thank you so mu. president obama is going to the east room and asking congress for more power. he wants to shrink the government. brianna keilar, what exactly does the president want to do? we just learned about this in the last hour. >> reporter: kyra, he will be requesting the authority from congress to basically merge six agencies, six commerce and trade agencies. the idea here, according to the white house, is to eliminator, pardon me, according to sources that we've talked to, is to eliminate some of the redundancies that businesses have to deal with. kind of like the jumping through hoops or the red tape that they have to deal with. president obama will be outlining what he wants to do at 11:20 eastern. really what he has to do here is ask congress for this power to squish together these agencies. and for now at this point, kyra, i've reached out to some republicans here on the hill. they're reserving judgement at this point. as you know, they frequently

talk about wanting smaller government, so on its face this seems like something that they could go along with but, of course, they're waiting right now to see what president obama says. they're waiting to see if there are any catches. you see president obama here doing a couple of things. he's trying to make good on some promises about having more efficient government. he's also trying to put congress in a spot where he says, i'm proposing something that you should be on board with and sort of trying to force republicans to say, yes, to that. so watch for what the president is going to say at 11:20, kyra, and then watch to see how republicans react. if they say, yes, this is something we can go along with or if they say is shuffling the deck chairs. >> we will take the president live at 11 clock a.m. eastern hour. thanks so much. just one week and one day until south carolina votes. the republican primary, now it's crunch time. live this hour rick perry meeting with voters over breakfast at a diner in hilton

head. he's one of the candidates coming under fire by some big names in the gop. they have the same message to rick perry, newt gingrich, any other presidential contender attacking mitt romney's time at bain capital. >> both newt and rick are good friends of mine. they are two people that i would have a kind of inclination to support. i think their positions are closer to mine than even mitt romney's. same thing with rick santorum. but i think the attack that they are leveling against romney is not only an unfair attack, i think it's an attack that hurts what republicans stand for, which is a free market economy. >> it sounds as if you're attacking capitalism and a free-market system. that's not what we're about. to attack that to me is inconsistent with who we are, what we are about. >> even the president of the chamber of commerce is chiming in calling the attacks foolish.

cnn political editor paul steinhauser is live in d.c. paul, we're just about a week away until south carolina votes. are these attacks hurting romney at this point? what do you think, will his rivalries tone it down? >> reporter: yeah, this has been going on from sunday, the presidential debates in new hampshire. is it hurt sng we'll see. new polls in south carolina starting today. it may be hurting him. will their rivalries be toning it down? they seem to be. you played tape from rudy giuliani. a lot of establishment republicans. also some very conservative people that are not establishmenters saying the same thing, caught it out, guys. this is the mantra of the republican party. free trade. you're hurting not only romney but the whole party. you're giving ammunition to the democrats. a brand new ad out this morning from mitt romney in south carolina on south carolina air waves defending himself, defend gs his time at bain capital. that ad starting to run talking

about sports authority where he helped create jobs. kyra, take a listen to this new web video from the gingrich campaign. >> massachusetts moderate mitt romney, he'll say anything to win. anything. and just like john kerry. he speaks french, too m. >> reporter: zing. zing. he speaks french. gingrich has been calling mitt the moderate from massachusetts. her's another attempt to portray romney as a massachusetts liberal comparing him to senator john kerry from massachusetts. >> we've got huntsman speaking mandarin. we have romney speaking a little french. i wonder if this is going to work. >> reporter: ouch. >> is this going to work? stephen colbert exploring a run for the white house? let's go ahead and listen. >> i am proud to announce that i am forming an exploratory

committee to lay the ground work for my possible candidacy for the president of the united states of south carolina. i'm doing it! >> okay. but really this is a sarcastic civics lesson, i think. then again, he's a south carolina native, right? >> reporter: it is a -- yeah, it's a little sarcasm here. 's trying to show the absurdity of u.s. election law. let's take it seriously. he missed a deadline to get on the ballot. that was november 1st. he can't be a write-in candidate if he wants to do this. that's not allowed in the south carolina primary. remember, kyra, he tried this four years ago. tried to run as a democrat in south carolina. didn't work last time. it'll get him ratings. >> yes, it will. it will get us talking about it, right? >> reporter: we're doing it right now. >> definitely watch the results of the south carolina primary with us. we've got the best political team in television. turn to cnn next saturday, january 21st, starting at 6:00 p.m. eastern time. we'll have more political news all morning. for all the latest political

stuff, go to our website, cnnpolitics.com. you're going to not just be shocked about this story, but now there's a lot of concern. no one seems to know where four convict the killers are just days after they walked out of their mississippi prison cells as free men. the state's attorney general is threatening a nationwide manhunt to track down these murderers even though they were pardoned by outgoing governor haley barbour. >> there's going to be a national search for some of them. we'll catch them, it's just a matter of time. >> do you know where they are? >> no. we know where their family, we're in contact with their family, local law enforcement. there's a search going on out there for them. we'll lay hands on them at some point. >> live in dallas. these men are supposed to be checking in with officials, right? do we know if they are in any way? >> reporter: well, this is where it gets a little weird, kyra, because the order that this judge issuing this temporary

injunction kind of halting these pardons and the release of some 21 other inmates, there's a group of five that were released before the injunction was put into place, the injunction says that they need to check in, but as you just heard the attorney general there say, they haven't found them in. they haven't gotten the paperwork. they haven't been served with this notice because they're pardoned. it's as if they don't have any kind of criminal record. they can't issue an arrest warrant for them. they haven't been served with the paperwork. technically they don't have to check in because they haven't seen this paperwork. it's this, you know, kind of the chicken or the egg situation here as to what they're going to do with these guys and try to track them down. the attorney general says they want to track them down. they'll do everything they can to do so. >> i worked all day yesterday trying to find a method to give the court authority to issue a warrant for their arrest so we could put out an apb on them. unfortunately we have not found any law to support that.

they do have a legal document saying that they're free to go. >> kyra, because their records are clean, they can't issue an arrest warrant as you heard the attorney general there. it's a situation that continues to anger and frustrate many people in mississippi. >> ed, let me ask you. is jim hood afraid that they are going to commit another crime? does he think these individuals will strike again? >> well, you know, it's clear that if it's not attorney general hood who's nervous about that, the families of these victims have made no bones about that, that they're worried. we've even heard from the prosecutors who tried the cases of these killers, that there's a sense of, you know, concern among them as well saying sometimes some of these people blame the lawyers that put them away for their predicament and their situation. even those people. the fear and the anxiety kind of

extends throughout many different people in many different ways. attorney general hood obviously voicing that concern as well. >> all right. ed in dallas. thanks so much. talk more about that video that just blew all of us away yesterday. the marine corps has actually interviewed two of the four marines that were caught on that scandalous video. the one showing them urinating on enemy corpses. the corps hasn't released their names. they were not detained after the interviews. as you know, defense secretary leon panetta came out yesterday saying he's deeply troubled by this video. he's now ordered a full investigation. needles to say, that video has outraged people around the world, not just here in the united states. cnn's max foster has been following the reaction overseas and what did you see, max? >> reporter: kyra, it's interesting because obviously everyone's offended by the video, but actually a lot of the international media are looking at what it means, what it says about the united states and its military. it's actually quite profound, a lot of the coverage. the "independent writing" this

is not about bad apples, this is the horror of war. armies are horrible creatures and soldiers do wicked things. when we accept all these lies about bad apples and the exceptionalism of crime in war, we are accepting war and going along with the dishonesty of it. "the international herald tribune" writing critical juncture for afghan peace, the u.s. administration's best hope for ending the war in afghanistan has reached a critical juncture. the events of the release of the video and the uncertainty. "the globe and mail" outrage in afghanistan and shame in america emerged as another u.s. military atrocity surfaced to undermine the hearts and minds efforts to secure afghan support. it's a pretty big debate overseas. >> obviously we'll be continuing to update everyone worldwide on the investigation that's taking place.

