good morning. a powerful storm causes whiteout conditions from new mexico to kansas, leaving at least six people dead and many more stranded as police shut down major highways. as north korean dictator kim jong il lies in state, there is growing concern over his son and successor who is said to have a history of violence. we'll get the latest from the white house. there is much less violent clooim crime in america this year. the fbi says murder, rape b, robbery are all down more than 5%. we'll find out why. are you ready for some darkness? monday night football held up twice as the lights go out on the steelers and 49ers go out last night. early this tuesday morning,

last night. early this tuesday morning, december 20th, 2011. captioning funded by cbs it sort of looked like that last night at the game. >> very, very tough to control your offense with no lights on. >> it definitely is. >> good morning, let's begin this morning with a deadly blizzard. >> it's terrible. it's causing a major problem for travelers in the southern plains because of high winds and more than a foot of snow in some areas. >> new mexico had to shut down highways. hundreds of drivers are stranded there and one driver said he hasn't seen a storm like this since the 1970s. cynthia, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, chris. i'm in salina, kansas, where smart people are hunkered down. half a foot of snow is forecast for this city and that may end by the end of the day.

blizzard like conditions were brought to places that don't normally get it like new mexico and the texas panel handle. fast-falling snow whipped by furious. 40-mile-per-hour winds made a dangerous situation turn deadly. >> four people were killed and two seriously injured in a two-vehicle accident in eastern new mexico near the texas border. authorities believe heavy snow and high winds are to blame. the storm is also being blamed for two deaths in colorado when a van lost control on an icy highway with snow and wind that obscured the western landscape, the southwest snowstorm made its way east to kansas. in garden city to the west, the storm slammed the heartland's highways, affecting cars, suvs and tractor-trailers alike, all left stranded along the road. the blizzard started monday in new mexico, forcing the closure of multiple inner state around the town of ratone.

>> they told us it's whiteout conditions. >> more than 50 miles of i-25 were closed north from tan sa faye to colorado. >> even if they get past any of our checkpoints, they can't see. visibility is so poor that it makes it impossible to pass through that area. >> reporter: the pre-christmas winter blast whipped through parts of texas and oklahoma where forecasters say up to 16 inches could fall on the panhandle by tend of the day, bringing with it up to 35-mile-per-hour winds. authorities say at least 100 texas motorists have been rescued. >> they have to go real, real slow. they can't hurry. with the visibility like it is, just find some place where they can get to shelter is the thing and stay off the road. >> more snow will be around the texas panhandle and western kansas. to the east and to the north, there could be a lot of rain. this has been an area that's seen a lot of drought and any

precipitation is greatly needed. >> cbs and cynthia bowers in salina, kansas, where the snow is conditioning to fall at this hour. this morning, u.s. officials are watching for any signs of trouble inside north korea after the death of dictator kim jong il. >> and kim's designated successor may be no better than his father even if he is able to keep control of the country. nora joins us this morning. good morning. >> good morning to you. a senior u.s. officials tells me this morning that their biggest concern is instability. a period of succession is a period of instability. that's why we've seen u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton reed reach out to a lies, with japan, south korea, all of it aimed at the goal of stability. >> we reiterate our hope with

improved relations with the people of north korea and remain deeply concerned about their well being. >> reporter: south korea is now on high alert after kim jong il's death weary that armed forces show strength.. the white house spokesman joe carney says the united states has no plans to follow suit. >> we will monitor the situation. we will evaluate behavior and act accordingly. but that was always the case. we just -- it's too soon to know what the next period will look like. >> reporter: too soon because very little is know about kim's successor. the baby faced third son, kim jong un who is in his late 20s. his exact birthday, marital status and even the name of his mother are secret. it is believed that he attended border school in switzerland. still, he's not a complete

stranger to the 24 million people he now rules. last year, he was introduced as his father's successor, passing over his two older brothers who officials describe as lazy playboys. >> the issue here isn't about personalities. it's about the actions of the government. >> reporter: but a senior u.s. officials i spoke to told me the jury is still out on kim jong un. he is young, inexperienced and has, quote, proclivities towards violence. so for that reason, this deal that would send food aid to some 6 million starving north koreans is on hold. officials i spoke to said they thought they were close to a deal where north korea would get this food aid and in return they would take steps to end their uranium enrichment program. >> nora, thanks. we want to take a look now

at the battle to extend that payroll tax cut. the house is set to vote down the plan to extend that for two months nancy, good morning. where do we stand right now? any developments overnight? >> reporter: well, yes, chris, but they weren't positive. house republicans met for hours. when they came out of that meeting, they said they were not going to hold an up or down vote on the senate package to extend the payroll tax cut for two months. after all, it's possible that many of them didn't want to have to go on record as voting against a tax cut. instead, today, they'll hold a vote on a weaker measure which essentially says we don't like that plan very much and we want senate democrats to come back and negotiate. >> nancy, a question for you, what are the chances of the senate coming back? as you told us yesterday, they left. zlr they left and senate majority leader harry reid is

saying they are not coming back. he said he already negotiated a by partisan deal with republicans and he says it passed over the weekend and they'll come back in the new year and work to extend it for the rest of the year. house republicans say that creates too much uncertainty for the taxpayer not knowing whether this payroll tax cut is going to expire after two months or not. so they want a one-year deal. >> all right. cbs's nancy cordes on capitol hill for us this morning, nancy, thank you. if you're feeling safer this morning, there is a reason for that. >> bob orr joins us from washington with more on that story. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, eric ra. the 6.5% drop in violent crime you're talking about continues a five-year decline that shows the numbers of murders, rapes and robberies steadily falling. in the first six months of 2011, robberies in los angeles dropped 10% from the number reported in the first half of 2010. over the same time period,

