killed 31 years ago today, gunned down by mark david chapman outside his apartment building, the dakota, december 8, 1980. another day that will live in infamy. >> strawberry fields, if you ever get a chance to visit, very touching. >> very peaceful place, very nice. >> let's throw it to atlanta now and don lemon. >> good morning, don lemon. we'll start with this. former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky is in court facing new sexual abuse charges. sandusky was cuffed and arrested at his home on yesterday. well, the new charges involve two more alleged victims, bringing the total now to ten. it is believed that the two came in contact with sandusky as his second mile charity. let's go down to cnn's jason carroll who joins us from state college, pennsylvania live. jason, we're expecting sandusky to be bailed out today. then what? >> reporter: well, first of all,

let's talk about what he gets bailed out. we do know that just about half an hour ago his wife left his home which is located about 20 minutes from now. not sure if that's any sort of indication in terms of whether or not he might be released soon. currently being held on $250,000 bail. if he's able to post bail, don, he'll be unvery tight restrictions. he'll essentially be under house arrest. he'll have to wear an electronic monitoring device while he's under house arrest. in addition to that, he'll not be allowed to have my contact with victims or possible witnesses in the case and another condition of his bail would be he'd not be able to have any unsupervised visits with minors. don? >> we're hearing, jason, that there's going to be a hearing next tuesday, what do you know about that? >> yes, of course, that's going to be the preliminary hearing, don, as you know, and i think what might be interested in that is that that would be the first

time that jerry sandusky would come face to face, again, with his accusers in the courtroom. as you know, previously there was a grand jury report that named eight alleged victims. we are expecting during that preliminary hearing to at least hear some testimony from some of them. what's unclear at this point, don, is whether or not we will hear from the two new additional victims identified as victims number 9 and 10. yesterday when we spoke to a representative from the attorney general's office he said it was unclear at that point whether or not those two would be there to testify during the preliminary hearing. >> live from state college, pennsylvania, jason carroll. jason, thank you very much. one of the two new accusers testified he screamed from the basement for help knowing sandusky's wife was upstairs and no one ever came. we'll talk about how the sandusky basement has become a focal point of this investigation. reporter sarah gannon joins us in 12 minutes on cnn.

want to return to the syracuse sex scandal now. a district attorney will not bring charges against assistant basketball coach bernie fine. a federal investigation continues. william fitzpatrick says the statute of limitations has expired on sexual abuse allegations made by former syracuse ballboy bobby davis, but in an exclusive interview with cnn, the d.a. talked about an au pair who lived with the fines and knew of a sexual relationship between fine and davis. >> it's your impression that the au pair is convinced that bernie fine had a sexual relationship with bobby davis? >> no question about it. she -- all kinds of things that -- i mean, she didn't physically witness any molestation, but clearly body language, affect, the way they talked to each other, the way that they acted around each other, the conversations she had with lori fine. no question. >> the lawyers for fine's third accuser, zach tomaselli, have a

news conference set for two hours from now, two hours from now a news conference. tomaselli's lawyers are expected to talk about filing a civil suit against fine. we'll follow that news conference and bring you the details later here on cnn. all right. it gets more interesting the second we talk about politics. talk about the gop front-runner, building his lead in battleground states. i want you to take a look at the new cnn/orc poll from iowa. newt gingrich is ahead of mitt romney by 13 points. our deputy political director paul stein houser is with us now. ball, he's pulling away here and in other states, too. >> he sure is. less that be four weeks now until iowa. let's see what happens after iowa. new hampshire one week later. remember, new hampshire was home field advantage for romney because he was governor of neighboring massachusetts, but look at romney's lead. in our brand new cnn/"time" orc

poll. let's push forward to south carolina, the third state to vote, and this is the first southern state, and look at gingrich's lead, according to our poll. boy, 23 points over ram any. everybody else in single digits in the palmetto state and in florida, to vote january 31st, people likely to vote in the republican primary there, gingrich with a large lead over romney and the rest of the field. fascinating numbers. now gingrich sat down with our wolf blitzer yesterday, and here's what he said about his lead in the polls and where things stand. take a listen. >> can you taste this republican nomination right now? >> no. look, i was way down here and now i'm way up here. i can still go way down here. we have a lot of work to do with four weeks to go before iowa and a real rush into new hampshire and south carolina and on to florida and nevada, all those

wherein about a month, so i think if we have a little interview right after nevada, we'll have a better severance how real it is. >> nevada votes on the 4-of-the-february. now romney does have one advantage here. newt's numbers are surging in the polls, but romney has the organization to get out the vote efforts and newt gingrich playing catchup on that, don. >> listen, there's more behind the polling than just the initial question about who is, you know, who is where in this horse race. do any of these polls offer any indication as to why gingrich is skyrocketing? >> yeah. our polls do give some clues, and one of the reason is tea party supporters. we asked in these polls are you a supporter of the tea party or not and half of them said they are and those people are going for newt gingrich bigtime according to our poll numbers. one other thing that our polls indicate, only less than half the people in all four of the states polled say they definitely have made up their minds, people can still change their minds with one month to go, don. >> thank you very much, paul

steinhauser. our next political update one hour. a reminder for all the latest political news, go to our website, cnnpolitics.com. as european leaders start their summit and work to address their debt crisis, wall street's watching like a hawk today. developments there are expected to drive u.s. markets as we close out the year. treasury secretary timothy geithner has been criss-crossing the continent this week expressing support and some pressure for a solution. well, today he met with the italian prime minister and praised his new austerity measures. more now from london with more on the eu summit and the reaction to it internationally. how are these meetings being covered around the world. >> reporter: not just traders but journalist as well. three headlines that will give you an idea of what's at stake. "the guardian" has the headline the crisis won't be solved in a few days. it's a long battle against euro

oblivion. europe will not be saved in brussels this week. at best it will live to face another trauma. after these ten days to save the euro, there will be ten weeks, ten months, ten years, and then we take you to australia and "the daily telegraph" there has the headline avalanche of debts could crush europe going on to say eu leaders are under intense pressure to convince markets they can come up with a rapid rescue plan for the euro zone following the threat of possible debt downgrades. and then finally the "international herald tribune" has the headline the wrong euro fix. instead of trying to re--engineering the euro zone over night, germany should use its wealth and that of the ecb, to back up foundering countries, alleviate europe's slump and give its weak neighbors more time to grow and reform? >> don, thank you very much for that. here in the united states, much of the south wakes up to a winter weather advisory as storms move through the region, a storm, i should say.

that means slow traffic in memphis, tennessee, where there's at least two inches of snow on bridges and overpasses. same situation in north carolina last night. expect icy conditions if you're traveling through the mountains this morning. okay. jacqui jeras tracking the storm for us. the big question is where is this thing headed to next? >> it's basically out of here. >> it's out of here, oh, that's good, i guess. >> it is good. you know, the storm that stalled out for what felt like forever for some folks has moved very, very quickly and picked up a lot of forward speed, so this is it. it's moving to the canadian maritimes, you know, barely northern maine still getting hit with some of that snow but, boy, it did bring quite a bit of snow to some of the interior of the northeast. just wanted to show you this map to give you an idea of who is getting this winter weather. this shows you the snow cover across the continental, the lower 48 hereu and it shows 40%.

