here is cnn's george howell with more on her life. >> reporter: she saw the turn of the century twice, living 116 years, the world's oldest person. her 77-year-old son tells her story best. >> she was a very determinant person and she thought if she wanted to do it, she could do it and she did most of the time. >> well into her 100s. >> and she lived at home alone until she was 105. >> wow. >> reporter: born in 1986, she was a teacher and she was very passionate about learning. >> she kept up with the politics. read the paper every day. and when the tv came on, she wanted to watch the news on television. >> reporter: she was also a pioneer in the women's suffrage movement. >> i think she understood that that just was not right that

here's cnn's george howell with more. >> reporter: she saw the turn of the century, twice.ving 116 years, the world's oldest person. her 77-year-old son tells her story best. >> she was a very determined person and she felt she wanted to do it, she could do it. she did most of the time. >> well into her 100s. >> she lived home alone until she was 105. >> reporter: born in 1896, cooper moved from tennessee to georgia to teach during world war one and sydney cooper remembers she was very passionate about learning. >> she kept up with politics, read the paper every day and later when tv came on she watched the news on television. >> she was also a pioneer in the women's suffrage movement. >> i think she understood that it was not right, women could not vote and have a voice in this country and this democracy that we had. >> what was the event, out of all of those years, what was the biggest event that had the most impact? >> i think it would have been the depression. that was a very difficult time. taught them to be very frugal. they didn't waste anything. >> never in her life

george howell.monroe, georgia. >> >> never count james bond out especially when it comes to the box office. 007 battled his way back to weekend. elizabeth corridan gives us a closer look in today's hollywood minute. bond is back on top. "skyfall" worked its way back to the number one spot in its fifth weekend on the big screen. the latest in the super-spy series took in 11-million- dollars to bring its north american ticket sales total to 261.6 million dollars. with the worldwide take closing in on a one billion dollars, the box office analysts at hollywood.com pictures' highest-grossing off film. >> "rise of the guardians" rose to second place over the weekend, racking up 10- and-a-half million dollars at the box office. after dominating for three weeks, those notorious vampires had to settle for third place. >> "the twilight saga:breaking dawn part 2" slipped two notches, bringing in 9-point-2 million dollars. >> a senator from west virginia is asking m-t-v to cancel the upcoming reality show "buc

george howell. news . >> belcher and his girlfriend were living in their kansas city home with their three-month-old baby girl and belcher's mother. the child is now being taken care of by family members. police are looking for a possible motive in this case. the raiders released this statement in response... the oakland raiders are empathizing with the chiefs organization. our hearts are wounded by such an unimaginable tragedy in our nfl family. we will continue to pray for everyone involved. >> i am going to give away these high and headphones www.kron4.com nor cancellation is the latest technology high end .. there is also a cable with a microphone, and controlling music. noise cancellation technology.... . >> we are back at 8:25 >> welcome. you can see the heavy yellow is indicating heavier rainfall. still in the north where it was kidding hit hard. moving south and it was-and getting hit hard. coast should be gone by early or late afternoon. >> it has been a steady and the latest band is bringi

george howell, cnn, portland, oregon. >> talk about a dream job. george, thank you. soledad o'brien examines the provocative questions about skin color, discrimination and race. we're calling it "who is black in america." the documentary. it premieres sunday december 9th at 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. eastern only here on cnn. hey big guy, i want to get a big tv for my big family, for the big holiday. we like to watch big games. we got a big spread together... so it's gotta be big. how about the 55-inch lg tv. it's led and has incredible picture quality... that's big... but i got a little budget. with the walmart credit card special financing you can go big this year. that's big time! alright! [ male announcer ] get the season's hottest brands, like an lg 55-inch led tv. make an electronics purchase of $599 or more on your walmart credit card and get no interest if paid in full within 24 months. america's gift headquarters. walmart. yep. the longer you stay with us, the more you save. and when you switch from another company to us, we even reward you for the time you sp

