dubai couldn't rely on oil and money. decided to change its rules, laid down a lot of high-speed internet fiber and broadband and build a lot of facilities to encourage businesses to come to dubai. it doesn't have much population. 200,000 people. muslims would engage the global economy. lebanese and jordanian businessmen, and middle classes engaging european, asian, latin american businesses, the face of prosperity. regardless of whether the right decisions were made or long decisions were made it was obvious that you create a market economy, capitalists like everybody else. dubai is a place of superlatives. it became antithesis to what we associate to the other world. dubai became -- before it began to falter, the most desired place in country after country, they visit on vacation. they went to dubai not because it was from puritanical -- the image of a very strict laws and practices. dubai is a cross between las vegas, disneyland and rodeo drive. that is what attracted them to dubai. the muslim middle classes behave lik

laura setrakian is in dubai. good morning to you, laura. >> reporter: good morning, jeremy and linsey. today is the grand unveiling of the burj dubai. the world's tallest skyscraper and the crowning achievement of the ten-year construction boom. standing at more than 2,600 feet the burj dubai has over 160 floors, the world's highest elevator, and enough steel rebar to go one-quarter of the way around the world. >> you have to give them credit for an engineering feat. it's also very symbolic. >> reporter: when the tower was first conceived, dubai's fortunes seemed bright and limitless. today the city is in much different shape. mired in as much as $150 billion of debt with unpaid bills and millions owed to builders, banks and service providers hired during the peak years. >> it puts dubai on the map in an ironic way. because real estate housing downturn is what's responsible for the current economic down cycle. >> reporter: there have been scores of layoffs and billions of dollars in canceled projects. last month,

>>ones with a fear of heights might want to stay clear of dubai today. the world's tallest building opens today. >> just how tall. lara setrakian reports. >> reporter: good morning, jeremy and linsey, today is the grand unveiling of the burj dubai, the world's tallest skyscraper. standing at more than 2,600 feet, the burj dubai has over 160 floors, the world's highest elevator, and enough steel rebar to go a quarter mile around the world. >> you have to give them credit for an engineering feat. and also symbolic. >> reporter: when the tower was first conceived, the city is in different shape, marred in $150 billion of debt, unpaid bills and millions of service providers hired during the peak years. >> it puts dubai on the map in an ironic way because real estate housing downturn is what's responsible for the current economic downcycle. >> reporter: there are have been scores of layoffs. last month, dubai teetered on the brink of default. but that won't stop today's fanfare. we've been told to expect 10,000 fireworks, a hypnotic light display. jeremy and

. >> property has been a dirty word in dubai over the last couple of months. today, the biggest property of them all, the world's tallest building. it stands at over eight hundred meters and has taken six years to build treated easily smashes the previous world record. it is more the type as the iconic empire state building in new york. let's talk to our reporter, ben thomson. it is quite an injured during feet. >> yes, this is what we are talking about. all eight hundred meters will give the official figure tonight. they're not releasing the final figure until the inauguration this evening. take a look at that. 26,000 windows on the exterior of the building. if you want to get up to watch the windows -- it took them just six years to get up from the ground all the way up there. at one time, there were more than 12,000 workers here. you can see just how quickly this building has gone up. they say floors are going up at a rate of a couple of floors every couple of days. this is a sort of development we see here. tonight will be all about the big fireworks and a

the burj dubai tower opens today in dubai. it's now the world's tallest building. the tower is at least 160 stories high, cost $1.5 billion to build. these are live pictures from dubai right now. it is being called a vertical city of apartments and offices. i ao includes four swimming pools, a private library, and a hotel designed by giorgio armani. the opening ceremonies are taking place right now. once again, these are live pictures of that opening ceremony from dubai. >> very fancy. >> it is fancy, to say the least, indeed. >>> well, coming up in the next half hour of "news 4 midday," we'll have more on our top story. jim zorn fired as head coach of the washington redskins. >>> plus, a month after he disappeared, a new push by family and friends to find a missing utah mother. >>> and some of the severe weather conditions facing parts of the country this morning. >> tom kierein is back with more on our extreme cold. stay with us. >>> right now on "news 4 midday," the season is over for the washington redins and so is the career of jim zorn as the skins' head coac

