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state until the final push. what the heck is a caucus any way? and are you looking for a job? one employer says you better not smoke. we ll show you how they are testing job applicants for nicotine. happy new year to you. if you re celebrating new zealand style. that s because it s midnight there. let s look at auckland. there it is. they are among the first to ring in the new year. they do it in amazing style. we will spend the next couple hours showing you the new year s celebrations from around the world as the clock strikes midnight in various parts of the world. there s a new year and perhaps changes for the better. iran says it has no plans to close the strait of hormuz. the country had said they would block the strait if sanctions on iran were enforced. reports said they fired a long-range missile during the training, but now a senior commander says they didn t, but will in the next few days. after complaints by defense secretary leon panetta, egypt says it ....
rhetoric certainly is getting sharper. and there are seven major candidates now but after seven more days, will some of those candidates start falling by the wayside on the campaign trail? that s coming up in our strategy session this hour. i m wolf blitzer. you re in the situation room. we re here in dubuque. a bit chilly but no snow. it s getting ready, a week from today, the iowa caucuses. you re looking at live pictures from dubuque. this will be the first state to have an impact on the 2012 presidential campaign, and it s all happening here in iowa. the republican caucuses candidate are out on the campaign trail today. they re scrambling to cover as much ground as they possibly can. newt gingrich slipping a bit, but still among the leaders. he s ready to roll across the state by bus. he ll join me live here in dubuque later this hour for an in-depth interview, but let s begin with cnn s jim acosta, he s in des moines, the state capital. iowa certainly very much ....
extension that was passed by the senate. today neither side shows any signs of giving in. i told the president there s one big reason why we need to do a full year, and that s jobs. a one-year bill like the president requested and like the house produced is simply better for jobs and better for our economy. let s enact this bipartisan compromise, however, to eliminate uncertainty for american families and then get right to work on a one-year version. not wait until february. not walk away and hold off until the last minute. got more encouraging news about the job market. the number of people filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level since april of 2008. labor department says initial claims dropped to 364,000. that is down 4,000 from a week before. many economists say a level below 400,000 means enough job growth to lower the unemployment rate. a wave of explosions rocks baghdad. car bombs, six roadside bombs, and a mor ....
the payroll tax cut. it s set to expire at the end of this year. president obama called john boehner today and the white house has even put a counterdown clock on the home page of its website. it says if the house does not act, taxes on the middle class will increase starting the first of the year. let s go to the white house. our chief white house correspondent, jessica yellin, is standing by with the latest on this dramatic political showdown. what is the latest? the latest is that the white house believes there is only one way for the nation to avoid an increase in the payroll tax cut and that is for speaker john boehner to bring that senate pass two month extension to a vote. just this morning, speaker boehner said that s not going to happen. we re here, we re ready to work. we re looking for our counterparts to sit down with us so we can do what the president and leaders want and that s to extend the payroll tax cut for one year. now, midday today, the presid ....