ripples of relief spread from europe across the world market. a deal has been reached to tackle the e.u. financial crisis. european leaders have agreed to expand the e.u. bailout fund while private sectors will take a 50% loss on greek bonds. the european agreement translated into a huge day for u.s. stocks. let's go to alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. the closing bell just rang. how did stocks finish? we don't know the final number, but we know it's very positive. >> it is. the numbers are settling. we're seeing the dow up 340 points. the nasdaq s&p up more than 300%. the bulls busted out of the opening bell and never looked back. this is what investors have been waiting for. these debt problems plaguing greece. and besides plugging greece's debt hole, this plans to safeguard against future shocks. it's a step forwards in instilling stability in the marketplace. >> being there is such a powerful positive reaction, do investors see this as a done deal? is this crisis over there over? >> i think what you're seeing isn't just a lot of hope this is the real thing, but there is some skepticism. a lot of details still have to be worked out. the plan that european leaders came up with overnight is really a broad outline. now, they have to deal with the fine print and implement it fast. there are still remaining questions like will it be enough? the bailout fund was boosted to $1 trillion, but it is swimming in its own pool of debt. it's really questionable whether the crisis as a whole is over. >> a positive bit of news i should say. wall street had this new report showing the u.s. economic growth in the third quarter. picked up nicely, not great, but pretty good. how did this factor? >> i think it added to the optimism today. we found out that third quarter gdp grew at a 2.5% annual pace. you look at the first half of the year. the economy grew at a less than 1% pace. if you look deeper into the report, a lot of good things in there. consumer spending picked up. businesses spent more. that shows there's more confidence growing in the third quarter, but the reality is, wolf, that the growth rate is still below normal. the good, positive takeaway is that it is strong enough to put to rest another more top of another recession in the u.s. at least for now. >> dow jones above 12,000. that's pretty good. thanks very much. let's get more now on the strengthening economy. erin burnett is standing by. erin is the host of "outfront." put this gdp growth into some context. really good, average good? what do you think? >> i guess there's a absolute and relevant. absolute level, our economy can do a lot better than last quarter, but relatively given we went through the crisis over the debt ceil, the concern about paralysis in washington, you would think with all that and a lot of people did think, we would do a lot worse. so 2.5% is twice as fast as we grew in the second quarter. in this, a couple of things worth highlighting. personal con sums, 2.4% growth. that is much stronger than had been expected. we were only looking for 1.9. that shows strength just in the average american. also an improvement in construction and software. on an absolute basis, we can do a lot better. on a relative bases, we're doing a lot better than earlier this year and there are some real bright spots in the number. >> one is economic growth. the double dip recession, the economists say two successive quarters of negative economic growth. we haven't seen that, so is it fair to say that fears of a double dip recession at least as of now given all these quarters of positive growth with over? >> a lot of the economists and investor rs i've spoken to over the past two months, they've been consistent. they didn't see it coming. there were a lot of articles about it. for a lot of americans, it feels as if the economy isn't growing. that sort of gap between what regular people are experiencing and some of these horrible numbers we get. but yes, it is off the table, but in terms of getting that robust growth which starts to put a real dent in the $8 million jobs we lost, we don't see signs of that happening. >> millions and millions of americans who are unemployed or underemployed, not just a recession, it's a depression for millions of americans. all day, we've heard about the deal in europe. obviously a deal that generated positive news on wall street. is it really a done deal? is what they're doing to europe going to stem this problem? >> everything comes down to this. everyone says greece is interesting, but why does it matter? because europe is the most important trading partner for the united states of america. it is the most important trading partner for china, which puts europe in the cat bird's seat. this deal is good. i want to say there have been 14 summits of european leaders in 21 month. all right? so, they have shown a real inability to get anything done. this time, they got something done and there's a lot there. there are a lot of details to work through and that's really important. but it's worth saying when you look at the debt that greece had, if everything's worth a dollar, now, it's worth 50 cents. those investors just took a 50 cent cut. that is good for the banks. the banks are in the united states and around europe, so that's a positive thing, but a lot of people think they needed to take a bigger quote unquote haircut and lose more money. that would put greece in a tougher situation and that would mean we're not quite done. this may come back and bite us in the behind again. use different word. >> something like that. i want to make a quick turn because i know you have a new special on tonight. you have one of the biggest news makers on your show later tonight. let me show the our viewers the video we're all talking about. >> county tray back. ♪ you don't have herman cain, but you have his aide. the guy who was smoking in that ad. tell us what you thought when you saw that commercial? >> smoking in a lolt of ways. i have to say, i think i was a little bemused, then really, it takes courage. you're going to come out and do it your own way. what's really the takeaway? we've been reading the stories that sort of go on one track. this camp is serious, it's falling apart. on the other track, this shows that being genuine and authentic is what people want and keeps climbing in the polls. we're going to find out what's going on and mark block was really thinking when he did that. >> good guess. 7:00 p.m. eastern only here on cnn. we'll be watching. thank you. for decades, it's been a corner stone of american foreign policy. a steadfast refusal, at least in public, to negotiate with terrorists, but the obama administration raising fresh doubts today with that policy with hillary clinton saying the u.s. is in fact willing to talk with terrorists in some circumstances including the head of the taliban. our foreign affairs correspondent has more. >> reporter: more by the taliban in afghanistan, for hillary clinton to explain to the house foreign affairs committee why the obama administration is willing to negotiate with terrorists. including the head of the taliban in afghanistan, mullah omar, responsible for many attacks on coalition forces and afghan civilians. >> are we prepared to negotiatigauchnegotiate with mullah omar and if so, under what circumstances and what would our conditions be? >> they would have to include the -- and would have to include some recognition, which based on everything we know is still led by mullah omar, that they wish to participate in such a process. that's what i meant when you said you don't make peace with your friends. >> they have met with the haqqani network at the request of the isi. >> there was such a meeting. it was not a negotiation. there was no follow up meeting. this was done in part because i think the pakistanis hope to be able to move the haqqani network towards some kind of peace negotiation and the answer was an attack on our embassy. >> reporter: clinton insists there are some red lines when it comes to talk iing with terrorists. >> trying to distinguish between so-called good terrorists and bad is ultimately self-defeating and dangerous. no one who targets any civilians of any nationality should tolerated or projected. >> which is it madame secretary, crack down or negotiation or both? >> it's both, as i said, we want to fight, talk and build all at the same time. part of the reason for that is to test whether these organizations have any willingness to negotiate in good faith. >> clinton says she's realistic. 2500 taliban have given up the fight, but not all are willing to give up their ideology. so far, she says this is a testing process. jill daugherty, cnn, the state department. >> one tactic still used, drone attacks. killed nine people today in pakistan's tribal region. one strike in south waziristan killed five senior members of an anti-american group with direct ties to the haqqani network. another fired in north waziristan, killed four suspected militants. jack cafferty's coming up next. then, bernie madoff's wife reveals their desperate act as their ponzi scheme collapsed. and why rick perry says he may skip the future republican debates. we'll talk about that and much more with james carville and ed rollins. they're standing by live in our strategy session. 