poppy. appreciate it. "cnn newsroom" continues right now with t.j. holmes. >> thank you so much. yes, the "cnn newsroom," we are literally in the "cnn newsroom" right now. i am t.j. holmes in for randi kaye today. let's keep an eye on the markets. shall we? heck of a day yesterday. the strongest rally on wall street in more than 2 1/2 years. traders and investors wonder if we can keep this up. not quite keeping it up. for the most part the dow has been flat to slightly lower all day. right now you see it about 70 points down. yesterday a gain of 490 points was the biggest by far of this year. percentage wise the biggest since march of 2009. where are things happening today? hong kong, share prices there up more than 5.5%. we won't be going to for a away from the story on the markets. also today, world aids today. the world is marking 30 years since hiv was discovered. leaders, researchers and activists are pushing a very big

goal -- ending aids forever. president obama today announced a $50 million boost in funding for hiv prevention and treatment in america. and also a goal of helping 6 million people access life saving treatments worldwide. much more on this in our face time segments moments from now. 160 million americans may not have to face a tax hike next month after all. republicans in congress now seem to be on-board an extension of the payroll tax break due to expire at year's end but they still disagree with democrats and the white house on the size of that break and exactly how it will be offset. all year long anybody who draws a paycheck has seen only 4.2% taken out for social security. that's versus the usual 6.2%. democrats want the rate cut to 3.1% with a new tax on millionaires to pay for it. also, the lawyer for jerry sandusky is denying any thoughts of a plea agreement in the child

molestation charges facing sandusky in pennsylvania. joe amendola says the former penn state assistant coach continues to maintain his innocence and any media buzz to the kroer is completely unfounded. turning to california now where those santa ana winds are causing quite a mess as they often do. 30 to 50-mile-an-hour winds knocked down trees and power lines. more than 80,000 customers lost power overnight, including parts of lax. more than 20 flights were diverted while debris was cleared from runways. one gust was clocked at 127 miles an hour. a red flag warning in california for potential fire risks due to the winds. also florida's governor is now asking all state universities to take a good look and re-evaluate their hazing policies. governor rick scott made the request following the death of a florida a&m band member.

"regardless of the conclusion following the investigation, hazing should be strictly condemned on our college and university campuses." also another elaborate tunnel linking mexico to the u.s. has been shut down. that's because officials say the passageway was used to transport marijuana. 32 tons of pot was seized by the feds at the site on wednesday. it's one of the largest marijuana busts in history. evangelist billy graham is in a north carolina hospital today. graham who turned 93 last month is being treated for pneumonia. a tweet sent from his spokesman this morning read, in part, graham was "in good spirits" after a time of bible reading and prayer with his daughter. he was the crusader for aids awareness. ryan white. you remember that name and you'll surely remember his story. he died after contracting aids

through a blood transfusion. he would have been 40 years old this month. we'll talk to his mother and her continuing mission that's coming up next. but first on this world aids day, we want to take a moment and recognize the millions of people out there living with hiv, as well as the countless others working tirelessly to find a cure. the courage and positive attitudes of so many of you out there fighting the fight from the tireless dedication to so many doctors and researchers are what makes the war on aids a winnable one. and for all that, all of you are today's rock stars. ♪ one love ♪ one life ♪ one life ♪ one need ♪ one love ♪ i had a heart problem. i was told to begin my aspirin regimen. i just didn't listen until i almost lost my life.

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[♪...] >> announcer: now get a $250 airfare credit, plus save up to 65%. call 1-800-sandals. certain restrictions apply. it's been 30 years now since people started dying of a mysterious disease that destroys the body's ability to fight infection. since then, almost 0 million lives have been lost. but on world aids day 2011, enough has been learned, enough resources promised, is not always dlifd to inspire an audacious goal. listen to this. zero new cases of hiv. zero discrimination against people live with hiv or suffering from aids. and zero aids-related deaths. that is the goal. just last hour cnn's own dr. sanjay gupta discussed the state of the pandemic and the world's response with one of the world's most vocal activists.

>> what we're actually talking about when we say the beginning of the end of aids is the sort of -- is a mathematical point you get a point of inflection in the disease where it's possible to lower infection rates to lessen the people that you're treating. it used to be that for everyone person you treated, two people became infected. now with the combination of getting people the drugs as soon as they are diagnosed, male circumcision is another break-through and getting pregnant women those drugs very early, you can actually cut those infexzs right doctions ri begin the end of the disease. i can't even believe the words are coming out of my mouth. 30 years, 30 million funerals later. on the 30th anniversary we just have the end in sight. >> as an advocate for patients and a voice against tolerance, bono follows in the path set by

this young man -- ryan white. he contracted hiv from a blood transfusion in 1981. he would have turned 40 years old this month. ryan's mother will be the keynote speaker at world it's day detroit and she joins me now. thank you so much for taking the time. would you ever have imagined that it was an attainable goal of zero aids related deaths in this country? >> no. that was something we only dreamt about in the early '80s and late '80s and that was something we just dreamt about. >> would you say it's no longer just a dream? you think this is possible now. how soon? >> yeah, i think it's possible. i mean we have come so far. i mean from having no drugs at all to treatments, and then getting it down from so many pills to just a few pills a day. i mean i think we're heading the right direction. i think prevention efforts, i think need to be a little bit stronger. i think we need to make sure that our young people know that

they are at risk if they have sex, they are at risk for this disease. that's everybody. they always know what we're doing but we can never be sure what somebody else is doing. >> ma'am, if there is a teenager that finds out today that he or she has contracted hiv, how is that young person's life different from your son's life when you all found out he had hiv? what are the differences now? >> well, there was no medicines and there was no treatment centers even for ryan. so now we have treatment centers that will put you on meds right away and get those counts down to where they need to be. >> ma'am, there is a story we are getting -- this is so much of what your son went through -- a story out of pennsylvania we're getting that a young man is being denied access to a boarding school and the school, the private school, saying it is because he has hiv. they've come right out and said it. it has something to do with the health and safrt of other students. can you believe a story like

that is still taking place this day? >> i hear it all the time, that people with aids are still being discriminated against, especially in schools, colleges, and job related areas. it's just really sad that people do not educate themselves. but there are some people you're never going to be able to educate. and that's where you have to just move on. you have to move on to people that will listen and will get the information and abide by it. >> is that number small enough? those people you talked about who just won't get it, because we are talking about a school. you talk about schools. these are people supposed to be educating and looking out for the health an well being of kids. if we can't educate those folks, where are we failing there? >> i think by not having education, especially aids education in homes, schools, churches? i think we need to be able to talk about it like a disease and we still can't. there's so much effort to not

have these in school, to not be able to talk about aids because of how you have to talk about it and who is infected and blaming it on people. we still have these same things that you had to have done something bad or wrong or you wouldn't have got it. that's why i feel like the religious community especially, the christian community, is relating to our families and this disease affects everybody. it is not just the gay community. it is everybody. it is women especially people of color. i think it is very important that we don't step back and not educate our young people and not be able to talk about sex. >> ma'am, last thing here. certainly so many people remember the story of your son. what is your life like? what has it been like the past number of years? so many years have gone by but you obviously continue this fight. what are your thoughts about your son on a day like this, on holidays, on birthdays? >> well, his sister andrea and i

both miss him very much. it's hard. the grandparents, everybody thinks about ryan. but i also want to think about all the people that are living with aids today. i mean it is not just my grief. i've got to see the faces of the meds help now and see people living with aids now and so that justifies that i don't have ryan with me any longer, but a lot of parents do. they have their children with them. >> jeanne white-ginder, thank for taking time out on this important day. such a pleasure to talk to you. thank you so much. we'll talk again. >> thank you, t.j. >> 13 minutes past the hour now. turning next to some international news. russia bringing out big guns literally, sending new warnings to the u.s. back off this missile defense program, or else. is this just talk?

