good morning. north korea dictator kim jong-il is dead and was yang yank north koreans mourn their dear leader as he dies of a heart attack. south korea on military alert and other nations prepare for any unexpected problems. we will have the very latest. the white house is on watch with the death of kim jong-il and makes for a dangerous period. a big question for the u.s. will his son take over as planned or will north korea and its fletening nuclear program fall into chaos? >> we will ask bill richardson. in the southwest a powerful winter storm moves into the plains and blizzard warnings up from new mexico to kansas where they could get a foot of snow or more just as holiday travel starts to get busy. team tebow and the denver

bronc broncos, the fourth quarter miracles stop as the patriots beat denver. "early" this monday morning, december 19th, 2011. captioning funded by cbs good morning. a lot of late developments last night. >> the death of north korea's long time dictator kim jong-il. he was revered as a god-like figure inside that isolated nation and feared and distrusted by nearly everyone outside of it. >> north korea has test-fired a missile raising new concerns over the future of that country's nuclear program. celia hatton is in beijing with the latest for us this morning. >> good morning. >> reporter: the death of kim jong-il has put governments across asia into crisis mode as they try to decide whether it's

possible the country could collapse after the loss of its dictator. the shocked news anchor cried as she announced it. their so-called dear leader kim jong-il died of a sudden heart attack saturday. the surprise death of a man who ruled over every aspect of north korea is creating uncertainty across asia. kim named his son kim jong-un successor of the family design city last year after it was cleared he suffered some kind of stroke. kim jong-il was groomed to be a leader hi business father but this young heir is hardly ready for prime time. >> i think what will likely happen kind of a caretaker leads-of-. kim jong-il's brother-in-law and kim jong-il's younger sister who are very important behind the scenes and they will be sort of shepherding kim jong-un along as he gets ready to take over the

country. >> reporter: kim jing iong-il w throe for living the high life. when the u.s. and its allied got fed up with kim's refusal to abandon his nuclear weapons, china had to step in. chinese leaders were at the end of their rope with the eccentric m. kim who spend billions of elaborate plans for a birthday celebration in 2012 honoring his father. north korea, it was promised, would become a powerful and prosperous nation next year. what seemed like an impossible young, the mighty king jong-il, north korea seems even closer to collapse. words emerged of a new deal between pyongyang and washington set to be announced next week. north korea set to give up one

of its nuclear programs in exchange of food aid. but it may be in jeopardy because of news of kim jong-il's death andfire. it's in china's interest to keep north korea a strong country. china worries if north korea does collapse, north korean refugees could flood into china overwhelming the country and ultimately it worries that a unified korea that is friendly to south korea and to washington could lead to u.s. troops leading right up to china's borders, something the country does not want. >> celia hatton in beijing, thank you. the white house, in the meantime, is watching the events in north and south korea closely following the death of kim jong-il. chief white house correspondent norah o'donnell joins us with more on that. how concerned is the white house this morning? >> reporter: they are very concerned. i spoke with a number senior

u.s. officials this morning and the death of kim jong-il comes at a momentous time as u.s./korean relations. there was a decision this week whether to reengage with north korea on the nuclear talks and provide the critical food aid. the big concern is the changes that kim's death may spark between the posture of north and south korea so the white house is monitoring this very closely. in a sign of how concerned the united states is, president obama at midnight last night called the south korean leader president lee to reaffirm the u.s.' strong commitment to stability in the korean peninsula. i asked what is your biggest concern and the official said i wouldn't cite any particular thing but this is an uncertain period as they work through their succession. >> a lot of americans, they immediately think of the troops which are stationed there. more than 28,000 u.s. troops in south korea. has there been much talk at the

white house about any changes in military operations from the u.s. side? >> reporter: no talk about changes at this point. although, clearly, our pentagon is watching this, monitoring this closely as well as the white house security team at the white house. 28,000 troops in south korea. one of the reason the north koreans have a standing army of a million along the border there so they are always watching this closely and something the president since he was up at midnight speaking with the south koreans is watching as well. >> norah o'donnell at the white house, thanks. also with us is former new mexico governor bill richardson who is also a former u.s. ambassador to the united nations. having been to the country, what is your biggest concern this morning? >> well, the north korean

peninsula is always a tinder box. my biggest concern is a military clash between the north and the south, a provocation by the north. my biggest concern is whether there will be stability in the leadership in north korea. things have gotten better. the u.s. is talking to north korea on food aid, possibly resuming flnuclear talks. the north and south also have been talking so things have gotten better the last few months. the issue is going to be will there be the succession that kim jong-il wanted, his third son, will the north korean military commanders accept that? it looks like they will. there are some statements coming ut of the workers party which is the official entity of north korea saying he is taking over. nonetheless, there could be power struggles. >> there is also some talk that, in fact, it could be kim jong-il's brother-in-law who could be doing a lot of real ruling from behind the scenes,

not necessarily kim jong-un because he is so young and so much to learn. what power would you see him having if the succession follows the wishes of kim jong-il? >> well, i can tell you from my knowledge of the leadership there, the leadership, the ones that call the shots, will be the north korean military commanders. not necessarily the civilian leadership. obviously, the family is powerful. but the fact that kim jong-il designated his son, the third son, we know very little about him. we know he went to a swiss school. he hasn't met with many world leaders. he, obviously, is inexperienced. the issue is going to be will the military leadership of north korea accept that transition now that kim jong-il is dead? we have to watch this very carefully. i think it's important, the white house, i think, is playing it correctly, playing it cool, finding ways to see what

