great day! good morning. with four days until christmas, house republicans challenge senate democrats to make a few deal extending a payroll tax cut. president obama says that's a gop mistake. we will get the hatest on the standoff that could affect more than 160 million americans. newt gingrich says romney supporters are smearing him in rough campaign ads. we will hear from both gop front runners. and we will talk with michele bachmann on losing social conservatives and one of the leaders ask her to drop out of the race. trouble for holiday travelers as heavy rain moves east and more snow is expected in the rockies. we will take a look at where the problems are "early" this wednesday morning, december

21st, 2011. captioning funded by cbs good morning. welcome to "the early show." dark and early here on a wednesday morning. i'm chris wragge. >> i'm erica hill. let's begin in washington. emptying out for the holidays with no progress towards extending a tax break for working americans. in a few weeks 160 million people could see their taxes go up as much as a thousand dollars a year. >> a whole lot of money. congressional report nancy cordes has the latest on what seems to be a lose/lose situation on capitol hill. nancy, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. a lump of coal as some members here are calling it. we are at a complete standstill. house republicans officially rejected that two-month payroll tax cut extension yesterday that the senate has passed as a stopgap measure. they want the senate to come back and renegotiate but so far those members show no sign of

returning. >> i need the president to help out, all right? [ laughter ] >> reporter: increasingly isolated house republicans are standing their ground refusing to support a two-month tax cut they call irresponsible. >> tax policy on a two-month basis? are you kidding me? >> we want a year-long extension of the payroll tax cut. >> reporter: house republicans voted tuesday to open negotiations with the senate over a new tax deal, but democrats, so far, have refused. >> the sanctimonyious rhetoric you here today from the republicans is nothing but talk. >> reporter: if congress doesn't act in the next ten days the payroll tax rate will go back to original 6.2% from the current 4.2%. house speaker john boehner called on the white house to step in. >> i think president about him needs to call on senate democrats to go back into

session, move to go to conference and sit down and resolve this bill as quickly as possible. >> reporter: the president said senate democrats had done their job by working out a deal with senate republicans for a two-month tax cut extension that passed overwhelm mingingly this weekend. >> let's be clear. the bipartisan compromise that was reached on saturday is the only viable way to prevent a tax hike on january 1st. >> reporter: how did congress end up in this mess? there's plenty of blame to go around. house republicans passed a one-year grl tax cut last week, but paid for the package for a pay freeze on federal workers. in the senate the democrats waited until the last minute to negotiate with republicans and could only find a way to pay for two months of the payroll tax cut instead of a year. last night, the house speaker told just about everyone in the house that they could go home for the holidays so they should stay on standby in case they

need to come back and vote. right now, we have a small group of house negotiators prosecufro republican side left here on capitol hill. >> that will sit well with a lot of americans this holiday season. in the meantime, not a lot of holiday cheer on the campaign either this morning. newt gingrich is furious over negative ads paid for by minimum rot knee supporters. >> he calls it a smear campaign. wyatt andrews is live with more. >> reporter: with most of the national polls now showing a dramatic 15-point drop for newt gingrich, he is upset and the person he blames the most is mitt romney. >> has more baggage than the airlines. >> reporter: what drew the most fire from gingrich were ads made and funded, not by mitt romney's campaign, but by a super pact that supports romney called

restore our future. >> and newt is the only speaker in history to be reprimanded. >> reporter: super pacts have brought a brand-new element to this election, because they are allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money on an issue provided they do not coordinate with a political campaign. some of romney's closest friends and former advisers are behind the restore our future super pact but romney says there is no contact at all. >> it's illegal. as you probably know. super pacts have to be entirely separate from a campaign and a candidate. i'm not allowed to communicate with a super pact in any way. >> reporter: gingrich was having none of it. >> we have to understand these are his people running his ads, doing his dirty work, while he pretends to be above it. >> reporter: but gingrich's fall into a tie with romney nationwide cannot be explained by ads in iowa. republican voters themselves have driven the polls up and then down for five candidates bachmann, trump, perry, cain and

now gingrich, as voters continue to shop for the best challenger to president obama. romney, meanwhile, who just benefited from 400,000 super pact ads hope they would be accomplish i said. >> it has made a mockery of our campaign season answers need campaigns to raise the money they need and just get rid of the super pacts. >> reporter: gingrich has challenged romney to stop all negative advertising. romney who is here in new hampshire campaigning and whose ads do not mention newt gingrich at all has not responded. >> wyatt andrews, thank you. on tuesday, an influential christian group, the family leader, decided not to endorse any candidate in the iowa caucuses. its president, however, did announce he is backing rick santorum. joining us from davenport, iowa is gop candidate michele bachmann who is also on a bus

tour to visit every county in that state. congresswoman, nice to have you with us this morning. >> good morning, erin. a pleasure to be with you. >> reporter: there is a lot of talk about what is happening in washington. get to iowa in a minute. as a congresswoman your take on this. the op-ed base of "the wall street journal" saying republicans cut their losses and figure out a way to extend this payroll holiday or risk looking like the grinch four days before christmas. can that happen? >> the republicans in the house are presented with a poison pill because harry reid essentially threw a bomb over into the house and then the democrats left town. unfortunately, president obama has been awol in the entire process so the real losers in all of this are the american people and i'm talking to people on the ground every day here in iowa and they are just disgusted, they are shaking their heads and they are saying, what is wrong with congress? why can't they give us permanent solutions? this isn't one more temporary gimmick and what they are

looking for are permanent solutions so they can hire people and get people back to work. >> congresswoman this is important to 160 million americans and people on the trail asking you why things can't get done in congress. why did you choose not to vote yesterday? >> well, because there was no deal. we all knew there would be no deal, because president obama, harry reid, decided not to work with the house republicans. like i said they threw a bomb over into the house, something -- a bill that was completely unacceptable that wouldn't help people get back to work, that wouldn't help the american economy to recover, and so there was no other choice. if there is was a deal, of course, i would be there. there is no deal. >> in the senate they were able to work out a bipartisan deal. a handful of senate republicans not going along with that. if there could some sort of bipartisan compromise in one chamber why not go back to work to make something happen? >> this is a very bad option. a two-month extension?

