questions about how equipped we are to battle the bug. authorities release the 911 tapes from the desperate parents who believed their son had floated away in a giant balloon. >> we got to get my son. >> but was it a hoax? and why are we so fascinated with stories like this? fare wars. with far fewer seats available for the holiday season, the price of airline tickets is skyrocketing. but it's not too late to find a deal. and we'll tell you how. and if you can't beat 'em, start your own sport. from office chair polo, to kick ball. the latest trend in sports is inventing one. ♪ thank you for letting me be myself ♪ good morning, america. >> good morning. it is saturday, october 17th.

people still talking about that mysterious, strange, silver balloon. >> balloon boy. >> do the 911 tapes shed any light on what actually happened? that's coming up. we're going to look at why so many people are so fascinated by these stories. we'll sit there for hours and watch a balloon floating. but we won't watch a presidential address. >> right. >> what is the problem? >> the suspense. the unknown outcome. also, it's mid-october. but feels like mid-december. winter arriving way ahead of schedule. the central part of the country, freezing. earliest snowfalls on record in some parts of the northeast. does this mean anything about the winter ahead? we'll take a look. >> i scraped snow off my car in minneapolis the other day. >> oh, yeah? >> how did that feel? >> not so good. >> also, a gorgeous place, on the other hand, where people are going to escape the cold. a government cabinet meeting.

why are they doing that? what's the point? and also, oh, boy. one more shot. one more volley in the mommy wars this morning. it's a study out of great britain, thasays the children of working mothers are more likely to have unhealthy habits than kids whose moms stay home. they have generally poor diets. they exercise less. we'll hear what a panel of working moms has to say about all of this. lay it out and stand back. first, ron claiborne starts us off. >> good morning, everyone. officials in afghanistan say, will be at least one more day before they announce election results. awe months' long fraught investigation, could cost president hamid karzai, enough votes for a runoff election. nick schifrin has the latest from kabul, afghanistan. good morning, nick. >> reporter: good morning, ron. that's right. it's been about two months since this election was held. and we still don't have a winner. and what that commission is

trying to decide that you mentioned, is whether enough votes cast for hamid karzai were fake. it would push him bew 50% and force him into a runoff. u.s. officials are deeply concerned there's a political vacuum in this country. over the last 24 hours, we've seen a lot of diplomacy. a lot of calls, including from secretary of state hillary clinton, to karzai and his competitor. but the fact is, the political vacuum does exist in this country. some government officials are telling us, they basically stopped working until this process actually comes through. and that political vacuum fears or the fear is, the political vacuum will only help fuel the insurgency. seven u.s. troops were killed in the last 48 hours. and u.s. officials fear the numbers will only crease, so long as the taliban has sanctuaries across the boarder in pakistan. today, we saw pakistan take a major step. they're trying to eliminate one of those zonk wares. south waziristan. nobody thinks the violence in both countries will continue, especially with the political

vacuum in afghanistan. ron? >> okay. thanks very much. nick schifrin reporting from kabul in afghanistan. and the federal budget deficit for fiscal year 2009, was the previous one-year record. the total deficit was $1.42 trillion. that figure represents 10% of the nation's economy. since world war ii. it's been and louisiana governor, bobby jindal and senator mary landri landrieu, are calling for a local judge to step down after he refused to mary a couple. they say keith bardwell would not issue a marriage license to a white woman and a black man. finally, a young man from depaul is waiting to be awarded the world's shortest person. he turned 18 years old this week, making him eligible for the ginness world record as an adult. he's even inches shorter than the current record holder from china. that's a first look at the headlines. i looked in the ginness book