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the obama administration facing new warnings from russia. scale back the missile defense plan for europe, or risk possible border conflicts that could erupt into nuclear war.

to show he means business, the russian president deme kree medvedev has opened a new anti-missile radar session. it borders poland. from there, russian missiles could easily strike nato sites across europe. the reason for moscow's concern, u.s. plans to put anti-missile interceptors in poland, romania and turkey, the u.s. says to combat possible strikes from iran and north korea, not to threaten russia. the director of the russia and eurasia program for international studies. he joins me now. could spark nuclear war? really? >> well, t.j., i think that's taken a little bit out of context. the russian general made those comments a couple of weeks ago. but he was talking about the possibility of -- not a border -- an area bordering russia that would be central as

asia. that is not so much tied to the missile defense issue. >> still, some pretty strong samts here. you have to take these type of things seriously, but how much of this has to do with internal politics going on in russia and moscow right now? >> well, you're exactly right. on one hand there is a genuine difference between us and the russians on missile defense. we tell them that these plans are to address rogue states, iran, north korea, et cetera. the russians -- these are not directed at the russians. the russians don't fully buy that but the rhetoric has been amplified over the past month i think because of the russian parliamentary elections coming up this sunday on december 4th. and still anti-american rhetoric standing tall against the united states has some resistance for russian domestic poll six. >> do we just need to get past the election sigle and people will be good friends out there singing "kumbaya" once again? >> well, that would be good.

it's going to be -- like i said, we do have a genuine difference of views about the current plans for the missile defense program and it is going to be important for the obama administration to continue talking with the russians to try to re-assure them about that. i think there may be a possibility of reaching an agreement with the russians but probably not likely until the early part of 2013 once we get through election cycles in both countries. >> last thing. for the part of the u.s., will it be that high on the list of priorities an things being talked about as we enter an election cycle now in the u.s.? >> well, it is certainly not as high as it was during the cold war. but because the obama administration's identified russian policy and i think that's the reason why the republican opposition has been attacking russian policy more vigorously an we should continue to see that. but it is not -- certainly not

at the level of iraq or afghanistan, china, the first year foreign policy issues. >> andrew kuchins, thank you as always for taking part in a story we believe is a bit "undercovered" right now. talk to you again. stay with us. have you heard about the new iphone assistant? it can help you find just about ig. hospital, food, evening the meaning of life if you ask it. but one thing it will not help you find. we'll tell you what it is and why it is causing all kinds of controversy next. onal constipat. that's why i take doctor recommended colace capsules. [ male announcer ] for certain medical conditions where straining should be avoided, colace softens the stool for effective relief from occasional constipation. go to colacecapsules.com for savings.

we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense.

apple's iphone 4s has set sales record and received much praise for software edition called siri, a voice activated certainly function that helps you find anything from a fast food restaurant to the latest weather forecast. however -- some are saying the creators of siri have an agenda because of one item that siri

can't seem to find. an abortion clinic. let me bring in now eli paris, author of the "new york times" best seller "the filter bubble," what the internet is hiding from you. also the executive director of moveon.org. if people ask siri where to find an abortion clinic, what kind of answers are they getting back? >> a lot of the time they aren't getting they answer at all. if you search for siri in new york city -- if you search nor an abortion in new york city, or family planning clinic, often people are reporting that they won't get any results coming up whatsoever. >> so this is what they are telling. they said in an interview with the "new york times," this is from apple, "these are not intentional omissions meant to offend anyone. it simply means that as we bring siri from beta to a final product we find places where we can do better around we will in the coming weeks." eli, i guess what's wrong with

that, this is new technology for apple. they are using -- i assume there are a number of different little things you could ask it to find and it can't find. do you buy their answer? >> well, i don't. the fact is that no one will probably ever know the full story here because apple doesn't make it software transparent or release the software. we won't know what's going on under the hood. but number one, this is an historic problem for family planning centers. media have always over the past often been very cagey about directing people -- directing women in particular to places where they can get access to the full range of family planning. but second, because we don't know for sure what the intentions are be we just have to look at the impact. the impact here is that siri will tell men where to find a strip club or viagra, but it won't help women find access to comprehensive family planning. that is painful really.

that's a big problem and apple should be doing a lot more to apologize for it and correct it immediate immediately. >> you think it will be a matter of time before it is corrected? >> i think i would be surprised if they really try to hold the line here on what is so harmful to so many women. this raises the concerns that people have about technology, that it is kind of a black box, you don't know on what basis it is making these decisions but it is making decisions for you tailoring how you see the world and in some cases like this one, ruling out a lot of options that a lot of women -- that are very important to a lot of women. this is a dangerous thing. >> there is no way -- last thing is, you want for make sure but there is no way that there's some obscure something you could be looking for and it can give you an answer to that either. it can't find everything for you. i know you're saying you don't believe apple when they say it, but can we give them the benefit of the doubt at all that this thing doesn't find everything for you.

>> well, again, maybe this is a software bug. but it does find viagra. it does find strip clubs and i think a lot of women are getting together online at signon.org and organize places voicing their concern with this because this is really important. this is about women planning their reproductive futures. siri should be able to get that right. >> when we hear from apple we will see if it is corrected later. eli, thank you so much for your time today. >> thank you for having me on. as we get close to the bottom of the hour, we'll turn to politics in a moment. anybody but romney. that is how so many of the republicans have been saying. anybody. is that newt gingrich? is that the somebody they are looking for? it is all "fair game" and it is next. [ alarm rings ]

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front-runn front-runner, newt gingrich is fair game. in florida he is surging ahead. a new poll out yesterday shows gingrich with a commanding 30% point lead over mitt romney. >> i think i would have thought originally it was going to be mitt and not mitt. i think it may turn out to be newt and not newt and that's a very different formula than, frankly -- we are at least 60 days ahead of where i thought we might be. >> all right. well republican strategist from washington for us, and in austin, democratic political consultant, ed espinoza. sherry, let me start with you. is this the biggest threat to mitt romney in this race so far, newt gingrich? >> yes, i think so far that that is the case. we had other candidates that have done their best to reach their high mark and still haven't been able to reach the

level of mitt romney. newt gingrich obviously by some polls that is now surpassed mitt romney causing mitt romney to change his entire strategy which i think is interesting. a lot of people think newt is overconfident, he is even arrogant. the thing about newt gingrich though, for those of us who have been around him for a lot of years, his arrogance is actually built on something. he has every reason to be confident. strong record. he knows what he can do so i think this is an exciting primary and we're now really getting into the serious stuff. >> ed, help us understand why this would be different from bachmann, from cain, from perry, an their rise and fall. how can newt rise and stay there? >> well, newt has got something going for him that the other candidates didn't have. he has a little bit of help from herman cain fading, he has a little bit of help from the new hampshire's major daily newspaper endorsing him but most importantly he has the benefit of being in the right place at the right time. at this point in an election cycle, whether it is a

