>> happy new year. [ captions by: caption colorado, llc 800-775-7838 email: comments@captioncolorado.com ] good morning. mitt romney picks you wanted speed in the iowa caucuses in a state he didn't think he would compete in. we will look at the candidates that may not survive iowa. better news on unemployment is raising hopes again of a better economy in 2012. we will tell you what could still trip us up and we will also look back on a wild year for wall street. united. pilots complain that the airlines mergering with continental is making the skies less safe and why they think a retraining program is raising the danger for passengers. >> it was a great year to be a bridesmaid. one of the highlights of a

successful year for women in entertainment "early" this friday morning, december 30th, 2011. on this last day of the workweek, last friday of 2011. >> as we were getting used to saying 2011. >> i like 2012 better. we begin with politics. in four days, iowa republicans will be the first to vote in the 2012 presidential campaign. >> a tight race in the iowa caucuses and a busy weekend coming up for the candidates and those covering them. chief political correspondent jan crawford is in west des moines, iowa, this morning. >> reporter: as these candidates make their final push across iowa, there is one thing that is striking. mitt romney is on the rise and that alone makes this campaign very different than the one four years ago.

mitt romney's machine is powering through iowa handing out yard signs and shaking hands and asking for votes. last night in ames, romney's bus rolled into another packed event and he continued to fire up crowds. >> i watched the president. he says, well, it could have been worse. that goes down there with let them eat cake. >> reporter: he is going for a knockout blow in a state he wasn't expected to win. four years ago, romney spent millions, had 52 paid staffers, and lost. this time with only five full-time staff, the campaign feels he is peaking at the right moment. >> a level of enthusiasm and excitement. this is energetic and very exciting. >> reporter: the newest poll in the top tier is rick santorum who was boosted thursday by big crowds and press attention for the first time this race! >> do not settle for someone who the media says that can win.

>> reporter: with santorum's rise in the polls come the first major attacks he has seen campaign. >> he was a prolific ear-marker. as we talk about the things that are wrong with washington, d.c., these earmarks are a great example of how the run-away spinning has occurred. >> reporter: rick perry is competing with santorum and michele bachmann for the religious conservative vote in iowa. bachmann continued to try to minimize the damage done to her campaign by the departure of her iowa co-chairman kent sorenson maintaining the ron paul campaign bribed him away and showing the message on her iphone last night. >> what that reflected was the nervousness on the ron paul campaign that they were losing steam in iowa. >> reporter: and perry polling in the low single digits acknowledged his political fate might be in the hands of another power. >> nothing can end this? >> well, that's god's will. there might be an outcome that he decides that i wouldn't go

on. >> is he caucusing? >> i'm pretty sure he will be. >> reporter: now another thing that breaking mitt romney's way, that there hasn't been an alternative to him that has really been able to coalesced social conservatives and build a big coalition like mike huckabee did four years ago. they say it stas tra little str but you need a break too. >> how high and how certain, jan, are the high expectations on the romney camp? >> reporter: well, listen. if you talk to romney's advisers, they are still saying we will be happy with a second place finish. we didn't expect to show well here. iowa is a very conservative state and not republicanive of republican politics across the country so they are really still keeping those expectations low, but it's been fascinating as we have gone through the state talking to voters this week and

voters beginning to get serious about the campaign and these candidates and finding a candidate who they think will beat barack obama. and over and over, the voters that i've talked to say they believe now that it may be mitt romney. and even though they may not agree with him on all of the issues, he may be the guy to keep the one thing that they care about most and that is getting obama out of the white house. >> cbs' jan crawford in west des moines, iowa, thanks so much, jan. also in iowa this morning covering the last rush of campaigning before the caucuses is jeff selena of "the new york times." good morning to you. thanks, jeff, for being with us. >> good morning, jeff. >> reporter: so i wonder, jeff, with all of the momentum that mitt romney seems to have right now, i wonder if even a second place finish in iowa is considered a disappointment for that campaign now? >> reporter: you know, it's hard to imagine that a few months ago, like jan said, mitt romney would have even been doing this well in iowa. i think they have managed their

expectations fairly well but it depends on who would come in first place. the romney campaign would be just fine with ron paul winning iowa. they believe that would sort of discredit the results to some extent and give him a surge going into new hampshire, but the romney campaign is very confident because the vote among these social conservative candidates remains split. but if something were to happen in the final days here, if michele bachmann would do something, if something would happen with newt gingrich supporters, if they would coalesce behind one other candidate, romney could be in a bit of trouble. some of his advisers are not counting all of their chickens at this point. still a few days to go in this and everyone is not completely sealed up for them. >> jeff, i want to ask you about rick santorum. we talked about the surge he seemed to enjoy a couple of days ago. that continues? >> reporter: you know, i think rick santorum is definitely the fruits of his labors are paying off. you talk to voters who say that they appreciate the time he has

taken. they appreciate the fact he answers questions for hours on end. so i think he is rising somewhat. but there's a limit to his rise. his organization still is not nearly as strong as some of the other candidates in the race. even governor rick perry has spent millions here. rick santorum cannot compete with that but he definitely has the hearts and minds of some of these evangelical voters. he is finally being attacked. rick perry has the radio ads attacking him and shows he is a credible candidate in this race. >> the bottom seemed to drop out of the gingrich campaign the last week or so. we know he doesn't have much money left. how long does he stay in the race for? >> that's a really good question. i think that one thing, as this race continues beyond iowa and it's going to, it will go to new hampshire, south carolina and florida. the thing that has kept newt gingrich in this race all along are debates. there are going to be more debates as this campaign continues and probably not much of a reason for him to get out

of the race if he doesn't do very well here. so i'm not sure that iowa is going to be the same as in years past and in terms of narrowing the field because people could stay in and keep debating. newt gingrich is getting more attention i think in the final days. his crowds were fairly good in northwest iowa yesterday. i think his people are not counting him out just yet. he could have, i guess, a third life in his campaign. we will have to see how he does. >> jeff, you mentioned michele bachmann or someone else potentially doing something in the last couple of days that might change the race again. what do you think that might be? >> reporter: that's a good question. i was not expecting her top adviser here to go to the ron paul campaign. we have accusations of pay for pay going on. she so is impicombustible and volatile. if all of her supporters go to rick santorum or newt gingrich has that the potential to change the race here.

