>> very good reason he's doing this. would you ever want to climb -- do you go mountain climbing? >> i've gone mountain climbing. sure, i would do it. >> not kilimanjaro type? >> i'd give it a try. i'm a little bit of a daredevil. i'll try most things. >> i'll tell you what, i'm going to head out of here and you try taking over. thanks, fred. >> great. see you again bright and early. let's talk about three days away. from now first caucus contest taking place in iowa, of course. most of the republican contenders crisscrossing trying to nail down support. latest cnn "time" magazine shows mitt romney as the top choice, those likely to take part in iowa caucuses, ron paul is running second with rick santorum in third ahead of newt gingrich. let's take a look at where the candidates are today. front-runner mitt romney has two stops after arriving from new hampshire this afternoon. newt gingrich, rick perry and

michele bachmann each have two events as well. rick santorum who just surged in the polls puts in the drive time with five stops throughout the state of iowa. one face missing from that map of iowa, ron paul. he says he'll ring in the new year at home in texas. two fresh faces you will see in iowa, cnn's political editor paul steinhauser and political director mark preston. they are both out at our forward operating base in des moines. paul, it's down to the last few hours there. good to see you with that beautiful backdrop behind you. break it down for me, what is the logic behind the two front-runner strategies, is ron paul heading back to texas this weekend? mitt romney not leading after spending a whole lot of time in iowa in the first place. >> good question.

that's surprising to people. there's the state capital behind me. let's start with romney. he was right here yesterday, spent about 24 hours in new hampshire. new hampshire is an important state for him. doing quite well in the polls. when he left yesterday he left campaign keys to his bus in good hands. chris christie, new jersey governor, big surrogate for romney and his wife ann. he's coming right back here. the romney campaign felt we can escape for 12 to 24 hours. we've got top surrogates in the state. you'll see romney straight through in iowa, straight through to caucus day. ron paul, down and out, two days back in texas spending the holiday with his wife. he was here for two straight days. campaign says he'll be back with his son rand paul, campaigning monday and tuesday. they are enthusiastic,

energetic. they will show up regardless where ron paul is. >> feeling confident and assured. newt gingrich, let's tk about him showing a real soft spot yesterday. are caucusgoers saying in any way that influences their upcoming vote. >> we should put this in perspective. this is newt gingrich interviewed on the campaign trail by a republican pollster and strategist frank lutz. newt gingrich was asked about his mother and memories about his mother and he got teary eyed. some have speculated maybe that would hurt him with caucusgoers. maybe that would make them think he's too soft and squishy. it was a touching moment, i think, and maybe humanized newt gingrich who at times has been considered plastic and concrete. he's the type of guy that's very hard to get your arms around. i think at that moment yesterday was a very touching moment. it also shows, fred, how

exhausted these candidates have been from campaign event to campaign event. their days start at 6:30 in the morning and they close late at night. i think that's what we saw yesterday, a confluence of exhaustion, quite frankly poignant memories about his mother. >> meantime the iowa caucus is just a few days away. however, one has to wonder, paul, if the outcome of iowa, how greatly it might influence the first primary to take place in new hampshire. >> well, here is one way it could influence it. we may not see candidates go to new hampshire. iowa doesn't always pick the winner of the nomination, often it does. we may see one, possibly two candidates drop out after the results. that's one way to impact it. a very different electorate in new hampshire. in new hampshire independents play a big role in the primary, get to vote either side. very different electorate. last two primaries on the republican side. four years ago mike huck, the

former arkansas governor won here. he did not win in new hampshire. that was john mccain who went on to win the nomination. in 2000, texas governor george w. bush won here. john mccain won in new hampshire but of course bush went on to win the nomination and presidency. different states no doubt about that, fred. >> paul, you say maybe one, maybe two contestants drop out after iowa. mark, one has to wonder when you kind of read the tea leaves whose destiny really does rely on this iowa caucus. who might be dropping out potentially. >> let's talk about who is most likely to move on. mitt romney will move on. ron paul will move on. rick santorum will very, very likely move on. newt gingrich will likely move on. then it just leaves us from here in iowa, leaves us michele bachmann and rick perry. if they perform so poorly on caucus night, if they come in last place or second to last place, have you to wonder will they move on.

