he says even his kids are okay with it. they'll eventually be in charge of the fund being set up in their mother's honor. that is the good stuff. >> good job, tom. let's get you to "the newsroom" with carol costello. >> have a great day. "cnn newsroom" starts now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning. thanks so much for joining me. i'm chris cuomo. holidays will be richer if you're holding one of the two mega millions tickets. they'll split $636 million, the winning numbers 8, 14, 17, 20, 39, the mega ball was 7. ticket sales leading up to last night's drawing were brisk. in florida tickets sold at a rate of 8,000 per minute at one point. but with astronomical odds only

two tickets were winners, one in atlanta, the other in san jose, california. cnn's martin savidge is live in atlanta. martin, the store owner didn't know she sold the winning ticket until she turned on her tv on cnn? >> reporter: exactly right, carol. good morning to you, and it is a great morning for well at least one other person, maybe a group but certainly for the store owner of the small newspaper stand that is located in the office building just behind us here. she said that it wasn't until 6:00 a.m. this morning as her husband always does, turns on cnn, when they heard there was a winner in georgia, then they heard gateway was the place it sold mean she goes, "that's my store." it gets better, i went in and spoke to her, she had no idea that she gets a pretty big payoff, too. listen to how it went down. >> reporter: now you know by selling the winning ticket

there's also prize money for you. >> i don't know this. i don't know how much, a long time, i heard it's $25,000. >> reporter: let me just tell you it's a lot more than $25,000. >> it is? >> reporter: it is about $1 million that you'll get. >> is it? oh my gosh! oh, my gosh. i never had this much. >> reporter: that was like my publisher's clearinghouse moment. the only thing missing was the big check and bouquet of balloons. it was thrilling to impart good news to somebody and she's so excited. she's owned the store for nine years and she's excited for the person who won. i said do you have any idea? she speculates maybe it was a group of people, there are a lot of people in the office buildings behind that pool their money so it could be a lot of folks with a lot of money this morning. carol? >> hopefully we'll find out later today who the winners are. martin savidge, thanks so much. later today on capitol hill, the senate could seize a rare

glimpse of bipartisanship and approve a compromised budget deal. it would prevent another government shutdown a threat that looms as soon as next month and calls for more than $20 billion in deficit redumpgs. reduction. the budget agreement months in the making could face a potentially close vote today. >> gridlock has got to end and it is ending. the american people are satisfied that we're moving forward. we got this for the first time probably since 1986 we had a bipartisan budget agreement. that's progress. >> about all i can say about the debt ceiling i doubt if the house or for that matter the senate is willing to give the president a clean debt ceiling increase, every time the president asked us to raise the debt ceiling is a good time to try to achieve something important for the country.

>> chief congressional correspondent dana bash has the view from capitol hill. this is expected to pass, right? >> reporter: retired admiral norv ryan pounds the marble halls of congress, refusing to give up, urging senators to restore cuts to military pensions in the bipartisan budget deal. >> soldiers are lucky if they're under the same roof of their family for eight out of 36 months and done that for ten years, paid an enormous price up front and this is really a disgrace. >> reporter: as part of their budget, republican paul ryan and democrat patty murray decided to reduce by 1% the cost of living adjustment for military retirees who retire after 20 years of service, generally people in their 40s. it would go back up at age 62, it saves $6.2 billion. right savings, wrong targets say some republicans. >> of all the people we could have picked on to screw, how could we arrived here?

how could we have done this? >> reporter: but lindsey graham's best senate friend and well-known military vet disagrees, effectively asking how could we not? >> in the words of former secretary of defense mr. gates, said that these entitlements in the military are "eating us alive." >> reporter: john mccain says this gives him heartburn, but noted military pensions cost $52 billion last year and skyrocketed 49% over a ten-year period. >> we're going to have to look at this whole issue of the pay, benefits and retirement and all of that of members in the military in a prospective fashion. >> reporter: norv bryant of the milita mill officers association. >> a bucket of coal for this christmas. >> reporter: graham up for re-election in military rich south carolina admits they'll probably lose this battle but

vows to win the broader war. >> we're going to remind people who you are and any politician who wants to do this again is going to get the hell kicked out of them. >> reporter: the thing to keep in mind is that these military benefit cuts don't kick in for two years, and the senate budget chairman patty murray said on cnn this morning she's willing to look at any changes if they can find savings elsewhere. the armed services chairman says he will look at this to find some ways to restore the cuts. at the same time you do have other lawmakers saying there needs to be some trim in these generous military compensations especially since they argue that people in the military tend to retire around 40, and then they get jobs in the private sector. carol? >> dana bash reporting live from capitol hill this morning. just minutes ago an encouraging snapshot of the economy, construction of new homes soared last month, up nearly if% from the previous

month that puts the seasonally adjusted rate at its highest level in nearly six years. it is decision day for the federal reserve, at 2:00 p.m. eastern we'll learn whether the u.s. central bank will continue its massive stimulus program or if it will pull back on the $85 billion in bonds it's been buying every month. you've probably heard this move described as tapering, but what does it mean for you? alison kosik is in new york to tell us. good morning. >> good morning, carol. what the federal reserve stimulus program essentially did was supercharged the stock market and that's good for your 401(k) this year. there are concerns what will happen if the fed pulls back, will it be a mini taper, microtaper, mega tauper, no paper? we'll find out when ben bernanke will be giving his last press conference after the fed makes its decision. this is his last because bernanke is finishing up his term in january. investors want to know by how much the fed will begin rolling back its stimulus program.

so far, the fed has pumped $3.8 trillion into the bond market over the past few years. most economists don't actually think that a change is going to happen today but there is a school of thought that a mini taper could be in the offing, bernanke could announce a $10 billion reduction in the $85 billion a month he's been pumping into bonds and the fed may be willing to pull back on the program because the economy is also bouncing back, look at jobs, they have a ways to go but they're recovering. gdp is better than expectations, the housing market continues to rebound, auto sales are running hot and of course you add to the markets, the strength of the markets, you look at the year, the dow is up 20%, the nasdaq up 33%, the s&p 500 up 23%. we haven't seen numbers like this in a long time. >> thanks so much, alison kosik. cnn will have complete coverage on the fed meeting at 2:00 p.m. eastern and cnn will look at

