could george stephanopoulos take apart the old george stephanopoulos when he tried to come in and spin plan? >> no question about it. >> stephen: really? >> yeah. and when you announce you are coming on. >> stephen: if i announce, george. you have to give me some space. this is an incredibly important decision, an i'm asking you and the rest of the moda to respect my and my family's privacy. >> good choice. >> stephen: can you try to do that, be ethical for once? [laughter] let's talk to the declaiferred candidates. okay. the debate on saturday night, what was the vibe in the room? was it electric? what's it like at one of those debates? >> in the last debate back in iowa, they were really ready to go. saturday night not so much. they were trying to feel their way through. >> stephen: so is it difficult to be a member of the press in front of a republican audience? i'll give you a specific example. you got into a section there where you were talking about contraception. you were asking questions about contraception. why was it so important? why were you talking about contraception so m

of the presidential selection process. >> really good. >> for those who might have missed george stephanopoulos's, roll it now: >> do you believe the states have that right or not? >> george, i... i don't know whether the state has the right to ban contraception, no state wants to, the idea of you putting forward things that states might want to do, no state wants to do, ask me whether they can do that is a silly thing. >> do you believe... the supreme court should -- >> can you really take the time now and explain to everybody what happened there? how it was possible those kind of comments went out under your name, without you knowing about it. >> concentrating on something that was written 20 years ago, that i didn't write, is diverting the attention from most of the important issues. >> well, that is ron paul's take on those comments that go back a couple of decades, george stephanopoulos brought up now. was he being a fair minded journalist or an attack dog? >> in those questions, i don't have a problem with them. it is strange a harvard law graduate doesn't know about griswold versus connect

sure to watch george stephanopoulos on "this week" coming up.coming up.

be sure to watch george stephanopoulos on "this week" coming up. up. >> live and in hd, this is an abc 7 news update. 8:56.d morning at alexandria city council approved for the oldt plan town waterfront pretty plan for a mix of new developments including boutique hotels, commercial space, and parks. some say this will roll in alexandria and cause more traffic problems. the virginia senate is expected on a bill making texting an of fans.g previous measures have died in prepared text and driving is already primary district ande maryland. you plan to take mr. today, delays on all five lives. bustles will replace the red line. -- shuttle buses will replace trains on the red line. let's look at our forecast. it looks and feels like there this morning. overcast skies in annapolis and that will be the day. throughout the we have temperatures around the still in the 20's for the part, just 26 degrees in waldorf. as we go through the day, high pressure over head and you were up early this morning, you saw flurries and snow the cityspecially in and to the ea

south carolina primary and rick santorum got a big boost over the weekend, and guess who, our george stephanopoulos will be here with all of the details on set. plus, take a look at this. this is george, drinking whiskey with stephen colbert on the show. leave it to stephen colbert to bring that side of george out. they are just having fun. the comedian is exploring a run for president himself. the big question we have, what type of troublemaking will they be up to, that's coming up. we'll ask george. >>> but let's get straight this morning to that luxury cruise ship disaster. we're hearing harrowing stories about the thousands of well-heeled passengers clamoring to save themselves. the staff insisting nothing was wrong. the captain now under arrest for abandoning ship. as we speak the desperate search for people trapped alive. abc's lama hasan has the very latest now. lama, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, dan. helicopters have just lowered more rescuers onboard the ship. it's hard to believe it, they're finding passengers. trapped alive. just moments ago, a survivor was rescued. this morn

george stephanopoulos back at the helm of "this week." your place to see the whole picture this and every sunday morning. he even has a twitter hashtag. it is george is back. >> i like it, too. >>> while the republicans compete to take on the president, this morning some fascinating insight into the obama white house. specifically the role of the first lady, who according to a new book is flexing her muscle in some rather interesting ways. here's abc's david kerley. >> reporter: michelle obama's journey has been a reluctant one according to a new book. from contemplating delaying her arrival at the white house to bristling at the confinements of being first lady the author wrote in "new york times." >> into this level of public scrutiny to be comfortable with what limitations are on their life now. >> reporter: we have seen first lady obama sneak out to shop. but she told abc's barbara walters that she's comfortable. >> there's a presense out that there i'm trapped in some way, that couldn't be further from the truth. >> reporter: she's be

we'll see much more of you later in morning. >>> be sure to join george stephanopoulos on "this week"re his guest will includes rick santorum. this tuesday, george never stops working. he's will alongside diane sawyer anchoring the state of the union address and the republican response. that's going to be at 9:00 p.m. eastern. 6:00 p.m. pacific. right here on abc. >>> now to another tireless individual, ron claiborne. he's anchoring the news for us. ron, good morning. >>> good morning, everyone. former penn state football coach joe paterno's health has taken a turn for worse. paterno's doctors said that he's in serious condition because of complications from lung cancer. abc's david kerley joins us now. live in state college, pennsylvania, with the latest. good morning to you, david. >> reporter: you can see the concern here in state college, pennsylvania, with the candles burning all night for coach joe paterno, whose conditions has been described as serious. his son drove by last night and says his father -- in a tweet, he said his father continues to fight. now the coach, the head

