u.s. oil companies, are raking in near record profits, so why are they still getting huge taxpayer subsidies? i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." he skipped the last presidential debate and sidelined himself in iowa saying he wants to focus on the first of the nation's primary state. jon huntsman is betting almost everything on new hampshire, but is trail ng the state while romney is enjoying a substantial lead and now, huntsman is joining some of romney's sharpest critics in questioning romney's conservative credentials. jon huntsman is joining us now from salt lake city. thanks very much for coming in. >> thank you, wolf. an honor to be with you. >> george will, the conservative columnist writing in an upcoming edition of "the washington post" says this about mitt romney. he says -- you agree with george will on that? >> those are pretty tough words, wolf. all i can say is this is the time when this nation wants leadership. we've been looking for leadership for some time in the white house. we haven't found it. this is when the candidates need to stand up and show a little bit of leadership. you can't be a perfectly lubricated weather vane on the issues of the day, whether it's libya, the debt ceiling, the casic bill in ohio where governor romney has been missing in action in terms of showing any leadership. i do believe that the elect rat this go around will be looking for clearly defined presidential leadership and i'm not sure that we're seeing it. we're putting out our own economic proposals. next week, i'll have an energy speech i'll be giving in new hampshire. we're calling for clear cut leadership positions for the united states to be taking that will get us back on our feet and secure the american century for the people of the united states. >> when you say he's a perfectly lubricated weather vane, pacically, you're both saying he's a flip-flopper on some of these most important issues. >> listen, you don't get anymore important than the issue of life. that is central to a lot of people's core beliefs and political philosophy and when you have an epiphany that central, that's going to strike a lot of people as being highly political. >> you're talking about abortion rights for women. what is your exact position on abortion rights for women? are there any exceptions for a woman getting an abortion? >> incest, rape and the life of the mother are the exceptions that i can live with. >> let's move on to talk about new hampshire. you're basically ignoring iowa. throwing all your eggs into that new hampshire basket. our new poll has romney away head. almost living there. got a second home there. he's at 40%. cain, 13%. paul, 12%. you're at 6%. but cain, he's intriguing. he's spent little time in new hampshire or iowa, but is doing pretty well in both states, even better in iowa and he comes up with these crazy ads including this one. watch. >> we can take this country back. ♪ >> that's his chief of staff having a little puff of a cigarette there. but he's at 13%. you're at 6% in new hampshire. you spent a lot of time there and he hasn't. why is he doing so well? >> well, oftentimes, you can spike for the moment you're the flavor of the week or the month. i remember when governor perry was at 20% in new hampshire. he came in with great fanfare. now, he's in the low single digits. we're just trying a steady, gradual, substantive rise in new hampshire based upon real support, based upon 80 events we've done so far. we did a telephone event yesterday. we've got a couple of very, very important months ahead in new hampshire and the vibe i'm getting, the way in which we are connecting with our message about rebuilding and getting people back to work is resognating with the all important people of the first primary state. >> would -- the nominee? >> i think herman cain is an outstanding person. he's a friend. he has the prerequisites for understanding how the free market works. that's why these early primaries are so very, very important because ultimately, the people get to decide. who ever the people decide is the nominee for my party, i will stand by that. >> so, you will feel comfortable if herman cain, you'd feel comfortable? >> well, as i say, anyone who gets through this rigorous primary process, i think our chances are excellent for get ing through this process. i'm going to stand behind. they deserve it because it's not an easy process to endure. you've got to win over the will of the people and by the end of that process, you're pretty much up to speed on a lot of issues that matter. >> business background, the economy, still struggling, but 2.5% growth in the last quarter. the stock markets are doing well. above 12,000. 7,000 when president obama took office. do you see a trend that a double dip recession now is unlikely and that things are going to move in the right direction? >> i think we're going to muddle along until such time as we're smart enough to put forward some bold, visionary proposals that attack the structural elements standing in the way of knocking the cover off the ball of our economic growth. when i say that, i look at the jobs proposal package and it amounts to half steps and half measures. it's going to be incomplete, a temporary fix. we need a long-term fix and that means tax reform. that means regulatory reform and really hitting on the issues that the investor community is looking at being cleaned up like health care reform, obama care and dodd frank and ensuring that we can build manufacturing plants and power plants in this nation that will fuel our manufacturing revival. it can be done, but until you get to the structural fixes, you're not going to have the confidence in the innovator class. in the entrepreneurial class and indeed in the global economy. to be able to get this, to be able to get this country moving in a direction that is long-term sustainable. >> quickly, you're the former u.s. ambassador to china. china's played a very important role in the u.s. economy. this week, they've played a significant role helping the europeans bail out greece and some of that enormous debt crisis there. our viewers in china. we have a lot of viewers in china as you probably know having living in beijing. say something to the people in china in mandarin then translate it. what would you say to them given this opportunity? >> i basically said despite our challenges that china-u.s. relationship is the most important relationship in the world today and it is incumbent on the leadership in both countries in order to ensure the economic insecurity of not only our two countries, but the region and the world as well. having a president who can actually understand those issues and who knows well our most significant economic challenge and opportunity as well as our most significant security challenge would be a glaet thing to have in the white house, wolf. >> governor, thanks very much. your mandarin's pretty good. not that i understood what you said, but it sounded pretty good. >> thank you, wolf. a pleasure to be with you. >> former governor of utah, now wants to be the republican presidential nominee. thank you. let's talk about what we just heard from jon huntsman with our chief political analyst, gloria borger. a perfectly lubricated weather vane. those are pretty strong words. >> do i have to answer in mandarin or can i answer -- it's clear, that's not a phrase that just comes to you off the cuff. this is -- this campaign now has to dif wrenn rate between themselves and mitt romney and they're going to do it by talking about how romney is a flip-flopper, blows in the wind, whatever you want to say. they put out an ad minutes ago called back flip, which has a mechanical monkey doing back flips. yes, and flips mitt romney changing his upon on things. he's 34 points behind romney in our poll in new hampshire that you showed and that's a lot of ground to make up. so he's now got to go on the attack and that's exactly what hees doing. >> it's not just huntsman. george will called him a resit vis revisor. >> this is all grist for the barack obama campaign because they can take a look at these clips. they can read george will's column and say look at what republicans were saying about mitt romney if he becomes the nominee. >> his tax plan, his economic ideas were praised by the editorial writer at "the wall street journal," but his campaign hasn't gotten much traction. the question is why? >> those conservative voters, while they may like the takz plan and "the wall street journal" did, they don't believe that he is conservative enough. for example, wolf, he was the only republican presidential candidate to say he actually supported the debt ceiling agreement. he supported civil unions and then he's got one other big strike against him. which is that he used to work for barack obama. and not sometime way back in the past. but actually until last spring when he was the ambassador to china. so of course republicans are looking at him saying, can we trust you. >> he's got a lot of work ahead of him. thanks very much. this note by the way, in our next hour here in "the situation room," we'll speak with another candidate, michele bachmann. she'll join us live here in "the situation room." also some calls from some tea party activists for her to drop out of the race. michele bachmann here in "the situation room" in the next hour. they're not ready for prime time, not even meant r for tv. these web ads are getting away with no traditional commercial can, so why did they go viral? stand by. also, details of talks between the fugitive son of gadhafi and prosecutors who accuse him of crimes against humanity and now, a surrender. yes, a surrender may be in the works. and in our next hour, erin burnett, she'll join us as well to talk a lot about what's going on. much more in "the situation room" when we come back. i heard they found energy here. it's good. we need the jobs. 