fantastic for the person that shot it, as well. a good angle. >> i love that. a bunch of marching bands. i don't mean offense to any other marching band out there. a lot do a great job. >> t.j. wants to see more of that. tiger woods, been a year now, a heck of a year but it was thanksgiving last year when his whole world kind of fell apart. we are looking back on that we are looking back on that year. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com saturday night 10:00 obama, sunday night 10:30 here on cnn. that's it for us. have a wonderful weekend. nice to see you. >> good to be here. i have to do my show this week. >> good luck getting back to atlanta and getting over your cold. >> thank you. >> cnn newsroom starts withdrew griffin right now. >> i didn't know that tiger woods had a brother. i was shocked, really. >> three siblings. a-of his -- the father's kids

from the first marriage, yes, all grew up around him together and kind of a split in the family now. a lot of people had the same reaction, drew. >> looking forward to it. kiran, focused on the news here. i'm drew griffin sitting in for kyra phillips this morning. here's the stories. your safety and the nation's security. the senate will be debating a new nuclear arms treaty with russia. it is one of president obama's top priorities but republicans say hold on. it shouldn't be decided by this lame duck congress. home for the holidays. america's service men and women are streaming through u.s. airports receiving a hero's welcome as they should. we're going to go live to an airport that is rolling out the red carpet for them. and then this. >> larry: it's -- not very often my life i've been without words but -- i am -- i don't know what to say except to you my audience, thank you.

and instead of good-bye how about so long? >> cnn's larry king wrapping up 25 years and cnn's prime time and our own king of talk received a star-studded sendoff. this morning, millions of americans wablging up to some welcomed news. the taxes will not go up next year. in fact, uncle sam will be allowing most of us to hold on to a bit more of our money. here's a breakdown of the tax deal that cleared congress just before midnight. lawmakers have approved a two-year extense on the bush era tax rates. unemployment benefits for 13 months and there are actual tax cuts. the social security tax rate is going to drop 2% for next year and the estate tax which was going up to 55% will come down to 35%. that's called the death tax by some. the president scheduled to sign that bill into law this

afternoon. cnn congressional correspondent brianna keilar joining us from washington. how are they reading the tea leaves in who won? who lost? i don't know. >> reporter: it's interesting. liberal democrats obviously feel that they lost and they did. they didn't get what they wanted. this wasn't graceful, was it, drew? this was arguably very messy because this was a tax cut compromise that cruised through the senate. a big bip partisan vote this week. and then it really hit a stumbling block yesterday in the house of representatives where at a certain point democratic leaders literally had to pull this bill from the floor because the liberal wing of their party was very upset. what they wanted essentially were more opportunities to protest the bill. to have votes to change the bill, particularly that estate provision you discussed and seemed obvious they with respect going to be able to secure the changes in the vote they wanted some opportunity, some more opportunities to say, hey, we really don't like this bill and

the day-long drama yesterday culminating on the right side of the screen, a late-night vote coming down right before midnight. and now headed to president obama and expected to sign it today, drew. >> bring an yeah, already talking about not doing anything with the s.t.a.r.t. treaty because of the lame duck congress. are we now facing a lame duck agenda for president obama and this kind of bill where he had to give so much shows how difficult it is going to be over two years? >> reporter: certainly seeing i think a different strategy here. when have we seen in this congress where president obama is able to strike a deal with republicans and not just that over the objections of people within his own party? let's remember, this was president obama working out a deal with senate republicans and that's why these liberal democrats in the house of representatives really felt like they were getting jammed by president obama and certainly they're going to be concerned this now that we're going into the next congress and

republicans are in charge of the house of representatives there's more of this to come. i think that is a big concern. i think there's disharmony right now between democrats, a lot of in-fighting within their own party. >> brianna keilar, thanks a lot. thanks. congress won't be voting on the huge spending bill. the $1.1 trillion package was designed to fund the government for the rest of the year but the leading democrat in the senate harry reid shelved the bill because of opposition and drew sharp words. >> 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 do the press events as they have done with the stimulus moneys 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 hypocrite, under that are people who ask for earmarks and vote against them. >> reid says he'll work with republican leaders on a short-term spending measure to keep the government running beyond saturday. that's when the current funding expires. well, a developing story about the blockbuster breast cancer drug avastin the fda yanked approval for the drug and wants it to be stopped being used for the breast cancer saying the risks outweigh the benefits. it's the best-selling cancer drug out there with $6 billion a year. we brought in chief medical correspondent sanjay gupta because, i mean, if you're a person on this drug, you are wondering, what the heck have i been doing? >> this is disappointing, certainly. also thought of as a drug of

last resort for women with breast cancer that spread through the body. this is an interesting thing, drew. what's fascinating is that the fda really wanted to answer two questions. one is does it prolong survival? do the benefits outweigh the risks? the answer seemed to come back no to both of the questions. the studies concluded. the risk significant. heart failure, heart attacks, per ro perforations in the stomach and colon. the company said you live longer without symptoms. that was a good thing. the fda said, okay, but here's the deal. show us some more studies. those studies came back and this is what they concluded after looking at the new studies. it is a back and forth and i think you are right. people find that frustrating, especially women on the medication now. >> i think, i mean, suffering from breast cancer's beyond frustrating. i mean, as a doctor, i have to

ask you, why have doctors been prescribing this? >> well, you know, i think there was enthusiasm in 2008 and there are doctors that will continue to prescribe this because the way medicine works in a population of women, the drug still may have some benefit and cannot say that across the board. the goal as you might say to figure out who will benefit and who's not and we don't know the answer to that so the fda has to look at the aggregate. overall, on the up and up looking at everybody, we think that the benefits do not outweigh the risks, we do not think it increases survival. in europe, as you alluded to, they arrived at a different conclusion. keeping it on the market and used in conjunction with another chemo drug. this is the great uncertainty of medicine sometimes. >> sanjay gupta, i feel for those people suffering from this and just looking for an answer and not getting it. >> they want this sometimes last resort. >> yeah. all right. doctor, thank you. >> thank you. well, it's been a tough week

for the eastern half of the nation. west virginia, one of the latest victim. sleet, freezing rain, snow. treacherous driving. around charleston. crews had to deal with nearly 70 wrecks. much of the same story in neighboring virginia. more than 300 accidents blamed on the weather. even this morning, there are patches of ice and slush making for some rough going and for much of the country, bad weather is looming. meteorologist karen maginnis in the cnn weather center. i guess looming for three or four months, really. >> yes. it is. but we have got just storm after storm after storm. and primarily, we just got rid of one weather system for the eastern seaboard and for areas around georgia and into west virginia, tennessee all the way into the great lakes and midwest, we saw slippery roads, some record snowfall totals. now we have a storm system moving on in across the west

