." >> coming up later, pope benedict makes an appearance. and shock in the netherlands over pictures of a teenager tethered to a wall in a psychiatric hospital. >> the american congresswoman, gabrielle giffords, who was shot in the head outside a supermarket has been transferred to a rehabilitation center in texas. six people died in the attack two weeks ago. people lined the streets of tucson in arizona as she have driven to the airport. her am ambulance was. >> few thought she would leave this hospital so soon, less than two weeks since she was hot in the head. congresswoman gabrielle giffords departed to cheer crowds. her office had made the route public. inside the ambulance she was tearful and smiled when she heard them. from the ambulance, she was carried on to a waiting plane, a specially equipped medical flight. members of her family, a medical team and staff on board for the two-hour journey, on her way, her husband said, to the next phase of her recovery. this will be her home for the coming weeks, maybe months. a rehabilitation fa

what does this say about where pope benedict is taking the catholic church? >> pope john paul ii was a very conservative, traditional fee elegist with a warm, charismatic personality. benedict xvi as a cartel at the time was really the brain behind that papacy. he was very comfortable standing in the shadow of john paul ii. what i think he is doing by sounding off on this is stepping into the shadow again, that is the kind of person we need in the 21st century. >>> for more than a week, people in germany have been asking how safe is the food? dangerous levels of dioxin have been found in eggs, poultry, and pork. the consumer affairs minister is under fire for not doing more sinner. today she faced her critics and presented a 10. plan to present rigid. something like this happening again. -- she presented a plan to prevent this from happening again. consumers would be informed immediately of any contamination of this kind in the future. >>> the second half of the german soccer season is underway at this hour with tabletop purse -- table toppedpers getting wins

[laughter] >> you have met with pope john paul ii, and benedict the 16th. have you ever discussed with them their attitudes towards israel and towards the survival of the jewish people? and if so, what were their differences? >> okay. it would be an arrogant for me to say i was close to john paul. one can aspire. i've had the privilege to be with him in his presence, to speak to him on eight occasions. the importance of john paul was that he changed 2000 years of teaching of contempt. he -- there was vatican ii made some specific very significant changes in the relationship between the jewish people and the catholic church and the vatican. but what john paul did was i would say very, very courageous. probably the most important thing that john paul did was to go to synagogue. the visit of the synagogue was the most important theological statement that the church engaged in in over 2,000 years. by the pope going to synagogue, he basically said to the christian world that christianity did not supersede judaism. which is what used to be taught. that god's prom

the pope benedict himself has spoken out. he said public officials must rediscover their moral roots. >> while parties and prostitution. the devastating allegations that have left silvio berlusconi reeling. his career at its lowest mark. the most damaging accusation is he paid for sex with a 17-year- old. she denies these sex but admits he gave her 6,000 pounds. the prime minister has gone on television twice in the face of universal condemnation. >> there has not been any abuse of power or any prostitution. there has been nothing i should be ashamed of. the accusations are not logical. >> it is a sign of life. nothing really strange. >> i have been going on for a long time. >> sometimes you feel ashamed. >> pope benedict appeared to pass his own judgment. the pope spoke of people in public life needing to be committed to a more robust morality. other figures in the catholic church have gone even further with bishops calling the scandal a devastating tornado. political opponents of the prime minister say he must resign. >> mr

today, pope benedict reference the scandal during an audience in the vatican. the pope spoke of italian society losing its soul and spiritual roots. other figures in the catholic church have gone even further with bishops calling the scandal a devastating tornado. political opponents of the prime minister say he must now resign. even in the face of such pressure he says he will not need prosecutors to answer their questions. >> much better news for congresswoman gabrielle giffords shot in the head. congresswoman giffords has been taken from tucson to a rehabilitation hospital. doctors are warning despite a good early recovery it is too early to assess her long-term outlook. stay with us on "bbc world news." the electric car comes to the spiritual hub of the gas guzzler. will people really want to try it? -- will people want to drive it? >> south korean navy commandos had stormed a ship in the indian ocean. they killed eight pirates. >> as the sun crept up above the horizon, a commando swept across the seat with small boats. their initial target is up the stairs

today, pope benedict xvi decreed the first, the cure of a french nun's parkinson's disease. she says that happened after she prayed to john paul, who also suffered from the ailment. yet during john paul's 27-year papacy, catholics in the u.s. and europe drifted away in droves. many liberal catholics felt shut out. critics charge he failed to grasp the enormity of the priest sex abuse crisis. >> he was very slow in responding to that, very slow in believing the accusations or understanding how extensive this problem was. but when someone is made a saint, we're not saying all those things were good or done right. >> reporter: that life inspired bob barren to become a preacher of the catholic faith. >> the church really changed under his influence and we became more confident, we became bolder, i think more public. >> reporter: inspiration and devotion that overwhelmed vatican city when john paul died. the pope who created more saints than any other, now on the verge of becoming a saint himself. anne thompson, nbc news, new york. >>> up next here tonight, back to tucson for ton

