this is t.j. back in atlanta. you hearing me okay? arwa damon is not hearing me right now. arwa damon one of a number of cnn correspondents who spent a lot of time in iraq over the last several years reporting there literally from the very beginning of that war and throughout. we ll try to get her back in a moment. a historic day we saw even though a few thousand american service members in iraq. they will make their way out, many of them this weekend and, again, formally, it is over. let me turn to our zain verjee. the whole world, zain, she s joining me from london. the whole world watched this event today. what is the world saying now that it s over? well, there s been a lot of reaction today, as you can imagine. it s been eight years, eight months and 26 days. and a lot of blood, sweat and tears on both the sides of the american people, as well as the iraqi people. let me give you an idea. the guardian. has this headline. the u.s. troops are pulling out, but what have
ornament on it. if you live in rhode island, however, it is a holiday tree, taking christ out of christmas. the subject of this morning s faces of faith. but we begin with the end for herman cain. here is part of his announcement, if you missed it yesterday. i am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distraction, the continued hurt caused on me and my family, not because we are not fighters, not because i m not a fighter. all right. but he won t be fighting on as a presidential candidate. the campaign is suspended. doesn t mean he s not still going to have some kind of impact. our political reporter shannon travis is here in studio with me. you ve been following herman cain for quite some time. he can continue this fight. plan a was being president, plan b is starting a website. plan b is also still being a playmaker in republican presidential race. plan b is this website, the cain solutions, where he says he ll keep promoting the 9-9-9 plan,
we re glad you are right here. let s start at the top of the hour with republican presidential candidate mitt romney. he s facing criticism and questions for being a mormon. this time it s coming from the pastor of a mega church in dallas. his name is reverend robert jeffress. you may recognize that name and face. jeffress introduced governor rick perry at the conservative values voter summit in washington, d.c. he was critical of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints and told our jim acosta and others that morm ononism is cult. you created a stir because in talking to reporters, you said in pretty strong plain language what you think of mormonism. you describe it as a cult. and you say that if a republican votes for mitt romney, they re giving credibility to a cult. to you stand fwby that comment? absolutely. that is the historic position of evangelical christianity. we have officially labelled mormonism as a couple. i think those born again followers of christ
earthquake. already at least 33 separate aftershocks have been registered. a search and rescue team from los angeles is now headed to new zealand. members are expected to be on the ground in christchurch today. there s 74 specifically trained firefighters onboard along with doctors and engineers. and they re also bringing equipment that can detect a person breathing beneath tons of concrete. it s the same unit that went to haiti last year to assist after the deadly earthquake there. and you can help with the relief effort in new zealand. log on to cnn.com/impact to find out how. we re at nine minutes past the hour. say hello to reynolds wolf in atlanta in our extreme weather center this morning. is there extreme weather to report? indeed, there is. and that extreme weather s going to pop up in parts of the pacific northwest. we ve got a combination of not only strong winds, but possibly heavy snowfall. and not just the highest levels of the cascades, we re talking about some of
no, gorgeous. they re amazing majestic creatures. he does not look too thrilled about being in front of the cameras. well, this little one, six weeks old, five pounds, growing fast, does not have a name yet. the zoo is asking for public suggestions. i might send a couple their way. beautiful. so cute. it s a girl, by the way. girl power, rock on. keeping our eye on another snowstorm possibly. happy, happy, joy, joy. the midwest could get another round tonight and tomorrow. reynolds wolf will have the forecast in just about 20 minutes. it s 25 past the hour on this american morning.