huntsman? >> i think he would like to say he's the conservative alternative to everything, however, i don't think it might not necessarily be where his political allegiance lies. what? >> you're not saying he's not authent authentic. just a week from tonight, remember, cnn brings you the republican southern presidential debate. that's all the time we have tonight. erin burnett "outfront" starts now. last night, we brought you a shocking picture of what appeared to be u.s. marines urinating on the bodies of taliban. to want sh we have the full video and audio and we're findinging out the identities of the marines believed to have been involved. and who's responsible for the murder of a top iranian nuclear sign sn scientist? does the american government know who did it? and the bottom line. on president obama's request to congress to increase the debt ceiling by $1.2 trillion.

one of the most conservative members of the senate, jim demint, joins us. let's go "outfront." tonight, this. this is a letter from president barack obama. he just sent it to house speaker john boehner. it says, quote, further borrowing is required because the debt is limit to -- is right now close to, well, 11 zeros and a one. that means we need more money. the president's asking congress to raise the debt ceiling by $1.2 trillion. we knew this was coming because this was part of the deal congress and the president signed in august. okay. that doesn't mean it's going to happen without a lot of noise, fur fury. jim demint has led the charge against the nation's debt problem.

his new book is now or never and he is "outfront" tonight. so, this letter comes. dr. mr. speaker pursuant to section -- i hear by certify that the debt to limit and further borrowing is required. how does it make you feel? >> like we said, we knew it was coming. strange that the so-called deficit reduction bill just increased our debt and unfortunately, i couldn't vote for it because we not only didn't need the raise the debt limit to the degree they were talking about, but we made this a passable with only a third of the votes of house members and a third of the senate members. normal normally, it takes 60 votes to pass this, but part of the deal was we didn't have to vote for it, but it would pass. so i didn't want to be any part of it.

we've got to take the debt more seriously than that. we spend all year talking about deficit reduction. we passed a spending bill for this year that spends more than last year. >> then senator president obama also voted against increasing the debt ceiling. then when he became the president, he realized something, which was true, which is that when you don't do that, you default on the debt. most people who own -- are americans. most people who have promises made by the u.s. government in the past are those who get social security. he's got a fair point. >> we're increasing our spending every year and we have through bush, through obama. we can't keep spending more than we're bringing in. we have to borrow over $120 billion every month to keep the lights on. >> are are you inherently against, talking about the economic psycycle. when things are good, say you didn't spend all your money, then when things are bad, you have a little left over.

but also when things are bad, by definition, a government according to many economists, should borrow money. are you against borrowing in any case? >> no, but the scale of bow rowing, our debt is bigger than our economy. we're projecting another $10 trillion over the next ten years. there's not that much money in the woshld to borrow. that's what the whole point of the book is. wa we've had detd, but never on this scale. we still have a president who says balancing the budget is an extreme idea. so the plan is to keep spending more than we're bringing in until the whole house of cards falls down. >> what happened in august. when you voted gens the debt ceiling. stock market fell 634 points in one day. our debt got downgraded by standard & poor's, which over time -- >> after it passed. >> historically, means our interest rates are going to go

up. and you know, from mortgages, all kinds of things and the reason that standard & poor's gave the downgrade was it reflects our view that the effectiveness of american policymaking and political institutions is weakened, which makes us pessimistic. that finger was pointed at you as well as the president. >> they don't see the will to stop the spending. they see a spending addiction and don't see any plan or intent to stop spending more than we're bringing in. and that not only sends a signal to the rating agencies, but to our creditors like china and markets all over the world. the only reason we're doing well now as far as our dollar's concerned is the euro's doing worse. >> s&p was agnostic though in terms of how we got extra money. cut spending and increased taxes. is there any tax increase you'd

be okay with? >> it doesn't make sense to have to do the wrong thing in order to do the right thing. american businesses and upper income pay a larger portion of the taxes than any country of the world. you've got the top 3%, already pay half or taxes and half of americans don't pay any. we need to get rid of all the loophol loopholes, have a flat rate that's border adjusted so we can compete with the world, but everyone needs to participate. >> and handouts. how do you define handouts? all welfare a handout to you or no? >> i'm not saying throw out the welfare program, but i did propose to take welfare spending back to 2008 levels. we've increased welfare spending 300% since the '90s and have made poverty worse. we're not curing it. we're subsidizing poverty and trapping people in generational

