heading east. that could mean snow, especially at higher elevations. and a rain or rain/snow milk from the mid-atlantic through new england. winter storm watches are already in place. i think the biggest issue will be the drop in temperatures. a whiplash, 20 to 30 degrees colder than it has been. ginger zee, abc news, new york. >> 20 to 30? >> that is a bad whiplash. we have had such a mild end of november. december, 50s, 60s. it's been great. all changing today. some folks in new jersey and connecticut still trying to clean up from that, the october 30th snowstorm. now they have this coming. it is a mess. 'tis winter in the northeast. here we go. here's a look at the rest of the forecast around the country. in addition to the rain here in the northeast. the storm could dump up to seven inches of snow. showers, thunderstorms, meanwhile around tallahassee, jacksonville, atlanta. snow from billings to rapid

city. >> 29, fargo. 36, boise. 41, seattle. dallas, 45. the twin cities 30 and detroit 39. upper 40s in boston, upper 50s in baltimore. have you noticed we have had pretty good stuff from south america recently. the pole dancing championship. my favorite. that big christmas tree in rio, the floating tree, that was cool. and now we have this. >> that's right. check this out. a special nativity scene from down in lima, peru, brightly colored. believe it or not, it is all chocolate. they used almost 180 pounds of chocolate, three kinds. dark, milk, and white. >> look at that. wow. took 20 people including an engineer two months to create all that. looks good enough to eat. >> i've spent some time in lima this summer, and i ate a lot. came back with montezuma's revenge. >> thank you for tmi. how long did that last? >> seriously a month. >> you would be dead if you had it for a month. >> i was sick for a month. >> wasn't a constant revenge for a month.

>> i can't tell everybody about that. >> you brought it up. i got to ask. now i'm afraid to sit next to you. we'll be back with more "world news now" after this. good lord. ♪ ♪ ♪

hd 3

to medical news and possible changes for one of the country's most popular birth control pills. yaz. >> the so-called magic pill known to treat ailments and preventing pregnancy. is it jeopardizing the health of the women who are taking it? here is abc's chris cuomo. >> it's yaz, the pill more and more women are turning to. >> reporter: yaz, pitched as a

dream come true for women, birth control pill, aimed at easing pms. even clearing up your skin. >> yeah, that sounds like a miracle drug. >> reporter: 24-year-old nurse carissa ubersox says this ad got her to switch to yaz. one night after a few months on the drug her legs started to ache. soon she was gasping for air. then her heart stopped. four minutes, no heartbeat? also known as dead? >> yes. >> reporter: massive blood clots traveled from her legs to her lungs. she slipped into a coma. when she woke up -- right now, can you see me? >> no. >> reporter: can you see anything? >> no. >> reporter: all birth control pills come with some risk. two to four women per 10,000 will suffer blood clots. but with yaz which is made by bayer, several new studies have put the risk two to three times hyper. >> the two bayer-sponsored

studies found no difference in risk while four independent studies found increased risks. >> reporter: this doctor authored a study involving a million women. she says she sent her findings to bayer but was surprised they didn't respond. the studies that found increased risk are not in the best interest of the company. >> reporter: this week the fda will hold hearings to determine if yaz packaging should have stronger warnings about blood clots. the fda warned that yaz was not effective for common pms and forced bayer to pull the pms ads. but by then, millions of women had already switched, including carissa. >> you don't have the future you thought you were going to have? >> no. >> reporter: you believe it all happened and started with a pill called yaz. >> yes. >> reporter: bayer denies all wrongdoing. saying yaz has "a favorable benefit risk profile when used as directed." clarissa and other alleged

victims are suing saying yaz has higher risks than other birth control pills and importantly they say they can show in their lawsuit that bayer knew about increased risks and tried to conceal the evidence. chris cuomo, abc news, new york. >> remarkable. >> so frightening. your heart bleeds for the woman in the piece. >> so many people take the pills. >> unbelievable. look for a medical controversy, fda will begin deciding to day whether to end age restriction on those who can buy plan b without a prescription. that's going to be another big political and medical debate. stay tuned for that, as well. well, coming up, saying merry christmas with a fresh baked cookie. >> there's no better way. why a california man wants to give a treat to some people like sunny and me, in fact. news now." >> yes.

