sgmd. it's on my life's dream at cnn.com/sanjay. enjoy the ongoing conversation on twitter @sanjayguptacnn. a check of the top stories on the cnn "newsroom." at the top of the hour on this cnn saturday morning. 8:00 a.m. in atlanta, it's 9:00 p.m. in the philippines where 180 people are dead after a tropical storm slammed that country and there is a desperate search and rescue effort going on right now. also, congress reaches a deal to stop the government from taking more out of your paychec paycheck6, however thshgs is a temporary fix. we're headed live to d.c. also, would you ask your boss' wife out on a date? especially if your boss is the president of the united states?

we'll explain this and you've been chiming in on it this morning as well. let's start with the senate. open for business today. they'll be in session. first on that agenda is extending the payroll tax holiday. this is a compromised keel that appears to have been reached. it's just an extension that goes for two months. it means we have to come back and do this all over again in 60 days. athena jones from the white house today. athena, the white house at least happy to know that the taxes for a lot of folks in this country will not go up january 1? >> well, yes, they say they are. they say this deal meets the test that the president set out. he's been saying for days and weeks, really, that the important thing is that taxes for 160 million americans don't go up on january 1st and even though they'll have to return to this whole issue in another two months, for now this is a significant step and it's a significant provision of the american jobs that the president put forward.

i'll read part of the statement from the white house communications director regarding this vote that's coming up and the deal is a significant victory for the people and the economy because independent analysts have said failing to extend this tax cut have had a damaging effect on the recovery and job growth. they've been arguing this point that before the average family they'll get an extra $1,000 in their pockets and they'll keep the payroll tax rate at 4.2% rather than 6.2% and they say it's a victory. there's an issue here and that is the issue with the keystone pipeline. senator from south dakota had to say about that issue and that we'll have to return to this on erin burnett last night. >> we'll have to see the same thing that passed in the house of representatives pass in the senate, and they would not accept offsets to pay for it in the senate. this is what we got down to in term its of a package that we

could get support from both republicans and democrats for. for republicans this is a victory in the sense that the keystone pipeline was important. we think the real jobs component in this bill. this is the thing that really creates jobs in the near-term. >> and so that's the issue. in the end the provision they're voting on today, the bill they're voting on today includes a provision that would speed up, force the the administration to make a decision to get a permit for the pipeline from canada to texas to carry oil to refineries down there, it's raised the ire of some environmentalists. the administration wants to spend more time studying it and want to make a decision in 2013. this would require them to make a decision much sooner. that's something that the president had said they didn't want, but clearly they're willing to settle to include this in order to give middle class families a tax break. >> athena jones, keeping an eye on things for us in d.c., thank you. >> the senate, not just a

payroll tax to talk about today. they'll be in session in about an hour. they have the $1 trillion spending bill. this is the one that will keep the lights on and keep the government running from last september. they'll have a one-day continuing resolution and they did that so they can vote on the actual big bill today since the the government ran out of money technically at midnight last night. it includes spending cuts for the department of homeland security and fema, aid to pakistan. four minutes past the hour. we'll turn to presidential politics. mitt romney has picked up a big endorsement in the race for the nomination. south carolina governor nicky haley says romney is her guy. >> it is with great pride, great support that michael and i are very proud to say that we are endorsing governor mitt romney for president of the united states.

haly won, has third on the nominate be calendar. bigger endorsement is up for grabs later today in iowa. that's when the des moines register will be picking a candidate for the iowa caucuses. iowa certainly the place to be, but not for everybody. those at the top of the pack not in iowa, but some others, rick santorum, rick perry and michele bachmann and mitt romney is in iowa with nikki haley. in his weekly address, president obama helps the fighting men and women coming home from iraq. >> this week marked a historic moment in the life of our country and our military. for nearly nine years our nation has been at war in iraq. more than upon 1.5 million americans have served there with honor, skill and bravery.

tens of thousands have been wounded. military families have sacrificed greatly, none more so than the families of those nearly 4500 americans who made the ultimate sacrifice. all of them are troops, veterans and their families will always have the thanks of a grateful nation. on thursday the colors our armed forces fought under in iraq were formerly cased in the ceremony in baghdad before they began their journey back home. our troops are preparing to make their final march across the border and out of the country. iraq's future will be in the hands of their own people. our war there will be over. all of our troops will be out of ir iraq. on this holiday season all of us can finally say welcome home. >> we are one step closer to the end of the war in iraq. the official closing ceremony in baghdad was thursday. yesterday, the u.s. turned over control to the last american military base in iraq south of

baghdad, about 200 miles. they turned over the last u.s.-held prisoner into iraqi custody. be sure to tune in all day today, cnn "newsroom" special reporting "home from iraq." let's turn now to this desperate search and rescue operation going on now in the philippines. the country hit hard by a major tropical storm. nearly 200 people are dead, some 400 still missing. 20,000 soldiers are being mobilized to help with the search and rescue effort. it is nighttime there now. this could make things tougher. i talked to maria ressa. she's in manila. >> reporter: the storm was supposed to exit this evening and it's no longer the storm itself but its aftermath, we're turning to the aid and rescue workers who are turning to the hundreds missing. they're trying to supply drinking water. they're asking for volunteers to get food and clothes to the

20,000. actually, the the government estimates that 100,000 people were displaced by the storm. world vision said they're particularly concerned about concern saying that many face conditions like 13-year-old remi whose mother was killed in the flash flood and whose father and two sib links remain missing. t.j.? >> what was the issue here? this was a tropical storm. it wasn't necessarily winds that came blowing through. this was a flooding issue. >> reporter: absolutely. the tropical storm dropped more than ten hours of heavy rain friday night and its effects, not the storm itself, actually caused the casualties and the most damage. >> floodwaters were roof high overnight, trapping many people. landslides are ails being blamed for some of the deaths there. meanwhile n california they got smome issues. santa anas are back.