it's just an appalling, appalling video. max, thanks so much. no one can ever accuse the south carolina primary of being good, clean fun. eight more muddy, bloody days of political armageddon left in a state notorious for its nasty campaigns. whatever happened to southern hospitality? we're looking into that coming up. usually those lines, long lines of people waiting for the latest apple products are pretty peaceful, but not this morning in beijing. >> security are running down here now. the mob are continuing to follow them. that's our stan grant. he was right there in the middle of it all. apple is responding. he'll tell us what they had to say. you know when i grow up, i'm going to own my own restaurant. i want to be a volunteer firefighter. when i grow up, i want to write a novel. i want to go on a road trip. when i grow up, i'm going to go there.

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let's check stories cross-country now. first up, a rare sight these days. snow. a lot of it. after weeks of warm, dry weather, the first big snowstorm of the season dumped up to eight inches of that stuff over much of the midwest. parts of the south and northeast are also getting hit. hundreds of flights have already been canceled. police in new orleans say they found two live grenades inside a car that had been towed to police headquarters. the area was evacuated and a bomb squad removed the grenades and detonated them at a remote location. san jose, california, a robbery suspect was knabbed by a bystander. steve brown saw two men crash their car and take off running. he went after them. caught one. made a citizen arrest. the other suspect caught by

police. well, the south carolina primary is eight days away. you can probably expect at least eight more days of nasty, dirty politicking. cnn's tom foreman showed us how it starts as soon as you wake up and start brewing the coffee. >> it's 8:30 and phone is ringing. i don't feel like it's more than it is in '08 or in '10. >> reporter: but it's still not down to the wire. >> well, that's true, too. i hate to think what it's going to be like once we do get down to the wire. >> oh, yeah down to the wire. you know what that means. nasty, dirty, sleazy, vicious politics. andy shane is the political reporter for the state and could he lum beian. you compiled a list of all these headlines describing the nastiness of south carolina campaigns. i picked a couple favorites. romney heads into the south carolina buzz saw. south carolina braces for ug gli

whispers. republican rivals prepare for the bare knuckle fight. that's coming from "the guardian." that's in london. south carolina has a global reputation. how did it become the nastiest of the nasty primary states? >> well, kyra, first of all, i promise to be nice to you today. it really goes back to 1980 politically, back when south carolina started its winning streak of nominating the eventual gop or of electing the eventual gop nominee. i mean, we're a state that obviously -- we're the state that is he seeded first from the union. this goes back. there's a big independent streak. there's a lot of pride in the state and there's folks who are willing to sit here and sling it out a little bit. >> but, andy, isn't it kind of ironic. charleston had been voted most polite city in the country? >> well, this isn't about taking a nice vacation to charleston. this is about trying to win a race across the entire state

from greenville to conway to aiken down to hilton head. in the end you're trying to reach these people in small towns and be able to sit here and get your message across. at this point you're through iowa, you're through new hampshire, you're into south carolina. the game of musical chairs. the number of chairs are dropping. you're going to have candidates that are going to be working really, really hard to stay afloat. >> how does this primary compare to ones of years past? has anything surprised you so far? >> nothing surprises us in south carolina after years and years of this. i think in a lot of ways we've become used to it. what's different, i think, is the fact that you have the pacs coming out. you have a lot more ads coming out faster than maybe before. the frequency. also the idea, of course, the internet. the idea that right now you have candidates saying go to youtube. watch the videos. that kind of thing. that's social media. that's the way that this is all

erupting. >> let me ask you this, final question. has there been a candidate that you think has done a better job than the others with regard to, i guess, putting on the arm more and battling the meanness? >> you know, right now it appears to be newt gingrich. he's so far had the largest ad buys in south carolina. he's put out, what, his pac has put out a 28-minute movie. it seems like he's gunning for it. he knows south carolina is the place he can make a statement. he's in the top three polling. he wants to show what he can do. at one point he was leading in the state. i think he sees this as a place where he needs to really, really make a stand. >> andy shane, thanks for being nis to me this morning. i a preesh yart it. >> no problem. >> cnn is the place for the southern republican presidential debate in charleston. next thursday night. can't guarantee if it's going to be nice or not. 8:00 eastern. the candidates get another chance to debate the issues two

days before the south carolina primary. the holiday hiring season may be long gone, but at least one major retailers is planning a huge hiring spree. we'll take you live to the new york stock exchange for all the details. apple probably only expected iphones to be flying off the shelves. not eggs at their windows. we'll go inside the crowd as it turned pretty violent all over the iphone 4s.

man on tv: ...rbis and 36 homers. swings at the first pitch and fouls it deep shelves.

we're used to seeing the long lines of devoted apple fans waiting outside of stores for the newest ipad, ipod, iphone. this morning in beijing that

line turned pretty violent fast when one store didn't open the doors. our stan grant was there. >> reporter: it wasn't supposed to be like this. eggs pelted at the apple store. people furious. then tempers reaching boiling point. angry potential apple customers viciously attacking security. >> reporter: security are running down here now. the mob are continuing to follow them. this is what happened when they didn't open the apple store. the crowd are getting angrier and angrier. punches have already been thrown. they're still following security. look over here, brad. >> reporter: it didn't start this way.

>> i really like apple 4. >> reporter: 18-year-old tom was one who cued in the freezing cold overnight for the official china release of the apple iphone 4s. this store in a popular beijing shopping center was supposed to be open at 7:00 a.m. as the time ticked past, the mood turned sour. then, an announcement. the phone would not be sold here today. as people refused to leave, police moved in. >> reporter: so we're here in the middle of the crowd. the police have been thinning them out slowly. as you can see here now, they're shouting on the megaphone for people to leave. if you look over here, they're trying to force people to leave right now. >> reporter: those who wouldn't leave peacefully were hauled away by force. >> people are very angry. people are pissed off, and that's for sure. >> reporter: some people here

blame apple. others even holding the united states to account. anger also directed at china itself. a country they say too quick to attack its own people, too ready to use force to impose order. >> this is china. not push. the police push us. >> reporter: you don't like china police? >> i don't like china police. >> reporter: what should have been a day of celebration has backfired for apple, its customers, even the state itself. stan grant, cnn, beijing. apple is saying that it didn't open the store because it was concerned about safety with that large crowd and because of those concerns, the company says the iphone 4s won't be available in stores in beijing and shanghai for the time being. here's some good news. home depoet is planning a hiring spree. alison kosik, tell us more.