poverty. >> i wanted to read you a quote from your book. there's a lot of interesting ideas and solutions. you don't just say there's a problem. there's one thing you say on page 104 that kind of makes a lot of americans cringe. you say democrats exist to beat republicans, period. now, that's the kind of talk that really frustrates people. >> i'm sure it does. >> i introduce that chapter ek planing that i did a lot of work in organizations team build, teaching cooperation. compromise. i once how it works. you've got to have a shared vision and unfortunately, the day, the constituency for the democratic party made up of people dependent on the government and want more power at the federal level like the labor unions. they do, but -- >> you guys don't compromise. >> we're not getting downgraded because we don't compromise. we're getting downgraded because

we did. every compromise has led to more spending and a bigger government. we can't keep doing that and the democrats will not compromise with us because they have to keep spending. now, if we could talk about tax increases. we could talk about cutting spentding. but as a congress and country, we have to decide we've got to balance our budget. that needs to be the first thing. in the house of representatives have a bill to send an amendments to the states to ratify. didn't say how we were going to do it. just about every democrat voted against ever balancing our budget. can't live that way. we need to have an honest debate that we have to stop spending more than we're bringing in. if i lose on taxes, so be it, but people need to know the facts. >> although in an cycle, you left open the door.

that's an important caveat, but the president said medicare cuts are on the table. >> he never put anything in writing that he would cut. never. and there's never been a proposal that we could say, let's take that and work with it. it's just a hot of talk. >> here's my question and one of the big frustrations people have. nobody on either side of the aisle really wants to cut where the big money is. paul ryan has come up with a plan, but cutting where the big money is, that's medicare. that's medicaid. that's social security. whether you're going to cut or change our benefits are adjusted, index to inflation. that's where the cuts have to come. are you willing to say that to people, that you're not going to get what you were promised? >> we don't need to say that to seniors and no one over 55 should have to change their plans. they paid for it. it's not a charity. >> but somewhere, you've got to

draw the line. >> i've put proposals on the table. if we could give younger workers a 401(k) style plans that were cheaper for the government and save money, but i make the point in the book, the democrats will not give younger workers a chance to get out of social security with alternative plans. like paul ryan suggested. why can't you keep your personal health insurance? a lot of americans would opt for that, but the whole point of the book is that there's attention in washington that's not republican-democrat. it's those who want central power and decentralized power, which is what made america great. >> i hear you on your point of view. i know though a lot of americans are so frustrated about the lack of conversation in washington, but i want to play a sound bite. >> you don't get $15 trillion in debt without a lot of compromise and bipartisanship. >> do you acknowledge a lot of that came from george w. bush?

>> yes. >> okay. and a lot of republicans are there to bring home the bacon. this is a party with a problem with both parties have been involved with. if you ask anyone, they'll tell you i've been at war with some of my republican colleagues. >> let me play a sound bite. in 2008, here's what you had to say about mitt romney. >> this is a man who knows how to run things and if there's one place that needs to be run right, it's washington. we need a president like mitt romney who e knows about a free enterprise system really works. >> yeah. >> still think it? >> yeah, he knows how to run things and some of the other candidates do, too. i think santorum would, newt gingrich, ron paul. anyone in our field would do better than what we've got now. >> "national journal," romney

silent surrogate. >> every time i say something nice and one of the candidates, i start getting all these tweets and e-mails. >> you did say some nice things to the daily call er about ron paul. >> if we don't risen to ron paul's -- several things. the unaccountable federal reserve is going to destroy our monitory system. the cold concept of individual liberty and limited government, that needs to be not only the core of the republican party, but american people need to realize that's what makes us great. if republicans don't listen to ron paul, we're going to have a divided party because the other half of the country that wants more from government is united and they're going to let people who are going to promise more from government. >> you think there's any way you could have a ticket that had ron paul on it even if romney was at the top of it? >> we could.