market reaction and what it means for the economy. the texas teen ager who got an exceptionally light sentence after arguing he was a victim of affluenza could still face jail time. prosecutors want ethan couch punished for the injuries his two friends suffered in his pickup truck. one friend is now paralyzed and the other was severely injured. the district attorney gave this statement "during his recent trial the 16-year-old admitted his guilt in four cases of intoxication manslaughter and two cases of intoxication assault. there has been no verdict formally entered in the two intoxication assault cases. every case desrvez a verdict. the district he were to's office is asking the court to incarcerate the teen on the two intoxication assault cases." police said couch had three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system when he crashed that pickup truck. the judge sentenced him to ten years' probation and rehab

treatment. amid turmoil and controversy, nba star dennis rodman is heading back to north korea. tomorrow the outlandish rodman makes his third trip to the rogue nation, this time to train the men's national team for an exhibition match against some former nba players. this visit comes at a time of political upheaval in north korea following the execution of leader kim jong-un's uncle and many want rodman to push for the release of kenneth bae. few months ago rodman brushed aside that he engaged in diplomacy. >> that i would try to squeeze it in through all the conversations. >> come on. you're talking about basketball and girls and school. you couldn't remember there's a guy tied up in a room. >> i know but like i said, if obama can't do it, what makes you think i can. >> i'll talk with kenneth bae's

sister who she thinks about rodman's trip coming your way at 10:20 eastern. some are calling it the sochi snub, who will be part of the u.s. delegation to the winter olympics, it includes two openly gay athletes, tennis legend billie jean king and ice hockey silver medalist caitlim cahow. wolf blitzer is here now, so wolf the delegation is making news this morning, not just because of these two openly gay athletes but also because of who won't be going. tell us. >> the president won't go, the vice president won't go, the first lady won't go, dr. jill biden won't go, no members of the president's or vice president's families are attending. janet napolitano, former secretary of homeland security in charge of the california state university, she'll head the u.s. delegation, a relatively low level delegation, williams burns, the deputy

secretary of state will be in this delegation but a relatively low level clearly a snub and the decision from the president in his statement noted the diversity of the u.s. delegation, the decision to include at least two openly gay delegates that's something there's a clear message to the russians who passed these anti-gay propaganda laws as they're called don't engage in that kind of activity, certainly not during the olympic games in sochi, and maybe don't even engage in them at all. so the u.s. is sending a clear snub. it goes beyond the issue of gay rights in russia, carol. i think it is a clear indication of u.s. irritation with the russians on several other issues, including their decision to grant asylum to edward snowden there, at least for a year, russia's repeated vetoes of anti-syrian resolutions, anti-syrian government resolutions, even though they did cooperate with u.s. and others in dealing with syria's chemical weapons stockpiles. there is a clear strain in

u.s./russian reels relations red in this delegation. >> wolf blitzer you'll be back in the next hour. thanks so much. still to come, they have a meeting with the president but some of the biggest names in tech may not have left the white house satisfied. jim acosta is live at the white house with exclusive details. hi, jim. >> reporter: that's right, some web companies zprai incompanies >> aing an error message after the big tech meeting at the white house yesterday. i'll explain in a few minutes. and brian stowe's tragic case concerning what happened to him at dodger's stadium a couple years ago.

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checking our top stories at 16 minutes past the the hour a harvard university student due in court today charged with monday's bomb threats that paralyzed much of the campus. 20-year-old eldo kim was among the students whose final exams was postponed by the hoax. police say harvard traced the e-mail through the school' wireless network. dramatic rescue from canada, a crane operator who has nowhere to go. then just in the nick of time a military helicopter swoops in and plucks him to safety. thank goodness. in weather news this morning a treacherous pass of ice is blamed nor this mess in brooklyn. about 30 cars slammed into one another leaving eight people hurt. none of their injuries considered serious, though, but what a mess. it was a meeting with some of the titans of technology, president obama sitting down with some of the biggest names

from silicon valley tuesday at the white house. they wanted to talk about the nsa spying scantal. some of the tech titans left frustrated. senior white house correspondent jim acosta has exclusive details. tell us, jim. >> reporter: good morning, carol. you'll recall last week some of the tech executives sent a letter to the president saying the surveillance programs are at the nsa undermine freedoms we cherish and it's time for a change. they got a meeting at the white house with the president, they were expecting to talk about nsa surveillance issues but the white house also wanted to talk about healthcare.gov, the president wanted to get insights how to get the website up and running as well as he would like but i have to tell you after talking to a few sources familiar with this meeting, there are some misgivings amongst some executives as to how this meeting played out. some executives according to one source i talked with familiar with the meeting felt there was too much emphasis on healthcare.gov and not enough on the surveillance issues.

i'll throw up a quote to give you an indication of this one source who represents one of the companies at the meeting told me, "we didn't fly across the country for a discussion on healthcare.gov." that source went on to tell me that the reason why they were there was to talk about surveillance issues and they really if pelt like they did not get enough of an explanation, enough of a defense of the programs from the president to satisfy them. i talked with another source who said we wanted a dialogue, a dialogue was started so we feel good about that. divide among some executives as to what went on at that meeting. one other interesting thing to point out, carol, one of the executives at the meeting acoursing to a source familiar with the exchange between the president and the tech executives said that one executive suggested to the president that he pardon edward snowden and the president said in response he couldn't do that. it gives you sort of an indication as to this free wheeling exchange that was going on back and forth and after the

meeting these tech executives put out a statement saying they urged the president to move aggressively on reform. these executives from the companies and keep in mind there are a lot of customers out there, of apple, of google, of facebook, yahoo! all of the companies that are very concerned about how much domestic spying is going on and their e-mail accounts, what they google and search online and so forth and these executives did reflect that at the meeting. >> fascinating. jim acosta reporting live from the white house thank you. still to come in the "the newsroom" a san francisco giants fan still struggling with daily life years after a brutal beating outside of dodgers stadium. today a key hearing in his lawsuit against the team. ♪ i l ♪ thank you grandma for the dolls. ♪ ♪ i love it! ♪ i'm ninja kicking through the halls. ♪ ♪ i love it! ♪ mom's posting pictures on your wall. ♪ ♪ that's my kind of holiday. yep. got all the cozies.

