WASHINGTON New York area-lawmakers in both parties erupted in anger late Tuesday night after learning the House Republican leadership decided to allow the current term of Congress to end without holding a vote on aid for victims of Superstorm Sandy.
Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said he was told by the office of Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia that Speaker John Boehner of Ohio had decided to abandon a vote this session.
Cantor, who sets the House schedule, did not immediately comment. House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland told reporters that just before Tuesday evening's vote on "fiscal cliff" legislation, Cantor told him that he was "99.9 percent confident that this bill would be on the floor, and that's what he wanted."
A spokesman for Boehner, Michael Steel said, "The speaker is committed to getting this bill passed this month."
A House Republican aide confirmed to CBS News producer Jill Jackson that the House would not take up the bill during this session.
In remarks on the House floor, King called the decision "absolutely inexcusable, absolutely indefensible. We cannot just walk away from our responsibilities."
The Senate approved a $60.4 billion measure Friday to help with recovery from the October storm that devastated parts of New York, New Jersey and nearby states. The House Appropriations Committee has drafted a smaller, $27 billion measure, and a vote had been expected before Congress' term ends Thursday at noon.
29 Photos
Cleaning up after Sandy
29 Photos
Superstorm Sandy: State-by-state snapshots
More than $2 billion in federal funds has been spent so far on relief efforts for 11 states and the District of Columbia struck by the storm, one of the worst ever to hit the Northeast. The Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief fund still has about $4.3 billion, enough to pay for recovery efforts into early spring, according to officials. The unspent FEMA money can only be used for emergency services, said Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J.
New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, District of Columbia, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, New Hampshire, Delaware, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts are receiving federal aid.
Sandy was blamed for at least 120 deaths and battered coastline areas from North Carolina to Maine. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut were the hardest hit states and suffered high winds, flooding and storm surges. The storm damaged or destroyed more than 72,000 homes and businesses in New Jersey. In New York, 305,000 housing units were damaged or destroyed and more than 265,000 businesses were affected.
"This is an absolute disgrace and the speaker should hang his head in shame," said Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y.
"I'm here tonight saying to myself for the first time that I'm not proud of the decision my team has made," said Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y. "It is the wrong decision, and I' m going to be respectful and ask that the speaker reconsider his decision. Because it's not about politics, it's about human lives."
"I truly feel betrayed this evening," said Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y.
"We need to be there for all those in need now after Hurricane Sandy," said Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y.
The House Democratic leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, said she didn't know whether a decision has been made and added, "We cannot leave here doing nothing. That would be a disgrace."
Senators voted in the pre-dawn hours of New Year's Day to pass the long-sought agreement on the "fiscal cliff" and the House readies for its turn as soon as today, which, if the House passes it, would officially avert the tax hikes and spending cuts that technically took effect at midnight (the deal, when signed by the president, will make the new tax rates and spending retroactive to midnight).
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Biden advises not to predict outcome of "cliff" deal
How did the politicians involved get to their final agreement? CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett reports the rundown, according to officials familiar with the talks and with the White House's thinking:
Friday through Sunday: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's opening offer Friday night to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was a $750,000 income tax threshold and no jobless benefits and no extension of the earned-income tax credit and other low-income tax breaks, means-testing Medicare, and the Bush era estate tax rates. Offers bounced back and forth Saturday and on Sunday, Reid opted out and handed talks over to Vice President Joe Biden (at McConnell's suggestion). President Obama, Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi were in tandem through the talks. Delaying the federal spending cuts, or sequester, fell out of the talks on Sunday but McConnell came down to $550,000 in income tax threshold and some estate tax concessions reflected in the final deal.
Sunday, 8 p.m. ET: Mr. Obama and senior staff met in the Oval Office to discuss their final counter-offer to McConnell. The president set the $400K and $450K income threshold with one-year of jobless benefits and some delay of the sequester. Biden and McConnell talked through the night. Their last call was at 12:45 a.m.
After that, Mr. Obama and Biden met in the Oval until 2 a.m. to go over final details. Mr. Obama sent his legislative liaison Rob Nabors to Capitol Hill at 2 a.m. to begin drafting a bill with Senate Democrats. Biden and McConnell spoke again at 6:45 a.m. The rest of Monday was devoted to resolving the sequester impasse.
Monday, 9 p.m. ET: Biden and McConnell sealed the deal by telephone (Biden spoke to McConnell after clearing final details with Mr. Obama). The president then called Reid and Pelosi for one final OK and the deal was announced/leaked/confirmed.
The officials also pointed out that to get to the final deal, moving Republicans from a position of no tax increases in debt ceiling debate to tax increases through tax reform after Mr. Obama's re-election to nothing more than $1 million in higher rates and now to $400,000 and $450,000 thresholds is a significant policy and political victory (worth $620 billion over 10 years).
When the big deal talks failed before Christmas, Mr. Obama's biggest goal was to get GOP buy-in on higher tax rates for the wealthy. It is regarded as one of the most significant policy victories in two decades, the officials said.
Compromising on the two-month sequester was difficult, the officials added. The White House wanted a full year of waiving the sequester but there was no time to negotiate the difficult policy details (the sequester talks took literally all of Monday).
As for the deal's effect on the deficit, it does not cut the deficit relative to what would have occurred if all the fiscal cliff tax cuts had been erased (meaning all Bush tax cuts expired) and the sequester kicked in full force. But, relative to a baseline that assumes all existing tax policy would have continued, the deal raises $620 billion in revenue. The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) fix is not counted by the WH, for example, because its extension was assumed in the existing policy baseline (that doesn't mean it won't cost anything; just that the White House doesn't count the cost).
The jobless benefit extension for one year cost $30 billion and that is not paid for. The Medicare "doc fix" is paid for by savings that will be taken from other provider payouts in Medicare. It costs $31 billion, meaning those provider cuts will pay for protecting doctors from a 27 percent automatic cut in premiums.
And $12 billion in new revenue comes from allowing 401Ks and other retirement instruments into Roth IRAs. This is the revenue that forms half of the offset of the two-month sequester delay. The other $12 billion will come from a 50-50 split of non-defense and defense cuts.
KABUL The father of a pregnant American woman missing in Afghanistan has broken his silence over her disappearance to make a desperate plea for her safe return.
James Coleman, father of 27-year-old Caitlan Coleman, told The Associated Press his daughter was traveling with her Canadian husband when she vanished in early October. The last communication came from Caitlan's husband, Josh, who said he was in an Internet cafe on Oct. 8, in what he described as an "unsafe" part of Afghanistan. Caitlin was due to give birth in January.
An Afghan official has claimed the couple was kidnapped in Wardak province, west of the capital Kabul. So far, however, there has been no clear evidence they were abducted. Many insurgent groups operate in the area, but none have claimed responsibility for their disappearance, or demanded a ransom.
"I'm not sure whether they have been kidnapped by the Taliban or not," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told CBS News on Monday. "We are still investigating."
The U.S. Embassy in Kabul would only confirm that it was in contact with Coleman's family and was "coordinating closely with the Canadian authorities."
"Due to privacy considerations we cannot provide additional information about the case," embassy spokesman David Snepp told CBS News in a written statement.
A spokesperson for the governor of Wardak province, Shahidulla Shahid, was also unable to shed much light on the couple's fate.
"We are aware that an American woman and her husband have disappeared," he told CBS News, "but our investigation has found no lead in the case."
