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Dec. 06, 2010
Tonight on world news done deal breaking news about those tax cuts they will stay in place for every American late word of a compromise cutting edge cancer Justin tonight. It turns out one aspirin a day can reduce your risk and we also have news tonight about Elizabeth Edwards word that she has taken a serious turn for the worse closing in with the least other Julian aside, ready to turn himself in, out rape accusations as more leaks it his website and dandy Don remembering Don Meredith, the glamorous quarterback who made us laugh as he Monday night Football.
>> From ABC News headquarters. This is ABC World News with Diane Sawyer.
>> Good evening. We start tonight with taxes and breaking news. Those politically charged tax cuts. They have been on the book since George W Bush was president. And there is late word tonight the fight over keeping those tax cuts has ended. President Obama has agreed that everyone, including the wealthiest Americans, will keep their tax breaks. So, what else was thrown in during the long behind the scenes negotiations? Jake Tapper is at the White House tonight with everything that's happened, right to this hour. Jake?
>> That's right, Diane, President Obama's expected to come before the cameras momentarily to announce that a deal is at hand.
Sources tell ABC News that the deal includes not just extending the Bush tax cuts for everyone for two more years but other items the President was pushing for. Extending 99 weeks worth of unemployment insurance benefits for an additional 13 months for approximately 9 million Americans. A one-year payroll tax deduction for employees, from 12.4% to 10.4%. $120 billion worth. This means every working American will keep an additional 2% of the first $106,000 of their income. Allowing businesses to deduct 100% of certain investments in the first year. And extending tax credits for college tuition, children and the earned income tax credit. Some Democrats say President Obama didn't get enough concessions out of the Republicans because he too quickly signaled he was willing to cave on the tax cuts for the wealthier Americans.
>> I think a lot of people are wondering why President Obama doesn't fight for what he believes in a lot more. It seems like it goes from zero to fold in pretty fast time.
>> All parties in the negotiations support continuing the lower Bush tax rates on income under $250,000 a year. So the average US household with an income of $49,777 will continue to keep its tax cut of $2,142. But President Obama had originally told voters taxes on income of more than $250,000 a year should increase.
>> We will take those tax breaks away from the wealthiest Americans and put them in the pockets of hard-working Americans.
>> He gave in to Republicans on that. So the family of the average Wall Street banker paid more than $311,000 a year will keep $9,318, as opposed to the $8,012 the President wanted him to keep. Or take Miami Heat basketball star LeBron James. He makes $14.5 million a year and will continue to keep more than $666,000 of that, as opposed to the President's original position of letting him keep just over $8,000 of that.
And, Diane, the White House says President Obama would have gladly signed just the tax extensions, tax cut extensions for middle class Americans, but the votes simply were not there and this is the best deal he could get. Diane?
>> All right, Jake, our thanks to you. So the President has decided.
But I want to bring in Jon Karl who covers Capitol Hill for us. Because, as Jake intimated there, Jon, a lot of Democrats are not very happy tonight. What does this mean for what happens next?
>> Well, Diane, Democrats didn't expect to like this deal but now that they're hearing the details, many of them are outraged about it. Especially upset about a provision they didn't expect regarding the estate tax or as Republicans like to call it, the death tax. The estate tax is supposed to go up to 54% next year. But under this deal it would go down to 35% and only apply to estates valued at over $5 million a year. To a lot of Democrats up here, that's just another big tax cut to the wealthy and in their view another reason to oppose this.
>> So what faces the President in the weeks ahead?
>> Well, some tough discussions with Democrats. I'm told Vice President Biden will be up here to try to sell this plan to Democrats tomorrow. A spokesperson for the Speaker of the House told me pointedly House Democrats have not agreed to this deal. Ultimately, it's expected that he will get the votes he needs here in the Senate but it will be tough, could be close, and it's an open question over whether or not this could even pass in the House.
>> Still, such an inflamed issue. Thank you so much, Jon Karl.
