11/02/2014 ABC World News with Diane Sawyer

The latest headlines from BBC News. I'm Babita Sharma. The United

Nations says that both government and rebel forces in the Syrian city

of Homs have agreed to a three day extension of a temporary ceasefire

to allow more residents to be evacuated. More than 450 vulnerable

people were moved out of the Old City of Homs on Monday.

Hundreds of homes along the River Thames in southern England are being

evacuated, after the river burst its banks and swept into villages and

towns west of London. The authorities say that the water would

continue to rise, threatening hundreds more properties and putting

people's lives at risk. Police in China have launched a

crackdown on the sex trade in the southern city of Dongguan, following

local media reports on prostitution. Police arrested 67 people and shut

down 12 venues, while two police chiefs were suspended.

The Prime Minister says Environment Agency staff on the ground are doing

an amazing job and deserve support and thanks. That's despite criticism

of the agency by one of his most senior ministers over the weekend.

The political blame game has meant how much is spent on flood defences

and where they should go is now under intense scrutiny.

The flooding is so serious and so long-lasting that it has opened up

divisions within government. The waves of violent weather have put

areas like the Somerset Levels at the centre of a dispute about what

went wrong. Was the Environment Agency held back a tough government

rules on spending, or should it have invested more in clearing silt from

the rivers? We perhaps relied too much on the Environment Agency's

advice. Yesterday, Eric Pickles was highly critical of the Environment

Agency and of why it hasn't done more in Somerset. Today, the

agency's head it right back. He is wrong. How agency were following

government rules and guidelines. We put money on the table for dredging

12 months ago but the maximum that we were allowed up by government

rules, to put on the table was ?400,000. Then the environment

Secretary when Paterson, who is off recovering from surgery, defended

the Environment Agency. This afternoon in the Commons, Eric

Pickles seems to have changed his tune. My admiration for the work of

the Environment Agency exceeds no one and I believe it is time for us

to work together. All this as the Thames Barrier is ready for the

record flows. There are no warnings for central London so far but it's a

tense backdrop to a political storm. The fact is, there has never been

enough money to help everybody. So, there is a system for calculating

where the cash gets spent. Every pound produces at least ?8 of

economic benefit. That is a Treasury rule and why London is the most

expensive protection of all. Second, you count all the households at

risk. Clearly, cities will do better than the countryside. Third, you add

up to private households. Again, urban areas will have a higher

rating. Add all of that together and you can see why regions like the

Somerset Levels have not been getting the investment that people

there think they deserve. There has always been, since the 1500s,

arguments about flooding land that produces food compared with

protecting urban areas. But we know the science, we know how to deal

with this, but you have to make decisions about the economics.

Rush-hour in Worcester, the city effectively closed. Up and down the

country, flooding is affecting everyday life. Major floods usually

forced the government to think again and, with extreme weather still

striking the country, that's what we are seeing now.

David Cameron left with -- left Westminster r to visit parts of the

south-west badly affected by the recent heavy rain and devastating

storm surges. His trip has taken in Devon, Dorset and Cornwall and he's

been talking to business leaders and rail bosses. Jon Kay has more from

Newquay where the Prime Minister arrived on Monday.

Going nowhere again. The fishermen have not been out to sea since

before Christmas. Gary said he has not known anything like it in 40

years. With fishing, you can never play catch up. A day lost is a day

lost. We are now into two months and it is not looking good. The crews

are not earning money. Calm in the harbour today but out in the

Atlantic, the waves are still too big for fishing. The harbour master

told me he fears for those who rely on the sea for their income. Trying

to keep them upbeat is quite difficult. They are struggling

financially with not being able to get on with their livelihood. Some

mornings I have dreaded walking to work, just have for fear of what I

will find. The seafront has been repeatedly smashed by the storms.

The aquarium was forced to shut for one week. It reopened today but they

are not expecting business to be easy. Lots of people are staying

away, quite sensibly. They are heeding warnings not to travel.

Keeping away from dangerous areas with these kinds of waves. We have

lost quite a lot of business. The south-west of England relies on

visitors to come to places like these so there is a sense of urgency

that the damage needs to be repaired, transport links and need

to recover ahead of busy holiday seasons. The Prime Minister flew

into Newquay tonight to support the region's economy. The train wasn't

an option. The main line through Dawlish will take weeks to repair.

That news for a region which can already feel cut off and isolated. I

am only interested in making sure that everything the government can

do is being done and will go on being done to help people through

this difficult time. The south-west is determined to show that it is

open for business and for many, life goes on as normal. Given the weather

forecast, getting the region back on its feet could still be a challenge.

Smoking in cars when there are children present looks set to be

banned in England and Wales after MPs voted overwhelmingly to back the

move. Hundreds of health professionals support the change but

critics say it'll be almost impossible to enforce.