it was built during the good times. -- dubai still need to rein in its day. it seems those worries can wait. >> that is all from this week. join us again at the same time next week, but from may fro -- m e goodbye for now. >> "bbc world news" is presented by kcet,os angeles. funding is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. union bank. >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from all businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> i am s juliat -- i am julia styles. >> public broadcasting is my source for election coverage you can count on. >> commitment to journalism. >> for deciding who to vote for. >> public broadcasting is my source for intelligence connections to my community. >> bbc world news this wee

dubai is saying why should we bailout dubai world which is effectively a bailout of sophisticated banks. we did the same thing with aig. because or partly because we were under this systemic pressure. >> your limits on borrowing apply just to financial firms would insure depositories? or to the whole economy? and if so, what's the philosophical justification for the interference in the right of contract of a willing lender to loan as much money as he wants to, to a borrower? >> banks. the justification is that your right to lend o'barr on an unlimited basis and/or your ability to hold the entire economy hostage begins. multiplied across the economy borrowing without any room for error just results in nationalization. we saw this in the 30. we saw it again over the past two years. and we can't -- one of the lessons of the modern way of creating credit through securities is you can't protect credit from the excesses of speculation just through the uninsured deposits. we have to have some consistent limits across these financial instruments, because these are the instruments of credit. now

i'm talking about the dubai tower. we will show you what it's going to look like, coming up. >>> president obama and his family will wrap up their hawaiian holiday vacation later tonight and head become to washington. our senior white house correspondent, ed henry, has been roughing it in honolulu during the president's stay. a lot of issues await the president when he returns here to the mainland, right? >> that's right, don. we have been talking a lot about national security, but other big education that affect so many of our viewers, obviously is education. what is interesting, we decided to take a look about the fact that the obama administration has been pushing this idea of all year-round school. they think it will make the u.s. more competitive. ironically, here in the president's home state, they are actually going the other direction. they are cutting the number of days that kids are in school. that's angering a lot of parents. we sat down with one of those families that has been pretty hard hit by this move.

the tallest building on earth formally opened today in dubai. we have a report narrated by sally biddulph of independent television news. >> a celebration which measured up to the size of the building. ♪ fireworks and fanfare heralded the official opening of the world's largest tower in dubai. the surrounding sky scrapers and every other famous building across the world. you need three ifill towers end to end and nine big bens to even get close. it's more than half a mile tall. well, 828 meters to be exact. it has enough steel to span halfway around the globe. thundered by dubai's financial boom years the tower is opening against a back drop of bust. >> the message is that we build for years to come . crises come and go. the world has gone through two years of difficult times. we have hope and optimism. we must move on. >> reporter: it is home to more than a thousand flats, a hotel and offices but not all of them are occupy. what's more, the tower isn't even finished. these pictures show parts of the inside on new year's eve. since then there's

british police boarded a plane bound for dubai.ice arrested, according to our sister station, two people. according to one passenger, one of the men stood up and made verbal threats just before takeoff. another witness is saying basically the police just swarmed the guy and rushed him out. we've been told not to stand up. we've been moved to someplace, a safe place. we are updating this situation. the airport is still open, we're told. we are looking at the situation, waiting for british police official word. a situation, an incident on a plane bound for dubai. heath roe airport. you can see more on the fox report in a bit. >>> right now the administration, obama administration is trying to fend off criticism about how it handled an effort to bring down a bomber, a airliner on christmas day. >> we had a strategic sense of where they were going, but didn't know they had progress to do a point of launching individuals here and we have taken that lesson and now we're on top of it. >> it seems to me we have known for some time that al-

despite the problems dubai has, credit is still available.f course, some of the banks are hurting. but that's going to be solved, i think, in the not too dig tant future. this is a very interesting area. if you look at the big picture in terms of the large amounts of money we have in our large funds, it would be china. it would be brazil. and then following that, india and russia. >> are there sectors that are leading the growth, in your opinion? >> there are two sectors we're emphasizing. first is commodities. we believe that commodities will continue to trend upwards. there's the demand/supply situation is such that we see higher prices. the second area would be consumers. per capita income is going up at a rapid rate. shopping everywhere. big malls going up. in jordan one of the largest malls i've seen. of course, here in dubai the largest mall in the world is now in process and working. so i see lots of opportunity in the consumer area. >> what about the u.s.? what does it look like to you in 2010? >> the u.s., i believe, is going to have

