and new reality show. sarah palin kicks off. is it the beginning or end of a white house run? i've got to say, robin. i don't know the answer to my question there. you see sarah palin going to alaska. never before have we seen a presidential candidate and her daughter doing reality show. bristol on "dancing with the stars." sarah palin on tlc. >> that definitely is a first. and a lot of firsts for people heading to capitol hill. >> that's right. coming back to washington art midterm elections. also president obama back from his ten days in asia. it's really something. it's very diverse. they've got everybody from a pizza maker to a rancher. they are ready to shake up washington. and probably, robin, one of the top challenges is taking it on. remember, they released a controversial proposal. this morning, the chairman of that commission is live. we'll be talking to erskine bowles, the president of the university of north carolina. a u.s. base is on fire after being hit by rocket-propelled grenades. this after getting word at that u.s. will take a major step in combat operations. martha, what are we learning right now? >> reporter: right now, ten vehicles are on fire at this base. really a huge fire. fortunately no injuries there. as for this plan, this plan will be presented later this week at a nato summit. it calls for gradually transferring areas of afghanistan to the afghan forces over the next two years, with the goal to pull out all u.s. combat troops by 2014. it's a plan modeled on the withdrawal plan from iraq, where you have a substantial number of troops that stay. but not primarily in a combat role. this is a very ambitious plan, given the level of violence in afghanistan right now. as you saw this morning. and is dependent on the training of afghan forces. but it also reflects the mood of the american people about this war, robin. they don't want to be there indefinitely. >> that does reflect that mood. and this also comes on the heels of the new warnings from the afghan president karzai. >> that's true. afghan president karzai said over the weekend it's time for the u.s. to reduce numbers and stop operations raids. this morning in "the washington post" general david petraeus expressed what was called astonishment and disappointment over karzai's comments. a little tense there. there's some talk that karzai threatened to resign. we'll turn to that tragedy in mexico. an explosion ripped through an upscale mexican resort full of mexican and canadian tourists on under it. matt gutman is on the ground with the latest. matt? >> reporter: good morning, george. we're here right outside the main gate of the hotel where yesterday morning, people came out at breakfast, they were going to the vip lounge when that explosion just shattered the tropical calm here. within seconds, tiki huts burst into flames and guest chairs had to be used as stretchers to cart off the wounded. the explosion sent guests shooting through the restaurant. >> it was a crater. >> it was a crater in the ground. >> reporter: those said shrapnel including five canadians, among them a 33-year-old groom and a 9-year-old boy. it collapsed walls and sent people flying. two americans were among the wound wounds, including the state department, with the wounded screams, waiters and guests, needing triage. they documented it. >> this was just unbelievable. >> reporter: it was said of one woman -- >> she was thrown out of her chair. another couple were literally shrapnel, they were quite seriously injured. >> reporter: the sprawl of the hotel were packed with vacationerers. they beefed up security. >> everyone shared the same fear. you know, fear is, was this deliberate? >> reporter: it was not. the sfraprawling resort with ney 700 rooms sits on a swamp where gas had been building up for years, according to mexican authorities. those blasts punched a refrigerator size hole through the concrete. robin, those two americans are in stable condition. they were not among those who were severely injured. hundreds of people were removed from this hotel. evacuated because authorities here are still concerned about gas trapped beneath the surface here. robin. >> and rightly so. all right. matt, thank you. back here in the u.s., a desperate search for the missing family in ohio turned up a 13-year-old found in the home of the man now charged with her kidnapping. but there's still no sign of the girl's mom, brother and a family friend. barbara pinto has the latest from ohio. good morning, barbara. >> reporter: good morning, robin. matthew hoffman is said to appear in court today. so far the only link between him and a 13-year-old girl charged with kidnapping is that his parents live within walking distance of her home. a s.w.a.t. team found sarah maynard in matthew hoffman's basement, ten miles from where she disappeared. the teenage girl was bound and gagged but alive. >> she is currently in the hospital with nonlife threatening condition. she has been interviewed somewhat, but the details of what she's telling us can't be revealed. >> reporter: police believe sarah was under hoffman's control since her disappearance last wednesday. but there's still know sign of her 10-year-old brother kody, her mother tina herrmann and her friend stephanie sprang. >> right now, we have no one that we're aware of who is deceased so it continues as a missing persons investigation. >> reporter: neighbors say hoffman's girlfriend and her son recently moved out and describe his behavior as odd. >> it was kind of weird. he was climbing trees and stuff like that. >> reporter: hoffman has served prison time before in colorado for arson. sarah and her brother were last seen at school on wednesday. her girlfriend didn't show up for work thursday. neighbors called the police. >> i think something bad happened? >> why. >> because the way things are going down. >> reporter: a massive hunt and this fall on facebook have turned up little. on "good morning america," stephanie's father pleaded for her safe return. >> we love you and we need you. we will find you. >> reporter: friends are clearly worried. >> i just don't want letter out there alone. whatever it is, we don't want her to be alone. >> how anxious family members and investigators were hoping that matthew hoffman would lead them to the two women and 10-year-old boy who are still missing. so far no luck. investigators say he is refusing to cooperate. robin. >> hopefully, that will change sometime soon. thank you. we turn to washington. president obama is back in the white house after the ten-day asian trip, this was the new republican freshmen class in the house is heading to capitol hill. they want both sides to work together but is that what they're going to get? jon karl reads the latest tea leaves from washington. >> reporter: good morning. the congress here said they found a president who said he is ready to work with republicans. talking to reporters on air force one, president obama acknowledged a, quote, obsession with his own policies. >> in that obsessive focus on policy, i neglected some things that matter a lot to people and rootingly so. maintaining a bipartisan tone in washington. >> reporter: now, he facing a republican majority with a different obsession, stopping his policies. they started arrived sunday, washington's largest freshman class in a generation. 109 of them new to congress. 35 of them of them have never before held elected office. >> change the way they run. >> washington is completely lost. >> reporter: to washington, their political amateurs and proud of it. the pizza man. from illinois. >> my new stomping grounds. >> reporter: dr. paul gosar, dentist, from arizona. >> just getting back to that. >> reporter: the football player, tackle from new jersey, 6'7", 300 pounds of him. >> it's rhyme to get to work. >> reporter: and the rancher, kristi noem from asked asked. >> asked askedians make better decision what to do with the money than the government does. >> reporter: to most, that means rolling back much of what president obama has done over the past two years. >> we can't afford any more taxes. we don't need any more overregulating. >> reporter: as for the democrats, the new minority party in the house is expected to re-elect nancy pelosi as leader. >> we just came off the largest devastating loss of the democratic party in a century and to be able to put speaker pelosi as minority leader is truly unacceptable for our party. >> congressman schuller said he will run against pelosi if nobody else does. support is strong. there aren't that many moderates to run against her. the president is granting them with an olive branch of sorts. >> that's right. jon. the president saying he