police ever make that information available to your department? >> no. that came to light as this investigation occurred. >> the official said there was no information to pass the information along. sources say loughner has been sitting in his jail cell, still smiling, still smirking. pierre thomas, abc news, tucson, arizona. >> and our coverage of the tucson tragedy continues throughout the morning. you can get the latest on the impact of the presidential memorial on "america this morning." we'll also hear from a shooting survivor on "good morning america" later today. stay with us. a threat against another lawmaker led to the arrest of a southern california man of palm springs appearing in federal court on the charge of making threatening phone calls to washington democrat, jim mcdermitt. he left his name and phone number on the congressman's voice mail before threatening to kill him. he could be released on bond as early as today. the sister of quarterback brett favre will be in a mississippi courtroom when 34-year-old brandy favre faces drug charges after being arrested along with four others. favre was charged with manufacturing crystal meth. this isn't the first time she was in trouble. brandy favre was arrested twice in the late '90s. the roller coaster ride of internet sensation ted williams has taken a plunge. williams is heading to rehab for alcohol and drug abuse. he agreed to check in after recording an appearance on the dr. phil talk show airing today. he was briefly detained of a dispute with his daughter at a los angeles hotel. turning overseas to a deadly catastrophe in brazil. heavy rains caused mudslides roaring through a town and more than 250 people were killed. dozens missing. 10 inches of rain fell on the mountainous area in less than 24 hours. rescue crews will go back to work at daybreak. and in flood-raf vajd australia, one leader says rebuilding is a task of post-war proportions. the water levels have crested three feet below what was expected. at least 25 people have died in the flooding and dozens are still missing. an early price tag on the devastation. $5 billion. roads along the east coast are still treacherous this morning a day after winter storm number three. more than 1700 flights were cancelled in the new york area alone and parts of new england were brought to a standstill. we have this story. >> reporter: new england received the biggest punch as the storm slammed across the northeast. some areas in states like connecticut received more than two feet of snow. the few that ventured out into parts of massachusetts, struck by mere whiteout conditions. the state declared a state of emergency. this tree nearly killed a sleeping 19 year old. >> i was sleeping and i woke up to a crash. i woke up covered in debris. >> reporter: icy roads across the storm's path kept drivers on alert. >> it's very slick. i slid through here in the parking lot itself. just about hit a truck so i'm glad i didn't. >> in many areas, armies of plows were out early. in new york, mayor bloomberg said the city changed its strategy fo handselling major snowfalls. extra crews and machinery were out on the streets. >> as part of our new strategy, we changed the way we called in and deployed other city resources and private assistance. >> reporter: the south is still reeling from the same storm. it left sheets of ice across roads and highways. airlines delayed or cancelled flights from atlanta to boston, leaving passengers stranded thinking of a backup plan. some areas have already broken records. new york city typically gets 27 inches of snow a year. after this blizzard it surpassed that average and still, three months of winter are left. for abc news, back to you. and a beacon of light has serving as a remindser of the midwest harsh winters. along lake michigan a lighthouse is covered in a thick coating of ice. the wintry scene was created by a combination of high tide and some bone-chilling tents there in western michigan. pretty if you don't have to be in it. here's your thursday forecast. stormy in the pacific northwest. rain along the coast. up to two feet of snow in the cascades and northern rockies. one to three inches of lake effect snow from michigan to buffalo and pittsburgh. up to 20 degrees below normal in the deep south. 34 in atlanta, 44 in new orleans. 30 in boston. mostly 20s in the midwest from kansas city to detroit. 36 in billings. 51 in seattle. 71 degrees in phoenix. even this one might be quite a stretch for the long arm of the law. >> two men in austin, texas, were pulled over for drunk driving but there was no car involved. here's the surveillance video. one man was on a horse and his friend was on a mule. they invited people to take pictures with them. >> steady there, partner. one man was so intoxicated he could barely stand up. the police say they were posing a danger to themselves, the public and to those folks and horses. >> this is on 6th street and this is an area where college kids are. one of these guys is 33 and the other is 48. you should know better! >> it's cold there. they needed to warm up a bit. wow! man! >> that's right. >> no way to hold them. >> no way to hold them. >> let's hope for the best. >> no way to stumbleable way. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] covergirl introduces the next generation of beautiful. what's next? a beauty movement to help all of us rock the covergirls we are. get involved at facebook.com. the next generation of easy breey beautiful -- is you. covergirl. rockin it for 50 years. living in new york city we don't often get to ride. >> but you took a joyride. >> i was lucky enough to test a car of the future. all it takes is the push of a button but it could be the start of a transformation on america's roadways. >> we really are driving in the future. >> we're on the cusp of what i call the electric drive revolution. >> thanks to 400 million federal dollars -- the country is in the midst of the largest rollout of electric cars end and the infrastructure need to support them as officials hope the country begins to ditch the pumps and, instead, plug in. >> this is the technology of the future when it comes to automobiles. >> reporter: the goal is to put more than 13,000 electric drive vehicles and 20,000 chargers in more than 20 cities across the country in the next few years. president obama has set a goal of having a million evs on the road by 2015. and right now buyers can enjoy a $7,500 federal tax credits if they buy one. >> this is the first