making news in america this morning -- >> making the case. president obama makes afghanistan his war, outlining a new, u.s. effort. >> it is from here that we were attacked on 9/11. and it is from here that new attacks are being plotted as i speak. >> thousands of troops will go, with the plan to bring all of them home. e-mail trail. newly-released messages, from the d.c. area couple, desperate for an invite to the state dinner. and sea monster. 6 ton jellyfish are swarming off the seefs japan. it's wednesday, december 2nd, 2009. good morning. and thanks for being with us. the president addressed a room full of cadets. but the world was listening. >> the commander in chief made his case for sending 30,000 more troops. saying, he is convinced that our security is at stake. >> he then explained the new objective will, reversing the taliban's momentum. and strengthening afghanistan's security forces. >> and he outlined the exit plan. saying, america has no interest in fighting an endless war. we'll get reaction from kabul in a moment. but first, to viviana hurtado with details of the new plan. >> reporter: good morning, jeremy and vinita. president obama has called the war in afghanistan one of necessity. he has now laid out a plan he believes will win it. standing in front of the next generation of soldiers, the president outlined a new, clear strategy for winning the war in afghanistan and eventually withdrawing troops. first, 30,000 troops will deploy to defeat the resurgent afghanistan. >> the troops will allow handing over the responsibility to afghan forces. and allow us to begin the transfer of our forces out of afghanistan in july of 2011. >> reporter: more troops is part of mr. obama's plan to win. but he made clear, pakistan will have to crock down on extremist safe havens. and to rebuild afghanistan's infrastructure, u.s. funds will have to bypass the consider cy administration and go to local governments. >> the days of providing a blank check are over. >> reporter: the surge will bring the total of troops to about 100,000. with the first wave of new arrivals on the ground as early as christmas. reaction from those who serve was mixed. first lieutenant dan bershinsky, a west point graduate, who lost both legs in afghanistan, supports the president. >> the troops will be a plus. it will be a nice increase in manpower. and hopefully everyone gets to come home. >> reporter: but one marine says he's skeptical. >> and flooding them with 30,000 of our guys. i'm not understanding that too well. obama's going to do what he's going to do. and we're going to go over there and get it done. >> reporter: defense secretary robert gits and secretary of state hillary clinton go to capitol hill later this morning to sell this plan to congress. but there's skepticism from republicans and democrats. jeremy and vinita. >> could be a tough sell. in afghanistan. the reaction was mixed. u.s. troops and afghan officials welcomed the citizen. but citizens aren't so sure. >> we continue our coverage with nick schifrin in kabul. >> reporter: that's right. good morning, jeremy and vinita. the man who originally pushed for 40,000 through troops to come here, general stanley mcchrystal, has spoken to his troops this morning. he and many troops stationed in afghanistan, have long since concluded there haven't been enough soldiers, haven't been enough marines here to spread security in much of the country. and so, they welcomed president obama's announcement. >> i think it sounds like a solid plan. i think it's consistent with the wishes and hopes of most of the people here. >> reporter: from the afghan point of view, there are definitely mixed opinions. on the one hand, there are many afghan officials, politicians, as well as commanders of the army and police, who do believe that only foreign forces, additional foreign forces, are the only ones who can go into the most dangerous areas and actually remove the taliban and try to create a level of peace. on the regular afghan side point of view, the man on the street, so to speak, there's deep skepticism of american forces here. >> i'm not happy. i'm more happy, my own afghan police walk around the city. >> reporter: but the fact is, afghan police and soldiers won't be ready for years. president karzai said the goal is to have them ready within five years. general mcchrystal has said they might begin to be ready within three years. so, until they are ready, it's up to the foreign forces, up to the u.s. to provide security. that is the main reason that president obama decided to send 30,000 additional troops here. jeremy? vinita? >> nick schifrin in kabul this morning. our coverage of this story continues on "good morning america." we'll talk to vice president biden and senator john mccain. plus, more details and analysis from george stephanopoulos. that's coming up later on "good morning america." there is