that does it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." join us every day from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on cnn. at this time every weekend on cnn international. the news continues next. on cnn. > . [ no audio ] >> -- investigators are dealing with one of the worst arson sprees in recent memory. and whoever is behind it is setting more than tinseltown on fire. these are images from burbank overnight. 21 fires in the last two days have cost more than $350,000 in damage. mostly cars but some homes

including one where doors front jim morrison used to live. so far just one firefighter with minor injuries, but the fear is it is only a matter of time. >> we are dead serious about trying to apprehend the individual or individuals who are responsible for this. we want to get these s.o.b.s before they hurt somebody. >> investigators say it is possible not all the fires are arson. multiple groups are now offering a total of $60,000 in reward money for information leading to an arrest. joining me now sh the mayor of west hollywood, john duran, four of the fires have been in his city. also with me los angeles fire captain jamie moore. first, captain, we have heard 21 fires over two days. the l.a. times is saying 35 fires over three days k. you clarity how many fires you are dealing with here and do you think they are all linked? >> well, yeah, we are looking at

automobile fires -- the majority of the fires are underneath car ports adjacent to parking structures. all the single-family are the dwellings/21 fires between the county of los angeles yesterday morning. and this morning we had a total of 14 fires between city of los angeles and the county of los angeles. 13 of those fires were in the city of los angeles' jurisdicti jurisdiction. ten of them are in the burbank area. thee three of them in the fairfax area of los angeles, which is the southwest area. this is just west of hollywood. >> so it is amazing because we see the video there on the screen of the intensity of the fires as well. captain, there are no arrests, but do you have any suspects? are you close to charging someone? >> well, the los angeles fire department, the los angeles county fire department, the los

angeles county sheriff's office as well as the los angeles police department are joining task forces in investigating these fires. as you can imagine, we are talking about a lot of fires in a short amount of time. we are getting some manpower on the investigative side as well as our firefighting efforts. unfortunately, the firefighters are working tirelessly to extwinnish the fires and they are ensuring a limited amount of damage. but most importantly, they have ensured the safety of the community both in los angeles and los angeles county and insured northbound has been injured. >> cap tichb jamie moore, we wish you the best in solving this. mayor, what do you want to say to the person or the people behind these arsons? >> i think what these people have to understand, they are not just setting cars on fire, they are using cars as an insidiary device to set buildings on fire. many of the buildings are

rent-controlled apartments, they are very dense. they are in parts of west hollywood and los angeles where we have 20,000 people living per square mile. each of the buildings contain several residents, many of them frail seniors or families with children that can't move as quickly as young people. it is a new form of urban terrorism we are seeing in our community. this is going on every night for three nights. at first it was sort of like, okay, they are burning cars. no, they are not burning cars, they are using cars as sticks to set buildings on fire. that's the problem across the greater los angeles area. you need to be vigilant, this guy or persons are going to continue until they are caught or apprehended. we have a full force deployment out tonight as well. >> and that's a shame here on new years's eve this is something you have to contend with. i would imagine the people in this area, as you say, many of them are elderly and quite squared scared about who is behind this and where they might

hit next. >> the type of architecture not behind security debates, architecture reminiscent of the '50s and the '60s, buildings where people have been living for decades and decades who are very frail and not very mobile. the targeted buildings are a problem for our cities. los angeles county is home to 89 cities and is becoming more widespread, so i think all of southern california is on alert. al buildings are in new york as cars and automobiles are to los angeles. when you have millions of people living with millions of cars in these very dense neighborhoods, this is becoming a new form of domestic terrorism that's really got our community in a very bad spot at the moment. >> well, we hope that people behind it are caught quickly. we appreciate your time joining us on new year's eve. the mayor of west hollywood, john durant, thank you very much. we move from fires to earthquakes. a 4.2 earthquake hit ohio today and there are rumblings that it

was more than just mother nature at work here. the u.s. geological survey says the quake was centered near youngstown. sue sean susan candiotti is here with more. ohio just had an earthquake recently, is that correct? >> they did. the last time they had one was on christmas eve, as a matter of fact. they sound like science fiction to some, but the scientists say this could signal a very serious problem. today's 4.0 earthquake near youngstown, ohio, comes one day after the state shut down operations at a fluid injection well. it treats waste water created by fracking, a way to extract natural gas and oil. here's the scary part for people who live there. over the last eight months there have been ten quakes within two miles of the well. today's makes 11. all in an area where earthquakes have been rare. residents tell us they found the ground rumbling and houses

