sidekick data. sunday, "the next list," 2:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. that wraps things up for "sgmd" this morning. stay connected with me throughout the week on my life stream at cnn.com/sanjay, you can also join the conversation ongoing on twitter @sanjaygupta, cnn. good sunday morning to you all. from the cnn center in atlanta, georgia, this is your cnn sunday morning, i'm t.j. holmes. coming up, herman cain decides to bring that cain train to a halt. which candidate is going to reap the benefits now? also, yesterday you heard jerry sandusky talk about his "attraction" to young people. this morning we are getting reaction from the attorneys of two of his alleged victims. also this morning -- well, it looks like a christmas tree. right? the lights, a star, a few

ornament on it. if you live in rhode island, however, it is a holiday tree, taking christ out of christmas. the subject of this morning's "faces of faith." but we begin with the end for herman cain. here is part of his announcement, if you missed it yesterday. >> i am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distraction, the continued hurt caused on me and my family, not because we are not fighters, not because i'm not a fighter. >> all right. but he won't be fighting on as a presidential candidate. the campaign is suspended. doesn't mean he's not still going to have some kind of impact. our political reporter shannon

travis is here in studio with me. you've been following herman cain for quite some time. he can continue this fight. plan a was being president, plan b is starting a website. >> plan b is also still being a playmaker in republican presidential race. plan b is this website, the cain solutions, where he says he'll keep promoting the 9-9-9 plan, he's going to promote energy independence for the u.s. and you wants to be a little bit of a kingmaker. there's also the talk of endorsement, who's going to win herman cain supporters, of course. take a listen at what herman cain said about that. >> one other thing. i will be making an endorsement in the near future. i will be making an endorsement. and i can tell you right now, it will not be the current occupant of the white house. that will not be my endorsement.

>> now we probably already knew that he wasn't going to endorse president obama. but let's talk about who he might potentially endorse. i know that the bachmann campaign and the cain campaigns have spoken. the bachmann campaign tells me that some of herman cain's supporters have already reached out to them and said, hey, we're going to support michele bachmann now. but does that mean that herman cain will endorse her? we don't know. that's up to him. we also know that some other candidates have had some kind things to say about cain right after -- right after he dropped out. rick perry sent a message, newt gingrich sent a message, few other people. it is going to be like a sweepstakes. >> you said he wants to be a kingmaker now. but with his drop in support does he have enough support to make a kingmaker, can he make a difference with his supporters? >> he may have fewer supporters but they're loyal. the travels that i've been on for the past year, even in the past few weeks since these allegations have surfaced, people are saying, you know what? this is our guy. we don't care so much about those allegations.

some people don't even believe them. they feel like he is the guy, they feel like he has solid business experience and that he could have been the one. they will likely stay on cain train, as he likes to put it, and it will be hard fought for their support to switch from cain to someone else. >> all right. shannon travis, there it is, plan b, as he calls it, the cain solutions. dotcom. we'll see how he continues on. thanks so much. cain's decision comes less than a week after the georgia woman by the name of ginger white came forward saying she had a 13-year affair with the now-former presidential candidate. cain still says he didn't do anything wrong but here's what her attorney is saying now. and i quote, "mr. cain has repeatedly referred to miss white as a liar, as troubled, as being paid to speak out and in other disparaging terms. his website refers to miss white as a "loser" and the others who have courageously spoken out as vial liars, evil conspirators, socialist cohorts of obama,

scum, and pathetic and shameful women. we continue to encourage mr. cain to retract these statements and apologize." coming up, more on this post-cain political landscape. our good friends lena mccallister and ma rria cardona will be hear to break this all down who the big winner could be now that cain is out of the race. stick around for that. five minutes past the hour now. uncomfortable to watch. that is what an attorney for one of jerry sandusky's alleged victims is saying about the former penn state coach's lengthy interview with the "new york times." susan candiotti has more on the four-hour interview and what people are saying about it today. >> reporter: in an interview videotaped by "the new york times," jerry sandusky not only repeats his denials of wrongdoing, he tells the paper youngsters in his second mile program, quote, might say i was a father figure, a father figure who stands accused of 40 counts of raiching and m inin inin ini

