thanks to john donvan for that. >>> when we come back we've got another uplifting story. hope in song. (announcer) no matter what life throws at you you can take the heat. 'til it turns into heartburn you've got what it takes: zantac. it's strong, fast lasting relief. so let them turn up the heat. (sssssssss!!!) you can stop that heartburn cold: zantac. ♪ you're the one ♪ ♪ who's born to care ♪ this life was protected... ♪ seems you've always been right there ♪ this life was saved... ♪ soothing sadness ♪ ♪ healing pain ♪ and this life # was made easier... ♪ making smiles appear again ♪ because of this life. . that makes a difference. ♪ you're a nurse ♪ ♪ you make a difference ♪ i can't believe i used to swing over those rocks... took some foolish risks as a teenager. but i was still taking a foolish risk with my cholesterol. anyone with high cholesterol may be at increased risk of heart attack. diet and exercise weren't enough for me. i stopped kidding myself. i've been eating healthier exercising more... and now i'm also taking lipitor. if you've been kidding yourself ab

this holiday there's been so much tribulation go around john donvan reports on the truly exceptionalvel nightmares of the holidays so far. >> reporter: next time you have a bad airline experience reflect on what passengers trying to navigate the northeast have been going through since sunday and seven tonight. now, can many flights equal for awfulness, flight 830, which left hong kong bound for new york monday morning, but after flying 15 hours and only an hour from new york, it was diverted to canada was of weather. after waiting 11 hours in toronto, passengers took much ss ss took off for new york arriving in mild night. but they had to wait until 6:00 a.m. this morning, because there weren't gates available. they had to wait three hours after that until 8:45 this morning, when they werethere were customs agents available for them. >> i think it was -- i'm sure it's pretty like 40 hours. >> reporter: a now you're there, now you're not tease that left passengers disgruntled. >> i was very upset. very depressed. now i'm out, i can breathe. >> let's go! >> reporter: but for pure tease

for john donvan, that is a "sign of the times." >> reporter: etsy.eird little word will get to shortly, which is a website, a classroom, an office space, a concept. >> more etsy means more hand made, less like not cold not industrial, not corporate, kind of more fun and enjoyable. >> reporter: etsy we'll get to. but first contemplate this word. digits. clocks and scores and heartbeats and computers, oh computers, building our cars for us coaching the cooking for us turning out toys for us. it's true, santa, toys just ain't hand made anymore. but wait, digit finger or toe. fingers that hold things fingers that feel. fingers that make humans humans and the things they made hand made, like scarves and pottery and painting and all matter of items made with love skill and a human touch. and that's what bringing us to etsy.com. a website getting ready for what all involved hope will be a busy christmas season for goods that are made by hand. by humans. by craftspeople. people who otherwise would be selling at neighborhood fairs or to friends and family or

i'm john donvan for "nightline" in washington. >> oh, boy. at least it's in the hands of a veteran.çaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaçaça [ female announcer ] give yourself the gift of time with the kfc festive feast. twelve pieces of the colonel's hand breaded original recipe chicken.

john donvan, abc news, washington. >>> and when we come back, just how much postholiday shopping was put off by the northeast blizzard? the big, with a "b" number is in. it's part of your business news next. >>> and harsh criticism for eagles quarterback, michael vick, who is saying what? that's coming up next. experts from a leading consumer publication recently tested automatic dishwashing detergents. they rated finish quantum number one, beating the competition ! try finish quantum for amazing clean and shine. save up to 50%. see this weekend's paper. >>> overseas stock markets were mixed this morning in light of light trading today for the holiday. tokyo's nikkei average fell more than one point today. hong kong's hang seng was up slightly. in london, the ftse opened higher. and on wall street, the dow added ten points yesterday. the nasdaq gained four points. >>> the blizzard that slammed the northeast took a toll on postholiday shopping. but it's not expected to be a lasting one. new numbers show the storm delayed $1 billion in spending. but strong sales the rest of this week c

