good morning, know, welcome to "weekends with alex witt." it's 9:00 on the east soes, 6 a.m. out west. developing now, a crucial day on capitol hill with the senate in session at this hour. senate leaders agreed on a compromise measure last night, ebs tending a payroll tax cut and jobless benefits for at least two more months. here's what the senate will vote on today. that two-month extension of social security payroll, language on the keystone pipeline. nbc's luke russert is busy on capitol hill with a good saturday morning to you, luke. >> reporter: good morning, alex. how are you? >> i'm great. i hope you are, too. i guess, are these billings all great? are they going to pass or are there still sticking points? >> reporter: no, these are very much bipartisan bills that will pass the senate later today. the voting's about to start now. it will go until about 10:30 or 11 a.m. senators really do want to get out of washington, d.c. and start on their holiday break. but there was some contentious negotiations all week, talk about extending payroll tax cut for a year from now. eventually democrats had to settle on two months because both sides cannot figure out exactly how exactly to pay for this. the way this two-month extension will be paid for is fees freddie mac and fannie mae xharnlg will go up, transaction fees will go higher and passed along to mortgage lenders. that's something both sides could agree to. also the reason why this is going to attract republican support is because of the keystone pipeline you mentioned. take a look to what orrin hatch, senator from utah, said about keystone. >> these people are nuts who think we shouldn't put that pipeline in. my gosh, plus 20,000 jobs? are you kidding? high paying jobs? teamster union, other unions want it. and because the president wants to please the radical environmentalists, they're going to stop 20,000 jobs? i mean, they've got to be crazy. >> reporter: and i spoke to a democratic aide yesterday who said there were some concerns within the party of the environmental impact of keystone but eventually the idea is, look, we cannot hold up a tax cut for the middle class, unemployment benefits about an issue divided within our own party, we might as well go forward on it. look, it basically says the president has to make a decision within the next 60 days. doesn't mandate the pipeline is constructed at all. a little bipartisanship last night, will go through senate today. keep in mind, though, it still has to go through house of representatives. we've seen all year getting anything through the house gop is not the easiest thing in the world. even though this has bipartisan support in the senate, it could still face a little bit of an uncertain future in the house. speaker boehner, we've been told, through aides, has said anything that comes out of the senate must be approved by the house in the sense they want to approve it in the house gop conference. they to want get a look at it and scrub it. we'll get official cost numbers from the congressional budget office. we're moving in the right direction here. if you're for the payroll tax cut or unemployment benefits, for keystone, but not completely done until probably tuesday of next week, i'd say. >> let's not seal it quite yet. luke, we'll talk to you again. thank you. >> reporter: absolutely. congratulations on getting your show named, alex. that's awesome. >> that's great. >> reporter: a belated congrats. >> i'll work on the luke russert show as your agent. >> reporter: give me a few years. mitt romney and the governor of south carolina downplaying mitt romney's face. nicky haley appeared with romney in greenville after announcing her endorsement of the gop presidential candidate when the conversation turned to romney's mormon religion. >> when it comes to mormon faith,ly tell you whatever the person's faith, my constituents, that's not an issue of my constituents. what the people of south carolina care about is values and family and faith and what you do and result. >> great majority of people in this country choose people base their leadership capacity and vision for country. >> iowa with just over two weeks until the caucuses, iowan are seeing a lot of negative mail in their mailboxes targeting newt gingrich. rick perry is taking aim at ron paul. while meeting with voters in storm lake, what washgs he said paul's isolationist policy make his nervous, specifically with iran. >> dr. paul talked about that he basically doesn't think that these mullahs in iran are anything to worry about. that iran somehow or another, if they get their hands on a nuclear bomb, that, you know, that's kind of their business over there. well, that -- that greatly disturbs me. >> during a town hall meeting michele bachmann's husband outlined a socially conservative again he would use as first man. >> romney will host town halls in south carolina and jon huntsman is holding town halls in new hampshire. joining me is