i may have not always agreed with them, but that's all stuff you can see. at some point, you can only regulate so much before you issue a uniform and you pay for it. for now, this is just in swiss retail branches of ubs and it's just a pilot project. i will follow it progress with amusement. that's it for me. that's it for me. the "newsroom" continues now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com there is no compromise, at least not yet. house democrats have taken the president's tax cut deal off the table for now. remember, the clock is ticking. it's coming down to the wire now for congress to try to get something down or else your taxes, my taxes, everybody's taxes will go up come the first of next year. there is some bitter back-and-forth going on about working through christmas. we are live on the hill with that. also this.

lawmakers could be forced to be working anyway. take a look at this. you see something that is a bit new there. snow. it is a wintry mess across large parts of the country including our nation's capital. i'm talking ice, snow, frigid temperatures rocking the u.s. we'll make sure you know all the latest new warnings. first, the president of the united states here standing with his closest military and diplomatic advisers today talking war in afghanistan. you know, today is the day this long-awaited report is released on the u.s. military strategy with regards to not just afghanistan here. also pakistan. this is a five-page report that the president says he personally shared with the presidents of both countries. so i want to bring in two people here. jill dougherty for us and also all the way over in islamabad, pakistan, we have chris lawrence. chris, i want you to hang tight

just for a minute for me. jill, i want to begin with this. the president said the strategy is working, yet the situation is precarious. i think his word was fragile. >> you know, it was really kind of, i'd say, subdued. there was no triumphfullism. the president wasn't saying we've won at all. it was a pretty nuts and bolts -- he came in with his "a" team crowding into that briefing room. he said it's a very difficult endeavor. we're on track. but that word kept popping up. let's listen to how the president said it. >> progress comes slowly. and at a very high price in the lives of our men and women in uniform. in many places, the gains we've made are still fragile and reversible. but there is no question we are clearing more areas from taliban control and more afghans are

reclaiming their communities. >> so fragile and reversible. that's the theme that came out of here. they do say that they have made progress. in the same breath, brooke, it is always fragile and reversible. you'd have to say the two things that president said that are important to do in afghanistan to get that government functioning and to provide services to the people both politically and economically and then also with pakistan. he said there has been some progress in convincing pakistan that the real threat is the taliban. but that much more had to be done. as he put it, progress hasn't come far enough. and that they are telling them that this has to be dealt with. >> right. it's been a relationship, the end roads they've made could be unwound. before we get to pakistan, jill, look, we're here in the holiday season. a lot of americans are missing husbands, wives, because they're serving currently in afghanistan. i have to get to that.

what about president's assertion that he's still on track with withdrawing our troops come july? did the report confirm that that is still a go? >> well, you have to look at the fine print on that. it's beginning the drawdown. and it is, as they say, conditions-based. in other words, if they get to july of next year and the conditions aren't right, they are not going to be withdrawing significant numbers. it is the beginning of the process. and the process is not even supposed to be completed. under the best of circumstances until 2014. so there is no imminent type of marching out of afghanistan very soon. >> jill, stand by for me. i want to bring in chris lawrence for us in islamabad. i want to bring up a point that the president said. the president said he'd take a trip to pakistan next year. what are you hearing there in islamabad? what kind of reaction to this report? why is it so important for the president to physically be there

in person? >> well, because he's going to try to keep making the case that the u.s. wants pakistan to do more, to crack down on some of the militant safe havens, the terrorist safe havens along the border where the militants are getting trained, they're making plans, they're getting rested and supplied and then flowing back over into afghanistan. today the pakistani officials pushed back on that and said, look, our army is already overstretched. the defense minister said, we can't do more until we're able to and it's got to be in our interests first. so what is pakistan's interest? you've got the leadership who believes that india is still the more of a threat. there are some elements of pakistan security forces who still support some of the militants. there is a fling among some in

pakistan hedging their bet, so to speak. because if afghanistan falls apart, if the nato mission does not work, if the government fractures or splits apart, china and india could move in. pakistan might want to hedge to sort of have an influence, have a way for their interests to be heard in that. those militants that are right along the border are their potential way to still have influence in afghanistan. >> chris, would it be fair to say, you know, pakistan from their perspective, it's very, very different from us here in the united states. as you mentioned, one of their priorities is the perceived threat from india, instead of rooting out insurgents in waziristan, for instance. >> exactly. it's not just india. you've got -- you do have a certain leadership in pakistan who do believe that militancy and the extremists in their country are the primary threat to the state. but different kind of threat. they see the militants in waziristan as something that only really affects afghanistan.

they flow over the border, they fight in afghanistan. to go in there and rile them up and turn them against the state would only cause the state problems. they feel they have other militant groups embedded more in the heart of the country that are really making attacks against the state of pakistan. some people see those extremists as much more of a threat to pakistan than, say, the extremists along the border that the u.s. is focused on. >> how about that? it's their perspective versus ours. chris lawrence for us in islamabad and also jill dougherty, thanks touous for us in a very cold white house setting there in washington. thank you both. now to this. the controversial founder of wikileaks, there he is, he is walking free. he is out of jail today. so is the u.s. after him and have you heard where julian assange gets to stay? you might be a little surprised by that one. that is ahead also, you might call it the christmas rush. have you noticed how fast congress is moving this week

alone? the house and the senate pushing through big-time issues that affect all of us and our wallets. we'll show you what they're doing rapid-fire style. we've got brianna keilar on that. it's the only listerine® that gets teeth two shades whiter. and makes tooth enamel two times stronger. get dual action listerine® whitening® rinse. building whiter, stronger teeth. my professor at berkeley asked me if i wanted to change the world. i said "sure." "well, let's grow some algae." and that's what started it. exxonmobil and synthetic genomics have built a new facility to identify the most productive strains of algae. algae are amazing little critters. they secrete oil, which we could turn into biofuels. they also absorb co2. we're hoping to supplement the fuels that we use in our vehicles, and to do this at a large enough scale to someday help meet the world's energy demands.

welcome back to the "newsroom." a lot of big goings on today in washington. stick with me. i have information you need to know. first, to the house of representatives. i want to tell you what they are not working on right now, at least not there on the house floor. they're not working on the deal that we've been talking so much about to stop taxes from going up the first of next year. the bill passed in the senate. the house was working on that. then the democratic leadership pulled the bill from the floor. and actually let's go now to harry reid. >> separation of powers. and one of the issues that i have fought is to make sure that the white house doesn't continually take from us our power. everyone should understand this earmark issue is simply that. a way for the executive branch

of government to steal power we've been granted in our constitution. we have a constitutional duty to do congressionally directed spending. i can't give up that responsibility. i can't understand why some of our move conservative members here want to give up their power. i don't understand that. on the issue that's before the senate, soon before the senate, dealing with now we'll fund the government over the next few years, the next year, i can't accept the fact that people are saying why should we vote for this? it's got congressionally directed spending in it. that's our job. that's what we're supposed to do. and i am -- i have some things in this that i'm very happy that

will help the state of nevada. there are things in this that help our country in addition to helping nevada. as was learned yesterday, some of the people who speak out against congressionally directed spending or earmarks are people who have more earmarks than others. they're hoping, of course, it will pass. they can go home and do the same as they've done with the stimulus monies that we have gotten back to the states saying here i am, cut the ribbon, look what i did. you can't have it both ways. you can all look it up in the dictionary yourself, but i bet if you went to "h" in the dictionary and found hypocrite, under that would be people who ask for earmarks but vote against them. i've not yet heard any of these