♪ all right. here we go. time for our boom, "favorite story of the day. you would think only ebenezer scrooge would make his employees work on christmas, it does happen everywhere including right here. >> that's right. one sacramento man wants to put an end to that. he came up with a plan to send a message to bosses on the naughty list. he calls it the cookie project. >> my name is john marcot. i am trying to participate in society instead of letting it pass me by. i know it may not be a sacred day to every person. it is a way of cheapening our society. we're better than this. there should be one or two days when everyone, no matter how

much or how little you make, can have a day to go home with their family. we need police. we need firemen to be there. we need some one at a pharmacy, we don't need a gingerbread latte or grande burrito. i think we can do without those things to allow people to spend time with their families on christmas. we decided we are going to bring back christmas spirit one bag of cookies at a type. we have a website, cookieproject.org. we are looking for volunteers, cookie recipes. we want to have the best cookies possible. looking for people to bake cookies. looking for people to put them in bag and help us deliver them on christmas. if you are going to pick one day to try to make the world a little bit better place, why not let it be christmas. >> i like this guy. >> yeah. >> cookies. >> you get a cookie. you get a cookie. >> that's what i am talking about. >> i get a cookie. >> did allison send these? >> good cookies in new york. fire fighters working, police working. all of you working over the holidays we feel your pain. we are in this together.

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better than the other tablet. there's only one cascade. love it, or your money back. now, it is time for your morning papers. this one for me was hysterical, out of "the orlando sentinel." apparently the orlando magic ceo bob vandeway resigned because he drunk dialed. >> who did he call? >> he called magic superstar dwight howard because he wanted to keep the big man in orlando. bottom line he was going to become this free agent. she is going to be, courted by a lot of other folks. apparently he had a few too many glasses of wine. >> and called, hey, man, stay on the team, man. stay on the team. in orlando. >> everyone has done out for

-- done it or been subjected to the drunk dial. let's be honest. >> and drunk texting which is worse these days. don't drink and dial, folks. be careful. especially on an nba team. this is my favorite story. the new york "daily news." this man went into lancaster, stop and go convenience store, 3:00 a.m. wasn't looking for beer, smokes, but was looking for $1,000 of male enhancement products, chaotic kryptonite, eight balls, and bangkok chill. some have horny goat weed extract. the guy is in for some hard times. >> i'm not going there. >> you had to see that coming. that was too easy. >> finally in the trentonian, a new jersey mayor resigned after a male prostitute posted a picture of him. asleep in his calvin kleins. i guess the lesson is, don't let the male prostitute take a picture of you sleeping.

>> jimmy kimmell had a great line on the show last night. either this is a picture or calvin klein ad campaign going in a different direction. mayor of medford, new jersey, where my old high school is located. i picked the story to talk about the guy. republican, married, two kids. typical client. >> ha-ha. >> got busted again. another gay sex scandal. can't believe it. enough scandals. we have very cool news to report on morning papers this morning. celebratory news for our show. we did hit a milestone, no, that guy is not it. >> ha-ha! >> he celebrated a whole different way. we are celebrating -- 40,000 fans on facebook. [ cheers ] >> so we wanted to thank everyone out there in support of the show. >> i am so thrilled to have been a part of it. so thrilled. >> you are here to the end of the year. we have a lot going on. look at this. ♪ in the house tonight >> you will never see this on diane sawyer. never.

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this mng on "w this morning on "world news now" -- wintry misery. the wet, windy, snowy and icy conditions that made a mess out of the southwest blows across the country. >> the storm caused power outages and travel headaches across a vast area. now all that nastiness is threatening the northeast. it is wednesday, december 7th. good morning, i'm sunny hostin. >> and i'm rob nelson. snow mixed with rain could be causing a slushy mess across the heavily populated northeast over the next 24 hours. and the storm could hit the same areas, in fact, still trying to recover from that nor'easter that made halloween look a lot more like christmas. well, if you didn't think it was winter, you will know it is now. >> it's here. also this morning, alec

baldwin's war of words on twitter after american airlines flight attendants threw him off a flight. he was playing a game on his cell phone and refused to turn it off. >> this is the dumbest story of the morning. shut off the game. let the plane -- what are they going to do? >> some people don't want to turn their cell phones off. it doesn't do anything to the plane. if your cell phone can take the plane down, none of us should be flying. >> i agree. alec had a temper tantrum on the plane. i don't get it. let you be the judge in a few seconds. later this half-hour, the tunes you listen to in your car can influence your driving habits. some music is linked to road rage while other tunes can make you put the pedal to the metal. who doesn't like to jam out in their car? on a nice day. >> i can't wait to hear what you listen to, rob. >> i'll tell you, share that coming up. the wintry blast loosening its grip on the southwest

setting its sights on the northeast. >> here we go. the same storm that left parts of california, new mexico and texas covered in snow and ice is now on the move. until now, temperatures here in the northeast have been downright balmy, a great couple days here last two weeks. but now in for a rude, cold awakening. we get more on this from abc's diana alvear, good morning, diana. >> reporter: rob, sunny, good morning. winter may not have officially started but it sure feels like it has, especially for people in states like texas and washington state where some of the roads were as white as my sweater. a sprinkle of snow coats cactuses in arizona, one of several states shivering from a blast of cold canadian air. in texas the first snow fell covering everything in white. >> i just had to go for a walk it is so beautiful out here. >> reporter: temperatures plunged in new mexico, forcing the closure of interstate 40. snow shovels and other winter supplies flew off the shelves. >> customers calling in, asking us to set aside heaters and, set aside ice melts.