if she stays as strong as she can in the final days and holds on to what few sporters she has remaining that will help mitt romney and keep the support as diffused as possible. >> very good to speak with you, jeff. thanks for joining us this morning. >> jeff, thank you. here is rebecca. on this final business day of 2011, there is positive news on one of the biggest issues facing our country right now. that is jobs. another sign of conditions possibly getting better in 2012. to answer to that, we are joined by alexis christoforous of cbs "moneywatch" who is watching that for us this morning. >> investors have been shifting through a pile of encouraging economic reports recently and a growing number of economists believe that momentum can continue in the new year. >> reporter: the u.s. economy is ending a year of uncertainty on a positive note. fewer americans are filing new claims for jobless benefits than at any time since the end of the

recession. a sign layoffs are easing. >> we are certainly seeing momentum pick up in the economy. that's a really good sign for 2012. we have seen the jobs market really improve over the last few months. >> reporter: the year began with 9% unemployment. it peaked at 9.2% in june and fell to 8.6% last month. companies like the ambrose group which provides personnel services for small business, can see the difference. >> we added on about 20% year over year and then we are already slated to add on another 10% next year. >> reporter: the housing market is showing signs of life. the number of people signing contracts to buy a home last month hit the highest level in more than a year and a half and more than 5% of households say they plan to buy a home within the next six months. shoppers spent a record amount of money this holiday season as consumer confidence reached a six-month high. >> we are coming into the year with a lot more momentum. we certainly will need that momentum given there is a lot of

head winds coming at us as well. >> reporter: those head winds including the continuing debt crisis in europe and china's slowing economy and partisan gridlock in washington. and despite those challenges this year, the stock market has managed to weather the storm pretty well with just one raiding day left in the year, the dow is up more than 6% and the s&p is up 0.5% and nasdaq down a modest 1.5%. >> the irony here when you look at the s&p 500 which is where most people's retirement savings are. it's basically flat. for all of the twists and turns of the year, volatility, people didn't get much of a return on their investment, did they? >> reporter: volatile little was the word of the year on wall street. the dow closed up and down triple digits more than a hundred times. but given that, this is still not the most volatile year on record. that belongs to 2008 when lehman brothers collapsed and sparked the financial crisis. rebecca? >> alexis christoforous, thanks so much and happy new year to

you. >> you too. >> i can't believe it's almost the new year. >> it is. quick pop quiz stocks wise. what is the best performing dow stock? >> of 2011? >> the big mac of them all, mcdonald's is up 31%. i just like these little guys. >> here is debbye turner bell over at the news desk with more headlines. >> i like that. i have to say mcdonald's is my favorite stock too. >> rebecca has the right color on as well this morning. >> there you go. good morning. early happy new year. russian officials say they are extinguished a fire on board a docked nuclear submarine. firefighters battled the blaze through the night and some of the crew remains on board. the fire started on wooden scaffolding and partially sunk to control the flames. officials say no radiation leak but nine crew members have been hospitalized. iran's military says it will

carry out missile drills including long-range missiles tomorrow in the persian gulf. the iranian navy is conducting war games in the region and iran has threatened to close oil shipping lanes to the gulf. a new fee announced by verizon wireless. they have touched off an angry backlash amongst its customers. verizon calls it a convenience fee. beginning january 15th, the company will charge $2 per month for using credit or debit cards to pay wireless bills by phone or online. the fee would not apply to those who pay by check or who sign up for automatic bank or credit card payments. a wind warning in the west this morning. high wind advisories and watches are in effect for parts of idaho, wyoming, nebraska, and colorado. wind gusts could reach hurricane strength 75 miles per hour or higher in some places. in colorado, high winds and

blowing snow yesterday made it tough for drivers on interstate 70. icy conditions forced the closing of some mountain passes. one man was killed when his truck slid off a cliff and flipped over. in new orleans, poor visibility caused a massive pileup involving 40 vehicles yesterday on interstate 10. at least two people were killed and 61 injured. it's not clear if thick smoke or fog was to blame for the limited visibility. in a los angeles suburb, a risky rescue. take a look at this. a dog went over a cliff and the dedicated owner went right after the dog. both got stranded on the near vertical hill 150 feet above ground. a down draft from a rescue helicopter hindered efforts to pull them up. an hour and a half later, firefighters finally reached the two and repelled them down to safety. wow. that's a picture to see.

this may be the last weekend you have a chance to buy a 100-watt light bulb. >> they are being phased out under a law that will affect every home and business and whit johnson reports it is the biggest change in lighting in more than a century. >> reporter: in the beginning, there was darkness. then came fire. it wasn't until the 19th century that artificial light was first generated. the big came in the 1880s when thomson edison hit homes across

america with the incandescent light. but, today, the last glowing filament of that living room power house is going out. beginning the new year all light bulbs will be required to be 25 times more efficient leaving edison's fun out in the dark like the long-lasting compact fluoresce fluorescent. >> no problems when the kids go off to college. >> reporter: not everybody is thrilled with the change. for one thing, the alternatives are more expensive up front. >> this one is about $9 and this one about $2. >> reporter: concern prices have even reached the campaign trail. >> i believe in liberty for light bulb. >> reporter: many consumer complain the new bulbs just don't look right. >> there is a pushback from a lot of people say i'm sitting in

my living room. i want a warm comfortable light. that is the word they use, warm. >> some of the early compact fluorescent products were not ready for prime time. they buzzed and had lousy color and made everything kind of grayish green. >> reporter: while compact fluorescents aren't winning any prizes. >> this light bulb does everything the consumer is used to. >> reporter: philips recently won $10 million from the department of energy possess work in a leading alternative, led lighting. >> we have led lights behind fabric panels. >> reporter: led produce a warm glow similar to a standard 60-watt incandescent and fit anywhere and powered by a mere nine watts. while it will continue to burn brited in the near future, edison's most storied convention may be heading into the light. >> it's the nature of technology. it has a lifetime. a start and an end. it's time to end. >> reporter: but with 4.7 billion sockets in the u.s.