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[announcer:] conocophillips. borrowed technology from ferrari to develop its suspension system? or what if we told you that ferrari borrowed technology from cadillac to develop its suspension system? magnetic ride control -- pioneered by cadillac, perfected in the 556-horsepower cts-v. we don't just make luxury cars. we make cadillacs. he's wanted for crimes against humanity and now, he is talking about surrendering. the chief prosecutor for the international criminal court in the netherlands says informal conversations are taking place. he was a key player in his father's inner circle and tapped to issue this dire warning as civil war erupted months ago in libya. >> translator: instead of crying over 84 killed people will be crying over thousands. blood will flow. rivers of blood in all the cities of libya. >> as rebels closed in on tripoli, there were reports that he had been captured. reports he defiantly debunked with a surprise appearance at a hotel full of western journalists. >> and we broke the backbone of the rebels, and so, we -- >> our senior international correspondent, dan rivers, is joining us from the libyan capital. first of all, any word of where he is right now? >> reporter: the honest answer is no. there is a lot of speculation, that he is in the south of the country. possibly towards the border with nyjer. we have no idea if that is true. everyone we're speaking to really has no idea either. it is a vast area we're talk in about. huge desert. akin to i guess looking for someone in alaska or someone like that. it is massive. there is no delynn nated border. he may not even realize he's crossed over. it is a vast, open wilderness and frankly, what we think, we guess, he could be hiding out from the south, but we don't know. >> what do we know about these possible negotiations between saif al-islam and the criminal court? >> reporter: well, it's very mu murky. it's not clear. it's not overt and formal. but we did get a slight more bit of information today from louis moreno, he's the chief prosecutor with the icc. here's what he said when asked whether there were talks underway. >> there are conversations, i think they are exploring the possibility to appear before the court. we offer them we can help you to surrender to the court and if he is considered innocent, he has all the right to present his argument. we have evidence. we believe he was part of the crimes against humanity committed in libya. >> reporter: there's no real idea whether this is just the icc saying look, we would like you to come in and we would like you to answer these charges or whether there is generally some direct conversation for an intermediary or third party, informal conversations to me doesn't sound like they have his phone number and are are talking to him regularly. i'm guessing there may be proof the government or the tribes or elsewhere who may know of his where abouts. >> coming up, one of america's largest banks announcing its verdict on a controversial new fee. you're going to find out which bank has now decided not to charge you with you make a purchase with your debit card. also, the question he's asked may vary, but the answer herman cain often give ss the same. is it okay for a presidential contender to say, quote, i don't have all the facts. stand by. ♪ [ multiple snds ng melodic tune ] ♪ [ malennounc ] at northrop grumman, makthworld a feplace. th's value performance. northr gruan. an accident doesn't have to slow you down. with better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual insurance, if your car's totaled, we give you the money to buy a car that's one model-year newer... with 15,000 fewer miles on it. there's no other auto insurance product like it. better car replacement, available only from liberty mutual. it's a better policy that gets you a better car. call... or visit one of our local offices today, and we'll provide the coverage you need at the right price. liberty mutual auto insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? shots fired outside the u.s. embassy today. mary snow is monitoring that. >> it was a terrifying scene outside the u.s. embassy in president oba bosnia. a plan firing several shots that hit the building's vault. a police officer was wounded, but there are no reports of injuries among personnel. here in the u.s., jpmorgan chase has decided not to charge customers who make purchases with their debit card. eight months after testing it out, chase joins other banks who say they won't charge monthly fees on debit card transactions. bank of america is under fire over a plan to charge customers $5 a month. and lady liberty is marking her 125th birthday. you can get a up close look at her even if you aren't there. web cams are streaming live footage. the statue will close tomorrow for year long renovations to base and interior. >> love the statue of liberty and what it stands for. the fallout continues over a half million dollar loan from the u.s. government to an energy company that failed. the white house is ordering a review of just what happened. presidential campaigns aren't just battling for votes. they're also for battling for clicks. why they're making videos. not for tv. 165 wendy's restaurants. and i get my financing from ge capital. but i also get stuff that goes way beyond banking. we not only lend people money, we help them save it. 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[ junior ] ...and they've helped build my business. we're builders. sun life financialrating should be famous.d bad, we're working on it. so you're seriously proposing we change our name to sun life valley. do we still get to go skiing? sooner or later, you'll know our name. sun life financial. here are some of the stories we're working on for next hour. residents in the northeast better get ready with their snow shovel. we'll show you where forecasters are saying more than a foot of snow is is forecast to fall. saudi arabia named a new heir to the throne. just who is the man that will be king? and is it time for michele bachmann to bow out of the race? one tea party member thinks yes. she'll respond live. stand by, you're in "the situation room." the white house is now ordering an independent review of energy department loans in the wake of the scandal over solyndra, the company that went bankrupt after getting more than half a billion dollars in u.s. taxpayer money. jessica, what are you picking up? >> in the wake of the solyndra loan mess, bill daily has ordered an outside review of the clean energy loan program. in a statement, he said -- and wolf, alston has a background in republican and democratic administrations. >> so, how will this work? >> the chief of staff has called for a 06-day review that will look at how these loans are doing. the reviewers will recommend ways to monitor and manage the loans. with administrations calling an early warning system to alert the department of energy if the companies are headed for trouble. keep in mind, the total department of energy loan that went out, the total figure, is $35.9 billion in loans. to solyndra was worth $533 million, but they're going to look at that total. now, in terms of timing, 60 days from now mean that is the results would come in right around christmas and you know what else is happening then? the results of the vote on the results of the super committee, possibly a budget fight and the run up to the republican primaries, so you can be sure we're paying attention. >> we don't know at this point of the total $35 billion, how much of that was lost, do we? >> we don't, but we haven't heard of other bankrupt ses. solyndra is the one that everyone's focusing on, so at this point, it's a $535 million loss out of the total of 539 billion. >> i think there are some others as well. i'm not sure how much. thanks very much for that. republican presidential candidate herman cain is generating a lot of buzz with a bizarre web campaign ad that's gone viral and while everyone debates what the ad is all about, there's no question that candidates are using the internet that ways they could never use on television. joe johns is watching. what's going on? >> now more than ever, the candidates are realizing the full potential. this is a way for a candidate to do an ad, get instant feedback and raise money without spending so much of it. you may not like it, you may not understand it, but if you've seen it, you probably remember it. the ad is a real buzz builder. over a million views on youtube. even for people who think it's