. >> pope benedict has called on pakistan to reveal its anti- blasphemy law. he says its service as a pretext for attacks on religious minorities, including christians. from rome, our reporter has this. >> every new year, pope benedict addresses ambassadors from around the world. this year, his team was religious freedom. he singled out pakistan for criticism. >> particular mention must be made about the law against blasphemy in pakistan. i want that country to take the necessary steps to fabricate the law, all the more so because it shows as a pretext for injustices'. the tragic murder of the governor of punjab shows the urgent need to make progress in this direction. >> last week, the muslim governor of punjab was gunned down for opposing pakistan's controversial anti-blasphemy law. a christian woman was sentenced to death last november, causing widespread unease among human rights activists around the world. the pope also criticized middle east countries, including iraq, for religious intolerance. >> to the authorities of that country and muslim leaders, th

pope benedict himself is to preside at the may 1st ceremony. it will be the first time the pope has bee yat fiked his immediate predecessor. >>> when we come back, it certainly invites the term miracle. doctors for congresswoman giffords update her recovery, and we've got the details. one morning i shot an elephant in my pajamas. how he got in my pajamas i don't know. real language is filled with nuance, slang, and metaphor. it's more than half the world's data. but computers couldn't understand it. watson is a computer that uncovers meaning in our language and pinpoints the right answer. instantly. it uses deep analytics to answer questions computers never could before, even the ones on jeopardy! that's what i'm working on--i'm an ibmer. let's build a smarter planet. what's going on? we ordered a gift online and we really need to do something with it... i'm just not sure what... what is it? oh just return it. returning gifts is easier than ever with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the cou

but now pope benedict himself has denied the parishioners' appeal. in some of the churches, parishioners have kept 'round-the-clock vigils through out the seven years. catholic groups in boston hope to reopen the churches as catholic places of worship, but not as full parishes. >>> also in boston, a same-sex wedding at the episcopal cathedral church of s paul, itintwo high-ranking episcopal clerics. reverend katherine hancock ragsdale, president of boston's episcopal divinity school, was married to reverend mally lloyd, a top assistant to thomas shaw, the episcopal bishop of massachusetts, who officiated at the ceremony. >>> we have a report today on some of the lonely crewmen on the world's merchant ships, and on some of the chaplains who minister to them when they are in u.s. ports. asaul gonzalez reports, e chaplains give the sailors communion, help in a crisis and, much appreciated, provide prepaid telephone calling cards. >> reporter: if you want to get up close and personal with the global economy, there are few better places to go than the por

if you really want change in america you've got to look outside the two main parties and i was was benedict executive director of the libertarian national committee. usually famed for its shopping cutting edge fashion and love of big business something smelly a bit off and new york residents are starting to complain about mountains of ways being laughed at every quarter of the big apple are going to see it you're going to dives have first into the reality of a city sky high in rubbish. if you're standing next to a pile of garbage taller than yourself how does that make you feel it's a pretty impressive world the world marks the new year one thing marking new york are melton's of garbage. striking a huge blow to the city's traditionally glamorous image you can't even cause the street with a baby carriage roll that people cannot even walk in to the discrete. anthony is a mailman his job takes twice the time these days sadly he notes his salary has not doubled that makes my work every very hard because the blood really box. to do the work in one instance however the mounds of garbage prevented

arms reduction treaty with russia which was eventually ratified by the senate late last month was was benedict from the libertarian party says the current bipartisan system is leading america into a dad and. if you look at what the worst policies that congress has delivered most of them have been bipartisan for many years the bailouts of the banks the invasions of afghanistan and iraq but the deficit spending even a lot of the health care programs have been supported by both republicans and democrats the united states is spending itself into oblivion we're going broke or doing way too much spending on millett on the military if congress stop doing anything that would be the second best thing that could happen the best thing would be that they start cutting government i think that republicans will pretend they're trying to cut taxes or cut government and claim that democrats are being a roadblock to it and your only solution is to vote for more republicans democrats have used the same tactics when it comes to various programs if you don't elect more democrats the republicans will stop a so yes