presidential primary or any other election, voters start to become more pragmatic. if he stop flirting with other choices and they start to settle down in what they think is going to be a smart choice that fits their values. in this case you have a very conservative republican primary electorate. they don't like mitt romney and the next guy there is newt gingrich and we're about a month away from the first balloting. so time is definitely on his side. he is the biggest threat to romney right now. let's see if he can be sustain it. >> cheri, this poll out of south carolina, some even question whether or not he peaked a little too early. of course you want to peak on election day but he peaked a little too early. i had another political type tell me earlier that newt has a self-destruct button that he can hit any time he wants to. are we sure -- how sure are you as somebody who knows him he can hold on and not hit that button before iowa? >> t.j., every political figure has a self-destruct button they

can hit at any time and many of them do. i don't think that this is just a matter of timing. i think in the republican primary the two best candidates are at the top right now, that's how it is supposed to be. yes, i agree with the electorate flirted with these other candidates, but these guys have both earned their positions and they'll fight it to the end. i think it is going to be a race of ideas. this is a huge threat to barack obama. his poll numbers are lower than jimmy carter's were at that stage in his career. not just republican voters but obviously general election voters are looking at both of the top tier republican candidates very, very seriously and for the right reasons. it is on substance, it is on competence. >> ed, wrap this for me in 15 minutes. who do you want as a democrat to go up against? you want newt or you want mitt? >> bring them all. they're all weak. bill clinton was at the same point in 1995. he came back with an overwhelming victory in '96. we feel just as confident now as we did then. i think that whether it is mitt

or newt or anybody else, the president's got a good message and he'll carry the day. >> you heard him here first, he said bring them all, it is all "fair game." thank you both. tonight piers morgan will sit down with herman cain's lawyer, lin wood. that's at 9:00 eastern right here on cnn. you do not want to miss that one. joe biden is currently in the midst of his eighth trip to this country as vice president. what country are we talking about? we'll let you know as we go globe trekking next. mom ] scoot? your father loves your new progresso rich & hearty steak burger soup. [ dad ] i love this new soup. it's his two favorite things in one... burgers and soup. did you hear him honey? burgers and soup. love you. they're cute. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

since 2003, the u.s. and 39 other countries have sent troops to iraq. the number of troops peaked at 170,000 during the so-called surge in 2007. the u.s. is currently the only country with troops remaining. when president obama took office there were 144,000 troops in iraq, with some 11,000 remaining there. today is a day of tribute for troops in iraq taking place just a few weeks before u.s. troops complete will their withdrawal, a withdrawal that the vice president says has not been rushed. >> eight years. this is no rush.

over 4,500 dead. 30,000 wounded. this is no rush. 144,000 troops when we took office. now in a position, we have a highly trained iraqi military. they're training their police force. this is no rush. >> martin savidge was embedded with u.s. at the start of their campaign in 2003 and he joins me now. we talk about this ceremony today. what was the ceremony supposed to really symbolize for iraqis and americans? >> well, hello, t.j. i think the symbolism here is of course the first of what is going to be a number of ceremonies that are held. and it may be the only ceremony where you're going to see the iraqi leadership, the u.s. leadership there and vice president joe biden and of course the u.s. ambassador. then you have iraqi soldiers and american soldiers. everybody in the same room all standing and saluting the same thing which was the sacrifice of lives and by the thaefrt was

made by iraqis and by u.s. forces. i think that's the primary significance of the event that we saw today. very important, very symbolic and of course, for the iraqis, they very much were in control. that's the message that i think both sides want to leave here, is that it was the iraqis that put this ceremony together. it was the iraqi band that played "the star spangled banner" and whether there was the final salute to the troops and the loss of life it was an iraqi honor guard that did it. so clearly the indication, the torch is passing from the united states now to iraqis in control of their own fate. very symbolic there. >> that symbolism also carries over to who was allowed to cover this particular ceremony? >> well, yeah, there was a bit of confusion and difficulty. we had been told right up until just hours before the event that the international media, western media, will be allowed to attend, then suddenly last night at midnight the call came in and said, no, you will not be allowed to come.

don't even bother going to the checkpoint or enter the base where it is being hold because you will not be let in. we were told it was due to security and the fact that there were so many people attending there just wasn't enough room for us. so we watched it on television like many iraqis. >> martin savidge there for us, thank you, as always. turning now to the last presidential election. you remember it was the youth vote that trumped at the polls? but this year it could be the boomers. how their vote impacts the election. stay with me. to watch it for us. thank you so much, i appreciate it, i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense.

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tea party members, occupy protesters. you heard them all pretty loud and clear. now get ready for another group that knows a thing or two about being heard. boomers. many are veterans of past political wars and say they are more than ready for 2012. joe johns now on the boomer and their potential impact on the battle for the white house. >> reporter: the baby boom generation had its causes, like the vietnam war and civil rights. now as the boomers start turning 65, aging could be next on the agenda. judy leer with the gray panthers

activist movement hopes boomers will join her movement. >> we will fight. we will definitely fight for social security, medicare and medicaid and we will fight by writing letters, by marching, by telling the people who have to make those decisions, listen to us, too. listen to us. >> reporter: the politicians may already be getting the message. >> we got a lot of people that are baby boomers that are retiring now. >> reporter: almost every republican presidential candidate has a place in the stump speech to talk about aging baby boomers. >> we have baby boomers in their peak earning years. >> reporter: given all the lip service, it is pretty clear -- issues affecting the boomers are front and center this election year, things like medicare, medicaid, social security, long-term health care options for senior citizens. >> if we can get the right break-throughs in alzheimer's we would save from the federal government something on the order of $20 trillion over the life span of the baby boom generation. >> reporter: 78 million people or so born between 1946 and 1964

could be a powerful voting block for the politician with the write message. aging agent vis and researcher fernando torres gill sees a sleeping giant. >> i predict that the concerns about whether or not they will have a decent retirement, whether or not they will have a pension or savings and whether or not medicare and health care will be there for them, i believe that may sway baby boomers to put age above most of their other particular concerns. >> reporter: but cnn polling director keating holland says the jury is still out on whether baby boomers might start voting in lockstep on aging issues, and even if they do, it won't happen overnight. >> remember that even for senior citizens, the number one issue is not social security. the number one issue is the economy. >> reporter: still, age groups do form voting blocks. young voters turned out in droves for barack obama in 2008 and he's got to appeal to both old and young. >> as the baby boomers start to

retire in greater numbers, then health care costs continue to rise. the situation will get even worse. >> reporter: what no one wants to see is a battle of the ages in the voting booth, pitting old against young, generational warfare. judy lear of gray panthers -- >> i think we are smarter than that. i think the american people are smarter and i think young people and older are smarter. >> reporter: though in some cases already -- the writing is on the wall. joe johns, cnn, washington. the black eyed peas and kermit the frog will be there for the tree lighting ceremony at the white house. we went after kermit. kermit's going to join us live to talk about the night's events. he also has a new movie out. you do not want to miss what is going to be one of the biggest challenges of my journalistic career. also, san francisco forces mcdonald's to take the happy out of the happy meal. but the ban on happy meal toys

kind of backfired. we'll explain that after the break. but first, a real life christmas grinch has made an annual tradition of stealing. that suv, is stopped at a boy scout troop christmas tree lot in missouri. you see this? the woman apparently stole not one but two trees. get this. the truth scout master says this is the third straight year she's done this. he claims same suv. same woman. same thing every christmas. and for stealing christmas trees from boy scouts on church property during the holidays, that not only lands you on santa's naughty list, but we're pretty sure now, santa, the boy scouts and the cops and t.j. holmes hope that your 15 minutes will be up very soon. ♪ you're a mean one mr. grinch