60%, consider yourself lucky. that was the case across the northeast. some of you got record rain. washington, d.c. more than three inches. more rain than you typically should have in the entire month of the december so that's certainly quite a bit of that. now what's left is the wind, and that's causing some problems at the airport. we've got delays already. over an hour here at laguardia, and we do expect that to be a problem throughout the day. now, coming in behind this, already got the cold air in place, but a secondary shot of cold air is going to be moving in, and as it does so it's going to blow over the warmer lake water and we'll see big lake-effect snows over the next couple of days. get used to the cold, don. it's winter. >> one of jerry sandusky's alleged victims claims he screamed for help from the sandusky basement but no one came. how that base hadn't has become

a key location for investigateors. that's next. hot video out of hawaii. a stream of molton lava sends those living nearby scrambling. look at those pictures. oh, my gosh, can you imagine that coming towards you. that and more next as we go cross-country.

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cross-country right now. more confrontations and arrests as police in san francisco took down the encampment belonging to occupy protesters. dozens were arrested in the wednesday morning raid. from greenwood, indiana yesterday, a smash and grab robbery of a local gun store is caught on tape. look at that. after driving an suv into the building, the zupts found much of the shop's merchandise safely unlocked and safely locked up, i should say. the burrars. >> allegedly stole a few guns but did an estimated $35,000 worth of damage to the store, and check this out. it's from hawaii's big island. really, look at this stuff. imagine this headed towards you. hot lava spews from a building sending nearby residents, i should say, scrambling. who wouldn't run from that. one homeowner had to be rescued by helicopter after the molten lava surrounded his house. one of the most chilling pieces of grand jury testimony

in the jerry sandusky sexual abuse case comes from one of the two new accusers. i want you to listen to this. according to the report the alleged victim stayed in a basement bedroom on overnight visits to the sandusky home. the victim testified that on at least one occasion he screamed for help, knowing that sandusky's wife was upstairs, but no one ever came to help him. let's bring in "patriot news" reporter and cnn contributor sarah gannon. you and i talked about yesterday, there was one new accuser, and now there's two new accusers. what do we know about this, about this basement situation, screaming for help, knowing that his wife was upstairs and then sandusky's wife not coming to help the kid. >> well, we know that the basement has been mentioned several times, both in this grand jury presentment and the original one from earlier in november. you know, that basement seems to be -- it's a finished basement with a bedroom. seems to be one of the places where overnight guests would

stay, and particularly these second mile kids, many of them who have come forward who said they were abused down there. what we also know from the latest grand jury presentment is that one of the kids said he did scream out for help knowing that dottie sandusky, jerry sandusky's wife might be upstairs but no help came. not the first time that dottie's name has been mentioned by alleged victims but one of the most compelling pieces of testimony from the grand jury presentment. >> how has this basement become such a key in this investigation? is it because of the two new people? why is it so key now? >> reporter: well, i think that you're correct, don. i mean, it's becoming key because so many -- so many alleged victims have said that they were abused down there in that basement. you know, it's almost as prominent a place in this grand jury presentment as the locker rooms, where the showers took place. it seems like a lot of these victims were either abused in

that locker room in the football building or in the basement. >> listen, i have to ask you because these accusers are saying they were in the basement. they were screaming. one of them at least said they knew mrs. sduandusky was upstai. is this in any way implicating mrs. sandusky she may have been complicit or at least had some knowledge of what was going on? >> reporter: you know, we don't any way of really knowing that at this point. i'm sure investigators are, you know, asking the same question but we don't have any evidence that dottie sandusky is complicit. >> thanks for that reporting. jon corzine heads to capitol hill today. the former ceo of mf global will answer questions about the eighth biggest bankruptcy in u.s. history. customers want to know where is the money, plus, a pakistani actress says her father was in tears when he saw her nude

magazine cover. nude magazine cover. she says the problem is it was supposed to just be topless. >> there's a big difference between topless and being nude. >> the scandal makes international headlines next. on. only one calcium supplement does that in one daily dose. citracal slow release... continuously releases calcium plus d for the efficient absorption my body needs. citracal.

magazine cover with a nude actress would hardly raise eyebrows here in america, but when it happens in india, it's making international headlines, and she's a looker, by the way. let's go now to reza sayah who joins us live from islamabad, pakistan. why is this racy cover causing so much trouble. >> reporter: well, don, what we have here is a very attractive and popular pakistani actress

who obviously comes from a very conservative islamic society here in pakistan where you can't take racy photos and put them on magazine covers so she goes next door to pakistan's bitter rival india, and she poses semi-nude in an indian magazine, an on top of that, on her arm, there appears to be tattooed the acronym isi which is the acronym for pakistan's powerful spy agency, the isi, so that's created a little bit of buzz. the trouble seems to be between her and her family. the family not happy with her. her father is not speaking with her, also trouble between her and the magazine. she's suing the magazine for almost $2 million saying they doctored the photos. the magazine is countersuing her saying, no, these are the exact photos that she approved. our colleague sarah seidner caught up with her and put to her the big question did she pose topless. here's what she had to say.

>> were you topless? >> actually i was, but i was not nude. there's a big difference between being topless and being nude. there were covered like the way i was. there are various examples that you can see but i did not go nude. >> so you had bottoms on. >> bottoms on, i had, and they actually removed those bottoms but get it morphed or removed or whatever the technology they have used. >> all right. that was veena malik, not the most convincing answer, don, and that's her response and she's sticking to it. again, her family is not quite happy with her. still in india. no words if and when she's going to come back to pakistan. >> very interesting. reza sayah, thank you, sir. appreciate it. jon corzine on the hot seat today. the former ceo of mf global is

on capitol hill to answer questions about the brokerage bankruptcy. alison kosik live at the new york stock exchange. a lot of money is missing. what is corzine saying about the missing money? >> well, in his written statement that i have right here, he is expected, don, to say he doesn't know where the money is. now he's set to testify before the house agriculture committee sometime today. the hearing is beginning in oh, about seven minutes but corzine, he's not expected to appear until at least early this afternoon. of course, when he does sit down in front of lawmakers, the big question is really going to be all about the money. investigators they want to know where $1.2 billion is. it went missing from mf global's books and the problem is this money we're talking about don is customer money. in this that i have here, we've pulled out this sort of sound bite from him saying i simply do not know where the money is or why the accounts have not been

reconciled to date. he says he was stunned when he found out the money was missing. keep in mind this is the first public appearance that corzine is making since he resigned from mf global. this will be his first full response to the mf global bankruptcy. just so you know he was subpoenaed to appear in this hearing and he could still take the fifth. may not get any answers today. we will, of course, be carrying this hearing live when he does begin to testify. don? >> here's the interesting thing. you mentioned mf global. a lot of people may not be familiar with mf global. explain to us about the company and what happened to pull this company down and for all this money to be missing. >> okay. i'm going to simplify it for you here. this is a big complex investment firm and what it essentially did is it made a lot of risky bets, more than $6 billion is tied up in debt, that's connected to and is the debt of the weak european countries that i talk about every day, you know, the european debt crisis, talking about debt in italy and spain and portugal, and just to give

you an idea of how fast their exposure grew, talking about mf global's exposure. grew from late last year to the 6.3 billion last year just before mf global filed for bankruptcy on october 21st and then, of course, things started to unravel. there was a last ditch effort to sell mf global and that fell through after these accounting deficiencies were found, and this is a big deal, the eighth biggest bankruptcy in u.s. history. now the fbi and cftc, congress, all investigating this one. don? >> it is a big deal. thank you, alison kosik, checking on the markets with you very soon. appreciate it. rick perry says he'll end what he calls president obama's war on religion and newt gingrich is getting slammed left and right, left and the right. some of the harshest words are coming from his old republican colleagues in the house, and roland martin will weigh in after the break. plus, take a look at this. it's alec baldwin's twitter

account. it's been shut down. i wonder if his word with friends account has been shut down, coming one day after he's kicked off a plane for refusing to turn off the cell phone. we'll get the lowdown later in showbiz headlines. nyquil: you know i relieve coughs, sneezing, fevers? tylenol: me, too. and nasal congestion. nyquil:what? tissue box (whispering): he said nasal congestion... nyquil: i heard him. anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't.

