vinita? rob? >> all right. ines ferre, live here in manhattan. thanks. >>> and the powerful storm is the third for the northeast in as many weeks. >> ava dinges tells us how much snow will be on the ground by the time this one is all over. good morning, ava. >> good morning, rob and vinita. dealing with yet another blizzard in the northeast. this time, really taking aim on boston. we'll see the heaviest of the snow from new york city, all the way up into maine, where some places could see about 12 inches of snow. boston could be getting 12 to 18. and we'll see major travel concerns. in the northwest, there's some snow pushing in. but temperatures are actually warming up through the next couple of days. and that means plenty more rain. with the snow melt and the rain, flooding will be a major concern in the northwest. now, back to you, rob and vinita. >> thanks, a lot, ava. we have reporters from atlanta to boston. complete coverage coming up later today on "good morning america." >>> and now, to the morning's o

i'm vinita nair. >> i'm rob nelson. happy friday.they're not as effective as they used to be, but they're still making money. >> reporter: still making money and costing us. police say the mob drives up prices in industries ranging from construction so catering. these mob cases like so many other built on wiretaps and with informants who turned on their associates. big ron preveti helped to put 50 mob members behind bars. >> you're always concerned about retribution. >> reporter: and big ron's take on whether the massive arrests would truly wound or kill the la cosa nostra in the u.s. -- >> the italian mob is not dead now. they will never be dead because as long as there's people out there that gamble, go to prostitutes, borrow money, there's always going to be somebody to cater to them. you'll be dead. i'll be dead. the italian mafia will still be here. >> reporter: so the short answer is, forget about it, pierre thomas, abc news, new york. >>> congresswoman gabby giffords takes the next step in her long road to recovery. she's movi

i'm rob nelson. >> i'm vinita nair.l, though violent protests that started in tunisia are spreading like wildfire across the region. egypt bracing for the worst today and could have an big impact on the war on terror. we'll have a live report coming up. >>> an amazing domino effect in that part of the country. >>> later, millions of weather-weary americans are digging out from yet another snowstorm. get this, could the next blizzard be days away? >> those snow-shoveling muscles are in full flex for some people. >>> it's friday and also polka time. barry is here with a special performance to wrap up our 19th birthday celebration. it's one you don't want to miss. >> no kidding. >>> we begin with that growing wave of protests sweeping across the middle east. today's demonstrations in egypt could be the largest and most violent so far. >> lama hasan is jonning us live by phone this morning from cairo with the very latest. lama, hearing words like "revolution" there. >> reporter: good morning, rob and vinita. it's safe to sa

rob and vinita?mixed seating that we heard about and the tucson tragedy, what was the atmosphere like in that chamber last night during the address? >> reporter: it was something like i've never seen before, having watched many of these things. first of all, you had the date night where you had republicans and democrats sitting side by side. that made it unusual because you no longer had one side rising to applaud the president as the rest sat on their hands. you also had no surprises like you had last year. you didn't have a congressman yelling out, you lie, like last year, or supreme court members saying, not true, in the audience as the president spoke. it was very much to form. no huge surprises tonight, rob and vinita. >> well, john, i think it goes without saying we're both a l little envious to hear that live. a lot of people waiting since 8:30 to get a seat by the aisle. john hendren reporting from capitol hill this morning, thank you. >>> well, congresswoman gabrielle giffords' family releas

vinita and mike?ent of william daley as the new white house chief of staff is earning some praise from some of the administration's critics. president obama introduced daley as someone who knows how to create jobs and grow the economy. he's a former commerce secretary who had strong ties to the business and banking communities. daley has urged democrats to steer toward a more moderate course. >>> the president is expected to make another appointment that businesses will like. treasury official gene sperling will likely be named chief economic adviser, a position he held in the clinton administration. back then he helped president clinton balance the budget and negotiate with republicans. >>> mail rooms at all maryland state agencies are shut down today after suspicious packages were received at two office buildings. hundreds of people were evacuated. the packages released a puff of smoke when they were opened but they did not contain explosives. at least one package contained a note complaining about

. >> and i'm vinita nair. it seems just as things were almost getting back to normal, the northeast is bracing for a new round of snow. >> new york city is take nothing chances this time. the tire chains are on. and the plows and road salt are ready. city officials are desperate to avoid the mess that follows the december blizzard. the garbage right after the christmas storm still lines the blocks. >> airlines have been cancels flights. american, united, continental, airtran, southwest and jetblue are allowing passengers to change flights without fees. >>> the winter watches and warnings have been posted. >> where is the snow going? ava dinges joins us with the answers. good morning, ava. >> vinita and mike, snow is returning to the northeast. the last thing people want to hear. but this is nothing compared to what we faced after christmas. that is beginning after the morning commute. new york city itself could see four inches. philadelphia, only about an inch. heaviest of the snow will be upstate new york, wh