chicago reported 14% fewer murders. and in dallas, the number of rapes fell by 2%. the fbi says these are not statistical flukes. nationwide, violent crime is down sharply across all categories. murder down 5.7%. rape just over 5%. robbery down more than 7.5%. and assault almost 6%. prime analysts credit an aging population, stiffer prison sentence and better policing. >> they're using technology, they're using data, crime patterns, maps, to figure out where are the hot spots, what's the trend in terms of crime and trying to be proactive. >> criminology gist james allen fox disputes the popular myth that crime should be going up in a bad economy. >> people are either -- criminals are not, independent of whether they have a job. >> crime is down in big and small cities in every geographic region. the northeast saw a drop of about 3.5% in the first half of the year.

in the south, crime fell 5.8%. and in the west, about 6.5%. the biggest decrease, though, was in the midwest where violent crime dropped nearly 10%. >> we should also tell you property crimes, burglaries and arson all dropped in the first six months of 2011. but it could be a challenge to keep driving those crime rates lower with all mrils departments under constant budget pressures. >> cbs's bob orr for us, thank you. >> with us here in the studio, chairman of parole, former chief of police in los angeles, new york city and boston. nice to have you with us. when you see these statistics, obviously, these are the numbers you want to see. you want to have a downward trend. but it's unexpected. what do you attribute to this drop? >> in the 1990s, crime tipped in the united states. the u.s. federal government invested money in 100,000 more cops, better technology, more

bad people went to jail. after 25 years of crime going up in 1990, our worst crime year, the 1990s began to go down because we invested in our criminal justice system. this is some of the residual effects of that tipping. >> the criminology gist we just saw a second ago in bob's story says criminals are criminals whether you have jobs or not. do you believe that? >> i've been advocating that for 20 years. some of the criminology gists have a lot of eggs on their face at the moment. people cause crime. the economy is an influence, drugs are an influence, but what police got much better at was identifying who was committing the crime, hot spot police b, focusing on them, stiffer sentences for a lot of those people. the good news is this will continue for a lot of those people. but to the extent more money can be invested back into policing criminal justice systems, it may start going that way. >> how important has that been,

though? part of your success wag turning on this whole thing that you've been talking about here as far as being able to profile different people in different areas where police were there where the crime actually happens. how instrumental has that been. >> combatting crime? >> absolutely critical. in the 1990s, we began to focus once again on preventing crime. 60s, 70s, 80s, we focused on responding to crime. it's different to try to prevent it and we've become very successful at preventing it. we've now moved into a new era where we're getting very good at being able to predict where crimes are going on occur and getting resources in there before they actually do. sounds like something out of a tom cruise movie. >> it does, actually. but some of the concern, and bob touched on this at the end of his piece, is budgets, quite frankly. it all comes down to money in a lot of ways. how is that impacting a lot of these programs do you think heading forward? >> the irony of it is the technology that's available, the better training of police, we

could keep this crime issue going down, down, down. it's down the 1 straight years in new york, nine straight year in los angeles. but the disinvestment of government at the moment is going to be a potential problem down the line. right now, we are still feeling the residual benefits of the 1990s at tipping point when federal government, state government, local government and communities, everybody engaged in the collaborative partnership and we're seeing the benefits of it. the irony of it, this is the only good news in the country at the moment. physical gridlock in washington, crisis around the world, the economy in the tank and nobody is paying attention to it. >> that's what we're trying to bring attention to this morning. sadly, though, there is one element of these statistics where the news is not good and that's police brutalities, up 16% from last year. here in the new york area, everyone mourning the loss of one of new york's finest, peter fregoski killed last week. yesterday you see 15,000 police officers all show to mourn the

loss of this numbers. why are the numbers rising with police fatalities? >> no matter how quickly controlling crime spikes, you will always have that. this year, it is up and assaults on police. particularly those involving guns. sadly, the lack of gun control laws in this country. but the good news is that overall, the trending over time has been down. i was around in the days where we had 130, 140 police officers killed. each police officer death is a tragedy in and of itself. yesterday, one of new york's finest of the finest. but i think that this year is an aberration that hopefully will, in fact, not repeat itself next year. >> bill bratton, pressure to have you with us this morning. thank you. debbie turner bell is at the news desk with a check of the other headlines. jeff is off. debbie is in. good to see you. >> good to see you. it's a big win for apple over the iphone. the federal government is

ordering an import ban on ace tc smartphones that infringe on iphone's patent. the ban will not take effect until april 19th so wireless carriers will have time to adjust their plans. htc is a majormaker of google's android operating software. at&t is officially abandoning its attempt to buy t-mobile. the deal was valued at $39 billion and would have created the largest cell phone company in the united states. it was opposed by the justice department amid concerns the paring would create fewer cell phone choices. the hazing death of band member robert champion is focusing on 30 people involved in the hazing. so far, no one person has been identified.

among those involved are current students as well as alumni. meanwhile, the board of trustees ruled yesterday that the school's president can keep his job for now pending the investigation. and there was a dramatic end to a police chase through the streets of los angeles last night. after about a half hour, the driver, a kidnapping suspect finally got out holding a 4 yield girl. that's when about a dozen officers rushed him, taking away the girl. the suspect was arrested and thankfully the child was not hurt. and they could have used a little candlelight at candlestick park last night. the lights went out twice during the steelers game on monday night football. at some point, fans even used their fen phone lights. not clear what caused the power failure, but eventually the home

still to come here on the latest cbs news poll finds newt gingerich and mitt romney neck and neck two weeks before the iowa caucuses. we'll see why gingerich is a little more worried about it. and homeowners beware, dishonest contractors out there, some of them caught on video damaging homes to get the insurance money. we'll help you avoid that. this is "the early show" on cbs.

