Transcripts For CNNW American Morning 20111220

good morning to you. it is tuesday, december the 20th. i'm ali velshi joined again by alina cho this morning. good morning. >> good morning to you. so glad you're with us and up first, the u.s. keeping an eye out for advancing troops and any other threatening moves after the death of a dictator in north korea. north korean media show the images of kim jong-il's body laid out in a glass coffin. his third son and successor, kim jong un, paying respects. and live for us in seoul, south korea, anna, good morning. the south korean government sending its condolences along with a dose of what some are calling christian mystery diplomacy. what's that all about? >> reporter: that is right, alina. the sense of condolence, the official wording from the south korean government. this is a real thorn in relations because relations between the two countries hit rock bottom of late. it's worst of the relationships for years. offering sympathies certainly seems to be an act of south korea reaching out. reaching out to its northern neighbors, and uses this is an opportunity to perhaps put in place some changes. so that is what we are hearing. that is what we are getting from the south korean government. as for the christmas tree diplomacy that you mentioned, they have decided not to light christmas trees along the dmz. the demilitarized zone, which salve an hour and a half drive from where we are here in seoul. this is a way of showing respect to the north koreans following the death of kim jong-il. alina? >> we have been reports the world was caught by surprise by the death of kim jong-il and the south korean government getting a little bit of heat for not sort of detecting that this might be coming. right? >> reporter: that's exactly right. they were in the dark, just as everybody else was. we've just finished speaking to the head of south korean intelligence here in south korea and he said that he grilled the members of the national intelligence service today in an inquiry. he wanted to find out why south korea was so in the dark, why there was this lack of intelligence, and what these members told this inquiry was that there was nothing unusual about the way that kim jong-il was behaving or that north korea was behaving. in fact, they intelligence on him two days before his official death, that he was traveling around the country on these field trip, and that is where they had him. so there was nothing unusual about this travel. nothing unusual about his health at that time and then obviously we've now found out that kim ji jong-il suffered that heart attack on saturday while on a train, but there was nothing different to the way that the government behaved. to the way that the leadership behav behaved. to the way that the military behaved. there were no signals. no warning signs that something was actually taking place. but they also said that no other country, no other countries, like the u.s., russia, or china, had any idea that kim jong-il had died. obviously, a lot of people copping a lot of flak. alina? >> anna coren. thank you very much. secretary of state hillary clinton offering her condolences to the north korean people saying it sour hope that the new leadership of the new democratic republican in korea will choose to guide their nation onto the path of peace and honoring north korea's -- her husband, bill clinton, was president when he came into power in 1994. this is what he had to say. >> what we want is stability, what we want is peace, for all the children to grow up and be well and go back and try to reach an understanding with them. and i think it can be done. i've always thought so, but we have to recognize the way the system works over there and try to figure out how they can change it and open up without being considered by the changes. >> president clinton posed for this photo op with kim jong-il when he traveled to north korea to bring back american journalist laura ling and euna lee. that was two years ago. the hopeless dysfunction in washington means that your taxes might go up in just 11 days. overnight a house vote on extending the payroll tax holiday was postponed until this morning, and now minority house leader nancy pelosi tells cnn that vote may not take place, because republicans don't want to have to oppose a tax break for working americans. republican senator scott brown released a statement blasting his colleagues in the house for rejecting the senate's two-month extension. here's what he said. the house republicans plan to scuttle the deal to help middle-class families is irresponsible and wrong. i appreciate their effort to extend these measures for a full year, but a two-month extension is a good deal when it means we avoid jeopardizing the livelihoods of millions of american families. that's the end of his quote. republican congressman eric cantor fired back. he said the senate should return to washington to hammer out a new deal. >> nobody wants those taxes to go into effect. that's what we're hear talking about right now. no one does. i'll tell you, if the senate doesn't come back into town, they're going to have a lot of answering to do to the taxpayers of this country. >> now, here is what all of this in-fighting could cost you right when you're getting close to those holiday bills. if congress cannot reach a deal, americans earning $50,000 a year would be hit with $1,000 tax hike in 2012. kate bolduan is live in washington. good morning, kate. what is happens? we were hearing there would be a bipartisan deal. kept getting later and later into the night. what's the situation now? >> reporter: that bipartisan deal passed in the senate we've kind of been debating a two-month extension, is still out there. it's unlikely the house will directly vote on it today. instead, the house republicans have moved to use a procedural maneuver when members would actually vote to reject the senate measure rather than have to vote to accept or not accept the senate measure. why, you ask? that's clearly a little complex, and appears to be a way to protect house republicans from having to vote against extending the payroll tax cut and be seen as voting for a tax increase which, of course, democrats would jump on and try to use to their political advantage, especially in an election year. so the house -- one vote expecting today and we're expecting the house vo toto vot send this legislative vote procedure in washington where republicans hope to hash out the differences between, on this issue with democrats and extending the payroll tax cat. ali. >> talk about the democrats. we know the republicans' issue on this. what are democrats say about it? >> reporter: democrats are pushing for up or down vote. they are blasting republicans for in their view, holding up this bipartisan agreement. it did get broad bipartisan support. the vote 89-10. harry reid issued a statement last night saying it would be unconscionable for the speaker to block a vote that would protect middle-class families from the $1,000 tax looming on january 1st and has said he will not reopen. he is not willing to reopen negotiations towards this-year extension they had been trying to negotiate last week until the house passes this two-month extension. it seems the standoff continues. you know how we've been talking all along, ali, there's a general view that something in the end would get done? i'd say there's less of a general view now. things seem to be really have gotten to a point of a staring contest. it's unclear how it's going to turn out. >> you've covered this, as long as i have. it's kind of fascinating to watch this. seems seem their going -- gets completely derailed. seems that's the norm now. thank you, kate. any updates, bring in back to us. kate bolduan in washington. this is about your paycheck or is it political leverage? coming up live at 7:00 a.m. eastern, republican jeb hensarling joins us. and shifting again in a presidential race. mitt romney in a dead heat with newt gingrich. according to a cnn/orc poll, tied for presidential nominee. both have 28%. ron paul, you see in, surging a bit with 14%. michele bachmann, rick perry, rick santorum and jon huntsman all in the single digits. i want to bring in cnn deputy political director paul steinhauser live in washington. paul, good morning. as you dig deeper into the poll numbers, what are the smart minds saying about why gingrich is losing support? >> reporter: exactly that. look at fine flint our brand new cnn/orc poll and you can get answers there. we asked republicans and independents leaning towards the gop which candidate is more likable? the most likable. two to one margin, romney over gingrich. trustworthy, two to one margin, romney. two reasons maybe he's starting to move up and gingrich sliding down. strongest lead jer still newt gingrich. 42% to 26%. on the campaign trail yesterday in iowa, gingrich was asked by our own political analyst why his numbers are slipping nationally and in that crucial state of iowa. take a listen. >> reporter: your numbers have been heading in the wrong direction here in the state of iowa. can you tell us why? >> watch tv here for two days. you've had all sorts of people and all sorts of these super pac whose have consistently been running negative ads. well, you get enough negative ads before you start answering them, your numbers go down for a while. >> reporter: 14 days left. two weeks to the iowa caucuses which kim off tck off the prima. can people change their minds? yes. look at this. supporting a candidate but i could change my mind. 9% at the bottom, totally unsure who they're backing. anything could happen with just two weeks to go until the start of the process. >> as paul begala likes to say, only in the third inning. it's early. give people a little break. another big endorsement coming out today. maybe not so big. who is it? how important is it? paul? >> reporter: the group, the family leader. one of the leading conservative groups in iowa. in iowa, social conservative voters on the republican side are very influential. this group narrowed it down to four candidates. bachmann, santorum, perry and gingrich. see who they back. in a close contest, this endorsement can't lep. knop doubt about it. it may help. >> always great to get support. paul steinhauser live in washington. paul, thank very much. and later on this morning, gop presidential hopeful ron paul is going to join us to talk strategy and the latest poll numbers. some people say he could have an upset win in iowa. that is coming up at 8:10 eastern time. a massive snowstorm slams the west and midwest. look at this mess. the storm unleashing heavy snow and fierce winds. turning roads into sheets of ice. driving so dangerous, some highways shut down. blizzard warnings remain in effect for five states. you warned us a about this yesterday. >> a big one and in the early season. highways shut down in new mexico, oklahoma, kansas. this out of garden city, kansas, since noon yesterday, winds sustained 30 miles an hour. gust it's over 40 at times, that doesn't include the snow. getting the worst of it and still blasting them now. blizzard warnings remain up to nonetime for th noontime. and gusting over 70 in new mexico. snow piling up in pie town, new mexico. and oklahoma, ten inches, still coming down. blizzard warnings to noon. for oklahoma and parts of kansas, new mexico and colorado will see the warnings begin to drop. begin to stretch out some of the moisture getting into the lower great lakes. mostly in the form of rain for st. louis, up to chicago. from chicago to, say, cleveland and pittsburgh, some of it mixes in with wintry precipitation. become as warm system in the northeast eventually. staying on the warm side of the system. 49 in d.c. 46 in new york city and 40 degrees, no major problem expected in chicago. guys, back up to you. >> all right. thank you, rob very much. see you later. 15 after the hour. also making news this morning, at&t announcing it is abandoning its bid to takeover at&t. at&t must pay a $4 billion breakup fee. the merge worry make them the largest mobile phone company. it is now second behind verizon. and piers morgan will testify into the world hacking scandal. via video link. morgan is the former "daily mirror" and "news of the world" editor. he says he's never published a story of a tape from a hacking call. and the lights went out twice in san francisco at candlestick park. can you see it. transformer blow on the left side of the screen. the huge stadium goes dark. this, the view from the blimp. it delayed the game by a couple of minutes and happened again in the second quarter. pittsburgh steelers suffered a power outage. pittsburgh quarterback ben roethlisberger played hurt. the 49ers won. and showing you how it endings. a hint there. and he's leaving the sports world for a tryout for congress. the espn sportscaster who says washington needs someone from the real street. like father, like son. a serious look at north korea's new dictator. is he too green to be handling a nuclear power? we'll discuss that. it's 16 minutes after the hour. ♪ sen♪ co-signed her credit card - "buy books, not beer!" ♪ ♪ut the second at she shut the door ♪ ♪ girl started blowing up their credit score ♪ ♪ she bought a pizza party for the whole dorm floor ♪ ♪ hundred pounds of makeup at the makeup store ♪ ♪ and a ticket down to spring break in mexico ♪ ♪ but her folks didn't know 'cause her folks didn't go ♪ ♪ to free-credit-score-dot-com hard times for daddy and mom. ♪ welcome back. a young girl is safe this morning after police say she was kidnapped. the suspect led police on a slow-speed chase near los angeles before pulling over and stepping outside of his car with the 4-year-old girl. that's, of course, you're watching here. police snatched the child, wres'sed the man to the ground. he was arrested. the young girl taken to the hospital and had minor injuries. we don't know what the motivation was behind this. >> we'll watch. and a horrific crime spree in new orleans. a little girl, just shy of her second birthday, shot to death in a drive-by. open the fire in a cordyakor co filled with children. the governor, bobby jindal, says the request for police to walk the streets is not that simple. >> crime is spiraling out of control. everybody's afraid. you can't walk down the street without crimes happening. the bad guys are running the city right now. we've got to take this city back. >> -- talk to the mayor at the point he made those comments. we recommend he actually talk to the mayor, so there's one voice coming out of the city of new orleans. >> the last time the guard was called in to patrol the streets, after hurricane katrina in 2005. and espn analyst and former nfl player craig james made a late entry into the crowded race for the seat soon to be vacated by senator kay bailey hutchinson, running as a conservative outsider. a self-made businessman from "the real street." texas lieutenant governor david dewhurst, ted cruise and tom leopard are also vying for the same seat. still to come on "american morning," the u.s. government is reacting to a shocking video that allegedly shows an american captured by the iranians. we'll tell what you the state department is now saying about that. and you don't -- you think we don't manufacture in this country anymore. you're wrong. we'll take to you perhaps the most iconic company town in america. it's 21 minutes after the hour.l lit it. [ female announcer ] made fresh, so light... ...buttery and flaky... this is half. that is not half. guys i have more. [ female announcer ] do you have enough crescents? 25 minutes after the hour. welcome back. we're "minding your business" this morning. europe's debt concerns and steep losses in the banking sector pushed u.s. markets lower yesterday. the dow lost .8%. nasdaq and s&p 500 lost more than 1% to start the week. and the lowest level since the low point of the financial crisis. pushing the banking sector lower, reports that the federal reserve is expected to propose new rules this week for how much cash the banks need to keep on hand. the goal is to overt future taxpayer bailouts like we saw during the financial crisis. critics say the new rules could negatively effect big banks ability to affect loans. it would apply to about 30 of the nation's largest banks. in europe, the eurozone ministers agreed to lend the international monetary fund $195 billion to help with the debt crisis there. there is still uncertainty surrounding the loan because britain refused to contribute to the bailout loan. and that cash is less than the $260 billion charge the eu leaders were aiming for. a new partnership on wall street. accused of mortgage fraud. new york attorney general and federal housing agency announced they're joining forces to allow them to share documents and findings related to the investigation of the mortgage back in 199. and apple claiming a victory against google and its operating system. the u.s. trade commission ruling technology behind features like being able to tap a phone number and have it automatic dial belong to apple. the case was against phonemaker htc which uses the android operating system. htc could face a limited ban starting in april on some phones. and a deal to sell newspapers. the "times" has been selling assets. "new york times," boston globe and herald tribune. "american morning" will be right back after the break. [ child ] it's so cool! you can put a force field on him and be invisible! [ child 2 ] i call first player. no. i already called it. [ dad ] nobody's playing anything until after we get our homework done. thank you. hello? test drive's not over yet. [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. [ louder ] hello? but we still need your signature. right now during sign then drive, it's never been easier to get the all-new passat, the 2012 motor trend car of the year, for practically just your signature. that's the power of german engineering. visit vwdealer.com. i took some steep risks in my teens. i'd never ride without one now. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol and my risk of heart attack. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol's stayed down. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. it's backed by over 19 years of research. [ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications, or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. [ man ] still love that wind in my face! talk to your doctor. don't kid yourself about the risk of heart attack and stroke. if lipitor's been working for you, stay with it. lipitor may be available for as little as $4 a month with the lipitor co-pay card. terms and conditions apply. learn more at lipitorforyou.com. never took life too seriously. 'til our son was born... that day, he bought life insurance. now, there's no way i could send our boy to college without it. if there was one thing i could say to hank, it'd be "thank you." you're welcome. hey, hank. [ male announcer ] life insurance you can use while you're still living. you are one lucky lady. mm-hmm. [ male announcer ] learn more from your state farm agent today. like father, like son. the 20-something who's inheriting a nuclear arsenal in north korea. what we know about kim jong un and what we don't on this "american morning." welcome back to "american morning." it's 30 minutes after the hour. time for this morning's top stories. the body of north korea's longtime dictator kim jong-il laid out in a glass coffin as weeping mourners filed by. the third son and successor visited the coffin along with military officials. secretary clinton offered condolences to the north korean people way message of hope they can now have a more peaceful future. blocking the two-month extension of the payroll tax holiday. $1,000 more in the pockets of american families. the vote taken today after lawmakers scrapped one in the middle of the night. house speaker john boehner expects that bill will fail. snow and ice and heavy winds in the northwest. shutting down roads and major highways. blizzard warnings remain in effect for five states. north korea is now in its third generation of deictators. the latest, kim jong un, called the great successor by north korean news agency. he's only in his 20s and inheriting a nuclear arsenal. his grandfather was the so-called great lead kim il-sung, president and founder of communist north korea. kim jong-il took over when his father died of a heart attack in 1994. now we have his three sons. the youngest, kim jong un, chosen above his two older brothers. kim jong nam and kim jong chol. we know little about kim jong un's ability to lead but we know about his military experience. it may have been an accidental rise to the top. >> reporter: kim jong-il tried to prepare his son and his country for this day. the elder kim elevated the profile of his youngest son kim jong un last year and gave him a rather graphic promotion in the army. >> spent no time in the military before this promotion. >> as far as we know he has not spent a day in the korean people's army yet in september of 2010 he was promoted to the rank of four-star general. >> reporter: victor cha who dealt with the regime while on president bush's security council, kim didn't prepare everyone for his own sudden death. now cha says we're left with little to go on with kim jong un. partly because kim jong un is only in his late 20s and also because he's had such a short apresentishship to this position compared to the 20-something years his father spent preparing for the job. there are widespread reports kim jong un went to boarding school in switzerland and can speak english and nerm german. he's said to have an affinity for james bond, and that's not going to help to accept orders from someone who's not yet 30. i asked why he didn't tap his older son. >> reports, he came into great disfavor with the leadership, because of his lifestyle. he tends to be a bit of a playboy and likes to gamble. keeps a condo. >> reporter: according to analysts on diplomatic cables posted on wikileaks, the second son, which had to feminine to be a leader. it fell to his third son. the latest brother, his uncle, to be a key player behind the scenes while the younger kim solidifies his leadership. he is married to kim jong-il's sister, who is a general in the army. but analysts say there are rumblings that she is sick. are we seeing the beginning of the end of the kim dynasty? >> i think we are. you know, i think that this regime is really on its last legs. i could not imagine a more difficult scenario to affect a leadership transition than we're seeing today. >> reporter: what worries cha right now, the possibility of so-called loose nukes with so much uncertainty at the top, he says, some rogue elements of the military mike take control of the country's fast developing nuclear weapons capability. brian todd, cnn, washington. >> lots to learn about north korea. i mean, the kingdom it may be, disparate things we need to be concerned about. it's never clear. do we think the ascension of his son is a good thing that will continue this relative calm that might be developing into a detente and peace with the west or like he said, rogue elements or competitors -- >> the biggest problem is we just don't know anything about him. you know? >> yep. >> we'll have to wait and see if more trickles out of the country. the information is so regulated. you never know what will happen with that. we'll be watching that. meanwhile, violent clashes in egypt to tell you about. >> police and military troops faced off with protesters in tahrir square again yesterday. at least two protesters killed, bringing the death toll to 14 since friday. live ammunition injuring hundreds of others and images of a woman stomped on by military officers over the weekend fueling outrage among the pro-democracy protesters. and syria says it will execute anyone who participates in terrorist acts or distributes weapons. that announcement made on state tv just this morning. the government blasted numerous protests since the start of the so-called arab spring. the united nations estimated some 5,000 demonstrators have been killed in the uprising. just yesterday 70 descepters from the syrian army gunned down as they ran from their posts. u.s. state department confirms the identity and asking a man in iranian custody be released. over the weekend he appeared in a video on iranian tv claiming to be a marine, but iran says he's a spy apertured carrying out an intelligence operation. u.s. officials say iran has a history of falsely accusing people of being spies. coming up, a new poll shows newt gingrich's lead in the gop presidential race is already evaporating. what's going on? our political expert will weigh in, next. welcome back to "american morning." item wa caucus now only two weeks away. latest polling shows newt gingrich's status as the gop presidential front-runner already slipping. in a new cnn/orc international poll, gingrich and mitt romney are now tied with 28%. ron paul on the rides with 14%. and trailing behind in single digits, michele bachmann, rick perry, rick santorum and jon huntsman. here to weigh in is ron brownstein, cnn senior political analyst and editorial director of the national journal. ron, good morning. glad you're with us. >> good morning. >> there's a very important number in the poll. 56%, if you look. 56%, more than half, still might change their minds. i know people like to say we're still in the third inning. paul begala being one of them. we have had 13 debates. item wa caucuses exactly two weeks away. what does that say to you, that people, so many, are still undecided? >> extraordinary. haven't had anything like this since 1964. you go back to 1964 to find this many republicans. no candidate captured the minds of the gop particularly crossesing the bake divide between the more conservative, ideological and populist wing of the party and the more managerial wing. and this new poll, newt gingrich has a slight lead among both wings, basically no one ahead on both sides of the party at the same time, except rick perry for a few weeks in late summer. >> if you're the gop establishment, aren't you concerned? is there still a possibility that -- i mean, people got excited for a while about governor chris christie, for instance. is it possible something else could jump? >> doesn't seem impossible. unlikely, yes. impossible, no. the race seems a little more in some ways, fragmented now than it did a year ago. the gop race this year has been very volatile. it it makes sense, volatile in a structured way, in that if you look that more moderate, pragmatic side, moving towards mitt romney and the volatility hi been that the more conservative part of the party, sishgalled through a series of alternatives. michele bachmann, rick perry, herman cain, trying to find an alternative to romney. knew race between mitt romney and newt gingrich and seen the right consolidating around gingrich, to the other candidates earlier, but he's not an easy fit for the voters either. ideological consistency is very much breaking down in your new poll. the best showing for romney among the tea party since last june, for example, in the poll you put out yesterday. >> this probably will come as no surprise, but part of the reason we're seeing, according to our poll, that split, people tend to like mitt romney more but see newt gingrich as a stronger president. one more poll i want to look at. this jumped out at you, too. this is how much gingrich and romney support comes from the tea party. have a look here. 32% for gingrich. 28% for romney. i think when you really drill down and look at that number, what's interesting about that is the tea party has been so firm in their ideas. so em fat nick support of candidates and they want to say to you that even the tea party can't decide. >> i think that is really striking. as i said, if you look through the year, the tea party, which is roughly half the party harks been looking for an alternative to romney. not previously, alina in your polling been about 19% with the tea party folks since last june. the fact he's up to 28% in a new poll is a significant number in your survey and shows the ideological confusion in the race. the tea party left with newt gingrich as a last alternative to mitt romney but not an easy fit either. voting for amnesty for immigrants, and health care in the 1990s and action on climate change in this decade pup see those voters casting around, maybe in iowa and new hampshire where they're being exposed more directly to argument. more go back towards michele bachmann or rick perry, but at the national level, the choice is less clear for them, i think, with gingrich/romney race than earlier points in this contest, and all of that confusion is making this an extraordinarily dividing race in the republican party, less defined than six or eight months ago. >> let's talk bottom line here. ultimately, when you look at all of the polling that we've done, who benefits the most from it? romney? who has a slow but steady campaign, and now it seems to be working? >> right. >> or is it someone like rick perry we saw surge in his latest poll? say he has an upset win in iowa? does gingrich lose because he's not, suddenly knocked out of the top tier? i mean, drill it down for us. >> well, look, i think the beneficiary of the chaos, if there is one, is clearly mitt romney. he faces the reality they he has not been able to persuade the front-runner initially. there's not a majority that wants to nominate here. the core story of year has been that majority skeptical of romney has not been able to consolidate around another candidate. we've gone through bachmann, perry, cain. gingrich had a moment and reaching out into the middle. now the question whether a national poll like this is a lagging indicator, because in a state like iowa where they're being exposed to more direct anti-gingrich arguments, questions about his work with freddie mac, for example, his numbers are declining. if no one emerges and consolidates the more conservative part of the party, entirely possible. ron paul wins iowa, then the beneficiary could be romney who could become in effect a plurality nominee. the winner even if he never gets a majority of the party to say, yes, that's my guy. >> at a certain point voters will think about the general election and who they believe is more electable, and so, anyway, watching it all for us, ron brownstein. thanks. >> thank you. good discussion, ron, as always. 46 minutes after the hour. caterpillar, leader in heavy equipment, all made in the united states, providing americans thousands of jobs. poppy harlow take us inside it's manufacturing power house straight ahead. it's 46 minutes after the hour. i'm a chef based out of atlanta. probably clock 130 miles just this year. a chef with many restaurants here's in the southeast. you may know me from "top chef." a day in the life, traveling. one of the thing i have to pack, knives. like my life saber, if you will. grade headphones. even if not listening to music, i can pretend. no one usually will bother you. i like to drink carbonated water. that's my thing. this is a gadget that carbonates your own water. if you're a modern chef like myself i travel with many miscellaneous white powders. important to label them. everyone understand what they are. and the most important is hair product. of course. i have a wife and two young daughters bp the way we state of in touch is on iphones usually. kind of neat. what did you think about the hair. enables us to feel like we're together, even though we're thousands of miles apart. thanks for hanging out and spending time. i'll see you at one of my restaurants soon or an airport near you. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. lord of the carry-on. sovereign of the security line. you never take an upgrade for granted. and you rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i deserve this. [ male announcer ] you do, business pro. you do. go national. go like a pro. we get double miles on every purchase. so we earned a holiday trip to the big apple twice as fast! dinner! [ garth ] we get double miles every time we use our card. and since double miles add up fast, we can bring the whole gang! it's hard to beat double miles! i want a mace, a sword, a... oww! [ male announcer ] get the venture card from capital one and earn double miles on every purchase, every day. go to capitalone.com. i wonder what it could be?! what's in your wallet? my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪ it's 49 minutes after the hour. what you need to know to start your day- the body of kim jong-il laid out in a glass coffin as weeping mourners filed by. kim jong un, kim's third son and successor also visited the coffin along with top military official. house republicans set to block a two-month extension of the payroll tax holiday. the $1,000 in the pockets the families over the year scheduled for today after lawmakers scrapped one in the middle of the night. newt gingrich's lead is gone. a new cnn/orc international poll shows gingrich and mitt romney tide as the republicans choice for presidential nominee. gingrich led by 4% last no. only two weeks to go before the iowa caucus. the philippines declare a state of natural calamity after washi killed nearly 1,000 people. it swept through over the weekend leaving tens ever thousands unaccountable. president obama pledged humanitarian support. and a storm unleashing snow and strong winds, dangerous ice causing some areas to shut down roads and major highways, like interstate 40 in mexico. blizzard warning rees ma ining effect. that's the news you need start your day. "american morning" is back right after this. 52 after the hour. while we see the stamp made in china all the time that has a lot of folks asking, is there anything made in america anymore? >> cnn's poppy harlow visited one of the most i conic company towns in the united states. imperia, illinois, home to caterpillar. much of what they produce here in the united states actually goes overseas. >> proud caterpillar workers here. >> reporter: when it comes to company towns -- this just may be the most iconic. >> you can't come across anybody right here in central illinois that doesn't at least have a friend or a family member that works for a caterpillar plant. >> this job and money puts food on the table, going to send our kids to college in the future. >> reporter: fred's parents both worked at caterpillar and he hopes his son will one day, too. as the saying goes around here, they bleed yellow. >> this is a motor grader. >> reporter: i'm almost sick of hearing it. we don't make anything in america. >> me, too. people say we can't do it here. we can do it here and we do a lot here. >> reporter: in march, cat's ceo doug overhemmen sent this letter to pat quinn calling the state unfavorable to business saying he's been courted by governors to move caterpillar elsewhere. >> has its share of problems. no question. when other states in the u.s. don't have a corporate tax rate or lower, it makes it tougher to draw people here. >> reporter: deep in the red, illinois raised its corporate tax rate this year making it the fourth highest state tax for businesses. one caterpillar employee told me he's not confident that more plants, new plants, will be built here in illinois unless the environment changes? >> i think that's true. i think you know, given the competitiveness of states around the country, illinois's got to make fundamental changes to be competitive, and i think they will. >> reporter: but for now, cat's staying. and building more demand from abroad. >> 70% of our sales are non-u.s. >> reporter: from uruguay to australia to egypt, 82% of these d-11 tractors are experted outside of the united states for $2 million a pop. >> it's not a threat. it's an opportunity. buy that globalization, buy those sales overseas, we are guaranteeing the future of caterpillar in the future of engineering jobs here and overseas. >> we're growing in china, everywhere. but upgrading facilities in america. building new facilities in texas, in illinois. all of that business is helping us here. >> reporter: why is it good for america to create things over there? >> a lot of that engineering, a lot of those components, most of the intellectual property all come from the united states, because this is where we were born and raised. >> it's a blessing we have such a demand for tractors that our jobs are pretty safe right now. >> reporter: do you mind the demand is coming from overseas? >> no. money's money. >> reporter: money's money, and that means jobs. caterpillar's ceo told me we need china as much as they need us. he did say to me, look, though, as demand and business picks up in china and overseas our production will pick up there. that's the reality. interesting, ali, you've seen this, in terms of manufacturing in this country, so much of it has moved to south. moved to right-to-work states. non-union shops. something we're seeing at caterpillar. unless the environment changes in illinois he doesn't -- >> wages and the taxes. at some point everybody else by buys your products, they start to insist, if chine nap is going to continue to buy ca caterpill products, they need facility there. >> and the d-11s shipped all over the place, $2 million a pop. in money creates jobs in the united states. we can't forget it. we took a look. show you this on "cnn money," how to build the $ million tractor, ship it out in just two days. you can see fred there, the employer what goes into creating these jobs, and sick of hearing people say we don't make anything in this country. >> thanks, story. the rise of ron paul, up next. what's happening in the polls, noticed? we have. the oldest candidate in the race at age 76 connecting with the youngest voters, and threatening in iowa. could it happen? we'll take a look at the ron paul factor, and then talk to him in our 8:00 hour. it's 56 minutes after the hour. [ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation, so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates. okay... uhh. the bad news, it's probably totaled. the good news is, you don't have to pay your deductible. with vanishing deductible from nationwide insurance, you got $100 off for every year of safe driving, so now your deductible is zero. the other good news ? i held on to your coffee. wow. ♪ nationwide is on your side ( laughing ) it's actually a pretty good day when you consider. that's great. [♪...] >> male announcer: book now, save up to 65%. call 1-800-sandals. our members do not want to just punt and do a two-month short-term fix. >> radical tea party republicans are holding up this tax cut for the american people. just when you thought they came together on something, house republicans take a popular tax cut and say, never mind. a dear leader on display. images of kim jong-il's body in a glass coffin. whether those in north korea will be more dangerous without him. and dangerous ice pap fierce snowstorm rips through the west and midwest. so is more snow on the way? medicaid is the one who holds my child's life in their hands right now. >> taking on the system. one mother's fight to get her baby the medical care he desperately needs on this "american morning." good morning. it's tuesday, december 20th. welcome to "american morning." i'm alina cho along with ali velshi. so glad you're with us. >> good morning. it were you loping to wake up with an extra $1,000 in your pocket, for next year, fuhgedaboudit. set to block a two-month extension of the tax. lawmakers scrapped a vote in the middle of the night. house speaker john boehner expects the bill to fail saying his members are against kicking the can down the road. minority leader pelosi blamed rogue republicans for getting in the way. here's both sides. >> our members do not want to just punt and do a two-month short-term fix where we have to come back and do this again. we're here. we're willing to work. >> it's just a radical tea party republicans who are holding up this tax cut for the american people, and jeopardizing our economic growth. >> here's what the in-fighting could cost you when you start getting the holiday bills. if congress can't reach a dealish americans earning $50,000 a year would be hit with a $1,000 tax hike in 2012. joining us from capitol hill, the chairman of the house republican congress. congressman hensarling, thanks for being with us. >> good morning. >> talk to us about what's going on here. seems like a lot of process. americans would like to see the payroll tax cut go through. let's get the ideology out of the way for a second. are you in favor of or against the payroll tax cut being extended? >> oh, absolutely. here's where the debate is today. unfortunately, since the pla president has been elected, the president has been at, near or above 9%. we have to help struggling american families. by and large, everyone in congress agreed we need to extend this temporary payroll tax holiday. here's where the debate is. the senate wants to punt the ball. they want to do a 60-day extension house republicans frankly, this is one of the few times we agree with the president. we want to extend it for a full year. that's what the american people asked for. it's what the president agreed to. so number one, that's the first point. here's the second point. house republicans stand ready to work over the holidays, like many other americans have to do, to get this done. so today we will appoint conferee, a conference committee, which since the dawn of the republican sn how you work out differences between the house and the senate. so far, leader, democrat leader pelosi, democrat senate leader reid said they won't do it. they won't negotiating. our way or the hoyeighway. last point. washington didn't consult with the real world. every business group says a two-month extension is totally unworkable and will do more harm than good. the associated builders and contractors, the roofer, the people that actually do the payroll say, you can't give people this little notice and get it done. that's why we need to do the year-long extension. >> i would love that we didn't have people working on these ongoing extensions to the debt ceiling and to the budget. it's kind of in the eyes of most americans ridiculous the way business is going on in congress these days. we operate on the basis of 11th hour decisions or 13-hour decisions. the bottom line is -- >> isn't that the point? the extension, the democrats come back to negotiate in good faith? >> is a two-month extension not better than no extension? >> and talk to the people who actually have to do this. people need to get outside of the beltway small businesses responsible for this saying it's totally unworkable. it's washington not listening to the people who actually create the jobs. they say you can't do all of these software changes overnight. there are only two months. number one, they're not listening. listen, the last time we had a disagreement and, listen, nobody likes brinksmanship, but we went to conference. we came up way bill to fund the government for the rest of the year and not have a shutdown. the question is, why won't democrats come and negotiate in good faith? >> let me tell you, you've got scott brown, senator, republican senator from massachusetts. you've got another senator from indiana. dean heller from nevada, all speaking out against the position that house republicans are taking. they're saying, scott brown says, the effort to not do this is irresponsible and wrong. you do have people in the republican party. why is there this break in the republican party? who is pushing -- >> well, i would say we have some democrat whose supported our positions. there's a handful of people on both sides. again it comes down to this -- do you want a 60-day extension that is unworkable, according to the people who have to administer it, which, by the way, contrary to what your lead-in says it not $1,000. 60 days. about $160. >> i senate $1,000 over the course of a year. it's about $90 a month. i do get my numbers right. >> okay, well, then, congratulations. but, again, here's the problem. again, do you -- it really comes down to this. do you want to do a 60-day ex-attention or one-year extension? willing to work on the holidays to get it done or not? >> gosh, i'd like to know what we're going the next five years? if we weren't working on one-year cycles. what happens now? what's going to happen in your mind jp how does this play out? >> again, the house will appoint people to, something known as a conference committee, which, again, since the dawn of the republic is how we work out differences. the question is, will democrats show up to negotiate this good faith? i hope they do. this could be worked out in a couple of days. we could do what the president asks us to do. again, the question, are you going to do it for a full year or punt the ball down the road like washington does? so are you going to give america something -- >> you've articulated the issue very well. my question is, you are a member of the leadership. do we think that we will go into 2012 with -- two-month extension, one-year extension or is there a chance there will be no extension of this payroll cut? >> well, i hope that the democrats will come to their senses and be reasonable and negotiate in good faith. i hope this gets done. again, i'm sorry we're in the economy that we're in. i'm sorry that the president's policies haven't worked but almost everyone in congress has agreed we need to do this, but the debate is, are you going to do it for the full year or are you going to punt the ball down the road? and work over the holidays or are you not? >> if you can't get a one-year extension on the payroll tax holiday, will you and your colleagues vote against extending this two months? there's some chance americans may not get this payroll extension because want to stand on principle of it being a year? >> it's not just a matter of principle. it's a matter of practicality. i encourage you to talk to the businesses in charge of administering this saying it will do more harm than good. we're not going to vote for something that's going to do more harm than good for the economy. we don't understand -- why democrats won't -- >> congressman, i bet you there's a -- >> -- they want add one-year extension in the first place. >> it's 2011. probably a blackberry in your pocket, like i have, some kind of device. it's not going to mess up the system we have a two-month extension. the computers, the software can handle it. >> you ought to talk to the people who are in charge of administers thinking. with this amount of notice, what it did do with their software. >> the software is the problem? we can't -- >> right now, i've laid out three different issues. if the president says you ought to do 12 months, nancy pelosi said this. we don't understand why you don't do 12 months? why punt the ball down the field? that's the first question. i mean, you know good and well that the president for months and months and months have said we have to do it for a full year. all of a sudden we've got a 60-day bill. i do not understand. second of all, again, most americans are going to have to work for the next couple of weeks. why can't we get together, democrats and republicans, and negotiate this out? we ought to be able to do it in a couple of days and give the american people what they want and what they deserve. >> we hope that is the case, representative hensarling. thank you for being with us. it's a tough issue. i appreciate you going back and forth with me on it. presentative jeff hensarling, chairman of the house republican conference. the u.s. keeping an eye out for advancing troops and other threatening moves after the death of a dictator in north korea. north korean media showed images of kim jong-il's body laid out in a glass coffin in a mausoleum in pyongyang. his third son and successor kim jon un paying respects. live in seoul, south korea for us, anna coren. no love lost between north and south korea what is the mood there in seoul about this? >> reporter: alina, i have to say there is a great deal of uncertaintyy. people just do not know what the future holds with kim jong un now at the helm. he is young. he is very inexperienced, but in an interesting act today, something that caught many people by surprise, south korea offered its, expressed, i should say, it's sympathies to the north korean people. the reason this struck many people is, as a surprise, because the south korean government has had quite a rocky relationship with its neighbors to the north under president lee myung-bak, almost non-exist. obviously, those attacks last year in 2010 on the south korea's warship which claims the lives of 46 sailors and the shelling of the south korean island it really left relations at rock bottom. so for south korea to express its sympathies to, really, reach out to its northern neighbors, it really is seen as thawing relations. >> thank you. a massive snowstorm slams the west and midwest. take a look. unleashing heavy snow and fierce winds. blizzard warnings stretching from new mexico to kansas. driving conditions so dangerous, several roads, interstate 40, in knew mexico are closed. and rob marciano getting it just right in the extreme weather center. rob, good morning. >> good morning. not just interstate 40, almost all the state highways in northeast new mexico closed. western kansas, texas and oklahoma panhandle, it's still going on. look at number as far as the wind gusts we saw here. this video garden city, kansas, since noon yesterday they've been experiencing winds, is a stabed at 30 miles an hour. at times gusting over 40. visibility down to zero at times. that, my friends is a blizzard. and 70 mile-an-hour wind gusts. and mexico, 64 mile-an-hour. other spots in new mexico seeing intense amounts of snowfall. two feet in areas. and kenton, oklahoma, ten inches of snow. blizzard warnings out for texas panhandle. including kansas. and still now seeing winds blowing well over 30 miles an hour. this thing is not going to intensify. wind itself out and starting to stretch moisture to chicago, st. louis, cincinnati, back up to detroit and pittsburgh. most of it rain into the mild there. some of it in the beginning mixing in sleet maybe snow. general, the biggest problems are going to continue across the southern high plains. the mild air continues to be entrenched across the east coast for the next few days at least. 