>> i always appreciate talking to you and you have always treated me nice and thank you for letting me come on and telling everybody that i am the ambassador for 75th anniversary for the smoky mountains. come on down, and do that. i'm a walk commercial. >> larry: thank you, dolly. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com as we go on the air tonight, tension and a tipping point in iran and at any moment we could see another uprising on the streets. what is behind that? cnn's iran desk is on the job. in the tiny nation of yemen, a top secret meeting an anti-terror meeting between that country's president and president obama's top military man stationed there. we will tell you what went on. cnn knows. hello, everyone. i'm don lemon and we want to start with the story that is making news right now, bitter cold an plunging temperatures. not one, but two systems are making a messy start for the beginning of the year. look at the windchills in the radar that you see right there.

now, an arctic blast sent the mercury plummeting in minnesota, and 34 below zero in some parts of the state which is close to a record n. south minnesota, about 3,500 people were without electricity for a time this morning in that bitter cold. in astoria, maine, where the storm is packing a punch, and the sunshine state is not immune to the brutal system. parts of florida are under a freeze warning and citrus growers are keeping an eye on the crops, and it is a gusty eye right here in new york city where i look at that as we go on the air and 12 degrees and the windchill even colder than that. i think that at last check, jacq jacqui, it was minus one windchill here in new york city, so it is frigid in a big, big part of the country. >> yeah, it really is. in fact, the windchill conditions making your body feel awful out there and takes a matter of minutes to get

frostbite. tonight, that is what we are expecting the worst of the arctic blast is tomorrow morning, so this is the worst. but unfortunately, it is going to linger through the middle of next week, so we are expecting it to feel like temperatures in the 30 below zero across the upper midwest and even all of the way down to south where we aring lo aring -- are looking at teens and 20s. in florida as you mentioned a number of record lows in minnesota and across 2 the dakotas, and the windchills across great falls, minnesota, and we are seeing the 20s and 30s developing across the region. we talked about how dangerous that is and how long it will take you to be frost bit. i posted this windchill chart on my facebook page if you are interested n. this range, we are looking at 15 to 30 minutes with those kinds of temperatures so brutally, brutally cold. that is all due to an arctic high pressure system.

now, we have another system we are dealing with that is bringing in the low pressure and the snow conditions across the northeast. that is the same pesky low bugging us late in the week last week including the new year's eve plans in the northeast. this is bringing in some strong winds and the system is actually doing what we call retrograding and moving backwards toward the coast. that is why the winds are going to pick up in intensity for tonight and continue throughout much of the day tomorrow. now, the worst of the snow is going to be somewhere along here along i-95 and inland where we expect to see a good foot of snow and the winds are going to be strong all over the place, so we have delays at some of the airports in the northeast and a lot of the holiday travelers out there, don. boston and newark over two hours, and we expect the delays to continue through tomorrow as the low hoovers near the coast. >> thank you, jacqui. now, we want to talk about tough talk and personal message on terrorism from president

barack obama. he made a connection between the suspect on the u.s. airliner and al qaeda based in yemen. the president said that the al qaeda in the arabian peninsula has targeted the u.s. before and the u.s. is fighting back, he vows. >> as president, i made ate priority to strengthen our partnership with the yemeni government, and sharing intelligence and working with them to strike al qaeda terrorists. before christmas day, we had seen the results and training camps struck and leaders killed, and you, too, must know, you will be held in account. >> there is another development we want to tell you about yemen. president barack obama has been briefed on the meeting today between the president of yemen and the commander of u.s. central command general david pe tray yas, and yemen's president offered his thanks for the help in the battle against the extremists. ed henry is traveling with the

president. i want to start with the president's remarks tying the christmas day attack with yemen. >> well, he had not gone there yet, don, in remarks throughout the past week or, so and that is important to note, but what you just mentioned about the president being briefed about general david pe trtraeuspetraeo yemen, and there are more potential strikes in from yemen. before the christmas day incident, regardless of who pulled the trigger, there were air strikes against al qaeda in yemen and this is clear from what the president said and the fact that general petraeus is there on the ground and the u.s. is weighing options about potentially issuing more air strikes in the days ahead. so it is clear that there is an intense focus right now on al qaeda in yemen, don. >> he says he will hold people

