thanks for watching. i'm wolf blitzer "the situation room." please join us every weekday 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. the news continues next on cnn. hello, everyone. you're watching cnn. i'm don lemon. thank you for joining us. we're going to begin with developing political news. new hampshire is getting real close, just three days before the nation's first presidential primary. but there are miles to go before the candidates sleep and miles to go before the voting begins, starting with a pair of hugely important dell le vised debates. we want to check in with two of cnn's best on the ground in manchester tonight. cnn political editor paul steinhauser is there and so is cnn's political reporter shannon travis. good to see both of you. you look very happy.

i know you've been working your butts off, but you look lively. paul, let's start with you. there is a debate tonight, another tomorrow. why are they so important? >> well, listen, don. we've seen the whole cycle of debates, they've been so outsized in importance like we've never seen before. the debates make and break candidates t. they broke rick perry. they've broken herman cain and some others. well, that could happen again tonight. the other thing, don, we haven't had a debate there have been 13, but we haven't had one in almost a month. it has been a while and a lot has change. we lost michelle balk p man. rick santorum used to be off to the side. now he'll be in the middle. mitt romney is used to the scrutiny. we'll see if santorum is used to it. one more thing, when i stand next to shannon travis i make him look so small because i'm so big and strong. >> i don't know about that! shannon, let's bring you in here

because he mentioned rick santorum and he has said during the debates, you know, us people here on the send we don't get as many questions, usually the folks in the middle, like mitt romney who is in a very strong position, shannon. and basically unless he makes a gaffe, there's a battle for second place and that is about it. >> that is a key point. paul talked a lot about rick santorum, how he hasn't been tested that much because to be honest with you, not a lot of people, especially in the media, have paid much attention to rick santorum. that all changes now. in terms of the race for second place, you've got rick santorum, almost tied with mitt romney in the iowa caulk u.s.s. but you can best believe rick santorum is going to come out hard against mitt romney tonight. he's already been doing it on the campaign trail. as far as the other people who want that second place, ron paul

is doing well in polling in new hampshire. rick perry after his reassessment, you can expect him come out strong. and as paul mentioned, newt gingrich as well. you can expect to see a new newt gingrich tonight because he wasn't so happy about a lot of those ads against him that supporters of mitt romney ran. >> let me jump in here, shannon. i that's my next question. i went away for the holidays, didn't pay much attention. newt gingrich was pretty close to the top, he's surging, surging. i come back, and he's not. so what does he have to do? paul or shannon, either one can answer this. what does he have to do in these debates to get -- to raise back up, if that's possible? >> he can do it, too. we've seen him in the debates. remember he was nobody in the polls? everybody said he was a strong debater. this is one of the platforms he needs. one of the reason he hasn't bounced back is because he hasn't had a debate opportunity. we have one tomorrow and another

tomorrow. this is the golden opportunity for gingrich to get back in it. >> exactly. he is a real strong debater so a few more -- tonight and tomorrow, a couple strong debate performances he could be back in the game. and again, how negative is he going to go, he says i'm going to tell the truth and not go negative. but can he make a dent in the mitt romney armor? >> you know, paul, i think newt gingrich has a point to some extent when he says it depends on what you think negative is. if you think the truth is negative. so i think he has a point with that. the truth isn't always negative. just because there's something bad about another candidate you want to point out, something in his past that may be a bit controversial. by pointing that out, is that necessarily negative or is he just honestly telling the truth about someone's character and history? >> is it a good point, but i think newt gingrich want tlz both way. he says i'm staying positive,

but he keeps hammering romney for being moderate mitt from massachusetts. is that an attack or just describing mitt honestly. he needs to do something to get back into this thing. if he doesn't here or in south carolina, it's over for newt gingrich. >> one more thing about the truth versus negativity. there's the truth, what you point out as inconsistencies in your rivals' records. also there's nasty, negative ad, we saw one against jon huntsman by supporters of ron paul. it's an awful ad. takes aim at his children and things like that. ron paul has even disavowed it. >> all right, guys, your three minutes are up. but we'll have you back. >> thank you. >> see you later. stay with us for the best political team on television for complete coverage of the new hampshire primary. mr. wolf blitzer, erin burnett, anderson cooper, candy crowley,

