pet cause, bullying. she was discussing the topic with the white house and their anti-bullying campaign. valerie jart met with gaga, put on the blog that she was inspired by gaga's message which is that she, herself was bullied. that's her inspiration for pursuing this topic and why it's so near and dear to her heart. >> thank you very much, brianna. next update in one hour. the person who will be getting to that will be suzanne malveaux. hello. >> good news out of the white house and there's lady gaga. >> you saw it. they flipped the script. wait a minute. >> the white house attracts all kinds. you've got to love it. the fact that she snuck in. what? really. not bad. >> good to see you. >> good to see you too. live from studio 7, i'm suzanne malveaux. get you up to speed for this wednesday, december 7th. it is judgment day for rod blagojevich. it's the final day of his sentencing hearing. it begins this hour in chicago.

the former illinois governor is going to have an opportunity to speak before the federal judge announces the sentence. prosecutors want blagojevich to get at least 15 years for his conviction on corruption charges. a 19-year-old man says that jerry sandusky gave him whiskey when he was 12, then sexually abused him. sandusky's latest accuser claims it happened once inside an office inside the penn state football building. the man says he was a member of the second mile. that is sandusky's charity for disadvantaged kids. sarah ganim broke the story. >> there's a lot of new things in this allegation. first of all, we've never heard that sandusky gave one of his victims alcohol. in this situation this man alleges it was in an office in this building and he was given whiskey while jerry sandusky talked to him about his life and how he ended up with the second mile and then he was assaulted. >> so i'm going to speak live

with sara ganim in a few minutes. his preliminary hearing is set for tuesday. his attorney says, quote, we will for the very first time have the opportunity to face jerry's accusers and question them under oath. weshlgs newt gingrich on the rise less than a month to go before the iowa caucuses. there's a new gallup poll that shows the former house speaker double digit lead over all his rivals, including mitt romney. 37% of republicans across the country now say that gingrich is their guy. zeroian groups are reporting more fighting today with government security forces. the u.n. estimates more than 4,000 people have been killed in the uprisings inspired by the arab. syria's president denies ordering his troops to crack down on protesters. he spoke with abc's barbara walters in his first american interview since the uprising. >> reporter: do you think that

your forces cracked down too hard? >> they are not my forces. they are military forces that belong to the government. i don't own them. i'm president. i don't own the country. >> reporter: no, but you have to give the order. >> no. no. no. >> reporter: not by your command? >> no, no one's command. there was no command to kill or to be brutal. >> well, the arab league and turkey have both criticized and sanctioned syria for that violent crackdown. afghan president hamid karzai canceled a trip after double suicide attacks rocked his country. this was the scene after a suicide bombing at a sh iet shrine in kabul. that happened yesterday. 60 people were killed throughout afghanistan on that holy day. an american was also killed. today 19 people at least including women and children

were killed when their bus hid a roadside mine. a group with links to al qaeda and the pass kiss stand taliban claiming responsibility. if you are on medicare, today is the last day that you can change your health and your prescription drug plans. open enrollment is ending at midnight. it was moved up from december 31st. if you want more information on how to change your plans, want you to check out this website, medicare.gov. today is the 70th anniversary of the japanese attack on pearl harbor. survivors are gathering in hawaii for ceremonies at the u.s.s. arizona ne moral. it is estimated that 8,000 survivors are still alive. among today's events a moment of silence and a flyover in missing man formation. we'll have live coverage of the pearl harbor ceremonies in the next hour. president's making a big

push for the middle class on the campaign trail right now, but is this new message going to make a difference to the voters? carol costello, she's joining us from new york with the talk back question. carol, he used it the last time. what do we think this time? >> it's a little different this time, suzanne. >> absolutely. >> it is. occupy wall street has given birth to obama 2012. this weekend has morphed into income inequalitiy and what's fair. this is the president in kansas. >> fewer and fewer of the folks who contributed to the success of our economy actually benefitted from that success. those at the very top grew wealthier from their incomes, investments. >> many analysts expect to hear mr. obama say that a lot in 2012. while most analysts say the president's speech echoed teddy

roosevelt's, it also echoed occupy wall street. why not. why wouldn't president obama occupy their message? that said, income inequality is real in america. many americans feel the middle class is disappearing, but how to bridge the gap. president obama suggests in part making the rich pay their fair share. republicans call that class warfare and a knockout punch to those who create jobs. so the talk back question for you, can mr. obama win by attacking the rich? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read your comments. >> thank you, carol. here's a rundown of some of the stories that we are covering. first, another young man accuses penn state's former coach of sexual abuse. hear how his case is actually different from the other sandusky accusers. and from protesting wall street to now working on wall street. >> i have been accused of being a traitor to both sides.

then the dea is accused of launderring drug money. one source says it is only to catch the bad guys. also, believe it or not a home in tennessee burns to the ground while firefighters watch from the sidelines. hear directly from county officials why they let that happen. later, tired of the dropped calls, irritating customer service. customers name the worst cell phone providers in the country.

so yet another man has stepped up to say that jerry sandusky sexually abused him. the new allegations stand out

because they are actually different from some of the others in the penn state sex abuse investigation. s sa ra ganim broke the story. she writes for "the patriot news." what does the latest accuser claim happened? >> he's a 19-year-old man who was 12 when it allegedly happened. he was separated from the other kids, taken on a tour of the football building, and then taken to an office where he says sandusky gave him whiskey, started talking to him about his life, about his involvement with the second mile, and then assaulted him. >> and, sara, tell us about this alleged approach or procedure, if you will, with this young man. how is it any different from the allegations that we've heard from the eight others outlined in the grand jury report? >> there are some similarities,

but there are also some things that we haven't heard before. number one, we've heard that assaults have been alleged to have happened in the football building. that lash building on penn state's campus. however, all the ones that we heard about up until this point had to do with the showers and the locker room. this one involves an office, and we're not sure which office it was, who it belonged to. jerry sandusky did have an office on campus. it was something given to him as part of his retirement plan, with y but it's not clear where it was. another new thing is the allegation that he gave the child alcohol. in the grand jury report there is an allegation and mention that victim four came forward and said at some point when he was pulling away from jerry, that he had given him some money and drove him to buy marijuana. that's the only similarity to the grand jury report. we've never heard alcohol mentioned before. >> sara, we know he has a preliminary hearing coming up on tuesday. we know a number of his accusers are going to have to testify.