alone, the future looks brighter than ever. whit johnson, cbs news, new york. earlier this month congress eliminated all funding to enforce the new law which was signed in 2011 by then president bush. coming up, still ahead this morning, charges that a major airline merger might be putting the safety of your next flight at risk. pilots are struggling to learn new rules. they might not even have lights in the cockpit now. who knows. >> 14.7 billion sockets? you're watching "the early show" on cbs. you look bright this morning. >> thanks. at h&r block,

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love your new normal or it's free. coming up here in a little bit, we will take a look back at a big year in entertainment, particularly good year for women, thanks to movies lie "bridesmaids." the year of the pop princess. all that and a lot more coming up.

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welcome back to "the early show." a beautiful sunrise over new york city on this friday morning. i'm jeff glor along with rebecca jarvis. >> good morning. >> good morning. coming up the year in entertainment. in many ways, the year of the woman, especially in music. lady gaga, taylor swift, adele, katy perry all hit the top the charts. >> and look back at prominent farewells on tv and why the movie "bridesmaids" is changing the way hollywood thinks about women. you don't want to be on a plane that is about to land without its wheel down but that has reportedly happened three

times recently. the pilots caught the mistake each time. >> when united airlines is merging with continental, some are paying it is affecting the safety in skies. >> reporter: when you get on an airplane your best hope is the pilot's training is as good as it can be. but if you ask some cockpit crews today, you might not get the confidence you're looking for. >> we are being tossed with learning that new procedure while an opportunity of effectively practice it. we are just sitting at home in our arm chairs reading this. >> reporter: that is the worry of the united pilots unit. it's all because united merged with continental and the new training practices for the brand-new combined airline are making some pilots feel like they are back in flight school. >> it has to be one set of procedures, so it's a lot of learning, a lot of retraining and that retraining requires a very robust training program.

>> reporter: the unit airlines union worries relying too much on internet based learning and not enough time in simulator. >> no substitute being in the simulator practicing the procedures time and time again. it becomes part of your routine. >> reporter: pilots have become so distracted by the new technique, they made mistakes, forgetting to put the landing gear down. >> the procedures i've seen in my cockpit has been changed dramatically. >> reporter: the airline denies the allegations saying the claims are baseless and to influence contract negotiations. >> nothing is further than the truth. we've had to take our attention from our contract negotiations away from contract negotiations and, instead, focus them on safety. >> reporter: with the clock ticking the faa has made its blessing to make the two airlines one, so, for now, the

training regiment remains. >> you have to realize many incentives to quickly emerge to different airlines and to achieve to recognize the economic benefits of the merger. the sooner it's done, the better the bottom line. >> merging two airlines is complicated enough. merging two training manuals may prove even harder. lee cowan, cbs news, los angeles. the next step in the merger is combining continental and united flight reservation systems and that is supposed to happen in the next few months. it is amazing how long these airline mergers take. years and years before they are finished. >> and mergers in general, there's just so much overlap. oftentimes, organizations have the entire staff, teams that come in that work on this stuff. >> still working

up next, web sites like linkedin and twitter and facebook are reshaping how find new jobs. >> we will talk about how you can take advantage of that. you're watching "the early show" on cbs.

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a new survey of job seekers show this online trend has caught on in a major way and carmen wong ulrich is here to get you started. great to have you here with us. >> people thinking new year and possibly a new career and want to use social media to get it. >> the social media is focused on building your own brand and like your resume times ten. it's such an advantage to use social media to sew recruiters

who you are and what you do and build your personal brand and they can focus instead on picking the right person for the job. so it's a great opportunity on both ends to be more than just that piece of paper. >> a big responsibility, though, too. >> it's a tremendous responsibility. it takes a lot of time and effort and work and really thinking who you want to be online. >> just saying, hey, facebook, i want a job. what do employers think of using social media? >> they love it. a survey came out showing 89% of recruiters have used social media to look for workers and up 83% from 2012. linkedin, almost 90% of recruiters are using it and up from 78% last year. facebook, 55% of recruiters are looking at that. with twitter, 47%. those numbers keep growing every single year. you can assume this is going to be the norm.

>> employers are looking at all of these pages you have if they will hire you so don't, again, put -- >> something ridiculous out there. >> do not put the pickets from saturday night. >> from new year's, do not put your pictures up. >> don't even think about it. >> when it comes, though, to people actually finding jobs, we see that they are looking at you. but are people finding the jobs? >> they are. they really finding the jobs. 1 in 6 americans say social media helped them find a job this past year. that is up from in 9 of job hunters which is a huge number. facebook alone, 18.5 million americans say that facebook helped them find a job and it could be as simple as someone messaging you, you're a friend of a friend and saying here is my resume. it really, really helps. >> whether you're familiar with social media or not what are the things you can do. >> you want to know where your people are. if you're in marketing and creative, most likely facebook

and twitter are where your recruiters are going to be. if you're at linkedin that is popular with corporate so that is something you want to be mindful of. also, too, go to your affinity groups. if you have an association or a union that you're a part of online is a great place to find those affinity groups and become a member and get invited to the events to get you away from the computer. >> great stuff, carmen. thank you. >> thank you. >> happy new year to you. >> happy new year to you guys! >> i'll tweet a happy new year to carmen wong ulrich. >> i want to see your picture on twitter. up next here from "bridesmaids" to broadway a very interesting year in entertainment. >> we will look back at 2011 top showbiz stories. this is "the early show" on cbs. , you tell us what you want to pay, and we give you a range of coverages to choose from. who is she? that's flobot. she's this new robot we're trying out, mostly for, like, small stuff. wow! look at her go!

