benefits to drop now could inflict another blow to america's economy right when signs of recovery are starting to show. that's my x, y, z. want to continue that conversation about taxes. your tax, my tax, everyone's taxes are about to go up, scheduled to go up on the first of the new year. now at this late hour here congress is finally getting around to doing something about this. or is it? take a look with me. live pick your of the floor of the house of representatives. democrats have just schedule a tax cut vote. by our watch this thing should get going within the half hour here. but let me talk to you about what is on the table. everyone's taxes would stay the same except for the top 2% of wage earners. their rates would go up as schedule. republicans here they are not big fans of this idea and their leader just recently came forward, used some we'll call it colorful language about the

democrats calling for today's vote. take a listen. >> trying to catch my brett so i don't refer to this maneuver going on today as chicken crap, all right. but this is nonsense. all right. the election was one month ago. we're 23 months from the next election. and the political games have already started trying to set up the next election. we have an honest conversation at the white house. about the challenges that we face to get out of here and to take care of what the american people expect of us. and to roll out this vote today is really just -- it's what you think i was going to say anyway. >> gloria you heard that as well as i did. he called it chicken crap. let me ask you this. when this vote happens what do

we expect? >> well, you know, this is a vote on just extending the tax cuts for the middle class, right? >> right. >> it's going pass the house. but then what's going happen and this is what congressman boehner was referring to, it will head over to the senate where it will sit, be shelved, become irrelevant. this is a political point that some democrats, particularly in the liberal caucus in the house want to make. they are going to lose lots of those moderate and conservative democrats. many of whom lost in this last election. but they wanted to make this political point, drawing a line in the sand that democrats are for extending the tax cuts for the middle class but not for the wealthey. over in the senate they are waiting to see what happens with these negotiations, they are caucusing this afternoon. and they know that some kind of a deal is likely to be struck, so this will go on the shelf. so, in the sense that

speaker-to-be boehner said this was a political posturing, he has a point. >> if this is all political posture, when would reality kick in, gloria? these tax cuts are set to expire december 31. 29 days and counting until all of our taxes go up. >> congress is a crisis activated institution, and i think reality is kicking in, brooke. i think what you're seeing or what we're trying to get a glimpse of behind closed doors is negotiations that are going on. and as my colleague dana bash has been reporting they seem to be coming up or trying to come up with some kind of a deal for a temporary extension of these tax cuts across the board two years, maybe three years but the big question is, what do the democrats get in return for that if they agree to do this? you know, do they get this extension of unemployment

insurance? does the ratification of the s.t.a.r.t. treaty become a part of this grand deal? >> we know the democrats are worried that the president won't fight hard enough on some of those concessions. let me talk numbers with you. there's a lot of talk about this cutoff, this $250,000 mark. and whether people earning that are really rich. so, some democrats in the senate have said, okay, look, fine let's raise tax on millionaires. i want to play a sound bite. this is from last night. two sides of the aisle. listen to this. >> i'll offer you a deal. we'll take a tax break for everyone below a million dollars. will you accept that. that's a great compromise. or will you say oh, no we're holding out for the millionaires. take it or leave it. i can't speak for my whole party but i can speak for myself and my colleague from missouri.

we can solve this problem tonight. tax breaks for everybody else, but not for the millionaires. take it or leave it. you said you want to negotiate, here's an offer. >> most of the people whose taxes he's trying to raise live in new york. i mean they are not in tennessee. we're a relatively low-income state. so i admire him for his courage, almost a tax earmark to be so specific that we're going raise taxes on just a small number of people, most of whom who live on wall street and new york. that makes a pretty good line. >> so, glor arrepublicans are w to let everybody's taxes go up? >> it's kind of interesting. because what senator chuck schumer from new york was really talking about is, you know, essentially redefining the middle class which is saying,

okay, anyone who earns under a million dollars a year is part of the middle class. there's a lot of people on the left wing of the democratic party that don't like that. a lot of democrats, schumer was careful to say he didn't speak for all democrats in the senate because there are moderate democrats in the senate who don't want to raise anyone's taxes now, even the wealthy because a, they don't think it's the right thing to do in the middle of a recession. you know, and so they don't -- you know they don't want to do it. so, you know, i think the kind of argument they are having is an argument that's going nowhere because chuck schumer doesn't have the support for it, sounds good on a bumper sticker but he doesn't -- >> perhaps it's not part of reality. i want to finish with your point which was alluded to before. compromise. while all of this is happening you have treasury secretary

timothy geithner trying to get a bipartisan compromise. what would the compromise look like? >> at this point we're not sure, but our reporting on the hill from dana bash and others and my own reporting shows we're looking at some kind of a temporary extension. do you do it for two years? do you do it for three years? what can we afford to do? then the democrats are worried, look, we don't want to be sold out by the white house on some kind of a compromise. what will we as democrats get in return. will they get an extension, for example of unemployment insurance in the long term, without having to pay for it right away? will there be some kind of a wink and a nod about, well, maybe we can ratify the s.t.a.r.t. treaty and get that going. the democrats are going caucus later today. so we'll see what they can agree to. we'll see what the white house can agree to. it's interesting, as you know,

the senate democrats are not always the same as the house democrats. so we're also going to have to see what the house and the senate democrats can agree to agree to among themselves. >> stay tuned. we'll wait and see with the wink, wink, nod, nod. it's a huge story for everybody watching. we all pay tax. gloria borger thank you so much. we're waiting and watching for this vote to happen. basically right now on the floor of the house of representatives, voting on some other business right now. but as soon as we start seeing numbers going up on the board with regard to the vote on taxes we'll bring that to you live. busy day in the house. guess what sells going on after that vote? we're hearing that the full house of representatives could be voting on a possible censure in the case of charlie rangel.

two stories we're keeping a close eye on. could be developing any minute here in the newsroom. as soon as we see movement on either of those we'll bring them to you live. in the mean time, listen to this. >> all hell broke loose here in hollywood. police were coming from all different angles. choppers in the air. they surrounded the building. >> what a night. there's been a stunning turn of events a man committed suicide as police try to question him. we'll have a live report four. that's ahead. steven hayes speaking out in the courtroom. he's the man convicted of murder in that horrific connecticut home invasion. his sentencing in connecticut is next.