to see dubai rising more than 2600 feet.y are not going to reveal how top it is, for fear another build willing try to top them one dough. dubai is planning a big celebration on monday complete with fireworks and a parachute jump. construction began in 2004. the estimated cost $1 billion. dubai towers is 1,000 feet taller than the taiwan 101 tower, now formerly known as the tallest building in the world. >>> many of us are ready to welcome the new year. a lot of the eagerness is grounded in the expectation america's financial and economic prospects will improve in 2010. after all, 2009 was the year we saw millions lose jobs 401(k)s dropping to depressingly low levels before the market started to recover, the car industry collapsed, the mighty trio of industrial giants, general motors, ford and chrysler all pushed to the brink. u.s. taxpayers becoming the majority shareholders in two of the companies. more on that in a bit. who can forget bernie madoff? many of us never invested in him or heard of him before his unbelievable

soaring more than a half a mile into the sky, the world's tallest building gets ready to open in dubai. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. >>> and today we begin with new rules for this new year. under a policy implemented just this morning, travelers from more than a dozen hand-picked nations will be facing stepped up security measures when flying into the united states. with global threats rapidly emerging, the list targets old foes from libya, iran, pakistan and iraq. nbc's brian mooar reports. >> reporter: passengers flying into the united states from other countries will face tougher random screenings, including full body scans. travelers from seven high-risk countries, including nigeria and yemen, will be getting full body patdowns and hands-on luggage inspections. it's the latest fall out from northwest flight 253, a plot allegedly hatched by al qaeda. >> part of something larger from al qaeda. >> reporter: on the sunday talk shows, white house counterterrrorism adviser, john brennan committed the nation's intelligence agenc

but is this really the end given dubai's financial problems right now?think a lot of people like to think of these things as temporary. we're certainly at the end of an era, i think, in terms of being able to build large projects, almost anywhere in the world. we'll certainly see some large projects coming and going in the next few years, but the last ten years has been incredible. we've built more all over the world than i think in any kind of generation before. so i think this is an amazing sim bolg of the kind of end of this particular era. >> well, and would have been nice had a symbol like this been able to put down at ground zero in new york, almost breaks your heart we as americans can't claim americans can't claim to have the tallest building in the world. but so it goes. scott glass, thanks so much for coming in. >>> in a moment, more fallout from the botched terror attack. will it trigger a political fight here in the united states? we have the latest information on that attempt to blow up the airliner over detroit. you're watching msnbc sunday

. >>> today, dubai is set to open the world's tallest building. the exact height has not known but it's more than 2,600 feet high. it's really half a mile tall. has an observation deck on the 124th floor and besides luxury apartments the offices and the building will be home to a hotel that was designed by giorgio armani. the dubai ruler will open the medal and glass tall building with a fireworks display, that is going to happen tonight. >>> coming up next, the crowd was nuts out there. they were all wearing boots and cowboy hats. >> we're going to take you there. this is baltimore. looks like fun. >>> and, the saddest part of the new year. taking down that old christmas tree. we'll tell you how to get rid of the spruce and help the environment at the same time. >>> 6:35. our headlines here, we've got wind chill in the teens. we've got the winds not as strong but still brisk today. flurries possible today and maybe some end of week snow. more to come here at 6:35. >>> let's check the roads with kim. >> thank you. we don't have accidents to let kn

. >>> the world's tallest building opened today in dubai. the structure is about 2,684 feet high.nd it has 164 stories. the most in the world. and it -- its observation deck is on theton 24th floor. -- is on the 124th floor. thousands gathered for a spectacular celebration. the price tag $1.5 billion. only in dubai. >>> after more than a month on the run, a florida man wanted for killing four relatives on thanksgiving day is behind bars. mark strassman reports. >>> it was the ending so many people had hoped for. i am glad the monster is in his cage. for this family there is a big sigh of relief. paul marriage was arrested late saturday night. he had been on the run for more than a month. marriage is accused of fatally shooting his 33-year-old twin sisters. a 79-year-old aunt and cinton's 6-year-old daughter at family gathering in jupiter, florida. authorities were able to track down marriage from a tip that came in from the owner of the motel marriage had checked into in the florida keys. more than 180 miles south of jupiter. the motel owners had recognized him from a preview of t