shaking. protesters have been complaining about the well activities for some time. scientists explain it this way, waste water from the fracing procedure is shot more than a mile under the ground as part of the procedure. the theory is the waste could be lubery crated existing faults prompting the minor earthquakes. the company says it is going to run tests to figure out what's going on. >> we have approximately 1,000 wells between ohio and pennsylvania. and we have never had a problem where we have protesters or we are shut down by the state of ohio. we do have other disposal wells that we have had for 20 years. and never, ever had a problem with an earthquake or spill or any problems whatsoever. >> now tonight i spoke with a signtist from new york's columbia university whose heading out to ohio to help the state decide whether to shut

down the well permanently. the state says it is concerned about health and safety. however, we have no reports of damage or any injuries today. but, natalie, christmas eve, now new year's eve, unsettling news to say the least. >> absolutely. has ohio ever had and earthquake that caused serious damage? >> well, strategically we don't have that information from the u.s. geological survey, but these, certainly, they have had some earthquakes in ohio. it is not out of the ordinary in the state of ohio or in the northeast, they are just infrequent. but this many happening around this well, clearly they are looking to see if there's a direct linkage. there certainly appears to be and that's what they want to find out, whether this is a well that should be shut down because of it. >> susan candiotti following for us, thank you very much.

the big ball won't drop in new york for another five hours, but cities around the world are ringing in the new year. london began celebrating the new year a few minutes ago. and it is still going on. we have live pictures right here from london. it's a big year in the british capital with the summer olympics coming up in july. this, perhaps, the kickoff. a quarter million people were expected to line the banks of the river to watch the massive fireworks display. let's listen. ♪ >> london's mayor says 2012 will be, quote, the most extraordinary and exciting year we are likely to see in our

lifetime. berlin took its turn an hour ago. the city's brandonburg gate was the place to be for revelers. it is a bittersweet day for many as this marks ten years ago since the euro was introduced as the common currency. europeans hope for a brighter year in 2012. russia kicked off the new year with the fireworks display over the cremelin, but anyone looking to toast it with an alcoholic beverage would be out of luck. they banned alcohol from protests getting out of hand. people in the united arab emirates were treated to a display from the world's tallest building. this skyscraper was illuminated in white, red and green lights drawing on the colors from the uae's national flag. the colors were also a nod to the 40sth anniversary of the

country's independence celebrated earlier this month. australia among the first countries to celebrate the arrival of 2012. huge crowds gathered to watch the fireworks over sidney harbor. it is hard to compete with that. more than a million and a half people were expected to watch in person. sydney's mayor says it is the city's goal to make each display every year better and better than the previous year. well, it's the contest that could set the tone in the race for president. republicans vying for the oval office are criss-crossing iowa just three days before the first in the nation caucuses trying to set off fireworks of their own. we are there live in two minutes. let's go to vegas. alright, let's do it. let's do it, let's go to vegas.

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[ male announcer ] icy hot spray. relief that's icy to dull pain, hot to relax it away. and no mess. icy hot spray. don't mess around with pain. all the buildup, all the debates, all the jockeying for position is leading up to this moment. iowans are about to cast the first votes in the republican race for president. the iowa caucuses are just three days away. and cnn politico editor paul steinhouser is live in des moines, iowa, where he has pretty much pitched a tent for the past few weeks. paul, it is crunch time for these candidates. who is there and who isn't? >> reporter: just about all of them are here. i will tell you who is not here in a second, but natalie, it is december 31st. this is the middle of winter.

i'm in iowa. it should be cold. it is not that cold out. it has been very mild. and that could be a factor on cause cost caucus night, january 3rd, just a few nights away. rick perry, newt gingrich, michele bachmann, rick santorum, they started criss-crossing the state this morning. rid mitt romney, he started in new hampshire. he was there for 24 hours and was here earlier in the week. why new hampshire? they go second. their primary one week after the iowa caucuses. you mentioned there is somebody here not at all. that's congressman ron paul. he was back home in texas today and tomorrow going to spend the new year's holiday with his wife. but his cam pain says he'll be back here monday morning campaigning in the state with his son, the senator, rand paul of kentucky. natalie? >> we learned something new today about rick perry's plans after the iowa caucuses. what can you tell us about that?

