has no age limits. ♪ just keep pushing on >> reporter: from the first moments on the red carpet -- >> these are real celebrities to me. you know, these are the heroes. >> reporter: to the final announcement of the night. >> the 2011 cnn hero of the year is robin limb. >> reporter: a global spotlight shined the light on 10 remarkable heroes, everyday people with big hearts and rock solid determination for changing the world. aj hammer, cnn, los angeles. cnn newsroom with kyra phillips starts right now. good morning, kyra. look who i brought for you. >> who is this guy? great to see you. nice job with the heisman trophy winner. i knew you'd have to get it. . isn't he wonderful? >> remarkable young man. we start this morning with politics. newt gingrich firing shots. mitt romney on the defense. we are just three weeks away from the first presidential contest of the 2012 campaign, and the attacks are in full force.

>> let's be candid. the only reason you didn't become a career politician is you lost to teddy kennedy in 1994. >> wait a second. now wait a second. that's -- wait a second. >> paul steinhauser is joining us from des moines. gingrich survived. how did he do it? >> exactly, kyra. listen, newt gingrich, the reason he jumped in the polls and surged the last couple of months is because he has been doing very well in these debates. we saw it again saturday night. as everybody suspected, newt gingrich now that he is a front-runner here in the first state to hold a contest in the caucus of primary calendars, we knew he would come under attack. he did. from mitt romney and from the others. but he seemed to have the measured response each time. now, this squabble that you just played over the debate saturday night has been continuing between gingrich and romney

since then. they also argued saturday night over gingrich's controversial comments on the palestinian people being an invented people. this morning, mitt romney on the campaign trail in new hampshire talked about gingrich's erratic 3w5i6r. behavior. and said he is campaigning more like a candidate and less like a president. this tough talk between the two candidates, more from romney directed towards gingrich, i think will continue for some time. another debate thursday night right back here in iowa. >> and also let's not forget the backfire for mitt romney. let's take a listen. >> rick, i'll tell you what. $10,000? $10,000 bet? >> i'm not in the betting business. >> oh, ok. >> yeah. and, paul, as you know, many have said, hey, wait a minute, he's mormon. he shouldn't be betting. do you think voters are going to remember this moment? >> a lot of people are talking about that moment. listen, romney and perry have

been battling over this. and it was perry's claim that romney in the latest edition of his book talked about support for the health care individual mandate. so that's why romney said, listen, i'll bet you. and perry said no. a lot of people after that moment happened said, this is maybe not a great thing for mitt romney, a multimillionaire, trying to relate to average people struggling in tough economic times. this morning, in an interview, romney said, you know what? i made that outrageous bet because what perry is saying is outrageous as well. so this back and forth between those two candidates will continue. perry had a pretty good debate, kyra. he needs it right now. he needs something to generate some excitement and buzz and raise those polls here in iowa. kyra, tomorrow, three weeks until the iowa caucuses. >> paul, thanks so much. we'll have another political update in about an hour. for the latest political news, you can go to our website. so what does president obama think about newt gingrich and his rise in the polls? well, here's what he told steve croft on "60 minutes" last night.

>> what do you make of this surge by former speaker gingrich? >> he is somebody who's been around a long time. and is good on tv. is good in debates. and, you know, but mitt romney has shown himself to be somebody who's good at politics as well. he's had a lot of practice at it. you know, i think that they will be going at it for a while. when the republican party has decided who its nominee is going to be, then we'll have plenty of time to worry about it. >> and on capitol hill optimism is pretty high, even as time is short. this is the white house's countdown clock showing when the payroll tax cut will expire if lawmakers can't hammer out a deal. democrats and republicans cannot agree on how to pay for the cut, which saves the average american worker about $1,000 a year. >> i believe that we should

extend the payroll tax holiday another year. avoid a tax increase on working people for another year. also i agreed with senator reid, my counterpart, we ought to not do it again next year. we know that's an emergency package, coupled with an extension of unemployment with some reforms. but at the same time, chris, we'd like to create some jobs. >> all right. kate baldwin it sounds like there's some agreement that exists here. so could this actually pass by the end of the year? >> i'll tell you, kyra, there has been a general thought on capitol hill throughout this latest battle that eventually democrats and republicans would come together to reach agreement to extend the payroll tax cut before the tax cut ran out. but i should also say how to get there, to get to that point of agreement, has become increasingly more and more difficult to see over the past few weeks. democrats, they want to extend the payroll tax cut and cut it even further for employees. republicans, i should specify republican leaders at least, want to extend the current

payroll tax cut. and in the house republicans proposal that was formally unveiled friday, they also want to lengthen any extension with a provision to speed up the approval of the keystone pipeline, which has become the latest political football on capitol hill. president obama has said he will reject that, saying it's unrelated and other democrats calling it a poison pill. but the house republican leaders included that in order to win over more support from conservatives in the house, who at least until last week had been quite lukewarm to the idea of extending the payroll tax cut at all. there are republicans who say they don't think it's good economic policy and they think it's draining money from social security. so all of this is coming together to kind of the bottom line to sum it up saying they are still fighting, they don't really see a path to compromise yet, although we are hearing from leaders on both sides that they do want to extend the payroll tax cut in some way, shape, or form. and it's not even getting to the big question of how are they going to pay for it, if at all,

kyra. >> kate baldwin, thanks. so what exactly did mike mcqueary really see in that penn state locker room shower? it depends on who you ask. what was considered key evidence in jerry sandusky's sexual abuse case is now getting a second look. sara ganin is now joining me by phone. what did you find out? >> reporter: well, kyra what, we learned was that the night that mcqueary stumbled into that locker room and stumbled upon something between jerry sandusky and a young boy, he went to his father's house seeking advice. and there was a man there who apparently heard the very first account from mike mcqueary of what happened. and he says that he asked mcqueary several times, what did you see? and several times mcqueary said he didn't see anything sexual, but heard sexual noises and saw a young boy peer around the corner of the shower before a

man's arm pulled him back and then jerry sandusky exited in a towel a few seconds later. it is different than the handwritten statement that mike mcqueary gave to police in 2010. and it seems to be different than his grand jury testimony. and both of those cases, he says that he saw jerry sandusky clearly sodomizing a boy. and he goes into detail in his explanation. so attorneys for the two penn state officials who are charged with perjury because the grand jury believed mike mcqueary over them are now saying that this is a huge break for their perjury case. >> and i guess how exactly is that going to impact the case, and also jerry sandusky comes face-to-face with his alleged victims tomorrow, sarah. tell us about that as well. >> well, you know, tomorrow, yes, it's a big day for the jerry sandusky case. and this is probably going to come up. but i think what we have to remember is that against jerry sandusky there are 10 cases, and this is just one of them.