john donvan, abc news, washington. >>> and we were so struck by what one mother, whose son died on the battlefield said, she said, "god thought enough of my son to make him a hero." >>> and, we move on now to wikileaks, and the founder, julian assange, who walked out of a london jail today, free on more than $300,000 bail. he had been arrested last week in a rape investigation in sweden. >> i hope to continue my work and continue to protest my innocence in this matter and to reveal, as we get it, which we have not yet, the evidence from these allegations. >> he will remain under house arrest at a friend's mansion. we have a curfew and an electronic tag. but assange did say he is worried about being extradited to the united states. >>> and, here in the u.s., this week of wild weather turned even worse today. a dangerous new storm now moving up the east coast, delivering a potent mix of ice, snow and sleet. and since the storms began over the weekend, more than two dozen people have died, many on slick roads. barbara pinto is in louisville, kentucky. >> reporter: this was the rude awaken

here's john donvan. >> reporter: the shiflers of maryland have put it all on videotape, for all of theirsnapshots, too. but with another baby coming, january 13, their hospital just told them -- >> we can't take that picture. we can't have those first initial seconds. >> reporter: it's true. hagerstown, maryland, meritus medical center, new rule. no photography until five minutes after birth. a change a spokesperson says is intended to protect patient privacy and reduce potential staff distractions. a turn back of the clock for meritus, not quite to the "i love lucy" waiting room era when fathers were banned from seeing what really goes on. but though dads have been participating since the early 1980s, today limits exist on photography all across the nation. and sure, from the staff's point of view, who wants a lens on what can be a delicate and critical procedure. in bad weather, does an aircraft controller want passengers families shooting over his shoulder? no. but some malpractice lawyers think the real issue is liability. if something goes wrong, hospitals don't want -- >> a piece o

and on this day of the report, abc's john donvan, on the fallen more than nine years in. >> reporter: it seems we need reminders, the "rest of us," that yes, there is a war. and when it intrudes, as it did on wednesday, this is los angeles, middle of everyone's day, that can still get, it did get, the proper amount of attention. and appreciation for a sacrifice that the rest of us, truthfully, only rarely let into our thoughts. at the start, of course, we all shared the wound. and when he made this vow -- >> and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon. >> reporter: we were nearly all behind it. only 23 days later, the vow kept. the first strikes in afghanistan, operation enduring freedom. they were there, and we, the "rest of us," we were the home front. was it a different time? in obvious ways, sure. the guy who would invent facebook later, "time's" man of the year, wasn't even in college yet. the guy who would be president later was a total unknown teaching in chicago. 3,357 days. time enough for kids in middle school in 2001 to be in combat now. time en

john donvan tonight in elizabeth, new jersey, a sort of ground zero in this storm. more than 2 1/2 feet of snow. and john, we can see the mound of snow, we're told, right there next to you. >> reporter: let's talk quantity. by a fifth of an inch, a community beat out elizabeth for taking the most snow, some 30 inches, an amount that would be pooh-poohed in michigan or maine, but here, it takes some getting used to. and two days later, today, they were still learning how. today, it was all clear here in elizabeth. which got more snow than almost anywhere else. how much? if you poured the 912 million cubic feet that accuweather says fell on elizabeth into the new meadowlands stadium, it would fill the place 2 1/2 times over. only in elizabeth, they pushed the snow to the side. which is why today's big problem was parking. the streets jammed with cars that couldn't find anywhere to park. at spinners pizza, you didn't want to be the delivery man, because, same thing. where does he park when he's running in the pizzas? >> you don't. you just call the person as you're outs