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it's time for top stories. jerry sandusky expected to make bail following his arrest on new sexual abuse charges. ten alleged victims have now made accusations against a former penn state assistant football coach. attorney general eric holder set to testify on capitol hill this morning about the fast and furious operation. several house republicans have called for holder to step down over the highly criticized gun sting operation. and former ceo, the former ceo of the bankrupt broker firm mf global says he doesn't know where the missing money went. jon corzine appears before the house committee today as well: all right. more politics. a gop presidential race just gets more interesting every single day. let's start with the gop front-runner catching heat from all sides. listen to this exchange between newt gingrich and cnn's wolf blitzer. >> i've been surprised, and i

don't know if you have been, some of the republican congressmen who worked with you in the '90s, contract with america, the republican revolution and you know these guys like joe scarborough, for example, peter king of new york, tom coburn, they have suggested you with words as erratic, undisciplined, a train wreck, and they know you well, these guys. why are they saying that? >> i think if you are a very aggressive leader and you drive to get things done. i mean, we drove to get well wear reform, we drove to balance the budget for four straight years. i think in a legislative body there's sort of a go along to get along collegial attitude. i wasn't there in a collegial job. i was there as the leader, and my job was to drive through change on a scale that washington wasn't comfortable with, and, you know, if you're a genuine outsider forcing change, you're going to leave some bruised feelings, and -- and i don't apologize for that. i think i probably learned some more. i think i'll probably be more effective this time, but you look back -- you know, we switched the fiscal condition of

the united states by $5 trillion in a four-year period. >> roland martin, you're on. will cain, they are both here. basically he's saying i was a change agent, i'm a change agent and that's why, you know, we didn't get along many times. what do you think of his answer. first, roland in. >> i'm still cracking up how newt continues to portray himself as an outsider. i mean, he's the ultimate insider, and also it's revisionist history. his actions also turned the house over to the democrats after the debacle when he went through the battle with president bill clinton. i think it's important to listen to king and scarborough because, look, temperament matters when you're in the oval office. that's a critical component of a leader, and that's really one of the things they were talking about. >> all right, will, what do you make of newt's answer? >> i would take the flaw even deeper than temperament. i would take the flaw down to the level of humility. i think that's newt gingrich's

fundamental flaw, and humility is an integral part of conservatism, knowing your limits and knowing what you cannot accomplish. the lack of humility in newt gingrich's personality is reflected in his substantive positions. i mean, whether or not we're talking about policies where he exbraces tax credits and subsidies suggesting you know how to optimize capitalism to the right levels and his ability to get along with people like scarborough and coburn, one of the most respected members of either body of congress, this shows that newt gingrich's problem, at his core level, is a lack of humility. >> as a conservative you're saying all of this. why is he the front-runner? >> style. that's the reason. substantively i've said this many times, he is almost indistinguishable from mitt romney meaning if you criticize mitt romney, if you find mitt romney incredibly distasteful because he's flipped on issues, how do you accept newt gingrich? you liked herman cain because you saw him as an outsider, how do you like newt gingrich when

he's an insider. all about being bombastic and taking it aggressively to president obama and gingrich can do that. >> don, we have to understand we are in a period of anger. if you look at president barack obama's poll numbers, when he began having a more populist tone, you saw his numbers increase. occupy wall street. the reason the tea party has grown is people are so angry as what's happening. jon corzine, can't find all this money. people angry at what's happening, when newt attacks the media and going after president obama, he's appealing to the people doing out there. >> doing what he can't do. >> and romney is too calm for them. >> or on a bigger platform. >> i want to talk about rick perry. here's a new campaign ad. >> i'm not ashamed to admit that i'm a christian, but you don't need to be in the pew every sunday to know that there's something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can't openly celebrate christmas or pray in school. >> okay.

so there's a whole lot about that ad but starting i'm not ashamed to admit that i'm a christian. most people in america aren't ashamed to admit that because most people are christians. what do you make about perry's holiday statement on -- on the war on christmas and the war on christianity? go ahead, roland, first. >> look, i am a christian. my wife is a pastor. this is a desperation ad. this is governor rick perry who is trying to appeal to social conservatives in iowa to somehow raise his profile because he is buried in the poll numbers. bottom line is he is -- he has been inept when it comes to debate so he's trying to push those buttons so by talking about christmas, talking about gays in the military, but it's not working with the most critical issue out there, the economy. this is a hail mary that nobody is catching. >> go ahead, will. >> i really wish it was something i could disagree with roland about here.

the only thing i question is whether or not it works. bill o'reilly is one of the most successful segments is the war on christmas stuff. it resonates. doesn't mean it should. at the base level what's wrong with rick perry's ad is that it appeals to populism. it's just pushing buttons as roland said. he's not alone. the president gave a two-hour speech it seemed like on tuesday that was chock full of pandering and pomlism and telling people that the greatest economic system on this earth has failed them. >> thank you. >> the war on christmas, anyway, christianity, interesting. we need a whole segment to talk about that or maybe a whole day. >> no, actually, don, we don't, because it's a -- it's a trumped-up issue that plays into the drama so talking about it is really a waste of time because there's no war on christmas. celebrate christmas. have a grand time, and if you don't want to, don't. >> it's worth a discussion. it's worth a discussion to take away the myths of what's true and what's not true. >> no, it's not. >> i think it is.

have a great day, cries. enjoy your christmas as well if i don't talk to you before then. >> absolutely. >> taking a live look at washington. we told you about attorney general eric holder. he's going to be on the hot seat taking questions about the fast and furious gun operation. several house republicans have asked for holder to step down over this gun sting. we're going to have it for you live here on cnn when eric holder testifies today on capitol hill. you can see him getting ready right there live in washington. in the meantime, coming up, as the occupy protesters march on, some folks wonder what would jesus do. well, an op-ed on cnn.com says he wouldn't support the movement. tony perkins from the family research council joins us to explain his piece. great prices. i just wish you could guarantee me

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earlier this year nbc "today" host matt lauer hinted he might be ready to step down, and this morning there are reports that if that does happen, "american idol"'s ryan sea crest could be lauer's successor. details from entertainment correspondent kareen wynter. we're hearing that there have been talks already, right? >> yeah, and you think how can he handle all those gigs,