what about these new allegations, are they going to also be part of that as well? >> you know, that's not clear. there's always the potential, because it's an ongoing investigation, that the attorney general's office could file charges before next tuesday, however, at this point that hasn't happened. by my count, you know, there are five people who have come forward and made public statements against jerry sandusky in addition to those eight outlined in that grand jury report. none of them have had charges filed by the attorney general's office. so i think we have to wait and see what happens after that preliminary hearing. sandusky's attorney has vowed it will happen, but i guess the question moving forward then is if more charges are filed, are they going to have another one and potentially another one? how many times are they going to do this? >> thank you so much. excellent reporting as always. if you're not satisfied with your cell phone carrier, you've probably got a lot of company. we're going to fill you in on which company ranks at the

bottom.

we have some breaking news here. this is news on the former syracuse assistant basketball

coach, bernie fine, who has been accused of sexually abusing young boys and was let go of that team. we are now getting news from the district attorney's office, bill fitzpatrick, stating that he cannot, cannot bring charges against bernie fine as the statute of limitations has expired. now he goes on to say, the district attorney, that he finds the ball boy's, davis and lang who accused fine of sexual abuse to be credible but the charges are just too old. you may recall this is a story, three men, including those two former ball boys for the team, they have accused fine of molesting them at his home on the road with the team in facilities there. fitzpatrick, the distribute attorney says that the third man's allegations do not relate to onadaga county. they happened too long ago to be

prosecuted. the claims of the third man, however, do fall within the federal statutes of limitations. they are being investigated by the u.s. secret service. this developing story, breaking news in the case of bernie fine with at least two of the accused and their accusations that they were sexually molested by this coach, they have to be thrown out because of the statute of limitations. the charges are just too old. we'll have more details on that story as it warrants. a young woman fed up with wealth and inequality, she joins the protesters, right? she got tired of people asking her why doesn't she have a job. now she does have one. guess where. wall street. joining us from new york is chris knowels who talked with the young woman about her new gig. chris, she sounds to me like she can't get a break either way. >> that's right. some are accusing her of being a hypocrite. some are all right with it. the occupiers of wall street, as you know, are portrayed as

radicals, young kids without focus, ne'er-do-wells who do anything but get a job. one woman used her time in zuccotti park differently and finds herself occupying a different space on wall street. >> reporter: somewhere in this gathering of the so-called 99% there is one who would soon join the 1. she just didn't know it yet. >> there were some days when it was a carnival, lots of music, drumming, costumes, marching, protesting. >> reporter: tracy post tert said she jumped into the occupy movement all in banging drums, washing paint and dirt-covered sidewalks. in the past few years the biochemist says she's found her selves unemployed and underemployed until a few weeks ago when she says she decided to change her protest sign to a job wanted sign and bunkered down in zuccotti park with a handful of

resumes. >> pass sers by would say, get a job. i wouldn't have a really good reresponsibilities spons to that. i wanted to say, i'm trying to get a job. you can't prove it. i said, why don't i make a sign and hand out my resume at occupy wall street. that is proving that i am actively looking for a job. >> reporter: in two days she says someone spotted her, exchanged e-mails, and a job offer followed. that someone, a top executive at a wall street financial firm. in other words, the enemy. >> it might sound like it's a fish out of water story or a square peg in a round hole, but it's really not. >> reporter: tracy, how's your new boss? >> i like him. >> reporter: for now tracy is researching early stage biotech companies for the firm. she says she plans to take a test that will allow her to become a broker and a ful full-flemminged member of the 1%. >> i have been accused of being

a traitor to both sides. some people are saying that the whole time i was at occupy wall street i was a wall street insider. >> reporter: tracy says she'll keep that sign of hers and promises to protest again when she finds something, well, worth protesting. suzanne? >> good to see she got a job. she's employed. that's a good thing. thank you. head to new york stock exchange for a look at how the markets are doing. alison kosik is joining us. alison, what are we watching today? >> we're definitely keeping our eye on europe. the market is watching europe. you're seeing a little pessimism creep back into the market especially after an unconfirmed report that germany is going to be saying no to a proposal that would essentially double a bailout fund. it looks like investors are still trying to keep hope alive. the losses are pretty minimal. the hope is that eurozone leaders can come to some sort of concrete, comprehensive agreement at the end of the

week. analysts are warning that politicians better come up with something and not disappoint the markets or you could wind up seeing stocks giving back some of the recent gains that we saw last week where we saw the dow run up almost 800 points. that was last week. we are, of course, in a new week this week. >> little bit better this week. i understand "consumer reports" out looking for the best and worth mobile phone providers in the country based on customer satisfaction. i suspect i know which one is going to be worst and best. why don't you tell us. >> yeah, i think a lot of us know the answer. not a huge surprise here. at&t of the four major carriers coming in dead last. this is, in fact, the second year in a row this is happening. it got the worst rating for value, for worst voice quality, for customer support as well. what at&t is saying, look, we're learning from this "consumer reports" survey. we're doing better on those dropped calls. it's been a tough year for at&t. the government blocked at&t's

$39 billion planned purchase of t-mobile u.s.a. it seems that at&t just can't catch a break. it's got some stuff competition. verizon is consistently number one. guess why? come on, guess why, suzanne. >> i don't know. >> did i stum you? >> kind of. >> this could be surprising. because of customer service verizon is consistently number one in customer service. a lot of us want to get help. we want things accomplished. we want people to be nice to us when we're getting that help. it looks like verizon is at least delivering on that consistently. >> that's not so surprising. we want a little help from time to time with our phones. thanks, alison. >> exactly. >> there's also something on facebook you might want to check out. it might cause you a little bit of concern here. if you're a facebook user, there's this glitch that actually allowed folks to snoop the private pictures of everybody, any member regardless of your privacy settings. they say it was caused by a bug

in the new computer code. it shut down the code system until the bug was fixed. the tech blog was able to actually see several photos from the facebooks of mark zuker mer's private account. this is not so bad. one of the pictures was president obama. it's nothing "r" rated. there's nothing private, alison. >> tell me about it. it seems like there's always something new with facebook as far as this privacy controls. i don't know about you, but i can't keep track of t. i can't keep it going. i go on as little as possible i hate to say. twitter's for me. >> it's really tough. i keep everything rated "g." that's the best thing to do. >> good advice. next, a home in tennessee burns to the ground while firefighters watch from the sidelines. >> i could look out my mom's trailer and see the truck

sitting had in the distance. >> we'll ask county officials why they let that happen. after just one use. t/gel shampoo. it works. neutrogena®. and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. [ woman ] lower cholesterol. [ man 2 ] yummy. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. yeah, i toog nyguil bud i'm stild stubbed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't un-stuff your nose. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your stuffy nose. [ deep breath ] thank you! that's the cold truth!