john line. if certified, he would be the shortest person ever. >> shorter than the -- >> shorter than the young woman i did. she was 26 inches. >> 22, this guy. >> go figure. good morning to all of you. it's very chilly in portions of the country. even though the calendar says fall, winter weather is whipping through much of the country. parts of the northeast were hit with her earliest snowfall on record. abc's stephanie sy has the story. >> reporter: old man winter forgot to check with father time. a true winter storm, two weeks before halloween, led to widespread power outages, as branches full of fall foliage, and heavy snow, splintered on to power line >> the leaves on the trees are so heavy, the branches are so heavy, that everything just came down. >> reporter: the nor'easter reached into coastal new jersey, and long island, new york, causing flooding. and right behind it, a second nor'easter. predicted to add two inches more snow tonight into sunday, with the highest totals expected

around the poconos in pennsylvania. across the country this week, it looked more like january than october. cold rain led to mudslides in california. flooding in texas. record-low temperatures in denver, that froze out a colorado rockies playoff game. all this is prompting many to ask, is el nino to blame? meteorologists say, not exactly. >> just to dwell on this el nino is not the way to go here. you've had a certain situation in the pacific that's been going on. this has been leading to cooling in general across the northern hemisphere. and now, we're seeing the ingredient there's to trto bring the cold further east this upcoming winter. >> reporter: forecasters say november may offer a break from the stmy weather in the northeast. but many consider this weekend to be a harbinger for a brutal winter. for "good morning america," stephanie sy, state college, pennsylvania. >> and, of course, the northeast is bracing for nor'easter number

two. not expected to bring as much snow. about two to six inches. that's way up in the mountains. it will continue to bring some rain. it will continue to be very chilly. as stephanie mentioned in her package, we're looking at the winter outlook. december, january and february. and n.o.a.h. announced thi thanks so much. more on your saturday outlook

later on in the show. kate? >> okay, marysol. now, to the swine flu vaccine shortage. the virus has an intense grip on most of the country. it is widespread now, in 41 states, hitting children es xeshlly hard. and parents are worried and confused. >> reporter: faced with production problems and the need for extensive safety tests, health officials warned of more delays getting out the h1n1 swine flu vaccine. >> we wish that we had more vaccine. but it doesn't look like we're going to be able to make those estimates that we had projected for the end of this month. >> reporter: the cdc had predicted 40 million doses of vaccine would be available by the end of october. now, it's predicting only 28 million to 30 million doses of vaccine. >> it will be pretty challenging to find vaccine in many areas over the next couple weeks. >> reporter: challenging and frustrating.

>> the vaccine problem is pretty bad. we're out of regular flu vaccine. and we don't have access for the h1n1 vaccine. >> reporter: there's not only a vaccine shortage, but an information shortage, as well. >> seasonal flu and we're hoping h1n1, as well. >> reporter: many doctors offices are flooded with calls from patients and worried parents, asking, where's the vaccine? >> we're in an overwhelming situation, because we don't know what to expect. and we don't know when to expect the vaccine. >> reporter: at least 86 children have died from swine flu complications. that's more than from the seasonal flu in a single year. there's been two deaths in one texas county, leaving parent there's scrambling for vaccine. >> everybody is out. calling the doctors and make sure that we can get in there and get it done because this is a scary thought. little kids to die like that? it's very scary. >> reporter: for "good morning america," john mckenzie, abc news, new york. and joining us now, dr. anthony fauci, the national

director of allergy and infectious diseases from washington. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> let's start there. how did this happen? how do we have a shortage? >> the confluence of things that happened. first of all, the virus was first identified in april. usually when you make vaccines to seasonal flu, you start making the vaccine around january to february. start growing it up. so, just the awaress that it was here several months later. and a couple of the companies, we've contracted with five companies to make the vaccine. a couple of them are having trouble getting the virus to grow, to the point of being able to make a vaccine. and a bunch of other technical things. and then, the flu itself, occurred much earlier than your usual seasonal flu. you put all of those things together. as you just heard in the piece, the fact is that we don't, right now, have as many as we would have hoped to have in october. we're going to start seeing them come in full force in november. but we would have liked to have