> police in england have arrested three men who they say threatened staff aboard a plane bound for dubai. the men were arrested on suspicion of making a bomb threat. the incident happened last night as the plane was getting ready to take off from heathrow airport. all the passengers were taken off the plane while mrs. searched it with bomb-sniffing dogs. they found nothing suspicious. the airport remained open during the incident. >>> the christmas airline bombing attempt suggs spekt has pleaded not guilty to all charges. umar farouk abdulmutallab appeared in court last night. he is facing six federal charges including an attempt to blow up a plane and an attempt to use weapons of mass destruction. that charge could get him life in prison if he's convicted. his defense didn't challenge the government's request to keep him in pre trial custody. his next court date has not been set yet. >>> it appears some muslims wanted to make a case that this case has nothing to do with their faith. about 50 of them held a rally outside the courthouse in downtown detroit. they tried to show that terrori

. >>> police in england arrested three men who they say threatened staff aboard a plane bound for dubai. the men were arrested on suspicion of making a bomb threat and are in jail in london. it happened last night as the plane got ready to take off from heathrow airport. all the passengers were taken off the plane while police searched it with bomb-sniffing dogs. they found nothing suspicious. heathrow remained open during the incident. >>> the togo national soccer team has withdrawn from the african cup of nations tournament. the team pulled out of the games this morning in the wake of that devastating attack that killed at least two people when gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying the team to the tournament. it happened on the border between angola and republic of congo. so far there's no claim of responsibility for the attack. >>> some humane society workers have started carrying weapons. but it's not the animals they fear. in lawrence, kansas, workers who investigate animal abuse have started carrying concealed guns at work. and they say the real risk, angry pet owners who aren't ta

. >>> tallest skyscraper in world set to open in dubai.t is a half mile high tower with price tag of 1 and a half billion dollars. at 160 stories, about 9.$4 million a floor. final height remains closely guarded secret. believed to stand more than 2600 feet, much taller than the nearest rival in taiwan. besides luxury apartments, it is host to a hotel designed by armani. not so shabby. >> not at all. >> they are building a massive tower, maybe on shaky foundation financially. >> you are answering questions for us in 2010. >> this week we are looking at home improvements, running numbers. we are looking at a popular ones do if they work from home. does it make sense financially? we will figure it out. >> that's in the next half hour. >>> many riders on the red, blue, orange lines have longer than normal trips this month because the transit agency doing maintenance work on the lines from sunday through thursday night. work begins at 8:00 p.m. on red line and at 9:30 p.m. on blue and orange line. >>> police trying to piece together how a car

the world's tallest building opening in dubai.he actual height is a closely guarded secret, but it's believed to be nearly 27 feet tall, just over half a mile. its observation deck on the 14 14th floor a -- 124th floor also sets a record. it will be apartments, offices, and a hotel designed by gorgio armani. >> what does it house? >> hotel, apartments, and the like. >> and more and more and more. >> i would love to know, i bet some of the upper floors don't have anything. >> you think? >> that high up? >> i wouldn't want to be in an office that high up. >> no. what if the electricity goes out or anything. >> anything. >> what if someone wants the distinct of -- distinction of saying i have the tallest so and so. >> windy. i wonder will it sway? >> they design them to sway. >> give and take a bit. >>> windy around here it was miserable this weekend. >> sure was. i hate to say it. >> the cold was the story. >> today it was cloudy. at west least sunshine. you could look outdoors. now the cool temperatures are here to stay for the wee

that guy is sheikh mohammed, ruler of dubai.ge making this thing? and there was quite a bit of silence because the answer is quite a few. >> it is twice as tall as the empire state building, okay? if you think about trying to take a picture of the empire state building, we were trying to take a picture of that in dubai. you have to get on the ground and point it straight up. >> on the top they get winds of about 150 miles an hour. you feel yourself, the whole building is designed so it moves several feet during the day. >> that's terrifying. >> which is terrifying. >> that is terrifying. >> one big question is bothering me. if you order a pizza and you live at the top, how do you get it to stay hot? he said don't worry, the lifts, elevators as we call them here, they move something like 40 miles an hour. you're in them and it's like -- it's crazy. >> that building, by the way, is full of -- it has a hotel. armani hotel is on one level, and office buildings and stuff all the way up. do you enjoy dubai? >> it's a very strange plac