70 mile-an-hour wind gusts took down the sign in a strip mall and it came crashing into some things there. a 100-foot tree came down in yesterday's winds and bring in reynolds wolf and they are back. we were talking about these just a week or so ago? >> they'll be strong again today. we're looking at a range from 45 to 60 miles an hour. that's tropical storm-force winds. you could see some damage there today. something else you might be dealing with at all our airports in southern california. that's not the only place around the nation where we have expected delays. we have them in orlando, death, boston, detroit and a c combination of fog, san diego, showers, and for a good part of the great lakes, you'll have snow today, but it should be an inch or less in most places, a quick-moving system, but that wind in southern california will remain locked in place through

the weekend. more on that in a few moments, t.j. >> we'll see you here in just a moment. also in a moment, shrimp as big as your forearm? massive problem that could pose a huge problem in the gulf of mexico. also, he's called a one boy uso. you'll meet the 8-year-old who is making sure the service men and women are not forgotten. it's ten past the hour on this cnn saturday morning. @@@r

12 minutes past the hour. we're giving you a look at stories making news across the country. authorities are looking at how a 13-year-old boy got locked up in his school. david field didn't make it home thursday. they called police and school officials and nine hours later he was found in a locked stairwell. he said he was trying to dodge bullies at the school. also an invasion of black tiger shrimp. you see that? fishermen in the gulf of mexico the ancient species may threaten those that are native to the gulf. nearly 200 have recently been harvested, but their actual number could be much higher. there are concerns it could throw the ecosystem out of balance and threaten this $700 million industry. and how is this for bravery from one of our marines here? this is 20-year-old lance corporal aaron leaks. he asked the first lady of the

united states to the ball. yes. michelle obama was here and she was at this toys for tots drive. he leaned over and asked the first lady of the united states whose husband happens to be his boss, asked her out. i'm told, i shouldn't call this a date, just accompany to the ball, right? come on now. come on now. now, the first lady said she'd love to. what's she supposed to say? no? get your own date? he's leaving for afghanistan next month. the ball is next november. i do believe we shall see. >> at 13 minutes past the hour. cody jackson, 8 years old and he's doing something patriotic. two or three times a month he goes on hartsfield airport and he thanks returning service men and women for protecting the country. >> thank you for protecting us. >> you're very welcome. >> there was a joke going around

that cody would go up to the uso and ask to join. they said no, you're too young. come back when you're 18 and the joke was well, he didn't need the uso. he's doing it on his own. he's a one-boy uso. >> it's wonderful what he's doing. his grandfather was in the military, and he has been in the recruiting offices asking when he can sign up. >> thank you for protecting us. >> i asked my mom how come it's so hard to get on an airplane? she told me about 9/11. >> he got so upset and he wanted to thank these people for putting their life on the line for him. so he comes to the airport and now meets the soldiers and thanks them for protecting him and hands them a piece of candy. as cody has met a lot of these

soldiers, a lot of them have been touched by what he's doing at such an early age and some of them have taken coins out of their pockets and given it to them. he doesn't want to take any of it. >> a lot of them are so touched and they've given some of their awards and medals to him. >> think it means a great deal to be a service man and women. he thanks them. to see this big, strong, man or woman come through and they look like someone you want to approach and cody goes up to them and start to talk to them and you see them light up. to see big, grown men wiping tears from their eyes. >> it's very touching. >> i don't know the words to describe it, honestly. to see a kid like this, coming here and do what he's doing and you see a lot of people -- somebody that small and it tugs at your heart a whole lot and it makes everything that you're

doing worth it. 15 minutes past the hour now. coming up, our financial analyst, he says there are some things you do not need to buy before christmas, but then our mario armstrong, our tech guru will be here as well to duke it out because those same items he's telling you to not buy, you do need to buy them right now. you'll decide for yourself. travel and leisure magazine has come out with the list of the nation's sexiest cities. austin, doing your thing at number five. denver coming in at number four. san juan, puerto rico, number three on the list and the two cities with the most attractive people, can you guess? i'll tell you in a moment. ♪

♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone deserves the gift of a pain free holiday. ♪ this season, discover aleve. all day pain relief with just two pills.

i told you a moment ago. "travel and leisure magazine" has come out with the sexiest cities. the hotties are hanging out in austin, number five on the list, denver as well and in san juan. look at that, number two on the list, you have san diego, but what city -- what city should you hit if you want to find the hotties? no, not alabama. it's not in alabama, but it's charleston, south carolina. did you see that one coming, reynolds? >> did i, and i'm actually very

disappointed. >> yr you disappointed. >> "travel and leisure" magazine missed a wonderful opportunity, alabama and your hometown of memphis brings sexiness to a whole new level. no question about it. >> they say the southern city has the nation's most attractive people. i need to find the criteria they used here, but hey, we trust the people over at leisure magazine. travel and leisure. we'll get reynolds involved. in atlanta, it will feel good. look at this, out in california of all places. mount laguna, are you familiar with this one? >> i am, indeed. >> it's tough for folks to drive around and the kids are having a good time. >> what's going on in mount laguna. >> we've been talking about the santa ana winds. we have dry conditions in one part, but the back half of the system brings moisture in the pacific. guess what happens? you have snowfall. during the break you were asking me, t.j., when winter officially