>>> and now let's bring in one of the questioners at last night's big debate, our very own george stephanopouloso's up early again on sunday. george is returning to a familiar spot this morning as host of abc's "this week" just as the race for the white house gets red hot. it's so great to have you back, george. good morning. >> good to be back, bianna. good to be here in new hampshire too. >> you had quite a night last night. let's get to the big issue this morning. there was a lot of cross-fire last night but hardly any of it involved mitt romney, why? how much of this was a missed opportunity for the other candidates? >> you know, i think it was puzzling all of us. you saw some of it in john berman's piece right there. i expected newt gingrich, rick santorum to some extent jon huntsman to come out loaded for bear, and they did take some shots. they took some shots at his investment of bain capital. which some have argued in that ad that his allies will be ready in south carolina and some losing jobs as it made big profits for romney. there were some swipes at his massachusetts record. but he

and i want to bring in the anchor of "this week," george stephanopoulos now. so, can anybody block romney at this point? >> reporter: not in new hampshire, no way. the only question is, how much is he going to win by? and who is going to come in second and have momentum going into south carolina? but the only way those other candidates can grow right now is to take something out of mitt romney. >> and as you know, we've been talking about this, i was on elm street today, walking around and there was real optimism in there about more jobs. >> we've had, i think, like six or seven ribbon cutting ceremonies in the last, week, month or two, yeah. it's a great place to be. >> reporter: hi, how are you? i'm diane. it's nice to meet you. as we know, across the country, people are echoing what's already been happening in new hampshire, saying that new businesses are opening up. so, how does this new, good numbers on jobs affect the republican strategy? >> reporter: you can't really change their strategy. they still have to argue that things will be much better if they

dedewhat is your take away besides george stephanopoulos and bizarre interaction on contraception, whatas your take away. >> well, mitt romney was presidential and he's going to be our nominee, i think that's what we take away from this as well as the fact it was the g.o.p. team against the moderators. this is crazy. i mean, crazy questions, silly questions, and david axlerod made the call, chicago, we've got a problem. they could not touch mitt romney. he was great, a rock star. they didn't give perry time and didn't ask santorum the right questions and focused on mitt romney and they wanted to take him down and make him look bad and didn't make it work. >> dave: i thought that rick perry did well. no time, but a performance. >> he didn't have time. >> dave: and there was not one question to my knowledge on bomb care, i did watch football, but not one question on the president's signature achievement. why didn't those other guys go after mitt enough? >> i think there were plenty of times to go after it and chose not to. the media set this up as the anti-mitt debate and what it was the

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we want to two right to abc news election headquarters in new york where diane sawyer and george stephanopoulos are standing by. and diane and george, what do you make of what the iowans have done here tonight? >> well, this is a season of phenomenal results. this is another one that confounds a lot of people in one sense. you have, yet again, a new front-runner, a tie at the top, with rick santorum pulling it off at the last minute. we've been talking about what a close race these races have become. >> we have never seen a race this close. as terry said just a little bit ago. we have insight from the entrance polls. why it is so close. i want to show, first of all, very conservative voters, they are key in iowa, almost half the electorate. they went big for rick santorum, 34 to 14. you see that right there. those are the true believers who really went hard for rick santorum in this caucus. on the other hand, big questions for republican voters. who can beat president obama in the fall? about 30% of the electorate and mitt romney that by 37 points. what that adds up to tonight is basically a ti

george stephanopoulos has a well-deserved morning off. with just two days until tuesday's critical florida primary, it has been a wild weekend of campaigning in the sunshine state. two pieces of breaking news for you overnight from florida, first, an endorsement from key tea party favorite herman cain. >> i hereby, officially and enthusiastically endorse newt gingrich for president of the united states. speaker gingrich is running for president. and going through this sausage grinder. i know what this sausage grinder is all about. >> the pizza man knows about the sausage grinder. the miami herald and the tampa bay times released a new poll of the race. mitt romney has opened up his lead over gingrich. to double digits. 42% to 31%. rick santorum trails at 14%. this intensely competitive race is where we begin the show this morning. former speaker newt gingrich joins us from the tampa area. mr. speaker, thank you for being here. >> thank you, jake. >> as, as we pointed out last night, you received that rally you received an endorsement from