>> reporter: yeah, this is face thatting. you would think most of the candidate that is survive and go on go right to new hampshire. that state goes second. no, perry's campaign sayings the texas governor is going on to south carolina. that state votes third 11 days after new hampshire. what's going on here? are the candidates going to avoid new hampshire? maybe. if you look at the polls, mitt romney is the overwhelming front-runner in new hampshire. maybe for rick perry and some of the other kand dads that move on looking for the social conservative vote, you go to south carolina instead because south carolina has an electorate a lot closer to iowa. new hampshire much different, independents are a big factor in new hampshire. social conservatives are not. one thing about iowa, listen, it may not crown the nominee, the gop nominee, it normally doesn't do that, but what it may do is it may now narrow the field a little bit. gnat sflooe. >> that's what it will certainly do, probably, perhaps. paul steinhouser, we'll be watching. thank you so much. see you soon. well, it is time to talk

last-minute strategy for the gop hopefuls. let's take a look at the latest cnn time orc poll in iowa. mitt romney on top with 25%. ron paul behind him, 22%. rick santorum, surging in recent weeks to the third spot with 16%. and newt gingrich with a stunning fall to 14%. that's down from 33% in the last poll. and in less than an hour, all eyes will be on one final poll from the des moines register. i want to bring in republican analyst lenny mcalister and cnn contributor alex castillanos. ron paul has a serious chance of winning on tuesday, but we just heard paul is in the home state of texas spending time with his wife tonight. lenny, is this a sign of confidence from paul or is he avoiding the spotlight for this weekend? >> he's doing both.

what's come out with these newsletters has been damning for him. this gives him the opportunity to move out of the spotlight. the thing about him is this, he has the grassroots out there. he's had folks running for him, running for president for the past four years. he has the advantage of the grassroots and the advantage of the caucus structure benefiting him and his supporters in a very good way. so he can get out, get away from the spotlight and let things cool down for just a second, come back to iowa and still not lose that much momentum. i think it is a good move for him up and i think that he will not suffer on tuesday as a result of it. >> alex, we'll talk about rick santorum. what's behind his surge in the polls in recent weeks? >> well, i think the failure of the other candidates, i'm not so sure it is a rick santorum surge that he has surged forward as it is that all the other candidates have stepped back. there's nobody left to vote for in this contest. with newt gingrich's collapse,

really, over the past three weeks, votes got to go somewhere, and the only guy left is rick san tour rim santorum. >> lenny, after tuesday how many candidates are done and who are they? >> i think the person we really need to keep a focus on is going to be the person that pushed tim pawlenty out of the race, just in august, michele bachmann cannot afford to come in fifth or sixth place. it is very ironic because she pushed pawlenty out of the race with a major hand in pulling rick perry down in the polls. if she doesn't do well on tuesday, the woman that claims to be the native of waterloo, iowa, may have her waterloo on tuesday night. >> same question to you, alex, what do you think? >> well, i think it is a slightly more complicated issue. when newt gingrich failed to counter attack when ron paul and mitt romney started to launch the negative campaign to bring gingrich down a few weeks ago, when he didn't respond he opened

iowa to mitt romney and now we have seen romney go up in the polls. everyone else go down. romney has an opportunity to take this race. the other candidates now, there's really almost no one left who is a serious threat for the republican nomination. so in that sense, they can all stay in. and they may well. these campaigns now can live off the land and the internet. and that may be to romney's advantage. if he can keep the right divided, he can walk away with the center right, go from iowa, win new hampshire and maybe end this contest early. >> it's all been so interesting that the give and take, the back and forth and iowans saying they are still undecided and could change their minds. so with three days left, alex, do you first see any hail mary's from the bottom of the back in bachmann or perry? >> it is hard to launch a hail

mary this late in the game. when half the voters are undecided this late, it doesn't mean they are undecided but they are uninterested. they don't feel passion for any candidate. what does that mean? they will stay home. we are going to see a record turnout. last time around there were only 115,000 voters for republicans in iowa in 2008. this time we have a chance to see less. mitt romney won with 29,000. if he can get half that as people voted for him before and half what giuliani and mccain got, another 15,000 votes, romney could get 25,000 votes and maybe win in iowa. that could be a real shocker. >> lenny, same question to you, any possibility of a hail mary from, say, bachmann? >> well, the hail mary pass, if you will, would come in if somebody could effectively use social media in these last 48 to 72 hours to get the message out there. you know, president obama used social media extremely well in