coast. this is a huge system that will sweep in across the interior west for the cascades into the sierra mountains. we are expecting as much as three feet of snowfall. this isn't going to be the end of it. southern california picks up the rainfall and in the next five to seven days we could see significant rainfall totals in some of the valleys producing mud and landslides but where you see the dark purple shaded areas, this is where we're looking at the heaviest snowfall. maybe some wind gusts, possibly as high as 90 miles per hour. but not just there. also into the wasatch and the mountains and the sawtooth mountains and the cascades, as well. less significant across the cascades but expecting 60-mile-a-hour wind gusts in the afternoon hours. this is just the first system. there's going to be another one to move in behind it. another storm system develops across the southwest and, drew, looks like for the eastern

seaboard, watching a system and less of an impact we think than the two west coast storms but we'll have to evaluate this. >> well, i will have to warm this place up with a nice warm story, karen, after that. this is one to tell you about. troops heading home for the holidays. sounds pretty warm inside at least. catching up with some of them at atlanta's airport. they move one step closer to reuniteding with their families. ♪ express yourself ♪ [ female announcer ] the newest seasonal flavors are here. ♪ express yourself ♪ [ female announcer ] because coffee is like the holidays. it's better when you add your flavor. coffee-mate. from nestle. consider this: drop & go charging for up to 4 devices at once... the duracell mygrid™. simple and smart. it's mygrid™. from duracell.

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time to travel across country now. jacksonville, florida. surveillance cameras rolling when a suspected arsonist poured liquid inside a local spa and salon. the fire causing $100,000 damage. the salon reportedly owned by a woman, she went from being homeless to running a business. and then this. right? no arrests yet. next stop, toledo, ohio. suspected burglar in custody after confronting an elderly homeowner locked and loaded. the 68-year-old guy didn't want to be identified but explained how he stopped the intruder. >> i didn't touch him. i didn't get close to him. but i put the gun out where he could see it and i yelled in a

strong voice, hit the deck. or you're dead. if he got up, the coroner would have to take him. >> there you go. colorado. this rabbit is the grinch that stole christmas. every year someone pulling the plug on barry miller's outdoor christmas lights. this year, miller set up a camera to catch him. to his surprise, it was a rabbit. thousands of our service men and women on the road for the holidays. they're going home. that means scenes like this nationwide. hugs, kisses, smiles and tears. get to see. this is in burlington, vermont. national guard members just home from a nine-month deployment to afghanistan. look at that little -- many other troops are making the way home for the holiday break. reynolds wolf is live at the atlanta airport where the uso folks working around the clock.

reynolds? >> reporter: drew, it's been amazing morning. we have had a good time here at the uso. one of the neatest things so far is something to share with you and the rest of america. i don't know than, zoom in and show people what we have here. this is the sign-in sheet. the names are not that important. the reason why is because they could be anybody. it's very best america has to offer, sons and daughters but what's really cool is look at the branch of service, army, air force, navy, you don't see it on the sheet, this particular sheet but the coast guard and even the marines have been here this morning and the places they come from are really as varied as the people themselves. they come from california, colorado, from ohio, virginia and many more will come through these doors. in fact. they had 1,500 through here by the time the day is over 2,000 and possibly another 2,000 tomorrow. maybe 5,000 by sunday. they have about a half million through this place each year and they have come from basic training, some of them straight from the front lines.

they can relax. see a couple of recliners here and they're getting a break, something to eat, too. tell you, we have a fellow here familiar with it. this is bob babcock. bob, a veteran. bob, what do people experience walking in here? what can they find? >> walking in here, they're made to feel at home. we're all veterans working here today. so what they'll do is come in, show them what we have to eat. hot dogs world famous, rolls, anything they would want. >> reporter: what makes a world famous hot dog? >> we declared them to be. everybody eats that them mostly goes back to iraq and afghanistan and international in scope. so they're great hot dogs. come down here and get a hot dog. >> reporter: you have been through the uso yourself. you have a vietnam veteran. you were in saigon? >> yes. one time and i happen to see a uso. and i stopped in. and i called home. i sat in line for an hour and a half. got a three-minute phone call and one of those you talking over a radio waves so you say

hello, over. and that was -- that was my experience. it was a very positive one. we'll been working here since r & r started and we love it. we have all of the vets here that consistently come back. >> reporter: bob, thanks so much for your service. >> thank you. >> reporter: not only great food to eat -- oh my gosh. look at the bread. all kinds of brownies and chips and whatever to eat. all kinds of goodies you ever wanted. many things to drink. very quickly, back over here, let me show you something else. more benches here and then around the corner, a quiet area, a library to sit down and read a book and a nice and quiet, use a computer terminal or two. back over in this direction, little bit of something, an oasis before the final trip headed back home. the latest from hartsfield jackson. back the you in the studio. >> thanks a lot. thanks to jonathan, too. celebrities and politicians give larry king the royal treatment on the farewell night.

>> we are big fans of yours and my announcement is the day's officially in california larry king day. >> and a toast to that. we'll look at some memorable moments from his final show.

♪ you ain't seen nothing yet ♪ the best is yet to come and babe won't that be fine ♪ ♪ the best is yet to come come the day you're mine ♪ ♪ come the day you're mine network news anchors to the president of the united states, it was a night to honor larry king. the host, of course, of cnn's "larry king live." signed off for the final time last night. the parting words, simply, so long. here are some of the highlights.

>> as you hang up your suspenders on your dressing room door, i speak for us all when i say we want more. more of the show that we instantly loved for 25 years couldn't get enough of. >> you know, i have done about 7,000 interviews in my 25 years at cnn and i have saved my best guest for last. i'm talking to me. >> larry: cannon does me. do me. >> i'm too old for this. i done this for 50 years. >> no one has done more than you. you've been my biggest competition. i hate to see you go but a little part of me says terrific. >> you say all you do is ask questions but for generations of americans, the answers to those questions have surprised us, they have informed us and they have opened our eyes to the world beyond our living rooms. >> thank you, larry. and thank you for all the years. you were great.

>> the day's officially in california larry king day. >> larry: that's the staff in washington. now we'll switch to the staff right here in los angeles. there's the control room. there you see wendy walker. ♪ the best is yet to come >> larry: i am -- i don't know what to say except to you, my audience, thank you. and instead of good-bye how about so long? >> joining us now to help us look at the career of larry king and really his impact on popular culture, robert thompson, founding director of heritage center. what did you think of the show last night? >> i thought it was quite charming and it was such a vintage larry king show. there were big guests, two

presidents and a governor. there were a few awkward moments. the whole sinatra duet that never happened with regis and the couple of clips for the historical reel, the son doing that impersonation of dad like he was a night at the improve. it's become kind of a genre the last shows where you trot out the people that kind of, a test to your legacy. i think it was a really good idea to have the two co-hosts there. it wasn't so much like larry king throwing this party for himself. but that he had been invited for all of these surprises that they kept pulling out of their hat. >> you know, robert, i mean, it really is a milestone to be on the air anywhere for 25 years. but to do what he did for 25 years which, in my opinion, kind of start this whole prime time talk show kind of thing and just keep it going for so long, it's pretty significant.