>> reporter: drivers had to dodge black ice in washington state. some without success. deeper in the cascades, the danger was getting stuck. that's where the dirty 13 come in. >> these guys came up with the jeeps which was a blessing. pulled us out. >> reporter: a group of four-wheel drive jeep owners, 13 strong, volunteer their time rescuing stranded drivers. >> everybody here likes to help people. >> and the wind continues to blow in california. days after the savage santa anas ravaged the los angeles area, several surrounding communities are still without power. crews have been working to turn downed trees into firewood. and collect tons of debris. and there's no need to be jealous of us west coasters. this system is headed east to put the brr in your december. rob, sunny. >> she says it with a smile, too.

thank you, diana. we'll take a look at the rest of your weather. you can expect snow around memphis, charleston, west virginia, pittsburgh, buffalo, northern new england. heavy rain today, flooding from boston down to d.c. thunderstorms, north florida, atlanta. snow showers from billings to rapid city. >> 36 in boise, 56, sacramento. 61, phoenix. 30s in the nation's midsection. 45 in dallas. 55, new york. 50 in atlanta, and miami, get this, 82. >> jealous of miami for many reasons. enjoy that 80 degrees, folks, down there. in other news this morning, newt gingrich is finding out what it is like to be at the top of the republican heap. rival ron paul released a blistering new attack ad that is starting to run today in iowa where those critical caucuses are less than a month away. suddenly mitt romney is going to be a lot more visible. he's agreed to go on "fox news sunday." this is actually his

first national sunday talk show in nearly two years. an amazing stat for a guy running for president. we'll see how he does. president obama started sketching out the team of his re-election campaign during a visit to the nation's heartland. at a stop in kansas, mr. obama insisted the u.s. must reclaim its standing as a country in which everybody can prosper if it provides a "fair shot and a fair share." the president called this a make or break moment for the middle-class. the new owners of the west virginia mine where 29 men died have now agreed to pay a record fine in connection with the deaths. family members of the victims say that is simply not enough. abc's david kerley reports. >> reporter: new pictures inside the mine where investigators say massey energy put miners' lives at risk every time they sent them underground created a culture of fear and intimidation to hide their reckless practices. families who grieve for their loved ones in public will get $1.5 million from the record criminal settlement and stand to get much more in civil restitution. the settlement does not protect

former executives including don blankenship from criminal charges. the day after the blast he defended his record to diane sawyer. >> 2006, there was a tragedy, a disaster. now another one of the what are you going to do that is a quantum difference from what you have done before? >> when you employ, 6,000, 7,000 people, you do your best to protect all of them. that's what massy does. >> reporter: where is he today? blankenship is retired. one month after he was granted a $12 million golden parachute he filed papers listing himself as president of mccoy coal group. is he back in business? >> i would be stunned to find out any state issued him a permit to run a coal mine. they're endangering their citizens if they do. >> reporter: family members are calling for criminal charges. one sake the death of the brother in the mine was an act of murder. david kerley, abc news, washington. >> that agreement actually does prevent criminal charges from

executives of the company here. you are happy the families get the money, but no check is ever going to bring back the lives lost. >> no, i think they want people to be found responsible for their actions. i can understand why they feel this way. >> of course they do. scary to think that guy may be operating another business, considering his track record. we'll keep an eye on that as the well. the head of the faa is resigning after a weekend drunk driving arrest. randy babbitt was driving on the wrong side of the road when he was pulled over saturday night in suburban washington. now babbitt's boss, transportation secretary ray la hood, has aggressively campaigned against drunken and distracted driving. alec baldwin getting the blame for a dispute on board a plane. the "30 rock" actor was kicked off an american airlines flight at lax for not turning off his cell phone because he was playing a game. flight was bound for new york. lucy yang of wabc reports. >> reporter: if alec baldwin thought he was going to enjoy a smooth ride cross country, he found turbulence before the plane took off. turns out baldwin was kicked off

his flight for playing on his cell phone. according to his own tweet. flight attendant on american reamed me out for playing words with friends while we sat at the gate not moving, hash tag no wonder america air is bankrupt. according to american airlines tweet, our flight attendants were following federal safety procedures on electronic devices when aircraft door is closed. baldwin's original flight landed sitting in first-class ringside view, oscar de la hoya. >> i actually felt alec baldwin was turning off his devices. and he just got a little angry. >> other passengers pretty upset with baldwin's behavior which delayed everyone by an hour. >> he was on his phone. didn't want to get off the phone. then snuck into the bathroom. became irate. they had to remove him from the flight. >> words with friends, a scrabble-like phone game, had this twitter response -- let alec play.

