What is allegedly the most expensive burger on the planet earth. Ron and i normally do the taste testing around here. Were very excited about this. Also, check this out. The flying squirrel in the house this morning. Gabrielle douglas is here. Shes here live. She has a new memoir out, where she says she almost quit right before the olympics. Shes going to be taking questions from a whole gaggle of young fans. Very much looking forward to that. So many people excited to meet her this morning. Also, countdown to crisis. Were 24 days from tax increases for everyone and big, painful federal budget cuts, unless president obama and House Speaker john boehner can strike a deal. Well have the latest on the battle of wills in washington. The president is out this morning with a notsoconciliatory note. Well get the latest from david kerley coming up. Check this out. Why all new cars may soon be spying on their drivers and making it tough for you to cover your tracks. Were going to start, though, with what should have been a joyous week for the royal family. But news of kates pregnancy was very quickly overshadowed by her hospitalization for morning sickness, a prank call that duped two of her nurses, and then, the suspected suicide of one of those nurses. This morning, the boss of the two australian deejays behind this prank is now speaking out. And abcs Jeffrey Kofman is in london on the story. Jeffrey, good morning to you, sir. Reporter and good morning to you, dan. An outpouring of indignation, that is what we are seeing around the world as news of this story spreads. And nowhere is it stronger than in australia. All of it focused on the two radio presenters behind the hoax call. This is 9 news. A sydney Radio Station is tonight at the center of a firestorm. Reporter amidst an outpouring of anger, the radio hosts behind the prank have been taken off the air at sydneys 2day f. M. The company they work for refuses to fire them or condemn them. Its unfair to be drawing conclusions from what is really a deeply tragic matter. Our main concern is for the family. I dont think anyone could have reasonably foreseen this was going to be the result. Hello, there. Could i please speak to kate, please . Reporter the prank had been cleared by the Radio Stations lawyers. And just yesterday, the two deejays had been gloating about the successful call to the hospital, in which they pretended to be the queen and prince charles. And were able to obtain personal information about the duchess serious condition. We expected to be hung up on. We didnt know what to say. We got put through. And now, the entire world is talking. Reporter as the australians learn of the suicide of the nurse jacintha saldanha who answered the phone at the private hospital where the duchess was being treated, revulsion engulfed the two radio hosts. Their twitter account has been suspended. You scumbag. I hope youre happy now. The receptionist you rang has committed suicide. You have blood on your hands now. The nurse, known to friends as jess, had been working at the hospital for four years. Originally from india. Her distraught husband posted this on facebook. I am devastated with the tragic loss of my beloved wife, jacintha in tragic circumstances. She will be laid to rest in shirva, india. The sydney Radio Station famous for the pranks and outrageousness is now facing an advertising boycott, as australians lash out against the deejays. In an effort to preempt that of a full boycott, owners have suspended advertising on the station. And its worth noting that this station had been called to account twice already this year for violating australias broadcast decency standards. Jeffrey, thank you. Your heart goes out to her door husband having to somehow make sense of all this. With more reaction to this tragedy, including how the royal family is dealing to the news, lets bring in our royal contributor, vicki arbiter. Good morning. Good morning to you. Great to have you in, unfortunately on not a great story. We heard that the royal family issued a statement expressing their condolences. But what are your sources telling you about how theyre feeling right now . Whats going on . Its been an overwhelming week, for william and kate in particular. They were forced to make this announcement early. Then, theres the added anxiety of kate being ill. The whole world talking about the intimate details in terms of her body and the baby. But then, no one could have imagined a conclusion just like this. The couple are obviously very distressed. William will be carrying a sense of responsibility. They were at the hospital. Was there Something Else the Royal Protection officers could have done to patrol phone calls being handled in this way . I dont think well hear anything else from the couple because it takes attention away from the family at a time when they need their privacy. I think moving forward, it will be interesting to see how william handles the media. Curious about kates psychology in particular. After going through this mess and the controversy about the nude pictures that surfaced a couple months ago, do you think shes finding being a royal is tougher than she might have imagined . I think the last couple of months have given her a rude insight to the other side of royal life. But what its also done is show us she is the perfect person for the job. When that scandal breaks, turned up, she did what the royals have trained their whole lives to do. And shes very new to this. She showed up. She had a smile on her face. She did the job at hand. She didnt comment. She handled herself beautifully. We have to focus on a complicated pregnancy. Can only imagine this is going to be a very shielded and guarded royal king and queen, whoever this baby is. Absolutely. All this stunt has done is fuel williams mistrust of the media. And its just going to make him that much more protective. Vicki, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it. Now, with