kyra? but in the next half an hour, we should see the senate come into session and this deal could pass within maybe one or two minutes. it could be that short as both the senate and the house are expected to pass this legislation. this payroll tax extension deal using a procedural move that basically allows them to pass legislation without having to call all of the members back into town. so, according to both democratic and republican leadership aides on the senate side, they do expect that things are moving towards a passage on the senate side and then, of course, all eyes turn to the house where the house expected to follow up with a vote and at the top of the next hour and, according to a house republican leadership aide, leaders do expect that this bill will go through, which means that both the house and senate both chambers of congress will have passed this two-month exteng, but, again, we caution with this procedure it only requires one member to stand up in the chamber and object to stall this. we'll watch this very closely, kyra. >> it's going to be happening within this hour, probably the top of next hour, like you said. we'll check back with you. let's go ahead and break down this deal with our chief political correspondent candy crowley. shall we? candy, great to see you on this friday. >> i know. why are we working? how did this happen? >> because, you know, this is how it goes in our business, right? just like those on the hill, they're going to have to work something out. we're going to have to work, as well, work our way through this. what did you think, did boehner cause or avoid more damage here, candy? >> yes. you know. i think both. but it really wasn't, i think it's wrong to blame boehner, the republicans made a huge tactical error. a huge politically tactical error. they kept saying we were right on the policy, but certainly wrong on the politics and we are, after all, in a political eve year. and, so, boehner just simply didn't have the votes from his caucus to pass what the senate passed. which is why he originally said, no, we're not going to pass this thing because it's going to be hard for small businesses, et cetera, et cetera. he tried to negotiate with the president and said send some people up to negotiate with us and the president said, nope. this is the deal. he tried to get to negotiate with the senate democrats. nope, this is the deal. in the end, it was that. the senate republican leader mitch mcconnell said, hey, pass this thing. they lost their senate colleagues and then their constituents got into it and said, what are you doing here? john boehner didn't wake up one morning and said, i think i'll hold this up for a small business, you know, procedural tweak. it was, he was trying to satisfy enough people in his caucus to get the thing passed. so, in the end, he did what he could. >> it's an election year, as you mentioned. we know tensions are high. boehner caves. does this actually show us how fractured the republican party really is? >> certainly shows us how difficult they are to herd for john boehner. that's for sure. we've known that all year because this is not the first time that the speaker has agreed to something and come back only to find that they weren't following him. so, this has definitely been a year of, look, these are largely freshman folks that have, it's the first time at the rodeo. they were elected by tea party types. they all, pretty much, we did a study a while back and a large percentage of them have, you know, jobs they can go back to. they're not career politicians for the most part. and, therefore, they don't have that same kind of let's win this one for boehner. they have held fast and they have won mostly. you know, the president has backed down, the democrats have backed down. so, this, this exposes it, the bad side of it. because up until now boehner has had a pretty good year in backing down some of the stuff that made it hard for his tea party constituency to come along with him in that caucus. so, yes, it exposed his fracture, but it's been there all along. >> it's not the last money issue to be on the table, as well. as you know, candy is our anchor of "state of the union." who is on your program this sunday? >> we'll talk to richard luger, he's facing a tea party challenge back at home for ris re-election bid and he's also a very well known expert on foreign affairs. we want to talk to him about korean, et cetera, as well as the tea party. we're also going to have something, i'm going to promote here which is so much fun for us. we did this thing getting to know which we put on our website every week and it's kind of these little chats about the personal lives of some of the newsmakers that we interview. so, we've sort of taken a best of for this year and we're going to show our tv viewers some of the stuff we had on the web. it's fun stuff. >> so, little church, little turkey, little presents and little candy crowley. sounds like the perfect christmas sunday. >> who could want for more than that? >> happy christmas with the grandbaby, too. great to see you, candy. >> thanks and you with your guys. >> amen. well, this morning a new glimpse into what american voters are thinking as the nation inches towards the 2012 elections and our latest cnn/orc poll we asked americans what the most important issue is facing this country. 57% said chose the economy from our list. the national deficit and health care came in a distant second and third. the poll then asked people to focus specifically on the economy and more than half chose unemployment and 27% said the deficit. well, believe it or not, just a couple weeks ago that newt gingrich had a double-digit lead in the gop polls. he's not only lost that, but maybe a bit of his bluster, as well. political editor paul steinhauser joining us now. is newt lowering his expectations? what do you think? >> in this crazy political game sometimes beating expectations is actually better than winning a contest. if you lower expectations and then beat them, maybe that's a good thing. gingrich was the frontrunner out in iowa and those numbers are starting to come back to earth. we're just 11 days away from iowa and numbers there are slipping. take a listen to what he said yesterday on the campaign trail. >> we're coming together very fast in iowa and i expect we'll be very, very competitive. my goal is to be in the