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in every segment of showbiz this past year. >> erica hill has been looking back with a little help from "entertainment weekly. >> safe to say a big year for entertainment news and great year for women in that business. here to discuss the industry's top stories of the year is dave karger, senior writer for "entertainment weekly" magazine. we love it when it's a big year for women. it's the royal week. start with women. "bridesmaids" would a game changer. >> it was. it made $169 million. i've talked to so many people who still say they never laughed so hard in their lives than when they watched this movie and i think before "bridesmaids" came out a lot of people thaw didn't think a all-women ensemble would work. i think this is causing people to think differently. the movie didn't play like a chick flick. everyone needed to see it, regardless the fact it was

women. >> regardless of age. this hit, i was really surprised chris wragge's mom loved it and my mom loved it that is pan spanned generations like that. >> so many memorable lines and melissa mccarthy ended up winning the emmy award. all of the best actors in a comedy got up on stage like it was a beauty pageant and it was such a lovely moment. it was the standout moment from the emmys. >> do you think then the movie itself threw melissa mccarthy and others is also having an impact on tv? >> absolutely. i think people are looking at what can be a viable comedic enterprise on tv whether on stage or in film. >> speaking of tv. the women aside for a minute. so much talk this year about "two and a half men" from the change from charlie sheen to ashton kutcher. how did it go? >> it was a scary thing for cbs.

their highest rated show and a big flapship for them and a daily soap opera what was happening with charlie sheen and came this solution to put ashton kutcher. the ratings were higher when he started. he has been a big hit on the show and kind of revilthiztalizs career and it was a situation that could have been a disaster but they turned it around into something good. >> they turned it into a win. a lot of changes in day time tv because oprah and regis say good-bye. >> oprah's farewell a couple of days was so spectacular. >> i couldn't turn away! >> that was really a moving few episodes. >> it really was. >> and what her departure does and also regis in the same way, it levels the playing field of the day time world and if allows for new voices to come in and anderson cooper with his own show, "the talk" is doing a lot

better this season and then jeff probst and katie couric and coming into their new talk shows next season. i think with oprah being gone, there is room for lots of different voices to come in and it's kind of exciting. >> we are looking forward to all of that. put the pictures aside for a moment. how about music? >> this year was the year of the pop princess. i think in the wake of lady gaga's success over the last couple of years it allowed for so many different female pop stars to come into their own. taylor swift had one of the biggest tours of the year. rihanna who seemed to have a new single every month. adele her album was number one for 13 weeks this year. unheard of. katy perry tied the long-standing record held by michael jackson for most number one songs from a single album. five number one songs from one album. >> that is impressive. a big year for broadway on the stadium and seem like getting a newfound life again too. >> i live in los angeles and whenever you go out to dinner with people who work in hollywood we were so jealous of

all the great theater that was going on and so many people were taking trips back here. it wasn't just i'm in new york, i'm bored i'm going to see a show. it was you need to get to new york to see the "book of mormon" and hugh jackman's show about to end. so many must-see shows and even spi spiderman. i can't recall a year there were this many hot super tickets on broadway and reenergized the computer scene. >> daniel radcliff has had this incredible year and how to succeed how are important are those names on broadway? >> hugh jackman, his star power is so big and now everyone in the theater community knows who the cast are because they were the stars of the show. it's great to see that it's almost equality there. you can be an a-list star and have a show.

i've seen the show four times and it's tough it ticket to get. >> send them to me first next time because i can't get them. >> you got to see it. >> thanks to have you here. talk to you more in 2012. >> i would like that. >> we will be right back. you're watching "the early show" on cbs. at h&r block, you could get money that's both fast and free on an emerald card. just bring in your tax information... and get a refund anticipation check in 7-14 days, for up to $9,999. call 1-800-hrblock to make an appointment.

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♪ welcome back to "the early show." i'm rebecca jarvis with jeff glor. one of the last days of 2011. we're coming to you live from here in new york city. coming up, something that is close to a lot of our hearts here at "the early show." a high tech solution to a common problem with alzheimer's patients. someone got the idea to put gps in shoes to help keep track of people with dementia who have a tendency to wander off and get in dangerous situations. >> it's a potential life saver for family and hear from one family saying it is saving their lives already. first, debbye turner bell

with headlines. >> a major fire on a dry dock russian submarine for nearly a day was extinguished this morning. mark phillips has more. >> reporter: officials have said the fire which began yesterday arond the dry dock russian submarine has been brought under control. but not before injurying nine people and stranding several others inside. earlier, fears there might have been nuclear material, either fuel or warhead on board, and at risk were dismissed by the russians. the sub was in dry dock for repairs with its reactors shut down and it's consignment of missiles removed. officials say there is no indication of a radiation leak. the fire app to have begun around the scaffolding around the vessel and spread to its rubberized skin which is there to make it quieter and more difficult to detect. any russian sub accident conjures up the explosion and

fire in 2000 aboard a russian sub in which 118 crewmen died. relatives of the victims are still calling for an investigation into that disaster, saying the official inquiry was a whitewash. it was launched in 1984 and normally carries 16 nuclear tip ballistic missiles. mark phillips, cbs news, london. just four days until the iowa caucuses, mitt romney finds himself in a position to win the state he had all but written off. at the same time, rick santorum attacked the idea that romney was the only republican candidate who could win come november. >> this idea that barack obama can only lose to mitt romney is just simply false and you don't have to settle. >> meanwhile, newt gingrich says he'll stay in the race even if he finishes fourth or lower in iowa. the employment outlook for the new year seems to be improving. the labor department reports over the last month,

unemployment claims average 375,000 per week. the fewest since june of 2008. in a new survey of economists, say they expect 175,000 new jobs a month will be created in 2012. president obama and his family will remain in hawaii for new year's. yesterday, mr. and mrs. obama dropped flower petals into pearl harbor in the "uss arizona" there. the attack killed 2,400

