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House Rejects Payroll Cut Extension; Controversial Use of Federal Funds; Piers Morgan Testifies; Newt Gingrich's Big Lead Evaporates; A Look Back at 2011 News; New Poll Shows American Discontent with Washington; Obama Speaks On Tax Cut Extension
Aired December 20, 2011 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, I'm Randi Kaye. It is 1:00 on the east coast. Let's get straight to the news.
Your paycheck and benefits may be cut and your taxes may go up all because Congress can't agree on another very important issue, that is payroll tax cuts.
Congress is in a political standoff right now. The Senate passed a two-month extension a moment ago. House Republicans rejected that in a procedural vote and are pushing a one-year extension. Now, keep in mind payroll tax cuts and extended unemployment benefits expire in less than two weeks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), 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. Now, we're here, we're willing to work --
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), MINORITY LEADER: It's just a radical Tea Party Republicans who are holding up this tax cut for the American people and jeopardizing our economic growth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: But what's the real problem? We'll talk to Republican strategist, Ron Christie, to get answers.
And if you're heading west, check the forecast. People in a number of states are dealing with, yes, this, right now blizzard warnings are in effect from Colorado to Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. According to forecasters, travel is dangerous if not impossible for many. Heavy snow and winds up to 50 miles an hour were reported in some areas. Here's a live satellite image of the storm. The system has forced at least five states to shut down interstates and highways.
We will, of course, keep an eye on that. Now to North Korea, the body of its leader, Kim Jong-il, lies in state at a memorial palace in Pyongyang today. His youngest son and heir apparent, Kim Jong-un, paid his respects. This is Kim Jong-un first public appearance since his father died of a heart attack on Saturday. The regime appears to be stepping up its propaganda to depict Kim Jong-un as his new leader. His father's funeral is scheduled for next Wednesday. The U.S. State Department is calling on Iran to release a 28- year-old Iranian American. Iran released this video of Ali Mirza Ke Moti . The Iranians say he was caught spying for the CIA, but U.S. officials tell CNN that the State Department is seeking his freedom. The official did not comment on the spy allegations citing privacy consideration. Ke Moti's father, a community college professor in Michigan, told ABC news that the spy allegations are, in his words, a bunch of lies.
Another day of bloody clashes in Cairo's Tahrir Square. Witnesses say security forces firing tear gas stormed hundreds of protesters, beating some with batons. Witnesses say at least two people were killed. Here's what it was like yesterday, at least 14 people have been killed since the latest clashes erupted Friday, just after the second round of parliamentary elections. Protesters accuse the military of delaying the transfer of power to a civilian government.
A million women march took place to protest the beating of a female protester seen in this video. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has announced the beating, accusing security forces of targeting women. The military says it's investigating.
In Syria, a new government warning, anyone taking part in terrorist acts or hand out weapons will be executed. This as anti- government protesters took to the streets of a southern city. Just yesterday, a human rights group says 60 to 70 armed defectors were gunned down as they tried to plea their post, and a London based group says another 40 civilians were killed across the country yesterday. The Syrian government says it's cracking down on terrorists who attack security forces.
American activist, Lori Berenson, is back in the United States for the first time in 16 years. She arrived on a flight from Peru this morning. In 1995, a Peruvian a court convicted Berenson of collaborating with left wing terrorists, a charge she continues to deny. Berenson's currently on parole, she's under court order to return to Peru after the holidays.
In the WikiLeaks court-martial case, a formal colleague says Private Bradley Manning was uncontrollable and untrustworthy when he served in an Army intelligence office in Iraq. Manning is accused of leaking government secrets to the WikiLeaks' Web site. A colleague, a former Army specialist, now in civilian life says Manning was barred from the intelligence office after he punched her in the face unprovoked. She testified by telephone today, day five of Manning's preliminary hearing at Fort Meade in Maryland.
They are home. Some of the last 300 U.S. Airmen to leave Iraq arrived this morning in Baltimore Washington airport. They were greeted with cheers, hugs and handshakes as they walked into the terminal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COL. RALPH ROMINE, U.S. AIR FORCE: Oh, I'll tell you what, it's overwhelming to know that Americans are still, after all of these years, supporting us, it's a great -- it's a great feeling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's it like being one of the last flights out?
COL. ROMINE: Wow, I have six deployments over 1,400 days in the Iraq Theater. I'm pretty exhausted. I'm ready to go home and call it a day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Two hundred thirty airmen were aboard the flight that arrived this morning, 70 more will arrive tonight.
Finger pointing, bickering, refusals to talk, no it is not your child's sandbox, it is Capitol Hill. So, what's all the fuss about? Only your paycheck. What's happening this hour on payroll tax when we return.
