our athena jones reporting live from this park right now. ered to come down. we saw some of them coming down, but not all of them. is this a standoff now, athena? athena, are you there? so athena's not there. we'll get back to her. you can hear them doing, as they all do at the occupy, mic check, then the other person starts repeating what the other person said. here's what they're chanting about. let's listen for a second. okay. so, here we go. occupy protesters in washington and a standoff with police over this structure. we'll continue to follow it here on cnn. more at the top of the hour. >>> let's talk a little college football right now. my lsu tigers headed to the national championship game, but who will they play? who will they play? will it be alabama? why? they already beat them. or oklahoma state? no, why, they're much better. john wortheim ways on which team has the advantage. but first this, john, trystan eden is a self-described skateboarding punk who had several run-ins with the law as a youth, including painting graffiti on sc

and so our athena jones is live there at the site of the protesters. number one, athena, why did they built it? earlier, you said they built it because of the cold weather and they wanted some place to go in and keep warm. now this. what's going on where you are? >> reporter: well, that's right. i just wanted to update you. we saw, as you said, a few minutes ago, someone somersaulted off the edge of this structure on this giant inflatable cushion that the police have blown up, right next to the structure on the backside. a few minutes after that, another protester jumped on to the cushion, so there are now four people left atop this building, as you can see. now, they said they built it because it's getting colder and they want to be able to have daily meetings inside, their general assembly meetings, they call them, to make plans and to talk about what they stand for. this is a group, occupy d.c. protesters, who have been camped out in this park, mcpherson square, since the beginning of october. and so, certainly, it is getting colder. the big question

athena jones. >> reporter: after more than nine hours and at times tense standoffs, it has come to an end with 31 arrests. it began when police ordered demonstrators to take down a structure they erected overnight. there were safety concerns with the structure and it hadn't gone through the proper permitting process. demonstrators refused to take the down. several occupying it itself and others climbing on to the roof while holding on to the rafters for several hours and led chants with the crowd of demonstrators who have been in this park occupying it since early october. this is a park that is only a few blocks from the white house. so the standoff lasted all day. you had demonstrators throwing food and water. demonstrators throwing food and water to the occupiers who were on the structure itself. ultimately the police used ray cherry picker, a giant inflatable cushion, two ladders, various ropes and harnesses in order to get the occupiers off of the structure. it was at times a dangerous operation because the structure itself, we saw it swaying a little bit. there were concern at o

details now from cnn's athena jones. >> i never thought i'd be in this situation. >> reporter: if congresst act, millions of people who are out of work could lose federal unemployment benefits next year. people like marcello virgil. >> if i lose my benefits, it's going to be rough. i have three kids to take care of here. i have five kids total. if i don't find work soon, i have no idea what i'm going to do. >> reporter: he lost his job at a hospital last year. his wife has been out of work for more than two years. virgil found work as a landscaper over the summer. but the project lasted just two months. his state unemployment benefits will run out in february. the federal government supplements the 26 weeks of benefits provided by most states, allowing people up to 99 weeks of aid, as long as they're looking for work. the average weekly benefit is about $300. under current law, people must file for extended benefits by the end of the year. president obama wants to push back that deadline for another year. >> congress needs to renew unemployment insurance for americans who are still out the

athena jones, thank you so much for bringing us the story.e always, of course, remember the men and women who have fought for us and their families, as well. thanks, athen ma. >>> you've probably heard a lot of times this year, didn't you, did you hear what they said? we're going to run down the year's most memorable quotes from some pretty memorable newsmakers, like that guy, charlie sheen. >>> what was the top quote of 2011, you wonder? we're talking about the most powerful, most meaningful, maybe just most memorable words spoken by people in the news this year, words that in a lot of ways shape what the year was about, right? josh levs is here with the countdown. i say meaningful and i know one you're going to quote. and there was nothing meaningful about it, but it was comical. >> it was comical. here is why i like these. they help us stop and take stock. we look back at some of the big stories for the year. the first quote is really hard to guess. here is the quote. it has been a really tough weekend. and the person who said it is harold