announcer: this portion of "the early show" sponsored by citibank. what is your story? citi can help you write it. learn more at citi.stories.com. listen closely now. this is actually the story you've been waiting for all morning, isn't it, jeff? >> stop it! stop it! >> could be the most important information you'll hear between now and 2012. >> dr. holly phillips is here to help you treat the dreaded hangover. we know what causes a hangover. what is going on inside the body? >> really, it's, obviously, from too much drinking but the idea is that drinking causes you to produce more urine and that dehydrates you and irritates your stomach lining and it

lowers your blood sugar and gives you that shakiness and that whole sense of being out of it. it's not a good feeling. >> what is the holy grail of hangover cures? >> if there was holy grail we would have found it by now. people have been drinking a long time. new products just hit the market in time for new year's eve. >> that claim to work! >> the jury is still very much out on that. this one is called bitox. a patch you put it on your forearm. >> put it on now, jeff. >> which arm? preemptively? >> how long do you wear the patch for? >> you put it on 45 minutes before having your first drink. >> she is going to have a shot after the show. >> i'm already in trouble. >> we put it on and you wear it eight hours after your last drink. >> does it matter where you put it on? >> anywhere that doesn't have harp. >> your face, jeff. >> he can wear it right on his

forehead. >> there we go. perfect. >> it claims it works by replacing vitamins that are lost from alcohol. >> i was looking at the ingredients on the back. >> the food and drug administration hasn't approved it special? >> vitamin a, b. it looks like a lot of vitamins. >> it's a lot of vitamins and they say that is how it works. the other one is called blow fish. it dissolves in a glass of water like this which is good because that forces you to rehydrate. it is a mix of aspirin, caffeine and antacid to soothe your stomach. the fda approval not required because it's caffeine and aspir aspirin. >> i'd rather take an excedrin that is know is fda approved or a cure you can find in your own kitchen. >> exactly. or take the components separately. you could have a cup of coffee for your caffeine and take an

aspirin. >> 60 milligrams in the blow fish which is the same amount of excedrin? >> pretty much. >> different alcohols, different effects? >> darker alcohol is sort of the brandy and scotch have something in them that gives the alcohol its flavor, but it's thought to create a worse hangover than clear things like vodka and gin. so you could keep that in mind. but really if you drink too much of anything, you're going to be feeling the effects. so it's all about prevention for hangovers as opposed to the cure. >> it seems like -- i mean, different people can drink different amounts of alcohol and have a much different impact. how different do you know are men from women in terms of alcohol habits and consumption? >> in general, men get hangovers less than women do. >> really? >> with the same amount of alcohol and it has to do with body mass. men tend to be bigger and they have more what we call alcohol

dehydrogenace in the liver so they win the contest on that. >> thank you very much. >> we might have won the contest this year, holly, but you guys had a drinking contest. >> interesting stuff, holly. by by tox and blow fish. you're essentially talking about taking vitamins and caffeine and aspirin? >> yeah. this may make it a little bit better but, honestly, if there was a real magical career, we would have find it by now. >> drink responsibly. >> dr. holly phillips, thanks for joining us. happy new year. caring with somebody with alzheimer's is hard but technology is making it now easy. >> we will tell you how gps is helping them a lot. you're watching "the early show" on cbs. [ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation, so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning...

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dementia can wander off, and when that happens, frantic family members have to search for them and call police if they can't find their family members. >> worst nightmare for so many families. there is another option as elaine quijano reports. technology is starting to revolutionize how people can keep track of their loved ones. >> they will give me peace of mind. when i lost him, you kind of panic. >> reporter: they are a pair of shoes with a built-in gps system which tracks people who wander. >> i have been leaving him and going to the bank. i ska say, okay, go in and drink your tea and wait for me and i will come back and he would do that. this time, i spent a little longer in the grocery store, got back maybe 45 minutes later and looked in mcdonald's and he wasn't there. i opened the bathroom door and hollered, bill! no answer. >> reporter: jo ann johnston's

83-year-old husband had wandered away and over a main highway. >> i was looking all over the parking lot and the shopping center across the street from mcdonald, i saw him. ♪ rolling along >> reporter: she picked him up and brought him home. >> he couldn't remember that i said that i would be back when i wasn't there, then he is -- where is she? i'll just walk home. >> reportr: bill johnston is an estimated 5.3 americans who suffer from alzheimer's disease. wandering is one of the most common symptoms. >> 60% of these individuals will wander and become lost at least once during the progression of the disease and 70% of those individuals will become lost three or more times. >> reporter: which can make shoes like these a literal life-saver and ease the burden on caretakers. >> they are scared to turn their back on their loved ones because

they figure when they come out from the bathroom, they may be gone. where the technology will help them is they will have a chance of locating them. >> reporter: as the executives and senior residents of senior housing at george mason university, andrew carle reached out to a california company which makes shoes with gps systems. they partnered on a model for the elderly. >> looks like they are regular shoe. the only difference is a slight bump on the back which is where the antenna is, as well as the plug-in. the rest of the gps technology is basically in the heel of the shoe down here. >> here is home. >> reporter: seeking ways to control bill's wandering led joann and alan johnston to george mason and and drew carle who offered them a pair of shoes to test. >> we discussed it and we decided to try this -- these shoes out on him and thought this would be a good match. >> reporter: a computer programmer, alan, takes care of

the technological side of things for his parents. >> the shoes do give you more control. my mom can call me immediately and i can give her immediate feedback on his location. >> we are trying to maximize the odds that they are going to have this technology on them when it's needed and probably the single best location for that is to put it in their shoes. >> reporter: joann and bill hope it will make their lives easier and the philosophy joann lives by. >> you take it day-by-day and moment-by-moment and you don't plan too far ahead of time. well, you don't plan. i don't plan more than a day ahead of time and you take it today. >> reporter: elaine quijano, cbs news, new york. >> carle works closely on the shoe with a company called aetrex. do you want to know what to expect in the new year? >> we will see what the zodiac signs reveal about everything from jobs to the elections. do you trust the zodiac, jeff?

