pfizer's dividend increase didn't help its stock price today either. shares dropped a fraction. they were at a five-month high friday. in addition to the dividend hike, pfizer also okayed spending up to $10 billion in more stock buybacks. the return of the european worries after the weekend was underscored by the selling of european-focused exchange traded funds. with the credit agencies skeptical of the latest deal, these funds fell by at least 4%. the italian, german and spanish e.t.f.'s all fell in sympathy to their home stock markets. and illustrative of today's appetite of less risk, even gold fell-- down almost 3%. it's the steepest drop in gold prices in almost three months. silver fell to $31 dollars an ounce, a drop of nearly 4%. copper fell more than 2.5%. finally, the troubles for nut and snack company diamond foods continue. the company expects to miss the filing deadline for its quarterly results as it continues an internal audit into payments for walnut growers. that delay sent shares into a tailspin, losing more than a fifth of their value. even so, they remain ab

. >> reporter: lipitor brings in $11 billion a year for pfizer. in an effort to hang on to the profits, pfizer is offering deep discounts and incentives to patients and insurance companies making lipitor as cheap or cheaper than the generic. pfizer is also offering insured patients a discount card to get lipitor for just $4 a month. that's way less than the average he could pay for typical generic drugs. >> some people $40, $50 he could pay that's a tough co-pay to spend every month and may only take half the pill. >> i'm on a fixed income and i will probably take it for the rest of my life. >> reporter: and what matters most is that the drug helps her heart stay healthy. randall pinkston, cbs news, new york. >>> horses can now be slaughtered in the u.s. for human consumption. congress has lifted a ban on funding for horse meat inspections. that means facilities that slaughter horses could ship meat if they pass federal inspection. since there is no market for horse meat here in the u.s., it would likely be shipped to europe and asia. supporters o

drug companies that being said the money reportedly amounted to less than three weeks worth of pfizer drug sales the pharmaceutical industry remains the most profitable business in the u.s. more success and financial gain for the companies will always remain possible as long as more americans are encouraged to take drugs in a fortnight r.t. new york but such a council of business news now in the tosh. it's almost twenty four minutes past the hour welcome to the business program on r t o's two thousand and eleven is coming to an end to business or to you looks back at the highlights of the year the stews they will focus on the nord stream pipeline one of the most important international projects in the energy sector it started taking gas from russia to germany in the for the meantime a design co reports on what it took to launch the longest subsea pipeline in the world. they said it wouldn't be possible too expensive too long too complicated nevertheless not stream came to life it took four years of planning and eighteen months of construction and the pipeline was launched on the eight

> the name of the book is in the shuttle of the oval office profiles of the national security at pfizer's and the presidents they served from jfk to george w. bush. simon and schuster publishers and professor i.m. destler is the co-author along with daalder. >> it was created with eisenhower and 53 because we wanted personal policy aide to manage the lubber ret paul will you. but it was created semi into the accidentally when he brought the bundy to the white house and the administration was a of a job available called assistance to the national security affairs. would you like it? kennedy knew exactly what he didn't want. he didn't want an eisenhower process that only involved the rest of the people. what he would want was a person close at him who would be sure he got brain development and that's connected him to officials of various levels of government that didn't undercut the secretary of the st. but. spearman what was the eisenhower then created? >> you wanted to have a glow were and despite what are the basic policy approach to the major issues and major parts of the world. as we p

drug companies that being said the money reportedly amounted to less than three weeks worth of pfizer drug sales the pharmaceutical industry remains the most profitable business in the u.s. more success and financial gain for the companies will always remain possible as long as more americans are encouraged to take drugs. r.t. new york but a few minutes to russia reacts as we talk to the deputy foreign minister to assess the year's ups and downs and look ahead to the country's global prospects for next year that's often business but it's in the touch him. it's twenty four minutes past the hour welcome to the business program here on r.t. as twenty eleven is coming to an end of business r.t. looks back at the highlights of the year this tuesday with focus on the north stream pipeline one of the most important international projects in the energy sector it started taking gas from russia to germany in november and we don't call reports on what it took to launch the longest subsea pipeline in the world. they said it wouldn't be possible too expensive too long too complicated nevertheless