molesting young boys. a few weeks ago nbc's bob kos st costa -- >> am i sexually attracted to underaged boys? i enjoy young people. >> reporter: in an intriguing exchange, an apparently uncomfortable sandusky tries to explain his answer. off camera you hear the voice of sandusky's lawyer prompting his client. >> if i say, no, i'm not attracted to boys, that's not the truth, because i'm attracted to young people, boys, girls -- >> yeah, but not sexually. you're attracted -- >> right. i enjoy. that's what i was trying to say. i enjoy spending time with young people. i enjoy spending time with people. i mean my two favorite groups are the elderly and the young. >> reporter: an attorney who represents victim number six named in the grand jury report,

the boy whose mother came forward in 1998 saying sandusky had showered with her son and hugged him naked from behind, says the accused coach's latest explanations are hard to watch. >> his answer was really no different, frankly, than the answer he gave before and the sad part from his perspective, if we want to look at it from that perspective, that his lawyer had to intervene and give him some advice as to how to answer that question. he won't have that luxury in a courtroom. >> reporter: sandusky admits that after he was banned from taking young people on to penn state's main campus, following a 2002 allegation that he raped a boy in a locker room, he still had access. sandusky told the paper, then-athletic director tim curley never took away his keys. "i still have my keys, skandusk said, and i still went in there and worked out. >> any argument that these men are now making any of this up is really weak and if that is all

that he has in terms of his defense, he is going to have really rough going in the courts. >> reporter: sandusky again denies that then-head coach joe paterno ever mentioned anything to him about the 2002 shower allegation. sandusky faces a preliminary hearing in a couple of weeks. among the expected witnesses -- at least one of his accusers. susan candiotti, cnn, new york. at eight minutes past the hour now, coming up -- we know a number of people -- nearly 2 million in fact -- americans will lose their unemployment benefits in january. and that impact could affect the nation's economy. stay with us for that. also, coming up next, we've got another bcs mess on our hands possibly? we know lsu is going to play for the championship. but who should they play? could the national championship be a rematch of a game we've already seen this year? that's coming up next. reynolds wolf also standing by. i know what you think about the

bcs mess. >> guns firing. cowboys. got to be oklahoma state. alabama had their shot. it is time for oklahoma state. just my opinion. hey, it is also my opinion -- it is not just my opinion, it is fact. southern california's been ravaged by some strong winds. today it may happen again. there's potential for more tree damage, more power outings and possibly at the same time possibly some snow in the rockies. more coming up. wait a minute...i... [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] the lexus december to remember sales event is here, but only for a limited time. see your lexus dealer. the progresso chicken noodle you made is so good. it's got tender white meat chicken. the way i always made it for you. one more thing.... those pj's you like, i bought you five new pairs. love you. did you see the hockey game last night? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. hey, hey, hey, hey. i can see who's on my network people! lance? lance? yes, yes

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welcome from family and friends at ft. hood in texas. when you've been gone for months at a time in a war zone, one kiss from your daughter just isn't enough. >> i can have a kiss? give me one more kiss. one more. one more. in a denver shopping mall -- >> have you been good this year? >> a special santa with the ability to speak in sign language. where he learned how to do it? a bit special. >> last year two little boys asked me how i learned sign language. i told him santa had two elves that were deaf and they showed san santa. you should have seen the look on their face, there was deaf elves. that was my favorite moment. >> that has to be our special cross-country moment as well. at 13 minutes past the hour. let's say good morning it our good friend joe carter, hln sports. bcs? just take out the "c." a lot of people will tell you