no one is going to hire based on two months. we need a one-year extension if that's what the deal will be. the main problem in washington right now is that president obama is failing to cut the spending. people are sick of this overspending. he is overspending by a factor of 10 over what his predecessor george bush overspent. president obama is being irresponsible and failing to lead. that is what i intend to do as president of the united states only submit and sign balanced budgets. i'm not willing to spend one dime more than what we take it. >> you're saying you wouldn't let this happen but a two month extension for 160 million americans may have preferred that to nothing january 1, congresswoman. >> well, this isn't going to help anything. this is a temporary gimmick and we're going to have another big crisis within two months. stop it! we need to stop, erica, these

crisis and grapple with the problem. >> you were ahead in the iowa caucuses. i know this is hometown territory for you in many ways. you put a lot of focus here. there has been some talk that bob -- called you over the weekend and asked you to step aside and to throw your support behind rick santorum. did that call actually happen? >> yes, there was a call that was made, but it didn't make sense, because my numbers have always been above senator santor santorum's so it makes no sense for me to drop out. we are seeing a tremendous shift. in our debate last thursday, people saw how i took it to ron paul on foreign policy. there's an article that came out this morning on how -- -- i'm the only one that will be able to debate barack obama on the stage and defeat him and i think it's very important that we have a candidate that can go

toe-to-toe with barack obama. i have already in washington. he knows me. i've taken him on obama care and dodd/frank because i know what to do to put the economy back on the right foot. i'm a former federal tax lawyer and i'm a job creator myself and i know what to do to turn the economy around. >> your support, though, is low. in the latest cbs news poll out yesterday, 3% of voters think you have the best chance of beating president obama next november and 4% would vote for you and concern among social conservatives including chuck hurley from the family leader saying at this point, we think the conservatives should get together and talk and who is the best for every job because not everybody can be president. are you at all concerned about splintering that conservative vote? >> well, i have the most support here in iowa, among the evangelical community. it's a strong base and level of support. i have the former head of the family leader who has endorsed me excuse me as well other leaders here in iowa. i have over a hundred pastors that have come out and said they support me and last week, we had

a caravan traveling across iowa of faith leaders evangelicals saying i am the best candidate that represent their community. i have a huge level of support. we are not looking at the national polls we are looking here in iowa and here in iowa, the tide has turned and an electric light switch gone off and we have tremendous momentum here in iowa. >> congresswoman michele bachmann thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> we will find out what happens less than two weeks away. debbye turner bell is here at the news desk. >> the deadly winter storm that made travel a mess in the plains and southwest yesterday has moved east. blamed for at least six deaths. this morning, the storm has transitioned from snow to rain covering an area from the gulf coast to the great lakes. but the storm dumped up to 15 inches of snow in five states. road crews are still trying to clear drifts up to ten feet. parts of highways in colorado, texas, new mexico, kansas, and

oklahoma remain closed. drivers are asked to stay at home. there was damaging testimony this morning against tv host piers morgan in the phone hacking investigation. in london todayal journalist who worked with morgan said morgan must have known about the hacking at "the daily mirror" morgan admitted he heard voice mails of paul mccartney left for his now ex-wife heather mills and offered this defense. >> you also know not a single person has made any formal or legal complaint against "the daily mirror" for phone hacking, not one. >> on the stand today, hitwell gave contradictory testimony. he was asked if any way morgan could not have known about the hacking. >> looking at his style of leadership, i would say that it was very unlikely that he didn't know that it was going on because, as i've said, he was -- there wasn't very much he didn't -- he didn't know about.

>> morgan's testimony was given under oath and he could face criminal charges if he is violated any british laws. if you have put off mailing gifts to friends and family this is your last chance. the postal service says today is the deadline for priority mail packages to arrive by christmas. mornings the faa announcing new airline regulations to reduce pilot fatigue. the rules were inspired by the

2009 colgan air crash near buffalo that killed 50 people. >> the airline traveled all night just to get to work. mark rosenker led that investigation and is formally of the ntsb and he is with us this morning. pilot fatigue not determined to be the sole factor in the colgan crash. how did it lead to today's announcement? >> well, when the investigation goes through the ntsb, the board took a look at the 72-hour history of both pilots and they did conclude that the activities that they were involved in during that 72 hours actually could create fatigue. but with that said, there were so many other factors that were clearly at fault in this accident that was there a real discussion of whether fatigue played a major role. but that wasn't the real issue. fatigue has been been insidious cause of so many incidents and accidents that the ntsb has studies, it's been on their most wanted list at least 20 years. >> let's talk about the current

rules for pilot now regarding work and rest rules. how might they change? >> right now, a maximum duty day, that means from the time you sign in until the time you sign out and go out is 16 hours. your actual flight time which is the time behind the stick of the aircraft, can be as much as eight hours. and then you're really only, right now, required to have eight hours of rest between the next duty shift. that needed to be changed. and, frankly, it was too long in coming and i look forward to what these changes are going to be announced today. >> as an expert in the field how much of a difference will this make, in your estimation? >> i think it will be a significant improvement. we will be raise the bar of safety with these new rules and it would seem we will see some additional rest time, perhaps an hour, maybe more. we're going to probably see reduced duty days. we will probably go from 16, maybe to 14 or 13, and they are going to be look at the kind of flying that you're doing. for example, if you're flying

overnight, it's a lot more stressful and a lot more difficult if you're going -- than flying all day. so they will be looking at the kinds of flying and giving you the kinds of maximums that you'll need in the nature of the actual flight. >> you mentioned a moment ago that you thought these regulations were long overdue. why has it taken so long to implement something that seems pretty obvious for most listeners? >> chris, this is -- these rules were promulgate inside the 40s and 50s. we didn't fly as far and didn't go into the time zones we do today. today, we are dealing with cockpit crews of two people that are flying, in some cases, three and four and five time zones. it was necessary to make the changes to bring us up to the 20th century. >> mark, good to talk with you. >> good to be with you. seven months ago, joplin, missouri, was a tornado disaster

zone. there has been huge process since then and we will get an update on the rebuilding efforts there. who didn't love singing along to neil diamond? the kennedy center honoree tells us how he made it to the top and why he is still there 45 years later. you're watching "the early show" on cbs. - i wanted to get cindy something special this year. - you went to kay. she'll love it. trust me. i know. - save on select diamond fashion jewelry at kay. the number one jewelry store in america. - i love it.

