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Payroll Tax Cut Extension Causing Gridlock on Capitol Hill; Eye on New North Korean Leader; Former Executive Stuck in Low-Paying Job; Inside North Korea After Death of Leader; Winter Weather Derails Some Travel Plans; Rick Santorum Receives Big Endorsement in Iowa

Aired December 20, 2011 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Live from CNN Center I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Want to get you up to speed for this day, Tuesday, December 20th.

Well, time running out on a deal. House Democrats and Republicans, they are fighting over a payroll tax cut. It could soon hit home for your family's finances as well. Republicans, they don't like the Senate-passed two-month extension. They want a conference committee to work out a year-long deal. It's causing all kinds of gridlock.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE SPEAKER: Our members do not want to just punt and do a two-month, short-term fix where we have to come back and do this again. We're here, we're willing to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: It's just the radical Tea Party Republicans who are holding up this tax cut for the American people and jeopardizing our economic growth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: North Korea's newly declared "great successor" steps to the forefront. Kim Jong-un today visited the mausoleum where the body of his father, Kim Jong-il, is lying in state in a glass coffin. It is the first time the 20-something-year-old has appeared in public since his father's death. He has inherited the North Korean leadership, including its nuclear arsenal. Many around the world are worried about how he's going to lead.

State-run TV continues to show pictures like these, North Koreans weeping uncontrollably as they supposedly mourn the death of the so- called "Dear Leader." The nation is now in an 11-day official mourning period.

Reactions from the international community to the death of Kim Jong-il are somewhat muted. South Korea's government did express its sympathy to the people of North Korea, but will not be sending a government delegation. And the last U.S. airmen coming home from Iraq arrived today. They touched down on U.S. soil just a short time ago. They have got a lot of great supporters welcoming them home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIANA THOMPSON, USO: It's just very special to show that we care, and it doesn't matter whether you were, you know, for the operation or against it. These people volunteered to go and to defend our country, and you just have to appreciate what they've done for us, and you have to tell them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Since the start of the war almost nine years ago, 4,500 U.S. military personnel were killed, another 30,000 injured, and an estimated 150,000 Iraqis lost their lives.

So there's a major winter storm ripping through the nation's midsection, putting holiday travel plans on hold for millions of folks now. We are talking about parts of Texas, New Mexico and Kansas especially hard-hit.

So this is what it looked like in southwest Kansas last night. Close to a foot of snow coming down.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MALVEAUX: Well, former Penn State coach Joe Paterno is out of a Pennsylvania hospital. A source close to the family says that he was released Friday. He had been there for a week recovering from a fractured hip. He also has lung cancer. Now, Paterno lost his coaching job at the height of the child sex abuse scandal involving his long-time defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

So, this is the kind of political gridlock that could have a very real impact on your family's bottom line. A two-month extension of the payroll tax cut passed the Senate, but it is now languishing in the House. If something doesn't give soon, the average American family is going to pay the price.

What are we talking about? Without a deal, taxes are going to go up for many Americans in January. The average increase, about $1,000, but there is a wide range here. So, we are talking about if you make $35,000 a year, you're going to pay $700 more. If you make 110,000, your taxes are going to go up by more than $2,300.

Kate Bolduan, at the center of all of this on Capitol Hill, with the very latest.

So, Kate, explain to us right now, what is the holdup here?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The holdup on where we are today -- because it seems to change a little bit, Suzanne -- but the holdup here today has to do with the short-term extension. The Senate, over the weekend, as we discussed, they passed a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut with Democratic and Republican support. House Republicans are opposed to this two-month extension.

They say that it does not solve the problem, it does not do what the payroll tax cut is supposed to do, which is stimulate the economy. It doesn't provide the certainty that they need, so they are opposed to the two-month extension.

And so what we're going to see today is a vote, albeit we don't need to get into details of it, using a procedural maneuver so they're actually only voting to reject the measure rather than a yea or nay up-and-down vote whether or not to accept and move forward with the Senate bill. But they will be voting basically to strike down the Senate bill, and that could be happening in the next hour or so, and that's where things will stand.