weird, especially the part where mark block takes a puff on a cigarette. cnn political analyst has spent most of his career coming up with campaign ads and says it's a very effective message to c n cain's target audience. >> that's the kind of message the tea party wants to hear, that you can't tell us what to do, we'll stand up to washington, we won't play by your rules. good message for the tea party. >> a lot of political web ads are funny or cynical or sarcastic and just edgey enough to give a tv ad manager a bit of heartburn. take another ad. >> why has it always got to be about color? >> then, there are the more traditional web ads. romney's attacks on the president's record. >> if i don't have this done in three years, then there's going to be a one-term proposition. >> but what's really different about this are that these ads incur a fraction of the cost of big budget tv ads and can end up on tv any way, in news reports like this one, if they ever go viral. remember the john mccain ad making fun of barack obama's celebrity status? >> and the world shall receive his blessings. >> this was the moment when the rise in the oceans began the slow and our planet began to heel. >> he pulled his mighty hand -- >> and who can forget the obama girl? part political statement, mostly music video. while the tendency may be to predict the end of tv advertising, alex says that would be premature. >> tv didn't replace radio and the internet didn't replace tv. web ads add something to the communications mix. it's tv, but with a return envelope. >> and wolf, we've just gotten another weapon web ad. this one from jon huntsman. his daughters. they've been having fun with herman cain and this new ad is basically a parody of this new ad with cain's chief of staff smoking a cigarette, but instead of smoking cigarettes, they blow bubbles. >> tomorrow is friday. one day closer to the weekend. we strongly believe that our dad has the experience and proven track record to revive america's economy and create jobs. ♪ >> huntsman's three daughters have made quite a presence for themselves. they're on social media, mainly twitter. they call themselves the huntsman 2012 girls. >> popular following. that's an actual jon huntsman campaign, little viral ad. very cute. very funny. better than smoking. >> healthier for sure. >> thanks very much. let's discuss what's going on in our strategy session. steve hildebrand, he was the deputy campaign manager for the obama campaign 2008. also, mary, worked on a lot of campaigns over the years. mary, what do you make about all these ads now going viral? do they actually help these respective candidates? >> well, in the case of the herman cain ads, they're effective to conservatives because they go right at the ground zero that units conservatives, which is anti pc. the nanny state i'm smoking, is it always about color, the yellow flower. liberal race bidding. that had a very subtle and sophisticated message, but i think their good at this point in the campaign. all these guys still trying to distinguish themselves from each other and they aren't designed to get votes as much as to get a look. >> they do get a lot of attention, steve. did this smoking ad help herman cain or hurt his campaign? >> i think it hurts him, wolf. i wish it would help him, but i think it hurts him. these candidates are spending a lot of money producing these ads and if you're not spending that money to really tell voters in iowa, new hampshire, south carolina, nevada, what you're going to do for them, what you're going to do to fix the major problems that our country is facing, you're probably wasting a lot of money doing it. it's not just about getting attention. it's about getting votes. people are pretty serious in this time about wanting candidates who are going to produce for them and the final thing i want to say about it is the republican field is really in disarray and one of them has to stand apart and probably the one who's going to take the most serious approach to fixing the problems in this country and really communicate to those early state voters is probably going to be the one who's going to stand apart. not the one who's got the most cheesey web ad. >> these ads, the ones on the web, they're pretty cheap. not necessarily the tv ads. those are expensive to make. but the web ads don't cost a lot of money. i'm sure the herman cain ad cost what, not much at all. you disagree with steve. you think the herman cain smoking ad helped him? >> yes, and i'm not surprised steve doesn't think that because he doesn't think like this. which is that conservatives are sick and tired of the natty state and that's what that cigarette was all about. i don't smoke, but i'm sick of mayors and the government telling me where and what i can do, how much salt i can use, trans fats, all the rest of that. that was a subtlety in the sophistication of that message and herman cain is saying something else, which is i'm not like d rest of these guys. i don't play by their rules. i'm a leader. he was saying something specific about his leadership skills himself, his brand and something near and dear to the hearts of conservatives, which is get government off my back, out of my shower, off my kitchen table. >> i want you to stand by. we're going continue this conversation. sounds like mary does not like the new york mayor very much. herman cain has a lot of support among conservatives, but often says he doesn't necessarily have all the facts when it comes to answering some tough policy questions. is that okay for a man who wants to be president of the united states to say i don't have all the facts? 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[ male announcer ] another reason more people stay with state farm. get to a better state. let's continue our strategy session with steve hildebrand, the deputy campaign manager for the 2008 obama campaign, also, mary matalin, our republican strategist. continuing to conversation on arguably the front-runner on some of the national polls, when he's asked a tough question on other issues, let me play this little clip. >> one of the things i've always prided myself on is making an informed decision based upon knowing all of the facts. after i look at all of the information provided by the intelligence community, the military, then i can make that decision. i can't make that decision -- i could see myself authorizing that transfer, but i would make sewer i have all the information, considered all of the options. i as president want to look at the department of education and make that determination when all of the facts are considered. >> is that good enough for a presidential candidate to repeat that when he may not necessarily have a great answer? >> not in the 21st century, wolf. people are looking for real strong, important answers right now. >> what do you think, mary? >> i think herman cain is getting a certain amount of latitude and there's room for candor as opposed to a can answer, but he needs to augment each of these i'm going to gather the information, gather the experts, here's how i make decisions. he needs to add principles. even if they're simple principles. we don't negotiate with terrorists, but who knows if somebody had their finger on the trigger of a nuke. he needs to say what his principles are in addition to i don't make decisions on the fly. >> it's clear to a lot of people he's a very likable kind of guy, steve. people like him, but also preem bli at some point, they're going to want to know where he stands speckly on these tough issues. >> if you're mitt romney, if you've served a state, had to take positions. you've done things. you've been firm on issues and to now be herman cain, we don't really know who herman cain is. we don't really know what he stands for, so it's incumbent on him if he wants votes, to start taking some hard and fast positions. >> the other front-runner is mitt romney. listen to what jon huntsman said about mitt romney here in "the situation room" at the top of the hour because it's a sort of variation on the theme that mitt romney is only a flip-flopper. >> this is when the candidates need to stand up and show a little bit of leadership. you can't be a perfectly lubricated weather vane on the important issues of the day. >> you're going to be hearing a lot of that. we heard a lot of it in 2008. how much damage does flip-flopping argument going to make as far as mitt romney is concerned? >> well, so much for the huntsman high road campaign he promised to conduct. yeah, that's, that is romney's core weakness. it's not fatal. but he has to address it. it's a big concern among conservatives and why he didn't exceed other than new hampshire his 25% ceiling. obama's saying it, everybody's saying the same thing. he's going to have to address that fundamental flaw. >> you can't help but notice that the democrats are really going after mitt romney on this issue. the other republican critics of mitt romney, is mitt romney from the democratic perspective, steve, the fear, the top fear as far as challenge to the president is concerned? >> well, i think one thing that democrats can find, wolf, is that mitt romney is a great weather vane, he is flip-flopping. are we fearful of him? i think we