rob and vinita? >> flags at the capitol and the white house have been lowered to half staff out of respect for those killed in the shooting in tucson. business as usual has now come to a halt in congress as well. with more on that, here's jonathan karl. >> reporter: they have canceled all business next week, all regular business. instead they'll meet on wednesday to have a resolution honoring gabrielle giffords and the other victims of the shooting and also a security briefing with all members, the fbi and the capitol police to talk about their own security. and many of them are saying they don't want security to come between them and their constituents, including one democrat we spoke to today. one democratic leader had this to say. >> i think we need to recognize that we're a representative body. and our title, representative, is a meaningful one. and we need to not build a security cocoon around us so significant that the public doesn't feel like they can't have access to us. >> one democrat, one

good morning, ava. >> good morning, rob and vinita. just as the east coast cleans up from their last, major snowstorm, more snow is on the way. at least right now, we're expecting some light snowshowers into the afternoon. then, here comes another storm, as we head into the weekend. and already, by saturday, that could bring another coating to an inch along the 95 corridor. the thing to keep in mind, we're watching a potential for an even heavier storm as we get into next week. cold air from canada. that's going to bring up the moisture from the gulf. this could be a doozy. more for the mid-atlantic. back to you, rob and vinita. >> ava, thanks. >>> as part of a staff makeover, president obama has chosen the next public face of his white house. he is jay carney, communications director for vice president biden and a former journalist with "time" magazine. carney is replacing robert gibbs, who is stepping down as press secretary. gibbs will stay on as an adviser and serve on the president's re-election campaign. >>> former white house ch

rob and vinita? from arizona later today on "good morning america" as well as on "america this morning." >>> jerry brown has a message for thousands of california state employees. hang up your phones for good. the new governor has ordered department heads to cut 48,000 state-issued cell phones by june. many state employees are complaining, saying their phones are lifelines. brown says that'll save about $20 million a year. next on the chopping block, state-issued cars and trucks. in case you're wondering, he says "my phone is in my desk. i'm turning it in too. i'm not just making everyone else do, it i'm going to do it myself." >> tough times out in cali. >>> well, to lighten the mood a little bit now, a fun little story. when playing fetch and rolling over just won't do, you might get this. >> a precious pooch in toronto has set his sights and paws on a more challenging hobby. i think you know where this is heading. >> mm-hmm. >> tucker the schnoodle enjoys playing the piano and singing the blues th

rob and vinita? >> emily, i thank you. and encourage you to go get a hat now. >>> let's go to the boston area, where abc's jeremy hubbard checked in with us just a short time ago. >> reporter: rob and vinita, good morning. we're in a massachusetts department of transportation snowplow right now. we spent part of the evening with driver, ken coburn. he's been out here for 25 years. and you were saying, it's rare you see conditions like this. >> it is. it's rare you get storms like this, one after another. >> reporter: that's right. this is the seventh snowstorm so far this season. the fourth in just a month. it's been whiteout conditions for most of the evening. and snowfall is 270% above average here in boston. quite a mess. and it will be throughout the day, up here. rob and vinita, back to you. >> thanks to jeremy hubbard. >>> here in new york, it is officially the snowiest january on record, with 18 inches on the ground and counting. >> and for more, now, on how much we're bracing for and for other cities around the cou

rob and vinita?ander for the upcoming space shuttle mission so that congresswoman giffords' husband, mark kelly, can focus on her recovery. kelly himself recommended the move. kelly says he hopes to be able to rejoin his crew soon. "endeavour" is set to launch on april 19th to the international space station. it's the last scheduled voyage of the space shuttle program. >>> as investigators dig into the background of suspected tucson gunman jared loughner, they are now uncovering some troubling new details. >> this morning they are examining what could turn out to be a key piece of evidence in the case, john hendren is following the investigation. >> reporter: good morning, rob. good morning, vinita. federal investigators are amassing an intriguing profile of the alleged tucson gunman. police may have gotten a break. a man walking his dog found a black bag. the discovery was made not far from the loughner home. alleged gunman jared loughner's father saw him with a black bag on the morning of the shoot

this is scary vinita. you'll see pretty vinita later. yeah, right there. our new logo. this is the before, no makeup. what no woman actually wants seen on television. ♪ >> a few minutes late, quarter of midnight. good morning. before you take off the coat, before you even go into the office, have you to get caffeine. here we are in the office in the illustrious fourth floor of abc, one floor up from where they tape all the shows. as you can tell the overnight anchors get the big, palatial offices right here. right here is the rundown for the show, what you'll see and right here is the script. >> tonight you'll see me in this. little red number. this is my glamorous office. i'm not really good at decorations so some of the things viewer have sent me i have actually put on the wall. this is my favorite. vinita nair, i love you. and my name is spelled wrong. >> this is brandon chase. he runs the whole operations. big willis. >> what's up, baby. >> what's going on, man? >> i've been with this company 31 years. >> 31. and no sick days. we have this wonderful salad here. peop

