pete's with us from our washington bureau. hey, pete. good evening. >> reporter: well, brian, that concern has now turned up in court with three class action lawsuits filed on behalf of cell phone users in california, illinois and delaware. they claim software in androids, htc, some blackberrys, older apple iphones is extensively tracking what they do with their phones. the lawsuits follow the posting of a youtube video by a security researcher who claimed he could watch the software made by a company called carrier iq record every key stroke on a phone including text messages. the software is embedded in 140 million smartphones and the company that makes it says it's strictly for quality control, not for spying on users. carrier iq says its software does not record, store or transmit the contents of sms or text messages, e-mail, photographs, audio or video. the company says the software reports how well phones are working and flags trouble when something goes wrong. most users aren't aware the program is on their phones and it can't be

lightning round. >> pete? >> do you buy this, or do you think he got canned for another reason? >> don't buy it at all. maybe he was getting graded on his hosting of the oscars. >> thank you. i just get so upset when actors that are established go back to school to study what they have been wildly successful in acting. it is like president obama going back to school for constitution allah. you have already done that, and you succeeded in it. why are you going back to school? why is he at nyu? you know why he is there. to get chicks. do you blame him? >> he is going back -- there is good looking guys doing well there and then they say -- oh [bleep]. i have to go home. >> gavin, fra ?-- franco said the teacher was not comfortable with having a celebrity in his class. do you think that is true? >> i think george bush's degree is fake. j.f.k.'s degree is real, and james franco's degree is real. if you are a liberal and handsome, you deserve everything you get. if you are not, everything is a lie. >> all right, tho

pete pete. pete pete pete .

pete, you might even agree with me.ounded by people who agree with you all the time, you don't have a good bagram ter of what is vicious. when you are on the right or left, you would say, i hope this person dies. and then when you say it, like bill mar says something on realtime and they get all of that crap for. it what's wrong with what i am saying? you are always surrounded by people who agree with you. >> i totally disagree with you. when ever bill mar or chris matthews ordered schulz says these things, what i hear is that's exactly what some republicans have always been offended by. it is always wrong. they are not supposed to be that way. it is way worse when they make that kind of generalization and it is always wrong. >> but on bill mar when he does things like that he says -- wait, wait, should we be laughing at that? >> maybe it is because i hang it with -- i hang out with the newark creative communities. they talk about removing their skin. maybe it is because we watch so many horror movies, but they are not

i'm going to ask pete and will what they think is likely to happen.id on television, and still on this talking point many times, who is the most important vote in the 2012 election, justice kennedy, the guy in the middle. i think it's possible talking to dolly of slate.com, so good on these issues, it's possible it goes 7-2. it's very possible. we've seen low courts with very conservative judges say this is constitutional. but without getting into arguments, it does matter. this is a case that literally could predict the presidential election for the first time, except for 2000 when the court picked the president. >> i know you don't want to get into a constitutional argue. agreement. this question is massive, huge. defining the limits of the federal government's power. should and will. should it be ruled unconstitutional, if i were a judge it's clear to me it is unconstitutional. >> thanks god you're not. >> this revolves around the commerce clause. congress has the power to regulate trade among the states. that's grown and stretched, expanded over t

>> pete williams at the intersection of justice and sports tonight, pete, thanks for that. >>> on capitol hill in washington, the house has passed the spending bill needed to keep the government up and running, but there is still a lot of work to do before the end of the year. we're joined tonight by nbc's kelly o'donnell from the hill. kelly, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. first no government shutdown, that's done, because house republicans and democrats came together overwhelmingly to pass that nearly $1 trillion spending bill that covers more than a dozen government agencies and included in that is the fate of your household light bulb. republicans fought hard to get rid of the money to enforce the ban on the old incandescent bulbs in favor of more energy-efficient kinds. they said government was reaching too far into everyday life. democrats pointed out they're not really making those old bulbs much more, so not much practical effect, and brian i can tell you there are breaking developments on that other big priority, the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits exte