i want to remind you two huge stories popping up during the show today so stay right there. let's take that live picture of the house floor. let me remind you what's happening. we're waiting for this house vote on the tax cuts. house democrats were calling on the house to extend the bush tax cuts to all americans making $250,000 or less. that's what we're waiting on. after that we were expecting a vote, the full house should vote on whether or not veteran congressman charlie rangel should receive censure, a public rebuke in front of all of his peer from the well of the house or get that lesser punishment, a reprimand. we'll be hearing from him in his own defense. two huge stories developing out of capitol hill today. we'll bring him to live at any point here. mean time i want to take a quick look at three of our top

stories. the case of who killed this woman. this was the celebrity publicity ronnie chasen taking a violent turn. police went into this apartment building overnight when they approached a man they described as a person of interest. what did he do? he pulled out a gun and took his own life. investigators did not say if the man actually played a role in chasen's killing. today is the first time we've heard from convicted killer steven hayes. he's been stepsed to death for the 2007 murders of a mother and her two daughters during that home invasion. hayes said he's been tormented, has had nightmares about what happens and believes death will be a welcomed relief. the judge, by the way, set an official execution date of may 27th of next year but it could be delayed if hayes appeals.

scientists have discovered a form of bacteria that can thrive largely on arsenic. arsenic, if you remember, is generally considered pretty toxic. this is poisonous stuff. so in nonscientific terms this means we can expand our notions and our range of where possible life could be found, you know, out there in the big universe. so this will certainly impact nasa's search for extraterrestial life. the strain was scooped from sentiment from a lake in california. do you ever wonder how fat you have to be before you can get that surgery to reduce your weight? well, new information today that there may be hope if you're not just really, really morbidly obese, just a little bit less heavy. we'll explain just ahead. we're watching for the house floor for that censure vote on charlie rangel who was found guilty of violating 11 house

ethics rules. it could happen any moment now. that of course the vote on extending the bush tax cuts if you're making 250,000 bucks or less. we'll take both those stories live as soon as it happens.

welcome back to the newsroom. of course we still have our eye on washington. let's take you to live pictures to the house of representatives which is nearing a vote this afternoon on the tax cut plan and as i said we're watching, of course, as soon as we know what's going on. we'll let you know. keep in mind that's not the only thing going on in washington. there's another huge story involving this man, congressman charlie rangel last seen before the house ethics committee which found him guilty of 11 rules

violations. so after today's tax vote rangel's case will go the house floor where he faces possible censure today. this afternoon. course that would be a very bitter pill for rangel to swallow and a huge stain on his 20 term career in the house. our congressional correspondent, a question to you. i imagine we'll be hearing from congressman rangel a final defense before this vote. will he get a chance, i guess to convince his colleagues, his peers to settle for that lesser punishment which the reprimand instead of censure. >> we can't say definitively. he may have a chance to be on the floor of the house and make his case for why he should get a lesser punishment. has he been behind-the-scenes trying to lobby his supporters, especially members of the black caucus yes. it would be surprising to a lot of people if he was able to

succeed and convince the house of representatives that they should give him a reprimand instead of a censure. i think even supporters, when you talk to them, supporters who say he shouldn't get the censure, they also point to the fact this ethics committee, brook, 9-1 and it's a bipartisan committee recommended his censure. the thinking here is it's more likely for the full house to uphold what they have already said in that committee. >> know you know this story inside and out. i want to remind our viewers the meat of what the ethics committee found wrong with regard to these 11 rules violation. it found rangel failed to report hundreds of thousands ever dollars in income, failed to pay taxes on his dominican republic villa. improper fund racing is and prommer use of rent-controlled apartments. are those the types of violations that merit a censure? >> well when you listen to charlie rangel he will say no

they don't. he's made this argument he's not corrupt he didn't do these things on purpose and even the prosecutor in this case before the ethics committee said he didn't thinking that rangel was going oust his way. in the past censures have been handed down for a number of misdeeds. they are pretty serious. payroll fraud. bribery. sexual misconduct with pages. selling military appointments. these are pretty big deal. while rangel said he didn't that have intent what we also heard from the prosecutor in this case and the ethics committee agreed with him, he said the thing that made me think he deserves the censure this is the chairman of the house ways and means committee. he wasn't paying taxes on this rental income. soliciting donations, breaking rules while doing that for a leg center that beared his name and from companies that had business before his committee. >> those supporters are making the point all of those examples it doesn't help his personal financial gain and another word

we keep coming up is corrupt, corruption. rangel said the ethics committee lectures him, there's nothing to indicate that rangel acted corruptly. let's listen to that. >> i see no evidence of corruption. it's hard to answer the question personal financial benefit. i think the short answer is probably no, do i believe based on this record that congressman rangel took steps to enrich himself? base on his position in congress i do not. >> so, brianna, final question. there's the chief essentially saying not corrupt just sloppy. how much water will that hold with the full house? >> you know, it's still to be determined. i think the expectation at this point is people would be very surprised if rangel were not to

be censured and that doesn't mean that there isn't going to be some major support behind him. some support from some of the folks who think look this doesn't rise up to the level of some of those other transgressions that i told you about. but i think the bottom line is the way this plays out f-he is to get a sense sure, brooke, it is basically him standing there on the floor of the house and getting a verbal rebuke from the speaker herself. you might say oh, what is that a slap on the wrist? when it comes to here on the hill it's happened only 22 times before in the history of the house of representatives. it's a very big deal. it's public humi allocation. this is an 80-year-old man who has an amazing career. >> the last time we saw censure was a big 27 years ago. i imagine it would be quite humiliating for the veteran congressman. thank you for your perspective. i want to remind everyone we're

expecting this to happen on the floor of the house of representatives within our hours, and as soon as we see that we'll bring that to you as well as the stroerkts bush tax cut vote in the house. mean time more people who are overweight may qualify soon for lap-band surgery to shed some lbs. we'll tell you what they are talking about. this is developing ahead tomorrow. who killed celebrity publicist ronnie chasen. a real life hollywood mystery that's taken a twist overnight. has the case been solved those? kareen wynter is from los angeles and all over this investigation next. [ beeping ]

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we're keeping our eye very closely on what's happening there on the floor of the house of representatives. they are taking care of other business. at any minute they will switch gears and talk tax cuts and vote on those tax cuts. the vote should take about 15 minutes sore. we'll have presence on the capitol hill with our senior congressional correspondent. that could happen at any moment. mean time, some really surprising developments in that execution-style murder of famed hollywood publicist ronnie chasen. back to last night as police were closing in on this guy they considered a person of interest in this case. this man killed himself. could reason winter following all of these developments for us, she was up all night following these developments as well and she's joining me there live from the scene. what's the latest? what can you tell me? >> reporter: you said it off top. this is a case that's bean mist fry the beginning with the murder of ronnie chasen and it's remains a mystery. police showed up at this

