watch this. welcome back, let's get right to it, the big story and quick question mark lying over the divided korean peninsula. who is in charge now that kim jong-il is dead? who's happening today with the nearly 30,000 american troops stationed just below the dmz? and does this mark the beginning of a brighter era for 25 million of the world's most tightly controlled people? all answers right here, tile to play reporter roulette. first to seoul we go. cnn's anna coren is there. reaction is still raw, emotional. anna i imagine concern is high. >> reporter: yeah, definitely, brooke. there is deep concern here in seoul, but i want to bring you something new what's come to us in the past hour. we have received reports from the u.s. state department they were set to announce plans to give north korea food aid in exchange for north korea saying that it would suspend its uranium enrichment program for nuclear weapon hes and allow international inspectors in to north korea. now, that was expected to take place today, that being monday, and unfortunately that has not p happened because of the death of kim jong-il. it this will be a precursor to those six-party talks to get north korea back to the table and denuclearize the korean peninsula. the u.s. state department is now saying that they will rehe expect the mourning period and wait for the right time to reengage north korea on these talks. >> i'll talk more about food aid. i'm glad you brought that up. anna coren in south korea, thank you. next on reporter roulette, let's go to the pentagon to barbara starr, pentagon correspondent, i believe she's in germany where she spoke -- barbara, you spoke with the chairman joichbt chiefs of staff about the significant leadership change. what did you hear? >> reporter: indeed, we're here with general dempsey. he was woken up with the news about north korea earlier today. we talked with him about this, he has some concerns about whether kim jong-un, the leader now, supposedly, of north korea, the youngest son of kim jong-il, really will be able to take charge, control the regime and be the new leader. one indication of how little the u.s. military and the u.s. government really know about what is happening in north korea, we've now confirmed that kim jong-il actually adied on saturday night and the u.s. didn't know about it for more than 24 hours until it appeared on north korean television. so where does that leave us, the u.s. military, the pentagon? watching north korea around the clock for any sainz of movement of troops or weapons, any signs of instability in the regime. they don't see it yet, but general dempsey, the chairman of the joint chiefs, made clear all eyeballs on the peninsula now 24/7. brooke? >> and you spoke with general dempsey. let's hear what he told you. >> no changes in readiness levels. we're simply remaining vigilant are and relying upon our leaders in south korea and engaging them with their south korean allies o.t. this point, we have not seen any change in north korean behavior of a nature that would alarm us. >> so no change, no movement, barbara, at least so far. >> reporter: well, not at this point. but let's make clear, overnitrogen democraovernight general dempsey was involved with commanders in the pacific, u.s. commanders in north korea, defense secretary leon panetta, national security officials, and they are putting together a program to keep intelligence assets focused on north korea for the coming period of time. again, to look for any signs that troops, weapons might be on the move, any signs of instability in the regime, any signs of uncertainty and what they might do with their military forces. this is it really key now because there's so little intelligence about what goes on there. they're using satellite, eavesdropping equipment, electronic intelligence gathering gear, anything they can to get whatever information they can, brooke. >> a tinderbox, as was said before, barbara starr, thank you so much. next on reporter ruelet, elise labbot, our senior state department producer, in new york for us today. tell us, e-lise, how will will this change, today was supposed to be a swap food aid for perhaps -- dit's ul intertwined >> exactly. even p up until last week, the u.s. and north korean officials have met on the nuclear herb and the issue of food aid. just last week meeting in beijing, about to announce this deal about the u.s. would resume some kind of food assistance that has been lacking for about three years in north korea in change korea would suspend their nuclear enrichment which the u.s. really wanted to do. that was supposedly the cat light for the nuclear talks. so right now that's all on hold until the united states and its partners figure out who's really running the show right now. is it going to be kim jong-un? right now they expect it's going to be more of government by committee, perhaps his uncle and aunt we've been hearing about that have been working with him. if those people that are are more tied to the foreign ministry are involved they think that