But first, did you know a small number of troops are actually staying in Iraq? Fewer than 200 military personnel are staying back to guard the U.S. Embassy and oversee the sale of weapons to the Iraqi government, according to the "New York Times." For more than 170,000 soldiers and Marines to about 200. To those brave men and women staying behind to protect our embassy this holiday season, you are total "Rock Stars."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back. First, it was the bitter brinksmanship during the debt ceiling debate, U.S. nearly has default on its loan. The S&P 500 even downgraded our credit rating for the first time. Then there's the Super Committee and its mega failure to do its one job, chalk up solutions to cut the federal deficit. Well now, it seems Congress is playing a dangerous political game with your money. Take a good look at your paycheck.
If Congress doesn't do its job and can't agree to extend the payroll tax cut, this is how much you could lose depending on your income, of course, if you make $50,000 a year, you'll have to shell out an extra $1,000 in taxes. The more you make, the more you stand to pay, you see it there, but this just gives you a glimpse of what's at stake. We don't have to tell you every dollar counts but maybe Congress, yet again, needs another reminder. The payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits will expire on December 31st. We are just days away.
The bigger picture, some economists predicted if these benefits aren't extended, it could send the economy into a tailspin. The Senate passed a two-month extension on the payroll tax cut, but less than 10 minutes ago, the House essentially rejected that extension in a procedural vote. Instead, it's pushing for a one-year extension as called for by the GOP leadership. So, let's bring in Ron Christy, who is a Republican strategist, and was a special assistant to President Bush. Ron, nice to see you. I think it's important to note here that the Senate's --
RON CHRISTIE, FELLOW, INSTITUTE OF POLITICS, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Nice to see you.
KAYE: The Senate's vote for a two-month extension was bipartisan. House Speaker, John Boehner, wanted the Senate to pass it. So, what is the problem here?
CHRISTIE: I think -- good afternoon, Randi. I think what you're seeing here is that Congress has not been able to get its work done this entire year. A two-month payroll tax extension is not do hardly anything other than breed a lot of uncertainty. There was a report that came out this morning that said that a lot of companies and a lot of businesses across the country aren't equipped to recalibrate their computer and their accounting system to deal with two months.
Business owners and people who are holding the books and watching them very carefully need to have greater certainty. And I think that's what the House Republicans are saying, let's do this for a year. President Obama agreed that it should be a year, House Democrats, of course, came together, said it should be a year. And now, I think you're seeing political posturing by saying, oh, two months. I just don't think that's enough -- a sufficient amount of time.
KAYE: Well, I think we get it. I mean, John Boehner said -- and this is his word here, we don't want to punt and do just a two-month short-term fix. We get that. But Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, says that he followed John Boehner's request, OK? So saying this, when we met last week, he says, Speaker Boehner requested that Senator McConnell and I work out a compromise. Neither side got everything they wanted, but we forged a middle ground that passed the Senate by an overwhelming bipartisan majority.
So, it's sounding a little bit like what the House has done here is a bit of -- House Republicans at least, is a bit of a political move. I mean, isn't a two-month extension better than Americans seeing a tax increase?
CHRISTIE: Well, of course, I don't want to see anybody's taxes go up on December 31st. I think a two-month extension while it sounds good, of not of course increasing taxes, is only kicking the can a little bit down the road. And again, as I said on the outset, Randi, I'm very concerned do we have the capability to recalibrate our computers and is it really going to make that much of a difference. What they need to do is, in Washington, sit in a room, the president, the speaker, and the Senate majority leader, and get this done.
They can do it. They should put the posturing aside, they should put all the theatrics aside and say, what can we do best with the American people? And I think that's why people are so disgusted with their leadership in Washington, Republicans and Democrats alike. It doesn't seem like they're doing anything other than throwing sand in each other's faces in the sandbox. They need to get the responsibility, and to do the American people's business, and they need to do it now.
KAYE: I want to play just a sound bite for our viewers and you from what -- from what minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, she made a very interesting point. So, let's listen to this, and I want to ask you about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PELOSI: What we see now is stalling action on the part of those who never really were for a payroll tax cut in the first place. It's just the radical Tea Party Republicans who are holding up this tax cut --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: So, radical Tea Party Republicans. Is that how you see it? Do you think that the radical -- so -called radical Tea Party Republicans, to use her words, are holding this up?
CHRISTIE: I don't. Well, I think the reason that Nancy Pelosi is now the minority leader as opposed to speaker of the House, is that the American people said, we're taxed too much, the government has expanded too much, and frankly, the government's not responsive to the American people from Washington.
And I think what you've seen in the House of Representatives is the members -- and I do think that John Boehner did have an agreement with the majority leader in the Senate, and minority leader in the Senate, but his body of House Republicans said, no, this is too soon, it's not going to do enough to help the American people. Let's not raise taxes in two months, let's make sure that the burden is for 12 months.
And I think that's the reflection of the will of a lot of people. And remember, there are half a million, 600,000 people, living in each Congressional district, they are representing the will of those folks who sent them to Washington. So no, I don't think it's stonewalling, and I don't think that it's posturing, it's just listening to their constituents.