some of the other stories developing this morning, lets go to ron claiborne. Good morning, ron. Good morning, everyone. We begin with a top suspected terrorist leader in custody overseas. The wall street journal reports the alleged ringleader of an egyptian terrorist network has been captured in egypt. Members of the group are believed to have taken part in that attack back in september on the u. S. Consulate in benghazi, libya, that killed four americans. Meanwhile, secretary of state Hillary Clinton is expected to testify this week in open congressional hearings on that attack. And egypts military is warning of disastrous consequences if the political crisis in that country is not resolved. President Mohamed Morsi is pressing ahead with a meeting today to find a solution. But major opposition groups are protesting. Protesters have stormed the palace there in cairo, cutting through barbed wire and surging up to its outer walls. And the other winner of that Record Powerball jackpot has now claimed his prize. Arizona lottery officials announcing that the winner has chosen to remain anonymous. But they did say he took the cash option of 192 million bucks. Hes married, in his 30s. Whoever he is, we know he is not this guy, who was seen in a store video in maryland, acting like he was celebrating. He said or he claimed or believed or was faking, was the winning ticket. And quite a haul for u. S. Customs this week. Federal officers seized nearly 36,000 rubber ducks. They were made in china. They are worth more than 18,000. The ducks, which are decorated for the holidays contain high levels of a chemical that may be unsafe for children. And finally, the story about one mother who just couldnt quite make it to the hospital delivery room. Biannas paying close attention here. Mercy Medical Center in cedar rapids, iowa, show a woman giving birth in the e. R. Parking lot. Thats sped up, by the way. The little girl was born in the front seat of the minivan. Welcome to the world. Back to you, dan. Very cute. Thank you, ron. Also this morning, lawyers on both sides of one of the most emotional issues in American Life are getting ready for battle. That is because the Supreme CourtJust Announced that it will tackle gay marriage. Nightline anchor terry moran covers the court for abc news. Terry, good morning to you. I wish you could clarify for us whats at stake here. Is it possible, i think a lot of people are wondering, that the Supreme Court could legalize gay marriage for the entire nation . Thats one of the choices they have. They could just rewrite the law and the culture of the country, saying gay people have an equal right to get married in every state under the u. S. Constitution. Thats the big kahuna for advocates of gay marriage. But they can do a lot of things short of that. One thing they could do is strike down the federal law, the defense of marriage act, which says for federal purposes, 1,000 laws, tax benefits, access to people in hospitals, marriage is only between a man and a woman. They could just strike down that one and leave the rest up to the states. Theres a whole range of things they could do. Are the justices in any way influenced by the changing Public Opinion on this issue . Weve seen a really dramatic shift in favor of gay marriage. Thats the most interesting question in this case, dan. Ten years ago, the Supreme Court would have decided this one way, probably unanimously or close to that. Ten years from now, it will go the other direction. Were right at the hinge of history on this issue. Does the Supreme Court crystallize what seems to be this emerging consensus, as you point out . Or is it as william s. Buckley say conservatives should do, standing on history and yelling stop. The court has this really interesting moment in which to decide one of the most controversial issues we are discussing. At the hinge of history. A lovely phrase. Terry moran, anchor of nightline, who anchored nightline last night, up early with us this morning. We appreciate it. Thank you, dan. This morning marks 24 days before the country goes over the fiscal cliff, where everyones taxes automatically go up and deep spending cuts kick in. President obama is taking aim at republicans, accusing them of blocking a bill that would prevent tax rates from going up for the middle class. Republicans are firing back, saying raising tax rates for anyone, including top earners, would jeopardize the economy. Fiscal cliff negotiations are now in the hands of just two people, president obama and House Speaker john boehner. Abcs david kerley joins us live with the latest. David, we have a positive jobs report. Better than expected. Consumer confidence plummeted. A lot of people attributing that to the gridlock in washington. Reporter theyre using the jobs report right now, the obama administration. A little more fuel. And we are talking about two men now. It comes down to these two guys and a lot of jobs on the line. Possible hiring freezes, furloughs if we go over the cliff. Federal agencies now working on reports for the white house, of the cuts they will make if we do actually go over the cliff. A diner, middleclass taxpayers and the Vice President , telling republicans a deal to extend tax cuts for all but the wealthy is easy. The president would probably have me sprint up to the hill to bring the bill down for him to sign. It can be done like that. Reporter not really. Even though the two sides are talking, they arent making much progress. Remember that phone call between the president and the speaker a couple days ago . The phone call was pleasant. But it was just more of the same. Reporter and thats the problem. It is now down to these two men, deal or no deal. The republican speaker and the president. With an election win at his back, the white house says the president wont budge on two points higher tax rates for the rich. The actual rate might be negotiable. And any deal has to include an increase in the debt