time that electric vehicles have been rolled out in mass market to americans in showrooms for purchase. >> reporter: the toyota prius was the first mass-produced gas electric hybrid vehicle going global in 2001. now, a new generation of evs will soon hit showrooms including the chevy volt, another hybrid and the nissan leaf, running entirely on electricity. they work like a cell phone with batteries that take just a few hours to juice up. using charging stations that officials hope will one day become as commonplace as gas stations. they envision these devices lining our highways and our garages. rights now, most batteries will let you travel at least 40 miles and some automakers claim theirs last a few hundred. capacity is sure to improve with time and technology. >> this is gets you further in terms of not stopping to charge as often. >> so for the majority of drivers they can drive this car to work and back home every day and do what they need to do and be all on ev. >> reporter: officials say the real advantage to electric cars about fuel economy. gas these days costs about $3 a gallon. but with an electric car the equivalent is about 60 cents a gallon, a huge difference. car rental hertz has added these to their cars to give drivers a taste of what's to come. >> we can be the bridge between the lack of knowledge and your ultimate buying decision. >> reporter: it will take time for the novelty to wear off and for americans to change their gas-guzzling ways but advocates say there's plenty of benefits to making the switch including cutting pollution and creating jobs. >> electric cars are patriotic. they help us get off of foreign oil. they're quiet. they're fast and they're cheap to drive. these cars have a tremendous future. in the next two years, they will be the kickoff. >> thousands of them coming into showrooms and thousands of charging stations. that's the way of the future and look at the predictions that gas down the road costs $5 a gallon and it makes a lot of sense. particularly if you don't drive long distances. >> i don't mean to sound like a commercial but it was a smooth, quiet driving. the car handles well. in time the batteries will last longer and it's a huge transformation for the country. >> i figured you rode way back. i thought your seat would be way back. >> way back? next stop. coming up, baby girl born at magic moment this week. >> she's got something in common with her brother and it just might surprise you. that's coming up next. welcome back. now to one lucky baby whose friends and family will never forget her birthday. she was born at 111 on january 11th, 2011. that's 1-11-11. got that? >> her big brother was born on 11-11. more 11s for that family. we have the report from denver. >> she just had a bath. and she's all pinked up. >> if the date and time annie came into this world are any indication, one is her lucky number. >> the timing jokes about it. >> her mom and dad didn't really plan to have their pink bundle of joy on january 11th, 2011. >> we were getting induced a week early and didn't even think about the 1-11 date. it just ended up being exactly a week. >> reporter: and they didn't plan for it to happen at a very specific time. >> i checked her in and she was complete and her husband tyson said, that was would be awesome if we could deliver at 1:11. >> the nurse had to pull my legs and get the doctors here in time. so then, one quick push and she was out. >> reporter: turns out the number one runs in the family. annie's big brother was born at 11:11. >> it's just a coincidence. i don't know what will come out of it. maybe we'll make it big some day as a family with a connection that has a connection with the 11. >> reporter: for now, this number one family says it's a good reminder. one day, one moment at a time. >> we'll never forget what time they were born. that's for sure. >> and as hard as it is to believe that baby was born in denver at 1:11 p.m., yesterday we had a story about a baby that was the exact same mo but that one was born at 1:11 a.m. they should meet. >> they'll get together. mom and baby are just fine. stick around. your papers when we return. if your racing thoughts keep you awake... sleep is here, on the wings of lunesta. and if you wake up often in the middle of the night... rest is here, on the wings of lunesta. lunesta helps you fall asleep and stay asleep, so you can wake up feeling rested. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities while asleep, without remembering it the next day, have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions, such as tongue or throat swelling, occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness and morning drowsiness. ask your doctor if lunesta is right for you. get lunesta for a $0 co-pay at lunesta.com. sleep well, on the wings of lunesta. ♪ , [ female announcer ] tide with acti-lift technology helps remove many dry stains as if they were fresh. ♪ tide with acti-lift. so why does this one cost so much less on hotwire.com? 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[ male announcer ] it's outlast lipstan from covergirl. [ drew ] light as air lipwear that does what a lipstick can't. with one sold every 15 seconds, it's the #1 selling lipstain in the u.s. [ male announcer ] outlast lipstain. from easy, breezy, beautiful covergirl. we got made a lot of fun of. >> we caused some heat on facebook, i should say. >> yesterday we decided to go out and play in the snow and you saw us. we attempted to make a snowman which, in our defense, we had about two minutes to build one. >> and there wasn't much out there so we had to move quick. >> we built a g.i. joe size. >> we had people commenting left and right to take a class on the basics of building a snowman. >> we got one cool picture so we wanted to share this. this came from tennessee and this is what it should look like. we thought it was so cute. >> the kids are better at this than we are. >> painful when they're like 3 and 4 and they outbuild us. good job in tennessee. to the morning papers. a story out of canada. i'm not a pet person myself and i tend to make fun of people that are obsessed with their pets. this couple is so distraught about their missing dog. they tried facebook, flyers in the neighborhood, calling police about a dog napper and now she stepped it up a level and dan and sarah cannon live in the ottawa area and their missing their dog, molly james, who went missing january 4th and they're offering to name their first-born child for