rafer weigel has more on this story. rafer? >>> yeah, natasha, authorities had been looking for these three women since late sunday night. they are kyrstin gemar, afton williamson and ashley neufeld. investigators say they were found inside their jeep in a 12-foot-deep pond on a farm near dickinson state university. authorities think the women made two calls to friends for help. authorities do not suspect any foul play at this point. just a sad story. natas natasha? >> it really is. we'll talk to you more about it later on in the show. >>> let's go to meteorologist bob van dillen and find out if the forecast is cooperating today. hey, bob. >> good morning to you, natasha. so far so good. we have one weak clipper type system rolling out of the great lakes and the midwest. on the big picture with the satellite because other than this there's not much going on with the exception of southern parts of florida. we'll zoom on into trouble spots. it's around chicago, some extremely light rainfall moving away from the city. we'll zoom o

here's rafer weigel with that story. hey, rafer. >>> good morning, natasha. look, there's probably nothing more grueling than running a marathon. you cannot imagine how hard it must have been for this woman. but 61-year-old zoe koplowiz completed on monday wearing braces on her back and knee and using purple painted crutches. koplowitz walked the entire route with her supporters in just under 29 hours. the motivational speaker was diagnosed with ms 30 years ago and this woman is truly an inspiration. more sports in a bit. >> that is really inspiring, rafer, thank you. >>> the polls are open in new york. this race is being watched all over the country, too. conservative party candidate doug hoffman is battling with democrat bill owens to represent the state's 23rd congressional district. former republican nominee scozzafava dropped out amid conservatives who said she was too moderate. top gop leaders and the republican national committee have put their resources behind hoffman. now you may remember disturbing video of anna nicole smith dressed up as a clown mo

thank you, rafer. a lot of cheering in the studio this morning, i'll tell you what. >> it's so fun to work with a cubs fan. they're so angry all the time. so angry. bitter. >> hey, bob. >> what's up, natasha? good morning to you. if you're doing any traveling, another clipper type system rolling through the great lakes. it's a different one from yesterday. the one from yesterday still setting up shop off the eastern seaboard. light rain up around boston. the rain itself is on the light side again, scattered when it comes in through ontario down to the ohio valley, in through western pennsylvania. here is the pittsburgh radar picking up extremely light rain but it's out there across western p.a. coming through eastern ohio. more showers in to western new york later this afternoon. looking at the rain across lake erie back to ontario, too. back off to the east, you see boston, some light showers just offshore. dries out. more light rain overnight tonight. get away from there. it's heavy when you get down

here's rafer weigel with more. rafer, what happened?, the calgary flames are under fire, so to speak, for what some are calling special treatment. a canadian government official was fired for giving the vaccine to the team while thousands, including women and children, waited in line to get it last week. now, a spokesman for the alberta government said more people may be punished as a result of this. a flames spokesman said the team and their families all got the vaccine at a private location and believe that they went through the proper channels. >> thank you very much. >>> you know what? let's move on to another story. some republicans say the best chance to recapture the white house is with a preacher turned politician. a new "usa today" gallup poll say huckabee may be the top contender. about 40% of those surveyed chose huckabee. 39% chose former massachusetts governor mitt romney, 33% tapped sarah palin. none of the three have announced a formal presidential bid. >>> your car may soon have air bags that are mounted in seat belts. f

here's rafer weigel with the latest on that. hey, rafer. >> yeah, natasha, things are sunny in philadelphia again. do you know what they did? >> what? >> they changed their music. they stopped playing jay-z in the did you ugout. they were against the wall. the yankees were the ones doing the dancing in the dugout. that's cabrera. isn't he hurt? >> that's what they said. >> he doesn't look hurt to me. this guy has one of the best names if baseball. he had not one, but two home runs in the game to lead philly to the win. utley now has five home runs through the entire series, which is amazing, so we're going back to the bronx for game 6 on wednesday. i hope you didn't stay up all night, bob. >>> in other baseball news a milestone has been reached in professional sports with the chicago cubs. the cubs have the first openly gay owner. laura ricketts of the ricketts family who bought the team is an open lesbian. she came out in her 30's and her family supports her 100%. >>> he intentionally tried to gouge the eyes of georgia's w k wa