>> it really is. and we forget that first of all he was doing this kind of thing in radio before going on tv and coming on tv in 1985, cable television was a very different kind of a place. and so was the interview show. especially with celebrities. we didn't have the internet yet or tmz or any of these kind of things so he really was a pioneer and i think his great legacy is, in fact, the booking department. he managed to get guests that were at the center of the american consciousness, important ones like political leaders and silly, you know, scandal of the moment tabloid stories and when historians are looking at the last quarter of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st, those larry king interviews are going to provide a substantial archive. >> he had to work on getting the

interviews in the beginning because, i mean, cable was new. nobody knew much about him or the show but, boy, in the height of his career, you were begging to get on larry king. >> right. i mean, once he became, you know, this -- we overuse the word icon but i guess it really does apply here. people wanted to go on larry king and always a perception and this gets talked about all the time that people felt he was a friendly, safe place to do an interview where you could control the situation more. but i think we sometimes overstate that with larry king. it is true that he often did provide that kind of a harbor but it wasn't like he threw nothing but softballs which is what a lot of people like us to believe. >> what larry king did and still does which is let his guests talk which is somewhat of a rarity on prime time talk shows now. robert, thank you for joining us. your taxes not going up this year. that's the good news.

lawmaker s divided over the ba parts of the deal.

good news for your investments. the dow and s&p closed at two-year highs yesterday. for a look at what's in store today, hopefully more good news, from stephanie elam in new york. hi, stephanie. >> hello, drew. i'll do my best i have to tell you overall a quiet rally. we haven't seen huge 200-point moves on the dow but every little bit adds up and stocks where they were in 2008 and that's right before that lehman brothers collapse and the bottom fell out of the economy back in darker days. now, one caveat that i have to tell you about, trading usually light at the end of the year and today expecting a flat open and pretty much what we're getting. the dow up 3 and the s&p 500 barely to the plus side so not a lot going on there right now but, drew, just in case you haven't finished your holiday shopping or maybe looking for a

last-minute gift, we have one for you. a massive toy collection is going up for auction today at sotheby's. the collection of malkin forbes, founder of "forbes" magazine. total price tag, expected $3 million to $5 million and the most expensive it system a four-foot gas-powered battleship from 1905 expected to kech $300,000. also up for sail today, original monopoly set of 1933. hand painted by the creator. it's round. it started off being a round game. very, very cool stuff there, drew. >> very cool. very expensive. i'm not going to ask for those. either one. >> yeah. yeah, i won't be asking for them either. >> gas-powered battleship. i like it. appreciate it. it is just after 9:30 in the east. 6:30 out west. 300 troops return home to cheers from their family and friends in burlington, vermont.

the troops from the vermont national guard just wrapped up nine months in afghanistan. the fda calling for a controversial drug avastin to be fazed out as a treatment of med static breast cancer saying it did not extend the lives of breast cancer victims substantially and potentially dangerous side effects and wide disagreement about the drug. european regulators are not making the same recommendation as the u.s. regulators are. your taxes will not be going up next year. the hotly-contested tax cut deal passed the house before midnight. now, just needs the president's signature. expected this afternoon. the deal means go more years of bush era tax rates and extra 13 months of unemployment benefits, social security tax cut for all american workers and a lower estate tax. well, the tax deal drew support of both parties as well as criticism.

the common concern that echos across the aisle is the cost will inflate the nation's ballooning deficit. >> we have bureaucrats that sit in the buildings in washington, d.c. and they spend their hours every day figuring out new ways to spend your money. it is time for us to change that. we have to make certain that our government is more efficient and that it is spending less and the american people are going to hold us accountable for taking those steps. >> you can talk about cutting taxes and that's great. we all like less taxes but this came at an immense cost and with the efficiency of our essentially having stood at the front of the capitol and shovelled cash out. that's about as efficient as job producing as the provisions in this bill are. >> well, the president's scheduled to sign that bill into law this afternoon. and the tax deal, of course, is making mostly news in washington but the bigger deal may be what didn't happen. the senate will not pass a

spending bill until the new congress is seated. why? because harry reid couldn't get the votes. why? maybe because that tea party is more powerful than ever. political producer shannon travis joins us from the political.com desk. you are in touch with the tea party and taking credit for this. >> yeah. they are. drew, forget about that football game last night that a lot of the country was watching. san francisco and san diego. a lot of the drama was on capitol hill last night. as you just mentioned, the house passed the tax cut deal and that's going to obama but no haps in the senate for senator reid. the tea party is claiming credit. walk through this. harry reid he hoped to have the votes and nine senators withdrew their support said they'd vote for it and then later withdrew the support. why? we don't know exactly why but the tea party movement is claiming some credit for switching some senators from yea to na y.

i spoke with amy cramer, the chairman of the tea party express and she told me she and a few other activists camped out in senator jim demint's office reading through the bill as he threatened to read through the bill putting pressure on the senators saying it filled with too much pork and they didn't want it to pass. they were joined, the tea party express was joined and basically threatening to mount primary challenges against republican senators that voted for this thing so a lot of drama unfolding on capitol hill and the tea party movement is claiming victory for this -- for harry reid not having the votes. >> shannon, what happens now? technically we're out of money to pay the bills by this weekend and the senate passing a stop gap measure i guess. >> that's right. >> when the spending bill comes back again, will it be stripped of all the earmarks? >> remains to be seen. as you just said, there's a stop gap measure, a temporary bill to

keep the government up and running but likely won't see another vote until the congress is seated and then have conservative senators that won in the mid-term election and probably see a lot of the spending completely stripped out of a similar bill because a lot of the conservatives that ran and won in the last election ran against government spending. >> shannon, you are right. a lot more drama than the football game. >> that's right. >> we'll be looking for more of your reports as they continue to wind down. your next political update in an hour. for more political news, go to cnnpolitics.com. tiger woods' brother says the golfer has not spoken to him since 2006. >> we've sent him a couple of letters and i've tried to call a couple of times just to update him on, you know, when's going on with the family because we are family. and i've gotten no response.