"today" show, "american idol," what's going on here? according to multiple reports, they have been talking to ryan sea crest about joining the "today" show. really seems like a logical merge. the merger between nbc universal and come comfort means that sea crest and the en tire e network are already a part of the network. sea crest's contract with e is up early next year, 2012 and certainly want to keep him around, don. neither ryan nor nbc, of course, they are not commenting right now, but in public matt lauer, he's only dropped hints about leaving, and there's also speculation that this story could be, who knows, a play by nbc for leverage in negotiating with the "today" show anchor, maybe a little bit of politics. >> yeah. >> reporter: certainly this move doesn't need to be in the immediate future but i can see sea crest doing a fine job in the morning tv anchor role. >> i don't see it. see him as a contributor. >> reporter: you don't. >> the "today" show has a strong

news background. matt lauer has a strong news background, ann curry, everybody who sat there before, news people. ryan sea crest is not a news person, can see him as a contributor much in the way lar ashe spencer is a contributor on the other morning show, but i don't see him being the main game. just doesn't have the news chop. >> reporter: fair enough. >> alec baldwin is sort of sorry about the airplane incident as well. >> reporter: yeah, the incident that we're still talking about today. alec baldwin, more to say today. he apologized to his fellow passengers for any delays caused when he was kicked off a plane for playing words with friends on his iphone, but, you know, he isn't apologizing, don, to american airlines. he posted a blog on "the hustington post" blaming the flight attendant for the entire situation. >> oh, geez. >> reporter: he says he was unfairly targeted by the attendant and will try to get through this without cracking up. the quote he gave, the lesson i've learned is to keep my phone

off when the 1950s gym teacher is on duty. in the wake of this story, baldwin who originally responded to this story on twitter while he deactivated his account, kind of a shame because he really used twitter to interact with his fans and seemed like he enjoyed it but the happiest people out there is the company zynga, the company behind words with friends and seen a spike in interest in the game since the story broke and the company is trying to capitalize on the publicity with cheeky ads, let alec play. it just keeps coming. >> this whole thing is about word play, word with friend. what's behind the words, what's wrong with a 1950s gym teacher? >> it's hilarious, but i just -- i couldn't read that line without falling out of my chair. i kept it together for this so that's good. >> all righty. thank you, kareen wynter, appreciate it. >> reporter: thanks, don. coming up next hour, the latest harry potter movie brought in about $1 billion worldwide so far.

now one of the stars is named entertainer of the year. kareen wynter will tell us which one next hour when she brings us more in our showbiz headlines. b? just a second. just, just one second. ♪ what are you looking at? don't look up there. why are you looking up? ♪ get outta the car. get outta the car. ♪ are you ok? the... get in the car. get in the car! [ male announcer ] the epa estimated 42 mpg highway chevy cruze eco. from spending time together, to spending your lives together, chevy runs deep.

occupy protesters around the world are getting spiritual support and material help from local churches. jesus, a or a guy dressed like him, even camped out on the steps of st. paul's cathedral in london. an opinion piece on our belief blog contends that jesus would

oppose the occupiers, not join them. joining us is tony perkins who wrote an op-ed and heads up the family research council at the conservative and controversial christian think tank and wrote that on our belief blog. thank you for joining us. good morning to you. >> good morning, don. >> good morning. >> obviously you've written this based on your interpretation of biblical doctrine but one of jesus' tenets concerns the least of these so wouldn't it be more likely he would side with the struggling folks rather than the bankers and money men? >> i think the title of the piece is a little more provocative than the actual piece itself and i didn't title it, and i don't think jesus would actually pick either side, but i do think there are principles at plate here. you know, a parable on luke 19, it's a story that identifies with common activities to draw on a much deeper spiritual meaning and jesus is speaking to his followers saying the kingdom

of god is not coming right away and i want you to occupy. the term occupy means do business and he endorses activities like trading, banking, interest, and those types of things. so it's speaking to the fact that these are legitimate activities that are key to the free market system. >> okay. >> in your piece, mr. perkins, you criticize these protests against ecut and you say each of us is given the same opportunity to build our lives and to succeed. that's great in theory, but do you actually think that's the reality? >> well, again, you go to the parable and that's one thing that's shocker and that's common among the parables jesus told. he actually kind of refutes this idea that everybody gets a trophy, that you simply show up and everybody is treated the same. he actually takes what the lazy servant had, the one pound that he began with and he gave it to

the one who had gained ten pounds in his trading, and he says this. he says to -- to those who have, more will be given, and that is counterintuitive, at least to the way we think today, that somehow we have to have -- we have to have this equality of outcomes based upon inequitable contributions so i think that is a notion that is in clear contrast with some who are promoting the occupy movement. >> good stuff, good point you said about the title of the article versus what's actually in it because it may be more provocative. it doesn't seem as you're provocative as i'm speaking to you right now. >> i do think that jesus is not going to say i'm for those who are engaged in unethical behavior, absolutely not and you're correct. the scripture, when you interpret it, you have to look at it along with other scriptures, but i think what he's saying here is we should be engaged in business, and part of that we gain should be helped -- be helping the poor, helping the widows, the fatherless, the

strangers, but through our own activities, not through the leverage of government coming in trying to bring about equitable outcomes. >> we've got to run. tony perkins, thank you very much. appreciate it. >> all right, don. you can read tony's piece at cnn.com/beliefs, cnn.com/beliefs, and if you would like to join the conversation you can leave a comment for him. 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.

take a look at stories making news later on today at 11:00 a.m. eastern, pittsburgh. attorneys representing bernie fine of sexually assaulting him as a child speak to the media. at 1:30 eastern in suburban

atlanta, the man accused of killing a georgia girl is set to show up in court. the latest motions in california's proposition eight hearings. we're following lots of developments in the next hour. let's check in with mr. mark preston. >> hey, don, there's new evidence that newt gingrich is more than just the flavor of the month. in his race for the republican presidential nomination, i'll have that story at the top of the hour. >> i'm meterologist, jacqui jeras, a fast moving storm brought record rain and snow. the winds are still sticking around. >> and i'm alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. a credit rating agency has put the eurozone on notice. that warning is to be ready for a downgrade. plus how markets are reacting to the make or break debt summit in brussels. i'll have more on all of that in the next hour.

thank you very much. also next hour, bangor, maine, is the first american soil many u.s. troops touched when they returned from war. we'll introduce you to a dedicated group of people who are at that airport every time a plane load of troops arrives to welcome them home. that's why we created the share the love event. get a great deal on a new subaru and $250 goes to your choice of 5 charities. with your help, we can reach $20 million dollars by the end of this, our fourth year. we're often so busy dealing with what's in front of us that we lose sight of the big picture. that's why it's good, every now and then, to pause, take a new look at your financial plan and make sure you're headed in the right direction. for more than 140 years, pacific life has been offering

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one team is out. you're out of here. another team is in. jeff, it's hard to tell who has

the inside track for the baseball's best slugger. >> we were just talking about this yesterday. it looked like maybe the marlins would real in first baseman albert pujols. the marlins went out and spent their cash somewhere else. now they can't afford him. obviously he could go back to the st. louis cardinals but he wants more dead presidents. the team that could swoop in, the angels. they're offering him 10 years, $210 million. pujols wants time to decide. great hoops last night. florida's final 4. this one goes to overtime. the gators irving walker. that's a hoop for two. the gators keep pouring it on. there's no stopping the gators early on in the final four. the win for billy donovan, the club in overtime. 78-72. don, check this out. i played hoops growing up but i was bound to the ground i think is one way to put it.

here's what it looks like and feels like to fly. an lsu cheerleader wearing a tiny camera and 100,000 people watching. >> wow. >> you know, some people are made for that. i'm not, but whew. that's what it looks like when you have 100,000 people watching you do flips in the air. >> nice. go tigers. appreciate it. so twitter is giving a philharmonic course in canada something to sing about. along with some new tips to stay warm. >> reporter: imagine your pathetic little tweet sung by a majestic 120 member chorus. >> we decided to ask people to tweet how to stay warm in a calgary winter. >> reporter: the calgary philharmonic chorus sang those tweeted tips to one of the most

mellow dramatic pieces ever. ♪ >> reporter: do people actually put their clothes in the dryer to warm them up before they go out? >> of course. ♪ clothes in dryer ♪ ♪ ♪ set the timer ♪ ♪ ♪ hop into a warm outfit. >> reporter: the chorus did this to promote the canadian citizen of calgary. ♪ >> reporter: beer might help to wash down one of the most popular tweets sing by the chorus. some of the tweets require

translation from the canadian. >> it's a french canadian delicacy of fridays with cheese on top and then gravy on top of that. >> reporter: tweeted tips on how to stay warm are nice, but someone posted, they should do this with kanye west or snookie tweets. kanye wests have already been done on jimmy kimmel's show. ♪ if you are pillows are hard to actually sleep on ♪ ♪ >> reporter: so are snookie's tweets. >> love my tattoos [ bleep ]. >> reporter: even sarah palin has had her tweets performed by william shatner. a consistent rain reminds us, no rain, no rainbow.