folks once they get an earmark that they ask for and they vote for, i've not heard any of them ask to rescind it. so i would hope that we would cut down the mean-spirited talk about this and just do our jobs. the little constitution that we have doesn't have a lot of information in it, but what is in it is what runs this country. and i am convinced that i do not want to give up mauerore power the white house, whether it's george bush or barack obama. i'm going to fight as hard as i can against president obama on these earmarks. and my republican colleagues who hate to vote for them but love to get them. questions? >> senator, when you talk about -- >> harry reid talking about earmarks. you see the senate is taking up this spending bill. a lot of different senators want to push these earmarks, get

these earmarks in this bill to help out their own constituencies. some of the republican senators said, you know, look, they didn't want to use the earmarks. they're talking about it nonetheless. so is jessica yellin. we'll delve deeper into why this is so controversial. isn't this just part of the budget? jessica will have more on that. first, i want to go back to something that affects all of us, the tax can cuts. the fact that our taxes could be going up the first of the year. the house not taking up this tax cut bill. brianna keilar knows all about that. she joins me live from capitol hill. the reality of the situation now is that they're not talking tax cut bill right now, brianna. does that mean it's totally in jeopardy or not necessarily? >> the house floor, the house is actually in recess right now while they figure out what to do with this. in jeopardy, i don't think we can say that. is this going to be mezei? you bet. the democrats were going to have

a hard time getting votes just to get this bill to the floor. they pulled it from the floor. why did they do that? some liberal democrats said it's not going to be enough for us just to have a vote on changing the estate tax, which we have spent so much time talking about. we want to at least have a vote on other changes even though we know we're not going to get them. brooke, the bottom line is we have democratic sources saying that we are going to have a vote tonight. we're talking late into the night as it gets pushed back. >> late into the night. as they do that, though, we've heard the word changes. is it possible that some of these frustrated, angry house democrats would try to slip a few changes in this bill so that the senate won't accept it? >> it's -- they want to do that. but it's likely that they don't even have the votes to do that. and let's just say that they were able to make some changes to this, which we know that senaten are en arn ar en arn a

said, you make changes, this bill is off. the senate would still have the opportunity -- 81 of them voted to pass this tax cut extension. the senate could say, you know what, guys, no, no, no. we're just going to send you back the original bill, which is a compromise between president obama and republicans and jam the house with it, but then these liberal members in the house would have had a chance to make their stand. >> well, it sounds like these members of the house of representatives have a long night ahead of them. unfortunately for you, you may as well. >> i do. >> brianna, thank you so much. we were just talking about this. harry reid was. earmarks. lawmakers say all the tile it, no more earmarks. well, maybe they're going to turn over a new leaf come 2011. coming up, we are naming names. jessica yellson live with me from washington. she is next to drill down on that. also, the man who rushed in to save a school board from a hostage-taker is finally telling his side of the story.

the guy everyone is hailing as a hero. we'll hear from him in his own words. ♪ oh, my gosh. oh, my gosh. ♪ [ male announcer ] you know her. we know diamonds. together we'll make her holiday. that's why only zales is the diamond store. where you can get up to $1,000 off now through sunday.

want to take you back to the capitol. want to give you a look at the floor of the u.s. senate. waiting to see if jim demint makes good on the threat to tie this place in knots. they are -- just as they are trying to plow through this mound of year-end chores, the south carolina republican has threatened to force a full reading of a 1,900-page spending bill. that could take two days. the clock very much so ticking on matters that are important to you.

jessica yellin is there in washington. jessica, that's a lot of reading, jessica. what's going on there? >> what's going on is a delay tactic. south carolina's jim demint hates this appropriations, this omnibus spending bill because of the earmarks. he's trying to run down the clock. brooke, what's funny is he said he hates it so much, he'll keep folks here until christmas or new year's to block it. what they're talking about on the floor is not even thisemint here through christmas. but he slammed democrats for saying that they'll keep people in session until christmas. he said, this is the most sacred holiday for christmris christia. they did this last year to force something down everybody's throat and i think americans are sick of this. seems a little inconsistent. >> yeah. it seems that way. then you have this spending bill. i don't know if you were listening. we were just listening to harry

reid talking about earmarks. the spending bill is packed with millions and millions of dollars of earmarks. didn't the senate problems just promise not to use earmarks? explain. >> that's why passing this bill has become so difficult. republicans requested the earmarks that are in this spending bill before they took the pledge not to support earmarks. they also say in that pledge they promised no earmarks in the next congress, not this congress. still, tea party activists say this smacks of hypocrisy. they threaten tho fund primary challenges to any person that votes for this bill. >> we will go after them. yes. we will not accept it. we will not accept it. there's all kinds of pork in there. >> when she says we'll go after them, she is talking about republicans. they'll go after republicans who vote yes on this. this would be a tricky vote for anyone in office right now. >> let's name names, shall we?

i have a list of some republicans who i believe were part of that pledge. mitch mcconnell, he has inserted $86 million in the earmarks into this bill. john kcornyn, 4 million. john boon, $39 million in earmarks. er with they not serious when they took the pledge? >> they say they took the pledge after they put the earmarks in the bill. >> they're saying next year it goes into effect. >> but these same members say they will not not support the bill. so they will not be yes votes. but they do have earmarks in the bill anyway. >> were you listening, jessica, to it all? harry reid was using strong words. what was his message there? >> first of all, he said he's willing to keep the senate in session until january 5th to get this done. when harry reid is talking, he's talking about that many members believe that earmarks are what

congress is elected to do, which is advocate for the hometown. earmarks are congress' way of saying, mr. president, we're giving you this money to spend, but some of you have to spend our way. so, for example, if your town needs infrastructure repairs or a new road, you might want your member on capitol hill fighting to get funds directed to that. that's an earmark. but it's become a bad word. some members have used them to dole out favors to donors or to fund silly projects and therein lies the rub. >> thank you, jessica. it seem like pieces of a pie that's already baked, but it depends where that money goes. thank you, jessica. excellent as always. and now let's talk about this stuff. look at this. four different pictures, four different places. this is a wintry mess. large sections of the south dealing with nasty, nasty conditions. coming up, we have new warnings about where this storm is headed next. and a year after the so-called underwear bomber

allegedly tried to blow up a plane, we have a new threat from al qaeda.

i want to get you a look at the other stories moving this hour. look who is walking out of london's high court to applause and many a camera flash. that is julian assange there, free on bail. nine days after being jailed for questioning on sex charges filed in sweden. the founder of wikileaks says he was kept in solitary confinement as a bail condition. assange has to stay at the home of a friend just outside of lunden and wear an electronic tracking device. sgrnchlt next, this. are al qaeda operatives planning an attack in europe and the united states? an american tells cnn captured al qaeda insurgents are talking to iraqi authorities. here's what they're saying. they're saying suicide attackers are eyeing targets in the u.s. and in europe. information reportedly is being taken very, very seriously. but the u.s. official adds there

is no intelligence indicating a specific or a credible threat there. listen up here. if you have a certain brand of electric space heater, walmart is recalling more than 2 million electric heaters. here are the four brands. flo-pro, air tech, aloha breeze and comfort essentials. the retailer says there is a chance the heaters may be overheating, smoking, burning or even possibly melting. walmart says if you have one, stop using it. return it for a full refund. the first thing that came to mind, we watched this community -- now taken somebody's life. i'm not a hero, folks. i've just done my job. >> yes, you are. >> gosh. isn't that what the true heroes say? that guy rushed to rescue the

school board members being held hostage by that guy with a gun. now he's speaking out for the first time. wait until you hear what mike jones, the hero, has to say. next.

