karen travers, abc news. >>> another recall for nissan. what is wrong with thousands of sentra's? showdown on capitol hill over payroll tax cuts with strong words from house speaker boehner. >>> toys-for-tots giveaway begins for kids who might not @ >>> house speaker boehner says republicans plan to defeat a short term bill that prevents a tax hike on americans. he says democrats should stay in washington through holidays until they can agree on a one year payroll tax cut. >> i've seen congress kick the can down the road. it is time to stop the nonsense. we can resolve these differences and we can do it in a way that provides certainty for job creators and others in our economy. >> the bipartisan bill senators passed last week only extends the payroll tax cut for two months. harry reid says there won't be a renegotiation until the house passes that version. if congress does not act 160 million americans will see their checks cut by 2% january 1st, when this year's payroll tax reverts to 6.2%. >>> nissan recalling 34,000 nissan sin s. the recall affec

karen travers has more. >> reporter: newt gingrich is settling in at the top of the republican field. in one month he's gone from fifth to first in iowa. today he met with donald trump in new york he's the latest republican candidate to try and score the businessman's support in iowa it is gingrich, ron paul then romney top republicans there say don't crown gingrich yet with four weeks to go until the caucuses the des moines register found out 11% say they are undecided, 60% could change their mine. over the weekend, republican field -- got smaller when the cain train reached the end of the line bogged down by the sideshow of alleged sexual misconduct he suspended his campaign but went down swinging. >> these false and unproved allegations continue to be spinned into the immediate >> reporter: cain said he's not about to endorse one of his former opponents. if and when he does, gingrich seems to have the edge. >> he likes newt gingrich and he says good things about go -- between gingrich. now it is a two man battle between gingrich and romney. he has a lead in iowa and made a in new h

karen travers, abc news. >>> another recall for nissan. what is wrong with thousands of sentra's? showdown on capitol hill over payroll tax cuts with strong words from house speaker boehner. >>> toys-for-tots giveaway begins for kids who might not otherwise get a toy this year. >> closed captioning brought to you by mancini sleepworld. >>> house speaker boehner says republicans plan to defeat a short term bill that prevents a tax hike on americans. he says democrats should stay in washington through holidays until they can agree on a one year payroll tax cut. >> i've seen congress kick the can down the road. it is time to stop the nonsense. we can resolve these differences and we can do it in a way that provides certainty for job creators and others in our economy. >> the bipartisan bill senators passed last week only extends the payroll tax cut for two months. harry reid says there won't be a renegotiation until the house passes that version. if congress does not act 160 million americans will see their checks cut by 2% january 1st, when this year's payroll tax reverts to 6.2%. >

karen travers has more. >> reporter: newt gingrich is settling in at the top of the republican field. in one month he's gone from fifth to first in iowa. today he met with donald trump in new york he's the latest republican candidate to try and score the businessman's support in iowa it is gingrich, ron paul then romney top republicans there say don't crown gingrich yet with four weeks to go until the caucuses the des moines register found out 11% say they are undecided, 60% could change their mine. over the weekend, republican field -- got smaller when the cain train reached the end of the line bogged down by the sideshow of alleged sexual misconduct he suspended his campaign but went down swinging. >> these false and unproved allegations continue to be spinned into the immediate >> reporter: cain said he's not about to endorse one of his former opponents. if and when he does, gingrich seems to have the edge. >> he likes newt gingrich and he says good things about go -- between gingrich. now it is a two man battle between gingrich and romney. he has a lead in iowa and made a in new h

karen travers, abc news, washington. >> a month to go before the iowa caucus. and all of this sure to make saturday's debate a very good one. diane sawyer and george stephanopoulos will moderate the big event. it starts at 9:00 p.m. eastern, 6:00 pacific. >>> now, turning overseas to russia, where authorities are on alert for more political protests today. hundreds of protesters were arrested in moscow last night. they're angry over reported widespread fraud in sunday's elections. in that election, vladimir putin's party lost a large bloc of cities. but will maintain a majority. >>> meanwhile, in syria, new video of that nation's ongoing rebellion, which has claimed as many as 4,000 lives since march. the u.s. is expanding contacts with the ruling regime. the ambassador of syria is returning to damascus after a six-week absence. and secretary of state clinton met with opposition leaders for a second time. and our reporting on -- >> in jail. pictures in libya of moammar gadhafi. >> our reporting on syria does not end here. look for barbara walters' exclusive int