thank you so much, athena jones. appreciate it. >>> they are handing out two nobel peace prize awards today. actually, they're handing out three of them. the ceremony is going on as we speak. the winners being honored for their commitment to women and their safety in the region. and let me introduce you to them. lema boley, a leading peace and women's rights activist. ellen johnson surlis and talafel herman. >> i'm particularly honored to be a successor to several sons and one daughter of africa who have stood on this stage. kofi annan, an war al sa dat, mohammed albarati as well as barack obama, martin luther king jr. and ralph bunch, americans of african dissent. >> a lot of grace in that woman, couldn't you tell? protests, meanwhile, as we switch gears here, are under way in russia this morning. demonstrators are angry over alleged voter fraud in last week's parliamentary elections. the anger aims squarely at vladimir putt in. so phil black is with us now. and i'm sure, phil, we're wondering how peaceful the prote

let's get to cnn's athena jones. athena? >> hi, don. you know, this ended just a little while ago with the police finally being able to take down the last protester who was on top of the structure that occupy d.c. protesters erected overnight. police came in laelt this morning and told them they needed to take the structure down. they said there were safety concerns, that the structure hadn't gone through the proper inspections. but protesters refused to leave. and so they occupied the building itself which has now been torn down. several of them climbed on top of it. at one point there were about a dozen of these demonstrators on top of the building. and they stayed there for hours. throughout the day they led chants. demonstrators here in the crowd away from the structure who were throwing them food and water. this is a camp here in mcpherson square, they've been camping out here since the beginning of october. we're only a few blocks from the white house. protesters and police have both said that they haven't really had any big probl

our athena jones is there at the white house. let's go straight to you, athena.he president offering some real assurances there. he's glad the u.s. congress has gotten down to business there. it's not over yet, is it? >> no, it's not over. the white house has been pushing for this as a key provision of the president's jobs bill. they have been pushing to make sure 160 million americans don't see taxes go up in january. on some levels that's a victory. it's just a two-month extension. it kind of kicks the can down the road. they will have to return to this in a couple months. the president expressed his confidence this is going to be passed by the congress next year. it must be done, not hard to do. it's something we should agree on. he's coming out trying to declare a little bit of a victory. he didn't mention keystone pipeline, didn't answer any questions. he's also keeping the pressure on saying he's confident when the house comes in on monday they will pass this bill the senate passed, he'll be able to sign it. americans starting the first of the year will get

let's go now to cnn's athena jones.he is there and has been watching this volunteer action in place all morning long. why did so many people volunteer and who are these volunteers? >> well, i suppose with a lot of people. have you veterans, you have a lot of service members, people in uniform. marines. people in the military. there are a lot of kids and at least one boy scout troop. you also had a lot of people who came -- lost people, whether it was a son or daughter or partner. i spoke with a lot of people here who said they wanted to come out. one man told me he had a relative who died in world war ii who was very -- buried somewhere here. i said are you going to try to lay a wreath on that grave? he said no, i wanted to come anywhere, it didn't matter where i came. i wanted to give back because they have given so much and i have given so little. the idea here was for i people to come together and honor the troops. this group's mission wreaths across america is remember, honor, teach. it is the 20th anniversary of la

athena jones joins us from washington. athen ark, how did this happen? >> a lot of supporters of these two candidates are asking that question, alina. we have gotten a response from both campaigns. the perry campaign says they will closely review the facts and law to determine whether an appeal or challenge is warranted. newt gingrich called it the whole way virginia figures out to be on the ballot, said it was a failed system and they are going to pursue an aggressive write-in campaign to make sure all the voters of virginia are able to vote for the candidate of their choice. this is very important in this case for newt gingrich because recent polls showed him leading in virginia. he was five points ahead of mitt romney. if you're not on the ballot that doesn't mei matter in the end. virginia has pretty stringent requirements for getting on the primary ballot, more stringent than other states. they needed 10,000 signatures stayed wide, at least 10,000, including 400 in each electoral districts. these campaigns fell short. it raises questions about their

