our anderson cooper and cathy griffin back at it. they'll, again, be cohosting live from times square. get ready cnn correspondents will provide supports from celebrations around the country and around the world. again, that party starts saturday night 11:00 p.m. right here on cnn. and that does it for us. we'll be back here bright and early again tomorrow morning. actually, i'll be back tonight at 7:00 eastern with "out front" but right now hala in the "cnn newsroom." >> good morning. we begin with presidential politics one week from today talk will turn to action after months of campaigning, the republican candidates face their first real test in iowa. the caucuses mark the first formal vote of the 2012 race. joe johns is in des moines along with cnn political director mark preston. all right, let's talk about the statistical dead heat there at the top in iowa. joe johns, i'm going to start

with you and that question. candidates are going to be crisscrossing the state today. talk to us about this day a week before the caucuses, joe. >> oh, yeah, you can call this crunchtime for sure, hala. a time when the candidates really bear down and iowa truly gets focuses on the caucuses. mitt romney starts out his day in inp. the. however, he like many of the other candidates will end up here in iowa. he's going out on a bus tour and so is newt gingrich, in fact. he is another guy we're watching very closely and he is supposed to show up in an interview with wolf blitzer on "the situation room" later today. notably, one of the candidates who is expected to get back out here until tomorrow is ron paul and he and mitt romney and newt gingrich are locked up in a three-way statistical tie for the caucuses here in iowa. very busy days ahead.

and we're looking forward to it, hala. >> okay, yes, we look forward to your reporting, as well. mark, romney, gingrich and ron paul, all locked, as we have been saying, over the last several days in this statistical dead heat. so, what can we expect in terms of bold moves because each of the candidates is going to need one to sort of breakaway from the pack in iowa. >> well, you know, hala, the bold moves you might be talking about might not be from the candidates themselves as it might be from the outside groups that try to influence the election. we're seeing television ads on the air right now, some of them negative and some of them positive. as joe just said bus tours from the candidates across the state. the main theme we will hear from these candidates here in iowa where 60% of the iowa caucus goers. the iowa caucus goers in 2008 describe themselves as born again christians or evangelicals is family values.

expect to hear that a lot. but then it comes back to this number one issue, and that is the economy. so, expect to hear that from all of the candidates. you know, hala, we talked about mitt romney and ron paul and newt gingrich all in the statistical dead heat to see who is going to win the iowa caucuses. but just as important is all the other candidates such as michelmichele bachmann or rick santorum or rick perry. three candidates who have to do well here on january 3rd or their campaigns could be over, had, hala. >> what is the potential for bottom tier candidates to rise either next week in iowa or further down the line? >> well, you know, for someone like rick santorum, we saw them on the campaign trail yesterday, hala. trying to prove his credentials. he's trying his best, as you say, try to get that rise. he probably spent more time here in iowa than any other candidate. he really needs it.

the same with michele bachmann. she won the iowa straw poll back in august, but we've seen her campaign totally fade away and then rick perry who really could do well with social conservatives except that his campaign hasn't been very strong and he has faded away, as well. as we say, hala, the three of those don't do very well on january 3rd. those campaigns can be over sfp. >> joe johns, i want to ask you one last question about how these candidates are trying to appeal to caucus voter because social conservativism are both important things but mark was mentioning the economy. in the end, it will come down to that perhaps in the general election. so, how do they shift their campaign to appeal to those who are concerned about the economy, as much as those social conservative issues in the primary process? >> well, you know, it's a real balancing act and it always has been out here, but i think what mark said is one of the most interesting features of the iowa caucuses. so many evangelicals.

60% of them in the last caucuses voting. so, when you look at the economy, everybody's talking about it. different ways you appeal to republicans than you do democrats and a lot of talk out here about people standing, you know, self-reliance, standing on their own two feet and leaving the economy alone is another big theme. in other words, letting free enterprise, if you will, work here in this country as opposed to exerting the strong hand to the government. all of that is in play with these conservatives and there are a lot of different ways that these candidates can appeal to them on those terms. >> joe johns, mark preston in des moines, iowa. thanks very much. we're a week away from these caucuses in iowa with these three top tier candidates as far as the polls are concerned for iowa. mitt romney, newt gingrich and ron paul. we'll see if anyone else arises in the next few days of polling.

do stay with us because at the half hour, we're talking more by political landscape and the editor of "des moines register" will be my guest. do tune in for that. one week from today tune in for the iowa caucuses. america's choice 2012 is our live coverage of the iowa caucuses beginning tuesday night january 3rd at 7:00 p.m. eastern. let's turn our attention to international news now. we have a team of correspondents fanned out across the middle east. a group of fact finders from the arab league is now on the ground in syria. they're in the city of homs among other places to see if the government has ended its crackdown on protesters. before the group arrived, our sources in homs say that military forces left their positions. this is to comply with an arab league demand that the military withdraw from city centers.

thousands of protesters rallied against the regime. take a look at some of these images from homs today. so, still some violence and just today an opposition group reports four people dead in homs. 13 total throughout the country. mohammed is monitoring the story. we have. been allowed back into syria. i have to ask you about these witnesses saying the military was seen withdrawing from homs once the monitors came in. people say once the monitors leave, the tanks will roll right back into homs. >> that is certainly the fear at this hour, hala. the activists we have been speaking with many say that the government, not that they withdrew the tanks but they hid

them in government buildings very close to where crackdown husband been going on and they're very much afraid that once the observers leave today those thanks will come back in the streets and start shelling the houses, again, and start killing the people as was reported by so many activists. today we're also seeing a live streaming video of at least 20,000 people that have gathered, calling for help from the international community trying to get the attention of the international community. we're told earlier that this protest started small, but that it grew once residents there understood that because of the presence league observers that the military was not going to be cracking down on them today. and we've also seen video posted online by the syria observatory for human rights purportediing show members of the observation team in homs and another video which purports to show a resident there pleading with members of this observatory team.

hala. >> we're seeing some observers, one man there holding a cigarette, others sort of trying to explain to them what's going on. i want to look at that live stream, again. it shows you when there is no threat of military crackdown, this is what happens in cities like homs. people actually come out and there are thousands. now, for americans watching this and they have heard over the last nine plus months about this crackdown, what do the protesters want the international community to do? do they want them to do something similar to what happened in libya, for instance? >> well, right now they mainly want some sort of international body to be able to intervene and make sure these crackdowns stop. we heard from so many residents in cities like homs that fear that a genocide could happen, if there isn't a group that could come in and effectively deal with the syrian regime.