they could resume some kind of dialogue because certainly north korea wants this it food aid and they do want to buck up the new eleadership. if the military has more of a leg up in the new leadership, if they're going to exercise their muscle, some in the military aren't really are keen on engaging with the united states and engaging with other countries like south korea and japan, for instance. so they might pull back the reins. right know officials are saying they want to wait and see. it's really the ball is in north korea's court. they know where they left off in those talks and it's really up to them after an appropriate mourning period to send the signal they're ready. but the u.s. is not going to make the first move right now. >> it's up to north korea. we'll wait and watch for it, as you said, the ball is in their court. elise labbot, thank you. i should point out more on this reporter, go to cnn.com/securityclearance. next on reporter roulette, let's go to thelma gutierrez. she went out to talk about people in the largest concentration are of korean-americans in the united states, that being los angeles, particularly korea town. thelma, what were people telling you? how were they reacting? >> reporter: brooke, i can tell you that this community is really keeping a close eye on all the developments. in fact, you can see the radio station right behind me, radio korea, they have been getting dozens of calls from people wanting to express some of their concern, not knowing what is next. we're talking about a community that's 200,000 strong. many people have ties to korea. they have family members there. so they're watching with a certain amount of trepidation wondering who will take over and how smooth that transition will actually be. >> kim jong-il has been a ruler for a very long time so there was at least some stability in that. now we don't know what's going to happen, if there will be an internal struggle. >> reporter: your biggest concern right now? >> is the safety, again, possible military struggle between south and north. so i hope it that the political situation settles down as quickly as possible so there won't be any military actions or struggles. >> reporter: and many of the people that we talked to in some of the diners and cafes today were actually split according to age, brooke, which was very interesting. more were more hopeful, younger people more hopeful, saying that kim jong-il's number three son is actually a person who is young and also had experience, international experience, and was educated abroad. and yet the older people telling us they weren't as hopeful. they were a little bit more concerned because they said he has no experience and, after all, this really is not a regime change, brooke. >> thelma gutierrez there in korea town in los angeles, thank you. more on the unfolding situation in north korea, what it means for americans coming up. but first the baseball fan nearly beaten to death on opening day is speaking out for the very first time. you'll see how this father looks now after months of recovery. plus this -- >> they hit him all over his body so it was painful to know my son had to go through something like that. >> police say his son died during a suspected hazing ritual. now one school district putting every single one of its marching bands on ice. i'll speak live with one parent who is furious over that decision. also cnn releasing brand new polls today suggesting newt gingrich has lost his lead in the gop race. find out who's rising as we get closer and closer to the iowa caucuses. and a major power player, a multibillionaire has just thrown $300 million at twitter. stay right there. if it's interesting and happening right now, you're about to see it. rapid fire, let's go, beginning with 900 people are dead after a tropical storm lashed the southern philippines, according to the country's disaster agency. as much as eight inches of rain within the course of 24 hours fueled flash floods, mud slides. you can see the aftermath had here. some 167,000 people are affected by the powerful storm. the philippines red cross says hundreds had of people are missing after entire villages were swept away. and the defense begins its cases for the man accused of giving up u.s. secrets, a computer expert testifying today that it's nearly impossible to figure out whether thousands of military documents actually came from bradley manning's computer. but a military investigator has said documents found on manning's computers were later seen on wikileaks, which posted them online. the army private faces 22 charges including helping the enemy. and he still can't quite walk yet, but the san francisco giants fan who was brutally beaten at dodgers stadium is now speaking on camera for the very first time. want to play you just part of this interview. this is what brian stowe said to nbc's "rock center." >> hi! >> hi. >> i'm nancy. >> hi. >> how are you? >> fine. >> i've heard so much about you. >> how are you? >> i'm doing very well, thank you. >> that's good. >> you're