Now. Your elected officials trading insults, playing the blame game here as the clock is winding down on the fiscal cliff. Keep in mind time is awasting. In 32 days now tax rates soar, spending gets slashed. Oh, and dont forget, congress, yeah, they get to take a break for the holidays in 14 days. A recipe for recession. The president is pitching a plan that calls for 1. 6 trillion in tax heights and 50 billion in new infrastructure spending. Hell head to a manufacturing plant in pennsylvania to push all this. Republicans arent buying in. Listen to House SpeakerJohn Boehners reaction. Despite the claims that the president supports a balanced approach, the democrats have yet to get serious about real spending cuts. Didnt take very long for democrats to hit back at Speaker Boehner. Senate majority leader harry reid got up, a little personal. I dont understand his brain, so you should ask him. I dont understand his brain. Lets go to washington this morning. Wow, just when we thought they were getting closer seems like theyre even farther apart this morning. Yeah, you know, the nice talk from right after the election is all gone. One of the big sticking points is something you just mentioned which is this whole idea of taxes. Republicans and democrats continue to disagree over how to raise tax revenue. Should they end the bush tax cuts for the very wealthy as democrats want to do . Should they close loopholes, cap deductions, raise the taxes on Capital Gains and dividends or some combination of all of those . Theres even disagreement right now on just how much money how much in revenue they should be trying to raise, that 1. 6 trillion figure. Republicans say its a lot bigger than what had been being discussed prior to that. Lets listen to what the majority leader harry reid had to say to try to explain the democrats position on all this. Ready to protect middleclass families from the fiscal cliff that theyre facing by freezing the tax rates for the first 250,000 of all americans income and letting the rates go up to the same level they were during the clinton administration. Republicans know where we stand. Weve said it. Weve said it. Weve said it so many times, the president s said the same thing. And senator reid is correct, the president has been talking about this idea of raising taxes for the wealthiest among us all during the campaign and even longer. Now republicans say that you know theres been way too much focus on this whole tax issue or on the tax side of things. There needs to be a lot more emphasis on spending cuts. Lets listen to what House Speaker john boehner had to say about that. Right now, all eyes are on the white house. The country doesnt need a victory lap. It needs leadership. Its time for the president , congressional democrats, to tell the American People what spending cuts theyre really willing to make. Now, republicans believe that the cuts on the table, 400 million, and so far cuts to entitlement programs like medicare, thats whats on the table from the white house. They believe thats not enough. They want to see the cuts go much further. Democrats say, hey, you asked for cuts you want to see. Here are some, why dont you give us a number, as well. So thats where we stand right now. Ive got to tell you that youve got to believe that some of this is posturing. You know, part of the message war. Its not uncommon to see these deals seem to fall apart before they get put all back together again. Certainly time is running out. Time is awasting here. You mentioned john boehner criticized the president for what he called a victory lap. The president is launching a road show today. Hes going to pennsylvania to make his case for his version of resolving the fiscal cliff. What does he intend to say and how does he intend to sell it . Hes going to pennsylvania, a toymaker to try to drive home this idea of pushing for cuts for the middle class. Theres already a Senate Tax Bill that would preserve the tax cuts for the middleclass, something that he believes everyone agrees on. Certainly republicans agree that taxes on middleclass shouldnt go up either. They just dont want to see them go up on anyone. Hes visiting a toymaker that he says relies on middleclass families, who could be hit hard by a tax break. I suspect well hear a lot of the same language weve been hearing from him on the campaign trail. All right athena, thank you so much. Going to a toy factory, the fiscal cliff debate, could steal christmas pretty obvious there. The white house releasing this photo of mitt romney and president obama shaking hands during yesterdays private lunch meeting. So there was a photo after all. Released and taken by the white house. The former rivals promised to stay in touch after spending an hour discussing ideas for keeping america competitive. They dined on turkey chili and Chicken Salad. A source tells cnn there was no talk of a possible role for romney in the Obama Administration. The Supreme Court may decide as early as today if it will tackle samesex marriage. The justices will consider requests to review cases that challenge doma, the defense of marriage act, as a violation of the constitutions equal protection marriage. Also on the table potentially, theyre considering a challenge to prop 8, that is californias ban on samesex marriage which voters narrowly approved back in 2008. This is a huge move by the court today to find out what theyre going to do. An update on the health of former president george h. W. Bush. Hes in stable condition at a houston hospital. He was admitted a week ago and is being treated for bronchitis. His office says the former president is expected to be released in the next few days. The former president is 88 years old. He is now our oldest living former president. Major question this morning, about the stalled middle east peace process. What happens now . The palestinian authority, they did receive a giant endorsement yesterday when the United NationsGeneral Assembly voted to