James Coleman was at pains to even explain why his daughter was in the war-torn country to begin with. He described her to the AP as "naive" and "adventuresome," and suggested she and Josh might have been looking for an opportunity to start working for an aid agency.
Since Caitlan's disappearance, the family has become increasingly concerned about her health, as she needs regular medical attention for a liver condition.
"Our goal is to get them back safely and healthily," he said. "I don't know what kind of care they're getting or not getting. We're just an average family and we don't have good connections with anybody and we don't have a lot of money."
The couple started traveling last July, passing through Russia, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan before entering Afghanistan.
The country is generally deemed unsafe for tourists and the area where they vanished is particularly dangerous for foreigners. Last year a German tourist was killed while traveling through central Afghanistan and a Canadian tourist was kidnapped not far from where Caitlan and her husband were last heard from.
Caitlan's father said the couple liked to travel primarily in small villages, getting to know locals along the way, and had said they were "heading into the mountains" before they disappeared.
Had they done so, they would have faced danger not only from Taliban groups and criminal gangs, but also from the elements. Temperatures in Afghanistan have consistently dropped below freezing in recent weeks, and conditions in the mountains are particularly harsh at this time of year.
Caitlan's father is holding out hope for his daughter's safe return.
"We appeal to whoever is caring for her to show compassion and allow Caity, Josh and our unborn grandbaby to come home," he told the AP.
ISLAMABAD The killing of 41 people in two separate terrorist incidents in Pakistan appeared on Sunday to temporarily halt prospects for immediate peace talks between Pakistani authorities and Taliban militants, two senior Pakistani intelligence officers and a senior western diplomat in Islamabad warned.
Both intelligence officers said that the fallout of the killings may even harm U.S. plans to peacefully draw down troops from Afghanistan, with Pakistan's active backing.
In the first incident, 21 Pakistani paramilitary guards working in the northern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province who were kidnapped last week by the Taliban were confirmed dead on Saturday.
"All the 21 young men were brutally killed by their captors," said one Pakistani intelligence officer who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity because intelligence officers are not allowed to speak to journalists.
He said that the kidnapped men's killings may have been triggered in part by the Pakistani government's refusal to release some Taliban militants in custody.
After the men were kidnapped, a senior government official in the northern city of Peshawar, the provincial capital, told CBS News that the Taliban were demanding the release of some of their fellow militants in Pakistan's custody in exchange for the 21 men.
In the second incident on Sunday, at least 20 Pakistanis of the Shia Muslim faith were killed and more than 20 wounded when a car bomb targeted their convoy of buses being driven through the southwestern Baluchistan province to the Iranian border.
Pakistani officials said the dead were heading to Iran's northern holy city of Mashhad to attend an important Shiite commemoration in the coming week.
The second Pakistani intelligence officer who spoke to CBS News said that the killings in Baluchistan "seem to be linked to factions associated with the Taliban.
"These killings make it practically impossible for the government to have a peace dialogue with the Taliban," the officer said. "No one will speak to these people while we have a gun pointed to our heads."
In the past, representatives of Pakistan's Shia Muslims have claimed that the Taliban (who belong to a hardline version of the Sunni Muslim faith) have been involved in attacks on Shiites in Baluchistan.
The two terrorist incidents were preceded by reports of the Taliban sending messages to senior leaders of President Asif Ali Zardari's administration in Islamabad, seeking peace talks to end a decade-long conflict with the Pakistan army.
Senior government officials have reacted cautiously, with some suggesting that the offer should be carefully considered, while others have warned that the Taliban will not agree to end their attacks on Pakistani troops until a final settlement, on their terms, comes together.
"The two brutal terrorist incidents are a major cause of concern. They suggest there's no appetite among the Taliban for a peaceful end to the war," said a senior Western diplomat in Islamabad who also spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity.
He warned that in addition to Pakistan's own internal security conditions, more violence will make it harder for the country to cooperate with the U.S. in facilitating an orderly American troop drawdown from Afghanistan by end of 2014.
"Pakistan will be the main route for U.S. troops leaving Afghanistan. If there is no end to Taliban violence in Pakistan, the drawdown will face threats," added the diplomat.
NEW YORK Police continue to search for a woman wanted in the death of a man pushed to his death in front of a subway train in Queens.
The incident happened around 8 p.m. Thursday on the elevated tracks at the 40th Street Station on Queens Boulevard in Sunnyside, CBS Station WCBS reports.
Police said witnesses saw the woman pacing and mumbling on the platform before taking a seat alone on a wooden bench. Then, as the train approached the station, witnesses said she suddenly shot forward, shoving the unsuspecting man onto the tracks, directly into the path of an oncoming Number 7 train.
Police have not identified the victim. It was unclear if the victim was aware of the woman before she pushed him onto the tracks.
The New York Police Department released surveillance video of the suspect running away from the scene. Police said the woman raced down two flights of stairs after the attack and then disappeared onto the crowded street.
Detectives described her as a heavyset Hispanic woman in her 20s, approximately 5-foot-5, with blonde or brown hair. She was last seen wearing a blue, white and grey ski jacket and grey and red Nike sneakers.
The incident marked the second deadly subway push this month. On December 3, police said 58-year-old Ki Suck Han was pushed to his death by 30-year-old Naeem Davis. The two were seen on cell phone video arguing just moments before Han was pushed to his death.
In the most recent incident, witnesses said the victim never encountered his attacker and never saw what was coming.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at (800) 577-TIPS. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto Crime Stoppers or texting tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
(CBS News) Former President George H.W. Bush remains in the intensive care unit of Houston's Methodist Hospital on Thursday, after battling a bronchitis-like cough and fever for over a month.
Doctors say his condition is improving since he suffered a setback on Christmas Day but also say they are having trouble keeping the former president's fever under control. He was reportedly put on a liquid diet on Wednesday.
After a family spokesman referenced Bush's "stubborn fever" and "guarded condition," his office released a statement saying doctors remain "cautiously optimistic" about the 41st president's prognosis. CBS News' Anna Werner reports that he has been able to receive visits from his wife, children, and grandchildren and to join them in a Christmas day takeout meal.
Thursday, Dr. Lori Mosca of Columbia University Medical Center and New York Presbyterian Hospital explained that "guarded condition" "is somewhere in between being stable and critical," a state that requires constant careful monitoring by doctors.
Dr. Mosca added that while the fever could be due to bronchitis, "any fever in an elderly person is serious," and that doctors should continue to look for the source of the fever -- which could range from an allergic reaction, to a drug reaction, to an immune system issue.
KAILUA, Hawaii President Barack Obama is cutting short his traditional Christmas holiday in Hawaii to return to Washington as lawmakers consider how to prevent the economy from going over the so-called fiscal cliff, the White House said Tuesday.
Obama will fly back to the nation's capital Wednesday night, just five days after arriving in Hawaii, White House officials said. In the past, the president's end-of-the-year holiday in his native state has stretched into the new year.
Congress is expected to return to Washington on Thursday. Automatic budget cuts and tax increases are set to begin in January. So far, the president and congressional Republicans have been unable to reach agreement on any alternatives.
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Seven days 'til the "fiscal cliff"
11 Photos
The Obamas in Hawaii
CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes reported earlier Tuesday that the president will likely put pressure on Congress to pass a Democratic plan being drafted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
"There still have been no conversations between Democrats and Republicans Tuesday on how to avert the fiscal cliff," Cordes reported from Hawaii. "That's a sure sign that Reid is working on crafting legislation on his own, which he'd essentially dare Republicans in the House and Senate to pass just before the deadline."