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kind of an important election on the horizon. >> yep. >> typically, when you're dealing with an election year, there are a lot of charges, political charges, a lot of stuff gets said. the big question, especially for you, the voter, how much of that is actually true? how many of those statements? >> luckily for us, the pull it'ser prize website, keeps track of everything that comes out of their mouth. >> everything. >> it gives us a rating, true, false or pants on fire, we'll let you know what they're saying. i take an omega for my heart.

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and welcome back to "the early show." i'm chris wrag xw e along with erica hill. good morning, my friends. >> good morning. >> ready to kick off this had a hour? >> let's do it. >> storms can wreck your property and mess up your life, but there is something else for homeowners to worry about, scam artists who come to your home to collect insurance monies. >> we actually caught some of these guys on video, apparently damaging homes. we'll take a closer look at how they operate, just how much money the insurance companies are losing on this. why is that important what they lose? because every time the insurance company loses a little money, oftentimes that's passed on to

you as a higher premium. >> guess what, guys? we got you. but first, we want to get to the latest on the republican race for president. in the latest cbs news poll, voters tell us it is a two-man race two weeks before the iowa caucuses. >> and dean reynolds is in iowa city with more for us. >> reporter: good morning. our cbs poll basically confirmed that nationally, at least, the front-runners for the gop nomination are mitt romney and newt gingerich. both candidates are tied now with 20% of the republican vote nationally. and everyone else is far behind. and yet it is gingerich who seems most worried that his support may be eroding. >> the answer falls -- >> reporter: repeatedly urging audiences in iowa monday to ig more the negative ads of his opponents that are flooding the air waves here. >> newt got rich, made millions off of freddie mac. >> does anything i have found

saddening, not shocking, but saddening about this campaign, it has been the weight of totally negative campaigns by people who apparently have nothing positive to offer. >> reporter: the former speaker said those behind the attacks which question his leadership, his healthics and his conservativism are reprehensible. >> the next time you see one of the candidates running the negative ads, ask him to take it off the air. >> he was find $300,000 four ethics allegations. >> reporter: in person, romney has been less aggressive and last night he was down right comical on "the late show" with david letterman, romney handled the top ten things he would like to say to the american people. >> isn't it time for a president who looks like a 1970s game show host. >> yes. >> i have no proof, but i have a feeling canada is planning something. it's a hair piece.

>> meanwhile, the other hopefuls in iowa were taking buses around the state, hoping to drum up support in the two weeks remaining before the caucuses. now, all of the candidates will be waiting to hear an official word from a group called the family leader. that endorsement could be critically important. erica. >> could carry a lot of weight. dean reynolds, thanks. now over to debbie turner-bell at the news desk with a check of the headlines. >> good morning to you. a monster snowstorm is blasting the southwest and the great plains this morning. here is the scene in oklahoma this morning where the snow started early yesterday. the storm has closed highways across five states and is blamed for at least six traffic deaths. the body of north korean

ruler kim jong il remains on public display in north korea's capital this morning. weeping mourners filed past his glass coffin today. his son and apparent successor also visited the body along with top military officials. and in london, a royal knight on the red carpet. prince william, kate and prince harry attended the awards which honors members of the armed forces. kate wore a lovely black gown designed by andrew m

just ahead, the biggest lie of the year in politics. >> lots of competition out there. can you guess what it is? lots of lies coming up here on "the early show" on cbs. >> but here, nothing like that. 1-2, 1-2-3-4

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well, we all know politicians can stretch the fact to fit their agenda. but i know -- >> excuse me? >> where am i coming up with this stuff? >> i'm going to need a moment to process that. >> it's hard to stand up and call them liar he, though. and that's where politifact comes in and does that for us. >> basically, what they do is they take a look at what politicians say and they take a look at how honest or truthful those remarks are. at the end of the year, they reveal the year's biggest lie. bill adair is here to reveal the world's biggest lie. you spend the whole year looking

at all the different things you've looked at to come down to the biggest lie. what takes top becomes for 2011? >> the claim that republicans voted to end medicare. and this was a claim we heard over and over again after the house voted in april on a budget by paul ryan. it's just not true. the way they say it, they say the house voted to end medicare. that's not what they did. the house voted to protect medicare on people who are 55 or older, but to privatize it and restructure it in a drat mattock way for people who are younger. it's wrong to say end medicare and it's the classic scare tactic we've seen targeting the elderly for many years. >> what we're going to do is the give the folks at home a look at some of the ads that support the biggest lie. take a look. ♪