john king, live docoverage tuesy night 7:00 p.m. we have other news to cover, including this story. an american teenager wrongly deported to colombia now back on u.s. soil. fwaenl-year-old jakadrien lied her way into i serious immigration problem. now she's back, the government wan -- family wants the government to pay for not figuring it out. ed lavandera is there. >> reporter: -- >> we're so happy to have her back. >> reporter: friday night here at the dallas airport turner walked out of the airport, hand in hand with her mother and grandmother. it was her grandmother who spent months and months scouring the internet trying to find any kind of sign of her granddaughter who had ran away from home in november of 2010. that was when this story all began to unravel, when turner was arrested in houston in april

of last year, gave authorities the fake name of tika cortez, said she was illegally there from colombia. she got herself deported and now is it back in dallas. there are still a great number of questions that remain unanswered as to how she could have fooled so many people in so many ways and her attorney says that someone will have to pay for that. >> make the people who are responsible pay for the civil rights violations that ms. turner has had to go through. >> reporter: jakadrien turner walked out of the airport here visibly emotional and overwhe overwhelmed by the attention her story has received. her mother and grandmother left without saying anything. they were very quiet. one american close to the family says all she wants to do is sit around with her family and try to reconnect after so much time. >> ed, thank you very much. so this next story is it about a little -- do you know anyone who has adopted a child

or if you've adomted a child, you probably don't know this could happen. 2 years old, taken away from the only parents she's ever known. now the birth father has her, all because of a little-known u.s. law. two minutes away fla story. hello, how can i deliver world-class service

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[ male announcer ] when diarrhea hits, kaopectate stops it fast. powerful liquid relief speeds to the source. fast. [ male announcer ] stop the uh-oh fast with kaopectate. you really want to pay attention to this story. a 2-year-old child ripped from the arms of the only parents she has ever known. and court is making them stand by and just let it happen. her biological dad turned up and took her halfway across the country. here's why the federal law is on his side. >> reporter: ver annionicveroni and raised by the only couple

she's known. taken by a court order on new year's eve and turned over to the native american biological father she's never meant. a family torn apart by a law designed to keep indian families together. >> matt said when we had to do the transfer it was like he was failing her as a father, to send her off with people she didn't know. what she must think of us. >> reporter: the two said it was an open adoptionment veronica's biological mother was in full agreement. but when veronica was 4 months old, dustin brown, the biological father, filed suit 0 to get her back. he said he was tricked into signing his daughter off. he won custody because of the indian well fare of 1978. it was designed to keep indian children and their families together. cnn legal analyst avery freedman says in this case the law was misused. >> it's a wonderful law which

seeks to preserve the integrity of families, native americans. but it cannot be used as a bludgeon to destroy the integrity of an existing family. >> reporter: the assistant attorney general for the cherokee nation says the law is clear. >> some of the protections provided by the indian child welfare act, there's a mrailsment preference if the child is removed by the state or if they're placed in private adoption placement. the first preference is for a family member. >> reporter: but in cases like this, what about the child? >> everybody keeps saying how bad they feel for us, but, i mean, she's a 2-year-old girl who got shoved in a truck and driven to oklahoma with strangers. >> reporter: the couple thought the transfer would happen on new year's day, but it happened on new year's eve, a lot sooner than they were prepared for. they've gotten to speak with

veronica once a day after she was taken away. >> she said, hi, mommy! hi, daddy! she sounded really excited to hear us. she said, i love you, i love you, numerous times. >> reporter: their daughter starting the new year with an entirely new family, the only family veronica has ever known starting the year without her. >> george howell joins me live in the studio. george, outrageous story. i'm sure people are reacting in-kind. >> don, we've gotten a lot of calls. we've been covering the story all day. a lot of out rage, as you can ma jinl, a lot of people upset with what's happened about this family. a lot of concern about veronica in the middle of this tug-of- r tug-of-war. we spoke with dustin brown's attorney and she tells me veronica has transitioned well, she's dog okay. she got to speak to the couple a day after the transfer, but they have not heard from her since then. >> can you imagine?