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brian stowe's story, it's heartbreaking. the san francisco giants fan suffered traumatic brain injuries when he was beaten outside dodgers stadium opening day in 011. stowe suffered nerve damage in his arm. he still needs help bathing and dressing and just learning to walk again. two men are facing charges in this attack and the stowe family is now suing the dodgers. there's a hearing in that case today, andy schoals joins me now to tell us what the grounds are for this lawsuit. >> they're going after former dodgers owner frank mccourt because of the financial problems he was going through in 2011 going through the divorce and trying to sell the team that they had budget concerns and one of the things they neglected was security and especially in that big parking lot, it was so dark carol, they could not have

surveillance in the parking lot because it couldn't cover all of the dark corners of it. they didn't have adequate security there especially when the games were letting out, and it was poorly lit and when this attack happened, it even took security 15 minutes to get to the scene of where it was going down. this is in some reports i looked at it, it's going to be an uphill battle for the stowe family in terms of winning this civil lawsuit. in california, you're not liable just because an attack happened on your property. you have to proof there was some some sort of negligence. they have to prove frank mccourt did not adequately address security. >> i read the lawsuit this morning, i find the whole story sad and tragic and it is interesting, it says in the lawsuit that the dodgers increased security in light of what happened to brian stowe. >> they did. >> that could be a point of contention. >> you would think that is a little bit of admission of guilt, we didn't have adequate security in this whole thing and, but the defense for the

dodgers is they're trying to say we did not do this attack. we are not the alleged attackers. we did not do this ourselves. the two attackers are held in jail without bail and they have a hearing in early january after two years. >> justice moves slowly in this country. >> there is soer for brian stowe website if anyone would like to see updates and you can donate and try to help him out. it is a tough situation, he's living with his parents and waiting for this lawsuit to play out. >> do we dpooggoogle? >> support4brianstowe.com. >> thank you so much. still to come in "the newsroom" it's your money but often his decisions. we'll tell you about a milestone for ben bernanke, the man who guided the economy as it teetered on the edge of collapse. [ female announcer ] it balances you...

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wow. that feels "wow." [ male announcer ] oral-b deep sweep, featuring 3 cleaning zones with dynamic power bristles that reach deep between teeth to remove up to 100% more plaque than a regular manual brush. it seems like it gets more to areas of your mouth that you can't reach with a regular toothbrush. [ male announcer ] guaranteed "wow" with deep sweep from oral-b. #1 dentist-recommended toothbrush brand worldwide. good morning. i'm carol costello. thank you so much for joining me. stock markets are poised for a flat open this morning. investors are waiting to hear what the federal reserve plans

to do with the massive stimulus program. the bell just rang on wall street, folks from amc got to win the bell. alison kosik, stock market activity will be a little slow until that important 2:00 p.m. eastern meeting, right? >> exactly. it's all about will they or won't they taper that is. let the speculating begin. the federal reserve's two-day meeting is wrapping up today. we'll get the decision at 2:00 with the news conference at 2:30 so it's all about taper talk today and with the economy showing some stronger signs of improvement, the talk has really moved from if to when and by how much that the fed will taper on its stimulus. the market may be okay because the economy seems to be getting back on its feet. the jobs picture is getting better, economic growth has picked up, the housing market is moving along as well so the thinking is hey, maybe it is okay to start taking those training wheels off the economy, let's see how the economy does on its own without being juiced by the fed's stimulus program.

carol? >> so far so good. alison kosik, thanks. after the fed announces its decision on interest rates today we'll hear from ben bernanke, the man who pulled the nation's banks from the brink of collapse, his final press briefing as fed chair. while his focus will be on the future his stamp on history is indelible. maggie lake walks you through the mine field of bernanke's tenure. >> reporter: it's been a long perilous eight year ride for ben bernanke filled with virtually every economic challenge imaginable. it all began in 2006 when bernanke was sworn in as the 1th federal reserve chairman taking the raeins from the man once called the maestro, alan greensp greenspan. storm clouds at first seemed far away but all that changed in 2007. >> the economic outlook has been

importantly affected by recent developments in financial markets which have come under significant pressure over the past few months. >> reporter: the slump in housing gathered speed, foreclosures surged, publicly bernanke remained upbeat. >> our forecast is for moderate but positive growth going forward for the next few quarters. >> reporter: in the great recession was just beginning. bear stearns collapsed in 2008 and was gobbled up by jpmorgan chase. lehman brothers collapsed, stocks tanked and credit markets seized up. >> this plan is an emergency plan to put out a fire. >> reporter: bernanke stepped on the gas and revved up the engines. >> mr. bernanke was aggressive at a time when our country needed to be aggressive and needed for him to be decisive, i think a lot of people don't realize how close this country was with respect to having a run on the banks. >> reporter: bernanke helped craft the controversial bank rescue plan, t.a.r.p. he cut interest rates to near

zero and launched the massive fed stimulus programs quantitative easing one, two, and three. the fedsme promised anything to ease the crisis no matter how unorthodox was key. >> they said we're going to do whatever it takes. that message, the psychological impact of that message was to make the policy changes more powerful. >> reporter: by 2009 the markets recovered. "time" magazine named bernanke its person of the year. years after the worst of the financial crisis, the fed is still pumping billions in stimul stimulus. critics say the easy money is fueling risky investments, but unwinding stimulus will not be easy and could upset world markets. >> we have now reared an entire generation of investors that have become dependent on qe to buy stocks. >> reporter: the jury is still out on bernanke's tenure at the fed, but after such an eventful economic journey, he's earned the right to do something a

little less stimulating. maggie lake, cnn, new york. >> that last image looked nice, didn't it? look at the federal reserve right now, we'll have complete coverage on the fed meeting today starting at 2:00 p.m. eastern, cnn money will take a closer look at market reaction and what it all means for you and the economy. still to come in "the newsroom," police are now saying the shooting at a medical center in reno was not random. cnn's miguel marquez is there. hi, miguel. >> reporter: hello there, carol. i am at the scene of america's latest rampage shooting, i'll update you on the investigation and how this shooting went down, coming right up. [ male announcer ] what if a small company

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this morning, two people are dead and two others are in critical condition after a shooting at a medical center in reno, nevada. the suspected gunman is among the ted. police are saying this was not a random act of violence. cnn's miguel marquez is covering the story live from reno this morning. hi, miguel. >> reporter: hello there, carol. here we go again. just after 2:00 p.m. yesterday that gunman walked into a crowded waiting room in one of the facilities in the hospital here, told everybody to get out. they did very quickly. he then walked into a surgery area, where two people were shot and injured, another one killed, among them a doctor. yet another shooting, this time a state-of-the-art medical center targeted, one person killed, two more injured, before

the shooter took his open life. >> he had a lone suspect enter the medical facility here with at least one firearm. >> reporter: the shooting contained to the third floor of reno's renowned medical center, a male gunman opened fire, killing one person. the shooting in a building next to the main hospital campus. inside this walkway between the two workers told to stay put, the entire complex on lockdown. an all too familiar scenario. this video shot while s.w.a.t. teams secured the building room by room. >> stay in this room that way you're all accounted for. >> reporter: a systematic search by police. >>en othe third floor of the building they located two people down and they located a couple of injuries. >> reporter: amazingly, operations at the medical center resumed within an hour of police clearing it. this is a very large hospital complex and despite the fact this was on the third floor of one of the buildings the police

response was amazing, about five minutes apparently to get there. by the time they got there, though, the damage was done, the shooter himself also inflicked. we expect more information 10:00 local, 1:00 eastern. we'll bring that to you live, the press conference. back to you. >> miguel marquez reporting live from reno, nevada this morning. dennis rodman is headed to north korea for the third time, the country is in extreme political turmoil. rodman says the trip is about basketball but the world will see if he raises the issue of american kenneth bae sentenced to 15 years hard labor. i'll speak with his sister about her brother's condition and what she thinks about rodman's visit. it found out the doctor we needed was at st. anne's. wiggle your toes. [ driver ] and it got his okay on treatment from miles away. it even pulled strings with the stoplights.