now, some people there hope that there could be a mission as there was in libya and that they could rid syria of that regime. others just hope that some kind of effective body can come in and monitor and the fear, the fear that we're hearing more and more from inside syria is that they don't believe that the arab league, with their 50 to 100 monitors is that body that can be effective in trying to counter the regime, even though the regime signed this protocol with the arab league a few days ago to try to avow these monitors in, we've heard that the crackdowns have only increased and the deaths have only increased. that's the concern right now. cnn's zanein verjee is in lunden and she has more reaction to the events going on in syria and the wider middle east. zain, what have people been saying about what is happening there now? >> let me give you a sense of what the newspaper headlines are now.

let's look at t"the national." credibility tests for arab league in syria mission. it's an opinion piece that says this mission should mark a turning point in the syrian crisis for that to be true, however, the arab league has to show its determination for fair and comprehensive reporting. take a look at "the guardian" hala. syria's story can follow a different script. it's a comment piece that says, "amid the horror. the first glimmer of good news has appeared. the airing leeb are deploying as part of a deal which offers the best and perhaps last chance of a political solution rather than a slide into all out civil war." the "international herald tribune" death toll in syrian city is said to be rising. it describes the scenes in homs and spoke of an intensifying war in some neighborhoods and holed

in bathrooms or lower floors for safety were not able to say where most of the fire was coming from. interesting to see if those observers will get any real access to some of the trouble spots in homs. what kind of real impact this trip is going to have. >> and what happens after they leave. thanks very much, zain verjee in london. we'll talk to you a bit later. a week after u.s. troops left iraq, iran is beginning to reassert their influence there. what this means for the neighbors' complicated relationship and what it means for the united states, as well. 2011 brought us memorable moments in politics, to say the least. we're looking at a list of the top ten. stay with us, we'll be right back. [ mujahid ] there was a little bit of trepidation, not quite knowing what the next phase was going to be, you know, because you been, you know, this is what you had been doing. you know, working, working, working, working, working, working. and now you're talking about, well you know, i won't be, and i get the chance to spend more time

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the white house might let yemen's president into the united states for medical treatment. the president was wounded in june during an attack on his palace. he was badly burned, in fact. he was treated in saudi arabia and he recently agreed to step down after 33 years in power and bloodshed in his country. it is still unclear if saleh would come to the u.s., even if he's allowed. the white house has not announced a decision. iran is making a bold push to deepen its ties with its neighbor, iraq. just a week after america's military exit. barbara starr joins us to explain what this means for both countries and, of course, for the united states, as well. after nine years at war now, iran and iraq seem to be getting

closer and closer in the middle east. so, what is this all about? >> well, you know, hala, i think a lot of people would tell you that iran never really abandoned its influence in iraq. only growing over the last nine years. iranian's weapons coming into iraq at various times and iranian money, religious influence, of course, cultural influence. but what we have now is a very open statement on the military front, essentially, from iran's armed forces, chief of staff. i want to read it to everyone. he says, from iran, he says "the islamic republic of iran is ready to establish, boost and expand all types of military, defense and security cooperation with the friendly and brotherly nation of iraq." so, this now brings it out in the open. of course, iran has backed militia groups inside iraq for many years and now out in the

open iran wants a military relationship with iraq and that is going to be problematic for the united states. they don't object to the religious, cultural, economic business ties, that's all very well understood. but the question here at the pentagon is exactly what is iran up to and just how much are they trying to destabilize whatever fragile piece there is in iraq. >> but this can't come as a surprise to the united states. the iraq invasion essentially got rid of a sunni dictator that was the biggest foe iran could ever have and now a shiite leadership in the country, so, it makes sense that they would form closer ties with iran. >> absolutely. this is why, you know, the u.s. administration has long acknowledged that reality. there are going to be very close ties between iran and iraq and, for that matter, iran and afghanistan. really the same issue on the table. the u.s. accepts that. there's no question about it. but what they want to keep a

very close eye on is any destabilization. iran has a long military history, of course, of using other countries as surrogates for their potential terrorist operations or something like that. that is going to be the concern. that's what the u.s. wants to keep watching for. >> okay, thanks very much, as the middle east and the arab world continues to recompose itself strategically. it's interesting to see how these things are developing. barbara starr, thanks very much for joining us. countdown to the iowa caucuses. candidates hit the ground. their messages fill the air. we'll look at the advertising blitz to help all these undec e undecided voters make up their minds. we'll show you this, a big brawl in a big mall. police had to step in with guns drawn. shoppers scrambling for the e t exits at the mall of america. we'll be right back. stay with us.

he had a bit of a health scare, but he's out of the hospital. we're talking about britain's prince philip. he had surgery to open a blocked artery in his heart. he is going to go back to where the family spent christmas and zain verjee has more from london. so, is the hospital or is buckingham palace saying anything about how he's doing now? >> they're saying that he is in good spirits, hala. he left the hospital all smiles and he waved as he left in the car, essentially, to rejoin the rest of the royal family. he was treated for a blocked coronary artery and they're saying that he's okay now.

i mean, yeah, he's 90 years old and he did have a little bit of a scare, but there he goes. back off to the family home in the countryside of the queen. this is really where the royal family, hala, spends their christmases. prince philip is likely to be a little bit disappointed because he missed the boxing day hunt. that's always the big day. he looks forward to that and enjoys shooting pheasants, the bird, not pheasants the people. he is going to be there for a while with the family. and the rest of the nation views him pretty fondly, actually. so, they'll be happy that he's back. hala? >> i'm glad it's pheasants with an h. he has wound down his work load. i would imagine after this health care she would really have to take it easy, right? >> he will take it easy.

he gave that interview to the bbc. i have done my bit and i want to relax and wind down and he also said i'm just tired of having to think of something to say all the time. now, you lived in this country for a long time and you know that prince philip is very well known for putting his foot in his mouth, a lot. so, it has been a source of great amusement in this country, but, you know, a lot of people really do admire him for really supporting the queen and being a long-running consort of hers and really an institution at 90. >> okay, thanks very much, zain verjee in london, see you a bit later. wall street getting back to work after a long weekend. only four trading days left. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange. so, the open in a little more than six minutes. what are we expecting, alison? >> hala, expect a flat start. expect a quiet week overall. investors have closed the books

on this year. the only lingering question, of course, can investors hold on to the gains that are there right now for the year because as we come into today, the dow is up 6.2% year to date. the nasdaq is down 1.3%. the s&p 500, that's what your 401(k) and other retirement accounts track. that is hanging on to a 0.6% gain. let's see if the s&p 500 can at least stay in the plus column as we ride out of the rest of the year. hala? >> let's talk about this amusing story. single people apparently are storming the internet. they only have four days left to find a date for new year's eve, and that's benefiting websites like match.com. >> yeah, exactly. so, yeah, what usually happens is christmas is over and people think, my goodness, new year's eve is coming and i have nobody to kiss. people start flocking to the internet to find a date and yesterday marked the beginning

of the unofficial busiest time of the year for online dating and usually starts with a big push to find a date for new year's eve and actually goes through all the way through valentine's day. industry insiders expect a 10% to 20% jump in new subscribers and significant increase over the next couple of months. of course, that's good for companies like match.com and sparks networks but also good for consumers because better odds there, law of numbers, bigger pool of online daters and have that better chance of finding that special someone. >> look, four days? you should be good in four days. it's not like you have four hours. >> that's nothing. >> listen, i think people in four days could find a date for new year's eve. good luck to everyone on that. we'll see you for more on that, alison. one week until the republican candidates are blitzing the state as they sprint to the finish line. we'll look at how they're