that was a benedict executive director of the libertarian national committee well he usually famed for its shopping cutting edge fashion and love of big business something's smelling a bit off in new york residents are starting to complain about mountains of waste being left on many street corners of the big apple. dives headfirst into the reality of a city sky high in rubbish. you're standing next to a pile of garbage taller than yourself how does that make you feel. while the world marks the new year one thing marking new york are melton's of. striking a huge blow to the city's traditionally glamorous image you can't even cross the street with. people. to discuss. anthony is a mailman his job takes twice the time these days sadly he notes his salary has not . been one instance however mounds of garbage. as one new york. unsuccessful this weekend want to jump out of the window did not turn fatal unexpected software into piles one of thousands filling many of the almost six thousand miles of new york city streets the average american is said to produce fifty tons of garbage in a lifeti

everything that john paul did had to have the acquiescence of benedict who was the keeper of the faith. he was the defender of the faith. this was the partnership. the pope was the public voice and figure, but any changes or any nuance in the dogma, anything that changed, had to have approval. everything that was done had this current cardinal's approval and acquiescence, and what was important in the sense -- and again, it's a different style, different ethnicity, it's priorlily -- primarily personality differences. people say that was john paul because he was polish. that's almost an aberration. what's important about arnold benedict is he institutionized of what john paul did in changing the relationship between the jewish people and a christian-catholic world. if you watch, he follows in his footsteps. he visited the synagogue in rome. in every country that he goes, he visits a synagogue. he was in new york, he visited a synagogue. he meets with the jewish community. again, to indicate that this changed relationship is not a personam, john paul, but it is institution flail, and --

benedict is the executive director of the libertarian national committee about what the new republican majority means thanks very much indeed for joining us so why is the the republican party now controls the house and they're promising change from obama's so-called big government what can we expect from them. well as a libertarian i would like to see vastly reduced spending and taxes but i don't think republicans are going to deliver that they sometimes talk about it but if you look at what the worst policies that congress has delivered most of them have been bipartisan for many years the bailouts of the banks the invasions afghanistan and iraq the deficit spending even a lot of the health care programs have been supported by both republicans and democrats so to me i'm not expecting much positive not not the kind of positive change i would like to see i don't think that's going to happen with republicans in power where you yourself are saying you'd like to see a massive cut in spending but is there really a credible credible alternative is to i mean is there really an alternative solu

. >>> pope benedict today declared his predecessor, john paul ii, performed a miracle. charlie d'agata reports the declaration paves the way for john paul to become a saint. >> reporter: pope benedict is fast tracking pope john paul ii to sainthood, approved one of two miracles needed to make his predecessor a saint. that process usually takes years, in some cases, centuries. [ applause ] >> reporter: but mourners at the beloved pope's funeral in 2005 made their desire clear, chanting "sainthood now." benedict and catholic church leaders decided john paul should get the credit for healing a french nun of parkinsons disease. the pope had the same illness. that paves the way for sainthood at st. peter's square on may 1. his coffin will be moved to an altar in the basilica so pilgrims can pay respects. the ceremony is expected to draw hundreds of thousands this. man says it will be an extraordinary event. he really deserves it. he was a man who did great things. john paul led the roman catholic church for 27 years, becoming one of the most popular popes in modern times, es

what does this say about where pope benedict is taking the catholic church? >> pope john paul ii was a very conservative, traditional fee elegist with a warm, charismatic personality. benedict xvi as a cartel at the time was really the brain behind that papacy. he was very comfortable standing in the shadow of john paul ii. what i think he is doing by sounding off on this is stepping into the shadow again, that is the kind of person we need in the 21st century. >>> for more than a week, people in germany have been asking how safe is the food? dangerous levels of dioxin have been found in eggs, poultry, and pork. the consumer affairs minister is under fire for not doing more sinner. today she faced her critics and presented a 10. plan to present rigid. something like this happening again. -- she presented a plan to prevent this from happening again. consumers would be informed immediately of any contamination of this kind in the future. >>> the second half of the german soccer season is underway at this hour with tabletop purse -- table toppedpers getting wins