KAYE: Some people might look at this, though, and say, well, where was this one year agreement or measure, you know, weeks ago? Why is this happening right now? Where have they been?
CHRISTIE: Couldn't agree with you more. I think, you know, the president was in his rush to go to Hawaii for 17 days, the Senate majority leader said that, oh no, we're not going to have any more votes before the end of the year, we're done. And I think that's why the American people are really frustrated, well, what's going on in Washington? Don't go on vacation, sit down, have a civil discussion, and do the best for Republicans, Democrats, independents, do it for the American people, not just for your political party or those that you're trying to posture towards. That's where I think the distrust comes from. That's why I'm really disappointed they didn't get it done a few weeks ago. That's why they need to get this done now.
KAYE: All right, Ron Christie, thank you very much for your time. We want to let you know, of course, that we are awaiting a White House briefing on this and many other issues. There you see the briefing room at the White House and we will bring that to you as soon as it gets underway. Well here, it's something that will make you stop. Coffee enemas to treat cancer, distant prayer to heal aids patients, it is your tax dollars at work and it's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: So what if I said more than half a million taxpayer dollars went towards AIDS research. Pretty good use of money, right? But what if I told you it was examining, and this is true, if distant prayer could heal AIDS? It's called the National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, or NCCAM. A small, often unheard of branch of the National Institutes of Health, that's used more than $1.2 billion in federal money to study alternative medicine. Some see it as vital. Others want taxpayer dollars saved for more mainstream science. And it is today's "Under Covered" story.
Joining me now, Dr. Josephine Briggs, director of the NCCAM, and Dr. Kimball Atwood, a Tufts University professor and practicing anesthesiologist who thinks the center should, to put it simply, be abolished.
Thank you both for joining us as you explain your perspectives on this very interesting conversation.
Dr. Briggs, let me start with you. Some of your center's work might appear to some as a waste of money, especially in these tough economic times. I mean so can you justify studies ranging from, just to name a few, energy healing, to healing wounds through (ph) to sniffing lemons and lavender?
DR. JOSEPHINE P. BRIGGS, DIRECTOR, NCCAM: Randi, the studies you mention are really not representative of more than a thousand -- more than 3,000 studies NCCAM has funded. Here at the NIH, we consider it our job to bring rigorous, critical science to the study of health practices widely used by Americans. Our data tells us that people are spending about $34 billion on these health practices and that they are used by more than 40 percent of Americans. So there's some really important health issues here. Are these approaches safe? Do they work? And that's been the topic of about 3,000 NCCAM studies.
A few of the ones that have been chosen to be -- to emphasized by our critics are, I think, not representing the high-quality rigorous NIH science that's being brought to some really important health questions.
KAYE: Dr. Atwood, what is your response? I mean especially hearing now from Dr. Briggs that 40 percent of Americans are using some type of alternative medicine. Shouldn't we know what's going on with that?
DR. KIMBALL ATWOOD, ANESTHESIOLOGIST: Well, that's always what the proponents of such research say. Of course it's a great exaggeration. In fact, most of that 40 percent is just dabbling in over the counter supplements and that sort of thing.
As far as the representation of the types of studies that are done is concerned, the ones that you mentioned at the outset are quite representative of what the NCCAM has done over the years. Now, it's true that Dr. Briggs seems to want to change that, but it's a little hard for her to come right out and say that, OK, this is what we used to do but we're no longer doing that.
We would love for her to come right out and say, yes, we agree that those kinds of studies were a bad idea. They were an attempt to study nonsense and never should have been done. And I'd love to hear her say that. Maybe she will right now.
KAYE: Dr. Briggs, would you like to respond to that? And maybe help us understand how you decide what gets studied and what doesn't, and if things have changed from these sort of studies.
BRIGGS: We have a compelling vision I think right now of priority setting. NIH priority setting processes that have been used by NCCAM since its beginning depend on panels of experts, a two layer -- we call this process peer review -- for setting priorities.
We go through and of the 3,000 studies that's we funded, approximately, the ones that you're mentioning and that are mentioned by our critics are really not representative. We've taken on a lot of important safety issues, a lot of issues around herb drug interactions, for example. Work funded by NCCAM established that St. John's Wart interferes with HIV therapies. Work lead to the recognition of the dangers of Ephedra and led the FDA to withdraw Ephedra from the U.S. market.
But even more important, work on pain management and important studies that show that some of the complimentary approaches are helpful in management of pain is changing how doctors and patients approach a very big and common problem, chronic back pain. Chronic back pain is a big focus for us right now.
KAYE: Well, obviously you're both very passionate about where you stand on this issue. We appreciate your time. We will continue to follow this research and see what more does come of it. For more on NCCAM's research and budget, check out their web page nccam.nih.gov.
