a bartender, didn't want her drinks watered down. >> and inside syria, cnn, breaches the borders and witnesses firsthand some of the slaughter. people grabbing children off the streets to protect them from snipers, wholesale violence and assaults in neighborhoods, we will get you inside and show you what's happening. >> we finally have a deal here. late last night word that a payroll tax cut is now in place and lawmakers are using a word you haven't heard for a while. it is called compromise. >> what was that? >> compromise. >> i'm sorry. i'm not feeling it. also, you've heard all about the lin-tastic stories of jeremy lin and the magic he's been performing on the court. he's done it again. i'm not sure this is going to keep going, this win, win, win. >> of course it is. >> do you think so? what happens if it doesn't? we're going to have all the highlights, the puns and story, what could be, as we move ahead in this guy's fantastic career. >> kind of good. >> so far at one minute past 5:00, our top story, a new source revealing to cnn that singer whitney houston drank a lot of alcohol in just the days before she tragically died. the claim is she ordered drinks by her hotel pool, spent much of the day there. you can see this photograph courtesy of tmz. reports she wasn't acting out much on the day before her -- the day of her death while at the pool but that she was acting in strange ways and drinking copious amounts of alcohol in the days leading up to this in the hotel bar and in the lobby. >> yeah. her friends have admitted that houston drank champagne at a pregrammy party on thursday. dr. drew was on "ac 360" and he said that given her dependency, she should not have been drinking any alcohol at all. >> the fact that she could go to those treatments as recently as last may and come out and she and the people around her think that partying with alcohol is somehow okay because her problem is other drugs, is -- it shows that the treatments were abject failures. and that she needed a lot more treatments. she didn't need to be out in public, she didn't need to be paraded around at parties, she didn't need to be working on a movie. her life was in danger, as we now know, should have known that four months ago. >> so we still do not know how whitney houston died, but death certificate lists the cause as deferred. the coroner has issued subpoenas for prescriptions, medical records, they are questioning doctors as well. the coroner says he's trying to expedite the results, but that it could take six to eight weeks. remember with michael jackson, the results, the toxicology reports, took actually three months. so susan candiotti is live in newark. what else do we know about her behavior the night before her death? >> hi, zoraida. no other way to describe it, these are certainly disturbing and sad details about the final hours and days of her life, before she was found dead in that beverly hilton hotel bathtub on saturday. what we are hearing from a source briefed on her behavior is that she was drinking and drinking a lot. as early as 10:00 in the morning on wednesday and thursday. seen in the pool and the lobby area of the hotel ordering these drinks, jumping in and out of the pool, even doing somersaults, that's what people are saying. as you indicated, complaining that her drinks had been watered down, that there was too much ice in them. now she was described as being alone at some times, other times with members of her entourage and still others, with a male companion. and then there's the additional information about her drinking again on saturday morning, again in that pool area. so all of this in combination with what coroners are looking at in terms of the toxicology report as that comes in, to see whether that alcohol might have played a role in whatever medication she might have been on at the time. remember, zoraida, that authorities have told us she was taking xanax which is an anti-stress, anti-anxiety drug and that in beginmation with alcohol, obviously could be problematic according to experts. >> let's talk about that. what's the latest on the investigation? >> well, in terms of what the coroners are doing as you indicated, they, of course, have issued subpoenas, we'll be getting additional information about the prescription drugs that she was taking, looking i into her medical history, piecing that together. at this time they see nothing criminal in the kind of drugs that she had with her, that there is no evidence at this time, none at all, that she was doing any doctor shopping. but this is part of a very thorough investigation that authorities must go through as they put all these pieces together before determining her cause of death. >> all right. susan candiotti, live in newark, new jersey, thank you. also "forbes" magazine is reporting that whitney houston did, in fact, leave a will and contrary to some other reports she was not broke, not bankrupt. apparently having made millions from album sales and touring, just recently $35 million alone from a 2010 tour, where she was going through europe and asia touting an album. she owned property, $1.7 million estate in new jersey that's been on the market for some time. her daughter bobbi kristina is likely the main heir to her fortune. this will apparently was drafted after she was divorced from her ex-husband, bobby brown. cnn will be airing special coverage of houston's funeral, hosted by soledad o'brien, piers morgan and don lemon, starts saturday at 11:00 eastern. 