Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Gingrich Rallies Iowa Supporters; Observers Delayed In Syria; Brands That May Disappear in 2012; Eugenics Victims Want NC to Pay; No Clear Frontrunner In Iowa; Lunar Probes Enter Orbit Soon ; Defining Moments Of 2011

Aired December 28, 2011 - 12:00   ET

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

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. I'm Natalie Allen. Let's get you up to speed.

If you are a Republican running for president, Iowa would be the place to be today. The Iowa caucuses are just six days away and the candidates, as you can imagine, are out in force.

Last hour, Michele Bachmann's 99-county bus tour rolled into Creston, Iowa. Bachmann is competing with Rick Perry and Rick Santorum for the social conservative vote.

And Newt Gingrich is rallying his supporters in Mason City right now. A recent poll shows Gingrich, Ron Paul and Mitt Romney in a virtual tie for the lead.

What happened to Newt Gingrich nice guy? He vowed not to go negative in response to the other candidates' attack ads, but that didn't stop Gingrich from blasting Ron Paul. In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, he said he wouldn't vote for Paul if he had to. Gingrich pulling to two incendiary newsletters distributed under Paul's name in the '80s and '90s.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You look at his newsletters and then you look at his ads, his ads are about as accurate as his newsletters.

WOLF BLITZER, ANCHOR, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Now if he were to get the Republican nomination --

GINGRICH: He won't.

BLITZER: Let's say he were, could you vote for him?

GINGRICH: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Amateur video out of Syria is said to show defectors trying to ambush security forces in Daraa. CNN cannot independently confirm this claim. Observers from the Arab League are in the country for the second day to determine if the government has kept its promise to stop the bloody crackdown on its citizens. Public officials tell CNN they have postponed trips to three cities today due to logistical reasons.

Tens of thousands of North Koreans wailing and beating their chests, filled the streets at Pyongyang for the funeral of Kim Jong-Il. A Lincoln carried Kim's coffin on its roof, another carried a giant portrait of him. Analysts say the perfectly choreographed funeral signals a new era in North Korea under Kim's son, Kim Jong-Un.

Two women have been arrested for allegedly faking injuries from a deadly stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair. Seven people were killed. Dozens more injured, when scaffolding fell on the crowd back in August. Authorities say Stephanie Murray and Sandra Hearn falsified hospital records to make it look like they were injured. Both face felony charges of forgery, perjury and attempted theft.

If you see a mother nursing her baby in your local Target, leave her alone. She's protesting. Mothers are holding more than 100 so-called nurse-ins today in 35 states. The nurse-ins were organized in support of a woman who says she was harassed by employees at a Houston Target store for breastfeeding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE HICKMAN, MOTHER: I had this big blanket, this big one.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Right.

HICKMAN: Over me. They all came and started like walking by and shaking their head like, you know, and rolling their eyes and shaking their head, no, no, like I'm doing something so horrible, I'm feeding my baby here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: As for Target, the store released a statement saying, "Guests who choose to breastfeed in public areas of the store are welcome to do so without being made to feel uncomfortable."

Back on the campaign trail, no more Newt the nice guy. The Republican presidential candidate is on the offensive, striking back in response to attack ads from his opponents.

Jim Acosta is in Mason City, Iowa, where Gingrich is campaigning right now.

And Jim, are we seeing a return of a feistier Gingrich?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I think we're starting to see a return of Newt the fighter.

Hi, Natalie. We're in Mason City, Iowa, right now inside the mall in Mason City where Newt Gingrich you could say is shopping for votes. He's giving a speech behind me at this moment so I'm going to talk in slightly hushed tones.

He told this crowd just a few moments ago that they're going to be seeing a lot of negative attack ads over the next week before the Iowa caucuses, and that he'll be responding to those attacks in-kind. But at the same time he's saying, look, I'd like to have a positive campaign going forward here but it's going to be a touchy balance for Newt Gingrich.

He has been under attack, as you know, Natalie, from not only the Mitt Romney forces but also Ron Paul. Then the former speaker gave the interview with Wolf Blitzer yesterday in which he responded, basically said he wouldn't vote for Ron Paul if he were the Republican nominee for president, said to Mitt Romney, you know, look, if you're going to say these things about me behind my back, be a man and say them to my face.

So this is a return of Newt Gingrich the fighter and we're going to be seeing more of that over the next couple of days.

Another thing that we're seeing a lot of from Newt Gingrich today, he has a bus parked outside. Today is the beginning of a bus tour that he's taking across the state of Iowa. He's hitting towns like Spencer, Iowa, here in the northern part of the state later today, and so this is definitely a sign that Newt Gingrich is ramping up big time in this state -- Natalie.

