>> emily schmidt from washington. glad she found a warm spot today, as opposed to yesterday. >>> it will be a while before we can remove all that snow. and things are not moving completely smoothly. imagine looking out your window and seeing this. >> oh, my god. >> a brooklyn resident posted this video on youtube, showing sanitation workers demolishing a ford explorer. they were trying to free a front end loader from the snowdrift, while horrified neighbors and the owner of that suv watched. >>> the blizzard is going down as one of the worst ever in the northeast. and in another blustery day is on tap for today. >> accuweather meteorologist, ava dinges, has the very latest. good morning, to you, ava. >> good morning, rob and mike. in the wake of this epic blizzard in the northeast, cleanup continues. and the winds are going to cause some problems. winds about 30 to 45 miles per hour. some gusts up to 50 along the eastern seaboard. that's going to cause significant drifting and even blowing of the snow. so, it's really

emily schmidt, in washington. thanks, emily. >>> today, in the senate, a key vote on the don't ask, don't tell policy, has now been put off by the democrats. a test vote on that policy was set for last night. but a deal to gain support of fellow republican senators fell apart at the last minute. talks now continue behind the scenes. >>> meanwhile, republicans are getting ready for next year when they have a majority of the house. and some of the choices are now turning heads. such as the man they have picked to control taxpayer purse strings. he is known for big spending back home. our jon karl talked to him. >> reporter: meet hal rogers. i understand you are the incoming appropriations chairman. >> that's what they tell me. >> reporter: he's the man republicans have chosen to run the most powerful committee in congress, the one that controls the government's purse strings. >> our federal spending is off the charts. >> reporter: an odd choice for a party that wants to cut spending. rogers has been called "the prin

>> emily schmidt reporting. thanks, emily. >>> the president and top gop leaders wrapped up their white house meeting by promising to work together. one senate democrat seemed skeptical. an open microphone caught colorado's michael bennet griping that the system is broken. >> it's whole rigged. the conversation is rigged. the fact that we don't get a discussion before the break about what we're going to do in the lame duck is just rigged. this stuff's rigged. >> a spokesman later defended bennet's remarks, saying he was only telling the truth. >>> another major issue that republicans could block, efforts to repeal the military's don't ask, don't tell policy, against gays in the military. a long-awaited pentagon study about how servicemen and women feel about serving with gays and lesbians has now been released. jon karl has more on its findings. >> reporter: the clear message from the pentagon leadership, don't ask, don't tell, should be repealed. >> this can be done and should be done, without posing a serious

rob and mike. >> all right, emily schmidt bundled up. stay warm out there reporting live from washington. thanks. as emily mentioned the blizzard is causing major travel headaches to say the least. but there's also some stunning moments, some real beauty in the midst of all of this storm. our cameras captured snow lightning near new york's central park. lightning is rarely seen with is it snowstorms, but conditions last night were just right. >>> in asheville, north carolina, if the snowstorm wasn't bad enough, crews had to deal with an icy mess after a water main break. it left hundreds of people without any water to shower with or cook with. it could be later today before full service is restored. >>> and the blizzard is expected to zump heavy snow in new england and move into canada by the afternoon. >> accuweather's ava dinges has the forecast. >> hi, rob and mike. it's still snowing heavily across many cities in the east coast. we'll put radar into motion. all of that blue out there, that is the snow right now. bangor, maine, boston

>> emily schmidt, in washington this morning. thank you. >>> as emily mentioned, tomorrow's senate vote on whether to extend the bush-era tax cuts is billed as a compromise. the problem, is deal has so many critic, it's not likely to pass. john hendren has more. >> reporter: the president sees an end to the tax breaks. >> i believe it will be resolved. that doesn't mean there may be posturing over the next several days. >> reporter: republicans say posturing is just what democrats in the house did with their latest vote. >> the motion is adopted. >> house democrats are getting ready to send us a bill on taxes they know won't pass in the senate. >> reporter: that bill would extend the bush tax cuts, but only to families earning under $250,000. >> i'm trying to catch my breath so i don't refer to this maneuver going on today as chicken, all right? but this is nonsense. >> reporter: republicans want the tax breaks extended for everyone, including the wealthy. and all 42 gop senators say they will block other major legislation until