against the two penn state officials who have a hearing on friday, this is the sole evidence is mike mcqueary. he is their key witness. so we do expect tomorrow could be a very long day in court. jerry sandusky will face his accusers for the first time on the stand. but like you said, this is just one piece of what's going to happen tomorrow. on friday, this is going to be a much bigger deal. >> sara, thanks so much for calling in. well, he saw his chance for freedom and grabbed it. an american teen has been reunited with his mother after escaping from militants in the philippines. he was kidnapped five months ago, but tricked them and actually got away. zain has the details. how did he trick his captors? >> it's kind of like a movie. basically, he plotted his escape for a while and decided to run while the gods slept. so they all fell asleep at the

same time. he saw a chance and just took off and ran. he survived for days on candies and coconuts. and then he was found just walking around an area close to the base of the rebels, the militants there in the philippines. listen to what a family friend had to say. >> it was the greatest day. i had just prayed and prayed, god, all i want for christmas is kevin to come home. >> to know that it's over for his family, number one, is just ecstatic. for our family. oh, my goodness. i can't put into words. it is truly a christmas miracle. >> christmas did come early. it was a miracle there. for kevin and his family. a lot of people captured by the rebels never make it out. kyra? >> just remind our viewers how this happened in the first place, and where does this

situation go from here? >> well, this happened back in july. he was on vacation with his mother, and i believe another cousin of theirs, and then they were confronted by these rebels that kidnapped him and stuck him on a boat, and he wasn't seen again after that. so from here, he's going to be reunite td again back in the u.. i believe his family is from virginia. so they are going to have a fabulous christmas. and definitely he's been seen as a hero. and we'll get more details of his story and his time in captivity. but for now, his family is saying they are just happy to have him home. straight ahead, occupy wall street protesters planning shutdowns of several ports in the u.s. we'll tell you where next. and a big thumbs down for the company holiday party. we'll tell you what employees really say.

checking stories across the country now, bizarre shooting ram payabpage in hollywood. in this video you can see tyler bream randomly shooting at passing cars at sunset and vine. three people were injured. he then turned his gun on police, and he was shot and killed. police say they have no motive. from san diego to alaska, at least 25 occupy wall street groups plan to block ports up and down the west coast today. their goal, shutting down global commerce. more bad news for penn state coach joe paterno. he fractured his pelvis after

falling at home on saturday, and doctors say he won't need surgery but will remain in the hospital. paterno, who lost his job as the longtime nittany lions coach last month, is also battling lung cancer. new details on the sexual abuse scandal that's rocking one of the nation's largest sports groups for american kids. we know now the amateur athletic union kick started a criminal investigation of its former president and gave police the names of three accusers. two of them spoke on espn last night. george howell is in memphis. what did the men have to say, george? >> kyra, good morning. one of the men spoke anonymously to espn's "outside the lines," but ralph west spoke on camera, claiming he had been sexually abused by bobby dodd back in the 1980s when west was a teenager. at this point, we are looking into the timeline of events when this group got the information and what did they do with it. and we basically got some information from the spokesperson who tells us that the group got anonymous emails, several emails, only identified

by the name shrimp breath. and that was on november 8 and 9. rather november 7 and 8. then on november 9, they got an anonymous phone call. they hired a private investigator then to look into the matter. but i also asked ron saks who has been hired to represent the group why it took so long to contact police. take a look at what he said. >> there was no specificity about any individual. no name, no phone number, no hard address, neither was there an offer in those emails or phone messages to be contacted. they did what they thought was responsible. in retrospect, anybody could arm chair quarterback and second guess it. perhaps if they knew more, they would have called the police sooner. they are very comfortable that they called the police when they believed they had adequate information to verify there was a need for a police investigation. >> reporter: and, again, it is important to note that the aau

did contact police to let them know about these allegations again just days before that report aired on espn's "outside the lines." we have a few back and forth here with memphis police to determine exactly the thyme time they will talk about the investigation into the allegations. but we are hoping to speak to police and have more information on that, kyra. >> george, what do you think? were they influenced by what happened at penn state and syracuse? is that why they come forward with these molestation allegations? >> it's interesting. when you listen to the report, you get the sense that these men tried to basically forget about what happened back in the 1980s. but watching these things unfold at penn state and at syracuse university, clearly triggered a memory and that apparently is when they decided to start contacting the aau. again, the beginning of november. and the aau finally contacting police in december, kyra. >> george howell, we'll follow it. thanks. coming up, why company

holiday parties might be bad for business. we're going to break down a new survey of employees. and here are some folks that are pretty hard to miss. coming up, we'll tell you why all these santas are on the run. all under $20. like our maine lobster with peppercorn sirloin, or our new bacon-wrapped shrimp with blue cheese sirloin for $14.99. i'm john mazany and i sea food differently. mike, thanks for doing that discount double check. you saved us hundreds. what was that? the discount double check? it's when we comb through your policies and make sure that you're getting all the discounts you deserve. no, i get that part, but you guys are doing my move. the discount double check move? that's my touchdown dance. so you're a dancer? no, i'm a quarterback. oh, a quarterback. mrr. i'm a robot. mm, mm. ee, er, ee, er. get out of here.

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all right. whoever said santa needed a sleigh? we have a new pair of adeedas, reeboks, i don't know. what does zain verjee run in? that's what she should have been doing in edinburgh, scotland. >> well, where were you? you would look pretty good in one of these outfits, kyra. when you look at these pictures of everyone running dressed up as santas, i have to say, it's all for a good klaus. here they were, raising money for charity.

basically, for kids who have life threatening illnesses. and they want one wish to come true, so they were out there in scotland running around about three miles or so in two major cities, edenburg and glasgow. and they had a zumba artist come out and an instructor give them kind of a prerun workout fitness thing, but it was all for a really good cause. and a lot of kids are going to be really happy. but it's quite a sight. you have heard of the running of the bulls, but not the running of the santas, right? >> you just mentioned zumba. i don't think everybody knows exactly what that is. you have to explain that. >> combined with, did you do that and the run as well? [ laughter ] >> kyra, kyra, you know, i like exercise. zumba is a particular kind of a dance and a rhythm. i believe it's from latin america. i could be wrong here. but i'm completely uncoordinated. i have never taken a zumba class before. and frankly, as far as dressing up as a santa goes, the only

furry hat that i'm wearing these days, kyra, is actually this one. so i think it's a better look though, yeah? >> i tell you what, it's living in london and that whole influence of the queen and all her hats. zain has taken it a whole new direction. thank you, zain. happy holidays. well, i don't know if she's going to be wearing a hat, but we are going to talk about the dow jumping almost 200 points on friday to wrap up the week. straight to the new york stock exchange and karina is with us this morning. >> morning, kyra. i wish i had a hat. you should have given me advanced warning. >> how about a hat trick? pull some good numbers out of your hat. >> i can't do that either. unfortunately we are looking for a drop of about 120 points on the dow. and as we have seen, the market driver remains europe with

concerns about their debt problems. initially remember on friday the markets were happy with the proposals presented by eu leaders, and were happy some long-term solutions were being discussed. but the problem is, they didn't come up with a plan to tackle the short-term problems, ie the rising borrowing costs. and the agreement is expected to be finalized in march, and we know a lot can happen between now and then. on top of that, we have ratings agency moody's saying it still plans to revisit the ratings of all eu sovereign debt at the beginning of next year. no major headlines coming out of the u.s. to sway things. we are likely to see some red arrows at the open. kyra? >> a lot of employers think of the annual holiday party as sort of the ultimate reward to their employees. however, dot, dot, dot, fill in the blank, karina. >> well, i guess the story here is that, yeah, many people like to have that holiday party, enjoy a good time on the company dime. but the reality is, many employees would rather see that money being spent on other things.

a new survey out rounds out the list of rewards workers would rather have instead of a holiday party. number one on the list, no huge surprise here, a cash bonus. we know money talks. that's followed by a salary raise. and paid time off that doesn't count against vacation. other highlights on the list include being able to work from home for a year and a gym membership. some workers do still want the holiday party, but they are saying give me an open bar too. kyra? >> why does that not surprise me? they always want the open bar. it was a rough year. karina, thanks. newt gingrich as the front-runner, and his opponents are on the attack. >> if you will cheat on your wife, if you will cheat on your spouse, then why wouldn't you cheat on your business partner? >> our political gurus will cain will weigh in next. [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus presents: the cold truth.

