>> in real language we call it frustrating. >> yes, exactly. that's right. that will do it for us for today. let's go to atlanta and t.j. holmes. >> good morning, ladies, you enjoy the rest of your day. top of the hour, 9:00 a.m. eastern time and 6:00 a.m. out west where you may be and can you believe it's over? in iraq a flag comes down from the u.s. military mission formally ends. this now after nine years of fighting, a staggering amount of sacrifice. some a million and a half americans serve there in uniform. nearly 4,500 killed. more than 30,000 wounded. cnn's arwa damon is in baghdad. a place she has been a lot over the last nine years. arwa, you have been there a lot. she's not hearing me, but we'll try to get arwa damon back up. i am told to try, again. this is t.j. back in atlanta. you hearing me okay? arwa damon is not hearing me

right now. arwa damon one of a number of cnn correspondents who spent a lot of time in iraq over the last several years reporting there literally from the very beginning of that war and throughout. we'll try to get her back in a moment. a historic day we saw even though a few thousand american service members in iraq. they will make their way out, many of them this weekend and, again, formally, it is over. let me turn to our zain verjee. the whole world, zain, she's joining me from london. the whole world watched this event today. what is the world saying now that it's over? >> well, there's been a lot of reaction today, as you can imagine. it's been eight years, eight months and 26 days. and a lot of blood, sweat and tears on both the sides of the american people, as well as the iraqi people. let me give you an idea. "the guardian." has this headline. the u.s. troops are pulling out, but what have the people left behind? iraq has readied itself for a

moment big on symbolism, but like so much of the war and subsequent occupation, what appears to be big in symbolism subject to claims that it is lacking in substnsh. "the national" says this. the future of iraq will not be built on empty words. iraqis will no doubt cheer the moment when the last u.s. service member boards the plane and latches the door, but glossing over the challenges ahead will not see them vanish. "the washington post" man of the shadows. this article actually questions whether the prime minister nuri al maliki is the right guy to lead the country. america's greatest mistake in iraq wasn't toppling saddam but detonating the infrastructure of the government, the army and the educational and social institutions that made civilized life possible. one big question, t.j., can the government really run things in iraq? a lot of corruption. can the iraqi security forces handle the security of the country?

yeah, 650,000 or so of them, but can they actually do it? the one big worry for the u.s. is the influence of iran. when they're out of there, if the iraqis can't handle it, it just opens the door wide for iran. one other thing the iraqi people are saying today is that why a lot of them may be happy to see the americans go, they're also a little bit nervous because they don't know what their future will look like. a lot of them don't have the basic things that were promised like electricity or garbage that hasn't been collected in a really long time. so, there are big questions still left unanswered. t.j. >> zain, thank you. to our viewers we'll work to get arwa damon back up in a moment. she has been doing extensive reporting. really years worth of reporting there in iraq over the last several years. she was there for the ceremony today as officially the war in iraq ended for the u.s. much more on that throughout the morning. we do want to turn here now to politics back in this country. the republican candidates are going to go at it one last time before they start voting in

iowa. the caucus is just around the corner so they get a chance to make their pleas one more time on the stage again tonight. newt gingrich still the person surging in popularity, that means he is going to be the target tonight. >> zany is great in a campaign, great on talk radio, great in the print. it beats, makes for fun reading. but in terms of a president, we need a leader. and a leader needs this to be someone who can bring americans together. >> bring in deputy political director paul steinhauser. you heard him use the word zany. i assume that's not the only name he will be called tonight. >> remember the debate saturday night in iowa, this is the sequel. what we saw then will continue tonight. not just mitt romney, we'll see ron paul, michele bachmann, rick santorum and also taking on gingrich. that's what happens when you are the frontrunner. you have the big bullseye on

your back. this is the last debate before the january 3rd caucuses in iowa and how is gingrich responding to all this kind of stuff? well, he's staying positive, pretty much. take a look to what jim acosta asked him and how he responded yesterday in the campaign trail. >> you're not going to respond to these? >> no. look, i understand what all the consultants are doing, it's fine. they should run their campaign the way they want to. i'll run my campaign the way i want to. >> and gingrich is up with his second ad today. this morning in iowa on iowa television and pretty much has the same message. he stays positive and also says, listen, if those other guys want to go negative, up to them. i'm not doing it. t.j.? >> are they going to take this? frankly, as a little desperation time. this is their last time to be on stage like this together and get this national audience before the votes start coming in iowa for the caucuses. can we maybe see that sense of desperation tonight? can we imagine this might get as nasty as we've seen some of

these things get? >> i think it can. the candidates will be campaigning in iowa pretty much nonstop except for christmas day over the next two and a half weeks. this is the last national televised debate before that. and we saw gingrich yesterday. of course, he's in the spotlight now, no doubt about it. we saw him getting attacked by both the right and the left. take a listen to what happened. a little heckling at an event in iowa yesterday. take a listen. >> okay, one more. >> yes, sir, you talked about money not being everything, but you have getting your millions publishing your books and marketing them and it seems like cheating on your wife? >> other than, other than personal hostility, which is understandable, but not part of the academic experience, how would you know anything about how i published and sold books? >> little taste there of that. maybe some "occupy" protesters

there. but, also, he got attacked by the right. national review. this is what they said about newt gingrich last night. gingrich said he wanted to transform the country and he appears to be able to transform or govern himself. he should be an adviser to the republican party, but, again, not its head. that from the national review. they also seem to give an anti-endorsement to texas governor rick perry, michele bachmann and congressman ron paul. >> paul steinhauser for you in d.c. we'll stay in d.c., a bit of optimism. optimism that maybe you'll be able to keep that $1,000 or so in your check come next year. democrats and republicans may be inching toward a compromise to extend a tax break before it expires on january 1st. our kate bolduan, that is better than a complete halt to negotiations. >> at this point we'll take

anything we can get. there was a big development last night, i should say, between democrats and the white house and in terms of this whole negotiation. democrats and the president they kind of backed down or kind of offered a concession that they were going to be dropping their demand to include a millionaire surtax as kind of the way to pay for this payroll tax cut extension. now, they had wanted to include this as part of any final deal because republicans had been demanding that this tax cut, if it is extended, that it be paid for unlike other tax cuts in the past. so, democrats have been insisting all along that it be part of this deal and last night following a meeting at the white house, democrats kind of made a very significant and pretty major concession in saying that they would drop that demand. but i have to caution, of course, that while this is a development, it's still not clear that the leaders in terms of the negotiations are any closer to a final deal.

this has really become such a contentious fight. adding to this standoff on the payroll tax cut and increasing what is at stake is, as you said, t.j., the payroll tax expires at the end of this month, but right now congress is staring down another government shutdown come tomorrow night. that's because approval of a massive spending bill to fund the government for the next year is being held up why they battle over this payroll tax extension and that's because the most recent funding bill runs out tomorrow night. so, we're now kind of brought two important pieces of end of the year legislation and it's now all in the middle of this big fight. >> another threat. we have done this a number of times this year, another threat of a government shut down they're starting to send people notices. hey, just in case your job might be furlough. this is just foolishness. >> hard for a lot of people to stomach. >> kate bolduan is on it today. let us know if anything happens.

we're going to get back to the story really of the day. and it's really ending a chapter. the final chapter in what's been a nine-year story, really, over in iraq. the u.s. military mission has officially ended there. i want to go back to our arwa damon that has spent extensive time there, literally years in iraq over the past nine years covering this war. back in baghdad there, arwa, how does baghdad and iraq feel different today? >> well, a lot of conflicting emotions here, t.j. where the ceremony took place earlier today. the ceremony that signaled the end of the u.s. military's role in iraq. a lot of conflicting emotions amongst the troops. many of them have spent numerous deployments here and they've seen their friends die right next to them and a lot of conflicting emotions, t.j., against the iraqis.