happens, but also lean in favor of engaging the north koreans. i've always felt when we zoted th isolated them, it didn't work. possiby if things look stable, resume the food aid and humanitarian assistance. >> which is under discussion and potentially announced this week. you mentioned one of your fears is provocation at this point. north korea firing a missile which is said to be unrelated, yet it's impossible to ignore that. is this some sort of statement? >> well, the worry is that this happened. north korea did provoke shooting south korean civilians, an island, a ship. there are factions within the north korean military that might take those steps to assert themselves. but you don't know. what you don't want right now is an escalation in the peninsula. i think south korea is playing is right, playing it cool. yes, you go on military alert, but just watch things as they

develop and hope that this transition is as stable as possible so you can resume some kind of dialogue with north korea again. i think it makes sense to engage them, rather than isolate them, but you've got to watch things in the next 48 hours. i think what the north korean military commanders say the next day will be critical. >> we will be looking at and examining every single word. governor richardson, thank you. >> thank you. this morning for the first time since march of 2003 no u.s. combat troops in iraq. the last military unit left the country over the weekend and national corporate jim axelrod went along for the ride and he is at camp virginia in kuwait for us this morning. jim, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, chris. this is a picture you've been waiting to see. sons and daughters safely out of iraq, they focused on a volleyball game and getting home in time for christmas. eight years, eight months, 28

days after the iraq war started, this was how it ended. the final convoy of 30 vehicles, a unit of mps from the 1st cavalry crossing the border into kuwait. it marked the end after complex drawdown. still 50,000 u.s. troops in iraq as late as august. not every soldier was finding it easy to let go. sergeant david from harlingen, texas, lost 13 friends in the fighting here. >> some of my dearest friends, so many specialists, just right now come to me and hit me hard. >> reporter: most like lieutenant jennifer farland couldn't wait to get started. >> a little overwhelming, but we're watching history in the making. going to be pretty magical when we cross the border. >> reporter: the final installation left 2:30 sunday morning for the 5,110 mile

drive. dawn has just broken over southern iraq and we are approaching the border into kuwait. this is the next to the last vehicle of the u.s. convoy out of iraq. just a medevac unit is behind us. the soldiers are moments away from successfully accomplishing their last mission of the iraq war, getting out safely. for those waiting on the other side of the gate, it was time to celebrate. the first of the welcome parties waiting for the troops on their long way home. >> get there christmas eve, early in the morning. and see my wife and my son. >> reporter: there were no casualties on the last convoy which leaves the final number of u.s. troops killed in the iraq war at 4,484. a big part of the reason for their safe arrival here, the tremendous amount of air support offered by the military. at least 45 helicopters, fixed wing or unmanned aircraft accompanied the convoy and was responsible for its safe arrival

at camp virginia in northern kuwait. chris? >> jim, thank you so much. the latest from washington. congress may have to spend christmas at the capitol thanks to unexpected glitch. >> house republicans say they won't accept a compromise bill passed by the senate on saturday to keep that tax cut temporarily. >> it's pretty clear that i and our members oppose the senate bill. it's only for two months. i believe that two months is -- two months is just kicking the can down the road. the american people are tired of that, i think. frankly, i'm tired of. >> joining us from capitol hill is congressional correspondent nancy cordes. good morning. what happened over the weekend? friday, it did seem like there was a deal. >> reporter: what happens is house speaker john boehner briefed his house republicans on saturday and they were overwhelmingly opposed to this deal to the surprise of many. as you heard him say, the senate deal only extends the payroll

tax cuts two months because senate negotiators from the two sides couldn't agree on how to pay for it for an entire year. house republicans say that creates too much uncertainty. the american taxpayer won't know whether their tax cut is going to expire in another two months. so they are opposed. >> what happens if the senate bill does, in fact, fail in the house? >> reporter: it could very well fail. we are hearing what house republicans want is to negotiate with the senate and change the bill but senate democrats said flatly they are not coming back. the senate voted overwhelmingly to pass this bill on saturday. and then it left town for more than a month. keep in mind, if the two sides don't figure out a way to work this out, not only will the payroll tax cut exspeier but extended unemployment benefits will too. >> nancy cordes on capitol hill, thanks. it had been a couple of months since we had her kick the can down the road. >> i was thinking the same thing. i will be happy to say good-bye

to that fras as wephrase as wel a dangerous storm headed for the southwest and plain states this morning. blizzard conditions along with strong winds are expected. up to 18 inches of snow could fall in some places. winter storm watches and blizzard watches are in effect from colorado to kansas, oklahoma, texas, and new mexico. late on the hazing death of florida a&m band member respondent champion. the board of trustees meets today to decide the fate of the school's president. >> reporter: scrutiny shifts this morning to the school's president, the man responsible for the safety of all of its students. today, the school's board of trustees will vote whether to suspend him, pending the outcome of several investigations into the hazing death of drum major robert champion, a death now ruled a homicide. hours after the school marching band biggest performance of the year, the 26-year-old champion

died in a hazing attack a board a band bus. his parents have demanded full prosecution. >> you just kind of wonder what kind of people are these people that are doing this? >> reporter: champion's death uncovered a culture of hazing that has existed for decades within the famed marching 100. last week, three students were arrested for beating a female freshman band member in a separate alleged hazing initiation just weeks before champion's death. >> every allegations of hazing has been fully investigated. >> reporter: florida's governor wants the president suspended but the leaders of the school's national alumni association warrens that suspending the president could affect the university's accreditation. >> at the end of the day we want justice for robert champion and right now they are using the situation to attack the university. >> reporter: because champion's death was ruled a homicide, several students could face

felony charges, even second-degree murder. mark strassmann, cbs news, atlanta. in arlington, texas, a run-away cart on a football field caused a big scare. the unmanned cart plowed into several people after a high school playoff game on saturday. the winning coach fell into the krart befo cart before rolling out. a field worker got in it and stopped it. unclear how the cart got started in the first place. somebody did it. seven people suffered minor injuries. time for weather

still ahead, with only two weeks left until next year, it's time to start thinking taxes. >> already? the good news is we are going to have you krincrease your deductions and hopefully get you a bigger refund. who don't like that? you're watching "the early show" on cbs. the holidays are here, here comes that jiggling sound.