>> 70,000 jobs, kyra. that's what home depot is going to be looking to fill. they're looking to fill for temp workers. that's 10,000 more than last year's target even though it ended up hiring 70,000 people last year. here's the really good news. these jobs, they may start out as temporary jobs, but they could turn into permanent ones. home depot's got a pretty good track record. you look at the seasonal hires. half of the seasonal hires last year stayed on as permanent workers. its rivalries, lowe's, plans on hiring 40,000 temp workers. we think of holiday season as the peak time. for home improvement stores, peak time is spring. kyra? >> we're hearing wall street has earnings from jpmorgan chase to consider today. how's that factoring into stocks? >> exactly. shares of jpmorgan chase are down 2%. they're pressuring the broader market. its fourth quarter profrt dropped more than 20%.

its revenue number came in much weaker than expected. they're struggling with falling profits and asset management units. the bank's real estate portfo o portfolio, that lost money. the interesting thing is jpmorgan chase is the first major bank to report. next week we'll haerl from wells fargo, goldman sachs, bank of america. jpmorgan usually sets the tone. may not bode very well for next week. >> that's not good. you told us good news. now you told us bad news. that's not fair. >> even it out. >> all right. >> ball. >> we need ball. thank you. northeastern ohio has been rocked by an unusual series of earthquakes. 11 since last march. now finding the cause of the quakes may hurt jobs. >> all officials are rushing to find out anything we can do to provide jobs for this area. we've lost 50,000 jobs in a three-year period. people are desperate. we have to do it in a safe,

environmental way. >> the possible manmade cause for those earthquakes coming up. and tim tebow's fans say he made two big connections in sunday's game. one for the winning score and one for the big guy upstairs. we'll talk about that in 20 minutes. osteo bi-flex has reald my knees. osteo bi-flex has been incredible for me, and i swear by it. [ male announcer ] osteo bi-flex, the glucosamine chondroitin suppment with 5-loxin advanced. shows improvement in joint comfort within 7 days. osteo bi-flex, my knees thank you. [ male announcer ] osteo bi-flex. the #1 doctor and pharmacist recommended brand.

checking top stories now. big boos for penn state's president at a town hall with hundreds of alumni last night. most of the questions were about the dismissal of joe paterno, the head football coach, fired in the wake of the child molestation scandal. joran van der sloot will

learn his fate. he pleaded guilty to killing a 21-year-old woman. this morning president obama will ask congress for the power to shrink the federal government. first on the docket, combine commerce and trade agencies. we'll bring you the president's remarks live at 11:20 eastern on cnn. first real storm of the season is dumping up to eight inches of snow in parts of the midwest. jacqui jeras take a lack at who's getting the worst of it. >> blizzard like conditions at time. the buffalo, new york, area. chicago hit pretty hard. take a look at some of this video. only 4.7 inches of snow. not a ton by chicago standards. this is the 11th latest on record that we've ever seen, two inches or more for snowfall. this is unusual for them. difficult on the roadways. 500 flights have been canceled out of chicago o'hare. the snow is winding down but the wind remains strong.

we'll take you to the south. parts of the south seeing snow. this is cook vil, tennessee. this is outside of the nashville area. it was about.5 inches to them. it was enough to close down some of the area schools. dozens of accidents reported. i-40 has been very slick all day. the storm moving out of the midwest and focusing on the eastern great lakes. a lot of travel delays can be expected with this. in the northeast this isn't so much the snow for you. this is the winds. 50-mile-an-hour gusts expected. that's enough to cause power outages and bring down tree limbs. that will cause 1.5 hour delies out of new york. kyra? >> jacqui, thanks. eight days to go until south carolina votes. it's all about brawl for votes at a time, well, you're ticking down to next saturday's vote. while many candidates are shaking hands and kissing babies across south carolina, they're keeping an eye on the road ahead. the road that leads to florida and the january 31st primary.

big prize with big stakes too. newt gingrich is splitting off from the pack spending his morning in miami before opening his florida campaign headquarters. jim acosta is on the ground in florida. jim, what's gingrich's plan of attack in florida? >> reporter: well, i would tell you, kyra, we just wrapped up an interview with the former speaker. he is going right after mitt romney. he is not letting up on his attacks on romney's record at bain capital, that private investment firm he ran before becoming governor of massachusetts. it was quite striking. we're outside the versailles bakery and cafe here in little had a van in a in miami. it's a well worn stop for many republican candidates. they come through here because of the cuban-american community. very conservative. he talked to a packed room inside the versailles. it was quite striking how he went off on mitt romney. he questioned governor romney's claim that he created 100,000 jobs when he was at bain

capital. you'll want to note that this morning the romney campaign is running an ad up in south carolina. it's a brand new ad that defends his record at bain. in that new ad it does not include the claim that governor romney has made over the last several days, that he created 100,000 jobs at bain capital. that ad only says he created thousands of jobs. newt gingrich pounced on that. i asked him about this. he basically laughed at governor romney and accused governor romney of misstating the facts on his jobs record at bain capital. he said inside this packed crowd in this room here just a few moments ago that romney should release his records from when he was at bain capital and prove that he created 100,000 jobs. it was pretty striking stuff, i have to tell you, kyra. >> jim acosta. we'll be talking a lot. northeastern ohio has been jolted 11 times since last march. earthquakes. the biggest of which happened on new year's eve.

what's being blamed? fracking. >> we want to know what's causing the earthquakes. >> reporter: youngstown residents are demanding answers about why their houses shook on new year's eve. >> i've never had an earthquake in my whole life. >> frightening. >> i thought a jet airliner crashed on the side of my house. >> reporter: it was the biggest of 11 earthquakes since mid march. scientists think they're manmade. >> this is the new year's eve earthquake. >> reporter: size mol low gists say the 4.0 quake was likely triggered by this disposal well at intense pressures nearly 9200 feet underground. >> injecting this much waste is disrupting mother nature. mother nature in this one case is biting back. >> reporter: the company, d and l energy says proximity alone does not prove causation.

ohio called on arm ds bruste re to figure out what's causing all of the earthquakes. enclosed five nearby wells indefinitely. >> it's possible there's induced seismic activity. that's one possibility. >> reporter: manmade earthquakes? >> correct. we don't have conclusive proof yet. >> reporter: they're more than 170 of these wells across ohio. we wanted to understand how this process worked so we're getting a rare look at these massive waste tanks and how it is all injected deep into the earth. >> trucks unload the two tanks. then it is gone through a filter. then injected down hole. we're putting it exactly where the federal government says to put it. >> reporter: it is mostly salt water but also a small amount of chemicals from the frac fluid to break the shale. >> reporter: how much is being pumped deep into the earth here? >> 2,000 barrels a day approximately. >> i've lived here about 42

years. we've never had an earthquake like that. >> reporter: a proponent of fracking for the jobs it brings to this depressed economy, youngstown's mayor is now worried. >> when you feel unsafe in your own house, then it's a serious situation. >> reporter: the fracking boom is causing huge demand for more disposal well permits. >> reporter: do companies have to do any seismic tests before they drill a well? >> no. nowhere in the country are seismic tests used for injection wells. >> all officials are trying to find out anything we can do to provide jobs. we have to do it in a safe environmental way and i don't think they're doing it. >> reporter: stap rep bob hagan is calling for a moratorium. >> it would stop the development of the best economic opportunity that's ever presented itself over the last two decades for the state of ohio. >> we need the jobs, but at the same time of the cost of people losing their homes, losing what they've worked for their entire lives? >> so, poppy, what are regulators doing about this now?