ALLEN: And so how are Romney and Paul responding to Gingrich today, Jim?

ACOSTA: Well, it's interesting. Mitt Romney was asked about the comment that Newt Gingrich gave to CNN yesterday, where he said look, if Mitt -- if Mitt Romney is going to be saying this stuff about my -- about my record behind my back, be a man and say it to my face. Mitt Romney said he would be happy to do that. So I don't know if we'll ever see these two candidates cross paths over the coming days. But Mitt Romney has responded.

Also Ron Paul has come out with a tough new ad. Just came out this morning and it returns to that accusation that Newt Gingrich, in the words of this ad, is "a serial hypocrite." It also goes after Mitt Romney as a flip-flopper.

So you're going to see these polls come out from CNN and other news organizations over the coming days. We're going to see the effect of what the negative attacks between these campaigns really has on this race here in Iowa, but it is -- it is certainly heating up, no question about it -- Natalie.

ALLEN: Well, six days to go, one would understand.

Jim Acosta in Mason City, following Newt Gingrich today, Jim, thanks very much.

Wolf Blitzer is on the campaign trail in Iowa as well. In just a few minutes he will be on the bus with Mitt Romney. You can see Wolf's interview with Romney today on "THE SITUATION ROOM," that's beginning at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.

Here's a rundown of some of the stories that we are covering over the next hour. First, we're saying good-bye to 2011 and to some name brands many of you may miss. We'll tell you about them.

And an Egyptian court rules on virginity tests performed on women protesters in Tahrir Square.

Then forced sterilizations performed on thousands of people in North Carolina years ago, now they want payback.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So the state of South Carolina has said they're sorry. Is that enough?

CHARLES HOLT, STERILIZATION VICTIM: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: And what do Iowans want from the Republican candidates? I will talk with the vice president of the "Des Moines Register."

Also moon mysteries are unveiled from a new space probe back this weekend.

Let's listen to Newt Gingrich. He is addressing voters in Mason City, Iowa.

(BEGIN LIVE SPEECH)

GINGRICH: We'll develop oil and gas. We'll develop shale oil. We will develop ethanol and soy diesel, and next generation biofuels. We will develop wind where you now rival. I think only Denmark produces more electricity from wind than Iowa.

We'll develop all the different aspects, including coal, nuclear power and solar, but our goal would be to produce a surplus of American energy so in a crisis, you could wave at the Middle East.

My goal is to be able as president to never bow to a Saudi king or walk arm and arm. I want to explain to the Saudis, we don't need your oil and we're not going to tolerate your support of terrorism.

(APPLAUSE)

GINGRICH: So let me say one last thing and then I'm going to throw it open to questions. I'm not here to ask you to be for me, because if you're for me, you're going to vote and go home and say you hope that I'll fix it. I don't think even the president of the United States can get this country back on the right track by themselves.

I'm here to ask you to be with me. We need you -- Callista and I need you to be with us for the next eight years to stand side by side. We need you to remind the Congress what we're trying to get done. We need you to remind the governor and the state legislature, the city council, the county commission, the school board. In addition, we need your help. If we do all the things we need to do to get America back on track, we're going to make mistakes, and when we make mistakes we need to have social media where you can say that ain't working. The world has changed. Here is a better idea. Because we together -- I don't think 537 elected officials can fix this, but I think 305 million Americans can fix it easily, but lastly, if we apply the tenth amendment, and we shrink government in Washington, we have to grow citizenship in Mason City. It's that straightforward and clearly, we have to be in a position where everybody understands that citizenship has to rise as bureaucracy shrinks, and so I will ask you to be with me.

I'd love to have your help next week. I believe we can win the general election decisively and I will challenge the president to seven three-hour debates in a Lincoln-Douglas tradition with a timekeeper but no moderator, and I will concede in advance that he can use a teleprompter.

(LAUGHTER)

GINGRICH: I mean, after all, if you had to defend Obama-care, wouldn't you want to use a teleprompter? I think you have to be fair about this. I would love to have your help and what I'd like to you now is just toss it open for questions if that's all right.

Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Given the recent instability -- OK, given the recent instability -- potential for instability in the Korean Peninsula with Kim Jong-Il's death, how would your position with regards to North Korea be different than Obama's?

GINGRICH: Well I think first of all you need to rapidly finish developing a ballistic missile defense because you cannot afford any risk of a North Korean nuclear missile reaching the United States, and so I think we have to actively defend ourselves.