11:00 a.m. eastern. tune in for that. six minutes past the hour. it's the do something congress this morning. >> really? >> democrats and republicans have come together on a deal to extend the payroll tax cut for millions of working families and there's a lot more help for the unemployed. i'm looking to my left because christine romans is here with all of the good news. the word came from the congressional aides last night. the house vote could come later his week. this is just an extension for a year, right? >> i'm going to invoke the obama thing we were talking about yesterday, i'll believe it when we see it. we're not at the vote. >> we're very close here. >> if they go ahead it's going to keep your paycheck from shrinking. you've been on this payroll tax holiday, might not know it, for quite some time. if that continues to extend, one of the average americans out there, average american families, you'll get another $1,000 per year that works out to about $40 per paycheck that you'll continue to keep in that paycheck. and the lawmakers are using a word they haven't been using in a long time or the critics of the lawmakers haven't been using, compromise. have a listen. >> this is a compromise, so there are technical issues, but we're going to let council finish those and those will continue to be worked on, so we'll be able it to move forward later. >> all right. christine romans is here. we're going to talk about a poll in a minute, but you famously said that congress was fundamentally broken. >> yeah. >> are they healing? >> i think in an election year when 160 million americans are going wait a minute are my taxes going to rise it's not brain surgery to figure out that if you want to get elected for something and you want your party to be elected for something make sure you don't have 160 million people mad at you. the poll we're referencing shows more americans want a payroll tax cut to increase, 54% want it to continue, 42% oppose it. they oppose it because they don't want to add to our deficits, something the republicans were concerned about all along. this will not be paid for. they could never agree on how to pay for it. they're going to finish this without finding a way to pay for it. other measures will have to pay for it. >> of those numbers the heavier voters would be the democrats and independents, saying keep that coming. >> some democrats are concerned about using a social security tax to give people a tax cut. we don't want to be messing around with how we fund social security. a tax cut is fine, but don't be messing around -- >> on the backs of the others. >> so there is that controversy among republicans, democrats and independents frankly saying, this was supposed to be a temporary thing, don't mess around with how much we're paying for social security. >> yesterday you said something about the unemployment issue was at 99 weeks, arguing whether it would be 99 or not. >> looks like it's going to be more like 73 weeks. the days of getting 99 weeks of unemployment benefits are likely over. you can only do that in not even half of the states now. depends on the jobless rate of the state. this super long 99 weeks is not going to happen anymore. if you've lost your job because you failed a drug test or refused to take a drug test or other drug related issue you have to have a drug test to get jobless benefits. >> the democrats agreed? >> they agreed to this. >> wow. >> you will have to take a -- if you're applying for jobs, on unemployment benefits and require drug testing you could have to have a drug test for unemployment benefits. a lot of people who study employment law don't like this, don't like to tie benefits to certain things. another thing that's interesting, this is -- the government agreed to extend the main welfare program, temporary assistance for needy families, a debit card the families get, but they got in there you can't use that electronic benefit card at liquor stores, casinos or strip clubs. you can see the negotiators going these are the things conservatives want. >> did they debate that some. >> apparently they did. i was surprised you could use this card at a strip club frankly. but -- so you can see where conservatives did have wins. >> and the medicare, what happened with the medicare payments to doctors? >> that has been fixed again for the year. all these will be paid for. paid for if you're a new federal worker, guys, a new federal worker, more into your pension. they found ways to pay for some of the other measures. >> well, that's a good thing. >> some good news. thank you. >> you're welcome. >> you are busy. girl doesn't sleep. >> ten minutes past the hour. gop presidential candidate rick santorum releasing his tax returns for the past four years. that's the most of any 2012 presidential candidate so far. what do they show in they show he earned $3.6 million in those four years. his highest tax rate was 28.3%. santorum had promised to release them for about a month, but said it took this long because he does his own taxes and had to get back to his computer. busy campaigning. >> high tax rate compared to what mitt romney was paying, closer to 15 to 20%. probably a feather in his cap as he continues to campaign. take you overseas because there is still this story that keeps coming in to our network, the deadly crisis in syria. the government offering political reforms, but hold on. offering political reforms at a time when another military crackdown just keeps coming. look at the pictures. they don't lie. the opposition, of course, the source of these pictures be but dozens more killed in the latest violence in that country. cnn's arwa damon has a great risk to herself, cannot be understated at great risk to herself and crew, has been able to sneak into this country to offer firsthand accounts of what's happening in the city of homs. >> the bombardment at some points was so intense that buildings were shaking, glass was shattering, a 9-year-old girl that was caught in the house we were in, burst into tears and there was absolutely no way to comfort her. we also spent a couple of hours at the medical clinic inside ba ba amr the neighborhood hardest hit in the government onslaught, nonstop shelling residents are telling us, that has been going on for 11, 12 days now. the doctors there are beside themselves. >> again, that's cnn's arwa damon reporting from a secure location undisclosed inside the city of homs where she was able to breach recently. some people in the u.s. congress are saying this country should consider arming the syrian opposition. on cnn's "out front with erin burnett" senator lindsay graham was asked that question and what the united states needs to do to help these people. >> arming people is something to consider, but right now i would like to know more. surely we can help them economically, help them with doctor care and really push the world community, russia and china particularly, to get behind getting assad out. he's close to falling. we need to push. >> more about russia and china in a moment. the u.n. general assembly is set to take up a symbolic, we repeat symbolic, resolution condemning syria to happen today. about china, they sent an enjoy to damascus