begins and i always forget that number. our director deidre was smart enough to remember, calendar, december 21st. i have this theory when you get deeper into fall and toward winter, even if it's not on the official day and you get a snowfall, winter begins then for you. for parts of southern california, we were getting the snow and winter started. take a look at the forecast. here's what we've got. farther to the north in los angeles, you have the wind coming in from the mountains that will be strong today. the southern half, you have the breeze coming in from the pacific, anywhere from 5,000 feet. you have the snow piling up and you have the winter storm advisory in effect and a weather advisory back toward parts of the coastal range where you could see 4 to 8 inches of snowfall. we'll be seeing with this big system as it pulls its way off toward the east it will bring, as we mentioned the windy system for parts of the san gabriel mountains into the coastal range. watch what we anticipate with

the storm and it will move toward the four corners in the coming days and as we begin to sweep across parts of arizona. it's been the highest elevations and yes, heavy snowfall for parts of the rockies back over to the mountains and albuquerque, you might get a dusting of snowfall and over to i-40 and it will be a rain event as we fast forward into sunday morning and rain in the lone star state. the temperature today, the high in kansas city, 39 and 38 in chicago and 55 in atlanta, so much more weather ahead and so much more good times. t.j., back to you. >> thank you. we'll see you again shortly and santa needs help this time of year. he's getting some from anonymous donors who are paying off the layaways of some cash-strapped families. >> a major drop in our store last night. >> it's happening at stores across the country. we'll tell you about these acts of kindness when we come back on

this cnn saturday morning.

you need to hear this next segment. a lot of people are getting ready for the holidays.

clive anderson is here with me now. do you have a list of items on your wish list that he says you do not need to buy right now, not before christmas, but hold on. our tech guru that you hear every saturday, as well, mario armstrong he heard about this. those same items to he's telling you to not buy, you do need to buy them right now. mario is joining us by satellite. let's start with computers here, mario. >> okay. >> you're saying go ahead and buy it right now, why? >> because these financial analysts have no idea what they're talking about in technology. that's like me trying to explain an annuity. it's just not going to happen. but, no, computers right now are a good deal. i will tell you that you'll start to see that the prices won't drop because we're about a week away from christmas. so clive's right. i think he normally says we should wait a little while until maybe august for the school year and that's a good point, but if you see a good deal right now you should pick it up and if money is tight, buy refurbished.

>> wait a minute here. it sounds you're conceding. you're saying complief's right. >> we've got him on the ropes. why rush it? it's a big-ticket item. you don't need to rush it buy it before christmas. they'll want to get rid of inventory right after the holiday. so they have the things that they can discount and they're just taking off the mark-up anyway. wait for the new year sale, even. wait for the first of the year and that's when they'll be great. round one to clive anderson. >> everybody likes to buy these big items around the holidays and the guys are buying the big tvs. you're saying wait. >> there's no hurry. you're playing the game. consumers, you're feeding into what the advertisers and manufacturers want you to do. they'll look like a deal and it's not a great deal. the tv's not going to change and they'll have to make inventory for the new models in the first of the year. >> are you kidding me? are you kidding me. >> the best time to buy the

television it will be at the super bowl. that's when they sell the most and the sales will be better than they are today. >> mario makes a good point. >> no, he stole my point. the deals will be great right before the super bowl on large-screen tvs. however, right now, plasma and lcd televisions for secondary bedrooms and non-main rooms are great deals right now. he's talking about inventory, are you kidding me? there are tons of inventories that they need to get rid of. >> exactly, there will be much more inventory coming up and there will be much more inventory and what do they do to get rid of it? they drop the prices. >> one thing i can't beat him on is don't buy the hdmi cables. clive, you can get the 70% at new egg.com. >> i was going call it a draw, but that's a low blow. you'll introduce stuff that you're not even talking about. >> let's go to cameras now. >> mario, i'll let you have this

one first. you say go ahead and buy it right now. >> all single-purpose technology is going out the window and this is the first time you're really seeing cameras so inexpensive. i'm not talking about digital slrs and i'm talking about everyday, point and shoot cameras. the prices are ridiculously low right now. you can find a lot of great deals and it's competitive. i know people can use their smartphones, but people want to have the dedicated item. >> ridiculously low. >> we're not talking about professional photographers and we're talking with recitals and things like that. i don't want you to miss precious moments, if you want to wait after the holiday, you don't need the latest and greatest all of the time. >> you want for the holiday to be over. >> all of the family moments won't be captured during the holiday. >> if you need to capture the family moments, get the camera. if i have a camera that works i'm not going to wait for the

one that has more pixels or digital zoom and i'll wait and save the 30%. >> these cameras can't grow any more than where they are. you have cameras shooting 14 megapixels and 12 megapixels. there's nowhere else to go. if you see one under a hundred bucks, buy it. take a picture. >> i want to get you something for christmas and it's this right here. this is the calendar, and i want yoi to use this. >> that's it. mario, clyde, good stuff. let the viewers decide. as we come up to the bottom of the hour now, helping families afford christmas. anonymous donors are popping up all over the country paying off the layaway bills of some families that are struggle. a woman walked into the kmart and she said she wanted to make the holiday better for as many people as she could and she paid off the layaway bills of more than 50 customers. the balances ranged from $10 to

nearly $800. >> she said that she had money. she wanted to make christmas happy. and it was like an angel that just dropped out of the sky. >> i took out my credit card to pay my minimum balance. she said don't pay that. i'm going pay it for you. i said what can we do for you? she said the only thing you can do for me is to give back. we want to hear from you on this. you've been chiming in and we've been asking you, tell us something nice that maybe you plan to do for someone this holiday season or what's the nicest thing a stranger ever did for you? you know where to find us on twitter. t.j. holmes. also, we have the facebook page and our cnn blog. like i said, just past the bottom of the hour now. momentum is the name of the game right now. the republican presidential race, who's got that momentum

just a couple of weeks away from iowa. it may not be what you think.

