oil route. what a waste? they're the number one wish list. why do billions of gift cards go unspent? news nation following the all out brawl for iowa. six days now before the first in the nation caucuses there. six republican candidates criss-crossing the state. everyone but jon huntsman. it's a neck and neck race between ron paul and mitt romney, with newt gingrich appearing to fade. meanwhile, the gloves are off. take a look, starting with milt r mitt romney on newt gingrich's failure to get on the ballot in virginia. we clearly are having some problems with the audio there.

let's go to nbc's peter alexander, traveling with theç romney bus tour in iowa. he joins us live. mitt romney about so start a campaign event there now? >> yeah, that's exactly right. right now he's across the street speaking to an overflow room. a good turnout of individuals already. about 300 plus forced him to speak at two separate restaurants. as we speak to you right now, we can show you live hikt of pictures from one of the cafes in clinton, iowa. the effort to show the people of iowa folks who like hand to hand individual meetings with these candidates to get to know them more individually right now. and romney passing by heading into the cafe across the street. the romney campaign is really starting to see some new confidence. they've brought additional forces here from boston, from their headquarters, they've been meeting more often and more with the local media here as well as with the national media, but the governor and his campaign have

tried to temper expectations in a statement, now it appears they're starting to gain support. they don't mind if they come out behind ron paul in this race, they would like to show up in a strong second, confident that will propel them going-forward here. and to help in the effort in the days ahead. mitt romney's campaign is going to gain the support of chris christie who should be here on friday. he has several more events today throughout the state. all in an effort to stay above the fray. in an individual conversation he's had with the people here, he's been very patriotic. spoken exclusively about the president's attacking barack obama directly, ignoring his republican rivals. he's saved negative efforts if you will forç supporters who he spent millions on television and radio ads. craig? >> peter alexander on the ground. thank you very much. >> let's bring in mark murray. the campaign in iowa, we've seen

and heard over the past day or so, it's getting increasingly nasty. newt gingrich promised to stay positive seems to be getting more and more negative by the day. >> it's the physics of politics, when you see yourself in a corner, your numbers are starting to slip, you end up going negative. newt gingrich has had this distinction where negativity for him is talking about the facts that he says if it is fact based, it really isn't growing negative. craig, you are right. we have six days to go before the iowa caucuses, this is the final sprint. and that would bed time which the knives would be out on all corners. we've seen romney going after gingri gingrich, gingrich go after paul. it's become a rumble in the hawkeye state. >> ron paul has launched a new ad? iowa as well. let's take a look at a 35 second

ad. take a look. >> consistent, incorruptible, guided by faith and principle. ron paul, the one we've been looking for. >> clearly not so vailed attacks there, newt gingrich and mit rockiesny. here's the question mark, are these guys going to bloody themselves so muchç in the primary battle? we've seen and heard so much from them, is this going to have a negative effect over the next 11 months? >> it possibly could. there was a smart piece in "the washington post." you know, in politics these new cycles are so fast, so furious, that nine months from now, we could be talking about something entirely different. but there is some concern that

this has been hurting republicans. and it's a big reason why incumbent presidents who don't face their own primary challenges almost always end up winning in modern times, because these types of primary campaigns are bloody and costly. >> mitt romney said he was not goinging to play in iowa. as peter just mentioned, he's shifted staff there, spending a great deal of time in the hawkeye state, presumably because he thinks he can win this thing. if mitt romney does not win iowa, what does that mean? >> i think it's a blow, you look at how everything's going right now, they feel like they can be able to win this. you look at all the conservative republicans in the race, whether it's michele bachmann, rick santorum, rick perry, the fact that all those may end up dividing the vote, which would allow mitt romney to win iowa. it was just four years ago, mitt romney spent some 10 million in iowa, he is the person that

everyone thinks is going to be the eventual republican nominee, and himç finishing second. even if it's ron paul would be embarrassing, it doesn't mean he would end up becoming the republican nominee, he would take a black eye if he doesn't end up winning iowa, particularly with this last minute blitz that his campaign has had. >> many suspect he can pull it out there and win with a wash what does that mean for ron paul after the hawkeye state, anything? >> it means that he will be a force. there is a certain segment that is very receptive to ron paul's message. that would end up playing in new hampshire and south carolina, although maybe not as strong as in iowa where that kind of ground game really does help him. but he's going to be a force, now, how big of a force is a question to -- that still remains. but he's somebody who i have all faith will probably be in this contest from beginning to end.

