house democrats tried to bring up the tax extension on capitol hill. >> the house stands adjourned until 10:00 a.m. on friday -- >> mr. speaker, mr. speaker. mr. speaker! >> that was a democrat there trying to get the attention. he failed. less than a half hour later, after cutting off the democrats the house republican leader was asking, where are they? >> we're here, ready to work. looking for our counterparts to sit down with us. >> so when will the games be set aside and both sides actually start working together to save you money? dana bash working her sources on capitol hill. republicans seem to be on the defensive now. i want to read you from the "wall street journal" editorial today. the "wall street journal" generally a conservative editorial page. they call this a fiasco. quote, the gop leaders have somehow managed the remarkable feat of being blamed for opposing a one-year extension of a tax holiday they are surely going to pass. this is no easy double play. so the "wall street journal" saying when it comes to the strategy here, they blew it. >> you know what? senate republicans, talking about people in the same party as the house republicans, just on the other side of the capital, i'm hearing the same things from them, john over and over today. one senate republican leadership aid told me the house republicans painted themselves into a corner. they are on their own. generally, what i'm hearing from these senate republicans is, really a lot of frustration that the republicans in the house have somehow allowed the democrats to really get the upper hand and the democrats to look like the party of tax relief and republicans to look like their against a tax cut. we're definitely seeing this real schism within the republican party. anger that usually reserved for democrats when you talk to republicans. it's now from the senate republicans at their fellow republicans in the house. >> and so, they've gone home except for that little games manship we saw today. sort of foe outrage by both parties there. do the republicans have a backup plan, if the political pressure mounts on them, how do they end this, and when? the. >> reporter: money if you will, is on republicans in the house backing down. that means that they would end up passing a two-month extension and preventing people's taxes from going up on january 1st. guess what? i talked to a well-placed republican source in the house who said not to expect that to happen this week. they'll take it down to the wire, not talk about the end game until next week, days before people's taxes would go up on january 1st. >> your government at work or not, depending on your perspective. dana bash live on capitol hill. many watching at home might think this is another big fight in washington, another political fight between the democrats and the republicans. no, maybe you have holiday shopping to do. this impacts you and your budget. if they don't get this done if politics keeps this tax holiday from being extended how much money will come out of your wallet? in you make $35,000 a year, you're going to lose $700. or that's about $27 a paycheck. $50,000, if that's your annual salary, if they don't extend the social security payroll tax cut holiday you'll lose $1,000 a year. again $38 a paycheck. you get the picture. if you make $90,000, you lose $1800 next year. nearly $2,000, or every time you get a paycheck you're $69, $70 short. if you're in the upper income scale over $110,000, more than $2300 next year, money you need for family finances or $90 a paycheck. the white house believes there's political hay to be made here. the average middle class family will lose $40. look at website the clock at the top, ten days, five hours, 55 minutes and the countdown on the seconds until your taxes go up the white house believes it has a big political issue especially in the holiday season when the money's coming out of your wallet. we'll watch this debate. the campaign trail, seeing something new tonight. ads featuring candidates' wives, calista gingrich and ann romney in new tv ads. mitt romney's wife ann reminding voters to think about the tough decisions a president has to make and weigh a candidate's character. >> if you can trust they will do the right thing and maybe the hard thing and maybe not the popular thing and if you really want to know how a person will operate, look at how they've lived their life. i think that's why it's so important to understand the character of a person. >> not a mention of newt gingrich there, but many people say look at how they live their life. the character of a person. could that be an implicit shot at speaker gingrich who has been married three times? gingrich's wife is with her husband, at his side, in a holiday ad this week saying, watch us and merry christmas. >> is there anything more inspiring than american towns and neighborhoods brightly lit for the holidays? >> we take it as a sign of great optimism. it remains us of the fire of freedom that burns bright in the america we love. and a prayer that the goodness of our nation will be reward with peace about brotherhood. >> from your family to yours, merry christmas and happy new year. >> that's iowa viewers get to those those, romney and gingrich going after each other, more peaceful in the ads. the man to beat innee eye is most likely ron paul and his new ads are designed to reassure social conservatives he's one of them. gloria borger spoke with congressman paul in mt. pleasant, iowa, today. gloria, what is he saying by now, 13 days out, and his ads have been pretty tough. are they going to stay that way? >> they are, yeah. he said they will. first of all, he's very, very happy about his poll numbers, his poll numbers are terrific. but when i asked him about those negative ads, john, what he said to me, i said are you going to take down your negative ads? he's accused newt gingrich of serial hypocrisy and he said to me, no, i am not going to take down those ads because somebody has to show that certain candidates are flip-floppers on the issues and if you and the media won't do it, i'm going to do it. >> so -- >> on occasion, yes. >> did you ever object when you read them? >> we talked about this twice yesterday, cnn has. go back and look at what i said yesterday on cnn and what i've said for 20-some years, 22 years ago, i didn't write them. i disavow them. that's it. >> but you made money off of them? >> i was still