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demonstrators and egyptian security forces. more than 200 people have been injured. the ministry is burning after an explosion there and several buildingsor fire. ♪ ♪ ♪ at last ♪ ♪ my love has come along >> oh, that wonderful voice, that wonderful song from etta james, that signature song "at last" but now we're getting word from the singer's manager that she is in the last stages of a terminal illness. she was diagnosed with leukemia more than a year ago. she is 73 years old. meanwhile, defense secretary leon panetta in tripoli today and indicating that washington will help the new government after it gains control of

several militia groups and he's visiting the cemetery with 19th century naval sailors are buried. it may be hard to believe or maybe you've been counting the days, but the iowa caucus is just about two weeks away. the voting finally will start in the republican presidential race, but as our jim acosta reports you might as well throw away all of the polls. this is anybody's game. >> reporter: stopping in an iowa steel plant, mitt romney was beaming with a new sense of momentum and an outsider's message. >> thank you. what concerns me is that we have in washington a class of people who have spent their whole time in washington and they don't understand what you do. >> reporter: also on message was the latest tea party favorite to endorse mitt romney, south carolina governor nikki haley in a crucial early voting state. the anti-washington line of attack appeared to be aimed at the man clinging to the top of the gop field, newt gingrich who

was under siege at the last gop debate before the iowa caucuses. >> he cashed paychecks from freddie mac. >> michele bachmann took aim at freddie mac. >> people ought to have facts before they make wild allegations. >> you don't need to be within the technical definition of being a lobbyist to still be influence peddling. >> reporter: in response, gingrich supporters eagerly tweeted out this video of bachmann praising the former speaker in 2008. >> this man can do it all. he's truly our renaissance man. >> reporter: bachmann also unloaded on ron paul and his hands-off approach to iran's nuclear ambitions. a libertarian stand that may not sit well with conservatives. >> if you and i fear what's coming here, it's another iraq coming and it's war propaganda going on and to me, the greatest danger is that we will have a

president that will overreact. >> with all due respect to ron paul, i think i have never heard a more dangerous answer for american security. >> reporter: it all fit neatly into a game plan perfectly executed by romney who called gingrich zany earlier in the week and stayed positive at debate. newt seemed to be fading before republican eyes. >> i often get accused of using language that's too strong so i've been standing here editing and i'm not appearing to be zany. >> iowa social conservative believes caucusgoers are so conflicted over the gop field the state could be up for grabs down to the wire. >> i really think you might get a late surprise. i think this thing could break very late and very fast. >> another shift in this campaign could come this weekend when the state's major newspaper, the des moines register is expected to endorse a candidate and that leaves two weeks of twists and turns before

the caucuses. jim accost a cnn, sioux city, iowa. and the des moines register endorsement that jim was talking about a moment ago is expected to come tonight. stay tuned to cnn to see who gets that, but here's a quick look at who got it in the past. it looks like they're picking republican winners, but not so much as democrats are concerned. and you heard the ark, one of the holiest relics from the bible and every archaeologists' dream find, could it be in a small church in a small town in ethiop ethiopia? that's our morning passport. stay with us. paid-in-full discount. [yawning] homeowner's discount. safe driver discount. chipmunk family reunion. someone stole the nuts. squirrel jail.

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do you realize what it is? it's a radio for speaking to god. >> oh, you remember that well, right? indiana jones, "raiders of the lost ark." they found it, but in our morning passport, nadia has found it, as well. >> yes, and the mystery continues. steven spielberg popularized it, but this is a mystery that's been going on for hundreds of thousands of years and where is the ark of the covenant? well, the ethiopians, both christians and jewish ethiopians believe it's in a church in

ethiopia. >> okay. >> interestingly enough, the story and the mystery has revived because this particular church developed a leak which means that famous ark will have to be moved. now, why this is a problem is that the only person who can actually watch it is one guardian. he is the only person who is allowed to see this ark of the covenant. >> let me sure i got this right. they sprung a leak so it needs to be moved. >> and he can't move it alone, so it may be the first time in thousands of years that people get to see it. >> are we sure it's there? are they playing a hoax on us for years? >> one popular belief is that there is some ancient relic there and that they really believe it is the ark, but jews believe it's in the tunnels under the temple in jerusalem and there's even some belief that it's in jordan on the top of mt. ebo, but it is one of the great mysteries, but you have to

believe that the ethiopians believe this is it and they treat it as the most sacred relic in the world. >> so what are they going to do? well, what they're going to do at this point is either repair the leak. >> okay. >> i don't know how it's going to work as to how they'll move it because the belief is if you see the ark you will implode. so it's one of these great mysteries -- >> wow! >> i know steven spielberg has nothing and you see the beautiful wooden cased in world. >> this is supposed to be the ark which is the container of the ten commandments that god gave to moses on mount sinai. >> only one guy can see it. aren't people lining up to get a glimpse? why would you want to if you'll implode. >> that's why it's been secret up to this point, but with the leak in the roof it has to be moved. so what's going to happen to the sacred relic and whether you believe it or not, it certainly is something mysterious and certainly something sacred and maybe not in our entire life

time will we ever know where the real ark of the covenant is, but we live by those laws, don't we? >> don't we, though. with the timeline for when they'll fix the leak? >> it's happening over the next -- it only happened at the end of last week that the leak arose. so what's going to happen? we'll be following closely. the ten commandments have quite a lot of power over our lives, don't they? >> another great morning passport. thank you so much. we're 43 minutes past the hour. there's a new way to play. we'll meet a couple of guys who say the rubik's cube is old. they have another cube. it's called the sifteo. check this thing out. we'll explain in a moment.