>> reporter: delivered soulfully, almost any tweet will have you. >> lmao. >> reporter: jeanne moos, cnn. thank you very much, jeannie. happening right now on capitol hill, two powerful men involved in two separate showdowns for congress. jon corzine will face big questions over his failed wall street firm. $1.2 billion worth of investors' money missing now. corzine plans to say he doesn't know where it is. attorney general eric holder is getting grilled over the fast and furious gun sting. he allowed illegal guns to be smuggled into arizona. jeffrey too bin joins me now. jeff, let's talk about corzine. it doesn't appear as though he is going to take responsibility for his company, m.f. global's

implosion. >> reporter: he has released a draft of his opening statement, and it's really an extraordinary comedown for a guy who was the head of goldman sachs, who was the senator, who was a governor, and now has presided over this megafinancial disaster. most people in his circumstances would take the fifth. there's a victim nal investigation going on, but i guess he didn't want to take that much humiliation so he is simply in a very general way denying any wrongdoing, explaining the investigation is continuing but he's not saying much about the specifics of what happened. >> okay. let's turn now, and we'll watch and see what happens when he does testify. let's turn now to eric holder. fast and furious. there are those who are calling for eric holder to resign over this, jeffrey. is he fighting for his job here? is that likely to happen? might he have to resign? >> reporter: at this point, i don't see any possibility that

eric holder is going to resign. this was an investigation in arizona that appeared to have gone wrong. there were guns that apparently made it into mexico into the hands of the drug cartel. it was supposed to be a sting operation. it didn't work out properly, but the idea that this is something that eric holder has to resign about certainly doesn't seem to have taken hold outside of a really fairly small core of republican politicians. i don't really see this, at least based on the facts that are publicly available at this point, leading to his resignation. >> thank you, jeff. politics now. newt gingrich building on his lead in big states. according to a new cnn orc poll, time orc poll, gingrich leads in three of the four nominating states. he is closing the gap in new

hampshire as well. mitt romney's backyard. we've seen other candidates surge and fallaway. our wolf blitzer asked him this, if that possibility makes him nervous. >> your critics say, you, newt gingrich, are fully capable of implo imploding, if you will, making a mistake, blunder that could turn things around. are you worried about that? >> sure. that would be a bad thing to do. is it possible? i guess. on the other hand, i've had a very long career and i have a very public record and i think people are coming to decide that they like substance and they like somebody who actually has balanced the budget, reformed welfare, cut taxes, gotten it done for real. so i think there's probably a little more resilience in my support than in some of the other folks who made a run at this. more politics now, specifically capitol hill. let's go to capitol hill where eric holder is testifying about his involvement in the fast and

furious gun program. >> officers around the world, the department's 117,000 employees have made historic progress in protecting the american people from a range of unprecedented threats, from global terrorism, violent crime, to financial fraud, human trafficking and more. we have disrupted numerous potentially devastating terrorist plots and successfully prosecuted scores of dangerous terrorists. the department's efforts on behalf of the most vulnerable among us, including victims of civil rights abuses and hate crimes have never been more effective. the partnerships that we have built with state, local, and tribal law enforcement officials have never been stronger. today it's a privilege to be joined by several key public safety partners. these five police executives, chief fred beel field of baltimore, ed davis of boston, chief rodney monroe of charlotte, ralph god by of detroit, and commissioner charles ramsay of philadelphia

have been leaders of developing and implementing effective crime prevention strategies. we have also worked closely with the department in advancing critical efforts to reverse the alarming rise in law enforcement fatalities in recent years. the work that we do along the southwest border is influenced by the efforts that they have undertaken in their own cities. in the cities that they serve and in communities across the country this work is a priority. in our ongoing efforts to protect the american people, a critical area of focus will continue to be our battle against gun violence on the southwest border. in recent years the department has devoted significant resources to this fight, and specifically to addressing the unacceptable rate of illegal firearms trafficking from the united states to mexico. unfortunately in the pursuit of that laudable goal unacceptable tactics were adopted as part of operation "fast and furious." now as i have repeatedly stated,

allowing guns to walk, whether in this administration or the prior one, is wholly unacceptable. the use of this misguided tactic is inexcusable and it must never happen again. soon after learning about the allegations raised by atf agents involved with "fast and furious" i took action to ensure accountability. in february i asked the department's acting inspectsor general to investigate the matter and in early march i order that had a directive be sent to law enforcement agents and prosecutors prohibiting such tactics. more recently the new acting director of atf, todd jones, implemented reforms to prevent these tactics from being used in the future, including training and stricter oversight procedures for all significant investigations. now although the department has taken steps to ensure that such tactics are never used again, it is an unfortunate reality that we will continue to feel the effects of this flawed operation for years to come. guns lost during this operation

will continue to show up at crime scenes on both sides of the border. as we work to identify where errors occurred and to ensure that these mistakes never happen again, we must not lose sight of the critical challenge that this flawed operation has highlighted, and that is the battle to stop the flow of guns to mexico. of the nearly 94,000 guns that have been recovered and traced in mexico in the last five years, more than 64,000 were sourced to the united states. during this time the trafficking of firearms across our southwest border has contributed to approximately 40,000 deaths in mexico. the reforms that we have undertaken do not make any of the losses of life more beerable for grieving families. they do portray in stark terms the difficult challenges that law enforcement agencies confront every day in working to disrupt illegal firearms transfers. operation "fast and furious "appears to be a deeply flawed

effort to respond to these challenges. as we work to avoid future losses and further mistakes, it is unfortunate that some have used inflammatory and inappropriate rhetoric about one particular tragedy that occurred near the southwest border in an effort to score political points. nearly one year ago while working to protect his fellow citizens u.s. customs and border protection agent terry was murdered in arizona. we all should feel outrage about his death and as i have communicated directly to agent terry's family, we are dedicated to pursuing justice on his behalf. the department is also working to answer questions that the terry family has raised, including whether and how firearms connected to fast and furious end up with mexican drug cartels. in her independent review i expect the questions to be answered. i understand that congress also wants answers. justice department employees have been working tirelessly to

identify, to locate, and to provide relevant information to this committee and to the two other committees that are investigating "fast and furious" all while preserving the integrity of our ongoing investigations and prosecutions. the department has been fully cooperative and responsive in its dealings with congress. i have answered questions in the house and the senate on four occasions concerning this matter. to date we have provided almost 5,000 pages of documents for congressional investigators to review. we have scheduled numerous witness interviews and testified at public hearings and just last week we provided an unprecedented access to internal deliberative documents to explain how inaccurate information was initially conveyed to congress. these documents demonstrate justice department personnel relied on information provided by supervisors from the components in the best position to know the relevant facts. we now know that some information provided by those