>> we ask why woods has cut off his family. downfall, the tiger woods scandal, a preview next. ♪ 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.

we've been talking about the drama in the senate and drama

right now. harry reid making the comments moments ago. let's listen in. >> two things out of the way. we have minimal things left to do. we have to do the health care as it relates to 9/11. we have to, of course, complete the funding for the government. we all -- we know what happened last night and so we're looking forward to doing the cr. tremendous disappointment as to what it doesn't do for our country but that's where we are. republicans made that choice and the american people need to understand that. i was told that there were needed six or seven days to debate the s.t.a.r.t. treatreat. that's easy to do. we can complete that very quickly. it all depends on our friends on the other side of the aisle, if thank you want to continue as they have this whole congress

and throwing roadblocks in front of everything that we do or move forward to a culmination of this debate. mr. president, we have done some very, very important things during this congress. but there is nothing, nothing more important than the s.t.a.r.t. treaty. because it has ramifications far greater than our own country and so i would hope everyone would be patient. we know this is the holiday season but this is something -- >> senator harry reid trying to outline the next few days in the senate, health care benefits for the 9/11 responders, also, that stop gap measure for the spending that we have been talking about and getting on to that s.t.a.r.t. treaty, the president wants this. the nuclear arms treaty with the russians. they think it's very important to do this year and apparently they're going to try to do that. we'll keep you posted on that as we do with all politics here on cnn. it's a tough year for tiger woods on and off the golf course

and when you think he would reach out to his family, tiger's brother says the golfer wants nothing to do with him. cnn's t.j. holmes talked to his brother for the special. and t.j. i talked to you earlier today. i was shocked he had a brother and goes to show how much he's not part of tiger's life. >> yeah. a lot of people have that exact response, drew. i was telling them saying i'm going out to talk to tiger're brother and said, what? yes, he has a brother. he has two brothers and a sister. now, they're half brothers and sister. these are the kids of his dad from his dad's first marriage and they were there. they were a part of tiger woods' life when he was little just learning the game. there's an age difference but they were there in the early part of his life. would you believe now the family members say they haven't talked to him in the past hour yefour . they want the reach out and help tiger woods.

earl woods jr., the oldest of three children from his father's previous marriage. >> they had a conversation with tiger when he was little saying we don't do anything half ass. he loved that. >> reporter: but just as tiger's career began to skyrocket, his older brother noticed a change. >> when he turned pro, it became more difficult to have time to him and since then it's like -- it's almost as though we don't measure up. i haven't spoken to tiger since 2006. we've sent him a couple of letters and i've tried to call a couple of times just to update him on what's going on with the family because we are family an i've gotten no response. >> reporter: you haven't talked to your brother, your blood, since 2006. now, there has to be something else going on. was there some tension of some

kind? why would he just cut the family off? >> there were reports that i had borrowed money from him and not paid him back. there was a family argument that split the family up. none of that's true. >> reporter: in fact, the last time he says he saw his little brother was at their father's funeral. >> he was gracious enough to allow us to join him on the jet to take my dad to kansas to bury his remains. and i remember we came off the jet, walked down the runway, hugged, hey, how are you doing? he went that way with the entourage and we went that way. that was the last i ever saw him. >> reporter: earl woods jr. said their father's death had a major impact on tiger. >> what i saw was that he lost a part of himself. i think that our father was a part of tiger so much that when he passed, tiger became lost. that he didn't know how to fill that void.

>> and a lot of people ask, drew, has to be something going on. animosity, jealous of tiger. family says absolutely not the case and even after all he's been through and not talked to the family in four years, they don't have any hard feelings towards tiger but want to reach out and be there for him, still love him and the man that you learned about in the past year is not the person he is at his core so still they're defending their half brother. their brother. they don't do anything half assed and he's still their brother and want to reach out to him. >> t.j. reaching out to him on national television? >> yeah. a lot of people ask that question. why would you do this? why would you come out and speak? wrote y won't you try to reach him? call him. they have no idea, quite frankly, drew, how to get ahold of him. phone numbers are different. reaching out to him, they have to reach out through his people.

they have sent letters. they said they have done this repeatedly, time and time again and not getting any response and one of his brothers -- not earl but the other brother right now is in pretty bad health and trying to reach him to let him know how their brother is doing and really, drew, you learn a lot but a lot of people have that question. really? he had a brother. yes, he has siblings. they quite frankly want to be there for their brother with a tough year. >> looks interesting. saturday, sunday, 10:00 p.m. eastern. looking forward to that. thanks. i guess we'll see you back here tomorrow. >> thanks, drew. flesh-eating zombies taking over city streets. we'll have it for you in the morning passport. that's next. but first, let's flash back to december 17th, 1903. orville and wilbur wright took to the skies, near kitty hawk, north carolina. 12-second adventure put them in

the history books as the first ever successful flight. orville at the controls of the gasoline-powered biplane as it traveled a whopping 120 feet. come celebrate exciting cars that are stunning to look at, exhilarating to drive and worry free to own. celebrate this holiday season with the gift of platinum. jaguar platinum coverage: five years or 50,000 miles of complimentary scheduled maintenance, and no cost replacement of wear and tear items. visit your jaguar dealer during the platinum celebration for a $599 lease offer on the 2011 xf.

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great! i think. diggity. oh! still not sure. the "name your price" tool. only from progressive. call or click today. we begin in israel where a work plane shot down a ufo. she had to scramble jets after spotting an unidentified flying object over a nuclear plant. it was flying in as a designated no fly zone. military officials say, could have been a party balloon.

next stop, cuba, flesh-eating zombies roaming the streets of havana. cuba's first zombie flick is being filmed. it's called "one of the dead" which is a mix of gore and satire. kmoun nift leaders claimed the living dead were part of a plot aimed at toppling the government. it hits theaters next year. airports across the country, troops being welcomed home by the uso. they can come in and get a hot coffee and settle down for their next flight on the way home and all trying to get home, karen. hopefully in time for the holidays and no weather is going to impede them. >> well, we do have a powerful pacific storm system that is going to lash the west coast. heavy mountain snowfall. strong winds, possibly up to 90 miles an hour and rainfall in

coastal sections of california could produce mud or landslides. who would expect a santa letter to look like this? the basics food, clothes, even heat. we're talking to the head elf of the postal services operations santa coming up in our next hour, right here in the cnn "newsroom."

time to talk sports with jamal anderson. but turning into our sports gur ree around here. good to see you. >> let's go crazy. it's friday. >> yes. thursday night football. >> thursday night football. >> wait a minute. when are they going to have tuesday and wednesday night football because i have nothing to do. >> we are getting there. as it gets more and more popular, we'll get there. >> should have been a good game last night. >> it should have been a great game last night. basically, it's a playoff game for both of these teams. in fact, neither team was eliminated. last night the san diego chargers took on the san

francisco 49ers at home and what a difference this guy right here, vincent jackson makes, unavailable for the chargers. contract dispute and then, of course, he was held out for several games for suspension from the league. big difference last night. three touchdowns. 19 of 25, 273 yards, two touchdowns, that guy, vincent jackson, the chargers made plays every time they needed to. again, you are going to see rivers here hit vincent jackson. a huge, huge key for the chargers down the stretch and make as huge difference for the football team. who was, in fact, 20 and 1 in the month of december, the past several seasons, drew. so this is that team. this is that football team that people are concerned about. if you look at the last five, six weeks of the season, they have been playing very good football. the raiders put 250 on them and the chargers are dangerous. the 9ers, crazy enough about that game, still not eliminated after nine losses. >> really?