your heart -- right around the holidays. >> either way you look at it, it tugs at your heart. >> what's next? new information? >> i did get a new statement moments ago. this is from the family. it says, the issue in this case is that lower court applied the federal indian child welfare act in such a way that it ab row straight cates a south carolina adoption law. this is it one of the issues being appealed hooer. so they plan to basically take this to the south carolina supreme court. they plan to appeal, but that could be heard over the summer. >> so not a done deal yet. >> not yet. >> and lots more reporting on this. we wish them well. >> don, thanks. >> thank you, george. appreciate it. you know, the economy is front and center this election year, but a big part of the issue is not getting very much attention. noted author, tv personality and thought leader tavis smiley wants to change that. he wants a discussion on poverty in america to become front and center in 2012. tavis joins me live to talk about it. tavis, we've got to do it, get a break in.

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been talking a lot about politics and we're going to go even deeper. the new hampshire primary just three days away. the republican presidential race has never been hotder, but one issue that doesn't get much attention from any candidate or even the president, poverty. author and commentator tavis smiley wants to put poverty back on the political agenda. you've probably seen him and professor karn elle west going across the country talking about this issue, brichking it to the fore. good to see you, tavis, joining me from washington. listen, next thursday you're going to host a televised event called remaking america from poverty to prosperity.

the republicans want votes, the president wants to be reelected. but they aren't really talking about poverty much. why is that? >> first of all, good to see you. happy new year. dr. west sends his regards. i was thinking, we say happy new year for so many, so easy, but for many it won't be a happy new year unless and until we talk about the elephant in the room, the issue of poverty. in the last presidential campaign, the three debates between mccain and obama, the word poverty or poor didn't come up one time. mr. mccain didn't mention it, mr. obama didn't, none of the moderators talked about it. the economy was tanking, nobody raitzed the issue of poverty. since that time, these numbers are abysmal, unacceptable. the most recent number, one out of two americans is either in poverty or near poverty. i wasn't a math major, but that means that half of the country is wrestling with the issue of

poverty. so here we are again in another campaign, and i and others have determined that with we are not going to let this presidential cycle go from beginning to end without forcing the ultimate two candidates to get away with not talking about the issue of paraphernalia poverty. >> you know, it's interesting that you mentioned -- i think that came out over the holidays, i remember seeing that study and going, wow. >> right. >> and wondering, have we become just so -- i don't know if immune is the right word -- to this whole idea of poverty and being in the midst of it? what is it? >> well, i believe and dr. west believes, as you mentioned earlier, that the telling of truth allows suffering to speak. if nobody tells it the truth, then the stufring of everyday people gets rendered invisible. what's happened in this political atmosphere where politicians think they're polls are telling them they ought to talk to the angst of the middle class, what happens is they talk about the middle class, they think they're talking to the middle class.

the reality is that the new poor in this country are the middle class, and worse yet, the younger you are the more likely you are to be in poverty. the fastest of the groups gr growing and falling fastest into poverty happen to be women and children. something is wrong with a country that's watching their women and babies fall into poverty more quickly than any other group right along with the middle class. i mentioned to you during the break that indiana university, the school of public and environmental affairs, is releasing a white paper next wednesday the 11th, a white paper that we commissioned. i can tell you exclusively tonight a couple of things i saw from that report that i got a chance to peek at before walking into the studio tonight. number one, the iu white paper that will come out to the nation next wednesday the media will be talking about finds a couple of things interesting. number one, that this great recession has left behind, don, more long-term unemployed