pete gow works in the cbs news london bureau.mes back and writes songs so we will show you more from pete in a few minutes. take a listen. >> he has a new album. ♪ >> when you look at him, you can tell. >> scruffy. >> he is scottish, right? >> yes, he is. proudly scottish. >>> consumers are spending more of their incomes than in years but not buying the same things we used to. >> a commerce department report finds some fundamental changes in where our money is going. personal finance expert la jean that lewis -- regina lewis is here. it seems like the retail therapy? >> a good way to put it. it's the american way. americans love their spending. what we are spending has changed and what we have fallen in love with. we are creating to impulse buys and quick fixes at affordable price points that make us feel and look good now. we are all about the now so living on a shoestring but in the moment. >> why is that? how big is the shift up? >> the numbers are really significant so take a look. 93.1% of our after-tax income is going to go

pete, did you forget yours? me pete, me use pen!ughter) sorry i'm late, i was in the 16th century looking for pete's pen. (laughter) guys, guys. take it easy, ok? pete's mom is videochatting me, and she wants her pen back! ok, alright, well. i just got one. so... yeah, you've got a little... yep, i can feel the wet patch. don't look at it. when it's on your mind, it's on ebay. >>> if you scan it, they will discount it. amazon.com is offering its customers a one-time discount if you play store spy. here's how it works. amazon will give 5% discounts, up to 5 bucks, on as many as three items. you use the company's price check app to compare prices of the same items inside a physical store. the amazon app is available for iphone and the android. this is only good this saturday, december 10th. happy shopping. thanks for joining us tonight. ♪ [ female announcer ] during the holidays, there's a lot to get done. and safeway select appetizers help you rise to every occasion. ♪ from delectable to amazing. there are over 20 affordable safeway

pete, did you forget yours? me pete, me use pen! (laughter) sorry i'm late, i was in the 16th century looking for pete's pen. (laughter) guys, guys. take it easy, ok? pete's mom is videochatting me, and she wants her pen back! ok, alright, well. i just got one. so... yeah, you've got a little... yep, i can feel the wet patch. don't look at it. when it's on your mind, it's on ebay. involving strip searches of tsa agents going from j.f.k. to fort lauderdale. all three have medical conditions that require them to wear medical devices. in one case an insulin pump and a glucose monitor and a colostomy bag. >> as a joke i said it is not a bomb. and then they asked mooy to lower my pants. -- asked me to lower my pants. >> i had to take my pants off. >> do i look like a terrorist? >> the tsa said they maintains standard protocol and nobody was inappropriately touched. >>> we have a new holiday video getting a lot of clicks tonight. we want to show you. this is the annual teddy bear toss sponsored by a major junior hockey team in canada call

>> pete, i agree.ould see these conversations, reframe it, cognitively, give the psychology speak. one kpleedian, one psychologist. we have to reframe it cognitively about learning from other people. that's why you put the ego to the side and say i'll give my opinion and i want to share something but as part of that quid pro quo i will also learn from this conversation and therefore you don't step on one another. you don't disrespect one another. >> you have taboo subjects? can grandma say we are not talking about the president, period? or we are not talking about gingrich versus romney at my dinner table. >> i think grandma says, yes. yes. grandma or grandpa, but mom and dad might not be able to make those same rules. >> i would say even if grandma says something like that we would ask grandma why and then therefore begin the conversation. >> she doesn't want mud wrestling in the front yard. >> well, but i think you can teach an old grandma new tricks and she may have had bad experiences with the fami