take one candidate very, very seriously, whether it's mitt romney or anybody else. >> democrats are spending a loot of time focusing in on mitt romney and not so much the other candidates. that could change. guys, thanks very, very much. massive profits fueled by massive subsidies. why does washington continue to help major oil companies while the u.s. faces massive deficits sm. also, details of a major break that will change the future of the british royal family. and coming up, a huge snowstorm on the way threatening to bring more than a foot to some parts of the northeast u.s. ♪ when you're responsible for this much of the team, you need a car you can count on. the clock is ticking for the congressional super committee tasked with come up for a plan to reduce the deficit. with oil companies announcing billions in profits this week, d y not cut some of the billion from taxpayers. kate bolduan is tracking the money for us. what are you finding out? >> at a time when we are facing record deficits and soaring profits, some may think it's a no brainer to get rid of the subsidies, but the political reality is it's not that clean cut. big oil posted multibillion dollar profits for the third quarter. exxon mobil's earnings up 41% from a year ago. the surge sparking a familiar debate. >> we keep tax loopholes for oil companies or put teachers back to work? >> the senate's democratic campaign on thursday launched a new round of online ads targeting republican candidates on this issue. >> $86 million -- >> the oil and gas industry defends the subsidies saying they promote job creation. >> to look at our industry and try to raise taxes is a false solution. let is continue to put americans to work. increase energy security and let us produce our own resources at home. >> the oil industry has been a p popular democratic target before. remember the summer's debt ceiling debate and the most recent government shutdown fight. >> ending subsidies for the oil and gas industry, ending corporate profits will save us tens of billions of dollars. >> they're prepared to shut down the government rather than resend one penny of the oil and gas stris $41 billion in tax subsidies. but clean energy sector gets the hammer. >> but are democrats trying to have it both ways? bashing republicans for protecting big oil at the same time senate democrats recently stripped a provision from the president's jobs bill that would have brought in some $40 billion by increasing taxes on the oil and gas industry. republicans for their part have indicated open to ending such subsidies, but only as part of a broader plan to reform the tax code. paul ryan reiterated that position this week. >> eliminating tax subsidies for oil and gas companies would only equal .5% of the president's planned deficits. i am all for closing tax loopholes, but you can't chase ever higher spending the politically motivated tax hikes. >> now, house speaker john boehner and the top republican in the senate, mitch mcconnell, they have both also indicated that they could be open to closing certain loopholes and getting rid of certain subsidies possibly like these, wolf, but aides stress only l as part of a much broader, big tax reform that would then bring down over all rates. it seems one thing is clear that this issue, this fight, is not going anywhere anytime soon. >> one area for tax reform on this area right here. i write about it on my blog today as well. cnn.com/situationroom. snow in the forecast for millions of americans. a major weather alert. that's coming up. meineke's personal pricing on brakes. i tell you what i can spend. i do my best to make it work. i'm back on the road safely. and i saved you money on brakes. that's personal pricing. britain at the commonwealth are are casting aside sencentur of tradition with a change to rules of succession. max foster has details. >> wolf, this is potentially a big moment in british and commonwealth history. everyone seems to agree it's a good idea. an historic shift is underway in the british royal family. after 16 leaders agreed on friday to strike a century's old gender preference law from the books. british prime minister david cameron has been pushing for the change for months now, urging for reforms that would treat first born royal babies equally. >> if the duke and duchess were to have a little girl, that girl would one day be our queen. >> didn't reference the change directly, but did voice her support. >> the theme this year is women as agents of change. it reminds us of the potential in our societies that is yet to be fully unlocked. and it encourages us to find ways to allow girls and women to play their full part. >> the queen is an example of the only exception to the current rule. a woman has been able to inherit the throne only if there are no known male heirs. the current queen elizabeth, queen victoria, so there's no great argument about taking sexism out, but getting the job done. the issue took on greater urgency following the engagement last year. >> people are bound to ask you know, it's a bit of an obvious question, children, do you want lots of children? see what comes? what's your -- >> i think we'll take it one step at a time. sort of get over the marriage, then look at the kids. obviously, we want a family, so we have to start thinking about that. >> prince william's younger brother, prince harry, could benefit from the changes as well. for example, if he wanted to mary a woman who's a catholic, he could do so without giving up his place in line. under the old rules, anyone married to a catholic cannot ascend to the throne. >> reason that's bizarre is because you don't forfeit your fight to the throne if you marry someone who subsequently becomes a catholic. you could marry a signtologist, a muslim and that would have no impact on the throne. >> in order for the new rules to take effect, they'll have to be approved by the individual governments, which outside britain range from canada to jamaica to australia, then a new royal baby will have to be born and take his or her place in line. the 16 prime ministers need to take this back to their countries now and get it turned into law, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem. >> thank you. you're in "the situation room." happening now, a winter storm watch is in effect for parts of the northeast united states. an early and heavy snowfall is threatening to create a weather nightmare for americans just in time for halloween. plus, new tactics in the crack down on occupy wall street protesters. after arrests and tear gas, some demonstrators may be frozen out of their home base and a tea party group says it's time for michele bachmann to quit the gop presidential race. i'll ask the congresswoman about the state of her campaign and whether the movement that embraced her is now turning against her. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. breaking news, political headlines and jeanne moos all straight ahead. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." if you live in the northeast united states, you may want to get out your boots and snow shovels along with some halloween candy. an early winter storm is threatening to sock parts of the region with as much as a foot of snow or even more. let's go to our meteorologist, chad myers. a new forecast just out. what's the latest, chad? >> right from i-95, 20 miles west of that line and up to the west of there, that's where the significant snow is going to be. for new york city, philadelphia, baltimore, two to three, maybe four inches, but west of there where it's colder, that's where the big time snow is going to be. the poconos and catskills, the green and white mountains up to parts of springfield and berkshires as well. this is a new season snow. we didn't expect this even earlier today, but the new models have pinted out a lot of snow. allentown, lancaster, 15 inches that ends on sunday. it starts tomorrow. i want you to get really close to here. i know people are asking what about new york city. new york city's going to be a sloppy mess. two rain drops and three snow flakes coming down. if you get out toward bergen county, yonkers, that's where that foot of snow is going to come down. this is not a big deal as much tk it could be, but the threat is wind for one, but the leaves are still op the trees. you put eight inches, ten inches on the branches of a tree and still have the leaves on, those branches are going to break, bring down powerlines and i can see hundreds of thousands of people without power by sunday night. >> that would be a nightmare. we'll stay in close touch with you. as the winter storm threatens the northeast, protesters in new york are concerned about more than just being arrested. they now fear they could be frozen out of their demonstration zone. let's go to mary snow. >> this morning, the city moved in to cut down on what it called a safety hazard. but many aren't quite buying it. an unexpected wake-up call for protesters. >> does not allow for the use of generators and fuel in the manner that threatens public safety. >> firefighters accompanied by police showed up to inspect and remove generators and fuel containers the city says are a fire hazard. both the city and protesters say