i'm carol costello. we begin with the so-called fiscal cliff. 36 days from the crisis. new signs of just how concerned lawmakers really are. more republican lawmakers now say they will work toward a compromise, even if they have to break a promise not to raise taxes. that promise, that pledge, the brain child of anti-tax activist grover norquist, a long-time power broker in the gop. but the vote faced its first test last week when senator saxby chambliss said he was ready to break the promise. congressman king -- now senator lindsey graham has become the latest republican to say he would violate the pledge if democrats also showed willingness to rein in the nation's debt. >> i want to buy down debt and cut rates to create jobs. i will violate the pledge, long story short, for the good of the country. only if democrats will do entitlement reform. >>> >> let's bring in cnn political editor paul steinhauser. three republican lawmakers. it's not exactly a rebellion, right? >> not a rebellion yet. grover norq

carol? >> wow, i'm still getting over that house. that's something else. jason lanning, bay news 9. thank you so much. paula broadwell's biography of general david petraeus is one hot seller. no kidding. it climbed out of the cellar to the 111th spot on the best seller list. nothing like a besex scandal to promote a book, something she did not mention on her book tour. >> when i realized the opportunity i had to tell this message to present this portrait of military leadership, i'm not in love with david petraeus, but he is a great role model, values oriented, speaks the truth to power. >> you think this is the weirdest twist, you would be wrong. yes, there is word this morning of a shirtless fbi agent. before we get into that, let's talk about the serious implications of the sordid scandal. federal investigators search broadwell's home last night and carried out boxes and boxes of stuff, including a computer. tom fuentes is former fbi assistant director. morning, tom. >> morning, carol. >>

i'm carol costello. new death toll and deepening concern from hurricane sandy three days after the storm washed ashore. here is a time lapsed video. that's what you're look iing at right now. watch the right side of your screen as the new york city skyline is plunged into darkness. there it goes. today, nearly 5 million homes and businesses are still without power. the death toll is inching up again. superstorm blamed for 56 deaths in the united states. half the victims just in new york city. the mayor says he expects that number to rise. officials say it is a miracle no one died in the firestorm that burned 111 homes to the ground in queens. likely cause? broken lines of natural gas. dozens of those fires still burn in several states. we'll have more on that in a minute. >>> last of the patients are now evacuated from new york's bellevue hospital. national guard troops lined the stair dels well to usher out more than 700 patients. soldiers call themselves, quote, a human bucket brigade. >>> jersey shore

carol?ion for you, will the market take any deal on the fiscal cliff or is it looking for something specific? >> that's the question, isn't it? the market at this point is looking for some certainty. a permanent deal, meaning not just a band-aid on this issue. at this point i think they're going to take something over nothing. you look at these new congressional budget office projections and they're darn scary, predicting half a percent drop in gdp. unemployment rate would spike by the end of the year, doing damage to the stock market in a big way. the reality is, carol, wall street probably won't get everything it wants anyway. if wall street had its druthers, it would encourage companies to bring back profits from overseas, look for payroll taxes to encourage businesses to hire. getting any deal will certainly calm the markets as we wait for the opening bell to ring and we'll have a negative start. >> just about to ring. ten more seconds. i know you'll keep an eye on it. >> will do. >> the

carol? you. >>> syria's embattled president said he will not except international exile even though his country is sinking deeper into a bloody civil war. . >> i think the price of this invasion, if it happens, is going to more than we can afford. we have problem in syria. stability in the region, and coexistence. it will have domino effect, that effect from the atlantic to the pacific. >> cnn's mohammed joins us now from beirut. mohammed, we've seen a lot of n unintended consequences in the arab world. could assad's warning be more than luster? >> that's the key question, carol. one of the reasons that the civil war in syria is so concerning is because people have worried that it could stoke a regional conflict. you see evil rivalry in syria. the sunni countries in the country like saudi arabia, backing the opposition. then you have a shiite country like iran that's backing assad. now, because the sectarian lines within the syrian war are deepening, that's concerning to the international po

carol? >> i can't help but notice the parking lot behind you. it doesn't look full. are there many shoppers in walmart this morning? >> reporter: you know, that was our initial impression when we got here as well. we thought, wow, where are all the shoppers here? you're right. the parking lot does not look full here. i did ask -- they say most likely they will not. they will be talking directly to the management who comes out as soon as they cross on to walmart's property. they're focusing on not trying to stop business today. they're not trying to disrupt busine business. what they want to do is get better wages for the workers here. i did ask as to whether any of the workers at this particular walmart planned on walking out. we don't know at this point. but if any of the workers at this walmart walks out, of course, we will get ahold of them and talk to them quite a bit. of course, the worry is you know what happens next when you walk out. do you lose your job? of course, we're talking abo