only the only fall the only state they made on saturday night was agreeing to debate with george stephanopoulos as the moderator that was on the i mean beyond that they can't control what stephanopoulos is going to ask them once they agree to stephanopoulos moderate the debate but what about saying this notion that a lot of people and i know you know as many as i do a lot of people vote with their head with their hearts and not their head a lot of people are one issue voters they vote on whatever candidate agrees with them most about guns about abortion especially in places like iowa and new hampshire i mean certainly i'm not getting the media out of responsibility for this because you're right they're not always asking the right questions they don't want to at will of the media's incredibly biased they don't want to ask about the economy because it reflects very poorly on the incumbent president they want to see reelected so they're not going to talk about that ochsner has hosted plenty of debates and they ask all kinds of questions about the economy i mean chris wallace does. bear does kelly

here are abc news election anchors diane sawyer and george stephanopoulos. >> that's right, terry. what a win it was tonight for governor mitt romney. we should point out who came in second and third in this race, as they poured it on in new hampshire, the candidates all did. and behind mitt romney was congressman ron paul. and behind him, jon huntsman, governor jon huntsman, former ambassador to china, as well, who, in the last few days, seemed to be surging, gaining some steam. but apparently didn't have enough to take him into second place. >> perhaps not enough time. there were some polls showing he might come into second. but he couldn't get over ron paul. what we're learning also from these exit polls, what voters were focused on here is finding the candidate that could beat president obama. and mitt romney won those voters overwhelmingly. that's what drove him across the finish line here tonight. he also did well with voters who made up their minds a while ago. did even better than his vote total here. he did take some hits. we've been covering over the last couple of days,

. >>> and george stephanopoulos and i and the full abc news political team will be bringing you live coverage of the state of the union tonight, at 9:00 p.m. eastern, 6:00 pacific. we hope you will join us then. and a reminder on thursday morning, i'll sit down with the president, his first network interview, as the countdown from the state of the union to the election begins. >>> and today, an outpouring on the penn state campus, as mourners pay tribute to legendary football coach, joe paterno, who ended his career amid questions about his handling of an alleged sex abuse scandal. today, his son, jay paterno, talked to our sister network, espn, about his father's dying wish. abc's dan harris has that story. >> reporter: the line of mourners a quarter of a mile long today here at this place that's always considered itself less a state university than a state of mind. and where joe paterno was the mythic embodiment of the motto, "success with honor." today, his son said paterno's dying wishes all centered around sue, his wife of 50 years. >> the last couple of weeks it has been just n

george stephanopoulos and i and the entire political team will be here throughout the night, bringinge, as they come pouring in. and, of course, we'll have a full wrap-up later tonight on a special edition of "nightline." so, we'll see you later tonight. and, of course, right back here again tomorrow. captioned by closed captioning services, inc.

moderated by diane sawyer and george stephanopoulos. begins at 9:00 p.m. eastern, 6:00 p.m.acific. and we'll be right back. a second is a very long time. long enough for a train track in taiwan to sense an malfunction and alert the operators. or to spot a power disruption in texas before it spreads. or help a global finance company pinpoint fraud and protect customers. smarter analytics is helping companies all over the world predict what's coming and act on it now. that's what i'm working on. i'm an ibmer. let's build a smarter planet. impact wool exports from new zealand, textile production in spain, and the use of medical technology in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. >>> and now, in memoriam. ♪ >> this week the pentagon released the names of six servic

george stephanopoulos and i and the entire political team will have a full wrap-up.special edition of "nightline." the big vote in new hampshire today. we'll have all of the big picture tonight. so, we'll see you then. and of course, all of us will see you right back here again tomorrow. good night. >>> hugh jackson out as coach of the raiders tonight. fired on the first day on the job. >> prosecutors reveal evidence against a suspected serial killer. the double-initial murders and list kept in his home. >> tonight the federal government comes through on a promise to bring bart to san jose. >> in sacramento, republican state lawmakers move to kill the high speed rail project introducing a bill that stops the funding. >> good evening, i'm dan ashley. >> the oakland raiders need a new coach tonight. >> on his first day on the job, the team's new general manager fired hugh jackson, dump afd one year on the skbrob job and a season that started with high hopes, ending in disappointment. we're live in alameda tonight. like they say, nfl but not for long. >> that is true f

and george stephanopoulos and i will be here with the abc news team to bring you live coverage of thesident's big state of the union address, coming up tonight. >>> until then, good night. >>> good evening, everyone, i'm carolyn johnson. >> abc's coverage of the state of the union address begins in just a moment. >> first, top stories tonight. police say a 15-year-old foreign tourist swaulted this morning was unconscious when it happened. the person on the stretcher is a suspect, an 18-year-old man from southern california. other members of the tour group called police when she wandered from them. investigators say they found the suspect assaulting the girl in the bush autos san francisco sheriff ross mirkarimi tells abc 7 news he has no plans to step asichld he is set to stand trial on domestic violence charges. mayor ed lee called mirkarimi to city hall to talk about how he plans to do his job during the trial. mirkarimi says he can handle it and adds he will not take pay during time in court. >> apple received a best ever earnings report today, setting new records thanks to