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checking top stories, manuel noriega is spending his first night in a prison cell. he was taken straight to prison to begin serving a 20-year sentence for murdering his opponents while in power. he is now 77 years old. on capitol hill, both parties want to extend the payroll tax cut, but can't agree on how to pay for it. republican leaders predict an extension before the january 1 deadline. senator charles schumer is calling for the tsa to provide

passenger advocates to intervene if someone feels that security is patting them down in too much of an intrusive way. the call coming after four elderly women claim they were strip searched right now, newt gingrich hosting a town hall meeting in londonderry, new hampshire. let's listen for a moment. >> it won't be true 10 or 15 or 20 years from now. so you are living proof of the importance of our manufacturing days in our national security. there's another thing, which is your adoption of leading six signa, and the fact that you work constantly to have better output at lower cost is the model for the federal government. there is a group called strong america now, some 32,000 members in iowa. and it's founded by somebody that started working with boeing back in 1981. and you know when you have continuous improvement every day, you find small things but each small thing adds up to another small thing, and all of a sudden over time you have saved a lot. and i believe if we have a

federal government which recognizes that the 130-year-old civil service model we now have is no longer effective in the modern world, and that we need to go to a continuous improvement metrics based system just like yours. constantly looking for better value, taking waste out of the system, and having everybody participate. the best new idea may come from the person actually doing it, not from some systems engineer who has never done it. so you are living proof that applying that can have a huge impact. >> newt gingrich holding a town hall there, taking questions. we will continue to monitor that for you as he continues to rise in the polls. let's go to this weekend's spirited iowa debate, shall we? mitt romney doing a little backpedalling for this comment. >> rick, i tell you what, $10,000? $10,000 bet? >> i'm not in the betting business. >> oh, ok.

>> cnn political analyst rowan martin and cnn contributor will cain are in the betting business. they bet on a lot of things, including who will do well and who won't. >> better not bet on the cowboys. >> you are a cowboy. >> we had to predict this. i'm going to try and keep roland focused. will, help me out. $10,000, guys. that's a lot of money. the average american makes about $27,000 a year. is this going to alienate voters as we are talking about it this morning? >> irrelevant story. look, we know mitt romney is a rich guy. shocker. shocker. this is one of those nice things that washington, d.c., and people on the blogs, they get all excited about. everybody knows he is a rich guy. and guess what? if you look at the financial forums of perry, he can afford it. newt gingrich, he can afford it. huntsman, he can afford it. so it's really not that big of a deal to be honest. michael jordan is probably

saying, that's a small little bit. >> but what happened to those mormon values, will cain? i thought they didn't gamble. >> what did you want him to say? i'm really confident that you're wrong, rick. or i'll make you a $10 bet. you go big or you go home. $10,000 in texas, it shows you're really, really confident that rick perry is wrong. beyond that, let me say this. mitt is losing to newt because newt is seen as the man with backbone and testosterone and the one that will take it to president obama. i got to say, at least in this respect, mitt looked like he had some testosterone. $10,000. put it there. >> look at roland. he's actually agreeing with you, will. >> right. no, actually, will is agreeing with me. [ laughter ] >> all right. speaking of values, gentlemen, let's take a listen to rick perry. >> a policy that puts a flat tax

in place of 20%. if this country would -- if you will cheat on your wife, if you will cheat on your spouse, then why wouldn't you cheat on your business partner or why wouldn't you cheat on anybody for that matter? >> have i made mistakes at times. have i had to go to god for forgiveness. i have had to seek reconciliation. but i'm also a 68-year-old grandfather, and i think people have to measure who i am now and whether i am a person they can trust. >> ok. that was an interesting moment. what do you think, will? newt's baggage compromise his chances in iowa? >> i think it definitely could. look, i've got to tell you, kyra, i have been a really sympathetic to supporting figure to the tea party from the very beginning. it's been this principled organization movement for that matter towards constitutionalism and small government and free markets. but newt gingrich's rise draws some really big questions. why would newt gingrich satisfy any of those requirements? option a, you know, newt gingrich, he doesn't hold any of the principles and values. he's never exhibited them. it makes you wonder, what's

going on here? is it about style? is it about mormonism? what is going on? it's certainly not about character, to embrace newt gingrich. >> this is the perfect example, kyra, of the problem that i think evangelicals are in. and that is they want to be very rigid when it comes to your marriage, when it comes to your family, talking about family values. on the flip side, a big part of the christian faith is forgiveness. and so it is no shock that newt gingrich said what he had to say because he has put him in a tough position. he is basically saying, how can you hold it against me when your faith says, forgive somebody for their indiscretions? and so that's the challenge they're in. and so they are sitting here going, man, how do we respond to this guy? and so it's a brilliant move by his part to really say what he had to say in the tone also was important. >> gentlemen, i appreciate you

joining me this monday. thanks. >> go, texas. down with cowboys, will. >> i'm not a 12-year-old. i don't wear my jersey on tv. >> oh, boy. i'm going to go big, go home, and go to another story. gentlemen, thank you. >> thanks so much. well, iraq's prime minister will meet with president obama just a few minutes from now. they are going to talk about how the two nations will cooperate in a new era without u.s. troops. and all this week, cnn is going in depth on the closing days of the iraq war. well it might be over, but many of the american men and women who fought it will keep battling it in some way for years to come. >> the mission objective is to hit the target. >> seven aircraft did drop bombs over iraq. >> eight years ago, i was there when the iraq war began. and the campaign is being

called -- >> you got it in your sights and in your ordinance. >> the number of threats that the troops are dealing with. >> i met some of the bravest men and women i have ever known. bravery that came at a physical and mental price. in one word, how would you describe the war in iraq? >> sacrifice. >> bittersweet. >> mistake. >> these are veterans of operation iraqi freedom, from the army, air force, marines. all impacted in some way by this war. and next hour, you'll hear from those men and women. they'll talk about how the fight in iraq became a struggle here at home. if they think the conflict was worth the sacrifices, and what advice they have for the thousands of troops coming home. and you remember shock and awe, right? well, this is the guy who led it. admiral timothy keating will be right here in studio. and i'll ask him if this war was

worth it. i'll also follow up on a question i asked him just before the bombs fell. are you concerned about weapons of mass destruction? >> sure. >> i will ask the admiral that question again and find out what he thinks about wmd right now.

straight to your showbiz headlines. seems folks are too busy or

maybe too broke to go to the movies these days. for the second week in a row, ticket sales stlumped. in fact, this weekend's box office was the worst since september 2008. well, naked lindsay lohan coming to a newsstand near you. "play boy" decided to bump up the january issue with the actress on the covers after the photos were leaked online. it goes on sale friday, just in time for the holidays. and the american airlines pilot who booted alec baldwin apologized to the actor on "saturday night live." wink, wink. >> so let me get this straight. you, captain rogers, want to apologize to alex baldwin. >> yes. mr. baldwin is an american treasure. and i am ashamed at the way he was treated. i mean, what harm would it do to let him keep playing his game? not any game, mind you, but a word game for smart people. >> don't phones interfear with

the plane's communication system? >> you don't believe that, do you, seth? >> the surprise appearance got big applause as you can hear from the audience. so far, no public reaction from the airline. from celebrities to some real stars over the weekend, cnn heroes were honored and one was named hero of the year in our annual tribute. aj hammer has the scoop. >> reporter: laughter, tears, standing ovations. it was a night of emotion and inspiration at hollywood's shrine auditorium. selected from more than 10,000 nominations, 10 remarkable men and women were honored for their work. like the wife of a fallen soldier who made it her mission that no military widow would feel alone. >> i love you, michael. >> reporter: an american midwife who moved to indonesia to run a free clinic for at risk mothers. a former refugee who brings free recycled soap to needy communities around the world. >> and who knows? you might help save a life.