practicing medicine. that's why i wasn't a very good publisher, because i had to make a living. >> it's legitimate. it's legitimate. these things are pretty incendiary. >> because of people like you. >> no, no, no, no. come on, some of the stuff was very incendiary saying that in 1993 the israelis were responsible for the bombing of the world trade center, that kind of stuff. so, well -- >> good bye. >> all right. all right. thank you, congressman. i appreciate your answer. >> he's getting a bit feisty with you there, disappointed in you. you're asking about a mnumber o things writ innocent ron paul news letter, some are provocative, some racist, insulting and he's trying to make the case i didn't write them, you can't blame me. he's running for president, anything that happen under your name is fair game, he didn't think so there. >> no, he didn't think so. he asked him if you didn't write them, did you read them? and he seemed to sort of say, well on occasion but then he said no, he didn't read them. the point he was making to me is that it's more interesting to us in the media than it is to the voters out here. he seems to think it's an irrelevant issue, case closed, doesn't want to talk about it anymore. but, john, as you know, this is what happens when you become a front-runner in a presidential race. you get an awful lot of scrutiny and that's what ron paul is getting, scrutiny. >> scrutiny, with 13 days to go. see if he can hold that lead. gloria borger, looks like a festive scene behind you in iowa tonight. enjoy. >> yeah. >> looks nice. down to 13 days before those iowa caucuses and tonight new controversy swirling around several republican candidates. ron brownstein the political director and columnist for the national journal, he's with us tonight. one you, take on ron paul? he doesn't like being questioned about his record. yes, it goes back 10, 20 years but he's running ads criticizing speaker gen for thing his did 15, 16 years ago. if running for president, anything you ever done, under your name, fair game, right? >> ron paul has been a niche candidate, existed in a subculture in which he's revered. suddenly the price of success he's expanding beyond that niche, he's at or near the top of the polls in iowa and suddenly he's facing the kinds of questions he was never asked when he was simply a creature of that subculture. i thought his reaction today in that interview was quite revealing of someone who has not had to face the scrutiny that presidential candidates had. the questions asked about gloria, some of the things that bill clinton answered in 1992 by you or me. >> i remember that campaign. clinton would get mad but most of the time when he calmed down understood his life was fair game because he was running for president of the was what was vet in arkansas hadn't been vetted nationally. let's move on. it's clear that the tough attack ads, the loss of his lead in the polls, is getting under newt gingrich's skin a bit. now, he's not running negative ads and he say his won't. listen here, attack ads from mitt romney and more so from a political action committee that supports mitt romney, that have done a lot of damage to newt gingrich. listen to newt gingrich here, a challenge to mitt romney. >> look, i'll tell you what, if he wants to test the heat, i'll meet him anywhere in iowa next week, one-on-one, 90 minutes, no moderator, just a time keeper. i'll be glad to debate him anywhere. we'll bring his ads and he can defend them and we'll bring "the washington post," that his ad is filled with lies and he can defend them. >> the ad "the washington post" took after just to clean up the facts a bit was not a romney ad, it was a romney superpac ad, restore america, i think it's called. so romney said this morning, he has to take the heat, mr. speaker. i don't think gingrich will get his lincoln douglas debate. >> he really wants the debate. he had it with huntsman, it wasn't a debate. compared to gingrich's career he's held his cool pretty well in these -- this campaign. certainly in the debates, you know when he was under fire in that des moines debate he kept his composure effectively kind of rebutted the arguments. the problem that is he's being overwhelmed on television and he doesn't have the resources to fight back. he's making that argument of underfunded candidates, i'm taking the high road, people will react against the negative attacks but in fact, they are clearly having an effect on him and putting romney in a much stronger position to come out of iowa as the unqualified front-runner. >> you talked about his composure. earlier today, gingrich at an event in des moines where he gets heckled right during the event. >> mr. gingrich, you do fleeds to start putting people first. you really do. i know there's people in between you and me, but i'd like to meet you in a conversation here, sir. >> not today. >> he said not today. after the event he talked to the gentleman outside, he had some gay rights activists get his face. he's been very calm. some are organizers, show up, trying to get a youtube movement and he's been very -- >> he has, he has. there's not a macaca moment as there was for george allen. this has been a din newt in this cam pen. hess hasn't been as volatile, he's been more disciplined burke he is facing a fundamental resource imbalance at this point. >> 13 days, that makes a difference. when we come back, new rules that may help airline pilots stay awake, keep you safer. the updated holiday travel forecast, that's in seven minutes. with capitol hill deadlocked on your tax cuts, president obama, he can't start his vacation. stick around and see how he spent some of the afternoon. [ 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. you know, typical alarm clock. i am so glad to get rid of it. just to be able to wake up in the morning on your own. that's a big accomplishment to me. i don't know how much money i need. but i know that whatever i have that's what i'm going to live within. ♪ ♪ faa issued a landmark ruling to prevent pilots from flying without adequate time to sleep. in the last 24 hours, take a look, 62,000 flights landed in the united states, 1.6 to 2.3 million passengers a day expected to fly on commercial flights now during the upcoming holiday season. here's how the new regulations which won't take effect for two years would work. flight duty times 209 9 to 14 there is time, a time limit of it's a or