i'm not endorse anyone, so i'd feel good about any of them being elected. they would all be a lot better -- >> before we go, did you know mitt romney was a mexican? >> i don't want to get into that. >> all right. >> is this a birth certificate question? >> we've been talking about it. it's a really neat story. you'll have to stick around it to hear it. thanks for coming on. and mitt romney does hope to be the first mormon president, but would he also be the first mexican president? and the latest in the iranian murder mystery. a third nuclear scientist assassinated. and outrage at the governor. more than 200 convicts granted clemency by mississippi governor haley barbour, why? then the world changed... and the common sense of retirement planning became anything but common.

fortunately, td ameritrade's investment consultants can help you build a plan that fits your life. take control by opening a new account or rolling over an old 401(k) today, and we'll throw in up to $600. how's that for common sense?

my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪ at liberty mutual, we know how much you count on your car, and how much the people in your life count on you. that's why we offer accident forgiveness, where your price won't increase due to your first accident. we also offer a hassle-free lifetime repair guarantee, where the repairs made on your car are guaranteed for life, or they're on us.

these are just two of the valuable features you can expect from liberty mutual. plus, when you insure both your home and car with us, it could save you time and money. at liberty mutual, we help you move on with your life, so get the insurance responsible drivers like you deserve. 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? so, this morning, i went to cnn.com and i thought i was looking at, i didn't know, but i saw this headline. could mitt romney be america's first hispanic president? now, this is not something romney ever really talked about

about recently and it's gotten a lot of people talking. so much so, there's a fake twitter account. that's a little funny. but this all started when romney revealed some personal information on the campaign trial. >> when i think about the blessing of america, i think not only about my own dad, he was born in mexico of american parents living there, and he came back to the united states when he was about 5 or 6 years old. my dad never got a college degree, but was able to achieve his dreams and became a successful business person. >> romney's grandfather fled america from mexico in 1885 to escape religious prosecution. persecution. romney's father was born in chihuahua, mexico, in 1907. no one in the family ever got mexican scitizenship and that ws

in part they were of the mormon faith. should they? because if romney's family lived in mexico for almost 30 years and his father was born there and as mike taibbi reported this week, he still has a lot of relatives there and cousins, isn't he mexican-american? he wrote the story i saw this morning. john avalon is a cnn contributor. good to have you with us. reuben, what do you think? a lot of people were quick to dismiss this. you reverse the table. somebody comes to the united states, would seem to be mexican-american. >> when i was working with my editor, we said what kind of headline could we put on this to make erin burnett sit up and take notice? i'm glad it worked out. this was aly so. bill richardson, who ran for

president, he was talked about as vying to become the first hispanic president. like mitt romney, has an american born parent and mexican born parent, so how is it that bill richardson is thought to be mexican, but we never make that conclusion about mitt romney? they're the same. >> it is a pretty interesting point. what do you think, as someone yourself, you describe yourself as mexican-american. what's your point of view coming from that background? >> i was born in the united states. both my parents were born in the united states and three of my four grandparents were born in the united states and texas. my fourth grandparent was in fact from chihuahua, the same part of the world where mitt romney's family comes from. that's what makes this sort of a light column. primo, cousin. we may be related. i hope you don't take offense, cousin, but i don't think you've done a very good job in the

campaign in dealing with hispanics an the immigration issue in a thoughtful way. my point was whether he's born from mexican stock or not doesn't help him with latino voters because he has done such a terrible job of deal wg the immigration issue. there's no way he could do well with him come the election. >> obl, he's talked about being for e verify and things like this. will that make up for the point he does not poll well with hispanic americans? >> no. the guy's name is willard mitt romney. you don't get much less hispanic than that. a name is a name. he bears it out. what reuben's great column is making is the complexity of the relationship. they go back from centuries ago. mexican-americans who have been

living there for as long as my family's been in the united states. part of the problem is that some policies have alienated the latino community. those have eroded and now, the republican party faces a serious deficit and when candidates pander to the other reaches of their party, it doesn't help. >> reuben, is there anything mitt romney can do to turn this into something? given he may have a legitimate point, is there anything he can do politically at this point? >> several things. one is stop confusing his outreach efforts in florida and florida's important. but stop confusinging your outreesh efforts with hispanics in florida and the southwest. it's a whole different thing. that's what you have with these, this dynamic and i see oftentimes that mitt romney seems to think they're interchangeable and that his