baldwin trying to get in the last dig. there's always united, last flight with american where retired catholic school gym teachers from the 1950s find jobs as flight attendants. >> very rude. caused to us be delayed. not very considerate. not a very unselfish man. >> reporter: is this more bad boy behavior from yet another celebrity? passengers we spoke with were pretty much in agreement about blaming baldwin. they told me everyone else turned off their cell phones. baldwin, meanwhile, was able to book another flight. lucy yang, abc news, new york. >> moron. are you kidding me? i would admit to addictiveness of words with friends, okay? a great game, people are addicted to it. alec addicted to it. everyone has to play by the rules. you are nothing special. turn off the thing. let flight go on as planned. out of consideration for other

passengers. >> i think that's true. i mean, a one-hour delay going from l.a. to new york, that's horrible. you know, i don't know -- you know i get annoyed having to turn off my cell phone and ipad -- >> everyone knows the rules, plus he slammed the bathroom door. >> not going to talk the plane down that if weren't moving. just a door was closed. >> it's called a grip. alec, get one. that's all i'm saying. embarrassing. get a grip. >> i understand. i understand. >> unbelievable. well, check out all the polls these days, and you will see evidence that americans believe things simply aren't working in the u.s. congress. >> they seemed to put the dysfunction aside at least for a while last night for annual lighting of the capitol hill christmas tree. the 65-foot white fir shining with 10,000 lights. >> we knew it couldn't be true, cue the dysfunction. there it goes. when the lights stayed out, they were out for 12 minutes. they lit up later. the outage was likely caused by a circuit problem on a damp, dreary night. republicans blaming the democrats. democrats are blaming the

republicans. the tree needs a bailout package. >> so embarrassing. 12 minutes. >> 12 minutes. this government. got to love democracy. we'll be back with more "world news now" after this. ♪ the christmas tree at the christmas party hop ♪ with more "world news now" after this. ♪ the christmas tree at the christmas party hop ♪ let me tell you about a very important phone call i made. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement nsurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to " 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company,

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s uh-uh ♪ i'm like a bird i want to fly away ♪ i'm like a bird i want to fly away ♪ ♪ i don't know where my soul is ♪ >> nellie frutado. call us, let us know what is up. you might recall a mystery of mother nature when thousands of blackbirds were found dead in arkansas. >> a weird story. never discovered what caused all the birds to die, but now to many people's delight they're back. katv's matt johnson is back and

reports. >> reporter: even after 16 years in beebe, charles moore can't contain his excitement about these world famous black birds. >> i think it is an awesome sight. watch them in the morning, 6:15, set your watch by them. >> reporter: thousands and thousands head east every morning. this is what they look like before sunset. they come back to roost in moore's backyard. >> they go through some ritual or routine in deciding who will occupy the roost when. they will populate the tops of these trees as you will see. and you know just by the tens of thousands. >> reporter: beebe is known as the blackbird capital of the world after more than 5,000 dead birds fell on the city on new year's day. >> it looked like a war zone out here. >> reporter: now 5,000 seems like a fraction of what may be a growing population. >> there are a lot more birds. how do you explain that, i don't know. >> reporter: a game and fish person says it is typical for

birds to roost in the winter but no way to keep up with how many there are. as for a repeat of the so-called bird-pocalypse, it is unlikely. and that is good for moore who is a friend of the birds. he'd hate to be their enemy. >> if 10,000 birds want to go after me, i probably wouldn't have a chance. so i am glad they're friendly birds. >> well, look at that. actually they think violent weather could be the reasons some of the birds died a year ago. >> that freaked me out. i don't get flustered by that much. >> you like the birds. >> you know, freaked me out. birds falling from the sky. i never believe in the end of the world thing. >> a little weird. >> those folks in beebe, enjoy cleaning off your windshields. the birds are back. and coming up, the road tunes linked to road rage. >> yes. how music influences your driving habits. the surprising information researchers uncovered. ♪ born to be wild ♪ born to be wild road rage. >> yes. how music influences your

driving habits. the surprising information

♪ born to be wild ♪ born to be wild ♪ born to be wild if you were behind the wheel listening to that song there, do you thing it would make you a wild driver? a british survey says it might. >> some songs may make us more peaceful drivers while others makes us more aggressive. the bbc's graham satchel takes the survey for a test drive. ♪ listen to in your car change the way you drive? if you listen to classical music, are you less likely to have an accident than some one that listens to -- ♪ love in a hopeless place >> reporter: pop? what about rock music?