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help pay for some of the rest. you could save up to thousands of dollars a year in out-of-pocket costs. and you can choose any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan could be an option to get the coverage you need at a competitive rate. so don't wait another minute. be sure to call today. call now for your free medicare guide and information kit about aarp medicare supplement insurance plans, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. i'll give you the stories headlines. heavy fog causing a major pileup on a state highway in tennessee. this is not just any pileup. this is ems reporting that 176 cars were involved in a black ice was partly to blame for the chain reaction.

at least one school bus with kids inside was hit. none of the children, however, required medical care. next stop, olympia, washington, where the government wants to reclassify marijuana as medical treatment. the governor said she has filed a petition with the u.s. drug administration. they want the government to list marijuana as a schedule 2 drug so it can be described and dismentioned as medicine. federal law does not allow it. and a church in pike county, kentucky getting a lot of heat. this is coming from our affiliate. the kentucky baptist church passed a proposal that bans interracial marriages and bars those couples from being church members. you're seeing one couple there. this couple will still be allowed to attend public worship but the couple you saw there, they said the church made the decision after the two of them attended a service together as a

couple. say goodbye to free toys inside your happy meals. at least if you live in san francisco. a new law kicks in today that prevents fast food joints from giving away toys unless their food meets certain nutritional requirements. the current happen meal fails to meet the veggie and fruit quota. how did they get around this? parents will have to request and pay ten cents for the toy. so the kids can still get the toy. the new law meant to curb childhood obesity will affect 50 restaurants in san francisco. now we have a lot of important guests on cnn day in and day out and certainly over the years, but none more special than the one we got coming up now. a rare interview with a very special guest. this next story comes to us out of d.c. near perhaps the most famous street address in all the land. of course we're about 1600 pennsylvania avenue where tonight, an 89-year-old tradition that stretches back to president calvin coolidge continues with the lighting of the national christmas tree. a lot of big names will be on

but none bigger than this guy. there he is. the green man himself, kermit the frog. young fellow, how are you doing? >> i'm doing very well. how are you? if i look over there, i can almost see you. >> do you see me there? >> yes. >> it's good to have you here. >> you've talked to -- i'm sure you've met presidents before. you just get used to this? is this just routine night for you tonight? >> it's always fun to meet presidents. i have in fact met several. but it's fun to do. i'm really excited to be here. i've never been a part of the tree lighting before. that's particularly fun. >> they have a lot of stars that will be there tonight. none bigger than you necessarily, but still who are some people you're looking forward to seeing tonight? >> well, one republic is this wonderful band of young guys. i heard them rehearsing this morning. that will be fun. i do actually get to read "twas the night before christmas" with the first lady. have you met the first

family before? >> i can't say i have. you would be surprised how easy it is for a frog to get security clearance. >> i am surprised how easy that is. how old are you, kermit? i don't even know. >> yeah. >> you look great. >> thank you very much. i try to work out and stay in shape. i am actually 55 years old. i know that's hard to believe and i got my start right here where i am today in washington, d.c. >> is that right? >> you're not retired. you're not anywhere close to retiring. >> no, no. >> you've got a busy schedule now. what is this? this latest project of yours. >> well, we've just done a wonderful new movie called oddly enough, "the muppets" and it is doing quite well. it just came out. old frogs never die. they just croak. that's a big joke back in the swamp. >> that's pretty good. what are you around at in the studio there? what is around you right now in our studio? >> i'm absolutely alone except i think i see wolf blitzer over there. >> is wolf there? >> he's hanging out.

we're old friends. >> can you tell him to come on in? i have him next. tell him to come on in. >> i don't know if you can see me. >> we gotcha. i am so excited, t.j., that kermit, he is a journalist like all of us are journalists. he is a report he. kermit, you've done some major reporting over the years, right? >> yes, i have. one of the most, journalistic integrity. that's the name of the game. bag when i worked with rap does unzel behind the scenes. >> you are really good. i know it will be very exciting. this is a political season and a lot of people will be voting right now. you're going to be reporting on all of this. >> i'm going to try. i'm afraid as a frog, we cannot vote. >> really! >> no. i am an amphibian american. i am proud of it. i am taking a certain issue to discuss with the president if i can. that's interspecies dating which evidently miss piggy is for. i'm not so sure about.

>> so you'll raise that issue when you see the president? >> yes, sir, i will. i want to tell all of the animals out there in the world and any people who might date pigs that it will get sorted out, folks. >> it's very exciting for me. do you know what my first name is. >> i do. the first time i ever heard it, i thought you were an actual wolf. >> that's what i mean. it is exciting for this wolf to meet this frog. >> you should have your own news net boring. it should be wolf news. >> do you think? >> i think so. >> what about frog news? >> maybe we can join up. >> i'll let you have top billing. wolf and frog. >> frog and wolf. what do you think? >> i think wolf i've seen you interview a lot of people over the years and i'm hearing better answers coming from kermit right now than a lot of them. >> frogs make the strangest people. it's strange. >> yeah. you are good. i've seen you grow over the years, too. you've matured. >> i have, i have. >> maybe 20 or 30 years ago, you were not the frog that you are today. >> i was not. i was barely out of being a tad

pole. i had just dropped my tail and grown my legs. and now here i am on dry land with you. >> what advice do you have for younger frogs out there who are just beginning this whole experience? >> well, you know, it's tough time in the world today as a frog. if you're small and green, sometimes you have to get comfortable with being green. and then you go on like i did to try to find the rainbow connection, you know? i'm not saying you find it but you have to look. you have to keep looking. >> that's good advice for a lot of young aspiring frogs out there. are you going to be the only frog at the christmas tree lighting ceremony later tonight? >> well, i'm the only talking frog there. i think there will be others hiding in the bushes. in fact there is a whole family of frogs that actually lives in the tree. >> really! >> yes. there are tree frogs and they're living there. they're going to look after the thing when the national rangers aren't quite there. >> it will be very exciting. i hope when you go through the security and they, the magnetometers. >> i have no metal on me at all.

i'm not even wearing clothing. it is wonderful at airport security to go through naked. you don't to have take off your shoes. >> no. i don't even wear shoes. do you have a question? >> my question was for you. i was going to ask him a political question but i know he doesn't want to get into that. political headlines. is that all right? you want to get into politics? >> if i can't answer, i simply won't. just like all those candidates. >> we're going to have kermit one of these days, i'm predicting this, t.j. here in the situation room in our strategy session. and we're going to have him go against somebody else. i don't know. who do you think would be a good downer point for you in the strategy session? >> i have to tell you, newt is from the swamp. there are other newts in the swamp, too. >> the next time i interview him, maybe you'll join me in the question. >> you bet i will. you bet. >> that will generate some excitement. >> we both speak amphibian. that will be good. >> wolf, always good to talk to you. wolf and a frog.