here's a rundown of some of the stories that we're working on. firefighters do nothing as a house burns down. it all boils down to a fee that amounts to 21 cents a day. allegations that the da laundered money for mexican car tells. congress now investigating. later mitt romney says he is changing his strategy. find out what's going on in the political update. that's at 11:45. so in a small town in tennessee, a story that's outraged a lot of people here. firefighters stood by and watched as a family's home burned to the ground. it happened outside south fulton, tennessee. it's happened there before. the family did not pay a fee that's required for a fire service outside the town limits. reporter jason hibbs with our

affiliate wpsd has the story. >> in an emergency, that's the first thing you think, call 911. >> now the city, they come out. >> reporter: and so did firefighters. >> because no one disputes they were dispatched. they showed they were on scene. >> reporter: once here, they only watched. >> you could look out my mom's trailer and see the truck sitting in a distance. >> reporter: for vicky bell, that sight was almost as disturbing as the fire itself. >> we just wished we could have gotten more out. >> reporter: it's a controversial policy we've dealt with before. people in the city have fire protection, but those in the county do not unless they pay a $75 annual fee. with this policy, the city makes no exceptions. >> there's no way to go to every fire and be able to keep up the manpower, the equipment, and just the funding for the fire department. >> reporter: mayor david crocker says by now everyone should know about the city's fire policy. >> after the last situation i

would hope that everybody would have been well aware of the fire fees. >> reporter: bell and her boyfriend admit they were aware but thought this would never happen to them. tonight, this hotel is home for tonight. these two are just happy to be alive. >> we're alive and everybody's okay. >> tennessee's mayor, benny mcquire. thank you very much for being with us. you look at this story, and it's tragic. it's tragic here. how do you explain having firefighters stand by and watch these people's home burn? >> well, that is a policy that's in the cities. we live in rural america. our county commission has agreed with the cities to collect a subscription fee and then return the money to the cities. it's in their policies in each community or each city to respond or not. >> mayor, i get that.

i understand the policy here, but where's the compassion? >> well, it's still up to the cities to respond or not. this is the agreement that we made between the county and the cities and this is up to them. >> do you understand how people would look at this and find this hard to believe, that they would get angry by this? >> i can understand that. i sure can. >> do you have any exceptions to this? >> the only exception to this would be if there's life-threatening situation, then they would respond. >> let me ask you this, why not work out a different kind of deal here, right? so they don't pay the fee. why not have the firefighters put out the fire while the house is burning, bill the family later, and sort it out afterwards, after the fire is sout and the house is saved? >> that would be the policy of the city, not the county. >> and why not change the county policy so that you could accommodate that so people

wouldn't lose their homes? >> that would require a lot more revenue from the county and our county commissioners are not willing to increase the taxes to the rate they need to to support this. >> what happens if a family can't pay this fee? is there any kind of program to help out the poor. >> there is no program to help out the poor in the county. >> there are some firefighters, i understand, who really have a hard time with this. i mean, you imagine it's their job to help save property and save lives. how do you keep a fire department, their morale, their purpose here when you have this kind of policy? >> you've got to understand, we're rural america. 90% of the firefighters in our county are strictly volunteer. they all have full-time jobs. >> mayor, i want to thank you for your time. mayor benny mcquire for trying to explain this. obviously there is a financial burden and situation that is taking place where you are, but

a lot of families, too, that are suffering when they look at their homes burning to the ground. hopefully there can be some sort of resolution to that situation there. it really is quite a tragic story when you look at it. mayor, we appreciate your coming on to explain this. breaking news story, the district attorney announcing now that there are no charges against the former syracuse basketball coach, bernie fine. there is a statute of limitations that has run out on at least two of the young men who have accused him of sexual molestation. i want to go to gary tuckman. he was at that news conference that was held byth district attorney in syracuse. gary, tell us what the da said and what's the future now. >> suzanne, what the district attorney says is the statute of limitations had expired, if it hadn't, this is the big news, there's no doubt whatsoever that criminal charges would have been filed against bernie fine. he would have asked a grand jury to indict bernie fine.

he says that these first two accusers, bobby davis, mike lang, step-brothers, we've interviewed mike lang, they're kretd dibl. there's probable cause they were molested by bernie fine. this distribute attorney made a point to say bobby, referring to the first accuser, i'm so sorry it took so long. he also says something else that's very interesting. you may have heard of another accuser has come forward, a man by the name of zach tomaselli. he doubts his credibility. he doubts zach's credibility. there's been talk of an accuser number four. that accuser number four, they completely doubt his credibility as a man who is serving a life sentence in prison. according to the district attorney, there's no accuser number four. they totally respect the credibility of the first two accusers and the top story is criminal charges would have been filed if the statute of

limitations hadn't expired. the district attorney says nothing can be done now, this is a big unless, unless another victim has come forward. that hasn't happened. >> is there any recourse that those two individuals can take, like a civil suit or anything like that? is this just over? >> reporter: no, there's certainly civil suits that can be filed. we don't know if that's going to happen. there are no criminal charges that can be filed on behalf of these two men who the distribute attorney says their claims are very credible. he also says, suzanne, we've heard this audio tape that has laurie fine, bernie's wife on it, the statute of limitations expired for laurie fine too. if it hadn't, they would investigate her for the possible endangering of a child. they have a lot of blame for bernie and laurie and a lot of sympathy for the accusers. >> who was actually there at this hearing? were the fines there? >> reporter: this is simply a news conference. it is not known right now where bernie fine is. i can tell you last week i had a

chance to talk to laurie fine for a short amount of time. she's still in her house with their children. i was really surprised. she's gotten a lot of scorn since this audiotape was released. she was smiling when i talked to her but she ultimately slammed the door in my face. >> gary, real quickly here. you said bobby davis, what was his response? obviously the judge says he is so, so sorry. do we know how the alleged victims are taking this now? >> reporter: yeah. i think they feel like people are finally listening to them. bobby davis came forward in 2002. the local new hampshispaper acks he was going to make a tape with laurie fine. the newspaper heard the tape but made the decision not to go to the police or district attorney to ask them about it. syracuse university conducted an investigation in 2005. they say their intentions were good but it wasn't a thorough enough investigation.

the district attorney says he didn't know about this tape or case until two weeks ago. statute of limitations has expired. there's no other victim that comes forward or no other accuser that comes forward, bernie fine will not suffer any criminal punishment from this case. >> amazing development there. thank you very much. we'll have more on this after a quick break. forty years ago, he wasn't worried about retirement. he'd yet to hear of mutual funds, iras, or annuities. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was.

