mary snow is back from new york.oppers, especially around this christmas season, should know about? >> reporter: wolf, you know, cnn money first reported on this new technology being launched to two shopping centers in the u.s. to keep tabs on consumers. it's generated a lot of backlash and a change of plans for now. as shoppers hit stores on black friday, two malls kept a closer eye than usual on where people went. literally. they monitored signals from shopper's cell phones in richmond, virginia, and in southern california. this animation shows how the technology works. it's makers insist personal data isn't collected and that it's use the to track shopping patterns. but the use is now on hold with the manager of two u.s. malls saying "we have temporarily suspended further trial of the technology while we work with the system developer on possible enhancements and a deaf rens to concerns raised by senator schumer." new york democratic senator charles schumer has raised privacy concerns. he says while consumers can

. >>> mary snow's monitoring some other top stories right now. what else is going on? >> u.n. war crimes prosecutors are rejecting calls for an immediate investigation into the death of gadhafi. an attorney for his daughter reports that after being captured alive, he and one of his sons were quote murdered in the most horrific fashion. they'll wait to see the results of an investigation before deciding on any action. >>> piers morgan testified today -- his testimony related to events that took place prior to his coming to cnn when he was the editor of a now defunt british tabloid. he refused to reveal his source for a voice message of paul mccartney to make up with then wife, heather mills and morgan denied ever ordering phone hacking. >>> a victory for apple against htc. a federal trade panel ruled today that htc had enfringed on an apple software patent and banned their import to the u.s. beginning in april. angalysts say it wasn't as broa as hoped. >> thanks very much. >>> senator john mccain says he's glad kim jong-il has quote joined the likes of quote gadhafi, bin laden

fund-raising is part of the race for white house but as mary snowe reports, some candidates are being criticized for where they're looking for money. >> reporter: as mitt romney tapped new york donors for campaign crash, democrats flew this airplane banner calling him out of touch, reminding new yorkers of a $10,000 bet romney made against rick perry at the last republican debate. the progressive group, moveon.org seized on romney's visit, calling him the poster child for wall street and the 1%. the romney camp dismissed it as the white house being scared of facing romney the general election. senior political analyst david gergen says democrats targeting romney solely for wall street contributions is hypocritical. >> barack obama raised tons of money the last time around and he'll raise money this time. wall street has turned more hostile towards the president since he's been at the white house. it's natural mitt romney would go there. >> reporter: when it comes to campaign cash from wall street, mitt romney is leading with $3.8 million to $1.7 million for barack obama. take a look a

mary snow is working that part of the story for us. what's happening here, mary? >> well as the white house uses those numbers to pressure republicans, some house republicans are trying to turn the pressure up on democrats to come back and negotiate. but with no action, changes or just days away from now for millions of americans. with washington in gridlock over the payroll tax cut extension, if it's not passed, roughly 160 million americans will see their paychecks shrink. cnn money says the change will start right away. >> the payroll processors have to make a edition come january 1 what the rate is going to be. if they don't hear from congress, they've got to go according to the low and the law says payroll tax will go up 2%. >> for a family making $50,000 a year, that means roughly 40 less every two weeks. that is a number the white house seized on launching a twitter campaign asking americans what $40 means to them. this gas station here charges $3.59 a gallon. for many people, $40 doesn't even fill their gas tank. this person writes $40 means milk, bread, j

thanks very much, mary snow, reporting. meanwhile, a former chef tells all about north korea's mysterious new leader. what was kim jong eun like as a teenager? plus, i'm on assignment in north korea a year ago. i'll share some of what i saw inside the world's most isolated country. ision. then my eye doctor told me about acuvue® oasys for astigmatism. he said it's the only lens of its kind designed to realign naturally with every blink so now, i'm seeing more clearly. [ male announcer ] learn more at acuvue.com. never took life too seriously. 'til our son was born... that day, he bought life insurance. now, there's no way i could send our boy to college without it. if there was one thing i could say to hank, it'd be "thank you." you're welcome. hey, hank. [ male announcer ] life insurance you can use while you're still living. you are one lucky lady. mm-hmm. [ male announcer ] learn more from your state farm agent today. >>> north korea's new leader has reportedly already exercised his military authority. a south korean new

