i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." the news continues next on cnn. >>> thanks for joining us. i'm jessica yellin. john king is off tonight. you'll see it here first. mitt romney's campaign responds to newt gingrich's cnn interview and his accusation that romney does not have the courage to debate one-on-one or defend his campaign's negative ads. >>> also -- gingrich says he won't vote for ron paul if the texas congressman wins the republican nomination. >>> plus -- a frightening day at country's biggest shopping mall and nothing to keep from happening the a mall near you. >>> first in iowa, the skating criticism newt gingrich levelled at two of his republican opponents, mitt romney and ron paul. just a short time ago wolf blitzer asked gingrich about the barrage of attack ads both romney and paul are running in iowa. republican voters caucus exactly one week from tonight. listen to some of what newt gingrich had to say about mitt romney. >> mitt romney made fun of you today. i don't know if you heard. >> no. >> about t

that is coming up in half an hour from now on "the situation room," wolf blitzer. >>> coming up nextere, though, congressman ron paul, also someone who would love to have the president's job, there we are live on capitol hill. we're going to talk to the congressman live. first, let's go back to president obama. >> the reason is because the payroll tax cuts is something that house republicans and senate republicans should want to do regardless of any other issues. the question is going to be, are they willing to vote against a proposal and go up by a thousand dollars. so it shouldn't be held hostage for any other issues that they may be concerned about. and so my warning is not just specific to keystone. efforts to tie a whole bunch of other issues by something that they should be doing any way will be rejected by me. with respect to the politics, look, this is a big project with big consequences we've seen express concerns about it and it is my job as president of the united states to make sure that a process is followed that examines all of the options, looks at all of the consequen

i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." the news continues next cnn. >> thanks for joining us. i'm candy crowley. john king is off tonight. mitt romney talks with cnn, answering newt gingrich's latest attacks and weighing in whether he'd vote for ron paul. >>> also, we'll talk with a former republican who is switching parties as a matter of principle, or is it political opportunism? >>> on the high seas what would become the biggest international crisis of the new year. a whop that will hit your car in the gas tank. >>> good evening, from des moines. we are only six days out from the iowa caucuses, and politically, at least, the ground here is shifting. tonight, mitt romney's riding on top of a new condition cnn poll of iowa republicans, laughing off the scathing criticism coming at him from newt gingrich. cnn's wolf blitzer climbed aboard romney's campaign bus today and asked about the attack ads that romney supporters are running against gingrich. >> this is part of the process. i'm not going to be -- we could all wish we had a utopian type political process but the campaign

eastern, wolf blitzer sits down with mitt romney.a caucuses america's choice live 2012. coverage begins tuesday night january 3rd at 7:00 p.m. eastern. we'll break it down and bring in the results as they come in for us. >>> a messy end to one of the wildest years of weather ever. heavy winds, howling winds and snow. will it mess with your new year's eve plans? >>> no, that isn't a float, a florida family's christmas surprise. python in the pool. >> i guess this always happens. what was the top song of 2011? >> i love this. i only found this out last night. >> some people might think it's the biebs, right? >> i was going to say an adele. everybody talks about it. lady gaga, katicatgaga, katy pe. >> keep guessing. we'll tell you the answer. >> don't google it. wait, come back and listen to us on it. we'll tell you what it is. >> we're back after this. [ ron orsini ] osteo bi-flex has been incredible for me, and i swear by it. [ male announcer ] osteo bi-flex with 5-loxin advanced™. shows improvement in joint comfort within 7 days. ost

