less than one year ago on this "american morning." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning. it's friday, december 23rd. i'm deb feyerick an with alina cho on this "american morning." good morning to all of you out in. >> so glad you're with us. up first, an early christmas present for 160 million americans. the house is expected to vote today on extending the payroll tax cut that divided washington for weeks. house republicans caved yesterday after a lot of arm-twisting by president obama who stead was the disgust of the american people that broke the log jam. boehner saying his side still wants a one-year extension but saw the political reality. >> we have fought the good fight. i talked to a number of members over the past 24 hours who believe that, hey, we don't like this two-month extension, we don't like this reporting problem in the senate bill, and if you can get this fixed, why not -- why not do the right thing for the american people, even though it's not exactly what we want. >> president obama immediately congratulated congressional leaders on the deal. a white house statement saying, "this is the right thing to do to strengthen our family, grow our economy and create new jobs. this is real money that will make a real difference in people's lives." so how much real money? well, it comes out to about $83 per month for the average family. about $1,000 over the course of a year, but, remember, this is only a two-month extension. and there are still some things standing in the way. some big things. this is congress, of course. kate bolduan live in washington. here we go again. kate, good morning. now the tea party could still put a stop to the deal? >> reporter: put it this way, the deal needs to be approved both by the house and senate still and leaders are planning to bring this up for a vote using a procedural maneuver allowing them to pass the bill without having to call all of the members back to town. requires unanimous agreement around this -- around the measure in order to push it through, which also means that one person could honestly show up on the house floor, say they object and stall the whole thing, but it would seem, though, that would only delay the inevitable, because speaker boehner said last night if someone would object today if they're expected to bring it up for a vote, he would absolutely in his word call the house back next week to hold a full house vote and the deal would certainly see big support from democrats this time around and very likely pass, but to use an overused phrase, i guess, what a difference a day make, alina? just yesterday we talking about both sides digging in and now basically it's a done deal. >> about an hour before a key conference call, speaker boehner was still calling for a one-year extension. what changed yesterday, kate? >> reporter: to sum it up in a word, the pressure, really. you had president obama effectively using his bully pull it and had you reliable conservative voices like the "wall street journal" editorial page calling on the house speaker to cut his losses and aid glee to a tagree to a two-m. the last straw yesterday, senator mitch mcconnell, really silent until yesterday throughout the standoff broke with speaker boehner and called on the house to give in. and the fact members say they were hearing it from constituents when they went home for only just a few days, since there was a vote early this week. frustration that congress is so dysfunctional. seems the pressure really mounted, and speaker boehner kind of alluded to that in a press conference last night, alina. saying something to the effect of, maybe it wasn't -- their opposition maybe wasn't the most politically smart thing to do in this situation. >> all right. so the deal is a two-month extension. kate bolduan, as always, watching it all for us. thanks so much. >> thanks. could the tea party derail this deal? well, freshman congressman tim huelskamp will talk about it coming up. and carbomb s kploeded. the attacks bear the hallmark of al qaeda. senior international correspondent mohammed jamjoom. what do we know? who do you think is responsible for this? >> reporter: well, deb, details still emerging, but the scenes that are being broadcast on syrian state television show utter devastation. according to syrian state-run media, two suicide car bombs that bear the hallmark of an al qaeda-style attack exploded earlier today outside two security mansions in damascus. this attack followed the arrival of an arab league committee, an addadvanced team came into the country to talk about the violence in this uprising and the ensuing crackdown. what we know from syrian state media the bombers startinged the state security direct rorate an another branch and even though a number of casualties were reported according to state media, they have flnot announce how many are wounded and how have died at this stage. >> we'll check in late other than as you monitor the situation, mohammed jamjoom. the u.s. is offering $10 million for the capture of an alleged al qaeda operative. accused of running money and new recruits from iran to pakistan and afghanistan. officials say he is a chief fund-raiser for the terror groom and a danger to the united states. his capture could shut down a big financial resource for al qaeda. pakistan is disputing the results of the pentagon's investigation into last month the air strike that killed 24 of its soldiers. the defense department report found u.s. forces acted in self-defense after being fired upon. pakistani intelligence say the u.s. fired first and it pakistani return fire that prompted the air strike. a string the strong air strikes strikes new zealand. you see the building shaking there. it happened near christ church at the country's second largest city. rockfalls caused problems for drivers. the city was evacuated after the first kuwait and all city malls shut down as a precaution. at least two people were hurt. this town is still on edge after a devastating quake rattled the area back in february. well, it's the last full weekday before christmas and a lot of people are traveling. countless holiday travel plans, we should tell you, are in jeopardy his morning after heavy rainfall in the rockies, soaking rains in the south and colorado, overnight a system dumped more than a foot of snow in and around denver. to the south of new mexico a family of three is safe after spending nearly two days trapped in their suv. they were buried in a snow drift. rescue herself to dig through four feet of ice and snow to