we love pete and we will show >>> pete gow is the lead guitarist and singer for the british band caseen spends his time doing things far different than what they see on stage. hopping on a plane at a moment's notice to go into a war zone to cover the news. as charlie d'agata reports, he is totally serious about both. >> 30 seconds. 30 seconds away from the show. >> reporter: pete gow, cbs news journalist on assignment in egypt just last week. >> okay, let's do it. ♪ >> reporter: pete gow, singer/songwriter, on stage in the uk. >> this is the bit that everybody else finds incredible. send something ifb. >> reporter: he says producing news pieces and performing music makes him a better story teller and better at both. >> they are both short form. they are both concise. two-minute news spot like a song, you have to, you know best foot forward and hit them hard. best lines at the top and, you know, you strike it. the parallels are very similar. >> reporter: in his first job in journalism journalism, he was thrown in baghdad during some of the worst of the violence. >> i spent seven years

guy, pete dominick. each. "time magazine" as you know named the protester its person of the year for 2012. in a big political year, who's your person of the year. maria? >> well, i think i have two. the first one is seal team 6 but i understand the person who headed that was one of the runners up. i think i would also say because of the protester of the year was person of the year that it should go to muhammad bousi who lit himself on fire and lit the match for the arab spring. >> chris? >> i'm actually going to go overseas and go with angela merkel because i think in fact she's doing an excellent job trying to save the euro and, thus, the u.s. currency. so i'm going to go with merkel. no, pete, she does not have to be american. i would, of course, go with margaret that mumarg thatcher. she's always my default. >> why do you hate the french? they made a great choice with the protester. maria said it about the guy in tunisia. egypt, rest of north africa. look at what happened in america, wisconsin, ohio,

pete williams in washington, pete, thanks. >>> former penn state assistant football coach jerry sandusky is back home tonight after spending a night in jail on new child sex abuse charges. this morning posting $250,000 bail. tonight his wife is coming to his defense. quote, as the mother of six children, i have been devastated by these accusations. she says in a written statement, no child who ever visited our home was ever forced to stay in our basement and fed there, she says about one allegation. our children and extended family and friends know how much jerry and i love kids and have always tried to help and care for them. we would never do anything to hurt them. end of quote. >>> on capitol hill today a reversal of fortune for a man who was once a governor, a u.s. senator and until recently the ceo of a company that collapsed in a stunning bankruptcy. today john corzine was the star witness brought by subpoena to testify before congress on the collapse of mf global and the missing billion dollars in client money. nbc's kelly o'donnell reports on today's hearing. >> reporter: a falle

as pete williams reports, verizon is listening. pete, good evening. >> reporter: harry, barely 24 hours after saying it would charge a fee for paying bills online, verizon wireless abruptly took it back. the company said it was acting in response to what it politely called customer feedback. cell phone and internet users have been complaining loudly since word of the new fee first leaked out, flooding twitter with critical comments and launching petition drives. >> i think it's a little bit unfair. i mean, it's going to affect how i think about verizon. >> reporter: all in response to the company's plan to charge $2 when customers pay their bills once a month either by phone or by going to the company's website. it offered a host of ways to avoid the fee such as signing up for automatic billing. then an official of the federal communications commission said, on behalf of american consumers, we are concerned about verizon's actions and are looking into the matter. the company's about-face came late today. in a written statement the

pete and p.ete scrubbing away with the brush. >> good boy, pete. >> he washes the little brush out, puts it back in the pan and starts scrubbing away. >> next time your husband says, i can't do the dishes, say, really? pete is doing the dishes. you can too. >> this is the cutest thing i've ever seen. >> everybody needs one of these guys. >> i need a little pet monkey to do some dishes. >>> i don't know if you guys noticed but i'm black. >> what? had no idea. >> i don't see color, gayle. >> and most of the time, neither does santa claus. kevin mcgrudser we've met before on "right this minute" has a little video explaining why santa can't be black. he expresses some opinions that i've had myself a time or two. >> what's up, guys? hope you're doing well. christmas is coming up soon and if you're anything like me, that's unfortunate. you love this time of year. if you're also like me, at an early age your parents stressed christmas isn't about getting gifts it's about celebrating the birth of jesus.