>> oh, always. >> you plan your future accordingly, don't you? >> 100% accurate. >> well, you're going to hear all about it coming up next on "the early show" on cbs. ou met ? covergirl trublend has skin twin technology. other makeup can sit on your skin, so it looks like...makeup. but trublend has skin twin technology to actually merge with your skin. how easy breezy beautiful is that? trublend...from covergirl. get ready for sears happy new year's sale. use your savings pass to save over 65% on coats. over 65% on fleece and sweaters and over 65% on pajamas and robes for the whole family. plus it's the big denim event! get to sears. [ male announcer ] got a cold? [ sniffling ] [ male announcer ] not sure what to take? now robitussin® makes finding the right relief simpler than ever. click on the robitussin® relief finder. click on your symptoms. get your right relief. ♪ makes the cold aisle easy.

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we have asked top economists, political pundits was to expect next year and now time to set our sight higher and look to the stars. >> none of that matters what we talked about before. disregard everything. susan miller is here with her predictions of astrologyzone.com. >> you have green on. >> the color of money. the comeconomy is going to be better. when saturn leaves libra, the housing market will turn. i said that years ago with harry

smith years ago. we are coming out of the almost year. not the perfect year but getting better every single month. >> had which is when a lot of the experts say summer, fall? >> you know what? the job market will have more of a stacotta forward back, forward back. it's really up to us to be part of the recovery also. we can't just sit back. i think the banks will finally start getting the money to the entrepreneurs. that has been a problem. >> how do the stars differentiate between the banks, jobs, and housing? >> well, the banks are pluto and capricorn. >> why? how? >> i have the united states chart. >> oh, okay. hold it up. this is kind of interesting. >> that is really interesting. >> okay, sure, yeah. >> can we get a shot of that maybe? a tight shot. >> it's interesting. >> everything has its own sign is. >> the occupy wall street thing

is here to stay. the difference between the have's and have not's will continue. a kind of public forum of discussions, so to speak between now and march 2015. that is background music but things will continue to get better and what we all need to hear. by the way, no problem about december 21st. the world is not going to end, despite the rumors. >> i was going to ask you about the mians. i was just on the mian rivera. i'm glad i got out before 2012. >> the earth is going in front of a black hole. it's in the center. the center of the solar system is 26 degrees sagittarius. we don't really know what that means but the dalai lama said greater enlightenment. look back a hundred years and look where we were. >> it will not imimplode? >> it will not. i think horrifying movies we watch at 11:00 before we go to

sleep is not doing us any good! >> you got to watch news instead of the movies. >> news, yes, yes. >> presidential election. >> yes. newt gingrich is a gemini with four planets in gemini. do not count him out. >> really? >> he is colorful. >> he seems to be fading in the polls. >> i am not saying he will definitely be the candidate because in astrology there is no predestination. what i can say is i look for talent in each chart and when you have a good chart like he does and it's not even good yet, it's going to get good this summer, beginning july 11th, and going forward for a whole year. it means you do the best within yourself. so he may have a nice role coming up. he has a very youthful quality by his chart. he has aquarius rising. obama is going to come out of the gate really strong this spring and from now until june. and will have a big victory at

the end of april and beginning of may. so he -- i know he's been -- >> before the election? >> yeah, this first half he is going to do really well and he is going to get things passed so it will be good. >> one would think he wants a bigger victory at the end of the year. >> but all leos are going gang busters with their careers the first half of the year! >> what about cancer? you're a cancer, right, jeff? >> cancer is going to make all new friends and don't discount that. >> really? >> because it's who you know, not what you know at this stage. >> can i keep my old friends? i like jarvis. >> yes, you can. >> i want you to do more social networking and the libras will commit to something big in their life that can't be undone. >> i'm getting married! >> there you go! perfect! >> three and a half weeks, i'm getting married! >> three and a half weeks? >> no, no. all of the libras. i've been writing about this. it's all about printed.

>> thank you, susan miller. it's in the stars! >> jarvis is blushing. thank you, susan. still ahead, a che

♪ welcome back to "the early show," everyone. last friday of 2011. i'm jeff glor, along with rebecca jarvis. very sunny. >> happy new year. ring it in. >> it's time to spice unfortunate your life and your cooking are the new year. coming up we will meet the so-called spice king. he creates new blends of seasoning for some of the world's best dishes and very interesting story and show us how to add big flavor to main dishes and cocktails and it's not that complicated. >> a story from my hometown of minneapolis. a woman who suffered one of the

greatest losses a mother can have. it was the murder of her son, but after many years, she was able to heal and forgive with help from an unlikely neighbor. we will have her story. >> jennifer egan a great year. her novel won the pulitzer prize "a visit from the goon squad." and we are pleased to have her here in the studio this morning. your book came out last year but won a pulitzer prize this year. a lot more people read it, including myself. one of the reasons we have you here is a lot of people reflecting back. goon qusquad is a reflective bo. >> it's a work of fiction. i structured it a bit like a record album. it has an a side and b side. the pieces, if you will, all sound different from each other. the feeling of each chapter is very different from each other but they all fit into one story. >> so the idea is you're skipping back and forth in between time as one could potentially do if they are

listen to go a record and different tracks. the idea came from where? >> i never know. somewhere up there. >> okay. >> i had two real sources of inspiration that may seem like an unlikely paragraph. one was who wrote a long novel about time and memory in nostalg nostalgia. >> make it through is it t? >> which i finally read and the other was the television show "the sopranos." that is about time passing and a lot of time passed over the course of that series the kids grew up. i was interested in trying to capture the little shocks and jolts of realizing that time had passed and something that spruce was interested in. >> i saw "pulp fiction" for the second time. i felt he plajar ri plagiarized.

