governor paul la page. and records smashed from the midwest to the east coast. and now a new record. this past year has been the warmest ever for america. so turn up the ac, grab a cold drunk. cnn newsroom begins right now. good morning to you. thank you so much for joining us. i m carol costello. right now, president obama is just about to head to the heartland. he is visiting the battle ground state of iowa and reaching out to middle class voters. that s who would most benefit from his plan to extend the bush era tax cuts. here s what s going to change. basically if we don t do anything, everybody s taxes go up at the end of this year. now, understand what i m proposing is 98% of america, 98% of american families, won t see their taxes go up according to my plaque. plan. the only folks who would see their taxes go up would be the top 2%, folks like me who don t need those tax breaks, are doing just fine without them. republicans will seize the spotlight first in