limit, which is set to hit its ceiling in february. But one mistake the president wont make in these talks, is the one he made a year and a half ago in negotiations with boehner. He didnt keep Democratic Leaders in the house and senate in the loop. This time, he did. Even though nancy pelosi is not at the table, she says shes on the team. The president knows our views. He shares our values. Reporter what im hearing from Administration Sources is they want republicans to agree to some of that rate increase for the wealthy in taxes. And the debt ceiling. Then, the white house will Start Talking about how were going to cut entitlement programs. Thats not the way the republicans want the negotiations to go. But basically, the white house is saying, listen, do this and well go forward. A tough game of political chicken in washington right now. Bill clinton called it kabuki theater. David kerley, thank you. These days, as you may know, cars have a lot of features that the owners of the modelt back in the day, could never have imagined. Seat warmers, dvd players, rearview cameras, even wifi. Soon, there may be a controversial and mandatory new feature, the ability to spy on your every move. Abcs Mark Greenblatt is on the story. Mark, good morning. Reporter good morning to you. Some call the plan sneaky. Others say it will improve safety. Now, the government wants to make it mandatory for your car to get one of those socalled black boxes, like they have on airplanes, that could tell all if you get in a crash. Many politicians worry about investigative reporters. Lieutenant governor Timothy Murray of massachusetts crashed this government vehicle, its his own car that did him in. Murray told police he had his seat belt on and claimed he wasnt speeding. But a black box like this revealed he was actually traveling unbelted at more than 100 Miles Per Hour. Youre probably used to hearing about black boxes helping investigators solve airplane crashes. But Car Manufacturers have quietly placed similar devices in more and more vehicles. Turning our own cars into snitches. Wasnt that good of very nervous. Reporter former new jersey governor jon corzine found that out, getting seriously hurt in this crash. Only to have a data recorder reveal to the world, the governor himself didnt have a belt on, while the state trooper driving him was traveling 91 Miles Per Hour in a 65mileperhour zone. Im going to do some things on this seat belt issue. Reporter and now, the federal government wants to require every small vehicle made from now on to get one of those black boxes, saying this proposal will give us the critical insight and information we need to save more lives. But privacy advocates say, hold on. There are important safety concerns here and they shouldnt be ignored. But theres also pressing privacy concerns. Reporter because without safeguards, your black box could become a spy. Make sure that the owner of the vehicle controls the data. They own it and they control it. Reporter some Insurance Companies have already started requiring customers to hand over black box data after a crash. Theyre putting that in the fine print of contracts. But this isnt a done deal yet. Dan, bianna, the public has 60 days to weigh in. Fascinating debate. Mark, thank you. Youre welcome. Lets check the forecast and get it over to ginger zee. A lot going on in the middle of the country. Thats right. Northern plains and western great lakes. Thats where we begin. The big headline this week is going to be snow. Lets begin right in minnesota, right outside minneapolis, bloomington. It was a slippery, slidey mess on our friday. A lot of accidents happening there. Its what happens when you have only a halfinch. Theyre about to get five to eight inches of snow by the time this weekend is done. This is a snowstarved area, meaning they usually have a lot more. Omaha and lincoln, nebraska, on their longest stretch of days without snow ever in recorded history. So, a lot of people looking forward to the halffootplus in the pink area. Heres what we can expect with the snow, it would be that bitter cold. Look at the numbers drop off in places like denver. The temperature, 48 today. 22 by the time we reach our sunday. Minneapolis is going to tumble down to around 14. One place that isnt so cold, the southeast. Places there, 10 to 20 degrees above average. Look at houston. Should be 66. Today, 80. So, i absolutely love ski season. Its started in utah. We have this great picture to start, from snowbird. Getting me pumped up. Going to take the first runs in a month or so. Looking to the next photo, chicago area. Just outside. Valparaiso, indiana. Thats where i went to school. They had beautiful skies this week. Had to show them. Thanks, ginger. Tonight, history could be made when they hand out the Heisman Trophy to americas best College Football player. Past winners include tim tebow, bo jackson, herschel walker. And tonight, for the First Time Ever a winner could be a freshman. A young man they call johnny football. And johnny schriffen is here with his report. Reporter why not, right . How is everybody doing . Good morning. What makes this story so amazing is that in the preseason, hardly anyone knew who Johnny Manziel was. Thats because his team playing in the s. E. C. , the toughest conference of the country, wasnt expected to win many games. But he proved the doubters wrong. And tonight, could make history. This was the moment when the country discovered texas a m quarterback, Johnny Manziel. Watch this, as he fumbles the ball, chased by 300pounders. How about that . Reporter and calmly throws a dart into the end zone, pulling off the improbable upset over defending national champion, alabama. Its just surreal. Thats the best way i can describe it. Reporter all season, the 20yearold wracked up touchdown after touchdown, making it look like something out of a video game. Now, he has a chance to become immortalized as the first freshman to ever win