2007 moving into 2008, which gave him the chance to kind of move into imagination with the win in iowa. if somebody can take the blueprint and use social media, use twitter, use facebook and some of those things to get their message out in a cost-effect i have effective way to create the buzz, there may be a shot. do i see it? not necessarily, but if somebody has a shot they have to take it. >> i wish it worked that way, lenny. you have to have something new to say, not just a new way to say it. >> that's what happened with president obama. it can happen. i don't think it will happen, though, alex. >> we appreciate you guys staying on the political beat for us before you go celebrate new year's. we can tell you to enjoy it. thank you so much, lenny and alex. happy new year. tuesday the gop candidates vying to run against president obama will get the first real test of voter opinion. and tomorrow night wolf blitzer takes a close look at what each of the candidates is doing to win last-minute support in

"countdown to iowa final 48 hours." will anyone launch a hail mary? that's tomorrow night at 8:00 eastern right here on cnn. coming up in three minutes, a woman plays chicken with police in a shopping center parking lot. even hitting a patrol car. who won? the takedown ahead. ♪ anything? no. ♪ how about now? nope. ♪ [ dog barking ] ♪

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federal authorities say

there's no need for a recall of baby formula. that decision coming despite a fourth baby being infected by a rare and sometimes fatal bacteria that can come from formula. health officials say parents can keep using any formula they have following distractions and checking the expiration date. cases have been reported in missouri, illinois, oklahoma and florida. the infected infants in florida and missouri died this month. a woman is facing charges for allegedly trying to run over police in alabama. and some of it is caught on tape. it's a weird sight in huntsville. police found a woman driving around a tart parking lot going up and down rows over and over again blasting her radio. when police tried to stop her they say she hit a patrol car twice and then she floored it toward an officer who fired a shot and missed her. police used spike strips on her tires and boxed her in and broke

a window to pull her out. she was taken to a hospital for a mental evaluation. no one was hurt, but the woman faces an attempted murder charge. well, the search is on for banana sam. a squirrel monkey that someone stole from the san francisco zoo. zoo staffers discovered the 17-year-old monkey missing friday when they noticed two holes cut into a mesh fence of banana sam's exhibit. the monkey is only about a foot tall and weighs 2 pounds. cute, but zoo keepers say he has sharp teeth and will bite if provoked. however, they are more concerned how banana sam will fare saying stress can kill a monkey that small. well, we are just hours away from a new year. how about getting a start, a fresh start on organizing your finances? financial expert terry savage is joining me. terry, what's the first thing you would do. wait, we'll answer on the other side of the break.

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advantage: mom. let's fight fat with alli ♪ the new year means a fresh start for getting your finances in order if you know where your money goes then you'll better be able to meet the new years's resolution all of us need to follow. spend less, save more. easier said than done. joining me now is teri savage. we'll let you talk now. happy new year to you. >> happy new year. >> you have online tools people can use for the great price of free. so what's the first thing people should do to get their financial house in order? >> all right. this is all about getting organized. i know you want to go out and party tonight, but tomorrow is the day you get to start over and fix all the mistakes you made last year with your money.

so here are four free websites that can give you a lot of help getting organized. the first is mint.com. this is a wonderful website that gives you control over all your spending and budgeting. it is sort of a sister company to quicken.com. it scurries all the accounts you have set up, your billers and so forth, and it lets you keep track in realtime of what happened to your money. it lets you set up a budget and will send you text messages. if you are out to dinner, stop at the bar and pick up a check. you can get a text message, don't go out to dinner, you are about over your entertainment budget. >> or you cannot have that second drink. >> exactly. no more drinks. because mint.com is free because a lot of companies send you messages saying you can have a less expensive credit card and home loan and so forth. but mint you cannot move money, but you can take a look at it and they can tell you where you stand.