♪ >> reporter: a survey of 2,000 drivers of the polling company populous suggests what we are listening to in our car does influence driving behavior. ♪ yeah >> reporter: rock fans, for example, are more likely to experience road rage. 67% of rock fans admit to swearing or gesturing at other drivers. 31% have been involved in a minor accident. ♪ >> reporter: classical music listeners, on the other hand, are the least likely to speed, to tailgate and to lose their cool with other drivers. 42% of motorists listening to classical music said they found driving relaxing. i know what you are thinking -- this is all too obvious.

of course if you are listening to mozart, the music itself is calming and you are probably an older, more experienced driver. and what about jazz? >> nice. >> reporter: people who listen to jazz are the most likely to get speeding fines. >> potentially people are listening in a more analytic way, it's a complex, involved sound. perhaps that's more distracting and can take your attention away from monitoring the speed. ♪ >> with pop music, it's nicely simple, repetitive. a lot of people know the lyrics. a less of a drain on your concentration. ♪ >> reporter: if you want a safe drive home this christmas, and you believe the experts -- forget the head banging. try a bit of mozart instead. ♪ graham satchel, bbc news. >> no mozart. i need some rocking music. >> me, too -- >> top 40.

little eminem, dave matthews cruising music. something good. >> no speeding. that will work. >> uh-huh. see that's speeding music though. ♪ >> uh-huh. see that's speeding music though.

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♪ "world news now" never in the top ten. i just don't get it. what's going on? >> what's going on? >> come on, folks. finally, a police officer outside memphis, tennessee, is retiring and looking forward to his remaining years chasing his tail and sleeping in the sun. >> you may have guessed from the last line that the police officer is, yes, a dog. wkrn's erin holt introduces us to a brave k-9 cop. >> reporter: kash is fluent in four languages, has a titanium

tooth and is just as comfortable hanging out or hunting for drugs or taking down suspects. >> he is a personality. >> reporter: kash came a long way from the czech republic to laverne to work with his hand. >> kids love him. >> reporter: suspects definitely don't love him. >> people are intimidated just by the dog's presence. this guy made a ton of arrests by laying in the back of the car or barking at the suspects. >> reporter: his bark is probably not worse than his bite. and that's what may have helped kash earn a unique distinction. >> we have 100% compliance in terms of when cash made contact with the suspect, the suspect did not try to run off. >> reporter: so kash has never once had to bite a suspect. >> he is my backup and partner so for him to not be there, it does feel different. >> reporter: after 8 1/2 years with laverne police, kash is moving on to green pastures. >> in dog years he has been here a long, long time.

he has had a colorful career. >> reporter: tracking drugs, chasing suspects and riding in the back of a car has taken its toll on kash, almost ten years old. even though he'll be retired, kash will always be welcomed back with open arms and a treat. >> reporter: 47 dog years he spent on the force. >> he deserves retirement. >> a long career. he earned it. >> i like the tooth. digging the tooth. you need it. you need a kash. >> look at the size of that. you kidding me? no. >> you need a kash. >> kash. that dog would eat up my new york city apartment. that dog is massive. >> i will lend you one of my dogs so you can get the feel of it. >> good luck with that. ha-ha. that's the news for this half-hour. remember to follow us on facebook at wnnfans.com. with that. ha-ha. s>s>@@q

this morning on "world news now" -- faa fallout. the agency's chief is forced to resign after a drunk driving arrest. >> it comes as the faa is in the middle of critical safety changes. what does it mean for holiday travel? it's wednesday, december 7th. good morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. >> i'm sunny hostin. it certainly doesn't look good for the faa when the agency chief was busted for driving on the wrong side of the road and had blood alcohol limit above the legal limit. you will see why randy babbitt's arrest is the latest in the string of embarrassments for the faa.