>> you want to do something if fair to say, completely different every time? >> yes. >> do you wait for that inspiration? >> i usually feel it kind of pushing forward as i'm finishing the prior book and it often has the feeling of, you know, looking forward to doing something that is not this. you know? i write because i love to escape into another world. i don't write about my own life and i don't write about people i know much to the relief of my friends and family. i like to live a different life at the same time i'm living my own very satisfying life. >> which is odd because people always say write what you know. are you not writing what you know? >> exactly the opposite. the weakest point as a writer is writing about myself. i don't like it and i don't do it very well. i love that feeling escaping into another reality. once i've written a book and within with it a few years that reality feels real to me and i want to mix everything up and try something totally different. >> what is next?

>> i want to write a historical novel which i've never really done set in new york in the '40s. i'm especially interested in women who repaired ships rosy the riveter. it's interesting working on ladies oral history. >> goon squad is not yu the wju words on the page but the music. i've heard it described as pulsing on every single page. what do you listen to? >> i'm listening to different things all the time. i used music to recalibrate from one chapter to another. one takes place in the '70s in san francisco during the punk movement there and early '70s i'm on a safari in africa and hit the grunge moment in the early '90s in new york. i was interested in is the way music is kind of a time machine. it moves us through time like almost nothing else and i think

now that we have our own devices with our own sound tracks i think i feel personally more aware of than ever. i walk around listening to my favorite songs and they carry me through different moments of my life all the time. >> do you gravitate toward any genre? >> not really. my almost 11-year-old is into hip-hop and gotten me into possible.ich i never thought wa- i like classical and chopin but i also love pop music, lady gaga. >> and the idea from finally the idea in goon squad, because one of the most inventive parts of it is this a part where it essentially is a bunch of documents. it's a power point presentation is part of the book. the idea from that came from where? >> as i said, i wanted each chapter to feel very different from all of the others. that is hard to do 13 times so i was looking for all different ways to write to tell different kind of stories. i got very interested in power point because people were using it all the time.

ultimately, it let me tell a very, a sweet kind of sentimental family story that i think would have sounded vesmuly but power point let me tell a story that would have been hard for me to tell otherwise. >> a visit from the goon squad" is an insanely inventive book, not novel, we will say if that is hyperbolic. good luck with your next project and thanks for joining us. >> thank you. >> you can read an excerpt from "goon squad" at earlyshow.cbsnews.com. debbye turner bell with more headlines. >> dirty paper towels including those you find in public restrooms, canadian researchers found that bacteria thrives on paper towels even brand new unused one and especially towels

made from reasked paper so germs can get on your hands after you wash them but the study says no illness were found to be linked to paper towel use. a government ban on primatine mist takes effect until now. until now the only over-the-counter asthma inhaler sold in the country. and confetti passed with flying colors. in a test for the nation's biggest new year's eve party. >> 3-2-1! happy new year! >> confetti was tossed eight floors to the street of times square here in new york yesterday. it was a dry run to make certain the square-inch colored tissue paper falls perfectly for the big event at midnight saturday. when one ton of confetti will be used to

you know this past year could only be considered a turbulent one for air travel with rising air fares and major airline bankruptcy, and new fees for pretty much everything. travel editor peter greenberg is here with a wish list of things he would like to see in 2012. good morning, peter. >> good morning, rebecca. >> i bet these are things people would like to see. number one on your list you want to go back to the future. what does that mean? >> remember the way we used to travel? it's not happening these days. on a plane, a nice flight and early never happens but when you land you taxi 150 feet from the gate and the pilot says, no gate available and you're delayed by

an hour. >> i hate that! >> simple solution by going back to the future two words. portable stairs! now what people don't realize is behind every jetway at 150 feet behind is what they call penalty boxes at every airport they can park a plane. think how simple this is. you wheel out the portable stairs. the whole idea is get us off the plane and bags off the plane and no misconnected passengers and no misconnected bags and no excessive fuel burn while the plane is sitting there waiting for the gate and win/win for everybody. no one can answer the question. why can't we go back to portable stairs? >> why can't we? i want research done on this. >> i want answers done immediately. >> absolutely. fees, fees, fees. big problem they are on everything these days. what would you like to see in terms of fees in 2012? >> other than just basic transparency what i'm going to pay stop insulting me for fees for no reason to make more money. the latest one is spirit air. okay? they should change their advertising motto we're not

happy until you're happy but forgetting that, spirit air. >> is this a personal grudge, peter? >> when you hear about this fee, you'll understand why. they want to charge up up to $34 to book your flight online! that makes no sense! every other airline says if you book it with a human, we're going to charge you because they don't want the labor charge. spirit says do one better and charge you to boo online and basically say if you want to save that $34, you know how you book your flight? they are forcing you to go out to the airport. who goes to the airport to book their pligflight and stand in l behind everybody else for the one entire agent at the counter to book your flight? no! this is not the day you're traveling. insist just to book your flight. they have got you. this is really bad. they should be ashamed of themselves. i'm not shy about that by the way. >> okay. clearly, you're not, peter. clearly. delays, clearly, a huge issue in the airline industry. you look on flights and every single flight is delayed these days. >> here is one. we are coming to a weather season right now when rain, ice,

snow, but the real key word is ice. and you've had this happen to you. you're at the gate and they want to do the safety thing and required to deice the plane. why would you deice the plane at the gate? then you go out to stand in line. by the time you're ready to take off, you have to go back to be deiced again. a number of airports overseas have gotten smart. they make the deicing at the end of the runway. you taxi out and right before you take off it's like going for a car wash. deice you and you take off. saves time and money. ridiculous to have deicing done at the gate. its just costly, time, energy, money. let's tstop it. >> it's safer to do it at the runway. >> safe because you're getting deiced before you take off. >> wishes for lodging in 2012. hotels? >> yeah, i know. i mean, common sense, right? stop making me crawl around the floor looking for an electrical outlet when i check into the room! we all wanted to be connected. we don't change our lifestyle when we change our location. give me more electrical outlets