vinita, rob?he 112th congress convenes today on capitol hill with republicans in control of the house. gop leaders say they will move quickly to cut government spending. the first vote on that issue is scheduled for tomorrow and republicans are also challenging the president on health care. outgoing house speaker nancy pelosi warned people will suffer if health care reform is overturned. >> in order to have a patient's bill of rights, though, it's important to have comprehensive health care reform. >> we think that obama care will ruin the best health care system in the country. we believe it will bankrupt our nation. we believe it needs to be repealed and replaced with commonsense reforms to bring down the cost of health insurance. >> republicans now have the votes to pass the health care repeal bill in the house but the action is largely symbolic since democratic leaders have already pronounced it's dead on arrival in the senate. >>> delaware detectives baffled by the murder of a former pentagon

vinita and rob? >> emily, we heard the president talk about new spending to stay competitive in the world. but did international affairs show up anywhere else in his speech? >> reporter: abc news ran the numbers. found that 13% of his speech focused on foreign policy. compare that to his predecessor, george w. bush, who routinely spent about half of his time talking about issues abroad. now, mr. obama says the u.s. will finish the job of pulling troops out of iraq before the end of the year. he talked about some foreign, international trade deals. but by and large, his focus was on the economy here at home. that is certainly not a coincidence. you look at poll after poll. americans say the economy is their number one concern. vinita and rob? >> emily schmidt, reporting. thanks, emily. >>> and, of course, emily just talked about that empty seat left for congresswoman giffords. also in her honor last night, most lawmakers wore those black and white lapel ribbons. the white, symbolizing peace. the black

winick has more. >> reporter: good morning, rob and vinita.ven ted williams a second glance. the columbus, ohio, man is now at the center of the internet's hottest video. you see a homeless man on the side of the road. and your instinct may be to turn away. until he opens his mouth. >> when you're listening to nothing but the best of oldies you're listening to magic 98.9. thank you so much, god bless you. thank you. and we'll be back with more right after these words. >> reporter: that deep baritone belongs to ted williams. his sign reads "i'm an ex-radio announcer who has fallen on hard times." >> i went to school for it. and then alcohol and drugs and a few other things became a part of my life. i got two years clean. >> reporter: without a job or a roof over his head, williams, like so many others, was forced to rummage through garbage cans and sleep on the streets. >> i just sit a couple of tables away and watch people with their waste. i check the garbage cans to see how far down it would go. i was a little particular about it. >> reporte

rob and vinita?lorida, the miami-dade police force is grieving the loss of two officers shot while on duty. they were part of a team serving a murder arrest warrant on a fugitive with a long record. they traced him to the suspect's mother's home. she let them in. and the suspect jumped out and shot the two officers. >>> the largest rocket ever launched from the west coast has blasted off from from vandenber force base in california. it carried a top-secret national security satellite. preparing for the launch took three years. the base north of l.a. needed $100 million in upgrades. >>> nasa's shuttle fleet will not be retired as soon as expected. the space agency has added a mission by "atlantis" in june. two other launches were planned. "discovery" next month and "endeavour" in april. that is the flight that gabrielle giffords' husband, mark kelly, is slated to command. >>> the steelers, bears, jets and packers are putting their final plans in place before the conference title games. for the rest of

rob and vinita?president appears ready to pick his new chief of staff. former commerce secretary bill daley from the clinton administration is under consideration for the top job. and gene sperling, another veteran of the clinton years, has emerged as the top choice for the director of the president's economic council. >>> we are still 13 months away from the iowa caucuses but believe it or not, republicans eyeing the white house will soon begin to officially throw their hats into the ring. claire shipman takes a look at the short list of possible contenders poised to take on president obama. >> reporter: the top of the 2012 crowd is full of familiar faces. recent polling for the republican nomination put mitt romney at the front of the pack, with 1 in 5 picking him as the republican nominee. mike huckabee has 16%. sarah palin comes next with 13%. newt gingrich, 10%. >> they are front-runners based on the fact that they are better known than the other people in the race. but there is a feeling out th

rob and vinita? say they're optimistic about her survival and recovery now three days after the shooting. they say even though she's sedated giffords has reached for her breathing tube to try to remove it. that's considered a positive sign. ines ferre has more. >> reporter: after congresswoman giffords was shot in the head at point blank range doctors continue to call her survival a miracle. giffords' surgeons are keeping a close eye on her condition and any changes or swelling in the brain. >> we're not out of the woods yet. that swelling can sometimes take three days or five days to maximize. but every day that goes by and we don't see an increase, we're slightly more optimistic. >> reporter: giffords defied survival odds. statistics show over 90% of gunshot wounds to the head are fatal. medical experts say the bullet's path likely spared her life. it was a clean entry and exit on one side of the brain. neurosurgeons typically look for swelling during the first two days, infections over the next tw

