good-bye, everybody. good morning. house republicans back down and accept the two-month extension of the payroll tax cut that they rejected just a few days ago, threatening a tax increase for 160 million workers. we will tell you what led to the final deal. syria's capital is rocked by violence after nine months of protest and two deadly car bombs go on outside of security offices. we will have the latest. wall street picks up. we will look at the better numbers and see if the rally will continue in the new year. and snow in new mexico and the northeast means trouble for holiday travelers while parts of georgia clean up after serious storm damage. we will check the holiday forecast and find out who is

having a white christmas "early" this friday morning, december 23rd, 2011. captioning funded by cbs good morning. i'm rebecca jarvis. >> i'm jim axelrod. erica hill and chris wragge are off this morning. we begin with the news that the end of d.c. deadline is over. the payroll tax cut in time for christmas. on thursday, house republicans bowed to pressure from all sides agreeing to extend the tax cut for two more months. >> it would have been implemented next month for 160 million workers. sharyl attkisson is on capitol hill for us this morning with details. good morning. i guess the day in washington today will be caved. what is going on? >> reporter: the uncomfortable stalemate appears to be over to 160 million workers no longer have to worry that their payroll

taxes will be going up on new year's. the house and senate could pass the two-month extension as early as today without a formal member by member vote, as long as nobody objects. that would end the public relations nightmare for republicans that if he would suffer for failing to get together on this, tension sooner. john boehner admitted as much last night. >> may not have been the politically the smartest thing in the world, but let me tell you what. i think our members waged through a good fight. we were able to come to an agreement. we were able to fix what came out of the senate. >> reporter: republicans have been unable to agree on what to do before now because those in the senate had agreed to just the two-month extension. they were content with doing that over the holidays, while some house republicans were holding out saying they would not accept a temporary fix. they wanted nothing less than the full one year. yesterday, the republicans leader and the seate leader mitch mcconnoll saying they

needed to pass the two-month fix and it wasn't long before the deal was done. >> it's a done deal. let's talk brash tax here. what is included in this deal? >> reporter: they say it's similar as you said a few minutes ago to the deal that the senate had passed a compromised measure last saturday and about the same thing the house republicans had rejected earlier in the week and why people are talking about a cave. it keeps the payroll tax at 4.2% for another two months. that is 2% below the normal rate and extends federal unemployment benefits so people will get their jobless checks for 99 weeks. new language in there to the republicans to ease the payroll reporting burden on employees. >> the republicans have made short of a sticking point about this oil pipeline provision of the deal. what happened there? >> that was something that forces president p.to make a

quicker decision on the keystone pipeline and he wanted to put that off until after the 2012 elections but the provision republicans got remains, we are told, in this new agreement. that moves up the deadline so that he has to make a decision much sooner. >> sharyl attkisson on capitol hill for us, thanks. wall street is in a merry mood this week. the dow jones industrials gained more than 400 points the last three days. the year that the dow is up 5%. >> and here to tell us what is driving the markets right now is alexis christoforous of cbs "moneywatch." >> good to be here with you. >> all of the data is trending better and getting better on the housing front and better on the unemployment front but does this mean that we are really the worst is behind us? >> at least we are taking baby steps. we start someplace and start with the job market. we saw the number of americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits dropped to 3.5 year low last week and claims below 400,000 the past month or show which shows job growth. another great sign.

the unemployment rate fell in 43 states last month, a huge employment. looking at the unemployment rate 8.5% through the election through next year. >> in addition to unemployment, housing has also shown some improvements. >> finally, right? yeah, now economists are saying 2012 could be the year we see stabilization in the housing market. we had builders busier last month and home construction at 18-month high and permits at a future high and the problem not a lot of people are qualifying for these loans or if they do, they are holding off and waiting for housing prices to come down. >> positive news on housing, positive news on jobs. how does this trickle down to consumer spending? >> it means better confidence. people are feeling better about the economy. the university of michigan showing consumer confidence at a six-month high. gas prices are lower and puts more money in people's pockets. holiday spend on track for a record. last saturday alone 26 billion in sales. the one troublesome people thing

is people are spending but dipping into their savings to do it not because their incomes are higher and that is not sustainable. >> maybe the retailers feel they have to discount so heavily to get the consumers to spend that could be an issue. what are the traders on "the new york times" new york stock exchange telling you? do they think this will carry over into next year? >> the wild card is europe. if europe falls to recession to trip up our economic companies. if europe were to falter not hard to believe it wouldn't here. >> thank you, alexis christoforous. to the race to the white house where the gop candidates don't have time to think about christmas. front runners mitt romney and newt gingrich are battling hard for votes in the crucial first state. >> wyatt andrews is covering the romney campaign and joins us.

>> yesterday, mitt romney rejected the newt gingrich challenge for a one-on-one debate. all of that coming from that flap over negative campaign ads. mitt romney, today, concludes his three-day bus tour of new hampshire, a state where he is running ahead but acts like he is running behind. romney got a foost from george w. bush hold a newspaper that romney was his choice. >> i thanked him for his support, his leadership and his heroic life and his friendship mean a great deal to me. >> reporter: the news came as romney crisscrossed new hampshire by bus and in one small town was truly running for president. four years ago, he lost new hampshire and lost his momentum. this week, on a bus he personally filled with deiesel, he named the bus earn it. you mean earn every vote?