whoever finds the missing dog. she's a few weeks of giving birth and they say they'll name the child after the person if you find our dog, molly jane. i'm not saying it's crazy i'm just putting it out there. >> is that their first baby? >> it is. if it was like their third or fourth they would be over it. >> their first-born. >> let's hope they have a nice name. there's a study out. this was done by scientists in "the washington post" and it's basically the true and false about drinking. we're going to play along in our studio audience. we woke up some of those people that sit around. here's the first question -- you've always heard this. beer then liquor never sicker. liquor than beer, never fear. is it true or false? >> i say true. that's how i got through college. >> false. >> false. >> really? >> answer the answer is, according to scientists, false. no chemical interaction between these drijs that make you particularly bad. >> champagne gets you drunker than wine, true or false. >> false. >> true. >> true. >> they beat you again. it is true. they said they are not sure. it remains a mystery but they think the bubbles open a valve in your stomach and the alcohol reaches your bloodstream faster. drinking coffee will get you reaches your bloodstream faster. drinking coffee will get you soeber or faster true or (man) more of your favorite tv shows, as always, breaking local news, emergency alerts, in the palm of your hand. high quality hd, 3dtv... more choices than ever. it's... mobile tv. technology, not regulation from washington, d.c. check out what's next. visit... hope in the hospital. encouraging news about gabby giffords. >> gabby opened her eyes for the first time. >> moments after the president's visit. boston bombarded. new england slammed by a snowstorm. today's struggle to dig out! and germs in public places. a scientific study reveals something downright dirty. it's thursday, january 13th. captions paid for by abc, inc. we took a poll before the show to see what people thought was the dirtiest place and people guessed public telephones or what's left of them or cell phones. and the answer, though, probably won't surprise you. it makes so much sense. that's the funkiest nastiest place. >> make sure you stick around because it will make you want wash your hands five times today. a time of remembering and healing as president obama spoke last night from tucson. >> the president called on the nation to put bipartisan bickering aside and honor the victims of saturday's shooting. on top of that, mr. obama revealed some pretty dramatic new information about the recovery of congresswoman giffords. tj is in tucson with more. hi, tj. >> reporter: hi, rob. good morning. president obama did come here to tucson to comfort this community. but as you mentioned, he frequently addressed the current climate of harsh political rhetoric and said that it is better that we speak to each other in ways that heal than ways that harm. wednesday, president obama acted as consoler in chief. >> the hopes of a nation are here tonight. we mourn with you for the fallen. we join you in your grief. we add our faith to yours. that representative gabrielle giffords and the other living victims of this tragedy will pull through. >> reporter: the president remembered the six victims killed on saturday including the youngest, 9-year-old christine taylor green. >> in christina we see all of our children. >> reporter: earlier at the university medical center, he and the first lady met with the families as well as the survivors including the congresswoman about whom he shared encouraging news. >> a few minutes after we left her room and some of her colleagues from congress were in the room, gabby opened her eyes for the first time. >> reporter: also wednesday, we heard the voice of the shooting suspect, jared lee loughner for the first time. he was in court for drug charges. >> reporter: that was one of a dozen offenses he had with the police, including an alcohol possession and marijuana possession. and incredibly, we also learned that jared loughner was pulled over by a wildlife officer just three hours before the shooting on saturday morning for running a red light. there were no warrants out for his arrest, however, so he was issued a verbal warning and released. back to you. >> tj, we now know there were other people in the room when giffords opened up her eyes. what else are you hearingbility what happened in the hospital room? >> well, that's right. the president and first lady had just left in the room at the time among the politicians, minority leader nancy pelosi, senator kirstin gillibrand. and then with the urging of congresswoman giffords' husband, mark kelly and her parents, she did open her eyes. some report ofs have 30 seconds. other reports have for a minute and she lifts up her arm. so incredibly encouraging news. even though undoubtedly she has a very long road ahead. >> unbelievable signs of recovery. t.j., thank you. there has been a breach of confidential if i. the university medical center said three workers were fired for accessing patient records. the hospital says it doesn't think any of the confidential information was actually released to the public. the political impact of the shootings are still being felt far away from arizona. sarah palin has stirred new controversy with her latest comments. >> and on capitol hill, there are questions about the right way, now, to move forward. we are joined from washington with more. hi, john. >> good morning. >> reporter: the senate is in recess but house members returned to capitol hill for the first time since the horrific shooting in arizona. instead of a republican agenda we would expect, the massacre in tucson completely occupied the house agenda. members of congress returned, but congressional business did not. >> our hearts are broken but our spirit is not. >> reporter: the shots that range out in tucson shut down the capitol's usual routine. gabrielle giffords' staff walked to a memorial for the victims of the massacre. their first short steps in a long journey to tighter security in the capitol and throughout the nation. >> some area also require surveillance cameras. other area also require new locks. >> reporter: before heading to tucson. president obama, nancy pelosi joined those signing the memorial book. >> i will bring the prayers and thoughts and members of congress to gabby's family. the sense of community that has emanated from tucson is having a very positive effect on our