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checking some of our top stories now. the reward for information that leads to this little girl is up to $30,000. 20-month-old ayla reynolds of waterville, maine, disappeared more than a week ago and police say someone kidnapped her from her home. iranian woman sentenced to be executed for adultery will die according to the courts in iran, but she won't be stoned. the head of the judiciary there calls that "impractical." the court says she'll likely be hanged, instead. and the latest scare involving chinese dairy products is drawing criticism of the way china inspects its food. tests have found milk was tainted with a toxin that can cause liver cancer. it was traced to contaminated cow feed.

the iowa caucuses are now just one week ago and five top candidates will be crisscrossing the state today. but they haven't just relied on the personal touch. campaigns have funneled million s of dollars into an advertising blitz. here's a new one from rick perry. >> if washington is the problem, why trust a congressman to fix it. among them, they spent 63 years in congress leaving us with debt and earmarks. we need a solution. >> well, the barrage of political ads could get busier. we should say will get busier and will get uglier in the remaining days. joining me now carol hunter the politics editor. thanks for being with us. your newspaper is breaking down some of the numbers and trends there in terms of campaign spending. and you're expecting ron paul to go on another barrage in iowa. tell us more about that.

>> yes. ron paul has been very active on the airwaves here in iowa, although he's not yet topped rick perry. rick perry is the king as far as advertising here in december. but ron paul has spent more over the length of the campaign. he's just been up steady. plus, he went negative among the firsts, especially once newt gingrich started rising in the polls. >> now, newt gingrich is complaining about being targeted by negative ads. i wonder with iowa caucus voters, how does that play out? does it work? it's been effective in the past, the negative ads no matter how much candidates say they won't engage in that practice or supporters? >> iowa has a very mixed record on that front. the recent polls seem to indicate that it is helping take newt gingrich down somewhat in the polls, but if you go back to races like dick gephardt, he was

said to be hurt very much by his barrage of negative advertise. it was also thought to hurt howard dean back in 2004. >> so, let's talk about romney and his response to that saying his campaign is not targeting gingrich with negative ads. these are political action committees. who are these political action committees? they support one candidate over another, but are they cover for the campaigns? >> well, they conserve that way. certainly romney has benefitted from a super pac that has bought a lot of advertising. that sort of lets him hang low, lay back and keep on his message about his economic platform while the super pac does the dirty work, so to speak. >> let's talk about the bottom tier candidates. this is not all said and done, even after iowa. it's possible we might see some surprises and some upsets. we know there is that statistical dead heat but what

about bachmann, santorum and others. what is their potential for a rise and what do they need to do? >> well, lots of people think you might see a surprise in that so-called bottom tier. of course, it's rick perry, the governor of texas, michele bachmann and rick santorum. all of them solid social conservatives. all have sort of suffered by going after that same block of social conservatives and evangelicals, but santorum is claiming to have some momentum now. he got some key personal endorsements last week from bob vanderplots and chuck hurley. evangelical leaders in the state and texas governor rick perry, again, has been up on advertising, really hitting the airwaves hard. he's out on a bus tour. michele bachmann is covering 99 counties in ten days, so, she's really trying to close the deal hard, too. they're all aiming to be able to come out of iowa and say they're the social conservative

candidate. >> carol hunter, the politics editor of "the des moines register." thanks very much. joining us live from des moines. stay with cnn for the best political coverage on television. this afternoon at 4:00 eastern, newt gingrich live in "the situation room" with wolf blitzer on cnn. now, mel gibson is waking up a single man this morning. his divorce is final, but there are reports that it didn't come cheap. up next, hear how many millions he may be shelling out to his ex. we'll explain the story behind this brawl at the mall of america. some after-christmas chaos at one of the world's biggest shopping centers. stay with us.

an update on the "showbiz" world. mel gibson is officially a single man. his divorce is now final. he may be hundreds of millions of dollars poorer because of it. "showbiz tonight" correspondent michelle turner has those details. this is going to be expensive for mr. gibson. >> oh, hala, yes, very expensive. this could be the most costly divorce in hollywood history. over the weekend, mel gibson finalized his divorce from his wife, robin. it looks like she's walking away with half of mel's net worth.

that's around $425 million, it's not even my money and it hurts me saying it. they didn't have a prenup because they got together before melreally hit it big in hollywood. the pair had been married for almost 30 years and they have seven kids together. >> seven kids, 30 years, there you go. you should be entitled to half. how about arnold schwarzenegger and maria shriver. they spent the holidays together. so, what's that about? >> well, you know what, there's a lot of buzz around hollywood that they actually could get back together. i mean, there's this talk out there, but i don't think anyone knows what's coming for these two. now, "people" magazine says they spent christmas together with their four children and they went to the l.a. lakers season opener and maria filed for divorce back in july after it was reported that arnold fathered a child with a household employee and there are these new reports that she is reconsidering the divorce and arnold has been really trying to win her back. but even if that's true, you

have to think, there's a very long way to go before they can be a whole happy family, again. by the way, we did speak with maria's representatives yesterday and they simply said we have no comment on any of this. >> when you have children together, oftentimes they'll get together for the holidays. four kids, you know, you've got to kind of do it for them, i guess. michelle, thanks very much. and michelle will be back with us next hour with more "showbiz" headlines coming up. big stars with big hearts and they have deep pockets. justin bieber and george clooney rank among the most charitable and look at which celebrity comes on top of the pack in terms of being charitable next hour. a wild year in politics filled with scandal and memorable moments. coming up, we'll countdown the top ten political stories of the year. later, a soldier who survived a suicide bomb attack