A cigarette on the go, a dummy and a detector in the back. This is how

you measure second-hand smoke in cars, using volunteer smokers and

non-smokers, windows closed and windows open. The monitor picks up

tiny particles in smoke. Researchers say there is as much in cars as pubs

before the smoking ban, and that children are more vulnerable. It can

cause things like asthma, respiratory problems, wheezing, blue

ear, and we know second-hand smoke for very small children is linked to

cot death. Doctors say the government should intervene in what

happens in the family car. But how far do you take that argument? What

about smoking at home, or even pregnant women who smoke? Lifelong

smoker Pat Nurse is among those who strongly disagree. In terms of civil

liberties and how far the government encroaches on people's lives, there

is a line, and a car ban crosses that line. In the Commons this

evening, some MPs said it made no sense to single out cars for

legislation. Why is it worse for people to be smoking in an open top

car than it is for them to be smoking in a confined flat or in a

caravan? Why is one much more of a danger to health than the other? MPs

were convinced by an argument that this was about one simple priority.

Protecting young children who don't have a voice and don't have a

choice. In 20 years' time, I'm sure we will wonder how this was ever

allowed in the first place. Parents already have to strap younger

children in safely, it has become completely accepted as sensible.

What did they make of the idea of a law to ban smoking in cars? I think

if there are children involved, you shouldn't be able to smoke anyway.

It's too confined, and they don't get the choice. I don't think it

should be brought into law. I think we are becoming a bit of a nanny

state, to be honest. Wales has been trying to persuade families to keep

cars smoke-free, and it will consider a ban. There is interest in

the rest of the UK as well. Now MPs have paved the way, ministers in

England and Wales have the final decision.

The Labour leader Ed Miliband has called for a new era for public

services that puts more power in the hands of parents and patients. He's

set out a series of proposals designed to tackle what he calls

unaccountable state power and unresponsive public services.

How do you make hospitals and other public services better when there's

no money to spend? It is a question Ed Miliband has been struggling with

for months. Today, he gave his answer. Not more top-down

decision-making by managers, not more choice or competition, but new

ways of giving people a say over the services they receive. Information

in the hands of the users, not ordered by the state. Patients,

parents and others linkup with each other, not left on their own.

Decisions made by users and professionals together. And, power

not concentrated at the centre. What do these plans mean in practice? He

says Labour will give parents a new power to send inspectors into

schools to raise issues and even sack head teachers. He promised

patients and local people an automatic say in changes to the

local health services. He said people would get more data about the

public services they are using. But his vision of people powered public

services did not involve market forces. You say that more choice and

competition will not improve standards in the public services? We

can't apply the principles that you would use in relation to markets to

the principles you apply to the way the public services work. As for

having a greater say at school, some parents in Huddersfield like the

idea. We seem to be getting told what we can and can't do with our

children. I think it will be a good thing to get parents more involved

in the running of the schools. It is nice to go and talk to them, but to

also allow them to be able to have them, you know, have some faith in

them. This is an attempt to show how Labour would do more with less. But,

less money there will be, and one thing the Labour leader wasn't

saying today is where he would make his cuts. The problem with Ed

Miliband is a vote against every decision we have made to reduce

deficit in this country. Get more for less. He can't now come along

and claim to have the answers. So, some ideas and the beginning of an

important debate. Today, he praised Margaret Thatcher's sense of

purpose. When it comes to public service reform, that would not be a

bad thing to have. The rest of the news in about 15

minutes. Now it is time for ABC News.

Welcome. Coast to coast. More than half the country trapped in the

freeze. The south braces for a new round of the snow and ice that has

crippled highways already this winter. Terrorist threat, the

airline Americans are warned not to fly and the new video tonight Show

in the tape down of a wanted terrorist overseas.

And born in the USA. Big business in an American paradise. Travel agents

selling the path to American citizenship. A investigation

tonight. Good evening. We begin with a new

blow from this exhausting winter. Both sides of the country dealing

with a season that won't quit, as another winter storm is set to

pounce. Out west, they are cleaning up mudslides and avalanches caused

by heavy snow and ice. The south eager to show it can handle the

weather. Snow covering more than half the country, with 11 states

from Texas to Carolina preparing for a new blast.

First mudslides in northern Carolina, trees falling into cars.

Then avalanches from the heavy snow that killed two people in Utah.

Tonight, authorities across the country worrying about people dying

on the roads. 26 people were hospitalised when a bus slipped on

the black ice in Pennsylvania. Utility crews from around the

country try to restore power this even into thousands of families who

have been in the dark for one week. This has been the longest. It is

outrageous to. In Georgia, they are bracing for a storm that could be

bigger than the two inches that paralysed Atalanta two weeks ago.

The city's responds to gain a running joke, like this one. It only

took a snowflake to shut the city down, it said. Today, a state of

emergency was declared in 45 counties before the snow and ice. Do

not put yourself or your family in jeopardy. They are expecting more

snow tonight and up to one inch of ice possible tomorrow. They want

everyone off the roads, starting tonight. So, tomorrow and Wednesday,

schools in Atlanta are closed. This could be a significant storm for

much of the south, parts of the minute -- mid adman Dick and the

north-east. A new and specific threat in the air

and president of warning about airlines flying to American

airports. US passengers told about one airline they should not board.

