lisa sylvester's monitoring several top stories in the situation rhyme right now. on this? >> major u.s. retailers recalling something called the nap nanny recliner after the reported deaths of five infants. the nap nanny poses a substantial ris are being to infants. babies can hang out over the side of the recliner. the company told cnn it stands behind the product 100%. >>> a mall in sacramento, california, was locked down after a brawl in the food court. shoppers left screaming from the site. three teenagers were arrested. people panicked as they mistook loud sounds for gunshots but a mall security said no shots were fired during or after the fight. >>> ee a security camera recorded a tornado. high winds blew through the store's front door as workers and shoppers took shelter in the back. the tornado came about 100 yards from smashing the store to pieces. look at those incredible pictures, candy. >> i don't know what we did before we had security cameras. that's amazing. we see a lot more of the story. >> i know. a lot of video that you could watch all day, right

>>pam: that was lisa sylvester --that was lisa sylvester reporting. say, it is important to help children get back to their regular routine. if they are too afraid to return to school, parents should try to go with them as far as they will go. president obama. meantime. was visibly shaken by the tragedy. when speaking about it from the white house this afternoon. here now are his remarks in fax their entirety. >> we have endeaured each tragedy too many. each time i hear the news i react not as a president but as anybody else would, as a parent. and that was especially true today. i know that there is not a parent in america that does not feel the same overwhelming grief that i do. the majority of those that died today were children. beautiful children between five-10 years old. (camera shutters) >> they have their entire lives of them, birthdays, graduations, weddings. kids of their own. among the fallen, were teachers, men & women that devoted their lives to help our children fulfill their dreams so are our hearts are broken today. for the parents, t

here's lisa sylvester with some expert advice. >> if there's an image that sums up this story, it isthere can relate. psychiatrist charles rasin with college of medicine. >> how do you wrap your mind around something like this, with the understanding that it will take a while and there will be people closely impacted by this that will never wrap their mind around this. human minds are not infinite and this is appearing to be the worst schoolyard catastrophe in history. there is going to be a huge long-term fallout for this that will impact people's emotional well being and we need to gear ourselves for this fallout because it is coming. >> the news out of newtown is traumatic for parents and children. this happened at a school where kids are supposed to feel safe. >> how do you explain this to children? again, it depends on the age of the child. simple, forthright explanations are the best. i think one of the things i tell children is there are some bad people in the world and sometimes bad people do really terrible things. and a terrible thing has happened and there have been some c

lisa sylvester, cnn, washington. le >>> as the war in syria goes on, thousands in the country are hoping for humanitarian assistance. we will talk to someone from doctors without borders on the horrifying situation there. eavek and get up and go to the post office anymore. [ male announcer ] with stamps.com you can print real u.s. postage for all your letters and packages. i have exactly the amount of postage i need, the instant i need it. can you print only stamps? no... first class. priority mail. certified. international. and the mail man picks it up. i don't leave the shop anymore. [ male announcer ] get a 4 week trial plus $100 in extras including postage and a digital scale. go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again. >>> since the war in syria started, 40,000 people have been kill and the united nations estimates 2.5 million people need humanitarian assistance. the international medical humanitarian organization, doctors without borders, says in one city alone there are tens of thousands of peop

lisa sylvester, cnn, washington. >>> a mystery in texas. reports of strange lights in the sky.y have something to do with the mayan prediction, an end of the world. you decide for yourself next. , y to the board meeting... anne's tablet called my phone. anne's tablet was chatting with a tablet in sydney... a desktop in zurich... and a telepresence room in brazil. the secure cloud helped us get some numbers from my assistant's pc in new york. and before i reached the top, the board meeting became a congrats we sold the company party. wait til my wife's phone hears about this. [ cellphone vibrating ] [ female announcer ] with cisco at the center, working together has never worked so well. at the chevy year-end event because chevy's giving more. more efficiency with sonic and cruze... more function in equinox and traverse... more dependability with the legendary silverado... and more style in the all-new malibu. chevy's giving more at the year-end event because 'tis the season. chevy's giving more. this holiday season, get a 2013 cruze ls for around $169 per month or get $500 holi