well, here's a name we have heard a lot about. mike jones says he is not a hero. he is insistent upon that. but a lot of people in panama city, florida, including those members of the school board, they disagree that. jones is the school security chief who took out a man who had opened fire on those school board members during its meeting on tuesday afternoon. i want you to look at what it looked like after duke cleared the room of everyone but the men. he let the women and the

children go, kept the men as hostages there on the board. this is disturbing video, but know that none of the school board members was killed. >> i've got a feeling that what you want is the cops to come in and kill you because you're mad. you said you're going to die today. but why? this isn't worth it. this is a -- please don't. please don't. plea please. >> i know. it's tough to watch. here's who you never saw. mike jones. here he is. he was standing in the back of that school board meeting when he started shooting. today we are hearing from him for the very first time. he talks about what happened and how thankful he was that none of the school board members were even injured in that barrage of bullets. >> when i was planning my engagement and i saw that first shot and i knew the

superintendent fell backwards and all the board members fell backwards and he and if engaged in the gun battle, i knew that i'd lost the superintendent. i love him and i love the board. that was the only thing that went through my mind. when the superintendent came up and he came and hugged my neck, that's when i lost it, like i am now, just crying. but just to see him, it was like seeing a newborn baby for the first time. i knew -- i'm not lying to you. i can't get that out of my mind. that's the picture i see the most. i don't see the shots being fired. i see him. and they're coming from -- i knew that it was okay. first thing came to mind was, you know, what's this community going to think of me? i'm known as this nice guy and now i've taken somebody's life.

you know, my parishioners, what they would think. honestly, i shot the man in the back the first time. i was thinking i was going to jail. there are just so many things that go through your mind, but it was the instinct and the training. i'm just glad that they're all here and alive. i'm not a hero, folks. i've just done my job. >> so modest. the hero explained that moment. mike jones started his remarks by saying his heart goes out to the family of gunman clay duke. we're hearing from duke's wife, who is now speaking out, talking about her husband. she said she doesn't think her husband intended to kill anyone. >> as close as he was, seriously, people, he was that close. if he really wanted to shoot somebody, they would have already been dead. he was wanting them all to be underneath that counter so that

if stray bullets were flying that they would be underneath that counter. >> back to mike jones. the salvaged santa. next up for him is the local walma walmart. he'll help collect toys to disadvantaged children. how about that? we are just getting word that a federal customs officer based at the atlanta airport is now facing charges in an alleged massive drug trafficking ring. the feds seizing nearly $3 million worth of ecstasy, which makes its -- one of the largest busts in the country. 13 others also facing charges in the investigation called operation rude beast. why did not just one but two americans go to jail in abu dhabi? it is all about what was found in their luggage, and you may be learning a lesson or two from this. finally able to share this story with you today. that's next.

i'm hugh jidette and i'm running for president. i'll say a lot of things but do i really care about this baby's future? when he's 30 years old our $13 trillion debt will be $70 trillion eventually his taxes will double just to pay the interest. i'm hugh jidette and i say let's keep borrowing and stick our kids with the tab.

want to tell you a story about two american men who are now no longer locked up, but they're also not allowed to leave the united arab emirates. these men were arrested. their passports confiscated. they were thrown in jail on charges over what airport security officers found in their luggage. and we see this as a cautionary tale for world travelers and a good look at how they do things there versus here. >> we did not have any idea when he would be able to call. we were completely in the dark. >> this man was supposed to be home long before now.

instead, nicholas moody is stuck in the united arab emirates, half a world away from his parents' northern california home. the reason? this 23-year-old iraq war veteran was arrested. >> i was going through security and i got to the last security checkpoint to leave the country. they scanned by bag and they determined that the items i had were in violation of their laws. >> reporter: moody, now a private contractor, was on a y layover in aboabu dhabi. he wasn't carrying his gun, but he was toting parts that attached to a rifle. a plastic stock, a strap buckle and a gun-cleaning kit. typical items a soldier uses. makes sense. nicholas moody is a corporal in the national guard. he works now as a civilian for a private security firm in iraq. the thing is, those items

attached to a weapon or not are illegal in the uae. and after that airport search, nicholas moody was sent to jail with limited contact to back home. >> he really felt that it was possible that they were just going to look it over and decide that, okay, well, this is not serious and just release him. they felt the things in his possession could be considered related to firearms. and that made it a more serious situation. >> reporter: after 64 days in prison, uae officials did release him and drop the charges. why? moody says they didn't tell him the specific reason. officials typically do not discuss such things publicly. moody says when he gets his passport back, he is free to leave. >> i hope to make it home in time for the holidays. it's looking pretty hopeless as far as that area is concerned. >> reporter: the situation is not unique to nicholas moody.

uae officials arrested las vegas native eric bergman last month. it also happened at the airport, also because of weapon-related items in his luggage. >> the guy found it pretty quickly. it wasn't hidden. he just opened it right up and took it out. >> reporter: it was a box of bullets. >> i've been charged with bringing in ammunition without permission. >> reporter: bergman is out on jail. he has surrendered his passport and is awaiting a court appearance. he also faced drug charges over the prescribed medication he was carrying. with his fate less certain than nicholas moody's, his mother hopes others will benefit from her family's ordeal. >> we feel that this is a very educational event. we didn't mean for it to be. we really do feel like many of the parts of it that we've learned are nings that need to be addressed. people as travelers need to be aware of so that they don't get in these situations. and now to the weather.

if you're in the northeast, midwest, you're used to this stuff. those of us in the south, we're not used to shoveling out and digging out. we're getting it. we're getting the stuff. coming up, i'll share with you new warnings. chad myers will join me and we'll walk you through some video. open up a cadillac during our season's best sales event and receive the gift of asphalt. experience the exhilarating cadillac cts with a direct injection v6. it's the one gift you can open up all year long. see your cadillac dealer for this attractive offer. backed by the peace of mind that only comes from cadillac premium care maintenance. the season's best sales event. from cadillac.

ice, frigid temperatures, snow, all causing headaches and hazards and a lot of problems across the country today. i want you to check out -- first this is raleigh. the roadways there, that's a mess. you have a layer of ice and sleet, unwelcome for drivers this morning hopping out on their morning commutes. look at this fountain. it's pretty to look at. still working.

i wonder how long it will be working. ice building up there. and in atlanta, drivers were spinning their wheels on icy roads last night. hundreds of fender-benders were reported across the city. and remember the scene at the minneapolis metro dome sunday when the big inflatable roof opened up and collapsed? work crews may be feeling a little arctic deja vu because this is the scene at the metro dome today. another panel of that roof ruptured under the weight of more snow. repairs are on hold as workers evaluate the damage and see what shape that roof is in. and check out this icesc sculpture. this is actually a lighthouse. it's coated in ice. chad myers, it's beautiful to

look at. but not so beautiful, i guess -- i guess no one is stuck in there, but that's going to take a while to thaw out. that's some chunky ice. enjoy that lighthouse in april. >> it looks like something that belongs on a wedding cake. >> exactly. like a snow globe. >> and they put fondant on it. temperatures not going to be above freezing for a while. it's going to be like that for a long time. but i don't think there will be that many mariners out there today. and they have gps now. they should be able to find their way back home. >> just a cool picture. just wanted to share it. >> look at this. this is what maryland looked like. this car is not on the road this morning. temperatures are still cold from d.c. through richmond and roanoke. d.c., 27. and snow coming down. i can prove it. right here. here's the nation's capitol right there. a couple of snowflakes coming

down. people are walking faster than they are driving through the nation's capital today, special around the beltway. here's traffic.com. you can go in and put any city you want to drive through and find out what the road conditions are like. jam factor, 9, 8, 8, 8, 8. it's not that pretty there from the beltway out into northern virginia and the b.w. parkway up to baltimore. very, very slow today. here is a live picture from wtvr. one of my old stations. the south's first television station. richmond, virginia, seeing snow on the ground there. relative to last year, that is a dusting. richmond got pounded last year with snow. so here's what it looks like here. 54 in knoxville. that's a significant change from this morning when it was 29 and raining. nashville, better as well. for tomorrow, snow in the rockies. snow in the sierra. major snow right through there. get to the ski resorts while you

can. boy, there will be feet of snow. computer models printing out ten inches of rain, which above 5,000 feet won't be rain. it will be snow. that could be ten feet of snow. >> can we say powder? >> you can say buried. >> powder. good nees if you're skiing. chad myers, thank you very much. >> you're welcome to florida now, look at this. what is this, you ask? this is a major, major sink hole that has everyone down there on edge. it's massive. getting bigger and bigger. is it threatening the water supply? that's the big concern there. that's ahead also, this is a major day for us here at cnn. that guy there, larry king, the legend larry king, his final show airs tonight in primetime. 25 years wearing those suspenders on the air. we'll take a look back at his 25 years in three minutes. it's an impressive piece they put together, coming up next. tdd# 1-800-345-2550