rafer weigel has more on this disturbing story. rafer?tasha, authorities had been looking for the three since late sunday night. they are 22 years old, 21 and 20. the three made frantic calls to friends before the line went dead and they were found inside their jeep in a pond near dickinson state university. it was believed they were star gazing. a former teammate and coach took the news hard. >> in she was my daughter, i would be proud. she was an awesome person. >> she was great, very fun-loving, funny as can be. like you could joke with her. she wouldn't care. >> natasha, right now authorities do not suspect foul play. >> just so sad. rafer, thank you. >>> overhauling your health care, it may take longer than expected. yesterday senate majority leader harry reid was asked had if his health care bill would pass this year. reid refused to give a timetable. democrats say the congressional budget office blew its deadline for analyzing the bill's cost. the senate can't vote until they're finished. the delay may also mean reid is having trou

pretty good day to travel. >> we're scaring rafer. thank you. >>> brett favre returned to green bay this time, playing for one of the packers biggest rivals. let me point out, rafer, they've already played this year, but it's the first time at lambeau field, right? >> he has played there as a green bay packer. now he's coming in, in a minnesota vikings uniform. here's how the fans reacted. >> that was mean. >> lots of boos, boos, boos. a couple of people did stand and cheer during warm-ups and the game. favre had the last laugh. 40-year-old viking shredded green bay's defense, ripped the hearts of packer fans out and showed it to them. afterwards he commented on the mixed reception. >> packer fans were there. there was some purple. i saw just a mixture of everything, cheers, couple fingers. >> he means those number one fingers, the foam ones. >> they were the biggest surprise in the nfl. denver broncos were unbeaten until sunday. ravens destroyed them with the most exciting play in the nfl, return for a touchdown. ladarius webb. parod

rafer has that. good morning. >>> good morning.es to every argument. >> yeah. >> and, you know -- >> hold on. i don't hear you for a second. yeah, i think your microphone mighting back. do you want to go with the hard wire? for those at home -- >> are we there? are we there yet? that's live tv for you. anyway -- did you like sit down and your butt turned it off? >> something like that. as we move on this divorce has been played out in the media so far, when my mike has been working, but with only frank mccourt's allegations being made public. well, he says she had an affair with her driver before he fired her as team ceo. now jamie is firing back telling the "l.a. times" that's a lie and she never had af affair with anybody during their 30 years of marriage. 30 years. >> she said you lied. >> you lied. now she was denied her job back by a court. now the two are battling over who gets ownership of the team. >>> in other news mike tyson is in trouble with police again. he was arrested and released at l.a.x. on misdemeanor assault. a

here is rafer with more on the story. it just caused a ripple of reaction in the newsroom. >> because he's a young guy and such a well known guy. kareem abdul-jabbar is only 62 years old, one of the greatest of all time. now he says he has a rare form of blood cancer called chronic myeloid leukemia. his doctor told him it is not a death sentence. he is trying to raise awareness and give hope to others who may have the disease. he approached a pharmaceutical company to launch an educational campaign and is now working as a paid spokesperson for them. >>> in other news remember oregon running back blunt punched a boise state player? this was the beginning of the season. you might have been on the book tour when this happened. he did the horrible thing right here. that was not good, right? he was suspended for the entire year. now he will be back on the field this weekend in the ducks' game against oregon state. he was suspended and missed eight games but then the school asked the pac-10 to reinstate him and they did. all is

thank you. >>> now, i got to ask, rafer just walked off. did a similar thing happened to somebody in professional football or am i making him who we're talking about? >> this is the same guy, yes. >> he ran into the locker room? he ran into the locker room and he was kind of making gestures because he couldn't speak and it pumped up his team members. >> he run to come visit his teammates. >> same guy. >>> weather wise, some big weather concerns that we had maybe late last night into today, do i see winter and where is that? >> two major storms now across the country one in the midal and one affecting the pacific northwest. we'll start with the people awake right now and all the rain coming in through memphis and stretching down into houston and really heavy at times. one thunderstorm line as it moves all the way down to arkansas through southern parts of texas. severe weather we don't have it right now, but the houston radar picture is picking up a squall line headed into your city, that line goes towards arkansas and upper parts of louisia