apartment complex to question him. he said he wasn't even a suspect just a person of interest and he turned the gun on himself. we're waiting to hear more details on that man but coroners have not released his identity. they say they have identified this guy through his fingerprints and they say that the autopsy is expected to be completed sometime tomorrow they can tell exactly how he died and what kind of weapon may have been used here. >> we also are hearing from some of the neighbors there in that gritty part of town in hollywood, a neighbor says this. take a listen. >> all hell broke loose here in hollywood. the police were coming from all different angles, choppers in the air. and, of course, they had surrounded the building. >> quite a scene overnight. what more do we know about this guy? >> reporter: we interviewed that man this morning who said that, you know, while he wasn't there at the time of the shooting, by

the way, this man who turned the gun on himself, we know he's a black male in his early 40s or was in his ear i40s. that neighbor you heard from, so many neighbors from along here who have been interviewed by the press said this guy was a transtra transient. people from this neighborhood, from this apartment complex they've been speaking out and saying this guy, that he was no stranger to trouble. that he had been in and out of prison. had served several stints in state prison and that he really got what was coming to him. again we haven't been able to confirm this. they question his character and we're hoping, hoping once police reveal some more details we'll find out what his connection was if any. if he was a person of interest why did this guy turn the gun on himself. so many questions remain. >> here's another question. another piece of the puzzle.

there's some talk this chasen murder was a professional hit. in fact a former homicide detective told abc's good morning america, that the l.a. police force is not skilled enough to fire that kind of shots that killed chasen. listen to this. >> this is something that's done, you know, with some skill and i'll be honest with you. i've carried gun, i carried a gun for 38 years and had to qualify quarterly. i don't know that i could shoot like that. >> he doesn't know if he could have done it. whoever killed chasen was more than just a pretty good shot. does that mean that police are zeroing this as a professional hit job? >> reporter: they are not ruling anything out. in fact, this is one theory, many theories that tlourt. the "new york post" had an article. they quote ad source, somebody very close to chasen, that for months she's been in fear of her

life, that she's felt as if somebody has been trailing her, following her since march right after the oscars and she confide in this friend i don't know who it is, i'm scared, i'm terrified. many in the industry are asking, even residents in beverly hills that community is definitely, definitely on edge. this is something that they are not used to or wondering is this a hit. who want this woman dead. what makes it so difficult it is in fact a very complex case opinion police are saying very little. we don't know this was tar goertd a random crime. >> so bizarre. so many questions. kareen wynter, live from the scene. thank. you. a dramatic bank robbery caught on surveillance tape. wait until you see what happened. that's ahead. also here's a question. how fast do you have to be before you can get all the flash surgically removed? the answer not as fat as you may

think. elizabeth cohen standing by. also we're waiting, looking at pictures of the beautiful u.s. capitol. we're waiting for the tax vote. after that the charlie rangel vote, will he or won't he receive censure. stay tuned. a lot of breaking stories this hour on cnn. amazing technology. and we fill them with inspired design. and now your chevy dealer wants to fill them with as much good will as we can. come see how chevy is giving more. right now, get no monthly payments till spring plus 0% apr financing and fifteen hundred dollars holiday allowance on most chevy models. see how your dealer is giving at facebook.com/chevrolet.

. weight loss surgery. you may think it's only for those who are extremely obese, but hang on a second. it may now become available to those who are well less heavy. the fda panel will vote tomorrow about how obese a person has to be to qualify for lap-band surgery. so right now you have to be morbidly obese, 100 pounds

overweight or have serious health problems to get this. our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen is here to break down what the changes could mean. what's the deal? >> if you want to get obesity surgery your doctor can give it to you no matter what your weight is. your insurance company won't pay for it unless you're heavy enough. so lap-band is one way to do obesity surgery. not the only way. >> lap-band is when they -- >> it's a device. it's a device that they put in you to make your stomach smaller. it's one way of doing the surgery. you can do it without the surgery. your stomach gets smaller. you lose weight. >> right now what do you have you have to have a bmi of 40? >> depends whether you have medical condition or not. week break it down to height and weight. the way it works, let's say you're 5'8". currently your insurance would give you a hard time paying for

it if you weighed less than 230 pounds. if this new proposal passes you could weigh 197 pounds and still get it. that's a big difference. we're talking like at least 30 million people who would now be able to get their insurance to pay for it pretty easily. it's a lot of people. >> apparently this company, their stock has gone up today because of the news, i guess of what could happen with the fda, the chair of the fda panhandle owns this company stock. conflict of snint. >> perhaps. if they are selling these lap-bands for and the chair of this fda panel owns between $10,000 to $25,000 of the stock fapd knows this. it's not a secret. they gave her a wavier. they said you can stay on the

committee. she won't vote. she will stay on the cheat. they couldn't find anyone else qualified who was available to serve on the committee. she was it. >> so, whether i guess this passes or not and if somebody is sitting out there and they are thinking of lap-band surgery as a possible option what kind of advice would you have, empower patient advice? >> the "empowered patient" would realize there's more than one way to do this surgery. your doctor may push the lap-band or have a financial tie to lap-band. it's not the only way to do it. let's talk about some of the issues that lap-band has had. it's been life-saving for some people. for other people it can slip. >> this like a temporary thing not stomach stapling. >> this is forever. you have this thing in you forever. it can slip. it can spontaneously deflate. it can erode over time. so you want to ask yourself

certain questions before you start doing -- before you would do this. research other ways of doing this. the lap-band may be the answer four but a kind of surgery that doesn't use a device may work better four and also you want to find the right doctor. as you can imagine there's so much money to be made on this in our obese society, a lot of doctors getting involved in this. find a good doctor. this is what they do. you don't want some guy who does this on the side. and also what happens when your stomach gets smaller is you eat much less. there's certain foods you really shouldn't be eating at all. some people can't handle that and psychologically have a tough time post-surgery. you want to make sure you can't handle this. you don't want to find yourself after surgery you can't handle this. >> we'll follow up with you tomorrow. thank so you much. grammy nominations they are in and rapper eminem leads the

pack with ten nomination. i want to you take a look at this brazen bank robbery. caught on surveillance video. you're going to hear the 911 and watch the drama unfold on camera. that's next. also we're watching the floor of the house of representatives. any minute now we could see that vote on extending possibly those tax cuts for $250,000, folks who make that or less. we'll wait and see. also wait and see about that censure vote for congressman charlie rangel. in fact, i'm just hearing in my other, that that 15 minute vote on those tax cuts have just begun. here are live pictures of the floor of the house. everybody getting settled. voting. we'll check in with senior congressional correspondent dana bash on this story when we come right back. stay there. [ female announcer ] where are people with moderate to severe