this war may be ending for the u.s. military, but, still, it still continues. so much uncertainty about the future. they do not know if their country will be able to remain as stable as it is right now and current stability and we must mention this, is still looking like a fairly dangerous situation because around 200 to 300 iraqis still dying here a month. a lot will tell you that they welcomed the united states and that they had big dreams that the u.s. would build skyscrapers, would pave roads, that they would be able to flourish and move forward and, of course, we instead saw the country descend into sheer chaos. really, t.j., because of the amount of blood that was lost here. hard pressed to find a single family that hasn't lost a loved one. that's why there's so many conflicting emotions about the role of the u.s. military and, again, so many fears for the future. >> arwa damon there in baghdad. thank you, again. we'll continue to check in with arwa and many of our

correspondents throughout the coming days and weeks as we see this wind down and even this end the war in iraq. 12 minutes past the hour and we'll turn back to news about your money here in this country. 2011 just about gone and a lot of tax breaks about to be gone, as well. we'll take a look at what is about to expire. stay with us.

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quarter past the hour now. stories making news across country. a university of vermont futernity has been suspended and now under investigation over a rape survey. the survey asked members who they would rape. it surfaced online was discovered this week. the fraternity's national office says it doesn't tolerate any behavior that demeans women. also, look at this crash. it looks like an accident. authorities say it is not, however. the driver is facing attempted murder charges. police in columbia, tennessee, saying the truck crash under to a convenience store last friday while aiming for a woman who was inside. the truck hit the store's owner. the owner was not seriously hurt. a cable installer in new jersey said he dropped everything and got out of there when he saw this. a bear that was in a customer's basement. wildlife officials showed up had to tranquilize and hall off that

500-pound beast. we are in that holiday home stretch. a lot of people out there, spending money. you just can't help it, can you? you're also supposed to be saving some money, if you take advantage of some tax breaks that are about to disappear. our good friend, financial expert clyde anderson here with me. come on, now, saving money right now. is that even reasonable? >> that's the goal. some people out there are actually saving money and not falling through the traps. >> talked about stuff that will disappear at the end of the year. >> get it in right now, this is the time to do it. higher education expenses. >> it's above the line item. generally if you're making $65,000 and $135,000, you can deduct $4,000 for higher education expenses. >> what kind of stuff are we talking here? >> anything you're using to better yourself with your higher education and paying for tuition and things like that. that's $4,000.

it's going away at the end of the year. >> couple weeks to get it in. >> let's turn to mortgage insurance premiums. mortgage insurance premiums are what people pay on their premiums. it protects the mortgage company, basically. you can write it off as the interest that you're paying on it. you can write it off and write off that deduction on your taxes each year. a lot of people pay $78 and $200. that's a big piece of change that they won't be able to deduct at the end of the year. >> sales tax. >> sales tax. a lot of people don't have to pay state or local sales tax. if you are a retired professional and you retired from the city government. you don't have to pay sales tax in certain places. if you buy big ticket items, that's a big deal. now, go ahead and get big ticket items before the end of the year, because come 2012, you won't have that deduction any more. >> did you say go out and buy the big stuff now? >> if you're already planning to buy it. don't just buy it just because.

>> always waiting on that cue. the other thing here, now, this is something we don't think about. people trying to buy gifts and all that stuff. do we have time to do energy efficient upgrades? >> that has been the big thing, going green. everybody has been talking about going green. windows are insulated appropriately and you're not paying huge expenses on bills and especially this time of year. so, a lot of people have gone in retrofitted their homes and done some things to make them green. really, you can only deduct $500, 10%, up to $500 towards those upgrades. that's going away at the end of the year. one-time thing you can do. you can only do it one time. >> all right, this last one here, classroom materials, what's that? >> k through 12, it's the teachers generally can deduct up to $250. if they work at least 900 hours in a school, they can deduct up to $250 for classroom materials and supplies. computer equipment, things they buy for their classroom to help with their learning experience.

>> we'll get right on that. he's really good about getting back to us with answers. good stuff we haven't thought about it. don't go out and buy. we're 19 minutes past the hour now. we've all been there. on a plane next to a total stranger and got nothing to say or wanna say, but at least one airline is trying to change that. it is going to let you use social media to book a seat next to someone you actually want to talk to? that story is coming your way. also, we'll tell you about a major university trying to make school more affordable for middle class students. stay with us. ar, 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

i don't think about the unknown... i just rock n' roll. [ female announcer ] we never forget the nearly 12 million cancer survivors in america today... and the countless lives lost. we owe it to them to protect funding for cancer research, prevention and access to care. congress, make cancer a priority and give millions of americans what they need most.

we've all been on a plane and maybe it's a long flight and you put your headphones on because the person next to you wants to talk too much or maybe you're the talkative type and the person shows no interest in wanting to talk to you. one airline is trying to help and make this whole situation a little less awkward. zain verjee, who i have not had the pleasure of sitting next to on a flight. what is this airline trying to do? how is this airline supposed to help? >> well, what they want to do is use social media like facebook or linkedin and have you basically identify what your interests are, what kind of person you would like to sit next to and then that way you can sit next to someone you actually want to talk to or would be inest thered in talking to rather than ending up like i

do, often, with someone who will not keep quiet or falls asleep on my shoulder and drools. it happens every time. and i mean, the not nice drool. anyway, so, what they're doing is they're launching this campaign on kln, a new kind of mile high club and they're calling it meet and seat. so, that's the idea. so, you don't end up next to someone anonymous and you don't have an anonymous counter and you know someone or i'm with you, i would rather have the noise canceling headphones on the whole time. >> zain, there is no doubt. a match.com kind of thing for the skies. this sounds like a dating thing. >> well, i mean, if you have a few hours to kill on a plane, why not? they're not officially saying that, but, yeah, it does feel like it a little bit, doesn't it? >> it reeks of it. has it started yet? >> no. klm is going to start it next

year, actually. the other airline, molaegz airlines will launch a facebook service whether you can identify if your friends are on the same flight as you and that way you know them and someone you can hang out with on the plane. i would rather just be left alone, t.j., but with you, i would be very happy. >> we all know, it depends on who you get stuck with sometimes whether or not you feel like talking. we'll talk to you here, again, soon. 24 minutes past the hour now. we'll check in with alison kosik who is looking into one california school that are taking unprecedented steps when it comes to students getting an education. at the new york stock exchange for us, we're talking about uc berkeley here, what are they up to? >> when is the last time you heard this from a top school? uc berkeley, t.j., is planning to increase the amount of financial aid. that means for families who have annual incomes between $80,000

and $140,000. here's why it is unheard of. the school is putting a 15% cap on how much parents will have to contribute. so, with a family that makes $120,000, it will only be paying. it actually will pay no more than $18,000 a year, you know what, many say, you know what, it's about time for this. many of these middle class students with these families they don't make enough money to go to the top schools but also make too much to qualify for financial aid. so, what essentially happens is they're essentially shutout and the u.s. has fallen behind other advance countries in some areas and many would argue because of how difficult it is to afford an education in this country. of course, t.j., the hope is that other schools could follow in berkeley's footsteps. t.j.? >> we shall see and only hope. four minutes away from the opening bell, what do we expect today? >> expect a lot of green arrows for a nice change of pace. the dow about to pop 100 points and a flood of upbeat economic

data. unemployment claims tumbled to the lowest level in 3 1/2 years and manufacturing is showing signs of improvement and also getting strong earnings from fedex, as well. fedex topping estimates in the latest quarter saying growth in online shipping, it was strong. nice to see some green arrows after having several days of selling here on wall street. t.j.? >> alison kosik, thank you so much. as we get close to the bottom of the hour now, the u.s. military mission in iraq is over. welcome news to a lot of families who will be welcoming their loved ones home knowing they will not have to go back to iraq, but, still, when they get home, cruel realities are going to set in. looking at the challenges facing our veterans and their families. stay with me.