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just into us here at cnn, a major, major ruling involving a tobacco company luring kids to smoke cigarettes. let me get you the information. this is coming out of a massachusetts court. they have ruled this company lured children -- this goes back to the 1950s. lured children into smoking these cigarettes that were apparently provided free. these are newport of a woman wh lung cancer with $152 million in damages. suffolk superior court jury a added 81 million. huge ruling there out of massachusetts. also, huge day for us at cnn. today is the day, the end of an era for us at cnn. larry king signs off tonight after 25 years as host, stars and newsmakers, everyone in between, on cnn's "larry king

live." so want to take a look back at some of his many, many memorable moments from "larry king live." >> good evening. my name is larry king and this is the premiere edition of "larry king live." every night at this time, we will be here for one hour. we will meet fascinating people from all walks of life. our legend. you know that. >> everybody legend, no normal people in the world. >> from here up, i'm fine. from here down, i need makeup. ♪ everybody gonna dance >> larry, kiss me, just do it now. don't be afraid. hold me. i love -- your nipples are hard. >> struggling jew. >> dance, dance. >> see, i told you, low to the floor. >> low to the floor. >> want more children? >> oh, yeah, yeah. >> poison glands here, back

there. the dog eats it. >> paul gonna get upset, you touching my leg, larry. >> you must have something in your head for you to come out and call me a murderer of my child. >> down hill carrying that coffin feeling like slaves and we are going uphill feeling like free people. >> when the chapel bells ring out -- >> make him an offer he can't refuse. >> darling, good-bye. >> good-bye. >> wasn't a road i would have are picked but a lot of times, you know, things get picked for you. >> why should i be bitter? i'm thrilled to death with life. >> peace possible? can we do it? why are we even trying? >> jesus, jesus. even the bible says his name is all powerful. his name is above every name. >> don't spend your time worrying about when it is you are going to die. spend it is how you are going to live today. >> that is why i was put on this

earth, to try to help conserve our trees, our wilderness, our oaks and our wildlife. >> police radio saying that simpson, the passenger in the car, has a gun at his head. >> i will not run as either a democrat or a republican. >> i know that is a line you are trying to come across with, but either -- it is weak. >> you say your sons. >> did you guys ever do anything but propaganda? >> was there a holocaust? >> you want to impose your view point on me. >> no it is not a viewpoint it is a question. >> i have never been in the water guy. >> never been in? never been in the restaurant? >> other people in there unfortunately. >> still a texas driver's license? >> still. you want to see it? >> don't have a question, i have a statement please. >> go. >> i want to say hello to my son, bill clinton. >> hi, mother. >> that is a strange question to ask. >> what happened to the submarine? >> i don't know. it sunk. >> come with a curse of any

kind? >> no it comes with so much love. >> what's it like to kill someone? >> if tears could build a stairway and memories a lane, i would walk right are up to heaven and bring you home again. >> this is his reyation, his idea, to come here and fill him here, i'm happy. >> also go live to haiti, show you specifically what your donations mean. for now, for here, it is time to hang up the nightly suspenders and who knows what the future's gonna bring. >> hmm. 25 years. thank you, larry king. a lot of people are tweeting about you. i want to go this way and show a couple of tweets here. first from the governor of california, governor arnold schwarzenegger --. another from mariah carey.

and finally from the man himself, thank you all for your kind words tonight. tonight is a special night for me, the "larry king live" staff and my family. i hope you all watch our larry king finally. i know i will be and i hope you will be as well. remind you again, tonight is the night, 25 incredible years, all culminating in this final evening. you won't want to miss also larry's surprise guest, the final live show tonight, 9:00 eastern. so there is a guy who says something big is going to be happening on may 21, 2011 and he knows this simply because of math. and now billboards, popping up to make sure you know as well what is that all about? that is ahead. also, gloria borger standing by with breaking news from the world of politics, including some new developments in that tax cut debate. we will wait for that with gloria. your cnn political ticker is next. ybup to 4 in a day. or, choose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain.

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cnn equals politics. here is your update. gloria borger joins me with the latest from the political ticker. the shouse in recess now. is the tax cut compromise becoming the first big issue of the upcoming battle for the republican presidential nomination? >> why not, right? they need something to talk about, and republicans are looking for nothing differentiate themselves on and of course, this san easy issue, particularly if you are outside of washington and you want to establish your anti-washington credibility, so you have folks who are intending to run, like former senator rick santorum are, mitt romney, and of course, sarah palin who say no, no, this $858 billion bill is way too much. we are not paying for t the other side saying this had is the best compromise they could

get and we need to extend the tax cuts. this is clearly going to be an issue in 2012. and you know, they are starting early, right? >> they are starting early but i think the story right now, we are hearing from this republican senator out of south carolina, jim demint, he has threatened to read this like 1900 pages? this 1900-page spending bill on this whole floor. what is the story there and will that actually happen? >> well, we don't know. it could take days. senator harry reid, the majority leader, just took to the microphones to say this is ridiculous. they are trying to stall s.t.a.r.t. they are trying to stall a vote on don't ask, don't tell. jim demint has called harry reid sacrilegious for trying to keep the senate in session around christmas and now he wants to read the bill for days. so, there is a little inconsistency there. brook, i have to tell you, my favorite little twist in this was just provided by our political producer, peter. >> what is that? >> he sent me an e-mail and

apparently newt gingrich is against this omni bus spending bill, right? newt gingrich is accusing the democrats of what he calls [ mail, threatening the american people with a government shut down if we don't accept their pork barrel spending. now, remember newt gingrich? he was the one who shut down the government, if i recall, when he was speaker of the house. some of us have longer memories. >> the end of the year and things hot and heated on capitol hill, despite all that snow falling down for you in washington it is getting interesting, isn't it? gloria borger, thank you so much for the latest on the tick iter and blackberry as well. folks, another political update in half an hour. you can always jump online, political fix, cnnpolitics.com or twitter at political ticker. and now, take a look at this. are we defeating al qaeda? we are now hearing those answers in that critical review in the war in afghanistan but does the

next generation of terror live in pakistan? i'm brook baldwin, the news is now. >> very calm, very, like, there to hurt somebody. >> this customer thinks he is stopping a robbery. what he doesn't realize, the suspect is wanted with in a string of murders. the case of the so-called honeybee killer. plus, a former college lacrosse player is accused of beating his girlfriend to death. now, his lawyers suggest her death may have been her fault. and is ronald mcdonald making your child fat? one mother says so. guess what? she is suing. sunny hostin is on the case. and he is the king. >> oh, see, i told you it is low to the floor. >> i'm low to the tot floor. >> we are just hours away from a legend's final prime time tv show. >> i have never been in the water with gate. >> never been in there? never been in the restaurant? >> other people were in there