An inquiry into the ethics of the British press continues. Piers Morgan answering questions today about what went on at "News of the World" and "The Daily Mirror" under his watch. What he had to say, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: CNN talk show host Piers Morgan usually asks the question. Well, today, he answered some, but not all questions on what he knows about the tabloid phone hacking scandal that is rocking Britain. In a sometimes testing exchange with British investigators, Morgan denied that he was aware of hacking while he was the editor of "The Daily Mirror" newspaper.
The scandal was triggered by revelations that the Murdoch owned "News of the World" hacked into the voicemail of a murdered 13-year-old British girl. Morgan also served as editor at that now closed paper. He testified by video link from the United States. Dan Rivers is covering the hearing for us in London.
Dan, things did certainly get a little heated between Piers and the investigators there.
DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They did, yes. The most sort of testy part of this exchange between Piers Morgan and Robert Jay, one of the lawyers asking the questions here, was about Piers Morgan listening in to the voicemail of Heather Mills, the wife of Sir Paul McCartney, the former Beatle.
Now, Piers Morgan was very careful. He didn't want to reveal any further details about the circumstances in which he listened to that voicemail message because he didn't want to reveal the source of that story. And in the end, Lord Justice Levinson (ph), who is presiding over this, said that he may call Heather Mills herself to see if she gave her permission for Piers Morgan to listen to her voicemail.
But Piers Morgan reiterated all the way through this that although he was aware of the rumor mill, as he put it, that phone hacking was widespread in tabloid culture here, he says he never knew about it, condoned it or asked anyone to do it or publish any story as a result of phone hacking while he was in charge of two different newspapers here in the U.K.
KAYE: And, Dan, Piers also did refuse to answer some questions. How did that go over?
RIVERS: Yes, I mean, he was asked about a number of different incidents. Not only allegedly listening to the voicemail messages of Heather Mills, but also allegedly listening into the voicemail messages of Olrika Johnson (ph), he's a TV presenter (ph) here who -- his paper revealed was having an affair with the England football coach. He was asked whether he'd warned Olrika Johnson at a dinner at "The Daily Mirror" to change her pin code on her phone to stop people listening in. He said he couldn't remember.
He was also challenged about the evidence of a former employee, James Hipwell (ph), who says that he remembers that phone hacking was going on as a matter of routine. Happening every day at "The Daily Mirror." But Piers Morgan pointed out that James Hipwell had been convicted for insider trading and that, you know, basically he's sort of casting doubt on his evidence, again reiterating that he was completely unaware that phone hacking was going on at "The Daily Mirror" while he was editor.
KAYE: Yes, I want to play for our viewers some of the back and forth between Piers and the investigators there. So let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At one stage I was played a tape of the message Paul had left for Heather on her mobile phone. Can you remember the circumstances, Mr. Morgan?
PIERS MORGAN, HOST, "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT": Well, I can't discuss where I was played that tape or who played it, because to do so would be to compromise a source and I can't do that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I'm not sure about that, Mr. Morgan. You can discuss in general terms where it was can't you?
MORGAN: Actually, no, I can't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a tape of a voicemail message, wasn't it?
MORGAN: Well, I'm not going to discuss where I heard it or who played it to me for the reasons I've discussed. I don't think it's right and, in fact, the inquiry has already stated to me, you don't expect me to identify sources.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, but I think we do expect you to identify what is obvious to anyone reading this, is that you listened to a tape of a voicemail message. Is that correct?
MORGAN: I listened to a tape of a message, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a voicemail message, wasn't it?
MORGAN: I believed it was, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIVERS: So there is now the intriguing prospect that Heather Mills, Sir Paul McCartney's former wife, will be called to that same inquiry to be asked whether she gave her permission for Piers Morgan to listen to her voicemail. There's a possibility Piers Morgan may be called back. Other witnesses have been called back in the past as well. And there is also the intriguing possibility he was sort of vaguely mentioned by Lord Justice Levinson that James and Rupert Murdoch may also be called to give evidence at this inquiry.
KAYE: Dan Rivers for us in London. Dan, thank you very much.
Newt Gingrich says attack ads are killing his campaign. True or false. We'll sort it out next.
But first, for you political junkies, the Iowa caucuses are the first time voters officially weigh in on the presidential candidates. But it hasn't always been that way. What year were the Iowa caucuses first used to kick off the presidential nomination process? Here are your choices, 1832, 1916 or 1972? If you know the answer, send me a tweet @randikayecnn. I'm tweeting through the show. I'll give a shout-out to the first person with the right answer when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back. A moment ago I asked you this, what year were the Iowa caucuses first used to kick off the presidential nomination process. If you said "C," 1972, you are right. In 1972, a strong showing from South Dakota Senator George McGovern put him on the national stage helping him win the Democratic nomination. He eventually lost to Richard Nixon. And a shout out to Adam in Nashville, Tennessee, one of the very first to tweet the right answer. Nice going, Adam.
It's time for "Fair Game," where we get to the meat of the political debate, and partisan talking points are off limits.