them in november. >> but parents are so worried about this. we hear the news. the numbers. 43 children dying in september and early october alone. you want to protect your kid from that remote possibility. but you can't find the vaccine. what do you say to parents? >> the first thing you do is you try to protect the children from exposure, if you possibly can. if your child does get sick, particularly if you have a young child, there's a thera you can give. tamiflu if a person gets infected. but one of the most important things is to protect children. by washing your hands. you shake hands with someone that might be infected, then you pick up your child. the low-tech, hygienic thing we've been hearing about for the past couple of months is the best thing to do. >> should we get the vaccine or get it for our children no matter when it arrives? is there a drop-dead time? like past november or december, is it not worth getting at that point? or should you always get it? >> that's a great question. and the answer is a resounding

yes. it's not too late at all. we encourage parents, if they go to their physicians or to a facility where they're supposed to be getting vaccine and they don't have it, don't give up. come back. there's widespread influenza around. particularly in younger people, pregnant women. they're the most vulnerable to the serious complications. >> i was just going to ask quickly. is it better for us who is fairly healthy to wait, and let those most in need go first? >> when you say fairly healthy, for example, if you're an adult, 30 years old, 40 years old, and healthy, you should wait for the others to get it. there's five groups that are high priority. i mentioned a couple. pregnant women. very young children. health care workers and people with underlying conditions. those are the ones, as well as people caring for children less than 6 months old, to protect the children from exposure. those are the five groups that should get it right away. someone 30, 40 years old and otherwise well, they should wait until other individuals get it. >> dr. anthony fauci, thank you

so much. >> you're welcome. kate, we turn now, to colorado, where the nation's most infamous balloon has been grounded for a couple of days. but plenty of questions about it are still up in the air. and abc's ryan owens has been following this story from the beginning. and joins us from ft. collins with the latest. good morning, ryan. >> reporter: good morning, bill. like it or not this saga is not over yet. detectives plan to reinterview the parents about exactly what happened. they'll do that later today. they have plenty of new questions. and a lot of other people have plenty of new doubts. the desperate voice of a weather looking for help. >> we looked everywhere. and when my son just said, verifying. >> reporter: richard heene, begging 911 dispatchers to help him find his 9-year-old son. he believes the child floated away in that balloon. >> okay. he obviously has electronics, where he can know how to work it? he gets it off the air?

off the ground? >> no. he doesn't know how to operate it. >> reporter: that's where the speculation of what really happened began. this home video was shot just minutes before the 911 call. >> three, two, one. >> reporter: the heene family gathered around the balloon for an experiment, to see if it would rise 20 feet into the air. it did much more than that. the balloon came loose. and the father let loose. it's not strange glimpse into this family. a family that never seems to be without a video camera. they are reality show veterans. featured twice on the abc show, "wife swap." and ever since, richard heene has reportedly been trying to sell producers another reality show, based on his eccentric family le. he even developed a show where he was the star. ♪ science detective >> hi. i'm richard heene. >> reporter: but more of the

actions of the father, is the words of the son that has fueled speculation. onlarry king live," when asked why he hid in the attic for hours while so many feared he was in danger, young falcon said this. >> we did it for the show. >> reporter: it was enough to get the sheriff to reopen this case and question the parents for a second time. he says he still believes their story. >> we believe, at this time, that it's a real event. certainly, people are free to speculate. >> reporter: and speculate they are. adding to that this morning, news that the company that produces the show, "wife swap," was, yes, you guessed it, working with this family on their very own reality show. no word this morning on when that work stopped or exactly why. kate? >> okay, ryan. thank you. >> as long as we've been given permission to speculate by the authorities, shouldn't the father have known that balloon wouldn't lift a 50-pound kid?

>> the hydraulics to lift. >> if you watch the balloon take off, it doesn't seem like it would be powerful enough to lift a child. >> a 50-pound child. i don't know. how many of us have watched this over the past couple of days? we're going to get into that our next half hour. the idea that we are obsessed with these kind of chases. >> right. changing gears. if you or your family members are hoping to book a flight on an airplane, not a balloon, the time to get a decent deal is quickly slipping away. your best bet is to book right now or pay much more later. here's abc's lisa stark. >> reporter: the good news for travelers have haven't made holiday plans, airfares are lower than they were a year ago. the bad news, that's changing by the minute. with fares for thanksgiving and christmas, heading skyward. >> last year, procrastination worked. this year, if you procrastinate, you'll get stung with higher prices. you need to be shopping right now and absolutely buying your ticket by the end of the month.