Cordes notes that Reid's bill would likely extend the Bush-era tax cuts for households making less than $250,000 a year. It may also include enough short-term spending cuts to temporarily offset, for about six to eight months, the across-the-board spending cuts set to go into effect on January 1, 2013.
Lawmakers have expressed little but pessimism for the prospect of an agreement coming before Jan. 1. On Sunday, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said she expects any action in the waning days of the year to be "a patch because in four days we can't solve everything."
The Obamas were spending the holiday at a rented home near Honolulu. On Christmas Day, the president and first lady Michelle Obama visited with Marines to express thanks for their service.
"One of my favorite things is always coming to base on Christmas Day just to meet you and say thank you," the president said. He called being commander in chief his greatest honor as president.
Obama took photos with individual service members and their families.
VATICAN CITY Pope Benedict XVI wished Christmas peace to the world Tuesday, decrying the slaughter of the "defenseless" in Syria and urging Israelis and Palestinians to find the courage to negotiate.
Delivering the Vatican's traditional Christmas day message from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, Benedict also encouraged Arab spring nations, especially Egypt, to build just and respectful societies.
He prayed that China's new leaders respect religion, a reference to persecution Chinese Roman Catholics have at times endured under communism.
As the 85-year-old pontiff, bundled up in an ermine-trimmed red cape, gingerly stepped foot on the balcony, the pilgrims, tourists and Romans below backing St. Peter's Square erupted in cheers.
Less than 12 hours earlier, Benedict had led a two-hour long Christmas Eve ceremony in the basilica. He sounded hoarse and looked weary as he read his Christmas message and then holiday greetings in 65 languages.
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Christians around the world celebrate Christmas
In his "Urbi et Orbi" speech, which traditionally reviews world events and global challenges, Benedict prayed that "peace spring up for the people of Syria, deeply wounded and divided by a conflict that does not spare even the defenseless and reaps innocent victims."
He called for easier access to help refugees and for "dialogue in the pursuit of a political solution to the conflict."
Benedict prayed that God "grant Israelis and Palestinians courage to end long years of conflict and division, and to embark resolutely on the path to negotiation."
Hours earlier, in the ancient Bethlehem church built over the site where tradition holds Jesus was born, candles illuminated the sacred site and the joyous sound of prayer filled its overflowing halls.
Overcast skies and a cold wind in the Holy Land didn't dampen the spirits of worshippers in the biblical West Bank town. Bells pealed and long lines formed inside the fourth-century Church of the Nativity complex as Christian faithful waited to see the grotto that is Jesus' traditional birthplace.
Duncan Hardock, 24, a writer from MacLean, Va., traveled to Bethlehem from the republic of Georgia, where he had been teaching English. After passing through the separation barrier Israel built to ward off West Bank attackers, he walked to Bethlehem's Manger Square where the church stands.
"I feel we got to see both sides of Bethlehem in a really short period of time," Hardock said. "On our walk from the wall, we got to see the lonesome, closed side of Bethlehem. ... But the moment we got into town, we're suddenly in the middle of the party."
Bethlehem lies 6 miles south of Jerusalem. Entry to the city is controlled by Israel, which occupied the West Bank in 1967.
For those who couldn't fit into the cavernous Bethlehem church, a loudspeaker outside broadcast the Christmas day service to hundreds of faithful in the square.
Their Palestinian hosts, who welcome this holiday as the high point of their city's year, were especially joyous this season, proud of the United Nations' recognition of an independent state of Palestine just last month.
Israel, backed by the United States, opposed the Palestinian statehood bid, saying it was a ploy to bypass negotiations, something the Palestinians deny. Talks stalled four years ago.
Back at the Vatican, Benedict offered encouragement to countries after the Arab spring of democracy protests. He had a special word for Egypt, "blessed by the childhood of Jesus."
Without citing the tumultuous politics and clashes in the region, he urged the North African region to build societies "founded on justice and respect for the dignity of every person."
Benedict prayed for the return of peace in Mali and harmony in Nigeria, where, he recalled "savage acts of terrorism continue to reap victims, particularly among Christians." He also recalled the problems of refugees from fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo and decried brutal attacks hitting places of worship in Kenya.
The Vatican for decades has been worried about the well-being of its flock in China, who are loyal to the pope in defiance of the communist's government support of an officially sponsored church, and relations between Beijing and the Holy See are often tense.
Speaking about China's newly installed regime leaders, Benedict expressed hope that "they will esteem the contribution of the religions, in respect for each other, in such a way that they can help to build a fraternal society for the benefit of that noble people and of the whole world."
Acknowledging Latin America's predominant Christian population, he urged government leaders to carry out commitments to development and to fighting organized crime.
Even as Indian Prime Minster Manmohan Singh appealed for calm after violent weekend protests over the brutal gang rape of a 23-year-old woman in New Delhi, police in the nation's capital were enforcing a complete clampdown.
Prime Minister Singh urged calm and vowed to protect women as police struggled Monday to quell increasing outrage over sex crimes, following the gang-rape of a student on a bus on Dec. 16.
"There is genuine and justified anger and anguish at this ghastly incident," Singh said in a televised speech."
"We are constantly monitoring her medical condition. Let us all pray for her and her loved ones during this critical time" Singh added.
In light of the protests, the venue of the meeting between Singh and visiting Russian President Vladimar Putin was shifted to the prime minister's residence.
Usually, such meetings are held in Hyderabad House, which is close to India Gate, the scene of protests in the last two days.
The entire central square of India Gate circle and Raisina Hill was cordoned off and a heavy police presence was being maintained on all roads leading to India Gate and other areas of central New Delhi, in an effort to keep protestors away.
Media members have been asked to keep away from the area, to try to stop relentless coverage of the protests.
Earlier in the morning, a number of protesters who had stayed put at India Gate were cleared out. The young demonstrators, who spent a chilly night in the open after they fought a pitched battle with police throughout Sunday, were put on a bus by police.
The government also announced the establishment of a special committee made up of former judges to look into possible changes in the law to provide for quicker trials for suspects and enhanced punishment for those convicted of sexual assault of an extreme nature against women.
Meanwhile, the victim was put back on the ventilator as she battled for her life at a local hospital. Her condition remained critical, though she was conscious and communicating. Her platelet condition has dipped further -- an indication of infection.
(CBS News) 'Tis the Season for "A Christmas Story," the 1983 film whose memorable story is being re-told on Broadway. Mo Rocca sets the stage:
If "Miracle on 34th Street" and "It's a Wonderful Life" are the frankinscense and myrrh of Christmas movies, then the gold may very well be 1983's "A Christmas Story."
If you haven't seen "A Christmas Story," well, it's the tale of 12-year-old Ralphie Parker. Set in 1940s Indiana, it's something of a cockeyed look at Christmas.
Peter Billingsley, as Ralphie, can't get a break in expressing his Christmas wish for a Red Ryder BB gun - not even from Santa! - in the 1983 movie "A Christmas Story."
/ MGM/UA
Ralphie's dad obsesses over a leg lamp he won in a contest. ("It reminds me of the Fourth of July!") A pack of dogs makes off with Christmas dinner. And Santa is anything but jolly.
"I've read where you've called it the 'Seinfeld' of Christmas movies - what do you mean by that?" asked Rocca.