a quarter to the top of the hour now. a lot of people looking for high-tech gifts around christmas time got a new one for you, it reminds you of the rubik's cube, but certainly there's an upgrade here. joe carter has the story in this "start small, think big." ♪ ♪ >> reporter: for college classmates david merrill and javi, inspiration came from a simple object. >> dave and i were sitting around in the kitchen of the media lab where we were students. what if alphabet block his been invented in the 21st century. >> they gave them a high-tech twist and created sifteos, they make computer games a little more personable. >> we used to think of with social games, chess board, where you played games with pieces on the table and that's what we think of and that's when we think about sifteo qubes are

social. >> the thinking board games with what computers can do in terms of interactivity. >> they're giving them almost endless gaming abilities. >> we'd like to thank we have a vision or idea that is pretty inexhaustible. >> we think of play as a pretty broad umbrella and sifteo qubes are a system that we think will be useful both for the entertainment side of play. >> making technology with the future in mind is both a business and personal goal. >> i want to design the kind of technology that's going to be in the world that my child lives in. >> games that are adopting to our new style of play. joe carter, cnn. they're calling them holiday angels, anonymous donors paying off the layaways of cash-strapped families. we've been asking you to weigh in on this story. more on your comments in just a bit. also vanessa bryant says she's done with kobe, has now filed

for divorce. we'll have an update here and other happenings in sports in just a moment. we're coming up at the end of the year. here's something a lot of people have been wondering. which hash tag is at the top of the list for 2011? we're talking twitter for some of you folks. was it #egypt. #tigerblood or was i it #threewordstoliveby. i'll give you the answer in a second. the employee of the month is... spark card from capital one. spark cash gives me the most rewards of any small business credit card. it's hard for my crew to keep up with 2% cash back on every purchase, every day. 2% cash back. that's setting the bar pretty high. thanks to spark, owning my own business has never bn more rewarding male announcer intrucing spark the small business credit cards from capital one. get more by choosing unlimited double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase, every day. what's in your wallet?

this guy's amazing. nice, huh? yeah. you know what else is nice is all the savings you can get on cruze and traverse over there. oh! that's my beard. [ chuckles ] it's amazing.

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our gift to you. about ten minutes to the top of the hour. before the break we asked you if you knew what twitter's most popular hash tag was? was it #egypt #tiger blo blood -- #egypt, the most popular hash tag of the year. with that, let me say good morning to joe carter, hln sports. good to have you. over the last couple of weekends, some of the stories in sports aren't always sports related. >> it's funny like that, since you're the sports guy, you should do it. we were talking about kobe bryant and his wife vanessa yesterday, we found the two have filed for divorce after a 10 1/2 year marriage. the thing of the situation, when you take the positive out of this is that there are two children involved and they're

not going to go after a long, drawn-out nasty divorce. kobe bryant entering his 16th season in the nba will be vout vanessa for the first time in 12 and a half years because they were dating for two years before the two got married and they have both requested joint custody for their 8 and 5-year-old daughters. they say he's already moved out of their mansion and that he's living somewhere else. they do not have a prenup which means she's entitled to half of what he's earned since they have been married which as many people know and it's well documented that kobe's made a lot of money in the last ten years. >> after she was holding his hand at that press conference after he was accused of that sexual assault. >> she famously stood by him after the sexual assault accusations and his admission to his premarital -- extra marital affairs and the $4 million ring came into play and it just didn't work at the end of the day. >> let's turn now to another

story. this was a shocker. the details are shocking about -- the chicago bears and accused of being the tony montana of the nfl. >> when i heard the numbers come down on this, the alleged numbers i thought is he trying to supply drugs for the city of chicago or for the state of illinois? we're talking about massive, massive numbers and the bears got wind of this and they decided they would cut sam hurd from the team and angelo coming out saying this isn't the best decision for us and the best decision for the organization. let's just get rid of this guy. they did sign him earlier to a three-year, $5 million deal and he didn't turn out to be much of a player. he only had eight catches. they're not going to miss him, per se, in the offense, but he was released yesterday from jail and posted $100,000 bond. he faces federal drug charges and apparently authorities say that his intent was to buy three to five kilos of cocaine, plus 1,000 pounds of marijuana per

week which is $700,000 per week to set up this massive drug distribution ring and there are other reports saying there's a double-digit list of nfl players that the federal authorities that hurd was selling drugs to. his attorney has denied that, and says it's 100%, patently false about him selling to players and this is a mess for him. >> ugly for the nfl if he does happen to have a list. on a higher note, please, kicking a football, but not on the field. >> today is college football, bowl season kickoff. we have the next 24 days. we have 35 bowl games and so yesterday they decided to set up a field goalpost in times square. a number of former nfl greats were there like jim kelly and george, and what they were doing yesterday was for a good cause and they also broke a guinness book world record and they kicked 181, 20-yard field goals and they raised a ton of money for the big brothers, big

sisters foundation and had a lot of fun and they had the gramatica brothers and there was a guinness book of world records for everything. and they broke one yesterday and 181 field goals in six hours. >> joe carter, always a pleasure. >> happy college football bowling to you. they a game every day for, like, the next three and a half weeks. enjoy that. >> love it. joe, thanks as always. six minutes to the top of the hour. they're about to get in session a few minutes from now. they're getting to ready to vote on $1 trillion in government spending and they're deciding whether to leave your paycheck alone. we're taking you to capitol hill. stay with us on cnn saturday morning. all energy development comes with some risk,

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anonymous donors are paying off layaway accounts of some family -- excuse me, of some families who are in need and they're asking in return only that people pay that kindness forward. i wanted you to hear -- we wanted to hear some of your stories. we asked you this morning what's the nicest thing a strifrjer has ever done for you or maybe something you plan on doing this holiday season for a stranger.