>> reporter: a paralyzed man who brings the gift of mobility to others in need. >> there is nothing better than to serve god and help others. >> reporter: and a grandmother from chicago who takes kids off the street and gives them a chance. >> please don't give up on our young people. >> reporter: and with the help of some of hollywood's brightest young stars, cnn also honored three young wonders. their battle for clean water and fight against hunger and homelessness proves that heroism has no age limits. ♪ just keep pushing on >> reporter: from the first moments on the red carpet -- >> these are the real celebrities to me. you know, these are the heroes. >> reporter: to the final announcement of the night. >> the 2011 cnn hero of the year is robin limb. >> reporter: a global spotlight shined the light on 10 remarkable heroes, everyday people with big hearts and rock solid determination for changing the world. aj hammer, cnn, los angeles.

from the warehouse to your front door, fedex is gearing up for a pretty busy day today. karina huber joining us again from the new york stock exchange. more on what the shipping company has ahead of it this morning. >> hopefully, fedex employees got a good night's sleep last night because they are going to be giving santa a run for his money. the company is forecasting that today will be the busiest shipping day in company history. fedex expects to move more than 17 million shipments over the course of the day. just to give you some context, that is more than double the usual daily volume and also marks a 1.5 million package increase over the same day last year. as for rival u.p.s., it anticipates its busiest day will be december 22 when it expects to move more than 25 million packages. it's all about online shopping, which remained very strong in early december. according to a market research company, consumers spent almost $6 billion online last week

alone. that is a very good sign since the first week of december typically marks a lull in holiday shopping. well, home improvement retailer lowes is in the hot seat after pulling their ads from a reality show about muslim families. we'll explain. and footage of the shooting rampage in hollywood. we have some input from a clinical psychologist. i'm kind of a fixture in different parts of town... some folks call me a rock star, some call me the mayor... and i love it. and, i make everybody happy. i keep my business insurance with the hartford because... they came through for me once, and i know they've got my back. for whatever challenges come your way... the hartford is here to back you up. helping you move ahead... with confidence. meet some of our small business customers at: thehartford.com/business

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home improvement giant lowe's is sparking major controversy after pulling their ads from the tlc reality show "all american muslim." the company says they are sorry and that it ate the ads because the show was a lightning rod for many political and societal views. and the christmas grinch stealing packages off front porches. so homeowners installed a camera and caught the thief in action. the couple says they released the video in hopes of getting this guy once and for all. and in oregon, a family gave up trying to compete with their neighbor's picture perfect christmas decorations, soy they wrote the word ditto in lights with the arrow pointing next door. they say the sign is to pay homage to all of their neighbors that work so hard. more details now about friday's terrifying shooting

rampage in hollywood. amateur video shows the gunman pacing back and forth sunset boulevard firing nearly 20 rounds at random. take a listen. >> oh, my god! are you all right? there's a madman just shot people. >> the gunman, 26-year-old tyler bream, was killed by police. a motorist he shot remains in critical condition. clinical psychologist jeff gardere is now joining us. his ex speaking out now. but why choose suicide by cop? that's basically what happened here. >> well, what she is saying is that she had dumped him pretty much, and he wasn't taking the break-up well. she says that at some point, he started taking some sort of pharmaceutical. we're not quite sure what that is or whether that may have played a part even if he had taken that in his really very strange behavior. i just -- >> jeff, what kind of drugs

would create such an emotional state? i just want to follow up that you're making the point he possibly could have been on something. >> yes. kyra, what we do know is that there are certain anti-depressants for example, anti-anxiety medications that come with warnings, especially for adolescents, that by taking them if they don't have the right dosages or until the right dosage is figured out by the psychiatrist it can actually cause some sort of suicidal behavior. and what we think that's about is that a child or in this case an adult might be overmedicated or may overmedicate themselves and become -- have a real impulse control issues or just have too much energy. but obviously, to me, this is a person who may not have been diagnosed with having some severe emotional issues, and perhaps this break-up took him over the edge. >> there's a number of lessons learned from seeing this and having this discussion with you. jeff, thanks very joining us this morning. >> my pleasure.

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all right. stories making news. later today president obama and iraqi prime minister will wrap up their meeting this morning with a news conference that's

scheduled for 11:35 eastern. at 2:00 eastern a funeral service will be held for the virginia tech police officer who was shot on thursday. republican candidates newt gingrich and jon huntsman are holding their own one on one debate at 4:00 eastern in new hampshire. following lots of developments in the next hour. we'll check in with paul steinhauser. paul? >> reporter: hi, kyra. we're here in des moans. the politics are hot. mitt romney is taking it to newt gingrich. hi. i'm zain verjee in london. there were major protests in russia this weekend. it is a really big deal. i'll tell you what newspapers around the world are saying about it as well as vladimir putin. i'm george howell outside the memphis police department where investigators are looking into allegations of sexual abuse

by the former director of the aau, amateur athletic union. all right. thanks. also next hour we go in depth on the closing days of the iraq war. thousands of u.s. troops getting ready to come home for good. what battles await them at home? veterans already tell me it's been anything but easy. >> seeing them deal with alcohol abuse, drug abuse, homelessness, that was the most difficult thing for me to see. i witnessed them save someone's life in iraq and they can't save their own anymore? it hurt me.

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well, tim tebow, he does can does it again. now they're calling him the mile high messiah. >> of course they are. >> i'm starting to have renewed faith because of this guy. >> at some point you decide it's not shocking anymore, right? week after week he pulls it out. the broncos have now won six in a row. denver is all alone in first in the afc west. for the first three and a half quarters, tebow was really bad. then it got to be tebow time. from then on he was flawless. down 10-0, he drove the team to a last-second field goal to get

them into overtime and in overtime he did it again. this game-winning field goal, tebow is 7-1 as a broncos starter. they are in first place after the big 13-10 overtime win over the bothers. the green bay packers are still perfect. they released the hounds on the raiders yesterday. this td pass by aaron rodders to jordy nelson. he's tied the single season touchdown record with 39. green bay now three wins away from becoming the second 16-0 team ever. all that's left, the packers, chiefs, bears, lions. tom brady took it out on the offensive coordinator. we can't show you what brady's saying. this, how shall we say, difference of opinion happened on the sidelines during the game against the redskins. he had thrown an interception. the patriots did pull it out. they made up at the end of the game. little hug there.

patriots win, 34-27. a huge baseball controversy broke this weekend. national league mvp, ryan brown braun got a 50 game suspension. he's fighting it. here's the thing, he's adamant that he did nothing wrong. he told "usa today," quote, it's bs. but a source tells the "new york daily news" his level was so high, the highest ever found by the test. we will be following this. cross-town rival cincinnati and xavier have suspended four players each after this brutal brawl. the fight broke out after the game winner. zafer star talked about how his own teammates are gangsters and cincinnati was disrespecting them. all of it was ugly. holloway did apologize.