So the House is moving their direction. House Republicans, they believe they have the support to strike this down. And as we know, Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid has said he has no intention of reopening negotiations over that one-year deal that House Republicans says they want, Suzanne, until the House -- in Harry Reid's mind, until the House moves on this two-month extension, which they do not seem inclined to do so right now.

MALVEAUX: And Kate, this is an election year for a lot of these politicians. And I would imagine that they're probably worried about what the voters are thinking about this back and forth.

I want you to listen to what some of these folks here in Atlanta are saying about what's taking place in Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, you're looking at even someone that just makes the smaller amount, you know, that extra $700 a year is a lot when we can't pay our bills.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congress isn't really considering the people of America and the struggles that we're going through.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To be fighting over things that are comparatively unimportant, in my opinion, is kind of disgusting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So, Kate, Democrats, Republicans, which side is really worried about how they're going to look from all of this back and forth?

BOLDUAN: Oh, you can be certain, Suzanne, both sides are worried about that. And there is really evidence all over the place that they are very much worried about, as we like to say in Washington, the optics of what this all is and kind of the political fallout.

Democrats are pushing a line -- Senate Democrats saying if Republicans do not vote for this two-month extension, then Republicans, in their mind, will then have sole responsibility if this tax cut expires. That has a lot of politics in that statement as well. And as I mentioned earlier, just the structure of the vote in the House today appears to show that they're very worried about the political fallout.

House Republicans are not voting on -- the House is not voting on if they want to accept or not accept the Senate measure, they're voting yes or no to reject the measure and send this to conference to hash out the differences. That really appears a way to offer House Republicans some political cover so they're not seen as having to vote against extending the payroll tax cut, which you can be sure Democrats would use to say they are therefore voting to increase taxes.

So, there is a lot of politics at play. No one should be fooled any other way -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Kate Bolduan, thank you.

Here's a rundown of some of the stories we are covering.

First, a hidden camera captures what life is like inside a North Korean labor camp in Siberia, of all places.

And from being an insurance executive, to working in food services, many Americans are forced to take much lower-paying jobs.

Then, a winter storm forces holiday shoppers to stay off the roads in the plains, as well as the Southwest.

Also, all right -- maybe. Dieters have no excuse. I don't know. A new study says that there are healthier menu options now at the airport.

And later, why Medicaid won't pay for this 4-month-old to have this life-saving heart surgery in Boston.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Is the government making a life-or-death decision about your child?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely. Medicaid is the one who holds my child's life in their hands right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: So the world is watching with a worried eye as the impoverished nuclear nation of North Korea hails a new leader who is just 20-something years old. The body of longtime dictator Kim Jong- il is lying in state in a glass coffin at a mausoleum in Pyongyang. His youngest son and successor, Kim Jong-un, is now being hailed as "born of heaven." He viewed his father's body today, along with other mourners.

Our Anna Coren, she is joining us live from Seoul, South Korea.

Anna, tell us a little bit about the son here. I mean, he is inheriting a leadership in a country that has this food crisis, nuclear weapons. This guy's young, he's inexperienced. South Korea, where you are, must be pretty worried.

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there is a great deal of uncertainty here, Suzanne, for all those reasons that you just listed.

We don't know that much about Kim Jong-il. As you say, he is in his late 20s, he's very inexperienced, he's been thrust into this position because of his father's sudden death. He began the succession progress some years ago, taken under his father's wing after his father suffered that heart attack, that stroke back in 2008.

But obviously, it would have been hoped that the process would have been a lot longer. His father had some 14 years before he had to take over the reins. Kim Jong-un has only had a few years, if that.

So, a lot of uncertainty is definitely hanging over him at the moment, because as you say, he's dealing with an impoverished country. A quarter of the population is facing salvation and it also has these nuclear weapons. So how he goes forward, only time will tell -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: And how is the South Korean government responding? How are they reacting to this?

COREN: Well, the big news here in Seoul is the way that South Korea found out about this, which was with the rest of the world. There has been a real backlash because South Korean intelligence really dropped the ball on this one. They found out some 50 hours after Kim Jong-il actually died.

And Suzanne, we caught up with the head of the intelligence committee who grilled the NIS, the National Intelligence Security Service, today, and they are basically the equivalent of the CIA, and he was demanding answers. He said, why did this happen? Why didn't we know that the leader of the North had actually died?