unfortunately. >> we have got the best moments from larry king's quarter century in your living rooms. who is walking out of hon done's high court to applause and a whole lot of camera flashes? there he is, julian assange, free after nine days of being questioned on charges in sweden. the founder of the website wikileaks says he was kept in solitary confinement. as a bail condition, assange has to stay at the home of a friend just outside of london and wear one of those electronic tracking devices. next, are al qaeda terrorists planning a christmas season attack in europe and here in the united states? captured al qaeda insurgents are talking to iraqi authorities who say suicide attackers are eyeing targets both in the u.s. and in europe. that information is reportedly

being taken very are, very seriously. but the u.s. official also add there is no intelligence to indicate either a specific or credible threat there. next, sweden has a significant number of what police are calling islamic extremists living there, bent on causing violence. that is according to an official report commissioned months before last weekend's bombings in stock home that killed the bomber and also injured two other people there. about 200 individuals in sweden were i.d.'d in this particular report. it is a threat the swedish government does not consider widespread or growing. next, you remember this picture? remember this? cnn exclusive picture, christmas day last year, the nigerian now known as the alleged underwear bomber is escorted off of a northwest flight in michigan. today, umar farouk abdulmutallab appeared in a federal court on new charges, possessing an explosive and conspiracy. he pleaded not guilty.

all parties agree to a date in january to begin the process of setting a trial date. next, life in prison, no possibility for parole that is the sentence today for john tool yo, found guilty of murdering a teenager and stabbing a woman back in 2006. do you remember this story? we had mentioned him earlier this month in this newscast because the judge had agreed to use taxpayer money to pay for a professional makeup job. remember, he had that swastika as a at that time too, other tattoos on his face and neck? prosecutors say he considers himself a neo-nazi. next, getting word that a federal customs officer based at the atlanta airport is now facing federal charges in this huge alleged drug trafficking ring. get this. the feds seizing nearly $3 million worth of ecstasy, which we are told this makes this bust one of the largest of its kind in the country. by the way, 13 others also facing charges in the investigation they are calling

operation rude beast. next, you see that teeny tiny hole in the ground? yeah, not so much teeny tiny. that is a huge hole in the ground, stand back as we pan around it is getting bigger. the hole suddenly opened up in this landfill that's been used for 30 years in the tampa, florida, area. so just to get your bearings, this is 75 feet wide, 50 feet deep and did i mention it is in a landfill? the county is checking public and private wells within a mile of its site. check the water. next, devastating flooding in the canadian province of new brunswick, just north of maine. look at this. heavy rainfall in recent days have forced people to just get out of their homes. that's why, these pictures. one st. george resident says he did not expect it to get this bad. he says he only managed to grab some food, get his family in a canoe boofr before the floodwaters inundated his home. next, you in drive a honda,

here is a head's up, honda recalling 143,000s of the 2007 and 2008 fit vehicles in the aunds more than 1 million of them all around the world. the company is worried about potential problems with the headlights that could cause the wiring harness from the low beams to wear out prematurely and fail. check your hondas. next, a north carolina family wants everyone to know jesus is coming back and they have put up these billboards, all over the state, with the date there is it is, may 21, 2011 the family follows the controversial radio ministry of harold camping, but his radio show is not broadcast in north carolina so they move there had to spread his message. camping says he figured out the actual date by calculating 7,000 years from the date that noah took pairs of animals into his ark to save them from the flood. there you go. next, when it comes to guitar smashing what better place to do it than the hard

rock cafe? this one at the hard rock casino and hotel, hollywood florida just last night. remember the '80s group huey lewis and the news? he led the smash fest. customers, vips and members of the local seminole indian tribe helped smash these guitars. i'm talking 1914 acoustic stars to set this new record. according to folks at guinness world records, the guitars had to be totally wrecked, totally wrecked, for it to count. next, speaking of records, a nova scotia mutt named misty, could be the oldest living dog in the world, very difficult to verify that her owner says she was 7 years of age when rescued from this animal shelter and he adopted her 18 years ago. guinness world records says they need to document misty's age to get the title. by the way, 25 human years translates rough ofly into -- do the math, equals 175 dog years. misty's got some grays, makes

sense, right? now to the big board. here we go the dow up 41 points this hour, around 11,499. i want to bring in my gal, poppy harlow, live in new york. poppy, we have some encouraging news on the unemployment front this week. do tell. >> i guess. you know, brook it is all relative these days, okay end for the market today, we ended higher basically because we got an unemployment report that wasn't as bad as expected. this morning, we learned that 420,000 americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week, a decline of 3,000, the second week in a row that number has gone down, but what economists across the board say, look if we are going to see any decline in our unemployment rate we need the weekly number below 4,000 and guess what it has been between 400,000 and 500,000 first-time jobless claims every week, brook, for the past year. so, that is really are the big problem here t is a little ray of light, a silver line bug not a very strong number, brook.

>> talk to me, pop bit foreclosure notices that is on the decline last month. >> this was a little bit of good news. what we with saw, according to realtytrac, which looks at all those numbers, they said foreclosure notices filed in november dropped 21%, the biggest month-over-month drop they have ever seen. the reason they are seeing this happen is because of that robo-signing scandal that we with talked so much about banks having employees sign off on thousands of thousands of foreclosures without allegedly verifying the paperwork a lot of the big banks, like bank of america they suspended foreclosures this fall that brought that down. the stories expected to go back up, just within the last week, bank of america has said they are restarting that foreclosure process, they have corrected the error, see the number go back up. good news for people ahead of the holidays, that number, a very, very big drop in those foreclosure filings for the month of november, brooke. we are like that poppy harlow.

thank you. got some dramatic moments, of course caught on video and we are passing it right along to you. here is what happens a customer confronts a roche and the suspect is wanted by police s case of the so-called honeybee killer closed? why is he called the honeybee killer? those developments next. plus, new video of the search for the clues in new york, remember about the four body wes told you about this week found on this remote stretch of beach? police say there could be a serial killer on the loose. and now, several family members are waiting to see who those victims are. that's next.

evidence still being analyzed but evidence over the weekend from the so-called honeybee killer. 48-year-old gary amaya killed with his own revolver during this weekend robbery gone bad, killed by the same gun used to kill one person and wound two others back in october. but here is the thing. and look that the with me. saturday's incident capture on

video. pretty amazing. here is what happened, a man identified as gary amaya, a tanning salon, holds out his pistol, point it is to the clerk, orders her to back away from the counter and later makes her tie her hands okay a short time later there is a customer walks in and he is to ordered behind the counter as well. but it is what happens next, there he comes around the counter, what happens next incredible. the gunman gets out even more rope, the rope, see him using it to tie up the customer but he drops the rope on the floor. see the guy moving in really quickly, gives the customer enough time to make his move, he hit the gunman, took his gun and they struggle off camera. watch it again with me. got the rope. drop it is on the floor and the guy moves in. there you go now, shots are fired. the gunman is wounded. he later dies. and that courageous customer, his name jason mcdaniel. he says he does not think the gunman was there just to get money. 6. >> there was no -- no type of

the money, give me the money, i want to leave. he was very calm there to hurt somebody, i think. really, that was his intended goal. >> now the honeybee killer nickname arose because the gunman in the october attacks reportedly once kept beehives and because he talked about bee keeping just before shooting one of his victims, thus honeybee killer. today, police say gary amaya worked with at a bee farm. spooky. pork in congress, lawmakers vowing to stop the spending on the side but nothing changes. we have some numbers for you, you are going to hear this. also, it is not for an episode of "house hunters "but the home and garden network, hgtv paying visit to this house, 1600 pennsylvania avenue. why? well, joe johns knows y he always has the good stuff, the stuff we never know, but joe johns, political pop, share that with us next. tsnship. we fill them with amazing technology.