so the next one is really a fabulous site. it is brand new this year called manila.com. and if you keep all your bills in the manila folder, the ones you pay and the ones you are going to pay, it does this online for you securely at manila.com. you tell all your billers, your credit card company, your mortgage company, the insurance pills bills, the auto payment, to send it to manila.com. they will send you text messages and keep a calendar there. at manilla you can securely pay your bill, front and back, see all the charges, even better they keep them all securely so next year if you say, how much was our electric bill in december with the holiday lights? go back to see. manilla.com is free because you tell your billers to send your bills by e-mail and they save so much money they pay for the service and don't have to print and have postage. that's a great new way to coordinate almost all of your bills, thousands of billers are now doing that.

and it is really worthwhile checking now the new year. >> i feel much organized just listening to you. now that you know where your money is going, is there a place out there to give you add vice on how to invest it? >> everybody wants to give you add vice on how to invest, especially the 401(k). this is a per tikt perfect time to think about reallocating. many of the fortune 100 companies used a service called financialengines.com started by a nobel prize winning economist william sharp to give personalized financial advice to 401(k) participants. go to their website, but it will cost you. here's a free way to get one year of financialengines.com. if you go to my website, terrysavage.com, there's a link right up there on the home page. go through that way, and i don't keep track of it, but i have written them so much they said we'll give you the link for your readers with a free one-year service. look at the top of terrysalve

danlg.com to help you invest. and they will working on retirement and withdrawal scenarios, so this is a top level advice that corporations give their employees. now you can have it. by the way, when you are at terrysavage.com, a little box pops up. everything on my e-mail is free. you will get into my economic newsletter. and by return e-mail, you get a link to my personal financial organizer. print them out and give them to your family and friends. list all your accounts on there, where your will is, it will help you get organized. four free ways to get control. you cannot get ahead financially until you get control of your money. here's how to start. >> great, great advice. so many people were challenged in 2011 and are looking for a fresh start for 2012. terry savage, we can't thank you enough. happy new year. >> good to be with you. happy new year, natalie. we are 4 1 is/2 hours until

the u.s. begins to ring in the new year. the biggest celebration in times square to a place celebrating in style. we are checking in on the pre-new year's parties next.

we have less than five hours left in 2011 on the east coast and cnn is helping you ring in

2012 with our epic new year's eve countdown. hosted by anderson cooper and kathie griffin at 11:00 p.m. that's eastern. we are getting all our players in place. we are standing live in times square with the ball dropping at midnight, and john zarella in the beautiful florida keys. let's start with aysha, is it getting crazy there? >> it is getting totally crazy here. guys, make some noise! a little louder. a little louder! just a small taste here. you know, as you say, we are still some hours away from midnight, but times square is filling up rapidly for the ultimate street party, because that's what it is. it is 17 blocks here in manhattan with people crammed in behind the barriers here to sample the very unique atmosphere that you get here in times square.

there's music, which you can probably hear a little bit behind me, and there's a lot of dancing and singing. just a lot of comrade tree. people come from all over the united states. why do you want to come to times square on new year's eve? hey, guys, tell me, what's your name? where are you from and why are you here? >> my name is juliana and i'm living in virginia but i'm from colombia. i'm happen to be here in times square. >> reporter: why times square? >> because the famous all over the world. >> reporter: you hear it from her. this is the place to be. we'll bring you all the festivities from here in times square. say good-bye, everybody. back to you, natalie. >> isha, fantastic. the crowds will continue to grow. it is 7:39 p.m. eastern.

look at them already. over to john zarella now in a different part of the country. some reporters get all the tough assignments, what's it going to be like to ring in the new year on the beaches of the florida keys? we do hate you, you know that. >> reporter: i know that. you know, that's just the way it is, natalie. 72 degrees here today. went fishing the last couple of days, spectacular place to ring in the new year. these are all our friends invited here to party. this is nathan. he was just on the phone with his dad telling his dad to turn on cnn. right, nathan? >> yeah. and the family from canada. >> reporter: you folks are from ohio? >> springfield, ohio. go bucs! it's my birthday. >> reporter: it's your birthday today? >> no, tomorrow. >> reporter: why did you come here? >> to celebrate. >> reporter: the crowd in new york was kind of loud. i want to hear you guys even louder, say happy new year.