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over the past several weeks, tim tebow and the denver broncos have pulled out one last minute win after another. on sunday, though, they didn't! tom brady and the new england patriots ended that six-game winning streak! >> no tebow time in the fourth quarter but the broncos are still in the playoff hunt and tebow millions of fans are fascinated with him. coming up how long can the tebow phenomenon last?

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♪ welcome back to "the early show" at half past the hour. i'm erica hill along with chris wragge. nice to say that, by the way. i've missed you. >> i've missed you too. >> back together again. coming up this morning, the broncos and tim tebow didn't have a prayer on sunday. the new england patriots ending denver's six-game winning streak in a 41-23 romp. tebow couldn't keep up with tom brady. >> but the broncos loss hasn't dampened tem tim tebow fever. we will speak with the co-author of his memoir and why so many people are fascinated with the denver broncos quarterback tim tebow. first, a lot of fascination

with the republican presidential race. >> wyatt andrews has more. >> reporter: former speaker newt gingrich leads massachusetts governor mitt romney in most of the polls in iowa but when romney won the of "the des moines register. >> "the des moines register" this morning, endorsed mitt romney. i have to get your reaction. >> well, i'm actually delighted because the manchester union leader which is a reliably conservative newspaper endorsed me "the des moines register" did not endorse me and i think that indicates who the conservative in this race is. >> reporter: gingrich stayed away from criticizing mitt romney.

>> i'm not going to comment on governor romney. >> reporter: instead he stepped up his criticism of the judicial system. gingrich's attacks on what he calls out of touch activist judges is getting a response from the conservatives he needs, especially in iowa. >> we have had rulings that outlawed school prayer and rulings outlawed the cross and outlawed the ten commandsments and a steady secular drive to take this country away from its core beliefs. >> reporter: mitt romney, meanwhile, pocketed two key endorsements from two different wings of the republican party. first, the endorsement of former presidential nominee bob dole from the establishment side of the gop and then the backing of south carolina's governor nikki haley who is a favorite of the tea party. >> this is about looking at washington, seeing that it is in complete chaos and saying we can't have anybody associated with washington because we need someone to go in there and fix the problem. >> reporter: romney also appeared on a sunday public affairs show for the first time in nearly two years. and he used that time to target

president obama's handling of the economy. >> he is extraordinarily vulnerable because we will say how did that work, mr. president? your four years in office, just how well did those programs work? did the poverty decline in this country? did it go up? it went up. >> reporter: but romney is facing questions about his work pat an investment firm where democrats say romney got rich at the expense of laid off work e. >> i know that will be used. i know that. it will be fun. i recket president is going to go after me. i'll go after him. >> reporter: romney is still trailing gingrich in iowa, but gingrich's once commanding lead is slipping in almost every new poll and where gingrich once built that lead after several strong showings and debates, thee are no debates left between now and the iowa caucuses in two weeks. >> under two weeks before the first votes are cast. ron paul, where does he factor in in iowa right now? >> reporter: ron paul is a serious contender in iowa and

often left out of the national conversation but in iowa he has a very strong base. of the most recent polling of likely caucus goers, romney has slipped a little and gingrich a lot but ron paul is building on his base in iowa. >> wyatt andrews, thank you. terrell brown is here with another check of the headlines. we go to north korea here. north koreans mourning the death of kim jong-il. he ruled north korea to 17 years. he died of a heart attack saturday at the age of 69. kim's passing raises concerns about north korea's nuclear proram. his son kim junk unis expected to take over. a news agency reported that north korea tested its missile test. millions of people in the southwest and plain states are facing blizzard warnings this morning.

blizzard watches and winter storm watches are in effect from colorado to kansas, oklahoma, texas, and new mexico. up to 18 inches of snow is expected in some places, along with 45-mile-an-hour winds. time for weather. now here's a look at what's going on outside your wi coming up, we look at the tough campaign ads in the gop presidential race. >> we will ask a man if the ads with good and what makes for a

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the gop presidential race is heating up as they are putting out a flurry of negative ads on the tv and the internet. >> good to see you. before we get into some of the ads, you studied political ads using a technique called dial testing. give us a brief synopsis of what this is quickly. >> i've done over 2,000 ads and people react on a second by second basis. they use a remote-controlled device about that size and they react to every word, every phrase, every visual. they turn it up. if they gagree. >> what a lot of people see in the debates as people watch it, the lines. you dial tested two recent ads, anti-newt gingrich ads. one is serial hypocrisy.