accountable, ed, for the security mistakes that he calls here in the united states. explain to us what he is talking about. what he means by that. >> well, he is zeroing in on this cia and potentially other intelligence officials who have sort of what is called a pre-9/11 mentality and in the early part, the preliminary findings the president ordered that he get by last thursday and what we told by other officials is that the cia knew that the eventual suspect had some or appeared to have some ties to extremists in yemen, and potentially elsewhere and did not share that with other intelligence officials, and that is the kind of breakdown we saw that led to 9/11, but thankfully in this case, it fizzled out, because it did not fully detonate, but it could have been a horrific attack on christmas day. the president on tuesday, the first full day at the white house will have after this vacation, cia leaders and other bell jens leaders in the

situation room demanding answers and beyond that pointing blame, and what went wrong and what are you going to fix now? how do you prevent future attacks, and that is the point of all of this, don. >> well, a good reminder as you are here, the president is vacationing and so are other folks getting on with their lives and we can hear it with the music and folks getting on with their lives. there is new evidence of the political instability in yemen and somali and the potential threats growing there. this video shows al shabab fighters who say that their leaders are prepared to battle forces in somalia and yemen. in response, yemen is tightening security along the coast. earlier i discussed the situation in yemen and general david petraeus's presence there, and i asked if he thought that could be a precursor to the wider action in we aremen.

>> i think it is. because what we have right now is really goody ploem si go-- g diplomacy, and they are trying to establish these on the streets, because they are going to happen and prevention is part of the problem. and the other half is legitimate targets which have to do with giving sanctuary to al qaeda or threatening the survival of the state of yemen, and we have to avoid collateral damage in the process. >> in the meantime, we are getting word of a possible link between the christmas day terror attack and the november massacre at ft. hood texas. a counterterrorism officials says that the would-be bomber abdulmutallab had contact with an imam who exchanged e-mails with the ft. hood gunman. and pro basketball players

accused of drawing guns. the off-court action, and the law enforcement officials are stepping in to take care of. american airlines are popping up on the fed's radar. also your comments are wanted tonight on cnn. it is how you get on the air, and twitter, facebook, or i-report or dot-com.

two delta planes, same smokey smell in the cockpit, and same decision to turn back to boston twice today. an unidentified odor forced pilots to do an about face shortly after takeoff. and they landed back at logan international airport. the first plane was headed to new york with 34 people on board. the second was headed to ohio with 38 people. delta says its pilots were acting out of an abundance of safety. both incidents are under investigation tonight. the faa is keeping a close eye on american airlines after the carrier had three botched landings in less than two weeks. you're looking at video of the worst of the incidents when a jet overran the runway, injuring

91 passengers in jamaica which came a few days after a plane slid off of the side of a north carolina runway. on christmas eve, an md-80 struck its wing tip while landing in texas. american airlines is said to be cooperating with the faa while conducting its own investigation. a locker room incident could cost a pro basketball team much more than a game. police are investigating a reported stand-off between gilbert arenas and jabbaras crittenton. the "new york post" reports that the two players drew guns during a dispute over a gambling debt. arenas denies the story, but the team admits he brought handguns into the locker room. flip saunders discussed the distraction. >> you'd like as a coach a player who's able to totally focus on your game at hand, and when you have other things to distract off the court or whatever, those are things that you're always concerned about. but from my standpoint, and as i

told our players, we still get judged on what we do as far as on the court for the guys that are here and doing things. >> the family of the teams late owner called the incident dangerous and disappointing. an update tonight on the controversial firing of mike leach in an affidavit released by the university today. trainer steve pincock said leach told him to lock the wide receiver james in a dark place. he later told james he was sorry for placing him in an equipment shed. doctors diagnosed james with a concussion, and according to the trainer, leach wanted james to be uncomfortable. leach was fired wednesday. a ragged army fights in the streets of iran. one of the leaders says he'll pay the price for the cause. new year's ushers in a new era for gay couples in new hampshire.