there is discussion within both those campaigns they would just skip new hampshire all together anyway. iowa caucusgoers tend to be evangelicals or at least majority of them do, born again christians. that's the same kind of voter in south carolina, not new hampshire. so what could potentially happen is michele bachmann or rick perry does not get out of the race because the bottom tier is together, only separated by a few votes, maybe a few hundred votes. it's very hikely we'll see one person drop, maybe two. then again, this field might stay intact, so to speak, through the new hampshire primary. >> all right. incredible horse race we're watching. thanks so much mark and paul. coming up we're talking more politics, of course, and about iowa. we've got candidates live at length join cnn chief political correspondent candy crowley live. contenders 2012.

if you live in the western portion of the u.s. expect a chilly start to 2012. meteorologist reynolds wolf with your new year's forecast. we know it's chilly in iowa now. >> absolutely. >> a little windy. how about the rest of the nation? >> you know it's going to be for the most part easy in terms of travel and whatnot. if you go to times square tonight, above the freezing point. in fact take the forecast, 44, expected temperature on times square. skies mostly cloudy. what we do anticipate in other parts of the country, in terms of travel there will be delays. expect delays in san francisco, san diego, denver, chicago, even minneapolis. looks like more trouble in minneapolis is going to occur later on today due to combination of rain and snow. as we speak we actually have winter storm warnings across midwest and into the eastern -- western great lakes. you see them there, advisories, warnings, six to eight inches possible for minnesota, wisconsin, even michigan could be fairly heavy there.

most of that activity expected to build in the afternoon. a lot of wind in the northern plains, 60 miles an hour, stronger in the high mountain passes. plenty of sunshine through texas. southeast going to be picture perfect in atlanta with highs going to 63 degrees. 61 in washington, d.c. 52 in new york. 46 in boston. kansas city with 61. 42 in denver and 67 in el paso. that's a wrap, you guys. back to you. >> great way to start the new year. happy new year reynolds. lindsay lohan rod black, conrad murray. they made big courtroom splashes in 2011. our legal guys with me but first josh levs. we're talking about 2011 ringing in the next few hours but already 2012 in some areas. >> having flashbacks. >> i'm loving these videos we're

getting from around the world. beautiful fireworks celebrations. we have been following them throughout the day. we have the most spectacular ones for you, including an unprecedented fireworks display which is coming up next. >> can't wait. is it because taking a step represents hope? or triumph? at genworth, we believe in taking small steps every day to keep your promises, protect what matters, and prepare for a secure financial future. no matter where you want to go, one step at a time is the only way to get there. go to genworth.com/promises.

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crystal ball drop in new york's times square. you know what? you know this already -- maybe you don't know this, 2012 is already here in other parts of the world. josh levs is going to take us on a journey now. >> some of the best videos, start off with a couple. let's go to bangkok first. happening right now. this is in bangkok. thailand, i'll tell you what's going on there. our folks at cnn website go, part of the cnn family say fireworks are going off all over the city including central world annual celebration. of course, this year is named smile up to 2012. over to the vatican now, a live service going on there, even though it's not midnight there. later a service of thanksgiving. it is there right there. pictures right there. there's a service right now in thanksgiving is the vespers

service. later there will be st. peters basilica, still five more hours. okay. so let's see. let's jump over to hong kong. this is interesting over victoria harbor. >> sure looks extraordinary. >> beautiful, one of the many pieces of video we're getting in. hong kong, golden dragon spiraling up a building. the year of the dragon. zodiak. i promised you unprecedented. are you ready for this? let's go to sidney, sidney, australia, always goes all out. >> listen to this as we watch this we want to tell you about it. fifteen months of planning for this. seven tons of pyrotechnic explosives including 11,000 aerial shells, 20,000 shooting comets, all fired from 130 firing points along sidney

harbor bridge, seven barges and rooftops of seven buildings. great little feature, almost happening in sidney, did happen, an all australian soundtrack for the first time. i'm assuming that's the bee gees. >> i'm hung up on the 15 months of planning. that means they started planning for 2012 before they rang in 2011. >> oh, yeah. they already know. >> they wanted to best last year. >> they know what they are going in 2013. before i leave here, let's jump to tokyo. we've got this video tokyo. actually seeing this for the first time. the downtown area. lots going on throughout tokyo as well. beautiful videos from all over. >> nice to see that is getting us all revved up for what will be unfolding our time midnight. got a little taste of this.