supervisors was inaccurate. i understand that in subsequent interviews with congressional investigators these supervisors have stated that they did not know at the time that information provided in a ler to congressional leaders earlier this year was inaccurate. the documents produced to date also belie the remarkable notion that this operation was conceived by department leaders as some have claimed. it is my understanding that department leaders were not informed with the inappropriate tactics employed in this operation until those tactics were made public. and as is customary, turned to those with supervisory responsibility over the operation in an effort to learn facts. but what is clear is that disrupting the dangerous flow of firearms along the southwest border and putting an end to the violence that has claimed far too many lives is and will continue to be a top priority for this department of justice. this year alone we have led successful investigation into the murders of united states citizens in mexico, created new

car tell targeting prosecutorial units and secured the extradition of more than 100 defendants wanted by united states law enforcement including the former head of the tijuana cartel. we built crime fighting capacity on both sides. border by developing new procedures for using evidence gathered in mexico to prosecute gun traffickers in u.s. courts, by training thousands of mexican prosecutors and investigators, by successfully fighting to enhancing sentencing guidelines for convicted traffickers and straw purchasers and by pursuing coordinated multi-district investigations of gun trafficking rings. now despite this progress, we have more to do. each of us has a duty to act and to rise above partisan divisions and politically motivated gains. the american people deserve better. it is time for a new dialogue about these important issues, one that is respectful, responsible, and factual. this will require us to apply the lessons that we've learned

from law enforcement officers, like the ones who sit behind me today, who protect public safety and our national security every day. in that regard, not only did atf agents bring the inappropriate and misguided tactics of operation "fast and furious to light," they also sounded the alarm for more effective laws to combat gun trafficking and improve public safety. atf agents who testified before the house committee on oversight and government reform this summer explained that the agency's ability to stem the flow of guns suffers from a lack of effective enforcement tools. one critical first step should be for congress to provide atf with the tools and the authorities that it needs. unfortunately, earlier this year the majority of house members voted to keep law enforcement in the dark when individuals purchase multiple semi-automatic rifles, shotguns and long guns like ak 47 in gun shops in four southwest border states.

going forward, the hope that we can work together to provide law enforcement agents with the tools that they desperately need to protect the country and to ensure their own safety. for their sake, we cannot afford to allow the tragic mistakes of operation "fast and furious" to become a political sideshow or a series of media opportunities. instead, we must move forward and recommit ourselves to our shared public safety obligations. i am willing to work with you in this effort. i look forward to your questions. >> thank you, mr. attorney general. other members are going to ask you about "fast and furious" so i'm going to pick a different subject and ask you about the extent of justice cagan's involvement with the health care legislation. my first question is this, to your knowledge did then solicitor general cagan ever give advice or express an opinion on legal or constitutional issues involving the health carol legislation? >> i do not believe so. in fact, as i testified in the

senate last month, i guess, we took steps to physically exclude or remove the conversation. >> what month did that take place? when did you start excluding her from those types of -- >> attorney general holder taking questions now. we're going to take a quick break. back in a moment. defeats dandruff after just one use. t/gel shampoo. it works. neutrogena®. is best absorbed in small continuous amounts. only one calcium supplement does that in one daily dose. citracal slow release... continuously releases calcium plus d for the efficient absorption my body needs. citracal.

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so get the insurance responsible drivers like you deserve. looks really good. call us at... or visit your local liberty mutual office, where an agent can help you find the policy that's right for you. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? we have live pictures now in washington where attorney general eric holder is testifying in front of a committee. they're investigating the "fast and furious" gun program. he's taking questions about health care. we'll bring that testimony to you in moments.

in the meantime want to check stories across country now. more confrontations and arrest as police in san francisco took down the encampment belonging to occupy protesters. dozens were arrested in the wednesday morning raid. in indiana yesterday, a smash and grab robbery of a local gun store is caught on tape after driving an suv into the building. they found much of the merchandise safely locked up. they did an estimated $35,000 damage to the store. this is from hawaii's big island. hot lava sent nearby residents scrambling. the photographer said one homeowner had to be rescued by helicopter after the molten lava surrounded his house. europe has been the main focus on wall street all week and the action heats up again today. the european central bank makes a move on interest rates.

eurozone leaders are convening in brussels. alison kosik at the new york stock exchange for us. how are investors reacting to all of this, alison? >> just look at the numbers, don. the numbers tell you the story. investors clearly, they're nervous. they're nervous about whether or not this summit will produce any concrete results at this point. you look at this situation. this is, what, the umpteenth major summit that's happening in europe in a debt crisis. sure, you see investors are being very cautious. you won't see them buy into the markets in a big way. the market's lower despite some positive news that came out. the european central bank, that's the equivalent of our fed, that cut interest rates. the thing is, it didn't commit to aggressively buying government bonds. this rate cut, it was expected because of the threat of europe going into recession and these lower rates are meant to boost growth in europe. also some good news on the u.s. front here on jobs. jobless claims fell to 381,000.

that's the lowest level since the end of february. investors are not focusing on that, they're focusing more on the big picture. they're focusing on europe. >> listen, standard & poor's has put the entire european union on review for possible downgrade. will this give european leaders more incentive to get a deal done at today's summit. >> you know, it may. that's a good question. it may give them sort of a little fire under their you know what, but i think at the very least it's just a reminder of how serious, how severe the situation is. europe is well aware that it needs to get something done. you see politicians coming out and speaking before the microphones. there's nicolas sarkozy. he says failing to reach an agreement is a luxury we can't afford. a french minister said failure will be a disaster for europe and the whole world. what they're trying to do is push for more influence over the national budgets of eurozone countries. basically it means that instead of everyone going at it alone,

there would be more of a coordinated effort, more oversight, but the problem here, the big sticking point, don, is that all 27 countries, they have to sign off on t. at this point not everyone is on board. that's kind of the fly in the ointment at this moment in the game. don? >> alison kosik, appreciate it. coming up, a surprise ruling on the morning after pill and a lot of folks think it was based more on politics than on actual science. we'll take a look at the controversy. eb all day. guinea pig: row...row.took one, 8 months to get the guin: ..row. lile cbby one to yell row! guineaig: ro's kof strange. guinig: row...row. such a simple word... row. anncr: t an easierayof strange. save. get online. go to geico.com. get a quote. e u 15% or more on car insurance.

let's talk about a very controversial story. the government made a decision on the morning after pill. most teenagers will still need a prescription. senior medical correspondent, elizabeth cone is here. explain the ruling. some don't understand it. >> let's explain what the drug is. plan b is what a woman takes the morning after she's had unprotected intercourse. woops, i might be pregnant. you go to the store and you get this. if you are under the age of 17, have you to have a prescription. over 17 you can just walk in and get it. so the company that makes it asked the fda if they could make it over the counter for everybody, and the fda said, sure. it's safe and effective for let's say a 15-year-old just

like it is a 17-year-old. we think a 15-year-old could understand the directions just like a 17-year-old. then what happened was secretary of health and human services, ka sabilia overrode her own scientists. she said, i disagree with you. this shouldn't be over the counter for the young teens. >> let's be honest to play devil's advocate here. this isn't like an aspirin or tylenol. this is a much more serious drug. >> it depends how you look at it. it's actually relatively simple. you have unprotected intercourse and within 72 hours you take a pill. it doesn't cause any kind of heavy, heavy bleeding or anything like that. it's so early on that it's not, as it has been explained and described to me, it is not a huge medical ordeal. at 17, the argument they're giving is if a 17-year-old can get it over the counter, why not a 16-year-old. >> what about politics?