>> the someone call the fire department? because it's about to get hot in here. >> so, obviously, there wasn't a whole lot of production value with those ads. but why in this lie, in your estimation, trump all the others that you had to choose from? >> well, and i think those ads illustrate it. there were actually two videos that you edited together there. the first one had the paul ryan look alike pushing the old lady off the cliff. again, it's targeting -- it's targeting an audience of elderly people. but the elderly people are actually protected under the ryan plan. so it really was a distortion of what ryan was trying to do, which was change the plan and save money for people who were younger. and, you know, it's amazing when you go back in history, this

kind of attack has been going on since 1952 at least. why? because it works. >> health care in general has really been a source of attack and politically we know it's been a bit of a hot potato over the last two years. it's three years, is that how many years you've been seeing a spike in all of these health care claims? >> well, in fact, for three years, our lie of the year has involved health care. last year it was the claim by republicans that the health care law was a government takeover. the year before that it was death panels. and health care is right for bill big falsehoods because it's complicated, there are life or death stakes to it. and i think everybody is worried, am i going to be able to afford health care? so i wouldn't be surprised if we see another lie of the year involving health care. >> let's take a look at some of the other finalists here. michele bachmann, who had this one, let's take a look at it real quick in regards to the hpv debate. >> i had a mother last night come up to me here in tampa,

florida, after the debate. she told me that her little daughter took that vaccine, that injection, and she suffered from mental retardation thereafter. >> what did you find when you investigated this claim? >> we rated that false on our truth-o-meter. the doctor's organizations came out and were very critical of congressman bachmann for saying that, saying something that was not based on medical evidence, going out with something based on one anecdote. that was a finalist. ultimately, we didn't pick that one because it didn't have the reach that the medicare claim did. definitely, a big false hood in 2011. >> pill, you will be busy over the next year or so. we look forward to check it out at politifact.com. coming next, how to finish off your flexible spending account. >> you don't want to lose the money, right? we're going to help you with that. (greenery) hey cheese log. (cheese log) hello centerpiece.

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time is running out if you have a health care flexible spending account. >> here to help us use that money and not lose it, carmen wong ulrich. do you really have to spend all of this money? >> you do. at some point, you have to. for a lot of folks, it's now, it's at the end of this year. some companies give you an extension until march 15th. check and make sure you know when your deadline is. if you saved up that money if you haven't used it by the 31st by next week, it is gone. >> and 40 million americans use this. i've been using it for years. i'm a big fan. but there are some changes. we talked a little bit about this during open enrollment time. but there are some changes heading forward which we really need to be aware of. >> exactly. let's take a look at what the fsa does cover for you now, today. so for this year, dental work and cleaning, physical exam, eye

and hearing exam, acupuncture, cairo prattic prescriptions and your copays. that is still covered, of course. here is what's not covered any more. over-the-counter medications. this used to be covered in 2010 previous, 2011, this is new, over-the-counter medications, drugstore items such a as contact lens solution, that used to be covered. no cosmetic procedures and not your insurance premiums, either. >> this is the kind of things a lot of people need to be aware of the. >> yes. and adjust your plan for next year. because of these changes, if you find yourself with too much money, adjust what's been withdrawn from your paycheck next year. >> what about health savings account? >> very different. that's like a trust. consider it a 401(k) style of thing. to save for your health care costs. now, you have to be part of a high deductible insurance plan or you have to have no coverage

to qualify pore hsa. this is portable, right? so it goes with you from job to job. if you lose your job, you can always have it. contributions, tax deductible. employer contributions, not considered income. and you can invest this money. you can keep it forever. health care costs will be 30% of your costs for retirement. it's considered tax free. >> if people are sitting al at home to make sure where to go before the first of the year the s in play, where do they go? >> you have to go to your employer. check outer fsa, make some adjustments for next year and see if you're qualified for an hsa. a lot of folks, their health care coverage changed and an hsa is valuable. you can save a lot of money. >> and in terms of the not so fun part of this, go back and look at all those receipts. >> exactly. and i bet you do that since

you're a good fan of the program. >> i try to. i'm not carmen. i hope you do it because it is worthwhile. that money is all pretax. if you're in a general tax bracket, that's $3,300 that you put away. that's a lot of money. >> and once you have kids, if you have parents you're taking care of, it's really important. >> exactly. >> you need to get a carmen app for your iphone. >> i'm building unwith. >> are you? >> thank you, carmen. great to see you. up next, a different kind of storm chaser. >> con artists who try to cash in on unsuspecting homeowners. investigators say it's nothing but insurance fraud. i can't figure out what to get for my husband.

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welcome back to "the early show." how is it december 20th, by the way? >> i cannot believe it. just a few mow days left to shop for christmas. get that list done. running late. >> i am. i got your gift, though, don't worry. >> i appreciate that. just a ahead, we're going to revisit one of the most important stories of the year. the humanitarian crisis in east africa. this summer, i visited a camp. they maim make up the world's largest refugee camp made up of nearly 100,000 people. we're joined this morning by the

former prime minister of small ya, who was prime minister not very long ago. we'll talk to him about the situation and what happens from here. also ahead, we'll meet a florida mom facing long-term unemployment. last year, robin way was donating to charity at christmastime. this year, she needs their help to feed her family. >> all that is ahead. first, we want to get you the latest on this powerful snowstorm across the country. >> it's blamed for at least six deaths right now. sin thee kwla bowers in salina, kansas this morning. >> reporter: good morning, chris. as you can see, snow that began here last night is still coming down. up to 8 inches is forecast. this is all part of a very dangerous system that triggered blizzard like conditions at places that don't normally see it, like new mexico and texas. the snow started yesterday. heavy snow whipped by 35 to