there was no resistance, but among some, it's raised suspiciouses. >> i think that the city, while they say we are allowed to be here, internally, they are trying to find ways to wean us out slowly. >> mayor bloomberg on the radio said the generators and containers are fire hazards that are against the law. >> our first two concerned, first amendment and safety. >> they say they've taken precautions, including fire extinguishers and questioning why the city is acting now. >> the timing is a little odd bauz it's the first cold day. it comes after a terrible, violent attack by law enforcement on occupy oakland. we're legitimately concerned because sometimes, the explanation we're given in this city is not what's really going on. >> the mayor of oakland, california apologized for recent violence against demonstrators. tear gas was used and an iraqi vet was hospitalized. >> the property is not city property and so far brookfield hasn't complained and asked us to remove people, so that's not a consideration. >> then there's the weather factor. protesters like nicholas are bracing for cold weather and snow, vowing to stick through it. >> it will turn some away. i'm not going to stay everybody will be here, but for the most part, we're not going to stop. it's not going to have a negative effect on us u. >> this afternoon, hundreds of protesters marched to five major banks. delivering letters to ceos of the banks. the march was peaceful. also this week, we should point out one union of the n.y.p.d. came out to say it will sue protesters if officers get hurt. the union points to recent violence in other parts of the country, most notably, in oakland, california. >> thank you. and a leading veterans group is calling for an investigation into the -- that left one u.s. marine in intensive care. he is listed in fair condition with a skull fracture after being struck by a tear gas canister on tuesday. he fought two tours of duty in iraq. president obama is moving forward with his protest against inaction in congress, but republicans are firing back. here's our white house correspondent, dan lothian. >> the president has been saying that his we cant wait approach is no substitute for congressional action on his jobs bill, but what he wants is not what he gets. so with millions of americans looking for work, the president is taking the small steps on his own. the week ended much like it started. after acting without congress to help homeowners, veterans and college students -- >> we are not a people who just sit around and wait for things to happen. >> two more executive actions from the president aimed to help small and large businesses by creating an online clearinghouse for federal services and moving research to market more quickly. jay kacarney says get used to i. >> you haven't heard the end of it because again, there is no higher priority for him. >> but john boehner says he has great concerns about the white house approach. delivering a blunt assessment of recent actions on the laura ingram show -- >> but the white house says others have taken similar steps and jay carney insists quote it's well within the balance of the president's authority. what they can agree on is the need to create more jobs, but then the fincger pointing begin. the president blames the republicans for throwing up roadblocks -- >> the president has been traveling around the country saying that we can't wait and we believe that as well and we're not waiting. >> meanwhile, unemployment remains high and businesses sit on the sidelines blaming an atmosphere of uncertainty. amid these dark clouds, the stock market is once again showing signs of life and the european debt crisis has backed away from the edge with a new round of lows for greece, a move the president welcomed in an op-ed published in the financial times where he wrote about the importance of building a credible fire wall that prevents the crisis from spreading. they say that a stable global economy may restore the coffs needed in order to boost job creation, but house republicans say they have another solution. speaker john boehner's spokesman said quote, if the president wants to do something meaningful, he can start by working with republicans and engage in the legislative process. herman cain is laughing off a series of campaign distractions. we're taking a closer look at his unconventional style and whether he's serious about winning the white house. and the new heir to the throne in saudi arabia is chosen. critics are calling his record quote ugly. and demonstrators in sierra are pleading for something libyans had. a no fly zone. 4g-- the next evolution in wireless technology. with advanced power, the verizon 4g lte network makes your business run faster: smartphones, laptops, tablets, mobile hotspots. but not all 4g is created equal. among the major carriers, only verizon's 4g network is 100% lte, the gold standard of wireless technology. and while other carriers may have limited lte coverage, verizon is the largest lte network in america and ever-growing. with verizon 4g lte, you can invent new ways to upgrade your business using real-time group meetings from remote locations, video conferencing, mobile credit-card payments, lightning-fast downloads, and access to thousands of business apps. plus, verizon has the largest selection of 4g lte devices and the most 4g lte coverage for your business. all on america's fastest, most reliable 4g network. no wonder more businesses choose verizon wireless than any other wireless carrier. verizon. two front-runners in the race are on the trail right now. mitt romney holds a town hall event in the primary state of new hampshire later this hour. he hermann khan is looking farther down the road, campaigning in a state that doesn't hold its primary until march. alabama. example of his unique strategy. let's turn to jim acosta. >> herman cain says he is in it to win it, but he has a strange way of going about it. >> let herman be herman. >> for a growing number of republicans, it's all aboard the cain train. ♪ even if the conductor doesn't keep track of all the stops. >> i don't even know where we left last night. where were we? arkansas. >> on this day, cain campaigned in alabama. a state that doesn't hold its primary until march 13th. he visited kansas, ohio and texas, leaving less time for iowa, north carolina. sound crazy? >> he's either crazy like a fox or crazy but it doesn't matter because it's working. >> he admits he's heard from one supporter who questioned his seriousness. >> he said there's talk that you're not in this to win it. i said, and they don't know me. he said, well then i want to send you some money. i said, now you're talking. >> cain's campaign says it's all about building name recognition. take those web vis like this one featuring whisky drinking cowboys punching out liberals or the infamous spot starring a cigarette puffing campaign manager, all the better when that slow cain smile shows up on the colbert report. aides say it's all for a good cause. >> if you look at if other candidates, i don't think any of them could pull it off. >> you have to admit, herman's strategy so far has made him the front-runner. >> truth be told, cain is no political novice. he ran briefly for president in 2000 and unsuccessfully for the senate in georgia in 2004. >> shut down the irs. replace it with a new tax system that's fair and simple. 9-9-9 plan. >> cain a near front-runner, he is getting more strutny. as for that smoking campaign manager, turns out block paid a $15,000 settlement with the elections board in 2001 after he was accused of improper campaign fund raising. for now, it appears block is staying on the cain train. >> we also have a p chief of staff by the name of mark block and we say let block be block. >> so block will be block and cain will be cain and block told cnn cain has raised more than $3 million this month. the cain train can now use that money to build a more conventional campaign if that's what he wants, wolf. >> what a story this is. herman cain is trying today to move beyond a recent controversy on his views on abortion. he told piers morgan he was against it, but suggested the government should not have the final say in cases of rape and incest. since then, cain has insisted quote he's pro-life without exceptions. cnn asked him once again to clarify. listen to this. >> can you clarify your position on abortion? >> thank you all very much. >> i don't know you heard -- >> i clarified it a thousand times. go back and look it up. thank you, all. i love alabama! >> bring in our chief political correspondent, candy crowley, what do you make of this? it's a phenomenon, you have to admit. >> it's totally a phenomenon, but i think the -- you know how every campaign has an anvil around its neck of some sort. for romney, flip-flopping. rick perry, it seems to be is he really up to the job and for cain, it seems to be is he really in this? does he actually want to win it? is this a serious campaign? and when you cannot answer one of the most basic questions certainly in the primary for conservatives, particularly social conservatives about abortion, if you don't have that ready once you know you're at the top of the heap and people are going to