upgrade its status to nonmember state. But the United States and israel strongly, strongly oppose this resolution, claiming the unilateral move is no substitute for direct negotiations with israel. Cnn Foreign Affairs reporter elise labott has more on this developing story in washington at the United Nations and the middle east. Good morning, john. As we said the vote is really a global endorsement of the establishment of a palestinian state. And it gives the palestinians a bit of hope and a bit of dignity after so many decades of occupation that a state is actually possible. Lets take a listen to what palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said after the vote yesterday. We did not come here seeking to legitimize a state established years ago. And that is israel. Rather, we came to affirm the legitimacy of a state that must now achieve its independence, and that is palestine. But the u. S. Is calling it an empty gesture because it doesnt really give the palestinians what they want. Anything on the ground isnt likely to change, soon. So lets take a listen to what u. S. Ambassador susan rice said. She spoke a little bit about this when explaining why the u. S. Voted against this measure. The United States agrees, strongly, todays grand pronouncement will soon fade and the Palestinian People will wake up tomorrow and find that little about their lives has changed. So everyones looking to see what president abbas does now. He says well go straight to negotiations. But what the u. S. Is worried about is that the palestinians now have more tools to challenge israel on the International Stage they could go to the criminal court over the occupation, including settlement activities and this is going to further marginalize israel. Israels threatened to withhold tax revenue and impose further restrictions on palestinian officials. And congress is threatening to withhold, as well. Fear this could be more violence, and putting a lot of pressure on the parties to get back to the table and hammer out a deal. It doesnt look good right now. Elise labott in washington. Thanks for being with us this morning. Other news, Surveillance Video may answer the 224 million question. The question, who bought the winning Powerball Ticket in arizona. People at this maryland gas station say the man you see in yellow walked in to check his ticket, and started freaking out. Pretty natural response. They say he told them he bought the ticket in arizona. He said is this the right numbers . I said, yeah, thats the numbers, you got em all. You had the ticket in your hand . I should have ran, shouldnt i . The confirmed winner in missouri, 52yearold mark hill bought his Winning Ticket at this convenience store. Local media reporting he shared the news on facebook with, we are truly blessed, we were lucky winners of the powerball. I would have been doing a dance, he seemed pretty calm and measured and excited. But hello. Thats a lot of money. Seriously. She took the words of what she had to offer and lady liberty is still standing. The superstorm did set back the reintroduction to the masses. So our Zoraida Sambolin went to Liberty Island a month ago to take a look at her stunning touchup job. And yesterday, she went back for an exclusive look after the storm. One month after Superstorm Sandys wrath, lady liberty stands tall in new york harbor. But the beacon of light is littered with debris, bricks ripped up from the ground. A boat washed up onshore at nearby ellis island, all the result of sandy. So she survived. Yep. Standing there proud and defiant. While the statue itself is intact the grounds suffered enough damage to force the closure of the park to the public indefinitely. The National Park service is now in the midst of a massive cleanup effort, in hopes of reopening both parks sometime early next year. How high did the water go here . I mean this is totally probably here. Before sandy hit i visited the statue of liberty for my first time. I returned yesterday, very different. As we arrived on Liberty Island the emergency crews filing in and not tourists, one month after sandy devastated the area, there is still plenty of work to do. Now thats the story you would say, right . Yeah, pretty much. One of the main docks to Liberty Island is now floating. This island is determined by how we can get people off. So if we lose this dock we lose one boatload, which means i have to reduce the number of people that come to visit. The effects of sandy arent just structural. Concession workers and ferry employees were laid off this week, due to the extended closure much both islands. So did everybody lose their jobs . No. No. The concessioneers, i understand, have laid off their folks for the time being. But our folks, we just sent to other parks. David louisinger is a superintendent of the statue of liberty. He cant help but take his work home with him. He actually lives here. How long did you live here . 3 1 2 years. Just you and your wife . Yes. And did you lose everything in your home . We lost most everything. The offices next door, a stark reminder of sandys toll. When you look around, you compare this to your home and what you saw, how does it compare . Its not even close. Because we are on the far corner there, we sustained so much more damage. To me, to have a job that you love, to have a job that you can come to and be so excited about every day, an honor i couldnt begin to describe. But the statue of liberty remains an icon of hope and promise of better days ahead. As sad as it is to see it in the state its in right now, i know its going to be better. It is sad looking at those pictures. But theres some really good news, also, that i want to share with everybody. They lost a lot of the infrastructure, particularly because its all underground. So theres no lights there, theres no water, and theres no heat. But, theyre looking at it as an opportunity that when they build, moving forward, everything will be sustainable. Thats the