karen travers -- state.en travers reports tomorrow's showdown could help make or break a candidate. >> reporter: if there is one lesson learned it is debates mary. >> republican debates have dominated to a greater examine -- >> reporter: newt gingrich may have been fitted the most. gingrich skipped the issue what and new hampshire but burst on top of the field almost entirely on his debate performances. >> the correct thing in active war is to kill people who are trying to kill you. >> reporter: mitt romney stuck to his game plan of staying above the fray and focusing on president obama. so far it has worked. he survived a dozen showdowns with barely a scratch. for others the debates have been their down fall. rick perry enjoyed a brief spent stint but deeply bruised by his performances. >> i would do away with education -- commerce and let's see, i can't, the third one, i can't. >> reporter: the debates put a spotlight on cain's thin knowledge of foreign policy. >> it is unclear as to where we stand with pa

karen travers reports. >> reporter: the republican contenders are gearing up for the final sprint one week until the iowa caucuses they are fanning out across the state revving up buses and pushing closing arguments. with many voters still undecided it could be anybody's ballgame. >> people around the country especially in iowa, want to make sure their decision is sound. >> reporter: the latest poll has newt gingrich on top. in new hampshire one week after iowa, mitt romney has a commanding lead. gingrich's campaign planned to stay positive. yesterday they blasted romney as a massachusetts moderate. that new tactic may be complicated by a new memo from 2006. in that memo, gingrich praised romney for his health care plan. over the holiday weekend the candidates declared truce. no negative ads were on the air in iowa. now the presents have been unwrapped it is back to politics as usual. perry out with an ad that goes after opponents who served in congress. >> if washington is the problem why trust a congressman to fix it? >> reporter: the only one who escapes perry's attack, mitt romney

karen travers reports. >> reporter: the republican contenders are gearing up for the final sprint one week until the iowa caucuses they are fanning out across the state revving up buses and pushing closing arguments. with many voters still undecided it could be anybody's ballgame. >> people around the country especially in iowa, want to make sure their decision is sound. >> reporter: the latest poll has newt gingrich on top. in new hampshire one week after iowa, mitt romney has a commanding lead. gingrich's campaign planned to stay positive. yesterday they blasted romney as a massachusetts moderate. that new tactic may be complicated by a new memo from 2006. in that memo, gingrich praised romney for his health care plan. over the holiday weekend the candidates declared truce. no negative ads were on the air in iowa. now the presents have been unwrapped it is back to politics as usual. perry out with an ad that goes after opponents who served in congress. >> if washington is the problem why trust a congressman to fix it? >> reporter: the only one who escapes perry's attack, mitt romney

karen travers, abc7 news. >>> coming up, 96 words that shook us up.op 10 tweets that tell the story of 2011. >>> annual holiday tradition comes to an end. we'll tell you what changed >>> here's a look at the high temperatures today. still very chilly from seattle in portland in the low to upper 40s through denver 35 no snow today there if you are connecting. 47 st. louis, low to mid 50s boston, new york 57 seattle, atlanta 62. east coast everything quiet through the midwest even to the west coast smallest airports on time too. check out flight tracker abc7news.com. >>> 4:49. the labor department is set to release the latest jobs report in 40 minutes from now. economists predicting modest gains not enough to change the unemployment rate. jobless rate standing at 9%. economists forecast employers added 125,000 jobs in november. that would be an improvement over the 80,000 job gains the previous month. analysts say while the economy is growing at a steady pace not enough to prompt employers to hire more aggressively. >>> jive software is ready -- the sof

with your voice your vote here is karen travers. >> reporter: republican contenders kicked off their>> pretty conservative. >> i know what it takes. >> i hope i am the tim tebow of the iowa caucuses. >> probably everybody up here could probably beat obama. >> it was the final debate before the iowa caucuses. each showed a sense of urgency that the clock is running out. >> we are going to reform right now. >> reporter: mitt romney got through a dozen debates largely unscathed, by focusing on president obama. he is no longer in the lead but tried that strategy again. >> how did you do when you were running general motors as president? >> i believe to create jobs it helps to have created jobs. >> newt gingrich wants to ride the front-runner momentum strait to the caucuses january 3. his record as a conservative has come under fire by colleagues in the house and conservative pundits. >> it's sort of laughable to suggest that some one that campaigned with ronald reagan and jack kemp and 30 year record of conservatism is some how not a conservative. >> reporter: gingrich was the focus of a