a developing story out of iran this morning, where five british sailors have been freed. they were captured in the persian gulf after iran claimed their racing yacht strayed into iranian waters. british officials say the sailors made a mistake. iran continues to hold three american hikers that strayed across the border in iraq. a memorial is set in washington to honor four police officers that were gunned down on sunday. the bodies were moved from the medical examiner's office to a funeral home. after a two-day manhunt, suspected gunman maurice clemmons was gunned down. six people are accused of helping clem mons are in custody. and police say they expect to make more arrests. legally, it is case closed for tiger woods. but the jury oaf public opinion is still out. he crashed his car into a tree outside his home. the cost, a $165 fine and points on his driver's license. but continued speculation about domestic violence and infidelity could damage his reputation. the latest allegation comes from a cocktail waitress. she claims she had a 31-month affair from woods. and says she has text messages to prove it. there's still no winner in the hotly-contested race for atlanta mayor. the candidates have 50% of the vote after yesterday's runoff election. reed, who appears to be a few hundred votes ahead, has claimed victory. but norwood has refused to concede. and under georgia law, she has a right to a recount. the coast guard in alaska are digging out after being battered by a storm as powerful as a category 5 hurricane. buildings and equipment were damaged. but amazingly, the station was able to remain operational. withstands the cold, apparently. now, for the morning's weather from around the nation. stormy from florida up to new york. with drenching rain. severe weather in the carolinas and georgia. and the heaviest downpours and flooding in the southeast. late-day snow in northern indiana. and mountain snow in colorado and wyoming. >> a frigid 21 in colorado springs. 36 in seattle. 39 in omaha. and 46 in chicago. mostly 50s along the east coast. miami will hit 85. new orleans, 64. and dallas will only get up to 48. and coming up on "america this morning," a new problem for general motors, as the new ceo walks out. plus, walmart and other retailers announce new deals to get you in the door. and how do you solve a problem like this? 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(whisper) maybe it's maybelline. we continue, now, with a look at road conditions. a wet ride on the east coast, especially along i-95, between new york and florida. rain can also slow down traffic on i-10 through the gulf coast. >> if you're flying today, expect airport delays in dallas, mem sis and cincinnati. on the east coast, washington, d.c., charlotte, atlanta, and also orlando. a week after the obama's much-talked about state dinner, there is more fallout from the guests that weren't supposed to be there. >> the white house says now someone from the social office will be at the front gates just in case. and we got some e-mail traffic from the couple at the center of the controversy. here's pierre thomas. >> reporter: the would-be reality tv stars, tareq and michaele salahi, were back where they feel most comfortable, in front of the cameras. >> we were invited. not crashers. and there isn't anyone that would have the audacity or the poor behavior to do that. >> our lives have really been destroyed. >> reporter: the salahis say they have proof, e-mails offering their invitation. the author of those e-mails identified to abc news as pentagon official michelle jones, flatly denies that. in a statement, she said, quote, i specifically stated that they did not have tickets and in fact that i did not have the authority to authorize attendance. i informed them of this. they still decided to come. in the last e-mail before the dinner at 8:46 a.m., jones tells the salahis, i'm still working on tickets for tonight's dinner. jones says no more e-mails before the dinner. but a source familiar with the exchange says, she did call the salahis and left a message to inform them it's a no-go. in an e-mail sent at 1:03 a.m. after the event, the salahis say they never got the phone message. but obviously, it worked out at the end. we ended up going to the gate to check in at 6:30 p.m., just to check, in case it got approved. since we didn't know and our name was, indeed, on the list. the white house and secret service say, they were not on the list. pierre thomas, abc news, washington. and there was one final e-mail from the jones, after the dinner, in which she said she was delighted th salahis had a wonderful time. an administration official claims jones thought that the couple had gotten tickets in some other way. well, as they say, what goes around comes around. that iraqi reporter who threw a shoe at president bush was nearly hit by footwear himself, during a