>> exactly right and show people i'm not sitting back assuming people will vote for me because they like my ads. >> reporter: newt gingrich spent his day in virginia. he is trying to gather the signatures to be on the ballot in virginia but part of his focus was still in iowa and the negative ads from a super pact backing mitt romney. >> i'm happy to go all over iowa and point out he doesn't mind hiding behind millions of dollars of negative ads but he doesn't want to defend them. >> reporter: gingrich was once a front-runner in iowa but seemed to admit that's changed. >> we're coming together very fast in iowa and i suspect we will be very, very competitive. my goal is to be in the top three or four. >> reporter: one candidate who could win in iowa is ron paul who had no apology. >> serial hypocrisy. >> reporter: for the negative ads he has run against gingrich. >> i feel obligated to tell people about what his positions have been and how he has flip-flopped and been on different issues. >> reporter: most of the candidates will, today, be

heading home for the christmas holiday because just next week, the sprint is on to finish strong in iowa. jim? >> wyatt andrews in north conway, new hampshire, thank you. the middle east, syria is facing its most sear antigovernment violence yet. >> two car bombings in syria's capital killed more than 40 people this morning and elizabeth palmer has the latest from london. >> reporter: streets in the eastern suburbs of damascus were littered with bodies after two explosions only minutes apart near state security buildings. syrian state television said the attack involved two suicide car bombs and blamed al qaeda, although offered no evidence to support the claim. the bombing comes just a day after an advanced team of arab league observers arrived in syria hoping to broker a cease fire in this country which is slipping towards civil war. yesterday, syrian state television showed the president

bashar al assad meeting with syrian leaders but syrian tanks and armed forces are still employ deployed in what the country as the government describes as an operation to defeat terrorists but the syrian opposition says is ruth less progression demanding greater freedom and democracy. more than 2,000 people by the u.n. estimates have died already in the violence in syria. but there has just been nothing like this, these mass bombings and it certainly represents a sinister escalation in the whole conflict. >> elizabeth, i'm wondering how the regional instability in neighboring iraq plays in the sense of this growing unrest in syria some. >> reporter: definitely. the baghdad bombings were part of a different power play probably and the syria is sort

of self-contained. but added to all of the seismic political shifts and the upheaval of the arab spring or call it now the arab awakening, a whole regional instability that could become very dangerous in 2012. >> something we will be watching. cbs' elizabeth palmer in london, thank you. debbye turner bell is at the news desk with a check of today's other headlines. good morning to you. an emotional farewell this morning to former czech president saturdays laugh havel. in 1989 he led the peaceful overthrow of communism. havel died sunday. breast implants made by the french company pip officials say the implants should be removed as a preventive measure because they are made with an industrial

silicone that could link to eight deaths of cancer in women in france and 300,000 women have the implants. none, though, were sold in the united states. a strong earthquake hit new zealand this morning. the city of christchurch was rattled by a 5.82 magnitude quake, sending people into it is street. there were no serious injuries or widespread damage, thankfully. a more powerful earthquake, you remember, was in february that killed 182 people. former presidential candidate john edwards is asking for a delay in his upcoming criminal trial because of a medical condition. his trial is scheduled to start on january 30th. lawyers did not specify his illness. edwards is accused of using campaign funds to hide an affair with his pregnant girlfriend during the 2008 campaign. and a massive fire in san francisco has left about 60 people homeless. the five-alarm blaze yesterday destroyed an apartment building and two homes. three people were injured.

the cause of the fire has not yet been determined. i hope everything is okay. now back to jim and rebecca. >> aaa says about 84 million americans are driving somewhere for christmas or new year's. and today, of course, is one of the busiest travel days of the year. >> when you hear a number like 84 million it makes you happy you're not on the road if you happen to not be but guess what? the weather man has the storey whether or not the weather is naughty or nice to all of those drivers and our chief weather caster of wcbs lonnie quinn has the forecast for us. good morning. >> good morning. nice to be with you this morning. let me show you what we're looking at. high above with our satellite imagery and look at the radar picture. two stories you'll notice. your eyes to the bright colors. snowstorm out around new mexico right now. we also have this big storm which is exiting the northeast today. so by, say, noon to 3:00, this is going to be long gone. it's the trailing cold front that has really caused some

problems. i'm telling you, when this thing came through, places like atlanta, georgia, specifically rome, garkeorgia, winds kicked at 60 miles per hour. those look like bricks to me on the ground. big trees were toppled over as well. we did have a report of a tornado in alabama associated with this storm. it has not been confirmed yet by the national weather service, but we will stay on top of that pun the other big story the snow falling around new mexico. do you realize snow recorded all the way down to the mexico border? that is not suppose to do happen. the picture you're looking at here is from new mexico, albuquerque has had snow on the ground as well. they don't normally see a lot of snow. 2 inches so far. the higher elevations have seen close to a foot of snow and i'll tell you, right now, denver has had -- look at this. i put some facts together for you if we can move forward here. this is what i'm looking for. denver, right now, at this time of the year, has had more snow

than for the entire season last year. and denver is a town we think of as catching a lot of snow when, in fact, it's really the mountains outside of denver. denver averages 61.7 inches for the year. so far, they have 25.4. last year only 22.8. on the flip side of that old coin you look at new york city. new york city had one of the biggest winters ever last year, picking up 61.9 inches. they have picked up, new york city and central park outside of that window has picked up so far this year 2.9 inches and that was in october! i mean, everything is flip-flopped out there. so let's move forward and show you what else i've got for you here. in terms of airport delays the two storms i talked about, that is what is responsible for the delays. you'll see it here around buffalo, new york and boston, wherever you see a yellow shaded airplane that is where the problems are. the green airplanes, no problems at any point today. around albuquerque that is the snowstorm as well. traveling the roadways, here is 90, okay? interstate 90, the mass

turnpike. from boston you're dealing with rain and hit albany and rain/snow mix and into syracuse, now it's a little more snow than rain. get to buffalo, it's going to be all snow. but buffalo not a big snowstorm. maybe 2 to 4 inches out of there. if you're from buffalo you know you get a lot more snow than that. guys, over to you. >> lonnie, where are we going to see a white christmas? >> you know what? i can tell you a place we guarantee it. new hampshire right now. this is north conway and take a look at this picture. they are picking up some big-time snow and i've got to tell you for the new england ski areas, this has been a tough winter and they are all rejoicing right now around north conway because they are going to be picking up in the higher elevations close to a foot of snow out of this latest storm. >> thanks,

a lot of makeovers will cost you a lot of money. they should cost -- i mean, there is a lot involved in makeovers but this morning, we have a money makeover that can actually help you save thousands of dollars for the new year and all you need is a couple of hours of time. plus, a deadly attack in afghanistan inspires a successful grassroots charity helping navy families. we will meet the navy wife who got it all started. this is "the early show" on cbs. nyquil: you know i relieve coughs, sneezing, fevers?