kermit, good to talk to you. kermit, good luck with the new movie. thank you so much. we'll have more from kermit, of course, throughout the day and of course at the ceremony tonight. for right now, brooke baldwin, i really don't know how to transition to you cleanly. >> i have been pretty much myself and the rest of the folks in the studio dying of laughter. and cannot believe i just saw wolf blitzer and kermit the frog carry on a conversation for like a good three minutes. talking politics. love it. i'll take it. let's go get you caught up on everything news. rapid fire. beginning with stocks. losing their steam right now. right now if we can take look at the dow. it is up just a smidge. five points, right above that 12,000 level. keep your eye on the numbers. obviously this is quite the difference that we saw in regard to yesterday's rally. fears today are over the europe debt. and that's really driving the market right now and it doesn't exactly help much that the number of americans filling for first time up employment

benefits is up compared to last week. they're actually at their highest level in a month. in southern california, santa ana winds are causing quite a mess. 30 to 50-mile-an-hour winds knocking down trees. power lines hitting cars. more than 80,000 customers lost power overnight including parts of l.a.x., the airport in l.a. more than 20 flights were diverted because of the wind which blew debris on to two different runways. as you can imagine, the threat of fire is high because of the windy and dry conditions there. and i want to take you to tennessee. this is a tough one. this has been a deadly multicar pileup north of nashville, blamed on the heavy fog. 176 vehicles were involved in this chain collision. seven ambulances were sent to the scene. one person was killed and more than a dozen others were injured. police say there were actually three separate chain reaction incidents in at least 50 cars had severe damage and had to be towed away. a lawyer for jerry sandusky

says the former penn state coach is not considering a plea deal. attorney general joe amendola on the right side of the screen responded to a newspaper article quoting him saying he might have to talk to sandusky about a possible plea if more sex abuse allegations are made. amend ola said he was responding to a what if question. he said there has been no discussion of any kind of plea deal. near baghdad, at least 13 people were killed by a car bomb at a fruit and vegetable market. at least 31 others were injured. the continued withdrawal of u.s. forces from iraq. nearly all american troops will be out of that country by the end of this year and just in a couple of minutes, we'll take you live to baghdad for today's ceremony, the end of the u.s. military involvement in iraq. the man at the center of a missing woman case in aruba back

in the united states. gary giordano's first stop. an interview this morning on "good morning america." giordano denies having anything to do with the disappearance of his traveling companion robyn gardner. he also explains the big life insurance policy he bought for himself and gardner. >> i can't unselect robyn. when it came down to the accident insurance, you can't unselect her. so when i selected that, i was selecting it for me and she got the same thing. >> if he had to do it all over again, giordano said he would not have gone to aruba. the man who shot president ronald reagan wants to spend more time outside of a mental hospital. hearings are underway to decide if he will get that. lawyers for john hinckley jr. say he is not dangerous, but prosecutors say he used one outing to search out books about ronald reagan and presidential assassins. a federal judge will decide if hinckley's unsupervised outings can be lengthen asked the eventual goal would be releasing

hill from the hospital to live near his mother. some frightening moments. have you seen this video during the time-out? this was during the michigan state basketball game. see the girl fall there. taylor young. she falls during this routine. lands flat on her face. she was carried out. she was carried out on a stretcher. she did give the two thumbs up to the crowd. there it is. and reportedly she is doing a-okay today. we are just getting started here. a number of stories coming at you in two minutes. in america's most in demand careers. we provide you with instructors who are professionals working in the fields they teach. it's an education designed for today, from a university that holds the same level of institutional accreditation as america's top schools. experience the university of phoenix difference at phoenix.edu.

[♪...] >> announcer: now get a $250 airfare credit, plus save up to 65%. call 1-800-sandals. certain restrictions apply. at the end of this year, one month from now, the u.s. military will be out of iraq. only 13,000 american troops still remain in country and

that's down from the high of 170,000 during the surge. in baghdad, one of saddam hussein's former palaces, vice president joe biden paid tribute to the contributions and the sacrifices of both u.s. and iraqi troops over the eight and a half years of war. more than 4,000 u.s. service members lost their lives. another 30,000 were wounded. but as we mentioned, at the top of the hour, the situation in iraq remains dangerous and very volatile. a car bomb today at this market north of baghdad killed at least 13 people and wounded dozens of others. other violence throughout the country today claimed another seven lives. i want to go live to baghdad to martin savidge. we're going to work on getting martin in just a moment. we'll talk about the sense from a number of the military men and women will their feelings as they are leaving iraq. we'll move on to some pretty terrifying news about china.

a new study suggests that country may have thousands of secret nuclear warheads, and what is even more interesting is where they're being hidden. also, are you wearing your red today? it is world aids day. president obama has pledged an additional $50 million to help fight the aids virus. we're going to show you exactly how that chunk of money will be used. those stories and more next. [ male announcer ] this is lara. her morning begins with arthritis pain. that's a coffee and two pills. the afternoon tour begins with more pain and more pills. the evening guests arrive. back to sore knees. back to more pills. the day is done but hang on... her doctor recommended aleve. just 2 pills can keep arthritis pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is lara who chose 2 aleve and fewer pills for a day free of pain.

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think nuclear arms race. if you think cold war as in russia and the u.s., that is so last century. in fact if this new study is correct, it is china that has been putting all kinds of new wealth into a huge nuclear arsenal. arsenal,le fear, could trigger

the next arms race. an arsenal so big, well, let me let cnn correspondent chris lawrence show you. >> while the chinese were building these tunnels, a georgetown professor was digging into china. >> the students downloaded 200 howard of chinese video. >> dr. philip and his team of students have produced the largest report on china's tunnels. china admits they were dug by a secretive branch of its military, responsible for deploying ballistic missiles in nuclear warheads. >> they had 3,000 miles of these tunnels. 3,000 miles. >> reporter: can you put that in any perspective? >> imagine a tunnel 30 feet by 20 feet high running from nova scotia totijuana. >> reporter: he used to look for weaknesses in the old soviet union. based on the size of these

tunnels, he said china could have as many as 3,000 nuclear warheads. >> the problem with the study and the way that it comes to this estimate is that the students and the professor make the assumption that because china is working on this system of underground tunnels, this must automatically mean that they're working on new nuclear weapons. >> reporter: policy analyst lacy olson and others question the georgetown team's methods. olson said suggesting that china has 3,000 weapons is a huge jump from the current estimate of a few hundred warheads and could lead rival asian nations to start an arms race. >> these lead to us estimates that could potentially impact foreign policy in a very negative way. >> reporter: but students who slogged through 200 hours of video and translated more than a million words disagree. >> seeing hundreds of thousands of chinese men who work to build these things and hearing their

stories and seeing how much effort they put into this is another issue and shows how important this is to the chinese military. >> reporter: they may provoke an arms race. even unintentionally. >> no matter how many nuclear weapons you believe china has, the team's research did yield some fascinating revelations including how china would use disguised rail cars to transport some of its long range missiles in secret. cnn, the pentagon. >> thank you. it is world aids day. it is an event so huge it is bringing two presidents, a rock star and our very own chief medical correspondent, also a neurosurgeon. to raise awareness of aids, all around the world people are uniting in the fight against the disease and today president obama pledged an additional $50 million to combat the epidemic. >> the fight is not over. not by a long shot.