we'll show you more from pete a few minutes. you look at him, you can tell. >> he's scruffy. >> scottish, right? >> yes, he is. proudly scottish. >>> but first, consumers are spending more of their incomes than years since the presession began. but we're not buying the same things we used to. >> a commerce department reports finds some fundamental changes in where our money is going. cbs contributing editor regina lewis is here. we're buying things that make us happy. it seems like it's the ultimate retail therapy. >> i think that's a good way to put it. americans love their spending, it's the american way. but what we're spending has changed and what we've fallen in love with. we're gravitating towards what i would call, impulse buys, instant gratification, quick fixes at affordable price points, that make us feel and look good, all about the now. we're living on a shoestring, and in the moment. >> how big is the shift? >> the numbers are significant. 93.1% of our after-tax income is going to goods and services, those are recor

pete williams is in washington with the details. pete, good evening. >> reporter: verizon is calling this a convenience fee. it means customers who pay their wireless phone or internet bills directly to verizon online on the company's website will be charged $2 each time for the privilege of paying their own bills. the new fee goes into effect in mid january and applies to subscribers of verizon wireless. the nation's largest wireless service provider. as word of it spreads it's coming as an unwelcome surprise. >> $2 is a lot when it sums up through the years. >> if there is extra money charged on your bill you're going to get people on your bad side. >> it feels like a penalty to me. >> very shocking. >> reporter: starting january 15, customers will be charged a $2 fee each month if they pay their verizon wireless bill by going directly to the company website. the same fee applies to paying every month by phone. that's $2 each time the bill is paid. but the company said it will not charge for customers who pay the old fashioned way

our justice correspondent pete

pete, did you forget yours? me pete, me use pen!ughter) sorry i'm late, i was in the 16th century looking for pete's pen. (laughter) guys, guys. take it easy, ok? pete's mom is videochatting me, and she wants her pen back! ok, alright, well. i just got one. so... yeah, you've got a little... yep, i can feel the wet patch. don't look at it. when it's on your mind, it's on ebay.

you need to work with our plan. >> pete?t kind of talk that people just nod their heads at, what crystal just said. this is ridiculous. we've entered bizarro land. is john boehner going to fund planned parenthood? >> obama is bizarro. >> a tax cut for working people. these are the people, they hate the man more than they love the country. 52% of eye owe juans just answered. they don't believe he was born here. that's what this is about. this is the tail wagging the dog. seriously. these house members that are leading boehner, boehner is not leading them. they're leading him. this is bizarre. >> pete showed up today fired up. i like it. >> let's have a real conversation. people are going to get coal in their stocking for christmas. >> let's turn now to rick santorum. he got a big endorsement. let's go to iowa here. pete referenced it. his campaign is surging. michele bachmann, she lost the endorsement that he picked up but she says she's actually the one to watch. listen to her. >> most polls have you in and around fourth pla

our justice correspondent pete williams is in our washington newsroom with more on this. pete, good evening. >> and brian what didn't happen is any prison sentence, in this latest setback for the prosecutors who have spent millions of dollars investigating the use of performance-enhancing drugs in professional sports. barry bonds' sentence is on hold while he appeals his conviction for giving rambling testimony to a grand jury looking into abuse of steroids in baseball. prosecutors said 15 months, instead he got 30 days home detenti detention. this case began going south in april when a jury declined to convict him of lying about whether he used steroids. prosecutors had given up on trying him for that. over the summer a federal judge declared a mistrial against pitching star roger clemens. the government will try again in april. prosecutors managed to get 11 convictions in steroids cases ending with probation or months in prison and many applaud the government for sending the message about the dangers of steroids but some in sports and the law wondered if this was the be