george howell, cnn, portland, oregon. >> so cool. o'brien examines the provocative questions about skin color, discrimination and race. "who is black in america" premiering sunday, december 9th 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. right here on cnn. citracal slow rele continuously releases calcium plus d with efficient absorption in one daily dose. citracal slow release. you'll also care about our new offer. you get access to nurses who can help with your questions. and your loved one can get exelon patch free for 30 days. if the doctor feels it's right for them. it cannot change how the disease progresses. hospitalization and rarely death have been reported in patients who wore more than one patch at a time. the most common side effects of exelon patch are nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. the likelihood and severity of these side effects may increase as the dose increases. patients may experience loss of appetite or weight. patients who weigh less than 110 pounds may experience more side effects. people at risk for stomach ulcers who take certai

i'm george howell. news in about an hour. >>> it was one of the most important diplomatic missions in history. also one of the most clandestine and risky. four decades ago henry kissinger, then president nixon's national security adviser, secretly flew to china beginning a string of meetings that would eventually open that isolated eastern nation to the western world. that opening checked soviet expansion imp and in a sense was the beginning of the end of the cold war. >> this was the week that changed the world. >> it was also the beginning of china's entry into the world economy, which has resulted in that country becoming the world's second largest economy. >> red china's battle plan. >> but back then the idea of a ra approachment with china would have been rejected as pure fantasy. they had been fighting america and its allies across the globe. how did the decision come about in the midst of such intense opposition? what were the internal maneuverings that paved the way, the secret dealings that mad

george howell has the details. >> the kansas city chiefs are morning a fellow teammate. 25 year-old linebacker. >> when the officers arrived they had a witnessed a black man that had held a gun up to its head. they heard gunshots and it appeared that he took his own life. >> just a few moments before the suicide he shot his girlfriend at her home. she died a short while later at an area hospital. >> recently we heard that they had been arguing. >> the team had released a statement belcher and his girlfriend kasandra perkins were living in their kansas city home with their three-month-old baby girl and belcher's mother. taken care of by family members. police are looking for a possible motive in the shootings. in response to this tragic event the oakland raiders released the following statement this morning... the oakland raiders are empathizing with the chiefs organization. our hearts are wounded by such an unimaginable tragedy in our nfl family. we will continue to pray for everyone involved. >> san jose police are investigating the 43rd homicide this year... last night, police responded to r

our thanks to george howell for that report. we'll be right back. make a wish!ere forever. i wish this test drive was over, so we could head back to the dealership. [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. test drive! but we still need your signature. volkswagen sign then drive is back. and it's never been easier to get a jetta. that's the power of german engineering. get $0 down, $0 due at signing, $0 deposit, and $0 first month's payment on any new volkswagen. visit vwdealer.com today. anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. approved! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. bp has paid overthe people of bp twenty-threeitment to the gulf. billion dollars to help those affected and to cover cleanup costs. today, the beaches and gulf are open, and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. and bp's also committed to america. we support nearly 250,000 jobs and invest more

holly hughes, cnn's george howell will both join me live to talk about this case.wed the family, holly hughes knows the law. we're going to break it down for you. >>> up next, charges of corruption and fraud in the small town, a police chief making nearly half a million dollars. we first told you about this story last year. now there is a new twist. he wants more money from the city and the taxpayers. een on t. then i read an artie about study that oked at the long term health benefits of taking multivitamins. hey used centr silver f t study... so i guess my wife was right. male anner ] centrum. ways your mostomplet 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 network pharmacy like walgreens -- where you'll find 8,000 convenient locations. best of all, this plan has the lowest part d premium in the united states -- only $15 a month. open enrollment ends december 7th. so call today or visit your local walgreens. >>> it is a working cl

cnn's george howell is following the politics and power of the nra. d mattingly shows us how talk of gun control is triggering a spike in gun sales. george, let's begin with you and the nra. what does it mean by meaningful contributions? >> carol, fair to say, it's an open ended statement. and since that statement, since the shooting, the nra has been silent. we know their facebook page, they took that down briefly. their twitter account also went cold. now both are back up. touting this big announcement friday. what that big announcement will be we have yet to see. again, we know their website is also up and run ing. you played just a moment ago a bit of this -- this program called cannon company. that's a web cast that appears on the website. let's listen to just a little bit more of that to get reaction to what happened in newtown. >> what do we see coming right out of this tragedy right away? you've got mayor bloomberg, you've got senators chuck schumer and senator dianne feinstein insisting that we need tougher gun laws. and you look at connecticu

