jessica king's rally captured the spirit of a lot of democrats in the state last night. they were pumped up. they reduced the number republican majority in wisconsin senate down to one. that said, had democrats prevailed in just one more race, they wouldn't have just narrowed the majority, democrats would have been in control of the state senate. they didn't get that. so bottom line, republicans were delighted they didn't lose control of the senate. democrats were disappointed they did not win that. but democrats are happy that they picked off two republican senators and they are happy that the margin in the senate is at least for now down to one republican vote. but also, democrats say today that they are happy with what last night's numbers might mean for a planned effort next year. >> recall walker, they are saying. republican governor scott walker. folks celebrating at jessica king's victory rally did not wait a day to turn their focus to the next target, governor walker. chair of the democratic party confirmed he would like to recall the governor as soon as is feasi

. >> can we give a shout-out to jessica king, who somehow remembered that president obama at the state passed by tom coburn and remembered the whisper. we've got good people working on this team. >> you have to give kudos to jessica. >> our political pop producer, looking for these things. >> joe johns,

jessica king, who somehow remembered that president obama at the state of the union passed by tom coburn and remembered the whisper. we've got good people working on this team. >> you have to give kudos to jessica. >> our political pop producer, looking for these things. >> joe johns, thank you so much. speaking of this, let's go to wolf blitzer, standing by. your "the situation room" starts now. >> thanks very much. happening now, where republican front-runner newt gingrich gets grilled in an interview exposing potential weaknesses with conservatives. >>> president obama channelling a predecessor from a century ago, echos of republican president teddy roosevelt as mr. obama calls for greater economic equality. >>> records from mitt romney's term as governor missing. did he use taxpayer money to hide untold number of e-mails? we're picking up new information and he's also getting a nut ew endorse. . i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." he's not just the new republican presidential front-runner, newt gingrich is leading the republican pack by double digits in several brand-ne

i'm jessica yellin, john king is off tonight. long hidden files reveal surprising details about presidential candidate newt gingrich's first divorce, for one thing they seem to contradict the story on gingrich's own website. >>> in texas, a man in a santa claus suit guns down a family. we have horrifying new details from the murder-suicide investigation. >>> and you simply won't believe what the tsa airport screeners confiscated this time because they thought it was a security risk. >>> but first, with eight days to go until the iowa caucuses, it's a virtual dead heat and that ee's bad news for the previously soaring newt gingrich. some are wondering if ron paul might actually take the hawkeye state. hi, joe, so just how close is it now? >> well, you said it, it's very close, a statistical dead heat among the top three presidential contenders right now. the des moines register said it all this morning asking the question, could ron paul win? which would be quite a surprise for a lot of people here, so ron paul 21%, followed by mi

i'm jessica yellin. john king is off tonight. you'll see it here first. mitt romney's campaign responds to newt gingrich's cnn interview and his accusation that romney does not have the courage to debate one-on-one or defend his campaign's negative ads. >>> also -- gingrich says he won't vote for ron paul if the texas congressman wins the republican nomination. >>> plus -- a frightening day at country's biggest shopping mall and nothing to keep from happening the a mall near you. >>> first in iowa, the skating criticism newt gingrich levelled at two of his republican opponents, mitt romney and ron paul. just a short time ago wolf blitzer asked gingrich about the barrage of attack ads both romney and paul are running in iowa. republican voters caucus exactly one week from tonight. listen to some of what newt gingrich had to say about mitt romney. >> mitt romney made fun of you today. i don't know if you heard. >> no. >> about the virginia snafu and all of that. i'll play the clip, watch this. >> okay. >> you know, i -- i think you compare that to pearl har