let's bring in wolf blitzer, who i saw a little wolf blitzer, kermit the frog action happening.he was talking politics with you. >> he's going to be joining me here. a really special guest in "the situation room." kermit the frog. he's a journalist like you and me. >> obviously. >> there's a little picture of kermit. we had a great time together. i got to know him. he's deep. got some serious thoughts on what's going on in the world. kermit the frog and wolf blitzer. did you ever think a frog and a wolf would be on television together? >> a frog and a wolf and the newt. it was good tv. >> a newt. a frog, a wolf, a newt. it's all happening here in "the situation room." coming up at the top of the hour. you're going to want to see this interview and you know what you're going to do after? you'll tweet about it. >> you know me well, wolf blitzer, my friend. we'll look for that and more serious news coming up in the next hour. thank you very much. meantime, for me, nothing get new yorkers red faced quite like traffic. president obama's campaign coalition with christmas in today's po

now, to wolf blitzer. "the situation room" starts "the situation room" starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> that's very much. happening now, the battle over extending the payroll tax cut ends with house republicans abruptly giving into democrats, but the fallout may just be beginning. also, joe biden goes on the attack against mitt romney, sparking a war of words with the republican presidential candidates. and north korea in transition, but veiled in mystery. i was there on assignment exactly one year ago. i'll share with you what i saw in the world's most isolated country during my six days in north korea. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." the showdown over the payroll tax cut lasted for weeks, but the stalemate ended in a matter of minutes today after house republican leaders bowed to overwhelming pressure and gave into the democrats. today, the house approved the bill that got almost 90% of support in the senate. president obama signed it into law and the threat o

wolf blitzer on the campaign trail in iowa. a few minutes he will be on the bus with mitt romney. you can see wolf's interview with romney today on "the situation room" beginning at 4:00 p.m. eastern. we're following them all. we're trying to kep up as it gets into high gear. >>> well, they were the biggest news stories of 2011 from the occupy movement to the deadly tornadoes in the south. we'll show them to you. [ male announcer ] great tasting tap water can come from any faucet anywhere. the brita bottle with the filter inside. did you hear sam... ...got promoted to director? so 12 seconds ago. we should get him a present. thanks for the gift basket. you're welcome. you're welcome. did you see hr just sent out new... ...office rules? cause you're currently in violation of 6 of them. oh yeah, baby? ...and 7. did you guys hear that fred is leaving? so 30 seconds ago. [ noisemakers blow ] [ both ] we'll miss you! oh, facecake! there's some leftover cake. [ male announcer ] the new htc vivid. stay a step ahead with at&t 4g lte, w

will end up home jus get the answers you'n with you after the school board mehank y. >>> mittom wolf blitzerewolf, what interview. we were on the and it's rare that we havspeak with a fu fi t a lot of timelives, her illn matters. 'r we also spoke politics. clip because mitt right now, tohe criticism we heardgingrich. >> i don't know why he's look, this is a campaign about the things we belie i believe the ng led on a very unfortunatend pre that doesn't really understand i can get america working agn. >> and we also go into whether l would get the vote to president. we'll get his politics, lot >> indeed. the romneysl during the little. when they were talking that th but may have als and wg about that, got sent mental, tearful and enout her struggleas it was an emotional momeno tell something we don'tw about mitt romney and that's where the funn have to watch the int in "the situation room" dung5:00 p.m. hour and you might have >> live coverage of the first re caucuses begins here on cnn next tuesday. january 3rd and 7:00 p.m. eastern. more politics right now. it may not be that much of a stre

i was against it. >> our wolf blitzer with, of course, newt gingrich.minutes ago, shannon travis talked with a representative of michele bachmann and you'll hear some of that interview in our next hour. right now, though, a quick break. yoo-hoo. hello. it's water from the drinking fountain at the mall. [ male announcer ] great tasting tap water can come from any faucet anywhere. the brita bottle with the filter inside. nyqui tylenol: me, too. and cougnasal congestion.ers?r can come from any faucet anywhere. nyquil:what? tissue box (whispering): he said nasal congestion... nyquil: i heard him. anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't. this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people wanted to visit us... in louisiana. they came to see us in florida... nice try, they came to hang out with us in alabama... once folks heard mississippi had the welcome sign out, they couldn't wait to get here. this year was great but next year's gonna be even better. and anyone who knows