cnn's lisa sylvester has a look. >> it's a perfect b. >> reporter: 4-year-old katelyn takes her time.ting a letter. >> dear parents, i know that you are upset. >> reporter: a letter to the parents of the children killed in the newtown shooting. she and her mother live in maryland. they have never been to newtown. in fact, they've never been to the state of connecticut. but they wanted to show the town that they care. >> we're writing letters just to let them know that our hearts are with them, they're in our prayers. >> because i want to make them cheer up. >> right away, we started seeing mail volume coming in. it began with a few hundred. now it's thousands per day we're receiving. >> you want to start handling these packages? >> reporter: in the middle of all the sorrow, sadness and heartbreak, is something else. compassion. letters, cards and boxes pouring into newtown. >> i don't know if they feel like strangers. i think they feel very connected to the tragedy here. but they're coming as far away as cicely, england, australia and every corner of this country. so, they may not hav

lisa sylvester has that information in the situation room. lisa?under blizzard warnings, including wisconsin who faces this kind of snow and wind. another foot of wet, heavy snow is expected to fall. in iowa, snow is blamed for this pileup on i-35 that left two people dead. almost 40,000 people are without power in nebraska. and you can see and hear part of the reason why. yeah, you can see those electricity lines. >>> if i asked you which state had the fastest growing population in the u.s., would you gres correctly, north dakota? if your answer is yes, you would be right. new estimates of state population changes from july 2011 to july 2012, north dakota showed a boost of more than 2% while texas gained the most people, more than 400,000. >>> one of the most popular cars on the road is getting slammed in a new crash test. the toyota camry took home a rating of poor. in this new test, you can see the car travels at 40 miles an hour striking a barrier with a small part of the driver's side front bumper. toyota will respond to the challenge as they

our lisa sylvester spoke to some experts. >> reporter: if there's an image that sums up this story, itis. any parent out there can relate. psychiatrist charles razen with the university of arizona's college of medicine. >> how do you wrap your mind around something like this? with a good deal of heart break and with the understanding it's going to take a while and that there will be people closely impacted by this who will never wrap their minds around this. human minds are not infinite. and this is -- this is now appearing to be probably the worst schoolyard catastrophe in history. and so there's going to be a huge long-term fallout for this that is going to also impact people's emotional well being, and we need to gear ourselves up for that fallout because it's coming, because this is a horrible thing. >> the news out of newtown is traumatic for parents and for children. this happened at a school where kids are supposed to feel safe. >> how do you explain this to children? well, again, depends on the age of the child. but i think simple, forthright explanations are the best. and i th

lisa sylvester is monitoring that and other stories. lisa? >> this is a terribly sad story, candy. 23-year-old woman who suffered a gang rape and severe injuries on al new delhi bus died a few hours ago. earlier they said she was experiencing organ failure. her attack led to mass protests where reported rape cases have increased drastically over the last 40 years. >>> and nelson mandela is home after a long hospital stay in an exclusive interview, his granddaughter said he's well, alert, and playing with his grandchildren. she says social media rumors that mandela is, quote, close to death, she said those rumors are hurtful and wants them to stop. he was hospitalized for a lung infection and gallstone surgery. >>> okay. have you had enough of snow? snow now covers 65% of the 48 lower u.s. states. more could be on the way this weekend. two to four inches from the midwest to new jersey. the northeast could see more. in montreal, they are digging out of an all-time daily record of 17.7 inches of snow, which is unbelievable. i'm sure a lot of people who have holiday plans, the new year

lisa sylvester is monitoring that. >> well, syria's military police chief reportedly has fled to turkey on a scooter after plotting his escape for three weeks. in a video posted online, a man purporting to be the police chief accuses the government of carrying out massacres of innocent civilians and he says the military is nothing but armed gangs that kill. he says is he defecting to, quote, join the people's revolution. and the recovery in the housing market remains on pace. home prices rose 4.3% in october over last year, that is it the biggest percentage increase in more than two years. near record low mortgage rates and fewer foreclosures are helping spur sale which is in turn is boosting prices. and the world's longest high speed rail line is up and running and it's in, where else, china. the 1428 mile line spans more than half the country linking the capital of beijing to the southern chinese bloom city. trains will run at 186 miles per hour. >>> and civil rights icon nelson mandela has been discharged from a south africa hospital. 94-year-old former president will continue treatm