It looks like Newt Gingrich's big lead in the poll has evaporated and he blames the slide on his GOP rivals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH, (R), FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You've had all sorts of people and all sorts of these super PACs who have consistently been running negative ads. Well, you get enough negative ads before you start answering them, your numbers go down for a while.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Gingrich is telling rivals to stop attack ads, like this one, but they are not listening.
Joining me now Maria Cardona, a Democratic strategist; and Crystal Wright, the editor of conservativeblackchick.com.
So it seems as though certainly that Gingrich's lead has eroded.
Maria, does it appear to you that the attack ads are working?
MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Certainly they are working, Randi, and Newt Gingrich knows it. What's more, he knows this is something that has always worked in politics. It's very disingenuous for him to explain when he would be first one to use attack ads if he had the money to do it. I have no doubt in my mind that if he had the resources or infrastructure to put those attack ads up on the air against his own rivals, he would eviscerate them without a moment's hesitation. That is something he knows. He's complaining because he doesn't have anywhere else to go or nothing else to go and nothing else to do about it.
KAYE: Crystal, let me turn to you on the issue of money. There are many groups that track this sort of stuff. One company says Gingrich dropped about $130,000 on television. But if you look at the spending by Romney and his supporters, it's more than a million dollars on ads. Same goes for Rick Perry and the Ron Paul campaigns. Can Gingrich stop this slide in his numbers without cash?
CRYSTAL WRIGHT, EDITOR, CONSERVATIVEBLACKCHICK.COM: You know, I think, yes, he can. He needs to raise more money.
And Maria hit the nail on the head. Gingrich wouldn't be complaining if he was running the negative ads. So he needs to step up and go negative. And he needs to realize he's in the race of a lifetime. This is presidency of the United States. You've got to get down and dirty and get in the mud. He's got to go after Romney on Romney-care. And he's raised about -- I think he took an ad buy of $200,000 in Iowa, which pales in comparison to Romney's $700,000. He's got to go negative. KAYE: Let's talk about the payroll tax cut issue happening in Washington. If you look at House Speaker John Boehner's actions, first, he wanted the Senate to put together a payroll tax cut plan, and a deal. Then they did it and he rejected it. So what do you think needs to happen? Right now, we're getting word that Boehner has asked President Obama, in a letter, today, to ask the Democratic-led Senate to appoint negotiators to try to work out a deal with the Republican-led House. What needs to happen here? What's the problem here, Maria?
CARDONA: The problem is that Speaker Boehner has absolutely lost control of his Tea Party caucus. You know, Randi, none of these Republican legislators are supermen. But this decision that they took today is going to no doubt be their political kryptonite. They can absolutely blame this, if they go down in flames, because what they are doing is putting politics before middle class Americans, before working class families, who absolutely desperately need this tax cut to not go away. And what they are saying is that they want it for a year. You know what, we all want it for a year. That's what President Obama has been talking about for months. We had the opportunity to do it for a year. And we now have the opportunity to make sure that American families get the tax cut, which they desperately need, and work on doing it for a year by extending it for two months. The Tea Party caucus has absolutely decided to put politics before any policy.
And what's more, Speaker Boehner has absolutely zero control over that Tea Party caucus, which makes him one of the worst speakers in American history.
KAYE: All right, Crystal, very quickly, I mean, how do you think it is all playing out in terms of this? But really just focusing on the freshmen members of the House, do they understand what's happening here?
WRIGHT: They absolutely understand. What the freshman Tea Party members of the House understand is that they got Speaker Boehner his job. They were able to tip the scale and put Republicans back in the leadership in the House.
I think Maria is not being accurate here. Even Obama, she points out, said let's get it done for a year. The payroll tax cuts should be for a year. So if Senate Democrats can do it for two months, they can hammer it out. Nobody needs to go home for Christmas. They need to get it done for a year. Boehner is smart. He's taking a risk. But at the end of the day, he doesn't know what tricks the Democrats are going to pull. And tax experts have said we need to get the deal done for a year. It's too confusing to have it -- two months go by in a blink of an eye. It's a Band-Aid fix. So I think he's doing the right thing. He's got to get it done.
(CROSSTALK)
CARDONA: Even Senate Republicans are criticizing Boehner for this.
KAYE: Maria, Maria, no. No, can do.
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: Crystal Wright and Maria Cardona, thanks so much.
(LAUGHTER)
CARDONA: Thank you, Randi.
KAYE: That is "Fair Game."
2011 was a year of remarkable events -- falling dictatorships, royal weddings, tsunamis, even political Twitter scandals. See if your list of the top stories in 2011 matches ours. It's coming your way next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: With a week and a half left to the New Year, it is time to look back at the old one. And what a year it has been. It included an Arab Spring, a royal wedding, a nuclear meltdown and the end of a long war.