>> last question, newt gingrich has started to fade in iowa, started to fade in a lot of other states as well. have we seen the last of newt gingrich in the hawkeye state? or do you think he bounces back before the walk uses? >> there is system some time for him. the drop we've seen with gingrich wasn't as precipitous as what we saw with herman cain a month or two ago. they're going to be some new polls coming out this week, craig, on with a. it will be interesting to see where people sit. you have to take these polls with a grain of salt. this is a small number of iowa caucus goers who attend. you sometimes don't know how this is going to play çout. it's going to be fascinating, it's a three person race between paul, romney and nult gingrich. >> our deputy political director mark murray on this wednesday. mark, thank you.

>> thanks. developing now, the pentagon firing back against iran's threat to choke off a vital passage, it carries one sixth of the world's oil. iranian officials say they will close the strait of hormuz if the west follows through on promised harsh sanctions on its oil shipments. the pentagon says any disruption along the straight will not be tolerated. the proposed sanctions are in response to iran's refusal to stop its suspected nuclear program. iran has the nafrnal power to block the strait. there is concern over a possible military conflict with u.s. forces if iran tries to make good on those threats. we're joined now by the deputy editor for "time" magazine. how serious should we be taking these threats at this point? >> i think we should take our cues from the oil markets. as soon as iran made this

announcement, oil prices shot up by $10 a barrel. is the oil experts are making the calculations that this is a bluff. they're doing the right thing by making it clear that this will not be tolerated. but the best guess is that this is the iranian's rattling -- >> bluster? >> exactly. >> if iran does follow through on the threats, what could that potentially mean for the u.s. naval forces that are based right there? >> the u.s. has sizable çforce as you pointed out. the iranian navy is not, in military terms any match for any western navy, least of all the u.s. navy. but it is -- any kind of conflict, even if it's small skirmish on that straight would send oil prices soaring, because something like 40% of all the oil that's moved by tankers comes flew that straight. and eight or nine major oil producers moved anywhere oil through there.

it is a choke point. it is a place where even a little bit of ripples in the water can have major seismic effects down the line. but the best guess is, that's not how it's going to play. >> how do you think it's going to play out? >> i think the iranians have made their bluff. the u.s. has called it. the saudis have said they will pump out more oil to compensate for any more choking oil. i think a week from now, we're talking about something else in that part of the world. >> let's talk about another part of that. let's talk about syria for a moment. at least six people killed in violent clashes between the government and anti-government forces there. any indication at this point that syria's president is going to step down at some point soon? >> no, not at all. he seems to be determined to fight it out. and although the arab league has now sent monitors into syria, to try to get firsthand information of what's going on, the foreign

media is not allowed. all we're seeing is youtube videos and cell phone pictures that have been posted online. those monitors are going to get a sense of what's going on in the country. the fact that his forces continue to kill people while the monitors arei% the country. that says that he's not about to be backing down, he wants to go all the way. >> bobby ghosh, thank you, sir. happy new year. >> and to you. rick perry suing virginia to get on the state's primary ballot. does his legal challenge stand a chance in court? why a judge ruled the mexican american studies program in one school district is illegal. and which tom hanks film is now a national treasure? no, it is not castaway. you can always join our conversation online. can you find our dwtwitter page @newsnation. ♪ that's why we created the share the love event.