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very dark chapter for joplin, missouri, earlier this year. in may a massive tornado ripped through the city killing more than 150 people. >> coming up here on "the early show," we will take you back to that time and showing you the devastation we saw on the ground as we spoke with survivors when we got there. and also joplin's mayor, mike woolston, how the recovery is going seven months later. this is "the early show" on cbs. we will be right back. announcer: this portion of "the early show" sponsored by the u.s. postal service. it's all in the mail.

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♪ a little fog out there. you may be feeling a little foggy this morning too. wwelcome back to "the early show." i'm yerica hill along with chri wragge on a wednesday. the devastation we witnessed at the scene in joplin heartbreaking and family torns apart by tragedy and 150 people were killed and joplin has come a long way in the past seven months. we will talk with the mayor about the rebuilding efforts there and when he thinks his city will actually return to normal. first, debbye turner bell is at the news desk with another look at the headlines in for jeff this morning. >> good morning. there is a payroll tax

standoff in washington. house republicans want to negotiate after rejecting a senate bill to extend the payroll tax and jobless benefits for two months but senate leaders won't negotiate a long-term deal until the two-month extension bill is passed. if there is on no action, payroll taxes increase january 1st. online retailers are hoping for many happy returns this holiday season. a new survey finds free return shipping is more the standard for more and more stores pmarcus. nordstrom and neiman >> one guy you don't want handling your holiday packages. video shows a fedex delivery driver dumping this package. fedex will track down the

a year of terrible disasters this is one of the worse. >> take you back to joplin, missouri, seven months after a tornado killed 150 people there. this is "the early show" on cbs. ♪ ♪ ♪

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this morning, we continue our look back at some of the most meaningful stories of the year for us here on "the early show." >> in may a devastating tornado six miles long and one mile wide ripped through joplin, missouri, and split the city in half. when we got there, the day after it hit. >> a very unnerving, surreal. >> reporter: when we arrived still driving rain and hard to

believe anyone could survive the massive storm that caused massive destruction. so many were missing. more than 1,000 initially. and everyone helped in the search. >> it was like the apocalypse, a war zone. >> reporter: rescue workers looking for anyone who might be alive. >> been a lot of hazards here. you can see leaning walls. floors that are unstable. you can see us mark on them when we enter, any kind of hazards, any victims that we found. >> reporter: more than 150 people decide, but there were survivors. this grandmother and her grandson. >> who is the little guy? >> underneath in the bathroom! >> reporter: the sheer force of the tornado ripped will norton from his car. exactly what did dad say exactly about what happened? >> my brother was driving. he had his arms around will when they started flipping and his seat belt snapped and he flew

through the sunroof. >> will did not survive. >> we visited a local shelter and spoke with the people there all wondering what next. >> the whole house destroyed. >> the roof is gone. everything is destroyed. we lost a cat. we got two of our three pets. i haven't broke down yet. i'm sure i will whether it sinks in. & >> reporter: and we met heather marsh and her son hayden. >> you can tell this was the kitch kitchen. >> reporter: they survived the 200-mile-an-hour winds that tore through joplin by seeking shelter in the bathtub. >> i lay my son down on like between my legs and i just have him -- i'm sitting up, my body hunched over him. you can hear the wind inside the house and you can start feeling the whole house shake. >> reporter: over the next few months, up to $2 million was donated to help clean up and at least 300,000 people volunteered. a former department store has

now been converted to joplin high school. i returned to joplin august 17th, the first day of school. when you see this now, what comes to mind? and i caught up with heather and jaden, after so much trauma, resilient and still hopeful. what do you think? are people going to come back? is this place ever going to return to the joplin of old? >> i think so. honestly, joplin, i picked up and said, afterwards, we got to get this clean and get our people back. they want us to come home. we want to come home. >> joining from us joplin is the mayor mike woolston. mr. mayor, good to talk with you again and thanks for joining us. >> good to talk with you, chris. >> we heard from heather a second ago saying people want to return and get things back to the way they were. you're on the ground there every single day and you talk with people every single day. are you starting to sense that more and more as each day passes? >> i think so. we got a good number of folks that stayed in the area. pthe theme of folks told us sine

july 88% of the people displaced within the storm are within 25 miles and i think that is true. we do have some people coming back and i've heard stories of folks that came here to volunteer were so taken with the community and the community spirit here that they had decided now to move here. >> how are the people of joplin doing today? they have gone through so much. but as they continue to recover, the folks that lost everything, the folks that lost family members and friends, how are they recovering? >> i think they are doing well. we've had quite a lot of aid come in to help us and organizations and people all over the country so the people are settled and getting back to their feet. i think the community, for the most part, are anxious for the city to develop some sort of an overall plan as to what the future is going to be and we are working very delegately on that and moving forward sometime in the middle of january having somewhat of a historic meeting between the city, chamber of commerce, the public school system, and an adjacent community that was affected as well to jointly move forward with an overall master plan of

development. >> mike, such an influx of donations and voluntarism immediately after the tornado. obviously, that has tapered off a little bit. what is joplin still in desperate need of at this moment? >> i would say, chris, probably financial need. we have quite a lot of clothe, food, water, donated early on and that continues to come in. last week, we received a donation of 500 new toys to distribute to kids during christmas and that was done last week and this week both. one of my concerns in the long haul, two years, three years down the road, we may have needs that we don't even recognize now and i want to make sure that we have some financing available to take care of those and address those needs and so from my perspective, i think probably a financial need is the greatest thing we have right now. >> mike, what is the scene around joplin now? i don't think people really understand just how much debris her was. to put it in perspective 1.2 million cubic yards more than what needed to be removed from the world trade center site here in new york city. but what does the town look like

now? >> we do have a good number of things going back up. we had three of our corporate citizens have rebuilt their facilities completely and by the way, in record time for their particular companies. you're starting to see quite a number of houses go up. we probably got in the neighborhood of 3,200 building permits either new construction or repair permits. and so that is ongoing. i think probably we will continue with that. the winter will have some effect on the pace of that but a good speed going back. as i said, a lot of folks are waiting on the redevelopment plan to see exactly what the city's vision is and then they can make the decisions that are in their best interests. >> mr. mayor, thank you for the update and progress report and we continue to wish you the very best down there. >> thank you, chris. >> mayor mike woolston. up next, dogs fetch a paper and catch a ball and help people recover from serious illnesses and we've got that story when we come back.

