challenging travel. the holiday travel outlook, another big winter storm, and new rules to punish airlines and protect passengers. holiday hurry. capitol hill's christmas challeng passing health care reform. how special deals kept the plan alive. hollywood mystery. actress brittany murphy's death and what investigators are uncovering. >> it's tuesday, december 22nd, 2009. >> from abc news, this is "america this morning." >> good morning and thanks for being with us. travelers heading out today might find airports getting back to normal, back to a normal pre-christmas rush, that is. >> and the government is getting airline passengers some good news. no more being stuck on the tarmac for hours. viviana is joining us from washington with more on this. >> reporter: not catching your flight is grounds to give you a headache. imagine being stranded on a plane on a tarmac for hours. that's enough to give many passengers a migraine. wicked weather, delayed and canceled flights, long lines. these are symptoms of travel pains passengers are facing as they try to get home for the holidays. >> we went from that line, they said we can't check you in. we had to rebook. the soonest they could get outside a flight is christmas eve. >> reporter: the bliz zard is having repercussions through this busy travel week. >> we're going to rebook you on whatever we have available. >> reporter: but that could take days. paengers frustrated at the prospect they might not get home until after christmas. >> it's a disaster. you know? it's the ugliest way to fly. the problem is the way you do the service here and take care of your customers. >> reporter: for those who do get on a flight, another travel disaster is being stuck on the tarmac for hours. that's about to change. the department of transportation is enacting a rule to give passengers food and water if they've been stranded on the plane for two hours. and if they've been stuck for three hours the pilot has to return to the gate and let passengers get off. if they don't, the airline could be fined $27,000 per passenger, per violation. >> no longer can they use the excuse, it's the weather. no longer can they use the excuse, we've got a mechanical problem and we can't get you off the plane. >> reporter: the airlines say they're on board but warn these new rules could cause even more delays and cancelations. travelers this holiday season won't be able to benefit from this new rule because it won't be enforced for four months. jeremy? >> viviana in washington, thanks. someeople here in new york are complaining that the weekend's record snow isn't being removed fast enough. plows have cleared most of the major roads in some areas of long island but neighborhood streets were another story. and another problem residents say is the mounds of snow that end up blocking driveways. some areas of long island got more than 2 feet over the weekend. well, after a three-day shut-down the only rail link between britain and the rest of europe is back up and running. eurostar resumed service this morning between london and paris. friday five trains got stuck in a tunnel stranding passengers for hours. officials say snow got stuck in the train engines. here's some more. here in the u.s. another winter storm could hilt during this very busy travel week. >> let's get the latest from rachel harvey jones from accuweather.com. >> thank you, jeremy and vinita. we see a winter weather advisory in effect across the high plains. here's our next problem. this moisture across the southwest. three big issues. blizzards across the plains from central right the way through to wisconsin. very high wind gusts, blowing and drifting snow, that will cause major travel problems across the area. the southern branch of this system, typical for an el nino pattern has a lot of energy. looking for not only very high wind gusts but also flash flood concerns. places like new orleans, baton rouge, and mobile, have seen a lot of moisture this month. and we certainly will be concerned about, not only flash flooding, but hail across that region. the northeast, there an ice storm across the i-81 corridor. christmas morning could be fairly dry. by the afternoon, we'll start to see the moisture come in. but with warming temperatures, the snow melting on the ground could cause some flooding problems. it's back to you. >> all right. the senate inches forward with health care passage reform. president obama caused it a big victory for the american people. republican national chairman, michael steele, says it's like flipping a bird to the american people. then, there's the question of what is in the bill. here's jon karl. >> reporter: as gnsenators arrid at 1:00 a.m. for the big vote, we asked a simple question. did you read through the whole bill yet? >> not quite yet. >> reporter: have you read the whole bill yet? >> i have, actually. >> reporter: the senate clerks for forced to read the bill around. but not a single senator was around to hear all of it. inside the bill, you'll find an ambitious restructuring of the health care system. made possible, in part, by lots of special treats inserted by key senators. zblr the state of nebraska. >> reporter: on age 98, nebraska senator, ben nelson, the last holdout, got his state exempted from paying anything or medicaid. on age 96, vermont's bernie sanders, the last liberal holdout, got $600 million of n medicaid help. tax changes that will exempt the nebraska-based insurance company, mutual of omaha, from some of the tax charges in the bill. outraged republicans are accusing democrats of buying votes. >> a couple of cheap deals and a rush vote at 1:00 in the morning. >> this process is not legislation. this process is corruption. >> reporter: nonsense says majority leader harry reid. this is the way congress