. >>> this week pope benedict called on governments around the world to do more to protect religious minorities and specifically sited several muslim nations in africa and middle east. paul strand has the look at this persecution and why you are not hearing about it in the news media. >> christians may well be the most persecuted religious group on the planet. harassment can range from loss of life to loss of livelihood. >> 600, 700 million christians. >> christians face some sort of harassment. >> goes back to jesus and his disciples. >> christians in innumerable countries under huge amounts of pressure either from the government or societies in which they find themselves. >> communist countries cause the most problems. fear is shifting to the muslim world. open doors, usa tracks the persecution and puts out a watch list. open doors president carl muller, in this year's top 10. >> eight are islamic countries. >> iraq jump into the list. the massacre of christians in a baghdad church. >> level of brutality is unbelievable. >> we are labelling it religiouside. >> muslims in pakistan k

coming up later for you, pope benedict makes a moral appeal. and shot in the netherlands over pictures of a teenager in a psychiatric hospital. >> congresswoman deferreds was shot in the head and is being transferred to a rehabilitation center in texas. people lined the streets as she was driven to the airport. they described her condition as spectacular with great potential for recovery. >> very few thought that she would leave this hospital so soon. they departed through of cheering crowds. many turned out. she was cheerful and smiled when she heard them. from the ambulance, she was carried to a waiting plane. members of her family and her medical team were also on board for the two-hour journey. on the way to the next phase of her recovery. this will be her home for the coming weeks or months. renowned for its work with brain injuries. they are encouraged by their initial assessment. >> from a neurological point of view, she came in and was hoyle alert, away, calm, comfortable. we were already seeing some interaction, which is important. >>

you have met with pope john paul ii and benedict xvi. have you ever discussed with him their attitudes toward israel and the survival of that jewish people and if so what were their differences? >> it would be arrogant to say that i was close to john paul. one can aspire. i had the privilege to be with him, in his presence to speak to him, on eight occasions. the importance of john paul was that he changed 2,000 years of teaching of contempt. vatican ii made some significant changes in the relationship between the jewish people and the catholic church, the vatican. what john paul did was very courageous. probably the most important thing of that john paul did was to go to synagogue. the visit of the synagogue was the most important theological statement in 2,000 years. he said to the christian world that christianity with judy and some which used to be taught, with a covenant with abraham not superseded. judy is of a viable religion, to participate and bear witness to the vitality of the jewish life. that symbolically, even the illogical

and finally, pope benedict lifted social networking to an elevated status among catholics saying it can help create positive relations. they warned about excessive exposure to the virtual world. still a blessing. >>> nfl playoff incriminations, a big upset in college hoops and a big loss for the nhl all-star game. >>> plus, it was a night of wild buzzer beater finishes in the nba. your early morning sports headlines are just ahead. >> in weather the east coast waits for the next winter storm, and the west coast continues winter mild. you're watching "early today." >>> good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, the new orleans hornets kept their winning streak alive last night against the thunder the heart-stopping way. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >>> good morning. a handful of nba games that went right down to the wire, we'll get do it. we'll start in new orleans, thunder and hornets tide with under 10 seconds to play. the fadeway, hornets win their ninth straight. >>> grizzlies and raptor he tied. rudy gate, n

anderson's book and benedict anderson says in the modern state, he talks about modern states are imagined communities in the sense that they represent a kind of fantasy of unity, which tries to bring about, tries to realize itself in practice so it is not just a fantasy. it tries to realize itself in practice but especially when it was first announced as a fantasy. then you get world war ii and then you have the fantasy of faith classless society. the country had just gone through something very close to a revolution in the mid-30s, but now world war ii comes and we have the posters. look at the world war ii posters next chance you get. i have a couple of them in the book. happy workers and everyone is working together, no bosses, no workers, we are all the same. we are all americans. we are classless society. the most recent version of this i think, i shudder to say but i think it is true is that in response to the war on terrorism and its religious orientation, the religious orientation of some of the terrorists, we have samuel huntington's clash of civilization. huntington defines civi

. >> pope benedict -- his predecessor at a ceremony on may 1. he has signed a document except in the authenticity of a miracle attributed to john paul. a french nun claims to have been cleared from parkinson's disease from john paul himself who was a parkinson's suffer. you will find all the international news anytime you want on bbc.com. you can get in touch with me on twitter. you can see what is coming up on facebook as well. thanks for watching. >> see the news unfold, get the top stories from around the globe and click-to-play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its global expertise to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was brought to you by kcet los angeles. to you by kcet

after pope benedict ruled the beloved pontiff had performed at least one miracle before his death, according to church officials, a 48-year-old french nun diagnosed with parkson's was inex-splikably cured of the disease two months after praying for the late pope. the beatification sarm ceremony will the held at the vatican making the pope a saint. >>> and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in florida, two men dressed as women were arrested for allegedly shoplifting from a home depot. police say the men used purses to steal drill batteries, each worth more than $100. when employees confronted them, the men ran. police caught up to them, arresting a third man in a getaway car. >>> in alabama add one more to it recent bizarre mass animal deaths. about 300 blackbirds lay scattered across the highway. one wildlife biologist speculated the birds could have died simply by flying across the road and into a semitruck. however, scientists are testing samples to determine the cause of death. >>> the annual farm show is underway. expected to come and see the grea