>> reporter: in the last few weeks, fares have jumped 4% to 7% overall, a lot more on certain routes. heading from washington, d.c. to boston for thanksgiving. if you booked last month, you would have paid $450 on u.s. airways. now, the cost is $592. how about from chicago to los the thanksgiving trip on american airlines was $461. now, $740. >> haven't made a flight yet, which i now regret. >> reporter: airlines are able to raise fares because they've slashed flights to the lowest number in a decade. >> airlines have cut capacity overal and they haven't added any new flights for the holidays. they're going to make sure the planes are full to make some money. >> reporter: take the day before thanksgiving, a heavy travel day. there are 80,000 fewer seats this year to the 50 buest airports. you can still find deals if you're willing to be flexible. that might mean traveling thanksgiving day, christmas day. or being willing to come back

before or after. these days, passengers have to take into account, passengers and other fees for holiday travel shopping. for "good morning america," lisa stark, abc news, washington. let us turn to a tourist paradise. the maldese, where government leaders are diving in into a new way. they're hoping to shed light on the island's serious battle on climate changend rising seas. laura setrakian reports from the capital. >> reporter: in the maldives, government sinking to a new low. all in the name of saving paradise. cabinet officials spent half an hour, in a meeting they prepared for months. strapping on wet suits and scuba gear, to convene 20 feet under

water, to vote on a measure to help curb climate change. >> if maldives can't be save today, we do not feel that there is much of a chance for the rest of the world. >> reporter: these stunning waters threaten to submerge the maldives within a century. seawalls and break waters try to stem the tide. but erosion is already piecing away one-third of the country's islands. a climate catastrophe could lead those who live here with nowhere to go. with a population of 400,000 people, the maldives could become the world's first country of environmental refugees. the u.n. projects that a sea level rise of just seven inches would make the country unlivable. that's why today's stunt was more than just a gimmick. it was a message to global leaders, ahead of december's climate change summit in copenhagen. >> if nothing is happen, no global emission reduction, we're going to have the doom day

scenario. >> reporter: but this president and his underwater cabinet, want desperately to avoid. for "good morning america," laura setrakian, the maldives. >> i visited a similar country in the south pacific. kiribati. >> i remember that. >> and new zealand is taking 50 climate change refugees a year. >> off the island. >> as that country slowly disappears. >> wow. we'll be right back. coming up on "good morning america," reality tv. the high-stakes dramas that grab our attention, from car chases, to the boy in the balloon. what is it that makes us all stop and watch? and mommy wars. a controversial, new british study finds kids of working moms are at higher risk for health problems. but this group of moms explains there's much more to that than meets the eye. vovovovovovovovovovovovovovovovo

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but every year, congress must make a temporary fix to the medicare payment plan so seniors can keep their doctor and the care they depend on. we need a permanent solution --to protect medicare and ensure seniors get the security and stability they've earned. call your senators today. ask them to pass s.1776 to protect seniors' access to quality care. do the children of working mothers have unhealthy habits? we're debating a provocative mothers have unhealthy habits? we're debating a provocative study coming up. volevovo♪vovovoo ♪vovovovovovovovovovovo vovovovovovovo♪vovovovo ♪vovovovovovovovovovovovovovoo vovovovovovovovovovovovovovovo ♪vovovovovovovovovovovovovovovoo ♪vovovovovovovovovovovovo vovovovo♪vovovovovovovoo ♪vovovovovovovovovovovovovovovoo ♪vovovovovovovovovovovovovovovoo ♪vovovovovovovovongvovovovo