this from carol.en should be prohibited from working for or with lobbyists. this from arthur. age limit no. iq test. yes. term limits seems more appropriate. eight years just like the president. this from roger. as much as i would like to see many of the older obstructionist members of congress leave, the experience necessary regarding our country's defense, budget, et cetera there should be no age restrictions. >> this from george. a 90-year-old politician should have more wisdom and experience than a 50-year-old. it the problem isem

carol? >> we'll keep our fingers crossed. >>> some are giving up their traditional thanksgiving holiday to help others in new york and new jersey. places hit hard by superstorm sandy last month. so many homes destroyed, including on staten island. deb feyerick joins us now from new york. dozens and dozens of volunteers are helping out this holiday. it's a beautiful thing. >> reporter: you know, it really is. a lot of people got up very, very early, crack of dawn in order to go into staten island, in various neighborhoods in order to bring turkey burgers, set-up grills, give them food so they can give them solace at this point in time. a number of volunteers have come out today. they're getting their marching orders, their instructions. one thing they were just told, that is that they've got to be sensitive. they are going into communities where so many people were affected and they're still traumatized by the effects of sandy. i want to talk to one of the volunteers here. eric bagley. you ga

and carol said who is that. alan schultz, he's the new makeup man.aid, i don't care if he doesn't know what a powder puff is, i want him on my face tomorrow. [cheers and applause] >> she meant that professionally. but anyway -- that's how we met. >> so vicki, you are beautiful. but how much makeup did you wear as "mama"? >> none. carol and i used to do two sets of upper lashes. please, look at the eye makeup going on. we would do a set of lower lashes and you would basically do the stage makeup. it was when we realized that the family was going to be a running sketch. al said we've got to take a minute to rip the lashes off and make you look old. >> i basically look nothing. >> how did you make your mouth look like that? >> just by doing it. [cheers and applause] you just crinkle your lips up and do it. that's what happens when all the estrogen leaves. your lips just goes. >> now "the carol burnett show" ran for 11 seasons. it's all available now as part of this big d.v.d. set but what else can fans find on this d.v.d. collection? >> time life put th

you might remember, carol.ou and i sat a day or two before the supreme court decision when i said that the court was going to affirm the affordable health care act. now i'm telling you that we're going to win on tomorrow in a comfortable fashion with the president of the united states being re-elected and securing 270 electoral votes. which is the whole show on tomorrow. >> mayor reed, thank you so much for joining us this morning. we appreciate it. >> thank you for having me. >>> next, the other side of the argument. i'll talk with the spokesperson for the republican national committee. we'll be right back. there he is. one is for a clean, wedomestic energy future that puts us in control. our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly producing natural gas. it's not a dream. america's natural gas... putting us in con

time and not too long, carol. of course. >> of course. >> we have, you know, first book has built a supply pipeline supports programs like reading is funneledment tal and many others who are doing fantastic work. our primary model has been to build the lo guestic that provide access for programs and classrooms serving the kids in need. one of them kyle -- [inaudible] was a great was volunteering a the table here in washington, d.c., and realized that here were heroes, local heros supporting the kids who needed the help the most in an environment that would work for hours and hours a day. they were absolutely without resources. just a box of broken crayons. if they were beyond the reach 6 programs like riff at the time many, many were. what we realized what, we can certainly solve one part of this problem. becan build a pipeline to get great resources to them. programs like riff and others are increasingly devoted to what kind of content was on in the available to be the programs and how they use that content in th

carol? >> unbelievable. victor blackwell, thanks so much. >>> talk back for you today, should general petraeus have resigned? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll be right back. not in this economy. we also have zero free time, and my dad moving in. so we went to fidelity. we looked at our family's goals and some ways to help us get there. they helped me fix my economy, the one in my house. now they're managing my investments for me. and with fidelity, getting back on track was easier than i thought. call or come in today to take control of your personal economy. get one-on-one help from america's retirement leader. >>> now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning, should general david petraeus have resigned? general petraeus famously disciplined, respected and admired by both democrats and republicans. a rare creature, indeed. maybe that's why so many are asking why. not why the general cheated on his loyal wife of 38 years, but why he chose to resign over a

