His death in the path of a new york subway train. Crazy people running the streets. An uninvited guests slithered into a backyard in florida. Somebody else got the shower on the sideline. Jamal crawford who i think should be an allstar coming off the bench is dangerous. Be still. And all that matters. Hillary clinton plans to go back to work just in time for the new year. Two reather than get angry and you show it you live a lot longer. He gives a speech about hitting the debt ceiling id like to see if he could even count to 1 million much less 16. 4 trillion captioning funded by cbs its friday welcome to cbs this morning, everyone. Im jeff glor with rebecca jar sis. Charlie, gayle and norah are off. There are predictions but little progress in washington with a deadline for the fiscal cliff now just four days away. President obama meets later today with congressional leaders in one last effort to make a deal before the deadline. Major garrett is at the white house. Good morning. Reporter good morning, rebecca and jeff. In just a couple of hours at the white house the president meets with all the key congressional leaders, Top Democrats harry reid and nancy pelosi leading republicans Mitch Mcconnell and john boehner. No deal can be reached in past without their cooperation. With the meeting comes a glimmer of hope. In the past all the ifisical cliff talks meetings like this have been the least productive of all. Whether he meant to or not the Senate Majority leader may have spoken for a nation exhausted by seemingly endless fiscal cliff negotiations. Whats going on here . Reporter what indeed. President obama returned to the white house in a grim mood. He met with no congressional leaders and said nothing about his efforts to avert the fiscal cliff, talks continue between senior white house and congressional staff, but thats been true throughout this entire saga. With the deadline looming there were dire predictions. Come the first of this year americans will have less income than they have today. Reporter and recriminations. Now republicans have bent over backwards. We stepped way, way out of our comfort zone. We wanted an agreement. But we had no takers. Reporter the senates top democrat said the problem has nothing to do with phone calls but House Republican obstruction. The house of representatives is operating without the house of representatives. Its being operated with a dictatorship of the speaker not allowing the vast majority of the household representatives to get what they want. Reporter House Speaker john boehner ordered republicans back to the capital for a rare sunday night session. Republicans expect to vote on whatever fiscal cliff bill the Senate Passes one day before the deadline and warnings of a recession that the rahled wall street and Consumer Confidence. They know it will have a negative impact on the economy and they know it will have a negative impact on them and their families and they are expecting us to be here to work and were not. Reporter real deadlines are approaching. 2 million americans out of work for more than six months start losing their jobless benefits tomorrow and the nation runs out of Borrowing Authority to finance our 16 trillion debt on monday. The Treasury Department says it can use extraordinary measures to avert default until february extraordinary, thats a word that might apply to this entire fiscal cliff situation. Major garrett, thank you very much. Republican senator bob corker of tennessee has offered proposals in recent weeks to break the stalemate in congress. Senator, good morning, good to see you. Good morning, jeff good to be with you. Are we going over the cliff . Well it depends on what that means. I think 98 of the people in our country can be assured that at some point over the next short period of time, their income taxes are going to be the same but this congress as you know has been more prepared than any to deal with the big issues our nation faces and what youre seeing is a lack of courage to deal with the spending issues. Unfortunately, you know today the average american doesnt realize that theres 40 of Government Services that theyre not paying for. Only onethird of medicare is paid for by those people who actually use it and because theres been this charade going on, where the left and right basically have conspired together to shield the American People from the true cost of government, we really dont have any constituency here to help reduce spending because we have not dealt with that issue, theres been no progress on the entitlement spending this is unfortunately going to carry on to the debt ceiling debate and what that means is every american is going to be harmed because the economy is not going to be what it should be. So because we have lacked the courage to face up to deal with these issues we here in washington are going to hurt the American Economy were going to hurt americans at every level, and to me its just a travesty that weve not been willing to deal with this issue when for the last two years, jeff we have known this time is coming. No congress has been more prepared to deal with this issue than us. Senator, do you think progress is going to come from this meeting this afternoon . Let me ask you about that. Well here probably the worst Case Scenario will come out of this meeting today and that is we will kick the can down the road, jeff well do some small deal, and well create another fiscal cliff to deal with this fiscal cliff. Again, a total lack of courage, lack of leadership. Senator corker does congress realize how ridiculous this looks to the American Public duelling press conferences, zero substance. We are minutes away from a deadline here and it doesnt look like anyone in washington is taking it seriously. I think