We're gonna move on now to the big health news tonight. It is right there in just about every medicine cabinet of America, and tonight there is breaking news about aspirin and the risk of cancer. A major new study just out shows one low-dose aspirin a day, the kind millions of people take for heart health, could also significantly cut the risk of death from some of the most common forms of cancer. Dr. Richard Besser has the news.
>> The stunning finding came as researchers were studying 25,000 people taking daily aspirin to prevent heart disease. It turned out aspirin was doing something else, reducing the death rate from caner as well.
>> What we found was in the trials where people take an aspirin, four, five, six, seven years on average, the risk of dying of cancer was reduced by about 25%.
>> In other words, for every 1,000 people who took aspirin every day for at least four years, 23 ended up dying from cancer. That compares to 30 who died from cancer in the group not taking daily aspirin. The aspirin was found to reduce the death rate for an array of cancers, including colon, lung and esophagus. The most dramatic decrease was in gastrointestinal cancer. For every 46 people who took aspirin every day for five years, one life was saved. But there are risks that must be considered.
One of possible side effects from aspirin?
>> The most important side effect, bleeding, stomach bleeding and stroke. They’re potentially lethal.
>> For George Cain already taking aspirin to prevent heart disease, today's study is welcome news.
>> , that’s how I worry feel.
>> So why does everyone at home do now if they have it in their cabinet or if they want to go buy it?
>> This is exciting. If you have heart disease, here is another reason that you should be taking an aspirin. If you have cancer risk factors, you should really think about taking aspirin and talk to your doctor about that. If you don't know the risk factors for heart disease or cancer, you have to really worry about the side effects from aspirin itself. In the end, I wouldn't jump into that lightly.
>> So the side effects will take them very seriously.
>> There are bleeding and stroke, not things you wanna mess around with. So you want to make sure that the benefit is there for you.
>> All right, Dr. Richard Besser, so this is a big study tonight, thank you.
And as we said earlier, we do have a note tonight about a woman who shown enormous strength battling cancer in the public eye since 2004, Elizabeth Edwards. We are told her family and friends, including her estranged husband, have gathered at her bedside in North Carolina. Doctors say further cancer treatment would be unproductive. She is separated from the former vice presidential candidate John Edwards. After that, searing public drama we all know about. They have three children from 10 to 28 years old. Elizabeth Edwards has put a message on her Facebook page saying “The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that. And, yes, there are certainly times when we are able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like. It's called being human. But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope…the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious with love. Elizabeth.”
And in other news, less than a week into December, half the country is shivering through bone chilling dead of winter cold blasting down from Canada all the way to Florida, where the lows tonight sink into the 20s and farmers there are racing to save the crops. Matt Gutman is in the middle of a orange grove in Dundee tonight. Matt.
>> Hey, good evening, Diane. It's a race against that cold and growers here are using these sprinklers to trap cooties, these oranges, just a little bit of warmth, and what we're talking about is just the Southern tip of the shot of air blasting through the Eastern half of the country.
Snow gridlock Buffalo courts car crashes in Indiana, even court in North Carolina and President Obama off guard.
>> Although, I have to say, I came down here for slightly warmer weather. What's snow doing on the ground in North Carolina? Come on, now.
>> Around the great Lakes, snowfall tonight and tomorrow will be measured in feet not inches and it's going to get worse.
>> We do believe that there will be another shot of even colder air coming down into the deep South as we get later this weekend and early next week.
>> And with the jet stream shooting Arctic blast as far south as Florida, the homeless are especially vulnerable.
>> It is very difficult. I mean really no and no place to go.
>> Florida's 2 billion dollar a year citrus industry is also vulnerable. Rovers are spraying crops.
>> We found that the temperature gets down to the mid-20s, we start to get concerned.
>> But for other Floridians…
>> It gets me in the mood for chopping for a Christmas tree with degrees in humans.
>> Now the temperatures here in Florida sink down into the 20s, record temperature, mostly across the state. But that cause can do two things. It could actually, if it doesn't kill these trees, make them sterile, it could make this fruit, Diane, even sweeter.