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destler, the author inn chateau the oval office profile of the national security of pfizer's when the presidents they served from jfk to george w. bush. thanks for your time. >> it's been a pleasure. thank you for having me. the making of africa and america is the name of the book. professor year the university of maryland is the author and the subtitle for great migrations i gave the title greater recourse the trans-atlantic slave trade in the first middle passage, the movement of some 400,000 african to the mainland north america. second, migration is the internals late trade the movement over a million the old south as it is sometimes called the black belt to the deep south, georgia, alabama, mississippi, louisiana, across the mississippi river. third, great migration being the movement of black people from the deep south from the soft to the cities of the north and the 20 at century. the total is over 6 million, and of course the migration which is just beginning in 1965 that this the change if our immigration law is that have brought people of african descent from all over the wo

pfizer, which makes lipitor, has lost its patent protection on the drug. it happened today.t means co-pays are going to drop from as high as $45 a month to as little as $4 a month. >> in this economy, a generic coming out cheaper co-pay is not is not bad. we could have greater compliance. people could afford it. >> doctors say that many people say that the generics are inferior but generics are made with the same active ingredients. lipitor brings in $11 billion a year for pfizer. >>> some new research today shows eating fish may be one way to prevent alzheimer's. university of pittsburgh researchers tracked 260 patients all of them in their 70s. they tracked them for 15 years. they discovered 31% of those who did not eat fish developed either alzheimer's or dementia. that is compared to 3 to 8% of those who did eat fish regularly. but in order for the fish to help, it had to be baked or grilled, not fried. >>> wind advisories and wind warnings in effect for the bay area until thursday 6 p.m. and it is just equally as windy in the high sierra all the way through thursday. yo

pfizer led the dow on its $10 billion stock buy back. urban outfitters led the s&p on fast rising sales. finally, headlining last night's elizabeth taylor jewelry auction at christie's in new york, a pearl richard burton gave to taylor estimated to sell for $2 to $3 million sold for a world record, just under $12 million. imagine what her diamond will go for. >>> coming up, a complete wrap-up of nhl highlights on the ice. and a big free agent signing in the nba. plus, you've seen them in practically all other sports. why not the world's longest shot in hockey? your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. >>> and the warm weather, the rain in the middle of the country is heading for the east coast. you're watching "early today." >>> good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, last season the denver nuggets were forced to trade away one superstar, so their top priority this season was holding onto one of the league's top free agents. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports hea

pfizer's lipitor lost patent protection.t opens the door to generic versions of the cholesterol fighter which experts say could be discounted by as much as 80%. and the u.s. could hit a milestone this year. government figures show that for the first time in more than 60 years, we're on track to export more petroleum products than we import due to slow economic growth in the u.s. and growth in emerging countries like brazil and mexico. poppy harlow has a look at what's coming up in business news. pop poppy? >> thanks so much. the upcoming week on wall street will bring reports on manufacturing, the service sector, consumer sentiment and foreclosures and, of course, europe will continue to be a major focus as treasury secretary timothy geithner travels across the continent, he will meet with euro zone leaders to discuss efforts to resolve the debt crisis there. football fans listen up, on tuesday you will be able to buy stock, that's right stock, in the green bay packers for $250 a share. it's the fifth stock offering in the p

pfizer led the dow on its $10 billion stock buy back.rban outfitters led the s&p on fast rising sales. finally, headlining last night's kings lost five straight boston winning 3-0. >>> sabres and senators needed overtime. eric karlsson fed cowen in front of the net. miller with a season high 41 saves but couldn't stop that one. ottawa won it 3-2 in o.t. >>> finally predator's shea weber has the hardest shot in the league and can it do it from long distance. took a shot from high above the ice. looked like it was going to the right and it was, right into the net. that was a three-point shot in hockey, he had it. that's your first look at sports. >>> let's get another check of the weather with bill karins. bill good morning once again. >> continuing to watch warm conditions out there especially throughout areas of the east. we've warmed it up significantly up through new england especially over the last 24 hour. 38 in boston, 39 in new york. it will be sunny and beautiful day in most cases. the only areas that will be an exception will be