works. >> that's what legislation is all about. it's the art of compromise. >> reporter: there's still tough negotiations ahead with the house, which has passed its own version of health care reform. and that will almost certainly mean more wheeling and dealing ahead. jonathan karl, abc news, capitol hill. ten months after president obama declared cyber security was a priority, he's about to appoint a national coordinator. the president has picked howard schmidt to be his cyber czar. and will make the announcement ter today. schmidt has worked for microsoft, ebay and the bush administration. former new york city mayor, rudolph giuliani, who once ran for president of the united states, appears to be ending his political career. sources say the 65-year-old giuliani will also say he is not running for the u.s. senate. since leaving office, giuliani has built a lucrative consulting career. a new jersey man is hoping to hear some good newsrom brazil's top court today. justices are supposed to rule whether david goldman will regain custody of his 9-year-old son. several diplomatic missions and president obama's call for the boy's return, have raised hope he will be reunited with his father. researchers say four out of ten women who should get mri screens for breast cancer do not, even if it's offered for free. the excuses given by women for high breast cancer, a lack of time, and a fear that the scans might uncover somethg that would cost a lot to treat. well, now, for this morning's weather from around the nation. a new storm forms in the northwest, dumping up to a foot of snow in the mountains of utah, colorado and new mexico. snow also from the sierras to idaho. rain on the oregon coast. and gusty winds north of los angeles. up to three inches of snow from chicago to southern minnesota. >> 26 in the twinties today is. 29 for detroit. 18 in fargo. 37 in boise. 31 in seattle. the northeast climbs into the 30s. across the south, it's warmer. 72 in miami. 68 in new orleans. 70 for dallas. when we return on this tuesday, the death of actress brittany murphy. and now clues for investigators. and ford's offer to 41,000 workers. your "moneyscope" re welcome back. there are reports of a major computer breach this morning. "the wall street journal" says citigroup was attacked by computer hackers who made off with tens of millions of dollars. the report says the company's retail banks were targeted. and that the hackers appear to have links to a russian cyber gang. president obama meets with the ceos of small and community banks this morning. he'll stress the need to increase lending to consumers and small businesses. a new report from the government shows how stubborn the mortgage crisis remains. delinquencies on prime mortgages rose nearly 20% in the third quarter. and programs to help troubled borrows en't having much success. 40% of mortgages were two months late again. it is time, now, for a check of market activity starting overseas. tokyo's nikkei average rose 194 points today. hong kong's hang seng was also higher. in london, the ftse opened on a positive note. wall street starts with the dow jones industrial average at 10,441, after gaining 85 points yesterday. the nasdaq index rose nearly 26 points to close at 2237. ford says it has more workers than it needs. so, it's offering more employee buyouts. the automaker is offering two packages to all of its 41,000 hourly workers. it's the second time this year ford has offered a buyout program to its hourly workers. only about 1,000 of them took it last time. yahoo! is shutting down for a week to save money. the search engine giant will operate will only essential staff between christmas and new year's. it's the company's first mandatory worldwide shutdown. last spring, yahoo! cut 700 staffers. all right, when we come back this morning on "america this morning," actress brittany murphy's death and the clues investigators are uncovering. and the punishment facing a a a look at how treacherous icy roads can be this winter. a couple in montana, found themselves teetering on the edge of a cliff. they were attempting to drive up a hill after an ice storm. but the car spun out and it slid backward. emergency crews managed to save the couple. and as you can see, they saved the car just in time. >> a lucky couple. we continue with a look at the road conditions you can expect for your morning commute. patches of black ice in the northeast. snow along i-70 in utah and colorado pape also along i-85 and i-5 in the northwest. >> if you're flying, expect delays in los angeles, also salt lake city, phoenix and chicago. actors who worked with brittany murphy recently say she appeared frail before her death own sunday. the actress had worked on several movies in production. and producers tell "the los angeles times" those films should make their way on to screens next year. alex stone as the latest from investigators. >> reporter: the l.a. county coroner is now conducting an autopsy to figure out why 32-year-old brittany murphy died at her hollywood hills home on sunday. police say no foul play is expected. her family told authorities she had been experiencing flu-like symptoms for the past few days. >> she evidently collapsed in the bathroom. so far, the coroner says the actress died of natural causes, possibly the result of a heart ailment. she was taking a number of prescription drugs. >> if she had a heart condition, prescription drugs may have speeded up her heart, causing more strain on it. or prescription drugs may have lowered ore heart rate, so the heart could not provide enough oxygen to her body to keep it going. >> reporter: murphy was bst known for her parts in films "clueless," and "8 mile." her career never took off. even developing a reputation for being difficult. a few months ago, she