And they defended their actions. They said that, basically, nothing had changed within North Korea, that it was still the day-to-day operations, nothing had changed. No alarm bells had gone off.

But this particular committee chairman is not happy. He is demanding answers, and perhaps we should have a quick listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KWON YONG SE, SOUTH KOREAN INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE (through translator): Of course not. Unlike the surrounding countries such as the U.S., Japan, Russia, and even China, because we're the country that directly shares a border with North Korea, for the national intelligence service to not know that the leader, Kim Jong-il, had passed away, I think, regardless of reason, is unacceptable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COREN: That was Kwon Yong Se basically saying he is not satisfied with the answers coming out of the NIS. This inquiry is gong to continue -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Anna Coren, thank you.

North Korea is the most closed country on earth. Our Tom Foreman explains why it poses a threat to South Korea and beyond.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For a poor country, North Korea has long spent a disproportionate amount making its army look strong. What concerns military analysts most, however, is what we cannot see.

First, the nuclear threat. Under the obsessive prodding of Kim Jong- il, the secretive nation has been enriching uranium and amassing plutonium, possibly enough in hidden sites to make six or eight nuclear weapons or more.

Analysts are convinced North Korean missiles can reach South Korea, Japan and maybe Hawaii or Alaska, although it's unclear whether they can carry nukes, but that may not matter. Another credible theory is that North Korean nukes could be hiding on merchant ships and sail to ports around the globe.

Second, the artillery threat. After the Korean War, the North was heavily supported by Russia. That stopped in the early '90s, but analysts say North Korea has maintained hundreds of artillery pieces from that era and has added many more rockets and scud missiles. Although the North's fighter jets and military ships would probably be destroyed quickly in open warfare, analysts think those ground weapons could pour explosives on to the southern capital of Seoul 30 miles from the border, producing tens of thousands of injuries and deaths in just the first hours.

And third, there is the human threat. North Korea has 400,000 infantry troops, which military experts believe would either flood across the border into the south or dig in to repel any counterattack. More important, the North is believed to have 200,000 highly trained special forces soldiers who could infiltrate the South, wage guerrilla war, and spread panic among civilians.

(on camera): The North is so unpredictable, even informed analysts admit all of these are just educated guesses, but they add, the world must be ready for the worst with North Korea because that nation has been so unpredictable for so long and maybe even more so now.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: He's an offbeat reporter who got an up-close look at what life was like under the rule of Kim Jong-il. I'm going to talk to "VICE" magazine's Shane Smith about the so-called "Dear Leader's" cult of personality.

And eating at the airport getting healthier these days. We're going to tell you why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: So, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits is at a three-year low. So it's great news, right, on the surface? But that figure actually masks the fact that many Americans, desperate after being unemployed for so long, are taking much lower- paying jobs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARL FIELDS, ASSISTANT FOOD DIRECTOR: This is ready? Not yet? What are we waiting for? We're going to put in some cups on the side, please.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): You wouldn't know it by looking at him now --

FIELDS: Go over to sub one. The station needs some help.

MALVEAUX: -- but Carl Fields is a former insurance broker executive, laid off after more than 25 years at the same firm.

FIELDS: So, four days short of my 58th birthday, I received notice. It came as a total shock, quite honestly.

Good morning. How are you?

MALVEAUX: A shock followed by a grueling job hunt that lasted two years and four months. Now he's managing kitchen staff at a rehabilitation home.

FIELDS: My current salary is less than a third of what I was making two-and-a-half years ago. That's a tremendous step backwards.

MALVEAUX: Backwards, straight into a hole.

FIELDS: It's a deep hole. And, you know, we have mortgages, we have a car payment, at least for Lynette's (ph) car. We have insurances, we have medical needs. We have life needs, quite honestly.

MALVEAUX: Each month, Carl and his wife Lynette (ph) come up short. How much?

LYNETTE (ph) FIELDS, CARL'S WIFE: A lot. A lot.

MALVEAUX: Most laid-off workers take a large pay cut, but few as large as the one Carl took.

BILL RODGERS, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: For the African-American, wage difference between their old job and their new job is more on the order of close to 20 percent, 22, 23 percent. These are estimates.