will cain, pete dominick.f the things pete was talking about lifting people out of poverty one of the thins that's done that is unemployment benefits. are they going on too long? are they helping or hurting? are they helping people stay home and not look for work? that discussion next. you're not going to miss it. up next on this special edition of yo"your $$$$$" in chicago. why did we build a 556 horsepower luxury car with a manual transmission? because there are those who still believe in the power of a firm handshake. the cadillac cts-v. manual or automatic, that's entirely up to you. we don't just make luxury cars, we make cadillacs. of course, neither do i. solution? td ameritrade mobile trader. i can enter trades on the run. even futures and 4x. complex options, done. the market shifts, i get an alert. [ cellphone rings ] thank you. live streaming audio. advanced charts. look at that. all right here. wherever "here" happens to be. mobile trading from td ameritrade. number one in online equity trades. [ m

pete, did you forget yours? me pete, me use pen!sorry i'm late, i was in the 16th century looking for pete's pen. (laughter) guys, guys. take it easy, ok? pete's mom is videochatting me, and she wants her pen back! ok, alright, well. i just got one. so... yeah, you've got a little... yep, i can feel the wet patch. don't look at it. when it's on your mind, it's on ebay. give your family the gift they can all share... ... verizon 4g lte smartphones ! like the droid charge. and the stratosphere. don't miss the best deals at the right price. on the network they deserve. get the powerful droid charge by samsung or get the samsung stratosphere for $99.99. and for a limited time get twice the data for the same low price. verizon. these deals make me loco !

pete gilbert joins us with more on what this means. >> they did not clinch a home around -- home game in the first round. they proved they could get the job done it home. they went 8-0 at home this season. they held the browns off. it was out of the box quickly for the ravens. it was his fifth touchdown reception of the season. a gorgeous sideline pass to rice. 42 yards, 17-0. the browns rallied. joshua is always a threat. he is strong and fast. he goes 84 yards. 20-7. now 20-14. joe flacco gets taylor to jump offside. it was a bone-headed play that sealed the ravens win. >> it is a tremendous accomplishment. credit goes to the players first, the coaches, but it also goes to our fans. since the ravens came to baltimore and in my experience in the last quarter years, there's not a better stadium in the league. >> as far as playoff scenarios, we will talk about that later in sports. now we go to the stadium where kim dacey has been hanging out with a bunch of happy ravens fans. >> they are very excited about the win. they are already looking towards the post season. >> ravens all the wa

pete's mom is videochatting me, and she wants her pen back! ok, alright, well. i just got one.eah, you've got a little... yep, i can feel the wet patch. don't look at it. when it's on your mind, it's on ebay.

pete is right. durable, because the polls are reflecting that the voters now believe that he is electable. that he will defeat barack obama in a general election. that is a difference. used to be romney was electable but nobody wanted him. >> bret: let me interrupt you there. we have two other polls from the new polls out tonight. vote for president. if the election were held today, president president obama gets 44% to mitt romney 42%. that is within the margin of error plus or minus three. newt gingrich is at 46% for president obama. 40% for newt gingrich. >> it's true in the fox poll that romney is more electable in this poll. there have been others that have been out recent day days tt show what i think is surprising results. that the primary voters now believe that newt gingrich is electable in a general election. i don't agree with that contention. i think it damaged the general election candidate and the republicans i spoke to in the last five days are terrified. some of them make jokes about

pete, did you forget yours? me pete, me use pen! (laughter) sorry i'm late, i was in the 16th century looking for pete's pen. (laughter) guys, guys. take it easy, ok? pete's mom is videochatting me, and she wants her pen back! ok, alright, well. i just got one. so... yeah, you've got a little... yep, i can feel the wet patch. don't look at it. when it's on your mind, it's on ebay. . >>> we have breaking news out of san francisco tonight where firefighters are battle a three- alarm fire. another fire tonight in the city. that fire is bushing in a building on utah street between 24th and 25th street near san francisco general hospital. we have a crew on the way to that blaze and will bring you an update from the scene as soon as pob. >>> going to the grocery store can be challenging, but this morning a trip to safeway took a turn for disaster for an elderly man. as patti lee shows us it's lucky this trip didn't end up worse. >> reporter: it took 15 seconds to turn this safeway into a makeshift motorway. >> i saw the car or pickup truc