emily schmidt joins us from washington with a preview. good morning, emily. >> reporter: rob and vinita, good morning to you. there's been a lot of talk in washington this week about finding bipartisan, political common ground. but all that talk gets put to the test today. the results could change the look of your taxes, as soon as next month. the battle over bush-era tax cuts topped the obama agenda today, with a house vote about who should get extended breaks on their taxes. >> american people said election day, stop the games. stop the spending. stop the looming taxes. >> reporter: republicans say everyone needs the tax hike. most democrats want high earners to pay more. they say it's hypocritical that just this week republicans blocked extended unemployment benefits. yet, they're now working to help families making more than $250,000 a year. >> have to pay for unemployment insurance. we don't have to pay for tax cuts for the rich. >> reporter: it sounds like familiar political deadlock. yet, this time, there's a deadline. the cuts exp

emily schmidt has the details. >> reporter: on the eve of a new year, the weather is beginning to feel a little old. >> we know that the weather is going to be bad. but we didn't think it was going to be like that bad. >> reporter: snow fell in arizona's grand canyon. and in seattle, the roads were so icy, small hills hills turne insurmountable obstacles. >> i was like, whoa. >> reporter: one solution, jamming rocks under the wheels and leaving the car behind. >> i started sliding down the hill. >> reporter: the storm system causing all these problems is huge. more than 1,500 miles from top to bottom, covering roads in 15 states. >> i'm glad i bought snow tires this week. >> it's been terrible. long hours. a lot of calls. everybody running nonstop. >> reporter: towers in colorado say they've been swamped. denver drivers tried to navigate through three feet of snow. and even in fargo, north dakota, an area accustomed to winter weather, had a 100-car pileup along 94. californians are dealing with rain damage from last week. >> my insurance company has already denied any help whatsoever.

. >> emily schmidt is joining us now with more details. hi, emily. >> reporter: vinita and rob, good morning to you. everyone was surprised, including elizabeth edwards, at the length of her final fight. last week, doctors told her she could expect six to eight weeks to live. now, her funeral is planned for this week. on the presidential campaign trail, it was clear elizabeth edwards knew how to rally. >> my love, and your next vice president, john edwards. edward. >> reporter: but a different road proved she knew how to fight. >> i'm kind of thinking this might be it. but at bad times, you keep an eye on what is important to you. and you press forward with that. >> reporter: edwards was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, the same day she stood by her husband and president vice presidential nominee, john edwards, in defeat. four years later, when he husband returned to campaigning, the cancer returned, too. >> we'll always look for the silver lining. >> reporter: the couple, law school sweethearts who had four children. their son, wade,

emily schmidt, abc news, washington. >> the fas trak making chance. drivers who use it have to provide lots of personal information like credit card numbers, phone numbers and e-mail. a new state law that takes effect january 1st requires transportation officials to destroy that information if someone's account is inactive for four and a half years. it tightens security to protect from hackers. it will be made from clipper payment cards. sorry to bust you about the columbia school thing. >> do i detect a little jealousy. >> we have a little voice envy this morning. i have to catch a cold so i can catch up! barry white here will take a look here at the forecast. >> you're welcome very much. let's see what's going on. it's 4:52. i can talk like this or like this. you know -- >> i like the second one. >> you like that one. all right. it happens once a year, usually around this time, too. never fails. good morning, everybody. i hope you're feeling well and had a good night's sleep. the rain is holding off at least in most areas but still pretty damp this