thank you so much. >> thank you. >>> mitt romney and his wife spoke with our wolf blitzer for today's up and wolf joins me live with a preview from clinton, iowa. wolf, what can we expect? >> well, it was a good interview. we were on the bus. the romney campaign bus and it's rare that we have the chance to speak with a future potential first lady, ann romney in this case, and her husband, so we spent a lot of time talking about their personal lives, her illness and some other personal matters. we're going to get to that, but we also spoke politics. i want to play this little clip because i asked -- i asked mitt romney, he's the front-runner right now, to discuss the criticism we heard yesterday from newt gingrich. >> i don't know why he's so angry. look, this is a campaign about the things we believe in. i believe the country's being led on a very unfortunate and destructive way by a president that doesn't really understand our economy or america. i can get america working again. that's why i'm running. >> and we also go into a bunch of other issues, whether or not he could potentiall

now to wolf blitzer. now to wolf blitzer. "situation room" starts now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> happening now, the race for the white house in the big picture. how does president obama fare against each of the republican hopefuls? we have some surprising new poll numbers just coming in. we're releasing them. also, shocking charges against iraq's vice president, sparking fears of a civil war in iraq. we're going to talk about that and a whole lot more with senator john mccain. he's blaming president obama. plus, the impasse over extending the payroll tax cut becomes a full fledged congressional showdown with a tax hike for millions of americans hanging in the balance. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> this just coming in. our brand new poll numbers hitting pitting president obama against the republican candidate. the survey puts each toe to toe the president and even though the election is still almost 11 months away, the results still troubling for the gop. let's go inside the numbers with

cnn's wolf blitzer joins us now. wolf, you were in north korea very recently.wolf, i want to tell you that i'm hearing the south korean government is in emergency response status after the death of kim jong-il. wolf, you were there recently. >> i was there last december. i spent six days in pyongyang. i went with former u.s. ambassador to the united nations bill richardson. and at the time, the assumption was that kim jong-il was sick, but that he was in decent shape. this is almost exactly a year ago when i was there. they were getting ready for a succession to his son. he had been making appearances and over the past year has been making a few appearances, although it's obviously a totally uncertain situation that's unfolding now because no one really has a good appreciation of the inner workings of what's going to happen inside north korea. reminds me of when his father died. we were uncertain what was going to happen. kim jong-il did eventually take over and he continued. the communist totalitarian regime. we don't know what's going to happen now. there's n

after newt gingrich, wolf blitzer sits down with mitt romney.at interview at 4:00 eastern and again at 5:00. this reminder, tune in tuesday night for the country's first true test for gop candidates. america's choice 2012. the live coverage of the caucuses in iowa begins tuesday night, january 3rd, 7:00 p.m. >>> expect washington to end 2011 with more finger pointing over the national debt. this week president obama plans to ask congress to raise the debt limit by $1.2 trillion to fund the government through most of next year. now this was all approved in that deal struck over the summer, so it's expected to pass, but it's still an increase. it's a big number. it could give the republican candidates some fresh talking points on the campaign trail. >>> let's turn our attention to international news and this morning in north korea the pageantry of a public funeral for kim jong il on full display. it was a three-hour event dominated state run television. it featured a tearful kim jong un, the youngest son now known as the great successor. cnn's pau

i'm wolf blitzer. i'm wolf blitzer.- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> donald trump is positioning himself as a king maker in the republican race and as a possible independent candidate. trump's political influence is under renewed scrutiny as he prepares to moderate a republican debate in iowa that's getting a poor response from most of the candidates. just today, rick perry announced he will not participate. for those reasons, i went to trump's office here in new york to talk about him, the campaign, the issues and of course, a lot more. thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you. >> nice building. >> pretty good. we've had some fun in this building over the years. >> we're going to talk about the book, time to get tough making america number one. talk about it later. let's talk about the debate. right now, it's a debate between santorum and gingrich. not much of a debate. >> i think you'll have others coming in. it's really a news max debate. i think you're going to have others coming in and coming many stron