success in florida will help him in the southwest. he has to stop going after these immigrants personally by portraying them as takers and be honest about the fact they come here because people put them to work and offer them jobs. >> that touches on marco rubio being a magic quotient, but you have other ideas? >> one alternative is to throw a hail mary pass to tv.p. pick. they elected two -- so, the good new ss that the party is evolving, at least in some of the candidates putting forward. that can help heal the distrust, but it's got a lot of work to do. >> maybe thanks to both of you, maybe mitt romney can do a little bit of that if he starts tweeting. you never know. tonight, a huge development in a story we've been on which is the

mysterious assassinations of iran's top nuclear scientists. yesterday, a car bomb killed a supervisor and we've been talking about who's behind the murders. today, leon panetta went on the record with a denial and something else that has a lot of people wondering. >> we were not involved in any way, in any way, with regards to the assassination that took place there. i'm not sure who was involved. we have some ideas, but we don't know exactly, but i can tell you one thing. the united states was not involved. >> leaving us guessing, but iran put the blame on america and israel. an israeli general responded to the claim saying he has no idea who responded to scientist, while saying he isn't shedding any tears over his death. in october, texas

representative lamar smith introduced a bill in the house called the stop online piracy act. it's surprisingly bipartisan. of the current 32 cosponsors, the breakdown is 50-50 with both republicans like peter king and marcia blackburn and dems like debbie wasserman schultz getting behind it. the bill is designed to keep websites from posting material illegally and would aloe the government to shut down websites. if passed, it could affect sites like amazon, youtube and ebay. that brings us to tonight's number. 12. the number of hours the website red it will be you have line to protest. it announced it will black out 12 hours on wednesday starting

at 8:00 a.m. and be replaced with a simple message. link to resources to learn more and red it is not alone. google, facebook and aol are angry. all have gone to capitol hill because ta they're mad and you've got michele bachmann on board. ron paul, nancy pelosi -- ron paul and nancy pelosi are on the same side of an issue? i hope a super pack is watching. she tweeted, need to find a solution better than sopa. wikipedia cofounder says he's behind the efforts and is going to black out, too. on his last day in office, haley barbour granted clemency to more than 200 drug dealers, rapists and murdereresmurderers. why? and the run of dsk. you will not believe the shocking defense his lawyers

have put up. the other office devices? they don't get me. they're all like, "hey, brother, doesn't it bother you that no one notices you?" and i'm like, "doesn't it bother you you're not reliable?" and they say, "shut up!" and i'm like, "you shut up." in business, it's all about reliability. 'cause these guys aren't just hitting "print." they're hitting "dream." so that's what i do. i print dreams, baby. [whispering] big dreams.

start the second half of our show with stories we care about where we focus on reporting, do the work and find the out front five and first, the president asked congress this afternoon to increase the debt ceiling by $1.2 trillion. it's not a surprise, but it makes republicans angry including jim demint. he came and told us he doesn't think we have to default, but we

have to take it more seriously. congress has 15 days to deny the request, but the president then can and will veto that resolution. number two, the negative ads are starting in south carolina. the pro romney super pack called restore our future, has just started airing an anti gingrich ad calling him desperate. super packs can bring in major money. restore the future has raised over $12 million. it has spent 6 million this election cycle. that's right. south carolina would only be the third early contest. 6 million already spent. three, the majority of mormons believe the united states is ready for a mormon president. that's according to a study released today. on the other side, the study found most mormons, 62%. believe americans know little l or nothing about mormonism.

we talked about the role religion plays and how far the second fastest growing religion has come since 2008. you can watch the essay on our blog. four, retail sales up a tenth of a percent in december. it was weaker than expected. the problem was sales of electronics, which is surprise k, but a report says that the weakness could have been caused by the fact that the iphone 4is came out in october. all the sales got stolen from christmas, hurting electronic seas over the holiday season. it's been 160 days since we lost our top credit rating. initial jobless claims rose last week to 399,000. that was more than expected. it is a volatile time of year.