pope benedict indirectly chastised him on friday, saying that public officials must rediscover their spiritual and moral roots. other senior catholic church figures have gone further. the italian bishops' conference will discuss the conference -- the scandal on monday. does all this pressure mean he is on his way out? almost definitely not. if the opposition does not have a credible alternative, his coalition partners will want him to stay. duncan kennedy in rome. ♪ >> here are the top stories. a blast at russia's biggest airport in moscow has killed at least 35 people and injured more than 130 others. protests on the streets against hezbollah in lebanon. demonstrators continued to take to the streets demanding that anyone linked to the former regime are kept out of power. his so-called jazz meant revolution started when a young for a seller set himself on fire after he was humiliated by authorities. my colleague has been there to see what people are saying now. >> market day in the city. once a week, these planes are bursting with produce and people. one young man refused to peddl

pope benedict set may 1st as the day for his key step towards the highest honor but shom believe this road to sainthood is going way too fast. >> reporter: the crowd at the funeral had begun the campaign. sainthood now they demanded. and the late pope seems likely to set a record for the fastest track to sainthood yet. pope ben digit, john paul's successor has already lifted the five-year waiting period after a candidate's death before the sainthood creating process normally begins and now he has confirmed the church's view that a french none, sister mary st. pierre was miraculously cured of parkinson's disease because she had prayed to john paul two months after he died. john paul had suffered from parkinson's himself. the declaration means he can now take the next step to sainthood. the planned ceremony will likely draw hundreds of thousands. >> it is the record time for this. >> reporter: john paul will beat the previous record set by mother theresa by 17 days. it has been played out at a time of acute embarrassment for the church over its continuing child abuse scandal. some say t

. >> montgomery in benedict arnold. specs the montgomery is going that route and benedict arnold is going through this kind of root of course my beloved state of maine, which he just barely survived for this force, but the targets are the core target of canada, they are montr, which the united states, well that's not the united states, yet, the american patriots captor and then they move on to quebec and the siege that attack and are defeated there and then it is a long roll back during 1776. that would have been the natural strategy to have pursued and this is one that is suggested by jefferson that is what they are going to do, they're going to target montr and move back to quebec. that is how you win in canada because everything further upstream, which is upper canada is going to fall any way because you are going to cut them off from reinforcements and supplies if you control montreal and quebec and from the rest of the british empire. that is the key to winning. and everybody understood that sort of

well, the announcement says that pope benedict xvi has now proved a miracle, attributed to pope john paul ii, which is the last step to becoming a state. the vatican has now credited pope john paul ii with curing a french nunn, who had parkinson's. she woke up cured. and church doctors say there was no medical explanation for her cure. and this miracle is a key component for putting john paul ii on the road to becoming a saint. josh? >> what happens next, then? >> reporter: well, john paul ii, would finally become a saint, a second miracle will have to be confirmed. finding a miracle attributed to him can only really start after his beatification, which happens in may. and proving a miracle is no easy task. they have to prove that the miracle is lasting, instantaneous, complete and whole, as well as scientifically inexplicable. the process isn't over just yet. josh? >> lama hasan in london. >>> and the new miss america will be crowned tonight. 53 women are competing to be miss america in las vegas. capping a week of preliminary contests. you can see the pageant tonight here on abc. >

pope benedict xvi set it after declaring that pope john paul cured a miracle, freed a person of park in son's disease. >>> startling news about the late ronald reagan. his son said he may have suffered from alzheimer's while serving in the white house. in a new book, ron reagan says he was concerned about his father's mental state as early as three years into his first presidential term. when his father fumbled through a 1984 campaign debate with walter mon dale, he was alarmed. reagan also claimed that when his father fell off a horse six months after he left, a doctor's office found signs of alzheimer's. clear signs of the disease did not show up until years later in 1993. >>> used iphones are going for big bucks on web sites like craigslist and ebay. the reason? people are jailbreaking the phones, cracking the software restrictions so the phones work on other carriers and allow any apps to be installed, not just those from apple. the iphone underground is more common than most people think. >> reporter: nadar jackson is working with his third client of the night. his job? jailbrea