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2011 was a big, big year and in politics, as well. with big moments. in some cases, some big laughs. from the "daily show" to "saturday night live" comedians had a lot to work with. joe johns counts down the top ten stories from this year in politics. >> reporter: number ten the hermanator. maybe next time backyardigans will play his song. one whole candidate for president because he meant so much to so many. what would this election would have been without the pita man himself. his request for secret service protection even before his wife found out about the 13-year affair or his now infamous brain freeze when talking about libya. >> i do not agree with the way he handled it for the following

reasons. nope, that's a different line. >> reporter: herman cain was the candidate to beat for a little off-beat levity on the campaign trail this year. suffice to say that when he finally rolled up his campaign banners and walked off into the sunset, as his last official act, he actually quoted pokemon the movie. >> life can be a challenge. ♪ life can be a challenge >> life can seem impossible. ♪ life can seem impossible >> it's never easy when there's so much on the line. ♪ on the line >> reporter: number nine -- >> two women are at the door. >> don't answer it. >> i'm not. >> reporter: if they had only used a large girdle, they might have gotten away with it. former prince george's jack johnson and his wife, leslie, were a power couple who got caught on the wrong side of the

law. court documents said he took bribes ranging from $400,000 to $1 million. but where there's a high-level bribery, an fbi wiretap operation seems almost not always far behind. when the agents were knocking on the door, the audiotape of the moment was not pretty. >> what do you want me to do with this money? they are banging. >> reporter: put it in your panties and walk out of the house. >> no, but i mean all this cash, jack. >> reporter: number eight, if he had dressed up as an elephant or a donkey, would anyone have noticed? democratic congressman david wu of oregon got caught on camera dressed in a tiger suit. but he didn't resign his jobs until reports surfaced that he had an unwanted sexual encounter with the 18-year-old daughter of a long-time friend and campaign donor. >> reporter: number seven. after all this time they thought they were smarter than everyone else. a bill to outlaw insider trading

got on a fast track after a series of reports on how house members with special access to financial information always seemed to outperform the market on their wall street investment. number six, and the lowest blood sugar of the campaign award goes to rick perry. sometimes he seems all over the place, completely forgetting part of his stump speech in the middle of a nationally televised debate. >> i will tell you, it's three agencies of government when i get there that are gone. commerce, education and the -- what's the third one there? let's see. >> you can't name the third one? >> the third agency of government, i would do away with education, the -- commerce. and, let's see -- i can't. the third one i can't, sorry. oops. >> reporter: at another time, almost completely over the top. almost too much energy. what's going on with this guy?

>> this is such a cool state. i mean, come on, live free or die? you got to love that, right? i come from a state, you know, where they had this little place called the alamo and they declared victory or death. we're kind of into those slogans, man. live free or die. the ones that want to stay in the old system pay the lawyers and the accountants and all that money that is gone. are that. 20% flat tax, put it on there and take your deductions off and send it in. today has been awesome, girl. >> reporter: to the handlers. endurance sports and that's what this campaign is, some brain freeze is also what you can call bonking or hitting the wall. nothing that can't be fixed with a protein bar and a banana. please, keep it on the bus for all of us. >> that was ten through six, you

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polls, pandering and pot shots. the political narrative of 2011. joe johns has the top five

stories in politics this year. >> number five. somehow, he completely missed that writing on the wall. when he resigned his office, john ensign said he was leaving to save his family some embarrassment. but now, it looks like he couldn't raise enough money to get re-elected. why? maybe because of his money handlinging skills. he got his parents to give his girlfriend and her husband a $96,000 gift. to keep the affair quiet. number four. no, what i said was congressman elect. anthony weiner was absolutely adamant someone had hacked his twitter account after what you would call an inappropriate photo was sent to a college student. it was only after wolf blitzer pressed weiner on the owner of the briefs in the picture that he started to come clean.

>> you would know if this was your underpants. >> photographs can be manipulated. doctored. and i want to make sure that, that we know for sure what happened here. it certainly doesn't look familiar to me, but i don't want to say something i don't know to be the certain truth. >> not long after that interview, the truth came out. >> to be clear, the picture was of me and i sent it. >> ten days later, his once promising political career was toast. >> unfortunately, the distraction that i have created has made that impossible. so today, i'm announcing my resignation from congress. >> number three and no, the show can't be called real exhousewives of d.c. mikail and -- salahi called it

quits this year. they are the white house party crashers who somehow slipped into a state dinner and rubbed elbows with the rich and powerful, including the president. setting off a security pair noy area that continues to this day. the saly his broke up a few days before the sale of the wine country when she ran off with the lead guitarist of journey. number two. it sounded like it was right out of the comic books and turns out that wasn't too far off. a legion of super friends, batman and robin, wonder woman and their allieallies. cut 13e7bding, make everything taste great and less filling, with the bad guys of wall street threatening to downgrade wall street's credit, the super committee was brought together to rescue us from ourselves.

unfortunately, it didn't work. didn't the bad guys win? the last time, too? and number one on the list. guess who's laughing all the way to the bank this time. after nearly taking down the economy three years ago and getting bailouts from the government, the banks are mostly back, though for much of this year, unemployment hovered at or near 99%. the good news is, if you work at a bank, you'll probably be just fine. >> joe johns reporting. let's check in with alison kosik. attention, k-mart shoppers. where to go. it was a very unmerry christmas. what went wrong? i'm going to have details in the next hour. arab league observers

finally arrive in the city as thousands of demonstrators there stage a huge rally calling on help from the international community. i'll have a live report at the top of the hour. after an internal debate, the obama administration has decided to allow yemen's embattled president to come to the u.s. for medical treatment and i'll have more at the top of the hour. >> thanks very much and also next hour, by the way, you're going to hear from jordan romero. he's been to the top of everest and kill man jar owe and to the top of the mountain on each continent. he's 15. that's a record.

checking stories across the country, survived a suicide bomb attack in afghanistan and got the purple heart even. today, christopher sullivan lies paralyzed in the hospital in california shot twice at his own homecoming party. the alleged gunman surrenders to police. his mother says a fight broke out over a football game just before the shooting. a series of fights broke out at the mall of meshlg in minnesota yesterday. this is amateur video of the mess. it took police and maul security an hour to get control of the situation and in place crowded with frightened day after

christmas shoppers. >> some people are running. some staying, people are confronting each other in the middle of people walking. >> all of a sudden un, stores just started closing down and the gates were going up so we didn't know what was going on an the cops were pushing us away from nordstrom. near salt lake city, a family came home on christmas eve and found a deer in a bedroom. animal control officers had to tran quilize the buck to get him out of the house. all right. first up, this hour, it's 10:00 a.m. eastern. presidential politics. one week from today, we will see talk turn into action. this is when the iowa caucuses will mark the first test for the 2012 election. today, the republican candidates are blitzing the state both on

the ground, but also on tv and the radio. paul steinhauser is in des moines. let's talk about the ad wars now, paul ste. tell us more about what we're seeing on the air. >> good morning. you're right. there was a couple of days of let's say down time from the campaign trial and ad wars because of xhas weekend and yesterday was a federal holiday. that is all over. here in iowa, you're going to see the local stations inundated with ads by the campaigns that are really playing out here with one week to go until the caucuses. it's a way to get those last minute voters, one of the candidates is putting up the most ads, texas governor, rick per w perry. it came out last night in iowa airway waves! if washington's the problem, why trust a congressman to fix it?