46 a high temperature in new york. 61 in atlanta. and 40 degrees expected in chicago. if you are doing air travel today, some delays in new york and philly, chicago and st. louis. nothing major at the moment. a couple of storms coming down the pike later into the holiday travel week and we'll keep you posted on that. >> good to hear, since some people are starting to get a jump on holiday traveling. rob, thank you very much. still to come this morning, gop presidential candidate ron paul surges in the polls, but can he win in iowa? we're going to talk to nim about 50 minutes. plus, north korea's military might. how worried should the world be? and an indiana mother takes on medicaid in a battle to fly her 4-month-old baby halfway across the country to get the surgery he desperately needs to save his life. you're watching "american morning." [ female announcer ] help i need a holiday party idea. mmm... pillsbury crescent wrapped brie just unroll, wrap the brie and bake. it's so easy. now this might even impress aunt martha. pillsbury crescent wrapped brie. holiday ideas made easy. gives you a 50 percent annual bonus. so you earn 50 percent more cash. if you're not satisfied with 50% more cash, send it back! i'll be right here, waiting for it. who wouldn't want more cash? [ insects chirping ] i'll take it. i'll make it rain up in here. [ male announcer ] the new capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? sorry i'll clean this up. shouldn't have made it rain. kwshg wshg wack bo "american morning." some are calling him the wild card in the gop candidates. ron paul surging. this as newt gingrich's lead evaporates. a lot of people are asking this morning, could ron paul actually win in iowa? jon avlon thinks so. a cnn contributor and contributor to "newsweek" and the daily beast. just back from iowa, as a matter of fact. i want to talk a little about this formula that makes, from the "new york times" came up with, a sophisticated one. factors in undecided voters. look what we came out with. put it up on the screen here. 52% favor ron paul. 52%. you know, they believe that he'll win iowa. now -- >> that's right. >> this is incredible. not something you see normally on cnn. having said that, you spent some time in iowa. what do you think? does he have a shot at winning? >> he does have a shot at winning the iowa caucus nap was the point of a cnn column i did yesterday saying, look, don't count ron paul out in iowa. you can see the intensity of his supporters. famously intense, this is a campaign that's really effectively been going on four year, since the last time he ran for president. given that caucuses are high intensity low turnout elections, shue not count ron paul out and the impact of ron paul pupping off an upset in the iowa would resonate throughout. >> how so? >> ron paul ends up being a de facto benefit for mitt romney. takes newt gingrich to fight and bedevilled him this entire campaign, the support diffused. romney seems more diffused than when newt gingrich was sucking up the support. ron paul, his folks are not fickle. it not going anywhere. they are true believers and outside the stereotype of ron paul supporters particularly. >> you touched on this, because you talked about highway ardent his supporters are, how empha c emphatic. look as this ground game in iowa. he has run not a year and a half campaign but a five-year campaign because his supporters never left. continued knocking on doors and since ron paul never left in a sense. having said that, you spent time in iowa, and ron paul supporter, read the media reports, college students who want to legalize pot, but you saw something different there. >> i did. i don't think they deserve to be stereotyped that narrowly. i went to a ron paul event and they were there to hear what he had to say. nodding heads. a crowd of 20 stuck around to organize iowa. in many cases his view, people can disagree with different parts of the ron paul formula, he deserves credit for consistency. making these points where wen it was very unpopular during the bush year. whether you call his foreign policy non-interventionalist, there's a sense that he is a consistent constitutionalist but appeals to people in iowa. people should take ron paul seriously. he deserves credit for his intellectual influence. >> our polling shows the one thing voters really, really like about ron paul is that he's least likely to act like a typical politician. >> yes. >> having said that, let's look ahead to the general election here. isn't that a liability in the general election? not just that. people don't want a typical politician. they want someone who's authentic. ron paul is defiantly himself. no question. the question of him being a general election nominee, things get dicey. the chances of an upset in iowa, they should not be counted out. that said, general election nominee could ron paul be the nominee of the party that famously rallied behind the bush family twice? a fundamentally different philosophy of government. that mcs mobecoming more diffic believe. an enthusiasm other candidates can't buy. that deserves to be taken into context. one thing about the cnn poll. ron paul's support. people say they could not consider voting for him, higher than those who say they're open to voting for him, in the total field. so that's an important wrinkle, detail, to appreciate as we look at ron paul's status. >> as you look at that if you're a betting man, what do you think? >> if you're a betting man -- >> two weeks away. >> look, just look at iowa. separate from the national polling i think ron paul deserves to be taken seriously and could easily pull off an upset in the iowa and that would shake up the race big time. >> we'll hold you to it. bring you back here. >> the most important thing, not a snell vote has been cast. everybody gets that, end of the day, iowa, primary voters, make the decision. we're just looking at weather saying there's a storm front coming. >> isn't it exciting? >> it is. great. american sport. it's our country. >> one of the more exciting primaries i've ever seen. season i've seen. >> wild. strap on your seat belts. >> jon avlon, thank you so much. later in the program, ron paul will actually join us here to talk strategy and the latest poll numbers. could he win in iowa? i'm sure he thinks so coming up at 8:10 eastern time. still to come, apple score as victory in the smartphone war. one cell phonemaker may have to pull iphones here in the united states. we'll explain. and someone new is calling the shots in north korea. how worried should the world be? 22 minutes after the hour. everyone believes in keeping their promises once a year. but we believe in helping people take steps to keep them every single day. that's why every day we help people across the country get into their first homes. prepare for a comfortable retirement and protect the people and things that matter most. at genworth we believe every day is the right day to take a step toward tomorrow. 26 minutes after the hour. welcome back. "minding your business" this morning, u.s. stock futures are up. investors waging the banking sector after bank of america's stock dropped below $5 a share yesterday. a level not seen since march 2009. of course, wall street will watch for developments in the eurozone debt crisis. the eurozone ministers agreed to lend the international monetary fund $195 billion to help with the debt crisis. there's uncertainty surrounding the loan, because britain refused to contribute to the bailout fund and the loan agreement is $65 billion short of what the leaders heap hoped for. konconoco phillips working alaska. the decision by the army corps of engineers comes two weeks after the environmental protection agency and the fish and wildlife service dropped their objections to a bridge and pipeline. apple claiming a minor victory in its battle against google's android operating system. the u.s. international trade commission ruling a number of technology features like being able to tap on a phone number in a next message belong to apple. the case was again maker htc. they could face a limited ban on some phones starting in april. seattle. now the latest city to ban plastic grocery bags. the new ordinance takes effect next july includes a 5 cent fee for paper bags. city officials are hoping the ban will reduce pollution, free up landfill space and improve the environment. the wait is over for "star wars" fans. one of the most expensive games made ever is released. "star wars: the new republic" hoping it were take on the world of war craft. weren't of the most popular online games ever created. for the latest news about your money, check out the all-new cnnmoney.com. "american morning" will be right back after the break. i'm out shipping these. smooth move. you used priority mail flat rate boxes. if it fits, it ships for a low, flat rate. paid for postage online and arranged a free pickup. and i'm gonna track them online, too. nice. between those boxes and this place, i'm totally staying sane this year. do i smell snickerdoodles? maybe. [ timer dings ] got to go. priority mail flat rate shipping at usps.com. a simpler way to ship. ♪ [ boy ] looks like our work is done here. i'm heading home. vaaa vrooom! need some help, ma'am? grrrrrrr! [ in high voice ] oh thank you. these things are heavy. zzzzzzzz! [ male announcer ] built for work. and everything you work for. hey, honey. i'm glad you're home. [ male announcer ] the chevy silverado. our most powerful hd yet. from fathers to sons, [ boy ] dad! [ male announcer ] chevy runs deep. [ younger brother ] oh, do you want it? yeah. ok, we'll split it. [ female announcer ] made fresh, so light... ...buttery and flaky... this is half. that is not half. guys i have more. [ female announcer ] do you have enough crescents? yeah, i toog nyguil bud i'm stild stubbed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't un-stuff your nose. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your stuffy nose. [ deep breath ] thank you! that's the cold truth! 30 minutes after the hour. welcome back to "american morning." time for this morning's top stories -- the body of north korea's longtime dictator kim jong-il laid out in a glass coffin as weeping mourners filed by. kim jong un, kim's third son and successor also visited the coffin along with top military officials. secretary of state hillary clinton offered her condolences to the north korean people way mepg of hope they can now have a more peaceful future. republicans said to block a two-month extension of the payroll tax. house speaker john boehner expects the bill to fail. only two weeks until the iowa caucus and newt gingrich status as gop front-runner is slipping pap new cnn and orc international poll shows mitt romney and newt gingrich tied as president's nominee. both have 21%. back to the stories of tremendous uncertainty consuming north korea after the death of its dictator kim jong-il. a big question, does this mark the beginning of a brighter era for those who live in one of the most oppressed nations of the world or not? you remember, president clinton traveled to north korea and met with kim jong-il back in 2009. part of a humanitarian mission to free american journalists. here's what clinton will to say yesterday about his hopes for north korea's future. >> what we want is stability. what we want is peace. what we want is for all the children to grow up and be well and then we need to go back to work and try to reach an understanding with them. and i think it can be done. i've always thought so, but we have to recognize the way the system works over there, and fwig figure out how they can change it and open up. >> in south korea, armed forces are on high alert. not just because kim jong-il is dead, it's because of everything we don't know about their next leader and the massive military he now leads. here's tom foreman. >> reporter: for a poor country, north korea has long spent a disproportionied amount making its army look strong. what concerns military analysts most, however, is what we cannot see. first, the nuclear threat. under the obsessive prodding of kim jong-il, the secretive nation has been enriching uranium and plutonium, possibly enough positive take that six or eight nuclear weapons or more. analysts are convinced north korean missiles can reach south korea, japan and maybe hawaii or alaska, that it's unclear whether they can carry nukes. they may not matter. another credible theory, if north korean nukes can be hidden or merchant ships and sailed to ports around the globe. second, the artillery threat. after the korean war, the north was heavily supported by russia. that stop pd in the early '90s. analysts say north korea has maintained hundreds of artillery pieces from the era and added many more rockets and scud missiles, although the north's fighter jets and military ships would probably be destroyed quickly in open war fair, analysts think they could pour explosives 30 miles from the border producing tens of thousands of deaths in the first hours. and third, the north korean threat. many troops that could cross to the south or dig in for a counterattack. more important, the north is believed to have 200,000 highly trained special forces soldiers who could infiltrate the south, wage griuerrilla war and spread panic among civilians. all of these are educated guesses but add the world must be ready for the worst with north korea, because that nation has been so unpredictable for so long, and maybe even more so now. tom foreman, cnn. 35 minutes after the hour. other stories new this morning, call in the national guard. that's what a louisiana lawmaker is demanding after a horrific crime spree in new orleans. a little girl shy of her second birthday shot to death in a drive-by on sunday. the gunman targeting another man who ran through a courtyard crowded with children. a state representative says enough is enough. he wants the national guard to take back the streets. governor bobby jindal says, not so fast. here's both sides. >> crime is spiraling out of control. everybody's afraid. you know, you can't walk down the street without crimes happening and other kurring. the bad guys are returning the city right now. we've got to take this city back. >> talked to the mayor at the point he made those comments. recommendaled actually talk to the mayor to coordinate, so there's one voice coming out of the city of new orleans. >> cnn's piers morgan testifies about the phone hacking scandal. his appearance live video link. morgan is the former daily mirror and news of the world editor. he said he nerve are hack add phone, told anyone to hack a phone or to his knowledge published a story obtained from the hacking of a phone. a sportscaster, craig james is quitting espn and making a late entry into a crowded race into a seat soon to be vacated by senator kay bailey hutchinson. running in the spring primary, calling himself a conservative outsider who understands the economy. james says he's a self-made businessman from "the real street." who said mitt romney isn't cool enough to hang? delivered the top ten list on "letterman" last night. listen to this. >> top ten things it mitt romney would like to say to the american people. we go to number ten -- >> isn't it time for a president who looks like a 1970s game show host? >> number nine -- >> what's up, gangsters? it's the mi double tizzal. >> oh, no, it's not. >> number four -- >> i just used all my campaign money to bay zoo with matt damon. >> number two -- >> newt gingrich? really? >> yeah, yeah. that's right. >> and the number one reason mitt romney -- >> it's a hairpiece. >> there you go. >> oh, that was good. you don't have that problem. >> no. that wouldn't be my number one. >> so what does it take for you to finally hit that unfriend button on facebook? turns out it's all about who you know and what you post. a new study finds that facebook users are most likely to unfriend people they don't know very well and people who make offensive comments. check the stats here. more than half users dump friend over comments. 