>> i was going to ask you if mike singleterry's job was in trouble. >> they will be five and one in the division. they will host the playoff game. it's kind of crazy. >> up in new england, patriots are already in the playoff, right? so we're going to talk about basketball. >> a lot of things to be happy about in boston. the boston celtics are on a 12-game winning streak right now. the atlanta hawks are in town. the hawks are banged up, no problem. the big three are still there. kevin garnett, 17 points last night. you're watching paul pierce, 15 points, ten assists. big baby davis throws in another 18 points and ten rebounds. here's the thing about this basketball team, the big difference between last year and this year, particularly in the regular season s. kevin garnett and paul pierce are healthy.

no jamal crawford or joe john sons. the hawks were 50% from the free-throw line. you're watching the distribution of the ball but 18 turnovers for the atlanta hawks. 18 turnovers. tough thing to do, particularly when you have a streaking team here in the boston celtics. again, no rondo or shaq, no problem. they are the key right now and boston continues to go forward. >> yeah. >> tough. it's going to be interesting, drew. the nba is really going to be interesting as we get further on in the season. >> i'm not a hockey season but i love it when people throw things out on the ice. >> fish, dead fish, all kinds of stuff. >> you've got a great tradition here in the western hockey league. the hit men sponsor an annual teddy bear toss. they throw them out there all for charity.

what happens, after the first throw of the game, they get the throw the stuffed animals on the court. the game, the players deliver, they round these all up after the first score and e players deliver them to local charities and hospitals but 23,000 stuffed animals after the first game. again, the western hockey league's hitmen. it's a great event that they do. how do they clean all of this stuff up? >> and how do you skate on that? there's got to be stuff left, right? >> you think about it, 23,000 stuffed animals and you still have to play the game. it's a great event and great cause. look how excited the fans get. it's great that -- hockey is not all about violence and fighting. it's about skating and charity. >> thank you, jamal. >> all right. thank you. we'll see you. ♪ it is 10:00 a.m. on the east coast and 7:00 in the west.

i'm sitting in for kyra phillips. the latest comments from the founder of wikileaks. >> 3.3 million web pages that mention my name, also mention the word rape. that's a serious issue and seriously successful smear campaign. >> that is julian assange. he's out of jail this morning and on the offensive. he says the sex allegations against him are bogus. and the u.s. can brace for more embarrassing revelations. a convicted killer put to death with a drug commonly used to ut that niz dogs and cats. officials in oklahoma say they had little choice. there is a shortage of the sedative normally used for lethal injections. home for the holidays, america's servicemen and women

streaming through u.s. airports and getting a hero's welcome m one airport that is rolling out the red carpet. first this morning, millions of americans waking up to the news that their taxes will not be going up next year. in fact, uncle sam will be allowing most of us to hold on to a bit more of our money. here's a breakdown of the tax deal that cleared congress just before midnight. lawmakers approving a two-year extension of the bush era tax rates. unemployment benefits will continue for another 13 months. and there are actual tax cuts, the social security tax rate is going to drop 2% for the next year. and the estate tax, or death rate tax is lower. president obama scheduled to sign that bill into law possibly this afternoon. let's look beyond the tax bill this means that the house will be under the control of rival republicans. john avalon, a senior political

columnist joins us from new york. john, i've been asking this morning, it's not just a lame-duck congress right now. but it -- could it be two years of a lame-duck obama agenda because of the difficulties he will have dealing with the republicans in the house? >> i don't think so. i think that the passage of this bill actually is a harbanger of a divided congress. that does not mean gridlock. it's a compromise of checks and balances. you saw the far right and far left unhappy but it was able to move forward. there are challenging roads ahead. in particular, deficit reform. you know, cutting taxes is a relatively easy game. you're giving tax dollars away, in effect, actually reducing spending. that's a much tougher road to go. >> if unemployment does not

drop, is that -- that should be a very hard position for president obama to be in. so a lot of the hope is, the hope of all americans is that people will be employed over these next two years. but it's really setting up for the election in two years. everything comes down to that election, and i'm just wondering, will he have as much trouble with republicans in the house as he does with the very liberal democrats he's going to have to deal with as well, who want to be elected? >> oh, sure. this is a complicated field to play. but it has caused a course correction. the vast majority of the american people support this course correction, moving back to the center. president obama trying to present himself as the adult, above the fighting. industrying to ste trying to steal a north star approach. it always comes down to the economy. it's a huge factor in a presidential election. however, if you match president obama right now with some of the

likely competitors, he's doing quite well. even though the job approval ratings are in the mid-40s, his personal approval rating is in the mid-70s. there's a lot to suggest that he's in a strong position heading into 2012. and just like president clinton in 1994, sometimes that's good for the incumbent president. it removes the urgency, it cuts that in half. i think the president actually is looking are relatively good for 2012. it's a long way away, of course, and the economy is a paramount issue but i think there is some sign that the divided government could provide some tangible benefits for the president going forward. >> it's going to be tough to watch, just as it has for the last two days. >> it is. one presidential goal that has been achieved is the passage of health care reforms but the overhaul is facing growing challenges across the country. in florida, attorneys from 20 states appeared in court to

argue against the new law. they are challenging two manned dates, the first that each state expand medicaid for the uninsured and the second that individuals should not be forced to purchase health insurance. you may remember a virginia judge has already ruled individual -- the individual mandate is unconstitutional. legal experts say it will ultimately require the u.s. supreme court to decide whether the health reforms are legal. a new warning from north korea today putting the korean peninsula on edge. the north says that if south korea goes forward with live fire drills on yeonpyeong island, the north is going to launch a strike. this is the same island that north korea struck last month. joining us is journalist an grew. the south says that they are

going ahead with this and they are going to be aimed away at north korea. is north korea going to be put in a position that they are going to have to fire back? >> reporter: that's a good question. we don't know until the drill actually begins and that could be as early as tomorrow or as late as tuesday. we don't have an exact date of this thing. my personal guess is that, from the north koreans at least, this is luster. the south koreans have made clear that they are going to go ahead with this drill, which is a regularly series of drills that they've always held off this island but the north korean motis aperandi has been a surprise attack. so i suspect that we can see lots of rhetorical blasts from north korea but not actually a military attack. but i've been wrong before. so we'll have to see. >> is there any discussion in south korea itself to maybe