i want to bring in co-anchor of "good morning america," george stephanopoulos. give us the big picture, george. how did newt gingrich fire up the afterburners again? >> it was incredible. it happened in the debates. he showed he can take on the media, take on obama, and it created the massive shift. who can beat obama? all year long, that has been romney's big advantage. almost 30 points in iowa. it blew to a more than 50-point advantage in new hampshire and, then, look at this reversal, complete flip. now newt gingrich has that advantage on electable. who can beat obama. a lot of the voters in south carolina said they saw him take the other people on, he can take the fight to the president. >> so the president, the debates, one-two punch? one-two-three purge? >> and the media as well. i talked to several top republican strategists today. most of these people do not want newt gingrich to be the nominee but for the first time they're starting to believe it actually can happen. it begins for newt if he gets a win in florida in just over a week. >> all right. and i

and time now to bring in co-an or the of election coverage, george stephanopoulos. so many voters out there. >> reporter: a huge number, it spokes how fluid this race is. you called it a photo finish. that is exactly what it is right now. all the three top candidates bunched up at the top and the big questions tonight are, those final voters making up their minds in the last 48 hours, going to go with the candidate who has momentum, rick santorum or will it be a pragmatic choice? mitt romney has been seen all along as the candidate best able to beat president obama. >> how is turnout tonight? >> reporter: it's huge. it's going to be a big thing i'm going to be watching. four years ago, about 420,000 turned out to vote. 100,000 fewer than the democrats. almost all the campaigns expect that number to go up. if it goes way up, that is a big danger sign for president obama. remember, iowa is going to be a big battleground state in november. if you see that enthusiasm on the republican side, it's a challenge for him. >> i want to let everybody at home to know what it is

but "good morning america" co-anchor george stephanopoulos, anchoring election coverage. >> a three-person race, diane. mitt romney, ron paul, rick santorum bunched up at the top. right now, ron paul doing ocean personally well. right now, and this is so key, diane, one of the things we're seeing tonight is independent voters, they are the voters who are going to make the differences in the general election in november. they are dcoming out in high numbers tonight. double that of 2008. they are breaking. look at that, for ron paul, big time. 48% of them going to ron paul. 15% to romney, 10% to santorum. we also looked at the traditional iowa caucus voters, the evangelical voters who are such a force in iowa. they are about 60% of the vote this time around. here is what's interesting, ron paul holding his own along with rick santorum. a lot of people believed if rick santorum could coelless that vote, he could win. and there's a battle between purity and pragmatism going on. 30% saying the most important thing they want is to defeat barack obama. they are breaking heavily to mitt romney. th

on saturday night, george stephanopoulos was badgering mitt romney regarding contraceptives and then on sunday morning, it was david gregory's turn who just absolutely unleashed a string of political talking points. >> it's very interesting, though, how the republicans stacked up against those questions so saturday night, really nobody laid a hat -- a mit on mitt. >> they didn't try. >> he this didn't even try. that was fascinating. everybody said he's so far ahead in new hampshire, somebody has to do this because all these other kanld dates are pretty much the same. i know they're not exactly the same but going for that not-mitt vote. then by sunday morning, a mere 12 hours later, they did start to push some of the pufrnlz towards them and newt gingrich really had the most memorable line of that debate where he basically called romney pious baloney. pious baloney. >> delicious. let's watch. >> i realize the red light doesn't mean anything to you because you're the frontrunner. but can we drop a little bit of the pious baloney? the fact is you ran in 1994 and lost. that's why you wer

george stephanopoulos will be there for the action. he joins us now. good to see you. we have not done this in a while. polls are showing that mitt romney is still on top in new hampshire at the moment. what do the other candidates need to do to make voters pay attention to them? >> they have got to bring it down. the latest poll in new hampshire shows mitt romney with well over 44%. they have to take a chunk out of mitt romney. but this is really about second place in new hampshire. rick santorum is getting big crowds coming off his win in iowa. he is also drawing some protesters as well. he is going to be facing fire from ron paul, john hanson and others trying to jockey him out of that second -- jon huntsman and others trying to jockey him out of the second place position. we expect some fireworks at tomorrow night's debate. it is really a battle for second place here in new hampshire. mitt romney is going to win by a large margin. >> a lot of these candidates are already looking ahead to south carolina. is that a good move for them? >> rick perry has no choice. he