today the current head of the catholic church, pope benedict xvi, formally declared that his predecessor performed a miracle. one certified miracle is required for beatification. that's now set for may 1. two miracles are required for someone to be declared a saint. john paul ii began his reign as pope in 1978. he died in 2005. >> an extraordinary event. really deserves t he was a man who did great things. >> he is credited with curing a nun with parkinson's disease. his beatification will be the fastest on record a little more than 6 years after his death. >>> do you think you're a virgo? maybe not. the cosmic shift that's changing everything you thought you knew about astrology. >> and do you have a consumer problem or question? you can call our hotline at 1- 888-5-helps-u. volunteers are there right now. ,, ,,,,,,,, this is norma. who knows how important it is to have her medicine in one place. so norma brings all of her prescriptions to walgreens where her pharmacist can watch out for interactions with her over-the-counter medicine. now norma thinks less about her medicine and more a

pope benedict xvi signed new laws on thursday. the measures require the vatican to comply with international standards to improve transparency. a financial watchdog will be set up as early as april so transactions comply with international rules. the vatican said in a statement it will work in solidarity with other countries and police forces around the world. >>> and former israeli president moshe katsav has yet to announce whether he will appeal his conviction on rape and sexual harassment charges. a court in tel aviv found him guilty on thursday. three judges ruled that katsav raped an aide while tourism minister and also say he sexually harassed employees at his official residence while he was president. sentencing will come at a later date. katsav has denied the charges. the former president is an immigrant from iran, served as a legislator as a member of the right wing likud party before becoming president. katsav stepped down in 2007 before the end of his term after the allegations became public. prime minister benjamin net

ii, who had been pope for more than 25 years, and the election of cardinal joseph ratzinger as pope benedict xvi. for the u.s. catholic church, much of the decade was focused on addressing a massive clergy sex abuse crisis, enacting new guidelines to preve abuse, and confronting litigation that saw more than $2 billion in payouts to victims. in 2010, the clergy abuse scandal exploded across many parts of europe and posed new challenges to the vatican and top church leaders. the new millennium began with a sense of relief that a predicted y2k computer meltdown never materialized. it ends with the development of social media like facebook and twitter offering new online possibilities for personal connection and outreach, enabling information to be disseminated at lightning speed -- both for good and for ill. >>> kim, many thanks for that. welcome to you, to kevin eckstrom, and to e.j. dionne. e.j., we have a new congress, republican control of the house, more republican votes in the senate. walk us through that a little bit. what do you expect that will mean for some of the social issues that

. >>> at the vatican a joyful day as pope benedict spoke of the beautification of pope john paul ii. today the faithful in st. peter's square, some with polish flags, showed their pride over the news of the late pope. >>> president obama and his family attended a church service in washington today. the service honored the 25th anniversary of the national holiday marking the birth of martin luther king jr. at that service the congregation sang happy birthday to michelle obama who turns 47 tomorrow. >>> when we come back tonight, high honors in hollywood when we look behind the golden globes. :Ñ.Ñgz ugh, my sinuses... the congestion... it's your fault. naturally, blame the mucus. well, i can't breathe. did you try blowing your nose? of course. [ both ] and nothing came out. instead of blaming me, try new advil congestion relief. what you probably have is swelling due to nasal inflammation, not mucus. and this can help? it treats the real problem of your sinus symptoms, reducing swelling due to nasal inflammation. so i can breathe. [ mucus ] new advil congestion relief. the right sinu

today even pope benedict had something to say about it. from rome, here's allen pizzey. >> reporter: a nightclub dancer who goes by the name of ruby heartstealer. any other politician would run a mile from that smile-- anyone but italy's prime minister silvio berlusconi. she was still 17 when he invited ruby to what were called bunga- bunga parties at his mansion. and ruby was not alone. italian prosecutors are investigating berlusconi's relations with a string of show girls who are said to have stripped, danced, bumped and grinded their way into the prime minister's legendary affections. news of the criminal investigation forced the 74- year-old berlusconi to go on t.v. and insist he'd done nothing wrong. parties, yes, sex, yes, but he never paid for it. and he had no idea some of the women were underage. he accused the investigators of being politically motivated. but for an italian public long used to their leader's sexual hijinks, this may have been one bunga-bunga too many. so much so that today the pope took a swipe at the sex scanda