cincinnati's athletic director said there will be zero tolerance. not a pretty way to end a game. generally speaking, a good rivalry between two teams that are in the cincinnati area. this one's not pretty. really not acceptable. i think both schools admit that. >> yeah, definitely not cool. you mentioned the green bay packers are pir? >> yes. >> you just now have won over the entire green bay area and kbrond. >> right. >> your ratings -- >> the indianapolis colts are perfect in an entirely different way. do they love me in indianapolis now? i don't think so unless i remind them they'll get andrew luck. >> something about gree bay fans, you know that. you scored some big-time viewers. >> it could get interesting at playoff time. i think they will go 16-0. do you love me now? playoff time is going to be tough. saints are playing really well. >> you talk about two football

teams with so much rich history. such a come back with the saints and then you go back to the days of vince lombardi. great to see you talk to you later. >> see ya. >> all right. mitt romney is launching a new attack against newt gingrich this morning hoping to gain ground on the gop poll leader. romney is criticizing gingrich for saying the palestinians are an invented people. gingrich stood by his comments at saturday night's iowa debate. >> is what i said factually correct? yes. is it historically true? yes. are we in a situation where every day rockets are fired into israel while the united states, the current administration, tries to pressure the israelis into a peace process? >> we stand with the israeli people, stand with our friends and make it very clear, we're going to tell the truth. we're not going to throw incendiary words into a place which is a boiling pot. well, our deputy political

director paul steis in des moin. tell us what romney is saying now. >> reporter: kyra, you can tell between mitt romney and newt gingrich this wharf words is getting tougher and tougher. that was the debate saturday night. as you mentioned mitt romney this morning on forng news had some more tough words against gingrich. take a listen. >> erratic. outspoken, which may be great in a campaign but it's not great for someone who's running for president of the united states representing this country. >> reporter: mitt romney also went after gingrich over gingrich's work for freddie mac, troubled mortgage company. you're seeing aggressive mitt romney the last four or five days. why? newt gingrich is now the frontrunner in the national polls and right here in iowa

among people likely to go to those iowa caucuses which are three weeks away. candidates are ramping it up on the campaign trail this week, right? >> reporter: no doubt about it. today more of the action is actually in new hampshire. that's the second state to vote. their primary comes one week later. newt gingrich will be teaming up with jon huntsman at a lincoln-douglas debate in new hampshire. there's plenty of action in iowa. middle of the week rick perry is trying to kick start his campaign. he starts a 44-stop bus tour across the hawk eye state. then we'll have all the candidates except for huntsman back here on thursday for another republican presidential debate. check it out? this is a brand-new poll. the hawk eye poll from iowa university. right there at the top, newt gingrich 10 points above romney. >> paul, thanks. let's head to capitol hill now and optimism is pretty high.

this is the white house's countdown clock showing when the payroll tax will expire if they can't hammer out a deal. democrats and republicans can't agree on how to pay for the cut which saves the average american worker $1,000 a year. president obama says it's another example of gridlock in congress. >> we're going to keep on pushing to get things done. i want to work with congress. i want to work with both parties in congress. i think we can still make progress on a balanced approach to deficit reduction. what i'm not going to do is wait for congress. so wherever we have an opportunity and i have the executive authority to go ahead and get some things done, we're just going to go ahead and do them. kate baldwin is on the hill there. she is on the hill in washington. you moved your way over there, kate. thank you. what do you think? could this actually pass by the end of the year? >> reporter: i'll tell you, kyra, up here there's a general thought that in the end, as often happens, they meet deadlines on capitol hill. in the end they'll come together to reach an agreement but i'll

tell you, they are entering a critical week up here in this fight as they're starting to run up against the date that both the house and senate are scheduled to leave for the holiday break. truly, there's no real path to compromise at this moment. where things stand right now is the house is set and plans, i believe, to vote tuesday, tomorrow, on the house republican plan to extend the payroll tax cut as well as extend unemployment assistance that is set to expire as well at the end of the year. here's the key? they're tying any extension to a provision that would speed up approval of the keystone oil pipeline. republicans call it a job creator but democrats and the president, they say that this is absolutely not in the ball game in terms of reaching compromise with them. the president said he will reject it because he says it's unrelated among other things, and democrats call it a poison pill. the top democrat in the senate,

kyra, saying a provision with the keystone pipeline, it will not pass the senate. we have to wait to see how things move in the house in terms of the republican proposal. senate democrats were told we're working through the weekend on another proposal of their own to extend the payroll tax cut that has not been announced yet. you can see there's a lot of conversation going on. it doesn't seem like yet both sides are ready to reach that compromise that they so need in order to move it through the house and senate. >> kate. thanks. this morning we've got new details on the sex abuse scandal that's rocking one of the largest sports groups for american kids. we now know the amateur athletic union kick started an investigation and gave police the names of three accusers. two spoke to espn last night. george howell is in memphis. what did the men have to say, george? >> reporter: kyra, we know one of the men spoke anonymously to espn's "outsided the lines" b

ralph west spoke on camera. the aau turned all of that information over here to police, memphis police, who are investigating this apparently an active investigation. we've been keying in on the time line of events. when did this group get the information and exactly what did they do with it? what we've learned on november 7th and 8th the group tells us that they received anonymous e-mails from a source only identified as shrimp breath and anonymous phone calls and messages that were left with the group. they hired a private investigator to look into the source of that information but, again, this wasn't turned over to police until december 8th. so i asked the hired spokesperson for the aau, ron sachs, about why it took so long to contact police. take a look. >> there was no specificity about an individual that they could contact. no name. no phone number. no hard address. neither was there an offer in those e-mails or phone messages to be contacted.

they did what they thought was responsible. in retrospect anybody could armchair quarterback and second guess it perhaps if they knew more they would have called the police sooner. they're very comfortable that they called the police when they believed they had adequate information to verify there was a need for a police investigation. >> reporter: and, kyra, sachs makes the point very clear that the board convened just days after getting the tips about these allegations. they decided to remove dodd from his post days after, again, getting that information. they hired the private investigator and then decided to turn it over to police, kyra. >> well, now these men came forward after we talked about what happened at penn state and syracuse university and the allegations of sex abuse there. did this influence these individuals? >> reporter: when you listen to the espn report, the men make the point that this is something that they started to remember.

they started to think about again clearly blocking out these things that they say that happened back in the 1980s and deciding to speak out now decades later, kyra. >> george howell. thanks so much. now russia's dlad mir pvlad is on the defensive. zain verjee joins us now with the latest. zain, are we seeing the beginning of a russian spring? >> possibly. a lot of people are asking that question. will it be a snow revolution. let me tell you what the newspapers are saying. the "moscow time" has this headline. kremlin in the headlights. for the first time in his career as national leader putin is on the defensive and he and his team have no standard operational procedures for that. "international herald tribune" on russia's streets a message for putin. the protesters themselves were uncertain where they were heading but they were giddy with the sense that they, rather than

the kremlin, had for a moment taken control of the country's political agenda. finally, kyra, here in the uk "the guardian" has this headline. for russia, an era has ended. the protests in scores of cities on saturday are being treated less violently by police and more respectfully by state-controlled tv than in the past. will putin continue the softer approach as the march poll approaches? so the elections are going to be next here. putin wants to be president. people are angry because of the corruption they say is in the government. putin says he can fix it. this is a different era in russia because they believe, much like in the arab world, that it's time for the people to take back the power. >> so what do you think can actually diffuse this? an investigation? why did the russian government even allow the demonstrations to take place? >> it may have caught them off guard. vladimir putin is not a man that's used to having to deal

with public protests to this extent. it is a momentum that's been going on around the world with the arab spring, the occupy movement and the russians are taking things into their own hands and they are protesting. can he diffuse it? don't know. the jury is out. there have been so many world events where people have tried to diffuse it and predict it. no way, this would never happen here they thought. i think there is a big question mark as to how putin can deal with it. >> zain, thanks. straight ahead, the war in iraq might be over, but many of the american men and women who fought it keep battling it in some ways. coming up, we'll ask veterans if the shock and awe, the painful sacrifices that followed were worth it.