country. >> reporter: part of the effect is less of the harsh political rhetoric than the partisan past year. >> don't retreat, reload. >> sarah palin defended herself and blamed the media in a video posted on the internet. >> journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence that they purport to condemn. >> reporter: among those that think palin went too far, gabrielle giffords herself back in march. >> the way she has it depicted has the cross hairs of a gun sight over our district. before people do that they have to realize there's consequences to that action. >> reporter: the effects of the shooting are nationwide. in southern california police arrested a man that allegedly threatened to kill the seattle congressman, jim mcdermitt and in arizona, several local politicians resigned citing security concerns. back to you. >> scary time. thank you, john. we'll take you back to tucson where crowds of people waited for hours to see the president. you can stwaay with abc new as cover this. the northeast is digging out this morning after getting hammered by yet, another powerful storm. new england bore the brunt of it with some areas buried under more than two feet of snow. as jeremy tells us, those with no choice but to venture out did so by any means necessary. >> reporter: dr. jackson williams had to get to the pediatric ward so this is how he made the five mile trek. >> the nurses had a good laugh when they saw me at the front door with my skis standsing in hand. >> a time-lapse video from high above boston shows the storm cloaking and then clobbering the city. 100,000 customers without heat and electricity. snow too heavy for tree limbs. >> we came out and this is the destruction that we found. i've never seen anything like this and i've lived here a long time. >> travel was shut down. jason jacobs needs to get to his fiance' in philly for his wedding. >> i can get out later. >> reporter: the storm system came from the south where daggers of ice dropped from a tv tower in jackson, mississippi. it marched through new york city after last month's blizzard that left city leaders red-faced. it was too much for central park's japanese snow monkeys cling to the hot springs to keep warm but it wasn't as easy for the rest of us braving the storm. abc news, boston. >> speaking of the rest of us, here's your thursday forecast. up to three inches of lake effect snow from michigan to indiana and buffalo and pittsburgh. snow across minnesota from seattle to portland and up to two feet of snow in the cascades and northern rockies. >> 41 in boise. 51 in seattle. 54 in las vegas. the northeast hovers around the 30 degree mark. 34 in atlanta. cold her new orleans at 44. >> hard to miss all the cold temperatures in the upper midwest this morning. really throughout the week. makes a lot of people want to stay inside by the fire but some other people want to get outside and play in it. >> and play, they did. they played some chess in grand rapids, michigan. >> that's cool. >> ice sculptor crafted the larger than life pieces for an upcoming reality tv show. getting this ready took more than six weeks. >> they say the 28-degree temperatures were warm for ice chess but there were check and check mate. >> you got to make the best of weather like that. >> more world news weather after this. 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[ record scratches ] ...and over [ record scratches ] probably isn't giving results you want. discover neosporin® lip health™. shown to restore visibly healthier lips in just 3 days. neosporin® lip health™. rethink your lip care. welcome back, everybody. good news this morning for expecting parents concerns about having an a prenatal test. >> a new noninhave a cyst test could change everything. here's our dr. richard besser. >> reporter: for this 30-year-old woman and so many others a choice dpiled with tremendous anxiety and fear. >> i'm anxious. >> but at her age the risk of having a child with down syndrome is one in 350 and she's having an amnio. a needle is inserted into the uterus to check for fluid. there is risk. mainly of infection. as many as one in 300 will miscarry. >> knowing my baby will be safe and sound and everything will be fine is more comfort level to me. >> reporter: which makes this news an enormous gift to an expectant couple. scientists say this new blood test could make this a inning of the past and have no risk. >> it's like looking for a need in a hey stack. >> we know a mother blood contains her genetic code. doctors analyze it and get the same result without disturbing the womb. >> once the test is expanded to include other genetic disorders i think it will have wider use. >> according to the company this test maybe available as soon as one year and once expanded to cover other syndromes that they look for, it may replace the procedure altogether. dr. richard besser, abc news, new york. >> what a huge potential finding. they say that's the most common genetic condition in the u.s., down syndrome, so that could be a big test. >> i know some of my friends are entering that age group when they're having the babies and they say it's so frightening. so many women get this one test before the delivery. >> happy to be a dude when i hear that. it looks tough. you women are a lot brave than we are. >> when we return, we'll go back to the top story. the tragedy in tucson. >> how people camped out for hours or longer to attend last night's memorial. you're watching "world news now. welcome back. as many of us try to make sense of last weekend's tragedy in tucson we're trying to heal and to one more so than the city of tucson. >> the people of the city have been looking for answers the past few days and last night's memorial service they showed by the thousands, as a city in solidarity. here's dan harris. >> reporter: as they streamed out of the event the tucsonians said it was cathartic healing. >> i want to should represent the country as a whole from this point on. >> even though this is a very tragic time in our community, it gave me a lot of hope that we'll heal from this. >> it gave us great and positive reassurance. >> reporter: and they had rave reviews for president barack obama. >> he lifted up my spirits and i think of everybody else in the room as well. >> because of what he said, i think we all feel now that we can begin our mission of healing and togetherness. >> reporter: all day long, for hours before the event even began people were lining up reading newspapers, sleeping and even