. >> reporter: vinita and rob, good morning. hospital staff here tell us the congresswoman's condition essentially remains the same. the good thing, she doesn't have much swelling. the bad news is, she's not out of the woods just yet. and she faces a tough, long recovery. as for the suspected shooter, we got our first look at jared loughner yesterday, when he appeared in court. when jared loughner appeared in federal court, she showed no emotion. and even appeared to smirk when the judge spoke to him. he is charged with seven counts of murder and attempted murder, along with one charge of attempting to assassinate congresswoman gabrielle giffords. >> this is a somewhat dysfunctional family. and this individual has probably been troubled for some time. >> reporter: monday morning, the nation paused for a moment of silence, led by president obama. tomorrow, the president will attend a memorial service in tucson. >> i'm spending a lot of time, thinking about the families and reaching out to them. >> reporter: several of the injured

>> vinita, you know that bill is officially called repeal of the job killing health care law. over the weekend, though, speaker boehner got away from using the word "killing." and said it was the job destroying spending spree. republicans, of course, say, don't read too much into that single word change, but it is a very observable, softening of language, at the time when civility is really in the forefront here in washington. vinita and rob. >> thank you for that report. >>> and there are new reports this morning at that trial for jared loughner will now be moved. all of arizona's federal judges have recused themselves from the case because their chief judge, of course, was among the victims. and now loughner's attorneys also want a change of venue because of all of the press coverage. "the washington post" reports that the trial will be held in san diego. >>> well, it was her idealism that brought christina taylor green to the wrong place at the wrong time and cost her her life in the tucson shooting spree. but that same idealism may be helping another little girl. "the bost

vinita, rob. >> it is such a somber sight. diana, what can you tell us about the nationwide moment of silent for these victims? >> reporter: well, president obama said he was going to lead the nation this morning at 11:00. it's become such a significant event that even the supreme court is doing its part. they're doing opening arguments ten minutes early to allow everyone to participate. so it's clearly something that's going to be very, very important. hopefully, a part of the healing process in this event. >> 11:00 a.m. eastern time today. thank you, diana alvear in tucson this morning. >>> also, a picture is now emerging of suspect jared lee loughner as a troubled loner. >> investigators say they have found evidence that loughner specifically targeted the congresswoman for assassination. david kerley has that part of the story. >>> it is a much clearer picture we're getting of a lone, angry disenfranchised young man. solely responsible for this gruesome shooting. the fbi director was in tucson, the first time in 15 years th

vinita and rob? >> amazing recovery also. emily schmidt, thank you. >>> like many presidents before him, president obama's role last night in tucson was to be chief comforter. and his speech is being measured with those delivered in times of crisis by presidents reagan, clinton and even lincoln. matthew dowd says the speech's tone is one we will see again soon. >> i say stay tuned to his state of the union address. i think he's going to take this speech and make it one step further to change the dialogue in this country. >> dowd says it will take more speeches by the president to overcome the current political polarization. >>> we're learned more about the troubled side of jared loughner from those closest to him. his former girlfriend said she was dating him at age 13. and even at that age, he showed hostility at the government. >> what potentially set him off that way? >> things about politics. things about the government. he basically thought that the government was crap. and that it was this big, bad thing. i honestly thi

rob and vinita? >> and the first vote of a possible repeal is set for friday, two days after the session begins. if it has no chance to pass the senate, why even do it? >> reporter: looking at the bill, it's only two pages. but the title says it all. it's called "repealing the job-killing health care law act." this is clearly a symbolic vote in many ways. the new republicans want to prove to their constituents back home they're following up on their campaign promises, taking this on is their first major act of this new congress. rob and vinita? >> doing it fast with an overnight bill to say the least. >>> the navy captain that made the raunchy videos aboard the "uss enterprise," is being temporary relieved of his command. owen honors is expected this morning. martha raddatz has the latest developments. >> reporter: pete captain owen p. honors, top gun pilot, naval academy graduate, and one of a few that commanded an aircraft carrier. but not anymore. this is captain honors on the videos he broadcast