let's bring if our athena jones. how big of a deal is this? big deal for gingrich and perry. as you mentioned, this is the state where gingrich lives. he lives in a suburb just outside of d.c. the deadline was thursday, he told a gop fund-raising breakfast in the state that he would have 12,000 to 14,000 signatures. so, clearly his campaign thought that he was in the clear. but it turns out he isn't. we learned this, incidentally, overnight on twitter. that's where the virginia republican party first made this known. it's interesting stuff. virginia has stringent rules compared to other states. a candidate needs 10,000 signatures as well as 400 from each of the state's 11 congressional districts. it's a bit more complicated. recent polls have shown gingrich was ahead of romney in the state by five points. it's not looking good for him. this is a state he could have done well in. and 49 delegates are at stake there. >> who did qualify? >> well, right now it's just romney and ron paul. only four candidates even put in the petition. so, santorum,

. >> athena jones joining us live from washington. what's next?, really it is anyone's guess. we know there could be votes as early as tomorrow night, monday night in the house. possibly a vote on tuesday as well, that's what eric cantor's office has said. we don't know what is going to happen, there has been a real war of words. a lot of people battling back and forth on the sunday talk shows and a lot of statements flying around. you have republicans who say that this creates uncertainty, going ahead and voting for the two-month extension creates a lot more uncertainty. there are also concerns as i mentioned that the president will have another issue to talk about next year if they continue to be able to talk about -- ttach cuts for working families. you have democrats who say, go ahead and pass this two-month extension, we'll keep talking about the year long extension. you have people like nancy pelosi, representative pelosi, saying -- calling this a republican tea party blocking this move and so they're trying to show the republicans will be b

this point as though things were handled in a much swifter man they are time around, isha. >> athena jones joining us there on the line from blacksburg, virginia, appreciate it athena. thank you. we will be back after a quick break. stay with us. whoa. how do you top great vacations? whoa. getting twice the points on great vacations. whoa! use chase sapphire preferred and now get two times the points on travel, and two times the points on dining and no foreign transaction fees. whoa! chase sapphire preferred. a card of a different color. apply now at chasesapphire.com/preferred [ woman on r♪ bum-bum,stinct ] bum-bum, bum-bum ♪ ♪ bum-bum - ♪ ai, ai, ai - ♪ bum-bum - ♪ bum-bum, bum-bum - ♪ [ ice rattles rhythmically ] ♪ bum-bum, bum-bum, bum-bum ♪ ♪ [ imitates guitar noise ] ♪ [ vocalizing up-tempo heavy metal song ] ♪ [ vocalizing continues ] ♪ [ all singing ] the redesigned, 8-passenger pilot. smarter thinking. from honda. >>> crime and punishment tonight. the 20-year-old man accused of killing a 7-year-old georgia girl is being held without bond and we are learning more about him. his nam

athena jones for us this weekend in washington.turn back to one of the candidates who is on the ballot in virginia. we talked about ron paul. and a problem, an old problem just won't seem to go away for him. old newsletters being deemed racist and homophobic. our brian todd looks at the letters and the issues that continue to haunt this republican presidential candidate. >> reporter: as he surges in the polls before iowa, ron paul is again having to defend himself over language in a letter written on his behalf. we've reported recently and in previous campaigns how ron paul has disavowed newsletters with his name on them, newsletters from the 1980s and '90s with racial insults toward african-americans and others. with those newsletters paul said he didn't write them, didn't know who did, and that he rarely read them. now we're learning of a solicitation letter for those newsletters not only written on paul's behalf but with what appears to be his signature on them. theincindiary. in the direct mail tay'ler warns of, quote, the comi