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tell but a story coming up. in early august, u.s. forces in afghanistan suffered their worst single loss in ten years of war. 31 special operations troops, including 22 navy s.e.a.l.s were killed when their helicopter was shot down. >> well, the wife of a former s.e.a.l. wanted to help the families of those who died and she is getting nascar attention. she is going to tell us how much money they have raised and how you can get involved. it's called the navy s.e.a.l. foundation and they have raised some thousands of dollars at this point and they are looking to work with children to help them in this really tough time to recover. this is "the early show" on cbs. . announcer: this portion of "the early show" sponsored by sassage envy.

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♪ welcome back to "the early show." i'm rebecca jarvis with jim axelrod. good morning. >> good morning. >> we are in for erica hill and chris wragge this morning. coming up send di center honoree barbara cook made it big on broadway in the 1950s and legendary musics like "the music man." >> cook is now 84 and sounds fantastic. she sat down with julie chen to talk about her great career and also how she is helping up and coming singers hit the perfect note. >> first, we have a classic very moving example of something good coming out of something just awful. back in august, 31 americans special operations forces were killed when the taliban shot down their helicopter in afghanistan. 22 of the dead were navy

s.e.a.l.s from the team that took out osama bin laden. >> in a moment we will meet a navy wife who found a way to honor those heroes and support their families. first, let's take a look back at the deadliest single incident for the troops in afghanistan. the team aboard the chinook helicopter like this one were operating as backup in a tangi valley west of afghanistan when they were hit by a rocket propelled grenade. when the remains were flown back to dover air force base, president obama met with the families who learned of the fear that their families might not be oing over. >> he is going over, a flip of the coin if he is going back or not. >> he loves all of you guys and all of his friends. >> reporter: knowing the dangers of a soldier's job is one thing, but nothing can prepare the families for the loss. >> the office of armed forces had called my daughter-in-law

tabatha and informed her that her husband had been killed this morning in afghanistan. >> we mourn more than anything else his life of unfulfilled dreams. >> reporter: including the dreams of raising the children they have left behind. joining us now is suzanne vogel, the wife of a former navy s.e.a.l. they knew many of the victims and she is here to tell us about a fund-raising project that grew out of that tragic this morning. good morning. >> good morning. >> the military always a very closely-knit community, the navy, and the s.e.a.l. community pretty close-knit. tell me how the families reacted to the disaster. >> first of all, my husband was part of it but not a s.e.a.l. and he had another support role. it's a very close community and we were heart broken. everybody was heart broken. >> so how did you turn the heart break into something that would be positive? well, i think having raised five

children in navial special war fare, i knew you had to do something and em ppowered the children. they gave all of their allowance money and we went to a parking lot and it took off from there. >> where are the stickers being used now? >> everywhere. people contact us from all over and we send them stickers. we accept donations for the navy s.e.a.l. foundation which the full purpose is help the widows and the children. football teams have worn them on their helmets and it's just been a blessing to be a part of it. >> it really has sort of taken off a bit. how important was it for you to to have something for the kids to use to get their arms around the tragedy? >> i think is how you get a military child through what a military child has to go through. i think it's also a way for people to be invested in america

and to know that these guys are doing it for them. so i wanted to encourage the families of the s.e.a.l.s and the other special war fare members, as well as give the kids a sense that they belong and they are doing it for them. >> what kind of money have you raised for all of this? >> considering we started with $96 from huntern and $29 from albuquerqa alexandra, and 42 from mom, it's not sure how much. lots of people hear about us and will give it straight to the foundation. >> you talk about the way in which this has started to catch people's eyes. i know in particular there is one nascar driver. i think josh richards. >> yeah. >> tell me a little bit about how he -- how this caught his eye. >> he found us in the parking lot of vinny's. >> we are all good friends of that. >> you have no idea! anyway, yeah, he found us and

joined machineries to sponsor. they said we want to help new a big way. >> wonderful so it's the navy s.e.a.l. foundation? if people would like to get involved, go to nsw kids.com and we appreciate you being with us. you're doing a wonderful thing. >> thank you. >> now we turn to debbye turner bell back at the news desk with another check of the headlines. congress votes today on extending the payroll tax cut for two months. house speaker john boehner said the republicans have decided to accept the bill and extend unemployment benefits through january 29th. powerful storms hit the south are now moving into new england. winds as high as 60 miles an hour battered rome, georgia, yesterday. cars were overturned and the wall of a building collapsed. overall, at least seven people were injured. a federal judge has ruled

south carolina cannot enforce key parts of its tough new immigration law. among the provisions blocked, one that required police to check the immigration status of people they pull over if they are suspected of being in this country illegally. and a russian soyuz spacecraft docks with the international space station this this morning. it took off wednesday including three americans and all on board the space station will oversee the start of commercial

up next, feel like saving some money next year? getting your finances on track? >> why, yes, jim, i do. we will give you a money makeover. this is a makeover for everyone and it's not going to take much of your time. we will show it to you right here on "the early show" on cbs. [ cat yodeling ] honey, check your email! [ cellphone chimes ] [ cat yodeling ] kids! [ cat yodeling ] sing, larry, sing! [ cat yodeling ] we should have got a cat. [ male announcer ] get low prices on gifts to stay connected. order your last-minute gifts at walmart-dot-com and get free same-day pickup on select items. save money. live better. walmart. oh how i wish i could resist jiggling this holiday. oh joy oh natural joy! truvia®, box of bliss,