playing games while waiting. >> i think this is a better representation of what tucson is about. >> reporter: the massive crowd is a reflection of the extraordinary outpouring in this city in the days since the shooting. people here have been giving blood, packing church services and building makeshift memorials at the crime scene, at the school that victim christina green attended, and at congresswoman gabrielle giffords' office. family members of the victims have said repeatedly this show of support has really helped them. >> he really wants to express to the community this wonderful community of tucson, his love and gratitude because we are a wonderful community and we are a family. >> reporter: perhaps the most dramatic example of the outpouring here is this ever-expanding vigil outside of the hospital where the victims are being treated. it started very small on the day of the shootings with a few flowers, cards and candles. but day after day, it has grown and grown. unfurling into a massive carpet of sympathy and support. at all hours, people come here to play native american music. to reflect and to cry. one of the most striking things about the scene is how many parents are bringing their children here. >> i asked him if he had any questions and told him why everyone put the candles out. just to kind of show that tucson stands together. >> as a parent, it's been very, very hard because i've had several dreams of the 9-year-old girl. >> these are letters from the students that i tutor. >> reporter: we met this woman, denise. she was dropping off letters from local school children who she tutors. >> i'm sorry you got hurt. i hope you feel better. >> reporter: so we went to that school to meet the students for ourselves. >> dear gabrielle giffords, i think it was wrong for what he did to you. one day you will get better, but don't worry, we will never give up on you. >> dear mrs. giffords, i'm so sorry you got hurt. i hope you feel better. and i know you will have a good life when you get out of the hospital. >> dear mrs. giffords, i hope you feel better and i hope you get out of the hospital. i feel sad for you. >> reporter: after they read for us we chatted for a little bit and it became immediately clear that these letters were not some homework assignment. the shooting really weighs on these children. >> have you been thinking about this a lot since it happened? >> yeah, a lot. i've been thinking about what is the government going to do? what are they going to do? they don't have gabrielle giffords. >> the 9-year-old girl that got shot. >> when you heard that what did you feel? >> sad. >> what happened that made you scared? >> yeah. i got very scared because for the past few days i've been keeping thinking about what if he came over here. what if he knows where our class is. >> i can tell you the man they suspect of doing this, he's in jail right now, so he's not going to come to your class. >> i don't think anything is as powerful hearing children react to a tragedy like that. >> throughout the course of president obama's speech there was so many poignant parts and he said, this could be your brother on your child or grandmother and it's hard not to realize what a big loss this is for our entire nation. >> we'll be right back. if your racing thoughts keep you awake... sleep is here, on the wings of lunesta. and if you wake up often in the middle of the night... rest is here, on the wings of lunesta. lunesta helps you fall asleep and stay asleep, so you can wake up feeling rested. when taking lunesta, don't drive or operate machinery until you feel fully awake. walking, eating, driving, or engaging in other activities while asleep, without remembering it the next day, have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations or confusion. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. alcohol may increase these risks. allergic reactions, such as tongue or throat swelling, occur rarely and may be fatal. side effects may include unpleasant taste, headache, dizziness and morning drowsiness. ask your doctor if lunesta is right for you. get lunesta for a $0 co-pay at lunesta.com. sleep well, on the wings of lunesta. ♪ you were singing. >> i know. >> finally this half hour, the saying goes -- cleanliness is next to godliness. for many of us we're far, far away from godliness. >> that's because many of the places we go and the things we touch are covered with more germs than a public bathroom. the bby's phil lavelle has more. >> reporter: good hygiene may make good practice this time of the year when most of the country seems to be ill. but the nasties are not confined to just the nose. a hole in the wall, for example, you could walk away with more than just cash. scientists have discovered that these things are a lot filthier than we thought. a group of them went around various atms in england and took swabs from the surfaces. and then they went and carried out the same experiment at nearby public toilets swabbing feet and they found two types of bacteria both known to cause sickness and diarrhea. disgusting? yes. surprising? not really. that's what experts say. >> you can't see germs so if you forget they are actually there, that's not to say we need to be terrified of atm machines or phone boxes. >> the microorganisms we found ordinary skin flora to fecal flora, of course. >> horrible to most of us but exciting for people like this. he's a doctor specializing in biomedical science which means he swabs all the surfaces we all touch. and watch how the bacteria grows. we did these yesterday and they have to be incubated for 24 hours. in true television fashion, here are some we prepared earlier. >> mostly they were to be an inconvenience and give you a sore gut or cough. >> ron's been inspecting lavatories, not the obvious ones but the taps, door handles, floors and so on so he can build a picture of the most common bacteria found in them. >> this one here is an organism which, given the opportunity, will cause wound infections. >> reporter: not pleasant but then again, not necessarily a need to panic. experts say you can't get away from germs but you can protect yourself with that age-old advice, keep those hands clean. keep the bugs at bay. bbc news, london. >> and we know this has been around abc a long time. let's get to wiping. >> you never know healing arizona. the president's address in tucson. his words of comfort and his encouraging news from gabby giffords hospital room. security concerns for sarah palin. as