malika henderson, reporter for "the washington post." good morning. >> good morning. >> the forces for the obama administration now, it is to make a decision on that keystone xl pipeline. do you see democrats caving here again? >> in some ways, yes, in some ways no. i think orrin hatch said it best when he said, you know, there are unions that back this. we're talking about 20,000 job. the problem is with environmental groups who says this thing has not been tested and looked at closely, even the stated department saying this should be pushed off until 2013. of course, the president himself agreed with that. and said that he would reject any deal that came to his desk that included a keystone pipeline. now the white house is backing down, saying that senate and house leaders are moving in the right direction. i think in some ways obama backed himself into a corner a bit in, first of all, saying it was obviously important for these payroll tax cuts to go forward and not expire. and then saying that this keystone pipeline couldn't be attached to it. the republicans, of course, wanted this to happen. it looks like merry christmas, there's going to be some sort of bipartisan deal here. >> let's take a look at 2012 and the race for south carolina governor, nikki haley endorsing romney. what kind of weight does this carry? >> he began rolling out the endorsement of christine o'donnell, a tea party candidate that doesn't have much of a constituency. so nikki haley, big favorite among tea party, south carolina a crucial state, i'm from that state. i have a little bias, i have to say. going back decades, 30 years to ronald reagan it's always pick the winner, eventual nominee. it's an important to state. so not only have her support, her ground troops there, constituents in that organization that she obviously not up to power herself to the governor's mansion, she'll have that. he'll also have her voice on it out there talking about him, talking about his record, talking about his religion and really humanizing him to those voters in south carolina. i do think there's a cultural gap that mitt romney is going to face down there in south carolina. partly because he's a mormon. partly because he's a new englander. and i think in some ways newt gingrich, even though he does come with some personal baggage, at least he's got something of a southern background. he, of course, is the former georgia congressman. he'll find some affinity down there. but this i think lays good groundwork for mitt romney to do damage in south carolina. >> i'm glad to know you're a south carolina girl because now i'm noting you as expert. we've had more than a day to reflect on, analyze about the thursday gop debate. although this point do you think it looks worse for any one candidate over another? seemed everyone piled up on newt gingrich but did they get any punches that landed? >> you know, i think they did. particularly michele bachmann. listen, i think in some ways mitt romney owes michele bachmann a box of chocolates or something because she was doing his dirty work in that debate against newt gingrich, pigeon holing him and pinning him down on freddie/fannie. he got $1.6 million, she said he was trying push these banks into bankruptcy when he had his hand out. one thing that's so interesting, in your introduction you said candidates are spread out, south carolina, new hampshire, iowa, doing campaigning. newt gingrich, not doing anything today. he is holding a conference call at 11:00 to talk about his view of the judiciary. sometimes conference calls either are a way to smooth out something that went wrong. of course, he's on the side of saying that judges can be subpoenaed and courts can be abolished. we'll hear from him but he's not out on the stump, pressing the flesh and kissing baby in iowa, which is necessary to those in iowa who have come to expect it. secretary of defense leon panetta is in liberty, arriving in the capital tripoli. the first pentagon chief ever to visit libya. he'll meet with members of the transitional government that helped pople moammar gadhafi. yesterday u.s. lifted sanctions from libya and unblocked assets that were blocked. final act in iraq war is wining down as u.s. military is rushing to transfer last remaining troops and eight years' worth of war supplies back to the states. roughly 4,000 remaining military personnel, as well as millions of dollars in equipment and supplies, must be out of the country by now year's eve. a bit later this hour we'll speak with colonel jack jacobs about what that withdrawal means for the future, and the region and our military. >> the death of a florida a&m drum major has been officially ruled a homicide. medical examiner says he was beaten to death with a hazing ritual that left him with bruising to his chest, arms and internal bleeding which caused him to go into shock. university president says he may step down temporarily until police finish their investigation. moving