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so if you can spare a couple of hours over the next week or so, that is enough time for a money makeover that could save you big bucks in the new year. >> sounds good. financial contributor carmen wong ulrich writes about these strategies in the latest edition of "good house keeping." these are things not so hard for people to do and they can do them before the new year. >> two hours is all this is going to take you. let's break it down, shall we, and get started. it is going to be fast. i'll convince you. 40 minutes is the first 40 minutes what i want you to do is re-evaluate your banking and

this will save up up to $400 this year. how are we doing this? we talked about moving your banks before and been a hot topic this year. if you get charged like i funed out one of my accounts charged me $25 a month for just regular checking, why is that happening? let's say the average right now is about $12 a month. you go to an atm not yours a couple times that adds up to $400 in fees a year. no need to pay that. i want you to go to bankright.com and free site and shop around. online banks are offering no fee checking and even a little tiny bit of interest which is tiny, probably 0.2% is the average but it's something. and no fees. if you're worried about making deposits now, you can scan the checks and e-mail them in. that's a deposit. >> i love the ease of that. i'm already starting to do that and loving the technology. gray charges something people must look out. >> what is that? moving from your banking statements to your credit card statements. now you know when you go, i'm going to try this anti-virus software and sign up. unfortunately, the little fine

print shows that when you sign up, a lot of times you find yourself signing up for a monthly service. so go to another free site called buildguard.com. and it's free. and they basically monitor your credit card statements and their average customer saves $300 a year in these gray charges. >> billguard.com? >> yep. >> everybody is always, when you talk about money makeovers, you got to talk about your saving strategies. but give me more than that. everyone is always saying you have to save more. >> i'll give you a stat which is scary. the national foundation for credit counseling found this year, 64% of americans say if they had to come up with a thousand dollars cash in an emergency, they could not. >> what? >> a thousand dollars. 64% of americans can't do this. so please don't be that person. the most dangerous thing is the pop-up expenses like the car breaks down. not that you lose your job but these little things that eat at our cash and budget. i want to make sure you have that today. go sign up online, free, savings

interest savings account 20 bucks a month even and can you do this and you can build up to $500 a year and that could be enough to take care of those pop-up expenses. now get even bigger than that. your emergency fund. put even more money away into a separate account and the two key things here. automated so that when your check goes in, the money goes out, you don't see it like a tax for yourself. make sure you keep it separate from your checking. it's a little too easy if you link them altogether. >> you don't touch it. stay safe. >> two hours, better financial future. >> exactly. >> carmen wong ulrich, thank you. >> thank you. up next, president obama is finally set for another christmas in hawaii. >> we will ask some of the islanders if they know what has been keeping him in washington. this is "the early show" on cbs. be five percent more merry with the target red card, by getting an extra five percent off our already low prices. plus free shipping at target.com

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it pays to discover. ♪ [ laughs ] [ laughs ] [ woman ] i want to see that. careful. careful. careful. good. ♪ [ female announcer ] they're for bringing us together. ♪ this holiday, select hallmark cards come postage-paid. ♪ that is their song, with joyful ring, ♪all caroling, ♪, dong one seems to hear, words of good cheer, from everywhere, ♪ ♪ filling the air, oh how they pound, raising the sound, ♪ ♪ o'er hill and dale, telling their tale, gaily they ring, ♪ ♪ while people sing, songs of good cheer, christmas is here. ♪ later today after the payroll tax extension is finally wrapped up in congress, president obama flies to hawaii for a christmas break that was

supposed to start a week ago. >> his wife and daughters are already there and so is national correspondent chip reid who joins us from one of the great assignments in all of broadcast journalism, covering a vacation in honolulu. good morning, chip. >> reporter: well, good morning, jim and rebecca. you can see it's a bit dark here on waikiki right now but when people are on this beach most of them do know the president and know he is coming here and know his vacation has been delayed but good luck finding anyone who knows why. if you're lucky enough to spend the holidays soaking up the sun and playing in the surf in hawaii, you're probably not spending a lot of time following politics. just ask ky, the surfer dude, from san diego. have you been paying any attention to this mess going on back in washington? >> no, not at all. i could care less to be completely honest. i'm just here to vacation, surf, have a good time, party it up. that's about it. >> reporter: so if i told you that what they are fighting over is a payroll tax cut, you would

say? >> so? >> reporter: 72-year-old billy pa still finds time to surf every day but politics? >> not too much. i don't like to get into politics. >> reporter: why not? >> i'm not a politician. i'm a surfer. >> reporter: maybe the bell family from oregon is paying attention. do you have a clue what this mess is in washington? >> which one? ha, ha! >> reporter: how about the one that is delaying the president's vacation? >> oh, you're talking about the tax thing? >> reporter: that's right. the tax thing which got some interest from boathand alika salang shortstop sang. what would you say about a payroll tax cut. >> it is pretty good for me. it is? awesome, bring it on. >> reporter: two vakers frcatio from canada.

>> i'm paying attention. >> reporter: more than most of the americans. >> i am paying than most of the americans because whatever happens in the states is what is happening in our world economy. so if we are not paying attention about what is happening in the states, we're in trouble, all of us. >> reporter: the first lady and daughters sasha and malia are already here and hope the president will be here in time for christmas eve. >> i guess the tradeoff spending a week in hawaii is getting up a little every now' then. >> poor chip. >> poor chip. >> oh, no, it's okay. thank you, rebecca. >> thank you, dude. coming up, kennedy center honoree barbara cook. like up to 65% off sweaters, coats and pajamas for the whole family. and 35% off fragrance gifts sets for him and her. shop sears now for great deals for everyone on your list. sears. when you pour chunky beef with country vegetables soup over it...