the rate of new infections may be going down elsewhere but it is not going down here in america. the infection rate here has been holding steady for over a decade. there are communities in this country being devastated still by this disease. when new infections among young black gay men increase by nearly 50% in three years, we need to do more to show them that their lives matter. when latinos are dying sooner than other groups, when black women feel forgotten even though they account for most of the new cases among women. >> in addition to our current president, also form he president george w. bush joined the discussion via satellite. >> no greater priority and this is something our american citizens must understand and our government must understand. there is no greater priority than living out the admonition, to whom much is given, much is

required. we're a blessed nation in the united states of america, and i believe we are required to support effective programs that save lives. god bless you. >> activists say this is the beginning of the end of aids. here is bono. >> what we're actually talking about when we say the beginning of the end of aids is the sort of, a mathematical point that you get. a point of infection in the disease where it is possible to lower infection rates to less than the people that you're treating. it used to be that for everyone person you treated, two people became infected. now with the combination of getting people these antiviral drugs as soon as they're diagnosed, male circumcision is another breakthrough and getting pregnant we will those drugs very early, you can actually cut those infections right down and begin the end of this disease. and as i say it, it is really, i

can't even believe the words are coming out of my mouth. 30 years, 30 million funerals later, on the 30th anniversary we just have the end in sight. >> big picture here, more than 1 million people in the united states are currently living with hiv. 50,000 more become infected each and every year. a woman is raped by a relative, impregnated, imprisoned for adultery and is now raising her daughter in jail. this is happening in afghanistan. we have been telling you this story of a woman we're called calling golnaz. we will have her attorney after the break. first, today's list. the top five most corrupt countries in the world. based on perception only. the 2011 corruption perception index by the transparency international coalition. they gathered information on surveys based upon bribery, embezzlement, number five, uzbekistan. number 4, afghanistan, number 3,

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we have been giving you this list of the most corrupt countries in the world. this is taken from the index by the coalition. to revisit number 5. uzbekist uzbekistan, then afghanistan, myanmar, number two, north korea. the number one most corrupt country in the world, somalia. now back to iraq whereas you know, thousands of american troops will be leaving by the end of next month. one convoy, one soldier at a time. our own martin savidge is there. take a look. >> reporter: if the war in iraq has a finish line, then camp virginia is it. the last six weeks as many as 350 vehicles a day have been rolling into this remote base in the kuwaiti desert, delivering soldiers and equipment. >> no water, no mres.

>> reporter: here teams workday and night guiding convoys through a series of stops. each one like an assembly line in reverse, taking off as as they say, downloading equipment accumulated over years of war. >> what sort of stuff are they getting out at this particular point? >> they're getting any kind of oil fuel, batteries, anything that was not issued to them or that they bought, they're downloading here. >> reporter: everything is sorted and collected. to be thrown out, recycled or put back in service. we brought to you this motor pool because it is one of the few places where you can go to get a sense of how much we're talking about. how many vehicles, how many trucks, how much stuff. and this is just the tip of the iceberg. camp virginia has the capacity to house close to 7,000 troops and more than 5,000 vehicles. and even though officials say they're below those levels, they admit, it has been challenging

keeping up with what's coming out of iraq. >> it is very busy. and i will say that we're making use of every available cot we have. all the space that we have. but it's going really well. >> at ease. welcome to camp virginia. >> reporter: there are signs of strain. the base has had to greatly increase housing and office space and the dining hall now remains open 24 hours a day just to keep everyone fed. the goal is to move the soldiers from convoy to a flight back to the u.s. within five to eight days. but officers admit, it can sometimes take longer. despite such problems, morale remains high. because as every soldier who makes it here knows, the next stop is home. martin savidge, cnn, camp virginia, kuwait. >> thank you. from iraq we'll take to you a developing story out of afghanistan. in an american lawyer connected to the story. she is standing by live to tell me the latest. but here is what we know as of right now. today afghan president hamid karzai ordered the release of a 19-year-old woman.

this woman here. if you watch this enough, we have told you her story. she was accused of adultery and imprisoned after a married man raped her. as in, we followed her plight very closely. i want to take you back to our original reporting. an unbelievable story. it was filed by our own nick peyton walsh. >> reporter: she remembers clearly the smell of her rapist's clothes. >> translator: he had filthy clothes on. when my mother came out, he wept into the house and closed the doors and windows. i started screaming but he shut me that by putting his hand on my mouth. >> reporter: her rapist was the cousin. in their society this 19-year-old was also blamed. her rape, sex with a married man, was seen as adultery by the courts. and she was sentenced to 12 years in jail. to her, there is only one way out. a dreadful choice.

>> translator: i was asked if i wanted to start a new life by getting released by marrying this man. my answer was that one man dishonored me and i want to stay with that man. >> reporter: inside the prison walls she agreed to be interviewed with her face hidden. here she can't escape her attacker. her daughter is the child of the rape. >> translator: my daughter is a little innocent child. who knew i would have a child in this way? a lot of people told me that after your daughter is born, give it to someone else. but my aunt told me to keep her as proof of my innocence. >> since that report first aired we've had a huge outcry at cnn. the u.s. state department took a stand and afghan authorities reduced the woman's sentence from 12 years down to three years. but that still did not quiet the critics. today came the announcement from afghan president hamid karzai that the victim may go free. apparently on conditions.

so with more, let's go live to kabul to the rape victim's attorney. she is kim motley. she is an american from milwaukee. a form he miss wisconsin who finds herself in kabul. kim motley, if you can, what is your client's situation right now? >> right now, and thank you for having me. right now gulnaz is still locked up at the kabul women's prison. she has been informed today by at least the ministry of justice that, and the attorney general's office and the supreme court that they're looking into her case. she spoke with them. they asked her questions. unfortunely i was not allowed into the prison to be present for that questioning. but her situation right now is that the judiciary committee has agreed that she should be released and that she should be pardoned. so that with no conditions. if, from what i understand, they did ask whether or not she wants to marry the guy.

but whether or not that happens is not a condition of her release. >> so if gulnaz would like to walk free conditionless, she can. >> absolutely. i can say with 100% insurance that she has told me on tuesday, which was actually the last time that i talked to her, that she, if she was given a free choice, that she does be want to marry this guy. and she has told me also that she would like to marry an educated man. so gulnaz does want to be released. she wants to be released without conditions. and it looks like that is what the presidential palace has also agreed to do. >> so if that is what happens, if she is released, should she return to her village in afghanistan? obviously there's an issue of safety. you know the situation better than i. might her life be in danger because she was raped? >> well, she and i have talked

about her being released and where she will go. so there is a place that she is going to go. i know where that location is. we've talked about it. we're not going to share that with the public for her safety but she does have a safe place to go. she has a safe place to be, to get there. so it is all ready and waiting for her. >> so she is not going home. understandably you don't want to give away the safe location but she is not going back to her home village? >> unfortunately, i can't disclose that. she is just going to a safe place. i've agreed to personally take her there. and it's a safe place. >> kim, in terms of the -- >> i have no intentions of putting her in that situation. >> i won't even push it any more. i don't want to put her in danger whatsoever. do the authorities in afghanistan, do they accept that your client was raped? number one.