something like -- it's boeing 777, this plane to dubai. normally would have something like 300 people in it on board. it wasn't full, but a couple of hundred at least passengers. at the moment, i understand that emirates are still hoping that once they got the all clear from the police, that that plane will be able to take off. i think under normal circumstances, flights don't leave after 11:30. but there is a question of some sort of special dispensation up until about 1:00 o'clock. so as long as the police, which is anticipated now to give the plane the all clear in the next 50 minutes or so, that plane should take off and spare everybody the inconvenience of having to be put up in a hotel and overnight. but that appears to be what's happened. two or three drunk english or british young men saying something that was perceived as a threat and at the moment, police seem satisfied it was no more than that. i think one key indicator is that the airport is still open. other flights appear to have taken off since this alert was raised. >> sky

it comes as dubai struggles to pay billions of dollars in debt. people in vermont are digging out from a record snowfall, a whopping 32 inches of snow accumulated in south burlington, setting an all-time record for one snowstorm. is not over yet. the area is expected to get a few more inches before morning. that is pretty incredible. >> it keeps things in perspective. we had a lot of snow here that melted quickly. the wind is finally beginning to subside, so some good news on the way. the advisory for them immediate metro area has expired. a cold night ahead, but western maryland is full of winter conditions. we will talk about that in just a second. you can see the flag blowing. the wind chill factor built like to degrees below zero in germantown at this hour. they had a daytime high of only 20. it feels like 3 degrees in upper northwest the sea. -- nw dc. 28 degrees at reagan national airport. when gusts up 46 miles per hour this afternoon. it will diminish in the overnight hours, but we will have a cold temperatures in the forecast for the next

we told you about the world's tallest building in dubai.ow some breaking news on that. >> burj khalifa is great for bungee jumping. have you tried it? a few guys did. they managed to survive. one of them survived his experience. the same guy who is jumping off of mount everest. this is the best-ever. he looks like batman or superman fly into the air. 2,200 feet. he jumped. the building is actually a little bit taller. he didn't jump from the spire. he jumped from the first level. now, remember, that is more than a mile that this guy survived. very, very happy. two daredevils jumping off the burj. what a thrill. i can barely walk down the stairs. trace: thank you. >> sure. martha: well, this is wind chills as low as 50 degrees below zero in some parts of the country. that is cold, folks. putting us well on our way to the coldest winter on record in more than 20 years. everybody is putting their share pretty much from heavy snow in the midwest to states totally unaccustomed to winter weather like alabama and texas. they're trying to find the

. >>> security is tight in dubai today where thousands gathered to watch the grand opening of the world's tallest building. a fireworks show helped celebrate the building which is about 2684 feet high and has the most stories of any building in the world. the lead developer says the price tag is 1.5 billion dollars. glass steel tower contains residential units as well as offices. how about a penthouse. >> yeah. >> would you buy real estate problems you might be able to get one. it's two empire state buildings on top of each other and more. >> i think that's insane. >> amaze. >>> still ahead on "eyewitness news" at noon, as you look another live look outside. stick around, your complete first warning weather forecast just 2 1/2ments away. >>> but first a. look at today's midday stocks. we will be right back. ,,,,,,,,, >>> now, first warning weather complete forecast and first warning of severe weather. >> okay. so, you know what we are talking about here is a very, very chilly period. the normal daytime highs in the low 40s. so even standard temperatures of 34 to 36 degrees is going to be

it is in dubai. it is a half mile tile. it has 160 stories. it cost $1.5 billion to build. and it has been dubbed the virtual city. see you next time. >>> welcome to "news4 this week." >> hi, everyone. we're going to show you some of the most interesting local stories making news this week. among them, you may not want a shot but you can you stop the flu on your own? we'll look at some popular recommendeds. surgery success, the incredible story of a baby in need of a heart transplant. how a new procedure is saving lives. and we'll visit a vineyard taking orgic wines to the next level in going green. but first, a marriage proposal in front of the hundreds who showed up for a public hearing at the d.c. counsel chambers it was. you a hearing on whether to legalize same sex unions in the district. out of all the council hearings he's covered, this was a first. >> that it was going along as scheduled monday. witnesses using their three minutes argued for or against it whmpl suddenly, there was a real proposal. >> i hope to love, honor and cherish andy. i hope to care for him in