lisa sylvester is monitoring that. what do you have, lisa?it's a disturbing story of a woman's 911 strategy. it happened in colorado. authorities say as the call for help came in, a dispatcher heard gunshots, a man saying he was going to kill himself, and then another gunshot. a s.w.a.t. team later found two men and two women dead at the scene. at an nbc team kidnapped in syria is free and unharmed and expressing relief today. richard engel says his crew was captured last week as they crossed from turkey into syria. he believes his kidnappers were militia loyal to the syrian government. >>> the average price of regular self-serve gasoline in the u.s. is now $3.24. the price has fallen every day for almost a month and it could fall to levels not seen in two years. analysts credit in part the better economy and continued high unemployment. wolf? >> lisa, thank you. >>> two more families here in connecticut burying their children. their funerals and their stories. that's ahead. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps contro

lisa sylvester has more. >> dr. philip is thanking those who risked their lives to save him.ken about 50 miles from the>>> and the syrian regime as fired more scud missiles in the last couple of days according to the head of nato who calls it a desperate collapse of regime. this is showing a crater caused by a scud missile. we can't verify the authenticity of this footage. >>> and, well, more bragging rights for cye. "gangnam style" is the most popular video on the billboard and it's watched 76 times per second. can you imagine that, wolf? 76 times per second people are watching that video. >> they like it. >>> all right. we've just been told, lisa, that the president will be walking in within the next two minutes into the white house briefing room. you're seeing reporters standing by getting ready to hear the president. we'll see if he answers reports' questions. this is a delicate moment now on the eve of christmas just before new year's. will there be a deal that will allow everyone to have a sigh of relief as far as tax increases being implemented january 1st and huge spe

lisa sylvester does the math. >> reporter: at the whit low's on wilson restaurant in arlington, sa virginia there,'s plenty of food and drink, but there's something else cooking up. co-owner jonathan williams worrying about the government's fiscal cliff. >> there's a real correlation, people have jobs they spend money, if people are worried about losing their jobs, or don't have a job, they're not going to go out that much, they're going to cook at home or stay home. >> reporter: just a couple miles in the pentagon, many of the people here work directly for the defense department and it's contractors. the defense industry is facing $125 billion of direct -- in addition several key tax ben fis are scheduled to expire at the end of the year that will have a direct impact on the pocket books of many americans. take a couple with one child in new york earning $100,000. their tax rate jumps from 25% to 28%. they could be hit by the alternative minimum tax. the child tax credit drops from $1,000 to $500 and payroll taxes could be $2,000 more next year. for a single 25-year-old in michigan who wor

. >> lisa sylvester, appreciate it. >>> unforgettable headlines from hollywood and beyond. the closer look at the top ten stories of 2012 next. ♪ ooh baby, looks like you need a little help there ♪ ♪ ooh baby, can i do for you today? ♪ [ female announcer ] need help keeping your digestive balance? align can help. only align has bifantis, a patented probiotic that naturally helps maintain your digestive balance. try align to help retain a balanced digestive system. try the #1 gastroenterologist recommended probiotic. align. >>> 2012 has been a year of surprises, some good and some not. in the world of show biz, c. >> reporter: celebrity break-ups, the tragic death of a singing icon, just a few of the topics that had people talking in the world of show business. here is a look at top stories of 2012. the song was almost inescapable. her song earned two grammy nominations and countless reenactments on line, like this video posted by the u.s. olympic swim team. the force is now strong with disney. in a move that caught many by surprise, the star wars franchise's fiercely indepe

lisa sylvester, cnn, bowie, maryland. >> the town received thousands of letters. if you would like to send one of your own, you can mail it to messages of condolence for newtown. p o box 3700, newtown, connecticut, 06470. i know. i'm will, and this is the nokia lumia 920 from at&t. it's got live tiles so all my stuff's always right there in real-time. it's like the ultimate personal assistant. but i'm me, and me needs handlers. so i hired todd to handle it for me. todd, gimme that hollywood news! what's happening on twitter? you're trending! yes! you can't have a todd, but you can have your own personal assistant. i guess you could call it todd. [ male announcer ] the new nokia lumia 920 with live tiles that deliver what you want in real time. only from at&t. rethink possible. time for citi price rewind. because your daughter really wants that pink castle thing. and you really don't want to pay more than you have to. only citi price rewind automatically searches for the lowest price. and if it finds one, you get refunded the difference. just use your citi card and