her comments about the tucson shooting faces criticism. and the turmoil. >> i feel helpless. i feel like a loser. >> victimized by bullies, she turned to a surgeon. it's thursday, january 13th. captions paid for by abc, inc. it's sad so see such a beautiful young girl who said she was bullied so bad the bullies tried to break her nose and that's what led to a nose job. >> we know kids can be cruel but the extremes people take is tough. it's a very compelling story. stay tuned. >> good morning, thanks for being with us on this thursday. president obama is back in washington this morning after a very emotional visit to tucson. he, of course, spoke at that memorial for victims of saturday's shooting. >> the president also visited congresswoman giffords' hospital room and he saw the progress first hand. tj is in tucson. good morning. >> good morning. the president, during the memorial service, essentially acted as consoler in chief. mr. obama spoke about the six victims killed on saturday including the youngest, 9-year-old christina taylor green. >> the hopes of the nation are here tonight. we mourn with you for the fallen. we join you in your grief. we add our faith to yours that representative gabrielle giffords and the other living victims of this tragedy will pull through. >> earlier at the university medical center he met with their families as well as the survivors including the congresswoman about whom he shared some encouraging news. >> a few minutes after we left her room and some of her colleagues from congress were in the room, gabby opened her eyes for the first time. >> in a few moments she literally opened her eyes and mark, her husband, was so excited. he just said, honey, if you can see us, you know, give us the thumb's up and now, she gave the thumb's up and she literally raised her whole arm. >> all day thousands lined up on the university of arizona campus hours ahead of wednesday night's memorial. we heard the voice of the shooting suspect, jared lee loughner for the first time in his 2007 court appearance on drug charges. it was one of a dozen encounters loughner and his family had with police including two arrests on charges of alcohol possession when he was drunk at school and for marijuana possession. we also learned that loughner was pulled over just three hours before the shooting for running a red light, but there were no warrants out for his arrest so he was given a verbal warning and released. rob? funeral services are set for today for the youngest shooting victim, a mass will take place this afternoon for christina taylor green. and there will be no protests though, from the west baptist church, the church that made national headlines for protesting at military funerals. a spokeswoman said church members have agreed not to appear in any of the victim's funerals as an exchange for a live interview on a conservative radio show. this week, arizona lawmakers quickly passed a measure banning protests near funerals. aides to sarah palin says there has been a surge of death threats after her after the arizona shootings. now a new controversy as palin weighed in on the political debate that took place. >> reporter: as tragedy and controversy unfolded, sarah palin waited apparently for four days rather than offering up a trademark tweet and her carefully crafted statement on facebook, a clear departure. >> congresswoman giffords and her constituents were exercising their rights to exchange ideas that day to celebrate our republic's core values and peacefully assemble to petition our government. it's inexcusable. incomprehensible why a single, evil man, took the lives of peaceful citizens. >> reporter: but at one point her tone changes. >> journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn. >> does she want to be a national political figure who can rise above the current political debate? or does she want to sit smack in the polarized debate? and i think here, she kind of tried to split it in half. >> reporter: and she uses a phrase many view as particularly inas i understand -- insindiary. "blood libel." this phrase refers to a lies that jews used the blood of christian children for rituals. sources say she used it in a broader context and she's accused of having blood on her hands much as the "wall street journal" use it a few days ago. friends say palin was galled. her website placed crosshairs on targeted congressional districts including giffords'. abc news was told since the shooting palin herself was an increased target. death threats have reached, quote, unprecedented levels and the palin team is talking to security officials. claire shipman, abc news, washington. and turning to other news, vice president biden's overseas tour rolls on. he arrived for an unannounced visit to iraq while meeting in baghdad he discusses the future of the u.s. mission. biden was in pakistan and afghanistan on wednesday. in meetings with the pakistan's leaders he re-enforced american commitment to helping pakistan fight islamic extremists. >> one year ago, right now, we were only beginning to learn of the devastation from that magnitude seven earthquake in haiti marking the first anniversary there yesterday with only the smallest signs of hope. we have the report from haiti's still shattered capital, port-au-prince. >> reporter: an eerie stillness gripped the country as haitians in their starched whites flocked to mass and memorials. they prayed for recovery and for lost loved ones, more than 300,000 were killed, many still entombed in the rubble. over 90% of the rubble remains enough to fill the superdome six times over. most of the clearing of this stuff is done by hand. the country's prime minister blamed the international community for the slow recovery. >> removing this is very expensive operation. very expensive operation and we tried to find some of it. we did it. and we don't have the capacity to continue it only from the government. >> reporter: many haitians don't believe him. >> we wait, we wait. nothing. >> reporter: hospitals remain short of medicine and jobs, almost impossible to find. in port-au-prince, president clinton acknowledged the billions raised to rebuild need to be better spent. >> only about 60% of what was allocated for the first year was disbursed in 2010. it's better than what some people say but it's nowhere good enough. >> reporter: and it's not just money. what the earth quake did not destroy is under assault from the deadly cholera epidemic and those so badly wounded in body and soul, also recovering. amputees like this are even playing soccer again. matt gutman, abc news, port-au-prince haiti. here's a look at your weather. two feet of snow into idaho and montana. rain along the coast of washington and oregon. light snow across the upper midwest and still cold across the south. 