You need to rebuild our intelligence capabilities. It is amazing to me, and Callista and I met recently in Los Angeles with Korean Americans. There are 600,000 Korean-Americans in Los Angeles alone, yet our intelligence community has (INAUDIBLE) understand North Korea is very limited and I think you have to have a much better understanding of what's going on up there.

You want to avoid getting into a fight with -- this regime is going to be very shaky for a while because the son who is taking over is very young and it's a regime which values age so all of the old generals are going to be very suspicious of this very young, new leader, and I think we should be careful about what we do, because what you don't want to it is you don't want to cause them to react out of fear, but I think that we should constantly pressure them. I think our goal is ultimately to replace the dictatorship, but even the South Koreans frankly, they waiver between whether they're more frightened of a North Korean military or they are more frightened that North Korea will collapse. I mean the South Koreans looked at how expensive it was for Germany to absorb East Germany and they know that North Korea would be vastly more expensive so it's a balancing act in the region. But I think on balance we have to have a strong national defense and we need a ballistic missile defense that could make it impossible for the North Koreans to attack us directly.

(APPLAUSE)

GINGRICH: Yes, ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Speaker, what do you perceive to be the role of the national government as we seek to improve our educational system in the country?

GINGRICH: I think it was a very good question. I think we should dramatically shrink the Department of Education, Eliminate the federal effort to regulate education, eliminate the testing model, which is I think going to have everybody being teaching -- taught to the test.

I'd return power to the states but I'm going to meddle and I also think we ought to have a lot less power in the State Department of education. I'd like to see us get back to where parents were the primary implementers of education and where parents talk to the local school board and parents and the local school board develop education, but I also say one other thing and again as president, you're both leader of the country and manager of the federal government so I can say things that are about America that we're not going to do out of Washington.

I think every state should readopt the idea that you need discipline in the classroom and that -- you know back -- and you know when I was young, if you got in trouble with the teacher you got in trouble at home for having gotten in trouble with the teacher. Then we went through this cycle where parents come in and said how can you say that to Johnny or Sally? You know I'm going to sue you.

Ad I think we have to say get serious. The reason they're called the teacher is they're supposed to be in charge and the reason you're called the student is you're supposed to learn from them. And we need to reassert discipline in the classroom if we're going to have any opportunity to have the kind of education we need in this country.

(END LIVE SPEECH)

ALLEN: Newt Gingrich on the campaign trail there at a mall in Mason City, Iowa, tackling, among other things, alternative energy, education, North Korea, and taking a bit of a dig at the president's health care plan.

So we'll continue to follow all the candidates as they stomp throughout the state of Iowa, six days to go. We'll take a break. More news right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ALLEN: Products that once held a special place perhaps in our homes and our hearts may soon be going away. It's the end of another year, another era.

Alison Kosik has a look at some brands that could be disappearing in 2012, one of them of course a sugary cereal, surely there are plenty other sugary cereals to choose from, though --Alison.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's true but the first one I'm going to tell you that could be on kind of shaky ground next year is "Soap Opera Digest." This magazine has been around for 35 years by the way. But you know what, two more long running soap operas, they got that -- they got the axe this year, "All My Children" and "One Life to Live." So that means only four soaps are on TV after January so, you know, it's no surprise that "Soap Opera Digest" is under some pressure.

It's losing readers in droves. Readership is actually down 14 percent this year. Besides you can go online and kind of get those spoilers that you want.

The second one that's kind of on shaky ground, the more really one to watch in 2012 is American Apparel. It could go the way of Borders or Filene's Basement, meaning retailers that went belly-up this year. You're looking at how the company has been performing. The company posted seven straight quarterly losses.

American Apparel has lost over $28 million so far this year. Even the CEO is in trouble. He's faced sexual harassment charges. But online sales may be this company's salvation. American Apparel sale online were up 32 percent in November.

And then the one you mentioned, Natalie, Kellogg's Corn Pops, yes. Folks at 24/7 Wall Street, that's the blog, they've had corn puffs in their crosshairs this year. Corn pops have been suffering from weak sales, higher corn prices. Could be the reason why Kellogg's may decide to just dump the brand.

Sales are actually down more than 12 percent since 2007. Not to mention it's probably not the healthiest thing for breakfast. But Kellogg's did tell us, Natalie, it is here to stay.

I do want to mention two more that are definitely going away, Saab, the Swedish carmaker, failed to find a buyer that -- that's going to away next year. And Continental Airlines, its merger with United, should be completed by the middle of next year. We'll know it as United Airlines -- Natalie?

