Crunch time for the fiscal cliff. The key players to meet at the white house with just four days left until the deadline. They called him Stormin Norman. America remembering general Norman Schwarzkopf. And have gun, will teach. Hundreds of educators get a handson lesson in firearms. Controversial proposal. Good morning. Welcome to early start. 5 00 a. M. In the east. It is the last friday of 2012. Ive just had that pointed out to us. One final desperate attempt to dodge the fiscal cliff, just four days left before we go over the edge triggers tax hikes, spending cuts that could send the nation back into recession. The president calling for members of the congress the back. A gang of six attending. Vice president biden, harry reid, House Minority leader nancy pelosi, Mitch Mcconnell and john boehner representing the republicans. Brianna keilar is live from washington. Is anybody optimistic that a deal could be done today around a table . I will tell you the optimism is sort of sinking. Senate majority leader harry reid said he doesnt see how it can get done by january 1st. We heard from president obama before he left from his vacation that he was optimistic. Logistically the white house will tell you its possible. When you listen to what youre hearing some of these congressional leaders say, theres a lot of posturing laying blame to the other side if we do go over the cliff. Take a listen. Republicans are not about to write a blank check for anything Senate Democrats put forward because we find ourselves at the edge of the cliff. We are here in washington working while the members of the house of representatives are out watching movies, watching their kids play soccer, basketball, doing all kinds of things. They should be here. Now, House Speaker john boehner is saying the senate needs to just take up a house pass bill that has already passed the house that would extend rates for all americans to either take it up in whole rf to amend it. The senate would take up that bill, amend it. If we do go over the cliff there is this possibility and all sides are preparing for this that there would be a lot of pressure in the days following from the markets, from consumers, American Public opinion, thats part of the reason why theyre posturing. They would still likely be acting come the new year having do cigarette tsomething retroac. There is this concern that even though going over the cliff would allow them to not technically be voting to raise taxes, instead just voting to reinstate a tax cut, that then it sort of president obamas tax cut so he gets credit for that. Do you have any sense of what will happen around that table today . Who called the meeting if theres an agenda or are they going to sit around and stare at each other until one of them blinks . We dont have a sense. Im sure that we will be getting a sense. This is supposed to take place at 3 00 p. M. At the white house. The Vice President , president and four top congressional leaders. We dont know what will be said. I think we will likely hear from some camps afterwards. If you are wondering what a trip down the fiscal cliff might mean for your paycheck, for your 401 k , look no further than yesterdays dow. At the opening bell, a dive of more than 1 . Investors finding little hope for the fiscal cliff compromise on capitol hill. When word came down two sides might be meeting. Reversal of fortune. The dow rebounding for a while before finishing slightly lower. A nation this morning remembering the American General credited with orchestrating one of the most lopsided military victories in military history. General Norman Schwarzkopf died yesterday in florida. He was 78 years old. And remembered by many from briefings like this one here, a media savvy general taking the lead in the first gulf war. The white house saying this about the general last night. Our prayers are with the schwarzkopf family who tonight can know his legacy will endure in a nation that is more secure because of his patriotic service. Senator john mccain on twitter calling the general one of the Great American heroes. We thank him for his service. Stormin norman, as he was called, was a big man who left a big legacy. With us this morning is another general, general james spider marks joining us from virginia via skype. Good morning to you. Good morning. You know, Stormin Norman is what i remember about general Norman Schwarzkopf. A name he earned. A Time Magazine correspondent once called him a man with a john wayne swagger and a growl like a grizzly. Is that how you remember him . This truly was a 20th century American Military hero general schwarzkopf was a bigger than life man. His nickname personified that. It was a label he would protest openly. He was a humble man. What hewhen you think about what he was asked to do, you keep it in context. The army had gone through this incredible turmoil post vietnam. I was a young lieutenant during that period. Our Army Doctrine grew, it emerged. It was validated by general schwarzkopf in the deserts of kuwait when he ousted saddams military. He was the significant man at an incredibly significant time for our