"Well, in some ways it's the commitment to the mundane," said 41-year-old Peter Billingsley. If he looks familiar, that's because he played Ralphie.
"It's those simple little things that drive you crazy around Christmas. It's not the big ideas. It's, you know, trying to get the tree and trying to get your little brother to eat, trying to cook a turkey, all those things."
Now Billingsley is one of the producers of "A Christmas Story" - the Broadway musical.
Twelve-year-old Johnny Rabe plays Ralphie, and 10-year old Zac Ballard is Ralphie's younger brother Randy - the one who memorably pigged out on mashed potatoes.
"I never want a stunt man to do that," Ballard said.
"What's your motivation?" Rocca asked.
"What do you mean by 'motivation'?"
"I don't even know what I'm asking," he replied. "Whatever you're doing, it's great."
This family favorite was originally a series of stories by radio commentator Jean Shepherd in, of all places, Playboy magazine.
The stories became a book, which then became a movie.
When asked what the number one thing is people say when they come up, Billingsley said, "'That's my family' or 'You were me' or 'That's my mom,' 'That was my dad.' And it seems like that Midwest area is relatable to everyone in the country. It feels kind of like everyone's street."
The movie wasn't a box office hit, but then cable TV turned it into one of the greatest comeback stories ever told. A 24-hour marathon on TBS, watched by almost 50 million people last year, has been playing since 1997 - making it the yule log of Christmas movies.
Fans of the film, known as "Ralphies," include Brian Jones.
In 2004 he found on eBay the Cleveland house used as Ralphie's home. He bought it sight unseen. He did not tell his wife.
The "Christmas Story House & Museum" in Cleveland Ohio, where the 1983 movie was filmed.
/ CBS News
"How long did it take for your wife to forgive you?" Rocca asked.
"The day I opened it" as a museum, Jones said. "When she saw we had a line down the block, like four or five people wide. Then she realized I wasn't as crazy as I seemed."
Open to the public since 2006, the home is a shrine to Ralphie, with pilgrims lining up around the block to visit.
There's a leg lamp in the window, and a kitchen sink visitors can hide under, just like Randy did.
"People will try and squeeze there. I can fit under there. I'm 6'3", about 200 pounds. So I still fit."
That is what you call a super fan.
Jones helped pay for the house by selling - you guessed it - leg lamps.
Of course, the leg lamp also made it into the Broadway musical, along with a show-stopping tap-dance number.
And if the young cast of the musical is any indication, "A Christmas Story" still has legs.
When asked who had seen the movie before they appeared in the musical,many members of the kids' ensemble raised their hands.
Mo Rocca meets members of the cast of "A Christmas Story" on Broadway.
/ CBS News
"Tell the truth - was there anyone here who really wasn't a fan of the movie?" Rocca asked.
Jeremy raised his hand: "I'm Jewish!"
When asked what he thought the message of the movie was, Luke said, "It's one big family that's crazy and then at the end, and they all say it's crazy, but it comes to one thing called love."
Zach offered another take: "It's also a heartwarming story. I think it's the best Christmas story ever!"
NEWTOWN, Conn. He was the awkward, peculiar kid who wore the same clothes to school every day.
He rarely spoke and even gave a school presentation entirely by computer, never uttering a word.
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Newtown residents react to the NRA's response to school shooting
He liked tinkering with computers and other gadgets, and seemed to enjoy playing a violent video game, choosing a military-style assault rifle as one of his weapons.
New details about Adam Lanza emerged Friday, as the nation paused to mark one week since he slaughtered 20 first-graders and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.
Multiple funerals and visitations were held Friday, and at the hour of the attack, 9:30 a.m., a bell tolled 26 times, once for each victim killed at the school.
Lanza also fatally shot his mother before blasting his way into Sandy Hook, and killed himself after the school massacre.
In high school, Lanza would slither through the hallways, awkwardly pressing himself against the wall while wearing the same green shirt and khaki pants every day. He hardly ever talked to his classmates.
"As long as I knew him, he never really spoke," said Daniel Frost, who took a computer class with Lanza and remembered his skill with electronics. Lanza could take apart and reassemble a computer in a matter of minutes
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Newtown moment of silence
36 Photos
Victims of Conn. school shooting
Lanza seemed to spend most of his time in the basement of the home he shared with his mother, who kept a collection of guns there, said Russell Ford, a friend of Nancy Lanza's who had done chimney and pipe work on the house.
Nancy Lanza was often seen around town and regularly met friends at a local restaurant. But her 20-year-old son was seldom spotted around town, Ford and other townspeople said.
The basement of the Lanza home had a computer, flat-screen TV, couches and an elaborate setup for video games. Nancy Lanza kept her guns in what appeared to be a secure case in another part of the basement, said Ford, who often met her and other friends at a regular Tuesday gathering at My Place, a local restaurant.
During the past year and a half, Ford said, Nancy Lanza had told him that she planned to move out West and enroll Adam in a "school or a center." The plan started unfolding after Adam turned 18.
"She knew she needed to be near him," Ford said. "She was trying to do what was positive for him."
President Obama is nominating Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., to replace Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, CBS News has learned. An official announcement is forthcoming later today.
Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, has widely been seen as the frontrunner for the position since U.N. ambassador Susan Rice withdrew her name from consideration. Rice came under heavy fire from Republican senators for putting forth a flawed explanation of the events in the Sept. 11 consulate attack in Benghazi, Libya in the days after the attack.
Kerry is expected to be confirmed with relative ease in the Senate. The 69-year-old senator is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is widely respected in Democratic foreign policy circles. Clinton plans to leave her post in January.
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick will now appoint someone to serve in Kerry's seat until a special election is held between 145 and 160 days of Kerry leaving the Senate. Soon-to-be-former Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., who lost his seat in November, could run on the Republican side. Democrats being discussed include Ted Kennedy Jr., Reps. Ed Markey, Michael Capuano, Steve Lynch, and even actor Ben Affleck.
CBS News' Major Garrett and Caroline Horn contributed to this report.
NEW YORK The New York Stock Exchange (NYX) is being sold to a rival exchange for about $8 billion, ending more than two centuries of independence for the iconic Big Board.
The buyer, IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE), an upstart exchange based in Atlanta, made clear Thursday that little would change for the iconic trading floor in Manhattan's financial district if regulators approve the deal.
There will be dual headquarters in New York and Atlanta and ICE will open an office in Manhattan. NYSE CEO Duncan Niederauer will become president of the combined company and CEO of NYSE Group.
ICE said that the tie-up will create a top exchange operator covering a diverse lineup of markets and boosting efficiency.
"We believe the combined company will be better positioned to compete and serve customers across a broad range of asset classes by uniting our global brands, expertise and infrastructure," said IntercontinentalExchange Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Sprecher. "With a track record of growth and returns, clearing and M&A integration, we are well positioned to transform our combined companies into a premier global exchange operator that remains a leader in market evolution."
Sprecher will keep his positions. Four members of the NYSE board will be added to IntercontinentalExchange's board, expanding it to 15 members.
NYSE Euronext Inc. shareholders can chose to receive either $33.12 in cash, .2581 IntercontinentalExchange Inc. shares, or a combination of $11.27 in cash plus .1703 shares of stock.
IntercontinentalExchange plans to fund the cash portion of the acquisition with a combination of cash and existing debt. It added that the addition of NYSE will help it cut costs and should boost its earnings by more than 15 percent in the first year after the deal closes.