and number two does afghan law allow for putting rape victims in prison simply based upon they were raped? is that how it works? >> well, i think that definitely is how it has worked with gulnaz's case. at least with the first and second court. according to the elimination of violence against women act, it describes rape as a person who has been dishonored. and in the interview that she did with cnn, clearly she indicated that she was dishonored woman. now whether or not the government officials agree that she was raped according to western standards is irrelevant. according to afghan law, the legal definition of rape includes women that have been dishonored. >> dishonored. >> i believe frankly that she was raped, i believe frankly that she was raped according to western standards though. i believe she was raped frankly according to western standards. >> i understand. and i want to move off gulnaz

for a moment. we were curious about your own story. how did you wind up in afghanistan? how does a form he miss wisconsin find herself working as an attorney in kabul which clearly has a system of justice as you point out. the western versus what you're experiencing there in afghanistan. so, so totally different from ours. >> well, i came here originally with a justice program that was funded by the u.s. department of state. and while i was here, i went to visit many prisons and got to know and meet a lot of accused people and hear their stories. and i was hearing, especially from foreign people, some of the human rights and frankly, due process violations that were being repeated over and over and over again. so from that experience, and also based on my experience prior to six years prior to being here, being a defense attorney, a combination of missing court, a combination of wanting to help out and a

combination of wanting a challenge is pretty much what has kept me here. and for cases such as gulnaz's, frankly, which is a case setting precedent for afghan women which i think is extremely important. especially knowing that the bond conference is coming soon. it is really a strong statement by the presidential palace to release her and to offer her clemency. i think it is a statement against women that are in her situation that perhaps they should not be treated in the legal system the way that gulnaz has been treated. >> to be clear, it's precedent setting not because she was raimd and thus the courts considered it adultery. therefore she wound up in jail. it is precedent setting because now she is being given this conditionless choice to leave. >> it's precedent for that because she has been given this condition with choice. it is also precedence because the president, president karzai, as i understand it, has granted

her clemency. is granting her to be released in addition to judicial, the judicial committee that went to go see her today. and also, frankly, while i was standing outside the walls of the prison today trying to get in to see her, i was told that the judicial committee has also been ordered to look at all the women's cases that are in the prison and to talk to all the women. so this has been a huge, huge case. not just for gulnaz and her daughter but for afghan women to protect their rights here for adultery cases in similar type circumstances. >> that is tremendous that this case of gulnaz, your client, this 19-year-old woman, is serving as a catalyst for other women in this jail. how many other women are like gulnaz, women raped and imprisoned as adulterers? >> well, what i can say. i don't know the exact figures, unfortunately. what i can say from the prison at gulnaz, almost a third of the

women are in for moral crime. that's adultery type cases, kidnapping cases, things like that. kidnapping and running away cases. often those are women trying to run away from home from their own protection. so from what i've seen, a third of cases are for moral crimes such as adultery, running away, and kidnapping. and again, i'm encouraged that the presidential judiciary committee is reviewing cases of different women and talking to different women that are locked up within the afghan justice system. and i do want to offer my assistance in pointing out cases to them where women have been mistreated by the justice system. there is another woman, farita, that was also unfairly treated. so that is what i know. >> kim, quickly, i know you're frustrated and you can't get

inside that prison, that jail. what's the time frame? any idea when gulnaz might be released? >> unfortunately at this time, i don't know the time frame. but i hope it will be, obviously, very soon. we'll see. >> well, thank you so much. kim motley for us from kabul. and kudos to nick peyton walsh for finding this story in the first place. and here's what else we have coming up over the course of the next 90 minutes. hurricane force winds, cars lifted up, planes unable to land and it is not letting up. the news is now. >> the ban on horse meat in america, lifted. but that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to see it in the grocery store or on menus. and we know you're fired up about this one. now the news, a 103-year-old homeowner has been waiting for.

>> i love this place. >> will she keep her home? then, nothing gets new yorkers red-faced like traffic. president obama's campaign collision with -- 2, 1! >> christmas in today's political pop. [ screaming ] [ zapping ]

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some new information just in to us here at cnn. it pertains to the case of that 70-year-old american who was kidnapped in pakistan. the leader of al qaeda has claimed responsibility for the capture of warren winestein. according to the website that monitors terrorist activity. you may remember our reporting on the disappearance of winestein. he was and living in la or.

neighbors posed as delivering food. they pistol whipped him and tied up his guards. when we get more information, we'll share it with you on cnn. boomers. depending on when your birthday is, this one word can mean something different. it is a person between born between 1946 and 1964. for some of you that translates into a bunch of if not old or older, more mature as my mother prefers, people. here's the thing. boomers are this country's largest generation. and as joe johns reports, while the youth folk captured the last presidential election, this go-around it could be the boomers. >> reporter: the baby boom generation had its causes like the vietnam war and civil

rights. now as the boomers start turning 65, aging could be next on the agenda. judy leer with the gray panthers activist group hopes boomers join her fight. >> we will fight. we will definitely fight for social security, medicare, medicaid. we will fight by writing letters, by marching, by telling the people who have to make those decisions, listen to us, too. listen to us. >> reporter: the politicians may already be getting the message. >> we have a lot of people that are babyboomers retiring now. >> reporter: almost every republican presidential candidate has a place in the stump speech to talk about babyboomers will. >> we have babyboomers in their peak earning years. >> reporter: given all the lip service, it is pretty clear, issues affecting the boomers are front and center this election year. thing like medicare, medicaid, social security, long term health care options for senior citizens. >> if we can get the right breakthroughs in alzheimer's, we

would save for the federal government something on the order of 20 trillion over the life span of the baby boom generation. >> reporter: 78 million people born between 1946 and 1964 could be a powerful voting bloc for the politician with the right message. aging activist and researcher fernando torres-gil sees a sleeping giant. >> i predict that the concerns about whether or not they will have a decent retirement, whether or not they will have a pension or savings and whether or not medicare and health care will be there for them, i believe that may sway babyboomers to put age above most of their other particular concerns. >> reporter: but cnn polling director says the jury is still out on whether babyboomers might start voting in lock step on aging issues and even if they do, it won't happen overnight. >> remember that even for senior citizens, the number one issue is not social security. the number one issue is the

economy. >> reporter: still, age groups do form voting blocs. young voters turned on out in droves for obama in 2008. >> as the babyboomers start to retire in greater numbers, and health care costs continue to rise, the situation will get even worse. >> reporter: what no one wants to see is a battle of the ages in the voting booth, pigt old against young. generational warfare. judy leer of gray panthers is optimistic. >> i think we're smarter than that. i think the american public is smarter. i think younger people and older people are smarter. >> reporter: in some ways the writing is already on the wall. cnn, washington. a 103-year-old georgia woman and her 83-year-old daughter get saved by strangers right before being evicted from their home. when i say right before, i mean right before. i'm talking moving vans, law enforcement were at her door. there is a twist to the story. you will see what i mean after the break.

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selling fishcakes from the back of his truck, and in 1942, of course, they were sent away. after the war, as a japanese coming back from camp, he started a little store on main street in seattle. of course they needed some money, and bank of america was the only bank who would talk to my father. and we've stayed with bank of america. we have four stores now, three in the pacific northwest and one in oregon. my parents would not believe how popular it is now. and last chance at medicare open enrollment, too.

what do you mean? it ends december 7th. if you haven't reviewed your medicare plan choices yet, well, it's getting late. medicare gives you free cancer screenings and wellness visits, and 50% off brand name prescription drugs when you're in the donut hole... it's all part of the health care law. december 7th? i better get goin'! [ male announcer ] medicare open enrollment ends soon. call 1-800-medicare or visit medicare.gov to learn more. this next story renews a little bit of faithful this woman lives in this little red house with her 83-year-old daughter. she's been in this home for more than half her life. and she has been battling for two years with the bank that wants to take this home away from her. so this week, the sheriff's

deputies movers were hired by the bank, sent to evict this 103-year-old and her daughter. but when they got to the house, and saw her, they capitol go throu, they couldn't go through with it. the deputies and the movers left. hall said she never worried about being kicked out of her home that she calls a mansion. >> god don't let you do wrong. cheat folks. the bible said once a man, i'm a child, 104 years old. going to put me outdoors at 104. >> how long has this been your home? >> 53 years. >> how much do you love this community and this house? >> love it. it's a mansion. >> also, the bank has agreed to work with hall and her family to help her keep her home. now to politics. presidential candidate ron paul up leashing this new ad painting