and that's what you got. we have another mess that will always be controversial. >> always. what we know for certain is lsu is without a doubt the best college team in football. they proved that again last night. they show even though they don't play a good first half they can come out in the second half and shock you. this team this season has beaten eight ranked opponents by an average of 28 points. last night they beat georgia handily meaning they win the s.e.c. title. they won their division. they're 13-0 now and by far and away the best team in college football. it seems like each and every week the team gets better. watching that lsu/alabama game a few weeks back, then the game last night, they just get better each and every week both offensively and defensively. yeah, without a doubt they are the number one team in the country. they are in the january 9th title game. but oklahoma state, number three oklahoma state sure made its case last night that they belong in the national championship game. they not only went out and beat oklahoma, they absolutely crushed them.

they beat them 44-10. oklahoma state's had a really good season. they've beaten five ranked teams. they have one loss this year and it came in ames, iowa to an unranked iowa state team in double overtime. so that's where the discussion begins. who has the better loss? is it alabama losing at home to lsu in overtime? or is it oklahoma state losing to iowa state in double overtime? that's what's the matter with this system. we are now debating on who has the better loss. >> people need to know the top two teams according to the bcs rankings get into the national championship. we get the rankings -- >> we get them at 8:00 eastern tonight. right now the top two teams people would assume is going to be lsu/alabama but people don't want to see it because alabama didn't win their division, didn't win their conference. when you don't win your conference championship why are you allowed to play in the national championship game. then again people say why would you want to see a big 12 team go against a really dominant s.e.c. game. it won't and good game. >> that's the system. >> we haven't seen the game is my argument.

let them play and let's figure it out. >> that's tonight. the controversy, as always, will continue. let's turn now -- we were talking about tiger woods wondering if he's back. holding his own after the third round. >> i know today is an nfl sunday but you know who you are out there, it gets to be about 5:00 eastern time. maybe i should flip over to golf, check in and see what tiger's up to. well, we've got a good one brewing at the chevron world challenge. there are six players going into today that are in contention, including tiger. he's in second place. he's one shot back of zach johnson. he blew his three-shot lead yesterday basically by bogeying a bunch of par 5s. he bogeyed three of them. zach johnson, beautiful eagle on 18 right here. that gave him the one-shot lead. he has today a one-shot lead ahead of tiger woods. tiger is in contention -- i don't know if you agree with me or not, but to me, it makes golf exciting. >> i check the leaderboard, i don't see him on it, i turn right back to football. >> i'm the same way. >> but a good sports sunday. joe carter, good to see you.

we are 16 minutes past the hour now. want to turn back to politics. it was an announcement that didn't come as a surprise to a lot of folks yesterday. >> i am suspending my presidential campaign. >> you hear some disappointment out there. but maybe there's somebody -- maybe another candidate -- who is happy to hear this news and maybe happy to get cain supporters. we want to get some thoughts from our political contributors maria cardona, lenny mccallister. these aren't just contributors, these are dear friends. they are in atlanta, in the house. stay with us for our conversation. what's this? it's progresso's new loaded potato with bacon. it's good. honey, i love you... oh my gosh, oh my gosh.. look at these big pieces of potato. ♪ what's that? big piece of potato. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

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good morning, washington, d.c. thinks just getting going in the nation's capital. a lovely picture of the white house this morning. wonder if the president's thinking about herman cain this morning. >> probably not. >> i am suspending my

presidential campaign. >> yeah, we wonder. president obama really watching that yesterday? was he relieved, you think, guys, that herman cain is now out of the race? we'll never know. but herman cain, yes, a former presidential candidate, now made his announcement yesterday. the big announcement we were waiting on. he is suspending his campaign, now waiting for him to throw his support behind another candidate. he says that decision will be made in the next few days. meanwhile, newt gingrich has a little something to smile about this morning. look at this new poll number. look at that. comes in at 25%. this is "the des moines register" poll. also has ron paul in second, mitt romney coming in third. romney still maybe some good news for him, sioux city iowa journal newspaper endorsed him. the first major paper in iowa to pick a candidate. the iowa caucus is just a month away. newt gingrich has continued to surge.