one of the health care stocks moving higher was drug maker pfizer. shares rose 2.5% on heavier than usual volume. p-f-e stock was able to break above $20 per share to close at its highest price since late july. a study of a bladder medicine in elderly patients had encouraging results. fellow drug market eli lilly led the health care sector, jumping almost 4%. it received a bullish research note from the analyst at bernstein who thinks shares could surge if it gets positive results next year from an alzheimer's treatment. a note worthy milestone for mcdonald's. today's less than 1% gain may not seem like much, but it is enough to push m-c-d to an all- time high. over the past year, mcdonald's is up about 20%. casual restaurant operator darden restaurants saw its share price drop more than 12%. darden runs the olive garden and other chains. its quarterly outlook was disappointing, pushing the stock to close less than $1 off its 52 week low hit in early october. a couple of apparel retailers were moving after the close tonight. women's clothing store ta

now that the generic is coming in, pfizer is marketing it at $4 a month and pfizer is pushing to getonth. which is lower than some of the wal-mart prices and things that we've talked about in the past. big news. >> they can control the market. here's the bigger question. if i'm out there and i'm wondering, pfizer didn't make this lipitor. should i buy it? what would you say to them? >> the ingredients and the component of the medication has to be identical, has to be the same and the f.d.a. looks very seriously into this. the way it works, the color of the pill, the shape of the pill may be different but the ingredient has to be the same cholesterol lowering medication and the generic name and i think like now patients can get this medication for much lower price. it's great for consumers. this doesn't apply to medicare patients, by the way. >> and doctor, they knew the day was coming in pfizer. it will affect their price and value. >> they're reaching out to all the people out there to insurance companies and pharmaceuticals to make sure they get the medication at a low price. >> go

we learned today pfizer, the company that makes it, has seen its sales cut in half in a week with theic on the market. costs about a third of the brand name. lipitor brought in $13 billion last year. in the cholesterol-lowering business, it's the big ticket drug. >>> up next here tonight, we'll tell you what's being banned in seattle and why. >>> any discussion of the economy in 2011 and what really cost more this year will have to begin with the price of gas. according to a new a.p. analysis the typical american household will have spent $4,155 on gas this year. that amounts to 8.4% of the median family income in this country. that would make it the biggest percentage of household income spent on gas since 1981. >>> just as there have always been saab people, perhaps there was a saab in your family or you knew somebody who drove one, there will be fewer of them. today saab formally declared itself bankrupt. they stopped making cars nine months ago. they have now given up hope of making a go of it. after making saabs for 64 years this is how it ends. one analyst speculated today that

. >> warner: now pfizer, though, is fighting back against generic competitors. >> yes, they are. it's kind of like trying to hold back the tide because in six months because of a variety of legal reasons there will be many generic manufacturers and at that point pfizer can't keep fighting them all back. i think what it's trying to do is just preserve whatever franchise it can in the waning months of its availability on the market and, frankly, i'd rather that all of that enormous creativity they're showing in ways of dealing with this legally and through deals and economically were being spent on developing new products rather than figure out ways to get people not to use the generic. >> warner: explain what they're trying to do. it's quite a novel approach. >> it involves arranging deals with prescription benefit management companies to not make the generic available. it involves making coupons available to patients to bring down the co-pay to get them to stay on lipitor as opposed to the generic. it involves a variety of side deals with insurers, with druggists, anybody who's a

to illicit really good drugs is a very dangerous now one is a little safer but you should not sure pfizer america's most profitable pharmaceutical company makes anti-depressants not only for people but also for adam in two thousand i love pharma giant the two point three billion dollars to settle civil and criminal allegations over illegally marketing one of its drugs it was the largest health care fraud settlement in the middle by to ever leave by all u.s. drug company that being said the money reportedly amounted to less than three weeks more of a prize or drugs that the pharmaceutical industry remains the most profitable business in the u.s. more success in financial gain for the companies will always remain possible as long as more americans are encouraged to take drugs. r.t. new york it was of the business desk that would attach. its almost twenty four minutes past the hour welcome to the business program here in our teeth as twenty eleven is coming to an end to business archie looks back at the highlights of the year the stews that will focus on the north stream pipeline one of the

pfizer is not going down without a fight.hey are offering a discount card which would be cheaper than the generic. >> 36 degrees on tv hill. president obama campaigning in new york city. >> baltimore annual running festival has, and got a we are learning how much money it pumped into the local economy. >> give your vehicle time to heat up this morning. >> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. hopefully you are doing well. the major roads are. the north and west side, you can see speed sensors not picking up any delays. the j.f.x. is problem free all the way into town. there will be some closures at 9:00 a.m. this morning on not vernon from charles to cathedral because of the monument lighting tonight. also some closures expected along charles. 55 on southbound 95. for the south on 95 come speeds around 53. so far so good on the b-w parkway. this is 70 at 29. east and westbound traffic checking out just fine. this is 95 at white marsh. no delays