40-mile-per-hour winds in albuquerque, new mexico, forcing the closure of major interstates, such as i-25 and i-40 before moving into texas and the oklahoma panhandles. as you mentioned, so far, at least six deaths are blamed on this storm. in garden city, kansas, near whiteout conditions forced areas highways to see suvs, cars, semis, just pull off and stop stranded in the snow. snowplows were working throughout the night. but it's hard to keep up with a forecast of 16 inches of snow in the oklahoma panhandle area. the winter storm warnings will continue through much of the day today. motorists in these parts are urged to stay off the road if possible. schools and hard hit areas such as this one are closed, so the kids may get an early christmas vacation. to the east, there will be rain. not this messy, but very christmassy stuff. chris. >> cynthia bowers, thank you very much. digging out from a terrible

storm can be bad enough, but when a scam artist tries to take advantage of it, that's bad. >> talk about trying to hit you when you're down. sharyl attkisson has the story on those who prey on homeowners. >> reporter: good morning, guys. 2011 has been a record year for billion dollar weather disasters. that's created plenty of opportunities for the crooks who follow after the storm to exploit unsuspecting customers. when a monster hail storm hits the northeast in 2009, workers for a company called precision builders saw opportunity in the aftermath. they went door to door offering free inspections for hail damage and cash for new jersey homeowners like jeff and tonya williams who would display signs on their lawns. >> that was worth $500 if you put the sign. >> put the sign out as advertisement for them. >> the williams hadn't noticed any hail damage, but figured,

why not get a free inspection? >> you really did not go through an area that did not have a precision sign on at least every other lawn. >> not precision and two of its workers have been charged with insurance fraud. the new jersey attorney general says they inflected the supposed hail damage themselves to collect the insurance money. they've pleaded not guilty. investigators say storm chaser scams have exploded. last year alone, there were nearly 1,200 cases. this is under cover video shot by insurance investigators in illinois. the contractor isn't inspecting the house. he's allegedly denting the roof to make it look like hail damage. watch how hard he's working at it. outside chicago, this contractor was arrested after our station, wbbm, spotted him appearing to use his thumb to fake hail damage in siding. >> why would your thumb make a

dent? >> that's a good question. >> he's away waiting a court date. back in new jersey, the williams got suspicious when precision repair estimates exactly matched insurance payments. >> he said, well, if they gave us 15,000, the insurance company, we'll take the 15,000. if they gave us 7,000, we'll take 7,000. >> at one point, we go, this is not what it seems. this is a scam. >> new jersey attorney general paula bowell & allege precision workers fabricated damage on more than 100 homes for millions of dollars in insurance fraud. >> taking advantage of the system, taking advantage of the homeowners who are often innocent. ultimately, we pay the price in higher insurance premiums. it's issues hurting everyone here. >> we tried to talk to precision's president, but he didn't answer at his house and his attorneys didn't return our calls. the williams say they learned a valuable lesson in the calm

after the storm when someone comes knocking, make sure they're planning to fix the problem, fought start one. >> the national insurance crime bureau tells cbs news there's been a 55% increase in questionable hail damage claims since 2008. erica. >> sharyl attkisson in washington, thanks. >> it's always great when they come up to you and say, we've got you. that's a great question. yes, it is a great question and now we have you on camera saying

coming up next, the latest on one of the worst humanitarian sdae disasters in the world. >> we visited kenya over the summer, saw the devastation firsthand. this morning, we'll ask somalia's former prime minister what's being done to help the hundreds of thousands refugees. this is "the early show" on cbs. how can you get back pain relief that lasts up to 16 hours?

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of the many stories that struck me, and i know so many of you at home this year was the famine that we were covering in my trip to kenya in august. i went to dadaab.

originally made to be home for 20,000 people. today, there are 490,000 people living there. those arriving there are seeking the same things, food, hope and a better chance at life. an innocent baby's cry, the parents quiet anxiety. two signs of the desperation that has brought hundreds of thousands of people here to the dadaab, kenya. just over the border from somalia, the majority of these refugees are fleeing the intense drought, famine and political turmoil back home. do you feel relieved at all now that you and your family are here? >> we feel relief because we arrived here alive with his family. yes we watched family after family enter the camps with a little more than the clothes on their back. having walked for days or even

weeks. most of the approximately 1300 refugees who came to dadaab while we were there arrived mall nourished, some of them severely. upon arrival, each family is given food rations. the children are vaccinated. and with modest supplies, they then set out a piece to find this desert to call their own amid the other 400,000 refugees who make their home here. >> in the morning, it is very dusty and heavy dust winds. and at night, very cold. >> and it is the worst drought in 60 years that is sending them over the border. it is contributing to this vicious cycle of famine. right now, more than 3.5 million somalis are at risk for starvation. which makes food distribution centers like this one we visited run by care international crucial. while it is helpful to know there will always be food here twice monthly, the ritual can be

daunting. >> if you can imagine having to do this thing every two week to come and get your food. it's about dignity, as well, knowing that you are dependent upon food rations to be able to survive in your family kind of hurts. >> reporter: yet the refugees here make the best of the situation. supplementing their rations and in the process growing their community. each camp is home to bustling markets where you can buy or barter for just about anything. >> this is not what people expect when they hear about a refugee camp. this is a town. >> this is a town. people have been living here for the past 20 years. they accepted life here so they need to make it better. >> reporter: one recent development here -- >> they have spinach, green peppers. >> gardening, growing hope with each leaf that manages to survive in this drought-plagued

region. >> we feel we need more greenhouses to bring more products. >> there is now a third generation of somali refugees living in dadaab. for them, this is the only home they've ever known. without major changes in their native homelands, it may remain that way. >> and joining us this morning with more of the situation is somalia's former prime minister mohameda.mohamed. >> we look at they pictures and one of the last pictures we saw there, a mother, her grandchildren were the third generation who were just born there. some people have been living in the camps for nearly 20 years. do you ever envision a time when some of these somali refugees can go home to somalia? >> this is a really huge crisis, no doubt. basically, you need a comprehensive and long-term solution to this crisis. you said this is the largest refugee camps in the world which