lisa sylvester is monitoring that and other stories. what happened?e dock may be from last year's tsunami in japan. a coast guard spotted it in olympic national park in washington. they are trying to reach it to find out if it's harboring the area. >>> gm will buy back 200 million shares and another 300 million will be sold through various means or so. that will end the $51 billion bailout of the automaker. taxpayers are expected to lose money on this deal. the stock hasn't done as well as hoped. >>> south korea has elected its first female president. park promises to salvage the economy and other issues are income inequality. park is the daughter of the country's former military dictator. >>> and take a look at these dramatic i am manuals of a mudslide in motion. our affiliate, komo in everett washington captured the video as the slide slammed into a moving freight train. cars crumbled and derailed, as you can see there. the freight trains were back on the tracks yesterday but amtrack is waiting 48 hours to make sure that this scene is safe. unbeliev

lisa sylvester, cnn, washington. >>> it's still going to be in the air, but a little closer to groundu a sneak peek at the new home. with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling ras

cnn's lisa sylvester brings us some expert advice. >> reporter: if there's an emergency that sums upory it is -- any parent can relate. psychologist charles raisin is with the university of arizona's college of medicine. >> how do you wrap your mind around something like this? with a good deal of heartbreak and with the understanding that it's going to take a while, and that there will be people that were closely impacted by this who will never wrap their minds around this. you know, the human minds are not infinite. this is now appearing to be probably the worcestst school y catastrophe in history. there's going to be a huge long-term fallout that will impact people's emotional well-being. we need to gear ourselves up for that fallout because it's coming. this is a horrible thing. >> reporter: the news out of newtown is traumatic for parents and for children. this happened at a school where kids are supposed to feel safe. >> how do you explain this to dinner? again, it depends on the age -- to children? again, it depends on the age of the child. i think effortright forthright . what

here's lisa sylvester. >> reporter: 4-year-old kayland takes her time working hard to get each word rightso start here. >> reporter: she is writing a letter. >> dear parents, i know that you are upset. >> reporter: a letter to the parents of the children killed in the newtown shooting. she and her mother live in maryland. they have never been to newtown. in fact, they've never been to the state of connecticut, but they wanted to show the town that they care. >> we're writing letters just to let them know that, you know, our hearts are with them. they're in our prayers. >> because i want to make them cheer up. >> right away we started seeing mail volume that began with a few hundred. now it's in the thousands per day we're receiving. >> want to start handing me packages? >> reporter: in the middle of all of the sorrow, the sadness, and the heart break is something else. >> they're coming from as far away as sicily, england, australia, and every corner of this country. they may not have personal knowledge of the families here, but they certainly share their pain. >> kayland knows only what

lisa sylvester has more on this sensitive issue. >> reporter: earl curtis takes aim with an assault rifleun store in virginia. curtis says since the newtown shoot i shootings, gun owners have been getting a bad ran. >> when the gun ban happened, that really didn't curb crime either. so like i said, whether you cut it down the five, one, still does the same damage, which is bad. okay? what we need to do is teach gun safety and education, also take care of mental health issues. >> reporter: there are new calls in washington to bring back the assault weapons ban and other gun control measures. that is having an impact here. one of of the things we're seeing is a run on some gun supplies. this rack here used to be filled with magazines like this. but because of concerns of gun control laws, you can see they're all gone. supporters say it is not harder to get ahold of the weapon, but looking at beefing up school security. they say arming teachers is one option that should at least be considered. >> i know there has been a knee jerk reaction against that. i think there should at least be a disc

lisa sylvester is monitoring that and other stories in "the situation room." atest, lisa? >> hugo chavez is in cuba. he has just undergone surgery and that's the word from ecuador's president, chavez's ally, who called it a very delicate situation. he run re-election in october after declaring himself cancer-free a few months before. the socialist leader has endorsed his vice president as a possible political successor. >>> and delta airlines is buying a stake in virgin atlantic airlines on lucrative flights between the united states and the united kingdom. branson will keep a 51% stake in his company. the deal expands the international reach of delta, now the number two u.s. airline. >>> and if you're a fan of hair straightening treatments, you might want to take note of this story. safety questions are being raised again. this time by three democratic lawmakers. they accuse manufacturers of lying about the levels of officer mall da hide in their products and they are calling for removal that pose health risks from the market. >>> and the australian radio stat

lisa sylvester has >> if there's an image that sums up this story it is this...t there can relate. psychiatrist charles raison is with the university of arizona's college of medicine >> "how do you wrap your mind around something like this? with a good deal of heartbreak and with the understanding that it's gonna take awhile and that there will be people that were closely impacted by this who will never wrap minds around this. you know, human minds are not infinite and, you know, this is now appearing to be the world school yard catastrophe in history and so there's gonna be a huge long-term fallout for this that is gonna also impact people's emotional well being and we need to gear ourselves up for that fallout because it's coming because this is a horrible thing." >> the news out of newtown is traumatic for parents...and for children... this happened at a school where kids are supposed to feel safe. >> "how do you explain this to children? well, again, it depends on the age of the child but i think simple, forthright explanations are the best, and i think....on