you can start planning those resolutions now. start making plans on how you're going to spend your 2012. >> you know what. >> can't wait till midnight. >> some people have unique celebrations were having conversations, pages, facebook.com/joshleafscnn. people have ideas that are beautiful and symbolic. >> we all need to be inspired. >> i like that. >> happy new year. >> happy new year to you, fred. >> 2011 has been an especially tough year for america's unemployed in particular, especially those over the age of 50. how two men in their prime defied the odds. their advice on success next. in america, we believe in a future

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crisscrossing iowa today trying to win the hearts of potential voters. coming up following campaign trails and live to iowa. also, why iowa anyway? how did this caucus come to mean so much? i'll explain that straight ahead. they were boomers without jobs. but now they have found a way to reinvent their careers. in this week's smart is the new rich christine romans takes a look at starting over after 50. >> eating is a very emotional thing. >> reporter: now a livelihood for rick and michael. almost two years ago the friends and next door neighbors cooked up a line of all natural gluten-free simmer sauces. >> these are sauces we make on a regular basis. >> in 2008 his advertising

business tanked. >> when the phone stopped ringing, i knew i had to do something quick. >> when michael lost his job in health care management, he found inspiration from his 12-year-old daughter. >> she said, so dad, what is it you really like to do? and out of those conversations was my love of food. >> neighbors and foodies, together with 60 years of work experience, they named their new company after the street where it all began. >> being two 50-some-year-old guys we're not afraid to admit we don't know. >> it was exciting but also a little terrifying. at the time i was 58 years old. to reinvent yourself at that age is a pretty drastic thing to do. but i knew if we stuck with it, it had a possibility of really working. >> rid does the design, ads and labels. michael handles operations. >> i'm sort of the suit.

rid is this creative guy. >> it's about profit and principle. they ship their sauce using handicrafters. it's a nonprofit that gives jobs to people with disabilities and other employment barriers. rid's stepsister works there. >> there's a lot of parents out there with special needs children who lay awake at night wondering, when he gets out of school, what are we going to do with him? a place like handi-crafters really gives them a wonderful opportunity to have a responsible 9:00 to 5:00 job. >> now with 50 stores in 16 states, their boomer reboot is working. >> if we had started this out right out of college, or, you know, in our late 20s or 30s, it probably would have tougher. >> so totally different from a 9:00 to 5:00 job. i've done both and i know where i want to be and i'm where i want to be. >> christine romans, cnn, new york.

2011 was dominated by some extraordinary legal cases. our legal guys kept us on top of them every step of the way. today they are back, this time bringing us something a little different, breaking down their top five picks for 2011 right after this.

huge crowds turning out all over syria again today. we're getting reports about new violence and clashes between anti-government protesters and riot police. full details on that coming up. all right. every weekend we bring you the top legal cases of the week with our regular legal guys avery friedman and richard herman. they have picked top five cases

of 2011. avery friedman civil rights attorney in cleveland. good to see you. >> good to see you. >> i richard herman, good to see you. happy new year. >> happy new year, fred. >> let's take a look at the list, greatest legal cases. we've ranked favorites. let's count them down. avery ranks dominique strauss-kahn which you died with warren jeffs. >> a tie. >> couldn't decide. >> you chose actress lindsay lohan as number five. you both agreed on number four rod blagojevich for corruption and sentencing deserved that spot. for number three penn state's jerry sandusky, and american student in italy amanda knox

also at number three. first why didn't you put sandusky on your list? >> well, you know what, if cases were based on allegations, then casey anthony would have been convicted. i think the jerry sandusky case is an important case and it's opening up a lot of observation and concern about what goes on in campuses and college campuses and high school. but the bottom line is at this point we have some very outrageous allegations. let's see what happens in 2012. may make the top ten of 2012. right now it's absolutely too early to put on the list. >> but amanda knox instead? >> oh, yeah. >> what stood out for you on that? >> amanda knox i think is very, very important. we read 143-page what's called a motivation by appeals judge and demonstrated unlike american courts how perverted some judicial systems are in terms of