i'm emily schmidt in washington. >> the critical information washington admits it doesn't have about thousands of private planes around the country. >> and researchers at stanford university developed goggles they say could get you to save more money.y.y.y.y.y.y.y.y.y.y.. hey, you got groceries! yeah! i thought we'd eat at home. save some money. $200 bucks? that's not saving! [jacks voice] at my place i'm bringing back the bonus jack. two patties, melting cheese and my secret sauce plus fries and a drink for only $3.99. i get it. you can eat lot cheaper atouar placthan y c]caat home. but do have this? i have dessert. what about this? ohhh. ohhhhhh. jack. that's for max. >>> welcome back. 4:48 on a friday. look at the cold air retreating back to the north. minnesota 25 today, new york 36, boston 30. today in new orleans, 62 degrees. 76 phoenix. still a little wet weather possible seattle and portland at 47 degrees. right now all our major airports reporting no delays. our flight tracker will track them for you at abc7news.com. here's eric. >> all right, mike. thank you very much. it's

emily schmidt is in washington with the latest. in just 25 days the compromise push is sounding more like a promise. >> i think it's pretty clear now taxes are not going up on anybody in the middle of this recession. >> republican lead he recalls say it's not a matter if the bush era tax cuts are extended to cover everyone but how long they'll be in place. democrats don't like it. they tried and failed in the senate this weekend to exempt high earners from the tax break. >> they're demanding that the wealthiest americans get a tax cut that is 1,000 times the size of the average american. >> if the cuts expire, someone making $62,000 a year would see taxes go up $2200 beginning next month. $10 million earners would pay an pa additional $450,000. republicans argue in this economy no one should pay more. >> we don't want no tax increases. that may be poor grammar but it's great economics. >> we need to we double our efforts to resolve this impasse in the next few days. >> something has to give so in return for extending tax cuts to th

i'm emily schmidt in washington. what a new report may say about the job market coming up. >> also jerry brown refused to live in the official governor's mansion the first time around. is he having a change of heart as he prepares to return to sacramento. >> it frightened me. >> and the barbie doll that's prompting a warning from the f.b.i. your at&t high speed internet here, at home... ...and on the go... ...with some really big news. it's b-i-g -- big. at&t high speed internet at home... ...includes wi-fi access on the go...woo-hoo! [ both ] it's an unbelievable deal. [ chuckles ] well, gotta go. but wait -- there's more... [ female announcer ] go to the website below now and get at&t high speed internet for the unbelievably low price of $14.95 a month for 12 months. it's the fastest internet for the price. so go online now. you can chill online at a park. he, dgiepidgie. [ coos ] and surour internet at home at yourinudes accesokstore@ to the entire at&t national wi-fi network on the go. [ female announcer ] for a

i'm emily schmidt in washington. the unemployment help that didn't happen coming up. >> i'm terry mcsweeney in san francisco. it is the season of giving and today the air quality experts want you to give your lungs a present. no wrapping paper involved. the story in a liviviviviviviviv save $523! 16 minutes could save you 16%! come on... isn't it time an auto insurer gave it to you straight? that's why you should talk to state farm. but not yet. first, talk to any one of the 40 million drivers who already have state farm. 40 million. yeah, that's more than geico and progressive combined. by a lot. 40 million drivers. more savings. and discounts up to 40%. where else you gonna get discounts like that? call an agent at 1-800-state-farm or go online. >> closed captioning brought to you by mancini sleepworld. >> okay. just moments away from the opening bell. the nasdaq on your left, new york stock exchange on your right. for the first day of december. there it is. the opening bell and start of trading. the labor departme

emily schmidt, abc news. >>> the ntsb is investigating an intent on a snowy, airport runway. a jet was landing in jackson hole, when it slid more than 600 feet past the runway. 181 people were onboard that plane. thankfully, though, no injuries. the pilot reportedly told passengers the jet's brakes had failed. officials closed the airport when that plane was pushed out of deep snow there. >>> the investigation isn't complete. but it appears that high winds were a factor in the chairlift accident at a maine ski resort. the lift's cable jumped the track. when sugarloaf workers could fix it to get the skiers off. but not soon enough. five chairs went to the ground. eight people went to the hospital. three are still there. >>> now, with a check of this morning's weather from around the country. a major blast of winter around the rockies. with blizzard warnings in five states. freezing rain in minnesota. mild elsewhere in the midwest. a band of rain from the gulf, up through the ohio valley. fair along the east coast. >> a balmy 40 in new york. 44 in baltimore. 76 in miami. 71 in