lisa sylvester has some revised from a psychiatrist on how to help kids cope. >> there are people who would never be able to wrap their minds around this. this is probably coming to be the worst catastrophe in history. this will be a long term fallout that will impact people emotionally as well as their well-being. the >> this happened at a school where children are supposed to fill said. >> how do explain this? >> it depends on the age of the tjob. one of the things that i tell children is that there are bad people in the world and sometimes they do terrible things. it's terrible thing has happened and there has been children killed and this is terrible but you are safe and you are in a situation where you will not be hard. >> the american academy of pediatrics stated that you should take into context the age of the child. ask your children but there are reno and then as to their questions. parents can share their own feelings and what the arc open. you should find meaningful ways. >> what really matters now is how we help them understand what has happened and most importantly is the

lisa sylvester has details. >> wolf, the aarp is a powerful group in washington, it spent about $7.5 on lobbying this year. but its real strength may be the grass roots efforts with a large number of senior volunteers, and right now their aim is to keep social security and medicare intact. jean has often traveled to washington from her colorado home. this time, the 70-year-old retiree is here as a volunteer with the aarp. she and other seniors are blanketing capitol hill with a single message, hands off. >> we're very concerned. we don't want medicare, medicaid, and social security to be used as part of deficit reducing bill in such a short period of time. >> the clock is winding down towards the fiscal cliff. once considered untouchable third rail, changes to social security and other so-called entitlements are now being seriously discussed. >> we really have not gun to talk about real entitlement reforms. the only way you have true avoidance where you have solution is to mix an appropriate amount of revenues with true entitlement reform. and until the debate moves to that point, th

our own lisa sylvester is staking a closer look at school security and whether enough is being done toour children safe. >> reporter: they say when you become a parent that a little bit of your heart lives outside of you. for many parents, this tragedy, is has hit their worst fear. how do you keep your kids safe when they are away from you? >> have a good day. >> you try not to think about it. >> reporter: this day, she has a hard time holding back the tears. >> it's heartbreaking. it's -- it's very difficult to imagine and i can't imagine being one of those parents. >> reporter: what happened in newtown connecticut could have happened in any town. it's one of those quiet fears parents have. page anderson of montgomery county, maryland, has a 6-year-old daughter. >> my daughter told me they did a drill last week so i think they do them on a regular basis. when you can't prepare for every eventuality. >> reporter: schools across the country are reviewing their school safety programs that have been in place since columbine. high schools in alexandria, virginia, have trained poli policpol

lisa sylvester's monitoring that. what's going on with espionage on the high seas? >> a former u.s. charged with trying to hand over submarine secrets. according to the indictment, robert patrick hoffman ii attempted to give information to people he thought were russian government members. they were undercover fbi agents. he could be sentenced to life in prison. and at least 418 people in the philippines are dead in the wake of a powerful typhoon. hundreds more are missing and a quarter of a million people now homeless. survivors are in desperate need of water, food and shelter. the storm hit a southern island of the philippines where typhoons are not expected. and at least four people are dead and seven others missing after two ships collided off the coast of the netherlands. rescuers have called off the search for missing crew members. passing ships are being asked to be on the look out. officials say a container vessel collided with a car carrier in the north sea. the nationality of the crew is not yet known. and john travolta and olivia newton-john, they are back together again.

lisa sylvester is here and taking a closer look at this story. it hit so powerfully. you have kids and the period has kids. we heard ashleigh banfield react. >> i have a kindergartener and you say you waive goodbye to your child and they have their backpack and you assume you will see them later. i don't think there is a parent out there who has seen this story and not impacted by what happened today. for parents it is hard to comprehend or say the words 20 children killed. we are talking about a class of very young children. how do you make sense of it all? it's hard as an adult and a parent, but it's tougher if you are a child. if there is an image that sums up this story, it is this. any parent out there can relate. psychiatrist charles raisin is with the university of arizona's college of medicine. >> how do you wrap your mind around something like this? with a good deal of heart break with the understanding that will it take a while and there will be people that were closely impacted by this who will never wrap their minds around this. the human minds are not inf