to end the violence. if you remember last week's reporting, russia did the same thing, although it is unclear what, if any, help that actually offered to this crisis. >> 13 minutes past the hour. every morning we give you an early start to your day alerting you to what will be the big stories tonight. sentencing day in detroit. for the so-called underwear bomber. umar farouq abdulmutallab is facing a mandatory life sentence. he pleaded guilty to trying to blow up a detroit-bound plane on christmas day 2009 with a bomb hidden in his underwear. president obama is raising a lot of money in california. campaign cash. he's going to attend four fund-raising events today in los angeles and san francisco and wrap up a three-day western swing tomorrow with two more fund-raisers in seattle. robert kennedy's grandson joseph kennedy iii will formally declare his candidacy for congress today. he's seeking barney franks' massachusetts house seat. frank decided not to run for re-election. >> massachusetts is not always a sure thing for a kennedy these days. this will be a great race to watch. it will be interesting. >> he looks awfully young, doesn't he? a lot younger than his 31 years. >> all kennedys look young to me. >> as rob marciano does in atlanta. way younger than your age. >> yeah. i'm no kennedy, i can tell you that. thank you, ladies. good morning. we are looking at rainfall, much needed rainfall, actually heading across parts of the south not only for the drought situation but knocking down some of the pollen that really shouldn't be in the air yet, but has been so mild this winter we have trees blooming just about everywhere. atlanta, south down to southeast parts of alabama, luckily last night this wasn't much in the way of severe weather. no reports of tornadoes as a strong line of storms moved across east texas and south louisiana. the rain is also moving across the new york city area later on today. so philadelphia, you'll see some delays as well, and d.c. and charlotte also. here's how the storm is going to move as we go through the next 24 to 36 hours. throughout the day rides up the spine of the appalachians, the snow, the white on this map isn't prevalent, so pretty mild in places, mostly rain for most folks but eventually head out to sea on friday, but -- and another storm in the wake of this thing coming into town on sunday. we'll have to watch this one. pretty strong one. winter storm and high wind warnings out for so cal but will tap gulf moisture and ride up the coast. we'll have to watch it for potential impacts for you. >> thank you for that, rob. check in with you later. and for the sports, and even not sports fans among us. >> great story. >> the update to jeremy lin. the scoring spree may have abated somewhat, but hold on, because the lin-sanity keeps coming, just scoring 10 points in a game last night but a career high 12 assists. blowing out the sacramento kings there's a first time in the seven games lin was held under 20 points. >> might be because they were resting him, though, what do you think? he did sort of sit on the bench in the back half of the game. madison square garden was packed. legend of lin living on. we'll talk about that with mark spears an nba writer for yahoo! sports. as we see the cheering and team surrounding him. >> i wouldn't mind having him in our news every day. great role model. >> nice to have good news especially in the morning. >> 17 minutes past the hour. still ahead, jewish groups in the united states are being warned to watch out as the tensions with iran escalate. remember josh powell? he blew up a home in a murder/suicide, killing his two young sons. now there is a fight brewing to keep him from spending eternity next to the boys that he killed. you're watching "early start." i wouldn't do that. get married? no, i wouldn't use that single miles credit card. nice ring. knock it off. ignore him. with the capital one venture card you earn... double miles on every purchase. 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[ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. good morning, atlanta, as we pan along your beautiful skyline. it is 52 degrees right now. a little bit of rain today expected and 65 degrees as a high. so not terrible. it is winter. >> a nice fast pan. >> whoever is on that tower cam has got it going on this morning. like the caffeine in your starbucks. >> 20 minutes past the hour here. time to check stories making news this morning. a source claims whitney houston ordered large quantities of alcohol at her hotel just days before her death. meantime her death certificate lists her cause of death as deferred. a payroll tax cut deal is in place this morning, not final yet, but congressional negotiators sealed the deal late last night on legislation to renew the tax cut for 160 million workers and those jobless benefits for millions more as well. and the u.n. general assembly is expected to vote today on a symbolic resolution condemning president bashar al assad's violent crackdown on the opposition in syria. china and russia blocked the security council from taking action against the assad regime. for the first time in more than eight months president obama's approval rating is at 50%. there's the leaderboard. brand new cnn/orc poll shows that if he were matched up with everyone else in the gop field head to head he would beat them and rather handily. the u.s. postal service is making a plea to congress after posting fourth quarter net losses of $3.3 billion. agency wants permission to change funding requirements for its retiree health benefits program in order to be more profitable. general motors also with financial saying it's ending pensions for 19,000 of its salaried workers. at maker is moving the traditional pension plans to 401(k)s, saying that's in hopes of lowering financial risks to investors. 22 minutes past the hour. and we're getting an early read on your local news making national headlines. this morning we have papers from salt lake city and from nashville. we're going to start with the desert news. the crime stoppers in washington has purchased cemetery plots to block josh powell from being buried next to his two sons. powell as you're looking at him there, is accused of murder/suicide. he intentionally set his home on fire, killing himself and his two young sons. crime stoppers bough