safeguards. safeguards meaning the right to cross-examination, the right against self-incrimination. the good news is that the italian appeals court looked at the mistakes made by the trial court, no motive, no weapon, even criticizing amanda knox about her underwear. the bottom line is she was freed but it demonstrated the difference between the two judicial systems. >> let's look at that list one more time. while we do, richard, you had very strong opinions on lindsay lohan in and out of court but she did not, amazingly make your list. >> she's on number five, fred. >> i am seeing that. she's on the top. number five. >> it was very tough between warren jeffs and her. you know, we were just glued every time it seemed you turned on the tv, there she was. there she was again in court violating probation, violating probation. these judges. these candy judges in california

just couldn't do anything about it except wave their finger at her. you know, fred, anywhere else in the united states, you violate probation that many times, you're going to prison. she's not treated like everyone else. you want to talk about celebrity justice. best of all was when she was in court that day with nail polish with fu on nail polish as she put it up to her face there as the cameras zeroed in on it and everybody could see that. she's completely out of control. i don't care what the current probation reports show. this woman is a train wreck. she was gifted, had the world handed to her on a silver platter and she's blowing it big time. it speems between the drinking and drugs she has some major issues that if they don't get ahold of her right now she's going to be the big story in 2012 and it not going to be a pretty one. for her sake, i hope her families and friends can get together and try to help her get her life back on track.

i hope that's what happens in 2012. but warren jeffs was a very significant case. avery put it on his list. >> you had it tied, avery with dominique strauss-kahn. why is it you could not decide? >> there was no quantitative basis for a tie, i just couldn't figure it out. i think that's right. the fact is just like dominique strauss-kahn, this is like some old guy taking advantage of young women. the good news in the warren jeffs case is that they got him out of utah. they finally got him to texas. they tried this guy. it was maybe the most bizarre trial of the year because what he did was he stood during closing arguments, said nothing and tried to stare down the jury. good news, the jury came back two felony counts. put this man away for life. let's see if we can establish the lives of both these young women and young men affected so they can start a new day and

live the life the way they should. >> top three, four and a half really. we've got more. we're going to reveal the rest of you all's list and the fascinating or at least top picks of the legal stories in your view of the year 2011 coming up in just a few minutes. and then just three days away until voters in iowa tell us what they think of the 2012 republican candidates. coming up, how iowa became the center of the political universe next. is it because taking a step represents hope? or triumph? at genworth, we believe in taking small steps every day to keep your promises, protect what matters, and prepare for a secure financial future. no matter where you want to go, one step at a time is the only way to get there. go to genworth.com/promises.

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forty years ago, he wasn't worried about retirement. he'd yet to hear of mutual funds, iras, or annuities. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement solutions for our military, veterans and their families. from investments... to life insurance... to health care options. learn more with our free usaa retirement guide. call 877-242-usaa. headlines from around the hour. across syria, large scale public protest, people angry at the government for cracking down on

pro reform demonstrations. an activist based in syria said at least nine protesters died today killed in clashes with security forces. two opposition groups there signed a deal a few hours ago making a transition plan in case the president there steps down. you can call him supreme commander, a report in state-run media today says that title has now been bestowed on kim jong-un. he is the 20 something son of the late north korean leader kim jong-il. the title supreme commander makes him the head of the armed forces. north korean officials announced yesterday there will be no policy changes despite the new leadership raef the new year arrived in sidney, australia. take a look at the countdown there. a bang and spectacular display, wow, of fireworks. the city welcomed 2012 with a massive show over the famous harbor bridge and opera house.