most of us understand it. I think you guys know that ive laid out a very detailed bill to deal with it. I shared it with the white house, with Speaker Boehner, with leaders at every level. Ive put forth an entitlement reform package. The problem is we dont want to face up to the tough issues that our nation is dealing with and yes, i think we understand that. We should not be having back room meetings. The reason we have the closed door meetings is again we dont have the courage to debate these issues out on the senate floor. So that no one gets the blame, instead everybody gets the blame. Thats exactly right. I want to ask you a question about Speaker Boehner and plan b didnt work out, his own party didnt vote for it. Right. I wonder would he be willing to put to vote something he knows the gop isnt going to back but he knows the democrats will and it will get us to a deal . I dont know what hes thinking about. Ive spent a good deal of time with him recently. I really think what should happen today is on the senate floor, we should go ahead and take up the issue of taxes and we should try to pass legislation and send it back over to the house, i mean thats i think where the real play ought to be. This afternoons meeting feels much to me like optics to make it look like were doing something but let me just say one more time this is a total dereliction of duty at every level. Ive been very surprised that the president has not laid out a very specific plan to deal with this, but candidly congress could have done the same and i think the American People should be disgusted. This is going to drag on out into next year. The economy is going to be weakened as a result and its all because of a total lack of courage here in washington to face up to the real issues that americans and again, because americans have sorry, we have to wrap it up senator corker but we appreciate it. Senator good to see you sir. Thank you jeff good to see you again. With us now is Maggie HabermanSenior Reporter from politico. Thanks for having me. Does what you just heard more or less optimistic . About the same. I dont think he said anything revealing. We have a meeting this afternoon, he expects the most pessimistic outcome. I think thats about right. We could get some form of a deal. There is a bit of panic now on both sides, all sides because we are talking about three or four people in a room. Without a deal if we dont get one, what are the chances then beget Something Else and in substantive in january or does it look even less likely now . Personally i think it looks less likely without a crystal ball it is hard to say but i think corker is right, that i think the more we punt on this the less likely its going to be. There is no indication right now heading into january that congress and the president are more prepared to deal with the grander scheme here as opposed to something smaller. Maggie what about the notion that a lot of people at this point might want to punt on this, and that is republicans in congress specifically then can say in january, if they pass a new bill that they cut taxes technically speaking. Is there something to that notion . There is, my colleague john allen wrote about that for both sides. Its true for the president as well. He will be able to get the taxes on higher earners, tax increases that hes expecting to get. I think theres something for both sides here. I think it is worse for republicans in the longer term if we dont have a deal but i dont think this is going to look great for anybody short term. Its the illusion of progress. Its the illusion of progress, but you know look if we dont have a deal we are opening markets that are going to be in a bit of turmoil next week. That is what voters are going to see. Theyre not going to look at a Balance Sheet and say this is actually worse for boehners caucus than it is for the president. Not just here in the United States but the world is watching as we do all this. Thats right, there are serious, serious Global Implications in terms of the recovery for the u. S. Economy, this is obviously going to have a bad effect. Thanks, Maggie Haberman. Thank you. An interesting weekend well be watching. Thanks very much. This morning the white house is calling general Norman Schwarzkopf an american original. General colin powell says america lost a great patriot and great soldier. The commander of Operation Desert Storm died thursday from complications of pneumonia. As bob orr reports, schwartzzkopf was one of the worlds celebrated leaders since world war ii. Reporter the nation came to know him as he delivered fiery briefings during the 1991 persian gulf war. The simple fact of the matter is that now, every time an iraqi airplane takes off the ground its running away. Reporter commanding the americanled coalition to remove Saddam Husseins forces from kuwait schwarzkopf was front and center as america watched its first live televised war. For more than a month, smart bombs and cruise missiles struck strategic iraqi targets then in Operation Desert Storm schwarzkopf flankd iraqi troops with a surprising and aggressive ground campaign. In 100 hours Coalition Forces destroyed the iraqi amply and instilled confidence in the u. S. Military. As far as Saddam Hussein being a great military strategist strategist, he is neither a strategist nor is he schooled in the operational art nor is he a tactician, nor is he a general, nor is he as a soldier. Other than that hes a great military man i want to you know that. Reporter a west point graduate, schwarzkopf served two touries of duty in vietnam and earned three silver stars for bravery. It wasnt until the gulf war he was elevated to hero status known to many as stormin norman. At the same time, his temper made him a target for pop