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the protests in iran have quieted down, but the uneasy silence on the streets has been mirrored on the internet. on friday the campaign that parked the recent protests, and the rage against the regime's efforts to subdue protesters. mir hossein says he'll pay the price. >> reporter: new video into the iran desk. for nearly a week now, iranian officials have said security forces did not fire guns during the mass protest during the opposition movement last sunday. new video purportedly from the sunday protest appears to show a gunman take aim and fire.

here it is, the person shooting the video appears to be hiding behind a car. in a second, right, there you see a gunman, take aim, fire, and then he is going to run away. seconds later, you will see what appears to be dozens of protesters run after them. during the sunday protest at least seven people according to state media in iran were killed. state-run media says they were killed either by accident or their deaths were staged in order to spark more unrest. among the people killed mir hossein mousavi, and his nephew, and on saturday, his website said he was paid a visit by key opposition figure who wanted to pay his respects for his nephew's death. the visit comes right after mousavi's statement saying he is willing to die for his movement, and in the meantime, more criticism, more threats and condemnation from iran

hardliners, and first off, let's show you a statement about mousavi saying he is willing to die and i'm not afraid to be one of the post election martyrs who lost their lives for the struggle for their rights and demands. my struggle is no different from any other martyr. in the meantime, more struggle. this time ayatollah mujati calling them enemies of god and they should be executed. don, hundreds of people have been arrested over the last few days and state-run media in iran said that many of them will be put on trial in the coming days. >> rez sa, it is important thate got in the new video in. will you explain what is going on, because reza is monitoring the new video coming into cnn. we are hearing that the protests could ramp up. take it away and explain it to us again. >> this is video that has not been aired on cnn, and keep in mind that video is coming in

days after the protests. there you see what appears to be a gunman crouch down, take aim and fire and run away. moments later, you will see protesters run after him. in the background, you will see thick smoke and fire and you recall sunday during the protests you had a lot of protesters set fire to security official vehicles and motorcycles, and there you see what you saw a lot of on sunday, protesters overwhelming, chasing and taking advantage of the low numbers at times of the intersections of the security officers and at times overpowering them, and something you have not seen in the past that really illustrates how aggressive and intense these protests are becoming. >> reza is monitoring the feeds and the wires of what is going on. we will bring it to you if it happens in our newscast. thank you, rez sashgs. earlier i asked two iran experts about what could come next. we spoke so extensively after

the initial uprising after the contested election and fear sthat going to be out of control and maybe as bad as the initial election? >> well, don, again these videos underscore for you the brutality of the iranian government and the tremendous courage of the iranian people. back when we talked in june i think there were a lot of skeptics who said that the opposition movement is really limited to the elite youth of northern teheran and lit fizzle out. six months later, we see how strong it has maintained the momentum and how it is happening not only in teheran, but throughout the country, and i think that the protesters really transcend age, geographic location and socioeconomic class. >> this is one of the most important stories of our time, and if there is a democracy, mahmoud ahmadinejad is taken out of power, but before we go on, do you believe he is going to be taken out of power? you believe he is a puppet

between khomeini and mousavi but has no power. >> well, over the last three months, he is no longer a figure. the concentration, and the world attention on this issue is absolutely extraordinary and necessary, because it is a unique phenomenon, don, is a nonviolent civil rights movement in the context of a very violent context, and the implication of this give ten demographic aspect of the movement, 80% of the iranian population is under the age of 40 and 50% of it under the age of 25 and the reason it has a global resonance and social networking, et cetera is precisely that you have a nonviolent civil rights uprising and mostly charged by young people -- >> young educated people with the tools to go online. >> and the class and the social strata that underlies it is not teheran based or upper middle-class or none of that, but it is spreading all over the country.

>> that was kareem from the carnegie endowment discussing the protests in iran. you think you need to get away and get some sunshine and warmth, a day at the beach? well, not as pleasant as it sounds. look at that, 55 degrees is the temperature in miami beach at 10:22 eastern time or 24 as it says there. two minutes difference. parts of florida feeling a deep freeze tonight and why it could mean trouble for the crops and the economy, of course. a lot of buzz around this guy tonight. he was thrown into the can after allegedly driving off with a coke machine. you have to see the video the believe it. you go next if you ha hoveround power chair? the statue of liberty? the grand canyon? it's all possible with a hoveround. tom: hi i'm tom kruse, inventor and founder of hoveround.

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cold and florida -- those are two words you don't often here in the same sentence, especially if you're talking about south florida. as we told you at the top of the hour, winter isn't skipping over the sunshine state this year. blake berman from the cnn affiliate joins us live from miami beach. usually, you'd be in short

sleeves and shorts, but not tonight. you guys are not used to this cold weather down there, are you? >> reporter: yeah, right now it's 55 degrees here. we were talking to a lot of people here, they said, 55, that's beautiful. but not down here, can you see on lincoln road, it's absolutely packed. a lot of tourists here, the two big accessories tonight on south beach, sweaters and lights. saturday night lincoln road, the restaurants packed and the space heaters are out. >> did you expect to come to south florida and sit under a space heater? >> no, not really. we thought it would be a little bit warmer. >> we didn't bundle up enough. we should have brought more blankets. >> reporter: the cold no laughing matter for crop growers with a freeze watch in effect for miami-dade county and broward county. they've picked as much sweet corn as they could this saturday. for the crops not ready, they put a coat of water to keep them