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big sur, california, 22 buildings have been destroyed including 14 homes and the blaze is only about 20% contained. wildfire season normally peaks in the summer but the area has gotten only a fraction of its normal rainfall this year. toronto's crack-smoking mayor tried and then tried again to apologize to the city council after accusing some of its members of corruption. here's rob ford's tortured attempt to say he's so very, very sorry. >> i withdraw the comments that i made to say if there were any corrupt counselors to say if that's the word. i'm not quite sure what i said but something like that so i withdraw that. i don't understand -- >> just a sec. just a sec. . what the word is that is you need to say "i apologize." >> how about i'm so sorry. is that as good as i apologize for so sorry.

which one do you want, madam speaker? super, super, super, super, super, super sorry. >> mayor ford, please. >> i'm sure he was very sincere. ford also apologized for comments that a local newspaper report says he suggested he was a pedophile, that reporter has moved to sue ford for defamation. nasa astronauts will make three emergency space walks to fix a broken cooling line at the international space station, the first set for saturday with another on monday and the third may come on christmas day. the cooling system failure forced the crew to turn off all nonessential equipment on board including some science experiments. if today is your birthday, you share it with brad pitt and guess what? he turns 50 years old today. his hollywood career took off more than 20 years ago when he landed small roles in films like 1991's requesting thelma and

louise." >> i just waltz on in and i say ladies, gentlemen, let's see keeping their cool. simon says everybody on the floor. nobody lose their head and nobody loses their head. you, sir, yeah, you do the honors. take that cash and put it in that bag right there. you got amazing story to tell your friends. >> i think he's just as hot now. there he is with his lovely wife angelina jolie, of course you know they have a million children but maybe a little known fact, brad pitt has never won an oscar but there's still time. no matter what you may have thought about the debotched life styles of wall street traders during the go-go '80s and '90s your imagination probably has nothing on the truth. "the wolf of wall street" by martin scorcese we have a behind the scenes look. >> the year i turned 26 i made $49 which pissed me off because

it was three shy of a million a week. ♪ . >> i said we'd reach new levels of productivity. when you look back and say the numbers four and five months ago i make one more guarantee, six months from now, what you're doing right now is going to be nothing again. >> this is the greatest company in the world! >> i made my first $600,000 in one trade, i went out and bought a white ferrari testa rosa, not a yellow, black or white one. you know why? it was the car that don johnson drove on "miami vice." >> what a great life, huh? >> a lot of guys cold calling right now and in a few months

you could be making a lot of money. >> was all this legal? >> ha! >> absolutely not. >> thousand dollar suits and the gold watches and the drinking at lunch and the cocaine at the end of the day and all of this, it was almost like adult disney land for dysfunctional people basically. back theb i had a thousand best friends, everyone was my best friend, everyone wanted something from me, could benefit from what i was doing. i was generous with my money. it didn't have any meaning to me. it was like monopoly money. >> i'll do anything you want. can you make us enough money? >> oh my god. >> get on the phone. >> it's part of everybody here, not me, not kenny, not a couple of partners, it's everybody here. you guys are part of it. you built it. and without you, it doesn't run. and we all stick together, next

year at this time, it will be double the size and we already are the most all right? >> of course his story ended that way. i don't know, watching that makes me a little nauseated because of what happened in 2008. nischelle, i understand that you were on the red carpet for the movie's premier. what was that like? >> i wasn't there for the movie premier but i sat down with the stars a couple of days ago. leonardo didicaprio portrays

belfort. he's been trying to get this movie made for six years. he said it portrays everything that is wrong with society and wanted to bring that to the screen. this movie is three hours long, carol, but you wouldn't even know it because it takes you on a wild ride. it's cocaine, cars, and corruption and it's very funny but definitely tells a cautionary tale of greed and obsession on wall street. >> and from what i understand, the character in this movie makes gordon gecko look like a choir boy. >> you are absolutely right. i was sitting here saying to leonardo d leonardo dicaprio, as crazy as it seems, this is all true. this is based on the book that

he wrote when he was called the wolf of wall street. some of the sex scenes, it's very hard to kind of look at and you think this can't be true but leonardo dicaprio says it is. that's exactly what was going on there, carol . >> i hope it sometimes touches on his victims. there's a big book and a movie about him and he's in the limelight and that makes me nauseated, too, frankly. >> the real jordan belfort makes a cameo in the movie and one of the articles that they did on him in the '80s, he was called the modern day robin hood but he robbed from the rich, not robbed from the poor.

he did only serve less than two years in federal prison. he had gone straight before he went to federal prison but he ultimately did have to pay a price for the things that he did. >> ain't america grand? nischelle turner, thanks so much. >> absolutely. so what do you think was the biggest story of 2013? tell us, because we want to know. voting is under way at cnn.com. you'll see a list of 20 stories. from that list, choose 10. on december 30th at 9:00 a.m. eastern, online and on tv, we will reveal the top ten stories of 2013 as voted upon by you. so check it out. still to come in the "newsroom," isn't this amazing? the game was in overtime, right, andy? >> not so fast. we'll show it to you next in