4g-- the next evolution in wireless technology. with advanced power, the verizon 4g lte network makes your business run faster: smartphones, laptops, tablets, mobile hotspots. but not all 4g is created equal. among the major carriers, only verizon's 4g network is 100% lte, the gold standard of wireless technology. and while other carriers may have limited lte coverage, verizon is the largest lte network in america and ever-growing. with verizon 4g lte, you can invent new ways to upgrade your business using real-time group meetings from remote locations, video conferencing, mobile credit-card payments, lightning-fast downloads, and access to thousands of business apps. plus, verizon has the largest selection of 4g lte devices and the most 4g lte coverage for your business. all on america's fastest, most reliable 4g network. no wonder more businesses choose verizon wireless than any other wireless carrier. verizon. consumers er wanchai ferry orange chicken... over p.f. chang's home menu orange chicken women men and uh pandas... elbows mmm [ male announcer ] wanchai ferry, try it yourself. [ male announcer ] we're not employers or employees. not white collar or blue collar or no collars. we are business in america. and every day we awake to the same challenges. but at prudential we're helping companies everywhere find new solutions to manage risk, capital and employee benefits, so american business can get on with business. ♪ jack? >> wolf, it's been nearly three months since that so-called supercommittee was created. we've had months of closed door secret meetings. only a few public appearances as the panel's deadline approaches. the public's been shut out of the negotiations. the lobbyists have continuous access to the members. how's that transparency thing working out for you? sort of reminds me of the health care legislation. so far, there are no signs the committee has a i greeed to any meaningful cuts. democrats did propose a plan r for cutting $3 trillion. republicans quickly rejected it because the democrats also wants to increase taxes by $1.2 trillion and republicans said no chance on that. they call the plan outrageously absurd and some accuse the democrats of leaking the plan because they think it will fail and i do, too. if no agreement is reached, across the board trigger spending cuts will duointo effect in 2013. not next year when there's an election. 2013. john boehner says the trigger cuts are unacceptable and that it's important for the supercommittee to meet its goals. this from the speaker of the house who hasn't bothered to do a budget this year. while a politicians fiddle the debt just keeps getting bigger. how much confidence do you have in the supercommittee to do anything meaningful about the national debt in the next four weeks? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile. post a comment as soon as you stop laughing or go to our facebook page. >> one tiny correction, they did pass a budget in the house, the paul ryan budget. never went anywhere in the senate. senate hasn't done a budget in a long time, but they did pass the budget in the house. >> that was my error. point being the last two years, there's been no budget passed. that's part of their job. they're just throwing it in the garbage can. >> that's the senate. >> my error. >> by the way, very good "cafferty file." i write a similar column on our cnn.com/situationroom website. on my blog there. they might be. there's been a change of pace in plans for regime change as it's called in north korea. lisa sylvester is monitoring that and some of the other top stories. >> north korea's kim jong-il appears to be feeling better and u.s. military sources say that's slowing a change in leadership for the nation. he's been traveling around north korea and china and this is a big change from 2009 when he was thought to be battling cancer. next in line is is his son. he's still in his 20s and he's already taking on official duties. we will have a full report on this in our next hour. the united nations security counsel voted to end military operations in libya. that remove it is mandate for intervention, effectively canceling nato's mission there as of next monday. also, concern about proliferation in libya and reprisals and execution style killings. one of the largest cities in asia is being evacuated. thousands of people are fleeing bangkok as the worst flooding in 50 years. the holiday was declared so the residents could escape to hire ground. the flooding has already killed almost 400 people nationwide. and the federal case against john edwards is set to begin in january. a judge rejected motions to have his indictment dismissed. he faces six felony and misdemeanor counts related to donations and payments from 2008. if con ticketed, he could face up to 30 years in prison and a fine of more than a million dollars. >> we'll watch this unfold. thanks very much. rick perry is trailing right now in the polls and now, his is that a good idea? and herman cain says his campaign's unusual web video featuring smoking staffer is quote, hilarious. james and ed are standing by live for their take. all that coming up and a lot more here on "the situation room." sun life financialrating should be famous.d bad, we're working on it. so you're seriously proposing we change our name to sun life valley. do we still get to go skiing? sooner or later, you'll know our name. sun life financial. what's vanishing deductible all about ? guys, it's demonstration time. let's blow carl's mind. okay, let's say i'm your insurance deductible. every year you don't have an accident, $100 vanishes. the next year, another $100. where am i going, carl ? the next year... that was weird. but awesome ! ♪ nationwide is on your side i'm wolf blitzer. here are some of the stories we're working on for our next hour. a liberal group launches a fresh attack on marco rubio over the story he's been telling of his parents' immigration. a cue republican lawmaker wants to kick iranian officials out of the united states, accusing them of espionage. are they stamping visas here in washington or spying? we have details also on a new proposal from republicans on the so-called supercommittee where they cut trillions of dollars. stand by. you're in "the situation room." republican presidential candidate rick perry is trailing in the polls after a series of uneven debate performances and now he says he may skip some debates. joe, what's going on right now with governor perry? >> rick perry admits making the mistakes and so it's up to the voters to measure his candor, if you will, but also sees the debates as part of the problem and while it's true his debate appearances have coincided with a drop in the polls, the question is whether or not he has anything to blame but himself. the latest excuse for rick perry's uneven performances in the presidential debates comes from the candidate himself. the problem he says is the set up. >> these debates are set up for nothing more than to tear down a candidate. >> oh, wait, maybe it's because perry's views are so complex they don't lend themselves to sound bites. >> it's pretty hard to lay out your ideas and concepts with a one-minute response. >> so now, per ary says he may skip some debates. no surprise really. before this campaign, he hasn't done that much debating. >> there may be slicker candidates and smoother debaters, but i know what i believe in. >> is it really fair to blame the format? alan shoeder wrote a book about presidential debates. >> i think the fact that perry has had some rough moments in these debates is probably the real reason he doesn't want to do more more of them. >> perhaps the most cringe worthy moment was the prerehearsed attack line that got so garbled. >> was it the mitt romney on the side of against the second amendment was it before he was before the social programs from the standpoint of he was for standing up for row vs. wade before he was against row vs. wade? >> he said it was about fumbled delivery. >> it seems all you have to do is memorize that 30 or 40 seconds and deliver it, but for some reason, perry has had a lot of difficulty doing that. >> and there's a lot of risk to the candidate if he starts no showing at debates. >> his status in this group is not solidified. if he were the front-runner, he might be able to duck the debates or not do as many, but he really sort of needs the debate as a way of getting his message across and trying to build those numbers higher. >> nobody ever said getting up in front of millions of people is easy, especially when it involves defending and explaining points of view, but these days, that's how you run for president. not clear right now what debates perry might skip. there have been something like eight republican debates so far. five since perry got into the race. wolf? >> thank you. let's discuss with our political contributor, james carville and ed rollens, the republican strategist, the former michele bachmann campaign adviser. thanks very much for coming in. if he skips an upcoming debate, ed, will that be smart from his perspective? >> i don't think it's smart. i think the bottom line is he