23% ditch depressive posters and 39% unfriend people trying to sell something. and you really think you know someone until it's time to buy them a christmas list. is there a person you can't seem to find the perfect gift for? >> like your wife, ali? >>. and a fight for his life. >> sat by his bed hour for hour, thinking if i closed my eyes, i would miss my last opportunity with him. >> one indiana mother takes on the system to get her son the care he decembsperately needs. it's 38 minutes after the hour. [ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation, so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates. welcome back to "american morning." still haven't finished your christmas in shopping. maybe you're not lazy, maybe just want to find the perfect gift. our next gecht says you don't have to spend a lot of money. he's done research on what makes the most memorable present. a lot of you are going to be interested in this. john, good morning. five shopping days until christmas. tonight is the first night of hanukkah. people are freaking out about finding that perfect gift that says, you know, i know you really well i appreciate you. but you say, just calm down. >> relax. there's a big gulf between givers, they have to go through all this effort. spend a lot of money. find just the perfect thing. really interesting research by frank, a psychologist at stanford doing experiments givers think it's important to spend the money, find the thing. the people who get the gifts really don't care. they would rather get what they ask for. >> for sure. one component of that study i found was really, really interesting is they took a cd and an ipod, and they found that receivers liked both of those gifts equally. one cost hundreds of dollars more than the other. is that really true? >> it's a really strange result. the thing is, the person giving, i had to choose between a cd and ipod, they know that the ipod is a lot better, but the person getting it didn't go through that process. they didn't know what the alternative was. to them, the alternative, no gift at all. in which case, the cd is not bad. >> talk a little bit about some of the things that go through the minds of givers a lot. like one thing is obviously, regifting. you know, it's seen as this big no-no. what's your thinking on that? >> i think people really don't care. it's another thing where givers think it's terrible to do that. the people who get it, really don't care. >> full disclosure? >> better not. >> really? >> even if they find out, everybody does it. it's not that taboo and people care about what they get rather than what you went through. >> my mother often jokes. cash is the best gift. in asian cultures, cash is the best gift and often use cash for a variety of different occasions, but you find that people like to receive it? >> they actually did experiments and found people liked cash even more than getting something off their wish list. you know, and they didn't care that the person hadn't gone through any effort. they just liked having the options and flexibility of cash. >> bottom line, if you're going out there today or the next couple of days and you need to find that gift, don't stress. but what else? do you have any sort of bottom line tips what you should have in your mind-set when you go out and hit the stores? >> if somebody asks for something, get them what they ask for. don't try to be creative. if you have a great idea yourself and really enjoy doing it, do it. don't feel obliged to. when all else fails, cash is appreciated. >> don't overthink it. right? >> right. >> john teierney, great tips. i got a gift for my mother. and indiana mother takes on medicaid in a battle to fly her 4-month-old baby half way across the country to get the surgery he desperately needs to save his life. that story for you. it's 45 minutes after the hour. my mother said, "well, maybe we ought to buy this hot dog cart and set it up someplace." so my parents went to bank of america. they met with the branch manager and they said, "look, we've got this little hot dog cart, and it's on a really good corner. let's see if we can buy the property." and the branch manager said, "all right, i will take a chance with the two of you." and we've been loyal to bank of america for the last 71 years. 46 minutes whatever the hour. what you need to know to start your day. the body of north korea's longtime dictator kim jong-il laid out in a coffin as weeping mourners filed by. his third son visited the coffin along with top military advis s advisers. and blocking the two-month extension of the tax holiday. and newt gingrich's lead is gone. a new cnn/orc international poll shows gingrich and mitt romney are tied as the republicans' choice for presidential nominee. both have 28%. gingrich led by 4% last month. only two weeks to go before the iowa caucuses. and declaring national calamity after tropical storm washi kills nearly 1,000 people. it destroyed property, tens of thousands of people are left homeless. president obama offered deep condolences and pledged humanitarian support. a wild snowstorm ripping through the west and midwest. the storm unleashing snow and strong winds causing roads and highways to be shut down, like interstate 40 in new mexico. blizzard warnings in effect in parts of kansas, and oklahoma, and going dark during the monday night football game. power outages caused delays. 49ers eventually won the game 20-3. scientists are that much closer to unlocking the secret of stone hedge. for the first time, archeologists discovered the precise origin of some of its rocks. traced to a rugged hill in north wales. this breakthrough confirm as long-held thir volcanic rock from mountains located in the area were used to build the prehistoric monument. glad we got that all straightened out. you're caught up on the day's headlines. "american morning" is back after a short break. a woman in for the medical flight that was needed to transport little pierce to a special hospital in boston. cnn senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen has the story. >> get you a bath. >> reporter: government bureaucrats are trying to kill her 4-month-old baby. >> very few children like pierce on the planet. >> reporter: pierce was born with a very rare condition, about 16 children are born with it each year in the united states and they have multiple heart defects, many die as infants. >> and i sat by his bed hour by hour thinking if i closed my eyes for a second i would miss my last opportunity with him. >> reporter: he spent most of his life here at riley's children hospital in indianapolis. he needs surgery soon or he will die. so when they first talked to you about surgery here, tell me what they said. >> that taking him into surgery would be like a death sentence. rushing him to surgery at this point was very unsafe. >> reporter: the hospital ceo says his surgeons can do it. they've done nine open heart surgeries on babies like pierce over the past decade, but fields found a much larger hospital who said they have done over 100 in the last few years alone. boston children's hospital. many studies show the more procedures a hospital performs, the better the outcomes. they have a cardiac intensive care unit, riley doesn't. they denied her request to transfer him to boston. is the government making a life or death decision about your child? >> medicaid is the one who holds my child's life in their hands right now. >> we have regulations that we're required to adhere to. >> reporter: neal moore a spokesman for indiana medicaid says indiana is capable of doing pierce's surgery and it doesn't matter that boston has more experience. >> this is not a question of what is the best medical choice, it is a question based on the systems that we have, the fundal mechanism has very distinct regulations that are associated with that that we must adhere to. >> i just heard you say, this is not about the best medical choice for this child. so, what is it about? >> from the medicaid perspective of this circumstance, there's only one question that is being considered. that question is, is there a solution that exists in indiana? the answer to that has been given that there is one. >> reporter: didn't ask them how often they do it or asked them if they did it well. you just said, can you do it? the answer is, sure, we can do it. you did not ask if that is the best care for baby pierce. why didn't you ask them that question? >> i've given you the answer repeatedly here. the process is in place that includes the solution. i don't know what else i can say to you that would be an appropriate answer beyond that. >> reporter: of course, hospitals can't be transferring children around for every major surgery, but baby pierce's condition is so rare, only a few places, like boston's childrens, have had a lot of experience with the intricate surgeries he needs. meanwhile, back at the hospital, fields gets a miracle. mothers of children with other heart problems get together through facebook and gather enough money to send pierce to boston. >> strangers who don't know me or my child have stepped up to the plate more than, you know, the government and insurance and medicaid. >> reporter: after the moms volunteered their money and after cnn started asking questions, the indiana hospital did step up and they paid for the transport. but medicaid, even at the very end, refused to pay a cent to get baby pierce to boston. elizabeth cohen, cnn, indianapolis. >> wow. >> yeah. it's a lot of money. the cost of that flight to boston was about $40,000. now, a lot has happened in the past couple of days. pierce arrived at boston's childrens hospital on friday and went into surgery yesterday and is now out of surgery and mom says he's doing well. he will need additional surgeries down the road. no word yet on how those surgeries will be paid for, but you can bet elizabeth will be keeping track. still to come, republican presidential candidate ron paul is rising in the polls. he joins us live in the next hour. the question, can he take iowa and what happens if he starts to climb any further? what does that mean for you, the economy and how he'd govern. a sneak peek at the new spielberg movie "war horse." doesn't hit theaters until christmas day. we're talking to one of the film's stars, that's just 20 years old. you're watching "american morning." blizzard-like conditions and dangerous ice. blasts parts of the midwest causing chaos on the roads. ron paul spikes in the poll, can he take iowa? the gop presidential hopeful joins us live in just a few minutes on this "american morning." good morning, everybody. it's tuesday, december 20th. five more shopping days until christmas, ali. welcome to "american morning." i'm alina cho along with ali velshi. >> a snow storm is crippling parts of the west and midwest right now. blizzard-like conditions with heavy snow, frigid temperatures and winds hitting 70 miles per hour in some areas. the roads icing over and wreaking havoc among drivers. some major interstates shut down. now, blizzard warnings are still in effect for colorado, kansas, oklahoma and texas. kaot reporter christy alito is in new mexico where interstate 40 shut down all the way to the texas border. >> we're going on 13 hours. 13 hours that i-40 eastbound has been closed. now, police and the department of transportation here in new mexico made the decision to close down the eastbound lanes in through the canon all the way to the state line because of the icy, snow-packed conditions. just until you get into the mountains is closed this morning. that means that truckers who use i-40 to get from state to state across the country have been stranded or had to find alternative routes or even just sitting and waiting in nearby shopping center parking lots until this closure is lifted. that also means for morning commuters, they'll have a tough time to try to get into the city, especially if they live in the east mountains. some side roads that are open, but very slick and slippery. d.o.t. out all morning long treating the roads and salting and sanding them. the westbound lanes are open this morning, but you've got to drive carefully because we've already been told about several fatalities that have happened because of this winter storm that has really crippled albuquerque, new mexico. you have to keep in mind that this is a city that sees 300 days of sunlight. it's very difficult when we get these types of elements and for people to drive in because they're just not familiar with these types of elements. so, again, people are really being urged to drive cautiously this morning because the roads are very dangerous. reporting live in albuquerque. >> all right, rob marciano in the extreme weather center with a look at the forecast there. hey, rob, good morning. >> impressive storm, no doubt about that. northeast of new mexico, western kansas, eastern colorado, many of those interstates or at least state highways shut down. two feet of snow in some of the cases, northern parts of new mexico and ten inches in kenton, oklahoma. when you get the winds blowing over 40 miles per hour and up to 72 in some spots in new mexico, that will create whiteout conditions and that's where you get your blizzard and that's what we have still going on in oklahoma and western kansas and dropped in colorado now and new mexico this thing starts to pull out and still treacherous conditions across these states. who is next on the docket? well, it's stretching out and getting into some mild air. places like chicago, st. louis, you don't have to worry too much about seeing wintry precipitation. all on the back side of this thing. maybe a little snow or sleet mixing in at times from chicago over towards pittsburgh where some of this moisture is beginning to stretch eastward. into the mild air. so, the storm track stays west of the coastline. that's the key in this type of scenario that keeps the temperatures above the freezing mark in places like chicago and in places like d.c. and new york city. this go around when the moisture gets to new york, in the form of rain tomorrow. another system coming in in a couple of days and mostly in the form of rain across new york and the rain/snow line gets closer to the city and then christmas eve, christmas day, maybe a few flakes flying. no big problems expected at this point. we have a ground stop at philly if you're traveling right now and some of the other airports that will see some delays with this particular system. blizzard warnings still up, guys. the good news is that the biggest cities off to the east won't be affected all that much. back up to you. >> all right, rob, thank you vae very much. a young girl is safe this morning after police say she was kidnapped overnight. the suspect led police on a slow speed chase near los angeles before pulling over and stepping outside of his car with the 4-year-old. that's when police snatched the child and wrestled the man to the ground. he was arrested and the young girl was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. no word on a motive. protesters in egypt calling for a million woman march this morning. they are angry about violent scenes of soldiers beating, stripping, dragging protesters through the streets. mohammed live for us in cairo. what's the story? >> well, ali, one video in particular has really inflamed the situation here. it shows a woman who was veiled who was ingulfed by supreme court forces. they started to beat her and kick her and then they dragged her and then they pulled some of her clothing away. you saw her bare midriff and you saw her blue bra and then riot policeman actually lift up his foot and stomp on her abdomen. this caused outrage. but you can imagine in a country, an islamic country known for conservatism a woman who is veiled who is expected to remain modest and treated in this way, not just being brutalized and being beaten, but suffering this further indignity and being stomped on like that. already a very intense and volatile situation. this one has caught the world's attention in a way that others haven't. because of that, and because of other videos that vemerged in the past few days, there are calls for a million women march today in tahrir square. you see tahrir square behind me. right now it is quiet but people that are supposed to assemble and start gathering within the next hour. we'll follow developments as they happen, ali. >> mohammed, thank you for that. syria says it will execute anyone who participates in terrorist acts or distributes weapons. the announcement was made on state television just this morning. the government was blasted with numerous protests since the start of the so-called arab spring. the united nations estimates about 5,000 demonstrators have been killed in those uprisings. just yesterday seven defectors were gunned down as they ran from their posts. the body of long-time dictator kim jong-il as weeping mourners filed by. kim jung-un also visited the coffin along with top military officials. kim jong-il died of a massive heart attack over the weekend. hillary clinton offered her condolences to the north korean people saying, "it is our hope that the new leadership of the democratic peoples republic of korea will choose to guide their nation on to the path of peace by honoring north korea's commitments, improving relations with its neighbors and respecting the rights of its people." former president bill clinton was president when kim jong-il came to power in 19 94. here's what he had to say. >> what we want is stability and peace and all the children to grow up and do well and then we need to go back and try to reach an understanding with him. i think it can be done. i've always thought so, but we had to recognize the way the system works over there and try to figure out how they can change it and open up. >> president clinton, you may recall, posed for this photo-op with kim jong-il when he traveled to north korea two years ago to bring back captured journalists. vice president of iraq is accused of running a death squad. security guards for the vice president have confessed on camera to assassinating several government officials, but the sunni muslim vp says those confessions are false and may have been worse. >> cnn's piers morgan will testify at an inquiry into the world phone hacking scandal. his appearance before the british high court. he is former "news of the world" editor. he said he never hacked a phone, told anyone to hack a phone or, to his knowledge, published a report from the knowledge of hacking of a phone. the senate and the house are back on a collision course over this payroll tax cut. critical house vote on a two-month extension passed by the house over the weekend after republicans scrapped it in the middle of the night. many say thetermix. he joined us earlier on "american morning." >> here's where the debate is. the senate wants to punt the ball. they want to do a 60-day extension. house republicans, frankly, this is one of the few times we agree with the president. we want to extend it for a full year. that's what the american people ask, that's what the president agreed for. >> the payroll tax cut save the average american family $1,000 in take-home pay in 2011. the momentum has shifted, yet again, in the gop presidential race. mitt romney is now pulling even with newt gingrich, that's according to a new cnn/orc international poll. romney and gingrich tied as the republicans' choice for presidential nominee at 28%. ron paul also surging with 14% and something he might be able to pull off an upset. michele bachmann, rick perry, rick santorum and jon huntsman all in the single digit. >> why you think somebody at 14% could pull off an upset, got to do with organization and turnout and we're talking to somebody who has run some numbers who predicts that ron paul could win this. coming up next, he will join us live, ron paul, that is. he's surging in the polls but can he win it? what will it take? what if he does? the star of the movie "war horse." jeremy irvine. >> you have not probably seen this guy. he's not famous. >> just 20 years old. his last role was as a tree on stage. we're getting major oscar buzz for this movie and jeremy irvine will join us live. the lights go out during monday night's 49ers and steelers game. police go out in force looking for a bomb. forty years ago, he wasn't worried about retirement. he'd yet to hear of mutual funds, iras, or annuities. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement solutions for our military, veterans and their families. from investments... to life insurance... to health care options. learn more with our free usaa retirement guide. call 877-242-usaa. i thought i was invincible. i'm on an aspirin regimen now because i never want to feel that helplessness again. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. talk to your doctor, and take care of what you have to take care of. good morning, washington, d.c. 48 degrees and cloudy. showers later on and go up to a balmy 49 degrees. you have work to do, get out of bed. welcome back. the iowa caucuses are two weeks away and now we're seeing the rise of ron paul. the gop presidential hopeful is surging in the latest polls. this as the frontrunner newt gingrich is losing his lead. we're joined now by ron paul. live in manchester, new hampshire. congressman paul, good to see you. thank you for being with us. >> thank you for having me. >> nate silver at "new york times" ran the poll numbers through a formula that he used to predict a winner in iowa, according to his numbers, you're looking pretty good. 538 iowa projections show you at 52% chance of winning. mitt romney at 28%, rick perry at 7%. you think you have a chance of winning in iowa? >> the odds sound pretty good. i guess we certainly do have a chance. but i think we have a little bit of work to do. we still have a couple weeks and, so, i think we're in a good position and i'm really enjoying it because i think the american people have come around to believing that government is not our answer and my offer of the freedom philosophy is something that is very attractive. >> you actually want to close a lot of ofederal agencies and there is an interesting poll in the "des moines register" that i want to show our viewers. 60% of viewers agree and 57% with environmental protection agency and 54% with the department of education, 45% with the department of energy and 42% with the tsa. we can discuss what you do with that and 36% with the federal reserve. here's the issue. places like the epa have 17,000 employees and hud says they have 8,900 employees. what do you do in a tough economy like this with job creation not where it is and you're advocating a whole lot of people losing their jobs? >> well, you go through attrition and you let them go and you reduce the number of people who are working for the government because many of us who see government as the problem as people working for the government as being nonproductive, it takes money out of the private and put it in the government and then the bureaucrats, they do damage to the economy. so, you lose twice. but it's not like putting him on a street the first day. but there is an attrition and they go back in the workforce. we've gone through periods like this and the example i use frequently after world war ii 10 million people came home and we don't have a work program and all of a sudden had jobs, again, because the government got out of the way. >> where do you think the government is coming from? if the government got out of the way and that's the answer we're all looking for. where would jobs come from? >> you can't predict because the market makes these decisions. if you get out of the way and invite capital back and you restore sound money, i mean, all kind of places. maybe get our industrial base back, again. but you can't tell. if you're an economic planner and think that you know that you want to stimulate things and you pump money into solyndra and do these different things, that's a negative. you have to let the market make the change. you have to reduce the deficits and then, the environment is different and the people make the choices. sort of like saying, how should the people spend their money if they're working? they decide how to spend their money. businessman have to make those decisions, as well. >> you have long not liked a lot of what the federal reserve does. but you're swimming upstream, not just here in the united states, but around the world. every country has gone to a central banking system. they're different in different places. do you believe that the federal reserve is one of the major problems that we've got in our economy? >> oh, absolutely. central banking. i mean, how can you deny it when you look at the world crisis? we're in the worst financial crisis in all of history and we think right now our government is on the verge they plan to bailout europe with more dollars. dollars been downgraded once and getting ready to be downgraded and ignore central banks and not ignore the fact that central banking brought us to this crisis. i think where people are living with blindfolders on and i think this doesn't mean that there's chaos -- >> let me ask you this. what would happen if you didn't have the central banks putting money into the system, which has the effect of keeping interest rates low which are supposed to be stimulative to the economy. i know i hear from a lot of people who say, i didn't do anything wrong and i can't get money out of my savings. no interest rate, what is the outcome of letting interest rates do what they do and not having the central bank keep interest rates low to stimulate the economy or to try to? >> well, we'd get rid of price fixing and that's what the fed does. they price fix interest rates and that's why the economy gets distorted. you would get the correction. when the federal reserve and government distorts the economy, they get overbuilding like they did in the housing bubble. you would correct that. but what did they do, with the housal bubble all the bad debt. the taxpayers ended up with it. what you want to do is eliminate the debt so we can get growth, again. so, everything we've done so far has been exactly opposite. so, why would we believe in socialism and price control. >> correcting prices would mean housing prices going down further, right? >> who knows? they may be at bottom finally by now. but, yes, get to the point that we have done this four years ago prices gone sharper and more quickly and the investors and people who did save money. maybe people would have saved money if they earned 6% on cds. the government does it on purpose so they take it down and give the money to the banks from free and take the interest from the savers and we encourage this idea of spending money instead of saving money so you can buy when the prices go down. >> congressman rve, as you're breaking down through barriers in the polls. there has been resurface talk about things that were written in a newsletter under your name. i know you started to address this, but in 2008, the new republic attributed comments to you in newsletters where you refer to them as animals taking over the d.c. zoo, referring to african-americans. you said that martin luther king seduced underage girls and boys and you talked about ronald reagan proclaiming annual hate day with martin luther king day. these things were published under your name. >> yeah, but i didn't write them and i disavowed them. >> but you're a presidential candidate. that's tough. it kind of comes back to bite you that you made money off of things that were under your name that were hateful and racist. >> this has been addressed for 20 years and nobody accuses me of that type of beliefs or language. i'm a true civil libertarian and i think people dig these up when people think that, oh, his economic policies are winning. his foreign policies are winning and his monetary policies are winning. they have to dig these things up which they really can't pin on me. they have been disavowed and they're old. they're rehashed. let's go back and read all the articles and all the explanations. so, yes, it wasn't good. i didn't write them and those aren't my beliefs. so, i sleep well. >> are you comfortable in telling us who did write them? you haven't been able to tell us specifically who wrote them. >> 20 year uz go i had six or eight people helping me with the letter and i was practicing medicine, to tell you the truth. i do not know. >> we can find out because you have six or eight people and one of those six or eight people. >> possibly, i could. >> i guess, i guess as you get closer to being president of the united states, folks want to know that you don't really dislike black people and people with aids and things like that. i get what you're saying, you're going up in the polls. >> excuse me. why don't they concentrate on every word i ever said, every speech i have ever given, every conference i've ever gone to and maybe, maybe that's where, maybe my beliefs are more important than, you know, stirring this up. so, my beliefs, actually, a true civil libertarian is a strong defense of individual liberties and nobody's accused me of lacking a libertarian spirit of defending individuals. so this, these charges are total contradiction to everything i said and everything i believe. >> do you think the media establishment has been fair to you or unfair? >> oh, you mean, whether so bias, i don't know if you use fair or unfair. >> you think they're bias against you? >> why don't you go look at jon stewart's reports when he defends me on the bias and media. i mean, he mocked the media for the way they've treated me during the campaign and reported. but i don't get upset about that. that's just the way you guys work. it's no big deal to me. the more progress i make in challenging the status quo, challenge the bankers and challenge the bailouts and challenging this wicked foreign policy of war forever and industrial military complex, the stronger they will emphasize picking this and ignoring the important issues of what freedom is all about and what civil liberty is all about and why, why not you go look at -- you know, i make a lot of comments about the war on drugs and how racist the enforcement of drug laws are. i mean -- >> i know. >> you know, you don't, you don't. you are concentrating on something else so somebody some day ought to look at the whole picture rather than picking out something. i did write and disavowed and that's been done and many times go back and read the record. >> that's the cost of surging in the polls where people are paying a lot more attention to you and start paying attention to all these details. as you know, congressman, you and i have talked many, many times and talked about a broad range of things we have written about. we appreciate you coming on to have this discussion with us and we continue to invite you to have these discussions. the broad range of discussions of things you care about. we do appreciate that. congressman ron paul, republican presidential candidate and republican from congress. support him or not, the one thing you have to respect ron paul for is he does always speak his mind. >> he does come on to talk about these issues. that's right. coming up a check of the early morning markets and, plus, a victory for apple in the smartphone war or shall we say another victory? that means one cell phonemaker may have to pull some of its phones. we'll explain. it's 24 minutes after the hour. ♪ sen♪ co-signed her credit card - "buy books, not beer!" ♪ ♪ut the second at she shut the door ♪ ♪ girl started blowing up their credit score ♪ ♪ she bought a pizza party for the whole dorm floor ♪ ♪ hundred pounds of makeup at the makeup store ♪ ♪ and a ticket down to spring break in mexico ♪ ♪ but her folks didn't know 'cause her folks didn't go ♪ ♪ to free-credit-score-dot-com hard times for daddy and mom. ♪ v.o.: offer applies with enrollment in this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people came to louisiana... they came to see us in florida... make that alabama... make that mississippi. the best part of the gulf is wherever you choose... and now is a great time to discover it. this year millions of people did. we set all kinds of records. next year we're out to do even better. so come on down to louisiana... florida... alabama... mississippi. we can't wait to see you. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. everyone believes in keeping their promises once a year. but we believe in helping people take steps to keep them every single day. that's why every day we help people across the country get into their first homes. prepare for a comfortable retirement and protect the people and things that matter most. at genworth we believe every day is the right day to take a step toward tomorrow. 26 minutes after the hour. u.s. stock futures are trading higher after a bit of a selloff yesterday. traders remain cautious as they wait for more news out of europe. bank of america's stock is back above the $5 mark in premarket trading. shares closed at $4.99 yesterday. euro zone ministers agreed overnight to lend the international monetary fund. the money will be used to help the 17-nation zone with its ongoing debt crisis. google expected to announce today that it is teaming up with a private equity firm to become majority owners of four solar farms in california. google has become a significant investor in renewable energy. apple claiming a minor victory in its victory against google's android operating system. the u.s. international operating trade commission like being able to tap a phone number in a text and have it automatically dial belongs to apple. that means phonemaker htc may have to pull some of its phones starting in april. if you're looking for that last-minute gift, you're in luck. starting today, toys "r" us will stay open around the clock until 10:00 p.m. christmas eve. i said around the clock. this is the second year in a row the toy chain has remained open all night in the days leading up to christmas. that's a look at the headlines. "american morning" is back after this. elp i need a holiday party idea. mmm... pillsbury crescent wrapped brie just unroll, wrap the brie and bake. it's so easy. now this might even impress aunt martha. pillsbury crescent wrapped brie. holiday ideas made easy. so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates. welcome back to "american morning." 