george howell has the details we are learning now that police have identified the girlfriend of jovanr-old kasandra perkins. the two had been living in their kansas city home with their three-month- old baby girl and belcher's mother. >> we can confirm that there was an incident at arrowhead earlier. we are cooperating with the authorities in the investigation. they said that the all four seasons for his the chiefs and the currier high of 120 catfish tackles. they are going to play against the panthers the child is being. looked after by family members as police continue to look for a possible motive in the shootings. in response to this tragic event the oakland raiders released the following statement this morning... the oakland raiders are empathizing with the chiefs organization. our hearts are wounded by such an unimaginable tragedy in our nfl family. we will continue to pray for everyone involved. coming up later in this newscast... we'll find out which team the stanford cardinal will face off against in the 2013 rose bowl. that story and more coming up later in sports. >> the su

here is cnn's george howell with more on her life. >> reporter: she saw the turn of the century twice16 years, the world's oldest person. her 77-year-old son tells her story best. >> she was a very determinant person and she thought if she wanted to do it, she could do it and she did most of the time. >> well into her 100s. >> and she lived at home alone until she was 105. >> wow. >> reporter: born in 1986, she was a teacher and she was very passionate about learning. >> she kept up with the politics. read the paper every day. and when the tv came on, she wanted to watch the news on television. >> reporter: she was also a pioneer in the women's suffrage movement. >> i think she understood that that just was not right that women could not vote, could not have a voice in this country, in this democracy that we have. >> reporter: what was the event out of all of those years. what was the biggest event that had the most impact on her? >> i think it would have been the depression. that was difficult time. it taught them to be very frugal. they didn't waste anything. >> reporter: never in h

george howell has been covering the case for us. so why is this picture coming out now? it's a new image but not really new wp we have seen this image before. it was released in the first round of discovery as a black and white i am imagine, so not nearly as impressive. i think we even have a side by side where you can look at the difference here. you see george zimmerman here black and white, but when you look at that high resolution digital image, you can tell this is -- it's a powerful image. you can tell exactly how badly he was injured. you can tell that there was a fight. now, the thing that we're looking at here, we know his attorney pushed for that image initially. he wanted to get this high resolution digital image. first he got the black and white. then he got a color printout, but that's no comparison to what we're seeing here, and that's why the attorney says it's important to get it out. >> so there's been a lot of reaction to this photo. so give us some of the highlights. >> sure. really, when you look at this story, there are three sides. first of all, let

. >> it is, and we'll talk more about it when george howell went out and spoke to the family.eartbreaking, looking at that mom and my own mom. h when i was a teen, i had a jeep, and listened to all sorts of music. it was not what type of music, everybody plays loud music, especially young people. >> that is exactly right, and his parents, i will join you at 10:00 tonight, to talk more about it. but so gracious, they will automatically say, don't consider it a hate crime, don't mike it divisive. our son was a unifier. >> come on, we're all human, when you hear the story, he was like turn the music down. is some somebody disturbed or somebody who did it a lot? what does it's make you think about it. >> okay, when i first heard it. i don't know mr. dunn, he has a certain mindset. so when he sees a particular vehicle with four young black men in it, listening to a particular type of music. it seems to me he has a sort of predispositi predisposition, he believes there is a threat, by what they're listening to. that is problematic, even the supreme court says you can't profile peopl

. >> reporter: george howell, cnn, monroe, georgia. >> it is college football's biggest award and it tonight. and there could be a first. i want to show you this. don't forget, where ever you go, you know, we go, too. you can watch cnn live on your computer at work or everyone n smart phone. head to cnn.com/tv. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> there's nothing like $192 million, before taxes that is, to kugcushion the potential fal off of that arizona cliff. an arizona couple came forward with the second ticket. they wanted to claim it before the first of the year and planned to start a foundation with the money. good for them. congratulations. and, finally, it's heisman time. the coveted trophy will be presented tonight in new york to the nation's best college football player. one of the finalists, texas a&m quarterback johnny menzel is a freshman. no first-year player has ever won the award. the other finali