the latest poll numbers we have been seeing, the question now is can he hold on? can he turn those straw numbers as well into actual votes? our good friends, cnn political contributor and democratic strategist maria cardona and republican strategist lenny mccallister, not in chicago and d.c. where they normally are but spending the weekend here with us. so good to have you guys here. we'll get to newt -- is this the last time we will ever have to do a segment with a question about herman cain? is this it? >> as being the top person on that news cycle? yes. you'll hear something about him swinging some votes but by the time that comes around this percentage will be down to 3%, 4%, 5%. it will be a minimal amount of people going over that way. the only way that might change, t.j., is if somebody perhaps takes part of his message, something that they thought was effective on the campaign trail -- at this point you have to ask what would that actually be. but if something like that came about, then maybe his name comes back into the mix.

but otherwise this is going to be it. >> i think so. what's interesting is that yesterday he tried to make it sound like he was going to continue to be part of the conversation, he wasn't going to go away. it was very sarah palin-like. but the fact of the matter is he can't command the kind of media, i believe, that sarah palin did and i don't think he's going to be able to continue to be relevant. >> what does this mean for -- we'll fine out later where cain supporters actually go. but which candidate, maria, was sitting back yesterday looking at that going, oh, yeah. >> i think newt gingrich. >> yeah? >> because essentially newt gingrich and cain and bachmann and, frankly, the rest of them, they are part of this group called "the anybody but romney." and so we've seen that republicans have been desperate to find the anybody but romney candidate who can actually surge and stay alive. and they have not been able to find that yet. we'll see if that -- right now that candidate is newt gingrich. we'll see if that it kin to be the case.

>> still time for another surge? >> there's time for another surge. jon huntsman's trying to get that going right now. this may be ron paul's moment where he may actually do something in iowa. i'm not saying he will go further throughout 2012. but if you think about what's going on right now, people are looking for a conservative candidate, you are talking about a caucus dynamic. this may be a time. he's now in second place. this may be a time for him to do that. surprisingly, if romney can solidify third place, maybe creep back up into second place, that has to make newt gingrich nervous. because if you are looking at this and saying romney hasn't put a lot of resources into iowa, they don't want him because he is not conservative enough, and after herman cain gets out people say, you know what? newt does have the baggage, okay, he'll win iowa but you know what? maybe we're too hard on romney and now that cain's gone, maybe they slide that way. if romney ends up in second place and he comes back up on those polls, it changes the dynamic completely. >> the big challenge i think for the republican party as a whole is that -- we've seen this in some of the focus groups you all

have reported on, there really is no enthusiasm for any of the candidates. not for romney, not for gingrich. there are issues with both of those two candidates which right now i think people assume that one of those two will be the nominee. >> is it just a matter of time? once they actually get to one nominee, then the party will come around? >> perhaps. obviously the goal of the party is to defeat president obama. but the fact of the matter is that right now, newt gingrich seems to be one with the momentum. well guess what? in every single poll that's newt versus president obama, president obama beats him by several percentage points. every poll where it is romney against obama, it's within the margin of error but obama still beats romney. so again, yes, it is still too early to tell and when they do have a nominee, then my presumption will be that the party will coalesce behind that nominee. but then it is going to be the choice, the choice between president obama who is focused on creating jobs and helping the middle class and working class

families -- >> now that there's an election coming up he's focused on that. >> -- and republicans who the only thing they want to do is protect the millionaires and billionaires and big corporations. >> wrap it up for me, lenny. >> they do not want newt gingrich to be this nominee. conservatives will point you back to 1980 -- jimmy carter was asking for ronald reagan in 1980, give me the ex-actor and reagan went ahead and won 44 states. you do not want another great communicator going up against president obama that can go head-to-head in these debates in a time people are looking for alternatives and are anti-establishment. now president obama is the establishment. he cannot run as the antiestablishment. that is going to be his baggage. >> with the kind of baggage that gingrich has and his flip-flops, bring it on. >> all right. lenny, maria, good way to wrap it up. really, good to have you guys in town with us this weekend. >> thoroughly enjoyed it. >> thank you so much. coming up on the bottom of the hour now. we aren't done talking politics.