we learned today pfizer, the company that makes it, has seen its sales cut in half in a week with theic on the market. costs about a third of the brand name. lipitor brought in $13 billion last year. in the cholesterol-lowering business, it's the big ticket drug. >>> up next here tonight, we'll tell you what's being banned in seattle and why. this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people came to louisiana... they came to see us in florida... make that alabama... make that mississippi. the best part of the gulf is wherever you choose... and now is a great time to discover it. this year millions of people did. we set all kinds of records. next year we're out to do even better. so come on down to louisiana... florida... alabama... mississippi. we can't wait to see you. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. and get a cold... ...you need a cold medicine with a heart. only coricidin hbp has a heart, right here. it's the only cold and flu brand that won't raise your blood pressure. coricidin hbp. powerful cold medicine with a heart. how abo

we learned today pfizer, the company that makes it, has seen its sales cut in half in a week with theic on the market. costs about a third of the brand name. lipitor brought in $13 billion last year. it's the big ticket drug. >>> up next here tonight, we'll tell you what's being banned in seattle and why. this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people came to louisiana... they came to see us in florida... make that alabama... make that mississippi. the best part of the gulf is wherever you choose... and now is a great time to discover it. this year millions of people did. we set all kinds of records. next year we're out to do even better. so come on down to louisiana... florida... alabama... mississippi. we can't wait to see you. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. and get a cold... ...you need a cold medicine with a heart. only coricidin hbp has a heart, right here. it's the only cold and flu brand that won't raise your blood pressure. coricidin hbp. powerful cold medicine with a heart. how about the beat of a healthy heart? campbe

illicit really good drugs is a very dangerous there one is a little safer but you're just not sure pfizer america's most profitable pharmaceutical company makes anti-depressants not only for people but also for atomised in two thousand i the form a giant p two point three billion dollars to settle civil and criminal allegations over illegally marketing one of its drugs it was the largest health care fraud settlement and terminal by two ever been paid by all u.s. drug companies that being said the money reportedly amounted to less than three weeks worth of buys or drug sales the pharmaceutical industry remains the most profitable business in the u.s. more success and financial gain for the companies will always remain possible as long as more americans are encouraged to take drugs in a fortnight archie need. but a few minutes to russia reacts as we talk to the deputy foreign minister to assess the year's ups and downs and look ahead to the country's global prospects for next year that's off the business bulletin isha. it's twenty four minutes past the hour welcome to the business program h

that is after pfizer's and the to keep people on the medication. generic versions cost one-third the price of lipitor. time now is 5:51. >>> he is now the subject of an investigation. >>> and a six foot tall surprise for needy families around the bay area and it is coming from oregon. >>> traffic is looking good after the gillman exit, we have more coming up, stay tuned. . >>> welcome back, we will show you the latest on wall street. the dow jones industrial average opened and the numbers are surging after the opening bell. this is good news regarding germany. you can see currently the dow jones industrial average is up 230 points, s&p 500 is up 25. >>> and former meadow park, police say a coach confessed to stealing two ipad from two students. he turned himself in. the two ipad were later found at his apartment. this case has been sent to the san mateo district's office and they once suspected two people steel backpacks in the same area. >>> high speed rail project, last night they voted to formally call for an end to the high speed rail project.

. >> the maker pfizer is working with insurers to lower co-payments to hold on to many customers as possible and says more than 17 million people have been prescribed lipitor. adding up to $5 billion in sales last year in the us use research shows eating fish is tied to a drop in alzheimer's risks. doctors say people who eat fish once per week are three to five times less likely to develop either als hiker's disease or a related condition. doctors believe regular fish consumption makes neurons in the brain matter larger and healthier. keep in mind only baked and broiled fish showed this benefit. fried fish did not. >> grabbing a snack between brak fast and lunch could sab tauj wet loss efforts, researchers found older women with a mid morning snack lose less weight than those who who don't, mid morning snackers lost 7% of the body weight compared to 11%. researchers think it might be a reflection of mindless eating habits. >> turning to business news now. yahoo bids are in. so who is making them there, is a huge rally for stocks today. those stories and more let's go live at bloomberg west w