military. He did it mag nnificenmagnifice. Stormin norman is not because he was a gentleman, he had a volcanic temper, but the beauty of that was you knew where you stood with this guy. He was a magnificent soldier who truly loved those soldiers that served for him. Its a great loss for our nation. It most certainly is. It was quite a shock when i heard about it last night. It certainly took me back to the first gulf war. We need to remind some viewers who may be too young to remember the first gulf war. Operation desert storm, the first heavily televised war. It was really how cnn was born, right . We all remember general schwarzkopf in those daily briefings. He really changed americas perception of war, didnt he . Well, he did. He truly understood he was a modern commander who understood the power of the media, in that unlike vietnam where we did not have the support of the american population, in desert storm we did. The build up of the forces we were open in terms of our xho n xhoouncatixhoou communications with the population. The nation we serve is made up of hundreds of millions of people, we have to communicate with them, that is our constituency. He did that so well. At the end of the day he delivered. Six weeks of an air campaign and 100 hours remember, it was 100 hours, thats it, for us to oust, defeat, saddams military in kuwait and return right, full governance back to the citizens of kuwait. His father once said told him, he said, the day i was born that boy is going to west point. It was literally a job he was born to do. Boy, did he do it well. The nation is remembering him today. Thank you for helping us do that, general spider marks. Happy holidays to you. You as well. Former president george h. W. Bush has a message for his admirers around the world. Hes not going anywhere. In a message in thursday, his chief of staff said the 41st president s condition is not dire. Becker said mr. Bush has every intention of staying put and that we can put the harps back in the closet. The 88yearold mr. Bush is in the intensive care unit of a houston hospital where hes receiving treatment for an elevated fever. Still has his sense of human. Vladimir putin has signed a continue versional bill banning u. S. Citizens from adopting russian children. The decision raising tensions between the two countries, seen for retaliation for a new law in the u. S. That seeks to punish russians for human rights violations. The ban will take effect on january 1st, thats really right away it would halt all new adoptions and end those already in progress. Incredible. A lot of families in the process of adopting children in russia. Those poor kids. Want to move on to the weather. Lots of snow, wind, hail everywhere across the u. S. The storm that brought snow and spun off tornadoes is still not over. Ten deaths blamed on the storm. More than 2,400 flights have been canceled. It could dump more snow on new england and upstate new york today. Boy, they dont need that. Bonnie schneider with a look at the forecast. Good morning. Good morning. The storm weve been talking about is working its way to extreme northeastern new england. It is hitting canada hard. Quebec is getting more snow. I mentioned yesterday that cold air would come in behind the system. It sure has. Scranton at 26. Below freezing in new york city at 31. Just to let you know, its not over yet. A brand new storm system set up these Winter Weather advisories for pennsylvania and into new york, washington, d. C. , and the mountains of virginia. You can see also ohio slammed again after so much snow from the first system. So the way its going to play out, saturday into sunday, this system is likely going to bring heavier snow to areas of northern pennsylvania in terms of snowfall totals. Its not going to be as big of a snowmaker or a blizzard maker from what we saw last time, but it will produce strong snowfall through central connecticut and rhode island. New england, you know winters can be long. Winter is not officially is officially here, we are looking at a slamming start to the season. Across the southeast, temperatures are also very cold. We have not warmed up in atlanta. Were at 31 degrees. The moisture coming into the south will come in at a time where temperatures are likely to be milder. We are not looking at snow accumulation in the south if that were to happen, it would be a shutdown around here. 31 degrees in atlanta . Unbelievable. Thank you very much. Reading, writing, marksmanship. Coming up, well look inside classrooms where teachers are learning how to handle guns. And dr. Mcdreamy to the rescue . Who . Not in the o. R. Tv dr. Patrick democracy steps in to try to save hundreds of people their jobs. You will be surprised at how hes trying to do this. Because your daughter really wants that pink castle thing. And you really dont want to pay more than you have to. Only citi price rewind automatically searches for the lowest price. And if it finds one, you get refunded the difference. Just use your citi card and register your purchase online. Have a super sparkly day ok. [ male announcer ] now all you need is a magic carriage. Citi price rewind. Start saving at citi. Com pricerewind. Im going to dream about that steak. Im going to dream about that tiramisu. What a night, huh . But, um, can the test drive be over now . Head back to the dealership . [ male announcer ] its practically yours. But we still need your signature. Volkswagen sign then drive is back. 