wished he would have pushed that harder last year. thanks very much. of course, those earmarks are just a tiny fraction of what it will take to tackle the country's debt and deficit problem. just how hard it will be to bring down that when the chairman issued their recommendations. and joining fire from all sides, now in his first television interview to answer the critics, we're joined by the chairman of the panel, erskine bowles. thanks for joining us, mr. bowles. >> i'd glad to be here. i hope you're doing good. >> i'm doing well. you have put everything on the table last week. huge cuts in discretionary spending, $200 billion. taking away popular home deductions. like the home mortgage deduction. raising the retirement age. i wonder if you could boil it down in a sentence or two for everyone at home, they're going through tough times right now. why is it necessary to make these sacrifices? >> because the problems we face is real. the path we're on is unsustainable. this debt is like a cancer, it will literally destroy our country from within if we don't tackle it. george, by 2020, we'll have over $1 trillion in interest payments alone. can you imagine that amount of money flowing out of this country to build better school, better roads, to do high-value research in other countries, rather than doing it here? this is a problem that we have to face up to. we have no choice. >> you know what you're making these proposals. but congress is about to come back and talk about whether to extend those tax cuts passed by president bush. by extending them, that's going to cost $1 trillion. couldn't they save by keeping the tax rates where they were, letting them go back to 1998 when you were white house chief of staff? >> george, first ever all, i surely don't believe that people like you and me need a tax cut. but putting that aside, what we are proposing is to wipe out a whole bunch of these tax expenditures. then we were broaden the base, simplify the code, actually bringing the rate down and reduce the deficit. can bring rates down to 8, 14 and 23, and take $100 billion a year to reduce the deficit. i think that is kind of smart economics as opposed to what they're talking about today. >> some of your critics disagree. paul krugman said taking away the deduction for home mart, the deduction for health care will end up playing increases that are tax cuts for the wealthy and tax increases for the middle class. your response? >> i think if you'll look at a distribution analysis. you'll see, "a," that's not true. but, "b," what we say is, let's take these out. bring rates down to 8, 14 and 23. then if you want to add about back like the mortgage interest deduction, then tell us how you're going to pay for it. >> so you are willing to have some compromise or tradeoffs going down the line? >> yeah, we say that in the report very clearly. >> so far just you and your co-chair, alan simpson, the republican, have signed on for the proposals. the idea is to get 14 of the 18 commission members to sign on before you can get a vote in the congress. but many of the other commission members have yet signed on. do you think you can get the 14 by the december 1st deadline? >> i'll tell you, i'm hopeful. what we're trying to do is to listen to other people's ideas to see how we can improve this package. the president asked to us get a deficit to gdp ratio down to 3% by 2015. and then to address these long-term imbalances. we've gotten lots of cooperation. we've spent months and months listening to people on both sides of the aisle. and that's the way you build up trust and you find compromise and you find a way to really solve what is a very, very difficult problem. >> you actually tweeted president obama that you've probably listened to more republican proposals as chairman of this commission than he has as president. you said at the beginning of this process that you're confident that president obama is going to sign on to these proposals. are you still confident about it? he wouldn't comment last week. >> i don't think i tweaked him. the only way you find out where people are is to spend literally hours, months and months, listening to them, trying to find that common ground, trying to build up trust. that's what we tried to do. we spent a lot of time with both republicans and democrats. the president has said very clearly, george, upon his return to the country that what he wants to do is to have these proposals which we made which he says are quite serious, reviewed, discuss and see what comes out of the commission. >> if you don't get the 14, the 18, what happens next? >> then what we have done is lay a predicate for the next congress to deal with where we have $3 of spending cuts for every dollar of revenue. >> mr. bowles, thank you for your time. >> good to talk to you. >> sam champion is here with the weather. here's where the heaviest rain will be, northern alabama area. middle tennessee as well. 3 to 4 inches of rain. in general, this could be a 1 to 3-inch rainfall. d.c. area in that rain. there's some cold air. from a hit of snow, believe it or not, this area has snowy, icy roads. remember, we had a feeling there was going to be snow in minnesota? big snow. about 14 inches of snow over the weekend. brand-new system moves into the northwest today. that heavy rain is a big story in the deep south. >> temperatures are right on target in the southwest, from l.a. all the way into san diego today. also nice day in the northeast, robin, today. rain moves in tomorrow. so make sure -- >> tomorrow? i see it on the window already, the rain. it's not waiting. >> maybe a little drip on the air conditioner. >> yeah. but it was a gorgeous weekend. all right, sam, thank you. program note for you now, president obama wrapped up his asian tour sunday saying the region is eager for american leadership. but many say asia already has a leader. it's china and that's is where diane sawyer is broadcasting from tonight. she joins us from shanghai. good morning, diane. >> hello, everyone, on "good morning america." i'm showing you the scene first. robin and george, take a look. this is from back in 1990, of the land i'm about to show you now. here we are. take a look. this is the new shanghai, china. and that's why we came here, to learn how they did this in 20 years. and what is the rocket fuel behind this economy, this growth in china. the kind of growth that can build up 15-story buildings in just six days. what is it like to be a land of 1.3 billion people and how do you lift 300 million of them out of poverty in one generation? one thing, of course, is education. we're going inside this school because there are now more people who speak english in china, than there are people in america. and some of them are pretty small people at that. ♪ and another question we have had since we've been here and we toured old shanghai and had a chance to think again about the differences between chinese culture and american culture. is how can americans take advantage of this huge appetite for growth here in china? well, you're going to see what happens when mary kay, and we all nomary kay cosmetics, when suddenly, they decide they're going to go door to door in china, which, by the way, turns out you don't do. we're there as they gather together 30,000, 30,000 people to be trained in selling mary kay cosmetics. but we also had a chance to go to mcdonald's and learn how this premiere american brand is building one new mcdonald's every other day in china, and they're just getting revved up. we're go doing show you how american businesses can operate some china, of course, eventually, we hope that means american jobs. and we're as going to tell you more about how the chinese see us and what lessons we learn from that. a lot coming up tonight. and it's all coming up on "world news." we'll see you all on "gma." >> you can see more of her reporting from china beginning tonight on "world news." coming up here, sarah palin's reality, what her new show may mean for her political future. plus, are dogs really blue ribbon bedbug detectors? we put them to the sniff test. and celebrating from upcoming milestones. then sam comes also. we're talking about 50. why are we talking about 50? yes, you next, sam. while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and celebrex is not a narcotic. when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor need to balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, including celebrex, may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you've had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor about your medical history and find an arthritis treatment that works for you. ask your doctor about celebrex. and, go to celebrex.com to learn more about how you can move toward relief. celebrex. for a body in motion. ♪ just love me ♪ oh oh oh ♪ just hold me ♪ oh oh oh ♪ just kiss me ♪ oh oh oh ♪ just want me ♪ l-o-v-e ♪ love, love, love 7:26 and we are looking at towson elementary school west towson. 