good news. Theyre very, very forward thinking. And the other bit of good news that i thought was really great, when lady liberty got sand blasted. When you go back and take a look at her, if you look at her belly, its the original green color. Because of those winds, they actually cleaned her off. Part of her face and all of her belly. So youll see a difference there. And, you know, the volunteer effort that has gone into this. People have just huddled together to make sure that she still shines. So the beacon still shines, because of the volunteer effort to make sure that that would not stop. I think about three days it went without shining. But that effort, you know its sweet. Sweet ending to that. Zoraida sambolin, exclusive first look in the media. Thanks so much. All right, 14 minutes after the hour. And literally laughing in the white house negotiators face. So is there any hope of a compromise over the fiscal cliff. Were talking to the newly reelected minority whip steny hoyer coming up next. Well, its that time of year again. You know, picturetaking season. And with photo stream, you can share all the photos you want, with just the people you want. Its as easy as pie. Mmmm. Pie. [ female announcer ] holiday cookies are a big job. Everything has to be just right. Perfection is in the details. Get to holiday fun faster with pillsbury cookie dough. 17 minutes past the hour here on a friday. Well, the white house plan to avoid the fiscal cliff to congressional leaders, and republicans, laughed in their faces. Literally in the case of mitch mcconnell. The plan calls for 1. 6 trillion in new tax revenues, 400 billion in cuts to medicare and other entitlements, 50 billion for a new stimulus, and republicans really didnt like this one, congress would have to give up control over raising the debt limit. We want to bring in now the recently reelected House Minority whip maryland congressman steny hoyer, democrat from maryland. Nice to see you this morning. Congratulations on the reelection. Good morning, and thank you. So earlier this week we had tom foley republican offer a compromise on the position here. You had many republicans, several coming forward and saying there is a way out here, we are willing to give a little bit on taxes. You had wall street optimistic that there was an aura of compromise here. And then this is the plan that the white house puts forward. In some ways, moving the ball even further away from what the republicans were asking for here. Is this going to get the compromise . Look, first of all, want to understand that everybody believes we ought not to go off the cliff. Sequester is not a good idea. And if we went off the cliff it would have substantial adverse effects on the economy. Nobody wants to go over the cliff. Including, in my opinion, john boehner. However, we ought not to hold hostage middleclass tax cuts, and thats what youre talking about, tom cole, that wasnt a question of compromise, it was simply to say, look, we all agree that middleclass tax rates ought not to get a tax increase on january 1st. Not good for them. Not good for the economy. Well pass that. The senates passed a bipartisan bill that called for that. Tom cole the former chairman of the Republican Campaign committee in the house of representatives said just earlier this week well all pass that. I agree with him. Secondly, the republicans have agreed that we need to have some sort of balance, more and more republicans are saying we need to have revenues. You cannot do it simply with cutting spending. Thirdly, i dont think that anybody wants to hurt the vulnerable in america. No, i think but the question, the question here is, is on the issue of taxes for instance. The president proposed tax cuts im sorry tax increases that went beyond what they discussed before. Raising the rate which would amount to 960 billion, then an additional 600 billion in tax increases that would go on the 2 . On the issues of spending, cuts, 400 billion in medicare and other entitlement savings but unspecified in next year not the specifics and not the amounts the republicans were looking for. Again, 50 new billion in stimulus spending. Again, where is the compromise here . Well, first of all, the compromise, we have already cut 1. 7 trillion of spending. That seems to be forgotten. We cut it in the budget control act. Thats done. Waters gone, done, finished. Wheres the future . Look. Thats not right. Youve done it. You pocket it. Now you want something more. The administration is saying, look, this is what we have done. This is what weve agreed to. We have election. We had an election and the president said we needed more revenues, and we needed more revenues from those most able to pay. He won the election. The American People expanded the majority in the senate and expanded the number of members we have. We have an election, that were two very distinct points of view put forward to the American Public. That is that we needed more revenues, the wealthier needed to make a greater contribution, and the other side said no, thats not the case. Obviously the American Public made a judgment. Congressman hoyer, let me let me president has agreed because i think americans are smart. I think they realize whats happening. They are smart. They realize whats happening in front of the cameras and they realize oftentimes theres another story right behind closed doors and i saw this quote this morning that jumped out at me. A fellow democrat from new jersey, congressman rob andrews. This is what he told politico. Quote, there is the public choreography, and then there is the real choreography. To reach a deal it has to look like there was a lot of fighting before the deal was reached. I mean, sir, americans know what youre doing. This is one of the reasons why americans hate politics. Right . Whats your message to america . Americans hate politics because we have pretense. Youre right on that. The pretense is that somehow you can magically do this