rafer weigel, i have seen the pictures. cannot believe somebody walked away about. >> that's the amazing thing and a real testament to nascar, how safe these cars are. you're right. but every year, there's a big crash at talladega speedway. this year, there was two. this was the worst of the two. ryan newman. you can see his car here with five laps to go. it gets airborne, flips upside down, slides along the roof, sputtering along the crack. it hits the wall here. we're obviously showing you this in slow motion. it's not even close to being over. it would slide down to the grass where it would then flip over a few more times before it lands again on the roof. it took crews 13 minutes to get ryan newman out of this car. he said it was like, quote, being stuck in a tomb, not able to get out. there he is. amazingly walked away from this crash and he would be okay. as i said, there was another crash, i'll have that in a few minutes. again, he was okay. >> unreal. all right, rafer, thank you. >>> let's go to this story near aust

hi, rafer. >> hi, robin. yes.nd this person had no idea who this man was. >> that's the best. >> which makes the story even better. now, of course, talking about joe girardi. girardi was on the way home from the team's celebration after the yankees won the world series and spotted a car crashed along a busy curving stretch of highway outside of the city. the car was still jetted in traffic and girardi was concerned, parked, crossed three lanes of traffic to help the woman out and even flagged down police as they drove by. police told the victim who he was. she was fine. right now, we are taking you to live pictures in -- speaking of the yankees winning the world series. they're ready for the victory parade known as the canyon of heroes. >> i love that live picture. it is cold throughout. >> look at the toilet paper tossed around. look how deep the people are, thousands of people expected to come out and the route is very long from battery park to city hall, supposed the start at 11:00 a.m. >> never get tired of it

rafer, this is one of the fastest tracks, right? >> that's right.there's a big trash at talladega speedway. here it is. one of two big crashes. ryan knewmnewman. here it is in slow motion. get a look at this. his car is upside down and airborne, then slides along the track, hits the wall, and it's not even close to being over from here. you can see the sparks flying as the car slides down towards the grass in the center of the track. the car then flipped over a few times. it took crews 13 minutes to get newman out of the car. they had to cut off the roof. he said it was like being stuck in a tomb and not being able to get out. no nascar's credit, amazingly, he was okay. that's a real testament to how safe the cars are. there was another big crash and surprise winner. we're going to have that for you in ten minutes. >> i'm so glad he was able to walk away. >>> a sheriff is not giving up trying to charge inmates for rent, haircuts and medical visits. the massachusetts supreme court will hear an appeal about this. he started a program in 2002. a judge

rafer has more on that story. good morning. >> good morning, robin.hear news like this, it always shocks you. abdul-jabbar was a legend, also a star. he was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer kaled myeloid leukemia, diagnosed almost a year ago. he's now coming forward because he was told this disease is very curable and he wants to get that message out, a message of hope. he has partnered with a company that makes drugs to treat those with the disease and now is a paid spokesman for them. >>> new this morning. just in as well, a toddler was one of three people killed in a drive-by shooting. six others hurt. it happened last night in a small town near charleston, south carolina. the people killed were related. we don't know how exactly. police did not comment to the associated press, but we'll update you when we get more details. >>> you might have growing doubts about the government's ability to ward off an h1n1 epidemic. the cnn opinion research corporation poll finds since august 8% more americans have lost confidence that h1n1 prevention wi

here is rafer with more on this person's story. >>> it is such a great story, robin. as far as we can tell there has never been a world champion boxer who is also a rabbi. well, yuri foreman made history, the first israeli boxer to become a world champion when he beat daniel santos for the welterweight title. that's santos there. he was a huge underdog in the fight. foreman expects to complete his rabbi studies in about a year. his mom made him take boxing lessons at age 8 after he was bullied at a swimming pool. two tennessee football players accused of attempted armed robbery were kicked often the team. nu'keese richardson and mike edwards were dismissed after they allegedly tried to rob other students at a car in a convenience store. they have not been found guilty yet. jansen jackson allegedly in the car, his status remains on hold. and another tennessee story. tennessee titans owner bud adams was fined $250,000 for flipping the bird during their win over buffalo. that is an awful lot of money. does the punishment fit the crime? here is what you're saying about it