warm through the next several nights. >> we're getting all we can, all the corn out of the field we can, between now and wednesday morning. when the potential freeze is supposed to be here. >> a more festive mood saturday night in coral gables, an appropriate theme for the this year in miami might be winter wonderland. >> we lucked out with clear skies and a little bit of a chill in the air. >> since i have this on, it's kind of cold. >> reporter: yes, it is cold. but megan says this sure beats iowa city. >> consider yourselves lucky, it's a little chilly in iowa. >> reporter: so for those braving the cold, many of them at least here on lincoln road coming in to get some ice cream, it's not too terrible. it is expected to dip in the 40s, and that is a big concern for crop growers as this freeze watch continues throughout the night. we are live tonight on lincoln road, miami beach, blake berman. back to you.

>> before you leave, we talked about the crops and how that affects the economy, but tourism as well. the economy is bad, and florida depends upon tourism, and especially south florida, so what is the word on that? a big concern? >> it's a big concern. i'll tell you, though, a couple people we spoke, to what's helping out is iowa is in town for the bowl game. atlanta is in town for the orange bowl game. the pittsburgh steelers travel, huge. they've brought tens of thousands of fans down here. at least this weekend because of football, we are fine and this is as busy as we have seen lincoln road in the last several weeks, but the last thing we need here on miami beach is the ocean a few blocks that way for the temperatures to dip into the 50s, and right now the last reading we had was 55 degrees. don? >> you are very lucky with all of the people up north and east and they are used to the cold so 55 is warm for them. and you are a pro, because usually people would be yelling behind you on lincoln road.

i've been there many times, thank you for joining us on cnn tonight. president barack obama learnings a christmas day plot to al qaeda forces in yemen. what are the chances of a new military strike? is that a real possibility? the latest on the possible u.s. retaliation. you can get a cc, tiguan or fuel-efficient jetta for practically just your signature. you can get scheduled maintenance at no cost. there's gotta be more to it than that. [ car door closes, tires screech ] [ engine revs ] ♪ [ tires screech ] [ pen scratches ] [ camera shutter clicks ] i'll never doubt you again. [ male announcer ] sign then drive is back. hurry in and get legendary volkswagen value for practically just your signature. ♪

time for top stories. a failed christmas day terror attack was a stark reminder of al qaeda's ultimate goals. that's the word from a top government official who says al qaeda is planning to launch an attack on u.s. soil. the director of the national counterterrorism center says that the u.s. officials know with absolute certainty that would-be terrorists are working to refine their methods. kurt westergaard whose drawings of the profit mohammed angered the muslim world now attacked in his own home. the suspect is an ax-wielding somali man with connections to al qaeda has been charged with the attempted murder e. efforts have been stepped up to protect westergaard. he's been moved to an undisclosed location. rescuers are pulling bodies from beneath huge mountains of mud and dirt in brazil. the coastal city has been

especially hit hard by this. rescue teams are on duty around the clock, but hope is fading for survivors. at least 60 people have been killed in the southeastern part of that country. word that u.s. general david petraeus met with yemen's president today has ramped up speculation about potential u.s. military action there. our pentagon correspondent barbara starr reports the u.s. is already scouting potential new al qaeda targets. >> reporter: yemeni forces earlier this month on a raid against al qaeda just north of the capital of sanar. the military shouts, come out. it is better for you, do not be afraid. shots are fired, several suspects are finally captured. this was one of yemen's efforts to hit back at al qaeda, u.s. assistance with several recent strikes that may have killed some of these men is now openly acknowledged. >> these are yemeni armed forces. they will, of course, supported

by american intelligence and by the training of the yemeni armed forces. >> what's next? the u.s. military and intelligence community are looking at everything they've got on al qaeda in yemen. strikes are expected to continue, and could involve u.s. missiles or aircraft sources. the u.s. and yemen aren't -- are looking for targets linked to the attack only northwest flight 253. but retaliation has not always worked. >> our target was terror. our mission was clear. there will be no sanctuary for terrorists. >> reporter: in 1998, after al qaeda attacked u.s. embassies in east africa, president clinton ordered cruise missile attacks against targets in afghanistan but al qaeda was untouched. key operatives had long fled the area. u.s. retaliation that worked, it happened in yemen in 2002. a u.s. drone fired a missile, one of the dead was an al qaeda operative, believed to have been