i'm sure athena jones agrees, live at the white house. what's the reaction from the obama administration on this? >> reporter: interesting. you talk about next year and the president is already pushing forward to next year. he came out in and spoke from the briefing room here in the white house at about 12:30. spoke a few minutes and talked about what he expects congress to do next year. let's listen to what he said about it. >> i'm very pleased to see the work that the senate has done. while this agreement is for two months, it is my expectation, in fact it would be inexcusable, for congress not to further extend this middle class tax cut for the rest of the year. it should be a formality, and hopefully it's done with as little drama as possible when they get back in january. >> reporter: so he went on to say it's not hard. plenty of ways to pay for the proposals. interesting he should is a that. it has been hard, very hard for this congress to agree on almost anything all year. you mentioned earlier the house still has to vote on this a

point as though things were handled in a much swifter man they are time around, eye shachlt >> athena jonesine from blackburg, virginia, appreciate it athena. thank you. we will be back after a quick break. stay with us. for convertibles, press star one. i didn't catch that. to speak to a representative, please say representative now. representative. goodbye! you don't like automated customer service, and neither do we. that's why, unlike other cards, no matter when you call chase sapphire preferred, you immediately get a person not a prompt. chase sapphire preferred. a card of a different color. (phone ringing) chase sapphire preferred, this is julie in springfield. >>> crime and punishment tonight. the 20-year-old man accused of killing a 7-year-old georgia girl is being held without bond and we are learning more about him. his name, ryan brunn. he was arrested at the apartment complex where the little girl lived and where her body was found monday in a trash compactor. she had been missing three days. authorities say she was beaten, stabbed, sexually abused. her mouth was duct taped. her

athena jones takes a look. >> i never thought i would be in this situation. >> reporter: if congressle who are out of work could lose federal unemployment benefits next year. people like marcello virnlgle. >> if i lose my benefits it is going to be rough. i have three kids to take care of here. i have five kids total. so if i don't find work soon, i have no idea what i'm going to do. >> reporter: he lost his job at a hospital last year. his wife has been out of work for more than two virgil found work as a landscaper but just for two months. his state unemployment benefits run out in february. federal government supplements the 26 weeks of benefits provided by most states. allowing people up to 99 weeks of aid, as long as they are looking for work. the average weekly benefit is about $300. under current law people must file for extended benefits by the end of the year. president obama wants to push back that deadline for another year. >> congress needs to renew unemployment insurance for americans who are still out there pounding the pavement looking for work. >> reporter: without an

athena jones joins us now live with the latest from the campus. athena what was the university's response like this time around? >> reporter: well, good morning, christine. by almost all accounts it wasn't nearly -- much better than it was four years ago in 2007. yesterday alerts went out over a text, over e-mail. there were postings to the school's home page. there were tweets, and so everyone on campus was kept abreast of the situation, and all of the developments through the course of the day, we were all following it. so they handled it much better than 4 yaf nears ago when the school was criticized for not working quickly enough for the alert that left 32 people dead. >> we just heard the sound bite of the shaken student talking about it. how are students reacting to this? >> reporter: certainly during that four-hour lockdown there was a lot of concern, given the past. given what's happened in the past here. we had a chance to talk to a student who was in the cafeteria that whole time. she'd gone to eat in the dining hall. people weren't under

athena jones in washington at the white house trying to make sense of it all. okay.to start with? >> let's talk briefly about the spending bill expected to be passed today. of course the white house is pleased this is not something they are going to have to return to every few months over the course of next year. you know last year there were all these continuing resolutions, just funding the government for a few more months, a few more weeks. at least this one bill if it passes today will fund the government all the way through next year. that's one thing we can set aside. then of course you have the payroll tax cut issue, which we know is only extended for two months, 60 days this vote. there's been a lot of discussion over this bill, mainly how to pay for it. that's generally the thing that both of the parties argue about when it comes to bills like this. you have republicans arguing for a long time, some of them that these kinds of tax cuts putting another $1,000 in the average family's pocket doesn't do that much to stimulate the economy. economists say no, no,