>> All right, Matt Gutman already in his sweater reporting for us from Florida tonight.
And now, the ABC News exclusive reporting this week on America's longest war, Afghanistan. And our question, can we win? More than nine years into the war, we launched a high-risk and groundbreaking effort once again to poll the Afghan people about the US and their view about this war.
Poll takers fanned out across all 34 provinces in Afghanistan. Afghan men and women braving danger to conduct interviews. Their findings tracking with what we've reported all year. While 62% of Afghans still support the presence of US forces in their country, that's dropped from a high of 78% in 2006. Because of the concern over the length of the war in its tenth year, and the civilian casualties. There is also increasing concern that the US can ever provide security. It's gone down 12 points in the last year. At the same time, economic distress, as 40% of Afghans say the availability of jobs and economic opportunity is getting worse. Though interestingly in the Taliban stronghold of Helmand Province, the story is reversed. Here, where the US presence has increased with the surge, confidence in the US has grown. The numbers are up 15 points. And even with the long war and so much poverty, a majority, 61% of Afghans, say they still have faith in the prospect that someday they'll live in security and peace.
And my colleague GMA co-anchor George Stephanopoulos is on the ground in Afghanistan, spending time with the US military men in charge there, General David Petraeus. The two men sat down to talk about the progress, the problems and the questions prompted by our new poll. George.
>> Diane, our poll has some revealing findings on how the Afghan people feel about the Taliban. Fewer than 10% support the group. But almost three quarters of the Afghan people say they want a negotiated settlement with the Taliban. When I said down with General Petraeus, I asked him if he thought that was possible, or if he thought the Taliban had to be defeated on the battlefield.
>> Well, it depends what you're talking about. There are already cases of re-integration of irreconcilable elements of the Taliban. In other words, mid-level leaders and below…Well, you know, in Iraq we never reconciled with the top level Al Qaeda in Iraq. Here what we did is we were able to reconcile with the mid level leaders in the population that in some cases was opposing the new Iraq. This is not a case where you see the hill that you have to take, you take it, plant the flag and you go home to victory parade. This is a much more complex and different than that. It requires a very comprehensive approach.
>> What is it look like the victory?
>> Well, it looks like Afghanistan that can secure and govern itself.
>> And you're confident the Afghan government will be able to take over, Afghan army will be able to take over by 2014?
>> I don't know that you say confident, I think no commander ever is going to come out and say “I am confident that we can do this.” I don't think there're any sure things in this kind of endeavor and I wouldn't be honest with you and with the viewers if I didn't convey that.
>> The bottom line for General Petraeus: He doesn't see this war ending with some kind of Paris peace talk summit. So his focus now is on beating back the Taliban on the battlefield, so they will feel convinced, they have to reconcile with the Afghan people and stop trying to dominate them and also so Afghanistan can never again become what we most fear, a safe heaven for Al Qaeda, Diane.
>> Thank you, George, and I know we'll be answering more questions from Afghanistan. Our special series “Afghanistan, Can We Win? ” It continues all week.
Now, news tonight that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is on the verge of being taken into custody after days in hiding as a wanted man. His lawyer says Assange is ready to turn himself into British police, who have a warrant stemming from a rape investigation in Sweden. It comes as his website posted even more highly sensitive secrets. Jim Sciutto is in London for us tonight.
>> Tonight the legal net is tightening around Julian Assange, his arrest imminent.
>> The British authorities are obliged, under the agreement, to take Mr. Assange into custody and to comply with the warrant.
>> But not before the Wikileaks founder released perhaps the most controversial leaks yet, a list of sites around the world identified by US diplomats as critical to America's public health, economy and national security. A hydropower plant in Canada supplying the northeastern U.S., a firm in Scotland supplying nuclear powered submarines, the largest crude oil plant in the world in Saudi Arabia and a mine in the Congo for cobalt, a commodity used in everything from jet engines to medical scanners. Wikileaks says the list pro
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