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[ growling ] captain, one step at a time.keep going! come on, snowy. look! did you ever see a more beautiful sight? captain! it's just a mirage. - snowy? what is it, boy? - [ barks ] what do you see? [ yipping ] [ woman announcing ] just like snowy, your dog's one of a kind. overactive imagination and all. [ barking ] long live your buddy. long live your dog. [ tintin ] snowy! purina dog chow. see the adventures of tintin, only in theaters.

in this morning's "healthwatch," therapy dogs. we know the bond between man and man's best friend goes back i guess forever. >> the new field of animal assistant therapy is getting a lot of attention these days. debbye turner bell has one story's family. > reporter: a tuesday morning at children's hospital in st. paul, minnesota. angel is on a mission. >> you want to pet her? >> reporter: angel is a pet therapy dog making her rounds. and each patient has a very unique prescription. >> angel says thank you. >> reporter: therapists say dogs like angel bring normallialsy and comfort to an otherwise sterile environment. at this hospital, therapy dogs are now being used not just for comfort, but as part of treatment regimens for patient. in many ways, it began with one

special girl's recovery through pet therapy. >> you're a good girl! >> reporter: three years ago and seemingly overnight, ali gillen became mysteriously ill. >> everything started to hurt. >> reporter: ali's parents heather and tim were told ali had a rare neurologic disease that causes inflammatory and degenerative changes to the skin called dematomyo cites. >> i refer to her as the 10-year-old raggedy ann doll. she couldn't lift a pillow and she couldn't sit up and couldn't raise her arm up high enough to scratch her nose or rub a tear from her eye or scratch her eye. >> what does not do to you as a parent? >> breaks your heart. >> reporter: her prognosis was

grim. >> it affected everything. everything was shutting down. we were told her life was in jeopardy. >> reporter: ali's treatment was painful and she made little to no progress at first. >> she couldn't move anything except for moving her fingers a little bit. all of the muscles in her body were not working and essentially were starting to shut down. >> reporter: then with hope running out. >> this letter. >> reporter: occupational therapist nicole lindstrom introduced ali to an unexpected furry friend. >> the first thing she did was reach over and start petting the dog. >> reporter: it was this amazing moment with a therapy dog that marked ali's return from the brink. >> aids, hey, ali, look at your arm right now. and she had no idea that she even moved it. that was the start of a miraculous recovery. >> reporter: ali's was not an isolated case. and dogs are now used in 90% of lindstrom's occupational treatment, including therapies for cognition, motor skills, and movement. can you sort of explain the

magic behind the dog? >> are there is a national bond that happens between a person and a dog but the other thing kind of slides to the wayside. >> reporter: for ali like dressing the therapy dogs up in costumes helped her regain her fine motor skills and muscle strength. >> without the pet therapy program, ali's recovery would have been what? >> ali's recovery would have been slow. it would have been hard and it would have been a fight. you said i can come out, right? >> reporter: the gillen's were so grateful for the amazing pet therapy it had on ali that they wanted to pay it forward to mom heather went through the year and a half long process to certify angel as a therapy dog. >> we thought our dog can do this, angel can do this, we can do this. >> nice to meet you! >> to provide that comfort and hope is something that my heart

just jumps for every single week that we're there. >> reporter: today, ali is on the road to a full recovery and angel is just what the doctor ordered! ali who is now 12 plans to be an occupational therapy when she grows up so she can help other children just like her. >> those bijon is are great dogs. my grandfather are one. >> ahead, the extraordinary life of kennedy center honoree neil diamond on "the early show." announcer: this portion of "the early show" sponsored by kleenex brand tissues. helping you sneeze-shield your kids wherever they go. no wonder people want to share them on and on. send a kleenex brand share package for free today at kleenex.com and start your own chain of sharing. in return, you'll receive a sample of new kleenex cool touch tissues...

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from the bedroom you could see the fire and that work me right up. and it was absolutely terrifying. we got out of there as quickly as we could. i'm watching the house burn up and i'm sitting there saying, there goes everything. these days you don't have to lose your house in a fire to know what it's like to be left on the edge in the cold.

the shelter gave us a place to stay. and citizens energy helped the shelter with heat. i'm excited to finally have a place of my own. citizens energy is helping us with the oil. citizens energy was created to help the forgotten ones keep warm. we asked the big oil companies and oil producing nations to help. only citgo and the people of venezuela said yes. and this year, in spite of soaring fuel prices, congress cut home heating assistance nearly in half. while people need help more than ever. for the last seven years, citgo has helped families and homeless shelters in good times and in bad. thanks joe and thanks citgo. so if you need help staying warm this winter give me a call because no one should be left out in the cold.

[ growling ] captain, one step at a time.keep going! come on, snowy. look! did you ever see a more beautiful sight? captain! it's just a mirage. - snowy? what is it, boy? - [ barks ] what do you see? [ yipping ] [ woman announcing ] just like snowy, your dog's one of a kind. overactive imagination and all. [ barking ] long live your buddy. long live your dog. [ tintin ] snowy! purina dog chow. see the adventures of tintin, only in theaters.

snots crackling rose you make me smile ♪ >> songs like that, how can you not love neil diamond? all i can say we better hear some "sweet caroline" coming up in the next hour. >> i think a good chance for that. >> he received a kennedy center honor and coming up, he'll tell us about the eight years of knocking on doors that led to his amazing career as a singer/songwriter, "the jazz singer." a classic. she is speechless. >> i am. all things neil diamond. ladies, back me up here. welcome back to "the early show." i'm chris wragge, along with erica hill who is going to compose herself in a second.