however that all changed yesterday in an interview with wolf blitzer.n paul at a campaign stop just hours ago here in iowa he sought to explain why he's doing that. let's listen to what he had to say. >> i know this is hard for some of you to cover. you can fight in a positive way. you can be very strong in a positive way. you can talk about positive ideas. it's okay. you don't have to have a nasty, negative, mud slinging consultant driven campaign and i refuse to wren gage in that kind of politics and i think it's good for america to see somebody fight in a positive fight and not degenerate into the kind of junk that you see on tv recently. >> now, to be fair, newt gingrich is coming under fire from all sides. he's taking it from ron paul, from groups aligned with mitt romney. mitt romney himself has been attacking him. clearly what we're seeing from newt gingrich is he's trying to define his own message and his campaign and not allowing his rivals to do so. the big question is and paul do you think that is going hurt him with iowa voters? >> people al

i'm wolf blitzer. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room". -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com let's get right to the breaking news. a possible deal in the stalemate over extending the payroll tax cut for at least another two months, but potentially for the entire year. the year of 2012. we have all of our reporters standing by. let's go to our chief congressional correspondent, dana bash, he's up on capitol hill hill. for viewers just tuniing in, wht was just happened? >> what we expect is that the house republicans that they will not go for a short-term two-month extension of this payroll tax so that americans' taxes will not go up on january 1st, we believe they are going to give in, back down on that and they will in fact go for it. this deal is being worked out, the final details of it as we speak. but our understanding, jessica yellin, kate bolduan and myself, basically what we're hearing is that there's going to be some kind of tweak for republicans to save face politically and to be able to sell to th

wolf blitzer, next. >>> an about face for a kentucky church that had initially voted to ban interraciales. we told you about this ban just last week. this happened after a church mebl announce herd engagement it a black man. the congregation of a free will baptist church voted and most of the 40 members abstained. but the ban passed 9-6. >> for someone who has been going to that church for all her life, she was expecting support from them. but that -- everyone just fell off the bandwagon and passed a really harsh judgment on her and us and the family too. >> before i make a decision on anything, i like to go strictly by what the bible says. i tried every way possible that i could to resolve this matter before it got to where it did. >> you hear that? so even the pastor, the church's pastor, was against the ban. a lot happened. the congregation voted again, this time against the ban. >> i vote to accept all people, regardless of race, creed or color, and to accept everyone into the fellowship of christ. well do no more than grow from it. it made me stronger. it opened my eyes up to what

i'm wolf blitzer. i'm wolf blitzer.the situation room". -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com a new warning for president obama to congress. don't expegt to go off and enjoy your holiday unless you make sure working americans aren't stuck with a tax increase. it's another last minute attempt by the white house to get republicans to compromise, break partisan gridlock, but in the process, the president is letting go of a goal that's near and dear to so many democrats' hearts. let's go to dan lothian. he's working the story for us. what's the latest, dan? >> that's right. what he's letting go of is the fact that millionaires, he's always believed, should bear a heavier burden so it eases some of the burden on middle class americans. right now, the negotiations continue. there seems to be more of an optimistic tone to extend the payroll tax cut and to prevent a government shutdown, but so r far, no deals is so the president once again turned up the heat. with the clock winding down to a deadline, president obama put more p

wolf blitzer will interview newt gingrich later today. think that newt gingrich wishes this caucus is two weeks ago riding so high but he has come down quite a bit from there. >> you know, it's an amazing thing but there's still a week to go and they say politics, that could be a lifetime. i'm in iowa right now in and th candidates are nonstop today. they're going to be going. if you watch tv at all, in iowa, you can't help but see the commercials and a lot of them are really hammering newt gingrich. these are the attack ads coming out from the ron paul campaign, from the super pac that supports mitt romney, there's some other attack ads from rick perry's campaign so i mean, newt gingrich is really, really getting pounded here in iowa. trying to take the high road but i think maybe belatedly realizing you have to hit back when you're hit and taking the high road might not necessarily have been the strongest strategy looking at the narrowing in the polls. >> two stories out in the last two days, some cnn reporting, talking about his divorce