trying to get candy crowley to come down to atlanta to see me some time as well. hasn't worked, but still we'll talk to her in just a second. she has some pretty big guests coming up on her show in about 30 minutes. stay for that. also, lot of people out there just don't like going through the searches at the tsa. well now listen. there is an 84-year-old grandmother out there that says she was strip searched by a tsa agent. she was trying to get to florida. that's what happened to her. >> do i look like a terrorist? i'm going to be 85 years old and i weigh 103 pounds. >> she doesn't sound like much of a threat but the tsa is telling a different side of this story. also this morning, a christmas tree. simple enough. right? it looks like one. but this is not a christmas tree. oh, no -- that's a holiday tree, folks. are they taking to take the christ out of christmas? talking about it on "faces of faith." don't go anywhere.till etting da? neutrogena® t/gel shampoo

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we're at the bottom of the hour on this cnn sunday morning. give you a look at some stories making headlines. police in riot gear sweeping in a portland, oregon park kicking out occupy protesters overnight. several people were arrested. they had set up camps there after being kicked out of another park by police a few weeks ago. also, donald trump's plan to moderate his own presidential debate is getting the thumbs down from two republican presidential candidates. ron paul has released a statement calling the late december debate a distraction and says he will not attend. also a spokesman for jon huntsman says he's not taking part in the debate either. soldiers getting a rousing

welcome at ft. hood, texas. more than 500 service members seeing their families again. many of the troops spent months in iraq. their tour was cut short because of the order to withdraw. all right. which do you go with? do you say merry christmas? or do you say happy holidays? is this the season about christ? or is it about commerce? last week the governor of rhode island sparked a bit of controversy when he referred to a 17-foot spruce tree in the state house as a holiday tree. >> i mean if it was a maple tree or an elm in there, maybe it is a holiday tree but it sure looks like a christmas tree. >> steve, g it has lights and ornaments, an angel and decorations on top, it is a christmas tree. >> oh, you're right. >> let me bring in phil fisher -- the man behind a

veggie tail, that's a children's dvd series. he says there shouldn't and santa christmas, then a jesus christmas. you're losing me here. explain the difference now. there's a jesus christmas and a santa christmas. >> christmas is kind of a confusing holiday because it is actually two holidays from europe put together. this is one of the things i produced a new film called why do we call it christmas? the question is where do all these traditions come from and what do they have to do with jesus' birthday. with christmas trees it goes back to northern germany where pre-christian tribes would deck kate trees and associate trees with pagan gods like odon and thor. christian missionaries came in and said, wait, wait, this is not the oak of thor. let's look at this fir tree. look, it is always green, it is like everlasting life. it is related to jesus. so it started the tradition way back in the eighth century of associating fir trees with jesus. i think why people are getting upset right now is that when we say, okay, this is a religious tradition but we want to cut it

off from its religious heritage, if we did that to any other people group we would kind of say, hey, that's offensive. like if you don't celebrate hanukah, but you say, hey, i want to put a menorah in my front yard but i'm not going to call it a menorah, i'll call it a holiday candleholder. i think your jewish neighbors would rightfully say, hey, you are taking a symbol from our heritage and stripping it of its meaning. >> it sounds like then do you have a problem. we had this debate every year. lot of people get quite upset if you call it a christmas tree. do you have a problem with holiday tree or is it just a broad statement that's respectful to all? >> i don't think it is respectful to all because it's trying to disconnect the origin of the tradition from the tradition. if you don't want to -- if you don't want to celebrate christmas, don't put up a christmas tree. if you don't want to celebrate hanukah, don't put up a menorah. i think it is different when you say i'm going to put up a