MALVEAUX: Economist Bill Rodgers says the U.S. is in a pothole recovery, and there is evidence that college-educated African- Americans like Carl are running into some of the bigger obstacles.

RODGERS: On average, minorities, African-Americans are most recently spending about a month longer to find that job.

MALVEAUX: Carl's pastor, Buster Soaries, picked up on the frustration in September and started an employment ministry to help.

REV. DEFOREST "BUSTER" SOARIES, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF LINCOLN GARDENS: A hundred and fifty-five church members signed up and said, I need the church's help in finding jobs.

MALVEAUX: The Fields love church and consider it central to their lives. That's why they tithe, or give 10 percent of their earnings to the church.

C. FIELDS: And it's a struggle. And I tell you, since I've been working, there's a certain delight that goes into that tithe now. I think more so than before, because now it has new meaning. It has especially good meaning now because God's promises to us held, too.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Good for him.

So, if you're planning to fly home for the holidays, you get hungry at the airport like I do, it turns out you have got some more healthy choices to choose from.

Felicia Taylor, live at the New York Stock Exchange.

We're going to talk about this airport restaurant makeover, but first, tell us a little about the stocks. What do the stocks look like?

FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think it's a little too soon to call this a Santa Claus rally, but we'll see if it can actually last.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

MALVEAUX: That's all good.

And I spend a lot of time at the airport, so I love this story. You've got to tell me what is going on here, because I'm always stopping off looking for something to eat while I'm waiting.

TAYLOR: Me, too. I love this story. And I've been traveling quite a bit lately as well, and I'm always wondering, where is that vegetable, where is some fruit?

And now, evidently, 83 percent of airport restaurants have at least one healthy option. So that's good news. I think it should be more, but this is definitely up from 57 percent of 10 years ago.

So what's healthy? Something vegetarian, low calorie, low fat.

The healthiest airport, Detroit. Its Wayne County Airport scored a 100 percent.

MALVEAUX: Really? TAYLOR: Every single restaurant -- yes, which is great -- had at least one healthy option. That was followed by San Francisco and Washington's Dulles Airport.

Suzanne, last on the list was Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.

MALVEAUX: Oh, no. Oh, no.

TAYLOR: Yes. And I was just there, and I could not find anything. So they've got to ramp it up a little bit.

MALVEAUX: Yes, I know. I'm always getting a burger or something, the fries and everything. I'm there all the time.

TAYLOR: Yes.

MALVEAUX: I guess this is a good business decision, though, right, for a lot of these restaurants to jump in? And folks are demanding it, right? Travelers are asking for these things.

TAYLOR: Yes, absolutely. I mean, listen, all of us like that sort of French fries and not so healthy option. But the truth is, is that people really do want healthier food. Fast-food chains picked up on that trend a few years ago.

There is not that much food on board airplanes anymore. Suppliers are naturally looking for something to buy in the airport, so that, of course, adds to the bottom line. The more options that you give people, the more chances that vendors have to make money.

The airplanes like it because they don't have to offer the food, so they're saving money in certain respects and hopefully passing that on to the consumer. The consumer benefits because they get the healthier choices. So this is a win-win situation for just about everybody, frankly.

MALVEAUX: All right. Atlanta has got to do a little better here. Thank you, Felicia.

TAYLOR: Exactly.

MALVEAUX: He is one of the few Western journalists to get inside North Korea with a camera, and he paints a very bizarre picture of life under the rule of Kim Jong-il.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHANE SMITH, "VICE" MAGAZINE: We're sitting right where Madeleine Albright sat, right where Kim Jong-il sits. And, like, we're just -- we're sitting here just for us (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Here's what's ahead "On the Rundown." Next, inside North Korea. I'm going to talk with a journalist who has been there.

Then, a heavy dose of winter weather. It has derailed holiday travel plans for millions of folks.

And saving a baby with a deadly heart defect, one mother's struggle with Medicaid rules.

Well, it is now one of the most secretive governments on earth, and yet, documentary filmmaker Shane Smith managed to sneak into North Korea twice. What he saw and shot there was, in his own words, totally insane.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Totally insane.