>> reporter: vinita and rob, good morning to you. well, president obama and chinese president hu have now wrapped up their eighth meeting together. with a toast to prosperity and a trade deal, hoped to make that prosperity happen. the chinese delegation requested that the state dinner honoring president hu be as american as apple pie. and it was. right down to the pie for dessert. but the focus was on shared relations. >> to our people. for the citizens of the people's republic of china and the citizens of the united states of america. may they grow together in friendship. may they prosper together in peace. >> reporter: the night featured celebrity guests, from designer vera wang to barbra streisand. the day was all business. >> we want to sell you planes. we want to sell you cars. we want to sell you software. >> reporter: president hu promised his country will buy $45 billion worth of u.s. products. the white house says that will support nearly 225,000 u.s. jobs. >> everyone is very interested in becoming involved in china. and i

rob and vinita?> thanks, emily. >>> a fatal gas line blast has rocked a philadelphia neighborhood. it happened last night as crews were working to get at a gas and water main break. at least one person, believed to be a gas company worker was killed and five injured. dozens of residents were forced to evacuate. >>> along the oregon coast, the problem is sand. strong winds have blown around tons of it. most of the dunes, which usually protect the vacation homes, have completely engulfed some of them. the sand has even gone inside a number of homes. and that's never good. cleanup could take weeks. >>> two men have been arrested and charged with stealing e-mail addresses from more than 100,000 ipad users. prosecutors say the men swiped the information from at&t's servers as a way of impressing fellow hackers. there's no evidence that any of that information was actually used for criminal activity. the victims include former white house aide, rahm emanuel, new york mayor, michael bloomberg, and abc's dia

vinita nair. >> and now we turn to abc's alex marquardt who has been on the streets. what do you see there and are the communications still limited now? >> reporter: limited, rob. the fact that i'm on a cell phone with you is unique. better ground zero for the protests, we're trying to get to the egyptian museum to talk to someone about the artifacts inside. we tried various checkpoints we were not allowed in. they were very nice about it but they were clearly trying to keep the protesters away. not a very good sign for the demonstrators who would like to go out there again today but possibly a good sign for the artifacts in the museum. >> now seven days, president mubarak has been saying he will talk with the protesters. is that going to be enough to appease the crowds? >> reporter: it seems little can be done to peaappease the crowd calling for move bar touk leave. clearly not happy with the fact that he seems to think that naming a new vice president and prime minister is a way of pacifying the masses. it has not worked so far. we expect thousands to be back out on

. >> reporter: rob and vinita, good morning to you. in this new year, the president's team has a few new faces, congress has a lot of new members. but beginning this week, we'll see if washington wants to get past the same old partisan politics. president obama wraps up his vacation trading relaxation and rest for another "r." republican leadership in the house. >> i'm willing to work with anyone of either party who's got a good idea and commitment to see it through. >> reporter: it means what democrats did in the last session. >> they created too much debt and if you want to reduce the size of government, i think you'll find a willing patter in in the government. >> reporter: one goal, repealing the president's plan. >> we said we will bring up a vote to repeal the health care early. >> reporter: the vote wouldn't change the law as democrats still control the senate, and president obama would never sign it. but with 100 new republicans getting sworn in this week, there's a real push to send a symbolic message back home. >> they can sa

rob and vinita? >> emily schmidt, in washington. thanks, emily. >>> and tonight, abc has live coverage of the president's speech and the republican response. it all starts at 9:00 tonight, eastern. >>> there is another high-level departure from the white house staff. energy and climate adviser, carol browner, is leaving. browner got automakers to improve fuel economy and emission standards. and got billions of stimulus dollars for renewable energy. but she failed to get a comprehensive energy bill. and the future prospects are now dim. >>> and former white house chief of staff, rahm emanuel, is in a desperate race against time in his bid to be the mayor of chicago. an illinois appeals court has ruled him ineligible to run because he lived part of last year in washington. emanuel immediately filed an appeal to the state supreme court. but early voting starts next week. >>> a former stealth bomber engineer has now been sentenced for selling military secrets to the chinese. noshir gowadia appeared in court. prosecutors say he helped th

rob and vinita? >> emily schmidt. thanks for that report. >>> the republicans' pledge to cut spending does not include campaign spending. that private fund-raiser, emily talked about a moment ago, took place in one of the poshest hotels. it includes a group with newly-elected tea party republicans. a spokesman defended the ticket price, saying campaigns are expensive. and members intend to keep their seats. >>> and coming up on "good morning america," diane sawyer conducts a roundtable with some of the tea party candidates that are members of the house of representatives new freshman class. >>> a key member of the president's staff will soon be leaving the white house. press secretary robert gibbs is taking a new role, as an outside adviser. he'll likely be advising strategy for the president's re-election campaign. mr. obama is looking for a new chief of staff and a top economic adviser. >>> navy captain owen honors has now been fired. he was stripped of his command and assigned a desk job after the videos shot aboar