. >>> the exact height of the tower in dubai is a secret but it is at least 160 stories high. it cost $1.5 billion to build a structure to it includes the highest publicly acceptable observation deck on the 124th floor. >>> still to come, we will introduce you to a baltimore woman who has lost more than 100 pounds with the help of dr. oz. >> bitterly cold outside. there is the little snow activity across state lines. nothing in central maryland right now. a package change later in -- but that could change later in the week. it feels worse because of the it feels worse because of the westerly winds at 21 i'm looking for something to help take care... of what medicare doesn't pay for. but i don't want to spend more than i have to. a little help, please. how about this? aarp medicare supplement insurance plans, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, are competitively priced in your area. medicare doesn't pay for everything. these supplemental insurance plans... help pay for some of those out-of-pocket costs. that could save you up to thousands of dollars a year. and with

. -- as dubai struggles to pay billions of dollars in debt. how long will these freezing temperatures the ground? your forecast is coming up. we're not the only ones dealing with a blast from mother nature. we will look at other areas being hit hard. we will look at other areas being hit hard. th it's so hard to choose one. you kn, during the sign then drive event, you can get a cc, tiguan or fuel efficient jetta for practically just your signature. you can get scheduled maintenance at no cost. there's got to be more to it than that... i'll never doubt you again. >> a gas explosion demolished apartment about 165 miles northwest of london. 11 people were hurt in the blast. the explosion called buildings and windows throughout the neighborhood to shake and debris from the blast was scattered to the streets. the cause is still under investigion. give yourself extra time if you plan on writing metro late night. starting tonight planes will use -- trains will use a single track on stretches of the lines. crews will be repairing mate -- brail fasten

. >>> an in dubai, a super skyscraper officially opens today.s the world's tallest building with more than 160 floors, it's about twice the height of the empire state building. the top of the building can be seen from 6 on 0 miles away in ann. it also has the world's highest observation deck sitting on the 124th floor and the highest swimming pool on the 76th floor. and inside, shops, office space, restaurants, night clubs and a luxury hotel designed by arrest man any just in case you feel like visiting. >>> this morning on "the early show," chef bobby flay. this is the "cbs morning news." er ] prilosec otc. knock heartburn... into a whole new zip code. 24/7. satisfaction guaranteed. thataboy. [ male announcer ] prilosec otc. heartburn gone. power on. ...and plain tissue... ...caused quite a commotion. mom knows to use soothing puffs plus with lotion. plain tissue can irritate the sore nose issue. puffs plus with lotion is a more soothing tissue. >>> is it ever? let's look at the day part. what we are talking about here is a continued cold conti

. >>> the world's tallest building opens today in dubai.ing stands more than a half mile tall and has 160 floors. it took six years and $1.5 billion to build. that's more than $9 million a floor. the developer sayst will announce it's official height at the grand opening tonight. >>> americans still like to go to the movies. americans spent more money going to the movies than they did buying dvds. movie tickets spending totalled nearly $10 billion in 2009. that's a 10% increase from the previous year. total for dvd sales of just under $9 billion down about 13% from 2008. >>> it is now 5:51. time for traffic and weather on the 1s. >>> that painful wind continues to blow-out of the northwest and will be with us here all the way into the afternoon. thankfully not aster bill as yesterday. we had gusts over 40 miles per hour yesterday afternoon. the wind chills this morning, though, are near 10 degrees. as we look outside now there is the washington skyline under a partly to mostly cloudy sky now. watch out many areaa ponds have frozen over so s