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live pictures of the floor of the house of representatives. we have just received word a couple of minutes ago that the congressmen and women who started voting on extending those tax cuts and i want to bring in senior congressional correspondent dana bash. to be clear, we know the democrats called on this vote and this is specifically to extend the tax cuts just for those making $250,000 or less. >> reporter: that's exactly right. that's the democrats priority for some time. this would do that permanently. and they are doing this despite the fact that, that they know in their heart of hearts ultimately this is not going to go anywhere. it's very likely, i would say even possible this will pass in the house but in terms of the united states senate there just doesn't seem to be the votes to do this because there are some democrats, including all 42 republicans who say it's not just this that they should extend, they should extend the bush tax cuts for those making $250,000 and above. >> so, dana, if this as we heard

from john boehner he called it chicken crap and political posturing why then democrats calling this vote? what's in it for the democrats? >> reporter: that's a great question. it's to get on the record. politics, but from their perspective what they would say on the democratic side good politics because they have believed all along this is the right thing to do. it's what president obama campaigned on. this exact piece of kind of legislation just extending tax cuts for those making $250,000 or less. there was a lot of talking before whether democrats should do just this. they decided not to because it would be too political hurtful to some of those who actually ended up losing. they want to get it on the record. that's the answer. they want to get on the record, especially considering the fact that they ultimately believe that the white house is going to cut deal that extends all of these tax cuts for about two years. >> dana bash, do me a favor,

please. stand by. i want to remind you to please stand by as well. i want to remind you also there's a clock tick at 10:06, 10:05. they vote electronically so they can change their vote before that clock clicks down. so we'll keep our eye on time and vote. we'll bring it back to you. cnn newsroom will be right back. [ male announcer ] if you've had a heart attack caused by a completely blocked artery,

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breaking news. take a look at this number. 218, that's the magic number that members of the house of representatives, in fact, over that now, 220 that's the number they needed to extend these tax cuts to folks who were making

$250,000 or less and by the looks of that number they are above that. they've done it so far. i want to bring back in senior congressional correspondent dana bash. dana, looking at the time on the tiny monitor. six minutes to go before this vote is finished. no surprise they have done it already. >> reporter: no surprise. this is something that the house democrats in particular have overwhelmingly agreed on and really fought for. i think it's fair to say more than any other democrats here on capitol hill. it does look like that number is going to continue to go up and they will have a pretty comfortable majority in voting for this. but i think we should emphasize as we did before the break this is a vote in the house of representatives. the united states senate would have to do this as well. i'm told it is possible. maybe even probable that the senate could take this up soon. even as early as next week. in terms of this particular issue, just extending the tax cuts for those making $250,000

or less permanently it doesn't look likely they will get what will need to be which is 60 votes in the senate to nsa. >> dana, you mentioned the senate. you spoke with harry he'd today. what has he said about all of this? >> he said on this particular issue that they are going wait and see what happens in the house. democrats have a meeting really daily, brooke, in the senate, to talk about where they go from here. it's remarkable particularly in the senate, so much discord about how to go forward on the tax cuts it's kind of stunning. one thing i think is important to tell our viewer is that while this is going on on the house floor and senate floor later early next week there have been discussions going on. bipartisan discussion with the white house, daniel republicans. they are getting pretty close on potential deal and what i'm told is that the tax cut deal could

likely be to extend all bush era tax cuts for all income brackets for two years. what i'm being told more and more democrats are increasingly concerned about obama is going to cave. he'll cave on giving them something in return. >> which specifically, though, what concessions are they most worried about not getting? >> i'll tell you. they say look, if we're going to agree to extend at least temporarily the tax cuts for the wealthiest americans i want to get stuff in return. what they are talking about on their wish list is competenting unemployment benefits for a pretty lengthy period of time without having to pay for it. which is something republicans have demanded. there are other tax rise credits that democrats have choind making more pay tuition, college tax credits that's on their wish list they are hoping to get in return for a compromise. but, again, i've talked to

several democrats, democratic sources on both sides of the capitol who said they are concerned the white house is not going fight hard enough for those priorities as they deal with this larger tax cut issue, fascinating dynamic that's playing out as everybody tries to find their bearing after the election and their finds their bearing as they are in their positions going forward and republicans are going to take the house. >> absolutely. and we are watching this number continue to rise. they have the most definitely done it by now with 2 1/2 minutes left on the vote before the house. we're going to take a quick break. and i'll bring wolf blitzer in to continue this discussion. this affects all of us as we all pay our taxes. stay right there. out of the very best america had to offer. ingenuity. integrity. optimism. and a belief that the finest things are the most thoughtfully made -- not the most expensive.

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official official officially finished and 231 voting on the floor of the house. the question is, is this essentially doa in the house. what will happen in the senate? i want to bring in wolf blitzer who is in washington. let me ask you a logistical question. what happens next? >> reporter: hello? >> wolf, can you hear me? >> reporter: now i can hear you. i wasn't hearing you before. >> my question is this, now that the vote is officially finished, lodge gist clee speaking, what is next? >> reporter: well, it's a little bit of a theater, as dana has been talking about. because it's probably not going to pass in the u.s. senate and as a result they will have to work on a compromise that will allow the tax rates for the

wealthy to go forward for two years, maybe three years. it's not going to be a permanent arrangement. they are going to kick the ball down the road a little bit. but it will give the negotiators, the president has designated his budget director to work with the republican leadership on the hill hoping to get a compromise. and by all accounts, they are getting closer and closer to that compromise that would allow the tax rates to continue for everyone for the next two, maybe three years. but as i say, right now, what the democrats have managed to do in the house of representatives, they have on record the fact that the democrats, by and large, they support making the tax rates -- the bush tax rates for the middle class, those earning under $250,000 a year, permanent. the republicans voted against that. so they will be able to argue, well, the republicans voted against it. the republicans voted against it because we want all of the tax rates for everyone to be made permanent. so it's a little bit of political theater going on right

now. everyone is getting ready for the compromise that presumably will be in the works. >> looking at this vote, wolf, and at these numbers here, we still have on the floor of the house, 167 nays. what do you make of that number? >> those are the republicans by and large, who say, you know, they want all of the taxpayers, everybody who has to pay irs taxes, they want all of the tax rates that were approved in 2001 and 2003 during the bush administration to continue as is. so it's a little bit of a debate going on, a little bit of what republicans like to call class warfare, differentiating between the rich and the middle class, if you will. so it's an interesting development. but i think it still requires, if they are going to go forward in this lame-duck session, it's going to require a compromise on the part of the democrats and

the republicans on the other on what to do with the tax rates because if they don't pass formal legislation between now and the end of the year, everyone's tax rates will go back to what they were during the clinton administration, which is a little bit higher than those 2001-2003 tax rates. >> if they don't act come december 31, all of our taxes go up. so that is one huge story that we're following out of washington. mr. blitzer, the floor is yours. what else do you have on the political ticker? >> well, right now the taxes are very significant and another significant development, the hearings before the senate armed services committee on repealing don't ask, don't tell, the policy that forbids gays from serving openly in the united states military. and john mccain is the ranking republican on the committee saying this is not a good time to change the policy right now. he says it's not a good time for combat personnel, those young combat soldiers and marines in iraq and afghanistan to be