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taking a look at stories and video across the country making news. begin in washington state which had the last big homecoming of military men and women who served in iraq. there were lots of hugs and kisses, well wishes. 170 army troops touched down at accord field yesterday. nice reunion. to dublin, california, where the tv show "myth busters" busted up somebody's van and front door of the house after launching a cannonball

reportedly. the owner says he was lucky nobody was inside. >> i looked inside. there was a big cannonball. it was about this big. it was about ten inches. i was scared. i'm lucky my kids weren't inside the van. hitting the road has been risky in parts of arkansas. earlier this week several 18 wheelers jack knife on ice slicked roads. several accidents were also reported. thankfully no injuries. newt gingrich who says that mitt romney should be thanking him for making him rich. what did he mean by that? hear him in his own words up next. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. that's 1% back on... [ toy robot sounds ] 2% on pumpkin pie. and apple. 3% back on 4 trips to the airport. it's as easy as 1...

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all right. sonewt gingrich holds a phd in history. one comedian says his education, viewpoints make him the perfect president to lead the country into the 18th century. that's right. another spin on gingrich in today's punch line. >> latest news, newt gingrich is riding very high in the polls. he's the frontrunner now, i believe. some polls have him as the front-runner by a large margin. i'm surprised. if you see him, his campaign ads, his message isn't very positive. >> the america we know and love is a thing of the past. america.

it's over. newt gingrich, 2012, it's over. all right. so new gallup poll shows that newt gingrich was way out in front of the other republicans. former house speaker has now a double digit lead over all his rivals including mitt romney. 37% of republicans now say that. what is romney going to do to fight back. joe johns from the political desk. the romney campaign, how are they responding to all of this? >> it sounds like mitt romney's going to scale back the fundraising trips, get down to business in the early voting states. he's also been criticized quite a bit for seemingly shieg away from tv interviews. he's going to step up the interviews. we're being told to expect more retail politicking from mitt romney, especially in the early voting states including iowa, new hampshire, south carolina, florida. we're told his message, suzanne, is essentially going to stay the

same. the campaign has said it will draw contrasts, if you will, between mitt romney and newt gingrich when it's appropriate. he's got to do something. this is all a reflection of the campaign schedule, the fact that they're a month out from the iowa caucuses. also a reflection of the fact that newt gingrich is really just started surging in what would appear to be the right time for the gingrich campaign. you know, do it now or forget about it. >> timing is everything in the caucuses, prime marries right around the corner. newt gingrich said something interesting. he said romney should be thanking him now. what does he mean by that? >> that's pretty interesting, isn't it? newt gingrich takes credit and he also takes blame for a lot of thing that happened while nefs public life especially when he was speaker of the house of representatives. he can lay claim for giving republicans control of the house. this time he's taking credit for something else. it's about the days when he,

along with some others, including people like jack kem p, the congressman, were pushing supply side economics dating all the way back to the reagan administration. gingrich said he was part of that small group of republicans that sort of changed the direction of the u.s. economy, if you will, in the 1980s. he argues that he was part of the decision-making process that allowed guys like mitt romney to amass personal wealth. listen. >> you could make an argument that i helped mitt romney to be. i did the macro economic things necessary to make his career possible. >> he should be thanking me. so now mitt romney apparently owes newt gingrich a favor. who knew? >> i don't think romney's thanking him much now. thank you, joe. cnn has the best political coverage on tv. stay with us for all of these interviews. you have congressman ron paul, he's going to be in the "cnn newsroom" at 3:00 p.m. eastern.

you have newt gingrich and rick perry joining wolf blitzer. michele bachmann will be john king's guest. that is happening at 7:00 p.m. eastern. then you have the real estate mogul tv reality star and debate moderator donald trump joining piers morgan at 9:00 eastern. joe, are you still there? >> i am in fact. indeed. hi, suzanne. >> we had another story. >> are you going to make fun of me? >> no. we have another story. we know commander in chief is a tough job. it takes its toll. we covered bush, obama. even obama likes to joke, right, that the white house is turning him gray. why don't you listen. >> i have a lot more gray hair than i did last year. >> so we saw that, right? it's not just obama. you have clinton, you have bush. everybody has a touch of gray living in the white house. it certainly looks like these

guys are aging faster in office. we have now found out that there's a professor from the university of illinois who says that presidents actually tend to live longer than the rest of us. two-thirds of the presidents actually live past their projected life spans. they talk about wealth, education, access to health care big factors in how long they live. so, i don't know. what's with all the gray? research says that it's stress, joe, that makes you gray faster. touch of gray kind of suits him, don't you think? are you a little gray, joe? >> i know from stress, right? but i come from the ali velshi school of hair styling. when people go to the white house, they should think about that. at some point just cut it off. >> just shaf it all off. >> that's right. >> makes you look ten years younger. no stress in this business, right, joe? >> none at all. who's laughing right now? ha! >> i've got a few grays myself. thanks, joe. >> where?

not one. >> thanks, joe. president obama, he's been talking tough on the campaign trail when it comes to the economic inequality. can he actually win by attacking the rich? we're letting you join the conversation in talk back up next. subaru owners care about. that's why we created the share the love event. get a great deal on a new subaru and $250 goes to your choice of 5 charities. with your help, we can reach $20 million dollars by the end of this, our fourth year.

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we're getting a lot of responses to today's talk back question. can president obama win by attacking the rich. carol, do people think this is a working strategy? >> some people do. what is clear, a lot of people have a strong opinion on this one. this from carla. if asking someone to pay their fair share for the services provided is attacking, then yes. this from lyn. i'm so sick and tired of hearing fair share. if congress wants more money, fix the laws that have created loopholes. this from britney. same question needs to be asked about the republicans. can they win by attacking the majority, the working class? and this from brian.

i voted for him and he has done a horrible job. he doesn't realize he is part of the problem they are protesting. i will be back with you in about 20 minutes. >> all right, thanks carol. we have an interesting story about folks who are tweeting all the time. facebook and twitter, they tweet anywhere. this is interesting. next time you check something out you can ask for tweet seats. usa today says more people at more places are reserving seats for social networking folks. if you want to enjoy the show without somebody tweeting in front of you. the tweet seats are usually in the back or the last row. i am guilty of it. i was tweeting at the kennedy senter and my sister thought i was crazy. >> you weren't paying attention? >> i was paying attention but it's a four and a half hour

show. i was updating my twitter followers. we were sharing it together. >> i am hearing it is a four hour show? it was boring so you needed something to do so you were tweeting. >> it was not boring, i was just bringing everyone into the fold. now they will make me sit in the back. tweet seats for those of us who tweet. >> that's what i have to say. >> really? you're the one who tweets all the time. >> i don't tweet when i'm like at a show or a movie or opera. who could afford an opera anyway. but if i were able to afford it, i would not be tweeting. >> okay. big l on my head. loser, okay. i got it, carol. >> i'll forgive you. >> thanks. >>. >> cracking down on the drug cartel. how far u.s. agents are going to go to be a part of the inner workings.