mary snow, cnn, new york. >>> after a long and excruciating wait, a rape victim jailed in afghanistannow free thanks in part to our over thes here at cnn. she's speaking out about what really happened. we're going to offing to get the story. >>> plus, have you seen this, the new build prague jekt that's bringing back memories of 9/1e6789 multi-policy discount. paperless discount. paid-in-full discount. [yawning] homeowner's discount. safe driver discount. chipmunk family reunion. someone stole the nuts. squirrel jail. justice! countless discounts. now that's progressive. call or click today. >>> hezbollah claiming it has exposed the identities of ten cia officers. brian todd is looking into this story for us. what you are finding out? >> some experts including a former cia officer we spoke with believe this is now a full-fledged covert war between the u.s. and hezbollah and by extension with iran. hezbollah's latest claims are true, the group which the u.s. calls a terrorist organization may have just made a damaging strike against american intelligence in a very crucial place. with p

. >> that was mary snow reporting. the aclu has now launched's stepped fifty-floor straight petition. >>> house mortgage or smart phone? smart enough to do this, maybe? ♪[music] >>> this robotic device constructed by lego and powered by an android smartphone set the guinness world record for the fastest salt loving rebuke skewed. it solved puzzle in 5.27 seconds. the phone is driven by the special app that uses the phone's camera to capture images about each phase of the cube. >> it also has four hands and we only have two so it will go twice as fast as any given. >> i'm twice as fast over here. do you know how many computers from operating right now? seven, all to tell you it will be windy again. but that outside right now to our live weather camera, looking out towards the golden gate bridge. and you can see the camera waiver every so often because the wind kicked up. we have 25-mile per hour test, santa rosa at 30, also equally windy at san francisco. because the winds have been increasing the national weather servi

mary snowe was working this for us. united states be able to detect that material? >> if you ask the tsa, they will say that air cargo is more secure than it's ever been. critics worry about what isn't being done on all international flights coming into the u.s. the discovery of radioactive material in luggage at a moscow airport raises the question, would it have been detected in the united states? at american airports, agents wear personal radiation detec r detectors like this one. at the time, some u.s. airports reported detecting low levels of radiation among some passengers. >> customs and border protection has been screening for radiation in the cargo and passenger environments for the better part of a decade. >> reporter: the department of homeland security adds, dhs utilizes a multi-layered cross component approach to detect the illegal transportation of nuclear material. specifically at airports, it says passenger baggage and general cargo is scanned for the presence of radiation. but the government still does

here's mary snow. >> reporter: newt gingrich's wife, calista, a part of his campaign. recent ad. >> from our family to yours, merry christmas and happy new year. >> reporter: but among caucus goers, it's questions about gingrich's two previous marriages that have come up. >> for instance, mitt romney had a telephone, town hall meeting and one woman from mason city, iowa, made a point of thanking him for being married to the same woman for 42 years. >> reporter: this recent ad featuring ann entitled character seems to be a not so subtle dig at gingrich's multiple marriages. >> if you want to know how a person will operate, look at how they've lived their life. >> reporter: and in this ad, anita perry touts her marriage to her high school sweetheart, texas governor rick perry. gingrich hasn't shied away from addressing his three marriages and past infidelities on his website and in public. >> i said up front publicly i made mistakes at time and seek reconciliation and i'm also a 68-year-old grandfather. people have to measure i am now and whether i'm a person they can tr