forced into changing the policy right now. he doesn't like it. at this time he said we should be inherently cautious about making any changes that would affect our military and what changes we do make should be made with careful and dleb rate consideration. the chairman of the joint chiefs admiral mullen testified saying that it's a good time to change the policy but mccain strongly disagrees. what will be interesting is what is going to happen tomorrow when some of the other chiefs will be testifying, including the marine core general who opposes getting rid of don't ask, don't tell right now. so that will be interesting. we know that the chairman of the armed services committee, senator carl levin of michigan, supports getting rid of the policy. one final thing that is moving on the cnn ticker right now, cnn politics, newt gingrich singling

that he's irritated are michael steele, saying that -- he's been supportive of steele in the past. he's saying that steele, whoever is the new chairman, especially if it's steele, would be a very strong number two to deal with the fundraising and administrative issues. aapparently they feel steele hasn't been that strong. he hasn't yet announced whether he's going to seek re-election as chairman of the rnc. a lot of people think he will but he's facing stiff competition. republican leaders are lining up to challenge him. >> wolf blitzer with what is hot off the political ticker. we've got to go. hour two coming up in just a moment. we've got a sneak a quick break in. we'll be right back. you never take an upgrade for granted. and you rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price.

i deserve this. [ male announcer ] you do, business pro. you do. go national. go like a pro. all right. two stories on the trendy agenda. what do you have, brooke? >> a prayer vigil was held for the queen of soul. for what you may ask? we don't know. that's what everybody is curious about. "showbiz tonight" has confirmed that she's scheduled to undergo surgery today but for what nobody is sure. last month the singer canceled all of her tour dates until the spring because of health concerns. her publicist says thanks to the detroit city council for their prayer vigil and many thanks to the city for their support. all prayers are good.

brooke, her reps would not disclose any more information. we got a statement last month at the time saying that she was out of the hospital but nobody knew that she had even been admitted. we just don't know the extent of her problems and how concerned everybody should be. but i get it. it's understandable, right, because health concerns can be a very personal and private matter. >> turning over to a big day for eminem. >> grammy nominations are officially out. he's really feeling the grammy love. he's gotten nominations and it's well deserved. a huge commercial success. now it's an incredible, critical success. he's up for album of the year, which he's never won, despite numerous grammy wins over the course of his career. the album is a tribute of sorts to his long battle with prescription drugs. he spent some time in rehab.

i spoke to him earlier this year. this is video from the interview. he told me that he's through the dark times, completely sober, and the grammy's sent out a congratulatory tweet. check this out. congrats to eminem with ten nominations, the most of the night. and also to bruno mars with seven and they are going to be handed out on february 13. >> very cool. thank you so much. >> good to see you. >> now this. police close in on a possible suspect of a hollywood publicist but it take as violent turn and people are wondering did someone hire a hit man to take out this power player? i'm brook baldwin and the news starts now. >> something very unusual. it's terestrial life but not

life as we know it. >> scouring space for alien life forms, the answer may have been close to home all along. >> is it possible that there are other living things here on earth that do not share a common an says store with you and me? a jail guard under investigation and caught on camera. the prisoner punched, beaten, and held down with a foot on this throat. we'll tell you what went down. >> i love you. >> sarah palin makes another stop in iowa. we are live at her book signing in a key presidential state. lebron james back in cleveland. how brought tal will cavs fans really be? we are rocking and rolling.

rapid fire. let's begin with this. a death sentence in the connecticut home invasion sentencing trial. convicted of murdering a mother and her two daughters, steven hayes will pay with his life. he and an accomplice raped and strangled the mother, molested one of the girls, and then set their home on fire. only the father managed to escape that. hayes said he was tormented and believes death will be a welcome be leaf. find out what dr. petit did in court today. next, a relentless pace of dealing with homegrown terror. the past year has been as intense as any time since 9/11. he says the face of al qaeda is changing. the threats are growing. the enemy evolving. in fact, his comments come nearly a week after a u.s. citizen tried to blow up a

christmas tree ceremony in portland, oregon. next, remember the sheriff's deputy who claimed that he was wounded by drug smugglers but people questioned his story? he's now in trouble for allegedly threatening a reporter for now. he's on paid administrative leave. the latest incident is being investigated. but according to paul rubin, the deputy told him that a friend offered to murder rubin and he was lucky to be alive. his boss is taking the issue very seriously. next, don't give up and don't say rest in peace. that is the message from the community looking for these three missing boys in michigan. officers are now asking volunteers to stop their search tomorrow. these little boys disappeared last week. their father told police he dropped them off with some mystery woman. but he's now being charged with kidnapping and he's fighting

extradition. next, heavy snow. look at this. stranding drivers in upstate new york. this is a mess. this is buffalo. some people behind the wheel stranded for a whopping 12 hours. not fun. crews helping drivers try to stay warm and hydrated. a lot of areas got as much as 24 inches of snow in just a single day. a single day. another system moving on through tonight. next, outrage in a neighborhood in idaho. you can see why. do you see this? look at this with me. one neighbor building what appears to be a kkk snowman. look at it again. it's not only wearing a pointed hood but it's holding a noose. >> i couldn't believe it. there's a noose on it. it's disgusting, it's appalling. >> it's a disgrace to our neighborhood and it's something we definitely don't want here. >> are you outraged? guess what? we're told this is not the first time the neighbor caused a stir.

he raised flags and there's a law banning noose hangings so he has to take it down. homes selling at a discount of 32% over homes that are not in disclosure. the home deals are so good, they say, one in every four home buyers is opting for a foreclosure. and check this out. these are states where average foreclosure discounts average 45%. look at ohio. that is almost half off. a big day. dow finishing in the green. coming 24 hours after a great day yesterday. stocks shooting up 250 poins. investigators seem to be happy that in november the private sector hired the most workers in three years. that is great news. next -- chuck norris fact

number 1273. he watches so many bad guys on tv, texas is making him a ranger. you hear me? norris becomes an honoree texas ranger today. governor rick perry is honoring the actor for positive portrayal of law enforcement officers. let the flood of chuck norris facts involving one ranger begin. next, mothers, listen to this one. a mother who is pregnant gave birth in the parking lot of a mcdonald's in southern end y indiana. i. >> i felt that push and whoa, she was in my pants leg and i was kind of holding her in my pants leg like, okay, what am i going to do? >> get to the hospital. an off-duty officer heard the