>> happy new year! >> reporter: natalie, we are on duvall street. they have many, many great celebrations here on new year's e eve, but the biggest one is the drag queen drop. sushi the drag queen drops out of here at midnight. we have been doing this for ten years and we are joined by mayor greg gates, this is a big night for you. do you expect a lot of people here tonight? >> we are expecting 50,000 partiers here. >> reporter: it grows every year. i know it is because cnn is here every year. and that's why it is growing. >> cnn has been here ten years in a row. we really appreciate it. >> reporter: it's a great time. not just this event, but you have events up and down duvall street. >> right. the whole length of duvall we have events. it is not really crowded, but everybody has a great time. >> reporter: we have a conch shell drop, you have the pirate

wench on a mast on a ship, it's a great party here tonight. and it always is, but again, the highlight of the event is sushi coming down in the red shoe. and interestingly enough, before you let me go, this year she's going to be in a period costume reflecting the 1912/1920 period because next year in 2012 is the 100th anniversary of the completion of henry flagler's railroad. and i got my conductor's hat. it linked the mainland to key west. a lot of big things coming up in key west, but tonight we are going to have some fun ringing in the new year. natalie? >> i can already tell. the crowd doesn't compete with times square, but i like the shorts and the t-shirts look from the people there. fantastic. we don't hate you, but have a great time. we know you will. >> reporter: we will. all right. meteorologist karen mcginnis is here with celebrations underway. i don't know, key west, times

square, i would take either one. >> you know, i think one of the most exotic places i have ever spent new year's eve was in yellowstone national park. how about you, natalie? >> gosh, i don't know. i think i was in florida once, but not key west. >> that's a pretty nice assignment. happy new year's to everyone. if you are or are headed to the times square venue, remember back in 1917? well, maybe not, because the temperature there was below zero. not going to be that cold going into the overnight hours. we will expect mostly clear skies for tonight with temperatures hovering right around 43 degrees. boy, remember those temperatures could be a whole lot colder like they were in 2008 when temperatures were dropping down into the teens. washington, d.c., it looks like clear skies there, 37. and key west is looking at the temperature at midnight to be around 72. now, a different story across the midwest is going to be a little windy, so you'll have to

factor in the windchill effect here as well. minneapolis hovering around that freezing mark. maybe a little bit of snowfall expected there. but gusty winds, 20 to 25 miles an hour. new orleans, looking at 62 degrees and breezy in nashville. and in memphis you could expect showers there, shreveport, showers are expected across the rockies today. some of the winds have gusted over 65 miles an hour. now the front is moving through and we are looking at temperatures behind the system dropping down into the 20s and 30s. but if you're headed to phoenix around 56 degrees at midnight. and in the pacific northwest, some showers are expected here. mountain snowfall. and in seattle, winds out of the east with the temperature at 39 degrees for los angeles. not so bad. the temperature is expected around 54. and for san francisco, 67. 67 in san francisco this time of the year, natalie, not so bad. i hope everyone has a great 2012. >> we'll take any of those. thank you. and happy new year to you, karen.

thanks. farewell to 2011. 2012 is almost here. tonight, ring in the new year with anderson cooper and kathy griffin live from times square checking in with john down there in key west. our live coverage starts at 11:00 p.m. eastern. once or what is your new year's where he has lucien? ahead, ways to make it happen and truly keep the resolve in your resolution. but first, john legends passion isn't just music, but he has strong feelings about reforming education in america. we'll hear about it. [ woman ] ♪ what i want this season ♪ if you'd like to try and guess ♪ ♪ it is something very special ♪ i would readily confess [ dogs barking ] ♪ 'cause all i want this season ♪ ♪ is something from your heart ♪ la da da, la da da [ male announcer ] thinking of others this holiday season, travelers.

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music isn't john legend's only passion. the grammy-award winning artist brings a unique voice to the debate over education reform. he was home schooled, but also attended private and public schools. cnn education contributor steve perry sat down with the singer to get his perspective in tonight's perry's principles. >> everyone believes that a kid should get a good education, but you have to put your money and your policy where your mouth is. but here's what that means. quality principles, quality teachers, quality superintendents accountable for delivering on their promises. when you talk about accountability, then that means everybody is not going to be protected in that situation.