top three or four. it is very bunched right now. to be in the top three or four, probably to be the top two in new hampshire and then to win south carolina and florida and from that point on, i think it becomes pretty easy race. >> yeah, so, definitely lower expec tags in iowa, but maybe not that modest. one or two in new hampshire and he thinks he will win south carolina and florida. stay tuned. >> three candidates not going to be on the ballot in another state contest. what happened? >> this is virginia. virginia holds their primary on march 6th. if michele bachmann, jon huntsman and rick santorum are still in it by then, they're not going to be on the ballot. you need 10,000 signatures. none of those threes got it. they're not going to be there on march 6th if they're still in the race, kyra. >> for all the latest political news, go to our website cnnpolitics.com. as you know, one of the busiest travel days of the entire year is today, tomorrow and also sunday. it's kind of like the busiest weekend, right, reynolds? >> absolutely. really, really busy times. some parts of the nation will get a let up, especially here in atlanta where it was raining horse shoes and hand grenades and today better in parts of atlanta and in parts of the northeast and out west, rain, snow and a lot of wind to deal with. first and foremost, let's talk snow. first, we have the winter storm warnings that still remain in effect and farther north inial colorado, up to three feet of snow in some locations outside of boulder. that will leave parts of the mile high city and in albuquerque one to three inches of snow expected and in the higher elevations of the mountains close to a foot by the afternoon. anywhere from eight to ten inches of snowfall from about 7,500 feet up. the problem is along parts of i-40 and i-25 the strong winds could give you whiteout conditions at times. as we advance the map, could see backups along parts of the southeast, mainly into miami and back into orlando and houston could have some backups and four corners look a little bit better and we talk about the snow we have in new mexico and arizona looks nice and at that point we can expect scattered showers. wrap things up, your high for the day today in chicago, you can barely see it, 37 degrees. 48 new york and the biggest backups possibly new york due to that storm system. that is the latest we got for you, back to you, kyra. >> thank you, reynolds. coming up, trapped in a car for nine days. find out how an arizona woman survived being snowed in for more than a week. also a deadly suicide bombing at security offices in damascus. we have a live report, next.ow b, you know, this is what you had been doing. you know, working, working, working, working, working, working. and now you're talking about, well you know, i won't be, and i get the chance to spend more time with my wife and my kids. it's my world. that's my world. ♪ my old contacts would sometimes move and blur my vision. then my eye doctor told me about acuvue® oasys for astigmatism. he said it's the only lens of its kind designed to realign naturally with every blink so now, i'm seeing more clearly. 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[ female announcer ] from neutrogena® naturals. all right. choking stories across country now. a cleeng student has been found safe after being trapped in her car for nine days. two u.s. forest service employees patrolling on snowmobiles found her wednesday. she survived on two candy bars and melted snow. and in orlando o, florida, seaworld's largest killer whale is sick. the same whale that killed a seaworld trainer in february of last year. our affiliate says that park veterinarians have moved the whale to a medical pool to keep a close eye on him. in milwaukee, wisconsin, dozens of christmas trees are being given away for free. the company is trees on the move and it didn't want low-income families to miss out on the christmas spirit. it is taking donations for local charities, as well, in exchange for the trees. well, two suicide car bombs have exploded in the syrian capital of damascus. state-run media reporting that bombers targeted the offices of two security branches. our mohammed is live with the latest. what do you know? >> kyra, details still emerging as reported on syrian state television these bombings were carried out earlier today. members of an advance team of the arab league, these are team members that came in to try to set the ground for an observatory mission that's coming in next week to try to end the violence in syria and that they've also witnessed the scene of the attack. no death toll and no casualty toll at this stage. syrian state television saying numerous people were injured and killed in these attacks. opposition figures in syria saying the regime is lying suggesting it's awfully convenient that these attacks come just one day after these members of the arab league have arrived and it really fits the narrative that the regime has been trying to say that they're fighting terrorism there and not trying to talk about the crackdown that's been going on against peaceful protesters. in the meantime, protests going on in several provinces and cities across syria. that's according to opposition protesters. protesters carrying signs mocking the protocol of blood, the protocol signed by the arab league and the syrian government for observers to go in and try to halt the violence. the protesters and activists say they believe this is just a stalling tactic and that the president of syria does not plan to stop his brutal crackdown any time soon. kyra? >> we've been watching these protests for month now across the middle east and back to cairo where you are. you talked to that female activist that was brutally beaten in tahrir square. how did that interview go? >> kyra, it was quite shocking to see the state that she was in. when we first went to so her in the hospital when we tracked her down, she was in agony and too much pain to talk to us. the next day we went back and although she's still suffering from a lot of pain from these injuries she sustained to her head, she was willing to open up and tell us about her ordeal. today she is feeling better and despite the severe beating she sustained just days ago, she's eager to talk. "there's no justice," she says. "i don't know how long we'll go without justice. we didn't ask for anything more