Transcripts For WUSA 20091225

must pay attention to. it could be wrestling or it could be the redskins. you look into the camera and he would say, i want to tell you folks, and you would sit back and listen. >> michael sports machine was syndicated around the country and became the gold standard for sports highlights when highlights were heart to come by. he was espn before espn. and he was a star maker launching the tv careers of any number of household names from david aldridge. >> he is huge in the washington, d.c., sports scene for an enormous amount of time. there aught to be on some level, monuments in this city built to him. >> in washington's most elusive sports power brokers were making news, somehow george was already on the inside. >> george did a lot of things here that we would be doing and he was a stand up guy. someone that i think the franchise trusted. >> for those that competed against him, it was an honor and an impossible challenge, as i told george upon his retirement two years ago. >> my generation may not admit it, but you were the forerunner of us. >> well you know, when we started, i had no idea. the only thing i knew was, i didn't want the show to get canceled after one week and to believe it's 27 years. you look around and say, how did it happen? >> you are very grateful for it. >> i never wanted to be a pioneer. when people say you're a pioneer, that means i'm getting old. so i accept that fact. i do it gratefully and i say, i had fun doing it. >> joe gibbs issuing this statement from his home tonight. quote, george was a very dear friend to me and my family. i certainly leaned on his advice many times. he was a tremendous influence on me and so many in sports and the washington community because he truly cared about the people that he covered. the redskins have announced that there will be a moment of silence for michael at this sunday's game against the cowboys. if the redskins win, the game ball will go to michael's wife. >> very appropriate, george will be missed. thank you so much. we appreciate it. george, as we know, suffered from chronic leukemia. it's one of the four main types of that disease and an estimated 85,710 people in this country are living with that illness. it is most common in people 60 years and older. lots of people with spoke to today thought of george michaels sports machine as the precursor to espn. >> it used to be there was a great excitement of waiting for the sports machine and seeing that come on. it was the only time you got to see it all together from all over the country, not just your local things. >> he was excited by the material he was presenting. and it was easy to get caught up in it. >> he had -- you don't see rodeo a lot and george michael showed you a lot of rodeo and he would have a funny joke about it. and he would just -- all the old ladies out there. >> now one of george michaels final public appearances came last month when he took part in a gala with andrea roane at the hospital. george michael was 70 years old. 9news now is sponsored in part by your local toyota dealer. laxatives? i've tried all these. this one's gritty. this one can make you bloated. clearly, miralax is the one for me. it relieves my constipation with no harsh side effects. miralax. restore your body's natural rhythm. back on 9news now with a look at where santa clause is, even as we speak. tracking him as he makes his way around the world. right now he is in iceland. don't worry, he is headed our way. the vatican says pope benedict was not hurt when a woman knocked him down today as he was walking to the pulpit. you could see commotion on the tv broadcast of the mass when it all went down. that woman jumped a security barrier, but then she was arrested by the vatican police. the pope did not refer to the incident during the mass. president obama took time this morning to personally call some members of the u.s. military to wish them a merry christmas. he also thanked them for their service. the president made those calls just before he and his family were off to hawaii. the first family saluted the military, calling on all americans to help support military families for the holiday season. and the president did not leave for his vacation until the senate had voted on the healthcare reform bill. senators passed their version of the overhaul measure by a vote of 60-39. robert byrd came to the hill for the historic vote. >> this is a victory for the american people. those fortunate enough to have health insurance will be able to keep theirs, and those who do not will be able to have health insurance. >> the one test for any bill was whether it would lower cost. this bill fails that test. >> after the holiday break, the senate and the house will have to get together and hash out their differences on their versions of the bill. the white house says that shouldn't be too hard. they believe the bills are 95% similar. okay, i'm curious. what do you think about this healthcare overhaul plan? is it a gift to the american people as senator reid said, or is it a big mistake, or after all the talk, do you feel like you don't know enough about it to really have an opinion? share your thoughts in an e- mail. the mcginty mail bag. the address, mailbag@wusa9.com. one of the most inspirational stories. and devon lucy back with your holiday forecast. making sure santa can make it through our area all right. and speaking of the big guy, we are back with norad to check out where he is. he is still over iceland. next big country, ireland. now a heartwarming update on the story that captured the world. it has been five years now since that tsunami in east asia devastated 14 countries. one father and daughter's reunion made headlines and recently, workers at dc based, save the children went back to see how the pair was doing. as brittany morehouse tells us, their story continues to inspire everyone who meets them. >> of the thousands of heart rending images. >> december 26, 2004, an earthquake strikes the coast of indonesia, unleashing a tsunami that kills people and rips apart thousands of families. >> the worst damage -- >> mike and his colleagues flew there. >> it was leveled for miles. huge ships were put in the middle of town. i know one friend of mine that i made, his mother drowned in a parking lot. >> it is still considered the world's worst national disaster in three decades. though, one father, daughter reunion shines brighter than any wreckage. >> he had lost his wife and his other daughter. she had lost her mother and her sister. >> he is back from visiting rena, five years after the reunion. >> he said the clothes he was wearing the day they were reunited and rena were wearing hang in his closet and every day, he is reminded of the day they were brought back together. >> it's one of many examples of the successful effort to set up a data base of orphaned children. >> who gave