was the last man in. he came in at 30 plus percent in the polls leading everybody. he has to prove to the debates that he can put two sentences together and i'm sure he can if he practices, but it's a very much a part of this thing. >> james, he clearly doesn't want to do any debates. my sense is the only way he could win skipping some debates if a herman cain or a mitt romney decided we're going the start skipping, too. that would give him some cover. >> right. i have a editorial quibble with you and joe. his performances have not been uneven. they've just been horrible across the board, but any way. the question he's going to get asked is if you skip these and you don't like to debate, if you're our nominee, will you debate president obama? every candidate since 1976 has debated and these republicans, they want to beat the president. they think they got better ideas and you've got a guy that's run ing away from promoting or articulating his ideas. this is not going to sit well and all. it is an ongoing disaster going on. this guy is blowing himself up every day. it's really remarkable to watch. >> the other candidates, i take it, ed, you know this better than i do. you worked for michele bachmann's campaign. they have no desire to skip any of these debates because milliomillio millions and millions of people watch these debates. >> first of all, there's been a lot of debates and it takes a lot of preparation. i would advise the governor to get ready. he's been in public life for 25 years and ten years as governor, and if he can't articulate who he is and what he is, he's going to be a bad candidate anywhere. i think the key thing is he's got to get back in these debates. he's got to have one or two to exceed expeck tases. >> in the last debate, you remember he tried to come back. he really went after mitt romney, james, on the issue of a lawn service that may have hired some illegal immigrants. it didn't exactly work out well for him. >> no, it didn't. i think people want to know, honestly, they want to know about rick perry. they kind of know who romney is. they're not flocking to him, but they've got a good idea of who he is and perry, he just a bad candidate. i hate to say it. i was kind of hoping he would do better, but right now, he's been a kol lass sal disappointment here. his behavior like blaming the format and everything else, this is uncharacteristic. generally, republicans culturely sort of don't cotton to whining or making excuses. they're kind of eat your peas group of people and this is not playing well out there at all, i promise you. >> let me make a turn to the economy, which is issue number one. take a look today at the dow jones ending above 12,000. up about more than 300 points. on some good economic news, at least relatively speaking, coming out of europe. also, some positive job, the economy growing 2.5% over the last quarter. this is several quarters now of positive, not great, modest economic growth, which is certainly a lot better than negative growth which could lead to a double dip recession. here's the question for you. if this modest economic recovery continues, how does that play out a year from now? >> depends on how it continues to go. as an american, not just as a republican, we want the economy to get better. we don't want people to be unemployed. none of us are sitting here wishing for the president to fail. he'll be judged on the first three years and this last year. incumbents are tough to beat, but but we can't wish for a bad economy. >> there are still millions of americans unemployed, but the trends are moving in the right direction. is that enough to turn things around for the president? >> i don't know, but it sure does help. if he can make the case that things will start moving in the right direction and we can't afford to go back, that gives him a great help. look, 2.5% growth is not much, but it's better than minus one and i think if somebody went and looked, i think the dow is not doubled, but done pretty well since its low in march of 2009. it's bounced back real good in the stock market and the stock market is not the problem. the job market is the problem. hopefully, he'll show some progress. it's bound to help him a little bit. if it will continue. i have no idea if it is or not. no idea. none. >> the dow was down around 7,000 four years ago. now, it's over 12,000, so that certainly has done well over these past few years despite the economic misery. stand by, we have more to discuss including herman cain. he's got a most unusual campaign web video. it's almost now been seen by a million people on youtube. we're going to discuss what's going on. herman cain says the video is hilarious. what do james and ed think? that's next. so who ordered the cereal that can help lower cholesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. [ woman ] lower cholesterol. [ man 2 ] yummy. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. the democratic strategist, james carville, and ed rollins. herman cain is doing amazingly well in all of the polls. national polls, state polls in iowa, new hampshire, south carolina, florida, but there was a tough piece "the new york times" today quoting unnamed former campaign aides. some of them unnamed. among other things, they said this about mr. cain -- what do you make of this grumbling, ed, that some of his former staff members are putting out there? >> herman cain does not have a campaign. herman cain is a big personality who's done extremely well in debates to say the pollster that i like him. there's no organization out there. there's no commercials of any merit and i think to a certain extent in the near future when we start voters trapsing through the snow to vote in iowa, new hampshire and elsewhere, he don't do well. >> says he's got a new strategy for getting the republican nomination. he's not doing the traditional work you did for bill clinton that ed has done now for reagan and several others. he's got his own technique, his own style. it seems to be working. >> there are reasons that people run for president other than to be president. herman cain doesn't have any hope to be president. i don't think he even wants to be president, but apparently, he's doing good for herman cain brand and they're having a pretty good time in the process. i think these people in the campaign went over there thinking they had a chance to win or that the candidate cared about winning the nomination. that's not what he's in here for. it's pretty clear they're in there to entertain themselves and entertain us and pick up some motivational speaking fees along the way and increase their brand. i can appreciate that. he's pretty funny and there's some kind of creative people and they've proven to be quite entertaining. >> that web ad on youtube has gotten almost a million hits. >> we need you to get involved because together, we can do this. we can take this country back. ♪ >> that's the smoking ad. herman cain says it's a dwood ad. he says we were in vegas and we knew we wanted to put something new out there. i trusted mark block, that's his chief of staff, which i still do and i thought he did a great job with the ad. he's got a lot of hits out there, ed. you can't deny that. >> people now know who mark block is. the idea that your campaign manager goes on says, i like my candidate, let me show you how i'm a cool guy by smoking a cigarette. this guy's raised his name. now, everybody's googled him and found out he was suspended for four years from campaigning because of bad practices in wisconsin. >> is that more idiotic than i am not a witch? >> i know what he was smoking, i'm just curious as to what he smoked before the ad. this guy is not like he's running, he thinks he's going to win. he's a creative guy. out in las vegas. they're having a good time and we got to understand this. he's not, this is not like a ed rollins, karl rove, james carville kind of thing. they're doing something entirely different and we ought to just sit back and enjoy their sort of gumption here and creativity and don't worry about it. it's fine. it's funny. >> i am not a witch, the smoking ad. which one more idiotic? >> i am not a witch. that was a serious candidate. that day. >> until that ad. >> i think the smoking ad is accomplishing everything they want. i think it's utterly brilliant. they're not looking for votes. >> getting a lot of attention. coming up, a controversial effort to ban abortion could impact birth control, fertility treatments as one state faces the question of how to define a person. plus, victims of the bernie madoff scheme speak out about new revelations of his so-called suicide pact. we're america's natural gas and here's what we did today: supported nearly 3 million steady jobs across our country... ... scientists, technicians, engineers, machinists... ... adding nearly 400 billion dollars to our economy... we're at work providing power to almost a quarter of our homes and businesses... ... and giving us cleaner rides to work and school... and tomorrow, we could do even more. cleaner, domestic, abundant and creating jobs now. we're america's natural gas. the smarter power, today. learn more at anga.us. you know what else is early? medicare open