Feyerick in for john berman. Really nice to have you. Im so glad to be here. Im Zoraida Sambolin. Its 5 00 a. M. In the east. First, congress back to work, and back to bickering. In just under 35 days, america hits the fiscal cliff. That triggers severe spending cuts and tax hikes. Several Top Republicans are now defying Party Politics and signaling a willingness to consider increasing tax revenues to get a budget deal done. But when the lame duck senate got back in session yesterday it sure sounded like the same old broken record. The senate has spoken. President obama has spoken. Hes promising he will not sign any bill that mortgages our future to pay for handouts to the wealthiest 2 of americans. I only hope House Republicans have been listening. Weve been responsible, even as weve remained firm on this point. No tax increases now for promised spending cuts that wont materialize later. Cnn political director mark preston is live from washington this morning. Very nice to see you, mark. So the house is back in session today, and so far there are no talks scheduled between Top Republicans and the president , we understand. No, thats true, zoraida. In fact we havent seen the congressional leadership and president obama meet since november 16th. Now there were staff discussions over the thanksgiving holiday. They dont seem to be as productive as some people had hoped, as you said, we are now 35 days until the fiscal cliff. What we do know, though, is that president obama did reach out to House Speaker john boehner. He is the republican, the Senate Majority leader harry reid the democrat over the weekend, perhaps to try to jumpstart the talks. As of now, as the house of representatives comes back today, as the senate came back yesterday, were still very much in limbo on the fiscal cliff. Heres Something Else we know. Some major republicans have come out and they say that they dont feel bound by the americans for tax reform pledge. Most recently we saw House Majority leader eric cantor. Do you believe more republicans will stick by this . What were finding out right now zoraida is that theres a little bit of coming to jesus moment about how to fix the fiscal cliff. For republicans perhaps it is going to be higher taxes. For democrats theres going to have to be some changes to entitlement reform. But Grover Norquist has been really the person pushing this no tax pledge, has been on our airwaves. Hes been talking a lot about it. Lets hear what he had to say about republicans who might break the pledge. No pledge taker has voted for a tax increase. Theyve had some people discussing impure thoughts on national television. The pledge is not for life. But everybody who signed the pledge, including peter king who tried to weasel out of it, shame on him as the new york sun said today, i hope his wife understands that commitments last a little longer than, than, than two years or something. And zoraida, there you have Grover Norquist weeks. Of course, from the americans for tax reform throwing out some pretty Strong Political hyperbole. But the fact of the matter is, as you said, fiscal cliff, 35 days away, and as weve heard from a lot of economists, if congress cant fix this, then were in a lot of trouble. We can be heading back into recession. Mark preston live in washington, d. C. Thank you for that. So even if democrats and republicans get a spending deal done in time to steer clear of the fiscal cliff, derer Thompson Says it wont necessarily cure the economy. The Senior Editor of the atlantic joins us live in the next half hour. He has an interesting perspective. Ambassador susan rice heads to capitol hill this morning to mend fences with three republican senators. John mccain, Lindsey Graham and kelly a at with her information comments made on several networks that played down the role of terrorists in the attack on the u. S. Consulate in benghazi, libya, that killed four americans including ambassador chris stevens. Rice maintains she made it clear the intelligence information she had at the time was preliminary. Senators have threatened to block her nomination if president obama chooses her to be his next secretary of state. And the Obama Administration responds to the benghazi attack does not get high marks from americans. The results of a new poll out this morning shows a majority of those questioned, 54 , say they are dissatisfied with the administrations handling of the attack. And the body of Yasser Arafat was exhumed this morning from a mausoleum in the west bank. A team of International Scientists will analyze tissue samples to determine if the former Palestinian Leader was poisoned to death in 2004, with a radioactive substance. The actual cause of arafats death has never been determined. The egyptian people taking to the streets to mourn the death of a 16yearold activist, and to voice their opposition to president Mohamed Morsi and the muslim brotherhood. This ireport showing protesters as they carried the teenagers casket through Tahrir Square to a cemetery. Morsi declared the court cannot overturn decisions he has made since coming into office in june. One opponent says it can only lead to a dictatorship. Morsi insists that he is trying to protect egypts fragile arab spring, revolution, not accumulate unchecked power. And if youre traveling through the northeast today, well, you might be dealing with a little bit of snow. Meteorologist Alexandra Steele is in for rob marciano today. What are we looking at, alexandra . Hey, good morning to you guys. Yeah, we are seeing snow, even in new york city. All the big cities, boston, new york, philadelphia, a little snow. Not much in the way