47 at the greece and we have thick fog in some spots. it's actually cut down to a quarter mile visibility as we hoe reduce visibility in reisterstown at 48. eastern shore dense fog advisory this morning. cecil through kent and queen ann's county, we have got a 90-minute school delay caroline county 2 hour delay. reduced travel speeds on highways and by ways. partly sunny skies and a big storm out of gulf of mexico will spread our way with heavy rain tomorrow. today partly sunny and two degree guaranteed high of 60. >> reporter: the fog is making for a slower commute this morning with the redeuced visibility on area roadways. not look bad on the beltway minor days around the west side of the outer loop. checking the maps, we are work serious accident in sparks that has york road closed in both direction right there expect a see bailout traffic op the harrisburg expressway. an accident in notingham bel air road and we are dealing with an accident pulaski at white marsh boulevard. here's james which with the morning news update. up there we will be covering that accident. anne arundel county police are searching for three other men who played the part of of the -- the part of a man. he is accused of shooting and killing the 20 years old. he was vitting -- it be visit a 17 we are old who worked at mr. wings and peaca. we will have more coming up at nine on "good morning, maryland" see you in a half-hour with another update. hey, geez, everything stopped. oh, my gosh. you always wanted to be a rock climber, sarah. >> was it rock climber or rock star? >> or president. climbing rocks with her husband todd. this is the new show that premiered on tlc last night. i think it's going to create another star in the palin family. 9-year-old piper. >> you think so. >> she's the one that sarah said it looking forward to riding on air force one. a hint of what the show might mean for her presidential ambitions. that is coming up as we say good morning, america. i'm george stephanopoulos. >> and i'm robin roberts. also this morning, prince william makes -- well, a little bit of a surprise. some would say a risky visit to british troops in afghanistan and we'll take you to the war zone. and also, the latest on bedbugs. how about that for a transition? look at these dog us. are they the answer? we put them to the test this morning. first, sarah palin, is she or isn't she running for president? one thing for sure, it's the most unusual path to the white house. in the latest premiere of the latest, sarah palin's path on tlc. on whether this will help or hurt her chances. >> reporter: did you ever want to know what sarah palin looks like hiking. >> oh, geez. >> reporter: what she looks like fishing? if that's what you want, well then "sarah palin's alaska" is the show for you. for one hour every sunday night, this show taking you into the state of alaska and inside of palin's wasilla family. this is palin fishing on a real lake. and those are real-life bears. and this is sarah and todd climbing. >> i don't know if i can do this. >> reporter: we learned that 9-year-old piper doesn't always call her mom. >> one way she can put her foot down and get me to turn my head and pay attention to what she's doing, is to call me "sarah." >> reporter: and we also saw her trying to keep a boy from going upstairs. >> it's not just for trigg. it's for no boys go upstairs. >> reporter: and the frustration, an author writing a book next door. >> it's 91 none of his flipping business. >> reporter: it's part travel log, and part sarah palin. the question is, what does she get out of this? is it good politics? >> she has to decide, is she going to make her life as somewhat of a celebrity, or get serious about politics and government. i think what she hasn't decided, this program is a way to keep her options open. >> reporter: one thing she gets is money, some reports are saying she gets $200,000 an episode. she is still playing politics. this weekend, she posted a giant open letter on facebook for the yin coming freshman, for the funding of obamacare and how to pat them on the back. she signs off with a big alaskan heart. but if you watch her show -- >> this is not flipping easy. >> reporter: you're left to wonder if that big alaskan heart has big washington rings. for "good morning america," john berman, abc news, new york. >> it's not easy climbing the rock. she didn't keep the boyfriend from going upstairs. she had to call him on the phone. >> i think cokie is right. i think she hasn't made up her mind on what she's going to do. >> she's playing both games at the same time. as they pointed out on facebook. >> one thing we do know that's right, alaska looks beautiful. >> it is gorgeous. >> i can't wait to get there myself. all right. britain's prince william made a surprise visit sunday to afghanistan to honor soldiers who have died in battle there. the prince who holds the rank of lieutenant in the royal air force, met with troops and attended a memorial service before returning to the uk. miguel marquez has the latest from london. good morning, miguel. >> reporter: good morning, robin. prince william was only on the ground in afghanistan for a few hours, but it was a highly important trip for a young man who was establishing himself as heir to the british throne. >> good morning, sir. >> how are you doing? >> reporter: prince william meeting with u.s. marines on his whirlwind tour of afghanistan. >> i've been here since february, sir. ♪ >> reporter: second some line to the throne, william came to afghanistan stan representing the monarchy for britain's national day of remembrance, commemorating war dead since the first world war. his grandmother, the queens are as she always does, did the same here in london. ♪ prince william, a very high-profile trip, he says he'd like to serve in afghanistan. though william is a trained air and sea rescue helicopter pilot, the ministry of defense said he'd need even more training to serve in afghanistan. besides that, the job a little too dangerous for the man who could be king. his brother harry served for the country but was pulled out after it was learned he was there. too great a risk. he'll like to go back as a helicopter pilot. so william, with afghanistan out of the question for now, he'll have time to concentrate on the more personal matters. long-awaited, most anticipated engagement to kate middleton. if you believe the gossip columnists, the roy watchers and the bioographers of the royal family, that wed shog take place next year. >> somehow, i knew, even though we were talking about smellomet else, it comes back to the ehe engagement. let's check on the news with juju chang. good morning. the taliban is claiming responsibilities for this morning's fiery attack on a u.s. base in eastern afghanistan. rocket-propelled grenades destroyed ten military vehicles. no one was hurt but since friday a wave of violence killed 11 coalition troops. meantime, the obama administration is about to prevent a major plan to end by 2014. we're now learning that a jammed gas pedal may have caused a crash. tire marks show the driver tried to stop before slamming into a wall at full speed. the police say the car had been brought in to at least one of three recalls for sticky floor matts. a driver is under arrest, accused of driving under the influence. the man said he was forced off the road by a second car in this weekend's crash. that driver has not been found. well, the votes are finally counted and by a narrow margin, arizona voters approved the use of medical marijuana four the debilitating deese. diseas disease. there were two blowouts when they hosted the giants at the stadium. the lights went out. play had to be stopped. maybe it was the work of giants fans as a result of the second blowout, which is their team. the cowboys won. . there was a lot of screaming in my house. >> how about those cowboys -- that's not what you were screaming? he could go -- >> go to bed. >> ten minutes is a long time. >> it's a new stadium. it only cost $1.4 billion. thanks, juju. robin, george, good morning, everyone. we're going to start with the pictures out of st. paul this morning. st. paul got less snow from minneapolis. this is the biggest pre-thanksgiving snowstorm in 20 years. yep, maple grove with more than a foot of snow out of the system. and we'll show you the new snowmaker in the midwest today. it's really rain but when it moves to the mountains it becomes snow. as we look at the storm moving toward i, was we think the following day with another hit of snow for northern iowa that picked up 14 inches of snow by the way. yeah. here comes that low from the southeast. this say big rainmaker, jackson. tonight and tomorrow, m >> and all that weather was brought by by the capitol one venture card. bedbug sniffing dogs. say that fast. do they really work? we'll take a look next. that advertise flights for 25,000 miles? but when you call... let me check. oh fudge, nothing without a big miles upcharge. it's either pay their miles upcharges or connect through mooseneck! 