>> reporter: it's a great question. right now they're trying to push through or proposing, kyra, stricter regulations. it fascinated me when the man in charge of this said no state in this country requires oil and gas companies to test to see if there's a fault line below where they're going to drill 9,000 plus feet in some circumstances. we'll see if that goes through. the technology is there. the industry experts told me we can do this, it's just expensive. so if you're going to see this economic boom in owe hire owe and you have to dispose of the waist. it has a lot of people up in arms with a lot of questions. >> there's been a big debate about fracking for a long time, but this could be america's nest boom town and bring a lot of jobs in. >> reporter: absolutely. i would say there are just a handful of cities in this country that need it more than youngstown. they have a very high unemployment rate. this area's been depressed since

the late 1970s since the steel mills left. one restaurant worker said folks come in here all the time and they tell me this is the next gold rush. there's a study that came out that shocked us. it said in the next five years 200,000 jobs could come to ohio because of fracking but you've got to deal with how do you get rid of the waste. this is how the government tells you to get rid of it. >> poppy harlow, live for us out of new york. a welcome sight in gnome, alaska. a huge tanker with fuel supplies just offshore. hear about the ship's grueling ten-day voyage next. actress heather locklear hospitalized after calling 911. details right after the break.

one of the most anticipated award shows of the year. two days away. we're talking about the golden globes. "showbiz tonight's" a.j. hammer will be there. a.j., what can we expect? >> kyra, the globes certainly may give us a hint about which films will do well on oscar night. what we can expect is the unexpected. that's always been the attraction of the golden globes. i'm expecting surprise wardrobe choice, silly acceptance speeches, and shocking jokes from host rickiy jervais.

meryl streep is nominated for the iron lady. it could be a great night for george clooney. he could win a best actor globe for "the descendents." "showbiz tonight" caught up with george last night. he was at the critic's choice awards in hollywood. he was a winner. he won best actor there. we asked him what his favorite part of the globes is. here's what he told us. >> my favorite part is somebody will always get hammered and screw up which is good fun. >> that's like hawaiian themes and maitais. >> that's a great idea. that's not a hangover. umbrella and straw for everybody at the table. oh, yeah. i'll do it. >> so drinks all around, kyra doesn't that sound like the kind of award ceremony you want to go to. >> little too sweet for me. let's stick with the dirty martini, shall we? >> okay. whatever you'd like. >> heather locklear taken to the

hospital after calling 911. what do you know about this? >> well, we do know that yesterday at 1:47 p.m. pacific time authorities responded to a 911 call from her home in thousand oaks, california. they discovered her in distress there. the ventura county sheriff's department tells "showbiz tonight" that she needed to go to the hospital. they wouldn't confirm reports that went flying around that the medical emergency was caused by her mixing prescription drugs and alcohol. we do have calls out to locklear's representatives and the hospital she was taken to. we're waiting to hear back from them. knbc in los angeles is reporting that a spokesperson from the hospital tells them locklear was conscious, stable, and resting comfortably, which is obviously good to hear. >> a.j., thanks so much. much of the buzz around the golden globes is about the host as a.j. just mentioned. comedian ricky gervais. he's ruffled feathers before. what do you think he'll say this

year? a.j. will be back next hour with that and other showbiz headlines. coming up next, tim tebow hits the field with the denver broncos tomorrow night. what is it about him? good luck or god? a new survey among fans might surprise you. we'll talk about that right after the break. where we're at now, we just eat whatever tastes good? like these sweet honey clusters... actually there's a half a day's worth of fiber in every ... why stop at cereal? bring on the pork chops and the hot fudge. fantastic. are you done sweetie? yea [ male announcer ] fiber beyond recognition. fiber one. hey, i love your cereal there-- it's got that sweet honey taste. but no way it's 80 calories, right? no way. lady, i just drive the truck. right, there's no way right, right? have a nice day. [ male announcer ] 80 delicious calories. fiber one.

checking stories making news cross-country now.

we begin in wisconsin where a plane lands in a tree and apparently the pilot climbed out of the plane, down the tree, and napped in the barn. bizarre, right? well, investigators say he had been drinking. imagine that. he was taken to a green bay hospital with minor injuries. and to long island. homeless teen is one step closer to $100,000 scholarship. samantha garvey is a finalist to an intel tall length search. he's been called the second coming, mile high messiah. heaven's heisman. now even the taiwanese are worshiping tim tebow's wins. now a new poll shows 43% of people here actually believe that divine intervention is responsible for tebow's success.

he was touched so much by the tebow spirit he wrote about it. the title "explain it to me john 3: 16." eric, it's hard to deny something is going on it'son 3:0016. >> not only did he pass for 316 yards, his ten completions averaged 31.6 yards a catch. and espn was reporting that 31.6 million people watched that overtime pass. so, of course, everyone sort of talking about is it a connection to john 3 dna 16. for god so loved the world. kyra, that verse is quintessential to christians. it is the summation of salvation. it is something that is so important to them for those who want to share their faith like mr. tim tebow using that verse is a pretty easy way to get to the core of what it is you believe as a christian and get

it out to other people. tebow, of course, rocks john 3 clon 16 in his eye black when he led the florida gators to a national championship. now that he's racking up the wins in denver, lots of people are saying i'm not saying it's a miracle, i can't tell you how many people have said that to me. i'm not saying it's a miracle, but it could be. it's possible. i hear that a lot. a lot, kyra. >> let me ask you this, why do you think that college ball banned players from writing anything in eye black now? do you think coaches got a little spooked by the higher power? >> i think it's two reasons. you hear a lot from christians that religion is under attack in the public sphere and because tebow was putting christian versus on, that was the reason. i would guess it had much more to do with money. advertisers, sponsors, a deed das, underarm more, nike, they play big bucks to have their logos on college players' uniforms. anything that takes away from

that focus is probably more or less the reason. it's supposed to be about the teams, schools, not the individual players, kyra that played into a a little too. >> bottom line, if they win, god is officially abroncos fan. >> officially. officially. tom brady. jesus' number two to god's son. >> brady has been called jesus' nephew. we can't discount that. >> but if they win, all bets are off. god is officially a broncos fan in they win on saturday. >> eric, thanks. well, coast guard ice breaker has finally arrived in nome, alaska. we have details on the brutal voyage next. minding me. wait, what? fret not ma'lady. i have the hotels.com app so we can get a great deal even at the last minute.