here is rafer with more on why. what's going on? just doing so much better than people expected. and the good news for the people in new orleans, they've got something really to cheer about and now the saints are being discussed in the same sentence as super bowl. they're actually saying saints could end up in the super bowl. they're having the best season in the franchise's history. they battled back to win it 34-20. they are unbeaten. saints, by the way, have never been to super bowl. all the fans in new orleans are like, you cursed us. the only other unbeaten team is peyton manning and the indianapolis colts. they, too, won in dramatic fashion. with one second left to houston, texans one last chance to tie it. >> it is no good. he missed it. colts win! colts win! >> kris brown misses left. colts have won 17 straight regular season games. >>> remember, guys, the ponytail takedown? if you didn't, you need to watch this every day. this is new mexico's soccer player, elizabeth soccer player elizabeth lambert. she was suspended indefi

rafer is here and i bet people dancing through the streets. >> who of the people working on this show tonight have not been to sleep. the yankees, 27th world series title. that is more than any other team. but this one was anything but pedestrian. it's team's first win in their brand new park in nine years. the team with the huge payroll and expectations lived up to them. beating the phillies in game six. and a victory parade is planned for tomorrow. derek jeter getting congratulations, rodriguez hoisting the trophy. he was not the story soin this game. but little nope fact, so far every time the yankees have opened a new stadium, they've won the world champion ship. >> so they'll be building new stadiums like every -- was bob the one that didn't sleep last night? amazing. i can't even tell. he'll be back with more again on the mvp. >>> in the last hour, the house majority leader predicted they will have the votes to pass the health care reform bill. it's getting last minute help from the aarp. the associated press reports the powerful seniors lobby will endorse the house bill today.

so here's rafer with a great comeback story. >>> it really is, robin. it's a great success story and hopefully it will be inspiring to other people who may also suffer interest the same condition. zack greinke of the kansas city royals, call it a royal comeback, now there was a lot of hype when he first came into the league but he struggled, the young man. in fact, he even left the team in february of 2006 and got a lot of criticism when he did. well, during that time he was diagnosised with social anxiety disorder and depression. now he was named the best pitcher out of hundreds in the american league earning the cy young award and he did it on a losing team which is rare and it's a big week for him. he marries his high school sweetheart on saturday. >>> a kansas city castoff is getting a second chance. larry johnson run out of town after several incidents including using gay slurs and attacking his coach on twitter was signed by cincinnati. cincinnati has become the city of second chances. they also signed chicago castoff cedric benson who was arreste

rafer weigel with more on that. great to hear from him. >> it was great to hear from him but seven words was all usc's stephan johnson was able to get out and doctor says that was a miracle. this was him last month after he greeted his teammates after dropping a 275 weight bar on his throat, crushing a larynx. he could not speak and was breathing and eating through his throat. because of a gladiator-like mentality, he repeated the words about his grandfather. >> run, stafon, run. >> whether he plays football again is not clear. he's a senior. he could get a degree of eligibility. when he asked about it, he shrugged. but i hope he does. >> it was inspiring to hear that. >> it was. >> rafer, be back with more. >>> coming up for you later today, we are, of course, watching what's happening with weather. before we get to that, i want to talk about a record that will make you say boy what i used to do at home is nothing. people set up a knockdown of more than 4 million dominos. it is huge. take a look at this. >> three,

rafer, he didn't seem to care. >> no. he didn't. at all. because it'd be one thing if it just happened one time. no. this is titans owner bud adams, robin, known as one of the more colorful characters in the league. during the win over buffalo adams is seen giving the double one and two. this is caught -- a fan caught this on an iphone video making the jisture, posted it on ewe tube. this is an 86-year-old man. the nashville, tennessean says he was just chegesturing to the bench. he was sitting with roger goodell for part of the game. the matchup between tom brady and peyton manning was overshadowed by this call. they were up by six with two minutes left. they don't get it. so that means the colts get the ball back. just an incredible decision, and peyton manning makes them pay. and they score, and makes them . the colts join the saints as the league's only unbeaten teams. >>> it was the veteran against the rookie and the vet got the best. 40-year-old brett favre continues to shut critics' mouths. meanwhile, matt stafford was made to look l

do tell, rafer. >> a case of he said, he said.lax, well, reportedly tyson and a photographer got into a scuffle. they were booked and released on suspicion of misdemeanor battery. he says iron mike hit him and he fell and was treat ford a cut on the forehead. a spokes person for tyson says he was acting in self-defense trying to protect his 10-month-old child. it is an airport, i've got to believe there is some kind of surveillance video somewhere that could tell the truth. >> i would agree with you. >>> we're hearing from someone who not only witnessed the shootings at ft. hood but barely survived. logan burnett spoke with sanjay group at a about what happened. >> stood up and screamed and then started shooting. >> top of his lungs. >> god is great? >> yeah. it was like he had been in the room for a while preparing. nobody was really paying attention. he stood up and began firing on all of us. >> burnett said he somehow managed to crawl outside where another soldier pulled him to safety. 13 people died in the shooting. >>> countr