ALLEN: From corn pops to an airline. We cover it all.

KOSIK: Yes.

ALLEN: And even though we were nostalgic in the newsroom for Corn Pops --

KOSIK: We do. ALLEN: -- we couldn't remember when we last had Corn Pops so maybe we'll all be OK without them in 2012.

(LAUGHTER)

KOSIK: There'll be something else to take its place if it goes away.

ALLEN: Yes. Absolutely, there's other stuff like that to eat.

Alison Kosik, thank you, Alison.

KOSIK: Yes.

ALLEN: OK, so the predicted disappearance of Corn Pops got us all nostalgic for the things we used to love but now you just can't get anymore. Remember browsing the shelves at Borders? Nowadays of course electronic readers have made the book store chain obsolete and closed its doors this year. That was sad.

At its height the 40-year-old book chain had more than 1200 stores and sales in the billions.

Speaking of chains that used to be everywhere, remember when we used to make it a blockbuster night? Remember heading to the video store on a Friday checking out the new releases section, finding some movies to rent for the weekend, picking up some, you know, chocolate covered peanuts or something on the way out the door?

Not too long ago those movies were on VHS tapes as well. That's gone. So what are you nostalgic for? What products or stores are gone forever that you miss? We want to hear from you. You can post your thoughts on Suzanne Malveaux's Facebook page, that's Facebook.com/suzanneCNN. We'll have some of your comments later this hour. We look forward to seeing them.

Violence amid cries for help from people in Syria. We are live with new videos of brutal crackdowns on protesters there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: Arab League monitors are in Syria for a second day to see if the government is ending its bloody crackdown, but have had to postpone trips today to three cities for logistical reasons.

This video here is said to show Syrian forces spraying water cannons at protesters in Hama Tuesday but CNN cannot independently confirm if it is authentic.

CNN's Mohammed Jamjoon is following developments from Cairo on whether this is a turning point there in Syria at all.

What are you hearing, Mohammed?

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Natalie, the activists and the opposition figures we're speaking with in Syria are still very much concerned that even though the Arab League monitors are finally there, going to -- at least one of these flash points so far where this crackdown has been going on, but they're really not being given free reign by government minders to see what they need to see.

Now we just have seen some new videos that have emerged from opposition groups posted online. One is very disturbing. We must warn our viewers that it is disturbing. It reports to show a child, a 5-year-old child, the body of the child as it's being displayed inside a mosque for a member of -- what appears to be a member of that Arab League team that's there to visit and investigate what's going on.

People there are trying to explain what happened to that child I this video. To the person who appears to be a member of the Arab League team. Again very disturbing video.

Another video that's just emerged just a short while ago purports to show chaos and gunfire going on in Homs today in the Baba Armr neighborhood and it also purports to show members of this Arab League observation team that's there, you hear the gunfire, it seems very chaotic, the camera didn't pan over to show what appears to be members of this Arab league team, as they're taking pictures of what's going on.

And we must stress that we can't authenticate these videos but they do seem to be corroborated by accounts we're hearing from residents and activists on the ground there in neighborhoods like Baba Amr and cities like Homs. And the neighbors -- and the residents and the activists we've spoken with the past few days continue to tell us tales of horror.

They say that massacres have been going on, they say that in the past several days, dozens have been killed, hundreds wounded. That this was happening as the Arab League observers before they arrive, and that even after they've arrived, they've been two days now. We're still hearing that crackdowns are going and people are bring killed -- Natalie.

ALLEN: Yes, and you have to wonder, the Arab League is there to monitor but they say they can't get anywhere for logistical reasons. You have to wonder how much good they can do if that's going to be the situation.

JAMJOOM: Well, that's right. You know, and we must add also that, you know, especially opposition figures in Syria the past month, you know, they've questioned just how effective this team could be. They've questioned the credibility of the Arab league itself, and, you know, while people have said that it's good that the Arab League is there, again, they wonder if they will be given unfettered access.

Members of the Arab league with spoken say that -- say that the observation team that's there will be given free reign to do what they want but we're also hearing accounts that they're being guided through cities with government minders. And it just begs the question, what exactly will they be able to do? How effective will they be able to be and will they be able to end this crackdown that's been going on -- Natalie?

ALLEN: Those are the big questions for right now in Syria, Mohammed Jamjoon following it for us, thank you, Mohammed.

Well the trial of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak continued today after several months of day. The ailing 83-year-old entered the courtroom on a gurney. He is charged with corruption and murder for allegedly ordering the killing of protesters, calling for an end to his 30-year regime. Court adjourned after only a few hours. It is set to resume on Monday.