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as we get close to the bottom of the hour. some stories making headlines. seven miners were rescued after a rock burst in northern idaho. the incident happened a mile underground at the lucky friday mine. the workers made it out okay. no life-threatening injuries to report. also, a glimmer, a glimmer of hope from washington. democrats and republicans met privately wednesday night. a sign, maybe a good sign they may be inching towards a compromise to extend a tax break before it expires on january 1st. also, some decent economic news here related to jobs. labor department just announced that 366,000 jobless claims were

filed for the first time last week. that would be the lowest level we have seen since april of 2008. and today the u.s. military mission formally ends in iraq. but for many troops, a new battle begins, at home. personal demons. physical and emotional scars. our david mattingly taking a look. >> welcome home. >> reporter: soldiers out of iraq and home for the holidays. that alone is worth celebrating. but troops at ft. bragg are looking for more, assurances from the president their sacrifices will not be overlooked. >> there's a lot of stuff behind the scenes that we will never understand. but we do know the government will do its cutbacks. >> reporter: after eight years in iraq and budget cuts at home, soldiers worried about holes opening in safety nets, medical support and treatment for ptsd. how much pain are you in right now? >> i mean, on a daily basis, you

know, it's aches and pains and stabs and needles. >> reporter: iraq vest wesley dunn came home in 2008 with a painful knee injury and eventually an addiction to pain medication. today he is medically retired. do you consider yourselves lucky? >> i came home alive. i can't say the same. i have a number of these bands. corporal ryan woodward he was killed on a mission while i was there. so, there's a lot of people that don't come -- it's not easy, you know. >> reporter: but dodd was also arrested for forging a prescription. he is now on probation. he believes as more troops come home, there will be more like him in pain and in trouble since the war in iraq began, ft. bragg and the army have also had to find new ways to deal with long-term problems of domestic violence and suicide. in just the last week outside bragg, there have been two

murder suicides involving iraq soldiers. one killed a sheriff deputy and another killed his wife. these female iraq vets tell me that military families demand for access to counseling and treatment could go on indefinitely. what's the biggest problem you had when you came back, immediately? >> oh, probably sleeping. oh, lord that was -- >> reporter: nightmares. >> yes. >> reporter: how long did that take for that to go away? >> it doesn't. >> reporter: troops with questions about their futures seem to get their answers. a pledge from the commander in chief. >> you stood up for america, america needs to stand up for you. >> i want to bring in david mattingly now. our viewers heard the president there speaking in broad terms, but any of these members, are they hearing specifically from their government that gives them confidence they're going to be looked at? >> yes, that one line you heard from the president was very

broad, but he did get very specific yesterday, not only did he lay out every bit of acknowledgment for the dangers they faced over there and the sacrifices they made, not just for them and their families, but he was also pointing out that they're going to be there for them in the years to come, not only for whatever physical problems they may have had while they were contributing to the effort in iraq, but also the unseen injuries. that, in itself, was very reassuring to the troops here yesterday. a lot of smiles as these soldiers walked away after that speech. >> all right, david mattingly for us today. david, thank you, as always. just past the bottom of the hour, let's turn back to politics and the countdown is on to iowa. caucuses just 19 days away and the first contest of the republican primary season and the candidates are prepping for a big debate tonight in iowa. this is the final faceoff they'll have before the voters start weighing in in that state. newt gingrich is coming under fire from all of his rivals, but

some of them are gaining ground, as well. take ron paul, who basically tied with mitt romney for second in iowa. >> one thing is characteristic about our campaign is when people join our campaign, they rarely leave. they're real solid, determined supporters. they understand the message about and agree with that. i think it's a very good sign and i think in political terms, it means that we're probably peaking at the right time. >> look at this group. cnn contributor will cain, as well, political analyst roland martin. >> show time, baby! >> good to see you, both. will, he's clearly fired up. i'll let you take the first crack at it. ron paul, we thought newt gingrich the biggest threat to mitt romney, so, does mitt romney now have two threats. two people he needs to go after that are a threat to him getting this nomination? >> you mean ron paul the hotel california of politics.

like he just said, they check you in but they never leave. we know ron paul has a passionate following. 8% to 10% consistently. these people hear the logically consistent message and that's leld 8% to 10%. how did he go from 10% to 20%. the process of two things. that message has gained exposure and some people appreciate it. second, a process of attrition. so many of these candidates have been deemed rightly unacceptable from bachmann to perry to cain and now gingrich. and that's going to bleed over into paul. you know, romney has been the primary beneficiary, but some of that is going to go to paul. the last thing he said in the clip you played, his timing. he's right, his timing is perfect. the spotlight shines bright on the leader. look, ron paul is strong coffee. he's not going to settle well with everyone. >> he's strong coffee. you have a better analogy than that, roland. >> here's the problem. congressman ron paul has always been here. the problem has been, you had

far too many of these washington, d.c., elites. all the political chattering class and they all said, forget ron paul. i remember early on when these polls came out and ron paul finished second or third and people would talk about the person who finished first, third, fourth, ron paul didn't even exist. it's amazing. just yesterday he had fox news' chris wallace basically dismiss iowa by saying, well, if they vote for ron paul, that simply mean s nothing. no, this is the problem, people vote, not polls. political people like us, we don't vote. we're not voting in iowa. let them make a choice and stop predicting who is going to be the nominee, who is going to be the winner. we're always going to be surprised when we play those games. >> do we, let's move to this debate tonight. speaking of, can anyone actually, roland, you can take this one. can anyone have a game changer tonight, as long as there's not a major gaffe from newt gingrich

or ron paul. maybe from mitt romney. i mean, are they kind of going to hold on to those spots? like will said, it's the timing just a few weeks away. >> this is the 1,758th republican debate this year. the reality is, things can change. let's go back to 2007. senator hillary clinton at a debate where she flubbed the answer as related to drivers licenses for illegal immigrants. that was the opportunity that gave senator barack obama the opportunity to step in. she looked invincible up until that point. absolutely. we've seen in all these debates what has happened to congresswoman michele bachmann and governor rick perry. in fact, the last debate, mitt romney did not do so well. so, absolutely. now that more voters are paying attention to politics, the first caucus is a few weeks away and absolutely somebody can make a mistake and can open the door for somebody else.