chatter on the radio and came to help out before the ambulance arrived. now the mom knows where she's going to have her daughter's first birthday party. i wonder if she gets a freebie. four hours from now, lebron james will be walking into the court in cleveland since the first time he left down south played for the heat and miami. they have blasted him for this. they've even burned his jersey in the street. think about it. what kind of reaction do you think he's going to get tonight? carol is in cleveland on the court. carol? >> reporter: brooke, security will be tight. fans wearing t-shirts with profanity will be asked to take them off. they will be given a cavalier shirt in return. beers will be sold in cups to prevent bottles being thrown on to the floor. lebron said the homecoming for him is going to be emotional. and emotion is the name of the

game. right now fans are deciding exactly how they will vent. will they boo loudly? turn their backs as lebron james is introduced or simply stay silent in a show that says, hey, lebron james, we've moved on. brooke? >> carol costello, thank you. also, a lot of excitement on capitol hill. we've seen the vote on tax cuts. now we're moving on to veteran congressman charlie rangel and his fate. the new york congressman is accused of breaking the rules but gets one last chance to defend himself. what will he say? we may be hearing from himself, defending himself. that is ahead. and by the way, that has begun. a congresswoman is speaking now about that. we're keeping our eye on this as well. we'll bring you this story. will he simply get a reprimand? find out. also, did someone hire a hit man to kill a veteran hollywood

publicist? the mystery is still unraveling after a deadly development overnight. we're live in l.a., next. i can't believe i used to swing over those rocks...

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let's go, boy, go! whoo-whee! if you have high cholesterol, you may be at increased risk of heart attack and stroke. don't kid yourself. talk to your doctor about your risk and about lipitor. we are going to take you live to los angeles. this is congressman on the house ethics committee. today we're waiting for the vote to happen with regard to congressman charlie rangel serving 20 terms on the hill. so the full house today, they

are expected to vote on the house ethics committee to censure mr. rangel. will he get censure? or will he get a written reprimand? we're going to wait and see. they are going to vote on that today. and we could also be hearing from rangel himself. in the meantime, let's switch gears and talk about this story still developing out of hollywood. could the murder of a popular hollywood publicist have been a professional hit? a bizarre turn of events overnight has a lot of people asking that exact question. in fact, look at these pictures with me. this is a scene last night. police were closing in on this guy they considered a person of interest. but as soon as they got close to this guy, tried talking to him, he killed himself. and what people are saying about this particular man, it's raising a lot of questions today. talk to me about what happened

last night and would that lead anyone to think that ronni chasen's murder might have been a professional hit? >> reporter: well, first of all, police are not saying whether it was targeted in any way, was someone paid to kill this popular publicist? there are a lot of transient people and low-income people that live here. about 145 units. we've been talking to neighbors all day. neighbors have been talking to the press and they said that they have some insight into what may have happened here. again, we haven't been able to confirm with the police but this guy was recently evicted from this apartment complex. he came back several times wondering if police had shown up looking for him, if they had visited the premises saying that he had stumbled on some fortune.

he didn't ee will be great what was going on. other neighbors who have spoken out to the press said that he was a bad guy, had quite a rep, had been in and out of prison, served several stints there. so it's difficult to pinpoint who exactly that person was that police tried to speak to. why didn't they call him a suspect? they did show up with a search warrant and they are saying that that person still was not a suspect. we know it's a black male in his 40s. but, again, such a big miystery. >> many people are wondering was this a hollywood who done it, was it a professional hit or not. careen winter, thank you. we're keeping a close eye on the house floor. as i mentioned a couple minutes ago, lawmakers expected to vote soon on congressman charlie rangel's fate. will he receive a censure as the house ethics committee has

recommended? will it be less severe? will he get a reprimand? that is next. stay with us. [ bat cracks ] that's a hit. one a day men's. this site has a should i try priceline instead? >> no it's a sale. nothing beats a sale! wrong move! you. you can save up to half off that sale when you name your own price on priceline. but this one's a deal...trust me. it's only pretending to be a deal. here, bid $79. got it. wow! you win this time good twin! there's no disguising the real deal.

all right. right this moment we're watching the house on capitol hill, the house of representatives, for this possible censure vote in the case of charlie rangel. joe johns had to get into the thick of things. he's on capitol hill with today's political pop. mr. johns, i know you were out there all day for us. you are all over the story. let me ask you this, have you bumped into charlie rangel today? >> reporter: i haven't bumped into it but i have seen him. i was in the house chamber a while ago and he's apparently been sitting out there for quite a while, pretty loose, smiling,

working on some type of a statement, surrounded by friends. right next to him was one of the constitutional law experts in the house of representatives, congressman bobby scott of virginia. also saw jim clyburn who is the house majority talking to him for a while. and i'm told he also spoke very briefly to the speaker of the house while he was out there. so charlie rangel has planted himself on the house floor in advance of this procedure which just got started, brooke. >> let's talk punishments here. they've mentioned censure, being publicly dressed down in front of his peers, or the lessor of the two, the reprimand, the written punishment. >> reporter: some members of the new york delegation, i'm told, even a republican or two, have been saying they would like to

see charlie rangel get a reprimand instead of a censure. that said, he's still in a lot of trouble and it's not clear what is going to happen. and this is a very serious punishment in terms of what the house can do. this is the next worst thing to essentially expelling a member. nonetheless, all it is is standing in front of the speaker of the house, the speaker of the house reads the charges, supposed to be a humiliating experience. another thing that is hard to imagine is charlie rain gel, who is a very proud, gregarious guys on capitol hill acting like he's humiliated even though he won't be. >> proud, gregarious veteran, he served 20 terms in the house. so this has to be quite a bitter pill for him to swallow if he receives censure. >> reporter: yeah, but the thing about this is, it's kind of historic. the last time there was a

censure, it goes back to 1983 and there haven't been very many in my lifetime that i can remember. it's a pretty serious thing. only two members of the house of representatives have ever been censured. to say, look, i haven't engaged in any sexual impropriety, i haven't been convicted of a crime, therefore because i haven't done the serious things that people get censured for, i shouldn't be censured. he's making that argument but the question is whether it's going to fly today. >> it was sexual impropriety that got gary studs, the last one to be sense sured, that was in 1983. we'll have to wait and see. and trying to defend himself one

final time don't go too far. thank you. which countries will hold future world cups? the answers are shocking, actually. a lot of people today. that's ahead. plus -- uh-oh, the bedbugs are back. this time at a big-time clothing store and, parents, i know your children are begging to you buy this particular clothing. so just think, there are bedbugs at this high dollar spot in new york. that is trending. that is next.