americans than at any point in the nation's history since we started cleblgting this data in 1948. but, worse yet, the white paper coming out next week will say to the nation that, even though the economy appears at the moment to perhaps be getting some sort of small uptick -- the white house of course happy about that the last few day was this couple hundred thousand jobs bringing online, most of that i think due to increased holiday durihours. but this report suggests to us as americans that the numbers of the poor are still going to grow even as this economy starts to bounce back. primary ily it's going to get worse before it gets better. >> before our time runs out here, i want to talk about two thungz with you. number one, remaking america, who's going to be there? what are you doing?

and number two, i know that you and dr. west have a book coming out in april that's really going to awaken people when it comes to poverty. >> thank you for asking. number one, michael moore, the academy award winning documentaryian will be live with us next week. suze orman, i think the most respected person about these issues in the country will be here. jeffrey sax who wrote the seminose seminal text on poverty. barbara anryke who wrote "nickeled and dimed." you've got more. experts talking about this issue, we're going to do our part to keep the nation's attention focused on the issue and not let these politicians get away not addressing the issue, number one. and to the book you mentioned, dr. west and i are working on a book called "the rich and the rest of us," a poverty manifesto that will be out in april. we'll talk about that in the months to come. how we get the nation to focus

on the issue and what the priority ought to be, what the process ought to be, to not just reduce poverty in america but to eradicate poverty. >> make sure you come back and talk to us about the book. poverty, an important topic and you guys are getting it to the nation's attention. we appreciate you coming on. happy new year to you as well. thank you, sir. >> thank you, don. parents have a lot of choices to make when it comes to picking the best schools for their kids, but how many know the differences between public and private schools, magnate schools and it charter school. our education contributor steve perry is going to explain right now. >> hi, i'm lindy martin from murphy, texas. dr. perry, i'm wondering, what is the difference between a charter school, a magnate school, and then private school and public school? >> this is one of the most important questions that people can ask. magnet schools are publicly funded, publicly run schools of choice. magnet schools are typically schools that are open for the

purposes of making sure there's integration in a particular neighborhood. thenl there are charter schools. charrer schools can be run by the district or a private nonfor profit or a for-profit. a charter scho ee ee eer -- pub close to it in the neighborhood. threaten's religious schools, schools that are private and separate from the public school system. the differences are, local public schools are run by the local board of education. magnet schools are run by the local board of education. charter schools are sometimes run by the board of education, but typically priecht. then private schools are run by private organizations. nd going . 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. from centrum. it puts you in the center of everything that's good for you. its unique self-assessment tool helps identify the multivitamin and supplement combination that's right for you and your lifestyle. so visit new nutritionpossible.com and take your personal assessment today. better nutrition is within reach. centrum. nutrition possible.

we have some new information to give you this evening about a missing atlanta woman who vanished the day after christmas. her name is stacey nicole english. her car was found abandoned with the engine running but there's been no sign of the 36-year-old. i spoke with her parents, and they tell me they've just learned there was a 911 call about her car three hours after she was last seen. so that is some new information there. also, police say they want to requestion a man who was visiting english for the holidays. i asked stacey's parents what they know about him. there was someone with her that night, is in st. louis now. i dmoent if it was someone she was dating, but it was a friend. did they get into an argument and he left?