>> it has been a rough year for that agency. wow. also this morning, president obama establishes his re-election campaign platform during a visit to a small town in kansas. he is attempting to reach out to the middle-class. while republicans say president obama is simply engaging in class warfare. later this half-hour, if your neighbor set up a huge christmas light display attracting crowds of onlookers, would you be happy about it, or it just a nuisance? it's a topic of discussion on our facebook page. >> this time of year, 'tis the season. relax. some folks getting in an uproar. we'll get to that in just a second. first a major embarrassment for the nation's top aviation official. >> randy babbitt was pulled over for driving drunk and ray la hood found out from a press release. now babbitt is out of a job. here's abc's pierre thomas. >> reporter: randy babbitt resigned and it's pretty much because the facts dictated he had to go. the faa chief was arrested saturday and not just because he was driving under the influence. the police report stated he was driving on the wrong side of a busy virginia highway at 10:30

saturday night. it's the holiday season, that time of night, that road is usually really crowded. the faa is under the transportation department which made fighting drunk driving a priority. his arrest comes at a difficult moment for the faa which oversees the nation's busy airports. this year air traffic controllers have been caught literally sleeping on the job. apparently babbitt did not notify his bosses until monday afternoon, nearly two days after the incident. pierre thomas, abc news, washington. >> such a mess. >> it really is. i think the thing that hurt him, your boss finds out about it through a news release as opposed to getting a call from you. hey, i had a mishap. >> so, imagine this, this arrest came as a huge complete bombshell for him. >> it's scary. he seemed like everybody else. people make mistakes. in that kind of job, no, no. well, today is the day rather that the former illinois

governor, rod blagojevich, is going to find out how long he is going to spend in prison. blagojevich will address the judge sentencing him today following his conviction on 18 counts of political corruption. as his sentencing hearing began that judge signaled he is prepared to impose a stiff sentence which could be up to 20 years. newt gingrich is facing a firestorm of criticism now that he is the top republican presidential candidate. ron paul is running a scathing ad in iowa that portrays gingrich as an insider. mitt romney was on the attack, as well, telling voters if they want a guy that worked in washington the past 40 years, newt is the guy. newt countered that, saying he has run for office several times before. how do you define career politician? everyone has their baggage. it's newt's turn. >> i don't like the attack ads. >> they're effective though. >> i know. offensive to me.

they offend my sensibility. >> politics is dirty. you know that. well, >> president obama sounded familiar themes during his campaign visit to rural kansas yesterday. >> he once again called for extending the payroll tax cut and for wealthier taxpayers to carry a bigger tax burden. abc's scott goldberg has more on this. good morning to you, scott. >> good morning, rob, sunny. president obama was in kansas but gave a speech that would have played well at an occupy wall street rally. he channelled the past to make a present day gap between the rich and the poor. president obama went to kansas to continue what he said is not just another political debate. >> this is the defining issue of our time. this is a make or break moment for the middle-class. >> reporter: he chose this small town near kansas city because 101 years ago a former president spoke about income inequality in the same place. >> teddy roosevelt came here, and he laid out his vision

for what he called a new nationalism. president obama described roosevelt as the republican son of a wealthy family who turned into a progressive and argued it is government's role to regulate wealth and protect workers. >> for this, roosevelt was called a radical, he was called a socialist. even a communist. >> reporter: this president has heard the same thing in endless battles with republicans over tax breaks for the middle class which he wants to offset with tax hikes on millionaires. >> democrats know as well as we do this is a terrible idea. >> i think republicans will argue this is class warfare. what the president will argue is that in fact the class warfare is a policy by the republicans. >> reporter: in kansas, president obama took sharp aim at his opponents who he said have been on the wrong side of history now for a century. >> their philosophy is simple. we are better off when everybody is left to fend for themselves and play by their own rules.

i am here to say they are wrong. it's an argument the president hopes will bring back to his side. an argument republican national committee calls desperate after three years of unemployment and debt. rob, sunny. >> the undercurrent of so much political debate. how much should you tax the rich to help solve the nation's debt crisis and tax crisis? >> the robin hood equation. >> seeing it again. my thing, we gave big tax cuts to the rich under the bush administration. still got into a deep recession and a deep deficit. reagan-style politics, trickle down economic, no study proves it works and how does it hurt job creators when you want to tax millionaires and billionaires? >> you are hearing so much more. >> not over. >> looking for a compromise we heard that as well. solemn ceremonies are planned today to mark the 70th anniversary of the japanese attack on pearl harbor. nearly 2,400 americans lost their lives in the devastating

sneak attack before 8:00 a.m. hawaii time. this will be the last time the occasion is marked by survivors association. because those who lived through it are aging and in declining health. officials say the drone that crashed inside iran over the weekend was one of a fleet of stealth aircraft that have spied on iran for years. surveillance craft based in afghanistan. experts still aren't sure how much secret information iranians might be able to glean from that drone. now to the deadly unrest in syria, which according to the u.n. has killed more than 4,000 people since march. the obama administration is moving to expand contacts with opponents of the ruling regime as violence there grows more deadly. abc's martha raddatz reports. [ gunfire [ >> reporter: it started in darkness. a terrifying volley of gunfire that began one of the bloodiest 24 hours since this revolution