john donvan, abc news, washington. >> that's a tough debate.i understand that there's a -- look, this is a moment i want to capture, i'm a parent bringing life into the world. the other side of it is these are professionals at work delivering the baby and there's some things they don't want shown. >> i don't know. creating a life, delivering a life. i think you create a baby, you want to share that experience. 3q health matters to all of us. that's why lysol has started a mission for health. with new mom programs, lysol healthy habits initiatives in schools and disaster relief efforts. when you use lysol at home, you'll know you're a part of something bigger. for healthy tips and more, visit lysol.com/missionforhealth. >>> pointing fingers. deadly problems in new york after sunday night's blizzard. the anger directed at city hall. >>> airline anger. with profits taking off, where's the customer service during a crisis? >>> and, mobile microbes. the dangers hiding in your cell phone. >> you share these devices, you share germs. >> it's thursday,

as john donvan reports, it is now hillary clinton's job to massage those bruised egos. >> reporter: toeak diplomatically usually means that you do not say what you're thinking. as in secretary of state hillary clinton arriving in kazakhstan -- >> how are you? nice to see you! you're so cold! >> reporter: she did not say, you know, i'd rather be home right now. she did not say, when asked by kazak women about the damage caused by the great leak of 2010 -- >> we consider it regrettable that information that was meant to be confidential has been made public. >> reporter: she did not say that it's just plain embarrassing, that now many of the leaders that she has to meet and greet and schmooze and cajole and flatter and lecture and persuade and reassure -- and this is just a sampling of the past six months -- that many of them now know what was said about them in those cables. you do not want to imagine the awkwardness. actually, let's imagine it. it's dinner with secretary clinton as hostess and a table full of guests whose name cards include, in metaphorical invisible ink, comments made

. >>> but as abc's john donvan first reports, the issue of gays in the military is as old as the nation itself. [ drumming ] >> reporter: hear that sound? that's how general george washington dealt with it, informed that one of his officers had an interest in sodomy, that was the charge. washington kicked the man out. correct that. he had him drummed out, literally. a policy at least with clarity. today, on the other hand, we have our oddly-named rule. >> don't ask, don't tell. >> don't ask, don't tell. >> don't ask, don't tell. >> don't ask, don't tell. >> reporter: and a debate. only now reaching a crescendo. >> don't ask, don't tell, has got to go, hey, hey. >> reporter: where not just the senators were arguing this week. >> i couldn't disagree more. >> we think they're mature enough to fight and die, i think they're mature enough to decide who they want to serve with. >> reporter: so was the top military brass. the army's chief of staff. >> the implementation of the repeal of don't ask, don't tell, in the near term will, one, add another level of stress to an already stretched force

john donvan, abc news, elizabeth, new jersey. >> when it melts, it's nasty.even more than it already is. the sloppiness could really hit us here in the northeast this weekend with that massive meltdown. >> let's check in now with meteorologist ava dinges at accuweather. good morning to you, ava. >> reporter: good morning, rob and mike. sunshine returning to the northeast and that is great news as we continue to clean out from this blizzard. that sunshine is going to help melt the snow throughout the day, especially as temperatures are getting above freezing in new york and even across much of new jersey. the concern there is that we do drop below freezing again overnight. for any snow that is melted, now the roadways are wet, that refreezes overnight. black ice will be a concern over much of the northeast coast, even as we get into friday morning. then temperatures will be finally getting above freezing even into the overnights. temperatures below freezing into florida as well. 25 degrees in jacksonville. not quite near records but still a danger to the veget

let's get to john donvan out in new jersey, with stories of people who are stranded and struggle to make it through. john? >> reporter: and chris, we have normal and not normal today. you can see the highways behind me. this is try true now generally on the big roads, they are literally bone-dry. hours ago, and last night, people were trapped in their cars, still only getting home. every stranded car or truck in this storm that swallowed the highways was another tale of endurance. and there were hundreds of them. from the toronto maple leafs, who went from celebrating victory over new jersey to spending five hours in a bus, stuck in the snow on new jersey's roads. to eight hours in one place, for a navy dad, just back if six months away from home now trapped in a car in the snow with his wife and baby. >> we had him wrapped up in three snowsuits. his regular clothes. two blankets, bundled up against us. trying to keep him warm. >> reporter: to, well, a lot more than eight hours for the bergen family, who spent the day after christmas hanging out with grandma. then setting out to get back