so the son of deposed libyan leader gadhafi tried to come south of the u.s. border. mexico said that he was planning to sneak into the country with false documents. four people were arrested last month in connection. gadhafi was killed but his son was captured just a few weeks ago. >> lawmakers on both sides of the border are calling for an investigation into the u.s. drug

enforcement administration's possible use of questionable tactics. it is said the agents used money laundering. here are the details. >> reporter: mexican lawmakers say they're furious. they're demanding an investigation after learning the dea might have allowed its agents to launder money, possibly even on mexican soil as part of an investigation into the inner workings of mexican drug cartels. >> this is not increasing the trust among countries to work together to fight crime. further more you can't fight crime amid criminal acts and violating the law. >> reporter: last weekend the "new york times" said that they have handled shipments of hundreds of thousands of dollars of illegal cash across borders. >> of course there is a jurisdiction problem and in the end may be a violation of

sovereignty. that has to be determined and find out where the operations were carried out. >> a former agent said that infiltration is not only happening but it's essential in investigations aimed at dismantling mexican criminal organizations. >> there is only one way really to catch these major drug cartels, the leaders, and that's to follow the money. because these leaders don't go anywhere near the drugs themselves. they hire people to do that. >> the dea said it would not discuss the operational aspects of law enforcement activities. it added we have been working with the mexican government to fight money laundering for years. as a result, we have seized ill lis it criminal organization money all around the world through our partnership with law enforcement. >> the real question here is whether or not undercover agents need to sell drugs, buy drugs, launder money. i have got tell you there is no way to make these kinds of great

international conspiracy cases unless you will do that. >> last month the mexican government requested extradition of atf agents involved in fast and furious. this involved smuggling illegal firearms, but many weapons were lost and possibly ended up in criminal hands. cnn, atlanta. >> top of the hour. i want to get you up to speed. new development in the sex abuse investigation at syracuse university. the district attorney says he cannot file charges against bernie fine. it is said that if alleged child molestation happened so long ago that the statute of limitations has expired. the allegations by two former ball boys are credible.

a third man has come forward and claims that fine abused him back in 2002, and that case remains under investigation. i want to bring in gary, who was at the news conference in syracuse. he is joining us live by phone. explain to us what happens next. >> well, with the district attorney's office here in new york, nothing unless another accuser comes forward. but it's very significant to note that the district attorney says he totally believes the stories of bobby davis and mike lang. he says there is no doubt criminal charges would have been filed against bernie fine and we would have asked the grand jury to indict if the statute of limitations had not expired. according to bobby davis, he said bobby, i'm sorry it took so long. and regarding his step brother who we just interviewed last week, he said mike, you did the

right thing in talking about what happened to you, too. as of this point unless another credible accuser comes forward and alleged molestation within the last five years, there is nothing he can do. he says at this point, that zach's claims lack credibility. he says there is some information that contradicts was what said. and another person came forward. this person has been known in legal circles as accuser number four but he is serving a life sentence in prison. what he says also lacks credibility. and the da says there is no accuser number four. it is very important to stress that bobby and mike's allegations, the d.a.'s office very much believes what they have to say about what happened to them. >> let's remind viewers. you talked to mike lang just

last week. let's remind viewers of what fine is being accused of doing. >> so where did he touch you? >> on my leg and my [ bleep ]. >> did you say something to him? >> yes, i said bernie, spleez stop this. i'm not that kind and i won't tolerate it. if you don't want me to come over here any more i won't come over but if you keep doing it i'm not going to come over here. >> what happens next? can they file civil charges? does fine walk away from all of this mess? >> what any of these victims can do is file civil charges. there is no question about that. bobby davis and mike lang will make the decision to file a civil suit, they will have the backing of the district attorney's office. they have not announced that they will do that.

as far as criminal charges, there is nothing they can do about it the statute of limitations are there for a reason. they exist. we have heard bernie's wife on the audio tape. it is described as devastating. he said if he knew about it in 2002, things would have been a lot different. the newspaper here in syracuse knew about it. they had advanced knowledge that bobby davis was going to do this tape. but what the district attorney says because of the statute of limitations there is nothing they can do about lori fine but if there was no statute of limitations, she would be investigated for endangerment of a child. as far as criminal indictment, that isn't going to happen. >> thank you so much. really appreciate it. on to another case, a 19-year-old man says that jerry

sandusky gave him whisky when he was 12 and sexually abused him. he said it happened once inside an office at the peb state football building. he was a member of the second mile, sandusky's charity for disadvantaged kids. i just spoke to the woman who broke the story last hour. >> all the ones that we heard about up until this point had to do with the somehow irs and locker room. this one involved an office. we're not sure which office or who it belonged it. jerry did have an office but it's not clear where that was. >> sandusky's preliminary hearing is scheduled for tuesday now. now his attorney says we will, for the very first time, have the opportunity to face jerry's accusers and question them under oath. rob blagojevich is in federal court right now in chicago to learn his fate.

he was thrown out of office. prosecutors wanted to get at least 15 years in prison. a jury found blagojevich tried to sell the senate seat left open by barack obama when he was elected president. more on that in just a moment. >> newt gingrich, no less than a month to go before the iowa caucuses. there is a new poll that shows he now has a double digit lead over all his rivals including romney. 3 37% of americans say gingrich is their man. and babbitt has resigned after being arrested on saturday night after they allegedly saw him driving on the wrong side of the road. in a statement, babbitt called

his time at the faa the highlight of my professional career. >> back to rob blagojevich and his case. he is now in front of a federal judge to learn about his prison sentence. the most notorious charge, trying to sell the senate seat left open by president obama. sonny, very good to see you here. we're following this very closely. no cameras inside a federal courtroom so we don't know exactly what is happening. based on your time as a federal prosecutor, what do you think is going on? >> it's certainly judgment day for rob blagojevich. what is probably going on right now is the government is asking for a significant amount of prison time. they want about 15 to 20 years and they have made that very clear. it's also his turn and his opportunity to go in front of the court, express his feelings

about the crime. hopefully admit the crime, express some remorse about it, and ask for some mercy from this court. he is expected to say something to the judge. and the judge has made it very clear that he is considering a very stiff jail sentence for rob blagojevich, so it would be -- he is likely being counciled to say something to this judge today. >> so we know prosecutors want anywhere from 15 to 20 years and his attorneys say four years. how much lee way does he have? >> the judge, it's completely up to the judge's discretion. the judge can follow the sentencing guidelines but they are just that. guidelines. he could give blagojevich probation or he could give him 15 to 20 years. by all accounts, this is a stiff sentencing judge, and it is quite possible that he is going to give him a lengthy prison