well, what did the coach say, rafer? >> he was saying that our program is clean and we have no problems. that, robin, was on wednesday. lane kiffin of the university of tennessee bragging, oh, we've had no off the field issues. he was right, up until then. on thursday, three of kiffin's recruits arrested for attempted armed robbery. they are all freshmen. now, police say two of the men approached a parked one car, wurn with a man demanding money. when the victims show they had none, they left. the men were inside a car for an air-powered pellet gun. the school has not made a decision yet. they're investigating. >>> the windy city is fuming. the bears taking on san francisco. the bears traded everything but the kitchen sink for quarterback jay cutler in the offseason and he looks like basically his game was down the drain. a career-high five interceptions last night and the baerts had a chance late in the game, drove the length of the field, but cutler was picked off in the end zone. bears lose 10-6. >>> speaking of chica

hi, rafer. >> good morning, robin. and pugetlism, just a complicated guy. as far as we know, there has never been a world champion boxer who is also a rabbi. foreman already became known when he became the first israeli boxer to win when he beat santos, and expects to complete his rabbi studies in a year. great story. this guy grew up extremely poor, and then started boxing at age 8 because he was bullied. nobody bullying him now. >>> two freshman players accused of attempted armed robbery kicked off the team. richardson and edwards were dismissed after the alleged attempt. their only charge right now. a third player, jackson, is just suspended, as police say he was with the other two men, but did not participate in the attempted armed robbery. >>> and sticking with that, tennessee, i promise i'm not picking on tennessee, tennessee titans' owner bud ryan was fined $250,000 after he was videotaped giving the bird to buffalo. 250 grabbed. what do you guys think? does the punishment fit the crime? you're posting away on o

. >> thanks, rafer.reciate it. >>> you might remember the 13-year-old boy who ran away with his mom to avoid chemo. find out how he's doing after months of court-ordered treatment for cancer. y8 >>> hurricane ida has now been downgraded to a tropical storm. we learned this within the last 45 minutes. it's headed now for the gulf coast. it could make landfall late tonight nevertheless. forecasters saying ida could cause flooding, rough surf, and even tornados from eastern mississippi to the florida panhandle. louisiana has already declared a state of emergency. we'll get an update with bob van dillen on that shortly. >>> ceremonies are under way right now to mark the 20th anniversary since the berlin wall came down. a short while ago a group of world leaders symbolically crossed the first bridge that opened in 1989. angela merkel there, the chancellor of germany, you can see in the center. the wall's collapse was the beginning of the end for communism in europe. many believe the end of the soviet

high, rafer. >> hi, robin. in professional sports, to admit to have something like that, very uncommon. it was taboo to admit that. zack greinke may change that. he had a lot of hype around him when he first came into the league, but he struggled and left the team. he got a lot of flak for it. he was diagnosed with social anxiety and depression. he has now earned the award which goes to the best pitcher in the league, the cy young. he did it on a losing team, which is rare. this weekend he will marry his high school sweetheart. big week for him. >>> a kansas city castoff is getting a second chance. larry johnson, who was run out of town after several incidents including using gay slurs and attacking his coach on twitter, was signed by cincinnati. interesting because cincinnati seexs to become the city of second chances. they also signed chicago xastoff, cedric benson. he has now become onest of the best running backs in the league. >>> reality tv star wants 1.5 million bucks in damages from san diego linebacker

thanks, rafer. >>> starting to get colder outside. we decided to go beyond the surface to find out if what mom used to say was actually true. do you really need to wear a hat to stay warm and avoid catching a cold? >>> unfortunately, mom was not exactly right about losing heat through your head. you lose some body heat through whatever part of your body is exposed. the real ski what's uncovered and how much surface area it is. there's nothing special about the head. if you walk around with just a hat and no pants or shorts, you're going to lose just as muches your body hat through that, and people might think you're a little more crazy. people will often hear if they go out into the cold or wet weather or they go out with wet hair that that's going to make them sick. but it's just not true. the weather has nothing to do with whether or not you get sick. what makes you sick are usually viruses. sometimes bacteria. scientists have done great studies looking at this one. it's just not true. >> hmm. a dramatic rescue with possibly seconds