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>> live, and in hd, this is an abc 7 news update. good morning, everybody. it is 7:27. checking our top stories -- an aide to jim graham is accused of accepting bribes from an fbi informant related to the taxi industry. he pled not guilty to the charges. attorneys say they are reviewing the options. let's go to the weather. we will call another cozy day right now. it is a nice day to be indoors. showers throughout maryland and northern virginia but we will see off and on rain and periods of drizzle.

it is cooler now, near 40 degrees. it is only in the 40's today and tomorrow with sun next w

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maybe another way to kill time at the office. it's a new sport. office chair polo, supposedly. it joins other, like wiffle hurling. and mojo kick ball. >> i love this, whatever it is. >> it'made-up sports. we're really getting into it. we'll get into how they create these sports. >> maybe the olympic games of 2020. good morning, america. i'm kate snow. >> i'm bill weir. it's october 17th, saturday. thanks for joining us. we were screaming. and watch hypnotically to balloon, streaming across the colorado sky. it got us thinking about, in the end, this didn't affect anybody other than the family and the rescue workers who spent half a day looking for him. y are we so captivated? why is this such riveting television, given all that goes on in the world today? well, the two have a lot to do with each other. and we'll look at this that

coming up. we're talking about a new controversial study out of britain morning. it says the children of working mothers are more likely to have unhealthy lifestyles. i know, the minute i heard of this study, it makes you second-guess. it gives you doubts. it gives you guilt. we're going to get into the study and what people are thinking about it and how they're talking about it. first, let's turn over to ron claiborne. he has no guilt in his life. >> good morning, everyone. in the news, pakistan's military has launched a ground offensive against al qaeda and the taliban, in the country's south waziristan tribal region. pakistani forces are taking part in that operation. and president obama is criticizing an insurance industry study that says health care reform would raise premium, calling it, the president is saying, it was, quote, phony, in his weekly address. he says the industry is trying to mislead the american people. and jailed ponzi schemer, bernard madoff's beach house has been sold to help repay his victims.

the house sold for $9.4 million. and finally, a flawless, 32-carat diamond will go on the auction block in new york city. if you're thinking of making a bid, beware that the diamond is expected to sell for as much as $5 million. that's a quick look at the head lines. back to marysol with the weather. >> that's a mere bag of shells for you, ron. good morning, everyone. florida getting a cooldown. it had been pretty warm in previous weeks. northern florida, temperatures in the 60s. that's below normal. ft. myers and miami in the 80s. by tomorrow, temperatures expected to plummet in the 70s. by contrast, the pacific northwest. drizzle normal. an inch of rain in seattle and olympia. more of the same again today with gray skies and periods of rain and it is coming down as a drizzle. most of the rain in parts of maryland will often on and it will be a

thanks so much. this weather report has been brought to you by avon. bill? well, marysol, we are living in a brutal news age. so many stories out there are so grim and complicated. two wars, an economic downturn, people losing their jobs, sprawling, confusing health care debate. perhaps that is why a 6-year-old boy, reportedly sailing across the sky in a makeshift runaway weather balloon, transfixed the nation. here's something simple, concrete, easy to follow, involving life and death. and it's certainly not the first time we've been transfixed in this way. here's abc's john donvan. >> reporter: it was up there just two hours on thursday. but if you multiply that two hours by, say, 1 million tv viewers who could not stop watching, and that's got to be conservative, that's still 228 years. more than two centuries of human

brain time, devoted to a gas bag. a lot of hot air, literally, as we now know, because it was a false alarm, all along. the little boy who had supposedly gone up with the runaway balloon, of course, never left the ground a relief. but it also kind of let the air out of the whole drama because the stakes, as we thought we knew them, life and death and an uncertain outcome that we would see unfold before our very eyes, that's why we stared at a barren image of a slow-moving balloon. it's not the image. it's the suspense. let's face it. we like suspense. it was just an endless shot of traffic when o.j. simpson made his famous run for it i the but the suspense, the sheer unpredictability. would he be caught? would he run out of gas? that is suspense. last winter, the u.s. jet on the hudson river. we didn't know if they'd