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welcome back. coming up when our good friend ben stein a friend of the show here, talks, people tend to listen to him. he believes in a lot of important things including, this might surprise you, the spirit of christmas. this morning, he is here with a christmas message and a reminder for everyone every time of the year. also ahead, singer barbara cook who was awarded a prestigious kennedy center honor this month is a broadway legenden won a tony 54 years ago as the original marian, the librarian, in "the music man."

and still a big hit on stage. she will open up to julie chen about the good times and rough times when she says alcohol was more important than her music. >> a great story. first, debbye turner bell is here with a check of the headlines. db? we have been talking about nicknames so that is your new one. >> i like that. i can do do that. good morning. congress votes on the extension of the payroll tax cut today. yesterday, house speaker john boehner said republicans have decided to accept the senate's bill. the deal would divert a tax increase for 160 million american workers starting january 1st and it would extend unemployment benefits those out of work to 99 weeks. >> we were here fighting for the right thing. may not have been the politically the smartest thing in the world, but let me tell you what. i think our members waged a good fight. >> lawmakers have agreed to start working on a year-long deal when they return to washington in january. deadly bombing attacks in

syria this morning. twin suicide car bombs were detonated near government buildings in the capital of damascus. 40 people killed and scores wou wounded. the government blames the attacks on al qaeda. military is looking for three gunmen involving a shooting at a roller skating rink overnight. five people were wounded at a private party. a fight broke out and someone returned to the rink with guns. the wounds are not believed to be life-threatening. powerful storms slammed into northern georgia headed up the east coast today. the storm packed winds up to 60 miles an hour. cars were overturned and buildings danimaged. seven people were injured. it turns out people still believe in santa claus. a new poll finds 84% of adults believed in santa when they were kids and a 57% say kriss kringle is an important part of christmas celebrations today.

announcer: this portion of "the early show" sponsored by macy's. this morning, we continue our series on this year's kennedy center honors with barbara cook, a legendary broadway voice who is still entertaining us at the age of 84. >> not long ago, one reviewer called her the greatest singer in the world. she sat down with julie chen to talk about her brilliant career in music.

♪ isn't it rich isn't it clear ♪ >> reporter: over half a century, barbara cook has taken the american songbook and made it her own. ♪ ♪ in my career >> i've always sung. i don't remember ever not singing. i was born, i breathed, i sang, i think. ♪ i think about you >> reporter: known as one of the greatest vocal interpreters of time. ♪ i think about you >> reporter: cook is constantly improving her craft. ♪ this can't be love because i feel so well ♪ >> reporter: getting better with age. and experience. ♪ this can't be love >> i think five years from now, i sing better than i do now. ♪ my hair is not

in the sky ♪ >> i truly do, because i'll have more courage. ♪ long ago >> reporter: raised in atlanta, she started singing at a young age. music was an escape from hard times. >> my mother and father divorced when i was maybe 6 1/2, close to 7 maybe. my mother and i then went to live with my grandfather. the depth offer height or whatever you want to call it of the depression, so it was, very, very hard for not just us, for everybody, everybody i knew. >> reporter: at age 21, cook moved to new york following the dream of her singing and acting career and never looks back. ♪ there were >> reporter: pretty quickly, that career took off with cook finding steady work on the stage, winning a tony award for playing marian, the librarian, in 1957, "the music man" making her a certified broadway star.

♪ knew there was you >> i didn't feel as if i was the toast of the town. i was very happy to have gotten that award, don't get me wrong. >> reporter: were you surprised? >> to tell you the truth, i had done candy the year before and i thought -- i wasn't even nominated that year. i thought i should get it for canide. my god, i knew it was in the bag, but i thought, gee whiz, maybe, because it was such an incredible departure from me and still anything i've bone vocally physical by far, by far. i was kind of disappointed when i didn't even get nominated. so then i wasn't -- i wasn't expecting it from "music man", no. >> reporter: there was more success. but doubt, depression, and alcoholism took its toll. what happened? >> i was a drunk. pure and simple. >> reporter: how did you turn to the alcohol? >> well, you know, you slip into

it. you don't know when it happens. you don't know when you cross into that. you think you have trouble so you drink. and you think if i could fix the troubles, i wouldn't drink. >> reporter: how many years were you an alcoholic? >> i don't know how many. maybe ten. or less. i'm not sure. >> reporter: and how do you think, looking back, that affected your career? or what -- >> tremendously. you know, just about the only thing i feel bad about in my career is that during the years when -- 40s and 50s, when i was in my prime, not 50s so much, but during the 40s when i should have been doing my best work in theater, i was not employable. i was not employable for filling kleenex at the drugstore, you know? i could not function. >> reporter: were you getting gigs? just not great gigs? >> no. i wasn't working. i couldn't. i couldn't work. no. i was just being a drunk.

>> reporter: cook finally got sober. she credits her 30-year collaboration with musical director wally harper for saving her life and career. >> it was a great, great coming together. two sensibilities coming together, and he died in 2004 and it was horrible. very, very hard. you know, it wasn't just that he played the piano for me. we thought a like and he was very, very special for a lot of people. ♪ where you start it's where you finish ♪ >> reporter: cook returned to reorganiz recording, taking her highly one woman show to theaters and cabarets around the world. ♪ and you'll finish on top

>> reporter: she also teaches master classes to aspiring performers. >> i just don't believe it. >> reporter: hoping they can learn from her life experience. >> it's about sex. what i want is for people to let me in. i want people to put their life experience and how they feel this minute into what is happening, right now! ♪ so here's to life >> reporter: and, right now. ♪ and every joy it brings >> reporter: cook is feeling gratitude. >> i know that i can move people. people are willing to be moved. and it's a wonderful feeling to know that you can make that connection. great feeling. ♪ but there's no yes in yesterday and who knows what what tomorrow brings ♪ >> reporter: at age 84, barbara cook is now a kennedy center

honoree. >> this is not only a validation of my work, but because i put so much of my life experience into my work, i feel it's a validation of my whole life. ♪ here's to life >> so it means a great deal to me. ♪ to dreamers and their dreams ♪ >> reporter: julie chen, cbs news, washington. >> what a talent. >> wow! >> i appreciate her sincerity because she tackled some tough topics there but she was so honest about them. >> transparent. >> can you watch the kennedy center honors this tuesday night, at 9:00, 8:00 central on cbs. up next, time to find out did macy's believe campaign reach its goal of 1 million letters to santa? >> i want to believe! we will find out how big a check is going to the make a wish foundation coming up here on "the early show" on cbs. come on!

wait for me! there it is. ah! hurry up. you're heavy. are you sure these letters will get to santa? yes, of course. hold still. almost there. a little 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. but my nose is still runny. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't treat that. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ deep breath] awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is. that's the cold truth!