A shameful chapter in American history decades after thousands of people were sterilized against their will, the victims want more than an apology.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: North Carolina is still considering compensation it promised to people forced to undergo sterilization decades ago. Thousands of people declared unfit to reproduce were operated on against their will. Elizabeth Cohen reports the victims want more than an apology.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLT: At the time I couldn't do nothing about it.

COHEN: October 22nd, 1968, Charles Holt was 19 at the time, living in an institution for boys in Butner, North Carolina, when his life was drastically changed, without his consent.

HOLT: They sent me to Rex Hospital, and then they just pushed me into a room and just gave me a scent of gas, I went off to sleep and then when I woke up from it, I noticed something was wrong, and then they told me what they done, and I was, I wasn't a happy camper.

COHEN: What they had done was surgery, a vasectomy to make him sterile. But why? It turns out the order came from the state which said he was feebleminded and unworthy of having children.

HOLT: I want to be out, to be just like any other, young man to try to handle a family, have some kids that I could call my own. It happened that way.

COHEN: Charles Holt wasn't alone. In fact his story is only one representing a shameful chapter in American history. From 1907 through the 1970s, more than 60,000 Americans were sterilized because they had, quote, "unfit human traits." It was called eugenics. The goal, breed out those considered to be a burden on the rest of society and make, quote, "better human beings tomorrow."

Thirty-three states had eugenics programs at or one time or another Supported by some of the nation's most respected doctors and social workers. Even the Supreme Court approved it. Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote in a 1927 case, "Three generations of imbeciles are enough."

In North Carolina, anyone, A parent, a teacher, a neighbor, could ask the state's eugenics board to have some sterilized. Some victims were developmentally disabled living in institutions, records show others were living at home. Forced to go under the surgeon's knife because they were paupers, or because they were blind or death or had syphilis.

(on camera): You could be sterilized if you were sexually promiscuous.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you were paralyzed or not physically attractive. They have a skin disorder.

COHEN (voice-over): The state of North Carolina has tasked Charmaine Fuller Cooper has uncovered the frightening past.

CHARMAINE FULLER COOPER, NORTH CAROLINA JUSTICE FOR STERILIZATION VICTIMS FOUNDATION: The first time last year that I actually had to read a eugenic board record of an individual patient case file. I literally sat at my desk and cried for about 15 minutes.

COHEN: Her research shows about 7,600 people in North Carolina were sterilized. Procedures here continued into the 1970s, while after many states had stopped.

So it's estimated about 2,000 victims are still alive. In later years, the focus targeted women on welfare, many of whom were African-American.

North Carolina has become the only state to take steps to compensate victims. For nearly 10 years, the state legislature has written reports, submitted bills, even heard testimony from victims.

LELA DUNSTON, STERILIZATION VICTIM: I wouldn't have mind having me a daughter, maybe two, maybe three. The state needs to award us, because we got to carry on.

COHEN: But so far these victims have received nothing more than apologies from Governor Bev Perdue.

GOVERNOR BEVERLY PERDUE (D), NORTH CAROLINA: I just came here as a woman, as a mama and as a grandmama and governor of the state quite frankly to tell you it was wrong.

COHEN: Compensating victims could cost tens of millions of dollars during a time of budget cuts. State legislators like Representative Ruth Samuelson are worried about money.

REPRESENTATIVE RUTH SAMUELSON, NORTH CAROLINA STATE ASSEMBLY: We had to set priorities. Things like do we compensate eugenics victims or do we put classroom teachers in place? We had to make choices.

COHEN (on camera): Is it possible these victims will in the end walk away with nothing?

COOPER: That is a possibility if we don't have legislators who are willing to stand up for the victims.

COHEN (voice-over): Charles Holt knows he may never see a dime.

(on camera): So the state of North Carolina has said they're sorry, is that enough?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

COHEN: What more do they need to do?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they should give us some compensation off of it.

COHEN (voice-over): In 2012 could be the year the legislature acts. Charles Holt holds out hope for an award he says will fit the crime done to him more than four decades ago.

(on camera): What's horrible is they did this to person after person after person.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, ma'am. It's just disgusting.

COHEN (voice-over): Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Linwood, North Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: North Carolina is the only state even considering compensating its victims. Anderson Cooper spoke with Paul Lombardo, author of "Three Generations, No Imbeciles: Eugenics, the Supreme Court," and also Areva Martin, a disability rights attorney and children's advocate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AREVA MARTIN, DISABILITY RIGHTS ATTORNEY: The women were targeted and as we heard in the piece, African-Americans disproportionately impacted in a negative way by this state action, and that's what's so galling about this.