it wasn't first in line to kick off the new year, however. that honor goes to the residents of samoa and christmas islands. let's talk again about the iowa caucuses, just three days away now. gop candidates heating up the campaign trail. it may be the weather that plays the biggest role in picking a win are. former governor mike huckabee won in 2008 and gave his picks based on the weather. >> if the weather is good, mitt romney is in better shape. if the weather is bad and it's real tough to get out, ron paul will win. >> who knows better than you. how bad -- >> i think mike huckabee. >> no one. no one. how bad will it be or how good? >> this being the final week of really getting out there and trying, campaigns going crazy

getting the words out. today is okay, tomorrow is all right. by the time wets into monday and tuesday we're going to see a big change in the forecast. much colder air coming in. we take the maps full you'll get a chance to see up close and personal. high pressure moving in. things dry out a little bit, not expecting a lot in terms of precipitation. it will be a mix of sun, clouds, more often sun into the afternoon. but yes very cold. high temperatures we fast forward into tuesday. take a look. around the state, 43, 28 in cedar rapids, 33 in parts of bluffs, 40, 42 in sioux city, towards spencere 36 degrees. 20s, 30s, a few 40s out there. in new york city, though, for tonight, many of you are really all excited about the ball dropping in times square. 44 degrees. nice and clear, just beautiful for you. >> good. >> great day to get there and get the word out in iowa for today, not so much into monday and tuesday. >> oh, boy. >> tuesday chilly but dry.

>> they are used to cold. >> yeah. >> we'll see what happens. >> all right. very good. thanks so much, reynolds. just three more days until the voters in iowa christen that 2012 presidential race. the most recent poll from nbc shows mitt romney leading the pack. a poll from wednesday looks a lot like this. you don't even see jon huntsman's name there. on this week he said iowans pick corn not presidents but history tells a very different story. here is cnn's mary snow. >> reporter: republican presidential popefuls make the final sprint in iowa. as they crisscross the state, campaigns and supporters flood the airwaves with ads. $8 million worth and counting just this month. how much can a win in iowa matter? that depends. >> this was the place where america remembered what it means to hope. >> reporter: for barack obama, a victory in iowa proved to be a

game changer. on the republican side, a different story. >> tonight i love iowa a whole lot. >> reporter: mike huckabee's upset victory with help of iowa evangelicals failed to maintain momentum outside the state. john mccain was the eventual nominee. >> when you look at who won in iowa compared to parties of the nominee, a win in 2008 was not only crucial for barack obama but in 2004 for john kerry and particularly in 1976 for jimmy carter. on the republican side in recent years, iowa victors george w. bush in 2000 and bob dole in 1996 went on to win their party's nomination but their wins in iowa were not as crucial to their campaigns. started in 1972, the caucuses are more about winnowing down the field of candidates. winners gain no delegates and some political watchers say the iowa contest has become more

about the media attention. >> it's essentially in and of itself a meaningless event but it has tremendous political impact. because if a candidate does worse than expected, support and especially funding tends to dry up. if a candidate does better than expected, that support tends to expand and in particular funding, campaign contributions tend to increase. >> last presidential election about 118,000 republicans took part in the caucuses. in iowa there's a stronger focus on social issues than other parts of the country. 60% of gop caucusgoers in 2008 describe themselves as evangelical or born again christians. that turnout of republican caucusgoers in 2008 amounts top 1/5 of registered voters in the state. turnouts this time are all over the map. later we'll give you a

chance to see republican candidates make their pitches to be the next president. live in-depth joining us for contenders 2012 coming your way at 2:00 eastern time. so far on our legal guys list of big legal cases of 2011, rob blagojevich, lindsay lohan, dominique strauss-kahn. what are top two cases? richard and avery next. why did we build a 556 horsepower luxury car with a manual transmission? because there are those who still believe in the power of a firm handshake. the cadillac cts-v. manual or automatic, that's entirely up to you.