>> by his admission, and we're only hearing one side. she asked him to leave, argument, dispute, whatever it was we don't it know because we hear one side. >> and that was here in atlanta. now he is back in st. louis. >> that's correct. and so now this new time line has come forth. someone had to see something. >> do you know this young man? have you -- did she ever talk about him? had you ever met him? >> well, she talked to me about him on christmas eve because, while i was talking to her i know he came in, and she said he was coming into the house. she says, oh, he's a friend of mine, and it's not real serious. but they had been dating, is my understanding. >> if it was someone she had been dating and friendly with, did you try reaching out to him? is he available to talk to you?

have you spoken to him? >> yes. personally, we called a few days after the first contact to him was made by the apd. and then a few days later my husband and i just picked up the phone and called him and said, hey, have you heard anything from her? have you reached out to call her? and he said no to both questions. >> investigators are not calling, not calling, that man a person of interest. according to a police report he told investigators that english was acting out of character during his stay and he says he left after english began asking him if he was satan and told him to go. that's according to him. moving on now, it is a big problem for a lot of us. the holidays are past, the bills are coming in. how how do we pay them? what do we do? advice from a leading personal finance expert.

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we're just talking here in the studio about a song called "the party's over." shakira's never heard it. the party's over if's time to call it a day. the holidays are come and gone. maybe you spent a boat load of money on gifts. it's time to pay the bills. terry savage, a financial

expert, she's in orlando right now with some tips on how to handle the post-holiday debt. i understand you have a pretty neat trick for paying down any amount of credit card debt. a trick, how does that work? >> this is truly the card trick of all time. everybody is scared to open the bills. they're coming due. you have the big balance on there. then you look down there and see the box, oh, the minimum monthly payment, i can pay that. take this current minimum monthly payment, double it. that's the trick. then write that amount down, put it on a sticky note on your checkbook register or your computer screen if you're paying online. make that same payment every single month, double this month's payment even though the new minimum is lower. don't charge another penny, and your credit card will be paid off in less than three years, no matter what the balance. just keep making that payment. don't charge another penny, though. >> okay. so what about this. a lot of people do it, i hear. what if you transfer the balance

to another card that has a lower rate, terry? >> well, you're really fooling yourself because just transferring the balance is -- it may give you some breathing room so i won't tell you not to do it. i'm going to in fact show you where to get some tips about transferring. but then i'll tell you about the fine print. if you go to lowcards.com they have some very interesting offers on the home page of credit card issuers that are offering you good deals to transfer your balance. you can even get a zero percent interest rate. so that's tempting, but you've got to use that time to pay down your credit card bill because the fine print will tell you that, after you transfer, you may encounter a balance transfer fee. you may encounter rising interest rates within three months or six months, higher than you're even paying right now. so if you're going to play the balance transfer game, remember that's giving you time to pay it down. also, if you don't have good credit, those companies aren't going to want to take your

balances frt other cards. but it's worth a try. >> at least you could try. okay, if you're absolutely buried, some people buried over the holidays because they think they have to buy everything, expensive gifts for everyone. listen, i don't fall into that trap. i've learned over the years. >> oh, no, you don't. >> where can you turn, though? >> there is help, but this the sucker time of the year. this is it the time of year where you see the advertisements on tv and radio saying, come to us, we'll negotiate your credit card bills away. don't be a sucker twice. you've 0 already got the credit card balances. there's one great place to turn for help, it's the national foundation for consumer credit, the web site nfcc.org. the toll-free number is 800-388-2227. i give that out so often i know it by heart. you can talk to them, go in for talk to them on the phone. that doesn't go on your credit rofrmt you can just get help and advice. or they have a debt repayment

program. they're not wiping out or negotiating your debt, they deal with your creditors, it goes on your credit report. you send one check in and they pay the bills. they are supported by the credit card companies, but they'll tell you, if your case is hopeless, they'll lead you to a bankruptcy lawyer. don't get ripped off. nfcc.org. >> that drastic, bankruptcy, hopefully that doesn't happen for people over christmas. not what it's about. i've got a trick of my own, when you spend a lot of money over christmas, people want to lose weight, just don't eat. you can kill two birds. >> don't eat. then you combine the extra money to pay down your credit cards. you know, people complain about the banks making all this money, all these profits? the fact is, you can take that profit away from them. the late fees and everything else if you just pay down your credit card. so try my card trick. >> you're the best.