As CNN's Joe Johns reports, the year started with a senseless violent attack that shocked the entire country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Martin Savidge here at the CNN Center in Atlanta. We're following breaking news. The story out of Tucson, Arizona, at this hour, several people have been shot.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: January 8th, tragedy in Tucson as accused gunman, Jared Lee Loughner, goes on a shooting rampage, killing six and wounding 13, including Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, THE SITUATION ROOM: It's a crackdown on anti-government rage. Police in Egypt are clashing with protests.
JOHNS: January 25th, Egypt's Tahrir Square becomes the staging grounds for massive anti-government demonstrations. Protesters demand President Hosni Mubarak give up power.
UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're chanting (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE), which in Arabic means, free Egypt. And certainly, that is what they are celebrating here tonight.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, the son of Moammar Gadhafi, on Libyan state television there, basically warning the people of Libya, saying this is not Tunisia. This is not Egypt. Things will go in a much different direction.
JOHNS: February 16th, all eyes on Libya as anti-Gadhafi protesters take to the streets in Benghazi. A bloody crackdown followed. It would take months before Gadhafi was capture and killed. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my god, the building is going to fall.
UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: A massive wall of water, this devastating tsunami. It swept ashore along Japan's northeastern coast, surging well inland sweeping away cars and boats and homes, almost anything in its path.
JOHNS: March 11th, scenes of utter devastation as an earthquake measuring 9.0 spawns a tsunami off Japan's coast. The walls of water heavily damage nearby nuclear reactors. And for weeks, the Japan government and its people feared the worse, massive radiation leaks.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'll tell you, these people are very resilient and working very hard. There's a lot to deal with. Just to see what they've been dealing with over the last couple of days, it's complete destruction.
JOHNS: April 25th, a tornado outbreak across the southeast leaves more than 300 dead.
(CHEERING)
PIERS MORGAN, CNN HOST, PIERS MORGAN: One of the greatest days I can remember in my lifetime in this country, quite remarkable.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: We're going to bring you the pomp and pageantry, the big moment from the wedding and the reception, the moment of the day --
JOHNS: April 29th, Prince William married his long-time girlfriend, Kate Middleton, a commoner, at Westminster Abby. Following the nuptials, the two took a pageant-filled ride through the streets of London.
(CHEERING)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world, the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda.
COOPER: Tonight, the president of the United States saying, almost 10 years after 9/11, justice has been done. Osama bin Laden is dead. That is why you see that happening right there in Lafayette Park across the street from the White House.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The political chattering classes were in hyper overdrive this morning, I can tell you that. This has come as a real bombshell.
JOHNS: May 14th, the head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, is plucked from a flight minutes before takeoff. A hotel maid in New York accused him of sexual assault. The charges were later dropped.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was really unbelievable to even hear this this morning. Quite a bombshell this morning. They are breaking a story out of California that the former governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger --
JOHNS: May 17th, political bombshell. The former governor of California, Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, confesses to fathering a child outside of his marriage to journalist, Maria Shriver. The two later announced an end to the marriage.
UNIDENTIFIED JURY FOREMAN: As to the charge of first-degree murder, verdict as to count one, we, the jury, find the defendant not guilty.
NANCY GRACE, HOST, NANCY GRACE: The devil is dancing tonight.
JOHNS: May 24th, Casey Anthony goes on trial for the murder of her little girl, Caylee, in Orlando. Shock and outrage when a jury clears her of the crime six weeks later.
UNIDENTIFIED CNN ANCHOR: We've got breaking news. Let's get straight to the Hill.
Dana Bash, I'm wondering if this has to do with Anthony Weiner.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I spoke to a Democratic source who is knowledgeable about Anthony Weiner's plans, who tells CNN that he does plan to resign from Congress today.
JOHNS: May 27th, Congressman Anthony Weiner, embroiled in a scandal after a lewd picture of himself was sent to a woman on Twitter, resigns weeks later.
ANTHONY WEINER, FORMER SENATOR: I'm announcing my resignation from Congress.
(CHEERING)
COOPER: Breaking news tonight, a major arrest in one of America's most-wanted criminals after a string operation.
JOHNS: June 22nd, fugitive no more. Alleged organized crime figure, James "Whitey" Bulger, wanted for at least 19 murders, is caught in California.
NASA ANNOUNCER: Two, one, zero and liftoff! The final liftoff of "Atlantis." On the shoulders of the space shuttle, America will continue the dream.
JOHNS: July 9th, the shuttle "Atlantis" lifts off at Kennedy Space Center, the final shuttle launch of the program.
NASA ANNOUNCER: The shuttle "Atlantis," the space shuttle spreads its wings one final team.
UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: A scandal brings down a storied Sunday tabloid. JOHNS: July 10th, at 168 years in existence, Rupert Murdoch's "News of the World" newspaper shuts down amid claims the paper hacked royals, politicians and even crime victims.
UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: Two explosives have rocked central Oslo, wounding at least eight people.