The deal has been approved by the boards of both companies, but still needs the approvals by regulators and the shareholders of both companies. It's expected to close in the second half of next year.
Exchanges have repeatedly attempted to merge recently as competition intensifies and commissions decline.
Last year, IntercontinentalExchange and Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. made a failed $11 billion bid to buy NYSE Euronext.
Earlier this year, European regulators blocked Deutsche Boerse AG from buying NYSE Euronext.
Shares of NYSE jumped 40 percent in premarket trading to $33.75 and are headed for a new high for the year. Shares if ICE rose 5 percent, to $134.98.
Shares of both companies had been halted in premarket trading earlier Thursday.
MCLEAN, Va. Robert H. Bork, who stepped in to fire the Watergate prosecutor at Richard Nixon's behest and whose failed 1980s nomination to the Supreme Court helped draw the modern boundaries of cultural fights over abortion, civil rights and other issues, has died. He was 85.
Son Robert H. Bork Jr. confirmed to The Associated Press his father died Wednesday at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va. The son said Bork died from complications of heart ailments.
A spokesman for the Washington think-tank Hudson Institute where Bork was a distinguished fellow confirmed his death to CBS News.
Brilliant, blunt, and piercingly witty, Robert Heron Bork had a long career in politics and the law that took him from respected academic to a totem of conservative grievance.
Along the way, Bork was accused of being a partisan hatchet man for Nixon when, as the third-ranking official at the Justice Department he fired Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox in the Saturday Night Massacre of 1973. Attorney General Elliot Richardson resigned rather than fire Cox. The next in line, William Ruckelshaus, refused to fire Cox and was himself fired.
Bork's drubbing during the 1987 Senate nomination hearings made him a hero to the right and a rallying cry for younger conservatives.
The Senate experience embittered Bork and hardened many of his conservative positions, even as it gave him prominence as an author and long popularity on the conservative speaking circuit.
"Robert Bork was a giant, a brilliant and fearless legal scholar, and a gentleman whose incredible wit and erudition made him a wonderful Hudson colleague," said Hudson Institute head Kenneth Weinstein.
Known before his Supreme Court nomination as one of the foremost national experts on antitrust law, Bork became much more widely known as a conservative cultural critic in the years that followed.
His 1996 book, "Slouching Towards Gomorrah: Modern Liberalism and American Decline," was an acid indictment of what Bork viewed as the crumbling ethics of modern society and the morally bankrupt politics of the left.
"Opportunities for teen-agers to engage in sex are ... more frequent than previously; much of it takes place in homes that are now empty because the mothers are working," Bork wrote then. "The modern liberal devotion to sex education is an ideological commitment rather than a policy of prudence."
Bork, known until his death as "Judge Bork," served a relatively short tenure on the bench. He was a federal judge on the nation's most prestigious appellate panel, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, from 1982 until 1988, when he resigned in the wake of the bitter Supreme Court nomination fight.
Earlier, Bork had been a private attorney, Yale Law School professor and a Republican political appointee.
At Yale, two of his constitutional law students were Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham.
"I no longer say they were students," Bork joked long afterward. "I say they were in the room."
Nixon named Bork as solicitor general, the administration's advocate before the Supreme Court, in January 1973.
Bork served as acting attorney general after Richardson's resignation, then returned to the solicitor general's job until 1977, far outlasting the Nixon administration.
U.S. Supreme Court nominee Robert H. Bork testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill in Washington Sept. 16, 1987.
/ AP Photo
Long mentioned as a possible Supreme Court nominee, Bork got his chance toward the end of Ronald Reagan's second term. He was nominated July 1, 1987, to fill the seat vacated by Justice Lewis F. Powell.
Nearly four months later the Senate voted 58-42 to defeat him, after the first national political and lobbying offensive mounted against a judicial nominee.
It was the largest negative vote ever recorded for a Supreme Court nominee.
Reagan and Bork's Senate backers called him eminently qualified — a brilliant judge who had managed to write nearly a quarter of his court's majority rulings in just five years on the bench, without once being overturned by the Supreme Court.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., summed up the opposition by saying, "In Robert Bork's America there is no room at the inn for blacks and no place in the Constitution for women."
Critics also called Bork a free-speech censor and a danger to the principle of separation of church and state.
Bork's opponents used his prolific writings against him, and some called him a hypocrite when he seemed to waffle on previous strongly worded positions.
Despite a reputation for personal charm, Bork did not play well on television. He answered questions in a seemingly bloodless, academic style and he cut a severe figure, with hooded eyes and heavy, rustic beard.
Stoic and stubborn throughout, Bork refused to withdraw when his defeat seemed assured.
The fight has defined every high-profile judicial nomination since, and largely established the opposing roles of vocal and well-funded interest groups in Senate nomination fights. Bork would say later that the ferocity of the fight took him and the Reagan White House by surprise, and he rebuked the administration for not doing more to salvage his nomination.
The process begat a verb, "to bork," meaning vilification of a nominee on ideological grounds. In later years, some accused Bork of borking Clinton nominees with nearly the zeal that some liberal commentators had pursued him.
Bork denied any animus, and said he was happy commenting, writing and making money outside government. Even friends did not entirely believe that.
"He was very embittered by the experience," said lawyer Andrew Frey, a longtime friend who worked for Bork in the solicitor general's office. "He was not well treated, and partly as a result of that he did become more conservative."
NEWTOWN, Conn. Family members have gathered for the first of eight funerals for school shooting victims to be held at a Catholic church in Newtown, Conn.
A motorcade of dozens of vehicles led by police motorcycles accompanied the family of 6-year-old James Mattioli to St. Rose of Lima on Tuesday. His funeral comes a day after two other 6-year-old boys were laid in the first of a long, almost unbearable procession of funerals.
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Holiday week is full of funerals for Newtown, Conn.
Margarita Rosniak and her 10-year-old daughter, Charlotte, watched from the sidewalk as people entered the church. They had traveled from California for a Christmas vacation in New York and came to Newtown to join the residents in their grief.
Clutching her daughter close, Margarita Rosniak spoke of sympathizing with the parents. Her daughter says she plans to do a school project on the massacre. She asks, "What was the point of it? They're just little kids."
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Funerals begin for Conn. shooting victims
Meanwhile, a funeral for another of the 20 innocent children killed - 6-year-old Jessica Rekos - was also scheduled for Tuesday. Her family says she loved horses and had just asked Santa for new cowgirl boots and a cowgirl hat, CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston reported.
Security remained high, and the small, affluent Connecticut community was still on edge as the rest of the country prepared for the Christmas holidays.
"There's going to be no joy in school," said 17-year-old P.J. Hickey. "It really doesn't feel like Christmas anymore." But he added, "This is where I feel the most at home. I feel safer here than anywhere else in the world."
In a sign of investors distancing themselves from gun makers, private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management announced it would sell its stake in major arms manufacturer Freedom Group. It said in a statement, "It is apparent that the Sandy Hook tragedy was a watershed event that has raised the national debate on gun control to an unprecedented level."
The mystery of why a smart but severely withdrawn 20-year-old, Adam Lanza, shot his mother to death in bed before rampaging through Sandy Hook Elementary, killing 20 children ages 6 and 7, was as deep as ever.
Sandy Hook Elementary will remain closed indefinitely.