mary snow, cnn, new york. >>> and wolf blitzer will talk to romney today in "the situation room." to see that. >>> meanwhile, comedian bill maher camping a lot of heat over a tweet about tim tebow. maher, a proud atheist, slammed the bronco quarterback who is open about his faith after an abrupt loss this past saturday to the buffalo bills. you may find the language offensive. maher tweeted, wow, jesus just [ bleep ] tim tebow bad, and on christmas eve. somewhere in hell, satan is tebowing saying to hitler, hey, buffalo's killing them. you might imagine, maher is feeling the backlash from conservatives calling for a massive boycott of his show which airs on hbo and is owned by the parent company of this network. >>> is syria hiding the slaughter of the syrian -- saying they're not seeing the real story. >>> and traveling to mexico after a texas family is gunned down in a holiday massacre. we'll explain. >>> it's 41 minutes after the hour. brad, where we going? just a second. just, just one second. ♪ what are you looking at? don't look up there. why are you looking up? ♪ get outta

cnn's mary snow has the story. >> where can i find a suhr market?of the hottest functions of the new iphones. >> i found a number of supermarkets. >> reporter: siri, the virtual assistant, ask it just about anything and it finds an answer, if it can't it leads to you a search engine, but apple is having to respond top questions about its new voice-activated assistant. those questions were first raised by bloggers asking why siri could find anything from strip clubs to viagra but apparently draw agency blank when asked about abortion and contraception. we're standing outside a planned parenthood clinic in new york. where can i find an abortion clinic? the latest iphone with the siri app. >> sorry. i couldn't find any abortion clinics. >> reporter: ask the same question in washington, d.c., and the blog story says siri comes up with an anti-abortion center in virginia and one in pennsylvania. a similar search on google drebts users to several clinics where abortions are performed. the aclu and abourse advocates rights raises concerns but apple is blam

we have a report from mary snow that explains why iowa truly is important.reporter: republican presidential hopefuls make the final sprint in iowa as they crisscross the state, campaigns and supporters flood the airwaves with ads. $8 million worth and counting just this month. so how hutmuch can a win in iow matter? that depends. >> this was the place where america remembered what it means to hope. >> reporter: for barack obama a victory in iowa proved to be a game changer. on the republican side, a different story. >> tonight, i love iowa a whole lot. >> reporter: mike huckabee's upset victory in 2008 with the help of iowa evangelicals failed to gain momentum outside the state. john mccain was the eventual nominee. when you take a look at who won in iowa compared to the party's eventual nominee, caucusgoers have more traction on the democratic side. a win in 2008 was not only crucial for barack obama but in 2004 for john kerry, and particularly in 1976 for jimmy carter. on the republican side, in recent years, iowa victors george w. bush in 2000 and bob dol

mary snow's monitoring that. what's going on?s rocked syria the better part of the year is the at the center of talks. the syrian vice president arrived in the russia capital today. meanwhile, opposition activists say at least 17 people were killed in syrian violence just today. now, here in the u.s. and on the much lighter note, michelle obama has accepted a date to the marine corp. ball. it won't be with the president. at a toys for tots event today, 20-year-old marine lance corporal aaron leeks asked. he will deploy to afghanistan next month. and wouldn't it be nice to see bryan wilson perform with the beach boys again? next year, you can. he will be joining the remaining members of the band on a 50-date reunion tour. he hasn't toured with the beach boys, guess which day? >> i don't know. >> 1965. >> wow. when you said wouldn't it be nice -- you want to sing a little bit of that sna. >> i would drive our viewer rs away. >> it would be nice. >> it would be. all right. >>> michele bachmann isn't holding back in her anger at newt

cnn's mary snow will have that report. more sex abuse allegations, this time against the boston red sox. two men claiming they were sexually abusedly a clubhouse manager at fenway park. we'll have those details. >>> and the legal saga of rod blagojevich is winding down. a two-day sentencing hearing will begin this morning. he was convicted of 17 corruption-related charges. so will the judge give him the max? >>> we'll be back right after this. e there's magic. and you now understand what nature's been hiding. ♪ at dow we understand the difference between innovation and invention. invention is important. it's the beginning. it's the spark. but innovation is where we actually create value for dow, for society, and for the world. ♪ at dow, we're constantly searching for how to use our fundamental knowledge of chemistry to solve these difficult problems. science is definitive. there is a right answer out there. [ male announcer ] the same 117 elements do the fundamental work of chemistry. ♪ the difference, the one element that