>> support for an individual mandate? folks, don't ask me to explain this. everything that gingrich railed against when he was in the house, he went the other way when he got paid to go the other way. >> he is demonstrating himself to be the very essence of the washington insiders. >> it's about serial hypocrisy. >> translate the lines for us. >> when it goes above 50 it means it's having an impact. above 60 is a serious impact. the black and white grab your attention and use photographs of the speaker, but the actual words of people who spoke and that is one of the keys to effective negative ads. a lot of them don't work. the ones that work are credible. they use a specific fact or statistic. they have the actual visual and the voices of people involved and they deliver a call to action. that one had a very tough ending so that one was effective against the speaker. >> the serious voice of the announcer doesn't hurt either. >> actually, usually when you get that announcer voice, it's a

negative because people know that -- any time that you got that kind of fake drama, voters turn off. >> talk about this next ad here. this is from mitt romney's camp. you're not a big fan of this. shows gingrich and nancy pelosi together on a couch urging a solution to climate change. >> we agree our country must take action to address climate change. ♪ if enough of us demand action from our leaders. >> together, we can do this. >> with an ad like this, why didn't it work? >> they got the same black and white but it seems so manufactured and so fake. they assume by putting speaker gingrich next to speaker pelosi that would cause republicans to react negatively and it didn't. he they know people talk to each other and have conversations with each other so it's not credible. what is interesting ron paul is running the most negative campaign if iowa as he is climbing in the polls and i'm surprised that he is not more focused on building his own support rather than pulling the

speaker down. >> although, apparently, maybe that is why. he sees that it's working as we see his support rising. good to have you with us. thanks for coming in. ahead, the latest on the tim tebow phenomenon. >> he finally lost a game but his story is drawing in new fans all the time. this is "the early show" on cbs. we will talk about tim when we come back. honey, check your email! [ cellphone chimes ] [ cat yodeling ] kids! [ cat yodeling ] sing, larry, sing! [ cat yodeling ] we should have got a cat. [ male announcer ] get low prices on gifts to stay connected. order your last-minute gifts at walmart-dot-com and get free same-day pickup on select items. save money. live better. walmart. ♪ [ female announcer ] light up your season with a brighter, whiter smile. with crest 3d white professional effects whitestrips.

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right now, get 5% cash back at restaurants. it pays to discover. well, this necklace is awesome. honey, you're getting a necklace! see what i mean? i'll surprise you. please. [ male announcer ] the only place to go for last-minute christmas gifts. walmart. after a string of miraculous finishes, tim tebow's winning streak ended sunday as the denver broncos lost to the new england patriots. as tony guida tells us one defeat is not likely to turn people away from the biggest store why were in the nfl this season. >> reporter: tim tebow took the field this afternoon on the wings of an improbable winning streak and a prayer for it to continue. >> the biggest thing, you know, for us and our team is we continue to believe. >> tebow with time. >> reporter: faith or faith or opposition fouloffs have produced a mind bending string of last-second victories since

tebow took over at quarterback. a time maturing from curiosity into contender on the will of a man of deep religious faith. tebow's routine reflecting in prayer has contenders everwhere. on long island two were suspended for tebow'ing as it's called as 40 classmates blocked a hallway. >> thank you, jesus! >> reporter: tebow mania has reached that to "saturday night live." and tebow'ing has taken worldwide. people everywhere posting pictures of themselves on one knee in afghanistan, at the south pole, even under water. >> tebow still has it. breaks a tackle. taking off and he's in for the touchdown! they had him for a loss. >> reporter: >> reporter: tebow slipping free

of what looked like a sure tackle to score the game's first touchdown. but his miracles ended there. tebow fumbled and his teammates did too. the patriots capitalized on every mistake building a fourth quarter lead that even tebow's magic couldn't overcome. >> got the touchdown with green-ellis. >> reporter: the touchdown's drive to the end zone stalled but they are still keeping the faith. >> joining is nathan whitaker, co-author of teb os's best selling memoir "through my eyes. >> has the tebow nation come back to earth with this loss yesterday or are they still on cloud nine? >> i expect they are still pretty excited. he's just such a great kid and doing a great job and i'm sure that the broncos have a lot of bright spots in their. >> you know him very well. you wrote the book.

after just four games as an nfl quarterback. did you ever think that it would take on this type of level the way this kind of fanaticism that gripped the entire world not only the football nation. >> right. i think if it's because of the book. i wonder if his football doesn't have something to do with it too. it's amazing what he has done and how great this run is unprecedented for a young quarterback to do some of the things he has done and the broncos are playing great around him. >> does it surprise you, though? you see the tony guida piece we just showed, some of the reaction around the world and the way people are emulating him. does it surprise you he has the effect on people? he hasn't won a super bowl yet, only a couple of football games. >> it is surprising, sure. the one thing that makes some sense to me is what a good kid he is. just so likeable, so appealing to people, such a great role model so that part of it makes sense, but to the level it's

reached, it is pretty unique. >> is that what makes him so appealing? he says all of the right things. he deserves all of the credit to his teammate and not in the world of greedy athletes that are self-serving and kind of a team guy and i i guess would you say that leads the way, carries the day for him? >> that is a huge part of it. it was really hard to write a memoir with a guy who won't talk about himself. his parents raised him on proverbs 72. we never talked about most of the awards he won. he won so many and said why am i going to put these in a book? so, anyway, same thing with hospital visits. like he does so many good things and he said i didn't do that so we could write about it. >> a charitable guy. th nathan, thanks for taking the time. you're watching "the early show" on cbs. [ male announcer ] whether over a cup of maxwell house,