than to be free in our own country. we've been oppressed by the military, by the supreme council and by the police." azza has reason to be angry. during a crackdown in cairo's tahrir's square the 48-year-old activist was rushed by riot police. seen here in a red jacket, azza was trying to help a wounded woman when she was pushed to the ground. then began the merciless barrage. she sustained multiple blows to the head, suffered two fractures to the skull. "i don't know how much longer they'll continue to kill us," she says. "how much longer will they continue to kill us?" she's not sure how long it will take for her to recover but her condition today is visibly better than a day earlier. then she couldn't even talk to us. wailing in agony and crying for help. today, azza wonders what will happen to her homeland and even though her late father was a general in egypt army, she can't fathom the tactic security forces are currently using against protesters. "my family isn't like the men in the military now," she says. "my family was very decent and pure. what's happening in the military now is dirty. humans without conscious or mercy or humanity. what right do they have to do this to people?" despite the pain she endures and the uncertainty she feels, azza remains defiant. "i don't know what will happen tomorrow," she says. "i know we won't remain silent and we won't abandon our rights. we won't leave this country in the devastated condition it's in." kyra, we contacted the military about azza's case and the colonel of the military's moral's department told cnn the egyptian military department is not aware of her case, but will look into it. if she reserved the right to be transferred to a military hospital, even if her father is deceased. now, separately, so much outrage, especially on the part of women rights activist about the mistreatment of women at the hands of the security forces here, there was a statement put out earlier in the week by the ruling military council it read "has since expressed great regret to the women of egypt for the violations that took place earlier over the mistreatment of women protesters and reiterated. that's not really holding a lot of water with the egyptian women activists we've spoken with. in fact, if you look behind me, tahrir square today full of activists, many women rights activists and have come out to protest these beatings that have happened and the abuse suffered by so many women at the hands of riot police here in cairo. kyra? >> such an important story. had to stay with and mohammad, you're doing it. thanks so much. coming up, a sign of the times. churches around the country canceling their christmas day services. wait until you hear the reason. one pastor joins me live to explain. and later, the one and only charlie sheen. he is winning ways gave us plenty to talk about this year. we'll recap some of the most memorable celeb moments. [ indistinct talking on radio ] [ tires screech ] [ crying ] [ applause ] [ laughs ] [ tires screech ] [ male announcer ] your life will have to flash by even faster. autodrive brakes on the cadillac srx activate after rain is detected to help improve braking performance. we don't just make luxury cars. we make cadillacs. nyqui tylenol: me, too. and cougnasal congestion.ers?e. nyquil:what? tissue box (whispering): he said nasal congestion... nyquil: i heard him. anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't. for millions of americans few routines as deeply rooted as going to church on sunday. this sunday their faith faces a new challenge, it's christmas day. christmas morning, no church. ron is the pastor of north metro church in atlanta suburb there in marietta and, rob, you know, we were looking at some of the places that are actually open on christmas day. family dollar stores, walgreen's, cvs, but a church closing on one of the holiest days. we're talking about jesus' birthd birthday, why? >> we did this back in 2005. we just saw and talked with a number of people that it would give them an opportunity just to be with their families and we have so many volunteers who give so much week in and week out and we just saw what a good opportunity to just say, you know what, let's just do church at home. let's just spend more time with family and specifically in atlanta. it's fast paced and everyone is going, going and this is one day where we could say, you know, we're not, it's not that we're making much of god on this day, we're having three services on saturday and they're going to be usually very highly attended. on this day let's hit pause and just be with each other's families. >> as you can imagine as soon as the word got out. we found so many comments in response to the articles that came out in the papers. and i just want to get your response. a lot of people saying things like this. this came from steven rollins. truly sad to see the ignorance of my fellow believers. another comment from alan byrd. do you need a whole day to open presents? are your church services so long that you can't open presents and attend church services? are we the lazy nation that can't do two things on the same day. another thought coming from a person on twitter. so sad to see that church goers know no better and what is worse, their pastors aren't teaching them correctly. remember the sabbath day and keep it holy. what do you say to folks that are pretty bothered that they can't come to church on this day? >> well, you know, i wouldn't say it's that they can't come to church just a number of churches that aren't open that day. we are having church, we're just not having it on that specific day. so, you know, i mean, here's one thing we know. we don't know to be right in this. i don't think this is an issue of being right and wrong, but we don't need to be right. and this, the leadership of the church. we feel as talking with our congregation specifically. last time we did this, very well received. so many of our families travel or they just want more time together and what a great opportunity just to be the church. because sometimes, you know, i think people think that being the church or going is just simply going to church. i think there's -- >> final question, rob. then on sunday, how will you celebrate jesus' birth? >> well, my family has a tradition. my wife and girls we bake a lot of cookies and we go out to places where people do work gas stati