abc's karen travers is joining us from washington with more on this. hi, karen. >> reporter: good morning, rob. good morning, sunny. the finger-pointing continues on capitol hill. and democrats and republicans are both saying it's the other party that's acting like the real grinch this holiday season. with his family already in hawaii for the holidays, president obama got in some last-minute shopping today. >> merry christmas to you. >> reporter: the president, still in washington, as the heated standoff on capitol hill over tax cuts rages on. yesterday, the house rejected the senate bill in a extends the payroll tax cuts for two months. house republicans are still pushing for a one-year extension. and insists the democrats come back to the table. >> it would be helpful if members of the senate, both parties, were here. sit down and resolve these differences as quickly as possible. >> reporter: but democrats and even some senate republicans say the time for negotiating is over. president obama spoke to speaker boehner by phone today. he urged him to get

abc's karen travers is joining us this morning from washington with details. good morning, karen. >> reporter: good morning, rob. good morning, sunny. house republicans really boxed themselves into a corner on this one. and it was starting to hurt them politically. by yesterday, it became a matter of when, not if, they were going to cave. congress has a holiday gift for 160 million american taxpayers. they won't have to ring in the new year with a tax hike. after digging in their heels for days, house republican leaders agreed to a short-term extension of the payroll tax cut. >> you know, sometimes it's hard to do the right thing. and sometimes it's politically difficult to do the right thing. >> reporter: speaker boehner announced tonight that his party will accept the two-month extension that passed the senate with overwhelming bipartisan support. but his reluctance came through, loud and clear. >> i don't think it's any time for celebration. >> reporter: as part of the deal, the senate will appoint members to negotiate with the house on a one-year extension

karen travers, abc7 news, washington. >>> more recall woes for hahn that.ness report, coming up. >>> >>> the woman accused of killing nursing student michelle le is scheduled back in court this morning with >>> that decision in south bay comes to an end. we'll tell you what [ female announcer ] what would you call an ordinary breakfast pastry that's been wrapped in a flaky crust stuffed with a gooey center toasted up all golden brown then given a delicious design? a toaster strudel. pillsbury toaster strudel. so delicious...so fun. pillsbury holiday star cookies start with pillsbury cookie dough easy. then add my own favorite frosting and sprinkles. just three ingredients to sweet memories. holiday ideas made easy. >>> time for your california forecast. valley rain and mountain snow near las vegas now. if you are heading south, wondering about the snow there sunny mid 60s around san diego, l.a. and palm springs anything above 4,000 feet will probably melt by the time you get there. tahoe temperatures making snow lows in the teens and 20s high in the 30s and

karen travers abc news washington. >> and with just 4 days to go before the iowa caucus poll suggestge numbers of iowa republicans could easily change their minds by tuesday. stay tune. it's going to be a fascinating few days. >> over seas. afghan police and british soldiers today destroy nearly 4 tons of explosive. they were recovered here. explosion here. watch. and shock wave it sent out. these pictures from the bbc. remarkable. >> ied have cost countless brain injuries for american troops. now an national effort under way to focus attention on head injuries. local vice president interand son of the late ted kennedy talk with cheryl jennings about the new program. >> 3 years ago i lost my father to brain cancer. >>reporter: brain disease is intensely personal to former congressman patrick kennedy. his father was the late senator ted kennedy. patrick teamed up on project about brain disease with napa valley vintner. their son brandon recovered from a 1990 diagnosis of mental illness called cities 14. it makes people unable to tell the difference between reality and fantasy. >> we n

abc's karen travers is following the campaign. good morning, karen. >> reporter: good morning, rob.unny. the top republican contenders have been ramping up the attacks for days. but yesterday, they took a breather. [ applause ] >> reporter: he doesn't have a republican opponent yet, but president obama is moving full steam ahead with the re-election. >> we are going to have to fight for it. it's not a slam-dunk. >> it's understandable people aren't feeling as chipper as they were in 2008. >> reporter: the republican campaign trail, newt gingrich called for a cease-fire. >> i released a letter indicating our determination to run a positive campaign. >> reporter: in that letter gingrich instructed his staff and campaign surrogates to avoid initiating attacks on republican candidates. gingrich went further and said he will run a positive campaign and won't run negative ads. but there is a catch -- gingrich said he reserves the right to respond when his record is distorted, leaving him plenty of room to fight back. >> we aren't running negative ads at that point, but we may. this is, af