pulled out of a film already in production. >> she got skinnier. her face got more gaunt. there were allegations flying. >> reporter: earlier this month, at a fashion event, murphy appeared painfully thin. and there's speculation she may have been battling an eating disorder for years. hollywood is mourning the passing of the hollywood actress, her former co-star and boyfriend, ashton kutcher said, quote, the worlt has lost a little piece of sunshine. alex stone, abc news, hollywood. the california appeals court rejected film director roman polanski's bid to plead his case. polanski must surrender to u.s. authorities before he can contest his child sex conviction for the late '70s. the court agreed with polanski, saying there probably was misconduct during his trial 32 years ago. an update now on the colorado couple at the center of the giant balloon chase back in october. officials say richard and may uniny heene acted alone. they say there's no evidence that media outle or others took part in the hoax. the couple may have to pay $40,000 for the chase. the restitution hearing is set for tomorrow. in sports, the sacramento kings did something on the court that hasn't been done for a very long time. here's will selva of espn news. >> good morning. the sacramento kings pulling off a rally we have not seen in the nba in 13 years. derrick rose, tyreke evans, going toe-to-toe. rose, dropping the hammer. bulls led by as many as 35. but here come the kings. down two. tariq evans, personally outscored chicago, 9-3, over the final 2:13. one last chance for the bulls, down 100-98. rose, driving to the cup. huh-uh. the 35-point comeback is the largest, since the jazz had a 36-point comeback on november 27th, 1996, against the nuggets. wow. kings win 102-98. giants and redskins, taking on one another at fedex field. bradshaw, punching it in. giants take the early lead. second quarter, bradshaw, scores again. giants up 14-0. second quarter, the giants looking for more. eli manning, to steve smith. easy catch. 24-0, giants. 31-6, giants. jason campbell will overthrow fred davis. and that's never a good thing. terrell thomas, touchdown. and the giants end up winning it 45-12. they keep their slim playoff hopes alive. that will do it for this espn news update. now, back to new york and "america this morning." well, the jolly, old fat man apparently decided to take a break from the north pole for a little surfing off the coast of california in his custom-made wet suit. spoiler alert, it's a guy named michael bless, who has been doing the surfing santa since the 1990s. that's awfully svelte for santa. up next, the stories we'll be following today. including the crunch for travelers this week, bracing for another storm. kick it up with the #1 lengthening mascara! lash stiletto from maybelline new york. ooh la la. the #1 lengthening mascara! the difference? our grip and extend brush lengthens to a sexy point... up to 70% longer. pro-vitamin b5 adds black patent shine. never breaks. length this hot... towers over the rest! lash stiletto, the #1 lengthening mascara. it's showstopping. maybe she's born with it? maybe it's maybelline. to complete your provocative look, try line stiletto ultimate precision liquid eyeliner. iget our lowest pces ever!e atn toys "r" us! save big, this tuesday and wednesday only! 6am to midnight! plus, get a free $25 gift card when 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( crackling ) you'll know when you're ready. 01.01.10. the special k challenge begins. get started with a free box when you buy one, now at specialk.com. now, a look ahead to the stories we'll be watching on this tuesday. airlines could face new challenges during this busy holiday trel week, as another winter storm poses a threat. many carriers are still busy rebooking passengers, stranded by storms over the weekend. health care reform creeps towards passage in the senate with another procedural vote this morning. final passage could come as late as christmas eve. then, negotiations begin to resolve major differences between the senate and house versions. maine could be the first state to require cell phones to carry warnings about radiation and brain cancer. the proposal will come up in the state legislature next month. the federal government and the cell phone industry insist there's no danger. president obama today will push community bankers to issue more loans to small businesses. at the white house meeting, the president will also discuss home foreclosures. the fbi could open its files on michael jackson as early as today. the fbi is making public hundreds of documents related to jackson's child molestation investigations in 1993 and 2004. and we'll find out today how much of a dent the storm last weekend over the east put on the holiday sales. >> critical time that was wasted on the storm for retailers. >> will they be able to make it up? coming up later on "good morning america," safety experts just tested 60 children car booster sees to see how they perform. >> just 15 seats got top ratings. to find out if your child is safe in the car and if you're using the best seat, make sure to watch "good morning america," starting at 7:00. >> important news for parents this morning. for some of you, your local news is up next. >> for everyone else, "america this morning" continues after this. you do a right punch. lift your leg up. do a big group "hi-yah!" n bird's eye bulls eye you're like, flapping your arms. you have to try the obstacle course. you can run really fast -- oh, wait, balance! when you're done with one of the games, you have worked out. if you already own wii fit, upgrade to wii fit plus for only twenty bucks. it is so much fun to not only play but watch. rated "e" for everyone. 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