remove the live-fire part of this drill or is south korea saying we need to stand up and say that we are not going to be bullied? >> very much the latter. let's put into context the situation. earlier this year, south korea lost 46 sailors that killed a north korean torpedo attack in the area. that situation remains unresolved. they have since had this attack. so there remain this is anger and considerable pressure on the leadership there to get face down this bully and pretty deadly behavior by north korea. there's also talk, and this is what worries people, i think, south korea saying that in the forth retaliates, they will mass civil retaliate themselves. so there is a danger of this back and forth. and that really is a tremendous risk. >> andrew, this is all going to

take place on saturday. you're getting very near to saturday. how early will we know? within hours of whether or not? >> well, we don't know. it will take place saturday, sunday, monday, or tuesday. it's a four-day window for south koreans to undertake this drill. i'm pretty sure it will take place earlier rather than later, possibly this weekend. because i think the south koreans want it to happen while the financial markets are closed. also, they don't want to leave it until the last minute because if they say we're going to hold it between saturday and tuesday and don't run it until tuesday, the north koreans are going to know when it's going to take place. as for the north korean retaliation, who knows? i suspect that the north koreans will not retaliate because they will be opening fire on a very, very ready south korean defense

force. but what they may do is not retaliate somewhere on the island but elsewhere. so i think it's going to be a pretty tense weekend here in seoul. >> andrew, appreciate this. new mexico's governor bill richardson is in north korea. he's trying to ease the tensions there. wolf blitzer is there with him. wolf tells us that richardson met with top korean officials today, has more meetings tomorrow, and wolf is calling the current crisis the worst on the peninsula since 1953. there are concerns that north korea will see the south korean military exercise as a provocation and as we've been reporting potentially trigger a more aggressive move by the north. some people dealing with powerful storms, blanketing states up and down the east coast. take a look at some of the conditions still plaguing areas. this is tennessee, vwest

virginia, maryland. are they getting a warmup or another dose of weather? karen mcguinness is tracking that for us. >> we saw a warmup in the northeast, it looks like it will be cold. temperatures are only going to hold into the 30s. but the big news is going to be the weekend across the west coast. here we have a very powerful weather system that is moving in off the pacific and this is going to dump heavy amounts of snowfall across the higher peaks of the sierra-nevada. we could see three feet or more, very gusty winds up to possibly as much as 90 miles an hour. in the basin areas, significant rainfall over the next three to five days. could produce mud or landslides. so something to watch there over the next couple of days. and already we're seeing some delays at the san francisco airport. now, our computer models, as we go into the next 48 hours or so,

picking up significant rainfall in the l.a. basin. so some of those areas over the past few years, it's most vulnerable from potential landslides. also into the siskiyous, the cascades, wasatch, and the mountains right around utah, and into idaho and for portions of montana as well, we'll see lesser amounts across northern arizona. but we've got another developing system, right across the four corners, and this is going to usher in some snowfall across the pan handle region. now, i want to show you some of the delays that are taking place. the most significant is san francisco. just about 2 1/2 hour delays there. the rain has already started to move in. we're seeing visibility that has been reduced and it looks like this is going to be an on and off again situation, drew, as we go throughout the weekend. this is just the first in a series of systems that will slam

in across the west coast. so east coast, maybe a little nor he'nor'easter. big story the next few days, west coast. >> karen, thanks a lot. a lot of people heading home. that's going to be trouble through san francisco. thousands of our servicemen and women are on the road heading home for the holidays. and that means scenes like this, great ones playing out across the country. this is in burlington, vermont. back after being gone for nine months away. many troops making their way home from holiday leave. we're live at the atlanta airport. 2,000 troop also pass through just today. reynolds, there's nowhere else in the country that looks like we're a country fighting wars than atlanta airport. they are always welcome at the uso. >> reporter: absolutely, no question about it. the doors are always opened for

the fighting men and women that come through. today we've had about 1500. we'll have 2,000 before the day is over. another 2,000 tomorrow. but sunday is going to be the big day. we'll see them come up this escalator and walk right out. we're going to be seeing more into the afternoon, possibly within the next hour or so we may see a flight that will bring in about 200 troops coming in from kuwait. these are men and women fighting over in both iraq and afghanistan. bob is a veteran of the u.s. we have people that come up the escalators, the servicemen and women. what can they expect when they reach the top? >> we're going to have one of our volunteers, we'll meet them and greet them, welcome them home, ask them what we can do to help. we'll direct them to the baggage claim, tell them where the uso is, that we've got food upstairs. basically, we're here to make

them feel at home and answer any questions and basically the uso has been doing this since 1941 and we're just a continuation of that great service of the uso that's gone on for years and years. 70 years next year. >> bob, what do you look for? when you see somebody come to the top and they are in uniform, what are the key things that you look for? >> we're going to see slick sleeves. which means they don't have a pch on the right sleeve. those are train ees coming from all over the country. we'll be sending a lot from our post out here to go home. this is the weekend where all of the training bases are sending troops home for the christmas holidays. so we see these troops and we are going to help them because they are sort of new to the travel business. if we see a combat patch on the sleeve, we know that they are very well going back to iraq or afghanistan after the end of the r and r. so we learn to read them as they come around because we've all been down here a lot and we recognize the signs of the military. >> you've been doing this for a

long time but it never does get old, does it? >> i love it. the best day of my month is when i'm down here and i'm down here at least once a month and sometimes three times a month and i love it. >> reporter: thank you very much. they are going to be coming, we should see quite a few of them, hopefully within the hour and we'll get the very latest to you. send it back to you in the studio. >> thank you, reynolds. great stuff. tony romo has had some high-profile relationships. jessica simpson, carrie underwood. and now we learn that he's popped the question to the lady in his life. that's next. join the jaguar platinum celebration ! come celebrate exciting cars that are stunning to look at,

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the dallas cowboy

quarterback tony romo is ready to walk down the aisle. apparently he's engaged. a.j. has the pending nuptials. >> is this bride to be big enough to have her in your show? >> i believe she is. former mississipouri. candace crawford. he proposed to her who happens to be the sister of chase crawford in dallas. they've been dating since september of last year. he dated jessica simpson for two years and that ended in an ugly quits in july of last year. the night before her 29th birthday. now, no tears for jessica here. she herself got engaged just last month to eric johnson who used to play in the nfl.

jessica's engagement announcement came a week after nick lachey announced his engagement to vanessa mamilo. the circle of life now feels complete. aret aretha franklin is speaking out about her mysterious hospital stay. she's back home recovering from a surgery she describes being highly successful. she tells "jet" magazine that she feels great and that the doctors want her to rest for eight weeks. she's been reported to have pancreatic cancer. she promises she will speak out soon on what is ailing her, telling "jet" this, inputting aretha together first. this is aretha time to do whatever it is that i need to do but i will talk more later.

her doctors tell her she can do anything she feels like, unfortunately for us, doing concerts. since getting out of the hospital, she's been reading and relaxing, catching up on faxes and, as she puts it, pid delling around the house. as far as i'm concerned, until she's ready to talk about it, she doesn't have any responsibility to talk about it. >> yep, she's a strong person, that's for sure. a.j., if you want more information or anything breaking, a.j. has it. this evening on "showbiz tonight," 5:00 p.m., 11:00 p.m. on hln. did you get enough beauty rest last night? if not, your friend's family co-worker may be able to tell. beauty sleep is no myth. we're talking to the researcher. i couldn't conceive this as a heart attack.