enrollment. now through december 7th. can i stick with my old medicare plan? sure! or find a new plan with better coverage, less cost, or both. medicare plans give you free cancer screenings and wellness visits and 50% off on brand-name prescriptions when you're in the doughnut hole. it's part of the healthcare law. so it's time to look, compare... and choose the right plan for you. learn more at 1-800-medicare or medicare.gov. lisa sylvester is here with some of the other top stories we're following. >> an 18-year-old was pulled from the rubble of an apartment building after being trapped for nearly 100 hours. he is reportedly in good health. dehydrated, but otherwise okay. the rescue came as the turkish state news agency announced the death toll from the earthquake now stands at more than 500. two roadside blasts in eastern baghdad have killed at least ten people and wounded more than 30 others. the pair of attacks targeted the police patrol and witnesses say officers are among the dead. the attacks come less than a week after president obama announced that virtually all u.s. troops will leave iraq by the end of the year. and leon panetta has a special new year's eve toast planned and it's been ten years in the making. the pentagon confirms that he will open a bottle of wine worth more than $10,000 and the secretary will join friends toasting the military mission that killed osama bin laden. a california restaurant owner made a deal with him that if he got bin laden, he would open the oldest bottle of wine. >> can you imagine drinking wine that cost $10,000? >> i can't even imagine. if it's worth $10,000, auction it off, give the $10,000 to a good charity. let somebody else drink the wine. >> that is a great idea, wolf. panetta -- >> i'm going to speak to panetta about this. he's going to want to give that money to charity. i know him. he's a very decent man. could outlawing abortion make some forms of birth control illegal? even some fertility treatments? plus, shocking revelations about a suicide pact, but some of his victims saber ney madoff is still counting people and now, they're speaking out. to your car. turn right on hill street. go north for 2 miles. ♪ this is onstar. i got a signal there's been a crash. do you need help? yes, please. i've got your gps location. i'm sending help. ♪ [ female announcer ] for a limited time, get an onstar fmv mirror for only $199 after $100 off. ♪ all right [ 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? how do you define a person? a ballot initiative in mississippi is hoping voters would support to ban all abortions, no exsemgss. >> our founding fathers guaranteed all persons life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. but who is a person? >> in mississippi, abortion opponents want voters to say a person is defined at the moment of fertilization. initiative 26 if passed would ban all abortions. >> nichetive 26 doesn't make any exceptions for rape or incest. it goes too far. it would be so bad for women and families. >> abortion rights supporters say it could potentially ban some birth control like the morning after pill and iuds. in vitro fertilization could also be banned. borgman is a law professor and abortion rights professor. >> the implications for fertility treatment rs uncertain and quite problematic because if embryos and zygotes are person, then you have in fertility clinics, a bunch of persons who are frozen. you can't just leave them there. you can't discard them, right? >> answers to questions like that are unclear. opponent rebecca kinsling is a spokesman and tells the story of her own mother's rape, using as an example of why there should be no exceptions to abortion laws. she says while any impact on birth control or ivf wouldn't take place immediately, she adds this. >> what about fertilized broes already created. what would happen to them? >> that is something that would have to be determined legislatively. you know, i could forsee that there might be some people who would want to transfer their embryos out of state. that could very well happen for purposes of storage. and certainly, there would be nothing to prevent people from doing that. >> one fertility doctor we spoke with in mississippi says he's been getting a lot of calls from patients who are very concerned if this passes. it's won support for both candidates for governor, the democratic governor says he has concerned about ramifications for birth control and ivf. >> thank you. let's go back to jack. >> the question this hour is how much confidence do you have in the supercommittee to do anything meaningful about the national debt in the next four weeks? that's how much time they have left. warren writes -- and that was at the heart of president reagan's script. in short, the super committee is a super waste of time and nothing will come of it. gary in michigan writes -- kristen on facebook writes -- tom in pennsylvania writes -- bit in alabama writes -- em writes -- you want to read more about this, go to my blog, cnn.com/caffer cnn.com/caffertyfile or our post on our facebook page. bernie madoff's wife is revealing details of a suicide pact she made with her husband. what madoff's victims are saying. plus, stamping visas by day, spying by night. next hour, a closer look at iranian officials here in washington, d.c. a key republican member of congress is accusing them of spying. ♪ when the things that you need ♪ ♪ come at just the right speed, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ medicine that can't wait legal briefs there by eight, ♪ ♪ that's logistics. ♪ ♪ freight for you, box for me box that keeps you healthy, ♪ ♪ that's logistics. ♪ ♪ saving time, cutting stress, when you use ups ♪ ♪ that's logistics. ♪ [ technician ] are you busy? management just sent over these new technical manuals. they need you to translate them into portuguese. by tomorrow. [ male announcer ] ducati knows it's better for xerox to manage their global publications. so they can focus on building amazing bikes. with xerox, you're ready for real business. i tell you what i can spend. i do my best to make it work. i'm back on the road safely. and i saved you money on brakes. that's personal pricing. shocking revelations involving suicide and bernie madoff in prison for running the largest ponzi scheme in history. susan candiotti spoke with some of his victims. what are they saying? >> it should come as a surprise to no one that victims are fuming over the latest round of interviews. they feel the public's being conned every time one of the madoffs speaks. >> i think anything that comes out of their mouth is self-serving and are lives. >> richard and cynthia freeman lost their life savings to madoff. so did her parents. when they heard ruth madoff talking about a failed suicide attempt in an interview -- >> i don't know whose idea it was, but we decided to kill ourselves because it was so horrendous, what was happening. we had terrible phone calls, hate mail. just beyond anything. and i said i can't, i just can't go on anymore. >> do you believe it? >> i don't believe it. if it's a madoff, you cannot trust anything they say. >> assuming she's telling the truth about taking pills, do you feel badly about that is this. >> i just cant assume it. ruth has been quoted in the past as saying he's very concerned about the victims and feels awful and terribly. why open the wound three years later? >> he says he's happy in prison because he feels safe there. >> for 16 years, he has lived in fear that he was going to be found out. and now, he's not in control of his life and so, he is happier there than he was on the outside. >> i was very much against sending him to a maximum security prison, but he's really just snubbing his nose at the system, at us. >> and there's stephanie madoff, whose husband mark committed sigh side last year, depressed over his father's crime. >> if i saw bernie madoff right now, i would tell him that i hold him fully responsible for killing my husband and i'd spit in his face. >> so every time you hear an interview, every time you read an article, involving an interview, what goes through your mind? >> i get a visceral reaction. i really feel sick to my stomach. >> i wish we could get that kind of publicity so people understand who the victims are. >> if they were sincere, they'd p give the proceeds to the charities he's scammed. >> you're hearing people ask them a lot of questions. do you have any questions that remain in your mind that you'd like to ask him? >> if i knew that madoff woul tell the truth for a change, i would say why? how? and who helped you? >> there are many questions, they feel, may never be fully answered. prosecutors have not charged madoff's children nor his wife. she's living in a borrowed home in south florida and the more interviews come up, wolf, these family members, victims, say they bring themselves to watch it, they have to to see what they have to say, but it makes them sick. >> they have every right to hate these people. thanks very much for that. you're in "the situation room." happening now, fears that iran's leaders have planted spies here in washington, d.c. could be endangering americans at this moment. we're digging deeper on a u.s. congressman's call to expel iranian officials from this country. plus, new evidence that democrats are targeting a top contender to be the republican vice presidential nominee. can senator marco rubio move beyond his misstatements about his family's exodus from cuba? and hillary clinton outperforms the president. a new poll may have some democrats wishing she was going to be the party's 2012 nominee. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." the obama administration is pushing back against the republican congressman's call to expel iranian officials here in the united states. the homeland security chairman peter king laid out his dramatic proposal on capitol hill and right here in "the situation room" yesterday. he says the state department is dead wrong. his words, dead wrong, in saying the united states can't boot iranian from their mission at the united nations. we're taking a closer look at the so-called spies here in the united states. we asked brian todd to take a closer look. >> congressman king says he expects to be joined in his call by most republicans on the homeland security committee. the congressman is now applying intense pressure to iranian working on behalf of their government on u.s. soil. strong fallout from the plot to assassinate saudi arabia's ambassador to the u.s. he says iran has spies in america. specifically, he says, people who work at iran's mission to the u.n. and iran's interest section in washington. >> to me, should get rid of either all of them or most of them an send a clear signal. >> king says they could all be expelled on suspicious of spying. he says those iranian he suspects, but their identities are classified. he says some of those people are tied to iranian intelligence and that people in those offices have in the past been identified as members of the quds force, the shadowy iranian military movement. eric o'neil is a former fbi investigator who took down russian spy, eric hanson. i asked o'neill about the allegation that the plotters wanted to bomb the ambassador at a restaurant. could someone maybe in d.c. give the information to iranian that the ambassador wanted to go to a serp restaurant? >> it's possible. that is the sort of action abl intelligence that a spy, that is gold to a spy. >> o'neill says by day, the employees maybe processing visas, but in their spare time, they could be recruiting sources. we called an e-mail, then went over there. this was the iranian intersection here in washington. it works through the pakistani embassy, but they say they don't control what happens here. they just pass messages to and from both governments to each other. we're going to go in and see if anybody wants to talk to us. i'm met at the door. yes, hi, i'm brian todd from cnn. i'm recording this because we're rolling on this. i wanted to see if mr. -- they're not available? >> no. >> can they come outside and speak to me? >> i said they're not available. >> when i called back, i'm told all that's done there is consular work. but iranian officials have vehemently denied any role in trying to assassinate the saudi ambassador. president ahminedjad told cnn recently that his country never had any intent to hurt saudi arabia and even if they did, would never do it in the united states. >> how many iranian are each of these locations to the u.n. and interests section here in washington, d.c.? >> congressman king says there are 39 diplomats -- he says the u.s. can kick out even the diplomats at the u.n. because the bush administration did it a few years back when they caught people at the u.n. surveilling the new york subway system and tunnels there. he believe that is the united states has the authority to kick them out. >> the state department disagrees. they say they are a host country responsibleties that would prevent the u.s. from kicking out diplomats. but as you point out, the iranian who work at this intersection in washington, they're not diplomats because the u.s. does not have formal diplomatic relations, but they are iranian citizens who work for the iranian interest section. the u.s. is represented in tehran, but no americans work there for good reason. back in 1979, we remember what happened to those held hostage for 444 days. now to another dangerous adversary. kim jong-il. u.s. officials are making it clear that the strong man his country's nuclear ogram will be a threat for some time to come. let's bring in barbara starr. the defense secretary, leon panetta, he's in south korea. spoke about this threat from the north. what happened? >> panetta has been traveling through asia for the last several days reassuring allies in that region of the world that the u.s. military is there to stay and north korea is a major reason why. u.s. officials say north korea is slowing down its succession plan to hand over control of the country. kim jong-il designated his son to succeed him, but u.s. officials say kim jong-il appears to be in better health and traveling more. a big change from 2009 when he was thought to have cancer. no clear indication now when he may hand over power. but there has been a change. an additional provocation beyond its quest for nuclear weapons. senior pentagon officials say north korea is engaging in increased cyber attack efforts against south korean and u.s. forces routed through computer addresses in china, making it tough to track down and deal with it. on his first trip to south korea as defense secretary, leon panetta made clear his eyes are sharply focused on the north. >> we take steps that you know, that threaten not only the security of korea, but the security of the united states. >> panetta wants china to step up and exert its massive regional influence. u.s. officials say north korea is up to its usual diplomatic dance in recent talks on nuclear programs. only talking about its nuclear program to gain concessions from the west on food shipments and other aid cht the secretary strongly doubts north korea's nuclear intentions. >> the word skepticism would be in order as to what may or may not happen in those discussions. >> underscored by the top u.s. military commander on the peninsula. >> they show a willingness to continue to develop and test capabilities that can be associated with their nuclear program. and this is something that we got to remain vigilant on on a daily basis. >> very quiet, very serious words there, wolf. just how unpredictable is north korea? panetta says he's been told there are still several hundred north koreans inside libya. north korea will not let them come home because it fears those north koreans may bring back word of the arab spring, wolf? >> jack cafferty has the "cafferty file." >> lovely place, north korea. the u.s. government has killed three american citizens with drone strikes in yemen in the last month. they include the al-qaeda leader, awe locky and his 16-year-old son. the teenager, 16, born in colorado, he was killed in a drone strike that targeted and killed a prominent militant along with several others. it's unclear if the 16-year-old youngster was a militant himself. but whether he was or not, the silence coming from the u.s. government regarding his death is deafening. u.s. officials will only say they didn't know the teen was an al-qaeda member and otherwise, they have not commented at all on the drone strike. no one is taking responsibility for a 16-year-old kid's death. the the u.s. drone campaign is becoming increasingly continue verse sal. it's a part of the national security policy of this country. the secretive air strikes have killed hundreds of foreigners in countries, but this case is different. it includes an american teenager killed by the united states in a country that we're not even at war with. the obama administration has justified attacks against al-qaeda members anywhere in the world. in the case of anwar al awlaki, they say this was a legal strike. the aclu has asked for classified documents justifying the killing of the senior, some including ron paul have even suggested that targeting and killing american citizens overseas could be an impeachable offense for president obama. here's the question. how can the obama administration justify killing u.s. citizens overseas without due process? post a comment on my blog or go to our post on "the situation room's" facebook page. a new warning from the inspector overseeing the financial bailout program here in the united states. dozens of smaller banks that got help may still go bust. plus, marco rubio responding once again to claims that he embellished on his family's story of escaping cuba. some democrats don't want this controversy to go way wa. and new light for a major lout against walmart. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." ♪ changing of my mind ♪ it's just how we're gonna do it ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] turn your world upside down with gillette fusion proglide because you can shave against the grain with comfort. fusion proglide's microcomb guides hair for its thinner blades to cut close effortlessly. get against-the-grain closeness comfortably with gillette fusion proglide. it's true. you never forget your first subaru. we're seeing more movement today in the scramble by the super committee to try to reach a deal to try to cut the u.s. deficit. less than a month, is it posturing, what's going on? let's check in with kate bolduan. what are you seeing? what are you hearing? >> after months of closed door meetings without any sign of progress, members of both parties have come out offering dualing proposals to slash the federal deficit. might not surprise you, they are still far apart. a day after democrats and republicans on the so-called super committee unveiled come l peting plans to cut the federal deficit, both sides dismissing the other's offer, house speaker john boehner made a public appeal the committee must succeed. >> i think it's important for the super committee to meet its goal. it was put together in a bipartisan way. i want to pat the members on the back. they really all have worked very hard, but now, we're into the real tough time and it's going to take a lot more work. >> boehner argued any deal must focus on cutting spending to entitlement programs. he also rejected the democratic plan calling more than a trillion dollars in tax increases an unreasonable number. though boehner appeared to not rule out the idea of including some form of revenue in a deal. >> i'm committed to getting to an outcome. >> democrats have proposed about a $3 trillion deal over ten years that includes cuts to entitlements and up to 1.3 trillion in new taxes. sources tell cnn republicans countered with a $2.2 trillion offer, including deeper cuts and no tax increases. house democratic leader nancy pelosi described the gop package as not enough and not the right balance. >> it's not fair to say to a senior, you're going to pay more for social security and we're not going to touch a hair on the head of the wealthiest people in our country. >> now, while the committee does appear to be deadlocked over the issue of taxes with key aides on both sides hashly criticizing the other's proposal, calling it not serious and even a joke, wolf, some aides close to the negotiation say all hope has not been lost. both sides of this committee do continue to meet and both sides are continuing to stress how serious the deadline really is. >> coming up really soon and a lot is at stake. thanks for that. you can read more about the super committee on my blog. go to cnn.com/situationroom. t.a.r.p. that's the troubled asset relief program which poured money into banks at the height of the fm crisis here in the united states and it turns out that fraud and mismanagement in the program have caused taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. lisa sylvester is here to explain the problems with t.a.r.p. are not necessarily over. >> that's right, wolf. the t.a.r.p. program was signed into law in 2008 under president bush. three years later, hundreds of banks are still relying on government assistance. the special inspector general overseeing the bailout program known as t.a.r.p. warns 400 small to medium sized banks are stuck in the program with no clear exit plan in place. the report states quote, community banks do not have the same access to capital as the larger banks. they are many exposed to distressed commercial real estate access and nonperforming loan loans. >> you are looking at somewhere around 200 banks that are unlikely to ever find their way out of t.a.r.p. and when those banks finally go bust and fail, that cost is going to come back to the taxpayer. >> of the 707 banks that received t.a.r.p. money from the treasury department, 14 of them have already gone under including united commercial bank. ucb is now the target of a fraud investigation. criminal charges have been filed against two of its senior executives. that banks received more than a quarter of a billion dollars in taxpayer money. money that is now gone and unlikely to be recovered. the treasury department notes that the banking portion of the program has made $13 billion so far from dividends, interests and repayments from the banks -- but the entire t.a.r.p. program including bailouts to aig and the auto industry is expected to ultimately cost taxpayers about $50 billion. patrick mchenry says the administration needs to do more to protect the taxpayer. >> we've told institutions in essence that they are too big to fail. that the government will prop them up even when they make bad decisions. i think that is a major mistake and the moral hazard is a lasting hangover of the t.a.r.p. program. beyond just the dollars and cents that is clearly costing the taxpayers. >> the report also highlights one group that has done very well under t.a.r.p. that is the lawyers. $8 million in what it calls questionable legal fees, either unsupported expenses, vague or administrative fees that were paid out and not allowed. >> this just put it into context. what, about $800 billion the t.a.r.p. money was laid out? >> what was approved was $700 billion. what went out the door was about $450 billion. the majority of that, they have received back, but billion rs still out there and there's a loft concern that some of these banks might -- >> so the 450 laid out, they educati expect to lose about 50 billion of that. >> $50 billion is going to be the overall program. that includes the banks, aig, the bailout of the auto industry. when it's all said and done, about $50 billion. >> and fannie mae and freddie mac, billions that were sent to them, that's not part of this. >> that's not even included. there was a lot of money during that crisis that went out the door and how much of it is going to be recovered, we'll find out. >> we still haven't recovered 400 billion. maybe 700, i think the entire program, so everything is relative. thanks. the president of the united states spoke out just a little while ago about the deal in europe to ease some of the financial crisis. it was warmly received on wall street today. listen to what the president said at a photo opportunity with the czech prime minister. >> we've seen that the message that they were going to deal with this in a serious way has calmed markets all around the world. it will help lay the predicate for long-term economic growth not only in europe, but around the world. the key now is to make sure it is implemented fully and decisively and i have great confidence in the european leadership to make that happen. >> dow jones industrials went up more than 300 points on basis, at least in part of that news. also, positive economic growth last quarter in the united states. marco rubio supporters had their eye on 2012. now the year that matters to the florida senator is 1956. that's when his parents left cuba. and the occupy wall street have been largely peaceful. that was before oakland. will there be a backlash to the wounding of a united states military veteran by local police? gary... he hung up. ...why do we have so many a's in our name? so we're listed first in the phone book. ya know, gives us an edge. you know fedex can, give us an edge. how? well, fedex ships auto parts from factories around the world, they clear em through customs, and that'll help us fix cars faster. great idea. you know you got a bright future here at aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa... [ male announcer ] supply chain solutions. fedex. solutions that matter. ♪ [ multiple snds ng melodic tune ] ♪ [ malennounc ] at northrop grumman, makthworld a feplace. th's value performance. northr gruan. there's a new crown prince in saudi arabia. to succeed prince sultan who died over the past few days. he is the interior minister of saudi arabia. i think he's 77 or 78 years old. pretty well-known to u.s. officials, so we're getting more information about what's going on. by the way, the vice president of the united states is in saudi arabia right now. he's paying a condolence visit to the saudi kingdom on behalf of the president of the united states. vice president biden showing up with a senior delegation, top officials including general petraeus, the head of the u.s. military's defense command, william cohen is part of biden's delegation. john mccain, you see him there representing the united states. he was invited to come along. top u.s. officials paying their respects to saudi arabia in the aftermath of the death of the crown prince sultan who died over a weekend and now, there's a new county prince. he said some pretty controversial things over the years. tomorrow, we're going to have a full report on what this means in terms of u.s., saudi relations. that will be coming up tomorrow. other news we're following including political news here in the united states. there's a debate going on within the republican party right now about whether senator marco rubio would be a terrific vice presidential choice next year or would he be not such a terrific choice? the florida senator is trying to move beyond claims of his family from cuba. democrats are working hard to keep the controversy alive. what's the latest in this saga? >> the knives are out for marco rubio. it is using the story in the hopes of knocking him out of contention for the republican ticket in 2012. during a series of events in florida, rubio admitted what was widely known. that he botched the details of his own family story. his parents did not come to the u.s. after castro seized control in 