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we can see mma history friday night in brazil. a man is going to play a woman. andy schultz is here. this sport is so brutal, i don't know why anyone would want to

partake anyway. >> well, mission accomplished in this case. a man versus a woman? i've never seen this before. a promotion poster getting ton of buzz. it features emerson falcao on the left and juliana on the right. there's no word whether there's going to be any special rules for this contest but it really seems like a bad idea and it's got to be a lose-lose situation for falcao, right? either he beats up a girl or loses to a girl. >> this is going against the grain, right? >> exactly. >> i wouldn't want to be hit in the face. >> lose-lose situation. >> right. >> what is better than one buzzer beater? two buzzer beaters. this is a crazy three-pointer

with three seconds left on the clock. they think they've won the game and time-out is called and there is one second left. a crazier shot here and they win the game. awesome! >> this is unbelievable! >> another example of, it ain't over until it's over. >> gronkowski is still recovering from knee surgery but he wheeled around the hospital as an elf. he's going to hold the ball, not ridley because ridley has had all kind of fumble problems lately. that's a joke the patriot fans were making. >> thank you, andy. the next hour of cnn "newsroom" starts now. good morning, i'm carol

costello. thanks for joining me. investors could be getting ready for a wild ride. at 2:00 p.m., the fed will announce whether it will pull back on its massive stimulus program. this is what has lifted stocks to record highs and giving your 401(k) a healthy boost. alison kosik is joining us from new york. good morning. >> good morning, carol. despite seeing your 401(k) do really well, there have been concerns about what will happen if the fed pulls back on the stimulus. there are questions, how is this going to affect the economy? how is this going to affect the markets? you look so far with the stimulus program, the feds pumped 3.8 trillion into bond market. they don't expect to see a change today but there's also a school of thought that a mini taper could be in the offering. bernanke could wind up offering a $10 billion reduction today in

t and the fed may be more willing to pull back because you look at the economy, it's actually bouncing back. jobs have still got a ways to go but we're seeing recovery there. gdp is doing better than expectations. the housing market is continuing its rebound. auto sales are running hot as well. you add in what is going on with the markets and you see them up so high. the dow is up 21%. nasdaq is up 33%. s&p is up 25%. we haven't seen numbers like this in a long, long time. carol? >> let's hope the arrows keep reporting up. complete coverage on the fed meeting at 2:00 p.m. eastern and cnn money will take a look at the market reaction and what it means for the economy. the holidays are going to be much, much richer this year. richer, that is, if you're holding one of the two mega

million winning tickets. they will split $636 million. the numbers are 8, 14, 17, 20, 39, and mega ball was 7. ticket sales leading up to last night's drawing were brisk. tickets were selling at a rate of 8,000 per minute. but with astronomical odds, only two of those tickets were winners. one in san jose, the other in atlanta where the store clerk found out by watching cnn. >> now, you know by selling the winning ticket there's also prize money for you. >> i know that there is. i don't know how much -- $25,000. >> 25,000? let me just tell you, it's a lot more than 25,000. >> it is? >> it's about $1 million that you get. >> it is? oh, my gosh! oh, my gosh. i never have that much money. >> that was the cutest reaction ever. cnn's dan simon is in san jose

looking for the big, big winners. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, carol. well, the winning lottery ticket here was sold at jenny's gift shop. i can tell you that the owner is also a millionaire this morning. 37-year-old guy. he's got three kids and he's talking as well. take a look. >> the lottery called me and let me know so i come and take a look, you know, but everybody here. wow! it's going to be a good one tonight. >> reporter: well, jenny's gift shop is at a strip mall here in san jose, california. so perhaps the winning buyer was coming to buy a christmas present and maybe they walked away with two christmas presents, including the winning lottery ticket. carol, the question is, will this person reveal himself today? that's what everybody, of course, wants to know. we'll send it back to you. >> it's a mystery here in atlanta, too, but we'll be waiting. san simon reporting live from

san jose. a texas teenager could still face jail time after arguing that he was the victim of something called affluenza. prosecutors want ethan to be punished for the injuries that his two friends suffered in the pickup truck the night and crashed and killed four people while driving drunk. one of those friends is paralyzed, the other, severely injured. the district attorney gave this statement. "during his recent trial, the 16-year-old admitted his guilt in four cases of intoxication manslaughter and two cases of intoxication assault. every case deserves a verdict. the district attorney's office is asking the court to incarcerate the teen on the two intoxication assault cases." police say couch had three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system when he crashed. the judge sentenced him to ten years probation and rehab.

here to talk to me about this is paul callan. good morning, paul. >> good morning, carol. >> in essence, the district attorney is going to go after charges that mr. couch inflicted upon his friends. will it work? >> well, it's just another bizarre development in a biz sg bizarre case. obviously the political pressure has been tremendous because people are furious that this kid got probation after causing the death of four other people and the prosecutor now has come up with a technicality. he's found that the judge didn't sentence on these two outstanding counts. so he's going to go in and say to the judge, well, he should go to jail on these counts. the problem i have with the whole approach is, even if you believe that he should have been put in jail, and i happen to think that he should have, this is not the way to go about it. because frankly, how can the judge now say i'm going to give

him probation for his involvement in killing four human beings but i'm going to send him to jail for the assault charges, which are lesser charges. it would be totally illogical. she's going to be hard-pressed for justifying throwing him in prison because there's been a lot of bad newspaper articles and commentators going after him. the judge may -- if she's a tough judge, she may hold her ground. >> if this does work -- let's live in that world right now -- what's the most jail time this kid could face? >> well, he's facing only about three years of potential incarceration under the assault charges. and bear in mind, this really has to do with kids who are riding in his truck on the night of the accident. two of them were seriously injured. one was actually paralyzed. so i don't mean to minimize the seriousness of those counts but usually the defense attorney, when he enters a plea on behalf

of a client make sure that all of the counts are covered. this is very unusual to have two outstanding counts floating around in the air. so i'd be worried as a defense attorney if i were going to be charged with not having handled that plea correctly. if the judge goes along with the prosecutor's request. very unusual if if the judge does, by the way. and i think you'll see an appeal, then, on the whole thing. >> okay. so i'm really going to come to you from left field. many people feel that his parents should face a charge. he was living in this mansion and throwing wild parties and wasn't being parented, it seems. >> throughout the country it's very hard to sue parents for criminal activity by their kids. and let's face it, even the best parents in the world can have a kid who goes down the wrong path. so should you blame the parents for that? the law basically says that the

parents have to actively be involved in the negligence which causes the situation. if they supplied the liquor or opportunity for nonsupervision for a big party to happen on the night of the crime, maybe you could tie them into a civil lawsuit for money damages or a criminal case. but you'd have to know the specific facts. it's very, very hard, in general, to nail a parent when a kid commits a crime. >> all right. paul callan, thank you for your insight this morning. i appreciate it. >> thank you, carol. on to other stories we're following this morning, hundreds of firefighters are battling an unusual late season wildfire in big sur, california. 22 buildings have been destroyed, including 14 homes, and the blaze is only 20% contained. wildfire season peaks in the summer but there's only been a fraction of the rainfall this year. thousands will be gathering