mary snow, cnn, new york. >>> well, this reminder.ght for the country's first real votes and the candidate's first real test. america's choice 2012. live coverage of the iowa caucuses for you begins tuesday night, january 3rd at 7:00 p.m. eastern. >>> newt gingrich says he's not worried about a fourth place finish in iowa. should he be? we'll put that question to our political buzz panel. nyquil: you know i relieve coughs, sneezing, fevers? tylenol: me, too. and nasal congestion. nyquil:what? tissue box (whispering): he said nasal congestion... nyquil: i heard him. anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't. >>> political buzz is your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. three questions, 30 seconds on the clock. and playing today with us cheri jacobus, republican strategist and columnist for the hill. sirius xm political talk show host, pete dominick and democratic strategist, john rouley. first question, newt gingrich isn't sweating his fluctuating poll nu

mary snow is monitoring some other top stories.g a huge recall of infant formula after the death of a missouri baby. >> walmart pulled the formula off shelves nationwide until test determined whether it is linked to the 10 day old baby's death or something else. the infant died from a rare bacterial infection. >>> a lawmaker in zimbabwe will remain in jail after calling president robert mugabe a quote gay who sleeps around. the movement for democratic change leader denied making the iraq remarkses at a rally this month. >>> a clue wheinto the where abs of the missing mf global accounts. a trustee discovered $700 million were transferred to the company's u.k. affiliate days before it folded. jon corzine said he did not know what happened to the money. the trustee says it is separate if the estimated 1.2 billion he's trying to recover. >>> and u.s. investors took part in some positive jobs news. putting it in the right place to finish out the year higher. >> thanks very much. >>> breaking news. house republicans holding critical talk

mary snow, cnn new york. >>> exactly one month to go before the iowa caucuses.t gingrich is emerging as a solid front runner the hawkeye state. a brand new "washington post" abc poll has him 15 points ahead in the poll. if he wins iowa, a big if, because anything could happen, the former house speaker could be sitting pretty, because he is gaining ground on mitt romney in new hampshire, too. let's talk more about iowa with kate henderson, the news director of radio iowa and she joins us by phone from des moines this morning. good morning. you've been covering politics in iowa nearly 25 years. you have seen it all. newt gingrich is leading in the polls right now, but a lot of people are wondering, does he actually have the manpower to get out the vote and win? what is his ground operation looking like in iowa? >> reporte >> re, the ground operation benefits from one thing. he doesn't really have to introduce himself to iowans. every iowan knows who newt gingrich is. their challenge, reaching is a parties, potential supporters and organizing to have a spokesperson

mary snow, cnn, new york. >> very interesting. all right.rly nine years and more than 4,000 dead, is the country ready to stand on its own? we will ask some that helped negotiate the exit. (screams) when an investment lacks discipline, it's never this obvious. introducing investment discipline etfs from russell. visit russelletfs.com r a prospectus, containing the investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other information. read and consider it carefully before investing. and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. [ woman ] lower cholesterol. [ man 2 ] yummy. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. that can help lower cholesterol? fore! no matter what small business you are in, managing expenses seems to... get in the way. not anymore. ink, the small business card from chase introduces jot an on-the-go expense app made exclusively for ink customers. custom categorize your expenses anywhere. save time and get back to what you love. the lat

let's bring in our own mary snow with a look at calista gingrich. this woman? >> reporter: wolf, calista gingrich doesn't step up to the mike often but she is increasing her visibility in her husband's campaign. >> nice to see you. >> reporter: she's considered a central part of her husband's presidential campaign. calista gingrich is more often seen, and not heard. on tuesday she made an exception. >> i believe he is the best person to lead our country. let's give a warm welcome to my husband and best friend, newt gingrich. >> reporter: newt gingrich credits his wife for persuading him to stay in the presidential race after he considered dropping out more than once and he often referred to her -- >> i need you to be with us, calista and i are both delighted. >> reporter: the campaign website features the 45-year-old calista. outside of what she posts on facebook page, she's largely lived a private wife. gingrich's third wife and began a relationship with him while speaker of the house and still married to his second wife. calista worked at the hous