george howell interviewed the dad today. holly hughes is a criminal defense attorney. i was watching that interview and i was wondering how that dad even stood up to do an interview. >> here you have a man who just lost his son. he told me, i buried half of my heart today. but you still find a person who is very calm and he's focused on these "stand your ground" laws. he says it's got to change. he says deaths like this don't have to happen. >> you spoke to him about the comparisons to trayvon, the race comparisons to trayvon and about "stand your ground" as well. let's listen. then we'll talk. >> i believe it was strictly anger. people try to associate that whenever people of color are different from someone else. and i believe -- still believe to this day, unless the gentleman tells me different, that it was anger that was involved in it, having the accessibility of a gun. >> your focus is on these guns? >> yes. >> your t-shirt -- show this to us. >> it says, kill guns, not kids. we have to kill these gun laws that allow them -- law enforcement has been trained and t

george howell is working on this for us today. his alleged victims, so how did he lure them? >> this was all random, but he had a very methodical plan, brooke, of how he went about this. first of all, we know he had these murder kits stored, stashed around the country. kits that had -- >> murder kits. >> murder kits with weapons, with cash that he got from robberies, all of this just, you know, to use had he got to the city, with his plan to attack people. and we also know he would fly into cities, we know he would drive hundreds of miles to find unsuspecting victims, just to randomly kill people. >> so you talk about these murder kits, these were clues then presumably he left behind. you mentioned across country. >> yeah. and investigators were able to find them at the blake falls reservoir in new york, and eagle river in alaska. want to walk you through sort of the timeline of events. we know, first of all, he was caught for this most recent murder, his last murder, you had the video a minute ago. >> surveillance tape of. >> of

let's bring in george howell who has been covering this. we understand that he was in alaska.they have a sense of who he killed? >> we do. we know much more about israel keyes. first of all, we know he is ex-military. in at least two cae strangled and sexually assaulted, you know, his victims. we also know he had a very methodical plan that as he went into these situations, first of all, this is a person who would fly into cities, he would rent a car, drive hundreds of miles to find unsuspecting victims, and then he would also have these murder kits. he would have weapons, he would have money that he got from robberies, all of this in anticipation of more attacks. so the most recent attack, his last victim, we know samantha koenig, a barista in anchorage, alaska. he was in anchorage, he went there to abduct and kill her. then, suzanne, he took a two-week cruise, went to new orleans, took a two-week cruise to return to alaska, to return to anchorage to take a picture of her, pretending she was alive, to then use that to try to extort money from the family. that's how investigat

george howell, cnn, portland, oregon. >> i love that story. i love that man.y, this year it's called "who is "black in america"?" hope you watch that. >>> ahead on "starting point," children living behind bars even though they've done nothing wrong. we're going to talk to a true hero who was honored giving some of these kids a chance for a better future. that story is ahead. stay with us. you won't take my life. you won't take our future. aids affects us all. even babies. chevron is working to stop mother-to-child transmission. our employees and their families are part of the fight. and we're winning. at chevron nigeria, we haven't had a reported case in 12 years. aids is strong. aids is strong. but we are stronger. and aids... ♪ aids is going to lose. aids is going to lose. ♪ >>> this is for my children and this is for back to my country, nepal. thank you everyone who voted for me and believed in my dream. >> that's our cnn hero of the year. she's in her 20s. she is a woman behind a center in nepal that keeps children from having to live in jail with their pa

george howell caught up with jordan's dad. >> this case has gotten national attention and has been comparedr controversial trayvon martin case, focusing on the stand your ground law, spuskly in the state of florida. jordan's father made it clear that race was not a factor in the shooting. take a listen. >> i believe it was strictly anger. people try to associate that whenever people of color different from someone else, and i still believe to this day unless the gentleman tells me different, it was anger that was involved, and having the accessibility of a gun. >> your focus is on these guns? >> yes. >> your t-shirt, even, show us this. >> kill guns, not kids. kill guns, not kids. so we have to kill the gun laws that allow them. law enforcement has been trained and they're the only ones i feel should have guns in public. >> ron davis, a man on a mission. he said his focus is to look into the stand your ground laws to make changes so deaths like this do not happen again. george howell, cnn, atlanta. >>> two people are dead after a double decker tour bus slammed into an overpass at the miami