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♪ throughout the holiday season, macy's has been asking believers of all ages to write letters to santa as part of its believe campaign. for each letter received macy's donates $1 up to $1 million to the make a wish foundation. >> joining us is martine reardon and david of the macy's make a wish foundation. how did the campaign go, martine? >> oh, my goodness. it's been a huge success. this is year four and four years into it, we continue to add to the campaign and make it more exciting and with the help of david and his entire staff at the make a wish foundation, it has been just tremendous from, you know, our santa bus tour that, you know, visited 22

cities across the country and granted wishes in every single one of those cities to our national believe day on december 9th where we granted 55 wishes simultaneously. it has been a tremendous outpouring of our customers and your viewers who have come in to drop their letters off to make this really a great campaign this year. >> that is such a nice thing to hear. it really looks like a win/win situation. david, how important is the may macy's' believe campaign to make a wish for you? >> oh, my goodness. it's hard to put words into how important it is. macy's is an amazing supporters for us. it's an opportunity for kids, young and old, throughout the country, to be able to write their letter to santa claus and bring it to macy's and support the wish of the make a wish foundation, so we are just so privileged to be partnering with a great company like macy's. >> i think the time has come here. >> i think the time has come. because of our national believe day and our double donation on

december 9th, we are so proud to present this check for $1.4 million, so although the campaign has been a million all along, because of double donation day, we have had such great success on national believe day it is $1.4 million. congratulations and let's grant some more wishes. >> exactly. >> such a tremendous and unexpectedly large gift, david. this is going to help a lot of people. >> it is. you know, there are about 27,000 children in the united states who are diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition area wen able to grant wishes for about half that group. with contributions like this, we will be able to help more kids in 2012. thanks to macy's and to everybody who wrote a letter, to cbs for some amazing segments that really showed the power of a wish because these are not just nice experiences. these are life changing experiences. >> we want to take a quick look, david, at the power of those wishes and what it's done for so many children. let's take a listen.

♪ >> ho ho ho! >> a force we feel every day from macy's is so amazing. from the staff and volunteers we know macy's is here for us and we are so thankful. >> thank you, macy's! ♪ >> thank you, macy's, and make a wish foundation. for fulfilling one of my dreams. >> every day, we just know that we will be bringing hope and strength and joy to kids who really need it most. ♪ jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way oh, what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh ♪ >> thank you, macy's!

>> thank you, macy's, for making my wish come true. >> great stuff to see. just how many lives you both touched with this work. >> it's such an honor to do this. and it is something that we intend to do for the next 150 years. >> 150 years. >> yes, yes. >> i love it. >> the extra 400,000. >> yes. thank you so much to both of you. >> thank you. merry christmas and happy holidays. >> good luck cash this particular check. the $1.4 million check is going out. this one might be a little tough at the bank but we appreciate it. thanks. >> thank you. coming up next, ben stein christmas. >> actor, writer, occasional philosopher will tell us what christmas is all about. this is "the early show" on cbs. the holidays are here, here comes that jiggling sound.

when sugar plums appear, temptation's all around. donuts, cakes and pies, they've got a gift for me, i wish that i could take it back, but there is no receipt. oh jiggle bells, jiggle bells, jiggle all the way. oh how i wish i could resist, jiggling this holiday. oh joy oh natural joy! truvia®, box of bliss, zero calorie sweetness from a leaf, my sugar plum happiness. truvia®. honestly sweet.

a lot of christmas traditions out there. every year it comes along, some

people celebrate with christmas lights and shopping sprees, cookies. some carols. getting together with the family. there's also a bigger picket here. a heart of the season. >> that's exactly right. the multitalented ben stein has a unique perspective on christmas and we asked him to explain it for you. >> my wife and i celebrate christmas big time. i'm sure we have more decorations than anywhere us have. why? because the outside lights and the tree and the fire are festive. that is innate. man colors colored lights and fires. when i was a kid in maryland the neighbors are festive lights and we didn't. i didn't like that. i saw no reason why they should have all of the fun and i still don't. having those lights on a tree is what i always wanted. to have colored lights and to be a part of the dominant culture but i love christmas for much more basic reasons. christmas is about something huge. you can be saved if you simply make a contract to believe in

god and some add if you act right. it has nothing to do with how you were born or into what tribe. this is a revolutionary stupendous string of the human spirit and why christmas is such a joyous time for people, whether jews or christians or anyone else who wants to believe we humans can be forgiven and go on to lead lives of triumph no matter what has happened in our past. that and not shopping at all, not the retail numbers is why christmas is such a great time. the lights are nice and the tree is nice and the shopping is nice, but a dominant culture that says the love and peace are the highest values. that's what i want to honor. i don't honor retail sales numbers. i honor the spirit of forgiveness and love. that's christmas for me. merry christmas, everybody. >> clearly the most forceful act of christmas by anyone named stein. >> exactly. yes. as a business economics correspondent here i love people talking about love and peace. those are very important things.

>> we don't want to lose our frame of thinking here. >> don't want to lose sight

♪ welcome back to "the early show." i'm rebecca jarvis with jim axelrod. coming up a few good christmas stories. we brought in three best-selling authors to tell us which christmas stories or poems mean the most to them them and you will be surprised by most of them. we turn to lauren bush lauren. she is president george bush's

granddaughter and her father-in-law is ralph lauren. she has made quite a name for herself feeding young children through our feed organization. she will explain all about that coming up. should be interesting. first we want to look at travelers who are told over and over again if you leave your electronic devices on, maybe it could cause the plane to crash or at least it's an interference with some system on the plane and the right credit card will cover an accident with a rental car. >> so this morning, it's time to separate fact from fiction and travel editor peter greenberg is just the guy to do it. good morning and please tell me the guy until the next seat on his blackberry will not bring his plane down. >> the guy on the next seat is you, the full disclosure. it is a myth. interestingly enough the federal aviation administration, start first with cell phones. you have to turn them off when