began to force out syria's dictator al-assad. with weapons and tanks thundering by, people were running for their lives. children looking for cover. some too late. thousands of miles away, thousand of miles away, secretary of state hillary clinton met with syrian opposition groups. >> they need to be assured that syria will be better off under a regime of tolerance rather than on the whims of a dictator. >> reporter: clinton is also sending ambassador robert ford back to syria after pulling him out for his own safety. clinton says he will be a witness to assad's brutality as syria slides closer into an all-out civil war. martha raddatz, abc news. our reporting from syria does not end here. look for barbara walters' exclusive interview with syria's president later today. watch on "good morning america," "world news" and "nightline." >> another big barbara walters

exclusive. should be fascinating. the fierce weather in the u.s., much of new mexico is buried under snow and ice this morning. after getting battered by an early winter storm. residents in roswell struggled out of their drive ways and slippery roads. temperatures plunged. kids couldn't wait to make the best out of it. no fun for drivers in springfield, missouri. a school bus among dozens of vehicles, crashes on icy highways there. police responded to dozens of fender-benders. several cars slid off the road. no reports of any serious injuries. old man winter is up and running around, isn't he? >> yes. he is here. here's your wednesday weather. messy along the east coast. drenching downpours, flooding, boston, new york, philly, d.c.

up to seven inches of snow inland, maine, pittsburgh, tennessee. showers, thunderstorms, tallahassee, jacksonville, atlanta. snow showers in montana. >> 40s in the pacific northwest. a snowy 32 in billings, and 41 in albuquerque. minneapolis only gets up to 30. the windy city up to 34. 50s new york down to new orleans. well any dog owner, myself, will tell you their worst fear is that their beloved pooch may somehow run off or get lost. wait until you hear this. >> meet petunia, the pit bull. she was found near sacramento california, the bizarre thing, petunia was lost eight years ago by her owners in virginia. they were put back in touch after someone finally scanned her for a microchip. her owners were found and travel arrangements are being made to send petunia back east. >> happy ending. good for the owners. we'll be back with more "world news now" after this. ♪ hey hey reunited and it feels so good ♪ ♪ hey hey reunited and it feels so good ♪

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♪ i'm on the right ack baby ♪ i'm on the right track baby i was born this way ♪ welcome back, everybody. little monsters working in the west wing got quite the sight on tuesday. lady gaga herself was in the house. >> that's right. one of the world's most popular singers wasn't there to entertain, though, she was there to talk about a cause dear to her heart -- bullying. abc's linsey davis reports. >> reporter: at 13 years old and alone at 4:00 a.m., jonah mowry went public with his darkest thoughts. more than 5 million people have watched his video where he uses note card to express the anguish of being bullied and thoughts of suicide. since he posted it support has poured in from everyday people and celebrities alike.

pop star lady gaga tweeted thank you jonah for being brave enough to share your story. lady gaga took that message to the white house, meeting with top staff of the president to express the importance for this crisis and seek help for the nation's kids. gaga began her fight after 14-year-old jamie gave up his. >> lady gaga. >> reporter: one of his last messages offered thanks to lady gaga. >> she lets me know that i was born this way. >> reporter: when he later took his life after being bullied for being gay, lady gaga tweeted, "the past days i have spent reflecting, crying, and yelling." now she is giving voice to bullied children through her charity. >> it is an organization centered around anti-bullying. my mom and i are really passionate about that. this is our passion project. >> reporter: beyond adults' efforts, bullied teens are also

supporting one another online. >> why so many kids are using the internet as their personal diary? >> kids are using it to pour their heart out on the internet in a way to sometimes ask for the support you need and as jonah found to get the support that you need. >> reporter: now these children have a star on their side bringing their stories all the way to the white house. linsey davis, abc news, new york. >> this is such an important issue. it is an important issue for me. i have done a bullying special with cnn. i just, i think it is remarkable that so many kids are going through this every single day. sometimes hidden from their families. >> young teens, to the point they're considering suicide at that age -- >> committing suicide. because their peers are bullying them. it has to stop. it -- they're kids. they're our nation's future. >> hopefully gaga's foundation is changing the culture and policy in schools. celebrities use their fame to get richer, the next book, next movie.