begin to ask, that's a problem. it's not a problem in that people have had differing ways of explaining their abortion positions. we've had candidates that have flip-flopped from both sides, so that's not the problem. the problem is to face an elect rat as cain is where they so much are interested in two issues. tax cutting and abortion. the social issues and not to have that answer ready and thought out sort of underscores those questions is herman cain really serious about doing this. >> have you ever seen in a campaign a front-runner not spending a day in iowa or new hampshire or south carolina or florida, the contest in january, but going to alabama, which doesn't have their primary until march. >> exactly. except for we're talking about him. he didn't disappear when he went to alabama. he shows up on practically every cable station and may show up in the broadcast networks, so the question is for a man who needs to have name recognition, is this helping? i feel the same way about that commercial with the smoking campaign manager. we talked about it for five days. >> he may be on to something, going door to door, shaking people's hands, having a town hall meeting where 200 people show up, you're going to get a lot more attention on television than you are those kinds of smaller. >> you are, unless the people -- remember, very few people actually make the decision on iowa and go out on caucus night. the question is, do they find this offensive? has he been in iowa enough to make a difference? if he is howard dean and runs into iowa looking like he's going to run into first place and places third or fourth or fifth, that's not going to be good enough. >> rick sullivan suggested the texas governor was not going to participate in the all the upcoming debates. he was asked about perry today. >> i don't know whether not we're going to go on any debates or not. there's going to be a lot of debates. shoot, i may get to be a good debater before all this. >> what do you think about this whole issue of whether he should or shouldn't show up? >> there are boigoing to be debs he doesn't have to show up. they're kind of scheduled in pencil because the candidates have to show up to make it a debate. just because you agree to hold the forum doesn't mean they're coming. if mitt romney does too many detats, rick perry can get out of that one. and it's okay for jon huntsman to say i'm not going to nevada. i'm going to new hampshire. he did fine in debates, he just couldn't get enough running room. so the question is, can a guy who sort of really blown it in the debates so far and he admits that. he can be the then say well now i'm not going to do debates because it looks like he's running from them. >> debate obama -- this important note. candy has david axelrod and ron paul among her guests this weekend. tune in sunday morning, 9:00 a.m. and noon. a new blow to michele bachmann's presidential campaign. i'll ask her about a surprising call for her to actually drop out of the race. we'll speak with michele bachmann. that's coming up. and a big bank may be backing off from making debit credit owners pay hefty fees. erin burnett is standing by. let's get to michele bachmann, she's joining us from iowa. congresswoman, thanks very much for joining us. >> thanks, wolf. >> were you as surprised as i was and maybe you were when this one tea party group called american majority. i wasn't exactly familiar with it. maybe you are since you've really been involved in the tea party movement. their executive director issued a statement saying this. he said, let's face it, referring to you. she's a back bencher and has been for years. this is not a serious presidential campaign. i want you to, when you heard about that, what went through your mind because these are tea party activists. >> well, of course, we found out that this is really a misstep on the part of the perry campaign because these are perry supporters that came out. this was a clumsy move. this was meant to be a stealth move to make it look like this was tea party and apparently, these are perry supporters that came out and it was just a clumsy move on their part to make this statement. if governor perry has something to say to me, he can come out to the debates and say it, but this is egg on the face unfortunately for the perry campaign. it certainly isn't a blow to my campaign because i've had non-stop support coming out of the woodwork from tea partiers all across the country ever since this came out. >> do you have any evidence it was directed or the perry campaign got this group involved in this? any hard evidence or just a surmise? >> no, this is something that people have told us that these are perry supporters and they went out with this and this was meant to be a stealth move and it was clumsy, but my involvement in the tea party movement has been for years. people know that i brought over 40,000 americans to washington, d.c. to fight against the implementation of obamacare. i have led the movement for the tea party in washington. i started the tea party caucus in washington, d.c. and for years, i have been the le leader at the tip of the spear. i introduced the bill to repeal obamacare. i'm a chief author of a bill to get rid of an act also known as dodd frank. i've been a leading foe of nancy pelosi and president obama. that's my badge of honor, so i think that it's very clear that i have a backing and support of the tea party. i'm the one who is the first person who is signed the pledge to build the fence on america's southern border and pulled the taxpayer subsidies for illegal aliens. governor perry is the one who's said he will not build a fence and wants americans to pay for benefits. >> the spokesman said they did support, they said they liked rick perry's plan, but insist they haven't endorsed just for the record. that's what they're saying publicly in reaction to this uproar over whether or not they want you to step down or quit this race. but let's move on to some of the other issues. >> i am sure you can -- i'm sure you can look into that and find the background. >> we will. i promise you that. i want to get to your economic plan because you've got a major economic plan you've put out there, but a little politics first. in the states, the first four states. right now, you're showing your 4% of florida, 6% in iowa, 2% in new hampshire, 4% in south carolina. you've got a lot of work ahead of you. you've spent a lot of time in iowa. >> we've been in all of these early primary states and have spent a lot of time and again, i was discounted from the very beginning on the iowa straw poll. there's no other straw poll like iowa's. anyone who holds a valid driver's license can vote in that poll. i came in with less time than anyone. everyone said she won't win and i was the first woman to win the iowa straw poll. we won that when everyone said it was impossible. now we're going for the caucuses in iowa. that's the next time when people will vote. sure i'm being discounted, but i'm doing what i should do. i'm here in iowa meeting with the owners and people working here on the shop floor and that's what i'm doing. voter by voter and we're identifying people to be supporters, so don't count us out by a long shot. that's what these other candidates would like to do. they'd like to count us out but that's not what we're seeing by people on the ground. they recognize that i am the true conservative in this race and people shouldn't settle. this is the year when they can have it all with the candidate who is a true face cal conservative, a peace through strength conservative, and a tea partyier. i've got that and we're finding a lot of support here in iowa. >> let's talk about your economic plan. your american jobs, your blueprint that you've released this week. i want to go through one area, tax reform. it's in the news right now. big oil company like exxon mobil. they had a 41% profit jump in the last quarter. big oil companies like exxon mobil, they still get some tax breaks. tax subsidies to the tune of about $4 billion in hard -- in american taxpayer money. is that something you would change? would you eliminate those tax breaks for the big oil companies? >> let's talk about that, wolf. if you look at the effective tax rate for whirlpool, they had a minus 11% effective tax rate. ge had a 7% tax rate. google had something like a 21% tax rate. mcdonald's had something like a 30% tax rate. exxon mobil had a 45% tax rate and marathon had something like a 50% tax rate. so if you want to know who is paying the taxes, the oil companies are the ones that are paying an effective tax rate of nearly 50%. >> but american taxpayers still subsidize those big oil and gas companies to the tune of $4 billion a year. $4 billion a year may not be a lot in the terms of huge trillion dollar deficits, but a billion here, a billion there, eventually, you're talking real money. >> those are tax credits. that's what you're referring to. those are tax credits. tax credits are available nearly for many industries across the spectrum, but the bottom line is what is the effective tax rate that these companies are paying? there's no fairness whatsoever when you have ge paying 7% effective tax rate and you have marathon oil