just as handsome as your sister said you are. >> according to the show's web site, stowe is in a ra ha bill taigs center in san jose, california, and he proudly wore his giants dwi 10 world championship tv shirt during that interview. the two men arrested in stowe's beating have a preliminary hearing this upcoming january 17th. bank stocks are down today across the board, but bank of america shares hit a new 52-week low. the banking giant's stocks fell to $5, the lowest level since the worst of the financial crisis in march of 2009. traders say investors are worried about the euro zone debt crisis and how it could impact the long-term health of the financial sector. and just in, white house press secretary jay carney weighing in on the fight over your paychecks and whether congress can pass a deal over this payroll tax cut extension. if they do not, your taxes, my taxes, they go up in 13 days. here he is, jay carney. >> the house needs to act or else americans will have their taxes go up. and it is very hard to understand why a measure passed the senate with nearly 90% support, all it would take in the house, if all democrats or virtually all democrats vote for it, about 25 or 30 republicans, 12% of republican support in the house for this thing to become law. for the house to ensure that americans don't have their taxes go up. >> some republicans say democrats are kick being the issue down the road. they want more than just a two-month extension. coming up, we'll go live to coop tol hill and see how far apart both sides are. also this -- >> if that would help one kid not to be hurt, be hazed, even losing their life, it would be worth it. >> their son died in a suspected florida a&m marching band hazing, and now more than 200 miles away the students' high school district is suspending all bands over suspicions the bad behavior may have started there. i'll speak to a parent who says innocent students are being punished. don't miss that conversation. the investigation into the hazing death of robert champion is sending shock waves through the marching band organization. high schools have suspended activities after the district found inappropriate activity, quote unquote, at just two of those 21 high schools. the district has not named the schools and says it needs to ensure programs are safe and positive for studz. but parents in the area are furious and say the suspension isn't warranted. here with us now, keith sailor, his son plays trombone at southwest high school. you've been the band booster, you've been involved with the band for, what, 20 years at the high school. >> pretty much. >> and you went to famu. >> yes. >> that said, how does this decision because of inappropriate actions at two of the 21 high schools, how is that directly affecting your son? >> it affects my son because of the image it that's being put on the dekalb county music system, all the students. it makes them look like a bunch of criminals. i mean, to go before the media and say that we want to make sure our kids are safe, to someone listening on the outside, that implies that something -- it may be dangerous in the area to attend -- in music in dekalb county. >> you had mentioned to a producer you're even worried about your son graduating because of this? >> no. because of -- schools are interested in kids -- we had a student last year to get accepted to harvard. had this incident happened last year, this would go on his application and harvard would have looked at him a lot differently having an investigation on his application. now, they mentioned that if they're looking at two schools where something may have taken place, why suspend the entire county? >> what if it's possible one of these inappropriate acts p happened at southwest dekalb? you don't know? >> they said it was at two schools, apparently they know the schools. my thing is, why punish the other 19 schools? and have are the entire county looked at like they're doing something wrong? now, being at band practice -- when you say things being safe. being at band practices, that's one of the safest places your child can be other than at home. you understand what i'm saying? >> you being so involved with the high school band, robert champion went to this high school, also the young woman recent recently victim of another hazing incident, two of the accusers, all went to the school your son goes. has your son ever come home and said, dad, something isn't right here? >> absolutely not. absolutely not. he loves it. every kid that i talk to in the band now, previous kids in the band, they love the program. had nothing but positive tinges to say about the program. dekalb county schools, they are one of the 100 best music communities in the country. they had more than $20 million in scholarship offers just last year in the area of music, more than any athletic program in county. >> and you're proud of it, your son is proud of it. >> absolutely. >> i do want to play some sound. we he had parents of roberts champion -- you knew robert -- came on, talked to suzanne