taking some intensive heat in the britain's hacking scandal. on tuesday, piers morgan told when he was a tabloid editor he wasn't aware of phone hacking in his newsroom. >> allen pizzey has the latest on the investigation. >> reporter: to see him arriving for work, no one would guess that cnn celebrity interviewer piers morgan had just come from a different kind of interview. the other show he had been on was an official inquiry into phone hacking of british newspapers two of which he ed edit edited. the answers he gave were not the ones an interviewer would like from his own guests. >> i don't believe so, no. i can't do that. actually, no, i can't. >> reporter: the scandal began with revelations of a murders girl's cell phone hacked and along with other celebrities. morgan admitted he had listen to do a message left by former

beatle paul mccartney to his now ex-wife. >> you listened to a tape of a message? >> i listen to do a tape of a message, yes. >> reporter: more than a dozen journalists arrested for phone hacking and the newspaper as the course was forced to close. as for his responsibility, morgan offered this defense. >> i would say the average editor is probably aware of about 5% of what his journalists are up to any given time. >> but in testimony today, one of his former employees already convicted of malpractice said morgan was a dominant presence in the newsroom. >> looking at his style of leadership, i would say that it was very unlikely that he didn't know it was going on. there wasn't very much that he didn't know about. >> reporter: the other piers morgan interview show isn't over yet. allen pizzey, cbs news, london. debbye turner bell is at the news desk in this morning for jeff glor and has more headlines. in washington, house leaders are calling for more

negotiations after the house rejected a senate bill extending the tax cut and unemployment benefits for two months. if no deal is reached by year's end, the payroll tax rate would return to 6.2% from 4.2%, and unemployment benefits would revert from 99 weeks to just 26 weeks. senate leaders say they won't negotiate until the house passes the two-month deal, but the threat of a drastic pay cut for doctors who treats medicare patients put off until january 18th. five nato service members were killed bay roadside bomb in and afghanistan this morning. all of the victims were polish soldiers. late last night, an emotional homecoming at north carolina's

announcer: this portion of "the early show" sponsored by macy's. up next, neil diamond says his voice sounds like gravel in potholes but it didn't stop him from becoming a music legend. >> and one of this year's kennedy center honorees, we will have more of his story when "the early show" continues and chris will sing. ♪ today le bit higher. i can't hold you up much longer. ah! whoa! [ all giggle ]

♪ hi, fellas. hi, virginia. why are you on the floor? [ female announcer ] bring your letter to santa into macy's and we'll donate to the make-a-wish® foundation. together, we'll collect a million reasons to believe. simple relief is here. introducing robitussin® nasal relief pills. the right relief for nasal congestion...in a pill. ♪ new from robitussin®. relief made simple. new from robitussin®. 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.

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♪ with quarter inch holes and blueprints for the coming year? those of us with doers on our lists. and because it's always better to give than to guess, we can take these last few days of shopping and our holiday budgets a lot further. ♪ more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. there's still time to give a new project or two. pick up your home depot gift cards online or instore. the kennedy center honors is more than just an award show. it recognizes a lifetime of artistic excellence. this morning, we begin a series of profiles on this year's

honorees. >> mo rocca sits down with a talented guy from brooklyn who made it big in the music world. neil diamond. ♪ play it now play it now crackling rosy make me smile ♪ >> reporter: for 45 years, neil diamond has been singing hit songs. ♪ forever in blue jeans >> reporter: even if he hasn't been a hit with critics. >> i've never been a critics darling. my songs have been very direct and as simple as i could possibly make them. ♪ hello my friend hello ♪ >> reporter: songs so broadly appealing they are not easy to label. >> i don't know if you call it rock 'n' roll or pop or country or folk music or american music or just neil diamond music.

>> reporter: diamond was raised in a house filled with music, in a jewish neighborhood in brooklyn. when he was 16, his parents gave him a guitar. >> and they really gave it to me on the advent of the dodgers, the brooklyn dodgers leaving brooklyn and i went into a deep teenage funk because my baseball bat had left town. >> reporter: you were beraffed? >> i was and they said we are going to give you ten free lessons and we'll pay it off and i got hooked. >> reporter: so if the dodgers had not left brooklyn, i might not know who neil diamond is? >> oh, he might have been a well known baseball player, though. >> reporter: or he might have become a singer not named neil diamond. >> i thought i need a name that has character, so i made up a name and the name was noah ko

minute s comiskey. i said, no, i need a name that is more rock 'n' roll. so i came up with ice, e-i-c-e. cherry. i don't know where cherry came from. i backed down from both of those because my grandmother wouldn't understand why there was another name on my record. >> reporter: diamond went to nyu on a fencing scholarship, but quit to write songs. >> i left school to pursue my life's dream. i had been writing songs since i was 17 and i went to nyu in hopes that i would become a doctor. i was focused in on that. >> reporter: by the way, what the dream to be a song writer or a singer/songwriter?

>> no. i didn't even think about being a singer. i wanted to be a songwriter. i thought if i could earn a living being a songwriter, i would be in heaven. >> reporter: for eight years, he plugged away. >> eight years knocking on doors sounded grueling and desperate, but it was the most fun that i could possibly imagine. >> reporter: and then what was the breakthrough? >> well, the breakthrough was meeting l.e. greenwich who was a top producer and writer at the time and who kind of pointed me in the right direction. ♪ that would be what i am. a solitary man ♪ >> she and her husband recorded my first group of hits. ♪ she has a way to move me >> reporter: then the monkees recorded "diamond, i'm a believer" which became the best sellinging song of 1967.

♪ i'm a believer >> i suddenly become a hot item. i was having hits as an artist, as well as writing hit songs for the people. ♪ i am i said >> reporter: diamond who describes his own voice as sounding like gravel in potholes turned out hit after hit, from the person anthem, "i am i said." ♪ did you ever read about a frog who dreamed of being a king and then became one ♪ sweet caroline. >> reporter: that isn't just a favorite with boston red sox fans. >> i will always be grateful to it that song because i think there is a touch of god in that song. it's more than words and music, so i attribute its popularity to

that and i love singing it. >> reporter: the song's title was inspired by a "life" magazine cover with caroline kennedy. >> and i wrote it down. i said this is the sweetest picture of caroline kennedy i've ever seen, and five years later, it came to me. i came to the title, the melody, the chorus melody and sweet caroline came out. >> reporter: in 1980, diamond took a shot at acting starring in the music "the jazz singer." the film was a critical sgloimt. >> i know who i am. i know what i have to do. >> reporter: did the reviews for your acting hurt? >> they hurt. but it's not as though i was betting my life on it. this was something that i wanted to try. ♪ love on the rocks >> reporter: but from a bad movie came some of diamond's best loved songs.