in sochi from the winter olympics. missing from that group, president obama and other u.s. officials. instead, the u.s. delegation will include openly gay athletes, including billie jean king. senior white house correspondent jim acosta live at the white house, foreign affairs correspondent, jill dougherty is in moscow with reaction there. this is obviously a slap in the face to russia. >> reporter: well, i don't know if i would use the word slap in the face but a message is being sent. the white house is not sending that message explicitly but they are doing everything but sending that message explicitly. the president is sending prominently gay athletes, billie jean king, the tennis legend, caitlin cahow, a silver medal hockey player. they are sending a message about

the anti-gay policies and the statement that was issued by the white house yesterday by the nsc spokeswoman says it out loud, that these athletes were chosen in part for their civic activism, that they wanted the delegation to represent and reflect u.s. diversity and so certainly this does that but on another front, carol, i think there is also a message being sent with respect to edward snowden, the former nsa contractor who has been given temporary political asylum in russia. the white house is not explicitly saying that but remember a few months ago, jay carney was asked repeatedly, is the white house going to boycott these olympics? they said no we're not going to do that. but the president canceled a bilateral meeting with vladimir putin because of the actions that they took on edward

snowden. >> has there been any reaction to you, jill, from officials in russia? >> reporter: no, we haven't seen any yet. let's go back to what president putin has said, which is, gay athletes will not be discriminated against at the games. but, you know, this presents a very interesting move by the white house because one of the debates among a lot in the gay activist community was, should you do something? should you boycott the olympics? should you have a big flag, gay liberation flag? should you wear pins or whatever? and by putting these people -- the openly gay people, especially billie jean king and caitlin cahow on the delegation, they don't have to do anything but be themselves and it sends a message because obviously people are reporting on that. so i think the white house is getting its message across. one would very much doubt that

billie jean king would be arrested. this law is really meant for what they say gay propaganda directed toward children. but it's a very broad and very undefined law. so nobody really, even here, knows exactly how it might play out when the games take place. >> we'll see. jim acosta, jill dougherty, thanks so much for the insight this morning. still to come in the "newsroom," dennis rodman at it again. will he fight for the imprisoned american, kenneth bay? i'll speak with kenneth bay's sister, next. my customers can shop around-- see who does good work and compare costs. it doesn't usually work that way with health care. but with unitedhealthcare, i get information on quality rated doctors, treatment options and estimates for how much i'll pay. that helps me, and my guys, make better decisions.

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amid turmoil and controversy, nba star dennis rodman is heading back to north korea. he makes his third trip to the rogue nation tomorrow. this time, it's to train the men's national team for an exhibition match against former nba players. many want rodman to push for the release of captured american kenneth bae but a few months ago rodman brushed aside that suggestion that he engage in some sort of diplomacy. listen. >> i would try to squeeze it in through all of the conversations? >> come on. basketball and girls and -- you can remember there's a guy tied up in a room. >> well, i know. but -- like i say, if obama can't do it, what makes you think i can do it? >> cnn has more from seoul.

>> reporter: carol, dennis rodman is undeterred and going ahead with his trip in the and flies to pyongyang on thursday where the world will be watching. with his piercings and tattoos and outlandish behavior, there's no denying that dennis rodman loves attracting attention and the world will be watching as the 52-year-old makes his third visit into a country ruled by one of the world's most repressive regimes. >> i want to bridge a gap with north korea. that's all i want. >> reporter: it comes at a time of dramatic political upheaval in north korea. just last week, the country's

young leader kim jong-un had his uncle executed. the first among many to believe purged. it would seem the leader could use a friend. >> i'll call him my friend. he's my friend. if you hate my guts, hate my guts, but he is my friend. >> rodman is traveling with a documentary team. they are preparing for an exhibition match in january to celebrate the birthday of kim jong-un, a die-hard basketball fan. many are wondering whether rodman will raise the issue of 45-year-old missionary kenneth bae sentenced to 15 years prison in pyongyang for what authorities say was an attempt to overthrow the regime. but rodman says this trip isn't

political. although on previous visits he has made himself available for basketball diplomacy, offering to be a mediator between his close friend kim and u.s. president barack obama. >> this guy just want to do one thing, let's have a conversation with you. that's it. so why obama, are you afraid to talk to dennis rodman? >> some people are wishing that rodman would make this trip political asking rodman to raise the issue of human rights with kim jong-un and make him hear the cries of his people. carol? >> thank you, anna coren. many americans are angry that rodman won't fight for bae's release. an op-ed was written saying, "rodman used bae's miss fortune to elevate his eroding hollywood brand. he took advantage of bae's set

back and he's the only one laughing all the way to the bank while bae's family and friends and the american people are left heartbroken. bae's sister is joining me from seattle. good morning, terry. >> good morning. >> first of all, how are you doing? >> we're hanging in there. it's difficult, definitely, around the holidays. >> i know. christmas is coming fast. do you think rodman is using your brother's misfortune to elevate his image? >> it's hard to know. we certainly would hope that dennis rodman would use his friendship with the leader of the dprk for good to raise the profile of kenneth bae to help his case. because he's the only american who's met with the leader kim jong-un. so i would certainly hope that he would do something. >> has dennis rodman ever

reached out to your family? >> no. >> why do you think that is? >> it's difficult to know. he has said -- at first he said he would help. there was an infamous tweet but then after that it seemed like he's back-pedalled and said he's not a diplomat and it's not his job. i understand that. it is disappointing. i would certainly hope and plead with mr. rodman to reconsider and say while you're there, you know, make the case. and, you know, let this american citizen who's been detained for 13 months, longest of any other american in recent history, to come home to his wife and his three children. >> if dennis rodman goes to north korea and doesn't bring up the issue of your brother with kim jong-un and does some sort of basketball exhibition, you

know, the media will cover it but what will you think as you're reading the paper about just another wasted trip by dennis rodman to north korea? >> we'll certainly be disappointed and heartbroken. you know, this has been a devastating experience for the past 13 months and kenneth bae really needs to come home and we need all the help to get that to happen. >> i know dennis rodman watches television. i know he watches cnn. would you like to say anything directly to mr. rodman? >> mr. rodman, if you're watching, please do think about this american citizen, a father, a husband, a son and a brother who has been imprisoned for 13 months in the dprk. and while you're there, could you think about him and his family waiting for him to come home for christmas and do everything you can to bring him home. >> terri chung, thank you for