to the weather this saturday morning, taking a live look now at new york city, it is clear and cool and beautiful outside. folks may be scrambling to the malls today because we're just a week from christmas. what's it going to be like outside where you are? nbc meteorologist bill karins has those details. >> around the country everyone is wondering where's the snow? where is winter? temperatures haven't even been that cold yet. now as we go into the heart of the winter season, sooner or later it has to arrive. so, where is it? let's take a look at the temperature. you notice this morning, there's some cold spots. denver, minneapolis, northern new england, definitely on the cold side. but we're not looking at the arctic cold, the really, really brutal temperatures. have you to go up into northern canada, north of winnipeg, north of montreal, up to the hudson bay to find the cold arctic air. even canada at this point hasn't experienced the harsh winter they're used to. this is a different map i've created. this shows you where the real true arctic air is over the next seven days. the purple color and then the white, that's the really, really cold polar air. the light blue, it's chilly but that's not the heart of winter. as we go through the next seven days out to next weekend and getting to the christmas weekend, you notice that the heart of the cold air, the purple, that still stays up in the hudson bay. the light blue stays over the northern plains which means it will be chilly but we're not looking at any big shot of cold air any time soon. all the cold air is locked up over siberia and around the north pole. as far as your forecast goes this weekend, saturday and sunday, both days are similar. just showers down there in texas. mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies over much of the country. alex, no snowstorms heading our way. there's really no huge shots of cold air either. it's great for getting holiday errands done but doesn't feel like christmas and the holiday season in a lot of places. sooner or later it will come. just not in time for a white christmas. >> i wanted a white christmas. thank you. former prison of war jessica lynch weighs in. negative on newt. iowa caucus goers getting loads of anti-gingrich mail. and in "office politics" doris kerns-goodwin talks about exclusive dinners with the president. i joined the navy when i was nineteen. i was a commissioned officer at twenty-three. i was an avionics... tactical telecommunications... squad leader. i think the hardest transition as you get further into the military is... you know it's going to end one day. chase hired me to be a personal banker. i'm a business analyst... manager. i'm very proud to work for chase. when you hire a veteran, you get... great leadership... decisiveness... focus. chase knows, when you hire a veteran, you're hiring america's best. chase is proud to help 100,000 veterans find jobs at home. ♪ it's nice to see you [ male announcer ] this is your moment. ♪ this is zales, the diamond store. take up to an extra 15 percent off storewide now through sunday. [ knock on door ] cool. you found it. wow. nice place. yeah. [ chuckles ] the family thinks i'm out shipping these. smooth move. you used priority mail flat rate boxes. if it fits, it ships for a low, flat rate. paid for postage online and arranged a free pickup. and i'm gonna track them online, too. nice. between those boxes and this place, i'm totally staying sane this year. do i smell snickerdoodles? maybe. [ timer dings ] got to go. priority mail flat rate shipping at usps.com. a simpler way to ship. within days all u.s. troops will be out of iraq more than eight years since the invasion. in the first weeks of the struggle private first class jessica lynch became a household name, wounded and captured in an ambush, later rescued by u.s. forces. photographed in images that came to symbolize americans' struggle with the war and a public's need for a hero. we're fortunate to be joined by her now. good morning to you, jessica. congratulations. you graduated from college last night. how do you feel? >> i am so excited. just to start a new life and a journey and see where life takes me. thank you. >> i'm sure you have wonderful things ahead. let's talk about what happened with you ten years ago when you joined the army. you did it to earn money for college and get your teaching degree. your thoughts today as we talk about u.s. troops being on their way out of iraq as we speak. what comes to mind? >> well, first of all, you know, we have to be so thankful that it's around the holidays that these families, these troops are getting to spend the holidays together. that's really the main thing. some of these troops have been away from their families for thanksgiving, christmas, every single holiday. that's the main thing we need to focus on right now is just that they're getting to come home to their family and friends. >> your rescue story, jessica, it