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now to one of my favorite parts of the show, looking for answers that aren't getting answered, we turn to our guy in d.c. working inside the beltway about three decades, joe johns for political pop. joe, let's talk about this spending billoweded with earmarks, seems to be the word of the day here, correct me if i am wrong, didn't we hear it was mitch mcconnell, gop, voting to ban these earmarks? >> yeah, a bunch of people. it is almost christmas, i guess this is in honor of the christmas season or something, the congress loaded up this giant catch-all spending bill, call it an omnibus, but a big old bill with all kinds of stuff in it, so many earmarks a christmas tree decorated with

every kind of gift, trinkle, bauble, bangle imaginable for folks back home. taxpayers for common sense, broorks you have heard of these guys. >> yep. yep. >> a watchdog group they track this stuff and say the bill has 6700 earmarks worth about $8.3 billion. senator john mccain's been railing against the stuff for years made another one of his trips out to the senate floor to point out some of the wacky-sounding things that got in the bill. listen up, brooke. >> one of my favorites that pops up all the time, $349,000 for swine waste management in north carolina. another one of my all-time favorites that's always in there, $413,000 for peanut research in alabama. $247,000 for virus-free wine grapes in washington. $208,000 for beaver management

in north carolina. $235,000 for noxious weave management in nevada. another all-time favorites that's always on here every year, $300,000 for the polynesian voyaging society in hawaii. now, some people are watching and thinking i'm making this up. i'm not making up. $300 had,000 for the polynesian voyaging society in hawaii. >> the polynesian voyaging society. still haven't figured out with what that s. >> nor have i. people in washington think it is important to have virus-free grapes and senator or congress say it is important. here is the thing, i thought a lot of members of congress were supposed to be swearing off these earmarks, what the voters wanted, that was the message the voters sent this past election,

no? >> well, some of these guys were sort of -- how do you say? >> wink, wink, nod, nod. >> for earmarks and now against them. what you can say this is kind of putting them in a tight spot, a lot of people up on the hill. senator john cornyn of texas, he was one of the people i talked to just a couple of weeks ago, two or three weeks ago who said he was swearing off of earmarks. at the time, said it was the right thing to do. here is the problem, cornyn has about $100 million worth of earmarks in the bill. so how is he going to hand that will? well, he says he is going to vote against his own earmarks, he says. >> hmm. >> listen to this. >> i think that's, to me, the context and we have said very clearly, we voted for an earmark moratorium, we will abide by that and we will reject any earmarks requested by us or anyone else because that is what

the american people told us they want. >> so put them in the bill and now he is going to vote against the bill. okay. we are looking forward, obviously, to the congress when republicans who swore with off all the earmarks see what the world of politics looks like when they can't take pork back home anymore. brooke? >> real quickly, joe, talk to me about the white house christmas tree. >> oh, yeah, yeah. we have been trying to get this on tv for so long. >> today is the day, joe. >> i'm really excited. let's just sort of roll the tape so you can look at it. this is time lapse photography, the white house photographers wanted to show just what goes into putting up the white house christmas tree. these guys have much better access to the white house than any of us do the only reason they can set up a camera in there like that. and there you see t pretty cool stuff, frankly. i was told it took hundreds of people to do this. i don't see hundreds of people in the video, i don't think, but it is certainly a lot of people.

>> can couple of people working really, really, really fast. that looks like the blue room s that the blue room? >> you got me, brooke. i mean, i have been in there, but i don't know the blue room from the yellow room from the -- >> i'm cheating by looking at the wallpaper. i have only been there once. that is cool, joe johns. thanks for bringing that video. we have been wanting to get that on the air, joe johns with today's political pop, stuff we never get to from washington. joe, thank you. we will see you tomorrow. and have you ever used, who hasn't, public wifi, right? especially if it's free. but be careful because hackers may be targeting your information. the warning you need to hear. that is next. plus, what is happening now with aretha franklin? there are some concerning reports about her health and now her camp is speaking out today. also, the death of a hollywood legend, the pink panther will never be the same. trending, next.

here is what you are talking about, what is trending today. first up, aretha franklin, the 68-year-old queen of soul is become home recuperating today after being released from the hospital following surgery. now, her publicist says it was

from "an unguess disclosed malady" and doctors say the surgery was highly successful. obviously, we certainly wish her well, a full and speedy recovery. also trending, sad news out of hollywood today. director blake edwards has died. may not know his name, you probably, though, do know his movie. according to his publicist, the 88-year-old died from complications from new known ya. the hollywood icon and husband of julie andrews is best known for the pink panther movies and other flicks like "10," "victor/victoria." he died wednesday night in santa monica. his wife and family by his side. after weeks and weeks of speculation from we, the media, we finally confirm for that you mariah carey and nick cannon are indeed having twins. the actor revealed the news to eager listeners today on a morning radio show. the couple was understandably apprehensive about confirming the pregnancy in the first place but mariah did suffer a miscarriage, been public about that, that happened in 2008.

so, what else did he say? apparently, there were a few people in on their secret, like the president and the first lady. apparently, they knew. cannon told listeners that during a performance at tnt's christmas in washington last sunday, the obamas asked mariah carey what she was having and she was so excited, she let the news slip. the sex of the babies, though, still a mystery to all of us. and this week here at cnn, we have been all about your privacy and people and groups trying like crazy to get your information. one of the biggest targets, have you thought about this public wifi. listen to this warning before you log in on the go. here is ted rolands with his report. >> reporter: inside terminal 5 at the los angeles international airport, dozens of people are on their computers. gregory evans is a former hacker whose resume includes two years in federal prison. >> we were doing almost $1 million, if not more, a week

against some of the biggest corporations in the world. >> reporter: we set up in a corner of the terminal so he evans, who now owns a cybersecurity company shows us just how vulnerable people are to hackers. >> i will go and set up a fake wifi and watch everybody connect to it once they connect to it and start surfing the internet, now what i'll do is just grab all their traffic. >> reporter: we launched a fake network named l.a.x. free wifi. within minutes, people started connecting to t evans then showed us how a hacker can record everything off a computer that joined our network by tracking what i was doing on my laptop. >> so they go to their bank it will grab all their banking information f they go to their facebook it will grab all that their twitter accounts, writing love letters, i can grab all of that. >> reporter: evans says, worse if a hacker has enough time, y spyware stays involved, get and stays with the victim. >> you go to one country, to another, everything you do as long as i have a computer is

going to be e-mailed back to me. >> reporter: during our experiment we stumbled across what appeared a real hacker at work with along with our fake network, there was another one called free public wifi. airport administrators told us t mobile is the only authorized wifi provider. >> you think that there could be a hacker here right now? >> that's correct. >> reporter: catching and prosecuting a hacker, especially the an airport, is extremely difficult. ej hillb with ert is a retired fbi agent who specialized in cybercrime. >> virtually impossible to catch them, law enforcement aware of this the next piece, you steal the cards, the information, you got to use them somewhere, that is when you start getting the real investigations going. >> reporter: experts say there are a few things you can do to protect yourself f you are at an airport or a public spot, find out who the wifi provider is and use that if it costs some money, pay the money. they also say, change your password every now and then and use different passwords for different accounts. another tip, turn your computer off when you're not using it.

and if you do go online using a public wifi, keep in mind that someone may be watching you. >> you don't know if you are getting on a true wifi or connecting to some hacker's network. you don't know if you're connecting to me or really connecting to the airport. >> reporter: it ted rowlands, cnn, los angeles. president obama says the u.s. is making strides in the fight against terror but he says those gains are fragile. that was his word today in the battle very much urgent a live report on where we stand in afghanistan, next. and there are urgent new developments in the tensions on the korean peninsula. warnings that a south korean military drill could cause a chain reaction. we have our a-team lining up right now reporter roulette is next.