menorah but call it a holiday candleholder. there's a bit of disrespect. christians feel like the traditions of christmas are being stripped away from christian origins and called other things and it is fairly offensive. we're trying to explain to kids where did these traditions come from and what does santa claus have to do with jesus. it came from the tradition of st. nicholas, a wonderful catholic saint who was the patron saint of children. when you explain this, parents understand, i see, it does point back to jesus. but there's been an effort in our culture to cut those connections for fear of offending. and again, if you don't want to celebrate christmas, don't celebrate christmas. >> you know what? i'm going to leave it on that note. the man behind "veggie tails." if you don't want to celebrate christmas, don't celebrate christmas. we'll have you back on before this holiday is up. good to see you. >> for more articles and news that deal with faith and religion, go to our belief blog, cnn.com/belief. 35 past the hour.

candy crowley, "state of the union" coming your way in 25 minutes. she's talking to gop presidential candidates ron paul and michele bachmann, as well as senator john mccain. she's with me in just a couple of minutes. stay with me. also, dr. sanjay gupta has a new show on cnn called "the next list." he profiles exceptional individuals. this week he talks to a woman who makes robots. >> my name is heather knight and i am a social roboticist. i make robots that interact with people in a human way. when i tell people that i make robots, they're usually like, oh, wow, that's really cool. when i tell people i make social robots, usually they're a little bit confused at first. and i found that the best way to talk about what i actually do is by example.

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live picture we're showing you right now. me, as a guy who's been living in atlanta for the past several years, this is a live shot of atlanta. that's right outside our front door. good morning, atlanta. all you have out there. atlanta is where herman cain got out of the race yesterday. so "saturday night live" is going to be without some material so they took advantage last night. >> so you still deny the allegations that you had an affair with ginger white. >> it's garbage. the truth is that ginger white and i are friends. and, yes, i gave her money, because that's what friends do. seth, you and i are friends, right? >> i guess. >> here, take some money. >> oh, well thank you.

>> you know that money ain't free. >> you know what? i'll just give it back. >> what i want everyone to know is, i love my wife. we are close to each other as any couple that i've ever known. so four days after these allegations came out, i scheduled an appointment to talk to her. last night we had an intimate productive discussion while she glared at me and listened to mary jane blige. >> that's when you toll her about the affair. >> no one said nothing about an affair. i am innocent until proven guilty. that's what this country is all about. if i can't have that, i may as well go and move on to labibia. >> do you mean libya? >> no. i think i mean labibia. you know, the mo-mo gadhafi place. >> oh, candy crowley, no more herman cain to make fun of.

let me start by saying, you told me so yesterday when we talked about herman cain, i said there's no way he opens a campaign office and closes it on the same day. and you told me -- hey, he's been running unconventional campaign. he does his own thing. lookie-lookie. >> so he didn't do really either one. he closed his campaign and opened a website, and but look -- the bottom line is he's no longer on that stage for the debates. he's no longer a big factor in those iowa caucuses. so he is our first loss of the republican race so far. >> how much clamoring and who is going to be doing most of the clamoring trying to get -- even though his supporters may have been dwindling, what candidates are still going after him pretty hard? >> oh, all of them. listen. in iowa you want as many people as you can to get out there on caucus night so we're talking to michele bachmann and ron paul today. both of them would dearly love to have that 8%.

it will make a difference. but "the des moines register" and some other polling shows the second choice for most cain supporters tends to be newt gingrich. anybody can pick up maybe a couple points here or there but he seems to be the one that picks up the most. >> but yesterday, it sounds like the race didn't change a whole lot. may have gotten a little better in the situation for newt gingrich. he was already surging. really? was it much of a game changer yesterday? >> you know, in terms of just the line-up of who's up and who's down, no. i mean herman cain, had he done this six weeks ago when he was at the top of the polls or eight weeks ago, sure. but this was -- the handwriting was on the wall. a lot of voters had already adjusted. he went from 31% support in iowa to 8%. those people had already made up their minds. uh-oh, i'm moving to my second choice. so no, there's not a big change