good morning, i'm rob nelson. >> i'm vinita nair. people saying, enough already! >> nasty fall there. oh, man, a real mess out there again. also this morning, a troubling new warning from the fda. there's a new connection between breast implants and cancer. we'll have the latest details on that. millions of women potentially impacted by that story. >>> and later, it was nominated for ten oscars and now the surprise star of "true grit," 14-year-old hailee steinfeld is sitting down with our popcorn interview. what a lot of people don't know is she had never acted before and she reportedly beat out 15,000 girls for this part. very talented young lady. >> i saw that movie, matt damon, jeff bridges, she stole the show. very talented little girl for sure. >>> let's move on to the news this morning. we're going to get, of course, the big story is the weather again this morning. as it's been so many times. >> the treacherous storm is shutting down schools today from washington, d.c. to new england and drivers across the region are once again

thank you, vinita. >> for once i did a good job. >> exactly.d morning, everybody, i'm rob nelson. >> i'm vinita nair. >>> the president of china was welcomed to the white house by a mix of hollywood stars, washington insiders and prominent chinese-americans. >> the state dinner followed a day of tough talks between president hu jintao and president obama. john hendren is joining us from washington with details. hi, john. >> good morning. there is a lot of mistrust between the u.s. and china, so after the white house literally rolled out the red carpet, president obama and hu jintao tried to bridge the gap. president obama greeted china's hu jintao as an ally. >> nations, including our own, will be more prosperous and more secure when we work together. >> reporter: china is also an adversary when the u.s. is challenging on a number of issues, including china's currency manipulation, wide piracy of software and entertainment products in china, and protectionism in trade matters. the chinese leader offered a diplomatic push back. >> translator: ch

. >> reporter: rob and vinita, good morning to you. this new poll shows the president matching his highest job approval ratings in more than a year. they now stand at 54%, which is eight points above what was his career-low in september. 43% disapprove of the job mr. obama is doing. most of the bounce is from the overwhelming approval he received for his handling of the aftermath of the tucson attack. he's also getting support from the popular legislation that was passed during last year's lame duck session of congress. but it's not all good news for the president. for the first time, mr. obama and the republicans are tied when it comes to who's best to handle health care reform. the 42% for the president is a new low in our polling. this comes as the new republican majority in the house begins trying to repeal the health care law. that's happening this week. a repeal is expected to pass the house. but the effort won't go anywhere in the senate, which, of course, is controlled by democrats. some of the other findings in our poll. mr. o

rob, vinita. >>> a terrifying scene unfolded inside of a detroit police station when a gunman open firefficers including a commander were hit before the gunman was shot dead. all the officers are going to be just fine, including one sergeant who was saved by her bulletproof vest. security measures are being reviewed since no metal detectors were at the station's entrance. >>> reams of newly leaked documents are shedding light about what's been going on behind the scenes during years of mideast peace talks. among the revelations that palestinians were ready to compromise with israel in 2008 on two of their stickiest issues -- sharing jerusalem and limiting the return of palestinian refugees. palestinian negotiators are denying the reports, saying portions of the documents were fabricated. >>> also in the middle east, a disturbing form of protest. more than a dozen men have literally set themselves on fire to show their opposition to governmental corruption and repression. the protest is extreme and desperate but does seem to be getting some results. lara setrakian has details. >> reporte

. >> reporter: rob and vinita, good morning to you. this freshman class in the house of representatives is the largest in more than 60 years. and all those new members have to get to work pretty quickly. their first vote is scheduled for later today. a big power shift in the house of representatives, carried with it a big handover. >> i now pass this gavel, which is larger than most gavels here. but the gavel of choice of mr. speaker boehner. >> reporter: speaker john boehner, known for wearing emotion on his sleeve, calls on lawmakers to get past some emotions. past what he calls scar tissue, built up on both sides of the aisle. >> the people voted to end business as usual. and today, we begin to carry out their instructions. >> reporter: he has 85 freshmen republican house members behind him. >> now, you have an opportunity to actually have a voice. >> reporter: one of the first house actions this morning, reading all of the constitution on the house floor. then, the first spending vote. >> we will start by cutting congress' own budg

hi, t.j. >> reporter: hi, rob and vinita.ty. but as you mentioned, he frequently addressed the current climate of harsh political rhetoric and said that it is better that we speak to each other in ways that heal than ways that harm. wednesday, president obama acted as consoler in chief. >> the hopes of a nation are here tonight. we mourn with you for the fallen. we join you in your grief. we add our faith to yours. that representative gabrielle giffords and the other living victims of this tragedy will pull through. >> reporter: the president remembered the six victims killed during saturday's shooting, including the youngest, 9-year-old christina taylor green. >> in christina we see all of our children. >> reporter: earlier at the university medical center, he and the first lady met with the families as well as the survivors, including the congresswoman about whom he shared encouraging news. >> a few minutes after we left her room and some of her colleagues from congress were in the room, gabby opened her eyes for the first