survive. the jetblue plane with the twisted nose wheel. this was 2005, coming in for landing at los angeles airport. we didn't know if they would make it. and to many people's recollection, the uber suspense story in this category. baby jessica stuck down that well for 59 hours, when there really was nothing to see. but that is the point. it's the future we cannot see, the out come. that's what keeps us riveted. you can ask psychologists what this is all about. and their answers make sense. >> part of it is empathy. i mean, we put ourselves in the circumstance. so, we're on that cliff, on the cliff-hanger. we want to know how it's going to turn out, partly because we're invested. >> the narrative is very compelling motif for all human beings. it's how we make meaning of the world. it's how we put everything in context. so, an open-ended narrative leaves us hanging. it leaves us needing somkind of closure. >> reporter: of course, we love

happy outcomes. we love that they got off the hudson river. we love that the jetblue plane landed safely. we love that baby jessica was rescued from the well. but it's the disaster that did not happen that made us watch. if we don't feel it, then we really don't care. journeys to the moon, we watched, by the millions. shuttle launches, no. they have become too routine. did not seem dangerous. and then, the "challenger" blew up. people started watchg shuttle launches again. for a while. where is suspense missing too often? politics, thanks to polling, which usually is right, despite complaints to the contrary. a lot of it seems anti-climatic. that why we don't pay attention? a lot of sports also. when it's the yankees playing the washington nationals, really, who cares? we pretty much know the outcome. sorry, nationals. but any game that's bases loaded, bottom of the ninth, tied score, then, we're back in

suspense land. so, the balloon. it was live. it was unpredictable. it had everything. everything to make us watch. everything but a boy on board, thank goodness. but if we had known that all along, would anyone have cared? i'm john donvan, for "good morning america." >> and we'll be right back. coming up on "good morning america," a new study says that working mothers are more likely to have kids with unhealthy lifestyles. we'll hear what this panel of moms has to say. and mojo kickball anyone? the new game sweeping the nation. how they're keeping people fit nation. how they're keeping people fit and entertained. vovovovovo vovovovovovovovovovovo vovovovovovovovovovovovovovovovo nation. how they're keeping people fit and entertained. vovovovovovovovovovovo vovovovovovovovovo vovovovovovovovovovovovovovovovo vovovovovovo vovovovovovovovovovovovovovovovo vovovovovovovovovovovovovo vovovovovovovovovovovo vovovovovovovovovovovovovovovovo vovovovovovovo vovovovovovovovovo

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so, a large-scale study out of britain says that young kids are more likely to have unhealthy lifestyles if their mothers work. i heard this on the way to work. on the bbc, in my car. and wanted to look into it some more. you and i, juju, we both work. juju chang. what do you know? >> reporter: it does make you want to make that u-turn, right? betwn the two of us, exactly. we have five kids. and it makes you wonder, what does the study mean, exactly.

as if we need more guilt. there are plenty of studies that suggest that working motherhood can benefit kids. so, let's break it down. what does this british study mean for us here in the u.s.? do we really put our kids at risk every time we head to the office? as if working mothers don't have enough to worry about, now this. a study in the u.k., parking anger with marking moms. >> am i hurting my child by choosing to work. >> reporter: after studying 5,000 british kids, the institute of child health found three culprits on mothers who work. they drink more sugary beverages between meals. they watch tv or use the computer at least two hours a day. and they get less exercise. we put together a panel of working moms and got some heated reaction. >> why do we need to pit working moms aens state-at-home moms? at this point, i think we should

be beyond that. >> reporter: i think this report confirms what every working mom fears. right? the secret fear is, oh, my kids would be better off if i were at home. >> you don't need to be with your kids every minute for them to be healthy and happy. you don't. >> so many kids make kids unhealthy. it cannot possibly be that i go to work. >> reporter: while the u.k. study says they're unhealthy kids, they do say they have less-healthy lifestyles than kids whose moms stay at home. after factoring out income and education differences. >> i'll see you tonight. the biggest pitfall for working moms, keeping them healthy, is just time. li, for me, i do the best that i can. i really am a very involved parent. >> reporter: for sara welch, an entrepreneur with a 3-year-old boy and a 2-month-old boy, finding the time to make healthy snacks is one of her struggles. >> a treat. i don't plan ahead and have a healthy snack on-hand. our default is going to be something less healthy. whether it's a cracker or cookie.