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. an anxious waiting game is over for a town cut off from the rest of the world by a sheet of ice. a u.s. coast guard tanker reached nome, alaska, after a brutal ten day trip. veronica, where exactly are the ships now? about eight miles offshore, is that right? >> that's correct. they are approximately eight nautical miles off nome. >> when are they going to start

unloading supplies? >> we will not be rushing into the harbor of nome until we have identified the best course of action to navigate in. >> how do you that, veronica? >> we have the commanding officers and an ice expert who will discuss what the best way to proceed in is. and we have federal, state, local, tribal and academic partners. we have people working around the clock to decide what the best way to transfer the fuelin. >> are they all jumping up and down with excitement? what's the feeling as the ships

are so close? >> this is has been a long journey for everybody that's been involved. we know the city of nome and the residents are really excited to see that we're almost there. we have a lot of developments in the next hour. let's check in with jim acosta. jim? >> it might be the strong cuban coffee in havana's little neighborhood. i'll have a live report in a few minutes. >> and i'm alison kosik the new york stock exchange. the vultures are swirling around troubled carrier american airlines for a potential buyout. who are the potential suitors? i'll have more on that in the next hour. next hour we'll talk to a navy

chaplain to push this cross to stay right where it is. three marines who helped him put it up lost their lives. later made the ultimate sacrifice. thugh. today, while our work continues, i want to update you on the progress: bp has set aside 20 billion dollars to fund economic and environmental recovery. we're paying for all spill- related clean-up costs. and we've established a 500 million dollar fund so independent scientists can study the gulf's wildlife and environment for ten years. thousands of environmental samples from across the gulf have been analyzed by independent labs under the direction of the us coast guard. i'm glad to report all beaches and waters are open for everyone to enjoy. and the economy is showing progress with many areas on the gulf coast having their best tourism seasons in years. i was born here, i'm still here and so is bp.

we're committed to the gulf for everyone who loves it, and everyone who calls it home.

let's fast forward now. 1:00 eastern at the the lincoln memorial. washington grade schoolers

reciting the "i have a dream" speech. today would have been his 83rd birthday. >> and a court hearing for former presidential candidate john edwards. he faces criminal counts alleged he misused funlds to hide an extramarital affair. he'll be joined by the cast and crew of red tails for the screening at white house. and it is the top of the hour. thanks so much for joining us. we're talking about president obama heading to if east room of the white house next hour, asking congress for more power. he says he wants to shrink the federal government. what exactly does the president want to do? >> let's start with an example here. have you ever called, say, the cable company and you get passed off to someone and passed off to someone else and passed to someone else because different people are dealing with the same

things? that's how they would describe what they're trying to do here. president obama is going to be asking congress for the authority to merge six agencies, six trade and commerce agencies that are doing some of the same thing so that when businesses have an issue, say, for instance, on exports. they could in essence do one stop shopping. go to one place instead of getting passed around to different agencies and departments working on the same thing. they would have to ask for the power to consolidate agencies. for now, you know, there's only sort of the details that we've heard through superficially coming out. republicans are waiting to see what the president says before they sort other chime in on whether they're on board or not. you've heard republicans, kiera,

say they want smaller government. this plays to that. this plays to president obama's promise of having a more efficient government and also there's a strategy to say republicans, if you want smaller government, this is what i'm trying to deliver for you. trying to force congress to cooperate with him, kiera. >> brianna keilar at the white house. we'll taulk more about the timig of this with our cnn contributor, john avalon. we're just one week and one day until south carolina votes in the republican primary, and it's crunch time. many candidates making speeches, shaking hands, kissing babies, all across the state. but they're keeping the eye on the roeld ahead, too. a road that leads to florida and its january 31st primary. both states are covered this morning. let's start in miami are newt gingrich just missed with voters. and jim acosta had far too much

cuban coffee. you had a chance to speak with the speaker. >> reporter: that's right. i had a chance to talk to a former speaker and i had cuban coffee. we caught up with newt gingrich here in little havana. it's a frequent stop for a lot of gop candidates when they're running for president. appealing to the miami cuban-american community is very important to winning the primary. it was no surprised newt gingrich stopped here. you would think gingrich after what has been a pretty serious line of attack. he went back too that line of attack earlier this morning. you'll recall that romney and

the cast said that during his time he created 100,000 jobs, and there's a new ad out from the campaign saying that he only created thousands of jobs. he basically laughed at the new ad. >> new add on that says he created thousands of jobs and not 100,000. do you think so? >> of course. you know he did. now the question is -- >> are you saying he lied? >> i'm saying he misstated the facts. he clearly misstated the facts. the "washington post" gave him three pinnochios. he's still not proved anything. we have no idea what his net job creation was.

he should give us the facts, not just keep making the claims. >> now, the former speaker also, as you heard in that quick exchange called on mitt romney to release his records from the capitol. it's not clear whether or not the rom knee campaign will do that. but you also want the note there's a pro gingrich super pac running a movie in florida and south carolina that accused romney of looting companies for profits. going in, downsizing companies and making millions off it. it was asked about that earlier this morning. obviously the gingrich campaign does not coordinate with the pack running the movie. so still after pretty tough line

of attack. >> jim acosta, thanks. rick santorum is holding a town hall. he's one candidate busy on if trail. john huntsman and newt gingrich all have events planned over the next few hours. and paul steinhauser is in d.c. there's new polls out. >> mitt romney, we kept saying he couldn't crack 25%. you start winning and people start liking you. check out this one. mitt romney is now at 34%. this is among republicans nationwide. not a staple. nationwide. that's up from a couple days ago. santorum and gingrich, their numbers are dropping a bit. the numbers on the left, partially after the primary. kiera tells me romney eked out a victory in iowa. he did well in new hampshire. that's starting to resonate with

a lot of voters. this thing is far from over. i have to say one thing about jim acosta. you get him 20, 30, 40 yards when you're a candidate. he's going to get the candidate to speak to him. he's a magic man with the microphone. >> i think keeping -- yeah, he's a former rugby player. watch the results of the south carolina primary with the best political team on television. tune in next saturday starting at 6:00 p.m. eastern, and a reminder go to our website 24/7, cnnpolitics.com. more on the disturbing and disgusting video showing our u.s. marines urinating on taliban bodies. two marines have been interviewed about the video. the corps says the marines were not detained. but defense secretary leon

panetta has come forward. the video has outraged people around the world. max foster has been gathering up that informing for us. >> it's actually about a big debate about america, not just the incident itself anymore. this is not about bad apples, this is the horror of wars. armies are horrible creatures. soldiers do wicked things. when we accept that all the lies about bad apples and the exceptionalism of crime in war, we are accepting war and going along with the dishopsty of it. and the herald tribune writing the u.s. administration's best hope for ending the war in afghanistan has reached a critical juncture. events like the release of the video add a continuing measure of uncertainty to that. and "the globe and mail" in canada writing outrage in afghanistan. shame in america emerges as another u.s. military has

surfaced to undermine the hearts, minds and efforts to secure afghan support. kiera, it's about america and the impact on america's image. >> and as the investigations unfold, max, there will be a lot more reaction. and we'll be talking about it. max foster, thanks. well, oprah winfrey open ls up about her elite girls school in south africa and the milestone she's getting ready to celebrate. we're also going to talk to a tremendous tired navy chaplain pushing for this cross to stay where it is, at camp pendleton. three marines who helped put the cross up later made the ultimate sacrifice themselves. [ female announcer ] lactaid milk is easy to digest.