Investigators say Lanza had no ties to the school he attacked, and they have found no letters or diaries that could explain why he targeted it. He forced into the school shortly after its front door locked as part of a new security measure. He wore all black and is believed to have used a Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle, a civilian version of the military's M-16. Versions of the AR-15 were outlawed in the U.S. under the 1994 assault weapons ban, but the law expired in 2004.
Debora Seifert, a spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said both Lanza and his mother fired at shooting ranges and visited ranges together.
At the White House on Monday, spokesman Jay Carney said curbing gun violence is a complex problem that will require a "comprehensive solution." He did not mention specific proposals to follow up on President Barack Obama's call for "meaningful action."
New York City's billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg, perhaps the most outspoken advocate for gun control in U.S. politics, again pressed Obama and Congress to toughen gun laws and tighten enforcement.
"If this doesn't do it," he asked, "what is going to?"
At least one senator, Virginia Democrat Mark Warner, said Monday that the attack has led him to rethink his opposition to the ban on assault weapons. And West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat who is an avid hunter and lifelong member of the powerful National Rifle Association, said it's time to move beyond the political rhetoric and begin an honest discussion about reasonable restrictions on guns.
In Newtown on Monday, minds were on mourning.
Two funeral homes filled for Jack Pinto and the youngest victim, Noah Pozner, who turned 6 just two weeks ago..
A rabbi presided at Noah's service, and in keeping with Jewish tradition, the boy was laid to rest in a simple brown wooden casket with a Star of David on it.
"I will miss your perpetual smile, the twinkle in your dark blue eyes, framed by eyelashes that would be the envy of any lady in this room," Noah's mother, Veronique Pozner, said at the service, according to remarks the family provided to The Associated Press. Both services were closed to the news media.
Noah's twin, Arielle, who was assigned to a different classroom, survived the killing frenzy.
At 6-year-old Jack Pinto's Christian service, hymns rang out from inside the funeral home, where the boy lay in an open casket.
In the middle of town, an ever-growing memorial has become a pilgrimage site for strangers who want to pay their respect.
One man told CBS Station WCBS why he visited: "Because I'm a dad with four beautiful daughters, when I found out it broke my heart. It's hard to sleep, I don't know how to feel."
Authorities say Lanza shot his mother, Nancy, at their home and then took her car and some of her guns to the school, where he broke in and opened fire. A Connecticut official said the mother, a gun enthusiast who practiced at shooting ranges, was found dead in her pajamas in bed, shot four times in the head with a .22-caliber rifle.
Lanza was wearing all black, with an olive-drab utility vest with lots of pockets, during the attack.
As investigators worked to figure out what drove him to lash out with such fury -- and why he singled out the school -- federal agents said he had fired guns at shooting ranges over the past several years but that there was no evidence he did so recently as practice for the rampage.
Debora Seifert, a spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said both Lanza and his mother fired at shooting ranges, and also visited ranges together.
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Political reaction to Newtown, CT tragedy
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Gun sales on the rise after Conn. shooting
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"We do not have any indication at this time that the shooter engaged in shooting activities in the past six months," Seifert said.
Investigators have found no letters or diaries that could explain the attack.
Whatever his motives, normalcy will be slow in revisiting Newtown.
Classes were canceled district-wide Monday, though other students in town were expected to return to class Tuesday.
Dan Capodicci, whose 10-year-old daughter attends the school at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, said he thinks it's time for her to get back to classes.
"It's the right thing to do. You have to send your kids back. But at the same time I'm worried," he said. "We need to get back to normal."
Gina Wolfman said her daughters are going back to their seventh- and ninth-grade classrooms tomorrow. She thinks they are ready to be back with their friends.
"I think they want to be back with everyone and share," she said.
Newtown police Lt. George Sinko said whether to send children to school is a personal decision for every parent.
"I can't imagine what it must be like being a parent with a child that young, putting them on a school bus," Sinko said.
The district has made plans to send surviving Sandy Hook students to Chalk Hill, a former middle school in the neighboring town of Monroe. Sandy Hook desks that will fit the small students are being taken there, empty since town schools consolidated last year, and tradesmen are donating their services to get the school ready within a matter of days.
"These are innocent children that need to be put on the right path again," Monroe police Lt. Brian McCauley said.
With Sandy Hook Elementary still designated a crime scene, state police Lt. Paul Vance said it could be months before police turn the school back over to the district.
The shooting has put schools on edge across the country.
Anxiety ran high enough in Ridgefield, Conn., about 20 miles from Newtown, that officials ordered a lockdown at schools after a person deemed suspicious was seen at a train station.
Two schools were locked down in South Burlington, Vt., because of an unspecified threat. A high school in Windham, N.H., was briefly locked down after an administrator heard a loud bang, but a police search found nothing suspicious.
NEWTOWN, Conn. When the parents of Connecticut school shooter Adam Lanza divorced in 2009, their legal documents offer no hints of an acrimonious split and make no mention of any lingering mental health or medical issues for the then-teenage boy.
Newly-public divorce paperwork shows that Nancy Lanza had the authority to make all decisions regarding her son's upbringing.
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Who is Adam Lanza?
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Adam Lanza's weapons, strategy
The court papers were made public Monday.
The divorce was finalized in September 2009, when Adam Lanza was 17.
There is no evidence of bitterness in the court file, no exchange of accusations or drawn out custody disputes.
Nancy and Peter Lanza had joint legal custody of Adam but he lived with his mother. The parents agreed to consult and discuss major decisions affecting Adam's best interests. In instances where the parents couldn't agree, Nancy Lanza "shall make the final decision," Judge Stanley Novak wrote on Sept. 24, 2009.
Nancy Lanza, who was once a stockbroker for John Hancock in Boston, married Peter Lanza in Kingston, N.H., in June 1981. The divorce file said the marriage "has broken down irretrievably and there is no possibility of getting back together."
The divorce agreement gave Nancy Lanza $265,000 in alimony last year.
It makes no mention of any mental health issues regarding her son.
As part of the divorce, Nancy Lanza was ordered to attend a parenting education program. The provider, Family Centers Inc., certified that she completed the program on June 3 and June 10, 2009. The document says only that Lanza "satisfactorily completed the program."
The documents also say Adam Lanza has lived his entire life at the Newtown home where he shot his mother to death, before going to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Friday morning and killing 20 children and six adults before taking his own life.
A Connecticut officials said Nancy Lanza was found in bed, in her pajamas, shot four times in the head with a .22-caliber rifle.
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Victims of Conn. school shooting
Adam Lanza is believed to have used a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle in the school attack, a civilian version of the military's M-16 and a model commonly seen at marksmanship competitions. Versions of the AR-15 were outlawed in the United States under the 1994 assault weapons ban; that law expired in 2004, and Congress, in a nod to the political power of the gun-rights lobby, did not renew it.
Neighbors told CBS News that Nancy Lanza was a gun enthusiast and often took Adam Lanza target shooting with her; it was her guns Adam used against her and the women and children at Sandy Hook.
CBS News' Pat Milton reports a source briefed on the investigation said that Nancy Lanza was demanding of her children. Even though Adam was highly intelligent, she pressed him to high standards and even pressed her sons to measure up at the shooting range where she taught them to shoot, the source said.
Federal agents have concluded that Adam Lanza had visited an area shooting range, but they do not know whether he practiced shooting there. Agents determined Lanza's mother visited shooting ranges several times, but it's not clear whether she took her son or whether he fired a weapon there, said Ginger Colbrun, a spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Adam's aunt, Marsha Lanza of Crystal Lake, Ill., said that Nancy Lanza kept guns for own safety, and had something of a survivalist mentality; she was worried about protecting her home if the economy went south.