jessica kartalija reports, the lion king is becoming an award- winning musical worldwide. >> reporter: before the light comes on. crews are hard at work. setting the stage for what's become... ♪ [ music ] >> reporter: one of the most popular shows in the country. broadway's award-winning, best musical, the lion king. >> most of this is made of either carbon fiber or foam. and they are very light. >> oh, they are light. >> reporter: michael curry is the show's head carpenter. >> it's not your typical show. there's over 40 or 50 pupets. and not what you think of like this. but where the people of the cast become the puppet. >> reporter: it takes 17 trailers to move the show from city to city. inside those trailers, puppets, scenery, costumes and these props. >> carey has traveled around the world with the lion king. >> about 85 pounds, all told. >> reporter: and gives us an exclusive look at fried rock, a radio-controlled centerpiece of the entire performance. >> it really has a lot of hidden meaning. not just from a scenic element. >> reporter: now, in its 14th year, the lion king has

i want to thank you, wolf, for being a part of our coverage, as well as john king, jessica yellin and kate bolduan. we appreciate your insight. >>> "cnn newsroom" continues right after a short break. >>> hello, everyone. i'm isha sesay in for randi kaye. >>> with your paycheck, taxes and benefits on the line, president barack obama is intensifying the pressure on house republicans to pass a short-term extension on the payroll tax cut. the president just spoke about this moments ago. his comments followed this twitter campaign launched by the white house that asks what people would do with $40. the amount they stand to lose each week. the president was tciting dozen of tweeters that responded. >> nearly every democrat in the senate voted for that compromise. nearly every republican in the senate voted noor compromise. democrats and even some republicans in the house voted for that compromise. i am ready to sign that compromise into law the second it lands on my desk. so far the only reason it hasn't landed on my desk -- the only reason -- is because a faction of house republicans have

. >> reporter: now, in its 14th year, the lion king has won six tony awards. >> and that was jessicaartalija, reporting for us. performances begin friday, with ticket prices starting at $22. earlier, she issued a warning saying there may be some things that may be inappropriate for small children. have you to be careful. >> scary for little kids. >>> still to come on wjz eyewitness news. let it burn. firefighters sit and watch as a home goes up in flames. and wait until you hear why. >>> i'm bob turk. first warning weather center. a messy night. but a clear, cold end to the week. i'll have the exclusive first warning five-day forecast coming up. >>> and wjz 13 is always on. here are the top stories on wjz.com. for all of the day's news, and the updated forecast, log onto wjz.com. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >>> talking about a stunt for a cable show, dangerous turn. take a look at this. a house, damaged by a cannon ball. now, the cannon ball was fired as a test for the show myth busters. it overshot the wall, went through a house and struck a minivan. no one was hurt. myth busters is reev

king's cake. it smells good in here. plus, meteorologist, tom kierein will be back with a look at the state farm. this is jessica. hey, jessica, jerry neumann with a policy question. jerry, how are you doing? fine, i just got a little fender bender. oh, jerry, i'm so sorry. i would love to help but remember, you dropped us last month. yeah, you know it's funny. it only took 15 minutes to sign up for that new auto insurance company but it's taken a lot longer to hear back. is your car up a pole again? [ crying ] i miss you, jessica! jerry, are you crying? no, i just, i bit my tongue. [ male announcer ] get to a better state. state farm. >>> the yule log and the king's cake are french holiday baking pr traditions. maxine holder joins us this morning with the secrets of the king's cake. welcome. >> thank you. >> you showed us baked bread a few months ago. nice to have you with us. tell us about the king's cake. what is the history of that? >> it has been made a long, long time ago. i don't even remember the date it was created. it was made in onof the king's jesus christ. we are going to do the same thing in france,