two british men are charged with making a fake bomb threat and being drunk aboard a plane bound for dubai. the men were pulled off the plane as it prepared to leave london's heathrow airport. the men made verbal threat. bomb-sniffing dogs were brought in but no explosives were found. the two men are due to appear in court later this month. a third man was also removed from the plane and questioned, but later released. >>> the man police say triggered the shutdown of a terminal at one of the nation's busiest airports is back home after answering questions about why he allegedly broke through airport security in the first place. even though investigators say they have their man, not everybody is satisfied tonight. karen brown reports some politicians argue the punishment just doesn't fit the crime. >> reporter: he faced the glare of the media outside a newark police station. the last time he was at the airport, a major terminal was shut down six hours after the 28-year-old doctoral student ducked under a barrier and snuck under the terminal to walk his girlfriend to a gate. a week later, fr

they would pull off an emirates jet as it was about to take off for dubai. >>> meantime back in this country tonight, an eye-opening apology from one of president obama's chief supporter. harry reid made controversial remarks about then-candidate obama. here's rachel martin in washington. >> reporter: senator harry reid has been standing by barack obama since he was a candidate. >> on november 5th we're going to wake up and find barack obama our president. >> reporter: but comments that reid made privately in 2008 have now got him apologizing left and right. a new book about the campaign, quotes reid as saying that american was ready to elect a light-skinned african-american with no negro dialect unless he wanted to have one. today, reid issued a major mea culpa saying in a statement -- aides to senator reid said he called a long list of african-american leaders to apologize. he also called president obama. in statement the president said -- the book that started it all isn't out yet. it hits shelves on tuesday. >>> we're going to turn now to the weather making news again tonight. an

. >>> the world's tallest tower opens in dubai today.s part of the city state's effort to become a worldwide hub for business despite its shaky financial footing. the tower height is a closely kept secret but there are more than 160 floors. it's part of a $20 billion complex though analysts say the tower is unlikely to be profitable on its own. >>> "avatar" has gone where few films have gone before. it took in $68 million in ticket sales in the u.s. this weekend pushing its worldwide total past $1 billion. it's only the fifth movie ever to reach that milestone. the director james cameron is responsible for one other "titanic." >>> 2009 was a record-setting year at the box office with americans spending $10 billion on tickets. but dvd sales slumped. new numbers show it was the first year since 2002 that we spent more at the box office than buying movies to watch at home. that has forced hollywood studios to place bigger bets on blockbusters at the expense of smaller features. >>> coming up on "good morning america" -- tips to get your fin

and financial problems are not keeping dubai from reviewing the tallest skyscraper. the dubai tower contains 57 elevators, over a thousand apartments and 49 floors of office space. the massive building which also includes a hotel can be seen 59 miles away. the building is set to be unveiled on monday and could be the last of the giant projects that brought dubai into global fame. those are your top stories right now, shannon, back to you. >> shannon: that's amazing 59 miles away. >> reporter: enormous. >> shannon: i think we need to do a road trip and check it out. thanks, caroline. well, more details merging about life in nigeria, the birthplace of umar farouk abdul mutallab, the man aboard the plane on christmas day. >> two important nigerian muslim groups condemned the attempted christmas day bombing an important signal sent in a country where tensions are frequently high between muslims and christians. the religious breakdown in nigeria with muslims prevalent in the north and christians in the south. while there are 12 out of 36 states in nigeria that have enacte

. >>> the world's tallest building is now open for business in dubai. the $20 billion building has luxury apartments and a hotel. it is believed to be 2,700 feet tall with the most stories of any building. it comes at a tough time for their economy. they are struggling to pay billions of dollars in debt. >> it looks like it needs some companies out there. >> a i think chat is how they once did. >>> 5:07. >> still ahead, is it going to be the end of the road for coach jim zorn? multiple sources said he may be fired. >> snow by the end of the week. brian is tracking the latest storm. >> another check for you on the latest school delays. >>> a very good morning. this is monday, january 4. it is called to start. note wind chill advisors. there are breezes out here this morning. -- note windshield of five azeris. the wind chill factors are in the single digits. it is even colder to the west. flurries off in the ohio valley. we could see a passing snow shower. it will be a cold one. temperatures in the low 30's. it will feel colder all afternoon long. >> we a