get to them, and in georgia, at least seven people were injured, thousands without power, after a strong line of storms moved through overnight. there was also a ground stop at atlanta's hartsfield-jackson international airport. that's where holly firfer is standing by live and reynolds wolf in the weathcenter for us. first to reynolds. what's the forecast? >> a lot better today for parts of the nation. you're right about what you mentioned moments ago. parts the southeast, especially atlanta. now behind it, drier, more calm air. still rough conditions and delays in terms of the northeast, new york, all your metros. morning clouds, rain, wind giving delays up to an hour. boston, physical, d.c. metro basically the same. get back to parts of the midwest, the western great lakes, snow delays just understand an hour in the twin cities. meanwhile, the forecast will look for the rest of the nation, good. snow sticking around in parts of the northeast. and scattered showers in north texas. the snow shifting farther south away from denver into places like new mexico. snow showers we have in upstate new york and back into vermont and in new hampshire we're going to see those in the mid-day hours into the afternoon. some of the heavy snowfall, seen in the highest elevation, perhaps the green mountains. four to six inches of snowfall. great for the ski resorts. also great for ski resorts in new mexico, one to three inches of snowfall for albuquerque, check it out. close to a foot of snow for 7,500 feet and higher. winds a big factor. anyone making their way through the high pass, may have whiteout conditions. be careful today. terms of temperature, fairly mild day in harts of texas into florida. still worrying about rains in the sunshine state. along i-95 88. and 44 in seattle and new york with 48 degrees for your high. let's send it back to you. >> reynolds, thanks so much. see new atlanta later today. maybe tomorrow. want to go live now to holly firfer in atlanta's hartsfield-jackson airport where service was disrupted three hours last night because of weather there. holly, what's it looking like this morning? >> reporter: good morning, alina. looking a lot better. not a very good morning for the hundreds of passengers who got stuck here last night. they woke up at the airport this morning not in the greatest of moods. that nearly three-hour grondstop affected 5,200 planes. a lot of people couldn't take off or land and a lot of people missedconnections. here's a guy who through in from ervine, california. did you have to spend the night? what happened? >> yes, we -- actually my wife is driving over from tulsa to pick me up, because the first two flights out this morning are both full. so -- >> reporter: wow. doing a ten-hour round trip to come here? >> yes, yes. >> reporter: and he said both flights he was trying to get on this morning were booked, and he wasn't going to take the chance of spending anymore time at the airport here this morning, and i can tell you as we walk through the airport, the lines for coffee were longer than the lines at security. for all of those waking up and needing to get a start on the day. but it is supposed to be a nice day. it's supposed to be mild and sunny here. officials hope everything can get back on track and they can get all of these passengers out and alina, get them to their destination in time for the holidays. >> 5,200 planes. holly what a mess. thank you so much for that update. in the lines getting better at the coffee, the people going through tsa will maybe have good news. tsa launching a toll-free hot line for travelers with special medical needs. it's called tsa cares. and it's supposed to help fliers before they get to the airport. any questions about screening procedures will be answered, and the tsa can coordinate or attempt to coordinate checkpoint support. the agency suggests calling 72 hours in advance. that number is 855-787-2227. it's open from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. eastern monday through friday. mitt romney says he has a record of creating jobs, but records from his own firm suggests he made millions from cutting them and may still be making money from those cuts. we'll have details just ahead. plus a new poll out this morning reveal what's americans say are the most important issues facing this country right now. and if anything is going to get this woman a job, this is. . take a look. a woman in georgia is hoping her christmas display will help land her a job. her resume's up in lights, is it working? we'll tell you. it's 13 minutes after the hour. act my age? -why? -why? -why? [ female announcer ] we all age differently. roc® multi-correxion 4 zone moisturizer with roc®retinol and antioxidants. lines, wrinkles, and sun damage will fade. roc multi-correxion. correct what ages you. i know you're worried about making your savings last and having enough income when you retire. that's why i'm here. to help come up with a plan and get you on the right path. i have more than a thousand fidelity experts working with me so that i can work one-on-one with you. it's your green line. but i'll be there, every step of the way. call or come in for a free portfolio review today. [ 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? but sometimes i wonder... what's left behind? [ female announcer ] purifying facial cleanser from neutrogena® naturals. removes 99% of dirt and toxins without dyes, parabens or harsh sulfates. so skin feels pure and healthy. [ female announcer ] from neutrogena® naturals. and welcome back. is 16 past the hour. here's what's new this morning. army officials fearing problems with thousands of graves at arlington national cemetery. for a year now officials have weren't working to account for every grave at the 150-year-old cemetery. that may be impossible, because nearly 65,000 of those graves could have errors. congress or ord congress ordered a report after discovering missing remain. the center for disease control investigating the death of a missouri baby that could be linked to enfamil, a powderrd form ra for newborns. the 10 day old died from a bacterial infection and they're looking at a case of another baby who survived that infection. the company says that batch tested negative before it was shipped. walmart pulled the formula off its shelves. and a new plant to be built in the united states in three decades is one step closer to breaking ground. federal regulators approved the design for the new reactor, also used for plants in georgia and south carolina. it's the number one issue in the race for the white house. we're talking, of course, about the economy, and according to a new cnn/orc poll just out this morning, 57% of americans say the economy is the most important issue facing this country. and when asked, what's the most important economic problem facing the country? 