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[children screaming] [growl] i met my husband here. i got to know my grandkids here. we've discovered so much here together. but my doctor told me that during that time my high cholesterol was contributing to plaque buildup in my arteries. that's why i'm fighting my cholesterol... with crestor. along with diet, crestor does more than help manage cholesterol, when diet and exercise alone aren't enough. crestor is also proven to slow plaque buildup in arteries. crestor is not right for everyone, like people with liver disease, or women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. simple blood tests will check for liver problems. tell your doctor about other medicines you are taking, or if you have muscle pain or weakness. that could be a sign of serious side effects. ask your doctor if crestor is right for you. i love it when we're here together. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. back at 7:43. in the fight against bedbugs, dogs have been called man's best friend. specially trained dogs are being used to sniff out infestations. now, there are new doubts, being though, about the accuracy of the dogs. we'll put the four-legged pets to the test. jeremy hubbard, how did it go? >> it went well. we've heard things about the dogs, they're tauted as 90% accurate. but we are hearing about mistakes, false positives. dogs smelling bedbugs that aren't there and it could be a costly problem. >> come on. >> reporter: are dogs really the four-legged champions of the $275 million bedbug infestation business? >> you feel like you're being taken advantage of by people marketing these dogs. >> reporter: erica spend more than $4,500 to treat their home. they threw away thousands more in furniture and clothing. when the bugs kept biting, they called in another exterminator. >> it turned out we didn't have bugs at all. >> reporter: the dogs had smelled something entirely. rodent mice. a false positive. this exterminator is realizing it, too. >> 90% of the time, i go behind a canine, there's no bedbugs. >> reporter: some wonder if they're cashing in on fear without properly training themselves or the animal. >> these dogs have been 98% to 100% accurate in finding bedbugs but maintaining that training is very important. otherwise, the dogs will start making mistakes. >> they are really the most accurate tool that the industry has for detecting low-level infetation. >> reporter: owners are quick to defend their dog us. in fact, bell environmentalal allowed us to give one of theirs a quiz. they detect bedbugs but the others are what sort of things? >> they're control insects. they are carpet beetles, roaches. >> reporter: can roscoe tell which one is a bedbug? he passes with flying colors because his owners say, he's trained every day. just as every bedbug bog should be. good boy. roscoe's got it right. but one reason for that is they're trained and only allowed to eat if they smell bedbugs. >> and they want to please their owner. basically, how are they trained? >> they follow up every day. basically, they hide bedbugs in the house. they're given a treat or food. >> and they need more roscoes. >> he has his own facebook page, by the way. >> good to know, jeremy. coming up, an exclusive first look at president obama's new children's book. we'll talk about it "around the watercooler" next. of gourmet coffee and tea to choose from. ♪ keurig is the way to brew fresh, delicious coffee in under a minute. way to brew. [ female announcer ] so with keurig, every cup tastes like it's brewed just for you. ♪ because it is. choose. brew. enjoy. keurig. choose. brew. enjoy. have you tried honey bunches of oats with real strawberries? wow. it's seriously strawberry. they're everywhere. it's in the bunches, on the flakes, even real strawberries in the mix. can i have some more? honey bunches of oats with real strawberries. it's delicious. nobody does it quite like us. how about a coastal soup and grilled shrimp salad combination? or maybe skewers of wood-grilled shrimp. seafood lunches starting at just $6.99 at red lobster. seafood lunches starting at just $6.99 it sfalling in love with the most personalized most customized piece of furniture you will ever own get that one piece right and the rest of the room will just fall in to place it starts with you introducing yourself to the world of ethan allen see your ethan allen design center today for two beautiful ways to save "around the watercooler" this morning. a "gma" exclusive. i don't know where he finds the time, but president obama has another new book out, a children's book. called "of thee i sing a letter to my daughters." inspiration from everyone from george washington, martin luther king, helen keller. i gave it a test drive. they started with fashion commentary on the girls. sasha's striped top got a thumbs up. >> uh-huh. >> from both girls but they said malia would have been wearing high tops. >> uh-huh. >> and no sneakers. >> the illustrator also did madonna's book. >> they were trying to make the girls a little old fashioned so it would be accessible to everyone. >> it's a letter, like you said that he's written to the girls. i like the one that "have i told you that you are creative?" he did write the manuscript before he became president. >> they say it was actually written between his election in 2008 and his inauguration. >> and all the proceeds go to the scholarship fund- >> disabled veterans. >> right. >> the nice thing is to show people. >> it pulls out a lot of figures that you've forgotten about, right? and it's significant to him, too, because he wrote that book "to my father" and now this is a big one. >> it got thumbs up in my house hold. coming up, would you let your son pose in a beauty pageant meet the boys that pose. and josh groban, he's performing live. that's coming up. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] here's hoping you find something special in your driveway this holiday. ♪ [ santa ] ho ho ho! 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[ mom ] right. ♪ now, maryland omost powerful doppler radar and forecast certified most accurate by weather rate. good morning. 7:56. fog causing problems. kim will talk about the commute impact. we are looking at west towson elementary at 47. fog is there and fog growing thicker in the last hour in rifterstown. -- reisterstown. on the average, we are looking at pretty thick fog with a dense fog' advisory eastern shore. queen ann schools 90-minute delay. care line county a -- caroline county two hour delay. we are watching this developing storm near the gulf coast spreading moderate to heave can i rain through louiseana and towards at lna georgia. heading up in our direction and that's the event tomorrow and coarld air is behind the storm. for today, fog is a morning issue. we should turn partly sunny and up to 60. the cloud the fog and we develop overnight with showers toward day brick and low 44. here's kim with the traffic. >> reporter: thanks. well, we have had a fatal crash this morning in the sparks glencoe area that has york road closed in both directions between phoenix and mccormick. but as you see here, southbound lanes not affected heading southbound towards the beltway. looking at the maps, we are also work several other accidents around the area. one in towson at fairmount and another crash at bel air road and baker lane up near notingham and a couple accidents in the city, one at rutland and north avenue reported with a vehicle fire and northern parkway at reisterstown road. we can go to abc2news.com to find out more about the crash. york road closed so take that into consideration before heading out this morning. ♪ there's someone down there celebrating a birthday. we see the birthday sweet 16 right there as we say good morning, america. i have a little picture i want to share with you, george. >> look at that. >> that was the '70s, baby. skinny arms, skinny waist. a long time ago. the reason we're doing that. i'm about to turn 50 next week. you are