malveaux earlier today. they essentially are saying they're in favor of any action that needs to happen so that anything like this never happens again. let's watch that. >> i haven't talked to the university so the university hasn't explained anything about what they're doing. what i'd like to do is see what thirngs are going to be put in place to ensure this does not happen again. it's clearly a cruel and hateful thing to have anybody go through. so i'd like to see what kind of things they are planning on putting into place obviously what they had in place was not working. >> i should also point out we reached out to deckalb county schools. they said they're erring on the side of caution. can you not at all as a parent empathize with that at all? >> absolutely. but when you're talking about safety and you know the schools that the incident took place at, again, why the entire county? and i sympathize with the champion family, i love the family, any family affected in the situation. but we're talking about a situation that happened in college. this had nothing to do with dekalb county schools or its students. >> i think the question is then raising, because of the tremendous marching band at your son's and this high school, southwest dekalb, is a feeder into famu. and no one is connecting the dots per se, but, as dekalb said, they're erring on the side of caution. let me ask you about famu. you played percussion. did you hear of anything like this, any hazing rituals happening when you were there? >> being in the band or any fraternity or sorority organization in college, you experience a certain degree of initiation. now, what draws the linehazing the individual. i experienced no hazing. i experienced initiation. so that's -- i mean, that's my stand on that. >> no beating? >> initiation, which involves a lot of exercise, a lot of practice, a lot of training. things that prepare you to perform better. that's initiation. >> so you were totally shocked as well when you heard about this. >> yes. >> keith sailor, appreciate it. >> thank you. coming up next, it is said to be one of the most bizarre places on the planet. alina cho, one of the few americans to actually get inside. >> reporter: what this is really, in effect, is an elaborate coming out party. >> alena went face-to-face with kim jong-il and while she was there years of mystery unraveled when jong-il revealed one of his bigge biggest secrets. alina will share what it's like inside north korea. senator john mccain had some strong words today on the death of kim jong-il. he released the following statement, and i kwoelt, the world is a better place now that kim jong-il is no longer in it. for more than six decades people in north korea have been consigned to live in dire poverty and cruel oppression under one of the most totalitarian regimes the world has ever known. i can only express satisfaction that the dear lead arer is joining the likes of gadhafi, bin laden, hitler and stalin in a warm corner of hell. senator john mccain. just over a year ago pyongyang opened its doors to western journalists and gave them this extraordinarily rare glimpse into the country. alina cho witnessed all of it, the military parade, she filed this report one year ago. >> reporter: the most reclusive dictator in the world opens his arms and his doors to the world. an unofficial and elaborate coming out party for kim jong-un, the harmity nation's hidden prince, the son of kim jong-il, who will one day become its leader. this is the world's first glimpse of him in action after being named a four-star general last month. just after touching down, we're whisked to pyongyang's mayday stadium for the first event, the mass games. there are 100,000 people performing in a massive display of coordinated song, dance, and gymnastics. they practice eight hours a day every day for a year, and there's never a guarantee that chairman kim jong-il will be in attendance. but tonight he is. what's different this time is that kim jong-il appears alongside his son. when when tthe show is over, no koreans in the audience applaud not for the performers but for their leader. next up, a massive military parade bill ed as the country's largest ever, one of the largest armies in the world. kim jong-il, said to be in frail health and rarely are seen lly public, shows up again for the second time in two days, walking unaided but with one hand on the railing. this woman says, long live the general and long live his son. here kim jong-il flashes a rare smile as his son jokes with elders. the crowd goes wild, jumping, clapping, even crying. then, as night falls, yet another spectacle. tonight's event called the soiree is the third such event in less than 24 hours and it is pure pageantry. take a look behind me, the colors, the choreography, literally thousands of dancers in traditional dress. the media has been invited as guests. this is the invitation. but make no mistake, the real guests of honor are up there in the balcony, kim jong-il and the heir apparent his son kim jong-un. >> reporter: this man, a handful of private citizens invited by the north korean government, is among those watching. what about all of the reports of oppression and the people starving. >> i can't see it. i see loving people. >> reporter: this secretive nation will soon close its door s. how long can north korea continue as an isolationist state? the world's eyes are watching as north korea begins its transfer of power. and i want to bling bring ring cho. you brought that piece sort of out of the blue, you get this invitation to go to north korea and at the time they didn't even tell you why. is that right? >> that's absolutely right, brooke. i remember it very distinctly because i had actually just come back from holiday, and my producer came to my office and said, you know what? we've just been invited by the north korean government to go to the country and 48 hours later, boy, we were on a plane to beijing. what was interesting about that, with we were told at the time and only told this, that it was going to be the country's largest military parade in its h history. of course, we had a feeling that it would be, as i said -- it was an extraordinary, as you saw, couple of days inside the country. >> we saw the colors, the pageantry. did you ever for a moment get the opportunity to turn the cameras around, see the devastation and the poverty or that was never allowed? >> well, we are able to go around pyongyang. this was my second trip to north korea, i was there in 2008 accompanying the new york fill had harm-- philharmonic when th performed there. it's hard to realize how sealed off this country is to the rest of the world. you arrive, your passport is confiscated, your are cell phone, blackberry, you don't get it back until you leave the country. you are constantly watched. you cannot live the hotel without that person. you are told where to point and shoot the camera. so it is a different experience than what we're used to as journalists. i have asked repeatedly to leave pyongyang to see the countryside. that is not something the country and the government wants us to see, obviously. that is presumably where many of the people are starving, many of the people are dying. what they want to highlight and what they want to show, brooke, of course, is the showcase capital of pyongyang. >> the military. alina cho, tremendous reporting there, thank you sof for sharing your experience. alina cho in new york. now to two trending stories today. the first, "playboy" breaking records because of a certain blonde. and a professor claims he was fired because of something james franco did. huh? that's next. let's bring in kareen wynter with more on this "playboy" story. apparently "playboy" paided a chunk of change to lohan to pose. >> big bucks, yeah. >> the issue went on stands last week. so is "playboy" getting their money's worth? >> oh, they are very happy, very happy. lohan wanted to mirror her idol marilyn monroe. she's looked up to her. it paid off for lohan. her troubled starlet, the recent "playboy" spread is selling very well according to the founder, hugh hefner. he quoted sunday, the lindsay lohan january-february double issue is breaking sales records. cnn called multiple newsstands in los angeles, atlanta, chicago and new york, yes, brooke, we had to check for ourselves, we found that just one sold out of the issues, but that store is expecting more kpcopies of the magazine to reach them today. a spokesman for "playboy" wouldn't provide any exact information regarding sales numbers but they did echo hef's tweet confirming that lohan issue is selling very well. lohan was reported by paid as you mentioned $1 million to pose for the photos, which feature the 25-year-old with blonde hair posing nude in a style so of of the photograph taken of her idol of marilyn monroe on the cover in 1953. monroe at that time was paid, just 50 bucks for that shoot, so, boy, have times changed. >> a million dollars. >> brooke, we should also mention -- $1 million, a lot of change for someone who hasn't been working much. the "playboy" spread was a rare opportunity for lohan to make money. she hasn't been cranking out movies like she used to because frankly she spends so much time in court, all the legal woes from duis from 2007, probation violations and last but not least a necklace theft conviction. so lohan it seems is ending the year on a high note and staying out of trouble, too. we reported last week at court she got rave reviews from a judge at her probation status hearing. who knows, maybe 2012 could be her year. >> could be looking better for her. the biggest surprise was that hef tweets. >> i know! mind blowing. when i spoke with him a couple of months ago, he said he loves it, he tweets all the time. he's so hip. he had to chime in. >> who knew. that's my biggest takeaway from that one. we're watching actor james franco, apparently a professor he had at new york university gave had him a bad grade and now the professor is claiming -- i guess i have this copy of this suit here -- he lost his job because of