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checking stories across the country now. first up, a rare sight these days, snow and a lot of it after weeks of warm, dry weather, the first big storm of the season dumped up toing a inches of snow across the midwest. parts of the south and northeast are getting a lot of it, too. hundreds of flights have been canceled. police in new orleans found two live grenades inside a car that was towed to police headquarters. the area was evacuated. and the bomb squad removed the grenades and detonated them. and this story out of san jose, california. a robbery suspect nabbed by a brave bystander. steve brown is on his way to work when he saw two men crash their car and take off running. so he went after one made an arrest. the other suspect was caught by police. we are watching what happens to a pair of crosses on a hill

above camp pendleton, california. a chaplain put up the cross to honor comrades killed in iraq and afghanistan. it was a bonding experience for the guys, dragging it up that steep hill, a memorial that doubled as an accomplishment. little did these guys know that they were posing in front of a memorial to themselves. three of them later died fighting for their country, and now there's another battle being fought. a court battle. is this cross a government endorsement of religion? we're talking about this with retired navy chaplain scott redesky. the cross was his idea. we'll talk about the legal issue also with an attorney. i start with you. i look at the picture you sent me of the marines surrounding this cross that honors fallen comrades. now three of those marines have died.

they had no idea they would be posing by their own memorial. when you look at this picture now, what goes through your mind? >> it's an atypical memorial. it's not something that you would see in a central park or even a faith-based community. it was established by marines. marines themselves it's not for the faint of heart. it's difficult to get to the top of the hill. sometimes an angle of 45 degrees or more to climb up there. it's -- it's very heart wrenching at times. but it's also fulfilling, knowing that they were able to leave something behind. >> what does this memorial mean to you and fellow marines?

integrated with morality and the importance of holding that. i guess what it means to me, whether fact or fable, you whether evoking frustration or faith. for me it evokes the faith and the hope and the love that we have for one another. it was a bonding experience just getting it up there. i was new to the unit. i wanted to bond with them. we had two core men. we had two lance corporals, two company commanders and myself. a new chaplain assigned to the unit trying to make my way into it. right before we deployed to iraq. >> so now it's being challenged in court. how does that make you feel? >> i don't want to draw lines in the sand or rattle sabres. if that could be set aside and looked at it in love in what it represents. that it's not a projection of a

state religion or, you know, let's not battle over that. let's remember those that carried it and what it means to those there at the camp. >> paul, let me bring you in now. there are two organizations that i found that are challenging the legalities of the cross. one organization had this to say. an unauthorized religious shrine sits on federal land. it stood for years, showing clearly that clis chhristianity given preference. they have even yoo used it as a focus for command sponsored prayer and pilgrimage. do they have a valid point, paul? >> i think in a court suit they're going to lose in the end. i'm in favor of the marine

memorial, as we may want to refer to it in the current configuration. if muslim soldiers died or jewish soldiers who died and climbed that 1600 foothill and put symbols on the top of the hill that wouldn't institute the u.s. government respecting the establishment of a religion as the first amendment says. that's what the first amendment prohibits. the very location of this, it's on a military base in an obscure area. it's very difficult to see the cross from a distance. i don't think the public is going to say they are endorsing christianity here. a whiskey bottle, over whatever else you think you want to leave

and still tribute. so i don't think the court will view it as a religious memorial, but rather a secular memorial to the fallen. >> so the argument can be made since the cross isn't visible to the public it's not an endorsement of religion. you can't see it unless you make the effort to go see it. >> yes. i will tell you the flip side is the atheist bringing the lawsuit argues there are training that occurs that requires marines to march by the memorial. and a lot of nonchristians in the united states feel strongly that we shouldn't have symbols on american military bases. there's a good faith debate about this. traditionally it says in god we trust on our currency. the court has kind of leaned in favor of allowing some very, very limited displays of

religion, as long as it's clear the government is not endorsing a religion. so i think in the end this display would be upheld by the courts. the cross got too big. maybe the courts would say a smaller display might be appropriate. i think in the end it won't be taken down. >> we're going to follow it. paul thinks this is going to go away and the cross will remain. we thank you for your service to our military and all the men and women who have lost their lives. and also you, paul, thanks, guys. >> thank you, kiera. well, oprah winfrey's elite academy in south africa hit by scandal soon after it opened. now it's celebrating a major milestone. winfrey talks about that and the presidential race with us, next. ♪ do you know what you want? ♪ while beating up on yesterday ♪ ♪ rolling on, moving on

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she's a beloved tv personality and a powerful force in politics. her tv influence goes far beyond that. she's offering hope to a lot of students in need. we got a chance to sit down with winfrey. she joins us live from africa. robin? >> reporter: hi there. i'm standing in the center of oprah winfrey's leadership academy. that's what her school is called. tomorrow the first class who graduates. now a remarkable thing. oprah winfrey is down here in south africa because she hand picked the poorest of the poor. many coming from backgrounds involving violence, abuse. some have lost parents to hiv

and aids. she's given them a top class education. so much so that the girls graduating tomorrow are all going to university and many of them are coming to university in the united states. she said to me when i talked to her a bit earlier this you take a child who needs a chance, throw in a bit of oprah magic, and look what you get. >> and i understand that oprah actually weighed in on president obama's re-election campaign as well. what did she tell you, robyn? >> reporter: well, of course, i had to ask her. why isn't she prtly endorsing him again this time? >> i don't need to endorse him because i'm a 100% supporter of him. i've already endorsed him.