carol? the new york stock exchange. >>> well, someone is waking up this morning as a multimillionaire. winning tickets for the powerball's record-breaking $580 million jackpot were sold in arizona and missouri. last night's winning numbers, if you're curious, 5, 23, 16, 22, 29 and the powerball number is 6. winners will split the largest jackpot in powerball's history. we know one of the tickets was bought around the kansas city area. but whoever won was really lucky, because the odds of winning, 1 in 175 million. you have a much better chance of getting hit by -- we say that every time. you know. the odds are long. lucky them, and we're happy for them. >>> journalist tom ricks is a star. not for his new book, not for his 17 years at the wall street journal, but for his 90 seconds on fox news. when asked about the attacks on the u.s. consulate in benghazi and claims the obama administration whitewashed it, ricks employed an earth to fox maneuver. >> i've covered a lot of fire fights. it's im

(laughter) but carol's been an observer for a long time. we talk almost everyday and she knows more about me than she put in the book. >> that's for volume two. >> jon: oh, volume two, i like this. more salacious, huh? (laughter) now we're getting somewhere. obviously you've been at the forefront of the news lately because of this argument that we're having in this country now about taxation, how to fund the government while dealing with the deficit. you have suggested something which coincidentally is called the buffett rule which i think, like lou gehrig's disease is very unbelievable that this rule would just happen to be promoted by -- >> the diseases were already taken. (laughter) (applause) >> jon: i assume bufferin has something to do with it. you have come out and said you would prefer something where the rich pay a flat -- at least 30%. on their money. why do you say that? >> well, if they make over a million, i say on the amount over a million they ought to pay at least 30% and over $10 million they ought to pay 35%. most of the p

i'm carol costello. is your dream worth two bucks? it is for millions of americans, snapping up tickets for tonight's drawing of the powerball lottery. the jackpot, a jaw-dropping half a billion dollars. that's a billion with a b. >> i'm going to be 80. i can't never live to spend that kind of money. >> i can't conceive what it would be like. it's always good to dream. >> i could skoconceive it. cnn's alison kosik is at a convenience store in new york. i would have expected a long line. >> reporter: you know what? there isn't a long line here. people are stepping up to the counter buying powerball tickets. not buying a lot, in great, great numbers but enough because all you really need is one. right, carol? >> that's true. all you need is one. >> reporter: i don't know where to go. i'm circling around here. >> have you bought your ticket yet? >> reporter: i did. i d i bought it this morning. i only bought one. i believe one is all you need. think about the odds. they're really, really slim. really low. 1

carol? >> fred pleitgen, reporting live from the west bank this morning. >>> chris christie says he's finally able to look beyond the devastation unleashed on his state by superstorm sandy and says the long recovery home has convinced him to run for re-election next year. storm victims have been asking about his plans. >> this weekend, mary pat and i, the kids, had an opportunity to just kind of have a few minutes to ourselves. and we talked about it. and we've decided we're going to seek re-election. and we're wanting to get that going today. so i instructed my campaign treasurer to file papers with the election law enforcement commission to seek re-election. and so -- >> there you have it. christie has been extremely hands on in dealing with the storm damage. that has helped fuel a huge spike in his approval ratings which now hover around 80%. >>> in dewitt county, illinois, reluctantly agreed to a coin flip 14 days after their election ended in a tie. incumbent ferguson called tails. deci

i'm carol costello. 27 minutes past the hour. this latest round of attacks between the israelis and the palestinians is the most intense in three years which leads us to the question, why now? hamas wants israel to end its long blockade of gaza, that's why. gaza has been under siege since 2007. that means israel controls all goods entering the gaza strip, including weapons. and israel strictly enforces that blockade. in recent years israeli's military has boarded ships and halted shipments bound for gaza. an author and scholar focusing on the western world of islam joins us now from new york. good morning. >> good morning. >> so the reason israel controls goods and movement in and out of gaza is to disrupt the ruling party in gaza, which is hamas. of course, the u.s. considers hamas to be a terrorist organization. but the question this morning is, why does hamas think this is the right time to flex its muscle, for lack of a better term? >> well, hamas is facing an enormous amount of pressure both domestically and internationally.