just in to the "cnn newsroom" the u.s. supreme court has agreed to consider arizona's controversial crackdown on illegal immigrants. the state had appealed federal court rulings that had blocked key parts of the reforms the the obama administration has argued against the order saying they're under the exclusive authority of the federal government. arizona says washington has failed to control the problems and has a right to protect its residents. iraq's prime minister is meeting with president obama this hour. they're talking about how the two nations will cooperate in a

new era without u.s. troops. we'll learn more next hour. they're actually holding a news conference. they'll lay out a wreath at arlington national cemetery to honor our war dead. the u.s. is getting ready to pull pretty much all of its forces out of iraq by the end of the month. about 6,000 men and women are still there. more than 4,000 u.s. troops were killed in the iraq war. nearly 32,000 of our men and women wounded. even those who came home unscathed physically have scars. many of them still fighting battles. the same battles could await those troops about to close the door on nearly nine years of war. cnn goes in depth on the final days of the conflict i had a chance to talk with a group of vets about how it's changed their lives forever. >> mission objectives, hit the target. >> seven aircrafts did drop

bombs over iraq. >> reporter: eight years ago i was there when the war began in iraq. from the air. >> they've got it in their sights. >> reporter: land. >> the number of threats ground troops are dealing with. >> reporter: and sea. >> there are five weapon stations on this special operations craft. >> reporter: i met some of the bravest men and women i've ever known. bravery that came at a physical and mental price. >> reporter: in one word, how would you describe the war in iraq? >> sacrifice. >> bittersweet. >> mistake. >> reporter: these are veterans of operation iraqi freedom. from the army, air force, marines. all impacted in some way by this war. >> reporter: was the war worth it to you? >> as an infantryman i was on the ground a lot. i talked to a lot of families and individuals in the iraqi populus. >> reporter: staff sergeant josh aguilar was on the ground when it began. his first of three deployments.

>> i felt as long as i gave somebody else the opportunity to have the same democracy, same hopes and freedoms that we can have every day, maybe some of those things that i did, some of the sacrifices that my friends made were worth a little bit of something. >> reporter: he retired six months ago and starts school in january. >> reporter: sarah, how about you? was it worth it? >> i'm on the fence. there have been a lot of iraqi casualties, but how many more would there have been? >> reporter: the staff sergeant is a pararlegal in the air force reserve and works at a private security company. >> reporter: you were a teenager building bombs. how did you process that? >> you build those bombs. they don't come back. you know that someone's dead and it's hard to be happy about that, but at the same time i was happy that it wasn't me. >> reporter: how did that change you? >> i think at the time you just kind of become cold and callous to it. it's self-preservation. >> reporter: that you went from being a u.s. marine to studying

peace and conflict at u.c. berkeley. talk about a switch. >> i have say hard time understanding why we went there in the first place. going in under false pretenses for weapons of mass destruction. getting out of the military took me at least a year to try to negotiate being a civilian again. >> reporter: negotiate being a civilian. what do you mean by that? >> i was very definitely ready to end my five-year enlistment but when i got out i didn't anticipate the feeling of loss, especially in terms of really strong ties and bonds between me and the guys that i served with. >> i struggled with seeing my friends contemplate suicide. >> reporter: jesy was an army sergeant in iraq, an assistant to a brigade commander. now with a degree in sociology, she's dedicating her life to saving fellow vets. >> seeing them deal with alcohol abuse, drug abuse, homelessness,

that was the most difficult thing for me to see. i witnessed them save someone's life in iraq and they can't save their own anymore? it hurt me. >> reporter: ramsy rahir was an army specialist. honorably discharged just five months ago. he's now living in a transitional housing facility. >> reporter: you've also struggled quite a bit since you got back. you're two months sober. that's positive. >> yes. >> reporter: why did you turn to alcohol? >> hard to see good patriotic americans with good fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, pay the ultimate sacrifice and that played a heavy emotional toll on myself. >> reporter: he received two purple hearts in less than a year. >> there was small arms contact, mortar attacks, interact firearm bases. you're dealing with a barrage of ammunitions. >> reporter: do you feel safe now?

>> now that i'm sober, yes. >> reporter: the war on iraq, how did it impact your marriages, families? >> you know how they say the first year of marriage is tough? try deploying three months after you get married. you learn a lot about yourself, marriage, spouse. we had a lot of fights, but we talked it out and i can definitely say that our marriage is much stronger. >> reporter: josh, you've got a bit of a different story. >> a little bit. i was married six months before i deployed for the first time in iraq. i very specifically remember writing my wife a ler saying things are different for me. i can feel them. i can tell. so when i came home on top of me dealing with my own issues and on top of her becoming pregnant with our first child, it caused a lot of big gaps in our relationship. by the time i deployed for my second deployment a year and a half later, it was over. as i was walking out the door i already knew this is the last time we're going to share a home together. >> reporter: our troops are coming home.

what's your advice? >> my advice is just listen to the command. they do a very good job of giving mandatory briefings that deal with subjects such as suicide, domestic abuse, alcohol abuse and don't diminish the good work that you did. >> you have to be open. you have to communicate. you have to be willing to talk about what you're feeling, otherwise, you're just going to ball it up and be angry. >> realistically, people are not necessarily meant to kill other people. they're going to have a reaction to that. >> fighting those emotions and fighting those problems on your own isn't going to help. you fight as a team. you need help as a team. >> 18 veterans succeed in committing suicide a day. 32 veterans attempt to commit suicide every day. these are insane statistics and it's real. i always think about everyone that we've lost in iraq, and i live my life to fulfill what they could have done in the future but they can't now.

>> reporter: five voices of survival and sacrifice soon to be joined by the nearly 40,000 troops headed home leaving iraq for good. joop and coming up next, the man who led shock and awe, admiral timothy keating. it's his turn to reflect on the war. i'll ask him what has changed and stayed the same and what advice he has for the thousands of troops coming home for good.

we knew it, ends at the end of this month when the u.s. pulls most of its troops out. we're going in depth on that conflict. nearly nine years ago just before the bombs started dropping i was on board the "u.s.s. abraham lincoln." >> reporter: getting ready for war and rallying up the troops, that was the mission of admiral timothy keating today. it's not a matter of if there will be a war but when the war will start. keating told the men and women today that you need to call home and tell your families that what you are about to be a part of is going to make history. >> we've achieved surprise by going about this particular conflict, if we do it, in a way that is very unpredictable and is unprecedented in history. remarkable speed. agility. precision. persistence. if we go, the plans that we have

are unlike anything anyone has ever seen before. >> well, what we saw was "shock and awe." admiral timothy keating led it. he joins me live in studio. wow. i look back at that and i'm curious if you had the same reaction. there was so much energy. there was a decisiveness. there was a plan. you were ready to go. now eight years later this war has become so controversial in so many ways. how does that all sit with you right now? >> it seems a long time ago, kyra, to be sure. we're gratified that the young men and women are able to come home, they've made the sacrifices that they've made. iraq is a free country, but we can't forget for a second the 4800 some men and women that won't be coming home. we believed then and i believe now that it was an important mission and that it was right and just. >> all right. i want to ask you this question. i went back to my journal. you're thinking, oh, no.