This isn't private individuals. This is every branch of government, state legislature, the executive branch and the judicial branch determining that certain individuals and those without a voice in our society were not, you know, worthy of having children.

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, CNN'S "AC 360": Paul, this was happening in 33 states, including Puerto Rico. North Carolina, are they the only ones even talking about compensation?

PAUL LOMBARDO, AUTHOR: Well, as you showed in your graphic, there were more than 30 states that actually had these laws, but only seven of them recommended an apology, taken a position at all.

There are still 20 some odd states that haven't even gone that far so the idea that the states will face this with compensation skips over the fact that many of them haven't even admitted that it happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: At least seven other states have issued formal apologies for similar eugenics programs. Earlier this year, North Carolina did consider offering $50,000 in compensation to victims, but legislators said that was too much. The number has since been reduced to $20,000.

Iowa voters are getting bombarded by candidates and campaign ads, but there's still no clear frontrunner, just days before the voting begins.

We will talk with an editor from the "Des Moines Register" about why the race is still up in the air.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: Here's a rundown of some of the stories we are working on. Hawkeye voters are keeping a close eye on the Republican presidential candidates. What they're focusing on, that's next.

Then shooting for the moon, what scientists hope to discover during a new year's navigation.

And in just a few minutes, negative ads are nothing new, so what impact will they have on voters in Iowa? We'll look at that.

Iowa voters are seeing a lot of the Republican presidential candidates in person and on TV, but just six days before the Iowa caucuses, there's no clear frontrunner.

Joining us to talk about that, Rick Green, he's editor and vice president of news at "The Des Moines Register." Rick, thank you for joining us.

RICK GREEN, DES MOINES REGISTER: Good afternoon, Natalie. Good to see you. How are you?

ALLEN: I'm good. Thank you. I would imagine you're not letting too many people take off for the holidays because you folks are quite busy there in Iowa keeping up with the candidates. First of all, are you surprised that the race is still this unsettled, so close to the caucuses?

GREEN: You know, by Iowa standards this is highly unusual. By now, I think a frontrunner in previous races has emerged, and folks are trying to coalesce around that candidate. That's not the case this year.

This cycle we've seen a lot of uncertainty, a lot of different stars have jumped up on the stage and right now, I think it's going to be a very close neck in neck in neck race between three candidates we think.

The thing that's interesting right now that's going on in Iowa that I think is different than in previous cycles is that there's currently a sense that there's blood in the water.

You've got a perception that a very vulnerable incumbent president, Iowans are working incredibly hard to try to make sure this they make the right choice. I think that's what we're seeing right now during this cycle. ALLEN: So that being said, why do you think the voters are still so undecided on rallying behind one person, that they think they could perhaps unseat this president and what are they wanting to hear from the candidates?

GREEN: Well, you know, you mentioned it just a second ago, despite the fact we've had a record number of debates, despite the fact, CNN, Fox, MSNBC, "The Des Moines Register" so many media outlets have given so much coverage to this cycle, for a lot of Iowans who take the responsibility so seriously.

They have not had a chance to spend quality time in their living rooms, their back yards and their coffee houses in the mornings. Most candidates with the exception of somebody like Rick Santorum who has hit all 99 counties early on in the campaign, have been a little bit more deliberant and have relied on different means.

I think this cycle folks are really trying hard as late in the game as it is really to get to understand who are the candidates, what's their vision for America, what's their platform, what are their issues and most important who's the one who is best able to topple Barack Obama come next November.

That's the issue that I'm continuing to hear throughout Iowa and with all of our readers. There's an opportunity to take back the White House, who best could do it?

ALLEN: Well, they'll have six good days to really engage with these candidates who I imagine won't be leaving the state. I want to talk just real quickly about the negative ads that you're seeing. How are the nice folks in Iowa reacting to them? We hear they don't typically like negative ads.

GREEN: Well, you touched upon it. There's a perception of an Iowa nice mentality that's out here. Let's focus more on the individuals. Let's talk about their visions for America as opposed to negative advertising.

But this year, there has been such a huge barrage of it. We have a $10 million advertising blitz that's gone on and I think you're starting to see some of the side effects, the consequences in the polls.

For example Newt Gingrich, a month ago was riding high. There's been a huge blitz of negative advertising raised questions about his candidacy, about which Newt Gingrich we're going to see, if he wins Iowa and potentially be the potential Republican nominee.