term because he wants -- in my view, to send a message to other politicians that you just don't do this kind of thing. this has been a very high profile case. we know there is a lengthy history of corruption in chicago, so my guess is he is likely to get a pretty stiff sentence. >> throw the book at him there. a lot of people have made a big deal that blagojevich has not apologized for anything. does that factor into the sentencing here? >> it does and i think that is really significant. not only was he the governor but aloysius anagonye attorney. judges don't like attorneys who don't follow the letter of the law so the fact that he has not expressed remorse is not helpful to him at all. and the judge, his comments yesterday, it is clear that the judge believes he committed the crimes and that it's absurd not to express some sort of remorse. i hope today we will hear some

statement from blagojevich acknowledging these crimes and expressing some remorse. >> he is certainly a colorful character. >> yes he is. >> you see him jogging in the snow wearing shorts, on david letter bachmann. an apprentice fired by donald trump. a lot of people want to see him go behind bars but not f-- >> i don't think it will make a difference. it could hurt him. he has poked fun at him. he has appeared on the apprentice. he has done the david letter bachmaletterman show. i can't imagine that the judge will take his popularity and charm into consideration. i think he will get a pretty lengthy prison term. thank you. now there is admission that there has been a crack down of

protesters in his country but he says it's not as bad as activists claim. we will take a closer look at what he thinks in an interview. and the u.s. government is out with the message for the rest of the world. it says that gay rights are human rights. and republicanial candidate newt gingrich now surging in the poles and now he is facing stuff questions as he gets grilled by radio host glenn beck. oh my gos. look at these big pieces of potato. ♪ what's that? big piece of potato. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. but my nose is still runny.

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[♪...] >> announcer: now get a $250 airfare credit, plus save up to 65%. call 1-800-sandals. certain restrictions apply. >> all right. so president obama is making a big push for the middle class on the campaign trail right now but is the new message going to make

a difference to voters? we are talking to carol in new york with today's talk back question. what's he saying? >> let me tell you, occupy wall street has given birth to yes we can 2012. this is the president in kansas. >> fewer and fewer of the folks who contributed to the success of our economy actually benefitted from that success. those at the very top grew wealthier from their incomes and their investments. >> many analysts say expect to hear mr. obama say that a lot in 2012. most say the president's speech echoed teddy roosevelt's it also echoed occupy wall street. if anger can draw thousands of americans to protest, why wouldn't president obama occupy their message?

that said income inequality is real in america and many americans feel the middle class is disappearing. but how to bridge the gap? president obama suggests making the rich pay their fair share. republicans call that class warfare. the talk back question today, can mr. obama win by attacking the rich? facebook.com/carolcnn. i will read your comments later this hour. >> thank you. after nine months of crack downs in syria, he is now denying he ordered any of it. al-assad now claims the opposite. hear what he tells barbara walters. >> there was no command to kill or be brutal. >> people went from houses to houses. children were arrested. i saw those pictures. >> to be frank, how do you know?

you have to hear and see. we do not see this. it depends on what you hear. >> i saw pictures. >> how did you verify those pictures? that's why we are talking about false allegations and distortion of reality. we don't kill our people. nobody, no government in the world kill its people unless it's led by a crazy person. i became president because of public support. it's impossible for anyone in this state to be ordered to kill. >> do you feel guilty? >> i did my best to protect the people, so i cannot feel guilty when you do your best. >> the u.n. estimates that more than 4,000 people have been killed in the uprisings inspired by the arab spring, both the arab league and turkey have also sanctioned syria.

is he crazy? lying? playing with semantics. joining us to talk about this is a reporter in the middle east. you were held captive in libya for six days. you know what is behind the mind and thinking of aauthoritarian governments. what do we think? is he delusional? >> it is remarkable what we have heard and how it reflects what we have been hearing. it is a lot about false allegations, distortions of reality. an uprising of militant islamists. it's a question whether the president asad believes what he is saying. the leadership -- they still believe they have the support of the majority in sire yria. there is still a similar time of

thinking, president assad listening to his advisors. at the end of the day, they will still be in power. >> we know that the state department says pretty much the same thing. he is playing out for time. how long does he have to hold out until he becomes a weakened leader? >> there are predictions all over the place. some people say a year and a half, some say two years. i heard recently the idea of six months. i think the notion out there right now is that the economy and the devastation of the isolation and sanctions, that will be the biggest threat facing president assad. the economy is crumbling. companies are shutting doors and firing workers. tourism, which was a mainstay of the economy is falling apart. and oil exports have fallen apart. i think when you look at the array of challenges, the economy

is probably at the forefront. >> what do you think of the u.s. role here? we know that the u.s. ambassador to syria is now returning to syr syria. he was pulled for threat to his safety. this does seem to be an indication that obama's administration seems to be able to at least work with the syrian government in some way. >> i think the siyrian government -- i don't think that is necessarily the case. there is a desire to have representation on the ground to have a presence in syria as they go through the transition. i think you are right to point out that the government itself is probably going to read this as a desire to keep open a channel. >> the fact that you have got sanctions from the west, the arab league, and they still haven't convinced assad to step down. you have turkey calling for

assad to resign. this apparently has not worked. what will it take to actually get rid of this guy? >> that's an interesting question. they are facing isolation that syria is in right now is perhaps unprecedented in the four decades that the assad family has ruled. it was a telling interview with abc where he says it's a game you play, it doesn't necessarily mean you believe it. there are critics that believe that the government is still playing a game. that it can knave kate a region and try to play it to itsed a v -- advantage. the longer the government stays in power, the less likely syria has a chance to emerge from the ordeal with a semblance of peace. the country is being pulled apart and that is becoming increasingly clear. >> we will be watching it very

closely. anthony, thank you so much. it's the downside of being at the top of the poles. the questions are getting tougher and now gingrich is getting grilled by fellow conservatives including glenn beck. [ male announcer ] for certain medical conditions where straining should be avoided, colace softens the stool 5 nyquil: you know i relieve coughs, sneezing, fevers? tylenol: me, too. and nasal congestion.

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right now newt gingrich poised to run away with the republican nomination just four weeks until the iowa caucuses. there is a new gallop poll that shows gingrich with a double digit lead over all his rivals including mitt romney. 37% of all republican americans

now behind gingrich. the grilling now begins even within your own party. >> the individual mandate -- >> on his radio show, glenn beck turned up the heat on gingrich, rubbing the speaker's mandate that requires americans to buy medical insurance is a key component in the new medical law. >> here it is may 2011. >> you should have health insurance or post a bond or indicate you will be held accountable. >> you seem to be very interested in the government finding the solution. >> let's go back to what i just said. listen to exactly what i was asked on that show. no matter what i said i will standby it. >> support for an individual mandate? don't ask me to explain this. >> conservative outrage is now featured in a new tv ad from ron

paul. it's a test for the new gop front runner who once posted a video declaring his opposition to a mandate. >> i am completely opposed to the obama care mandate on individuals. i fought for for two and a half years in the senate. >> anyone who earns more than $50,000 a year must purchase health insurance or post a bond. it could be a bitter pill to swallow in the tea party. he has 82% of support, far ahead of romney. a new washington post poll finds that 34% of voters in iowa say it is a reason to oppose romney. >> they will find that he changes his positions much in the same way as romney. >> and and now infamous ad.