in this race. while "saturday night live" may miss him and all of that, the fact of the matter is to so many people early on, herman cain was a really compelling candidate, because he spoke to the issue most people wanted to talk about, and that was the economy. they found him likable. they found him an outsider. everybody loves an outsider until they find out, oh, he might not know enough. i want some experience but not so much experience that they're tainted. so, you know, he was a force an the campaign trail that no one really expected. so it is minus that energy. but in real practical terms, i think you will see his supporters sort of scatter off and not make a huge difference. >> i know you'll be talking to you said michele bachmann already, but ron paul as well. i believe you have senator john mccain on the show, a heck of a lineup for "state of the union." candy, always good to see you. thanks so much. we'll be watching at the top of the hour. >> two days in a row! >> two days in a row. we should get you every saturday, huh? >> absolutely. >> she's coming your way 15

minutes from now, 9:00 eastern time, 6:00 pacific. candy crowley and "state of the union." also coming up next -- eight years of marriage. after that you get $154 million. yes. that young woman and her huge divorce settlement that has a lot of people talking this week. some of you are talking about it this morning as well. our "passport" is next. you know organization is key... and so is having a trusted assistant. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above and still pay the mid-size price. here we are... [ male announcer ] and there you go, business pro. there you go. go national. go like a pro. the new spark card from capital one. spark miles gives me the most rewards of any small business credit card. the spark card earns double miles... so we really had to up our game.

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they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. 12 minutes top top of the hour. some of the stories making news cross-country -- an 84-year-old woman says she was hurt and humiliated by the tsa and says she now plans to sue. lenore zimmerman says security screeners at jfk took her into a private room and performed a strip search tuesday after she requested a pat-down. tsa confirms it did do a private screening but the agency said it did not do a skrip search.

>> i have a defibrillator so i don't go through the machines. i asked them to pat me down, to use the wand. do i look like a terrorist? i am 85 years old and i weigh 103 pounds and they strip search me. >> tsa did have a response saying, while we regret that the passenger feels she had an unpleasant screening experience, the tsa does not include strip searches as part of our security protocols and one was not conducted in this case. zimmerman though told the ""new york daily news"" the tsa is lying about the strip search in order to protect itself. turning to this -- in north carolina -- >> we have an issue and this is the issue. a snake in our christmas tree. >> that qualifies as an issue. this is the family's christmas tree. that little ornament was not supposed to be there. a little girl in the house saw it. then she told her mom about it.

they shook the tree and the thing moved. they say the artificial tree has been in the garage all day. the snake named tinsel is now in the woods hanging out on some real trees possibly. let me bring back in nadia bilchik for our "morning passport." we have seen some pricey divorces overtime. $154 million. >> miss tang is a very happy lady in hong kong this week because on thursday she got her $154 million, which by the way, is only one-fifth of mr. lee's entire estate, the man she divorced. and under 5% of what she asked for. so there she is smiling. she's a very educated woman. she's a solicitor, a lawyer herself. >> looks like a young woman. >> she's only in her late 30s but what really happened when the marriage started imploding and why she's so happy she got the $154 million was when she got pregnant four years ago, her husband, mr. lee, asked her to have an abortion. she refused. she had the baby.

she now has a beautiful 3-year-old daughter who her husband has only seen twice. grounds for divorce? this has all come out. what's also come out is that her husband tried to hide a lot of the assets with his father who is a huge property mogul in hong kong and the father himself, not a great role model, in july of this year the father had to pay his mistress many billions for her home. the story continues. but the reality is, this is certainly not the only high-profile divorce. i mean remember rupert murdoch and $1.7 billion? michael jordan was about $150 million. tiger, around $100 million. but in this case, i think well deserved for somebody who has had a lot of difficulty and the judge said, she should live in the manner to which she has become accustomed. >> well, she will be able to keep up with 1 $54 million. >> just the clubs alone, belonging to clubs in hong kong