"love on the rocks." ♪ pour me a drink and i'll tell you my lies ♪ ♪ it's good to love you like i do ♪ >> reporter: "hello again." "america." ♪ they coming to america today ♪ >> reporter: though "the jazz singer" was only hollywood role he flirted with hollywood before. is it true you were considered the lead role in "the taxi driver"? >> i don't think it called for a singer. i think it called for a dramatic actor. for some reason, the producer saw me as very quiet and deep. >> reporter: solitary man? >> solitary and sullen and a little unpredictable and mysterious, which that character

was, but de niro, i think, was the right choice. >> reporter: do you ever look in the bathroom mirror and say "you talking to me?" >> you talking to me? you talking to me? only robert de niro would come up with that. >> you talking to me. >> reporter: and diamond decided to stick with singing and for that legions of fans are grateful. neil diamond continues to be among the highest grossing live act. the kennedy center honors are a crowning glory to the years that also included his induction into the rock 'n' roll hall of fame. >> these kennedy honors are a huge, huge fame for me, but it will not spoil me, it will not make me -- my head get too

swelled. i know i still have to work. i'm doing a tour coming this summer and it's going to make me work twice as hard to make a show that's worthy of this honor. >> reporter: mo rocca, cbs news, new york. ♪ >> i would -- i mean, i can say this right now. normally, i would say i would not get too excited to see somebody who is 70 years old but i would go see this concert. >> in a heartbeat. i'll hold you to that. >> you forget how many great songs he has. >> we kept singing along in the piece and i love every single one of them. neil diamond, i love you. chris and i will see you this summer. >> do you see think he will bring back the sequins? >> reporter: i don't think they

ever left. >> up next, did you thrillers are based on government secrets? we have that for you when we come back. and now you need to hide. oh, i love the mercury glass pieces on the mantel, we could put some evergreen pieces... you know a simple touch like adding. oh, i think we should quickly decorate the hallway, wouldn't that be fun? maybe just put some...oh thank you so much, i'm going to bring you a snack later. wait, i still need to talk to you about led candles. happy holiday's. hey! hi! please come in. you know ornaments, they make a great centerpiece. my name is lacey calvert and i'm a yoga instructor. if i have any soreness, i'm not going to be able to do my job. but once i take advil, i'm able to finish out strong. it really works! [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] make the switch. take action. take advil.

whether it's writing novels about politics or uncovering secrets on his hit tv show, brad meltzer with the thriller "the inner circle" and a book celebrating all we can look up to. good to have you with us. >> thank you very much. >> i'm totally fascinated in the way "the inner circle" came together. . homeland security department said can you work on a project? we need you to think about how terrorists can attack us. >> they said will you come and brainstorm how ways terrorists will attack the united states? i thought the homeland security department is calling me? we have bigger problems than anyone thinks. i was honored to be what they called the red cell program and it brings out of the box thinkers to bring together ways

terrorists can kill us. they read my novel. i said why did they pick me? a regular ordinary person? i looked through history and it traced back to a guy named george washington and george washington had his own spy ring made up of regular ordinary citizens and he said, because no one will look twice at them. i said at my guy at homeland security what if it cool my next novel oil the inner circle" you find out that george washington's spy ring exists today. he looked at me what makes you think it doesn't? he said it is one of his great success stories, why would he disband it? i said that is the novel i want to right. >> it is fascinating. one of the favorite things that came out of your mouth is my guy at homeland security. >> i know. my better guy was when i was researching the book, i called former president bush sr. who liked some of my novels. i said, sir, i read a story ronald reagan drst the last moments of his white house sneaked a secret note for you and you sneaked a secret note

for clinton in there and so on and so forth up to obama. i said can i use the secret notes the past information for my secret novel. he wrote me back and said the president wants you to have it. i opened it up. sent me the secret note that he wrote to bill clinton and no one had ever seen before. >> a copy of it? >> a real copy of it and he wrote to me saying i never showed this to anybody. it was a gracious letter but it gave me ideas of what i used in "the inner circle" of one president and how they communicate with one another. >> you heard from former president clinton also. you have former fans in the white house of your book. >> it's nice to be invited to the white house and have lunch there but it is nothing like having your family root for you, i will say very honestly. >> and this sort of ties in to one of your main beliefs in life. i know it's ordinary people who really do extraordinary things who make the world go around like your mom who other people may not have known and that is

essentially what this circle was. >> listen. my belief is ordinary people change the world. that is what matters. when my son was attorney ten years ago i will write a book to show him that. when the wright brothers went out to fly a plane they knew they would fail and crash and rebuild and crash and rebuild and took off. i want my son and daughter to hear that story and no he if you dream big and work hard you can do anything in building world. i said that is what hero for my son is be, not a book of rules but a book of heroes. jim henson is in there and mr. rogers is in there and rosa parks is in there and martin luther king jr. is in there and most important is my mother is in there. my daughter said, dad, where is my book? it's done and coming out morg d

mother's day. >> maybe we can make you come back for mother's day for that. >> i would ♪

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♪ half past the hour. welcome back to "the early show." i'm erica hill along with chris wragge. just ahead this half hour, millions of people cannot wait to get home for christmas. but if you're flying, well, the lines, the screaming, some people don't like to deal with it. the tas is now giving you tips on making all of that a little easier the next time you're at the airport.

tip number one during the holidays, just a reminder, don't wrap your presents before you get on the plane. also might want to take your belt off early. don't get fresh, though. more government tips at the airport in a few minutes. >> rita moreno is here and she has been in showbiz for years and doesn't have any attention of giving it up. 50 years later you can see her on tv as fran drescher's mother and she won a tony, two emmys and with us reaching a land mark birthday with a career that is still red hot. great to have her here and looking forward to that. >> across the country any number of theme parks to touch on the spirit of christmas. >> we found one in putney, vermont, is struggling after a half century celebrating all things santa. this local treasure could use a little christmas miracle. >> all aboard.