here's rafer weigel with more on that story. >> you a fan of the captain morgan's rum? >> i am, actually. here and there. >> that's why we call you the captain. no, that's not why. but in this story, yahoo! sports claims that the rummaker wanted players to do the captain morgan's pose after scoring a touchdown. the win scythe says the league learned of it after the eagles' brent celek did it on sunday. and even appeared to get some help from teammate jason avon. there it is. no it's the right leg. celek denies intentionally striking the pose. but yahoo! said -- nfl very strict about endorsements during these games. when michael vick and the eagles go through san diego on sunday, he has an invitation to see one of the dogs rescued from his dog fighting ring. this is iggy, who was found chained in the woods at vick's home. iggy is doing okay but he's very skittish. as can you see, this is how he reacted when the camera crew showed up. he's not comfortable around strangers. the dog's owner said vick really has turned his life around. he should visit the dog. vick declined

rafer, what was it he was tossed out, for half of the game? >> he will miss half of a game. that's the thing about this, brooke. this happens all the time in football. the question is, should this man be punished more for it than he actually is being punished. this is florida linebacker brandon spikes. he is caught trying to gouge the eyes of georgia's. the coach suspended him for one-half of their upcoming game against vanderbilt. a half for this. again, this does happen in football, but a half, really? the school and the conference are happy with the punishment. the question is, are you? should this be over or should this man be disciplined more? frank from myrtle beach said, they say that sports can build character. i guess it can also create cowards and losers. gouging someone's facemask is not a part of the football i know and love. love that post. cory from new john in canada says, the video proves assault. it should be treated as such. trying to blind someone has nothing to do with playing football. a lot of people are against it. want to see more discipline. if you a

rafer weigel's been watching this story. >> yeah. well, you know, i said i'm not so blind to not realize this happens all the time in football. >> right. >> i still felt the guy should be suspended. but of all the people to come to brandon spike's defense and say i was wrong, the man whose eyes he tried to gouge out, says he should not be suspended at all, sticking his fingers in his face mask in an attempt to hurt him. spikes was suspended for half a game. ealey seemed surprised that the play is getting so much attention and said they're just out there playing football and these kinds of incidents happen all the time. so my kid's not going to play football. speaking of football. roger goodell is asking congress's help to eliminate steroids, help me to help you. goodell told lawmakers they could wipe out the drugs if it weren't for state laws. two minnesota players were suspended for taking a banned substance but were reinstated after they sued in a state court. one congressman said involving us in the fed could open a pandora's box.

what did he say in the first place, rafer? >> what he said -- 24 hours before this attempt happened, he comes out and braggs abos that program is having no problems. yeah, our program has been relatively clean. well, thursday three of kiffin's prized recruits were arrested for attempted armed robbery. police say two men approached a car in a parking lot, one with a gun demanding money. when the victims showed they had none, they left. cops say they pulled the car over. the men were inside with an air powered pellet gun and the victims identified them. >>> the windy city is just fuming today. the chicago bears taking on san francisco. the bears traded everything but the kitchen sink for jay cutler. i mean everything in the off-season. it was a huge story. last night cutler threw a career high five interceptions. five. usually one or two in a game at the worst. he had a chance late. cutler drove the length of the field, end of the game, the last play he was picked often. niners win 10-9. joe namath may need to call off his dogs.

manager of the yankees played good is a msamar and helped a crash victim on had his way home, right, rafer>> exactly. joe girardi was heading home after his team won the world series and they had the celebration at the new yankees stadium when he spotted a car that had crashed along a busy, curving stretch of highway. wnbc reports jury agirardi saw jutting into traffic. he parked across three lanes of traffic to help her out and then flagged down cops as they drove by and the funny thing about this, the woman had no idea who he was. >> he left and then one of the officers came over and said, do you know who just came and helped you? and i was like, no. she was like, joe girardi. i was like, oh. >> now to be fair, she is from connecticut. maybe that's why. maybe she's just not a baseball fan. >> i'm so glad she's all right. thank you. >>> christmas lights are going up early in one illinois town. a little boy who has a rare form of leukemia. the 18-month-old's parents say he's running out of time and might not make it until christmas so they decided to celebrate the holiday early and their n