40s in dallas and new orleans, a cool 65 in miami. 34 in atlanta and 29 here in new york. 20s for minneapolis to indianapolis. 33 in salt lake city and 71 in phoenix. 49 in albuquerque. we finally know who will split the whopping $380 million mega-millions jackpot. >> a week after a washington state couple claimed their half, lottery officials say that a 29-year-old mother of two in idaho was holding the other winning ticket. holly is now ready to face the public and she has 60 days to decide whether or not to collect her fortune in a lump-sum payment. >> the dirt on holly. she and her husband are separated and the first he heard about the wife's windfall was from a reporter. i think we can all pretty much understand why there. >> that's going to get a little messy. >> i'm sure she's like, why didn't i file the papers. be right back. hó [ male announcer ] colorful, smooth, and in excellent condition. those are your lips with new covergirl lip perfection. get beautiful color now... let silk therapy moisturizers give you more beautiful lips in 7 days. [ male announcer ] lip perfection. new from easy, breezy, beautiful covergirl. and now to a topic that caught the attention of many parents in the past year and that's, of course, school bullying. hard to believe the cdc says one in five high school students get bullied. >> given all that it's not hard to believe the length some teens will go to avoid being targeted. abc news contributor elizabeth hasselbeck reports. >> reporter: high school senior erika says she likes what she sees when she look into the mirror today but that wasn't always the case. >> from sixth grade i was on the bus and a lot of boys made fun of my big nose. they call me pinocchio. i felt helpless and like a loser. >> reporter: the situation grew so severe erika started to miss school and one night she took desperate actions. >> i tried breaking my nose because i was so fed up with the bullying that i tried banging my face against the door. >> reporter: at that point, erika's mother said she knew she had to do something and that something was allowing erika to undergo cosmetic surgery at the age of 15. air i can is under a small but growing number of teens that need surgery. erika said this was to consider to undergo cosmetic surgery. nearly 90,000 teens underwent cosmetic surgery in 2007 and doctors say the numbers are growing. >> i see a fair amount of parents coming in with their child because of bullying. my preference is, of course, to work out the issues first, the bullying, the teasing. but there are certain situations where people are mature enough and surgery is a final resort. >> reporter: the most popular cosmetic procedures for teens include nose jobs, breast reductions. breast augmentations, ear tuck and botox injections. but while teens like erika say plastic surgery has enabled them to gain self-esteem critics argue they lose on a number of levels. this child psychiatrist said parents that allow their teens to get plastic surgery may put their teens at psychological and physical risk. >> any time you have any kind of surgery, when you do the risk-benefit analysis, cosmetic surgery to avoid bullying unless you're severely deformed clearly doesn't pass the test. >> he says teens determined to have cosmetic surgery should, at the very least, should reach adulthood. that's what michelle did. for years the 19-year-old said she was teased for being flat-chested. >> i have a curvy body and a flat chest. people were mean. i felt ugly. i felt like undesirable. >> reporter: michelle says her mother told her repeatedly she didn't need a breast augmentation but michelle tired of feeling inadequate, thought otherwise and last thursday she traded in her a-cup bras for a trip to the operating room to get a pair of size b breasts. we stopped by to see the results. >> hi, come on in. >> thanks for having me. >> thursday was the worst. i wanted to die. >> reporter: michelle told us she was in a lot of pain in the wake of surgery. >> do you feel like you give in some ways if you turn to something like a surgery to change the appearance because people have teased you about a certain feature? >> not at all. >> reporter: michelle says the scars from surgery are a small price to pay to make up for the scars left behind by years of teasing and feeling inadequate. >> this is something to make me feel better. to make me happy. make me feel like a beautiful woman. >> wow. as parents i understand you want your kids to be happy. you see them in pain and want to remedy that. you do one little thing and then the next year you want this and you don't want to be the next heidi montag. >> these stories draw some polarizing opinions. people say you should and some say you shouldn't. one thing i didn't realize is boys are often getting cosmetic surgery and they say the most common thing for boys are breast reduction and having the ears pinned back. >> that's pretty painful. >> according to heidi montag. >> and dudes are getting their breast reduced? >> yes. i can see that that would be a source of teasing. >> i guess you got to go under the knife. when we return, members of brett favre's family, who is in serious legal trouble. and why carrie fisher wants us to see less of her. that's coming up next in "the skinny." good evening h brett favre has certainly been in "the skinny" recently. >> just a little. >> now it's his sister making headlines today. this is not funny in any way. she's been arrested in a meth bust. the situation is that neighbors were called to a normally quiet upscale community and found an active meth lab inside a condo unit in the heart of like i said, an upscale community. they found ten grams of finished product which they say is a lot of meth. and a full lab in the bathroom which was still cooking and i'm sure you covered these before. these things are so flammable and so deadly. they had to evacuate seven of the closest condo units and brandy favre is now in trouble and she's been arrested and there's a laundry list of charges manufacturing mething with possession of controlled substance and transferring a controlled substance of hazardous waste. not good news for the favre family. >> favre has had a rough couple of