thanks, ms. savage, and happy new year to you. >> happy new year, don. and it's january. certainly doesn't feel like it in the east and really in big parts of the country. jacqui jeras, i was talking to friends in chicago and they're, like, i'm driving around in a convertible. it's been really warm here. i'm loving it. >> do you love it? >> you know i like the heat, i don't like the cold. >> it's so great to be able to get outside and zexercise, and that kind of thing. of course it won't last forever and a cold front is moving through, but it's still going to stay above average. we had a number of records today. check out galveston, texas, 75 degrees. newark, new jersey, up to 64 in january. and look at that, laguardia 62, 65 in bridgeport, connecticut. now, the cold front has been pushing across the central u.s. today and as we head towards tomorrow it will make its way all the way off the east coast.

ahead of that we've seen the temperatures between 15 and 20 degrees above where you should be this time of year. the cold front will drop the temperatures only about 10, 20 degrees from where you are now but it's still above normal. look at new york tomorrow, 44, still above average. tomorrow atlanta 63, 11 above where you should be. check out minot, north dakota, 41 degrees for your sunday. that's double where you should be. you should be about 20 degrees this time of year. so it is an incredibly warm air mass. one of the contributing factors -- people are saying, why is it so warm, how is it this crazy warm in january -- you've heard of the january thaw, right? that term didn't come up for smog nothing. but one of the things tweer looking at is snow cover. this is how much we had one year ago this week. today, as we look at the current conditions, it almost disappears, doesn't it? only 12% of the nation has some snow, and that snow kind of acts as a refrigerator. it keeps things cold out there,

plus snow is white so that heat from the sun reflects right back out into space. so it really makes a difference. and even with that cold front coming through, we're going to see rain as opposed to snow. looking at some rain showers and evenzs and thunderstorms across the southeast. >> do you know this guy? >> i do. >> you didn't eat your way through the holidays because you look great. >> she does. >> my goal for 2012 is to do a triathlon, a sprint tri, in may. he's going to help me with the swim because i'm not a good swimmer. >> this is mark mcdonald. he's sort of changed my whole outlook on nutrition because i used to starve myself. >> you just told everybody you're not going to eat. >> mark's going to tell us don't have to starve yourself. you get to eat so much. he has four tips to make this the best year ever. not one of those things you hear, how do you get healthier, how do you lose weight?

this isn't one of those segments. this is real. mark mcdonald, back in a moment. , i thought those days might be over. so my doctor prescribed symbicort. it helps significantly improve my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. with symbicort, today i'm breathing better, and that means... game on! symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. [ whistle ] with copd, i thought i might miss out on my favorite tradition. now symbicort significantly improves my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. and that makes a difference in my breathing. today i'm back with my favorite team. ask your doctor about symbicort. i got my first prescription free. call or click to learn more. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help.

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[ male announcer ] when diarrhea hits, kaopectate stops it fast. powerful liquid relief speeds to the source. fast. [ male announcer ] stop the uh-oh fast with kaopectate. if you guys only knew what happens in the studio during the commercial breaks. great food, great parties, and not a whole lot of exercise. does that sound familiar? >> yes. >> it happens to all of us. so before you dive into a crash

diet for the new year, let's bring in mark mcdonald. he is a fitness and nutrition expert author of "body confidence". you said you have four tips, right, that are different. >> yes. >> but, basically, at the bottom of this, it's really about balance, right? >> it's all balance. >> start with the first tip. what's the first one? you said to balance -- have the right strategy, which is what? >> to use the right strategy, which is twofold. when people start the new year, they want to cut, restrict, get the weight off. rather than working on calories, we have to stabilize your blood sugar. eating every three to four hours, the right amount of protein and carbs, right calories. you stabilize your hormones, release your stored fat and dive right into the tip. >> here is the thing i want to tell you. when you're starting and you're trying to get to your goal or