this. what? >> you know, this is a story people are it tatalking about. actor/producer/director james franco, he may be a lot of things, but model student was not one of them. this is according to a former new york university professor, his name jose santana. get this, santana says he was let go, actually terminated, from the university after he gave franco a "d" for blowing off his class last year. he just didn't make the grade. he just filed a lawsuit, claiming he was harassed and eventually booted from his job after giving franco his poor grade. santana is claiming other instructors in franco's master of fine arts program gave the actor good grades in order to win favor with him and perhaps get some work on some of franco's film projects. a university spokesperson has issued a statement about the suit. here'ses what they said, quickly, brooke, we have not seen the lawsuit yet but the claims we're seeing in the media are ridiculous. beyond that, it is regrettable and disappointing to see a faculty member discussing grade ares for the purpose of personal publicity. and that person told us he was not determine naited but his contract was not renewed. kareen wynte >> kareen, thank you. the presidential candidates making their final push, the republican candidates, voters in iowa getting ready to make their final decisions, and breaking today, cnn releasing new polls that suggest newt gingrich's lead, gone. mark preston is standing by. he'll join me live, next. cnn political director mooshg breast aren joins me now with america's choice 2012 politics update. mark, let's talk about the new numbers, the new cnn/orc poll finds the republican race now deadlocked at the top. run through the numbers. >> very quickly, brooke, in the last couple of hours, cnn/orc released this new noeshl poll showing support for gingrich is eroding, good news for romney, it shows both men are are right now at 28%, followed by ron paul coming in third at 14%. what this says at this point is that newt gingrich, the attacks on him are working, it so seems. it seems that what mitt romney has been saying and what the likes of michele bachmann and rick santorum have been saying to or about newt gingrich have actually worked. not very good news for gingrich certainly was' head into the iowa caucuses where we're seeing had his support in that state as well slip, brooke. now a horse race there. what about leadership? the question is, who do republicans consider to be the strongest leader among the candidates? >> this is where there is a sliver of good news for gingrich. let's look at this cnn/orc poll just released in the last couple of hours. it shows that newt gingrich is out front, in fact, he best mitt romney by $16 point, a huge number, brooke. that probably can be attributed to this one fact. when people see newt gingrich on a national stage, they see him as these debates he comes off as a leader. let's not forget it was, only, what, since 1997, 1998 when he was the speaker of the house of representatives. so they view newt gingrich as a leader, brooke. >> he's very strong in the debates as you point out. but the next question is, when you're asking republicans to put aside their personal preferences and tell us who will win, the answer is different. >> let's take ak look at these numbers. good news for lom ne. numbers are within the margin of error, but it shows mitt romney who has been running a general election campaign from day one, somebody who talks about how he is most electable, according to the numbers here, se on top. in fact, most republicans think that he would most likely win the republican nomination. again, within the marnlen of error, a couple of reasons for this as well is that we asked another couple of questions we won't show the numbers but the questions were, who do you think is more trustworthy and honest? mitt romney came out on top, who's the most likeable? mitt romney on top. two good traits heading into the iowa caulk uks, brooke. >> thank you, mark preston. coming up next, it's a country with nuclear weapons, a had history of starving its own people and now a leader no one knows anything about. wolf blitzer, he was actually in north korea this time last year. he's going to talk to me about how north korea's new regime is putting the world on alert. plus a music monday that will certainly put you in the holiday spirit. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] tom's discovering that living healthy can be fun. see? he's taking his vitamins. new one a day vitacraves plus omega-3 dha is a complete multivitamin for adults. plus an excellent source of omega-3 dha in a great tasting gummy. one a day, gummies for grown-ups. whetheryou're ready or not, i just went to the mall for the first time this past weekend, christmas is sunday and with the hustle and bustle of the season we thought it would be fun to focus on making the holiday so memorable. without further ado, a little holiday theme music monday. ♪ it's the most wonderful time of the year ♪ >> what i like most about the atlanta symphony, is being able to bring joy and happiness, the spirit of the season, to people's lives. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> i really look forward to the opportunity to use our music to really instill the correct spirit of the holidays. ♪ ♪ >> it's a song that's a tribute to our troops and it's called bring them home. we know they are out there, we appreciate what they are doing and we hope they will all be returning home safe and sound very soon. ♪ ♪ >> one of my favorites we are doing this this show is just the very first piece. holiday overtour. ♪ ♪ >> this year, there was a drum line we are bringing in for one number, which is really unusual and it is a christmas version, so it is called little balarro boy. ♪ ♪ >> what i like about the holiday pops show is that it's got a little bit of everything. and it's everyone's favorite holiday tunes. ♪ ♪ ♪ all i want for christmas is you ♪ >> the one that always just makes me file smooil that we do here is "here comes santa claus." we just play sleigh bells in this tune. ♪ here comes santa claus, here comes santa claus right down santa claus lane ♪ ♪ ♪ >> atlanta symphony orchestra thank you so much. you can go to my blog to watch that interview, and any other interview i've had, for those pieces. now, let's go washington and check in with wolf blitzer. wolf, i was just checking your blog. there is a picture of you, exactly this time one year ago. you talk about how last year had been relatively quiet and you are fearful that will change. >> i just read a block on our website as well. 2 t is going to be such a tense time, because it is such a mysterious place, north korea. i have talked to top experts on north korea, and guess what, brooke? they don't have a clue about what might happen next. they are reading tea leaves, watching what is going on. but do they know for sure what will happen? there is a picture of me at the airport, i took the flight from beijing to pyongyang. they have a nice little airport. if you are traveling there, they don't have a lot of options. it was a good six days there. i learned a lot. but as much as you learn about north korea, you also learn there is so much you don't know and even people who have been there many times, top u.s. experts, potentially ripe for miscalculation. if south korea or japan or anyone else overreacts, north koreans overreact and tension can jessica late. let's hope everyone takes a deep breath, calms down and lets this unfold smoothly and peacefully, that's most important. >> you were there travel be with bill richardson. quite the foreign policy resume. jon huntsman, both we will look for them in "the situation room." congress can't seem to agree on anything. we are days from christmas and there is still no deal for tax cuts. could something change possibly tonight? ♪ it's easy to see what subaru owners care about. that's why we created the share the love event. get a great deal on a new subaru and $250 goes to your choice of 5 charities. with your help, we can reach $20 million dollars by the end of this, our fourth year. [ tires squeal ] an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual insurance, if your car's totaled, we give you the money to buy a car that's one model-year newer with 15,000 fewer miles on it. there's no other auto insurance product like it. better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual. it's a better policy that gets you a better car. call... or visit one of our local offices today, and we'll provide the coverage you need at the right price. liberty mutual auto insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? a political standoff over payroll taxes and it could end up shrinking your paychecks. the house is expected to vote on the two-month extension on the payroll tax cut that already passed the senate but the house vote is expected to fail. i will take you straight to capitol hill to kate bolduan. kate, we know house speaker john boehner spoke today. what did he say? >> he said, in short, honestly brooke, he said that house republicans weren't going along with the short-term extension. he says they oppose the short-term extension. they are done kicking the can down the road for other problems. he said it doesn't provide the certainty that americans need. boehner went on to say that if they are going to extend the payroll tax cut and other issues, they want to extend it for a year but that of course is an issue that is where talks broke down already, brooke. we had a senate democrats and republican leaders negotiating a more comprehensive deal, one-year deal, that how they came to the two-month extension. that's where it stands now with the house vote coming up this evening. >> what about democrats? would they be open to renegotiating the bill? >> i'll tell you, it does not sound like it. senator majority leader harry reid and other democrats said they put forth this compromise, had broad bipartisan support in the senate, with all republican leadership on board. they are not going to reopen discussions. he issue you'd a