months. here's one for the teeny bop world. in the last couple of weeks, selena gomez and justin bieber has been rumored to be together. the photo of them kissing prompted death threats to selina, yesterday, her facebook page was apparently hacked into by this guy that called himself pkinj 0 r. he put some nasty things about justin bieber on her page and twitter as well. and then he posted something on youtube surely before the hack saying this video is to show how easy facebook's new security page is to bypass. the real point was to say, all the privacy settings and security stuff that facebook and twitter promised is not what it seems to be. he hacked right into it, went for her page and put nasty things about justin and she caught on to it just like that and put up a message saying -- it's been messed with. don't pay attention. but, if you're dating justin your life gets weird. a new spokesperson for jenny craig. you'll never believe who it is. take a listen. >> i was like the geek pinup. so when i see pictures of myself, where did that go? somewhere underneath all of this, i have to do a lot of digging. >> that's right. carrie fisher, every man in this studio when i said that, they said, i used to love her. keep in mind she used to be 105 pounds. she's only 5'1". she says she wants to lose 30 pounds by 2011. her heaviest was 180. she's 54 years old. >> a long way from princess leah. and she said they gave an interview pretty much that john travolta is gay and they put that aside celebrating the birth of his new son. his 7 week old baby. he's 56. wife is 48 and they have another daughter, their son died and now they welcome a new child. congrats to them on that note. i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement nsurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to " 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying .up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit... with all you need to enroll. put their trust in aarp p medicare supplement insuranc. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. the prices are competitive. i can keep my own doctor. and i don't need a referral o see a specialist. call now to get a free information kit. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. and the advantages don't end there. choose from a range of medicare r supplement plans... that are all competitively priced. we have a plan for almost everyone, so you can find one that fits r your needs and budget. with all medicare supplement plans, there are virtually p no claim forms to fill out. plus you can keep that accepts medicare. p your own doctor and hospital and best of all, these plans are... when they told me these plans were endorsed by aarp... i had only one thing to say... sign me up. and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan. you'll get this free information kit... as with all medicare supplement plans, you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts # medicare, call this toll-free number now. you can do this... get the ball, girl. hmmm, you can't do that. but you can do this. bengay pain relief + massage with penetrating nubs plus the powerful pain relief of bengay. love the nubs! ♪ ♪ you probably feel that only a doctor can give you certainty about your pregnancy. clearblue digital is as accurate as a doctor's test, because it uses the same technology, for an unmistakably clear result. giving you confidence when you need it most. clearblue digital. here are some stories to watch today on abc news. crews search for survivors in brazil after a deadly floods and mudslides. nearly 300 people are feared dead. nearly 3 million americans got foreclosure notices last year and that's a record according to a trade group's report that was just released. and new federal guidelines on school lunches announced today. nutritionists want fatty, salty and starchy items tossed. and finally, a little bit of royal news. no, not about prince williams' wedding but about his brother, harry. >> the other prince is set to embark on an amazing journey to the north pole. a trip he's making with four wounded veterans of the war in afghanistan. here's the bbc's frank gardner. >> reporter: miles and miles of arctic ice, plunging temperatures and the sheer physical exhaustion of tracking heavy sledging to the north pole. that's what lies ahead for the expedition with the wounded and what they're now in the final weeks of training for. in london, the team and their equipment were introduced to the press. their interest raised by the announcement that prince harry hopes to go with them part of the way. so how does the team feel about that? >> i'm very honored to have prince harry on board. as a member of the royal family and as a serving officer in the british army -- he's got a bit of character. he'll be throwing snowballs at me. >> reporter: back in may of last year, i joined the team in arctic area, following them on a snowmobile as they got their first taste of the ice and snow. eight months on, the polar guide thinks they are now fit for the pole and now they're training individually and together for many months and they're getting there. they're as ready as they can be for the north pole. >> reporter: this is one of the tents they'll be using when they set off in a few week's time to cross the polar ice cap and reach the north pole. today it was announced, pending commitment, prince harry will be joining them for part of the journey. so with a bit of luck, the expedition will have their royal patron with them at the north pole. every one of the wounded soldiers taking part has sustained serious combat injuries in afghanistan. in a few weeks' time they'll find out if all the training was enough for what lies ahead. frank gardner, bbc news. >> we should convince our producers to let us go up there and cover the prince's magical journey up there to the north pole. we should jump on that. look at us there. >> we're wearing fur but we didn't put together those outfits. >> for information on services for oldeadults, the eldercare locator can help! >> i havlived in my house for 40 years and want to stay in my community. having someone help me with transportation makes that possible. >> the eldercare locator can put you in touch with loc resources to help older persons find home and mmunity based services. call 1.800.677.1116 or visit eldercare.gov today! the eldercare locator is a free public service of the u.s. administration on aging.

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