>> you have to wonder. i will tell you, don, it is extremely unusual, i can't think of another time where the secretary of health and human services has disagreed with her own scientists. you have the scientists saying, yeah, we think this is fine for, say, a 15-year-old to take over the counter. we don't see a problem with it scientifically. she says, no. i know you're the scientist, but i'm going to disagree with you on the science. that's unusual. >> because of her position, this is it? it's over? it's a done deal now? >> it's interesting. i suppose the company could go back and try it apply again. it would be certainly very difficult. this is going to be a tough one to overcome. >> thank you, elizabeth cohen. appreciate it. rick perry says if he's elected he'll end what he calls president obama's war on religion. we'll ask our political buzz panel if this is something voters care about. ♪

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back now to capitol hill and eric holder taking questions from congress. >> you are basically saying, well, geez, somebody else did it. there is really no

responsibility within the justice department. the thing is is that if we don't get to the bottom of this, and that requires your assistance on that, there is only one alternative that congress has, and it's called impeachment where our subpoena powers are plenary and there can't be any type of illegal immunity or privilege that can be asserted on that. now, you know, i've done more impeachments than anybody else in the history of the country. it is an expensive and messy affair, and i don't want to go this far, but if we keep on getting pushed down the road and the can keeps on getting kicked and we don't get closure to this, what is congress to do so that we don't spend all of our time in court arguing privilege, which is not a way to get at the truth? >> well, the justice department

has released facts, and i think that's what we need to focus on, fact. the february 4th letter, i made the determination that we would release things that the justice department has never, ever released before, deliberative -- core deliberative material about how that letter was put together, information that clearly could have been withheld and has always been withheld by my predecessors. i expect by my successors as well. getting to the bottom of this is something that we all want to do. the inspector general, pursuant to my request, is conducting an investigation of this matter and i suspect will have a great many more answers than we presently do. i don't have the ability to do a top to bottom investigation at this point out of did he have ferns to the investigation that is being done by the inspector general. that does not, however, preclude me from taking action that i

think appropriate based on information that comes to my attention in spite of the fact that the inspector general has an ongoing investigation. >> well, you won't have an independent counsel and we end up having the justice department investigating itself in the absence of an independent counsel. you know, having gone through interminable hearings, with all due respect, mr. attorney general, you've got to get this done much more quickly than plugging the holes that ended up showing that existed in the department. >> chairman i have a parliamentary interruption. >> for what reason does the gentleman from texas? >> i seek clarification. the gentleman indicated impeachment. i was not sure which official or which person he was speaking from? >> the gentleman from wisconsin was referring to the fact that while he was chairman of this

committee he oversaw the impeachment process. >> excuse me. continue my inquiry. we will get back to the hearings in just moments here on cnn. we are monitoring them for you. let's talk now about the political buzz happening beyond what's going on on capitol hill. it's a rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. three questions, 30 seconds on the top. playing today, founder and editor of citizen jane politics, patricia murphy. robert zimmerman, the democratic national committee, of the democratic national committee. and will cain. how do you like that? first question, alina cho sat down with bill clinton and he's singing gingrich's praises again. listen. >> he is first resilient and, secondly, he's always thinking and he's got a million ideas.

some of them are good, some of them i think are horrible. i thought in that last debate he had the most responsible position on immigration. he's the only guy that didn't totally jump in the tank with the tea party send them all home yesterday. >> politicians just don't say kind things about people on the other side of the aisle. what's mr. clinton's motivation for all of these kind words. >> i do believe that bill clinton has a lot of respect, even for republicans he considered to be worthy adversaries, but i think in this case bill clinton is reminding us that newt gingrich is not always who we think he is even though he now calls democrats a bunch of social lists, he has worked with hillary clinton, tom dash shell. he's worked with them on a lot of issues that conservatives don't like at all, climate change, health care. i think bill clinton does respect newt gingrich for his tactics but i think he's saying who is this guy. >> what's his motivation,

robert? >> you know, don, how did you get so cynical? i can't imagine. let's start from the following premise where bill clinton said, it was absolutely accurate. no matter who you speak to, even his republican detractors acknowledge that's true about newt gingrich. the point here simply is politically those who are -- you can interpret bill clinton's comments about newt gingrich to hurt him with the republican base. you can interpret it to give him stature. the bottom line is it does give a different perspective on newt gingrich. ultimately it's bill clinton being accurate and having a lot of fun. >> will cain, the truth, come on. what's his motivation? >> that's right. it's not about whether or not that's accurate, robert. it's about why would he say those things. i would suggest to you maybe bill clinton is an awful, terrible poker player. he wants newt gingrich to be the nominee. why would tom could he burn and several respected republicans, i'm going to amend that

statement, many respected republicans speak out against newt gingrich while bill clinton speaks for him? they want him to be the nominee. democrats want him to be the nominee. they have a stack of papers this high of opposition research waiting should he be the nominee to crush him. >> if i can say to will, don't play poker with bill clinton. >> that's it. what's my motivation? i'll say and seen. thank you, will. very good answer. up next, rick perry says in a new ad that he'll end obama's war on religion. it's an idea he echoed on cnn. listen. >> what we're seeing from the left, of which i would suggest to you president obama is a member of the left and substantial left of center beliefs, that you can't even have a christmas party. >> okay. so the thing should be is there a war on christmas but is this

something that voters actually care about? robert, you go first. >> you know, of course. every person with any sense of decency should care about what rick perry said. let me point out, don, i've taken on elected officials in my party for engaging in divisive and hateful rhetoric. i hope they'll also stand up to rick perry. there is no war on christmas first of all. >> war on religion. >> or against religion. let's be clear. secondly, he tries to use christmas to divide america, to attack the guy and lesbian community, it's an assault on everyone's sense of decency and moralitiy. the ultimate irony is he did exactly as governor of texas in his last year's christmas message what he's accusing democrats to do it. >> i cut you off a little bit there. i gave you a couple more seconds. is there a war on religion and is this something voters care about? will? >> i think it's quite clear that one party represents the party of apple pie and good

ole american southern dirt and true american values. the other one is quite clearly socialist. no, no, no. i've got time. i've got time. >> use your time well. >> it's clearly pan do remembering. it's clearly reprehensible. you're draping political votes in the flag of christianity as though god favors one vote over the other. >> patricia, go ahead. >> i'm going to agree with both of the guys. there is no war on christmas or religion within this white house. there is a gigantic christmas tree in front of the white house. there's a huge christmas tree inside of the white house. there's a gigantic christmas party every year at the white house all under president obama and i think for rick perry this is very clearly an act of desperation. he has got to do well in the iowa caucuses, the evangelical vote there. 37%. they are a huge piece of the caucus pie, if you will.