news conference yesterday in paris. that was followed by a scuffle in the audience. the apparent attacker was another iraqi journalist, who spoke in defense of u.s. policy in iraq. it is time, now, for sports. and some college basketball action. here's jonathan coachman at espn news. >> good morning. i am the coach. a big night in the big ten, acc challenge, college hoops. that's where we start this morning. michigan state/north carolina. first time they've met, since last year in detroit, and michigan went on to win a national title. carolina up 16 at the half. second half, watch this. ray mar morgan, right in the face of john henson. one more look. morganed a 18. later in the second, smooth eddie davis. left hand, hard to stop. at least at the college level. carolina up nine now. larry drew, he's the new quarterback this year. tough one off glass. drew had 18. and then, two minutes left, michigan state, making a comeback. calen lucas. he had 15. but too much ed davis. eight of ten from the floor. a game-high 22. carolina wins, 89-82. they're now 7-1. to the nba. the suns, they scored over 100 points in every game so far. mike d'antoni, their old coach, now coaching the knicks. and i guess new york, playing hard for him. second quarter, danilo gallin i gallinari. he had six threes. 27 points, 10 rebounds. knicks up 24. then, later, david lee, the steal to chris duhon. back to lee. suns, held under 100 points for the first time this season. that will do it for now. i am the coach. back to you in the studio. >> our thanks to the coach. well, there are as big as sumo wrestlers. and putting a squeeze on japanese fishermen. >> huge jellyfish, invading the waters off japan's pacific coast. sending profits down the drain. more from margaret conley. >> reporter: tentacles trailing behind, knees giant jellyfish, glide gracefully through the waters of japan. but up to seven feet in diameter. and some weighing over 600 pounds. they've become a threat to the fishing industry here. for years, the giant jellies have swarmed the sea of japan. but this year, there are more. and they're extending their drift to around the country. this is definitely an invasion, this man says. jellyfish are pests that kill our fish. the small delicacy ones. they're so big, they crush our fish. and that affects our market. we want to get rid of them. some say the jellyfish have drifted in from the waters of china and korea. others say overfishing and global warming are to blame. according to scientists here, the temperature of the waters surrounding japan, is on the size. and these intruders could affect consumers' bottom line. it will affect fishing in the ocean, says this man. and if we can't get fish, we'll have to raise the price of fish. and that will be a problem for consumers. just one more reason, to hope these beasts from deep don't return next year. margaret conley, abc news, tokyo. >> you thought jaws was scary. coming up, a look ahead at the stories we'll be following today, including more reaction to the president's afghanistan decision. and who will be asked to explain it today on capitol hill. it was a horrible feeling, like i couldn't catch my breath. i couldn't believe i was actually having a heart attack. i remember being at the hospital, thinking about my wife. i should have done more totake care of myself., now i'm exercising, waching my diet, and i trust my heart to lipitor. 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[ announcer ] beneful prepared meals. another healthful, flavorful beneful. i tried not to base it on the mayor, but if was hard. i tried to base it as if it was in the case of anybody else. 12 jurors found mayor sheila dixon guilty on one of five counts. abc2 news exclusive police officers are always tracking down leads in investigations. one officer became part of one overnight and ended up in the hospital. >> we women of the senate are concerned that even being a woman is being viewed by insurance companies as a pre-existing condition. the health care fight. maryland senator barbara mikulski is on the half of women. thanks for joining us. i'm megan pringle. >> let's start with meteorologist wyatt everhart in for justin. >> cool temperatures here. take a look at good old frigid new mexico. this is just outside santa fe. snowball fight there. first flakes of the season there. they are enjoying the white stuff apparently, unless you're stuck on the side of the road. then you have a good excuse not to get into work. not here though. we have rain inbound, 34 degrees at bwi right now. just above the freezing mark. north towards pennsylvania, you have temperatures in the 20s. rain is headed our way, pounding tennessee and the carolinas. moving toward maryland. it'll be in here later today. rain continuing into the evening. let's get a check of traffic with kim. >> good morning, everyone. fortunately traffic is very quiet at t