they've spent 63 years in congress leaving us with debt, earmarks and bailouts. >> see that? kind of going after some rivals for the nomination trying to paint them as washington insiders and he's trying to paint himself as a washington outside outsider. you're going to see this from all the campaigns this week as they're again, trying to get these last minute voter to come their way. spending less this time around than four years ago, but four years ago, we had a gop caucus and democratic caucus. not this time around. >> we were speaking with carol hunter of the des moines register and she was telling me these negative ads in iowa, they sometimes work and sometimes, they really don't work. so will we see a recalibration that some of these ads are not helping them? how might we see that change? >> exactly. if we see the results a week from today and some of this

negative advertising did not help, we could see campaigns shift strategies. but newt gingrich this month was on top of the polls this iowa. a lot of negative ads against him. his poll numbers have come down. negative advertising can work and some of the candidates on the trail, rick santorum, the former senator from pennsylvania already campaigning this morning in iowa. he's in ft. dodge. a lot of the candidates, five will be here. mitt romney started his morning in new hampshire. even romney comes here to iowa, davenport, later today. >> well, as we know and as you know, it's not just ads. far from it. it's also the personal touch. it's on the ground campaigning and five candidates are going to be crisscrossing the state today, some with gruelling schedules. where will we see what candidate? >> yeah. again, santorum, rick perry and

michele bachmann picking up where they left off last week with bus tours across the state. wolf blitzer is going to be sitting down with newt gingrich today. it will be interesting to see what he has to tell wolf. we'll see ron paul, who has the top spot in the most recent poll. the only candidate we're not going to see here, jon huntsman. he's back in new hampshire, placing all his chips on a strong finish in new hampshire. >> thanks. we'll see you a bit later. let's turn to international news. al-qaeda in iraq is claiming responsibility for last week's barrage of attacks that killed almost 70 people. on its website, the group said the attacks were meant to support iraq's sunni minority. sunnis held power under hussein, but the leadership is dominated by shiite muslims closer to iran.

the violence erupted days after the last american troops withdrew from iraq. yemen's president may travel here to the united states. if he does, however, it comes with a condition. he'd only be allowed in for medical treatment. jill daugherty is following developments. are we going to see the president in the united states after all the bloodshed in his country of yemen? >> that sounds like you're quoting from the debate that was taking place within the obama administration about this. it's not an easy decision because it could be interpreted that way. look, this man has blood on his hands. albeit, he, for many year, has been an ally of the united states, actually fighting against al-qaeda, so that was an internal debate that we were told by a senior administration official has been taking place. should they allow him in? but we're also told that the decision has been made to allow him in and the reason is they

want to ease the tensions going on within yemen. right now, you have this transitional government in a way. there is a vice president who is taking over the reigns, but the problem has been nobody has really trusted that he would step down, get out of the country because when he has been there, it has sewed dissension. people who thought it was a good idea have won and he should be coming. nobody knows when he would be coming and why. remember that assassination attempt in june when he was burned, so he does need, we are told by an arab diplomat and others, that he does need some surgery. >> well, we know the united states has called on him to step doup to leave the country. could this be for the united states, at least, allowing him

into the country for medical treatment, a way of sealing that deal? >> it could, if he were to come to the u.s. for treatment and not go back and start stirring things up, which is the way it is perceived by many governments in the region and the united states. then that really could help. the elections, you mentioned the peace agreement. there is one. brokered by the gulf cop ration counsel, which would bring elections in february, then the country could go own, but it's being royaled by this idea that he could try to make a comeback. >> all right. it will be interesting if he does travel to the united states. certainly would be an interesting development in this entire arab spring of 2011. nothing is surprising anymore. thanks very much at the state department. let's speak about syria now. a group of fact finders is now

on the ground in syria to see if the government to see if the government has ended its crackdown among protesters. before the group arrived, sources we spoke to say that military forces left their positions and thousands of protesters rallied against the regime once again. just today, an opposition group reports four people kills in homs. 13 throughout the country. mohammed jamjoom is in cairo monitoring developments in sierra. so, these arab monitors, these arab league monitors, made it to homs and other cities. are they still there or have they left? >> we're trying to find out if they've left. ea earlier, we spoke to arab league observers. they said they were there, that had been given unfettered access, they were meeting with

demonstrators there, that they were calling on anybody in homs, they wants to speak to them. we saw a video emerging on websites purporting to show members of this delegation inside homs meeting with people. one video purported to show reza depts there pleading for help. we're just not sure if they're there. we're hearing reports from some residents inside homs that violence may have picked up again. some of the protests going on there, that tear disbursed. even when we knew for sure they were there, the concern is that the observers leave for the day, does the shelling start once more and we heard this yesterday, too. even when arab league observers were starting to arrive, the activists this were saying dozens were being killed and

they were afraid that the observers could come out and things would be peaceful, but once they left the scene, would it remain peaceful? >> part of the arab league deal is to allow journalists into syria to witness the story, but syria is still severely restricting access to the story, correct? >> absolutely. journalists have not been let back in ft that was supposed to be one of the most important components of this protocall that was signed and we've not heard when that will happen. 're things, that detainees would be released, the crackdown would stop. that the tanks and army units would be pull frd the country side, but we heard that tanks had been pulled from the city of homs, but residents tr said

tanks, maybe they were just being hided. >> we saw some remarkable video of people telling the international monitors that they wanted protection. international protection in homs. thanks, we'll catch up with you a bit later. with the passing of come jo kim jong-il, a new leader for north korea. that story is ahead. and the wife of accused child abuser, jerry sandusky, is coming under more scrutiny in pennsylvania. we'll explain why in a few minutes cht you know, typical alarm clock. i am so glad to get rid of it. just to be able to wake up in the morning on your own. that's a big accomplishment to me. i don't know how much money i need. but i know that whatever i have that's what i'm going to live within. ♪ ♪

a group of south korean mourners is home from the north

where they paid respects to the late kim jong-il. it meant with the countries new leader, kim jong-un, they didn't talk politics. a former first lady of south korea, her late husband won a nobel prize for trying to foster peace between the two koreas t. funeral is scheduled for tomorrow in korea. while the war that divided north and south korea, one man, the pain still lingers after more than 60 years, but now, he has new hope for the region. >> retired pastor chang sun lee fled north korea in 1950 as his home land was ripped in half by the korean war. his family was also torn apart. >> because my dad was a minister, i saw my daddy was persecuted.