pfizer sold nearly $11 billion worth of lipitor last year. >>> there are reports two private investor groups may buy all of yahoo. if it goes through, that deal can be worth more than $25 billion. there are companies interested in buying yahoo operationels but this is a first. yahoo stock reported after hours trading on that news. >>> burger king will make you pay for toys all this is due to a new law in effect today. >>> who pull the trigger and has everyone talking? >>> good morning, southbound traffic looks pretty good as you head to the sunole grade and we will tell you about the morning commute and a new problem in pleasantton just popped up. . >>> goods morning, a little bit of slow traffic we have a problem in the valley and we will tell you more in just a minute. >>> they are charging for toys in kids meals and the charge only applies to restaurants in san francisco. it applies to a new city law which goes into effect today and the law prohibits restaurants giving out toys with kids meals that don't meet strict nutritional standards. >>> they are helping bay area schools while

lipitor is the all-time best selling prescription drug, bringing in a peak of nearly $13 billion for pfizeralmost $11 billion last year. today, its patent protection expired. a huge drug company in india has also received fda approval to launch its own generic version. >>> the agency has had to back pedal after it disputed information by dr. oz of arsenic. they may have to issue new safety guidelines. >>> finally, crab lovers can get those local dungeonous delights. it started two weeks ago, but was delayed in a dispute between fishermen and buyers over price. they finally settled on $2.25 a pound. so far, restaurants say the crab looks good, and they're hoping for a long season. >>> the wind warning in effect around the bay. the wind advisory as well. just picked up something on live stormtracker 2, that's pretty interesting. in the richmond, san rafael bridge. gusts to 38 miles per hour out of the north. see this arrow? that's a north wind. that wind is blowing perpindicular to the bridge. you're having issues tonight. also on the bay bridge, strong winds perpindicular. over here on the g

. >> and the fda approved pfizer's pneumonia vaccine for adults 50 and older. the older set now can get vaccinated as well. back to "lock up." ♪ >>> due to mature subject matter, viewer discretion is advised. ♪ ♪ baby, every day i sit around while i play ♪ ♪ my harmonica thinking about you ♪ ♪ wishing i could hold you like i used to do ♪ hit it. ♪ that's it. >>> holman's ad-seg unit houses roughly 200 inmates, some of which are the most violent and dangerous. steven parker is one of the most notorious. >> i'm in maximum security. i'm stuck in a lockup cell. they may not ever let me out of lockup because i have a tendency, every time i get out, i try to kill somebody. i go completely calm. i make up my mind what i'm going to do. i go into these zones where i turn into this cold-blooded. i don't know what causes it, other than just being depressed and feeling like i have nothing else to lose and nothing else to live for. i grew up pretty rough. my mother left when i was real young. i lived with my stepmother and my dad. and my stepmother, she was really hateful.

pfizer lost over lipitor. they generated nearly $8 billion just in the u.s. in the past year alone.et has arrived in after zban. producers worked with two afghan tv stations to develop a show around afghan life along with big bird, elmo and the rest of the sesame street gang. it will begin airing today. >> a close encounter of the jaws kind. check this out. we will have more details and video coming up when we go down to the wire in 20. >> and now take a look. >> the challenge is not simply to replace obama in 2012. the real challenge is who and what we will replace him with. >> they want the former alaska governor to get into the race which begs the question, when is late too late? msnbc's richard has been scouring for the possibilities and what are they? >> we talked about this several times and we have to ask it again. late is getting later. fuelled by the gop races ups and downs. it is starting to sound more prudent. to get the nomination you would need half of that plus one. the estimates resolve around 1143, but that could change. if a candidate thinks they can win all the del

lipitor is the all-time best selling prescription drug, bringing in a peak of nearly $13 billion for pfizer billion last year. today, its patent protection expired. a huge drug company in india has also received fda approval to launch its own generic version. >>> the agency has had to back pedal after it disputed information by dr. oz of arsenic. they may have to issue new safety guidelines. >>> finally, crab lovers can get those local dungeonous delights. it started two weeks ago, but was delayed in a dispute between fishermen and buyers over price. they finally settled on $2.25 a pound. so far, restaurants say the crab looks good, and they're hoping for a long season. >>> the wind warning in effect around the bay. the wind advisory as well. just picked up something on live stormtracker 2, that's pretty interesting. in the richmond, san rafael bridge. gusts to 38 miles per hour out of the north. see this arrow? that's a north wind. that wind is blowing perpindicular to the bridge. you're having issues tonight. also on the bay bridge, strong winds perpindicular. over here on the golden gate