31 minutes after the hour. the body of north korea's long-time dictator kim jong-il laid out in a glascoffen in a mausoleum. his third son and successor also visited the coffin along with top military officials. hillary clinton offered her condoleses to the north korean people with a message of hope that they can now have a more peaceful future. protesters in egypt calling for a million women march this morning. they're angry about the violent and humiliating scenes we've seen over the weekend of stripping, beating and dragging female protesters through the streets. these new protests coming in the middle of new elections, but the opposition wants military rulers out right now. a state of national calamity declared in the philippines after tropical storm kills nearly 1,000 people. the storm swept through over the weekend destroying property and leaving thousands of thousands people homeless. president obama offered deep condolences and pledged humanitarian support. a snow storm slamming through the west and midwest this morning. the storm bringing heavy snow and fierce winds and turning roads into sheets of ice. blizzard warnings stretching from texes to kansas this morning. the driving conditions so dangerous that several major roads like interstate 40 in new mexico are closed. rob marciano has a look at the forecast. he's in the extreme weather center with more on that. rob, good morning. >> still the case with roads closed in new mexico and colorado and the blizzard warnings still in effect. new mexico and colorado have just let those expire. texas and oklahoma still enduring it and places like garden city and dodge city, kansas, have been dealing with 3 30-mile-per-hour winds. that drops visibility down and that gives you the blizzard. normally these things would track to the east, if they would run into cold air, we would be in a world of hurt for places like chicago, detroit and pittsburgh. but a bunch of mild air ahead of this thing and the track will bring into the western great lakes and that should keep most folks on the mild side of this thing. temperatures 40 degrees in chicago, 46 degrees in new york city. all rain once it gets here, but as a precip now begins to stretch into places like chicago, it may mix with a little bit of sleet or snow briefly this morning. chicago back through say detroit, cleveland in through pittsburgh, as well. st. louis to memphis. some of this, or some thunderstorms that are pretty strong, especially down across louisiana, but we don't expect a huge, severe weather threat with this. if you are traveling today, just be aware of that. couple snow totals for you, two feet pietown, new mexico. and some of the wind gusts striking stuff here near hurricane force in clayton, new mexico. full fledge blizzard will come to an end later today. in the meantime, a bit of a mess out there, guys. >> that's for sure. rob, thank you very much. over 50 million bucks just to talk. the texas rangers paid $1.7 million for the negotiating rights to darvish. they still have to actually sign him. he could still bemand as much as $15 million per year to pitch in the majors. major league teams have to pay a posting fee to teams in japan, just for the right to negotiate with one of their players. >> that's a lot of cash. >> i don't know who negotiated that one, but it's a good one. candle stick blowout. the lights went out not once, but twice. a transformer blew out on the left side of the screen there and then the huge stadium went dark. you could see it all from the view from the blimp. the first blackout delayed the start of the game by a couple minutes and then happened again in the second quarter. pittsburgh steelers also suffered a power outage, by the way. >> of a different sort. >> yeah, exactly. quarterback ben roethlisberger played hea eed hurt and the 49e the game, 20-3. coming up next, the movie "war horse" comes out on christmas an emotional new drama directed by steven spielberg. it was a broadway show that they took to the silver screen and it is fantastic. >> that's right. we have the star of the movie, 20-year-old jeremy irvine live in the studios with us. that's next. 36 minutes after the hour. [ indistinct talking on radio ] [ tires screech ] [ crying ] [ applause ] [ laughs ] [ tires screech ] [ male announcer ] your life will have to flash by even faster. autodrive brakes on the cadillac srx activate after rain is detected to help improve braking performance. we don't just make luxury cars. we make cadillacs. [ younger brother ] oh, do you want it? yeah. ok, we'll split it. [ female announcer ] made fresh, so light... ...buttery and flaky... this is half. that is not half. guys i have more. [ female announcer ] do you have enough crescents? new york city sunny and 45 degrees. >> balmy. >> going up to a high of 46. we're going to go up one degree. >> new york has been spectacular the past few days. sun, it was perfectly clear skies. wake up, all you people in new york. welcome back. about to show ask you a sneak peek of one of the most anticipated new movies of the season. a surprising fact of the film's star. jeremy irvine plays the lead role in "war horse." >> get this, it is his very first feature film and he was hand picked by steven spielberg himself. is this young actor any good? take a look. >> what's your name, lad? >> how old are you? >> 18, sir. >> i like 19 and i'm bigger than most 19 and i'm strong, sir. >> very clear about the proper age for soldiering. >> we are joined now by jeremy irvine. so great to see you. you're just 20 years old. congratulations, by the way. i mean, to work with steven spielbe spielberg. is this true that your last part was playing a tree with no lines on stage? >>. >> walking the streets of london and, yeah, going from there and having no lines. >> so, how did it happen? how did you get the part? >> as i said, my best friend is a cameraman and we filmed a show reel which i was told is professional work. but, hey, it worked. whatever. you know, the second audition and two months later -- >> so, this role is remarkable. it came off of a stage show, which used puppets as horses. telling the story of really world war one and a young boy and his horse and how he enlists in the war to find his horse after his father sold the horse to the army. complex story that doesn't sound off the top of it, like, oh, that makes sense. >> it came from a kid's book which, you know, back home is incredibly popular. i was reading it when i was 8 or 9 and i think most kids have. royal families that write for kids and i think what he does so well is, you know, in his stories everything is very relatable. we can all relate to the idea of having a best childhood friend or brother and sister and what that's like taken away from you. >> it took about three months to shoot the film, which is remarkable for a big budget film like this. it's a spielberg film, i guess everybody wants to know what was it like working with him. you're a new actor. he wanted a fresh face and, boy, he got one. so, what was it like? >> i mean, you know, it should have been the most overwhelming, terrifying experience ever. but what steven spielberg, when you meet him and you're in front of the camera with him and this sort of very intimate, calm working environment, you actually feel very comfortable and it's one of his greatest skills and putting actors very much at ease and you're not afraid of making mistakes and hopefully you do your best work. >> oh, that first day must have been nerve wracking, though. >> terrified. i turn up and hundreds of trailers and all the machinery that goes into making a big movie like this. when you're in front of the camera, it's just you and steven spielberg and the horse. >> if somebody says, why should i see warhears horse? how do you characterize it? >> i didn't watch any of it while we were shooting. what struck me is the epic way it is kind of filmed. this beautiful, old-fashioned style of filmmaking that goes back to the golden age of hollywood. it's ambitious. i don't know if many other people apart from steven spielberg and world class crew that he has could pull this off. it's a big, ambitious movie. >> i think a lot of people don't realize that you had to go through extensive training for this movie. talk about that. >> i've never been on a horse. that was a slight issue with this one. >> but you can act. >> well, you know, i've been saying that. i look back, matter of fact, but that kind of paralleled into significance when i was thinking about just to act for movie, i never acted for camera and getting used to having hundreds of people around you when you're doing a close, intimate scene but a camera just in front of your face and people playing with your hair and makeup and things and very different world from theater, which is what i was kind of more used to. >> this was interesting because it was a show that was adapted from a book to theater to the movies and your character needed youth and naive. really developed this relationship with this horse mat your father accidentally bought and you're being separated from. it's more than your pet or best friend -- >> it's his brother. what i defined is this innocence and naivety that you don't really see any more. this is somebody, this is a 15-year-old but he hasn't been exposed and very isolated community. he probably hasn't really seen many people outside this little village and hasn't been much outside this little village. >> we can't go before asking you about your other projects. you just wrapped another big film, haven't you? >> it's nice it be able to get work now. i just finished "great expectations." and that's what really excited about. >> oh, my goodness. >> next year, you know, we have a great movie next year called the railway man. one of the best scripts i ever read. >> your problem is too much work. >> not bad for a guy who played a tree with no lines. well, congratulations. the movie is excellent and comes out on christmas day. jeremy irvine is the star of "war horse." we wish you continued success and once you're big and famous you will still remember us. >> thanks so much. >> nice to meet you. morning headlines are coming up next. it's 45 minutes after the hour. vegas baby! maybe we should head back to the dealership first? vegas! no, this is a test drive. vegas! [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. but we still need your signature. volkswagen sign then drive is back. and it's never been easier to get a jetta. that's the power of german engineering. get zero first month's payment, zero down, zero security deposit and zero due at signing on any new volkswagen. visit vwdealer.com. we're often so busy dealing with what's in front of us that we lose sight of the big picture. that's why it's good, every now and then, to pause, take a new look at your financial plan and make sure you're headed in the right direction. for more than 140 years, pacific life has been offering integrated solutions that help to create a secure financial future. ask a financial professional about pacific life - the power to help you succeed. [ knock on door ] cool. you found it. wow. nice place. yeah. [ chuckles ] the family thinks i'm out shipping these. smooth move. you used priority mail flat rate boxes. if it fits, it ships for a low, flat rate. paid for postage online and arranged a free pickup. and i'm gonna track them online, too. nice. between those boxes and this place, i'm totally staying sane this year. do i smell snickerdoodles? maybe. [ timer dings ] got to go. priority mail flat rate shipping at usps.com. a simpler way to ship. 47 minutes after the hour. here are your morning headlines. markets open in 45 minutes and right now markets are poised to open higher. the dow, nasdaq and s&p 500 futures are all trading about 1% higher right now. house republicans set to block a two-month extension of the payroll tax holiday. a critical vote scheduled for today after lawmakers scrapped one in the middle of the night. the new cnn/orc poll show gingrich and mitt romney tied nationally as the republicans' choice for presidential nominee. the body of kim jong-il laid out in a glass coffin. right now blizzard warnings for parts of colorado, kansas, oklahoma. dangerous ice is causing major highways like interstate 40 in new mexico to be shut down. tonight, a special lighting ceremony planned for the national hanukkah menorah near the white house. marks the first day of the eight-day jewish holiday. happy monica. th that's the news you need to know to start your day. back right after the break. little gloomy in atlanta this morning. >> but much warmer than new york. cloudy and 51 dexwrees going up to a high of 60. they might get some showers there in atlanta. >> you have to go to work. humans are not the only ones, believe it or not, who suffer through the flu season. i did not know this. i found this quite interesting. man's best friend can also come down with the flu. in fact, a highly contagious strain has turned up in new jersey, massachusetts, colorado and texas. their there are also investigations into the report in california. reports suggest that you give your dog a flu shot if you plan on boarding it or taking it to the groomers in the next few months. all right. seattle now the latest city to ban plastic grocery bags. the new ordinance that takes effect next july also includes a 5 cent fee. they hope it will reduce pollution, free up landfill space and improve the environment. one of the most memorable tv personalities out there. his name is zach. this week dr. sanjay gupta introduces us to the young man. >> getting my own travel show is a dream come true for me. >> reporter: grewing up, zach always knew he wanted to work in film. >> it was always like, whatever you want to do, we can find a way to do it. >> reporter: nowadays he lives in austin and spends his day writing and editing. the rest of the country didn't know who zach was and then decided to enter a contest to become oprah winfrey's next tv star. >> how old were you when you found out you were different than the other kids? >> i had a wheelchair, they didn didn't. >> reporter: it's called "rolling with zach." >> now i'm exploring the country and taking you along for the ride. >> reporter: and rolling with life's obstacles is just what zach does. >> taking life as it comes and whatever you run in to, you just learn to roll with it. >> reporter: zach has cerebral palsy, a neurological disease that affect's the brain's disease to control body movements. but his disease never stopped him from doing what he wants to do. >> everybody has problems and like i always say, mine are no bigger than anybody else's and i think that's the message that i want to get across. what i've got to deal with is really small in the scheme of things. >> reporter: zach gives his family a lot of credit for not dwelling on his disability. and his tv show doesn't either. he hopes some day to be an inspiration to others. >> i would say to anybody who feels really like they're bogged down by their obstacles, just really think of who you are without those. and imagine yourself doing what you love to do, because that will drive you to do things you never thought you were capable of. >> i'm getting really soaked. >> reporter: dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, reporting. up next, who's better than tony bennett? the age defying 85-year-old crooner sits down with me for an interview about connecting with young audiences today and how he's giving back. he also gives me a very special holiday gift i'll never forget. 54 minutes after the hour. that's next. what's this? it's progresso's new loaded potato with bacon. it's good. honey, i love you... oh my gosh, oh my gosh.. look at these big pieces of potato. ♪ what's that? big piece of potato. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. for you today ? we gave people right off the street a script and had them read it. no, sorry, i can't help you with that. i'm not authorized to access that transaction. that's not in our policy. i will transfer you now. my supervisor is currently not available. would you like to hold ? that department is currently closed. have i helped you with everything you needed ? if your bank doesn't give you knowledgeable customer service 24/7, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. welcome back. in a career spanning more than half a century, tony bennett not only one of the most famous performers in the world but an international treasure and an american classic. >> 15 grammys, a kennedy center honor. bennett has endured because he focuses on quality, never singing a bad song and he's giving back by teaching others to follow his lead. ♪ she gets too hungry for dinner at 8:00 ♪ >> reporter: at 85, tony bennett is just getting started. >> when my friends say at 85 going to number one on billboard will never happen again. but it's fantastic. you know. >> reporter: duet's, too, featuring lady gaga and the late amy winehouse has been nominated for three grammies. >> said why don't you do disco and do rap and you're not following where the music is going. i said, well, i just want to stay with quality. ♪ it had to be you >> it's not about instant fame, but developing something, a real skill. >> even if they don't become artists later on, you'll get an idea of the difference between a piece of junk or something that will last forever. >> reporter: that idea inspired bennett and his wife, susan to create exploring the arts, a nonprofit aimed at teaching arts education at a time when many arts programs are being cut. the centerpiece is this state of the art high school in astoria queens. bennett's birthplace. how does that make you feel? >> the greatest fan club in the world. >> reporter: in addition to academics, majors include dance, drama, fine art. >> beautiful. >> thank you. >> did you do this? >> yeah. >> wonderful. >> and don't forget bennett's specialty, singing. ♪ >> so, this is real music. >> and it stays here, doesn't it? >> it does. here and here. ♪ i left my heart >> oh, the voice. it's his gift to the world and his holiday gift to me. ♪ in other words i love you ♪ >> wow! i mean, can you imagine? >> that is excellent. that is something everybody doesn't get. >> you know, he sang that song in the tony bennett auditorium and then the school is named for frank

Related Keywords