whenever you want to be, you're a little stricter, right? you want to eat clean. once you get there, here aels the secret where this. all you have do, you can pretty much eat what you want within limitation. if you want wings, you can do that in moderation. but you can eat. what i used to do and what most do, they starve themselves, work out a lot and then i would start at night. i would get skinny -- >> but thenl you rebound. you used to say, i starve, starve, starve, your fails is sunken in, you crave and are irritable and cranky. then you rebound. >> my team now knows what was behind it. >> so you need to enjoy your food. once you stabilize your blood sugar, the second strategy is optimizing your exercise, getting the right cardio training. >> pace yourself. this is my experience, and this is the first thing that's really

worked for me. i used to start with a trainer, oh, i'm going at it, oh, yeah yeah yeah. then you're like, oh, you overwork yourself. pace your isself, that's number two. >> pace yourself is all about, rather than achieving that goal in two months, imagine if you achieve that goal in two months and then what happens two months later? you lose it. if you get it in four months, it's all about pacing yourself, enjoying the process, enjoying your food, not overdoing your exercise either. >> making it a lifestyle. number three, enjoy your food. >> when people diet, they hate your food. you look at your die eliminating food. use your herbs, sauces. make sure you enjoy it. if you hate your meals, you'll fall off. don't you enjoy your food? >> i do. i like that you said, at least now that i can add flavoring, add salt and my tony sashry's. >> you love pickle juice. why can't you have it if you love it? >> i love it. >> and enjoy it. >> you know, i say, i want to str a vodka.

you say, if you do it, have a vodka, four hours later have some fat. then it balances. >> protein and fat, no carbs. >> fun with exercise. >> that's the biggest thing. if you hate your exercise, you might do it for a moment, but you'll fall off. find things you love, a sport, walking with your friends and family, whether it's taking a class. enjoy your exercise. >> yeah, use your favorite sport for cardio, like i like to run. but then every once in a while it's hard on my feet and knees. i like to run because you get the adrenaline. i obviously use that as cardio, but i tried something new. i don't want to do pilates. it's for girls. but you know my core has been stronger -- i've never had really great abs unless i was starving myself. but from dog pilates which is a girly exercise, you should think. not so. >> most men think it's a girly exercise. let me tell you, it's the best.

it's all about activating our core. if our blood sugar is stable, we burn more fat. be smarter, not dog more. >> i'm leaning in here to show you how you helped me. i'm going to get these because i want to snow. mark got me these. he said, listen, the thing you don't want to do when you're out for the holidays, you don't want to starve yourself. do these. 50 can't get the meal i want, i take these power crunch bars and they're completely balanced. there's berry flavor. >> great product and great snack. >> it's balanced. you can eat this if i can't get to tuna or chicken or whatever. or sometimes this is is my meal and i love it. >> exactly. protein bars and shakes are great fillers of the gap, midafternoon, midday snacks. because eating five, six times a day is tough. >> who are you telling? >> if you're struggle, this takes you how long? >> two minutes.

>> sometimes i can't eat as much as you want me to eat. >> exactly. every time you eulessed to miss a meal, you'd burn muscle and go to the lunch and eat too much and store fat. >> people are asking me about it, people at the gym are stopping me, what's that book? there are a couple of people here at cnn who started it. thank you, sir. we'll have you by. stop hugging all the people in the newsroom. >> can i hug you? >> no, not on national television. his wife and kid are here so don't think something weird. is ryan seacrest about to add morning news anchor to his resume? we'll check it out next. [ beatboxing ] ♪ i help pay the doctor ♪ ain't that enough for you? ♪ there are things major medical doesn't do. aflac! pays cash so we don't have to fret. [ together ] ♪ something families should get ♪ ♪ like a safety net ♪ even helps pay deductibles, so cover your back, get... ♪ a-a-a-a-a-a-a-aflac! [ male announcer ] help protect your family at aflac.com.