emily schmidt, live this morning. thank you. >>> the arctic air blast in the country is getting even colder as millions of people brace for the most frigid day yet. it's going so far south, citrus growers are scrambling to protect their crops. the upper midwest wakes up to single digits. matt gutman reports on winter's early arrival. >> reporter: snow gridlocked buffalo. car crashes in indiana. and caught north carolina and president obama offguard. >> although, i have to say i came down here for slightly warmer weather. what's snow doing on the ground in north carolina? come on, now. >> reporter: around the great lakes, snowfall will be measured in feet not inches. and it's >> we do believe that there will be another shot of even colder air coming down into the deep south, as we get late into this weekend and early next week. >> reporter: and with the jet stream shooting arctic air as far south as florida, the homeless are especially vulnerable. >> it's very difficult. i mean no shelter. no place to go. >> reporter:

. >> i'm emily schmidt in washington. more on the unemployment help that didn't happen coming up. >> good morning, everyone. it's a wednesday morning. 5:30 a.m.. and chilly. thanks for joining us. i'm eric thomas. >> i'm theresa garcia. it is yet another cold morning but not exactly a picture perfect one when it comes to air quality here in the bay area. today is the first spare the air day of the winter season, and that means no burning of wood or manufactured logs. abc 7's terry mcsweeney joins us live in san francisco with more on this went time pollution. terry, you look a little cold out there. >> i am a little cold out here. the wind's not helping either. but it's a spectacular view. some haze hanging out over the downtown area. looking out towards the east bade, you should be able to see a whole lot more light than i am seeing. i've been up here many times and you can't get those twinkling lights as you do many times and they say the leading cause is wood burning stoves and that's why we have a spare the air day. w

emily schmidt has more. >> the american people said election day stop the games. stop the spending, stop the taxes. >> republicans say everyone needs a tax break. democracy want high earners to pay more. they say it's hypocritical just this week republicans blocked extended unemployment benefits now working to help families making $250,000 a year. >> we don't have to pay for tax cuts for the rich. >> sounds like familiar political deadlock but this time there's a deadline. >> nobody wants to see taxes on middle class families go up starting january 1st. >> today the treasury secretary will continue with meetings that began wednesday working with lawmakers from both parties to find middle ground. >> had a very civil discussion. >> all 42 republican senators signed a letter vowing to block most bills until tax rates stay the same. >> we're going to extend the current tax rates. we're not gonna raise taxes on anybody. the only thing we're discussing now is just how long that extension will be. >> there is one sign of agreement on capitol hill. the house has passed a

emily schmidt, abc news. >> gets me wondering what's our temperatures now. >> 40s. a couple cities in the 40s. mainly in the 30s around the bay. really cold out there. a couple 20s yesterday. temperatures will continue to drop through the 8:00 hour. the 7:00 hour, maybe recover at 8:00. dark and cold but at least we're holding on to a little heat inside the bay. we are looking at a lit windchill factor in napa. it's 32. with the northeast wind at 6:00, it feels like it's in the upper 20s. 32 livermore valley and some 30s redwood city, fremont 37, half moon bay 37 degrees for you. so freezing cold temperatures this morning, increasing clouds this afternoon. and then rain arrives just in time to usher in the new year. we'll see rain probably by about 10:00, 11:00 around the bay area. so here's the satellite picture that shows high pressure offshore, gave us sunshine yesterday. today pretty much the same story until the front moves across the bay. that's gonna happen later on tonight. so we are looking at the rain which will allow for temperatures to be a little warmer

emily schmidt live in washington. thank you. >>> new clues this morning about sarah palin's possible presidential aspirations. "the daily beast" has learned the former alaskan governor is planning trips to israel and england next summer, which could beef up her foreign policy credentials. and this weekend, palin ventures to haiti, despite a new travel warning by the state department. the country is in chaos, over its disputed presidential election, the recent cholera outbreak and january's devastating earthquake. palin's visit is part of a charity mission with reverend franklin graham. >>> the federal aviation administration literally has no idea who owns one-third of the private and commercial aircraft here in the u.s. and that is something that could help terrorists and drug traffickers. an investigation has found that the faa is missing information on more than 100,000 aircraft. it also does not know if a plane is still in use. next year, the agency will start over, with a new registration system. >>> jury delibera