>> we don't always see eye to eye, do we? >> no, but we do agree our country must take action to address climate change. >> do you still believe in the, you know, the inconvenient truth as outlined by global climate change advocates? >> well, i never believe in al gore's fantasies. >> he did the ad for al gore's alliance for climate protection. he now calls the spot one of his dumbest mistakes. >> we are live from washington. tell us what this means for mitt romney. it was just a couple weeks ago that he was a front runner guy. >> that's right. it means that mitt romney is going to have to get more aggressive. he indicated that yesterday in arizona. it's interesting, the romney campaign put out a new ad today that touts his 42 year marriage. that is something that romney

also mentioned in his speech this morning at the coalition here in washington. there is a not so subtle message coming out of the romney campaign highlighting his very long marriage in obvious contrast to gingrich's multiple marriages in his past. so, that is something that romney is going to be doing i guess, in the coming days. and we will see more of it. >> i am assuming for the white house that the president will want to set up his on contrasts and talk about some of the differences between newt gingrich and now this new newt. do we know anything about the strategy? >> you know, so far the dnc and the obama re-election campaign have only focused on mitt romney. it's kind of amazing. if you look at the poll numbers and you just read them, you can envision a scenario where newt gingrich wins this nomination, as stunning as this may sound to

a lot of people. but mitt romney is still the person that they think over at the white house and at the obama re-election campaign is going win this nomination. there was an e-mail just put out attacking romney's speech at the republican jewish coalition this morning. team obama still has their eyes fixed on romney. >> thank you. cnn has the best political coverage on tv. there is no reason to change the channel. you have congressman ron paul who will be on at 3. you have rick perry joining wolfe in the situation. michele bachmann will be on at 6 and then there is the reality tv star and now debate moderator, donald trump joining pierce morgan. so the u.s. is making a

major diplomatic push for gay rights across the world but does the plan really have teeth? so you can focus on what really matters. call humana at 1-800-808-4003. it's easy to see what subaru owners care about. that's why we created the share the love event. get a great deal on a new subaru and $250 goes to your choice of 5 charities. with your help, we can reach $20 million dollars by the end of this, our fourth year.

we have more on the rob blagojevich case. the court is in a break right now. blagojevich is in front of a federal judge to learn his prison sentence. the most notorious charge, he tried to sell the senate seat left open by president obama. ted rollins joins us by phone.

what did he say? what did blagojevich say in his defense? >> a very dramatic morning here. first the prosecution faced the judge and said that the people have had enough here. they have had it with the defendant. they have had it with corruption in illinois. they urged the judge to give a firm sentence. then we listened to rob blagojevich say what he did in a very calm voice. basically for the first time admitting guilty. he said my life is in ruins, my career is over. my house, we're trying to sell it. i have have nobody to blame but myself and my stupidity. he apologized firmly to the judge, to the prosecutors, to the state of illinois, the people of illinois, to his family including his young daughters. we have about five minutes left

in the break and we anticipate when the judge takes the stand he will deliver the sentence to the former governor of illinois. the prosecution has asked for 15 to 20 years. blagojevich's lawyers have asked for three years. >> ted, what's the significance of this fact? this is the first time he has apologized. how did people respond and react in the room? >> the courtroom was jam packed and dead silent, listening intently to every word that blagojevich was saying. he was speaking in a low, slow tone throughout his discussion with the judge. the judge had warned him he would be asking questions. he ended up not asking any questions. blagojevich finished and said do you have questions? he said no, governor, thank you. in reaction, i think everybody was struck by what seemed to be a sincere opening up of a shamed governor who has been through and his family has obviously been through a lot. his last chance at trying to

convince this judge for leniency. >> ted, what happens next? how much time before the governor should know his fate? >> we should know in about five to ten minutes when court convenes. the judge has gone into chambers and taken a small break. when the judge reconvenes and takes the bench, we anticipate he will deliver a sentence. whether he has a speech of some sort, we don't know. but it's safe to say within the half hour, rob blagojevich will know his fate. >> how do people in illinois see the governor? what do they think of him? >> people have different opinions as you might imagine. a lot of people do want this judge to send a message because the governor who preceded blagojevich is still in jail for corruption and blagojevich ran on a platform of ending corruption and ended up in the same fate.

some want the judge to come down hard on him and others look at him as a lovable goof ball that they have gotten to know and they want this judge more for his family's sake to go easy on him. >> and ted, what do we anticipate outside? anybody outside of the courtroom? is there a crowd that has gathered? can you set the scene a little bit? >> it's federal court. obviously no cameras allowed inside the building but the public is more than welcome to come up. they have gone into the ceremonial courtroom that seats a couple hundred people and it is packed. there are people standing in the hallway here on the 25th floor. they are hoping to get a seat here, but there will be people in the hallway and people in the courtroom, and they have also established an overflow room where the audio is broadcast for those who could not get into the courtroom.

>> we are going to take a quick break and come right back to you on this breaking news story. obviously everybody awaiting the sentence of the former illinois governor. t's talk about the perl attention tdd# 1-800-345-2550 you and your money deserve. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 at charles schwab, that means taking a close look at you tdd# 1-800-345-2550 as well as your portfolio. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 we ask the right questions, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 then we actually listen to the answers tdd# 1-800-345-2550 before giving you practical ideas you can act on. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 so talk to chuck online, on the phone, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 or come in and pull up a chair. just a second. just, just one second. ♪ what are you looking at? don't look up there. why are you looking up? ♪ get outta the car. get outta the car. ♪ are you ok? the... get in the car. get in the car! [ male announcer ] the epa estimated 42 mpg highway