you're on the plane. they are instigated this 20 years and no conclusive evidence whatsoever what that a cell phone transmission can interfere with anything on the plane. yet the officials say no conclusive evidence but leave it to the individual airlines to set their own rules because nobody wants to take the heat for this. >> but if it was a danger, why would they let everybody on to the plane with a potential device on the plane that could bring the plane down? >> interestingly enough. how do they seek out a signal? if you're at 35,000 feet the concern from the fcc, not the faa you block out cleveland looking for that cell phone but you don't get a signal at that altitude but it's still a rule so you have to obey it but it will not take the plane down. now blackberries and the faa gave american airlines permission to have their own pilots to use their ipads in the

cockpit. doesn't that tell you everything you need to know? bottom line if they are using the ipad within three feet all of that sensitive aviation instrumentation and nothing happen i've been in cockpits ten years ago and they were playing donkey kong up there. the bottom line it's not necessarily a technical issue, it's a safety issue. the airlines want you to pay attention and not listen to your headphones and ipod mix when the plane is at a critical takeoff. the bottom line is the rule says this. faa cannot find any conclusive evidence, they leave it up to the individual airlines again to make the rules. but i'm one of those guys that says stop this, let's get real about it and hopefully one day they will. >> another myth is this question of insurance coverage. when you rent a car maybe you think my personal insurance covers this or a lot of credit cards even market themselves as you get our credit card, you're covered in the case of any problems with the rental. >> a lot of credit cards companies market their services

saying rent the car with our card, you get covered. now talk about the fine print. it's not primary coverage and most cases, not all, but in most cases, it's called secondary coverage. that coverage only kicks in when you exhaust the entire limits of your first provide marry coverage policy and if you don't have that, you are not covered. >> so you have to take insurance at a rental company? >> no, you don't. in many cases if you have your own automobile insurance, you're covered for rental car. >> let's say you don't have your own auto insurance and maybe you don't drive in real life but you get a rental car. >> if you don't have your own auto insurance i recommend taking the coverage. remember, it's the most expensive thing you're going to have renting a car. more expensive sometimes than the car itself. >> good point. peter greenberg, as always, thank you. happy holidays. >> and turn your blackberry off! >> even though it doesn't matter. >> exactly. >> debbye turner bell is at the news desk with one more check of the headlines. d -- is it db? >> just call me debbye and that

is all right. not too long g ago in burr that, this would be unofficial. aung san suu kyi registered this morning for her election. she lived under house arrest for 15 years. motrin pain relievers called for the sixth time in two years. johnson & johnson say the pills may not work as soon as intended but the company says no safety concern. a music student is looking for her rare vie little solin s a bus. police say the violin can be returned. no questions asked. we wish her the very best. in thailand christmas with a twist. six elephants dressed as santa claus passed out toys to children.

an annual event that takes on a special meaning today as the area recovers from devastating floods. very different. time for weather i tried that. i'm just not cool enough. >> keep working on it. you're getting there. >> dare to dream. erica hill is off this morning but she recently sat down with three best selling authors to talk about the christmas stories that mean the most to them. >> 'tis the week before christmas. we brought together some incredible writers to tell us their favorite holiday stories.

nicholas sparks has written 17 books and six have turned into movies and three more on the way. brad metlzer best selling author and jennifer egan won a pulitzer prize from her book "the goon squad." nice to have you here and not feel small at all with that pedigree. it's such a treat to have you all here. you're all very different in terms of genre and in terms of what you write and incredibly well-respected in the community but you have very different takes on holiday stories which we love. jennifer, i start with you. what to you is the quintessential christmas or holiday story? >> i would say a christmas carol by charles dickens and actually charles dickens wrote a lot about christmas and i just -- he was an amazing writer. i find him to be like cat in my opinion -- cat nip and hard to put down once you pick it up.

something about england christmastime. 19th century christmas. i felt like when i went to england when i was 18, i thought this is the place christmas happens. a way in hearing all of those stories as a kid made me think that is the original place christmas happened and i think dickens captures that? >> have you spent christmas in england? >> i have not. >> you have to put it on your list to see if it compares to the way it's written about. >> but he was a tight fisted hand at the grindstone. scrooge. a squeezing wrenching old sinner. hard and sharp as flint from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire. secret and self-campaigned and solitariy as an oyster. the cold in him froze him and stiffened his gait and eyes red and thin lips blue and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice.

a fosty rhyme on his head and eyebrows and wiry children. he carried his own low temperature. always about with him. he iced his office in the dog days and didn't thaw it one degree at christmas. >> brad, the book you chose at christmas is one i love. people don't necessarily see it as a holiday book but a beautiful called "thank you bear." >> i found it through my 6-year-old. she came home and said i have a good book, i took it out of library. i thought you don't have a good book. i give you good books. we read this book about a cute found this great present from a mouse. it's a little box. he shows the box and you don't know what is in the box but it's so perfect and he shows it to the he will fapt, the elephant says it doesn't seem that nice. the monkey he shows it to him and the monkey says i've seen it

before. t the elephant gives it to the mouse and says you may not like it. he hands it over' the mouse says, exactly what i wanted, an empty box. for me, i lost my dad six months ago and my mom three years ago and i have a lot of empty boxes and this was the one that filled it. i looked at my daughter, and i said, thank you, thank you for this one. you filled my empty box and i appreciate that. to me, "thank you bear" was the best. to me what christmas and hanukkah and all of these holidays is all about. early one morning, a bear found a little box. he looked inside and said it's the greatest thing ever! mouse will love this! on his way to find mouse, he showed it to the monkey and monkey said that's not so great. he showed it to owl and the owl said i've seen those before. the elephant he showed it to him and he said i think it's too small. he tried to show it to the bunny but bunny said i don't have time to look at it right now. the bear stopped and wondering