everybody asks are you going to do what you did in 2008? what i did in 2008 i did because people didn't know -- my friends didn't know who he was at the time. who is this guy? you think that guy is going to be president? i go, yeah, i really do. because i so believed in him and i still do. >> her suggestion is the fact that she's not publicly endorsing obama that time around is not a suggestion she says that in some way is disappointing. >> thank you so much live from africa for us. walk swirling that american airlines may be bought out. >> no bids yet, but there's a lot of talk here. also the vultures are swirling

around this as well. and analysts say if there is an offer it's not going to happen for month ls. there are reports that delta, us airways and private equity forms are interested. takeover talk is normal after a company like american airlines goes bankrupt. so what makes them so attractive? almost 70 million members are in the frequent flier club. that's a big asset. american airlines has a lot of gate space, at big hubs like dallas and chicago and l.a. and new york city. but a delta deal may wind into anti-trust concerns. delta americaned with northwest. and buying american would make it the number one carrier. the government is likely to oppose something like that. us airways is much smaller. it wouldn't have anti-trust hurdles. right now any deal is far from certain. >> can americans stay independent? does it have the cash needed? >> well, you know, in the past

the parent company said it's focused on staying independent. an many carriers have gone on, you know, afs bankruptcy. they've gone into bankruptcy and gotten out of bankruptcy. but amr has to slash costs. it has to reorganize. american has been losing money for years. partly because it has higher labor dosts. it may have to try a new business model to survive on its own. and a brand new gingrich ad mocking mitt romney for speaking french. coming up we say bonjur to our little call house panel at legalzoom we'll help you incorporate your business, file a patent, make a will and more. you can complete our online questions in minutes. then we'll prepare your legal documents and deliver them directly to you. so start your business, protect your family,

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30 seconds on the clock and playing today cnn contributor maria cardona, crystal wright, editor and blogger for conservative blackchick.com. i love the title. let's get to the first question. how about stephen colbert 2012, goi guys? >> i am proud to announce that i'm forming a an exploratory committee to lay the ground work for my possible candidacy for the presidency of the united states of south carolina. i'm doing it. >> and the numbers are no jock. colbert is pulling ahead of hun huntsman in a policy pundit poll? serious candidate for prez? >> i mean, colbert is one big joke, and like you said, kiera

he might be pulling ahead of huntsman, but he's a big joke. he could be president of toys "r" us. that's what he could be president of. he's bringing unwarranted mockery of what's going on in south carolina. i want to know why karl rove isn't condemning his pledge to be a write-in candidate in south carolina. instead of attacking newt we should be attacking kohl bercol. the joke is on colbert and us. >> the fact that stephen colbert can actually poll with bigger numbers than anybody in the gop field basically just demonstrates what a joke the whole gop field actually is. >> he didn't pull bigger numbers than anybody. >> yeah, he did. jon huntsman. this is my time. i get five more seconds. and so it actually shows that of course he's not serious about this. but some people in the gop

republican party in south carolina would rather see him as @ than some of the ones running. so the yolk is on the the gop field. it's hilarious. >> chris? >> i'm surprised he didn't do this in new hampshire where all it takes to get on the ballot is 1,000 bucks and you're there. one guy is wearing a boot on his head. he's trying to show what you can do in the new campaign finance rules. he's making sure he's coloring in the lines. he is giving a civics lesson to anybody who is running for president. is stephen colbert going to shake the 2012 presidential race? no, he's not. but he's going to make it more fun. >> a newt gingrich ad makes fun of mitt romney for speaking french. >> massachusetts moderate mitt romney. he'll say anything to win.

anything. and just like john kerry -- >> [ speaking in french ] >> he speaks french, too. >> huntsman took flak for speaking mandarin. do they think it's elitist, maria? [ speaking in spanish ] >> -- meaning yes, unless it's spanish. and i quote he said spanish is the language of the ghetto. but i think what it demonstrates is that there is a sort of subtle thought that being bilingual or using language other than english among some voters does have a feeling of being somehow less all american baseball and apple pie for some voters. that's what this ad is getting

to. >> crystal? [ speaking french ] >> come on. everybody is bilingual. i'm going to agree with maria. it's going to be a rare occasion. but it's trying to jab at is romney american enough? is he apple pie. it's stupid. it's one thing to focus on bane. that's fine. the gloves come off. we are in a political season and political contest for the president of the united states. most americans speak another language, or they should. ridiculous. >> i hope you speak another language. >> when mitt romney shipped off to france in the 1960s, i don't think he expected to be attacked more than 40 years later for doing so. this is gingrich's attempts to tie him to massachusetts liberals like dukakis and kerry. this is making me hungry for

freedom fries. >> and baguettes. >> and i'm going to give the international sign for i love you in sign language. let's get to the buzzer beater. mitt romney is drawing attention to his mexican roots, launching a new spanish language ad in florida and pointing out his dad was born in mix kexico. enter mexican mitt who tweets things like i am so mexican i don't have a super pac. i have a super paco. can romney woo lalino voters? >> absolutely not. here's somebody who would veto the dream act. he doesn't get close to the 40 pbl40% threshold he needs to win the white house. his father was born in mexico. moved to the states to have u.s. children. doesn't that make him the

original anchor baby. >> oh, give me a break, maria. you're grasping the straws. he has an immigration policy. it's like being half black. that would be like obama not talking about his black father. mitt, you need to talk about your mexican roots, be proud and continue to forge your way. but he's got to talk about the mexican heritage. >> bring us home. >> mitt romney took one of the most conservative positions during the republican debates. even more conservative than newt gingrich or rick perry. he has to own up to that. if he's the nominee. he has to put the forth an immigration policy more than just let's secure the border. the pressure is on. he's waking up to that. >> chris, crystal and maria, that was fun. let's do it again. democratic president trying to shrinking government. what is really behind president obama's latest news.

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the first real storm of the season is dumping up to eight inches of snow in the midwest. jacqui jeras is looking at who is getting the brunt of it, right, jackie? >> the brunt of it at this time is in upstate new york. buffalo has been dealing with blizzard conditions all morning long. so heavy snow, extreme winds and

white out. so it's been very tough for travelers. late last night you had between four and six inches of snowfall across town. not that much by chicago standards. this is your first significant storm. that caused problems on the roadways and the airports. it canceled 500 flights. take a look at that. yeah, poor visibility. the snow was in parts of the south, too. in tennessee, it was only an inch. enough to close schools and cause dozens of accidents. i-40 is especially bad. a loot of black ice being reported there. the storm will wind down with the snow outside of the great lakes. but the winds are really kicking up. and by late today they're going to get worse. could gust up to 50 miles per hour. they're already causing problems at laguardia where it's gusting to 30 now. an hour and a half arrival delays.

since last hour, newark, you've been added to the list. and phoenix the delays are due to the runway. look for additional delays throughout the day. and most of these are flights coming from other places in the country. >> actress heather locklear is taken to the hospital after calls to 911. a.j. hammer is joining us with details. a.j., what do you know? >> at 1:37 california time authorities responded to a 911 call. they discovered heather locklear in distress there. the ventura county sheriff's department said an officer determined she needed to be taken to a local hospital. they wouldn't confirm the reports floating around that the medical emergency was caused by locklear mix prescription drugs and alcohol. we have reached out to locklear's reps and the hospital she was taken to. haven't heard back yet. but k nrk bc in los angeles

reports that a spokesperson from the hospital is telling them locklear was conscious. she was stable and resting comfortably. we'll continue to follow throughout the day, kiera. >> sounds good. let's talk about the golden globes. you're going to be there. the host is ricky gervais. oh boy. >> yeah. no kidding. i am thinking there are a lot of stars right now hoping they don't wind up in ricky's crosshairs. we all know his humor is quite biting. he's been talking about what to expect on twitter. in fact he tweeted a couple of things that caught my eye. i keep having to write new jokes as i pick my victims, i mean targets, i mean producers. he says none of his jokes will be changed by anyone. no one will know what i'm going to say until i say it. that was my only stipulation to host again. somebody asked him on twitter if

he was planning to do ad libbing throughout the night. he said it depends on how drunk he is. certainly we can expect some shots at some interesting figures. gervais plans on tweeting throughout the night. since there's no restrictions on what he tweets, he is saying that could be more over the top. the floebs knew what they were getting when they brought him back. it's probably going to be great for the ratings. last year it was just a warm-up for ricky. >> it's scary to think what could happen. and we'll kb watching. you're right. and if you want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, a.j. has got it. "showbiz tonight." 11:00 p.m. on hln. it's win or go home. can tom brady top his heavenly cousin, tim tebow? motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis,

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a politician asking to shrink the size of the federal government. i'm not talking about a presidential candidate. i'm talking about president obama. next hour he's expected to ask congress to give him power to merge six federal agencies. cnn contributor john avalon on the phone from new york. does the move surprise you?