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Ok, did she seriously just say that . Geico. Just click away with our free mobile app. Since the newtown massacre teachers across the country have been asking themselves what would i do . Gun advocates in Salt Lake City tried to help teachers there answer that question with free gun training and selfdefense classes during holiday break. Here is alex cabraro. Reporter steven pratt has never had a gun permit, lately hes wanted one. With the recent tragedy in connecticut, i realized its time for me to act on that. Reporter pratt is a third grade teacher. His students are about the same age as those who died in connecticut. I just worried a little bit, what would i do as a teacher . How would i protect myself if fired upon . Reporter is not the only one asking those questions. Hundreds of teachers, administrators, janitors, anyone involved in a school came to the Maverick Center in west valley. This class called the Mass Violence response training class was designed to teach them to fight back. I think its important to have protection. Reporter the class wasnt just about guns and protecting yourself with a gun. But guns were a big part of it. People are tired of being victims. Reporter clark is a wellknown shooting instructor in utah. He helped teach the class providing the basic fore iics fo do and how do it. Were not going to get the guns out of the criminals hands, so lets put guns in the good guys hands. Reporter he says the shootings have changed a lot of perceptio perceptions. Its that agreement that criminals are supposed to have hands off schools. Everywhere else its a freeforall. My gosh, you mess with our school and kids, thats another thing. Reporter the ceo of a Tactical Company that trains Police Officers says guns may not be for everyone, and he doesnt expect every teacher here to get a permit. He says its all about responsibility. We will tell these people, help them understand where their moral code and where their value system is. And until they discover that, theyre not prepared to carry a firearm. Reporter of course some have already decided. I would like to be able to protect my children in case Something Like that happened. Utahs board of education had this to say about the training. We urge caution and thoughtful consideration, schools in utah have developed emergency plans to handle such situations. The board encourages all utah schools to review emergency plans working with Law Enforcement agencies, with the safety of students in all situations as the primary concern. Coming up on starting point ali velshi will talk with the gun trainer you just saw, and a special Education Teacher who took that class. The nra is saying schools should decide for themselves how to protect their children. Heres what nra president david keen told Carol Costello yesterday. When wayne la pierre spoke about a week ago, he suggested that what has to happen and what should happen in every School District administrators, teachers, parents, should sit down and ask what is needed to protect the children in that school. Some of them will want Police Officers there. Others will want private security guards. There may be some places where they want volunteers to do it. Were willing to work with everybody on those questions. Its a much softer stance than just one week ago. Heres what the nras executive vp said back then. I call on Congress Today to act immediately to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed Police Officers in every Single School in this nation. At the time, Wayne Lapierre said armed officers were the only way to prevent another massacre like the one that happened in newtown. President obama summoning congressional leaders to the white house, 3 00 this afternoon is the date for one final fiscal cliff showdown. Just four days left to get this deal done or massive tax hikes and spending cuts will kick in. The u. S. Embassy clearing out of an african nation this morning. Deteriorating security in the Central African republic has forced the u. S. State department to temporarily suspend operations. There the u. S. Ambassador, his Diplomatic Team and some private american citizens are out of the capital. The countrys president has asked france and the United States for help to stop rebels that threaten rule. Its not clear who will replace lisa jackson as the head of the Environmental Protection agency. Jackson announced yesterday shes stepping down in january after the president s state of the union address. The epa created new standards for air pollution from coal power plants on her watch. Massachusetts congressman ed ma markey throwing his hat into the ring for kerrys senate seat. A special election would be held early this summer. 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