>> so, will, would you agree with that? newt gingrich then in that mindset, that mentality you're hearing from roland, does he need to hold on and almost run out the clock tonight? >> he would like to do that. i totally agree with roland. the strategist inside washington elites tell us for a long time that ron paul is not viable and we heard several months ago, this is a two-man race between romney and cain and a two-man race between romney and gingrich. this thing can keep changing. we're not even talking about jon huntsman who is polling third in new hampshire, who is the most conservative man on the stage and people want to dismiss because he was working for the obama administration as the ambassador to china. this thing was long from over. we were doing stories a month ago, t.j., why are these guys hanging out? i tell you why he hasn't gotten out of the race? this thing didn't settle. >> go ahead, roland. >> there are 50 states. we should stop this nonsense

that somehow this race is going to be over after iowa, new hampshire, south carolina and nevada. it's not. i certainly believe that this race will go through june. you're going to see shifts back and forth when it comes to the northeast, the south, the midwest, the west, the southeast. so, it's going to be topsy-turvy. let's go ahead and prepare for a six-month battle and stop trying to say four states will determine what the other four to six states should do. >> you wrap it for me here, will. you think it will be the main four states or do you think it will be a long race? >> this is the kind of inside political talk here, but we also have this thing in the republican primaries called, it will make it, as roland said, a fractured race. for going long into the spring, i would say. >> why do you have to complicate things. things were going just fine and you have to throw that at us. will cain, roland martin, fellows, good to see you, as always. i'll see you again plenty.

all right, 40 minutes past the hour now. we'll turn next to comfort foods. you love them and usually they're not good for you, but can you get comfort foods without all the calories? we'll tell you how it's possible. the health segment. the health for her, coming your way, next. hey, hey, hey, hey. i can see who's on my network people! lance? lance? yes, yes you are next. all right. dave, i'm in. ♪ katie! what are you doing, sweetheart? supplementing my allowance. how long have we been gone? [ male announcer ] get low prices on the latest 4g phones, starting at $28.88. save money. live better. walmart.

you xwoi, as it starts to

get a little colder outside, a lot of people want to turn to simple, familiar foods that remind them of their childhood. so-called comfort foods. many of them are high in calories or fat. our elizabeth cohen, though, explains how maybe you can get away with the comfort foods and maybe without the fat and the calories. >> reporter: it's that time of year as the weather gets colder, we may reach for food as comfort. like spaghetti and meatballs, macaroni and cheese and chili, reminding us about the past. >> comfort foods are more about the heart than hunger. >> reporter: marissa moore says comfort foods are often high in fat, calories or sodium. eating too much of them can lead to weight gain, diabetes and heart disease. moore offers these tips to make your own healthy comfort foods just like these culinary students. >> the idea is also to make sure it has a good nutritional profile so it feeds all the senses, as well as the body. >> reporter: for mac and cheese -- >> start with a lower fat milk

that will help cut back on the calories or add vegetables to it. >> reporter: for spaghetti and meatballs. >> instead of using beef, use a lean, ground turkey. switch up your pasta option and use a spaghetti squash which is a winter squash and when you flake it, it kind of looks like this. >> reporter: moore says this makes for a lower calorie and lower carbohydrate dish. >> heart healthy chili is very easy to make. volumize with vegetables. you can add beans, you can add mushrooms and carrots. great ways to increase the fiber. >> reporter: this week's health for her, i'm elizabeth cohen. quarter to the top of the hour now. michael jackson's daughter sitting down for her first solo interview. 13-year-old paris opens up about losing her famous father and the best advice he gave her. that's all next in "showbiz." stay with us. ♪ making your way in the world today ♪

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getting right to our a.j. hammer in new york for us because we now know the golden globe nominees announced just a short time ago, do tell. >> well, here we go. some people are wondering who is on this list, t.j., when it comes to the globes, the better question is, who is not on the list. golden globes take a lot of flack. this is the best party in hollywood and to make sure the hollywood foreign press

association loves to nominate as many big stars as they possibly can. you have stars like brad pitt, george clooney, leonardo decica rio. we have angelina jolie her film about the bosnian war nominated and some people saying, hey, that is a big stretch. six nominations in the movie categories "the help" and "the sendan descendants" and "hugo." "bridesmaids" thrilled to see that nominated "my week with marilyn." i'm sure the hollywood foreign press association wasn't too thrilled when woody haralson,

one of the people presenting the nominations this morning kind of upstaged what was going on. he was doing the best drama category and he plugged his film "rampart" that comes out in january. always a great show. >> what you're supposed to do. any major snubs or anything that people are talking about today. like you said, everybody gets nominated. >> it's kind of one of those deals where they throw it all out there and, you know, really, just looking through the lists and this just happened a short time ago, there's nothing glaring that is standing out to me and some of these films, this is a real indication for what people should also be checking out over the holiday season when they have a little time, too. >> this last one for me, about 45 seconds. paris jackson doing an interview. >> on the ellen degeneres show by herself, her first ever solo interview talking about her famous dad. saying she didn't understand how special he was. listen to what she said. >> did you have any idea that your dad was who he was? >> i just thought he's got a few

songs out, but i figured everyone does that. >> he maz more songs than most people. >> yes. >> but a poised, lovely young woman who has the acting bug and said her dad, t.j., was a big bg her bliss, kind of like he was always able to do. >> that's a kind of cute and innocent answer there. i just thought he had songs like everybody else. just a dad to her. even though he was this to the rest of the world. thanks as always. a.j. will be back with us next hour. more "showbiz" headlines. he'll run down netflix top ten rented movies of all time. can you guess which films might be on the top of that list? you can catch that report next hour with a.j. don't go away. also chris paul finally after all of that controversy, chris paul of the hornets finally headed to los angeles in a trade. he's not going to the lakers. you need to hear this. a little sports for you coming next. bolo snakeskin boots sequin costume

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some of the stories that will be making news a little later today. starting at 1:00 eastern time, jon corzine, ceo of failed securities mf global, he undergoes a hearing of why the firm went belly up. later in that hour in orlando millionaire and convicted murderer bob ward has

a sentencing hearing. tonight, in sioux city iowa, the last of the gop presidential debate gets underway at 9:00 eastern time. we're following a number of developments in the next hour. let's check in with our correspondents. let's start with martin savage. >> reporter: t.j., we're here in kuwait. this is the first stop for soldiers coming out of iraq. whether it's the first or sixth, they realize this is say moment of history. they are a witness to t. we talk to them about it. >> i'm alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. new evidence this morning that the job market is actually getting better. first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell to a level we haven't seen in 3.5 years. the question is will the trend continue. i'll have details coming up. >> reporter: i'm paul steinhauser at the cnn political desk. front-runner newt gingrich is going to stay positive. is he? details at the top of the hour. martin, alison, paul, thank

you all. we'll see you here shortly. we'll be talking with congressman steve king of iowa. the state at the center of the political universe right now. polls have been all over the place this year. republican presidential front-runners have come and gone. newt gingrich is currently on top. we'll ask him who he thinks who could come out on top and why he hasn't endorsed anyone yet. to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today. not quite knowing what the next phase was going to be, you know, because you been, you know, this is what you had been doing. you know, working, working, working,

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we were going at it here during the commercial break. we have one story. jeff is with us now. this is a story that's infuriorating to a lot of sports fans and some people in the nba. >> it's an nba blockbuster deal. you're hearing a lot of fans frustrated. chris ball gets traded to la. that's a big deal. the four-time all-star isn't going to the lakers. he's going to the clippers. commissioner david stern finally gave his blessing for the league-owned new orleans hornets to trade paul. he'll team up with blake griffin to make the most exciting one-two punch in the league. who's furious, the other l.a. team. last week stern stopped a deal that would have sent the 26-year-old star to the lakers. a lot of people are criticizing the league saying this whole thing was completely unfair to the lakers and embarrassing to the league.