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on that occasion in subzero weather, 20 degrees below zero, chinese surrounded us and attacked and there were hundreds of casualties wounded and killed, captured. they screamed and were heard and i was wounded and had no

thoughts that i would be able to survive. but god gave me the strength not only to survive the wound but to find my way out of the entrapment and for three days i had the strength to lead 40 of my comrades out of that situation and we all were hearted by the fact that so many of my comrades did not survive. i tell you that story not for sympathy but to let you know that at that time in every sense i made up my mind that i could never complain to god for any events that occurred in my life and i would dedicate my life in trying in some meaningful way to improve the quality of life for

all americans, as well as much as company do for human kind. and to say that i have made serious mistakes i do believe rules are made to be enforced and that we in the congress and senior members act in a way as a model and should be sanctions but if you're breaking new grounds, i ask for fairness, none of the presidents in the history of this great country has anyone ever suffered the humiliation of a censure when the record is abundantly cleared and never challenged that in

those two years of investigations, which i called for council and the economy found no evidence of corruption, found no evidence of self-enrichment, no evidence that there was an intention on my part of taxes or whether in financial disclosures and my responsibility to obey those rules, i take full credit and for the responsibility of that, i still believe that this body has to be guided and i'm not

here to complain. i have too much to be thankful for. being from where i am and where i am today, and, once again, it's been awkward, especially for my friends and supporters, and i want to support the dignity of the community that elect me to serve them. i want to continue to serve this congress and this country and do what i can to make life better for other people and i think we all agree that in 40 years i've tried my darnedest to do this. so at this point i would like to turn the remainder of the time that the chair has given to me to my fellow colleague, bobby scott. thank you.

>> without objection, the gentleman from virginia may control the time. >> so you have been listening to veteran congressman charlie rangel defending himself in front of his colleagues, his peers there on the floor of house of representatives. he is standing down there because he faces a vote of censure as to whether or not he will be publicly dressed down there at the well of the house as a result of those 11 ethics rules violations that the company essentially found him guilty of. will he receive censure as that committee has recommended? or will he receive the lessor punishment, which is reprimand? i want to bring in brianna keilar. i guess we can't be surprised. that was really his closing argument, proving as we were talking earlier, that he says he did nothing corrupt. specifically, he said, i take full responsibility for that but i still believe this body has to be guided by fairness. what do you make by that?

>> reporter: well, when he says that it comes down to the intent, that he wasn't trying to do this -- let me show you what some members of supporters were passing out. this is actually called ten reasons why charlie rangel should not receive sen tcensure. this was literature that they were passing out. it m coulds down to his point. i was not corrupt. i wasn't intending to do this. was i sloppy? yes? will i take responsibility for that? yes. what really struck me as the democratic chair woman, the democratic chair woman, zo, said it's not just about following present, it's about setting precedent. and, yes, in the past censure has been reserved for bribery, selling military appointments and the like but this is something that we found worthy of censure. the ethics committee voted nine

to one, almost unanimously to, recommend a censure, brooke. >> so basically, brianna, this would come down to public humiliation, standing in front of your peers, and a friend, nancy pelosi, be the one to dress him down. it's humiliating. >> reporter: that's right. it is. and one of the things that we've been talking about, is this a slap on the wrist, as he stands there -- i'm holding before me the actual resolution that speaker pelosi would read if he was to get a censure. is this just a slap on the wrist? he's like spoken down to and then gets to move on with things? it is. but it is also public humiliation. it is something that doesn't happen very often. it's only happened 22 times in the history of the house since the ethics committee was established in recent decades. this has only happened four times before. it's a big deal. for someone that really has an amazing story, a korean war vet,

a high school dropout. and is now the head of the house ways and means committee, the tax writing committee. he's in the twilight of his career and this is certainly going to tarnish what will be the last chapters of his career, brooke. >> we will wait. his colleague is speaking there on the floor of the house. we will see if he receives what the committee recommended being censure or if it's the lesser of the two, the reprimand. brianna, don't go too far. in the meantime, there is something interesting staying in politics right now, sarah palin's book stop in iowa. we're live at her book signing. plus, how about this question for you. do aliens exist? we're talking extra terress industry yell, little green guys? the folks at nasa are excited about a new discovery and didn't have to go for a. they didn't even have to go to space to figure it out.

there's a lot going on in the outside world as well. jim acosta is in iowa. i want to begin with dan simon who is live in san francisco. it sounds like today from this nasa assignment, they are turning what they thought we knew about life and the universe upside down. >> well, nasa sure knows how to write a press release. let me talk to you about what is at play. we have six thing on our white board, carbon phoshorus,

hydrogen, and if you get rid of phshores and add in arsenic, they were able to create a microbacteria that could sustain itself with arsenic instead of phosphorus. that may not sound all that exciting but leaves open the possibility that there could be life and some other form on some other planet. >> how is that? connect the dots for me fuller. are we closer to finding life somewhere out there? >> we're not any closer but it opens up the possibility that these are the things that we always thought you needed to have life, right? these six things. what they discovered is if you get one of these things and then add in arsenic, which was

thought to be toxic, make there is a chance of an organism on another planet that has arsenic and perhaps that could lead to another life form. >> interesting. dan simon for us in san francisco. thank you. next, sarah palin, she's in iowa today. we have jim acosta joining me from spirit lake. jim, i know she's attracteded crowds. >> reporter: very big crowd out here in spirit lake, iowa. this is a very conservative part of the state and it make as lot of sense as to why she's on this book tour right now. she wants to sell books. but there might be another motive going on. she could run for president. so we were inside this walmart earlier behind me where hundreds of her fans were filing in to get an autograph of her book and we were escorted into an area to observe the signing. her handlers had the signing turned up pretty loud but that didn't stop them from asking whether she's going to run for president. >> did you turn off the music? >> no, i did not. >> these iowa people, they got

my back. >> she asked us if we had turned off the music. we didn't turn off the music. but she said she hasn't made up her mind as for running for president yet and we just want to point out, we did not turn off the music just to put the governor's mind at ease there. >> awkward. jim, stay warm. thank you. finally, our reporter roulette, karen mcginnis, more snow? >> it's been piling on hard. they have been hit badly for the last day and a half. some areas getting feet of snowfall. this is a portion of lake ontario. specifically, this buffalo area, we've seen some reports up to 24 inches. it's been officially reported. take a look at this. interstate 90, both eastbound and westbound for a good 15 hours shut down.

people were there overnight. and stuck overnight in this bit material cold air with the snow still coming down and, brooke, there's still lake-effect snow warning until 6:00 a.m. tomorrow. before it's all said and done. an additional foot, foot and a half there. could be locally heavier amounts. we've seen several reports about as much as two feet. >> burr. people in buffalo can handle it. karen maginnis, thank you. coming up next, candy crowley talking about charlie rangel. [ j. weissman ] it was 1975.