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♪ welcome back to "the early show" at the top of the hour. i'm erica hill along with chris wragge. this morning, the isolated nation of north korea is mourning its long time leader kim jong-il. however, across the dmz rallies celebrating kim's death at the age of 69. >> celia hatton is in beijing with more news for us. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. well, kim jong-il had been in ill health for years but news of his death still came as a shock to both those inside and outside the country. in the capital of pyongyang, north koreans openly wept. the shocked news anchor cried as she announced north korea's

so-called dear leader kim jong-il died of a suddenan heart attack saturday. as the communist country mourns kim's sudden death, it's urging its people to rally behind his third son and heir-apparent kim jong- jong-un. >> it's important to keep in mind that north korea is an organized crime family posing as a government. >> reporter: following the news of kim's death, china put its military on high alert. the bombshell comes days after u.s. and north korean officials discuss possibly resuming food aid to the country. the u.s. was set to announce a deal this week that could have included a pledge from north korea to stop its controversial uranium enrichment program. >> what you don't want right now is an escalation in the peninsula. i think south korea is playing it right. playing it cool. yes, you go on military alert, but just watch things as they develop and hope that this

transition is as stable as possible. >> reporter: an unnamed south korean government official is reporting to the south korean media that north korea test-fired a short range missile today. but sources in seoul are downplaying this news on reports of it was a routine test firing yet to be confirmed by the south korean military. >> celia hatton in beijing, thank you. we bring in norah o'donnell who was more on the u.s. reaction to kim's death. there was set to be an announcement about food aid later this week, and this could change things and potentially relations in the region. >> reporter: no doubt. this is a very big deal. the obama administration is deeply concerned about instability on the careeran peninsula. the issue of succession and -- for the leadership in north korea. finally, i'm told that this deal

is now in jeopardy. this would have been a significant deal where, for months, there have been these ongoing diplomatic talks where the united states would donate a large amount of food aid to the millions of starving people in north korea, in exchange, north korea would agree to suspend their uranium enrichment program. that is significant. now with the death of kim jong-il, i am told that is in jeopardy and it could be delayed. so that's a significant thing. certainly this administration is not talking about reengagement but they have had these splor to exploratory meetings. if the united states could get north korea to suspend their uranium enrichment program, that would be big. >> norah o'donnell, thanks. here is terrell brown at the news desk with a check of today's other headlines for us. jeff is off this morning. southwest and plain states are preparing to face a blast of wintry wedge morning.

winter storm watches and blizzard effects in effect from new mexico, texas, colorado and oklahoma and kansas. 18 inches of snow in some parts and 45-mile-an-hour winds. in indiana over the weekend, cars got stranded by snowy conditions. the house goes to work today on plans to extend the payroll tax cut at least a year. they rejected a bill that gave it a two-month extension. gas is dropping today. cost $3.22 for a regular of gas nationwi

announcer: this portion of "the early show" sponsored by clean next brand tissues. helping you sneeze shield your kids wherever they go. on "60 minutes" last night, we saw merle streep playing margaret thatcher in eye the iron lady." more to that interview you didn't see last night. we have it for you this morning. a clip from "60 minutes"

overtime on cbsnews.com. in it the oscar winner talks to morley safer about some her costars. >> reporter: i want to talk about the leading men. give me a thumbnail sketch of them and how de niro. >> we were shooting in a trailer in west virginia. the cinematographer had stripped down to, i'm sorry to say, his speedo underpants. it was 110. hi a wool mohair sweater on and the makeup man had to come in and mop. let me take your coat! and he never broke a sweat in a full dress. unbelievable. he has control! yeah. >> dustin hoff man. >> dustin.

dustin shocked me. because we were shooting a scene. >> you have to do what you have to do and i have to do what i have toed. >> i'm very sorry about this. >> my wine glass was sitting there and he just, with his hand, you know, brushed it so that it whizzed by my nose and broke on the wall and little pieces of glass, and then in another scene, he slapped me and when i see the movie, i see the imprint of his hand on the thing, not in the take that they used, but i still see the hand from the previous take. so that was like a trial by fire. i thought ew, maybe this is the method or something. but i think he's very, very gifted. it wasn't the most fun i've ever had on a film. >> reporter: kevin kline in "sophie's choice." >> i remember coming home from that experience and saying to my

husband, we can't do anything wrong. it's like, you know, you have -- when you make a movie, you have a good day, you have a bad day, you think, oh! i hope they reshoot that whole day, because i sucked or you know? >> this ring drove myself to you. >> it was really a wonderful experience. >> you also did theater with kevin kline. >> that's a different story. he did try to upstage me. i've spoken to him about it. >> jack nicholson. >> well, if you like to laugh, you know? which i do! you like to work with jack because it's pure, pure

pleasure. ♪ this evening has been so look out the window at the storm ♪ >> funny man off camera? >> funny man. generous man. smart man. all those things. >> clint eastwood. >> how many more have you got there? >> only a few. one more. two more. >> clint was the man that i've worked with that most of the other men were most intimidated by. >> i'm not out of date, am i? picking flowers for a woman, a sign of appreciation? >> no, not at all, except those are poisonous! which was not by virtue of anything he did, but by what he didn't do. he made no unnecessary gesture, he never raised his voice, except for once.

he's an instinctive effortless filmmaker. >> alec baldwin. >> janie, could i talk to you for a second? >> the one i like and the other one, i don't like at all. just kidding! but they will be worried. >> we love that. a great interview. >> she was amazing. up next, help yourself two ways. lower your taxes and improve your retirement. >> i'll take both, please. we will have those and other tax tips to help you. you can take advantage of all of them before the end of the year so get a pen, paper, and writing instrument ready. or a smart phone! you're watching "the early show" on cbs. kleenex. softness worth sharing. time is running out! sears last minute gift sale is on now.

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this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people wanted to visit us... in louisiana. they came to see us in florida... nice try, they came to hang out with us in alabama... once folks heard mississippi had the welcome sign out, they couldn't wait to get here. this year was great but next year's gonna be even better. and anyone who knows the gulf knows that winter is primetime fun time. the sun's out and the water's beautiful. you can go deep sea fishing for amberjack, grouper and mackerel. our golf courses are open. our bed and breakfast have special rates. and migrating waterfowl from all over make this a bird watcher's paradise. so if you missed it earlier this year, come on down. if you've already been here come on back... to mississippi... florida... louisiana... alabama.

the gulf's america's get-a-way spot no matter where you go. so come on down and help make 2012 an even better year for tourism on the gulf. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. we don't want to ruin your christmas cheer but. >> but we will.