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♪ mr. sand man >> beauty rest is real. if you're not getting enough, other people notice. that's according to a new study. that found that people who don't get enough sleep look less healthy and less attractive. researchers say the proof is in the pictures. check out this guy after a good night's sleep compared to what he looks like after going without sleep. now, are researchers john axelson, associate professor at sweden's institute, is joining us live via skype. you're saying that if you don't get enough rest, it shows to people who are interacting with you. >> yes, that's true. >> and we're talking about -- well, why don't you tell me what you did with this study. because it's very interesting. you took people from ages 18 to 30. you took the identical

photographs, the only difference was, one, they are well rested, one they are not rested, and then you just had people look at these pictures and tell you who looks better? >> no. we rate each picture with respect to how attractive is this person, how healthy does this person look like and also how tired does this person look like. and, of course, they look worse when you sleep deprived, you look worse in all of them. >> and people who took part in the study, were they surprised? >> they didn't know because they -- when you are judging photos, it's one photo at a time. so it was not until a lot later that we could analyze the differences because they were only judges one photograph at a time. >> i get what i'm asking you, were people surprised to learn that the amount of sleep they got actually contributed to whether or not people thought they were attractive or not? >> no, i would say some people

might think this is a no-brainer but this is actually the first support that sleep is not only important for your fees see yolg, but how people perceive you. it's very important for also sorts of social situations and we're quite sure that people will treat you worse as well if you look worse. >> how has this study been received? have you talked to people who say, hay, john, thanks. i'm going to budget in two more hours of sleep because i want to look better? >> well, the media coverage has been a lot more than i expected,

to be honest. but one of the good things with this study is we need good arguments for young people and people taking more sleep. all of this, what we do not know -- do know now is that -- >> yeah, that's certainly going to get their attention. john, we appreciate it. we appreciate your work on this. thanks a lot. >> thank you. well, christmas wish lists are pouring in to santa's helpers at the post office. this year, more kids are passing on high-tech gadgets and toys. they are asking for clothes, food, even help with bills. see some of those heart wrenching notes and here how you may be able to help them.

taxes are not going to go up next year. the tax deal passed the house just before midnight. now it just needs the president's signature. that's expected at 3:50 eastern, we've just been told. that means two more years of bush era tax rates and an extra 13 months of unemployment benefits. there is a social security tax cut for all americans and a lower estate tax. north korea threatening more violent attacks on the south. if it goes through with planned live-fire drills. the exercise is supposed to be held on the same border island that the north shelled last month killing two south korean troops. the controversial drug

avastin is going to be phased out. the fda says the drug has not substantially extended the lives of breast cancer victims and has led to potentially significant side effects. in europe, they are not making are recommendations as there are here in the u.s. santa gets millions of letters. it can be overwhelming. so the man in the red turnses to the post office to get help sorting them out but his post office elves have noticed a change in a wish list this year. a lot of kids are not asking for ipods or xboxes or hot wheels or dolls. they are asking for winter coats, socks, or even help paying a heating bill. here is operation santa at new york's main post office. pete, are these letters really different from just last year? >> reporter: yes.

there's a noticeable change in the letters and we say from the needy to the greedy. the letters now -- in the past, they were asking for laptops, macbooks and this year the theme is winter coats, gloves, heat, pay their rent, they can't buy food or medicine. they are reaching out to santa. >> i want to show one of the letters from a woman named maria, a woman from three. she said blankets, jackets, pants, jeans, t-shirts, sneakers, socks, snow boots. this is from christopher, age 11. if possible, we would like some educational toys and winter clothes. i would like something to make my mommy happy. she is getting chemotherapy after breast surgery. what do you do with letters like these? >> reporter: these letters are put out there for people we call

helpers. we call them helpers. they come in here and sit down and read these letters. and they sit down, a letter like that would go to someone who would assign that code to the helper code and be able to take that home and do what they can do to the family. they would bring the package back to the post office and we would send it on. >> if you need any encouragement for a letter, let me read to you what alex wrote. he's age 6. my mother works but can't buy us the thing that we want because she don't make a lot of money. santa, please, please, i want anything that you can send me. i guess that's the kind of letter that somebody would come in, pick up, and then return

that gift. >> reporter: absolutely. these are the letters that they are looking for. they don't like the ones that are items and these letters are people with the numbers here. and it's really make everyone aware of the operation santa and participation has increased. >> how can people from outside new york find you, pete? >> i'm sorry? >> how can people from outside of new york find you? where can we find out where perhaps i could answer -- >> well, they would have to call their local post as a matter ma.

it's mainly for the local folks in new york because they have to come here and deal with me. we don't do anything online. they can't get letters online or by telephone. we can't mail the letters to them. they would have to physically come in here. >> okay. pete fontana, thanks a lot. i'm told by the staff that we have a link. cnn.com/kyra. and also we have the phone number at the bottom of the screen. pete, thanks for all you do. a lot of families are cutting back this holiday. 15 million americans jobless. unemployment rate just under 10%. for parents struggling, breaking the bad economic news to kids can be tough, especially right now around christmas time when a lot of other kids are getting presents. jeff gardier, clinical psychologist, jeff, if a parent is strapped for cash, the kids are maybe watching tv and seeing

all of these and other children and santa is not going to be that generous this year. >> kids understand that things are not the way they once were. we see in the segment that you just did now, and avoid things with the parents. i think we've learned in the economy, the kids have learned what is going on. minus the fear, minus the anxiety, all of those emotional changes as parents were going through in this economy and i think when our kids start experiencing that anxiety. that's the red flag for us as parents to say, you know what,

we better deal with this recovery in a more positive and empowered way. >> there's nothing wrong with the situation we're in. it's just a cycle that we're going through? >> well, meaning that these are very tough times that we're going through, it's our new reality but we're learning from it and as a family we can persevere. we can still keep a smile on our faces, happiness in our hearts, and as a unit, as a team, work towards getting through this economy and being a stronger family. it's not about the money, it's not about the items or the material things, it's really about the love. and those kids are learning that we saw that in those letters that were written to the chief of pete fontana. >> jeff, we've been through hard times in this country before. as some would argue, a lot more