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developing now, left side of your screen, mitt romney in clinton iowa addressing a crowd at a diner on the right-hand side debuke, iowa. we head to the first in the nation caucuses next tuesday. turning to the economy now, the latest numbers give reason to be hopeful about the coming year, they include a big surge in consumer confidence. relatively strong holiday sales figures so far, and some improving numbers on unemployment and the housing market. joining me now to talk about it, associate editor of barons. there's a new survey of three dozen leading economists, which shows they expect economic growth to pick up next year. to what can we attribute this

surge in optimism? >> a couple things. >> the car manufacturing economy in this country has been relatively booming. have you pent up demand for cars, during the downturn, consumers are in relatively good shape if they have a job. but there's not a single additional net un employed person this year than last year, the unemployment has changed a little bit. if you have credit card debt, it's cheap toç service it. the manufacturesing economy, even though it's not a big part of the overall economy, it's been performing well. all in a stuff has gotten momentum going into 2012. the issue is that we also have momentum going into this year. we've had oil prices go up, the european debt crisis. one thing or another seems to have derailed a fragile economy. >> let's not forget about what's happening in europe right now? >> exactly.

it's a big deal. >> how do you think it's going to affect this country over the next 12 months? >> right now, i think in the last several weeks, the our pea an central bank, the imf have taken a 2008 style meltdown, post lehman brothers situation off the table for the moment. it's encouraged markets, it's gotten us to not worry about a banking crisis erupting tomorrow. it's going to be a weak economy over there. they're engineering a recession in europe, based on all these awe stairity plans they're opposing. >> 8.6%. what do we suspect will happen in unemployment over the next 12 months? >> most likely it goes down. it doesn't really plummet. we should expect continued job growth. you mentioned the unemployment situation has improved. the weekly claims have broken below the level. it usually means things are improving rapidly, even those consumer confidence numbers. people say, the jobs are hard to get, versus jobs easier to get

answer has improved to levels that we haven't seen since the financial crisis. that's all good. the problem,there's a very large reservoir of id'dle workers tha are going)jo be hard to drag down. if we get anywhere close to 8%, will be considered a victory going into next year. >> we all knew that two thirds of this economy is supported by people going out and buying stuff. what do we know about consumer confidence. >> consumer confidence has improved mostly that for flex, the better economic numbers, in the last couple months. we did see these numbers as high as last april. it doesn't always mean we're off to the races. it's not predictive of what consumers are going to do. things look better, and sort of this dour mood that's been hanging over consumers. consumer confidence was much lower over the summer than what you would basically predict. it seems like there's a

psychological overhang. all thighs things seem to be feeding into this idea that things aren't working. >> last question here quickly, you said something that piqued my interest, you talked about manufacturing in this country. there are those who are saying over the next five years, we are really going to start to see a boom in manufacturing, because of what's happening in china, because of wages there that are going to have to go up. what do you think is going to happen to manufacturing in america? >> it's going to be better. in other words, we're in a better position than we have been in recent years to pick up some manufacturing business. but it's going to be in the higher value added stuff. we're not going to start making textiles again the way we did ten years ago, or 15 years ago. we do have a tail wind there. >> thank you so much. always appreciate you. associate editor. tens of thousands of mourners lining the streets of north korea's capital to pay final respects to the manç the

called dear leader. we'll get details on kim jong-il's funeral. who did americans admire the most this year. which politician moved down a few notches. and a guy who's been on that list for more than half a cen steuerry. when you have tough pain, do you want fast relief? try bayer advanced aspirin. it's not the bayer aspirin you know. it's different. first...it's been re-engineered with micro-particles. second, it enters the bloodstream fast, and rushes relief to the site of your tough pain.