i'm glad you think this is funny, carol. look, if you think of anything else, you give me a call, okay ? okay. - thanks again. - sure. good night. good night. thank you very much. sure. bye-bye. - what a mess ! - we'll get it cleaned up. what's the matter, jess ? oh, no, not the plane. yeah. funny, it's been so long since i've even looked at it. sorry, jess. first thing tomorrow i'm going to make some calls. maybe get some security companies come out here. jess, let's not overreact. nobody was hurt. we're both fin this time. but what about next time and the time after that ? all i know is, i've seen mrs. wilson's house with the bars and the steel doors. and i'm not going to live like that. well, i'm not going to live like this. no, that's not possible. there must be some mistake. i see. no, i'll take care of it. yes, yes, i'll make sure i'll take care of it. all right. here we are. one turkey sandwich on rye. i like turkey, but i ordered the beef stroganoff. i think that's it. rosa, can you come here ? - i'll be there in a m

>> it is a great point, carol.in iowa has been that there is not a lot of enthusiasm on either side or for these candidates in the race, especially coming down to the economic plans. i have had people say that neither has the plan to solve the debt crisis in this country, and they are not enthusiastic and that is a problem, however, i have spoken to some obama supporters here who are very hopeful that the president's plan, when it comes to education, training, and even obama care, they think it is putting the country in the right direction, and that is what i am hearing from the obama supporters, but this is a state that you know so well, carol, here in the midwest. it is about winning the hearts and minds of the middle class and getting the people out to the polls. right now the numbers show that it is a tight, tight race and the candidates need every vote they can get. >> but in some states where there is early voting, people are waiting in long lines to vote, so that says that somebody has enthusiasm. >> i want

hey, carol. >>> good morning. thank you so much for being with me. i'm carol costello. we begin with breaking news. a possible cease fire about to take hold in the israel/gaza conflict. the news comes from egypt's president, trying to broker a truce. minutes ago he declared that israel will soon halt its air strikes on gaza. along egypt's border with gaza, reza sayeh. tell us more. >> reporter: we don't want to jump to conclusions. we should be very cautious. there are growing signs from where we are standing in egypt that there could a closing in on a truce or cease fire. latest sign is a statement made by egyptian president mohamed morsi, according to state tv. he said that, quote, israeli gra aggression would end on tuesday. that, of course, is today. that's consistent with similar statements we've heard from other officials late last night. we spoke with a senior egyptian official and he told us he's optimistic that in the next 24 hours there would be a cease fire. hamas officials are being even more specific. senior hamas official telling cnn that israel has agreed

and not too long, carol, of course. [laughter] >> guest: of course. >> guest: but we have, you know, first book has built a supply pipeline that supports programs like carol's, like reading is fundamental and many others who are doing fantastic work. our primary model has been to build until logistics that can provide tremendous access for programs and classrooms serving kids in need. because that was a huge gap that was missing when our founders founded first book 20 years ago. they -- one of them, kyle zimmer with whom carol is a great friend with, was volunteering here in washington, d.c. and realized that here were heros, local heroes supporting the kids who needed help the most in an environment that would work for hours and hours a day, and they were absolutely without resources. just a box of broken crayons. if they were beyond the reach of programs like rif at the time, and many, many were. so what we realized was, well, we can certainly solve one part of this problem. we can build a pipeline to get resources to

carol? >> ben wedeman, reporting live for us this morning. >>> people in israel are living in fear that a rocket could strike at any moment, hit its target while they're eating their breakfast or walking their dogs. [ bleep ]. >> in about ten minutes, we'll talk to the woman who took this video and hear how she's trying to stay safe. new details out of indianapolis, indiana, as investigators try to figure out what caused a massive explosion that killed two people and destroyed more than 80 homes. meet the 5-passenger ford c-max hybrid. when you're carrying a lot of weight, c-max has a nice little trait, you see, c-max helps you load your freight, with its foot-activated lift gate. but that's not all you'll see, cause c-max also beats prius v, with better mpg. say hi to the all-new 47 combined mpg c-max hybrid. a new way to save on your prescriptions. it's the aarp medicarerx saver plus plan from unitedhealthcare. with this plan, you can get copays as low as a dollar through a preferred netwo

i wish jess and carol were here.ut i'm sure they'll be here any minute. and besides, jess and i have our own business to attend to after the party. ah, the big game. smiles ! i don't want to make the decision. i want us to make the decision. i am just afraid that whatever decision we make, one of us is going to be unhappy. may i have everybody's attention, please ? i would like to take this opportunity... to thank katherine for all her hard work... at crossroads cafe... and to wish her the best of luck for the future. that's enough talk. let's open the presents ! okay. this one's from mr. and mrs. chang. "wishing you much success. we will miss you." thank you, both. that's very nice. can i help open it, mommy ? sure. it's beautiful. thank you. open mine ! open mine ! fine, rosa. which one is it ? oh ! i think i found it ! do i open it, or do i eat it ? - you look really funny, mom. - that's the idea ! oh, i almost forgot. marie, this is for you. for me ? but i'm not going anywhere. i just started. - hello ? - it's a