>> paul, on the lakers would have been exciting. >> hamilton county ohio's prosecutor says he won't be filing criminal charges against the players in saturday's bench clearing brawl between the rivals. four players on each team got suspensions ranging from one to six games. the prosecutor says he spoke to both coaches and feels like the schools are doing a good job handling the situation. last night cincinnati played its first game since the fight and won. baylor honored its first ever heisman trophy winner. rg 3 got a chance to watch the doous bell low show early on to slam and then in the second half it gets even better from the deuce. watch him fly in and the windmill. bears win easy, 69-42. how about baylor in the top 20 in both football and basketball. >> t.j., finally. >> this is during an exhibition in belgium. she made an unusual dare to fans. she said, go ahead, kiss the

opponent and you get a new car. so a couple of guys run out, bad, bad idea. she was joking around having fun during exhibition. security, of course, has to run in. fortunately everyone was still laughing afterwards. yeah, not a good idea. >> that's not funny. she was joking. that's hilarious. >> yeah, didn't turn out funny. >> thanks so much. we are at the top of the hour. hello to you all. i'm t.j. holmes in today for kyra phillips. this hour we need to begin in iraq. the flag is lowered and the u.s. military mission formally ends in iraq nearly nine years after "shock and awe," a small, somber ceremony paying tribute to america's sacrifice.

>> we remember the nearly 4500 brave americans who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country as well as the more than 30,000 wounded warriors, many of whom still struggle with serious life-altering injuries. >> right now just a few thousand u.s. service members remain in iraq. they're streaming out of the country. cnn's martin savage has been with these service members on this long and dangerous road to kuwait. joins us from camp virginia. hello to you. what is the schedule, if you will, for getting all those few thousand out of iraq, getting them to kuwait and then from kuwait back to the u.s.? >> reporter: hello, t.j. the schedule pretty much is kept under raps at this point. they are not going to announce when the final pullout will take place other than what's already been announced by the president of the united states, that

december 31st is the deadline. beyond that they consider any other time line to be operational security and so they're not saying. we do realize it's going to be fairly soon. there are a lot of troops that have, of course, already left and camp virginia here is the first stop and the first step on the way back home. one of the things when you talk to the soldiers here, whether it's their first deployment or for some of them it's their fifth, maybe their sixth time coming to iraq, they have been here from the beginning. they definitely are here at the end. they know that's an important part of history, and many of the soldiers have spoken about that. we talked to some of them. here's what they had to say. >> being part this have part of history for the u.s., to be part of this big moment of pushing out, it being over, it's awesome. i think it's going to be a good way to finish my military career, saying that i was here from the beginning to the end. >> i am proud to be a part of

that. i have thought about it a lot, especially when i left iraq. i was like, wow, this is going to be the last time that i'm actually entering this country. i'm happy to be going home, but i also have a lot of fond memories with people i've served with before and as well as those that we have lost. >> reporter: how do you feel about the mission? >> the mission? we finished it. that's how i feel about t. we finished, went there, did what we have to do, now it's time to go. >> reporter: you know, that's a complicated question, actually. it may sound simple, how do you feel about the mission, but they realize that the u.s. has been there for nine years almost now and that that mission has been at times very controversial, very difficult. but the american soldiers will say they have done the very best to prepare the iraqi police, to prepare the iraqi military, to help plant the seeds of democracy so that this government and the nation can move forward. they know there's still a lot in question about iraq, but they also know they've done the best they can.

t.j. >> martin savage, there for us at camp virginia. thank you. meanwhile it was yesterday that president obama paid tribute to the troops. he was in north carolina at ft. bragg. >> we're building a new partnership between our nations, and we are ending a war not with a final battle but with a final march toward home. this is an extraordinary achievement. nearly nine years in the making, and today we remember everything that you did to make it possible. >> i want to turn now to zain verjee who's in london for us keeping an eye on how the world is reacting to what we're seeing in iraq. >> hi, t.j. all eyes on baghdad today for this historic moment for which there has been a lot of blood, sweat and tears on both the iraqi and the u.s. side. let me give you a snapshot of some of the headlines, okay? let's take a look at "the guardian." the u.s. troops are pulling out

but what of the people left behind? it says, iraq has readied itself this week for a moment big on symbolism, but like so much of the war and subsequent occupation, what appears to be big in symbolism is subject to claims that it is lacking in substance. from the united arab emirates, "the national" says the future of iraq will not be built on empty words. iraqis will no doubt cheer the moment when the last u.s. service member boards the plane and latches the door. glossing over the challenges ahead will not see them vanish "the washington post" is an article that talks about nuri al-maliki and whether he can do the job well. it says america's greatest mistake in iraq was not toppling saddam but detonating the infrastructure of the government, the army, the educational and social institutions that made civilized life possible. so the big question is can this government fix it. can they run things properly in

the country. there's still so much corruption. can they get the basics up and running again, which is things like electricity for all people. get the garbage picked up on time. a lot of analysts, t.j., are worrying, too, that once the u.s. pulls out and the iraqis are running the show will it leave a lot more room for the iranians to jump in and medal. >> zain verjee from london. we'll have a whole lot more on the end of iraq. we'll take you back to wag dad. arwa damon will bring you the story of an iraqi war widow who is not so sure americans should be leaving the country. that story coming your way in just a bit. turn back to this country and some optimism coming out of washington, d.c. yeah, optimism that you may be able to keep that thousand dollars in your pay check it at the beginning of the year. democrats and republicans may be inching, inching toward a compromise to extend the tax break before it expires on

january 1st. kate baldwin on capitol hill for us. kate, i talked to you an hour ago. any movement in the past hour? >> reporter: other than me coming over to capitol hill, not quite yet. i'll tell you that, t.j. you have to offer the appropriate amount of caveats as we're speaking about this. they may be inches but they are far from there yet we have to caution. what we're talking about in terms of where is the inching, where is the movement, well, yesterday democrats as well as the white house made a major concession in terms of this ongoing battle over how to extend the payroll tax cut extension. democrats and the president dropped their demand for including a millionaire surtax as the way to kind of cover the cost of this payroll tax extension. this is significant because they have been insisting on this all along, that it needed to be part of any final deal. republicans clearly opposed to a surtax -- to a tax on income over a million dollars, but again i'll caution that while a

development it's into the clear that leaders are any closer to that final end game. leaders for the first time during this battle, they did sit down face to face last night to kind of, it was described by one aid, as a gut check to where things stand. i'm told there are no leader meetings scheduled but on the staff level they will be meeting and discussing possibly how they're going to try to find a path forward. add to this that congress is now staring down another government shutdown tomorrow. it's been caught up in this end of year battle. i think it's safe to say it's gotten a little messy, but it's no surprise as we're talking about congress. so what we're going to be watching very closely today is to see where there is any movement and how congress is going to be able to avoid, if they are, going to be able to avoid a government shutdown as it's coming very close. the most recent spending bill runs out friday night. so they need to make some

decisions and make some decisions fast. >> kate baldwin on capitol hill. we'll check in with you again. thanks so much. let's turn back to politics n iowa in particular. with 19 days to go until the iowa caucuses. this is kicking off the whole primary season. his lead slipping a bit. his critics are out in force as well, including a couple of hecklers. >> and i think that you have -- >> how would you know? >> been cheating on your wife. >> other than personal hostility. >> we're protesters today. >> well, along with gingrich's infidelity, the guy criticized his rich book deals. carol costello asked him about the outburst on "american morning." >> you were criticizing newt gingrich's three marriages. is that really important in a