has million people and probably to same population as washington, d.c. and boston and baltimore. and think about if those population is waiting for food aid international, food program for 20 years and also think about if this crisis in somali continues, in ten years, definitely, you will see that population will double. and people who is waiting for probably one more generation. >> and the land there, as we were told, can't support it. the water table is severely taxed right now. there are a number of people who live in the area, of course, in kenyan around these camps. everybody else is being taxed. there's the drought, the famine and then the unrest in somalia. >> right. >> so you served as prime minister for about eight months. right. >> very recently. right. >> when you took on that job, what was your goal? did you think you could change things and make it a safer place? >> well, i didn't say that i

would perform miracles, but definitely, i try my best to ensure that, to make some changes. and unless you tackle the -- or attack or just the root cause of this problem, this famine and this refugee crisis will continue. and the issue is you have to ensure the security and the political issue should be addressed. and unless that there's no conflict in somalia and deal with the -- associated with al qaeda to be eliminated, this crisis will definitely continue. >> the kenyan military took unilateral action against somalia and al assad this october. there aren't any borders aren't those camps. there was a grenade attack just yesterday. with kenya's engagement in somalia, is that somehow threaten the people in the camps? >> the best solution to this crisis is to empower, and to rebuild somali national forces.

so they can deal with the crisis internally. and somalia alone cannot do that. you need international support. including the united states and the european countries who helped many crises in the world. recently, as you know, british and french got rid of gadhafi within six months. that's the kind of determination you need to tackle the problem in somalia. because the terrorism is not only limited the somalia, the terrorism is international and issues. >> all right. we'll be watching to see how it unfolds. it's a pleasure to have you with us this morning. thank you for coming in. >> thank you. just ahead, one florida mother's desperate struggle to make ends meet this holiday season is having an impact on people she doesn't even know.

this morning, we have the story of an orlando mom whose life has been turned upside down. she turned to charity when charities have having a tough time themselves. >> 29% of agencies have seen a drop in donations this year. that hits hard, especially around the holidays. >> pastor scott george has been running this community outreach center in orlando for ten years. it provides food assistance, medical care and education to families in need. >> they're getting eviction notices, they're getting their lights turned off. they don't have money to put in their gas tank. they don't have food to feed their kids. they don't have clothes. they're in absolute crisis mode. >> pastor george says he's seen an increase up to 200 families in the past month alone. at the same time, this year donations are down close to 50%. one of those donors was robin way. >> thank you. >> you're welcome. >> i had given to charities before in the past. so now on the i'm on the

receiving end. it's different. it's different. i feel -- i feel sort of kind of less than. because i'm always giving, giving, giving, so to receive is different. >> reporter: the single mom worked at the amway center for five years with no steady income for the past five months during the nba lockout, she's been having a tough time making ends meet. >> what would you say the hardest part of this is? >> making adjustments as far as getting the things that my girls need. so just getting them the basics. >> all right, all right. >> just trying to make sure they stay normal as possible. >> reporter: the players and owners are heading back to work. but the first orlando magic home game is not until december 26th, after christmas. >> it's really hard because they

know what's going on, but they haven't even asked. they haven't even mentioned anything about, you know, mom, this is what i want for christmas or anything like that. >> how does that make you feel? >> it's tough. it's really tough because i'm their mom and i'm supposed to -- i'm supposed to keep them happy. so it's tough. >> robin way won't have money coming in for a few more weeks, but she's hopeful that one day she'll be able to give back again. elaine kihano, cbs news, orlando, florida. in spice of the drop in donations, a community out reach center in florida was able to help more than 150 families like robin who were hurt by the nba lockout. it's one thing we've touched upon when you've got these professional franchises and leagues that go under for periods of time. they basically have to unload all the employees.

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airborne. in fast-acting effervescent formula, and new super-convenient chewable tablets! welcome back to "the early show." coming up right here on the early program, thousands of veterans who served in iraq and afghanistan are back home in a very different environment, college. >> columbia university, close to the ivy league has one of the highest population of veterans there. some tell us now how they're preparing for the next step of

their lives, just a little north of us here. also, we're going to meet a group of teens who could give all of us a lesson auto beauty inside and out. they go to senior centers and give makeovers. we're going to show you how this simple act of kindness can change lives. also, an important message for travelers this holiday season. just in case you're wondering, the thieves do not take time off for the holidays. this is probably their busiest most lucrative time of the season. it can be as easy as using a camera phone to snap a picture of your credit card. who will have thought of that? unfortunately someone about. we're going to show you how to protect your personal information, especially while you are on the road. >> i know a lot of people who have thought of that. some are in jail, some are not. but first, girls often get the wrong message about what's important. they hear from tv shows, magazines, their friends that appearances mean more than real things like character and

integrity. >> psychologist and early show contributor dr. jennifer hartstein is giving young girls this message in her new book, "princess recovery." what are girls recovering from? >> we're not going to find it in any textbook. we're talking about this idea of princess syndrome. girls are getting the message everywhere that what their meaning and what their worth is based on how they look and the things that they have. it's superficial. we're not teaching them how to feel empowered and confident. >> is there any truth of the rumor that you were thinking about naming the bookkeeping up with the kardashians? >> no. but they're examples of what we do not want to be. there's that and even younger, the book focuses on kids that 2 to 8. we're talking about toddlers to teirras.