. >> i'm emily schmidt in washington. who says take it, who says leave it coming up. >> the critical information washington admits it doesn't have about thousands of private planes around the country. >> and researchers at stanford developed googles they say could get you to savelllllllllllllllll >> welcome back. north of 80 once again. looks like we could have light rain in the valleys and high elevation snow. 59 chico, 64 sacramento. 63 fresno and 77 palm springs, 72 l.a. if you're heading to the high country, the sierra forecast. looks like rain mixed with snow today and tomorrow with tahoe and sunshine 57 on sunday. a little rain yosemite today. the sunshine and near 60 over the weekend. jenelle? >> thanks so much. time now 5:47. senator dianne feinstein is causing an uproar among native american tribes across the country with a new proposal meant to stop them from building casinos in urban areas. feinstein's campaign against last month's advisory measure for a proposed casino. it was defeated. she and other critics s

emily schmidt, abc news, washington. >> the dreaded nor'easter back there. here? a few minor things going on. >> nothing like that. another really good downpour late this afternoon back east and then things start to ease up the next couple days. so stranded passengers will finally get back home. >> fingers crossed, everybody. >> in the meantime we'll have our travel issues around the bay area. what we're supposed to see. sfo, we may see dense fog there. the temperature 46, dewpoint 43. start looking for maybe dense fog to form at the airport. right now just partly cloudy skies and that's a live picture in hd. right now the embarcadero you saw very soupy conditions just a few minutes ago. now we're starting to see it lift just a little bit but still some very dense fog as a result of all the heavy rain over the weekend, the clearing skies late last night and light winds. live doppler 7 hd not showing any activity right now throughout the bay area. still scattered snow showers popping up in the sierra but clearing there as well with 80 open. no chains required. stil

emily schmidt has the latest on the weather and one very happy ending. >> it is terrible. absolutely terrible. >> 20 inches of new york snow forced some to take snow removal into their own hands. >> it's not okay. >> they're shoveling streets. >> nobody suggests that this is easy. we are doing everything we can think of. >> weather problems stretched across the country. >> i thought it would be much warmer here since we got away from the blizzard. >> but florida broke a 1928 record. >> maine a ski lift broke is the sugarloaf. >> meanwhile thousands of stranded airline passengers are still looking for ways to get home. >> from new york, philly, boston, from hartford. >> it could take until the weekend to rebook everyone but hundreds of pennsylvania marching band students made their destination. they were trapped for days trying to get to los angeles to march in the tournament of roses parade and arrived late last night. will almost didn't make it -- >> but you're here. >> we got here. >> the rebook seating was society 15 parents gave up their places but the band will march

emily schmidt, abc news, washington. >> everything, you know, carolyn tyler came back from atlanta yesterday, barely got back before all the flights were cancelled there. now as we saw with football games being cancelled because people can't get to the game. that's really tough! this is how things look at our airport. much calmer, partly cloudy skies, light winds, a little bit of fog. so we don't have travel problems here. it's just getting out of here to get somewhere else. that's the difficulty because the airpts ba -- airports back east are closed. our live doppler 7 is quiet for a change. we had some pretty good downpours late last night, early this morning but nothing showing up now. as a result of the clearing skies last night, we did see some morning fog and that's just out and around the bay area. but some sunshine today. it's going to be nice because it may be the last that we see for a few days. a wet tuesday, wednesday with sierra snow to lowell -- low elevations. 47 million view. a little fog. napa 45, 48 santa rosa and 47 in fairfield. here's how things look in the sierra. we di