It's had an effect, which has been surprising for us, despite the fact that speaker of the House Gingrich said that he was going to go with a very positive campaign. We're seeing him take the gloves off the past two or three days.

And I can guarantee you from everything we've heard from the candidates, from their camps and from operatives, the next six days out here, it's going to be complete barrage and tsunami wave, if you will, of advertising and for the most part it's going to be mostly negative.

ALLEN: We'll be watching it. We appreciate your time, we know you're so busy. Rick Green, editor and vice president at "The Des Moines Register." Thanks, Rick.

GREEN: You bet, thank you.

ALLEN: The twin space craft launched in September to study the moon are expected to reach their destination this New Year's weekend and we've got a preview.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: Twin spacecraft launched in September are right on target. The lunar probes are expected to enter orbit over the New Year's weekend. They will arrive 24 hours apart and Reynolds Wolf has details on NASA's latest mission to the moon.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: This is amazing. This is the holy grail of lunar missions. It's currently amazing. The way this is going to come together is just fascinating. We're going to get things started by just explaining exactly what grail happens to be.

Grail is the gravity recovery and interior laboratory, that's what GRAIL stands for. It's basically just the two probes and they're going to measure the changes in the moon's gravity.

Well, it's also an attempt to determine what is below the moon's surface. We've got a pretty good idea what's been going on. You remember, of course, the missions that we had back in the '60s and the '70s going up to the moon. Of course it's going to give you a little bit more of what's happening below the surface. A very important thing to do. And it's also going to help scientists find out why the dark side of the moon is a bit more rugged.

Now, it used to be that many scientists believe that the real reason why the far side of the moon was much more rugged was because it was almost like a shield, if you will, kind of protecting the rest of the earth, if you will, and kind of being a buffer zone for a lot of, say, space rocks. From the asteroids that would be close to the earth but hit the moon instead. So you occasionally have some damage.

The amazing thing about this is that we're going to see a gain (ph) a team of these two probes that left earth take about three days to make the journey from earth, or rather three months, from the earth to the moon. And when you think about the Apollo missions, that took only three days. This took three months. These two probes are going to move around the earth, send -- get all kinds of information. It's going to send it right back to earth and give us a better idea of what's happening.

Now, exactly what they're going to find? The fun part of that is, we really don't know at this time. But hopefully we'll get some information. They're actually going to be flying up there and right over the moon, working together, starting this weekend. So it's going to be really interesting to see what happens over the next several days, weeks, months. The bevy of information that we're going to get from this incredible mission. So, there you go.

ALLEN: All right. We look forward to hearing about it. Thank you, Reynolds.

WOLF: You bet.

ALLEN: OK. Now you've been sounding off on our "Talk Back" question. Pundits are coming out with their list of products they think will disappear next year. Some earthly concerns. So we're asking, what extinct products or endangered stores (ph) are you nostalgic for? Patrick says, "I miss honey nut cornflakes and cucumber dill salad dressing. I can't find it." More of your responses just moments away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: When we heard predictions by Wall Street that Kellogg's Corn Pops will disappear from America's breakfast table next year, we wanted to run to the cafeteria to grab a box or two. No more Corn Pops? Well, for our "Talk Back" question we asked, what products that are no longer around are you nostalgic for?

Paul says, "I miss Tangy Taffy, which was better than Laffy Taffy."

Ashley writes, "I miss real food on airplanes. Now you'll be lucky if you get a handful of peanuts." Or a biscot (ph) cookie.

Ron says he misses "Hydrox cookies. They're much better than Oreos," he says. They "came back temporarily a couple of years ago, but then they disappeared."

And Mark is nostalgic for "the record album and LP artwork, dropping the needle on the record and hearing that warm analog sound. Also nostalgic for browsing record stores, Tower in particular."

And Michael says, "I miss life before Facebook." Was there life before Facebook? "There are, of course, many advantages to social networking, but it has also taken away some of the effort as far as making an effort to connect with friends by way of an actual phone call. Granted this post wouldn't be possible without Facebook."

Thanks to all of you for sharing your opinions. Keep the conversation going at facebook.com/suzannecnn.

Well, it is hard to turn on a television in Iowa without seeing a political attack ad. The candidates are battling it out over the airwaves just days before the Iowa caucuses. CNN's Joe Johns looks at who's spending the most and who's getting left out in the ad wars.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Campaign ads have flooded the airwaves in Iowa this month. Almost $8 million worth so far by CNN's estimate.