>> we will give it our best. oh, good try. only two weeks left to improve your tax situation. >> here is how i'm looking at this. you could look at mr. glass half empty or we will go glass half full and try to get you more in your last two weeks of the year. last year the average refund was about a thousand dollars but a chance to get more money back. carmen wong ulrich is here with just in time tax tips. >> thank you for putting a positive spin on the segment! >> nobody likes to talk about taxes but since you're here, we do. >> ill talk about how you can save more money. of course. >> now i'm sold. >> can we get started? >> go for it. >> let's get started. medical deductions. please understand most folks would be able to deduct your monthly premiums and we know that this year, like every past couple of or three years, we are paying more and more in premiums. what about your copays to the doctor's office and other things you can get done before the end

of the year procedures you have to pay out of pocket? pile those together. if they are more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income, then take those. >> talk about charitable deductions. >> something interesting here. if you go online with your credit card and if you do that this month even if you pay the bill in january, keep that in mind. >> you want to make sure you pay your bill in full. >> exactly. if you're 70 1/2 or older can you give a hundred thousand dollars out of your i.r.a. to charity. not a deduction so you will mot pay taxes. when you take money out of ira you pay taxes on that but not if you donate to a charity. >> we talked about credit cards area un401(k) and your i.r.a.

what about longer term tax benefits? >> this is your retirement tax contributions. you're giving to yourself in the future and putting away money but you're also getting a deduction. this is the thing. your i.r.a. contributions the maximum of -- 5,000 and 6,000. for 2012 up by 500 so it's now $17,000 you can contribute. also if you have a s.e.p., this is a percentage of how much your company makes so that goes all the way up to 50,000. but don't forget if you are self-employed, too, all of the deductions you can take from everything from driving to go meet clients, taking people out, your home office. huge deductions every year. >> what is the glaring mistake the biggest mistake people make around this time where they are sacrificing themselves and not getting as much money back? >> the biggest problem is people getting too much money back and

that irks me. the government should not be your savings account. can you use that money every single amount. if the average refund is up to $3,000 you need to make sure you have the right amount in your w-4. do not have the government save your money. make sure you're doing it on your own. if you're owing a tiny bit, that's okay. >> my father-in-law is an accountant and says it's not them saving your money. you're giving them an interest-free loan. so ideally, we want to zero out when it comes to tax time. >> you want to be as close to zero as possible. irs goff has a website where you can come out pretty much even. don't give them that free money. i know you're heading there right now, wragge. >> i am. you think i'm not interested in this. >> we are going to open up the laptops and see if we can get the url open faster. >> i like it. >> good to see you. up next, a surprising look at utensils that are supposed to be biodegradable.

>> supposed to be! we will see just how friendly they are ahead. rñ

there is a lot of pressure these days on businesses to use green products especially instead of plastic. one good example disposable utensils that go in the compost pile. sounds like a great idea. >> but environmentalists say the knives and spoons and forks don't cut it. juli watts of our san francisco station kpix reports. >> reporter: diners of this outdoor cafe like more than the food. they also like the cutlery. >> it's great. >> a nicer texture. doesn't taste as plasticy j even better the sign says it's compostible. >> this is what happens after going through a composting process. >> reporter: san francisco zero waste coordinator jack macy says these pieces of utensils were fished out of a finished compost

pile at this facility. >> they are basically intact. >> reporter: he says they not the only green utensils not living up to consumer expectations. >> it's very frustrating. consumers are be duped. they are nationally confused there's so much mislabeling. >> reporter: macy takes issue with the word of biodegradable. >> if it's labeled that, those words are meaningless. >> reporter: because environmentalists say everything is biodegradable, given enough time. some call that kind of labeling green washing. >> you're making your product look green when it really is not green. >> the consumer believes there is an environmental benefit associated with that product and why they label it that way. >> reporter: and scott smithline of california against waste says even many utensils certified as compostable by third-party testing aren't breaking down by commercial composting conditions. >> i'm not aware of any composter wants compostable

utensils. they need to have a thickness for function but the thickness acts for microbial degradation. >> reporter: utensils are certified compostable if tests show they break down within 180 days of a composting operation but the average composting cycle is less than half that. a study last year in san diego found none of the 27 certified compostible utensils put through a normally composting cycle showed any sign of degradation. why the discrepancy? smithline says it's about money. >> composters make a good quality product as quickly as they can and how they make money. >> reporter: they say compostibles not enough to warrant changing the system, but what happens to all of those utensils that get sent to commercial composters? smithline says most get screened

out very very beginning of the process and end up going to [ female announcer ] more people are using wireless devices...

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♪ that's right. central park, makes you just want to jump right in. >> into the boating pond?