emily schmidt joins us from washington with the details. hi, emily. >> reporter: rob and mike, good morning to you. well, two days after the storm blew out, big problems remain. thousands of stranded travelers are going nowhere fast. much less those huge piles of snow, the cities are now trying to move. >> it is terrible. absolutely terrible. >> reporter: 20 inches of new york snow has forced some people to take snow removal into their own hands. >> we can see with our own eyes. it's not okay. >> reporter: they're shoveling public streets, once promised to be cleaned by tuesday. now, the mayor says they may not be cleaned by today. >> nobody said this would be easy. nobody said it would be pleasurable. we're going everything we can think of. >> reporter: weather problems stretched across the country. >> i thought it would be much warmer here, since we got away from new york and blizzards. >> reporter: but palm beach, florida, hit a record low tuesday. 24 degrees broke a 1928 record. in maine, a cable derailed at the sugar loaf ski resort, i

i'm emily schmidt in washington. more on the unemployment help that didn't happen. coming up. >> and good morning, from. i'm theresa garcia. >> i'm eric thomas. it's just about 4:31. kristen is offtoday. topping our news, a fatal accident on highway 101 in burlingame caused for lanes to shut down this morning. >> the man may have been walking on the freeway when he was hit. chp heard reports of a person on the ground in the fast lane of highway 1 just north of broadway and happened about 1:25 this morning. a black bmw and a pickup truck was involved and one driver was injured. >> police are pleading for more information on a crash that put a high school girl in a coma. this is carolyn hanson star water polo player who was critically injured while driving to a match. amy holly feed has the story. >> the first accident 17-year-old caroline hanson got into saturday was minor. but it knocked her sideways on highway 280 and since her car was perpendicular to traffic, it sounds like she was doing what she could to get out of there are. >> she had her seat belt on. after t

i'm emily schmidt in washington. what may or may not happen on capitol hill coming up. >> a live look from downtown san francisco. it is cloudy and mild this morning. the air is much cleaner than yesterday and rain is on the way. i'll tell you when it gets to your neighborhood and show you where it is right now on live doppler 7 hd. >> we're following bart delays and an injury crash in santa cruz mountains. all the details coming up. >> good morning, everyone. i'm theresa garcia. >> i'm eric thomas. kristen is off today. topping our news, thousands of bay bridge drivers who took a police-authorized detour last month during a police standoff on the bay bridge are facing traffic tickets this morning. terry mcsweeney is live at the bridge toll plaza and, terry, you mentioned these people did everything right and they're still being punished. >> yeah. you do everything right and things turn out wrong. out here that morning, that detour you're talking about was not only authorized, it was required by the chp and people we

emily schmidt has the latest. >> the snow is no longer falling but the problems continue to pile up. >> to add to this snowstorm of 2010. >> people from north carolina to maine are digging out from up to 3 feet of snow. south of boston the storm swells the ocean causing flooding and fire. new york city has seen only 5 worse storms since it started keeping record nearly 150 years ago. >> streets would actually be cleared but then when i came out here i realized how bad it was. >> snow fell 2 to 3 inches an hour trapping more than 500 subway passengers. no, no. no eat, no nothing. >> new york's three major airports reopened last night though it's easier to move tons of snow than passengers stranded nationwide by nearly 7,000 cancelled flights. >> i came from milwaukee to cleveland, and got cancelled after i came here. now -- >> supposed to go out 11:00, now sits still thursday. >> boston's logan airport says it could be friday before every s stranded passenger is rebooked. >> the snow and heavy winds and when we get to melting we have to go out there and scrape again. >> travel is a li

abc's emily schmidt has the latest on the weather. >> it is terrible. absolutely terrible. >> 20 inches of new york snow have forced some people to take snow removal into their own hands. >> we can see it's not okay. >> they're shoveling public streets once promised to be cleaned by the city by tuesday. now the mayor says they may not even be cleared today. >> nobody suggests that is is pleasurable. we are doing everything we can think of. >> weather problems stretch across the country. >> i thought it would be much warmer here since we got away from new york. >> but palm beach, florida, hit a record low. 34 degrees broke a 1928 record. in maine a cable derailed at the sugar loaf ski resort injuring eight people. >> it lurched back. >> in california there are flooding worries with rain projected to hit the same area buried in mud just last week. >> hopefully there's no more damage. >> thousands of stranded airline passengers are still looking for any way to get home. >> from new york, from philly, from boston, from hartford. we tried everywhere. >> airl