KEN GOLDSTEIN, KANTAR.CMAG: It was late starting, but all the campaigns and these outside groups are absolutely heavily engaged and heavily engaged at the highest levels now.

JOHNS: The Rick Perry campaign has spent a fortune on ads, almost $2 million. Perry has tried to tell his own story while also reaching out to social conservative and evangelical voters. And he's attacked Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum in the same ad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, POLITICAL AD: They've spent 63 years in Congress, leaving us with debt, earmarks and bailouts.

JOHNS: Meanwhile, a super political action committee, called Make Us Great Again, which is not connected to Perry but buys ads for his benefit, has kicked in another $1.4 million in ad buys.

Mitt Romney has a similar story. His campaign has spent three quarters of a million dollars on ads, like the one featuring the candidate's wife, Ann.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've been married to the same woman for 25 -- excuse me, I'll get in trouble, for 42 years.

JOHNS: But the pro-Romney super PAC, called Restore Our Future, has kicked in over $1 million to run spots hammering Gingrich. Their latest ad suggests President Obama would like to run against the former speaker in the general election because Gingrich has baggage.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, POLITICAL AD: Why is this man smiling? Because his plan is working. Brutally attack Mitt Romney and hope Newt Gingrich is his opponent.

JOHNS: In third place is the campaign of Ron Paul, who polls show is tied for the lead in the caucuses. He's run five ads in Iowa since the end of November.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, POLITICAL AD: Want to drain the swamp, Ron Paul, do it.

JOHNS: The Paul campaign was the first to run an attack ad this cycle, zinging Gingrich for his position switches.

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And a real question of serious -- the serious question -- seriousness.

JOHNS: One of the candidates, who has not been able to compete, is Gingrich, who says his fate in the polls is because he's getting hammered on TV. He has tried to claim the high ground, but the fact is, he hasn't had the money to play dirty in the TV ad wars.

GOLDSTEIN: Newt Gingrich wasn't able to raise money and combine his rise in the polls with a rise in fund-raising to be able to pay for political advertising and a ground game in Iowa. It's not very complicated. You know, usually the main reason why someone's not airing political advertising is, they don't have enough money to air political advertising.

JOHNS (on camera): And now the Newt Gingrich super PAC, Winning Our Future, has said it's going up with a television ad of its own, starting on Wednesday, running through January 2nd, a clever pushback against Mitt Romney, calling on conservatives not to let the liberal establishment pick the Republican nominee.

Joe Johns, CNN, Des Moines, Iowa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: And this reminder, tune in next week for the country's first vote in the presidential race. "America's Choice 2012." Live coverage of the Iowa caucuses begins Tuesday night, January 3rd, at 7:00 Eastern right here.

2011 was a tragic year for the Japanese people. We take a look back at one of the biggest stories of the year, Japan's killer tsunami.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: The powerful earthquake which shook Japan in March was a defining moment of 2011. It triggered one of the worst tsunamis in years, killing more than 15,000 people. Here are the memories of the CNN reporters who covered it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On March 11th, a 9.0 earthquake struck about 130 kilometers east of Sendai, Japan.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The magnitude of Japan's earthquake was never anticipated.

ROBERTSON: The worst was yet to come. The powerful quake had triggered a massive tsunami with waves nearly 10 meters high, traveling as fast as a jetliner. It ravaged the country's entire northeastern coast, taking the lives of more than 15,000 people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I thought Japan would disappear. I thought Japan would disappear under water. I have no idea what I will do next or where I will go.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We were at an evacuation center. And this was a very, very sad moment when a father pulled up in his car, and seated in the passenger seats, reclined, was his 16-year-old son. He had brought the body of his 16-year-old son to the middle school so his friends could say farewell. He was trying to create that order of the funeral in Japan for his friends.

ROBERTSON: And then, on top of natural disaster, a manmade one, looming nuclear crisis.

STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When you talk about a triple whammy, an earthquake, a tsunami, and a nuclear crisis, that is extraordinary. That's unprecedented.

There was a fear that if anyone was inside that 20 kilometer zone, they could die. We drove up to the 20 kilometer zone, expecting to be turned away, but we actually found that the radiation levels being measured there were not as high as they were in some other parts 20, 30 kilometers away from the exclusion zone.

It was an extraordinary experience for me to walk through there as a reporter and to see the homes abandoned. To see the animals that have been left there to fend for themselves. To see the damaged homes. To see the tin roofs just flapping in the breeze. It was an eerie place and it's a place I don't think people are ever going to live in again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: The people there must be looking forward to 2012. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Randi Kaye. Hi there, Randi.

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi Natalie, thank you very much.