thank you. >>> well, newt gingrich is talking to our own wolf blitzer.n up in a few minutes. wolf blitzer joins me live from iowa. wolf, good to see you. what can we expect? >> we're going to have the former speaker of the house, the republican presidential candidate in dubuque, iowa, we'll talk about the campaign, talk about politics, talk about some substantive issues out there, domestic issues, economic issues, jobs, national security-related matters, a wide-ranging interview with the republican presidential front-runner, newt gingrich. he'll join us live this coming hour in "the situation room." tomorrow we'll have an interview with mitt romney here in iowa as well. so we're one week away, isha, so the stakes are enormous right now. >> a lot of big news to come. wolf we look forward to it. >>> we'll take a quick break. stay with us. you never take an upgrade for granted. and you rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i deserve th

i'm wolf blitzer in the situation room. the news continues next on cnn.

i'm wolf blitzer. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room". -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> the lines have been redrawn in the battle for the republican presidential nomination and after months of focusing his fight on president obama, mitt romney is now going after the newest front-runner, the former house speaker, newt gingrich. romney's latest assault is the classic campaign tactic of using the candidate's own words against him. joe johns is joining us now. take us inside romney's latest attack on gingrich. >> now we know that mitt romney apparently is not going to sit around and wait for newt gingrich to make a mistake as some have been suggesting. romney's on the offensive right now, but as far as we can tell, the former speaker hasn't exactly launched any kind of counterattack. down in the polls with weeks left until iowa caucuses, mitt romney makes his move. direct assault on the new front-runner, newt gingrich. starting right between the eyes. with the former speaker's conservative credential l

i'm wolf blitzer. i'm wolf blitzer.tion room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> we're at the new cnn election headquarters gearing up for iowa. game time in the republican race to take back the white house. and with just four days to go, emotions are running high. literally. voters saw a side of newt gingrich they rarely see when he got choked up a number of times talking about his late mother. let's bring in joe johns. he has the very latest. joe? >> it's not exactly what you would expect from one of the toughest talking guys in american politics, but there he was. former house speaker, newt gingrich, on the stage at java joe's in des moines, choked up and not able to hold back the tears after a question about his mother from gingrich's long time buddy and pollster, frank lunts. >> see, you got me emotional. i'm dealing with the real problems of real people in my family. and so, t not a theory. it's in fact, you know, my mother. >> it was by far the biggest moment in the campaign's trouble to humanize gingrich

wolf blitzer is going to be sitting down with newt gingrich today.teresting to see what he has to tell wolf. we'll see ron paul, who has the top spot in the most recent poll. the only candidate we're not going to see here, jon huntsman. he's back in new hampshire, placing all his chips on a strong finish in new hampshire. >> thanks. we'll see you a bit later. >>> let's turn to international news. al-qaeda in iraq is claiming responsibility for last week's barrage of attacks that killed almost 70 people. on its website, the group said the attacks were meant to support iraq's sunni minority. sunnis held power under hussein, but the leadership is dominated by shiite muslims closer to iran. the violence erupted days after the last american troops withdrew from iraq. >>> yemen's president may travel here to the united states. if he does, however, it comes with a condition. he'd only be allowed in for medical treatment. jill daugherty is following developments. are we going to see the president in the united states after all the bloodshed in his country of