turning 50 in february. we're celebrating with this series. >> i love that, a little beauty in the world. >> thank you, demi. i appreciate that. many women treat this milestone differently. >> i'm going to blow right by mean. >> see that. i think you're going to have a little bit of a celebration, too. >> if you remember my birthday last year, i'm going to take this year off. >> the desk has never been the same. go to youtube and george's birthday from last year. >> i have a picture to show. you take a look at this picture right now. that is not me when i was a little kid. pageant boy, they're competing as girls for beauty pageants. they're putting on makeup. is this harmless fun or a price to pay for the boys? >> plus, the countdown to thanksgiving gets under way. your how-to guide for surviving all those houseguests about to descend upon you for the holidays, of course, next week, too. >> they're lining up downstairs. josh groban is downstairs. he's here for the fall concert series, live in the studio, singing from his new cd that's coming up later this hour. >> they came out nice and early an greeting us this morning. first this half hour, new developments in the search for 7-year-old kyron horman. over the weekend, teams of divers returned to the waters of sobe island. the island has been the focal point before in the search for the missing boy. and neal karlinsky explains the renewed interest in this area. >> reporter: even after all this time, they haven't given up. search teams are back at it looking for 7-year-old kyron horman once again. this weekend about 50 paid workers and volunteers scoured the area not far from chirkie k home. why search again now? investigator s say they don't have any leads but they believe that weather conditions could have turned up evidence that may have been invisible a few short months ago. >> we have water levels changing. there's in some idea that if kyron or other evidence has been lurking on the bottom it may get dislodged. >> reporter: his father hads on intensified his own public suspicion. that his wife terri horman, kyron horman's stepmother is involved. in the ongoing of course, the father write's lawyer writes one can only infer that the mother will not speak because her testimony will lead to criminal liability for kyron's disappearance. despite old acuation, a weekend of fresh searching and nearly six months gone by, investigators are still no closer than they were on that warm day in june when kyron whereabouts became a baffling mystery for "good morning america," neal karlinsky, abc news, seattle. >> let's get the other news of the morning with juju. good morning, everyone. we're going to begin with a new war plan for afghanistan that would have all u.s. combat troops home by 2014. it's modeled on the withdrawal from iraq and depends on the training of afghan forces. this morning a rocket attack at a u.s. base in eastern afghanistan set at least ten military vehicles on fire. no americans were injured. well, authorities say gases building up in a nearby swamp may have set off a massive explosion at a hotel just south of cancun, mexico. seven people, including five canadian tourists were killed. the blast was so powerful it sent debris 150 feet in the air. in medical news, it may not surprise you that a stressful job puts you at a higher risk for heart attack, but just how much of a risk? researchers say women in high-risk jobs are more than 90% likely to suffer from heart disease and strokes than women in low-stress careers. a cleansing breath, everyone. a california man's video of his run-in with airport security is going viral online. the man refused to submit to a body scan and then threatened to have an agent arrested if they patted him down too aggressive. >> you can do that out here, but if you touch my junk, i'm going to have you arrest. >> john kinor threatened to sue the airport before the testing was completed. tsa isn't commenting on the incident. jessica simpson is off the market. simpson is now engaged to former nfl player eric johnson after six months after dating. the nice coming after nick lachey announced his engagement. coincidence or not? >> i'm not sure, juju. good morning, everybody. how are you guys? you know, it's just interesting all that stuff happens at the same time. wait, did you guys see yourselves? is that it? oh! all of a sudden, there's all this other section, oh, my gosh, here we are. where are we? no, i can't. you're way too young for that. it's illegal in all states. how old are you? >> 17. >> i thought you were like 15. you look young. let's get to the boards. there are things going on this morning we want to talk about. we're going to start with a live shot out of new orleans. while there may be a sprinkle here in new york and it's just a passing sprinkle, you're getting heavy, soaking rain in new orleans. our friends from gnl, they know everything about that. middleton to northern alabama, that's the heaviest rain. brand-new system moving into the northwest. it will become a snowmaker. curving through >> more weather from the very activity times square in the next half hour, george.e very >> thank you, sam. okay. when we think of kids in beauty pageants we almost always envision little girls tiaras. the percentage of boys participating has doubled in the last five years. we asked andrea canning to take a look at the surprising phenomenon. what is going on here? >> some boys are being forced by their mothers to take the stage. others tell us they love competing. and it's not just on the pageant circuit, there are more boys joining cheerleading and gymnastics and some are expressing themselves through fashion. and it's ignited a big gender debate. >> reporter: among the glitz and the glamour, the sequins and the hairspray, there are a few contestants on the circuit not quite like the others. they're pageant boys competing for crowns in a girl's world. >> i'm gonna win this pageant! >> reporter: tracy miller said her son vander is one of the best. >> i'm surprise weathered voondzer wins. just like you put your boy in baseball, soccer, they enjoy doing it. >> reporter: the 6-year-old from missouri has been competing since a baby. >> i like to win. >> reporter: on the hit show "toddlers and tiaras --." >> thing that tampers vander, he likes. >> reporter: and shows up with ma makeup. >> i have to get on makeup to cover my rashes. >> reporter: his 3-year-old brother casey is even competing now. the beautified brothers are among the small but growing number of boys competing on the pageant circuit. an estimated 10% of contestants are now boys, up from 5% just five years ago. some boys take the stage mere days after being born. >> i think kevin did really well. he was awake and wasn't crying. >> reporter: in some cases, pageant moms admit their sons are filling a void. >> when i see little girls, i always think i could turn my little boys into girls. these are my girls that i never had. >> reporter: but tracy insist s vander is living out his own dream. >> i honestly never thought we'd be doing pageants with my son. >> reporter: it's just the latest in a well-publicized report of boys embracing their feminine or creative side. this boy was bullied for being on an all-girls cheerleading squad. >> it's terrible that they can't accept me for who i am. >> reporter: this boy was dubbed "princess boy" for his feeling to wear dresses. the boy is doing nothing wrong except spitting in the face of what's it normal wrote a person on a message board. this man who specializes in gender issues, while it can be alarming for some parents if their son wants to wear dresses some children just like to experiment. >> we cannot immediately assume because a boy wishes to be a girl that there is a psychological problem. we live in a time when we have the great good fortune to actually watch these kids emerge. these kids have a lot more freedom at this point in time. >> reporter: but freedom can come at a price. these boys are often subjected to bullying and heartache like in the film "billy elliott." >> we love you. >> reporter: tracy said she's all too aware that vander's love for pageants and gymnasts have led some to say he'll be gay. >> people say he'll be gay when he gets older. you know what, if vander becomes gay, so be it. anything i do is not going to change vander. >> reporter: for now, vander says he's happy to pursue pageants and dream of a future that embraces all walks of life. >> i want to be adventurous and a hunter and a fireman so i can pay for pageants. >> and it's not just boys who are breaking traditional gender roles. angelina jolie and brad pitt's daughter shiloh has people talking over her masculine fashion choices. >> you can credit the one expert basically saying let the kid do whatever he or she wants to do. what should parents think about when they see their boys dressing like girls or girls dressing like boys? >> as they said, it can be alarming to see that. but don't force them in another direction. i think that can end up back firing. have them experiment in different things. try and put your son in ballet if he wants to but then put him in baseball. it doesn't predetermine what they're go to come if they let them play with princesses. anything can happen. let them be kid. >> would you let your son compete in a beauty pageant? would you encourage him? weigh in on the shoutout board at abcnews.com/gma. when we come back, robin turns 50 and fierce as ever. i am. well, you don't want that one. new kellogg's fiber plus cereal®. the delicious taste of berries, plus yogurty clusters, plus 40% of your daily fiber... plus wait for it... antioxidants! so, two more wishes! mmmm. mmmm. maybe later, then. 