behind the october 2000 attack on the navy warship "cole" in yemen that killed 17 sailors. even now, the u.s. is continuing to provide training, weapons and intelligence to the yemeni forces. but if president obama decides to strike back in retaliation for the botched attack on the northwest airlines flight, there will be a target list for him to approve. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. let's talk now about the possible u.s. military strike against al qaeda targets in yemen. gregory johnston is here with me. i'm also joined on the phone by by edmond hall who is a former u.s. ambassador to yemen. so we will get to you in a second, but i want to speak to mr. hall. mr. hall, what should our viewer es know about yemen? you say there are some misconceptions that you need to clear up? >> right.

well, the first thing is that the al qaeda threat is not simply to u.s. interests, but very much to yemeni interests as well. the people of yemen have suffered a great deal in terms of economic well-being because of al qaeda's activities there. so that's number one, i think the second thing is that -- based on that, actions by yemeni security forces are likely to be much more effective in countering the al qaeda threat in yemen than direct action by u.s. military forces. >> as a former u.s. ambassador there, can you help our viewers explain to what it is like -- what is yemen? it seems to me, just a far away place that most people don't know about. >> reporter: well, yemen is a very rugged country. the population of about 22 million is widely dispersed. there are areas of yemen that are remote and provide potential

safe havens for al qaeda. it's difficult in challenging for the yemeni government to extend government control and services to those areas, and yet that is absolutely essential in gaining the support of the yemeni population in counterterrorism. >> gregory johnson, the big question s there a possibility of some sort of conflict? boots on the ground, military action in yemen? >> in my view, that would be a catastrophic mistake. there are no obvious or easy solutions in yemen, but one of the most important things for the u.s. to remember is that it is not going to defeat al qaeda in yemen today, tomorrow, next month or even next year. it's going to be a very long, very hard slog. there's no magic missile solution. >> why do you say that? >> al qaeda is a unit that america defeated once in yemen. it defeated it in '01 to '03,

and they came back after a prison break in '03. so, if the u.s. continues to go down the same road, it is going to get the same results. the u.s. is going to be fighting different incarnations of al qaeda in yemen every few years. >> just some of the guidance from some of our people here at cnn, some of our pentagon folks, some of the folks that were with the president saying, this is a significant development that general david petraeus at this meeting he had with the president, and the discussion that he had with the president saying that this is a bit unusual and precedent setting and a much bigger deal than many people know that it is, if it is. do you agree with that? it is a big deal? >> well, david petrais last visited yemen in july of last year. i was in the country when he came. essentially he brought the message, look, the united states is giving you much more money now, and the united states wants

to see a return on its money. essentially he pressed the president to take the fight to al qaeda. >> so now? >> he's coming back with that message, only he's underlining it with harsher words and more money that the u.s. is promising. >> he wants to see action? >> he wants the yemeni government to take action against al qaeda. the problem is, by focusing so exclusively on al qaeda, the u.s. almost induces the type of results it's hoping to avoid. >> do we still have mr. hull on the phone? >> i am here. >> last question to mr. hall. do you believe there will be boots on the ground or do you agree with mr. johnson it's probably not the case? will there be boots on the ground? >> i think there are boots on the ground, i hope they are yemeni boots. the u.s. role is providing intelligence, training, equipment. that's our comparative advantage. i would argue we're not just talking about a military response to this problem. we have to broaden our efforts, we have to look at the economic,

political and social factors that make yemen an attractive safe haven for al qaeda, we have to address those as well. the significant thing is that washington is taking yemen seriously, and hasn't necessarily in the past. and if we get out ahead of this, we can counter it much more effectively than being in a reactive mode. >> edmond hull, gregory johnson, thanks to both of you. he was on a mission to save a fallen comrade during a gun battle in afghanistan, and was wounded himself. hospital corpsman anthony amin is a cnn hero, and you will see why next right here on cnn. i can breathe through my nose immediately. afrin has made me happy. is that a silly statement? (announcer) afrin. why suffer? [ thunder and cracks of lightning ] but now there's align with bifantis. align helps to restore natural digestive balance for a healthy digestive system. discover digestive peace or get your money back. try align.