♪ >> that's right. central park, makes you just want to jump right in. >> into the boating pond? >> 38 degrees today here in new york. a great day to go swimming. welcome back to "the early show." i'm chris wragge, along with erica hill. this has been a great year for viral videos. remember the talking dog? >> who could forget? >> come on. talk. come on, baby, talk. >> i went to the fridge. >> this has got over 70 million hits on youtube. 70 million. coming up, we will show you more of the hottest international videos of the year. >> that dog has very clean teeth too, by the way. also ahead, a look at the local legend that is being called america's lock nest monster for centuries. centuries, people have said they see champ in the deep waters of lake champlain. plus, we all know the

fruitcake is the most notorious christmas gift of all, but if you give friends or family a really good loaf of -- what is this? >> panettone? >> they will thank you for it. this tasty italian dessert bread is one of katie lee's favorite holiday treats. she is here with us this morning and show us exactly how it is made. it cannot rival the fruitcake, right? >> and in georgia, the fruitcake capital. did you know that. >> you were on vacation that week and you were there. drivers converting cars and trucks to run on cooking oil instead of gasoline. now ford is using the same general idea to actually build new cars. >> the automaker's green initiative is growing into an environmental revolution as betty nguyen reports. >> reporter: researcher debbie

mielewski is a true environmental i-iis environmentalist. >> reduce our dependence on petroleum and conserve the environment. >> reporter: she is finding ways to get rid of the oil-based plastics in all of the company's vehicles. about 300 pounds per car. >> what we are trying to do is substitute in things that are more environmental or we could grow in this country and put that into the vehicles for all of the plastics around you. >> reporter: most other manufacturers are undertaking scholarship efforts. but ford's biomaterials team may be the most ambitious. the research here is already paying off in a big way. instead of oil from the middle east, a lot of the material in ford vehicles like foam used in seat cushions and head rests is derived from american-grown soybeans. >> it used to be made entirely of petroleum and now we substitute up to 25% soy oil instead of that petroleum oil. >> reporter: that adds up to over 3 million pounds of soy

oil, a boon for the environment and farmers. future material in ford's green pipeline will come from the farm like this bioset that sounds good enough to eat made from soy, sugar cane and corn and that is just the beginning. >> everything you're looking at here, the fabric, the hard plastics are 100% corn-based. >> reporter: by now, you may have noticed something else. all of the scientists here are women. some call them the material girls. >> my main focus is looking at biobased resins. >> reporter: plastics research engineer angela harris started here as an intern. she says having great female mentors has been an inspiration. >> when you see someone love their job and you see someone's passionate about the environment or automotive, it rubs off on you and becomes a part of who are and you can't help but get excited about it.

>> reporter: so is it just chance that brought these women together? or is there some deeper connection? >> i don't necessarily know that men don't care about the environment. but we all do have very young children and we all are concerned about resources being there and keeping the planet as clean as we possibly can for the next generation. >> reporter: actually, henry ford himself was very interested in going green before there was any environmental movement to speak of. he built this soy car in 1941, but shelved the project because of the war. >> every time we think that we had a brand-new idea and we start working on it in the lab, we will always run across a historical document where henry ford had already done this work because he felt so strongly about it. >> reporter: now ford's dreams are finally being realized bay team each he could never have imagined. >> before i retire, i would love to see every single plastic material in the interior,

exterior and under the hood of the vehicles produced from a sustainable resource. >> reporter: betty nguyen, cbs news, new york. 35 minutes past the hour. here is terrell brown at the news desk with a final check of today's other headlines for us. under everamerican droned plane someone on the ground under the controls. studies show they overworked. it shows they are emotionally exhausted and many work 50 to 60 hours per week. the report says that the mind numbing monotony and increasing work loads put strains on family. syria's computer foreign minister signed a deal with the arab league and aimed at ending a nine-month crackdown on demonstrating protests. in egypt a fourth straight day of deadly protests. three people were killed today

after egyptian soldiers opened fire during a raid. that brings the overall death toll from recent protests to at least 14. the demonstrators are demanding an end to military rule. some of the outrage is fueled by a viral video showing a young woman beaten by police this weekend. her religious robe being pulled off exposing her in public. that's a big deal and against i islamic law. one soldier did try to cover her up to protect her modesty. people are gathering to remember heubel. he died yesterday at the age of 75. he was a hero to his country for leading the peaceful revolution toppling the regime in 1985. the first 11 months of this year were found to be the safest

ever to air travel. christmas eve is my deadline, by the way. 7 minutes past the bottom of the hour. time for one more check of your weather. now here's a look at what's going on outside your window.

do you remember remember the twins who talked in air own language? the little guy dressed as darth vader? two of the videos that went viral this year on youtube. >> here with a look back at some of this year's amazing online videos is bridget carey of cnet.com. i do love the darth vader one. >> super cute. hard not to love it. >> good to be here. humor is always the big thing that makes a video go viral. >> is that the big selling point? you say i want to put something out there that will make a big impact? >> get your pet on there or get a baby on there. if have you a pet and a baby, double the bonus, yeah. >> let's take a look at some of the videos that have generated the most buzz. first is, let's do the talking dog. take a look here. >> food. i just couldn't stop thinking about it. >> yeah?

>> so, yeah. >> i went to the fridge and i opened up the meat drawer. you know what the meat drawer is, right? >> yeah. what was in there? p>> i'll tell you what was in there. you know that bacon that is like maple? that maple flavor? >> the maple kind, yes. yeah. >> i took that out. i thought, i know who would like that. me! so i ate it! >> oh! you're kidding me? >> those eyes! >> no way did that dog. >> you may not have seen it but 73 million people and counting did. >> yeah. then the talking babies. we don't know what they are exactly talking about. probably one is missing a sock or something but it's adorable. a conversation in the kitchen. >> these are the twins, right? >> dah, dah, dah, dah, dah! dah, dah, dah! dah, dah, dah, dah! dah, dah, dah!