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♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ international. and the mail man picks it up. i don't leave the shop anymore. [ male announcer ] get a 4 week trial plus $100 in extras including postage and a digital scale. go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again. the senate will vote today to pass a budget. it could mean no government shutdown, no stumbling from crisis to crisis. what's in the bill is that lawmakers actually reached a bill. i know. you're cynical. but senator patty murray, who co-sponsored this bill with paul ryan, says this is an important first step in rebuilding a broken congress. here's what murray said earlier

on "new day." >> we had to look at how we could find compromises. there's things in this i like. there are things in this i don't like. but at the end of the day, if we couldn't find a compromise on how we move forward, then we would be facing a $20 billion hit to our defense industry, meaning layoffs and uncertainty and a lot of furloughs harming a lot of families across the country. >> wolf blitzer is here to talk about the deal. so is this is an important first step in repairing a broken congress? >> yes, it's certainly an important step and underscores there is an opportunity, carol, for cooperation, compromise, bipartisanship words we don't often hear these days in washington. but it's still just a baby step. there's a whole lot of other things that they could be doing that probably should be doing. there are going to be other

chr crises down the road when they come together. both sides made compromises. neither get 100% of what they want but they get a nice chunk of what they want and they can move forward. >> liberals are angry because the bill doesn't extend long-term unemployment benefits. conservatives are upset because of cuts to military benefits. a part of me says that maybe lawmakers will deal with those two issues later, right? they won't put that in the budget deal but deal with them later. will they? >> they are going to try. the cuts in the cost of living increase, the 1% cost in military benefits doesn't take effect until 2015. they'll have an opportunity to reinstate those benefits if there's bipartisan cooperation, president willing to go along with that. as far as the 1.3 million are going to lose their long-term unemployment benefits starting january 1st.

there will be opportunities to try to bring that back. neither of these are going to be easy because there is still a drive out there to go ahead and make painful cuts and these are just the beginning of some painful cuts down the road but if you try to deal with that budget deficit, with the long-term national debt, you're going to have to cut where the money is and these are programs that have some money so there are going to be painful cuts down the road. >> let's talk about the debt ceiling down the road because the republican paul ryan has already suggested, intimated, that there may be a fight over that next time in 2014. that's a much more serious thing for congress to be fighting over. will that happen? >> well, at issue is america's credit worthiness. the debt ceiling is supposed to expire in february. maybe they can do some fanagelling and keep it going. paul ryan, the chairman of the budget committee says the republicans will want some

concessions of the president of the united states and democrats in order to go ahead and raise that debt ceiling once again. the president says these are debts that have already been accumulated by the united states, appropriated by congress, signed into law by the president. the u.s. simply can't go ahead unilaterally decide they are not going to repay some of these debts. so there is going to be a fight. there's going to be a fight in the next few weeks over raising the debt ceiling and despite the goodwill we've seen in the budget agreement, there could be another battle over the next few weeks. >> all right. wolf blitzer, many thanks to you for your insight. appreciate it. >> thank you. still to come, the barricades came down and the diplomatic barriers went up. how one arrest is straining the long-time bond between the u.s. and india. farmer: hello, i'm an idaho potato farmer.

and our giant idaho potato truck is still missing. so my dog and i we're going to go find it.

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the removal of the security barricades around the u.s. embassy. it's the latest in a series of reprisals after the arrest of an indian diplomat in new york. she is accused of falsifying documents for her housekeeper's work visa and the treatment included a strip search. first let's head to new york and pamela brown with the latest on this international dust-up. good morning, pamela. >> good morning to you, carol. indian officials have asked u.s. consulate staff members in several cities in india to hand over their i.d.s. it seems officials are more outraged over how the female diplomat was arrested and why. and officials are addressing the matter saying it is a very

delicate situation. watch as police remove the concrete security barriers in front of the u.s. embassy in new delhi. newspapers in india reporting that the government is behind the anti-u.s. protest. why? retaliation sparked by the arrest of this indian diplomat in new york city, devya devyani khobragade. she's a deputy counsul and accused of severely underpaying her baby sitter and working her more than the 40 hours per week, allegedly without overtime pay and then lied about this on visa documents, a violation of u.s. laws. >> my daughter has nothing to do with this. >> reporter: security arrested khobragade last thursday after she dropped her daughter off at school. she was later strip searched and put in a eld holding cell with r

defendants. her arrest sparked outrage among indian officials, some calling her treatment barbaric. >> what they can do immediately is to cancel those visas, arrest all of these come puple pan joh and putting them behind bars. more steps should be taken against the united states until they've given an unconditional apology. >> reporter: u.s. marshal says they treated the diplomat the same way they treat everyone else. >> thus far, all indication are that appropriate procedures were followed. we understand this is a sensitive issue and we're continuing to review exactly

what transpired. >> and khobragade's lawyer says his client is protected by the charges by diplomatic immunity and expects a prompt resolution. my source tells me that she has immunity but not diplomatic immunity and she was breaking the law so the limit to the immunity does not apply, according to the state department source. we'll be keeping an eye on this developing story. >> somehow i don't think what you just said is resonating in india so let's head there now. what's the reaction there? we heard a little bit from pamela story. i'm sure it's much more intense because you're there. >> reporter:. >> i don't think she can hear me. we're going to step away. we'll get our technical issues

fixed. still to come in the "newsroom," the fed is a few hours away from its big reveal. how a big decision will be felt far away from wall street. [ sniffles, coughs ] shhhh! i have a cold with this annoying runny nose. [ sniffles ] i better take something. [ male announcer ] dayquil cold and flu doesn't treat all that. it doesn't? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast-acting antihistamine. oh, what a relief it is! i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. and our giant idaho potato truck is still missing. so my dog and i we're going to go find it. it's out there somewhere spreading the good word about idaho potatoes and raising money for meals on wheels.