paying 50% and exxon mobil paying a 45% tax rate. that's what really counts, wolf, is the bottom line. what is the effective tax rate and some of the highest effective tax rates right now are being paid by the oil companies. >> which of these republican candidates would you see as your republican challenger right now? >> well, my main challenger is barack obama. that's what i'm focused on. his economic policies are a disaster and his foreign policy is even worse. under barack obama's watch, we have expended 805 billion to liberate the people of iraq and more importantly, 4400 american lives. president obama just had his hat handed to him by the iraqis who have essentially kicked him and our people out of iraq while iran is waiting in the wings. iran is seeking to have a nuclear weapon. they want to wipe israel off the face of the map and they want to use a nuclear weapon against the united states. and the president said sure. we'll get out. so, the president has done nothing to secure america's safety and security. he's been a disaster on foreign policy. >> as far as iraq is concerned, the iraq war which started in march 2003, that was president bush and the republicans who launched that war that went on for years. this current president is now withdrawing all those troops from iraq. don't you give him credit for that? >> wolf, the current president is being kicked out of iraq. the president of the united states has gotten nothing. >> you want those troops to stay in iraq? >> wolf, this was a bipartisan effort when the decision was made regarding iraq. i have wasn't in congress at that time, but this was a bipartisan effort. this was not just a republican effort. what president obama has failed to do is secure the gains that america paid for with an extremely dear cost. 4400 american lives, nearly a trillion dollars in expenditures and we have nothing to show for it. and we may look at a government which has admitted they cannot secure the peace. they've said themselves they need eight more years to secure the peace. but of course, iran is putting the pressure on. they don't want any american presence because iran wants to come in and be the dominant one in that region and exercise influence. that's the problem and this is a country who not only wants to dominate middle east politics, but they are hell bent on making sure they can deliver a nuclear weapon sufficient to wife israel off the map and use it against the president of the united states. that's why president obama has made a tremendous error when he chose to put daylight between the united states and israel. he sent a signal that they can be aggressive and iran certainly is. >> we'll continue this conversation down the road. thanks for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. a dramatic turn around. some big banks are now saying no to those debit card fees. erin burnett's standing by to join us with the latest. and violence in syria. we're going to tell you what the arab spring protest rs are demanding now. ♪ medicine that can't wait legal briefs there by eight, ♪ ♪ that's logistics. ♪ ♪ freight for you, box for me box that keeps you healthy, ♪ ♪ that's logistics. ♪ ♪ saving time, cutting stress, when you use ups ♪ ♪ that's logistics. ♪ delivering mail, medicine and packages. yet they're closing thousands of offices, slashing service, and want to lay off over 100,000 workers. the postal service is recording financial losses, but not for reasons you might think. the problem ? a burden no other agency or company bears. a 2006 law that drains 5 billion a year from post-office revenue while the postal service is forced to overpay billions more into federal accounts. congress created this problem, and congress can fix it. what's vanishing deductible all about ? guys, it's demonstration time. let's blow carl's mind. okay, let's say i'm your insurance deductible. every year you don't have an accident, $100 vanishes. the next year, another $100. where am i going, carl ? the next year... that was weird. but awesome ! ♪ nationwide is on your side i spoke with jon huntsman, a former u.s. ambassador to china and i asked him what he would say to the chinese people if he could in mandarin. and he said this to the aftermath of china's enormous holding of u.s. debt. listen to this. china's played a very important role in the u.s. economy. they have a lot of u.s. debt. most recently this week, they played a significant role helping the europe ps bail out greece and some of that enormous debt crisis there. our viewers are china are watching. we have a lot of viewers in china as you probably know having lived in beijing. say something to the people of china in mandarin, then translate it for us. what would you say to them given this opportunity? >> i basically said that despite our challenges, the china and u.s. relationship is the most important in the world today and it is incumbent on the leadership in both countries in order to ensure the economic and security of not only our two countries, but the region and the world as well. having a president who can understand those issues and who knows well our most significant economic challenge and opportunity as well as our most significant security challenge would be a great thing to have at the white house, wolf. >> let's bring in erin burnett. she's been doing reporting all over the world. he makes a good point. the chinese influence really is enormous. >> it really is enormous. when you look at it and you look at the trading partners, europe is the most important trading partner for china and they are considering contributing $100 billion plus to stabilize the european economy, which matters to the u.s. because europe is the biggest trading partner for the united states and of course china is a crucial trading partner for us as well as the largest foreign holder of our debt, so it is safe to say that a strong, solid economicallily stable china is really crucial to america. again, the issue comes into their currency and how we split the spoils of that trade. >> you've got something special coming up tonight. tell your viewers what it is. >> i was listening to your interview with michele bachmann and you really got her to come out and talk about this issue of the tea party endorsement. we're going to have ned ryan on. the man from the tea party group, the american majority. who said she should step down. so we're going to have him on tonight to try to delve down a bit on that side of the story. find out these issues about rick perry, what really happened. it's interesting when you look at the tea party, half of the republican party is defined as tea party, but it's very split apart. according to the tea party groups we spoke to, there's 5,000 individual groups, but if they could get together, they'd have a lot of power. we also have the head of the national committee on to talk about the party. >> we'll be watching as we do every night. 7:00 p.m. eastern monday through friday. thank you. a strong earthquake strikes peru. stand by for the latest on the damage in a country hard hit by a quake just a few years ago and we'll take a look at the record of the man now in line to be the next king of saudi arabia. will he be a reliable ally of the united states? these dogs wake up too early! you know what else is early? medicare open enrollment. now through december 7th. can i stick with my old medicare plan? sure! or find a new plan with better coverage, less cost, or both. medicare plans give you free cancer screenings and wellness visits and 50% off on brand-name prescriptions when you're in the doughnut hole. it's part of the healthcare law. so it's time to look, compare... and choose the right plan for you. learn more at 1-800-medicare or medicare.gov. a strong earthquake rattles peru. mary snow's monitoring that and some of the other top stories. >> a 6.9 earthquake struck peru today. no immediate reports of damage. the quake struck about 180 miles south, southeast of lima. an overnight curfew in one city after violence. tear gas was used on the crowds. the protest broke out after a committee disequalled some of the independent candidates in this week's elections. and major changes to the british royal family. sons and daughters of british monarchs will now have equal rights to the throne. also, british monarchs will be allowed to marry catholics. the law will apply to any future children of prince william and catherine. saudi arabia's ailing ruler has picked a successor, but critics worry about the future king's record on human rights. brian todd has more. >> reporter: he could be the next king of saudi arabia. a key u.s. ally who america will count on to keep the oil flowing in the middle east and to counter the growing threat from iran. just named crown prince by the ageing king abdullah. he has been saudi arabia's interior minister for 36 years and for some, to say he's a hard liner is putting it mildly. >> the main problem is his human rights record. it's a very ugly record. he has cracked down on women activists, religious freedom activists and any democratic activists, reporters, journalists, bloggers, all types of act vis. >> ali with the institute for gulf affairs, is a long time vocal critic of the saudi family. saudi arabia has had