. >> reporter: good morning, rob and vinita. it's unbelievable cold in the northeast to start off the day. this is the coldest air we've seen so far this season. 12 degrees below zero in syracuse. burlington at 22 degrees below zero. eventually the next couple of days will be warming up as moisture comes out of the gulf. more rain in the southeast. this could be a snowmake for the northeast. stay tuned. >> ava, thanks. we will have more live cold coverage across the northeast coming up on "good morning america." >>> in other news this morning, president obama faces a drama mat click different congress when he addresses the state of the union tomorrow night. democrats and republicans will be breaking tradition and sitting together. despite that coziness, lawmakers making it clear they disagree with the president's agenda. >> reporter: even with higher popularity, the president is higher in the polls. a productive lame duck session have put him on a roll and republicans know it. >> i think the president has already changed a great

vinita and rob. >> emily, doctors pretty much admitting this has been a miraculous recovery so far. what is next for gabby? >> reporter: rob, one of the things they had been worried about was paralysis so when they saw both of her legs moving over the side of the bed a really positive sign. they say another positive sign is they think the fact that her eyes are trying to track movement around her. the next step is removing the tube that is helping her breathe. >> emily, thank you. >>> as emily mentioned, those newly released recordings of police radio transmissions provide crilling new details of saturday's shooting rampage. as pierre thomas reports, even the most seasoned dispatchers were stunned by what was happening. >> reporter: from the first radio transmissions it was clear something horrific was unfolding. >> shooting at the safeway. a man with a semiautomatic weapon, units responding advise. >> reporter: soon it becomes clear that a congresswoman has been shot. >> we have a caller who believes that gabrielle giffords was shot. it's multiple victims. it sounds like many peopl

. >> and i'm vinita nair.istrict is reviewing security policy after a bizarre classroom shooting that sent two teens to the hospital. >> police arrested a tenth grader accused of bringing that gun to school, but as diana alvear reports, no one actually pulled the trigger. >> reporter: within seconds after the gun went off at gardena high school, chaos erupted in the high school. kids screaming and running for cover. >> he said the boy pulled the gun out of his backpack. i guess he was trying to put the safety on or something. it accidentally went off. hit one boy in the shoulder and hit one girl in the head, shot her in the head. >> reporter: los angeles police say the gun was in a tenth grader's backpack. it may have accidentally discharged after the 17-year-old student either bumped or dropped the pack. two students were hit by the same bullet. >> female struck in the head and the male was struck in the neck. >> reporter: the girl was transported to the hospital in critical condition. according to the "los a

. >> i'm vinita nair.esswoman gabby giffords continue to describe her recovery as a miracle. >> she could move out of the hospital and into rehab. her husband is seeing amazing signs of progress as well. t.j. winick has the latest on this. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. congresswoman gabrielle giffords could be moved to a rehabilitation facility within weeks, perhaps even days. gabrielle giffords' husband told her doctors that she gave him a smile. >> she stuck her hand up on the side of my face this morning. i leaned over and then she spent ten minutes giving me -- and this is her, so typical of her. she's in the icu, you know, gone through this traumatic injury and she spent ten minutes giving me a neck massage. i'm pretty sure she wouldn't do that for somebody else -- >> she reached up to you -- >> she reached up, you know, for ten minutes, rubbing my neck. i keep telling her, gabby, you're in the icu. you don't -- you know, you don't need to be doing this. but it's so typical of her. no matte

i'm vinita nair. oprah: all new. a young father -- blind, barely able to speak.he bravest families in our country. legendary newsman tom brokaw. iconic journalist bob woodward. and first lady michelle >> good morning, everyone. 5:23 on the abc 7 morning news. a live view from our camera atop sutro from the bay bridge. you see the traffic there. this is -- golden gate bridge. i said bay bridge, spanking time. somebody hit me. thank you very much! >> that wasn't me. >> you see traffic moving along there. just fine. can't believe i did that. but i deserved that little spanking there. thank you very much. >> it was our stage manager, joey's sound effects. thank you, joey! more news for you. a knew library opens in oakland in a neighborhood known for its high crime rate. the 81st avenue library has been in the works nine years, cost $14 million to build and will be the second largest in the city. it will house 30,000 books, dvd's and 62 computers. mayor jean quan calls it a commit to east oakland. >> i've been talking to kids in the gangs about making sure there's a o

. >> and i'm vinita nair.eventh day now, all eyes are once again on cairo where demonstrators have taken to the streets and tourists are seeking refuge in the airports. we will have the latest from the area. >> thousands of americans told to get out of there. >>> on top of that, another week and yet another snowstorm, believe it or not. this one is expected to impact three-quarters of the country. would you believe on top of that, there are people happy to see another snowstorm coming. not you, not me. >> not even the snowplow drivers at this point. >>> and later, millions of americans wait for that little red envelope to come in the mail. you guessed it, netflix. but will they soon be pulling the plug on dvds? they said it would take years to happen but the transitioning to streaming, it's happening. >> all things change. >>> we begin in egypt where protesters are keeping up the pressure on president mubarak to finally resign. >> demonstrators have defied a curfew for a third night. even as military jets have