of accumulation, really along the big cities and the 95 corridor, but still youll see it come down. Kind of get new the christmas spirit. We do have Winter Weather advisories and we will see accumulati accumulations. Want to show you where. Heres the radar. The white delynn naturing where the snow potentially is falling. Some of it called zerba. Starts as snow in the atmosphere but the atmosphere is dry but it dissipates so we dont see it at the surface. It does moisten the atmosphere to finally deliver some snow. This is the heart of it. Scranton, pennsylvania, southeastern pennsylvania, northwestern new jersey, thats where were going to get into the snow. Morristown, new jersey, for example. But, with this line, a lot of energy with it, could see some severe weather. Look at birmingham, down toward montgomery, all heading eastward, atlanta, georgia, will be slow go. No question this afternoon at the airport. Things will really slow down. Jackson all the way down to the gulf coast, new orleans, waiting, looking, watching the skies darken and those clouds lower as they head toward you. So heres the big picture, the purple is where we are seeing Winter Weather advisories, one to three inches. And you can see right here northwest new jersey, southeastern pennsylvania, thats where really the snow will be, 1 to 3 inches, potentially a stripe of 2 to 4. As we watch it move across, really just a oneday affair. It will be done by tomorrow morning. So there it goes. Snow for today. You guys . All right, Alexandra Steele, thank you. Yeah. Seven minutes past the hour. She was a hero who had actually cheated death before. A brave former mayor in mexico who famously stood up to drug cartels. She was found dead. Her story coming up. Hey, look a shooting star make a wish i wish we could lie here forever. I wish this test drive was over, so we could head back to the dealership. [ male announcer ] its practically yours. Test drive but we still need your signature. Volkswagen sign then drive is back. And its never been easier to get a jetta. Thats the power of german engineering. Get 0 down, 0 due at signing, 0 deposit, and 0 first months payment on any new volkswagen. Visit vwdealer. Com today. Since Ameriprise Financial was founded back in 1894, theyve been committed to putting clients first. Helping generations through tough times. Good times. Never taking a bailout. There when you need them. Helping millions of americans over the centuries. The strength of a Global Financial leader. The heart of a onetoone relationship. Together for your future. Together for your future. Try running four. Ning a restaurant is hard, fortunately weve got ink. It gives us 5x the rewards on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at Office Supply stores. Rewards we put right back into our business. This is the only thing weve ever wanted to do and ink helps us do it. Make your mark with ink from chase. Sfx sounds of african drum and flute look whos back. Again . Its embarrassing its embarrassing we can see you carl. We can totally see you. Come on youre better than this. All that prowling around. Yeah, youre the king of the jungle. Have you thought about going vegan carl . Hahaha you know folks who save hundreds of dollars by switching to geico sure are happy. How happy are they jimmy . Happier than antelope with nightvision goggles. Nice get happy. Get geico. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. A story of bravery and fearlessness this morning. The bloodsoaked Drug Trafficking wars of mexico. The former mayor of a small town west of mexico city stood up to violent drug traffickers and paid with her life. 36yearold Maria Santos Gorrostieta had already survived two assassination attempts and witnessed the murder of her husband. Two weeks ago while driving with her daughter she was ambushed and abducted. The daily mail reports she begged her assailants to leave her child alone as she was dragged away. Her battered body was found days later along the side of a road. We have more on the story from cnns senior Latin American Affairs editor. Rafael, good morning. Good morning, deb. Mexico Officials Say when the mayor was found, her hands were tied behind her back. The body also showed signs of a severe blow to the back of her head. Maria Santos Gorrostieta was the mayor of the Small Community of tiquicheo from 2008 to 2011. This was the third time she was a victim of attack. A group of armed men started shooting at them and her husband died at the scene. The mother of three would be attacked only three months later in january of 2010, by reemerged once again as a survivor. After the Second AttackSantos Gorrostieta showed mexican media her injuries and told the people of her town she was more determined than ever to work hard to improve conditions there. Only two weeks ago she was kidnapped in front of her daughter, as she was driving her to school in the morning. According to a report from a mexican newspaper. She was kidnapped on a busy street as terrified onlookers watched the scene unfold. The newspaper said she asked her captors not to harm he young child, who stayed behind crying hysterically. Her body was found four days later. She switched Political Parties last year, deb, but mexican officials ruled out a political motive. Also, at least two drug cartels are active around the state of michoacan but no one has claimed responsibility for her violent death. You know whats incredible is you would definitely think that she would have some sort of security around her. The bbc reported two dozen mayors have been killed in mexico since the recent drug war began six years ago. Is there any sign the