in 2008 hospital corpsman

anthony amin and his unit were fighting an ambush by the taliban in southern afghanistan. he rushed into fire to save a wounded marine, but was wounded himself. >> reporter: the last two weeks i noticed a big change in my abilities, what i can and can't do, as far as mobility and agility. >> reporter: after 17 months and 23 surgeries hospital corpsman anthony amin hopes to run again one day. >> the morning of july 21, 2008, we set up for an ambush on the taliban. it's a very busy morning. very hectic. and as we approached the enemy our ambush was successful. shortly thereafter, they did a counterattack. and we heard mortar fire,

machine gun fire. we had air support helping us out. >> shoot again. >> reporter: amin received a call over the radio from his platoon sergeant to help the wounded marine. >> about 10, 15 feet from getting to him. all i remember is just hearing the loudest explosion i ever heard. it seemed like dirt pushed me off the ground about 3 to 5 feet, kind of doing like a backwards cartwheel. >> reporter: he had stepped on an improvised explosive device. and now both amin and the wounded marine needed medical attention. >> as a corpsman, i knew i had lost my left foot. and i heard my doctor, and i just remember he said, hey, hold on, hold on, we're going to get to you in a minute. we have to work on him. i remember grabbing my buddy's hand, in a sense cheering him on.

but i was also telling myself to kind of hang in there. i remember after about 2:00, 3:00 minutes my medicine was kicking in pretty hard, he let go of my hand. at that point i realized he wasn't with us any more. that was a hard moment for me. >> reporter: today amin is in therapy at the san diego naval hospital, training with joaquin cruz, who is a brazilian athlete who recruits for paralympics. >> the hardest thing coming back home for me would be knowing my life is completely changed for ever. i also am reminded i was running to save him, and i think his spirit is living inside of me. it's my motivation to get through the day, knowing that i did a good deed for somebody who unfortunately is no longer with us. by my prayers go out to his family. >> reporter: amin hopes this training will once again

help him to represent the united states, this time as a member of the u.s. paralympic team. >> definitely a hero. do you know a hero? you can nominate him or her at cnn.com/hero. a couple exchanges vows for the third time in new hampshire. and this time it has the full backing of the law. there they are right there. we're going to meet them. who took who's last name. we will ask them that, too.

some gay couples in new hampshire rang in the new year by getting married. about 15 couples braved the cold to exchange vows outside the state house in concord. the state's new law legalizing same sex marriage went into

effect at 12:01 a.m. new year's eve. i guess that would be new year's day. new hampshire joins massachusetts, vermont, connecticut, iowa in allowing gay marriage. and there they are. by skype neil and jeffrey, they join us from franconia, new hampshire. congratulations, the picture is frozen. we are having a little trouble. maybe because it is so cold there. let's show pictures from their ceremony as i talk to them. you did it right there at midnight, a civil union ceremony. it became legal two years ago, this time you decided to wait a few hours, right? why did you decide to wait a few hours? >> it was a more civilized hour. we also wanted to make sure that we did it on new year's day to take advantage of the right and the opportunity. but we were having quite a snowstorm up here as you know, so we decided to do it during the daytime. >> here's the thing.

most people would think the coasts, you know, and the states in places where people consider liberal like new york, new york city possibly d.c., california, that something like that would happen in those places, but instead it's happening there. most people wouldn't think it would happen there, what do you think, what do you make of it? >> i think new hampshire is an interesting state overall, and we live in very northern new hampshire, which is actually quite rural, and we feel fully supported, fully honored and backed by our family, friends and communities up here and i guess we just believe if it can happen here, it can happen in the united states of america. >> do you feel any differently, as before -- i'm sure you were in a committed relationship before, is this more empowering? people say you turn 40, do you feel any different? you turn 50, do you feel any different? when you're allowed to get married, do you feel any different? >> that's a good question,

because i actually didn't think i would feel any different, and third time's a charm kind of thing, and for me, it is always about the civil rights and not necessarily the implied name, but i have to say that i do feel different knowing that you are married at least under the eyes of the state law here in new hampshire. it does make a difference. you walk a little more confidently and a little more proudly. >> a lot of people talk about the sanctity of marriage, i think half or more than half of people end up getting a divorce. it's the same among same sex couples, i don't think the percentages are any different. what do you say about that? >> having the right to marry and having that legal equality comes with not only the rights but the responsibilities and obligation, and any couple, same sex couple that marries, they have the same