was used to rally the public support for the war at the time. from your vantage point, where is that sment now? what are the sentiments you hear from people that you meet, such i'm sure a lot of people do recognize you. >> yeah, they do. i mean, i still get a lot of support. people always want to come up and shake your hand and thank you. you know, being a veteran, it's an honor. and i think people recognize that. and it's good because, you know, we still need that. we still have troops that still need a thank you. just, you know, thank you for serving. >> for all those returning troops, though, jessica, what do you think they can expect in the way they adjust to being home with this war finally over? >> yeah, it takes time. it definitely takes time to readjust. in my case it took a little extra, you know, just being injured and dealing with stuff physically and mentally. but, you know, all of these troops are going to -- going to have to readjust their life and re-evaluate the different lifestyles they're now coming back to. it is going to be hard. but, you know, family, friends, if they let them know they're there for them, then i think -- i think they'll do all right. >> and you mentioned your physical injuries. how are you doing physically? >> i'm doing okay. i mean, i deal with it the best i can. i still have no feeling in my left leg. i still have a little bit of a limp where my back and legs are broken. but, you know, i'm just so thankful that i'm able to be here, that i'm alive, that i am walking because, you know, so many were killed over there. you know, i don't focus too much on the bad as i am just so blessed to be home. >> and you're a mom now. >> yes. >> what are you going to say if your child wants to join the army one day? >> you know, i'm going to let her make her own decisions. i'm definitely not a military basher. i'll let her make her own decisions. she's only 4 right now so she's not ready to hear everything mommy went through. when she's ready, i think that i will definitely let her know what happened. you know, if that's a decision she wants to make, then i will be -- i'll be there and support her. >> well, clearly private first class, mom first class, teacher-to-be first class, jessica lynch. thank you so much. best of luck to you. >> thank you. michele bachmann is crisscrossing iowa on her bus tour but she's still steaming over newt gingrich, questioning her facts during thursday's debate. >> thought it was outrageous and insulting the way that he seemed to treat me like i was a student. and i'm not. i'm a serious candidate for the president of the united states. and i had my facts right. he has said this repeatedly. he's just not true. he's memory-challenged me. >> joining me is alison stewart, campaign manager for bachmann for president. thanks for being here. when congressman bachmann said during debate newt gingrich was attacking her facts and it was outrageous, was that a planned rebuttal? >> certainly not. the question was asked and she answered it. the fact remains that several times when congressman bachmann has shown the light on speaker gingrich's record he says she doesn't have her facts straight. well, the truth of the matter is, he's memory-challenged when it comes to many of the issues she has shown the light on, whether it's amnesty, whether it's individual mandate, whether it's the bailout, whether it's his position on the partial birth abortion. every single issue she has shown the light on, we have provided the documentation to support her facts and she is 100% factually correct on these key issues she's making sure people understand what his record is. for him to simply look at her and say she doesn't understand what she's talking about, first of all, it's insulting, condescending and he needs to answer up to the issues that she's highlighting in these debates and certainly out on the campaign trail. instead of saying whoever holds her feet to the fire is lying or doesn't have his facts straight is insulting and he needs to come clean on his record. >> some have suggested that this is an amounting of, i guess, sexism on gingrich's part. how does the campaign feel about that? >> as i said, it's insulting and condescending. i haven't seen him treat other candidates that way. a few debates ago when it came to the issue of amnesty, which is a key issue in this election, he gave his position on that and said he's prepared to take the heat for his position. and when michele highlighted his record, he turned around and said she didn't have her facts straight. we understand completely where he stands on immigration. he supports amnesty. he signed a letter supporting the bush amnesty plan. and all we did was produce the document. >> now, i'm -- >> it's insulting for him to not understand his own record. he's memory-challenged. he's used to being a professor and talking down to his stints but we're talking about the president of the united states. serious candidates in