and more i can see. next up on the list. i know, this is silly me. i can never program my vcr. why do you expect me to program a thermostat in a hotel room? how about this? on/off. does that work for everybody? remember the old like circular thermostat? you turned it the way you wanted it to go? that is easy! let's just do that. easy, it works and you're not freezing or not boiling. >> sounds like back to the future again. >> it is. >> as far as hotels are & concerned. >> it's common sense. >> what are the chances any of them are going to happen next year, peter? >> well, none. you said it was a wish list! but you know what? if enough people vote with their wallet, things will change and if enough people say we are not paying a $34 fee to book our flight and if enough people say, listen, i would like a room with reasonable light in it in a hotel because people don't stay in their room to get mood lighting. mood lighting puts me in a bad mood, right? 300-watt light bulb with a dimmer ditch aswitch and not a

bulb! >> voting with your wallet counts too when there is differentiation among companies. it's harder to make a choice. >> southwest said they would not charge for bags. everybody loves southwest. you know what? it works. >> peter greenberg, happy new year. >> the same to you. any cook except me can roast a chicken or grill a piece of salmon but a dash of just the right spice can make all of the difference. "the early show" contributor katie lee visits a master spice chef. >> it may look like an art gallery but it's a spice and biscuit shop and it smells amazing. the curator islior. do you consider yourself an artist? >> in many ways, i do. i start by cure rating spices from all over the world and

bringing them here to the blend i do are inspired by people, by places, by memories, and they each have a different story and i think that is the key of each and every one of them is that they ella certain story. >> what about people cooking at home? what do you suggest to them to spice up their cooking? >> start with salt and pepper and then when you're ready to move on to the next step, you can either try and make your own blends or come here and we can find something to fix your cuisine and your personality. >> what do you think you could find a spice blend to match my personality? >> we could definitely make something for you. so i brought a few things that we can look at together. so first thing that i really love to use more and more is mace. a lot of people think of mace as a spray but it's actually the shell of the nutmeg. so that we add a slice element of smoke and a touch of heat because it's important, you

know? so this is all for chili. the third element we add is we need a little bit of freshness, i think, and something a little bit more floral, so we use these beautiful starnies. this unique pepper. >> i've never smelled anything like that! >> it's part of the pepper family. >> reporter: it's different. >> then we add coriander seeds and bring a little bit of texture and floral and then add pink peppercorn and bring a little bit of sweetness and, last but not least, these beautiful rose buds. >> reporter: the rose buds! so nice! see, guys? you can get your girlfriends roses and it's a spice! >> give it a few shakes and see what is going on in here. >> reporter: that looks good. >> looks good. >> reporter: can i taste it?

>> i'll put it in a bowl so you won't lose your finger. first, you can smell it. >> reporter: smell it. my spice. hhmm! i like it already. okay. i get to taste it. hhmm. i like that. it's really different. i like it. >> you get different textures and some more ground and some more coarse. as you eat, will cue on some pink peppercorn and coriander and release other flavors. >> spice in it and smoky and a note of sweetness. i really like this. a little citrusy. it's really delicious! >> what spice are you? i mean, you have the bright colors on. maybe citrus in there? >> i like the citrus idea. i was thinking a little cayenne pepper and moula. which is a bunch of spices. how about you? >> we were talking about it during the break.

where does taragon come from? >> it's elevated and has a refined flavor to it. like you, you're so refined, jeff glor. >> whatever. i'll be taragon. >> what do you want to be? >> i don't know. i need more time. >> someone tweet us.

the woman we are about to meet if she decided not to forgive, people would understand. >> in her remarkable story she decided to use that power in a totally unexpected way. here is steve hartman. ♪ >> reporter: in a small apartment building in north minneapolis, 59-year-old teacher's aide sings "praise to god" for no seemingly apparent

reason. indeed, if anyone was to have issues with the lord, it would be mary johnson. ♪ thank you for all you've done for me ♪ >> he never had a chance. >> reporter: in february, 1993, mary's son laramiun byrd was shot to death at a party and he was 20 and mary's only child. >> my son was gone. >> reporter: the killer was a 16-year-old kid named oshea israel. >> i wanted justice. he was an animal. he deserved to be caged. >> reporter: and he was. tried as an adult and sentenced to 25 1/2 years and oshea served 17 before recently released. he now lives back in the old neighborhood, close to mary. this close. he lives next door? >> next door. >> reporter: how a convicted murderer ended up living a door jamb away from his victim's mother is a story not of horrible misfortune as you might expect, but of remarkable mercy.

a few years ago, mary asked if she could meet oshea here at minnesota stillwater state prison. as a devout christian, she felt compelled to see if some way, somehow, she could forgive her son's killer. what did she say to you? >> i believe the first thing she said was, look. you don't know me, i don't know you. let's just start with right now. i was befuddled myself. >> reporter: oshea says they met regularly after that. when he got out, she introduced him to her landlord who, with mary's blessing, invited oshea to move into the building. today, they don't live close. they are close. clearly, mary was able to forgive. >> unforgiveness is like cancer. it will eat you from the inside/out. it's not about that other person. me forgiving him does not diminish what he has done! yes, he murdered my son. but the forgiveness is for me. it's for me.

>> reporter: for oshea, it hasn't been that easy. >> i haven't totally forgiven myself yet. i'm learning to forgive my still and still going towards trying to forgive myself for what i have done. >> reporter: with that being said, oshea is working at a recycling plant by day and goes to college by night. he says he is determined to pay back mary's clemency by contributing to society. in fact, he is already working on it, singing the praises of god and forgiveness at prisons, chuve churches, large audiences everywhere which is why mary can sing her praise of thanks to her audience of one. steve hartman, cbs news, minneapolis. ♪ for all you've done for me >> that's a powerful story. >> it really is. >> beautiful. >> something we can think about in the year ahead.

letting go, if it's possible. >> great spending 2011 with you. >> wonderful spending with you. and with all o