1959 as his web bio once stated. they came in 1956. as his corrected site states now. >> do i wish i would have known those earlier? >> a democratic political action committee called american bridge 21st sempblry says the dates do matter suggesting rubio is not really a cuban exile. he referred to his family as exiles in this interview last year. the senator insists his parents are exiles because they couldn't go home. >> and they spent the rest of their lives, my mom is still alive, separated pr the nation of their birth. >> but american bridge president acknowledged in an interview with cnn, his group wants to do more than just set the record straight. does it have anything to do with the fact he's being talked about as a potential candidate in 2012? >> i think it does. i'm not making any bones about that. >> you trying to knock him out of contention for 2012? >> i think what we're finding here -- >> answer the question. >> i'm trying to allow the american people to know a little bit more about marco rubio. >> why don't you just answer the question. he finally did. >> we think marco rubio is someone being talked about, more by the immediamedia, to be a vi president. yes, it was. >> we have one junior who made it to the white house. do we have another -- >> rubio has ruled out being on the ticket in 2012, but that hasn't stopped the chatter. top republicans believe a vice presidential nominee could take florida away from president obama, who won the state by 200,000 votes in 2008. american bridge has plenty of money to go after rubio, raising hurrica hundreds of thousands of dollars from unions and big california donors. like j.j. abrams. but these phasers aren't on stun according to cuban american congresswoman. >> marco rubio is a conservative hispanic and as such, many liberal groups and many entities want to destroy his reputation. >> and now rubio is figing fire with fire. today, his own political action committee put out a plea for donations and accused liberals of quote coordinating attacks on rubio. >> he is very popular in florida and could help romney or anybody who gets the republican nomination. how is this playing in the cuban american community and i ask you as a son of a cuban immigrant, who came to this country i i sum because of castro. >> when the story first came out, there were concerns he was embellishinging his history to engraciousuate himself with that community, which is a core constituency for the republican party. since then, those folks have really rallied around rubio. you heard those comments. she even made a quip about it today on capitol hill. >> these democrats are going after him like they're going after mitt romney. they think that could potentially be a ticket and they're worried about that. >> they very much are and for good reason because marco rubio is a threat to florida for the president. >> good report. thanks very much. in the presidential race, rick perry's campaign is suggesting he may skip some upcoming gop debates after a number of widely panned performances. listen to what he said during a resent debate. >> a president particularly with the plan that i'm going to be laying out over the next three days and i'm not going to lay it out all tonight. mitt's had six years to be working on a plan. i've been in this for about eight weeks. >> let's bring in gloria borger. has a terrific column on this suggest. what struck you about this comment from rick perry? >> i think there's a problem with it because i recall and i'm sure you do, too, the days not too long ago when ideas were actually what spurred people to get into presidential campaign. they had a belief system, a set of ideas and said this is good for the country. i'm going to run on those ideas. reagan of course was one of those people that had beliefs. another person was bill clinton who had a core set of beliefs. he was the original new democrat, sort of the middle ground democrat. they decided their value system and their beliefs would be good for the country and then they decided to run. in this race, it seems to be perversely backwards because rick perry shouldn't have needed six weeks. he should have had those ideas. >> if you're going to run, you should have a whole plan in place. everything should be ready to go. >> so, what's wrong with romney taking six years to come up with his 59 point plan for the economy? not material thing. >> or newt gingrich. so why is all of this happening? >> i think what you have is a really new constituency, the tea party. they're auditioning candidates who they believe will fit their belief system. in t i call them the theatrical directors. they auditioned michelle be bachmann, never got to broadway. rick perry plugs his lines too much and herman cain is of course very entertaining, so they're trying to look for an alternative to romney, who they know from last time around is too establishment. they're looking for the perfect candidate. they're just not finding it. >> thanks, gloria. we're learning more about an iraq war veteran hurt during clashes between occupy wall street protesters and police in california. stand by. we've got new details. an american student free in a new prisoner swap in the middle east. i'm not a number. i'm not a line item on a budget. and i'm definitely not a pushover. but i am a voter. so washington... before you even think about cutting my medicare and social security benefits... here's a number you should remember. 50 million. we are 50 million seniors who earned our benefits... and you will be hearing from us... today and on election day. ♪ another round of clashes between police and occupy wall street protesters. demonstrates in new york marched for a veteran out in california. former u.s. marine scott olson is in intensive care in the hospital. amber, so, what is the latest? >> reporter: well, wolf, we're out here in front of occupy u san francisco. this is just across the bay from where everything happened to this former marine and this camp and camps all over marched last night in solitary di for this marine. they say they have good news. his condition has been upgraded from critical to fair after he's received a fractured skull when hit by some type of police projectile. we got incredible video of what happened. i want you to take a look. >> oh -- >> what happened? what happened? >> shot! >> you just hear those protesters absolutely in shock. you also hear all the banging going on outside. some people we spoke with were there at the moment, said it seemed as if it were a war zone in downtown oakland as police were firing tear gas and rubber bullets. now, we talked with oakland pd. they say they're currently conducting an investigation as to what hit scott olson. they say they are not willing to comment until they have concluded that investigation. we spoke with his mother, who said her son served two tours in iraq without injury. we also spoke with his roommate who served with him overseas. >> when he came in, he was conscious, but they said he knew what he wanted to say, but wasn't able to say it. had to say yes or no answers, so just worried might be something permanent damaged or not. >> and a big complaint among protesters, they said oakland pd was firing rubber bullets and tear gas and that's why they believe he was hit in the head. we spoke with one young man who said when he saw scott lying on the ground, he ran over to try to help him, then he was shot. oh, my gosh. what happened? >> i was trying, i came, this guy, when he tried to help him, they threw another caster, hit in the head again. they went out. they shot me. >> i think there was some question as to whether the police force would kind of break up the movement, but as we've seen from all the protests yesterday and continuing today, it's really gal vonized this in support of scott olson, wolf. >> we're going to stay in close touch with you. pretty shocking as his mom says, he serves two tours of duty in iraq. comes home just fine and now this happens to him in oakland, california. thank you. a little game of what if in a new poll. how hillary clinton would fair if she ran against republican presidential candidates instead of the incumbent president, barack obama. 