>> dah, dah, dah, dah! >> dah, dah, dah, dah! dah dah! dah, dah, dah. >> the twins do have their own language. >> let them keep going. >> we only have so much time for this segment. we have to move it along. >> yeah, exactly. that was just historical. the mom just like just filming. you never know what you can catch. >> 56 million people have viewed that in all. it is good stuff. commercials also get a whole lot of play. the old spice guy. >> you remember the guy from last year and this year? >> now this year it was your guy. >> yeah, a kid dressed up as darth vader to use the force around the house. it's the volkswagen commercial from the super bowl. until he or she gets to dad's car. he is a little spoofed. maybe the force was unleashed. >> that was a good one. it did get plenty of play. these are one type but there are also people who put things out there of themselves, not just their kids or their pets or a

commercial. what makes something, you know, grab a lot of attention if you're going to put it out there online? >> something candid. something just real captured in the moment, or in the case of one, something captured on a web camera, two cute seniors who does not know they were -- >> they were our national correspondents. >> we loved them. they joined us on the show. they were fantastic. >> they were trying to figure out their web cam antididn't know it was recording the whole time. >> 9 million viewers saw them. >> then the case of a 29-year-old girl who recorded herself getting a hearing device at the doctor where she heard her own voice for the first time after 29 years of being deaf. incredible. people were so touched by that. i've seen that all over facebook. >> news moments, the pepper spray incident was recently out in california. a lot of traction and a lot of that coming on youtube. >> right. i mean, and the case of the

pepper spray cop here, and just all of occupy. it was just a movement on youtube this year. might not have been one or two massive videos, but the whole movement as a whole. >> collectively, yeah. >> between that and twitter, it did kind of help fuel or continues to help fuel them. let's talk about people, actually fake moments to kind of make their own viral video. >> sometimes you can be successful faking that honest moment. there is one where a woman puts on e harmony video a little personal profile video of herself and calls herself debbie and she has a real big passion for cats. >> i'm sorry. i'm thinking about cats again! i think about how many don't have a home! and how i should have them! and how cute they are! and their ears.

and their little nose. i just love them! and i want them! and i want them! and i want bow ties! >> like a freak. >> yeah, i mean, you see that has poor audio quality and poor video quality but she is an actress and has this stuff online selling all of this maryland. >> does that mean she is not eligible? >> i was wondering why i didn't hear back from her. the service worked! good for her. >> bridget, thanks. always fun to look back at these. >> i have never tried eharmony, for the record! mornings our legal legends series goes to lake champlain where they say there is a watery beast named champ. >> he has a video and own coffee cups and tv shirts but the poor

guy probably isn't seeing any of the profits. here is the story of champ from two long time residents who say, yes, they have seen champ. >> i've been doing champ stories for 28 years in contrast to stories that people disagree with about town budgets and things like that. almost no one disagrees with a champ story. everyone loves a champ story. >> they always describe him as very long, slender neck. the long neck and very long body. >> look to be maybe eight or ten feet long. >> it was sort of a dark greenish brown, brownish-green. >> maybe 10 to 12 inches in diameter and round like a snake or a certiserpent. >> i turned to my husband in the '80s when we were driving what is that thing out there? when i turned my head back, here is the concentric circles in the water moving out and the post

was gone. now posts don't just disappear. they float or stick up or do something! they just don't go down. >> i've seen bulauga whales and i've seen a lot of things and my mind was not able to put this in any category i ever thought of. >> it's fun to have things devoted to champ and funny how many people come this looking for something that has champ on it and funnier when people come in and say where can i find champ? where can i go to see him? >> champ originated in a diary that he wrote in 1609 he had seen a sea serpent in the lake with large scales that reflected in the sunlight. most of the people i talked to who say they have seen champ say they have seen a large creature of some type coming out of the lake. >> there are times when you see things in the lake and you

think, geez, i wonder if that could be champ? this is the one time he'll show himself. >> on summer weekends around cocktail hour, you will see out here a couple of humps. >> i think it's the idea of something mysterious, something maybe almost super natural, a prehistoric throwback living in lake champlain and makes life a little more interesting. >> do we want this killed or shot and finally found and determined absolutely, no, i don't, because there are so few mysteries left in the world that they have been .q!

some people say fruitcake is a rodney dangerfield christmas gift. . it gets no respect. >> katie lee says there is a great alternative if you don't like fruitcake. an italian dessert. >> reporter: my personal favorite is panettone. it's out of this world.

panettone is a christmas tradition in italy, right? >> yeah, absolutely. >> reporter: tell me about that. >> many legends how panettone originated. some say came 1600s from a little baker his name was tony. for the christmastime, they were very poor back then and they were making traditional bread and for the holidays, spruce it up a little bit and put some raisins and vanilla and people liked it and not only that, the pannettone name came about. >> tell me about your family's panettone. >> 1936 we would old bakery and our recipe has been the same ever since. >> reporter: what are some different ways to serve panettone? >> traditional ways which is simple. this one here with plain whip cream. toasted it with whip cream. the whip cream can be replaced

by -- then a rich experience. my mom loves it. she has to have it. or egg nog mousse which you have right here. >> reporter: this looks good and sinful. good thing i worked out this morni morning. >> it is good. >> reporter: that's where it's at. that is so good! wow. wow. let me try it this way too. delicious. >> we're digging in. katie brought some panettone back for us this morning. you brought it naked but it's still delicious. >> this is so you can get the flavor of it and taste the vanilla and citrus. it's so good. it's definitely not a fruitcake. it kind of has that reputation sometimes but it has dried fruit and that is where the similarity

is at. >> much lighter and won't break your shelf. >> it's ♪

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the only people who knew about us were those in new england, that moment that we got our first web order... ♪ ...we could tell we were on the verge of something magical. all of a sudden it just felt like things were changing. we can use this to advertise to bakers everywhere. [ man ] browns summit, north carolina. crescent city, california. we had a package go to kathmandu once. the web has been the reason this entire section of the warehouse exists today. we were becoming more than this little flour company in vermont. [ woman ] we're all going after one common goal, which is to spread the joy of baking throughout the whole world. ♪ ♪ ♪