now to a story we have been following, the sickening video of marines urinating on what appears to be the bodies of taliban. yesterday, we could only show you a still photo. tonight, we have the video and what the troops were saying, so here it is. >> have a great day, buddy. >> yep. golden like a shower. >> you can hear the tone in their voice. they were joking and enjoying it. reaction was swift and angry and at home, hillary clinton spoke today. >> i want to express my total dismay at the story concerning

our marines. anyone, anyone found to have participated or known about it, having engaged in such conduct must be held fully accountable. >> tonight, military officials say they've identified two of the marines in the video, but they have not made their names public. but they believe the men are from the third bah tallen regiment in north carolina. big question is why. why did they do it? how could this happen? se bas yan younger has covered the war extensively. you have spent so much time in afghanistan, in helmand province. does the video surprise you? >> sort of yes and no. war brings up a lot of very powerful emotions.

we have read the illiad. that's part of war. but the u.s. military really has to be held to the highest standards and obviously, that's not it. >> obviously, to the best of our knowledge and this has been confirmed, the men in the footage are snipers and they are a different breed. a different kind of training, different kind of mentality. what kind of mind set do they have and how would that benefit from the snipers you spend time with? >> the more intimacy you have with the enemy, the more you understand they are human. they have a very hard job. they are killing specific people they can see from a distance and psychologically, it's very hard. i can imagine that part of what was going on was them tryinging to figure out the relationship with the people they seemed to have just killed. >> in your time in afghanistan,

did you ever experience a similar incident? obviously not videotaped? >> no, i never did. i should say that it's very clear that kind of video will encourage people, young afghans to join the taliban and soldiers know that. guys who saw that video in afghanistan will be shooting at american soldiers in a couple of months and soldiers know that, so for good tactical reasons are sort of not behaving that way. >> and i know that's what people say, that this will help be a recruiting tool. taliban seized on it immediately. but you think that is true. >> yes. it is. and so the soldiers i was with, they were really pretty well beha behaved. i should also say in a larger context, these guys are 19, 20 years old. and it's a confusing message. i mean, our government, you know, basically, water boarding is legal, right?

it's legal to water board someone. it's not legal to urinate on a dead person and for a soldier, that's a confusing message to sort out. there's been a lot of messages from senior administration officials in the past ten years, it's pretty dehumanizing of our enemy. it's like the children are listening and it comes out in these weird ways. i think we all do bear some responsibility. >> all right. and they are young. doesn't excuse. >> these guys were 10 years old in 9/11, so they've been listening to the political conversation for ten years. what do you make of water boarding in the context of this. >> interesting thought. appreciate you taking the time and let us know what you think is worse and what you think of the video that you saw there. anderson, what do you have? >> tonight, mitt romney on the

campaign trial defending his days and record at bain, but do his numbers add up? we're going to speak with james carville. tonight on the program, also, two years ago today, haiti suffered the worse disaster in its history. one of the worst natural disasters. the devastating earthquake. i went back this week. spoke with the new president there. talked to people in the camps. a progress report tonight on the program. i'm also going to interview sean penn, who's in port-au-prince tonight. we'll show you what haiti is like know and tonight's ridiculous. >> looking forward to that. i know haiti's a place of great passion for you. next, why did haleigh barbour pardon murders and rapists? and dsk is back and you will not believe the defense his lawyer is mounting tonight.

it's a bit like asking if they want a big hat... ...'scuse me... ...or a big steak... ...or big hair... i think we have our answer. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

in what passes for common sense. used to be we socked money away and expected it to grow. then the world changed... and the common sense of retirement planning became anything but common. fortunately, td ameritrade's investment consultants can help you build a plan that fits your life. take control by opening a new account or rolling over an old 401(k) today, and we'll throw in up to $600. how's that for common sense? align can help.

only align has bifantis, a pantented probiotic that naturally helps maintain your digestive balance. ♪ ooh baby, (what) can i do for you today? ♪ try align today.