talk about a review of the walk the tensions on the korean peninsula and the health care law facing another judge. spin the wheel. begin with nic robertson there in kabul. nick, talking about this world report, talk to me about the areas of success. >> reporter: success in the south in the city of kandahar, some of the towns of helmand, security gains, the people in those cities and places feeling that they can go out, do business, business is picking up, trying to pass off to afghan security forces, build up the afghan police, problems getting everything that they need from the central government in kabul to reinforce that security process. >> how realistic would a surge be, a surge in the taliban strongholds? >> reporter: there aren't the number of troops at the moment. they are concentrated in the

south. until they can be freed up, as long as they are not the ones being rotated out next summer, it would be very difficult to put them in all the different places where the taliban are getting stronger in the numbers that it needs to make the surge successful. we have seen how the surge can be successful, but the numbers are limited. president obama said the numbers are not going any higher, no more troops. >> nick robertson for us in afghanistan. nic, thanks to you. next, reporter roulette, barbara starr is at the pog with new wore there is tension on the korean peninsula between north and south korea could be heating this up weekend. what are you learning? >> this weekend, indeed, brooke. south korea is set to begin a series of live fire artillery exercise and they are going to take place right off that same island that was shelled by the north koreans just a few weeks ago. everyone is very tense about this. the south koreans have announced that it is all routine. but here at the pog, top commanders say they are

concerned. they are worried about a north korean reaction. they are worried that firing and counterfiring could erupt and they are willing -- a small number of u.s. troops on those south korean islands observing the whole thing. brooke? >> barbara, just following up. what are you hearing as far as whether or not these are legitimate exercises? what are you hearing from the pog? what are you hearing from the state department? >> reporter: these are very standard exercises conducted by the north koreans f there hadn't been these recent tensions it might have passed unnoticed. but remember it was just a few weeks ago went north koreans shelled this south korean island where these artillery installation are that they will be using on this training range to fire out into the open sea. it is because of the recent stresses and tensions with north korea that everyone is keeping a sharp eye on all of it this weekend. brooke? >> barbara starr, thank you. next on reporter roulette, brian todd, brian todd is in pensacola, florida where this federal judge is weighing in on the latest legal challenge to

this new federal health care reform law. brian, what's the story there? >> reporter: a key provision of that law, brooke is under siege today and that is the provision that says that everybody has to buy health insurance, even if you're healthy, even if you don't want health insurance, you have got buy it for the government to have enough money to bring everyone into the insurance pool. that's what was battled out here in this courthouse today. government lawyers arguing that you have got to have that in there in order to bring everyone in and insure everyone. lawyers for 20 states saying that is not constitutional, you cannot force people to buy a product in this case, insurance. the judge may have tipped his hand he sympathizes with that argument it is not constitutional. he said of the right that currently exists to not buy insurance "there are some people who have a different way of dealing with a situation and that is being taken away from them." so he is maybe tipping his hand that he will rule against the obama administration and maybe rule that that law that makes you buy insurance is unconstitutional. we will know probably in a few

weeks. >> brian, 30 seconds what is the story with the big battle over medicaid? >> well, that's another key part of this law that may go to the supreme court, along with that other one we talked about the obama law want as well states to expand the medicade rules, the states are saying that we don't have the money to do it, it is going to make us bankrupt, going to add millions of people to it, that is what was battled out today, those two provisions very likely end up in the supreme court. >> brian todd in pensacola, thank you. that is your reporter roulette for this thursday. and now this. many, many, many political analysts are wondering, could sarah palin challenge president obama come 2012? look it is possible, but could she win? jessica yellson next. she has a little bit of that a little bit of this, next on the political ticker. first this, looking for a job, two words, social media, a growing industry for you tech savvy folks. the list of the top four

employers was released. here are the top four. coming in at number four, the company that encourages employees to be themselves online as well as try out emerging services, weber shapedwichblgt ibm, the tech giant, offers employees tons of hands-on training and conferences to stay on the cutting edge. who else made the list? who's top two? that's next. [ female announcer ] experience dual action power

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number two best buy you can the company's the best idea wins policy allows all employee ideas to be heard. coming in at number one acres doby, offer employees tons of training and encouraging hands-on experience, all of that from mashable. now, jessica yellin joining me with the latest news, mrs. yellen, good to see you. >> hi, brooke, good to see you aga again. newt gingrich come out against two major measures in the u.s. senate, one is the s.t.a.r.t. treaty, that's that nuclear anti-proliferation treaty that president obama is trying to get done. newt asking 1.2 million members to oppose that and also asking them to block -- support republicans in blocking the appropriations bill bring up for a vote which funds the government to stay open, fascinating, of course, new england says in the criticism it threatens a shut down of the government if we don't accept this omnibus bill with all of its pork barrel spending. what is so ironic about that

when new england was speaker, he may have been involved in shutting down the government himself. yes he was. no one knows the dangers of that better than new england. turning to the 2012 race, sarah palin has a little bit of news in a "wall street journal"/nbc news poll, she has her work cut out for her if she plans to run for president. the latest poll shows in a matchup between sarah palin and president obama, the president 22 points ahead, 55% of the vote, palin, 33% of the vote. of course, plenty of time to change opinions out there. a little bit more news in that poll shows that most americans, they find his job approval is at just 45%. that's below the crucial 50% mark any president wants to hit. but americans, a majority still like the president personally. 73% say they like mr. obama. they just -- many of them don't approve of the job he is doing as president.

some do. on a lighter note, rear police called hope? you remember that? that was the theme -- >> yeah. yeah. go ahead. >> bill clinton's convention back when he was running for president the first time in '92. he talked about a police called hope but also referring to his hometown of hope, arkansas. well now, bill clinton answers birth play, the home he came to when he was born is a national park. it is the place he lived for the first four years of his life with his mother, who had been widowed and his mother's parents. and he joins a very small club of ex-presidents whose actual birthplaces are national parks they include george washington, abraham lincoln and theodore roosevelt. many other presidents have places turned into national monuments, et cetera, but only very small club whose birthplaces are national parks. pretty good company to keep. >> the up to of home. the town of hope. jessica, thank you. you can also get the latest political ticker, update online

go to cnnpolitics.com or wear the political ticker. and the frozen, bitter, bitter cold lighthouse of lake erie, you got to see this. and the king of beasts down for the count. coming up. [piano keys banging] [scraping] [horns honking] with deposits in your engine, it can feel like something's holding your car back. let me guess, 16. [laughing] yeeah. that's why there's castrol gtx... with our most powerful deposit fighting ingredient ever. castrol gtx exceeds the toughest new industry standard. don't let deposits hold your car back. get castrol gtx. it's more than just oil. it's liquid engineering.

a giant bird joyriding are on, of all things, a zamboni machine. you got to see this. i said giant bird. wait for it. there it s bizarre scene unfolding in atlanta. dash cam action here, the mascot of the atlanta thrashers hockey team pulled off the zamboni after a low-speed chase. thrash, as he is known, cuffed,

taken downtown, back of the cruiser what is going on? can't possibly be real, right? right. the whole thing was fake. even had a helicopter up there to capture. this the thrashers trying to drum up ticket sales after getting creative with their online ads, maybe had some people, maybe, fooled for a minute. also, take a look look at this ice sculpture, lake erie. chad made a point, something would you see on the top of a wedding with cake this is a lighthouse, totally encased in ice. the frigid wind used the freezing water spray as a sculpting tool, other markers along the pier colted in ice as well. brrr. okay, doctors, let's make sure this guy doesn't make up any time too soon. this is a 300-plus pounds of grouchy male african lion. a zoo resident in canada with a bum shoulder, poor guy. unique project for these veterinary students who did a full workup on him, including x

race, ultrasounds. they say he had a congenital bone defect, so, no surgery in the end, nice kitty there he goes. there is a mystery unfolding in new york here. police found four bodies on this remote beach but they still can't crack the case yet. they are turning their attention to a possible serial killer, we have got some new developments on this story coming at you next. medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp.