JOHNS: July 22nd, terror in Norway. In Oslo, a bombing kills eight people. On nearby Utoya Island, at least 70 people, many of them youngsters attending a political youth camp are shot to death. The tragedy stuns the tiny nation. The accused attacker is later described as a right wing Christian extremist.
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KAYE: Well, you have just seen the first half of the year. So what about the rest? Our countdown continues next.
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KAYE: We've been looking back at 2011. We took you from January through July just before the break. Now our Joe Johns picks it up the rest of the year from here.
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COOPER: It's a remark moment. This is a remarkably important vote for the country. It's also a remarkable emotional moment for this Democratic Congresswoman to return to the House floor for the first time.
JOHNS: August 1st, a rare moment of bipartisan support on Capitol Hill.
COOPER: Breaking news that could impact your credit rating or what you pay for credit card. The ratings agency, Standard & Poor's, served notice this afternoon that is plans to downgrade the government's AAA credit rating.
JOHNS: A big blow to the world's largest economy. America's credit rating is downgraded from AAA to AA-plus. Standard & Poor's blames it on the lack of cooperation between the White House and Congress to get a handle on the America's debt problem.
Breaking news now, CNN just confirming that Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple Incorporated, has resigned his position --
Jobs died October 5th. Flowers were left at many Apple stores around the world.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right, in New York City, they are regrouping from Occupy anarchy. There were scuffles and bursts of violence, scuffles with police. Some clashes got bloody. Protesters lifting barricades, blocking traffic and clogging subways. JOHNS: September 17th, the Occupy Wall Street movement takes steam. Protesters take a stand against what they think is corporate greed. The movement grows over then next few months, even spreading to other countries.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Breaking news for you. The hikers have been released. Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal having been in an Iranian jail since 2009.
UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is giving rise to expectation. These are the people who are feeling that Mahmoud Abbas (ph), their leader, has put them on the map.
JOHNS: September 23rd, after years of failing to reach a peace deal with Israel, the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, asks the U.N. to recognize Palestine. The request fell on deaf ears in the Security Council.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's start with breaking news. It's pretty big. We have just learned that an American citizen linked to al Qaeda has been killed.
JOHNS: September 30th, a CIA drone strike in Yemen takes the life of Anwar al-Awlaki, the al Qaeda leader in the Arabian Peninsula. He was an American citizen.
UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalet (ph), is free after more than five years in captivity.
JOHNS: October 18th, Israel releases more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for just one, Corporal Gilad Shalet (ph), held by Hamas for over five years.
LEMON: The college sports world is reeling from child sex abuse accusations against an ex coach for the Penn State Nitanny Lions football team.
JOHNS: November 6th, the former assistant football coach at Penn State, Jerry Sandusky, is charged with multiple counts of abusing as many as 10 young boys over a span of 15 years. The scandal brought shame to the school and ended the year of legendary coach, Joe Paterno.
UNIDENTIFIED JURY FOREMAN: We, the jury, in the above entitled action, find the defendant, Conrad Robert Murray, guilty.
JOHNS: November 7th, Conrad Murray is convicted at his trial over the death of pop superstar, Michael Jackson. Murray got four years in prison for the crime.
COSTELLO: It's happened again. Another child sex scandal at a major university. A college basketball coach accused of abusing a ball boy for more than a decade.
JOHNS: November 17th, two men appear on ESPN, accusing former Syracuse assistant basketball coach, Bernie Fine, of sexually abusing them. Later, a tape surfaced of Fine's wife, in which Lori Fine appears to know about her husband's alleged abuse.
KAYE: We're following a couple of breaking stories here in the CNN NEWSROOM. First, we want to tell you about the former Illinois governor, Rod Blagojevich. He has just been sentenced to 14 years in prison. He was convicted of corruption charges, including trying to sell President Obama's Senate seat.
LEMON: This is breaking news, Hala, and it is history. The war in Iraq is officially over. U.S. troops are moving across the border into Kuwait, Hala.
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And what this means is that really the last vehicle of last convoy of the last, last, last anything you can imagine in terms of the military, is crossing into Kuwait.
JOHNS: December 17th, the final American combat troops in Iraq depart, ending American's long war there.
Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Certainly was an incredible year and it's not over yet.
It's no secret that Congress' approval rating is lousy. But just how bad is it? Our Paul Steinhauser has the results of some new polls.
Also, we're getting word that Speaker John Boehner will hold a news conference at 2:15 eastern to address the payroll tax situation. Be sure to stay with CNN for complete live coverage.
But first, the karma bus takes out two Grinches throwing a wrench in the holiday season. These two were accused of stealing several items at a Utah supermarket. They were cited and released but the drama didn't end there. Turns out, they went to the parking lot and discovered someone had broken into their car, stolen their stereo and some other items, which they promptly reported to the same policeman who had just let them go. Apparently, what goes around really does come around. So here's your 15 minutes of fame. And now it's up.