The air plane warning was stark and unprecedented. The embassy said

Americans should avoid flights on Karelian air from Ghana to the US.

-- Ruby and. It turned a specific unconfirmed threat. This is an

unconfirmed threat. Officials said the threat today 's flight to New

York was allowed to land, but with security squads and portable x-ray

scanners. Passengers that they were worried but not enough to cancel

their plans. I was scared but I had to take my chances. Authorities have

been concerned about cells in the area. The FBI 's most wanted

operatives is a native, he grew up in New York and Florida and is now

actively being hunted by the US in Pakistan. The intensity of the hunt

for a number of senior Al Qaeda leaders was seen in this new video

of a capture. This was obtained by the Washington Post. A white van the

car, Delta Force members jump out, guns drawn, and a second car blocks

any escape. A quick reaction Force comes from up the street. After a

struggle, he is pulled into the van. US forces sweep the area and then

they are gone. It is all over it in a little over one minute. He is now

awaiting trial for the bombings of US embassies in Africa. There is a

new report out saying US officials have identified American terrorist

targeting Americans overseas and they don't know how to handle it.

The US officials have confirmed that is the case. They are watching one

citizen in particular, deciding whether or not it is legal to kill

them, because otherwise they can't get out in. The new rule set up by

President Obama. To horrific crashes, leaving 11 people dead,

both cars going a long way. This raises questions about how these

terrible accidents keep occurring. It was so unbelievable. An SUV

speeding the wrong way on a counter highway. This driver started

recording. -- Tampa. Only to capture the deadly collision. The wrong way

driver suspected of drinking slammed into a sedan with four brothers.

Five dead here. Six hours later, in California, a 21 -year-old woman was

convicted of TU White four years ago and suspected of being drunk, also

drove at high speed the wrong way. -- DUI. The driver survived but her

sister and five others were killed. Wrong way accidents account for a

small portion of crashes Buttai 20 70 -- times more likely to be

deadly. 60% of the time it is a drunk driver. No matter what speed,

it is going to be a big crash if you are driving the wrong way. But many

times it isn't the drunks. Sometimes highway design is the problem.

Officials suggest lowering the wrong way science. Make them bigger and at

a second set up the offramp. -- signs. Ad rumble strips to the

pavements are they feel they are going the wrong way. Because the

number of times this happens. -- because of the. Tonight, born in the

USA, our under in cover -- undercover investigation of travel

agents selling the path to US citizenship, we are back in two

minutes. After all the glitches and false

start, a new delay for Obama care. The government has announced that

small businesses will have an extra year to comply with the mandate.

This is the second time small businesses have got a reprieve, last

summer their deadline was pushed from 2014 to 2015. Now to the

revelations about Hillary Clinton, including the explosive chapter from

her White House years, the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Private

observations from her trusted friend whose secret diaries make headlines

tonight. Until her death, Diane Blair was one

of Hillary Clinton 's closest friends. The union Professor

contained details in her diary of Hillary Clinton 's times in the

White House, it remains secrets for years. Among the revelations, it

insight into what the first Lady was thinking in the days after her

husband had an affair with Monica Lewinsky. I did have an affair which

was not appropriate. It was wrong. It was a lapse, which she says to

her -- is credit he tried some of the blame on the pressures

of the White House and herself. She thinks she was not smart enough

The papers were first reported today . The diary betrays Mrs Clinton as a

hard-nosed operative who is: The Clinton camp has known for a

long time the story would come out, how are they responding? Supporters

say they don't see anything damaging. Her spokesperson declined

to comment on the paper 's. Next, our undercover investigation, a

faraway US territory in the Pacific, this piece of paradise,

37,000 miles west of Honolulu, has been a destination for families from

China. A why are they more keen to have their babies inside and.

This is paradise. A US territory just four hours by plane from China.

It popular with tourists. Button under the radar operation is showing

a different kind of tourist. This man is a hamper hired to help

Chinese women have what they call an ABC, American born Chinese baby. I

know everything you need to know about having an American baby, he

says. You are in safe hands. It is a profitable business and begins in

China, we ask in China and we are at a Perth agency. We are going to

check it out. Our producer is posing as newly pregnant. She is selling

the place like a 5-star location. Issues showing top of the line

medical care. Are these the doctors? Full packages start at

$27,000. They promised social security cards, birth certificates

and, most importantly, an American passport. Instant citizenship for

the baby. This is a business contract. We didn't buy the package

but were told it is easy enough to go online. Within hours, brokers on

the ground were vying for our business. One, showing our

undercover producer places to stay. Her clients were getting ready with

a big bathtubs and strollers. Records show the number of ABC

babies has skyrocketed from 18 2009 to a full 71% of babies born there

are ABC 's. While not illegal, critics point out: When they become

of age they can apply to bring their families into the US. We asked the

US representative to the US. We are trying to fix this and want to

ensure the problem remain small. Back in China, is an as is booming.

-- business. Thanks for watching. That's all for us to note. --

tonight. Some severe gale force wind at times and with it being colder

than it has been, increasing risk of snow and ice. Concentrating on the

rain, up to Friday we could