and london, she got about $6 million just for that. >> you got stay with the clubs. >> and the $6 million yacht. >> you got to have the yacht. >> then the millions for the daughter. >> all right, nadia bilchik with our "morning passport." thank you, as always. it is horrible waking up. trs har it is hard. >> we go from hundreds of millions of dollars from a settlement to people looking for jobs still right now. nearly 2 million americans could actually lose their unemployment benefits. january. families are struggling. congress still trying to decide its next step. stay with me.ic eeping ] [ male announcer ] still getting dandruff? neutrogena® t/gel shampoo defeats dandruff after just one use. t/gel shampoo. it works. neutrogena®. it's all crossed out... it's 'cause i got everything on it. boom!

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state of the union with candy crowley coming your way in just a couple of minutes. she is talking to ron paul, michele bachmann, as well as senator john mccain. the battle over the payroll tax cut still being battled on capitol hill but unemployment benefits must also be resolved before the end of the year. athena jones takes a look. >> i never thought i would be in this situation. >> reporter: if congress doesn't act, millions of people who are

out of work could lose federal unemployment benefits next year. people like marcello virnlgle. >> if i lose my benefits it is going to be rough. i have three kids to take care of here. i have five kids total. so if i don't find work soon, i have no idea what i'm going to do. >> reporter: he lost his job at a hospital last year. his wife has been out of work for more than two virgil found work as a landscaper but just for two months. his state unemployment benefits run out in february. federal government supplements the 26 weeks of benefits provided by most states. allowing people up to 99 weeks of aid, as long as they are looking for work. the average weekly benefit is about $300. under current law people must file for extended benefits by the end of the year. president obama wants to push back that deadline for another year. >> congress needs to renew unemployment insurance for americans who are still out

there pounding the pavement looking for work. >> reporter: without an extension, an estimated 1.8 million people will lose their benefits in january alone. and more than 5 million will lose them over the course of 2012. that could be a blow to america's economy. >> many economists say that unemployment benefits are one of the most stimulative type of government aid that you can give because the people who receive it spend it right away because it is the only money they have in many cases. >> reporter: with the unemployment rate at 8.6%, lawmakers may be hesitant to cut off benefits. >> the highest the unemployment rate has been when congress has cut again fits was 7.2% in 1985. >> reporter: unione issue congr must tackle, how to pay for the cost of an extension. >> it is like a slow death. it is like cutting my wrists. bleeding slow. it's hard waking up. >> reporter: the struggle has clearly taken an emotional toll. >> it is hard.

>> reporter: athena jones, cnn, washington. > herman cain suspending his race tomorrow. newt gingrich's campaign still gaining momentum. he's at the top of a new poll of republican voters in iowa. this is coming ahead next month's caucuses. a quarter of the people answering "the des moines register" survey back gingrich. ron paul came in second, mitt romney third. in october the same poll found gingrich with 7% support. just a couple minutes from the top of the hour. let's say hello to reynolds wolf one more time looking at that forecast. >> aloha works when you can hear it. there is a little microphone, it

is an on-off switch. it is a tricky thing sometimes and it trips him up every now and then. >> forecast time. let's show you what we have. big one story we're following today is the heavy rain we are seeing in parts of not only texas but back into parts of, say, arkansas. one big issue that we have is we have a frontal boundary that's going to be sitting right over parts of the natural state. the rains will keep coming and coming for quite a while. the water will pond up in a lot of places near little rock, maybe even over into memphis. kentucky you might be in the mix, too. even cape girardeau. we might have a fluting issue not just for today but for tomorrow. flash flooding, keep that in mind. winds back up in parts of southern california, also into monday and tuesday. some gusts approaching 60 miles per hour. that means more damage. also critical fire danger because very low humidity can be expected for today. other than that, you have a lot of delays out there again. we expect in dallas, cincinnati, cleveland, chicago and denver,