>> no. it's not surprising. it's following through on a concept he floated last year in the state of the nation. but it is a move done with the electorate in mind. it is trying to make government smaller and smaller. trying to pick up the right wing voters with a specific proposal. he has to get it through congress. he needs to ask for powers of consolidation. powers that reagan had. but it's a smart move. it could sort of reduce red tape, cut regulation. and it always makes sense to reduce overlapping, you know, irresponsibilities in washington. waste, fraud and abuse from things that should be cut out. so are overlapping bureaucracies. >> waste, fraud and abuse. there's going to be people listening to this saying, yeah right, john avalon, that's never going to happen. >> but you can reduce them.

you have a president associated fairly or not with big government and big spending and increasing the deficit and debt. so here's a concrete proposal to make government smaller and smaller. it borrows a rift from a republican rift we've heard usually. bill clinton's signature move was to take a republican issue and try to realign it. that's a way they've been able to govern effectively. you make it more possible to pass them by bringing them to your side. >> john avalon, of course we're going to bring you the president's remarks live here on cnn at 11:00 eastern time. probably at 11:20 eastern time. that's when we expect the president to step up to the podium and speak. we'll take that live. don't miss it. what's it like to be a royal. ask someone who has been in power for 40 years. denmark's queen reaches that milestone this weekend. she sat down with max foster

exclusively to talk about her reign and the pressure on today's young royals like kate middleton. max always loves talking to a queen. tell us about the interview and tomorrow's big events, shall we? >> the oldest monarchy in europe. there's more support for the monarchy in denmark than any other country where there is a monarchy. i deally for the royal family could argue. and that this we can with the queen, queen margaret ii celebrates 40 years on the throne. big occasion in copenhagen. a lot of celebrations taking fla place there. mary was an australian advertising executive when she met the crowned prince who are will one day become queen. it was a big wedding. shown all over the world. the queen spoke very warmly about prin ses mary, as she calls her.

>> she's been very competent in the way she's tackled her role. she's been very easy to help along. i feel very confident in her. i think we've got a very good relationship, indeed. a warm relationship. >> it's a real fairy tale, kiera. the girl next door from taz msma becoming a prin ses. >> you had a chance to talk about the monarchy and how it's changing. >> she talks about the changes in the next generation. she talks about kate middleton and the pressure they're under and how that generation of young royals is married outside the aristocracy. kate middleton is an example. >> i would never give marks to my colleagues. she's doing it beautifully.

i know the pressure in great britain the quite a bit worse on the whole of the royal family than it is with ugs. but there's more people pressure on the young people today. >> thanks, max. the green bay packers have had an amazing run this season. be can they keep it going into the playoffs? we'll preview the biggest games next. ♪ baby, baby, come along with me ♪ [ air horn blows ] ♪ i love you and i need you ♪ just to hug and squeeze you ♪ baby, why can't you see? [ female announcer ] the space of a small suv. the fuel efficiency of a prius. ♪ well, baby, can't you see the all-new prius v from toyota. ♪ come along with me

we begin in wisconsin where a plane lands in a tree, and apparently the pilot climbed out of the plane, came down in the tree and napped in the barn. right there. the neighbor's barn. investigators say he had been drinking. imagine that. he was taken to a green bay hospital with minor injuries. and to long island. a homeless teen is one step closer to a $100,000 scholarship. she's a semifinalist in the intel talent search. she says no matter what happens she's still going to brown or yale. let's talk football. nfl playoffs. tim thebow's fans may believe gd is on their side. but they still have brady. remember the recent skit bhen

jesus visits the locker room. >> who you play next in. >> the patriots. >> that's going to be a tough one. this doesn't leave the room. if i'm the son of god, tom brady has got to be the guy's nephew. he's a miracle worker. coach bellecheck. let's just say -- they're coming at you both ways. you can watch the playoff free view in today's paper. so tom brady, you can't discount jesus' nephew, right? >> he has not won a playoff game in four seasons. i think it's going to be a tough game for the trots out there. he says if the broncos win that means god is definitely a

broncos fan. do you agree with that? >> i definitely agree with that. it's going to be a tough game. tebow looked great against the steelers. they came at him with everything. he was able to hit the deep throws. he looked awesome. >> speaking of tough. you know, it's been a really tough week for the packers. the assistant coach losing his son. but the game goes on. it was an ongoing investigation. we don't know what joe philbin will do when they play, but it's obviously -- i mean, you think about it, it's going to be so tough. i mean, these guys work such long hours and so closely with each other on nnl teams during the season. it's like a member of the family. to stay focused on a football game will be such a challenge.

>> and you know because you covered the packers. i had the luck to cover the packers. it's an amazing place to go. but the community is really twigt with the team. the team goes to the local restaurants, hangs out with fans. it's a close dynamic. >> absolutely. it's a magical place for football. and i'm sure the whole community is feeling the effects of this loss. you wonder if they're going to be able to use this as motivation to carry on and win in the name of their offensive coordinator and his, you know, his family. everyone is saying this is the packers year to win another super bowl. >> i have to ask you before we go. give me some predictions. >> predictions. all right.

think think -- you know what, i'm going to go with tebow. i think the denver broncos pull out a huge monumental upset. i know i sound crazy, but i'm saying it. i think that green bay packers will beat the giants. i think, you know, they're just too good. the giants played them very tough. but the packers have been one of the best receiving cores in football. i think the ravens/texans game will be a defensive struggle. probably not the most exciting game of the weekend. the san francisco new orleans saints game. i think they're playing great. everyone wants to see the darling of the nfl this year, the san francisco 49ers win. i think the saints pull it out. >> we'll see how good you are,

and then aisle sure you'll be writing about it in the "wall street journal." thanks for joining me on this friday. >> thank you. >> we'll take a quick break. 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 planning for our military, veterans and their families. now more than ever, it's important to get financial advice from people who share your military values. for our free usaa retirement guide, call 877-242-usaa.

and here's events that are happening later today. 1:00 eastern, some washington grade schoolers