president of the united states, that he is faithful? >> absolutely. absolutely. i mean, 1994-'95 he was cheating on his wife and here he wants to look in the congress like he's a saint and trying to get clinton impeached while he's -- while clinton was having an affair with monica, he was cheating on his wife and being a big hypocrite about it. >> coming your way tonight, gingrich joining other republican candidates for the last debate before the iowa caucuses. indeed, you have seen gingrich surge over the past few weeks. 's at the top of a lot of those polls out there. that popularity is going to make him the target tonight. >> it's great in a campaign, it's great on talk radio, it's great in the print. it makes for fun reading. in terms of a president, we need a leader and a leader needs to

be someone who can bring americans together. >> let me bring in our deputy political director, paul steinhauser. paul, this is mitt romney trying to take on newt gingrich. as far as one and two at the top of many of these polls. you all don't sleep on the man ron paul over here. >> ron paul also critical of newt gingrich. we've seen that. he's got ads up in iowa that are critical of gingrich. t.j., this is show time tonight. as you said, the last debate before the january 3rd caucuses in iowa. they kick off the primary caucus calendar. it could be a reprize. there may be a seek kwal to saturday night. we saw gingrich come under attack from the other candidates. stay tuned to see if that happens and how he responds. as of now he's staying positive he says. he's not really responding much other than to defend himself from these attacks. 's not going on the attack or is he? take a listen to this new ad out in iowa. >> these are challenging and important times for america. we want and deserve solutions.

others seem to be more focused on attacks rather than moving the country forward. that's up to them. >> staying positive but maybe also a little dig there at his other rivals. >> we talk about the criticism. we expect him to get it from the left and we expect him to get it really from some of his fellow candidates. it's left, right. people are coming out of the woodworks coming after gingrich right now. >> oh, yeah. you showed those protesters yesterday at that event in iowa city. some on the right. some conservatives still not crazy about newt gingrich. the national review, pretty influential. check out what they said. this is an anti-endorsement. gingrich has said he wants to transform the country. he appears unable to transform himself. he should be an adviser to the republican party. not its head. they gave an anti-endorsement to texas governor rick perry, michele bachmann and to ron paul. t.j.? >> paul steinhauser, thank you.

as always we will continue the conversation about iowa, which of course is the center of the political universe right now. that's coming your way after the break talking to influential congressman steve king about who he could possibly endorse. he hasn't endorsed anybody yet and here we are a few weeks away from the iowa caucuses. a student who says she was brutally hazed at florida a&m is breaking her silence. also breaking his silence, the university president. [ female announcer ] instantly smooth wrinkles with a shot? wait a second... with olay challenge that. new regenerist wrinkle revolution... relaxes the look of wrinkles instantly, and the look of deep wrinkles in 14 days. ready, set, smooth...

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getting a look at some of the stories making news across

the country. university of vermont frat has been suspended over a rape sur view. it was done by sigma phi epsilon. they asked their members who they would rape. surfaced on line and was discovered this week. the fraternity's national office says it does not condone any behavior that demeans women. look at this crash. it happened because somebody did it on purpose. the driver's facing attempted murder charges now. police in columbia, tennessee, say a man crashed his truck into a convenience store last friday and he was aiming at a woman inside. the truck hit the store's owner. the owner not seriously hurt. now listen to this out of the state of michigan. it's going into the new year with more than $1 billion in extra funds. that is bus of an unexpected revenue and money that did not get spent. michigan started the fiscal year about $1.5 billion in the hole. all right.

iowa caucuses just 19 days away. new poll from american research group shows newt gingrich still sitting on top as you see there but, look, his lead over mitt romney and ron paul within the sampling of errors. have you noticed how iowa has been the state of musical republican front-runners. before it was michele bachmann. then rick perry came along and he was the one to beat in september. then move to october where mitt romney was once again doing pretty well. then you remember the whole herman cain train. it's off the tracks now. he was the guy in november. now newt gingrich appears to be the front-runner even if it's just barely. iowa republicans, they seem pretty fickle. it's about time to make up their minds. one influential iowa republican, he hasn't made up his mind either. congressman, i know you haven't made up your mind and told people because you were waiting. you and i go way back. you were waiting for an opportunity to get on air with me and tell us who you're going

to endorse. go ahead. tell us now, who are you endorsing in this republican field. >> you know, t.j., i just wish i had it in my head, heart and soul to answer this question with a robust response in the same tone that you've asked it. i haven't come to that conviction for a lot of reasons. the same reasons that a lot of e iowa ans haven't settled. part of it is my level of respect for all the candidates, the effort they put out. they've all got something to offer and it's really hard to settle on that one that can solve this problem for the future. >> okay. let's get into some of those reasons in a second. do you plan on endorsing someone before the iowa caucuses? >> i have planned on doing that since, oh, let's say maybe last january or so. >> will you? >> i thought that september, october would be a good time. we're in december and i hope to still endorse someone, just at this point i don't have an internal secret name. so, therefore, i can't tell you

whether i will or whether i won't. i will do it if it's a convi conviction. if i don't come to a conviction i'll have to say i don't want to make a recommendation because this is too important to take it off of balance in any small way if i don't have the conviction that would follow through. >> well, isn't that a problem if you don't have that conviction? that sounds to me as if, and a lot of voters will tell you that, i don't believe in any of these candidates enough to win me over just yet. you might get to a point where you just have to walk and vote if you will. a lot of people have to do that. it sounds like you're not sold on anybody because you don't believe in this field or these individuals enough? >> you can look at that from the opposite side of the coin too. every one of them will make a better presz than the one we have. i will be a supporter for the eventual nominee. when i look at them on the stage, i can visualize them in the white house. can i visualize doing business with them. so then it becomes down to who

really is the one here. here's one of the things that holds me back, and that is that we have a huge national debt. it was going to be 28 trillion in ten years. the debt ceiling cut it to 26. the ryan budget was going to be 23 trillion. we gave up on that. i have yet to hear a presidential candidate articulate the scope of the debt of the problem we are in and apply a solution and give us a date certain, as certain as they can, by which we would begin to pay the first dollar off on our national debt. that must happen with this next president. it's not going to happen with this congress or this president. >> sounds like you need more details. the debate tonight, not going to sway you one way or another. it's about having a plan, not a debate performance? fair to say? >> yes. i bring these things up because in a way it's a challenge for these presidential candidates. they are so wrapped up in the swirl of the campaign. it's awfully hard for them to step back and take a look at

what the country needs. it's shifted globally. greece, italy, all those countries in europe. the instability of the euro and the eu itself tell us we have to fix this problem inside of five years, not in ten or 20 years. >> representative king, you are always welcome to come back any time and make that endorsement. you have a couple of weeks to figure this out. always good to talk to you. i should let our viewers know that representative king does not believe there would be a government shutdown. still, it's a lot of work to be done over the next couple of days. coming your way next 2rks21 past the hour. we're heading to the new york stock exchange next. also a little later we'll tell you why so many gop presidential hopefuls took time off from the campaign trail to catch a movie and maybe a few voters along the way.