one saying a few of us have adopted a family with eight children. we try to get the kids everything they want so santa has a full sleigh. also another one saying i plan to surprise somebody, he's a homeless man who lives behind a target store in central florida. he's always on the move. another one saying, we're having a holiday toy drive and all of the gifts will be going to a children's hospital on christmas morning. as we come up on the top of the hour now, something here you'll certainly recognize. listen to this. ♪ at last ♪ ♪ ♪ my love has come along ♪ >> oh, that voice, that song. etta james, her signature song,

"at last." we're getting word now from her manager that she is in the last stages of a terminal illness. she was diagnosed with leukemia more than a year ago. etta james is 73 years old. also this morning the death of a florida a&m university band member has been ruled a homicide. robert champion died november 19th from blunt-force trauma. champion was a band major for the band. no one has been charged in this suspected hazing death. also baseball all-star and yes, he is the home run king, barry bonds. he has learned his fate now. he has been sentenced to two years' probation, 30 days house arrest. bonds was convicted of obstruction of justice during an investigation into illegal steroid use by pro athletes. bond, as you know, broke hank aaron's home run record in august of 2007. but as we're coming up on the top of the hour, the senate is getting down to business

today. in session today, we have big business to tend to. they have two bills to get to work on. one would keep the government running and the other would mean no change to your paycheck, at least the amount of the government is taking out. kate bolduan is with us on this saturday. >> things are getting under way. some of this, i guess, is good news. they'll be able to keep the lights on, that's big and it sounds like our paychecks aren't going go up january 1. >> reporter: paychecks are not going go up january 1, but people are calling what happened over here in the senate a kind of a punt to carry on the fight that they've been fighting to extend the payroll tax cut to another day. what we'll be seeing this morning in the senate is going into session as we speak. we're going to see a series of four votes. two votes are the big votes we're looking at. they'll be voting on this two-month short-term payroll tax extension package that also

includes an extension of unemployment benefits. so that will be one vote that we'll be watching for as well as another vote on the omni bus, if you will, this massive spending bill that would fund the government through the end of september. that spending bill has been negotiated for month, t.j., and just recently it got thrown into the bitter battle over extending the payroll tax cut. both the republican and democratic leader in the senate have come to agreement on both of these measures so we would assume, but would be careful until we see the vote that both will be passing and they'll probably be finishing up this rare saturday session pretty early this morning. t.j.? >> kate, we have to do this again in two months. why just two months? no, really, we're running out of time, it's the holiday, let's just do this and we'll deal with this later? >> reporter: the reason they came to agreement on this two-month deal is their efforts toward negotiating a more c comprehensive deal, they were

shooting for an extension of a year for the payroll tax cut and unemployment assistance. those talks fell apart. they could not come to an agreement despite the fact that i heard from both sides that they were all negotiating in good faith as they like to say up here. they could not reach agreement. those talks fell apart and so they came together to at least push this through. so 160 million americans are affected by this payroll tax cut would not see their paycheck be hurt come january 1 when the current payroll tax had expired. so they could not come to an agreement and where i'm told things fell apart. it was the issue all along and they couldn't bridge the gap is how to pay for the package and how to cover the cost of the payroll tax cut, unemployment assistance and the fixup here which is a scheduled cut to prevent a scheduled cut to reimbursement payments who are made for doctors who treat medicare patients. they couldn't come to an

agreement. both sides doing a very good job of trying to spin it is aing they've won out in this payroll tax extension, albeit a short-term one. one major change that we knew that they could be punting this to a short-term extension is that they have added into this and included a republican demand that this keystone pipeline provision be included and that's a major concession to republicans and they've been able to get that included in this package, t.j.? >> all right. kate bolduan getting on the case for us. we will talk to you again, kate. >> all right. we are three minutes past the top of the hour and we'll turn to presidential politics and mitt romney has picked up a pretty big supporter in the race for the nomination, south carolina governor nikki haley. >> it is with great pride, great respect, great support that michael and i are very proud to say that we are endorsing governor mitt romney for

president of the united states. >> kwfrnor haley won with big support from the tea party. south carolina is third, following iowa and new hampshire. bigger endorsement up for grabs later today. the des moines register will pick a candidate for the iowa caucuses. we'll have that for you when it happens. it is the place to be, it seems. all eyes on iowa and most of the candidates there are and some of the front-runners are not, rick santorum, rick perry and michele bachmann, while newt gingrich is in virginia. he's there to attend a book signing for his wife's new children's book. u.s. is is now one step closer to being out of iraq. this is the official closing ceremony in baghdad thursday. yesterday the u.s. turned over control of the last american military base in the country. it's south of baghdad, about 200 miles. they also turned over the last u.s.-held prisoner to iraqi

custody. be sure to stay with us all day today to cnn "newsroom" special reporting "home from iraq." five minutes past the hour and the private accused of the biggest intelligence leak in u.s. history resumes next hour. private bradley, you'll see him coming out and the shorter guy with the glasses. you can't see him that well, the shorter guy is manning and he was escorted out of the fort meade courtroom. the judge refused an attempt by manning's attorney to get him removed from the case. they wanted the judge to recuse himself. manning who turns 24 today is accused of leaking classified military documents to wikileaks. he could face penalties as steep as life in prison, even death if convicted. another weather story coming out of the philippines today. a desperate search and rescue operation going on as we speak. the country got hit hard by a major tropical storm. more than 250 people now