(MUSIC)

SMITH: The thing is, when you go to North Korea, you're not a tourist. You're on a government-sanctioned tour. And you can't go anywhere outside your hotel without your guide, your translator, and your secret police.

You're also not allowed cell phones, radios or computer of any kind, and are taken on a tightly-scheduled, highly-orchestrated tour only of the sights and monuments that they want you to see. So you end up traveling for hours and hours on empty road, only to see the palace of the people or the library of the people or the soccer team of the people. The only people you get to meet is the people of the people. In fact, you're not allowed to talk to anyone unless they are officially sanctioned as part of the tour.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Shane Smith, founder of "Vice" magazine and "Vice News" and online cultural news source. He joins us now.

Shane, it's pretty amazing to see those pictures. In your words you say it's insane. Tell us what is insane about North Korea when you were there.

SMITH: Well, it's insane from start to finish. When you go there, it's like going back in time to Stalinist Russia or Maoist China. It's complete cult of personality, socialist utopian. It's total dictatorship. It's like a Disney ride of going back to 1935 Russia. It's crazy. It's crazy from start to finish.

MALVEAUX: Were there any people around you who wanted to talk to you, tried to talk to you, or what would have happened if you tried to talk to them?

SMITH: You get in a lot of trouble. When you first arrive in North Korea, they take you to a hotel that's on an island. And as you approach it, it's about a 40-story hotel. And there's only one line of lights, and you realize there is only one floor being used. They don't let very many people in. And when you get to the hotel, you are assigned secret police, a guide, a translator, a whole sort of cadre of people that surround you. You can't go talk to anybody or go anywhere or do anything without all of these people with you at all times.

MALVEAUX: I noticed in that clip you went from one museum or palace to another place, all these big government structures. And then you have those isolated roads. Did you ever see anybody on those roads or in those fields where they say those are the starving people, the people who are suffering inside that country?

SMITH: Yes. I mean, what's interesting is you'll drive south of the DMZ and you won't see any other cars for about two and a half, three hours on the highway. You see people actually from, like, the countryside around the highway working on the highway or fixing it because it everybody's responsibility. Or you'll see people working on stuff or fixing stuff. But you don't really see that many people and you don't see any cars. There is obviously no electricity in a lot of these places. One thing that I saw, which killed me was, they have little villages, but instead of a village of lots of different houses or whatever, it's just one sort of super Stalinist apartment block. But they've ripped out all of the steel to sell to China for scraps and all of the windows, so it's a 20, 30-story building with cooking fires on the 30th floor. So they're carrying wood to cook and water 30 stories. It's crazy.

MALVEAUX: Shane, I want people to see a little more of this documentary. I'll play a little clip for them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: There are no cultural similarities whatsoever.

(MUSIC)

(SHOUTING)

SMITH: Sometimes I imagine someone coming from the cowboy times, like someone who comes from a time machine frozen in ice or something, and he has to explain to them what an airplane is or he has to explain to them, you know, what supermarkets are. And this is as close as you get to that. This is a time machine. This is 1930s Russia or 1950s Soviet Union. So they see me as the Yankee imperialist aggressor, and I see them as the land that time forgot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: It's really insightful, the land that time forgot. How does the government manage to do that, to maintain such strict control over the information they're getting from the outside world? I mean, you guys were there. They knew you were there. How did they manage that?

SMITH: Well, you're not allowed to bring in any computers, any telephones. No one has computers or telephones there. And there's no television except state-run television, no radio except state-run radio. You're told from birth that Kim Jong-il is god, his son is god, so why wouldn't you believe that they're Jesus.

We shot everything on little sonny Cyber Shots with big memory cards in them, so we'd be like, oh, we're going to take a picture now. They didn't really know we were shooting what we were shooting. We had to be very secretive. And if they would have caught us, it would have been bad.

MALVEAUX: Shane, during your experience there, was there ever a time when the people resisted what was happening to them? Like you saw them -- whether it was an expression in their eyes or something they might have said to you, like we're not happy with this situation here?

SMITH: No. No, and I don't think that they would. They definitely wouldn't to a foreigner who they've been brought up to believe that we're capitalist aggressors and we're all spies. Also, there is such a rule of fear that if you do anything against the state then you will be put in a concentration camp or a work camp, much like the ones that we saw in Siberia. I just got back from Siberia where we saw North Korean slave labor camps that were just like Russia.