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funeral. this happened four hours later than what the south korean media had been anticipating. a long line of vehicles could be seen snaking through the north korean capital pyongyang led by a hearse. the hearse was accompanied by his son, kim jong-un and behind him was the man who says he's entered into a power sharing agreement, during this delicate transition, his uncle. thousands of knowledge koreans turned out for a public display of grief. there were rows and rows of military personnel throughout the capital as well as civilians who sobbed and shouted, father, please don't leave us. now, their sobbing could be heard throughout the transmission over music as well as a very dramatic north korean announcer. the procession ended back at the palace, the memorial palace where kim jong-il's body had been lying in state until today. it was concluded with a 21 gun

salu salute. now, it's worth reminding everyone, craig, that these pictures were only available direct from the northç korean state broadcaster. it remains unclear how much of this public mourning was staged or authentic. >> adrian mong in seoul, south korea, thank you so much. late they are week, back here, president obama is set to ask congress to raise the federal debt wlimt by more than a trillion dollars. this time we're not expecting to see the fireworks on capitol hill again. we'll tell you why. lady gaga's former assistant is suing her for nearly $400,000. details on that coming up in the scoop. my patients, you want to hear you've done a good job. that's why i recommend a rinse like crest pro-health multi-protection.

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here's what "news nation" is following now. rick perry files a federal lawsuit after he failed to qualify for virginia's primary. does he stand a chance? hoseny mubarak wheeled into the hospital on a gurney. a waste of money, gift cards remain the hottest items on holiday wish lists. why do billions of dollars go unused? [ siren ] >> a major corruption for a couple on one of the most important dways of their lives. details on a video that's gone viral. texas governor rick perry once again suing the state of virginia to get on the ballot for the march sixth republican primary there. after it was ruled last friday he did not qualify.

actually, mitt romney and ron paul were the only major gop candy dates to meet virginia's tough ballot requirements. pete williams joining me live now from washington. pete, good afternoon. >> he's challenging two aspects of virginia law that regulate the process here, the first one, and i think the focus of hisç lawsuit is, in order to get on the ballot you have to have signatures on a petition. those who circulate the petitions must be eligible to vote there. that means candidates can't bring in volunteers from out of state to circulate their petitions. perry says it isn't fair that in the last republican primary in virginia 120 republicans voted and the state requires 10,000 signatures. that's too many. so that is the basis of his lawsuit. he argues it's unconstitutional restriction of his free association rights.

his first amendment free speech rights to have this requirements. >> what are rick perry's chances? >> well, there's two issues to look at here, craig. one is, many legal experts say that other courts have taken a dim view of what virginia does here in other states. this requirement that the people who circulate the petitions have to be residents eligible to vote there. that could be vulnerable. on the other hand, legal experts say, perry may have hurt himself by waiting to file this lawsuit. the candidates certainly knew what the rules were, and by waiting until after the process was over, maybe he's defaulted his claim, basically waiting too long. there's a legal doctrine that says if there's a harm, and you wait too long, you hurt your own chances. procedurally maybe he's weak, on the merits, maybe he has a point here. pete, thank you. just a short time ago, hosni

must barack was back in court to face murder chargdc. the uprising forced him out of office after nearly 30 years in power. mubarak allegedly ordered his security forces to kill 800 demonstrators while trying to suppress that uprising. the defense is arguing they were acting within the law and were never given specific orders to kill anyone. ayman mohyeldin is joining me now live. what's been the most crucial piece of testimony so far? >> reporter: craig, really the most crucial piece of testimony is one that no one has seen except the lawyers and judge. and that was from the field marshall who is the commanding officer in charge of the de facto ruling in the country.

at the described whether or not the president ordered him to open fire on the protesters, that will not be made public until a verdict is actually reached in the trial. >> more than 100 people have been killed since mubarak stepped down. a fact that the defense team is trying to play up. how is that argument holding up in court? >> well the, defense really is trying to bog down this trial with so many procedural challenges, that it's really going to be a long trial, to say the least. their argument as you mentioned really rests on two pillars. one is that the president did not directly order the military or the security forces to use live fire to suppress the protests, and two, they're even going so far as to say that weapons were stolen, uniforms were stolen, that these officers and men that acted to kill the protesters did so on their only. some of themç working for foren hands outside of egypt. you get a sense that the defense is trying to slow this trial down, it could be several months before we see anywhere close to an end to this trial.