presidential hopefuls took time

three straight days of losses. stocks though posting a nice little rebound. let's bring in alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. investors in a bit of a buying mood today? >> in a bit of a buying mood. some upbeat news, t.j., finally giving stocks a jolt after what's been a pretty blah week on wall street. we learned that jobless claims fell by 19,000. we haven't seen claims at that level in 3.5 years. here on wall street investors got a separate reading on factory readings. fed ex reported profits that

soared more than 75% in the latest quarter. the shipping company said it had healthy growth in online shopping boosting the demand for delivery services. that good news has fed ex shares jumping almost 5%. >> we thank you, as always. 25 minutes past the hour let us say hello to reynolds wolf. >> i haven't had a chance to see you in a little bit. i love what you've done. i need to find your interior decorator. >> made changes. >> nice. >> the election season. this weekend though, this is the last -- everybody is shopping this weekend. >> they're going to be shopping with the gifts under one arm, the umbrella under the other. right now we have rain we've been dealing with in at least a third of the nation. we're talking about a frontal boundary that extends well over 1,000 miles in parts of the northeast clear down to portions of texas. look at the result. what will we see? we'll see delays. we have some backups in places like philadelphia, new york, san

francisco. the worst one is the ground stoppage in philadelphia. 45 minute waiting at lga. other delays that we anticipate will be in boston, chicago, cleveland, detroit. out west in san francisco we have morning showers that we will see linger on into the afternoon. when they do, we'll see some of that moisture make its way up into portions of the sierra nevada. rain to snow. some could be heavy at times. delays the big story we're dealing w. wind in parts of southern california. i'm going to pass it is over to you. >> you're done already? i wanted to hear much more. >> i know you did. >> thanks so much, buddy. also coming up we'll ask our political buzz panel about a political buzz word. zainy, when was the last time you heard that word? certainly directed at a presidential candidate. that is coming up. also a little later, netflix most rented movie of all time.

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at the bottom of the hour now. give you a look at some of the stories making headlines. seven miners were rescued after a rock burst. this happened a mile underground at the lucky friday mine. that's what it's called. they made it out okay. also you remember the amanda knox case. is it not over for her? american student convicted of murdering her roommate in italy. she was cleared after an appeal released in october.

in legal papers published today the judge says knox was clear to murder due to lack of evidence proving she was guilty. former french president jacques chirac has been found guilty. chirac was given a two-year suspended sentence. a court in the french capitol made the announcement today. we start now with our political buzz. your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. three questions. 30 seconds on the clock. who is playing? democratic strategist robert zimmerman. patricia murphy, and's back. cnn contributor will cain making another appearance today. always good to talk to you. first question, it really is the story of the day really marking the end, the formal end of the war in iraq. some republicans like john

mccain say leaving is a mistake. triumphing over military necessity in baghdad and washington. this is to you, robert, is iraq going to be a campaign issue in 2012? >> no, it's not going to be because, t.j., the country is just over the kind of partisan political games that john mccain and his republican colleagues are engaging in. when george w bush put this plan in place, john mccain didn't challenge it. barak obama successfully executed it. in fact, the iraqi government made it clear they wanted us to leave. the real focus should be trying to help our veterans as they return home. cnn has done a masterful job of that with their series. john mccain and his colleagues could take a lesson. >> patricia, let me bring you in. beyond president obama being able to say promise kept, is it going to be a campaign issue? >> i don't think it's going to be a campaign issue in the general election because 75% of americans don't want america to

be there. there is war fatigue. they are ready to get out of iraq. ten years to most americans is too long. i think we'll hear a lot of it in the republican primary. some candidates do want to get out of iraq, including ron paul who is surging in some of these polls. also i think a lot of the republicans are going to point to this as an example of president obama not having strong leadership skills. to the extent we hear about it it's going to be, i think, a way to criticize the president's leadership. >> will? >> no, it won't be a campaign issue in 20126789 patricia alluded to the statistics there. something like 80% of americans support the decision to pull out of iraq. only 30% of americans feel like the iraq war was worth the effort. my opinion doesn't have anything to do with that. it doesn't matter what i think if it was the right thing or not. americans don't. no republican candidate will take it up as a mantle on the campaign trail. i want to take robert to task. he called mccain's statement partisan. i think he truly believes it.

he believes we should maintain a presence. >> then he would have made that point when george bush was in office, will. it's partisan. >> let's move on. i know rebuttals. you can't help yourself. let's listen to mitt romney describe his dear friend newt gingrich. listen to this. >> zany is great in a campaign. it's great on talk radio. it's great in the print. it makes for fun reading, but in terms of a president, we need a leader and a leader needs to be someone who can bring americans together. >> patricia, let me start with you. zany. he's kind of calling him a clown there in some respect. is that an appropriate word for anybody to use to describe another serious candidate? also, would some say that it kind of fits newt gingrich? >> i don't think it fits newt gingrich. i have never heard anybody describe newt gingrich as zany. i've heard him described as a lot of things that are not very positive, but zany is not really one of them. i think this says a lot more

about mitt romney, how incredibly uncomfortable he looks going after anybody, even newt gingrich who has very high negatives amongst some republicans. it's hard for him to go after newt gingrich. i think this is why some republicans are uncomfortable with mitt romney. he's not comfortable taking the fight to anybody and they're worried he won't take the fight to president obama. >> look, i don't think zany is inappropriate. whoa, you called me zany. i don't think it's accurate either. the word i would pick is nars si sis stick to describe newt gingrich. everything from his character to his personality to his substance, policy decisions reflect a total lack of humility. he's not someone that is humble. humility is integral to conservatism. understanding your limits, understanding the limits of government power, understanding unintended consequences. >> robert, right word, wrong word?

>> lucy and ethel are zany. abbott and costello are zany. when you look at his comments, he's more obsessed with hitler than ava brawn. his comments are demonic and they show he doesn't have an understanding of history. >> we'll have fun on this one. if our viewers haven't seen this clip you need to see this one. herman cain, i know, you remember him, maybe even miss him a bit. he was on barbara walters most intriguing people special. listen to this interaction. >> reporter: what kind of cabinet position might you like if it were possible? >> we are speaking totally, totally hypothetical, right? >> reporter: yes. >> totally, totally hypothetical. department of defense. >> reporter: what? >> her reaction is classic. will, what is your reaction?

what would your reaction be to a herman cain secretary of defense? >> herman cain secretary of defense. i could not think of one he would have named that he would have been more ill suited for. this was a man that felt like it was important for us to root the taliban out of libya. that joke can escape many people's attention here. the taliban is in afghanistan, not in libya. you don't root the taliban out of libya, okay? he is not well-versed on foreign policy. >> robert, your reaction? he could have studied up a little bit, right? >> herman cain is right where he belongs, on specials with the kardashian sisters. maybe he can be an apprentice with the donald trump show. he has no relevance in the political discussions today. certainly no relevance or role in government. he might have a chance with reality tv. >> patricia? herman cain was reality tv out there on the campaign. you wrap this up. herman cain, secretary of defense?

>> packing my bags. moving. >> where are you going? >> to canada. that scares me a little too much. >> all right. clearly it scared barbara walters there. her reaction was really the highlight of that clip. robert, patricia, will, always good to talk to you three. i know i'll talk to you soon. we're about 37 minutes past the hour now. it is the awards show that gives you insight into who may be taking home the oscar. the golden globe nominations announced just this morning. who's leading the pack. any surprises in there?

all right. george clooney, he is one of the top nominees for the golden globes. a.j. hammer live for us in new york. everybody's anxious to know who made the list. what does this mean for the oscars as well? >> well, of course everybody sees this as a precursor to the oscars. although the nominations often agree, the winners not so much. george clooney, great morning for him getting multiple nominations today. one for best actor in a drama, he also got nominated for best director for the identifiooids . both of those movies nominated in the best drama category. ryan goes link getting

nominations. best actor in a drama for ides. he also got one for "crazy stupid love." . the silent film artist leading the way, six in total, including one for best in musical or comedy. in that category it's up against 50-50. the great movie bridesmaids. i can't wait to get his reaction. in that category, midnight in paris and my week with marilyn. i jegs spoke with best supporting no, ma'am me, kenneth brannah. he told me the golden globes, always one of the biggest parties on the planet. he is so humbled to be there, to be nominated. this is his fourth or fifth nomination, i believe. hasn't won one yet. he has a huge smile on his face. >> he has good reason to. we talked about those new movies and latest movies. this netflix list now, most rented movies. i was trying to come up with some. i didn't. tell us about this list.