athena jones from the white house today. athena, the white house at least happy to know that the taxes for a lot of folks in this country will not go up january 1? >> well, yes, they say they are. they say this deal meets the test that the president set out. he's been saying for days and weeks, really, that the important thing is that taxes for 160 million americans don't go up on january 1st and even though they'll have to return to this whole issue in another two months, for now this is a significant step and it's a significant provision of the american jobs that the president put forward. i'll read part of the statement from the white house communications director regarding this vote that's coming up and the deal is a significant victory for the people and the economy because independent analysts have said failing to extend this tax cut have had a damaging effect on the recovery and job growth. they've been arguing this point that before the average family they'll get an extra $1,000 in their pockets and they'll keep the p

athena jones was there as thousands of volunteers took part in this wreath across america. >> reportere grounds of the arlington national cemetery, laying wreaths on the graves of fallen service members as part of wreaths across america day. [ applause ] >> bless and protect our men and women -- >> reporter: a tribute to our nation's fallen. >> it's my way of paying respect. >> definitely a beautiful thing to see how many have come. >> reporter: a tradition that began in 1992 when a couple from maine donated 5,000 wreaths their company had left over near the end of the holiday season to be laid on headstones here at arlington national cemetery. >> we have the freedoms that we have because of those who serve and those who have served and lost their lives. >> reporter: 20 years later, the organization has expanded with volunteers, veterans, and loved ones of fallen service members laying wreaths at more than 740 ceremonies all over the country, and some 25 locations overseas this year. >> it's awesome to be here and to see -- to see the patriotic people out here volunteering, giving thei

i want to bring in athena jones covering the story for us out of blacksburg, virginia. d that they didn't know each other. do authorities have any sense of a motive here behind this? >> well, that's the question everyone was asking at the press conference a little while ago. authorities are still investigating the motive. they say that this suspect was not a virginia tech university student, appeared to have no connection whatsoever to the university. they say that he may have been involved in a car theft earlier in the day in a town nearby but they're still looking into that. that's not yet proven. so there is still a lot of questions to be answered. they're still carrying out toxicology an other tests and of course they haven't released the name because the medical examiner is still examining the body and they have to contact the family members as well. motive, that question is still unanswered. >> athena, how is the campus reacting to this incident given what happened back in 2007, the tragedy of so many people killed on that campus? >> well, certainly given that mass

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athena jones at the white house.> reporter: you know, this is an important milestone for this president. he sees this as a campaign promise capped. they've been using every opportunity to mark this. they've been talking about it all week. we had the iraqi prime minister nuri al-maliki coming to the white house on monday. yesterday the president gave local interviews to tv stationness separate states a close the country talking about this iraq drawdown. today they want to travel to ft. bragg, north carolina, to talk to some of the troops. we've been told a couple hundred troops returned just yesterday so it really is kind of a welcome home. both the president and the first lady, who spent a lot of time on issues dealing with military families, will be speaking to the troops. the idea is to thank them for their service, sacrifice, and honor their achievements. we know that more than a million americans served in iraq. 4500 troops lost their lives. the idea is to thank them for that sacrifice and say that the u.s. is go

as our athena jones reports, the house may end up starting from scratch tomorrow. >> reporter: house republicans are balking at an effort to push through the two-month extension of payroll tax cuts passed by the senate. >> two months is just kicking the can down the road. the american people are tired of that. frankly, i'm tired of it. >> reporter: fearing more wrangling over tax cuts next year could benefit the president, house republicans want to pass a year-long extension now. >> it's time to just stop, do our work, resolve the differences and extend this for one year. >> reporter: republican saids say leadership will try to change the bill which could lead to another showdown with the senate and more disagreement over how to pay for the extension. the white house thinks house republican also pay a political price if 160 workers see their taxes go up after the new year. >> the compromise to extend the payroll tax cut unemployment for 60 days into next year had 90% support. the only things that get 90% support in the united states senate these days are mom, apple pie and chocolate