in the 12 months since, pfizer has increased 20% in terms of the stock price and merck too.at is the marketplace telling you? >> first of all i am very pleased we stayed about the same because for a long time we were very much down in terms of our stock price. >> because of vioxx. >> it was this year. initially i think the issue we had to do more with an issue that came in the pipeline with a drug called forecasta which was one of the most important drugs in development. i will say this about r&d. at merck, science and translating cutting edge science and genetically important product always improves the core of what is defined as its purpose in the world. without commenting on anyone else's strategy, i think the position that i took was consistent with merck's core values and what merck's strengths are. when one runs a company like merck with long lead times in terms of development, it is important to keep in mind you are not necessarily learning the company for immediate reaction of the stock market. obviously i could tell you it is better to have the stock go up than down

p in pfizer is silent.er susan wright in north carolina. good luck to everybody. last month, hiring in the retail sector was the strongest since 2007, i should say. so where are the best places to look if you want a holiday job and could they actually turn into a permanent job? cheryl casone from the fox business network joins me now. cheryl, you did your research and you'd like to start in brookstone. >> i want to start in brookstone. all five companies holiday jobs that could be full time. i had the ceo on my fox business show last week, he brought in some of the products they'll be selling. i asked him are you going to be hiring? here's what he said. >> i think we're hiring smarter this year. our growth last year was a lot of pop-up stores. this year, we take the best of those stores, about 125 and opened 125 seasonal stores and spent a lot more time on training. we spent a lot more time on hiring associates up front so they can spend time and understand all of our great products and how to present those

you have ibm, home depot, pfizer rounding out the top. alcoa, hewlett packard, j. p.ase and ciscoe making up the five worst performers. the dow is up 5% this year. all of those dow stocks trade down here on the floor of the new york stock exchange. but the dow would be negative if it weren't for gains from ibm, mcdonald's and chevron, believe it or not. those are point gains, not percent gains. so many people are going for the big stocks these days. the russell 2,000 is not doing well so far at all this year. >> a lot of folk hoping that we'll get off to a good start in 2012 as well. they look at the holiday shopping numbers to see where we're standing. how did we do now that we are a few days past the holiday shopping season. >> december 26th, the day after christmas, was a great shopping day. in fact, shopper track says it was the fourth best shopping day of the year. $7billion rung in. that was a gain of 26% over last year. we were getting the discounts and we found them the day after christmas. i went shopping yesterday, steve and all those deals that i saw in the

pfizer drug is already a stand arrested vaccination for infant and young children but the fda says 300,000re hospitalized every year for pneumonia infections. >> well if you think it is tough getting people to cooperate with doctors, imagine working with a 400 pound gorilla. abc tonight on turning primates into patients. here's dan. >>reporter: gino has a pretty curby life at disney animal kingdom in orlando where he spends his days lazy eating leaves and fruit in front of adoring crowds with his 3 females and little baby on han hand. but gino has a bad hear heart. heart disease is a common problem among gorillas. especially males. >> news across north america and world is that 40 percent of our gorillas have heart problems. >>reporter: people at disney turned to human cardiologist for help who in turn suggested giving the gorilla ultrasound test. but that was not easy. >> really had to dart animal in order to do that. >>reporter: firing a dart gun at them. >> exactly. so obviously that is stressful for animal and people. >>reporter: the doctor said they needed them wide awake and not seda

pfizer lost u.s. patent protection over the cholesterol drug lipitor wednesday, and in an 11th hour decision last night the u.s. food and drug administration granted the indian company rambaxi the approval to sell a generic version. lipitor generated nearly $8 billion in u.s. based sales in the past year alone. >>> santa claus was hanging by a thread when he tried to lower himself by rope into a florida shopping mall. santa's beard apparently got caught in his climbing gear and he dangled for several minutes until he was able to free himself while dozens of children below were watching and we're happy to report santa's pride was the only thing that was hurt. he is okay. taking his pictures with the kids. it is now four minutes past the hour. let's go back outside to matt. >> a little embarrassing. >> slightly. >> thank you very much. mr. roker's got the weather. >>> obviously the reindeer is stuck in the restroom. santa couldn't quite get in there. where are you guys from? >> kansas city. >> kansas ci