a fellow candidate as a flip-flopper. wolf blitzer has the update. good to see you. >> nice to see you, brooke. thanks very much. it is a tough ad. ron paul who is doing relatively well in the republican race for the white house, he is beginning to lash out now at arguably the new front-runner, newt gingrich, calling him a flip-flopper. he released an ad earlier in the day. let me play a little clip for you and our viewers. >> do you want to put people in jail? let's look at the politicians who profited from the environment. the politicians who profited from the environment. >> newt gingrich on the defense for taking $1.5 million. >> after he left congress. at least $1.6 million. >> $1.6 million. some of it just before the housing market collapsed. >> newt gingrich can ridicule fannie mae and freddie mac publicly while privately pocketing millions. >> lobbying. that's what newt gingrich was doing. >> republican candidate ron paul

goes after the news media as well, suggesting the news media is giving newt gingrich right now a free pass. he said it is a waste of time to be so much about herman cain and the sexual allegations against them. instead, everybody should be railing he said against herman cain for his position on the federal reserve. the fact that he once worked for the federal reserve. that's a serious issue. all of these others, tangential. by the way, he will be in the situation room with me tomorrow. ron paul, we'll have a chance to discuss this and a lot of other issues as well. meanwhile, unrelated, in baghdad, the u.s. getting ready to withdraw the remaining 13,000 troops by the end of the year. the vice president joe biden is there. at the height of the u.s. infulment, there were 170,000 troop going back to the war starting in march 2003. i was in kuwait when those troops began going in to remove

saddam hussein. now it's about to end. it is not exactly the way a lot of folks wanted it to end. they wanted u.s. troops to remain. at least a relatively small number to train, to help the iraqis get through what will probably be a difficult period. the iraqi government of nuri al maliki flatly refused to grant immunity to any u.s. troops staying in iraq. as a result, all u.s. troops will be out by christmas. they'll be happy. we'll see what happens in iraq on the long run. >> thank you. we'll chat next hour about what else you have coming up. we'll talk about that little kermit the frog moment as well. also coming up, tracy gold on the show. remember her from her days of course in the '80s hit growing pains? you might remember she had struggles with anorexia. but she has now forced it out of the shadows into this new light. a brave light with this new reality tv show. tracy gold, good enough to stand up live. we'll talk about this new show that starts tomorrow.

early stages of cancer, and it's something that we're extremely proud of. you see someone who is saved because of this technology, you know that the things that you do in your life matter. if i did have an opportunity to meet a cancer survivor, i'm sure i could take something positive away from that. [ jocelyn ] my name is jocelyn. and i'm a cancer survivor. [ woman ] i had cancer. i have no evidence of disease now. [ woman #2 ] i would love to meet the people that made the machines. i had such an amazing group of doctors and nurses, it would just make such a complete picture of why i'm sitting here today. ♪ [ man ] from the moment we walk in the front door, just to see me -- not as a cancer patient, but as a person that had been helped by their work, i was just blown away. life's been good to me. i feel like one of the luckiest guys in the world. ♪

you know her best as the child star who grew up on the tv show "growing pains" playing carol seever. behind the scenes, she had a dark secret. gold had a very brave, very personal battle against anorexia. it began at 19. it consumed her. the disease almost took her life. at one point in time she weighed all of 80 pounds. she had to be hospitalized. she recovered. she is now an advocate for others who suffer from the same problem. she now has a new series, it

debuts tomorrow on lifetime television. >> my name is tracey gold. i'm one of the lucky ones. i recovered. 20 years ago, my obsession with food, my anorexia nearly took my life. now my mission is to help others battle their own eating disorders. >> wow! tracey gold live in los angeles to talk about your new series. you're calling it starving secrets. it's great to see you and to hear how you've come out of all this. for us to understand where you are today, if you can, just take me back to where it all began. you were 19. you were on the show. so i was reading that some of the producers were comments about your weight? >> yeah. there became jokes in the script about my weight. you know, like kirk cameron's character would say, fat jokes about carol seever. and they were hurtful and all of that. at one point they wanted me to lose weight. they put me on a diet. they did. i went on a diet. and i lost a lot of weight.

i lost about 20 pounds and the accolades, the comments that i got and everybody was just saying you look so great. that it kind of spiraled me into this pattern, i never want to go back to that girl that everybody was making fun of. i want to stay this way. and it was really a diet that went out of control. and it escalated to a point where i got so sick that i had to leave the show and go into a hospital. and it was a long, long jumpy back to health. >> and you're healthy and you've said in that clip, that you've recovered. you're a wife, a mom of four boys. is this something that you're very could gnizant of? >> i consider myself recovered. it is a big discussion in the eating disorder world whether you can be in recovery or recovered. but i am on the side of recovered because i believe that you need to live your life as a

healthy full person. but i am also aware that it is my achilles' heel and i keep that in mind and try to stay healthy and i try to skip meals and all of that. >> so given your past and where you are today, on the side of recovered, let me set up this tv show. you're calling it starving secrets. you and this group of specialists, you're helping girls with this treatment process. we've pulled a clip. we're going to see melissa. one of the girls you're trying to help. >> i go to bed at 7:00 because i don't want to deal with the fact that i'm hungry. i'm just scared to feel things. i don't know how to deal with them. and i've been dealing with it by using food for so long that i'm scared i will always feel like this. >> so tracey, who is melissa? who are these girls that you found? >> these girls are struggling. they're at a cross roads in their life. melissa is a girl from new jersey who had moved to los angeles. she had bulimic.

she was at a food bank there because she was so, she was having trouble with money and she would get the food from the food bank. and she would purge. she was in a horrible, horrible cycle. they're desperate for help. and they need to do something different. and i'm a believer that sometimes, the jumpy that i took, i became so public with my disease. i think it helped me stay recovered and stay strong because i've been able to get strength from helping other people. and i'm hoping that they gain the same thing. that they'll get from this show that people look to them as like an inspiration. and that is my hope and goal for them in doing this show. >> to be an inspiration. my other question, all of us have known someone. so my other question is, what is the message to those, not who suffer from anorexia and bulimia, but those with family members and friends who suffer. >> that's why i feel like this

show can resonate for everybody. i think that whether you are suffering or you know somebody, and also, everybody in our society at some point or another has had body image issues, has had food issues. and i think everybody can relate to it. and i think that if you have somebody that you love who is suffering from it, i think it kind of helps you get into their head watching this show. you get to have a better understanding. and these women are, this is not a glamorous disease. these women are suffering. and they're showing the face of eating disorders in a way that i don't think main stream society looks at it. i think they think it is this skinny girl on the red carpet and the beautiful dress. and these girls and these women are not. >> reporter: from 19 to 43. all walks of life. >> they are. they really show that you it can be the person next to you. that you would have no idea is suffering from this. >> i hope it resonates with

people out there. i wish you the best of luck. in this moment if i can say, if you out there know someone suffering from an eating disorder, we wanted to put this number on the screen. toll-free. this is national eating disorders helpline. tracey gold, thank you, so so much. best of luck. her show, starving secrets. it debuts tomorrow. 10:00 p.m. eastern on lifetime. a small country church has voted to keep interracial couples out of its congregation. >> it's racist. >> that man's daughter is involved in one such relationship. you'll want to hear the family's story and what has been going on in this house of worship to keep some people out. [ male announcer ] still getting dandruff? neutrogena® t/gel shampoo defeats dandruff after just one use. t/gel shampoo. it works. neutrogena®.

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