we would like to welcome you here in putney vermont. we have been opened up since august 10th, 1957. over half a century ago. >> a small park, very charming and very sweet and kind of hokey. good for small children, young families, just a little tiny park in vermont, but it has a lot of heart. the people that work here are the people that are here year after year. >> if you're looking an elf. >> they talk to you, they know you, they remember you. >> we definitely want this tradition to pass on to our children and be able to bring their children here as well. >> it's like having a party every day. >> all of new england would be just heartbroken if this park closed. >> i'm very, very sad, i'm very disappointed. >> my husband and i bought santa's land eight years ago. we were going great guns for the first five years. the economy tanked and gas

prices soared and we felt it and we never got it back after that. we were heart broken. my daughter came downstairs and she said, mom, i've got sad news. we were crushed. we couldn't believe it. this is our christmas. this is what christmas is all about. >> two years ago, i had an aneurysm and my family brought me up here in a wheelchair. we came and my grandson sat on my lap. and that is what santa's land is to this family. >> individual businesses like santa's land are having a tougher time. they are becoming all season resort. they have all kinds of great things to do, in addition to skiing. in the old days they were just ski resorts so that has put some pressure on organizations like santa's land that are all alone out there without the services that you find. >> if i could do anything in the world that i wanted to do, it would be to work or have

something like this. >> our christmas wish is that this place will stay open for another 57 years. >> we should point out even though the global economy may be affecting santa's land in vermont, the north pole is very much in business. santa is very busy. we checked in recently. he and the elves, behind every good man, a good one. they are set to make the trip on schedule. >> you remind me of that every day. >> i do. it's important. speaking of holiday traveling, millions of people hitting the road this week to visit friends and family. if you have to fly, tighter airport security can only add to the stress. >> the tsa says there are ways to get through the checkpoints easier. peter greenberg is here to share those tips with us. if you travel all the time you're used to this but if you don't, this is where it gets stressful. the it tsa came out with some recommendations for people. >> some of these are not new but bear repeating. have your i.d. out. get it out right away. they say remove your coat and

shoes. but that means all of your shoes, even the slip-on shoes and at that time belt off. reason for that now you have a 50/50 chance of going through a scanning machines and they want that belt off and everything out of your pockets. take your laptop out for screen ahead of time and, by the way, take your laptop out for screening and put in the last bin that goes through because a lot of these things get stolen because they get in the first bin and they get stolen and people are going where is my laptop? everything has go in its own bin. >> you say you take this a step further. you have additional tips. >> it's not about stylishly going to the airport. undress before you get to the airport as much as you can. >> and not get arrested. >> exactly. we are talking everything out of your pockets that is metal. everything out of your pockets -- actually, everything out of your pockets because the scanning machines will not accept that. the other thing you want to do is when you take your phone out, when you take your blackberry out, don't put it in the tray. people forget it. put it in your jacket pocket

because then you put it back on. >> not just things out of your pocket but jewelry and watches need to come off. >> one think i do i put the watch, wallet and all of the little things in the shoes and right there. >> give you a run for your money, greenberg. you can team up on this. >> i like that. >> when you're traveling with gifts you want to have them wrapped when you get there but you can't bring them on the plane with you wrapped. >> you can't bring them on the plane when they are wrapped. they go through the magnetometer they want to unwrap them. wrap the presents when you get there. i suggest be careful of the food items you're bringing. people get pie crazy! they want to bring pies over the holidays, right? guess what? >> they don't travel well. >> forgetting that but tsa, depending which checkpoint you're going through determine the pie is a liquid! so it's a gel! you know? so be careful about that. >> unless it's less than three ounces then you're okay with

that pie. >> what would you recommend? >> buy the pie when you get there. it's asking for trouble. don't bring it. >> you talk about sending your luggage ahead but when it comes to gifts you say that is perhaps the better better way to do things. >> you know when christmas is. ship two or three days in advance whether it's u.p.s. or fedex. the other thing is even if you can't do that and you have to check your bags and they have presents inside, when you get to your destination, don't do do what everybody does. you're so happy to see your bag coming around the carousel and grab it and go home. open your bag right then and there. baggage thieves don't steal bags, they steal individual items from bags hoping you won't look until you get home and your word against the airline and you lose. >> how about kids for folks have to travel with kids? >> heavy sedation. i'm sorry, did i say that! >> dial 911 for peter greenberg! >> in all seriousness tsa

learned their lesson. they are doing modified pat-downs. if you're under 12, the good news for kids you don't have to take your shoes off. >> not taking the shoes off? so much easier. >> so there you have it. >> thank you, tsa. merry christmas. >> thank you, peter. merry christmas. >> peter, thanks. i look forward to your next book of travel tips. >> bring the shoes. >> debbye turner bell is at the news desk with one final check of the headlines. european union's top court ruled this morning that u.s. airlines have to pay for greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming. the court says the eu has the right to impose its cap and trade scheme on international airlines that use europe an airlines. several u.s. airlines tried to overturn the law. the law is due to go into effect january 1st. airlines say they will comply

but under protests. last month, unemployment rates dropped in 43 states and washington, d.c. from the previous month. also u.s. builders broke ground on more houses last month than any other time in the past year and a half. construction in november was up more than 24% over the previous year. and that deadly snowstorm that hit the plains with blizzard conditions has moved east this morning, but the storm is mostly a rainmaker now from the gulf coast to the great lakes. northern maine could see a mix of rain and snow. in the plains this morning, crews are trying to clear roads where snow drifts up to ten feet remain. parts of major roadways remain closed in colorado, new mexico, texas, oklahoma, and kansas where travel can be tedious and treacherous. >> slid up into the median and there for several hours. took me three hours to get 30 miles! >> hundreds of people have been stranded by the weather. the storm dumped up to 15 inches

of snow in five states. for the first time the u.s. government is asking scientists to censor their research on the deadly bird flu virus. they want laboratories to not publish details on how they mutated the h5n1 flu virus where it can be transferred to humans. the government fears that information could be use as a bioweapon. scientists say they are working to impcomply with the virus sin it was detected in 1997. more than half of the 600 people infected have died. and today is december 21st, but some people have another name to for it. they call it doom's day minus one year. believers predict the end of the world next year on december 21st. don't say we didn't warn you. three fresh crew members including don petit are on their way to the international space