the message is if you look good, if you act a certain way, people will love you. that message is out there. unfortunately we are raising this generation of girls to think that they can't do anything else. this book is aimed at looking at how we can teach them to do other things, teaching them how to get out there and do math and science and empower themselves and feel good about those things in addition to wearing their princess crown. >> in addition, it isn't just how you look when you go out the door every day, but it is those other messages that get inside you and affect you. that's one of the things i know you're focused on. >> absolutely. it's the negative messages that are these princess syndromes. this idea that i can't do what the boys can do or i can't play with the trucks because that's not okay or all these gender focused idea. we talk about heroine values of, i don't want to be like that. i want to give back. we're doing this story later about these teens giving back. that's what we're talking about, with instilling these values early on so they can take them into their teens early on and they build positive relationships and all that good

stuff. >> how important a role to parents have inspect. >> they are hugely important. parents think kids will understand the messages kids bombard them with all the time. they think the kardashians is no big deal. but the truth is, it is a big deal and a 6-year-old doesn't always understand what we want them to be and what they're seeing. >> but obviously need to discuss what we see with our kids. but you also say, in coming back to dressing, kids need to dress age appropriate. >> oh, yes. >> hallelujah for saying this. >> how often do we see these little girls in bare clothing? and the fact is, things that were popular for 16-year-olds are now popular for 7-year-olds. we talked about this before. padded bras for 5-year-olds. there was a place in colorado that had crotchless underwear for 7-year-olds. totally inappropriate. speechless, right? we have to think about putting them in clothes that are appropriate, let them be mismatched and be themselves.

>> that was starting the whole britney spears era. >> encourage her to speak up. we want your daughter to question things. teach her to hear her voice, use her voice and talk about it. and promote and celebrate her individuality, which we love, as well. >> be yourself. >> conforming doesn't have to be the norm. >> so nice to have you with us this morning. >> so nice to be here. >> highly recommend the book. >> thanks. >> princess recovery. >> great stocking stuffer. >> be one of a kind, not one of the crowd. like that? >> that should have been the subtitle, chris. i'm sorry. >> put that on the back. >> i'm sorry. >> deb is at the news desk with a check of the headlines. >> sounds like a good title for your book, chris. >> that's right. >> there are only two weeks left before the iowa caucuses and the race has narrowed. cbs national poll out this morning shows newt gingerich and mitt romney tied in a national

race, ron paul is in third followed by rick perry. north koreans are paying respects to leader kim jong il this morning. he was encased in a glass coffin. kim's son and the apparent heir visited on the streets on the capital. paroled american activist lori barenson arrived this morning from peru. she was convicted of aiding a rebel group. yesterday, she was cleared to leave peru with her son to spend the holidays with her family in new york. she was supposed to return to peru next month, but there was little to enforce that court ruling. national geographic has revealed its picture of the year. the image of a dragon fly in the rain won the magazine's 2011 nature photography contest. it was taken by an indonesian photographer who won the $10,000

price. that's absolutely stunning. and it's hard to believe, but one of the most beloved holiday movies of all time premiered 65 years ago today. "it's a wonderful life" starred jimmy stewart as the down and out george bailey who learns how much he had loved by his family and friends. i've seen it no less than 30 tenls of thousands of troops

are coming home from iraq and afghanistan and finding out huh tough it is to get a job right now. >> so thanks to the gi bill, many are going to school instead. "the early show" contributor tara recently met veterans who were part of the group. >> i was a corporal in the marine corps. i was stationed out of okinawa, japan. >> i was stationsed three times to iraq. i was a corporal and combat correspondent in the broadcast journalism in the marine corps and i deployed once to afghanistan. >> all four of these marines joined the core as teenagers, each enlisting while the country waged two wars in iraq and afghanistan. >> the hardest combat was in my secondy employment in 2004. we went in and shut down a smuggling town, basically. we started policing the border when the economy relied on smuggling from syria.

and so they weren't very happy with us. we didn't have a lot of friends. >> reporter: despite successes in the field of battle, the uncertainty of what lies ahead follows many troops home. but opportunity in the form of a college education has led this group of marines to columbia university and is offering ivy league status to students like karim delgado who quit high school and questioned his own academic ability before enlisting in the military. >> it took me a long time to even apply to columbia because i was afraid somewhere deep inside that maybe i wasn't actually good at academics. >> the biggest achallenge is adjusting to this academic environment after not having sat in a classroom since high school. >> we have a large existing community of veterans that goes back a number of years. >> reporter: columbia's dean of admissions is confident veterans in the student body can ex sell

in the country's institutions. >> when you're putting together a class and you're thinking about the undergraduate composition, the undergraduate classroom experience, you want a diverse experience. veterans bring life experience and that's an important part of the classroom experience. >> reporter: why did you go into the military? >> there were a lot of reasons. i wasn't exactly sure that i wanted to attend college right away. i was patriotic. i come from a family that has military service as part of their history. >> my father was a marine and he served in vietnam. and so i had this image of marines as, like, the best citizens in the country. and so i wanted the -- i wanted it to build my character. >> i saw the marine corps as a way out of my own predicament. i grew up in carroll city, which is kind of a lower income community in miami, florida. it's a desperate community at

points. and if you wade in it long enough, it becomes you. so it was kind of to escape from the environment. i enjoyed it enough that i thought, that's where i would be for the rest of my life. >> there was a time in the marine corps which i just assumed i was going to -- i was going to stay there and i was going to do that. i was going to do my 20 years. >> i, too, thought i would have a career of 20 years. i was interested still in school and college and academics and i took classes while in the marine corps, but i never thought that i would give up activity duty to become a full time student again. >> all are full time students today because of programs like the g.i. bill and a matching grant program from veterans affairs, which allows veteran to attend school without paying anything out of pocket. >> the military and the department of veterans affairs has been a launchpad of socioeconomic mobility for me. >> there's no way i would have been able to afford to come to this school had i not received