culture parody. Those iraqis were lucky i had an army. If i didnt id go over there and personally beat the tar out of each and every individual that came within my parameter. Reporter in july 1991 president george h. W. Bush awarded schwarzkopf the president ial medal of freedom and last night the former president who is struggling with his own Health Crisis issued a statement saying shwords cop of epitomized the duty service, country creed that has dchbed our freedom. Schwarzkopf knew the value of peace, and the price of confrontation. The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war. Reporter general Norman Schwarzkopf was 78 years old. For cbs this morning, bob orr in washington. Schwarzkopfs former boss is likely to be hospitalized for a while according to the top aide. The 41st president is in intensive care at houstons Methodist Hospital being treated for a persistent fever. This morning his condition remains guarded but mr. Bushs chief of staff, jean becker says we should put the harpz back in the closet meaning hes sick but not that sick. The powerful winter storm that caused trouble across the country is finally moving out, left parts of western new york and pennsylvania with a foot or more of snow yesterday. Meanwhile more than 135,000 homes and businesses in arkansas remain without power, three days after the storm dumped heavy snow on that area. At least 16 deaths around the country are blamed on that storm. Meteorologist jeff girardelli says more Winter Weather is headed to the northeast but not as bad. The storm is not as bad but the difference is that the snow will be closer to the coast around new york city and also in philadelphia. First thing is first, lets talk about whats happening right now. The rain is breaking out in portions of the southeast. There may be thunderstorms there today. Well track this system across the country, you can see later today and especially tonight, it moves into the southern part of the ohio valley places like evansville could see a couple inches of snow and tomorrow morning it moves into d. C. And philly. It will be a mix of snow and rain in d. C. , probably a mixture in philadelphia and new york. I think more in the way of snow could be a few inches of snow around new york city and philadelphia places just northwest of there and also into southeast new england could see as much as six inches of snowfall and although its not a major system its probably going to cause travel problems tomorrow. All right, jeff, thanks so much. You know about the fiscal cliff. Here comes the container cliff. Dockworkers threaten to go on strike this sunday at more than a dozen major seaports from texas to massachusetts, and that could cost American Companies about 1 billion a day. Ana anna werner good morning. Reporter good morning. There are only two days left after a potential strike and negotiations between the longshoremen longshoremens union and shipping companies are at an impasse. At issue here is pay for those working at the ports, but if the issue isnt resolved the consequences could be a devastating impact on the economy. As the rest of the country focuses on the political gridlock in washington workers at the port of houston are working overtime trying to get as many shipments in and out as they can before a threatened strike brings the port to a standstill. Sitting here right now we fully expect there will be some shutdown or strike at the end of the day. Reporter jon gold Vice President of the National Retail federation says a shutdown at the docks would have a Ripple Effect on the global economy. The ports are a primary piece of the puzzle when it comes to the Global Supply chain. If theyre not operating as efficiently as possible it slows down the entire system and hurts the productivity of all of the users of the system. Reporter negotiations between the international longshoremans union and the shipping companies are deadlocked over a proposal to cut royalties paid to nearly 15,000 dockworkers for each ton of cargo they move. Shutdown would affect 15 ports from boston down the east coast to florida and into the gulf of mexico, as far west as houston. These ports handle nearly 50 of all oceangoing container shipments to the United States. Essentially everything is going to shut down thats related to the ports. Youre talking about hundreds of thousands of jobs that could be impacted that are either directly or indirectly related to moving commerce through the ports. Reporter newark track driver al lopes is preparing for the worst, moving as many containers as possible fearing a strike will keep him out of work. Its either make the money or you dont make the money. We dont go in we dont get paid. Reporter so the two sides have until sunday at 12 01 a. M. To reach an agreement. However, it is possible that the president could intervene if he considers this to be a national emergency. Rebecca and jeff back to you. Anna werner thank you very much. Usa today says secretary of state Hillary Clinton is expected to return to work next week. Clinton picked up a stomach virus three weeks ago and then she fainted, hit her head and suffered a concussion. Clinton was forced to cancel an overseas trip and her congressional testimony on the attack that killed the u. S. Ambassador to libya. The New York Daily News says a man was. Ushd to his death in front of a subway train last night. Witn witnesses say a woman who fled the scene had been following the victim closely and mumbling. Police are searching for her. Earlier this month another man was shoved in front of a train in times square and he was killed. What is going on. The Los Angeles Times says four National Retailers are recalling more than 150,000 nap nanny baby recliners after five infant deaths. 100 reports of child