if it was great after all. while he was wondering the mouse came along and asked bear what he had. he showed it to the mouse. mouse looked at it and crawled into the empty box and said it's the greatest thing ever, thank you, bear. >> yours is equally beautiful. loved by so many, especially for the 24-hour marathon on christmas eve. >> we are talking about "christmas story." that is my favorite film. i think it's many people's favorite during the ho holidays and but i chose a different passage to read. they wanted something a little more book like so i picked coyote christmas. for me christmas is for kids and i gave you something short i can read for the kids. you know, something that is only going to take about ten minutes. because it can be very hectic between -- >> the attention span issue? >> yeah. you have hurry and finish so i can get to unwrapping this stuff. it's a great take on "'twas the

night before christmas" by the cowboy in the desert. it ties to what christmas is about. for him it's about him and family. on the day before christmas, a cowboy home-bound rode into a desert on a horse he called brown. he long ago left his family behind as he searched for their fortune in an old desert mine. the gold in his pocket felt more like a stone as he read his son's letter, daddy, please come on home. the cowboy had promised he would be back christmas day but the snow in the mountains now stood in his way. now it's all called a coyote christmas because he meets these coyotes and drive pink cadillacs and then they see the bethlehem star. it's in the middle of the desert, of course. i guess you'd say the story ends this way. after he walks into the mission and sees the newborn, he says, a wise coyote said welcome, my

friend, with your chunk of gold. does the gold own is as others i've known and is gold the reason that you're not at home? the cowboy reached for the gold and layed tid the piece down ane the gift to the horse he called brown. as he left the mission on that joyous desert night, all of the heavens in earth filled with the wondrous light. mission bells toiled that there be peace on earth and this night of nights, upon the christ child's birth. >> so you just shared all of your readings with us which we loved. is there something different? i mean, i think there is for me. is there something about different reading aloud to someone than reading to yourself with somebody like "a christmas carol"? >> i think reading aloud is a thrill. it began an oral tradition and it makes a book work. i think you hear that when you read aloud. great things about having kids.

>> how did you do reading "coyote christmas"? >> it's fun. it's a twist on like scrooge, bill murray against charles dickens. they are the classic. a new twist on something that everyone is familiar with and it's a fun story but it has this -- i think it actually has a deeper meaning than the original poem because it's not just this holiday story which it is, but it really brings it in like you're out chasing all of this stops. hunt for gold. what about your family back home? that's what your kids want. they want you. to me what the holidays and christmas is about. and it's certainly where i'll be, you know, with the family because, to me, the tradition of family is very important. >> so they want the family. you want to be able to have something to fill up your box so can you have your christmas present so we tied it all together with all three. >> that was outstanding. >> we should probably leave it there before i ruin it. again, appreciate all of you coming in and sharing everything with us. jennifer egan and brian metlzer

lauren bush lauren was born into a political dynasty and then she married in an iconic fashion family. >> she found a purpose in life fighting world hunger with a company called feed and katrina szish is here to tell us more about it. >> reporter: a former fashion model and princeton graduate, her pedigree is high but in spending the day with lauren i found a down to earth easy going woman who made it her mission to help those in need. >> this is a closet full of feed goodies from candles to teddy bears and bags galore, bracelets and scarves and much more. >> reporter: i love that. >> that rhymes! >> reporter: with the laugh as contagious as her impromptu

rhythm and rhyme lauren bush lauren might not take herself too seriously but when it comes to combating world hunger she means business. >> this is the feed one bag that started it all. you see it has the number on it which signifies for every bag sold we are able to feed a child for an entire year. >> reporter: listed as one of fortune's most powerful entrepreneurs in 2009 she is the granddaughter of george h.w. bush and the niece of george w. bush. what is it like being part of the extended family of two u.s. presidents? not just one, but two. >> i really -- yeah, i love my family and i'm one of 14 cousins so there's a lot of of us. >> reporter: and now she's joined another famous family. recently marrying long time boyfriend david lauren, son of america fashion icon ralph lauren. did you ever have a moment when you were dating a -- i will be

lauren lauren? >> from the minute we started dating that was, obviously, the running joke. but i'm getting used to it. i'm liking it. lauren bush lauren is the official name. >> reporter: the couple wed this september in a rustic ceremony in colorado with the bride wearing an intricately beaded victorian dress, a one of a kind original designed, of course, by her father-in-law. i think there was something like i read 3,000 hours of handiwork done on this gown? >> it's just every layer just would take your breath away. it was -- it was beyond. >> reporter: did you feel like that maybe was your fairy tale moment? >> there was. there was even a carriage! i mean, it really was a fairy tale. >> reporter: but beyond the fairy tales and power of her name, lauren has dedicated much of her life to giving back. what do you want people to know about lauren bush lauren?

>> to buy feedback. >> reporter: a princeton graduate, lauren can see the idea for the feed bag after volunteering for the u.n. world food program. >> i come back and was really frustrated, i didn't know what to tell other young people to do. i didn't know what to do myself. >> reporter: now feed sells online and in boutiques at different price points. the most expensive the item, the more meals it can provide. what do you want to tell americans who are lucky to have food on their tables about the rest of the world and those people who really are hungry and being hungry is almost a way of life? >> it's just another world. and we're lucky in america to have a bit of a safety net, you know, and that is not to say there are so many hungry here. even in new york city where i live and work, 1 in 6 people rely on food assistance to get by. to have food at your fingertips, to walk into a grocery store and

be able to pick out what you want is such a luxury. maybe a red one. but abroad, nearly 925 million people worldwide go hungry every day and hunger is the largest killer over aids and malaria and tb combined. >> reporter: in the five years she started feed, lauren's organization has provided more than 60 million meals to students worldwide. >> i sort of dedicated my life in a way to addressing those issues and addressing that disparity and trying to close that gap a bit and in giving people an easy way and a fun way to give back. >> reporter: and all this at just 27 years old. for every feed product sold, a specific number of meals is donated to someone in need. depending on the country, it costs only 20 to $50 to feed one student for an entire year. best place to shop and to help is on the feed website which is feedprojects.com. >> great work they are doing.

that 925 million people going hungry is such a massive number. but so nice to see someone is not taking what they have for granted. >> so many of us do, right? >> right. >> katrina szish, thank you for being here. >> we hope everyone has a great weekend. have a great holiday weekend, everyone. merry christmas. your local news is next.