pope benedict, john paul's successor, has already lifted the five-year waiting period after a candidate's death before the saint-creating process normally begins, and now he's confirmed the church's view that a french nun-- sister marie simon-pierre-- was miraculously cured of parkinson's disease because she had prayed to john paul two months after he died. john paul had suffered the parkinson's himself. the declaration of a miracle means john paul can now be beatified, the next step to sainthood. the planned may 1 ceremony will likely draw hundreds of thousands. >> reporter: john paul will beat the previous beatification record, set by mother teresa, by 15 days. the fast track to beatification is the result of the reverence many catholics still feel for john paul. but it's also being played out at a time of acute embarrassment for the church over its continuing child abuse scandal. some say there's a connection, that the road towards sainthood is being traveled too quickly. especially for a pope who was in office for 27 years while many of the abuses took place. >> how can you want to ho

and that's what happened today when pope benedict called on the italian prime minister, silvio berlusconi, to change his ways. here's miguel marquez. >> reporter: the 74-year-old prime minister, who calls himself superman, on the ropes like never before. his kryptonite? this 18-year-old exotic dancer called ruby the heart stealer. berlusconi is under investigation for allegedly paying ruby, under age at the time, to attend orgies called bunga bunga parties, then trying to cover it all up. the salacious tales make for riveting headlines. in transcripts of wiretaps leaked to the italian media, ruby told a friend she was only 16 when she first attended the parties. she said berlusconi told her, i'll give you whatever amount you want, i'll cover you in gold. but the important thing is to keep everything under wraps. both ruby and the prime minister deny ever having sex. "there's been no abuse of power, no consorting with prostitutes of any age," he says. "this is all fabricated by prosecutors who trample the law for political purposes and media attention." >> reporter: but today's urging from

. >>> and at the vatican, pope benedict xvi called for more protection of christians today. in particular he urged pakistan to reverse its blasphemy laws. he also noted violence against which christians in china. >>> the vice president met with general petraeus. petraeus reported positive knews he says an afghan tribe has promised to stand up against th taliban in one of the most dangerous parts of the region. >>> they were in the martinez courtroom for their postpreliminary hearing arrangement. they are now scheduled to be back in court february 23rd when they could enter pleas. >>> the goal of keeping one san pablo elementary school open received a vote of support tonight. the san pablo city council voted in favor of a resolution to keep lake elementary school open. the city says it will give the school district about $250,000 so lake elementary can stay open at least another year. this is just another step in the process and the deal has not been finalized. >>> a $2,500 reward has been set for finding the person who shot a sea lion. the humane society announced the reward

. >>> a the vatican today, pope benedict xvi rejected the -- he said god planned the creation and the universe was not the product of chance. >>> offshore winds today made for a great scene. mavericks breaking for the first time this year. there's been waves but today is pretty much opening day. a lot of surfers out enjoying the large surf. looks like it's peaking tonight. it's going to be a little smaller tomorrow but just to let you know you only see these big waves when it's winter in the area. live storm tracker 2 shows the fog comes out of the valley shooting the gap there at the straight. so fog back in your forecast. a dense fog advisory in the central area. it'll be easy to get one again tomorrow morning by the delta by antioch up by martinez. morning fog, hazy sunshine. slow burn off for the fog in con cords. -- concord. it's going to burn off very slowly. until it rains, until we get some kind of wind in here, the fog is going to live in the central valley and it's going to do this. it's going to push it's way. that's an easterly wind. it's going to push the fog to us. this

. >>> and at the vatican, pope benedict xvi called for more protection of christians today. in particular he urged pakistan to reverse its blasphemy laws. he also noted violence against which christians in china. >>> the vice president met with general petraeus. petraeus reported positive knews he says an afghan tribe has promised to stand up against th taliban in one of the most dangerous parts of the region. >>> they were in the martinez courtroom for their postpreliminary hearing arrangement. they are now scheduled to be back in court february 23rd when they could enter pleas. >>> the goal of keeping one san pablo elementary school open received a vote of support tonight. the san pablo city council voted in favor of a resolution to keep lake elementary school open. the city says it will give the school district about $250,000 so lake elementary can stay open at least another year. this is just another step in the process and the deal has not been finalized. >>> a $2,500 reward has been set for finding the person who shot a sea lion. the humane society announced the reward

. >>> a the vatican today, pope benedict xvi rejected the -- he said god planned the creation and the universe was not the product of chance. >>> offshore winds today made for a great scene. mavericks breaking for the first time this year. there's been waves but today is pretty much opening day. a lot of surfers out enjoying the large surf. looks like it's peaking tonight. it's going to be a little smaller tomorrow but just to let you know you only see these big waves when it's winter in the area. live storm tracker 2 shows the fog comes out of the valley shooting the gap there at the straight. so fog back in your forecast. a dense fog advisory in the central area. it'll be easy to get one again tomorrow morning by the delta by antioch up by martinez. morning fog, hazy sunshine. slow burn off for the fog in con cords. -- concord. it's going to burn off very slowly. until it rains, until we get some kind of wind in here, the fog is going to live in the central valley and it's going to do this. it's going to push it's way. that's an easterly wind. it's going to push the fog to us. this