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an indian diplomat under arrest in new york city and strip searched for underpaid baby sitter. what's the reaction to this? >> reporter: well, people here are very angry about the treatment and earlier the prime minister of the country saying that he said that the incident was deplorable. india is still really upset with that treatment. what they really want to do is to bring that diplomat home but

what they have done is bring it to the permanent position of new york where they are hoping that she get full immunity where she worked before. so they are moving her to the permanent mission. they are hoping that she gets greater immunity which means she can't be arrested again preventing any further embarrassment. over here in india, india is retaliating. they have asked all the staff at u.s. consulate in major cities to hand in their identity passes which basically means they are stripping them of certain diplomatic privileges, such as access to airport lounges, for example, and over here in new delhi, the local police have also removed these large barricades, these concrete barricades which were placed outside the u.s. embassy saying that they had been placed there just as a courtesy by the new delhi police. it hadn't been a diplomatic requirement but it does insist that it has not scaled back

security for any u.s. diplomats anywhere in the country. that is not being affected at all. over here there is still a lot of anger at the way this diplomat was treated in new york. >> all right. malika kapur from new delhi, thank you very much. we are just about three hours from a major announcement in washington. the fed will decide whether they can pull back on the massive stimulus program that sends stocks to record highs this year. will it change anything? joining me is paul. good morning, paul. >> good morning, carol. thanks for having me. >> glad you're here. so this decision seems like only something investors will watch. why should the rest of us care? >> there are several reasons. even if you may not be like a passionate market junkie, you probably have a 401(k), maybe a 529 for your kids, other retirement or long-term investment plans so if the fed

doesn't pull back on its bond-buying program just yet, that will probably give the market another nice boost and obviously everyone loves to check their balances and see that they are higher than they were. so that's one reason. but the real important thing for the average person in terms of an economic reason is that what the fed is trying to do is keep interest rates low and they have been successful for the past few years. that's one reason why the mortgage rate has been so low and the market has come back. some people are worried that if the fed does stop or slow the pace of its bond buys, rates might head higher and could be a problem for an economy that, let's be honest, is still fragile. >> it's still fragile you but economy is improving and what's the best guest a what will happen later this afternoon? >> i am of the opinion that they are not going to pull back just yet and the fed might want to be a little cautious and wait for a

couple more months of data to confirm that the job market really is getting better, that retail sales are going to improve, that we have a good holiday shopping season. but then there's also the big reason, which is that current fed chair ben bernanke is going to be ending his term at the end of next january. so he probably might not be interested in making this move right now when he can just hand it off to his successor, current vice chair janet yellen who is waiting for senate confirmation. >> thank you for joining me. i'm sure you'll keep your eye on that. it will be at cnnmoney.com. we'll have complete coverage at 2:00 p.m. eastern. cnn money will take a closer look at market reaction and what it means for the economy and you. we'll be right back. life with crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis

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this news just in to cnn. president obama will be meeting with the nsa review board in just about ten minutes. the board is reviewing how the u.s. spy service is monitoring its citizens and all of the other things the nsa is accused of doing. some of the stuff was revealed by edward snowden. the president will be sitting down and talking with the review board. it's close to the press and jim acosta is working his sources if he finds out anything about this meeting, of course, he'll check in with us. in other news, two big storm systems are brewing and we'll mar march across the united states. yesterday's storm caused up to ten inches of snow that dumped from pennsylvania to maine. boston got more than six inches and now the northeast is going to get hit with rain. because why not? jennifer gray is in the cnn weather center. it's just cruel. >> i know. it seems like it will never end.

right around boston, six inches of snow fell in a couple of hours. it made rush hour yesterday. bridgeport, connecticut, about three inches. newark, new jersey, about 2. this next system is going to mainly be rain. we're going to have a shift in the jet stream. very cold a ir up to the north. it's going to climb up the eastern seaboard and as we track this next system, you'll notice that the snow is going to stay very far to the north. minneapolis, you are going to get snow today and that's going to push into the great lakes region as we see by friday morning, though, that snow in extreme portions of northern maine and canada and mainly rain to the south. and so what we'll be dealing with, mainly, possible severe threat on saturday and sunday for the gulf coast and then mainly rain up the eastern seaboard, mid-atlantic, and to the northeast. two different models we're looking at for the weekend. a little bit of disdiscrepancy.

we could see snow as far south as the texas panhandle. it looks like the snow is going to stay farther to the north. still a little bit uncertainty as we go through the weekend but we do know that there will be a severe threat for the south that will be quite of bit of rain for the east coast. carol? >> christmas is coming. you know what next week is. so -- >> busy travel week. >> let's hope all of that stuff gets out of there by then. jennifer gray, thanks so much. waffle bars...

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taking a look at our top stories at 50 minutes past, russian lawmakers have passed a sweeping amnesty law that could affect thousands of prisoners. the law, expected to go into effect tomorrow, could lead to freedom for 30 green peace activists. they were arrested in september but haven't gone to trial. the pussy riot band are serving a term for hoolism. deadly reno shooting. the gunman killed himself and it was not a random act of violence. police searched room by room.

>> if you can just stay in this room and let me know. >> as far as the suspect goes, we don't have a solid identity on him yet but we have several leads on who he is. >> they are interviewing at least two dozen witnesses to try to figure out a motive. >> a dramatic rescue to share about canada. a crane operator who has nowhere to go. then, in the nick of time, there it is, military helicopter from a nearby base swoops in and plucks that crane operator to safety. all is well this morning. just in to the cnn "newsroom," at the top of the hour the president will review the nsa review group. >> reporter: not a lot to tell you here, obama that this was added to the president's schedule within the last hour of

the white house alerting us in the white house press that the president will be meeting with this review group that is being looking at surveillance activity at the nsa. the president has been looking at this for the last few months. it has big names, carol, one being richard clark, the former counterterrorism official and they did release a report to the president late last week. the president has been looking at this, the white house has been looking at this, and he's been planning to release recommendations as to what should be done at the nsa to sort of reform what the surveillance activities should be look moving forward and the report that this review group put together, that was expected to be released next month but we're waiting to find out if that might change and what the president has to say about this. in an interview with msnbc a couple of weeks ago, the president said he'll be talking about perhaps some, quote,

self-restraint over at the nsa but no really -- no further details at this point as to what he might be doing with the nsa but interesting that he is meeting with them this morning, especially after that meeting yesterday at the white house when the president sat down with the executives from those big, big technology firms, carol. >> and especially since the federal court ruled that the nsa -- unconstitutional. i'd love to be a fly on the wall. you'll have more from us later, jim acosta, reporting from the white house. toronto's mayor tried to apologize after corruption claims. here's his tortured attempt to say he's sorry. >> i said i would withdraw for the comments that if there were corrupt counselors, so i withdraw that. >> so -- >> so i don't understand --

>> just a sec. just a sec. what the record is, is that you need to say i apologize. >> how about, i am so sorry. is that as good as i apologize or so sorry. which one do you want, speaker? like super, super, super, super, super sorry? >> mayor ford, please. >> i'm sure it was all very, very sincere. that does it for me. i'm carol costello. thank you for joining me today. "legal view" with ashleigh banfield starts now. if you hit the numbers for the mega millions last night, you're going to have to share the $648 million jackpot because two people, two pete the astronomical odds. one on the east coast, one on the west coast. coul