>> really quickly here, before i let you get out of here, there's been so much on again off again violence in egypt. what's the scene like right now? >> it's relatively calm. we're going into the third and final stage of parliamentary elections, the streets of egypt is always very volatile, always one incident away from erupting again because there's so much builtup tension between activists and the military. >> ayman, thank you, sir. back here, new information about a deadly christmas day fire in connecticut tops our look at stories around the news nation. the medical examiner says the three girls and their grandparents died of smoke inhalation. the grandfather also suffered neck and head trauma. officials believe he died trying to save one of his granddaughters. the fire started accidentally in a bag of discarded fireplace embers.

the family of a massachusetts teenager who committed suicide after relentless bullying will get $250,000. a transfer student from ireland hanged herself in july of 2010, her parents filed a complaint against the public school, alleging the district failed to protect her from discrimination. they later withdrew that complaint after reaching a $225,000 settlement. police stormed the world famous church of the nativity in bethlehem today after a brawl. the clash between t armenian and greek orthodoxed clergy men started over their boundaries of their jurisdictions in the church. this is not the first time that rival clerics have come to blows over what group controls what part of the church. president obama is expected to ask congress to raise the debt ceiling once again. the president will ask for $1.2 trillion in addition aal borrowing, bringing the federal

debt to $16.4 trillion. the latest request should not bring the fireworks that nearly cost a government default in august. kristen welker traveling with the president, she joins me live from honolulu this afternoon. hey, kristen. >> good afternoon to you, craig. you are absolutely right. we're not expecting to see the same type of fireworks we saw this summer, when the president and congress had this huge fight over how to increase the debt ceiling. it almost brought the government too a default. the reason we're not expecting to see those fireworks this request to increase the debt limit is part of an agreement that was worked out in august. when they did finally come together and figure out how to increase the debt limit. not expecting to see those fireworks, this is the final installment of increasing the debt limit. the first two installments were in $900 billion increments. what might we see? we might see republicans in the

house try to block the measure. but this really would be move about making a statement, making the point that they don't agree with increasing the national debt. they don't agree with increasing the debt limit. is this actually a prak tick ailty?ç likely not. it's highly unlikely this will pass through the senate. even if it did the president could veto the measure. this was set up in august to take us through the 2012 election. this is not something that's going to be renegotiated in the middle of an election year. the next time we'll probably revisit this issue is in 2013. so a lot of people probably sitting at home wondering why the national debt is so high to begin with. >> sure. >> why is it $16.4 electrical? part of the reasons, the wars in iraq and afghanistan, the bush era tax cuts as well as those stimulus measures that were passed under the bush administration and the obama administration to try to get the economy back on track.

we've definitely done a lot of spending over the past decade, and now congress trying to figure out how to pay for all of it. >> really quickly, before i let you go. you've been hanging out there in hawaii with the first family as they continue their vacation. we've seen some pictures of some snorkeling or heard about snorkeling. what else is the first family doing in hawaii? >> well, you know, it's a good question. there's nothing on the president's schedule for today. but if we had to guess, he's going to be here for another couple days. there will probably be more trips to play golf. probably be some trips to get shaved ice with his kids, that's really a hawaiian specialty here. i haven't tried it myself, but i'm determined to before i go home. we'll keep you posted on everything he does today, they haven't left yet today. >> kristen welker from honolulu, hawaii on this wednesday. thanks. giuliana rancicç back to wk

after her battle against breast cancer. there's a lot going on today, and here are some of the things we thought you should know. a judge in arizona has ruled that one local school district has broken the law with its mexican-american studies program. they're not supposed to have a class designed primarily for one ethnic group. it promotes racial resentment. the judge is withholding 10% of the district's state aid until it complies with the ruling. president obama and secretary of state hillary clinton remain at the top of the list of america's most admired men and women, according to an annual gallup poll. secretary clinton has been the most admired woman every year for the past decade. president obama has been named the most admired man for the last four years.