i wrote that day before the war started, i put, admiral keating came aboard today. he made his rounds to all the carriers to inspire the troops. keating really amazes me. he's so good in front of the salors. he told all the men and women to call home and tail their families that they're about to be a part of history. what are the history books going to say now? >> the history books will record remarkable courage, valor, bravery. lots of tough, tough decisions by not just our country's leaders but leaders of the coalition. men like tommy franks, done rumsfeld. i can run on a long list of folks who were confronted with some very, very difficult, demanding, time-critical decisions. they did the best that they could with what information they had. i was immensely and remain

immensely proud of being part of it. >> let me get you there. they did the best they could with the information that they had. okay. i think there's no doubt that that seven minutes of "shock and awe" went off exactly how all of you wanted it to go off. there wasn't a plan b. there was not a tight plan for what was going to happen after saddam hussein. why? >> several reasons, none of them can justify the fact that you're right. we weren't as well prepared for phase 4 as we should have been. the original plan that we didn't talk much about you'll recall early had about 120 to 130 days of offensive operations to get into baghdad. the marines and soldiers got there in about 30 so that part of the campaign went much more quickly than anticipated and that time that we were kind of counting on, that extra 90 days, we didn't have it. it caught us unprepared. not as well prepared as we

should have been. >> as we look at these images, i read another part of the journal here which is going to lead me to the next question. i wrote, president bush gave saddam hussein 48 hours to leave the country or face war. that time runs out tomorrow. will we go to war tomorrow because all of us now have to wear our gas masks in a bag on our side and on our faces at times and we have to take them everywhere we go. when i asked you about wmd, this is what you told me. >> we're concerned about them to be sure. we're not looking to sprinkle fairy dust on them and pretend the problem doesn't exist, it does, in a real way in our mind. we're actively engaged offensively and defensively to minimize if not eliminate the threat. >> should americans worry about weapons of mass destruction. >> again, i wouldn't use the word worry. i would say concern is more

appropriate. >> why should americans be concerned about weapons of mass destruction living in the united states? >> i don't know that location is as big a deterrent as we might have assumed several years ago. >> as we know, to this day no wmd. how does that sit with you? >> doesn't make what we did any more or less valid, kyra. you'll recall at the time we were in bahrain. we recognized that saddam had used weapons of mass destruction on his own people and enemies. we lived in range of saddam's weapons. i was convinced then and i look back on it and i would have made the same decision then as i did, that we were -- it was a constant, valid threat. the fact that wmds haven't been found and aren't likely to be found makes it a more difficult

proposition to have made as a justification to go in based on that issue alone, but in retrospect, we did the right thing. >> i also asked you about when the war was going to start. you wouldn't really answer me. i asked you if we're going to war. in many different ways you really wouldn't answer me, but then i asked you a question, is this about revenge? this is what you told me. >> reporter: is it revenge? >> no, ma'am. >> reporter: what is it? >> it's making the world right. it's ensuring that our children and grandchildren will not have to face the same horror that we faced, not just those of us in the pentagon, world trade center, bali, around the world, around the globe. we need to do everything we can, and we will, to make sure that our kids and our grandkids don't have to go through the same

horror. that we don't have to go through it. >> eight years later, was that war worth it. >> sure. yes, ma'am, it was. >> you don't feel in any way, shape or form you were duped to the reasons why we went to war? >> no. i and the folks with whom i dealt were very clear about it, kyra. as i say, tough decisions. might like to have done some things a little different or a lot different than we did, but in retrospect, again, i'm proud to have participated in the extent i did. i salute young men and women who did the real fighting. >> those men and women that did the real fighting, final thought. they've come back with ptsd, suicides have been off the charts, alcoholism, divorces, domestic abuse. what do you say to the troops coming home? what do you say to those vets that are wondering? >> i say thanks for your service. thanks for demonstrating in a

crews sibl that is almost unimaginable your courage, honor and commitment. i would tell them to be strong and in so being, to get as much help as they need as quickly as they need it. don't be reluctant. don't be afraid. don't think yourself any less a man or woman by seeking help. >> tough price to pay. >> yeah. brutal. >> admiral keating, thanks for your time today. tomorrow we continue to go in depth on the iraq war and its effects on those who fought it. we're going to k4ek in with our band of sisters, female vets who came away from this conflict with ptsd and the battle that followed them home. we're going to find out how they're coping. alka-seltzer plus liquid gels] fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your stuffy nose. [ deep breath ] thank you! that's the cold truth! thank you! a vacation on a budget with expedia. make it work. booking a flight by itself is an uh-oh.

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all right. time for political buzz. your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. three questions, 30 seconds on the clob. playing today, will cain, pete dominick and radio talk show host dana lauch. first question. romney made a lot of headlines with this comment saturday night. let's roll it. >> rick, i'll tell you what, $10,000? $10,000 bet? >> i'm not in the betting business. >> $10,000, a lot of money. average american making $27,000 a year. does it alienate voters, pete? >> i think a little bit. i don't think anybody is going to vote for him or not vote for him. politicians usually adhere to a rule. marm parentally worth $250,000 you're not supposed to throw

that out in voter's faces. rick perry didn't have a gaffe in that moment. $10,000 for mitt romney, that's like a dollar for most americans. i don't think that will win him any applause in this difficult time. ridiculous. >> will? >> i disagree. everyone of us, we put on our amateur political strategist hats, there are some people who will be highly offended by this bet, but i challenge you. does it really offend you? as we each hear this, are you really offended by that? i don't think so i think a lot of us like it. it showed confidence. i'll tell you what, rick. put your money where your mouth is. i've got $10,000 on it. i think it's going to resonate. >> making bets here? dana? >> i just thought it was funny that he was betting rick perry on something that we all know anyway, on something that was so obvious. that's not how you debate. when you get debated in a corner you don't stick your hand out, you want to bet me $10,000?

>> i do. >> i think it showed him to be a little bit more arrogant than i think he was wanting to let on during the debate. i thought it was the silliest moments of the debate. worst performance. >> men do that. we do that. >> will is sort of taking roland martin's place where he goes beyond the 30 seconds. second question here, at cnn as you know we're going in depth this week on our troops coming home from iraq. politically, the timing couldn't be better. election is in a matter of months. what do you think? will this sway voters in any way? dana. >> i think it's probably going to sway the voters who were wanting us to get out of iraq perhaps a little bit more quickly than we were scheduled to. we were already scheduled i think to be out by new year's or something, but the thing is is here we have some of the top generals who are over there saying we would have liked to have a minimum of 10,000 troops left in the country to make sure

it's stabilized in the wake of our departure. there are groups ready to exploit that power vacuum. we don't want to see happen in iraq what happened in vietnam. it remains to be seen whether or not it will be a huge success or whether it will sway people this election or next. >> will? >> it's complex. it's broad. there are going to be some out there who are extremely antiwar who are going to say in his campaign president obama promised to withdraw troops in 16 months and could be disappointed. there are others who are extremely hawkish who want us to stay there. sadly, it won't hit the radar. none of us were into this war. that's a sad testament actually. i think if you ask me does it sway voters, if you see iraq as a success or failure, it could paint how you see our involvement in iran in the future. >> pete? >> first of all, kyra, i applaud

you and everybody at cnn that is covering this. it's really, really important. great job. will is i think right here. there's another 1%. the 1% of military families who get affected by these wars. 4,485 americans have lost their lives. over 32,000 have been injured. you've been talking about the other consequences, divorces, alcoholism, so on. this wontd sway people and i disagree with dana in terms of the military leadership in general. as we sign an agreement with iraq, the obama leadership would have liked to have stayed. we should stop listening to some extent to our military leadership. as jon huntsman are doing, listening to civilians. >> your buzzer beater guys. 20 seconds on this. four years ago then optimistic canada obama swept into the white house on a campaign of hope and change. now he's reflecting on it on ""60 minutes."" take a listen. >> i didn't overpromise and i