we have meteorologist bonnie schneider and correspondent george howell monitoring these threats. george, let's begin with you. a lot of tornado sightings in the south overnight. >> drew, we're talking about a storm system that left two people dead on christmas day and 200,000 people waking up this morning without power. a storm system came in throughout the night and some 30 tornadoes reported, according to the national weather service. you can see it from the video. and from pictures that people took of frightful scenes throughout the night. strong winds and tornado touchdowns from texas, alabama, and knocked down trees and power lines, sxont ground, damage is extensive. several homes and businesses are damaged. when you look at these pictures, you get a sense of how powerful wind were last night. this woman keeping a close eye on a tornado she saw just outside her window. >> christmas day tornado. going through mobile. oh, my god. look. that's a tornado. oh, wow. oh, jesus. look at that tornado. oh, my good. that's cool. jesus, please keep your hands on whoever is over there. >>

george howell talked to jordan's father. >> i believe it was strictly anger. you know, people try to associate that whenever people of color are different from someone else, and i believe, still believe to this day, unless the gentleman tells me different, that it was anger that was involved and having the accessibility of these guns. >> reporter: your focus is on guns. >> yeah. >> reporter: your t-shirt. >> kill guns, not kids. law enforcement has been trarng trained, and they are the only ones that should have guns in public. >>> two pakistani brothers living in florida are accused of plotting to use a weapons of mass destruction against americans. they were arrested on thursday, indicted yesterday. the federal indictment says the plot started in 2011, but investigators are now being pretty tight-lipped about specifics. they are trying to determine if the two were acting on their own or if they were receiving directions from overseas. >>> and overseas now, north korea is upping the ante with the u.s. and south korea. its state-run media says a rocket carryin

. >> george howell, live at the cnn center in atlanta. y not want to hear this, but the worst is yet to come. great blizzard conditions expected in ohio, pennsylvania, and we have seen snow as far south as texas. bonnie, how bad will this be today? >> it's gog to be bad. a lot of people traveling. dealing with thunderstorms across the southeast. a lot contain frequent lightning strikes, rolling into the panhandle of florida and it will impact areas of jacksonville later on today, so that's something to keep in mind as well. take a look at current temperatures, definitely cold enough for cold to stick across a good portion of missouri and the foothills. temperatures above freezing to the east. this is a storm system that will continue to bring problems as we go through a good portion of the afternoon for today. keep that in mind if you are traveling. blizzard conditions are anticipated in the forecast through the boot hill of missouri to paducah, kentucky and carbondale, illinois. the system setting up to be problematic as it all advances t

george howell is taking a look at varied regulations.d in newtown, connecticut, has put the spotlight on gun laws in the u.s. government dannel malloy says with his state's tough gun regulations it's not enough. >> in the absence of a federal framework in which we limit the explosive nature of the weapons and ammunition that's used, no state would ever be safe based on simply its own laws. that's why the brady bill, that's why the assault weapons ban, was so very important. >> reporter: the only federal ban on assault rifles became law in 1994 but expired in 2004. connecticut still has a similar law on its books banning assault rifles but that law didn't apply to the bushmaster ar-15 rifle adam lanza used during his shooting rampage. the state's gun law would have been baned the 30 round magazine lanza used. >> as everyones aware from the traj doif la tragedy 0 last friday, magazine is legal and you don't need a background state to get those types of military-style weapons. >> reporter: robin thomas says federal laws are minimal, at best

howell. his family was very interesting, because his mother was the illegitimate daughter of george pullman one. there were close to the royal family. -- of george i. his brother was a brigadier in the british army and was killed in 7958 near lake george in new york. he was a hero of the colonials. they loved him. he liked the americans. he liked the massachusetts troops. the democratic. he did not wear the red color. he had things that were not as easy to see in the woods. they liked him so much that when he was killed, they put a memorial tablet, the massachusetts house, the assembly, but a tablet in westminster abbey. the tablet was enormously impressive. he was the hero of his two younger brothers. the younger brothers, one of them an admiral, a commander of the british navy during that time. answer william howell, the general at bunker hill and other battles. -- sir william hall. -- howell. they did not want to win the revolution unless it made it possible for americans and the british to have an effective and solid union. i think he wanted to win it in a way the americans would say we hav