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the obama administration tells the world that gay rights are human rights in geneva. hillary clinton vowed to take action against countries that criminalize gay contact, abuse the gay community or ignore abuse against them. >> like being a woman, like being a racial religious or ethnic minority, being lgbt does not make you less human. and that is why gay rights are human rights and human rights are gay rights. >> secretary clinton did explain how they give the initiative teeth. a spokesman did tell the "new

york times," the administration was not cutting aid tied to changes in practices. people's lives are at stake in places like iran, being gay is punishable by death. ahmadinejad denied that there was any gays in his country in uganda, parliament has reopened debate on the issue. there is possibility that death may be a punishment. and in pakistan, it is criminalized but rarely prosecuted. a break down on what it actually means. tell us first of all, what does this white house directive actually do? what does it accomplish? >> basically what it does is it makes gay rights a real part of u.s. foreign policy and the human rights agenda and what president obama said in this directive is he wants to use

u.s. aid to promote gay rights. what does that mean? funding lawyers who are defending gays in these countries where it's a criminal act or see it is trying to report ngos reporting on abuses. it is saying that u.s. foreign policy, while you won't make any decisions based solely on gay rights that it is part of the human rights agenda and that will be treated as a factor when determining foreign aid. it heightens awareness of gay rights worldwide and shows support for the people you just mentioned in these countries. gay people who are facing criminal alty and abuse. sometimes they are just tolerating abuse against them. >> what does this directive not do? >> what it can't do is it can't change laws. in these countries where it's criminal, where there is not

persecution, it can't change the law or force a country to create a law. the u.s. can't make a directive to stop gay abuse around the world. it can't change minds. what secretary clinton said she knows in a lot of countries, they use religious beliefs and cultural traditions saying we do not believe in homosexuality and therefore we can't tolerate it. what she is hoping, is like women's rights and racial equality. she is hoping if she keeps introducie ining it, it will he change minds. >> secretary clinton made these unprecedented comments and threatened pulling u.s. funding from countries that abuse gays in front of an interesting audience. what has been the response to

her remarks? >> well, from the gay community we have seen comments really thanks the u.s. for leadership and saying this is a real step forward, the strongest defense ever in terms of gay rights. secretary clinton got a standing ovation in the hall. nobody walked out. her aides think that if she continues to talk about it, eventually people will start looking at it in a different way. this is really the opening of a conversation. the secretary is saying she hopes we can continue to keep talking about it. >> thank you so much. human rights groups applauding the push for gay rights around the world. but is this initiative really going to hold? we are joined from new york. what do you think of this directive here. do you think it goes far enough? >> i think it is very historic. a landmark speech by hillary clinton. we have been waiting for this so

the u.s. government shows leadership now. but what we really want to sigh is that they team up together with other countries in the global south, for instance, a country like south africa which has shown leadership at the united nations by putting forward a resolution asking for ending violence and discrimination of gay people and transgendered people. >> are you concerned at all with the state department threatening countries for their treatment or mistreatment of gays, that this will have a backlash against the gay community in places in africa and the middle east? >> you know, the first press media coverage was aide conditi conditionality. the united states was supposed to propose that they would cut budgets. that could cause a backlash against gay people. if a country would get less aid

than other groups this is because of the gays and that's why it could cause a backlash. but fortunately, this was not part of the speech of secretary of state clinton. actually she and in the memorandum called for organized a global lgbt fund. it's a private/public partnership. and i think that's very important. then u.s. embassies abroad can support lgbt groups who want to fight discrimination in their own country. >> boris, you're from the netherlands. you have been protecting the gay community for years now. how does the u.s. compare in its position here? >> well, i guess the u.s. was also inspired by what is happening in europe.

announced a tool kit. this has been introduced in europe last year. so i think it's very good that u.s. is now taking the leadership role together with other countries. but so much needs to be done. there are so many human rights abuses against gay people all over the world. in russia, a new law was proposed and actually if you would wear a t-shirt with a gay friendly logo, you could be fined in st. petersberg region in russia. in uganda, a anti-homosexuality bill has been introduced. if your daughter or son is gay you need to report it to police. if you don't you end up in pressure. we really need to put pressure on countries to decriminalize and treat lgbt people in a decent manner. >> thank you so much. appreciate your perspective. president obama now talking

tough on the campaign trail when it comes to the growing income gap, but can he win by attacking the rich? we're letting you join the conversation up next. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone deserves the gift of a pain free holiday. ♪ this season, discover aleve. all day pain relief with just two pills.

word from chicago. expect a federal judge to sentence rob blagojevich any time now. blagojevich apologized today for his crimes when he spoke before the court. a jury convicted him last june.

you may recall, of corruption including wire fraud and attempted extortion. and the most notorious charge was the attempt to sell the senate seat held by president obama. all right. tis the season to spend. we explain in this edition of smart is the new rich. >> the debt danger signs are flashing everywhere. in europe, in washington, and in our own bank accounts where incomes are falling and americans are dipping into savings to pay the bills. yet everywhere you're being encouraged to spend money for the holidays. the national retail federation says you will spend probably $704. where is that money coming from and have we learned nothing? >> you see these numbers about how much money people are spending and it reminds you of when people suddenly had expensive cars in their

driveways and boats you wonder how are they affording all of this? and we seem to be back in that situation. real income after inflation has been flat for the last year or maybe even down a tiny little bit. >> that means you have to be very careful about putting new debt on your credit cards. people say they want to be good spenders. 42% plan to spend less this year than last. but the road to debt is paved with good holiday intentions. >> a lot of data to show that there is a disconnect between what people say they are going to do and what they actually do. when people say i intend to pay off my credit card balances but they don't pay them off. that's why we have 15 million people right now who have not paid off their holiday shopping bills from 2010. >> don't be that person a few smart things to consider before you spend a dime. if you can't afford it, put it down. really think about your purchase and whether you need it.

how do you know whether you need it? make a budget and make a list. think about what you want to buy and why. stick to it. you are smarter than the retail tricks. stay to the list. use technology. comparison shop online. use coupon codes when you can and never buy into the hype that these are the lowest prices you will see all season. there are always more prices and sales ahead. and take a time out. if you see something not on your list, wait 48 hours and go back later. you would be surprised how often the urge fades with time. let's say your kid is crying for the sold out leap pad on the hottest toys list. a little advice. shop in person on fridays from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the toy store. that's when they restock for the weekend and when you have the best chance of finding that hot toy that no one else can. for this week's "smart is the

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today is the 70th an versety of the japanese attack on pearl harbor. you're looking at live pictures in hawaii where a commemoration ceremony is taking place. that fly-over in missing man formation taking place right now. thousands of people are at this event. some of them are survivors of the attack. it is estimated about 8,000 survivors are still alive. this opened the door for the u.s. to enter world war ii. >> superintendent, we have just observed the moment 70 years ago when the attack took place.

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we are getting a lot of responses to today's talk back question. can president obama win by attacking the rich? carol, what are folks saying? >> let me tell you, this from mike. without a doubt he can win on an inequality platform. it's time for the pie to get divided in a fair fashion. this from paul, i don't believe isolating the rich specifically is a good tactic but it may help garner votes. prohoeting the middle class, the end of the bush tax cuts and closing tax loopholes would be a better pitch. >> don't blame the rich, blame those who created