didn't underestimate how tough this was going to be. i always believed that this was a long-term project. that reversing a culture here in washington dominated by special interests was going to take more than a year, more than two years, going to take more than one term. probably takes more than one president. the one thing i've prided myself on before i was president and it turns out that it continues to be true as president, i'm a persistent son of a gun. >> but is persistence enough to keep the white house? will? >> hope and change are much more saleable than persistence. persistence is definitely a necessary trade especially when you talk about our economic situation. i think the operative statement is he's talking about changing the culture of special interest in washington. i think more than persistence. what it's going to be is we as voters will look at this and say

is obama moving that ball forward and backwards. for me an ideology to invest in green energy, entitlements, isn't moving in the right direction. >> dana? >> that was very interesting when he was discussing changing the culture in washington because i think this administration has been a huge part of that culture, special interest. this is the wall street president, let us not forget. he did an awful lot in one term. we're talking about triple deficits, more americans now more than ever are on the government doll, receiving federal assistance. we have middle class families whose incomes are decreasing. joblessness is at an all-time high. that needs to change. i don't think he needs another term to make it worse. >> pete? >> the opposite of course of persistence, if that's not to sway voters, is flip-flopping, the changing of mind. the truth is before president obama even got elected during the campaign he was the first candidate, not john mccane, to turn down the $85 million in

public campaign financing. nothing else matters, kyra, only the way we finance campaigns. democrats and republicans will always be involved with special interests as long as they take money from them. until we strike at the root, until we strike at the root it doesn't matter. >> guys, thanks. coming up, such a deserving field at the "cnn heroes" all-star tribute. find out who took the title of hero of the year. r annuities. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement solutions for our military, veterans and their families. from investments... to life insurance... to health care options. learn more with our free usaa retirement guide. call 877-242-usaa.

well, from celebrities to some real stars. over the weekend "cnn heroes" were honored. one was named hero of the year. here's a.j. hammer. >> reporter: laughter, tears, standing ovations. it was a night of emotion and inspiration at hollywood's famed shrine auditorium. selected for more than 10,000 nominations, ten remarkable men and women were honored for their extraordinary work. like the wife of a fallen solder who made it her mission that no military widow would feel alone. >> i love you, michael. >> reporter: an american midwife who moved to indonesia to run a free clinic for at risk mothers. a refugee who brings soap to people around the world. a paralyzed man who brings the

gift of mobility to others in need. >> there is nothing better than to sever god and help others. >> reporter: and a grandmother from chicago who takes kids off the street and gives them a chance. >> please don't give up on our young people. >> reporter: with the help of some of hollywood's brightest young stars, cnn also honored three young wonders. this proves that heroism has no age limits ♪ just keep pushing on >> reporter: from the first moments on the red carpet. >> these are the real heroes. >> reporter: to the final announcement of the night. >> the 2011 hero of the year is robin lim. >> reporter: a global spotlight shined a light on ten remarkable heroes. everyday people with big hearts and rock solid determination for changing the world. a.j. hammer, cnn, los angeles. houston texans are going to the nfl playoffs for the first

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. well, the nfl highlights are so good we had to bring jeff back. >> thank you for having me back. last night between the giants and cowboys. if the cowboys miss the playoffs they'll look back and bang their heads against the wall. you cannot try to lose in worst waste. last night they had a 12 point

lead with 3.5 minutes left. eli manning led the giants on two lightning quick touchdown drives to take a three-point lead. last week the kicker made a game winner for the cowboys. the coach called a time-out. bailey missed a second chance. lost in ot. his kick was blocked. house tan texans, t.j. yates is not supposed to be playing at all but the first and second string are out. a game-winning pass with two seconds left. the texans beat the bengals 29-13. the saints also wrapped up a playoff spot yesterday. drew brees, 337 yards. the saints win beating the titans 22-17. brees is on his way to breaking dan marino's record for most passing yards in a season.

if he keeps it going over 5,000 yards this year. >> good guy too. >> that's right. coming up, another name change for a notorious security firm. we'll take a look at the latest makeover. the company formerly known as blackwater and what's behind it. [ mom ] scooter? 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. you want to hear you've done a good job. that's why i recommend a rinse like crest pro-health multi-protection. it helps you get a better dental check-up. so be ready for your next dental check-up. try any crest pro-heth rinse.

after the last u.s. troops leave iraq, private security contractors will keep on working. blackwater guards won't be among them. for one thing, the firm's been banned. for another, blackwater no longer exists. it changed its name and now another name change. cnn's suzanne kelly has more. suzanne? >> hi, kyra. good to see you again. you remember these guys. you've been to iraq. you've seen how the private contractors work. they were the ones who september 16th, 2007, there was a deadly shooting in baghdad.

these guys were guarding state department people. that was their contract and their reason to be there at the time. they were guarding the people in baghdad. they went into a traffic circle and a team of guards opened fire killing 17 civilians. the iraqi government said you're out of here. the state department had to negotiate a window for them to leave. the guy who owned the company, a former navy s.e.a.l. tried changing the name. it didn't work. in december of last year he threw his hands up and walked away from it. a new company came in, new group of private investors who haven't really wanted to say who they are yet. they came in. bought the company. brought in a new board of directors which is something the company never had before. wiped out the old management, brought in new people and now they have a new ceo who decided to top it off with a new name which is academy. now the idea, as ted wright explained it to me who's the new ceo, was that academy is sort of

meant to bring to mind the idea of elite training, which is what they're now trying to get back to and get away from a little bit of that security work that got blackwater into so much trouble. >> suzanne, by the way, i called you suzanne. i have suzanne malveaux on my mind. you actually looked at my pieces when they were coming in from baghdad. you know this company so well. you wrote the book, suzanne, on it actually. do the executives running the company ever expect to regain its past success? what are the prospects for this latest rebranding. >> that's a great question. i'll tell you why. at the height of the iraq war blackwater was pulling in, according to ted wright, it's a privately held company, difficult to get a figure, he said they were pulling in around $900 million. this is one company. ted wright, the new ceo of this new company, says they do around $300 million a year. about a third of what they were doing before. ted wright says the real measure

of success for him about whether all of these changes will be effective and work is not really if he's ever going to make that much money again, which he may not, but more whether the iraqi government is ever going to let this company back into their country to operate there. that's a tall order. he's ambitious. >> we will definitely stay on this. that's because you've got so much background and expertise. we'll continue to talk about those changes and what it means. thanks so much. >> thanks, kyra. good to see you. >> likewise. and i love it. and, i make everybody happy. i keep my business insurance with the hartford because... they came through for me once, and i know they've got my back. for whatever challenges come your way... the hartford is here to back you up. helping you move ahead... with confidence. meet some of our small business customers at: thehartford.com/business i don't think about the unknown... i just rock n' roll.

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(rawhen an investmentrsation) lacks discipline, it's never this obvious. introducing investment discipline etfs from russell. visit russelletfs.com r a prospectus, containing the investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other information. read and consider it carefully before investing.

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com so are you looking for a respected career? stay away from congress. our mark preston is here with a new poll. i guess some would say, no kidding. >> yeah, no kidding. how about this? stay away from washington. gallop has released a new poll this morning that asked to rate certain professions, including members of congress and the lobbying profession. let's take a quick look at the numbers. no surprise given the low approval ratings of congress. they have come in at the very, very lowest right there at 64%, members of congress, when americans were asked to rate the honesty or ethical standards. lobbyists come in at 62%. you know what, kyra, if you're someone in college looking for a job, you might want to go somewhere else. >> that sounds like good advice. mark preston, thank you so much. that does it for us here in the "cnn newsr i