. >>> pope benedict the 16 is speaking out and saying god created the the universe came out by a gigantic explosion. >>> six people got sick overnight at one of san francisco's best known hotels. this morning one critical question still needs to be answered. >>> in hayward this morning a domestic violent suspect did to flee from sheriff deputies. >>> also they are taking matters into their own hands. what a group of volunteers are planning to do this weekend to fight crime in oakland. >>> right now traffic looks pretty good heading out to the high-rise of the bridge. we have problems in the east bay that may have to deal with traffic. i will tell you more coming up. >>> welcome back. this is the ktvu channel 2 morning news. we made it to friday it's january 7th. i'm dave clark. >> and i'm pam cook. let's what is the friday forecast? let's check in with steve. >>> we have low clouds, and fog. there is especially higher clouds toward the southbound and very light rain down in southern california. for us it will be 40s or 50s. if you can get the fog to burn off you will see 50s. >>> traffic

one of the expeditions that washington launched was benedict arnold launch with 1,000 troops and the wonderful thing about steadying washington through his maps we can see events that meant a great deal but even in places where he never set foot personally. the whole canadian campaign which was launched initially by congress from ticonderoga , then supplemented by washington, this occupied a great deal of washington energy and passion and you can read the letters to see how concerned he was as the welfare of the men into the canadian winter and the anxiety and tension he paid getting letters and news and this is great irony we've agreed with the perspective of history the ultimate fate and here is washington clearly seeing a younger alter ego seeing him like the braddock expedition with the impulse of march to strike at the enemy first and arnold really is a phenomenal soldier and does not stop and gets knocked down and his men are starved and a ragged but come up the river and managed to get across under the nose of the british ships. this map which i tracked as carefully as i could

pope benedict cleared the way for the ceremony by approving a miracle attributed to john paul that died in 2005. a second miracle is needed for john paul to be declared a saint. >>> the almost 100-year-old building has been reenforced now to with stand earthquakes. there is also new landscaping there. the city and state contributed $10 million to the restoration. an additional $11 million came from private fundraising. >>> the san francisco giants could have their own show on a cable station. it's expected to be similar to the hard knox series. producer mike tolland is expected to produce. he worked on the espn series bonds on bonds. >>> get ready. that tenth season of american idol debuts right here next week with a whole new look. you know aerosmith steven tyler will be joining them. a record executive will be mentoring the contestants to help them refine their performances. they are said to be debating to give you the viewer behind the scene look at the finalist by filming at the american idol host. >>> astronomers say alignment of the stars has moved by one month. so if you thought

. >>> pope benedict the xvi is speaking out about how god created the world. christians should forget that the universe came because of a big bang. >>> a key u.s. ally during the vietnam war has died in a hospital in california central valley. vang pao was 89 years old. he was a former general in the royal army of la os. pao moved to the u.s. after the come ewe seized power in laos. >>> there is a new state study out revealing a sharp district in the death rates of bay area hospitals. >>> days before the budget plan is reveled california school chief is sounding the alarm. >>> good morning if you are driving across bay area bridges today you may want to be aware of fog. i will let you know where it is coming up. >>> good morning. traffic right now is moving along okay on the east shore freeway westbound heading out to the mccarthur maze. no major problems getting to the bay bridge toll plaza. >>> palo alto police have arrested one suspect and they are looking for another in a recent string of street robberies. villivuni fono was involved in three of the dozen

to be delivered by the reverend charles jackson of brooklyn baptist church. >> let us receive the benediction. eternal god our father, as we conclude the inaugural program for the state of south carolina on this historic day, we ask that you will continue to sustain us with your guidance and protection. and the words of holy scripture, empower us to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with the. and now, may the lord bless you and keep you, may the lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. may the lord lift up his confidence upon you and give you peace and prosperity, now and always, amen. >> ladies and gentlemen, you may be seated. the inaugural recession will now begin led by her excellency the governor of south carolina, along with mr. haley and their family. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> yesterday was the anniversary of the eart >> yesterday was the anniversary of the earthquake in haiti. next, an update on relief efforts from gail mcgovern, president and ceo of the american red cross. it's estimated the earthquake killed 230,000 people, injured in 300,000, and left 2 million