nine hours flying depending on the start time. minimum rest period, up to ten hours, up from eight hours, so pilots have an opportunity of eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. all responded to the colgan flight that killed 50 people. neither the pilot or the co-pilot slept in a bed the night before. scott mauer's daughter died in the crash. appreciate your time today. i'm sure it's always difficult to revisit this. has what the government done today, is it enough? >> well, it certainly is a step in the right direction. it's been 25 years in the making to move this ball across the goal line. sadly, had this been in place, you know, perhaps our tragedy may not have occurred. >> one of the -- what wrinkles in this is the cargo pilots, the rules aren't quite as strict. i want to read a statement from the president of the independent pilots association for u.p.s. pilots. they said this, giving air cargo carriers the choice to opt-in to new pilot rest rules makes as much sense as allowing truckers to opt out of drunk driving laws. to potentially allow fatigued ka cargo pitts creates an unnecessary threat to publy safety. ray lahood said they department do that because of a cost/benefit analysis. make sense? >> well, no, it doesn't make sense to us. sadly, you know, we feel that the faa mesissed the golden opportunity to address a critical need. but if you allow me, i certainly would like to accentuate the positives that did take place and clearly going from an eight-hour rest period to a ten-hour rest period was very good. one other critical point is, is that this rule employs the use of fatigue studies, et cetera, so you know, this was very important and hopefully the regional airline pilots are going to benefit because that's actually where the crash, our crash, was adversely affected. >> and it was a personal tragedy for your family that made you so interested in this and made you now someone who has studied it closely. listen to congressman john mica of florida. he says this, the final rule provides improvements for aviation safety, pilots must take personal responsibility for coming to work rested and fit for duty. the government cannot put a chocolate on every one of their pillows and tuck them in at night. it cute the language in the end but it's an important point. do you think across the industry, these people want to keep their jobs, these people they do have rigorous schedules you, think they have learned the horrible lesson of the crash that took your daughter? >> well, that's a tough one. you hit upon another critical point that was not covered with today's announcement and that is commuting. you know the way in which this rule's written, pilots will be signing that they're fit for duty and we obviously want to take a very good, close look at how that's going to play itself out. but the issue of commuting, and all of the pilots commuting across the country is one that was not addressed and we should all have a little bit of concern. i think that's what congressman mica was referencing. >> appreciate your time tonight and your spperspective on the regulations and effort to bring them about. >> thank you very much. still ahead, power plants releasing toxic pollutants in your community being forced to clean up their acts. dr. sanjay gupta tells us how it impacts your health. two sails are return home and make navy history, next. i joined the navy when i was nineteen. i was a commissioned officer at twenty-three. i was an avionics... tactical telecommunications... squad leader. i think the hardest transition as you get further into the military is... you know it's going to end one day. chase hired me to be a personal banker. i'm a business analyst... manager. i'm very proud to work for chase. when you hire a veteran, you get... great leadership... decisiveness... focus. chase knows, when you hire a veteran, you're hiring america's best. chase is proud to help 100,000 veterans find jobs at home. mathis team of guinea pigs to ty boanso to save some y, d inea pig: row...row. they genatectry, wch le me rf t. guinea pig: row...row.took one, 8 months to get the guin: ..row.ow...row. they genatectry, wch le me rf t. lile cbby one to yell row! guineaig: ro's kof strange. guinig: row...row. such a simple word... row. anncr: t an easierayof strange. save. get online. go to geico.com. get a quote. e u 15% or more on car insurance. welcome back. here's kate bolduan with the latest news you need to know now. >> good evening. syria's main opposition group says nearly 250 people have died in a two-day span of horrific massacres this week. one video posted online shows a huge funeral procession following one body. president obama spokesman says the u.s. is deeply disturbed by the new reports of massacres. a very different story a judge delivers a temporary knockout to boxing champion floyd mayweather's career. sentenced to six months in jail for beating up his ex-girlfriend. he'll have to serve at least 90 days of that in custody. and now that don't ask, don't tell has been repealed. seeing a new kind of welcome home for returning u.s. forces. seeing video of it there. gay partners in uniform, free to give one another an on-camera kiss. this was in norfolk today. that's part of the time-honored tradition of one sailor getting off first when a ship comes home. >> it's interesting to watch that and maybe it will go without notice politically or maybe you see some of the republican candidates, governor perry, for example, trying to appeal to social conservatives. sometimes these things become issues in campaigns. thanks. coming up in three minutes a new ruling by the epa, shutting down power plants that release toxic pollutants in you're community. dr. sanjay gupta will break the rules down. celebrities do it former athlete dozen it. a close look at the high dollar speaking circuit. how much money former politicians make giving speeches. it's a lot. it's a lot. that's coming up. across the country,vestings from helping to revitalize a neighborhood in brooklyn to financing industries that are creating jobs in boston or providing funding for the expansion of a local business serving a diverse seattle community and supporting training programs for tomorrow's workforce in los angeles. because the more we can do in local neighborhoods and communities, the more we can help make opportunity possible. -why? 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