>> lee eventually immigrated to the united states, where he led a methodist congregation, but he never forget his home land. he's returned half a dozen times on humanitarian missions, bringing tons of food to or fannages and building noodle factories in north korea. >> it's a kind of symbolic showing, our love for them. we love you. you're our brothers and sisters. >> dur his missions, north korean authorities never allowed lee to visit places from his childhood, which still haunts him six decades later. i can tell you still have a connection or still feel a connection. what is that connection? >> i want to know what happened to my dad. whether he lived or died. how? >> as north korea's new leader,

kim jong-un, mourns the death of his father, lee hopes he will work toward opening to south korea and western democracies. >> there must be change. we don't know the change in worse or better. hopefully, the young leader will wisen up. >> retired at 76, lee says south korea and the united states also have a responsible ility to proe peace. >> we have to give them confidence or trust that we are not taking you, you know, we support you and work together for the better world. >> and perhaps, lee hopes, that will lead to answers about his father. >> i want to know what happened to him. >> and checking stories across-country, detroit police have a disturbing series of murders on their hands. in a little more than a week, inves gators have found the

burned bodies of women in cars. three of the deaths are linked to an adult dating service. state college pennsylvania, the wife of jerry sandusky is now coming under increased scrutiny. a story says no one was in a better position to know what was going on than his wife. she denies her husband, a former penn state football coach, ever molested any boys as several have claimed. also in hot springs, arkansas, the christmas celebration in one church was especially sweet. the church was severely damaged by the tornado after easter. it just reopened in time for the holiday. >> the fact that we leave our sanctuary on easter, get to come back christmas morning, that's pret it special to us. we want to give god all the glory and also recognize

everything that everybody's done for us. >> the repairs took eight months. 120 sears and k-mart stores could be closing. what is behind the move? coming up, next. and millions of us will pack our bags and catch a flight in 2012. will prices go up, down, what are the new trends in booking flights? also, all those fees for extra bags. we'll ask an analyst for his predictions and how it will affect you, the traveler. we'll be right back. new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates.

more bad news for the housing sector. home prices fell in october according to case-shiller 20 city index. the decline runs counter to

recent glimmer of hope that the market was regaining stre ining. i know many of you would be happy with just 33% down on the value of your homes because in some markets, the value has fallen by much more than that, include ng states such as nevada for instance. how is wall street reacting? it's getting back to work after the long weekend. we have four trading days left in 2011. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange. how's it looking? >> the market's really not reacting to the housing market. pretty much was expected. pretty quiet week. investors have pret it much closed the books on 20 111. so far, the dow was up 6%, but the nasdaq was down 3%.

that is hanging on to a 0.6% gain. we'll see if it can stay in the plus column the rest of the week. >> i'm sure trading volume the light. it was a good holiday season for some retailers, but not for sears. the company is announcing it's going to close 100 k-marts and sears, so what went wrong for sears? >> okay, i know this sounds h harsh, but this is the case. in business, there are winners and losers and sears has been a clear loser. the company says sales are down more than 5% overall. more than 4% at k-mart and sears was what happened here is that sales of electronics and appliances have been really weak and what's also happening is this company is hitting hit by a one-two punch. getting beat by others like walmart and amazon and it's got

higher expensions. they're closing as many as 120 stores. it's trying to get its act together, but it's hard to do that when you see your share price tumbling 20%. >> wow, 20% on the sears share price. i guess they really rely on the sale of appliances and big ticket items and if they disappoint on that, you have this situation. thanks very much, alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. once again, millions of americans will take to the air in 2012. carry-ons in hand and ready for anything the tsa can throw at them, so what can the flying public expect? we have asked an airline industry analyst to talk about four of his predictions. thanks for joining us and you say, let me just go through these. you've made four. first, you say fares will go up. or down.

i could have made that prediction, brett. >> i know, it's a tough one, right? it depends on what's going to happen with demand and fuel prices, so if demand stays strong, then i would expect the airlines to continue to try to raise fares. if it doesn't, then they'll have a much harder time doing that. of course, fuel might force their hand. if prices spike higher, they'll have to do something to recover the additional costs. >> and airlines still holding back on flights. that's also one of your predictions for 2012. what does that mean and how does it impact ordinary travelers watching us today? >> what it means is there will likely be fewer flights in the new year. we have a couple of big events that are pushing that. one is americans' bankruptcy. they're likely to shed some aircraft and look at you know, reducing capacity on some of the more unprofitable routes out there.

you have southwest in its merger with air tran as they combine the two networks. you also, there's a trend to reducing service in smaller cities. a lot of airlines have started to do that and that could be the biggest impact on americans in smaller services. >> so, possibly people who don't have big hub airports in their neighborhood might be affected. let's talk about mobile friendly. airline answered devices and the like. airlines are offering these, these services to travelers and we're going to be seeing more of that according to you? >> absolutely. more and more people are using their mobile devices to book flights, to check in. you can have mobile boarding passes on many airlines now where you don't have to print anything out. you just walk up and scan your phone and you can hop on board the airplane. the airlines know this.

it's a great way for them to reach people at little cost, so they're going to focus more of their efforts on that, as well as third parties developing aps to make it easier on people. >> finally, you predict no end to to fees. >> that's right. fees aren't going anywhere. the airlines, they've seen their costs sprik dramatically with fuel over the last few years and fees are really the way they've found to keep fares relatively low. demand stays strong and then people can pick and choose what they want to add. if you want a bag, pay more. food. pay more. people don't like that, but these aren't going to be going anywhere. >> all right, well, thanks very much for that. brett schneider, his predictions for 2012. rick perry thinks congress should work part time for half pay. so what will iowa voters think of his pitch to reform washington? our political buzz panel sounds

off after this.