abc's karen travers has the latest. good morning, karen. >> reporter: good morning, dan.s if you can believe that. for the next five days, the republican contenders will do everything they can to try to win them over. mitt romney's goal is clear. >> sure, i want to win iowa. everybody wants to win iowa. >> reporter: for a while it looked like romney would ignore iowa and focus attention on new hampshire. then he went all in. campaigning across the state. running television ads. between now and tuesday's caucuses he'll hold nearly a dozen events in iowa. his aggressive effort may be working. a new cnn poll has the romney at the top of the republican field there. he is followed closely by ron paul. newt gingrich plummeted to fourth. his loss has been rick santorum's gain. the former pennsylvania senator has been working 'round-the-clock to courioiowa voters. he's visited all 99 counties. many more than once. today he dismissed those who wrote off his campaign. >> you know who pundits talk to -- each other. they don't talk to iowans. they don't even talk to the candidates by

abc's karen travers has a preview and the latest on "your voice, your vote." >>> good morning, rob, goodfocus on president obama. but this surge from newt gingrich is legit and forcing the romney campaign to ramp up its attacks. >> reporter: if there is one lesson learned so far in this republican race it is that debates really matter. >> the republican debates have dominated this race to a greater extent than we have seen debates do in any previous contest. >> reporter: new front-runner newt gingrich may have benefited the most. just skipped the barn storming across iowa and new hampshire. but burst to the stop of the field on debate performances. >> the correct thick in an act of war is to try to kill people who are trying to kill you. >> reporter: mitt romney stuck to his game plan of staying above the fray and focusing on president obama. so far it's worked. he survived a dozen showdowns with barely a scratch. but for other candidates, the debates have been their downfall. >> what's the third one there? >> reporter: rick perry enjoyed a brief stint at the top of the field but was dee

and now, abc's karen travers is joining us from washington with more on this. >> good morning, rob. good morning, sunny. what happens in iowa doesn't just stay in iowa. that is one bet that mitt romney wishes he could certainly take back. >> reporter: mitt romney had the chance to deliver a knockout punch to stop newt gingrich's momentum. instead he delivered a punch line. >> $10,000? $10,000 bet? >> reporter: that hefty bet had iowa voters buzzing, $10,000 is more than two months income for the average iowa family. romney tried to do damage control. >> it is a common thing to say. i'll bet you $1 million. >> reporter: romney went on attack, saying gingrich should return the $1.5 million he made working for freddie mac. gingrich fired right back. >> of if governor romney would look to give back all the money he earned from bankrupting companies and laying off employees, over the years, i would be glad to listen to him. i will bet you $10, not $10,000 he won't take the offer. >> reporter: gingrich is the clear front-runner and leads in three of the first four pri

abc's karen travers is following the gop campaign. ering race, weeks away from the all-important iowa caucus. good morning to you, karen. what is the latest? >> reporter: good morning, rob, good morning, sunny. newt gingrich may be peaking at exactly the right time. four weeks to go until the iowa caucuses and key debate showdown on abc saturday night in iowa. it may be a different mitt romney saturday night one that goes after newt gingrich directly. newt gingrich the latest republican candidate to try to earn the stamp of approval from donald trump. [ indiscernible ] >> reporter: gingrich settling in at the top of the republican feed. in just one month he has gone from fifth to first in iowa. >> good. >> reporter: after gingrich it's ron paul, then mitt romney. top republicans in iowa say don't crown gingrich just yet. one-time front-runner, herman cain suspended his campaign. sources close to cain say he won't immediately endorse one of his former opponents. but if and when he does, gingrich seems to have the edge. >> what they want

karen travers joining us from washington with more. >> reporter: good morning, rob, good morning, sunnyn't say anything about a republican opponent that could hurt them down the line against president obama. but he is not holding back when it comes to newt gingrich. this was mitt romney on his republican opponents on monday. >> i'm not going to say outrageous things that can be used to hang them down the road. >> reporter: this is mitt romney on newt gingrich yesterday for an interview with "the new york times." >> zany is great in a campaign, it's great on talk radio. it's great in the print. it beats -- it makes for fun reading. but in terms of a president, we need a leader. >> reporter: zany may not be the most devastating political attack romney could launch against gingrich. he called him an extraordinarily unreliable leader in the conservative world. it all adds up to a more aggressive strategy from romney. he has little time to waste and he is getting attacked from both sides. democrats greeted him in new york city with quite a welcome mat. and newt gingrich surged to a huge lead