MALVEAUX: Shane Smith, excellent reporting. Love your insights there.

SMITH: Thanks.

MALVEAUX: If you go back again, please come back. Really, just incredible courage it takes, too, to do the kind of work that you do.

SMITH: Thank you very much.

MALVEAUX: Sure.

Blizzard conditions are continuing in the nation's Midwest section. We're going to find out when this major winter storm is going to make it to the east coast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: All right, we got a major winter storm that tops our look at the stories making news across the country. We got strong winds. Blowing snow, brought visibility to less than a quarter of a mile in the western part of Kansas overnight. Close to a foot of snow came down. Winter storm warnings still in effect in central northern Kansas. New Mexico got socked with as much as two feet of snow across the northeast part of the state. A single wind gust in Clayton, New Mexico, was clocked at 72 miles an hour. In Texas, dangerous driving conditions have shut down Interstate 40 from Amarillo to just east of Albuquerque. There's a lot of traffic accidents that have been reported. Texas Governor Rick Perry called on Texas military forces to help people as they need help on those roads.

Alexandra Steele from the CNN Weather Center is with us. Boy, there's a lot folks are dealing with. This is the holiday season. People want to move. They want to travel. It has been really, really rough.

ALEXANDRA STEELE, CNN METEOROLOGIST: In the Texas Panhandle alone, 100 people had called for service. Blizzard conditions -- blizzard warnings are still in effect. It's not a fait accompli yet. This thing does have legs yet.

I'll show you really what it did so far. Two feet of snow, you're talking about 70-mile-an-hour wind gusts. Let me show you what's cooking and where we stand. This, from Pietown, New Mexico, western New Mexico, two feet of snow, kind of the winner so far. Grant, New Mexico, 14 inches. You can really see, Oklahoma, Kansas and New Mexico, certainly hardest hit with this. In terms of wind gusts, there's that 72, Suzanne just mentioned.

And Tupencari (ph), 65-mile-per-hour winds. So what we've seen against heavy snow coming down, one, two, to three inches an hour, coupled with these very strong north winds at 40 and 50, even 60 and 70 miles per hour. So the worst is over for some areas, places like New Mexico. We may see a few more inches of snow and a few gusty winds, but for the most part we're going to watch the back side of this taper off throughout the day. So as each hour goes on, things will only improve.

But this is an incredibly dynamic storm. What's fascinating about it, the cold air behind it -- here's the area of low pressure right behind Kansas which still has some snow left in it. But ahead of it, this is the warm sector of the storm. Showers and thunderstorms. And it's incredibly mild here in the southeast, so this is just a rain maker and will stay just a rain maker.

Hail, gusty winds the biggest threat, especially portions of northern Mississippi and Alabama today. Not out of the question for an isolated tornado. December, believe it or not, we do see, on the whole, about 34 tornadoes, so we could see one. I think probably we won't, but it isn't out of the question.

Here's the big picture. Here's the back side of this storm. This is now Wednesday morning. So tomorrow morning, we're going to watch this low move up into the upper Midwest. Some snow showers, maybe in Chicago a snow/sleet mix. Light snow around the Great Lakes. But this is all a rain maker so a very wet day in the northeast tomorrow.

If you're talking about flying out of any of the big airports in the northeast tomorrow, really your toughest day. Now Thursday morning, look what happens. Another storm develops. That same area we were talking, New Mexico, western New Mexico, one to two feet of snow. More snow coming in for them Thursday and Friday. The same track. The track is really not changing much. Here's that next storm Thursday morning. Also more rain coming into the gulf coast on Thursday morning as well. So more of this making its way.

So Suzanne, the wettest day in the northeast certainly will be Wednesday and Thursday, and more rain on Friday. For the weekend, though, on Christmas, one of the computer models pointing out maybe some snow in the northeast in the big cities, New York and Boston. So we'll have to see if that's verified.

MALVEAUX: It's going to be a big mess.

(LAUGHTER)

STEELE: Yes, big, big trouble. Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you.

