your husband and how long it takes you to come to those decisions, that's really got to be up to vanessa long up to eddie long -- >> agreed, but the reality is -- goldie, the reality is that's what people are saying, what took her so long? they don't understand? >> i would invite them to put themselves in vanessa long's shoes, with a husband that she has had children with, that she has raised a megamillion dollar business, that she has built her life with. and she has very strong decisions to make for herself and for her children. i would invite people to try on vanessa long's shoes for a while instead of looking at the headlines and try to judge a marriage simply from its headlines. >> as i talked to john, john said, half the membership's down. there's a difference in the church. and the church has done a lot of good things. it's done a lot of great things. do you think the church can survive this? >> i think the church absolutely can survive. >> with eddie long? >> that's the question. i've always said that new birth and its spirit is bigger than eddie long. but if the church decides to be

but i've been writing about bishop long since the late 1990s. >> how serious is it that vanessa long is filing for divorce? >> i don't think he's going to recover. i'd be surprised if bishop long ever leads a mega church again. two big reasons. one is his whole image is built on his masculinity and being this family man. just goes to the heart of that. she's taken that away. it's going to be difficult for a lot of the women in the church which make up the majority of the church to say, why should i stick by bishop long if his wife isn't sticking by him. >> was she one of the last things standing in the way from a complete departure from the church for him or a complete collapse of the church? if his wife is standing by, the women would say, there must be something to it. maybe these allegations are false? >> i think it's a very serious blow. i mean, because a lot of other people have left. bernice king, dr. king's daughter left a while ago. and a lot of other big shots left. when she leaves if she's not at his side, it's just going to be difficult for him. >> before this came out, wer

vanessa long had issued a statement this morning saying she had filed for divorce yesterday.'s word she has withdrawn the divorce papers. in another statement released this afternoon, vanessa long says she loves her husband and believes in him. eddie long is the pastor of the missionary baptist church in suburban atlanta and a father of four. he made national headlines earlier this year when he was accused of seducing teenage boys. he settled lawsuits filed by the teens out of court. >>> rapper jay-z has conquered the music and business worlds. now the brooklyn-born singer is leaving his mark on the classroom. as craig melvin reports, he's inspired a new course at georgetown university. ♪ >> reporter: this record-setting rapper and hip-hop icon has become a business tycoon and best-selling author. and now jay-z's street rhymes are being taught at one of america's top schools. in the georgetown university syllabus, it's called "the sociology of hip hop, the odyssey of jay-z." for about 140 students it's 90 minutes of head bouncing and dissecting. >> you have someone who kind o

friday, eddie long's church issued a statement saying his wife vanessa long was withdrawing the divorce petition but her attorney insists the divorce is still on. the atlanta-based pastor gained national attention last winter after four young men alleged the pastor had sex with them. the suit was settled this past summer. the men claimed long had pressured them into having sex with him when they were still teenagers. >>> anti-government protesters in syria are getting help from the u.s. government in getting their voices heard. details on that, next. >>> and what do you think were the top stories of the year? we'll look at the leading picks coming up. [ adrianna ] when i grill lobster, i make sure it's a melt in your mouth kind of experience. [ john ] the wood fires up the grill a little bit hotter so you really get a good sear and it locks in the juices. surf & turf -- you can't go wrong. [ male announcer ] don't miss red lobster's surf & turf event. choose from three grilled combinations all under $20. like our maine lobster with peppercorn sirloin or our new bacon-wrapped shrimp with

vanessa long filed divorce papers thursday. it was last spring that bishop long settled lawsuits involving four young men that accused him of pressuring them into sexual relationships. >>> also, michael jackson's dock doctor has sat down to appeal his involuntary manslaughter conviction. conrad murray was sentenced tuesday to four years in county jail -- sentenced to four years in county jail for jackson's death. murray's attorneys complain judges pretrial decisions limited their ability to defend murray. >>> also, the 5-year-old son of country music singer mindy mccreaty has been found and he's just fine. she was discovered hiding in a closet with a boy at a home in arkansas. u.s. marshals took him into custody this morning. the mother and stepfather have legal custody of the child. mccreaty took the boy last month, asking the court to restore custody to her. >>> turning to a story that has a lot of people talking and you'll be talking about it after you hear it. a church in kentucky is now being criticized because it opposes i