almost no arab spring protests and he claims that's thanks to prince naif. he's as not enthusiastic about allowing saudi women to drive or vote. he was called conservative, author tor yan, pragmatic and not prowestern. in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, he caused a stir when he said in an interview -- despite our repeated attempts, we couldn't get anyone at the saudi embassy to clarify to that or respond to the criticisms, but analysts point out it was his job to clamp down on social protests, that he may not behave that way as king. he is also praised by the obama administration for being relentless against al-qaeda. his stance as a hard liner virtually wiped out the terrorist network inside saudi arabia. in matters of security, that's something america has appreciated, right? >> absolutely, once they realized their own support of extremism around the world, that they had created a monster that came back to bite them. they did begin to work quite closely, which was difficult for them. >> so difficult in fact that it almost cost him his own life. in 2009, a saudi militant who was pretending to surrender actually blew up a bomb which may have been hidden in a body cavity in the same room. he barely escaped with his life. that was a close call for the presumably future king. a no fly zone in libya helped rebels topple the gadhafi regime. now, protesters in syria want the same type of help. john king looks at new trouble for the obama administration. and a singing house that may not be music to the neighbor's ears this halloween. ♪ at liberty mutual, we know how much you count on your car and how much the people in your life count on you. that's why we offer accident forgiveness, man: good job. where your price won't increase due to your first accident. we also offer a hassle-free lifetime repair guarantee, where the repairs made on your car are guaranteed for life or they're on us. these are just two of the valuable features you can expect from liberty mutual. plus, when you insure both your home and car with us, it could save you time and money. at liberty mutual, we help you move on with your life. so get the insurance responsible drivers like you deserve. looks really good. call us at... or visit your local liberty mutual office, where an agent can help you find the policy that's right for you. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? nato prepares to wrap up its mission, syrian protesters want the same support from the international community. in protests that turns violent they called for a no-fly zone. arwa damon joining us beirut. what did the protesters, specifically, call for today? >> reporter: well, they dubbed it the no-fly zone friday, and now we are increasingly hearing voices from within the opposition inside syria, calling for foreign military intervention, the same style of invention that we saw taking place in libya. wolf, at the onset of the yup rising, well into the summer, this notion was a red line for the opposition. they firmly were saying they did not want to see any sort of foreign power militarily involved in their own uprising about but now we are increasing hearing them calling for that very thing and it most certainly goes to show you how desperate they are becoming, wolf. >> every time we see large demonstrations in syria, arwa, there's a backlash from the government, from the al asad regime. that is happening now? >> activists have telling us that dozens have been killed and wounded, hundreds detained, again, the largest, highest number of casualties happening in the flash point city. we've been seeing violence increase i increasing what we have on the ground, syrian security forces fanned out all over the place. activists to try to get out in those numbers, in the videos that we're seeing they moves themselves around and try to pop out for as long as they can in areas where they believe it will take the syrian security forces a bit longer to get to. but it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to take to the streets, but to continue getting images out as well. >> crowds look enormous right now. are they get morgue intense? are they getting more vocal? what's the latest? >> reporter: well, it's becoming a very difficult for the crowds to swell because if you'll remember, over the summer, we are seeing massive demonstrations in places like hama and all of the major cities have become military war zones. and so the activists will either go out in back alleys or small towns or on the farmlands to be able to gather high numbers because they say the syrian security forces do not hesitate to come in and just open fire on them. and this just goes to show you their resilience. but at the same time there's the big question of how long can they actually sustain this? >> arwa damon on the scene for us in beirut. thanks very much. when we come back, it may be more trick than treat. up next, we're going to show you a halloween house unlike any other. hey, did you ever finish last month's invoices? sadly, no. oh. but i did pick up your dry cleaning and had your shoes shined. well, i made you a reservation at the sushi place around the corner. well, in that case, i better get back to these invoices... which i'll do right after making your favorite pancakes. you know what? i'm going to tidy up your side of the office. i can't hear you because i'm also making you a smoothie. [ male announcer ] marriott hotels & resorts knows it's better for xerox to automate their global invoice process so they can focus on serving their customers. with xerox, you're ready for real business. but for some of us with overactive bladder, our pipes just don't work as well as they should. sometimes, i worry my pipes might leak. but i learned there's something more i can do. now, i take care with vesicare. once-daily vesicare can help control your bladder muscle and is proven to treat overactive bladder with symptoms of frequent urges and leaks day and night. if you have certain stomach or glaucoma problems, or trouble emptying your bladder, do not take vesicare. vesicare may cause allergic reactions that may be serious. if you experience swelling of the face, lips, throat or tongue, stop taking vesicare and get emergency help. tell your doctor right away if you have severe abdominal pain, or become constipated for three or more days. vesicare may cause blurred vision, so use caution while driving or doing unsafe tasks. common side effects are dry mouth, constipation, and indigestion. so why wait ? ask your doctor today... ... about taking care with vesicare. i'm not a line item on a budget. and i'm definitely not a pushover. but i am a voter. so washington... before you even think about cutting my medicare and social security benefits... here's a number you should remember. 50 million. we are 50 million seniors who earned our benefits... and you will be hearing from us... today and on election day. ♪ ♪ and the flowers and the trees ♪ ♪ all laugh when you walk by ♪ and the neighbors' kids run and hide ♪ deep inside you, there's a person who refuses to be kept deep inside you. ♪ but you're not ♪ you're the one be true to yourself. what's healthier than that? i tell you what i can spend. i do my best to make it work. i'm back on the road safely. and i saved you money on brakes. that's personal pricing. a statement from the rick perry campaign denying it was involved in the one group called american majority, a tea party group calling on michele bachmann to quit. she made that allegation here in "the situation room." we were not aware or involved in the group's action, a spokesman for the perry campaign says. one singing halloween house is now a nightmare. here's cnn's jeanne moos. >> reporter: that's no motion detecting anti-burglary device. this is a talking house. ♪ party rock >> reporter: practical le a dancing house. ♪ >> reporter: the website gawker christened it the awesome halloween light show you're glad isn't on your block. >> in a place that perhaps you've seen in your dreams -- >> reporter: or in your nightmares. the house plays one number taken from the tim burton film "the nightmare before christmas." this is halloween. >> reporter: here's the house version. ♪ this is halloween, halloween ♪ ♪ >> reporter: and this is the family that lives in the halloween house in riverside, california. kevin, he prefers we not use his last name, isn't doing any tv interviews at the moment but we did have a nice, long phone conversation with him. at his day job, he installs fiber-optics for verizon. but he takes a week off to put up the 5,000 or so l.e.d. lights on his own house. ♪ >> reporter: and he uses his spare time over a period of months to program them. he started the tradition back in 2008 with "thriller" ♪ this is thriller ♪ ♪ >> reporter: he does something different every year. ♪ he dit td the monster mash♪ >> reporter: party rock anthem from llmfao. >> reporter: cars cruise by kevin's house, attracts a crowds of 300 or so people standing around watching the nightly shows. one night a teenage girl showed up on his doorstep around midnight and asked if this was the house with all of the lights and could he please turn them on. kevin declined. to us, it may be funny. are the neighbor as mused? one