A Republican presidential candidate just got a big endorsement from a leading Christian conservative group in Iowa. We'll have a live report ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: We're just now learning about a brand new presidential endorsement from a prominent conservative group.

Jim Acosta is live from the political desk in Washington.

Jim, tell us about this group and who got it.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a prominent endorsement from a very influential part of the Republican Party in Iowa, Suzanne. The Family Leader is basically the Christian conservative movement in Iowa. It's the most prominent evangelical Christian movement in that state. And I was talking to the head of that group just last week, Bob Vander Plaats. He was indicating to me at that time that the organization the group was having a tough time coming up with an endorsement for one of these candidates. Four years ago, they came out in favor of Mike Huckabee.

Just a few minutes ago, Bob Vander Plaats, the head of that organization, the Family Leader, said that the group would not endorse somebody in the Iowa caucuses this time around, but that he personally would make an endorsement. And he did that just a few moments ago. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB VANDER PLAATS, FAMILY LEADER, CHRISTIAN SERVICE MOVEMENT: So today I, as an individual, am going to endorse Rick Santorum. I'm going to mobilize whatever resources I have at my disposal to advocate for him. I will not tear down another candidate because we have other good candidates in this race. And if one of those candidates emerge as our nominee, I'll get fully behind that candidate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So what's very interesting about this announcement is that a lot of people in Iowa and in the political establishment here in Washington were sort of wondering whether or not this group would go ahead and pick Newt Gingrich. The former speaker of the House was very supportive of this organization when they were out to oust some state supreme court justices a couple years ago over the issue of gay marriage in that state, Suzanne. Newt Gingrich was very supportive of that effort. It was thought widely in many political circles in Iowa that perhaps, in return for that support, Newt Gingrich would get this endorsement. But this is an indication that in Iowa and among social conservatives, there are some folks that are very uncomfortable with the speaker's personal life. That is a big part of this.

I talked to Bob Vander Plaats about this in Sioux City. And he indicated to me, if Newt Gingrich had not gone through two marriages before his current marriage with Callista Gingrich, that he probably would have locked up this endorsement.

So this is disappointing for Newt Gingrich but also, for Rick Santorum, this may be the beginning perhaps of a mini boomlet, if you will for Rick Santorum in Iowa. It's something he desperately needs, because as you know, Suzanne, he needs all the help he can get in these Iowa caucuses.

MALVEAUX: Yes, he's pretty alone in the polls there.

Jim, thank you very much.

Jim Acosta with the latest political news.

You know where to go, CNNpolitics.com.

North Korea's so-called Dear Leader isn't so dearly mourned in some parts of the world. See how people outside North Korea are remembering Kim Jong-il.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: In North Korea, Kim Jong-il was known as Dear Leader. His people fell out in the streets crying hysterically over his death. But in the West, he was the butt of many jokes.

CNN's Jeanne Moos takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When the Dear Leader became the dearly departed, don't expect too much respect.

(SINGING)

MOOS: Contrast that with how the news was delivered by a North Korean anchor near tears.

UNIDENTIFIED NORTH KOREAN NEWS ANCHOR: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

MOOS: The same anchor who delivered the news when Kim Jong-il's father died 17 years earlier. UNIDENTIFIED NORTH KOREAN NEWS ANCHOR: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

MOOS: But in the West, Kim was seen as a ruthless cartoon character dictator with an ego as big as his glasses, many pairs of glasses.

Kim was most famously portrayed by the creators of South Park --

(SHOUTING)

MOOS: -- feeding U.N. inspector, Hans Blitza (ph), to his pet fish in "Team America" --

(SINGING)

COHEN: -- and singing mournfully as he made plans to rule the world. I'm so hungry

(SINGING)

COHEN: Those who portrayed them as a rapper weren't alone.

(SINGING)

COHEN: A Kim Jong-il impersonator even delivered the weather on "30 Rock."

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: North Korea, everything sunny all the time. Always good time, beach party.

COHEN (on camera): While in the West he is mocked, North Korea is being rocked by grief -- if you can believe the video.

(voice-over): State TV showed North Koreans crying and slapping the ground. A skeptic posted, "I've seen better acting from Paris Hilton." If it was acting there was plenty of it -- inside homes, in front of murals, before statues.