Money was not an issue for the family. Marsha said her ex-husband left Nancy "well-off . . . She didn't have to work."
However, a friend of Nancy Lanza, local landscaper Dan Holmes, said she evidently still suffered from a bad divorce and could be pretty vocal about her ex-husband ... years afterwards."
Peter Lanza, a tax director who lives in Stamford, Conn., issued a statement relating his own family's anguish in the aftermath.
"Our family is grieving along with all those who have been affected by this enormous tragedy. No words can truly express how heartbroken we are," he said. "We are in a state of disbelief and trying to find whatever answers we can. We too are asking why. ... Like so many of you, we are saddened, but struggling to make sense of what has transpired."
(CBS News) The words "In God We Trust" can be found on all our currency, a reflection of the importance of religion in American lives. At least the lives of many of us, but not ALL. Our Sunday Morning Cover Story is reported by Lee Cowan:
It's not just in Newtown, Connecticut, but in churches and synagogues - and any other building of faith - the question "why" is being asked over and over this morning.
In times of both heartache and happiness, we turn to our faith for guidance and comfort. But increasingly, how we think about our faith is changing.
According to a new study by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, the nation's spiritual landscape may be becoming a little LESS religious.
Some 45 million people, or one-fifth of the U.S. adult population, now say they belong to no church in particular.
Six percent of them are either atheist or agnostic.
"There's a yearning to find like-minded people, to be able to have a conversation that's not taboo," said Red McCall, president of an atheist group in the buckle of the Bible Belt - Oklahoma City - whom we met last month.
In just the past three years, membership in the Oklahoma Atheists has jumped from just 300 members to well over a thousand.
Shelly Rees, a college professor, in one of them. She feels the public mood on atheists - even here - has softened.
"There were still people when we were marching in the parade at Halloween yelling, 'You're going to hell,' and stuff like that," said Rees. "But there were more people who weren't, and I think that's going to keep going. I think that's the trend."
Researchers call them "The Nones" - those who check the "none" box when asked to describe their religious affiliation.
And they've more than doubled since 1990.
Is the nation becoming more secular? "Maybe, a little bit," said Cary Funk, the senior researcher on that Pew Study. Funk says it's a complicated question, because being unaffiliated isn't necessarily the same as not having faith.
"Sixty-eight percent of the unaffiliated say they believe in God or a universal spirit. More than a third describe themselves as spiritual people, but not religious people," Funk said. "And a good portion pray, at least daily."
So if it's not God, or the thought of a higher power that's turning people off, what is?
The study suggests it's organized religion - with respondents overwhelmingly saying many organizations are too focused on money, power and politics.
Protestants have suffered the greatest decline. They now account for just 48 percent of religious adults, making it the first time in history that the United States doesn't have a Protestant majority.
Evangelical churches aren't immune, either. The megachurches once bursting at the seams are a little less mega than they used to be.
"We're seeing church attendance being much more inconsistent than I've ever seen it in my entire life," said Ed Young, Senior Pastor of the Fellowship Church based in Dallas. He's hardly conventional - even preaching a sermon with his wife while sitting on a double bed.
It's his attempt not at a gimmick, he says, but to reach those who these days find organized religion, at its best, irrelevant - at its worst, intolerant.
"I don't think we have been vulnerable enough," said Pastor Young. "I don't think we have been real enough about issues and about life. You have to realize that the church is pretty much one generation away from extinction."
Indeed, it's the young - one out of every three person surveyed under the age of 30 - who say they don't link themselves with a church, a mosque, a synagogue, or anything else.
Compare that, with the "Greatest Generation," where only one in 20 claimed no religious home.
"We're in kind of a post-denominational phase, I think, in many ways in the United States," said Charles Kimball, Director of Religious Studies at the University of Oklahoma. "That's still dramatically different that what you see in Europe, but you see that pattern, I think, is present here as well."
CAIRO Egyptians were voting Saturday on a proposed constitution that has polarized their nation, with President Mohammed Morsi and his Islamist supporters backing the charter, while liberals, many secular Muslims and Christians oppose it.
With the nation divided by a political crisis defined by mass protests and deadly violence, the vote has turned into a dispute over whether Egypt should move toward a religious state under Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood and a radical Salafi bloc, or one that retains secular traditions and an Islamic character.
"The times of silence are over," said bank employee Essam el-Guindy as he waited to cast his ballot in Cairo's upscale Zamalek district. "I am not OK with the constitution. Morsi should not have let the country split like this."
El-Guindy was one of about 20 voters standing in a line leading men to a ballot box. A separate women's line had twice as many people. Elsewhere in the city, hundreds of voters had been queuing outside polling stations nearly two hours before the voting started at 8 a.m.
Egyptians girls show their inked fingers after casting their votes at a polling station in a referendum on a disputed constitution drafted by Islamist supporters of President Mohammed Morsi in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012.
/ AP Photo/Amr Nabil
"I read parts of the constitution and saw no reason to vote against it," said Rania Wafik as she held her newborn baby while waiting in line. "We need to move on and I just see no reason to vote against the constitution."
Morsi, whose narrow win in June made him Egypt's first freely elected president, cast his ballot at a school in the upscale Heliopolis district. He did not speak to reporters, but waved to dozens of supporters who were chanting his name outside the polling station.
In Cairo's crowded Sayedah Zeinab district, home to a revered Muslim shrine, 23-year-old engineer Mohammed Gamal said he was voting "yes" although he felt the proposed constitution needed more, not less, Islamic content.
"Islam has to be a part of everything," said Gamal, who wore the mustache-less beard that is a hallmark of hard-line Salafi Muslims. "All laws have to be in line with Shariah," he said, referring to Islamic law.
Highlighting the tension in the run-up to the vote, nearly 120,000 army troops were deployed on Saturday to protect polling stations. A radical Islamist group also said it will send its own members to defend the stations alongside the army and police.
Clashes between Morsi's supporters and opponents over the past three weeks have left at least 10 people dead and about 1,000 wounded. "No, to the constitution of blood," said the red banner headline of the independent daily Al Masry Al Youm.
Critics are questioning the charter's legitimacy after the majority of judges said they would not supervise the vote. Rights groups have also warned of opportunities for widespread fraud, and the opposition says a decision to hold the vote on two separate days to make up for the shortage of judges leaves the door open for initial results to sway voter opinion.
The shortage of judges was reflected in the chaos engulfing some polling stations, which by early afternoon had led the election commission to extend voting by two hours until 9 p.m.
In Cairo's Darb el-Ahmar, judge Mohammed Ibrahim appeared overwhelmed with the flow of voters, many of whom had to wait for close to two hours to cast their ballots. "I'm trying hard here, but responsibilities could have been better distributed," he said.
Egypt has 51 million eligible voters, of whom about 26 are supposed to cast their ballots Saturday and the rest next week. Saturday's vote is held in 10 provinces, including Cairo and the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, the country's second largest and scene of violent clashes on Friday between opponents and supporters of Morsi.
"I am definitely voting no," Habiba el-Sayed, a 49-year-old house wife who wears the Muslm veil, or hijab, said in Alexandria. "Morsi took wrong decisions and there is no stability. They (Islamists) are going around calling people infidels. How can there be stability?"
Another female voter in Alexandria, 22-year-old English teacher Yomna Hesham said she was voting `no' because the draft is "vague" and ignores women's rights.
