that was wabc's sandra bookman reporting. >>> that's what's making news in america this morning. >> andou can get

wabc's lucy wang reports on what could be the most controversial show yet. >> reporter: they danced theirt. a whole season worth of sweat and tears. riding on their final performances. the show is about turning celebrities into ballroom stars. it's supposed to focus on rhythm and presence. this season has had so much more. cries of conspiracy. and even death threats. when brandy was tossed by viewers last week and bristol palin got to stay, immediately many began screaming no fair. accusing the tea party movement of voting for bristol because they like her mother, sarah. the palins have denied any organized get out the vote drive. we spoke to brandy's dancing parter the, maks chmerkovskiy. >> if they voted from what they thought dancing level was, it's fine. >> reporter: it's a three-way race between kyle massey, "dirty dancing" star, jennifer grey, and palin daughter, bristol. >> i had to led it roll off my back and focus on dancing. >> i want people to sit back and say, look. how about we cut all the crap and vote for the dancers. and let the better dance erwin? >> jennifer grey goes in

kimberly richardson, of our new york station, wabc, stopped by for a preview. >> reporter: it's a rareto a world few saw. but now many will see. thousands of items that belonged to bernie and ruth madoff are up for auction. the dining room table. furniture from their montauk beach house. ruth's 10-carat engagement ring. >> some things are very top of the market. other things are very average. >> reporter: jennifer crane helped catalog all this. property that was forfeited and seized by u.s. marshalls. the stockbroker, clearly liked the finaler things in life. prada socks. high-end watches. his shoes, size 9-wide, from casual to flashy. he meticulously kept every shoe box. >> there's a value in everything. and everything we get goes to the victims. >> reporter: those who lost so much in madoff's upon save scam, much of this, probably paid for with some of that money. officials hope saturday's auction brings in about $1.5 million. anything with madoff initials or name on it always does well. there is plenty. even ruth mike e liked marking territory. >> i went into all the cars and all th

dave evans of our new york station, wabc, reports from capitol hill. >> reporter: when congressman rangel arrived to his trial, he had one strategy, delay and plead for a postponement. >> 50 years of public service is on the line. i truly believe that i'm not being treated fairly. and that history will dictate that, notwithstanding the political calendar, i am entitled to a lawyer during this proceeding. >> reporter: rangel showed up with no lawyer, having split with his legal team last month. and then, just last week, prosecutors filed a new 80-page statement of evidence. rangel, clearly, was not ready. >> i did not know until a week ago that this 80-page would be the way you intended to judge my conduct. a week ago. >> reporter: rangel's accused of improperly obtaining four apartments in harlem. he charged with misstating his assets by $500,000. he is accused of failing to pay taxes, and soliciting thousands for a school named after him at city college. >> these allegations, if proven, would demonstrate that mr. rangel violated the house rules and federal statutes. >> reporter: the comm

jeff smith of wabc in for sam champion. >> yeah, george.en watching tropical storm tomas in the caribbean. look at curacao, desert islands, the opposite of that with tomas nearby, causing flooding in that neck of the woods. and the track of tomas takes it near the western hip of haiti, the eastern tip of cuba. potentially as a category 1 hurricane tomorrow afternoon before meandering out in the atlantic ocean. other big story, the northeast, with a wave of low pressure. another wave will extend the rain into tomorr >> this weather report has been brought to you by ally bank. robin, over to you. >> jeff, thank you. >>> more revelations from former president george w. bush, in his white house memoir called "decision points." it focuses on crucial moments in his personal life and eight years in office, including his handling of hurricane katrina. and our martha raddatz joins us now with more on this. more and more continues to come out on the book. it's not out yet. >> reporter: i know. president bush always referred to himself as the decider.

let's check out what's going on in new york city, courtesy of my employer, wabc in new york.the ceiling is so low out there. it's cooler air moving in behind the system. the rain will be tapering off in the city, but continuing in parts of new england during the day today. 55 in new york. snowshowers coming off the great lakes, extending down to the appalachian mountains. winter storm warnings, western north carolina. 53 this weather report has been brought to you by red lobster. george, back up to you. >> thanks very much. >>> bianna told you how you can win a dream on "the disney dream." the cruise ship liner that has everything for you right now. we're going to bianna right now. she's going to take the plunge on the aquaduck. >> you saw other folks do it. now, it's my turn to take the aquaduck on a spin ride. hit the switch. as i go down, take a look at what the dream is all about. ♪ you could say the newest cruise ship to join the disney fleet is a dream come true. >> i don't think our guests are going to want to leave the ship. >> reporter: because when disney dreams, it