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? lisa sylvester is monitoring other top stories include ago lawsuit targeting walmart. >> a massive lawsuit against the giant that died at the supreme court is being revived. lawyers filed originally on behalf of 1.5 million women saying they were denied pay raises because of their gender. the court decided the women couldn't be lumped together. the new lawsuit includes 45,000 women in california. an american student accused of being an israeli spy is now free. he was released to israel today. egypt traded his freedom for 25 prisoners held in israel. he was accused of inciting violence during the arab string protest. and an army wife in florida got the dinner of her dreams in florida. she knew her husband was returning from afghanistan. she just wasn't sure when. as she waited for a worker to bring her meal, instead, it was her husband who appeared. appare apparently, this was a family who used to have family time at the chick-fil-a. i love those stories. >> a lot of them are going to be coming home from iraq over the next few weeks. thanks very much for that. hillary clinton talks about her style of american diplomacy, style that she calls smart power in the new issue of "time" magazine. joining us now is rick stengel, the manager of "time." thanks very much for coming in. what was your impression? you spent a lot of quality time with her on the road. what is from her perspective, the number one global issue of concern right now for the united states? >> you know, that's hard to say. she was -- i was with her in libya, i was with her in pakistan, in afghanistan. in a way, that's a troy kai of the things she's concerned about right now. the relationship of pakistan and afghanistan makes that the most dangerous region in the world by far, so she's acting as a kind of referee between the folks in afghanistan and pakistan and libya as well. >> we got some pictures in the new issue. also on your website. some still photos. there you see her with hamid karzai. what a disappointment he has been. did she convey that to you? >> it's funny, wolf. when she was in afghanistan, she was talking about pakistan and when she was in pakistan, she was talking about afghanistan. they were very cordial when they were doing that press conference together. she was then more concerned about safe havens and kind of reprimanding the pakistani government. she didn't express displeasure or disappointment with karzai. >> she really is a celebrity. i traveled with her a few months ago to paris, where ever she goes, she's a global superstar. >> yes. we went to a hospital in tripoli and she was visiting a patient who had lost his leg in the battle l there and while she was talking to the doctor, the patient in the bed was taking pictures of secretary clinton. she isn't just the secretary of state. she combines something we haven't really seen in the secretary of state before. a politician and diplomat and she's always wearing both hats and has blended the two to make her a global superstar r. >> you've got a new poll in "time" magazine, a hypothetical one. president obama, 46%. mitt romney, 43%. but if hillary clinton were the democratic nominee, she gets 55% to romney's 38%. you and i know this is not going to happen, but how popular is she in this new poll? >> well, she's very, very popular and we talked a little bit about this. in fact, her husband, bill clinton, has talked about it. when you're in the in the direct line of fire, your popularity can go up. she is seen as making achievements where as obama is seen as having losses, so in a way, her popularity is a little bit artificial and she acknowledges that. i think it's great for american diplomacy, but it's not the kind of popularity that necessarily translates into the ballot box. >> great new cover. thanks very much. >> thank you, wolf. jack cafferty is asking how can the obama administration justify killing u.s. citizens overseas without due process? stay with us. [ woman ] welcome to learning spanish in the car. you've got to be kidding me. yeah, this is good. vamanos. vamanos. vamanos. gracias. gracias. gracias. ♪ trece horas en el carro sin parar y no traes musica. mira entra y comprame unas papitas. [ male announcer ] get up to 795 miles per tank in the all-new volkswagen passat tdi clean diesel. even if you think you can live with your old mattress... ask me how i've never slept better... why not talk to one of the 6 million people who've switched to the most highly recommended bed in america. it's not a sealy, a simmons, or a serta... ask me about my tempur-pedic. ask me how i can finally sleep all night. ask me how great my back feels every morning. did you know there's a tempur-pedic for every body? tempur-pedic beds now come insoft...firm...and everything in-between... ask me how i don't wake up anymore when he comes to bed... these are real tempur-pedic owners...ask someone you know...check out twitter, or your friends on facebook... you'll hear it all...unedited! ask me how i wish i had done this sooner. ask me how this is the best investment i've ever made. tempur-pedic brand owners are more satisfied. than owners of any traditional mattress brand... to learn more, or find an authorized retailer near you visit tempur-pedic.com. tempur-pedic the most highly recommended bed in america. let's get to jack for the cafferty report. >> the question is how can the obama administration justify killing u.s. citizens overseas without due process including a 16-year-old boy who was killed in the drone strike? james writes, sorry. nobody goes to yemen right now to enjoy the scenery. if he was riding with a well known militant chances are he knew who he was with. it is truly regrettable a 16-year-old killed. 16-year-olds tend to be in the moment and not really thinking about all the possible implications. however, in this case you would think that if his father had been recently killed in a drone strike the son would be more cautious about riding around with another obvious target. i'm sorry for the family's loss. listen to you good questions. a 16-year-old child deserved to die because his father was suspected of being a traitor and he was with him? i'm a liberal, and i say try obama for war crimes right now. drone attacks outside the theater of war are illegal, period. executing suspects without trials, without even indicting them is illegal, period. killing noncombatants is also illegal. andrew in minnesota says, collateral damage. putd yourself in that situation, bad things are likely to happen. the lesson? stay out of hostile environments. you'll probably be okay. perfectly justified in my opinion and we should do nothing. tony in north carolina. king obama can do as he pleases. he doesn't need congress, the constitution, the bill of rights, or the american people to give him permission. as he told the republicans, i won the election. the arrogance of this man is only superseded by his love of himself. george on facebook writes two words. cost savings. no dragged out trial and years of appeals. sue in vienna, virginia writes the fact we've been asked this question is appalling and makes me believe you've lost your mind. you're talking about americans who turned against their own country and al qaeda members who belong to a terrorist group that decided it might be fun to go out and kill a few thousand americans. you used to be one of my favorite people on cnn. now i think you ought to think about retiring. you have totally lost your edge. if you want to read more about this go to my blog, cnn.com/cafferty file or through our post on the situation room's facebook page. wolf? >> i disagree. you haven't lost your edge. you've still got the edge, jack, and will have it for many years to come. >> well, i hope you're right. >> thank you. highway patrol officers have seen just about everything but one officer was stunned when he stopped one woman. stand by. you'll want to see this. jeanne moos is next. endless shrimp is our most popular promotion at red lobster. there's so many choices. the guests love it. [ male announcer ] it's endless shrimp today at red lobster. as much as you like any way you like, like new sweet and spicy shrimp, all for $15.99. my name is angela trapp, and i sea food differently. 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. ♪ i tell you what i can spend. i do my best to make it work. i'm back on the road safely. and i saved you money on brakes. that's personal pricing. police dash board cameras capture eye popping video all the time but rarely like this. cnn's jeanne moos has more. >> reporter: please step out of the car, miss. oops, this miss was missing most of her clothes. >> clocked the vehicle going 110 miles an hour. >> reporter: 28-year-old erin holesworth from hirm, ohio may have been half naked but was allegedly going full speed as fast as 128 before stop sticks thrown on the road disabled her tires. >> step out of the vehicle! >> reporter: oh, she stepped out all right. stepped out wearing a white thong and some sort of see through fish nettie thing. she also sports lots of tatoos, which we noticed when she literally kicked up a ruckus in the back seat of the cruiser. dash cam video of near naked drivers is pretty rare. we did find a naked motorcycle rider pulled over for drunken driving in florida. >> asked what happened to his clothing and he said he lost it. >> reporter: we wanted to ask erin what happened to her clothing but when we got someone we think was her on the phone she told us to call her lawyer. we haven't heard back from her. the seven-mile high speed chase with a half naked driver even landed her on automotive blogs. the bad news for hoelzworth is she has been charged with driving while impaired, speeding, reckless driving, etcetera. the only good news is that admirers seem submiten with the racy speed demon. was she charged with theft as well? because she's stolen my heart. were you convicted? because you got fine written all over you. >> in 26 years working as a police officer this is the first time i ever recall a subject in such a state of undress. >> reporter: early reports indicated she was wearing high heels but that was a product of wishful thinking because those are clearly sneakers. she didn't get charged with