us money. >> now he is remarried and rena dreams of her future. >> she is in the fourth grade. she loves to dance and she wants to be a policewoman when she grows up. >> a glimmer of holiday hope clear across the world that translates worldwide. >> he had us in tears. >> brittany morehouse, wusa9.com. >> and you can find a link to more save the children stories at wusa9.com. >> you know, i think a lot of folks hope for wintery weather, just not this kind of wintery weather. >> you can deal with snow and sleet, you can do okay, but when you have ice, there's only one solution for that, and that's staying in. >> we will have to look at that. take a look at this first. this storm that is over the central part of the united states is packing a punch in the way of ice and snow. did you know it is also packing severe weather. this is tornado damage from texas and the overnight hours last night, early this morning, tornadoes touch down there and did quite a bit of damage. we also had tornadoes touch down in louisiana and mississippi today. the southern edge is producing rain and that rain is moving towards the southeast, that could be affecting us here in washington, d.c. let's take a look at the next three days. rain tomorrow, now the 40 degrees is deceiving, because that will be the official high, just before midnight. most of the day, will be spent in the 30s. so freezing rain and flooding, a winter weather advisory we have to watch early tomorrow. the flood watch taking over early tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow night. heavier rain by the evening. that can compound the problems. becoming overcast here tonight as we move the clouds in. northeast breeze is pretty light. it's that northeast breeze that brings up the rain of freezing rain tomorrow for the winter weather advisory that goes into effect. and changing over to plain old rain tomorrow afternoon, tomorrow evening. could be heavy at times. combine that with the melting snow, we have to watch for the possibility of flooding. pretty much west, alexandria, arlington, dc, you are not in that. or prince georges county. fairfax county, yes, prince william continue, you are in that winter advisory. because, this big time storm system here from tonight, that we put in the east winds and this is frozing precipitation. i think this is in the way of freezing rain. it's not snow, it's not sleet, but it will fall as rain, because we were below freezing, that's why it tends to freeze. we aren't going to be done with the freezing rain until tomorrow afternoon. tomorrow evening, it turns the attention to the possibility of stronger rain and compound that with melting snow. you want to clear out the storm drains to stay away from this flooding that. will help us out tonight. what i do want to show us is an hour by hour outlook. after 3:00, i think that's our time as things are going to be looking up and up. turns to the possibility of flooding, so if you are out tomorrow morning, that's going to be the slick area. it's not main road, it's going to be the sidewalk, the driveways, and the parking lots that become the slickest first and then you got to have to turn the attention to what's going to happen, when everything gets better by tomorrow afternoon. focusing on that 50 for saturday. >> it's going to feel very nice. >> let's get to our weird news file. with friends like these, who needs enemies? sanders will spend all day tomorrow unwrapping all these great christmas presents. unfortunately, they aren't new things, they are stuff he already owns. his buddies decided hey, wouldn't it be funny if we wrapped up all this stuff while lui is out of town? so, a friend with whom he had entrusted a spare key recruited 16 people armed with 35 rolls of wrapping paper and eight hours of spare time to pull it off. the bad news, he has only been able to unwrap 10% of the packages so far. the good news is, every single gift is just what he needs. we want to hear what you think, send your e-mails to mcginty's mail bag. the address, mailbag@wusa9.com. 9news now will be right back. ahhh. time to get the latte budget under control. mm-hmm. [ female announcer ] trying to be smart with the family budget? here goes the good old steam. [ pfffft! ] whooa!!!! [ female announcer ] let bounty help... because it cleans the mess with less than the bargain brands. it's thick and absorbent. and really durable. in lab tests bounty absorbs twice as much as the bargain brand. [ steam hisses ] why use more when you can use less? bring it. with bounty. the thick quicker picker-upper. and try bounty napkins. now with new prints. okay, one quick last look at where the big guy is. you know the big guy with the red pajamas and the white beard. right now, he is in ireland and you can track santa all night long. log on to wusa9.com. click on the story under headlines. in the mail bag tonight, the passing of george michael lost his battle with leukemia this morning. writes in to say he was a fan. dc area has had three great sports casters. while i didn't like george michael's coverage of rodeo, i did like his interaction with riggens and some of the others on the sports shows he hosted over the years. thanks for that. i think as many have said, michael's greatest gift may have been his charisma and he was dynamic and made you want to listen. my memories go back to being a teenager watching late night sundays. i could not wait for the news to be done so we could watch the sports machine. just a click of a mouse away, it's hard to remember the days when if you missed it on the sports machine, you just didn't get to see it. we already talked to michael's must see interviews and his redskins access. back in the day when local sports was really a big deal, george michael made it even bigger. much respect, sir. rest in peace. that's our report, i'll be back here tonight at 11:00. don't forget, wusa9.com is always on. ttfb  wow, is this... fiber one honey clusters? yes. it's delicious. delicious. i know. but it can't have... can't have about half a day's worth of fiber? i assure you it does. i was expecting... expecting sawdust and cardboard? i know. i can only taste... only taste the crunchy clusters, honey, and brown sugar. no madam, i don't have esp. ok. i'll take a box, but you probably already knew that. (announcer) fiber one. cardboard no. delicious yes. "entertainment tonight" in high definition. ♪ brittany murphy's music video the making of the song. plus, chasing tiger. lathest information on one of the biggest scandals of the year. penelope, sew few ya and kate. >> it's so beautiful to watch. >> alec, meryl and steve. george clooney, robert downey jr., jude law and even heath ledger >> i was thinking of changing the style of the show. "e.t.'s" unwrapping your christmas movie guide. >> the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull, lipstick. >> she turned the presidential election