"If we say 'yes,' we will cease to exist. Some people are saying to say 'yes' to Morsi. But he did nothing right. Why should we? They say vote 'yes' for stability. We have said `yes' before and there was no stability."
Washington lawmakers this month are squarely focused on deficit reduction as they attempt to scramble off the so-called "fiscal cliff." All the while, however, the government is proceeding with the costly and ambitious rollout of the Affordable Care Act.
Key components of President Obama's health care law won't go into effect for about another year, but federal and state lawmakers are obligated to start building up those health care systems now. Many Republicans, however, argue the Obama administration hasn't said with certainty what the programs will ultimately cost or how they'll be governed. Democrats largely chalk up the complaints to the latest chapter in Republican-led obstruction against the Affordable Care Act, pointing to Democratic-led states that are making progress implementing the law.
The "fiscal cliff," meanwhile -- the series of tax hikes and deep spending cuts set to kick in next year -- has cast a shadow over the entire health care debate. While lawmakers spar over the details of large new health care systems, Congress could be forced in the coming weeks to make spending cuts and policy changes to programs like Medicaid.
At a congressional hearing Thursday on the subject of the health care law, Louisiana's secretary of the Health and Hospitals Department Bruce Greenstein told Congress it felt as if they were operating in a "parallel universe."
"It feels somewhat awkward to be here testifying on the implementation of one of the largest expansions of entitlement programs in nearly 50 years," he said, "at the same time as ongoing discussions about federal spending reductions to avert the 'fiscal cliff' and raising the debt ceiling take place."
In spite of those concerns, states face one deadline today: Deciding whether or not they will establish and operate their own health care exchange system -- a state-based online marketplace where consumers should be able to compare health insurance plans and purchase one. If they don't want to build or operate their own exchanges, they can hand the responsibility to the federal government or enter into a state-federal partnership.
At the same time, state leaders are deciding whether to expand Medicaid, the joint federal-state program currently open to disabled and certain low-income people. The Affordable Care Act calls for states to open up Medicaid to anyone below 138 percent of the poverty line -- the Supreme Court, however, ruled over the summer that the Medicaid expansion shouldn't be mandatory. There's no deadline for states to say whether or not they will expand Medicaid.
Through these two components -- the exchanges and the Medicaid expansion -- roughly 36 million people are predicted to obtain health insurance by 2022.
Nominees for the 70th Golden Globe Awards were announced Thursday morning, and "Lincoln" is in the lead.
The Civil War epic is up for seven nominations, among them best drama, director for Steven Spielberg and acting honors for Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones.
Tied for second-place with five nominations each, including best drama, are Ben Affleck's Iran hostage-crisis thriller "Argo" and Quentin Tarantino's slave-turned-bounty-hunter tale "Django Unchained."
Other best-drama nominees are Ang Lee's shipwreck story "Life of Pi" and Kathryn Bigelow's Osama bin Laden manhunt thriller "Zero Dark Thirty."
Nominated for best musical or comedy were: the British retiree adventure "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"; the Victor Hugo musical "Les Miserables"; the first-love tale "Moonrise Kingdom"; the fishing romance "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen"; and the lost-soul romance "Silver Linings Playbook."
The directing lineup came entirely from dramatic films, with Affleck, Bigelow, Lee, Spielberg and Tarantino all in the running. Filmmakers behind best musical or comedy nominees were shut out for director, including Tom Hooper for "Les Miserables" and David O. Russell for "Silver Linings Playbook."
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Golden Globe nominees 2013
Along with Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln in Spielberg's epic, best dramatic actor contenders are Richard Gere as a deceitful Wall Streeter in "Arbitrage"; John Hawkes as a polio victim trying to lose his virginity in "The Sessions"; Joaquin Phoenix as a Navy veteran under the sway of a cult leader in "The Master"; and Denzel Washington as a boozy airline pilot in "Flight."
Nominees in the dramatic actress category are Jessica Chastain as a CIA analyst hunting Osama bin Laden in "Zero Dark Thirty"; Marion Cotillard as a whale biologist beset by tragedy in "Rust and Bone"; Helen Mirren as Alfred Hitchcock's strong-minded wife in "Hitchcock"; Naomi Watts as a woman caught up in a devastating tsunami in "The Impossible"; and Rachel Weisz as a woman ruined by an affair in "The Deep Blue Sea."
For musical or comedy actress, the lineup is Emily Blunt as a consultant for a Mideast sheik in "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen"; Judi Dench as a widow who retires overseas in "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"; Jennifer Lawrence as young widow in "Silver Linings Playbook"; Maggie Smith as an aging singer in a retirement home in "Quartet"; and Meryl Streep as a wife trying to save her marriage in "Hope Springs."
Nominees for musical or comedy actor are Jack Black as a solicitous mortician in "Bernie"; Bradley Cooper as a troubled man fresh out of a mental hospital in "Silver Linings Playbook"; Hugh Jackman as long-suffering hero Jean Valjean in "Les Miserables"; Ewan McGregor as a British fisheries expert in "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen"; and Bill Murray as Franklin Roosevelt in "Hyde Park on Hudson."
Competing for supporting actor are Alan Arkin as a Hollywood producer helping a CIA operation in "Argo"; Leonardo DiCaprio as a cruel slave owner in "Django Unchained"; Philip Seymour Hoffman as a mesmerizing cult leader in "The Master"; Tommy Lee Jones as firebrand abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens in "Lincoln"; and Christoph Waltz as a genteel bounty hunter in "Django Unchained."
The supporting-actress picks are Amy Adams as a cult leader's devoted wife in "The Master"; Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln in "Lincoln"; Anne Hathaway as a mother fallen into prostitution in "Les Miserables"; Helen Hunt as a sexual surrogate in "The Sessions"; and Nicole Kidman as a trashy mistress of a Death Row inmate in "The Paperboy."
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Golden Globe 2013: EW editor talks nominees
The awards are handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Jessica Alba, Megan Fox and Ed Helms were on hand to help announce the nominees on Thursday morning from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Globe acting winners often go on to receive the same prizes at the Oscars. All four Oscar winners last season -- lead actors Meryl Streep of "The Iron Lady" and Jean Dujardin of "The Artist" and supporting players Octavia Spencer of "The Help" and Christopher Plummer of "Beginners" -- won Golden Globes first.
The Globes have a spotty record predicting which films might go on to earn the best-picture prize at the Academy Awards, however.
The Globes feature two best-film categories, one for drama and one for musical or comedy. Last year's Oscar best-picture winner, "The Artist," preceded that honor with a Globe win for best musical or comedy.
But in the seven years before that, only one winner in the Globe best-picture categories - 2008's "Slumdog Millionaire" - followed up with an Oscar best-picture win.
Along with 14 film prizes, the Globes hand out awards in 11 television categories.
Jodie Foster, a two-time Oscar and Globe winner for "The Accused" and "The Silence of the Lambs," will receive the group's Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement at the Jan. 13 ceremony.
The Golden Globes will be hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Both were nominated for best actress in a TV comedy, Fey for "30 Rock" and Poehler for "Parks and Recreation."
The nominees for best television drama series are "Boardwalk Empire," "Breaking Bad," "Downton Abbey," "Homeland" and "The Newsroom." In the best comedy series category, the nominees are "The Big Bang Theory," "Episodes," "Girls," "Modern Family" and "Smash."