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KAYE: A new poll reveals how Americans really feel about Washington politicians.
Paul Steinhauser is joining me from the political desk in Washington with the details.
This is going to be a good one, isn't it, Paul?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes. Let's talk about the president, Randi, because it seems more and more Americans are giving the president a thumbs up on how he's dealing with his duties in the White House. Take a look at this. Brand new, out two hours ago from CNN/ORC, a national poll. The president's approval rating now at 49 percent. Look, it was at 44 percent back in November. His disapproval down to 48 percent from 54 percent in November. Randi, what's behind this? Maybe that battle between the Democrats and the president versus the Republicans in Congress over the payroll tax cut. That may be feeding some of this. So for the president, I guess you could say this is good news. That approval rating, a crucial, crucial indicator in how his re-election chances are. Remember, the election is a long way away.
One other quick note. Rick Santorum, running for the Republican presidential nomination, was former Senator from Pennsylvania, today, getting a pretty decent endorsement --
KAYE: Paul, you know what? Paul, let me -- I'm sorry. I hate to interrupt you.
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: But the president is in the Briefing Room, so, obviously, there to talk about the payroll tax cut. Let's listen.
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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... voted to prevent 160 million working Americans from receiving a tax increase on January 1 Nearly the entire Senate voted to make sure that nearly 2.5 million Americans who are out there looking for a job don't lose their unemployment insurance in the first two months of next year. And just about everybody, Democrats and Republicans, committed to making sure that early next year we find a way to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance through the end of 2012.
But now, even though Republicans and Democrats in the Senate were willing to compromise for the good of the country, a faction of Republicans in the House are refusing to even vote on the Senate bill, a bill that cuts taxes for 160 million Americans. And because of their refusal to cooperate, all those Americans could face a tax hike in just 11 days. And millions of Americans who are out there looking for work could find their unemployment insurance expired.
Now, let's be clear. Right now, the bipartisan compromise that was reached on Saturday is the only viable way to prevent a tax hike on January 1. It's the only one. All of the leaders in Congress, Democrats and Republicans, say they are committed to making sure we extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance for the entire year. And, by the way, this is something I called for months ago.
The issue is, is that the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate worked on a one-year deal, made good progress, but determined that they needed more time to reach an agreement. And that's why they passed an insurance policy, to make sure that taxes don't go up on January 1.
In fact, the House Republicans say they don't dispute the need for a payroll tax cut. What they're really trying to do, what they're holding out for, is to wring concessions from Democrats on issues that have nothing to do with the payroll tax cut, issues where the parties fundamentally disagree.
So a one-year deal is not the issue. We can and we will come to that agreement, as long as it's focused on the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance and not focused on extraneous issues.
The issue right now is this: The clock is ticking. Time is running out. And if the House Republicans refuse to vote for the Senate bill, or even allow it to come up for a vote, taxes will go up in 11 days.
I saw today that one of the House Republicans referred to what they're doing as, quote, "high-stakes poker." He's right about the stakes, but this is not poker. This is not a game. This shouldn't be politics as usual. Right now, the recovery is fragile, but it is moving in the right direction. Our failure to do this could have effects not just on families, but on the economy as a whole. It's not a game for the average family who doesn't have an extra $1,000 bucks to lose. It's not a game for somebody who's out there looking for work right now and might lose his house if unemployment insurance doesn't come through. This is not a game for the millions of Americans who will take a hit when the entire economy grows more slowly because these proposals aren't extended.
You know, I just got back from a ceremony at Andrews Air Force Base where we received the flag and the colors that our troops fought under in Iraq. And I met with some of the last men and women to return home from that war. And these Americans and all Americans who serve are the embodiment of courage and selflessness and patriotism. And when they fight together, and sometimes die together, they don't know and they certainly don't care who's a Democrat and who's a Republican and how somebody's doing in the polls and how this might play in the spin room. They work as a team, and they do their job, and they do it for something bigger than themselves.
The people in this town need to learn something from them. We have more important things to worry about than politics right now. We have more important things to worry about than saving face or figuring out internal caucus politics. We have people who are counting on us to make their lives just a little bit easier, to build an economy where hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded, and we owe it to them to come together right now and do the right thing.
That's what the Senate did. Democrats and Republicans in the Senate said we're going to put our fights on other issues aside and go ahead and do what's right on something we all agree to. Let's go ahead and do it. We'll have time later for the politics. We'll have time later to have fights around a whole bunch of other issues. Right now, though, we know this is good for the economy, and they went ahead and did the right thing.
I need the speaker and House Republicans to do the same: Put politics aside. Put aside issues where there are fundamental disagreements and come together on something we agree on. And let's not play brinksmanship. The American people are weary of it. They're tired of it. They expect better.
I'm calling on the speaker and the House Republican leadership to bring up the Senate bill for a vote and give the American people the assurance they need in this holiday season. Thank you.