the g.i. bill and the match. >> would you have reversed the order, if you could it? if you could have go the gone to school first and then served, would you have? >> i don't think so. i think that school wouldn't have had as much meaning for me spp. >> what's your plan after you graduate? >> well, i'm ultimately interested in going into educational policy. i ended up being in a lot of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts. and that made me recognize that what i thought was hopeless in my neighborhood was nothing compared to what people are experiencing in other countries. >> would you ever go back home? >> i would. i'm actually very interested in going back to my neighborhood and teaching there. >> none of the students here said they would return to military service. yet all are determined to keep

giving back to their country. >> i'd like to stay at columbia and go to columbia law school. really, i felt like i made a difference in the marine corps and that's a difference that i want to continue to make. >> karen winters, b cbs news, new york. >> last year, congress limited government payments to universities like columbia. for now, the universities are making up the different by increasing financial aid for veterans. during in next few weeks, millions of americans will be traveling. but one of the major problems they'll face, probably didn't think about, identity thieves who gather at airportes and hotels. >> here to help you keep your information safe, bridgette carrie. how are you? good to be here. as if there wasn't enough to remember. >> right. >> what are some of the things that people need to be on the lookout for? >> we're stressed when we're

going, we're not thinking about the basics. first off, don't use public wi-fi when you're at an airport terminal or a hotel lounge. tap into your computer, especially don't do banking sites when you're on a free wi-fi. >> one thing people don't think is blue tooth. if you're not using those devices, have it turned off. the hackers can walk around the airport, scan who has their blue tooth on and scan what's in your phone. >> there are a lot of people sitting at home thinking, oh, good heavens. >> you don't really think about it. you also say use a screen protector. our screens are so bright nowadays, anybody can see what you're doing. >> you don't even have to be a super spy hacker any more.

you have to have wandering eyes and a good smartphone to snap a picture of what's on your screen or a individual row of what you're typing. get a screen protector. slap something like in this on to a laptop screen. that way, only the person in the dead center can see it. i also have one on an ipad here. >> they do make them in different sizes. >> right. and here, you can see when it's right in front, but when you turn it, it gets dark. >> i'm sorry if you said this. do they make them for smartphones? >> yes. especially when you're on a plane, you have people right next to you, you don't want them seeing your important information. >> or if people just think you're a doctor and you can be holding up -- >> x-ray. seems like that didn't process correctly. there are different apps if heaven forbid your phone gets stolen. there are apps that can protect your phone when it's out of your

grasp. >> yes. think ahead. and smartphones, the good thing is that iphones, androids, blackberrys, there are programs where it will track your phone, go on to another computer, it will show in the gps where it last is. or you can do one of those self-destruct buttons and wipe the phone remotely if you're worried about sensitive information being out there. >> a lot of things to worry about. tough enough to figure the phones out. >> including your password. the thing that's tough, i mean, i'm sure everybody else feels the same way, you have a pad word for everything nowadays and you're supposed to have a different one every time. >> 1111. >> i sthaut thought abc with that. >> special characters, special characters like exclamation marks. don't use things like your kids' names, your address, your dogs. even if you're a really big yankees phane, don't use kooep key words like that in your pa password.

i like to tell people, find two random things in your room and use that and you'll remember it because it's just two random com common things. just ahead, you're about to meet a green of teenage volunteers who are inspiring you and helping many

oprah winfrey once said there's nothing like the beauty makeover to lift the spirits of a woman no matter her age. she was talking about the nonprofit group glamour gals. >> glamour gals helps elderly women look good and feel good, too. we met up with a group of teens volunteering a pressure night out in new york city to spend

their time making over seniors. what we found was the gathering about so much more than bright lipstick and nail polish. >> it's makeover night at this senior center for the visually embarrassed. >> your skin is glowing. >> that looks so good. >> this group of teenage girls is applying makeup and painting nails. most importantly, they'll connecting with many who will never be able to see the transformation. >> i don't think you need to see to feel beautiful. you have others complimenting you. your self-esteem will go skyrocketing. >> the teens are all part of glamour gals, an organization that brings glamour together through beauty but hopes to deliver so much more. like companionship. rachel doyle founded glamour gals while in high school to honor her great grandmother. and a woman rachel never got to

know. >> my father was sharing these stories that i wasn't able to hear from my own grandmother with me. and i thought, imagine if i start meeting other people's grandmothers and hearing those stories and they share those with me. >> why is it important for teens, for young girls to get involved in a community service like this. >> i think glamour girls builds life skills. they have to introduce themselves to someone they've never met before. they have to touch that person and say, you know, can i put my fingers on your cheek to apply the rouge? 11 years since the first make youover, glamour gals is a success with 1200 volunteers in 60 chapters across the country. z what inspired you to get involved in the program. >> it's a perfect chance for me to improve my communication skills for older people, it was a wonderful way for me to learn how to connect with someone and gain from the community and give back. >> how does glamour gals

transcend generations? how does it bring them together? >> for the teen girls, it's an opportunity for them to discover their potential as leaders in the community. and for the women, i think it's a chance to have a sense of dignity and beauty. >> all through the simplicity of a makeover. >> how is it connecting with someone you've never met before here and make it look beautiful. >> i love it because you can learn something new about someone, no matter what the age. i love meeting people, so i'm really happy. >> it was amazing to see the transformation of both the teenager and the seniors. you could see they happen genuinely enjoy each other's company. when asked if they were coming back for more, both the teenagers and the ladies said yes. it was really a great place to be and a really uplisting story.

>> how often do the teens go? >> they'll go to different places and they go once a month and twice a [ female announcer ] more people are using wireless devices...

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