we do this the same time every night, our outer circle where we reach out to sources around the world and tonight, we start in japan where timothy geithner convinced the country's leader to cut the amount of oil. japan is the second largest import of iran's oil. second only to china, which imports 20%.

now, china deniy eied geithner' question, but they have cut recently an we asked matthew coning where the move would be enough to hurt iran. >> losinging the japanese oil market will hurt the iran economy, but it's unlikely to have its real effect. nothing we have done so far has convinced it to put curbs on its nuclear program. >> and now to russia where putin says he's too busy for presidential election debates. he did not debate his challengers and we asked if putin will be able to pull this off. >> the irony is that until recently, vladimir putin could get away with what he wanted. he defined the terms of the debate or whether there was going to be a debate. what is happening is that

they're rejecting being supporting cast members or extras in the russian political voice, so you might find this statement by putin will backfire. the thing about putin is he's smart enough to realize that and could change his mind. >> tonight, there are four convicted murderers on the loose in mississippi. we are told they hit the ground running on tuesday after being pardon pardoned. >> i'm encouraging those out there, if you're a family member of one of these five that we're looking for, call our office. the attorney general's office in mississippi and advise them they need to come turn themselves in. >> the republican governor granted clemency or full pardons to more than 200 convicted drl criminals. he says 90% were recommended by the parol board. we spoke to the parol board and they did not get back to us to

confirm, but he granted eight pardons. in the past two weeks, he granted 214. the judge granted a temporary injunction stopping the release, but all those people are out the door. mary mcabee's brother was killed and she's joining us tonight. also, paul cowen. i know this has got to be a difficult and shocking time for you. the man convicted of killing your brother has been pardoned and released. how do you feel about that? >> i think it's one of the worst things that can happen. my brother was such a good person. and for this to come back up for the governor to pardon someone and put him back out on the streets with a full card, it just relives what we've already been through. the night that we got the call

when he was murdered was much like what i felt on saturday when i received the call that he had been pardoned and would be released the next day. it's one of the worst things that a victim, the family of a victim can go through. >> and you didn't get anymore warning than that. you were just called the night before. you weren't told this was being considered or might occur? >> no, we were not. >> i know that joseph osment confe confessed. he was serving life in prison without parol. how did he kill your brother? >> he -- my brother was shot as they were coming -- joseph osment came into the store first. went around to a cooler. another -- the other person that shot my brother came into the store and he was the first one to shoot my brother. my brother fell to the floor.

and he was still crawling on the floor and joseph osment came around from the cooler with my brother crawling on the floor and pointed a gun to his head and shot him not once, but twice and when i asked why he shot him, he explained that he did not want him to be able to identify any of them. >> if haley barbour is listening, what would you say to him? >> well, at this point, i would say why. the whole nation is wanting to know why. i think that he needs to at least be accountable to the citizens of mississippi, people of mississippi. he needs to stand up and take a stand and at least explain his decision to do this.

for him to have full control to do this. is just really to me unbelievable. that he would abuse, to me, he's abused his authority. as a governor, to pardon these criminals and let them go back out on the street. >> paul, now that you've heard mary's story, how could this happen? >> you know, it's a stunning sto story. 16 murderers free. i found rapists, people accused of sexual battery, burglars. drug deals. >> they're not only freed, but their records -- >> full pardons. >> get jobs, buy guns. >> some of the murderers, this is a horrible story, were sentenced to life without parole and suddenly, they're released

by haley barbour and a lot of them, the only reason i can see they did it is because they worked in the governor's mansion. >> should he be allowed to -- you see them in one light, which is obviouslily more positive than their past. >> the pardon power which goes back to the beginning of the american institution, frequently pardons have been granted to people you know. president clinton pardoned his brother. gerald ford pardoned richard nixon, so people you know get pardoned. i don't think that would be a disqualifier. there's got to be a really good reason to do that and i don't see it here. >> mary, is there any way you would have supported the release? >> never. i feel like the judge, if he was sentenced to life in prison,