difficult than the times that we are going through now. i'm sure these kids have grandparents that have gone through that. has it been the experience that if you talk to your kids about the economic situation, they can deal with it better than if you're a parent trying to hide the fact that the family is suffering economically? >> absolutely, drew. it's important that we be honest with our kids and explain to them what is going on. as i said, minus the fear, minus the anxiety, which is natural for us as parents to experience, but part of raising our children is the idea that we want to make them strong. no matter what the economy is, no matter what is going on at home, no matter the fact that we may not have the money to splurge on gifts, we want them to grow their character. that's the most important thing. so, therefore, we can use this economy, use this recovery as a way of getting closer to our kids and helping them grow in a much healthier fashion

emotionally. >> just sit down with your kids. that will be the best christmas gift they will get. >> i second that emotion. thank you, drew. >> if you want more information about the program we've talked about, like i've said before, it's on kyra's blog. go to cnn.com/kyra. maybe you want to pitch in. a mystery santa has been giving away money to complete strain g strangers. it's happening in iowa. we spotlight them today. he's been handing out $100 bills to the less fortunate. at first they can't believe it, wonder what they have to do to keep it. then they get a little hug. some even bursting into tears. >> merry christmas to you. >> thank you. are you sure this is for real? >> i'm sure it's real. it's for you. >> you couldn't have picked a

better person. >> really? >> i can show you a picture of my tree that i just took yesterday and it has not one present under it and my 15-year-old son is wondering what we're going to do for christmas. >> well, the secret santa says he was inspired by another secret santa in kansas city. your computers and phones hold a wealth of information for cops trying to track criminals. that's ahead in less than two minutes. hi, may i help you? yes, i hear progressive has lots of discounts on car insurance. can i get in on that? are you a safe driver? yes. discount! do you own a home? yes. discount! are you going to buy online? yes! discount! isn't getting discounts great? yes!

there's no discount for agreeing with me. yeah, i got carried away. happens to me all the time. helping you save money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today.

all this week we've been focusings on what people have called the end of privacy. how law enforcement officers are using the digital trail to track criminals. more from cnn's amy. >> reporter: cops versus criminals. it's an age old game of cat and mouse where the police aim to stay one step ahead and one critical area where the battle is spread to is collecting digital evidence on computers, on smartphones, and on the internet. or in today's terminology, the cloud. >> the move to the cloud is one of the biggest challenges facing

computer forensics field right now. it can take digging one of the things in our professional is you can expend 90% on 10% of your cases. the mobile device forensics is growing very rapidly. we maintain several different hardware and software tools in our lab to try to give us the broadest possible coverage. >> one of those tools is a software program that analyzes digital data. >> when you get the drive, you have to see what that computer user's profile is, not a profile that you log into with an e-mail client, but how they use their computer and where their activities are. some people are heavy into face boong. to do a full analysis of somebody's digital media, you're talking desktops, laptops, network shares, multiple digital devices that they carry with

them. there are artifacts all over when people use it. when you go through digital information with sites like facebook and google. >> it would require a court order. you have to know to know where to send your subpoena or search warrant to. the judge reserves the right to limit the scope of the search. if you're searching for a specific type of file or a specific type of crime, you will be restricted in your search. >> reporter: and one big boom is the explosion of smartphones and the wealth of info that they provide to death tal mobile phones. >> you can recover call logs, address books, any type of audio files that are on -- located on the device. image files, pictures and video.

there can be a lot of information of value to an investigator on a mobile device. >> reporter: yet criminals are getting smarter about hiding their digital information, making the sergeant's job harder to stay ahead of the curve. >> it's a very quick evolution, especially in the area of mobile devices. larry king gets a special day on his final night as host on "larry king live." >> my announcement is, the day is officially in california, larry king day.

sarah palin has not decided if she's running for the white house in 2012 but that hasn't stopped the pollsters from asking the question. >> drew, check out these brand-new numbers from abc and washington post this morning. if she runs for president in 2012, would you consider voting for her or not? 59% on this poll say they definitely would not consider voting for palin if she runs for president, only 8%. you can see that at the top.

they say they would definitely support her. 31% say maybe support her. you can see that story on the political ticker. this is from abc and wall street journal. a hypothetical matchup between her and barack obama. not so favorable numbers for her. >> the thing about sarah palin is, we can't stop talking about her. her name is definitely out there. is she talking about these polls? >> she is, in an interview that ran on abc news. a poll like that she says it doesn't look too pretty today. that's true. but she says, listen, 2012 is a long time from now. she was asked about that timetable about her decision, when she's going to announce it if she decides to run. she said any decision is many months away. drew? >> thank you, paul. our next political update in an hour. go to cnnpolitics.com. it's great. black forest cake? ♪

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for the past year, our own jason carroll has been showing us what it's like to join the military and even go to the war zone. it's been a remarkable special. jason is focusing on three soldiers that has answered that call for service at a great personal sacrifice to themselves. >> absolutely, drew. i know you've been following along with these series, but for

those who haven't, we wanted to focus on people from different background to give a better perspective on what it is like to be in the army during the time of war. we've turned their stories and the series into a one-hour documentary. we want to you take a brief look. >> reporter: in the fading light of the cold december evening, barely one full year ago, the president of the united states and then air force one for a trip to west point, new york. >> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. it will affect the lives of every cadet. >> as commander in chief, i have determined to send an additional 30,000 troops to afghanistan.

>> reporter: along with they tell a story of how the president's decision to expand the war in afghanistan affects the people most directly in harm's way. >> come on. you got it. latrisha rose leaves behind a 2-year-old daughter and a husband wondering how he can do it alone. >> here we go. almost done. >> reporter: sergeant randy is a husband and father of two, just 32 years old. he's already a veteran of two combat tours. now he's about to return to afghanistan to an area the military calls hell on earth. and then there's 18-year-old

will mcclan, who weeks from tonight may find himself carrying out the president's mission into the very heart of afghanistan. randy, la tricia, and will, their stories, drew, represent thousands of soldiers. drew? >> i have been following the series. it's been great. i'm looking forward to this special documentary that airs this weekend, i guess. you can see a soldier's story. it's on saturday and sunday. 8:00 p.m. eastern. right here on cnn.

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♪ you're simply the best ♪ better than all the rest >> they were singing that last night to larry king. a night to honor larry. the host of "larry king live" signed off for the final time last night. his parting words, simply, a choked up "so long." here are some of the highlights.

>> as you hang up your suspenders on your dressing room door, i speak for us all when i say, we want more. more of the show that we instantly loved for 25 years couldn't get enough of. >> you know, i've done about 7,000 interviews in my 25 years at cnn and i've saved my best guest for last. i'm talking to me. >> do me. >> i'm too old for this. i've done this for 50 years. >> no one has done more than you. you've been -- you were my biggest competition. i hate to see you go but a little part of me says, oh, terrific. >> you say that all you do is ask questions but for generations of americans the answers to those questions have surprised us, they've informed us, and they've opened our eyes to the world beyond our living rooms. >> thank you, larry. and thank you for all of the years. you were great. >> the day is officially in california, larry king