51% say unemployment. 27% say it's the deficit. and mitt romney is breaking a long-held tradition among presidential candidates in both parties. the former massachusetts governor says he's not going to release his tax returns. >> that's right. romney made millions running private equity firm bank capital, says he helped create jobs. records show he presided over massive layoffs and is still making money from those deals. cnn's brian todd has the story. >> reporter: it's one of his strongest campaign talking points. he'll get the jobs back. as someone who once led a successful investment firm, he says he's got the experience to do it. >> and every investment we made was designed to try and grow that investment, grow that enterprise, ultimately to add jobs and success. that's been my hope and my record. >> reporter: but there's fresh xrultny scrutiny of mitt romney. that he was involved in large-scale layoffs and may still be profiting from the deals which resulted in layoffs. according to his financial disclosure form for this year, he negotiate add retirement deal from that firm when he left the company in 1999. as part of the deal, romney received an undisclosed share of the firm's profits and hasn't had any say in what the firm does, but romney does still have holdings in bayne capital that generate income for him. he made over $3 million in income from transactions made by bayne or its affiliated companies this year. what do they do? >> its primary business is acquiring companies, trying to improve the companies and sell that company or take that company public hopefully for a higher price. sometimes they shrink the company before they grow it. sometimes they truly buy a company and add employees in various divisions. >> reporter: contacted by cnn, romney's campaign said bayne capital had a good track record creating companies like staples and doman oino's pizza. and it drove dade industries out of business and people out of work. whenfirst made those companies slightly profitable but took dividends while adding to their debt. in a new interview with "time" posted online, romney responded to that. >> in any case where i was involved in an ain investment in a company that was not successful, one would have to feel terrible about someone losing a job. >> reporter: a record romney will have to defend at every step during the campaign. does it hurt him politically when hi work for the company actually resulted in a lot of layoffs even with some successful ventures? >> nothing would be more important for mitt romney if he is the republican nominee than defending his record at bayne. >> reporter: they said romney's dealt with it before, when he ran for senate against ted kennedy saying kennedy attacked romney slamming his record at bayne capital, the job losses, bankruptcy. he says romney didn't hand that well and it cost him that election. brian todd, cnn, washington. >> hmm. when it comes to jobs you've got get a gimmick. an unemployed woman in georgia is using her christmas display to find a job. her lights say, take a look, "my wish, hr job." she was laid off from a human resources job back in september and it looks like her vested play might actually be working. >> i've had people stop when i'm out and telling me about a position that they know of their company or some other company. i've had a lot of linkedin messages and a lot of linkedin views. >> and hickok says she's getting e-mails from as far away as italy. she may just get that job. >> i'm betting she'll get a job. she wins points for creativity. coming up, former senator john edwards want to delay his conspiracy trial again saying he's dealing with a mystery illness. we'll explain just ahead. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone deserves the gift of a pain free holiday. ♪ this season, discover aleve. all day pain relief with just two pills. and video chat with up to 9 of your friends with the galaxy nexus by samsung, or get the samsung stratosphere, and for a limited time, get twice the data for the same low price. verizon. -why? -why? -why? [ female announcer ] we all age differently. roc® multi-correxion 4 zone moisturizer with roc®retinol and antioxidants. lines, wrinkles, and sun damage will fade. roc multi-correxion. correct what ages you. mond mpd. u.s. stock futures trading higher after the dow's straight day of gains. the markets lifted by a better than expected reading on the labor market. italy approved a $40 billion plan to eliminate its budget deficit by 2013. the package which has grown increasingly unpopular, will increase taxes, reinstate a property tax on homes and raise the retirement age. the italian government hopes the plan will stimulate the economy and stabilize the euro. italy has the third largest economy in europe. back here in the united states, mortgage rates hitting new lows. according to freddie mac, down to 3.91%. that's the lowest in a survey's 40-year history. the justice department is green lighting a merger between the new york stock exchange and operator of germany's frankfurt stock exchange. it would be required to sell its stake in a thert smaller u.s. stock exchange. yahoo! weighing in on a deal to unload asian assets. according to the "new york times" worth $17 billion. here's the catch. yahoo!'s entire value, $18 billion. which would mean if yahoo! sells its stake in china's giant, the company itself would be orth around $1 billion, putting it in the same league as struggling aol. steve jobs will awarded a special grammy for his contributions to the music industry. he died pancreatic pancreatic c earlier. "american morning" will be back after a break. yeah, i'm married. does it matter? you'd do that for me? really? yeah, i'd like that. who are you talking to? uh, it's jake from state farm. sounds like a really good deal. jake from state farm at three in the morning. who is this? it's jake from state farm. what are you wearing, jake from state farm? [ jake ] uh... khakis. she sounds hideous. well she's a guy, so... [ male announcer ] another reason more people stay with state farm. get to a better state. ♪ nyquil tylenol: we are?ylenol. you know we're kinda like twins. nyquil (stuffy): yeah, we both relieve coughs, sneezing, aches, fevers. tylenol: and i rel