our new york affiliate wabc watched it all happen. >> the parade is going to start at 9:00 a.m.u should get there a little earlier than 9:00 a.m. to get a seat. >> reporter: tens of thousands of spectators young and old are getting a look at the balloons as they begin to take shape. this is the annual inflation, where snoopy, ronnie -- >> ronald mcdonald, this is his second year. >> reporter: and friends attract people of all ages. >> i like sponge bob. >> my favorite is like the energizer bunny. >> reporter: many see this as the unofficial start of the holidays. >> happy thanksgiving. >> reporter: this year the parade will include a lot of the old favorites. there are a few new balloons as well. kung fu panda, diary of a wimpy kid. even with the new additions parade organizers say they stick with what's worked for decades. >> people like to see things they're familiar with, they like to see things they're comfortable with. >> reporter: getting these characters airborne takes a lot of work. >> beautiful. >> reporter: and everything has to be just right. >> it's a feel and a touc

here is wabc's sandra bookman. >> reporter: avoiding getting as overstuffed as the turkey on thanksgiving americans. the traditional table offerings, just too tempting to pass up. how much do you eat on thanksgiving? >> until i'm full and then usually some more. >> reporter: the director of clinical nutrition at montefiore medical center suggests moderation rather than deprivation or gluttony. >> take what you love, take small amounts of the other foods, take one plateful and call it a day. >> reporter: but if you do find yourself in a day-after food coma, she says there are some simple remedies. topping the to-do list, rehydrate. water will help counter all the alcohol, sugar and salt. exercise to counter all those calories. and sleep to allow your body to recover. then it's time to cleanse your palate. nutritionists say that means more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, even low-fat or fat-free yogurt. a salad with some left over turkey is a good idea or maybe some fish that's high in omega-3 fatty acids. >> you want to take away that carb overload and fat and sugar overload and clean

wabc's dave evans has more. >> reporter: when congressman rangel arrived at his trial he had one strategy plead for postponement. >> 50 years of public service is on the line. i truly believe that i'm not being treated fairly and that history will dictate that notwithstanding the political calendar, i am entitled to a lawyer during this proceeding. >> reporter: rangel has already spent more than $2 million on his defense. he'd need another $1 million for the trial. rangel showed up with no lawyer, having split with his legal team last month. and then just last week, prosecutors filed a new 80-page statement of evidence. rangel clearly was not ready. >> i did not know until a week ago that this 80 pages would be the way you intended to judge my conduct. a week ago. >> reporter: rangel's accused of improperly obtaining four rent-stabilized apartments in harlem. he's charged with misstatang his assets by $500,000, and failing to pay taxes on a villa he owns in the caribbean, and soliciting thousands for a school named after him at city college. >> these allegations, if proven, would demonstr

now that he's been convicted of the new york veteran democrat says he was treated unfairly and as wabc's rangel insists he did not break the law. >> reporter: he was once one of the most powerful congressmen in the nation. now charlie rangel, convicted on 11 counts of financial and ethical misconduct. his jury of four democratic and four republican congressmen took only a few hours to render its verdict. >> we have tried to act with fairness, led only by the facts and the law. and i believe that we have accomplished that mission. >> reporter: rangel reacted with bitterness and outrage. a statement asking, how can you have confidence in the ethics committee when i was deprived of due process rights, right to counsel, and not even in the room. >> mr. rangel, do you have any reaction to the committee's decision -- >> no, i really haven't studied it. >> reporter: as reporters waited, rangel spent much of the afternoon behind closed doors with fellow democrats on the party's future as the minority. then a statement in which rangel claimed no evidence of corruption or personal gain. the ethics

here's wabc's m.j.berkus. >> reporter: the reverend cedric miller knows he's not exactly preaching tois ruining marriages and tearing families apart. >> a connection is made and it starts platonic, hi, how are you, how are you doing, i used to like you in high school or college. hey, why did we break up? before you know it, connections are being made, and sooner or later the other spouse finds out and it ends up in my office. your marriage is in shambles. >> reporter: in his sermon this sunday, the reverend miller says he'll urge his congregation to consider dumping their facebook accounts. married church officers who refuse will be asked to resign. >> first we ask them, get a family page. or, at a minimum, make sure your spouse has your log-in so there's accountability and there's openness, so forth and so on. but that didn't stop the issues from coming. i'm asking the leaders to lead by example and just get off. >> reporter: it's a message that resonates with elliot, who says facebook nearly wrecked his can marriage. >> facebook got a little ugly in my life. and there were friends t