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[ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. that saves you hundreds of dollars a year. it's called the new humana walmart-preferred prescription plan. ♪ it's a breakthrough in medicare prescription drug plans. hey buddy! hey grandpa! with monthly plan premiums less than $15 and copays as low as $2. but for savings this big, visit walmart.com or call 1-800-808-4003. introducing the new humana walmart-preferred prescription plan. a medicare prescription drug plan that's a step forward in health care... and a step forward in affording the things that really matter. but don't forget, you can only save if you enroll by december 31st. ♪ call humana to take advantage of the medicare prescription drug plan with the lowest national premium in the country. go to walmart.com for more details. ♪ go to walmart.com for more details. ♪ i'll stop the world and melt with you ♪ ♪ i'll stop the world ♪ ♪ i will stop the world ♪ ♪ you've seen the difference ♪ ♪ and it's getting better all the time ♪ ♪ i will stop the world ♪ ♪ i'll stop the world and melt with you ♪ ♪ i'll stop the world ♪ ♪ i'll stop the world, i'll melt with you ♪ it's your fault. naturally, blame the mucus. well, i can't breathe. did you try blowing your nose? of course. 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[ mucus ] new advil congestion relief. the right sinus medicine for the real problem. did you know every eight second an american turns 50? and just over a week, one of those americans -- ha ha ha -- it helps to know, george is not far behind in february. well, my "gma" family here and you at home have been at my side for so many of my milestones. and i ask you about advice turning 50 and fierce. as usual, you came through. ♪ hello 50. we are about to meet. while part of me is just a tad curious about what you may be like, another part of me wants to tell you to go away. so why is everyone trying to convince me how great you are? >> 50 is the new 30. >> 30 is just the start of fabulous. >> we're definitely not our mother's 50. >> reporter: in my head. i get it, age is just a number. but in my heart, well, i don't know if i'm ready. maybe that's because when i was born in 1960, 50 never looked as good. but during the last 20 years, as the percentage of people between the ages of 50 and 54 has doubled, there are many more of us facing this milestone. and so we find courage in numbers. a new abc news poll finds that 71% of us are actually looking forward to the big 5-0. why not? for some of us the game starts at halftime. for instance, julia child launched her little cooking show at age 50. and this gal became an overnight international superstar right on the cusp of 50. ♪ i wanted to find out how you are all handling this major life transition and hundred us of you answered the call. your stories made me smile and give me hope. >> hey, robin, finally turned 50. let me tell you something, robin, if i could look like you at 50, i would turn 50 every day of the year. >> reporter: you know, instead of grumbling about getting older, i heard one word time and time again -- celebrate. whether with a year-long party. an all-girls getaway. a costume party for charity. on the back of a harley. or just a lovely dinner with family. the future with all of us brighter than ever. >> my kids are of the age now where they don't need me as much so i'm doing more things for me that i want to do. >> it's not the end of you. it's really to define and challenge yourself. >> reporter: which is actually by beth sidle created this love note for her own 50th birthday. yes, it's a bittersweet moment. my dad is gone. but i'm blessed. i have my mom, my siblings and thankfully, my health. pain may be inevitable, but suffering is optional. i'm choosing happiness, a lesson i learned from all of you. >> my mom passed when i was 12, and she was 32. when i turned 30 i tried. when i turned 50, i celebrated. i was relieved, grateful and blessed. >> reporter: debbie, i feel the same. no kidding, all kidding aside, i enjoy 50. joins me now is leslie the editor in chief of "more magazine" and jim carys, best-selling author. >> turning 50 in march, wow. it's coming up. sometimes, you prepare for it, sometimes, you're sad. for the most part, very happy. >> what do they tell you? >> "more" is all about the joy of life. that's why it's called "more." it can be after 35, after 40, after 50. it's all about a mind-set. i have to tell you when you get to 50, the wonderful thing, you can get rid of thinking of i care what they think about me. you get to this wonderful point, you're so centered you don't care. >> and you stop being critical of yourself. to yourself, you give yourself a break when you hit a certain age and say, i can do this. >> and this is not an early 50. >> no. viewers are telling us how they celebrated. jim, you e-mailed me. you're being really good now. but you were having -- you're off and on? >> i am. i talk about the inventory 50. i like the way they look. i have my hair. robin, including, you have your hair, too. george and sam. it's a plus. but then it's that inventory. looking back and saying what have i accomplished by 50. what have i expected of myself and what are my expectation for the future? that's the tough part. >> that's why you at "more" magazine have that reinvention? >> a reinvention convention. we do a couple of them a year. what's wonderful, so many women say to themselves, if not now, when? this moment to stop, you can say, what haven't i done that i've always wanted to do? do i want to ride elephants in india? do i want to get out of corporate life and give back? it's a great moment. it's true. you see mortality coming at the end of the road. when you're 20, you think you're living to 5,000 years old, right. and then you say, let me get those things done and i have no time for sort of criticizing myself and saying i'm not this, i'm not that. but it's that mentality. it's true, not everyone is there with that mentality. i encourage everybody to think about this is a great moment to do it all. >> what are you going to do at 50? what's your goal at post-50? >> i have one thing i'm going to share with people next week. it's the dream that i've had. i'm working on it. but faith, family and friends. >> that's what it's about. >> especially having come through a health crisis, that is incredible. >> you are 50 and fierce, both of you. >> yeah. >> you got to eat right. you got to exercise right. sleep right. my two best friends, stiller and killer. >> we're going to have much more in the days ahead. come on back. hey, parker, want to race home? 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[ man ] symbicort improves my lung function, starting within 15 minutes. symbicort will not replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. it is a combination of two medicines and should not be taken more often than prescribed. symbicort contains formoterol. medicines like formoterol increase the risk of death from asthma problems, and children and adolescents may have an increased risk of being hospitalized for asthma problems. symbicort is not for people whose asthma is well controlled with a long-term asthma control medicine like inhaled corticosteroids. once your asthma is well controlled, your doctor will decide if you can stop symbicort without loss of control, and prescribe a long-term asthma control medicine. be sure to see your doctor if your asthma does not improve or gets worse. symbicort is a good choice to help control my asthma all day and night. [ inhales ] [ exhales ] ask your doctor if symbicort is a good choice for you. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. okay, now here's our holiday gift list. aww, not the mall. well, i'll do the shopping... if you do the shipping. shipping's a hassle. i'll go to the mall. hey. hi. you know, holiday shipping's easy with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. yea, i know. oh, you're good. good luck! priority mail flat rate shipping starts at just $4.90 only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. nothing beats prevacid®24hr. just one pill helps keep you heartburn free for a full 24 hours. prevent the acid that causes frequent heartburn with prevacid®24hr, all day, all night. nothing works better. traffic news update. we are on the scene and keeping you updated live op abc2news.com about a fatal crash in sparks glencoe that has york closed in both directions. that's just north of schawan-n at the harrisburg expressway, expect 12 to 15 minutes days south bend approaching the beltway keep that in mind. york road chosed in both directions at loveton farm road because of a fatal car crash. as we look at our maps, we have other accidents work around the area. one out in westminster. a major crash route 482 and ridge road also closed because of a crash involving a vehicle fire. same in baltimore city retlin at east north avenue is open but there was an accident involving injuries and a vehicle fire. we have a disabled vehicle southbound 95 partially -- block the -- blocking the ramp. fog warning. justin are we under a fog advicery. >> now maryland's most powerful doppler radar and forecast certified most accurate by weatherrate. >> reporter: at 8 we have fog issues around the reasonon and -- region and it's thick in towson. intermittent lifting above the tree tops at 47. we have got fog pretty thick out there in kingsville eastern baltimore 46 degrees. overall, we will watch a developing storm across the gulf coast rain spreading in through mississippi and alan this heads up in our direction and we will have a soaker heading through tomorrow. after the morning fog, we will turn partly sunny, 60. plan for rein by daybreak. 44 and the wet day tomorrow. back in the next half-hour. have a good morn. -- monday. the most powerful half ton crew in america has a powertrain backed for 100,000 miles. that's forty thousand more than ford. chevy silverado. the most dependable, longest-lasting full- size pickup on the road. use your all-star edition discount for... a total value of six thousand dollars on a 2011 silverado. see your local chevrolet dealer. ♪ ♪ just don't tell me that it's too late for me to love you ♪ the unmistake only sound of josh groban. one of the unforgettable guests. people have been lining up outside. now they're in to see him. he's bringing us his brand-new song in mere minutes. as we say good morning, america. as, joel osteen, the most watched minister on television. he's going to share his ideas for the holiday seasons. and time to make new memories. and just what kind of memories may depend on that holiday coming up. thanksgiving and out of town gfts. we'll tell what you to do before, during and even after the biggest. is that the countdown? >> we were trying to get ahead of this. >> what is it about countdowns with us? we're counting down to something. let's count down to sam with the weather. >> whoo-hoo! we were all just talking that you're like ten feet away from josh groban. this must be just about as close as you can get in a concert situation. >> wonderful. >> and, by the way, can i just say that's the most work i've seen in a sign ever on "good morning america." it is hand-colored. hand-lettered. there's 40 pictures of josh in there on all different -- well, he's here. he's coming up. don't be confused about that. let's get to the boards. one or two things we want to talk about as we head out the door. on a slow start to monday -- josh will fix that -- as we look at what is kind of a warm period on the eastern seaboard in the next few days but it will be a wet day tomorrow. it's just cloudy today. those temperatures stay mild and get rain out by wednesday. some-n the southwest, it's gorgeous. right on track, l.a. should be >> all that weather was brought to you by the united states postal service. >> back to robin. >> back to robin. >> thank you down there. weeping joining you soon, sam. joel osteen is the senior pastor of the lakewood church. it's the largest church in america. he's a best-selling author. his latest book is out in time for the holiday season. it is called "the christmas spirit memories of family, friends and faith." >> good to be with you. >> this say really personal book. really opens up about your childhood, wonderful pictures. >> it really is. it's something different. not necessarily a teaching book. just was encouraged to talk about how i grew up. the memories. you know, once i got into writing it, i found it very fun and just -- >> who's that? >> there i am. that's me and my dad and my sister tamra. there i am again. >> so you were just moved as you were caught up in -- >> i think so. yeah, it's just so important the memories that we make. you know, it's more than the gifts. more than the food at the holidays but taking time for the people you that love. every day is a gift that god's given us. it's so important that we make great memories. >> and did you with your family. and you still are, i should say? talking about your dearly departed john who, of course, started the entire church. and to hear and read the stories, joel. and with your sister. tell about the bicycle story. >> oh, yeah. my dad, when i was about 7 years old. he took to us the store, he loved to buy us gifts, especially at christmastime because he grew up poor. that was a big deal. my sister, when she wasn't there, she bought her a bicycle. it was just so beautiful. brought it home and covered it in the back patio. it was several weeks before christmas. i said, dad, can i go and see april's bike. he wouldn't let me see did. christmas morning when i got up, he took us both out there, he had two bikes, one for me and one for her. that's the reason. sometimes, god has great things in store for us, even though it's not right now. there's a reason why something hasn't happened. it just let me know how much my dad loved me and wanted me to be surprised. >> and to be patient. you never know what's going to happen even greater than you expect for yourself. i love when you tell about your favorite memory as a child at christmas where you would sleep. >> oh, yeah. all of us kids, there were five of us, we'd sleep in the den by the christmas tree. stay up late. get up early. put the coffee on. we all drank coffee because my dad did. we'd get up early and go get my parents and open up the presents together. >> and what kind of traditions do you continue? what do you take from your childhood and what are the new ones you started with your wife victoria and your two children? >> i think the main ones we make is making that memory, spending time together, not getting so busy. even all through the year. even staying together and just having family and friends over. >> and it's difficult for some people, as you know, joel. for a lot of people, the holidays, christmas and that, it brings back some memories that are not as pleasant as they are for you and they are for me. but you're also able to find a way. i remember you talked about your mother going through cancer. and you thought that was going to be a sad christmas, but it wasn't. >> no, it really wasn't. that's where you draw strength. and when it looked like my mother wasn't going to live, we were there to give her hope. one thing i encourage people to do is one, find somebody else that you can help. i find when you get outside of yourself. we still do it. go to a shelter. go buy somebody else a gift. you're amazed when you get outside of yourself. that's when the true joy comes when you're helping someone else. whether when you say christmas. people say no, say christmas, say holiday. say what holiday it is. when you're trying to be so pc in not offendsing everyone, it's about celebrating what it is you believe in. >> that's exactly right. the birth of jesus. i don't think there's something wrong in saying that and celebrating. >> this is a great christmas gift? >> i think it will be. >> jaunk, joel. best to you and victoria. you can go to abcnews.com/gma to read a chapter from "the christmas spirit." we also want to hear your messages on holiday cheer. go to the website and submit your three words. you can say christmas, hanukkah. not just the holiday. 