violence is easing up . Or is it getting worse . And what are officials doing about it . Well, the good news is that violence seems to be stabilizing in some of the worst states hit by the violence. Im talking about the border states. But where she died, the state of michoacan, is in western mexico, and it has been the scene of a turf war by two powerful mexican drug cartels, and thats the reason why you see the violence there. Now, again, with violence stabilizing, the fact still remains, as you mentioned, more than two dozen mayors have been killed in the last two years, deb. Cnn is also reporting that a beauty queen was killed in a shootout between mexican military troops and suspected criminals, happened in an area that was wellknown for drug violence. What do you know about that . Thats exactly right. Youre talking about the mexican state of sinaloa, many people know that sinaloa is also the name of a powerful drug cartel, and this image here, that is Maria Susannah flores. She was only 20 years old when she was killed this weekend in a shootout between mexican military and hitmen. Now we dont really know the circumstances surrounding her death. We only know, according to mexican officials, what they say, is that she was with the men who who attacked the mekt can military and she ended up getting caught in the middle of the cross fire. And really dont know if she was involved with these men, or whether she was there some sort of kidnapping. All right. Rafael romo thank u so much. Just so tragic. People trying to live their lives and getting in so much violence and cross fire. Thank you so much. Horrific story. Tragic. 15 minutes past the hour. Time for your top stories now, with 35 days left until we reach that fiscal cliff the house returns for its lame duck session today. Even though several Top Republicans say theyre willing to break their notax vows to get a spending plan passed in time, there are still no scheduled talks with the white house. And a cleveland mother is now under arrest after her 3yearold sons body was found wrapped in a plastic bag at a local waste treatment plant. Police say 20yearold camellia kerry reported her son missing sunday. An autopsy is scheduled for today. Camellia terry has two other children, and they have both been placed in the care of state child services. Saudi arabia is now taking some heat from human rights activists over new electronic Monitoring System that tracks the whereabouts of saudi women when they travel abroad. Under saudi law, all women, regardless of age, must have a male guardian. Saudi women travel, Text Messages are sent to their guardians, even if those men have not requested such notification. Big brother watching a little bit, would seem . And Rick Santorum sounds like he may be thinking about another run for the white house. The former senator and president ial candidate telling cnns piers morgan all options are on the table. Im open to that possibility, but i were a long way im focused right now on trying to stay involved in the fray and make sure that we do the right thing up on capitol hill right now. And also, that this debate in the Republican Party about what the future of the party and where were going to go, that were going to be very active and engaged to make sure we stick to americas founding principles. Former House SpeakerNewt Gingrich hasnt ruled out another bid for the presidency, either. He says he would consider running in 2016, such a long time away, if the gop makes big changes. Right around the corner. And jill kelley is no longer honorary consul to south korea. The florida socialite in the middle of the David Petraeus sex scandal has been stripped of that title after just three months. South Koreas Deputy foreign minister accusing her of trying to accuse the post for personal gain. And it is 5 17 in the morning. Time for early read, your local news making national headlines. First a story in the Central Illinois where a tied Dewitt County race was decided, yeah, you saw it, by a coin toss. And the winner, well hes not happy about it. He says he didnt want to win by gambling so hes refusing to take the nominal pay he gets for the job. The defeated incumbent, guess what . Hes not happy about it, either. Hes looking into a recount. Smoke on the water from hawaiis star advertiser. For the first time in about a year, lava from hawaiis kilauea volcano has reached the ocean. Look at this really Cool Pictures for you. A local station reported some sightseers to the area to get a closer look. The guides, they warn against this, folks, saying a lava shelf may collapse. The last time someone died in a collapse and that was reportedly back in 1993. Youve got to be really careful there. Its very cool to watch from a distance. Exactly. Head to our blog cnn. Com earlystart. And coming up, the biggest hits of cyber monday. The low tech and high Tech Products that topped them all. Look at these teeth theyre made for meat [ cat 2 ] do i look like im stalking plants . [ male announcer ] most dry foods add plant protein, like gluten but iams never adds gluten. Iams adds 50 more animal protein, [ cat 3 ] look at this body under this shiny coat is a lean, mean purring machine [ cat 4 ] i am too hahahaha [ male announcer ] iams. With 50 more animal protein. [ cat 5 ] yum [ cat 1 ] im an iams cat. Feed me what im born to eat. Meow. Something this delicious could only come from nature. Now from the maker of splenda sweeteners, discover nectresse. The only 100 natural, nocalorie sweetener made from the goodness of fruit. The rich, sweet taste of sugar. Nothing artificial. Its all that sweet ever needs to be. New nectresse. Sweet