then he should do the sentence. he should stay in prison and that's the way i feel. >> thank you so much for telling us that and coming on tonight. mary, and paul, thanks, too. we're going to take a brief break. you can with green giant frozen vegetables. over twenty delicious varieties have sixty calories or less per serving and are now weight watchers-endorsed. try green giant frozen vegetables with sauce. 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 with my wife and my kids. it's my world. that's my world. ♪

you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you want a firm bed you can lie on one of those, if you want a soft bed you can lie on one of those." we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. welcome to the sleep number year-end closeout event. not just ordinary beds on sale, but the bed that can change your life on sale. the sleep number bed. it calibrates precisely to your body and your comfort zone. now you can feel what happens as we raise your sleep number setting and allow the bed to contour to your individual shape. oh yeah. it's really shaping to my body. it's the final days to save up to $800 on selected 2011 bed sets. plus, free standard shipping on all beds. you can adjust it however you want so you don't have to worry about buying the wrong mattress. once they get our bed, they're like, "why didn't i do this sooner?" hurry in to the final days of the year-end closeout event and save on the bed that can change your life. the sleep number bed. only at the sleep number store, where queen bed sets now start at just $899.

the idea for clean energy that i think it's fair to say hardly anybody else on the planet had ever thought of. >> every once in a while you come across something that makes you say genius. two american women, julia silverman and jessica matthews have come up with a way to fight against the lack of electricity in developing countries. how, you ask? >> it's extraordinary really. kick a ball, turn on a light. >> that's right. literally a ball of energy. soccer harvests energy from a soccer game and turned it into energy. it packs a life-saving punch. 30 minutes of play can power an l.e.d. lamp for three hours. >> so the science behind it? >> yeah. >> we put a mechanism inside the ball that harnesses the kinetic energy generated during play and stores it as electric energy. any motion you do is kinetic

energy. we harness that and store it in a basic battery. and you can carry around the ball anywhere and plug in a lamp, a cell phone charger and acts as reliable power. >> can you show me? >> sure. >> sure. >> you drop -- >> so here's the ball. and so you play with this for about 30 minutes normal play and you can get three hours of l.e.d. light with this l.e.d. lamp here. check this out. >> l.e.d. might not seem so impressive here, but 1 out of 5 people who don't have access to electricity, that can make all the difference. >> what started as a college project could change the live of thousands of children and their families. the conditions where these kids are playing are not great. dusty, dirty, all kinds of elements. can a ball withstand that? >> yeah, that's actually the reason why we created the ball that doesn't need to be inflated and can't be deflated. it's harder than a normal ball because these conditions are a little bit harder than a normal

grassy field. so it can take the rocks and the daggers. i think we're actually just in mexico where we saw some of the worst conditions we've seen in a while and the ball did okay. >> this year, 3,000 soccer balls will be delivered to mexico, el salvador, haiti, and south africa. sometimes the smallest ideas can truly brighten the world. >> all right. up next, something that really, oh, got our whole staff in a gender war. the shocking defense from dominic strauss-kahn's attorney about a prosecution ring. beth!

hi. looking good! you've lost some weight. thanks! you noticed! you know these clothes are too big now, so i'm donating them. not going back there again. good for you! how'd you do it? eating right, whole grain. whole grain? whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't... multigrain cheerios has five whole grains and 110 lightly sweetened calories per serving... more grains. less you! multigrain cheerios. [ male announcer ] a simple gesture can spark romance anytime. and when it does, men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready

with cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a clinically proven low-dose tablet you take every day so you can be ready anytime the moment's right, even if it's not every day. [ man ] tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. [ man ] do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than 4 hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, stop taking cialis and call your doctor right away. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if cialis for daily use is right for you. for a 30-tablet free trial offer, go to cialis.com.

so we saw something before the show today that i couldn't help but mention. do you remember this man? this is dominique strauss-kahn, the one-time chief of the imf who resigned in may over allegations of assault in a new york city hotel room. now he's defending himself against allegations that he's involved in a paris prostitution ring. and today his lawyer mounts his defense that is either one of the more disgusting things in the world or the most genius. our staff was split on which by gender. here's why. "the london telegraph" reports that dsk's lawyer says his client had no way of knowing that the women at the parties were prostitutes because they were "all naked at the time." says the lawyer to