i'm carol costello. thanks for joining us. the new york stock exchange opening bell just rang moments ago. 800 facebook shares are free from lockup. alison kosik joins me from new york. explain what that means. >> reporter: lock-up essentially means these companies before they go public want to hold people back from selling their shares all at once, keep the price of those shares higher. as far as how facebook is faring as these lock-ups expire, if you believe in this theory of the economics 101, when you increase the supply of shares going up on the market the price usually goes down and other times when these lock-ups for facebook ended you saw the shares fall 6% and 4%. i'm seeing that theory thrown out the window because facebook shares are up % and then on monday saw them jump 4%. facebook shares have been finding their footing. the share price really has found to have found some balance. it's no consolation for those who bought it around $38 on ipo day. if you started working for facebook before it went public and you're

welcome. >> hello carol. for mitt romney to win ohio, he needs to win more than the republican districts. he needs to keep down president obama's lead in cuyahoga county. i don't think that's going to be possible, but that's true. i don't -- i would be curious to know erick's view of this. bill burton made a very important point when he said that the romney campaign is really risking a lot of actual tactical and strategic momentum today in ohio by forcing the campaign to divert its resources to do events instead of getting out the vote. >> you know i think the way they're actually structuring it it's not that bad. they're doing small events with the poll reporters, not huge events. they'll be at airports, trying to get local media than they are actually people out from the polls. the president may do satellite hits, but romney going in person. they're going to cuyahoga not because of cuyahoga per se but the surrounding suburban counties and also get some reach over into the western pennsylvania market. they'r

carol carol is a fantastic educator and lead it for a long time. not too long carol, of course. but you know first books has built the supply pipeline that supports programs like reading is fundamental and many others and it does fantastic work. our primary model has been to build the logistics that provide tremendous access for programs and classrooms serving students in need, because that was a huge -- when our founders found it first book 20 years ago. kyle zimmer is a great friend and volunteering at martha's table here in washington d.c. and realized that he here were heroes, local heroes supporting the kids who needed help the most in an environment that was work for hours and hours a day and they were absolutely without resources, just boxes of kranz. if they were beyond the programs like wic at that time in many many were so what we realized was we can certainly solve one problem. we can build the pipeline to get great resources to them. programs like risks and others are increasingly devoted to what kind of content is on -- is available through these programs and how th

it is safe to start singing christmas carols, right? >> yeah. >> for some guy in england, not so much. he got these cheerful singers singing some festive holiday tunes. and then somebody comes along. he broke their guitars, stomped on their big gifts. >> what is wrong with him? >> i'm suspicious about this. this doesn't seem real to me. >> and you would be right, nick. >> bingo. >> this guy is known as don jolly. apparently he does the pranks. and so he did this one for itv. it is airing later in december and it's for charity. but just think if you had no idea what was going on and you saw this? >> christmas is one of my favorite holidays. if i saw that, i would have jumped in and i would have started fighting with this guy. i would have been like -- >> and that's what made me think it was fake. because i don't care how sweet and nice of a caroller you are, if somebody comes in and smashes an instrument and ruined the parade, one of the carollers is going to jum thp guy. >> it got me. it got me. >> the holidays are upon us. of course, t

carol and i needed help figuring out what's covered by medicare and what's not. so we turned to the same folks we've relied on for health insurance all these years. announcer: ron and carol called anthem blue cross and found an affordable medicare plan that pays for some costs original medicare won't. now they can keep making memories for years to come. choose from plans offering protection from high out of pocket costs plus include prescription drug coverage with your monthly premium. get the freedom to keep the doctors you already trust. if you're eligible for medicare we'll help you find a plan that fits your needs. call or go online now to get answers. you only have until december 7th to enroll. captioned by closed captioning services, inc. >>> good morning. student demonstrators shutdown a street over tuition did hands. >> terry mcsweeney joins us live at mission bay. >> reporter: the regents are meeting in this building behind me. a short time ago, a number of people in the room there, not necessarily students, disrupted it they came up and started shouting