she is doing really good important work with it. hats off to her. >> kudos. >> hope it makes a difference. coming up, he is big, he's hairy, and he's going to be on "glee." and we may be seeing a lot more of lindsay lohan, and we mean a lot more. details coming up on "the skinny." and we may be seeing a lot more of lindsay lohan, and we mean a lot more. details coming up on "the skinny." dsay lohan, we mean a lot more. details of that coming of in "the skinny."nenenenenenenenenee

♪ skinny ♪ so skinny ♪ skinny ♪ so skinny lots of good stuff in "the skinny" today. some good dirt. >> first thing -- beyonce is being sued. a video game maker suing her for $100 million. apparently manhattan supreme court justice today ruled that the suit can go forward. her attorneys were trying to get rid of the suit. it is about a dance video game she was supposed to be a part of. the makers of the video game saying she pulled because she wanted more money. calling it an extortion demand. she says they didn't extend the financing by the deadline. that's why i pulled out. we'll see what's going to happen. and she is not going to dance away from the lawsuit. >> she breached the contact. they want $100 million. >> a lawsuit by a video game

with beyonce dancing in it would be worth a lot of money. >> i would buy it. love to play it. >> me too. lindsay lohan back in the news. she is posing in "playboy," apparently like a marilyn monroe shoot. she is getting close to $1 million paycheck. out in the january/february issue. she is going to do one interview while on the stand and picked "the ellen degeneres show." show some of the spread on the ellen show. block out the naughty bits and all that stuff. there we go. lindsay, we'll see how she's doing. the show will air next week. "playboy" will be on newsstands in a matter of days. we'll see what ms. lohan is working with. and out of the new york "daily news", chewbacca on "glee" and will make an appearance on the christmas episode.

i wish they had r2d2. >> you a big fan? >> the force is with me at all times. >> chewbacca. everyone loves chewbacca. ""glee"" gets the big stars. >> he is not going to sing. >> really? a tragedy. this is interesting. the pet lovers out there will love this one. a movie out "the artist" getting oscar buzz. people are loving this movie, kind of in a black and white, french movie. any way the 9-year-old terrier in the movie, uggie. they're saying a highly trained dog, exceptionally trained. facebook wants a job to get him -- there's a campaign demanding he be nominated for an oscar. leo. or george clooney up for oscars this year. and a facebook campaign by movie line demanding the dog be given an award for acting chops. >> i don't think animals can win oscars. >> that's how much people say this dog that they good in the movie. >> i want to see the movie just for the dog. >> uh-huh.

we'll see. we'll see. more news coming up next. don't go far. . >> that's how much people say this dog that they good in the movie. >> i want to see the movie just for the dog. >> uh-huh. we'll see. we'll see. more news coming up next. don't go far. tadaaa! welcome to haircolor heaven. aa-ah-ahhh! courtesy of new nice 'n easy colorblend foam. permanent, dimensional color, now in a delightful foam! just three shakes, foam it, love it! simply saturate hair root to tip, front to back. with tones and highlights. it's foamtastic! home haircolor, make room for foam haircolor! new nice 'n easy colorblend foam. your right color.

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call this toll-free number now. ♪ ♪ finally, households around the country are getting into the holiday spirit. for many that means putting up the decorative lights. >> of course, one house in florida is bringing out the christmas cheer in its neighborhood as well as a few grinches. here is wpvf's ted white. >> reporter: richard newman has done it again. >> i love kids, i love doing things for people. i used to design large systems,

so it's what i do best. >> reporter: he transformed the outside of his boca raton home into a holiday light show. >> 120 different channels. it is programmed at 20-second increments with music. everything is all coordinated, the bells, the snow machine, it's all done on a computer. >> reporter: the huge display attracts plenty of onlookers, but it appears several of newman's neighbors have the problem with the setup. >> put up barricade on their property to hinder people from parking. the neighbor over there put the barricades also. none of this should really impact her. it is all on public swale. >> reporter: there were no big crowds on this night. just a few dozen of people of all ages enjoying the sights and sounds and moving on. >> i don't think there is anything wrong, i think it is

nice. >> reporter: newman looks forward to christmas eve. he plans to have santa claus here handing out candy canes, and several choruses are planning to sing carols. >> to the grinches other get a lif o-ha. >> this booesti of the day. if your neighbor did something hate it? let us know. >> i like it, but if you are vi >> in you kno door to the flickering and the music -- have you ever hung up lights? >> in my younger days. but i mean. you know? ♪ >> there you go. >> see. that's like clark griswald, national lampoon's "christmas vacation." minutes from tumbling off the roof. >> i promise you. >> i do like the lights, but some people get a little carried away. a short period of time. >> this guy almost got in trouble during halloween. had dancers doing michael jackson's "thriller." people love somebody who loves the holidays that much.

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