incident. as for lohan, no breathalyzer was taken. but sources say she was getting her hair done and drinking nonalcoholic shirley temples that night. >>> a rhode island man is causing quite a scare in his neighborhood. you can see why. that's not him hanging off the house. it's a dummy. he said he was tired of stringing the lights and decided to play a prank on his neighbors, instead. it's so convincing, people are stopping their cars and running out to help the poor guy. and that's the news at 8:04. you would think that would lead to a traffic accident. >>> good morning. we are -- i was talking to the folks. and i am sorry. >> i'm happy to have you back in

you go into the betty ford center. [laughter] and you hire a new publicist, vivian, and vivian puts out the word that you suffer from a rare condition which creates excess mucus. [laughter] and you pick this up when you are over and africa trying to and adopt an orphaned child. she does her best at damage control but the damage is done. you've suffered this sharp blow and your image is forever craft. and it will never, ever recover. people will always look get you and they will be looking at your nostril first. this is how it is. so celebrity culture and humor, jokes do not go with each other. i grew up in a era of cruel humor, desperately cruel. the age of the practical joke. people do not do this anymore but they used to do it and they would send for ads in the back pages of popular mechanics, and they would bite itching powder, and they would buy dribble glasses, give one to uncle louis and liquid would run down his tie and everyone got a big kick out of it. and you would put salt in the sugar bowl. i can barely rem

so you fire your publicist jennifer and you go into hiding and you go to the betty ford center.and you hire a new publicist vivian and vivian puts out the word that you suffer from a rare condition which creates excess mucous. and you pick this up when you're over in africa where you're going to adopt an orphan child and she does her best to damage control. but the damage is done. you have suffered this sharp blow and your image is forever -- forever cracked will never, ever recover, ever recover. people will always look at you and they'll be looking at your nostril. this is how it is. celebrity culture and humor jokes do not go with each other. i grew up in an yare of cruel humor, desperately cruel. the age of the practical joke. people don't do this anymore but they used to do it and they would send to -- for ads in the back pages of popular mechanics and they would buy itching powder and they would buy dribble glasses so at thanksgiving you hand uncle louis a dribble glass and woe put it to his lips and liquid would run down his tie. and everybody got a big kick out of this.

you go into the betty ford center. [laughter] and you hire a new publicist, vivian, and vivian puts out the word that you suffer from a rare condition which creates excess mucus. [laughter] and you pick this up when you are over and africa trying to and adopt an orphaned child. she does her best at damage control but the damage is done. you've suffered this sharp blow and your image i forev craft. and it will never, ever recover. people will always look get you and they will be looking at your nostril first. this is how it is. so celebrity culture and humor, jokes do not g with each other. i grew up in a era of cruel humor, desperately cruel. the age of the practical joke. people do not do this anymore but they used to do it and they would send for ads in the back pages of popular mechanics, and they would bite itching powder, d they would buy dribble glasses, give one to uncle louis and liquid would run down his tie and everyone got a big kick out of it. and you would put salt in the sugar bowl. i can barely remember