. >> reporter: now, in the 14th year "the lion king" has won six tony awards. ♪ [ music ] >> reporter: jessicalija, eyewitness news. >> having seen it, that is so cool, the musical. the participants may be intense for children under the age of eight. ticket prices for broadway in baltimore are $22 a seat. >>> also going green to save green this morning in the laundry room. here is mary bubala with another wail to save energy. >> reporter: good morning. in today's energy saver a way to save money when you dry your clothes. the lint trap is an important energy saver. if the dryker not provide enough heat, they will take longer to dry. one of the things to do is clean the lint tram before each and every load. this step can save you up to $40 a year. i'm mary bubala. >> for more information go to wjz.com. click on our special energy saver section on the right hand side of the home page. thousands of people will be heading to east baltimore today. >>> the jingle bell parade begins at 11:00 this morning. several streets will be closed along the parade route, as you might imagine. >> and after the pa

jodi, i see kings swinging behind you, but it's pitch-black. >> reporter: it is dark out here, jessica. the city has a plan to outsmart these copper thieves, and people here are really praying it works. normally the lights here at cambridge park would be on at this hour. the only lights on tonight are our camera lights. once we leave, this park will be completely dark and you can blame it on the copper crooks. >> they love coming to swing and playing on the park over there. >> reporter: the hammond family looks forward to the daily visits to concord's ellis lake park. they can't stay out too late. the park lights have been out of service since august. >> it impacts the children and my son. fept to play during the nighttime, they can't because there's no lights and it's not okay for the children's safety. >> reporter: copper wire thieves have left a half dozen parks in the dark. the thieves struck as recently as over the weekend. >> we had a rash of thieves basically stealing copper wire out of the parks. we have lost lighting in six of our parks, which resulted from eight different the

the beautiful cast, sarah jessica parker, jessica biel, zac efron, ashton kutcher and it goes on. director gary marshall is the kingn this genre last year. he brought us christmas eve won many hearts and did big box office. new year's eve will do the same but i guarantee you may not want to return for a second helping. the highlight for me, the outtakes at the end of the film. i recommend it but not highly. >>> "planet of the apes" was out on the big screen earlier and it's out on dvd. blu-ray. so escape for two hours with the "rise of the planet of the apes" and the apes are amazingly real. the technology is incredible. the scenes on the streets of san francisco are the best. and also on the golden gate bridge. especially entertaining. and this is in fact out on tuesday on blu-ray dvd. all right. let's dance, shall we? why not. we all love to dance around the holidays. we'll shuffle you away to the marine memorial theater in san francisco for a taste of christmas from the emerald veil. you guys love this, i'm sure. >> terrific. >> riverdance? remember that big show? >> yes. >> michael is the irish tenoroon stage.

jessica doyle will let you know. >> plus, obesity and diabetes are up. where our area ranks and how changing your habits can raise money for the community. >>> in the mail bag tonight, frustration. craig from kinge, virginia, cannot believe two of the redskins players have been suspended for the rest of the season after testing positive for smoking pot. i'm still flabbergasted that they were not mature enough to realize their ramifications. they hurt not only themselves, but the entire team and fans that supported them. they are so selfish that they don't think they are bound by social norms and laws. we need to trade them before they get themselves permanently banned from football. all right craig, i was with you until that last thing. no way are the skins trading what amounts to their two best players and i would be mad if they did. yeah, they were dumb, but it's not like we're on a playoff run here. call them bad name, do whatever you want, but welcome them back next year. and then, we got this from bob who says he loves our broadcast, but wondering about topper's forecast as of late. what is with that expression of how many blanket night it will be? nearly everyone lives in a house with a t

king jr. is looking down today saying run, jesse, run. do it, jessica went to it.ore time. my mama taught me well. i'm a part of the training, and so all i try to do today is articulate for all of you. a thank-you note for reverend jesse jackson. [applause] [applause] >> you know, reverend haynes, reverend haynes, dr. dyson, reverend jesse jackson, george carey, you write about your mama's teaching you good manners and running that lovely, lovely thing keynote to reverend jackson. you mention in your own training about remembering those who are in pain. reverend jackson, when i get to 80 people your day. talks about the possibility follow the the world in different times. well, reverend jackson, you're treading me. but a fire in me to go places where i never thought i would go. and to meet people that i never thought i would meet. that fire took me to haiti where people drowned by waters and sickened by earthquakes to meet this great woman who last night many women that our social activists and you train also came. and in her native tongue she wants to sing a song