vanessa long. she's the wife of eddie long didn't give a reason for the split. the news comes months after a settlement of four young men that accused long of pressuring them into sexual relationships. he is also sued over a multimillion dollars scheme. >> a science experiment inside a minnesota classroom goes horribly wrong. a 9th grader was severely burned when the experiment exploded. three other students suffered minor burns. he says he was taking notes and then all of a sudden the next thing he knew, he was on fire. >> i just really wish it didn't happen. that's all i can say. i'm going to have to miss school. >> and the school district is conducting an internal investigation into the cause as well as state fire marshall. they're also investigating the incident. >> a school in utah is once again trying to put its name in the record books. hundreds of eisenhower jr. high school students and staff are hoping the marshmallow fight holds the record for the largest in the world. over the past 25 years the school has broken more word records than any other school

long's wife of 21 years vanessa filed for divorce on thursday. last spring long settled a lawsuit piled by four young men who accused him of sexual coercion. >>> the u.s. and pakistan mending diplomatic fences after that nato air strike that killed two dozen pakistani troops. president obama called pakistan's president yesterday making clear the incident was not a deliberate attack on pakistan. both presidents agreed to stay in touch. >>> let's get a quick check of today's weather. rob marciano is in atlanta. good morning, rob. >> cold weatherout west in between a bit of a mess and that's going to cause flooding issues. here's a look at the map. what you can expect monday. it pours in from canada, the cold air and there's your frontal boundary. a slow mover. here's how the rain shakes out. bull's-eye for potentially heavy flood threatening weather will be across the mid-mississippi valley. memphis will be the center of attention with several inches of rain, maybe over half a foot in spots. ahead of it today, mild 63 in d.c., meanwhile, 42 in chica

friday, eddie long's church issued a statement saying his wife vanessa long was withdrawing the divorce petition. but her attorney insifts the divorce is still on. the atlanta-based pastor gained national attention last winter after four young men alleged the past her sex with them. the suit was settled this past summer. men claimed long had pressured them into having sex with him when they were just teenagers. >>> celebrations get out of hand after a big college game in oklahoma. 13 people were hurt. the chaos broke out when fans stormed the field after oklahoma state beat arch rival oklahoma. two people fell or jumped from a high retaining wall and are in critical condition. several others were trampled. >>> turning now to the race for the white house. we're less than a month from the iowa caucuses and right after that the new hampshire primary. our deputy political director paul steinhauser is with us now from washington. good to see you, paul. you've got new polls on the race in those two states. >> exactly. tuesday, four weeks until the iowa caucuses which kick off the calendar, br

vanessa long says the decision came, quote, after a great deal of deliberation and prayer. ong was sued by three young men for allegedly coercing them into sex. the case wrs settled out of court in may. mrs. long is the pastor's second wife. they have four children together. >>> checking news cross-country now. this morning new insights into this summer's disastrous collapse of the stage at the indiana state fair. seven people were killed and at least 40 people injured. wthr has compiled all the emergency radio traffic, including the growing sense of alarm as strong winds swept into the area. >> all units, all units, severe thunder storm warning until 9:45 for marion county. use your best judgment. find shelter when needed. >> have they released fans from the grandstands yet? >> i have no information. i will check and advise. >>> in southern california wicked santa ana winds have scattered debris for miles. power lines were down. gusts as high as 140 miles an hour were reported. hurricane force winds also battered utah. 50,000 homes and businesses lost power. 16 semitrucks w

before vanessa long's decision, there had been plenty of drama in the public eye including this interview one of her husband's accusers. >> i cannot get the sound of his voice out of my head. and i cannot forget the smell of his cologne. and i cannot forget the way that he made me cry many nights when i drove in his cars on the way home. not able to take enough showers to wipe the smell of him off my body. >> reporter: at first long aggressively fought the allegations. using his pulpit and biblical references to cast doubt on his accusers. >> and i want you to know one other thing. i feel like david against goliath. but i got five rocks. and i haven't thrown one yet. >> reporter: but it doesn't appear he threw his five rocks. instead long, who allegedly sent these photos to one of the plaintiffs, agreed to a secret financial legal settlement with four men. while some congregants still support him -- >> i just want him to know that we're behind him. >> reporter: many others have left the church empire. >> you need to repent and to change his wicked ways and to make amends to those young me

vanessa long says the decision came "after a great deal of deliberation and prayer." this comes also after a year that saw bishop eddie long being sued by several young men for allegedly coercing them into sex. those cases were settled out of court in may. >>> well, billy graham, steve jobs, former president bill clinton, all three among a group of people being considered by the u.s. post office for the first-ever postage stamp to honor a living or recently deceased american. the postal service recently waived rules requiring an honoree to be dead at least five years and asked its customers to submit the nominees. >>> good news and possibly some bad news on the job front. the unemployment rate is down. that's great. but, those with jobs now facing a possible payroll tax hike. we'll look at how this is affecting you. stick around for "face time" coming your way shortly. >>> but first, a salute to all servicemen and women who have serviced in iraq. today the u.s. handed over control of camp victory to iraq. the one-time palace of saddam hussein served as headquarters for

