millionaires to pay for it. republicans say they could live with extending the current rate, but only if spending cuts offset it. last night in the senate both parties plans were voted down so there is work to be done before the end of the year. in california, powerful winds are still in the forecast for parts of southern california. nothing like the winds that did this though. did you see this damage? gusts topping 140 miles an hour were measure in the mountains outside los angeles at 140 miles an hour. that equals a category 4 hurricane. also you can imagine power lines were just no match for some of this. a lot of people, tens of thousands of them, are without power still today. also honda has expanded a previously announced recall to nearly 900,000 vehicles. the problem is potentially dangerous air bags. the global recall affects several cars in the line-up the accord, civic, odyssey, crv, pilot as well, models 2001 to 2003. most of the cars tartgeted are n the new
that it is on the right track. merkel reaffirmed her confidence. we expect to hear from president obama about the drop in the jobless rate just minutes from now. the president is also going to be outlining a plan to upgrade buildings, make them more energy efficient. the administration says it will create tens of thousands of construction jobs. the president speaking about 11:10 eastern. we ll take you there live. senators trying to figure out a compromise today to extend the payroll tax cut in 2012. here s what happened. a senate blocked both democratic and republican plans last night. what s the big hang up? how to pay for an extension. without one the white house says the typical middle class family will pay 1500 more next year. herman cain will sit down with his wife. another woman, ginger white, claims she had a 13-year affair with cain something he adamantly denies. he now admits that he gave money to white but he never told his wife. my wife did not know about it
and good morning, everyone. it s friday, december 2nd. ali and carol are both off today. i m christine romans along with alina cho on this american morning. so glad you got the memo. i know. we re both feeling a lot like christmas this morning. up first, the countdown is on for herman cain. he s heading back home to atlanta this morning in the decision to whether continue his campaign could be in his wife s hands. cain says we will know by monday at the latest whether he s in or out of the race, and yesterday for the very first time, cain admitted that getting out is an option. he okay knowledged he did give money to the woman he said she had a 13 jeer-year affair with . his wife only found out about ginger white when the rest of us did. that is correct, and she was hurt that she didn t know about this friend that i was helping financially. she was aware of many of the other friends that i have helped. ginger white spoke to lawrence o donnell on msnbc last night a
collapsed. people left homeless are dealing now with freezing temperatures. in north africa today tunisians are counting millions of votes by hand. the results of parliamentary elections are expected tomorrow. tunisia was the first country to overthrow the dictator in what became the arab spirang. 80% turned out. many faced long waits. i waited three hours to cast your ballot. something like 3 1/2 hours. we didn t feel it. it was like five minutes because we were very, very happy to be inside there. well worth it for many of those folks. tunisia s new parliament will write a new constitution, decide on a system of government. the united states ambassador to syria is now back in washington today because of threats against his personal safety. ambassador robert ford angered the syrian regime by voicing support for anti-government protesters. the u.s. says that ford could return, but officials say that syria must first stop inciting violence against the ambassador. m
let s talk about great news coming to the way of military families across america. they are gearing up now to celebrate the holidays with their loved ones who are now serving in iraq. one of the nation s longest wars will be over by the end of the year and nearly 39,000 troops will be heading home. the iraq war started nearly nine years ago and president barack obama says it is now time to end it. we ve already removed more than 100,000 troops and iraqi forces have taken fumble responsibility for the security of their own country. the next couple of months will be filled with welcome home ceremonies as the troops start leaving iraq. but for those who have lost sons and daughters, mothers and fathers in iraq, it is bittersweet. our affiliate wgn has reaction from some families and troops in chicago. this one picture in the house. reporter: every wall in this home in rogers park is covered with pictures and paintings of army corporal who was killed in iraq three years a