sheri, thanks very much. appreciate it. >>> meanwhile, a defense spending bill is on its way to president obama's desk. the senate approved the measure following weeks of political wrangling over the handling of terror suspects. it also reflects a decision to get tougher on iran and tighten limits on u.s. overseas funding and spending. allison. >>> well, tony, a few fireworks in iowa. the republican presidential candidates faced off last night in their final debate before next month's first-in-the- nation nominating contest. doug luzader wraps up the action. reporter: newt gingrich walked into this debate as the frontrunner, but as we saw last night, iowa is still pretty much up for grabs. the debate stage itself shows how the race in iowa has changed. the former house speaker newt gingrich front and center, leading the polls and oftentimes last night taking heat for, among other things, his work for mortgage giant freddie mac. >> you don't need to be within the technical definition of being a lobbyist to sti

i'm shery ahn, stay tuned for more at the top of the next hour.

where it is and why you might need to head sheri >>> the midwest may be the best place to find a job in the new year. a survey asked employers all over the country how they expected job numbers to change next year. the survey found that the country should gain jobs in 2012 and the midwest is expected to see a 10% increase. >>> you try what you are about to see and the secret service will take you do so fast your head would spin. this is cooper wagner who stuck his fingers into the president of the united states' mouth. it happened as the president greeted service members from hawaii. the president clearly is a father. that is not a father who doesn't know what is it like to have a hand stuck in your mouth like that and those nails as they gre grate on the bottom of your tongue. >> it will take the president's lower lip right off there. >> how about this weather? it's cold. >> if we can keep it around the rest of the winter a lot of people would be happy. a mild day today. 50 degrees again here in december. that is six degrees warmer than average. the really mild stuff will go away fo

sheri, good morning.ave been down this road before and once then again this budget showdown is going down to the wire, but both republicans and democrats are signaling they will get this deal done to avoid a government shutdown at midnight. congressional leaders reached an agreement on a $1 trillion spending bill, the bipartisan compromise would keep the government running through next september. lawmakers must still give their approval. house republicans plan to bring the spending bill up for debate today. a deal is also in the works to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance, but there is not much time left to get it done. >> we're better than all of this. congress is better than this, and we've gotta prove it. and this is going to be an opportunity. so let's all join hands and do what we know needs to be done for our country. >> we are working hard to figure a way to resolve the remaining differences on the payroll tax extension and the related issues that are important to both sides, and

i'm shery ahn. i'm shery ahn. thank you for watching. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com . . .

i'm shery ahn. thank you for watching. . .

i'm shery ahn. north korea television has described kim jong-un as the leader of the party, the state and the military. it seems to be trying to show there's been a smooth transition of power from his late father kim jong-il. korean state-run television says kim jong-un wented from to the palace to pay respects to his late father whose body is lying in state there. after north korea's founder died in 1994 his son and successor kim jong-il also made two visits to pay his respects. a north korean television broadcast described kim jong-un as the discerning leader of the ruling party, the state and the military. the north korean government says it will allow any south korean group to visit pyongyang to express condolences for the death of leader kim jong-il. the committee for the peaceful reunification of the fatherland released a statement friday on its website. the south korean government decided earlier this week to permit some civilians to visit the north instead of sending an official delegation.