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all right. every weekend we bring you the top legal cases of the week with legal guys avery friedman and richard herman. now they have picked their top five cases of 2011. they are back. civil rights attorney from cleveland avery friedman, richard herman. here is the list. number five richard choosing lindsay lohan. avery you couldn't decide on just one so you chose dominique strauss-kahn and warren jeffs. number four in agreement on the former illinois governor's trial and conviction of blagojevich on corruption charges. number three, richard choosing

jerry sandusky and avery choosing amanda knox. now drum roll, please, to number two. legal case of the year. conrad murray, the doctor of michael jackson, you all in agreement on that and number one casey anthony acquitted of murdering her 2-year-old daughter. you, again, agreeing on that. let's begin with that number two slot. conrad murray. richard, you first feel as passionately about conrad murray at number two as you do of jerry sandusky being your number three. >> well, sandusky, that's just a powerful case. avery said it, it's only allegations. it's right. it's only allegations. but victims testified under oath at a grand jury, fred. those allegations caused the firing of the most storied, winningest college football coach in the history of football, joe paterno. those allegations caused two

indictments against sandusky and those allegations will be tested in court because his attorney says it's a fight to the finish. you're going to see these victims testify. it's going to be very, very powerful. i think sandusky is in big trouble. the whole penn state football program in big trouble because of what happened here and how joe paterno potentially had information and saw sandusky on the premises for years after he was told point blank that by mcqueary that sandusky was raping some kid in the shower. in any event, that's a very powerful case. moving onto number two, conrad murray, look, he's a cardiologist feeding propofol to his client at home. how anybody can get around that, you can't. >> he's maintaining he still did nothing wrong. even though he's been sentenced, he's in jail. he maintains he only did what his client wanted him to do but he's paying the price. >> hey, fred, any time you go to

any prison facility, everyone in there says i didn't do it, they got it wrong, it's wrong. this man is going to be stripped of his medical license in three different states. he's finished. he's going to go to prison. very short period of time he'll be out. but you cannot give anesthesia to someone at home in a home setting without -- you can't do that period. forget about proper protocols. you just can't do that and the jury grasped it, shocking. it's done. very powerful case. the king of pop, this guy killed him. >> very powerful case, conrad murray, how do you suppose the outcome of that case might be influencing the way in which a lot of these other so-called boutique doctors do their business? >> to me it strikes me there are basic standards. there was no surprise to me. the reason i have conrad murray as number two, fredricka, on the list is it's the case of the century, the trial of the

century that wasn't. this case was so touted. it was touted because he was responsible for the death of the king of pop. that's why it was an important case. but in terms of medical practice, this struck me as a no-brainer. the fact is, it was a case where the evidence is overwhelming. who administers propofol at home. we have powerful experts who testified about the inappropriateness of his medical behavior. i don't know where this guy went to medical school but i'm in agreement. he has no right to be practicing medicine because the california system is kind of screwed up because of overcrowding. it's unlikely this guy is going to do much time, if at all. there will be personal injury cases but he has nothing left. he's there only because it was not the trial of the century. >> quite the opposite outcome as it pertained to the casey anthony trial which you both agreed was your number one case to watch over the last year.

her acquittal. so avery, is it the acquittal, the case itself, the circumstances of the investigation that make it your number one? >> it was number one because it's the legal shocker of the year. a number of factors go into it very simply stated. again, allegations versus what the jury did. we had a horrible crime. the homicide of a child, a lousy mother, a lousy lawyer. but the reason this case blew up bigger than a tick on dracula was it was an overcharge by the prosecutor. i understand they wanted to go for broke. we understand all that. to me, i think most americans who watched this case, some were glued to the television, understood casey anthony probably was responsible for the death of the child. but we also learned about the importance of the standard beyond a reasonable doubt. it was reaffirmed, ratified in the minds of americans. that's why this case is number one. >> and richard? >> she's acquitted, avery, so

you can't say she's probably -- she's acquitted, the jury acquitted her. the state could not prove her case. she's acquitted. to me it's incredible. next to o.j. simpson this the most shocking trial i've ever seen, fred. this jury withstood -- >> is it over? or do you see it being revisiting in any way in 2012. >> it's over. all these proceedings taking place by equusearch, this ridiculous defamation case zani nanny, not the person she's referring to. these are meaningless. these people are just do it for publicity. trust me, fred. it's over there. here is a case where you take the legal textbooks on how to try a case and throw them out the window. he stood up in his opening, promised to deliver certain things in a theory of defense, proved none of it at trial. normally every law professor or trial attorney will tell you

that spells doom. here is an acquittal. it was painful to watch baez cross-examination and get ejected on every question. yet i thought he was incompetent trying the case. i tip my hat to him. he got an acquittal in one of the largest if not the largest case in the last 50 years we've seen. >> wow. >> an amazing verdict. people were glued to their tvs. a young girl dead and the mother came up with crazy stories where she was, where she was going, where she gave the baby. the prosecution could not tie her into the scene of where she was buried and that's how it went down with this jury. >> we know many of those cases made your blood boil, gentlemen. we're so glad you broke it down to your top five of the year 2011. happy new year to you. maybe the next item will warm your heart since the blood has been boiling for sometime over these cases. twin baby polar bear cubs.