confirmed dead. this is coming to us from the red cross. twice as many still missing. also 20,000 soldiers are being mobilized to help with the search and rescue efforts. it is now nighttime there making search and rescue even more difficult as i bring in reynolds wolf, keeping an eye on weather here. these santa ana winds, we've been talking about these for a couple of weeks now. >> yeah. >> we've seen the story and we talked about the toppled signs and the trees get smashed all over the place. they have the areas of low pressure that move all over parts of the southland. as the back half of the system that causes that wind to push through those mountain passes and when it does, the air molecules get, really, really. they get compacted and when they do, it causes the air to heat up and creates friction and it goes right through the mountain passes and it dries a lot of things out and it causes damage

to the california oaks and the size. it's stronger than a hurricane and a category one hurricane. 75, or 74 miles an hour sustained. gusts recorded in camp nine, 65. in excess of 50 miles an hour in warm springs, california and newhall pass and even in clear creek, california, you have wind gusts of 40 miles an hour and that's tropical storm force. it's rough there to say the least. the delays we'll expect around the country in san diego due to showers and in chicago you have fog, snow showers in chicago, boston and detroit essentially the same deal. the rain will be one of the biggest stories that we have across the country and it's not just rain. a bit far to the south we have breeze coming off the coast and with that we'll see snow begin to develop over parts of the san gabriels and perhaps as far south as san diego, proper, among the highest elevations in

5,000 feet you could see four to eight inches of snowfall. this area of low pressure that will bring strong winds and provides the moisture isn't going to remain nailed to the ground. it won't remain locked in place. it will shift in place more to the east and as it does so, it it will transform the weather that you will experience in parts of new mexico and into the central rockies and back into the southern plains. how is that going to happen? it will happen like this. here it goes, sweeping across parts of the california and it includes a rainmaker, but when you get into the higher elevations you'll see some snow. also snow toward albuquerque and back over to santa fe, anyone making the drive along i-25 over the next several days and you'll see the snow pick up, if you're taking 70 west, good luck to you because it will be breezy with the snow and white-out conditions will be possible. fast forward to sunday morning and take a look, back over to parts of 40 and then toward wichita, still rain will be in the picture. >> that's then. today the situation will be kind of pleasant in kansas city.

nice and dry with 49 degrees and 38 degrees with the dusting of snow and an inch or less in some places and 43 in new york, and 63 degrees for a high in atlanta, 49 in billings and 69 degrees in los angeles and 54 in el paso. t.j., your turn. >> reynolds, thank you. we'll see you here shortly at nine minutes part of the hour. a member of congress wants to prevent anyone taking drugs, using drugs, that person should not get unemployment benefits. the republican jack kingsman of georgia is the man behind the bill. he joins me to talk about that. stick around on this cnn saturday morning. [ cherie ] i always had a job, ever since i was fourteen.

i could not make working and going to school work. it was not until the university of phoenix that i was able to work full-time,

be a mom, and go to school. the opportunits that i had at the university of phoenix, dealing wh profesonals teaching things that they were doing every day, got me to where i am today. i'm mayor cherie wood, i'm responsible for the largest urban renewal project in utah, and i am a phoenix. [ male announcer ] find your program at phoenix.edu. mmm... pillsbury crescent wrapped brie just unroll, wrap the brie and bake. it's so easy. now this might even impress aunt martha. pillsbury crescent wrapped brie. holiday ideas made easy.

12 minutes past the hour now. here's a question for you. it sounds like a simple answer to this question, too. would you ask your boss' wife out on a date? i assume the answer would be no, but throw this in there. would it matter to you if your boss is actually the president of the united states. that is exactly what happened at a toys for tots, vent in washington. you see that brave young man? we may never see him again. that's lance corporal aaron leaks who is about to be stationed somewhere else.

he asked the first lady, michelle obama to accompany him. that's one way to say it to the marine corps ball next november. mrs. obama on the spot and she said she'd love to. we have seen these with celebrities going on a couple of dates with members of the military and mila kunis, justin timberlake did this and brave young man asked her out and his boss is the president of the united states. we'll keep you posted. see if he actually does end up at the ball with michele obama. also after eight years of war, the last of the military forces will be out of iraq. we'll be seeing so many of the great homecomi comings, here ar more of the sweet reunions. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> if you were here right now i would tell him thanks for serving us in our country. ♪ ♪ ♪

>> just happy. very happy. it is a tremendous feeling and one that very few moments in life parallel, just thankful to be home. >> i love you. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> oh, baby. >> mommy! >> what a surprise. what a shock. this is the best mother's day present. ♪ ♪ >> i have a surprise for you. >> oh? ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

>> they're just -- very proud to be the mother of a soldier. and again, you can tune in all day to us right here on cnn "newsroom," we'll have special coverage reporting on "home from iraq." a u.s. troop returning from iraq may wonder what's next for them in their professional lives and they may want to get some advice from someone who knows. how about former army private first class jessica lynch. she graduated from the university of west virginia earning a bachelor's degree in elementary education. you'll remember her story. one of the biggest stories early in the invasion of iraq. she was captured, badly beaten by soldiers loyal to dictator saddam hussein. she was later rescued by american forces. >> they finally get to come home. they're, you know, with their

family especially during this ti time. it's something to be proud of. you want your family to be there during the holidays, so i'm thankful and grateful that they finally get to spend at least one holiday with their family. >> lynch is the nation's first female prisoner of war ever rescued. like so many other american vets, she's looking for a job. a member of congress wants to prevent anyone who is using illegal drugs from getting unemployment benefits. republican jack kingston is the man behind this bill and he's here to talk about it. he joins me next. stay with us on this cnn morning. not anymore. ink, the small business card from chase introduces jot an on-the-go expense app made exclusively for ink customers. custom categorize your expenses anywhere. save time and get back to what you love.