. >>> mary snow is monitoring some of the other top stories. dly suicide bombings in syria, turning into another flash point between various sides. what's the latest? >> u.s. officials are concerned the attacks will distract arab league observers. they hit in damascus, killing 44 people. the government says the attacks had all the markings of al-qaeda. opposition forces say they were the work of a assad regime, which wants the arab league to believe it's fighting terrorist. thousands are demanding the army give up power to the civilian government. prince phillip, the husband of queen elizabeth, is in a hospital after suffering from chest pains. the duke of edinburgh is undergoing precautionary tests in cambridge according to buckingham palace. >> thanks very much. >>> joe biden on the attack. he's targeting mitt romney in a stinging op-ed and now, romney is firing right back. plus, a woman's touch in this presidential. some candidate's wives are taking on a bigger role. >> from our family to yours, merry christmas and happy new year. >>> his off

mary snow's joining us with one man's story. what happened here, mary? bills and it led to being arrested at his house. now in this case, people say they know they owe debt. but the complaint is they didn't know there was a warn for their arrest. >> reporter: for 57-year-old james davis of kansas, using a credit card to buy this computer and some furniture is haunting him in ways he never imagined. in 2008 when the economy went south, davis lost his job and fell behind on bills. the creditor took him to court, davis admits he didn't show up, and a bench warrant was issued. but he says he thought he rectified the situation by reaching a pay plan agreement until arrested in january. >> i was confused, of course i was humiliated. somewhat -- just wrong you could say. >> reporter: davis spent several hours in jail before getting out on $250 bond. he's suing for unfair debt collection process. the bench warrant was not issued for failure to make payments on the payment plan but was issued for civil contempt for disobeying court order orders. outside of this c

we asked mary snow, who? new york, to take a closer look at this. mary?rump coming from two gop white house hopefuls in new york today. the biggest question is what kind after difference could trump's support make for a candidate. >> with the crush of cameras awaiting him wp newt gingrich became the latest presidential hopeful to pay a visit to trump. defending plans for upcoming republican presidential debate to be moderated by the real estate developer and reality tv host set to be sponsored by the conservative website, news matt. >> this is a country which elected a peanut farmer to the presidency. they have elected an actor who made two moves with the chim pan zi for the presidency. not participating in the trump debate, jon huntsman. >> >> you know, i'm not going could kiss his ring or any other part of his aanatomy. >> i don't understand the marching to his office. i didn't know that he had an ability to lay on hands, you know. and anoint people. >> firing back, trump who is also promoting a new book dismissed criticism in an interview on nbc. >> i

mary snow has been monstering this story and other top stories in "the situation room." charged with murder an arson and held without bail. the incident which took place over the weekend here in new york was caught on surveillance cameras. authorities say he sprayed a 73-year-old woman with a flammable liquid then lit a molotov cocktail. the suspect turned himself into police claiming the woman owed him $2,000. the death toll is rising and hundredors are believed to be in the square. as vicious clashes between protesters and security forceas enter a fourth day. >>> the former dissident playwright who helped topple communism in eastern europe died at age 75. he spent years in prison before emerging to end it in 1989 revolution. wolf? >> mary, thanks very much. >>> just want wle it looks like congress might agree on extending the payroll tax, there might be a hang-up. stay with us, you're in "the situation room." >>> go to capitol hill right now. the the house is moving toward a vote on a senate approved plan that includes a two-month extension. the speaker john boehner, no