. >> i'm vinita nair. >> i'm rob nelson. >>> when the "uss enterprise" deploys for the middle east inommander may not be on board. >> the navy is now investigating captain owen honors after lewd videos filled with homophobic and sexual humor have surfaced. david kerley has the details. >> reporter: laced with profanity -- >> [ bleep ] i just [ bleep ] -- >> reporter: anti-gay slurs -- >> let's get to my favorite topic and something foreign to the gay kid over there, chicks in the shower. >> reporter: pictures of women in showers together, as well as men. on a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the "uss enterprise." all obtained by the "virginian pilot" newspaper. the navy confirms the videos were made in 2006 and '07. the skits shown on the ship's internal system when captain owen honors was the number two officer on board. >> he is done and i think that he ought to be consulting somebody to get some advice on the next chapter of his life. >> reporter: with the "enterprise" tied up in norfolk the navy won't go that far. saying owens' status has not changed. the navy does say the videos

i'm vinita nair. >> 5:22. welcome back. you may have to travel farther to get to a post office.he postal service is going to start closings up to 2,000 post offices on top of the nearly 500 it announced late last year. usps will also review another 16,000 branches operating at a deficit. most are rural communities. the postal service recorded an $8.5 billion loss last year. closing branches may be hardest on the elderly who may have a hard time traveling. >> apple has changed the screws in some of its products to keep consumers from mixing or altering i-phones. the new screws are called pentalobe with five rounded points. the companies are using the screws forcing customers to buy rare and hard to find screwdrivers in order to change a battery or tinker with other parts. apple has not commented. >> two communities are competing to host the u.s. iowa and turn it into a tourist attraction. it's part of the moth ball fleet in the bay. the u.s. navy is expected to name either mayor island in vallejo or san pedro in southern iowa's new home. they fought the japanese in world war ii a

i'm vinita nair. i i i i i i i i oprah: all new -- we made it.re in australia -- the great barrier reef, first shrimp on the barbie -- for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. >>> good morning. it's 5:21 this tuesday morning. a live look at downtown san francisco from our camera on mount tam. not terribly foggy right here but mike is finding pockets of pretty thick fog on the peninsula and the south bay and the north bay as well. so we'll talk about that, find out when it will lift and check out your prolonged week forecast coming up. >> in iraq, at least 45 people are dead after a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of police recruits today. it happened outside a police station in saddam hussein's hometown. one recruit who survived said the job seekers were searched before they entered the station's yard. >> nasa is unveiling three concept designs that may become the face of modern aviation. the faster, quieter and more energy efficient. boeing's design a stealth bomber, a plane that looks like two b-52's put together. lockheed is more conventi

i'm vinita nair. >> i'm rob nelson. >>> we start this morning with an update on congresswoman gabby giffordsde nies has the latest. >> reporter: the congresswoman's condition has been upgraded from critical to serious because she's now able to breathe on her own without a ventilator. over the weekend doctors removed her breathing tube but they did perform a tracheotomy. that's inserting a smaller tube in her throat that will allow her to breathe on her own. >> from the patient's perspective it's much more comfortable, therefore, there's less sedation required. if she's more awake, she can participate much more in her own care and physical therapy. >> reporter: doctors say for patients with brain injuries, removing that breathing tube is especially important because the gag reflex is so strong, any coughing can cause more pressure on the brain and that is exactly what you don't want. that feeding tube will also help because it will mean the congresswoman can get more nutrition and more calories. >> in patients who are critically ill in the intensive care unit, both of these devices are used f

you get all the(p >>> you see rob and vinita, you're thinking oh, know, i overslept. it's wonderful. >> congratulations. >> thank you so much. >> tough shift in the business. >> you see hem early. >> it's my favorite show to watch. >> she actually made a cameo this morning. we got a lovely look at juju. >> we used to joke, it's breast-feeding moms watching them in the middle the night. >> congratulations. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. let's go for it. [ male announcer ] prilosec otc traveled to the front lines of nfl training camp to put our 24-hour frequent heartburn protection to the test for two weeks. [ diehl ] people think we're indestructible, but if you're out there and you're feeling burning it's gonna affect the way that you play. prilosec otc is the one thing i can count on to block my heartburn. when i take it in the morning i'm ready to go for the rest of the day [ male announcer ] prilosec otc. one pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn! buy two 42-count boxes of prilosec otc. get $25 back. we're all striving for it. purina cat chow helps you nurture