station. their soyuz rocket blasted off this morning. their arrival on friday will bring the crew complement back to six after a series of launch delays that began in a winning an oscar, tony, grammy and emmy is called the grand slam of show business and rita moreno is one of a dozen people to do it. >> she became a household name 50 years in the movie "westside

story." and she is celebrating her 80th birthday and great for you to be with us. you did celebrate big 80th birthday! >> yes. >> no way! >> absolutely. i'm an 80-year-old broad. >> you look fantastic. >> thank you. remember what gloria steinem said? this is what 80 looks like. oh, this is my birthday party! that is marvelous. that is great! that is my daughter pretending she is in "westside story." >> people are more familiar with you in that role. just celebrating the 50th anniversary. >> can you imagine that? when we did prince a couple of weeks ago, george and russ and i, it was hard to believe. we saw the movie that night. it still holds up. it's wonderful. >> it's a classic. >> that's why it's called a classic. >> what is it like when you watch it again?

>> oh, of course, you know you could do it better. and you're right. you could have done it better but, you know, at 80, it's easy to say that. i look at myself and say, for god's sake! >> what didn't you like? >> i didn't say i disliked it. >> with -- >> i thought it wasn't as deeply observed as i should have done it, but, hey, that's water under a very old bridge tichlt chan. d >> it changed your life. >> it did. i became a world wide celebrity. i remember being in japan after the movie and i was in a department store and i actually heard a japanese man unconsciously to whistle like this. i thought, cannot be! japanese person. he didn't even know it was me. it was just an unconscious thing that happened. he, obviously, knew i think that is rita moreno.

>> what a fantastic moment for you to have things like that happen. >> not only that, but to be a puerto rican person. i wasn't the first to get an oscar. >> how much did the oscar change things for you in hollywood? >> you'll be amazed to hear this. it did nothing. i didn't do another movie for seven years. i guess that showed them. >> but you took a big stance, though. you didn't -- you said these latino roles that were kind of -- the only things that were offered to you. >> not just -- i don't mind playing the latino. why would i? i don't want to play one that talks like this all the time! do you know what i'm saying? because that is character that was playing, look at that. another one of those wigs. i mean, there is nothing but long, dark-haired wigs. i finally developed a universal what we used to call the universal ethnic accent because

i played everything. every person from every country. oh, i want that photo! i can't believe it! look how cute i was! i look like my daughter! my daughter looks exactly like that. i love this! >> i must admit, though, i was most familiar with you from the -- >> did i teach you to read? >> back in the early '70s. >> are you sure you can read? >> i like to sometimes. >> he made some important progress in the reading phase. the past year, he has been watching. >> i've been going off your tapes. do you still get that from a lot of people? >> i get a lot of of hey, you guys! baby boomers that now are losing their hair with pot bellies. that is also the cast of "westside story" that i keep calling the kids. they have lost half of their hair. there it is. george!

>> you should see d? >> the girls look great. >> my mother and i just had that conversation. did the same thing. >> really? >> she did. >> i keep hearing that kind of thing. >> we would love for you to stick around because we want to talk to you more because you have a lot of stuff going on right now so we will pull out a few more pictures too. >> oh, yeah. i love the pictures. >> we will have more with rita

♪ >> look at you go. huh some we are back with rita moreno. a showbiz legend still going strong at 80. show clips bringing back some memories. >> george is a great dancer and still looks that way. >> still a stud. >> you just finished your one

woman show, "life without makeup." you did some tap dance something. >> i did and versions of versions from "the westside story." >> and the show is in high demand. a number of people want to come to your city. >> it's what my agent would call a first class dilemma. >> where is all of this energy coming from? >> that is my dna. >> no slowing down at all, though? >> well, really compared to the way i was, i've slowed down but for an 80-year-old lady, not too bad. >> not too shabby. you're busy on tv and part of "divorced." >> i'm fran drescher's mother and it's so fun to talk like her, especially if you're puerto

rican. >> anything else you want to do? >> i love what i do. what a wonderful thing. that is a bonanza. a lot of people do what they do in order to pay the rent and eat and i do what i do because i love it and i get paid for it. wow! i've got it at all! >> do you attribute to the longevity the fact you wake up happy every day? >> i do! i wake up humming and my motto is the way to have it all is to love it all. >> yeah. >> that's me. >> so you can have your cake and eat it too? >> i'm having cakes and pastas and a lot of greens. >> do you like cake for breakfast? >> at 80, you deserve that cake. people should be bringing you cakes wherever you go. >> oh, my gosh! look at this! oh, i love this! ♪ happy birthday to me >> you mentioned the 50th

anniversary of "westside story." >> so we have you sign this for us. >> can i blow out the candles? >> yes. make a wish. >> what a treat! >> there you go. >> and cupcakes! good for my behind! >> it's great. but you're dancing. you don't have to worry about it. dance it right off. >> i'm not really dancing. i call it sort of kind of dancing. >> still could you please tell us. >> it's kind of dancing. skd. >> i'm going to steal that from you. what is next for you over the holidays? big plans? >> i'm taking my family to hawaii. the first vacation i've had in about 20 years so i'm thrilled. i don't know if i'm able to do it. just sit there and read. >> i have a feeling you won't be. i've only known you for ten minutes! >> you work too hard. >> i feel confident in saying that. >> you work too hard. >> you live well. >> i do what i love. thank you. this is so sweet! >> enjoy your cupcakes.

happy birthday. >> you mean i can't have this? >> you can have the whole thing. we have got a fork coming. rita moreno, thank you. see you back here tomorrow. >> your local news is next. ♪ wm÷so ñh [ female announcer ] more people are using wireless devices...

in more ways than ever. and our networks are getting crowded. but if congress frees up more wireless spectrum... we can empower more people to innovate... putting momentum behind our economy. and we can reduce the deficit... with more than thirty billion dollars paid by america's wireless companies. it's simple -- more spectrum means more freedom. for everyone.