the reward for information that leads to this little girl is up to $30,000. she disappeared more than a week ago and police say they think someone kidnapped her from her house. the iranian woman sentenced to be executed for adultery will be executed, but she won't be stoned. the head of the judiciary is calling that impractical. the court says she'll likely be hanged instead. and the latest scare of dairy products -- tests have

found milk was tainted with a toxin that can cause liver cancer. it was traced to some contaminated cow feed. political buzz, a rapid fire look at the political topics of the day. three questions, 30 seconds on the clock and playing today, democratic strategist, robert zimmerm zimmerman, dina and georgetown university professor, chris mets lehr. thanks for joining us. first question, one week until iowa cast the first votes and republicans in the hawk eye state still cannot seem to settle l on a candidate. listen. >> a large percentage of iowans haven't decided. i'm among them. i thought i would come to a conclusion in september or october. it's nearly the end of december and i've not gotten to the point

where my head and heart come together. >> so, the question is, why is iowa still undecided? robert? >> well, that's their proud culture and tradition. my friends in the huckabee campaign in 2008 told me that 40% of the electorate decided in the last week of the campaign. so that's not particularly new, but i think it's a mistake and i wonder who's going to win iowa. the issue is who comes out of the iowa caucuses with momentum. whether it's a candidate who can consolidate the policy or whether it's a ron paul who can't grow much on the level he's at and therefore helps mitt romney. >> chris? >> i hate to say this, but robert's right. so, i think -- >> say it ain't so, chris. >> i think in this case, it is who comes out with momentum, but i also think there's an interesting thing going on in the party this year, which is

there is a fight between the establishment and the grass roots and it seems that the establishment at least is trying to now, a large majority of the establishment is trying to ko ale coaless around romney. then i think you have the grass roots still trying -- >> the buzzer has sounded. dean, what do you think? iowa fickle. why? >> i think because all of us in america are fickle. i think the reality, show mentality now applies to political campaigns. each week, a candidate has to prove to us they can sing or dance, if we don't like them, we reject them. and then crash and burn candidate after candidate, but my question is who cares about iowa? i have more people living in my apartment building in new york city than the entire state of iowa. i sa

i say to the candidates, lose iowa, it will help you win statistically, the presidency. >> i want to visit that apartment building of yours. >> it's really big. >> the ad war is own. here's rick perry. >> if washington's the problem, why trust a congressman to fix it? they've spent 63 years in congress leaving us with debt, earmarks and bailouts. congressmen get 174,000 a year and you get the bill. we need a solution. >> so, is a part time congress an idea that can give perry some traction? chris? >> i don't know where rick perry has been. we do have a part time congress. currently, congress spends more time on vacation, not voting on bills, voting present and all of those kinds of things, so really, it's a losing issue. i don't think this is something that's going to get perry back where he was at the beginning. i think it's important to understand here from the standpoint of congress, what we have is primarily a do nothing congress. we need to go back to the time

in fact where we actually threw the bums out and most people would say congress is bad, but not my congressman. >> robert, what do you think about this type of ad and whether it will help perry? >> you know, rick perry's strategy of running as an outsider makes sense, but running without a fifth grade or civic education doesn't make sense. the role of the exec ty and legislative branch, rick perry didn't know the number of people in the supreme court and you've got newt gingrich advocating overturning the supreme court. i think they got their history lessons from michele bachmann and sarah palin. >> dean, what do you think about these ads and whether or not they will help that candidate? >> i think that it's a move in the right direction, congress is a 90% approval rating. perry could get more traction,

let's dissolve congress. they should revolve disputes by combat. there's a mid evil times rest yaunt near d.c. but frankly, throwing the bums out what everyone says, we need term limits. in 2010, there's a 20% arooufl rating, won. so the problem in the system, we have the change congress term limits. >> okay, dean, thanks. now, your buzzer beater round, everyone. while the candidates are in the heat of the nomination, president obama is vacation vacationening. he's in hawaii, kissing babies. i don't know if you'd call that kissing. getting little hands shoved in his mouth. he's watching his approval rating. does this cut through a primary season help or hurt the president in the long run? robert? >> no one i know is chilling the champagne over the primary season, but a lot of people have

their popcorn out because what the primary campaign is demonstrating is the stark contrast between the obama record and what the all terntive represents and that's always been the strategy of the obama campaign. to not make this a referendum, but a choice and clearly, i think that strategy is working well in getting obama's numbers up. >> let's talk about this with chris. is this helping president obama what's going on in the primary process? >> well, yeah, it's helping him at this point because all we've been doing is talking about the republican candidates. we have not been talking about his record. when we get to the issue of choice though, we're going to look at high unemployment, we're going to look at foreclosures. we're going to look at a weak economy. we're going to look at all of these kinds of things and i think it is at that point when we have two candidates that we'll see the difference. >> all right. and we'll see how these economic indicators pan out, too. there was a not so good one this morning. dean, what do you think about

this primary process on the gop side and whether it's helping or hurting the president? >> i'm not sure if it's helping him, but i love it. this is like a reality show watching these guys fight week in and week out in the debate, but it will come down to the economy. president's ao prooufl rating will move up. if it doesn't get better, he's vulnerable and could loose. back to 1992, here we are again. >> robert, dean and chris, thank you very much for playing today. >> thanks. take care. most people look forward to friday, but an entire country has decided to skip friday this week. they're skipping a day. we'll tell you where and we'll explain why. and a 15-year-old mountain climber makes the books again. he's climbed the tallest mountains on all seven continents.

we're talking to him from antarctica just ahead.

your showbiz headlines, everyone. mel gibson's divorce is final and he may be poorer because of

it. michelle turper is in los angeles with the details. >> i still just shake my head at this because this is actually probably going to be the most costly divorce in hollywood history. now, over the weekend, mel gibson finalized his divorce and she's getting half of everything. mel's reportedly worth around $850 million, so that means robin's going to get in the neighborhood of 425 million, which by the way, is a very nice neighborhood. they were married for almost 30 years. seven kids together and didn't have a prenup, so this is not really a surprise she's walking away with half. she's also entitled to half of gibson's future paycheck, so she may be the only one he has a come back at the box office. >> and what about reports that arnold schwarzenegger and maria shriver spent christmas together and went to a sporting event

together and this is leading to the possibility of a reconciliation? >> yeah, that talk is out there and according to "people" magazine, they did spend the holidays together. they were at home with their four kids and both went to the lakers season opener. t not unusual for the divorcing parents to spend the holidays together for the kids sake, but there are these new reports that maria is reconsidering divorce and arnold has been trying to win her back. maria filed for divorce in july after it was rumored that arnold fathered a child with an employee. we asked yesterday about the reports and they said they have no comment on any o f this and you don't expect them to say anything else. >> and what about a list out with the most charitable stars. who made the cut? >> after all of this kind of muck, i'm glad i'm going to give ewe little bit of good news here in hollywood. it's an impressive collection

and it's led by lady gaga. now, dosomething.org has her at the top of their list of celebrities gone good. this is the second year in a row for gaga, who a leader in the fight against bullying. she also does a lot of work to fight hiv aids. right behind her though, justin bieber, who launched the believe charity drive. george clooney is third and the fourth spot went to a couple. will and jada pinkett smith and leo dicaprio is number five on the list for his environmental and animal activism, so i'm glad i could give you a little palate cleanser. >> is there a dollar figure attached? the biggest donations or time spent advocating for a charitable cause? >> i think it's all of the above. i think part of it is what they

gi give, but when they lend their names to certain charities, the funds that are raised for these charities. i think all of that is how they calculate this. >> thanks. if you want more breaking news from the entertainment world, check out "showbiz tonight" at 11:00 p.m. on hln. coming up, we're going to meet jordan romero. he climbed mount kilimanjaro and each continent. he's only 15 years old. he's calling from antarctica right after this. stay tuned. my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol and my risk of heart attack. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol's stayed down. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease

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well, this morning, we want dwrou meet 15-year-old jordan romero. he set a record last year by becoming the youngest person to climb mount everest. now, he's become the youngest person to climb the tallest mountain on all seven continents. he started with kilimanjaro when he was 10 years old. hitting the top of mount venn -- am i saying that right? and we have him. i was just told the call dropped, now it hasn't dropped, but that's what happens when you

call from antarctica, apparently. jordan, can you hear me? >> yes, i can hear you just fine. >> a, congratulations, b -- >> thank you very much. >> the first person you called was who? your mom, i hear. >> yes, that would be my mom. i was on the -- just like i did mt. everest. she was just as excited. >> what did you tell her and what did she tell you? >> i just said, hey, mom, what's up. we're on the summit right now and i'm going to be coming home to you in a little while. >> she must get worried. your parents must be getting worried about you up there, especially now in antarctica. how do you manage that worry and how do you manage it when you tell them you're going off to the far end of the world to climb a mountain? >> i'm actually climbing with my parents with my dad and my step

mom, karen, and we've done this together. she's totally supportive of the whole thing, but i can't imagine how hard it was for her, especially on everest. she wasn't worried as much as everest for her on this one, but i imagine how tough it is for her and my little sister at home. >> what does it feel like when you set this record. you're only 15. you've done more than most people will do in their lifetime. so how does it feel that you've achieved it? >> it was, the record was one thing, but to finally completed my goal that i set out to do when i was 9 and we've been working for six years really hard to make this happen, it's an unbelievable feeling. better feeling than being on the top of everest. out in everest, i wasn't completely done with my goal and now that i am, i'm very excited

and there's always adventure and traveling to come. >> i was going to say, that's it, you've established this record. the youngest to climb the summit's highest peak on seven continents, so what's your next goal? >> always more adventure in the mountains to come and want to also be on my skis as well and you know, always up for anything new. we're looking at the highest point on every state in the u.s., all 50 and so far, done th that, but it's just something that i want to work on something fun to do and travel and to get my message out to kids to inspire them to set goals and live healthy. >> thank you, jordan romero. good luck to you there with your future adventures and congratulations on your record. he's only 15. jordan romero. he called us from antarctica.

these underachieving kids. what do we do with them? new zealand has been the first nation to ring in the new year every january 1st, until now. a new country has jumped from the back of the line to the front to be the first to celebrate 2012. we'll tell you how they're doing it.

bit of trivia. what country rings in the new year first? if you said new zealand, you

would have been right. that is until this year. samoa had been the last place to celebrate new year's. now, it will be the first. did they just get fed up and decide to cheat their way to the front of the line? of course not. here to explain, rob marciano. so, what has samoa done and why are they the first? >> they're going to do this in the next couple of days and what they're going to do, basically, is shift the international "dateline," which they did about 100 years ago. by the way, here's a picture, beautiful place. i've never been, but pictures like this, who wouldn't want to go. tourism is a huge thing. the earth as you know, spins in this direction. we'll go to the international date line, today is what -- tuesday, so, tomorrow is wednesday. so here is where samoa is in tuesday land. now, what they want to do is shift the international

date line so that samoa is now -- because they do business with australia. they do business with the eastern part of the world including japan, with fiji right here. so the new date line will incorporate samoa. when we get to the 29th at midnight, they're going to shift the date line, which will make them lose an entire day. they're going to go from the 29th to the 31st and they will be the first nation to ring in the new year, so congratulations to them on that. >> it will give a new meaning to just -- after partying or something. >> exactly. >> thanks very much, rob marciano. what started as a holiday ski vacation ends up in a battle for survival for a family suddenly trapped in the snow. >> my wife and i looked at each

other and held hands, told each other i love you and prayed. it was a christmas miracle they found us. >> drew griffin will speak to the father who saved the lives of his wife and 5-year-old daughter. that is ahead ♪ sen♪ co-signed her credit card - "buy books, not beer!" ♪ ♪ut the second at she shut the door ♪ ♪ girl started blowing up their credit score ♪ ♪ she bought a pizza party for the whole dorm floor ♪ ♪ hundred pounds of makeup at the makeup store ♪ ♪ and a ticket down to spring break in mexico ♪

♪ but her folks didn't know 'cause her folks didn't go ♪ ♪ to free-credit-score-dot-com hard times for daddy and mom. ♪ you know, typical alarm clock. i am so glad to get rid of it. just to be able to wake up in the morning on your own. that's a big accomplishment to me. i don't know how much money i need. but i know that whatever i have

that's what i'm going to live within. ♪ ♪ the iowa caucuses are just one week from today and newt gingrich may be facing an

embarrassing revelation. a 2006 news will thor surfaced showing gingrich praised mitt romney's health care reforms when they first passed. that's a jarring contradiction to the harsh criticism he now unleashes on so-called romney care. paul steinhauser is on the campaign trail in des moines. hi, paul. >> is this another case of the former house speaker's words, his actions coming back to maybe hurt him as he's trying to go for these gop presidential nomination? yeah, it may be. the newsletter. here's what he said specifically. the health care that governor romney signed into law has tremendous potential to affect major change in the american health care system. that is from april 2006 soon after the health care bill in massachusetts became law. remember, mitt romney, then the governor of massachusetts, worked with democrats and republicans in the state legislature to pass this law. now, the newsletter was from

gingrich's former consultant company, the center for health transportation. let's come back to present day now. what is the problem here? listen. a lot of republicans, conservatives, say that health care law, they dub it romneycare. inspiration for the national health care law that call obamacare, which is des pized by republicans. and it has that individual mandate. every american must have health insurance. newt gingrich has been critical of mitt romney on the health care plan and mandate. take a listen to what he told wolf blitzer this month. >> you've been criticized for your health care. you supported drn. >> that will be a good example in the sense that when heritage foundation, every conservative trying to stop care, we use the mandates as a way of blocking her because we thought they were less damaging. we were wrong because what happens, once you go to a mandate, you have turned so much