12 days -- 10 days to thanksgiving. the countdown has began. with the holidays to get the most out of it, you have to be ready. our friends at good housekeeping has prepared tips. editor in chief rose mary ellis joins us now. your motto is be prepared. >> be prepared. we have great ideas to be prepared and save your sanity. no matter how much company you have coming. >> we have 22. >> okay. here are things you need to know. first of all, declutter whatever area your guests are staying in. living room, couch, guest room, get your stuff out of the way. if you have fragile objects, especially if your company has kids. put them away. it will lower your stress level. their stress level. everybody can relax. in the bathroom, you're going to want to set out clean towels. we tested 55 lines of towels for absorbancy, shrinkage, color fading and overall wear and tear. these are top performers. hydrocotton at pottery barn. they shrink the least of all cotton towels. they also faded very little. so great choice if you need to stock up on towels. extra blankets. and a recent test at the institute, we tested 32 lines of blankets. this softec by polartec it's a mid-weight blanket. and also you're going to want to have a folder on hand. >> ali laid out all the activities for the weekend that people could choose from. >> so smart. gives you time to prep for thanksgiving or recover from it. and gives your guests something to do. have local maps. information nearby. maybe restaurant menus in case you want to shove them out the door. >> maybe for lunch. >> also in the december issue, we had the test toy awards. we tested all board games. these are some that do the best. >> i've never seen some of these. >> some of them are new. "bubble talk." tv is great but you don't want to watch tv all the time so have indoor activities. if you need seating and you usually do if you're having a load of people over. we just tested chairs. these from ikea did incredibly well. if you love pink, that's great. but also black. they're $13. incredibly lightweight. they fold up easily. they store easily. it's a terrific buy. >> this is the aftermath. >> well, this is the middle of thanksgiving dinner, right. your uncle roofline invariably spills red wine and cran berry sauce on your table cloth. you're going to need something. go for it. >> you know it. >> you blot it up with a clean towel. get as much as you can like this. then what you're going to do is take a sponge or damp cloth and break the stain down as much as you can. >> right away? >> right away? you put a paper towel dry. fold it up two layers, top and bottom. get put a heavy dish on it. you get a towel to absorb the moisture. the next day, you can pretreat it with a stain remover and wash it as normal. if you have a little wine. i'm going to do this because i don't trust you. take the salt shaker and pour a mountain of salt on it. this also works on carpets. you leave it alone until it dries which is the next day. and the salt picks up the stain. cr cranberry sauce even more challenging. if it goes on like that. lovely, right? you scrape off the excess as much as you can with a spoon. then you just blot with a towel. put a little rubbing alcohol on it. that will break up the stain until you can wash it. the next day, voila. >> salt and rubbing alcohol. >> under the table. >> thank you very much. we have a whole bunch of tips on our website right now, go to abcnews.com/gma. when we come back, josh groban is here. ♪ now, in the fall concert series, he sold more than 20 million albums. josh groban, his fifth studio album comes out today called "illuminations." he's going to sing a new track but first great to catch up. why did you make us wait so long? >> this is a process that's totally different from me. it's a learning experience. when you do writing as i was asked to do, it takes time. sometimes, you have to wait. >> you talk about this is very personal? >> this is a very personal record for me. yeah, i mean, it's also fun to find songs that connect with you. for me, instead of writing a journal, i'll sit down at a piano. so many of these records stem from moments on tour, moments in my life. songs came from that. >> didn't you write one when you were 12 years old? >> i did. the opening track on the record is one i wrote after a terrible day at school. i came home and wrote it. i didn't realize that was writing. it's exorcising the demons. >> you all worked so well together. and it really comes through in the music. >> it was a learning experience for both of us. we're both really proud of it. >> was it a learning experience moving to new york city? >> yes, and no. when i got a fruit basket for my 56th stay at a hotel, it was definitely time. i get the city now. my dog and i. >> we've got a track? >> there is, a song call the "bells of new york." it's definitely a song i needed to write, kind of like new york flirting with me to make an honest city out of me. >> we're so glad you're here. do you want to hear? josh groban. ♪ oh long time on great circle would watch the rain ♪ ♪ sweet sweet season i've got inside i just can't wait to get lost inside ♪ ♪ and all these works you were meant to say held inside there today ♪ words of darkness turns to keep them hid away ♪ ♪ ♪ i can take it away holding out for something i've been keeping ♪ ♪ i want to free your heart i want to see your heart please don't keep your heart hidden away ♪ ♪ you're a wonder how bright you shine ♪ a flickering candle in a short lifetime ♪ a secret dreamer that never shows ♪ ♪ if no one sees you then nobody knows all these words you were meant to say held in silence day after day ♪ ♪ words of kindness that our poor hearts crave please don't keep them hidden away ♪ ♪ sing it out so i can finally breathe in i can take in all the same ♪ ♪ reaching out for someone i believe in all i really need today ♪ ♪ i want to free your heart i want to see your heart please don't keep your heart hidden away ♪ ♪ ooh ooh ♪ [ female announcer ] there's a way to get your groceries when you want them, all without leaving your home. it's called safeway home delivery. visit safeway.com today and you'll save $15 on your first order and get free home delivery. just type in the promo code: fresh. it's everything you need. so you have more time to do what you want. order today. with $15 off and free delivery, now's the time to shop at safeway.com. 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[ man ] call for a special offer and go to walgreens to learn more about diabetes. and get freestyle lite test strips today. and tomorrow on "gma," robin's playing the drums as part of your "50 and fierce" celebration. josh will you play another song? >> i will, absolutely. >> also, tomorrow, jamie oliver is here as well. >> have a terrific day. see you tomorrow. now, maryland's most powerful doppler radar and forecast certified most accurate by weather rate. >> the talk of fog but not everybody is seen and the hazy sky and clouds starting to lift and brighten up a little bit knowing it's 49 degrees. we have been watching some fog look down into the valley towson at 49 as well. while some you have are dealing with the fog, it should be burning off partly sunny sky expected by the next round of clouds ahead of the next storm should be racing in here. a little sun pushing us to 606789 but as the chowed come back there will be rain and fog by daybreak at 44. plan for a wet day tomorrow with heavier rain in the afternoon and evening. a high back to 56. more on that storm and the colder weather to follow on "good morning, maryland" at nine. now traffic with kim. >> reporter: fog warnings in place at the bay bridge and across the key bridge earlier warnings have been lifted at the tiedings brimming. traffic is moving better at york road. we are dealing with that serious incident in sparks glencoe an accident involving a fatality that has york closed in both directions at loveton farms road north of the area so a the love people were bailing out of harrisburg. bel air road at new cut road and south of the beltway debris in the roadway and glen burnie that's in the eastbound lanes of route 100 getting on the ramp to 97. that's off to the right. but it's somewhat impacting drivers this morning. aside from that traffic is moving better on the 95 as your approach to capital beltway. stay with us, good morning maryland is up next. coming up, at nine. the chevy malibu was designed to catch the eye... but great design is also what you don't see. like dependability, a one-hundred thousand-mile, five-year powertrain warranty and being named a consumers digest best buy three years running. it's easy to see why over a thousand people a day are switching to chevy. qualified lessees can get a low mileage lease on this 2011 malibu ls for around one ninety-nine a month. call for details. the switch to chevy starts at chevydealer.com.