cnn's mary snow is taking a closer look into this part of the story. mary, what do you find?w, social conservatives make up a significant block of caucus goers. while newt gingrich made repeated attempts to address his personal past and move on, it is unclear how much it will count. >>> newt gingrich's wife, calista, is a central part of gingrich's campaign, campaigning with him in iowa, even appearing in a recent ad. >> from our family to ours, merry christmas and happy new year. i'm calista gingrich. >> but a veteran political reporter says among caucus goers were questions about gingrich's two previous marriages that have come up. >> for instance, mitt romney add telephone town hall meeting and one woman from mason city iowa made a point of thanking him for being married to the same woman for 42 years. >> this ad featuring romney awife, ann, entitled character seems to be a not so subtle dig at gingrich's multiple marriages. >> if you want to know how a person will operate, look at how they have lived tlir life. >> in this ad, anita perry touts her marriage to her high sch

mary snow is working that part of the story. what are you finding out? >> you know, unlike jobless numbers, this isn't something that -- we don't have exacts, but recruiting firms saw more applying for jobs in asia and one young woman says right now, it's her best option. >> this is what i first saw. >> unlike most job seekers, it took only weeks for 27-year-old tina to find a teaching job. the catch? the job is in shanghai. it's a move she's eager to make since she juggles a teaching job and waiting tables. >> i'll be making about $2,000 a month, but the cost of living is about $300 a month. they provide me with health insurance, which is huge. >> so she started teaching two years ago. something she always wanted to do. she had been working as an investment manager, but when the economy soured and her workload grew without pay, she switched careers. now, she finds herself in a profe profession scaled down by budget cuts. >> years ago when i first started thinking about teaching abroad, it was equal to the united states. i can do the same thing in china.

mary snow has more. >> there has long been a debate about iowa, why iowa and whether it should hold the nation's first presidential contest, but with no agreement on an alternative, as long as iowa's first, it gets plenty of attention. republican presidential hopefuls make the final sprint in iowa as they crisscross the state, campaigns and supporters flood the air waves with ads. $8 million worth and counting just this month. so how much could a win in iowa matter? that depends. >> this was the place where america remembered what it means to hope. >> for barack obama, a victory in iowa proved to be a game changer. on the republican side, a different story. >> tonight, i love iowa a whole lot. >> mike huckabee's upset victory in 2008 with the help of iowa evangelicals failed to gain momentum outside the state. john mccain was the eventual nominee. when you take a look at who won in iowa compared to the parties of eventual nominee -- a win was not only crucial for barack obama, but in 2004 for john kerry and particularly in 1976 for jimmy carter. on the republican side in recent years, i

mary snow has more. what's going on here?ts don't hide fwr the fact they are here illegally, but after a welcome gesture from the government two years ago, they don't understand why they are now being shown the door. this ritual may soon become just a memory for the crushed american dream for this family. roughly among 70 indonesians in a reform that makes no sense. so, you're 99% sure you're going to be deported? >> my faith, i said no, they're not. they will not deporting me. >> your faith? >> harry's faith is rooted in this new jersey church, home to a tight knit community of indonesians. many of them fled their home land in the late 1990s because of religious persecution against christians, including harry's wife, yana. >> keep hope alive! >> that was harry at an immigration reform rally after nearly being deported in 2009. he was only able to stay in the u.s. after his pastor worked out an agreement with immigration officials. because the indonesians in his community had no criminal records, they could live and work in t

mary snow is taking a closer look into this story for us. what are you finding out?attended to fund-raisers. democrats took the occasion to take aim at him. the romney camp is firing back saying the white house is scared of the prospect of facing him in a general election. as republican presidential hopeful mitt romney tapped wall street donors for campaign cash, democrats took to the skies over new york, targeting him. they paid for an airplane banner to remind everyone of a $10,000 bet romney made against rick perry at the last republican debate. as democrats try to portray romney as ouch touch, progressives are calling romney the poster child for wall street and the 1%, but david gergen says democrats targeting romney solely for raising wall street contributions is hypocritical. >> barack obama raised tons of money off wall street last time around. wall street has turned more hostile towards the president, but it's natural romney will go there. >> the nonpartisan center for responsive politics tracks donors and finds romney raising more money from wall street cont