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welcome back to the newsroom. cnn has all of the local news with the best political team on television. candy, we're going to take a break from charlie rangel for a moment and let me talk to you about the alaska senate race. >> reporter: you know, alaska certainly is in a different time zone than washington, d.c., but now they are in a different month. because the senate race in alaska is now in the courts and we know how long that can take. but a state court judge said today that he will try to take the next step at least in resolving this dispute next wednesday. what's the problem here? joe miller, who was the tea party backed republican candidate, went up against lisa murkowski, who was the sitting republican senator. she currently is leading --

according to the associated press, who in fact declared her a winner a couple of days after the race, but the problem is, miller is saying, alaska's state law is that you have to spell the names correctly. so let me say lisa murkowski again and not everybody who signed those probably said her name right. so the problem is that the commission said, voters' intent ought to be taken into account. if you get close to murkowski, that vote would count. but miller is counting that and says that he wants a hand count. congress late january comes into session and we're assuming that alaska will have a sitting u.s. senator by then. at the moment, it's tangled up in the courts. and while they are sort of busy, still stuck in 2010, there are a lot of folks out there thinking about 2012, as you know, the presidential race. one of them not so much a national household race. rick santorum, the senator from

pennsylvania, he used to be. while he's looking like a candidate. he's making early states. and in sourt carolina, it's a huge state for any republican. it tends to be a firewall for republican candidates who may be rolling into there after a victory in new hampshire. or losses in new hampshire and iowa. so very important to say rick santorum is going there and then going back and looking very much like a presidential candidate. and, finally, the other thing that we have is about this whole tax cut vote that the house just took. you know, the soon to be speaker of the house, john boehner, a republican, they asked him what he thought about the house democratic leadership, still the old congress pushing forward tax cut extensions for the middle class. i want to read this to you because it's a quote. when he was asking -- reporters

asked him, boehner said, "i'm trying to catch my breath to i don't refer to this maneuver going on today as chicken wrap. >> right. chicken wrap and john boehner and then apparently the democrats are saying our goose is cooked today. so i don't know what is up with these feather analogies. >> there appears to be a poultry thing going on. >> yeah. if i can pick on your political expertise, stand by. let's look at this picture. republican pete king is there in the house. he's defending charlie rangel right now. what do you think about this? whatever happens, this is historic. >> yes, it's a big deal. charlie rangel has been trying to get something less than censure. the recommendation was censure. that's huge. the next step is throwing you out. he's trying to get that brought down. why? because he still stays in the

house. he was just re-elected from harlem, the district that he's represented for decades. why fight that so much? because you know what? that's in your opening graph and is he fighting this tooth and nail. you're seeing a fellow new yorker talking about them. he came into the majority and said, listen, we're going to have an ethically clean house and it's kind of hard for them to back down now. it looks as though this will go as the committee recommends a censure of charlie rangel. >> i want to read to you at home, quickly, part of pete king's statement, he apparently has said this. if expulsion is the equivalent of the death penalty, it's life in prisonment. we're going to stay on that story to the house. real quickly, get the latest

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all right. we are caught on cam. detention officers allegedly beating an inmate, slamming his head. look at this. this is against a table. look at this. find out why one of the officers was already under investigation. when this whole thing went down. also, still waiting. waiting for that vote on congressman charlie rangel.

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we all get frustrated in traffic. even the signage appeared angry. you've got to see this. take a look at this. don't walk and oh, so much more. this is not a teen prank. apparently snow is the culprit. a possible censure vote on

veteran charlie rangel who already spoke defending himself to his colleagues from the well of the house asking for fairness. i will bring in wolf blitzer joining me from "the situation room." he is monitoring that vote in the next hour. we also just got reaction, before this vote happened on the house floor. we got a vote on the tax cuts as well. so two stories that you are watching very closely. >> right. and on the charlie angle issue, you know, it will be a dramatic moment once the final vote is passed. we assume it will be passed overwhelmingly nine to one. we assume all of the republicans, at least most of them, if not all of them, and most of the democrats will vote for censure. it's more stringent than reprimand. it's more than just a simple rebuk. it's censure. it's not expulsion or anything recommending criminal action but it's still very, very serious. nancy pelosi will have to read the formal censure in the well of the house of representatives.

so it will be a dramatic moment and we will, of course, watch that in "the situation room." on the other issue, extending the bush tax cuts for the middle class, those earning under $250,000 a year, largely symbolic in the house of representatives. it's not going to go anywhere in the senate. they are setting the stage for some p sort of compromise whereby all of the tax rates for all taxpayers would continue at the same rate for two years. >> right. wolf blitzer, a lot going on in washington. we will see you in a couple of minutes. in the meantime, look who we have. the lovely sunny is on the case next.

two disturbing legal cases. an assault on a psychiatric ward that has the toughest sheriff in the world up in arms.

sunny is on the case and right here in the house of atlanta. welcome to you. >> thank you, thank you. >> before we get to that story, we're hearing directly from home invasion triple killer steven hayes. he spoke today at his formal death sentencing today. the question is, what did he say about the horrific killing of a mother and his two young daughters? >> well, he apologized to the petit family. he said he's remorseful and has nightmares and lives with it all the time but also said that he welcomes death. he looks forward to the death penalty and to being put to death and that was really fascinating. it's the first time we've heard from him. >> we have a couple -- two quotes. let's pull those up, guys, if we can. one, i destroyed innocent lives and took away a family, very good people. i know what i did. i love with it. i make no excuses but this was not the real me. this was an angry monster that i have never known.

a monster so impossible to control. >> death for me will be a welcome relief and i hope it will be some peace and comfort. >> that is happening in connecticut this is a psychiatric ward in maricopa county: this officer is stepping on his neck. it's on his foot. applying pressures with other detention officers watching and standing right by him. he's got this thing on his head. they are wondering about that. that's a spit cap. >> what is that? >> sometimes that's put on prisoner if you think that they are going to spit at you. they may have mental health issues. that is done routinely but certainly it's not routine to put your foot on some one's neck. >> here is one of the thing that is bother some. two detention officers are here

and a couple milling about. no one is doing anything? >> no one is doing anything. this is not typical protocol. this is not something that happens often as you can see. there are other people walking around. this was videotaped and apparently it came to light because other detention officers reported it. this is highly unusual. these things don't happen. and i commend actually the sheriff's office and the department of corrections for being completely transparent and coming forward and saying, we don't approve of this and we're going to do something about it. >> could they be charged? >> certainly this officer will be charged with assault. another officer went and pushed the inmate's head down, saying that he was trying to keep control. but, still, completely inappropriate. the investigation is ongoing. i would imagine that the other officer is going t c