and on sunday night, after everybody's asleep, and i have some quiet time, i'll chop up some carrots. some peppers. >> reporter: we're eating junk, just so you know. just so i can come clean. sure. you can have more gummi bears. i'm a terrible mother, clearly. >> i think that's when they said they were able to speak with us. >> reporter: each of our moms have found ways to make work. each has a full-time job and has children between the ages of 12 and 5. >> i involve my son in every choices. so, if we're going to choose a snack, what snack are you going to choose? no, you can't have a cooky. maybe you just had a cookie. >> reporter: sherri metuse, a media executive, has four kids under the age of 7. her challenge is to keep them all active. >> they're all sitting in there watching tv. and you realize, an hour has passed. what are we going to do? dance party in the trampoline. you have to get them excited. >> there's tons of activities to enroll your children in.

whether it's music class. or teams. >> all of my kids do two sports plus other activities. >> reporter: who shuttles them? >> mostly me. i have help. >> reporter: but a lot of people don't. >> you have to be careful who that neighbor is. or who that day-care center is. and make sure they have activities for the kids to do. and they're not just plopping the kids in front of tvs and videos. >> reporter: these moms say, for them, the benefits of working outside the home, outweigh the potential risks. >> my mom worked. in moments when i have that extreme mom guilt and thinking, my god, what am i doing? i'm hurting my kids. i try to take a step back and look at myself. did i turn out horribly? no. and my mom is one of my closest friends. >> reporter: now, the study's authors say their goal is not to criticize working moms, but to assess the needs. and maybe even get them support services down the road. >> it wasn't to say, stop working. it was to say, if you're working, watch out for this.

>> reporter: right. and if your kids are at risk, let's get you some help. wouldn't that be nice. >> juju, you have us all talking. if you want to weigh in, go to our website, abcnews.com. if you want to weigh in, go to our website, abcnews.com. be right back. vovovovovovovovovovovovovovovovo vovovovovovovovovovo vovovovovovovovovovo

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(rooster crow) ...still tired the next day too? when you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep... remember 2-layer ambien cr. the first layer helps you fall asleep quickly. and unlike other sleep aids, a second layer helps you stay asleep. when taking ambien cr, don't drive or operate machinery. sleepwalking, and eating or driving while not fully awake with memory loss for the event as well as abnormal behaviors such as being more outgoing or aggressive than normal, confusion, agitation, and hallucinations may occur. don't take it with alcohol as it may increase these behaviors. allergic reactions such as shortness of breath, swelling of your tongue or throat may occur and in rare cases may be fatal.

side effects may include next-day drowsiness, dizziness, and headache. in patients with dression, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide may occur. if you experience any of these behaviors or reactions contact your doctor immediately. wake up ready for your day- ask your healthcare provider for 2-layer ambien cr. what is a sport? is auto racing a sport? or golf? >> no. >> or bridge, which is actually recognized by the international olympic committee. well, it's a debate that is really a sport unto itself, especially these days. you never know. today's goofy fad could be the national pastime of tomorrow. here's abc's john berman. >> reporter: in the beginning, there was abner doubleday. he gave us baseball. and it was good. dr. james naismith, he gave us basketball. and it was good.