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and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan. you'll get this free information kit... and guide to understanding medicare, to help you choose the plan that's right for you. as with all medicare supplement plans, you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare, get help paying for what medicare doesn't... and save up to thousands of dollars. call this toll-free number now. want to show you new video and share new information with you. look with me, aerial pictures, the southern end of long island teeming today with police, homicide investigators. they are at it again. at this hour, they are expanding the search for clues connected to four sets of human remains, remember, they were found starting saturday and then into monday, on this remote stretch of beach road. they have at the scene a dozen

cadaver dogs which would seem to suggest they are not ruling out the possibility of unearthing even more bodies out there. as we told you, law enforcement officials warned this may possibly be the work of a serial killer, even killers. all four sets of remains are believed to be those of women. remember the first set found saturday by an officer and his dog, blue, who just so happened to be out in the area, searching for clues in the case of a miss new jersey call girl. she was 23. she was shannon gilbert. she was last seen in the area back in may. and here is another call girl who disappeared on long island. she is a mother from maine. megan waterman. and her distraught mother is speaking out. she has this to say. >> i have had mixed feelings about it. at one point, i -- deep down inside, i felt she is not here but on the other hand, part of me still thinks that she still

is with us. we have that little bit of hope. it disgusts me, why somebody would want to murder people and dump them off in a failed wooded area anyway. why would somebody do that? >> let me return to the new video and add one more piece of the puzzle for you. the "new york daily news" is reporting today that investigators are now exploring this theory, that the victims on long island may have been slain by the same killer who four years ago dumped the bodies of four prostitutes behind a hotel in atlantic city. that case is still open and you know we are making calls on this we are going to keep following the story for you. and now to a story that has a lot of you talking this week, it is the story that happened tuesday afternoon. there was a gunman who walked into the bay county school board meeting and essentially opened fire. there is several people on that case who have been call adhere row but the main guy who refuses to say's hero, everyone else

says he is mike jones, good enough, we have now got him on the phone. mike, are you with me? >> caller: hello. >> hello, mike, this is brooke in atlanta, can you hear? he >> caller: yes, ma'am, go ahead. >> mike, i saw you today and i know i have heard from the school board superintendent. we talked to ginger, one of the other members of the school board, all calling you a hero. i know you are being modest but you were pretty teary identify talking about this whole ordeal today why are you so teary eyed? because you got a sudden lesson in the fact that life is very, very precious? >> caller: absolutely. tell you the news media yesterday, i wanted that private time with my pastor, my retired pastor and my family and that they would wait until today and they did. i needed that time with my family and today, you know, i'm lucky to be here. a lot of emotions, i have been up and down all day doing these interviews and kind of hard to get it out of my mind that i almost lost my superintendent and pretty emotional day today. >> mike, talk to me about that

split second-second decision, you get the call, you are in this building and you -- what was that phone call? did they explain that there was a gunman in the room and then the decision you made from the back of that school board meeting to take down the gunman, help do that? >> caller: yes, i just got a call there is someone in the board meeting with a gun. they didn't know if it was real or fake and came down a four-story stairwell and made everybody get out of the hallways and i had to open door the to get an assessment, what i had, what i was dealing with and as soon as i opened the door, the gunman was there in front of the board members and so i kind of scanned the room to make sure that's all i had. at that time, i conversed with him, i said, hey is that a real gun? and he turned around and said something like, okay, now the cops are here. i said why don't you come around, let me talk to you? i was trying to lure him out of that room and maybe the board members and the superintendent could escape and let me and him engage each other, 'cause i was armed and they weren't he didn't fall for that so i had to fall

back to plan b. >> and plan b was? >> i wasn't even wearing a vest, i'm an administratoadministrato position. i had no weapon. my vehicle is parked, just so lucky, 30 feet outside the door. i ran out there maybe 30 seconds, i grabbed my vest, threw it on, grabbed extra clips for my gun, ran back to the door and just in time to kind of open that door and take a peek again and he done squared up and with both hands on the weapon and was fixing to shoot the superintendent. and by the time i snatched the door, he had already fired one round. i snatched the door open, the gun with battle was on the >> well, we have heard from several of the members of the board. they say you are a hero making that split-second decision, very much saving lives. and for all the people listening to this story, sir, what one message do you have to them? >> don't ever say it can't happen here. i have heard that so many times. that's not going to happen here, we are small town usa, it happened here, it can happen anywhere. >> mike jones, the hero, thank you for calling in.

>> thank you. tonight is the night, 25 incredible years on cnn come to an end. larry king is ending his regular prime time show. don't miss tonight, apparently, got some surprise guests. you know the time. 9 p.m. eastern, right here on cnn. [ beeping ]

♪ my country ♪ 'tis of thee ♪ sweet land ♪ of liberty ♪ of thee i sing [ laughs ] ♪ oh, land ♪ where my fathers died ♪ land of the pilgrims' pride ♪ from every mountainside ♪ let freedom ring ♪ a couple fascinating stories for you, sunny hostin from true

tv to sort it out. let's talk about this story out of new york this on-air meteorologist this woman for new york's wabc-tv, arrested, heidi jones is her name. she reported that a hispanic male attacked her while she was jogging in central park but during questioning, she recap theed her story. what has jones been charged with? >> at this point, brooke, she has been charged with filing a false police report. and that is punishable it is a class a misdemeanor. you could end up in jail for one year. you can be fined $1,000. and many people don't realize that filing a false police report is a crime and you can end up in prison for something like that. >> you mentioned prison. do we know how long she could end up being in prison? what is the punishment? >> the punishment is at least a year, up to a year in prison. i understand that she has also been with suspended from her position at wabc. some sources are saying that she will be fired but i think it is unlikely that she will spend time in prison. probation is probably the likely

sentence. let say this as condition of her probation, i would make her meet with real rape victims. i would also make her work with the innocence project and have her meet with men that have been falsely accused because to falsely accuse someone of rape could have a chilling effect on rape victims, hard for victims to come forward because they don't think people that believe them what she did is a serious, serious crime. >> next, mcdonald's, being sued by a group of consumers and nutrition advocates. they want to force the fast food chain to stop using toys to entice kids to buy meals they say are unhealthy. the suit was brought forth on behalf of a mother of two from sacramento. listen. >> i like that it is fun and surprises me. >> i can tell them no all day long they still see commercials that convince them that you have really got to have this. >> you really got to have this, sunny. mcdonald's pledged to fight the

suit but sunny, we have heard stories like this before, have we not? not necessarily new thing? >> it is not a new thing. let's face it mcdonald's has been giving away these happy meals for a long time. kids loft toys within them. this time, they are saying -- the plaintiffs are saying in this case that it's illegal, that they are forcing kids and luring kids into eating this junk food. you know, brooke, i have two children. the last i checked, they don't have jobs and they don't have money and they can't buy happy meals for themselves f my kids have happy meals it is because i have purchased them for them. my suggestion to parents everywhere is if you don't want your kids to have a happy meal then just don't buy them. >> just don't buy them. >> simple as that. >> some people like to be litigious. sunny, would the suit -- does this carry any water? the suit have any chance? >> it is definitely possible. it passes the smell test. they filed a suit saying that it is illegal under consumer protection laws. we know that obesity, childhood obesity is a big deal right