[ beatboxing ] [ding] announcer: clean kitchen surfaces, utensils, and hands with soapy water. one in 6 americans will get sick from food poisoning this year. keep your family safer. check your steps at foodsafety.gov.

this guy has more jobs. well, anyway. ryan seacrest possibly moving closer to world domination. there are reports he's being courted by ncv universal. jessica shaw, i'm sure you've read it. so listen, what do you think they wanted to do? can i guess here, jess? >> bring it. >> i said it on television before. i don't think that he'd get the main host job. had is just my opinion because he doesn't have the news chops. but must like i think it's much like lara spencer, i think that's what his role would be. do you think i'm right? >> i think that's a very good guest. the fact is ryan seacrest's contract with e is up and that's

ond by nbc. matt lauer's contract with the "today" show is up. people are scrambling. they have got to get matt lauer to stay. but if he decides not to, ryan seacrest is a big name, he has a big audience and he wants world domination. he wants to are more involved with the "today" show. you never know what will happen. >> okay, we'll be watching that. let's talk now about cable because cable late-night tv is getting new competitor starting tomorrow night. he's a heavy hid tter. tell us about that. >> you're talking about andy cohen, the host of "watch what happens live" on bravo, which i love. it's part performance art, part cocktail hour, part group therapy session. it's this hilarious, half-hour

show. andy cohen is an executive at bravo. he started doing this, he started blogging and it was very popular, then he started doing this late-night show two nights a week. it grew in double digits last year, which is huge in tv. >> jessica? >> yes. >> the housewives, that was under his watch. was he the brain child behind how wives or was it just on his clock that that happened? >> well, no. he was definitely instrumental in getting it on the air. not just the original one of orange county but the subsequent ones new york, atlanta, beverly hills and there are more in development. this show is right behind the "daily show" in terms of female f viewers. i love it. and anderson cooper, a regular on the show. >> anderson has been on there, you see nene on there. all of the housewives.

>> that's right. >> he has some unusual guests. >> he doesn't arm wrestle with andy cohen the way some other guests have but, you know. >> but like i said -- >> even now that it's five nights a week. >> we've been talking about ryan seacrest and i think andy cohen is on track for very similar because he does like -- i think he is a host sometimes of beauty pageants and all kinds of things. but let's move on. >> he's done miss america. >> chris brown, big announcement that involves all of 2012. what's this all about? >> yes. >> well, i love this story because -- so chris brown, his people announced that chris brown will do no press in 2012. mind you, he's now getting a lot of press for announcing he is doing no press, which is bizarre. chris brown equally well known for being, you know, an r & b singer and beating up his then girl friend rihanna. last year he was on "good morning america," robin roberts

asked him some questions -- >> he walked off. >> walked off. a chair was thrown out the window by him. he's not a media darling. his people are saying we just want his music to speak for itself. we don't want him to say a word and it's better that way. >> i want to get this in because i think it's very important in the short time left. next week the issue of "entertainment weekly," let's go over the must list? >> yes. >> well, i think you should have a -- i don't have it in front me so all i know that i can think is number one is "the good wife." >> i love "the good wife." one of my favorite shows. well written, well acted. >> i absolutely agree with you. here's a show that had kind of a shaky start this season but in december the episodes really got it back to, you know, intense and wonderful and i think the show is starting 2012 it's going

to be great, first couple episodes are really right on. >> we have the next list, the must see or must do list for 2012, "a separation," "the fault in our stars," "money ball." and "the good wife," one of my favorite shows. thank you, jessica. >> thanks. >> one city in need, one very frozen body of water and two nations coming together to help. a first of its kind mission and a rare -- excuse me, a race against time. the story after the break.

let's check some of our headlines now. new head coach steps up to lead the scandalized penn state program. bill o'brien, the current new england patriots offensive coordinator will try to fill the shoes of joe paterno. penn state fired joe pan tern owe over the fallout of jerry sandusky. >> a two-ship convoy. a u.s. ice breaking ship is leading the way f. gasoline is expected to run out in early february. if all goes well, the two ships