But the tears were more likely to be from laughter in the West over various lists circulating like the top-10 strange facts about Kim Jong-il, hard to confirm facts.

(MUSIC)

MOOS: Such as he once attempted to breed giant rabbits to alleviate famine and claimed to have invented the hamburger.

People don't usually speak ill of the dead, unless your name is Kim Jong-il.

(SINGING)

COHEN: Jeanne Moos, CNN --

(SINGING) COHEN: -- New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: A mom in Indiana says the Medicaid system is trying to kill her 4-month-old son. But we find hope in her fight to keep him alive.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: An Indiana mom is taking on the state's Medicaid system to save her baby's life. He was born with a deadly heart defect and needs immediate special surgery.

Elizabeth Cohen tells us she found hope in surprising places after hitting a roadblock with Medicaid.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSAMYN FIELDS, MOTHER OF Pierce: We didn't get you a bath this morning? I'll get you a bath.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jessamine Fields says government bureaucrats are trying to kill her 4- month-old baby.

FIELDS: There's very few children like Pierce on the planet.

COHEN: Pierce was born with an extremely rare condition, called Heterotaxy Syndrome. About 16 children are born with it each year in the United States and they have multiple heart defects. Many die as infants.

FIELDS: And I sat by his bed hour by hour thinking, if I closed my eyes for a second, I would miss my last opportunity with him.

COHEN: Pierce has spent most of his life here at the Intensive Care Unit at Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis. He needs surgery soon or he will die.

(on camera): So when they first talked to you about surgery here, tell me what they said.

FIELDS: That taking him to surgery would be like a death sentence. Rushing him into surgery at this point was very unsafe.

COHEN (voice-over): But the hospital CEO says his surgeons can do it. Riley Hospital says they've done nine open-heart surgeries on babies like Pierce over the past decade. But Fields found a much larger hospital that says they have done over 100 in the last few years alone, Boston Children's hospital. Many studies show the more procedures a hospital performs, the better the outcomes. Also, Boston has a Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. Riley doesn't.

But there's a problem. Pierce is on Medicaid and they denied her request to transfer him to Boston. (on camera): Is the government making a life-or-death decision about your child?

FIELDS: Absolutely. Medicaid is the one who holds my child's life in their hands right now.

NEAL MOORE, SPOKESMAN, INDIANA MEDICAID: We have regulations that we're required to adhere to.

COHEN (voice-over): Neal Moore, a spokesman for Indiana Medicaid, says Riley Hospital is capable of doing Pierce's surgery and it doesn't matter that Boston has more experience.

MOORE: This is not a question of what is the best medical choice. It is a question based on the systems that we have. The funding mechanism has very distinct regulations that are associated with that that we must adhere to.

COHEN (voice-over): I just heard you say, this is not about the best medical choice for this child. So, what is it about?

MOORE: From the Medicaid perspective of this circumstance, there's only one question that is being considered. That question is, is there a solution that exists in Indiana? The answer to that has been given that there is one.

COHEN: You didn't ask them how often you do it. You didn't ask them, do you do it well. You didn't ask them if there were other people who could do it better. You just said, can you do it. Yes, and the answer is, sure, they can do it. But you did not ask them if that is the best care for Baby Pierce. Why didn't you ask them that question?

MOORE: I've given you the answer repeatedly here. The process is in place that includes the solution. I don't know what else you can -- I can say to you that would be an appropriate answer beyond that.

COHEN (voice-over): Of course, hospitals can't be transferring children around for every major surgery. But Baby Pierce's condition is so rare, only a few places, like Boston's Children's, have had a lot of experience with the intricate surgeries he needs.

FIELDS: You're mommy's strong boy.

COHEN: Meanwhile, back at the hospital, Fields gets a miracle. Mothers of other children with other heart problems get together through Facebook and donate enough money to send Pierce to Boston.

FIELDS: I think it's sad that a bunch of moms and strangers, who don't even know me or my child, have stepped up to the plate more than, you know, the government and insurance and Medicaid.

COHEN: After the moms volunteered their money and after CNN started asking questions, the Indiana hospital did step up and they paid for the transport. But Medicaid, even at the very end, refused to pay a cent to get Baby Pierce to Boston.

Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Indianapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)