meanwhi meanwhile, reverend billy graham has been on the list since gallup started the poll in 1946. sarah palin moved down from number two to number four on the women's list. my momma always said, life was like a box of chocolates. you never know what you're going to get. >> yeah, you know that movie. forrest gump will now be immortalized. the library of congress says the 1994 smash hit is one of 25 films chosen for the national film registry this year. bambi also on that list, and those are just some of the things that we thought you should know. oooh, what's her secret? [ male announcer ] dawn hand renewal with olay beauty. improves the look and feel of hands in just five uses. [ sponge ] soft, smooth... fabulous! [ male announcer ] dawn does more... [ sponge ] so it's not a chore.

coming up at the top of the hour, themes fightin' words, newt coming out swinging at ron paul and mitt romney. plus, tensions escalate

between the united states and iran over threats to disrupt the world's oil supply. after taking a breather in early december, shoppers have come back in a big way. accordingç to the internationa council of shopping centers, sales the week before christmas were up 4.5% compares to last year. this after a decline in the first two weeks of december. one kmiflt says that consumers are still cautious and looking for bargains. 2011 expected to be a record year. the bought gift cards this year, sales will top $27 billion. experts expected half of shoppers will redeem their gift cards in the january. if history proves right, millions of dollars on those cards will never be used. courtney regan joining me with tips on how to help folks get the most out of those gift cards. >> i think many of us have at least one gift card at our wallets.

i looked it in mine, very six in there. it's not that i don't want the cards, doi intends to use them. sometimes it's not convenient or perhaps i have to add value to the card to get what i want. you want to make sure you do use the card. $41 billion has been un used in gift cards since 2005. your first choice is to take it to the retailer and buy something. you can get more for your money now than if you wait 30 days or so when the sales have passed. >> you're saying we should redeem them early, to take advantage of some of these post christmas sales we're seeing advertised? >> exactly. and if you get a gift card that doesn't exactly suit your tastes, you do have options. you can trade it in. you're going to have to pay a small amount to do so,ç but yo can go to plasticjungle or giftcard rescue or cardpool.com and get 290% of the card's value

and use it toward another retailer that you will, in fact, be able to use. >> i understand there's a website out there that you can take your gift card and use the money on the gift card and invest it? explain that to me? >> yes, can you. that's for those of us who don't want to buy one more shirt or candy bar or whatever the case may be. you can go to goldmine.com, for as limb as $25. you can invest that money, put it in a mutual fund and see if it can grow. see if you can make 50 dollars at the end of the year, that will be a good return. you you never know, stranger things have happened. it could be something you could really benefit from in the end. >> consumers continue to lose money on these gift cards because they don't redeem them. retailers love them. if you get an itunes gift cards, you never buy 15 or $20 worth of songs, you always spend a little more at that particular store. >> yeah, exactly. because like i said, before, if you you get a card for $25.

what if the lowest item in the store is $29.99. you have to spend more to be able to use that card. in some respects it's a good thing for retailers. what's interesting, a lot of people think once that card is bought, the retailers get that money, whether or not it's redeemed. because of accounting rules, retailers can not claim that revenue. it's unearned income until that card is fully cashed in. it has to do with accounting rules, believe it or not. it can be tough for them too. >> you just taught us something in the studio. have a great new year. >> thank you, you too. ç e news anchor back to wor after a double mastectomy. lady gaga goes viral. let's get the scoop from courtney hayes. hello to you. >> hello, craig. >> let's start with giuliana rancic, she's back. >> really good news. she announced on the "today" show she was going to be undergoing a double mastectomy.