the world's tallest tower opened in dubai today. it is part of the effort to become a world wide hub for business. the tower's height is a closely kept secret. there are more than 160 flores creek is part of a $20 billion complex. analysts say the tower is unlikely to be profitable on its own. two" -- ""avatar" took in more and $1 billion. james cameron is responsible for one other, "titanic." 2009 was a record-setting year at the box office. dvd sales slumped. it was the first year since 2002 that was spent more at the box office than buying movies to watch at home. coming up on "good morning america," tips to get your finances in order. five simple ways to cut costs and save thousands of dollars. i'm jeremy hubbard. >>> 6:19, 23 degrees. >> those five local men under arrest in pakistan are due in court today. . prosecutors want the maximum punishment. >> later on "oprah," the best new gadgets and the best surprise oprah says she has ever had. >> hello. i'm not the national gallery of art. you'll see many pictures of picasso. they

world's tallest building opens today in dubai. the tallest man-made structure ever built.es in at 2684 feet. 150 floors, taken over five years to complete. price tag, over $4 $4 billion. >>> -- -- $4billion. >>> four days into the new year, getting a look at the top tech toys for 2010. >> that's right. we are done with the best of 2009 lists. we are ahead to 2010. here are hot new gadgets to look forward to in the new year. first big product of 2010, google's first smart phone. nexus 1. it has been one of their closely guarded secrets, but the veil almost off. google set to show it off at a press conference tomorrow. costs about 500 bucks. unlike iphone available exclusively through a t t, buyers have their choice of wireless carriers. interesting to see how that may shake up the smart phone market in 2010. another tech trend this year, pico projectors. they connect to devices like iphone or smart phones. the idea that it let's you share photos and videos on big screen with anyone, any time, anywhere. cool technology to expect in the new year. also on the lookout for 3 d h

two base jumpers leaped off the burj dubai yesterday setting a new record for the highest ever base jumpstructure, just over 2,000 feet. the building, which opened on monday, is more than 2625 feet tall. >>> and those are the headlines that the hour. now let's go to lonnie with the weather. how is it outside? >>> we're dealing with some good cold out here. you guys are doing all right, though, i'll tell you. i applaud you for being here because kind of tough to be outside on the eastern half of the country. let's go to the big map and show you what's going on out there. all this cold canadian air where there's a big trough in the jet stream, it is filling in and it filters as far south as portions of florida. northern florida is under a hard freeze warning. that very sell democraccept dom. now a closer look at the weather for your weekend. sgli told them the louder they shout, the warmer they will stay. it is time for a shout out to the windy city, chicago. they are dealing with? pretty serious windchills there, also, however, getting ready for the second annual snow days. chicago festiv

and it is to lessen the work that we are doing here and which we've been joined now in dubai and qatar where we have centers of research and we put that 11 countries. this issue is not just an issue of specialties. this is an issue which is at the very core of economic and social stability, as you could imagine in our country care if we had 30%, 40% of our young people not able to get work every year and it was increasing, we would have a hell of a problem. well that's exactly what were finding in the middle east. so the question i've jobs which is the first part of what strobes i'd is really crucial in terms of economic. i think of many of you know, the society is generally in the middle east not orderly in the sense of giving everybody an opportunity to move up the chain. there is in many of the country a select group, which has more fortunate than the group below to put a elliptic way, but it's quite rare. so we have these societies which to start with are vulnerable in terms of young people who are looking for more democratic environment. and men without jobs, and you quickly get t

the world's tallest building just opened in dubai. naturally two people decided to jump off. you say geronimo in arabic? >> coming from a northern direction at about 10 knots. >> greta: those jumps broke the world record with the highest base jump, ever. >> angelina jolie gets dumped. no, not by brad but the high end clothing line st. john. the ceo says she over shadows the bran. the cea adds we wanted to make a break from actresses, stay way from blondes. the solution a red head taking over as the face of the company. >> finally, the white house has not said when the president will deliver the state of the union address. we know when it won't be. the fans of the hit show "lost" can all breathe a sigh of relief. >> secondarily, is he aware of the internet storm over those who are begging him not to schedule the state of the union address on the night of the three hour premiere of "lost." >> i will say this on behalf of abc radio i don't foresee a scenario in which the millions that hope to get conclusion in "lost" are preempted by the president. >> we'll hold you to that >> y