there's no way he'll get out of the iowa caucuses if he doesn't do well. lying to evangelicals isn't the way to get the votes. >> when i go home today as a christian and i pray and get on my knees, no one's going to come to my house and get me. >> not today. >> you're safe. >> just checking. now your buzzer beater. 20 seconds each. jimmy fallon jokes about donald trump's debate. listen. >> trump is hosting a debate in iowa but so far newt gingrich and rick santorum are the only presidential candidates to rsvp. rick santorum requested a plus one so he could bring all of his supporters. >> all right. so if you're advising a candidate, would you tell them to show up at the debate. >> no. i'll tell you what you said a moment ago, don. it's about free markets and limited government, self-responsibility, all the things that has made america and for that matter human beings

exceptional over the last 200 years. i wouldn't allow that to be attached to a clown like donald trump or political pand do remembering. >> patricia. >> two sets of advice. if you have no chance of winning the iowa caucuses, if you're in single digits, go to this event. take the free press. act responsibly. make a good name. do it for what it's worth, which is a lot of free press. if you have any chance of winning, including newt gingrich, stay as far away as possible. this is classic newt gingrich doing something that is very risky. >> robert? >> look, donald trump is turning the entire republican field, all the candidates, into an atlantic city lounge act for the right wing. the opening question's going to be trump saying i don't want to talk about myself, what do you think of me? so the reality is anyone who is a credible presidential candidate should not be there. >> robert zimmerman will be

playing here all weeks long. >> tip your waiters on the way out. >> thank you, robert, patricia, thanks, will. donald trump, a guy with a lot of buzz as you can tell. he's about to enter the situation room. he sits down with wolf blitzer to talk about the gop debate and who will participate. remember alec baldwin's words with friends tweet made after being kicked off a plane. words is getting quite a boost from the internet. that story next in "showbiz." or good decisions? ones i've made. ones we've all made. about marriage. children. money. about tomorrow. here's to good decisions. who matters most to you says the most about you. massmutual is owned by our policyholders so they matter most to us. massmutual. we'll help you get there.

he sits down with wolf blitzer

this is developing news, folks. pay attention.

update on a sports story we told you about last hour. the los angeles angels have apparently won the albert pujols sweepstakes. they have agreed to a 10-year, ready, $250 million deal. must be nice. the deal includes a full no-trade clause. that's something pujols had been looking for in talks with the miami marlins but apparently didn't get it. he has played his entire major league career with the st. louis cardinals. they were in the bidding as of late yesterday. not anymore. when "today show" host matt lawer hinted he may step down. this morning we hear that a successor just might be "american idol's" ryan see crest. we'll tell but that after the break. kidding. ryan always says that.

kareen wynter. kareen, what's going on? >> what's going on? >> there have been talks? >> yes. yes. not a done deal, just talks. according to multiple reports, don, nbc has been talking to ryan see crest about his joining the "today show." neither side is commenting publicly. it means that seacrest and the entire e network are part of the nbc family, and he has a relationship with the "today show." according to the hollywood reporter seacrest's contract is up next year with e. there's a lot of talk that this would be a perfect fit. again, not a done deal. in public, lawer, he's only dropped hints about leaving. it could be a play by nbc in leverage for negotiating with the anchorman. neither seacrest or nbc is saying anything. >> we'll move on. let's talk about alec baldwin's plane adventure. turns out to be a plus for the game words with friends.

i said to you, was this some sort of undercover advertisement for words with friends yesterday? >> you called it yesterday. i was going to remind you about that, but there you go. you reminded me and all the viewers. yeah, this is huge in a big way for the company. let's get to alec first. he's apologized to his fellow passengers for any delays caused when he was playing on his iphone. he isn't apologizing, don, to american airlines. in the wake of this, baldwin deactivated his twitter account and blamed the flight attendants for the entire situation. the happiest people out there today though is the game company zynga. they're the company behind the game. they've seen a huge spike in the game. the company is trying to capitalize on the publicity with some creative ads by saying, let alec play. you called t. they're happy. they want alec to keep this whole thing going so we can talk about it tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, next week. >> it's too bad because alec

baldwin's twitter feed is hilarious. we'll miss that. >> that's a loss for everyone out there. get it back up and going, alec. >> thank you. we appreciate it. if you want more information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, catch it this evening on "showbiz tonight" 11:00 eastern. only on h.l.n. a vermont woman cashes in on the ugly christmas sweater craze. it's next in cross-country. nyquil (stuffy): hey, tylenol. you know we're kinda like twins. tylenol: we are? nyquil (stuffy): yeah, we both relieve coughs, sneezing, aches, fevers. tylenol: and i relieve nasal congestion. nyquil (stuffy): overachiever. anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't.

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we're going to take you across country now for some stories. a teenager is being called a hero after he woke his school bus driver who fell asleep behind the wheel. do you see, there's video of it. emmanuel williams said he saw the driver nodding off when the bus was heading off the interstate. the 65-year-old driver could be fired. in dublin, california, producers for "mythbusters" are apologizing for an experiment

that went very long. they damaged a home and a car. luckily nobody was hurt. in killington, vermont, business is booming at my ugly christmas sweater. crafter ann marie blackman said she had to expand operations this year. she sells thousands of sweaters worldwide, some for as much as $80. good for you in this economy. those sweaters are really ugly. take a look at this. it's what some folks in the south woke up to this morning. that same ice and snowstorm, then it headed north. meterologist jacqui jeras up next. ♪ what are you looking at? don't look up there. why are you looking up? ♪ get outta the car. get outta the car. ♪ are you ok? the... get in the car. get in the car!

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let's talk some weather. a snowstorm that hit much of the south and then headed toward the northeast. we'll take a look at what the system left in memphis, tennessee, last night. two inches of snow on bridges and overpasses there. same situation in north carolina last night. we want to check in with jacqui jeras. she's been tracking the storm. it's moving. where did it move? >> so fast it's out of here, but the snow and rain, anyway. let's be specific, okay? that's out of here. but the winds are still sticking around. look at this thing. we were still raining in providence this morning. now that's all the way up into the canadian maritimes. that's the good news. the bad news is that the wind sticks around. that's causes delays at the airport. over an hour at laguardia. newark 1.5 hours. the wind, very cold temperatures. it's been brutal. a reinforcing shot of cold air coming in across the upper

midwest behind this. temperatures will be very chilly. this is going to last through the weekend. do expect that to stick around. as that cold air blows over the warmer lake waters we'll see a moderate lake effect snow event. we can be talking about as much as ten inches of snow off lakes eerie and ontario. >> that does happen. >> it does. >> it's winter. >> it's december. >> it happened in july, if it did, that would not be good. thank you very much. in the next hour of the "cnn newsroom" with suzanne malveaux, we'll go live to pittsburgh. attorneys will announce a civil lawsuit against bernie fine. look at these big pieces of potato. ♪ what's that? big piece of potato. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. nyqui tylenol: me, too. and cougnasal congestion.ers? big piece of potato. nyquil:what? tissue box (whispering): he said nasal congestion...

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anncr: get online. go to geico.com. get a quote. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com politics now. christ christy may not be running for president, but he's still catching heat now on the campaign trail. he was campaigning for mitt romney when hecklers child in. paul steinhauser picks up the story. what happened? >> christy of course endorsed romney about two months ago. he was out there on the campaign trail. iowa, the first state to vote. occupy wall street protesters, take a listen to what they said. >> while there are things depressing right now about our situation in america, there is one thing that is extraordinarily uplifting. >> what's that? chris christy and mitt romney.

for the corporate 1%. >> oh, yeah. we know that our country's really at a crossroads, and let's talk about those folks for a second, okay? well, listen, here's the way i feel about it, they represent an anger in our country that barak obama has caused. >> yeah. >> chris christy never at a loss for words. he also pointed out the differences, what he said, he pointed out mitt romney's attributes as a family man. maybe that's a subtle hint or dig at newt gingrich. stay tuned. we'll see a loot more on the campaign trail. one other thing to share with you. new poll numbers in ohio, pennsylvania and florida. the numbers indicate the president's approval rating in all three of those states who havering above 40%. troubling for the president in three states that he won three years ago. remember, don, of course the general election still 11