richard, avery, still with me? >> yes. >> set to make their debut at a zoo in china in this new year but their cnn debut is right after this break. happy new year to both of you. always great to have you. can't wait to hear from you in 2012. >> all the best. haep happy new year.

tuesday is right around the corner, the day of the iowa

caucuses. the gop hopefuls are literally all over the map. coming up a breakdown of what the candidates are doing to win over potential voters in iowa. reynolds wolf back with me now talking about something really, really cute that's gone viral. when you've got animals. >> hard to go wrong. >> hard to go wrong. in this case we've got beautiful polar bear cubs. >> there they are. what do you think of those guys. >> they are so sweet. >> tell me about them? >> okay. well, they were -- they were born to a mother that actually had twins last year as well. these ones were born october 14th in a chinese polar aquarium. you meant that literally. that's funny. >> i didn't mean to be mean. tell me about these bears. >> they are so cute. i'm admiring them so much as everybody else is. you've got a boy and a girl here. they are sweet and curious. >> they are going to nourish the

first two years of their life. eventually they will grow -- especially the males, grow up to 10 feet high, weigh 1500 pounds. they can actually eat 20% of their body weight. now, know they are cute, adorable, but one day they will have the ability to rip their face off. >> mama is not trying to feed all four cubs. >> i don't think so. looks like these guys are trying to feed them. they may become dinner. >> feed for two years. >> mama has a lot of work to do. they are so sweet. >> do you see him? he may be pulling back a nub before long. that's dangerous. >> that's right. these are bears. >> absolutely. >> they have serious teeth and claws. that's fun. >> thanks, reynolds. you knew a lot more about it than i did. >> who knew. >> happy new year to you and bear cubs. >> perhaps you're traveling, may want to tote your laptop. have you to be careful wherever you are. hackers can target with a fake

wi-fi hot spots and take your personal information. watch out.

all right. if you're using wi-fi to make an internet connection at the airport, you could also be connecting to hackers. ted rollins has details in this week's on the go. >> waiting for their flight, often pass time going online. wi-fi networks in airports have

made that easier than ever and dangerous. >> i will go and set up a fake wi-fi. once they connect to it and start surfing the internet, now what i'll do is grab their traffic. >> we launch a fake network, lax free wi-fi. people start connecting to it. evans shows how a hacker can track what i was doing on my laptop. >> they go to their bank, it will grab banking information, facebook, if they are writing love letters, i can grab all that. >> experts say there are a few things can you do to protect yourself. if you're at an airport or public spot find out who the wi-fi is, if it costs money, pay the money. change your passwords and use different passwords for different accounts. keep in mind, someone may be watching you next time you're on the go.

>> watch out out there. meantime counting down to the iowa caucuses three days away. we've got our eyes on all the campaigns today. we'll run it all down for you next. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. premier of the packed bag. you know organization is key... and so is having a trusted assistant. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above and still pay the mid-size price. here we are... [ male announcer ] and there you go, business pro. there you go. go national. go like a pro.

a look at top stories on

cnn. iranian officials now say they have no intention of blocking the strait of hormuz. iran threatened to close the route in response to u.s. plans to ratchet up sanctions. it was broadcast on iran's state-run television. the world is ringing in the new year as the clock strikes midnight in many places overseas. seoul, south korea they did it with the striking of a bell. tokyo just running in, tokyo. other cities where the famous ball drops there in new york, an estimated 1 billion poem worldwide will be watching. with the iowa caucuses tuesday, the gop candidates are making their final pitches. mitt romney is iowa bound after hosting a new hampshire breakfast, newt gingrich bus stops in counsel bluffs iowa, rick perry in dodge meeting