i'm wolf blitzer. i'm wolf blitzer.'re in "the situation room". -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> let's begin with herman ca n cain. he just returned to his home a little while ago to have what is likely to be a very uncomfortable conversation with his wife. that talk could be key to deciding whether or not he stays in the race. cnn has learned that cain will meet with supporters and donors tomorrow before he publicly reveals the future of his campaign. jim acosta is following the cain controversy. what's the latest information we're getting? >> wolf, we told you yesterday about cain's plans to open up a new headquarters in atlanta tomorrow. turns out that's when and where cain says he will make a big announcement about the future of his campaign. >> as the cain train pulled into a town hall in south carolina, the candidate left no doubt the end of the line could come in weekend when he's scheduled to open up a new headquarters near atlanta. >> i will be making an announcement. we're going to be opening our head

he sits down with wolf blitzer >>> this is developing news, folks. pay attention. last hour. the los angeles angels have apparently won the albert pujols sweepstakes. they have agreed to a 10-year, ready, $250 million deal. must be nice. the deal includes a full no-trade clause. that's something pujols had been looking for in talks with the miami marlins but apparently didn't get it. he has played his entire major league career with the st. louis cardinals. they were in the bidding as of late yesterday. not anymore. >>> when "today show" host matt lawer hinted he may step down. this morning we hear that a successor just might be "american idol's" ryan see crest. we'll tell but that after the break. kidding. ryan always says that. kareen wynter. kareen, what's going on? >> what's going on? >> there have been talks? >> yes. yes. not a done deal, just talks. according to multiple reports, don, nbc has been talking to ryan see crest about his joining the "today show." neither side is commenting publicly. it means that seacrest and the entire e network are part of the n

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." he's not just the new republican presidential front-runner, newt gingrich is leading the republican pack by double digits in several brand-new polls. a gallop national survey of registered republicans shows him 15 points ahead of mitt romney. 37% to 22%. less than a month away from the iowa caucuses. a new cbs new york times poll has gingrich 14 points ahead of romney. as former front-runners know, top status meepz extra scrutiny and he was grilled about some of his past positions by conservatives. this is happening as we're meeting right now. jim acosta is watching all of this for us. what's the very latest? he's getting tough questions. >> his poll numbers have been good but it has been said his own worst enemy is newt gingrich. the two may have come face to face. >> glenn beck turns up the tea party heat on newt gingrich rubbing his nose in his past support for a individual mandate that requires americans to buy medical insurance as both a key pone ent in the new health care law an

speaking of this, let's go to wolf blitzer, standing by. your "the situation room" starts now. >> thanks very much. happening now, where republican front-runner newt gingrich gets grilled in an interview exposing potential weaknesses with conservatives. >>> president obama channelling a predecessor from a century ago, echos of republican president teddy roosevelt as mr. obama calls for greater economic equality. >>> records from mitt romney's term as governor missing. did he use taxpayer money to hide untold number of e-mails? we're picking up new information and he's also getting a nut ew endorse. . i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." he's not just the new republican presidential front-runner, newt gingrich is leading the republican pack by double digits in several brand-new polls. a gallop national survey of registered republicans shows him 15 points ahead of mitt romney. 37% to 22%. less than a month away from the iowa caucuses. a new cbs new york times poll has gingrich 14 points ahead of romney. as former front-runners kn

cnn's wolf blitzer in washington, kyra phillips and also in baghdad. i want to start off with you, in covering president bush what struck me always was the moving goal posts. first the definition of winning this war. in the beginning it was about going after weapons of mass destruction. then it turned into liberating the iraqi people from saddam hussein and then bringing democracy to the middle east. how does president obama define winning this war? what does he walk away with? >> reporter: he's not going to save the united states as a mission accomplished moment or winning the war. he's very precise in his words. 's not going to do any high-fiving or anything like that right now as almost all u.s. troops will be out of iraq by the end of this month. he's going to be cautious because he and all of his advisors are fully aware, they've basically told me and a lot of other people, of their deep concerns that no one knows where this government of nuri al-maliki, the prime minister of iraq, is going to go. will they strengthen the relationship with iran, th