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many minutes past the hour now and while congress wrestled all week with extending jobless benefits and you know the back and forth going on about the payroll tax, well, one congressman says the unemployed should have to take a drug-screening question there and those with the high probability of illegal drug use would then be required to pass a drug test in order to get benefits. the man behind this proposal that certainly got a lot of people talking, representative jack kingston of georgia. i want to make it back to your

home state eventually, congressman, thank you for being here. we know that some 13, 14 million people are out of work in this country. so, of that number, how many do you believe are using drugs? >> t.j., we're not certain. i can can say this. in talking to a multitude of employers back home they find that the number of applicants who are on unemployment insurance and applying for a job still sometimes as high as 30, 40, even 50% are on drugs and the idea behind this is that this should not be free money with no obligation. unemployment insurance is not a retirement benefit. it's really just your temporary side line and we want you back in the game, but in order for you to be eligible to play you have to keep yourself drug free so you can have a job if one's offered to you. >> i think a lot of people are eligible, but before we take this step and pass legislation, i know you talked to people, but

is talking to people who told you that a lot of people they tried to hire didn't pass a drug test, is that enough evidence, though? what is the evidence you have that there are a lot of unemployed using drugs? >> number one, to answer your question, it is not enough evidence. that's yet bill's introduced, but you have to introduce it in order to have hearings. what we're doing now is we're pushing to let states have permission to do this if they want to, but i agree with you. you have to put the idea on the table. we hope to have hearings in february. we want to get testimony. we want to find out how big of a problem this is. i can tell you, though, in talking to employers and many of the critics don't do that, that this is a problem that's out there. how big it is, we need to find out. >> you know in some cases around the country, this hasn't passed the constitutional test. this is different because in some places the judge ruled fourth amendment, this is a violation of the fourth amendment search and seizure, but in this case, your case, you

putting a question there in place first. is this, in your estimation, a way around that constitutional question by making people take a question there about drug use before taking the actual drug test? >> well, i think it answers. it's a verbal test. it's a written test and not invasive. it's 94% accuracy, interestingly enough. it has been upheld in a federal court in west virginia involved in social security disability. new jersey and texas has cases where they use it for child custody use. this is a test which nih, the national institute of health has actually approved this screening and then it goes to the test question, but you know, again, t.j., if you're injured on the side line and playing on the sports team, we want you back in the starting lineup as soon as possible and your job is to go to physical therapy rehab. let's get you back on the playing field so the idea is unemployment insurance is not a retirement benefit. we want you back in the

workplace. >> think a lot of people agree with that, and a lot of people would agree that taxpayer money should not go to someone using drugs. we would like to eliminate that altogether. >> for those people who feel like you're demonizing a class of people who are already beat up by this economy in some ways through no fault of their own struggling. you want me back in the game, but you're almost accusing me of using drugs before you let me back in the game. >> those who accuse that may want to look at themselves in the mirror. that goes back to the bigotry of low expectations. it's really kind of the patronizing that people say these poor folks who were unemployed and they're on drugs and here comes this horrible republican congressman beating up on them. that is absurd. i expect more from them than these people do. i think they can can stay off drugs and get back in the workplace and that's in their interest and in society's interest. you can call it tough love, if you want, but we're all in this

together for every dollar we spend, 40 cents has borrowed this money and a lot of it comes out of the general tax dollars. so we need to spend it wisely and this is more compassionate than people who would make that accusation are being. >> i'm sure you heard before, but people start to think where does it stop when it comes to government money and government benefits and taxpayer dollars and the suggestion is out there? why not drug test them and why not members of congress? would you be game to do that? >> well, i can say this. where it is relevant, i think there should be testing. i'm okay with being tested, personally, but let me say this. we do have restrictions on public assistance. right now school nutrition has a very limited men you on what you can serve. food stamps, you can't buy alcohol, tobacco, on the wic program has a very, very restricted menu. so to say that we just give this

money away right and left on public assistance benefits without strings attached, that's not accurate at all. so all i'm saying is on this, this is just saying you have to do your part to get back into the job place. >> you wouldn't mind, but a lot of people have that question, when it comes up to drug testing other folks, would you be okay? you think they should drug test all members of congress. >> i think members of congress can do it voluntarily. >> not required, though, even though taxpayer money is paying your salaries. >> if it's interfering with the job i'm comfortable with it, and i have to tell you, i have a question myself when you're flying an airplane and driving a piece of equipment and doing surgery, it's very, very relevant. 56% of the employers use it right now, but do we need to have it in absolutely every case? i don't know that we do, but absolutely, that's what hearings are all about and i invite that kind of input. upon. >> it's a conversation a lot of

people are having and we hope we can continue this conversation with you. thank you for taking the time. i know it's a busy time and we'll see you back in georgia for the holiday. >> t.j., thanks. >> we're 25 minutes past the hour. a quick break. we'll be right back. ♪ [ male announcer ] sometimes, a hint is all the wrapping a gift needs. is that what i think it is? ♪ [ male announcer ] the lexus december to remember sales event is here, but only for a limited time. see your lexus dealer for exclusive lease offers on the 2012 is 250 and, as a gift from lexus, we'll make your first month's payment.

as we come up on the bottom of the hour, you are seeing on the bottom of the screen on the left side, senators now voting on something that directly affects you. what they are doing there is going to directly impact your paycheck starting january 1. they are voting on this payroll tax extension. for the average american that would mean if they don't pass this it would mean about $1,000 for the average american starting at the top of next year. well, they're voting on this. they're expected to pass this extension at which point the house will take it up next week. therefore, you'll get to hold on to that $1,000. the deal was reached at the last minute. you had to throw in this keystone pli