North Korea ,Conditions ,Winter Storm ,Blizzard ,Travel Standstills ,American Morning ,Poll ,Newt Gingrich ,States ,Lead ,Parts ,Havoc ,Down To Earth ,Captions ,Vitac ,Eight ,Alina Cho ,Troops ,U S ,Ali Velshi ,Moves ,This Morning ,Eye ,Tuesday December The 20th ,20 ,Kim Jong Un ,Kim Jong Il ,Coffin ,Son ,Glass ,Body ,Successor ,Dictator ,Images ,Death ,South Korea ,Media ,Paying Respects ,In Seoul ,Doing Pierce ,Government ,Condolences ,Diplomacy ,Dose ,Mystery ,Anna Coren ,Countries ,Sense ,Relations ,Condolence ,Rock Bottom ,Wording ,Thorn ,Two ,Relationships ,Neighbors ,Offering Sympathies ,Fact ,Place ,Hearing ,Changes ,Opportunity ,Christmas Tree ,Light Christmas Trees ,Way ,Half ,Showing ,Demilitarized Zone ,Koreans ,Drive ,Dmz ,World ,Sudden Death ,Bit ,Surprise ,Heat ,Intelligence ,In The Dark ,Head ,Speaking ,Everybody Else ,Members ,Inquiry ,Service ,Black ,Country ,Nothing ,Field Trip ,Heart Attack ,Travel ,Health ,Kim Ji ,Something ,Military ,Warning ,Signals ,Train ,Leadership Behav Behaved ,Lot ,People ,Idea ,China ,Flak ,Russia ,Leadership ,Hillary Clinton ,Hope ,Secretary Of State ,Democratic ,Bill Clinton ,President ,Peace ,Republican ,Nation ,Path ,Children ,Power ,Stability ,Understanding ,1994 ,System ,In Washington ,Taxes ,Laura Ling ,Photo Op ,Dysfunction ,Euna Lee ,Snell Vote ,House Republicans ,Payroll Tax Holiday ,Cnn ,House Vote ,Nancy Pelosi ,Tax Break ,11 ,Extension ,Deal ,Working Americans ,House ,Senate ,Scott Brown ,Statement ,Colleagues ,Families ,Effort ,Measures ,Livelihoods ,End ,Millions ,Quote ,Ining Effect ,Nobody ,Eric Cantor ,Doesn T ,We Weren T Working On One ,Answering ,Town ,Taxpayers ,One ,Kate Bolduan ,Holiday Bills ,Hit ,Tax Hike ,Congress Cannot ,2012 ,1000 ,50000 ,000 ,0000 ,It ,Kind ,Situation ,Measure ,Maneuver ,Course ,Payroll Tax Cut ,Complex ,Voting ,Which ,Tax Increase ,Election ,Advantage ,Toto ,Vo ,Issue ,Differences ,Payroll Tax Cat ,Procedure ,View ,Agreement ,Up Or Down Vote ,Support ,Harry Reid ,Tax ,Speaker ,89 ,10 ,Negotiations ,January 1st ,1 ,Things ,Point ,Staring Contest ,Standoff ,The End ,Fascinating ,Going ,Norm ,Back ,Leverage ,Updates ,Paycheck ,00 ,7 ,Race ,Mitt Romney ,Eastern ,Representative Hensarling ,Ron Paul ,Nominee ,Rick Perry ,Digits ,Michele Bachmann ,Both ,Rick Santorum ,Jon Huntsman ,28 ,14 ,Poll Numbers ,Minds ,Paul Steinhauser ,Brand New ,Fine Flint ,Candidate ,Orc Poll ,Margin ,Romney Over Gingrich ,Likable ,Independents ,Iowa ,Reasons ,Campaign Trail Yesterday ,Jer ,26 ,42 ,Numbers ,Estate ,Analyst ,Tv ,Listen ,Direction ,Sorts ,Negative Ads ,Super Pac ,Ads ,Reporter ,Yes ,Caucuses ,Off Tck The Prima ,Anything ,Process ,Break ,Winning ,Start ,Backing ,Bottom ,Paul Begala ,9 ,Voters ,Side ,Group ,Endorsement ,Family Leader ,Groups ,Candidates ,Knop ,Contest ,Doubt , Lep ,Four ,Win ,Strategy ,8 ,Snow ,West ,Snow Storm ,Winds ,Ice ,Storm ,Midwest ,Eastern Time ,Mess ,Turning Roads Into Sheets ,Blizzard Warnings ,New Mexico ,Highways ,Big One ,Season ,Kansas ,Oklahoma ,Five ,Worst ,Times ,Garden City ,30 ,40 ,Gusting ,Snow Piling ,Pie Town ,Th Noontime ,Nonetime ,70 ,Some ,Moisture ,Warnings ,Colorado ,Ten ,Rain For St ,Form ,Louis ,Precipitation ,Chicago ,Up To ,Pittsburgh ,Great Lakes ,Cleveland ,Problem ,Guys ,New York City ,49 ,46 ,News ,At T ,Bid ,Takeover At T ,15 ,Mobile Phone Company ,Breakup Fee ,Merge Worry ,Verizon ,4 Billion ,6 Billion ,Piers Morgan ,Video Link ,Hacking ,Scandal ,News Of The World ,Daily Mirror ,Story ,Flights ,Editor ,Hacking Call ,Tape ,San Francisco ,Candlestick Park ,Transformer Blow ,Couple ,Game ,Stadium ,Screen ,Power Outage ,Blimp ,Pittsburgh Steelers ,The View ,Sports World ,Hint ,Ben Roethlisberger ,It Endings ,Tryout ,49ers ,Hurt ,Someone ,Father ,Sportscaster ,Street ,Espn ,16 ,Girl ,Credit Card ,Credit Score ,Buy Books ,Door ,Ut The Second ,Sen Co Signed ,Folks ,Pizza Party ,Makeup Store ,Mom ,Spring Break ,Makeup ,Hard Times ,Daddy ,Dorm Floor ,Ticket ,Dot Com ,Police ,Suspect Led Police ,Chase ,Los Angeles ,The Man ,Car ,Hospital ,Ground ,Injuries ,Motivation ,Wres Sed ,4 ,Little Girl ,Drive By ,Birthday ,Crime Spree ,New Orleans ,Fire ,Cordyakor Co ,Bobby Jindal ,Streets ,Out Of Control ,Crime ,Request ,Everybody ,City ,Mayor ,Comments ,Voice ,Crimes ,The Street ,Talk ,Guard ,City Of New Orleans ,Hurricane Katrina ,2005 ,Kay Bailey Hutchinson ,Seat ,Businessman ,Craig James ,Running ,Entry ,Outsider ,Nfl ,Video ,Texas ,David Dewhurst ,The Real Street ,Cruise ,Ted ,Tom Leopard ,In America ,State Department ,Company Town ,Iranians ,Announcer ,Crescents ,Flaky ,Buttery ,Lit ,21 ,Europe ,Business ,Sector ,Debt Concerns ,Losses ,25 ,Level ,Markets ,Nasdaq ,S P 500 ,Dow Lost , ,500 ,Banks ,Crisis ,Reserve ,Hand ,Goal ,Rules ,Taxpayer Bailouts ,Banking Sector Lower ,Critics ,Ability ,Eurozone Ministers ,Loans ,International Monetary Fund ,95 Billion ,195 Billion ,Cash ,Uncertainty ,Help ,Leaders ,Debt Crisis ,Partnership ,Loan ,Bailout Loan ,Wall Street ,Britain ,Eu ,260 Billion ,60 Billion ,Housing Agency ,Forces ,Mortgage Back ,Investigation ,Documents ,Mortgage Fraud ,Findings ,Attorney General ,199 ,Case ,Phonemaker Htc ,Apple ,Victory ,Phone Number ,Operating System ,Features ,Trade Commission ,Dial ,Technology ,Google ,Ban ,Phones ,Android Operating System ,Newspapers ,New York Times ,Assets ,Boston Globe ,Herald Tribune ,Player ,Force Field ,2 ,Signature ,Playing Anything ,Test Drive ,Homework ,Dad ,Passat ,Lipitor ,Engineering ,Doctor ,Risks ,Teens ,Motor Trend Car Of The Year ,German ,Visit Vwdealer Com ,More ,Risk ,Cholesterol ,Fda ,Diet ,Numbers Don T Lie ,Everyone ,Heart Disease ,Liver Problems ,Stroke ,Research ,Patients ,Risk Factors ,Women ,Blood Tests ,Nursing ,19 ,Oman ,Don T ,Medications ,Wind ,Sign ,Face ,Stay ,Side Effect ,Weakness ,Muscle Pain ,Life ,Til Our Son ,Terms ,Card ,Lipitorforyou Com ,Thing ,Life Insurance ,Boy ,College ,Hank ,Agent ,Lady ,State Farm ,Arsenal ,Stories ,Morning ,Weeping Mourners ,Officials ,Message ,Peaceful Future ,Pockets ,Bill ,Roads ,John Boehner ,Lawmakers ,Middle ,Northwest ,News Agency ,Generation ,Latest ,Deictators ,Sons ,Grandfather ,Founder ,Inheriting A Nuclear Arsenal ,Kim Il Sung ,Three ,Brothers ,Kim Jong Chol ,Kim Jong Nam ,Top ,Rise ,Military Experience ,Profile ,Army ,Promotion ,Korean People S Army ,September Of 2010 ,Regime ,Victor Cha ,Little ,Bush ,Kim Didn T ,Security Council ,Rank ,Four Star General ,2010 ,Position ,Job ,Apresentishship ,Late 20s ,Boarding School ,Affinity ,Switzerland ,English ,James Bond ,Lifestyle ,Reports ,Borders ,Disfavor ,Analysts ,Cables ,Condo ,Playboy ,The Second Son ,Wikileaks ,Leader ,Brother ,Scenes ,Feminine ,General ,Rumblings ,Sister ,The Beginning Of End ,Kim Dynasty ,Possibility ,Scenario ,Cha ,Legs ,Weapons ,Elements ,Nukes ,Military Mike Take Control ,Capability ,Lots ,Brian Todd ,Kingdom ,Ascension ,Calm ,Detente ,Competitors ,Information ,Trickles ,Rogue Elements ,Yep ,Protesters ,Clashes ,Ammunition ,Death Toll ,Egypt ,Tahrir Square ,Woman ,Anyone ,Syria ,Military Officers ,Others ,Hundreds ,Terrorist Acts ,Fueling Outrage ,Announcement ,Demonstrators ,Protests ,State Tv ,Uprising ,United Nations ,Arab Spring ,5000 ,Descepters ,Weekend ,Posts ,Custody ,Identity ,Syrian Army ,U S State Department ,Iranian ,Spies ,Operation ,Coming Up ,History ,Marine ,Spy Apertured Carrying Out ,What S Going On ,Expert ,Front Runner ,Status ,Polling ,Orc International Poll ,Item Wa Caucus ,Ron Brownstein ,Rides ,Senior ,My Number One ,Director ,Journal ,56 ,Many ,Say ,Debates ,Item Wa ,13 ,Republicans ,Policies Haven T ,1964 ,Tea Party ,Wing ,Conservative ,Populist ,Bake Divide ,Sides ,No One ,Aren T ,Wings ,Establishment ,Chris Christie ,Instance ,Ways ,Moderate ,Part ,Alternative ,Alternatives ,Series ,Volatility ,Herman Cain ,Sishgalled ,Consistency ,Example ,Fit ,Breaking ,Reason ,Split ,Romney Support ,32 ,Em Fat Nick Support ,Ideas ,Confusion ,Survey ,Left ,Amnesty ,Choice ,Action On Climate Change ,Health Care ,Argument ,Immigrants ,New Hampshire ,Pup ,1990 ,Wall ,Points ,Don T Stress ,Most ,Six ,Campaign ,We Saw Surge ,Beneficiary ,Reality ,Majority ,Chaos ,Tier ,Core ,Question ,Work ,Questions ,Indicator ,Arguments ,Freddie Mac ,Plurality Nominee ,Wins ,Electable ,Winner ,Guy ,Thanks ,Jobs ,Caterpillar ,Discussion ,Equipment ,Chef ,Poppy Harlow ,Inside It S Manufacturing Power House ,Restaurants ,Southeast ,A Day In The Life ,Top Chef ,Atlanta ,130 ,Grade Headphones ,Gadget ,Music ,Carbonated Water ,Knives ,Saber ,Wife ,Hair Product ,Important ,Water ,Powders ,Iphones ,Hair ,Daughters ,In Touch ,Neat ,Business Pro ,Airport ,Lord ,Security Line ,Upgrade ,Aisle ,Purchase ,Price ,Pro ,Size ,Go National ,Miles ,Dinner ,Add Up Fast ,Gang ,Garth ,Wallet ,A Oww ,Venture Card ,High School Science Teacher ,Sword ,Capital One ,Build It ,Science Teacher ,Science Teachers ,Servo Motors ,Geologist ,Microcontroller ,Chevron ,100 Million ,100 Million Dollars ,Kids ,Isn T ,Thousands ,Love Science ,Cool ,American Education ,Military Official ,Orc International ,Mitt Romney Tide ,Calamity ,Washi ,Iowa Caucus ,Philippines ,Areas ,Obama ,Leaving Tens Ever Thousands Unaccountable ,Interstate 40 ,Blizzard Warning Rees ,Stamp ,52 ,Home ,Central Illinois ,Company Towns ,Made In America ,Imperia ,Friend ,Caterpillar Workers ,Family Member ,Caterpillar Plant ,Anybody ,Least ,Iconic ,Money ,Saying ,Parents ,Food ,Table ,Fred ,Hearing It ,Letter ,Doug Overhemmen ,Motor Grader ,March ,Cat ,Problems ,Share ,Tax Rate ,Governors ,Elsewhere ,Pat Quinn ,Businesses ,Plants ,Deep In The Red ,State Tax ,Environment Changes ,Competitiveness ,Demand ,Sales ,82 ,Staying ,Uruguay To Australia Egypt ,82 ,Threat ,Tractors ,Pop ,Globalization ,Experted ,2 Million ,A Million ,Engineering Jobs ,Everywhere ,Facilities ,Building New Facilities ,Components ,Intellectual Property ,Blessing ,Ceo ,Overseas ,South ,Production ,Interesting ,Manufacturing ,Products ,Chine Nap ,Shops ,Environment Changes In Illinois He Doesn T ,Ca Caterpill Products ,All Over The Place ,Facility ,D 11s ,Look ,Tractor ,Cnn Money ,Sick ,Employer ,Polls ,Up Next ,76 ,Boyfriend ,Vacation ,Factor ,Girl Wouldn T ,Belt ,Accessories ,Nylons ,Mind ,Diamond ,Citi ,The Rock ,Deductible ,Bad News ,Blackout Dates ,Airline ,Insurance ,Uhh ,Nationwide ,Coffee ,Safe Driving ,100 ,Zero ,Sandals ,65 ,1 800 Sandals Our ,800 ,Tax Cut ,Fix ,Display ,Pap ,Hands ,Medicaid ,Fierce ,Mother ,Baby ,Care ,Fight ,The System ,December 20th ,Tuesday December 20th ,Pocket ,Fuhgedaboudit ,Road ,Rogue Republicans ,Growth ,Congress Can T Reach A Dealish Americans ,2012 Joining ,Chairman ,Capitol Hill ,Debate ,Second ,Ideology ,Favor ,Elected ,Pla ,Ball ,60 ,Holidays ,Number One ,Done ,Conference Committee ,Conferee ,Dawn ,Sn ,Harm ,Good ,Associated Builders And Contractors ,Business Group ,Negotiating ,Didn T Consult With The Real World ,Hoyeighway ,Notice ,Payroll Say ,Roofer ,Eyes ,Decisions ,Extensions ,The Point ,Budget ,Debt Ceiling ,Basis ,Faith ,Beltway ,Software Changes ,Won T Democrats ,Rest ,Disagreement ,Brinksmanship ,Shutdown ,Indiana ,Senator ,Massachusetts ,Dean Heller ,Nevada ,Handful ,Positions ,Lead In ,160 ,Congratulations ,90 ,0 ,Ex Attention ,Cycles ,Gosh ,Republic ,Play ,Chance ,Payroll ,Member ,Economy ,Senses ,Matter ,Principle ,Payroll Extension ,Practicality ,Won T ,Charge ,A ,Software ,Computers ,Device ,2011 ,Amount ,Field ,Issues ,12 ,Presentative ,Jeff Hensarling ,Mausoleum ,Pyongyang ,North And South Korea ,Love ,Mood ,Uncertaintyy ,Act Today ,Helm ,Its ,North ,Sympathies ,Relationship ,Lee Myung Bak ,Warship ,Island ,Shelling ,Sailors ,Thawing Relations ,Heavy Snow ,Take A Look ,Rob Marciano ,Center ,Weather ,State Highways ,Wind Gusts ,Oklahoma Panhandle ,Friends ,Visibility ,Times Gusting ,Stabed ,64 ,Spots ,Snowfall ,Feet ,Amounts ,Kenton ,Texas Panhandle ,Back Up To ,Cincinnati ,Sleet ,Mixing ,It Rain ,There ,Detroit ,East Coast ,High Plains ,Delays ,Philly ,Storms ,Nothing Major ,Temperature ,Air Travel Today ,61 ,Jump ,Spike ,Battle ,Plus ,Nim ,50 ,Surgery ,Holiday Ideas ,Bake ,Pillsbury Crescent ,Wrap The Brie ,Brie ,Aunt Martha ,Brie Just Unroll ,Insects ,Bonus ,Who ,Shouldn T ,Rewards Card ,Kwshg Wshg ,Wild Card ,Evaporates ,Contributor ,Newsweek ,Makes ,Formula ,Jon Avlon ,Beast ,Factors ,Shot ,Supporters ,Intensity ,Count ,Caucus ,Nap ,Column ,Turnout ,Elections ,Impact ,Ron Paul Out ,Pupping ,Shue ,Upset ,Benefit ,Ends Up Being A De Facto ,Support Diffused ,Believers ,Anywhere ,Stereotype ,Highway Ardent ,Supporter ,Media Reports ,College Students ,Ground Game ,Doors ,Spot ,Event ,Cases ,Crowd ,Nodding Heads ,Ron Paul Formula ,Credit ,Bush Family ,Foreign Policy Non Interventionalist ,Constitutionalist ,Appeals ,Influence ,Politician ,Liability ,Chances ,General Election ,Authentic ,Philosophy ,Enthusiasm ,Mcs Mobecoming ,Diffic ,Context ,Wrinkle ,Ron Paul S Status ,Detail ,Big Time ,Cast ,Decision ,Primaries ,Storm Front ,American Sport ,Program ,Seat Belts ,Strap ,Wild ,Cell Phonemaker ,Score ,Smartphone War ,Shots ,22 ,Steps ,Homes ,Promises ,Step ,Retirement ,Stock Futures ,Investors ,Bank Of America ,Stock ,Banking Sector ,Developments ,5 ,March 2009 ,2009 ,Bailout Fund ,Loan Agreement ,Eurozone Debt Crisis ,Heap ,Environmental Protection Agency ,Fish And Wildlife Service ,Konconoco Phillips Working Alaska ,Army Corps Of Engineers ,5 Billion ,65 Billion ,Technology Features ,Google S Android Operating System ,Pipeline ,Bridge ,Objections ,U S International Trade Commission ,Maker Htc ,Ordinance ,Grocery Bags ,Seattle ,Star Wars ,Games ,Pollution ,City Officials ,Environment ,Wait ,Fee ,Paper Bags ,Landfill Space ,Fans ,The New Republic ,Take On The World Of War Craft ,Weren T ,Flat Rate ,Boxes ,Move ,Priority ,Low ,It Fits ,Pickup ,Flat Rate Shipping ,Timer Dings ,Nice ,Gonna ,Ma Am ,Vaaa Vrooom ,Grrrrrrr ,Everything ,Chevy ,Fathers ,Phd ,Chevy Silverado ,Honey ,Zzzzzzzz ,Younger Brother ,Truth ,Symptoms ,Nose ,Stild Stubbed Up ,Stuffy Nose ,Deep Breath ,Liquid Gels ,Alka Seltzer Plus ,Toog Nyguil ,Nyquil ,Payroll Tax ,Mepg ,Poll Shows ,Mark ,Beginning ,Nations ,Mission ,Journalists ,Hopes ,Figure ,Fwig ,Armed Forces ,Tom Foreman ,Prodding ,Disproportionied ,First ,Plutonium ,Enriching Uranium ,Missiles ,Theory ,Alaska ,Japan ,Hawaii ,Ships ,Globe ,Korean War ,Merchant ,Artillery Pieces ,Stop Pd ,Rockets ,Scud ,Fighter Jets ,War Fair ,Deaths ,Border ,Producing Tens Of Thousands ,Soldiers ,Counterattack ,Special Forces ,Dig ,200000 ,Civilians ,Wage Griuerrilla War ,Panic ,Guesses ,Lawmaker ,Louisiana ,35 ,Courtyard ,State Representative ,Gunman ,On Sunday ,Recommendaled ,Kurring ,Hack Add Phone ,Phone Hacking Scandal ,Appearance ,Nerve ,Phone ,Knowledge ,Spring Primary ,List ,Last Night ,Isn T Cool Enough ,Gangsters ,Game Show Host ,Mi Double Tizzal ,Nine ,1970 ,Campaign Money ,Number ,Bay Zoo ,Matt Damon ,Hairpiece ,Users ,Study ,Facebook ,Stats ,Posters ,Unfriend ,23 ,39 ,Gift ,Person ,Bed ,Sat ,He Decembsperately Needs ,38 ,Shopping ,Still Haven T ,Present ,Gecht ,Big Gulf Between Givers ,Night ,Hanukkah ,Relax ,Gifts ,Frank ,Experiments Givers ,Cd ,Ipod ,Component ,Don T Care ,Sure ,Receivers ,Cost Hundreds ,Didn T Go ,Result ,Regifting ,Thinking ,No ,Disclosure ,Really Don T Care ,Cultures ,Asian ,Experiments ,Wish List ,Occasions ,Variety ,Sort ,Options ,Bottom Line Tips ,Flexibility ,Person Hadn T ,Somebody ,Stores ,Else ,Great Tips ,Don T Overthink ,Don T Feel ,John Teierney ,45 ,Hot Dog Cart ,Property ,Branch Manager ,Up Someplace ,Corner ,Let ,71 ,Tax Holiday ,Military Advis S Advisers ,Tens Of Thousands ,Tropical Storm Washi ,Power Outages ,Monday Night Football ,Time ,Breakthrough ,Rocks ,Hill ,Scientists ,Secret ,Archeologists ,Origin ,Stone Hedge ,North Wales ,3 ,Mountains ,Headlines ,Area ,Prehistoric Monument ,Thir Volcanic Rock ,Elizabeth Cohen ,Boston ,Flight ,Bath ,Condition ,Planet ,Government Bureaucrats ,Heart Defects ,Infants ,Eddie ,Children Hospital In Indianapolis ,Death Sentence ,Surgeons ,Hospital Ceo ,Fields ,Open Heart Surgeries ,Babies ,Riley Doesn T ,Studies ,Outcomes ,Boston Children S Hospital ,Procedures ,Child ,Spokesman ,Regulations ,Neal Moore A ,Experience ,Systems ,Fundal Mechanism ,Perspective ,Circumstance ,Answer ,Solution ,Didn T ,Baby Pierce ,Hospitals ,Places ,Surgeries ,Childrens ,Have ,Miracle ,Strangers ,Mothers ,Heart Problems ,Plate ,Step Up ,Transport ,Moms ,Cost ,Indianapolis ,40000 ,Word ,Childrens Hospital On Friday ,Keeping Track ,Elizabeth ,Stars ,Movie ,Film ,Sneak Peek ,War Horse ,Spielberg ,Doesn T Hit Theaters ,Blasts ,Temperatures ,Roads Icing ,Interstates ,Christy Alito ,Drivers ,Wreaking ,Kaot ,Department Of Transportation ,Texas Border ,Line ,Icy ,Canon ,Planes ,Truckers ,Shopping Center ,Routes ,Parking Lots ,Morning Commuters ,Side Roads ,Closure ,Dot ,Slippery ,Fatalities ,Salting ,Types ,Sunlight ,Albuquerque ,300 ,Reporting ,Forecast ,No Doubt ,72 ,Docket ,Back Side ,Storm Track ,Key ,D C ,Type ,Coastline ,Rain ,Snow Line ,Flakes ,Flying ,Rain Tomorrow ,East Won T ,Cities ,Airports ,Ground Stop ,Speed ,Motive ,Beating ,Mohammed ,In Cairo ,Ingulfed By Supreme Court ,Particular ,Policeman ,Outrage ,Foot ,Clothing ,Midriff ,Blue Bra ,Abdomen ,Indignity ,Conservatism ,Islamic Country ,Haven T ,Videos ,Attention ,Vemerged ,Seven ,94 ,Forty ,242 ,877 ,877 242 Usaa I ,48 ,538 ,57 ,54 ,17000 ,36 ,8900 ,10 Million ,6 ,2008 ,24 , 99 ,4 99 ,17 ,31 ,3 30 Mile Per , 7 Million ,1 7 Million ,50 Million ,50 Million Bucks ,5 Million ,15 Million ,18 ,140 ,47 ,51 ,85 ,24 7 ,Snoring Sound ,Vice President ,Snoring ,Ridiculist Countdown ,Watching ,Job Description ,Ridiculist ,Dear Leader On Display ,Anderson ,360 ,360 Ridiculist ,