curious. >> what do you think would be at the top of the list? >> of all time? man, that's a tough one. maybe "titanic" is up there somewhere. >> you would think that. not even in the top five. >> okay. >> great film does top this list, however, of the most rented film all times, "the blindside." "crash." "the bucket list." these are movies people are sitting around and want to see. this is all time now. if you want to see where "titanic" landed or see your favorite, they did 100 movies. check it out on netflix.com. great advice for some suggestions. >> good stuff. a.j., always good to see you. thank you so much. to our viewers, you want more information, can you get everything in the news, the entertainment world. breaking news, a.j. has it for you this evening, "showbiz tonight" at 11:00 on hln. about 42 minutes past the hour now. i want to turn now back to a

story that's been the headlines the past couple of weeks. shocking story. a student has come forward who said she was brutally hazed at florida a&m. she's now breaking her silence. the school president speaking out as well. those details straight ahead. stay with me. d stubbed up. [ male announcer ] sorry, buddy. truth is, nyquil doesn't un-stuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] it doesn't have a decongestant. really? [ male announcer ] you need a more complete cold formula, like alka-seltzer plus liquid gels. it's specially formulated to fight your worst cold symptoms, plus relieve your stuffy nose. [ deep breath ] thank you! [ male announcer ] you're welcome. that's the cold truth! [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels. ♪ oh what a relief it is! ♪ and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. [ woman ] lower cholesterol. [ man 2 ] yummy. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios.

story that's been the headlines

about a quarter of the top of the hour now. nearly a month after a drum major died after suspected

hazing. the fallout from the florida a&m hazing continues. they have suspended marching bands county wide as it investigates possible hazing there. champion and a college band mate arrested on hazing charges attended the same high school. as well as bria hunter. she was badly injured at college this fall she says. wxia just released an interview it did with hunter before she went public. that's why her face is blurred. >> the first day, everybody -- not everybody but a few people got hit. >> reporter: i need to stop. i'm not comfortable. >> he totally did. >> reporter: you may ask near question. >> okay. >> it turns out hunter won't be going back to florida a&m. she's giving up her scholarship.

she's withdrawing and filing a lawsuit against the school. meanwhile, the school president has been reprimanded in connection with the scandal. now there he is. you're seeing a picture of him there. he is now -- his name is james ammons. he is speak to go jason carroll about what's been going on at the school. >> one of the things that we have found with hazing is that there is a veil of secrecy. this is a culture not just here at florida a&m university, it's on college and university campuses all across america. >> reporter: have you made any headway into making some changes here at the university, things that you can tell us, some tangible things? >> there have been people incarcerated as a result of hazing so, i mean, there is a stiff law. there are legal consequences for anyone engaged in hazing.

>> reporter: do you believe you bear personally any responsibility for what has happened to any of these students here? >> personal responsibility? i have done everything in accordance to the law here in the state of florida. >> meantime, the hazing investigation has sparked another probe into possible fraud at the school. authorities uncovered some financial irregularities. we're going to be going in depth on iraq and the war that's wrapping up. we'll do that after a break. a war that made many iraqi women, this one in particular, a widow. >> suddenly the scorched thing is the same person that used to be a beating heart living next to you. >> reporter: it was as if she was wearing a cloak of death, she says. >> her story coming next. stay with us. [ mom ] scooter? your father loves

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well, in iraq a flag comes down. the u.s. military mission formally ends. u.s. troops are finished with their combat roll after nearly nine years of fighting and sacrifice. defense secretary leon panetta flew to baghdad for the flag-lowering ceremony. not everyone happy about u.s. forces leaving.

cnn's arwa day monday reports. >> reporter: come see. she calls out to her ten-year-old son. he was so little. she's looking at photos from when we first met four years ago, a time when she was robbed of joy. her husband, mohammed, a doctor died in a bombing two months earlier. the only thing she could identify his charred body by was the pin in his knee. >> suddenly the scorched thing is the beating heart that used to be laying next to you. >> reporter: it was as if she was wearing a cloak of death she says. life became black and white. >> now it's bursting with color again. inside this is still me. i love people. i love them so much. if i have someone in the car with me, as soon as they leave, i put my hand down to feel the

heat left by their body. >> reporter: she needs to feel life. her happiness is her son whose autism put him in a special needs school but just this year he transferred into a regular one. he lives with the tragedy of death. >> every morning the first thing he does is recite a list of the dead and how they died and when he draws, he draws a cloud and rain and then paints over it in black. this child who seems happy on the surface carries a darkness inside because of the death of his father and the death of so many of our friends. >> reporter: she says she can't bear to be alone with her thoughts. she keeps herself busy. we walked down the road to visit a friend in one of baghdad's historic old villas. the beauty and the man cured lawn, she says, is a glimpse of what she dreamed the american invasion would bring to iraq.

instead, there are scars from shrapnel from insurgent mortars. to the left a bridge that was blown up a few years ago. where the river bends, one of saddam hussein's former palaces that was used as a u.s. military base in what was a notoriously dangerous neighborhood. >> when i was his age i would come here. iraq was heaven. >> reporter: she says she is still happy the americans came but has a hundred questions. why did the americans make so many mistakes? was it out of ignorance? was it deliberate? >> the americans are leaving iraq fragile. they haven't even planted the seeds to give us hope that we are heading towards democracy, rule of law and a civil society. >> reporter: and she fears that death will take her loved ones once again. >> reporter: t,that view and concern shared by many iraqis we have been speaking to over the last few days as the u.s.

military gears up to fully see a complete withdrawal by the end of this month. behind me, that casing of the color ceremony took place here. the united states officially ending its military role here, ending the war, at least when it comes to the americans. when it comes to the iraqis, t.j., there are tens of thousands of women like her and there are even more who share that very same concern. they realize that their country is still fragile and they wish for the day when they could be completely certain that they would be able to have a bright and better future. t.j.? >> all right. arwa damon for us. thank you so much for that. as we get closer to the top of the hour we'll turn back to the economic situation in the country. when you check the label of just about anything you buy, chances are it is not made in america. >> i'm almost sick of hearing it. we don't make anything in america anymore. >> yeah, me too. people say we can't do it here. we can do it here and we do a lot here. ahead in the newsroom, we

found a place in america creating jobs here and around the world.

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com skbroo movie nights on the gop campaign trail? four republican presidential candidates taking time off to catch a movie? let me bring in our mark preston. 's in d.c. for us. now what got them off the trail for movie night, if you will? >> well, t.j., they certainly

probably grabbed some popcorn and sat down and watched the movie. they certainly were not off the trail. the movie last night that was airing in des moines was a documentary that was an anti-abortion rights documentary. in fact, the documentary was called "gift of life." four republican presidential candidates showed up for it. rick santorum, rick perry, michele bachmann who did not show up for it by the way was mitt romney and ron paul. they had different schedules. another person that was there was newt gingrich. now the four republican candidates all pledged that they were anti-abortion presidents. they would do all they could to try to make abortion outlawed here in the united states. as you and i know, t.j., that's going to be a very tough thing to do given the state of play we are in the country right now. of course, the supreme court's already weighed in on it. >> certainly should have known better, even when you say there's movie night. they're never really off the trail. mark preston for usth