here's rafer with more on that. >> you know what?ry exciting for the people of new orleans, robin, who have something genuine to cheer about. saints fever is running through that entire area as the saints have won their eighth straight game. they're having the best year in the franchise's 43-year history and now, they're talking super bowl. the saints have never been to one even though their dome has been host to many. >>> and the colts were up with a second left, the texans with one last chance -- >> and it is no good! he missed it! he missed it! colts win, colts win! >> chris brown misses. >>> i got some scary video i've got to show you, might be disturbing to some of you. but the good news, he's out of the hospital after this fall and his team's loss to oregon state. the poor kid, you can see there, knocked unconscious. he suffered a concussion and was carried away on a stresh. >>> andre agassi told "60 minutes" his hair was falling out when he was 17 and for the french open, war a wig. before the match, it started to fall apart.

thanks a lot, rafer. >>> find yourself getting a little bored?e a camera into an apple store, make a video of yourself, and hope you don't get kicked out. ♪ >> nobody's doing anything. >> i love that. nobody's paying any attention. >> they don't even look at her. >> it must be in l.a.. >> or in new york. >> people have clicked on that viral, there, rafer, nearly 1 million times. we dug this up for you, on youtube. >> she does a little jump for you at the end. >>> charges have been dropped against a man from the united states who tried to take his kids back from his ex-wife in japan. christopher savoie was arrested in september after allegedly abducting the children as his ex-wife walked them to school. he says she violated a custody agreement by taking them to japan. he was released from jail last month. >>> one school is in hot water for trying to trade extra credit for some cash. and take a look at all of these nails. this isn't someone's fix-it kit, these used to be in someone's stomach. >>> right now on "showbiz tonight," dave's extortion war

here's rafer weigel with that story and more. >> good morning to you, richard. real stunny stuff to hear this but he is very optimistic about it, which is a good thing of the we're talking about a basketball legend and star in films like "airplane" and other tv shows. the 62-year-old kareem abdul-jabbar said as we diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer called myeloid leukemia back in december. but the good news is his doctor says it's not a death sentence and he has a very good chance to live a normal life. >> i had a very good friend who died just three, four years ago from a different type of leukemia, but when that happened, it was devastating. and i thought i had the same thing, and i had months or weeks to live. >> now, he is now partnered with a company that makes drugs to treat those with the disease and is now a paid spokesman for them. richard, trying to get other folks who may be, you know, fighting this disease some hope that, look, you can beat this thing. >> yeah. he's always been a childhood hero to many, including myself. we were talking about

larry smith in for rafer has more. >> he'll appear in court friday accused of murdering jasper howard of the 21 page document reveals one of howard's teammates disrespected a woman at a school sponsored dance. that is what authorities believe sparked a dance broken up by police. a second fight started outside later. that's when howard was stabbed. three other people faced lesser charges. none of the football players involved in either fight have been charged. robin. >>> thank you. >>> president obama is considering three options for the war in afghanistan. sources tell us he's expected to talk about it today. they include the possible deployment of 30,000 more u.s. troops. in a new cnn research poll, 42% of the americans support sending more troops. only 32 think afghanistan will eventually have a stable democratic government. >> soupy, soggy. >> check out the rain and cloud cover across the eastern seaboard. here is what it looks like. a lot of rain, wind around us. some of the rainfall totals impressive to say the least. columbus, georgia, almost 6 inches of rain since i started yes

. >> thanks, rafer. >> have a good weekend. >> you too. >>> singer rihanna is speaking out for the firstime about her assault by chris brown and last night on t"the joy behar show" spoke with a former victim of domestic violence. >> a lot of women blame theirselves. did you blame yourself? >> yes. >> how did you do that? >> if you were less that or more this, you wouldn't make him mad. his mother told me once, i told him not to hit you much. and i remember thinking, when, just on birthdays? it was hard, too, because that happened in my life years before i ever was in show business, and then i got a show and they went and found him exacerbating things in his life more than mine. i'd moved on. >> well, tonight, comedian kathy griffin tells joy what she thinks about levi johnston and sarah palin. you can catch "the joy behar show" at 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on hln. >> family in chicago is trying to figure out how a giant piece of ice fell from the sky, smashed into their house. the family saying there were no storms in the area when the ice hit their home and damaged their roof. >> a b