but now, there's 24-year-old greg manly. >> violation. >> reporter: he's given us circle rules football. and it is awesome. >> circle rules football. yeah! >> played on a circular field with one goal in the center. one team scores through one direction. and the other team scores through the other direction. >> reporter: they play with a giant, bouncy exercise ball. >> you can touch the ball with any part of your body. but you can't hold it. it's being deflected. you can use basketball skills, socc skills. >> reporter: greg invented this game from scratch as part of a theater project three years ago. now, it's played all over the world. >> i think originally, playing a game like this, it levels the playing field for athletes and nonathletes. >> reporter: it's part of a new wave of new sports being invented and played across the country. this is mojo kickball in texas. the pitcher is on the kicker's team. the runners score at third base.

and there's called the mayhem zone. this is wiffle hurling. a version of the game of hurling, using a wiffle ball and bat. matt harshambo, was showing off a brand-new sport he calls office chair poe toe. >> i think there's a romantic playground fun feel to it. like we're the first to do it. isn't this weird and crazy? and it's really about having fun and meeting people and enjoying yourself. >> reporter: sure, for the fun of the game. but make no mistake. they play for keeps in circle rules football. i donned the black shirt and bared my legs for an all-out death match. there were hard hits. hard shots. and hard knocks, all part of the game. remember, it's not whether you win or lose. but how coordinated you look on national television. for "good morning america," john

berman, abc news, new york. >> hilious. and joining us now, you saw him in the piece. matt or sham bow. you were the inventor of office air polo? >> i am. i'm the inventor. in our office, we have no carpets. it's bare floors. it was borne out of me wanting to get to the water cooler without having to stand up. >> right. >> it's really borne o of laziness. >> is there a technique at all? >> i think you guys are getting it. >> watch this. this hurts. >> it's hard to do in a skirt. over here. >> are we on the same team? >> oh. >> i think so. >> now, apparently, there's a position if you play five-on-five, right? >> yes. >> there's a whip center. >> there's a whipper. so, the whipper -- >> i just scored. >> if you come up -- >> i would play the al, right? and a whipper -- a whipper is allowed to do this.

>> hey. >> that's it. >> yeah. this is going to sweep across the country. this is going to sweep the nation for sure. >> absolutely. >> it's a brand-new sport. people are starting to play it now. it's brand-new. >> i think it needs totart office rugby. we have to go. office rugby. we have to go. >> we'll be right back. vovovovovovovovovovovovovovovovo vovovovovovovovovovovovovovovovo o vovovovovovo vovovovovovovovovovovo o vovovovovovovovovovovovovo vovovovovovovovovovo vovovovo vovovovovovovovovo o vovovovovovovovovovovo o vovovovovovovovovovovovovovovo vovovovovovovovovovovovo o vovovovovovovo vo vovovovovovovovovovovovovovo vo vovovovovovovovovovovo o vovovovovovovovovovovovovo

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all right. drop the ball. here we go. >> let's go. >> pass it. you kicked it.

>> pass it. you kicked it. >> come on, mary. >> live, and in hd, this is an abc 7 news update. and good morning everybody. your time is 7:56 on a saturday morning, october 17. sentencing has been postponed for a d.c. woman accused of killing her four daughters. she faces life in prison for murdering her girls in the per se, and living with their decomposing bodies. there were questions raised by the defense lawyers. protest against the war in afghanistan will gather in the district with the possibility of more troops being sent to afghanistan. they are calling for a national day of action. protests are scheduled for cities across the nation. it is another damp and

dreary day to day parade tomorrow will be similar, especially in the morning. we're looking at rain right now in parts of maryland. that is all pushing off to the north. we'll see rain showers brought out the dead. -- throughout the day. we are near 40 degrees right now across the entire region. 43 degrees in frederick. martinsburg is 39 degrees. only in the mid-40's this afternoon so it will feel like yesterday. we will call another cozy day, a date to stay inside. tomorrow, some showers mainly in the morning with snow flakes mixed in west of the metro area. that will be west of the blue ridge mountains. it will be in the upper 40's to moral and into the 60's by wednesday and thursday and sunshine next week. >> thank you so much for

watching. watching.

and trust. all right, very nice, people. not that you have clearly mastered the trust exercise, you, you're ready to act. but the secret to acting is reacting. aah! aah! did you see that?