opportunity, but also obligation if they end their relationship, they get divorced. so i think that it's really going to be no different. and marriage is also -- >> do you -- >> is it -- is this a federal or a state thing? some people say it should be decided among the states, the federal government should not be involved in it. so quickly, we rerunning out of time, but do you think it is a federal or state issue? >> i think it's totally a federal issue. we need to, of course, have states rights, but until dadt is overturned, "don't ask, don't tell," people will not be aware of the inequalities -- >> the president made a big deal about that a couple months ago, to gay men and women saying he was going to overturn dadt. what do you they the president has done so far and the poszability in the future? >> i think the president has

done a great job so far. there's always room to move further. there's a lot to be done, and he needs to take some action. but at least here for us personally in the state of new hampshire, we finally do have some equality. >> happy new year to you, congratulations. toast to you. >> thanks, don, for the opportunity. >> all right. calling on calls, be on the lookout for a speeding coke machine. stay with us for a coke chaser.

swimmers in rhode island showed no fear as they sprinted into the frigid ocean on new year's day. i could never do that.

i almost said something naughty, didn't i? the polar bear plunge is an annual event. although members of this club take a dip every week in winter. this year's swim will help a local teen cancer patient go somewhere considerably warmer. the money raised will go toward sending her on a dream vacation to the caribbean. now, for that, i would consider doing it. so, good luck to them. if all your friends leaped into a freezing lake, would you do it too? more than 1,000 thick-skinned people dove into lake minnetonka. it is part of a traditional minnesota tradition as part of the 20th annual ice dive. even more hair raising or hair freezing, it was a 0 degree morning. i was thinking about a seinfeld episode with george. there are easier ways to buy a cold one than the man in tennessee who tried to chain a coke machine to his pickup truck. the police were hot on their trail. the suspect kept trying to escape even after the chain broke and the machine was released.

they finally caught him and arrested him. the local sheriff calls it the strangest crime he's ever seen. that is some weird video to look at. ahead, a last host at the tavern on the green. the iconic new york city restaurant is shutdown maybe for good. i go check it out. i'm congested right now in this area. my nose and right around here. (announcer) want to give afrin a try? yeah. it cleared up right away. i can breathe. (announcer) so where would you rate it? 99.9. (announcer) afrin. why suffer?

new year's eve may have been the last hoorah for the tavern on the green. it's gone dark. well wishers are still gathering to toast the famous central park eatery. i stopped by to see if i could get one last meal. >> what a party on new year's eve, at the world famous tavern on the green. and just hours later. it is friday afternoon, tavern on the green, and let's see if we can have some lunch here. >> not happening, the american icon, just off new york's central park is no more. >> not open. the end of an era. >> americans have been in love with tavern since it opened in the 1930s, in large part thanks to hollywood. >> i know the first time i found out, "ghostbusters". >> i had no idea. >> rick moranis running around outside before he gets eaten by the lion.

>> central park and tavern on the green. >> reporter: tavern on the green and weddings go together too. just ask ruth ann warren. she was married here in the 1980s. >> i had a beautiful dress, it was modelled after diana, princess diana, gorgeous white gone, french lace. we had the white horse and carriage here. beautiful memories, you know? sflr what does it mean to you? >> it's sad for me to see this -- i didn't believe it when i heard it wouldn't be open any more. it's a landmark of new york, and i can't understand how they couldn't save it. i still think it will always be tavern on the green. >> reporter: always be tavern on the green. what a nice sentiment that is. tavern's new operator has yet to sign a contract with the restaurant's landlord which is the city's department of parks and recreation. if it does reopen, expect a new look and maybe a new name.

they are talking about the name in court. let's hope they work it out. tavern on the green rolls off the tongue. some of your feedback. a lot of you are talking about this jabbaris crittenton story. and gilbert arenas. commenting on it. but let's take some of your comments. how much time do we have? king of hearts points out that bravo for pointing out that 50% of marriages end in divorce in contrast to the sanctity of gay marriages. that is talking about the gay marriage story we just did. >> and showdown in the locker room, are they crazy? they could have hurt someone else with their stupidity. glad you're back, don. i don't think it was in the locker room they were settling their dispute. how long will it be before there are guns in high school locker rooms. interesting stuff, appreciate it. thanks for joining us here tonight. thanks for your comments. twitter, facebook, my space or ireport.com. we have a few more minutes here. it's cold in new york, i'm stretching because i don't want to go outside.