that was just two weeks ago, she underwent that procedure. she was back at work at e! news tuesday night. she wasn't sure whether she was going to return to e! this week or wait until after the new year. she didn't want to rush her recovery. doctors gave her the green light over the weekend did was fine to go back to work. she was there. if you follow giuliana or any of her e! news colleagues on twitter, you saw them tweelting lots of warm wishes and welcome backs. >> it's great to see her. >> it's really great too, that she's speaking so frankly about this situation. because women who are in their 30s undergoing this. you don't think it's going to happen at all. she's speak out about it, so other people can take note of it, and take action if they need to as well. >> word came today that lady gaga is going to be dropping the ball here in the big apple. and word also came today that she may owe someone a boilt of money? >> this story is saturated with ridiculousness. >> lady gaga's former assistant

has filed a complaint in new york city saying she's owed tons and tons of money in overtime back pay. she worked 7,168 hours of overtime. if you divide that by 24, that's about 300 days of overtime over the several year period that she worked forç lady gaga. she wants that money, nearly $400,000, in fact. what was she doing while she was ga-ga's assistant the? making sure she was up first so she could get gaga awake, traveling with her on tour buses and hotel rooms. >> 300 days, though? >> like i said, ridiculousness. gaga's representation has said there's no merit to this lawsuit. that story remains to be told. we should be seeing her new year's eve here in new york city to help the mayor drop that

ball. >> what costume do you think she'll be in? >> i don't know, but it's hard to overshadow the ball itself -- >> famous last words. >> if anybody can stand up to those, it would be lady gaga. >> let's talk about the latest viral video. this is pretty funny. >> it is. >> it's funny because it wasn't -- you just got married, i think if this had happened to you, you would say, this is a little bit strange. you know that portion of the wedding where they say, speak now or forever hold your peace, this couple got quite the surprise. >> is there anyone here who has just cause why this couple should not be joined in holy matrimony? speak now or forever hold your peace. [ siren ] >> friends, that would be a tornado siren, not the kind

of -- >> it could also be an çomen. >> it's not like crazy uncle larry in the back. that's like a natural disaster coming your way. good news is, everything is fine and reportedly, she's just had a baby. so congratulations to her. >> ten days for you? >> allegedly. >> make sure we get those pictures on twitter like an hour after. >> yeah, once everyone looks cute again. >> always a pleasure. for the latest entertainment news, go to scoop.today.com or become a fan of the scoop on facebook. straight ahead, today's news nation gut check. should troops returning home from the war in iraq be greeted with a ticker-tape parade like vets of previous wars? we'll tell you how to weigh-in. you can join the news nation on facebook as well. we're on the book. we're at facebook.com/newsnation. [ male announcer ] this is lara.

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we're following breaking news in eastern tennessee right now. a fire at a mine in new market, tennessee has injured at least two miners, the fire has trapped three other miners underground. they have been talking to rescuers. several worker manage to get out unharmed. officials are confident at this point they will be able to rescue those trapped miners soon. the last combat troops in iraq left the country more than a week ago. but after fighting a nine-year campaign, there are still no plans for a huge ticker-tape parade for troops returning home. and there may never be one. officials in new york and washington say they would gladly stage a big celebration like the homecoming that our servicemen and women got after world war ii and the gulf war as well, pentagon officials say they haven't been asked to plan one. one military history professor says celebrating too much could be seen as insensitive to the

tens of thousands of troops still fighting the war in afghanistan. many of the troops returning home from iraq could be sent to afghanistan. so what does your gut tell you? should a big parade be held to honor our troops coming home from iraq? all have you to do is go to ç facebook.com/newsnation to vote. that does it for this edition of news nation. thanks so much for joining me. i'm craig melvin. richard louie is in for martin bashir, he'll pick things up next. ello. it's water from the drinking fountain at the mall. [ male announcer ] great tasting tap water can come from any faucet anywhere. the brita bottle with the filter inside. yeah, our low prices are even lower. we need to teach her how to walk. she is taking up valuable cart space. aren't you, honey? [ male announcer ] it's our biggest clearance event of the year where our prices are even lower. save money. live better. walmart.

good afternoon. it is wednesday december 28th and here's what's happening. lucy, they're home. >> we all make mistakes,ç and sometimes our campaigns don't get done right. >> mitt stuffs it in newt's face. >> it's such a classic scene. >> i'll meet him anywhere in iowa for