a statement released by the church on friday said vanessa long was canceling her divorce petition to arently has changed. you may recall over a years ago, four young men sued bishop long, accusing him of luring them into sexual relationships. the cases were settled but long reportedly did not admit to doing anything wrong. >>> boxing great muhammad ali is said to be at his home in arizona and doing well. yesterday, a spokesman released a statement saying that ali was treated recently for dehydration. there was a report that he was hospitalized. ali spokesman did not confirm or deny that. he would only say that initial reports were blown out of proportion. muhammad ali will turn 70 years old next month. we wish him well. >>> time for weather. lonnie, good morning. >> good morning to you. let's get right to it. here is how we see it out there. the midsection of the country the real problems are. getting glazed out there. it's raining right now for a lot of you but turn over to icy conditions. the eastern u.s. is on a roll. weekend after weekend of sunny skies. it will be out there again

just hours after announcing her divorce filing bishop eddie long's wife vanessa says she's withdrawn tion. earlier four young men sued long claiming he talked them into sex by lavishing them with gifts and trips. that was settled for $14 million. >>> in colorado another arrest in drugs for sex case that already landed a former sheriff behind bars. 49-year-old man charged with selling meth to retired sheriff. the former sheriff of the year accused of offering meth to a young male acquaintance in exchange for sex. he's behind bars in the county that bears his name. >>> honda recalling 750,000 vehicles in the u.s. because of bad airbags of the japanese automaker says airbags may deploy with too much force. honda says faulty airbags killed two people and injured 18 others. the popular honda accord included in the recall. >>> interesting findings from a focus group of a dozen voters. conducted by pollster peter hart and may explain why republicans are not embracing mitt romney more. asked to describe romney as if he was part of their family, one said, quote, the dad that was never home. ne

long's wife vanessa filed for divorce next week. >>> it's called sexting.pretty popular among our teens, but a new study now says that one in ten preten or teens have been involved with sexting photos. senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen here to explain. you're saying that it's down or it's not as bad as we had thought? >> i don't want to go there, and i'll tell you why. this study looked to kids from 10 to 17. so the numbers are a little smaller than studies that only look at, say, 15 to 17 year olds because you're including the 10 year olds. it's hard to look at a trend or draw any conclusions bs a trend. i think as a parent if you look at 10 to 17 year olds and you see that one out of ten has either posed in, sent, or received an image, a sexual image via sexting, that's still a high number. that means if you have a school of 1,000 kids, 100 have either posed, sent or received a sexual image. we're talking about everything from where the child might be clothed but standing suggesttivelily to completely naked or even participating in a sexual act

and vanessa hired attorney laura wasser whose clients include maria shriver and a long list of celebrities >>> and sound advice for u.s. troops coming home. get educated and make the most of the military's g.i. bill. that's what this former army first class jessica lynch did. she grad waiuated earning an bachelor's degree in elementary education. she made headlines in 2003 when captured and tortured by iraqi soldiers and later rescued by u.s. forces. >>> here's the image. many of you are seeing this at checkout stands this week. "time" magazine naming the protester as a person of the year. but as u.s. troops continue their pullout from iraq, there's another cover that we want to show you. from nearly nine years ago. fire and smoke, bim owing into the nighttime sky over baghdad. remember that? one of the most famous covers. the u.s. and its allies launching a massive assault on the capital. the beginning of war that seis only now reaching its conclusion. bobby ghosh, also "time's" former baghdad bureau chief and knows a lot about the war and the situation. thank you for joining us. good to

long, drawn-out nasty divorce. kobe bryant entering his 16th season in the nba will be vout vanessa for the first time in 12 and a halfrs before the two got married and they have both requested joint custody for their 8 and 5-year-old daughters. they say he's already moved out of their mansion and that he's living somewhere else. they do not have a prenup which means she's entitled to half of what he's earned since they have been married which as many people know and it's well documented that kobe's made a lot of money in the last ten years. >> after she was holding his hand at that press conference after he was accused of that sexual assault. >> she famously stood by him after the sexual assault accusations and his admission to his premarital -- extra marital affairs and the $4 million ring came into play and it just didn't work at the end of the day. >> let's turn now to another story. this was a shocker. the details are shocking about -- the chicago bears and accused of being the tony montana of the nfl. >> when i heard the numbers come down on this, the alleged numbers i thought is he trying to supply drugs for th