>> that's a loaded speech right there, man. >> the priority is to make sure that the kids have the opportunity to get a great education. >> now you have gotten some flak from that. >> of course i have gotten flak for that. >> people are not interested in hearing a singer out there telling them how to educate people. >> i get flak for that and i'm not an educator, know e that. i see this every time i talk about teachers, i truly respect what they do and don't vin the task they have. we hold this in high esteem, but that means you don't just put anybody in front of 25 kids. you make sure they are doing what they are supposed to be doing. if they are not doing it well, then they shouldn't be there. it is so entrenched in our national psyche that we have not entemperatured that passion. steve perry, new york. [ carrie ] i remember my very first year as a teacher, setting that goal to become a principal.

but, i have to support my family, so how do i go back to school? university of phoenix made it doable. a lot of my instructors were principals in my district. i wouldn't be where i am without that degree. my name is dr. carrie buck. i helped turn an at-risk school into an award winning school, and i am a phoenix. [ male announcer ] find your program at phoenix.edu.

>> for many of us, new year's resolutions often involve old goals we fail to meet. >> my new resolution is never make one because i break them. >> the new year is going to be amazing. i can't wait to get my music out there. >> i don't make new year's resolutions. i'm grateful. i walk with gratitude every single day. >> i don't have one. no new year's resolution for me.

just a happy new year. >> how do you make 2012 different if you want some changes? to help us, human behavior expert dr. wendy walsh joining us. thanks for being with us. >> those celebrities know they're going to be publicly scrutinized. the rest of us can break our resolutions and nobody knows. >> i want to know if how people make them and by january 8th can't even remember what they are. >> the first the desire, if you make any kind of resolution, it has to come from within yourself. it's not because your husband or wife has nagged to you quit smoking or lose weight or get control of your finances. you have to have the internal desire yourself. that's the first one. >> and desire is one thing, ability, skill at getting it done is another. >> right. so you have to set realistic goals. you have to have the ability. you can't say this is the year that i'm going to climb mount

kilimanjaro if you can't climb on to a stair master for 20 minutes. you have to pick realistic goals can you achieve. >> third support, you need support for your change. can't do it alone. >> certainly addiction specialists have proved this over and over and over, that we have a lot of enablers in our lives that enable our negative habits. so we need to find enablers who are going to support all our new resolutions. if you are going to join a gym, join it with a friend or go to a regularly scheduled class so you know people there. actively create the support group around yourself. >> and the fourth, this is a big one because there is not something i have going into my resolutions, it's confidence. >> that's the main thing. it's one thing to say, look, my new year's resolution is thissish probably won't achieve it but that's not confidence, people. what you need to do is have no backup plan. when i hear people say my backup plan is this, it means they're planning on their backup, not the reality.

you have to have that confidence like the little engine that could, i think i can, i think i can, i know i can, right? >> okay, you've got the four tips. there's an article on cnn.com. what did you take away from it? >> i loved, loved, loved this article, natalie because it was a review of a book of where the author interviewed people over 70 and well into their 80s and 90s to get the wisdom that we all want, right? yes, there was the old stuff, don't worry so much, don't make money your primary goal, make it about relationships but the takeaway for me as a sort of slightly younger person is that you should look at maybe these times that we're in, this recession times, where still one in six americans are in default, where people are hurting financially and you should say this is is a gift of time, this is is a time in our lives where we can nurture our relationships

and it doesn't cost money do that. i remember one summer, i'm a single mother, money was a little tight a couple summers ago so we explored our own city for free. i looked at everything free to do in our own city and we became tourists in our own city with the kids. look at it as time and how can you nurture these relationships because these old dudes say at the end of the day it's all about relationships. >> absolutely. it's not really quality time, it's just time as long as you're with them. right? do you have a resolution real quick in. >> i do. i have a very big birthday coming up this year answered plan to get in tip top shape by april 30th. i'm saying that publicly so here we go. i'm going to call my friend jillian michaels and see if she can help me out. >> happy 30th early. >> thank you, natalie. good to see you on domestic. happy new year. >> happy new year to you as well. thank you for the great advice. confidence. got it. the hour's top stories are next. . the healing power of touch can be even more powerful.

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checking some of our top stories, the mayor of west hollywood calling an arson spree in southern california a, quote, new form of urban terrorism. los angeles firefighters say they've extinguished at least 21 fires in the last two days in hollywood and west hollywood. there's now a total of $60,000