carol and i needed help figuring out what's covered by medicare and what's not. we turned to the same folks we've relied on for health insurance all these years. announcer: ron and carol called anthem blue cross and found an affordable medicare plan that pays for some costs original medicare won't. now they can keep making memories for years to come. choose from plans offering protection from high out of pocket costs plus include prescription drug coverage with your monthly premium. get the freedom to keep the doctors you already trust. if you're eligible for medicare we'll help you find a plan that fits your needs. call or go online now to get answers. you only have until december 7th to enroll. >>> the white house says president obama had a tense meeting with cambodia's prime minister this morning over human rights. the stop after emotional landmark visit to myanmar, now marching towards democracy. lisa stark reports. >> reporter: president obama became the first u.s. president to visit the country of myanmar in a quick stop over that included meetings with the

carol and i needed help figuring out what's covered by medicare and what's not.o we turned to the same folks we've relied on for health insurance all these years. announcer: ron and carol called anthem blue cross and found an affordable medicare plan that pays for some costs original medicare won't. now they can keep making memories for years to come. choose from plans offering protection from high out of pocket costs plus include prescription drug coverage with your monthly premium. get the freedom to keep the doctors you already trust. if you're eligible for medicare we'll help you find a plan that fits your needs. call or go online now to get answers. you only have until december 7th to enroll. >>> it's really nice. everybody else has the same diseases. ♪ >> when you are in the hospital, whatever is going on with you, the camp is there for you even throughout the year. even it's something to look forward to, these five days you can be normal. >> you don't have to feel different there. i feel like i'm in my own world. >> taylor foundation has helped more than 3

. >> rose: warren buffett and carol loomis are here. one of the world's most successful investors and a long time friend of this program. she is the legendary "fortune" magazine writer who followed his career since he was a 35-year-old hedge fund manager from omaha. in 1966 she couldn't even get his name right. she spelled his name with only one "t." it was an unlikely start to a beautiful friendship and to "fortune"'s coverage of the man who we've come to know as a chairman of berkshire hathaway, tap dancing to work is carol loomis' new book, it's a collection of articles telling the remarkable story of warren buffett. it's also a story about friendship. i'm pleased to have them together at this table. welcome. >> thank you. >> rose: so good to have you together. >> terrific. >> i want to talk about the book and about the career and about "fortune" magazine and the relationship, but first this morning we all got up to read an op-ed by you called "a minimum tax for the wealthy." and you start off bying a most investors you know, if it's

carol and i needed help figuring out what's covered by medicare and what's not.o we turned to the same folks we've relied on for health insurance all these years. announcer: ron and carol called anthem blue cross and found an affordable medicare plan that pays for some costs original medicare won't. now they can keep making memories for years to come. choose from plans offering protection from high out of pocket costs plus include prescription drug coverage with your monthly premium. get the freedom to keep the doctors you already trust. if you're eligible for medicare we'll help you find a plan that fits your needs. call or go online now to get answers. you only have until december 7th to enroll. >>> right now in san francisco ocean beach closed north of fulton public works crews are cleaning up a raw sewage spill all related to the storm the discharge came from a manhole cover that overflowed. the area has to be cleaned and sanitized. traffic along the great highway is not affected. >>> happening now, u.s. interior secretary ken salazar is visiting a controvers

carol, one of the most outspoken people, i want to start with you. it is hard to get down to the numbers when we talk about taxes and extended or not the bush tax cuts of how many people this is going to affect in terms of jobs, what it will do to small business, do you think it is a big deal or not? >> i think it is a huge deal, j.j. one of the reasons why you cannot rely on the numbers is that people aren't rational in love, in business, in money. we don't focus on the numbers and always make the rational decisions. we go with the emotional decisions. so right now all of this uncertainty, whether it really impacts the bottom line or not, we will never know, but what we do know is the uncertainty affects the small business owners and it affects the consumers. and that is all of the difference. >> you take, you look at my small business, i have 45 people that work for my organization, i'm not going to continue to invest at the level i have been investing if there's less money in my pocket. you tell my any small business owner if you take money out of

he'll be joining us with carol lumis. let's get over to andrew, he has this morning's other top headlines. >> good morning to you, becky. the obama administration saying that china's currency remains significantly undervalued, but the u.s. treasury department is now stopping short of labeling the world's second biggest economy a currency manipulator. the white house is expected now to send the congress a multi-billion-dollar request on the recovery from superstorm sandy. the storm caused an estimated $71 billion in damages in new york and new jersey, and some congressional aides saying the request for funding would likely be at least $11 billion. the move comes as canada gets close to its decision on whether to approve the transaction. the energy companies say discussions with the committee are still in progress, and of course they had to file approval because they have extensive operations in the u.s. gulf of mexico. >>> "the wall street journal" reporting that virtue is emerging as the frontrunner to buy knight capital.